4 Early 2000s Indie Rock Songs That Will Make You Feel Like the Main Character

Needing a main character moment? Look no further than these early 2000s rock hits. They’ll have you feeling like the star of your own sitcom in no time.

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“I Don’t Want To Be” by Gavin DeGraw

Known by most as One Tree Hill‘s epic theme song, “I Don’t Want To Be” is a sort of anthemic tune that embraces imperfection, preaches acceptance, and leaves the listener with a little bit of indie rock wisdom.

“I don’t want to be anything / Other than what I’ve been tryna be lately / All I have to do is think of me / And I have peace of mind.”

Even DeGraw himself is feeling like the main character in this song, and you can totally tell.

“The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World

Also found in the One Tree Hill soundtrack, “The Middle” has a quality that makes everything seem sort of…possible. Maybe that’s because it’s incredibly optimistic, or maybe its simplicity is the thing that makes “The Middle” stand out.

“‘The Middle’ is a song that happened in like an hour,” Jimmy Eat World shared in an interview with Louder. “It felt like it was just so simple and complete in itself, and it didn’t seem like it needed a whole lot, so it got created really quickly.”

“Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall

This is the perfect song for an opening credits moment. You know, the one where the main protagonist of the film gets up and starts getting ready for the day. With little to no time to spare, of course. Similar to DeGraw’s hit, “Suddenly I See” takes a “this is my life and I’m gonna do what I want” approach lyrically. Honestly, that’s never a bad way to introduce a character.

“Suddenly I see (suddenly I see) / This is what I wanna be / Suddenly I see (suddenly I see) / Why the hell it means so much to me.”

“Mr. Brightside” by The Killers

If you’ve ever been to a wedding reception or even a high school prom, you definitely know this one. “Mr. Brightside” was one of the first songs written for The Killers. The concept came after vocalist Brandon Flowers saw his ex out with another guy. Even though the group didn’t end up using all of their old material, “Mr. Brightside” was too good to throw out.

“We had a lot of songs in the early days, and I think ‘Mr. Brightside’ was the first song that we had finished writing,” Flowers shared with Rolling Stone. “Then [the Strokes’] Is This It came out and we realized that the bar had been raised.”

He continued, “We threw away everything we had except for ‘Mr. Brightside’ and kept writing and finished Hot Fuss.”

Photo By: Chris Phelps