Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #4

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

Outkast - Hey Ya! (2003)


There were plenty of #1 hit songs this decade; odds are you didn't hear most of them. That's understandable in a compartmentalized, increasingly niche culture, which makes the ubiquitous #1 hit song almost as hard to come by as a platinum album.

Which is perhaps what makes "Hey Ya!" the last true, undisputed "hit" in all of rock 'n' roll, certainly the last this decade. It was the song that Art Brut dreamed about writing, a song that for a good six months you could not step outside the door for 30 minutes without hearing, a song that provided a common bond among all Americans, and that never grew tiresome for critics or fans. Outkast didn't have to fake their way to do it either, as most rappers of the time were doing. A hip-hop band for which individuality always came fist and accessibility second, Outkast missed more than they hit on Speakerboxx/The Love Below. For at least one song, however, they hit it out of the park. On "Hey Ya," as it turns out, picking up a guitar didn't make you less black, keyboards didn't make you rock any less, simulating an old-fashioned pop song didn't make you a poser, and approaching music with a smile on your face was still a path to fame even with a new, scary war raging. You won't find this song played in bars quite as often anymore, as it's easier to listen to pop songs from an where you have no personal attachment, be it the '60s or the '80s. Something tells me this song hasn't really gone away; the euphoria it produced in America circa 2003 was almost impossible to replicate, and it's a testament to the song's staying power.

Labels: 2000s, hey ya, lists, outkast, pop music, songs of the decade