Making a little blog comeback here. I thought that it would be suitable to summarize the previous decade, so I decided to list the best songs of the 00s. Ended up with 22 lovely tracks. Enjoy!

1. OASIS - GO LET IT OUT (2000)
7th February 2000: The 90s took one last breathe - in the form of a single that was just as good as Oasis’ best numbers from their golden years. Packed with attitude, Go Let It Out swaggered along until Noel Gallagher’s final guitar solo finished off the track that topped an album (Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants) that rarely reached the same heights as Oasis’ previous works. Remember, “The right time is always now.”

2. KASABIAN - CLUB FOOT (2004)
The best new band of the decade entered the spotlight in style, with this unforgettable club anthem. Oasis meets the Happy Mondays. A substitute for a private army walking in the back of the listener.

3. ARCTIC MONKEYS - BRIANSTORM (2007)
The Arctic Monkeys managed to follow up their successful debut Whatever People Say I Am, I Am Not (2006), with the even better record Favourite Worst Nightmare. This, the first single off the album, was pure rock n roll. A classic.

4. MGMT - TIME TO PRETEND (2008)
The very definition of an Indie anthem, delivered straight from Brooklyn.

5. SUPERGRASS - RUSH HOUR SOUL (2002)
Of all the britpop stars of the 90s, Supergrass have done the best job in keeping their youth intact - and they still exist! During the 00s, they released three splendid albums, including 2002’s Life On Other Planets. The best track on it was this three-minute uptempo party single.

6. OASIS - THE SHOCK OF THE LIGHTNING (2008)
Written by Noel Gallagher, sung by Liam Gallagher: This single headlined the last (?) album (Dig Out Your Soul) involving the two brothers. The Shock Of The Lightning was a definitive statement - Oasis were back, almost as good as in 1995. It was a song crafted through the classic Oasis formula: Nonsense lyrics, loads of attitude, roaring guitars, hooks that you just couldn’t get off your brain; and everything underlined by Liam’s sneering vocals. After perfecting rock n roll music during two decades, Dig Out Your Soul and The Shock Of The Lightning was the perfect way for Oasis to (unintentionally) say goodbye in style.

7. THE KILLERS - WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG (2006)
The Killers’ two first albums were a salvation for American rock music. And their strange blend of Bruce Springsteen and britpop was perfected on this track. A diamond.

8. THE ENEMY - NO TIME FOR TEARS (2009)
It can probably be said that the lads from Coventry, hyped up by British music press after OK debut We’ll Live And Die In These Towns (2007), underachieved with 2009’s Music For The People. But the album contained at least one number that not only aspired to greatness - it was arguably the best song of the whole year. A powerful mid-tempo rocker, groovy and swaggering.

9. KENT - SOCKER (2002)
In terms of music, these Arctic latitudes doesn’t have anything better to offer than Kent. They never sounded more *pop* than on 2002’s album Vapen & Ammunition. This showdown with the celebrity culture and reality TV of the early 00s was the best of the pack.

10. MUSE - STARLIGHT (2006)
I would like to think that Muse is a silly band - but I can’t. Despite their symphonic arrangements and dark, sometimes over-pretentious, lyrics, I like them a lot. They are simply too good to dislike. Starlight is a dreamy number, bombastic and hopeful despite the apparent loneliness of the protagonist.

11. KASABIAN - I.D. (2004)
More attitude from Kasabian’s debut album, a record dubbed the best of the decade by Liam Gallagher.

12. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - THE RISING (2002)
Here, the Boss reunited with the E Street Band, for the first time on a studio album since 1984’s Born In The U.S.A. A strong and beautiful song, released in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy.

13. KAISER CHIEFS - OH MY GOD (2005)
The Blur of the noughties proved their quality with this pop masterpiece. Perhaps the britpoppiest moment of the decade? Lovely chorus.

14. PULP - BAD COVER VERSION (2001)
Jarvis Cocker and friends came back three years after the glorious 1998 release This Is Hardcore and proved that britpop in the noughties didn’t have to be a bad cover version of the real deal. Once again amazing lyrics from the Sheffield star.

15. THE VERVE - LOVE IS NOISE (2008)
It took eleven years for Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe and the others to return after their second disbandment (following 1997’s Urban Hymns). Love Is Noise was a quite unusual The Verve single, but the dance rhythms worked like a charm. Not a new Bittersweet Symphony, but better than most of what this decade had in store.

16. KENT - COLUMBUS (2007)
Kent went back to their more introvert roots during the last years of the decade, and released this electronic lowtempo masterpiece. Arctic city melancholy just creeps onto the listener.

17. ASH - POLARIS (2007)
Dramatic single by britpop survivors. Don’t really know why I like this song, but the melody is nice and I guess that the bombastic production hits some nerve inside.

18. SCISSOR SISTERS - DON’T FEEL LIKE DANCING (2006)
Well, I feel like dancing when I hear this song.

19. THE KILLERS -ALL THESE THINGS THAT I’VE DONE (2004)
I got soul, but I’m not a soldier.

20. IAN BROWN - STELLIFY (2009)
Who would’ve thought Ian Brown suddenly would come out with his best work in twenty years? The ex-Stone Roses man delivered the best pop single of the last year of the decade.

21. THE FRATELLIS - LOOK OUT SUNSHINE (2008)
During the latter part of the decade a new wave of more classicist indie rock bands emerged in the UK. The Fratellis was the best of the pack, and this tune is simply irresistible.

22. OASIS - STOP CRYING YOUR HEART OUT (2002)
Had to put this lennonesque ballad on the list. Released 17th June 2002, just in time for England’s World Cup exit vs Brazil. Stop Crying Your Heart Out became, with the help of the BBC, the soundtrack of goalkeeper David Seaman’s misfortunes and the country’s horrible loss. Other than that, it is an absolutely splendid song.

OK, that’s enough.

Noel Gallagher has officially left Oasis. Absurd news.

Let’s all make believe, that we’re still friends and we like each other.
Let’s all make believe, in the end we’ll need each other

…på vägen mot Trippeln…

Det blev till slut en ganska säker seger för HIF i dubbelmötet mot FC MIKA, även om Pär Hansson sattes på en del tuffa prov i dagens bortamatch (1-1). Nu väntar mer kaukasiskt motstånd i FC Zestafoni, och det är kanske inte framför allt motståndarlaget som känns svårt, utan spelschemat. Europa League-kvalet spelas sex torsdagar i rad utan paus, vilket innebär att HIF, vid seger mot Zestafoni, har åtta matcher på fyra veckor framför sig. Med en skadedrabbad trupp. Det blir inte lätt.

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Mathias Unkuris inhopp idag var intressant. Kanske hans bästa insats i HIF-tröjan? Gissar att han får chansen ett tag igen mot Elfsborg, framför allt om Larsson inte är med.

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I Svenska Cupen väntar Blåvitt i semifinal. På Olympia, som tur är. En match HIF ska ha god chans att vinna. Göteborg är inte särskilt bra borta, och vi har ganska lätt för dem på Olympia. Man kan ju också hoppas att de har tappat ytterligare några nyckelspelare till den matchen, som inte spelas förrän tidigast i september.

Favorit till titeln i den turneringen är dock tyvärr AIK. Man möter Häcken hemma i semi, och lottades till hemmaplansfördel även i en förmodad final.

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Fast det gick ju bra för HIF senast vi besökte Råsunda…

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Som vanligt gjorde Tobias Hysén mål för Göteborg. Två stycken, och återigen visade han upp ett klassavslut. Titta här. Jag tycker att Hyséns målproduktion är grymt imponerande, och han verkar vara i precis samma form nu som han var i innan sommaruppehållet. Detta är alltså en 27-åring, som innan årets säsong aldrig spelat som centerforward. 13 allsvenska matcher senare sitter han på 9 mål, varav flera varit mycket imponerande. Tror att det här är en kille som med sina giftiga djupledslöpningar skulle passa perfekt bredvid Larsson eller Ibrahimovic i landslaget.

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Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om HIF, IFK Göteborg, AIK, fotboll, Europa League, Svenska Cupen

Startelvan är nu släppt, och den tyder på att den på flera plan ifrågasatte Andreas Landgren tar plats centralt på Bosse Nilssons mittfält. Trodde att det lutade åt Skulason eller Svanbäck där, men man hade alltså fel.

Tyvärr är varken Holgersson eller Ekstrand friska, varför detta kan komma att bli en riktigt obehaglig upplevelse. Känns det som.

Men vi håller tummarna.

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Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om HIF, fotboll, Europa League

Erik Sundin missar Europa League-matchen pga. skada, rapporterar HD…

Jahaja.

Vad väljer Bosse nu? René Makondele kommer troligen att flyttas upp som forward. Gissar att detta innebär att Mathias Unkuri får göra sin första match från start i HIF-tröjan på mycket länge, till vänster på mittfältet. Ett annat tänkbart alternativ är att Adama Tamboura får ta klivet upp på mittfältet och att Erik Wahlstedt ersätter som vänsterback (då Markus Holgersson troligen spelar).

Det senare är den lösning jag själv skulle föredra, men jag är tveksam till om Bosse Nilsson vill röra om ytterligare med backlinjen. Inom ramen för bibehållet spelsystem kan ju också Fredrik Svanbäck komma att testas som vänstermittfältare, förutsatt att det centrala mittfältet befolkas av Marcus Bergholtz och Olafur Skulason. Detta håller jag dock som mindre troligt, då (a) Bosse visat att Unkuri ligger före Svanbäck i kön för tillfället, och att (b) Svanbäck mycket väl kan komma att starta matchen som innermittfältare. Han spelade innermitt senast i U21-laget.

Annars är det också tänkbart att Bosse väljer att gå över till ett 4-5-1-system med Rasmus Jönsson ensam på topp, Makondele till vänster och Svanbäck som offensiv spets i en mittfältstriangel med. Alternativt med Unkuri till vänster och Makondele som tillbakadragen forward.

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Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om HIF, fotboll, Europa League

Nu spelar äntligen Oasis låtar från Be Here Now live igen. När bandet i förra veckan drog igång den enorma sommaretappen på sin världsturné (med spelning inför 70000 åskådare i Heaton Park i Manchester), fanns My Big Mouth med på setlisten. Det är grymt.

Tycker fan att den Ringo-sjungna Yellow Submarine drar ner Beatles Revolver-album en del. I övrigt är den ju en av de 10 bästa skivorna i världshistorien. Och det viktigaste?

I’m Only Sleeping - ace!

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Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Beatles, Revolver, musik

About a year has passed since Oxford boys Supergrass released their sixth studio album Diamond Hoo Ha. Providing a rougher and less sophisticated sound than its predecessor (2005’s Road To Rouen), Diamond Hoo Ha felt as a sign of Supergrass returning to the fantastic form of 2002’s Life On Other Planets.

The britpop veterans (Note: singer Gaz Coombes was born as late as 1976) delivered an album that started out as a big sucker punch in the face, continued to provide top class 2000s britpop - but the high class faded a bit towards the end.

Opening track and lead single Diamond Hoo Ha Man featured one of the most exciting bass lines I’ve ever heard, and it was followed by the rough Bad Blood (about a late night out in Reykjavik). Supergrass sounded dirtier than ever before. Tracks #3 and #4, the stomping glam rocking Rebel In You and the exciting and endangering When I Needed You (featuring a rememberable guitar solo), were among the band’s top 10 songs ever. The first six songs on the record (tracks #5 and #6 being 345 and The Return Of Inspiration) were… inspiring and together they constituted a block of songs that can’t be matched by many rock n roll albums in world history.

I wouldn’t like to say that the second half of the album is weak in any way, but certainly they didn’t reach the same astronomous levels as the opening numbers. Some of them (such as Ghost Of A Friend and Rough Knuckles) were, while being decent songs, sounding more Road To Rouen than Life On Other Planets. And that was not positive in my book.

Still, the final parts didn’t make Diamond Hoo Ha a poor record. It was LOUD, glammy and stirring - a great rock n roll album that could have been a classic if it had ended in the same manner as it began.

VERDICT: 8/10

Best tracks: Rebel In You, When I Needed You, Diamond Hoo Ha Man, Return Of Inspiration
Spotify Link

Britpop at its best: Dodgy, a quite early britpop act, who used to be supported by Oasis in the early 90s. This clip is from the Phoenix Festival ‘96. The song is In A Room, from the fantastic album Free Peace Sweet (1996).

Har aldrig lyssnat på Heavy Stereo, Oasis-Gems britpopband som släppte sitt enda album 1996 (Déjà Voodoo).

Därför var det jävligt gött när jag hittade den här videon, till singeln Mouse In A Hole. Riktigt bra grejor! Och det märks att Gem är ett Stones-fan.