The 333 Best Pop Songs of the 2000s: #229

#229: "Castanets" (2001) - Alejandro Escovedo

In the video clip below, Escovedo explains the "meaning" of this song, and he also explains why he dropped it--his most popular song--from his touring setlist for three years. What Escovedo does not explain is how great this song--with the guitar lick half-nicked from the Beatles' "Revolution" and a quarter-nicked from Chuck Berry and a quarter-nicked from Eddie Cochrane, with the rhythm appropriating that of the Faces, and with Escovedo's syncopated vocals charmingly almost tripping over themselves in a breathless rush to get from the first half of the verses to the second--is; he just plays it. So should you. You'll like it better like that.

Pigskin Prognostications, Week Fourteen

Hate Thursday night games. Especially when they're between San Diego and Oakland. Ugh.

Chargers 24, Raiders 13 - If the Chargers don't win tonight, then San Diego coach Norv Turner's future there is probably sealed. Oakland? Who knows. Their defense--especially their secondary--will play well, but their offense? San Diego's D--now that Ron Rivera is coordinating--is playing much better, attacking more than reacting, and I think that improvement will make the difference in this one, which has the potential to be a low-scoring affair.

Bears 27, Jacguars 13 - Jacksonville's D isn't Minnesota's; Chicago goes on a rampage.

Vikings 24, Lions 10 - If the Williamses don't play, then this game could be this close. Maybe.

Falcons 28, Saints 27 - Those wacky NFC South teams! They just have so much fun playing together.

Giants 27, Eagles 18 - The last meeting between these two was much closer than the final score indicated, and McNabb looked great last week, and the Giants and Plaxico Burress (What do you mean I dropped the gun? Someone must have thrown it to the wrong shoulder) have had turmoil this week, but...have you seen the Giants run the ball, and how confident Eli is when they do so (well)? Yeah? Me, too.

Colts 31, Bengals 12 - Will Cincinnatti win another game this year? Maybe...but not this one, as the Colts are playing the hard-nosed football they learned how to play two years ago.

Packers 24, Texans 21- Both teams have displayed improved, uh, play, but...actually, the Texans could win this one. I don't think they will, but they could.

Titans 30, Browns 3- Who's the QB for Cleveland this week? Ken Dorsey? Really? Poor, poor pitiful Cleveland.

Jets 22, 49ers 10- If the 49ers play this week in the same fierce manner they did last week, they'll have a chance.

Patriots 27, Seahawks 13 - The Pats are playing for playoff position (and a chance at a division title), the Seahawks are playing for...pride. The Pats are more talented, anyway, all across the board.

Broncos 34, Chiefs 20- I've grown to be a Chiefs fan this season, but even I know they can't topple Denver if the Broncos play as well as they did last week.

Miami 17, Buffalo 9 - Buffalo's play has been up-and-down the past five weeks, but Edwards is out, so guess which way it goes this week?

Cardinals 31, Rams 10- St. Louis has been playing much better, but can do they have what it takes to stop Warner's air show? The moxie maybe, but not the talent.

Steelers 24, Cowboys 20- Growing up, I was a huge Dallas Cowboys fan (as I had to be, 'cause back then, network TV in our area showed every Saints game and every Cowboys game, and back in the '70s, it hurt to watch the Saints get beat that badly every week), and the three teams I hated the most--from the '70s to the '80s--were the Redskins, the 49ers, and the Steelers. Since this game should be a close, exciting game, and I'm not really sure who will win, then I should just pick Dallas for old time's sake...but I'm not a Dallas fan anymore, as T.O.'s antics (as well as Pacman Jones's) have completely soured me on my love for the team. Anyway, Pittsburgh's secondary is better, so, there you go.

Ravens 21, Redskins 14 - Baltimore's improved over the past few weeks, while Washington has slumped.

Tampa Bay 20, Carolina 18- The NFC South is the wackiest league in football when they play against each other. Like Chuck Berry sang, it just goes to show you never can tell.

The 333 Best Pop Songs of the 2000s: #230

#230: "Whenever, Wherever"/"Suerte" (2001) - Shakira

A confession: my wife made me put this song on my chart. Really. In a sense. Sort of.

The missus and I married ten years ago, and she taught Spanish at a nearby high school. In some of my earlier attempts at, uh, wooing, I--as many a musical man has done--attempted to make her a mixtape (actually a mixed CD, but I like the term mixtape so much better) of Spanish music, so I tried to include some traditional music and some contemporary, and in my research, I stumbled across Shakira, who'd hit it big in the Latin markets with her debut album Pies Descalzos a couple of years earlier. I also learned that later in the year (1998), she was releasing her new album, so I decided to wait till it hit.

So, as I waited, the missus and I married (ours was a short courtship--from close friends to engagement to married in the span of about seven months--and ours was not a shotgun wedding), and four months later Shakira dropped her second LP (still her best) ?Donde Estan Los Ladrones?, and the missus and I listened to it again and again (okay, so I was only who listened to it multiple times), and we knew this Columbian diva was a major talent.

Then 1999 happened: Prince's prophecy proved false, and Ricky Martin lived his crazy life all over America, and the missus and I said, "Hey, we know him!" And we did (well, not personally), and we knew that it wouldn't be too long before Shakira crossed over. One year later, she did, and we bought the album, and we loved the Spanish language tracks, for there Shakira sounded more confident, her voice expertly sauntering up-and-down the chromatic scale with ease, never lingering too long the way other melismatic singers like Mariah Carey and Celine Dion tend to.

Our favorite Spanish-language track was "Suerte." It's melody was darn-near inescapable--tied to the rhythm the way it was--and we appreciated the marriage of traditional Columbian instrumentation (the pan-flutes, the charango, etc...) with contemporary pop production (and Shakira produced this one herself), and we liked how Shakira maneuvered around the rhythm and melody much like Madge did during her heyday twenty years ago (and Shakira's a better singer anyway).

What threw us for a loop though was "Whenever, Wherever," the English version of "Suerte." The lyrics seemed clumsy now, and ridiculous at times (if you know this song, you know the line I'm talking about). Shakira's English phrasing was clumsy, too, and she had a difficult time singing some of those pesky English vowels, her voice pinching, making her nasal at times. Whoo, boy, we thought, she should have stuck with Espanol. We dismissed the song (the English version).

I came back to it, though; the more I've listened to it over the years (as "Suerte" never gets replayed at all), the more I've appreciated Shakira trying to not only sing in a language not her own, but also affect an accentless American accent. Teaching at a Native American high school, I've come to know the difficulty of trying to phrase phrases the way they're, uh, phrased in their native dialect. I appreciate Gloria Estafan's translation of Shakira's original Spanish lyrics to English, as for the most part she succeeds. Then, of courses, there's that line about her piquano pals: as ridiculous as it sounds, it's still...pretty ridiculous, but hey, it's sure memorable, notable enough to make "Whenever, Wherever" tied with "Suerte" as the only double-sided single on my chart.

The 333 Best Pop Songs of the 2000s: #231

#231: "Kick, Push" (2006) - Lupe Fiasco

One of the most pleasant tracks to reach (albeit the nether reaches) the American singles chart, "Kick, Push" just oozes cool, producer Soundtrakk sampling some obscure jazz/soul fusion record and matching it with a steady beat and a tugging yet understated bass line, the record sounding like the child of Digable Planets and De La Soul and Miles Davis. On top, Lupe Fiasco (a devout Muslim, known for his aborrance of violent, misogynistic, and alcohol/drug-praising lyrics) raps an (ostensible) coming-of-age story of a skateboarder, who must battle authority and choose between a woman and his board. The lyrics are more complex than they first seem, as the song--or at least the title--functions also as a metaphor for freedom, sex, and perseverance. Best of all, though, is Fiasco's onomatopoeiac delivery, especially his phrasing of the chorus, as Fiasco uses the meter of the words to mirror skateboarding itself. e.e. cummings would be proud. or he should be, at least.

Fifth Down, Week Thirteen

Over the weekend, Mississippi State lost their coach and the Egg Bowl. Couldn't say I didn't see it coming.

Titans 34, Lions 9 - Win. Again, over two-hundred yards rushing for Tennessee. Actual score: Titans 47, Lions 10

Cowboys 31, Seahawks 10 - Win. Dallas is dangerous again. Actual score: Cowboys 34, Seahawks 9

Cardinals 27, Eagles 17 - Loss. Can Arizona last long if they don't develop a functioning running game? I don't think so. Actual score: Eagles 48, Cardinals 20

Bills 20, 49ers 14 - Loss. Which Trent Edwards showed up? The one from the week before. Probably, a bit of both. Actual score: 49ers 10, Bills 3

Ravens 24, Bengals 10 - Win. I don't think Marvin Lewis has much longer left. Actual score: Ravens 34, Bengals 3

Buccaneers 28, Saints 20 - Win. New Orleans' D played well, but Tampa's D played better. Actual score: Buccaneers 23, Saints 20

Giants 20, Redskins 13 - Win. Over four-hundred total yards from the champs, and their D bottled up Portis. Actual score: Giants 23, Redskins 7

Dolphins 29, Rams 10 - Win. The Rams D played one of its best games of the year; unfortunately, its passing offense did not. Actual score: Dolphins 16, Rams 12

Colts 21, Browns 6 - Win. Cleveland's offense needs to be put back in the oven. Actual score: Colts 10, Browns 6

Packers 17, Panthers 14 - Loss. Great tennis match. On the final Packer drive, Rodgers tried to go long too soon, resulting in his only pick of the day. Acual score: Panthers 35, Packers 31

Falcons 24, Chargers 23 - Win. Atlanta should have closed this one sooner than they did. Much sooner. Actual score: Falcons 22, Chargers 16

Jets 34, Broncos 13 - Loss. I feel pity for Jay Cutler...because, uh, his arm might be sore from throwing the ball so hard? Didn't see this one coming the way it did. Actual score: Jets 34, Broncos 17

Patriots 13, Steelers 10 - Win. I was wrong. Pittsburgh ran and ran, and their defense and special teams covered and smothered. Actual score: Steelers 33, Patriots 10

Chiefs 19, Raiders 18 - Win. Yay! Actual score: Chiefs 20, Raiders 13

Bears 21, Vikings 17 - Loss. Minnesota's front four put enough pressure on Orton so that the Vikings could drift everyone else out zone coverage, and Orton couldn't beat it. Those dropped passes sure didn't help much. Actual score: Vikings 34, Bears 14

Texans 24, Jaguars 12 - Win. Does Jacksonville care anymore? Apparently, they do, as they had one of their best offensive game of the season. Too bad they got sloppy with the ball. Actual score: Texans 30, Jaguars 17.

The 333 Best Pop Songs of the 2000s: #232

#232: "Up All Night" (2007) - El-P

El-P (which is short for "El Producto," which is the non de plume of Jaime Meline) might have been born white, but he stayed up all hours honing his skills so that he could be taken seriously as a rap artist. He doesn't sound white, but he doesn't sound black, either. He sounds convincing.

El-P co-founded and co-owns the Definitive Jux record label, home (at one time or another) of underground/alternative/avant-garde rap artists such as Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, Del the Funkee Homosapien, RJD2, and Dizzee Rascal. El-P has not only promoted and distributed their records, he's also helped produce them, and he's had a hand in producing records for/with other acts such as Madvillain, MF Doom, Zach de la Rocha, and Trent Reznor. El-P makes records dense with atypical sound effects and unusual samples; they're not always pleasant to the ear, not always appealing upon first listen, but they're meaty, often layered with discordant melodies and strange time signatures.

With "Up All Night," El-P finally found a strong melody (strong for El-P, at least) to match with his tough productions. Not that this record is jingle-friendly (as it's not), but that there's an apparent verbal hook. The verbal hook here, though, remains possibly the least interesting aspect of the record. What really snags the listener is that strange, wobbly synth lick; it sounds futuristic (as do many effects in El-P records), but it's hard to catch: it jumps in and squiggles right out. The drums roll all around it, off the beat (which the guitar provides), and the effect of the two matched with the implicit, impending doom suggested by the lyric, suggets an armageddon awaiting us--and El-P has prepared for it.

I'm certainly not one to believe that the world is always soon to end, but when I hear this record, I could understand why some might think so. It's wickedly-chilling, and it's innovative enough that it'll take a few years for mainstream rap artists to pilfer it for it's goods. El-P'll be ready for 'em, though. He wasn't born yesterday.

The 333 Best Pop Songs of the 2000s: #233

#233: "Fix Up, Look Sharp" (2003) - Dizzee Rascal

After a critically-acclaimed album that was all the rage in England in 2003 (it claimed the Mercury Prize and Planet Sound's award for Best Album, and Rolling Stone claimed it was one of the fifty best of that year), British rapper Dizzee Rascal seemed prime to bring Grime to the States; alas, Grime (a mix of rap, electronica, and dance) never found a foothold here (though it still flourishes in the UK), and neither did Rascal. That last fact is surprising, as Rascal is charismatic, and his songs are fairly innovative, with their mixture of found sounds; ragga-style, rapid-fire vocals; electronic/dance accompaniment; and the off-tempo beats...okay, now that I've read what I've written, perhaps it's not so surprising he didn't chart over here, as the music for most of his songs sounds nothing like what's played on urban radio.

However, the music on this song does indeed sound like American hip-hop--old-school American hip-hop, that is. The record's basically Rascal rapping--upfront and center, too, right in your face, like a British, ragga-influenced Busta Rhymes (with more gusto)--over a great rock record: Billy Squier's "The Big Beat" (which we'll see sampled again on this chart later down the line). Heck, Rascal even includes Squier's vocals, so the song's not much different than Run D.M.C.'s cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." "Fix Up, Look Sharp" may not be as musically creative as Rascal's other songs, but it's much more direct and accessible, and you can dance to it. Fun's not pejorative in my world.