1. “Idioteque” Radiohead (2000)
The year 2000 came and the world did not spiral into a Y2K apocalypse, but then Radiohead planted a bomb in the form of “Idioteque” off its masterpiece Kid A. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood crafted unrelenting electronic beats no other rock band would ever come close to as lead singer Thom Yorke wailed a warning of a vague, impending doom about the rise of oppressive governments, greedy businessmen and hateful terrorists in the coming years. “Idioteque” is prophetic, scary, just plain brilliant.
Radiohead’s track remains a record of a society in which all the worst fears come true and the impossible ways to cope with them.
2. “Hey Ya!” Outkast (2004)
In 2004, “Hey Ya!” was the song. Go anywhere and you were bound to hear it, whether it was from your grandmother’s car or your best friend’s stereo. It was pervasive, but unlike, say, “Boom Boom Pow,” “Hey Ya!” was actually good.
With this song, Outkast broke entirely from the group’s rap roots to walk into an undefined, brave new world of music. It is funk. It is pop. It is New Wave. It is soul. It is hip-hop.
Whatever it is, the song electrifies with the acoustic guitar strumming, jaunty beats and perfectly timed handclaps while Andre 3000 provides an instantly catchy hook with such cool and ease. No other song had the preps, jocks, nerds, hipsters, oldies and toddlers “shaking it like a Polaroid picture.”
3. “Get Ur Freak On” Missy Elliott (2001)
Rather than worry about the future of the new century, Missy Elliott cared about getting her freak on. With her partner in crime, producer Timbaland, Missy Elliott gives the world one heck of a headbanger with “Get Ur Freak On.”
Missy’s playful rhymes (Ain’t no stoppin me/Copywritten so, don’t copy me/Y’all do it, sloppily) and Timbaland’s adventurous hip-hop beats that riff on Middle Eastern sounds combined to form one of those in-the-moment songs that cab never be matched and, as Missy Elliott predicted, those that tried to copy it, did it sloppily.
4. “Paper Planes” M.I.A. (2007)
In the rubble of globalization, pirated music, terrorism and excess materialism, Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. burst out onto the music scene as a child of the times.
On 2007’s Diplo-produced “Paper Planes,” she loops a classic punk rock song (The Clash’s “Straight to Hell”), adds perfectly timed cash register rings and gun shots and makes a whip-smart indictment about prejudice against immigrants (If you catch me on the border/I got visas on my name/I get one in a second if you wait).
The single redefined world music, not as cheesy strings and flutes, but music, which truly crosses and connects boundaries.
5. “Maps” Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2004)
“Maps” is the precious diamond in the dirty, loud rough of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ debut album Fever to Tell. At first, it sounds like a mistake on the album. Too cliché. Too tame. But then lead singer Karen O achingly sings “wait/they don’t love you like I love you” and you fall into pieces. The song finishes with an explosion of swirling guitar notes and heavy, heart-pounding drumbeats, which would make any cynic believe in a thing called love.
What could have been cloying turned out to be into the best romantic song of the decade, reaching far beyond the indie-hipster base.