Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #90-81
Posted: February 11th, 2020, 2:51 pm
Onto our second thread!
#90
CHIEN
Etienne Daho, Ouverture (2000)
Etienne Daho. No idea if he is known outside France, maybe in England, not even sure. He’s been around here since the 80’s with some of the best French pop songs of the 80’s and 90’s. His 2000 album, “Corps et armes”, features two of my favorite songs of this decade, and this is one of them, "Opening", enigmatic and poetic, you’ll hear the other one in a few days.
GEEZER
Fall Out Boy, Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year (2005)
I don't expect this to go over well with the group, but this is one of my favorite songs off one of my favorite albums of all time. It brings back memories of late high school/early college for me and From Under the Cork Tree was probably my most listened to album of 2005/6. I loved it, and while I don't play it nearly as much, I still revisit it from time to time when I'm feeling nostalgic. I'll see this band for the first time this coming August, with Weezer and Green Day. I hope they play some stuff from the old days.
JOHNERLE
Band of Horses, Detlef Schrempf (2007)
For a time during this millennium there were three bands who sounded so similar I referred to them collectively as My Morning Band Of Fleet Foxes. Of the three, Band Of Horses seemed the most derivative and least essential, making them the Stone Temple Pilots of this trio. Their best stuff holds up well, though.
Also: The Great Salt Lake, Is There A Ghost?
LEESTU
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Maps (2004)
Released as a single in 2004 from their 2003 debut album Fever To Tell, which is easily their best album and is full of great songs, but none as great as this. Mine, and I’m sure many others, favourite Yeah Yeah Yeahs song. The music rocks, and balances with Karen O’s emotional vocals in a special way.
NSPAN
Zoot Woman, Information First (2001)
Kraftwerk-inspired, electro-infused pop. Fun stuff!
RON B
Post Malone feat. Swae Lee, Sunflower (2018)
It really pains me to put a Post Malone song on this list. And whats more, I don’t even know who Swae Lee is. But it is a very VERY rare occasion that I hear a song from a movie I hadn't seen, which blows up, and I feel 'left in the dust'. I remember reading somewhere Post Malone is a culture vulture, but this song is so damn catchy and it appeals to all ages as far as I know. The movie it’s from ain’t bad either.
SCREEN203
Bear Hands, 2AM (2016)
I can't necessarily say I have experienced the kind of disillusion described in this song, but the song (as well as the video) is very good at displaying aging out of the prime age for debauchery, but still being caught in the college-party mindset. By the end of the song, I felt as if age has caught up with me, as if I was dreading the hangover to come the morning after, when adult responsibilities kick in.
SHRYKE
Capital Cities, Kangaroo Court (2012)
This is one of the gems I discovered during my recent four-month music blitz. While better known for their hit “Safe and Sound”, I much prefer this one. The upbeat tempo, rat-a-tat synth, cool lyrics were what drew my attention, but then the horns kicked in, and I was like YES!! I love songs that use brass instruments to perfection, and this one definitely does. I chose this video over the actual video (which is kind of weird) because of the sound quality, but if you like the songs, check it out.
SIX
Primal Scream, Exterminator (2000)
Primal Scream turned into musical chameleons. Embracing baggy and Stones-like rock in the 90s, they then got way more interesting, with the concept album Vanishing Point and then their 2000 record Xtrmntr. The latter is an underappreciated landmark in the emerging post-punk revival, and the sort-of title track is a furious mix of electro and punk.
SURFER
Wild Flag, Romance (2011)
Take two thirds of Sleater-Kinney, add a little Mary Timony and you get Wild Flag, a band who were a perfect marriage of what had come before from their respective acts whilst offering something new and exciting along the way. Brownstein and Timony reign in the guitar-hero theatrics, Weiss keeps her drums dancing around the central stomp, and Rebecca Cole's gleeful organ-jabs lend some B-52's bounce to the whole enterprise. Tight as anything, it was a shame the band never explored their sound any further than their self titled debut (though the pay off of more Sleater-Kinney and Ex Hex certainly made up for it), but the opening salvo from that record will forever be in my heart.
TRANSFORMERS
The White Stripes, Black Math (2003)
On everything from his work with The Raconteurs to his recent solo material, Jack White's inconsistency has always managed to bug me. Despite the frustration that often comes with listening to his projects, his output when he hits is incredible. This noisy little ditty from The White Stripes' fourth record Elephant features plenty of the raw bluesy riffing, catchy vocal melodies and relentless energy that is at the center of all of White's finest creations.
#90
CHIEN
Etienne Daho, Ouverture (2000)
Etienne Daho. No idea if he is known outside France, maybe in England, not even sure. He’s been around here since the 80’s with some of the best French pop songs of the 80’s and 90’s. His 2000 album, “Corps et armes”, features two of my favorite songs of this decade, and this is one of them, "Opening", enigmatic and poetic, you’ll hear the other one in a few days.
GEEZER
Fall Out Boy, Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year (2005)
I don't expect this to go over well with the group, but this is one of my favorite songs off one of my favorite albums of all time. It brings back memories of late high school/early college for me and From Under the Cork Tree was probably my most listened to album of 2005/6. I loved it, and while I don't play it nearly as much, I still revisit it from time to time when I'm feeling nostalgic. I'll see this band for the first time this coming August, with Weezer and Green Day. I hope they play some stuff from the old days.
JOHNERLE
Band of Horses, Detlef Schrempf (2007)
For a time during this millennium there were three bands who sounded so similar I referred to them collectively as My Morning Band Of Fleet Foxes. Of the three, Band Of Horses seemed the most derivative and least essential, making them the Stone Temple Pilots of this trio. Their best stuff holds up well, though.
Also: The Great Salt Lake, Is There A Ghost?
LEESTU
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Maps (2004)
Released as a single in 2004 from their 2003 debut album Fever To Tell, which is easily their best album and is full of great songs, but none as great as this. Mine, and I’m sure many others, favourite Yeah Yeah Yeahs song. The music rocks, and balances with Karen O’s emotional vocals in a special way.
NSPAN
Zoot Woman, Information First (2001)
Kraftwerk-inspired, electro-infused pop. Fun stuff!
RON B
Post Malone feat. Swae Lee, Sunflower (2018)
It really pains me to put a Post Malone song on this list. And whats more, I don’t even know who Swae Lee is. But it is a very VERY rare occasion that I hear a song from a movie I hadn't seen, which blows up, and I feel 'left in the dust'. I remember reading somewhere Post Malone is a culture vulture, but this song is so damn catchy and it appeals to all ages as far as I know. The movie it’s from ain’t bad either.
SCREEN203
Bear Hands, 2AM (2016)
I can't necessarily say I have experienced the kind of disillusion described in this song, but the song (as well as the video) is very good at displaying aging out of the prime age for debauchery, but still being caught in the college-party mindset. By the end of the song, I felt as if age has caught up with me, as if I was dreading the hangover to come the morning after, when adult responsibilities kick in.
SHRYKE
Capital Cities, Kangaroo Court (2012)
This is one of the gems I discovered during my recent four-month music blitz. While better known for their hit “Safe and Sound”, I much prefer this one. The upbeat tempo, rat-a-tat synth, cool lyrics were what drew my attention, but then the horns kicked in, and I was like YES!! I love songs that use brass instruments to perfection, and this one definitely does. I chose this video over the actual video (which is kind of weird) because of the sound quality, but if you like the songs, check it out.
SIX
Primal Scream, Exterminator (2000)
Primal Scream turned into musical chameleons. Embracing baggy and Stones-like rock in the 90s, they then got way more interesting, with the concept album Vanishing Point and then their 2000 record Xtrmntr. The latter is an underappreciated landmark in the emerging post-punk revival, and the sort-of title track is a furious mix of electro and punk.
SURFER
Wild Flag, Romance (2011)
Take two thirds of Sleater-Kinney, add a little Mary Timony and you get Wild Flag, a band who were a perfect marriage of what had come before from their respective acts whilst offering something new and exciting along the way. Brownstein and Timony reign in the guitar-hero theatrics, Weiss keeps her drums dancing around the central stomp, and Rebecca Cole's gleeful organ-jabs lend some B-52's bounce to the whole enterprise. Tight as anything, it was a shame the band never explored their sound any further than their self titled debut (though the pay off of more Sleater-Kinney and Ex Hex certainly made up for it), but the opening salvo from that record will forever be in my heart.
TRANSFORMERS
The White Stripes, Black Math (2003)
On everything from his work with The Raconteurs to his recent solo material, Jack White's inconsistency has always managed to bug me. Despite the frustration that often comes with listening to his projects, his output when he hits is incredible. This noisy little ditty from The White Stripes' fourth record Elephant features plenty of the raw bluesy riffing, catchy vocal melodies and relentless energy that is at the center of all of White's finest creations.