The band's 2000 single
"B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)" , from the
Stanktonia record, was chosen by the writers of
Pitchfork as the number one song of the decade, beating acts such as LCD Soundsystem, Beyonce, Radiohead and Missy Elliott.
"Do we have any other choice?", writes staff reviewer Stuart Berman.
"
"B.O.B." is not just the song of the decade-- it
is the decade".
Berman goes on to refer to the song's sociopolitical context in reasoning its list-topping.
The title-- aka "Bombs Over Baghdad", a phrase that sounded oddly anachronistic in 2000, sadly ubiquitous two and a half years later-- is only the start of it. In "B.O.B"'s booty-bass blitzkrieg, we hear an obliteration of the boundaries separating hip-hop, metal, and electro, setting the stage for a decade of dance/rock crossovers. We hear a bloodthirsty gospel choir inaugurating a presidential administration of warmongering evangelicals. We hear André 3000 and Big Boi fire off a synapse-bursting stream of ripped-from-the-headlines buzzwords ("Cure for cancer/ Cure for AIDS"), personal anecdotes ("Got a son on the way by the name of Bamboo") and product placements ("Yo quiero Taco Bell") that read like the world's first Twitter feed. We hear four minutes of utter fucking chaos yielding to a joyously optimistic denouement (a point reinforced by the Stankonia cover's re-imagination of the American flag, which anticipates a White House set to be painted black).
Whilst the song itself was never a major commercial success in the spirit of other Outkast singles such as "Hey Ya!", "Ms. Jackson' and "The Way You Move", "B.O.B." has been a critical favourite for years. It even topped the Pitchfork "Top 500 Songs of 2000-2004" list in the middle of the decade.
Here is the top twenty songs of the 2000s, according to the writers of Pitchfork:
#20 | The Walkmen – The Rat
#19 | R. Kelly – Ignition (Remix)
#18 | Hercules and Love Affair – Blind
# 17 | Annie – Heartbeat
# 16 | The Rapture – House Of Jealous Lovers
# 15 | The Knife – Heartbeats
# 14 | Jay-Z – 99 Problems
# 13 | LCD Soundsystem – Losing My Edge
# 12 | Outkast – Hey Ya!
# 11 | Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
# 10 | Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
# 9 | Animal Collective – My Girls
# 8 | Radiohead – Idioteque
# 7 | Missy Elliot – Get Ur Freak On
# 6 | Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps
# 5 | Daft Punk – One More Time
# 4 | Beyoncé – Crazy in Love (Feat. Jay-Z)
# 3 | M.I.A. – Paper Planes (Diplo Remx) (Feat. Bun B and Rich Boy)
# 2 | LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
# 1 | Outkast – B.O.B.
To view the entire list, visit
the Pitchfork website.
