Toronto – It’s the end of a decade. OMFG. Did that term even exist before 2000? I don’t think so. The past decade has seen many changes (as any decade would have). I’ll let other web sites or writers write about all that we have become and whether or not we are better for it. For now, let’s just focus on the music. Here is an A to Z guide to the 00′s.
A
Arcade Fire – Only 2 records (and ep) released in the decade, yet the Arcade Fire has to be considered as one of the biggest acts of the decade. Both Funeral and Neon Bible were outstanding albums and for a brief period of time, Montreal was known as a place for a burgeoning music scene as well as the usual poutine, smoked meat, danse contact and the Habs, I’m sure between Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire, a lot of bands decided it was okay to have 15 people on stage at once.
Other notable letter A’s: Amy Winehouse provided us with a solid retro soul sound, then about 10,000 pages of breakdowns. Animal Collective made it okay to listen to moderately experiment electronic music, and are probably the front runners to make it big in the next decade. The Avalanches made one of the best one and out albums of all time and the Arctic Monkeys showed the world how an extremely rabid and dedicated fanbase can catapult a band from obscurity to stadium shows.
B
Broken Social Scene – BSS, where would Toronto be without you? This “band” has not even put out an album in the past five years, yet their influence still reigns supreme. Stars, Metric, Feist, Apostle of Hustle..the list goes on and on, name a Canadian band, and chances are, there is a BSS involvement somewhere. I should probably go to a concert one of these days.
Other notable B’s: Badly Drawn Boy kicked off the decade with some wonderful singer songwriter moments. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club brought back black leather bluesy rock n roll and had one of the most awkward award moments ever (2003 NME). British Sea Power brought plants and floral arrangements on stage while creating some of the most underrated and under appreciated albums of the decade.
C
Cut/Copy – One of the leading figures in the recent electro pop/remix music movements, Cut Copy’s insanely catchy and danceable music has opened the door for many other acts to infiltrate the homes and speakers of people everywhere. Their label, Modular, has become a force in the industry, and is home to bands like The Presets, New Young Pony Club, Van She, Wolfmother and Ladyhawke among others.
Other notable C’s – Calvin Harris‘s remixes and music have peppered dance floors all over the globe, Camera Obscura continues to produce solid twee albums while looking completely disinterested in live shows and Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah became one of the first where the hell did they come from and where the hell did they go bands of this new indie era. Crystal Castles also made it okay for Canadians to dance at shows. They are probably due for global dominance with their next album.
D
Doves – Maybe the most consistently great band of the decade, the Doves put out four albums, all with their own sound and all fantastic. The Last Broadcast is one of my favorite albums of the decade and yea, there’s definitely something to be said about being consistently good. Also, a Doves song was on the OC.
Other notable D’s – Dandy Warhols – If you asked anyone in 2003 who the band of the decade would be, Dandy Warhols might have been the answer at that point. Bohemian Like You is one of the tracks of the decade, there is no doubt about it. However, they really haven’t done much lately. Dig! was quite a documentary though. Death Cab for Cutie provided music for indie kids with heartbreak everywhere, then proceeded to break every indie kids heart when Ben Gibbard married Zooey Deschanel. The Darkness brought back classic stadium rock for at least one song and Death From Above 1979 provided us with one of the best late night music moments ever:
E
Eminem – No real strong indie acts for this letter, but Eminem was pretty f’n big. Everyone knows half the lyrics to that song Stan. He singlehandedly launched Dido’s career and he made Elton John relevant again with the whole homophobic Oscar thing. If there was no Eminem, there would be no 50 cent, and if there was no 50 cent, there would be no ‘In Da Club’ and who has not danced to that song?
Other notable E’s – Electric Six – Danger! Danger! High Voltage! – one of the decades best tracks. Too bad this band tried to recreate this song on every album they’ve made since. The Editors have made three really really good albums and have easily shed the sounds like Interpol moniker that have plagued them since they arrived on the scene. Empire of the Sun have hopefully inspired a bunch of bands to make good music and extremely weird videos and look.
F
Feist – Feist broke away from BSS and well, destroyed Earth. She made it okay for indie artists to make good tunes and good money. Now, you watch 10 commercials, you can recognize 8 songs from bands you like, and it’s okay. Mainly because you downloaded their album and you know they got mouths to feed. Indie kids in Toronto talk about Feist sightings like lil’ girls talking about Robert Pattinson sightings. “I was at the Dakota..and FEIST was there!”
Other notable F’s – Franz Ferdinand’s debut album is one of the best of the decade and Take Me Out was just a monster monster song. Final Fantasy introduced violin + looping to many new fans. Flaming Lips walked on a giant hamster ball at epic festival shows and wrote a album about a Japanese girl fighting robots. Fleet Foxes encouraged people everywhere to grow beards.
G
Gorillaz – Only in this decade can you have a cartoon band fronted by Damon Albarn to be successful. DARE was a great dance tune and well, it was just one of many ventures for Mr. Albarn this decade.
Other G’s – The Go Team made saturday morning cartoon sounding songs cool again. Gary Jule’s Mad World may be the soundtrack song of the decade and Gnarls Barkley‘s Crazy was a internet created one hit wonder.
