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Song of the Day #5,311: ‘I Ain’t Worried’ – OneRepublic

The #37 song on Billboard’s 2023 Hot 100 chart would definitely rank higher in my household. That has nothing to do with OneRepublic or the song itself, and everything to do with a shirtless Miles Teller dancing in slow motion while playing beach football. This is the gif that finally cemented for me the fact that my daughters aren’t gay.

Yes, ‘I Ain’t Worried’ is the song that soundtracked the bonding scene in Top Gun: Maverick, giving that film its equivalent of the first movie’s shirtless volleyball match.

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Song of the Day #5,310: ‘The Kind of Love We Make’ – Luke Combs

The mid-30s on the year-end Billboard Hot 100 is country bro heaven. Yesterday we had Cody Johnson at #34, and today it’s Luke Combs’ turn at #36. Sandwiched between them is Walker Hayes, whose Applebees-lovin’ ‘Fancy Like‘ became a viral sensation after Hayes and his daughter danced to it in TikTok.

I confuse Luke Combs with Luke Bryan, and neither of them has ever appeared on the blog, so this will be my first exposure to one of the country Lukes.

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Song of the Day #5,309: ”Til You Can’t’ – Cody Johnson

Drake shows up in the 33rd spot on the year-end Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Jimmy Cooks,’ a collaboration with 21 Savage.

At #34 is another country bro, Cody Johnson, and his ode to making the most of your time with loved ones. ”Til You Can’t’ is earnest and corny in the most stereotypically country way but you have to give it some credit for its message.

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Song of the Day #5,308: ‘Long Gone’ – Bryan Adams

‘Long Gone’ is one of the few songs on Bryan Adams’ 1984 album Reckless that isn’t an arena rock classic. I’m always blown away by the lineup of that album and I wish I’d owned it when it first came out.

The middle stretch of Reckless goes like this: ‘Run To You,’ ‘Heaven,’ ‘Somebody,’ ‘Summer of ’69.’ Spare me any highbrow dismissals of Adams as a songwriter and performer — those are four stone-cold bangers right there. Add in leadoff track ‘She’s Only Happy When She’s Dancin” and late album duet ‘It’s Only Love’ (featuring Tina Turner) and you have an essential classic rock album.

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Song of the Day #5,307: ‘Spiritual’ – Katy Perry

Today’s random selection was a bonus track on Katy Perry’s 2013 album Prism. Prism, the singer-songwriter’s fourth studio album, was the follow-up to smash hit Teenage Dream.

While this album didn’t reach its predecessor’s heights, it did reach #1 in a half dozen countries and debuted in the top spot in the U.S., where it ultimately went 5X Platinum. At the time, Katy Perry was pretty much the biggest name in pop music.

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