Tippi the cat wearily surveys the vinyl from her perch…
There are pedantic sods out there who will say that the next decade doesn’t start until 2011…umm, too bad.
It’s been a busy decade with highs and lows, and soundtracked by some amazing stuff. Odd, considering that at the start of 2000, I was wondering whether I was being left behing as I failed to get into Nu-metal or garage. Thankfully, there’s been lots of brilliant stuff.
So…
Highs: Getting married; moving to Scotland; being my brother’s best man at his wedding; becoming an uncle; getting cats; finally getting to work in a record shop; the invention of the iPod; meeting wonderful new friends in Scotland; the critical re-evaluation of The Cure; starting a blog that’s allowed me to interview people and get free music and into gigs for free; getting a Masters Degree; becoming a fully qualified teacher; Edinburgh’s music scene flourishing; getting to DJ again; going to New York -twice!; seeing my brother’s career in comedy and acting take off; the resurgence of post-punk and its’ infleunce on contemporary indie; setting up my own record label; Obama’s election; Great TV in the form of Life On Mars, The Office, CSI; ‘world’ cinema playing in multiplexes; successfully giving up smoking and drinking; nights out in Edinburgh and Glasgow; The Wire magazine; American Hip Hop and R&B; Grime; Dubstep; Kate Bush finally releasing a new album; finally having my own car; getting to see the likes of the Pixies (twice!), Blondie, Television (Twice!), Dead Kennedys, Julian Cope, Elvis Costello, Nick Cave (also twice!), Morrissey (three times), U2, Lou Reed…
Lows: Death of our beloved Jake the cat; black dog; the NME’s decline for much of the decade; people who showed they could not be trusted; the loss of three music venues in Edinburgh (La Belle Angele, The Venue, The Liquid Rooms); Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; Labour letting us down; George W. Bush’s administration impacting on life here; the BNP; Tommy Sheridan proving to be human after all; the frightening prospect of a Tory Victory in 2010; the continued existence of racism, homophobia and domestic violence (and fuckwits who label any attempt to challenge this as political correctness gone mad)…
There’s been so much music that it’s hard to rank it all – this is just a handful of what’s floated my boat this decade.
The Delgados -‘No Danger.’ mp3
Gnarls Barkley -‘Crazy.’ mp3
The Bug -‘Angry.’ mp3
CSS – ‘Let’s Make Love and Listen To Death From Above.’ mp3
Franz Ferdinand -‘Shopping For Blood.’ mp3
Beyonce -‘Crazy In Love.’ mp3
LCD Soundsystem -‘Losing My Edge.’ mp3
Burial -‘Archangel.’ mp3
Santogold -‘My Superman.’ mp3
Low – ‘California.’ mp3
>Usher -‘Yeah.’ mp3
The Rapture – ‘House Of Jealous Lovers.’ mp3
Radio 4 -‘Dance To the Underground.’ mp3
Interpol -‘NYC.’ mp3
Missy Elliott -‘Get UR Freak On.’ mp3
Estelle -‘American Boy (featuring Kanye West).’ mp3
Skream -‘Midnight Request Line.’ mp3
This is by no means a complete list; I’ve intentionally left out anything from this year. The list could also include M.I.A.; White Stripes; Strokes; Yeah Yeah Yeahs; The Libertines; Dizzee Dascal; Arctic Monkeys; Outkast; System Of A Down; Calexico; Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy; Kylie; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds… and many of the scottish bands I’ve championed – and those I have signed.
Happy New Year!
xx
