In 2004, the most watched movie in theaters was Shrek, George W Bush was president and Ms. Hammond was eight. For homecoming this year, we’re throwing it back to the early 2000s, so I went back twenty years, to 2004, and listened to the top 10 most popular songs from that year. Here’s what I thought…
- “Lean Back” by The Terror Squad feat. Fat Joe & Remy Ma
First impression? What a name. This song is a very percussion based song, with a lot of loud drumming. This song makes you almost feel like you are in New York because they all speak with a heavy Bronx accent. This song is very catchy and I can easily understand why this was the number 10 song of 2004.
- “Goodies” by Ciara feat. Petey Pablo
First impression? Also another crazy name. Already starting to see a theme develop in the music that was listened to back then. “Goodies” makes you feel like you’re in a club (not that I would know what being in a club is like). This song is made up of a beat, clap, and almost a robotic laser sounding noise. Very catchy and easily memorable; while it’s not my favorite song, it’s solid.
- “Hey Ya!” by Outkast
First impression? It’s very different from the other two songs before this, a nice break from the beat heavy club songs. This song has way more versatility in the instruments used and is a very vocal heavy song. This song is very fast and the beat is made up of a lot of drums but not to the point where it’s overwhelming. It is just laying the groundwork for a beat to follow. The vocals and rhyming from Andre 3000 is great, and I would suggest listening to it if you have not. Overall, a very good song that is deserving of 8.
- “I Don’t Wanna Know” by Mario Winans feat. Enya and P. Diddy
First impression? I was thinking that I had heard this song before. I thought about it for a bit and realized that The Weeknd took some of the lyrics and used it in one of his newer songs “Creepin”. This song is also a very vocal heavy song with the beat just laying the groundwork. Mario Winans, who I had never heard of before, has a very soft but nice voice that almost brings you in. I think that this song should be higher than it is, and that this song could easily be listened to by a vast majority of people and very little would dislike it.
- “The Reason” by Hoobastank
First impression? Complete 180 from all the Hip Hop and RnB and I love it. This song is easily my favorite song on the list and in my opinion deserves to be number 1. The beat is made of electric guitar and a slight symbol sound you can hear as well. The vocals are the best out of all the songs on this list and this song is easily in my top 25 songs of all time. If you enjoy a mellow alternative song every once in a while, I would recommend this song.
- “The Way You Move” by Outkast feat. Sleepy Brown
First impressions? Outkast again? Very fast paced song which I’m guessing Outkast does a lot. The beat is very similar to “Hey Ya!” with a very fast paced clap and implementing the trumpets. Vocals again are very good which is the same as “Hey Ya!”, they remind me of each other a lot which does not surprise me because they are off the same album. This song is kind of a mix between Hip Hop and RnB.
- “This Love” by Maroon 5
First impression? I’ve definitely heard this song before and I think it’s on my playlist. When I think of pop, this would probably be the first band that comes to my mind. Very well made beat centered around the electric guitar riff. This song is very catchy and good but it can get really stale if it is played too much. Maroon 5 are hitmakers in my opinion, they don’t try hard to make good songs, they just try to make something that will be catchy and be popular. Overall, this song is alright
- “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys
First impression? Really good song and it seems like a lot of thought and time was put into it. The vocals are clearly the main focus point of the song and she does it very well. The beat is mostly made of piano, light drumming and brass. I consider there to be a difference between RnB and Soul and I think this song is Soul because of the brass instruments. Overall, a very good song but I would have to be in a certain mood to enjoy it.
- “Burn” by Usher
First impression? Really slow and vocal heavy just like the last. Straying away from all the club music. I would consider it to be a RnB song with a very good beat. It’s a bass heavy beat but isn’t too loud like the club songs. Usher is known for his vocals so I’m not surprised by the quality of this song. This song would be too mellow to add to my playlist but it’s definitely really good.
- “Yeah” by Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris
First impression? Annnnnddddd we are straight back to the club music. This song isn’t the same as the other club music; it’s not as bass and drum heavy, it’s more of a robotic type of beat. If you haven’t heard this song before you must be like 80. Very good song and I’m pretty sure it is already on my playlist. Definitely does not deserve the number 1 on the list but is very good.
