10 Happiest Albums of the Decade

Two-thousand through 2010 was a thrilling decade for entertainment. Videogames continually defied storytelling expectation, film delivered both brains and brawn (albeit more clumsily), television consistently impressed both the public (the behemoth that is American Idol) and critics (Big Love), and novels like and Away and The Post Birthday World proved great authors still exist. The most creative growth, however, took place in the realm of music. From the anthem pep of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium (2006) to Britney Spears' darkly futuristic pop in Blackout (2007), Shania Twain's genre-bending Up! (2002) and the solemn free-by-download In Rainbows by Radiohead (2007), music in the 2000s was as diverse as it was frighteningly similar. Shimmering electro-pop (Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor, 2005) and slinky throwback (Solange's Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams, 2008) were trends both widespread and pervasive, from superficial pop to underground hip-hop. But ten albums stand out in my mind as excellent, innovative from a creative standpoint and, as is most important to The Happiest Activist, a hell of a fun listen.

10. Kings of Leon, Only by the Night (2008)


















It's rumored Caleb Followill wrote Only in a single night, beginning with the haunting, desperate "Closer," about a vampire looking to feed. This is not their Happiest record of the decade, but the general tone and musicality of the album wins with major style points.

Happiest Track: "Revelry"


9. Sam Sparro, Sam Sparro (2008)


















Sparro's debut is unabashed 80's-style pop, but occasionally-deep lyrical content appears when least expected.

Happiest Track: "Too Many Questions"


8. Robyn, Robyn (2008)

















Simple, perfect pop.

Happiest Track: "Handle Me"


7. Feist, Let It Die (2004)

















Happiest Track: "Inside and Out"


6. Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster (2009)
















I was tempted to rank this higher on the list--no other female pop record was quite as fun in the 2000s--but the album is still fresh.

Happiest Track: "Bad Romance"


5. The Postal Service, Give Up (2003)

















Possibly also the Happiest Album Art Award?

Happiest Track: "Nothing Better"


4. Lily Allen, Alright, Still (2006)


















Lily Allen was and still is the most believable pop music brat. And her brand of humor has been copied again and again...(Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Kate Nash...lot's of K's, for some reason)

Happiest Track: "Knock 'Em Out"


3. Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine (2005)


















Happiest Track: "Better Version of Me"


2. The Killers, Hot Fuss (2004)


















There are a lot of faux-Brit rockers in the music world, but none as slick, sexual or pared down as Brandon Flowers and his less-relevant band members.

Happiest Track: "Smile Like You Mean It"


1. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (2006)


















Cutting selections from this list--which began much larger than the ten you see here--took a lot of careful consideration and research. I wanted to include a Madonna album, simply for the impact she's had on my life in the past decade, but no single album is better than the above ten (2000's Music came close). I also wanted to throw in Rihanna's Rated R (2009), which is altogether a better record than The Fame Monster but, let's all be honest, the Lady deserves a spot here. There were a hundred others--Shakira (for She Wolf, 2009) and John Mayer (Continuum, 2006), M.I.A. (Kala, 2007) and even electro-pop goddess Annie for the dazzling, whirling disco of Anniemal (2004). But when I had to make a choice for Happiest album, there was no doubt in my mind. Amy Winehouse is a legend in the making. She has a voice without peer and an ability to write lyrics as sharp as shattered glass--and as heartbreaking as the worst breakup you've ever been through. Paired with Mark Ronson's addictive beats and as-of-yet-unmatched talent at mimicking the rasp of vintage recordings, one can only hope her heart is broken again. And that's black.

Happiest Track (of the Decade): "Back to Black"

"I'm an f***in' red neck!"

The above quote is by Sarah Palin's daughter's babydaddy. Yeah, I'm reallllly feelin' McCain's choice for VP--but not for the same reasons the RNC.

(I'm thinking the babydaddy's quote needs to be put on a tee-shirt right away. Like, now. And then "McCain/Palin 08" on the bottom. I would wear that schniz all day long.)

So, random stuff today.

1. Britney Spears got hot.

2. This is hilarious.

3. We all knew it was coming. Kanye, Jay-Z, and T.I. ripped off M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" and crafted a sick track called "Swagger Like Us." It's not even on iTunes--not to mention radio--so you'll have to figure it out downloading it on your own (wink), but I highly recommend you do. The production is dirrrty and reminiscent of T.I.'s King album, with the M.I.A. sample just odd enough that the track retains some authenticity. The lyricism is, naturally, the track's greatest asset: "I can wake up and be the shi*t and the urine." I don't need to tell you who delivers that one.

Awkward moment: Jay-Z...uhh...sings "Ho-o-va" after his verse, sounding like an animal you'd shoot on a safari.

4. The reemergence of "Ma Ya Hi" by Numa Numa. Rihanna's singing it, rappers are sampling it...it's It.

White Polo/Black Denim

While I was in Austin last week I stopped by Barney's and bought a white polo for around $40 (normally like $80 or so--I wouldn't have bought it any more expensive than I did). I'm not a polo kind of guy by any means. I shy away from anything too trendy, like cargo pants, striped or colored polos, Sperry's, etc. But I wanted a simple white polo.

Like any good menswear fit, the polo gives me just a few inches in my chest and maybe one on each of my shoulders. It's rare to find a polo narrow enough to fit my body type and not look too tight, so I'm thrilled Barney's sells these.

My only problem is the collar. You can see it's a soft pima cotton--too thin to stay rigid like any good collar should, in my opinion. But the best part is when I combine this with anything black.

Therefore, I bought some ridiculously gangster black 7s, but the photos I took were either too blurry or blown out by the flash. I'll work on that.

On another note, I am extremely unimpressed by Santogold, some creepy new band Entertainment Weekly crowned "the next M.I.A." Sacrilege, in my opinion, and one more reason to dislike EW...they're lucky I forgave them for their pitiful review of Kanye's Glow in the Dark Tour...

Review: M.I.A. and Holy F***

If you have not already guessed, I am currently in Austin, my future home for university. The weather is flawless, although a bit on the hot side. The trees are the best part. They arch over the street like nature's own street tunnel.

With the heat as the sole exception, the M.I.A. show was in stark contrast to the beauty surrounding 45th and Duvall.

My friends Lauren and Julianne, along with my brother, arrived at La Zona Rosa for the show around 7:25 or so, expecting the crowd to feel like a sold-out show. It didn't. The crowd was kind of noobish, really, like the Glow in the Dark crowd. Where my hardcore peeps at? Do they even exist anymore?!?

No matter. I slipped my card into the ATM for some money (R2D2 has nothing on the money-printing pimp that is the La Zona Rosa ATM) for a tee, only to realize M.I.A.'s shirts were $30.00. I thought she was a Sri Lankan refugee, not Laura Hutton at Barney's. Suffice it to say I skipped out on the "How Many How Many" tee...it was hard...

Holy F*** (a name I will never print--it isn't creative, only a combination of two controversial words into one gross band title) started the show off decently. I'm not into instrumental-only music, which was exactly what HF was. Around the 30 minute mark my mild interest became dislike. I was just bored and hot and sweaty and surrounded by second-hand seed. As Bo would say, "It was nast." (note the missing "y")

Around 8:30 or so HF left the stage. We waited in torturous conditions for over an hour until M.I.A. finally came on stage, and I have a right to call that heat torturous. I've been to two Austin City Limits, more concerts and shows than I can count, and nothing compared to that stifling heat and sweaty body proximity. Once the show started, I found out for like twenty minutes I had been grinding the behind of a dude. Nothing against dudes grinding each other at an M.I.A. show, but the realization was just a little disarming when I thought it was a red-headed UT freshman female I had met earlier.

There weren't any highlights of her show, per se, because it all blended into one big Brazillian dance hall frenzy. It was a blast, yes, but I wanted to see M.I.A., and I can't remember a single moment when I felt, "Yes, I've connected and I get it." More than anything, I remember what she didn't perform. No "Jimmy." No "Bucky Done Gun." No "Hustle." No "Comes Around." No "The Turn." No "Hombre." Not singing Jimmy was the most egregious fault--that was actually a moderate hit on some radio stations.

"Galang" was the best song of the night, with the booming base and tribal singing. She knows how to get the crowd going, for sure, but she caters to the front row of around fifteen people the entire time, ignoring the fans who would rather preserve their self-respect and not shove little girls and midgets out of the way to get to the front of the stage.

I'm not kidding, either: some of these "fans" literally shoved past a little Hispanic midget sitting next to me.

Overall, I was satisfied in knowing I have visually seen M.I.A. But for the rest of my senses, I felt a sweaty fatty in front of me, I heard a muffled warbling of bass and gunshots, I tasted my own salty sweat all night, and I smelled pot in all directions.

M.I.A. was better at ACL. But hey, it was $30.00 and I can now say I lived that scene in the Matrix, in the S&M dance club, when everybody is humping each other regardless of race, gender, orientation, or political affiliation (although I'm sure this crowd was of the Ron Paul-ilk). Just switch the black leather for pink and yellow linen and you've got the M.I.A. show.