Toronto – Here we go!
H
Hot Chip Do it do it do it do it now..Ready for the Floor, Over and Over…two of the perennial indie dance tracks of our recent decades, both products of a band from England named Hot Chip. Their original take on electro pop, innovative videos and great live shows make them one of the bands to be excited for as the new decade rolls around. They are also in Toronto with the XX in April, that is a show you need to check out.
Other notable H’s: Hayden warmed our hearts with his folksy songs, Hercules and Love Affair brought back disco with a phenomenal album and the best track of 2008 (“Blind”), Handsome Furs made some sweet husband and wife music and the Hold Steady gave middle america a jewish voice.
I
Interpol – The impeccably dressed torch bearers of Joy Division exploded onto the scene in the early parts of the decade. Too cool for school, this band had the style, but as debut album Turn on the Bright Lights showed, they also had the substance. For a brief period of time, Carlos D was the coolest person in the music world and well, you can say that they were a large part of the New York music scene revival/worship that has been going on this decade. Here is an Anzi Ansari video about the coolness of Interpol.
Other notable I’s – Imogen Heap.. well, we’ve talked about her a lot lately. Iron and Wine managed to keep people awake and listening to his music despite his best attempts and Islands somehow became a cohesive band.
J
Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z – POP acts!?!? These two were probably two of the biggest pop acts in the decade, and Justin Timberlake had one of the best SNL skits of all time with d**k in a box. Jay-z had his hand (and maybe more) in everything including helping launch both Rihanna and Kanye’s careers.
Other notable Js – Justice found a use for children’s singing with DANCE, Joel Plaskett discovered life after Thrush Hermit and made about two hundred albums, Jet ripped off Iggy Pop and made millions and Jens Lekman’s quirky lyrics and sweet songwriting makes us appreciate Sweden even more.
K
The Killers and Kings of Leon – file both these bands under ‘bands who started off being liked by indie types and then exploded into the stratosphere’. When I first heard of the Killers, they were opening up for Stellastarr*. Now, Stellarstarr* probably washes one of Brandon Flowers 18 cars. Nevertheless, Hot Fuss remains one of the albums of the decade and Mr. Brightside and Somebody Told Me still make the snobbiest of music types dancing. Kings of Leons are the new Coldplay/Killers, so they are lumped into this category.
Other notable K’s -Keane tried to become the next Coldplay, Kanye continues to amuse us and K’Naan brought us some rap music with a conscience.
L
Libertines – My second most listened to band of the decade, according to Last.FM. Probably the most influential band (for good or for bad) in England this decade, the Libs gave all the middle/lower class youths in England a bit of hope and for a brief moment, all was well in Albion. Ultimately, Pete Doherty’s frequent escapades with heroin addiction and Kate Moss did them in but the sheer number of UK lad bands (Razorlight, Paddingtons, Ordinary boys, etc etc) that followed in the wake of these guys was quite amazing for a band that was barely around. I don’t know what the new decade will bring for Doherty and Barat, but I hope they get their shit together and tour stateside.
Other notable L’s – Ladytron/hawk/hawke/gaga – all proved that if you have a band with the word Lady in it, you will be successful. Lily Allen made people realize the power of myspace, and then showed up topless every chance she had. LCD Soundsystem had Daft Punk play at his house and provided all hipsters with a ultimate soundtrack for those late night drug infused dancing benders.
M
Muse – starting off as Radiohead ‘The Bends’ knockoffs, Muse has slowly, but transformed themselves into a dramatic epic rock powerhouse trio, with the emphasis on “dramatic epic”. Anyone who has been to a Muse show can attest to just how awesome these guys are live. Much like the Killers and Kings of Leons, they have gone the way of the stadium shows in North America, and we have lost another one. By ‘we’, I mean, cheap people. Still, Origin of Symmetry was fantastic and well, there’s no truer moment then at a Muse show shouting ‘time is running out’ with smoke machines and lasers blazing.
Other notable M’s – MGMT will probably rule the next decade, My Morning Jacket made it okay to like music from the south, MIA brought all kinds of tools to the table with her blend of hip hop and Mark Ronson made it cool to remix songs with horns and trumpets.
N
New Pornographers – As much as the East Coast produced great Canadian music over the past decade, the West coast also has had their share of great music. The New Pornographer rule the roost over in BC and their blend of guitar driven indie pop produced four excellent albums – Mass Romantic, Electric Version, Twin Cinema and Challenger.
Other notable N’s – The National proved that not all things from Cincinnati sucks, Nelly Furtado went from a tree hugging hippy girl to a dance floor sex kitten and Nick Cave rose from obscurity with hits from both his solo act and his super band, Grinderman.
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