10 Perfect Rock Singles Of The 2000s

10. The Hives: Hate To Say I Told You So (2000)

When garage rock made a resurgence in the early 2000s, people often pointed to American acts like the Strokes and the White Stripes for spearheading the movement. But an unexpected source of pure rock 'n' roll high jinks, came from one of the least expected places, Scandinavian.

When the dapper punks of Sweden dropped their second album, it was proceeded with a single that encapsulated the new direction rock was going in. Garage, punk and indie all fused into one raucous hybrid of gritty guitars and erratic vocals. This was a track with drive. From the moment the guitars kicked in you felt the frantic excitement of the group's energy. Which was only compounded, when frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist started on the mic.

For a bunch of Scandinavians they knew how to play rock 'n' roll as good as any Brit or American group that had come before. Aesthetically, punk had been given a make over. Black suits, white ties and Beatles haircuts were the new look, but the sound retained all the unapologetic, arrogance of the original '70s movement. This was captivating stuff.