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Top Ten Singles, 2000
The year's best individual songs, to my ears, released as radio or club tracks in the U.S. or Europe in 2000.
What constitutes the "best?" For singles, it's the music that wouldn't leave my head, that got my lily-white booty shaking, that I learned to sing along to, that I forced all my friends to hear, that I associate with the scenes and moments of the year gone by [in brackets].
That said:
1. "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)," Spiller. The sexiest, smoothest song of the year, and the soundtrack to pretty much everything in London this summer. It's a shame American pop radio doesn't play this kind of music. [moment: wandering London in the August sunshine]
2. "Sour Girl," Stone Temple Pilots. The best rock single of the year, off STP's 1999 release (I'm cheating here). Almost perfect. [moment: driving to and from New York in my car, alone, not singing along so I can hear every note]
3. "It Wasn't Me," Shaggy. A riotously fun tale, fresh-mouthed yet innocent and instantly stuck in your head. Guest vocalist Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent is a real find. [moments: my brother playing the song for me the first time; my boss publicly reprimanding me for playing it too loud; my mother singing the fresh lyrics along with the radio in Florida]
4. "Music," Madonna. The reigning pop diva shows she's still a step ahead of the pack. [moment: hanging in Edinburgh with Peter, hopscotching all over the Fringe Festival]
5. "B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)," OutKast. "Ms. Jackson" will be the one to push Outkast over the top, but this track got me first, in all its rump-shaking glory. [moment: shaking my booty in Steve's apartment while swapping burned CDs]
6. "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)," Modjo. Similar to "Groovejet" in sound and timing, but a tremendous first single by this French duo. [moment: every summer morning in my London hotel, waking up to Chris Tarrant on Capital FM, along with Mary Mary's equally catchy "Shackles (Praise You)"]
7. "This Time Around," Hanson. If rock radio would play these kids this track would be a huge hit with Queen and Styx fans, and I mean that in a good way. [moment: getting comfortable at my second desk at Economist.com]
8. "Rock DJ," Robbie Williams. Pure pop, bouncy and fun, and with a killer video too. [moment: laughing over berry tea smoothies with coworkers in the U.K.]
9. "E.I.," Nelly. I somehow missed the frenzy over "Country Grammar," but this track may be an even better showcase for Nelly's unique voice and his ear for a great hook. [moment: enjoying the warm winter weather on Longboat Key]
10. "Never Gonna Come Back Down," BT. Because it was good to hear M. Doughty's voice now that Soul Coughing is gone. A catchy dance track, too. [moment: capitalizing on the amazing Urban Fetch service]
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