Few industries went through as much upheaval in the noughties as the music biz. Of course, music is art and art is always evolving, but rarely had there been such tortuous change in such a short space of time. It wasn’t just what folks were listening to that was new but how they listened to it and how it affected them.
Incredibly, with illegal downloading we were all able to jump aboard the time machine to become teenagers again. In fact some of us went back even further, our easy access to every moment and every influence in music history turning us into toddlers with too many presents. Not that there was any alternative. With record shops closing down at an alarming rate, the only other option was to ignore all the free goodies on offer and go the supermarket CD route. I know plenty who did but to me, sending the latest overhyped piece of shite through the checkout with the cornflakes and pizza always seemed like an act of treason.
Apart from those luddites, most everyone else under forty got stuck in, so much so that the pace of pop really picked up. As if by magic, kids stopped giving a shit about genre constraints, my daughter thinking nothing of blasting out a dubstep tune, then an oddball Swedish pop song then a gently strummed, heartfelt, acoustic hit. Unencumbered by peer pressure cool, she’s never seen any contradiction in liking all those differing elements and emotions.
Despite that freedom, pop in the noughties still faced the age old accusation of being a desolate mire of vapid, moronic, endlessly repeating crap. Of course, the fact is that pop music has always doubled back on itself, quoted itself and dug up fresh graves; it’s just that in the noughties there were a lot more graves to dig up. In the past it had been easy to ignore criticism, but in the 21st century, what with social media and every motherfucker in the world voicing an opinion, that proved impossible.
Consequently, pop got slaughtered, yet it continued to do what it does best by providing the tunes we all like to hum, the universal songs that continue to infiltrate popular culture. In fact, I became so ensnared in its wonky, sticky sweet web that when I finally reached the end of this particular journey I was left feeling not a little sad. Of course, I know full well there will be more Secret Pleasures to come, and even more awaiting rediscovery from the past, but I can’t help wondering if they will ever affect me in quite the same way again.
One
01 SPILLER / Groovejet / August 2000
02 DIDO / Thank You / December 2000
03 EVE & GWEN STEFANI / Let Me Blow Your Mind / May 2001
04 SUGABABES / Freak Like Me / April 2002
05 NO DOUBT / Hella Good / June 2002
06 APPLETON / Don’t Worry / February 2003
07 MIS-TEEQ / Scandalous / March 2003
08 RICHARD X Vs LIBERTY X / Being Nobody / March 2003
09 GIRLS ALOUD / No Good Advice / May 2003
10 JUNIOR SENIOR / Move Your Feet / May 2003
11 THE CARDIGANS / You’re The Storm / June 2003
12 AMY STUDT / Misfit / June 2003
13 KELIS / Milkshake / August 2003
14 RACHEL STEVENS / Sweet Dreams My LA Ex / September 2003
15 KYLIE MINOGUE / Slow / November 2003
16 BRITNEY SPEARS / Toxic / January 2004
17 THE CONCRETES / You Can’t Hurry Love / June 2004
18 MAROON 5 / She Will Be Loved / July 2004
19 ANNIE / Chewing Gum / August 2004
20 DESTINY’S CHILD / Independent Women Pt 1 / September 2004
Two
01 IMOGEN HEAP / Hide And Seek / May 2005
02 JACK JOHNSON / Good People / June 2005
03 RIHANNA / SOS / February 2006
04 LILY ALLEN / Smile / March 2006
05 TAKE THAT / Patience / November 2006
06 ROBYN / With Every Heartbeat / January 2007
07 MIKA / Grace Kelly / January 2007
08 PATRICK WOLF / The Magic Position / March 2007
09 GROOVE ARMADA / Song 4 Mutya / July 2007
10 FEIST / 1234 / October 2007
11 ROISIN MURPHY / Overpowered / October 2007
12 ALPHABEAT / Fascination / May 2008
13 KATY PERRY / Hot’n’Cold / September 2008
14 BEYONCE / If I Were A Boy / October 2008
15 LEONA LEWIS / Run / November 2008
16 GRACE JONES / Williams Blood / December 2008
17 KISH MAUVE / Come On / March 2009
18 TAYLOR SWIFT / You Belong With Me / April 2009
19 LA ROUX / Bulletproof / June 2009
20 LADY GAGA / Bad Romance / October 2009
