Toronto, Canada.

I do not think that I've actually bought a single CD in the past ten years. That being said, I could not possibly have listened to a wider variety of music and could not possibly have been exposed to more interesting range of genres and sounds.

Everyone seems to be chiming in with their best-of-2000s list and it's not like me not to have an opinion.

Most of my friends have always considered me to be somewhat of a music-snob. I'm the guy who's always been ranting and raving about the most obscure independent music... I know, it's obnoxious. Which is why it very much surprised me when I looked at my list of favorite singles from the past ten years and found it to be chock-filled of top 40 pop songs. In fact, it's an embarrassing reality to myself that says that possibly, quite possibly, the masses are right.

My favorite singles of the decade.

Britney Spears - Toxic (2003)

This is the perfect pop song. Brilliantly made. The tight beat, glitch-hop-infused production and gorgeous synthstrings create a unique soundscape that accentuates the bright spots of the star's voice while effectively minimizing her significant limitations. Bloodshy and Avant capture the sound of a bonafide celebrity at the peak of her fame.



Thicke - Lazybones (2002)

It's the sound of summertime. The first time I heard this I thought that it was Terrence Trent D'Arby. The highest compliment that one can deliver on a piece of pop music. Upon listening, you instantly can figure out how Robin Thicke became a star. Pharrell Williams or any of the other producers who worked with him didn't care about the singer's pedigree or appearance... they cared about his songwriting and soul. Nothing that he's put out since is anything close to as good.




Frisbie - Pollyanna (2000)

A hidden gem with the best lyric of the past ten years.... "popping bubble plastic just to keep me awake" I first heard about Frisbie in the fall of 2000, when they were right about to make the jump from local Chicago indie favorites to nationwide act. I love their brand of Beatlesque pop rock with brilliant lyrics and bouncy soul. This particular single has been on constant rotation in my house almost ever since.



The Killers - Mr. Brightside (2004)

This is the only song ever that's made me want to do karaoke. It comes on in a bar and every single person in the place starts mouthing the words. There's something special about that.



Rival Schools - Travel By Telephone (2002)

I put this song on and I want to go outside and skateboard through the suburbs. Good songs should always bring an emotion. For whatever reason this song reminds me of the diabetic coma that is Mountain Dew.



Maroon 5 - This Love (2002)

You heard this song on constant rotation for at least three years. First the indie stations jumped on it. Then mainstream rock picked it up. Then it was the theme song at your holiday party one year. Then your grandmother started humming it to you. There's a reason that this song had such legs. It's the same reason that makes you never want to hear this again even though you can't get that great chord progression out of your mind.



Gnarles Barkley - Crazy (2006)

The anthem of the decade. A wonderful piece of music that effortlessly leads itself to being covered. At Lollapalooza 2006 no less than 4 different bands played this song. The best of which was Jack White's Raconteurs, who just literally knocked it out of the park.



Foo Fighters - The Pretender (2007)

I'm not a fan whatsoever of the Foo Fighters. I find almost all their music to be derivative unoriginal suburbanite sludge. The kind of music that you expect to be on in the background while you're stuck buying gifts at Hot Topic. That being said, this track is such a stellar accomplishment of all that they are oh-so-capable of. A loud anthemic song with great energy and drive. Tight as can be. The greatest rock video of the decade backing it all up.... This is rock star extrodinaire. Dave Grohl is not only apparently the nicest guy in rock-n-roll. He's legitimately earned his street cred this decade through side gigs in Probot and Them Crooked Vultures.... oh and his history with those Nirvana folks ain't nothing to laugh at.



Air Traffic - Shooting Star (2007)

When I first heard this, I was convinced that this would become the biggest hit single in the world. That never happened. Perhaps they're not as good looking, or perhaps they had worse management than other acts.... but these British boys never quite built on their ridiculous SXSW buzz. Have a listen. It's the best Coldplay song of the decade, and it's by an entirely different band.



Depeche Mode - Dream On (2001)

Oh Martin Gore, how I hate you so. How the hell can you consistently write moody synth masterpieces that sound oh so organic? How can you utilize the tools and people around you so effectively? How can you make a simple guitar loop sound so damn good? You win. I give up.



Arcade Fire - Wake Up (2004)

An anthem that unintentionally served as the turning point for the decade. The song that served as the death-knell for the big record labels... for the classic four-piece rock band.. and for the formula of pop music as we know it. One of the rare tunes that sounds fresher the more you hear it. Watch this video. If you don't feel something after watching it, you are dead inside.

Toronto, Canada

Every once in a while, we're lucky enough to be in an environment where the world's simple facade can be peeled away and we can peer into the juicy center.

There are many layers to modern life. Take this week's conference at the MaRS center in Toronto for example...

Over 400 people came out to this particular event. It was the standard tech-conference demographic makeup. 90% male. Everyone holding several wired devices. Laptops. iPhones. Facial hair.

As attendees filtered into the room for the poorly named "mingling" session we sat in the back as people quietly took their seats and logged on.

Ten minutes before showtime, the room was full... but no one was talking. It was quiet enough that you could quite literally hear every single noise in the room... and then I realized it.... I looked around and watched as hundreds of fingers typed secret messages to one another.

I grabbed my seat at the front of the room and logged onto Twitter. Entered the proper hashtag... and suddenly it all made sense.

There was a conversation. It was just silent.

These quiet, poorly dressed introverts were actually all involved in a highly opinionated and visceral discussion amongst themselves. The mingle was in full effect. Having all these hypertechs in one room at one time did have the same conversation-catalyst effect as a nightclub. The power of proximity was clear.

One woman had sent me a message on Twitter before the event "looking forward to meeting you there, you won't be able to miss me!" The irony was thick.

#wtf

Los Angeles, USA.

The modern rock performance.

It's all about quality, not quantity.

From the moment the band took the stage, at exactly 11:14pm, to the moment that they left at 11:40pm a fury of non-stop energy.

Springsteen used to be known for 3 hour long shows. There are bands with 2nd encores longer than this... but no. 26 minutes flat. In and out. Onto the bus. Next city.

The whole entire tour can be recorded onto a single album.

A floppy disk instead of an iPod.

What can be said?

They had great haircuts. They wore skinny jeans.

Light show. Poses. 140 characters of noise.

The cultural equivilant of Twitter.

Iqaluit, Nunavut

When you think of dogs, several things come to mind.  

The family pet?  Man's best friend?  Lassie?  Lunch?    It all depends on where you're from.   

The cultural context is key.  

In this particular scenario, "Dogs" equals "the engine of the arctic".  They are the machine that makes it all run.

We packed up our sleds and headed out from Frobisher Bay at sunrise.   My wobbly morning legs no match for the sheer power of being drawn across a frozen lake by a team of vicious, rabid, meat-hungry wolves.

The first screaming left turn on the icy pass toppled over my sled as I grasped the handles for dear life.   As I quickly learned... if you happen to let go of the sled, the dogs will keep on running towards freedom and you will be left in the cold barren wasteland alone waiting to die.

My Hebrew-high-school education never prepared me for this.

Polar bears.  Knife fights.  The Aurora Borealis.  

Not a Starbucks in sight.

They say that the Inuit have fifteen words for snow.   I have only one.  "Snow".   In short, the whole excursion can be summed up with this simple syllable.   Snow.

 A licky boom boom down, indeed.

Washington DC, USA.

Did you watch the inauguration this week?

Sure, you did.

And so did everyone you know. And everyone they know. And everyone everywhere.

The largest human audience in the history of the planet gathered to share a collective moment, a passionate embrace with someone who we believe will make the world a better place. The vast scale and raw emotion of the moment was staggering. It was the moon-landing meets Woodstock meets New Years Eve meets the parting-of-the-Red-Sea.

Here's a character who may be the most popular human being of all recorded time solidifying his place into the collective consciousness.

Has it gone too far?

Yesterday, I had a serious conversation with an extremely bright friend where the topic was quite literally "Barack Obama is the Messiah. Discuss."

Please don't get me wrong. I like President Obama... in fact I essentially love the man.

I'm amazed at how much I do, in fact. I have newspaper clippings of him on my bookcase. I have several of his speeches permantly on view on my TiVo. I talk about him incessantly to anyone who will listen. I answer questions with "Yes, We Can".... I almost even bought the ridiculous Franklin Mint commemerative plate with his image on it.

We all have to be careful though.

Without getting too into it... Tuesday seemed like the set for the sequel to "Triumph of The Will". The passionate optimism. The nation captivated by a charismatic leader during a particularly rough time. Lengthy military parades... outpourings of love.... a man's last name becoming a fervant chant.

The "O" logo emblazed onto everything. Cars. T-shirts. Signs. Hats. Scarfs. Pins. Flags. Faces. Cereal Boxes. Tattoos. Brandings.

A nation captivated by the most charismatic figure since... well... um... yeah....

That one.

I'm going to keep believing that this is right. That we've all gotten behind something that's good for all of us. I'm going to keep believing that this is the greatest time of our lives. I'm going to believe that never before has so much opportunity been so within our reach.

We wanted change, we got it.

But if they start changing the name of O'Hare airport to O'Bama International... I might start getting a bit skeptical.

Can we all believe in a false prophet?

Yes, we can.