Monthly Archives: March 2020

What are some of the central characteristics of the solution proposed?

Automation of Labor

As the trend of what appears to be an exponential increase in the evolution of information technology, robotics, and computerization continues, it is apparent that human labor is becoming more and more inefficient in regard to meeting the demands necessary for supporting the global population. From the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, we have seen an increasing trend toward technological unemployment, which is the phenomenon where humans are replaced by machines in the work force. This trend, while debatable in regard to its ultimate long term effect on employment, creates a propensity to displace the worker and hence the consumer, slowing consumption.

That stated, this issue is actually overshadowed by a larger social imperative: That the use of machine labor (mechanization) is provably more efficient than human performance in virtually all sectors. For example, if one was to track the performance output of factory production within the US steel industry for the past 200 years, we find that not only do less than 5% of the workforce now work in such factories, the efficiency and output capacities have increased substantially. The trend, in fact, now shows that Employment is Inverse to Productivity. The more mechanization occurs, the more productive an industry becomes.

Today, there are repetitive occupations which simply do not need to exist given the state of automation and computerization (cybernation). Not only would mechanization in these areas reduce the mundane burden and allow more free time for people, it also would, more importantly, increase productivity. Machines do not need breaks, vacations, sleep, etc.. The use of mechanization on its own means to create many forms of abundance on this planet, from food to physical goods.

However, to do this, the traditional labor system we have simply cannot exist. The reality is that our labor for income system is stifling progress in its requirement to keep people working for the sake of economic stability. We are reaching a stage where the efficiency of automation is overriding and making obsolete the system of labor for income. This trend shows no sign of slowing, especially in regard to the now dominant Service Industry, which is increasingly being automated in the form of kiosks, robotics, and other forms. Likewise, due to phenomena related to Moores law and the growing in-expense of computers and machines, it is likely that it is simply a matter of time before corporations simply can no longer rationalize keeping human labor anymore, as the automation systems will become too cheap. Of course, this is a paradoxical market phenomenon, called by some theorists as the contradiction of capitalism, for it is, in effect, removing the consumer (laborer) itself and hence reducing consumption.

Apart from those issues, it is important to also consider human labor contributions based on social relevance, not monetary gain. In a RBE, there would be no reason to have occupations such as Banking, Trading, Insurance, Cashiers, Brokers, Advertising or anything related to the governance of money.

All human actions in the form of institutionalized labor should also have the highest social return. There is no logic in wasting resources, time, and energy on operations that do not have a direct and tangible function. This adjustment alone would remove millions of jobs, for the idea of working for money as a purpose would no longer exist.

In turn, all the poor demographic, shoddy goods, vanity items, and culturally contrived creations designed to influence people for reasons of status (for the sole sake of profit) would also no longer exist, saving countless amounts of time and resources.

One final note on this issue: Some hear this and they assume that this voids the Communicative Arts, and personal and social expression as far as painting, sculpture, music, and the like. No. These mediums of expression will likely thrive like never before, for the amount of free time made available to people will permit a renaissance of creativity and invention, along with community and social capital. The elimination of the burden of labor obligation will also reduce stress and create a more amiable culture.

There is a difference between creating for the sake of keeping society sustainable and efficient, focusing on resource preservation, product efficiency, and strategic allocation of labor for those things which generate a tangible social return versus creating for personal expression, exploration, experimentation, and hence art, which has been a staple of human evolution since the dawn of time.

Access over Property

The concept of property, unannounced to most people today, is a fairly new social concept. Before the neolithic revolution, as extrapolated from current hunter and gatherer societies existing today, property relationships did not exist as we know them. Neither did money, or even trade, in many cases. Communities existed in an egalitarian fashion, living within the carrying capacity of their regions and the natural production built in. It was only after direct agricultural development was discovered, eventually proceeding with resource acquisition by ship traders and the like up to modern day power establishments and corporations that property became a highly defined staple of society as we know it today.

With that understood, which dismisses the common notion that property is a result of some kind of empirical human nature, the notion of no property is also today often blindly associated with Communism and the works of Karl Marx. It is important to point out TZMs advocation of no property is derived from logical inference, based almost explicitly upon strategic resource management and efficiency, rather than any surface influence by these supposed Communist ideals. There is no relation between the two, for communism was not derived from the needs to preserve and manage resources efficiently. Communism, in theory and practice, was based on a social/moral relativism which was culturally specific not environmentally specific which is the case with a RBE.

The real issue relevant to meeting human needs is not ownership it is access. People use things; they do not own them. Ownership is a non-operational, protectionist advent, derived from generations of scarcity over resources, currently compounded by market-based advertising which supports status/class division for the sake of monetary gain . To put it another way, ownership is a form of controlled restriction, both physically and ideologically. Property as a system of controlled restriction, coupled with the monetary value inherent, and hence the market consequences, is unsustainable, limiting, and impractical.

In a NL/RBE model, the focus moves from static ownership to strategic access, with a system designed for society to obtain access as needed. For example, rather than owning various forms of recreational sporting equipment, Access Centers are set up, typically in regions where such actions occur, where a person simply checks out the equipment, uses it for as long as they want, and then returns it. This library type arrangement can be applied to virtually any type of human need. Of course, those reading this who have been conditioned into a more individualistic, materialistic mindset often objects with claims such as What if I want green, custom golf clubs, but only white are available?. This is a culturally contrived, biased reservation. The issue in question is utility, not vanity. Human expression has been molded by the needs of the current market based system (consumption) into values which are simply nonfunctional and irrelevant. Yes, this would require a value adjustment to quality rather than identity. The fact is, even for those who object from the standpoint of their interest in personal identity, the overarching social ramifications of such an social approach will create benefits that will greatly overshadow any such arbitrary personal preference, creating new values to replace the outdated ones.

These include : (a) No Property Crime: In a world of access rather than ownership, and without money, there is no incentive to steal, for there is no resale value. You can not steal something that no one owns and you certainly couldnt sell it. (b) Access Abundance: It has been denoted that the average automobile sits in parking spaces for the majority of its life span, wasting space and time. Rather than having this wasteful consequence of the ownership system, one car could facilitate a large number of users in a given region, with only a fraction of the production/resources needed. [c) Peak Efficiency of Production: Unlike today, where the market system must perpetuate inherently inferior products for the sake of economic turnover, we could actually design goods to last, using the best materials and processes strategically available. We no longer make cheap products to serve a poor demographic (which is the majority). This attribute alone will save cataclysmic amounts of resources, while also enabling a society to have access to goods and services that they would never have had in a world based on money, inherent obsolescence, and property.

Self-Contained/Localized City and Production Systems

There are many brilliant engineers who have worked to tackle the issue of industrial design; from Jacque Fresco, to R. Buckminster Fuller, to Nicola Tesla. Behind such designs, such as Jacque Frescos famed Circular Cities or Fullers Geodesic Domes, rests a basic train of thought: Strategic Efficiency and Maximization of Productivity.

For example, Frescos circular city is constructed of a series of belts, each serving a social function such a energy production, research, recreation, living, etc.. Each city is a hence a system, where all needs are produced within the city complex, in a localized fashion, whenever possible. For example, renewable energy generation occurs near the outer perimeter. Food production is produced closer to the middle within industrial-sized greenhouses.

This is very different in its logic from the globalization-based economy we live in today, which wastes outrageous amounts of energy and resources due to unneeded transport and labor processing. Likewise, transportation within the circular cities is strategically created to eliminate the use of detached automobiles, except for rare cases such as emergency vehicles. Homes are created to be micro-systems as well, with much power generation occurring internally, such as from sunlight absorbed by the building structure using photovoltaic technology. More information on these city system can be found at https://www.thevenusproject.com.

The Geodesic Dome, perfected by Buckminster Fuller, offers another efficiency oriented medium within a similar train of thought. Fullers goal was to build designs to do more with fewer resources. He noticed problems inherent in conventional construction techniques, and recognized the indigenous strength of naturally occurring structures. The advantages include: a much stronger structure than a conventional building while using less material to construct; domes can be built very quickly because they are of a modular prefab construction and suit being mass produced; They also use less energy to keep warm/cool than a conventional box structure. More information can be found at http://www.bfi.org/

In the end, the fundamental interest is, again, sustainability and efficiency on all levels, from the housing design to the earth design. The market system actually fights this efficiency due to the broken, competitive nature inherent.

Technological Unification of Earth via Systems Approach

We live in a symbiotic/synergistic planetary ecosystem, with a cause-effect balance reflecting a single system of earthy operation. Buckminster Fuller defined this well when he referred to the planet as Spaceship Earth. It is time we reflect this natural state of affairs in our societal affairs on this planet. The fact of the matter is that human societies, which are dispersed across the globe, require resources which are also un-uniformly dispersed across the globe. Our current procedure for enabling resource distribution comes in the form of corporations which seek and claim ownership of our earthly resources, which they in turn sell to others in the name of profit. The problems inherent in this practice are numerous, again due to the self-interest based disposition inherent in selling anything for personal gain, as denoted above. But in the larger scheme of things, this is only partially the issue when it come to the reality that we live on a finite planet, and where resource management and preservation should be the number one concern in regard to human survival, especially with the population explosion of the last 200 years.

Two people are born every second on this planet, and each one of those humans needs a lifetime of food, energy, water and the like. Given this fundamental need to understand what we have, the rates of depletion and, invariably, the need to streamline industry in the most efficient, productive way, a Global System of Resource Management must be put in place. It is just common sense. This is an extensive subject when one considers the technical, quantitative variables needed for implementation. However, for the sake of overview, it can be stated that the first step is a Full Global Survey of all earthly resources. Then, based on a quantitative analysis of the properties of each material, a strategically defined process of production is constructed from the bottom up, using such variables as negative retroactions, renewability, etc. (More on this can be found in the section called Project Earth in the ZM lecture called Where Are We Going?). Then consumption statistics are accessed, rates of depletion become monitored, distribution is logically formulated, etc.. In other words, it is a full Systems Approach to earthly resource management, production, and distribution, with the goal of absolute efficiency, conservation, and sustainability. Given the mathematically defined attributes, as based on all available information at the time, along with the state of technology at the time, the parameters for social operation within the industrial complex become self-evident, with decisions arrived at by way of computation, not human opinion. This is where computer intelligence becomes an important tool for social governance, for only the computation ability/programming of computers can access and strategically regulate such processes efficiently, and in real time. This technological application is not novel. It is simply scaled out from current methods already known.

The Scientific Method as the Methodology for Governance

The application of the scientific method for social concern is an oft-repeated mantra for the basis of social operation in a RBE model. While the obviousness of this in regard to industry is simple enough to understand, it is important to also realize its value in regard to human behavior. Science, historically speaking, has often been derailed as a cold, restrictive discipline, reserved for the sake of mere technology and invention. Little regard seems to be currently given to its use in the understanding of human behavior.

Superstitious thought, which has been powerfully dominant in human evolution, has worked on the basis that the human being was somehow detached from the physical world. We have souls; spirits; we are divine; we are related/guided by an all seeing, all knowing, controlling god, etc..

Conversely, yet oddly similar, there is an argument that humans have free will in their decisions and that we have the open ability to choose our actions, absent of the influence of our environment or even education. Now, while the vastness of the prior two statements and many reading those could find numerous cultural arguments to claim the contrary, this doesnt change the basic reality that we humans have historically liked to think that we are special and unique from the rest of the organisms and natural phenomena around us.

However, as time has gone on, it has become increasingly obvious that we are not special and that there is no such thing as special in the natural worldfor everything is special based on the uniqueness of all organisms. There is no reason to assume the human being is any more important or intrinsically different or special than a mole, a tree, an ant, a leaf or a cancer cell. This isnt New Age rhetoric it is fundamental logic. We are physical phenomena nothing more or less.

We are greatly influenced by our culture and our values and behaviors can only mostly be a result of our conditioning, as external phenomena interacts with our genetic predispositions. For example, we have a notion called talent, which is another word for a genetic predisposition to a given behavior, or set of behaviors. A piano prodigy might have an inherent ability that enables them to learn more quickly and perform in a more acute way than another, who has spent the same time in practice, but doesnt have the genetic predisposition. Be that as it may, that talented person still had to learn what a piano was and how to play it. In other words, genes are not autonomous initiators of commands. It takes an environmental trigger to allow for the propensity to materialize.

At any rate, it is not the point of this article to expand on the argument of nature and nurture. The point is that we have proven to be scientifically defined and a product of a traceable causality and it is this understanding that can allow us to slow and even stop the aberrant, or criminal behavior we see in society today such a abuse, murder, theft and the like. The logic, once the effects of human conditioning are understood, is to remove the environmental attributes which are enabling the reactions.

Just as an abused dog who has been starved for a week might have a knee jerk reaction to react very violently to an otherwise innocuous passerby, we humans have the same behavior dynamic. If you dont want people to steal food, do not deprive them of it. It has been found that prisons are now generating more violence than they are curbing. If you teach a child to be a hateful racist, then he will carry those values into the rest his life, very often. Human values and hence human behavior are shaped by the environment in a cause and effect based way, no different than a leaf being blown by the wind.

In a RBEM, the central focus in regard to removing aberrant human actions is not to punish them, but to find the reasons for their offensive actions and work to eliminate them. Humans are products of their environment and personal/social reform is a scientific process.

Moving away from money and markets

Market theory assumes a number of things which have proven to either be false, marginally beneficial, or outright socially detrimental.

The core problems to consider are the following:

A) The need for Infinite Growth, which is mathematically unsustainable and ecologically detrimental. The entire basis of the Market System is not the intelligent management of our mostly finite resources on this planet, but rather the perpetual extraction and consumption of them for the sake of profit and economic growth. In order to keep people employed, people must constantly consume, regardless of the state of affairs within the environment, and often regardless of product utility. This is the absolute reverse of what a sustainable practice would require, which is the strategic preservation and efficient use of resources.

B) A Corruption Generating Incentive System. It is often said that the competitive marketplace creates the incentive to act for the sake of social progress. While this is partially true, it also generates an equal if not more pronounced amount of corruption in the form of planned obsolescence, common crime, wars, large scale financial fraud, labor exploitation, and many other issues. The vast majority of people in prison today are there because of monetary-related crime or non-violent drug offenses. The majority of legislation exists in the context of monetary-based crimes.

Also, if one was to critically examine history and peer into the documented biographies/mentalities of the greatest scientists and inventors of our time, such a N. Tesla, A. Einstein, A. Bell, the Wright Brothers, and many others it is found that they did not find their motivation in the prospect of monetary gain. The interest to make money must not be confused with the interest to create socially beneficial products and very often they are even at odds.

C) A disjunct, inefficient industrial complex which wastes tremendous amount of resources and energy. In the world today, with the advent of Globalization, it has become more profitable to import and export both labor and goods across the globe rather than to produce locally. We import bananas from Ecuador to the US and bottled water from Fuji Japan, while western companies will go to the deprived 3rd world to exploit cheap labor, etc.. Likewise, the process of extraction, to component generation, to assembly, to distribution of a given good might cross through multiple countries for a single final product, simply due to labor and production costs / property costs. This cost efficiency generates extreme technical inefficiency and is only justifiable within the market system for the sake of saving money.

In a RBE model, the focus is maximum technical efficiency. The production process is not dispersed, but made as centralized and fluid as possible, with elements moving the very least amount, saving what would be tremendous amounts of energy and labor as compared to methods today. Food is grown locally whenever possible (which is most of the time given the flexibility of indoor agriculture technology today), while all extraction, production and distribution is logically organized to use as little labor/transport/space as possible while producing the strategically best possible goods (see more below). In other words, the system is planned to maximize efficiently and minimize waste.

D) A propensity for Establishments. Very simply, established corporate/financial orders have a built-in tendency to stop new, socially positive advents from coming to fruition if there is a foreshadowed loss of market share, profit, and hence power. It is important to consider the basic nature of a corporation and its inherent need for self-perpetuation.

If a person starts a company, hires employees, creates a market and becomes profitable, what has thus been created, in part, is the means for survival for a group of people. Since each person in that group typically becomes dependent on that organization for income, a natural, protectionist propensity is created whereas anything that threatens the institution thus threatens the well-being of the group/individual. This is the fabric of a competition mindset. While people think of free market competition as a battle between two or more companies in a given industry, they often miss the other level the competition against new advents which would make them obsolete, outright.

The best way to expand on this point is to simply give an example, such as the US Government and Big Oil collusion to limit the expansion of the fully Electric Car (EV) in the US. This issue was well-presented and sourced in the documentary called Who Killed the Electric Car?. The bottom line here is that the need to preserve an established order for the sake of the well-being of those on the payroll, leads to an inherent tendency to stifle progress. A new technology which can make a prior technology obsolete will be met with resistance unless there is a way for the market system to absorb it in a slow fashion, allowing for a transition for the corporations (i.e. the perpetuation of Hybrid cars in the US, as opposed to the fully electric ones which could exist now, in abundance). There is also a large amount of evidence that the FDA has engaged in favoritism/collusion with pharmaceutical companies to limit/stop the availability of advanced progressive drugs which would void existing/profitable ones.

In a RBE, there is nothing to hold back developmental/implementation of anything. If safe and useful, it would immediately be implemented into society, with no monetary institution to thwart the change due to their self-preserving, monetary nature.

E) An inherent obsolescence which creates inferior products immediately due to the need to stay competitive This little recognized attribute of production is another example of the waste which is created in the market system. It is bad enough that multiple companies constantly duplicate each others items in an attempt to make their variations more interesting for the sake of public consumption, but a more wasteful reality is that, due to the competitive basis of the system, it is a mathematical certainty that every good produced is immediately inferior the moment it is created, due the need to cut the initial cost basis of production and hence stay competitive against another company which is doing the same thing for the same reason. The old free market adage where producers create the best possible goods at the lowest possible prices is a needlessly wasteful fantasy and detrimentally misleading, for it is impossible for a company to use the most efficient material or processes in the production of anything, as it would be too expensive to maintain a competitive cost basis.

They very simply cannot make the strategically best physically it is mathematically impossible. If they did, no one would buy it, for it would be unaffordable due the values inherent in the higher quality materials and methods. Remember people buy what they can afford to. Every person on this planet has a built in limit of affordability in the monetary system, so it generates a feedback loop of constant waste via inferior production, to meet inferior demand. In a RBEM, goods are created to last, with the expansion and updating of certain goods built directly into the design, and with recycling strategically accessed as well, limiting waste.

You will notice the term strategically best was used in a statement above. This qualification means that goods are created with respect to the state of affairs of planetary resources, with the quality of materials used based on an equation taking into account all relevant attributes, rates of depletion, negative retroactions, and the like. In other words, we would not blindly use titanium for, say, every single computer enclosure made, just because it might be the strongest materials for the job. That narrow practice could lead to depletion. Rather, there would be a gradient of material quality which would be accessed through analysis of relevant attributes such as comparable resources, rates of natural obsolescence for a given item, statistical usage in the community, etc. These properties and relationships could be assessed through programming, with the most strategically viable solution computed and output in real-time. It is mere issue of calculation.

F) A propensity for monopoly and cartel due to the basic motivation of growth and increased market share. This is a point that economic theorists will often deny under the assumption that open competition is self-regulating and that monopolies and cartels are extremely rare anomalies in a free-market system. This invisible hand assumption holds little validity, historically, not to mention the outstanding legislation around the issue which proves its infeasibility. In America, there have been numerous monopolies, such as Standard Oil and Microsoft. Cartels, which are essentially Monopolies by way of collusion between the largest competitors in an industry, are also persistent to this day, although perhaps less obvious to the casual observer. In any case, the free market itself does not resolve these issues it always takes the government to step in and break up the monopolies.

This aside, the more important point is that in an economy based on growth, it is only natural for a corporation to want to expand and hence dominate. After all, that is the basis of economic stability in the modern world expansion. Expansion of any corporation always gravitates toward monopoly or cartel, for, again, the basic drive of competition is to out-do your competitor. In other words, monopoly and cartel are absolutely natural in the competitive system. In fact, it is inevitable, for again, the very basis is to seek dominance over market share. The true detriment of this reality goes back to the point above the inherent propensity of an Establishment to preserve its institution. If a medical cartel is influencing the FDA, then new ideas which void that cartels income sources will often be fought, regardless of the social benefits being thwarted.

G) The market system is driven, in part, by Scarcity. The less there is of something, the more money that can be generated in the short term. This sets up a propensity for corporations to limit availability, and hence deny production abundance. It is simply against the very nature of what drives demand to create abundance. The Kimberly Diamond Mines in Africa have been documented in the past to burn diamonds in order to keep prices high. Diamonds are rare resources which take billions of years to be created. This is nothing but problematic. The world we live in should be based on the interest to generate an abundance for the worlds people, along with strategic preservation and streamlined methods to enable that abundance. This is a central reason why, as of 2010, there are over a billion people starving on the planet. It has nothing to do with an inability to produce food, and everything having to do with an inherent need to create/preserve scarcity for the sake of short term profits.

Abundance, Efficiency and Sustainability are, very simply, the enemies of profit. This scarcity logic also applies to the quality of goods. The idea of creating something that could last, say, a lifetime with little repair, is anathema to the market system, for it reduces consumption rates, which slows growth and creates systemic repercussions (loss of jobs, etc.). The scarcity attribute of the market system is nothing but detrimental for these reasons, not to mention that it doesnt even serve the role of efficient resource preservation, which is often claimed.

While supply and demand dictates that the less there is of something, the more it will be valued and hence the increased value will limit consumption, reducing the possibility of running out, the incentive to create scarcity, coupled with the inherent short term reward which results from scarcity driven based prices, nullifies the idea that this enables strategic preservation. We will likely never run out of oil in the current market system. Rather, the prices will become so high that no one can afford it, while those corporations who own the remaining oil will make a great deal of money off of the scarcity, regardless of the long term social ramifications. In other words, remaining scarce resources, existing in such high economic value that it limits their consumption, is not to be confused with preservation that is functional and strategic. True strategic preservation can only come from the direct management of the resource in question in regard to the most efficient technical applications of the resource in industry itself, not arbitrary, surface price relationships, absent of rational allocation.

The rest is here:

About | The Zeitgeist Movement

With upcoming films including a Chinese mob thriller set in Wuhan, an ominous Western set in Brazil's equivalent of the Outback and an Oscar-nominated Polish drama about a lay preacher with a dark secret, Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge had a diverse array of movies lined up for coming weeks not unlike any month in its 33 years of presenting independent, arthouse, foreign and all sorts of other films.

Local movie lovers can't go to theaters, which were among the first venues ordered closed last week by state decree. And while there's a never-ending stream of content available online, fans of arthouse cinema now can watch independent and foreign films and support a local theater at the same time.

Kino Lorber and Film Movement are among the film distributors and viewing platforms that are partnering with independent theaters across the country.

Zeitgeist Theater & Lounge had to close its doors last week, but it iis proceeding with scheduled releases in partnership with the two distributors. The film platforms are splitting with Zeitgeist online viewing fees from viewers using a special link. To support the theater, viewers should click the links available on the Zeitgeist website, or use the links below (trailer available on the linked page).

"Wild Goose Lake" The noirish Chinese crime thriller wastes no time with its gritty start. Liu Aiai, a woman who works as a prostitute in a seedy resort area on the movie's namesake lake, meets with Zhou Zenong, a small time mobster who runs a motorcycle theft ring. A brawl between his gang and another spun out of control, and someone outside the two gangs was shot during the melee. She has come to share who has been killed.

The intrigue escalates and the action whisks through the seedy underbelly of a city beset with gangs and corrupt cops and government officials. That city is Wuhan, China epicenter of the coronavirus also where the film was shot. Director Diao Yinan also made the award-winning "Black Coal, Thin Ice." Zeitgeist link here.

"Corpus Christi" Director Jan Komasa's film was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the recent Academy Awards, but the Oscar went to "Parasite," which also won Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Director. In "Corpus Christi," a young man has a spiritual awakening while in a juvenile prison serving a sentence for second degree murder. He escapes the prison, and impersonates a priest, eventually finding a flock in a small parish. They embrace him, though he prefers his own vision to church orthodoxy. Link here.

"L'Innocent" Director Luchino Visconti's 1976 tale of lust and jealousy among 19th-century aristocrats was restored in 2019 and re-released. The wealthy Tullio neglects his wife Giuliana in favor of his mistress, the domineering Countess Raffo. But when Giuliana finds her own new lover, Tullio is torn with jealousy. Link here.

"Bacurau" Sort of a Western set in a barren rural area of Brazil, "Bacurau" follows the residents of a small town after their longtime matriarchal leader dies. It's set in the near future, and residents realize that their town has disappeared from the internet it's not on Google maps or indicated by GPS. They don't know if they've been forgotten and left to fend for themselves. Link.

Read more from the original source:

Online movie screenings support Zeitgeist and local theaters across the country - NOLA.com

Authenticity, performance; brand, product; myth, reality: When it comes to the 33-year-old Williams, its unusually difficult to separate the strands. He is unfailingly polite and considerate, possessed of a humility and a lack of guile that seem almost shocking in this age of branding and fake news. And yet he himself is so intensely curatedfrom his passions to his precisely tailored clothingthat it can be hard to see him as entirely real.

We are the same height and have the same posture, says his friend Frederik Lentz Andersen, fashion director for the Danish magazine Euroman. Were both super slim. But every time I see him, I think, How can that suit fit you so perfectly? Theres never a flaw to anything he does. Its like he never slips.

Kinfolks origin story seems just as perfect, a charming myth crafted along the lines of one of those old Rooney-Garland, Hey gang, lets put on a show musicals. At the turn of the last decade, while still in college, two young married couples have the kooky idea of creating a magazine. A few wholesomethey are Mormonhigh jinks and one social media revolution later, they find themselves at the helm not just of a successful publication, but at the vanguard of a veritable movement, a zeitgeist-defining, social media-friendly tidal wave that swathes an entire generation in muted linen, pour-over coffee, and gratitude. #Kinfolklife #Flatlay #Blessed

What if your life turned out to be what an ENTIRE GENERATION was dreaming of?

There was a lot that appeared in those early pages that was an accurate expression of the lives of its young founders. Nathan Williams and Katie Searle met in 2008 while both were students at Brigham Young Universitys Hawaii campushe developed a crush on the quiet, luminous girl after passing the desk where she worked every day. It would take him some time to get up the nerve, as he recalls, to ask her to leave her boyfriend and date him instead. Searle insists she already had broken things off with his predecessor. But both agree that she said yes, and then yes again, a few months later, when he led her into the forest and, beneath a bower of carefully strung fairy lights, asked her to marry him.

An assignment for an entrepreneurship class had the two of them dreaming up an e-commerce platform, which they called Kinsfolk & Company, for selling plates and glasses and other things you might need for a sweet little dinner party, and that, combined with contributors Williams had gathered through a blog he kept, and help from their close friends, Doug and Paige Bischoff, gradually morphed, in 2011, into a tiny, very DIY magazine, focused on food and the small gatherings they all loved. They had no publishing experience and no defined roles at the time; everyone just did everything. We all lived in married student housing, so when we werent in class, we spent a lot of time together, says Doug Bischoff. Wed go to Nate and Katies apartment, and theyd be at ours regularly. We were always getting together to cook, and hang out, and just enjoy each others company. We had a really, really good friendship. Williams and Doug Bischoff even looked somewhat alike; both of them tall and lean, with short blond hair worn in a neat side part, and a predilection, even then, for sharper clothes than might be entirely normal for your average college student.

The theme for the first issue was inspired by a line from Thoreaus Walden: I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society. Williams so identified with the book that he handed out copies to friends at his birthday party. Kinfolk volume 1 included an article on fika, the Swedish coffee break so in vogue now, and on teatimerituals that would be incorporated into Kinfolks office life. It was really simple, really basic, but what I thought was sweet at the time, Williams says. And yeah, it was far too kitsch and cutesy. But there was this correlation there.

Go here to read the rest:

How Kinfolk Magazine Defined the Millennial Aestheticand Unraveled Behind the Scenes - Vanity Fair

If you entered 2000 thinking that the year would bring a totally different sound befitting the turn of a new millennium... well, you were mostly right.

Not that the artists that defined popular music at the end of the '90s were suddenly spirited away and replaced with an entirely new vanguard: Most of the biggest artists of 1999 -- the boy bands and girl groups, the breakout rappers and rock best-sellers -- were the biggest artists of 2000, too. But they seemed energized by the changeover of millennia, and motivated to push things appropriately forward.

Having some of the era's greatest super-producers on the front lines certainly helped. Timbaland and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins amped up the dramatic tension of R&B until it sounded like something that would play at a futuristic opera. The Neptunes and Swizz Beatz brought the proverbial (and sometimes literal) bells and whistles to hip-hop, setting it on its path to top 40 domination and definition. And of course, Max Martin raised the stakes onTRL pop, maturing his sound and proving that the genre and its greatest practitioners would not be left in the '90s with Trapper Keepers and Tamagotchis.

But the year wasn't just about returning '90s stars getting 2.0 updates. Hip-hop's geographical axis was thrown off by a brand new rap icon emerging from the country's center. R&B was modernized not only at its poppiest but also at its rootsiest, as the growing neo-soul movement experienced its greatest year of commercial and critical success. And a couple '80s stars returned with dramatically overhauled sounds that demonstrated they would be staying relevant well into their third decades.

With *NSYNC'sNo Strings Attached, a standard-setting 2000 pop release both in its cutting-edge production and its record-breaking commercial performance, celebrating its 20th anniversary -- and most of us needing no excuse to take a vacation from the world in 2020 --Billboard decided the time was right for a week's celebration of the year 2000. We're starting today with a list of our 100 favorite songs from the historically rich year, and will continue all week with a series of essays, interviews, lists and other flashbacks to the beginning of the new millennium.

First, though, a note about eligibility:Songs were counted as eligible if they were released as singles in '00, if they debuted on the Billboard charts in '00, or if they hit No. 1 in '00. But if they didn't hit the Hot 100 until the next year,or if they debuted in '00 but didn't hit No. 1 until the year after,we're counting 'em for '01. So apologies to "Ms. Jackson," "It Wasn't Me," "Yellow," "One Step Closer" and "One More Time" -- we'll probably see them on this list next year.

Read our list below, find a Spotify playlist of all songs at the bottom, and check back to Billboard.com all week for more about the stories behind the most interesting songs and albums of 2000. It's been a long time since they left you -- so begin the journey back with us below, with 100 dope jams to step to.

100. Zombie Nation, "Kernkraft 400" (Sport Chant Stadium Remix) (No. 99, Hot 100)

By the end of the '90s, music for video games and music for sporting events had starting overlapping to the point of being interchangeable -- so it made sense that one of the ultimate mind-numbing dance anthems at the turn of the millennium should be a remix of a video game theme with a soccer chant stapled on top of it. Call it "Seven-Bit Nation Army," with fewer distracting verses. --ANDREW UNTERBERGER

99. P!nk, "There You Go" (No. 7, Hot 100)

Long before we knew her as the acrobatic performance-loving pop star, P!nk was introduced to the world as the next R&B artist to watch with breakout single There You Go. Due to its swagger-heavy production and soulful vocals, many thought the singer was actually a light-skinned black girl. That wasnt the case, of course, but P!nk made it clear that shed never fit into the bubblegum-pop mold of Y2K and beyond. --BIANCA GRACIE

98. O-Town, "Liquid Dreams" (No. 10, Hot 100)

If you need a reminder of who was hot in 2000, press play on O-Towns LiquidDreams. Destinys Child, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Angelina Jolie, Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks and Salma Hayek all get shout-outs in the zeitgeist-y hit (as well as a mysterious reference to Jennifer in the chorus -- Lopez? Aniston? Love Hewitt?). Its snapping beat and rolling melody made for a dynamic debut from O-Town, the first product of Diddys artist-scouting seriesMaking the Band,reaching the Hot 100's top 10. Perhaps the most ingenious part of LiquidDreams, though? Its so catchy, you forget they're singing about a wet dream. --TAYLOR WEATHERBY

97. The White Stripes, "Hello Operator" (Did not chart)

In a year when rock leaned into "nu" strains by bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, The White Stripes sounded refreshingly, well, old. On their sophomore LPDe Stijl, the Detroit duo extended the garage rock blues of their eponymous 1999 debut, and whileDe Stijlwas stacked with eventual classics, none were as raucously, righteouslydirtyas "HelloOperator." Here Jack's guitar sounds hot to the touch, while Meg's drums deliver a skeletal interlude to the otherwise headbanging track -- which in just 2:36 demonstrated that 20th century-style rock was alive and thrashing in the numillennium. --KATIE BAIN

96. Toby Keith, "How Do You Like Me Now?!" (No. 31, Hot 100)

Seven years after "Should've Been a Cowboy,"TobyKeithrebounded from a stretch of stalled singles and reclaimed his mid '90s dominance with a honky tonk send-off to the it-girl valedictorian who never gave him the time of day. High schoolToby's tactics were sure questionable ("Broke into the stadium and I wrote your number on the 50-yard line") but his hooks are anything but; when the chorus hits, it sails through the goalposts. --CHRIS PAYNE

95. Mandy Moore, "I Wanna Be With You" (No. 24, Hot 100)

Mandy Moore was only 16 when she released the single that would become her biggest Hot 100 hit, and in many ways it sounds like it: a wispy ballad of teenage longing, not all that far removed from Jessica Simpson's contemporaneous "I Wanna Love You Forever." But there's both a tenderness and a yearning to "I Wanna Be With You" that hints at a maturity that would manifest in Moore's later singer-songwriter work; with its sighing and soft-hearted lustfulness, it's something like aTRL-era "Wouldn't It Be Nice." --A.U.

94. Black Rob, "Whoa!" (No. 43, Hot 100)

Though The Notorious B.I.G. and Ma$e were considered pillars for Diddy's Bad Boy conglomerate in the '90s, Puff bolstered his decorated lineup when he recruited Harlem lyricistBlackRobin 1997. In 2000,RobMarciano returned the favor and swung for the fences with his war-ready single "Whoa!" Teeming with grit and swagger, "Whoa!" was a pure New York banger, which spoke to the high degrees of flexing. --CARL LAMARRE

93. The Dandy Warhols, "Bohemian Like You" (No. 28, Alternative Songs)

Theres something deeply self-referential about an alternative band like The Dandy Warhols penning an unforgettable (and popular) track about the hypocrisy of hipster culture. Getting used in popular commercials of the day and becoming their biggest hit to date, Bohemian Like You paints a crystal-clear picture of the pseudo-counter-culturalism that came to define the later decade, and made minor stars out of the alt-rockers behind it. --STEPHEN DAW

92. Miss Kittin & The Hacker, "Frank Sinatra" (Did not chart)

With the blas ennui of Marlene Dietrich, French electroclash pioneer Miss Kittin recounts the salacious late-night deeds of the late Rat Packer over a frangible beat as icy cold as his remains. The blunt, brazen humor of "FrankSinatra" ensures its cult longevity; even if the genre in question would soon become a stranger in the nightlife scene, its fetishized repurposing of synth-pop and '90s house would continue as a trend in dance until, well, now. --JOE LYNCH

91. Hanson, "This Time Around" (No. 20, Hot 100)

Better known asHansons Were adults now! single, the title track to the brothers 2000 album had the unenviable task of following up their mega-selling 1997 LP Middle of Nowhere, as well as convincing pop listeners that the precocious voices behind MMMBop could credibly mature. This Time Around wasnt a huge hit, but endures as first-rate pop-rock, with a piano line and a sing-along chorus that previewedHansons fate as underrated adult songwriters, never to return to their early radio heights. --JASON LIPSHUTZ

90. PJ Harvey, "Good Fortune" (Did not chart)

GoodFortune marked a sea change for PJ Harvey. The lead single offStories from the City, Stories from the Searolls along with a quick tempo, lovelorn lyrics, and a sticky melody throughout, separating itself from the darkness ofIs This Desire?and the knotty arrangements ofTo Bring You My Love. "GoodFortune pre-dates fellow '90s alt sensation Liz Phairs brazen 2003 crossover hit Why Cant I? but Harveys unabashed daydream struck a balance that only she can, still unrecognizable to radio programmers and so individually PJ Harvey. --ERIC FRANKENBERG

89. 2Gether, "The Hardest Part About Breaking Up (Is Getting Back Your Stuff)" (No. 87, Hot 100)

An impossibly on-point fauxTRL jam -- down to the fake fans raving about their favs in the video's corner -- "Hardest Part" so nailed the boy-band breakup banger that you'd expect Max Martin and Rami Yacoub's names to pop up in the CD single liner notes. (Co-writers Brian Kierulf and Joshua M. Schwartzdid end up on a number of songs on Britney Spears' 2001Britney album.) The lyrics are inspired, of course,but the real highlights are the ad libs -- like the strangled "meow!" that follows the chorus'"You got my sweaters, my hat/ I can't find my cat!"--A.U.

88. Deleriumfeat. Sarah McLachlan, "Silence" (No. 6, Dance Club Songs)

Before Sarah McLachlan made TV viewers scramble for the remote whenever the ASPCA's heart-wrenching ad with her "Angel" aired, she was tugging at heartstrings not only as a successful solo artist, but as a guest vocalist for new age/electronic outfit Delerium. The side project of Front Line Assemblys Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber reached new heights with McLachlans pipes on Silence, combining her dreamy vocals with Gregorian chants and a catchy beat. It's endured over the years with club-slaying remixes -- most notably Tiesto's epic In Search of Sunrise edit -- and today, echoes of the singles dark and ethereal influence can be heard on Grimes recent Miss Anthropocene LP. --ANNA CHAN

87. Hoku, "Another Dumb Blonde" (No. 27, Hot 100)

At a time when fresh-faced female pop stars were luring suitors with sexed-up schoolgirl outfits and genie metaphors, Hawaiian 18-year-old Hokushook things up with her debut single, serving a get lost declaration to the players of the world. Another DumbBlonde is feisty from start to finish, calling out a shallow jerk for being, well, just that (Lately Ive come to find/ That you're not really interested in my heart or mind, proclaims the first pre-chorus). The spirited tune turned theblondestereotype into an empowering anthem to brokenhearted tweens and teens everywhere -- no matter their hair color. --T.W.

86. Jagged Edge, "Let's Get Married" (No. 11, Hot 100)

Since its release in February 2000, Lets Get Married has been claimed by fans as a wedding anthem.JaggedEdges enduring ballad pushes all of R&Bs hot buttons: Silky harmonies. Smooth, body-rockin rhythms. Urgent heartfelt lyrics about true love. During its heyday, Married" reached No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 11 on the Hot 100 -- aided by a popular Run-D.M.C.-sampling remix that also featured the group's Reverend Run. At a time when romantic love has increasingly become supplanted by records focusing solely on sex, people still desire songs that go all the way -- to lifelong commitment. --GAIL MITCHELL

85. Ricky Martin, "She Bangs" (No. 12, Hot 100)

By the time "SheBangs" was released as the lead single to sophomore English-language LP Sound Loadedin October 2000, Ricky Martin was a bonafide hitmaker, with seven Hot 100 hits already to his credit. The danceable track meshed a salsa flare with heavy rock guitar and an irresistible pop beat for universal appeal, sending it to the top 20 on the Hot 100and the top five in eight countries outside of the U.S. -- though its most memorable impact, for better or worse, may have come via futureAmerican Idol contestant William Hung. --TAYLOR MIMS

84. Beenie Man feat. Mya, "Girls Dem Sugar" (No. 54, Hot 100)

Beenie Man already broke through the American market two years prior with the rugged dancehall crossover "Who Am I (Sim Simma). But as he got more comfortable stateside, he decided to expand his sonic boundaries. And who better to help execute than The Neptunes? Dissecting a portion of Who Am I, the experimental duo transformed the original into a glossy, scratch-heavy club anthem that was elevated by Mas dreamy "If I could be your girl...." coos. --B.G.

83. Carlos Vives, "Fruta Fresca" (No. 1, Latin Songs)

Vives' lead single offEl Amor de Mi Tierra (1999) shook traditionalists as it topped Latin Songs early in the new millennium. The Emilio Estefan- and Juan Vicente Zambrano-produced tune of swirling vallenato and pop pulsations revolutionized Latin music, without compromising Vives artistic integrity. Cannily structured, Fruta opens with enigmatic electro-acoustic guitar chords, followed by Vives' vigorous vocals and flanked by sturdy bass and percussion; reflecting the turn of a genre that slinked smoothly into its own space. Vives deftly weaved Colombias popular folk music with Latin pop -- belted by bouncy accordion, along withcajaandguacharaca -- and became a leading figure in the mainstream tropical sphere. --PAMELA BUSTIOS

82. Limp Bizkit, "Break Stuff" (No. 14, Alternative Songs)

For those of us who lived through the turn-of-the-century nu-metal heyday, all it takes is that chunky two-chord riff from Wes Borland that opens Limp Bizkits BreakStuff to get us nice and furious. The Significant Other single is designed for mosh pits -- after all, it climaxes with Fred Durst screaming Give me something tobreak! -- and captures a relic of the era at its biggest, dumbest and best. --J. Lipshutz

81. Carl Thomas, "I Wish" (No. 20, Hot 100)

Plenty of great R&B torch songs have dealt with unrequited love over the years, but few besides Bad Boy belter Carl Thomas' "I Wish" have so lamented a love thatwas requited: "I love her so, she's got love for me/ But she still belongs to someone else." The unusual heartbreak ballad was saved from maudlinism by a breezy, piano-led Mike City production and a crescendoing vocal performance from Thomas that was absolutely superlative -- though that didn't stop Jay-Z and the rest of us from our own off-key imitations: "And I wish... I neeever... met herrrr... at alll..." --A.U.

80. 3LW, "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)" (No. 23, Hot 100)

These 3 Little Women had some big boy problems, given all those mysterious numbers lighting up their boo's pager. But the trio of ladies -- with the youngest member only 14 years old (hence the reference to "last year, boy, in the eighth grade") -- aren't putting up with any more, and they make it super clear with this exasperated-but-catchy musical kiss-off. --KATIE ATKINSON

79. Sting feat. Cheb Mami, "Desert Rose" (No. 17, Hot 100)

Fifteen years into his lucrative post-Police solo career, Sting had the freedom to do pretty much whatever he wanted. So when his globetrotting dreams had him pining for love's eternal salvation amongst "gardens in thedesertsand," well, that's exactly where he went. With the bombast of a Disney musical and allPure Moodseditions combined, "DesertRose" was a portal for every minivan in America to some enchanted sonic oasis. Or if you were Sting in the track's product-placement-addled video, a chauffeured journey in a 2001 Jaguar S-Type through the MojaveDesert, to meet Algerian wailer Cheb Mami at a top-secret disco rendezvous. --C.P.

78. Kylie Minogue, "Spinning Around" (Did not chart)

While some saw a new millennium as an opportunity to create music unlike anything anyone had ever heard before, Australian superstar Kylie Minogue took a different approach. With Spinning Around, the songstress nailed the classic, disco-inspired Europop sound that would carry her into the 21st century, and went on to see massive success just about everywhere (except America, which sadly would take a couple more years to catch on). The tracks danceable melodies and irresistible beat proved that all spinning aside, you dont have to reinvent the wheel to show people a good time. --S.D.

77. Samantha Mumba, "Gotta Tell You" (No. 4, Hot 100)

That Samantha Mumba has released, to date, one album remains one of pops biggest recent-ish tragedies. Thats becauseGottaTellYouis a debut LP armed to the teeth with bubblegum pop bangers -- and the title track in particular, her debut single, exudes a soulful confidence well beyond Mumbas then-17 years, and boasts a whopper of a minor-key chorus. Bonus points always and forever given to the front flip off a store awning into a choreographed dance Mumba pulls off (OK, OK, through the magic of editing) in the video. --KEVIN RUTHERFORD

76. The Baha Men, "Who Let the Dogs Out?" (No. 40, Hot 100)

In life, there are a handful of questions that humanity has struggled to definitively answer: did the chicken or the egg come first? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? And who, indeed, let the dogs out? But some mysteries are better left unsolved, and though we still havent found the culprit two decades later, that shouldnt stop us from queueing back up the cant-miss, Grammy-winning (?) stadium anthem and letting out a yippie, yi, yo! or two. While remaining vigilant. --JOSH GLICKSMAN

75. Erykah Badu, "Bag Lady" (No. 6, Hot 100)

Badus soulful classic about letting go of emotional baggage is basically a mini-therapy session, thanks to its soothing, tonic-like beat and timeless wisdom (All you must hold onto is you, she advises in effortless croon). Meanwhile, a twangy sample from Dr. Dres Xxplosive adds a subtle flourish to the otherwise minimal sound. The song picked up two Grammy nominations and peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100, making it Badus highest-charting track to this day. --TATIANA CIRISANO

74. Air, "Playground Love" (No. 28, Dance Singles Sales)

With its dream-pop melodies and soothing vocals, Air's "PlaygroundLove" may have been released in 2000, but it can easily transport fans back to the '70s. "I'm a high school lover and you're my favorite flavor," the lyrics begin, a hopeless romantic penning their deepest feelings. As part of the Me Decade-set soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's lovelorn and ultimately tragicThe Virgin Suicides, there's no doubt that "PlaygroundLove" continued to mold a new generation of sentimental high school sweethearts -- as well as those to follow. --JESSICA ROIZ

73. Janet Jackson, "Doesn't Really Matter" (No. 1, Hot 100)

Theres something lovely about watching an outwardly beautiful Janet Jackson sing about inner beauty. While playing the romantic interest of a fat suit-wearing Eddie Murphy in the Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, the pop icon co-penned the breathy single for the rom-com's soundtrack (with longtime producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis) about a love that's blind and strong enough to withstand the haters. Set in futuristic Tokyo, the video for the sultry, sighing dance track is the songs final punctuation mark -- featuring sparkly gadgets, a robot dog and a dance break on a levitating platform -- helping the song become her first Hot 100-topper of the 2000s. Clearly, it Doesnt Really Matter the decade, Ms. Jackson is timeless. --DANICA DANIEL

72. Deftones, "Change (In the House of Flies)" (No. 3, Alternative Songs)

Taking place over various stages of a seedy Hollywood party that always seems on the precipice of something truly terrible happening, the video for the Deftones' biggest hit captures its feeling perfectly: mysterious, beautiful, seductive and imminently perilous. Croaked by frontman Chino Moreno as if from the bottom of the house's swimming pool, "Change" was a version of nu-metal horror that eschewed jump scares for unnerving suggestion; it had onlya fraction the pop impact of Limp Bizkit, but remains exponentially more unshakeable 20 years later. --A.U.

71. Savage Garden, "I Knew I Loved You" (No. 1, Hot 100)

Savage Garden was one of those bands that seemed disproportionately popular in Southeast Asia (see also: Westlife). In the Philippines, people love ballads and karaoke, so the sentimental I Knew I Loved You was an irresistible choice for radio DJs, weddings, and any instance in which Filipinos can sing with feelings. "Loved" was also universal enough to become the duo's second No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 -- and the music video was just as good, featuring vocalist Darren Hayes reaching for Kirsten Dunst to hold hands on a subway. --MIA NAZARENO

70. Fuel, "Hemorrhage(In My Hands)" (No. 30, Hot 100)

Two decades years after its heyday, it's crazy to think that Fuel's "Hemorrhage" could have been a massive hit on pop radio (reaching No. 22) at any point this century, even making the top 40 of the Hot 100, as pop and hip-hop flood today's charts. But Fuel did just that with their crossover post-grunge ballad "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)," in which frontman Carl Bell sings about his grandmother's cancer diagnosis and eventual passing. Of course, the powerful singalong with a massive chorus -- whether you knew what it was about or not -- was also massive staple on rock radio, spending a staggering 12 weeks at No. 1 onBillboard'sAlternative Songs chart. --XANDER ZELLNER

69. Incubus, "Stellar" (No. 2, Alternative Songs)

The only way to understand Incubus within the nu-metal rock world of 2000 is to follow singer Brandon Boyds guidance at the opening of their celestial single Stellar: Meet me in outer space. The enigmatic five-piece presented a new, surrealist vision for the exploding genre, with the songs serpentine melody disguising math-rock as metal and its distortion-heavy chorus belying the cuddly love song at its core. Stellar proved to have a lasting impact as the mainstream rock renaissance began to wane, partially thanks to its embrace by the younger Guitar Hero generation. --BRYAN KRESS

68. Marc Anthony, "You Sang to Me" (No. 2, Hot 100)

Twenty years later, this song should still come with a warning about listening when you're feeling vulnerable. There's just no pretense with "You Sang to Me," a breathtaking vista of a ballad that sounds gorgeous and heartbreaking. The song was patently massive -- it peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart for seven weeks -- but its heart and soul lies in its subtle sentimental brushstrokes: the weeping acoustic guitars, the stately accordion solo, Anthony's stirring a cappella coda: "OHHHH BUT I FEEL IT." The feeling's mutual. --C.P.

67. Toni Braxton, "He Wasn't Man Enough" (No. 2, Hot 100)

After steamrolling through the 1990s with a barrage of top 40 and adult contemporary mainstays, Toni Braxton returned in March of 2000 with He Wasnt Man Enough. Its an upbeat Darkchild production that was right at home on pop and R&B radio in the aftermath of similar-themed hits by TLC (No Scrubs) and Destinys Child (pretty much everything theyd released to that point). And while the song begins with Braxton looking down on her exs new boo, her condescension turns to thoughtful protectiveness. This femme-forward approach is highlighted by the finale of the music video -- which, from the styling to the Y2K-futurist lighting and set design, could not be more 2000. --E.F.

66. David Gray, "Babylon" (No. 57, Hot 100)

Let go of your heart, let go of your head and feel it now commands the chorus of David Grays Babylon. The warm and melancholic folk song (andsecond single from Gray's breakout album White Ladder)became the singer-songwriter's signature track at the turn of the millennium. Laden with harmonious flurries, Grays vocals dance over the melody and hit your ears with force. There is a general feeling of surrender, of letting loose to pick up the mess of a relationship that is vanishing in Gray's native London-- considered a modern-dayBabylonin Victorian times -- that ricochet between the subtly tech-aided melody and the shrewd wit of his lyrics. --P.B.

65. BBMak, "Back Here" (No. 13, Hot 100)

British trioBBMakarrived at the height of the boy band bonanza as a slight bit of counter programming -- sure, they were pretty and harmonized, but they played instruments, too! Yet the perception of authenticity is irrelevant to the quality of Back Here, a soft, gorgeous pop track with one of the most delicate bridges of the teen-pop era; it peaked at No. 13 on the Hot 100 chart, but has remained a charming staple of adult contemporary radio for decades. --J. Lipshutz

64. Madonna, "Don't Tell Me" (No. 4, Hot 100)

Throughout her career, Madonna has often followed her flashy lead single from a new album with something more curious and subtle, yet no less rewarding as the follow-up. Such was the case for her Music era, in which the title track offered electro-pop euphoria, before second single Dont Tell Me served as an act of twangy defiance -- with clipped vocals, guitar loops, strings and a mainstream take on folktronica that still holds up today. --J. Lipshutz

63. Peaches, "F--k the Pain Away" (Did not chart)

Before Cupcakke, before My Neck, My Back, and before the advent of iTunes and streaming services made FCC radio standards more or less obsolete, there was F--k the Pain Away, a song so proudly explicit that it became something of a proto-meme. But its also just an excellent song, frank and minimalistic, anchored by buzzing bass and percussive claps. Its a testament to Peaches vision that, 20 years on, her breathless enjoinder feels so distinctly of the moment. --WILL GOTTSEGEN

62. SR-71, "Right Now" (No. 2, Alternative Songs)

The debut single from SR-71, Right Now embodies the classic pop-punk sound that exploded at the dawn of the 21st century. It quickly cemented itself in pop culture, being used in the trailer and soundtrack for Dude, Where's My Car?and goingon to become something of a stoner movie staple, later also being featured in the 2004 trailer for Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. From the unforgettable opening riff to the solid mid-song guitar solo to the Bohemian Rhapsody nod in the video, it's a song that will exude nostalgia forever. --BECKY KAMINSKY

61. Aaron Carter, "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" (No. 35, Hot 100)

Before life was unkind to Aaron Carter, we had his party, and it was glorious. Here's a little bit of old school for ya: Its the year 2000, and Nick Carters little bro is making a name for himself through funky, guitar-driven pop-rap. Its a simpler time, when the worst possible punishment a kid can get is to be grounded -- and thats just what Aaron's in for once his parents find out about the house party he threw when they were out. (Dont worry, attendees were only served juice.) As the title track of Carter's 3x platinum second studio album, Aaron's Party was released when he was just 12 years old, and its witty lyrics, charming video and equally adorable star ensure itll be a tale for the ages. --GAB GINSBERG

60. Enrique Iglesias, "Be With You" (No. 1, Hot 100)

Enrique Iglesias BeWithYou became his second No. 1 onBillboards Hot 100, after Bailamos, and ruled the chart for three weeks. This timeless song, which has a heartbroken Enrique yearning to get backwithhis girl, has become a classic because it was part of the Spanish singers eponymous 1999 bilingual album his formal introduction to mainstream America, withwhich he won over hearts singing in English and thanks to his soaring Now that you're gone/ I just wannabewithyou hook. --GRISELDA FLORES

59. At the Drive-In, "One Armed Scissor" (No. 26, Alternative Songs)

OneArmedScissor is full of dissonance -- whether its Cedric Bixler-Zavalas sometimes-barked vocals and its juxtaposition against Jim Wards Warped Tour-ready chorus howl, its jarring time signature changes, Ward and Omar Rodriguez-Lopezs snaking guitar riffs, or its hair-raising refrain of Get away! Get away! Perhaps the songs multiple moving parts, somehow joining together in a cohesive package amid its 4:20 run time, were a harbinger of At the Drive-Ins demise less than a year later, then at the height of its popularity. --K.R.

58. No Doubt, "Simple Kind of Life" (No. 38, Hot 100)

After the take-no-prisoners confidence ofTragic Kingdom's "Just a Girl" made Gwen Stefani a star, the exquisite second single from No Doubt's sophomore LPReturn of Saturn revealed the second-guessing she'd undergone in the years since -- wondering if despite the magazine covers and diamond-certified sales, she was more suited the titular existence. It's a heartbreak song where the she's the victim not of a bad boyfriend (she had recently started seeing Bush's Gavin Rossdale), but of a successful career, one that leaves her hoping for an accidental pregnancy to take the decision out of her hands. "You seem like you'd be a good dad" never sounded so devastating. --A.U.

57. Ja Rule feat. Lil Mo & Vita, "Put It on Me" (No. 8, Hot 100)

ThoughJaRule and Vita left their handprints on theRule 3:36album version for "PutIt on Me,"itwas Lil Mo's soaring ad-libs that drove the song's remix towards mainstream notoriety. A quintessential ride-or-die anthem, "PutIt on Me" (Remix) not only madeJaRule's howling croons a much-needed staple in hip-hop, but gave him credibility as a promising hitmaker in the 2000s. --C.L.

56. Mya, "Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do)" (No. 2, Hot 100)

Ma was always good for masking petty digs in sweet tunes (see 1998s Movin On), but she entered her final form with the sharp-tongued Case of the Ex. Our R&B darling was completely fed up with her man communicating with a past fling -- There's no need to reminisce 'bout the past/ Obviously, cause that s--t did not last -- and Tricky Stewarts spiny production drove her frustration over the edge. And the ladies related: by Y2Ks end, Case of the Ex leaped to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. --B.G.

55. Common, "The Light" (No. 44, Hot 100)

In the bleak, aggressively macho hip-hop landscape of the early '00s, Common followed his own luminescence. Taken from his breakthrough major label debut Like Water For Chocolate, The Light feels transported from the conscious rap heyday of the '90s with chivalrous rhymes that read like stanzas in a love poem -- appropriate for the song's written-letter framing. Inspired by then-flame Erykah Badu, produced by J Dilla (sampling Bobby Caldwell deep cuts), and influenced by the nascent neo-soul sound of the Soulquarians, The Light presents the brighter side to a rap scene in flux. --B. Kress

54. SoulDecision feat. Thrust, "Faded" (No. 22, Hot 100)

View post:

The 100 Greatest Songs of 2000: Staff Picks - Billboard