The 30th top-charting song of 2022 comes courtesy of Post Malone, who also showed up at #26. That single found him paired up with Doja Cat, while this one partners him with The Weeknd.
This is a catchy synth-pop song about a truly toxic relationship, fueled by infidelity and sexual revenge. Kudos to Post Malone and The Weeknd for making such icky subject matter go down so easy, thanks to the 80s production influence The Weeknd has mined so well on recent releases.
It’s that time of year when critics start rolling out their “best of” lists, with albums usually first out of the gate. Unlike movies, you don’t see a ton of new music releases in December, so it’s safe to lock in your favorites.
Seeing those lists pop up made me realize how little new music I’ve discovered this year. That’s been the case for awhile now, actually, in contrast to years when I’ve had a couple of dozen new releases to consider. I think there are two main reasons for the change.
I last posted an installment of my ‘What the Kids Are Listening To’ series more than a year ago, before the coronavirus had even reached U.S. soil. The final song back then was The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights,’ sitting at #15 prior to the release of his album After Hours.
‘Blinding Lights’ is at #11 now, after setting a record by becoming the first song in history to spend a full year in Billboard’s Top 10. It holds the record for the most weeks spent in the Top 5, Top 10, Top 20 and Top 40. If only the rest of the world could have had as rewarding a year as that song.
Yesterday I hoped for a strong finish to my latest chapter of ‘What the Kids are Listening To,’ and my wish was granted with Billboard’s #15 track, ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weeknd.
The second single from his next album is an 80s-fueled synth-tastic bop, and right up there with Dua Lipa’s ‘Don’t Start Now’ as the best song I’ve featured over the past two weeks.
The movie soundtrack game isn’t a high-volume business. Currently the #3 album on Billboard’s soundtrack chart is Moana, in its 71st week.
But a handful of recent films have produced soundtracks worth at least a cursory listen.
The current big dog (or cat, I should say) is the Black Panther soundtrack, curated by Kendrick Lamar, who also appears on many of its tracks.
Meet Me In Montauk 