Paris

Gotta Go Brush My Teeth

Paris by Ben Rector

Recommended by Carly

Everything about this song tells you to "feel good!" and I am helpless to refuse.

The grand opening, with the ooohs and Lady and the Tramp-style accordion, sets a distinctly romantic mood, and that warmth never goes away.

That guitar riff (later taken over by a piano) descends downward oh-so-gently, and I can't help thinking it's supposed to be a metaphor for falling in love. And falling back in love over and over and over again as it repeats in the background.

And you never really get tired of it. Because on top of that instrumental bit, you've got Ben Rector singing the sweetest lyrics about young love in the city of romance.

And you know he speaks right from the heart because of that dang music video. You're looking at Ben Rector and his wife, and that's real footage from their vacation in Paris (x). Icing on the cake.

Overview:

Genre:
Indie Pop Rock

Favorite Lyrics:
Young love feels like finding buried gold.

Verdict:
falling (back) in love with this guy

Through the Wire

The Suffering Artist

Through the Wire by Kanye West

"You try to record a song with your mouth wired shut."

Okay. Let's be real, though: I can't even record a song when I'm at 100%, so it's not really a fair comparison.

I did a little research, and it's true that Kanye recorded this song two weeks after a terrible car accident in which he broke his jaw in 3 places (x). Somehow, he manages to...speak really freaking clearly? Like???

Y'all, I'm glad this was Kanye's big break.

It foreshadows all that drama that his we've come to associate with his public persona, and it showcases his talents.

I mean, he turned a rough accident into something positive. Don't get me wrong, he sounds good on this track and the rhymes are good and the chorus good. But the most interesting thing is that his mouth is wired shut and it's called Through the Wire.

Is it a little gimmicky? I think so. But it's also pretty clever, and it definitely suits him.

Also a high point: the use of a sample from Chaka Khan's Through the Fire.

Kanye West is a master of The Sample. I already covered Blood on the Leaves on this blog, which is another really good example of his sampling sorcery. Untouchable.

Overview:

Genre:
Hip-Hop

Favorite Lyrics:
Make music that's fire,
spit my soul through the wire

Other Info:
This is a track from The College Dropout, Kanye's debut album which won a Grammy in 2004.

Ey Daad

بلک کتز - ای داد

Ey Daad by Black Cats

Recommended by Ciera D.

"There's no deeper significance for this song other than the lyrics and the video are really funny, and it's literally the best dance song lol."

I agree about the video and about this being an amazing dance song, and I'll take Ci's word for it about the lyrics being funny. The only phrase I understand is "ey daad" as "oh man - because Ciera told me.

A song with a title like that has to have a sense of humor.

So from my perspective - that is, from the perspective of a human with zero comprehension of the lyrics - this is a song about a bad break-up after which both parties go home and gather their respective crews to take to the rumble.

Face to face, the wronged woman confronts her ex about every mistake he made while his bros back him up. Then it's the man's turn to talk, while the ladies support their friend.

They trade rebuttals, and the situation escalates.

How did I do? That was a literal synopsis of the music video so...

Regardless, I dig the keytar.

Overview:

Genre:
Persian Pop

Verdict:
fun and funny

The Star-Spangled Banner

240 Years Young

The Star-Spangled Banner by Lady Gaga

I'm not trying to focus too much on this specific version, although I do think Lady Gaga's voice is incredible, and this arrangement with just a piano awesome. It's more about the song itself and its symbolism and all, you know?

This is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics were written by Francis Scott Key as he looked up at our flag during the war of 1812 (x).

The music predates Key's poem, and it's - ironically - from a British song by John Stafford Smith (x). We do that sometimes. Like how My Country 'Tis of Thee is set to the same melody as the British national anthem, God Save the Queen.

The Star-Spangled Banner didn't officially become the U.S. national anthem until 1931. A Maryland Congressman introduced the bill six times, and it failed to pass six times (x).

Finally, after a petition with 5 million signatures, it got through the House and the Senate and Hoover signed it into law (x).

And now we have this crazy anthem with lofty text and an extreme vocal range. I dig it.

Overview:

Genre:
Ballad

Verdict:
In 2005, the U.S. government sponsored the National Anthem Project because not enough adults knew the lyrics or history of The Star-Spangled Banner.

It really just isn't that catchy.

America, Fuck Yeah

Political Incorrectness

America, Fuck Yeah from Team America: World Police

Recommended by Kim C.

It's crude and offensive and repetitive, but that seems to be an unfortunately accurate representation of America. I mean, Trump might be president, and I think he might have ghost-written this song, so...

From the first second, however, it's obvious that the track is a completely self-aware parody, so don't get too bent out of shape over it. Just listen and laugh or, if that's not your speed, turn it off.

This is the theme song for a "2004 live-action puppet action comedy film," which has apparently received mostly positive reviews (x). I haven't seen it, but it sounds like it has that sense of humor where you're constantly asking yourself, "Am I allowed to laugh at this?"

Anyway, whatever this song is or isn't, as far as lyrical substance and musicianship, it is undeniably catchy. For better or worse, you will be singing this all of July 4th now.

Overview:

Genre:
Rock...ish

Favorite Lyrics:
listen...

Verdict:
it's fine

She's American

Happy 4th Weekend

She's American by The 1975

I can't tell if this is a dig on Americans or not.

If she says I gotta fix my teeth, then she's so American.

Are we shallow, or do English people just have terrible teeth? I don't know what this means. I'm inclined to go with the second one, but I mean...I'm American, so...

As usual with this band, I like the guitar over the drone. Do you call that a drone? That sort of hazy, dreamlike humming. It's the exact same at the beginning and end, where you can hear it without the guitar on top.

Anyway, Happy 4th Weekend!

Overview:

Genre:
Indie Rock / Pop

Favorite Lyrics:
There's no more water in this city,
but be careful or you'll drown.

July

Nothing Like the Rain in July

July ft Drake by Jhené Aiko

Recommended by Deja

"My birthday is in July so this song spoke to me."

This song is beautiful.

Aiko's voice is lovely and sweet, and it perfectly embodies the wistfulness of the lyrics. The harmonies, too, are so light that they give the song an ethereal vibe. Even if I didn't understand the words, the music alone portrays a sense of subtle sadness and a hint of fondness.

The lyrics tell the story of a summer fling that ended too soon, almost before it began. Drake's verses make up the narrative, and Aiko's chorus expresses her feelings, missing the warmth of summer. I like the chorus best, with all its poetry and emotion.

It gets a little weird for me at the very end.

I didn't notice it on the first listen because the sound of the song never changes, but the lyrics at the end shift from thoughtful and regretful to I'm too fly for this s***.

Then, stranger still, the last line is I am Japanese if you please.

Um?

Okay.

Anyway, that brings me to my last point. In the background of the track, you hear a repetitive 5-note riff. It's based on a pentatonic scale, which is found all over the world - notably in traditional Japanese music. Perhaps she threw in that last line to tie it all together.

Overview:

Genre:
R&B

Favorite Lyrics:
They always say the hottest love has the coldest end.