#910-#906

#910. Hilltop Hoods (feat Maverick Sabre) - Won't Let You Down (#36, 2014)

91st of 2014

I always found it fairly random that Hilltop Hoods teamed up with Maverick Sabre on this track. He's an artist that made a decent splash in the UK in the early 2010s with his first album, but the last time he ever made the UK singles chart was a couple of years before this song even came out. I feel like collaborations are more anything goes nowadays, but at the time it was kind of rare for these two paths to cross like this. It's not the only time too, he also sings the hook on "Live and Let Go", a later single from the same album that didn't make the cut. I think that one's a little better than this.

A lot does come down to how you find Maverick Sabre's voice. I think his big solo hit "I Need" is a good approximation of what he does, and it's a tad bit oversold. A lot of syllables that have a mind of their own and it distracts from the emotional core of the song. He's a bit more straightforward on this song. I'd give him a pass but the material he's working with isn't especially inspiring. I can certainly say that he won't let you down, but he might give you up. But Hilltop Hoods kinda did let me down with this one. Just a fairly uninspired way to mark their return in 2014. It's lucky that they had a saving throw to come on this album, otherwise they'd have probably killed all their momentum.

#909. Slowly Slowly - Jellyfish (#57, 2019)

89th of 2019

When I first heard Slowly Slowly, I definitely saw some promise in what they were doing. Largely a throwback to 2000s pop punk but doing more than just filling in the tropes. The songs "Aliens" and "Alchemy" specifically stood out to me. The former with its big build-up of momentum towards the end, and the latter which is more straightforward but passes the test with flying colours, sounding better than a lot of the stuff it'd be comparable to.

They lost me a bit with this one. It's a few things really. Instrumentally it just feels like their most boilerplate song I've heard. It occasionally gets out of first gear and into second but never really leaves a distinct impression. They usually have pretty engaging drum fills in their songs, but in this one it sounds afraid to overstep its boundary, you can't get in the way of those lyrics I guess.

I think the chorus is dumb. The whole song is all over the place in the lyrical department, but the one thing you're gonna remember from it is "Have you ever seen a jellyfish? Now that shit's crazy". Just a strange non-sequitur that's not ridiculous enough to stick the landing. Not just that though, but the surrounding lyrics don't really pay it off either. It goes from 'We're having sex in the car, that's weird' to 'what if we're a simulation for aliens, I bet they're getting a thrill out of mental breakdowns, but I love you...that's pretty weird'. The song is half love song, half deranged comments from someone I'd never want to talk to, and I don't think they mesh particularly well. Slowly Slowly have another entry to come so at least it's not a one-off.

#908. King Princess - Pussy Is God (#74, 2018)

88th of 2018

Mainly just feel a bit disappointed as it stands that this is one of only two entries she's had. There's more to say which I think segues better when talking about the other entry, but I've been quite fond of her sometimes eclectic output over the years.

This song makes me feel like a prude. It is certainly not the last 'pussy' song to make the list, but compared to that other one, it doesn't feel like this has much going for it beyond the shock value. It's just a fairly messy song where the drums & guitar don't seem to agree with each other very much, and it's constantly crowded out by odd backing vocals that have never added much for me.

#907. Lizzo - 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) (#36, 2022)

93rd of 2022

If Tones And I generates the most irritating discourse of any artist in this list, then Lizzo is probably a close second. I'll spare Sticky Fingers in this one because at least there's something to talk about there and it's not just people livid that not all music is supposed to be marketed to them. At the time I'm writing this, Lizzo is still dealing with a lawsuit against her. I hesitate to comment on any of that, but more just feel frustrated at the voices coming out of the woodwork to point out that they were right all along. Don't ever do that.

For all of that though, she's only got 4 songs here. It obviously never helps when your biggest hits miss the eligibility window by several years on the route to becoming famous. She's also not had a top 50 hit in Australia since this one, a song that seemed to have fallen short on release, but went gangbusters on a second go around.

The song has never really worked for me. I probably liked it even less at the time and had a better idea of why. Best I can say now is that the main keyboard riff just doesn't carry as much energy as it wants to, and I feel like the whole thing is just built on a series of phrases that don't translate it into the anthem it wants to be. I never get the compulsion to scream 'Am I ready?!' because it just feels so uncommitted. For Lizzo, someone whose bread & butter is caption-worthy phrases, this one doesn't get over the line.

#906. The Weeknd (feat Daft Punk) - I Feel It Coming (#41, 2016)

93rd of 2016

Going beyond this list, when I think of my least favourite hit songs, I think of the kinds that just give me nothing to work with. Not necessarily irritating, but sheer flavourlessness that makes it a chore to listen to. I think of songs like "Love Lies" by Khalid & Normani, or "Scared To Be Lonely" by Martin Garrix & Dua Lipa. They're not badly performed or produced, but just bring me zero joy whatsoever.

I used to put "I Feel It Coming" in a similar camp. If I was going into this just purely on emotion, I probably would have ranked it a lot lower. I guess I just had to accept that there is a little bit of interest to get out of this song, even if the first thing I think of is always going to be that very boring chorus.

I think I've been partially vindicated on this opinion over time. At the time of writing this, it's his 7th most streamed song on Spotify, but only in 19th place for current daily streams. This obvious second biggest hit on the album ranks only 5th in that regard. I'm further vindicated as "Die For You", my favourite deep cut on the album at the time, has thoroughly eclipsed it.

So I guess this is saved by the warm production touches more than anything else. I won't say that I am so easily swayed as to hear Daft Punk robot voices and that's enough, but it is accompanied with some pleasant shifts that keep the song from total monotony. Alternatively it's all just that I'm lucky "Save Your Tears" isn't here as well because I still rank that highly among songs I very much don't want to hear again for a very long time.