Song #18: Lil Wayne feat. Static Major - "Lollipop"

Song #18: Lil Wayne feat. Static Major - "Lollipop" (2008)

Tha Carter III

"Shawty said the nigga that she wit can't hit. Well, shawty, I'mma hit it, hit it like I can't miss."

Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" is one of the best contemporary rap songs I have yet to hear. The song is simultaneously great for the club, being incredibly infectious and easy to dance to, while also being passionate and romantic. It's the rare song you can dance and make-love to, with its presence never too graphic and vulgar so intimacy isn't disrupted, nor too sappy and gooey that it couldn't masquerade as a great dance track.

The song features the talents of the late Static Major, who provides help for the song on the chorus, and tragically died before the song was even released. Wayne and Major help create a song that remains lyrically potent and addicting for a whomping five minutes in length, never tiring or becoming too monotonous.

Make no mistake, however, for this song is a bit dirtier than your average romance song. Yet in its expression of intimate and rather dirty lovemaking, never is the song cynically vulgar or offputting in its illustrations of affection. It's also an unbelievably well-produced song, with the production by Deezle and Jim Jonsin making the song incredibly easy to listen to and never too bombastic in style or structure.

Never being a die-hard fan of Wayne's music other than sporadic songs, I was amazed at how affected I was by "Lollipop" on a deeper sense, especially when I chose to revisit it in January 2014. Its visceral qualities make it one of the most exuberant and soulful rap songs of the 2000's decade.

Give "Lollipop" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsgrcYGDvmY

Song #19: Gary Numan - "Metal"

Song #19: Gary Numan - "Metal" (1979)

The Pleasure Principle

"Picture this, if I could make the change, I'd love to pull the wires from the wall." 

Gary Numan's "Metal" is one of his many songs that concern the frightening disconnect between humans and androids/robots. The song concerns an android, who's longtime desire to become human is only disrupted by the burdening thought that his wish will never be and that his life will be confined to the cold, unfeeling sense of a robot.

Numan conducts "Metal" with the similar techniques he uses to make his other tracks work so well. He makes "Metal" so aesthetically original and different from anything else that we've heard before, utilizing innovative synthesizers and intricate sound mixing in order to make a technically sublime song. Numan also infuses the track with frighteningly potent and contemplative ideas about the capability of our technology and where it may be taking us and what it may be feeling.

The tone of the song, while more alive and optimistic, still manages to communicate darker, bleaker vibes that Numan often conveys, and works to complement Numan's Pleasure Principle album, a piece made up of some of his best work. "Metal" is one of the few songs on the album that includes lyrics by Numan, sung in a typically monotone and droning form. This is a profoundly underrated piece of 1970's/1980's new wave music.

Give "Metal" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpBUmS5em0w

Song #20: K'naan - "Wavin' Flag"

Song #20: K'naan - "Wavin' Flag" (2009)

Troubadour

"So we'll patiently wait for that faithful day. It's not far away, but for now we'll say..."

If there's a song that begs to be the anthem for perseverance, persistency, the dream or success, freedom, and even civil disobedience, it's "Wavin' Flag" by the Somali-Canadian musician K'naan. I remember first hearing "Wavin' Flag" when I was home sick from school. Upon hearing it for the first time, I replayed it an additional four, each time feeling empowered and invigorated with a sense of unforeseen gusto and determination to do whatever I pleased.

The song is presented to us with a wonderful array of sharp but not bombastic production values and a wickedly infectious chorus, which recites the poetic lines, "When I get older, I will be stronger, they'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag." Right off the bat, those words, their meaning, and their delivery should inspire anyone with a heart to either shoot for the stars or try to make a difference. The song owes itself to the numerous countries in the world fighting for religious freedom, political/religious persecution, or whatever it may be.

The song was used effectively in the trailer for the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, was the theme song for encouragement and reconstruction after the devastating earthquake his the impoverished country of Haiti, and even the theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, selected by Coca-Cola. To this, "Wavin' Flag" still captivates me and is my personal favorite song showing empowerment and spreading the message of courage, bravery, and the incorruptible aspirations of freedom.

Give "Wavin' Flag" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_03ifD7l4

Song #21: Hank Williams III - "Six Pack of Beer"

Song #21: Hank Williams III - "Six Pack of Beer" (2008)

Damn Right, Rebel Proud

"Well, workin' real hard ain't hard to do, when you got you a lot of money comin' to you. But I ain't got a dime, so I'll just sit here. Even though I'm broke, I got a six pack of beer."

Much like John Conlee's "Common Man" (number eighty-three on "The One-Hundred Songs of Steve Pulaski"), Hank Williams III's "Six Pack of Beer" illustrates a common-ground on which many blue collar folks can relate. The song concerns III, likely in a state of reflection and intimacy with himself, stating how he lives in a shack on a dirty road in the country, making little cash, but still finds enough pocket change that amounts to the price of a six pack of beer. The song isn't about alcoholism, nor is it about addiction, but it's rather about being able to salvage what little money you have, that really should be put to other things, to something that provides one with great pleasure and solace. 

III's vocals are top-notch on this track, briskly-paced and raspy, put to an effective banjo instrumentation. This was the very first song by III I had ever heard. One Sunday morning in May 2010, I remember paging through a Best Buy catalog and seeing a picture for Hank Williams III's new album Rebel Within, which was due out that coming Tuesday. I immediately grabbed my phone and looked up other songs by Hank Williams III, quickly finding "Six Pack of Beer," picking it because I felt the title alone could spawn a great song, and played it loud. Before I knew it, I downloaded half the songs from III's albums Damn Right, Rebel Proud (the album this particular song is on) and Straight to Hell. I loved III's brand of outlaw, neotraditional country, uncompromising to the manufactured and plastic sound of contemporary Nashville and pop country music, and basking in the light of the pioneering outlaw/heartbreak country songs the genre was predicated off.

To this day, Hank Williams III remains one of my favorite working artists and "Six Pack of Beer" is a testament to his character and his work at keeping a genre alive. Here's to earning it.

Give "Six Pack of Beer" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CuC-r0wwpg

Song #22: Billy Joel - "Piano Man"

Song #22: Billy Joel - "Piano Man" (1973)

Piano Man

"He said, 'son, can you play me a memory? I'm not really sure how it goes, but it's sad and it's sweet, and I knew it complete, when I wore a younger man's clothes.'"

"And a waitress is practicing politics as a businessman slowly gets stoned; yeah, they're sharing a drink they call 'loneliness,' cause it's better than drinking 'alone.'"  

"And the piano it sounds like a carnival and the microphone smells like a beer. And they sit at the bar, and put bread in my jar, and say, 'man, what are you doin' here?'"

Billy Joel's "Piano Man" is a song I've heard an upwards of about twenty-five times and I'm pretty sure I've cried each time. I need to brace myself before listening to the song, as it generates compelling and unthinkably potent emotions that seem to have been suppressed inside myself for a great deal of time. Many love the song, but I'm not sure how many know the meanings and ideas behind it. Many cite the song as one their favorites by Joel, but I wonder if they have lived it. I'm here to try and say, in a manner lacking pompousness, I can adequately define a meaning of the song and am currently living as the piano player and one of the lounge customers mentioned in the song.

The song concerns a successful, night-time lounge from the point of view of Billy Joel, who was a piano player there for quite some time in his younger years. Joel got to know the clientele and claims that the song is comprised of the kinds of people he knew and saw on a regular basis. One commonality between all of the clientele is their disillusionment and lack of satisfaction in life. Some of the regulars are Paul, a real-estate novelist who never had time for a wife (mentioned in a line that usually ignites my tears), Davy, who's still in the Navy and probably will be for life, and even John, the bartender, who gets Joel his drinks for free but would rather be working as an actor.

As I said, the common ground with all these souls is they are functioning in a reality they don't want to be in, and have lost sight and track of their ambitions and are just trying to get by and survive now. This is the kind of song that proves to other countries that America isn't flawless and its people wealthy and automatically born to lives of greatness. As someone who works at a liquor store, I'm constantly told by the recurring customers how good of a writer I am and that college will be a place where I will find great success. Much like Joel, working as the talented and charismatic piano man, I'm recognized and appreciated by loyal customers for my talent. 

However, I can't help but occasionally feel like I'll soon be one of the customers, working tirelessly at a job I don't like because my ambitions are too far out of reach for me. Combine that with Joel's amazing, descriptive lyrics and his detailed accounts of numerous busy-bodies in a lounge, all of whom sound like wonderful souls that would be great to converse with, and I break down in a fit of tears. 

"Piano Man" is a song about when ambitions pass you by, and when life catches up and reminds you that many of your personal dreams will tragically go unfulfilled because of here-and-now obligations like food, rent, and necessities. As someone going into English in college in just another month, this fact hits me harder and harder whenever I think of it, and I can't help but feel like I'll cry harder and harder in my later years as this song's descriptions of disillusioned customers may prove prophetic for me.

For right now, though, get me a gin and tonic and crank this one up loud.

Give "Piano Man" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaUyJyPekJE

Song #23: Michael Jackson - "Smooth Criminal"

Song #23: Michael Jackson - "Smooth Criminal" (1987)

Bad

"So they came into the outway, it was Sunday, what a black day. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, sounding heartbeats, intimidations."

Ever since I first heard Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" years back, I always thought that a film adaptation of the song wouldn't be difficult, if the right writer was hired and the song's ideas and structure came into play (and, you know, we heard the song in the film). The song is probably my most favorite of Jackson's mainstream hits, narrowly beating "Beat It," and that reason is mainly because of how simultaneously fun, energetic, and suspenseful the song is.

The song describes a woman by the name of Annie, who is gravely injured after a break-in or a burglary, which leaves bloodstains on the carpet, with our singer detailing the brutal account as well as trying to play the hero. Right off the bat, this seems like the kind of song Jackson was made to sing, being the fact the song has so much energy and soul into its simplistic but entertaining lyrics. Jackson sings at such a rapid-fire pace, almost to the point of obscuring complex and beautifully-written lyrics (like the one I quoted above).

However, the best part about "Smooth Criminal" is its sound and instrumental structure, which is one of the catchiest eighties pop has seen. The song sounds unlike anything I've personally ever heard, and its unconventional style fits with the kind of unpredictability Jackson accentuated throughout his career so freely and in an unrestricted manner. The song is a beautifully-done thriller, one I rank higher than Jackson's overplayed "Thriller." But "Smooth Criminal" also works to show that Jackson actually incorporated almost every genre, from suspense, to thriller, to comedy, to horror in his music in some way, shape, or form.

Give "Smooth Criminal" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBrWNbjw3RA

Song #24: O-ZONE - "Dragostea Din Tei"

Song #24: O-ZONE - "Dragostea Din Tei" (2004)

DiscO-ZONE

"Vrei să pleci dar nu mă, nu mă iei."

I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what O-ZONE's international hit "Dragostea Din Tei" translates to in English, other than a vague idea given to me by my Romanian friend. It's the same way I really don't have any idea what Psy's "Gangnam Style" is supposed to mean in English. Foreign hits in America are interesting because very few people can accurately say what the song means in English, so one can see that the popularity stems from simply how the song sounds and how the music makes one feel.

Such statements are only proven by O-ZONE's smash-hit "Dragostead Din Tei," a song that was made heavily popular by a viral video in the mid-2000's of a man lipsyncing the song and dancing while wearing headphones. The hilarity of the video and the catchiness of the song made "Dragostea Din Tei" skyrocket in popularity to become one of the biggest international hits of the 2000's. For me, I loved the song from the first time I heard it, precisely because of the way it made me feel, giddy, excited, and entirely immersed in a sound I hadn't heard before. Revisiting it in June 2014, while my buddy and I danced to the song in his Mustang while waiting for his emissions test to commence, the song hasn't lost any of its charm - it's still as hypnotic and immersing as it originally was. This is mainly because of the song's sound, I feel, with its memorable instrumentation put to the crisp vocals of the trio of singers. The song is a must-hear, even if the meaning alludes you.

Give "Dragostea Din Tei," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRx5PrAlUdY