As you may have noticed, Pitchfork launched their P2K: The Decade In Music feature this week, opening the gate with The Top 500 Tracks Of The 2000s. Before you complain the decade isn’t done just yet, the folks at Pitchfork note “[I]n early 2010, if you aren’t sick to death of reading 10 million lists about the decade and the current year, come back and we’ll have added an addendum with a few of our favorite songs from the next few months.” No worries, we’ll never be sick of lists. As far as this one, the choices are simply listed for 500 to 201; you start getting those “short critical” blurbs at 200. (And if you pull the list’s top 15 tracks from this year — there are only 15 songs from 2009 in the entire 500 — you have at least a partial a preview of P4K’s Top 20 songs of 2009 for their impending year-end list … so far. Which we’ve done for you, of course.) Before we get into the choices, the entire thing also offers an interesting subtext to what’s happened to music in the last decade.
As Pitchfork notes, this massive roundup — which will also include three other lists, four essays, and a timeline — is “about what you’d get from a print magazine, but it’s free and you won’t throw it out the next time you move.” This is true. This is also why there are much fewer magazines now than when the site launched in 1995. Another reason: You can stream (and download for a small price) the majority of the songs, something you can’t do with an issue of Rolling Stone or SPIN. Instant gratification is a large (large) part of what’s made on-line publications more appealing to people than the paper kind. That, and as a reader, you’re allowed to voice your opinion to perfect strangers. Clearly.
Which brings us to the artists and songs represents on this Top 500. Chances are you’ve glanced at some of it. Chances are you’ve been overwhelmed by it. At the very least, it serves as a good reminder (in outline form) of what you might’ve been listening to in 2001: I, for one, pulled Unwound’s Leaves Turn Inside You from the shelf. (Same goes for Wolf Eyes’ more recently released Human Animal.) On a larger and purely objective scale, if you pay close attention, it offers a fun chance to unpack patterns and tendencies from a time we’ve all lived through (and listened to). There’s a lot of Belle & Sebastian. Radiohead beats out Coldplay 4-2. Kanye West, Animal Collective, Missy Elliott, OutKast, and Jay-Z clearly ruled the decade. (And the inclusion of Animal Collective in that lineup’s fascinating beyond a so and so is > than so and so thing.) Or, you’ll find great unspoken moments like Bat For Lashes’ “Daniel” at 206 and Lily Allen’s “Smile” at 205 or Dirty Projectors’ “Stillness Is The Move” at 115 and Aaliyah’s “We Need a Resolution” at 111. Seeing Elliott Smith a few spots from Pains Of Being Pure to make you realize 10 years is a longtime. Seeing “Hollaback Girl” at 180 and “Skinny Love” at 179 makes me think your record collection is more varied than your parent’s record collection. “Young Folks” only made it to 84. It’s a secret history for music nerds.
On a more subjective scale, there’s a lot I find confusing. As I’m sure you will, too. I like the surprises that show up in the dregs of the list — Comets On Fire, Lightning Bolt, Earth, Jesu. The problem here — and this happens often with these sorts of lists — as you get closer to the top 50, things get more conservative and predictable (unless they get unpredictable in a very predictable way, natch). Which is where we find this top 20. It’s ushered in by Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” which just misses out at 21. Oh, about that predictable unpredictability? The top track’s by a group you might expect at the top spot but via a different song. I’ve already said too much. Now it’s up to you:
Pitchfork’s 20 Greatest Songs Of The ’00s
20 The Walkman – “The Rat” (2004)
19 R. Kelly – “Ignition (Remix)”? (2002)
18 Hercules and Love Affair – “Blind” (2008)
17 Annie -”Heartbeat” (2004)
16 The Rapture – “House of Jealous Lovers” (2002)
15 The Knife – “Heartbeats” (2002)
14 Jay-Z – “99 Problems” (2003)
13 LCD Soundsystem – “Losing My Edge” (2002)
12 OutKast – “Hey Ya!” (2003)
11 Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy” (2005)
10 Arcade Fire – “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” (2004)
09 Animal Collective – “My Girls” (2009)
08 Radiohead – “Idioteque” (2000)
07 Missy Elliott – “Get Ur Freak On” (2001)
06 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Maps” (2003)
05 Daft Punk – “One More Time” (2000)
04 Beyoncé [ft. Jay-Z] – “Crazy in Love” (2003)
03 M.I.A. (Feat. Bun B and Rich Boy) – “Paper Planes (Diplo Remix)” (2007)
02 LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends” (2007)
01 OutKast – “B.O.B.” (2000)
As far as this next one goes, “My Girls” cracked the Top 500′s Top 10. You have to go all the way to #115 to find the second song on the list (i.e. It’ll take one hell of a track to beat out AC for 2009′s top spot). All but the Top 3 are situated beyond the 200 mark.
Pitchfork’s Top 15 Songs Of 2009 … So Far
15 The Big Pink – “Velvet”
14 Woods- “Rain On”
13 St. Vincent – “The Strangers”
12 Kid Cudi vs. Crookers – “Day ‘N Night (Remix)”
11 The Walkmen – “In the New Year”
10 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Young Adult Friction”
09 Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
08 Japandroids – “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
07 Antony and the Johnsons – “Aeon”
06 Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait for the Others”
05 Phoenix – “1901″
04 Bat for Lashes – “Daniel”
03 Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
02 Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is The Move”
01 Animal Collective – “My Girls
You can dig into the list and find additional patterns at P4K.
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3..2..1…
**one… two… one, two, three** YEAH!
Everybody please, in unison, repeat: “this list is s fucking joke… this list is a fucking joke… this list is a fucking joke…”
Quit killing rock for the sake of being “hip,” you hypocritical fools.
Couldn’t agree with you more- the only plausible explanation for someone to actually think this list is accurate is that they must be deaf. End of.
first this list is shit, second animal collective is fucking terrible, hipsters, have you seen them live, one of the worst things i’ve ever witnessed, bonnaroo, i left animal collective early, saw grizzly bear and thought how the fuck does ac get any positive feedback when grizzly bear is by far actually real musicians, any of us that can play music with the right equipment could become animal collective, and i look at this list, and it’s because none of you stupid fuckers actually listen to good music, you indie fucks are destroying music, at least idioteque and outkast made it, i enjoy the walkmen as well, not a top twenty song in the better part of the decade, where’s the queens of the stone age, there’s some real music, thank god mgmt didn’t make the list
its cause the noise that comes out of AC is really good noise, dont worry about any of the other shit.
Ha! I would really like to know what *your* top list consists of. Especially if you think that QOTSA should be on it, of all bands. “Real music”, my ass!
first this list is shit, second animal collective is fucking terrible, hipsters, have you seen them live, one of the worst things i’ve ever witnessed, bonnaroo, i left animal collective early, saw grizzly bear and thought how the fuck does ac get any positive feedback when grizzly bear is by far actually real musicians, any of us that can play music with the right equipment could become animal collective, and i look at this list, and it’s because none of you stupid fuckers actually listen to good music, you indie fucks are destroying music, at least idioteque and outkast made it, i enjoy the walkmen as well, not a top twenty song in the better part of the decade, where’s the queens of the stone age, there’s some real music, thank god mgmt didn’t make the list
first this list is shit, second animal collective is fucking terrible, hipsters, have you seen them live, one of the worst things i’ve ever witnessed, bonnaroo, i left animal collective early, saw grizzly bear and thought how the fuck does ac get any positive feedback when grizzly bear is by far actually real musicians, any of us that can play music with the right equipment could become animal collective, and i look at this list, and it’s because none of you stupid fuckers actually listen to good music, you indie fucks are destroying music, at least idioteque and outkast made it, i enjoy the walkmen as well, not a top twenty song in the better part of the decade, where’s the queens of the stone age, there’s some real music, thank god mgmt didn’t make the list
Don’t you think it is time people stopped referring to music as real or not real?
It’s is such a ridiculous statement!
What about TV ON THE RADIO?????????????????????????????
This would have been the perfect chance for Pitchfork to do what it should have done back in the day. Forget that The Rapture ever happened.And 500-201 presented without comment = Hey, we at Pitchfork can shuffle our Most Played too!
Overall, fun way to kill some time.
dude, what have you got against the rapture?
look at all of the other pathetic shit on there, the rapture should be the least of your worries.
Ditto.. why is radiohead on there?
The Rapture is shit, plain and simple. They’re a half-assed Gang of Four wannabe with a lead singer who sucks at singing, and not in a good way. And the lyrics? “1,2,3,4,5,6,7 I’m floating in a constant heaven?” I don’t care who you are, that’s flat-out fucking retarded.
You know your list is fucked up when OutKast and LCD Soundsystem claim two spots in the top 20 songs of the decade. Reading Pitchfork has become like hate-sex.
Except you’ve never had sex, let alone hate sex.
The other 499 be damned, but they got #1 right. “B.O.B.” is 5 minutes of frantic, genre-mashing insanity that sounds just as awesome today as it did in 2000(!). I can’t believe I’m saying this… nice job, P4K.
PREACH
the one song that is truly groundbreaking and unforgettable, no arguments need reply
I’ve been disappointed and frustrated by this list. Not the list itself, but without Pitchfork reviewing new records and songs, I have no idea what I should be listening to.
Dislike
I’m pretty sure The Walkmen song “In the New year” came out in 08.
Album release was 2008, single release for “In the New Year” was 2009. But I agree, for a band like the Walkmen, singles mean absolutely nothing. It is a 2008 song, I mean, what hip NYE party didn’t play it last year.
I knew I would be unhappy with a good portion of this list but come on, no Mogwai “My Father, My King”?
Agreed, heartily.
I salute your shoutout, but we ARE talking about Pitchfork here. They don’t like post-rock, it’s too brainy for them. Though, they did include EiTS’s First Breath After Coma and GY!BE’s Storm.
The top 20 was fairly predictable for me. Even BOB beating out Hey Ya, since it did on the 2000-04 list. The only moderate surpise was “One More Time” being at number 5. I was always under the impression the folks at Pitchfork preferred Digital Love to that one.
Contact!
and they be like, can i get a hit? can i get a hit?
WHAT? Not a single Arctic Monkeys song on the entire list? What about “A Certain Romance,” that should have been at least in the Top 20. Now I hate this list, which is a shame, because there are some awesome songs on it.
I’d like to backup this outrage. C’mon now!
WIth a few exceptions, the top 20 is a pretty solid, albeit predictable lineup. Would have liked to see a little bit more metal and the like and less house and techno, but that’s just how my tastes align.
The inevitable “what about these songs?” list:
Dismemberment Plan: “Time Bomb,” “The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich”
Ted Leo: “Me & Mia”
Dungen: “Panda”
Fleet Foxes: “Mykonos”
New Pornographers: “Mass Romantic,” “Sing Me Spanish Techno”
Neko Case: “Deep Red Bells,” “Star Witness”
Ghostface Killah: “Run”
Smog/Bill Callahan: “Bloodflow,” “Sycamore,” “Eid Ma Clack Shaw”
Torche: “Across The Shields”
Harvey Milk: “Motown”
Les Savy Fav: “Patty Lee”
Spoon: “Fitted Shirt,” “Lines In The Suit”
Young Jeezy: “My Hood,” “Hypnotize”
Animal Collective: “Who Could Win A Rabbit,” “Brother Sport”
The Strokes: “Under Control”
Ok, that’s it. Whatever. Overwhelming, but generally solid list.
Here, here!
I’d like to have seen Okkervil River’s “My life is a Movie or Maybe”, Rhead “15 Step” on there, but otherwise, i can’t really argue with the list. but then again, how do you argue with any list of 500 songs from the last decade? i bet i could pull any random 500 songs from the last decade and it’d be hard to argue with 75% of it. It was a great decade for music. cheers
aye, such similar brainwaves. thankyou thankyou thankyou
Without even looking I’ll say “new slang”…the beginning of the zeitgeist or what have you…
Actually that was the second part of the one two punch …”know your onion” being the first part…
I was surprised that Kayne West’s “Flashing Lights” (#52) managed to beat out “New Slang” (#62) and even Arcade Fire’s “Rebellion (Lies)” (#69). But I don’t have the energy to be mad at lists anymore. You could even say I’m listless.
I’m really surprised they didn’t include Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe in Anything”. Amazing song, and Pitchfork themselves have shown lots of love for it. Oh well.
Check out #95, bro.
Whoops:) Thanks for pointing that out.
Fancy Claps and Shine a Light (that might have been on there, but the list is too damn long for me to check) should be on the list as well. I’d put Kissing the Beehive and Animal in Your Care on as well, but I fully admit that I like Mount Zoomer more than most.
Where is ‘non-dairy creamer’ by third eye blind?
Totally agree there. Really good album.
Brother Sport…obviously…
wake up-arcade fire.
I don’t believe you…
You can jumble up the top 20 all you want (Lord knows I would, BOB is NOT #1), but it’s a good top 20.
Yeah, their list is pretty good if you like mainstream rap and hip hop. Nice to know our “indie” media outlets have sold out and become so mainstream. Yet, their attitude about any rock, mainstream or indie, is still completely pretentious and cutthroat. Wake up you fucking idiots! You are letting rock music die! Or, at least judge rap on the same cutthroat, pretentious level. Seriously, Rhianna’s “Umbrella” in the top 100? This list is a fucking joke.
R. Kelly > TVOTR. Now I’m mad.
no, Kelly is better.
How mad? Scale of 1-10, 1 being “Oops I downloaded a bad live recording of ‘Wash the Day Away’!” and 10 being “Miley Cyrus singing on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show a purposely bad cover of ‘Staring at the Sun’ to spite Tunde, Dave, and Kyp because they wouldn’t let her meet them backstage at the Grammy’s”.
I really find these comments (that imply the author was there to witness the alleged exchange) interesting. E.g. [blockquote]…and 10 being “Miley Cyrus singing on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show a purposely bad cover of ‘Staring at the Sun’ to spite Tunde, Dave, and Kyp because they wouldn’t let her meet them backstage at the Grammy’.s” [/blockquote] So I am assuming you witness this decision firsthand. Wow, what connections you must have!. I’m not saying you’re exaggerating, but with contacts like that, who has time to post on pitchfork?
R. Kelly > TVOTR idd
I actually thought they did a really good job. I think an Arctic Monkeys song should have made the top 500 at least, probably not top 20, though. There are a couple of curious choices that certainly could have made way for better songs (Rachel Stevens??), but in most cases they got it right, and I?d be surprised if there aren?t 50 songs that everybody likes on this list.
And ‘B.O.B.’ is better than ‘Hey Ya’.
The extra lcd soundsystem and outkast songs should be replaced by The Moon by The Microphones and 3rd Planet by Modest Mouse
Thank you! The Outkast songs are right on, but two LCD tracks? All My Friends, sure, but Modest Mouse deserve a little more credit and higher placement than #39.
exactly what i was thinking, if they don’t put The Moon & Antarctica in the top ten albums of the decade i will lose all respect i had pitchfork
Moon is number 382 – so nowhere near the top 20. I think this song (in either version) should rank MUCH higher…
I’m just not sure why Pitchfork–and many more sites, critics, listeners, etc–include mainstream pop music that could also be classified as R&B or hip-hop but refuses to include country music. I’m not a country fan myself, I find it hard to believe that there wasn’t a single mainstream country song was one of the 500 best songs of the past 10 years.
I think they had the obligatory Johnny Cash in there. And I think they picked at least one fairly country-ish Wilco tune, if that counts.
But you have a fair point. I’d regard Patty Griffin (“Making Pies” or “Useless Desires”) and Handsome Family (“So Much Wine,” “Your Great Journey” or “A Beautiful Thing”) pretty highly if I were to make a list.
You are exactly right. But, they have to make sure they are “hip”, like every other fucking loser commenting on how good this list is. It is acceptably cool to like mainstream rap and hip hop right now in indie circles, so hence, no country and a top 20 that looks like it could have came from Vibe magazine.
totally agree. I’m not an aficionado, but Gillian Welch has a couple of great albums this decade, including her best, which is called ‘Time (The Revelator)’, and a lot of people seemed to like Van Lear Rose, although I didn’t think it was all it’s cracked up to be.
Also, JAZZ DUDE. WHY NO JAZZ?
Wow, this is one of the few legitimate points I’ve ever seen in contention to these lists.
Bravo sir, you’re right. Like another said, if I were to put together a list I’d have at least Patty Griffin (No Bad News),
No “Fake Empire”? That song was a game-changer.
As always with Pitchfork, the ranking seems entirely arbitrary, but their short write-ups for each song do a great job of placing both the songs and the decade in context.
Plus, the top 20 make for one hell of a mixtape.
WTF? No Neko Case in the top 100 (New Pornographers don’t count). This list is shit. Pitchfork, you are officially dead to me!
Really????????????
Overall, this list made it a fun week looking back at the decade in music…a decade where I went to college in 2001 and the start of me really branching out, in terms of music, from punk rock. This, of course, is directly related to spending hours on the internet, with my very own computer, downloading music in between classes.
Pitchfork’s Greatest 500 definitely has a lot in common with what soundtracked my decade, but, at the same time, far from my favorite tracks. I went jumped out of my for Black Lips’ “Boomerrang”. and dragged all my unsuspecting friends to Man Man and Deerhunter shows. This was also a decade of discovering older music. Stuff from the 60′s, 70′s, 80′s…Nuggets, Suicide, Sonic Youth, etc. (I could go on forever) .
I cringed every time I heard “Since You’ve Been Gone” at the gym and went rolled my eyes whenever I heard “Ignition”. But, those tracks where everywhere! And MOST people loved them! Like Pitchfork said, it’s like classic rock radio, it gets predictable what songs are going to up top because that’s how most people remember the decade.
For me, my hard drives resemble the my top tracks of the decade in music.
I think it’s only singles — the list title notwithstanding.
“Crazy in Love”? Ugh. Hey look we’re not snobs! We like shitty music, too!
as much as i hated “only by the night”, there should be at least one KOL song off of either “youth and young manhood” or “aha shake heartbreak”. i don’t really understand why p4k hates them so much.
btw where’s the arctic monkeys love?
The only crap I hear every blog go on and on about is Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and Dirty Projectors this year. Take note now people…they are vastly over-rated and none of these bands should be in the Top 20′s of anything at the moment. Maybe Animal Collective could be an exception but not with any of their new material.
I’m don’t think AC, GB, or DP are among the very best albums of the year (well, maybe DP), but that’s more a testament to how great a year in music it’s been than it’s a testament to how overrated those bands are.
I wouldn’t say overrated, I would say they get too much press coverage. Animal Collective pretty much splits critics and listeners. Grizzly Bear…Well, really doesn’t like them? Dirty Projectors, I don’t think they get that much coverage – at least not as much as AC and GB. I would also say that Radiohead get quite an excessive amount of coverage too.
Don’t get me wrong, I love these bands but maybe it’s time for another other talented bands to be in the spotlight. and please, not Wavves.
yea, that is extremely disappointing as is the snub of arcade fire – wake up
okay… my list.
number one-freeway by kurt vile
number two-cents by ty segall
number three- the turn around by thee oh sees
number four- okay nevermind… there’s my top three
Fair play on a lot of the choices….but really what is the motivation for smattering utter crap throughout the list like sweaty sewage drips on a perfectly clean sanitized toilet….i mean r.kelly, beyonce, rachael stevens, madonna….who are they trying to appeal to cos the people who buy those records certainly dont give a shit about pitchfork lists…..idiots
I hated this comment. Sorry.
Fair enough
I hated the comment too. So you find songs that find there way onto the radio shitty, thats fine, but certainly there is room among 500 songs for a couple of radio friendly songs. Also, why should you or Pitchfork care whether the people who buy the records read their blog? They can like a song and say they do, without needing the pander only to their fanbase. This wasn’t a “Top 500 songs of the decade which appeared on albums which our readers bought often” list. Also, I love R Kelly and Beyonce, so maybe I’m biased.
you’re gay
What a witty retort. No coming back from that one.
The boys of Swan Lake got shafted.
So true. Not to be the token “What about Dragonslayer?” guy, but “You Go On Ahead” deserved at least a little love. And Destroyer released his best works this decade, I wish they’d included him.
I’ll happily be that guy. I really think that Dragonslayer is the best album of 2009, and I could have easily put any of those songs in at least the top 100. And I definitely would have put I’ll Believe in Anything higher. But then I guess if this has taught us anything it’s that I’m not Pitchfork?
I don’t know…I think Last Nite definitely should have been on there…it defined the early sound of the Strokes and was the first song most people heard from them. I also think some of the Gorillaz tracks should have been higher up on there…Feel Good Inc. was everywhere for a while.
I think there should have been at least one mashup on that list. For a while there with Danger Mouse and his followers, that became a huge mid-decade trend.
A Stroke of Genie-us was on there.
Same with the Avalanches and Girl Talk
Who wants to come with me to buy the new Ursa Major, the newThird Eye Blind album?!?!
who’s got my .rar???
Without getting too caught up in what outranked what, I think it’s a good list. Depressing there’s no Aphex, not because I think anything from Drukqs belonged on there, but I feel like he should’ve done something this decade to warrant some honors.
Avril 14 was somewhere in the 500-200 range.
uhhh los campesinos!?
You! Me! Dancing! is on there
do you guys not bother to read these things before you complain?
My thoughts:
- I think “Crazy In Love” at #4 is way too high. Its not just because its a pop song, but I personally felt a whole lot of other pop songs could have been in that spot instead (“Since U Been Gone”.)
- On the topic of songs with “crazy” in the title, Gnarles Barkley was too high as well, for me. – Was Sally Shapiro represented at all?
- “Hey Yah!” should be number one, but that’s P4K going for obscurity to be hip for you.
- Other than that, a serious lack of The National, and honestly, how could you ignore the entire BRIGHT EYES phenomena that occurred early to mid decade?
I take that back. There’s a couple of Bright Eyes tracks on here.
“B.O.B.” is hardly obscure. It’s in the top slot because it’s a great song that alludes to the most significant event this decade.
The song came out in September,2000.
The invasion of Iraq was in March 2003.
The song couldn’t “allude” to something in the future.
While that’s true, the Gulf War took place in the ’90s, then there was the whole disarmament crisis right up until the invasion, so there has been a protracted period of unrest in Iraq. So it wasn’t simply by chance that Andre 3000 picked out those particular lyrics at that particular time. Not suggesting he prophesied the whole thing, but the lyrics were culturally relevant when he wrote it and became more poignant following the invasion of Iraq.
For a point of comparison, take Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’, it wasn’t written for the Civil Right’s Movement, but when it was later associated with it, it achieved a cultural significance it wouldn’t have otherwise had.
“a change is gonna come” was in written about the civil rights movement. well it was written in response to dylan’s “blowin’ in the wind” but it was certainly about segregation, etc.
I think his point is that when it comes to Outkast’s releases this decade, B.O.B. isn’t the most requested track someone is going to shout out of their’s. Hey Yah!, Ms. Jackson, Whole Wide World, Roses and Rosa Parks probably come to mind quicker than B.O.B. for most people. I agree that Hey Yah! bests B.O.B. because it pretty much was everywhere when it came out: pop radio, alternative rock radio, rap and hip hop radio and it made Outkast huger household names. The song transcended all genres, was hard to get sick of and everyone could love it. While B.O.B. has a social significance to it and was well written, I think Hey Yahs! immense success should override those details. Its not to say that success = better, but its not that often that a song like Hey Yah! brings the entire music world together.
That R. Kelly song is just incredible. Without Pitchfork I would have written off R. Kelly as mainstream crap. I was wrong.
…and your comment made me dig up that song and listen to it again. between the song’s undeniable flow and the memories the song brought up, i ended up with the kind of smile that sort of spreads across your face, and then suddenly you realize you’re really happy. so thank you, sir.
You’re right. I did not care for anything r.kelly did, but thanks to that list I am now addicted to that song. Good job pitchfork. 5 points.
I would have honestly believed that their best of the 00′s was a “worst of” list. My goodness. Why is their list for ’09 better than their list for the whole decade? Pitchfork mainly sucks.
This post would have been much more amusing if you had a picture of Nickelback on there instead of Animal Collective.
You know just to confuse the people before they see the list.
Everyone knows Radiohead’s “Life in a Glass House” was the decade’s best track.
That is an absolutely fantastic track. I seriously wish they had followed that direction and made a full length, instead of rehashing old ground on Thief.
MANY fewer. Not much. Jeebus.
Daniel by Bat For Lashes… no! The best song on Two Suns is Travelling Woman, much more catchy and evocative.
I’m surprised that Les Savy Fav isn’t anywhere on their list.
#241
And the Delgados
‘All You Need Is Hate’ was on there.
There’s more electronic music out there than two or three bands. P4K please walk over to Beatport or DJMag and have yourself a listen. There’s been some good shit in the last decade.
I have an idea. Chill and check out some of the tracks Pitchfork posted. You might find something you like, you might not. I hope that publications make lists like these to help people discover music they may never encounter any other way. They may do it for the inevitable contreversy, but only they know. MOST Publications, online and print, use the opinion of under 100 people (usually with inflated egos) to decide songs of the year and albums of the year. This particular list is a HUGE approximation that you shouldn’t get mad over. I could maybe understand if you are in a critically acclaimed band that got snubbed…nope I still see no reason to get mad.
Besides, this is a Pitchfork list. I cherish them for helping me find new and old music, but when it comes to criticizing stuff, I know they are aware of how prentiously dick they can be. That is why I like this site more, no review tab to get curious about and click on. I can lie and say I am not afefcted by reading someone else’s opinion of a record but that isn’t true. That is why I prefer this site’s heavy rotation tab. Sure, it is an opinion-based format but ,in MY opion, it isn’ as brash as the Pitchfork method. Alot of “independent” bands live and die by the words of PItchfork and it is sad. That is too much power
Sorry for being overly long, I am sure I am echoing what other’s have said/say/will say and thought/think/will think in the past/present/future. I am jumping off my soapbox off a cliff and into a sea of oblivion…
I actually like that we find P4K predictable these days. It’s not that common to find an indie rock, lo-fi publication (for lack of a better word) that incorporates rap, pop, r&b, metal, and other genres this organically. The inclusion of Since U Been Gone & Crazy in Love isn’t crazy; they’re just too high. Really, these are undeniably great pop songs; I just don’t value that that much if it doesn’t really kill like the chants on Cry Me a River, which achieves higher than A+ for me.
The only issues I have with the list was that it’s very hard to believe Daft Punk got that many noms while Radiohead got only 4 of 500.
I dislike the notion that no one over 30 or 40 makes music apparently. I guess Johnny Cash made the list (someone said it here; I don’t remember seeing it. I just hope it was Hurt–yes, a cover can be that good). It’s not like I expected RS level infusions of Springsteen & Dylan & whatnot, but there are a lot of great artists still rolling along quite nicely, not the least of which is Sonic Youth, who’s Anti-Orgasm could have credibly made it. Prince continually produces great stuff.
I liked seeing Madlib and Jaylib and MF DOOM early in the list; I thought the turntablists and more backpacky rappers would have more of a prescence here. Common’s “Be”, Blackalicious’s “Make you feel that way”, MF DOOM’s “Con Queso” or “Rap Snitches” (sorry, haven’t look at the liner in years, I just know it as that). any number of tracks from the Beat Konducta in India, Monch’s “What it is?”, the one from Def and Rick the Ruler on the album (Auditorium?), …..
….In other words, something not produced by Pharrell or Timbaland as good as they are. And something with a darn sight better rapper than whatshishead, the Madonna of rap: Hova or whatever. The most overrated artist of the decade if it wasn’t his wife. While we’re here on top 40 rap, why not “Hot in Herre” if all of the other uber rap hits make the list? Why Kelis? Isn’t she little more than Fergie? Why bury “Without Me” so low? There’s zero chance 99 Problems, which didn’t sound one bit new to anyone with a Def Jam album in the 80s, is 1/4 of that song, and Jay-Z could rap that song flawlessly to save his life.
Tonnes of genres left out, but at least consistently so. No Jazz or Salsa or world or soca or reggae or country or bluegrass or ………. Still, I liked how it wasn’t arbitrary. It wasn’t seeing an Allison Krause one song, only to never see the genre again. It wasn’t like there were a lot of crossover hits this decade, a decade of extreme segmentation.
Ali Farka Toure and Konono No. 1 both make the list. I haven’t parsed through the whole thing, but I would be surprised if Amadou and Mariam weren’t also represented.
NO DEERHUNTER????
“Nothing Ever Happened” was somewhere in the middle on the list.
True, but even that came with damning praise that Nothing Ever Happened is “easily their best song” which is a pretty fucked up thing to say about a band that Pitchfork has supported for quite a while now. I mean Christ, on the same album “Never Stops” easily trumps it in my book, not to mention Fluorescent Gray, anything off side 2 of Cryptograms, etc. all.
But as others have pointed out, pitchfork tends to eat their young on lists like this to appear “above the indie fray” so to speak. No use getting all worked up about a friggin *list*, bros…
also spring hall convert
I GUESS NOT!!!!
everyone knows they hate mars volta but if they were being subjective there could be a lot of songs off of deloused or frances the mute that should be included (or at the drive-in) for that matter.
it would have been nice to acknowledge some dc dance punk like q and not u (wonderful people or soft pyramids) or dismemberment plan (time bomb). without those dc dance punk bands there is no lcd soundystem (i think last year the village voice basically called lcd “a fat ryan adams covering q and not u songs” obviously in jest but funny)…remember the rapture are a band of dc kids who moved to nyc (the q and not u influence on echoes is really obvious).
it would have been nice to have some constellation bands on there also (‘god bless our dead marines’ by silver mt zion would be definitely deserving).
it’s kind of silly how they included so much pop and urban pop (rap)…if you’re gonna leave the ‘indie’ genre (which is what their site is devoted to)…you might as well include classical and jazz recordings. p4k should stick to what they know. it just makes their list less focused.
the rapture are from california, dude.
They are trying to justify themselves but it’s still stupid to declare the decade over halfway through the year. My guess here is that this list was compiled about two months ago.
Just like every other list, most of its problem rely on the order not the picks themselves. In my opinion, there were a few too many hip-hop songs. I didn’t read every single entry so if someone went through the trouble of copy/pasting every one of them and putting them list style, please post the link here. Thanks.
everyone knows Real Talk is R. Kelly’s greatest.
More National. Mr. November, All the Wine, Secret Meeting, Fake Empire & Geese of Beverly Road all deserve consideration.
The Walkmen’s We’ve Been Had should have been on there.
Not a single song from In Rainbows?
Kevin Barnes wrote some of this decades best songs also and deserved a couple more on this list.
Reckoner was on there, bro.
HEY EVERYONE! I found this list of the 500 songs with a test to determine how P4K would rate your musical knowledge:
http://blog.masslive.com/linkfarm/2009/08/the_pitchfork_500_coolometer.html
I’m familiar with only 93 out of 500 songs on the list.
That means I’m 18.60% cool.
I got 200 right for a 40% score. There may be more but titles get fuzzy when you are not a big fan of the songs and, on top of that, they were released some years back. I’m just such a musical geek.
To be honest, Pitchfork visited my last.fm profile and gave me a 7 for my song collection. (Seems that most of my favorite songs this year are getting a 7)
I was just thinking about a reasonable amount of Radiohead songs for the top 500 if representing different artists were still an issue, and I think I could have accepted 6-8. With that amount, the 8th would have been “There, There” or something from In Rainbows. Sincerely, Kid A and Amnesiac are that much better.
Like I say, too much rap at times, but that was the dominant genre of the aughts along with indie. Too much commercial rap is more likely.
Did Iron and Wine make the list?
Any Top 20 List that doesn’t have a M.G.M.T. song on it smells of failure.
Switch “doesn’t” to “does” and you will be correct.
Iron Woman- Devin Davis
King’s Crossing-Elliott Smith
several Russian Futurists songs
Cathedral 4- Castanets
Ever rotating sky- David Thomas Broughton
um, several Grandaddy songs
At least 1 Zu song
Universal Daughter- Jennifer Gentle
Redrum- Shining
Mount wroclai- Beirut
Jezebel- Iron & Wine
When it flows- Great lake swimmers
The good hand- Woven hand
ugh. It is not about “these songs were everywhere” bullshit. We were all there and were pissed when many of those songs existed. I guess the song of the 90′s should be My heart will go on?! That shit was everywhere yo! It should be about, as someone said, educating and maybe allowing for discovery of the best tracks. The list I provided was off the top of my head and I could add about 100-200 more that any American Idol dipshit could never touch. Sad. LCD Soundsystem is damned boring. My opinion but…damn. Really?!
I like this list. We can argue about the ranking but i see a lot of good songs (and personal favourites) here.
Wtf, no early Incubus?
Wrong site. Wrong list.
“B.O.B” is great, but not the best of the decade. Then again, taste is subjective and…who cares? it’s just a list. Fun way to pass the time.
I give this list a 6.8
I hate lists you guys
Would like to have seen more representation from the Super Furry Animals. Juxtaposed is a terrific song, but the pinnacle of their work this decade is probably ‘Frequency’, and it’s got the best example of Sean O’Hagan’s arrangement ability.
I like the position of “the Rat” in the top 20, though. “The Rat” is the most perfect four minutes of live music I’ve ever witnessed.
I give this list a 4.2.
They really snubbed the fuck out of The Microphones…
Seriously, 382 and 343? I’m hoping they value The Glow Pt. 2 and It Was Hot a lot higher as full albums, because this makes no sense to me. I also think both Chicago, Fake Empire and Wake Up should have been top 20, same with anything Modest Mouse. I was really hoping the top 20 of this list would redeem the rest of it for me but I guess not.
Also, where the fuck is Grouper?
:(
“They really snubbed the fuck out of The Microphones… ”
They did. It’s a bit sad really
And absolutely NOTHING from Ys?
Now that I can ctrl-F this shit I’m even more pissed.
AMEN. Definitely one of the best albums of the decade!!!
I made a profile just to agree with you. That album had an enormous impact on me and I have yet to find something quite as musically and lyrically beautiful.
I hope someone is uploading a file with all the 500 tracks to megaupload at this very moment.
That list is too damn long!
the regular “Paper Planes” ok. Not that I wasn’t annoyed by it, but the remix? That doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near the top 500. pitchfork has some good points, and some bad. #1 is perfect though. You’ll NEVER find a song better than BOB
Really? Crazy in Love is better than Idioteque? Really Pitchfork? Really?
Missing …The Greatest!!!
(by Cat Power)
Any track will do.
“Lived in Bars” at 210
Lived in Bars
Love it or hate it, Crystal Castles vs HEALTH “Crimewave” should be on it.
They only give Crystal Castles an inclusion with a demo song in the 470s?
Courtship Dating is the best Crystal Castles song.
Exactly, Andrew, exactly.
There’s not a single Radiohead song in their catalog that is worse than any single song Beyonce has been associated with. Automatically.
Just like the Grammies and the Oscars and a whole host of listers/award givers, though, P4K fears irrelevance not giving huge nods to the popular. Recognize that in this segmented age, we all heard Crazy in Love and found it catchy. Recognize that it was not the idiotic drivel of the Black Eyed Peas. But don’t put it over legitimate artists, such as Radiohead, artist of the decade for the 90s and 00s.
I like that P4K recognizes the undeniable like Cry Me a River from pop. It would have just worked better as a side-bar to the larger list to avoid the uncomfortable reality of putting Beyonce over Iron and Wine, Belle and Sebastian, Madlib, Madvillain, and really a tonne of artists. Say what you want about her, but Beyonce’s a star, not an artist.
Their write up on her gives her way too much credit. I read it with Alicia Keys in mind instead and it made much more sense.
Crazy in Love is like the musical equivalent of one of Bay’s Transformers movies. If you are going to have a song like Crazy in Love in the top 20 then how can Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” not be in the top 50? That song dominated when it came out.
The fact that any publications thinks they can narrow down the “best,” or “Greatest” 500 songs of the decade is pretty arrogant. I would’ve preferred them to call it, “P4K’s top 500 favorite songs of the decade.” There are a few great songs on here, I think they’re misplaced, though. Not a big deal, I’ve gotten used to taking Pitchfork Media with a grain of salt.
I hate that Pitchfork even thinks it’s ok for them to write a list like this
lists like these can’t possibly please everyone. one might even say it’s quite futile to even create a list within such a vast category without making it look like some arbitrary compilation that would satisfy no one’s music taste.
animal collective is such shit.
I can understand why people like them, but I don’t. I still think they’re overrated.
Pitchfork’s listen with a pen and paper in hand approach to evaluating music is a travesty. This is why standard guitar/bass/drum rock is admonished by them.
I WANT to like Animal Collective, but as the Most Disappointing Live Act I Have Ever Seen, I realize their rise is totally unnecessary and meant for a handful of hispters to enjoy. They are not meant for any kind of a larger form of public consumption than that.
um, Leaf House, Grass, Purple Bottle etc and you still have no idea why Animal Collective has nothing to do with sad hipsters? Really? Sung Tongs is one of the best albums of the decade yet you think it is only b/c needy hipsters?! Hipsters don’t like Animal Collective. Hipsters like whoever makes themselves look the ugliest while listening to some bad keyboard punk or some sad kid with an electric guitar who thinks he is using white noise to make a song. Hipsters are too busy putting sweat stains on their wife beaters and trying to tuck their dicks b/t their legs to fit into their jeans. Nothing to do with My Girls or Winters Love. You are confused my friend.
Um, no, you ARE a hipster if you love Animal Collective that much. You are a fucking idiot.
I don’t even think I listened to 500 songs that came out this decade.
That’s pretty sad. Get off this site.
Oh, fuck you, you humorless cock.
I’m sorry, but who is Annie, and why do we care about her song Heartbeat?
I have never heard, nor heard of, this song until today. When was it popular? Who was it popular with? Is it that great?
It’s a great song even though I like her song “Greatest Hit” more than “Heartbeat”.
I’m kinda surprised that they didn’t include any Nelly Furtado songs in their list. They seem to really like her singles back in 2006.
Also to the person that said there is no country music on the list, I saw some Neko Case and Loretta Lynn.
Over all it’s a pretty good playlist (well it would of been if Lala weren’t such tards and allowed listeners outside of the States to hear the music of their site). Some things don’t make sense like the high inclusions on their best of the year lists and none of them in this decade list. But I guess some songs define a year better than a decade.
i don’t know if this has been said yet….but i’m surprised there isnt more iron and wine….and where is Why?….overall…good list though….
I am disappointed in a number of songs that didn’t make the list or where I felt the placement was too low. With those that didn’t make the list, some I felt were excluded because they didn’t wan to put too many songs by the same artist on the list – which I think partly misses the point, because aren’t they after all evaluating simply the best songs of the decade, period, regardless of politics? Some just didn’t make the list because it’s pitchfork, so no matter how much I think some U2 or “Viva La Vida” or something unhip should at least be in the top FIVE HUNDRED songs of the decade, I understand the source and had a feeling they wouldn’t be there at all.
But….
That being said, I feel like the the top 10 is pretty solid. Even the ranking was well done (I didn’t think the ranking was well done everywhere, that’s for sure…”Two Weeks” was too low, for one)….the one thing I maybe would have changed – “Crazy In Love” should be switched with “Hey Ya” as the decade’s best pop single, or maybe Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (I could live with either of those replacing “Get Your Freak On” too but I understand the power that song has over critics….) Besides that though, solid top 10. Glad to see “Neighborhoods #1.”
Jay-Z!
Jay-Z!!
Jay-Zzzzzzzzz?
oh god what time is it?
im pretty sure there isnt one my morning jacket song on this whole list. that was honestly kind of surprising considering some of the stuff on this list. i thought there would have been at least one or two. what up? is it now cooler to say you like overplayed outkast songs than other stuff? maybe so…
i’m pretty sure golden by mmj is on there…and i think one other mmj song too…
There were two songs by MMJ. #450 and #402.
Seven Nation Army should have been there….
Some apt, some b.s., same as EVERY list mags/emags put out…trying to be non predictable n edgy, yet…failing haha. Yeah def some big omissions…n wheres Morrissey’s ‘The First of the Gang?!’ aka the best moz song since the 80s. N no Sounds? Eels, Blur, Broadcast, NASA, Kings of Leon, Goldfrapp…WHITE STRIPES?! …Yeah i’m pretty sure 5 20 something intern idiots just got together over drinks at the bar n came up with this shit w/out any double-checking n sent it off to the presses…sad, lazy.
(OH N SOMEDAY IT’D BE NICE IF YER WEB PERSON FIXED THIS BLACK/GRAY COMMENT SHIT THAAANKS S-GUM:D)
Can you guys really not bloody read a list before complaining? “Oh hei, why not mozxs first of the gang to die” – it’s on there! “No blur!” Ummm… except Out Of Time or whatever that shit without Coxon was called. Broadcast get two songs, White Stripes get at least 3, I know Lovely Head made it and I forgot but I think Strictly Machine could also have sneaked in.
But hey, lets not stop facts getting in the way of mental retardation and a need to complain!
the top albums better have more tvotr .. anyhow.. like it makes a difference what pitchfork thinks.. but some how they justify my opinions. but they are like a footnote in music
baaaaa.
Morrissey’s ‘First of the Gang to Die’ is #181. Blur: #378. White Stripes: #30, #58 and #116. Goldfrapp: #493 and #379. Did you even read the list?
I think a lot of stuff that seems like it got shafted in the singles list will be revived on albums.
It’s like with Moon & Antarctica. 3rd Planet is there to give props to M&A itself, but it’s hard to argue that’s it’s a million times better than every single other track on that album. Then, they take Float On, which actually was a big deal as a song rather than a part of Good News, and rank it high-ish.
“you belong with me” !!
2009 list is all indie rock, decade list is almost all hip hop. Identity crisis exposed!
That, or alternatively, it’s been a year with no obvious hip-hop or r’n'b singles worthy of making a pitchfork list. Hip-hop is notorious for pushing release dates till the latter months of the year and other than the DJ Quik and Kurupt album (highly reviewed by David Drake iirc) and some unofficial Gucci Mane mixtapes, there has nothing to really get behind. It’s not postering on Pitchfork’s part, there has just been very little good black music to spread the word about in 2009. I think they may have also even stopped doing their ‘this month in grime’ column.
(If this list had waited till this time next year, I think 9x Outta 10 by DJ Quik & Kurupt and Pretty Wings by Maxwell would have placed in the top 250 tbh.)
There are plenty of non indie or hip hop tracks that the history of pop culture will not forget. Starting at the most obvious, bands like U2 and REM are nowhere to be found. Anything that had never been reviewed by Pitchfork is nowhere to be found. This is essentially ten people’s favorite songs of the decade more than it is the best.
only one deerhoof song?