Hey! Ten Favorite Songs of 2000-2010

So I guess I haven’t updated in a really long time, this is probably due to being busy and not seeing any new movies or anything, since they tend to not be very good during the spring. Hopefully I’ll get back into the swing of things shortly. But for now, this shall have to suffice. Here is a collection of my 10 favorite songs from the last decade; you know, the one with the 2′s and all the 0′s and stuff, whatever it’s supposed to be called. I self enforced a rule that I wouldn’t pick any songs off of the 20 albums I included in my 20 favorite albums of the decade, just for variety’s sake. I’ll link to where you can listen to the song and then write about why I included it or something. Also consider this sentence to be a “shout out;” a “to a very large extent” good shout out, no doubt.

In no particular order:

* Hey Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken – Camera Obscura (2006)
Camera Obscura’s super sweet demeanor is at its optimistic best here, where everything clicks in a nostalgic yet forward thinking love tune. Melodically, it’s nearly timeless, but its quirk and charm could only be possible in the post Belle and Sebastian European indie chamber pop arena that reached its acme in the 2000′s, so you could say it’s a perfect distillation of that entire genre; it helps that it’s nice as fuck too.

* Chicago – Sufjan Stevens (2005)
One of the most beautiful songs ever recorded from one of the decade’s most elusive-yet-productive singer/songwriters. I don’t even know what to say about this song, except that all of it gives me chills, from the reflective lyrics to the optimistic melody and chanting, to the evocatively divine production. Stevens’ Illinoise album also featured what may have been the most beautifully sad song I’ve ever heard, John Wayne Gacy, Jr, but Chicago is probably what they’d play at the gates of heaven if God didn’t ban music for being devil magic.

* Adventures in Solitude – The New Pornographers (2007)
The New Pornographer’s Bleeding Heart Show may be my favorite song of the decade, but it’s automatically disqualified for being on my favorite album of the decade (Twin Cinema). So that leaves Adventures in Solitude, an eerily lovely, yet melancholy reflection on a life… well, in solitude. It really takes off during the coda bit, like Bleeding Heart Show, where the genius of the New Pornographer’s arrangement really shines, highlighting the strengths of all of its many players (they used to be called a Super Group after all). A beautiful song that still manages to dilate my tear ducts.

* Mississippi – Bob Dylan (2001)
This song kills me every time I hear it and I’m not exactly sure why. I have no personal affiliation with the state of Mississippi, nor do I imagine myself ever thinking I spent a day too long there, yet the message of regret and reflection is so perfectly in tune with where Dylan was at that point in his career that it’s impossible to ignore. It’s like he’d actually caught up with his own wisdom. Proof that you don’t need to have any tricks or do anything fancy; if you write genuinely and sing with passion it’s going to be powerful. Of course he is Bob Dylan, so I don’t know why you’d expect anything other than the perfection that this song is. Sigh..

* Bucky Done Gun – M.I.A. (2005)
I hated this song the first time I heard it. It’s so disjointed and abrasive. But then I played it again. And then again and again and again. M.I.A. had mastered, pioneered, and popularized the lo-fi garagey-dance art-pop genre that is entirely her own by her very first album, Arular. Bucky Done Gun seems to be the most propulsive track on there, with its world rhythms backing up the quirky brilliance that it is. Never before has nonsense been so catchy. Okay, you could argue that it’s actually a political song, but that’s not why this track is so appealing. It’s just so under your skin “groovalicious.” If you really want M.I.A. making geopolitical statements, see her second album Kala, which was number 3 on my favorite albums of the decade list.

* 1 2 3 4  – Feist (2007)
Feist’s delicate voice caresses the imagination here in one of the catchier songs of the 2000s. The lyrics compliment this, evoking a beautiful romance. Plus, who doesn’t like counting? And these are like the four easiest numbers to count with. A perfect song for a crisp, autumnal walk in the park in a big city. A lovely and majestic tune that soars despite its humble sound; I guess that’s what the “indie” explosion of the 00′s was all about.

* Mistaken for Strangers – The National (2007)
The first time I saw the national perform “Mistaken for Strangers” I was floored by the soothing baritone of the lead singer, and how he looked uncannily like my high school IB Global Studies teacher. I guess that’s the only reason I even paid attention, but later I realized how great this song is. A perfect night time or rain song (or dare I say a rainy night) with a universally poignant message about growing up and disappearing in the urban crowd of uniformity. It’s inevitable and tragic that we all have to grow up, but whether or not we become less interesting is entirely up to you.

* Idioteque – Radiohead (2000)
Idioteque was the first post OK-Computer Radiohead song that I liked, and the first that made me warm to their new electronic sound which subsequently opened the doors to an entirely new genre of music for me. I guess you could say this song is responsible for making me like electronica, but that would probably be unfair to the song itself, which is propulsive, brooding, and haunting, quite unique, and not fully “electronica.” It sits there in the un-definable realm of experimental post-rock in a digital age detached from the reality of being human.

* Falling Slowly – Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (2006)
Falling Slowly was the centerpiece for the fantastic independent film Once which perfectly portrayed the working creative relationship between two every day musicians and all of the subdued and real emotions associated with shared expression. This song came out of nowhere, as did the movie, in 2006 and gained word of mouth buzz leading up to winning an Oscar for best original song, which was probably my favorite moment from that year’s awards. It succeeds on intimacy alone; two musicians playing together in perfect harmony, propelled by Hansard’s infectious passion and endearing Irish accent.

* Measuring Cups- Andrew Bird (2005)
My former hypchondriacal anthem, Measuring Cups is a perfect example of Bird’s surprisingly fantastic lyricism. You’ve got sluts like Ke$ha talk-singing about being a unicorn (or something), and then you’ve got Andrew Bird using a kitchen utensil as a metaphor for the arbitrary and long-term detrimental enculturation of countless new generations of potentially vital youth. Bird seems to be an unfortunately under-recognized modern day poet; I wish more people were familiar with his beautiful song craft.

Other favorites:

I’m a Cuckoo – Belle and Sebastian;  On the Table – AC Newman;  The Edge of a Cliff- The Streets; Ill Placed Trust - Sloan; Maneater - Nelly Furtado; Float On – Modest Mouse; Unspoken - Fourtet;

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