Continuing my look at the top songs of 2025…
When a forgettable track by The Weeknd and Playboi Carti is the 16th most popular song of the year, you know 2025 wasn’t a great time for new music. Not only have I never heard ‘Timeless,’ I didn’t know it existed.
The song was the lead single of The Weeknd’s sixth studio album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, a companion piece to the film of the same name. The movie was a massive flop, dismissed as a nonsensical ego trip.
At #5 on the current Billboard Hot 100 is ‘Carnival,’ an obnoxious song that gave Kanye West his first #1 hit in 13 years. This is a collab with Ty Dolla Sign that the duo released under the name ¥$. Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti are along for the ride.
I have no patience for Kanye after the last decade or so of asinine and offensive behavior. On this track, he is not only spewing stupid lyrics but he doesn’t even sound good doing it. I’m not sure what fans of his still see in him.
Here’s the second Travis Scott track I promised in this installment of ‘What the Kids are Listening To.’ ‘FE!N,’ a collaboration with rapper Playboi Carti, landed at #5 on the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart, giving Scott two top five debuts in the same week.
While I was kinda digging the previous entry, this one is making me feel old again. I’m not sure what “FE!N” means (Genius.com suggests it’s a twist on the word “fiend” and references both a drug user and a demon), but I know I don’t want to hear it repeated 20 times per chorus.
Meet Me In Montauk 