Moving on down the list. Or up it.
#75: "Marvin Gaye" by Charlie Puth feat. Meghan Trainor
Charlie Puth is a pop artist who got his start on Youtube, but first truly broke out this year. In fact, this song was his debut single. As for Meghan Trainor, this is her second appearance on the list.
The song starts off almost Sinatra-like, with slow piano and brass. If the intent was to make it sound like a late 50's or early 60's style ballad, then I think this song definitely pulled it off. Not that the music is bad, just not quite what you expect in 2015. Both Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor sound pretty good as well, fitting in quite well with the style. Meghan Trainor does stand out a little more, but both work together quite well.
The lyrics are the real issue of this song for me. See, you might want to know how the title comes in. Well, the two singers are portraying lovers who suggest, and I quote, "Let's Marvin Gaye and get it on."
All right, the lyrics are definitely cringeworthy, all the moreso when combined with the style of music and the quite solid singing on both parts. That said, this song does have a unique style to it, and it works quite well on a musical side. If you can get past the really bad puns in the lyrics, you could do a lot worse than this.
#74: "Dear Future Husband" by Meghan Trainor
Trifecta!
I'm not too fond of this music. The opening sounds like an attempt at a 50's song, like you'd hear in a Fallout game, but the rest of the music just doesn't hit the same not, sounding way too modern to pull off that 50's sound quite well. Vocally, Meghan Trainor doesn't sound nearly as good as she did in the last two songs. She doesn't sound bad, mind you, but she just seems to focus too much on trying to sound "60's perky" rather than just sounding natural.
This song is basically Meghan Trainor's advice to her, well, future husband. Basically, kiss her, love her, always apologize after fights, buy her a ring, all that jazz.
This song could be done well, and in fact, it has. This song is Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine", but with all the hints of irony drained away. While Shania Twain came off as playful, and clearly recognized that the mindset of the main character was not good, Meghan Trainor seems too earnest, and with lines like "After every fight, just apologize and maybe I'll let you rock my body right. And even if I'm wrong, you know I'm never wrong"...I don't know, maybe I'm taking this song too seriously, but it just doesn't set well with me. The music doesn't sound great, and the vocals are too affected to do anything for me either. Not only is the weakest Meghan Trainor song so far on this list, it's one of my least favorite songs so far on this list period.
#73: "Ex's and Oh's" by Elle King
Elle King is a singer, originally from New York City, but currently based in LA. She got her start this year, and can claim famous parentage, being the daughter of Rob Schneider.
The music for this song is very retro, but unlike the last song, does it right. It sounds like a lot of the style of music you'd hear in bars throughout the 70's, with strong acoustic guitar, but a little bit of synth to give it that modern twist. Add in a strong drum line, and you have a very enjoyable beat, one that could easily overshadow a weaker singer. Luckily, Elle King is anything but weak. She has the style of singing that you'd hear on Postmodern Jukebox, with a raspiness to her vocals that adds a lot of punch, even outside of her surprisingly strong range.
This song basically is sung from the point of view of a female who jumps from relationship to relationship. While the chorus is basically her lamenting that the exes all haunt her, the verses just how little she regrets her actions, mentioning several lovers she left for various reasons.
This song hits on just about every level the last one missed. While both singers lack a sympathetic point of view, Elle King seems a lot more playful about it, showing more awareness about just how she is coming off in the lyrics. While Meghan Trainor sounded forced in her 60's style singing, Elle King has a natural voice for this type of song, and the music sounds like a modernized twist to the style, rather than simply trying to emulate it. I absolutely love this song, and it's just a blast to listen to.
#72: "Classic Man" by Jidenna feat. Roman GianArthur
Jidenna is a male Nigerian-American rapper who first got his start this year, while Roman GianArthur is a musician mostly known for collaborating with artists like Janelle Monae.
I was expecting stronger music, for some reason. Maybe the fact that a musician was listed as the featured artist? Well, the music isn't exactly bad, but it's very standard synth and bass. Jidenna does have skills as a rapper. He isn't very fast, but he has a nice flow, and makes the rhythm sound natural. Roman GianArthur gets a guest verse and...yeah, Jidenna sounds great.
This is a bragging rap song, with Jidenna bragging about how great he is, saying he's a "classic man" and saying he just looks and acts better, and that's what it comes down to.
This is actually a pretty good song. It doesn't really do anything unique or special, but what it does do, it does well. The music is a bit generic, but it does give the song a nice rhythm, and Jidenna does a solid job as a rapper. This is a song that is a solid B. Nothing special, really, but definitely above average.
#71: "Riptide" by Vance Joy
Vance Joy is an Australian singer-songwriter. He first got started in 2013, with this song getting released as a single that year, but didn't get over in the US until 2014. Once it did, however, it stayed on the Billboard charts for 43 weeks.
This song has a pretty nice guitar line, almost sounding like a ukulele. This gives the song a unique feel even in a genre filled with pretty nice guitar lines. Vance Joy has a good voice as well for indie songs, his lack of range not affecting the tone of his voice in any way.
This song is not the easiest to understand, but according to Vance Joy, is basically about the coming of age through metaphor.
This song doesn't always make the most sense, but what it does do well is sound good. The music is very calming, and Vance Joy's voice works very well for this style of song. He doesn't sound the most unique, but there are much worse indie songs to hear, and the music for this one at least tries something different.
Well, with the exception of one song, I actually really enjoyed that set. Let's see what's next.
Previously: #80-76 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.932269-2015-Billboard-Top-100-80-76]
Next: #70-66 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.932859-2015-Billboard-Top-100-70-66]
#75: "Marvin Gaye" by Charlie Puth feat. Meghan Trainor
Charlie Puth is a pop artist who got his start on Youtube, but first truly broke out this year. In fact, this song was his debut single. As for Meghan Trainor, this is her second appearance on the list.
The song starts off almost Sinatra-like, with slow piano and brass. If the intent was to make it sound like a late 50's or early 60's style ballad, then I think this song definitely pulled it off. Not that the music is bad, just not quite what you expect in 2015. Both Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor sound pretty good as well, fitting in quite well with the style. Meghan Trainor does stand out a little more, but both work together quite well.
The lyrics are the real issue of this song for me. See, you might want to know how the title comes in. Well, the two singers are portraying lovers who suggest, and I quote, "Let's Marvin Gaye and get it on."
All right, the lyrics are definitely cringeworthy, all the moreso when combined with the style of music and the quite solid singing on both parts. That said, this song does have a unique style to it, and it works quite well on a musical side. If you can get past the really bad puns in the lyrics, you could do a lot worse than this.
#74: "Dear Future Husband" by Meghan Trainor
Trifecta!
I'm not too fond of this music. The opening sounds like an attempt at a 50's song, like you'd hear in a Fallout game, but the rest of the music just doesn't hit the same not, sounding way too modern to pull off that 50's sound quite well. Vocally, Meghan Trainor doesn't sound nearly as good as she did in the last two songs. She doesn't sound bad, mind you, but she just seems to focus too much on trying to sound "60's perky" rather than just sounding natural.
This song is basically Meghan Trainor's advice to her, well, future husband. Basically, kiss her, love her, always apologize after fights, buy her a ring, all that jazz.
This song could be done well, and in fact, it has. This song is Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine", but with all the hints of irony drained away. While Shania Twain came off as playful, and clearly recognized that the mindset of the main character was not good, Meghan Trainor seems too earnest, and with lines like "After every fight, just apologize and maybe I'll let you rock my body right. And even if I'm wrong, you know I'm never wrong"...I don't know, maybe I'm taking this song too seriously, but it just doesn't set well with me. The music doesn't sound great, and the vocals are too affected to do anything for me either. Not only is the weakest Meghan Trainor song so far on this list, it's one of my least favorite songs so far on this list period.
#73: "Ex's and Oh's" by Elle King
Elle King is a singer, originally from New York City, but currently based in LA. She got her start this year, and can claim famous parentage, being the daughter of Rob Schneider.
The music for this song is very retro, but unlike the last song, does it right. It sounds like a lot of the style of music you'd hear in bars throughout the 70's, with strong acoustic guitar, but a little bit of synth to give it that modern twist. Add in a strong drum line, and you have a very enjoyable beat, one that could easily overshadow a weaker singer. Luckily, Elle King is anything but weak. She has the style of singing that you'd hear on Postmodern Jukebox, with a raspiness to her vocals that adds a lot of punch, even outside of her surprisingly strong range.
This song basically is sung from the point of view of a female who jumps from relationship to relationship. While the chorus is basically her lamenting that the exes all haunt her, the verses just how little she regrets her actions, mentioning several lovers she left for various reasons.
This song hits on just about every level the last one missed. While both singers lack a sympathetic point of view, Elle King seems a lot more playful about it, showing more awareness about just how she is coming off in the lyrics. While Meghan Trainor sounded forced in her 60's style singing, Elle King has a natural voice for this type of song, and the music sounds like a modernized twist to the style, rather than simply trying to emulate it. I absolutely love this song, and it's just a blast to listen to.
#72: "Classic Man" by Jidenna feat. Roman GianArthur
Jidenna is a male Nigerian-American rapper who first got his start this year, while Roman GianArthur is a musician mostly known for collaborating with artists like Janelle Monae.
I was expecting stronger music, for some reason. Maybe the fact that a musician was listed as the featured artist? Well, the music isn't exactly bad, but it's very standard synth and bass. Jidenna does have skills as a rapper. He isn't very fast, but he has a nice flow, and makes the rhythm sound natural. Roman GianArthur gets a guest verse and...yeah, Jidenna sounds great.
This is a bragging rap song, with Jidenna bragging about how great he is, saying he's a "classic man" and saying he just looks and acts better, and that's what it comes down to.
This is actually a pretty good song. It doesn't really do anything unique or special, but what it does do, it does well. The music is a bit generic, but it does give the song a nice rhythm, and Jidenna does a solid job as a rapper. This is a song that is a solid B. Nothing special, really, but definitely above average.
#71: "Riptide" by Vance Joy
Vance Joy is an Australian singer-songwriter. He first got started in 2013, with this song getting released as a single that year, but didn't get over in the US until 2014. Once it did, however, it stayed on the Billboard charts for 43 weeks.
This song has a pretty nice guitar line, almost sounding like a ukulele. This gives the song a unique feel even in a genre filled with pretty nice guitar lines. Vance Joy has a good voice as well for indie songs, his lack of range not affecting the tone of his voice in any way.
This song is not the easiest to understand, but according to Vance Joy, is basically about the coming of age through metaphor.
This song doesn't always make the most sense, but what it does do well is sound good. The music is very calming, and Vance Joy's voice works very well for this style of song. He doesn't sound the most unique, but there are much worse indie songs to hear, and the music for this one at least tries something different.
Well, with the exception of one song, I actually really enjoyed that set. Let's see what's next.
Previously: #80-76 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.932269-2015-Billboard-Top-100-80-76]
Next: #70-66 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.932859-2015-Billboard-Top-100-70-66]