Somehow it managed to escape my notice that the decade is about to come to and end. For some reason I just assumed that the end of 2010 would be viewed as the end of this decade. Technically I believe I'm correct. However, in much the same way the new millennium started January 1, 2001 and not on 2000, popular consensus rules. So the end of the decade is upon us.
The reason I've noticed is that along with the rush of Best of the Year lists is also coming along a wave of Best of the Decade lists. Which is better than dealing with the whole mess around 2000 when there was Best of the Year/Decade/Century/Millennium lists. Which were awesome, by the way. How you can choose the best books in a given year is one thing, selecting the best ones over a thousand years is another matter all together.
I can't help it that I like these lists. The yearly ones are nice simply because I always find stuff that snuck by me during the course of the year in books and music. However I suspect the Best of the Decade lists are just going to be things I'm going to yell at a lot. Which is fine as well.
For example, I'm looking at Entertainment Weekly's Best of the Decade and it's producing its fair share of "oh really?" moments. For example, I will gladly get into a racket with Radiohead fans that "Kid A" is one of the ten best albums of the past ten years. I like Radiohead, but that was a self-indulgent wank material at best. Also, and I'm prepared to be a bit of a hypocrite on this because I haven't listened to the album, but I will bet good money that Beyonce's "I am Sasha Fierce" is not one of the premiere recordings of the past decade.
Also, and I know I'm in the minority on this, but I really didn't like "The Sopranos". Oh well.
And then there's Time Magazine's massive, and always entertaining, Best of 2009. I'm still slogging through that, although I confess to not having heard of half the artists in the Top 10 best records of the year. Although the best political cartoons and late night jokes were pretty good.
I might, if I'm feeling particularly suicidal, try and compose my own best of the decade list for TV shows, movies and music. I don't really think I can do a best of 2009, just because I miss so much stuff up here, especially with movies. But for several years I was the pop culture columnist with The Express, so I like to think I have an ear and an eye for this sort of thing. So we'll see if I have some time next week and I'll start piecing things together. My friend Melissa already picked her best songs of the decade, so clearly the gauntlet has been thrown.
Then you can feel free to post here what an idiot I am and that I clearly don't have a clue about anything. After all, that's the whole point of these lists anyway.
Last Five
1. Happiness Ltd. - Hot Hot Heat
2. The con - Tegan and Sara
3. Original sin - INXS
4. Caroline, yes - Kaiser Chiefs
5. Porchlight - Neko Case*
3 comments:
That Radiohead album changed the course of my life and is part of the core of my existence, so I suggest you step lightly there, buddy.
That Radiohead album deserves its place, I agree with Kirsten.
Also, as a former reporter, I feel stupid for not thinking of padding December issues with 'best o' decade' lists. Let's see what they do next year.
Well, Rolling Stone just listed Kid A as their best album of the decade, so maybe I have to listen to it again because I recall hating it. I liked "Ok Computer", I liked "The Bends" and hell, I liked "In Rainbows". But most of their stuff this decade did little for me.
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