Wow, how did I get here so quickly? The past five weekends have been a bit of a blur which ironically is how the whole of the Noughties feels in retrospect.
2009 saw me at the end of my thirties, married, a home owner, a dad and ending the year leaving the job I'd been doing for the past eleven years. I was the same person, but so much had changed.
My passion for music was undimmed but i realise with some regret that I went to zero, zilch, no gigs whatsoever in 2009. At least half of the artists featured in today's selection performed in Bristol during 2009 and I missed every single one of them. There was definitely a work/life imbalance that year...!
Lots of great music to listen to, though, whether it was beats, guitars, retro or refreshing sounds I was after. This is reflected in my dozen picks for 2009, spanning comeback kings The Prodigy to new artists like La Roux and Little Boots.
Again, UK chart placings have been unexpected; Bulletproof by La Roux and Walking On A Dream by Empire Of The Sun both seemed to me to be everywhere that screened or played music. Yet, whilst the former scored a #1, the latter peaked at #64.
It was no surprise that Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal and Armand Van Helden got to #1, but where's the justice in Method Of Modern Love by Saint Etienne and produced by Richard X, only getting to #56? Sacre bleu!
And whilst it's great that Noisettes reached #2 with Don't Upset The `Rhythm, how come that Zero by Yeah Yeah Yeahs scraped into the Top 50 at #49? It's a mad world, as Curt Smith once sang.
This Rhythm by Filthy Dukes was a grower and I really enjoyed their album Nonsense In The Dark. Au Revoir Simone came to my notice when they guested on the song Paris by Friendly Fires a couple of years before, leading me to their album Still Night, Still Light.
Dominos by The Big Pink delivered a heavy percussion that evoked the spirit of the 1980s, although I've always assumed that their name was inspired by The Band's 1968 album. And for me, Editors were like Simple Minds fronted by Ian Curtis, another mash-up of 1980s influences that worked brilliantly.
So, as end of decades often seem to, 2009 wasn't unusual in that there was a fairly even mix of looking forward and reaching back. The 2010s were waiting for us, whether we were ready or not...
Thanks for sticking with me these past few weeks, I've had a lot of fun creating this series. I hope the selections have either reminded you that there were some really good songs or introduced you to music and artists that you may have missed first time around.
I've provided links for each year and each series below, covering the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, so there are 31 selections and 370 songs to enjoy for the rest of December.
Today is also a landmark in that, incredibly, the Dubhed blog celebrates it's 5th birthday.
I never thought I'd be writing those words!
When I uploaded my first blog post on Monday 7th December 2020, I remarked that "[as] I rapidly approach five decades of clinging to this crazy, spinning planet, it seemed like a good time to start a blog."
Five years, 1,703 posts and over 800 Dubhed 'mixtape' selections later, I'm enjoying it even more than I did when I started.
Doing this "just for fun" has achieved that, but so much more. I've connected with so many wonderful people as a result, including artists and fellow bloggers, who continue to be a constant inspiration.
I've also managed to see unforgettable gigs, my vinyl record collection has started growing again, and I still get a thrill when I hear new music.
There'll be some reflective posts over the coming weeks, as it's also that time to remember what has made 2025 so good - musically, at least, it's been a shitshow in many other respects. And I've a backlog of gig reviews to post.
Thanks to you all for stopping by here, whether it's your first time or a regular stop. Your comments mean a lot and whilst I try and often fail to respond to each one individually, I do read and value every single one. Thank you!
Now, let's see how far I can take this thing...!
2) Omen (Album Version): The Prodigy
3) This Rhythm (Radio Edit): Filthy Dukes ft. Samuel Dust
4) Don't Upset The Rhythm (Album Version): Noisettes
5) Remedy (Buffetlibre vs. Sidechains Remix By Alex Ferrer): Little Boots
6) Method Of Modern Love (Single Version): Saint Etienne
7) Bulletproof (Album Version): La Roux
8) Walking On A Dream (Album Version): Empire Of The Sun
9) Shadows (Album Version): Au Revoir Simone
10) Dominos (Album Version): The Big Pink
11) Papillon (Album Version): Editors
12) Zero (Album Version): Yeah Yeah Yeahs
15th February 2009: Method Of Modern Love EP (#56): 6
22nd February 2009: Invaders Must Die (#4): 2
1st March 2009: Walking On A Dream (#64): 8
15th March 2009: Nonsense In The Dark (#39): 3
29th March 2009: Wild Young Hearts (#2): 4
19th April 2009: It's Blitz! (#49): 12
24th May 2009: Still Night, Still Light (#71): 9
28th June 2009: La Roux (#1): 7
23rd August 2009: Hands (#6): 5
24th September 2009: Tongue N'Cheek (#1): 1
18th October 2009: In This Light And On This Evening (#23): 11
25th October 2009: A Brief History Of Love (#27): 10
If you've missed any of the previous posts in the Decayed series, you can jump straight to them here
And here are all ten Decadance posts
Finally, Decade, the mistapes that I recorded in 1990 that started this whole thing off
