06 -

- #36, 2006

05 - The Subways - Rock & Roll Queen - #22, 2005

 

Half of the top 6 I feel like cheating for including, the first of which is Guillemots. It's hard to say they were really part of this scene, their songs were far more varied, loads of different instrumentation and had a hell of a lot more going on than most of these bands that shared a standard structure, but I had to include them as I absolutely adored their debut album 'Through the Windowpane' and 'Trains to Brazil' is just the most incredible amount of fun for four minutes.

 

When looking through Spotify, I was shocked to see that 'Rock & Roll Queen' was comfortably the third most streamed song of this 20 with almost 40 million streams, as I was never under the impression The Subways had ever made anything like that kind of impact, but it would appear it's due to featuring in a huge amount of TV shows, adverts and video games over the intervening years. Its parent album 'Young For Eternity' is one of my favourites from the era and sadly COVID-19 has postponed its anniversary tour which I was going to be in attendance. They're far closer to rock than most bands I've included here.

 

I have heard of rhe cribs at least! But the most indie I listened to in the 2000s was actually the Kooks :lol: Hope they will appear!

 

Geraldine is a BOP

 

It's understandable that people that didn't like and follow this type of music wouldn't have heard of that many of these. The likes of Kooks, Franz, Kaiser, Raozrlight etc. will have been more than enough.

I've gone and added Geraldine to me playlist :cheeseblock:

Rules Don’t Stop is the only We Are Scentists song I’ve heard and I completely forgot about it until this thread, might need to check out more of their stuff!

04 -

- DNC, 2007

03 - Mystery Jets - Young Love (feat. Laura Marling) - #34, 2008

 

Another generous inclusion here. Saying Los Campesinos! were mid tier is somewhat stretching the definition unfortunately, with their highest chart positions being #126 (singles) and #72 (albums). They're a band I adored at the time, loving both of their albums released in 2008. They've released four more since, and have maintained an incredibly loyal and dedicated fanbase staying with them throughout, still being incredibly popular live both sides of the Atlantic. 'You! Me! Dancing!' is by far the longest song of these 20 at nearly 7 minutes, the first couple of which are an instrumental that builds up to a crescendo and the vocals start. The instrumental part once featured in a Budweiser advert.

 

I was never able to properly get into anything from Mystery Jets 2006 debut album 'Making Dens', so their 2008 return wasn't something I was in anyway anticipating, but the addition of Laura Marling made 'Young Love' an incredibly upbeat and lovely tale of young romance told from two perspectives. The follow-up 'Two Doors Down' is equally excellent.

 

Rules Don’t Stop is the only We Are Scentists song I’ve heard and I completely forgot about it until this thread, might need to check out more of their stuff!

I'm not sure that's a song I'm even aware of. Haven't really paid them any attention since 2008, assume it's from after that. I know they've continued to release music.

I don't recall hearing Gone Up In Flames until it was featured in The Inbetweeners, I must have missed the chart that week but it's a good track.

 

I feel like I've heard Girls and Boys In Love a lot, both at the time and since, surprising it wasn't a bigger hit. Sounds like it should have been a top 20 at least.

 

Great countdown, I didn't realise how much affection I held for mid 00s indie until it had disappeared.

Men's Needs and Trains To Brazil are two more songs I'm very fond of! This countdown really bringing the nostalgia I was hoping for in this forum :wub:

02 - The Courteeners - Not Nineteen Forever - #19, 2008

 

It seems wrong to include a song so highly that I was never particularly bothered about at the time of release. By 2008 I, like most people, had grown a bit tired of the amount of indie that had been pushed and I stopped paying much attention to much that was new at that point, but as they've grown over the past decade I've become a massive Courteeners fan and now really appreciate their early work. It's hard to get over just how big the band have got and how massive 'Not Nineteen Forever', their signature song, feels. Selling out a 50k show in three hours to have an entire crowd bouncing along to this singing every word,

 

 

I don't recall hearing Gone Up In Flames until it was featured in The Inbetweeners, I must have missed the chart that week but it's a good track.

 

I feel like I've heard Girls and Boys In Love a lot, both at the time and since, surprising it wasn't a bigger hit. Sounds like it should have been a top 20 at least.

 

Great countdown, I didn't realise how much affection I held for mid 00s indie until it had disappeared.

 

Thanks Rich, glad you have enjoyed it. Yeah, Girls & Boys In Love does seem to have stood the test of time popularity wise more than something that was that size. It was a shame it was not bigger.

 

Men's Needs and Trains To Brazil are two more songs I'm very fond of! This countdown really bringing the nostalgia I was hoping for in this forum :wub:

 

Glad to have been of service, thought it would be a fun thing to do and has made me listen to all of these songs again so have enjoyed it even if no one else had read it!

It’s amazing how consistent the courteeners popularity has been over the years!

Not Nineteen Forever is another brilliant song, sort-of forgot about it really but it is really good! Interested to see what your #1 is :o

So not being a part of Teams I didn't realise this forum was quite so time limited, so here is my delayed number one! :lol:

 

 

01 - The Long Blondes - Once and Never Again - #30, 2006

 

It's only right that this countdown should be topped by a band that defined mid-tier, mid-00s indie. Three top 40 hits and two albums before calling it a day before the decade was out, although sadder than most splits following the lead guitarist suffering a stroke. They were a rarity for a band of the time in that they were mostly female, and fronted by Kate Jackson who released a solo album a decade later.

 

I absolutely adored The Long Blondes (and still do!), their 2006 debut album 'Someone To Drive You Home' was a fantastic collection of indie-pop anthems containing as good a trio of singles as any band released at the time, even the big ones. 'Once and Never Again' being a fabulous sing-a-long anthem. Their second album came shortly after the first and they'd developed their sound far more than other bands of this era, produced by Erol Alkan, lead single 'Century' was a slice of synth heaven. Twelve years on, I'd actually say 'Couples' was the better album of the two and sounds better today, but both are excellent.

 

 

That's a great discovery for The Long Blondes, I knew nothing about them and it sounds brilliant. Much love for Los Campesinos too, who've always been incredible whenever I've come across one of their songs. Loved reading this countdown throughout.

That's a blast form the past! Don't think I've heard Once and Never Again in at least 10 years, thanks for reminding me of it.

 

Really enjoyed this countdown, thanks for doing! :D

Thanks for your comments, glad people enjoyed it and I was able to introduce some music to some.

 

I put together a Spotify playlist doing this, might as well post it here just in case anyone cares. It contains these 21 and 21 more, some bands that missed the cut (Rifles, Captain, Sons & Daughters, Jack Penate), some other great songs from these acts and a couple of classics that were harshly omitted despite the bands not being particularly big (The Bravery, Maximo Park)

 

I remember most of these bands from NME Presents The Essential Bands 2006

Moving To New York, Men's Needs and Rock And Roll Queen are my faves from this countdown

The Long Blondes! A great choice for number one, I loved their albums back when they were released but I haven't listened to them in ages, I'm going to rectify that now...

Good to see Guillemots at number 6. Through The Windowpane is my favourite album from the 2000s.

The Long Blondes! A great choice for number one, I loved their albums back when they were released but I haven't listened to them in ages, I'm going to rectify that now...

 

Good to hear. Yes they're both brilliant, love them both still but do think The Couples sounds better now.

 

Good to see Guillemots at number 6. Through The Windowpane is my favourite album from the 2000s.

 

Good to see there's another fan of it. It's a great album, greatly uplifting in parts and really beautiful in others. Sao Paulo is my favourite on it.