THIS LIST HAS 99 PROBLEMS: Coming to VH-1 for five nights next week—the Top 100 Songs of the Aughts. It is, as the Stereogum link notes, a very pop/mainstream hip hop-centered list, with the top rock songs being Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" at #5 and Green Day's "American Idiot" at #13.
Most underrated: "Stacy's Mom" down at #88; most overrated is Madonna's "Music," which doesn't belong on this list at all, let alone #28. Among the MIA? "Ms. Jackson" and "B.O.B.," Outkast; "Work It," Missy Elliott; "Take Me Out," Franz Ferdinand; "One More Time," Daft Punk; "How to Save a Life," The Fray; and even though he appears four times in the top 21, Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" and "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" belong on this list too.
They found space for Nickelback but no space for Weird Al, say "White And Nerdy" or "Bob"?
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of a bizarre list just inasmuch as I can't really tell if they were going for the songs that were the biggest of the decade, or the best. Looks like mostly the former, but there are a few songs on here (e.g., "Hurt") that weren't huge hits.
ReplyDeleteMost blatant omission: "Rolling in the Deep." Even if the list is just 2000-2010, it would've made the cut and I think should have made the top 5.
I'd add: "Float On," Modest Mouse; "Kids," MGMT; maybe "Young Folks," Peter, Bjorn & John; switch out "Clocks" for "The Scientist" or "Viva la Vida"; most of Adam's MIAs (and speaking of MIA, "Paper Planes" is ridiculously underrated); more White Stripes ("My Doorbell" or "Fell in Love with a Girl"). Maybe "American Boy."
I'd nix: Miley freaking Cyrus (seriously?), James freaking Blunt, "Daughters," which has always struck me as one of the creepiest songs ever written, Matchbox 20, "Jaded," Linkin Park just on GPs. About a dozen more if quality is a relevant criterion.
1. Even though it's at 15, "Beautiful Day" should be higher.
ReplyDelete2. Gaga belongs on the list, but it should be "Just Dance" or "Bad Romance," not "Poker Face," and she should be 10-15 slots lower than she is.
3. I view the "of the 00's" as the ten-year period from 1/1/00 to 12/31/09. Even if it covers 2010, it's a tough sell for Rolling in the Deep, which hit the US Hot 100 for the first time (at #68) for 12/25/10--its real ubiquity came starting this year. It's already a likely top 5 pick for VH1's inevitable best songs of this decade package, though.
I was about to say something about how impressive it was that U2 made the list, given that they were a band that srated in the 80s, and then realized, not only that 70s-starting Springsteen and Aerosmith were on, but that 50s-starting Johnny Cash was as well. I echo Matt's note that Beautiful Day shoould really be higher.
ReplyDeleteI agree with No. 1, although I still think "Walk On" is the best track on that album. That said, this list just shows how much my musical tastes have atrophied after about age 25 or so. Most of these songs I draw a complete blank on.
ReplyDeleteNo Fray is a big oversight, to me. I'm also surprised, even though "Fallin'" is there, that Alicia Keys' "No One" didn't make the cut--it was bigger, better and more ubiquitous,
ReplyDeleteI didn't even notice that. And no "If I Ain't Got You"? To me, that's top-20.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like there's an unspoken "only one song by an artist as a solo entity" rule for the list. Yes, Jay-Z has four songs, but 2 are as featured artists and 1 is "Empire State of mind."
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stereogum- how on earth is "SexyBack" higher than "Cry Me a River"? Is it because of Timbaland? Or because, as Cornelius Timberlake prophesied, it was gone and he brought it back?
ReplyDeleteThere are a few solo duplicates, eg, Lady Gaga is on there twice. I do think, if they were being honest, there would be more duplication. Especially in the latter half of the decade, a lot of the same artists have gotten hit after hit. To me, it's a real problem with pop radio, but it really should be reflected in a list like that. It's part of the music system these days.
ReplyDelete1 & 2 are absolutely right. I was in Italy just after "Crazy in Love" came out and was in a bar in Rome with my friend that had no dance floor and was kind a subdued, low-key place. It came on and almost in unison everyone got up and just started dancing at their tables or at the bar or wherever...it was automatic. My friend looked at me and said "Beyonce is an internationally understood language."
ReplyDeleteI'd argue Rolling in the Deep should count in the 2011-19 decade. Although I think the song started getting airplay late in 2010, it's going to be remembered as one of the biggest songs of 2011.
ReplyDeleteAnd a lot more attractive on average than people who speak Esperanto.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone interested I pulled a Watts and made a playlist of 92 of the 100 on Spotify -- there are 8 that Spotify doesn't have: http://open.spotify.com/user/maretorliss/playlist/6KbYwki1LLcrxbg4GOzJ7c
ReplyDeleteI think that the list tried to do what it could for Adele by bumping up Chasing Pavements. I know that VH1 supported that song from the get-go, and its success was part of the groundwork for what has happened with her current CD and with Rolling in the Deep. But (while I like the song), the simple fact is that Chasing Pavements probably shouldn't be on the list, and certainly should not be anywhere near as high as it is. It didn't even break the top 15 on a single US chart in the year that it was released. It's probably a stretch to say that Chasing Pavements was among the top 40 songs in 2008, much less for the entire decade.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maret!!
ReplyDelete(I'll have to go back to find Watts' lists from earlier...)
Billboard's list of the biggest selling singles of the aughts: http://www.billboard.com/features/best-of-the-2000s-the-decade-in-charts-and-1004051233.story#/charts-decade-end/hot-100-songs?year=2009&begin=1&order=position
ReplyDeleteI guess "Apologize" is an obvious whiff in terms of both ubiquity and ineffable VHoneness.
Bad Romance is on the list, just lower down. I also think that, objectively, Poker Face is her biggest hit, even if I prefer at least three of her other hits to it.
ReplyDeleteYou're right---Apologize is a massive whiff.
ReplyDelete