Okay, time to stop dawdling and start posting again. Following up on Derek's suggestion from a few weeks back, that we begin sharing our picks for 'Best of the 00s' (some describe this decade as the "naughts" but this to me sounds decidedly grandpa-ish). With that in mind, I'd like to put forward two nominees from earlier in the decade to discuss/share/debate.

"Rose Rouge" - St. Germain, from Tourist (2000)



If you ate at a restaurant in any urban setting on earth from 2001 to 2005, you likely heard this album playing in the background, either before or Bebel Gilberto's Tanto Tempo. That's really no reason to slag either discs, both of which are really all about establishing a more sublter, nightclub cool.

"Tourist" fuses jazz elements (mostly horns and flutes) with house beats to create a kind of dance space for adults. There are a few quieter tracks to balance out the album as well as the more groovier, bass-heavy tracks like the one above as well as well placed latin influences (see tracks 'So Flute' and 'Latin Note') that make this album a varied, satisfying listen.

In a completely different direction, I'll also nominate Jose Gonzalez Veneer (2005). This Swedish singer-songwriter (Argentinian background) appears on a few Zero 7 records, but this first solo effort stands out the most for me. There's a very warm vocal quality that recalls Nick Drake at times but it's mostly the combination of the vocals, the sweetness of the lyrics, and the very deliberate, almost overplucked guitar strumming that really resonates.



Will add a few new ones every week or so. As for my list of albums, think I should be able to get to 100 and maybe 100 songs as well. Looking forward to reading/hearing yours.