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08 June 2015

Summer Jam Week 5: Hey Mama Takes a Plunge

Good Monday, Planet Earth - it's time again to countdown the hottest jams of the week, and things are consolidating pretty damn nicely for the Summer. We're starting to really amp up into June, the Cottonwood's out, the Water Parks are open and it's time to get wet and weird! Let's dive in to the Hottest Jams of the past seven days!

Hot Jam of the Week: "Go Big or Go Home" by American Authors 



There were a lot of pretty shitty new songs floating around this week, but I decided to go with this shitty song. Nah, it's fun and catchy enough and it totally attempts to gain ownership on a nice vague phrase. After you listen to this embedded track you'll never hear this song again, and that's comforting, in its own way.

This Body Talks: "Talking Body" by Tove Lo

This track took a hearty dip this week, but it's still fairly ubiquitous. Like I started to do last week I've reached the saturation point with this jam where I'm actually getting past the peppy beat and pop-fueled chorus to understand how actually deep and desperate this song is. It's full of a lonely regrettable kind of relationship that gives into physicality while emotional states deteriorate. Let's put on some Andy Grammer instead.

Your Summer Ho Down: "Honey I'm Good" by Andy Grammer

See? These songs couldn't be more diametrically opposed. This is all about unrelenting positively and relationship satisfaction, which is kind of nutty song material. Usually love songs are about yearning, or courtship, or break-ups, not successful long-term steady couplings. That's messed up, man. I don't think this has the legs to cruise through the Summer Season, but for at least one more week, it shows its cheering face.

Your R&B Jam of the Week: "L$D" by A$AP Rocky

I'm not sure you'd call this traditional R&B, but I made a solemn vow to include at least one smooth jam on this countdown every week. This has a bit more intensity than say, the latest Montel Williams jam, but I actually dig it a lot. A$AP Rocky has a new album dropping and he's grossly underrated amongst our latest crop of rap gods. This is a sweet song that radically shifts course midway through and becomes something else entirely. Worth a listen, people. As for Jam Status? Well, we know it won't really appear again here.

Quarrelsome: "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar

While this is still crushing music video views, its spot on the Hot 100 actually dipped a place this week. It lost a bit of its novelty, but is still largely fantastic, and its position as Taylor's most pop song yet is a clear signal of her role as one of the hottest stars of the moment. The video is obviously extravagantly elegant, and I'm still excited that I only recognized Lena Dunham and Mariska Hargitay the first time around. I think this is still in a solid position to reign supreme this Summer, but it's getting to the point where it's going to have to act fast if it wants to do so.

Who Is Worth It? "Worth It" by Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink

Yes, I am just as surprised as you are. This track was everywhere this week after I had figured it to be largely dead. I still don't totally know who this video is intended for. The song is so steeped in meaningless pop with a vague female empowerment note, but the chicks, who all sound exactly alike somehow, are really just reduced to interchangeable sexual objects here. So, should young women be into this? Should young men? Old men? Probably old men. I love the dueling "worth it" songs going on right now, the other being The Weeknd's "Earned It" with its "Girl you perfect / You always worth it." Clearly The Weeknd is talking to Fifth Harmony, saying she's worth it, and she's like "yeah, I am."

Behold a Man: "Hey Mama" by David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, and Afrojack

You know what this is? A Nicki Minaj song. Why can't I just say "Hey Mama" by Nicki Minaj? I always complain about the amount of DJs and beat producers that soStmehow now work themselves into song credits. It just makes writing these things up a pain. I haven't even tracked this song yet this summer but it exploded this week on a variety of radio stations and the video's taking off pretty solidly as well. Dave Guetta has stiff planetary douchebag competition, but it feels like it's been a while since Nicki dipped into vocals this good, letting her Trinidadian girl out a bit. It's mad tight.

Redheads Come Home: "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon

So once again I give them the top spot, because even though another week has gone by and this song is still as ubiquitous as hell, I'm still liking it more each time I hear it. When we reach the point where that's the other way around, things might change. For now, though, we can all relish in the 80s-tinged pop-rock glory of this epic ode to not getting hung up on the little things. What a summer release! Leading the way for Summer Royalty right now, we won't be crushing to this nearly as hard come July, but right now it's tough to argue for anything else.

Next Week...

You know, "Uptown Funk" really made a comeback this week. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that it hasn't quite left yet, and I really should acknowledge that this should be somewhere on this countdown if it wasn't already ANCIENT. Speaking of ancient songs, I also wanted to tout this Vance joy track, which is getting some traction this week and although a weaker song than "Riptide," is totes enjoyable. I also left off "See You Again" this week because it has always felt past its prime, but was still getting played a ton lately. It kind of dipped this week and that was enough for me to spend valuable time talking about A$AP Rocky and Fifth Harmony. Stay tuned for more jams next week!

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