Trotter's Top 400 of the Noughties - Part 6 (61-80)

So in this here edition we highlight several of New York's Finest who spearheaded rock's 21st Century revival and a couple of the homegrown variety, repent for past sins of not liking The Arcade Fire (I had my reasons!), partner dance moves with Britain's glummest electroniclasts and admonish someone for their spitting Misdemeanors.  All this and a Two Ronnies reference!

61 'My Delirium' by Ladyhawke - with one of the best guitar lines, fringes and use of watercolours of the decade
62 'Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above' by CSS - for precisely three months, two days and 57 minutes, the coolest band on the planet.  Bonus points for obscure band reference (see Number 376)
63 'House of Jealous Lovers' by The Rapture - riding the New York Cool wave of the Noughties and with one of the best intros in this countdown - coming on all '50's b-movie space invasion disaster flick - then getting even better (Misfits wouldn't be the same without it)
64 'Back to Black' by Amy Winehouse - a perfect example of why Amy was such an incredible vocalist, sincerity dripping from every word and a delivery that was both vintage and modern at once. 
65 'Only One Word Comes to Mind' by Biffy Clyro - inventive, discordant, disjointed, brash and frankly incomprehensible - and easily their best effort.
66 'All You Do Is Talk' by BRMC - known more for their dark, dirty brand of balls-to-the-wall rock, when they 'go slow' its that much more effective, none more so here.  Those strings will break your heart.
67 'Amsterdam' by Coldplay - the closing track from their best album, never released as a single but played over and over by yours truly, particularly on those 'just one more play' listens post-pub.  Their trademark melancholy-turned-uplifting shtick perfected.  
68 'Ice Cream' by New Young Pony Club - cool electronics, breathy, seductive female vocals, more double-entendres than at Two Ronnies' Finishing School' (oo-er) and a video shamelessly targeted at spotty, teenage indie-boys - what's not to like?
69 '1901' by Phoenix - if your foot isn't tapping in the first three seconds I'm afraid you're dead.
70 'Someday' by The Strokes - not only did The Strokes look and sound perfect, but their timing was equally impeccable.  Exploding on the music scene at the start of the decade and influencing dozens of bands that came after them.  This countdown would be very different without them. 
71 'Zero' by Yeah Yeah Yeahs - I'm sure if we met, Karen O and I would be inseparable best friends, if it wasn't for that restraining order.
72 'Get Ur Freak On' by Missy Elliott - I promise I'll stop with the 'R&B used to be creative' spiel, but just listen to this and tell me it still doesn't wipe the floor with what's cynically put together today.  Minus points for advocating spittin' in yo face. 
73 'Chop Suey' by System of a Down - speaking of inventive, this is a classic of its time.  These folk were unfairly lumped into the nu-metal movement - even recently when the children with crayons at the NME labelled them misogynistic - this, in comparison to Fred 'in his 30's and stomping off to his room to write a song about boobies Durst.
74 'Time to Pretend' by MGMT - beautifully bonkers and, to put it kindly, ploughing their own furrow - but more power to them for sidestepping the stadium-level career that awaited them after taking over with this track.
75 'Helicopter' by Bloc Party - if the UK had any equivalent to The Strokes at all it was this band and this, their best effort.   Refreshing too to see a black, gay frontman to an indie-band, even if Kele would eventually resort to taking his top off and bust some moves to dance music.
76 'Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)' by The Arcade Fire - fun fact! I hated this band for blatantly ripping off the intro here to New Order's 'Touched by the Hand of God'.  I've mellowed somewhat since.
77 'Monster Hospital' by Metric - if I was Prime Minister every song would start 'Bam-chicka-bam-chika-boom-boom-boom-shalang-shalang-boom' and usher in a zombie apocalypse.  Including school assemblies.
78 'Rest My Chemistry' by Interpol - the most-Interpolist of Interpol songs, with tales of making 'hallways scenes to regret' and 'bathed in nothing but sweat'.  if that's not true I'll be very disappointed.
79 'Who Can Say' by The Horrors - the precise moment when Faris Badwan becomes a stellar frontman and dons a white dinner jacket to deliver the coldest, 'being cruel to be kind to be cruel' spoken word section of a song this side of Motown.  Genius.
80 'Islands' by The XX - choreography wasn't on the list of 'first thousand words you think of when describing The XX' until this rather marvellous video that matches the song perfectly in a captivating style (while the band sit around looking moody obvs).

Now listen to a good old earful of all of these over on that there Spotify malarkey...and if you missed the previous 320 (!) you can listen to them here, here, here, here and here.