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Song of the Day #5,020: ‘Wind Out’ – R.E.M.

‘Wind Out’ (or ‘Windout’ as it appears on the album liner notes) is a track included on R.E.M.’s 1987 collection of odds and ends, Dead Letter Office.

In the album’s entertaining liner notes, written by guitarist Peter Buck with a fair amount of self-deprecating wit (thought not in this case), the song is described this way:

This is one of our earliest songs, written in the summer of 1980. We recorded it for our second album. In retrospect, I think that it would have fit on Reckoning very well, but at the time we decided not to included it.
> a soundtrack that shall remain nameless.

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Song of the Day #5,019: ‘That’s What I Want’ – Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X has done it again. His latest single, ‘That’s What I Want,’ sits at #9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 this week, up a spot from last week. This is the fourth single from Lil Nas X’s 2021 album Montero, and the third to reach the top ten.

Both previous top ten singles (‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ and ‘Industry Baby’) reached the #1 spot, a feat this track could well match.

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Song of the Day #5,018: ‘Enemy’ – Imagine Dragons x J.I.D.

Adele’s ‘Easy on Me‘ continues its five-months-and-counting run in the top ten, sitting at the #7 spot on this week’s Billboard Hot 100.

At #8 is Imagine Dragon’s ‘Enemy,’ featuring rapper J.I.D. This song was written for a Netflix animated series Arcane, which is based on a video game called League of Legends. If you’re over 18, it’s likely none of that means anything to you.

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Song of the Day #5,017: ‘Ghost’ – Justin Bieber

In the #5 slot on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 is the Encanto smash ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno,’ which enjoyed five weeks in the top spot before being unseated by Glass Animals’ ‘Heat Waves.’

The success of the Encanto soundtrack, and this song in particular, is one of the great Billboard chart stories of recent years.

Coming in at #6 is the latest Justin Bieber jam, ‘Ghost,’ a syrupy mid-tempo pop song about the loss of a loved one.

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Song of the Day #5,016: ‘abcdefu’ – Gayle

In the #4 spot on the latest Billboard Hot 100, we have ‘abcdefu’ by 17-year-old singer-songwriter Gayle. This catchy kiss-off track has spent 17 weeks on the chart and peaked at #3 before sliding back a spot.

Many songs on the Hot 100 these days owe their popularity to TikTok. This one owes its very existence to the social platform. Gayle asked her TikTok followers for song ideas and liked the suggestion from one to write a song that included the alphabet. I wonder if that fan is trying to get a cut of the profits.

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