Last year, the race was over pretty quickly, with two obvious contenders basically pacing each other (and lapping the rest of the field): Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" walking off with a perfectly acceptable split-decision.
The year before, it was even more obvious, with Ms. Jepsin easily handing us one of the best pop songs in recent memory, "Call Me Maybe."
But this year...
We have contenders, sure, but has anyone really established anything close to zeitgeist? Is there one song you would need to hear if you were at a party this summer? Would a trip to the beach--convertible top down--be incomplete without a particular song blasting?
I'm not sure we've had that hit just yet.
But the best way to actually make such a determination is to look at the songs themselves.
The Contenders
Ariana Grande -- "Problem"
I'd have to say the front runner. Two It-girls (Grande and Iggy Azalea), a great beat, catchy hook, and strong wrap. Not the greatest dance song (the beat is a bit slow during the verses, but the same could be said for "Blurred Lines" and "Call Me Maybe"). Just not sure it's quite as ubiquitous as you'd expect the song of summer to be.
Calvin Harris -- "Summer"
Fun song, appropriately named, but nothing really special in the rather crowded world of DJ-fronted projects. Also, came out pretty early in the year, and I don't think it had the staying power a summer song should have.
Jason Derulo -- "Talk Dirty to Me"
Another song that was out pretty early, the sax riff is a love-it-or-hate-it feature (I lean towards liking it--I definitely find myself wanting to get jazzy with it). Strong club song, too--probably the #2 song on this list.
Michael Jackson -- "Love Never Felt So Good"
This is definitely my favorite song on this list, but I tend to have outlier/B-side taste, so take that for what it's worth. Huge stars (MJ & JT), very danceable (especially for white people, which is often key in this kind of deliberation), and good hook. But...again, is this ubiquitous enough? A good summer song should be like the rakes in the Cape Fear episode of The Simpsons: great the first couple of times, annoying after a while, and then great with endless repetition. I think this song has the re-listenability (it could be a word), but is it being played at the club, pumped up in the car, AND your mom knows the lyrics? Not sure it's made it there.
Katy Perry -- "Dark Horse"
Lots of airtime, rap I think you can memorize after a few listens, and a big star. Probably too dark, though. Also, not really a summer song (February release).
Underdogs:
Nico & Vinz -- "Am I Wrong"
Currently one of my favorite songs, this one has seemingly come out of nowhere and infiltrated pretty much everything I use to listen to music (Spotify and Pandora the primary ones). Great beat, fun detail (the "oh yeah yeah yeah yeah"), and catchy hook--the whole thing is primed for singing along to.
Also: apparently it came out in 2013...and now that I re-watch the video, I'm remembering my girlfriend sent this around last year. But it only got big now, so I'm keeping it in (I considered doing the same with Bastille's "Pompeii," which similarly became a hit way after it originally came out last year, but really, it was more an early 2014 hit anyway).
Clean Bandit -- "Rather Be"
A true dark horse, the violin suggests a quieter song, and Jess Glynne's voice isn't dominating. The lyrics are pretty simple, and the beat is something me and my friends might have made in our basement with a MIDI system. But then it comes to the hook, and the piano comes in, and the beat just grows and becomes more complex and Glynne seems to get even more into it and...
I don't know.
And that's what I'm saying. I think Grande has the inside track, but I also wonder of she's competing against herself with the Zedd-fueled "Break Free," or even with her song-mate's own song (Iggy's "Fancy")? Is Derulo doing the same thing to himself, with "Wiggle"? Should I be looking more at up-and-comer Sam Smith (I love "Latch"--and the accoustic version is really good, too) or veteran Usher's "Good Kisser"? Am I discounting "Happy" too soon?
The fact is, I don't know of we've gotten our song or the summer of 2014 yet. We've had some good songs, yes, but nothing that's screamed out at us.
The good thing: we've still got some time. And even of we don't have a definitive champion, I'm pretty happy with what we've gotten so far.
It may not equate to a single great song, but it's adding up to a really strong playlist.*
*i was going to write mix-tape, but then remembered when I was.
The year before, it was even more obvious, with Ms. Jepsin easily handing us one of the best pop songs in recent memory, "Call Me Maybe."
But this year...
We have contenders, sure, but has anyone really established anything close to zeitgeist? Is there one song you would need to hear if you were at a party this summer? Would a trip to the beach--convertible top down--be incomplete without a particular song blasting?
I'm not sure we've had that hit just yet.
But the best way to actually make such a determination is to look at the songs themselves.
The Contenders
Ariana Grande -- "Problem"
I'd have to say the front runner. Two It-girls (Grande and Iggy Azalea), a great beat, catchy hook, and strong wrap. Not the greatest dance song (the beat is a bit slow during the verses, but the same could be said for "Blurred Lines" and "Call Me Maybe"). Just not sure it's quite as ubiquitous as you'd expect the song of summer to be.
Calvin Harris -- "Summer"
Fun song, appropriately named, but nothing really special in the rather crowded world of DJ-fronted projects. Also, came out pretty early in the year, and I don't think it had the staying power a summer song should have.
Jason Derulo -- "Talk Dirty to Me"
Another song that was out pretty early, the sax riff is a love-it-or-hate-it feature (I lean towards liking it--I definitely find myself wanting to get jazzy with it). Strong club song, too--probably the #2 song on this list.
Michael Jackson -- "Love Never Felt So Good"
This is definitely my favorite song on this list, but I tend to have outlier/B-side taste, so take that for what it's worth. Huge stars (MJ & JT), very danceable (especially for white people, which is often key in this kind of deliberation), and good hook. But...again, is this ubiquitous enough? A good summer song should be like the rakes in the Cape Fear episode of The Simpsons: great the first couple of times, annoying after a while, and then great with endless repetition. I think this song has the re-listenability (it could be a word), but is it being played at the club, pumped up in the car, AND your mom knows the lyrics? Not sure it's made it there.
Katy Perry -- "Dark Horse"
Lots of airtime, rap I think you can memorize after a few listens, and a big star. Probably too dark, though. Also, not really a summer song (February release).
Underdogs:
Nico & Vinz -- "Am I Wrong"
Currently one of my favorite songs, this one has seemingly come out of nowhere and infiltrated pretty much everything I use to listen to music (Spotify and Pandora the primary ones). Great beat, fun detail (the "oh yeah yeah yeah yeah"), and catchy hook--the whole thing is primed for singing along to.
Also: apparently it came out in 2013...and now that I re-watch the video, I'm remembering my girlfriend sent this around last year. But it only got big now, so I'm keeping it in (I considered doing the same with Bastille's "Pompeii," which similarly became a hit way after it originally came out last year, but really, it was more an early 2014 hit anyway).
Clean Bandit -- "Rather Be"
A true dark horse, the violin suggests a quieter song, and Jess Glynne's voice isn't dominating. The lyrics are pretty simple, and the beat is something me and my friends might have made in our basement with a MIDI system. But then it comes to the hook, and the piano comes in, and the beat just grows and becomes more complex and Glynne seems to get even more into it and...
I don't know.
And that's what I'm saying. I think Grande has the inside track, but I also wonder of she's competing against herself with the Zedd-fueled "Break Free," or even with her song-mate's own song (Iggy's "Fancy")? Is Derulo doing the same thing to himself, with "Wiggle"? Should I be looking more at up-and-comer Sam Smith (I love "Latch"--and the accoustic version is really good, too) or veteran Usher's "Good Kisser"? Am I discounting "Happy" too soon?
The fact is, I don't know of we've gotten our song or the summer of 2014 yet. We've had some good songs, yes, but nothing that's screamed out at us.
The good thing: we've still got some time. And even of we don't have a definitive champion, I'm pretty happy with what we've gotten so far.
It may not equate to a single great song, but it's adding up to a really strong playlist.*
*i was going to write mix-tape, but then remembered when I was.
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