Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

Air have always had the ability to make staggering music, it's almost a tragedy that they are remembered for their more gimmicky exploit "Sexy Boy" than their more atmospheric and intoxicating works Kelly Watch The Stars and of course the delicate Cherry Blossom Girl. It's a perfectly judged track, fitting for such an inspiring metaphor, the subtle use of instrumentation throughout is particularly inspired. Hear It Here

Julian Casablancas may have been accused of having nothing but by golly did he know how to say it, and on his surprisingly intriguing solo album he showed of an array of irresistible soundbytes. Out Of The Blue was a masterpiece crammed full of unforgettable one liners and sharply pitched melodies but perhaps the most memorable and fitting of all Julian's one liners had to be the wonderfully knowing "I know I'm going to hell in a leather jacket, at least I'll be in a world while your pissing on my casket" Hear It Here

For those who don't know Child Rebel Soldiers or C.R.S are infact rap superstars Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams, three the of the twenty first century's greatest pioneers. However no matter how staggering or jaw dropping their rhymes are, and trust me they are (epecially Lupe's verse), the star of the show is not a rapper, but it is another of the 21st Century's great invators; Thom Yorke. The truly haunting and beautiful hook from The Eraser runs throughout the crack and it can't help but send a shiver shooting down your spine. Hear It Here

It seemed in 2009 Lily Allen touched a raw nerve with 22, a deeply unsettling track, along with producer Greg Kurstin Lily crafted another masterful slice juaxaposition. With it's goofy twinkly effects, finger clicks, piano line and vocal cadence it feels like something straight out of a feel good musical theatre production, a modern day showtune. However beneath the gloss lay a dark and depressing study of the inner neurosis of a 22 year old woman, or man for that matter. There's something quite chilling about this track as it splices dream and nightmare together into a short sharp and eternally snappy pop record. Hear It Here

Urgency was the word for Maximo Park on their debut A Certain Trigger, every track was exploding with energy and a frenetic sense of lust, however in the cold light of the day behind the frantic theatrics the strength of materiel simply wasn't there, they were truly nothing special. However one track above all the others was something a bit special, Apply Some Pressure buzzes with enthusiasm and despite being typical of its age it refuses to sound dated, a surprising triumph that still holds up five years on. Hear It Here

With a little help from a classic Michael Jackson line Rihanna transformed from pop princess to queen of the clubs. Don't Stop The Music simply didn't relent with it's pulsating beat and hook layered upon hook, it was quite simply the perfect package and went on to dominate the charts across the world for seemingly forever. Much of the credit must go to Stargate for some ultra slick production. Hear It Here

It's been over four hundred places since Art Brut's last entrance in the top 1,000 but with the gorgeous Formed A Band they come absolutely drenched in irony from head to toe. Formed A Band is undoubtedly the most hilarious track Art Brut have ever released and one of the most unforgettable first impressions any band has made on the rock and roll world. Eddie Argos was on fire on this track whether he was assuring us that this was his singing voice or declaring that "I want to be the boy, the man, who writes the song, that makes Israel & Palastine get along" with that one line Art Brut delivered the most brutal critique of pop musicians in rock and roll history.Six years on and Formed A Band still thrills. Hear It Here

It seems bizarre to say that after two year defining albums that thrust The Flaming Lips from art house outsiders to rock and roll superstardom that it was in fact their latest album Embryonic that felt like their definitive statement, this was the Lips, uncompromising, on their own terms. Of course the Lips went with atmospheric over blown sci fi themes but they didn't lose their gift for the mind bending single and Silver Trembling Hands was a delight it felt surprisingly visceral and remarkably urgent, while simultaneous being built around a child out hook. This was a track that always had something fascinating going on, and continues to reveal more and more delights with each and every listen. Oh and of course as if that wasn't enough the Lips decided to throw out Embryonic's best track Convinced Of The Hex as a b-side, what more could you possible ask for? Hear It Here

While in those early years Kaiser Chiefs drew more than a few comparisons to Blur in hindsight it feels unfair to compare the genius of Damon Albarn to the by the numbers lad rock of the Kaiser Chiefs. While that may sound like an insult it really isn't, after all few can stand up to the irony drench anthems penned by Mr. Albarn, so while Kaiser Chiefs may have been lad rock, they made damn sure they crafted the most inescapable and unavoidable lad rock imaginable. I Predict A Riot will always be a party starter, and will live long beyond it's generation becoming one of the classic sporting and party tracks of all time. Hear It Here

In 2007 Jack White unleashed his not so super super group upon the world, and the result were quite frankly less than stellar. The Raconteurs were by no means back but their brand of retro rock simply paled in comparison to the mighty White Stripes. So while they failed to set the world alight they did leave behind a few diamond studded singles, and none was finer than the dirty sleazy blues of Level, it combined jagged but controlled guitar work with some tight and inescapable pop hooks and remains the best song Jack White has penned outside of The White Stripes. Hear It Here

It seems a tragedy that it's been five years since the last time we were graced with a Gorillaz single, granted we've had the Good The Bad And The Queen, and Blur reunion, but we've missed the band that set about reinventing pop music before Lily Allen and Timbaland could turn the world on it's head. Dirty Harry was a master stroke a glorious disco laiden groove-athon with a children's choir and a truly inspired guest spot by Bootie Brown who reminded us of a sweeter time, before war, before the lies, when all we wanted to do was dance; "The War Is Over So Said The Speaker, With The Fight Suit On, Maybe To Him I'm Just A Pawn, So He Can Advance, Remember When We Used To Dance? I'll I Wanna Do Is Dance". Gorillaz have a new album in the works ready to drop in 2010, X Factor has wiped away the good work of Lily Allen and JT is it time for Gorillaz to save yet another decade from MOR destruction? Let's hope so, but until then lets just dance to Dirty Harry. Hear It Here

So sandwiched in between the likes of First Date and The Rock Show on Take Of Your Pants And Jacket laid Stay Together For The Kids, a surprisingly dark, bombastic and powerful track. It seemed so out of keeping with everything else Blink had produced up until this point and was the first real sign that beneath the one note jokes and jolly jaunts about teenage agnst lay a pair of serious songwriters. Stay Together For The Kids was incredibly dynamic and hit like a sledgehammer, and was at that point the greatest track Blink-182 had ever released. Hear It Here

"I'm Doing 100 On The Hi-way, If You Do The Speed Limit Get The Fuck Outta My Way, I'm DUI, Hardly Ever Caught Sober, And You Bout To Get Run The Fuck Over". Yes Ludacris, and Move Bitch in particularly is about as subtle as a sledgehammer strapped to rocket launched aimed squarely at the gonads. So while Luda is hardly a street poet, in Move Bitch he did create one of the most catchy and irresistible party jams of all time, this is one of those tracks that when it drops is too silly and too much fun to hate. Hear It Here.

Josh Holme is a sick fuck, there's no sense is skirting around the issue, and he seems to have three real pleasures in life; knob gags, drugs & sex, lots and lots of sex. Little Sister like almost every other Queens was utterly dripping with filthy dirty sex appeal. Like all of the Queens best work Little Sister was relentlessly groovy and eternally seductive. Of course behind the creepy croon of Holme laid a gorgeous and surprisingly subtle arrangement highlighted by a gilding guitar solo that wound smoothly and effortless like a serpent. Hear It Here

Being a acoustic singer songwriter is almost like being in purgatory, your almost doomed to go nowhere, you can sell truck loads of records but you'll never be cool, and if you came out after 1980 you have pretty much zero chance of gaining critical credibility. KT Tunstall failed to overcome so many of these hurdles as her second album set new standards for bland, but on her debut she stroke a real chord with Black Horse... right from the opening line you knew this track was gonna be special "My Hearts Knows Me Better Than I Know Myself, That's Why I'm Gonna Let It Do All The Talking", a surprisingly touching and insightful line, from there on in KT embarked on a bland acoustic equivalent of a sprawling epic, it was all down hill from here. Hear It Here

Bloc Party would go onto to become indie house band, and almost define the sound and ambition of so many up and coming scenesters in the late 2000s, but for Bloc Party it all started here. She's Hearing Voices was a declaration of intent, with it's glorious off beat drum line, it's sharp and effects laden guitar work and Kele leading the world in his low key maniacal chanting. In hindsight Bloc Party would never really sound this exciting or this daring again. Hear It Here

The 21st Century would be a tough place for an artist like Bjork, while it appeared that music on the whole had embraced her, and that niche music making was prominent, suddenly Bjork no longer looked like an innovator she looked like one of the many. Luckily Bjork was a true artist and never struggled for inspiration. Declare Independence started with what sounded like an electronic rape of Michael Jackson's Beat It, before it gave way to a powerful industrial march towards independence. Declare Independence seemed both a call to arms for the oppressed and to the one dimension scenester sheep of the world. No one expected Bjork to sound this vital in 2008. Hear It Here

Sometimes you feel a track is so perfect it cannot be bettered, Dolly Parton's Jolene seemed so definitive it seemed unimaginable that anyone else could claim the track as their own. But with the first primal cry of Jolene Jack had claimed the track as his own, Jack's raw and fragile voice bleed with emotion, it was as if his heart was breaking with each and every syable. Where these words his own I'd call this the most emotional powerful track of the decade, a lo-fi work of art. Hear It Here

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart were one of the few bands who managed to sublimely combine the post Strokes sound that dominated this decade with the dreary hazy sound that dominated the indie world in the previous decade. The result is a sound that at times can be europhic and disillusioned in equal measure. Most importantly Young Adult Friction sounds beautiful, the melodies are sublimely judged, and while they may not reinvent the wheel and influences are worn on the sleeves theirs a joy to behold in the precision and knowing soulfulness of their music. Hear It Here

In 2007 the Yeah Yeah Yeahs traded in their garage rock bluster for some thick and sexy grooves. While alot has been said out Karen O as a front women there is absolutely no doubt that she has one hell of a sexy voice, and she puts it to good use on this disco studded, sleek and sexy monster. Zero pulsated and grinded remorselessly while Karen crooned and squelled like she was having the time of her life. It seemed that for all the rock and roll bluster the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were always destined to be dancing queens. Hear It Here

In 2003 having effectively saved the world the backlash had reached unheard of levels and it was ready to engulf their brilliant and tragically under appreciated second album Room On Fire. Yet no level of ill will or resentment could undermine 12:51, it immediately flew into the charts, it was short sharp and sweet, it was everything the Strokes did best in one record. A perfect slice of garage rock minimalism, the melody was addictive, the narrative was glorious shallow and ironic, the guitar work was slick and well Fab's drums were as metronomic as ever, but best of all 12:51 sounded utterly effortless. Hear It Here

In 2006 Timbaland was ontop of the world and could legitimately claim to be the greatest producer walking the face of the earth. Justin Timberlake was his greatest pupil, and together they made some staggering music. What Goes Around... was typical of Timberlake's approach rather than making short sharp pop he was pushing boundaries creating sprawling five minute pop epics rather than two minute suger snaps. What Goes Around had a rich and vibrant arrangement and Timberlake never aloud the melody to settle, this track felt like it was a constant state of flux always evolving building understated hook ontop of understated hook. Hear It Here

Be Mine! highlight Robyn's underrated power as a slick and sharp songwriter. While she never seemed content to stick in one place lyrically and as a result her album varied wildly in quality, you kind of wish she'd have stuck to the Be Mine! formula more often. A desperate semi psychotic rant/cry for help, it's a situation that so many have us have faced, when you become obsessed or even a addicted to one person, their you're image of the ideal but of course they'll never be yours, it'll never happen. It was refreshingly honest and strikingly real. Hear It Here

Aha Shake Heartbreak was the album that solidified the Kings as one of indie's front runners and started their long rise to superstardom. Many still consider this LP as their finest and with good reason it was full of sharply crafted well judge pop music. King Of The Rodeo showed the beginnings of their stadium ambition, it had the slick and repetitive main riff, and understated and addictive groove, yet unlike their later work the Kings were firing this track out at rapid pace with Caleb spitting out with genuine venom. Hear It Here

Some tracks are definitive, they sound like mission statements, they perfectly encapsulate at band one particular moment in time, and for LCD Soundsystem their was no more definitive track in 2004 than Yeah. Whether you prefer the Crass version or the Pretentious version, it matter little as both were sublime, and this track simply oozed irony, it was utterly non plussed, this was the sound track to eye rolling world wide, it was sarcastic scornful and groovy as a motherfucker. The tracks undoubted highlight was the zombie-like repetition of the dreary "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" rarely has music said so little and yet implied so much. This may well be my personal favourite track of the decade. Hear It Here

In 2006 the Yeah Yeah Yeahs unleashed upon the world the biggest and most pure pop song to date, Cheated Hearts was a glorious piece of music, it was sweet and soothing and even the screech O and the crunching riffs of Zimmer somehow only served to add more layers to this charming and addictive pop songs. The ultimate genius of this track was it's ability to sound strangle chaotic maintaining a cobbled together sound and yet at the same time it's such a wonderfully polished pop song. It's this wonderful contradictions that gives Cheated Hearts it's brilliance. Hear It Here

It feels almost sacrilegious to say this but in the early 2000s Rachel Stevens released some of the most daring and exciting pop music on the planet, and Some Girls was their pierce de resistance. Of course it was Rachel Stevens name was on the album but it was Richard X's striking song writing and revolutionary production that truly deserves the credit. Some Girls while in many was the perfect pop song was far from complete, it had one major flaw that accounts for it's low positioning on the list, it never felt honest. When Lily Allen sings of giving head and frustrated depression it's believable, it's equally believable when Lady Gaga recites ridiculous tales of sexual exploits and tacit shallowness, these feel like Organic voices. Rachel on the other hand, was always a sham, she positioned herself as the every girl who gets passed up for a superior shallower and prettier model; now did she really expect anyone to buy that? Hear It Here

Some tracks send shivers down your spine from the first note, New Born is the ultimate example of just that, this was a track that was always destined to be a festival show stealer, it was a track created for the biggest of stages. It builds divinely the opening piano line starts the hand claps, Matt conducts a mass singalong and they build to that perfect moment when the guitar explodes and they drop THAT bassline ripping festival fields to shreds creating a sea of flying limps. While New Born may not be this decades greatest tracks, it is one of those tracks you simple must see live before you die! Hear It Here

From one great live track to another, while New Born was an unholy masterpiece of pomp and bluster, Daddy's Gone was more of a religious experience, fraught with emotional honesty, and stripped down minimalistic power. Lyrically Daddy's Gone was staggeringly honest and incredibly brave, it's one of those tracks that would either go down in legend as a thing of beauty or an utter laughing stock. Of course Daddy's Gone will always be remembered as the former, and in 2007 there was no more powerful, emotive or divisive band than Glasvegas. Hear It Here

It seems almost unthinkable to go from a track as powerful and beautiful as Daddy's Gone to a tracks as inane and false as Oops...I Did It Again, yet there couldn't be a more sublimely ridiculous track than Oops...? It has everything that made Britney so great in those early years. Of course there was a series of irresistible hooks and charming melodies, but what makes this track and Britney on the whole brilliant is her stupidity, this track, the video, the "oh babies" are just so inane and idiotic it's utterly diffusing. It's a master class, it's the definitive proof that if you can knowingly parody yourself, act a total fool and keep a straight face that you can achieve anything and everything. Rarely has their been a track where every last line is so addictive and yet so hilarious. Hear It Here