(t5!) Heroes Of The Zeroes: Singles 50-31

#50: Broken Social Scene – 7/4 (Shoreline) (2005): Sure titling the song with its time signature seems like a pretentious music major’s idea of a wink-wink joke. But, man, I have no idea how 14 established musicians could create something this fresh and airy.




#49: Gnarls Barkley – Crazy (2006): Inescapable at the time of its release. Even though it lost some its luster now, that Cee-Lo still soars with the most thrill-seeking aviator and that Danger Mouse still conjures up the most chilling collection of strings and synthetic harmonizing choirs.

#48: TV On The Radio – Staring At The Sun (2004): The best way I can describe it is that it sounds like it should soundtrack a reemergence scene of an apocalypse-type movie; sedated, motivated, and forward-looking all at once.

#47: Jay-Z f. UGK – Big Pimpin’ (2000): Before he came the self-proclaimed Sinatra of our generation and settled down with his B, Jay-Z had a penchant for “spending G’s” and living a “forever mackin’” lifestyle. It’s also his most detrimental single: “Big Pimpin’” was so good, mainstream folks forever attached him with this “money, cash, hoes” persona.

#46: Justin Timberlake – Like I Love You (2002): With help from The Neptunes’ synth flashes and funk percussions, JT jump-started his climb atop the peak of ultimate guy coolness.

#45: The Killers – Mr. Brightside (2004): If The Killers continued on this route, a synth-laden rock band that apes the likes of Duran Duran, they would’ve been the zeroes’ greatest mainstream band. Instead, they opted to channel in their inner Springsteen, and ruined the whole thing. Props also to the phenomenal Thin White Duke Remix

#44: CSS – Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above (2005): Which Death From Above? The friskily frolic evokes the NYC dance-punk label, while the swagger of its instrumental interlude suggests the Canadian indie rock duo. We’ll never know I guess, but both are represented befittingly.

#43: Twista f. Kanye West & Jamie Foxx – Slow Jamz (2003): The Luther Vandross “A House Is Not A Home” hook is every bit as unimpeachable as all the songs “Slow Jamz” pays tribute to.

#42: Vampire Weekend – A-Punk (2008): A Wes Anderson movie in music form.

#41: Battles – Atlas (2007): Who knew that an alien battle cry can sound so remarkable played on planet Earth? The onslaught my steering wheel undergoes when I put this song in the car, it’s unimaginable.



#40: Islands – Rough Gem (2006): All the toy synths and plucked violin strings cause me to jump around like a five-year old. Islands should’ve equipped the single release with a rattle and a lollipop.

#39: Snoop Dogg f. Pharrell - Drop It Like It’s Hot (2004): A trend-hopper throughout his entire career, Snoop hitched his wagon to Pharrell’s star—cold percussion and tongue clicks and all—to lengthen his relevancy long enough to launch his reality TV show.

#38: Ciara f. Ludacris – Oh (2005): The quintessential example of the sub-genre Crunk-N-B: grimy, tough, and uncompromising in a sexy way. Plus, it houses one of many all-star Ludacris' guest verses.

#37: LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends (2007): An unexpected offering from a man who made a living treasuring the scene and ridiculing those who doesn’t measure up to his hipster stature. Now James Murphy just wants all his friends back.

#36: Modjo – Lady (Hear Me Tonight) (2000): This is the perfect recipe: Chic sample as a riff (“Soup For One”), meditations about infatuation sung in a minor key, and a Parisian disco-house duo behind the wheel.



#35: Bloc Party – So Here We Are (2005): This song sparked a huge argument among my friends, about Bloc Party’s worth and about whether or not songs should be used in commercials. I just know that the guitar arpeggio sounds like a draft of happiness.

#34: Peter Bjorn And John – Young Folks (2006): It’s an endearing duet, and an endearing video, but it’s really the whistle hook that instilled the Swedish group in people’s brains.

#33: Amerie – 1 Thing (2005): Sometimes, calling something a “poor man’s” anything can be insulting. There should be a higher rung, like all the exuberant horns in “1 Thing” make it seem like the middle class man’s “Crazy In Love”.

#32: UGK f. OutKast – Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You) (2007): Two of rap’s greatest tag teams, partnering up to conquer the burdens of being a player, attacking it from all sides. It’s like The Hart Foundation and The Legion of Doom teaming up for the Survivor Series.

#31: Justin Timberlake – Cry Me A River (2002): As good as the doomsday synths and jittery Timbaland beatboxing, it’s greatest contribution to the zeroes is the fact that along with the video, it started Britney’s descent, which is arguably the greatest celebrity story of the decade. Revenge never sounded so resplendent.