The Year in Pop: 2002

2002 was a very strange year on planet Earth. Many of us will remember it as the year when life started sucking for all but a few lucky (or just very wealthy) individuals. The War on Terror was in full effect. There were coalition forces in Afghanistan who would end up staying there for what is fast approaching a decade (or more). Metro stations in England were being attacked, proving that the 9/11 attacks were far from isolated incidents. Economically things were pretty dire, too. The boom days of the 90's had been busting for a few years at that point, but that was just the beginning as the housing crunch was looming along with a steep decline in the stock market and unemployment. 2002 was really the beginning of the dark days and that overall tone is reflected in the pop culture people preferred to consume.

To understand the 2002 Billboard Hot 100, which seems more schizophrenic than usual, look no further than the Top 10 highest grossing movies of that year. It's a 60/40 split of pure escapism and incredible downers, the high fantasy of The Two Towers and The Chamber of Secrets sharing space with intense drama like Pianist and the chilling apocalyptic tones of 28 Days Later. It was a year of struggle between the inescapable pain of a society in decline and the need to be distracted from that pain.

And that, readers, is how Nickelback managed to have the #1 single of the year. "How You Remind Me" is the perfect confluence of everything that was happening in charting pop in 2002. It is the epitome of corporate rock, the over-produced dreck that has proven surprisingly resilient over the past decade. It's simultaneously a wallow and a love song. It has the soul of a pop country ballad and it's dressed like an angry teenager. It appeals to both men and women. It is only deep enough to not be completely shallow but is far from being smart enough to count as an astute expression of true emotion. In essence, it's a mindless escape that still remembers it's being sung in the darkest of days. Trailing behind it are a smattering of other Nu-Metal or post-Grunge bands like Linkin Park, Puddle of Mudd and Creed in its dying days.

Just two spots down on the chart is the Nelly super-hit "Hot in Herre", the quintessential "party because shut up I said so" song not just of 2002, but perhaps all time. This kind of music is always on the charts, but rarely is it ever so bald and borderline stupid. Don't get me wrong, "Hot in Herre" is extremely effective as an all-purpose party track. It fits on the dance floor, coming out of the stereo at a house party or sending tremors down the street from a too-powerful car sound system. This track made Nelly the wealthiest rapper in history, perhaps because he managed to plug into the hedonistic fury that bubbles below the panic of an age of war and poverty.

The same could be said for Pink's hit "Get the Party Started". It's not nearly as intentionally vapid as "Hot in Herre", which is likely why it's a full 21 positions lower on the chart, but it still defiantly insists on having a good time no matter what's going on. I remember the first time I saw the music video for this song was in the lobby of a nearly empty hotel in New York City in December 2001. It was just barely climbing the charts and it wouldn't be a genuine hit for another couple months, so it was incredibly surreal to see a sneering party track clawing its way into the atmosphere of a traumatized city that was still literally caked in the dust of one of its most famous landmarks.

But 2002 was also a time of great transition in the pop world. Way down at the bottom of the chart, Justin Timberlake's star started to shine with "Like I Love You", the first single off his debut solo album. He'd rise to be one of the most bankable stars of the decade, but in 2002 he was still throwing off the shackles of the suddenly uncool boy-band craze. No Doubt charted three times and which of the songs sold better is pretty telling. The melancholy island song "Underneath It All" was really the last gasp of the band's ska-inspired 90's sound. It charted not because it's an especially great song, but because it was recorded by a popular band. The considerably more pop-hop sound of "Hella Good" and "Hey Baby" performed considerably better, foretelling Gwen Stefani's departure from the band for more diva-appropriate vistas. It's basically the plot of the video for "Don't Speak" made flesh.

2002 is still close enough to today to not be able to say who has since fizzled and who has survived. Some of the names are still chugging along, but most, as always, have long disappeared.