Rock songs from 2002 have not aged well
2002 was twenty years ago, and these were the top rock songs of the day.
In '02, I was in my late twenties. Dial-up internet was in the process of being replaced by broadband, widescreen television at home was just starting to become common, and Microsoft Windows XP was still brand new as it was just 1 year old.
I looked up the top 10 rock songs from '02, and I honestly could not remember a single one of them by title alone.
This is the list from 10 to 1:
10: Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows
I remember hearing this song a lot back then but I never knew the name of the band, never mind the song title. About 35 seconds in, I had to stop and couldn't listen to the rest. The song just sounds weird.
I didn't remember this song at all because it sounds really generic for the era. Production quality is good but the vocals are all over the place. Singing, scream-singing, q-u-i-e-t, repeat. It's annoying.
I do like some Foo Fighters songs, but not this one. Well, most of it. The chorus is great but the rest of the song is terrible. It's like the band had two different unfinished songs and just slapped this one together. Doesn't work.
7: Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott - Hero
Yes, I remember this one. Very well. I also remember it being overplayed to death mainly due to the Spider-Man thing. But I like it. A lot. This is a great song, and I know why. It's a '90s-style song that slipped its way into 2002. This is a rock power ballad done right.
Same singer as #7, different tune. Too bad, indeed. Too bad it's not a better song. Again, generic for the era and forgettable.
5: Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
This song is somewhat catchy, but the only reason it ever got popular is because of the music video showing pretty people in their underwear. Otherwise, it's a trying-to-be-punk Green Day sound, and just... no.
Ugh, hate this song. Hero was overplayed to death, but this song was overplayed to a level I can't even describe. It was everywhere, and after the first two seconds I just say NOPE. NOPE NOPE NOPE. It has the same crap going on that Saliva does. Singing to scream-singing, rinse and repeat. Awful.
3: Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way
RHCP fans will like this just because it's RHCP. I do remember it back from when it was popular, but I can't get into it. There are other RHCP songs far better than this one. This is RHCP phoning it in just to get a paycheck.
Great guitar work and tone in this one, but the song is ruined by whiny vocals. And once again, we've got the singing to scream-singing and back thing going on. Pass.
1: 3 Doors Down - When I'm Gone
In all honesty, I remember absolutely nothing about this song at all, and this is #1 for 2002. I think my reason for not remembering anything about it is because it is ridiculously generic. My brain just tunes the generic stuff right out.
2002 rock music can truly be defined as generic rock. Or to be more specific, it was that whole "Alternative Rock" crapola. It's not glam, not grunge, not metal, ever-so slightly edgy, and totally forgettable.
This list is a glimpse into the last gasp of the dying rock scene of the early 2000s. It's an era before smartphones, before YouTube, and even before social media existed. At this time, a lot of what was out there was "old '90s", meaning '90s rock music and fashions but with none of the bite, almost as if everything just went through a make-it-generic filter.
And yes, I know, this was still fresh in everybody's mind - including mine at the time - but that's absolutely not the sole reason for the generic feel of the music. A new decade started, and it seemed like the music industry just didn't know what to do with rock, so they just kept on with the '90s stuff but in a way that was about as exciting as chicken noodle soup.
2002, you will not be missed.
Published 2022 Feb 24
