Part Five: 20-11
20. ‘Formation’ by Beyonce (2016)
Rolling Stone named ‘Crazy In Love’ as the best song of the 21st century. Billboard opted for ‘Single Ladies’. But ‘Formation’ is Beyonce’s greatest moment, as an artist and a cultural icon. Lemonade was a world-shaking phenomenon. This is Beyonce at her most formidable, radical and kickass, using her unprecedented power to lift up Black voices. It’s a call to action, an anthem, a goddamn statement.
19. ‘Spanish Sahara’ by Foals (2010)
A stunning slow build over seven spellbinding minutes, a delicate, spine-tingling vocal performance by Yannis Philippakis, the nightmarish beauty of the lyrics, and the eventual tidal wave of whirling guitars – this is absolute zenith of the late-2000s indie rock takeover. Flawless and breathtaking.
18. ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ by Chappell Roan (2024)
The most compelling new artist of the 2020s. Following the release of her debut album, Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ was the standalone single that saw Chappell Roan really blow up. A modern-day Kate Bush, her baroque pop, distinctive make up and clothing, captivating live performances, and towering soprano saw her become a queer icon and global pop sensation.
“You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling.”
17. ‘No One Knows’ by Queens of the Stone Age (2002)
Hard rock is inherently bestial. Primordial. Embracing humanity’s base urges. Sometimes it’s about noise. Sometimes it’s about rage. And sometimes, it’s about sex. ‘No One Knows’ brought a swagger, a yearning, that hard rock was desperately missing in the early-2000s. It’s in the propelling groove of the bass, the crunch of the guitars, and that hungry, urgent growl.
16. ‘Final Form’ by Sampa The Great (2019)
‘Final Form’ is so much more than a song. It’s a celebration of thousands of years of culture, a call to arms, a meticulously crafted work of art. It’s imperious, triumphant, inescapable. Sampling The Sylvers’ funky ‘Stay Away from Me’, it’s a breathtaking work, the pinnacle of the Zambian hip hop genius’ expansive and mind-bending catalogue.
15. ‘Dancing On My Own’ by Robyn (2010)
Like watching a phoenix rise from the ashes, or a teenage kid slowly transform into an Animorph – vulnerable, glorious, a little ugly, and utterly triumphant. Bittersweet, pained and emotionally exposed, it’s not the expected fare for a club banger, but that’s exactly why it’s proved so enduringly resonant. Dance, cry, love.
14. ‘B.O.B.’ by Outkast (2000)
Andre 3000 and Big Boi broke the mould. From Atlanta in the mid-90s, they needed to be spectacular to stand apart from the rap strongholds of LA and NY – and they were. Constant evolution, endless talent, a complete unwillingness to be boxed by genre. That’s the platform on which they built ‘B.O.B.’ Explosively fast rap over a mix of rock, gospel and drum ‘n’ bass. It’s not hip hop. It’s just Outkast.
“Get back home, things are wrong, Well not really, it was bad all along, Before you left adds up to a ball of power, Thoughts at a thousand miles per hour...”
13. ‘Seven Nation Army’ by The White Stripes (2003)
The most iconic riff of the century, and up there with the likes of ‘Smoke On The Water’ by Deep Purple and ‘Back in Black’ by AC/DC for all-time status. The Strokes may have started the early-2000s alt rock revolution, but they didn’t write anthems. This is an all-caps ANTHEM, the track that dragged post-punk out of the garage and into the stadium.
12. ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Florence + the Machine (2011)
One of the most instantly recognisable and phenomenal voices of the 2010s, with her most singularly powerful vocal performance. It’s an achingly raw, spinetingling and draped in emotional heft, baroque pop balladry at its most eloquent and moving. Staggering and delicate and spiritual, it feels as appropriate for a cathedral as an arena.
11. ‘Runaway’ by Kanye West (2010)
The further we get away from the release of Kanye’s maximalist masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Fantasy, the more prescient its centrepiece track looks. A soaring monument of ego and desperation, an impossibly balanced Jenga tower you can’t believe is still standing, equal parts self-flagellating and self-aggrandising in a way only Kanye could truly pull off. It’s almost an apology. It’s almost a reckoning with his own erratic behaviour. But really, it’s an admission and a mission statement: This is who Kanye West is, for better and for worse.