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Song of the Day #4,891: ‘Heat Waves’ – Glass Animals

English electropop group Glass Animals lands at #10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with ‘Heat Waves,’ a beat-heavy but melancholy tune. ‘Heat Waves’ broke a Billboard record for the longest climb to the top ten, finally cracking the barrier in its 42nd week.

Like so many songs these days, this one owes its success to TikTok, and millions of views of people mournfully lip-syncing the chorus while pining for an absent loved one. Almost every song in the current top ten has featured prominently in a TikTok trend.

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Song of the Day #4,890: ‘Good 4 U’ – Olivia Rodrigo

It seems like ages ago that Olivia Rodrigo blew up the charts with her debut album, Sour, and its record-breaking lead-off singles.

‘Good 4 U,’ the second track released before the album dropped, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sits at #9 six months later. This blunt kiss-off track (which cribs enough from Paramore’s ‘Misery Business’ to earn that crew songwriting credit) hit an even bigger nerve than Rodrigo’s powerful ‘Drivers License.’

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Song of the Day #4,889: ‘Need to Know’ – Doja Cat

Returning to my latest installment of ‘What the Kids Are Listening To,’ I’ve arrived at song #8 on last week’s Billboard Hot 100: Doja Cat’s ‘Need to Know.’

This is the fourth song by the Los Angeles rapper to reach the top ten, and it comes on the heels of ‘Kiss Me More,’ the infectious first single from Doja’s latest album, Planet Her.

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Song of the Day #4,888: ‘Walken’ – Wilco

Here’s a track from Wilco’s sixth studio album, 2007’s Sky Blue Sky. Despite its title, it is not about Christopher Walken.

I’m a big fan of Wilco’s early releases, but for some reason they dropped off my radar after 2001’s wonderful Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. They’ve released seven albums in the two decades since and I don’t think I’ve heard any of them all the way through.

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Song of the Day #4,887: ‘Can’t Cry These Tears’ – Garbage

After two excellent electronica-fueled alt-rock albums, the band Garbage released 2001’s Beautiful Garbage and evolved their sound in interesting ways. Today’s song is a great example.

‘Can’t Cry These Tears’ is the band’s stab at a Phil Spector-style production, marrying 60s pop with their own electro-grunge aesthetic.

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