All Best
When 2010 began in earnest, I found myself missing the year-end and decade-end listmaking that I had been tinkering with, on and off, for much of December and January. It doesn't help that this livejournal, despite the variety of tags that I've gone back and added to the past seven years' worth of posts, pretty much concerns four things: movies; concerts; photos I take; and lists. I was going to say "and other stuff that happens to me," but those four topics pretty much cover seventy percent of what happens to me, and probably ninety percent of the interesting things that happen to me.
So: I had the opposite of list fatigue. List hunger. I had a lot of fun organizing a Top Beatles Songs list last fall, so it seemed natural to attempt to corral my friends into creating a Top 100 Songs of the Decade master list to rule them all. A lot of people were making those kinds of lists back in October or so, but not starting until late January actually gave the whole process a bit more of a relaxed, considered pace, and a lack of competition with holiday parties.
The elite panel of nerds consisted of Rob, Chris, Mattie, Marisa, Jen, Bayard, Meg, Tim, Ben, Derrick, Dan, and me -- more, actually, than the Beatles list, a level of participation that surprised and pleased me. So thank you, guys. I posted my personal ballot awhile back, and others posted theirs on various blogs or Facebook notes. Once all lists were filed, Chris dusted off Vooee to smooth over inconsistencies and crunch the numbers.
Now we have a list, after the jump with some simple stats.
The Top 100 Songs of 2000-2009, Period
1. "Hey Ya" -- Outkast (2003)
2. "Stuck Between Stations" -- The Hold Steady (2006)
3. "Do You Realize??" -- The Flaming Lips (2002)
4. "Wake Up" -- The Arcade Fire (2004)
5. "Maps" -- Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)
6. "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" -- The Hold Steady (2005)
7. "Heartbeats" -- The Knife (2003)
8. "This Year" -- The Mountain Goats (2005)
9. "Such Great Heights" -- The Postal Service (2003)
10. "Since U Been Gone" -- Kelly Clarkson (2004)
11. "Portions for Foxes" -- Rilo Kiley (2004)
12. "Last Nite" -- The Strokes (2001)
13. "Frankie's Gun!" -- The Felice Brothers (2008)
14. "Idioteque" -- Radiohead (2000)
15. "Crazy in Love" -- Beyonce (2003)
16. "Mr. Brightside" -- The Killers (2004)
17. "The Rat" -- The Walkmen (2004)
18. "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" -- The Arcade Fire (2004)
19. "The Modern Leper" -- Frightened Rabbit (2008)
20. "Float On" -- Modest Mouse (2004)
21. "O Valencia!" -- The Decemberists (2006)
22. "Hips Don't Lie" -- Shakira (2006)
23. "Pull Shapes" -- The Pipettes (2006)
24. "I Luv the Valley OH!" -- Xiu Xiu (2004)
25. "Letter from an Occupant" -- The New Pornographers (2000)
26. "B.O.B." -- Outkast (2000)
27. "Time Bomb" -- The Dismemberment Plan (2001)
28. "Staring at the Sun" -- TV on the Radio (2004)
29. "A Better Son/Daughter" -- Rilo Kiley (2002)
30. "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" -- The Postal Service (2003)
31. "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" -- Stars (2005)
32. "I Turn My Camera On" -- Spoon (2005)
33. "Your Cover's Blown" -- Belle and Sebastian (2004)
34. "You Know I'm No Good" -- Amy Winehouse (2006)
35. "Sheets of Easter" -- Oneida (2002)
36. "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" -- Los Campesinos! (2008)
37. "Black" -- Okkervil River (2005)
38. "My Year in Lists" -- Los Campesinos! (2008)
39. "A Pillar of Salt" -- The Thermals (2006)
40. "Fell in Love with a Girl" -- The White Stripes (2001)
41. "The Execution of All Things" -- Rilo Kiley (2002)
42. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" -- Bruce Springsteen (2007)
43. "The International Tweexcore Underground" -- Los Campesinos! (2007)
44. "Paper Planes" -- M.I.A. (2007)
45. "Single Ladies" -- Beyonce (2008)
46. "The Monitor" -- Bishop Allen (2007)
47. "Lover I Don't Have to Love" -- Bright Eyes (2002)
48. "Wolf Like Me" -- TV on the Radio (2006)
49. "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" -- Black Kids (2008)
50. "The New Sound" -- The Capricorns (2001)
51. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" -- Vampire Weekend (2008)
52. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" -- Daft Punk (2002)
53. "Mr. November" -- The National (2005)
54. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" -- The Darkness (2003)
55. "Untitled" -- Interpol (2002)
56. "Umbrella" -- Rihanna (2007)
57. "Hotel Yorba" -- The White Stripes (2001)
58. "Girlfriend" -- Avril Lavigne (2007)
59. "Optimistic" -- Radiohead (2000)
60. "Mad Dog" -- Elastica (2000)
61. "Who Could Win a Rabbit" -- Animal Collective (2004)
62. "House of Jealous Lovers" -- The Rapture (2003)
63. "No Children" -- The Mountain Goats (2002)
64. "Huddle Formation" -- The Go! Team (2005)
65. "Palmcorder Yajna" -- The Mountain Goats (2004)
66. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1" -- The Flaming Lips (2002)
67. "The Sound of Settling" -- Death Cab for Cutie (2008)
68. "Museum of Idiots" -- They Might Be Giants (2004)
69. "Fidelity" -- Regina Spektor (2006)
70. "Dashboard" -- Modest Mouse (2008)
71. "Hope There's Someone" -- Antony and the Johnsons (2005)
72. "Oh My Sweet Carolina" -- Ryan Adams (2000)
73. "One More Time" -- Daft Punk (2002)
74. "All My Friends" -- LCD Soundsystem (2007)
75. "My Music at Work" -- The Tragically Hip (2000)
76. "You Can Make Him Like You" -- The Hold Steady (2006)
77. "Reconstruction Site" -- The Weakerthans (2003)
78. "Hurt" -- Johnny Cash (2002)
79. "John Allyn Smith Sailes" -- Okkervil River (2007)
80. "Kids" -- MGMT (2007)
81. "Life in a Glasshouse" -- Radiohead (2001)
82. "July, July!" -- The Decemberists (2003)
83. "White Winter Hymnal" -- Fleet Foxes (2008)
84. "Zero" -- Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2009)
85. "Work It" -- Missy Elliott (2002)
86. "The Blues Are Still Blue" -- Belle and Sebastian (2006)
87. "Colorshow" -- The Avett Brothers (2006)
88. "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" -- Radiohead (2001)
89. "Skinny Love" -- Bon Iver (2008)
90. "Leaf House" -- Animal Collective (2004)
91. "Destroy Everything You Touch" -- Ladytron (2008)
92. "Sons & Daughters" -- The Decemberists (2006)
93. "Nothing Better" -- The Postal Service (2003)
94. "Emily Kane" -- Art Brut (2006)
95. "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" -- Wilco (2002)
96. "Two Weeks" -- Grizzly Bear (2009)
97. "Bad Education" -- Tilly and the Wall (2006)
98. "Young Hearts Spark Fire" -- Japandroids (2009)
99. "Anthems for a 17yo Girl" -- Broken Social Scene (2002)
100. "Parentheses" -- The Blow (2006)
Fun Facts:
Radiohead is the most-represented artist on the list, with four songs. This is not shocking given how many people love Radiohead, but I was a little surprised (a.) by which songs made it, (b.) how many songs made it, given the range of Radiohead favorites, and (c.) that all of the songs came from Kid A and Amnesiac, two of my favorite albums and two of the better-loved records of the past decade, but also very album-y. Many of my personal Radiohead picks are from those albums, too, but I would've guessed some singles from In Rainbows or even Hail to the Thief would gain more traction.
Also mentioned often, with three songs apiece: The Decemberists, The Hold Steady, Los Campesinos!, The Mountain Goats, The Postal Service, and Rilo Kiley.
The most-represented year is 2006, with 15 songs. 2004 and 2002 are close behind with 14 each, and 2008 notched 12. Basically, the even-numbered years have it all over the odds. 2009 was the least-represented year with only three songs.
Albums that managed to get more than one song on the list include Funeral (Arcade Fire), Boys and Girls in America (The Hold Steady), Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (The Flaming Lips), The Execution of All Things (Rilo Kiley), The Crane Wife (The Decemberists), Kid A and Amneisac (Radiohead), and White Blood Cells (The White Stripes), all featuring two tracks. The champion album, however, came from the Postal Service, as all three of their entries come from their only full-length, Give Up. The Mountain Goats, meanwhile, earned the distinction of three songs all coming from different (and successive) albums.
23 of the 100 songs are from female or female-led artists. 15 are from U.K. or majority-U.K. artists.
Our list has seven songs in common with the Top 100 Hits of the Decade list. By the way, the rock songs on that Billboard list could easily double as Worst Rock Songs of the Decade. We have 24 in common with the Rolling Stone list and 23 in common with the top 100 of Pitchfork's top 500.
OK, that's about all of the nerdy stats I can think of for now. Feel free to request more. Feel free also to add: comments, questions, complaints, etc. We'll have this down to a science for 2020.
So: I had the opposite of list fatigue. List hunger. I had a lot of fun organizing a Top Beatles Songs list last fall, so it seemed natural to attempt to corral my friends into creating a Top 100 Songs of the Decade master list to rule them all. A lot of people were making those kinds of lists back in October or so, but not starting until late January actually gave the whole process a bit more of a relaxed, considered pace, and a lack of competition with holiday parties.
The elite panel of nerds consisted of Rob, Chris, Mattie, Marisa, Jen, Bayard, Meg, Tim, Ben, Derrick, Dan, and me -- more, actually, than the Beatles list, a level of participation that surprised and pleased me. So thank you, guys. I posted my personal ballot awhile back, and others posted theirs on various blogs or Facebook notes. Once all lists were filed, Chris dusted off Vooee to smooth over inconsistencies and crunch the numbers.
Now we have a list, after the jump with some simple stats.
The Top 100 Songs of 2000-2009, Period
1. "Hey Ya" -- Outkast (2003)
2. "Stuck Between Stations" -- The Hold Steady (2006)
3. "Do You Realize??" -- The Flaming Lips (2002)
4. "Wake Up" -- The Arcade Fire (2004)
5. "Maps" -- Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)
6. "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" -- The Hold Steady (2005)
7. "Heartbeats" -- The Knife (2003)
8. "This Year" -- The Mountain Goats (2005)
9. "Such Great Heights" -- The Postal Service (2003)
10. "Since U Been Gone" -- Kelly Clarkson (2004)
11. "Portions for Foxes" -- Rilo Kiley (2004)
12. "Last Nite" -- The Strokes (2001)
13. "Frankie's Gun!" -- The Felice Brothers (2008)
14. "Idioteque" -- Radiohead (2000)
15. "Crazy in Love" -- Beyonce (2003)
16. "Mr. Brightside" -- The Killers (2004)
17. "The Rat" -- The Walkmen (2004)
18. "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" -- The Arcade Fire (2004)
19. "The Modern Leper" -- Frightened Rabbit (2008)
20. "Float On" -- Modest Mouse (2004)
21. "O Valencia!" -- The Decemberists (2006)
22. "Hips Don't Lie" -- Shakira (2006)
23. "Pull Shapes" -- The Pipettes (2006)
24. "I Luv the Valley OH!" -- Xiu Xiu (2004)
25. "Letter from an Occupant" -- The New Pornographers (2000)
26. "B.O.B." -- Outkast (2000)
27. "Time Bomb" -- The Dismemberment Plan (2001)
28. "Staring at the Sun" -- TV on the Radio (2004)
29. "A Better Son/Daughter" -- Rilo Kiley (2002)
30. "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" -- The Postal Service (2003)
31. "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" -- Stars (2005)
32. "I Turn My Camera On" -- Spoon (2005)
33. "Your Cover's Blown" -- Belle and Sebastian (2004)
34. "You Know I'm No Good" -- Amy Winehouse (2006)
35. "Sheets of Easter" -- Oneida (2002)
36. "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" -- Los Campesinos! (2008)
37. "Black" -- Okkervil River (2005)
38. "My Year in Lists" -- Los Campesinos! (2008)
39. "A Pillar of Salt" -- The Thermals (2006)
40. "Fell in Love with a Girl" -- The White Stripes (2001)
41. "The Execution of All Things" -- Rilo Kiley (2002)
42. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" -- Bruce Springsteen (2007)
43. "The International Tweexcore Underground" -- Los Campesinos! (2007)
44. "Paper Planes" -- M.I.A. (2007)
45. "Single Ladies" -- Beyonce (2008)
46. "The Monitor" -- Bishop Allen (2007)
47. "Lover I Don't Have to Love" -- Bright Eyes (2002)
48. "Wolf Like Me" -- TV on the Radio (2006)
49. "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" -- Black Kids (2008)
50. "The New Sound" -- The Capricorns (2001)
51. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" -- Vampire Weekend (2008)
52. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" -- Daft Punk (2002)
53. "Mr. November" -- The National (2005)
54. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" -- The Darkness (2003)
55. "Untitled" -- Interpol (2002)
56. "Umbrella" -- Rihanna (2007)
57. "Hotel Yorba" -- The White Stripes (2001)
58. "Girlfriend" -- Avril Lavigne (2007)
59. "Optimistic" -- Radiohead (2000)
60. "Mad Dog" -- Elastica (2000)
61. "Who Could Win a Rabbit" -- Animal Collective (2004)
62. "House of Jealous Lovers" -- The Rapture (2003)
63. "No Children" -- The Mountain Goats (2002)
64. "Huddle Formation" -- The Go! Team (2005)
65. "Palmcorder Yajna" -- The Mountain Goats (2004)
66. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1" -- The Flaming Lips (2002)
67. "The Sound of Settling" -- Death Cab for Cutie (2008)
68. "Museum of Idiots" -- They Might Be Giants (2004)
69. "Fidelity" -- Regina Spektor (2006)
70. "Dashboard" -- Modest Mouse (2008)
71. "Hope There's Someone" -- Antony and the Johnsons (2005)
72. "Oh My Sweet Carolina" -- Ryan Adams (2000)
73. "One More Time" -- Daft Punk (2002)
74. "All My Friends" -- LCD Soundsystem (2007)
75. "My Music at Work" -- The Tragically Hip (2000)
76. "You Can Make Him Like You" -- The Hold Steady (2006)
77. "Reconstruction Site" -- The Weakerthans (2003)
78. "Hurt" -- Johnny Cash (2002)
79. "John Allyn Smith Sailes" -- Okkervil River (2007)
80. "Kids" -- MGMT (2007)
81. "Life in a Glasshouse" -- Radiohead (2001)
82. "July, July!" -- The Decemberists (2003)
83. "White Winter Hymnal" -- Fleet Foxes (2008)
84. "Zero" -- Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2009)
85. "Work It" -- Missy Elliott (2002)
86. "The Blues Are Still Blue" -- Belle and Sebastian (2006)
87. "Colorshow" -- The Avett Brothers (2006)
88. "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" -- Radiohead (2001)
89. "Skinny Love" -- Bon Iver (2008)
90. "Leaf House" -- Animal Collective (2004)
91. "Destroy Everything You Touch" -- Ladytron (2008)
92. "Sons & Daughters" -- The Decemberists (2006)
93. "Nothing Better" -- The Postal Service (2003)
94. "Emily Kane" -- Art Brut (2006)
95. "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" -- Wilco (2002)
96. "Two Weeks" -- Grizzly Bear (2009)
97. "Bad Education" -- Tilly and the Wall (2006)
98. "Young Hearts Spark Fire" -- Japandroids (2009)
99. "Anthems for a 17yo Girl" -- Broken Social Scene (2002)
100. "Parentheses" -- The Blow (2006)
Fun Facts:
Radiohead is the most-represented artist on the list, with four songs. This is not shocking given how many people love Radiohead, but I was a little surprised (a.) by which songs made it, (b.) how many songs made it, given the range of Radiohead favorites, and (c.) that all of the songs came from Kid A and Amnesiac, two of my favorite albums and two of the better-loved records of the past decade, but also very album-y. Many of my personal Radiohead picks are from those albums, too, but I would've guessed some singles from In Rainbows or even Hail to the Thief would gain more traction.
Also mentioned often, with three songs apiece: The Decemberists, The Hold Steady, Los Campesinos!, The Mountain Goats, The Postal Service, and Rilo Kiley.
The most-represented year is 2006, with 15 songs. 2004 and 2002 are close behind with 14 each, and 2008 notched 12. Basically, the even-numbered years have it all over the odds. 2009 was the least-represented year with only three songs.
Albums that managed to get more than one song on the list include Funeral (Arcade Fire), Boys and Girls in America (The Hold Steady), Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (The Flaming Lips), The Execution of All Things (Rilo Kiley), The Crane Wife (The Decemberists), Kid A and Amneisac (Radiohead), and White Blood Cells (The White Stripes), all featuring two tracks. The champion album, however, came from the Postal Service, as all three of their entries come from their only full-length, Give Up. The Mountain Goats, meanwhile, earned the distinction of three songs all coming from different (and successive) albums.
23 of the 100 songs are from female or female-led artists. 15 are from U.K. or majority-U.K. artists.
Our list has seven songs in common with the Top 100 Hits of the Decade list. By the way, the rock songs on that Billboard list could easily double as Worst Rock Songs of the Decade. We have 24 in common with the Rolling Stone list and 23 in common with the top 100 of Pitchfork's top 500.
OK, that's about all of the nerdy stats I can think of for now. Feel free to request more. Feel free also to add: comments, questions, complaints, etc. We'll have this down to a science for 2020.