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

Hi kiddles,

It's time for the real cream of the crop, the Top 20 songs of the decade. You know the rules, we start today with numbers 20 through 16. The explanations are a little bit longer today, but I think you'll enjoy. Here goes:


SONGS 20 THROUGH 16


20. Rufus Wainwright, "Hallelujah" [2001]

It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth/The minor fall, the major lift

As I hinted at yesterday, "Hallelujah" is indeed the only cover on this list -- and actually, it's become one of the most-covered songs of all time. Songwriting legend Leonard Cohen recorded the original version in 1984, and famous variations were done by John Cale in 1991 and the late Jeff Buckley (in what many consider to be the definitive reading) in 1994. In fact, Cale's version is the one which famously appeared in Shrek. Wainwright's recording is based off of the Cale version and can be found on the Shrek soundtrack, but not in the film itself. No sweat: the Canadian-American's take is the one most often associated with the movie, it's the artist's number-one Googled song lyric (though of course, he didn't write it), and along with an interpretation of "Across The Universe" from I Am Sam, "Hallelujah" assisted in introducing the general public to some of Wainwright's original material. Meanwhile, it's surpassed the perennial "Suzanne" as Cohen's most-beloved composition. A good way to start off this portion of the list.


19. Jason Mraz, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" [2002]

The remedy is the experience/This is a dangerous liaison/I say the comedy is that it's serious/This is a strange enough new play on words

Part of the reason why "The Remedy" is in this slot, and no other Jason Mraz songs even make the countdown, is because this first single for the likable singer-songwriter set an unmatchable blueprint. Was there anything else like this on the radio in 2002-2003? Moreover, after Mraz had set the bar so high, where was there to go but down? The most comparative situation I can think of is Barenaked Ladies' "One Week," which became that group's sole #1 hit in 1998. The big singles that followed, like "Pinch Me" and "Another Postcard," tried to duplicate the formula but couldn't replicate the spontaneity of hearing something completely new for the first time. Likewise, songs like "Wordplay" and even the ubiquitous "I'm Yours" fall a little bit short of "The Remedy"'s freshness factor. And, not to mention that pound for pound, Waiting for My Rocket to Come has to, has to, be mentioned in any discussion of the best albums of this decade. It's mighty difficult to reinvent a wheel once it gets rolling.


18. Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle" [2001]

It just takes some time/Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride/Everything, everything will be just fine/Everything, everything will be alright

The song that broke Jimmy Eat World into the mainstream, and deservedly so. The crime is that it has to fight for space on another one of the decade's best records, Bleed American (retooled as a self-titled album after 9/11), with epics like "A Praise Chorus," "Sweetness," and "The Authority Song," which has already shown up on this list. Some bands (see: Del Amitri) are resentful of that One Big Song (see: "Roll To Me") that every teenager in America knows the words to, and that Mom and Dad can tap their feet to as well. JEW shouldn't be the least bit ashamed of "The Middle," an absolutely perfect power-pop song which was the early part of 2002...in fact, the song's momentum carried right into that summer, when -- hey! guess what? -- there's an almost blissful surf-guitar solo right where the middle eight should be. Great overall guitar work, tasteful keyboards, a singalong chorus...this song has it all. Without a doubt one of the most definitive tracks of the last ten years.


17. Sara Bareilles, "Love Song" [2007]

I'm not gonna write you a love song/'Cause you asked for it/'Cause you need one, you see

What many people lose after the first line of that chorus (by the way, one of the catchiest to come around in a long time) is the story behind rest of the lyrics. It's not a love song, of course, not by any stretch of the imagination. Bareilles was asked by her record label to basically write a hit...or else. In other words, to write a "make or break" song for her recording career, as also depicted in the chorus. This had been done before -- Bruce Springsteen allegedly wrote "Dancing In The Dark" under the same ultimatum. And even this style of song had been attempted previously -- Ben Folds' "One Down" is a humorous look at record company quotas. But Ben and Bruce were already well-established by the time those songs were written; never had an artist's first real hit been constructed under such a scenario. Which makes the Folds-like piano intro, the soaring chorus, and the persistent, desperate, yet undeniably sunny feel of the track all the more incredible. Sorry I couldn't wax poetic about a song with like, a more interesting title, but there you have it.


16. Muse, "Starlight" [2006]

I'll never let you go/If you promise not to fade away/Never fade away

Aside from breathing new life into the Buddy Holly "not fade away" tradition, Muse created a track which is equal parts shamelessly energetic and intentionally over-the-top. Those of you who are only familiar with the Guitar Hero track "Knights of Cydonia" really owe yourselves a favor and should check this one out. It's not a lyrically provocative song, and there's nothing innovative about its structure or production, but I know few songs that get me in a better mood. It's essentially Coldplay redux, a more underground version of "Clocks" or "In My Place." The surprising part is toward the climax of the song, when -- just when you think the track's momentum is about to go through the roof -- the drums drop out and lead singer Matt Bellamy reduces to almost a whisper, building back up to a repetition of the opening guitar riff. After this, Bellamy pleads the refrain over and over until the song, having miraculously run out of energy, suddenly stops. It's the only truly unexpected turn in what I can only accurately describe as just a remarkably solid, unquestionably emotional song.


Back tomorrow with songs 15 through 11!

-- pl