11 Brilliant Songs Fueled By Fire | Playlist 🎧

1. Foo Fighters, “Making a Fire”

💿 Medicine at Midnight • 🏷 Roswell / RCA • 📅 2021

There are only a select few rock artists that build up huge anticipation when they announce a new album in the 2020s.  The 🎙 Dave Grohl-led, 🏆 Grammy-winning, totally badass 🎙 Foo Fighters are among those select few. All hail these rock kings 👑! In 2021, they return with a fantastic, tenth studio album, 💿 Medicine at Midnight. Once again, the band enlists the services of 🎛 Greg Kurstin behind the boards (he also produced 💿 Concrete and Gold back in 2017).  So, let’s dive right in – excellence awaits!

A totally badass band deserves a totally badass start to an album, right?  Right! That’s exactly what Foo Fighters get with ✅ 🎵 “Making a Fire” which rocks from the jump.  Safe to say, that fire is sufficiently made!  The groove latches instantly, while the guitars embrace the beauty of overdrive and Dave Grohl is true to self.  Adding to the allure is a tuneful melody, particularly on the chorus, which is quite memorable.  Adding to its memorable nature are the backing vocals, giving life to some sick “na-na, na-na-na-na-na-na’s.” Epic start.

2. Megan Thee Stallion, “Shots Fired”

💿 Good News • 🏷 300 Entertainment • 🗓 2020

“Imagine niggas lyin’ ‘bout shootin’ a real bitch / Just to save face for rapper niggas you chill with.” Woo! Talk about starting an album fiery, 🎙 Megan Thee Stallion indeed ‘fires shots’ on 🎵 “Shots Fired,” the opener from 💿 Good News. The banger is produced by 🎛 Buddah Bless and samples The Notorious B.I.G. (“Who Shot Ya”).

Who does Megan shoot at exactly? Tory Lanez, and honestly, she obliterates him following the infamous incident where he shot her in the foot in Summer 2020.  She goes in, not only on him, but also calls out “a lotta weak niggas” who “hate me, but watch my videos beatin’ they dick.”  Shots fired indeed – fuego 🔥!

Also Appears On 🔽:

🔗 🎧 Awesome Songs That Tickled My Fancy: November 2020

3. Two Feet, “Fire”

🎵 “Fire” • 🏷 Two Feet / AWAL • 📅 2021

“Fire, ooh, I say / Fire, ooh I say.” From the first moment you hear 🎵 “Fire” by producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist 🎙 Two Feet (Bill Dess), you can describe the 2021 single as a surefire vibe.  Where lyrics are concerned, Dess keeps things quite minimal, evidenced by the simplicity of the aforementioned chorus.   That simplicity is also apparent over the course of three verses which are written similarly, featuring the words “darling” and “charming” on the first and third lines.  See exhibit A:

“Darling, I feel no pain
My girl don’t ever change
Charming, I like you here
Falling, I have no fear.”

Dess gives a nice vocal performance – his tone is quite beautiful.  The production by himself and 🎛 Andrew Luce is colorful, with lush guitars (chords), rhythmic guitars, and an effective, infectious, laid-back groove.  Fire is written all over this joint – NO CAP!

4. Melanie Martinez, “Fire Drill”

🎵 “Fire Drill” • 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 2020

🎵 “Fire Drill”, a 2020 single by alternative pop standout 🎙 Melanie Martinez, falls right in line with the school concept of her sophomore album, 💿 K-12.  Lyrically, like the other songs from her sophomore album, she uses a common happening to deliver a deeper message.  Martinez tackles bullying (“Callin’ me words I’m not, paintin’ a picture that’s false”), narrow-minded, un-cultured and/or insensitive people (“Livin’ in the fake world, full of facades, and chaotic behavior”), and spineless attention seekers (“You pull the lever for fun, yell, ‘Fire,’ then you just run”).

Where Martinez opts for more transcendence is the chorus, where she seems to suggest living this way will potentially blow up in their faces:

“Fire drill, what would happen if a nuke just hit?
Would you say, ‘Bye,’ to your family? Would you post about it?
Fire drill, if it all went up in flames one day
Would you give your mom a hug before your house burned away?”

Also, worth noting, Melanie totally separates herself from the foolishness which she’s experienced, observed, and sings about.  On the bridge, she makes it clear, “I am not part of anything that is hateful / Love is seepin’ out my pores, I don’t hold anger anymore…” Martinez gives listeners plenty to unpack on “Fire Drill.” The lyrics and themes are, but it should also be noted that Martinez sings marvelously, and she’s backed by impressive production courtesy of 🎛 Keenan.

5. Sam Smith, “Fire on Fire”

💿 Love Goes • 🏷 Capitol • 📅 2020 

The rollout for 💿 Love Goes, the third studio album by 🏆 Academy- and Grammy award winner 🎙 Sam Smith wasn’t ‘smooth as butter.’ Love Goes was original To Die For, with many of the singles released in advance of To Die For becoming bonus tracks on Love Goes.  One such bonus track, 🎵 “Fire on Fire”, from 2018, also served as the lead single on the Netflix mini-series, 🎦 Watership Down.

Vocally, Smith is ‘on fire,’ infusing their emotions full throttle (where they’re at their best).  The production (🎛 Steve Mac) is balanced, nothing extremely flashy, yet perfectly suited to provide necessary ⛽ for the 🔥.  When the strings soar, and when Smith ascends into their masterful upper register, that’s when “Fire on Fire” is truly elite (The golden chorus being a prime example).

“Fire on fire would normally kill us
But this much desire, together, we're winners
They say that we're out of control and some say we're sinners
But don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms.” 

6. Cannons, “Fire for You”

💿 Shadows • 🏷 Columbia • 📅 2019

“I was on fire for you /… I could have died for you… / I was alive with you / But you brought in the cold.” Clearly, on 🎙 Cannons’ 🎵 “Fire for You” (💿 Shadows) the relationship was NOT a success.  That’s a total bummer as singer 🎙 Michele Joy lays out a clear case that she was totally into the relationship but clearly, her former lover wasn’t.  There’s clearly resentment from Joy and for good reason.  She’s hurt because – wait for it – she “was on fire for you!”

Beyond a telling first verse and the centerpiece, the chorus, Joy continues to share the plight of love in all its ugliness.  “I’m leaving without you, love,” she asserts on the second verse, continuing, “I have no choice / I know I’m being lied to.”  That sucks.  What doesn’t suck is this record, which is a clear vibe-and-a-half from the jump.  Great vocals, relatable lyrics, and colorful production – sick groove, rhythm guitar, and moody keyboards – make “Fire for You” the bop everyone needs in their life. 

7. The Killers, “Fire in Bone”

💿 Imploding the Mirage • 🏷 Island • 📅 2020 

🎵 “Fire in Bone” served as the second single from 💿 Imploding the Mirage, the sixth studio album by 🏆 multi-Grammy-nominated band, 🎙 The Killers. Like so many songs by the band “Fire in Bone” features colorful production including atmospheric pads, robust bass line, and an infectious groove.  The ear candy is ample, both musically and vocally.

The pitch of front man 🎙 Brandon Flowers is imperfect and wobbly at times, but that’s also part of his charm in all honesty. “Fire in Bone” is definitely intriguing, though quirky. Even if it’s ‘left of center’ in some respects, the form is pretty standard, save for an additional refrain section beyond the chorus.  Lyrically, “Fire in Bone” has its moments as well like, “I felt washed up / I felt tempest-tossed and seasick / But I felt fire in bone.” Some moments are simpler and more minimal early on, making the record slightly confusing initially. Ultimately, however it’s a key cut from Imploding the Mirage as well as a worthwhile, standalone song.

8. Waxahatchee, “Fire”

💿 Saint Cloud • 🏷 Merge • 📅 2020

“If I could love you unconditionally / I could iron out the edges of the darkest sky / For some of us, it ain’t enough.”  Now that is poetic 🔥 right there! Safe to say, indie music project 🎙 Waxahatchee (🎙 Katie Crutchfield) brings that 🎵 “Fire,” ha-ha.  “Fire” appears as the third track on Waxahatchee’s 2020 album, 💿 Saint Cloud.  Those lyrics appear from the refrain. Notably, besides the outro, “Fire” only has one other section – the verse.

Like the refrain, Crutchfield outdoes herself with the 🎼✍ songwriting.  Her lyrics are honest and thoughtful, with a number of highlights.  “And when I turn back around / Will you drain me back out? / Will you let me believe that I broke through,” she sings at one point, later characterizing herself as “a bird in the trees / I can learn to see with a partial view / I can learn to be easy as I move in close to you.” Brilliant!  Adding to the allure of this record are the vocals, and the overall sound and production (🎛 Brad Cook).  No question about this 🔥 right here!

9. Gesaffelstein, “Lost in the Fire”

Ft. The Weeknd

💿 Hyperion • 🏷 Gesaffelstein / Columbia • 📅 2019

French techno artist and DJ 🎙 Gesaffelstein has collaborated with 🏆 Grammy-winning Canadian R&B artist, 🎙 The Weeknd on several songs. Gesaffelstein is credited as the main attraction on 🎵 “Lost in the Fire”, from his 2019 effort, 💿 Hyperion. Gesaffelstein serves up production that is sleek, warm, and alluring to the nth degree, intact with driving rhythm. The warm synths provide the perfect backdrop for The Weekend to sing over.

As for The Weeknd, he sounds superb vocally, flaunting his upper tenor vocals. Lyrically, the record isn’t without ample sex:

“I wanna fuck you slow with the lights on
You’re the only one I’ve got my sights on
Type of sex you could never put a price on
I’ll take it off, you’re the one I’ll roll the dice on.”

Perhaps more notably, there’s some controversy.  What specifically rubbed the people the wrong way about this song? It’s oversimplifying lesbianism as a phase that he can fix via sex:

“You said you might be into girls
Said you’re going through a phase...
Well, baby, you can bring a friend
She can ride on top your face
While I fuck you straight.”

Not the finest moment for The Weeknd; it hurts an otherwise pleasant urban-pop joint.  Worth adding,  that lesbian reference doesn’t even tackle another dimension of “Lost in the Fire” – a possible Drake diss (“And I just want a baby with the right one / ‘Cause I could never be the one to hide one”).

Also Appears On 🔽:

🔗 🎧 11 Compelling Songs That Are Totally Lost

10. Eric Church, “Heart on Fire”

💿 Heart • 🏷 UMG Recordings • 📅 2021 

“Roosevelt Road was too tough for my old truck.” Yep – definitely sounds like a line from a country song! 🏆 Grammy-nominated country standout 🎙 Eric Church returned in a big way in 2021 – two albums (💿 Heart and 💿 Soul)! The ‘fiery’ song at hand, 🎵 “Heart on Fire,” appears as the opener on 💿 Heart (April 16).  “Heart on Fire,” written by Church and produced by 🎛 Jay Joyce, is definitely turned-up, filled with ample energy.

As suggest above, “Heart on Fire” is a country song through and through.  Call it what it is – a country banger! Church spends plenty of time singing his truck, including the chorus:

“A turned-up radio but the static was heavy
Couldn’t make out any words but ‘Take Me to the Levee’.”

That said, he also seems moves beyond it, reminiscing on the past (“We weren’t old enough but we damn sure did it / Hat turned backward singin’ ‘Paradise City’”) and of course, love.  Prior to the Guns N Roses reference on the second verse, he asserts, “I don’t have a single thought that doesn’t have you in it / To feel those flames again, I go back in a New York minute.” Ultimately, Church brings the heat – rather the 🔥 – making “Heart on Fire” a surefire country bop.

11. Adele, “Set Fire to the Rain”

💿 21 • 🏷 XL • 📅 2011

“But I set fire to the rain / Watched it pour as I touched your face / Well, it burned while I cried / ‘Cause I heard it screaming out your name / Your name…” 💿 21 is an incredible 🎙 Adele album – understatement!  🎵 “Set Fire to the Rain” is a pretty great song too! It perfectly fits the fiery parameters of this playlist!

Produced by 🎛 Fraser T. Smith, “Set Fire to the Rain” is relatively simple musically. It opens with rhythmic piano, similarly to another Adele hit, “Hometown Glory” (19).  The harmonic progression is uncomplicated but highly effective.  Set in D minor, “Set Fire to the Rain” definitely has a dark vibe.  Lyrically, we get that dark side, particularly on the pre-chorus and the anthemic chorus.  On the pre-chorus, she informs us, “But there’s a side to you / That I never knew, never knew /… And the games you’d play / You would always win, always win.” Yeah, that’s definitely not fair – manipu-F’ing-lation I say! The aforementioned chorus continues:

“I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames
When it fell, something died
‘Cause I knew that that was the last time
The last time...”

So, there’s no actual rain, or fire, just an unhealthy relationship and some tough but necessary decisions to be made by Adele.  Got it! Throughout, we get clear, soaring vocals from the queen – to be expected. 

Also Appears On 🔽:

🔗 🎧 13 Songs Where, When It Rains It Pours (Part I)