00 R eality TV, multichannel TV, MP3 players, MySpace, YouTube, the mobile web – technology changed our lives in first decade of the 21st century, and the music industry was powerless to resist. It was the decade when the internet made its first serious impact on the charts – when everyone had an iPod, and when artists such as the Arctic Monkeys or Lily Allen cemented their reputation on websites such as MySpace. It was the decade when TV stations began to crave the “interactivity†that the internet allowed – leading to the “reality TV†boom and phone-in talent shows such as Pop Idol and The X Factor. It was also a decade when no single sound dominated any other. From power pop to post-glam, punk to grime, R&B to retro soul, it was a time of experimentation, samples, cover versions, and the rise of the celebrity producer – with some great tunes along the way.
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MODERN BRITISH MUSIC
DEFINITIVE NOUGHTIES PLAYLIST I BET YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR (2005) – Arctic Monkeys THE ANGRY MOB (2007) – Kaiser Chiefs FIT BUT YOU KNOW IT (20 04) – The Streets SMILE (2006) – Lily Alle n JUST A LITTLE (2001) – Liberty X SUPERSTAR (2003) – Jam elia BACK TO BLACK (2007) – Amy Winehouse STRICT MACHINE (2003) – Gol MOUTHWASH (2007) – Kat dfrapp e Nash THANK YOU (2001) – Did o ONE DAY LIKE THIS (2008) – Elbow TAKE ME OUT (2004) – Franz Ferdinand THE SCIENTIST (2002)– Coldplay GOLDEN TOUCH (2004) – Razorlight YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL (2005) – James Blunt CHASING CARS (2006) – Snow Patrol BLEEDING LOVE (2007) – Leona Lewis I BELIEVE IN A THING CAL LED LOVE (2003) – The Darkness STOP ME (2007) – Mark Ronson (featuring Daniel Merriwe ather) SPIRIT IN THE SKY (2003) – Gareth Gates and the Kumars
Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys
Power pop versus post punk As the 21st century gathered Every Day I Love You Less and pace, guitar music began to split Less all came from one album, between two distinct sounds: Employment, released in 2005. the power pop and Other post-punk acts balladry of Coldplay, were The Futureheads, Snow Patrol or from Sunderland; James Blunt; and, the longest track from 2004 on their debut onwards, the album was angular, modish 3 mins, 13 secs post-punk of (a 2004 Kate bands such as Bush cover, Kaiser Chiefs and Hounds of Love, the Zutons. their biggest-selling At the punkish Chris Martin, Coldplay single); while the end of the spectrum Zutons, from were Kaiser Chiefs, who put out Liverpool, invited comparisons a litany of singles — Oh My God, with the Coral, though had a less I Predict a Riot, Modern Way and folk-influenced style. Reaching partly across the divide were Glasgow’s Franz Ferdinand, who switched from moody art rock to bash-’em-out guitar pop, right in the middle of their standout song, Take Me Out; while songs such as Eleanor Put Your Boots On had a dreamy, late Beatles air. On the other side of the divide, Coldplay’s epic Viva la Vida reached number one in both the UK and the US in 2008. And Snow Patrol’s bestknown song, Chasing Cars, broke through in the US after featuring on TV show Grey’s Anatomy.
Alex Kapranos, Franz Ferdinand
Talent is nothing without the x-factor It can’t have been easy, being a pop producer in 20th-century Britain. You advertised for talent, held auditions, crafted a look, and finally recorded a song — only to discover, in the week of your single, that the public had gone gaga over some europop act from Denmark instead. But wait. What if, in this age of reality TV, you conducted the whole process in front of the cameras — getting the public to phone in and tell you which acts they like best, making stars of your band before they even release a song? So it happened, when Popstars, Pop Idol, Fame Academy and The X Factor reached our screens. Britain went crazy for musical talent shows — and the result was a string of hits for the acts the programmes launched. Simon Cowell, who became the First was Popstars, screened face of the show with his blunt on ITV in late 2000. Wannabes criticisms of acts. were selected from open As the BBC launched the rival auditions to form a band — and Fame Academy in 2002, Cowell the winners, Hear’Say, went on to make his own had two number ones UK show, The X Factor. within months. But It kick-started the their success was career of Leona shortlived: they Lewis in 2006 — were outlasted who not only won by runners-up the competition Liberty X, who but went on to be went to number nominated for four one with Just a Brit awards, and top Little, one of eight the charts around Leona Lewis top-10 hits. the world. After Popstars came Lewis succeeded where Pop Idol, launched by Simon countless others failed — proving Fuller, who had managed the that winning a TV show doesn’t Spice Girls and S Club 7. In make you a pop star but if 2001, the show made stars of ou really do have the x-factor, both its finalists, Will Young and you can do anything. Or so Gareth Gates, as well as judge they say.
Hear’Say
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MODERN BRITISH The Daily Telegraph Saturday, October 18, 2008 telegraph.co.uk /gordonsgin In association with
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