The best 250 songs of the noughties: 3-1

250-226 | 225-201 | 200-176 | 175-151
150-126 | 125-101 | 100-76 | 75-51
50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11
10-4 | 3-1

Finally. It's taken a while to get here but I'm glad I stuck it out. So without further stalling, here are my top three songs of the Noughties.

3. Johnny Cash – Hurt

The Noughties in music had its fair share of losses, but not many come close to the death of Johnny Cash. After almost 50 years and 96 albums, his career was already pretty incredible. In the nineties Cash slowed down, and in comparison to his nine album releases in the eighties, he only released four. However, it was the start of a project that Cash would find to be his last. In 1994 Johnny Cash released ‘American Recordings’, produced by Rick Rubin. It became the first in a series of 6 albums that would chart from then until his death in 2003, with two released posthumously. The albums consisted of songs by Cash, but also covers of songs by a range of different artists including Leonard Cohen, Glenn Danzig, Soundgarden, Beck, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Will Oldham), U2, Depeche Mode, Hank Williams, The Beatles, Gordon Lightfoot, Hank Williams and, of course, Nine Inch Nails.

Trent Reznor admitted that he was initially "flattered" but worried that "the idea [of Cash covering "Hurt"] sounded a bit gimmicky," but when he heard the song and saw the video for the first time his feelings changed; “I pop the video in, and wow… Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps… Wow. [I felt like] I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine anymore… It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. [Somehow] that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning — different, but every bit as pure.”

Reznor’s original is taken to be about struggling with a drug addiction and the numbness to pain that comes with it. Johnny Cash, took that original sentiment and turned it into a song about old age. At first, that may seem like a step backward, but the emotion and true hurt in his version of the song is felt with every word. Rubin accentuates every moment of the song incredibly, using the chorus as a build up to an eventual end. For me, the song is perfect, and it gets to me every single time. It is a truly magnificent song.

2. Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)

When I originally heard Arcade Fire’s album, I didn’t get it. By the second listen, I was tapping my foot along to the beat. By the third listen I was humming along. By the fourth listen I was dancing about the living room, wondering where this album had been all my life. ‘Funeral’ was a revelation, with every track brilliant in it’s own right, but the album taking on a life of it’s own. It’s a celebration packed up in wonderful music that is fuelled by emotion that is, in it’s own way, entirely life-affirming. Neighbourhood #1 is, of course, the best of the bunch. Never wanting to single out any song from this album, I would always make sure to listen to the album in full, but no song filled me with such warmth and love as the opening track. It swells as it pulls you in with a child-like wonder, wondering what is this treat you have before you, and with you thinking of ways to prolong the feeling for as long as possible.
It’s incredible sound is definable to this album and no other, giving it a sense of identity unique, which I will always associate with my family home. As Ian Cohen wrote at pitchfork, "Will there ever be another album like Funeral?... something tells me that as music becomes even more readily available to us in the next decade, we'll still go through it all in the hopes we can find something with the unifying force and astounding emotional payload that only albums like Funeral can provide."What’s more, the incredible guitar sound, the lovely warm vocals, the perfect piano, the perfectly attuned bass, and the ghostly but lively chorus of vocals make it an entirely gorgeous song; One which always has a place in my, and many other music fans hearts, forever.

1. Reuben - A Short History Of Nearly Everything

This is it. It’s my number one song of an entire chunk of my life. Possibly of my whole life, considering how short it has been so far. Reuben have been one of the most important influences on my musical taste that without them, I may not even have been doing this list. Since 2002, the band has impacted my ears on many occasions, with three albums, twelve singles, and two EPs. Starting with the ear-latching single ‘Stux (Tell Me It’s Alright)’ I was immediately interested in the band, but until their next single ‘Let’s Stop Hanging Out’ I would remain a outside observer of the Reuben fanbase. When it came out, I was hooked and I yearned for more, as were many fans, but it would be two years until their debut album ‘Racecar is Racecar Backwards’ was released. Upon that release I began my tradition of heading to the Fopp in Glasgow to pick up a copy of their album on the day of it coming out.

I was flabbergasted at how good it was. I would again be flabbergasted a year later when their follow up was just as good. When their third album 'In Nothing We Trust' came out, I was shocked. Not because it was bad, but because it beat my idea of what it would be and what it could sound like by a million. It was their finest album, and as they say, you always save your best for your last. Not only was their final album their best, but the last song on this release was ‘A Short History Of Nearly Everything’, my number one song of the noughties.
Everything is perfect. It has probably the best lyrics that Jamie Lenman ever wrote, Jon Pearce’s bass-line is at it’s finest, and Guy Davis’ drums were at their peak. Not to mention that Sean Genockey is the finest producer the band ever worked with, as he made sure every moment was as crystal clear as a lucid dream, cementing the album’s effect on it’s fans. The build up is incredible, the break-down better and the finale is outstanding; something I think I captured better in my Definitive top 25 of Reuben “This one is my personal favourite. It starts with this huge lumbering bass riff, and slowly brings the other instruments in, ready to charge forward with the great intensity that Reuben fans can expect by the end of the third album. As Reuben do so well, they show great emotion and burgeoning passion for their music, especially in this song, with piano taking the lead for a while, before the song breaks down to complete silence, only to explode into a chasm of wonderful storytelling and sound. Essentially, the song is about a time when Jamie and a friend climbed a big hill, and had a great day doing it, but it feels like so much more. Even Barry Ronayne agrees stating, “It’s one of the best songs to close an album that I've heard.” He also states that on more than one occasion, the song gives him “chills”. I know that feeling.”

Take note friends, I don’t think it gets better thank this.
Goodnight.
Carl.