#and a Barbie Girl 2023 Remix from Aqua

[maurypovichofficial2]

the BARBIE soundtrack needs to GIVE i want all the gworls on there

[1000-year-old-virgin]

200 Best Songs of 2023

Janine - If I Call *FAVE SONG OF THE YEAR*

Kim Petras - Brrr

Sam Smith, Koffee, Jessie Reyez - Gimme

ILIRA - Work of Art

Joseph - Nervous System

Mariah the Scientist ft. 21 Savage - 77 degrees

PinkPantheress & Ice Spice – Boy's a liar Pt. 2

Ryan Destiny - Lie Like That

Latto ft. LU KALA - Lottery

Chrissy Chlapecka - I'm So Hot

Ashnikko - Don't Look at It

serpentwithfeet - Gonna Go

Don Toliver ft. Lil Durk & GloRilla- Leave The Club

Don Toliver ft. James Blake - Let Her Go

Miley Cyrus - Flowers

Miley Cyrus - River

Meghan Trainor - Mother

Ice Spice & Nicki Minaj - Princess Diana (Remix)

Melanie Martinez - DEATH

Natalie Jane - Seeing You With Other Girls

Amelia Moore feat. jxdn - FUMD

Ashnikko - You Make Me Sick!

Flo Milli ft. Lola Brooke & Maiya The Don - Conceited (Remix)

Flo Milli ft. Monaleo & Gloss Up - Bed Time (Remix)

Astrid S - Come First

Ashnikko - Want It All

salem ilese - PainHub

Libianca ft. Ayra Starr & Omah Lay - People (Remix)

Labrinth ft. Billie Eilish - Never Felt So Alone

Katie Belle - The Best You'll Ever Have

Emilie Nicolas - Everyday

Donna Missal - Flicker

Donna Missal - Out of Me

Donna Missal - Move Me

Donna Missal - God Complex

Donna Missal - I Saw God

LØLØ ft. girlfriends- 5,6,7,8

Jackson Wang & Ciara - Slow

Troye Sivan - Can't Go Back, Baby

Baby Tate & Saweetie - Hey, Mickey! (Remix)

Shania Twain - Number One

Shania Twain - Got It Good

Empress Of ft. Rina Sawayama - Kiss Me

NLE Choppa ft. SexyyRed / Sukihana - Slut Me Out (Remix)

Maggie Lindemann, Siiickbrain - deprecating

Ed Sheeran - The Hills of Aberfeldy

Rita Ora ft. Fatboy Slim Praising You (Fatboy Slim Remix)

Tyla & Ayra Starr - Girl Next Door

Kesha - Only Love Can Save Us Now

Ciara ft. Lola Brooke & Lady London - Da Girls (Girls Mix)

Jeremy Zucker - OK

CXLOE - Flight Risk

Josh Levi - See Low

Josh Levi - BIRTHDAY DANCE

Alex Vaughn & Summer Walker - So Be It (Remix)

Alex Vaughn & Ari Lennox - Demon Time (Remix)

Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice - Karma (Remix)

Taylor Swift ft. Lana Del Rey - Snow On The Beach (More Lana Del Rey Edit)

Boris The Lucid - BOYFRIEND

Carrie Underwood - Take Me Out

Libianca - Jah

Conan Gray - Never Ending Song

The Aces - Always Get This Way

Madison Beer ft. Timbaland - Home To Another One (Remix)

Äyanna - Girlfriend

Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice ft. Aqua – Barbie World

Rita Ora - That Girl

Rita Ora - Unfeel It

Tanerelle - Feel Good Inc. X Sidetracked (Perfect Lover Mash Up)

Sleater-Kinney - Hell

Saweetie ft. YG & Tyga - BIRTHDAY

Mae Stephens ft. Meghan Trainor - Mr Right

Brooke Candy - FMUATW

Ben Kessler - When I Hate Myself

Eliott ft. Vancouver Sleep Clinic - Happy On My Own

Reneé Rapp - Pretty Girls

Leah Kate - Bored

Chappell Roan - HOT TO GO!

Rina Sawayama ft. Amaarae - Imagining

GAYLE - Leave Me For Dead

Selena Gomez - Single Soon

Äyanna - Change Your Life

Julia Wolf - Wishbone

Cloudy June - Devil Is A Woman

Anne-Marie ft. Shania Twain - UNHEALTHY

Leaf ft. Bandmanrill, DJ Drewski - 2 Freaky

Olivia O'Brien - I should've fucked your brother

SIIICKBRAIN - Psychopath

Adekunle Gold - Do You Mind?

Duncan Laurence - I Do

Dizzy - Open Up Wide

Leigh-Anne ft. Ayra Starr - My Love

Troye Sivan – Got Me Started

Cate - Girlfriend

NERIAH - Falling 4 Somebody

Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion - Bongos

Amelia Moore - Over My Ex

Johnny Orlando - Boyfriend

Tyla - Water

Tems - Me & U

Mette - Mama's Eyes

Wrabel - Beautiful Day

Chxrry22 - MORE

Norah Jones - Can You Believe

Kanii ft. Trippie Redd - sins (let me in) [Remix]

Niall Horan & Lizzy McAlpine - You Could Start A Cult (Encore Version)

Travis Scott ft. Beyoncé - DELRESTO (ECHOES)

Addison Rae ft. Charli XCX - 2 Die 4

Gyakie - Rent Free

Kim Petras - Hit It From The Back

Kim Petras ft. Banks - Bait

Kim Petras - Dirty Things

K. Michelle - Blame Yourself

Sunnitharapper ft. Salma Slims - Moody

Troye Sivan - One of Your Girls

Lady London ft. Jeremih - Do Something

Zara Larsson, David Guetta - On My Love

cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada

Serpentwithfeet- Damn Gloves

Dove Cameron - Still

Kenya Grace - Paris

Dua Lipa - Houdini

Tokischa ft. Sexyy Red - Daddy

Zach Seabaugh - Helium Balloons

COBRAH - 10/10

COBRAH - BAD POSITION

COBRAH - TEQUILA

Clinton Kane - PANIC ATTACK

Megan Thee Stallion - Cobra

Nick Wilson - For You It Was Him

Nick Wilson - Way Back

Ice Spice - Deli

Enchanting - Needy

SZA - Kill Bill

Kylie Minogue - Padam Padam

Summer Walker - Girls Need Love (Girls Mix) ft. Tyla / Victoria Monet / Tink

Tate McRae - exes

Tove Lo - I like u

Kim Petras - Je T'Adore

Doechii - Booty Drop

Kim Petras - Claws

Sam Smith & Madonna - VULGAR

Kim Petras - uhoh

Borgore x Cupcakke x Chase Icon - Abracadabra

Clinton Kane - DISAPPEAR

Nicki Minaj - Big Difference

Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday Girls

Charli XCX ft. Sam Smith - In The City

Reneé Rapp ft. Megan Thee Stallion - Not My Fault

Flo Milli - Never Lose Me

Kim Petras - Thousand Pieces

Kim Petras - Minute

Charli XCX - Speed Drive (jamesjamesjames Remix)

Chrissy Chlapecka - BRAT

The Last Dinner Party - My Lady of Mercy

Shania Twain - Waking Up Dreaming

Nicki Minaj - Fallin 4 U

Jessie Ware ft. Pabllo Vittar -Pearls (Brabo Remix)

Shania Twain - Queen Of Me

Chiké, Oxlade - Spell [Remix]

Anycia - REFUND

Lah Pat ft. Flo Milli - Rodeo (Remix)

Biig Piig - This Is What They Meant

Niall Horan - Save My Life

Bronze Avery - Sex In The Room

Ava Max - Cold As Ice

Peach PRC - F U Goodbye

Suzanne Sheer - Off Limits

Nicki Minaj - FTCU

Madison Rose - Girls Girls Girls

Kaliii ft. GloRilla - Can't Get 'Em

BIA - FALLBACK

Miley Cyrus - Jaded

Kylie Minogue - You Still Get Me High

Miley Cyrus - Violet Chemistry

Miley Cyrus ft. Sia - Muddy Feet

Bebe Rexha - Visions (Don't Go)

Coi Leray - My Body

Coi Leray ft. Saucy Santana - Spend It

Maiya The Don - Luv U Better

The Last Dinner Party - Nothing Matters

IDK ft. Jucee Froot & Saucy Santana - Pinot Noir

Tinashe - Uh Huh

Nicki Minaj - Beep Beep

Nicki Minaj - Pink Birthday

Bella Poarch - Bad Boy

Nicki Minaj - My Life

Trippie Redd & BANKS - Saint Michael Myers

Tamera - Frozen

Shygirl & CoSha - Thicc

Ari Lennox - Get Close

Flo Milli - Fruit Loop

Mette - For The People

Amaarae - Angels in Tibet

Jamila Woods ft. Saba - Practice

Rachel Chinouriri - Maybe I’m Lonely

Jonah Kagen - Save My Soul

The OMG Girlz - Lover Boy

Karin Ann - A Stranger With My Face

Victoria Monet - Alright

Paige - Aquarian

2022's List

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 29/07/2023 (’Barbie’ Soundtrack, Stormzy/RAYE, Travis Scott/The Weeknd/Bad Bunny)

Content warning: mentions of death and violence

For an eighth week, Dave and Cench grab the #1 with “Sprinter” once again, but the rest of the chart… it’s not as stable. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

Okay, but did Oppenheimer chart seven songs this week? I don’t think so. The Barbie soundtrack is not the only story here, but it is the main one in a busier week than expected - and kind of a chaotic one - but as always, we start with our notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75 - which is what I’ve always covered - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we say farewell to a bunch of old songs like “Sweet Child o’ Mine” by Guns n’ Roses, “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John - “Cold Heart” (PNAU Remix) with Dua Lipa as well - then slightly newer songs like “Waffle House” by the Jonas Brothers, “Escapism.” by RAYE featuring 070 Shake, “messy in heaven” by venbee and goddard. and “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran, and then actually new songs, those being “Dance Around It” by Joel Corry and Caity Baser, “Say Yes to Heaven” by Lana Del Rey and “Masculine” by J Hus featuring Burna Boy, which was swapped out for another J Hus song this week.

Then we have our returns and notable gains… and well, there’s a lot going on here. Firstly in our returns, we see again the three-song rule swap out “Karma” by Taylor Swift for “Anti-Hero” at #41 and the return of “Dial Drunk” by Noah Kahan all the way up at #32 thanks to the pretty great remix with Post Malone. Additionally, due to her passing on Wednesday, we see “Nothing Compares to U” by Irish singer Shuhada’ Sadaqat, better known of course as Sinéad O’Connor, return to #45. She was brave and revolutionary in her criticism of the Catholic Church and constantly stood for what she believed in which, great music aside, is incredibly honourable, and it’s a damn shame she was never really able to find peace. “Nothing Compares 2 U” originally hit #1 for four weeks in 1990, and despite an array of charting songs in the UK from 1987 to 2007, she would never make the top 10 again aside from another #1 as part of Band Aid. On a lighter note, whilst I have yet to see the Barbie film, I have heard the soundtrack, which whilst nowhere to be seen on the albums chart, tops the compilations chart, with many a song from the film crossing over to the singles chart. The songs that are not new and not gaining into the top five are both returns: Charli XCX’s “Speed Drive” at #19 and a song technically not on the album, the original “Barbie Girl” by Aqua resurging to #40. It also hit #1 for four weeks, yet in this case in 1997.

As for our gains, there aren’t many but most are interesting - sure, there are rote, kind of inexplicable boosts for “Closer” by Bou featuring Slay at #27 - the best-selling USB stick release ever, seriously - and “Disconnect” by Becky Hill and Chase & Status at #17, but we also see NewJeans’ album release boosting “Super Shy” up to #52 and a remix with Burna Boy brings Byron Messia’s “Talibans” up to 12. The remix doesn’t exactly help the song be any less gross or more interesting.

This week’s top five on the UK Singles Chart has three songs from that Barbie soundtrack in it - the three-song rule was not applied to it - so we start with “Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and Aqua at #5, “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa at #4, her 13th top 10 hit, and Billie Eilish at #3 with “What Was I Made For?”, a consecutive Barbie three-streak. The top two, of course, is all standard - “vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo and “Sprinter” at the very top. Now we have a… questionable stretch of new arrivals, so let’s get into them.

NEW ARRIVALS

#67 - “Highs & Lows” - Prinz featuring Gabriela Bee

Produced by ME13 Beats

So you might remember Prinz for contributing verses to “Beautiful Day (Thank You for Sunshine)”, a cute if saccharine Christian drill song that peaked at #63 earlier this year. He’s back for a follow-up single and he’s doing… this nonsense. Okay, so Gabriela Bee was a Canadian Vine star as a child who’s grown up into a singer-songwriter - naturally - gathering some viral cover videos across the way. Here she is reciting a 2019 non-mover by similarly Canadian indie pop group Walk off the Earth - Canada Day was at the start of this month, Prinz - titled “I’ll be There”. It only ever charted in Canada, and never particularly high, largely because it’s a sappy boring love song with about as much teeth as “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 without its denchers. So naturally, sample drill, right? He even harmonises with the pitch-shifted chorus, before going into verses that are sing-songy when he wants to and needlessly staccato and aggressive when he wants to do that, with the rattling percussion and sliding 808s always present. This just sounds ridiculous. I didn’t know there was a market for wholesome Christian drill but this really just sounds like a cheap children’s version of the genre. I really ponder how we got this point.

#61 - “Asking” - Sonny Fodera and MK featuring Clementine Douglas

Produced by MK and Sonny Fodera

Marc Kinchen is no stranger to the chart but here, he teams up with two fellow non-Canadians: Australian-born DJ Sonny Fodera, who makes his first entry since he last teamed up with MK on 2019’s “One Night”, which was a very minor hit the year after, and Clementine Douglas, the British singer providing raspy vocals on yet another 90s throwback house tune. It really just follows a standard house-pop progression with a particularly ugly staccato backing synth line, and decidedly not catchy vocals from Douglas, wherein the vocaloid drop is so ever-present, it ends up drowning whatever refrains or harmonies she can come up with… and then really bizarrely impactful drums come in that seem way too big for what this song actually is. When it plunges into the deep bass, it makes a lot more sense, but kind of has me wondering what this song was actually trying to do compositionally. I like the glitchier synths and orchestra hits in what I think is the chorus and drop, but they’re still over a very stiff production here that is monotonous as all Hell, its biggest talent being its stillness. So, yeah, not a fan at all, which is kind of a shame coming from MK.

#58 - “Man I Am” - Sam Smith

Produced by Mark Ronson and Ricky Reed

Whoever decided to give the non-Canadian Sam Smith a song about being a man knows what they’re doing and I don’t think it’s all that pleasant. To be fair to them, they definitely embraced the less-than-flattering title and subject matter, which is actually in the character of Ken, not that it’ll matter to certain people. This actually ended up being one of my favourites off of the soundtrack, with Smith’s gravelly delivery sandwiched in between a garish electroclash synth and the airier synths surrounding them, as they indulge in the hedonism fully, to the point that they almost reject Barbie altogether and hint at preferring the company of men. Homoerotic Ken is obnoxious, sure, but the wacky synthwork in the pre-chorus bursts into a back-of-the-mix bleep during that anthemic hook and whilst there’s not really much to it outside of being fun, I’d prefer that mode from Sam Smith than a ballad, and actually bordering on the transgressive is more fitting for the film from what I’ve heard than any of the cookie-cutter crap that’s also present. We’ll get to that after these violent messages.

#53 - “Massacre” - J Hus

Produced by Marco Bernardis and P2J

I fully expect songs to swap in and out from big albums thanks to silly chart rules, and non-Canadian rapper J Hus doing so with Beautiful and Brutal Yard - dropping from #1 to #4 on the albums chart right now thanks to Blur - was only slightly a surprise. The reason this song in particular raised enough traction was probably due to its A COLORS SHOW performance, but the original version has a lot of merit itself. This is probably the most gruff and menacing J Hus has ever sounded over these sprawling acoustic and typical Afroswing rhythms. Sure, some of the rhymes are forced and his flow is a lot less stable than usual on the verses, but there’s a decent amount of detail in both his past of gang violence and mental health issues that arose as a result of them and prevent him from moving on. It sadly doesn’t go too deep into that, because J Hus just can’t help himself but make the rote second verse about having sex with this woman and I really don’t know why he couldn’t have just written an on-topic verse here. It’s otherwise a great song, with the strings that send it off splitting the song’s tone somewhere between violent and reflective in a really open-to-interpretation way that ends up succeeding on both of its potential fronts thanks to a strong chorus and first verse, I just wish it kept up with its own theme throughout the entire track is all. The COLORS SHOW version also replaces some of the quiet, murderous cool for more manic energy and it probably depends on the day which version I prefer because otherwise there’s very little that stands out as all that different but overall, still a good song regardless of version.

#39 - “Pink” - Lizzo

Produced by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and Ricky Reed

I was initially kinder to this one when first listening to it, and sure, Lizzo - not Canadian - still has charisma and soul in her voice that not many of the other features on this project do, and in terms of being able to co-inhabit Ronson’s 80s synth-funk palette, you can’t really get better than Lizzo… so naturally, this is a children’s song. I’m sure it makes a lot more sense in the film but knowing that songs like “Barbie World”, “Man I Am” and “butterflies” are in this same film makes this particular track feel like it’s appealing to the broadest possible horizons whilst simultaneously not making any worthwhile arguments for its own existence. It’s barely even catchy, it wouldn’t make a good theme song because it’s not nearly as compact with its “ideas” despite only being less than two and a half minutes. So, realistically, we just have Lizzo spelling out words over 80s radio slodge. The sax sounds good, it always will, and I guess everything complements quite well, but that’s not exactly hard when you don’t take any risks. Complete snooze.

#36 - “Love Like This” - ZAYN

Produced by Jon Bellion and The Monsters & Strangerz

Welp, ZAYN’s back - and he’s not Canadian, nor ever has been. I feel like we do this song-and-dance with ZAYN album cycles a lot, and it’s of no surprise to me that the returns are decreasing. He releases a lead single that debuts high and is pretty accessible before a delayed and/or completely ignorable album cycle that comes and goes, with very little of the vague ambition ZAYN ever showed on his earlier solo work actually showing up, especially not on these lead singles. In this one, Jon Bellion continues on his weird 2-step streak, which is probably the only genre wherein Bellion doesn’t out-sing the actual singer through his signature writing… so why give it to ZAYN of all people? He drones on in the repetitive verses like he’s completely sedated over a kind of promisingly lo-fi garage beat, and then ends up somehow off-beat in the pre-chorus that lacks an actual coherent melody, before an anti-climactic, awkwardly-written chorus that makes unnecessary use of a piercing siren sound. This feels like a vehicle for Jon Bellion’s worst ideas rather than anything that can give ZAYN that last push he might need to actually impress me, but alas, if he’s not trying, then we don’t have to listen, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the general public follows the same logic.

#25 - “I’m Just Ken” - Ryan Gosling

Produced by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt

Now this is the viral show tune sung by the decidedly Canadian actor Ryan Gosling in character as Ken, and I feel like this one ESPECIALLY hinges on your viewing of the film because of how explicitly tied to the plot it is. The film’s use of Ken seems to comment on how Ken was made post-Barbie, purely to serve the initial doll, with director Greta Gerwig pointing this out. Therefore, we have this idea of a man functioning without true comprehension of its emotions and instead just as a worker with a fake tan and toned body. Naturally, Ronson spares us the subtleties, as the show tune ends up going full rock musical, with a muddy filtered synth and electric guitars crashing in after the first chorus and from when on, the song kind of goes off the rails. Gosling already sounds like an AOR vocalist, so the shift makes complete sense… but then it gets really propulsive and Gosling’s asking if I can feel his “Kenergy” and I mean, it is supposed to be a comedy, so I guess throwing away a chunk of this song to a flailing meme makes complete sense. The abrupt transition back into the actual song just accentuates how tacky everything about that second verse and bridge is; it really just isn’t necessary in an otherwise pretty impactful self-questioning. This has a lot of promise to it, but sadly, probably due to narrative reasons, squanders that midway through. Much of the soundtrack album felt like that too, good ideas squandered by not taking risks, with the bad, risky ideas ending up being the most fascinating and honestly the best songs. My favourites were the aforementioned “Man I Am” and “What Was I Made For?” as well as GAYLE’s Crazy Town flip “butterflies” and Khalid’s adorable “Silver Platter”. Now let’s get back to actual music.

#24 - “K-POP” - Travis Scott, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd

Produced by BNYX, Boi-1da, Illangelo, Jahaan Sweet and DVLP

Oh, hey, look at that. A Canadian. Odd running gag aside, this is the lead single to the long-anticipated UTOPIA and I’ll save my thoughts on the album for next week - they’re not pretty - but I do have to ponder. Travis Scott actively promoted himself to children through McDonald’s meals and Fortnite appearances, and gained some really young fans, including one Ezra Blount, whom his father said was stoked to see Travis at the Astroworld Festival. He was nine years old. After two years of pain from the victims’ friends and family, and a grand jury conveniently and incorrectly declining to indict him and the corporations involved of any wrongdoing just about when he’s going to release a record, we get our first work from Travis as a lead artist in years. When I hear this barely coherent and crappily-mixed attempt at dancehall from Yeat’s producer, seemingly void of any understanding of the genre mish-mash on display, wherein Bad Bunny is the only person here not on complete auto-pilot, The Weeknd embarrasses himself with career-low lyrics that not even Drake would let go past the reference track, and Travis Scott lazily whining in mumbling Auto-Tune some vague platitudes about a drug-fuelled nostalgia, it sticks in my mind: he was just nine years old. Rest well, little buddy, because your idols definitely couldn’t care less.

#23 - “The Weekend” - Stormzy and RAYE

Produced by London and RAYE

And from The Weeknd to “The Weekend”, yet we’re a lot further from Canada here. It is pretty cool that despite all of the American pop culture nonsense that was thrown at us this week, the highest debut is from two British artists, one of which is independent. The song’s pretty sweet too, with RAYE’s ghostly harmonies and melodrama sliding pretty acutely under the stiffer, effortless cool of Stormzy. I was actually surprised the two had this much chemistry and they work off of each other pretty effortlessly, even if the mix on this fudgy, bassy funk-pop isn’t all that clean. There’s not much of a focus on sex or Stormzy himself other than some silly references, with the song mostly just being an appreciation of his partner, played by RAYE, and his deadpan delivery works as almost portraying him as slightly awestruck by her. The little trade-off in the refrain where they try and figure out a good day to hang out is adorable, and the entire song, despite my issues with the production, is a pretty little jam I definitely wouldn’t mind sticking around.

Conclusion

Well, this sure was the week that was, and not particularly a stand out week quality wise, in fact, this one was kind of a struggle. Best of the Week goes to Sam Smith of all people for “Man I Am”, but the Honourable Mention is a tie, given that the other two good songs here are just expectedly solid songs from UK acts that both may end up growing on me, with “The Weekend” by Stormzy and RAYE and “Massacre” by J Hus being my other favourites this week. As for the worst, Travis Scott takes it handedly with “K-POP” featuring Bad Bunny and The Weeknd, but I don’t think ZAYN is all that far behind as he gets the Dishonourable Mention for “Love Like This”, though that very much could have gone to Lizzo and absolutely could have gone to whatever Prinz was doing. As for what’s on the horizon, we had a big release week with albums from Anne-Marie, Post Malone and Travis Scott, and Calvin Harris is raring for his big “Miracle” follow-up, so expect more craziness to come. Thank you for reading, rest in peace to Sinéád O’Connor and I will see you next week!

[h2shonotes]

What Was I Made For?☝🏽THIS.

My health club aqua workshop classes are successful. (I am grateful for that. 🙏🏽) But it is the special events that H2shO™️ was uniquely made for. Here’s the tea! 🫖

When Barbenheimer struck in 2023, asked if I ever intended to present a H2shO workout based on the Barbie Movie, I responded, "Only if Mattel pays me to do it.” Creating a shO involves more than playing the soundtrack and remixes. Then I went down the Barbie rabbit hole. I became a low-key Greta Gerwig film stan.

After listening to podcasts, reading or watching interviews with every creative behind the film, the score and the soundtrack. I began mentally deconstructing the movie like a Book Musical. 

What if the workout was presented in 4 distinct musical narratives?

Girl power

Road Trip

The Patriarchy

Smash the Patriarchy

Each section has a different exercise objective. Every song comes directly from the movie, choreographed to its own movement vocabulary. 

Then one day, during a workshop class, I presented a first iteration of “smash the patriarchy” for fun. Afterwards the program director of +POOL asked me I would be open to presenting the entire workout to kick off its Cityscape #PRIDE month event. So I guess you can say, I manifested a sponsor. 

Well, if you are in NYC, join the Barbie shO.

Sign Up with +POOL. 100% of the proceeds fund kid’s swim 🏊🏼‍♀️ instruction.This is a onetime event, unless of course a cruise line or luxury resort 🚢 calls next. 

[cutielatias]

🎆Músicas de 2023🎇

Hot wings(I wanna party)(sped up/slowed)(layalaya loop overlay)

E.T (cover by Everyone dies in Utah)

Sweetest poison (by Nu Pagadi)

Gladiator (by RaVaughn Brown)

Lollipop (candyman) (by Aqua)

Balkanize (by Tzusing)

Can't remember to forget you (cover by Midnight red)

(Don't fear) the reaper (by Blue Oyster)

Broke my car radio (slowed+reverb) (by Ericdoa)

Strong Enough (Bratz soundtrack)

Catch my breath (slowed & reverb) (by Kelly Clarkson)

Kiss Kiss (by Holly Valance)

When Did your heart go missing? (by Rooney)

Work it (Barbie Big City Big Dreams soundtrack)

Hey,Mickey! (by Baby Tate)

Casual Sex (by Darkest days)

Time Bomb (by All Time Low)

A Different side of me (by Allstar weekend)

Mr. Wonderful (by Allstar weekend)

Uniform (normal/instrumental) (by Bloc Party)

Go gyal (by Ahzee)

Alone (by Offer Nissim)

Se ela dança eu danço(DJ Lívia Drum remix) (by MC Leozinho)

Pra me provocar (by MC Koringa)

Girlfriend (by Hemlocke Springs)

Jenny (by The Click Five)

If you can't hang (by Sleeping with sirens)

Automotivo Super Mario World 2 (by DJ NK3)

Amber (by 311)

Under the influence(slowed/normal) (by Chris Brown)

S.O.S (Let the music play) (by Jordin Sparks)

Whirring (by The Joy Formidable)

Camera shy (by School Boy Humor)

Mary (by Alex G)

Why can't I (by Liz Phair)

Kiss me again (by ROY BEE)

Sueño Nikté (Nikté soundtrack)

Mr Loverboy (by Little Mix)

From zero to hero (by Sarah Connor)

Les z'anges (by Soan)

The boys are back (High School Musical 3 soundtrack)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (by Paddock Park)

Only boy (in the world) (cover by Kevin Vasquez)

Hippo Grotto (v2) (Madagascar 2 game soundtrack)

L'Étoile D'afrique-#18 (normal/slowed/sped up) (by VDYCD)

You make me sick (by Pink)

Kugutsu (by Tsukiko amano)

Make you Love me (by Kaci Brown)

Tragic on the dancefloor (by Girl Friend)

Poison (by Girl Friend)

Bed Love (by Mario)

Destruir tudo de novo (by Dead Fish)

To tell you the truth (by Written by Wolves)

Self Love (by Metro Boomin)

Because the Night (Live Unplugged) (by 10,000 Maniacs)

Keep it Rolling (by Bloc Party)

Close To the Mirror (by Sylvain Lux)

Party Addict x Hotel room service (mashup)

I'II Do it (sped up/normal) (by Ayesha Erotica)

Alejandro (Rock cover by Helia)

Party Addict(sped up/slowed/normal) (by Kets4eki)

Chinatown (by Wild Nothing)

Gimme More (Jiafei ft Cupcakke version)

Ulterior motives (by Christopher saint booth) [aka everybody knows that song]

Cannibal love (by Horrormovies)

Ta Ta Ta (sped up/normal) (by Bayanni)

Hands Up! X Hey Baby (mashup) (sped up)

P.U.N.K. Girl (by Heavenly)

Mona Lisa (by Dominic Fike)

Distracted (by Honey Revenge)

Waste my time (by Girl Friend)

Fate (by Shiro Sagisu)

SHAKE THAT SHIT! (sped up/slowed/normal) (by Jnhygs)

More than friends (slowed+reverb/normal) (by INNA)

Jerk! (Sped up+reverb/slowed/normal) (by Jnhygs)

You & Me (by 6earlyhuman)

Ifeelsick (by Dion Dugas)

Dreams 4ever (by Bad influence) [aka la canción de Alicia/Under the stars](both original version and Richardvox cover)

Wine Pon You(normal/speed up) (by Doja Cat)

Can't remember to forget you (Acoustic cover by Siren Jean)

Moonlight (by Kali Uchis)

Calling (by Metro Boomin)

Bad Boy (KYANU Mix) (by Cascada)

Table For Two (by Nicole)

Back from the dead (by Skillet)

Undefeatable (Sonic Frontiers ost)

Sleepwalker (slowed) (by Akiaura)

Shinigami eyes (by Grimes)

Chammak challo (by Ra.One)

Me and my husband (by Mitski)

Met her on the internet (instrumental) (by Kempachii)

Look don't touch(normal/sped up/slowed) (by Odetari)

Sins (let me in) (by Kanii)

We Found Love (Glee Cast version)

L'Art Du Savoir (slowed/normal) (by VDYCD)

Sway (by Vanessa Carlton)

FASHION (by Britney Manson)

Say yes to heaven (by Lana del Rey)

High Life (by Bloc Party)

You're too slow (by Odetari)

Right side of the bed (by Atreyu)

Draw me Inside (by Skillet)

Not Tomorrow (Silent Hill soundtrack)

Wishful Thinking (Silent Hill 2 soundtrack)

Ecstacy (remix) (by Suicidal-Idol)

Himno Potaxie/ Ye Hua Xiang (by Jiafei)

Cry Baby (by Heidi)

Yutopia (by Heidi)

Suisou (by Heidi)

Dom Perignon (SATOMIC REMIX) (by Poshlaya molly)

Dumebi (by Rema)

If it's lovin on your mind (by Spice Girls)

How long (by Paula Toledo)

Hayyoda (by Anirudh Ravichander, Priya Mali)

As lovers Go (by Dashboard Confessional)

Donkey Kong Country 2- Bramble Blast x Hatsune miku

Life imitates life (by Quannic)

E.T. (Prismatic World Tour Instrumental with backing vocals)

Because of you (by Ne-Yo)

Not Responsible (slowed/speed up) (by Amon)

Get Back x 4 minutes (mashup)

Emily Brown (by Alice)

Miss Your Touch (by Cassie)

[vatted]

my top 24 (non kpop) songs released in 2023

24. Let It Burn - shaboozey

the emotion in his voice makes this song so good

23. Astral Plans - bad suns

so catchy

22. Flowery days - christine and the queens

pretty song with a lovely vocal performance

21. Curious - shenseea

dancehall song abt being bi curious in the club what more could we need

20. Angels in Tibet - amaarae

amaarae makes such stylish music that’s the best way i can describe it

19. GOATED. - armani white & denzel curry

the flows on this are unbelievable

18. eyes don’t lie - isabel larosa

the production is so crisp every sound in the chorus is so perfect

17. Last Time I Saw You - nicki minaj

this song rlly works for me i think her voice sounds beautiful

16. Love From the Other Side - fall out boy

sometimes there’s a fall out boy song that hits and this is one of those. rlly like the punchy chorus.

15. SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS - killer mike & andre 3000 & eryn allen kane & future

very nice i love what they did with future’s voice on this track and andre 3000, eryn allen kane and killer mike are ofc rlly good

14. Barbie World - nicki minaj & ice spice & aqua

“all of the barbies is bad, IT girls, and we ain’t playing tag” “i keep dragging her so she bald a bit”

13. METALIZM - babymetal

babymetal world domination

12. Little Songs - colter wall

big fan of most of his work this was my fav on his 2023 album

11. silhouette - thrice

a 20 year old “revisited” song but it still goes so hard so im putting it on the list

10. WUACV - tkay maidza

the title alone goes so hard and the rest of the song matches that energy

9. jeLLiefish aPocaLypsE - tillie

the beat drop is so satisfying

8. Kotorobi - barrett marshall

makes me feel like im on another planet in a good way

7. Standing Next To You - jungkook

the usher remix is good too

6. Last Night - morgan wallen

somehow the most iconic song of 2023 (but its actually kinda worth the hype)

5. Boy’s a liar Pt. 2 - pinkpantheress & ice spice

the second most iconic song from 2023

4. AT THE PARTY - kid cudi & pharrell williams & travis scott

everyone sounds great on this kinda sludgy banger

3. MY HOUSE - beyonce

everything she touches is gold. this literally sounds like music from the future that’s how far ahead of the curve she is.

2. X-Wing (Live At Electric Lady) - denzel curry

using the live album as an excuse to have this song in this 2023’s list

1. アイドル - yoasobi

a 10/10 song. i discovered this song late but have not stopped listening to it since august. the transitions go so hard.

honorable mentions:

Paint The Town Red- doja cat

Destroy Me - rebecca black

Muddy Feet - miley cyrus & sia

I’m Just Ken - ryan gosling

Eat Your Young - hozier

Dying Star - ashnikko & ethel cain

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 26/08/2023 (Nothing)

We get a #1 switch-up once again this week as Dua Lipa takes the crown with “Dance the Night”, becoming her fourth #1 on the UK charts as a credited artist, dethroning the fellow Barbie soundtrack single “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish. That’s pretty much all that happened, so skip this episode if you want. If you didn’t, welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start this week - where nothing out of the ordinary occurred, I promise - with the notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK top 75 - which is what I cover - after spending five weeks there or peaking in the top 40, of which there were very few. We say farewell to “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, “What it Is” by Doechii, or the “Block Boy” version with Kodak Black, “DIal Drunk” by Noah Kahan, of course assited by its remix with Post Malone, and “Wish You the Best” by Lewis Capaldi.

We then welcome back “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears at #74, “Super Shy” by NewJeans at #72, “Riptide” by Vance Joy at #71, “Escapism.” by RAYE featuring 070 Shake at #65 and “Boy’s a liar” by PinkPantheress at #64, and as for our notable gains, we see boosts for “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran at #70, “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” by David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray at #68, “I’m Good (Blue)” by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha at #67, “Kill Bill” by SZA at #63, “Die for You” by The Weeknd at #62, “UNAVAILABLE” by Davido featuring Musa Keys at #54, “Highs & Lows” by Prinz featuring Gabriela Bee at #47, “Feel It” by Jazzy getting a big surge at #45, “Popular” by The Weeknd, Playboi Carti and Madonna at #43, “Daylight” by David Kushner at #42, “Fast Car” by Luke Combs at #34, “Bittersweet Goodbye” by Issey Cross at #31, “The Weekend” by Stormzy and RAYE at #29, “Rush” by Troye Sivan at #28, “Dog Days are Over” by Florence + the Machine at #27, “Rich Men North of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony Music at #23 - I’m probably the only person happy about this - “Asking” by Sonny Fodera and MK featuring Clementine Douglas at #21, “Prada” by casso, RAYE and D-Block Europe at #20 and finally, “Baddadan” by Chase & Status, Bou and everyone else at #14. Sheesh, a lot of gains this week, some I’m excited about, some I’m not particularly, and given Drake probably isn’t coming next week, I can’t confirm that this stuff won’t stick around for at least a little while.

The top five of the UK Singles Chart consists of “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift at #5, a big surge for Doja Cat at #4 with “Paint the Town Red” - not complaining about that, though I honestly didn’t expect it to be a little come back for her - then “vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo at #3, and of course, “What Was I Made For?” at #2 and “Dance the Night” at the very top. Now, uh, for whatever is happening below, which isn’t much of interest… oh, wait. There are no new songs to review. I cover the UK Top 75, and have done since October 2020 when I expanded from the top 40, and this is kind of unprecedented. We’ve had a week or two where there are only one or two songs, and maybe there has been a similar week to this during the holiday season, so I knew it was coming eventually but this is still a first. I’ve had several plans for this over the years - do I take suggestions? Do I just review the new entries to the top 100? I can’t really do that since they might end up gaining into the top 75, and there’s only two new entries in the full region anyway. Hell, same thing could happen if I take suggestions, but I have done it before to fill in the gaps for Christmas episodes. Maybe I should review Donald Trump’s mugshot, that’s topical, right? I could bring back Off the Charts but I’m not really listening to new album releases as religiously anymore. Hmm… okay, I think I got something.

Genre Charts

So, one thing I don’t often talk about on this show is the wealth of charts based on genre that the Official Charts Company… provides, I can’t really call them a gift given the lack of a functioning website and some… questionable genre categorisation, as well as rules that aren’t consistent with the main chart, which means older songs stick around. For example, let me give you the idea for this episode: I’m going to pick the highest-charting song from four - or three, you’ll see - of the genre-specific singles charts that has not made the top 75 as of yet. Let’s start with the genre I’m probably most fond of out of the selection OCC gives us: rock. What’s the highest-charting song currently on the rock charts that has never made the main chart’s top 75, so even if I started this series in 1947, I would have never reviewed it?

Rock & Metal - “Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit

Currently at #27, peaked at #17

Yes, I’m serious. The rock & metal chart is - kind of unexpectedly - full of old songs, and also, I’m serious that “Break Stuff” never made its way onto the UK Singles Chart, which surprised me. The newest song on there is the new entry of “Perhaps” by Guns n’ Roses, their first new song in a while that debuted at #36. Anyway, whilst I’m surprised by this never making the top 75, I’m kind of happy because it means I can talk about it here and for all the crap that Florida nu metal outfit Limp Bizkit have gotten over the years, a lot of it deserved, “Break Stuff” was an early shining moment for them. From their 1999 album Significant Other - which peaked at #10 over here - “Break Stuff” strips a lot of the overly ambitious, whiny, not-as-funny-as-he-thinks-he-is melodrama and self-indulgence that taints Fred Durst’s worst work away, as the song is raw and instinctual. Wes Borland’s gruelling riff is about as simple as it can get, yet it’s looming with menace, and the drums from John Otto find that great pocket between crushing and slightly distant, especially in the verses, wherein the staggered fills have always stood out to me. Of course, we do have to get to Fred Durst, who has always tried too hard to sound hard, and many will point to this song as an example. Personally, I think if you can’t give up your issues with Durst and sing along, or yell along, to the ever-relatable need to just let out that boiled-up anger. I always think that this song will lose its lustre when I’m not angry, or when I’m a bit older, but it just never happens. It will continue to go hard as all Hell, and a lot of that is due to that kind of hypnotic bridge, where Durst reassures you that he does indeed pack a chainsaw, before it crashes down into one of the hardest breakdowns in popular music possibly ever. Say what you will about the Limp Bizkit catalogue, and trust me, I’ll agree with most of it; this is a 10/10 song. It peaked at #23 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 in the US, similarly not quite making it to the top 100, and charted highest in Portugal at #9. I guess the Portuguese were just really pissed off… or they liked seeing Jonathan Davis of Korn and Eminem mouth the lyrics in that now-iconic video, I don’t know. Now for the chart that the readers of this series probably care for the most, and the one that makes up much of the current chart…

Dance - uh…

OCC hates me this week, I swear to God. There is currently no song on the Dance Singles Chart top 40 that hasn’t been in the UK Top 75. Surely, the R&B and hip-hop charts will deliver.

Hip Hop and R&B - “Pink + White” by Frank Ocean

Currently at #23, peaked at #18

Okay, we’re getting pretty good luck with the songs we ARE getting. From his critically-acclaimed Blonde, which hit #1 in the UK back in 2016 and is now appreciated as a modern classic, we have “Pink + White”. I’ve never been as big a fan of Frank as many music nerds, and that includes this album… but man, I can’t deny this one. Frank reminisces on a sunset drive with his old friend, detailing a close friend of his - possibly someone who he was intimate with - who has most likely passed away. This seems to be somewhat contentious - I think the “glory from above” line makes it pretty clear - but either way, the relationship ends, yet he still latches onto the lessons he was taught, doing things “the same way [they] showed [him]”. Sonically, I mean, it’s Pharrell in his slick soul bag, with laid-back drums and an honestly kind of tense piano line that keeps the song from feeling too lethargic, alongside that acoustic guitar breakdown that is both very Pharrell and gorgeous. By the end of the song, Frank’s singing in a bed of gorgeous Beyoncé vocal riffs, produced with enough reverb to make them genuinely sound like they’re coming down from Heaven. The angelic choir by-product of their harmonies and backing vocal takes is one of the highlights off of the album and once again, with these genre charts, I have to say it’s a 10/10 song. “Pink + White” charted highest in the US, where it reached #84 on the Hot 100.

Afrobeats - “Lonely at the Top” by Asake

Currently at #6, peaked at #5

The Afrobeats singles chart seems to use a different charting and/or tracking week, but it doesn’t really matter. This is the first song - and artist - I’m covering in this episode that I don’t think I’ve come across before, on this show or otherwise. Asake is a Nigerian singer from Lagos, with this Blaise Beats-produced song coming from his second and latest album, Work of Art, which peaked at #20 on the albums chart over here earlier this year… and God damn it, this one’s excellent too. Sure, it’s a bit short, but that muffled rhythm is uniquely intimate and beeping for Afrobeats, and that flute just washes you away with the bittersweet vibes of the song, as a choir backs Asake up on his lyrics about the rise to the top and its ups and downs. Whilst a lot of sheer joy and surprise effortlessly emits from Asake and his choir, especially in his higher Auto-Tuned register, the song is grounded by those quieter strings pulling down on the carefree liveliness in the rest of the chorus. He gets closer to rapping in the second verse, as there are a lot of cute details from each backing vocal riff, a recurring percussion glitch and an awesome little horn blast that acts as a real pop-champagne moment. This may not be a 10/10 song - at least not yet - and it really is competing with classics in this episode, but it’s damn near close, and I was partly convinced it was when I heard that outro where the strings combat with the livelier tropical guitar for full attention for the first time, that was brilliant.

Conclusion

Maybe OCC should do this more often, I got to talk about three songs I love from a diverse array of genres and eras, revisiting passions of old and getting introduced to a new artist I need to check out more from. How’s that for a week where nothing happened, huh? Screw the UK Top 75, I’m just gonna review the Afrobeats songs from now on. See you next week!