I really dig these threads, Laz. I've been wanting to respond for a while, but have been delaying it. I'll start with the aughts first, then catch up later.
The way I'm going to do this is name the first 5 songs I think of when I refer to music from the decade in question, then suggest 5 different songs of value from then.
My 5 Most Referred To Tracks:
Usher- "Yeah"
Every club I've ever been in(and no, I have not been to a club since before the recording of this song), this track always ends up being played. It's a good dance song, although that still doesn't count for much in my book. This is a very bombastic song with an instantly floor-stopping hook, a rap break that fits in, and Lil' Jon, Dave Chappelle's classic butt of the joke. Again, still not much of a good song to my ears, but for a few years it was unavoidable on pop, hip-hop and R&B radio stations and still gets a lot of play today.
Panic! At the Disco- "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
The emo scene didn't last too long at all, did it? Stuff like Panic, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance aren't even real emo anyway- just even wussier pop punk, taking elements from Weezer, notably River's bipolar lyrics and odd falsetto, and Green Day, notably everything. No,
this is real emo- hardcore with more personal lyrics. More anguish than you would find in Black Flag.
I can see why acts like FOB and P!ATD wee popular though. As our generation became increasingly whipped, girlier rock acts should have more of a presence than nu-metal or whatever else was popular at that time. During the mid 00's to about 2007, it wasn't uncommon to see guyliner, dark colors, and those godawful mid-bangs on teenage boys, while girls liked to dye their hair in odder colors. Nowadays, it's hard to see teens dress up like this anymore, and bands like MCR are trying to distant themselves from the "emo" fad as much as they can.
Godo riddance, I say, but it's hard to deny the popularity of such songs as I Write Sins. Not much to it but a catchy synth opening and a memorable chorus on top of a semi-iconic video. Not a bad song, but never something I would seek out. To me, though, when I think of the pop-emo phase, I think of this song above all else.
Miley Cyrus- "Party in the USA"
Okay, before I say anything- I dislike Miley as much as any male my age should, hell, as much as any male should. Her music, movies, and show are not to my taste at all, and that's that. I will attest that she was decent in
Bolt, and "See You Again" has cool ambience which Miley ruins with her own voice. Still, I dislike her usual stuff like "Party in the USA".
Modern pop isn't my thing, but I can have no trouble naming a good top 40 song or two. Heck, I even like a couple of Demi Lovato's songs! But Party has trite lyrics(ironic, even, since Miley doesn't even listen to Jay-Z) which aren't complimented by Miss Cyrus's autotuned performance or to the mediocre musicianship. However, as much as I hate to admit this, the chorus has undeniable staying power, as evident by just about everyone I knew, including friends in the same boat as me. This is a late edition to the list, since it only came out about 6 months before the end of the decade, but I can't think of a song from the past year that had as much of a presence in pop culture.
Aside from maybe that one song by Black Eyed Peas. This time, Miss Montana is the lesser of two evils.
The Darkness- "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"
The glam metal revival didn't really set the world apart. Hinder's only hit was a ballad that wouldn't really fit in with the Sunset Strip scene. Buckcherry became a fun if forgettable one hit wonder-cum decently popular comeback act-cum nobodies in the course of a few years. Steel Panther, as funny as they are, came a little too late. And as great as Spinal Tap the movie is, did Spinal Tap the band really need to "reunite"? You can definitely add this to the different revival scenes that didn't really do much, along with garage rock(ala White Stripes), arena rock(Wolfmother), or thrash(all of those new "thrashcore" acts you see that have their shirts sold at Hot Topic).
Still, The Darkness came out a little before Crue-like music became en vogue for the niche crowd, and although they didn't last long, they were awesome. Just listen to this dude's insane falsetto. Perfect for the type of music they're selling. The Darkness were an oddity in popular rock music at the time. When everything was Linkin Park-like nu metal or Foo Fitghers-like post-grunge on the charts, here coem these crazy British guys jamming like
Nevermind didn't happen. Still cool today.
Eminem- "Lose Yourself"
Eminem should have retired the first time he said he would. After then, his shtick has gotten old. His lyrics blah, his beats dull, and his heart just doesn't seem to be into it anymore. "Not Afraid" was a good song, but that seemed to be the exception to the rule.
Still, before then, he was one of the best mainstream rappers of all time. Again, hip-hop is not really my thing, but I know quality when I see or hear it. When he wasn't rapping about killing his ex-wife or going off on his multiple family issues, Marshall Matthews had insane timing for hiph-op that you can't get in artists today. "Stan" is a brilliant song, and although the movie "Lose Yourself" was attached to,
8 Mile, was a half-assed
Purple Rain remake, the song is definitely a classic. He puts his everything into this song, and made every beat, every fill, every meter close to perfect. This is kind of like the "Billie Jean" of hip-hop as far as I'm concerned- so much effort put into one song that your average top 40 act wouldn't put into an entire album.
5 Others:
Outkast- "Hey Ya!"
This should probably go in the other list, but I didn't think I should take out any of the songs in there. This song has everything in it; a sick funk beat, solid rap breaks, rocking fills, bits of acoustic and synth that feel fresher than I can think of before hand, and instantly classic lyrics. The video is also great, as it evokes the look and feeling of Ed Sullivan's show the first time a certain group from Liverpool showed up for the first time.
There hasn't been a greater mix of so many different types of music before or since "Hey Ya's" inception, and there hasn't since. I think this is the most important song of the past 10 years, and journalists seems to agree with me, or at least partly- if "Hey Ya!" doesn't top or come close to the best songs of the aughts lists that I see, Outkast's other instaclassic "B.O.B." does, and their
other-other instaclassic "Miss Jackson" isn't too far behind.
System of a Down-"Toxicity"
If "Hey Ya!" is the most important song of the decade, I would argue that System of a Down were the most important band of the decade. They fit in pefectly with the angst filled nu metal scene, and still remained relevant after that got phased out, and despite breaking up 4 years ago are still relevant to this day. Their first album was pretty popular, but I think SOAD's politically charged lyrics made them became a very special band after 9/11. They were attacking the American government years before Green Day made it "cool" to, and are pretty accessible for future fans of metal, alternative, or rock in general. Hell,
this essay says it better than I can.
I went with "Toxicity" as my SOAD choice since although "Chop Suey!" had bigger commercial success and "B.Y.O.B." probably is their most critically successful single, as well as my first song of theirs, "Toxicity" has good tempo changes as it goes between an agressive drum and bass jam and a nice guitar harmony, and also contains some of Serj's best vocals.
Agalloch- "Not Unlike the Waves"
Post-metal isn't everyone's cup of tea, but Agalloch are like sex to me. There's plenty of black metal and post-rock in here, as well as folk, ambience, and plenty of other good stuff. "Not Unlike the Waves" has everything I love about this band in one fell swoop, easily among the highlights of their discography.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor- entire discography
Like I need anything else to say, ha.
The Mountain Goats- "Old College Try"
Trying to think of a bad Mountain Goats song is hard, thinking of a particular TMG to highlight is even harder. I went with a random song from my favorite album of theirs. This is the type of indie that I'm into, and I would be bigger into the movement if I could find music as passionate as this guy's is.
I'll give explanations for some of the choices sometime later.
