NFT's Favorite Songs of 2000 (80-60)

More ramblings from the 'tine.

80. Cooking - Duster

 

A nice little cruising song perfect for bike riding, car riding or played in your spaceship on the way to your new planet.

79. Fuck the Pain Away - Peaches

 

"Fuck the Pain Away" by Canadian musician, Peaches is a lusty little number will make you go "where have I heard this subtle song before?" Well, it doesn't matter. Thanks to film and television this song will forever live on in your subconscious.

78. Day One - Enemymine

 

Enemymine was a short-lived but just as loud drum and two bass noise trio. Starting as a godheadSilo side project, Enemymine explored a more drone-like style while continuing to test the limits of loudness on both the listener and themselves thanks to the extreme use of bass amplification. “Day One” in particular feels like garage rock projected through blown-out speakers with enough spazz in the vocals to attract the attention of 00's emo/screamo fans.

77. Drama in the Emergency Room - I Hate Myself

 

I Hate Myself released a 2 song demo on top of rereleasing their now-essential 10 song LP in 2000. Not everyone's cup of tea but the demo still makes for a nice coaster on your coffee table.

76. The Sea is In Here - The Mercury Program

 

A quick break from harsh vocals for second, here's some calming post rock straight from the sea.


75. 360 - Keelhaul

 

Originally released on Hydra Head Records in 2000, Keelhaul's clanky mathcore no doubt fits right in with Hydra Head's catalog. The topsy-turvy-ness of "360" feels more like a ship sailing aimlessly through 10 foot seas than an actual keelhaul. "360" is still a rough-ride never the less.


74. Give Me Some Reality - In Control

Don't let "Nardcore" fool you; "Give Me Some Reality" isn't some forgotten mish-mash of genres. Nope, it's just straightforward cali hardcore.

73. The Kindness of Automatic Doors - Helms

 

Proof that artsy spoken word can still be bouncy.

72. Don't Want to Die Young - Backfire!

 

Not sure why Backfire!’s 2000 album is all mixed up on Spotify and Youtube but from the scanned booklet via Discogs, lyrics for "Don't Want to Die Young" match up with the song by the same name and not "Still Dedicated" which also match up with the lyrics for that respective song. Either way, Backfire!'s Dutch hardcore 2000 output is a passionate tribute to the band's late guitarist Richard Bruinen, who did in fact die young.

71. Big Riff - Cave In

 

Naming a song "Big Riff" is a big commitment but Cave In of Methuen, Massachusetts deliver on the promise. "Big Riff" gets a little too prog rock for my liking, but come on, the song is from an album called Jupiter after all.

70. No Cigar - Meanwhile, Back in Communist Russia...

 

Talking instead of singing was apparently all the rage in 2000. Of the bunch, “No Cigar” a single from Meanwhile, Back In Communist Russia’s debut 2001 release Indian Ink feels the most like poetry in motion rather than an artsy gimmick. Last.fm listeners might remember this song the best as it showed up a lot on post rock radio stations along with being a free download for quite some time. There’s also the chance that you heard the name Meanwhile, Back In Communist Russia… via some buzzfeed “worst band names of all time” list as well.

69. Sex Jam Two: Insect Incest - Milemarker

 

Not the most welcoming song name but all boiled down, "Sex Jam Two: Insect Incest" is a very sleazy post hardcore, ummm, banger about sex and the way insects do it. 

68. Headlines - The Spirit of Versailles

 

Top notch screamo from an almost endless sea of screamo released in 2000. "Headlines" was originally released on a 7 inch split with Rise From Ruin (which just got digitally rereleased this year with the rest of The Spirit of Versailles' X Summer 1999 X recording session). 

67. Hold it Down - Madball

Set it Off for the new millennium.

66. I Love the Unknown - Clem Snide

 

Not the most overlooked pop rock song of 2000, but Clem Snide's little deadpan love song is a charming number originally panned by critics.

65. Bull Nakano - The Ultimate Warriors

Another wrestling song from 2000. This one is a lot more obscure in nature and in subject matter. Rather than Stone Cold or The Rock, here's a quick love letter to Japanese wrestling legend, Bull Nakano.

64. Mr. E's Beautiful Blues - Eels

Goddamn right this song was in Road Trip (2000).

63. Regieloser Film - Yage

Even with the rough start, this ripper challenges the "all screamo just sounds like Orchid" rhetoric with incredible bass and the shouting of unrecognizable French.

62. Conversations and Smokescreens - Kolya

Not to be outdone by other emotive spoken word jams of the day, two polished-up songs from Kolya's 1999 demo surfaced in 2000.

61. Roseability - Idlewild

This pop rock song from Scotland has no right being so catchy, but hey, a rose is a rose is a rose, right?

60. Time to Bounce - Tom Tom Club

"Who Feelin' It" from the end credits of American Psycho (2000) is fun and all, but "Time to Bounce" is really when TTC came into their own. Commercially and artistically.