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Your favorite songs of the decade: 2000

Posted at 4:47 PM on December 18, 2009 by Melanie Walker (5 Comments)
Filed under: Favorite Songs of the Decade

Hi there! This is Melanie Walker, the Music Director here at The Current. As we're wrapping up 2009 here at The Current I'm finding myself reminiscing not only about my favorite songs of the last year, but my favorite songs of the last decade! Every week day till New Year's Eve I'll be counting down my favorite 10 tracks of each year of the '00's and I invite you to do the same! We've got 10 days to count down our 100 personal favorites of the last decade. This is simply just for fun. I'm no authority on what was the defining music of an era. So on that note, let's kick this monster off with the year 2000!

2000 was the year we first were introduced to Coldplay, Outkast hit the big time "for real" with their album Stankonia, Rage Against The Machine temporarily disbanded after front man Zack de la Rocha left the band, Metallica filed a lawsuit against Napster, everyone wanted to be a DJ and Daft Punk's "One More Time" became the dance anthem of 2000 before the release of their album in 2001.

2000 was the year for me when I hosted my first morning radio show, learned all about jazz, fell in love with independent hip hop and probably discovered more new music that year than I had since I raided my Dad's record collection at the age of 13. There was something about 2000 that made it a particularly amazing year for new music for me. Maybe it was napster and file sharing that brought independent music to the forefront and the masses. Regardless, the music I listened to the most 10 years ago is the music I feel has shaped my personal esthetic the most in my life. Dare I say even more than the music I listened to in my teens? Yet upon reflection, I was surprised to see how melancholy the year 2000 was for me sonically. I don't remember it being such a downer! I guess my musical taste was just a bit chiller at that time. It was during the height of the down tempo era after all! Electronic music had hit the masses and even rockers like Primal Scream and Radiohead were getting in on the trend.

These are my personal favorite songs of the year 2000.

10. The Avalanches "Since I Left You"
Hailing from down under in Melbourne, Australia, The Avalanches were one of the big independent break out hits of 2000 with their debut album Since I Left You which was assembled from approximately 3,500 vinyl samples. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing this song someplace and wondering what's this Jackson Five remix all about.

Since I Left You - The Avalanc...

9. St. Germain "Rose Rouge"
As I said before, I hosted my first morning radio program around the year 2000. But, the catch was it was a jazz specialty show and I knew nothing about jazz. So, I had to learn all about it fast and soon discovered that there were no rules about only playing the standards. I got into Medeski Martin and Wood, The Greyboy Allstars, even dipped into the beginnings of acid jazz with the works of folks like Grant Green, Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd. St. Germain's album Tourist was a huge break out hit for legendary jazz label, Blue Note Records and made a big impression upon this newfound jazz lover. Although, some might not call it jazz. It ain't no Straight No Chaser but it was innovative and exciting to me blending house music with live jazz instrumentals and samples.

8. Badly Drawn Boy "The Shining"
I clearly remember going on a first date to a small club called Bimbo's in San Francisco, CA to see some dude named Badly Drawn Boy. Never heard of him. Damon Gough (aka Badly Drawn Boy) was drunk as a skunk during his entire performance, but he was still magical. The guy is a poet and has no shame bearing himself emotionally in front of hundreds at a time. He made a huge impression on me that night and further proved his song writing abilities to me with his incredibly strong debut titled The Hour Of Bewilderbeast.

The Shining - Badly Drawn Boy

7. Blackalicious "A to G"
Like I mentioned before, 2000 was the year I truly fell in love with hip hop. It wasn't until the late 90's that I discovered folks like Roots Manuva, Common, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples and now one of my now all time favorites Blackalicious which is a duo comprised of Mc Gift Of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. Their debut full length album, Nia, is one of my all time favorite albums. There's a reason he's called Gift Of Gab. The guy spits razor sharp, complex rhymes that can be incredibly fast paced and multi-syllabic. He will blow your mind...

A To G - Blackalicious

6. Air "Playground Love"
Air's debut album Moon Safari is another of my all time favorite albums. Yet in my humble opinion, four albums later and it's been fairly downhill for them since Moon Safari except for their soundtrack for Sophia Coppela's directorial debut film, The Virgin Suicides. That soundtrack added a depth to the film that could have never been achieved with writing or acting alone. "Playground Love" is like every teens, melancholic high school soundtrack with its minor keys and sauntering saxophone solos.

Playground Love (With Gordon T...

5. Radiohead "Idioteque"
Radiohead are masters of their craft and innovators in their field. Their songwriting and production is constantly pushing the creative boundaries of modern music. So, when electronic music was on the rise in the late 90's it came as no surprise that Radiohead wanted to play DJ as well. Yet, instead of placing a generic house beat under their songs like others, they opted to take a few cues from the old masters of the dance genre themselves, Kraftwerk. On Kid A you can also hear the jagged beats and dark sonic themes of avant guarde, underground techno innovators like Aphix Twin and Autechre. I don't think any other track on Kid A displays those influences more than the mystique of "Idioteque".

Idioteque - Radiohead

4. Primal Scream "Kill All Hippies"
Primal Scream's Screamadelica changed the face of pop music in the 90's with its fusion of dance and rock music. It paved the way for mainstream rock audiences to become more open and accepting of dance and techno music. Three albums later and they saved independent rock music again from its own self-righteousness with their revolutionary 2000 release XTRMNTR. Aggressive and somewhat vindictive, "Kill All Hippies", was a track that was making a statement. Living in the hippie capitol of the world, Northern California, I found this track more than amusing. Music was pushing boundaries again and expanding people's musical horizons. It was a time of musical innovation and Primal Scream was one of those bands paving the way.

Kill All Hippies - Primal Scre...

3. Goldfrapp "Utopia"
Many of you know Goldfrapp to be glittery dance diva. But, Alison Goldfrapp was not always so flamboyant. Her debut release Felt Mountain is an impressive yet understated release. The music is utterly haunting and romantic with its mix of melody and theatrics. When you strip down Goldfrapp to her bare bones you began to realize how truly magnetic her voice is. I still get goose bumps to this day when I listen to this record.

Utopia - Goldfrapp

2. Bent "Swollen"
I bet most of you have never heard of the group Bent. Most won't ever hear them. They are one of those unfortunate long lost treasures of the past decade in my humble opinion. Bent is a duo from Nottingham, England comprised of housemates Simon Mills and Neil Tolliday that are fairly well respected in their home country. Their debut release Programmed To Love is simply indefinable. To try to put them in some sort of category would be doing them a disservice. Their music is dramatic and playful, full of surprising twists and turns that never ceases to amaze me. "Swollen" is one of those songs that are so perfectly crafted I'm surprised it didn't find more success across the pond.

Swollen - Bent

1. Deltron 3030 "3030"
Deltron 3030 is one of my favorite super groups of all time, let alone in the year 2000. They are made up of well known Mc Del tha Funky Homosapien aka Deltron Zero, producer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura aka the Cantankerous Captain Aptos and turntablist Kid Koala aka Skiznod The Boy Wonder. Much like Dan "The Automator's" other concept productions such as Dr. Octagon or Handsome Boy Modeling School, Deltron 3030 is another wacky, conceptual project of his that's centered around interplanetary rap warriors battling to restore humanity's hip-hop supremacy in a corporate-dominated dystopia. Regardless how ridiculous the theme of their vision of 3030 seems it really does not matter because this entire album is sick! It's some of their best work to date and one of the best underground hip hop albums to come out to date period.

3030 - Del The Funky Homosapie...

Now it's your turn! What are some of your favorite songs of 2000?

Comments (5)

Nice pick with The Shining.

that is one of my funeral songs :)

that album is also in my top 10 (maybe even top 3) of the 00's

Posted by solace | December 21, 2009 11:16 AM

Doves - "Catch The Sun"
Radiohead - "National Anthem"
Shawn Lee - "Happiness"
New Pornographers - "Mass Romantic"
Ween - "Even If You Don't"
Belle & Sebastian - "The Wrong Girl"
The Dandy Warhols - "Bohemian Like You"
At The Drive-In - "One Armed Scissor"
PJ Harvey - "Good Fortune"
Outkast - "Ms. Jackson"

Posted by Stephen Kohlmann | December 21, 2009 1:50 PM

Nice one with At The Drive In "One Armed Scissor" still rocks...

Posted by Melanie Walker | December 21, 2009 6:44 PM

2000 seems so long ago! These two songs defined the year for me:

Sunday Brunch – Things You Said (2000)
Rocket – People Jeno’s Stormy Weather Mix (2000)

"People (Jeno's Stormy Weather Mix)" defined that perfect period in dance music when genres like house, techno, acid, etc. began to co-mingle and the results were truly inspired.

Posted by Aaron | December 21, 2009 6:51 PM

Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element, In the Flesh, Her Voices, Reconciliation, King of Loss, Idioglossia, Thorn Clown, Used
Kevin Gilbert - Imagemaker, Water Under the Bridge, Staring Into Nothing, Suite Fugue, The Best Laid Plains, A Long Day's Life, A Way Back Home
Transatlantiic - All of the Above, My New World, We All Need Some Light
Fates Warning - Still Remains, Something From Nothing, One, So
King's X - Charlie Sheen, Marsh Mellow Field, Smudge, Move Me
Call Florence Pow - I'm Traveling, 3 & 4 Part Tones, Periodic Table
Porcupine Tree - How Is Your Life Today, Lightbulb Sun, Shesmovedon, Russia On Ice, Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled, 4 Chords That Made a Million
Spock's Beard - The Great Nothing, Thoughts II
selF - Trunk Fulla Amps, Ordinaire
Godspeed You Black Emperor - Sleep
U2 - New York
Doves - Here It Comes, Break Me Gently, Rise, Sea Song
White Willow - Paper Moon
The Flower Kings - I Am the Sun
Steve Stevens - Flamenco.A.Go.Go
VAST - Free
Klimt 1918 - Swallow’s Supremacy
Spiral Architect - Insect

Posted by Kyle | December 24, 2009 9:04 PM

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