Best Records of the 00's - Idlewild "100 Broken Windows"

In the year 2000 my now wife/then girlfriend lived with a couple of guys (what a beginning to a post). One of whom was (is?) an indie rock loving dude who shared some of the same musical interests as me and whom I also watched a lot of Saved By The Bell with. A band he was totally on the nose with that I wasn't really familiar with was Idlewild.



I give him major props for this one. Once I heard it I was immediately hooked. It was punky, but it also for some reason reminded me of R.E.M. at times. It's the scottish band's second album, and their first one (titled Hope Is Important), sounds totally raw. 100 Broken Windows is like taking that record and making it more catch and melodic. I probably listened to it 100 times in 2000 and 2001, especially the song Roseability. Idlewild unfortunately doesn't tour as much as they should so I've only seen them twice but both times they really delivered. The records after this are also worth checking out (although really only The Remote Part and Warnings/Promises). Here's what you should listen to:

Best Records of the 00's - Jimmy Eat World "Bleed American"

Jimmy Eat World came on the scene in the late 90's and made a bit of splash with their album Clarity. Clarity has a huge fanbase, and old school fans of theirs also have a special place in their heart for Static Prevails. While I really like Clarity, and kinda like Static Prevails, the band's breakthrough for me is Bleed American.



Coincidentally (or not?) that was also their breakthrough commercially. The band refined their sound a bit from slower melodies to a lot of fast paced power pop songs for this album, and you can feel it. It's definitely a record that zooms all the way through the end. Although I like some of the follow up albums Futures and Chase This Light, they are nowhere near as good as Bleed American, or what came albums that came before it.