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

Hi all,

On we go, completing the bottom half of the list with ten more songs today. Thanks for reading so far -- just a heads-up, if you happen to be keeping score at home, I'll repost the entire list with just the songs (not the lyrics and such) when we finish the countdown. I'll do it in one post in descending order so it's easy to read and follow. Sound good? OK. Now it's time for...


SONGS 60 THROUGH 51


60. James Morrison, "Nothing Ever Hurt Like You" [2008]

Oh, it hit me like a steel freight train when you left me/And nothing ever hurt like you

I'm a sucker for any retro-ish song, so when I came across this on the radio a few months back, I had to listen. A pretty good blue-eyed soul imitation of songs like "Get Ready" and "I Heard It Through The Grapevine."


59. Butch Walker, "The Weight Of Her" [2008]

What am I supposed to talk about with you anyway?/I graduated the year you were born

Never one to shy away from a power-pop/glam rock approach (in fact, that's his calling card as both a producer and an artist), Butch stays true to his most comfortable style while evoking "Hey Nineteen" by Steely Dan. Heady stuff.


58. Death Cab for Cutie, "I Will Possess Your Heart" [2008]

You reject my advances and desperate pleas/I won't let you let me down so easily/So easily

First that bass line cycles seemingly forever, then a slightly jazzy backbeat kicks in, surrounded by murky guitars and synths. And then, four-and-a-half minutes or so in, we get lyrics. Oh, it's a stalker song. Never could have guessed that from the title.


57. Audioslave, "Like A Stone" [2002]

In your house I long to be/Room by room, patiently

Every decade has one rock supergroup that produces a huge radio hit and then kind of falls to the back burner. The 70's had Clapton and Allman teaming up for "Layla," in the 80's a bunch of prog-rockers got together and cooked up Asia's "Heat Of The Moment." Could it be that Audioslave provided the definitive supergroup single of the decade?


56. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Dani California" [2006]

California rest in peace/Simultaneous release/California show your teeth/She's my priestess, I'm your priest/Yeah, yeah

You knew this was going to be a huge song before it was even released. The final installment in a three-song story arc covering seven years (also encompassing "Californication" and "By The Way"). Note to all bands/artists: if you're going to steal from someone, make sure it's a songwriter like Tom Petty who clearly doesn't give a damn.


55. The Decemberists, "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" [2002]

And just to lay with you/There's nothing that I wouldn't do/Save lay my rifle down

I believe all indie rockers are closet fans of the songwriters in Fleetwood Mac. Vampire Weekend's adorable cover of Christine McVie's "Everywhere" was all over the place late last year, matt pond PA ripped off Lindsey Buckingham's "Trouble" for their 2005 track "So Much Trouble," and Colin Meloy has been known to mesh "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" with Stevie Nicks's "Dreams" in live shows. Thunder only happens when it's raining, I guess.


54. Mae, "On Top" [2007]

I'd say you're the luckiest one you know/So why did you even go in the first place?

I once heard that the best way to pitch a new television show is to describe it as a mix of two or more already-popular shows. "On Top" can be described, then, as The Postal Service meets mid-90's Goo Goo Dolls. Fair enough?


53. Steely Dan, "Cousin Dupree" [2000]

Honey, how you've grown, like a rose/Well we used to play when we were three/How about a kiss for your cousin Dupree?

Off the Grammy-winning comeback album Two Against Nature, the Dan pick up where the aforementioned "Hey Nineteen" left off 20 years prior. Notable for two things: it's the first song I learned to play on the drums, and it might be the first-ever Grammy-nominated song about incest.


52. Weezer, "Pork And Beans" [2008]

Timbaland knows the way to reach the top of the charts/Maybe if I work with him I can perfect the art

Rivers Cuomo has been name-dropping ever since he proposed the couples Halloween costume idea of Buddy Holly and Mary Tyler Moore (15 years ago already!). Off the "Red Album," largely viewed as a return to form, "Pork And Beans" is easily the wittiest and best song Weezer's released in years.


51. Kate Nash, "Mouthwash" [2008]

This is my body/Covered in skin, and not all of it you can see

If given the chance, I would marry Kate Nash solely based on the cute factor in this one song. Also, because we play piano in a similar style. The minor-key chorus takes the song to a totally unexpected place. Brilliant.


OK, so maybe a few surprises there but overall, we're getting into some really good music. Tomorrow's installment cracks the Top 50 with artists like Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, Ryan Adams...yeah, you'll want to read this.

'Til next time,

-- pl