#LaCroix: Ed Sheeran - Bad Habits
J - So, this is not my favorite Ed Sheeran song from this year but I don’t hate this one as much as a lot of people seem to. That said, this is one of the most generic songs he’s ever put out. I kinda miss his older, folksier stuff. There’s 2 songs he put out this year which I’d consider some of my favorites of the whole year, but not this one unfortunately. It’s good but not great.
N - Not gonna lie, this was one of my plays on loop songs of this year… and that’s risky for me because it’s one of those on repeat songs that could make someone get tired of it…. But I don’t. Something about this song spoke to me this year, I don’t know if it’s my personal connection or what, but I’ve been a fan. You have a yes from me this week.
#Tryphena: Elton John & Dua Lipa - Cold Heart
J - Realistically, this song is just cheap pandering. It’s not original at all, this is just 3/4 Elton John songs mashed up together with a different beat thrown over it and Dua Lipa singing the hook of Rocket Man. But goddammit it’s REALLY GOOD cheap pandering. I will never get tired of Elton John OR Dua Lipa, they’re some of the best artists of their respective generations for damn good reason!
N - While I agree with Julian that EJ and Dua are some of the greats…. I just didn’t really connect to this song this year? I guess like… yes I agree it’s one of those songs that will define Music of 2021, and is a safe pick in my opinion… but I’ve just never been one to queue up this song specifically. It’s good though.
#Buttercup13: Sueco - Paralyzed
J - This is a song I've been meaning to get around to listening to. Now that I have, I'll say it was worth the wait! The new guard of the pop punk scene are pretty great and this is no exception, starts off nice and slow but when this goes off it's just fantastic. Awesome stuff!
N - First time listener myself, and it sold me. Each round I find a song to add to my Spotify likes… and we have our winner for this week!
#BrianGonzalez: Rosalia ft. The Weeknd - La Fama
J - I love Telepatia, and Abel is generally fantastic, so I got pretty hyped when I saw this! That beat took a bit of getting used to, but once it clicked for me I just shut my eyes and let myself get lost in her beautiful voice. I liked this!
N - First time listener to this as well, not gonna lie. This is the first week I can genuinely tell you I’m impressed. I agree with Julian, slow start at first, but I did save it to my songs on Spotify. Good work!
#Kiara_xoxo: Pink Pantheress - Break It Off
J - The song ended before I was able to come up with any sort of coherent opinion on it, but here's what I've got. This feels like it should go on for another minute or so, although I'm not entirely sure I want it to. I wasn't really feeling the beat and the echo was smothering at times. All in all this just didn't work for me, sorry!
N - Julian’s right, it’s short. I thought this was like a clip of the full song… but no. You’ve been doing so well and this one just feels like a cliffhanger or a tease, but it’s not a memorable pick for me this week. Good luck.
#FromAWindow: Conan Gray - Telepath
J - This carries all the weight of a breakup song performed by a guy who's never been in a relationship before. I don't hear much passion or heart in this. You know what I do hear though? Vocals so slathered in processing it sounded like he had multiple accents at once. And his voice in general is one I just couldn't stand. Combine that with a best that squeaks and chirps as much as his voice when it cracks at various points and you've got a song I thoroughly did not enjoy.
N - I read Julian’s comments before I hit play and I was expecting something totally different. Honestly… It does seem very 90’s teenage heartthrob for me… which I never combine any playlist with. The beat also gave me 80 workout video vibes.. Yeah.. not a good week.
#Smuguy2012: Post Malone & The Weeknd - One Right Now
J - Posty and Abel making a song together was such an obvious move, it's a wonder it took this long. Circles, Blinding Lights, and Save Your Tears are all damn near impossible to properly follow up but damn it did they ever try here! I like the beat and I love the way they sound together. Overall, everything combines to make a pretty solid track!
N - I love that you took my original advice in not picking an obvious song choice, because I wasn’t quite expecting this to make the submissions… and it WORKS. Julian’s right, they made some BANGERS this year that I did expect to see here, and this just hits well. See you next round! x
#Lukesaur: Rochelle Jordan - Dancing Elephants
J - This one didn't really interest me all that much. It's kinda vibey and spacey but without any real meat on it. It would probably be solid ambient driving music but for just a general listen this didn't really do much of anything for me.
N - I saw the artist/song title, I said “huh?”. I do think Julian’s right, it’s like a driving track for late night Uber drivers when the rider just wants to sit in silence in the backseat… and I’m sorry… it wouldn’t get the Uber driver a tip in my opinion.
#JayElVeeIsBack: Weezer - All My Favorite Songs
J - I recently gave this song a 4/5 when I had to rank it for a different community and yeah I think that holds up. I do really like this song and I relate hardcore to the lyrics. I wish the instrumentals went a bit harder though. I just feel like a song like this could really pop off, whether it's throughout or even just on the last chorus. Still very good though!
N - I genuinely wasn’t expecting Weezer this week, either. This song has always given me such an AJR vibe to it that makes me feel like it'd be better if they gave Weezer their “I’m Ready” in exchange for this. The song is good, though, but not one of my favorites of the year, so I’d side with Julian in giving you a mid 7-8/10 here.
#Brightongal: Jxdn - Better Off Dead
J - Ohhhh yeah. I've been reflecting on 2021 as a whole lately and something like this sums up how I feel about the experience pretty perfectly. I will absolutely be adding this one to playlists and coming back to it!
N - My recent songs in my apartment and drives to work have all been “better off dead” themed, but I hadn’t thought about this one. This one… I LOVE IT? Like you have a Spotify Save from me this week, Jess.
#Booyahhayoob: Daughtry - Heavy Is The Crown
J - Uh… Hello? ExCUSE me? Exactly WHEN did Daughtry decide it was time to let loose and ditch their usual soft rock/radio rock format stuff in favor of releasing actual bangers? I'm very familiar with Daughtry's back catalogue and I've always felt they were pretty good without being all that great (Home nonwithstanding) but this caught me very off guard in a good way! I'm not sure if this is gonna top my list due to a certain other song that's coming up but this was the biggest pleasant surprise!
N - Again, I read Julian’s commentary here before hitting play, and still before I hit play, I said “When the HELL did Daughtry release this year?” My guilty pleasure is that I was a Home/September/All These Lives kid in middle school. Fuck the “Nickelback phase”, mine was Daughtry as a tween. So I was excited to hit play…. And… It brought me back to those days. It fits the theme of 2021, it’s nowhere anywhere near what I expected, and honestly… I’m down. Is your crown heavy this week? We’ll see!
#Hunty: Gorrilaz ft. Jelani Blackman - Meanwhile…
J - I love Gorillaz normally but this one left me very confused. I do know they have the tendency to get weird with their music sometimes but this one isn't clicking like I really want it to. I spent a lot of time waiting for the song to really kick in but barely anything is going on here. I know they're so much better than this!
N - Another first time listen for me.. And honestly… I thought I was listening to a Youtube ad at first? Like it’s not a song I’d queue up, or really relate to myself. It’s something I’d probably accidentally button mash the “Skip ad in 5 seconds..” button thinking it wasn’t a song. I think there’s more options you could have went with for this week to keep you safe.
#iindsay: Doja Cat - Need To Know
J - Now this is MUCH better from you! I've been on board with Doja Cat from the start and have yet to really hear a song from her I didn't like. This one's pretty a straightforward sex jam, which is risky territory for me because I don't like a lot of sexual content (ace life!) unless it's done just right. I think this does work for me though!
N - A song I expected, but enjoy. Is it my favorite this week? No. Is it bad? Also no. I think it was a safe pick, I do have it saved already, I do queue it sometimes, but it’s also not one I’d have on repeat or scream fandom for.
#Bigbrotherlover7: Polo G - Rapstar
J - If I was making a list of my favorite hit songs from 2021, this would 100% be on it and there's a non-0 chance that this tops it. Rap is not my genre and sometimes it takes a while for certain songs to click for me. I got this one INSTANTLY and have loved it since the day it came out. I could talk for ages about my thoughts on this song, I don't even know how well I could tackle all the nuances of this, but I'll try to keep it brief. I hear stuff like "Popstar" or "Rockstar" and know they're just fantasies. This is more real. You can feel the weight as Polo G flexes in the hook where it all feels so empty and hollow, and on the verses you can feel his pain and trauma from the life he has to lead while having a platform that makes it harder to be genuine and find real support. I have so much love for this song.
N - So you discussed your options with me, most being from 2020, and landed on this. When I got home from work I saw Julian’s snap where he was SO happy you picked this.. I – it’s a song I see us listening to late at night or driving to a poker room for sure. Do I like it? Yeah. Would I queue it myself?... 60% odds, run it twice. Will it hold?
#Mrkkkkyle: AronChupa & Little Sis Nora - Trombone
J - This reminded me a lot of AronChupa's other big song about Albatross or whatever. I like that song and this was pretty good too! It's always nice to hear a bit of brass in 2021! Not much else to say really other than it's good and I liked it!
N - I read Julian’s commentary here before playing, and oh god I was just playing Albatross the other night. I DID get Albatross vibes!!! AND I WAS SINGING ALONG TO THIS?! Good shit, Reynolds… but is it my favorite this week?
Yeah so, uh, we have a bit of an issue. You'll see a bit more of what I mean when you see our personal rankings but... There is no solid, definitive #1 this week because...
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When we average our our rankings for the week, we actually have a 3 way tie between #Bigbrotherlover7 #Booyahhayoob
and #Brightongal
Either way, congratulations you 3, you all SLAYED us this week!
As for the people who very much did not slay, and will be taking part in our first face-off of the season...
The first one is the person who finished bottom in the episode's rankings, that being...
Kiara_xoxo
and the second person is the person who is in last in the overall rankings. That being...
Hunty
#Kiara_xoxo vs #Hunty. What we need from both of you now is to MAIL a song to myself and Yswimmer96 that fits the theme of the round (2021) and we will judge it the same as we have for the round proper, and decide your fates. Good luck!
This is due at 7pm EST
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