Welcome to Part 7 of 22 of the Noughtie series. You've seen my overall favourite artists in the first part, but what about the artists that started their careers in the actual decade? Only two in that listing have made this list. What two? Who are the other eight? Let's get to it shall we!
10. Dizzy Rascal
Began in the Year: 2000
Good 'ol Dizzy. He's one of those rappers that can work with an alternative audience really well. For me personally his brightest moments were his early single "Fix Up, Look Sharp" which sampled The Big Beat, a cracker of a song, and "Bonkers" which had a phenomenal bassline. He's done a great job working in between the two worlds of rap and alternative, working with Florence and the Machine definitely continued his expanding reputation to colaborate and entwine genres. I don't like everything he's done, but I thoroughly respect the guy, he's a very talented man, even if he does sound dumb with his dopey sounding vocals.
9. The Zutons
Began in the Year: 2001
The Zutons have disappeared slightly off radar recently but there's no doubt they can make catchy songs once in a while. Abi Harding has also made saxaphone playing slightly sexy again as well. My favourite song by The Zutons is their brilliant "Pressure Point", I love how the song starts off slow, and the fantastic "hoow, hoo, hoo" calls infest the song. By the end, the lead singer Dave McCabe shouts "pressure! pressure!", it's just fantastic stuff. Yeah, The Zutons are a good band I'm fond of.
8. Bloc Party
Began in the Year: 2003
Bloc Party are one of those bands that don't (in my opinion) stand out very easily, with so many other indy bands out there trying to do their very similar thing. But when you do payt attention to this band, you can appreciate their music, they do some good tracks. My personal favourite is probably "The Prayer", I just think it sounds kick-ass, I love the tribal drums and the humming at the start and then the chorus with it's eighties synth sound is great. Bloc Party are a great British band.
7. Pendulum
Began in the Year: 2002
I remember a time when this band came out and everyone started calling them a ripoff of The Prodigy. In a certain way they are but they do have their own style, naturally inspired by The Prodigy, but nevertheless it's certainly not stealing. In fact, both bands respect each other and I believe have remixed each others songs. My personal favourite is probably Slam, I just think it's their best sounding song, and it has a fantastic video to boot.
6. Grinderman
Began in the Year: 2006
Okay do Grinderman count? Technically, this isn't a new band, it's pretty much the same band as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, so you could argue I'm cheating. Yet Nick Cave's "other" band has a different sound, a different direction. Grinderman combines Nick Cave's previous two bands together, The Bad Seeds and The Birthday Party. Grinderman is a middle ground of the melodic ballads of the Seeds and the frenetic teenage angst of the Party. Grinderman are a fantastic band, it's just debatable if they're new or not. My favourite track is definitely "No Pussy Blues", a brilliant song that if you have not heard it, is a must-listen track.
5. Arctic Monkeys
Began in the Year: 2002
Every indie fan's new favourite band the Arctic Monkeys have took Britain by storm, in a way not seen since Oasis really. Thankfully, interest in the band has gone down slightly since their first couple of albums, because as much as I do like this band, they were extremely overhyped. But they do have that fantastic swagger, that "feeling" in their presence on the telly and on the radio as a "propa British band", a band we can as a country be proud of. My favourite track is probably the first single of their second band, "Brianstorm", as that guitar riff is just phenomenal stuff. It also boasts one of the most bizarre lyrics I've ever heard "see you later, elevator". Hmm...
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Began in the Year: 2000
There was a time when I didn't like this band. It was a personal reason, someone I have bad memories of loved them. So I immediately disliked them. But, years later, my fiancée loved them. I listened to them a few times and really started to appreciate their music. I appreciated how good they are. They have done some great songs, probably my favourite being "Pin", which is a brilliantly noisy track, the only problem with that song is that it's far too short.
3. Florence and the Machine
Began in the Year: 2007
Florence Welch, or her band name, Florence and the Machine, are the most recent new artist on this list, starting in 2007. In 3 years Florence has established herself as one of British rock's most promising acts. With her distinctive look and elegant vocal style, she's probably the best natural female singer since Dolores O'Riordan. I'm a huge fan of hers, and her debut album is fantastic. If I were to choose one song it'd be "Kiss With a Fist", I love it as it shows a slightly harder edge to her, most of the time she looks and sounds harmless but she does bite with this one.
2. Franz Ferdinand
Began in the Year: 2002
As I said before, the top 2 were in my overall favourite artists, but that doesn't mean I can't say more about them. Franz Ferdinand are one of those bands that are very well received but also have a lot of people disliking them. I don't know if it's lead singer Alex constant use of raising his eyebrow, if it's the drums that sound very similar in each track, or if it's that they were a part of this Art Rock movement in the early Noughties. But I think they're one of the most consistent bands of the decade, and haven't deviated away from making good music. My favourite song is probably "Lucid Dreams" a seven minute synth-rock masterpiece (in my opinion) that just sounds brilliant.
1. The Fratellis
Began in the Year: 2005
Yup, my favourite artist to come out of the last decade is The Fratellis. The reason why Franz Ferdinand got a higher rank in the "Overall Favourite" listing is because they have released three very solid albums. The Fratellis have only released two, but I prefer those two albums to the three FF albums. The Fratellis are a brilliant band, they really produce fantastic music, underrated music. Everyone talks about "Chelsea Dagger" but seriously, if you like that song you need to get their albums, they're full of fantastic, catchy songs, especially the first album. The second album is more melodic, a more mature album. But I think The Fratellis are becoming one of the most underrated bands at the moment. Get their stuff!
And we come to a close with this listing. I shall be back on Wednesday with the Best of 2003. Is it my favourite year in music? It's definitely up there. See you in a couple of days.
