Well folks, we're in the middle of June and it's time for a bit of a shake-up. The tracks that have made it this far have a great chance to be anointed the Jam of Summer, and there's also some great tracks that have landed on their feet with plenty of opportunity to Jam through the rest of the Sunny Months.
Hot Track of the Week: "Run" by Flo Rida ft. RedFoo
This is a perfect Summer Song, and if it catches on there's no question it Jams to the top. Flo Rida is a Summer God, the beat is both fast, exciting, and innocuous enough to simultaneously exist in the background of anywhere and allow true jammers to focus in and groove. RedFoo of LMFAO and all his douchey glory has been everywhere since "Party Rock Anthem" King-Jammed last year and this track even recalls some of that song directly. And c'mon, that video is incredible. A big-tittied chick running on a beach is what Summer is all about. It's glorious.
Blue Collar Khalifa: "Work Hard Play Hard" by Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa is one of the most talented recent rapper, even though all he does is clearly smoke weed and party. This is a killer track though, and after starting the week at the MTV Movie Awards it's had a nice little upsurge. It exists in that perfect popular circle between rap and pop and its central thesis, work hard - play hard is a true anthem for an increasingly drunk professional generation.
Hanging Around: "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye ft. Kimbra
This track isn't as big as it was a few weeks ago, but it certainly still has a presence that we can't ignore this week. Its past its peak hotness, though, and while it will remain a very good song, it's about time for it to move over and let Carly Rae take her spot at the top of the charts.
The Station-Turner: "The Fighter" by Gym Class Heroes ft. Ryan Tedder
I really hate Travie McCoy. He's so trashy and really can't sing or rap anyway. Gym Class Heroes are the kind of band that sums up everything wrong with pop music, just full of corny, clichéd hooks that do little to advance culture. Anyway, this is a kind of typical song from these guys that almost sounds like a Bruno Mars-esque track, kind of reminiscent of last year's "Lighters," except lesser in every way. It should be pretty popular.
Let's Get Drunk: "We Are Young" by fun. ft. Janelle Monáe
After an absence the last few weeks, fun. comes back this week and this track was seemingly everywhere again. To their credit, the track is super-catchy and actually somewhat difficult to sing well. It's an apt zeitgeist song, full of hipster intoxication and less youthful rebellion than youthful assimilation into a shared shittiness. This of course requires nothing less than a party and hooking up with the drunkest chick at the bar. I heard little kids singing this song and it played at weddings - c'mon guys.
More Loud Obnoxious Beach Jams: "Starships" by Nicki Minaj
Okay Nicki, we get it - you're weird. Thanks for beating us over the head with that. While this isn't nearly as good as other great Summer Minaj tracks like "Your Love" or "Super Bass" it's still a good pump-up song, even if the lyrical content is fairly indecipherable. Has Nicki made the final transition from Rapper to Pop Goddess? She tends instead to continue walking the line, as her parallel jam "Beez in the Trap" would attest to.
The Greatest Rapper on Earth: "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber
I've seriously been hearing this track all the time on local hip-hop stations. What the hell is going on? This may be the Bieb's most mainstream hit in his lifetime and it's been pretty huge. I can get through the opening riffs but it's just downhill from there. It's just not right. I don't really have the writhing, seething hatred that most people have for the lil' guy and until this track he's been a novelty more than anything else. I think this is his Jam though, and considering the growth of its popularity and acceptance into the mainstream world outside of his typical fans (tiny girls who he's teaching to touch themselves for the first time) it's a fairly significant track.
The Female Bieber: "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen
Apparently after hearing this runner-up of Canadian Idol's track, Justin Bieber just had to give her a chance. That's right, Canadians helping Canadians - they are banding together to destroy us all with their inoffensive pop music. Carly Rae is blowing up so huge so fast though that it's tough to judge when the little bitch is going to burn out. For now though, "Call Me Maybe" remains a crack-like track for the Summer Months, eating up radio time, internet time, and magazine space everywhere. Who knows, maybe she'll have a career if anything else she does is as insanely catchy.
Next Week...
There's a lot more to go, folks. Not a whole lot of Rock Songs this week but I predict that one of these tracks we'll agree becomes the Jam of the Last Summer. Through Father's Day we'll have a pretty good idea of who's rising and falling - stay tuned!
Hot Track of the Week: "Run" by Flo Rida ft. RedFoo
This is a perfect Summer Song, and if it catches on there's no question it Jams to the top. Flo Rida is a Summer God, the beat is both fast, exciting, and innocuous enough to simultaneously exist in the background of anywhere and allow true jammers to focus in and groove. RedFoo of LMFAO and all his douchey glory has been everywhere since "Party Rock Anthem" King-Jammed last year and this track even recalls some of that song directly. And c'mon, that video is incredible. A big-tittied chick running on a beach is what Summer is all about. It's glorious.
Blue Collar Khalifa: "Work Hard Play Hard" by Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa is one of the most talented recent rapper, even though all he does is clearly smoke weed and party. This is a killer track though, and after starting the week at the MTV Movie Awards it's had a nice little upsurge. It exists in that perfect popular circle between rap and pop and its central thesis, work hard - play hard is a true anthem for an increasingly drunk professional generation.
Hanging Around: "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye ft. Kimbra
This track isn't as big as it was a few weeks ago, but it certainly still has a presence that we can't ignore this week. Its past its peak hotness, though, and while it will remain a very good song, it's about time for it to move over and let Carly Rae take her spot at the top of the charts.
The Station-Turner: "The Fighter" by Gym Class Heroes ft. Ryan Tedder
I really hate Travie McCoy. He's so trashy and really can't sing or rap anyway. Gym Class Heroes are the kind of band that sums up everything wrong with pop music, just full of corny, clichéd hooks that do little to advance culture. Anyway, this is a kind of typical song from these guys that almost sounds like a Bruno Mars-esque track, kind of reminiscent of last year's "Lighters," except lesser in every way. It should be pretty popular.
Let's Get Drunk: "We Are Young" by fun. ft. Janelle Monáe
After an absence the last few weeks, fun. comes back this week and this track was seemingly everywhere again. To their credit, the track is super-catchy and actually somewhat difficult to sing well. It's an apt zeitgeist song, full of hipster intoxication and less youthful rebellion than youthful assimilation into a shared shittiness. This of course requires nothing less than a party and hooking up with the drunkest chick at the bar. I heard little kids singing this song and it played at weddings - c'mon guys.
More Loud Obnoxious Beach Jams: "Starships" by Nicki Minaj
Okay Nicki, we get it - you're weird. Thanks for beating us over the head with that. While this isn't nearly as good as other great Summer Minaj tracks like "Your Love" or "Super Bass" it's still a good pump-up song, even if the lyrical content is fairly indecipherable. Has Nicki made the final transition from Rapper to Pop Goddess? She tends instead to continue walking the line, as her parallel jam "Beez in the Trap" would attest to.
The Greatest Rapper on Earth: "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber
The Female Bieber: "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen
Apparently after hearing this runner-up of Canadian Idol's track, Justin Bieber just had to give her a chance. That's right, Canadians helping Canadians - they are banding together to destroy us all with their inoffensive pop music. Carly Rae is blowing up so huge so fast though that it's tough to judge when the little bitch is going to burn out. For now though, "Call Me Maybe" remains a crack-like track for the Summer Months, eating up radio time, internet time, and magazine space everywhere. Who knows, maybe she'll have a career if anything else she does is as insanely catchy.
Next Week...
There's a lot more to go, folks. Not a whole lot of Rock Songs this week but I predict that one of these tracks we'll agree becomes the Jam of the Last Summer. Through Father's Day we'll have a pretty good idea of who's rising and falling - stay tuned!
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