Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (...the final part.)

Hello folks,

I want to sincerely thank you if you've read this far and followed me for any or all of the past 18 days. At some point over the Christmas weekend I will publish the list, in full, without descriptions, so that you can read on down from the bottom to the top. (I know -- sounds like bad grammar. It'll all become clear in a few days.) But now, to the business at hand.

As I was putting together this list about three weeks ago, I went through A LOT of music. Like I've mentioned before, about 400 songs were initially under consideration for placement on my countdown, and I had a real tough time cutting down the last 150. But as the top of the list began to come together, there was only one clear choice for the number-one spot. If you know my musical tastes, you know I'm a huge fan of this song, and that it's one of my favorite songs of any decade, not just this one. And so, it had to be.

And so, finally, I announce that my #1 favorite song of the last ten years is:



1. Coldplay, "Yellow" [2000]

I came along, I wrote a song for you/And all the things you do/And it was called "Yellow"

Like so many other classic, iconic songs on this list, it would be absolutely pointless for me to get into a long-winded discussion about the lyrical and sonic merits of "Yellow," a song everyone knows by heart even if they can't publicly cop to liking it. I can cop to it, however, and I must tell you that it belongs in at least my top 20 favorite songs of all time. As such, no other track on this countdown was even really close to the #1 ranking.

I talked about nuances yesterday. Well, this song has plenty of them, and if you've heard it enough times you can predict all the little distinctions that make "Yellow" what it is. But it's the first listen that really gets you. I don't remember where I was or what I was doing the first time I heard it on the radio -- strictly from the release date, I can tell you I was in eighth grade, but that's about it. I do, however, remember being charmingly intrigued by this little-band-that-could from Britain, with the falsetto-dominant lead singer and electric guitars that sounded too big for a band making their first major splash, and an out-of-nowhere chord on the last line of the song that totally made sense. I don't believe in a lot of theories, but music theory is definitely one of them. (Haha. Nerdy musician's joke.)

Also yesterday, I talked about the song's impact on my life. I'm not going to lie -- it helps to dig a song that every woman in the world likes, and so "Yellow" has been a major part of the last ten years for me for that reason. My buddy Greg used to say there was a certain quality about Sting's music that did something to the female sex...I won't repeat it here, but let's just say that that same quality runs through much of Coldplay's music and "Yellow" is no exception.

I think the final thing I want to emphasize about this song is its placement in the ever-expanding Coldplay canon. When you listen to Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know," you can hear "Yellow." Listen to "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol -- same thing. Listen to anything recent by Coldplay's major contemporaries, Oasis and Travis. "Yellow" is in there, too. To me, there even seems to be a spiritual give-and-take between Chris Martin and Bono; lots of the stuff on U2's How to Dismantle... album takes the "Yellow" blueprint.

Martin and the band are quick to dismiss the music from Parachutes, but it's still my favorite Coldplay record. I don't know what it is, I mean, maybe I'm not musically sophisticated enough for Viva la Vida. But I do know that some songs kill momentum when placed on an album. "Yellow," in spite of itself, is not one of them. Most of the standout tracks on Parachutes come in the first half, and "Yellow" arrives right in the middle of the proceedings. Not only does it automatically enhance the quality of the rest of the album, it also makes you realize just how good the previous four songs were as well, and that this is a band to be reckoned with. That's a unique effect.


And so, we come to the end of my list. Share your thoughts on this or any of the previous postings, and I'd like to know some of your favorites. Have a great Christmas and I'll catch you all again sometime this weekend. Thanks!

-- pl