The Worst Songs Of The 2000s? (Jimmy Eat World, Cobra Starship, Kanye West, & The Academy Is)

[@FinnMckentyPRMBA]

Use code FINN50 to get 50% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/3HfitU6 Thanks Factor for sponsoring!

[@Sweat404]

What it’s like by everlast was released in 1998, not 2002

[@anap3333]

The middle is an amazing song, people just hate it because it’s one of their popular songs

[@austintrousdale2397]

A great song? Yes. Overplayed? Definitely yes 😆 But remember, it got popular for a reason 💎

[@jimmyeatworldoliviarodrigo88]

The middle is my favorite song of all time and Jimmy eat world is my favorite band

[@friscoberce1963]

those who hate the middle are far leftist 😊

[@JeremySeanA]

It's like a hotdog at a ballpark. It just works and will always work.

[@throbbinwoodofcoxley6830]

Dude, I was a hardcore 80’s/90’s speed metal fan at the time it came out, and I still unapologetically loved and still loveThe Middle.

[@HughesyTech]

I'm a grown-ass man and The Academy Is was one of my favourite bands. Solid albums and decent live.

[@Joe_King7717]

Same. My first concert ever was the academy is…mae opened for them. He should have played a song from almost here. Literally any song is off that album = awesome

[@christurnerrr]

Yes. I won’t stand for TAI slander

[@RandomJot]

hell yes! same here, i finally got to see them live for the first time the other weekend, teen me was in heaven

[@LakeOfRageAndFire]

Saw them at Wrigley two weeks ago and they were great.

[@kage6613]

I'm just laughing that he didn't recognize William Beckett in the Cobra Starship video after making fun of him so much in the TAI video when his hair is even wilder in the former. I guess I just know my emo heartthrobs a little too well.

[@piranhasforscissors]

It really was a diverse decade for pop music. You could hear emo, rap, pop (Pure pop, like Mariah and Britney), nu metal, country, and electronic stuff all on the same station. Crazy to think about that now.

[@swineherd_]

I was very young back when nu-metal was popular and wasn't listening to much music yet, so I'm not speaking from personal experience here and could be wrong, but from what I've gathered pop and nu metal generally weren't on the same station. Sure, there were a few nu-metal hits like "Headstrong" by Trapt that made waves on pop radio, but as a general rule, pop stations would not play nu metal. Mainstream rock radio (which nu metal dominated in the early 2000s) also rarely played pop songs, and the few pop songs that made even the slightest bit of an impact on mainstream rock stations didn't really garner all that much airplay.

[@piranhasforscissors]

@@swineherd_ There were times nu metal was on pop stations. Evanescence and Linkin Park had a few top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, not to mention bands like Hoobastank, Staind, and Incubus as well. I'm not the biggest fan of the genre but hearing that kind of sound on a pop station is pretty remarkable.

[@FURTHER_ADO]

Not really, all the same stuff just replace this instrument with that instrument or up the BPM. Compare it to the 90s and it's obvious how generic the music was when held next to the most diverse era in music ever, in all genres.

[@swineherd_]

@@piranhasforscissors Point taken. I stand corrected.

[@jtrocker9976]

Yeah that was the last great decade for music.

[@austinlocke5679]

The Academy Is was a classic, I feel like they are timeless.

[@Joe_King7717]

Anyone remember sugarcult? I’d like to hear Finn talk about sugarcult

[@RiggedandReady]

I member.

[@bdeezy2962]

Loved sugarcult

[@mr.kll3n306]

Thank you, I had totally forgotten about sugarcult. She’s the blade is one of my favorites!

[@vacantalleyways]

Such an underrated band!!! Everything they released was amazing!

[@tytar1037]

And Spitalfield. And Finch.

[@TheKalaxis]

Hell yeah brother to going back to 2006. I was 19, working the only job I've ever had that I've liked, my grandma, my uncle, my brother-in-law and my pet cat were all still with us. LET'S GO!!!

[@dalenewberry4610]

The Middle is such a simple song (I learned the baseline by the time the song was over) but I love that hook at the beginning of the chorus and it is a truly fun song to okay.

[@OldRasputin]

So happy to see the Lil B mention. His influence on current rap is massive.

[@Marcustrh]

So many SoundCloud rapper sighted B as a influence! Love it

[@burgermind802]

@Markus Theone cited

[@throbbinwoodofcoxley6830]

So you’re saying he’s shit. Current rap is the lowest, most derivative form of the genre.

[@OldRasputin]

@@throbbinwoodofcoxley6830 fake based

[@cowtzu]

@@throbbinwoodofcoxley6830 ok old man

[@MistyLake]

I love The Academy Is... and Cobra Starship! Never really got into Jimmy Eat World but I love the song "No Sensitivity" (the version from the Jebediah split from the 90s). I saw a pre-screening for Snakes On A Plane for free and people were showing up like it was a red carpet event dressed up as snakes, planes and Samuel L Jackson. Terrible movie and the best part was seeing that Cobra Starship on the big screen when the credits rolled.

[@chernobylcoleslaw6698]

Jebediah were MASSIVE here in Australia in the '90s.

[@kage6613]

Wish that song had made it to Bleed American, it's so good.

[@jeffreyavalos782]

"The Middle" is another one of those songs where if you really just hear the lyrics it's a pretty meaningful song. The upbeat instruments and how it's sung, along with the video, really downplay the message of the song.

[@inkwisitive]

Yeah, so weird how many folks categorise a song as shallow as soon as it’s catchy and/or upbeat. Like, do I have to make my song unmemorable-sounding if it has deep lyrics?

[@eatinglightning3144]

That snakes on a plane song went loco. I love it. Cobra Starship picked up where Head Automatica left off

[@DripSplashWaterDripSplash]

I live next to a 43 year old victim of the 2000's. Her name is Cassidy (one of them anyway) and she's a beautiful soul. I was born in 1983, so she's had a few more years in the pit than me. Love you, Cass 💚

[@ARC117Studios]

What the fuck does this even mean

[@JoeJohnson0515]

I was at all time low, mayday parade, and the games we play last week. During their encore, ATL went on a string of playing all sorts of songs from other artists from this era for 20 minutes. One of the songs was the middle by jimmy eat world and the whole room went nuts singing along! 4:41

[@emilypeterson1133]

I went to their show last night! They didn't play any of those but we had a rocking time singing Mr. Brighside during Games We Play

[@atomicpunk2360]

Which show were you at? I saw them in Austin and they did this

[@twatts45]

The tv edit of the snakes on a plane line is the greatest thing I've ever heard. "I'm tired of these monkey fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane."

[@StuartHetzler]

imagine being that guy that said The Middle is jimmy eat world's worst song. how embarrassing. i STILL hear that song playing in stores to this day and it's been out for 22 years.

[@StuartHetzler]

@ghost mall lol i'm not getting into this nowhere argument

[@StuartHetzler]

@ghost mall well the cool thing is that the millions and millions of people that love it don't give a shit if Ghost Mall from KZbin doesn't think it's that great

[@StuartHetzler]

@ghost mall I'm plenty chill. I'm saying I don't care what you think and neither do all the people still listening to that song 2 decades later. Obviously there is no objective qualifier for what makes a song good or bad and it's all subjective taste, but having said that, enduring popularity might be the best metric we have to come close to a kind of objective measurement of whether a song is good or not. And if you're gonna pull the whole "Can you not handle somebody having a slightly different opinion than your own?" thing, then lemme remind you that you're the one that slapped the reply button.

[@StargazingCeres]

I really can't believe you'd leave out the most iconic and powerful anthem of the 2000s: Freaxx by Brokencyde

[@ArmandoLopez-nq9fg]

Prince covered The Middle. Shows how good the song is!

[@adamwallace7353]

The Middle is such a pure, positive song in a genre that often romanticizes self-pity and I respect it for that

[@DUSTYINTHEWILD]

The Academy Is’ “Slow Down” is the real hit.

[@joelkalin9764]

Someone asked in the chat about the girl in the Cobra song video and that is Maja Ivarsson from The Sounds. Useless info/trivia to follow: When playing supporting act to Foo Fighters in 2002 Dave Grohl bought band merch from The Sounds in the form of a t-shirt and can also be spotted wearing a The Sounds t-shirt in the "Times like these" video. It remains unclear if it is the same shirt though.

[@Nia-pj5qd]

I still listen to The Academy Is on the regular! Their music from Almost Here is so great

[@carolyns.9377]

that album is incredible! honestly all of their albums are top tier

[@rh8764]

The dude from Academy Is sings the chorus for Cobra Starship on Bring it. Missed!

[@theangelbelow88]

Suffocating to death in a walk in freezer/refrigerator do to an impromptu make out session sounds like pretty... **puts shades** COOL way to go... 😎

[@AlligatorArms]

What I remember most about the Everlast song was the cartoonish sound effects that were used to censor the stuff he couldn’t say on the radio. Pretty much exactly what Nelly would do two years later on “Country Grammar” which launched his great, illustrious career. Everlast walked so that Nelly could run!

[@Googie_Macpherson]

The Snakes on a plane movie sucks, the whole thing is cheezy, I get it... but I don't care that Cobra Starship song is a bop and I still love every second of it😂

[@packnetadaija]

I feel attacked about you saying the fan base for The Academy is… was 8th grade girls who thought the lead singer was cute because…that was me 😂😂😂😂 I was one of those girls who thought the lead singer was cute haha (I was in 7th grade however) 😂😂😂

[@Nia-pj5qd]

Literally was in 8th grade when this came out and thought he was so beautiful. I genuinely loved their music though and still do!

[@jamlemon]

Guessing I’m a Jimmy Eat World hipster! 😂 To be fair, The Middle is the only Jimmy Eat World song that ever gets played on the radio which is frustrating when they have so many good songs. And yeah Clarity is their best album! 😂😂

[@AmiliaCaraMia]

"He will fight you over absolutely nothing." This resonates so much. Haha

[@famous12121]

The Sweetness >>>> The Middle

[@CompleteProducer84]

I literally came here to post the same exact thing, only I was going to add like 20 more “>”

[@LewisOfAranda]

"I'm trying to find out what's going on here. I think it's about an emo stalker" :) :) :) Sometimes Finny's deadpan delivery cracks me up.

[@tmillgohawkeyes]

Fast Times at Barrington High-the album that Academy Is… song is from came out when I was a junior in high school. I will never not love it, pretty sure I wore out that CD. Looking back-sure it’s not as good as some of my other favorite albums of the time like All Time Lows So Wrong, It’s Right-but man, the memories I have with it will always be so great.

[@oopsydaizi3s824]

The lonely island “Jizzed in my pants” song really was peak humour of the time. Thanks for the core memories

[@robbiereisman8954]

Dude, you're take on Everlast's "What It's Like" is weak, at best. I know music is subjective, but the topic of empathy, as applied to people who are often judged harshly, is timeless. In particular, the verse about the woman who gets an abortion is incredibly timely, with the downfall of Roe v. Wade. Otherwise, some good and fun perspectives

[@xenos_n.]

Everlast was a hit in the 2000's? That was from 1998

[@johnhermes4112]

Great video. “What It’s Like” was actually a hit in the late 90’s, not the 2000’s.

[@plusmin09]

I've met Italians that don't consider themselves white. It's basically down to Ireland, UK, and the upper North Western European countries.

[@eliminator173]

What do they consider themselves?

[@edoardopulcini9432]

​@@eliminator173 we don't identify ourselves by race, but rather what city / region you come from, like in most other european nations. It is a US thing to label everything by race

[@brandonlawson2460]

In America, if your not black or brown....your white. Easy peezy

[@eliminator173]

​@Edoardo Pulcini oh OK interesting lol I'm Mexican American and my name is Eduardo too. But with a U cause its in Spanish

[@alexmonro1711]

Italians are absolutely white but I know that in earlier US history Italian Americans and Irish Americans weren't considered white

[@_Panic]

How did you not mention that Cobra Starship song had William Beckett from The Academy Is in it?

[@petergabriel8961]

He probably didn’t know

[@DEVOn.A.Skertic]

The details! Those detailed descriptions are so dead on accurate 😂! I die, each time you start going off. I have died TWICE! And the video is not even over.

[@swineherd_]

"What It's Like" has a powerful message IMO, but the vocal delivery displayed on it isn't all that great.

[@nicolepisa26]

Cobra Starship was my fav band in 8th grade😂 Did you catch Mr. Beckett aka the singer of The Academy Is in the snakes on a plane video???

[@vacantalleyways]

About A Girl is when I was completely out on the academy is. Almost Here and Santi are perfect records... Idk what they were thinking with Fast Times

[@stevester9148]

Everlast hitting the big time as a solo artist was in 1999

[@austintrousdale2397]

@@ghost_mallFinn couldn’t deny the drip any longer🚰 ⛓

[@aenema133]

That Everlast song was from 1998. Not 2000’s. Completely different vibe in the 90’s.

[@DigitalBath306]

dude thank you for the kanye take, i never liked his music that much either, tried so many times to get into but it just wasnt for me and i always felt like ive missed something and felt weird

[@Samzillah]

It's so weird because growing up he was always just kind of that guy who was okay, nobody was really that into him, then he went crazy and suddenly everyone was acting like he had been their fave forever and that he 'used to be so good' and saying they loved all his old shit. I know he did a lot of great production work but his own music was pretty hit and miss, and even his hits could be pretty questionable sometimes.

[@DigitalBath306]

@@Samzillah yeah i remember when all of a sudden it was "cool" to listen to kanye and people started praising him like hes the best musician ever, i tried to listen to my beautiful dark twisted fantasy and got tired of it like 3 songs into it

[@darnarxz]

@@DigitalBath306 That's wild, because that's one of the best rap albums ever

[@godwarrior3403]

​@Samantha Moes Must be young. I was introduced to Kanye with Kanye's workout plan and he was beloved then. First album so your take is just wrong. Your perception didn't showcase the reality. Kanye's music holds up, and if he never did the things that got him canceled, everyone would love it.

[@DigitalBath306]

@@darnarxz i know people told me but i just cant get into it

[@Carvania]

I don't know how normies don't remember Thursday? Whenever I bring em up in casual conversation with normal folks they always say, who?

[@fancykarlmarx]

The Middle is one of the best pop songs of all time.

[@dilegox]

Idk man.. The academy is (was) one of my favorite bands growing up. They were cheesy yes, but they had much better songs. Fun fact, one the guys singing in the Cobra Starship video is william beckett, frontman of The academy is,

[@xlnyc77]

Yes finally something I 100% agree with you, Kanye is not that great. HE hypnotized a generation of people with his own self-confidence to trick them into thinking he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. If haven't seen the Netflix documentary about him, "Jeen-Yuhs" you see that his mom, as some moms do, blindly supported him so much heas was raised with an inflated sense of self. But we see where that ego gets you, out of touch with reality.

[@Samzillah]

I feel like I always remember him as being the worst part of a lot of songs, or just giving us the most ridiculous nonsense bars that we joked about. Idk how he suddenly became some kind of music god, and now not liking him makes you a snowflake with bad taste 😂

[@dalenewberry4610]

I sure as hell don’t want to go back to 2006 since I was married to my first wife then 😂

[@shef_ratte]

11:45 "I remember this song being better." The radio edit, featuring random sound effects used to censor the swear words, is MUCH better

[@h.9089]

Kanye's music DOES hold up. 1000%. I just find it disingenuous that now music critics are saying music his music was always mid tier now that he's cancelled.

[@umitsever1692]

He's not cancelled he's mostly on a break he's put a lot of music over the years Kanye West up to my beautiful twisted dark fantasy was great I do like some of new stuff except for Jesus is king it was so bad I can live without it does it hold up yeah most of it does

[@burgermind802]

eh he was cancelled by Elon Musk and Adidas. critics still love Kanye

[@real30yearoldboomerhours53]

Everlast was great. Also the Pack were local to me in high school so they were really popular at my school. RIP Hyphy era. The Bay hasn’t been the same since

[@andrewr7982]

The Academy is…. Great band

[@applelandry4233]

Jimmy Eat World was big in the BMX scene. They were in EVERY Props BMX video

[@quintangeorge94]

"What it's Like" by Everlast Came Out in the 90's.

[@erickghoul174]

I thought so

[@IgnatiusAlpha]

I now know Lil B and the Call of Duty Taskforce exists and I'm really not sure what to do with this information.

[@nou.5822]

The first time I saw it i nearly shat myself from laughter

[@bestbeekeeper8931]

The Middle is not the worst Jimmy Eat World song, because the bridge in A Praise Chorus is literally just Davey von Bohlen name-checking a bunch of random songs, 2 of which are his

[@healthiswealth1452]

No way that Jimmy eat world song sucks

[@springer90]

Jimmy Eat World sucks in general

[@Luissv72]

"The Middle" was the 2nd song I crowdsurfed for. 1st was "The Reason" by Hoobastank. Only done it twice, both were in 2022 🤣

[@SleeepyJohn]

Crowdsurfing to the reason is just hilarious to me idk why😂

[@anap3333]

@@SleeepyJohn i just can’t wrap my head around it, at what point in the song is the right moment to do it?

[@jarrettstork9883]

@@anap3333 I'm not a perfect personnnnnnn

[@anap3333]

@@jarrettstork9883 while flying towards the crowd… nice

[@atomicpunk2360]

@@anap3333AND THE REASON IS YOU!!! AND THE REASON IS YOUUUUUU!!!!!

[@Samzillah]

I always forget about Jimmy Eats World because when I see the middle I always think its 'Stuck in the Middle with you' even though its by a totally different band.

[@Pogoc7]

808 & heartbreak is one of the greatest albums

[@Zeeblud-Music]

I get everyone has different tastes, but saying "what it's like" doesn't hold up, and "vans" is good is crazy bro. If you want to say every rap song you review is great, then whatever that's you it's your channel, but have you ever said anything bad about any rap song, serious question.

[@Zeeblud-Music]

Besides Tomcdonald kid rock or Kanye, or anyone else that the internet already hates, and are considered on the right lol.

[@FinnMckentyPRMBA]

I’ve talked shit about Tupac a million times and said that Jay Z, Biggie, Nas etc are mid as well

[@Zeeblud-Music]

@@FinnMckentyPRMBA yea I agree

[@werex3]

Guess somebody probably already typed it but The Pack's Vans is from 2006 (when the Vevo shit came to yt around 08/09, a lot of music videos got reuploaded - they often stated the views count before that in the description lol) and Lil B was 16/17 back then. His BASED era started in like the middle of 2009 swag

[@kellerwhite528]

I love the amount of sarcasm Finn puts into every sentence makes everything 10x funnier

[@DaveBudness]

I remember being in a band back in Worcester, Mass when Will was in his solo acoustic thing he played our show. CD is rather good 'Remember Maine' Remember_Maine-The_Last_Place_You_Look-ADVANCE-2003-pH Remember_Maine-Broken_Boy-EP-2002-pH

[@trentrobson2655]

Jimmy Eat World were signed to a major because of Texas is the Reason. When Texas broke up after signing to a major but not releasing anything, they told the label to sign Jimmy Eat World.

[@tembodiaz]

I don’t know about that DJ Khaled fact. He was part of Terror Squad (which consisted of Big Pun, Fat Joe, and Cuban Link).. but he also used to spin on an underground radio station in Miami (96.1) and he was called DJ Khaled then. And that was mid 90s.

[@zebraman1988]

Sugar on the Asphalt!!

[@tkirk3660]

I'm laughing right now imagining nu metal viewers trying to give them selves cauliflower ears.

[@professor_memesquad9926]

Hate me all you want but jimmy eat worlds best albums are static prevails, clarity, and futures

[@SconnerStudios]

You know a song is from the 2000s when the word "swag" is used.

[@ryanrowe1975]

Rest in peace Oscar

[@klubbs617]

Back in 2006, when the only real thing of importance was who was on your top 8 on Myspace.

[@ceddufresne8542]

i love ''What it's like'' so much i did a hole cover with a video ahah

[@Fixxxer07082]

How can you talk about Snakes On A Plane/Cobra Starship and not mention the definition of “shoulda/coulda/woulda but choked on his potential due to being a drug addict” of Travie McCoy? 😂. I actually saw Cobra Starship open for Thirty Seconds To Mars in Philly on Halloween Night 2006….decent show, but when they played this song, they had a random fan come onstage to do Travie’s rap part of the song. 😂

[@panfluteskeleton]

As one of those eighth graders who listened to The Academy Is... because the lead singer was cute, I have to say their entire third album was mid. Not just this song. Santi was my favorite

[@kage6613]

As a Jimmy Eat World hipster, you just have to give it up for The Middle. It's an incredible, All-American Classic Hit. But I still think Work was a cool emo sleeper hit back in '05.

[@HorsesArePeople2]

Terror Squad sounds like such a dope metal band. I'm stealing that name since DJ Khaled abandoned it

[@homerzkillet6345]

i think that clarity is the best jimmy eat world album, but the middle is definetley their best song

[@user-hr4lf7wv6h]

I met Gabe from Cobra Starship, when he was in Midtown. Dude was a good guy.

[@Noneed4aname83]

the middle still holds up now. you can put it on rn and people will sing along to it.

[@Sexiraina1993]

I sing Vans by the Pack so regularly, I screamed when it came on. No one ever remembers it. That song singlehandedly made Vans cool in my school.

[@diywrites8703]

You mean to tell me, that movie wasn't about "Monkey fighting snakes on a Monday to Friday plane"?? Television lied to me!

[@BloodyxCape]

What it's like came out in 98. Come on now Finn!

[@mattwhite399]

I reserved my “like” of the video until I could hear Finn’s take on The Middle. Had me nervous with the video thumbnail!

[@Ravenstorm163]

The Bands from the era hold up like A7x did Halestorm did Alter Bridge did MCR and the whole style did and Foo Fighters with Talyor did The Darkness still has the crowd but you not talking about half of them makes me sad

[@KoiYokan]

The Academy Is' older music was better and sounded different from the songs from barrington high lol

[@xkatxtuffx]

Can you do bands like the early November ? The higher ?

[@xkatxtuffx]

And drive- thru band nobody talks about

[@thatseasyforyoutosay]

Finn you know that Rachel bilson has an OC podcast

[@remakeyourself]

I remember practicing with my HS garage band one day, we were trying to come up with some licks and accidentally stumbled upon the chord progression for What It's Like. That song sucks lol

[@JerseyJeff84]

The Middle was one of those songs that every time it came on, I instantly got pumped up, while simultaneously butchering the lyrics, as I do all music. 😂

[@wristsintact]

Please listen to their older songs by the academy is. One album and even 2 albums before this truly slapped.

[@dawidtyburek]

Ooooh my, bless the soul on the chat that just put the Nada Surf there! Their blankest year lifted me thorugh dark moments in high school, literally didnt hear this bands name since ~2008❤

[@erindiazmclaughlin]

For some reason that Jimmy Eat World song reminds of little kids jumping around in their pajamas waiting for Saturday morning cartoons to come on.

[@stewartdowouis9218]

Power Pop Jimmy Eat World is the best Jimmy Eat World.

[@savedbythebelldeepdives]

This is the first I've heard Lil B - ever - despite moderating a website in 2010 where he was meme-lorded. I, uh... I still don't get it.

[@someoneelse7971]

In a decade where shit like Hollywood Undead, Blood on the Dancefloor and Brokencyde existed it's insulting to call THESE the worst songs of the decade.

[@cmurockstar]

The Academy Is... was great.

[@FrshChees91]

I don't remember The Academy Is at all.