I take pride in my Spotify playlists. Most of them have at least 500-ish songs of what I consider to be top-tier music. I always get excited to play the most recently added songs from my ‘Best’ playlist when I get in the car. But when I go through the occasional music drought, Spotify’s ‘Release Radar’ playlist is a blessing in my life. Using an algorithm based on artists and genres I listen to, Spotify generates a list of newly released songs every Friday. This week, the top three songs were from some of my favorite artists — but did they live up to my expectations?
“Franchise”
If you’re anything like me, you didn’t even know Travis Scott existed until you made your first guy friends in eighth grade — but I’ve been hooked ever since.
I’m always excited for a new release, but I can’t say his newest single, “Franchise” featuring Young Thug and M.I.A., necessarily rocked my world.
According to his Twitter, Scott’s whole fanbase (myself included) was initially stoked — we love Travis, we love Young Thug and we can easily jam out to “Paper Planes” by M.I.A anyday. But the second the song began I was overwhelmed. It’s extremely metal sounding, with a little bit of an angry tone, and the heavy electro-beats I can only describe as ‘scrapyard sounds.’ The beat stays the same throughout the whole song, and as with most rap songs, the lyrics aren’t extremely moving.
“We’ve been on the run, feel like a crime spree, talk to me nicely, I seen his face, I seen it, yup, on his white tee.”
I don’t know about you, but those lyrics, one, don’t make any sense to me, and two, don’t provoke any deep emotion.
I can’t say I added it into my “favorites” playlist — or any playlist for that matter. Maybe next time I get mad because I don’t understand Biology, I’ll blast “Franchise” and just sulk.
“Your Man”
Joji is a classic on any ‘Chill,’ ‘Pretty’ or ‘Sunday Morning’ playlist — it’s really hard to miss his songs.
Joji’s third album “Nectar” was released last Friday, Sept. 25. The song “Your Man” is the opening track, and it’s music to my ears — literally and metaphorically. Joji’s voice is ethereal in the way I imagine an angle would be, and there’s no way to convey how serious I am. I’d pay money to listen to him for hours. Unfortunately, concerts aren’t really a thing right now, so listening to this song on repeat in my bedroom will have to do.
The song opens with a calming beat and stunning vocals. As you listen further into the song, it becomes more upbeat, while maintaining the soothing aesthetic. Most of Joji’s songs tell stories of love, whether that be gut-wrenching heartbreak, a beautiful ballad or talking about a new flame. “Your Man” is Joji’s calling out to a potential new lover through a loop of very minimalistic lyrics.
“Have you ever loved? Would you go again? Don’t be down when it’s over, baby, yeah
I’ll be your man.”
And really that’s all the song says. Besides a few scattered ‘Oh’s’ those lyrics right there are the entirety of ‘em. Although he’s a man of few words, Joji’s song instills a comforting feeling: I think I’d be okay with Joji being my man.
“Better”
I’ll never be able to say I’m over Zayn Malik leaving One Direction. A part of me will always think that he was the beginning of the end. I guess him having a cute baby with Gigi Hadid gives him a little bit of redemption in my mind… Anyway, on with the review.
Malik released an R&B-type-of-vibe single this Friday, titled “Better.” Despite my anger towards him for leaving 1D, I can’t lie — the guy’s voice is as smooth as butter. It’s speculated that the song is about the on-and-off relationship Malik and Hadid have been in since 2016.
“Gotta let it go so your heart don’t break,” The lyrics say, along with, “Why wait to hate? Can we save love?”
The new drop was also released with a music video, which takes place in a rustic, 70s grunge looking home. The video’s simple scenes show Malik walking around, seemingly getting ready for a day at work — he goes from waking up half dressed to exiting the scene of the room in a coat and shoes.
A chill video for a chill song.
Unlike some of Malik’s other music, this song is an easy listen, something you could have playing in the background while studying — as long as you’re not trying to pay attention to the love story being told through the lyrics. It changes the ex-1D members’s pattern from a typical raunchy pop song to more of a Sunday-morning melody.