We're getting pretty close to the end of July, which is always a bit of a disappointing prospect. There's just not that much Summer left, folks. All the real big movie hits have come and gone (maybe not if some Space Weirdos have anything to say about it this week...), the best beach days are over, all our fireworks have exploded and it's time to gear up for that final stretch of basking in Sunny Glory. So, Summer Jams:
Hot Jam of the Week: "Back to the Shack" by Weezer
It's been a while since Weezer has unleashed a really fresh jam and this is an instantaneously classic addition to their oeuvre. I'm still torn whether or not it's really great to praise a song that sounds so genuinely like their old stuff or to criticise them for not really moving forward in a musically daring way. Well, it doesn't really matter as long as "Back to the Shack" is fun and catchy, which it is. Can we see a late run at Jam-status? I'd like to say so.
Get Washed: "Shower" by Becky G
This is really turning into my guilty pleasure Summer Jam love. Even if she's basically a completely non-threatening version of Miley Cyrus targeting the girls that Miley used to target, but devoid of any of her lyrical or vocal talent, I dig the epic sweeping nature to this bizarre yet conventional song topic. More far-too-thoughtful analysis of tracks like this to follow.
Butt Jam: "Wiggle" by Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg
I'll mention this every week until I get sick of it, or at least go a week without someone coming up to me saying "WIGGO WIGGO WIGGO!" See, what's important is to articulate the hashtag not as #wiggle but as #WIGGLEWIGGLEWIGGLE!. The instragram shout-out is key in what is probably the doofiest jam of summer. I think it gets a lot of its cache through the simple fact that whenever anyone needs to wiggle for any reason this summer, the only response is "WIGGO WIGGO WIGGO!" There, I said it three times now.
Horny Sadface: "Problem" by Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea
I'm sort of curious at this point whether or not this track will be remembered as an immortal Summer Jam or just a big joke. I guess I had a turn in my appreciation of this nonsense this week. Perhaps it's just getting to that point of being overplayed where it's not fresh or interesting anymore. Or maybe Ariana's complete disinterest in actually dancing to her own song and being excited to sing an exciting track is finally getting pretty old. "Problem" and "Fancy" have traded blows all summer, I'm curious now to see where they each end up.
Guy Love: "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith
Smith recently came out in an interview saying that this track is about his relationship with another dude. The world let go a collective "OBVI." and moved on. Smith can croon like a boss and by now he's definitively cornered the market on the grandiose uplifting love song of the Summer. Out of everyone here I can sort of see him landing the firmest career come Autumn. It helps that he's really not a novelty act.
How Rude: "Rude" by MAGIC!
This jam is still topping some charts, but I just don't think that anyone is really caring about it any more. I mean, do you? I was actually over their white guy pop reggae shit quite a while ago, but I don't think this has staying power. See that novelty thing I mentioned earlier? This is the epitome of the forgettable pop song.
The Sound of a Butt Farting: "Boom Clap" by Charli XCX
I mentioned "Boom Clap" here a while ago, but this jam exploded this week. Suddenly I heard it on airplay and mentioned in conversation everywhere and it's just the definition of the kind of hot streak this list is built for. I feel like mentioning this jam is also related (somehow) to The Fault in Our Stars (2014), which was really an underrated box office success this summer. What can "Boom Clap" do with the remaining five weeks of Summer? Charli XCX is finally getting some recognition after "Fancy" assured its place in our 2014 music lexicon and anything with Shailene Woodley is suddenly getting aten up. So, power to "Boom Clap," let's see how far those toilet sounds go.
Drippin Swagu: "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX
I couldn't resist! It's still hot! I heard this penetrating like, modern hip-hop stations and really mainstream parties. It's reached that maximum excess point where everyone knows that beat when it comes on. Everyone is starting to get "Fancy" and reacts about the same way - a slight cringe but then a smooth heady jam. It's proven itself to not really be going anywhere nor is it wearing out its welcome. It really is a spectacular Summer Jam that I have doubted about every week this year.
Next week...
We definitely have started to grow these fringe jams like Calvin Harris' "Summer," Nicki Minaj's "Pills N Potions," and Sia's "Chandelier" that just rotate getting kicked off the list each week. I am actually more curious if any of Weird Al's groundbreaking (is it? It's at least his first #1 album...) Mandatory Fun spawns more single-oriented jams instead of existing as one great opus. But who cares, really, Al changed the game last week and producing as much goofiness as possible is a whole lot better for his niche than dominating radio with one single. He's even changing my mind about this list - can "Tacky" be considered a great Summer Jam without a lot of airplay or even downloads? I dunno - what do you think?!
Hot Jam of the Week: "Back to the Shack" by Weezer
It's been a while since Weezer has unleashed a really fresh jam and this is an instantaneously classic addition to their oeuvre. I'm still torn whether or not it's really great to praise a song that sounds so genuinely like their old stuff or to criticise them for not really moving forward in a musically daring way. Well, it doesn't really matter as long as "Back to the Shack" is fun and catchy, which it is. Can we see a late run at Jam-status? I'd like to say so.
Get Washed: "Shower" by Becky G
This is really turning into my guilty pleasure Summer Jam love. Even if she's basically a completely non-threatening version of Miley Cyrus targeting the girls that Miley used to target, but devoid of any of her lyrical or vocal talent, I dig the epic sweeping nature to this bizarre yet conventional song topic. More far-too-thoughtful analysis of tracks like this to follow.
Butt Jam: "Wiggle" by Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg
I'll mention this every week until I get sick of it, or at least go a week without someone coming up to me saying "WIGGO WIGGO WIGGO!" See, what's important is to articulate the hashtag not as #wiggle but as #WIGGLEWIGGLEWIGGLE!. The instragram shout-out is key in what is probably the doofiest jam of summer. I think it gets a lot of its cache through the simple fact that whenever anyone needs to wiggle for any reason this summer, the only response is "WIGGO WIGGO WIGGO!" There, I said it three times now.
Horny Sadface: "Problem" by Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea
I'm sort of curious at this point whether or not this track will be remembered as an immortal Summer Jam or just a big joke. I guess I had a turn in my appreciation of this nonsense this week. Perhaps it's just getting to that point of being overplayed where it's not fresh or interesting anymore. Or maybe Ariana's complete disinterest in actually dancing to her own song and being excited to sing an exciting track is finally getting pretty old. "Problem" and "Fancy" have traded blows all summer, I'm curious now to see where they each end up.
Guy Love: "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith
Smith recently came out in an interview saying that this track is about his relationship with another dude. The world let go a collective "OBVI." and moved on. Smith can croon like a boss and by now he's definitively cornered the market on the grandiose uplifting love song of the Summer. Out of everyone here I can sort of see him landing the firmest career come Autumn. It helps that he's really not a novelty act.
How Rude: "Rude" by MAGIC!
This jam is still topping some charts, but I just don't think that anyone is really caring about it any more. I mean, do you? I was actually over their white guy pop reggae shit quite a while ago, but I don't think this has staying power. See that novelty thing I mentioned earlier? This is the epitome of the forgettable pop song.
The Sound of a Butt Farting: "Boom Clap" by Charli XCX
I mentioned "Boom Clap" here a while ago, but this jam exploded this week. Suddenly I heard it on airplay and mentioned in conversation everywhere and it's just the definition of the kind of hot streak this list is built for. I feel like mentioning this jam is also related (somehow) to The Fault in Our Stars (2014), which was really an underrated box office success this summer. What can "Boom Clap" do with the remaining five weeks of Summer? Charli XCX is finally getting some recognition after "Fancy" assured its place in our 2014 music lexicon and anything with Shailene Woodley is suddenly getting aten up. So, power to "Boom Clap," let's see how far those toilet sounds go.
Drippin Swagu: "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX
I couldn't resist! It's still hot! I heard this penetrating like, modern hip-hop stations and really mainstream parties. It's reached that maximum excess point where everyone knows that beat when it comes on. Everyone is starting to get "Fancy" and reacts about the same way - a slight cringe but then a smooth heady jam. It's proven itself to not really be going anywhere nor is it wearing out its welcome. It really is a spectacular Summer Jam that I have doubted about every week this year.
Next week...
We definitely have started to grow these fringe jams like Calvin Harris' "Summer," Nicki Minaj's "Pills N Potions," and Sia's "Chandelier" that just rotate getting kicked off the list each week. I am actually more curious if any of Weird Al's groundbreaking (is it? It's at least his first #1 album...) Mandatory Fun spawns more single-oriented jams instead of existing as one great opus. But who cares, really, Al changed the game last week and producing as much goofiness as possible is a whole lot better for his niche than dominating radio with one single. He's even changing my mind about this list - can "Tacky" be considered a great Summer Jam without a lot of airplay or even downloads? I dunno - what do you think?!
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