#calvin harris song

[zeroloop]

JBL BOOMBOX 3 WIFI TEST

Benvenuti a questo  video in cui esploreremo da vicino il Boombox 3 Wi-Fi della casa produttrice JBL. Oggi ci immergeremo nella prima accensione e nei test di questo  dispositivo. Da un’autonomia che offre fino a 24 ore di riproduzione al volume medio, a un rapido tempo di ricarica di soli 4,5 ore, il Boombox 3 Wi-Fi  si dimostra un compagno affidabile per le tue esigenze musicali. Ma non è…

[tswiftupdatess]

Calvin Harris deactivates his X/Twitter account after Taylor performs ''This Is What You Came For'' as a surprise song at The Eras Tour!

[toad-in-a-trenchcoat]

Nya

Moon mites by @puzzleddonkey

[baby-girl-aaron-dessner]

There’s no way y’all have been listening to her albums for the last few years and don’t realise she’s depressed and…at times…suicidal…

[soupza]

new uquiz!

have fun and rb with results!

[jewishrizahawkeye]

im once again thinking of taylor uses marriage in her songs as not literally but more metaphorically to show us, the reader/listener, what she was giving and promising. cause in high infidelity she says “dragged my feet right down the aisle” which is definitely her picking a guy at the age of 25 to settle down with because that’s what everyone wanted but her choosing wrong and her being stuck cause if she broke up with him it’s all “when’s the new album taylor?” and “she can’t keep a man” and so then we get stuff like the infamous locket post i posted earlier saying “one year down”, like she just ran a marathon.

like she was talking about this relationship as like “i’m doing it i’m doing it” and not “i’m in love”… and then you hear stuff like “lock broken, slur spoken” “your picket fences sharp as knives” or even her describing being with him long term (marriage) as suffocating and draining and she felt herself slowly dying praying for something, praying for attention it love from his person she now has to be with for life… like “dragged my feet right down the aisle” “at the house lonely” “wait by the door like i’m just a little kid” “my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hands taking mine, but it’s been promised to another” “walking all over my piece of mind, in the shoes i gave you as a present” “you said i was free loading” and so much more i can’t type out cause my phones dying so tumblrs being a butt about my typing speed.

but it just makes you think… what was it like behind closed doors? what was he saying or doing to her? we know from interviews that he didn’t like going to award shows with her unless he was nominated cause he was intimidated by her. so the reference to marriage we hear in folklore and evermore (and on high infidelity) are more about this idea of being trapped in a loveless marriage by outside forces, in both instances of fake and real marriage divorce is almost like being shunned by society and shamed for it since you promised your life to each other… and she was like “no more dating around i settled down… oh wait no wrong guy”

but then when we hear references on lover it’s more sweet. like “i take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover” and the final bridge of its nice to have a friend have it been more like, she’s willing to commit to him cause she’s seen what will come of a committed relationship to someone, she knows what can be said if it doesn’t work, but she isn’t worried this time cause she picked right

i don’t think i’m explaining it right but just… taylor using marriage as more of a metaphor for her life rather than actually being married is so interesting cause marriage is supposed to be this symbolic bond between two people of love forever but it’s being used here to both trap her but also be freeing to her in other relationships

[dovebuffy92]

My Ranking Of All The FATM Songs

My Florence and the Machine Song Obsessions

King

Free

Dog Days Are Over

Shake It Out

Cosmic Love

Kiss With a Fist

Dream Girl Evil

Ship to Wreck

What Kind of Man

Big God

Delilah

Hunger

Queen of Peace

Only If For a Night

Morning Elvis

Never Let Me Go

Songs I Love

Girls Against God

Breaking Down

Choremoania

What the Water Gave Me

Daffodil

My Love

Sky Full of Song

South London Forever

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

St. Jude

Heartlines

No Light, No Light

Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

Hurricane Drunk

Between Two Lungs

Mermaids

Breath of Life

All This And Heaven Too

Moderation

Haunted House

Just A Girl (Cover)

Heavy In Your Arms

Sweet Nothing (Collab With Calvin Harris)

Gimme Shelter (Cover & Collab With The Rolling Stones)

Strangeness And Charm

Take Care (Cover)

Postcards From Italy (Cover)

Songs I Like

I'm Not Calling You a Liar

Drumming Song

You've Got the Love (Cover)

My Boy Builds Coffins

Various Storms & Saints

Long & Lost

Grace

June

The End of Love

100 Years

Cassandra

Heaven Is Here

Seven Devils

Spectrum

Falling

Are You Hurting the One You Love?

Bedroom Hymns

Which Witch

Jenny of Oldstones

You’ve Got the Dirtee Love (Collab With Dizzee Rascal)

Stand By Me (Cover)

Swimming

Hardest of Hearts

I Come Apart (Collab With A$AP Rocky)

Spectrum (Say My Name) (Collab With Calvin Harris)

Ghosts

Search And Destroy (Cover)

Landscape

Times Like These (Cover)

Donkey Kosh

Oh! Darling (Cover)

Try A Little Tenderness (Cover)

Songs I Think are Okay (I Don't Hate or Even Slightly Dislike any FATM Songs)

Back in Town

Restraint

No Choir

Patricia

Third Eye

Mother

Caught

The Bomb

Prayer Factory

Leave My Body

Lover to Lover

Howl

Girl With One Eye

Blinding

Bird Song

Over the Love

Call Me Cruella

Wish That You Were Here

Florida!!! (Collab With Taylor Swift)

Hospital Beds (Cover)

Hey Girl (Collab With Lady Gaga)

Remain Nameless

Jackson (Cover)

[high-quality-tiktoks]

Ten years ago was 2012. This will take you back! Here’s every #1 song from 2012. Taylor Swift topped the chart for the first time, and Carly Rae Jepsen tied with Maroon 5 for 9 weeks each at the top. What song from 2012 are you surprised did not make number one?

[manysmallhands]

Favourite Songs of 2024: 28 - 20

Continuing the countdown as far as the door of the top 20! Previous entries can be found here, here and here. Now, we carry on...

28. Miso Extra - Slow Down

Miso takes more of a dance turn on her best song to date, a collaboration with DJ Boring (no it’s ok, he’s interesting) where the eerie bleeps and twitchy garage vibe combine with Miso’s low key drone to create something that sounds both hypnotic and creepily compelling. The lyrics might just be one verse repeated over and over again but ultimately that turns out to be a bonus, as you'll be wanting to sing along and it keeps things simple.

27. Tyler The Creator ft Teezo Touchdown - Darling, I

While much hip hop these days feels a bit bleak and cold to me, I was an instant sucker for this kind of sweet hooked, RnB flavoured groove that Tyler often favours on his new record. Darling, I is one of those things that I probably shouldn’t like so much, where our hero rather selfishly sets out why he’s incapable of committing to one woman, but it’s also a little bit sad when he admits that he’s dooming himself to a life of loneliness and even quite charming in its blunt self knowledge. All things considered, i'm calling it a bop.

26. Ava Max - Spot A Fake

The fact that Ava once had a #1 hit feels like a bit of a fever dream now but Spot A Fake shows that she can still turn out a banger in her pop auteurist, neo-Flashdance signature sound. “I’ve got a 6th sense when it comes to a bitch” she sings and it’s that sense of high melodrama and low comedy that keeps me coming back, that and the impossibly catchy tunes anyway.

25. Szou - Thinkin' Bout

Post Good Luck Babe it feels like only a matter of time before this kind of bubbly 80s pop rock begins to reemerge, set against the glossier version of the era that still tends to dominate. Szou, a tiny duo who popped up on my radio one night, use shuffling synths (somehow reminiscent of the Hill Street Blues theme?) and some controlled wailing in the chorus a la Laura Branigan for that peak 1984 vibe, adding some calculated TMI in the lyrics too to give it a touch of Chappell Roan. It manages the great pop trick of channelling a bunch of obvious influences but making them memorable enough to not feel too derivative and catchy enough to bring you back for more.

24. Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding - Free

Unlike last year’s megahit Miracle (eight weeks at #1!), Free failed to set the charts alight at all but in many ways it was just as good. A light, airy dance banger powered by its drum n bass break and flashing house piano, Free goes off hard into a soaring, skittering chorus early on and never really looks back from there. Calvin gets dragged for being basic but a better way to view him is that he’s mastered his craft better than any of his contemporaries: if it sounds like he could knock this stuff out in his sleep, that's cos he's just so good at it.

23. Jessica Pratt - Better Hate

After drifting off into the fog on 2019’s Quiet Signs, the big surprise this year was that Jess had brought some tunes back with her. Better Hate is one of the best examples of her eerie mid century folk pop, backed by twinkling keys and semi-comic woodblock percussion which helps to create a bit of a Disney vibe. Her distinctive baby-voiced coo feels more playful this time around and while the lyric here is somewhat enigmatic, the harmonies and melodic dance make this sound something akin to a party, albeit one that takes place in an undefined earlier epoch.

22. Tinashe - Nasty

Possibly the most ecstatically greeted #61 hit of all time, Tinashe’s viral sensation felt like vindication for the faithful but added a new lightness and snap to her catchy RnB template which stuck out sharply from the gloomier material of her past. Full of highly quotable catchphrases (including, quintessentially, "is somebody gonna match my freak?!"), Nasty may not have hit big but it did capture a moment this summer with attitude, humour and a surprisingly touching sense of yearning at its core.

21. Emei - Rabbit Hole 

This is another pick-up from evening radio, again from an artist that I knew nothing about. Rabbithole is an edgy pop banger: I like the the contrast between the early 80s synth stylings and the punchier, more modern production, and also the way it will stutter towards a stop and then explode back into life again. Much like Tate Mcrae’s ‘Greedy’ last year it gets a bit lost after the second chorus but (also much like Greedy) the twitchy bounce and energy mean that it doesn’t really matter all that much: all I want from this is more. I do have to say tho that when Emei (aged 25) says "oh my god i'm getting old", she owns me so hard that i shall probably have stop listening to her soon.

20. Cosmorat - Backseat Baby

I have recently started to conceptualise some of my listening as "hopscotch music" - songs that sound like the kind of thing you’d hear sung in a school playground - and Backseat Baby may be the clearest example of them all. It slouches along in a kind of elegant, restless groove punctuated by occasional jolts of comedic violence, but the key thing that holds it together is the repeated chorus of “NOT A CRIME IF YOU DON’T GET CAUGHT!”, chanted with the kind of malevolence you’d expect from a bunch of 12 year olds who you'd discovered playing with matches. Always fun, if in a slightly nervous way.

More tomorrow, maybe

[behindsonglyrics]

Analyzing Bejeweled and is it about Joe Alwyn....?

For awhile I’ve always (just my own theory), thought Bejeweled to be about Joe Alwyn (alongside Renegade) based on the lyrics, and decided to do a shorter breakdown on why I think it’s about Joe. I think You’re Losing Me tends to backup this a little more now.

Before I hop into the analysis, as always; I am not Taylor, and this is merely a personal theory. Nothing is stated as a ‘fact’ as she holds the cards and if you have your own interpretation of the song, and whom you think it is about, that is perfectly ok. 

---

Now let’s dive into the lyrics:

“Baby love, I think I've been a little too kind”

The first opening lines have always stuck out to me immediately, because narratively, Taylor seems to be talking in present tense, specifically to which obviously is her partner. In previous songs, Taylor has always referred Joe as, “baby boy” which is lyrical reference to Paper Rings: (”Wrap your arms around me, baby boy”). It’s also been said in the past around Rep secret sessions, Taylor would refer to Joe as, ‘angel baby’ but it tells me that it ‘baby boy’ and ‘baby love’ seem to be about the same person. She also described him (Joe) as, ‘boy-ish looks that she likes in a man.’

There doesn’t also seem to be any evidence of Taylor ever referring Calvin as ‘baby boy’ etc as their couple names, or references of that sort in comparison. Same with other exes. Calvin is also 6 years older than Taylor, while Joe is 2 years younger, which doesn’t make much sense why she would refer Calvin, as ‘baby boy’ when she's the younger one.

“Didn't notice you walking all over my peace of mind / In the shoes I gave you as a present / Puttin' someone first only works when you're in their top five”

The first lyrics I’m going to jump into here is, “puttin’ someone first, only works when you’re in their top five” which is referring to the state of the relationship. The song narrator (Taylor) is implying that she is no longer seen as a priority to her partner, as he has other interests and priorities that are ‘in his top 5′ -- which explains specifically how Taylor is feeling. Her peace of mind being walked over could also be a reference to Renegade, where the whole theme is that the narrator (similar to Bejeweled) hopes the person that she loves, as she puts it, “can get their s*** together” so she can love them. As it’s been distressing since he’s been, “firing off missiles” towards her, it also emphasizes the wary on their future together. Taylor is lacking the comfort, because he’s walking all over it now.

As for the ‘shoes I gave you as a present’ Taylor could’ve gifted Joe shoes, as they’ve worn matching shoes before but it could be just a coincidence, but I can’t imagine Taylor buying Calvin shoes when he typically sticks to the same pair, and he’s as rich as Taylor. It also could not even mean literal shoes but insight of what she has done for him, and behaving in such a way which “walks over her peace of mind.” 

“Best believe I'm still bejeweled / When I walk in the room I can still make the whole place shimmer / And when I meet the band They ask, "Do you have a man?" / I can still say, "I don't remember" 

So these lyrics are pretty straight forward. Taylor is acknowledging she is THE Taylor Swift, she isn’t just ANY one, she’s special, she’s a diamond and she knows it. She walks in the room, all eyes on her. She can have anyone she wants, thus the band “asking if she has a man” and she can pull the, “I don’t remember card” because she is reminding to her lover to not take her for granted (not giving her the affection or deserving desire) and easily can replace them. She’s “bejeweled” as she says. You can also see this in YLM, “don’t you ignore me, I’m the best thing at this party.”

“Familiarity breeds contempt”

When you have something NEW it is exciting and tends to be your focal point, desire and fixated interest. When you become familiar to it, you may end up taking it for granted as the excitement is lost. She’s suggesting that her lover seems to be treating her as a shadow now because of the familiarity and (again, lost of priority; as she is no longer in his Top 5). 

“Don't put me in the basement /  When I want the penthouse of your heart”

Taylor once again reminds her lover (which, evidently seems more emphasis that this partner is a relevant present love, rather than a long ago past ex) to not take her for granted, she wants him to him to see her (she makes another reference to this in, ‘You’re Losing Me’). Throughout this entirety of this song, it’s full of knowing your worth as the anthem behind it, and Taylor showing her hand by reminding him how special she is, and his lack of prioritizing her. 

“Baby boy, I think I've been too good of a girl (too good of a girl) / Did all the extra credit, then got graded on a curve”

When you do everything for your partner, and all the right things, you may “be graded on a curve” as they deem it not enough, or care. Which is what Taylor is implying, as she’s been “too good of a girl” she’s doing everything (extra credit), but it’s still not enough, thus the grading from him.

 I think it's time to teach some lessons / I made you my world (huh), have you heard? (Huh) I can reclaim the land / And I miss you (I miss you) / But I miss sparkling (ah, hey)”

She moved to London to be with Joe, thus “made him her world” -- she makes a similar reference (Hoax): “You know I left a part of me back in New York.” She also kept her relationship with Joe quiet and intensively private, not allowing herself to shine, etc. And although she misses him, Taylor would rather shine now as she’s choosing herself.

---

Now how is it not about Calvin Harris? 

* The song is very similar to ME! But seems to be the grown up sister song. As it’s the exact same theme, but instead, Taylor is choosing herself in the end. Lyrics from ME!: “Baby doll, when it comes to a lover I promise that you'll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh”

Notice how she calls him “Baby doll” in ME! And “Baby boy” in Bejeweled?  It’s also Taylor reaffirming to him (in the past) that she’s Taylor Swift, and he’ll never find the specialty he has with her. It’s practically the same song, just one is more grown up than the other and more polished.

* Calvin Harris was dating Taylor in her past and most commercially successful era, 1989. Taylor was already ‘shining’ and their relationship was public in contrast to Joe. Which is the complete opposite where her “reputation preceded her” and kept it intensively private. It is also her longest relationship, and familiarity breeds contempt feeling tends to happen in more long term established relationships after the honeymoon period shifts away.

* The penthouse of your heart and Taylor wanting it, implies present tense that she is directly speaking to her (well now former partner, Joe). I don’t think Taylor wants the penthouse of Calvin’s heart, as it’s been half a decade or longer since that relationship and refers to him as a ‘dickhead’ on Question.

* Renegade links up to Bejeweled at times, and implies their relationship (just like every relationship cycles through) has their fair share of ups and downs. You’re Losing Me also which again highlights Taylor slipping away from Joe, and him not realizing until it was too late and she “flatlined” …. Thus why he is “running down the hallway.”

* Taylor didn’t make Calvin her world, most of their relationship was also spent touring. Taylor and Joe had a house they were purchasing together, lived together for 6-7 years, moved away to be with him, his family became her family, etc. He was her priority. 

[taylorslastkiss]

A Playlist For Every Taylor Swift Song

This Is What You Came For -> Link here.

My top tracks:

We Found Love - Rihanna, Calvin Harris

My My My! - Troye Sivan

Black Beatles - Rae Shremmurd, Gucci Mane

Get Lucky - Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers

Party Up The Street - Miley Cyrus, Swae Lee, Mike Will Made It

[throwmethroughawindow]

guys did u ever see that tiktok w Ace that had this song??? This song has been in my top songs since LAST YEAR because of that Ace edit💀

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 03/08/2024 (Post Malone/Luke Combs, Central Cee, Calvin Harris/Ellie Goulding)

For a fifth week, Sabrina Carpenter remains atop the UK Singles Chart with “Please Please Please”, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, lesbian sex, confusion

Rundown

As always, we start the episode with our notable dropouts, those being songs that exit the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40 and first of all, that Eminem album really crashes out this week as both “Habits” featuring White Gold and “Brand New Dance”, only lasting a single week, make their exit. As for the rest, well, Charli xcx switches out “Girl, so confusing” - helped by its Lorde-featuring duet version - with another song we’ll get back to, but other than that, we say farewell to “the boy is mine” by Ariana Grande (also helped by a remix with Brandy and Monica), “Addicted” by Zerb, The Chainsmokers and Ink, “Illusion” by Dua Lipa, “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay and, though it’s not notable, just for fun, we say goodbye to a brave soldier, “Pink Lemonade (Str8 Reload)” by LeoStayTrill. Song of the Summer indeed.

One thing you may notice this week is that older songs had a particularly nice lift, and this shows in our re-entries, as other than Ariana Grande’s “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” returning to #66, we see a massive resurgence for *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye”, so massive and manufactured that the song now claims to be “from” the Deadpool and Wolverine soundtrack. Yeah, okay, Justin, anything to recover your world tour. Timberlake’s boy band debuted at a #3 peak with the song in 2000, with the #1 on that week also being a debut for Madonna’s derided cover of “American Pie”. “Bye Bye Bye” only lasted 10 weeks on the chart but definitely made itself a cultural staple due to its ear-worm chorus and iconic music video, leading Anne-Marie to interpolate it in her #3-peaking “2002” from 2018. That song’s uninterrupted five-week run at #3 saw #1s from Calvin Harris, Jess Glynne, Clean Bandit and George Ezra pass it by, and I reviewed all of that back when I was just starting. The *NSYNC hit is back thanks to the release of the aforementioned superhero movie that has high enough praise on aggregate sites like Rotten Tomatoes as well as genuine fan push evident from how high this song is, that it might help the declining Marvel universe. Why am I pretending to care about that?

As for our notable gains, we see plenty of hefty boosts this week for “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” by Luke Combs at #56 off of the continued success of its film, Twisters, “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat at #55, “You & Me” by Disclosure featuring Eliza Doolittle at #51, “WILDFLOWER” by Billie Eilish at #45, “The Door” by Teddy Swims at #25, “Move” by Adam Port, Stryv and Malachiii at #18, “Apple” and “360” by Charli xcx at #14 and #12 respectively (more on her later) and finally, making their first entry in the top 10 for whatever reason, BL3SS, CamrinWatson and bbyclose - all clearly household hitmakers - are at #7 with “Kisses”. The song’s not bad at all, but I just never would have expected it to be this successful, even if ACR might be paying it some favours.

As usual, our top five should look pretty standard, aside from a decent jump for Dasha as the already long-lasting top 10 “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)” - yes, it’s been renamed for easier clicks - is up to #5. Otherwise, we’re all familiar with “Stargazing” by Myles Smith at #4, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish at #3 and “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan reaching a new peak of #2, and of course, Sabrina at the top. What should be much more interesting though is our mixed batch of fascinating new song a bit lower down on the chart, which we’ll have to get through now.

New Entries

#71 - “Gold Mine” - Aitch and D-Block Europe

Produced by AoD and Jacob Manson

Damn, what other way to start an episode is better than to begin the new entries with my boys Young Adz and Dirtbike Lb? …and some white guy. Okay, Aitch isn’t awful and has displayed a degree of personality over the years - though not often as a lead artist - but one thing I’ll never care to hear from him is relationship drama, especially with one of the laziest beats I have ever heard on this show. A singular acoustic guitar line that already cuts out abruptly is then cut in a rush that makes it sound like flipping paper, then we have some of the cheapest trap drums available - I hate that snare - and it’s way too stagnant to go for the West Coast swagger it clearly attempts, though Aitch’s personality-void vocals aren’t helping matters. For some reason, Youthful Advertisements, going for a sing-songy flow and incomprehensible sense of flow on the chorus, is way louder than everything surrounding him and decides to croon about having his tongue in a woman’s ass - classy - whilst Dirtbike Lb seems to not understand he’s on a relationship song until the end of his verse. Aitch is the only one on topic, but he’s my least favourite presence on here - it’s insane just how better this nearly objectively terrible beat sounds with Dirtbike on it instead of Aitch. There are some vaguely cool lines but nothing special, and his flow isn’t new for him, but there’s something so effortless and liquidy to how Dirtbike appears on a track nowadays that appeals to me. And yes, though this may not be the song for it, I agree that I hope the situation in Palestine turns around. I have no faith that it will and whilst this is a throwaway line in an otherwise unrelated song, it should show how much the youth care about the genocide that a pop-rapper is bringing it up so casually. Wait, isn’t this an Aitch song?

#67 - “Lonely Road” - mgk and Jelly Roll

Produced by SlimXX, BazeXX, Charlie Handsome and Travis Barker

Okay, I’ll bite: who’s this new, abbreviated figure of mystery who goes by the simple three litters, mgk? I wonder who could be hiding behind there. Jokes aside, it makes perfect sense for Machine Gun Kelly to take his awkward, triple-barrel name and shorten it down to what everyone was calling him anyway - especially for him, as his name is long enough for it to be very noticeable in Spotify and YouTube titles. Hiding as “mgk” makes it much clearer and easier for you to see “Jelly Roll” on the title for this YouTube video, which could be obscured if he used his full name, which would be a massive turn-off for any Jelly Roll fans with taste. Given that Mr. Jelly has songs with Falling in Reverse and HARDY, I would assume this is not an issue, but part of me does find it amusing how this guy had a song with Eminem just three weeks back and is now hopping on to duet with mgk.

This is actually Jelly Roll’s first time charting and whilst he has a history in underground country rap, he’s recently brought a belting presence to country and rock stations in the US through his rougher but mostly accessible country rock and soul tracks that have gained him a slow-burn following Stateside, yet - perhaps unsurprisingly - he’s yet to crossover to the UK. We love our big, gruff rock belter guys though so I don’t supect it’ll be long, and this track seems to be the UK’s first taste of the J-Man. Is it a good first impression? Well, given the Travis Barker production credit, this seems to be more the first impression for whatever mgk’s next album will be but unfortunately, if you thought that maybe country and rock would be safe from nostalgia-bait sampling, you will be devastated to know that our story starts in 1971.

John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is one of the most iconic country songs of all time. Whilst Denver always associated himself with Colorado, the ode to West Virginia became so famous that it’s now one of their state anthems. A pop song becoming raised to even that standard is really honourable, though perhaps expectedly, the late Denver’s version never crossed over to the UK charts, though it has of course appeared in various alternate versions because everyone and their mother has covered it… and I mean everyone and their mother: literal mother Olivia Newton-John took it to #15 in 1973 (the #1 was “Blockbuster” by the Sweet) and a mother to many online, Lana Del Rey, covered the song just last year as a way to signal the start of her country era. The West Virginia anthem didn’t return to the charts until it found its way there in the year 2000 in possibly the most bizarro world way: Melky Sedeck sang a brief parody of the song in the bridge to Wyclef Jean’s hilarious #3 hit “It Doesn’t Matter” featuring, of all people, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The #1 the week of its peak was Modjo’s “Lady (Hear Me Tonight)” but please, I beg of you, take a listen to that batshit song that to this day, is the highest-charting rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in the UK and I’m not even joking. The next year, a Dutch Europop group Hermes House Band would make a more standard cover that peaked at #7 in 2001, whilst the #1 was Daniel Bedingfield’s “Gotta Get Thru This” and the #2 was “Murder on the Dancefloor” - funny how those things turn out - and another straggling cover by the Revellers hit #86 the week before. Now, once again, Denver’s anthem is back on the UK Singles Chart thanks to… Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker. 2024, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, you may be wondering: was all that background history worth it for mgk and Jelly Roll? And the obvious answer to that is, “No, but it was more interesting than telling you the obvious fact than an mgk song sucks, right?”. Turning “country roads” into “lonely road” in the intro of the song, pushing the chorus ahead to catch your interest due to the sample, is just pathetic and cynical in a way that I should probably expect mgk to be now, but still hits a sour note, especially given the verses seem to use reference humour - except without the humour - to rock bands like Taking Back Sunday and The Devil Wears Prada who are… decidedly not country, these are punk bands. The Taking Back Sunday reference made me sigh and nearly turn it off, but when the fake snap beat came in, I knew that this was going to a bro-country-rap fusion that, surprisingly for two people who came up in rap, is surprisingly awkward! I like Jelly Roll, but I’d prefer if mgk weren’t showering his echoed backing vocals behind him for no reason, let alone that shitty trap beat, but that southern, gritty texture in his voice is at least much more preferable to mgk’s nasal drawl. I honestly think the song if it were just Mr. Roll and the female backing vocalists would be somewhat salvageable… oh, what am I kidding? A country-rap-rock hybrid interpolation of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” produced by Travis Barker is horrible basically on principle. There’s some comedy in it, I suppose, but it’s otherwise a gross attempt at a monogenre comeback for a guy who’s not respected in a single one of the scenes he’s fusing together… and I’m starting to think he doesn’t respect any of those genres either, because this is sad.

#63 - “365” - Charli xcx

Produced by A.G. Cook and Cirkut

It’s… kind of weird that this is charting, right? It’s a tad extraneous: a book-end song intended to close off the BRAT album by calling back to its opener and most successful single, “360”. Charli will have a fuller song debut next week as Billie Eilish cameos on the new version of “Guess”, so this’ll be one week where “360” essentially deposits two similar but not identical spaces on the chart. That’s not to say “365” isn’t good or is just a remix because that is far from the case. After a rollercoaster array of different beats, hooks and emotional progression, we return to the glitchy buzz of “360”, one that’s almost quaint by the end of the record, with the “bumpin’ that” mantra ending each line in what is essentially a singular, continuous verse building up for the whole song, with the funnelling switch early on bringing a thundering bass and acidic rhythm to the song that separates it absolutely from “360”, if the new inclusions of less playful or even likeable lyrics, painting the image of the “it girl” from that first track being way too far gone, didn’t already do that for you. The original song takes a lot of restraint to make it an opener that doesn’t alienate you with its sonic palette, whilst bringing you some signature ugliness in the back of the mix, but Cook goes fully wild on here, especially in that disgusting drop by the end that drowns out every melodic element, filtering it behind a slodging hardcore bass that eventually fuses with the vocal lead to an unrecognisable, inhuman slush… yet Charli still gets the last laugh, even in pitch-shifted form, reminding you at the last second that she’s still “bumpin’ that”. It may not make much sense as a single, which it isn’t trying to be, but it’s a brilliant production and inspired way to close the album. Sure, it wouldn’t resonate nearly as much if it weren’t for the fact that “360” existed, but that’s so much of the song’s appeal in its distortion and looping of some of that track’s core elements, so “365” doesn’t really need to stand on its own… and given “Guess” is coming, probably for a top 40 placement, I doubt it will need to stand on its own on the charts for very long.

#53 - “Sailor Song” - Gigi Perez

Produced by Gigi Perez and Noah Weinman

Gigi Perez, according to her website, is on tour in October and is signed to Interscope. She… she doesn’t tell me anything else, what’s the point of even having a website nowadays if it’s only links to your social media accounts and music videos? We don’t even get a bio, but thankfully on Spotify, she gives us this detailed description of her music and her backstory. It reads, ahem, “Sims 2 emo lesbian love story but in the medium of music”. So… Little Miss Buzzwords here actually went semi-viral back in 2021 with the sleeper hit “Sometimes (Backwood)”, which boasts over 100 million streams on Spotify and is a largely structureless, lo-fi song, wherein the vocal mix echoes itself into crossing gender boundaries a little, whilst also telling a full story of a relationship, singing about some of what made them work, what made them break up, and the sexually-charged intro the song’s subtitled after. I’m not that big of a fan of the song’s undetailed writing or demo flavour, but I can see the appeal, even if her vocals on that track are really not great, but it is a debut and it shows some ambition and a unique sound that I figured would be expanded upon in “Sailor Song”, released a year after her debut EP, and yes, this is more like it.

Weinman brings a cleaner production to Perez’s acoustic racket, with a warped jazz sample occupying the back of the mix, smoothly texturing the fast-paced indie guitars and that wonderful falsetto chant in the intro that is incredibly catchy in itself without even getting to the verses. “Sailor Song” is similar in tone to the first part of “Sometimes”, being an awestruck sex song where, in her unique, imperfect vocal recording and tone that reminds me of maybe a Left at London, but many others I can’t quite put my finger on right now, she gets down and dirty with a girl that reminds her of Anne Hathaway. For a song without much in the way of bass or production, there is a swagger and groove to it that makes the sexual lyrics not come across as awkward as they could have, with that chorus not only giving a wistful touch through the clever ending lyric, “I sleep so I can see you ‘cause I hate to wait so long”, but also justifying the “sailor” comparison by getting pretty raunchy, including blasphemy and admitting that she’s covered in, well, glistening girl juices… on the second chorus, it’s the other way around, in a subtle twist of perspective. The general tone of secrecy surrounding their rendezvous is emphasised by how she may burst into a louder delivery but it’s tempered with softer crooning, even if it’s the same lines being sung, and frankly, it’s been a while since I’ve heard a sex song this poetically written whilst still getting as horny as it does. I’m surprised I like it as much as I do but this is a brilliant song and I hope that within the recent wave of sapphic pop songs led by Chappell Roan, that the charts can find a place for this too.

#42 - “Somedays” - Sonny Fodera, Jazzy and D.O.D

Produced by Sonny Fodera and D.O.D

I see that Mr. Fodera actually produced this one, or at least didn’t forget to add himself to the production credit on Spotify like on “Mind Still”. Regardless, this seems to be a new trio assorted through recent UK chart recurring characters, particularly in EDM, with Fodera joined by fellow house producer D.O.D, whose work I consistently enjoyed and can be seen on best hits list for last year, as well as Irish singer Jazzy who may have surpassed her sketchy breakout with Belters Only in the eyes of the public but has yet to prove herself as much of interest outside of being a relatively anonymous dance-pop vocalist for me. As far as this goes, she doesn’t need to be much more, as that is exactly her role, even if it could have been played by the marginally more interesting Clementine Douglas, who co-wrote the song, and sadly, this is very much a generic house-pop song, fine-tuned to fit all audiences. It’s got flat yet anthemic pianos in the pre-drop, a rote four-on-the-floor beat, even flatter future house bass synths as a lead for much of the build and enough reverb to mean amateur remixers only need to put “(slowed)” above this one, yet despite that, the drop still lands on a weirdly dry, anti-climactic note. The composition is fine, it’s sequenced as you’d expect a song like this to be, and Jazzy’s performance is okay even if that lead vocal reminds me of Flo Rida’s “I Cry”, almost distractingly so. It’s just that it’s all so processed that it’s hard to fish much personality out of me for me. I kind of like the farty bass they introduce in the final drop but not only is it not exactly atypical for this song of song but it’s also too little, too late. Sure, it’s serviceable, but when EDM, including house-pop, has been breaching more genre boundaries and delivering great pop music over the past couple years on the UK charts, including from people involved in this very track, I don’t think I’ll settle for the more generic leftovers. Sorry.

#36 - “Free” - Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding

Produced by Calvin Harris

If this song debuted nine spots higher, I’d be five pounds richer. Anyway, this is the latest collab between the duo of Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding, coming really not that long after “Miracle”, and going for a… surprisingly very different approach, probably because Harris already rettried the formula with Sam Smith on “Desire”. Instead, Harris goes for an anthemic piano hardcore track that I felt the need to check WhoSampled for since it is so clearly referential, if not a straight throwback, to that era of 90s breakbeat rave with diva vocals. What’s wonderful about this modern revision, however, is not just the inclusion of webby synths to elevate the song to cosmic textures amidst the piano stabs but also how much Goulding is not a diva. She doesn’t belt as much as she careens smoothly through the mix, becoming a very breathy presence as she holds that “free” in the chorus, taking it to a really interesting, nuanced delivery that could have just been held in one note but was taken to more interesting levels, similar to how she could have punched in “free” to the “when I’m with you, I…” take but let herself fall short of the full line to not only get a more organic take but also to ensure the resolve of that line, when it’s finally completed, hits satisfyingly. Goulding brings a really unique and subtle approach, furthered by the lack of much in the way of lyrics, that textures Harris’ always top-notch production. The actual lengthening of the “free” vocal in the drop to hold the note before breaking down in a glitchy stutter behind the pianos and drums is a sick way to distinguish the chorus from what follows, and whilst I’m not exactly a fan of the muddier mix the factorial drums take in the verse afterwards, especially given the subtle, angelic melodies are the best asset this song has so covering them doesn’t do wonders, I appreciate the risk taken in regards to the progression of the song. It has a build-and-drop structure, but the two parts play off of each other and are placed within a more nuanced composition instead of just being there for clubs’ sake. What I’d really love to hear, however, are some remixes as, to my surprise, none exist yet for this song! Extended, five to eight minute edits of the fantastic foundation this song lays down, by other producers and DJs in breakbeat scenes, could turn what is a good song executed carefully but not perfectly, into something I adore if you bring the right guys on, especially if the remixers can trace their roots back into those classic 90s rave scenes. For now, this is good, but it can - and knowing Calvin Harris, probably will - be expanded upon into something genuinely transcendent with a little time and care.

#34 - “gen z luv” - Central Cee

Produced by Ambezza and Peter Iskander

…Excuse me? Are we doing this? Sigh, okay. The increasing memefication of a clearly talented and interesting Central Cee into a zoned-out crossover novelty rapper digs him deeper into mediocrity every time he releases some new gimmicky single, and “gen z luv”, as you may expect from its title, is no exception. It’s not just “gen z luv”, it’s “FYP love”, “IG love” and God, I have never felt older listening to a song. Hell, I feel second-hand embarrassment for Cench as whilst I’m sure the millions and easy access to Ice Spice helps for now, but if I were 40 years old looking back at my life accomplishments, and I saw “gen z luv”, I think I’d rediscover my relationship with the big guy upstairs. There’s a certain ugliness to parading the idea of having kids with his current relationship when he just ditched his long-time partner, who he previously referenced in “Doja”, for a viral pop-rapper, especially when above this garish production mixing cheap, muddy loops with half-finished drill percussion and an almost eerie key note reminiscent of Kanye West’s “Say You Will” more than anything actually loving or “Gen Z” for that matter.

The line “Usin’ words [that are] not my usual language” may be more telling than Cench thinks. He’s basically just rapping buzzwords and trendy phrases in about as smooth a way as someone in a board room taking algorithmic phrases they see spread on TikTok and Instagram would - for someone who is seemingly a part of the generation he’s “celebrating” on this song, there’s a lot of “how do you do, fellow kids?” energy to how he constructs the bars. A few highlights include that in the chorus, he bemoans that people call their love “childish”, and that he must agree because she’s his “baby” - gross! - and that he starts the first verse by basically giving a middle finger to the audience that he started out with, by saying “My crisis ain’t from cost of living”… man, fuck off. More than anything, this song just renders as sad and boring, but maybe I’m just not in tune with the youth of today or something because I saw how people older than me reacted to mid-2010s trap with a similar distaste. Cench just finds new ways to disappoint me and alienate anyone who either doesn’t understand or doesn’t give a shit about the kind of social media “aura” he surrounds himself with. When it comes down to it, this debuted lower than it should have for Cench. People want to hear bars, man. I don’t know what this really qualifies as but I’m damn sure a lot of the audience for his harder street drill cuts, or even a more general audience who found him through “Sprinter”, won’t care for this one at all, if it’s not just genuinely incomprehensible for them. And yes, I’m very much included in that last section.

#26 - “Guy for That” - Post Malone featuring Luke Combs

Produced by Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome and Hoskins

Posty’s fishing for another hit through the third of these country duets, this time with American megastar Luke Combs, who has charted decently in the UK before with his “Fast Car” cover. As I said before, the UK may not like country music too much, but it likes its big, gruff, rough-and-tumble singer-songwriters, and Combs fits that bill more so than, say, Morgan Wallen. Combs’ more homegrown and honest position in country worried me as it could be less of a neat fit for Post, who even in his country songs has his foot clearly embedded in the pop rock sphere, and yeah, this is evidently his weakest country track yet. This is Post’s third ode to bromance in this album cycle - which is of note when there’s only been three singles - but the detailed lyrics here give it an edge that not only is reminiscent of the same 90s and 2000s country he has in his “country forever” playlist on Spotify but also places it even further into Luke Combs’ territory. He’s been writing about fatherhood recently, so it’s fully in his wheelhouse to evoke the dad trope of having a “guy for that” - a friend you can call up or drive to for each and every little problem he may have. However, this may be Post’s least convincing performance thus far, as he stumbles on the wordiness of the verses and practically murmurs some of the chorus which fills so many words in and is so unnecessarily lengthy that it honestly confused me… and that’s because it tacks on relationship drama to the song for no real reason. Post hasn’t got a “guy for” fixing his relationship, but this seems so pointless when it’s only part of a song mostly preoccupied with listing near-comical situations. This sitcom of a song has Post so desperate to prove his fumbling warble over honestly stale country pop that he refuses to even let the fiddles have room to breathe - what does that tacked-on post-chorus riffing do other than muddy the momentum of the track, which is barely there in the first place?

Even Luke Combs performs bizarrely here as whilst his vocal tone makes more sense, he’s talking about knowing a guy who has a time machine and flexing about his brand new AP watch... what?! You’re Luke Combs, is that supposed to be a brag rap? I can accept being silly but when it comes in tiny flashes in an otherwise stale song, it stands out as tonally unfitting or just desperate. The duo really took the 2000s country pop throwback to its slightest detail as well, as unsubtle Auto-Tune is quietly smothered on some of Combs’ overly patched-up vocal. Why get Luke Combs on to practically take over the track, which ends with some cinematic petering off instead of an actual bridge or narrative resolution where the two can display any chemistry, if you’re going to take the soul out of his performance?

“I Had Some Help” was catchy enough to convince me somewhat on Post’s reinvention but the two following singles have demonstrated some wide open holes in how he approaches this genre, and how awfully the guest vocalists have been implemented. Part of that may be Louis Bell, whose production is fine but he and Post have yet to write any of these songs to have any impact or feel like anything more than a simple, breezy sing-a-long you don’t like but put up with when it plays on the radio during a road trip. Post’s uniquely ambivalent take on the country genre clearly comes from his history in pop-rap, but the last-minute clean-up has been slowly wearing thinner as more music from this album is released, and I am honestly worried that this upcoming album, which I was excited for previously, will end up just as faceless and subtly dysfunctional in the mode it wants to perceive itself in as this track was, purely for the sake of pushing Post headfirst into a trendy movement whilst sticking with songs short enough to gather virality, jeopardising the genuine chance it has to tell a story. I don’t like this song at all, and it has me really concerned if this malformed “duet” is what ends up being the last-ditch attempt at not having the Morgan collab overshadow the rollout entirely.

Conclusion

Yeah, it’s obvious who’s getting Worst of the Week here, though Central Cee’s “gen z luv” has genuine challenge from the Dishonourable Mention, “Lonely Road” by mgk and Jelly Roll. There was a lot this week that was pretty bad, though, but at least it was in an interesting way this time around, and there was a lot to balance it out: Charli xcx gets Best of the Week for “365” whilst Gigi Perez is trailing close behind with “Sailor Song” as the Honourable Mention. As for what’s on the horizon, Charli of course is coming with Billie but the rest may be a bit of an unexpected jumble of tracks - I can pray for Jamie xx and The Avalanches but it’s more likely we see some bubbling under songs get a good week to break through. For now though, thanks for reading, long live Cola Boyy and I’ll see you next week!

[whinlatter]

??? Wait what’s wrong with London boy? I love that song!

In The people v. London Boy, the International Criminal Court at the Hague found Taylor Alison Swift guilty of:

romanticising English men dragging you to the pub to watch rugby with their terrible friends, thereby doing irreparable harm to the long-suffering women on London’s heterosexual dating market

implying that walking around Camden Market in the afternoons is in any way a pleasant and/or relaxing activity rather than an extreme sport dodging tourists and goth teens (no offence to goth teens it’s just a lot of your clothes are really spiky)

endorsing Brixton nightlife (a night out mired in the fraught politics of South London’s gentrification dancing alongside the world’s rudest horse girls? I think not!)

inadvertently dragging Joe Alwyn for being a lil posh boy (‘took me back to Highgate’ — we get it Taylor! He’s asset rich!)

suggesting Shoreditch these days is anything other than a playpen for off-duty bankers and truly terrible DJs

inflicting upon the world the immortal line ‘but god I love the English’, thereby undoing decades of reckoning with the many sins of the British empire

Ms Swift was, however, cleared of the charge of promoting a toxic drinking culture, as the judge found that ‘drinking in the afternoon’ was, in fact, ‘very fun actually’

(also if you see me on a night out in Brixton throwing it back to this song no you didn’t 👀)