The Last Decade in 7 Merciful Minutes

Even Hollywood can make movies for the non-'lily-livered:' Nile Gardiner

(NEWSER) - "Hollywood may well be a bastion of liberalism, but it does continue to occasionally produce major films that advance conservative principles," Nile Gardiner writes in the Telegraph . His best of the aughts:

1. Master and Commander, 2003: The Peter Weir flick starring Russell Crowe is "an epic tale of heroism and love for country in the face of incredible odds, and a glowing tribute to the grit and determination that forged the British Empire."
2. Black Hawk Down, 2001: Critics may have called it an "anti-war film," but Gardiner doesn't buy it. Instead, it's "an extraordinarily powerful and deeply patriotic tribute to the heroism and bravery of the US military."

Future renewal depends on consensus about 2000s

(NEWSER) - The 2000s will join the ranks of decades like the '30s, '60s, and '80s, periods that "shape the country's political life for generations by leaving behind an era to embrace or, at least as often, to scorn," EJ Dionne writes in the Washington Post . As for this "reckless and squandered" decade, it will leave its mark as the time when the US "badly lost its way by using our military power carelessly, misunderstanding the real challenges to our long-term security, and pursuing domestic policies that constrained our options for the future while needlessly threatening our prosperity." More»

Terrible events of last decade encouraged a healthy skepticism

(NEWSER) - The aughts were quite a shock after the “remarkable air of unreality” that perfumed the end of the last century—but we may have actually learned something, Alan Murray writes. “Unlike the Hollywood-scripted decade that preceded it, this one turned out to be more like the reality-television shows that proliferated during its span. They showed us that not everyone can sing, not everyone can dance, not everyone can stay on the island.” That sort of self-knowledge is pretty helpful, Murray writes in the Wall Street Journal . More»

Songs you've heard constantly, artists you've never heard from again

(NEWSER) - Musicians don’t always get a full 15 minutes of fame; sometimes, they have to settle for three or four. Billboard took a look back at some of the top one-hit wonders of the decade, acts that got one and only one song onto the Hot 100’s Top 10 list. (No. 1 honors go to Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" in 2006.) We’ve grabbed a selection of them for your listening enjoyment, but there have been more. Oh so many more. More»

We liked this stuff? Really?

(NEWSER) - Every decade has some music we would rather not talk about. You know, the "Achy Breaky Hearts", the "Ice Ice Babies", the "Mmm Bops"—songs that make us look back and ask, “What were we thinking?” The worst of the worst for the 2000s, courtesy of 11Points :

1. Black Eyed Peas, “My Humps”—Got much of the nation singing about “lovely lady lumps.” It does not get more embarrassing than this, folks.
2. Baja Men, “Who Let the Dogs Out?”—If it wasn’t a joke from the moment it came out, this might be No. 1.