I Don't Know If You Call These Bangers From 2003 "Oldies" Or "Classics" But Them Being 20 Years Old Is Insane
I remember riding with my dad in his 1972 Trans Am, The Who blasting out of the t-tops, and thinking to myself, "why the heck does he like all this stupid old crap?!" That was in the mid-90s and he was hanging on to the mid-70s and his pony tail hairstyle for dear life. Now here I am, in the lords year 2023, hanging on to the early 2000s with the same paralyzing death grip that Jeff Saturday holds on to timeouts near the end of games.
It's wild to think it's been 20 years since 50 Cent burst into the mainstream, Justin Timberlake went solo and exposed Britney Spears for being a cheating hussy, and the real Avril Lavigne was still making music and hadn't yet died and been replaced by a body double. 2003 was the year the Army pulled a bearded and dust covered Saddam Hussein out of a hole in the ground. Which is ironic because that is exactly how your punk ass nephew Dillon views you when you ask them to turn off the NBA Youngboy and put on some Ja Rule and Ashanti at the family bbq.
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In the top 15 songs from 03' you have Jay-Z and Beyonce, Sean Paul, Matchbox Twenty, Chingy, Kid Rock and Cheryl Crow, Evanescence, Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins (who are actually not twins, total false advertising), and J-Lo and LL Cool J. This was one of the last years where you can find alternative music hovering near the top of the charts.
I mean who among us didn't blast Michelle Branch - Are You Happy Now on their Sony Walkman riding home from school? Gazing out the window and thinking about how bad Jessica fucked up when she dumped you after the longest relationship of your life? You wasted three weeks of your prime on that bitch just for her to start dating Chris because his mom picks her up in her drop top Sebring for the school dance?!
Anyway, it's undeniable the staying power this era had. Go to any sporting event, club, or wedding and you are still likely to hear at least one of In Da Club, Crazy In Love, Right Thurr, Get Low, P.I.M.P., Lose Yourself, Rock Your Body, or Work It. Maybe that's just because most of the people running the music are still our age but that doesn't change the fact that that those are bangers.
This year was also home to what I personally believe is one of Jay-Z's greatest feature verses. While short, Jay's verse on Frontin' perfectly illustrated what most budding relationships were like at that time in our lives. A lot of innocent games and flirting back and forth. A time before social media made it cool to put every person who makes you slightly mad on blast. When playing hard to get and letting a connection build before going all in was still possible.
I'll probably shit myself the first time I heard an "oldies" or "classics" station playing this music. Hell, it might already be happening but I'm too busy building musical silos out of Spotify playlists to hear time marching forward and music evolving past my tastes.
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And it seems a lot of the world agrees with me. Because in 2022 Eminem was streamed 6.7 BILLION times on Spotify and was the most streamed hip-hop artist on Youtube. Which was four spots ahead of NBA Youngboy so suck my dick, Dillon.
So if you're one of the poor souls dragging ass during your first day back at the office today then you should just turn on this 2003 playlist on Youtube and take a trip down memory lane. You will never remember the bullshit busy work you did on January 2nd but you will always remember your favorite jams from 2003.