Tag Archives: Decades

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Song of the Day #3,582: ‘Silvertown Blues’ – Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler’s Sailing to Philadelphia is my third favorite album of 2000. This was Knopfler’s second solo effort (not including soundtrack work) and the first album of his I really dug into since 1988’s Dire Straits greatest hits collection Money For Nothing.

I’ve always loved Dire Straits’ sound, particularly Knopfler’s guitar work, but I’m far from a completist. I own Making Movies and Brothers in Arms — classics both — but other than the early hits, that’s it.

But Sailing to Philadelphia struck a nerve and continues to resonate nearly two decades later.

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Song of the Day #3,581: ‘The Way I Am’ – Eminem

My #4 album of 2000 is a record I still consider Eminem’s best: The Marshall Mathers LP. The celebrated rapper has put out a number of great albums since this one (including The Eminem Show and the Marshall Mathers sequel) but this record’s culture-shattering impact gives it the edge.

Through today’s lens this album seems almost tame but at the time it ignited a firestorm of controversy over free speech and satire. Second Lady Lynne Cheney lambasted the album and called on the music industry to adopt age restrictions. The controversy just helped propel the album to a then-record 1.76 millions sales in its first week alone.

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Song of the Day #3,580: ‘Some Flowers Bloom Dead’ – The Wallflowers

It’s been more than a year since I last contributed to my Decades series. To refresh your memory, this is where I highlight albums from a specific year across four decades. I started with 1972 before covering 1982, 1992 and 2002, then moved to 1970, 1980 and 1990. Which brings me to 2000.

As always, I will feature my own top five albums of the year before exploring songs from ten celebrated albums I’ve never heard. All clear?

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Song of the Day #3,178: ‘Everything Flows’ – Teenage Fanclub

Wrapping up my look at the music of 1990, here’s Teenage Fanclub with their debut album, A Catholic Education.

The Scottish alternative band would morph into more of a power pop band on subsequent releases, but this album sounds like an early grunge record. I’m guessing I’d prefer their later work.

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Song of the Day #3,177: ‘Birdhouse in Your Soul’ – They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants has released 19 studio albums, including one as recently as last year, but their most popular and acclaimed remains 1990’s Flood. The record was the Brooklyn duo’s major label release and featured their two biggest hits, ‘Birdhouse in Your Soul’ and ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople).’

I’ve always lumped TNBG in with Barenaked Ladies as bands with definite musical chops that toe the line between legitimate artists and novelty acts. I’m a big fan of most Barenaked Ladies albums, but I don’t know anything by They Might Be Giants other than the two hits mentioned above, so I don’t know if my assessment is correct.

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