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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Top 100 Songs of the 00s

  • The Top 100 Songs of the ’00s, #91: “Spiralling”

    Keane

    …in which a band previously known for somewhat sleepy piano ballads discovers synth-pop with a vengeance.

    I mean, I liked Keane before. They were as good as any Coldplay knockoff band could have possibly been, and that no-guitars angle was pretty inventive as far as those sort of angles go. But for their third album, 2008’s “Perfect Symmetry”, Tom Chaplin and his boys must have located a bunch of Duran Duran and Tears for Fears albums, because not only did they discover guitars (!), but they also got all “Wild Boys”-on us. “Spiralling” uses Chaplin’s drama student voice to create a PERFECT Brit dance-pop anthem, the likes of which haven’t been heard since the days of King, The Blow Monkeys and Curiosity Killed the Cat. Well done, boys. Let’s party like it’s 1985.

  • The Top 100 Singles of the ’00s, #92: “Oops (Oh My)”

    tweet

    You know, I was all set to call Timbaland one of the most overrated producers of his era, if not all time. Then I looked over this list and realized that there are seven songs on it (including this one) produced by Mr. Mosley, significantly more than any other producer or production team. More than The Neptunes, more than Kanye West, more than Dr. Dre (who I don’t think is on this list at all). So maybe it’s time to reconsider…

    Tweet’s debut single “Oops (Oh My)” was a step forward for all sexually liberated females, with lyrics that dealt as forthrightly with masturbation as any other hit record I can think of. It was also one of the most odd songs to hit the Top Ten on the pop charts, with the most purely tribal sound of any pop single in recent memory. Erase the unnecessary rap on the single version by Fabolous, and consider the cooing and moaning of Missy Elliott on the song’s bridge, and you might also have the most covertly sapphic hit single of the decade (the rumors about Elliott and Tweet actually being a couple add a new wrinkle to the song’s vibe). Think of this as the female version of “SexyBack”. Go on, girls-get your sexy on.

  • The Top 100 Singles of the 00s #93: “A-Punk”

    vampireweekend

    Vampire Weekend’s debut album represented a rare thing in indie-world…an album living up to its’ hype. The four Columbia University alumni who made up the band had been rhapsodized so much in the blogosphere prior to the release of their self-titled debut that some folks hated it out of spite. Too bad for them, because I still think “Vampire Weekend”, track for track, is the most enjoyable album of 2008. “A-Punk” is one of it’s best songs. African guitar meets a pogo-punk tempo? Awesome. And it’s only 2 1/2 minutes long…the perfect amount of time for a song to get stuck in your head without overstaying it’s welcome.

    If you haven’t heard these guys before, take a listen and try not to dance. Pretty sweet video, too.