10 Songs Where You ‘Know’ or ‘No’ | Playlist

Artists providing the tunes for “10 Songs Where You ‘Know’ or ‘No’” include Florence + The Machine, G-Eazy, Pusha T, and One Direction.  

“I

f you know you know!” Prepare for the fun of homophones on 10 Songs Where You ‘Know’ or ‘No’? Okay, it’s a silly title, but it caught your eye, right? You better not say NO. The premise of this playlist is simple. The odd numbered song titles (1, 3, 5, 7, and 9) feature the word “know,” which means “to have understanding of”, among other Merriam-Webster definitions.  The even numbered song titles (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) feature the word “No,” which means “not so”. Artists providing the tunes for this homophone-driven list are Florence + The Machine, G-Eazy, Pusha T, and One Direction among many others.

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 1. Pusha T, “If You Know You Know”

DAYTONA • GOOD / Def Jam • 2018

“‘Cause this boy been throwin’ that D like Rich Boy.” From the opening tip of “If You Know You Know,” Pusha T drops some serious bars on the DAYTONA highlight.  His flow is agile, natural, and everything ‘feels right.’ Following the electrifying introduction, “If You Know You Know” only gets more profound, signaled by the recurrence of the titular line, distinct production, and confident, druggy rhymes from T.  “I predict snow, Al Roker.”  The centerpiece is the hook, which is probably far catchier than it should be.

“Bricklayers in ball shorts /Coaching from the side of the ball court (If you know you know) / One stop like a Walmart / We got the tennis balls for the wrong sport (If you know you know) …”

 

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2. Florence + The Machine, “No Choir”

High as Hope • Virgin • 2018

On “No Choir,” Florence + The Machine (Florence Welch) speaks upon the fleeting nature of happiness as she gets older, calling it “an extremely uneventful subject.” In the context of the album, High as Hope, it’s a reaction to a breakup. In the bigger scheme of things, it seems to be potential fleeting success as a musician: “And there will be no grand choirs to sing / No chorus will come in / No ballad will be written / This will be entirely forgotten.”

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3. Brett Young, “In Case You Didn’t Know”

Brett Young • Big Machine • 2017

California country singer Brett Young was among the breakout artists of 2017. That’s amazing considering once his self-titled debut album arrived, he was approaching 36, certainly not the age associated with a new artist in any genre. His country ballad “In Case You Didn’t Know” screams ‘feels’ all over, most impressively on the authentic, thoughtful, high-flying chorus.

“In case you didn’t know
Baby I’m crazy ‘bout you
And I would be lying if I said
That I could live this life without you
Even though I don’t tell you all the time
You had my heart a long, long time ago
In case you didn’t know.”

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4. Ariana Grande, “No Tears Left to Cry”

Sweetener • Republic • 2018

Ariana Grande made her much-anticipated return in 2018 with “No Tears Left to Cry”, her first single since the Manchester terror attack. “No Tears Left to Cry” begins moderately slowly, feeling initially as if Grande is going to unleash the balladry. Ultimately, that’s not the case.  Following the dramatic, lush, and smoothly sung intro (the eventual chorus), the danceable groove enters into “No Tears Left to Cry.” Grande shows exuberance, singing playfully in her lower register on the verses.  She gradually ascends, hitting her stride – her commanding upper register – on the chorus.  The chorus is catchy, though what truly stands out about it is how uplifting it is.

“Right now, I’m in a state of mind
I wanna be in, like, all the time
Ain’t got no tears left to cry
So, I’m pickin’ it up, pickin’ it up
I’m lovin’, I’m livin’, I’m pickin’ it up
Oh, I just want you to come with me
We on another mentality
Ain’t got no tears left to cry
So, I’m pickin’ it up, pickin’ it up
I’m lovin’, I’m livin’, I’m pickin’ it up.”

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5. NF, “Know”

Perception • Capitol • 2017

“Been sick with the pen since I was ten inches tall / I’m relentless, you guessed it, back with the vengeance / In the set list, every sentence so raw you can sense it.” NF (Nate Feuerstein) is charged up on “Know,” particularly the hook. “Know” is a highlight from his breakthrough, third studio album, Perception, which debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard 200. Within the context of Perception, “Know” shares similarities high-flying joints like “Green Lights”, “Destiny,” and later “One Hundred.” How so? It’s the exemplification of confidence with the flow and rhymes to back it up.

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6. G-Eazy, “No Limit”

Ft. A$AP Rocky & Cardi B

The Beautiful & Damned • RCA • 2017 

G-Eazy dropped a banger in 2017 with “No Limit”, the promo single for his third studio album, The Beautiful & Damned. On “No Limit,” he gets high profile assists from Cardi B and A$AP Rocky.  Rocky sets the f-boy tone of “No Limit,” which totally suits G-Eazy.  G-Eazy follows up with a cocky post-chorus, as well as a verse that encompasses sex, money, and his uncompromising confidence. He returns for the third verse, referencing Costco rubbers, Damn Daniel, and Saint-Laurent. Cardi B drops the second verse, matching the unapologetic nature of G-Eazy.

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7. Vivian Green, “I Don’t Know”

VGVI • Make Noise • 2017

Vivian Green shines on “I Don’t Know”, a highlight from VGVI that successfully fuses R&B and reggae. The reggae elements provide the record’s ‘infectiousness.’ Green also plays a role in the infectiousness, delivering emotional, soulful vocals, as well as questioning if she’s in love.  Besides the inclusion of reggae, the production work helps to take “I Don’t Know” to the next level.  Soulful, yet chill, the ear candy is real.  NO doubts about this one, but as for the eighth song on this playlist…

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8. Meghan Trainor, “No”

Thank You • Epic • 2016

“My name is no, my sign is no, my number is no / You need to let it go…” Ugh! Whether she intended to irritate or not, Meghan Trainor became one of the most annoying pop musicians in 2016.  Some would argue this occurrence happened on her debut album, Title, but we’ll focus only on her sophomore album, Thank You. For whatever reason, sometimes, she brought out the worst in the listeners with Thank You, specifically on songs “No” and “Me Too”. “No” is the better of the two songs, though that’s not saying much. “No” comes off as childish and offensive as opposed to representing a strong feminist perspective. Essentially, Trainor degrades her own message with the stupidity of the song.  In case you were wondering “No” made the 20 Worst Songs of 2016 year-end list. Ouch!

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9. Maroon 5, “Don’t Wanna Know”

Ft. Kendrick Lamar

Red Pill Blues • Interscope • 2017

Hmm, Meghan Trainor wasn’t the only artist on this playlist that also earned the honors of appearing on the 20 Worst Songs of 2016. Sigh, just behind “No” on that list was Grammy-winning pop collective Maroon 5 with “Don’t Wanna Know”, featuring Kendrick Lamar. While “Don’t Wanna Know” doesn’t necessarily irk to the degree it did in its role as the earliest advance single from Red Pill Blues, it still doesn’t feel like the band’s best. Adam Levine has a terrific voice and is a legitimately talented musician, period. On “Don’t Wanna Know” however, his musicianship doesn’t translate because it’s merely a generic, sanitized pop record. Not even the Pulitzer-prize winning Kendrick Lamar can salvage this unsalvageable “know” record.  At least the music video is worthwhile.

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10. One Direction, “No Control”

Four • Columbia • 2014

If “No Control” was meant to mask the horniness of boy band One Direction, it does a terrible job.  It’s clear lyrically that the Brit-Irish boy band means business.  They aren’t singing about emotions but rather lust and stimulation behind it.  There’s no way that One Direction gets an “innocent” pass on the lyric, “Waking up, beside you I’m a loaded gun, I can’t contain this anymore / I’m all yours, I’ve got no control.”  Besides the fact that the “loaded gun” clearly represents the penis, revisiting this lyric, surely there’s a political message here as well… Hmm.

“No Control” gets even more sensual, unsurprisingly.  “Taste, on my tongue / I don’t want to wash away the night before.” Wonder what taste these ‘innocent’ boys were referring to…  Maybe there’s less sexually-oriented activities that can be interpreted from such a line, but does that even seem possible from most horny twenty-somethings? Furthermore, look beyond Four and see what the young men have been singing about and doing.

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[📷: Big Machine, Capitol, Columbia, Def Jam, Epic, GOOD, Interscope, Make Noise, RCA, Republic, Virgin]

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