2001 alternative songs
[Photos via Alkaline Trio/Spotify, No Doubt/Spotify, Creed/Spotify, blink-182/Spotify]

10 alternative songs from 2001 that you still know every word to

It’s hard to believe that we’ve now spent more time beyond the 2000s than within them. What’s worse? That means we’re now coming up on 20 years spent with some of our favorite alternative hits. This year, it’s all the 2001 songs that are celebrating the milestone birthday.

Even two decades out, though, many of them remain prominent forces in the music world. From qualifying as setlist staples to becoming embedded in meme culture, these songs—and their iconic lyrics—are here to stay.

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Here are 10 songs from 2001 that you definitely still know all the words to.

“The Rock Show” – blink-182

Travis Barker may have roasted Machine Gun Kelly for taking 19 years to figure out the pun in Take Off Your Pants And Jacketbut at least he fell short of the two-decade mark. That would have just been embarrassing… While most of the lyrics on blink-182‘s 2001 album hold up remarkably well, there’s just no overstating the iconicism of “The Rock Show.” Not only are the summery lines impossible to forget, but they’ll give you a surge of energy just thinking about them.

“Tribute” – Tenacious D

This anniversary is particularly startling. Not only have we spent two decades singing along to Tenacious D’s “Tribute,” but 2021 also marks the 20-year anniversary of their debut self-titled album. It seems like just yesterday that we were loading the Dave Grohl-assisted record into our CD players… Can you believe that the release even predated the first iPod?

“In Too Deep” – Sum 41

This one immediately started playing in your head, didn’t it? Yeah, Sum 41 certainly hit the mark with their relatable, catchy as all hell 2001 anthem. While All Killer No Filler in its entirety has stood the test of time, “In Too Deep” has persisted as notable pop-punk staple. No lie, we’ll go to the grave still knowing all the words.

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“Chop Suey!” – System Of A Down

Admittedly, you may have needed a CD liner to discern some of these rapid lines. But once you got them down, they were down for good. There was truly no greater source of pride than being able to sing along flawlessly to System Of A Down‘s “Chop Suey!” If you have any doubt that the sentiment holds true even today, just take a listen to August Burns Red‘s cover.

“Underneath It All” – No Doubt

No Doubt‘s “Underneath It All” is one of those tracks that doesn’t feel its age from any standpoint. For one, there’s no way that we’ve already spent nearly 20 years with Rock Steady. At the same time, though, the song is so timeless that we’re almost certain that we’ve heard it decades prior to 2001. We’ll resist thinking about it too hard and instead channel all of our energy into hoping for a band reunion in the near future.

“Island In The Sun” – Weezer

Truly, we’re not sure that anyone ever even learned the lyrics to Weezer‘s “Island In The Sun.” We were all just born knowing them. Or, you know, we’ve just been absorbing them through an overload of pop culture since 2001. It’s not just the song, though—the music video is totally unforgettable as well.

Read more: 10 artists you probably didn’t realize Travis Barker collaborated with

“My Sacrifice” – Creed

You didn’t even have to be huge into Creed circa 2001 to have the entirety of “My Sacrifice” down pat. The anthem is just so deeply relatable that you can hear it once and commit all the words to memory for life. Now, if they could just confirm those reunion rumors to be true so we could all sing along together post-pandemic

“The Middle” – Jimmy Eat World

Jimmy Eat World really captured our hearts by putting one of the most uplifting songs of all time on a 2000s emo album. “The Middle” is just so reassuring that no one could ever help committing every golden line to memory. Granted, we really needed it if we were going to get through the heart-wrenching lyrics of “Hear You Me” without losing it.

“Private Eye” – Alkaline Trio

Did your jaw hit the floor? We always knew that From Here To Infirmary dropped in 2001, but there’s just no way that these songs are 20 already… It stands to reason that “Private Eye” is still among their top-streamed songs. No 2000s alternative fans came out of the decade without learning Alkaline Trio‘s edgy as hell lyrics—and promptly checking out Channel 11.

 Read more: 10 bands from the late 2000s who broke up way too soon

“Youth Of The Nation” – P.O.D.

P.O.D. didn’t have to go so hard on their 2001 album, Satellitebut we fully appreciate them for it. “Youth Of The Nation” was a particularly prominent single, featuring heartbreaking narratives on the theme of school shootings, emotional abuse and depression. Perhaps it speaks to the times that it still sits so clearly in our heads…

Which alternative songs from 2001 do you still remember from start to finish? Let us know in the comments!