Hell Yeah!

Number 29

'Fever To Tell' by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 4 in 2003

UK Chart high : 13 in 2003

Not a very surprising addition to the list I suppose, as the YYYs debut made most end of the decade's lists (though I'm not as enamoured by it as the NME who ranked it at five).  There was a huge amount of hype over them and until I saw them live I thought the tunes just didn't quite live up to what everyone was saying about them (the fact I saw them in their native New York probably helped a tad too!).  At just under 40 minutes, most of this album is a rip-roaring, garage-rock/punk blast that doesn't mess about, but it's the stunning tenderness of 'Maps' that, to me, hinted at greatness and made all the chatter worthwhile.  Visually they were vitally different from what was around at the time - and not just because they dared to have a woman fronting the band.  Karen O clearly was born to be the centre of attention and made the most of it - throwing roses out to audience members and spitting beer at them in equal measure.  The award-winning video for 'Maps' also showed she could captivate even when standing still (and crying) rather than hurling herself around the stage.  Without doubt she is the frontwoman of her generation and this album marked the start of that in spades.  Top notch videos too - frenetic, twisted, disturbing in the case of the Spike Jonze directed 'Y Control' which isn't particularly work-friendly to the aforementioned heartstring-tugging pain of 'Maps' which is work-friendly as long as you don't mind your colleagues seeing you tear-up.

Look at Maps ; Pin ; Date With the Night ; Y Control

Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

That's Mr. Vek not Beck

Number 30

'We Have Sound' by Tom Vek

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 4 in 2005

UK Chart high : 73 in 2005

In an alternate universe, the whole of the world loves Tom Vek's debut album and he goes on to heady heights of well deserved success.  Unfortunately in this universe all he has is a nod from me at Number 30 and a UK chart position of 73, but hey, that's better than nothing (slightly)!  Coming across like a younger bro of Beck, this album came out just when I was losing patience with the 'older sibling'.  It's an inventive, dancey, indie hotchpotch of a record held together by Vek's absolute enthusiasm for doing what he so obviously loves - messing about with sounds.  Yes, it's a bit 'bedroom' but then I reckon that's actually to its benefit - nothing sounds too under-produced or unfinished.  It also came out the same year as LCD Soundsystem's debut which similarly proved that white guys could at least do a passable impression of funk!  Doesn't exactly set a velodrome on fire like Sir Chris Hoy though (see 'Nothing...' below as evidence).

Look at Nothing But Green Lights ; C-C (You Set the Fire in Me) ; If You Want ; I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Top Fifty Albums of the Noughties : 31-40

Jeez it seems a lifetime ago that I started this...hope you're still awake.  Back in the Middle Ages we'd just ushered in Norah Jones at Number 40 and now we're bang up to date with Radiohead at 31.  Definitely a set of ten ruled by either boys with guitars or girls with keyboards (or sometimes both in the case of Metric) but at least this lot are a bit more spread out across the years than the first ten - not that that really matters does it?  So, as a reminder, here are our fourth-best set of ten!

40 ‘Come Away With Me’ by Norah Jones (2002)
39  'Santogold' by Santogold (2008)
38 'Ladyhawke' by Ladyhawke (2008)
37 'Franz Ferdinand' by Franz Ferdinand (2004)
36 'Get Behind Me Satan' by The White Stripes (2005)
35 'Origin of Symmetry' by Muse (2001)
34  'Live It Out' by Metric (2006)
33 'Ten New Messages' by The Rakes (2007)
32 'Baby 81' by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (2007)
31 ‘Amnesiac’ by Radiohead (2001)

As well as the Spotify playlists with a selection from each album so far (31-40 and 41-50), there's also a shorter one for those of you like me with short attention spans (Noughties Shorts) here.

Er...what's the album title again?

Number 31

'Amnesiac' by Radiohead

Trotter's Top Ten position : Top Ten in 2001

UK Chart high : 1 in 2001

I have to declare here how much of a Radiohead fan I am.  It's hard to imagine a music scene without them and their willful boundary-pushing.  They could have easily gone the U2 route after 'OK Computer' in 1997.  Instead they deconstructed, experimented...and almost split up when some of the band were wondering if they would actually play on any of their new songs.  'Amnesiac' was the 'second born child' from the sessions which had also produced 'Kid A' a year earlier.  In a way, like any second offspring, there's no getting away from comparing to the elder child and being slightly less impressed when they take their first steps and do funny things.  It does suffer slightly from being odd at times for its own sake and being too happy to be noodling away.  However, going back and listening to the album again, it's surprising how accessible a lot of the tracks actually are.  And perhaps that's a credit to Radiohead for having taken us with them on their musical journey.  'Knives Out' and 'I Might Be Wrong' would have been massive if they'd been on 'The Bends' or 'OK Computer', 'Like Spinning Plates' is a genius track, looping backwards and forwards constantly.  It is 'Pyramid Song' though that is the standout tune, loaded with atmosphere and that touch that Radiohead often have of conjuring up something special that's more than the sum of its parts.  Phil Selway's drumming here is absolutely tremendous too.  Radiohead released four albums in the Noughties...there's a clue there.

Look at Pyramid Song ; I Might be Wrong ; Like Spinning Plates ; Knives Out

Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Berlin, Leather and a Tsunami Baby

Number 32

'Baby 81' by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 5 in 2007

UK Chart high : 15 in 2007

Doing this countdown isn't easy you know.  For instance, I spent far too many hours agonising over which BRMC album should make it onto the list.  Would I go for their incendiary debut, their second with the brilliant 'Stop' or the acoustic 'Howl'?  Well none of those.  Instead 'Baby 81' makes the Fifty mainly because it built on all those previous albums, learning from the best of each.  You've got the literal call to arms of 'Weapon of Choice' (a great first salvo), the leather-clad cool of 'Berlin' but most of all the surprisingly fragile and heartfelt 'All You Do Is Talk' - my favourite song of theirs that proved they could do sensitive and melodic as well as full-on rock.  This was never a single so there's no official video.  Someone kindly did a 'Life on Earth' job for a video on YouTube though - which the band probably hate for its blazing colours and sentimentality - but it does work rather well.  Furthermore, choosing this album meant that I found out what exactly the Baby 81 story is.  Look it up, there's no way I can do it justice here.

Look at Weapon of Choice ; Berlin ; All You Do Is Talk
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Rakes, Bombs and Tom Cruise

Number 33

'Ten New Messages' by The Rakes

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 7 in 2007

UK Chart high : 38 in 2007

Sadly The Rakes split up this year so there's no chance of them appearing in the next decade countdown but they do leave a couple of decent albums behind and a very good one in 'Ten New Messages'.  They steered clear of repeating the japes peppered through their debut 'Capture/Release' and instead wrote a follow-up that tried to get across the various moods in London after the July bombings.  Doesn't exactly sound like loads of fun, but thankfully the references weren't hitting you over the head and being overly sombre and tracks like 'The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect' and 'When Tom Cruise Cries' tell you all you need to know about their take on things.  Lyrically they could be compared to Pulp when they were at their best; such as in the three person perspective 'Suspicious Eyes' (featuring a newly discovered Laura Marling) detailing a tube journey and the emotions coming to the surface when an innocent young Muslim guy gets on.  Sharp, witty and inventive and also not outstaying its welcome - a bit like the band themselves really.

Look at We Danced Together ; The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Monsters, Saliva and Vespas

Number 34

'Live It Out' by Metric

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 3 in 2006

UK Chart high : Did not chart in 2006

Firstly, a couple of points to be made for the statistically-minded (well, you are reading a countdown after all).  This is only one of two albums from 2006 to make the Final Fifty - the other being fairly obvious and coming up much later and secondly, this is the first album listed here to not even have made the UK Top 100.  I mean, think about that for a second - the damn-fool public didn't even buy enough of this record in any one week to get it to 100 - a travesty!  We've established then, that Metric are criminally under-rated.  All the more surprising considering they are fronted by one of the most glamourous, cool and edgy frontwomen in the business in Emily Haines and can start a song with 'bam chikka bam, chikka boom boom boom, shalang shalang boom, shalang shalang boom' and THEN call it 'Monster Hospital' or have a line about 'fear of comparison shopping' on the expertly-titled 'Patriarch on a Vespa'.  'Live It Out' is a strange, sinister yet catchy affair straddling the mosh-pit and the keyboards and is made all the better by their inventive, twisted videos.  Even getting spat at in the face by a charming young lady when I saw them live couldn't stop them from getting this far up the decade review!

Look at Monster Hospital ; Poster of a Girl ; Empty

Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Number 35

'Origin of Symmetry' by Muse

Trotter’s Top Ten position : Top Ten in 2001

UK Chart high : 3 in 2001

Now there was a time when Muse hadn't taken to composing twenty minute three-part prog symphonies about cyberspace knights leading humanity into imploding supernovas; when they were really finding their feet and shaking off the 'Radiohead copyists' tag they had been unfairly stuck with on their debut.  'Origin of Symmetry' went in hard and fast, keeping the tunes short and to the point and the riffs front and centre.  Yes, they have always been obsessed with the grandeosity of space and other overblown topics (see the 'Bliss' video for instance) but on this album that wasn't at the expense of a catchy tune.  'Plug In Baby' is definitely a classic of our times with one of the most distinctive guitar intros and they even managed to pull off a cover of 'Feeling Good' without murdering it - and you have to be careful messing with Nina Simone in my house!  Their next couple of albums may have produced bigger (even sometimes better) singles but Muse haven't topped this release in terms of pace and consistency.

Look at Plug In Baby ; New Born ; Bliss ; Feeling Good
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Behind You!

Number 36

'Get Behind Me Satan' by The White Stripes

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 3 in 2005

UK Chart high : 3 in 2005

'Prolific' in the dictionary has a picture of Jack White next to it.  As well as writing and recording four White Stripes albums in the Noughties he also formed two other bands -  The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather and produced a ton of albums (we won't mention the Bond theme tune!).  Sometimes, you could tell Jack was spreading himself too thin or rushing things through but you can't fault him for his creativity and work ethic.  This album was a bit of a jolt from the previous electric guitar-led 'Elephant'.  In fact it only has electric guitar on three of the tracks (including lead single 'Blue Orchid' where the busy man met his future wife) and so took a while to get under your skin.  'Take Take Take' is my favourite track on the album, a kind of retro-take on Eminem's 'Stan' where a greedy fan demands more and more of Rita Hayworth when she enters the same bar.  It's a genius slow build of a song with the lyrics painting a beautifully detailed picture of the scene.  Because it wasn't a single there's no video for it but it's well worth a listen.  A wilfully challenging album then, when a lesser band could have started to churn out stadium-fillers.

Look at Blue Orchid ; My Doorbell ; The Denial Twist

Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

This one'll start a war...

Number 37

'Franz Ferdinand' by Franz Ferdinand

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 8 in 2004

UK Chart high : 3 in 2004


I damned this with faint praise back in 2004 when I said the 'album's not as great as their singles' but going back and listening to their debut I was surprised at how many singles (or songs that were so familiar) there are on it.  There's much more strength in depth here than I originally gave the poor lads credit for, so it's actually made it far higher in this end of decade countdown than I'd initially reckoned.  People tend to forget what a big impact 'Take Me Out' had on music at the time, crossing effortlessly into the mainstream and high up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.  I also admired the fact that they revelled in making intellegent pop that was both catchy and boundary-pushing (case in point 'Michael') in a way not really seen since Pulp's heyday - with a similarly quotable frontman.  Typically British, with tongue firmly in cheek but brain definitely engaged, they were a breath of fresh air when most indie bands were trying their best to appear laddish and thick (whether they were or not).  With 'Take Me Out' they not only wrote one of the best tempo changes in modern music but surely made one of the most iconic videos of the decade.  They also were responsible for improving GCSE History grades across the country by making the 'Whose death triggered WWI?' question an absolute doddle.

Look at Take Me Out ; The Dark of the Matinee ; Darts of Pleasure ; Michael
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Top 50 Cheat!

Number 38

'Ladyhawke' by Ladyhawke

Trotter’s Top Ten position : n/a in 2008

UK Chart high : 16 in 2009

My Top 50, my rules.  When I said the Top 50 was made up of albums from previous annual Top Tens I kind of lied.  Ladyhawke didn't make it on the 2008 list.  It fell victim to the curse of being released in the autumn and not being listened to enough to make it into the Ten of that year (sad face).  In early 2009 though it repeatedly kept being chosen for a listen round Trotter Towers and so deserves its place here.  It's also worth mentioning the brilliant single 'My Delirium' did make the Ten singles of that year so it was almost there by proxy!  There, enough sorry excuses, why is this album here then?  Well, there's a venn diagram with Ladyhawke in the centre  of circles containing Joan Jett, Peaches, Bat for Lashes, La Roux and ELO and variants thereof - that should be enough.  An album that rode the 80's revival but without an ironically arched eyebrow and just a clear love of the tunes - oh and great watercolours in the video for 'My Delirium'.   That'll do nicely.

Look at My Delirium ; Magic ; Paris is Burning
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

The Late 30's (know how they feel)

Number 39

'Santogold' by Santogold

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 5 in 2008

UK Chart high : 26 in 2008

Everyone banged on about how uncategorisable Santi White was, so they made it easy and compared her to equally unboxable M.I.A.  Lazy - I did it meself!  There was even a bit of a backlash with critics saying that the album was just a load of different musical stylings with nothing holding it together - ska, dub, rock, 80's electronics, bit of Pixies, bit of Neneh Cherry.  That would be true apart from the sublime, catchy pop melodies running throughout (something M.I.A. deliberately and too conciously seems to run from) and the self-assured delivery of someone who knows their own mind and that's not to be any one thing.  Lord knows what happens next but if it's half as good as this debut then...er, it'll be at 78 in my next decade countdown.  Bonus points for employing the 'abrupt album ending in the middle of a song'  technique which still sometimes gets me checking my stereo's not gone on the blink.  Oh and the 'Lights Out' video (strangely absent from youtube) takes the wallpaper/shirt scene from 'Garden State' and milks it for all it's worth...

Look at L.E.S. Artistes ; Creator ; Lights Out
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Top Fifty Albums of the Noughties : 41-50

Thankfully no-one was paying enough attention to spot I'd managed to put two Number 45's in the countdown so we've actually got as far as Number 40 rather than Number 41.  Here's how things have shaped up - a bit metal, a bit indie, a bit dancey, a bit folky - business as usual then! And strangely nothing from after 2004 so far...

50 'Deftones' by Deftones (2003)
49 'XTRMNTR' by Primal Scream (2000)
48 'Toxicity' by System of a Down (2000)
47 'Highly Evolved’ by The Vines (2002)
46 'Lost Souls' by Doves (2000)
45 'Relationship of Command' by At the Drive-In (2000)
44 'Auf der Maur' by Melissa Auf der Maur (2004)
43 'Finelines' by My Vitriol (2001)
42 ‘The Optimist LP’ by Turin Brakes (2001)
41 ‘Parachutes’ by Coldplay (2000)
40 ‘Come Away With Me’ by Norah Jones (2002)

As well as the Spotify playlist with a selection from each album (41-50) which you can link to here, there's also a shorter one for those of you like me with short attention spans (Noughties Shorts) here.

More to come, if you're still all following, that is!

Another Treble

Number 40

‘Come Away With Me’ by Norah Jones

Trotter’s Top Ten position : Top Ten in 2002

UK Chart high : 1 in 2002

Might as well complete this 'fairly-easy listening' triptych with the ultimate example of the decade.  Ever so slowly this album took over the world in the same way as it's atmospheric, velvet vocalising and smokey-late night bar strummings crept into my head.  It's so laid back, dreamy and chocolatey that it might as well be advertising Cadbury's Flake (actually it probably did at some point).  I'm no big fan of jazz, country and western or the blues (understatement alert!) but the songs on display here shied away from self-indulgence and just were...well, indulgent in the best sense.  Norah, no doubt, will spend the rest of her life trying to get out of the shadow cast by this debut and the public may question whether they need more than one Norah Jones album in their collection.  But everyone certainly has this one anyway.  I'm no record producer but every now and then a piece comes out that makes you marvel at exactly _how_ a certain mood was captured and put down for the listener to feel transported elsewhere effortlessly - this is one of the finest examples of that at work.  It's an old cliche, but even the spaces between the notes seem to be laden with atmosphere and the video for 'Come Away With Me' captures that wide, expansiveness beautifully without a coffee table in sight.

Look at Come Away With Me ; Don't Know Why

Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go

Number 41

‘Parachutes’ by Coldplay

Trotter’s Top Ten position : Top Ten in 2000

UK Chart high : 1 in 2000

Okay, I can hear your trendy groans from here, but before Chris cut his curly hair, took up a macrobiotic diet and married a weeping actress, Coldplay released a fine atmospheric, moody debut that promised much and delivered a fine array of indie anthems, not least the universal 'Yellow' which is unarguably the student disco-crossover hit of the decade (tm) despite it's wilfully discordant guitars.  It was their appearance at Glasto in 2000 showcasing songs from their debut that hinted at the stadium-filling future to come.  'Shiver' was the track that made me take notice of these unremarkable-looking indie posho's and demonstrates the 'you either like it or you don't' nature of Mr Paltrow's falsetto warblings to a tee.  For those who can't stand the band, you'll enjoy the video for 'Trouble' which has Chris tied to a chair and beaten up.  See!  I cater for all your tastes here.

Look at Yellow ; Trouble ; Shiver
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go

Number 42

‘The Optimist LP’ by Turin Brakes

Trotter’s Top Ten position : Top Ten in 2001

UK Chart high : 27 in 2001

Balham's finest as Mr Teasdale would no doubt remind us.  They were (unfairly) highlighted in a renowned music mag's review of the decade as exactly the sort of band that were swept aside by the arrival of a certain set of New Yorkers in the early days of the new century.  However, with Mumford and Sons and recently Bombay Bicycle Club taking an acoustic folk angle into the top ten it seems as timely as ever to sing the praises of Turin Brakes.  'The Optimist LP' is another great example of an album standing up to scrutiny as a whole, not just having a few hits and album fillers.  They'd get a bigger hit with Ether Song's 'Painkiller' a few years later, but their debut is better if you ask me - particularly 'Slack' (even with a terrible 'story' video) and 'Mind Over Money' - still a favourite track of mine ten years on complete with it's 'windy day at Center Parcs' video.  And we haven't even mentioned the force of nature that is Olly's hair!

Look at Mind Over Money ; Underdog (Save Me) ; Slack
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go

Just the one for Monday...

Number 43

'Finelines' by My Vitriol

Trotter’s Top Ten position : Top Ten in 2001

UK Chart high : 24 in 2001

Can you remember when there were plenty of post-grunge British indie bands at the baby-end of the 21st century (probably far too many really) all with their moody expressions and effects pedals but very little else?  Then you're as old as me - congratulations!  My Vitriol could have easily been bracketed into that fledgling 'indie-landfill' especially with their rockstar good looks and hip connections like bad boy du jour Vincent Gallo (who starred in their Grounded video).  Fortunately they had talent and melodies to back up the hype and caused a little bit of a stir in the NME hallways.  A few years later though, even before they could release a second album, they went on 'hiatus' and have only recently started rumblings of returning.  The actual album's not even on Spotify for feck's sake!  Here's hoping for a comeback - and in the meantime give them a bit of love by checking them out below.

Look at Always: Your Way ; Grounded ; Losing Touch
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go