SPIN's 20 best singles of 2001

what a year

this list could be worse

but obviously, from a "stands the test of time" POV, it's gotta be:

Irving Berlin with Celine Dion, Hillary Clinton and Leann Rhimes – God Bless America

1. ride wit me
2. we need a resolution
3. get ur freak on
4. izzo
5. the rock show
6. purple pills
7. ante up
8. romeo
9. digital love
10. fallin

i don't even wanna know what that is xp

this was charles aaron's list right? last selection was always a joke.

oh ya uh i was joking too

was the "11-13" portion of his lists also always a joke?

I thought he was serious since this was prolly written within the month after 9-11.

"My Red Hot Car" is really good, so no 11-13 isn't a joke.

1. Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak on
2. Madonna – Don’t Tell Me
3. Daft Punk – Digital Love
4. Nelly – Ride Wit Me

Nothing wrong with any of these.

1. romeo
2. get ur freak on
3. dont tell me
4. we need a resolution
5. digital love
6. my red hot car
7. izzo
8. ride wit me
9. jenny & the ess-dog
10. like a feather

ok actually checking it - http://books.google.com/books?id=wXGw14ml_M4C&lpg=PA15&dq=spin%20magazine%202001&pg=PA78#v=onepage&q=spin%20magazine%202001&f=false - it's josh clover so god only knows; it's kogan/eddy town so even numbered days it's sincere and odd numbered days he's trolling.

kinda bizarre that 'is this it' was only #18 on their albums list

The albums list is a shittier one than the year suggests.

some serious 90s hangover on there

Dont Tell me?? Wow that's amazing. Even more so than the U2 cover.

I did a youtube and grooveshark search for "God Bless America" with that exact assortment of singers and nothing came up. I don't think it actually exists, so I'm going to assume it's terrible.

Besides that, I don't especially dislike any song on this list.

Well that didn't make any sense.. I meant to say: I don't think an actual physical release of this song exists, and I'm going to assume that I wouldn't enjoy it.

staind song kinda rules tbh but only if u listen to the live version w/ fred durst going 'this is the real muthafuckin deal yall!!!!'

Red Hot Car

i'm feelin those lighters

feelin those lighters lmao xp

worst song not by aerosmith or celine is 'fallen' imo

'fallin' i mean -- 'fallen' rules

Never thought I'd get a chance to vote for "I'm Like A Bird" on an ILM poll but here it is!

She was her generation's Regina Spektor.

Irving Berlin was alive in 2001?

get ur freak on
ante up
izzo
digital love
red hot car
jaded
ride wit me

"Ride Wit Me" vs "Freak On" vs "Resolution" in some perpetual 3-way arm wrestle in my head.

resolution tho

"Ride Wit Me" is the one that's actually banging loudest in my head right now but for once I'm not gonna vote for instant gratification.

Actually "Ante Up" is nearly thereabouts too.

1. ride wit me
2. we need a resolution
3. get ur freak on
4. fallin'
5. ante up
6. don't tell me
7. izzo (hova)
8. independent women part 1
9. young, fresh n new

^^would have given all the above 10/10 on the hypothetical singles jukebox of the time

Staind?

1. Get Ur Freak on
2. We Need a Resolution
3. Young Fresh 'n' New
4. Ante Up
5. Digital Love
6. Red Hot Car
7. Independent Women Part 1
8. 19-2000
9. Romeo
10. Ride Wit Me

"young, fresh n new" was never released in the US, right? at least wanderland wasn't. kudos to spin for putting it in the list then. (it's also not even the best song on the album.)

were staind nu-metal? it was so massive back then that they might have felt compelled to include it out of a sense of populism (i can't actually remember this song, for which i am grateful).

lol nikka costa, remember when she was being hyped to be a thing.

9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory) 9. M.O.P. – Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory)

CAP THAT FOOL
ANTE UP, KIDNAP THAT FOOL

*YAP

Nu-metal was a weird period for music mags because very few writers seemed to like it but the editors felt obliged to reflect its popularity. Says the man who once had to write a cover story on Limp Bizkit. Say what you like about landfill indie but at least it cleared away those mooks.

"Outside" is actually a kinda decent song!

I think that Aerosmith song may be the worst thing on this list

well it is, clearly, but i like it anyway

if there are votes for a song other than "ante up" i am going to start seriously doubting people's abilities to identify the best song out of a list of songs

oh come on, ante up vs. get ur freak on is a totally fair fight

but anything else yeah

YOU THINK I DONT KNOW THAT BLAOW!
NIGGA HOLD THAT BLAOW
NIGGA HOLD THAT BLAOW NIGGA HOLD THAT

man feels like every week theres an ilm poll where u can vote for get ur freak on

good point

SO?! FUCK YOU YOUR HONOUR CHECK MY PERSONA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UJzDFkmgSY

I don't really understand the niceties and nuances of debates over calling people out by their not-real-names, so let me just say:

"The Real Slim Shady" > "Without Me" > "My Name Is" > "Kim" > "Stan" > (a good chunk of other stuff from the first two albums, and several tracks from the third) > "Lose Yourself".

And also that Alfred's permastanning for the determinedly middling "Don't Tell Me" always puzzles me.

deej here is a key into understanding the world-view of someone who might prefer 'Jenny & the Ess-Dog' to M.O.P.

The key is how the track's sputtering dynamic compensates for the contraction of her emotional range -- very clever.

xpost

Oh, see I think where I missed out on the tune's brilliance is that I interpreted that as a half-hearted rip from contemporaneous R&B.

"essentially an extended Whiney post in verse"

see now i even more confused

did you read down to the part where m@tt called it 'faganesque'?

i refuse to believe m@tt would select it over MOP

i do appreciate the attempts to make serious answer w/ my challop tho

x-post read those posts backwards and briefly imagined m@tt claimed "Ante Up" was "faganesque".

"don't tell me" is fantastic, fave madonna of that period.

http://i32.tinypic.com/282ds2t.jpg

As an atheist, I think that people who believe in M.O.P. and people who believe in Malkmus are about equal asshole as far as I'm concerned. It's just two sides of the same coin.

digital hate

"don't tell me" is a dope song and better than any she's released since but claiming it as her second-best ever is ridiculous imo

i didn't know lex was a daft punk hater but i guess it makes sense

"don't tell me" is a dope song and better than any she's released since but claiming it as her second-best ever is ridiculous imo

All the singles from Confessions are better too IMO.

I think Alfred was saying it was her best second-single, rather than second-best song.

Still, "Deeper and Deeper" is her best second-single surely.

tbf this makes me really happy:

13. Aerosmith – Jaded 0

"don't tell me" isn't something i'd go out of my way to stan for but it's way better than middling - it's very likable, and at the time was quite addictive. charging madonna with jumping on to a contemporaneous bandwagon is odd, hell0 her entire career, but the stuttering loops work well for the song, esp with a relatively simple, organic arrangement that doesn't scream ~futuristic~ in any way (which the r&b productions of the time that tim mentions tended to do).

"die another day" and "hung up" are def better. i've genuinely forgotten what the other singles from confessions actually were apart from "sorry"!

I think Alfred was saying it was her best second-single, rather than second-best song.

still fairly challopsy given some of her other second-singles!

deeper and deeper > burning up > take a bow > papa don't preach > express yourself > ray of light > don't tell me > material girl > sorry > causing a commotion > hollywood > give it 2 me > don't cry for me argentina > hanky panky

wow "hollywood" did not come last

& if you count "Gambler" as the 2nd single from the Vision Quest soundtrack, I'd say that's better too.

"don't tell me" isn't something i'd go out of my way to stan for but it's way better than middling - it's very likable, and at the time was quite addictive.

Okay this is true, I just think it's middling for Madonna (if you exclude American Life and Hard Candy from the bell curve at any rate).

i wasn't so much complaining that it rips from R&B (that's fine, even savvy if done right) as saying it's not exactly startling in context.

but the stuttering loops work well for the song, esp with a relatively simple, organic arrangement that doesn't scream ~futuristic~ in any way (which the r&b productions of the time that tim mentions tended to do).

Give me "Someone To Call My Lover".

"someone to call my lover" was still about a year off when "don't tell me" was released, iirc?

"middling for madonna" - idk, it's one of the best tracks on its parent album, which may not be madonna's best album qua album but certainly isn't a bad album. actually the more i think about it, the more madonna doing a straight-up "likable" song is itself quite rare, especially from the late 80s on.

Yeah but it's a much better version of the same idea yeah.

And I just find something so very try-hard about "Don't Tell Me", the lyrics/vocals more than the beat actually. Good song but compared to the other songs in this list it's just...

america vs lynyrd sknynrd

middling madonna is still pretty phenomenal, basically agree w/ lex's rankings (would move a few tracks around but nothing makes me go 'whut'), 'deeper and deeper' -> 'sorry' = fantastic, 'causing a commotion' = middling, 'hollywood' -> 'hanky panky' = o dear

I would shift "Don't Tell Me" down to below "Sorry". "Sorry" wouldn't win it in song terms but the JLC dub is so amazing and is what I think of when I think of the song so.

is that the man with guitar mix? (that's also JLC, don't know if he did more than one remix of it.) anyway counting remixes surely means "hollywood" rockets up the list and into fantastic territory thanks to JLC's remix of that...

"don't tell me" is the opposite of try-hard for me, it's pretty casual and easy-going - i mean, lest we forget, this is a single that came after "MUSIC MAKES THE BOURGEOISIE AND THE REBEL" - how are unremarkable lyrics about love (unremarkable w/r/t their perspective rather than their quality) more try-hard than that? (try-hard not a pejorative there though.)

It's try hard to be casual and easy going authentic natural though. The pompous trash of "Music" sounds more actually-Madonna to me.

Yeah I think it's the man with guitar remix I'm talking about. The one that sounds like an endless wave crashing over you.

Basically I don't trust Madonna with authenticity moves now. I loved Ray of Light when it came out but can't listen to it now, I want Madonna to sound out of touch with her "inner" "self" because she's more real that way.

Don't Tell Me is just a bit boring really, which is the worst thing a Madonna single can be.

Sorry Matt I constantly forget to say: when I am posting drunk can you just replace my posts with yours from now on.

"don't tell me" is a dope song and better than any she's released since but claiming it as her second-best ever is ridiculous imo

Yeah, I meant Best Second Single, on which I wrote something a few years ago.

(good poll idea either way)

Don't Tell Me
Sorry
Deeper and Deeper
Take a Bow
Burning Up

Always disliked "Ray of Light" as a production.

OMG that is all wrong Alf! But for "Deeper & Deeper" being in the middle you could turn it exactly upside down!

btw these are all 8-10 pt rankings.

wow "hollywood" did not come last

haha! I recognize that that song is terrible but I still enjoy it (and pretty much that entire album) anyway.

Actually, since "Die Another Day" is on that album, would "American Life" count as the second single instead of "Hollywood"?

i remember for awhile for some reason i thought thomas tallis was eric bachmann

I have to say that was my favorite argument I ever had w/anybody cause u were mega-pissed @ me and you kept calling me "eric"

gotta take credit for that one, good times

Actually, since "Die Another Day" is on that album, would "American Life" count as the second single instead of "Hollywood"?

i did dither over this! that would technically have been right, and would also mean "crazy in love" and "deja vu" were second-singles.

american life has quite a few (ok, a few) really great songs on it - nowhere near the failure of both vision and execution that hard candy was

HC had vision?

i think madonna was going for something pretty definite with it? also pretty boring. and badly done.

outside of ilx i think "Don't Tell Me" would prob be a consensus pick for best Madonna single of the last decade.

It's certainly the only one besides "Hung Up" and "4 Minutes" they might recognize.

It's certainly the only one besides "Hung Up" and "4 Minutes" they might recognize.

Um... "Music"?

Also "Die Another Day"?

Always forget "Music" is from this decade. but:

Also "Die Another Day"?

That song is probably forgotten, at least on radio here, whereas I still hear the aforementioned singles.

i personally like "don't tell me" WAY more than any of the confessions singles or anything else since then, really

why haven't we polled this yet?

here we go '00s Madonna Singles