Song of the Day #3,680: ‘Girls Like You’ – Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B

Cardi B shows up again in Billboard’s #2 spot, in support of Maroon 5 on the song ‘Girl Like You.’ Maroon 5 is such a consistent hit machine at this point it’s almost silly. No other band churns out hooky pop tunes like this one. They have had 29 songs on the Hot 100, 14 in the Top Ten and three at #1.

‘Girls Like You’ is a good song but an even better video. Edited to look like one unbroken take, the video puts Adam Levine in the middle of a room as a succession of notable women appear and disappear behind him. Gal Gadot, Camila Cabello, Ellen DeGeneres, Tiffany Haddish, Aly Raisman and on and on. Here’s a list of all 26 women in the order they appear.

Continue reading

Song of the Day #3,679: ‘I Like It’ – Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin

‘Despacito’ was the undisputed Song of the Summer last year. Could Cardi B’s ‘I Like It’ be the second track sung primarily in Spanish to claim that title?

It’s a catchy multi-cultural hodge-podge, with a “trap salsa” beat, a prominent sample of a 60s boogaloo song and rapped verses by Cardi along with Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny and Colombia’s J Balvin.

Continue reading

Song of the Day #3,678: ‘In My Feelings’ – Drake

Welcome to the latest installment of ‘What the Kids are Listening to,’ wherein I post the songs currently topping Billboard’s Hot 100.

In the #1 position is an artist whose name you will hear a lot over the next two weeks. Drake is dominating the charts in historic fashion. He has had at least one song on this chart for a record eight straight years, and right now he has — wait for it — 16 of them. Most artists are lucky to have that many in a career. He has them on a random Monday in July.

Continue reading

Song of the Day #3,677: ‘Still Ill’ – The Smiths

‘Still Ill’ is a track from The Smiths’ 1984 self-titled debut, one that was a staple of the band’s live shows throughout their existence. This is a prototypical early Smiths songs, with Johnny Marr’s intricate guitar pairing beautifully with the rhythm section and Morrissey’s yearning vocals.

I know, I know, most of you will absolutely hate it!

Continue reading

Song of the Day #3,676: ‘This Flight Tonight’ – Joni MItchell

Today’s random track appears on Joni Mitchell’s 1971 album Blue, her fourth, widely considered one of the greatest singer-songwriter records ever made.

I don’t know Blue well enough to offer my own opinion. I have long had a problem with Joni Mitchell as a vocalist that has kept me at a distance from her work. My loss, I know, because this is clearly next-level songwriting.

Continue reading