Don't worry, rock fans. The 2000s have not killed the genre. There are many new great groups, though very few of them do a real take on "classic rock." (Besides maybe Greta Van Fleet.)
That is completely, well...OK. Rock has always been a genre that evolved. The Beatles took from Eddie Cochran and the rest of the world took from the Beatles. We are still learning from what John, Paul, George, and Ringo tried to teach us.
The following songs from the 2000s are from musical artists that learned well. Not all have reached the same level of success. Each of the tracks has equal excellence, though.
Five amazing songs from the 2000s
Interpol - "Slow Hands" (2004)
From the very beginning of the song - the quickly played single guitar chords - one has the feeling they have just been tasked with an unexpected sprint. Almost as if someone has said, "Wake up and run!" You might not be prepared for what is about to come, but the thrill of not knowing somehow makes the fear and excitement of what is going to happen even better.
Then at the 12th second, the vocals kick in and you are in. You might not know what the singer is going to tell you, but the cadence matches the guitar so well that you are committed until the end. You will stay that way for a full three minutes and it will be some of the best three minutes of your life. You will take a tour of angst, rage, bittersweetness, and somehow...hope.
And the chorus...that wonderful, brilliant, fast, angry chorus...will be everything that some washed-up emo band wished they could have written just once in their lives. The point is not to make a hit, though; Interpol expresses. You can smell every inch of New York City, every moment of love lost, and then suddenly...you get a reprieve. You can rest.
A little over two minutes into the track, the band does the unexpected as if they know you cannot continue, but then 27 seconds later you are off again. This is what a rock song should sound like, and the kick to the finish will increase your endorphins.
Joseph Arthur - "In the Sun" (2000)
Arthur wastes no time at the beginning of this track. He needs to move on with what he must say - forced to say - and there will be ache and longing. The lyrics are great - not perfect, but excellent - but the way the song is produced with instruments entering exactly when they need to and the sound of Arthur's voice pleading for your understanding will make you want to donate your money to whatever church Arthur is selling you.
The line, "May god's love be with you...always," seems almost angry and sarcastic as if the narrator tried to trust in a higher being during a time of happiness only to find that at the end he was the one pulling the strings. There is irony. But still, the singer hopes and needs and just needs a bit of reassurance. He isn't ready to give up all that is lost...not yet.
Muse - "Hysteria" (2003)
There are few rock songs that begin as well as "Hysteria." You are a balloon about to burst or going up to the high point on a roller coaster ride. What is clear is that the start of the track is not how the rest of the song will go. That is fine, though; the build-up is exactly what you need to find the catharsis of Muse's tune.
You will shake your booty to this song, however. You might not even want to. You just want to enjoy a good rock track. The bass will get you, and then without even realizing you are doing so, the fuzziness of the guitar will likely have you spinning like a top. It's wonderful and exhilarating, and even if you are dancing your legs down to your knees in your room on your own, you won't care if anyone is watching from outside your window. Make them want to dance, too.
The Decemberists - "The Engine Driver" (2005)
Colin Meloy has always had a great gift for lyrics. While he doesn't stray overly far from the central core of the band - there is always a wry smile whether the song is one of unflinching love or murder ("The Rake's Song") - there is enough grey in what the band does, plenty of grey actually, that Meloy can find the corners that have not yet been cleaned.
"The Engine Driver" is a perfect song for a potentially dying relationship. Things can still be fixed, but does either party want them to be? If they aren't the narrator will be fine only with a lingering urge to know what might have happened. The third true verse contains this bit of brilliance: "And I am a writer, writer of fictions/I am the heart that you call home/And I've written pages upon pages/Trying to rid you from my bones."
We can all empathize with that, right? Poems we write that no one ever sees. They remain our truth all the same.
White Stripes - "Black Math" (2003)
Jack White offers us a juxtaposition with this song. We can learn things we don't want to or we can be stuck where we are. The track begins with perhaps White doing the best version of blues-punk he has ever done - and White has done a lot of that and done so extremely well - but then a bit over a minute into the track, he changes everything.
Jack White plays bluesy hard rock music. He has never been what most would call metal. That said, a minute into "Black Math" is the heaviest riff one will hear today. Black Sabbath could have been influenced by White at that point had they been a group young enough to be influenced. The vocals change as well, but then change again later in the tune.
"Black Math" is really two songs in one, and each is worthy of its own listen. That White combined them is something few artists can do with such excellence. Jack White makes it seem easy.