I admit it - I'm a sucker for Wrap Ups, and Lists, and Best Ofs, and this whole end of the decade thing hadn't really hit me until recently. So it got me thinking what are the Best Ofs for the 2000s? First of all we need to agree on what to call this decade - The 00's? The Pre-Teens? For the sake of clarity I am branding it the "When George W. Bush Ruled the World" decade or the "Did That Really Just Happen?" decade.
Maybe the fact that we can't agree on a name says something about the decade itself. What are we going to remember about this period? How will it compare to the 60s, or the 80s, or (gasp!) the 90s! Weren't the 90s just here? Someone please tell me MC Hammer is still alive.
It's probably better for the sake of historical objectivity to wait until some time has passed to fully analyze the enduring contributions to society, but screw that - I want answers now! I want my opinion expressed now!!! The Wait and See attitude is soooo 1990s.
My Best Of: The Decade Without A Name:
Albums
10. "You Forgot It In People" Broken Social Scene (2000)
Is one of most influential albums/bands of decade
9. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" The Flaming Lips (2002)
8. "Give Up" The Postal Service (2003)
I remember where I was first time I heard this album
7. "Fever To Tell" Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)
Wish they would go back to this style
6. "Elephant" The White Stripes (2002)
5. "Funeral" Arcade Fire
4. "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" Wilco (2003)
3. "Is This It" The Strokes (2001)
Launched many a bands that start with the word "The"
2. "Kid A" Radiohead (2000)
The perfect transition album into the next millenium
1. "Lifted or the Story is in the Soil..." Bright Eyes (2002)
Oberst is simply the decades best songwriter
Movies
10. Rules of Attraction (2002)
Dawson making with a dude was huge for "Dawson's Creek" generation
9. Margot At the Wedding (2007)
8. No Man's Land (2001)
Just a really good movie, smart, absurd, tragic
7. The Hours (2002)
6. There Will Be Blood (2008)
5. Hustle and Flow (2005)
One of the best movies about music ever, Terence Howard deserved his Oscar for Best Actor
4. I Heart Huckabbes (2004)
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
2. Donnie Darko (2001)
1. Royal Tennanbaums (2001)
#1 is hard to decide but this movie has it all, great style, characters, dialouge and storytelling
Books
10. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" David Sedaris (2000)
Very unique, creative, and always funny
9. "The Caprices" Sabrina Murray (2002)
is a blueprint for how to arrange a short story collection
8. "Netherland" Joseph O'Neil (2008)
7. "Runaway" Alice Munro (2004)
I've read just some of her stuff, probably need to read more
6. "Tree of Smoke" Denis Johnson (2007)
5. "Atonement" Ian McEwan (2002)
4. "The Road" Cormac McCarthy (2006)
Gets the "filmed in Pittsburgh" bump
3. "Life Of Pi" Yann Martel (2002)
2. "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" (2000)
1. "Pastoralia" George Saunders (2000)
Television Shows
10. Project Runway (2005)
Alright, hate if you want but the show has launched a million knock offs of the "Runway" format
9. Bored To Death (2009)
Could be higher but only is one season old
8. 30 Rock (2006)
7. Deadwood (2004)
6. The Colbert Report (2005)
5. Chappelle Show (2003)
Immortalized Rick James forever
4. The Office (2005)
3. The Wire (2002)
2. Mad Men (2007)
Could be one of the best of all time by the time its done
1. Arrested Development (2003)
Not even close, best show ever!!!
On second thought, maybe these 2000s weren't so bad after all. I mean, remember when Pumpkin spit on New York during Flavor of Love: Season One??? Ahh, good, good times.
