The early 2000s produced some of the best rock songs ever written. It also gave us some very odd tunes that, to be honest, I love BECAUSE they’re kinda weird, and not despite the oddness, like some ironic affinity.
Allow me to share with you a few of the odd 2000s rock tracks that I loved then and still really get a kick out of today.
“She Had the World” by Panic! At The Disco
Most people do not agree with me that Panic! At The Disco’s sophomore album, Pretty. Odd. (2008) is their best.
My opinion on this is not to disparage their acclaimed debut album (which I think you can call “experimental emo” before calling it even remotely pop-punk). It also doesn’t discredit the exceptional pop-rock they shifted to after that second album.
I simply believe that Pretty. Odd. is the most inventive and creative album in their repertoire. And since this list is discussing “odd” rock tracks… Take, if you will, the song “She Had The World”. It’s basically harpsichord-driven Baroque-pop. It’s a weirdly gorgeous chambermaid jam, and I f***ing live every second of it.
“Bounce” by System of a Down
I guess, as with the previous entry on this list, the album that this song is on is pretty odd (see what I did there?) overall.
System of a Down’s Toxicity is beautifully bizarre. Maybe no song on the album is more odd than “Bounce”. It starts with a pummeling beat and frontman Serj Tankian yelling “pogo,” before going on to talk about how he brought his pogo stick on a date and the girl “had so many friends.”
It goes on to headbangingly repeat the rapid-fire “pogo” chant, which is speculated to be a sex-related lyric. To call it “odd” is an understatement.
“My Doorbell” by The White Stripes
The White Stripes were kind of the epitome of odd rock in the early 2000s, and that definitely extended into their collection of singles. Hell, most people don’t realize that they actually dropped “Hotel Yorba” as a single from White Blood Cells (2001) before releasing “Fell in Love with a Girl”, which really was their breakout song.
A few years later, at their creative peak, Jack and Meg White released their fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan. That record featured the tune, “My Doorbell”, that they put out as their second single from the album, and it was a fascinating choice.
The song is incredibly fun. It’s got a great beat, and the melody is very catchy. It’s so unusual, though, as a song that you would use to reel people in, expecting a radio hit. And yet, that is exactly what this odd rock track delivered. It’s out there, but we love it exactly for that reason.
The post 3 of the Weirdest 2000s Rock Tracks That I Love Because They’re so Odd, Not in Spite of It appeared first on VICE.
