The other day, I was driving to work, early in the morning, and I was listening to some music and one after the other, on my mp3 CD I made, were just great song after great songs of music from this decade. I thought, why not just try to write down the first 10 songs that come to mind that I really, really appreciated from the 2000s.
This list may not be my Top 10 songs of this decade, but the first few that come to mind and are not in any specific order really… but here it is:
1. The Notwist – Consequence
…because this is my favorite song of the decade and it’s on repeat all the time for me. Before there was The Postal Service, there was The Notwist. This is electropop at its finest. This song is rather depressing though, but I love it so, so much.
2. Phoenix – Too Young
Another moody track from the nearly perfect Lost in Translation soundtrack, and from their debut 2001 album. Where most of the Lost in Translation soundtrack is atmospheric, this album is straight up pop, but captures not only the theme of the movie so well, but is about as catchy and wonderful as can be. It reminds me of Japan and my fun time there.
3. Radiohead – Idioteque
This was THE new direction for Radiohead. Straight up electronic. They never really did that, but this song had one of the most amazing beat and its simplicity was hiding layers upon layers of sounds.
4. Sigur Ros – Hljomalind
Picking a song from the stellar selection of one of my favorite bands is really hard, but Hljomalind, aka “The Rock Song”, makes the choice a little bit easier, as it is easily the most radio-friendly song that really captures the song, essence, and what makes this band from Iceland so special. It’s full of great earthy sonic noise, build-ups, out of this world vocals, and steady drum beat and bass line.
5. Muse – Newborn
Muse is the premiere arena rock band of this decade, and possibly this generation, and I am so glad I got to see them play at the small Neumo’s venue back in the day, after waiting years to see them. This song is on the list because it’s the first Muse track I heard, and it was a electronic remix, back when I was head deep in trance, dnb, house, and the like. This band blew me away, and brought me back to really liking solid rock and roll. I imported their albums, and paid a ridiculous amount of money for the Hungarian version of their Hulabaloo live DVD, which is probably my most favorite DVD I own to this day. And finally, after many years of waiting, they reached America… but Newborn was what started it out for me personally, even if it’s not really my favorite Muse track.
6. The Roots – Seed 2.0
Quite easily my favorite hip hop/rap group, ever. Seed 2.0 was something just a little bit different, and it worked amazingly well. Not only that, but its just one of the standout tracks on one of my favorite albums of this decade, Phrenology.
7. The Arcade Fire – Laika
There was alot of hype surrounding this band’s first album, and they blew that hype out of the water. This band went from indie kids to superstars in a matter of days thanks to constant promotion from the likes of David Bowie. Laika, my favorite track from Funeral, has all the fixin’s of an Arcade Fire track, with powerful vocals, heavy guitars, a blasting drum beat, some catchy keyboards, and just a fun dancey good time.
8. Broken Social Scene – Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl
BSS came along with easily one of the most full featured and eclectic indie rock albums of the decade in 2002 with their Juno Award winning You Forgot it in People. The album was a clash of all sorts of songs, from thrashing guitars, to downtempo summer chill out tracks, to fast-paced rock songs, to an overly simplistic, heavily vocodized, electropop track like this one, which is rather simple in sound, yet powerful in listening.
9. Peter, Bjorn, and John – Up Against the Wall
This song reminds me of my times in Europe. I want to go back, and when I do, I’m sure this song, and this album will be with me. I really hope this band isn’t only known for “the whistling song” (Young Folks) because they have a ton of other great tracks, like this post-punk, inspired song.
10. Interpol – NYC
And finally, post-punk. One of the coolest, short-lived genres around, and it came back with a vengeance in the 2000s, thanks to bands like Interpol (see also The Editors), who were one of the first to bring it back to the mainstream, and they did it nearly perfectly on their Turn on the Bright Lights album in 2003. NYC captures the atmospheric, darkness of that genre, and while may not be as reminiscent of older Joy Division works as some of their other songs, it’s one of the few tracks that really pushed the genre to a whole new plane.