In the vein of the 16 Greatest Books of All Time, NYU Local brings you the 16 Greatest Pop Songs of the New Decade Arranged download. Songs 13-16, here we go. Honorable mentions are here.

16. “Fell in Love With a Girl” by The White Stripes –  White Blood Cells (2002)
The White Stripes have beaten out the Hives, the Vines and the Strokes for placement on this list because they have proven the most durable force of the early decade’s Rock Revolution. Furthermore, if they were the saviors of rock—if rock needed to be saved—they would have lent credence to the very necessary concept of a public desire for Led Zeppelin pastiche. It’s worth noting that they still haven’t found their own sound, but Jack White writes better pastiche riffs than anybody else, and this song—their break out single—displayed an undiluted public appetite for all the best things about rock and roll. The Whites understand there is a mythology of the blues, even if they don’t know what it is. And the songs themselves are often very good. Especially this one.

15. “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway (2004)
The thing Simon Cowell realizes that the other two don’t is that the Americans they convert into idols every year are inherently boring people. Kelly Clarkson retains some level of idolatry not because she’s more interesting than Carrie Underwood, but because she defined the parameters of America’s willingness to idolize by being first. I had to confirm on Wikipedia that she’d put  out anything in between “A Moment Like This” and this one, and upon learning there were four (four!) singles released within that year and a half, I realized I didn’t know a single line from any of them. So maybe “Low” is actually a better song than “Since U Been Gone” in which case I apologize, but the latter’s placement on this list comes from the excitement a generation of music snobs felt when they collectively transcended their prejudices and got it on with America’s least convincing superstar.

It’s also important to note that “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs really is a better song in every conceivable way, but even on a list that didn’t establish a popularity criteria I would place Kelly over Karen O, because Karen’s undeniable cred places a responsibility on her to do excellent work. From her we expect it. But Kelly Clarkson defined the criteria and subsequent reaction to a break-up anthem from a Texan-American with absolutely no discernible qualities. And remember how we danced.

14. “Just Like a Pill” by Pink – M!ssundaztood (2002)
Pink defined the hardass independent woman so prevalent in pop music now, but her output remains singular because rather than being a product of the zeitgeist, she really was a badass. Her era was the era of Ashton Kutcher and Punk’d, the era of football players and skaters being on Cribs, the era that elected Britney Spears indomitable queen and then allowed Fred Durst a platform on which to claim that he’d hit it. In short, it was an era when MTV still carried enough weight to take chances, however minor, and Pink was the pop star of providence for a demographic nobody bothered to define.

So M!ssundaztood was content to simply exist, and sell based on the strength of its singles. “Just Like a Pill” was bizarrely sexual, primarily because it was fairly clear Pink was having sex (this was before Britney’s fall from virginal grace), and edgy, primarily because she had the gall to rhyme “itch” with “bitch” (“you PMS like a chick I would motherfucking know”). “Don’t Let Me Get Me” was Pink’s Intellectual Autobiography, but “Just Like a Pill” was cooler, darker, and sounded better—altogether a stronger song.

13. “Rollout (My Business)” by Ludacris – Word of Mouf (2001)
On certain days, Ludacris is my favorite rapper. Nobody understands the humor inherent in commercial rap like he does, or ventures so far into its comedic potential without resorting to parody. Most rappers can’t kick your ass, or can but won’t, because they have money. Ludacris is just honest about it. And if you’ve forgotten about “Rollout” at this point, try to remember what you were doing while your entire high school was singing “What in the world is in that BAG, what you got in that BAG? A couple a cans of whoop ass, you did a good-ass job” and “Man that car don’t come out til next year, where in the FUCK did you get it?” and “Who’s that bucked naked cook fixin’ three course meals” and “is that your wife, your girlfriend, or just your main bitch?” Then try to remember how you’d disgraced him or embarrassed him, but in any case offended him, as per his request that you please get the fuck out of his business. Finally, try to remember his role in Crash, and how much better that movie would have been if anybody in it had had his awareness of purpose. Brendan Fraser, did you make The Mummy 3 to support your wife, your girlfriend, or just your main bitch?