Decade of the Year

2000: #9 - "South Side"

2012-06-28T13:43:00.001-04:00

There's not a whole lot to say about "South Side", the 2nd most awesome irritating song (or the 2nd most irritating awesome song?) of the decade (First prize!).

It's good. I bet you've heard it. I'm sure you've heard it. If you haven't, but like the idea of Gwen Stefani singing very loudly over a slightly annoying and bone-headed Brian Eno-ish song (think Zooropa, maybe?), then clicketh the embedded video forthwith.

If not, might I interest you in some post-punk? JK.

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(repost) 2000: #10 - "Shape Of My Heart"

2012-06-27T16:18:00.001-04:00

** NOTE: Tomorrow, DOTY returns with new material ** Is it possible for something to sound so state of the art, yet extremely safe and almost instantly dated? Yes, Max Martin knocked another one out of the park with "Shape Of My Heart", the 'Boys workmanlike power ballad follow-up to "I Want It That Way?", because it does still get the job done melodically, sonically, and even emotionally. I won't begrudge the fact that the song is perfectly crafted and tugs the right strings. But how come, even days after it came out, it sounded like something that had been around for decades, and the 2-year-old "I Want It That Way" was the trendy, new torch-bearer of teen pop balladry? Was that a testament to "Shape Of My Heart"'s timelessness, or a foreshadowing that the juggernaut was running out of gas? We all know what happened to Martin and BSB around the time Black and Blue and this song, its first single, came out, but they still seemed to be firing on all cylinders here. You be the judge.

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Glaring Admissions

2012-06-26T13:38:00.001-04:00

While I generally loathe commercial radio rock of the late 90's and entire 00's - with few exceptions, you won't see much of it in the archives, or even in the next few weeks when we cover 1997 through 2000 - it wouldn't be true to the spirit of the blog ("our favorite [radio] songs from 1980-2009") to exclude stuff just because they don't fit a laughably narrow definition of hipster-approved electro-pop.

Take the five tunes below, which I re-encountered while reviewing all my old research. Maybe they were never good enough to make the cut, even in retrospect, but with the fetid stench of less-than-mediocre post-grunge, humorously awful nu-metal, and pimply emo sleaze completely lifted (in favor of vapid ex-crooners gone techno and new-and-improved faux-indie haircut bands - yay!), we can now assess these songs from a safe distance on their (dubious?) merits.

Song: "Sour Girl" (2000)
Artist: Stone Temple Pilots
Ranking: Somewhere around #16 to #20

Why We Liked It: Definitely an enormous improvement over the half-baked fake-Nirvana acoustic crap ("Something In The Way" isn't that good, compared to the rest of Nevermind; why every post-grunge songwhiner felt the need to rip it off is beyond me) they peddled on their first album, and the logical progression from some of the dull, yet completely overwrought, folk experiments that marred Purple, "Sour Girl" revealed a band that was confident enough to pen a subtly melodic, deceptively melancholy ballad that didn't wallow in self-pity or bludgeon you with histronics, but still lame enough to over-earnestly take a stab at the Beatles.

Why It Didn't Make The Cut: Still felt like a huge step back from the nearly-perfected soft-rock, sugar-grunge we heard on songs like "Lady Picture Show" and the bridge of "Big Bang Baby" from 1996's Tiny Music. Something about it was too calculated for crossover chart success, including the overrated, overplayed, and kind of irritating music video. Enjoy!

Song: "Movies" (2001)
Artist: Alien Ant Farm
Ranking: #11-ish

Why We Liked It: Declaring that this band sucks goes without saying - these guys were like the junior high version of Papa Roach, who were already the junior high version of Incubus, who were basically a limp hybrid of Bon Jovi and Limp Bizkit. Seriously, AAF were nu-metal but they didn't even actually rap. Why even exist?

Well, clearly, to make DOTY's blog with this song, a deliciously bad concoction of early STP, mid-period Faith No More, and late-Bad Brains melodicism that ended up sounding like nu-metal's "Photograph" - maybe not quite as hook-filled, but solid enough for what it is, with even a few surprises (but not enough to make it toointeresting or inaccessible).

Why "Movies" - with its obvious, over-emoted, yet memorable chorus and decent chord changes (they throw something slightly weird into the chorus) - wasn't a bigger hit in its day remains a mystery.

Why It Didn't Make The Cut: Basically this.

Song: "Toxicity" (2002)
Artist: System Of A Down
Ranking: #13 or so in a light year

Why We Liked It: I really don't know. It's annoying. The melodies are hummable but very simplistic. Ugh, and the vocals. The guy can clearly sing (love the verses - call me crazy, but here they somehow remind me of these guys), and it's hard to argue with his politics, but, even worse than other left-wing idealogues with microphones and something to sing about, it sounds waaaaaay too much like he's just yelling at you. I listen to and love some bands with horrid-sounding vocals but this steps over the line of unpleasant and into "Seriously, stop yelling, please".

Why It Didn't Make The Cut: See above. Also, it wouldn't have sounded good on the mix CD. Still doesn't (I checked).

Song: "Can't Stop" (2003)
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ranking: no higher than #15

Why We Liked It: After putting out song after tired song of mid-tempo, middle-of-the-road, aging-journalist-baiting dreck for so many years, it was hugely refreshing to hear RHCP firing on all cylinders to do what they do best - rap limply over third-rate Gang of Four and Fugazi riffs!

Why It Didn't Make The Cut: The Chili Peppers have been so bad for so long (and, let's face it, were never really any good to begin with outside of their very first single, record nearly 30 years (!) ago, by Andy Gill no less) that it was easy to overlook this return to "form", whatever that means. Also, Anthony Kiedis sings on it.

Song: "Check My Brain" (2009)
Artist: Alice In Chains
Ranking: #20

Why We Liked It: In what seemed to be the final nail in the coffin of their limited relevance, Alice In Chains announced in 2009 that it was putting out a new album with a replacement singer for long gone original howler Layne Staley. Hadn't the world endured enough warmed-over fourth generation grunge with the first encarnation of Alice In Chains, not to mention their legions of even worse still imitators?

And without Staley's improbably depressing and awkwardly honest lyrics about slowly dying from heroine addiction, drawn uncomfortably from real life experiences, how could the band be fun anymore?

Basically, it's all about that low bendy thing in the uglier than ugly verses, and then how they seamlessly go from that mess into the super generic pop-grunge chorus that would make Nickelack blush. Anyway, it's a good song, for what it is, and relative to whatever else was coming out in 2009, it's fucking "Sweet Leaf" or something. Jerry Cantrell doesn't even play any hilariously out of place Hendrix-via-hairband solos!

Why It Didn't Make The Cut: It actually shouldn't exist at all. I think it's only decent because Alice In Chains' followers were so damn bad. Also, for a song that's presumably about the dumbing down of American culture it's really un-smart. Maybe that was the point, but look at these lyrics! The chords (in the chorus) are even dumber! They make a Creed song look intelligent and well-crafted.

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Re-Ignition

2012-06-25T14:12:00.001-04:00

Defying the odds, logic, expectations, and everything else you can possibly think of, Decade Of The Year is back after a two-year hiatus.

Did the music of 1980-2009 go away? Was it forgotten by our dedicated staff of writers in favor of pop music post-2009?

Of course not - being over 30 precludes us from listening to and/or liking anything that was on the radio beyond our 30th years of existence! Our undying focus continues to be our love for Top 40 hits from the first 30 years of our lives.

We promise to get back into it by:
* first, reviewing some notable omissions from our published lists
* recapping #'s 20 through 10 of 2000, with a special rehash of #10 to refresh your memory
* counting down #'s 9 through 1 of 2000
* compiling our top 20 of the 00's

See you soon!

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2000: #10 - "Shape Of My Heart"

2010-05-06T18:16:00.001-04:00

Is it possible for something to sound so state of the art, yet extremely safe and almost instantly dated? Yes, Max Martin knocked another one out of the park with "Shape Of My Heart", the 'Boys workmanlike power ballad follow-up to "I Want It That Way?", because it does still get the job done melodically, sonically, and even emotionally. I won't begrudge the fact that the song is perfectly crafted and tugs the right strings. But how come, even days after it came out, it sounded like something that had been around for decades, and the 2-year-old "I Want It That Way" was the trendy, new torch-bearer of teen pop balladry? Was that a testament to "Shape Of My Heart"'s timelessness, or a foreshadowing that the juggernaut was running out of gas? We all know what happened to Martin and BSB around the time Black and Blue and this song, its first single, came out, but they still seemed to be firing on all cylinders here. You be the judge.

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2000: 19-11

2010-05-04T11:00:00.005-04:00

19. "The Next Episode" - Dr. Dre
18. "Simple Kind of Life" - No Doubt
17. "It Wasn't Me" - Shaggy
16. "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" - D'Angelo
15. "Oops!... I Did It Again" - Britney Spears
14. "Shake Ya Ass" - Mystikal
13. "Never Let You Go" - Third Eye Blind
12. "It's Gonna Be Me" - *NSYNC
11. "You Sang To Me" - Marc Anthony

Has a band this terrible ever produced a song this good? Has 25 seconds (check 3:25 or so) of such a great song ever been so heinously bad that it almost ruins the song? Would said song be in our top 10 (or 5??) if not for said heinous "spoken word" section?

Edit: Quick shout out to those hugely dumb drums in "Simple Kind of Life".

Edit II: Also, Y2K is the first year on our blog where the producer of the year is not Timbaland, Kanye West, or The Neptunes. You go, unnamed person!

Edit III: Anyone who names the dude wins a prize.

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2001: 19-1

2010-05-03T21:19:00.000-04:00

2001: #1 - "We Need A Resolution"

2010-05-03T16:28:00.001-04:00

Few artists could pull off a song with the vague, unresolved tension of the unsettling, anti-hit "We Need A Resolution" without sounding, themselves, unsure or unsettled, but Aaliyah, armed as always with that confident swagger and unshakable ice-queen delivery, gets it done.

We spoke earlier about the triumvirate of this decade's female pop masterpieces ("Poker Face", "Say It Right", and this), and how each pinned down its place among the most mysterious, sexy, and most of all, melodic hits of our time; "We Need A Resolution" is far more about mystery and unanswered, open-ended angst than Nelly Furtado's gem, and clearly it's more sexy and less obvious than anything Lady Gaga could ever dream of. Thus, what it lacks in bombast and visceral appeal, it makes up for in terms of our more long-lasting, universal fascinations with doubt and confusion.

That a song titled "We Need A Resolution" could close with the following string of questions, amidst backward synths that unpredictably fade in and out of the mix, leave them unanswered, yet still feel totally complete, says a lot about Aaliyah and Timbaland's accomplishment.

Am I supposed to change?
Are you supposed to change?
Who should be hurt,
Who should be ashamed?(yeah-yee)

Am I supposed to change?
Are you supposed to change?
Who should be heard?
Will we remain?

2001: 19-2

2010-05-01T05:07:00.002-04:00

We'll finally get to the top track of 2001 tomorrow, but here's a quick recap and an opportunity to take a crack at the difficult task of guessing #1. The prize: every song we've talked about so far!

19. "Fiesta" - R Kelly
18. "Break Ya Neck" - Busta Rhymes
17. "One Minute Man" - Missy Elliott
16. "Ante Up (Remix)" - M.O.P.
15. "7 Days" - Craid David
14. "Ghost Showers" - Ghostface Killah
13. "I'm A Slave 4 U" - Britney Spears
12. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" - Jay-Z
11. "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" - Eve
10. "Hard to Explain" - The Strokes
9. "Is That Your Chick?" - Memphis Bleek
8. "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)" - Mystikal
7. "Rollout" - Ludacris
6. "Rock the Boat" - Aaliyah
5. "Get Ur Freak On" - Missy Elliott
4. "What's Your Fantasy?" - Ludacris
3. "Lick Shots" - Missy Elliott
2. "Ms. Jackson" - Outkast

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2001: #2- "Ms. Jackson"

2010-04-30T08:41:00.000-04:00

Ten times out of nine, a songsmith who chooses the heartfelt route will falter not necessarily by way of lyrical sentiment but in the arena of not-being-shitty. Who really wants to listen to a guy pouring his heart out apologizing for being misunderstood unless the beats and the rhymes are dope? With "Ms. Jackson", like a swirling pop-rap/funk combination of say, Prince and 2Pac, Outkast gets the tone totally right.

The layers of synths create drama but not melodrama, and the layers of imagery within the words evoke more than vague, simplistic angst - for the most part, we're listening in on the sincere, thoughtful, witty and painful musings of two grown men who just want to make good with their babies' mamas' mamas, using some of the more unique imagery in hip hop's history of course.

Favorite lines? We like the idea of apologizing "a trillion times", as if the quantity would help the futile situation; "I love your mom and everything, but..."; rhyming divided with invited with despite it; "puppy love" vs. "full grown" love; the house with the tire swing; the knee pads line; and of course the whole thing about the picnic.

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2001: #3 - "Lick Shots"

2010-04-29T08:47:00.000-04:00

Maybe it pales in comparison, as far as creative genius goes, to some of the bigger and more well-known Missy/Timbaland singles of the past two decades, but very few rap songs were as tight and hard (seriously) as "Lick Shots". It starts off with a well-put half-boast, half-taunt, that the "haters... made us more creative", and goes off on a spiky, staccato old school funk-rock, post-punk vibe that to us recalled Gang of Four as much as it did Prince. If "Get Ur Freak On" made us say, "Hmmm...", this one had us saying, "Yeah!"

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2001: #4 - "What's Your Fantasy?"

2010-04-28T04:31:00.000-04:00

Before he became a rap music stereotype, Ludacris could be counted on not only for silly, misogynistic party rap songs like "What's Your Fantasy?", but also for exquisitely stupid sex rhymes like "How about up in the library / On top of books". Seriously, I think this made it to #4 solely because of that line.

Well, to be completely fair, the beat is also pretty top notch. The percussion - skittering hi-hats and busy snares, a perfect complement to Luda's all-over-the-place hyperspeed vocalizing, especially effective as a lead-in to that one ruthless bass and kick drum blast which punctuates every measure - is note perfect, and the synths - a neverending and slightly overdone labryinth of dissonant yet catchy hooks of all flavors and textures - only add to the cartoonish fun.

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2001: #5 - "Get Ur Freak On"

2010-04-27T07:56:00.001-04:00

As inescapable as it was in late 2001, and as inescapable it was in late 2009 on Songs of the Decade lists, "Get Ur Freak On", with only 700,000 YouTube views to date, seems to have been slightly forgotten over the years. Perhaps modern music fans have all forgotten, after she became a Top 40 princess for the first half of the 00's, then experienced a half-decade of obscurity, how bad-ass Missy could be on the mic as a legitimate rapper.

Or maybe music fans grew tired of the once innovative but now mildly grating hook, especially after the bhangra style had been used and abused so heavily in the early part of the decade. That's hard to believe though, because even in hindsight, even after all the imitators, it still sounds far, far from passe.

Looking back, it's hard to believe it was a hit at all, being that its main percussion is the tabla, and the only Western instrumentation are keys that sound like cartoon laser guns - not exactly the type of stuff that'll typically get car stereos thumping. It was all very unique stuff to be sure, even for Timbaland, but it's Missy who really keeps us coming back, even after nearly 9 years, after the crazy oddness of the beat had wormed its way into our brains forever, for better or worse.

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2001: #6 - "Rock the Boat"

2010-04-26T19:52:00.000-04:00

The quintessential 00's slow jam, "Rock the Boat" enjoyed a somewhat inflated profile at the time of its release, due to Aaliyah's untimely death on a return trip from filming the song's video, and has since been relegated to the occasional spin on lite-soul radio.

Admittedly, after preparing to write about the 80's, where there were several standout electro-funk jams of this ilk every year, "Rock the Boat"'s status has been somewhat diminished in our minds as well.

But there was something about the incessant urgency of the vocal hook, literally repeated for four straight minutes, and the truly creamy, dream-like sound of the heavily phased guitars that made it feel more monumentally sexy than it deserved to be.

File under maximum make out music.

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2001: #7 - "Rollout"

2010-04-15T19:35:00.000-04:00

Is this really the first Ludacris sighting on DOTY? Did he, after 2001, suddenly abandon everything that made him worth paying attention to as a pop-rap singles artist? Not exactly. Luda's wit - which on the beefy, quintessentially Timbaland "Rollout" veered precariously between clever, unfunny, and self-parody - became so tediously stereotypical and outright dumb over the years that we weren't sure that it wasn't all a parody, until he started doing those hilariously bad PSA-type, serious songs in addition. Sadly, we're not likely to hear another like this from him again - the beat is accessible and dancey but not totally cheesed out, and it's strong enough to outweigh any of the lyrical silliness.

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2001: #8 - "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against The Wall)"

2010-04-14T21:01:00.001-04:00

Mystikal's vocal style can be a little grating (a cross between Busta Rhymes and Tom Waits?), which kept "Bouncin' Back" out of the DOTY Top 5 but he's got loads of personality; when his rhymes fail him, you can be sure that some sort of grunt or growl will be there to pick him up. He also benefited early on from some ingenious production by The Neptunes. As far as we can tell, they managed to recreate a perfect sweaty 60's soul/rock vibe without the use of any James Brown samples (or any samples at all), so they get this really eccentric-sounding version of golden era hip hop, which of course relied heavily on James Brown-esque samples.

The squealing trumpets that fade in and out sound like something Public Enemy or DJ Premier would have used. The snycopated horn melody in the chorus sounds like something from Eric B. & Rakim. And we're not the types of dudes who think live drums are better than drum machines, far from it in fact, but the one real benefit of live instrumentation here is the cool, snare mini-fill that precedes each chorus, right when Mystikal barks, "You keep". It really sets up your anticipation for the chorus and helps stands out from the rest of the song.

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2001: #9 - "Is That Your Chick?"

2010-04-14T11:32:00.001-04:00

Back when every rap hit sounded pretty much exactly like this, it was kind of easy to lose Memphis Bleek's masterwork "Is That Your Chick?" in the shuffle. Sadly, to our ears, this is one that should still be in rotation, as it's probably the most overstuffed, fast-paced version of a Timbaland/Missy collaboration you could ever imagine.

Maybe Timbaland was trying to outdo all the imitators and put this sound to rest. His beat stutters all over the place, with off-beat drums, cash registers, funky clav stabs, and a wide variety of bells, whistles and other synth squiggles.

Memphis Bleek brings his A-game, coming fast and furious with multi-layered rhymes like: "Damn Bleek, can't speak / Uh-huh, okay, what's up, SHUT UP / And close the door / Act like you been in the drop top / On the open road before / Fix your weave, then fix me / Ever gave head doing 160? / Ever seen a pair of kicks this crispy / How you love how the white wife beater fit me?"

Then it's Twista, who's not all that gifted lyrically but fine in small doses, who comes in and does his speedy thing.

Finally, on top of all that, Jay-Z and Missy show up to provide star power, with both icons doing their best to emulate Twista's style. Whew.

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2001: #10 - "Hard to Explain"

2010-04-13T17:30:00.001-04:00

We've already ranted about the hyperbole thrown at The Strokes' debut album Is This It?, so we won't begrudge them that here (much). "Hard to Explain" wasn't the coolest song on the album (that honor goes to the verrrrry retro-sounding "The Modern Age"), nor was it the catchiest (the Petty-esque "Someday" takes that title), but overall we think it was the most unique. Not that it was innovative in any way; it simply blended all the forerunners to The Strokes' brief run as band du jour into the best compact distillation of what they were all about - jittery Feelies/Talking Heads-style New York faux-punk/new-wave, lock-step radio-friendly pop-punk drumming straight out of cash-grab-era Ramones albums, simple yet effective Television-cum-indie-rock guitar leads, and vocals and lyrics that emulate typical post-punk, college rock self-flagellation and loathing at one moment, and post-modern self-awareness the next.

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2001: 19-11

2010-04-10T19:47:00.001-04:00

19. "Fiesta" - R Kelly
18. "Break Ya Neck" - Busta Rhymes
17. "One Minute Man" - Missy Elliott
16. "Ante Up (Remix)" - M.O.P.
15. "7 Days" - Craid David
14. "Ghost Showers" - Ghostface Killah
13. "I'm A Slave 4 U" - Britney Spears
12. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" - Jay-Z
11. "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" - Eve

In a very strong year, it'd be hard not to mention everything great we heard - the laid-back, pre-party-funk of "Fiesta"; "Break Your Neck" and "Ante Up", two old school New York headbangers, both featuring Busta Rhymes; Missy's catchy and conventional (for her) "One Minute Man"; Craig David's cute Brit-dance-popper "7 Days" featuring the cheeky line "...We chilled on Sunday" (they'd made love Wednesday through Saturday, needed a break); the first of many appearances on DOTY thus far by any Wu-Tang Clan member (Ghostface's "Ghost Showers"); and the last by Kanye (he produced Jay's "Izzo").

We'll leave you to ponder 2001 with the important R&B/hip hop makeovers of two very disparate artists - Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani. Britney used The Neptunes' slinky late-80's Prince-lite beat to establish herself as a sexy, adult solo artist. Too bad a forthcoming single negated all that.

On the other hand, Gwen managed to ride Eve's coattails into some unexpected hip hop and R&B cred, becoming more of a Madonna-esque shape-shifter over the next half-dozen years than Britney ever was.

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2002: 20-1

2010-04-09T22:02:00.001-04:00

Almost finished with the 00's!

18. "The Whole World" - Outkast
17. "Underneath It All" - No Doubt
16. "Dilemma" - Nelly
15. "Oh Boy" - Cam'ron
14. "No One Knows" - Queens of the Stone Age
13. "When the Last Time" - Clipse
12. "Girlfriend" - *NSYNC
11. "Hella Good" - No Doubt
10. "Nothin'" - Noreaga
9. "Provider" - N.E.R.D.
8. "Like I Love You" - Justin Timberlake
7. "Hate To Say I Told You So" - The Hives
6. "8 Mile" - Eminem
5. "Oops (Oh My)" - Tweet
4. "More Than A Woman" - Aaliyah
3. "Grindin'" - Clipse
2. "Work It" - Missy Elliott
1. "Lose Yourself" - Eminem

Artist of the Year: Eminem
Producer of the Year: The Neptunes

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2002: #1 - "Lose Yourself"

2010-04-09T06:04:00.007-04:00

Two other things Eminem did right in 2002 - very right, almost to the point of making them his own art form - were the use of unique meters in his rhymes, often syncopated with the beat; and in "Lose Yourself" what was perhaps the apex of "bending" the phonetic pronunciation of words in order to match many syllables in a rhyme scheme. It starts out: "His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy / There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti / He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready" and never lets up.

Rakim and Big Daddy Kane started it all with polysyllabic rhymes on tracks like "Follow the Leader" and "Ain't No Half Steppin", and Nas and AZ took it to the next level on "Life's A Bitch", but here, Em takes those influences and carries rhyming not only to its next logical step but almost to the breaking point of what hip hop and language are capable of.

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2002: 20-2

2010-04-07T23:58:00.000-04:00

Guess #1 and win the mix disc. If you were paying attention, you will win (we literally gave it away).

18. "The Whole World" - Outkast
17. "Underneath It All" - No Doubt
16. "Dilemma" - Nelly
15. "Oh Boy" - Cam'ron
14. "No One Knows" - Queens of the Stone Age
13. "When the Last Time" - Clipse
12. "Girlfriend" - *NSYNC
11. "Hella Good" - No Doubt
10. "Nothin'" - Noreaga
9. "Provider" - N.E.R.D.
8. "Like I Love You" - Justin Timberlake
7. "Hate To Say I Told You So" - The Hives
6. "8 Mile" - Eminem
5. "Oops (Oh My)" - Tweet
4. "More Than A Woman" - Aaliyah
3. "Grindin'" - Clipse
2. "Work It" - Missy Elliott

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2002: #2 - "Work It"

2010-04-07T13:35:00.001-04:00

While we're on the subject of songs that heavily borrow from classic hip hop without being a tired retread... "Work It" was the song that prompted many (well, three or four) people to ask me, "Hey, what's that sample?" Usually they were referring to the "Peter Piper" loop (itself a sample of "Take Me To the Mardi Gras" by semi-obscure jazz-fusion artist Bob James), but there's also a nearly unrecognizable Blondie hook in there, too.

"Work It" also has the official distinction of being Billboard's longest running #2 song that never reached #1. Oddly, it's kept out of the DOTY top slot by the same song that stifled it on the charts. Unofficially, it's one of the top five oddest sounding #2 song in chart history, and the strangest of all Missy's hits, which is certainly saying something. It's basically a bunch of very subtle percussion elements, siren wails, deep keyboard rumbles, onomatopeia, lyrical non sequiturs - the most noteworthy of which often punctuated by stops and starts in the rhythm track - and backwards vocal hooks, all thrown together, and then wrapped up in the end by the aforementioned Run D.M.C. sample, but, thanks to Timbaland and Missy, it works.

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2002: #3 - "Grindin"

2010-04-06T20:55:00.002-04:00

It's fitting that the highest ranking Neptunes song on DOTY thus far is a track that sounds the least like typical Neptunes. There are no funk guitars, the drum sound is more robotic than live, and the synths are minimal - they still represent the biggest musical hook, but they're strangely percussive and faded way in the mix. If you weren't aware of the lyrical trends in hip hop (or Clipse's cocaine metaphors), you might think this had come out in 1988 or so. All that's missing is some scratching. Even Pharrell's falsetto is limited to a moment that is far more Kool Keith or Biz Markie than his usual Curtis Mayfield via boy band.

What makes it more than another retro rehash is the super punchy and oddly brutal drum sound that comes in on the offbeat late in each measure - amidst the typical crisp snares and handclaps you have this triple gunshot blast that comes out of nowhere. Put that in the mix with the cold, spaced-out synth hook and an eerily whispered refrain and you have a minimalist song that makes you feel like you're right there with the Clipse crew, without really glorifying their supposed profession with too much flash and bling.

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2002: #4 - "More Than A Woman"

2010-04-04T23:44:00.003-04:00

Aaliyah, with the help of Timbaland, has been lauded in the pop music community and beyond for her willingness to experiment. Never gimmicky or fussy, sometimes, if you blink, you'll miss what all the fuss is about, like on the ultra-smooth soul throwback "More Than A Woman". The beat stops and starts, building to climaxes and comedowns every measure. The musical hook is an appropriated melody straight out of India, but it doesn't feel intrusive like a lot of more recent Bhangra-influenced songs are. There are layers and layers of different synths, from heavy, "dark" sounds to electro-funk bells and blurts - they almost bury the vocal non-hook, which is an afterthought sung by a chorus of backup Aaliyahs, as if it goes without saying that Aaliyah is what she says she is.

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