Tynan's Anger

Arts & Culture Commentary from a Loving Digital Skeptic

[SONGS OF THE DECADE] #23 Outkast – B.O.B.

Posted on | December 8, 2009 | No Comments

SONGS OF THE DECADE #23

[For more info, read the Ground Rules of The Song of The Decade List]

Outkast – B.O.B. (2000)

B.O.B. – OutKast

“B.O.B.” is probably #1 on Pitchfork’st list because

(a) It’s a searing, maniacal song that threw a landmine into any one-dimensional perception of hip-hop
(b) It’s the best song by a critically-lauded popular act
(c) It casually alludes to the region that has caused the most political strife this decade

For me, (a) is the only thing that matters, and it’s because of that electricity that it’s here. Musically, “B.O.B.” may be Outkast’s best song, but culturally, it ain’t even close. It’s not even their most politically-important song: the cash “Hey Ya” generated means a lot more than the lyrical allusions a song from 2000 made to a country we’d be at war with three years later (and had been at war with nine years previously). It’s a preposterously good song, but it will never be fully appreciated for its merits as a song alone, even if Pitchfork declares it the best song of the decade. What makes “B.O.B.” the musical variation of the generation-defining tragedy (on a much smaller scale) is the way it’s been co-opted by revisionists. I guess that’s culturally significant enough

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