This Month On Shuffle (August 2022)
The first in a monthly song review series in tribute to the now retired Singles Jukebox.
If you’ve been around pop music discourse online, you’ve likely heard of the website The Singles Jukebox. Once a magazine column for Stylus magazine in 2004, then an independently run website where music writers write small “blurbs” about the pop songs of the moment. It hosted a huge variety of writers, whether they were independent or writers for other publications like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. It also included me! I joined at the end of 2020 and used it as a hub to write about songs outside of this blog.
It’s been incredibly rewarding to be a part of this roster, and it’s also really sad to know that after sixteen years, the site is finally being retired. It had been a long time coming, but it’s still sad to see it go. Such an incredible legacy for its writers and its love of all music, mainstream or otherwise. Though the site may no longer be updating, I still wanted to keep this site’s spirit alive in my own way.
I’ve done stuff like this before. A roundup of songs I’ve been listening to for the past month. I enjoyed making them, but always felt pressured by the end of the month because I got busy with other things and often got carried away with what I wanted to write about. Since then, I’ve learned to condense my writing and not overdo it with unnecessary detail or excessive tangents. As such, I think I'm ready to tackle this kind of monthly thing again, with a few rules for myself. One, I have to write about these songs in under 300 words. That tended to be how many words my longest blurbs were so I think that’s a good compromise. Second, I have no set date on when these are released. Just as long as it’s within the first week of the new month. That way I don’t feel pressured to finish it all in one go for the sake of meeting a deadline. Finally, only twenty songs a month. No more, no less. Even if there aren’t twenty relevant songs I can come up with, I can go back to songs that just re-entered my mind for whatever reason this month. Changed opinions, reflecting on the past, just whatever I wanna talk about!
Dance Now by JID ft. Kenny Mason
My favorite rap song of the year so far. JID has always worn his influences on his sleeve, but on “Dance Now” he flexes his technical craft and unpredictability with an infectious beat and unmatched confidence that makes every second of this song land. From the many shifts in his voice to the mix of snarly rapping and ominous choir, and the lyrics that are as celebratory as they are foreboding. But most of all, I just can’t get enough of this song. Tons of little moments light up my brain and stick with me even after the song’s over. Easily living up to the potential I always saw in JID.
Take It Like A Man by Amanda Shires
Amanda Shires is a force of nature. She takes the concept of the “mad woman” and finds empowerment in embracing her own anger. Anger and bitterness that comes from the oppressive systems that want to keep women like her submissive to the patriarchy, but also from being hurt by those closest to her. A good chunk of the album expresses frustrations over the time her marriage with Jason Isbell teetered by the rocks, and though it’s something they’ve moved on from, it’s also something that still stings in every wound. It’s why the orchestral swell and bellowing vocals feel so cathartic. It finds power in its own vulnerability. “Taking it like a man” means embracing the damage regardless of what’s expected from you. For Amanda, that’s not taking it quietly. And holy shit, when this song really does find that moment of catharsis, like the violin lead-in to Isbell’s furious guitar solo, it’s something incredible to witness.
World’s Smallest Violin by AJR
So I guess my “AJR Apologist” era isn’t completely over. Unlike “Bang!” and “Way Less Sad” though, I think it’s easier to defend my love for this one. Production-wise, “World’s Smallest Violin” is one of the more creative and coherent songs AJR has ever made. The melodies and compositions are clear, they don’t feel cluttered or overproduced, the pitch-shifted solos are brief and not overbearing, and the constant marching snare in the back gives the song an excellent rhythm that gets stuck in your head the more you listen to it. And I like what the song’s about too! For once, AJR confronts their imposter syndrome and stunted growth and admits they want to feel validated because they’re constantly insecure and in need of reassurance. But it’s never in a whiny, self-serving way, as they concede other people have it worse and their problems are pretty insular. Still, they can’t feel better about themselves if they can’t talk about it, as keeping everything in just escalates their mind and causes it to explode. Hence, the fast-paced, chaotic outro. I think it works really well! I hope the next album they can get over this mentality and show the growth that comes from dealing with their insecurities head-on, but based on their actually new single… probably not.
Swang by Rae Sremmurd
A while back I searched through my old tweets to make fun of myself for disliking this song so much, and it was only then it occurred to me how needlessly pressed I was about it., continuously tweeting about my hatred for it and praying on its downfall as it became a big hit. Which in retrospect was incredibly unhealthy. I was clearly projecting something and feeling the need to make it everyone’s business. Years later, I find myself revisiting this song and realizing, “Yeah, this was good the whole time”. What was once a slog of a beat that made me miserable, is in all honesty a fascinating sludge of bass and horns that while not “exciting”, still drew me to the song’s lethargic energy. Swae Lee’s falsetto is… still bad, but also fun to mock, so who cares? Learning to let go of that “stick in the mud” attitude with songs like this and accepting its vibe for what it is made it soooo much easier to enjoy it. I was wrong, and I’m happy to be.
PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA by Beyoncé
This was my favorite song off of RENAISSANCE the instant I heard it. There are so many catchy, fun moments for the club on this album, but Beyoncé making a hypnotic sex jam describing all the ways the two of you complete each other is on a whole other level. The production is sweet and elegantly effortless, Beyoncé’s soft cooing is as comforting as it is sexy, and it’s great to hear a Beyoncé song where it feels like she’s on an equal playing field with the person she’s singing about. It’s a song where both of you are deeply in love and can’t live without one another, and she sells it with those incredible harmonies. Easily my favorite part is when she says you’re so cool… even though she’s cooler than you, followed by a playful giggle. Pardon the crassness, but that part is unbelievably sexy. The perfect kind of playful remark that shows the attraction isn’t just physical. But it helps…
Bad Habit by Steve Lacy
There's something so deliciously infectious about the way Steve Lacy sings, "I wish I knew you wanted me". It's a lyric that's been stuck in my brain ever since I first heard it. It matches the mix of euphoria and disappointment that comes with learning someone was interested in you, but it's been long enough that they've moved on from it. In a way, the song almost feels like a dream. Especially with the languid guitar and squealing synths giving a very lax, lovestruck feel you can only get with unrequited (rerequited?) love. Plus, the switch-up at the end with the buzzy percussion that almost sounds like beatboxing is a great change of pace. It reminds me a lot of something you would hear on Flower Boy, actually. An album he was in this whole time, in fact! Always exciting to see a longtime artist and collaborator catch their big break with an outstanding song. (This blurb is also featured on The Singles Jukebox)
Betty (Get Money) by Yung Gravy
Yung Gravy had to get his big break eventually. Shame it wasn’t with “oops!”, but “Betty (Get Money)” is still just as delightfully corny as all his other best songs. I was worried the “Never Gonna Give You Up” sample would be too corny, but the producer actually does a great job chopping the song up into its own beat to fit Gravy’s goofy bars and make the song more than its sample. The gimmick is part of the appeal, but Gravy is still a likable enough rapper that you come back to the song regardless. Something about the group of girls chanting before the second chorus makes me even more sure of Gravy’s excellence as a performer. He just has that charisma, where even his stupidest, most headass moments come off as legit awesome. I’ll always root for this guy, and will stand up for him when that inevitable backlash shows up.
Oklahoma Smokeshow by Zach Bryan
Zach Bryan has been ruling my year with American Heartbreak alone, and yet a few months later we’re blessed with an EP of even more songs that are just as good as the best on the album. “Oklahoma Smokeshow” stands out as my favorite, mainly for tapping into that simmering darkness that I loved Elisabeth-era Zach Bryan for. A song about a small-town girl with big dreams, but unable to escape her hometown because of the cruelty of the bigger world. Shitty partners, vices that take over your life even when they aren’t yours, and just a general feeling of being trapped in the only place you feel safe. This unsettling darkness is especially evident in Zach’s raspy growl and the grizzly howl of the guitars in the song. That solo right before the final refrain is a truly incredible moment that revels in the thrill, even as it ends with a defeated acceptance of where you are.
Stay With Me by Calvin Harris ft. Halsey, Justin Timberlake & Pharrell
One of those collabs that seem weird on paper, but works wonderfully in execution; exactly what makes Funk Wav Calvin Harris such a delight. Justin Timberlake, even this far into his career, can knock out this brand of funk in his sleep, but it’s Halsey’s flirty chorus that makes this even more of a wonderful surprise. She doesn’t get to do much, but her presence is still baked into every facet of this fun summer love song. Pharrell acting as the smooth-voiced hypeman once again helps too! (This blurb is also featured on The Singles Jukebox)
Mary On A Cross by Ghost
It’s surreal to see Ghost standing alongside Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, and Drake on the Spotify charts, but I always knew Ghost was overdue for a viral hit. “Mary On A Cross” is a perfect choice for it too! I may prefer the A-side of that seven-inch single, “Kiss The Go-Goat”, but this is still a classic form of Ghost that was sadly missing in a lot of IMPERA. The merry-go-round of organs and guitars, Tobias’ grand vocals, and a splash of late 60s/early 70s rock that perfected the immense scale Ghost were known for while giving it the hint of pop theatricality that caused them to break through the metal barrier and find an audience outside of it. It’s the soundtrack to a pretty great TikTok trend too! Whether it’s sharing the art that’s made the biggest impact on you or defying the negative expectations people have of you or something you love. I love it!
Everything by Rod Wave
One thing I’ve always wanted to hear from Rod Wave is what would happen if he tried to make a country/trap/soul fusion. He already uses steel guitars on songs like “Street Runner”, and with his melodic format, he would be a great fit for an excellent country ballad. To my pleasant surprise, he did so on a few songs on Beautiful Mind! “Forever” is also an excellent song, but I think I prefer “Everything” just a tad more. Mainly because there’s a fiddle front and center of this song, and it sounds amazing. Rod Wave sings his heart out over a complicated relationship about to burn, and though structurally it’s more of the same, the more organic instrumentation and the fiddle taking the lead adds so much to a song we’ve heard before. It’s frantic but still beautiful.
Lone Wolf by Eric Church
Eric Church’s excellent EP & is finally out on all streaming platforms, with “Doing Life With Me” becoming an official radio single! Part of me felt kind of bad that despite praising the EP on this blog, I never covered any of the songs that were previously exclusive to the Church Choir. My favorite songs just happened to be the pre-released singles. So I’ll tell you about my favorite deepcut on the album, “Lone Wolf”. A triumphant song where Eric Church takes stock of his “lone wolf” persona, one that has colored his music for years, and finds joy in knowing he’s no longer alone and has someone in his corner to be there for him at his lowest. You can pretty easily assume that person is his wife, but you can just as easily interpret it as a form of gratitude towards his fans. I see it as a celebration of Church’s legacy, embracing the persona that made him famous but showing the growth he’s gone through since. Plus, with those grand guitar flourishes and touches of gospel on the hook, it’s one hell of a way to send off a love letter to the fans.
5 Foot 9 by Tyler Hubbard
There’s a trend in Nashville radio right now that once you notice it, you can’t unhear it. It’s this lazy songwriting trick where songs devolve into listing nostalgic things deemed as “country” as a substitute for actual writing. It lists all the stuff like drinking beer, traveling on dirt roads, wearing boots, trucks, and everything you expect from hacky Nashville writers looking to get an easy radio hit. Which is why it’s frustrating that as lazy as the writing on Tyler Hubbard’s first solo single is, I’m actually really charmed by it! I think it’s mostly in his voice, which is so naturally charismatic, and clearly loves everything he sings about, especially the five-foot-nine girl in question. It’s specific enough to believe a human wrote it instead of an algorithm, but it’s also just a nice-sounding song with a lighthearted energy that’s easy to like. Florida Georgia Line was always at their best when leaning into their uplifting, breezy personalities, and I think Tyler Hubbard took that lesson to heart. It’s similar to the lovestruck goofiness of “Simple”, and while I don’t think “5 Foot 9” beats that song, it’s still a song I can’t help but smile to whenever it comes on.
STAYING ALIVE by DJ Khaled ft. Drake & Lil Baby
Side note: Why is this video’s aspect ratio so wide???
Worst DJ Khaled and Drake collab to date. This beat is DISTRESSINGLY bad. It's one thing for this song to not even have a trace of disco influence, but the beat itself is so flimsy and empty it sounds like a preset. Drake is so badly implemented that his vocals sound like the acapella version of itself. Him lazily singing "Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin' alive" with his trademark monotone is so forced it's not even ironically funny. Lil Baby is clearly just here for the favor. The whole song reeks of hack work. Another instance of Khaled desperate to keep the meme alive through his Drake leverage and stupid videos to convince you that maybe he's still funny and worth buying into his "success" bullshit. I’m ready to stop dignifying this clown when you are. (This blurb is also featured on The Singles Jukebox)
Quevedo: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52 by Bizarrap & Quevedo
I’ve heard about the “Bzrap Music Sessions” series from my friend Rodrigo, which has quietly been one of the biggest phenomena in pop music overseas. It’s interesting to hear about a phenomenon that is huge all over the world that hasn’t really made a splash in my own country until recently. I want to listen to the other fifty-one sessions at some point to get more of an idea of what it’s about, but “Quevedo” is a really solid start! Latin music has been having a boom blending its own genres with EDM, and this song being a straightforward club jam with its own drop and flashy synths isn’t new, but it’s really well done and incredibly catchy! There’s something really infectious about the way the drum leads into the chorus, and Quevedo shouts, “QUEEEEEEEDATE” as the beat pulsates behind him. It’s a really fun song! One I’m glad to see make its way onto the Hot 100, even if I doubt it’ll be bigger than where it is now.
Got Weird by dodie
Sometimes I forget that dodie released an album last year. Not that the album was bad by any means, but over time I’ve realized the songs from her I like the most are the lowkey bops that flirt with a bouncy pop feel while still having her trademark quiet yearning. I think that’s why “Got Weird” gripped me a lot more than my favorite song of hers last year, “When”. It’s a bouncy, awkward song about dodie dating a girl and getting overwhelmed with her weird feelings and gay panic, spurred on the hardest when they start making out. You can kind of hear a Billie Eilish influence throughout, especially when the bridge slows into a spooky, bassy dirge, but it’s definitely more of an influence than an outright copy. The way she describes spilling on herself and “playing the man” in order to impress this girl is still very dodie, and rather than make the song edgy and uncomfortable like Billie would, she just emphasizes the silliness of it all. But still, that bridge comes up and that gay panic goes from cute to genuinely scary. I certainly relate to getting those weird, scary feelings when I get uncomfortable with my queerness. In a way, I find that comforting!
Longneck Way To Go by Midland & Jon Pardi
I’m not much of a drinker, but I can never get enough of a good drinking song. This year’s winner easily goes to “Longneck Way To Go”, a joyous neotraditional twanger full of wailing synth and jammy guitars that takes the heartbreak they’re going through and raises a glass in hopes of finding a better tomorrow. The song itself is your typical “drink your sorrows away” drinking song, but Midland and Pardi’s knack for gorgeous neotraditional production makes this otherwise miserable experience one of the most fun and lighthearted songs I’ve heard all year. In a way, it’s the light at the end of a dark tunnel that in reality doesn’t end, but at least you can find comfort in the light while it’s there. Hearing Midland and Pardi harmonize that chorus is seriously one of the most infectious moments of the year, even if the phrase “longneck way to go” would sound stupid coming from anyone else. But the enthusiasm is what makes it all work.
wait in the truck by HARDY ft. Lainey Wilson
HARDY as an artist is interesting to me. Some of his best songs as a lead or as a co-writer show a ton of potential to be one of the best storytellers in Nashville, but he wastes a lot of that potential making loud, abrasive songs that are neither flattering nor fun. I’m often inclined to be cynical about his rise as an in-demand songwriter. But every now and then, he gets a shining moment that reminds me that he really is capable of making some fantastic music. “wait in the truck” was not what I expected when I first heard it. A very frank and brutal song about HARDY running into a woman running away after being abused by her boyfriend. HARDY decides to take matters into his own hands and straight up kills the abuser. It’s an action that lands him in jail for the rest of his life, but one that ends up saving the abused girl in the long run. There’s an intense, almost rock-like scale to the production of this song, especially when the gospel kicks in right at the end. It risks being preachy or self-aggrandizing, but I think it’s dark and detailed enough to just be a story rather than a martyring. Either way, it’s excellent, with great performances from HARDY and Lainey Wilson to boot. Sending this to radio is a bold move. I wish them luck!
Rock And A Hard Place by Bailey Zimmerman
I’ve been similarly cynical/interested in the rise of Bailey Zimmerman. I’ll fully admit I do not like his breakout hit, “Fall In Love”, and was ready to assume this was just Nashville’s attempt at making a version of Morgan Wallen who doesn’t have controversial baggage attached to him (yet). But then this song came out, one that’s persisted as a huge streaming hit with no radio help alongside Zach Bryan’s “Something In The Orange”. Personally, I think this is a massive improvement. His gritty vocals work great for this bitter, desperate heartbreak song and the lyrics make it feel like a mutual failure between the two partners. Said desperation alongside the wailing production works incredibly well to sell the drama of this song, and I buy Zimmerman’s anger and disappointment a lot more here than I did in “Fall In Love”. It still can’t help but feel like it’s resting in Wallen’s shadow, but at the same time, I can only hold that against Zimmerman so many times. I’m fine to just admit the song is great and he has a ton of potential I’d love to see come through in other songs.
Lucky Ducks from the Bob’s Burgers Movie
Every now and then, I end up hyperfixating on a song less because of the song itself, and more for the visuals attached to it. Usually, they’re in the form of Youtube videos, but really, they can come from anywhere. For instance this song from the Bob’s Burgers Movie (very enjoyable movie btw!). I’m always a sucker for this sort of ensemble musical number, especially if it happens to be about a rag-tag group of [insert caricature here]. But something about “Lucky Ducks” especially keeps me coming back. And it’s mostly how the animators animate the choreography for this song. It’s not flashy or elaborate like most musicals are. Instead, the dance moves are really silly and move in a strange, liquid movement that I find genuinely hypnotizing. They’re meant to simulate what a spontaneous dance number would actually look like without elaborate choreography, and I find this unbelievably charming! Just seeing these goofy designs make these fun little movements to this jaunty song about underpaid carnies is so much fun! I can’t get enough of their little dances and the way they jump around like idiots to the beat of the song. I wish it didn’t end abruptly though, cuz otherwise, it’d genuinely be one of my favorite music moments of the year.
You can listen to all these songs on Spotify or Youtube!
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