2000: #9 - "South Side"

There's not a whole lot to say about "South Side", the 2nd most awesome irritating song (or the 2nd most irritating awesome song?) of the decade (First prize!).

It's good. I bet you've heard it. I'm sure you've heard it. If you haven't, but like the idea of Gwen Stefani singing very loudly over a slightly annoying and bone-headed Brian Eno-ish song (think Zooropa, maybe?), then clicketh the embedded video forthwith.

If not, might I interest you in some post-punk? JK.

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2001: 19-11

19. "Fiesta" - R Kelly
18. "Break Ya Neck" - Busta Rhymes
17. "One Minute Man" - Missy Elliott
16. "Ante Up (Remix)" - M.O.P.
15. "7 Days" - Craid David
14. "Ghost Showers" - Ghostface Killah
13. "I'm A Slave 4 U" - Britney Spears
12. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" - Jay-Z
11. "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" - Eve

In a very strong year, it'd be hard not to mention everything great we heard - the laid-back, pre-party-funk of "Fiesta"; "Break Your Neck" and "Ante Up", two old school New York headbangers, both featuring Busta Rhymes; Missy's catchy and conventional (for her) "One Minute Man"; Craig David's cute Brit-dance-popper "7 Days" featuring the cheeky line "...We chilled on Sunday" (they'd made love Wednesday through Saturday, needed a break); the first of many appearances on DOTY thus far by any Wu-Tang Clan member (Ghostface's "Ghost Showers"); and the last by Kanye (he produced Jay's "Izzo").

We'll leave you to ponder 2001 with the important R&B/hip hop makeovers of two very disparate artists - Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani. Britney used The Neptunes' slinky late-80's Prince-lite beat to establish herself as a sexy, adult solo artist. Too bad a forthcoming single negated all that.



On the other hand, Gwen managed to ride Eve's coattails into some unexpected hip hop and R&B cred, becoming more of a Madonna-esque shape-shifter over the next half-dozen years than Britney ever was.



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2004: #10 - "What You Waiting For?"

Despite ripping two songs - oddly, Weezer's "Hash Pipe" and, more oddly, Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly" - that will not be appearing on any DOTY lists, Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For", a crazed call-to-arms for super-hot female parents-turned-solo-artists, turns up at #10 for 2004.

A loud, brash, stupid mess signaling the arrival of a loud, brash, stupid mess, this was another Gwen Stefani song that you ha(te)d to love, just because it had the balls to be so awe(ful)some, and it sort of paved the way for some deliciously dumb, over-the-top female rocker pop of the late 00's.

2005: #10 - "Hollaback Girl"

Where songs like "Mickey" or Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" employ actual cheerleading sounds and melodies, while at the same time masquerading as legitimate songs with legitimate lyrics, and end up sounding half-catchy and half-juvenile in the process, "Hollaback Girl" just sounds 100% schizophrenic and delusional, the sound of a 40-year old woman screeching out non-sequiturs and pretending she is in high school, all while the hardest beats and handclaps you'll ever hear on Top 40 radio merge with beautiful, minimal and perfectly-placed synth melodies and harmonies. We don't have a clue what it intends to achieve, and therein lies its greatness.

Dubbed by some as the most annoying song of all-time, "Hollaback Girl", with its puzzling contrast of perfectly inane lyrics and insanely perfect melody and sonics, has antagonized our ironic bullshit detector for over 5 years. We could never decide if it was good, so-bad-it's-good, ironically bad, or flat out bad. Now, much older and somewhat wiser, we're able to conclude that not only is Gwen Stefani totally serious here, but that the song is utterly unclassifiable. It's not quite the best song of 2005, it can't possibly be the worst, but there is certainly no in-between ground.