Dear All

Hello again! It's been a long time and much has happened since my last letter, but rather that update you on my life so far I thought I would make my first letter of 2010 all about the music I loved during the 00s.

Every newspaper and music website has pronounced its own verdict on the decade that was and I am no different. I can't, however, copy Pitchfork and make a critical appraisal of the decade. Music is vital to my life, but it isn't my life and I could never pretend to have heard enough of a variety of music to make any comment on what is "best". What I can do instead is give you a sense of what moved me in the last 10 years - a kind of soundtrack to my life during this period. So here I present you my "top 30" albums of the 00s:

30 The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Blame Zach Braff and that lot for making The Shins so ubiquitous in the mid-00s that there was no escape, but I defy you not to have been moved at some point by James Mercer's lyrics. Chutes Too Narrow might have been the mainstream breakthrough success, but Wincing the Night Away's darker and more experimental sound (for The Shins) was a real treat for me in 2007.

29 Primal Scream - Exterminator
I came to Primal Scream in 1997 through a boyfriend who wooed me with mix tapes of songs from England. He gave me Primal Scream's Screamadelica and I gave him Sloan's One Chord to Another (we both did well out of this arrangement, methinks). Having been conned into thinking Screamadelica was typical of Primal Scream I was quite shocked and amazed when I heard Exterminator. Whereas the former makes you want to hug everyone the latter makes you want to inflict bodily harm. What amazed me further was how much I genuinely enjoyed such aggressive music (I'm about as aggressive as a donut). Not sure if it was a question of getting older or moving to a metropolis like London, but Exterminator arrived at exactly the right time for me.

28 Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine
My brother sneakily put You're A Woman, I'm A Machine on my iPod and I didn't realise it until Blood On Our Hands came up on shuffle while walking to London's King's Road - I woke up pretty darn quickly! Sexy, dangerous and empowering - what better accompaniment to the long runs along the Brighton seafront that were a staple of the 00s for me?

27 Buck 65 - Talkin' Honky Blues
Do you know what happens when you leave your home country? All of a sudden it gets cool .. very cool. While Buck 65 is unlikely to come to mind when you think of the great wave of exciting acts to come out of Canada in the 00s (Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene etc..) it isn't down to lack of talent. The difficult thing with Buck is that he's hard to pigeon-hole therefore succinct descriptions of his music are virtually impossible and I won't even attempt it here. What I will say is that Talkin' Honky Blues was a total revelation to me and continues to make me smile. Plus it reminds me of my childhood in the Maritimes which is no bad thing for a girl as homesick as me.

why, when I was a kid, playing in the ditches
living in fear of satan and the witches
the whole world was made of wood and smelled like gasoline
the days were at least twice as long and the grass was green.

463 from Talkin' Honky Blues

26 Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes
You would think a girl band from Brighton with retro frocks and funky specs (ok, one of them had cool specs) would be right up my alley and you're right. Unfortunately I didn't appreciate The Pipettes when they first came out, but upon being reminded of their existence last September I went back to them and am so glad I did. Scratch beneath the shiny cool exterior and you have razor sharp lyrics and a sound that will keep you moving (We Are the Pipettes is a firm favourite for my 5km runs). I'll be honest, I'm no Pipette and will never be so sassy but at least in listening to We Are the Pipettes I can at least pretend to be.

25 Great Lake Swimmers - Bodies and Minds
As mentioned above, a wave of cool music came out of Canada in the 00s and while Arcade Fire dominated in the music press and Feist was selling clothes for GAP I discovered a cool band called Great Lake Swimmers through Chris. Its calm beauty was just the tonic for how I was feeling in the mid-00s and I'll always remember sitting on the floor of the Glee Club in Birmingham with Chris, Nick and Matt watching the band play Bodies and Minds with a small handful of other awestruck fans. It was a special night. On a less sentimental note I'll also remember having a chat with the banjo player prior to the show where we joked about alternative uses for GLS tshirts. They play sweet sentimental music, but the still had a sense of humour.


24 Micah P Hinson - Micah P Hinson And the Gospel of Progress
Micah P Hinson fulfills virtually all of the prerequisites for being the subject of a country and western song. Drugs? Check. Bad relationship? Check. Homeless? Check. Out of all of that he produced several moving (though non-country and western) records of which Micah P Hinson and the Gospel of Progress was my favourite. As with Great Lake Swimmers, this genre of sad heartfelt music meant a great deal to me in the mid-00s and I've been a keen follower of Mr.Hinson's since then.

23 Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
Getting away from the heartfelt you get the heart-pumping music of Queens of the Stone Age. I will not lie and deny that part of my affection for this band lies in the uber-sexiness of Mr.Josh Homme (even if, in the words of my friend IB, he looks like a lorry driver). I am only human after all. I also like a good rock record and Songs for the Deaf delivers in spades. Micah P Hinson and Great Lake Swimmers are great for pausing to contemplate feelings of sadness and loss, but Queens of the Stone Age make you want to rush head first into all that is fast, dangerous and a bit scary.

22 Lambchop - Nixon
The early 00s were marked by the triumphant rise of all things Americana and I was thrilled. It was finally cool to like music that sounded vaguely country! Woo hoo! Bring on the banjos and slide guitars! Lambchop's Nixon was special to me for songs that were uniquely American in the most romantic and exotic sense.

21 Elliott Smith - Figure 8
I was never a die-hard Elliott Smith fan, but Figure 8 struck a nerve and is on this list if only for Somebody I used to Know

I had tender feelings that you made hard
But it's your heart, not mine, that's scarred
So when I go home, I'll be happy to go
You're just somebody that I used to know
You don't need my help anymore
It's all now to you, there ain't no before
Now that you're big enough to run your own show
You're just somebody that I used to know
I watched you deal in a dying day
And throw a living past away
So you can be sure that you're in control
You're just somebody that I used to know
I know you don't think you did me wrong
And I can't stay this mad for long
Keeping a hold of what you just let go
You're just somebody that I used to know

20 Junior Boys - So This is Goodbye
So you know that I'm not (just) into doom and gloom kind of music I will remind you of Junior Boys. Yes, some of the songs from So This is Goodbye are very sad, but others are rather dirty and just make you want to move. A musical companion for when you're sad and for when you're running - what more could I want?!

19 Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
For Emma, Forever Ago managed to live up to the hype surrounding it in 2008 and my love for this album was further confirmed when I saw Bon Iver perform it live at Scala. Not sure how I would feel if I were the muse for such a hauntingly sad record, but tough on her and yay for me who gets to listen to it.

18 Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
Folks have strong feelings about this young chap and I've been told in no uncertain terms that there is only ONE Bright Eyes album that could possibly be considered for the top 30 of the 00s and that one album isn't the one I chose. Sorry! I'm Wide Awake It's Morning was my introduction to Bright Eyes and, like all albums on this list, came along at just the right moment when my life had taken a new exciting turn and I was introduced to some wonderful people after a rather long spell of less than wonderful people. No doubt you'll have a different favourite, but I'll never forget how I felt upon hearing First Day of My Life for the first time and meeting folks who shared my love for it. :)

17 White Stripes - White Blood Cells
Music snob that I am, I have to admit that I derived a certain amount of pleasure from the fact that I fell for The White Stripes before the great music press told me I should. It may have only been seconds before the rest of the world caught on to them, but as a result of my speediness I managed to see them live at a small venue (Brighton's Concorde 2) and was further blown away. I can't say that I've felt any great need to follow their career in recent years as the singles have been sufficient, but White Blood Cells still has me singing (and dancing) along. Plus, if I were ever to change my views on marriage (and found someone .. you know .. to marry) then I would kind of like Hotel Yorba to be played at the reception (or during the ceremony itself?). :)

16 Richmond Fontaine - Post to Wire
If you read Uncut magazine in the 00s then you invariably know all about Richmond Fontaine. If you didn't then they may have passed you by which is a great shame, but you now have the opportunity to make up for lost time! In the same way that Lambchop can transport me from Brighton to the American south-west, Richmond Fontaine took me from London-by-the-sea to the seedy side of Nevada. Each song is a story of ordinary people trying to make a go of it and often being knocked back at every turn. I'll be honest, it was a relief in 2003 to hear about folks living way more fucked up lives than me. Plus, I highly recommend Willy Vlautin's book Motel Life which made my gut wrench the same way The Grapes of Wrath did.

15 Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
The upside of breaking up with the Big Ex is that my world expanded (it couldn't get any smaller!) and into the fold came some wonderful people who helped make the sweet triumph over the sour. On top of being such solid folks, they also happened to be MEGA cool and introduced me to many wonderful things including Okkervil River. You wouldn't think a gal would feel such affection for an album filled with songs about emotional turmoil and murder, but sometimes only sad painful (and murderous?) songs will do. Plus seeing Okkervil River play For Real at The Hanbury Ballroom in Brighton (2005) was a highlight of my entire concert-going life.

14 Brendan Benson - Lapalco
You may know him as the really really skinny dude from The Raconteurs, but in my humble opinion Brendan Benson is an important (and under-appreciated) singer-songwriter in his own right. He's written some of the most honest bitter songs about love and life that I've heard and I always return to Lapalco (and his subsequent album Alternative to Love) when my heart has taken a beating. They make a perfect antidote to the saccharine bullshit peddled by many of the "sensitive" male singer-songwriters of today. Add to that the fact that he's a great guitar player with a clear appreciation of power pop and 70s rawk and you've got music that gets you moving.

13 Interpol - Antics
Before I started this list I had a long chat with a fellow list-maker on the rules of list making. One of our rules was that the list had to reflect our own personal taste as opposed to a definitive list of what was truly "best" in the last decade. This made my life easier and liberated me from including Radiohead because I "should" (sorry!). The rule that made my life difficult was that an artist couldn't feature in the list more than once. This meant I had to make the hard choice between Brendan Benson's Alternative to Love and Lapalco and between Interpol's Antics and Turn on the Bright Lights. While Turn on the Bright Lights was a true revelation at the time and had me bouncing around my living room, it's also the record that Big Ex got custody of in the split and I later acquired Antics for myself. By virtue of being MY Interpol album leading to connections with new friends then it will always be special to me.

12 Strokes - Is This It
In the days before portable MP3 players I once rode the train from London to Glasgow armed only with a laptop and a CD single of Hard to Explain. The train died somewhere outside Carlisle and I listened to the Strokes the whole time. Sexy cool get-off-your ass music for one and all! What's not to love? I worried that it wouldn't age well, but all of these years later I get the same thrill when I hear it which is no mean feat.

11 Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
When the world gets crazy I regularly turn to Our Endless Numbered Days to soothe my mind (and heart usually). There was a time I couldn't go to sleep without this playing in the background. While this likely sounds like a back-handed compliment it is only meant to be a testament to it's calm beauty.

10 Kings of Convenience - Quiet Is the New Loud
I received Quiet Is the New Loud from a great friend with impeccable taste and when a guy I was interested in made a pun on the album name I knew he was a keeper. It's easy enough to like Kings of Convenience and no doubt they have fans who wouldn't ordinarily call themselves music lovers, but when someone shows a deep appreciation of their music I know I've met a kindred spirit. Like a more solemn and painful Endless Numbered Days, Quiet Is the New Loud has been a steady companion in times of sadness and uncertainty.

9 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind O/S
This may seem like an odd choice as soundtracks rarely make it high on these sorts of lists (unless, of course, you are referring to the classic Saturday Night Fever), but this is a rather special collection of songs. From Beck's cover of Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime to Jon Brion's theme to the film, you have a collection of songs that remind you of how you felt at various points in the film but also develop significance in their own right. I wouldn't have heartbreak without this album.

8 LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
There are many reasons why a person should appreciate LCD Soundsystem, but my fondness for the band goes beyond a simple appreciation of the music. They accompanied me when life started afresh in 2005 and I guess I've always seen them as being part of the soundtrack to Phase II of my life. Plus, how glorious to have a podgy, dorky guy fronting such a cool band! Finally cool music I could relate to!

7 Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel the Illinoise
Like most people I fell hook, line and sinker for Come On Feel the Illinoise!. How could you not? The premise of recording an album for each American state was ambitious, but could have easily resulted in mediocre songs weighed down by the theme. In the case of .. Illinoise!, you've got a collection of varied songs that only complement the theme rather than be weighed down by it. Plus, he made the banjo sexy again which isn't a bad thing at all.

6 Arcade Fire - Funeral
Holy crap this was a good record! It wakes you up, shakes the cobwebs out and makes you appreciate the beautiful cacophony of the myriad of instruments. It was like nothing I'd listened to before and incredibly refreshing. Note that the video in the link above is slightly pretentious twaddle which bears little resemblance to the energetic anthemic show they put on at Alexandra Palace in 2008. Such a video reminds me of a review I read on Midnight Poutine explaining how too much Dork Band music (in this case The Decemberists and Arcade Fire) can lead a person to yearn for "a band with tight pants and hard cocks". All I'll say is that it takes all sorts in a record collection from the tight pants and hard cocks (Queens of the Stone Age?) to Dork Bands like Arcade Fire.

5 Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
You may be wondering how I could include an album that was famous primarily for one song so high on my list. Well, you may have been fooled into thinking that THAT song was the only good one to come from PB&J, but I wasn't! I'll always have a soft spot for pop and Writer's Block is chock-a-block full of playful clever songs. PLUS, having seen them live 3 times I've always been impressed by how inventive they are live. Final reason? My first PB&J gig was also the first date with a guy I really liked. :) See! It's not all sad songs with me!

4 Beck - Sea Change
Ok, now we get to some seriously sad songs. You knew full well that I couldn't keep up the uplifting music for long. Sea Change was initially offered to me as a sleeping aid after a weekend of wet camping. Little did he know that it would become the anthem to all heartbreak and torment I would subsequently experience! While it's emotional importance is reason enough for it to appear in my top 5, you can't deny the beauty of this album from the guy who previously brought us Loser and Sexx Laws (both are great in their own ways, of course).

3 Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
When I'm tired of being all heartbroken and miserable I turn to Jens Lekman. Sure, the songs on Night Falls Over Kortedala aren't all about the wonders and beauty of life, but the music makes you feel as though life can be beautiful and sunny like an episode of Love Boat. A person needs that sometimes.

2 Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cold Roses
As a Ryan Adams devotee it was a struggle to identify a single album to include on the list. Soon, however, Cold Roses became the obvious choice. Certainly not the most critically revered of his albums (still don't get all of the fuss over Gold myself), but it was an essential part of 2005 for me and I always return to it when I'm blue or want to just reflect on the sweet and sour of life.

1 Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
My love affair with Wilco has been long and slightly turbulent. I only took brief notice of them in the days of Being There and then had a disappointing experience when I saw them on their Summerteeth tour in London. When Yankee Hotel Foxtrot landed, however, the Summerteeth debacle was forgotten and I was totally in love again. It's a quintessentially American album that could only have been made in the 00s with the disenfranchisement felt by many post-9/11. That being said, it survived the Bush years and I will no doubt be returning to it again and again over the next 10 years .. and longer. Also, if I change my mind on the whole marriage thing again then Jesus Etc is definitely being played. :) And in this dream wedding I'm marrying Jeff Tweedy (or at least his lookalike).