Best Songs of the 2000s

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Best Songs of 2009

This year has been fantastic for well-established superstars, but the year also saw more eclectic singles bubble up and find mainstream success. A number of indie bands struck a chord with weird yet accessible tunes. At the same time, several artists who have been kicking around for a while worked up songs that drew from their past but somehow managed to feel fresh. And that's what it's about, really: staying ahead of the curve while keeping in mind the past. Here's our list of the 25 best songs of 2009.

25. 'Alligator,' Tegan and Sara

This Canadian indie-pop sister act has figured out a winning formula: Use the nasality of their twinned voices for good, not evil. On 'Allligator,' they take this feature and put it to a mid-tempo beat to spread the notion that alligator tears are something that actually exist.

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Best Songs of the 2000s

Terms that come up more than once in our list of the best songs of the 2000s: "crazy," "idiot," "falling." That's the decade in a nutshell. Too much crazy-making. Too many people acting like idiots. Too many things (buildings, savings, morale) in free-fall. Appropriately, a majority of the songs that will endure beyond the '00s rallied around a common theme: learning to live like there's no tomorrow. Because you never know.

50. 'I Predict a Riot,' Kaiser Chiefs (2004)

An anthem of anarchy perfectly suited to kick off our list. Things are about to get a bit gory, we tell thee.

49. '1234,' Feist (2007)

Thanks to this Canadian singer-songwriter, teenage hope will now forever be tied to iPods and pastel leotards.

48. 'The Seed (2.0),' The Roots (2002)

Neo-soulman Cody Chesnutt sings the hooky refrain to this reboot of his song 'The Seed,' and the psychedelic garage funk laid down by Illadelph's finest hip-hop band renames it rock 'n' roll.
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Best Songs of the 2000s -- Part Two

25. 'Electric Feel,' MGMT (2008)

The electro feel of this indie synth-pop stunner should please MGMT's stockholders, as this Brooklyn duo demonstrates a CEO's knack for dance floor management.

24. 'New Slang,' The Shins (2001)

"You've got to hear this one song. It'll change your life," said Natalie Portman when she handed the headphones to Zach Braff. We don't know about that, but it sure is pretty.

23. 'Lazy Eye,' Silversun Pickups (2007)

No, your speakers are not channeling 1991, and no, this is not a lost Smashing Pumpkins single, but both of those assumptions would be high compliments for this loud-soft epic.

22. 'Paper Planes,' M.I.A. (2007)

No doubt the late Joe Strummer would have loved M.I.A., the Clash-sampling, pan-global mongrel who pinballed between Sri Lanka, London and India in her formative years. Her dad was a Tamil rebel, and she knows how to take a stand.

21. 'Maps,' Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)

She's Korean, she's Polish, she lives in L.A. But Karen O is New York all over. Her band's breakthrough track still pulses with the anxious energy of her former hometown.

20. 'Hip Hop Is Dead,' Nas (2006)

The gifted wordsmith had bigger hits ('I Can') and more forward-thinking tracks ('Black President') in the '00s, but he could hardly have made a bolder statement.

19. 'This Love,' Maroon 5 (2004)

John Mayer called it a perfect song. We don't call it anything -- too busy singing along.

18. 'Jesus Walks,' Kanye West (2005)

WWJD? He'd walk with Kanye, of course. Got to be tough finding anyone else to walk on water with.

17. 'Feel Good Inc.,' Gorillaz (2005)

Cartoon bands (with the possible exception of Spongebob's 'Band Geeks' episode) have never been so thoroughly enjoyable.

16. 'Yellow,' Coldplay (2000)

It's the color of fear, caution and tabloid journalism. It's also the color of the sun, and the band that came out of the shadows with the single called 'Yellow' has been a bright light ever since.

15. 'Lose Yourself,' Eminem (2002)

In hindsight, Eminem's autobiographical acting debut in '8 Mile' marked the high point of the trickster's relevance. The tense, grunge-y featured track gained him plenty of new admirers and made it almost possible to repeat.

14. 'Rehab,' Amy Winehouse (2006)

Still saying "No, no, no," the beehive of '06 rather predictably fell into a hornets' nest of personal trouble. But the naughty defiance of this bad-girl anthem has kept us buzzing.

13. 'Mr. Brightside,' The Killers (2004)

Boy meets girl. Girl leaves boy. We'd feel sorry for frontman Mr. Flowers if we weren't so busy dancing.

12. 'Hey Ya!,' Outkast (2003)

For a moment there, the eccentric drawling ATLien in the plaid suit and the futuristic nickname had the whole world under his thumb. Shake it, shake it, shake it ...

11. 'Hurt,' Johnny Cash (2002)

Rick Rubin gave the great Man in Black some weird material to cover during their multi-album collaboration in Cash's last years -- Neil Diamond, Simon & Garfunkel. No song seemed as strange a fit as Trent Reznor's addict's lament, 'Hurt' ... until you heard the thing and couldn't catch your breath.

10. 'Do You Realize??,' The Flaming Lips (2002)

Though the tune designated as Oklahoma's official rock song gently but firmly reminds us that we'll all die someday, the existence of a work of art as vital and breathtaking as this proves there is such a thing as immortality.

9. 'Cry Me a River,' Justin Timberlake (2002)

One Mouseketeer wrongs another, and we get this grown-up, innovative breakup song. The moment that simultaneously marked JT's maturation and the beginning of Britney's fall from grace.

8. 'Pon de Replay,' Rihanna (2005)

Though 'Umbrella' was a certifiable blockbuster around the globe, we'll go with the effervescent tune that first introduced Barbados' finest to an international audience.

7. 'Seven Nation Army,' The White Stripes (2003)

Choosing the best White Stripes single of the decade is like playing Pick-up Sticks -- almost any one will do, but you can't help but disturb the others. Here, they're a one boy/one girl wrecking crew.

6. 'American Idiot,' Green Day (2004)

The canny reinvention of rock's favorite juveniles as socially conscious auteurs has unfurled a string of big pop hits, none as definitive as the lead track from their 2004 "comeback." "Don't want to be an American idiot," declared the same Billie Joe once known for poop jokes and masturbation fatigue.

5. 'My City of Ruins,' Bruce Springsteen (2002)

Written for Asbury Park, the down-and-out Jersey Shore town that made Springsteen famous, this humble gospel song took on a whole new meaning when the Twin Towers fell, restoring the Boss to his role as a cultural rallying point.

4. 'Crazy in Love,' Beyonce Feat. Jay-Z (2003)

Crazy energy from the power couple of the decade -- prettier than Brangelina, more clout than the Obamas.

3. 'Beautiful Day,' U2 (2000)

With one simple thought -- "It's a beautiful day/Don't let it get away" -- Bono reclaimed his self-appointed role as rock 'n' roll's resident spiritual adviser.

2. 'Last Nite,' The Strokes (2001)

The song that crowned rock's new saviors, short-lived as they were. People, they don't understand.

1. 'Crazy,' Gnarls Barkley (2006)

In the summer of '06, who among us wasn't asking, "Does that make me crazy?" Who doesn't ask it every day?




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20 Movie-Inspired Band Names

Plenty of bands have taken their names from film titles, but it takes a special kind of movie nerd to rock a reference to some obscure character or snag a favorite line of dialogue for their moniker. Here are 20 bands that probably still pay to see movies in the theater.

Duran DuranDuran Duran

Here's a shocker: The stylish, oversexed British New Wave superstars borrowed their name from an "erotic science fiction" movie about a stylish, oversexed space vixen. In Roger Vadim's 1968 cult classic 'Barbarella,' bounty hunter Jane Fonda was sent into space to capture a bondage-gear-clad mad scientist named Dr. Durand Durand.

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Scott Perry Serves Up the 'New Music Minute'

Industry insider Scott Perry, who runs New Music Tipsheet, gives Spinner the scoop on what's new this week in music. Watch his report, 'The New Music Minute,' below and come back every Friday for more from Perry.


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20 Bands With Their Own Theme Songs: Hey, Hey, We're the ...

A musician with a theme song? Don't all artists' songs represent? While that might be the case, so many of our favorite bands rep themselves and reference themselves in their lyrics, we thought we'd take a look at the different strategies performers enlisted to define themselves, describe themselves and make their mark.

Monkees

'Theme From The Monkees,' The Monkees

"Hey, hey, we're the Monkees" states it as plainly as possible. No threats or bombastic boasts from these boys, who were talent scouted to be in a TV show about a fictional rock group. From their early example, musicians learned that the first thing you need to be a band is a song about being a band. And top-flight producers and songwriters, worldwide casting calls and a prime time slot don't hurt, either.

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Hot Chip Take the XX on North American Tour

Acclaimed London electropop quintet Hot Chip have announced the first few dates of a North American tour next year which will see them take new kids on the block the XX along for the ride.

Commencing at the Oakland Fox Theatre on Apr. 16, the tour will also stop off at the Chicago Riviera Theatre (Apr. 19), Toronto Koolhaus (Apr. 20), New York Terminal 5 (Apr. 22) and Washington DC's 9:30 Club (Apr. 24). More dates are expected to be announced shortly.