Category Archives: song of the day

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Song of the Day #2,801: ‘Me, Myself & I’ – G-Eazy x Bebe Rexha

g-eazy_bebe_rexhaAt #7 on Billboard is G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha with ‘Me, Myself & I.’ I have no idea who either of these people are (I assume it’s two people) and I fear that they will end the streak of surprisingly good songs topping the chart.

According to my extensive research (read: a single Wikipedia entry), this song started as a solo piece by singer-songwriter Rexha, but when it was cut from her album she decided to shop it around. Rapper G-Eazy signed on and provided verses to pair with the chorus and bridge of Rexha’s original tune.

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Song of the Day #2,800: ‘Pillowtalk’ – Zayn

zayn_pillowtalkAfter a surprisingly strong top five Billboard lineup last week, we turn our attention to the bottom half of the top ten. Will the quality level remain high or are we due for a slip back into depressing mediocrity?

Zayn, formerly of One Direction, kicks us off with his first solo single, ‘Pillowtalk.’ This is a decidedly more grown-up track from young Zayn. Pre-teen girls all over the world are getting quite an earful.

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Song of the Day #2,799: ‘Spiralling’ – Keane

perfectsymmetryOften these Random iTunes Weekends turn into an installment of ‘Where Are They Now?’

Today’s featured artist, Keane, released a trio of strong LPs and a fun EP between 2004 and 2010 before dropping the dreadful Strangeland in 2012. Following that bomb, the band put out a greatest hits record (presumably featuring nothing from Strangeland) and then fell silent.

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Song of the Day #2,798: ‘The Wake-Up Bomb’ – R.E.M.

newadventuresR.E.M. officially broke up five years ago, but in my book the band’s real end came 15 years before that. New Adventures in Hi-Fi, released in September of 1996, was the last R.E.M. album to feature drummer Bill Berry and the last to sound completely like the band I loved.

Subsequent releases had their moments. 1998’s Up, the first post-Berry record, was the high water mark for that era, fueled by the band’s uncertainty about their identity as a trio. Reveal, Accelerate and Collapse Into Now had some high spots but weren’t memorable overall.

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Song of the Day #2,797: ‘My House’ – Flo Rida

flo_ridaI’ve come to dread these Billboard countdown weeks because they tend to erode my faith in the musical taste of the masses.

But this week so far has been an exception. Rihanna’s new single isn’t one of her best, but it’s far from offensive. The two Justin Bieber tracks are surprisingly effective, and twenty one pilots’ ‘Stressed Out’ works well as a modern blend of hip hop and pop.

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