#35: "Drunk in Love" by Beyonce feat. Jay-Z
I totally thought this was a remix of one of her first hits, and then I remembered that that song was "Crazy in Love".
Well, that intro is a real WTF moment. Think an autotuned, chipmunk style Arabian chant. It's a bit annoying, and is in the mix a bit too much. The almost-dirge-y keyboard covers it up, though, and is not too bad of an R&B music in and of itself. Musically, I'd say it's a bit dull and uninspired, but not bad. Vocally, Beyonce is much the same. She does seem to be rapping more than singing, which might be for the best to make this song more interesting. Jay-Z is definitely Jay-Z. It's not that he does a bad job. He's a pretty good rapper, but his tone totally clashes with the style of the song.
This song is about getting drunk in a club, and getting laid. Beyonce actually does a nice job of sounding somewhat classy about it, for the most part, but Jay-Z...no one who name-drops Ike Turner in a song can come off as "classy".
This song would have benefited from a lot less Jay-Z. Without him, you have a song that's maybe a bit too similar to other R&B songs, but Beyonce sounds quite good on this song, and the lyrics manage to dress up the subject matter pretty well. But Jay-Z's guest verse really brings the song down. I'd definitely say this is the lesser of Beyonce's "In Love" songs but, if you can ignore the Jay-Z part, this is still one of her best recent efforts.
#34: "Boom Clap" by Charli XCX
This is my first time listening to a solo effort from Charli XCX. She's a British singer-songwriter, who I first came across in last year's list, having written and getting credited for Icona Pop's "I Love It", which I enjoyed a fair bit.
Well, the music sounds like the title. Bass and clapping. There is a bit of synth on and after the chorus, but overall, the music is a lot more restrained and minimalistic than I expected. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it allows Charli to showcase her vocals a bit. As for those vocals, Charli's not the strongest singer. She never sounds bad, exactly, but she also never rises above the level of "Disney starlet".
This song is about being in love. Well, kind of. A guy is making her heart go "boom clap", so she wants hime to come on to her. The song uses those very words.
This song is confusing. The vocals are about what you'd hear from the Disney Channel, but the lyrics are both on par with the Disney Channel ("Boom clap, the sound of my heartbeat"? Really?) and far too blatant to be on the Disney Channel (You won't hear Hannah Montana asking some guy to "come on to me", will you?). You know what? I think I figured it out. This song is for all the teenage girls who want to seem grown-up and mature, but don't want to venture out of the teen pop territory. In that sense, I guess it succeeds. It's a bit of a shame, though, because after "I Love It", I didn't expect Charli XCX to go "safe" for her solo hit single. Can't call the song bad, but it's just not my thing.
#33: "Summer" by Calvin Harris
I am not a fan of Calvin Harris. I don't think he's written a single song that didn't end up boring me or leaving me feeling anything at all.
Musically, this is what Calvin Harris does. It's a single synth line, that's mostly just a few keys being hit repeatedly. At least, for the first minute or so. After that, the "chorus" is basically a wall of synth noise that seems to think that being loud is the same as being energetic. As for the vocals, Calvin Harris is not too bad, but he doesn't really have any confidence in his voice. It sounds like he is afraid to sing, but forcing himself to so he won't have an instrumental song.
The lyrics are quite simple. He met a girl in the summer, it was great. That's about all there is to this song lyrically.
I could go not hearing another Calvin Harris song, and nothing would change. It wouldn't improve my music, but it wouldn't worsen it, because Calvin Harris has no personality at all. His singing, when it exists, is shaky, the lyrics are one verse/chorus repeated ad nauseum, and the music is either soft and dull, or loud and dull. I can't say I dislike him, because Id have to care about him as an artist to have any feelings towards.
#32: "Habits (Stay High)" by Tove Lo
Tove Lo is a Swedish singer-songwriter. This song is, by far, her biggest solo hit, but she has written songs for other artists, including Icona Pop, Girls Aloud, and Cher Lloyd. Oh, and this is a remix of her original song, which was simply named "Habits", done by hip-hop producers Hippie Sabotage (one of the greatest hip-hop names ever, in my opinion).
Musically, it's not too bad. Synth is the main instrument, but rather than go for a high-energy feel, the song is almost dreary, but still has enough energy to prevent the song from being dull, a tricky balance. Vocally, Tove Lo is not exactly unique, but she still sounds pretty good. She doesn't ever go off-key, and shows off a rather pretty voice.
This song is a post-breakup song. Basically, After a bad break-up, Tove Lo is going to clubs, getting drunk, getting high...basically, anything to distract her mind from the depression she feels after the breakup, and trying to forget how much she misses the mystery ex.
I...really like this song. It's not exactly a fun listen, but it all works well. The character portrayed in the song is stuck in a self-destructive rut, and she seems well aware of it, but the tone of voice in the singer's voice sounds both desperate to move on, and resigned to the fact that she probably never will. The music manages to be slow and somber without being dreary, and the lyrics are very cutting and serious, portraying the state of mind of someone who just can't get over their ex, and has fallen into depression quite seriously, neither condemning nor romanticizing the addict. It's a damn good song, but it's not an enjoyable one. Nor should it be.
#31: "Best Day Of My Life" by American Authors
American Authors is a rock band from New York City. The group formed in 2011, under the name of "The Blue Pages", but changed their name in 2012. This song is their most successful, although they have had success with "Believer" on adult and rock radio and "Home" was featured in the movie trailer for This Is Where I Leave You. In addition, their song "Trouble" peaked at number 44 on the Rock charts.
The opening reminds me a lot of "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons, in a good way. The music is mainly drum driven for the first verse, but there is an interesting keyboard line in the chorus, and the music adds guitar for the first bridge, and from that point on, keeps all instruments in the song. It gives the song the feel of having an extended intro. Vocally, the singer sounds like a lot of modern alternative rock singers. Once again, the first thing that comes to mind is Imagine Dragons.
Lyrically, this song is pretty basic. The singer is singing about how this is going to be the best day of his life. Why? Because he says it is.
This song is very reminiscent of Imagine Dragons vocally, but the music has a nice build up, and manages to have some uniqueness to it, and while the lyrics are simple, this not a song I can find myself disliking. It's not great, and definitely has a bit of "samey" feel to it, but it just makes me feel good. You hear this song, and it makes you think that the day will be great. I cannot fault a song for just being a "feel good" song when it succeeds, and this song does.
Those last two songs were pretty good. Maybe things are looking up!
Previously: #40-36 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.868351-2014-Billboard-Top-100-40-36]
Next: #30-26 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.868621-2014-Billboard-Top-100-30-26]
I totally thought this was a remix of one of her first hits, and then I remembered that that song was "Crazy in Love".
Well, that intro is a real WTF moment. Think an autotuned, chipmunk style Arabian chant. It's a bit annoying, and is in the mix a bit too much. The almost-dirge-y keyboard covers it up, though, and is not too bad of an R&B music in and of itself. Musically, I'd say it's a bit dull and uninspired, but not bad. Vocally, Beyonce is much the same. She does seem to be rapping more than singing, which might be for the best to make this song more interesting. Jay-Z is definitely Jay-Z. It's not that he does a bad job. He's a pretty good rapper, but his tone totally clashes with the style of the song.
This song is about getting drunk in a club, and getting laid. Beyonce actually does a nice job of sounding somewhat classy about it, for the most part, but Jay-Z...no one who name-drops Ike Turner in a song can come off as "classy".
This song would have benefited from a lot less Jay-Z. Without him, you have a song that's maybe a bit too similar to other R&B songs, but Beyonce sounds quite good on this song, and the lyrics manage to dress up the subject matter pretty well. But Jay-Z's guest verse really brings the song down. I'd definitely say this is the lesser of Beyonce's "In Love" songs but, if you can ignore the Jay-Z part, this is still one of her best recent efforts.
#34: "Boom Clap" by Charli XCX
This is my first time listening to a solo effort from Charli XCX. She's a British singer-songwriter, who I first came across in last year's list, having written and getting credited for Icona Pop's "I Love It", which I enjoyed a fair bit.
Well, the music sounds like the title. Bass and clapping. There is a bit of synth on and after the chorus, but overall, the music is a lot more restrained and minimalistic than I expected. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it allows Charli to showcase her vocals a bit. As for those vocals, Charli's not the strongest singer. She never sounds bad, exactly, but she also never rises above the level of "Disney starlet".
This song is about being in love. Well, kind of. A guy is making her heart go "boom clap", so she wants hime to come on to her. The song uses those very words.
This song is confusing. The vocals are about what you'd hear from the Disney Channel, but the lyrics are both on par with the Disney Channel ("Boom clap, the sound of my heartbeat"? Really?) and far too blatant to be on the Disney Channel (You won't hear Hannah Montana asking some guy to "come on to me", will you?). You know what? I think I figured it out. This song is for all the teenage girls who want to seem grown-up and mature, but don't want to venture out of the teen pop territory. In that sense, I guess it succeeds. It's a bit of a shame, though, because after "I Love It", I didn't expect Charli XCX to go "safe" for her solo hit single. Can't call the song bad, but it's just not my thing.
#33: "Summer" by Calvin Harris
I am not a fan of Calvin Harris. I don't think he's written a single song that didn't end up boring me or leaving me feeling anything at all.
Musically, this is what Calvin Harris does. It's a single synth line, that's mostly just a few keys being hit repeatedly. At least, for the first minute or so. After that, the "chorus" is basically a wall of synth noise that seems to think that being loud is the same as being energetic. As for the vocals, Calvin Harris is not too bad, but he doesn't really have any confidence in his voice. It sounds like he is afraid to sing, but forcing himself to so he won't have an instrumental song.
The lyrics are quite simple. He met a girl in the summer, it was great. That's about all there is to this song lyrically.
I could go not hearing another Calvin Harris song, and nothing would change. It wouldn't improve my music, but it wouldn't worsen it, because Calvin Harris has no personality at all. His singing, when it exists, is shaky, the lyrics are one verse/chorus repeated ad nauseum, and the music is either soft and dull, or loud and dull. I can't say I dislike him, because Id have to care about him as an artist to have any feelings towards.
#32: "Habits (Stay High)" by Tove Lo
Tove Lo is a Swedish singer-songwriter. This song is, by far, her biggest solo hit, but she has written songs for other artists, including Icona Pop, Girls Aloud, and Cher Lloyd. Oh, and this is a remix of her original song, which was simply named "Habits", done by hip-hop producers Hippie Sabotage (one of the greatest hip-hop names ever, in my opinion).
Musically, it's not too bad. Synth is the main instrument, but rather than go for a high-energy feel, the song is almost dreary, but still has enough energy to prevent the song from being dull, a tricky balance. Vocally, Tove Lo is not exactly unique, but she still sounds pretty good. She doesn't ever go off-key, and shows off a rather pretty voice.
This song is a post-breakup song. Basically, After a bad break-up, Tove Lo is going to clubs, getting drunk, getting high...basically, anything to distract her mind from the depression she feels after the breakup, and trying to forget how much she misses the mystery ex.
I...really like this song. It's not exactly a fun listen, but it all works well. The character portrayed in the song is stuck in a self-destructive rut, and she seems well aware of it, but the tone of voice in the singer's voice sounds both desperate to move on, and resigned to the fact that she probably never will. The music manages to be slow and somber without being dreary, and the lyrics are very cutting and serious, portraying the state of mind of someone who just can't get over their ex, and has fallen into depression quite seriously, neither condemning nor romanticizing the addict. It's a damn good song, but it's not an enjoyable one. Nor should it be.
#31: "Best Day Of My Life" by American Authors
American Authors is a rock band from New York City. The group formed in 2011, under the name of "The Blue Pages", but changed their name in 2012. This song is their most successful, although they have had success with "Believer" on adult and rock radio and "Home" was featured in the movie trailer for This Is Where I Leave You. In addition, their song "Trouble" peaked at number 44 on the Rock charts.
The opening reminds me a lot of "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons, in a good way. The music is mainly drum driven for the first verse, but there is an interesting keyboard line in the chorus, and the music adds guitar for the first bridge, and from that point on, keeps all instruments in the song. It gives the song the feel of having an extended intro. Vocally, the singer sounds like a lot of modern alternative rock singers. Once again, the first thing that comes to mind is Imagine Dragons.
Lyrically, this song is pretty basic. The singer is singing about how this is going to be the best day of his life. Why? Because he says it is.
This song is very reminiscent of Imagine Dragons vocally, but the music has a nice build up, and manages to have some uniqueness to it, and while the lyrics are simple, this not a song I can find myself disliking. It's not great, and definitely has a bit of "samey" feel to it, but it just makes me feel good. You hear this song, and it makes you think that the day will be great. I cannot fault a song for just being a "feel good" song when it succeeds, and this song does.
Those last two songs were pretty good. Maybe things are looking up!
Previously: #40-36 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.868351-2014-Billboard-Top-100-40-36]
Next: #30-26 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.868621-2014-Billboard-Top-100-30-26]
