The 100 Greatest Songs of the 00s (To Me, At Least)

Listen. I definitely had other plans for this article. The universe, however, had other plans for me. For you see, VH1 decided to air their “100 Greatest Songs of the 00s” while I was being an insomniac late one night. And holy-fricking-crap, I haven’t been so upset with television since last Tuesday, when I tried to watch Parenthood. And VH1 pulled this nonsense where they would put in a decent song, nay, a deserving song, but then follow it up with say, “Party in the U.S.A.” or “Hot in Herre”. That is complete and utter bull-feces. So I think to myself, (what a wonderful world?) ‘Hey, I could do that, but like, a million times better.’ Lo and behold, I really couldn’t. I felt fine until I realized a third of my songs were from 2010. So now I have 70 songs and a lack of ideas. After some miracle or divine intervention, there are 100 songs. Am I completely satisfied? No. Is it better than VH1’s? To me, the answer is Hell yes.

100. “One, Two … One” Say Hi (2009)

99. “A Certain Romance” Arctic Monkeys (2006)

98. “Oh! Gravity.” Switchfoot (2006)

97. “Young Leaves” Attack In Black (2007)

96. “New York, New York” Ryan Adams (2001)

95. “Sympathy” Goo Goo Dolls (2002)

94. “Home” Michael Bublé (2005)

93. “Balloons” Foals (2008)

92. “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” The White Stripes (2001)

91. “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” Cage the Elephant (2009)

90. “Hummingbird” Wilco (2004)

89. “Maybe Not” Cat Power (2003)

88. “Before the Beginning” John Frusciante (2009)

87. “In the Fade” Queens of the Stone Age (2000)

86. “He Doesn’t Know Why” Fleet Foxes (2008)

85. “Audience” Cold War Kids (2009)

84. “It’s A Hit” We Are Scientists (2006)

83. “Love Hurts” Incubus (2006)

82. “A-Punk” Vampire Weekend (2008)

81. “By Your Side” Sade (2000)

80. “A Man’s Gotta Do” Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day & Nathan Fillion (2008)

79. “E-Pro” Beck (2005)

78. “The Executioner’s Song” Cass McCombs (2009)

77. “Elephant Gun” Beirut (2006)

76. “I Can Feel A Hot One” Manchester Orchestra (2009)

75. “Best of You” Foo Fighters (2005)

74. “Electric Feel” MGMT (2007)

73. “A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity to Be Free” Elliott Smith (2004)

72. “Put Your Records On” Corinne Bailey Rae (2006)

71. “Skinny Love” Bon Iver (2007)

70. “Happiness by the Kilowatt” Alexisonfire (2004)

69. “Digital Love” Daft Punk (2001)

68. “Low Rising” The Swell Season (2009)

67. “Salute Your Solution” The Raconteurs (2008)

66. “Banquet” Bloc Party (2005)

65. “Last Request” Paolo Nutini (2006)

64. “Phoenix” Kaspar (2009)

63. “Bright Lights” Matchbox Twenty (2002)

62. “Shelter” Ray LaMontagne (2004)

61. “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” Iron & Wine (2007)

60. “Carnival” Kevin Devine (2009)

59. “Sparks” Coldplay (2000)

58. “Panic Switch” Silversun Pickups (2009)

57. “I Feel Fantastic” Jonathan Coulton (2005)

56. “Fight Test” The Flaming Lips (2002)

55. “White Daisy Passing” Rocky Votolato (2006)

54. “Little Bit” Lykke Li (2008)

53. “NYC” Interpol (2002)

52. “Big Yellow Taxi” Counting Crows (2002)

51. “3^rd Planet” Modest Mouse (2000)

50. “Hard To Explain” The Strokes (2001)

49. “From A Shell” Lisa Germano (2003)

48. “Everything in Its Right Place” Radiohead (2000)

47. “I Don’t Know” Lisa Hannigan (2009)

46. “Everyday Is Exactly the Same” Nine Inch Nails (2005)

45. “Windowsill” Arcade Fire (2007)

44. “The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!” Sufjan Stevens (2005)

43. “You Stole” Brand New (2009)

42. “Brother (Watching)” Shad (2007)

41. “Cannonball” Damien Rice (2002)

40. “What Makes A Man?” City and Colour (2008)

39. “Much Farther To Go” Rosie Thomas (2006)

38. “Good Woman” Cat Power (2003)

37. “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)” Monsters of Folk (2009)

36. “No One Knows” Queens of the Stone Age (2002)

35. “VCR” The xx (2009)

34. “The Past Recedes” John Frusciante (2005)

33. “Pick Me Up” Dinosaur Jr. (2007)

32. “Lose Yourself” Eminem (2002)

31. “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” The Postal Service (2003)

30. “Flake” Jack Johnson (2001)

29. “Falling Slowly” The Swell Season (2006)

28. “Marry Me” St. Vincent (2007)

27. “B.O.B.” OutKast (2000)

26. “Just Stay” Kevin Devine (2006)

25. “Wet Sand” Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006)

24. “Schism” Tool (2001)

23. “Rough Hands” Alexisonfire (2006)

22. “First Day of My Life” Bright Eyes (2005)

21. “El Mañana” Gorillaz (2005)

20. “Sodom, South Georgia” Iron & Wine (2004)

19. “The Scientist” Coldplay (2002)

18. “Seven Nation Army” The White Stripes (2003)

17. “Citizen Erased” Muse (2001)

16. “Lost Cause” Beck (2002)

15. “Crazy” Gnarls Barkley (2006)

14. “Jesus, Etc.” Wilco (2002)

13. “Obstacle 1” Interpol (2002)

12. “Mad World” Gary Jules with Michael Andrews (2001)

11. “Casimir Pulaski Day” Sufjan Stevens (2005)

10. “It’s Complicated Being A Wizard” Portugal. The Man (2007)

9. “How to Save A Life” The Fray (2005)

8. “Sleeper 1972” Manchester Orchestra (2006)

7. “9 Crimes” Damien Rice (2006)

6. “Transatlanticism” Death Cab for Cutie (2003)

5. “Hurt” Johnny Cash (2002)

4. “In the Backseat” Arcade Fire (2004)

3. “A Story No One Told” Shad (2005)

2. “Limousine” Brand New (2006)

1. “Hello, I’m In Delaware” City and Colour (2005)

So there it is in all its spontaneous glory. This is my musical taste in a nutshell, topped off with a bunch of sad songs. I wonder what that says about me. In the end, the ‘greatest’ songs to me are the ones that make me feel. Whether that means it makes me feel happy, sad, or just makes me want to break stuff, it doesn’t matter. Emotion is the heart of art, and music at its purest form should elicit some emotional response. That being said, I tear up every single time I hear “Hello, I’m In Delaware”. So for me, that makes it the greatest.

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