End of Decade Blowout pt 1: Top 60 Singles, 60-46
This blog has been dead for a while, but the end of decade listamania blowout seems like a good reason to bring it back. This listamania will consist of the following:
Top 60 singles of the decade (4 installments)
Top 20 TV Shows of the Decade (you'll never guess what's #1!)
Top 15 "cute" movies of the decade (romcoms, family movies, etc)
Whatever else I think of or feel like doing.
Let's start out with singles 60-46 of the top 60 singles of the decade:
60. Wu Tang Clan - "Gravel Pit"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: #89 (#20 Rap)
Youtube: "Gravel Pit"
Commentary: o, The W was not as consistently classic as 36 Chambers (surely one of the most ambitious and finest rap albums ever), but "Gravel Pit" is, I think, as good as any of their other singles. I think that this is probably the catchiest rap song of the whole decade, and it features some great rapping and amazing samples.
59. Guided by Voices - "The Best of Jill Hives"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "The Best of Jill Hives"
Commentary: I may not be indie any more, but I still love this one as much as ever, with it's really pretty understated melody. Sure, the lyrics are nonsense and Bob Pollard has never been much as a singer, but he has always had a flair for a great melody, and this is one of his best, plus with a nice guitar sound as well.
58. Kanye West - "Through the Wire"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: #15 (#4 Rap)
Youtube: "Through the Wire"
Commentary: Great lyrics, great samples, great production, and good rapping with an interesting gimmick. This was Kanye's breakout single as a performer and it pretty much demanded being a hit, being so catchy and so unique that nobody could resist it. I still think it's the best work he's done as a solo artist.
57. Fall Out Boy - "The Takeover, The Break's Over"
Year: 2007
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "The Takeover, the Break's Over"
Commentary: This is the best song on Infinity on High, and it's plenty commercial, so it's kind of confusing that the other singles became huge hits while this one never did anything. It's got really great guitar and an outstanding chorus, combined with Patrick Stump's always good vocals.
56. Nelly Furtado - "Say It Right"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "Say It Right"
Commentary: Nobody saw this coming out of old Nelly, but she really is a great singer, and she got some great songwriters and producers for her album. The Loose album produced a lot of great singles, but this one was the best, a very deserving #1 hit (in fact, by this list, the fifth best #1 hit of the decade). So pretty.
55. Junior Senior - "Move Your Feet"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Move Your Feet"
Commentary: I don't care how silly it is, this is one of the best written and catchiest pop songs of the decade. It features several interlacing and distinct really catchy melodies and it's actually structured in a pretty original way. Plus, it has a great music video!
54. Alicia Keys - "Fallin"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "Fallin"
Commentary: OK, OK, i know it's generic sounding, and Alicia Keys isn't even really that good of a singer compared to other R&B divas like Aaliyah or Mariah or Whitney. This one sticks to the cookie cutter R&B ballad formula, but it's a great formula and this is just about the best possible execution of it, which I think is admirable and makes it worthy of a slot.
53. Bloodhound Gang - "The Bad Touch"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: #52 (#6 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "The Bad Touch"
Commentary: Nobody seems to like this song, but the only bad things I really hear people say about it are that it's silly or that it's gimmicky. I guess some people consider those things insults, but I actually like them in pop songs. Especially when they are as ridiculously catchy as this, and, sure, it's silly, but it's actually got some pretty funny lines. (Fairly questionable inclusion but my memory is this song didn't really break out until 2000).
52. Ashlee Simpson - "La La"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: #86
Youtube: "La La"
Commentary: Ashlee Simpson continues to get just about the worst press of any pop star and I continue to not care at all. I think that if most people forgot the baggage and just gave the music an honest shot they would see it for the superior intelligent pop music that it really is. OK, this one is just silly fun but it's AMAZING silly fun.
51. Carrie Underwood - "Before He Cheats"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: #8 (#1 Country)
Youtube: "Before He Cheats"
Commentary: I've written about this very song on this very site many times before. Every time I talk about the great funny lyrics, how much it rocks, and how great of a vocalist Carrie Underwood is. This was a deserved crossover smash, rare for a country song, and that still makes me happy.
50. Avril Lavigne - "Complicated"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: #2
Youtube: "Complicated"
Commentary: I always loved this song, even when I was indie, because the melody is just that massive and the bratty high school lyrics are absolutely perfect. This was one of the songs that helped to spawn the confessional teen pop movement and it's been often imitated and only very rarely exceeded. I've heard the chorus a thousand times probably and it's still not old.
49. Wheatus - "Teenage Dirtbag"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: n/a (#7 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "Teenage Dirtbag"
Commentary: It's a ripoff of Weezer except that, actually, it's better than any real Weezer songs. The thing is, it's got some of the best high school love lyrics of all time and great vocals, and an all-time classic melody. The lyrics, though, are not only funny but they are genuinely emotionally affecting, if you really think about them.
48. Sugababes - "About You Now"
Year: 2007
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "About You Now"
Commentary: The common denominator between almost every song on this list is a massive melody. That's what I like in songs and so that's what's going to dominate the list. And this one is really, really outstanding, particularly the "I know everything changes" part. The actual recording isn't a performance that I particularly care for, and I think a really good cover could be done of it. But the melody is so kicking, one of the very best of the decade, that it demands to be listed anyways.
47. Backstreet Boys - "The Call"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #52
Youtube: "The Call"
Commentary: This appears to be one of the Backstreet Boys' least remembered singles, which is a real shame because it's probably their very best work. Max Martin has always had an ability to crank out perfect dance-able pop songs and this is one of his very best. I think people were already sick of the Boys by the time this hit, which probably is what hurt its commercial success and current stature. But come one, this one is like 100x better than stuff like "Larger that Life". Go back and give it a re-listen.
46. David Banner - "Cadillac on 22s"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a (#86 rap)
Youtube: "Cadillac on 22s"
Commentary: David Banner is one of those rappers in the mid 2000s who never broke out like he really deserved. This song deserved to be a massive smash and I'm actually not really sure why it wasn't. David is a great rapper, and this has some of the best production of any rap song of the whole decade. So much better than Bubba Sparxxx but much less popular too. Too bad.
Top 60 singles of the decade (4 installments)
Top 20 TV Shows of the Decade (you'll never guess what's #1!)
Top 15 "cute" movies of the decade (romcoms, family movies, etc)
Whatever else I think of or feel like doing.
Let's start out with singles 60-46 of the top 60 singles of the decade:
60. Wu Tang Clan - "Gravel Pit"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: #89 (#20 Rap)
Youtube: "Gravel Pit"
Commentary: o, The W was not as consistently classic as 36 Chambers (surely one of the most ambitious and finest rap albums ever), but "Gravel Pit" is, I think, as good as any of their other singles. I think that this is probably the catchiest rap song of the whole decade, and it features some great rapping and amazing samples.
59. Guided by Voices - "The Best of Jill Hives"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "The Best of Jill Hives"
Commentary: I may not be indie any more, but I still love this one as much as ever, with it's really pretty understated melody. Sure, the lyrics are nonsense and Bob Pollard has never been much as a singer, but he has always had a flair for a great melody, and this is one of his best, plus with a nice guitar sound as well.
58. Kanye West - "Through the Wire"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: #15 (#4 Rap)
Youtube: "Through the Wire"
Commentary: Great lyrics, great samples, great production, and good rapping with an interesting gimmick. This was Kanye's breakout single as a performer and it pretty much demanded being a hit, being so catchy and so unique that nobody could resist it. I still think it's the best work he's done as a solo artist.
57. Fall Out Boy - "The Takeover, The Break's Over"
Year: 2007
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "The Takeover, the Break's Over"
Commentary: This is the best song on Infinity on High, and it's plenty commercial, so it's kind of confusing that the other singles became huge hits while this one never did anything. It's got really great guitar and an outstanding chorus, combined with Patrick Stump's always good vocals.
56. Nelly Furtado - "Say It Right"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "Say It Right"
Commentary: Nobody saw this coming out of old Nelly, but she really is a great singer, and she got some great songwriters and producers for her album. The Loose album produced a lot of great singles, but this one was the best, a very deserving #1 hit (in fact, by this list, the fifth best #1 hit of the decade). So pretty.
55. Junior Senior - "Move Your Feet"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "Move Your Feet"
Commentary: I don't care how silly it is, this is one of the best written and catchiest pop songs of the decade. It features several interlacing and distinct really catchy melodies and it's actually structured in a pretty original way. Plus, it has a great music video!
54. Alicia Keys - "Fallin"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #1
Youtube: "Fallin"
Commentary: OK, OK, i know it's generic sounding, and Alicia Keys isn't even really that good of a singer compared to other R&B divas like Aaliyah or Mariah or Whitney. This one sticks to the cookie cutter R&B ballad formula, but it's a great formula and this is just about the best possible execution of it, which I think is admirable and makes it worthy of a slot.
53. Bloodhound Gang - "The Bad Touch"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: #52 (#6 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "The Bad Touch"
Commentary: Nobody seems to like this song, but the only bad things I really hear people say about it are that it's silly or that it's gimmicky. I guess some people consider those things insults, but I actually like them in pop songs. Especially when they are as ridiculously catchy as this, and, sure, it's silly, but it's actually got some pretty funny lines. (Fairly questionable inclusion but my memory is this song didn't really break out until 2000).
52. Ashlee Simpson - "La La"
Year: 2005
Chart Peak: #86
Youtube: "La La"
Commentary: Ashlee Simpson continues to get just about the worst press of any pop star and I continue to not care at all. I think that if most people forgot the baggage and just gave the music an honest shot they would see it for the superior intelligent pop music that it really is. OK, this one is just silly fun but it's AMAZING silly fun.
51. Carrie Underwood - "Before He Cheats"
Year: 2006
Chart Peak: #8 (#1 Country)
Youtube: "Before He Cheats"
Commentary: I've written about this very song on this very site many times before. Every time I talk about the great funny lyrics, how much it rocks, and how great of a vocalist Carrie Underwood is. This was a deserved crossover smash, rare for a country song, and that still makes me happy.
50. Avril Lavigne - "Complicated"
Year: 2002
Chart Peak: #2
Youtube: "Complicated"
Commentary: I always loved this song, even when I was indie, because the melody is just that massive and the bratty high school lyrics are absolutely perfect. This was one of the songs that helped to spawn the confessional teen pop movement and it's been often imitated and only very rarely exceeded. I've heard the chorus a thousand times probably and it's still not old.
49. Wheatus - "Teenage Dirtbag"
Year: 2000
Chart Peak: n/a (#7 Modern Rock)
Youtube: "Teenage Dirtbag"
Commentary: It's a ripoff of Weezer except that, actually, it's better than any real Weezer songs. The thing is, it's got some of the best high school love lyrics of all time and great vocals, and an all-time classic melody. The lyrics, though, are not only funny but they are genuinely emotionally affecting, if you really think about them.
48. Sugababes - "About You Now"
Year: 2007
Chart Peak: n/a
Youtube: "About You Now"
Commentary: The common denominator between almost every song on this list is a massive melody. That's what I like in songs and so that's what's going to dominate the list. And this one is really, really outstanding, particularly the "I know everything changes" part. The actual recording isn't a performance that I particularly care for, and I think a really good cover could be done of it. But the melody is so kicking, one of the very best of the decade, that it demands to be listed anyways.
47. Backstreet Boys - "The Call"
Year: 2001
Chart Peak: #52
Youtube: "The Call"
Commentary: This appears to be one of the Backstreet Boys' least remembered singles, which is a real shame because it's probably their very best work. Max Martin has always had an ability to crank out perfect dance-able pop songs and this is one of his very best. I think people were already sick of the Boys by the time this hit, which probably is what hurt its commercial success and current stature. But come one, this one is like 100x better than stuff like "Larger that Life". Go back and give it a re-listen.
46. David Banner - "Cadillac on 22s"
Year: 2003
Chart Peak: n/a (#86 rap)
Youtube: "Cadillac on 22s"
Commentary: David Banner is one of those rappers in the mid 2000s who never broke out like he really deserved. This song deserved to be a massive smash and I'm actually not really sure why it wasn't. David is a great rapper, and this has some of the best production of any rap song of the whole decade. So much better than Bubba Sparxxx but much less popular too. Too bad.
Labels: List
posted by Greg at 6:11 PM
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