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Dirca's Top 250 of the 2000s, List complete!

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Dircadirca View member profile	Sep 5 2018, 05:34 PM Post #1
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,070 User: 19,614	(the creature in the middle is in fact a Dircashede, something I created when I was 9 and where my username comes from ~) Hi! I'm not sure if I've posted in this sub-forum...ever before but I do like lurking it as a lover of music, lists, and more than anything, learning about what makes music tick for others. Not only this, but I do like making lists of myself, and over the past few years I've been making year end lists. I've now made top 100 lists for every year from 2000 to 2017 and even written at length about them elsewhere. So I thought it would be fun to share this since I don't often get a chance here to write at length about the music I love, and since voting games here often have a specific focus, there's a lot of stuff I don't get to post admiration for. For instance, roughly 20% of this list is Australian artists...some very well known internationally, some that are so lost to the sands of time that they're not even on YouTube or Spotify. So a little while ago I finished my top 250 of the 2000s and that's what I'll be sharing. There's so much music I love that even this leaves off so much stuff I'd want to include, so perhaps at the end of this I could quickly post my individual top 100 lists of each year. As someone who finished high school in 2009, this is an immense nostalgia rush, but at the same time there's still room in here for stuff I only discovered while researching these lists. I will probably start counting it down proper tomorrow when I've decided how I would like to format it, but for now, here's 50 songs that missed the cut, which would closely resemble the actual #251-#300 section. A Perfect Circle - Judith Air - Surfing On A Rocket Alphabeat - Fascination Augie March - This Train Will Be Taking No Passengers Bright Eyes - The Calendar Hung Itself... Cog - Say Your Last Goodbye Doves - The Man Who Told Everything Eminem - Without Me Gorillaz - 19-2000 Grant Kirkhope - Atlantis Green Day - Jesus of Suburbia Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks Hell Is For Heroes - Night Vision Hilltop Hoods - The Calling Jimmy Eat World - Pain Kanye West (feat Syleena Johnson) - All Falls Down Karnivool - All I Know Kylie Minogue - In Your Eyes Ladytron - Ghosts Metric - IOU Modest Mouse - Dark Center of the Universe Muse - The Small Print Muse - Uprising My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words My Chemical Romance - I'm Not Okay (I Promise) Panic! At The Disco - The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage Paul Mac (feat Aaradhna) - Love Declaration Pnau - Embrace Porcupine Tree - Shesmovedon Powderfinger - Up & Down & Back Again Radiohead - Motion Picture Soundtrack Regurgitator - Fat Cop Rise Against - Prayer Of The Refugee Rise Against - Savior Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla Silverchair - Young Modern Station Spiderbait - Outta My Head System of a Down - Aerials System of a Down - B.Y.O.B. The John Steel Singers - Rainbow K*t The Knife - You Take My Breath Away The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement The Living End - One Said to the Other The Shins - Australia The Strokes - Juicebox The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition The Vines - Get Free Them Crooked Vultures - New Fang White Rabbits - Percussion Gun Wilco - Jesus, Etc. This post has been edited by Dircarolofbells**: Dec 16 2018, 04:51 PM


coi View member profile	Sep 5 2018, 05:44 PM Post #2
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 23 June 2018 Posts: 9,511 User: 73,240	I'm really looking forward to this! With artists like Muse, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, My Chemical Romance and System of a Down on the cover, this seems very promising!


danG View member profile	Sep 5 2018, 06:09 PM Post #3
🔥🚀🔥 Joined: 30 August 2010 Posts: 74,540 User: 11,746	Excitement! Will be interesting to follow one with an Australian focus too, especially as I lived in Australia for 4 years during the 00s (though even then most of the chart seemed to be made up of worldwide hits) My faves of your bubblin' under section... Eminem - Without Me Green Day - Jesus of Suburbia Kanye West (feat Syleena Johnson) - All Falls Down Kylie Minogue - In Your Eyes Muse - Uprising My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition


King Rollo View member profile	Sep 5 2018, 07:16 PM Post #4
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 3 January 2017 Posts: 10,139 User: 23,961	Good luck with doing this. Two of the songs on that list are in my top 1000,'The Man Who Told Everything' by Doves at 246 and 'Uprising' by Muse at 671.


Chez Wombat View member profile	Sep 5 2018, 07:22 PM Post #5
The owls are not what they seem Pronouns: He/him Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,107 User: 9,232	Very interested to follow this! I'm sure there'll be quite a lot of crossover going by your bubbling under section. Poor Hoppipolla and Uprising, they'd be right near the top of one of my own lists like this </3


Dexton View member profile	Sep 6 2018, 01:15 AM Post #6
rip in peace Dickston Joined: 29 January 2017 Posts: 9,534 User: 25,045	Excited for this! There’s already plenty of artists there I like so I imagine there’s more great songs to come Jesus Of Suburbia especially .


Dircadirca View member profile	Sep 6 2018, 07:12 AM Post #7
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,070 User: 19,614	Cheers all! I'll need to try and remember to reciprocate with comments in other people's threads in the future. QUOTE(coi @ Sep 6 2018, 01:44 AM) I'm really looking forward to this! With artists like Muse, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, My Chemical Romance and System of a Down on the cover, this seems very promising! Those artists could nearly single-handedly sum up my teenage years, had so many of their albums on constant repeat. QUOTE(danG @ Sep 6 2018, 02:09 AM) Excitement! Will be interesting to follow one with an Australian focus too, especially as I lived in Australia for 4 years during the 00s (though even then most of the chart seemed to be made up of worldwide hits) Haha, I'm guessing that's after the mid-2000s when the chart was filled with every Aus Idol also-ran getting a #1 hit of their own. I'm not even sure how well known some of my Australian entries are here because most of the handful that did make the top 50 only spent a single week there. QUOTE(King Rollo @ Sep 6 2018, 03:16 AM) Good luck with doing this. Two of the songs on that list are in my top 1000,'The Man Who Told Everything' by Doves at 246 and 'Uprising' by Muse at 671. Ah yes I have been casually reading your thread when I get the chance and I do remember seeing Doves recently (the song is pretty new to me as I hadn't heard of the band until "Kingdom Of Rust"). Very interested to see how the increasingly pointy end shapes up! QUOTE(Chez Wombat @ Sep 6 2018, 03:22 AM) Very interested to follow this! I'm sure there'll be quite a lot of crossover going by your bubbling under section. Poor Hoppipolla and Uprising, they'd be right near the top of one of my own lists like this </3 At the very least I can say that Muse should more than make up for their partial absence Sigur Ros also have quite a handful of songs in my annual lists but none made the cut for this one sadly. QUOTE(Dexton @ Sep 6 2018, 09:15 AM) Excited for this! There’s already plenty of artists there I like so I imagine there’s more great songs to come Jesus Of Suburbia especially . Sadly there's no more Green Day though I do love American Idiot & Holiday. I love so much that Jesus Of Suburbia exists though, what a wild choice for a single. Now let's see if this looks ok 250. British India - I Said I'm Sorry (2008) To start things off, here's an Australian band who have had a surprising amount of longevity. They're kind of like a permanent fixture for me since they broke through around 2006/2007 which is also around when I started listening to alternative radio. To me they've always been around and never truly broken out (though they did have a gold selling single in the 2010s) so they feel like perpetual underdogs. They're also one of the very, very few bands on this list I can say I've seen live, as they played a free show not far from where I live a couple years back. "I Said I'm Sorry" is a good showcase for the band in general though, with its memorable guitar riff, sing along chorus and a solo near the end that borders on shoegaze. 249. Serj Tankian - Empty Walls (2007) Well I promised System of a Down in this list but before we get to that it's a slight detour. If you don't recognise the name, Serj is of course the lead singer of the band, which was a pretty exciting prospect for me at the time...little did I know that over a decade later and the band still haven't released any new material together. This was a pretty fine substitute at the time though for me. Serj is always a powerhouse vocalist and also knows just how to use it to make extremely catchy melodies about...people dying. The video kind of feels like an allegory for that as well, with children in a play group haplessly depicting violent actions. 248. Augie March - The Cold Acre (2006) When people talk about the band Augie March, there's one particular song that comes up most regularly...and I'll get to that in time, but my introduction to the band was instead this song. In fact it was a song that left a mighty impression on me just from hearing it once and never again for months. If nothing else it makes a good contrast for this list that started off with a lot of yelling but now lulls into a gentle waltz. It also had (for me) a memorable video with absurdist humour involving members of the band pushing a giant boulder up a hill. 247. Nas - One Mic (2001) Nas has an impressive legacy of one of the greatest MCs of all time largely because of how great his first album was. After that it gets a bit hit & miss but he still pulls through every now and then. Though I had never heard it before last year, this is actually one of his biggest Billboard hits, something that makes a bit of sense as it's pretty easy to latch onto, but also weird because of how confronting the song gets. I guess the lesson is that all you need is one chill hook and radio programmers will overlook all the loud gunshots & police sirens throughout the song. 246. Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man (2009) Mumford & Sons have gone on to be a bit lame in the proceeding years, but I won't deny that this was a real bit of excitement for me when it first came out. Before record companies realised the bank to be made off of this organic bluegrass-y sound, this was an oddity that spent months riding high in the charts while commercial radio turned a blind eye. A lot of people say the song was only popular because of the swear in the chorus, but for me it's the sheer exhilerating energy of the banjo that connects. 245. Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up, Look Sharp (2003) I think for a long time I didn't really get this song, or a lot of Dizzee's stuff that was on the radio prior to his shift into more commercial dance pop. I think I just wasn't ready for his confronting style of rapping, combined with his thick accent which made the lyrics impossible to understand (still couldn't tell you what he's saying in the chorus). But in the pursuing years I've grown to really love this song especially. The Billy Squier sample is excellent and really helps punctuate every line with its massive drum beat. Might not be the last time it's sampled in this list? 244. Foo Fighters - All My Life (2002) Foo Fighters kind of felt to me like a legendary band at one point just because they'd been around longer than I could possibly remember, but they're really an inconsistent band. They have some amazing singles, especially in the '90s, but so much of it is safe radio anthems that wear out on me pretty quickly. So I like it when there's a bit more edge to their sound and "All My Life" delivers there. It's surely one of the loudest songs to ever hit the ARIA top 20, and so out of place there that it immediately left the top 50 after that. Still, Dave screams the hell out of this one and I very much approve. 243. System Of A Down - Radio/Video (2005) And it didn't take long for some actual System in here. It helps that nearly their entire catalogue is in this decade and much of that has been a staple in my childhood since my older brother listened to them a lot. This song kind of reminds me of how Weird Al almost always includes polka medleys of popular songs on his albums. One I remember fondly is his "Angry White Boy Polka" featuring all the early 2000s angst of The Hives, The Vines, Disturbed and of course System of a Down. I mention this especially for this song because as part of its weird cacophany of ideas, the song has a moment of polka in itself. I always found the slowly increasing tempo really exciting, local hip hop group The Herd had a similar idea the year after in their song "Unpredictable" which I also love. 242. Sons and Daughters - Gilt Complex (2008) I know very little about this Scottish band apart from the fact that their lead singer's name is Adele. When I was getting back into music in my teens, I had to absorb so much knowledge about bands that were new to me, that I didn't have any idea whether or not they were actually new. So Sons and Daughters are one of those not-so-new bands whose success peaked before I'd heard of them and with material I'm not familiar with (although when I did listen to it, it didn't click). This song though is a great bit of energetic rock. Between the angular riff, the persistent bass, pounding drums & delightfully accented vocals, every component sticks out in style. 241. Cold War Kids - We Used To Vacation (2006) I actually heard this played on the radio a couple days ago which was a nice surprise considering there are plenty of more obvious Cold War Kids songs if you're gonna do a throwback like that. They're another band I gravitated to a fair bit at the time largely because of this and one other song, and they seemed like a band destined to never really break out since they lacked critical acclaim or commercial appeal...and then they went on to have one of the biggest alt rock hits of the 2010s, good for them. There's a sort of iamspamspamamisink style to this that really sticks out to me, like how the song is driven by a jagged piano riff, but there are all sorts of other things sticking out in the mix. I also find the narrative of the song really compelling, as the narrations of a man whose life just really isn't quite in order.


Dircadirca View member profile	Sep 7 2018, 06:15 PM Post #8
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,070 User: 19,614	240. OutKast (feat Killer Mike) - The Whole World (2001) This is a bit of an overlooked OutKast song even though it was released at the height of their popularity, partly now because it's not on one of their proper studio albums. It also was curiously a big hit in New Zealand, charting higher than all of their songs that aren't called "Hey Ya!" but a non-entity here. Part of what made me pay attention to this song is the fact that I'm a big fan of Run The Jewels, and so OutKast who never shy to represent the south have collaborated with Killer Mike a few times. Something that amused me was someone pointing out that Killer Mike raps with a triplet flow which has been made more famous by Migos in recent years. Though a somewhat deep cut, it's so catchy and pop friendly I could imagine it taking off as a big hit if it had more of a chance. 239. Rise Against - The Good Left Undone (2006) For me growing up, Rise Against were a go-to for vaguely political, angry punk rock. This comes from the part of their career where they were leaning to more radio friendly territory, but not tired and boring yet. This track excels in their style of rapid tempo changes and sing along hooks. 238. Interpol - Say Hello To The Angels (2002) I've got a lot of love for Interpol's first album, which is an extremely safe opinion but for good reason. For a debut album it's remarkably polished. "Say Hello To The Angels" is a slight oddity on it because it's remarkably playful. There's a chorus that recalls R.E.M.'s "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" (just replace Leonard Bernstein with 'my head space', and a general guitar riff that frolicks about. 237. Beck - Sunday Sun (2002) Getting just a tiny bit less fun with a similarly acclaimed album from 2002, which I'm partially convinced is why Beck won a belated Album Of The Year Grammy Award for an album that treads a similar path but not quite as well. On what is a very sad album, this ends up being quite a pleasant listen. 236. Interpol - Mammoth (2007) Unlike many people, I do like a fair bit of what Interpol has done beyond "Turn On The Bright Lights", although admittedly they turn into more of a singles band at that point. "Mammoth" is one of the very best ones though, and one of the earliest I remember hearing. It's a song that manages to get away with repetition because all the different components are so good that I wouldn't mind if it just kept going and going. It serves as a great masterclass of creative guitarplay. 235. Amerie - 1 Thing (2005) This song is probably a bit indebted to "Crazy In Love" with both the heavy horns & percussion. As much as I've grown to love that track, I like this one so much more. Either way, Amerie sings the crap out of this, more than holding her own against a frenetic beat. It's one of the handful of straight-up pop songs that even at my snobbiest rock phase, I had a fondness for. 234. U2 - Electrical Storm (2002) U2 in the 2000s are fairly past their prime. They could still be good for the occasional stadium rock anthem but creatively they were pretty stale. "Electrical Storm" is a little more interesting partly because William Orbit produced it. The additional production creates one of the funniest things for me because if you focus just on it, the synth in the climax of the song on the left channel sounds very farty If you can ignore that though, it's a heck of a build up on display. 233. Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry (2006) More Cold War Kids because these two songs are often so difficult for me to separate. This was a massively popular alt hit over here when it landed in the top 10 of triple j's Hottest 100, which looks pretty impressive when they're sitting just behind Foo Fighters & Daft Punk. Much of it works in a similar fashion to "We Used To Vacation", after the chorus the song just descends into semi-controlled chaos, it almost sounds like the piano is falling down the stairs or something. 232. Something For Kate - Cigarettes & Suitcases (2006) But to shift quite a bit, while this is also a 2006 track, while Cold War Kids were just getting started, Australian band Something For Kate were pretty much already local royalty at this point (although to this day they've never won an ARIA Award, partly because they tend to go up against Powderfinger). Such was their reputation that I was familiar with the band's name in the early 2000s even though I didn't know any of their songs, so this kind of late career (they've only released 1 other studio album after this thus far) track was the first one I got to knowing and I loved it. There's a tried and true trick of a minor verse/major chorus, providing massive catharsis as soon as you get to belt out 'YOU'RE ALWAYS THE LAST TO KNOW-OW'. 231. All Saints - Black Coffee (2000) This is a bit of a similar case to Amerie; before I became more receptive of their peers like say the Spice Girls, I tended to like All Saints a fair bit. Unlike most people, my favourite from them is probably "Black Coffee", which thanks to the unexpected double Orbit in this section, has some of the most clever & interesting production I've heard in a UK #1 hit.


Dircadirca View member profile	Sep 11 2018, 07:59 AM Post #9
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,070 User: 19,614	230. Dukes Of Windsor - No Disguise (2008) Most people in Australia probably remember Dukes Of Windsor for their song "The Others" which was remixed by TV Rock into a big chart hit like 6 months after the original version was out. I...never really got the fuss over that remix and I still get a little trepidatious when a song I'm familiar with only starts getting attention after a remix (I'm fine with the hit versions of "Exceeder", "Day N Nite", "Panic Room" etc but I'd just rather listen to the originals). Mainly though I just prefer the band as they are with their blend of rock & electronica, and I think "No Disguise" is the best package of it. There's an addictive tension with the menacing guitars cutting into the mix, and also one heck of a hook. 229. The Polyphonic Spree - Section 12 (Hold Me Now) (2004) The Polyphonic Spree are perhaps most famous for the absolute size of their unit. This is a band who have had a rotating cast of roughly 100 members, and currently still over 20 active members. Why so many members? Well it makes for a rather distinct presentation of songs that feel larger than life. The passion of the chorus here wouldn't quite have the same gravitas without the choral backing. I've always had a lot of love for this track. 228. Brand New - At The Bottom (2009) Brand New are a band I don't exactly like talking much about given certain recent revelations. I have a lot of love for a lot of their material, but as I've said elsewhere before, I'm not rushing to say 'hey, you've gotta check this out'. People have differing moral standards after all. This song was still instrumental in me getting into the band though, as after hearing it on the radio for some months, it randomly clicked with me in 2010. I've seen many people say this sounds like Modest Mouse which for a while I didn't get but now I can kind of hear it. Either way it still delivers vintage Brand New (that's a funny phrase) with an effective quite-loud dynamic, and some clever arrangement that makes the chorus arrive in different ways each time. 227. Porcupine Tree - Lazarus (2005) Porcupine Tree are a band whose reputation has always far exceeded the music. Not necessarily in quality, but that I heard a lot of polarising opinions about them long before I ever encountered it. Even now as I say this I wouldn't say I have a good grasp of it as I'm only super familiar with this and also "Shesmovedon" which nearly made my list too. What I do understand though is that this is pretty mellow for them as it's largely piano driven, it could probably pass as a Keane song. I really love it though, the arrangement is beautiful. 226. Trentemøller (feat Ane Trolle) - Moan (2007) One of the most surprising things for me was learning that in some circles this song is a bit of a Buzzfave. Largely because it feels to me like one of those many random songs I remember from a year full of them, that just came and went on the radio and TV. Oddly enough when I first encountered the song, I didn't like it at all, as it didn't really fit my prescribed notion of what music was like. It hung around for quite a while though and I really ended up warming to it. For such a minimalistic dance track, it's also surprisingly a bit of a banger, though I also really like Ane Trolle's vocal contributions which really go well with the super sad music video. 225. The Polyphonic Spree - Section 8 (Soldier Girl) (2002) Another one in quick succession, and I had a lot of trouble deciding which Polyphonic Spree song I preferred. It's essentially a battle between "Hold Me Now" which is more of a consistent listen, and "Soldier Girl" which hits a bigger climax. They know what they're onto with it too because they spend the first minute of the song teasing it. It's such a good hook though that they manage to get away with there being very little else to the song. The extremely muffled outro pays off well also. 224. Art vs. Science - Parlez vous francais? (2009) I vividly remember one French person I know hating this song, possibly because of occasionally questionable pronunciation, possibly because of frequently questionable lyrics. Either issue is pretty much par for the course with Art vs. Science, who are often the silliest electro rock band going around, if this and their other big hit "Magic Fountain" aren't enough proof. If you can get past all that though, what you're left with is the most monumental electro rock banger that Klaxons didn't write. Amazingly triple j listeners voted it the 2nd best song of 2009, behind only Mumford & Sons. The music video was great too. 223. The Chemical Brothers (feat Q-Tip) - Galvanize (2004) Speaking of bangers! This might be the first Chemical Brothers song I knew because I think it was used on a lot of TV promos here, though I had no idea who they were. It's such a glorious cacophony thanks to the Moroccan sample and the fact they DON'T HOLD BACK with any part of the song. There's also just a massive Tribe fan in me that loves hearing Q-Tip on this. The combination was so potent that they did it again a decade later. 222. System Of A Down - Toxicity (2001) Can't overstate how much I love the album "Toxicity". It's been a fixture for me pretty much since it came out, with thanks in no small part to the fact that even the deep cuts seemed to turn up soundtracking everywhere ("Shimmy" is in a Tony Hawk game!). And also with perhaps the exception of "Atwa", it's just non-stop huge, loud rock anthems. This song in particular takes me back to the era when it soundtracked a crude, violent flash animation series that I was really into at the time. It's clearly one of the most accessible songs on the album even if it is filled with indecipherable lyrics and a frenetic tempo. 221. The Academy Is... - Neighbors (2007) I know next to nothing about this band and I suspect I probably wouldn't like much if I did check it out, but this song is just a weird lightning in bottle moment that came out at the perfect time for me. It is such a shameless song in its aim to be catchy that the hook is just 'woah oh woah oh woah oh', but it's such a feel good party that I end up being perfectly okay with that.


coi View member profile	Sep 11 2018, 08:00 AM Post #10
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 23 June 2018 Posts: 9,511 User: 73,240	Toxicity is fantastic, great to see


danG View member profile	Sep 11 2018, 08:23 AM Post #11
🔥🚀🔥 Joined: 30 August 2010 Posts: 74,540 User: 11,746	Moan was sent to, and won, the buzzjack song contest in about mid 2012! Interesting song but not a huge fave, not familiar with much here so far but Galvanise is a proper choon.


Dircadirca View member profile	Sep 13 2018, 07:38 AM Post #12
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,070 User: 19,614	QUOTE(danG @ Sep 11 2018, 04:23 PM) Moan was sent to, and won, the buzzjack song contest in about mid 2012! Ah impressive! I seem to recall it getting some traction in ROTD but I wasn't sure where it originated from. 220. The Mars Volta - Inertiatic ESP (2003) The Mars Volta have a tendency towards incredibly long songs that aren't easy to get into. "Inertiatic ESP" is one of their most popular songs because it is considerably more radio friendly in its composition. I have always liked At The Drive-In, both bands feature Cedric's distinct style of yelling, something this song spares no time in reaching. He's lost now btw. 219. Goldfrapp - Strict Machine (2003) I often see a lot of praise for Rachel Stevens' song "Some Girls" but I've never been able to really get into it because it just sounds uncomfortably similar to this song ("Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" though, there's a jam and a half). This song was also pretty misleading, as even though I was aware of their "Seventh Tree" singles like "A&E" and "Happiness", I always imagined Goldfrapp as being a straight up electro pop band even though a good chunk of their discography is nothing like that. 218. Band Of Horses - The Funeral (2006) One of the most noteworthy things for me about this song is that possibly thanks to some playlist syncs or algorithms, this song has a really impressive tally of close to 200 million plays on Spotify. This is despite no real radio success at the time, but I suppose it's working its way to being a 2000s indie rock staple. Like other Band of Horses songs I know, it's big on emotional swells. 217. Karnivool - L1fel1ke (2003) While I'm not opposed to heavy metal, I don't listen to it all that much because it just doesn't come up. Karnivool are a bit of an exception because they've been radio staples as long as I can remember, even when they get pretty experimental at times. "L1fel1ke" is a while away from that experientation and its borderline rapped verses make it almost pass as nu-metal...hey, where are you going? 216. Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs (2001) Ben Folds Five were often a pretty comedic band (ignore their biggest hit), so when Ben Folds broke out solo, he kept that guise pretty clear with "Rockin' The Suburbs". I'm inclined to say that I was initially most familiar with this being used in the "Over The Hedge" soundtrack which is why I often think of this as a single written for the radio...primarily because that version was heavily censored. The reality of this song is pure self-deprecation, with the hilariously ironic calling of 'y'all don't know what it's like, being male, middle class & white'. Don't take that mantra with sincerity. 215. The Jezabels - Hurt Me (2009) The Jezabels are basically Australia's answer to The National, brooding post-punk with a drummer that seems way too excited on every track. Their success was primarily in the early 2010s, while "Hurt Me" was something of a breakthrough for them, so I'd have more to talk about with them if I was doing a 2010s list. Still, this song was quick to leave an impression, thanks to lead singer Hayley's pure conviction in delivery. 214. Birds of Tokyo - Broken Bones (2008) First time here talking about Birds of Tokyo but also not really. When they first started up, I had a fair bit of excitement because they share the same lead singer as Karnivool. They're often much more accessible and even started getting some chart hits in the 2010s, so despite feeling like a side project at first, they're arguably more popular. Despite not being a chart hit, "Broken Bones" remains one of their most popular tracks. 213. Placebo - Taste In Men (2000) I can't recall ever listening to one of their full albums, but up until the end of the 2000s, Placebo were consistently a really great singles band. With 2000's "Black Market Music", they really ramped up the industrial aspect of their sound. It gives the guitar & drums this really stiff and metallic sound. As an aside, "Taste In Men" is also one of the most Placebo-sounding song titles ever. 212. Muse - Dead Star (2002) Australia's national youth broadcaster triple j does something I really like and is always missing from other radio stations. Rather than just playing the same safe choices from every artist, they tend to dig deep with album cuts, and really forgotten throwbacks. It's a good way to forge good engagement with listeners rather than just constant bland mediocrity. I mention this now especially because I hear this non-album single from over 15 years ago by Muse far more often than the more obvious choices. That's not why it's on the list though, because my Muse phase of excessively consuming every song they ever put out was well established long ago. I just happen to think that "Dead Star" in particular holds up really well. It's very typical of this era of Muse too, huge riffs aplenty. 211. Karnivool - Shutterspeed (2005) I must say that I did not intend for so many songs in this one post to be so similar, the next set is a bit more varied though. I would say that "Shutterspeed" is a good approximation of Karnivool settling into their sound. There's a great rollicking riff and sing along chorus.


Dircadirca View member profile	Sep 18 2018, 07:42 AM Post #13
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,070 User: 19,614	210. George - Spawn (2002) George were a somewhat shortlived band who had huge success with their first album "Polyserena" which hit #1 in Australia. They primarily stood out for their main vocalist Katie Noonan whose operatic background made for quite a distinctive voice on pop radio. She wasn't actually their only vocalist though, and on "Polyserena", she trades the duty back and forth with her brother, who I can only describe as being very reminiscent of Jeff Buckley. Katie takes duties on "Spawn" however, one of their first successful tracks which was re-recorded 2 years later for the album and is the version I prefer. 209. Kanye West - Roses (2005) It gets increasingly difficult to say this, but Kanye West has a great way with songs that have a serious topic. "Roses" perhaps epitomises this because unlike a lot of his others, this song is pretty much joke free, lamenting his grandmother suffering due to the US's broken health care system. I implore anyone who sees Kanye as a joke to check it out. I'd also say it's relatively accessible thanks to a lovely chorus hook sampled from Bill Withers. 208. Deltron 3030 - Things You Can Do (2000) A relatively new discovery for me, Deltron 3030 is the collaborative project of Dan The Automator and Del Tha Funkee Homosapian, the former you might know from an extensive production catalogue, and the latter for very prominently guesting on a certain hit song which I will not mention by name at this point. Evidently though, I've been primed to love Del's flow for close to 2 decades at this point, and this was instant love. The main instrumental loop in this song feels almost like something out of a video game (funny I should say that in this post...) and sufficiently manages to ebb & flow with its intensity as the song progresses. 207. Sia - Where I Belong (2004) I don't get enough chance to say it here but I absolutely love Sia. Ever since hearing her voice on a Lior song about 10 years ago, I've just been perpetually captivated by her enigmatic figure (though she was a lot less enigmatic back then). The things she does with her voice always amaze me. "Where I Belong" is tucked away at the end of "Colour The Small One", which is a very down tempo album if "Breathe Me" wasn't enough of a clue. This song picks up just a little as the chorus swells into a cacophany of jazz. It's a perfect fit for Sia as her singing gets progressively more erratic. 206. Muse - Butterflies & Hurricanes (2003) I have a weird suspicion that this song might have helped teach me about what the butterfly effect is, and then I forgot the connection and now only recently have I realised it's why this song has its title. I tend to consider this song the centerpiece of "Absolution", specifically the manic piano breakdown in the middle. Between that however, you've got one of Muse's most satisfying impacts. If you know the song, you'll know I'm talking about the big 'drop' of sorts a minute into the song when it really kicks into gear. 205. Nobuo Uematsu - To Zanarkand (2001) If you know what this is, it needs no explanation. If you don't, it needs a lot. So to flash back to this time, Final Fantasy X was a big thing for me. Immediately because at the time I'd never seen a game have such high caliber of graphics, even in the less detailed sections, and also I'd never seen a game with quite the grand scope...in other words it was pretty much my first non-Pokemon RPG. When you boot up the game, you're greeted by a gentle piano tune overlooking the main cast of the game. It's something you could even consider a spoiler for how late in the main story it is. The meaning of the scene also takes on dramatically new meaning when you actually arrive at that part of the game, and realise both how much you've been through, and what's at stake at that moment. That same tune plays (it's this song if you hadn't guessed), and it's one of the first times I'd ever truly had an emotional investment in the stakes of a video game's plot. This very stripped back arrangement has had incredible staying power from a franchise that has no shortage of great musical arrangements. 204. Silversun Pickups - Well Thought Out Twinkles (2006) I really hated Silversun Pickups for a while. It was admittedly really irrational but I just could not grasp the acclaim that their song "Lazy Eye" was getting when to me it was really boring and the singer had a really girly voice (I was the height of maturity of course). They eventually warmed up on me and I like "Lazy Eye" a fair bit now, though there were shades of me coming around to them when this was pushed as the next single after "Lazy Eye". This song had a pulse. I probably wouldn't admit to myself that I liked it at the time though because I was very petty. Now I can look back over it with a lot of fondness, with its monster riff and generally overbearing instrumentation. 203. Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch (2005) Ladytron are surely one of the most unlucky bands in UK Chart history. They have 4 singles that reached the top 45 but none of them made it to the top 40. The closest they got was with "Destroy Everything You Touch", a song that I imagine is their most well known now. I mainly know it because it was included on the soundtrack for the FIFA World Cup 2006 game which I played a lot at the time. It's a song where the chorus sneaks up on you because it's announced almost the same way the verses are. Outside of that it's an extremely addictive electro pop track. 202. Metric - Satellite Mind (2009) Metric's "Fantasies" album is an extremely formative one for me that I'll always look back on fondly. I didn't actually hear the whole album at the time because it was 2009 and it wasn't by Muse, but I got a big taste of it as roughly half of it ended up as radio singles. "Satellite Mind" has one of my favourite mondegreens in music which to this day I'm undecided on if it was intentional or not, but the song ends with a repeated refrain of 'it sounded like mine', but if you ask me it sounds a lot like the title of the song. "Satellite Mind" is a very catchy effort from one of my all time favourite bands. 201. Enter Shikari - Sorry, You're Not A Winner (2007) Oh here's another one I instantly hated. I associate it a bit with "Moan" in that sense because it was around the same time period, and both of them slowly won me over with Stockholm syndrome. My reason for not liking this was a bit more clear if you hear it...it was a type of loud rock that I just wasn't ready for. It coupled also with the music video which has the band playing in a small, crowded, sweaty room. Coupled with the synthesizer intro, the whole thing just had a foreboding sense of fear and dread. Really admire it now, the lead singer has a great way of switching between clean and unclean vocals (I'm pretty sure they're both the same person), while the song fires on all cylinders everywhere else. The drum fills in particular are outstanding, clap clap clap


coi View member profile	Sep 18 2018, 08:06 AM Post #14
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 23 June 2018 Posts: 9,511 User: 73,240	Silversun Pickups are a very interesting inclusion in here - I also didn’t really see what all the excitement was about until I heard ‘Panic Switch’, which I still think is a fantastic song!


Dircadirca View member profile	Sep 18 2018, 08:11 AM Post #15
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,070 User: 19,614	Haha that is scarily similar to me. They're one of my favourite bands now, "Neck Of The Woods" is close to my favourite album of this decade so far even.


Dexton View member profile	Sep 18 2018, 09:49 AM Post #16
rip in peace Dickston Joined: 29 January 2017 Posts: 9,534 User: 25,045	The Funeral is one of my favourite songs ever tbh (meaning it’s like in my Top 200-ish anyway ) such a beautiful song that really does pull the heartstrings.. Band of Horses like to do that


Last Dreamer View member profile	Sep 18 2018, 11:11 AM Post #17
With Kristina in heart Joined: 28 March 2017 Posts: 3,790 User: 28,104	I didn't wait to see any songs, which I like, but was wrong. Metric is very good group.


Dircadirca View member profile	Sep 20 2018, 02:46 AM Post #18
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,070 User: 19,614	200. Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum (2006) I have a weird memory of hearing about Arctic Monkeys in passing during this album cycle and thinking they were a relatively old band. Not entirely sure why but perhaps I did catch wind of their first hit when that was around and in true teenage fashion, a short period of time felt like a long one. Anyway, once that was out of the way, I found myself enjoying their debut album a lot about a year after it came out. "Mardy Bum" was probably my favourite then, thanks to its nifty little guitar riff and also the surprisingly intense bridge. 199. The John Steel Singers - Masochist (2009) (the link is a Topic video so I dunno if it works wherever you're reading this from) An interesting band this one. They broke out a couple years before this track with a series of very radio friendly light indie pop tunes, and have since gone into really strange places with their music. Meeting a middle ground, we've got "Masochist" which is a very accessible song made in a weird way. After all, this song barely has what feels like a chorus. For me it's all building up to a great instrumental break towards the end with a glorious trumpet solo. 198. Phoenix - Too Young (2000) Unlike Arctic Monkeys, Phoenix are a band who broke out with a big moment of success after actually having been around for ages. So big was their 2009 album that it was even voted over here as album of the year, which is especially impressive given how Australian dominated those polls tend to be. I think Phoenix were, and continue to be an excellent singles band. There are songs on 2013's "Bankrupt!" I rate especially highly, though for this time frame, my favourite is "Too Young". I honestly can't remember when I first heard this though I was surprised when I found out how old it was. Just from the opening seconds, it's a song that puts me in a great mood. 197. Midnight Juggernauts - This New Technology (2009) I don't know if it's something anyone else thinks about, but it's fun in these lists to find the songs that felt like major news specifically to me when they were released, only to find that they amounted to nothing big. In cases like this, it's when it's a comeback is met with lukewarm attention while you were prepared for them to really be the next best thing. Midnight Juggernauts' first album was just loaded with hits from my perspective, but I suppose the wave of Klaxons-like bands had the hype train derail pretty quickly (although impressively, Midnight Juggernauts had a top 50 streaming hit in 2013 so the interest was still there). I still have a lot of time for this very forgotten/never known song, it nails their aesthetic and builds up to a seriously catchy chorus. 196. Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place (2007) Now I worship Radiohead, but back in 2007 I didn't know their music very well. I knew it was a big deal, even as isolated as I was from musical discourse, the sudden release of "In Rainbows" felt like a really big deal. I didn't hear this song until it landed in triple j's Hottest 100 for 2007, which was quite a surprise at the time because I knew pretty much every other song on there beforehand, and also because there were some big singles on that album that missed the cut ("15 Step" & "Bodysnatchers" in particular) - this was the only one that sneaked in! At the time it grew to be one of the first Radiohead songs I really loved as it was conventionally accessible to me in a way other singles weren't. Another one of those singles that builds and builds to a cathartic finish, something Radiohead are were stranger to doing around this time. Also Jonny looks hilariously uncomfortable in the video. 195. Soulwax - E Talking (2004) This was a bit of a weird discovery just because when I'd heard about Soulwax in passing, I saw them as just a dance production group. Depending on the era, that's not especially wrong, but it's interesting how some of their singles lean towards just conventional rock. The tight drum syncopation on the intro for this makes me think a bit of "An Honest Mistake", but then it just soars with a monster guitar riff not long after. Part of me wants to congratulate them on finding a relatively subtle way to put a blatant drug reference in the hook & title such that I didn't even question it for years, but then not long after this song came out, Australia had a relatively long running top 10 hit novelty song about a (fictional) high school girl dying of an ecstasy overdose with absolutely no subtlety. 194. Muse - Bliss (2001) This is another fun mondegreen because a very high number of people including myself misheard this song's chorus lyrics largely because the title is a massive red herring. Matt Bellamy's accent is pwopah hard to make out at the best of times, but he is in fact saying 'give me all the peace and joy in your mind', although it is very fun to hear 'piss' instead because I am very immature. 193. Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars (2009) Well this became a fun song to talk about in the years since I first made my 2009 list! If I were to throwback to 10 years ago, I knew Bag Raiders but didn't really latch on with them as I wasn't much into electro music at the time. "Shooting Stars" kind of passed me by if it wasn't for one person I knew being very uncharacteristically into it, which got me to give it a chance and really get behind it. It was a pretty big single for them at the time too, getting them onto the ARIA Chart for quite a while without major radio support. It wouldn't crack the top 50 here until 2013, when in a manner not unlike Mint Royale's UK #1 hit, it got a big (well not THAT big) resurgence thanks to someone dancing to it on Australia's Got Talent. Then that was the end of the story and the song never had a taste of relevance ever again...it's a meme song now. I'm not sure how many people have ever had quite the feeling of seeing a song they've loved for close to a decade become a punchline but it's quite an experience. The funniest thing about it for me is how it seems to have changed the song's focus, which used to be raved about for the big moment late into the song when the chorus finally arrives, but now most people only know it for the first minute or so. 192. Gyroscope - These Days (2008) One of my first favourite bands. I had an affinity for Gyroscope at the time because they were from Western Australia and so was I (though I was living in South Australia at the time), and with their 3rd album "Breed Obsession", their only #1 album, it was just hit after hit after hit. If I had started my personal chart in late 2007, they'd have had 4 consecutive #1 singles from this album, that's how much I was into them. I only didn't include it on the banner because the artwork is a bit awkward looking. They were on the louder scale of rock bands on the radio but still friendly enough for me to get into. "These Days" has a great riff and late into the song does a great trick with it where the singer sings a refrain over it. Choruses that don't stay exactly the same each time through will always be one of my favourite things. 191. Camille - Au port (2005) I will freely admit to not knowing a single word of this song because I don't speak French, and unlike Phoenix, Camille I believe sings all her songs in her native language. That didn't stop her getting quite a bit of attention here for her single "Ta douleur", though it's never been a big favourite of mine. I was more drawn to "Au port", one of those songs I'd heard a bunch on the radio but never really took notice of until years later, after which it was instant belated love. I believe here it was treated as a follow up single to "Ta douleur" and really feels perfect for that, as it expands upon the mood and ideas of that song in a way that's familiar & fresh. Which is to say that there is a light amount of beatboxing in this too. I'm most drawn to her voice though, which really accentuates the tension in the song during the verses with a cathartic release in the chorus.


coi View member profile	Sep 20 2018, 08:03 AM Post #19
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 23 June 2018 Posts: 9,511 User: 73,240	Fantastic to see Bliss by Muse in there, Origin of Symmetry is easily in my top ten albums of all time! Hope there's another one or two still to come. I thought the previous single Into The Galaxy was the best from Midnight Juggernauts but This New Technology was alright too


Dircadirca View member profile	Sep 22 2018, 08:00 PM Post #20
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,070 User: 19,614	190. Placebo - Battle For The Sun (2009) I was really surprised at the time that a band as big as Placebo put out their first new track in 2009 as a free download, but it definitely helped me get into it a lot. Though the song is a little sluggish at the start, it really kicks into gear after the first chorus, and there's a great amount of grit & sneer in Brian's delivery. 189. OutKast - Ms. Jackson (2000) One of the wordiest Billboard #1 hits there is, and yet very accessible as can be noted by the fact that I loved this as a kid. I didn't know what it was about, but the song was filled with all those little idiosyncrasies and touchstones to make it very memorable ('forever ever', 'oooh!', 'a trillion times', that bit near the end of Big Boi's verse), not to mention all the cute animals in the video! Never mind that the actual content is quite dark & fascinating. 188. DMX - X Gon Give It To Ya (2003) I don't really watch movies very often in my adulthood as I just don't have the time, but I can say without having seen it that I'm very thankful to Deadpool for giving this song a new lease of life. Before then, DMX felt like one of those artists of their time that is largely unheard of if you didn't live through it, because he never really had big crossover hits. He's never had a top 50 single in Australia for instance, and the closest he got was when this reached #51 a few years ago due to that soundtrack pick, and now the song feels bigger than ever before. It's everything you could ask for from DMX, the song starts with barks and the chorus absolutely goes off. 187. Lior - Heal Me (2007) I mentioned Lior before as my gateway to Sia, as she featured on his song "I'll Forget You". My favourite song of his however is the single released just before that, "Heal Me". Both are past his prime peak of relevance (note the very lovely "This Old Love"). It's hard to not describe this as being a bit naff as it's mostly a guitar & strings affair, but his voice steals the show, giving so much strength to the sentiment of the chorus. 186. Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins - Get Low (2002) This song is absolutely infantile, degrading and disgusting. It's absolutely perfect. 185. Brand New - Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die (2003) I'm very undecided on which of the two obvious choices is my favourite Brand New album. "Deja Entendu" definitely packs the catchy melodies everywhere and is probably an easier listen than its follow up. This is a song that manages to pack even more words into its hook than in its title if you can believe that, and it's a very cathartic arrival when it gets there. 184. Muse - Glorious (2006) When I say I was a big fan of Muse, I really do mean it. In 2009 there was a good 6 month period where I listened to nearly nothing but Muse. As such, I knew all the songs, not just the album tracks, not just the b-sides, not just the weird demos & covers scattered around, all of it. In hindsight, a lot of that stuff was not released on studio albums with good reason. I do think they tended to deliver well with their Japanese bonus tracks on their first 4 albums. My favourite of them is "Glorious", which really ramps up the grandeur. I adore the thumping main guitar riff which sounds like a final boss theme in a video game. 183. Camille - Pâle Septembre (2005) The surprising thing here is that "Au port" is a song I knew from hearing on the radio years back, but this is a song I only discovered when I was making these lists and I ended up preferring it. The album that these songs come from has a peculiar quirk in that there's a faint humming sound that runs through every track, and it means you can segue any track into another seamlessly. It's very apparent in this track as it's rather quiet until the final minute. The whole thing is very much like if Sia sung in French, some of the vocal runs near the end you'd swear were actually her. 182. Mastodon - Blood and Thunder (2004) There are two songs in this set of 10 whose appearance is possibly indebted to Need For Speed games and they could not be less alike. Mastodon are one of my favourite metal bands possibly because they're often accessible in terms of melodies even though the vocals are not exactly about to get mainstream fanfare. To me though, the guitar riff in this song just feels iconic, and it's a mammoth of a chorus too. Most importantly, one of the top tags on last.fm remains as 'whalecore'. 181. Passion Pit - The Reeling (2009) Now for a lighter affair. Something that feels amazing in hindsight is how quickly Passion Pit went from completely unknown to feeling like established mainstays...to me it felt like that all happened in the space of 2009. It was a bit like a second coming of MGMT with all these distinct sounding electropop singles that became radio mainstays. This is all slightly overselling it as they didn't exactly take off in the same way MGMT did, but they felt really important to me at the time. "The Reeling" was always my favourite with its extremely odd beat and high pitched but super catchy chorus. Passion Pit also had a fascinating tendency to have strange intros that sound nothing like the rest of the sound, and everything is going to the beat.