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Number One Records: In My Feelings

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Video: Drake – “In My Feelings”

Directed by Karena Evans. From Scorpion, out now on Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records.

Drake’s “In My Feelings” has been #1 since the week ending July 12, and I’ve been trying to ignore it this whole time. But this week marks eight weeks in the top spot of the Hot 100, so I guess it’s time to accept it.

Starting to wonder if maybe my dislike of Drake is irrational… I have never liked singy hip hop. I came up with hardcore. I’ve always believed, as Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly so eloquently stated in 1992, that “R&B-rap is bullcrap.” I didn’t even like “Regulate” back in the day. This seems completely arbitrary and ridiculous at this point. Nevertheless, implicit biases are hard to shake.

Is “In My Feelings” a good song? I don’t know. It’s a good meme. And it’s better than Post Malone, right? But it’s been the number one song in America all summer, so I suppose it’s earned closer scrutiny. I’ve listened to it a bunch of times in a row now, and it’s catchy for sure. I dig the video. Is that what New Orleans is like now? I haven’t been there since before Katrina.

But yeah, Drake. This is pop music in 2018. He’s led the Hot 100 for a 27 weeks this year in total, so this is what we’ve got. Love it or lump it.

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Number One Records: I Like It

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Video: Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin – “I Like It”

Directed by Eif Rivera. From Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy, out now on Atlantic.

“I Like It” is the first fun number one since Camila Cabello’s “Havana” back in January. (I guess “Nice For What” was upbeat, but Drake is so whiny that I can’t consider him fun.)

Cardi just makes you happy.

They call me Cardi Bardi, banging body
Spicy mami, hot tamale
Hotter than a Somali, fur coat, Ferrari
Hop out the stu’, jump in the coupe
Big Dipper on top of the roof

That’s fun!

Plus she samples “I Like It Like That” by Bronx boogaloo pianist Pete Rodriguez, so it’s got that funky 1967 Latin hook. I don’t know anything about Bad Bunny and J Balvin but all my favorite pop hits since we’ve been doing this series have had some Latino flavor, so I welcome and encourage our neighbors to the south to take over our pop charts entirely.

“I Like It” sold 44,000 downloads and had 37.5 million U.S. streams in the week ending June 28, and 80 million in radio audience in the week ending July 1.

Cardi B: web, twitter, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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Number One Records: Sad!

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Audio: XXXTentacion – “Sad!”

From ?, out now on Bad Vibes Forever.

Like probably a lot of middle-aged white people, the first I ever heard of XXXTentacion was when Spotify banned him from its corporate playlists along with R. Kelly. I read “The Real Story of South Florida Rapper XXXTentacion” before I heard any of his music. And after reading that, I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to listen to it. XXXTentacion was a violent and abusive guy.

Then on June 18 he was shot dead in an apparent robbery. He was 20 years old.

And now he has reached the top spot on the Hot 100 singles chart. And he’s got four more songs in the Top 40.

Christopher Weingarten in Rolling Stone explains how unique XXX’s story is in the history of popular music. This kid came from nowhere, with no label support, and made a huge impact. Weingarten compares him to Darby Crash of the Germs and says it’s as if “tiny indie Slash Records somehow got ‘Lexicon Devil’ to the Top 40.” For those of us who grew up in the MTV era, it’s unimaginable.

“Sad!” is still the only XXXTentacion song I’ve listened to. And it’s weird. Is this hip hop? He’s singing. It’s melodic. And depressing. And manipulative (“You decide, if you’re ever gonna, let me know / Suicide, if you ever try to let go”). It doesn’t surprise me at all that teenagers love it. And boy, do they. “Sad!” had 48.9 million U.S. streams and 26,000 downloads sold in the week ending June 21, with only 2.9 million in airplay audience in the week ending June 24.

XXXTentacion: web, soundcloud, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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Number One Records: Psycho

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Video: Post Malone – “Psycho” ft. Ty Dolla $ign

Directed by James DeFina. From Beerbongs & Bentleys, out now on Republic/UMG.

What kind of dorkus malorkus gets a tattoo of a neck beard? Why, that would be Post Malone, the guy with the number one song in America right now. I don’t get it.

Last year, when we started this series to cover the songs that reach the top of the Billboard singles chart, I expected to be turned on to some weird new pop songs that I’m rarely otherwise exposed to. But instead it’s mostly been a bunch of Ed Sheeran and lame, mumbly hip hop. There have been exceptions, of course, like Kendrick, Cardi, and Camila, but overall it’s been super disappointing.

I dunno, friends. It’s starting to seem like maybe we can’t trust the American public to have very good taste…

Nevertheless, “Pycho” sold 37,000 downloads and had 30.3 million U.S. streams in the week ending June 7 and 98.2 million in radio audience in the week ending June 10. That might not seem like a lot but it’s enough to get to #1 on the Hot 100.

Post Malone: web, twitter, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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Number One Records: This Is America

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Video: Childish Gambino – “This Is America”

Directed by Hiro Murai. Single out now.

Protest music doesn’t typically reach the top of the charts. A couple notable exceptions: “War” by Edwin Starr (1970) and “Indian Reservation” by the Raiders (1971). Many songs that you may think of as big hits (“What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye, “Russians” by Sting) were kept out of the top spot.

But Childish Gambino has reached number one with “This Is America,” which he released immediately after performing it on the May 5 episode of Saturday Night Live. The video is powerful and shocking and thought provoking.

The song had 65.3 million U.S. streams and 78,000 downloads sold in the week ending May 10 and 9.4 million in all-genre radio airplay audience in the week ending May 13. The video made up 68% of the song’s streaming total.

Billboard points out that “This Is America” is a “rare socially-themed Hot 100 No. 1 (such as ‘We Are the World’) and perhaps the most pointed example since Lady Gaga’s equality anthem ‘Born This Way’ in 2011.” Socially-themed? That’s an odd euphemism but okay…

A friend I’ve known forever sent me the video that Sunday morning with the comment, “Of all the dumb shit I thought as a young man, thinking that I could somehow understand or identify with being black in America takes the goddamn cake.” It’s true. We were sheltered suburban white kids who listened to N.W.A. and read Malcolm X and watched Do the Right Thing and we sincerely believed we were down with the revolution. I listened to Gil Scott Heron without noticing that “Comment #1” was aimed directly at “silly trite motherfuckers” like me! The hubris of youth is something else. Adulthood is realizing you don’t know dick about shit.

I hope this video encourages people to question their assumptions about some things they think they know. And to shut up once in a while and just listen to others.

Childish Gambino: web, twitter, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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Number One Records: Nice For What

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Video: Drake – “Nice For What”

Directed by Karena Evans. Single out now on Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records.

After eleven weeks at the top of the chart, Drake knocks his own “God’s Plan” out of first place with his new single, “Nice For What,” with 60.4 million U.S. streams and 88,000 downloads sold in the week ending April 12 as well as 31 million in all-format radio airplay audience in the week ending April 15.

Since the Hot 100 began in 1958, only 12 other acts have replaced themselves at No. 1. The Beatles were the first to do it, and they did it twice in 1964: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was replaced by “She Loves You” which was then replaced by “Can’t Buy Me Love.” And then nobody else did it for 30 years when Boyz II Men finally knocked out “I’ll Make Love to You” with “On Bended Knee” in 1994. How about that?

Also noteworthy is that “Nice For What” is only the 30th single to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. This wasn’t even possible before the Soundscan era, and Michael Jackson was the first with “You Are Not Alone” in 1995. And that’s not even a good MJ song!

The video features a bunch of apparently famous women being glamorous and empowered. Drake, meanwhile, ice skates around a futuristic set in a puffy coat to prove he’s still Canadian. How long will “Nice For What” remain at Number One? Will Drake pull a Beatles move and knock himself out of first place again with his next single? Stay tuned and find out!

Drake: web, twitter, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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Number One Records: God’s Plan

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Audio: Drake – “God’s Plan”

From Scary Hours, out now on Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records.

Drake knocks out Camila Cabello after only one week at the top of the chart. “God’s Plan” had 82.4 million U.S. streams and 127,000 downloads sold in the week ending Jan. 25, as well as 24 million in all-format airplay audience in the week ending Jan. 28.

I know I’m not the intended audience for mainstream pop hip hop, but this sounds so boring and repetitive to me. Maybe they’re trying to sound hypnotic but it ends up coming across as narcoleptic. Is everybody on ludes these days? (Oh…right, I guess we are.)

But at least there’s one funny part of this song:

She say, “Do you love me?” I tell her, “Only partly.
I only love my bed and my mama. I’m sorry.”

I think Drake’s been listening to Morrissey!

“God’s Plan” is only the 29th song to debut at #1 in the Hot 100’s 59-year history. The first song to do it was Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” in 1995 and the previous one was DJ Khaled’s “I’m The One” last year.

Drake: web, twitter, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

Photo via Instagram.

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Number One Records: Havana

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Video: Camila Cabello – “Havana” ft. Young Thug

From Camila, out now on SYCO/Epic.

I’ve been secretly hoping this song would go to #1 since New Year’s Eve when I first heard it “live” on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve ’18 with Ryan Seacrest.” Granted, I was loaded, but I just re-watched it on YouTube and I can confirm that my judgment was not impaired. It’s a cool song with a simple piano loop and other natural sounding instrumentation.

The video is pretty funny…the first time. And then you’re like, Do I really have to wait two-and-a-half minutes for the song to start? But whatever. Cabello is charismatic on screen and it’s fun to watch her dance.

“Havana” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Jan. 27 with 44.9 million U.S. streams and 80,000 downloads sold in the week ending Jan. 18, as well as 131 million in radio audience in the week ending Jan. 21. It displaced Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” duet with Beyonce that sat at the top spot for six weeks. “Havana” has been on the Hot 100 for 23 weeks now, spending seven of those at No. 2.

Her album, Camila, also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week, too, with 119,000 equivalent album units, of which 65,000 were in traditional album sales. It’s pretty rare for an artist to top the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 concurrently, so that’s good timing.

Camila Cabello: web, twitter, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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2017 Soundscan Data: Total Music Sales and Consumption

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So it looks like fewer and fewer people care about owning their music. This is the first year that I didn’t buy a single new release on compact disc (although I picked up a few deluxe reissues on CD). I bought a bunch of vinyl including Father John Misty’s Pure Comedy, the Mountain Goats’ Goths, Jason Isbell’s The Nashville Sound, Neil Young’s Hitchhiker, and the Replacements’ Live at Maxwell’s.

But most of the new stuff I listened to this year was streamed including tons of miscellaneous singles as well as new albums by Spoon, Conor Oberst, Aimee Mann, Strand of Oaks, Diet Cig, Lorde, Micah Schnabel, Tristen, Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile, St. Vincent, Last Leaves, Taylor Swift, and my absolute favorite album of the year: Feel Your Feelings, Fool by the Regrettes. I’ll pick that stuff up on vinyl if I see a deal, but I’m in no hurry. Patience is a virtue, after all.

I’m apparently not alone. Music sales are down down down. But streaming is way up and if you accept the industry’s argument that 1,500 streams is equivalent to one album sale then things are about the same as they were in the early- to mid-90s, before the brief, turn-of-the-century bubble. So maybe all’s well. Who knows?

Seems like only yesterday that we were all celebrating the certain death of the major label system, but just like everything else about the early internet age, we were overly optimistic and grossly naive about the resilience of corporate America. So it goes. Anyway, here’s the data…

Total U.S. Album sales (physical + digital in millions)

Total Album Sales (physical + digital albums)

2017: 169.15 million
2016: 205.5 million
2015: 241.39 million
2014: 257.02 million
2013: 289.41 million
2012: 315.96 million
2011: 330.57 million
2010: 326.15 million
2009: 373.9 million
2008: 428.4 million
2007: 500.5 million
2006: 588.2 million
2005: 618.9 million
2004: 666.7 million
2003: 667.9 million
2002: 693.1 million
2001: 762.8 million
2000: 785 million
1999: 754.8 million
1998: 712.5 million
1997: 651.8 million
1996: 616.6 million
1995: 616.4 million (I’ve heard the figure is 616,957,000)
1994: 614.7 million (I’ve heard the figure is 615,266,000)
1993: ~573 million (1994 was 7.4% increase over 1993)

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Cool Still Rules: Kendrick Kicks Ed in the Teeth to Take No. 1

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Video: Kendrick Lamar – “HUMBLE.”

Ladies and gentlemen of the United States, I am pleased to announce we have a new number one record. After sitting at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart for 12 of the year’s 18 weeks, that doughy English dweeb Ed Sheeran is finally knocked out. And who better to do the deed than righteous rapper Kendrick Lamar?

Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” is only the fifth number one record of 2017. Back in February I was telling Johnny Loftus about how I’m never exposed to the Top 40 anymore unless I make a conscious effort to seek it out. And when I do, I’m often surprised by how freaky and interesting popular music has gotten. Many big hits are more “experimental” sounding than a lot of stuff being released on our beloved indie labels. We thought we should at least cover the singles that reached the top of the chart, or as Johnny called it: “the most main of mainstreams.” But then dopey old Sheeran just stayed at No. 1, week after week after week. And come on. “Shape of You” is nothing to write home about. It’s so flaccid and predictable it makes John Mayer’s “Your Body Is A Wonderland” sound substantial. So good riddance. Finally.

And “HUMBLE.” is a jam! A sparse one-finger piano riff drives the beat and Lamar’s rhyming is effortless as always. It’s great that an artist as cool as Kendrick Lamar can reach number one on the pop singles chart. Lots of grumpy old dudes dismiss current music entirely, myself included. That’s a mistake. There’s always good new stuff being released and sometimes the most popular song is also the best song. “Sit down, lil bitch. Be humble.” That’s solid advice that we should all be listening to these days. Reminds me of the great Rookie essay by Charles Aaron where he shares some tips for how not to be a jerk; it boils down to: Fall back…listen…question. That’s an important lesson that can take a lifetime to master. I’m still working on it.

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