13 Q Songs: No Rhyme or Reason | Playlist

1. Red Velvet, “Queendom”

Queendom – The 6^th Mini Album • SM Entertainment • 2021

“We are queens in the red castle / Don’t need crown.” Hmm, now that’s a statement right there! What better way to commence 13 Q Songs: No Rhyme or Reason than with a queenly, queen song? In this case, it’s a QUEENDOM! That’s right, girl, South Korean K-pop group Red Velvet unleash “Queendom,” the opening and title track from their 2021 EP, Queendom – The 6^th Mini Album.  Safe to say, it’s a total B-O-P!

As expected, “Queendom” features both Korean and English lyrics.  The thing is, even if you can’t decipher the Korean sans translation, given the English lyrics, and the attitude exhibited, it’s easy to see what Red Velvet are going for.  Basically, these are confident girls and nobody is going to tell them what to do. GIRL POWER, period!  They assert on the pre-chorus, “We are makin’ the rules.” As Beyoncé informed us years ago, “Who run the world? Girls!” That said, On the epic chorus, they’re inclusive of all: “‘Cause were queens and kings.” “Queendom” is superbly produced, and the energy is through the roof.  Safe to say Red Velvet slays!

2. Lazarus Lynch, “Black Queer Anthem”

“Black Queer Anthem” • Lazarus Lynch • 2021

Lazarus Lynch is fearless.  More people should have the fearlessness and bravery of this self-described black gay artist, intellectual, and activist.  A prime example of his fearlessness is his assertive, bold single, “Black Queer Anthem”.  The title alone is enough to make conservatives, homophobes, and racists cringe in sheer ire.  I’m pretty sure Lynch is like, ‘bring it on.’

“Black Queer Anthem” runs just two-minutes-and-change, but that is ample time for Lynch to share both black and queer pride alike.  Honestly, it is an intriguing listen that latches instantly.  The vocals are distorted intentionally, adding a gritty tone to support Lazarus’ cause – thoughtful musical, activist move.  Furthermore, the production is anchored by hard, pummeling drums that scream and incite a march for justice.  The groove is enough to feel this track, sparking body movement but also passion. Lyrically, Lynch keeps it repetitive and simple, constructing a surefire vibe, call for action, and empowering the black, queer army.  Hopefully, allies join the cause as well as Lazarus is preaching good stuff.

Also appears on :
Awesome Songs That Tickled My Fancy: June 2021

3. The Killers, “Quiet Town”

Pressure Machine • Island • 2021

“In this quiet town, families are tight / Good people, they still don’t deadbolt their doors at night / In this quiet town.” Yeah, you better deadbolt your doors in the city though, that’s for sure.  “Quiet Town” appears as the second track on Pressure Machine, the seventh studio album by The Killers. Pressure Machine, an album that arrived less than a year after the band’s last album ( Imploding the Mirage), examines small-town, working class life, with its pros and cons.

“Quiet Town” commences with an interlude regarding ‘the train.’ “Every two or three years, the train kills somebody,” a nameless narrator asserts, later adding, “I think the train is a way to find your way out of this life if you get hit by it.” Yikes! Expectedly, front man Brandon Flowers runs with this, depicting some of the plights of small-town life (or perceived plights in some instances).  Not all objectionable, this Springsteen-influenced joint characterizes the residents as “Good people who lean on Jesus, they’re quick to forgive.” Fair enough.

4. 2 Chainz, “Quarantine Thick”

Ft. Latto

So Help Me God •  Gamebread / Def Jam •  2020

“Okay, my day was amazin’ / Her booty shots graze me / She said, all the gyms closed, so she been feelin’ lazy / She been late night snackin’, but shawty still my baby…” 2 Chainz remains true to self on “Quarantine Thick”, which appears on his 2020 album, So Help Me God. “Quarantine Thick” features banging, minimalist southern rap production (basically, a keyboard line and hard-hitting drums) courtesy of Yung Lan. He’s absurd as ever – funny, raunchy, and, sexed TF up. A prime example: “I had that pussy pissin’ once I hit that kidney.” Furthermore, we are treated to a catchy chorus, highlighting this newly acquired thickness.

Beyond Chainz, Latto plays off the sex that he throws out, responding in equally sexed-up fashion: “Quarantine thick, he tryna get me lipo (ooh) / Pussy holy water, put that on the Bible.” Damn! Even if she’s ‘unrefined,’ you’ve gotta love her quick, agile flow and the mad attitude she brings to the table. Banger!

Also appears on :
QUARANTINE: 5ive Songs No. 64 (2020)

5. Pop Smoke, “Questions”

Faith (Deluxe) • Republic • 2021

Sadly, Pop Smoke was murdered before releasing his official debut album.  After the success of Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon, his estate released his second posthumous album, Faith. Additionally, a deluxe version of Faith arrived, featuring the brief song, “Questions.” “Questions” is comprised of two choruses and one verse, true to the less orthodox forms used in rap these days.  808 Melo produces, sampling “Down Ass Bitch” ( Ja Rule) and interpolating “21 Questions” ( 50 Cent).

“If I was still up on my ass, would you give me a last four? / If I was on the ground, would you help me off the floor?” Well, those are questions – legit questions to the late rapper, I suppose.  He goes on to say, “If it ain’t smell so good, would you still hug me? / If you ain’t had no money, would you still love me?” Ultimately, his questions are centered on the fact, will she ride with him, no matter what the scenario is. “Can you be mine?”

6. Bastille, “Quarter Past Midnight”

Doom Days • Virgin • 2019

“We keep on running / Running through a red light / Like we’re trying to burn the night away / Away-away, oh, away-away, oh…” Bastille released “Quarter Past Midnight” as a single more than a year prior to the release of its third studio album,   Doom Days.  On “Quarter Past Midnight,” the very British-sounding front man Dan Smith brilliantly paints a portrait of freedom for the night.  Both verses focus on 12:15 AM, using the time as a marker for being out ‘beyond curfew,’ potentially breaking every rule in the book, and making the night last long as possible.

At the end of the first verse, Smith sings, “Still avoiding tomorrow / It’s a quarter past midnight / But we’re just getting going.”  On the second, he speaks of dreams as opposed to accepting the mundane: “We want the bodies on the billboards / Not the lives underneath them.” On the chorus, he sums things up. All in all, “Quarter Past Midnight” is signature Bastille.

Also appears on :
13 Ear-catching Songs About Midnight

7. Bad Bunny, “Que Malo”

Ft. Nengo Flow

YHLQMDLG • Rimas Entertainment • 2020

Although it runs long, Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) delivers a compelling sophomore album in YHLQMDLG. YHLQMDLG is an acronym for Yo Hago Lo Que Me De La Gana or “I do what I want!” Among the standouts from YHLQMDLG is “Que Malo,” featuring Nengo Flow.

Keeping it ‘classy’ (NOT), on “Que Malo,” Bad Bunny hedonistically sings, “Too bad that you left / The man that you had, because / I liked to fuck you / Knowing that you weren’t mine, and you were his.” Well Day-um, that’s savage! Nengo Flow is savage too, asserting, on the first verse, “I love to punish you when he left the house / That bastard calling and I’m in your room giving salsa…” Of course, Bunny continues to inform us about how the sex went down, cockily closing the second verse asserting, “I bet she remembered when she felt this dick.” Wow! Dirty AF, but with sick production by Mvisis and Jota Rosa fueling the fire, “Que Malo” is a winner.

8. Sinead Harnett, “Quarantine Queen”

“Quarantine Queen” •  Thairish Limited •  2020

“Quarantine Queen” is one of many coronavirus-inspired singles, and a truly gorgeous one it is. R&B/soul singer Sinead Harnett absolutely stuns. “I don’t wanna be alone / I don’t wanna stay here on my own,” she sings on the first verse, continuing, “Every time that I look, there’s another headline on my phone.” The pandemic has increased anxiety and messes with your mental health, something Harnett perfectly captures.  She goes on the expand the scope to the need for love to atone for all the bad, miscues, and misgivings.

Characterizing her contemporary soul ballad, Harnett asserts, “That worrying emotion is what brought about ‘Quarantine Queen.’ Though a sad thought, there is hope in the song from a wider standpoint – what can we as a nation learn from this time in terms of how we are living. I hope that we will change for the better, that’s really what I was getting at.” ‘Woke’ lyricism, exquisite production, incredible vocals, and a high degree of authenticity makes “Quarantine Queen” utterly sublime.

Also appears on :
Songs That Capture & Embody the Pandemic, Vol. 3
Awesome Songs That Tickled My Fancy: May 2020
Quarantine Sucks, But At Least We Have Bops!
QUARANTINE: 5ive Songs No. 64 (2020)

9. Call Me Karizma, “Quarantine with Me”

“Quarantine with Me” •  CallMeKarizma / Arista • 2020

“The world’s gone mad, a travesty / But us in bed is all I need / Come over, and quarantine with me (Yeah)…” “Quarantine with Me” is an honest and relatable pandemic song. Rapper/singer Catch Me Karizma perfectly captures all the emotions of the devastating coronavirus situation. A prime example occurs on the first verse of this guitar-driven pop record, when he sings, “Yeah / I feel it in my gut, yeah / The media just fucks with me / Headline: ‘We’re dead.” Indeed, there’s been quite a damning, unsettling nature while tuning into media coverage regarding the virus.

On the second, he cleverly references toilet paper, saying, “‘Cause the shit I’m spittin’ water…” Of course, the most important thing he mentions is missing loved ones, specifically his girlfriend. On the intro (the eventual chorus), He informs us of his dedication, loneliness, and desire to quarantine with his bae.  On the pre-chorus, after questioning potential fatality, he accepts social distancing, with one sole exception – HER: “The grocery stores are all empty / But I’ve got sex and mac and cheese / Come over, and quarantine with me.”

Also appears on :
Songs That Capture & Embody the Pandemic, Vol. 3
Awesome Songs That Tickled My Fancy: May 2020
QUARANTINE: 5ive Songs No. 64 (2020)

10. Kelly Clarkson, “It’s Quiet Uptown”

The Hamilton Mixtape • Atlantic • 2021

“If you see him in the street walking by himself / Talking to himself, have pity / You would like it uptown, it’s quiet uptown / He’s working through the unimaginable.” Grammy-winning pop superstar Kelly Clarkson steals the show on The Hamilton Mixtape. The Hamilton Mixtape, of course, covers and reimagines some of the biggest songs from Hamilton, the beloved, critically acclaimed, Tony winning musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Clarkson is tasked with covering the gorgeous ballad, “It’s Quiet Uptown”.

“His hair has gone grey, he passes every day
They say he walks the length of the city
You knock me out, I fall apart
Can you imagine?”

Clarkson nails “It’s Quiet Uptown.” I initially criticized the rendition, given differences compared to the definitive original.  After reexamining it, it’s another welcome addition to Clarkson’s catalogue. The treatment as an urban-pop ballad is a superb fit for the soulful, powerhouse musician. The production is warm and inviting.  The performance – gorgeous.

11. Perfume Genius, “Queen”

Too Bright • Matador • 2014

“No family is safe / When I sashay.” Perfume Genius (Mike Hadreas) delivers quite the LGBTQ gem with “Queen,” the second track off his 2014 album, Too Bright.  Thematically, the lyrics encompass fierceness as well as false, often homophobic perceptions of the gay community.

On the first verse, Perfume Genius references AIDS and its perceived connection to the LGBTQ+ community, singing, “Don’t you know your queen? / Cracked, peeling / Riddle with disease / Don’t you know me?” On the second verse, he seems to reference Silence of the Lambs, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, and perceived negative gay influence.  Regardless of if you’re a full-fledged member of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally, “Queen” is a must-hear.

Also appears on :
A Compendium Comprised of 100 Notable LGBTQ+ Songs
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12. Miguel, “Quickie”

All I Want is You • Jive / Sony • 2010

“I don’t wanna be loved, I don’t wanna be loved / I just want a quickie.” Call Grammy-winning R&B singer/songwriter Miguel shallow if want, but he’s transparent about what he wants.  “No bite marks, no scratches, and no hickies,” he continues singing on “Quickie,” one of the gems from his 2010 debut album, All I Want is You.  Here, it’s all about pleasure and nothing beyond that.

From the get-go, Miguel lays it out there.  “Mami, you looking like I’m just another guy / That came to check you, that came to wreck you,” he commences the first verse.  Of course, that’s the case: “No disrespect, but mami, that’s correct ‘cause / What’s in them jeans just got my mind hectic.” Basically, the dude’s horny AF, she’s fine AF, and he wants to have sex – “a quick fix.” He even slips in some Spanish, rather Portuguese on the second verse.  And, remaining transparent on this contemporary soul cut, admits, “I’m so obscene, know what I mean?” “Quickie” remains one of the brightest spots in Miguel’s catalog.

13. Tori Kelly, “Questions”

Hiding Place • Capitol • 2018

“It’s hard to play this game / Because the rules, they don’t seem fair / If You care, God if You’re still there.” After releasing a pop debut album, Tori Kelly pivoted, at least temporarily.  A Christian, it’s not surprising that Kelly would eventually dip her toes in CCM and gospel.  More surprising is how soon into her career she opted for that lane.  The results are both spiritually satisfying and critically successful on her Grammy-winning eight-track sophomore album, Hiding Place. Fitting the letter Q criteria of this list is “Questions,” the sixth track from Hiding Place.

On the incredibly relatable “Questions,” Kelly tackles questions – duh. Such questions are spiritually driven.  For example, why do certain things happen under God’s watch?

“Bombs falling in Syria
A child dying of AIDS...
But heaven can feel silent.”

Ultimately, Kelly wonders “What happens when the healing never comes?” While it may seem pessimistic to a degree, essentially, it’s a message about ‘leaning into faith’ – knowing God will answer.

“So now I must be silent
Your voice is in the wind
The hands that made the heavens
Will heal the storm within.”