Wow, nearly a month between posts. This aggression will not stand man, or at least this lack of aggression. The last pre-9/11 year wasn't a particularly good one for music, and it's probably not fair to say, "Thank god 9/11 happened so music got better!" even though I just did.
The best parts of 2001 were probably the Strokes debut and the Shins debut (two bands who are pretty much goners now in terms of relevance).
The worst part of 2001 is that this is the year Radiohead junkies started letting them get away with garbage in a box and calling it art and giving it lofty 9.0 rankings and their hipster websites. Aside from the first song, there's not too much pleasurable about it, and is the Exhibit "A" that fashionable music magazines and websites collectively decided to give Radiohead great grades from there on in no matter what. It's outtakes people. They didn't make the cut on Kid A because they were experimental crap. Just because something is experimental doesn't make it good. Props to Radiohead though for duping hipsters for about 10 years running now. Anyways, here are 70 songs ...
70. I’m Finding It
Harder to Be a Gentleman – White Stripes
69. Izzo (H.O.V.A.) –
Jay-Z
This almost sounds like something Will Smith would do minus
the bad words.
68. The Weather –
Built to Spill
67. Trees – Pulp
66. Good Souls –
Starsailor
65. Strange – Built to
Spill
64. 11:11 – Andrew
Bird
There’s not a song for every minute of the day, but I wonder
how many minutes of the day are covered.
Probably most of the hours on the hour (especially the midnight hour),
maybe some half hours (4:30), and there must be a 4:20. I know Spoon has 10:20 am, and here’s
another. This sounds like a very boring
Wikipedia project.
63. I Might Be Wrong
– Radiohead
62. Happiness – Built
to Spill
61. Jenny and the
Ess-Dog – Steve Malkmus
60. The Union Forever
– White Stripes
59. New York City
Cops – The Strokes
Kind of like “Bombs over Baghdad”, we have another song
casualty of 9/11 as it was removed from the album after the disaster. Years later, still a good decision.
58. Know Your Onion –
The Shins
57. Let Me Blow Your
Mind w/ Stefani – Eve
Who woulda thunk Eve was so gangsta?
56. New York, New
York – Ryan Adams
55. Anywhere, Anyone
– DNTEL
54. At Dawn – My Morning
Jacket
… continuing right where they left off with The Tennessee Fire.
53. 72 (This
Highway’s Mean) – Drive-By Truckers
52. Sing – Travis
51. Someday – The
Strokes
50. The Host – Built to
Spill
49. Too Long – Andrew
Bird
Apparently Bird didn’t make nearly as clean of a break from
his old style as Bob Dylan did once he turned rock.
48. A Movie Script
Ending – Death Cab For Cutie
47. Has It Come to
This – The Streets
In one of my more racist moments, I immediately liked this
guy less when I found out he was white.
46. Miles Away – Yeah
Yeah Yeahs
From their first recordings, you can tell they have the
energy.
45. Witness (I Hope)
– Roots Manuva
44. You Are – Built
to Spill
43. Way Out West –
Andrew Bird
42. Pilot – The
Notwist
41. Soma – The
Strokes
I’m not sure if I like Julian’s voice when all is said and
done. He’s one of those guys who should
never scream, and he does.
40. Umbrella – DNTEL
I must have been really depressed in 2001 because I love
this song.
39. We Laugh Indoors
– Death Cab For Cutie
38. Sexi Plexi – Jack
Johnson
37. Two Way Action –
Andrew Bird
Here’s proof that everyone has to rock eventually.
36. One By One All
Day – The Shins
35. Short Skirt/Long
Jacket – Cake
34. Here It Comes –
Modest Mouse
33. What Ever
Happened to My Rock’n Roll (A Punk Song) – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
This is neither a rock’n roll or punk song.
32. Natural Decline – Smog
31. Family Affair –
Mary J. Blige
I like an MJB song, who woulda thunk it?
30. Juxtaposed With
You – Super Furry Animals
29. I Think I Smell a
Rat – White Stripes
All you little kids
seem to think you know just where it’s at
Oh, I think I smell a
rat
Using your mother and
father for a welcome mat
Oh, I think I smell a
rat
28. Hopefully – My
Morning Jacket
27. The Modern Age –
The Strokes
26. La Cienega Just
Smiled – Ryan Adams
Whatever this song does, and whatever I’m feeling right now
match perfectly.
25. How Indiscreet –
Andrew Bird
Man, Andrew Bird rocks the shit out of this song.
24. Astounded w/
Curtis Mayfield – Bran Van 3000
23. Dead Leaves and
Dirty Ground – White Stripes
22. Meanwhile, Rick
James … Cake
21. Fell In Love With
a Girl – White Stripes
20. Phone West West –
My Morning Jacket
19. Hard to Explain –
The Strokes
18. Lowdown – My Morning
Jacket
17. Xmas Curtain – My
Morning Jacket
I always include this as one of my favorite Xmas songs, but
just because Xmas is in the title doesn’t make it necessarily about the
holiday. You’re the criminal who never breaks the law.
16. Hotel Yorba –
White Stripes
15. Inaudible
Melodies – Jack Johnson
If there’s a Dave Matthews coaching tree, I imagine this guy
was like his defensive coordinator or something.
14. Bermuda Highway –
My Morning Jacket
Maybe I’m to blame for
his short and bitter fucked up life.
13. Barely Legal –
The Strokes
Here are the Stokes, re-pioneering the nenenenenenenenene
guitar sound.
12. We’re Going to be
Friends – White Stripes
I love the sensitivity on display in this one. It’s one of things that separates the Stripes
from cock rock. Motley Crue couldn’t do
a song like this, nor could some band a little classier like Led Zeppelin.
11. Clint Eastwood –
Gorillaz
It’s great hearing Del again in 2001 after Deltron. It’s almost like a continuation.
10. Caring is Creepy
– The Shines
Natalie Portman and the Shins, what’s not to like?
9. Packed Like
Sardines in a Crushed Tin Can – Radiohead
8. The Way That He
Sings – My Morning Jacket
Sometimes it’s really fun to take My Morning Jacket songs
and pretend they’re about Jesus. Kinda
ruins the band a little, but it’s still fun.
In fact, Top 5 My Morning Jacket songs that are fun to pretend that
they’re about Jesus:
5. The Way That He Sings
4. Golden
3. Tonight I Wanna Celebrate With You
2. Highly Suspicious
1. What a Wonderful Man
7. Hash Pipe – Weezer
I’ve been pretty hard on Weezer in my day, and probably
shouldn’t have been.
6. Can’t Get You Out
of My Head – Kylie Minogue
The infectiousness of this song has a spell over me. This could probably go on for another 10
minutes and I’d still love it.
5. Get Your Freak On
– Missy Elliott
Missy has to be the best female rapper ever. When I think of the contestants though, it’s
not like there’s that much competition.
Queen Latifah? Meh. Nenah Cherry?
Please. Salt? Peppa?
4. New Slang – The
Shins
This song just makes me wanna go back to my hometown and
ride around my bike with my girlfriend on my handle bars, though that would
probably scare her.
3. Is This It? – The Strokes
I love the deliberately lazy pace of this song. It’s perfect for the mood.
2. (This Is) The
Dream of Evan and Chan – DNTEL
This could be the Postal Service’s finest song, yet,
technically it’s not their song even though it’s the same exact lineup.
1. Last Night – The
Strokes
This is the song that brought good rock music back into the
mainstream culture … I guess.
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