So who exactly were the most influential musical artists of the past decade? Springsteen? Radiohead? Clay Aiken?
Well okay, two out of three ain't bad, right? But as we draw ever closer to the dawning of 2010, perhaps the more important question is why should we care? Fear not my friends, because your Rockologist has answers.
For sure, there are certain things which remain both constant and consistent when one decade bleeds into another. The doomsday nuts come out like clockwork, for one thing. In 1999, it was Y2K. This time around its the Mayan prophecies about 2012.
The other constant is the ongoing debate about whether decades begin and end with the double zeroes, or with the numerical designation of '01. For our purposes here, we're going to go with the 00's. Since both Rolling Stone and NME have already set the precedent, Blogcritics would be hard-pressed to go against the established grain by coming out with our own belated lists next year, right?
But back to the central question at hand: why should we care?
At a time when most of us in America are just waking up from the long national nightmare of the Bush years, only to find ourselves staring down at the cold, waking reality of more of the same under a President Obama who bares little resemblance to the candidate who so captivated us in '08, perhaps we shouldn't care.
But if nothing else, music represents escape from that hard, cold reality.
And for those of us who spend long, lonely nights huddled over our computers worrying and writing about it when we really should be out there trying to find real jobs (or at least trying to get laid), music represents something more.
A lot more actually. We care about where it has been because those memories represent unique snapshots in the fabric of our own lives. We care about where it is going because, in a lot of ways, it represents our hopes and dreams for an uncertain future.
Beyonce and Jay Z aren't likely to change that future anytime soon, but the fact remains — The Beatles and Dylan once did.
But enough of that sort of heaviness.
My own picks for my favorite albums (note that I said favorite, not best) of the past ten years will be coming in the third and final installment of this recap of the past decade and the past year. Those will come down to my own opinion, and nothing else.
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Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
hmmm...jay z? eminem?
i'd have to agree on the influential part, but i'm not much of a fan. jay z has done a couple of things i've liked. i can't stand eminem, with that pinched little voice. sounds like dr. seuss doing rap.
me, give me MF Doom any day, at least for this decade.
2 - Mark Saleski
by the way, isn't this where bicho comes around to remind us that a puppy dies every time somebody writes an end of the decade missive when it's not really the end of the decade?
3 - Glen Boyd
I think I've already covered the Bicho factor here Mark.
-Glen
4 - El Bicho
Since the White Stripes had three albums out before the Strokes "This Is It", what exactly is the argument to be made about the Strokes doing it "long before Jack ever did"?
What's the animosity towards Cowell? There was pop music before him and there will be pop music after him. He's allowing the people to have a say and he's providing opportunities for some people who might never be discovered.
I am at a loss to see how Bruce influenced the decade.
"Quite possibly the only band from rock's original era of activism and altruism that still matters."
WTFrench? Exactly how big is this era?
I made no comment about the end of the decade or the four-album trilogy on the previous article. But if you like I could point out decades don't begin and end with double zeroes. those are centuries.
5 - zingzing
i would say that when u2 put "their pretensions of arty-alternative bullshit aside" is the day they stopped mattering. the drop off in songwriting since the mid-90s is astounding. bono became too self-important, the edge stopped making his guitar sound like anything but a guitar, the rhythm section stopped being a melodic, experimental force... "pop" was something of a disappointment, but at least it tried half the time.
since then, i think they lost their swagger, and maybe their confidence. either way, i think they are content by putting out slushy, mildly different albums that are safe and bland. they barely even sound like u2 anymore... used to be that they'd change their sound immensely, but there was a common thread. now, they're just about unidentifiable because they sound like everything else.
they used to be my favorite band... when i was 13. hugely disappointed, but that's the way it goes after 30 years. ask anyone except mark e. smith.
6 - Glen Boyd
The White Stripes/Strokes error has been corrected. Other than that, I stand by everything else said here.
-Glen
7 - Glen Boyd
The Dylan Trilogy was "Time Out of Mind," "Love & Theft" and "Modern Times." The album "Together Through Life" represents a musical shift from those three albums, and a clear break from them -- thus effectively ending the "trilogy." I apologize if I wasn't clearer on that point.
The "era" I refer to is, as clearly stated, the time when activism and altruism were a common thing in rock music. Bands still make socially consciousness records and they still sing about important issues -- it's just not as common as it once was. U2, at least in my mind, are the last superstar level band that still does this. Again, my apologies if I wasn't clearer on that.
Of course if I were clearer, there'd be nothing left for Bicho to pick apart here. And I do love to keep my readers happy...
-Glen
8 - El Bicho
Sorry, man, but clarity has nothing to do with my disagreement with some of your statements.
A trilogy ends with the third part by its definition. Another film didn't need to come along after "Return of the Jedi" to conclude the first Star Wars trilogy.
That original era in music you speak of was the late '60s. U2 followed in the footsteps. They weren't a part of it.
And I am still not clear on Bruce's influence on the decade. Many artists took part in Vote for Change and other than raising money it failed in its purpose. Bush won and none of the swing states they played went for Kerry. Even more musicians stood by Obama's side. So who has been influenced by the two albums a majority of his fans enjoyed?
9 - Glen Boyd
The trilogy is the original three records I mentioned and wont repeat again. The record that came after them signaled the end of that cycle. U2 are the last to carry on the era of rock's social consciousness, which yes, did begin in the sixties.
Bruce's influence is probably a matter of opinion, which is all I am sharing here. But you might want to look at Arcade Fire and The Killers for starters...
-Glen
10 - Glen Boyd
Oh and one more thing, Bruce didn't release two new albums this decade. He released five of them.
11 - zingzing
it's kind of hard to decide a decade's most influential artists before the decade has even ended... especially if only considering bands that recorded during this decade. i would say that new order certainly had an immense influence on this decade's indie rock. and daft punk is far and away the most important dance band of the decade. but music is so far flung these days that to really try and pin down influences is pretty difficult.
springsteen's most important influence was on the hold steady, and while he certainly did have a lot of influence over certain bands, it certainly wasn't coming from the stuff he did this decade. unless brendan o'brien is anything but a useless hack.
but to suggest u2 was influencing anything new with their output over the past decade is a bit of a stretch. and eminem
is an entertaining rapper, he's put out nothing but shit for the last 6 or 7 years, and his stuff was pretty run of the mill in a lot of ways before that. he's more of a celebrity than anything else at this point.
radiohead, on the other hand, were huge. jay z, beyonce, jack white, sure... lots of rappers/singers/bands ape these people. not exactly sure why all of the time, but whatever.
if we really wanted to be honest, then coldplay and nickleback would be in here.
12 - Glen Boyd
I think U2's influence continues to be more cultural than anything else Zing. They've made some very decent records this decade, but not a one of them has blown me away the same way that Achtung Baby did the first time I heard it. I think U2 is found a nice little groove, and are basically coasting with it. You're right that they do these days isn't necessarily anything particularly groundbreaking or new...but I can still admire a band who at this particular stage of their careers still make good records. Not many who've been around as long as U2 can say the same.
Springsteen's influenece I still feel is primarily musical. Bands like Arcade Fire, the Killers, and as you mentioned The Hold Steady are proof of that. I also admire the fact that even though he really has nothing left to prove, Springsteen's live shows are still virtually unmatched. As for his recorded output this decade? Five albums...three with the E Street Band (two of which were pretty great), one doing the quieter, small band sort of thing, and another that was a freaking folkabilly hoedown.
Not bad for an old fart, I'd say.
-Glen
13 - Glen Boyd
By the way, if you liked this one, you're gonna love the one I did on my favorite albums of the decade...LOL...
And yes, I'm being absolutely facetious.
-Glen
14 - palais1977
Bruce's We Shall Overcome should get a special mention. Bruce actually had a really good decade. Much better than the nineties.
Jack White is my new hero and I will listen to him do almost anything.
15 - End Of First Decade Of 21st Century
1.The 100th year of the 20th Century and last year of the 2nd Millennium was definitely and indisputably 2000.
2.The 1st year of the first decade of the 21st Century and of the 3rd Millennium was definitely and indisputably 2001 - obviously. The clue is in the number '1'.
3.The 10th and last year of the first decade of the 21st century will be 2010 - obviously. The clue is in the number '10'.
4.The last day of the first decade of the 21st century and 3rd millennium will definitely and indisputably be December 31st 2010.
There is a concerted effort by the BBC and other major media players to deny these facts for cynical commercial and branding and packaging purposes.
Clear thinkers will, of course, ignore them and respect and express true and honest chronological facts and conventions.
Rage Against The Machine!
16 - Glen Boyd
Glad someone was able to clear that up, I might have lost a lot of sleep otherwise. Now, if someone can let the rest of the publishing world who are busy publishing their various end of year and end of decade lists, maybe we can all get on the same page.
Fight the Power!
-Glen
17 - Nick
There are al types of artists out there, some manage to change the world, others change as the world demands it!
18 - Andrew
It has always been said that rock is the music of intelligent people, but to be honest, this is not always true.Being given the situation, quite a lot of people don't listen to rock music, yet still they have way above an average IQ. Persoanlly I like all generes of music as long as they sound good ... quite superficial I know but that's my opinion