Monthly Report: July 2024 Singles
1. Lay Bankz - "Tell Ur Girlfriend"
I've been cranky about modern R&B hits sampling '90s R&B hits, especially multiple songs sampling the same track, and especially sampling Timbaland's classics. But I'm always happy to make exceptions if something sounds great, and "Tell Ur Girlfriend" makes even better use of a sample of Ginuwine's "Pony" than Lah Pat's 2023 hit "Rodeo." I hadn't really heard Lay Bankz before this song but I belatedly checked out her After 7 project and it's pretty cool and varied, some tracks even remind me of Dawn Richard. Here's the 2024 singles Spotify playlist that I update every month.
2. Ariana Grande - "The Boy Is Mine"
Likewise, I rolled my eyes when Ariana Grande borrowed the title of a '90s R&B classic for a track on her new album, and then drafted Brandy and Monica for a cameo in the video and features on the song's remix. But this song really bangs, I like it more every time I hear it. In a climate when even the biggest pop artists tend to abandon promoting an album after one or two hits, Ariana Grande is one of the only people left who consistently makes her 3rd singles stick.
3. Victoria Monet - "Alright"
I was starting to worry that Jaguar II wouldn't even get a 2nd hit when "On My Mama" was heading towards a year since its release. But Victoria Monet finally issued a follow-up single, and I think it was a good choice to go with the one Kaytranada production on the album, something clubby is a good contrast from the lush soulful D'Mile productions.
4. Billie Eilish - "Lunch"
The day after Hit Me Hard And Soft was released, my son's school held their annual spring carnival. I hadn't listened to the album yet, so the first time I heard "Lunch" was on a little boombox in an elementary school while we were doing a 'cake walk' (basically like musical chairs except when the music stops you stand on a number on the floor, and if your number is called you win a cake). Kind of a weird context in which to hear a thinly veiled song about oral sex for the first time, but it sounded good through radio static.
5. Lainey Wilson - "Hang Tight Honey"
Lainey Wilson is on a great hot streak right now, but "Hang Tight Honey" is about twice as fast as her biggest hits, so I don't know if country radio will embrace it. I hope I'm wrong, though, it's great.
6. Post Malone f/ Morgan Wallen - "I Had Some Help"
Post Malone and Morgan Wallen are both incredibly overexposed guys I generally dislike and sometimes grudgingly enjoy music from. Both also emerged relatively unscathed from saying the N-word on camera, which makes them even harder to like. I like "I Had Some Help," though, I think it's easily a top 5 song for both of them. It's a little funny as a two guy duet, it sounds like they're describing a relationship with each other, but if anything that makes the song better.
7. Isabel LaRosa - "Favorite"
This song intrigued me because it's got Dembow drums and one verse in Spanish but otherwise has a very 'dark pop' Billie Eilish sort of vibe. And it turns out Isabel LaRosa is a Cuban-American singer-songwriter from nearby Annapolis, Maryland, so I'm really rooting for her career now, it's an interesting fusion of influences.
8. Pearl Jam - "Wreckage"
"Dark Matter" and "Wreckage" are now Pearl Jam's first back-to-back #1s on the Mainstream Rock chart, and I think it's well earned, they really pulled off a classic 1-2 punch of a hard rocking lead single and a really catchy midtempo follow-up.
9. Dua Lipa - "Illusion"
Although I'm one of the few people who doesn't regard Radical Optimism as a disappointment or a misfire, "Illusion" was the song that took the longest to grow on me, partly because I really dislike the weird phasing effect on the "dance all night" backing vocals. That's mostly irritating on headphones, though, it mostly sounds fine on the radio, which is mostly where I hear this song now.
10. Camila Cabello f/ Lil Nas X - "He Knows"
I do regard C,XOXO as a misfire, but this song is one of the few moments where I think it totally works, I love how the drums skip along on this song.
The Worst Single of the Month: Artemas - "I Like The Way You Kiss Me"
This song has gone to #1 in over a dozen countries across Europe, so I supposed I should be grateful that it peaked at a relatively ignorable #12 in America. But ugh, this song has such a terrible vibe, even before I saw Artemas's terrible mustache.
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on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at 4:01 AM.
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