The Top 10 Years of the Decade
Features, Humor — By Dylan Peterson on December 26, 2009 at 12:00 am#10: 2001
Our country took a hit this year. The hit was so bad, it was enough to define the rest of the decade as the ‘Post-9/11 Era.’ P.O.D. also released their album Satellite on September 11th. Their song ‘Alive’ became America’s anthem for the rest of the year. It should already be clear, this was the worst year of the decade.
#9: 2008
This was the most distracting year of the decade. The only thing people cared to talk about was the presidential race. In the end, it turned out to be a good result, but the process was absolutely grueling. And in the meanwhile, our country fell into recession. 2008 heralded the worst economic times we’ve seen in three decades.
#8: 2000
Y2K didn’t happen. Disappointment right from the start. And it didn’t look anything like “the future” either. No flying cars, no robot armies. And to top everything off, George W. Bush became our president. It was a very disappointing year. Not a fun way to start the new millennium.
#7: 2009
It’s possible for 2009 to move up the list before the year is over, but it’s not looking good. The economic climate in America is dreadful, but just having Barack Obama becoming President is something to keep this year out of the bottom three. Plus, some people still think that lolcats are funny. Not a good sign… But, this is the year that we’ll see Where the Wild Things Are. This movie alone might make 2009 a “good year.”
#6: 2006
This is the “meh” year of the decade. It’s the middle child of the new millennium. Forgettable, unappreciated, mediocre. What happened in 2006? I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, but I honestly can’t remember anything about it. I did get engaged to Jaclyn that Christmas, and that was cool. But everything before that was just debates about whether Bible college kids should be allowed to watch DVD’s in the dorm rooms. What a strange year it was…
Time for the upswing. 2004 signaled a change in the atmosphere. We elected Bush again, which was absolutely bizarre. But this was the year that gave us Arcade Fire’s Funeral and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Those two pieces of art should say enough. Possibly the best album of the decade and the best movie of the decade, both released in the Autumn of 2004. Something good happened this year. Our art proved it.
#4: 2003
We might have been deluded this year, but it felt like our country was on the right track. We felt united, but we started to question things that were taken for granted before. I think this was a turning point year for America and set the stage for a weird, wild decade.
#3: 2005
The main reason I have this year at number 3 is because Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois came out this year. It said to the rest of the country: “look out, Illinois is hot stuff.” And then a few years later, one of ours becomes President and we put in the major bid the 2016 Olympics for America. Other 2005 highlights: our Illinois men’s basketball team had their best year ever and our White Sox won the World Series. This was a solid year. Especially if you were a Chicagoan.
#2: 2002
Honestly, the only reason this is number 2 is because I graduated high school in 2002. It was a very good year for me personally. I also began dating Jaclyn this year. I don’t know what happened outside of my individual subjectivity in 2002, but if it was this good for me, I’m sure it couldn’t have been that bad on the outside. I mean, I’m no solipsist.
#1: 2007
The best year of the decade? I guess. I do remember this year as a great one for film. No Country, There Will Be Blood, I’m Not There, Once. It was a very good year for film. And one of the rare years when the Academy Awards got it right. In Rainbows was pretty revolutionary too. One of the landmark moments in rock and roll history for sure. And I think this was the year when we really ‘got it’ when it comes to environmentalism. Al Gore won the Nobel Peace prize. People started “living green.” As annoying as that phrase is today, it really is one of the prouder social phenomenons of the decade. And I got married in 2007. Went to Berlin. Lived in Chicago with my wife. Got published for the first time in my writing career. Yeah. It was a good year…
The Top 10 Years of the Decade. Listed.
17 Comments
I guess injecting political ideals remains acceptable at Burnside as humor. Y-A-W-N.
Wow. A list I completely disagree with. Forget the Obama-Bush stuff. I’m speaking of your listing Eternal Sunshine as a great movie.
Because I had a friend who sang on the soundtrack and in the song which plays as the closing credits roll, I really tried to like this movie. Tried hard. But I just couldn’t.
The good news is, that group also appeared on an episode of Scrubs, so it makes up for the movie. Kind of.
i cant remember anything about 2006 either really. The Great DVD Debate! haha. I enjoy seeing your lists of favorites, my list would be totally different but equally as subjective.
ps lolcats are still funny. ie i laughed when i saw the one you posted, but i guess i never spent much time looking at them
this list is funny, but how long ago was it written? or are you still looking forward to seeing where the wild things are?
It was written months ago… I saw Wild Things and even reviewed it for Burnside. It didn’t make 2009 much better though.
And this comment about Eternal Sunshine, I just don’t know what to say. Did you hate it so much that you would have put 2004 below #5? And Scrubs is awful. Zach Braff? I’m very confused right now…
james is just a contrarian. everybody says eternal sunshine is one of the best movies of the decade, so he has to hate it.
Aaron, you’re a jerk.
Dylan, for the record, I was being tongue-in-cheek. Many here would have expected me to argue about your comments about Obama and Bush, so I threw a curve ball and said that whoever is leader of our nation isn’t a big deal, but I’m gonna argue about movies.
At the time, it seemed funny. Clever, even. Too bad Aaron had to ruin the moment by throwing insults.
Note: I didn’t like Eternal Sunshine, but I do understand why many do like it. I was impressed by the acting of the two leads.
Note 2: to Aaron. My favorite movie of the past year was Up. Feel free to argue.
so it sounds like you’re kinda saying i was right? you didn’t really believe what you said and were mostly arguing for the sake of argument, because you thought it would be funny? i think the moment was ruined long before i said anything though.
and up was awesome.
No, I didn’t say you were even a little bit right. And you’re still being a jerk.
i didn’t say that you acknowledged that i was right, just that you confirmed what i said.
Now now boys.
James, come on, admit it, at least 60% of your comments are things you disagree with on articles. Calling you a contrarian wasn’t exactly slander, but I understand how you could take it as an attack. I (usually) have no problem with your comments, because like (I think you’ve said) it would be boring and a little self-satisfying if Burnside was only read/commented on by people who all agreed on everything. I’m glad you’re a part of the community.
and Aaron, while I don’t actually disagree with what you said, you can at least try and admit that James does bring something to the Burnside boards, and is much, much more logical, compassionate, and overall sane that some “contrarians” we’ve had.
Basically I find both of you likable dudes (Aaron is usually hilarious) and hate to see you fight. Truce?
As far as I can tell, contrarians are the only people who read this site, which suits me just fine.
The election in 2008 just swallowed everything else. Zondervan released my book right before the election, which meant NOBODY in the media would give me ten seconds. My PR person actually came up with a political angle for a book that had nothing to do with politics. On election day, I ended up on some conservative talk radio show in Colorado. I talked about cynicism in politics and avoided supporting a candidate, but I kept using the word “hope” over and over. Elicited groans every time. Mission accomplished.
wow, this was disappointing. It’s all about you dude.
Nice. I’m a fan. I don’t really get all of the references, but you caught my attention when I saw the picture of Sufjan in the Illinois shirt. U of I is just a hoppin place right now. And you went to Lincolnway. I didn’t. But I grew up near there.