I thought it would be difficult to come up with my favorite songs of the decade, but in the end it was pretty straight-forward. I tried to find a sequence, but in general it's more or less that newer songs are fresher in my memory than older ones. So here we go:
Fever Ray - Seven
This is the newest song in the list, so there's some bias to this, but I'm in love with Fever Ray since spring, so this is more than a short-term fling. I like all her songs, but Seven struck me since the first time I heard on NPR. After the second time on last.fm I downloaded the album from iTunes and was since then never released from its spell
Blonde Redhead - 23
When I listened to 23 for the first time in the office, I thought this is good. The second time: this is freaking awesome. Blonde Redhead has lots of great songs (the album 23 is full of them), but I still use the title track when I need a kick into a better mood or to celebrate a special moment.
Catherine Pratter - Stronger than before
I got to this track through the sampler "4 women no cry", which contains electronic music by five women. There's pretty interesting stuff on there but I like Catherine Pratter's "Stronger Than Before" with it's slow build up and it's haunting rhythm the most.
Joan as Police Woman - Cristobel
Cristobel is a song with lots of energy, a song that makes you walk faster. Joan Wasser's unique voice also helps. Unfortunately she doesn't do more songs like this and - like many "serious" artists - focuses on quieter, slower songs.
Radiohead - There There
I don't even think this is the best Radiohead song, but it had the biggest impact on me. After the love affair with "Kid A" and "Amnesiac", I was curious what Radiohead could possible do after this. They actually took a step back to a more traditional rock song, but "There There" is still a unusual song with is slow ascend to a thundering climax. Couldn't stop listening to it.
Bat For Lashes - What's a Girl To Do?
What's not to like with Natasha Khan? She's talented and creative, is very pretty, charismatic and has a beautiful voice. From all her songs I like "What's a Girl To Do?" most (it also gives a very nice ringtone), but I'm sure she's up for more greatness.
Swati - Blackjack
Swati is a friend of Elke and me, but this song would have had a place in this list in any case (if could have found it without knowing her personally). Blackjack tells a (supposedly true) story that drew me in from the first time I listened to it. And Swati has a beautiful voice and an amazing way to make her acoustic guitar sound like an entire band.
Björk - Who Is it?
For most of this decade, since "Vespertine", Björk lost me a little bit. I still greatly admire her energy and creativity, but I from my perspective she went somewhat overboard with the latest releases (a collaboration with Timbaland? Please!). There was only a brief moment when I found my full love for her again: "Who Is It?" (and slightly less "The Pleasure Is all Mine") on "Medulla".
Massive Attack - Special Cases
From time to time I come to the conclusion that Massive Attack is a great band. But for whatever reason that usually doesn't last very long. Anyway, "Special Cases" caused such a moment.
In 2001, after we swapped out 1,100 sqft. apartment in Munich for a tiny, junk-furnished studio in a Lower East Side tenement building for slightly more rent, without jobs and friends in a big city, Elke and I were in this together. And it couldn't stop us and we made it true somehow. (I'm cheating a little bit, Fragile was released in 1999, but I listened to it the most in the 2000 decade)
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