I can offer up no better ’24’ song than Lana Del Rey’s rejected Bond theme, released on her 2015 album Honeymoon.
This track was reportedly submitted for Spectre, the 24th Bond film, but turned down in favor of Sam Smith’s garbage song ‘Writing’s On the Wall.’ Although it was trashed by critics, ‘Writing’s On the Wall’ went on to win both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Song. Weak.
I believe today’s track is the first straight-up love song in the ’31 Numbered Songs’ series, and it’s a beauty. Shakira wrote ’23’ for her partner and the father of her two sons, Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué, who she met when he was 23. She was a decade older.
It’s nice to see a celebrity pairing where the woman is older, even if Shakira could still pass for 25.
Taylor Swift’s ’22’ wasn’t eligible for today’s slot because Swift already made the cut with ‘Fifteen.’ But that’s fine, because I already have a ’22’ song I like better.
Lily Allen’s 2009 sophomore album, It’s Not Me, It’s You, matched, and maybe topped, her celebrated debut. She seemed on the verge of massive stardom, or at least the kind of sustained critical acclaim few pop artists enjoy.
The ’31 Numbered Songs’ project reaches drinking age with ’21,’ a track from young country phenom Hunter Hayes’ third album, The 21 Project.
Hayes released seven singles to streaming services before compiling them in a 7-song EP. He then released two new versions of the collection, one featuring acoustic versions and one featuring live versions of the same songs. He wanted to both give his fans a glimpse of how songs evolve from conception to performance and stretch the boundaries of how country music is distributed. Pretty heady stuff for a then-24 year old.
Today’s track was one of the initial inspirations for my ’31 Numbered Songs’ series. I’ve been a big fan of this song since I first heard it nearly two decades ago and at one point I considered making it the kick-off track of a 2-week series on songs numbered 20 through 29. Fortunately, I didn’t jump the gun and we all got to discover some obscure rap artists in the 1-10 range.
I discovered Travis’ “20” as a hidden bonus track on the band’s acclaimed sophomore album, 1999’s The Man Who. It’s one of three hidden tracks that are each as strong as anything on the album proper.
Meet Me In Montauk 