13 Quiet Songs U Should Turn Up Loud | Playlist 🎧

13 Quiet Songs U Should Turn Up Loud features Camila Cabello, Charlie Puth, Kendrick Lamar, The Killers & Smokey Robinson.

Shh! BE QUIET! Yeah, you! And you too! This compendium requires SILENCE! Gawwwddd! Stop talking so much and SHUT UP! Yeah, you! BE QUIET!!! Okay, just having a little silly fun – you don’t have to be QUIET, but that is the driving force behind 🎧 13 Quiet Songs U Should Turn Up Loud. Most of the songs feature the word QUIET in their title but there are a few exceptions that opt for synonyms and related words, such as silence and silent.

🎧 13 Quiet Songs U Should Turn Up Loud features music courtesy of 🎙 Camila Cabello, 🎙 Charlie Puth, 🎙 Kendrick Lamar, 🎙 The Killers, and 🎙 Smokey Robinson among others. Just within that featured group of musicians, stylistically, we dip into pop, rap, alternative, and soul!  Always keeping it eclectic, you won’t be bored with this compendium.  So, dive right into these 🎧 13 Quiet Songs U Should Turn Up Loud!

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1. Charlie Puth, “Charlie Be Quiet!”

💿 Charlie • 🏷 Atlantic • 🗓 2022

“Charlie, be quiet, don’t make a sound / You’ve got to lower the noise a little bit now / If she knows you’re in love, she’s gonna run away.” Grammy-nominated pop singer/songwriter/producer Charlie Puth refers to himself, in the third person, in the short but relatable 🤩 🎵 “Charlie Be Quiet!”. Why does Charlie tell himself to be quiet on this gem from his third studio album, 💿 Charlie? He doesn’t want to get hurt (as in heartbreak) or ruin his chance at love.

Even as Puth is excited about a prospective serious relationship, he asserts, “… It’s all getting too loud.”  He doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, hence, he’s toning things down.  A prime example is in the second verse, where he asserts, “I’ll act like I don’t even care, yeah / I’m not going out looking dumb.” Charlie makes his point loud and clear. Even though he’s quieting down, the chorus is big, showing off his upper range and his ability to pack a punch behind his vocals.  It contrasts the quieter, more tentative verses, which represent being tame – calm, cool, and collected – regarding love.  Besides relatable songwriting and respectable vocals, “Charlie Be Quiet” is respectably produced.

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2. Camila Cabello, “Quiet”

💿 Familia • 🏷 Epic • 📅 2022                                 

“It’s you, boy / I’m cool like an icicle ‘til I see you, boy / Think I’m gonna die.” On 🎵 “Quiet,” a man is the focal point. Unlike the preceding “La Buena Vida”, it’s positive and sexy to the n^th degree.  While much of 💿 Familia finds 🏆 Grammy-nominated pop artist 🎙 Camila Cabello embracing music from her culture, on “Quiet,” the Latin cues disappear in favor of chilly, modern pop with some 80s influences.

This sound suits Cabello too, successfully conjuring up a sensual experience.  Like much of her critically acclaimed but commercially disappointing third album, it is the chorus that shines brightest:

“But now your hands are touchin’ my waist

In the back of the care, you just couldn’t wait

And now my hands are movin’ in ways

Like I need you right now, I just couldn’t wait.”

Ooh, wee!

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3. Kendrick Lamar, “Silent Hill” (Ft. Kodak Black)

💿 Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers • 🏷 Aftermath / Interscope • 🗓 2022 

“Head up, chest out / Silence, I’m stressed out / Shh, be quiet, I’m stressed out.” Ah, far too often we are forced to suppress and cope in other ways. 🎵 “Silent Hill” explores this to an extent.  In the context of 💿 Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, the long-awaited return of 🏆 Grammy/Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, 🎙 Kendrick Lamar, “Silent Hill” marks the third 🎙 Kodak Black appearance (“In the studio with K. Dot fresh out the feds / Yeah, you niggas can’t stand the rain, you niggas don’t stand a chance”). It should come as no surprise that Black is (1) controversial and (2) his appearance on a Kendrick Lamar album is controversial.  Nonetheless, in his third appearance, Kodak and Kendrick collaborate – his biggest role on the album.

“Push these niggas off me like, ‘Huh’

Push these bitches off me like, ‘Huh’

Pushin’ the snakes, I’m pushin’ the fakes

I’m pushin’ ‘em all off me like, ‘Huh’

Pushin’ ‘em all off me like, ‘Huh’.”

To be fair, most of “Silent Hill” finds Kendrick Lamar holding it down, including the chorus excerpted above 🔥.  Has there ever been a time that Lamar needs someone to collaborate with him to elevate his game? HELL NAW! Black does, however, drop the second verse on this trap-oriented joint (“Beat the dope with a fork, I’m whippin’ up Sudafed, I’m doin’ scams in the lab”).  Naturally, that’s a fit for Kodak.  Besides cold, raw, violent references and materialism, both rappers address life.

 

Appears in 🔻:

• 11 Songs Where There are Hills to Climb

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4. Remi Wolf, “Quiet on Set”

💿 Juno • 🏷 Remi Wolf / Island • 📅 2021

“Shh! / Quiet on set / I been takin’ bets / I been payin’ my debts.” Woo, 🎙 Remi Wolf! The pop artist goes on a tear on 🎵 “Quiet on Set,” the fifth track from her 2021 album, 💿 Juno.  Alongside 🎛 Elie Rizk and 🎛 Solomonphonic, Wolf delivers some energetic, totally kickass production.  Safe to say she has a rad backdrop to drop her assertive, attitude-laden vocals over.

“Killin’ me, killin’ me, killin’ me

I just want to protect my energy

Ain’t got no time for the frenemies

Eating my ass like the human centipede.”

Woo! Besides the funky production, Remi is locked-and-loaded, dropping alluring one-liners all over the place. Wolf mentions the movie The Human Centipede, beloved childhood franchise Chuck-E-Cheese, R&B singer, Foushee (specifically the popular record, “Deep End”) and Five Guys. Is “Quiet on Set” deep? Hell no, but it’s fun as hell – a surefire BOP!

 

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5. YUNGBLUD, “​it’s quiet in beverly hills”

💿 weird! • 🏷 Locomotion Recordings Limited / Interscope • 📅 2020 

“I sat inside a goldfish tank / Where people fix themselves with rubber bands / I don’t want them to believe that I am different,” 🎙 YUNGBLUD (Dominic Harrison) sings in 🎵 “it’s quiet in beverly hills.” “It’s quiet in beverly hills” appears as the penultimate track on the Gen-Z musician’s sophomore album, 💿 weird! (2020).  Compared to other songs he’s released this record is more reflective and less in your face.  That doesn’t mean Harrison isn’t profane (he drops an f-bomb) or as honest as he’s always been.

With people trying to atone for their own issues with questionable means, YUNGBLUD has his own issues to cope with.  He references suicidal thoughts, something he confirmed when commentating about “it’s quiet in beverly hills.” After previously praising California, Harrison, who is originally from Doncaster in the UK, changes his tune: “It’s quiet in Beverly Hills / I’m dying in Beverly Hills.” Despite his own issues – “And therapy told me my blood was orange” – Harrison makes it clear in the chorus he has mad love for his fans:

“I’ll love you all of my life

Until you close your eyes for good

I’ll love you all of my life, all of my life

All of my life, all of my life.”

 

 

Appears in 🔻:

• 11 Songs Where There are Hills to Climb

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

💿 The Hamilton Mixtape • 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 2016

“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 R&B-infused-pop ballad is a superb fit for the soulful, powerhouse musician. The production is warm and inviting.  The performance – gorgeous.

Appears in 🔻:

• 13 Q Songs: No Rhyme or Reason

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 7. 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.

Appears in 🔻:

• 13 Q Songs: No Rhyme or Reason

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8. Ariana Grande, “Shut up”

💿 Positions • 🏷 Republic • 🗓 2020

“All them demons helped me see shit differently / So don’t be sad for me.” Oh snap! Better yet, BE QUIET! Even better, 🎵 “SHUT UP”! “Shut up” sets the tone on 💿 Positions, the sixth studio album by 🎙 Ariana Grande.  She’s assertive and profane, just like the title suggests.  Would we have Ari any other way? Of course, we wouldn’t!

“Love the game so I ain’t never miss

Keep opinions muted for the hell of it

‘Cause I like my shit.” 

Ari is confident in that excerpt from the second verse – an understatement.  You could totally say, she’s feeling herself – 🚫 🎩. While exuding confidence and urging the haters to SHUT UP, she’s backed by an ultra-classy, orchestral backdrop. Contradictory, right?

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9. Future, “Keep Quiet”

💿 HNDRXX • 🏷 Epic • 📅 2017

“Keep quiet, keep quiet, keep quiet / Don’t tell nobody!” Woo! It’s impossible to forget the title of 🎵 “Keep Quiet.”  Why? Well, 🎙 Future damn-near repeats it a million times.  Not literally, but the chorus, excerpted at the top, centers around those two words – “Keep quiet!” “Keep Quiet” appears as the tenth track on the 🏆 Grammy winner’s second album of 2017, 💿 HNDRXX.

The modus operandi is that Future doesn’t want the chick that he is sleeping with (but not necessarily dating) to tell about their non-relationship/relations. That’s a black soap opera waiting to happen for sure!  “Fell in love, she done got attached / Let her tell it, we a perfect match,” he raps in the first verse.  At the end of the second, he adds, “My name come with all these benefits / If you fuck a nigga who famous, you better…” – yep, you guessed it – “Keep quiet!” Besides the sex/non-commitment drama, “Keep Quiet” gives Future a chance to flaunt his wrist.  The man has been adept at flexing for years! He’s got money and he’s spending it on her – whatever she is to him!

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10. Fleet Foxes, “Quiet Air / Gioia”

💿 Shore • 🏷 Fleet Foxes / Anti • 📅 2020

🎵 “Quiet Air / Gioia” marks one of the best records from 💿 Shore, the 🏆 Grammy-nominated, 2020 album by alternative collective, 🎙 Fleet Foxes. Fleet Foxes are a captivating band, one that makes a cerebral, challenging brand of alternative folk.  🎙 Robin Pecknold – well – he’s great as both a singer and songwriter.  “Quiet Air / Gioia” is a prime example of a thought-provoking gem.  Thought provoking it may be, it has some tempo and groove behind it!

The vocal production is a mega-selling point on “Quiet Air / Gioia,” providing ample color. Additionally, the backdrop is rich and varied.  The listener is blessed with constant rhythm, intriguing piano lines, and a clever harmonic progression. It does feel like “Quiet Air / Gioia” is a two-part song, with the second part in particular sounding ‘wild’ (“Feeling a gold unfolding hand ono me / Nowhere to go, no one I’d rather see…”).  Per Pecknold, “The ending is this more ecstatic thing. Just imagining some weird pagan dance, like rite of spring or something, where it just kind of builds into this weird kind of joy. Like dancing while the world burns.” Yep, that sounds about right.

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11. Hozier, “Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue)”

💿 Nina Cried Power (EP) • 🏷 Rubyworks / Columbia • 📅 2018

“When stunted hammers place with men, my mere monstrosity / Alarms are struck and sure as shook by sheer atrocity.” Man, that’s brilliant songwriting, 🎙 Hozier.  In the context of his 2018 EP, 💿 Nina Cried Power (EP), 🎵 “Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue)” follows the cool though potent 🎵 “NFWMB” (No One Fucks with My Baby, 😂). Anyways, “Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue)” brings a quicker tempo and more assertiveness from Hozier.

By the final chorus of “Moment’s Silence,” the Irish singer/songwriter is totally turned up, showing off those commanding, impressive pipes.

“Like a heathen clung to homily

Let the reason come to the common tongue of your lovin’ me

It’s a silent night upon rosary

Let the reason come in the common tongue of you lovin’ me.”

Hozier incorporates religious references, many of which are critical of some of the church’s viewpoints, particularly regarding sex.  You might say, Hozier doesn’t keep quiet!

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 12. Troye Sivan, “The Quiet”

💿 Blue Neighbourhood (Deluxe Edition) • 🏷 Universal Music Australia • 📅 2015

“I’d rather be spitting blood / than have this silence fuck me up.”  What a way to kick off 🎵 “The Quiet,” 🎙 Troye Sivan! “The Quiet” originally appeared on the Australian-based (by way of South Africa) artist’s EP, 💿 Wild (2015).  The record, where Sivan paints ‘the quiet’ as the ultimate pain, ultimately appears on the deluxe edition of his debut album, 💿 Blue Neighbourhood.

“This separation, time, and space between us

For some revelation

You didn’t care to discuss

I’d rather be black and blue

Than accept that you withdrew.”

Quiet is equivalent to a dying or ended relationship, as well as the loneliness that comes with both.  The production (🎛 SLUMS, 🎛 Alex JL Hiew, and 🎛 Dann Hume) is quite commercial. The song, however, is firmly planted in the alternative pop vein, which makes it truly captivating.  Still, the message is relatable to the n^th degree.  The chorus sums up Sivan’s feelings perfectly:

“Ah, just tell me

Say anything

Anything hurts less than the quiet.”

 

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13. Smokey Robinson, “Quiet Storm”

💿 A Quiet Storm • 🏷 Motown • 📅 1975

“Soft and warm, a quiet storm / Quiet as when flowers talk at break of dawn / Break of dawn…” Sigh, few soul musicians are smoother than 🎙 Smokey Robinson. FACTS! The 🏆 Grammy-winning, iconic singer/songwriter is simply one of the very best, period. With countless hits, it’s easy for a song like 🎵 “Quiet Storm” not to get the love it deserves.  Sure, “Quiet Storm” didn’t achieve top-10 status on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did peak at no. 61 – it had some impact.  Even if it hadn’t, this is another stellar Smokey Robinson classic.  It commences his 1975 album, 💿 A Quiet Storm.

“Quiet storm

Blowin’ through my life

Oh, quiet storm

Blown’ through my life

Oh, blow baby.”

“Quiet Storm” doesn’t keep it short and sweet – it’s nearly eight minutes long!  Smokey had a lot to say, haha, and it’s ALL UTTERLY SUBLIME.  As always, he sings beautifully, flaunting that gorgeous, soulful tenor.  “You short-circuit all my nerves / Promising electric things / You touch me and suddenly there’s rainbow rings.” Ooh-wee, his pen, alongside 🎼✍ Rose Ella Jones, is sharp.  Oh, and let’s not forget the production – warm electric piano, smooth guitar, robust bass, and lush backing vocals – helmed by him and another legend, 🎛 Willie Hutch. Gorgeous! Smokey manages sexiness and classiness simultaneously.  A must-hear, nearly 50 years later!

Appears in 🔻:

• Smokey Robinson, “Quiet Storm”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 43 (2022)

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13 Quiet Songs U Should Turn Up Loud [📷: Aftermath, Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels, Anti, Atlantic, Brent Faulkner, Columbia, Epic, Fleet Foxes, Interscope, Island, Locomotion Recordings Limited, Motown, The Musical Hype, Remi Wolf, Republic, Rubyworks, Universal Music Australia]

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