I wasn’t really aware of Bruce Springsteen as a career artist when I was 15 years old, the year 1987’s Tunnel of Love came out.
Of course, I was aware of the runaway smash Born in the U.S.A. (1984) from its radio and MTV airplay, but I had no concept of his prior work or his importance to the rock music landscape. And this album missed my radar entirely until years later.
The final song in the latest installment of ‘What the Kids Are Listening To’ comes courtesy of Italian rock band Maneskin, who sit at #13 with their cover of the 60s song ‘Beggin’.’
This track was first released by The Four Seasons in 1967 and was later covered by French DJ Pilooski and Norwegian hip-hop act Madcon before Maneskin took their shot.
Happy Thanksgiving to my readers in the United States! And what better way to celebrate the holiday than with a song by Nigerian singer Wizkid?
‘Essence’ is a duet with fellow Nigerian vocalist Tems in which the two flirt over Afrobeat rhythms. The version that sits at #11 on this week’s Hot 100 (one slot behind Dua Lipa’s ‘Levitating’) also features a verse by Justin Bieber.
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.
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.’
Meet Me In Montauk 