Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams – “Get Lucky” (Radio Edit)
Liam Green: This is the only song on the new Daft Punk record I like. And, there isn’t that much to it. WHICH IS WHY IT’S GOOD AND THE ALBUM IS NOT. Whoa. Gotta restrain that rant. Anyhow, Pharrell is, for me at least, usually a welcome presence on a song, so it’s cool to hear him over a fun, classic-funk-indebted track. The real star is Chic veteran Nile Rodgers on guitar, who along with Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MGs entirely created the funk guitar sound.
Pete Rizzo: This song sounds like a summer barbecue, smooth like BBQ sauce and oozing with fun like a pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade. I’ve never been a huge Daft Punk guy, but I’ve long been a closet disco fan (I own the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack on vinyl, 8-track, CD and digitally). So, in full disclosure, this is probably a preference, but I don’t think so. This will be this year’s summer song, one of those cross-genre hits like “Crazy” or “Feel Good Inc.”
Jake Roeschley: I’ve got to disagree that Pharrell is a welcome presence on this track, which is otherwise totally enjoyable. I mean, he’s a better choice than, say, Macklemore (how awesome would it be if we had three Macklemore songs on this list?), but I feel the vocals are completely stale. And if they don’t detract from the song, they’re at best neutral. Actually, I find myself preferring the Pharrell-less remix by Obenhaus.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton – “Can’t Hold Us”
PR: There’s a difference between deconstructed food and the ingredients. Macklemore is basically a bro-friendly, considerably less emotionally nuanced Atmosphere with Lil Wayne slurring abilities. Also, the last two transitions are basically Kanye’s “All of the Lights” and Gnarls Barkley’s “Run.” This is ingredients masquerading as a meal.
LG: Agreed on all counts. I can dig the beat for sure, but someone far better should be rapping on it. Imagine what Kendrick Lamar or Chance the Rapper could do with this. You would fucking die.
JR: Like most Macklemore songs, I find that this one is better listened to through headphones. This is not because I wanted to catch the detailed intricacies or anything, but because I’d be embarrassed for someone to overhear me listening to it. That said, it’s not all bad and the shameful part of me enjoys it on some level. It’s kind of like watching girl-on-girl porn in your mid-to-late twenties. You want to tell everyone you’re too mature for that, but who are you kidding? It’s pretty awesome. I can’t be the only one who thinks that way.
Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”
PR: Curious what Nickleback would sound like if they did EDM? Here you go. Also, the acoustic version of this sounds like Stone Temple Pilots, who are always bad to hear from unless you’re a smack dealer.
LG: Most people have made the comparison that Rizzo just made regarding this band, not in a positive sense. But folks seem to eat it the fuck up. The instrumental of this would be interesting – maybe, if Trent Reznor remixed it and replaced the terrible lyrics/vocals with his own.
JR: I’m trying hard to figure out just what the hell this song is about. I assume the lyrics are deeply metaphorical, but even taking that approach, this song makes no sense. The world’s been turned to ash, but the dude’s on a prison bus and fighting a revolution? Sure, phrases like “I’m radioactive” and “make my systems blow” sound cool in a rock song, but this is just nonsense. I find the song only works if you imagine it sung by Radioactive Man from The Simpsons.
Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX – “I Love It”
PR: What’s not to love about this? It’s pretty much all chorus and sounds like a car racing down a freeway bursting with confetti. It’s not nuanced but it doesn’t want to be – it’s made for radio domination and its been doing just that. Live and let live, and another hearty thanks to Lena Dunham.
LG: EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS IS PERFECT. More pop music should be brave enough to go this hard, brash and bratty, while still being wicked catchy. Also, I heard this well before it was on Girls. #humblebrag
JR: I’ve never seen Girls and I’ve known about this song since last year, so I guess I win this hashtag humblebrag contest. While I’m going to go ahead and agree that this song is excellent on pretty much every level, I do need to question why it’s still on any top music list. Didn’t everyone play this to death at their New Year’s parties?
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz – “Thrift Shop”
LG: The thing about this track is, most of Macklemore’s songs are much, much better than it. Which isn’t saying much, but the major problem is that it’s so clearly a novelty track. He wanted to make a joke song. I don’t think he had the same impulse on other songs, even if they too don’t fully work for various reasons. But, this one – yikes. It’s just facile. Come on, R. Kelly jokes? At this point?
PR: Yeah, I mean it’s pop gold, quotable and with a distinctive beat. Some girl is going to sweet talk your son by knowing all the lyrics to this in 20 years, that’s just a thing that’s going to happen.
LG: No, because my son will want to hear “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe.”
PR: This is future you.
JR: I’d made it a point to avoid ever hearing this song, knowing that it would add nothing to my life. That dream was rudely shattered a few weeks ago when I found myself in the basement of a douchey bar in downtown Boston, which is exactly the kind of place to expect to hear a song like this. If Rizzo’s prediction is true, I’m going to vow right now never to have children.
Selena Gomez – “Come and Get It”
LG: Because “I Love It” is on this list, all other dance-pop songs will suffer by comparison. That said, this is surprisingly good – not just by “former Disney star turned somewhat unwilling sexpot” standards. Her vocals are clearly being run through a Pro Tools meat grinder and are still better than they’ve got any right to be. The Indian sonic influences on the beat are also great. That said, would this end up on my top tracks of 2013 playlist? Fuck no.
PR: This is the producers flexing. It feels like they’re photo-bombing the song, trying to make a boring picture good and Selena is that girl who makes the same face in every shot. I guess it’s smart to avoid Bieber-bashing, but she is sleepwalking through this and the song is best enjoyed as a five-second preview, it’s not like you’re missing anything.
JR: I have an inexplicable crush on Selena Gomez and I’m not going to fuck that up by listening to her music.
Jake = + 10
Liam = -18