20 Landmark Songs Of The 2000s
The noughties was a very confused decade, but there were still gems to be found.
Its the year 2000 and energy is well and truly back in music after the lackadaisical ennui that was felt at the end of the 90s. Theres a winner in the battle of the contemporary music genres, its name is hip-hop. However its not the hip-hop of old, but a slickly produced version that learnt all the lessons of the music of the 80s. Its success was built on songs which were polished, slick and obeyed the law that you absolutely must be able to sing along to the chorus. Thats not to say guitars were dead and buried. Guitar heroes from all of the preceding decades were tapped into throughout the decade. The spirit of Jimi Hendrix, Blondie and The Smiths, amongst others, would pop their heads up to remind the world of their legacy. The internet redefined how music would be consumed and promoted. Bands could now share a demo across the world as soon as theyd recorded it, taking the power away from the record companies. The rise of iTunes had massive implications for the album, with vinyl effectively dead (for the time being) and iPods moving the focus to individual songs. As a result, the single was in the same position it was on the radio in the early 60s, except now it was streamed instead. But there are some rules in pop music that can never be broken. Whilst the 00s was a tremendously confused and conflicted musical decade, it did produce a clutch of breathtaking songs which admirably stayed true to the wonder of pop music. So, after one hundred songs and five decades we reach the point where we say sayonara. We started with White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane and well finish with well, lets see. Its time for one last debate