Every once in a while I move away from the movie portion of my blog and go to my love of music and my love of making lists. And seeing Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine carpool karaoke with James Corden got me thinking – I could totally make a top 25 list of my favorite tracks by the pop/rock group that’s been around since 2002 with hit after hit.
Interestingly, throughout their six albums, their first two make up about half of the songs listed here. Yet their album before the last one produces only one, but it happens to be the track that tops the list. So crank up my playlist of my personal favorite Maroon 5 tracks if you like! Here they are:
25. “Goodnight Goodnight” from ItWon’tBeSoonBeforeLong (2007)
24. “Secret” from SongsAboutJane (2002)
23. “Nothing Lasts Forever” from ItWon’tBeSoonBeforeLong (2007)
22. “Who I Am” from RedPillBlues (2017)
21. “Love Somebody” from Overexposed (2012)
20. “Won’t Go Home Without You” from ItWon’tBeSoonBeforeLong (2007)
19. “If I Never See Your Face Again” from ItWon’tBeSoonBeforeLong (2007)
18. “The Sun” from SongsAboutJane (2002)
17. “What Lovers Do” from RedPillBlues (2017)
16. “Harder to Breathe” from SongsAboutJane (2002)
15. “She Will Be Loved” from SongsAboutJane (2002)
14. “Wait” from RedPillBlues (2017)
13. “Wake Up Call” from ItWon’tBeSoonBeforeLong (2007)
12. “Moves Like Jagger” from HandsAllOver (2010)
11. “Misery” from HandsAllOver (2010)
10. “One More Night” from Overexposed” (2012)
9. “Just a Feeling” from HandsAllOver (2010)
8. “Closure” from RedPillBlues (2017)
7. “Beautiful Goodbye” from Overexposed (2012)
6. “Makes Me Wonder” from HandsAllOver (2010)
5. “Back at Your Door” from ItWon’tBeSoonBeforeLong (2007)
Today on the blog, I continue on with my listing of the Top Ten Summer Hits from years past. I’ve already gone over both 1987 and 1997. If you missed those entries, you can find them here:
On this Throwback Thursday, we travel back a decade to 2007 to find what was burning up the charts in a summer where comedies like Knocked Up and Superbad were making us laugh, the Transformers franchise was just beginning, and Spider-Man 3 was overwhelming us with too many villains and Tobey Maguire dancing.
As I have with these posts before, I’ll rank them on my own (not exactly refined) musical scale of 1 (summer bummer) to 10 (summer fire) and let you know whether or not said song resides on my Apple Music playlist.
Let’s get to it!
10. “Make Me Better” – Fabolous feat. Ne-Yo
Brooklyn MC Fabolous starting making hits in 2001 and this Timbaland produced and string heavy track featuring Ne-Yo is one of his biggest. Timbaland always delivers good beats. It’s decent, though nothing too memorable.
My Rating: 6 and a half
Is It On My Apple Music?: No
9. “Bartender” – T-Pain feat. Akon
Like many of Mr. Pain’s tracks, this is made for careless nights at the club and in that sense, it’s perfect acceptable. Like some of those nights, however, you may have forgotten it by morning.
My Rating: 6
Is It On My Apple Music?: No
8. “Makes Me Wonder” by Maroon 5
The first single from Maroon 5’s long-awaited second album, this was actually their first #1 hit (a bit surprising considering the smashes from their debut release). It’s a catchy as heck pop concoction with Adam Levine’s fine vocals.
My Rating: 8 and a half
Is It On My Apple Music?: Yes
7. “Beautiful Girls” by Sean Kingston
Jamaican artist Kingston scored a huge one hit wonder here with this reggae tinged ode to a girl he loves. The lyrics are really quite disturbing if you think about them at all, but summer songs are all about enjoying them with the top down and this pretty much delivers.
My Rating: 6 and a half
Is It On My Apple Music?: No
6. “The Way I Are” by Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson
Grammatical issues aside, the second single from mega-producer Timbaland’s Shock Value album is a synth heavy standout jam. My goodness – this man was on fire in the mid 2000s.
My Rating: 8 and a half
Is It On My Apple Music?: Yes
5. “Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” – T-Pain feat. Yung Joc
And now for the lead single from Mr. Pain’s second smash album. It’s another club anthem meant for quick consumption on a night out and it’s a notch above #9 “Bartender”.
My Rating: 6 and a half
Is It On My Apple Music?: No
4. “Hey There Delilah” by Plain White T’s
The signature tune from these Illinois rockers, this track was inescapable a decade ago. The ballad’s rating here perhaps suffers from its overexposure, but it does get in your head.
My Rating: 7
Is It On My Apple Music?: No
3. “Party Like a Rockstar” by Shop Boyz
The first and only hit from these Atlanta rappers, “Rockstar” merged the sounds of hip hop and rock that first gained exposure two decades earlier with Aerosmith and Run DMC. It’s the most downloaded ringtone of 2007. It’s not “Walk This Way”, but it’s fun.
My Rating: 6 and a half
Is It On My Apple Music?: No
2. “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Fergie
The fourth single off her debut album and the third #1 from it, Black Eyed Peas songstress Fergie slowed it down here with this ditty. Truthfully, it was never among my favorite tracks that were singles but maybe I just gravitated toward other hits like “London Bridge”, “Glamorous”, and “Clumsy”. Still it’s solid. By the way, if that guy Fergie is romancing in the video looks familiar – that would Milo Ventimiglia or Jack from TV’s “This Is Us”.
My Rating: 7 and a half
Is It On My Apple Music?: No
1. “Umbrella” by Rihanna feat. Jay-Z
Now we’re talking! One of Rihanna’s best cuts, this was actually rejected by Britney Spears. Oops. With a fine assist from Mr. Shawn Carter (who co-wrote), “Umbrella” features a towering beat and is one of the endlessly played tracks that somehow doesn’t get old. It deserves its accolades.
My Rating: 10
Is It On My Apple Music?: Yes
Well, that does it folks! The last ten, twenty, and thirty years of summertime hits. Next summer – get ready for 1988, 1998, and 2008. And hitting the blog within days will be reviewing the movie summers of 1987, 1997, and 2007. Stay tuned!
This Sunday, I will see one of the most controversial and lauded and loved and hated artists of the 21st century in concert – Kanye West. As a music lover and hip hop fan, there are few rappers and producers that have been more influential, exciting and sometimes frustrating. Musically, I agree with his own assessment that he’s a genius.
In honor of Sunday’s concert, here are my personal top 25 Kanye tracks from his eight album discography that began in 2004 with The College Dropout and currently ends with this year’s The Life of Pablo.
Here goes:
25. “Everything I Am” from Graduation (2007)
24. “Fade” from The Life of Pablo (2016)
23. “Two Words” from The College Dropout” (2004)
22. “New Slaves” from Yeezus (2013)
21. “Last Call” from The College Dropout” (2004)
20. “Amazing” from 808s & Heartbreak (2008)
19. “All Falls Down” from The College Dropout (2004)
18. “Blood on the Leaves” from Yeezus (2013)
17. “We Major” from Late Registration” (2005)
16. “Stronger” from Graduation (2007)
15. “Famous” from The Life of Pablo (2016)
14. “Power” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
13. “Heard ‘Em Say” from Late Registration (2005)
12. “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” from Graduation (2007)
11. “Gone” from Late Registration (2005)
10. “Roses” from Late Registration (2005)
9. “Monster” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
8. “Flashing Lights” from Graduation (2007)
7. “Black Skinhead” from Yeezus (2013)
6. “Through the Wire” from The College Dropout (2004)
5. “N****s in Paris” from Watch the Throne (2011)
4. “Gold Digger” from Late Registration (2005)
3. “Runaway” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
2. “Jesus Walks” from The College Dropout (2004)
1. “All of the Lights” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
In the humorously titled Popstar: NeverStopNeverStopping, there’s a gag involving the terrific Will Arnett that only takes up maybe three minutes of screen time. He plays the host of “CMZ” (think TMZ) as he hilariously chats with his staff of gossip reporters and furiously downs big gulps and other assorted beverages. It struck my funny bone so much that I found myself wondering how good a movie would be if it were just about them. Then I remembered that taking memorable three minute bits and stretching them into feature length comedies usually doesn’t work.
There are other moments in Popstar that work. Yet it didn’t quite change my theory above. Fans of “Saturday Night Live” are familiar with The Lonely Island, Andy Samberg’s music group responsible for several YouTube friendly videos packed with catchy lyrics and musical icon cameos. Here, Samberg and his colleagues Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone (that pair share directing duties) make up The Style Boyz – a hip hop pop trio that hit it big. Yet it’s Kid Connor (Samberg) that was the Justin Timberlake (who cameos), Beyoncé or Method Man of the group and branches out on the solo tip. Taccone’s Kid Contact becomes his DJ and Schaffer’s Kid Brain leaves the business to become a farmer in Colorado (wonder where that development will lead to??).
We pick up as solo act Connor4Real is set to debut his sophomore album, which is a disaster looming. Along the way, Popstar parodies the extreme narcissism of its industry while throwing in plenty of ridiculous songs. None of them really hold a candle to the brilliance displayed in the granddaddy of music doc spoofs, ThisisSpinalTap. As mentioned, there’s just not enough solid material to totally justify the 90 minutes here.
One mistake is that the Lonely team who wrote the screenplay seem to believe that cameos count as jokes. There are tons and tons of cameos. Admittedly some work (Seal’s bit is a trip and Timberlake gets to flex his comedic chops), but many others leave no impression. For the performers not playing themselves, a little of Samberg’s Connor goes a long way. Sarah Silverman and Tim Meadows are mostly background players as his publicist and manager. And the versatile Joan Cusack pops up so briefly as Connor’s hard partying mom that I can only think her part was left on the cutting room floor.
While there are laughs to be had here, you’re probably better off looking up the trio’s SNL work. They’re shorter and more consistently funny. See if you can find Arnett’s scenes too…
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