Easy Reader’s (slightly delayed) Top 10 Songs of 2024
By Michael Kraxenberger and Garth Meyer
Easy Reader’s possibly-biased, possibly-opinionated, possibly obscure, possibly not obscure-enough, never-made-it-into-print Top 10 Songs of 2024:
Meyer—
1.
“Please Please Please” – Sabrina Carpenter
Of the three elements that make up a lasting song, this delivers all three; distinct sound, melody and lyrics. Its airy, at-ease, focused-casual execution makes it seem like it could have come from a BeachLife soundcheck. A pure pop song but something different infiltrates it. The instrumentation sounds real, it brings to mind early Madonna – in her most overt pop phase but those songs like “Borderline” are spare and genuine. “Please, Please Please” touches on that. Thinking back on the best bubblegum pop over the past decade-plus, there is no Katy Perry song that feels this effortless. No Taylor Swift, no Kesha. Instead those are all wrapped up a little too tight.
Finally, the lyrics to “Please Please Please,” draw your interest: “We could live so happily / if no one knows you’re with me / I’m just kidding, but really (kind of), really / please please please don’t prove I’m right.”
It’s unfortunate that Carpenter is known for explicit lyrics on the album version. It’s never necessary when you have something original to say, and she does here.
2.
“Houdini” – Dua Lipa
This is Exhibit A of what “Please, Please, Please” avoids. “Houdini” is so packaged, shipped and tracked it’s bereft of any surprise, except the clever line of the chorus. Nonetheless, the melody is unstoppable. The song may be headed for somewhat forgotten status, though, because of its production. When were those keyboards programmed, 1991? Speaking of 1991, imagine what Janet Jackson might have done with this back then, even Paula Abdul. In a later era, for that matter, Fergie would have made this song twice as interesting. What a great song, on paper, waiting for another take.
3.
“Classical” – Vampire Weekend
After the melody for the first single from “Only God Was Above Us” crept too close to Counting Crows’ “Omaha,” this second single came through for the epitome of inconsistency that is Vampire Weekend. After their seminal achievement, “Modern Vampires of the City” (2013), “Father of the Bride” was about as idea-less as the album’s title. Nonetheless, the song “Classical” is a return to form, with its nice, mid-tempo melody and the always thought-provoking lyrics of Ezra Koenig, this time asking, “Which classical remains?”
4.
“The Painter” – Cody Johnson
This song makes the top five mainly because of the words of the chorus, “My life was black and white, but she’s (a) painter.” Aside from that standout phrase, the melody is just good-enough, and the standard country sound narrowly avoids being generic. The song nudged out another country offering, Kacey Musgraves “The Architect,” a simple, voice-of-beauty-and-a-guitar request of a chance to speak to God. Alas, the melody is too close to the searing, timeless “Back of My Mind” by John Hiatt (1990).
5.
Research and review took place for two weeks in December to decide a fifth song. Something from Chappell Roan? Kendrick Lamar? CharliXCX? Ariana Grande? Chris Stapleton? None of the possibilities seem to rise to the level to be named in a year’s best-of. A few have a legitimate melody, but the instrumentation is bland, not to mention the lyrics. A couple have a strong melody and something to say but falter for lack of an idea in the studio. So what was the fifth best song of 2024? It’s in the ear of the beholder.
Kraxenberger —
1.
“Feel” – Pet Shop Boys
The charm of PSB lies in their uncanny ability to consistently surprise us, even after all these years. “You make me feel like nobody else can…” Listening to this upbeat and catchy track, I can’t help but feel like I’m inside a little time machine that teleports me straight back into my teenage days, with a slight twist of Kraftwerk beats.
The line “I will never let you down” almost feels like a promise, from a PSB-view to the listeners, who share a deep emotional connection with the band. While charts and airplay drastically changed over the years, PSB have always been around and almost never disappoint when it comes to their crafty, authentic songwriting.
2.
“Soft Echoes” – Sharada Shashidhar
“Soft echoes of yesterday” starts almost as a soulful a capella, accompanied by a few classical piano notes and builds up to an impressive jazzy improvisation, before it ends as smoothly as it started. The six-track album concludes with the song “New Echoes,” that brings you straight back to the beginning of “Soft Echoes”.
On the album of the same title, Shashidhar leads us on a journey through her mind, traversing its peaks and canyons in search of greater connection.
3.
“Edge of Saturday Night” – The Blessed Madonna and Kylie Minogue
“Monday doesn’t matter at all” – a simple line to a song and one of my personal truths during my prime – “Start again, shut the blinds.” We all eventually had to return to work after the weekend, but the party was still going on full blast with my heart and soul still grooving on the dance floor.
The song by Chicago-based D.J. Blessed Madonna and Australian pop siren Kylie Minogue is a clever production that seamlessly blends pop elements with house music to create a polished and dynamic sound. Ultimately, the funky house piano adds some extra fun.
“Monday doesn’t matter at all!”
4.
“Fast Forward” – Floating Points
Fast Forward is a playful electronic song that builds kaleidoscopic walls around you with each tinkering of its modular synth. You’re propelled into a kind of atmospheric haze until you’re swept away into a techno-fueled pace for a few minutes before dissolving in further, floating tessellations.
The song is taken from the album “Cascade,” which is the third solo album by UK electronic music producer Sam Shepherd, a,k.a. Floating Points, and the follow-up after the incredible and highly-acclaimed crossover that he did with the late great Pharoah Sanders.
5.
“Follow Your Dreams” – Michael Kiwanuka
I stumbled across “Cold Little Heart” in 2016 and fell instantly in love with the music of Michael Kiwanuka, produced by Danger Mouse, delivering a big, and quite bombastic sound, especially on the 2016 “Love & Hate” album. His newest is quite the opposite. It is stripped down to deliver a laid-back feel that puts you under his spell.
The beautiful “Follow Your Dreams” feels like a complex and warm achievement that reveals new layers of Michael Kiwanuka’s artistry, that serves also as an instant (and often well-needed) reminder: “Follow Your Dreams. Fear No Danger. Come Alive.” ER