Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part VI)

Hey kids,

Hope you're enjoying the list so far. Today's entries are numbers 70 through 61, and most of the songs here will be instantly recognizable (we're getting to the point where almost every song on the list now was a big track in one way or another). Remember, comments are always welcome. Now take a look at today's portion...


SONGS 70 THROUGH 61


70. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" [2008]

'Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it

How do the first two minutes of this song survive solely on a backbeat and approximately three to four droning synthesizer notes? Because Beyonce fashions some kind of Andrews Sisters/Gloria Gaynor/Rhythm Nation-era Janet Jackson hybrid out of a fantastic hook (the one mentioned above).


69. Fountains of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom" [2003]

And I know that you think it's just a fantasy/But since your dad walked out, your mom could use a guy like me

Adam Schlesinger's sense of pop/rock history (see: "That Thing You Do!") is apparent in almost every FoW song -- but especially "Stacy's Mom," the song that catapulted the band into mainstream recognition on the strength of great lyrics and an amalgam of The Cars' "Just What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl."


68. Paul McCartney, "Dance Tonight" [2007]

Well you can come on to my place if you want to/You can do anything you want to do

Repetitive? Yes. Simple? Yes. An absolutely infectious, upbeat track on an album that was heralded for its melancholy nostalgia? You bet. And besides, could I really keep Macca off the list?


67. Coldplay, "Viva La Vida" [2008]

And I discovered that my castles stand/Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

Most will want to crucify me for not placing this song at least in the Top 50 (?!?!?), but "Viva La Vida," like Coldplay themselves, may simply have become too popular for its own good. Give me stuff like "Yellow" all day long. Now THERE'S a good song. (hint hint)


66. Blue Scholars, "Ordinary Guys" [2007]

Sometimes I live in my bed with just a pad and a pen/And a broken iPod I bought stolen from the block/Got holes in the soles of a third of my socks

First-generation American, Seattle-based indie rap duo Blue Scholars (that's a mouthful) places here with a relevant and at times hilarious cut, about the simple struggles of everyday life.


65. Maroon 5, "Won't Go Home Without You" [2007]

Every night you cry yourself to sleep/Thinking why does this happen to me?/Why does every moment have to be so hard?

Some songs -- and I've hinted at them previously on this list -- are formulaic songs. Adam Levine simply stole The Police's formulaic song for this hit single; it's "Every Breath You Take" in a different key, right down to Stewart Copeland's patented snare crack.


64. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "The Zephyr Song" [2002]

Take a look, it's on display for you/Coming down, no, not today

zeph - yr (n.) 1. A gentle, mild breeze.
...Wouldn't this song be more fun if a zephyr was like, a mythical flying animal?


63. Franz Ferdinand, "Take Me Out" [2004]

I say, don't you know/You say you don't know/I say, take me out

The first thing you have to love about this song is its "Band On The Run"-esque transition into the familiar, upbeat tempo. The second is the call-and-response verse as detailed above. And this song's influence was enormous; now go back and listen to Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer." Does that song happen without Franz? No, no, I don't think it does.


62. The Feeling, "Fill My Little World" [2006]

Hey, show some love/You ain't so tough/Come fill my little world right up, right up

This song can really only be described as having a Supertramp groove. And it's just about as shameless as "Goodbye Stranger" or "Take The Long Way Home," too.


61. John Mayer, "Bigger Than My Body" [2003]

But I'll gladly go down in a flame/If a flame's what it takes to remember my name

Room for Squares exploded onto the scene in early 2002, so much so that Mayer's first single off his new album, Heavier Things, might have been the most anticipated pop release since MJ's Bad in 1987. And he didn't disappoint. It's undeniable power pop, but for grown-ups.


Alright, that's it for today. Tomorrow brings us, among other things: more RHCP, Death Cab, and a big late-decade comeback by Weezer. Until then...

-- pl