Best TV and Songs from the Decade of Hell
Not since the 1930’s and 1940’s has America suffered so many tragedies and challenges, whether they be in the form of economic collapse, an enemy attack and resulting war, or natural disaster. This decade, which I hereby declare to named the Two Thousands just because the other names Aughts or Oughts are stupid sounding, is finally coming to a close and we as a nation are finally tackling our problems. Sure, some think all of our problems should have been fixed by now, and others do not think the solutions we are trying are good enough, but the process is beginning, which brings a fitting close to this Decade of Hell.
And with the end of things, we reflect. Bulo is doing a good job reflecting on 2009. I want to give you my thoughts of the best of the Two Thousands. Yeah, I want to be positive. So no “worst” categories. Today we will start off with the best TV shows and songs of the Two Thousands. These are based on my subjective criteria (i.e. what I like). So if you disagree, feel free to offer your own in the comments.
Top TV shows
20. (tie) Jericho / V
19. Law & Order (the original)
18. Family Guy
17. Dexter
16. The Wire
15. 30 Rock
14. How I Met Your Mother
13. Friday Night Lights
12. Futurama
11. The Shield
10. Damages
9. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
8. (tie) The West Wing / Big Love
7. The Office (US)
6. Rome
5. Mad Men
4. Lost
3. The Sopranos
2. Six Feet Under
1. Battlestar Galactica
Top Songs
Wow, this one is hard. And this one will be really subjective. There are probably songs that I have never heard of that you think is the best EVAH!!! Well, let me know about it.
20. Cold Wind by Arcade Fire
19. Clocks by Coldplay
18. Run by Snow Patrol
17. Banquet by Bloc Party
16. Snow Patrol by Snow Patrol
15. Mr. Brightside by The Killers
14. Use Somebody by Kings of Leon
13. Lose Yourself by Eminem
12. Umbrella by Rihanna
I will be honest, I really only included Rihanna because of the great spoof video below:
11. How to Save a Life by The Fray
10. Hey Ya by Outkast
9. From Yesterday by 30 Seconds From Mars
8. In the End by Linkin Park
7. Everything You Want by Vertical Horizon
6. Superman by Five for Fighting
5. Eyesore by Janus
4. The Middle by Jimmy Eat World
3. Where is the Love by the Black Eyed Peas feat Justin Timberlake.
2. Viva la Vida by Coldplay
1. Breathe Me by Sia
I’d have to put The Wire at #1.
A lot of people would. I was never blown away by the Wire as I was by other shows. But it was still a damn file program
But what I think is more telling…the number of NON-network (The big 4) shows on this list (my count has it at 9 shows). I know that in my house, we watch a lot of USA, TNT, FX, and SYFY shows that I’d place high on a “must watch” list each week.
Since I’m not in the mood for 20 I’ll try my top 10..OK then 15 🙂
1. The Wire (HBO)
2. Mi-5 (BBC)
3. Torchwood (BBC)
4. Galatica (SYFY)
5. Rescue Me (FX)
6. The Shield (FX)
7. CSI (CBS)
8. House (Fox)
9. Lost (ABC)
10. Alias (ABC)
11. The Closer (TNT)
12. Monk (USA)
13. Burn Notice (USA)
14. The West Wing (NBC)
15. Life (NBC) Loved Damien Lewis in the lead role
Even with that, I’ve got more than half of the shows I thought were pretty good not on a Big 4 network.
I got the 7 season box set of West Wing for Christmas witch I’m really enjoying. Other than that, the only thing I’ve watched with any regularity is Jeopardy and House (my daughter loves that show).
As for music, I guess I’d have to go with Coldplay for the best mainstream artist(s). They, like U2, are to me just poetry with a simple methodical background.
On the other hand, being someone who loves guitar blues like SRV, I’ve recently started to listen to a Chicago blues guitarist name Tinsley Ellis. To me, he’s not Stevie, but he’s better than most who try to live up to that standard.
It’ll be interesting to see what the TENS will bring!
Gotta love Listamania. “The Wire” is #1 on my list as well. I’d have to add “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and probably “6 Feet Under” to the list. While I loved “The Sopranos”, I think that the death of Nancy Marchand really stopped that series’ momentum, and (I think) that was in the late ’90’s.
Glad to see “Burn Notice” on Mark H’s list. Perfectly-cast, well-written, fast-paced, and a quirky style all its own. Oh, and Gabrielle Anwar is (apologies, ladies) HOT! It’s been much better than “Monk” the last couple of seasons and, for my $$’s, the best of the current USA/TNT series.
While I think that Tony Shalhoub’s detective belongs on a list of the greatest TV characters ever, he was ill-served by his writers the last two years. Was anything in recent TV memory more anti-climactic than the search for Trudy’s killer? Not to mention the cringe-inducing Natalie/Sharona episode from this season which defined the term ‘zero chemistry’.
And, Bill, you’re a Tinsley Ellis fan? You’ve got great taste in the blues!
Which reminds me, those Arden granola eaters have booked a seriously-talented young performer who deserves to be mentioned with SRV. England’s Joanne Shaw Taylor is gonna be there on Feb. 20. Even before her first major American tour, her debut album, “White Sugar” has already been nominated for a Blues Music Award. Here’s a taste of what I consider to be one of the most promising blues debuts in recent years, and just wait for SRV’s ‘Rude Mood’ at the end:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ4rJn9j2Pg
top five shows:
The Wire
Battlestar
Mad Men
Rome
Curb Your Enthusiasm
top five songs:
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
National Anthem – Radiohead
Evil – Interpol
Tribulations – LCD Soundsystem
Lazy Eye – Silversun Pickups
DAMNIT!!!! I forgot about Rome. Must edit.
“Everything You Want” by Vertical Horizon came out in 99. Therefore you have an open spot in your top 20. I’d be happy to make some recommendations.
And to the poster who made Torchwood his #3, Good Choice.
El Som, do you know anything about the Joanne Shaw Taylor concert?
I’d really like to go, but the concert portion of the Arden “Hotline” apparently hasn’t been updated since the Oct. concert.
Any details you might have, would be greatly appreciated.
From what I saw, I wouldn’t necessarily call her SRV Jr., but she definitely has game!
Just might, Bill. You may want to call that hotline one more time. Word from the Utopian community featuring ‘free love’ is that the message may well have been updated…