I suppose 2003 will best be remembered, in my mind, for the bridge pop music made to hipper-than-thou twentysomethings. Chart toppers like Outkast's "Hey Ya," Jay-Z's "99 Problems," Kelis' "Milkshake," Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and a variety of Justin Timberlake songs from his 2002 album Justified found a fanbase as large in the 'cool kid' community as they did everywhere else... but I suppose that makes sense. It certainly wasn't the first time pop music expanded to those nether regions (Kylie's "Can't Get You Outta My Head" was probably 2002's best example), but really, some the best music in the "indie" (groan) scene was of the dance sort (see The Rapture, Junior Senior and of course The Knife).
Artistically speaking, the album Deep Cuts from the Swedish sibling duo The Knife pales, in their eyes, to 2005's Silent Shout, but that doesn't make the album any less wonderful. I have no qualms about making the claim that "Heartbeats" is the best pop song of the entire decade (and José González's acoustic cover, from Veneer the same year, is pretty great as well). The albums below are listed in vague order of preference; the singles are not.
Outkast - Speakerboxxx / The Love BelowCheck It: Dracula's Wedding (with Kelis)
The Knife - Deep CutsCheck It: Heartbeats
M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost GhostsCheck It: Run Into Flowers
Kelis - TastyCheck It: Trick Me
Breathless - Behind the LightCheck It: After All These Years
The Hidden Cameras - The Smell of Our OwnCheck It: Golden Streams
Robin Guthrie - ImperialCheck It: Imperial
Jay-Z - The Black AlbumCheck It: 99 Problems
The Radio Dept. - Lesser MattersCheck It: Where Damage Isn't Already Done
The Microphones - Mount Eerie
Explosions in the Sky - The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead PlaceCheck It: Your Hand in Mine
Desert Sessions 9 & 10Check It: A Girl Like Me (with PJ Harvey)
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Master and EveryoneCheck It: Wolf Among Wolves
Sufjan Stevens - MichiganCheck It: Niagara Falls
Beyoncé - Dangerously in LoveCheck It: Crazy in Love (with Jay-Z)
José González - VeneerCheck It: Heartbeats (The Knife cover)
Black Eyes - Black EyesCheck It: Deformative
Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.Check It: Farewell Transmission
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - The Secret of Elena's TombCheck It: All Saints Day
Piano Magic - The Troubled Sleep of Piano MagicCheck It: Saint Marie [This is the version from the EP with Low's Alan Sparhawk on vocals instead of Glen Johnson. I prefer this version]
The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the ComatoriumCheck It: Cicatriz ESP
The Rapture - EchoesCheck It: House of Jealous Lovers
Kristin Hersh - The GrottoCheck It: Sno Cat
Kylie Minogue - Body LanguageCheck It: Chocolate
Étienne Daho - RéévolutionCheck It: If (with Charlotte Gainsbourg) [Really, this song is rather silly, but I enjoy it still]
Cat Power - You Are FreeCheck It: I Don't Blame You
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to TellCheck It: Date with the Night
Assorted Singles/Jams of 2003
Kelis - "Milkshake" (from Tasty)Amy Winehouse - "Fuck Me Pumps" (from Frank)
Elbow - "I've Got Your Number" (from Cast of Thousands)
Metric - "Dead Disco" (from Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?)
Britney Spears - "Toxic" (from In the Zone) [Really, this song is a fucking jam; too bad the video sucks]
Girls in Hawaii - "Flavor" (from From Here to There)Desert Sessions (with PJ Harvey, Josh Homme) - "Crawl Home" (from Desert Sessions 9 & 10)
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Y Control" (from Fever to Tell)
Benjamin Biolay - "Glory Hole" (from Négatif)
Liz Phair - "HWC" (from Liz Phair) [HWC is the acronym for "Hot White Cum;" this song is just awful. I love it]
Massive Attack - "Butterfly Caught" (from 100th Window)Electric Six - "Gay Bar" (from Fire) [I love that the words "war" and "nuclear war" had to be censored]
Outkast - "Happy Valentine's Day" (from Speakerboxxx / The Love Below)
The Rapture - "Olio" (from Echoes)
Desert Sessions (with Josh Homme, PJ Harvey) - "I Wanna Make It Wit Chu" (from Desert Sessions 9 & 10) [PJ Harvey doesn't sing on the album version, but of course I chose the video where she does]
Émilie Simon (with Perry Blake) - "Graines d'étoiles" (from Émilie Simon)The Hidden Cameras - "Boys of Melody" (from The Smell of Our Own)
José González - "Slow Moves" (from Veneer)
Goldfrapp - "Train" (from Black Cherry)
The Knife (with Jenny Wilson) - "You Take My Breath Away" (from Deep Cuts)
The Hidden Cameras - "Ban Marriage" (from The Smell of Our Own)Cat Power (with Eddie Vedder) - "Evolution" (from You Are Free)
50 Cent - "In Da Club" (from Get Rich or Die Tryin')
The Knife - "Pass This On" (from Deep Cuts) [arguably one of my three favorite videos of the decade]
R. Kelly - "Ignition (Remix)" (from Chocolate Factory)
Dannii Minogue - "I Begin to Wonder" (from Neon Nights)Goldfrapp - "Strict Machine" (from Black Cherry)
Beyoncé - "Me Myself and I" (from Dangerously in Love)
Kings of Leon - "Trani" (from Youth and Young Manhood) [I sort of feel like a douche putting this band on here, but I do like this song... unfortunately it's not about a tranny like I originally thought]
Ludacris - "Stand Up" (from Chicken-N-Beer)
Kylie Minogue - "Secret (Take You Home)" (from Body Language)Beyoncé - "Naughty Girl" (from Dangerously in Love)
The Strokes - "Reptilla" (from Room on Fire)
Blu Cantrell (with Sean Paul) - "Breathe" (from Bitter Sweet)
Black Eyes - "On the Sacred Side" (from Black Eyes) [unfortunately I couldn't find this streaming anywhere]
No Doubt - "It's My Life" (from The Singles 1992-2003) [Talk Talk cover]Scissor Sisters - "Laura" (from Laura EP)
Mya - "My Love Is Like... Wo" (from Moodring)
!!! - "Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard (A True Story)" (from Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard (A True Story) EP)
The Postal Service - "Such Great Heights" (from Give Up) [lame, I know]
Blur - "Out of Time" (from Think Tank)The Radio Dept. - "Keen on Boys" (from Lesser Matters)
Keren Ann - "Not Going Anywhere" (from Not Going Anywhere)
Broadcast - "Pendulum" (from Haha Sound)
50 Cent (featuring Nate Dogg) - "21 Questions" (from Get Rich or Die Tryin')
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