A double vote in round 1 was enough to get our next track into the final round where it performed well to appear on another 6 lists and scoring 37 more points along the way. We can all enjoy our next reveal in 7th place........ 7TH PLACE WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN ARCTIC MONKEYS 1st Round: 2 Lists / 15 Points Final Round: 6 Lists / 37 Points Total: 52 Points Released: 16th January 2006 Album: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) FF's Greatest Song Position: 11 Genre: Alternative/Indie; Pop; French Indie Highest UK Chart: 1 Highest US Chart: N/A And for one final time in our Noughties Best Of, the Sheffield boys are back again. This one nearly claimed a top 10 finish in the Greatest Song of All Time but is the 2nd highest song from that list to re-appear in this list and goes one better with a top 10 finish this time around. This is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys and is the 2nd single to be released from their debut studio album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. The song is about prostitution in the Neepsend district of the bands home city of Sheffield and is narrated from the point of view of a concerned individual who is approached by a scantly-clad girl, heavily implied to be a prostitute. He then observes a "scummy man" who has been hanging around and originally the song was known as "Scummy" by the band before it was planned to be amended to just "Sun Goes Down" before it received its final title. The repeated use of the line "they said it changes when the sun goes down around here" in the chorus is said to reflect the difference in how the city looks during the daytime and then at night time. The song also references The Police song "Roxanne", another song about prostitution, in the line "and he told Roxanne to put on her red light". The song performed superbly in the UK charts, peaking at number 1 in both the UK Singles Chart and the UK Indie Chart and also taking top spot in Scotland as well. It is officially certified as 2x platinum in the UK having sold in excess of 1.2 million copies. Where did the song get its votes from? 1st Round: @Si Robin (8pts) & @BleedsIsDead (7pts) Final Round: @Habbinalan (6pts), @SkyBlueMatt (6pts), @Si Robin (10pts), @Ollie (3pts), @Vito Andolini (4pts) & @BleedsIsDead (8pts)
The next song is one that appeared on a joint 2nd high of 3 lists in round 1, one of which was a top scoring vote, bagging 23 points and finishing 3rd at the end of the 1st round. It continued to perform well in the final round of voting and picked up another top scoring vote along with another 5 votes to add 36 points to its 1st round tally. Just missing out on a top 5 finish is........ 6TH PLACE LOSE YOURSELF EMINEM 1st Round: 3 Lists / 23 Points Final Round: 6 Lists / 36 Points Total: 59 Points Released: 28th October 2002 Album: 8 Mile (2002) FF's Greatest Song Position: N/A Genre: Hip-hop/Rap; Pop; Rap Rock; Rap Highest UK Chart: 1 Highest US Chart: 1 A popular artist in this era as proven by the level of voting as it finishes as the 6th best song of the noughties. From the soundtrack album to the movie 8 Mile, "Lose Yourself" is a song by American rapper Eminem and was the lead single from the album. Written by Eminem himself, it was a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Top 100 along with reaching the top of the charts in 18 other countries around the world. The artist has said previously that this song was written during filming breaks whilst 8 Mile was being produced with other cast members of the film commenting on how Eminem was writing this song at every opportunity he had in gaps between periods of filming and the sheet he used to write the song on actually ended up appearing in the movie, in a scene where Eminem is seen riding a bus. The song's lyrics relate to the background of Eminem's character in the movie and it encompasses several aggressive themes which deal with the struggles dealt with by the movie character and how he eventually overcomes these struggles, growing to earn the respect of other rappers. The song received widespread critical acclaim with many critics stating it was Eminem's best work to date. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the song's production: "The opening track and first single [from the 8 Mile soundtrack] "Lose Yourself" is easily equaled by the title song with its layered pianos". NME magazine were equally complimentary of the song: "Eminem's urgent radio hit 'Lose Yourself', you already know. It's excellent, if obviously an offcut from 'The Eminem Show', all thundering rawk guitars and Rocky-ish bassline (appropriately enough)." Having performed so well in charts around the world, the track also become a Grammy winner when it claimed the Academy Award for Best Original Song which made it the first hip hop song to receive this award and also followed this up by picking up the Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance as well. It has also been certified Diamond in the US having sold over 10 million copies. Where did the song get its votes from? 1st Round: @Tomohawk (1pt), @StretfordEnd (12pts) & @Vito Andolini (10pts) Final Round: @StretfordEnd (10pts), @Tomohawk (5pts), @Vito Andolini (12pts), @Burg (2pts), @Machida (2pts) & @BleedsIsDead (5pts)
And that's your lot for tonight. 5 songs left to reveal and that will happen tomorrow night from 8pm. Tune in then to find which track is FF's Best Song of the Decade for the Noughties! For now though the live running list and Spotify playlist in the OP are now fully up to date.
I understand the swear filter is a thing, but entirely deleting my post because a gif had the word f*cking in it seems a bit mental when the post before is the video to Lose Yourself. Anyway, to sum up my point without Didier Drogba memes; The Way I Am > Lose Yourself.
And for one more time.............let's see what comes out in the reveal tonight! Oh wait, we know what is coming out, but let's find out the order they come out in as we find out who is FF's Best Song of the Noughties
And getting our final reveal underway is one that made it through the first round with a couple of high scoring 1st round votes and then went on to become one of the most popular tracks in the final, appearing on a joint high 10 final lists and compiling a total of 46 points. The 5th best song of the Noughties (according to FF members) is........ 5TH PLACE MR BRIGHTSIDE THE KILLERS 1st Round: 2 Lists / 18 Points Final Round: 10 Lists / 46 Points Total: 64 Points Released: 29th September 2003 Album: Hot Fuss (2004) FF's Greatest Song Position: 9 Genre: Alternative Rock; New Wave; Dance/Electronic; Pop Rock; Synth-Pop; Rock; Alternative/Indie; Power Pop Highest UK Chart: 10 Highest US Chart: 11 A song that will remain legendary for decades to come, and definitely worthy of a top 5 finish, "Mr Brightside" is the debut single of American rock band the Killers and is one of the first songs the band ever wrote. It is taken from their debut album Hot Fuss and was originally released in September 2003 but remarkably it was only when it was re-released in 2004 that it actually caught the world's imagination. It remains the bands biggest success in the US having sold over 3.5 million copies and, after being a slow burner in the US, peaking at number 11 in the Billboard Chart and having reached a high of number 10 in the UK Singles Chart, it also remains in the top 100 of this chart to this day having spent 7 years in the top 100. It is the 2nd most streamed song on Spotify from the 2000's and has appeared on 2 separate Rolling Stone best song lists! It also claimed a top 10 position on the FF Greatest Song of All Time list and is the highest placing song from that list to appear in this list. The song is a story of jealousy, paranoia and betrayal which Brandon Flowers wrote having found hhis girlfriend cheating on him in a bar in Las Vegas. "I was asleep and I knew something was wrong," he said. "I have these instincts. I went to the Crown and Anchor, a bar in Vegas, and my girlfriend was there with another guy." The song was well received by critics with The Washington Post being the first to comment when they stated "dashing through the tune as if it were a power ballad on speed, Flowers and company had the capacity crowd pulsing along with glee." and having first performed the song live in Las Vegas, the locals loved it straight away with one saying it is a "feel-good anthem that ranks as one of the best local tracks in a long time" - words I am sure a lot of us would use for this track. It is safe to say that this song has built a legacy and remains popular in all sort of locations, particularly as part of playlists at any party or social gathering. Equally though it has appeared in many TV shows and also a bit of a club anthem for the Michigan Wolverines football fans where in excess of 100,000 fans sing-a-long to the track during the 4th quarter of their games - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s8CUgyIvb4Y It has been said that this is the song that just won't go away and I suspect that this is going to be factual for a long time to come. Where did the song get its votes from? 1st Round: @Tomohawk (8pts) & @StretfordEnd (10pts) Final Round: @StretfordEnd (7pts), @Tomohawk (7pts), @Habbinalan (2pts), @SkyBlueMatt (1pt), @Si Robin (4pts), @Ollie (10pts), @Burg (1pt), @Machida (1pt), @Joga bonito (8pts) & @RedDevilsShinja (5pts)
Next up is a song that finished 2nd after the 1st round of voting having bagged 24 points, without a top scoring vote, across 3 different lists. It then went on to grab the attention of more and more people in the final round, finishing with 8 votes and 45 points to add its 1st round tally. The 4th best song of the Noughties (according to FF members) is........ 4TH PLACE SOMEDAY THE STROKES 1st Round: 3 Lists / 24 Points Final Round: 8 Lists / 45 Points Total: 69 Points Released: 5th August 2002 Album: Is This It (2001) FF's Greatest Song Position: N/A Genre: Alternative/Indie Highest UK Chart: 27 Highest US Chart: 17 (Alternative Airplay Chart) This one caught me by surprise in the 1st round of voting when it reached 2nd place, but clearly it has its fans based on its performance throughout the competition and is deserving of such a high finish. "Someday" is a song released as the final single from American rock band, The Strokes' debut album, Is This It. The song performed well on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at number 27 in the UK Singles Charts and 17th in the Alternative Airplay Billboard chart in the USA. It has also appeared on a number of "best of" lists including Pitchfork's 200 Best Songs of the 2000's where it ranked at number 53 and The Independent newspaper ranked it as the third best Strokes songs of all time. The music video for the song featured appearances from other musicians including Slash, Duff McKagen & Matt Sorum who has been a part of both Guns N' Roses & Velvet Revolver down the years. The song has also been used for other means such as appearing in the 2006 movie Click and also being sampled on Rhymefest's song "Devil Pie". More recently it has been used in the TUI adverts in the UK. Where did the song get its votes from? 1st Round: @Burg (6pts), @JoshBCFC (10pts) & @Machida (8pts) Final Round: @Habbinalan (5pts), @SkyBlueMatt (5pts), @Panja (1pt), @Ollie (8pts), @Burg (7pts), @JoshBCFC (10pts), @Zydus (1pt) & @Machida (8pts)
We now reach the song that finished top of the pile after the 1st round of voting having appeared on no less than 4 lists and racked up 27 points. It then continued to pick up votes in the final round of voting, finishing with 45 points across 8 lists. The 3rd best song of the Noughties (according to FF members) is........ 3RD PLACE BACK TO BLACK AMY WINEHOUSE 1st Round: 4 Lists / 27 Points Final Round: 8 Lists / 45 Points Total: 72 Points Released: 30th April 2007 Album: Back to Black (2006) FF's Greatest Song Position: N/A Genre: Soul; UK R&B Highest UK Chart: 8 Highest US Chart: 55 (Digital Songs Sales Chart) A real classic, despite a sombre back-story, and this one rightfully claims a top 3 finish. Another song inspired by a relationship breakup "Back to Black" is a song by the late Amy Winehouse and was the 3rd single to be released from what turned out to be her final studio album which was also called Back to Black. Recorded in both New York and London, the song relates to Winehouse's breakup from Blake Fielder-Civil who had left her for an ex-girlfriend and the reference to going back to "black" was supposedly related to a time of her life which was filled with drink and depression but whilst there are these negative connotations their are parts of the song where she remains strong, particularly with the starting lyrics. The song received critical acclaim with 4Music awarding it 10 out of 10 in a review that referenced it's sound that is so similar to the 1960's girl groups. It has also been referred to as "a tortured monster of a track" which kind of sums up the life of Amy Winehouse, as does the words "heartbreakingly autobiographical" which Justin Myers wrote for the Official Charts Company. It appeared on numerous best of the year lists for 2007 and it is another song that has appeared in 2 different Rolling Stone greatest lists. It originally only peaked at 25 in the UK Singles Chart but following her death in 2011 the song re-entered the chart at a new high of 8 whilst it reached 55 on the Digital Songs Chart in the US, also going platinum over the pond. Another track which received the Habbinalan seal of approval when he said that this is simply a "classic" track! Tomohawk added that "Amy Winehouse was a troubled soul but man, did she have a voice that just gripped you. So many great tracks came from her mind and her vocal chords but this one will always be the best." Where did the song get its votes from? 1st Round: @Tomohawk (7pts), @Panja (7pts), @Vito Andolini (7pts) & @Habbinalan (6pts) Final Round: @StretfordEnd (5pts), @Tomohawk (8pts), @Habbinalan (10pts), @SkyBlueMatt (4pts), @Panja (6pts), @Vito Andolini (3pts), @JoshBCFC (7pts) & @BleedsIsDead (2pts)
Back in 2007 I went to a gig at Old Trafford which was like a mini-festival. The Arctic Monkeys were the headliners, but also on the bill was a band called The Parrots (a Beatles tribute act from Japan), Supergrass, The Coral and Amy Winehouse. I got there just at the end of the Parrots set and went to get a beer just as Amy Winehouse came on. The beer queue was horrific and I missed the whole set. At the time, I wasn't bothered. I thought Winehouse was overrated and I really wasn't interested. Now I look back and, with an older, more mature head, I'm gutted I missed the chance to see her live.
So close and yet so far for the penultimate track, a track which only secured 13 points from 3 lists in the 1st round of voting but top scored in the final round with a mammoth 61 points gained from a joint high 10 lists. Our runner up and the 2nd best song of the Noughties (according to FF members is)........ 2ND PLACE STAN EMINEM 1st Round: 3 Lists / 13 Points Final Round: 10 Lists / 61 Points Total: 74 Points Released: 20th November 2000 Album: The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) FF's Greatest Song Position: 14 Genre: Horrorcore; Hip-hop/Rap; Spoken Word Highest UK Chart: 1 Highest US Chart: 51 It's almost impossible to not know of this song or artist, especially if you are of a certain age. A slow start it may have had but it didn't half catch on in the final and makes for a perfect song to be as high as 2nd. "Stan" is a song by American rapper Eminem and was the 3rd single to be released from his 3rd album, The Marshall Mathers LP. The song heavily samples "Thank You" by Dido and includes her vocals throughout the song. The song tells the story of a person named Stanley "Stan" Mitchell who claims to be Eminem's biggest fan. It has been suggested that the title of the song is a portmanteau of the words stalker and fan although this has never been confirmed by Eminem but it has led to the term Stan being used as internet slang for someone who is obsessive about a celebrity. The character in the song writes Eminem several letters, and over the course of two verses, becomes increasingly frustrated and angry at the lack of a response from Eminem. The song takes a dark turn when Stan reveals that he has his girlfriend tied up in the trunk of his car as he approaches a bridge before driving off it. The fourth verse of the song visits Eminem actually offering a response to Stan, trying to reason with him and also to seek help so that he doesn't end up like a man Eminem had seen had driven himself off a bridge before Eminem actually realises that person was in fact Stan. The song was met with critical acclaim with particular praise for the epistolary narrative structure, emotional range & lyrical depth of the song. Entertainment Weekly praised the song when they said: "Eminem proves himself a peerless rap poet with a profound understanding of the power of language. Stan, an epistolary exchange between the artist and a dangerously obsessive fan, may be the most moving song about star worship ever recorded". And NME said, "'Stan' is a wonderful short story, an astute study in extreme fandom." The song performed well around the world, peaking at number 1 in 12 different countries including on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It has gone platinum in 6 different countries, 3 times in the UK and 4 times in the US. It has also received numerous nominations for awards including Best Song at the MTV Europe Music Awards and has featured on numerous greatest song lists including the FF version where it finished in 14th place. Where did the song get its votes from? 1st Round: @Si Robin (2pts), @JoshBCFC (8pts) & @Machida (3pts) Final Round: @Tomohawk (1pt), @SkyBlueMatt (2pts), @Si Robin (8pts), @Ollie (4pts), @Vito Andolini (10pts), @JoshBCFC (8pts), @Zydus (7pts), @Machida (6pts), @RedDevilsShinja (8pts) & @BleedsIsDead (7pts)
And then there was just one and it's one that scored consistently well throughout including a good number of 2nd places on lists along with a top placed finish one one list in the final round. And so FF'S BEST SONG OF THE DECADE - THE 2000's is................. 1ST PLACE THE SCIENTIST COLDPLAY 1st Round: 3 Lists / 22 Points Final Round: 7 Lists / 54 Points Total: 76 Points Released: 11th November 2002 Album: A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) FF's Greatest Song Position: N/A Genre: Pop; Rock Highest UK Chart: 10 Highest US Chart: 34 It appeared in 2nd place on 2 of its 3 first round lists and went on to appear on another 7 lists in the final, including a top scoring place on one list. The band are a bit marmite like in the music world but this track has proven to maintain its popularity and over 20 years from its release, remains a firm favourite of so many. The FF Best Song of the Noughties is "The Scientist" and this is a single Coldplay released from their 2nd album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, and was released in November 2002. All band members played a collaborative role in the writing of the song and it is built around a piano ballad telling a story about a man's desire to love and to be apologetic. Remarkably, the piano ballad was developed when Chris Martin found an out of tune piano in Liverpool after listening to George Harrison's All Things Must Pass song. This song received critical acclaim from all over upon its release with Rolling Stone Magazine stating: "The fantastic piano ballad 'The Scientist' has a cataclysmic falsetto finale that could raise every hair on the back of your neck." Ian Watson of NME wrote: "'The Scientist' is a song inexorably linked with the endless night sky and the secret hopes and regrets of a hundred thousand strangers." and it went on to place number 37 in the same magazine's 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years. The song reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart and after being released in the US in 2003, it made it to number 18 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Where did the song get its votes from? 1st Round: @Tomohawk (10pts), @Zydus (2pts) & @Machida (10pts) Final Round: @Tomohawk (10pts), @Si Robin (2pts), @Ollie (12pts), @Burg (4pts), @Zydus (6pts), @Machida (10pts) & @Joga bonito (10pts) So for one final time, I give you FF's Best Song of the Decade known as the Noughties (2000's)............and it's THE SCIENTIST BY COLDPLAY
FECKING COLDPLAY?!?!!!?!!?!!!?!!!!!????!!?!!?!!?? I jest, the first two albums (including this song) are amazing.
And that is that, we have another best song of a decade to add to our collection. The now complete list in the OP is fully up to date, as is the Spotify playlist which consists of 9 and a half hours of music. Thanks very much to everybody who voted and who has taken part in the chat along the way. Not been the busiest of the lists we have done but still been enjoyable to run. We've done the 2010's and now the 2000's......it wouldn't be right to not get a 1990's one in at some point, would it?
I think she got that a lot and of course lots of people simply dismissed her because of her lifestyle. Vocally, she is one of the greatest female artists I've ever heard
I saw this live at T in the Park not long before her passing and she was in a bad bad way. Those lyrics(and you know I'm no good) for me are the best female pov lyrics since jagged little pill. The documentary about her is brilliant too. "He left no time to regret, kept his dick wet, with his same old safe bet"
Still a mind blowing track. The guy was a master of language and his vitriol on this track is spine tingling. What on earth could have beaten this?
