Top 20 Best Songs from the 00's
Jul 27, 2010 17:03:04 GMT -5
Post by - `J0EL™ on Jul 27, 2010 17:03:04 GMT -5
I know, I know, I'm late but who cares.
20. Kanye West, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"
Though his handling of political themes is invariably clumsy, his mastery at transposing first-world guilt into the personal sphere, an offensively clumsy move which forces brutally procured diamonds to occupy the same remorse-ridden sphere as all of his other vices, makes this a great track in spite of itself, one of his most lasting, remarkably flawed experiments.
19. Lady GaGa, "Poker Face"
When it was spoofed by such disparate cultural critics as Christopher Walken and Eric Cartman, it became clear that "Poker Face" had transcended the trappings of your average novelty hit. Of course, Gaga has since proven she's more than a one-hit wonder, but this song had (and still has) exceptionally long legs. And muffins. And glue guns. And a damn catchy hook.
18. Lil Wayne, "A Milli"
Its flashes of poignancy, humor, naïveté, bravado, eroticism, and misogyny hit you separately before fusing together to reveal a stunning, totemic portrait of an artist as a young man.
17. Christina Aguilera, "Dirrty"
One of a series of image-reboots by former Mouseketeers-turned-teen-pop-stars released almost simultaneously in 01/02 (along with Justin's "Like I Love You" and Britney's "I'm a Slave 4 U"), "Dirrty" is clearly one of the best. "Dirrty" was more of a statement than an actual song—a rejection of the seemingly squeaky-clean but reticently and cynically sexualized commodification of young females in the industry that, sadly, Aguilera's career has never quite been able to live up to.
16. Aaliyah, "Try Again"
Timbaland's production is ace, as usual, but focus instead on how Aaliyah's performance on "Try Again" influenced hip-hop, dance, and pop over the nine years that followed. After "Try Again," much of the decade's rhythmic music rested on the shoulders of thin-voiced, icily detached singers like Rihanna, Alison Goldfrapp, Ciara, and Annie, none of whom have been able to match the presence or the lived-in soulfulness Aaliyah conveyed with her ethereal wisp of a voice. That's why Timbaland's minimalism suited her so well: Both could do so much with so little.
15. MGMT, "Time to Pretend"
They may mock their primary demo's lack of self-awareness, but the meta-structure of "Time to Pretend" proves that MGMT certainly don't share that problem. Moreover, it provides an anthem for the hipster-culture backlash that, quite deservedly, had been brewing over the course of the entire decade.
14. Usher, "Yeah!"
Yeah! Enter Usher, Lil Jon, Ludacris, and an entire club of fly guys ready to teach the world to step. Yeah, yeah! And, considering the Grammys awarded Record of the Year trophies to Green Day and the Dixie Chicks's regime change-minded anthems the two years after "Yeah!" came up short in the same category, I guess you could also call it ahead of its time.
13. Kelis, "Milkshake"
Everything about this song screams, "Take off your clothes in a sexually methodical manner while rhythmically grinding your pelvis against the air and/or a stripper pole." It's basically the most aesthetically avant-garde, lyrically cracked strip-club anthem in history. Well done, Neptunes! Those buzzing synths trace the trajectory of a shaking booty with precision. And well done, Kelis! That is one hell of a coitus metaphor.
12. Radiohead, "Idioteque"
The centerpiece of Radiohead's Kid A, "Idioteque" feels as though it was conceived as global warming spokesmodel Al Gore's would-be inaugural anthem. Underpinned by a subzero organ riff that literally boasts a wind chill factor, Thom Yorke's imitation of a voice sounds even more frayed than usual as he warns, "We're not scaremongering, this is really happening…ice age coming, ice age coming." Everything may be fastidiously in its right place musically, but the anaphylactic effect of this brittle anti-dance anthem insists on facing up to the wrong.
11. Madonna, "Hung Up"
"Hung Up" employs a ticking clock to represent fear of wasted time, but Madonna isn't singing about aging or saving the world—she's talking about love. It had been years since Madge sounded this vapid. With its pitched-upward vocals, infectious arpeggio sample from ABBA's "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)," and the bridge's unironic, archetypical key change, the track decidedly points to the past, and it proved that, 20 years into her career, Madonna was still the one and only Dancing Queen.
Who made the top 10? Find out later tonight!
20. Kanye West, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"
Though his handling of political themes is invariably clumsy, his mastery at transposing first-world guilt into the personal sphere, an offensively clumsy move which forces brutally procured diamonds to occupy the same remorse-ridden sphere as all of his other vices, makes this a great track in spite of itself, one of his most lasting, remarkably flawed experiments.
19. Lady GaGa, "Poker Face"
When it was spoofed by such disparate cultural critics as Christopher Walken and Eric Cartman, it became clear that "Poker Face" had transcended the trappings of your average novelty hit. Of course, Gaga has since proven she's more than a one-hit wonder, but this song had (and still has) exceptionally long legs. And muffins. And glue guns. And a damn catchy hook.
18. Lil Wayne, "A Milli"
Its flashes of poignancy, humor, naïveté, bravado, eroticism, and misogyny hit you separately before fusing together to reveal a stunning, totemic portrait of an artist as a young man.
17. Christina Aguilera, "Dirrty"
One of a series of image-reboots by former Mouseketeers-turned-teen-pop-stars released almost simultaneously in 01/02 (along with Justin's "Like I Love You" and Britney's "I'm a Slave 4 U"), "Dirrty" is clearly one of the best. "Dirrty" was more of a statement than an actual song—a rejection of the seemingly squeaky-clean but reticently and cynically sexualized commodification of young females in the industry that, sadly, Aguilera's career has never quite been able to live up to.
16. Aaliyah, "Try Again"
Timbaland's production is ace, as usual, but focus instead on how Aaliyah's performance on "Try Again" influenced hip-hop, dance, and pop over the nine years that followed. After "Try Again," much of the decade's rhythmic music rested on the shoulders of thin-voiced, icily detached singers like Rihanna, Alison Goldfrapp, Ciara, and Annie, none of whom have been able to match the presence or the lived-in soulfulness Aaliyah conveyed with her ethereal wisp of a voice. That's why Timbaland's minimalism suited her so well: Both could do so much with so little.
15. MGMT, "Time to Pretend"
They may mock their primary demo's lack of self-awareness, but the meta-structure of "Time to Pretend" proves that MGMT certainly don't share that problem. Moreover, it provides an anthem for the hipster-culture backlash that, quite deservedly, had been brewing over the course of the entire decade.
14. Usher, "Yeah!"
Yeah! Enter Usher, Lil Jon, Ludacris, and an entire club of fly guys ready to teach the world to step. Yeah, yeah! And, considering the Grammys awarded Record of the Year trophies to Green Day and the Dixie Chicks's regime change-minded anthems the two years after "Yeah!" came up short in the same category, I guess you could also call it ahead of its time.
13. Kelis, "Milkshake"
Everything about this song screams, "Take off your clothes in a sexually methodical manner while rhythmically grinding your pelvis against the air and/or a stripper pole." It's basically the most aesthetically avant-garde, lyrically cracked strip-club anthem in history. Well done, Neptunes! Those buzzing synths trace the trajectory of a shaking booty with precision. And well done, Kelis! That is one hell of a coitus metaphor.
12. Radiohead, "Idioteque"
The centerpiece of Radiohead's Kid A, "Idioteque" feels as though it was conceived as global warming spokesmodel Al Gore's would-be inaugural anthem. Underpinned by a subzero organ riff that literally boasts a wind chill factor, Thom Yorke's imitation of a voice sounds even more frayed than usual as he warns, "We're not scaremongering, this is really happening…ice age coming, ice age coming." Everything may be fastidiously in its right place musically, but the anaphylactic effect of this brittle anti-dance anthem insists on facing up to the wrong.
11. Madonna, "Hung Up"
"Hung Up" employs a ticking clock to represent fear of wasted time, but Madonna isn't singing about aging or saving the world—she's talking about love. It had been years since Madge sounded this vapid. With its pitched-upward vocals, infectious arpeggio sample from ABBA's "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)," and the bridge's unironic, archetypical key change, the track decidedly points to the past, and it proved that, 20 years into her career, Madonna was still the one and only Dancing Queen.
Who made the top 10? Find out later tonight!
The only thing I would add would be how "Yeah" was the song that introduced the synths into hip hop, that became a staple in the music industry for years. Before "Yeah", hip hop songs were mostly made with real instruments.
