Nick Evans

Really enjoyed Dolly’s late bluegrass period. Her 1999 version of Silver Dagger was great

#then0ughtie5 day 50 Diverting from the chart run-down to finish with the one that was apparently our most played in the decade Really enjoyed their movie too Sigur Rós, Hoppípolla, 2005 🇮🇸 no 24, NKC ❌ 16 Thanks so much for organising again, Arron!

#then0ughtie5 day 49 I’m starting to think that Russell Davies was right when his Dr Who episode suggested that the future would see this as our classical music Britney Spears, Toxic, 2004 🇺🇸 no 1 (obvs)

#then0ughtie5 day 48 🚨 11 POINT BONUS! (last one I think) 🚨 The sound of the new century coming (about 2 months early), it’s the other All Saints song Like the wistful, circling sound they make here All Saints, Black Coffee, 2000 🇬🇧🇨🇦 no 1!

#then0ughtie5 day 47 Finally we get to songs that reached no 1! Sadly this one was probably because it was posthumous Still, I like its skittery, scratchy beat and the simple vocal lines over the top. And the very turn-of-millennium video Aaliyah, More Than A Woman, 2001 🇺🇸

#then0ughtie5 day 46 You said I must eat so many lemons, Coz I am so bitter. I said, “I’d rather be with you friends, mate, Coz they are much fittaaahhh” Lily Allen had more good songs but this was the higher peak Kate Nash, Foundations, 2007 🇬🇧 also no 2!

#then0ughtie5 day 45 Drawing the World Cup to a close with FIFA’s favourite Shakira, Suerte (Whenever, Wherever), 2001 🇨🇴, no 2 in the UK (in English)!

#then0ughtie5 day 44 This one reached no 3! There’s something endearingly homegrown to Brum’s own superstar. Even her celebrity footballer ex is described as “most recently caretaker manager of Walsall” But for a moment, there was proper swagger Jamelia, Superstar, 2003 🇬🇧

#then0ughtie5 day 43 Yet another no 4 hit (worth a poll?) Back in the days when a 98 minute video was nothing unusual, my favourite early Gaga single. It has a sort of lightness some of the others didn’t. Lady Gaga, Paparazzi, 2009 (single) 🇺🇸

#then0ughtie5 day 42 🚨 11 POINT BONUS! 🚨 To the left, to the left All your other votes in a box to the left Clearly not the consensus Queen Bey choice, but my favourite And really weird to imagine how it would have sounded sung by a man, as written Beyoncé, Irreplaceable, 2006 🇺🇸 no 4 (again!)

#then0ughtie5 day 41 This also reached no 4, but hung around the top 10 for longer than Radiohead or PE. Max Martin’s finest 3 minutes Kelly Clarkson, Since U Been Gone, 2004 🇺🇸

#then0ughtie5 day 40 Public Enemy also had their biggest hit by channeling their inner Welshness (everybody has some) and sampling Shirley Bassey. And then being used as the Paralympic theme tune. A great late entry Public Enemy, Harder Than You Think, 2007 🇺🇸(🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 honest) no 4 (in 2012)

#then0ughtie5 day 39 Radiohead in the charts? This reached no 4. Truly the noughties were a different time A grand round sound Radiohead, There There 2003 🇬🇧 NKC❌ (15)

#then0ughtie5 day 38 This ‘00s survivor cancelled himself, when he found religion! But before that he founded (or at least popularised) the beat that still pounds out of every home round here every summer Daddy Yankee, Gasolina 2004 🇵🇷 no 5 on the charts

#then0ughtie5 day 37 Still at no 6, but in the top 10 for longer than Pharrell Nice little pop song that she never really built on for me The internet claims that Taylor Swift’s latest is based on it - which should do nicely for royalties Little Boots, Remedy, 2009 🇬🇧

#then0ughtie5 day 36 Up to no 6, with a song I’ve not seen yet, which makes me think one of them’s been cancelled. Oh well Here’s Pharrell’s debut single, so long ago he wasn’t even wearing a silly hat yet. Like the Neptunes covering Prince Pharrell Williams ft Jay-Z, Frontin’, 2003 🇺🇸

#then0ughtie5 day 35 “I go ‘ooh, ooh’ You go ‘ah, ah’ La la la la, la la la la” Genuinely think these are the best opening lines in pop music. What else is there to say? Rest of the song is a blast too The Veronicas, Untouched, 🇦🇺 2009 (in UK) 2007 (in Oz) no 8 (for longer than Mary)

#then0ughtie5 day 34 Mary J with the modern equivalent of packing up your troubles in your old kit bag “Don’t need no hateration, holleration in this dancery” Also no 8 but 1 more week in the top 10 than Mutya! Mary J Blige, Family Affair, 2001 🇺🇸

#then0ughtie5 day 33 Now the once and former Sugababe’s funny lament of having a disappointing replacement and the issues that causes when you’re trying to drive Groove Armada ft Mutya Buena, Song 4 Mutya (Out Of Control), 2007 🇬🇧 no 8

#then0ughtie5 day 32 Sorry, fell behind, will do two in quick succession First, the other Nelly’s other slinky masterpiece Nelly Furtado, Say It Right, 2006 🇨🇦 no 10 (and stayed in the charts longer than A&E)

#then0ughtie5 day 31 🚨 11 POINT BONUS! 🚨 Beautiful, woozily romantic number that captures the feeling of being off your tits on anaesthetics Reached the top 10 because we love songs about overdoses Goldfrapp, A&E, 2008 🇬🇧

#then0ughtie5 day 30 Time for some rude Scandi-punk pop. Somewhat embarrassingly, our kids quickly learned to sing along in the car. Playlists changed soon after that Ida Maria, I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked, I Like Me So Much Better When You’re Naked, 2009 🇳🇴 no 13

#then0ughtie5 day 29 🚨 11-Point Bonus! 🚨 More English indie, best associated with American telly. Here’s the song from the will they/won’t they scene in Scrubs No 13 in the Charts! The Coral, Dreaming Of You, 2002 🇬🇧 NKC ❌ (14)

#then0ughtie5 day 28 Nice dreamy bit of English indie now, has a lovely seaside feel. Credit for the use of Lego in the lyrics too The Delays, Long Time Coming, 2004 🇬🇧 NKC ❌ (13) no 16

#then0ughtie5 day 27 🚨 11 POINT BONUS! 🚨 Could have waited a few days for the anniversary of her passing I suppose. Conscious there’s plenty of vote splitting, but this one’s got something more for me Amy Winehouse, You Know I’m No Good, 2007 🇬🇧 no 18

On with #then0ughtie5 : day 26 Starting the second half with a bang. Not one to listen to while driving somewhere with a low speed limit Andrew W.K., Party Hard!, 2001 🇺🇸 no 19

#then0ughtie5 Hon Mention 5 Back to the album tracks for this Catalan gem, which deserves its punctuation mark! Manel, Al Mar!, 2008 🇪🇸 NKC ❌

#then0ughtie5 Hon Mention 4 is for a song that was new to me when posted. I’m really glad to have heard it; it’s great and apparently a massive no 1 in Japan! Ayumi Hamasaki, Evolution 2001 🇯🇵

#then0ughtie5 Hon Mention 3 Now for some fun not in English - although though the Kanye version was fun too Stromae, Alors On Danse, 2009 🇧🇪

#then0ughtie5 Hon Mention 2 Now for one that I’d forgotten but others remembered Lovely wry tune from Haines’ most St Etienne-sounding iteration Black Box Recorder, Facts of Life, 2000 🇬🇧

#then0ughtie5 Hon mention 1 Time for another album track, and a way of including a Sugababe who misses out on their later entry in the main list This is really fun in a slightly ‘should I try to be Kate Bush or Liz Cocteau when I grow up’ Siobhán Donaghy, Ghosts, 2007 🇬🇧

#then0ughtie5 day 25 Last main choice before I start sorting the 180 or so on my HM shortlist This one is to curry favour with our new PM who apparently likes this sort of thing The Courteeners, Not Nineteen Forever, 2008 🇬🇧 - reached no 19 (of course) NKC ❌ (11)

#then0ughtie5 day 23 Now for some serious American pop-rock for moody teenagers! Not sure I agree with the people who say this invented Taylor Swift, but I can see how you get there: it’s got feelings! Jimmy Eat World, The Middle, 2001 🇺🇸 (no 26, we’ve reached the top 30!)

#then0ughtie5 day 22 Even funner, sillier British pop. It’s been said a couple of times already but he really is a good storyteller Good defence of the Fiat Punto as the car thief’s choice too Lethal Bizzle, Police On My Back, 2007 🇬🇧 charted at no 37!

#then0ughtie5 day 21 Fun, silly, summery British pop that’s not wholly reliant on an 80s sample at all Lady Sovereign, So Human, 2009 🇬🇧 #38 (for 2 weeks!)

#then0ughtie5 day 20 Queen Bey’s little sister looked like she was going to be a serious rival for a while. Sadly, the charts didn’t agree: no 44 for this fun little bop Solange, Sandcastle Disco, 2008 🇺🇸

#then0ughtie5 day 19 🚨 12 POINT DOUBLE BONUS !! 🚨 My favourite guitary band song of the decade. Though, to be honest, it’s mostly about the drumming and the lyrics about being too old to go out The Walkmen, The Rat, 2004 🇺🇸 NKC ❌ (9) #45 - wins tiebreaker because I like it more than Nick Cave’s

#then0ughtie5 day 17 Amazed I haven’t seen this Eurovision smash hit (no 47) yet. A deserved winner that year Ruslana, Wild Dances, 2004 🇺🇦

#then0ughtie5 day 16 Up to no 49, with my favourite YYYs song. No vote-splitting here! (There will be vote-splitting later.) Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Zero 🇺🇸 2009

#then0ughtie5 day 15 This century’s Be My Baby? Didn’t do quite as well in the charts: peaked at no 50 Johnny Boy, You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve, 🇬🇧 2004

#then0ughtie5 day 14 Timbaland goes country? Possibly after watching O Brother Where Art Thou? if the video is anything to go by It’s a shame more country rap didn’t end up sounding like this No 55 in the UK! Bubba Sparxx, Deliverance 2003 🇺🇸 NK ❌ (7)

#then0ughtie5 day 13 Should have known they’d soon be recording separate albums together, this is about 3 separate songs on its own Chart high of no 61 no doubt affected by an actual bombing of Baghdad Outkast, Bombs Over Baghdad, 2000 🇺🇸

#then0ughtie5 day 12 Up to the dizzy heights of no 67, with this cold, slinky banger Technically an NK clause fail because the girl isn’t credited Röyksopp, The Girl and The Robot, 2009 🇳🇴 (not 🇸🇪) NKC ❌ (6)

#then0ughtie5 day 11 My kids played an unnecessary amount of steel pan drums in the 00s. It never quite sounded like this Reached no 97! The Knife, Pass This On, 2003 🇸🇪

#then0ughtie5 day 10 We finally reach the UK singles chart: this reached no 100 for a week! Still country, but I suspect politically at odds with the Chicks, it’s a fine, vivid singalong with a weirdly jingoistic middle section Zac Brown Band, Chicken Fried, 2008 🇺🇸 NKC ❌ (5)

#then0ughtie5 day 9 This one didn’t chart in the UK, but no 25 in their home country! Not sure whether it’s the lyrics or the harmonies that are more likely to make me cry. Perhaps both: “Don’t worry but I won’t be able to write for a while” The Chicks, Travelin’ Soldier, 2002 🇺🇸