The best 250 songs of the noughties: 20-11

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

20. Gogol Bordello - Start Wearing Purple
Wow. When Gogol Bordello burst onto the music scene it was hard to conceive a band like this doing as well as they have done. In the wake of The Darkness being a mock-up of power-rock bands, could Gogol Bordello have been a mock-up of eastern European folk music? Whether they are or not is all now secondary, as the power and pure incredible fun found within their music is just undeniable. This is their serenading song and the single that launched them into the public eye. Rightfully so, as it packs a punch and is just incredibly fun and silly too. However, it is one song of many impressive songs, and thankfully Gogol Bordello are much more than one-hit-wonders.

19. Down I Go - Saparmurat Niyazov
While the band have been featured in magazines like NME and Kerrang! it’s safe to say that Down I Go may be a well kept secret. With their debut album ‘This is Disastercore’ storming through historical events with a new passion and flame for the terrible, terrifying and downright odd times in the past, their second album ‘Tyrant’ moved focus over to the terrible men who created many more awful situations. While songs focusing on Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin and George W Bush Jnr showed us the terrible in the world, ‘Suparmurat Niyazov really takes the biscuit. It’s this spectacularly odd and horrid man, I think, that lends itself to being a much greater song, inspiring Down I Go to write their best music surrounding him. After all, a man that leads his country to ‘Chew on Bones,’ ‘Shave your beard’ and build a ‘twelve metre high spinning’ statue of himself ‘made of gold’ which turns ‘to face the sun all day long’, is surely a man that inspires brilliant songwriting. This is evident here, in Down I Go’s crowning achievement. Listen

18. Anathallo - Don't Kid Yourself You Need A Physician
Having only heard this song from Anathallo, this could be a fluke. However, I would like to think not, as every second of ‘Don't Kid Yourself You Need A Physician’ fills itself with pure sunshine of stunning brilliance fuelled by a love for the warm sound of instruments. Every element of the song is perfect; the vocals are light and yet full of emotion, the backing vocals are a perfect accompaniment, the guitars are airy without being transparent, the bass is perfectly situated within the song and the drums are striking yet sedate. I haven’t even touched on the brass yet. It’s so warming and so uplifting, and every note fills me with a sense of energy and love. Put this all together and you have one of the greatest songs of the noughties, without an inkling of a shadow of a doubt. Inspired. Listen

17. The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
It’s hard not to be impressed with the Postal Service’s singular album. Every single moment is like driving home after a long trip, staring out of the window watching the world fly by. It’s one of those amazing times when your ears are highly receptive, and music like this is comes into its own. Each and every single blip and bloop of ‘Such Great Heights’ seems meticulously planned and caringly introduced to the song. The incredible electronic sound washes over you with intense warmth and blanketed soundscapes, when some people still argue that Electronic music is cold and unlovable. It can only mean one thing. They haven’t heard ‘Such Great Heights’. It’s a revelation.

16. 65daysofstatic - Retreat! Retreat!
Of course, not all electronic music is set to warm your heart with emotion. Some is meant to inspire explosions in your conscious and body. This is that very kind. Every single moment of this electronic fuelled post-rock experience is filled with superb love for the craft of the music which 65daysofstatic own as their own. ‘Retreat! Retreat!’ is from the band’s debut album and is as brilliantly crafted as it is chaotic, which sums up exactly what they were during that period. The fire in their bellies streamed out of their fingers and into their instruments. We, in turn, got to hear the various psychologically joy inducing sounds live and on CD and stood stunned as this incredible sound came from these boys. It’s an incredible song from an incredible album by an incredible band. What more is there to say?

15. Lostprophets - Last Train Home
I thought long and hard about which song from this album would make it high onto my list. When this album came out it was a revelation for a younger me, and while they further tarnish any hope I had in them with every succeeding album, I always return home to their first two superb works. Every single damn moment of ‘Start Something’ meant something to me and associates my memory with a good time. Before all that though, it was an album that I was dreading hearing, for the fear that it would never live up to it’s first single ‘Burn Burn’ or it’s predecessor ‘The Fake Sound of Progress’. I pressed play on my CD player and listened to every moment, and from that first listen, it was a favourite in my collection for years. Choosing one song to represent it though was an obvious choice when it came down to it, really, as ‘Last Train Home’ captured everything that the album meant to me. It was fun, reliable and still heavy. Most of all it conjured up feelings and memories inside me that far surpass any of the others.

14. Reuben - Return Of The Jedi
While I have waxed on about how important Lostprophets second album is to me, it still doesn’t match how important Reuben were to me throughout the decade. While their second album may have been slightly disappointing on first listen, it quickly grew on me. However, one song had always impressed me from first listen to last, without ever waning in my eyes. ‘Return Of The Jedi’ is an inspired, seven-and-a-half minute long behemoth of gigantean proportions. I don’t think I can say it any clearer than I did in my Top 25 Reuben article where the song reached number 1, so I won’t. “In truth (and the words of Dave Venom), it’s a song that “rages against the music industry with such venom”, while still keeping the Reuben upbeat pop sensibility, and utter lyrical grace. It’s Reuben at their most truthful, stating, “these here Helmet rip offs, they don't buy my lunch, so I will get a real job in the office, and I wont bother to make my music, and I wont bother to sing my songs”… Felix Carter explains, “the "Sure..." sung in the last seconds of the song, I always took to be a sarcastic retraction of the previous verse (“I wont bother to make my music”). As if he was so in love with music that it had become an indispensable part of him, and regardless of how poor he was, or unsuccessful, he could never give up music. It's an inspiring sentiment for any musician; now bathed in the twisted light of irony, given Reuben's decline.” What else is left to say?” Nothing, really, Carl of two years ago. Nothing at all… [Was only able to find a live video from their DVD 'What Happens In Aldershot Stays In Aldershot']

13. Battles – Atlas
If you have never experience Battles, you haven’t lived life. If you haven’t seen Battles live, I feel very sorry for you and your wonder-less existence. This band of aliens from another planet heard our music from a distant world and beamed down to show us what they did with it. Let me tell you, it’s inspiring. This seven-minute riot anthem is their crowning achievement and is full of wondrous riffs, vocals, bass, and most of all, drums. The drums in this song sound like a 4-armed man plays them; so thick and so beefy, yet so precisely executed. This is perfect for any party you attend; a club, a kids birthday, the inauguration of a president, a birth or a death. Put this on, everybody be lovin’ it. Try at it your next convenience. Listen [below is the Radio-edit length video]

12. Anthrax - Safe Home
A song title that has become synonymous with parting friends in my circle, ‘Safe Home’ is an excellent song. It’s pure metal energy and ferocious attitude perfectly offset the lovely notion of getting home safe. “You have always been my safe home” Keanu Reaves mimes in the video, and Anthrax sings on CD. Everything about this song is just right there, being brilliant; the vocals, the Drums, the bass and the guitars? Oh, the guitars. The solos here cry out to be heard and are perfectly situated within ‘Safe Home’ giving the song an oomph factor above any of the other Anthrax tunes. To call it anything less than essential music from the noughties would be to do it and yourself a disservice.

11. A Wilhelm Scream - The King Is Dead
Officially, this has the best intro to any song ever. That could be an over-exaggeration, why don’t you have a listen and tell me what you think? Oh, you agree. Exactly! It’s as epic as it gets and the dirty little secret is… it’s Hardcore! No-one does it, at least not in this generation of hardcore. It’s something so hard to find and it something that is unique to A Wilhelm Scream. The epic-etude continues for the whole 3 minutes of fast, potent music and absolute wonderful guitar mastery. Everything comes together here so damn well and there is no better way to open up your album than with something this damn good.


Top 10 very soon!
Carl

The best 250 songs of the noughties: 150-126

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

150. Linkin Park – Faint
Although, that being said, there’s nothing wrong with the most poppy of ‘Metal’ I’ve heard. Linkin Part aptly mix hip-hop and metal in a way no-one else has been able to accomplish, and while their first album may have been a bit pubescent in retrospect, their second album was full of club thumpers that stood their own in a Metal environment. ‘Faint’ is probably the best example, with great big riffs, soaring stings, a superb drum beat, excellent sampling and a cracking rap section.

149. Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
Do you remember when, do you remember when, this single came out? I do. Top Of The Pops was on it’s last legs and Gnarls Barkley did a slow-down version of Crazy which was superb, and showed that this song is brilliant even if you strip it down to it’s basics. The single itself just caught fire when it came out though, and it was a smash hit for Cee-Lo and Dangermouse, apparently one which was unprecedented, due to it being one of the first online singles which had no physical release to back it up. If you didn’t know about the single the previous week, you definitely knew about it the next week, as it was number one for seven weeks in a row. It’s a delight that the first digital sales only number one was crafted with such superb songwriting. Listen

148. Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles
I like pop, when it’s good. Someone much smarter than I said, “There are two kinds of music; good, or bad.” This falls into the ‘good’ category, and sometimes I think I must be nuts to have it here, but one word explains it. Choon. It’s poppy, it’s sappy, but it also has a bloody masterstroke on keys, along with super string-work that I would love to hear anywhere else. It also has a brilliant sentiment that echoes the inspired hit by the Proclaimers ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)’ which is so damn good it was in the running to be the next Scottish national anthem! And for those reasons, I welcome it into the list. Listen

147. Jenny Owen Youngs - Keys Out, Lights On
You may not be familiar with the works of Ms. Young, but I’m telling you now, you should be. She has a lovely warming voice that keeps all her music incredibly toasty and enjoyable, yet her lyrics often trip into the dark, giving her music a deadly double edge. This is one of her lighter songs, and from the moment I heard the demo of the song, I was hooked. Whether it’s the simple arrangement, the lovely sound of Jenny Owen Young’s voice, the sparse yet varied instrumentation or the so-light-it’s-a-whisper drums or some combination of the above, the whole 5 minutes is worth soaking yourself in again and again. The icing on the cake, though? The superb trumpet solo, which is neither overbearing or cheap, but in fact warm and thick. [Can't find a listen link for this, just gonna need to take my word, or buy it.]

146. This Town Needs Guns – Baboon
I know I won’t need to convince Hear New Music readers of the incredible power that Big Scary Monsters has to find all the best damn bands in Britain and beyond, but for the others here is a fine example. This Town Needs Guns are a spectacular band who always seem to perform with energy without confusing it with noise (not that it’s a bad thing to do both, mind) in fact giving the music a sense of solemn emotion. It’s a tender mix and it would be very easy to blow with one note out of place, but with ‘Baboon’ as a perfect example, it’s clear that TTNG are incapable of doing so. What they are capable of, however, is creating brilliant music. Listen

145. Regina Spektor - On The Radio
I was never much of a fan of Regina Spektor’s music, and haven’t really been much interested in anything past this album either. But ‘Begin To Hope’ is a record with almost no faults, and ‘On The Radio’ is it’s biggest triumph. It’s a lovely little song that is brimming full of love for the craft of music and some great lyrics to go along with it too. And without sidestepping into comedy, it’s also a really fun and quirky little song. Video

144. System Of A Down - Boom!
It may have been discarded from the ‘Toxicity!’ album recording sessions, but it’s one of the many songs on ‘Steal This Album!’ that is entirely worthwhile in it’s own right. It’s energetic, it’s pointed, it’s big and it always has me second guessing System Of A Down’s decision to leave it off of ‘Toxicity!’. I’m definitely glad it got to see the light of day, along with the rest of the discarded record. Listen

143. The Ocean Fracture - Polaroid Intimacy
The Ocean Fracture have steadily degraded their sound over the years to be this incredible and rough sound we see here. They’re going to hate me for saying it, but they started as a post-rock band with some hardcore elements, most of which slowly took over their sound. Eventually progressing to become a post-hardcore band, The Ocean Fracture messed around with all three elements of the genres to create this unique and interesting band which ‘Polaroid Intimacy’ displays in full. It’s brash and discordant, but never without loosing a sense of melody and passion, with some small yet fantastically laid back sections keeping it all fresh. Listen

142. Hot Chip - Over And Over
Right, put your hands up if you would deny that this song is one of the best of the noughties. You didn’t put your hand up did you? So we’re agreed, you’re not a tit. It’s a perfect little dance track that keeps as interesting as it does odd. The whole songs has a gleam of dancibility, yet keeps an ambiguously dark tone behind it all giving the song many levels on which to impress you with. It works well in many situations where dancing is a factor; clubs, parties, loos. You know yourself, you can’t not tap a foot or dance along. It’s a wizard track. And I don’t mean ‘wizard’ as in ‘cool’ I mean ‘wizard’ as in ‘it has magical powers that will force you to dance whether you want to or not.’ Listen

141. Yourcodenameis:milo - All Roads To Fault
No matter how much I gloss over the majority of Yourcodenameis:milo’s back catalogue as ‘not bad’ I cannot deny this song has just such an immense power and ferocity that can’t be denied. While the whole song is pretty damn awesome, it’s all about the break down/build up at 1:40 that makes the whole thing worthwhile. Genius.


140. Thrice - Stare at the Sun
Thrice are pretty much me. When Thrice brought this out, I got really into them, and this was exactly the kind of music I liked the time. Anything Thrice had before this was kinda scrappy and only some of it was good, which is a bit like my taste in music before I got into this. Fast forward to Vheissu, they’re fourth album, which is more advanced and complex than before, and where my taste had grown to as well. Then, ‘The Alchemy Index’, which has big dollops of post-rock and electronica mixed in with hardcore and acoustic elements. Again, my taste exactly. It seems like Thrice have been looking at my last.fm account all these years and just catering to me. Back to the point, Stare at the Sun is a brilliant record, and probably the cream of my adolescent hardcore crop. Video

139. Sum 41 - We're All To Blame
I’ve always liked Sum 41, but when on their fourth album, they started to add elements of Metallica into their pop-punk style, and I was genuinely impressed. I mean, it wasn’t a progression by traditional standards, but in my book it was better, capturing a sense of anger and hardcore roots with some metal riffs. A better mix they never made, as they never kept it up, and the guitarist who was probably responsible for the change left the band, and they’ve become entirely boring since that time. So let’s raise a glass to a Pop-punk band on a major label coming out with a Metallica influenced fourth album (which obviously didn’t impress the execs) and naming it after a man who saved their lives, ‘Chuck’. Brilliant. Video

138. Lostprophets - Burn Burn
From moment one, I loved this bloody song. It came right out of left field that Lostprophets would drop their Metal edge for a more Hardcore-orientated sound that was a lot closer to Refused than Linkin Park. It’s safe to say that ‘Start Something’ means a hell of a lot to me, and it’s in no small part due to ‘Burn Burn’. Let’s give it some props; it’s energetic, it’s anthemic and it’s boisterous. Not to mention, it has a killer riff driving it, which is as simple as it is bangin'. Video

137. NOFX - Theme from a Nofx Album
I don’t think I can explain this one. You’ll just have to come up with a reason. Alright, I’ll give it a go. It’s punk rock, with an accordion… and it’s very silly. Good enough? Listen

136. Down I Go - Ivan The Terrible
I have no doubt in my mind that Down I Go are one of the most underrated bands on this list, and it remains a mystery to me why that is. Even the indie kids running the NME gave them a feature, but still nothing. If anything ‘Ivan The Terrible’ is a brilliant example of just how good this band are. They can drive their loud brash hardcore to the extreme one-minute and drop down to strings the next and never have it sound odd. They can do something that most bands seem to be inept at, which is writing a heavy song which is also slow. This is a perfect example of a band at the top of their game. Listen

135. Reuben - We're All Going Home In An Ambulance
This is the infinite Reuben. Their music will live on in my soul, even if the three boys have went their separate ways. This is one of their crowning achievements, and it’s perfectly plucked from their extensive back catalogue of wonderful, wonderful music. It’s vocals are perfectly aggressive for the subject matter dealt with in the vocals, and the musicianship as always, is in no doubt of being any better than incendiary. It’s always been a great wonder to me why Reuben was never more widely accepted. As this song demonstrates, they have the sheer power to write some of the heaviest rock, veering on post-hardcore, I’ve ever heard. But what’s also true is that the song never trails like most heavy rock bands seem incapable of not doing. I love this song. Listen

134. The Klaxons - Atlantis to Interzone
Choon. It lights a fire under yer arse and has fun while doing it. It’s a great little song. True, the keyboard part sounds rudimentary at first, but that’s part of the charm. Give it a second, or third spin and you’ll hear the intelligent musicianship come out of it’s shell. Video

133. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
Fuck off. An explanation? For this? You really need one? Right… hold on, and I’ll copy paste one from somewhere else. “Scottish pretend poshos swallow Funky America whole and spew out dancefloor classic...” NME.com Video

132. Cursive - Some Red Handed Slight of Hand
When it came right down to it, choosing a song from Cursive’s ‘The Ugly Organ’ was very hard. I knew I had to include at least one of the tracks off this incredible piece of work. Unfortunately, it’s hard to pick just one, as the whole album has not only a narrative flow, but also a musical one. Picking just one is a little like saying which one of your organs is your favourite, and saying you don’t need the rest. Well, this song is not only the cream of the crop, but it’s also one of the shortest at just 1:52. It’s packed full of punch and has an incredible sound that runs throughout the album, including intense string work and a superbly discordant guitar line that seems to swim in and around the other instruments. Altogether, it’s bloody beautiful. Video

131. Frou Frou - Let Go
Saying that this song frames one of my favourite films of all time is putting it lightly. It’s also a completely wonderfully put together piece of music, which incorporates Imogen Heap’s ear-catching indelible voice magnificently while also bringing in a slew of other key factors. It never makes any one instrument more important than another, with Heap’s voice becoming another instrument in the Orchestra of Frou Frou. It creates some unforgettable sounds with synths that warm the whole track up like a champ, while keeping an upbeat tempo that offsets the song’s solemn tones. It’s a wonderful track. Listen

130. Maybeshewill - He Films The Clouds Pt. 2
Maybeshewill are a band I got into when their Debut album had already been out for a while, and I was apparently late to the party. But what a party it is. Maybeshewill have the power to write anthemic epic songs with Post-Rock elements overlapping the Post-Electronica that 65daysofstatic have made their own in a beautiful way. It helps immensely to have a choir singing your tracks rallying cry however. “Now we’re apart, though not through choice, do we stay mute, or raise our voice?” Not only is it a superb question, it’s also simplistic, which I feel is a brilliant reason in itself to love this song. Not to mention the brilliant guitar’s towards the end of the song. Listen

129. The Streets - Don't mug yourself
Don’t be a prat! Listen to that! The Streets released one of the best albums of the decade with ‘Original Pirate Material’ so you’d have to have expected a second cut from the record! It’s lyrical gold, with a beat that kills kittens nationwide. Need I say more?


128. N.E.R.D. - She Wants To Move
It’s all about the Bass. And the rythym. And the handclaps. And the guitar. Fuck it, it’s the whole damn package. Who among you can deny that this song is worthy of a dance? Who among you can deny that this song is a fucking champ? Nane a ye’s. Listen

127. Kings Of Leon - The Bucket
See most people? They liked Kings Of Leon either now (Albums three and four) or they liked them for their debut. At least, that’s how it is in my experience. In my opinion, Kings Of Leon were never, and will never be as good as their second album ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’. ‘The Bucket’ is a perfect example. It’s quaint, it’s rhythmic, it’s fun and it’s uplifting. It’s everything that I want from KoL, and it’s everything that they rarely are. As this song proves however, it’s when they are at their best. It’s just a shame they’re too busy contracting STD’s these days to realise it. Listen

126. Weezer - The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)
Weezer are something of an anomaly to me. They always write solid music, but their albums are never fleshed out very well. Five great songs, and five naff to average ones does not make for brilliant albums. However, it does make for five great songs, and that can never be denied. This is part of their best half. TGMTEL is a superb song that charts many different genres but never feels like it isn’t Weezer at the helm. They aptly take control of grunge, glam rock, surf rock, 80’s electro and hard rock without breaking a sweat. It’s a brilliant experiment with music that most are, quite rightly, scared to touch as it rarely pays off as well as this wonderful song has. Admittedly, the crowning achievement of the entire song can only be attributed to one band. Well done Beach Boys, another hit! Listen

It might take a while but I'll get there!
Carl