Post-song of the summer songs of the summer
Kamaiyah! Brandy! Flasher! Working Men's Club! Harry Styles?
It’s too nice out to read hot takes, so I don’t begrudge anyone who skips the blurbs and goes straight to the playlist. Ice cream for dinner, who cares!
However: I am curious if we’ll have a song of the summer this summer. “Back to normal” feels like a forever-moving set of goalposts, and I’ve yet to hear any song enough times to be annoyed by its dominance.
The Ringer did a great “all time songs of the summer” list here. However, all the main machinations for a song of the summer seem broken - for example, Lady Gaga’s “Top Gun” tie-in, which isn’t exactly flying into the Danger Zone per her most-played Spotify tracks. Is Stranger Things the actual summer blockbuster, pushing Kate Bush to #2 on the global Spotify chart?
If you’ve heard something enough times that it’s hard to ignore - email me. I’ll try and feature any good submissions next week!
And now, on to this week’s tracks - as always, you can follow along on our playlist on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter.
UNSKIPPABLES #38
Kamaiyah Ft. DatBoii - FWI
Kamaiyah reliably drops an incredible East Bay banger on every LP - and FWI (short for “Fuckin With It”) doesn’t disappoint. In addition to Kamaiyah’s ear for excellent singalong choruses, the song expertly deploys laid-back bass squelch and dreamy-yet-menacing piano chords to maximum effect. Get thee to a convertible and bounce.
Brandy - “First Class (Freestyle)”
I wasn’t offended by the Jack Harlow album - it’s light, fun, and he ably rhymes “Aeropostale” with “coke in your nostril.” However, after seemingly knowing very little about Brandy on Hot 97, things got personal and Brandy kind of bodied him on the beat to “First Class??” You won’t hear it on repeat like the original but it is wild hearing Brandy going for the jugular on the song’s easy bounce. The boy is hers, after all!
Harry Styles - Music For A Sushi Restaurant
I’m not here to hype up Mr. Styles’ mostly empty-handed funk, but I realized while listening to the opening track on his new album Harry’s House that I was envious of almost every melodic move on this song. The opening arp, the Peter Gabriel horn blasts, the jittery pocket…for any other pop group I’d be truly amazed by the way these sounds fit together. So I’ll forget his upcoming fourteen night run at MSG and give him begrudging props for this little Rube Goldberg pastiche machine.
Working Men’s Club - Ploys
Discordant, dance-y bummer pop straight from Manchester. There’s an out-of-tunefulness that actually works in the song’s favor, recalling the amateur joy of early house staples like Bad Boy Bill’s “Jack It All Night Long.” The bassline does the heavy lifting, but everything adds up to greater than the sum of its parts.
Flasher - I’m Better
Suffering from the post-COVID, pre-summer, what the fuck am I doing with my life blues? So are Flasher! Let their stress comfort you, because hey maybe everything isn’t going to be alright! BUT Flasher manage to make every part of “I’m Beter” feel like a chorus — it’s so hooky you might just bump you (fleetingly) into some genuine feel-good vibes.
THROWBACK CORNER
Dolly Parton - Potential New Boyfriend
This is a sleek, funky early 80’s groove tacked on to an extremely Dolly Parton chorus. It’s incredibly campy, but also the insistent verse guitar and moody synths are oddly effective paired with the bright Nashville lewks of the chorus. Also, the video is insane. Why did all MTV actors look British as hell in the early 80s?
And that’s all for this week, folks! Please subscribe if you’d like these opinions straight in your inbox. See you next week!
Why can't people just admit they like a song instead of being a little b**** about it lol. The world won't end. There is nothing new under the sun. In 2022, you can't help but make music that sounds like someone or something. Everything's been done! But only certain artists get such tedious music snobbery directed at them.