BEST MODERN SONG LYRICS

1. "If they ask why we left in the first place / Say we were young and we were so in love and I guess we just needed space / And we heard about this place / Called the United States" (The Hold Steady, "Killer Parties," 2004)

2. "Put a motherfucker on ice like the Maple Leafs / That's a hockey team and I ain't on no hockey team / But I'm a champion, so where's the fucking Rocky theme? / Damn, rest in peace Apollo Creed" (Lil Wayne, "Upgrade U," 2007)

3. "Spaceships don't come equipped with rear view mirrors" (Andre 3000 in UGK's "Int'l Playa Anthem," 2007)

4. "I need something strong to distract my mind / I'm gonna look at you till my eyes go blind" (Bob Dylan, "Mississippi," 2001)

5. "I wish I could buy back the woman you stole" (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Y Control," 2003)

6. "Three-fourths of her body always covered in clothes / That's why I'm eating her candy and sucking her toes" (Cappadonna on Ghostface's "Jellyfish," 2006)

7. "Your famous friend, well, I blew him before you" (Franz Ferdinand, "Do You Want To," 2005)

8. "Her stories are boring and stuff / She's always calling my bluff" (Interpol, "Obstacle 2," 2002)

9. "I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow / I hope it bleeds all day long / Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises / "We're pretty sure they're all wrong" (Mountain Goats, "No Children," 2002)

10. "Ain't no shame, ladies, do your thang / Just make sure you ahead of the game" (Missy Elliott, "Work It," 2002)

11. "We do what we like and we like what we do!" (Andrew WK, "Party Hard," 2002)

12. "Cool, calm, just like my mom, with a couple of Valium inside her palm, / It's Mr. Mischief with a trick up his sleeve, to roll up on you like Christopher Reeve" (Eminem, "Purple Pills," 2001)

13. "I ain't gonna compromise my Christianity" (Destiny's Child, "Survivor," 2001)

14. "You spend the first five years trying to get with the plan / And the next five years trying to be with your friends again" (LCD Soundsystem, "All My Friends," 2007)

15. "You can meet me on an aeroplane / Or in the back of the bus / You can throw me like a boomerang / I'll come back and beat you up" (Ashlee Simpson, "La La," 2004)

16. "For shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in V-A" (Jay-Z, "Izzo (HOVA)," 2001)

17. "From all the bitches / The one I wanna be is music" (CSS, "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex," 2006)

18. "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier" (The Killers, "All Things That I've Done," 2004)

19. "If I could talk to myself like I was someone else / Then maybe I could take your advice / And I wouldn't act like such an asshole all the time" (Bright Eyes, "Going for the Gold," 2002)

19. "I know you have a heavy heart / I can feel it when we kiss / So many men stronger than me have thrown their backs out trying to lift it" (Bright Eyes, "Lua," 2004)

20. "I'm going to Wichita!" (White Stripes, "7 Nation Army," 2003)

ROB SHEFFIELD
Photo: Lucy Hamblin

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