Mixtapes of the Decade

Jim and Greg mark the beginning of a new year by looking at the decade past. Tune in to hear their thoughts on the most important musical moments of the 2000’s. Plus, they present their ultimate Mixtapes of the Decade.

Mixtapes of the Decade: 2000's
Download Subscribe via iTunes

Music News

First in the news, Jim and Greg discuss a story emerging out of the next decade. They talk to Wired  writer  Eliot Van Buskirk about his recent piece on the "Copyright Time Bomb." As Eliot explains to Jim and Greg, the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 poses a new threat to the major label system. Songs copyrighted after 1978 can be terminated by the author in 2013 (1979 in 2014, etc.) That means that if a musician sold his or her work to a label after 1978, they can choose to take it back and manage it independently in the next decade. Many labels rely on back cataloge revenue, so this will be a big hit to them. In addition, it may be another reason an artist chooses to go it independently and without a label.

Jim and Greg couldn't welcome 2010 without looking at the decade past. The 2000s brought us N’Sync and the boy band explosion, but they also ushered in great change in terms of business and technology. As Jim and Greg discuss, advances in digital music were at the heart of all the decade's major news-from lawsuits (Metallica vs. Napster, RIAA vs. consumers) to innovation in sound, marketing and distribution (Wilco, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails). And while the Aughts were a time of industry revolution, there wasn't necessarily a revolutionary sound. Jim thinks people may have been too shocked by technology to create something comparable to a punk, disco or grunge movement. But he and Greg are hopeful that something great is just waiting to come out of a basement near you.

The Best Songs of the Millennium - Mixtapes

Jim and Greg like to end every year with a good old-fashioned mixtape (presented as a new-fashioned mp3 stream). But this year they decided to go even further and compile their favorite songs of the entire decade. They pick highlights to play during this episode, and their entire playlists are below. You can also stream their full mixtapes:

Greg Kot’s Mixtape of the Decade

  1. The Strokes, "The Modern Age"
  2. LCD Soundsystem, "Tribulations"
  3. Art Brut, "Formed a Band"
  4. Girl Talk, "Play Your Part (Pt. 1)"
  5. Screaming Females, "Bell"
  6. Arcade Fire, "Wake Up"
  7. Fiona Apple, "Not About Love"
  8. Outkast, "Bombs Over Baghdad"
  9. Rhymefest, "Bullet"
  10. Legendary K.O., "George Bush..."
  11. Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"
  12. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy"
  13. DJ Danger Mouse, "December 4th"
  14. Santigold, "L.E.S. Artistes"
  15. M.I.A., "Bucky Done Gone"
  16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps"

Jim DeRogatis’ Mixtape of the Decade

  1. D’Angelo, "Devil’s Pie"
  2. Common, "The Light"
  3. Wilco, "War on War"
  4. The Strokes, "The Modern Age"
  5. The Flaming Lips, "Do You Realize"
  6. Beck, "The Golden Age,"
  7. Outkast, "Hey Ya"
  8. Grandaddy, "Yeah Is What We Had"
  9. Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"
  10. Green Day, "American Idiot"
  11. Common, "Testify"
  12. LCD Soundsystem, "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House"
  13. Art Brut, "Formed a Band"
  14. Lily Allen, "Smile"
  15. Grinderman, "No Pussy Blues"
  16. Glenn Mercer, "Days to Come"
  17. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "We Call Upon the Author"
  18. David Byrne and Brian Eno, "The River"
  19. Ida Maria, "I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked"
  20. Neko Case, "People Got A Lotta Nerve"

Dear Listeners,

For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!

edit