The Decade of DMB
By Jake Vigliotti
10/4/09
Tour of the Decade: 2009
I can already hear it, “That got so predictable at the end! Every show was the same, blah blah, teleblah…” And I did hear that. I heard that in 2000. Yes, the beloved 2000 tour. And it did get redundant in the end. It happens. On the whole, however, 2009 wins out over 2000. How can you deny a tour with Halloween making regular appearances, and a few Blue Water Baboon Farm’s, and then the random appearances of Recently, Song That Jane Likes, You Never Know, and Typical Situation push 2009 to the front of the class.
Rankings:
- 2009
- 2000
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2004
- 2005
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
Best written song of the Decade, Lyrics category: You Never Know
Apologies to Lying In The Hands Of God, Bartender, and the Lillywhite version of Captain, You Never Know is a masterpiece. It’s arguably the most autobiographical song Dave wrote, telling of his own life in a nutshell, and how he got where he is today. Brilliant. It’s worth noting that not all deep songs have to be in that style, underrated in the lyrics department are Spaceman, Why I Am, and Hello Again.
Rankings:
- You Never Know
- Bartender
- Lying In the Hands Of God
- Big Eyed Fish (Lillywhite Sessions version)
- Monkey Man (Lillywhite Sessions version)
- Grey Street (Busted Stuff version)
- Captain (Lillywhite Sessions version)
- Baby Blue
- Spaceman
- Shotgun (2006 lyrics)
Best song of the decade, in the category of TEH ENGEREZZ!!!: Grey Street
It opens shows, it closes shows, it wakes a crowd up, it gets everyone singing. It’s at the very least the most popular radio release among fans from this decade, and that’s all with a verse missing from the song! You can tell yourself that you’re tired of Grey Street, but you’re wrong. You’re really not. It is that rare utility player of songs for DMB, and it’s the ultimate mea culpa after a snoozer.
Rankings:
- Grey Street
- Why I Am
- Shake Me Like A Monkey
- Joy Ride
- JTR
- Cornbread
- Funny The Way It Is
- Kit Kat Jam
- Alligator Pie
- Louisiana Bayou
Best Song of the Decade, non-official release category: Monkey Man
I get the drama with the aborted Lillywhite Sessions, but the fact that Monkey Man never got a chance to be played again is a crime. I pictured that as an opener a la Seek Up or Bartender, or that mid show jam like The Dreaming Tree or Crush. It’s truly the only song that I think was never given a fair shake by the band. That and the 07.03.03 Sound Check song. I still hold out hope that it’ll pop up one day, but I’m a delusional dreamer like that.
Rankings:
- Monkey Man
- 07.03.03 Sound Check Song
- Shotgun
- JTR
- A Dream So Real
- Joy Ride
- Break Free
- Crazy-Easy
- Butterfly
- Eh Hee
Unappreciated song of the decade: Baby
It’s so unappreciated you forgot about it. I know you did. When DMB started playing the Some Devil stuff, it seemed like Baby would fit an E1 slot. So much for that. Even in the Dave and Friends and Dave and Tim stuff from that time period, the song only managed eight plays. It’s a smart little song that gets no love.
Rankings:
- Baby
- A Dream So Real
- Save Me
- Hello Again
- Dive In
- Kit Kat Jam
- Big Eyed Fish
- Digging A Ditch
- Oh
- Beach Ball
Over-appreciated song of the decade: What You Are
We can’t be all positive, that’d ruin our rep’s. This isn’t a song bashing episode, but rather these are songs that probably get either too much love in set list rotation, by a vocal minority of fans, or just have reached that “meh” status with fans when they hear it. It’s shocking that What You Are actually used to close shows. The intro is longer than the song, and it somehow reached “cool” status because of an “F-Bomb” adlibbed into the lyrics.
Rankings:
- What You Are
- Sugar Will
- You Might Die Trying
- Where Are You Going
- Loving Wings
- So Right
- Everyday
- Cornbread
- The Idea Of You
- Louisiana Bayou
Live Release of the decade:Live Trax Vol.16
Did you really think we wouldn’t pick the one we picked? But really, think of this: two Little Thing teases, a Build You A House tease, and then you get a very unique Grey Street, Sweet Up And Down, Say Goodbye, and One Sweet World with the original jam intro. That’s pretty strong. And the show is the “original five” (which weren’t the original five), from a great tour year. It gets props for that. Fine, we're biased. I can live with that.
Rankings:
- Live Trax Vol. 16
- Central Park
- The Gorge
- Live Trax Vol. 12
- Live Trax Vol. 4
- Live Trax Vol. 15
- Live Trax Vol. 9
- Live Trax Vol. 11
- Live Trax Vol. 10
- Live Trax Vol. 8
Album of the decade: The Lillywhite Session
Yes, it counts. Yes, it does. Yes. Fine, call me names. Look at the legacy of the album; it nearly tore the band apart, it begot Everyday and Stand Up, but it also produced the best songs of the decade on the whole. There’s no denying that. From top to bottom, the Lillywhite Sessions just works. Yes, it’s dark, but sometimes Dark is good. And to borrow a line, sometimes out of the darkness comes light, like a flash. And in the end of the decade, the band produced their best stuff in 10 years. It gives everyone hope for the next decade, but it all happened because of what happened in 2000.
Rankings:
- The Lillywhite Sessions
- Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
- Superfastgo (Peter Griesar featuring LeRoi Moore and Tim Reynolds)
- Imagine We Were (Tribe of Heaven – Dave Matthews and Mark Roebuck recorded in 1989)
- Some Devil
- Little Red Bird (Big Whiskey EP companion CD)
- A Limited Edition Companion to Stand Up (Stand Up Bonus Disc)
- Busted Stuff
- True Reflections
- Stand Up
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