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| 50 “MANSARD ROOF” BY VAMPIRE WEEKEND
“Mansard Roof” begins what is a peculiarly addicting album from Vampire Weekend. The song itself is not very long or complicated and yet it is highly descriptive and soothing. What works the best in this piece is the blending of the rhythm section with the organ in a fashion that somehow the ear glosses over both and is unable, until many listens, to separate them. I also like the drop-off at the end of the song. The memory of the piece builds in the silence following the song and everything that happened becomes more than what it was. So, all in all, this song may be Vampire Weekend’s simplest, but it might be their best.
49 “BEBEY” BY GANG GANG DANCE
When I first played this song, I thought there was something wrong with my computer that it was apparently blowing itself apart. After that, there’s the beautiful dreamscape section. One night I had that section in my head as I went to sleep and I must say that it was an enjoyable experience. It’s a warm invitation for dreams. The next section of the song—the body of the piece—is an almost alien, rule-breaking riff that seems to be conducted in nine or ten time signatures. At some point there’s a pulsing, buzzing noise and woman’s screeches, two things that make the most sense in this creative landscape.
48 “HANG ME UP TO DRY” BY THE COLD WAR KIDS
Even if I never like anything else by The Cold War Kids, I will always be grateful of them for “Hang Me Up to Dry.” There’s the singer’s voice, a bluesy, lyrical tone against a darn good moving bass line and a simple drum part. The best part of the song, of course, is the piano part. It’s following this swinging riff, and then, when it gets the emphasis the pianist randomly jams keys down for one of the most aesthetically appealing short improvisations. The Cold War Kids seem to always write dense tragedies, so maybe the weirdest aspect of the song is that it is a blues band talking about a breakup as laundry. Strangely enough, their most shallow piece is their best.
47 “ALL MY FRIENDS” BY LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
Every time I hear this song, I am completely jealous. I wish I had written this song. I really do; it’s a genius work that tosses aside the normal ideas of melody and harmony and gets down to what really makes a song: a building to something. This song, however, takes that idea to the logical extreme and somehow, by the writer’s brilliance, it works. The building is so slow and gradual that it is impossible not to get lost in the piece and when the singer finally gets around to pulling the exclamation point out it is one of the biggest peaks to any song. Then there’s the lyrics, a thorough, mature understanding that makes the song a song of celebration to the singer but a song of utter despair to those who have not come to his point of maturity. I find myself on the sad side, but I find solace in learning from this song that at some point maybe I’ll be at the maturity level of LCD Soundsystem.
46 “A SKY FOR SHOEING HORSES UNDER” BY WHY?
The best starting point to understanding “A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under” is Beck’s “Loser.” Both songs rattle off a stream of perplexing incoherencies. While that is where the similarities end for the songs, “Loser” is a bit less deep and a bit slower, so I mention it as something to start at rather than hitting the dense songs of Why. “A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under” is underscored by a gorgeous xylophone part. The lyrics, though eclectic, are memorable (especially “I only played chess once in my life and I lost”). Opening the song with the discussion with rain seems to back up a song that seems to work as a song that sounds the best when it is played during a storm as the song seems to have a feeling of strange, almost mystical, quietness near something active and powerful.
45 “M79” BY VAMPIRE WEEKEND
If Vampire Weekend could be boiled down to one song, it would be M79. It contains bits and pieces of their Ivy League pseudo-worldliness from lyrics (“See the Bhudda on the second floor”) to the harpsichord-sounding instrument at the beginning of the piece. Even though I am excluded from this upper-class structure, I still enjoy hearing the perspective of an Ivy-leaguer. In addition, the writer did a good job providing items that are more mundane, from the lyrics of hopping on a bus to the structure of the song, which allows the listener an additional take at the great chorus. The song itself is a balance of dreamy desires and awakened realities.
44 “BLUE PENGUIN” BY THE RUBY SUNS
The sound of The Ruby Suns is very worldly, but the countries from which the band takes their origin seem to not exist. The conundrum gets played to its highest level in “Blue Penguin,” which seems to be influenced by mythical literature and not music. After a slightly pretentious opening (the talking into the microphone is not too bad), there’s this strange eye-opening passage where the listener has become someone on a dock of some sort of port. The boat departs to some ocean of soothing, imaginative beauty. It’s a carefree voyage that seems endless both in its length and in its ecstasy. In the end, cannonballs fired and screeches are heard, which indicates that it is time to wake up from this dreamy state.
43 “ANKLE INJURIES” BY FUJIYA & MIYAGI
In "Ankle Injuries,” the artists place Neu’s gorgeous background simplicities against a driving drum machine and whisper nothings. The result is something completely unexpected: a hypnotic trance enveloping the listener in warmth. Every time the chord changes from major to minor in the background it has a profound effect on the listener, and that’s only a chord change, nothing else. The whispered nothings are gorgeous even if on paper they would seem meaningless (for example, “your little arms swing on monkey bars”). Heck, the artists even do the usual heinus crime of dropping their names—over and over—and can get away with it.
42 “DOWN THE LINE” BY JOSE GONZALEZ
Hands down, “Down the Line” has the best guitar part of the decade. There is no laziness here, instead a large variety of strums, almost as if the song’s theme is being examined at every angle. The up-and-down volume dynamics of the guitar are spectacular. From a vocal standpoint, this was the song Jose Gonzalez was born to sing. Gonzalez’s cynical, snide tone is an exact match to the negative lyrics and the gruff guitar. All in all this song has a level of raw intensity rarely seen anywhere let alone anything in the acoustic guitar genre. Of all of the songs on this list, this one is the one I have the strongest desire to hear live.
41 “FLAKE” BY JACK JOHNSON
“Flake” is still Jack Johnson’s best piece. Most of the time, Johnson’s mellowness seems a bit silly, but here it makes sense. This is serious mellowness. And then, the song rapidly shifts back to Johnson’s carefree take on blues. The transformation is one of the best of the decade, partly because it is unexpected due to Johnson’s mellow sadness and partly because of how logical of a progression it is despite its stark contrast to the prior section. I still get excited from a new Jack Johnson single because of “Flake.” I figure at some point Johnson’s going to pull a fast one on me again.
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| 60 “CONFESSIONS” BY CITY AND COLOUR
City and Colour wrote one of the best vague songs of the decade. The theme it is based upon—an unsettling guilt—is one that can be related to so many situations and one that hasn’t been overdone (or done very much at all). The brooding guitar riff with the off-beat tambourine punch home the message, along with the artist’s vulnerable timbre. The chorus is, of course, ultra-catchy and swings in when needed, but the verses get the emphasis, which is how songs should be done.
59 “RESERVOIR PARK” BY THE DUCHESS AND THE DUKE
On this song, Bob Dylan and his wannabes are resurrected to his greatness, and then taken to another level. The song itself is a black hole that will not allow any sun out (emphasized by the “and the clouds keep rolling on in” refrain). It is a bitter, thorny number, perhaps the polar opposite of “Confessions” in that there is no vulnerability, no dullness and brooding but a sharp, piecing voice.
58 “A POSTCARD TO NINA” BY JENS LEKMAN
The true account of Jens Lekman’s visit to a friend’s house who uses him to fool her parents that she is not a lesbian is the most hilarious song of the decade bar none. The details to this song are what make it gold, from the dinner table awkwardness (“Keep a steady look at your left eyebrow/If it’s raised it means yes/If it’s not it means take a guess”) to the after-dinner conversation (“I get a little nervous and change the subject/I put my hand on some metal object/He jokes and tells me ‘It’s a lie detector’”). Jens is at his best on this song as his ability to put things in such a sweet, straightforward manner compliment the awkwardness of the lyrics.
57 “CRYSTAL” BY BAJOFONDO
Bajofondo’s album Mar Dulce became a jumping-off point for many listeners as the group began to fuse dance more heavily with their Latin grooves. For me, though, the album was their best because of the accessibility: I wasn’t interested in being bogged down by heavy tango numbers. Anyhow, “Crystal” should appeal to both sets of people and people who don’t remotely fall within that range as it is a sweet, sorrowful piece that never feels either watered down or too full of itself.
56 “IMITOSIS” BY ANDREW BIRD
Andrew Bird’s greatest song in his ever-expanding career has to be “Imitosis.” Maybe I am saying that because I am a scientist, and just like Bird I too ponder the deeper meanings behind nihilism, but I think that of all of the songs Andrew Bird has done to question deeper meanings of being “Imitosis” goes the furthest. The ramifications of recognizing that love and hate and every emotion in between can be explained by one genetic trait, mitosis, are profound, as Bird describes. But it is also a disheartening concept, as everything with emotion only is emotional in a superficial manner compared to the larger picture of genetics.
55 “PINA COLADA” BY RODRIGUEZ JR
Of all of the oddball, unclassifiable songs of the decade, perhaps the most strange one is a song whose title seems to precisely fit the music, “Pina Colada.” Rodriguez Jr layers a dripping water background behind an eerie yet friendly beat. The song is completely neutral—it conveys no positive or negative emotion—yet still contains a strong amount of imagination. If I had to recommend one electronica song to someone who has a cursory viewpoint of the genre, I’d point them towards this bizarre piece.
54 “SEVEN NATION ARMY” BY THE WHITE STRIPES
Jack White’s love for staccato syncopation at a time when rhythms have been moving back toward the more simple was a breath of fresh air. “Seven Nation Army” is the signature piece of The White Stripes, the one song that is usually mentioned as the exception when someone says that rock sucked this past decade. The channeling focus of the guitar and the steady drum provide an unmatched level of concentration.
53 “KNIGHTS OF CYDONIA” BY MUSE
This is how to go over-the-top: put laser sounds, horses galloping, weird shrieks, and throw some vague dark ages lyrics. Make the song about defeating a universal force, an epic quest, and don’t stop until everyone is completely convinced to join in. I can’t say that the song survives repeated play, and I wish that the first section of the song would last a bit longer since I prefer it to the second section, but this song is one of the most fun songs of the decade.
52 “YOU ON THE RUN” BY THE BLACK ANGELS
While wuss-rock became mainstream music, in the shadows and back alleys actual real rock music was being made. “You On the Run” is an uncompromising full-force concentrated attack. I see the actions in this song taking place somewhere in the Wild West, where the singer brings justice into his own hands. The song builds to when the trigger is pulled, and then there is nothing.
51 “NO NEED TO WORRY” BY YEASAYER
Technically, I should include “Ah, Weir” in this selection since it is the prelude that is absolutely necessary to fully understand “No Need to Worry.” The two together combine for a sense of hopelessness, emptiness, and desires that will never come to pass. At one point in the song, it feels as though perhaps there will be resolution, but then a bell chimes and the song quickly turns back to its bleakness. The title itself (repeated several times at the end), its mockery, seems to drive down the point even further. The following track on All Hour Cymbals, “Forgiveness,” washes away all in “No Need to Worry,” building the listener back together into a better person. I almost always have to listen to the antidote “Forgiveness” after “No Need to Worry” because the unresolved feelings of “No Need to Worry” are so powerful that it cannot be left to sit.
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| 70 “SHINE” BY APPLES IN STEREO
Great songs don’t merely have one hook, and in this sense “Shine” is high level of greatness. Every piece of this song is memorable and sweet without being overly saccharine. The song is also incredibly uplifting; even the negative tone of the lyrics “shine in your mind” have minimal impact and only serve to bolster the cheerful character of the rest of the song. The bells in the background and the steady guitar make the song even more comfortable.
69 “I NEVER NEEDED IT NOW SO MUCH” BY THE GO! TEAM
I change Go! Team favorites once a month, but I think I am going to settle with “I Never Needed It Now So Much” as my pick for three reasons. First and foremost, it’s incredibly uplifting. The line “sometimes it feels like I am running out of luck” fits perfectly as the song slows down and gets back to the point. It is at that point that the song always gets to me; the following line will always lift me up. Secondly, distortion has never been applied to something this emotional and heartfelt without being shrill, and that’s something that Portishead and all its imitators cannot grasp. Third of all, throwback 70’s music is still awesome, and probably will always be awesome, and this song is one of the best at succeeding at bringing back the 70’s.
68 “THE PLOT” BY WHITE RABBITS
“The Plot” is a serious song that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The whole song is about isolation in a relationship, a cold feeling of loneliness in doing whatever is necessary to satisfy the other partner but knowing that it doesn’t matter in the end. All of the story is sung in a tone that both backs up the idea and mocks it. The mockery is telling, after all, who can keep a straight face when someone complains in the melodramatic fashion the songwriter describes? “The Plot” is a complicated and intriguing piece of music from a group that could be heading toward great heights.
67 “DOWNTOWN” BY OSBORNE
This dance number begins like many do with the usual build-up sequence, but “Downtown” has a higher gear and kicks into it. At that point, the song becomes one of the most danceable numbers in ages. There’s nothing particularly fast or confusing about the song—and somehow the straightforwardness of this piece makes it all the more interesting. I also enjoy how the song moves from verse to chorus: the second time the chorus rolls around so naturally I forget that it was absent in the first place.
66 “DIVINE” BY SEBASTIEN TELLIER
This is a weirdly addicting song. The background is vaguely old-school, yet there is some sort of production miracle to make the bops not sound completely trite and eye-rolling. Chromeo is the only other band I can think of that can pull off the simple throwback 80’s in a non-heavy-handed fashion so successfully. There is not much else I can add about this song: only after you hear it can you understand how something can be so simple yet so good.
65 “KILL ALL HIPPIES” BY PRIMAL SCREAM
“Gorgeous” is such a strange character, and the way she communicates brings about so many questions. Intrigue is thus one of the biggest interests about this piece, but that whole center goodness to this piece is the real treasure. Also, I agree with Gorgeous on this one, punk is merely aggression, and Primal Scream seems to be on the fence apparently, who leave the listener to delve into both sexuality and aggression.
64 “THE SWEETEST THING” BY CAMERA OBSCURA
Self-referencing songs seem to work better than they would on paper. One would think that as one ponders the song itself that the artist becomes too self-conscious to make something very expressive, yet in the 00’s the opposite is true. Anna Nalick’s “Breathe” as at its best during that final verse when she expresses the difficulty of the song itself. Camera Obscura does even better by sliding in the self-reference near the end in a fashion that pushes the song even further. “The Sweetest Thing” is one of the few songs of its type that manages to be intelligent and expressive without being heavy-handed or melodramatic.
63 “RED RABBITS” BY THE SHINS
I once floated down a creek with this song in my head. It was the perfect soundtrack. The sound of the droplets of water at the beginning of the song, the long sweeping instrumental section, and the harmless vocals feel like the perfect atmosphere to lie down on a tube and float your troubles away. To me, Wincing the Night Away, was The Shins at their best as every track brings about so much beautiful bliss.
62 “ONE MORE TIME” BY DAFT PUNK
I remember when I heard this song for the first time on The Weekly Top 40. It blew my mind. All those years before of listening to shallow dance numbers seemed wasted as this song with so much life, so much feeling, blew apart all of my preconceptions. The way the singer’s breath sounds so gasping overcame the usual displeasure of the autotune. Artists thereafter never seemed to note that Daft Punk balanced the robotic nature of the autotune with an exaggerated human “flaw” heard on a track. The “flaws” heard on this track are really what makes this song sound so passionate, so out-of-this-world. If only anybody learned anything from this song.
61 “PARACHUTE” BY SHUGO TOKUMARU
“Parachute” is a flawless pop song. Usually pop songs give lame, boring three-note predictable bridges. This song emphasizes the bridge, making it lift the short verse to the ultra-catchy chorus. Combining the beautiful bridge with the gorgeous chorus, “Parachute” is a song that floats in the air as carefree as a song can be. There’s something special about the foreign language that this song is spoken in; it’s a song that the words don’t matter as much as the sound of the words.
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| 80 “FILL ME IN” BY CRAIG DAVID
Though eventually Craig David only made music suitable for playing at Wendy’s, early on his intentions were to make something danceable. I remember how “Fill Me In” was supposed to usher in two-step to Americans, with an unusual beat that is not as forward and immediately digestable as every other party song. Somehow it was not meant to be, partially due to his own undoing: “Seven Days,” as a follow-up was catchy but did not have any of the sound and his future albums also missed the mark. Still, this song’s still got that precise blend of youthful escape and reality that surrounds it. It brings back memories of things that did not happen.
79 “BOY WITH A COIN” BY IRON AND WINE
Shimmering sunlight enters this song right from the first note and remains until the end. It’s a great atmosphere that demands good headphones. The rest of the guitar work is good as well: a memorable hook that is just as luscious as the background ambiance. The rustic lyrics and vocals adds on to what is one of the warmest songs of the past decade.
78 “SIMPLE X” BY ANDREW BIRD
If I had an alarm clock that played a set of songs every morning, it’d go “Not Great Men” by Gang of Four then “Simple X” by Andrew Bird. Bird’s song is about the banality of life, and how people are content to do the same things over and over. At times it makes me feel sad because I, too, fit into that category, but most of the time when I listen to the song I can’t help but be angry at everyone else for structuring society so that I have to repeat the same task over and over no matter what I desire to become.
77 “READ MY MIND” BY THE KILLERS
When I go through hard times, one song will get stuck in my head, looped over and over again. Figuratively, the song takes a beating and usually gets ground into a pulp. Afterward, I cannot stand the song and usually will never willingly listen to it again. The Killers managed to write a song that stood through a lot of repeats in my head—days worth. I have to credit this song as being part of how I got through a tough time.
76 “PONEY PART 1” BY VITALIC
How mean can electronica be? After listening to so much that was emasculated—including autotuned songs that sounded like someone had been castrated—it appeared that the genre had no punch to it. “Poney Part 1” changed my mind. When the hook slides in at the 1:30 mark, it’s impossible not to revel in the deep focus and intent the piece’s emotion conveys. More music should strive for the sharp edge this song has.
75 “FLIGHT OF THE KNIFE, PART I” BY BRYAN SCARY
While the over-the-top nature of emo, the ridiculous extremes of Muse, and the throwbacks of The Darkness strived the best rock opera of the decade, the best musical-esque star absolutely has to go to Bryan Scary. The entire album “Flight of the Knife” contains good songwriting and so much over-the-top craziness that it is tough not to get into. Each song tells a story while referencing practically every pop act before 1990. “Flight of the Knife, Part I” tells the story of a man who is searching for a mythical airplane. The story is told as if a Broadway musical was condensed into five tightly packed minutes. Unwinding it is a bit of a task, I’ll admit, but once it is sorted out it is excellence.
74 “STILL, STILL, STILL” BY KASKADE
There was one great Christmas song made in the 00’s, and it came in such an unlikely place, buried on an overlooked album and almost forgotten in time. It comprises an unusual blend of smooth jazz and uptempo electronica, but what puts this song over the edge is the choice of sampling. Combine all of that with the vocals and it’s something so rare, so special, that it feels too good to exist.
73 “EVIL BEE” BY MENOMENA
First off, the music video to this song is the best of the decade. The song itself is unpredictable, experimental, but always aesthetically appealing. No other song has so many good little bits sewn together, from the sax splatter at the beginning to the lofty spacious bells near the end. I also don’t mind the lyrics: “To be a machine/to be wanted/to be useful” as they go great with a song that sounds so human at times and so mechanical during other sections.
72 “ONE MIC” BY NAS
What if rap wasn’t about the beat? What if it wasn’t about the rhyme? What if it wasn’t about the dancability or the credibility or the sexual ability? What if it wasn’t about one-upmanship? What if it was about the message, conveyed in the most visual experience possible? That’s “One Mic,” a song that shows how well-controlled intensity can bring about something that nobody else can come close to. Maybe generations later on will question the content or songwriting skills of most songs in the 00’s, but none will be able to question “One Mic.”
71 “AUDITORIUM” BY AMERICAN PRINCES
Later on, I’ll go through my entire complaint of the direction of mainstream alternative, but I guess I can start now by asking “Why not this song?” This song should have brought a lot of success to American Princes because of its simplicity and its catchiness. It contains that unusual characteristic of withstanding hundreds of plays and it is a song that once it is over, I want to hear it again. It has an energy and spunk that seems to be gone from most alternative. This song should’ve been a major hit.
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| 90 “ATLAS” BY THE BATTLES
“Atlas” is seven magnificent minutes of electronica elevated to an epic level never before heard. It is an intense piece that makes the most of an awesome hook. The production is top-notch, perhaps the best in the genre this past decade as everything from the chipmunk vocals to the robotic ending sound as natural as possible. If you see me walking by and my head’s shaking back and forth, I’m probably listening to this song.
89 “CRYSTALIZED” BY THE XX
Lo-fi best captures sexual-charged nature of human beings. Case in point: The XX, who use minimalism at its best to create a level of horniness not heard before by the human ear. This isn’t Marvin Gay with some sort of sweet interlude, this is straight up lust in its most powerful and potent form. Airy vocals add to the power along with a tempo that only seems to slow down. Beware, celibate people.
88 “STRANGE TIMES” BY THE BLACK KEYS
“Strange Times” begins with a forward march. Then, suddenly, you wake up in a foreign land completely disoriented until the verse returns and you are back on a march. The hook works because there’s no bridge, just a sudden shift to something very haunting, bizarre, yet in a slightly humorous way. This song is the Black Keys at their best.
87 “MONKEY SUIT” BY MADVILLAIN
I keep returning to this song. It might be the loungy-dark-beat that drips of some sort of vile smoggy ooze giving the feeling that it is going to be Monday for eternity, or it could be the despondent lyrics recited with precision. Probably it is both, as the backdrop matches Madvillian’s dead-serious, formalized voice. This beat would work with no other person in the world; it was for Madvillian alone.
86 “INDENTATION” BY INJUNUITY
My new-age pick is from a rock band with a woodwind instrument player. The flutist (I am guessing it is some wooden flute like an ocarina) is pretty darn good but never showy. As a song, it’s more repetitive than most of the other songs on my list but I have it here because of its distinct sound: of all of the rock fusions I’ve listened to this may be one of the most aesthetically appealing.
85 “DONDE ESTA LA PLAYA” BY THE WALKMEN
This song’s greatness is mainly due to its versatility. It works equally well when you are feeling bummed as when you are feeling happy. When you are sad, the minor structure of the song and the sarcastic tone carries you away. When you are happy, you get a chuckle out of “I don’t believe in Christmas cards!” and enjoy the way the singer enunciates “nickels and dimes.” In both cases, the background shuffle is quite moving, and the overall song structure is very good.
84 “THE GIRL” BY DR. DOG
I do have one pet peeve about this song, and that is the annoying intro where I wish the editor would remove all of the counting. It seems like the band’s trying to pad their song times by extending this song’s length by thirty boring seconds. Once the song actually begins, it’s a tough Paul McCartney-esque baroque-noisy thing that I can’t help but smile to. “My Old Ways” is also a great song, though I chose this one because it’s less aggravatingly catchy and it has a weird feeling to it that I can’t explain.
83 “TBTF” BY BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE PRESENTS: KEVIN DREW
I don’t understand this song at all and Kevin Drew’s mumbling vocals are no help. The tone is what makes this song great: the opening melody of the verses and the simplistic but well-written chorus sew together a song that’s disheartening but never depressing. Thus, it’s a good song to play while feeling despondent as it is a good song shift from an irritated depressed mood to a mellow feeling.
82 “THE UNDERDOG” BY SPOON
I once heard this song at the mall. It was a weird experience, though not that I mind that this song is following me wherever I go. The song makes me feel like I am outsmarting others. I feel wise now that I have learned what I need to know about overlooking people and so forth. The song itself is uplifting with its trumpets blaring as the song quickly dives at the finish line.
81 “EQUINOX” BY ALOHA
Being lulled can be a good thing, as is with “Equinox.” Aloha’s last track on Light Works is a lullaby that envelopes the listener and puts that person into a trance. “Equinox” transports the listener to a quiet, sad, desolate location where the past can be seen in its entirety. The song treads heavily toward the existential, but the vague warmth keeps the listener safe from full-scale depression.
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