Disclaimer: Years are fairly arbitrary time periods. The only thing that makes a decade is the human conditions’ odometer fetish. Unfortunately, like you, I’m human as well and fall prey to these tendencies. I can’t claim to know everything, I’m just an educated observer; and here are my educated observations. They are not perfect and neither you nor I will completely agree with them in a years time, but that is the fun of lists.
While I’ve always listened to music, the year 2000 is the year I was granted a high speed internet connection; thanks University of Illinois. Each day we had an a maximum of 500mb of download bandwidth to use, anything over and your internet was cut off. Oh the early days of broadband. Well, I was not going to let that space go to waste and the shear amount of crap I grabbed simply to meet the limits was remarkable. Safe to say, most of that did not make my list.
I don’t think I need to say much about Kid A or Modest Mouse, those albums and songs have been digested on every music site thousands of times over. I do think the Belle and Sebastian album is very underrated though. It was the album that got me into the band and still has a few of my favorite songs they ever wrote. Finally, Ultimate Fakebook doesn’t get the respect they deserve for being a no-frills, straight up great power pop band.
Anyway, this is the introduction and first part of Schwerve’s Magnum Opus. It is a list of the decade’s top 1000 songs (100 per year) and the top 100 albums (10 per year). We’re going to roll it out this week at a clip of two years per day. See the year 2000 below, and feel free to share your thoughts, approval, disapproval, what have you.
Top 10 Albums of 2000:
10. The Dandy Warhols – 13 Tales of Urban Bohemia
9. Queens of the Stone Age – R
8. Les Savy Fav – Rome (Written Upside Down)
7 . Belle & Sebastian – Fold Your Hand Child and Walk Like a Peasant
6. Boards of Canada – In A Beautiful Place in the Country
5. Outkast – Stankonia
4. The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
3. The Avalanches – Since You Left
2. Modest Mouse – Moon and Antartica
1. Radiohead – Kid A
Top 100 Songs of 2000:
100. Billy Bragg & Wilco- Stetson Kennedy
99. The Starlight – Valerie Flames
98. Fatboy Slim -Sunset (Bird of Prey) video
97. Ultimate Fakebook – Little Apple Girl
96. Peaches – AA XXX
95. Belle & Sebastian – The Model video 94. Clinic – “Internal Wrangler” video
93. Coldplay – “Sparks”
92. Modest Mouse – “Wild Pack of Family Dogs” video
91. Mates of State – “Everyone Needs an Editor”
90. The White Stripes – “Sister, Do You Know My Name?”
89. Faraquet – “Cut Self Not”
88. Gorillaz – “Tomorrow Comes Today” video
87. Sleater-Kinney – “Youth Decay”
86. Enon – “Believo”
85. Mclusky – “(Sometime) I Have to Concentrate”
84. Lifter Puller – “Candy’s Room”
83. Mates of State – “La’hov”
82. Gorillaz- “19-2000” video
81. The New Pornographer – “Fake Headlines”
80. Les Savy Fav – “I.C. Timer”
79. Ween – Bananas and Blow video
78. Jurassic Five – “W.O.E. is Me (World of Entertainment)” video
77. The Starlight Mints – “Submarine #3”
76. Self – “Pattycake”
75. Enon – “Rubber Car”
74. Fatboy Slim – “Weapon of Choice” video
73. Yo La Tengo – “Cherry Chapstick”
72. Ultimate Fakebook – “Brokyn Needle”
71. Grandaddy – “The Crystal Lake” video
70. Sleater-Kinney – “Ballad of the Ladyman”
69. Modest Mouse – “3rd Planet”
68. Blonde Redhead – “In Particular” video
67. The White Stripes – “Hello Operator” video
66. Badly Drawn Boy – “Pissing in the Wind” video
65. Coldplay – “Shiver” video
64. Q and Not U – “Line in the Sand”
63. Elliot Smith – “Everything Reminds Me of Her”
62. The Dandy Warhols – “Cool Scene”
61. Mates of State – “Proofs” video
60. Ghostface Killah – “Cher Chez La Ghost” video
59. Ultimate Fakebook – “Tell Me What You Want (I’ll Be Anything)”
58. Radiohead – “National Anthem” video
57. Ween – “The Grobe”
56. Ryan Adams – “To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is to Be High)”
55. Phoenix – “Too Young” video
54. The New Pornographers – “Mass Romantic”
53. Modest Mouse – “I Came As a Rat”
52. At The Drive-In – “One-Armed Scissor” video
51. Queens of the Stone Age – “The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret” video
50. Mclusky – “Whiteliberalonwhiteliberalaction” video
49. Shellac – “Prayer to God”
48. Self – “Trunk Fulla Amps” video
47. Super Furry Animals – “Drygioni”
46. Bjork – “I’ve Seen it All” video
45. PJ Harvey – “Good Fortune” video
44. Outkast – “So Fresh and So Clean” video
43. The Wu-Tang Clan – “Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)” video
42. Grandaddy – “Hewlett’s Daughter” video
41. Radiohead – “Optimistic” video
40. The New Pornographers – “Letter From and Occupant” video
39. Ghostface Killah – “Apollo Kids” video
38. Clinic – “Return of Evil Bill” video
37. Q and Not U – “End the Washington Monument (Blinks) Goodnight”
36. The Sea and Cake – “Afternoon Speaker”
35. Modest Mouse – “Paper Thin Wall” video
34. Peaches – “Fuck the Pain Away” nsfw video
33. !!! – “Feel Good Hit of the Fall”
32. Queens of the Stone Age – “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” video
31. Jurassic Five – “Quality Control”
30. The Avalanches – “Since I Left You” video
29. The White Stripes – “You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)”
28. Eminem – “The Real Slim Shady” video
27. The Dandy Warholds – “Bohemian Like You” video
26. XTC – “I’m the Man Who Murdered Love”
25. Belle & Sebastian – “Women’s Realm”
24. Del the Funkee Homosapien – “If You Must” video
23. Air – “Playground Love” video
22. Boards of Canada – “In A Beautiful Place Out in the Country”
21. Les Savy Fav – “Hide Me From Next February”
20. The Wu-Tang Clan – “Gravel Pit” video
19. Belle & Sebastian – “Legal Man” video
18. Elliot Smith – “Son of Sam” video
17. Gorillaz – “Clint Eastwood” video
16. The Eels – “Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues”
15. Ultimate Fakebook – “Soaked in Cinnamon”
14. Radiohead – “Everything in Its Right Place”
13. Coldplay – “Yellow” video
12. Outkast – “Ms. Jackson” video
11. Modest Mouse – “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes”
10. The Hives – “Hate to Say I Told You So” video
9. Badly Drawn Boy – “Once Around the Block” video
8. Queens of the Stone Age – “Monsters in the Parasol” video
7. Smog – “Dress Sexy at My Funeral”
6. The New Pornographers – “Slow Descent into Alcoholism” video
5. Radiohead – “Idioteque” video
4. Sleater-Kinney – “You’re No Rock N’ Roll Fun” video
3. Outkast – “B.O.B.” video
2. The Avalanches – “Frontier Psychiatrist” video
1. Phoenix – “If I Ever Feel Better” video