What an odd era for pop music. Y2K having come and gone with barely a whimper, the last traces of the monoculture collectively shrugged. Teens (and more likely preteens) bought into boy bands by the bushelful, boomers made Carlos Santana into a bigger star than he had ever been before and somehow, the dregs of Creed, Lonestar and Vertical Horizon all topped the Hot 100 (as did to be fair Destiny’s Child, Aaliyah, and for the last time, Madonna.) Few exceptional new talents seemed to emerge—just look at Shelby Lynne’s Grammy win for Best New Artist a full six albums into her career, pop-crossover or not.
I kicked off the year 2000 by falling madly in love with another person for the first time, so titles like “I’m Outta Love” and “Leavin’” feel somewhat ironic now (or perhaps just a then-dormant harbinger of what was to come in 2001-2002.) I’ve left out most of the top 40 hits I strongly associate with this time since I no longer go out of my way to listen to many of them; apart from the flop Madonna single (one of her most underrated), very little of this got any radio airplay, at least in the US—“The Time is Now” hit number two in the UK, “Bohemian Like You” was also huge there thanks to its inclusion in a mobile phone ad, while “Tell Me Why” is still Saint Etienne’s (even as a featured artist) only top ten hit in their homeland (their own insanely ambitious single “How We Used To Live”, also from the same year, did not trouble the charts.)
As usual, in a perfect world so many of these songs would’ve been smashes—The New Pornographers’ clarion call (greatly assisted by the incomparable Neko Case), Sleater-Kinney’s peppy, hipster-bashing anthem, PJ Harvey’s irresistible primal stomp, even weirdo duo Ween’s straightest pop song ever. Speaking of weirdos, they’re well represented here too: Bjork’s Dancer in the Dark duet with the lead singer of Radiohead (who themselves that year released possibly the strangest album-to-date to debut at number one), Yo La Tengo’s stoned-and-slowed down cover of an early song co-written by Henry “KC” Casey, and most of all, The Avalanches’ sui generis cut-and-paste extravaganza which I’d argue no one has since surpassed in terms of pure invention and wit.
It’s worth noting that in 2000, I spent a lot more time clubbing than I have before or since, hence the inclusion of an epic Toni Braxton remix with its unusual but masterful extended flamenco breakdown. This exact version instantly brings back many a Saturday night spent dancing at the old Man Ray in Cambridge’s Central Square, sipping sugary cocktails and shamelessly making out on the dancefloor. Oh, I was so young and innocent back then…
2000: Tighten Your Buttocks, Pour Juice On Your Chin
- The Dandy Warhols, “Bohemian Like You”
- Anastacia, “I’m Outta Love”
- Shelby Lynne, “Leavin’”
- Aimee Mann, “Satellite”
- Moloko, “The Time is Now”
- Sleater-Kinney, “You’re No Rock N’ Roll Fun”
- Paul van Dyk with Saint Etienne, “Tell Me Why (The Riddle)”
- Bjork and Thom Yorke, “I’ve Seen It All”
- Ween, “Even If You Don’t”
- Madonna, “What It Feels Like For a Girl”
- Toni Braxton, “Spanish Guitar (HQ2 Club Mix)”
- Blur, “Music is My Radar”
- Yo La Tengo, “You Can Have It All”
- Belle and Sebastian, “Don’t Leave the Light On Baby”
- Bebel Gilberto, “August Day Song”
- Nelly Furtado, “Party”
- PJ Harvey, “This is Love”
- Badly Drawn Boy, “Bewilderbeast”
- The Avalanches, “Frontier Psychiatrist”
- Stew, “Cavity”
- The Weakerthans, “My Favourite Chords”
- Calexico, “Service and Repair”
- Air, “Playground Love”
- Sade, “By Your Side”
- k.d. lang, “When We Collide”
- The 6ths feat. Katharine Whalen, “You You You You You”
- Saint Etienne, “How We Used to Live”
- Patti Smith, “Glitter In Their Eyes”
- Morcheeba, “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day”
- The New Pornographers, “Letter From an Occupant”
- Jill Sobule, “Rock Me to Sleep”
Haunted Jukebox 