Reports are coming in that the Blogspot user Geek-Boy is finally getting around to writing his “Best of the Noughties” list, at the rather late date of February 11th, not only is he doing this at this late date he is also attempting to do it at a time which would be considered anti-social by many. Oh well, better late than never hey! More on this story as it develops. This is Daniel Ingram reporting for BBC News 24, Back to the studio.
Yes the above report (appearing on a reputable (ish) news broadcaster) is correct, aside from the usage of the term “Noughties”, that's just plain disgusting. It is time for my long overdue “Things of the Decade”! During this inevitably long blog post I will be guiding you through the last decade and telling you all about my opinions on what the greatest “Things” of that era. This will include everything from Media Products (Games; Films; TV; Music etc.) to technological advances/items. Now go fetch something to eat, drink and listen to because this is going to be one hell of a ride, one which you're not going to want to stray from!!
Before I start I'm going to lay down some rules, because if we didn't have rules the world would fall apart...either that or everyone would be so much happier.
1) Items must have been released within the time period
2) With exception to Music I will set a limit to the number of items I can put down (otherwise it would just turn into a long list of things I have purchased over the last 10 years)
3) I am allowed to group series of books and films into one selection (i.e. LOTR and Harry Potter), reasoning for this is obvious.
4) If I rattle on for too long about how awesome or terrible something is, or if I stray off topic then I give permission for every single one of you to hunt me down and slap me, though I cannot vouch for your personal safety after doing it.
Last thing to mention before I begin (no idea where I'm going to start but meh) the lists hereafter are my own opinions, nobody else has influenced my decisions (despite Micro$oft offering me £2.5million to not list Vista in the “Failures of the Decade” section). Thank you and enjoy!
Albums of the Decade
As I have previously mentioned this is the one section that I will not be limiting I will just pick out the best albums of the last decade along with release date and list them for you to view.
Athlete – Beyond The Neighbourhood (2007)
Bat For Lashes – Fur And Gold (2006); Two Suns (2009)
Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends (2008)
The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love (2009)
Elbow – Asleep In The Back (2002); The Leaders of the Free World (2005) The Seldom Seen Kid (2008)
Eminem – The Eminem Show (2002)
Fort Minor – The Rising Tied (2005)
Good Charlotte – Good Morning Revival (2007)
Innerpartysystem – Innerpartysystem (2008)
The Killers – Sam's Town (2006)
Liam Frost – Show Me How The Spectres Dance (2006)
Linkin Park – Reanimation (2002); Meteora (2003)
Mew – Frengers (2003); No More Stories...(2009)
Muse – Origin of Symmetry (2001); Absolution (2003); Black Holes And Revelations (2006); The Resistance (2009)
Placebo – Sleeping With Ghosts (2003); Battle For The Sun (2009)
Porcupine Tree – In Absentia (2002); Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007); The Incident (2009)
Rammstein – Mutter (2001); Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da (2009)
Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition (2009)
Sigur Ros - ( ) (2002); Takk... (2005)
Steven Wilson – Insurgentes (2008)
Thirteen Senses – The Invitation (2004)
U2 – No Line On The Horizon (2009)
So what's that, 34 albums. Not bad considering that there were 150 released between 2000 and 2009.
Breakthrough Artist of the Decade
Elbow
Releasing their debut album in 2002, which gained a Mercury Award Nomination, the band have received critical acclaim amongst Musical journalists, developing a large and loyal fan base along the way, many of whom wanted Elbow to stay hidden away. With their most recent release, The Seldom Seen Kid, Elbow have soared to the heights that many have seen coming since they first formed, and it is well deserved.
Hardware of the Decade
Throughout the 2000s we saw quite a surge in technological advances, Google, Facebook and Twitter became household names (although obviously Facebook isn't quite there as my spell checker is highlighting it...). Mobile phones are now considered a necessity rather than an employee benefit. Most people in MEDC's use Personal Computers on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Listening to music on the move no longer means carting around hundreds of cassette tapes or CD's. Films are regarded as incomplete and underwhelming if not in a glorious 1080p 3D Uberified Format (Give it another 2 months...). I will name my top 10 pieces of hardware this decade, in no particular order.
Nintendo DS - “Use your stylus to Pick Wario's nose” Eeeeew...but ok...(WarioWare)
iPhone – The Jesus Phone, 'nuff said...
Nintendo Wii – A wiggle here, a waggle there, shakedy shake shake, inflict MASSIVE DAMAGE
iPods – I want to listen to 40 thousand songs at the same time!
Wireless Networking – Anyone can access your internet from anywhere, ANYONE!!
USB Storage – Carry your most intimate files around unsecured in your pocket, then lose them...
Blu-ray Discs – Higher storage capacity than DVDs (also the DVD was made in 1995...who knew!)
High Definition TVs – Watch TV so clear you can spot when that chick is being played by a dude...
Digital Video Recorders – Watch your TV whenever, without Ads.
Serial ATA Ports – Faster internal data speeds, no funny joke for this one...suggestions welcome...
Films of the Decade
Again limited to 10 films, but as I said above, groups are allowed. I will list the year released and director,
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001;2002;2003 / Peter Jackson)
Shaun of the Dead / Hot Fuzz (2004 & 2007 / Edgar Wright)
Serenity (2005 / Joss Whedon)
Batman Begins / The Dark Knight (2005 & 2008 / Christopher Nolan)
Kingdom Of Heaven (2005 / Ridley Scott)
Munich (2005 / Steven Spielberg)
The Prestige (2006 / Christopher Nolan)
Iron Man (2008 / John Favreau)
Cloverfield (2008 / J.J. Abrams)
Wall-E (2008 / Andrew Stanton)
TV Shows of the Decade
Actually from now on just assume that unless I tell you otherwise it's the top 10.
24 (2001 – Present)
Firefly (2002)
Battlestar Galactica (2003 – 2009)
Lost (2004 – 2010)
Hustle (2004 – Present)
House (2005 – Present)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006 – 2007)
A Town Called Eureka (2006 – Present)
Big Bang Theory (2007 – Present)
Dollhouse (2009-2010)
TV Mini-Series / Special of the Decade
Limited to five, not to challenge me, but because I can't think of ten...
Revelations (2005)
The Lost Room (2006)
Terry Pratchett Adaptations (2006 & 2008)
Red Dwarf : Back To Earth (2009)
Torchwood : Children Of Earth (2009)
Books of the Decade
As with films I will list the year of release and
Harry Potter series [Goblet of Fire onwards] (2000; 2003; 2005; 2007 / J.K. Rowling)
The Amber Spyglass (2000 / Philip Pullman)
Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures (2003 / Walter Moers)
Artemis Fowl series (2001; 2002; 2003; 2005; 2006; 2008 / Eoin Colfer)
Penguins Stopped Play (2006 / Harry Thompson)
Video Games of the Decade
Video Games which I have played, though not necessarily owned. Format is Title,2007 & Year, Developer/Publisher, Format.
Half-life 2 2004 Valve (PC/Xbox360/PS3)
Football Manager 2008 & 2010 2007 & 2009 Sega (PC/PSP)
Stalker : Shadow Of Chernobyl 2007 THQ (PC)
The Legend Of Zelda : Wind Waker 2004 Nintendo (GC)
Halo series 2001; 2004; 2007 Bungie (PC/Xbox; PC/Xbox; Xbox360)
The Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion 2006 Bethesda (PC/X360/PS3)
GTA San Andreas 2004 Rockstar (PS2/Xbox/PC)
Metroid Prime 3 : Corruption 2008 Nintendo (Wii)
Black 2006 Criterion Games (PS2/Xbox)
Bully (or Canis Canem Edit) 2006 Rockstar (PS2/PC/Wii/X360)
Right, I think that's about it. To be honest I think you could probably have stopped reading after the music/gadgets section because the rest is just me listing my favourite stuff...then again wasn't it all. I think I've just realised that I've just wasted the last 3 hours writing this crappy thing and I haven't even formatted it yet...was going to linkify everything but I can't be bothered any more, so I'll say one final thing and be off...It's been one hell of a decade guys, and I'm very much looking forward to the next one. Oh and GOOGLE IT YOU LAZY GITS!!!
Adios.
GB
