Favorite Movies of the Decade: The Top Five

The fifth and final day is here, as you are now presented with my top five favorite movies of the decade. If you know me fairly well, this list isn't likely that surprising. I'm pretty forthcoming with what I like, so my Slices of Fried Gold: The Decade Edition is really more of a coronation than anything. Yet, here I am doing it anyways.

Before we move on to the top 5, here are numbers 25 through 6 listed below:

25. Up
24. In Good Company
23. In Bruges
22. Everything is Illuminated
21. The Departed
20. Wall-E
19. Snatch
18. About a Boy
17. The Constant Gardener
16. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
15. Sunshine
14. Howl's Moving Castle
13. Anchorman
12. Finding Nemo
11. 28 Days Later
10. Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
9. I Heart Huckabees
8. Ratatouille
7. Shaun of the Dead
6. The Dark Knight


5. Almost Famous (Written and directed by Cameron Crowe - 2000)

While this may be Bill Simmons' choice for movie of the decade, this finishes fifth on my list. Fifth is still great, and somewhat fitting spot for the underdog protagonist that leads this film. Plotwise, this is a semi-autobigraphical story about about an absurdly young music journalist on his first job for Rolling Stone, following "a mid-level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom" to take a line directly from the movie. However, when you get down to it it's about growing up, it's about journalist integrity, it's about family, it's about the power of music, it's about love, and most of all, it's just about life.

The music part is one of the biggest parts I connect to, as this is one of the best movies ever about music from the inside and the perceptions artists have of themselves. About how the passion of sharing your heart with fans sometimes gives way to the desire to make more money, about how making it big and being happy are different things, and how sometimes, sometimes, all you need is a little Elton John to heal your wounds. Throw in the fact that Crowe (once again) compiled a stellar soundtrack that perfectly highlighted the timeframe (the inclusions of Cat Stevens and Elton John really hit home for me) and the storyline. One of the most impeccably selected soundtracks ever.

Then, you have the performances. The performances, from the lead performance by Patrick Fugit as "the enemy" William Miller (in a debut no less!), to Kate Hudson as lead band-aid Penny Lane, to Frances McDormand as William's over-protective and insanely loving mother, all the way to supporting performances by Jason Lee, Jimmy Fallon, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and many more, are uniformly superb and nuanced. The best in my book however is Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond, who effortlessly captures the mystique, genius and anguish of a rocker who is completely out of control and seemingly self-destructive when it comes to his career and love. Sure, he's a virtuoso when he's holding a guitar, but he cannot keep himself from destroying relationships. If I made a highlight reel of the best moments of movies from the decade, I'd probably start off with the scene where Crudup is perched on top of a random home shouting out to his adoring fans "I am a golden god!"

This movie in my mind is the best of Cameron Crowe's exceptional career, and it makes sense given his history. It's really the most personal and self-reflecting of his movies, and the synergy between all aspects of the film is absolutely marvelous.


4. Big Fish (Directed by Tim Burton, written by John August - 2003)

Big Fish fits into the unique group of movies that I saw three times in theaters. Very rarely do I see a movie that time in theaters, but this movie practically demanded it. The fact that I saw it three consecutive days over the same weekend was even more odd, as was the fact that I actually got verklempt during the same portion of the movie (Billy Crudup and Albert Finney's grand escape and the funeral) all three times (oddly enough, the only time I cried during a movie besides Liar, Liar of all movies). Such is the power of Tim Burton's magnum opus, an adaptation of a novel that is strangely inferior in every way.

Whether you want to credit the script, cast, music, direction, cinematography...whatever, it's up to you. All are stellar and all manage to combine to be more than the sum of their parts. This is an exceptional cast, but is highlighted by the duo of Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney playing Edward Bloom as a young man and as a man on his death bed. Both are the backbone of the film, but work perfectly in concert with the rest of the cast that includes Billy Crudup, Marion Cotilliard, Jessica Lange, Allison Lohman, and Burton's wife/cast stalwart Helena Bonham Carter.

This movie is all about reconciling the facts of life with the fantasy life, and how those two opposite concepts affect the life of your family. It's about family, it's about storytelling, and it's about life. That will be a very common theme in all of my top five movies: an effervescent love of life, and how no matter what you should never give up on your dreams of being a very big fish.


3. Children of Men (Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, written by Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby - 2006)

I have to say, I have a strange affinity for a good dystopia. When a writer creates a grim dystopia like Cormac McCarthy does in The Road, it's riveting and distressing. You can visualize the scorched earth and the hopelessness with your mind's eye. The amazing thing that Alfonso Cuaron does in this film is he creates a dystopia so complete and so real feeling on film that it bring chills to your skin just to think about it. The set up of the film is simple: no one has been born in nearly 19 years, and humanity is without a hope. Or so it thinks, as a man named Theo Faron must escort a young pregnant woman named Kee across war torn England to the coast to get her to the human project.

That's the central concept of this film, and within this film you see all kinds of atrocities, pain, and horrible sights. Yet, contained on the same film is a visual feast, as Cuaron curates motion pictures that are every bit as haunting and every bit as powerful as anything I've ever seen. Whether it's the now legendary single shot takes Cuaron in the ghetto at the end of the movie, the dynamic opening sequence with the bombing, or the terrifying and action packed sequence when their car is attacked on the way to the human project, this is a visual tour de force unlike most any other film from the decade.

Many films are attractive to look at though, but this film manages to pair the gripping imagery with nuanced and pitch perfect performances, particularly from Clive Owen and Michael Caine. Owen brings all of the bravado we want from an action star yet brings the emotive power of the best Hollywood has ever seen, as you can see in the devestating scene in the first third of the film when he's walking away from a tragedy attempting to smoke, and he simply can no longer stand and has to collapse weeping against a tree. You feel his pain in your gut when you see him, and it's truly stupendous work. Caine brings both humor and heart to the film, giving us a bit of comic relief in such a dark film while also giving us a reason to root for humanity.

One of my favorite things about dystopic films is how they give you insight into modern society so well, while also so effortlessly capturing the best in humanity. It's like Alfonso Cuaron and his posse of writers took P.D. James novel and said, "we need to make humanity realize where they've gone wrong and how they can go about fixing it." For such a dark movie, there is so much hope and vitality within it, and it's one movie that sticks with me no matter what.


2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Directed by Michel Gondry, written by Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry - 2004)

Take one part visionary director, one part mad genius screenwriter, one part incomparable modern actress, one part underrated comedic genius, one part loaded supporting cast, and one part dreamy and original composer. Shake them up (a lot), randomly pour out part of it. Serve iced.

That's the formula to this reality bending flick, the story of a relationship of destiny destroyed by impulse, as in this reality there is a procedure that can remove troublesome memories from your past. Such is the situation Joel Barish (the underrated in a dramatic sense Jim Carrey) finds himself in, as his love Clementine (the lovely Kate Winslet) has decided to permanently erase all memories of him after a fight. This concept of course could only be conceived by Charlie Kaufman (Adapation, Being John Malkovich) and Michel Gondry (Be Kind Rewind, The Science of Sleep), as they are two of the greatest mad geniuses of the decade. While both creators are brilliant, both have a tendency to let their style and concepts run amok. This is the one movie where they successfully find a counter balance and simply let the narrative convey their message: that no matter what, if love is meant to be, it will happen (regardless of whether or not you have to go to Montauk to make it happen).

This is one of the most unique films of the decade and one of the best pure examples of the power of love. The exceptional cast that includes Carrey, Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, and many more captures everything Gondry and Kaufman ask for and more. They help make this an instant classic, and one that will be treasured by yours truly forever.


1. Moulin Rouge! (Written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, co-written by Craig Pearce - 2001)

I absolutely hate musicals. Pretty much everything about them bothers me, from the sheer size of them, to the overly dramatic situations, to the fact that people spontaneously burst into song, to the assured happy ending...you name it. They really bother me.

Imagine my surprise when I sat down one night when I was back from my first semester in college and I was home alone, and I figured, "why not? I'll try Moulin Rouge out" and I ended up loving it completely. I was shocked...how could I like this? I'd never liked a musical before. Yet the bohemian lifestyle in the film connected with me on a real way, as, like the protagonist Christian, I'm a hopeless romantic that believes in simple concepts like beauty, truth, freedom, and love (above all things love!). Strangely, I also found myself enjoying the pop influenced songs...and the grandiosity of scenes just sucked me in. Even the goofy nature of the film just made it more alluring, and at about that point I figured out "damn, I really like this movie!"

Through the seven years since, I've watched it again many times. It seems in many ways it's the perfect counterpart to my favorite album of the decade, Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala. Lekman's album is a light, breezy look at love, with cleverness and charm hidden around every corner. That pretty much describes this film, and like Lekman's album, I can watch this movie any time and always feel better. Some people when they're forlorn will drink or do something self destructive...I watch epic musicals made by Baz Luhrmann and imagine a world in which I can sing my song to my own Satine.

Of course, I cannot sing, nor do people really sing to each other, but it's all the same.

This is also the movie where I realized that Ewan McGregor is pretty much my favorite actor. I'd loved him in Trainspotting and A Life Less Ordinary before this, but it took this film to realize that I'd be willing to watch pretty much anything he starred in. The rest of the cast is superb as well, but McGregor was hosed by the Academy with this role.

With all that said, it's pretty easy to realize why it's my favorite. I knew it was from the beginning. It was just difficult to figure out what fit in around it.

Favorites Movies of the Decade: 10 - 6

Day 4 is here and along with it we've cracked the top 10 of my favorite movies of the decade list! Today, we're going over numbers 10 through 6, with tomorrow wrapping up the list with the top five. Exciting!

Before we get into that though, see below for the links to previous days, along with the first 15 movies of the list.

25-21
20-16
15-11

25. Up
24. In Good Company
23. In Bruges
22. Everything is Illuminated
21. The Departed
20. Wall-E
19. Snatch
18. About a Boy
17. The Constant Gardener
16. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
15. Sunshine
14. Howl's Moving Castle
13. Anchorman
12. Finding Nemo
11. 28 Days Later


10. Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, co-written by Guillaume Laurant - 2001)

This film is one of those movies that came out of nowhere to be absolutely beloved by movie fans everywhere. Yet when I first saw it, I liked it, but didn't love it. I gave it a shot, but even with aspects I loved about it (Audrey Tautou, the sheer joy in the filmmaking, Audrey Tautou) it still felt a bit long and a little odd. Then one day I accidentally heard Yann Tiersen's score to this film while in Kaladi Brothers and I had to get more. I picked up the soundtrack and listened to it over and over, and then on a whim I bought Amelie and it was like a curtain had been pulled and the true beauty had been revealed.

All in all, this movie is pure magic. From the love affair viewers have with Tautou (it is impossible to not fall head over heels with her while watching this movie), to the effortless charm, to the quirky energy, to the message the filmmakers pass to viewers, to Tiersen's stellar score, to the dynamic editing...this is a flat out superb example of filmmaking. That it features the most lovely city in the world as a co-star adds to the power. This is one of the most charming and beautiful movies of the decade, and worth every bit of the hype that preceded it.


9. I Heart Huckabees (Written and directed by David O. Russell, co-written by Jeff Baena)

This is perhaps the most polarizing movie of the decade. There is a large camp out there that absolutely despises this film, and it assuredly is a challenging one. But this existential comedy that, on the surface, is about a man trying to find out about what these coincidences in his life mean exactly, yet in reality that is only the plot. This movie is about how all of us, no matter how disparate, are connected, if only by the things that bring us down in life. Of course, it's also a completely hysterical film filled with live wire performances by a sharp cast, filled with a unique vision by a great director and aided by wonderful and thoughtful score by one of the best pop writers out there - Jon Brion.

While this movie does have a lot of very good reasons it is so damn spectacular (the mere fact that it stars Jason Schwartzman makes it a shoo-in to be enjoyable), one of my favorites is supporting actor Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg plays Tommy Corn, a firefighter who is completely obsessed with petroleum and the fact that humanity is burning through all of the world's non-renewable resources so fast. His fire and passion for saving the world and figuring out his place in the world (which he attempts to find using whatever philosophy he can get his hands on) is often uproarious. Worth it just for that performance, but there is so much more here. Watch this film, take a philosophical journey, and laugh all the way through it. You'll thank me later.


8. Ratatouille (Written and directed by Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava, co-written by Jim Capobianco - 2007)

This is the last Pixar movie (I swear!) on the list, and somewhat fittingly for me this is the one I liked the least of the four when I initially saw it. While I enjoyed it greatly and thought Pixar made a great film, it was just a lot less funny than the rest of their movies had been. It was also the only of the four Pixar films on this list that I did not see multiple times in the theaters. The fact that it really took a new life after I saw it again on DVD and then again repeatedly when it came to cable was unsurprising, nor should it have been surprising given that it was all about Paris, food, cooking, passion, love, and exceeding the expectations that are put upon a person by the place and position they come from.

The moral of this story can be whittled down to one phrase that is often repeated throughout the film, "anyone can cook!" What Brad Bird (genius of geniuses that also created the most underrated animated film EVER in The Iron Giant) meant by that is, as his brilliant villain/proprietor/critic creation Anton Ego (voiced by the incredible Peter O'Toole) states at the end of the film, "not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere." Sometimes the greatest artists can come in strange forms, whether it's a rat that cooks or a writer from Alaska (I kid, I kid!), it doesn't matter. That this movie conveys that in such a touching and funny fashion is surprising, even for Pixar. Also, bonus point for casting Patton Oswalt as Remy, the rat in question. Pixar is well known for churning out elite performances from smaller named actors in their leads, and Oswalt is one of their all time greatest.


7. Shaun of the Dead (Directed by Edgar Wright, written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright - 2004)

This movie was without a doubt the greatest example of its genre of this decade, and quite possibly of all time. That it's the only example of a romantic zombie comedy ever (or rom-zom-com as some call it) helps, but even without that this is an achingly funny, devilishly charming, and often scary film and one of my favorite movies of this decade. This movie is the brain child of the same team who brought us the Britcom Spaced, with Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg co-writing and Pegg with his cohort Nick Frost starring, and it takes all the promise of that show and capitalizes on it, without bringing any of the negatives that brought that show down.

In fact, I would be remiss if I didn't mention this: this movie is movie that gave this blog its name. When Shaun (Pegg) and Ed (Frost) are discussing what plan they should follow to survive the zombie apocalypse, Shaun comes up with the plan of plans and follows it with a triumphant "now how's that for a slice of fried gold?" (that Frost responded with a "YEAHHHH BOYEEEEE!" is inconsequential) set the ball in motion for this blog to be named. This is not here because of that. This is just one of the funniest movies of the decade, and quite possibly my favorite zombie movie of all time. In case you didn't know it, I am a man who likes his zombies.


6. The Dark Knight (Directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan - 2008)

I feel like I'll catch some flak for this. When it first came out, I was very positive about it but still had reservations. As time went on I started backlashing against this film because frankly, I thought people were massively overrating it. It was good, but it wasn't that good.

Well, I have a confession to make.

The Dark Knight really is that good.

After seeing it just once in the theater, I picked it up on Blu Ray and greatly enjoyed it. Then when it came to cable I realized something...holy crap, this movie has insane replay value. It gets better and better with each viewing. You start to notice the power of Aaron Eckhart's performance, the thoughtful brooding of Christian Bale, how much better Maggie Gyllenhaal really is than Katie Holmes, how intensely awesome this story is...you name it. This is the perfect comic book movie, in that it exists in the supposition that this isn't a comic book world, this is the real world with comic book things happening within it. Batman isn't some goofy protector of the night, he's a man standing up for what is right. Two-Face isn't some maniacal monster who kills as he pleases, he's a man haunted who is looking for retribution against those who took his greatest love away.

Best of all, the Joker isn't some clown prince who just wants to make the world laugh (while killing it of course). He's not a criminal based around the collection of money or power, he's someone who is just out to watch the world burn. In many ways, he's the evolution of the terrorist or the criminal, he's the Anton Chigurh to Anton Chigurh. The way Heath Ledger carefully crafts this character is just so dedicated and intense that he is the Joker, as scary as that seems. Not only should Ledger have won the Oscar for this, I'd be hard pressed to name a performance I was more blown away by ever, not just this decade.

This isn't a comic book movie. This is a nuanced crime film by one of the master filmmakers of today, with all of the power and intensity that Bob Kane and Bill Finger ever could have imagined for a Batman story when they first created him in 1939. Utterly brilliant, and I reserve the right to eventually move this movie up a few notches as the years pass.

Favorite Movies of the Decade: 15 - 11

Today brings us round 3 of the favorite movies section of my Slices of Fried Gold: The Decade Edition project. So far, I've unveiled numbers 25 through 16 in my list, with today bringing us to 15 through 11. An interesting list, and one that brings us two Danny Boyle and Alex Garland collaborations, two animated films, and one story of the single greatest news anchor that has ever lived. An intriguing trio if I do say so myself.

Before we get started, here are links to day 1 and day 2 of this, and below is the list to date.

25. Up
24. In Good Company
23. In Bruges
22. Everything is Illuminated
21. The Departed
20. Wall-E
19. Snatch
18. About a Boy
17. The Constant Gardener
16. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring


15. Sunshine (Directed by Danny Boyle, written by Alex Garland)

Sunshine is a bizarre film in many ways. Chiefly, its effortless genre-hopping is very rare to see, and it is especially rare to see any semblance of success with this. This film starts out as a dreamy sci-fi film, edges into 2001 style psychological space film, and then moves into Event Horizon class horror thriller by the very end, yet never sacrifices quality throughout. Even at the very end, we're given a curveball, a haunting and completely gorgeous curveball, but a curveball no less.

The fact that this film is very difficult to pinpoint save the grand umbrella of sci-fi is not lost upon me, but however you classify it this is an out and out success. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland once again collaborated to form a brand new take on a tired genre to give us a memorable, beautiful, and chilling sci-fi flick about saving humanity from the sun burning out. The cast is a top to bottom standout, with the standout being the surprising Chris Evans, breaking out from his Human Torch past to steal every scene he's in as the enigmatic and passionate Mace. Throw in brilliant camera work from Alwin Kuchler and another stellar score from John Murphy (with help from Underworld), and this is perhaps the best straight sci-fi film of the decade.


14. Howl's Moving Castle(Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki - 2004)

While many would choose Miyazaki's own Spirited Away as his greatest film of the decade (and who could blame him? it's a stellar film), I prefer his work on Howl's Moving Castle. Howl's is a story of two highly disparate people - of a cursed young woman named Sophie, pushed into old age prematurely by a vile witch and off to find the great and insecure young wizard Howl to cure her ills. Howl is a haunted man, and a man who is slowly but surely cruising along a path of self-destruction. Somewhat predictably though, both find resolution to their problems in each other.

But this film is no predictable romance. This is a story of many wondrous things, whether it be a home that travels on its own legs, a talking flame, hilarious young proteges, evil witches, and completely gorgeous vistas as illustrated by the master Miyazaki himself. Miyazaki is one of the only hand drawn animators going today (in terms of feature length films), and if I were other animators, I would have gotten out of the game as well. The detail and power he gives his illustrations are unmatchable, with John Lasseter (the king of Pixar) perpetually stating that Miyazaki-san is one of the greatest influences upon their work at Pixar. This is perhaps the finest example of his career, the most prominent jewel upon a most glorious crown, and an utterly brilliant addition to a unparalleled resume.


13. Anchorman (Directed by Adam McKay, written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay - 2004)

Comedy is often a genre that people do not know how to rate properly. They're often discounted for being occasionally non-sensical, often completely absurd, frequently juvenile, and some would even say infantile. Anchorman is, without a doubt, all of these things. Yet it also is the single funniest movie I've ever seen, and the most effortlessly quotable movie to have come out of the decade. Whenever Will Ferrell releases a movie, he's trying to recapture the magic that came from this movie, but quite frankly, it's impossible.

It's science.

Whenever you combine the most precious of elements of film into one brilliant comedy filled with improvisation and genius, which, in this case, means Will Ferrell (I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal), Paul Rudd (60% of the time, it works every time), David Koechner (when this is all said and done we should get an apartment together), Steve Carrell (I love lamp!), Vince Vaughan (Dorothy Mantooth is a saint!), Jack Black (that's how I roll), and many many more. This is basically the greatest example of comedic synergy ever, and it will be difficult to find a movie that makes me laugh harder more consistently.


12. Finding Nemo (Co-directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, written by Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds - 2003)

Another example of Pixar brilliance, with this one being the under the sea adventures of a clown fish (Albert Brooks) and his moderately obnoxious travel partner (Ellen DeGeneres) as they try to make it all the way to Australia to rescue his son. While it's frequently simply a hilarious romp, it also packs the emotional power that we've grown accustomed to from Pixar. This isn't just an under the sea buddy comedy, this is a tale about being a father and being a son. This is about the lengths you're willing to go to save your family. It's emotional dynamism makes it high on the totem pole of Pixar's successes.

The fact that it is also hilarious, has some of the best voice acting in Pixar history, and that Thomas Newman absolutely brings it on the score is all the better. This really proved that Pixar could really do anything, as they imbued these aquatic creatures with more life and vitality than most live action filmmakers could ever hope to accomplish.


11. 28 Days Later (Directed by Danny Boyle, written by Alex Garland - 2002)

After bursting upon the scene in 1996 with Trainspotting, Danny Boyle hit a cold spell. He was starting to look like a flash in the pan after most hated A Life Less Ordinary (I love that movie though) and The Beach, but with this film Boyle came back onto the scene. With three other massive successes in the Best Picture winning Slumdog Millionaire, the previously talked about Sunshine, and Millions, Boyle in many ways was one of the most successful directors of the decade. However, this film really is what got it started, as Boyle turned the genre of zombie horror on its head with one simple alteration: fast zombies.

While that was a huge change in its own right, the fact that he paired this original turn with a powerful story of a lost man finding a new family and trying to protect that family in a horrible situation is all the more incredible. While George Romero effectively brought the zombie genre to the forefront with his Living Dead series, Boyle was one of the first directors to layer the film with actual terror and emotional resonance ever. A lot of that came from the script for Garland, the stellar lead performances (namely Cillian Murphy and Brendan Gleeson), and an utterly original and haunting score by John Murphy. All in all though, it's one of the best examples of a genre that is increasing in popularity with each passing decade.

Favorite Movies of the Decade: 20 - 16

Day 2 of my favorite movies of the decade list (for my Slices of Fried Gold: The Decades Edition) is upon us, with today breaking down my 20th to 16th favorite films of the decade. Before we go to that here is a link to numbers 25 through 21 and see below for what preceded this list:

25. Up
24. In Good Company
23. In Bruges
22. Everything is Illuminated
21. The Departed


20. Wall-E (Directed by Andrew Stanton, written by Stanton, Pete Docter and Jim Reardon - 2008)

Pixar, as I said in my breakdown of Up, is the apex of filmmaking in the 2000’s. While some filmmakers may have had higher highs than Pixar, there is no company that is more automatic in terms of quality than Pixar. Of course, even for them Wall-E is an enigma. This is a movie that is effectively silent for the entire first act, has a protagonist whose primary goals in life are to make cubes of trash, find weird knick knacks, and to hold someone’s hand, and basically a pretty obvious statement about humanity’s mass consumerism and overconsumption. Oh yeah, and the perception is it’s a children’s movie.

When Pixar is involved you should always expect the unexpected, as this film may be serious at times but it is every bit as entertaining a romp as any of their other films to date. Wall-E, the incredibly likeable robot protagonist, is another pantheon level character for Pixar, delivering as much emotion with slight sounds and mannerisms as the best actors today can with an intense love monologue. Not only that, but Thomas Newman provides a completely brilliant score to this film, as the music involved with this is a very important aspect throughout (especially the excerpts from musical “Hello Dolly!”). While everything about this movie is a bit out of the ordinary (and strangely hasn't stood up to repeat viewings as well as other Pixar flicks have), it’s hard to argue that this is one of the best, and most unconventional, love stories of the decade.


19. Snatch (Written and directed by Guy Ritchie - 2000)

When this movie first came out, I saw it in theaters with my mom. We were both big fans of Guy Ritchie’s first movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and were very excited for this. That was a Friday. By the end of the weekend, I’d seen it three times, twice more with my friends (who also love this). While Lock, Stock was incredible in its own right, Snatch really was the culmination of Ritchie’s incredibly stylish and massively entertaining British gangster flicks. While he’s returned to form with RocknRolla to a certain degree, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll make something that is as sprawling, hilarious, and deliciously dirty as this ever again.

Ritchie’s style really brings a lot to this flick, as his quick cutting was still fresh back in 2000, his sprawling soundtrack that touches on many genres and era’s but always entertains, and biting and quotable script really form the backbone of this movie. It helps that he had an incredible cast to lean upon, with Benicio Del Toro, Jason Statham (minus kung fu, plus gangster charisma), Rade Šerbedžija, Vinnie Jones (“he…dodges bullets Avi…”), and Dennis Farina bringing the awesome throughout. They all pale in comparison to Brad Pitt in this movie though. Pitt plays a pikey bare-knuckle boxer named Mickey who speaks in an intense accent that is as ridiculous as you’ll likely ever hear, and Pitt gives the performance a level of gusto and hilarity that makes him steal every scene he’s in. Hell, he’s the only performance that features a laugh that is quotable (or at least I try to). An incredibly entertaining crime flick that somehow gets better with additional viewings.


18. About a Boy (Written and directed by Paul and Chris Weitz, co-written by Peter Hedges – 2002)

About a Boy is my favorite Nick Hornby adaptation of the decade (of which there were many, with Fever Pitch and High Fidelity also joining the ranks), and while it is another film that isn’t anything technically incredible, there is something to be said about a film that is so effortlessly charming and so emotionally true. While there are many reasons for this movie being so exceptional (Badly Drawn Boy’s delightful soundtrack, an exceptional supporting cast, a funny and surprising script), the two biggest reasons are the two protagonists: Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult.

Hugh Grant plays Will, a romantic lead who for once is completely and utterly despicable. He goes to meetings for single parents to pick up women (he even invents a child), he takes on a kid so he can pretend even better, and even defers from being a friend’s daughter’s Godfather, as he readily admits he’s likely to shag her when she turns 18. The kid he takes on is Marcus (Hoult), an awkward kid without real friends and with a depressed mother who recently tried to kill herself. This pair ends up being quite perfect, as Will (effortlessly cool, through and through) helps Marcus learn how to be comfortable in his own skin and to help repair his family life, while Marcus teaches Will how to be a decent person who doesn’t lie to build relationships. Their relationship is the core of the film, and allows it to be the heartwarming charmer it could have been.


17. The Constant Gardener (Directed by Fernando Meirelles, written by Jeffrey Caine - 2005)

This is where I have to admit a horrible, horrible truth about myself: I’ve never seen Meirelles’ film City of God. City of God is one of the most well reviewed films of the decade and the 17th highest rated film in IMDB’s top 250, but for some reason I’ve never seen this Brazilian stunner. Yet, I have seen Meirelles’ follow up The Constant Gardener, and it is a stylish and deeply emotional film, filled with power, politics and intrigue through and through. This film is told in a non-linear style that allows this film to avoid being a downer and instead slowly build the emotional power, developing the relationship between the two leads (a husband and wife played by Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes) while simultaneously having Fiennes slowly but surely unravel the mystery of Weisz’s death, and the unfortunate circumstances that surround it.

While Weisz is the one who received the Oscar for this film (deservedly so, she’s utterly entrancing while on screen), it’s Fiennes who gives a career performance in this film. His Justin Quayle is a devastated wreck, desperate to find the truth wherever he can and becoming more and more distraught as he gains more wisdom. The relationship between Fiennes and Weisz is one of the most organic and touching ones of the decade, as the scenes that are weaved into his search form the emotional backbone of this incredibly powerful film. Combine that with a tale of deceit and real world meaning, and you have another incredibly underrated film from this decade.


16. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Directed by Peter Jackson, written by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh – 2001)

The Lord of the Rings trilogy was one of the most epic undertakings of the decade, as it was a huge risk by all involved. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent, a lengthy and robust tale of fantasy told, and an uncertain (but large) fan base confronted this series, but thanks to Peter Jackson, Howard Shore, and a very talented cast this film showed that they had nothing to fear from the beginning. Some prefer the more action oriented Two Towers or the finale Return of the King (the Academy definitely did), but not I. Fellowship of the Ring captured the spirit of the series best, pairing lighthearted fun, big adventure, intense action, tight pacing, and a joy that was often missing from the last two installments. Pound for pound, this was the best in my mind, and that’s saying something from this powerhouse trilogy. I’d go more into detail about this film, but pretty much every and their mother (mine loves it) has seen this series. Rest assured though, it is worth all the accolades that were placed upon it.

Favorite Movies of the Decade: 25 - 21

For my second run of my Slices of Fried Gold: The Decade Edition special, I'm now onto Favorite Movies of the Decade - note the usage of "favorite" instead of "best" here. As some have discussed, this was not the strongest decade of movies, as in many ways it was surpassed by television in terms of being a dramatic visual medium. Yet, there is still a ton of good that came from this decade and it was a unique one (at least for me) in that animated film was the dominant genre for the decade. In fact, between Studio Ghibli and Pixar, you could make a pretty damn amazing top 10 for the decade.

No less, before we get started there are a few notes I want to make. As with the music list I did recently, there is weighting towards those that exhibit longevity. In fact, movies are something I really add value to if it stands up when I watch it again. Sadly, this works both ways as a number of movies that I loved at first don't work as well on later viewings. With all that said, onto the just missed list and then on to numbers 25 to 21.

Last cuts: Gladiator, Monsters Inc., Super Troopers, No Country for Old Men, Signs, Spirited Away, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Serenity, Goodbye Lenin!, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban


25. Up (Written and directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson – 2009)

The last spot was down to Up and The Big Lebowski, and it was a tough decision. Given my emphasis on rewatchability, the fact that I put a movie from 2009 on the list is kind of crazy. How am I supposed to know whether or not this movie is rewatchable eternally, even if I have seen it three times in theaters, especially given the fact that it is up against the fearsome competition of Lebowski, which features one of the all time greatest protagonist in Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski. It’s pretty easy actually…Up is just so damn uplifting, funny and emotionally resonant that it is impossible to ignore. If I was going just off how I feel now, I would likely put this near the top. However, film is a medium that demands time to marinate. Sometimes you love movies at first (Slumdog Millionaire, Garden State) to find out later that they simply do not compute as well on later viewings.

But Up, of all films, is one that I feel confidently in the fact that it will stand up to the test of time. Pete Docter and Bob Peterson craft a truly original film that creates some of the all time greatest characters in the pantheon of Pixar. In fact, that helps greatly in my confidence that this will be rewatchable – as you will see on this list, Pixar defined this decade greater than any other creator(s) out there. They are the gold standard of film today, and as it stands right now I’d be hard pressed to pick a better movie in their history than Up.


24. In Good Company (Written and directed by Paul Weitz - 2004)

In Good Company is not going to go down as one of the best movies of the decade on nearly any list out there. Thankfully this is a favorite movie list, not a best movie list, so that factor never comes into play. I think the biggest reason why I love this movie so much is the fact that it is completely rewatchable (its strange charm never wears thin), the soundtrack is incredibly underrated (the Shins are repeatedly featured, including my favorite track by them), and, most of all, Topher Grace’s performance as Carter Duryea is fantastic. Not only that, but I see a lot of myself in Carter, as he is a young marketing professional struggling to find his identity in life and to figure out what he really wants, not just what he should want. Just like me.

Grace does a wonderful job of making the corporate latter climbing and somewhat toolish Duryea not just likeable, but relatable. In many ways, it’s like seeing myself up on the screen, as I am torn by a dichotomy of life goals – standard, career oriented success or finding happiness in life itself. Throw in the fact that I also hooked up with my older subordinate’s busty college age daughter, and it’s like David Harper: Biography on screen. Okay, maybe that last part is untrue, but I can say besides that aspect, I’ve connected with very few roles as well as I have this one. A unique trait to be had, and something that really takes this movie to the next level for me.


23. In Bruges (Written and directed by Martin McDonagh - 2008)

Discussions about when you can punch women. Insulting hefty American tourists. Karate chopping little people that are under the influence of cocaine. Debates about the value of visiting a place such as Bruges. Shootouts in European cities. Figuring out whether or not alcoves is the word you are ooking for. Settling the debate as to who would win in a fight: the blacks or the whites.

These are but a few of the things that take place within Martin McDonagh’s film In Bruges, which is an uproarious and incredibly touching film that came out of nowhere to become an absolute powerhouse favorite of mine. I loved it when I first saw it, but now that it’s come onto cable I’ve made the realization that this is one of the most bizarrely quotable movies of the decade, mostly thanks to McDonagh’s script and bravura performances from Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. In fact, you could make the argument that this is far and away the best performance of Farrell’s career, as he not only delivers some of the most hilarious lines with uncanny timing and glee, but he also provides the emotional core of the film as the haunted hitman coming off a botched first job. Surprisingly powerful and entertaining throughout, In Bruges is one of the more underrated gems of the 00’s.


22. Everything is Illuminated (Written and directed by Liev Schreiber) - 2005

Before this film, Liev Schreiber had existed eternally as one of the most recognizable “that guy’s” out there (to take a play from Bill Simmons’ extensive book). When he took the leap to writer/director with this adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s memoir, it was with much uncertainty. Yet he proved that we had little to fear, as his deft direction makes this as beautiful a film visually as it is emotionally, depicting how the past in all forms is not something we can hide from and the unique bond that could form between a trio of very disparate people and a dog named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.

While the performance of Elijah Wood as Foer is very strong for what it is (reserved, meek outsider who is searching for something), the true powerhouse performances in this are from Gogol Bordello’s lead singer Eugene Hutz as the freshest guy in Ukraine Alex and Boris Leskin as his grandfather. These two performances cover opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, with the former performance being a textured and very funny comedic performance, and the latter being a quietly eccentric and deeply affecting emotional performance. Both are extremely unique performances, and in many ways ascend to the levels of lead by the very end. While it starts out as a journey for Foer, what this film ends up being is something entirely different. A beautiful, charming, and emotional film that is very underrated.


21. The Departed (Directed by Martin Scorcese, written by William Monahan - 2006)

Oddly enough the only Best Picture Oscar winner on my entire list and one of only two nominees for that illustrious category that make my top 25, but this was one that was very difficult to ignore. This film found legendary director Martin Scorcese on his A game, an incredibly talented and deep cast (when Jack Nicholson is your weakest link, you know it’s a pretty strong cast), and a script that is laden with intrigue and double crosses at every corner.

It is fairly evident from its pedigree as to why it could have been a good movie, but the fact that everyone involved actually managed to pull it together to bring put together a cohesive narrative that is filled with enough tension to stress out the most calm and collected of viewers is pretty damn incredible. While everyone is superb in this film, the best two performances in this film come from Leonardo DiCaprio as undercover cop Billy Costigan (always in too deep but perpetually maintaining his cover against the greatest of odds) and Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg in particular does a lot with his limited amount of time, being the right hand man to Martin Sheen’s Captain Queenan, a perpetual thorn in the side of both DiCaprio and Matt Damon’s characters sides, and basically the most badass character ever simultaneously. A great performance in a film filled with them.

Favorite Albums of the Decade: Wrap Up

With my Slices of Fried Gold: The Decade Edition wrapped up for Albums, I'll be starting up on movies next, following that up with comics and TV shows shortly thereafter. I had grand intentions to do songs as well, but then I realized with three other categories coming up and wanting to do end of the year lists as well, it would be pretty much impossible unless I decided I wanted to quit my job to make lists about pop culture for a living (anyone hiring?).

However, before I move on from Albums of the Decade, just a few notes to make:

• 2007 had the most albums on the list with 9, while 2001 and 2003 tied for second with 7 albums each (2007 was not surprising - it was a crazy good year...2001 and 2003 were)
• Spoon had the most albums on the list with 3, and was one of only two bands to feature multiple albums (the other being Sigur Rós)
• Only one rap album (that made me sad)

Really not as diverse as I originally expected it to be, but it is what it is. It was still a lot of fun to do and it was pretty cool hearing from people what they thought was going to be number one. For the record, no one guessed it correctly.

Now on to other Decade lists! Movies will likely start the week of the 11th, so keep an eye out for that. If you are a fellow blogger and enjoyed my lists, feel free to link as you please!

Favorite Albums of the Decade: The Top Ten

The final day is upon us! We are now culminating this list that has taken five days to write and ten years to create. It really was a fun project for me to take pretty much everything I've listened to in the past decade and create a massive ranking system for everything in my mind. While it's not as scientific as it possibly should be nor is it as based on actual musical content as it likely should be (come on, I'm not a real music critic, nor did I claim to be), it is based around how I as a listener connected to all of it.

Ultimately, isn't that what we as listeners are supposed to judge music by?

If you want to check out the previous days, they're still up previously or you can click the links below:

- 50 through 41
- 40 through 31
- 30 through 21
- 20 through 11

50. Andrew WK - I Get Wet
49. The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
48. Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
47. Badly Drawn Boy - About a Boy Soundtrack
46. Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
45. M.I.A. - Kala
44. of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
43. Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
42. The Stills - Without Feathers
41. Cake - Comfort Eagle
40. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
39. The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
38. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
37. The 88 - Over and Over
36. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
35. Muse - Absolution
34. Cursive - The Ugly Organ
33. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
32. Phantom Planet - The Guest
31. Air - Talkie Walkie
30. Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground - Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground
29. Gorillaz - Gorillaz
28. Passion Pit - Manners
27. Radiohead - Kid A
26. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
25. Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things
24. Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist
23. The Thermals - Now We Can See
22. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
21. The Killers - Hot Fuss
20. Yann Tiersen - Amelie AND Good Bye Lenin! Soundtracks
19. The Postal Service - Give Up
18. Rufus Wainwright - Poses
17. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
16. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
15. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
14. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
13. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
12. The Strokes - Is This It
11. LCD Soundsystem - Sounds of Silver


10. Sigur Rós - Takk... (2005)

Recommended Track: Mílanó

Why I Love It: Recently I was looking at my breakdown of the best albums of 2005 I posted on my Myspace page (that's how you know it's old), and I saw this album barely making the top 10. This is what I said then:

They are always amazing, only in comparison with ( ) and Agaetis Byrjun does this album not stand out as much. It's more of the same from them, haunting, beautiful tracks full of lush soundscapes (I cannot believe I just wrote that), but with more sub-par tracks between their stunners. Sub-par for Sigur Rós is still some of the best music around though.

Yet unlike Sigur Rós's other albums, this one had a unique slow build design. While the album opens with opulent stunners like "Glósóli" and "Hoppípolla" that carried it onto my top 10 once upon a time, it's the new appreciation of quite possibly the most emotionally powerful song of their entire career in "Mílanó" that really solidified its place on my list.

Strangely enough, I never really appreciated like I do now until I was on a flight down to Seattle to go on a road trip with my wonderful friend Kellie just recently. As I sat there, the emotions I was going through became forever intertwined with that song. That really is the amazing thing about music - each song could mean different things to different people. To me, Mílanó is about hope. It's about excitement about the unknown. It's about beauty, and I think it will be that way for a long time. This album is full of tracks like that, which is why it deserves a spot in my top 10.


9. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals (2008)

Recommended Track: It's Girl Talk, just turn it on (this is not a track)

Why I Love It: Girl Talk is an artist unlike any other artist out there. I mean, Gregg Gillis was working as a tissue/biomedical engineer until 2007 when he decided that he'd rather throw dance parties for a living as Girl Talk. How cool is that? What Gillis does though is essentially combining snippets of pop tracks throughout the years (particularly rap and rock) to create original songs made entirely out of samples. What resulted from this work is an album that, in my mind, is the single greatest party album and the single greatest workout album ever made. Don't believe me? Have a party. Play this album. You'll have people coming up to you asking who it is within minutes. For that matter, run on a treadmill a few times while listening to this, and then try running to anything else. It's pretty much impossible (as my friend Joanne can corroborate).

While I also love his album Night Ripper, it didn't seem right to have two Girl Talk albums on the list. This one is undeniably better than Night Ripper (or at least to me), and while there is no real emotional connection to this album, the fact that whenever I hear it I want to party or work out is something incredible in itself. Quite the Pavlovian response, isn't it?


8. Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (2002)

Recommended Track: Vittorio E

Why I Love It: Three Spoon albums in my top 50? Well, to those who know me this should really not be much of a surprise. Spoon has been one of my favorite bands for most of the decade, and this is the first of their albums I ever listened to. Not even really sure why I first started listening to this (I'm going to blame this one on Sobo again), but once I did I was completely hooked. From the first drum beats and keyboard riffs on "Small Stakes", I could tell this was going to be an experience unlike any one I'd ever experienced before. It belongs to a small list of albums that shaped my musical taste to where it is today - more adventurous, more sporadic, more fun.

Plus any album that can have a beat derived from someone going "mm ah, mm mm ah", something that can cause a continuous discussion of where exactly the laugh on "Back to the Life" came from, or can pull an emotional response simply from the strumming of a guitar like they do on "Vittorio E" has to be a damn good one. This is Spoon at their most soulful, the most tuneful, and in my opinion at their very best.


7. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)

Recommended Track: Wake Up

Why I Love It: Oddly enough, the first time I ever listened to this album was on a cold, wintry night when I was back for winter break from college. I had just picked this album up after the deafening hype had become too much for me to ignore, and I was waiting for my parents to have dinner at my favorite restaurant Lucky Wishbone. I popped the CD in, opened up the liner notes and read the lyrics and was cast away into a different place. I had only heard "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" before this listen, but as soon as I heard the soft twinkles of the piano and the strumming of guitar on "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" I knew I was in for a treat.

For the next week or so I listened to this album repeatedly, and I have to say, I'd like to thank Arcade Fire here. Back then, I was listening to far different music than I listen to now, and definitely music that was not "college radio friendly." I was filling out my application to be a DJ at the radio station at my college and I tend to think the inclusion of Funeral on my application as a recent album purchase was a big reason why I was picked up as a DJ. In that way, this album sculpted my listening habits more than anything as my time as a DJ at KUOI opened me to a whole new world of music.

Even without that, this album is completely brilliant and really one of those one of a kind albums a person always is looking for. Something you know when you're listening to it that this is something unlike everything you've heard before, and likely will after it. In that regard, this album is unquestionably one of the best of this decade.


6. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (2003)

Recommended Track: Gone For Good

Why I Love It: The Shins were another band that helped me discover a whole new world of music, and no, before you say it, it was not because of Garden State. I remember the first time I saw the music video for "So Says I" in my apartments at Jefferson St. in Moscow, Idaho, and while the video was completely absurd, but it was completely wonderful at the same time. I had to hear more. Shortly thereafter, I acquired this album and the rest was history.

While many albums have greater reasons for me liking them simply because they're simply well constructed pop gems, this one is not one of those. From the very beginning, I knew that this diverse, bizarre and completely engrossing albums was one of the best I'd ever heard, as James Mercer and co. even made me appreciate Steel Guitars and what could easily be labeled as a near-country ditty with my favorite song by the Shins - "Gone for Good." A band that can make me appreciate country stylings? Now that's a damn good band.


5. Sigur Rós - Agaetis Byrjun (2001)

Recommended Track: Olsen Olsen

Why I Love It: First off, I want to note that depending on your source this album possibly should not be on this list. It was released in Iceland only in 1999, but was not released in North America until 2001. The Top 13 Albums Project did not count it, but Paste Magazine did. Given that I like the answer Paste gave more, I will go with their answer (it's fun how that works, isn't it?).

No less, to explain why I love this album so much, I'm going to explain why I love the track "Olsen Olsen" so much first. I once had a discussion with my friend Sobo about this song, about how when I listened to it, I visualized Sigur Rós playing in a giant parade created by Hayao Miyazaki, with all kinds of Miyazaki like characters dancing and prancing about. I also said I could never really visualize what was at the front of the parade. Then one day, I found out my dog Benji had died, and I was completely distraught. As a tribute to my beloved lifelong pet, I talked about it on the air before I played this song on my radio show, about the parade, and how now when I hear it I think of Benji leading the parade. Ridiculous maybe, but that one segment led to more calls than I had ever received before as almost everyone knows what it's like to lose a pet.

It isn't a sad thing though, as I visualize it as a celebration of his life, sort of like Benji's own Big Fish ending. I touched on this before, but the interesting thing about Sigur Rós is that because it is in Icelandic (or Hopelandic in Olsen Olsen's case) and the music is so grandiose and beautiful, every song really takes on its own meaning for the listener. This album finds Sigur Rós at their most grandiose, their most beautiful, and because of that this album has the most meaning to me. That's saying something from one of my two or three favorite bands ever.


4. Gatsby's American Dream - Ribbons and Sugar (2003)

Recommended Track: Recondition, Reprogram, Reactivate

Why I Love It: Gatsby's American Dream, I will argue eternally, were one of the most criminally underrated bands ever. While they are the last remaining remnant of my once prodigious obsession with punk/emo business, their incredible talent allowed them to survive the culling of the herd (a musical survival of the fittest if you will). This album is my favorite album of their's by far, as it finds them trying to bring their unique blend of literary based storytelling to the world of technical rock, as they loosely based this album around George Orwell's Animal Farm (very, very loosely).

What you'll find different within their sound from the rest of their confederates is an ability to create a music that is seemingly completely absent of structure as they flow effortlessly from mini sections of song to the next. They do not follow the verse-bridge-chorus paradigm whatsoever. In fact, there is not a single chorus on this entire album. While this made it so major labels found them to be "unsignable" as they lament on later albums and in interviews, it endeared them to certain fans who expected a bit creativity and effort out of their music. This album finds them at their apex, as they had released enough albums to know what didn't work and they were not so jaded with the industry to bring down their desire to do what they love. While the band is no longer really in existence, they live on whenever I start listening to this album again. Still as fresh as it was when I first started listening to it, which is incredible given where they came from and the pressures from the industry they were faced with.


3. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup (2007)

Recommended Track: Nantes

Why I Love It: I've already spoken of the origins of Beirut and how incredible it is that this kid makes music so assured and so unique, thus I will need to take this synopsis a different direction. Thankfully, Zach Condon took this album an entirely different direction as well (Beirut goes to France!), thus making it easy.

Beirut is in many ways a skeleton key of when you try to combine music and the written word, as it fits into any given topic you'd like to write about and it is incredible to read to. Strangely enough, I didn't love Beirut as much as I do now until I sat down and read City of Ember (a freaking kids book!) while listening to this album and Gulag Orkestar. Something about Beirut's sound seemed to mesh in my brain with the steampunk visuals and bizarre dystopian future Ember provides the reader. From that point on though, it had created a monster, as this album escaped its simple pairing with a steampunk style book into Chuck Klosterman stories.

From there, it was only a matter of time before it started being played constantly in my car and on my iPod (as what is Klosterman but the written form of life?), and then a monster was born. According to my Last.FM profile, I've listened to Beirut more than anyone else since I started tracking my listening habits in 2005. 1,602 listens. The most amazing thing about that is that 1,498 of the listens came in the last 12 months. While it may be a bit strong to say this album that I've evidently only really been listening to for a year is my third favorite from the decade, I would disagree with that. It hit me like an infection, and once it got in my veins it became impossible to get rid of. Not only that, but I had no desire to do such a thing. Who would want to? It's freaking awesome, after all.


2. Anathallo - Floating World (2006)

Recommended Track: By Number

Why I Love It: The way I acquired this album was pretty entertaining. I had read a review online for it (not the Pitchfork destruction but the Absolute Punk lovefest), checked out a few tracks, and then decided I wanted to pick it up. I went to a few local stores and had absolutely no luck. Then I went to Barnes and Noble in Anchorage and looked around as a ridiculously cute employee of the store came over to ask me if I was finding what I was looking for (if I was smoother I would have responded with "I'm looking at her" instead of "Umm...Anathallo's Floating World, but perhaps that is why I'm single). I informed her, and she looked a little shocked. She asked me to follow, walked behind the counter and grabbed it from the holds section. I said "I can't take this, it isn't my copy." She said she had ordered it for herself on a whim (*swoon*), but that I could have it (*double swoon*). I begrudingly accepted, and the rest is history (I later came in and told her it was awesome. She of course wondered who the hell I was).

One listen to this album and you can tell that this is a group who absolutely loves making music and has a deep love for everything that they do. It's as if they're the world's best marching band and the world's best choir fused into one brilliant collection of musicians, and then they released an album that is deeply influenced by Japanese folklore and that same deep love for life. That may sound like something completely insane. More than likely, it sounds like something you can't even imagine. That's because there really hasn't been a lot of albums like this. This is the definitive album for the "wait, this is too hard to explain...just try it" approach. Floating World is some of the most beautiful and intelligent and invigorating music I've ever heard (plus it has the best album art ever created), and I often wish more people would try it out. You'd love it if you gave it a chance.


1. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala (2007)

Recommended Track: Kanske Är Jag Kär I Dig

Why I Love It: Alright, I'll pause this for a second to give my mom a second to pick her jaw up from the floor.

We all good Mom?

Okay.

So how in the hell did Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala end up being my favorite album of the decade? This is an album I at one point described to my mom (on one of my very early listens) as a Japanese man at a really cheesy karaoke place. How could that translate to being my favorite album?

Well, strangely enough, it all ties back into that karaoke statement. That's part of the reason why Lekman is just so awesome. No album that was released this decade could match this one in terms of infectiousness, glee inducing moments, and sheer joy, and that's because Lekman loves what he does just as much as that Japanese man at the cheesy karaoke place does. Every thing about this album is about love, whether it is Lekman sharing what his first kiss was like ("And I Remember Every Kiss"), his love for his lesbian fake girlfriend ("A Postcard to Nina"), or how hysterically awkward his love makes him ("Kanske Är Jag Kär I Dig"), it all comes back to love and his emotional connection to the women in his life. To a young man whose life was forever changed by Moulin Rouge! and way too many romantic comedies, there is a huge point of connection there.

Not only that, but Lekman's lyrical prowess is almost unheard of. Partially because they're so good I have to pay attention, and a big part of it is because of the way he uses lyrics in actual realstic ways to describe situations and tell stories. For example, this little bit from "Kanske Är Jag Kär I Dig" (kills me):

"I saw on a TV about this little kid/who had a big for a pet/his mom had once been attacked by a dog/so a pig was the closest thing he could get/this of course has nothing to do with anything/I just get so nervous when I'm talking to you/all I think about every day is just kissing you/An old feeling that feels refreshingly new"

The amazing thing about those lyrics is instead of simply stating that he gets awkward and nervous around the girl (which he does later), he gives an example of the type of thing he says to a girl he is into. Something so gloriously mundane and refreshingly insipid that you wouldn't think anyone would ever share that they had thought it, let alone said it. Lekman's unflinching honesty and laugh out loud hilarity is abundant on this album, but no more evident than on "Kanske Är Jag Kär I Dig", a track that means "Maybe I'm in Love With You" and is a glorious modern day take on doo wop that allows me to live my dream of being a backup singer for a Motown band every time I drive around listening to it.

I adore every aspect of this album. Whether it's Jens Lekman the lyricist, Lekman the vocalist...it doesn't matter. Every time I listen to this album I'm transported to another place, a better place where every day is sunny and there is never a reason to stop smiling. I cannot think of a single better reason to name this album my favorite of the decade.

Favorite Albums of the Decade: 20-11

The second to last day of my best albums of the decade count down is here, with just the final 20 remaining. Before we start that, a recap of the list so far (you can see 50 through 41 here, 40 through 31 here, and 30 through 21 here):

50. Andrew WK - I Get Wet
49. The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
48. Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
47. Badly Drawn Boy - About a Boy Soundtrack
46. Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
45. M.I.A. - Kala
44. of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
43. Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
42. The Stills - Without Feathers
41. Cake - Comfort Eagle
40. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
39. The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
38. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
37. The 88 - Over and Over
36. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
35. Muse - Absolution
34. Cursive - The Ugly Organ
33. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
32. Phantom Planet - The Guest
31. Air - Talkie Walkie
30. Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground - Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground
29. Gorillaz - Gorillaz
28. Passion Pit - Manners
27. Radiohead - Kid A
26. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
25. Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things
24. Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist
23. The Thermals - Now We Can See
22. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
21. The Killers - Hot Fuss


20(tie). Yann Tiersen - Amelie Soundtrack and Good Bye Lenin! soundtrack (2001 and 2003)

Recommended Track: Summer 78 (Instrumental)

Why I Love It: While I love both of these films quite a bit (maybe my two favorite foreign films), oddly enough I did not love either of them until I loved the wonderful music Yann Tiersen created for both of them. I had seen Amelie before and liked it just fine, but one day I was having coffee with my sister at Kaladi Brothers when I was blown away by the music they were playing. It turned out to be the soundtrack to Amelie, and after near constant listening to that soundtrack for a few weeks, I tried the movie again and loved the film deeply.

After that I started listening to everything Tiersen had made, but I especially enjoyed his soundtrack to the German film Good Bye Lenin!, which eventually transitioned into me trying and loving the film itself. The reason why the scores Tiersen created work so well is that he created the perfect audio synthesis of every bit of power and emotion these films create on the screen. When I hear the Good Bye Lenin! soundtrack, I imagine the statue of Lenin floating through downtown Berlin in front of Alex's mother. When I hear the Amelie soundtrack, I imagine Amelie Poulain skipping stones or excitedly meddling in someone else's life.

They may only be instrumentals, but they pack every bit of emotion that any other music has in this decade. All that is thanks to Tiersen's brilliance as a musician and as a composer.

And yes, I cheated by including two albums in one slot.


19. The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)

Recommended Track: The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

Why I Love It: The first time I heard this album was when my friend Brian and I had just returned from a weekend trip to go see Radiohead and a Drive Thru Records tour showcase. Our roommate Sobo was blasting this album, and I excitedly wondered what it was. "It's the Postal Service!" he said as I gleefully smiled to what I called the Nintendo style beats of "Nothing Better" and "Brand New Colony." Sure enough, I ended up loving this collaboration of Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard (titled the Postal Service because they made the entire album by mailing tracks back and forth to each other). It's electro pop at its finest, as it transplanted Gibbard's (of Death Cab for Cutie fame) vocals onto lush, dreamy soundscapes created by Tamborello.

Simply listening to it reminds me of college and a time where my best friends were never more than a walk down the hall away from me. In that way, it may mean more to me than it does to others. Either way, it's hard to argue that it isn't a wonderful album.


18. Rufus Wainwright - Poses (2001)

Recommended Track: Evil Angel

Why I Love It: I cannot wait for my mom to read this. I'm not even sure how I acquired this album (I think it came from Sobo as well), but at some point in college I started listening to Wainwright's track "Evil Angel" and was completely blown away. Yet it took my mom's insistence that the track "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" was incredible for me to really give the album a listen, and sure enough I was completely blown away. This album tends to see debauchery as a primary theme, but that doesn't mean the method of delivery doesn't often verge on beautiful, operatic, and always epic and eloquent. Not to mention the fact that there is really something truly hysterical about driving around in your car attempting to belt out the lyrics nearly as well as Wainwright can.

You always fail, but damn...you have a really good time doing it.


17. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)

Recommended Track: Black Like Me

Why I Love It: Oh Spoon, how I love thee. This album is their most recent full length, and in many ways it's the apex of Britt Daniel and co.'s career as pop songwriters. Whether it's arguably their single biggest hit to date taking over radio airwaves for a while ("The Underdog"), the sheer pop power of "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb", or just the unbelievable melodies and rhythms (and soul!) found throughout this album, this is possibly their most cohesive and well crafted album to date.

Of course, in true Spoon form, they save their best for last as album closer "Black Like Me" slows it down a notch (akin to what "Vittorio E" does for Kill the Moonlight) but in many ways ups the sheer power of their music. Spoon works the best when allowed to best display their unique ability to infuse soul into their brand of indie rock. This track displays Britt Daniel's crooning as well as any they've made to date, and the instrumental arrangements perfectly highlights it, as if they knew this would be their concert closer for years to come. Another sharp moves by one of the top bands in the world.


16. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (2007)

Recommended Track: Dark Matter

Why I Love It: When I listen to this album, it upsets me greatly that I spent almost the entirety of Andrew Bird's set at Bumbershoot 2007 double fisting beer and having a wild time with Amy, Jason and Hannah. Then I realize, damn, I had a fantastic time. But still, Andrew Bird is one of the most absurdly talented musicians out there today, as he is a brilliant guitarist, violinist, and whistler (WHISTLER!) and can really lay down a stunning hook as well.

While some would choose Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs as Bird's contribution to the decade, I think this album as a whole is more cohesive as a whole. His ability to create unbelievable textures of sound really shows his abilities as both a songwriter and an instrumentalist, as he really knows how to properly pair and stack the arrangements to achieve the maximum emotional impact. Not only that, but for a guy who claims to write his lyrics to achieve the greatest melody possible, he sure can create some affecting and thought provoking lyrics (best example: "Do you wonder where the self resides...is it in your head or between your sides? Who will be the one who decides...its true location?" from Dark Matter). All in all, the best album from one of my favorite artists today.


15. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)

Recommended Track: Chicago

Why I Love It: If you're remotely familiar with the world of indie music, or for that matter have seen Little Miss Sunshine, you are likely quite familiar with Sufjan Stevens. This album was quite possibly the most critically acclaimed work I'd heard of since I started really paying attention to music, as it was as if critics wanted to form some sort of dogpile in the "album of the year" corner for this little collection. Of course, it turns out they were not hemming and hawing. It really is that good.

Sufjan has the unique ability to make his grandiose, orchestral music sound both intimate and personal, which is an ability few have (or can) achieve. This album highlights that skill as well as anything within his discography, as every track seems to have a new wonder hidden at every corner: choral background vocals here, trumpets there, nifty piano twinkles and handclaps anywhere and everywhere. Hell, there's even time for the occasional rousing guitar riff. As David circa 2005 said, his influences seem to range all over the board, touching on Duke Ellington, high school pep rallies, Death Cab for Cutie and the Peanuts theme song all on one album.

Nothing about this album is small: the sound, the song titles, the track listing, the supporting instrumentalists, you name it. But when you get down to it, this album works so well because Sufjan has such a singular vision of what he wanted this to be that he was unrelenting in making it happen. This is the result of that unerring decision making and a true talent in the music industry, and it deserves every bit of praise it has received.


14. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism (2003)

Recommended Track: Transatlanticism

Why I Love It: I feel as if Death Cab has received a little bit too much backlash through the years, as there was once upon a time that they were simply a band that made extremely touching music that often rocked and often whispered. To me, they've never really stopped being wonderful, as this album really was one that started pushing me in the direction of music that I currently exist in. Out of all of their albums, I think it best captures the Death Cab sound, as it is both adept at handling the slower, more touching moments ("Transatlanticism", "Tiny Vessels") and the more fun, rock side of the band ("The Sound of Settling", "Title and Registration"). While I don't love them as much as I did once upon a time, turning this album on, even for a few minutes, makes me realize why I loved them all over again.


13. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2008)

Recommended Track: M79

Why I Love It: Hello massive hype band...what are you doing here? What's that? You make amazing music that combines my favorite aspects of indie rock with Paul Simon's Graceland? Well, never mind then, it's obvious why I love you so much - that is just a fantastic combination.

Vampire Weekend really is a band that managed to transcend their hype band status because this album completely rules from beginning to end. I know it's a bit effortless to say, but it's true. From the first minute to the last, the guys of VW give us smooth jams paired with soulful vocals, sounding alternately a little bit like everything we've ever heard and nothing we've ever heard. That ability to alternately be familiar and fresh almost perfectly depicts why this is such a uniquely fantastic album, and part of the reason why I believe it will stand the test of time.


12. The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

Recommended Track: Is This It

Why I Love It: Once upon a time, I led off almost every mix CD I would give a girl with the opening track of this album, titled "Is This It." I really hadn't even thought about what it was about, I just knew it properly conveyed what I wanted to tell a girl (evidently all girls). Of course, I may have misjudged my song of choice, but that doesn't devalue the song, or the album for that matter.

The Strokes were, in many peoples minds, the beginning of the dreaded "garage" movement. Stripped down sound, lead singers who sound like they're kind of disinterested, intentionally lo-fi sounding production quality...that was the recipe to success for many bands after this album came out. Yet none could match the power of Is This It, and that is because none of these groups possessed the raw talent of the Strokes, as almost every person within this band has produced successful solo or other group material since.

This album is all of their highlight though, as it perfectly captures their sound. It's all driving rhythms, catchy hooks, and a sound that could be described in the same way you'd describe Julian Casablancas hair - stylishly desheveled. Whatever it is, it was a major turning point for my existence as a fan of music.


11. LCD Soundsystem - Sounds of Silver (2007)

Recommended Track: All My Friends

Why I Love It: Once upon a time, I greatly detested Pitchfork. I thought they were the type who mourned the death of music instead of basked in the brilliance that was being handed to us regularly. LCD Soundsystem was one of the few artists they hyped that I had heard, and I knew them as that group that did that song about Daft Punk playing at their house. What was that about anyways?

Of course, times change and now I not enjoy Pitchfork, and with this album I finally understood what there is to love about LCD Soundsystem and James Murphy. While the whole album is wonderful, just listening to the disgustingly brilliant track "All My Friends" shares everything you need to know about the album: driving, honest, invigorating, passionate, jubilant, and emotionally real. From a track that is effectively looped piano, drum machine, and a man telling the story of youth, you wouldn't think that is possible. Such is the power of James Murphy. Such is the power of Sounds of Silver.