The end of the decade has resulted in a number of best of the decade lists. We’ve kind of OD’d on best of lists here already, but Elijah and I wanted to throw in our votes for those works of culture from the 2000’s WE think will/should stand the test of time.
I feel somewhat presumptuous putting this out there, as if my vote actually mattered, but what I have found is that my friends, acquaintances, and YOU dear reader, often find your interest piqued by something that has been declared “the best.” I know that some of Elijah’s musical selections caused me to listen to albums I had not heeded before…so perhaps you may find something here that causes you to want to experience, reconsider or even maybe avoid (?) the following creative endeavors. Hope you enjoy…see you next decade!
– Greg
Albums (Greg | Elijah)
- Illinois/The Avalanche (2005/2006) Sufjan Stevens | Kid A/Amnesiac (2000/2001) Radiohead
- The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads (2001) Lift to Experience | Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State (2003) Sufjan Stevens
- In Rainbows/Bonus Disc (2007) Radiohead | Figure 8 (2000) Elliott Smith
- The Midnight Organ Fight (2008) Frightened Rabbit | The Sophtware Slump (2000) Grandaddy
- Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State (2003) Sufjan Stevens | Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000) Belle & Sebastian
- Figure 8 (2000) Elliott Smith | Songs in A & E (2008) Spiritualized
- Kid A/Amnesiac (2000/2001) Radiohead | Jane Doe (2001) Converge
- Lifted, Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground (2002) Bright Eyes | Turn On the Bright Lights (2002) Interpol
- Feels (2005) Animal Collective | Illinois/The Avalanche (2005/2006) Sufjan Stevens
- Funeral (2004) The Arcade Fire | Blood Money (2002) Tom Waits
- Takk (2005) Sigur Rós | Control (2002) Pedro the Lion
- Boxer (2007) The National | Veckatimest (2009) Grizzly Bear
- Asleep in the Back (2001) Elbow | We Are the Only Friends We Have (2002) Piebald
- A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) Coldplay | The Midnight Organ Fight (2008) Frightened Rabbit
- Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009) Animal Collective | Hot Shots II (2001) The Beta Band
- Gang of Losers (2006) The Dears | The Life Pursuit (2006) Belle & Sebastian
- Control (2002) Pedro the Lion | Tyrannosaurus Hives (2004) The Hives
- The Last Broadcast (2002) Doves | The Argument (2000) Fugazi
- The Invisible Band (2001) Travis | Hail to the Thief (2003) Radiohead
- Oh, Inverted World (2001) The Shins | Sea Change (2002) Beck
- Retreiver (2004) Ron Sexsmith | How It Ends (2004) DeVotchKa
Books (there were so many that we didn’t read [Elijah read only a handful of novels from the 2000s], so this list is incredibly subjective and limited in scope)
Novels:
- Cloud Atlas (2004) David Mitchell
- House of Leaves (2000) Mark Z. Danielewski
- 2666 (2004) Roberto Bolaño
- Atonement (2001) Ian McEwan
- The Book of Illusions (2002) Paul Auster
- Black Swan Green (2007) David Mitchell
- American Gods (2001) Neil Gaiman
- Thinks (2001) David Lodge
- The City & The City (2009) China Mieville
Misc:
- Blankets (2003) Craig Thompson, graphic novel
- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000) Dave Eggers, memoir
- The Book of Other People (2007) ed. Zadie Smith, story collection
- The Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories (2007) Nicholas Gurewitch, comic collection
- Box Office Poison (2001) Alex Robinson, graphic novel
- The Rough Guide to Cult Fiction (2005) literary survey
- Wall and Piece (2005) Banksy, art collection
Religion/Christianity:
- Free of Charge (2006) Miroslav Volf
- Jesus of Nazareth (2008) Pope Benedict XVI
- The Sacredness of Questioning Everything (2009) David Dark
- Renewing the Center (2000) Stanley Grenz
- Across the Spectrum (2002) Gregory Boyd & Paul Eddy
- The Mosaic of Christian Belief (2002) Roger Olson
- The Shaping of Things to Come (2003) Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch
- These last three Tom Wright books are included for their effective introductory appeal rather than any necessary anticipation of ‘classic’ status.
- Paul: In Fresh Perspective (2005) N. T. (Tom) Wright
- Simply Christian (2006) N. T. (Tom) Wright
- Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision (2009) N. T. (Tom) Wright
Film (G | E)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Michel Gondry | ditto
- Amelie (2001) Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Lord of the Rings (2001-03) Peter Jackson
- Children of Men (2006) Alfonso Cuarón | There Will Be Blood (2007) P. T. Anderson
- Lord of the Rings (2001-03) Peter Jackson | The Pianist (2002) Roman Polanski
- The New World (2005) Terrance Malick | Dancer in the Dark (2000) Lars von Trier
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Wes Anderson | The Royal Tennenbaums (2001) Wes Anderson
- All the Real Girls (2002) David Gordon Green | Memento (2000) Christopher Nolan
- Waltz with Bashir (2008) Ari Folman | Adaptation (2002) Spike Jonze
- In the Mood For Love (2000) Kar Wai Wong | Big Fish (2003) Tim Burton
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001) Ang Lee | ditto
- The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (2007) Andrew Dominik | Zodiac (2007) David Fincher
- WALL-E (2008) Andrew Stanton | The Proposition (2005) John Hillcoat
- There Will Be Blood (2007) P. T. Anderson | Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Wes Anderson
- Memento (2000) Christopher Nolan | The Prestige (2006) Christopher Nolan
- Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Guillermo del Toro | Elephant (2003) Gus Van Sant
- The Royal Tennenbaums (2001) Wes Anderson | A Beautiful Mind (2001) Ron Howard
- The Proposition (2005) John Hillcoat | Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Guillermo del Toro
- The Prestige (2006) Christopher Nolan | About Schmidt (2002) Alexander Payne
- The Lives of Others (2007) Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Capote (2005) Bennett Miller
- Moulin Rouge (2001) Baz Luhrmann | Lost in Translation (2003) Sofia Coppola
- Donnie Darko (2001) Richard Kelly | American Splendor (2003) Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini