In the 2000s, music fans wanted to continue to rock. The 1990s had given the landscape a number of excellent offerings, including tracks from the likes of Alanis Morissette, PJ Harvey and Fiona Apple, not to mention bands like Hole, Garbage and The Cranberries. But the new millennium required new voices and we sure got some.
Here below, we wanted to explore three female rockers from the 2000s that set the world on fire. A trio of artists who released tracks that we still can’t get enough of. Indeed, these are three solo rocks songs from women in the 2000s that keep kicking butt.
[RELATED: No Skips: 4 Classic Rock Albums You’ll Never Have to Fast-Forward]
“Complicated” by Avril Lavigne from Let Go (2002)
In the 2000s, pop punk artist Avril Lavigne was a rocket ship that no one could impede. Her 2002 debut solo LP Let Go featured a number of hit singles, from the charming “Sk8er Boi” to the cathartic “Complicated.” On the latter, the Canadian-born eye-shadow-wearing singer belted vocals about life as a young person and why things can get so messy. The song, which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, wonders why people put on social masks rather than just being themselves. On it, she sings,
I like you the way you are
When we’re driving in your car
And you’re talking to me, one on one
But you’ve become
Somebody else ’round everyone else
You’re watching your back like you can’t relax
You’re trying to be cool
You look like a fool to me
Tell me
Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you’re acting like you’re somebody else
Gets me frustrated
Life’s like this, you
“Hold On, Hold On” by Neko Case from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (2006)
With a voice that projects like a bell, the Virginia-born singer Neko Case is a walking call to action. Compelling and clear, crisp and catchy, Case soars like an eagle on her single “Hold On, Hold On,” from her 2006 LP Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. The song itself is about breaking bad. The singer talks about hearing the words “hold on” as if meaning to tell her to do good and hold on to what’s righteous. But instead, the singer goes for the opposite path. On the track, Case sings,
That echo chorus lied to me with its
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
In the end, I was the mean girl
Or somebody’s in between girl
Now it’s the devil I love
And that’s as funny as real love
I leave the party at 3 a.m.
Alone, thank God
With Valium from the bride
It’s the devil I love, it’s the devil I love
And that’s as funny as real love
And that’s as real as true love
“Loose Lips” by Kimya Dawson from Remember That I Love You (2006)
Many may know Kimya Dawson from the band The Moldy Peaches. The group, which rose to popularity in 2001 thanks to their single “Anyone Else but You,” which enjoyed a prominent spot on the Oscar-nominated Juno film soundtrack. It remains a fan favorite for its charming, quirky style. But Dawson has enjoyed a prolific solo career, as well, releasing eight solo albums, along with six others in various groups. And on the track “Loose Lips,” Dawson sings about living life to its fullest. For the famed anti-folk music star, life is to be lived. And on the track they sing,
Loose lips might sink ships but loose gooses take trips
To San Francisco, double dutch disco
Tech TV hottie, do it for Scotty
Do it for the living and do it for the dead
Do it for the monsters under your bed
Do it for the teenagers and do it for your mom
Broken hearts hurt but they make us strong and
We won’t stop until somebody calls the cops
And even then we’ll start again and just pretend that
Nothing ever happened
We won’t stop until somebody calls the cops
And even then we’ll start again and just pretend that
Nothing ever happened
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Photo by Ryan McFadden / Elektra Music Group
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