The Mayer Unit is all too often used in the service of the distant past. We’ve had the best songs of 1966, 1968, 1974 (that was such a good year), 1984 and, of course, Phil Collins’ greatest works. But what about this decade? This fine millenium, that has offered us such pop riches? And so, we ask that beautiful hunk of objective, highly-scientific metal what the greatest songs of 2001 were:
1. MP3: The Shins - “New Slang” (from Oh, Inverted World). C’mon, it was never going to be anything else. Zach Braff could further twee the shit out of it by releasing Garden State 2: Our New Slang and it’d still be a highwater mark for recent pop music.
2. MP3: Destiny’s Child - “Bootylicious” (from Survivor). You love it.
3. MP3: Craig David - “7 Days” (from Born To Do It). I fear the United States may have missed out on the near-perfect rhythm and pop of Mister Craig David, a teenage prodigy with a silken voice, a great production team, and the most perfectly-manicured facial hair since George Michael turned up for the Faith cover shoot. (Apparently Born To Do It went platinum in the US, but that’s not saying all that much; my debut album went platinum in the US).
4. MP3: Ben Kweller - “Falling” (from Sha Sha). It was a banner year for slow, piano-driven indie ballads — both Falling and Ryan Adams’ Rescue Blues represent a pinnacle in the irony-free channeling of Elton John.
5. MP3: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - “The Gold Finch And The Red Oak Tree” (from The Tyranny Of Distance). Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone? marked Leo as a songwriter to watch; a potential heir to the punchy, stacked-chorus, Buddy-Holly-visits-London pop of Elvis Costello. The Gold Finch… just made you wonder if James Taylor had regained his talents, and answered a Lookout! Records job listing looking for ghostwriters.
(And, of course, all those dreams were dashed when Leo released the ridiculously sub-par Living With The Living).
Entries (RSS)