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13 Songs About All Things Pink [📷: Brent Faulkner, Greta Hoffman, Hassan OUAJBIR, Karley Saagi, kytalpa, last evan, MART PRODUCTION, Megan Forbes, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pexels, Pixabay, SHVETS production, Vinicius Altava]13 Songs About All Things Pink features music courtesy of Baby Keem, blackbear, Carrie Underwood, Janelle Monae and Myylo.

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Sometimes, a musical compendium is a long, long time coming.  Musicians and writers often have extensive backlogs – I know I do.  For years, I’d started compiling ideas for a playlist centered around the color PINK.  However, it just sort of kept going on the back burner 🎵 “Time After Time”,  🎙 Cyndi Lauper! So, what forced me to finally go on and finish this pink playlist – 🎧 13 Songs About All Things Pink – that shouldn’t have nearly taken this long? Um, that’s a great question and honestly, I don’t have a great answer.

strawberry milkRegardless, I finally found the right songs and captured the right energy, I guess. Anyways, 🎧 13 Songs About All Things Pink – the 74th music compendium in the year of our Lord, 2022 – features music courtesy of 🎙 Baby Keem,  🎙 blackbear (twice), 🎙 Charli XCX, 🎙 Janelle Monae, and 🎙 Myylo among others.  Also, there’s another artist besides blackbear that gets two-for-one pink treatment 😮! Woo! Read on my Musical Hype-ians to see who else graces this glorious pink musical compendium!


1. Myylo, “Pink Boy Heart”

🎵 “Pink Boy Heart”🏷 Myylo • 📅 2022

Myylo, “Pink Boy Heart” [📷: Myylo]“Baby I wasn’t joking / I want to hold you tight / I feel my pink boy heart exploding / Whenever you stay the night.” Those lyrics could hail from nobody else but the handsome, talented, LGBTQ+ pop sensation – 🎙 Myylo! The entertaining musician comes through with another bop, 🎵 “Pink Boy Heart”, that keeps it G-A-Y but should be an enjoyable addition to any playlist.

Myylo links up with 🎼 ✍ Christian Fiore (songwriting), with positive results – an understatement! The theme isn’t far-fetched from past music, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.  I mean, wouldn’t there be something wrong if Myylo weren’t writing great songs about desiring boys (“Wrap me up in your arms / I want to be where you are”)? He does a nice job of balancing the tongue-in-cheek and legitimate desire/love goals here (“Just kiss my cheeks / With that sick technique / Then you’ll tuck me in /With my rug burn knees”). Instrumentally, there’s welcome contrast compared to previous singles, which is a win by all means.  The mark of a good musician is one who evolves, and I hear the evolution in “Pink Boy Heart.”  Also, can’t fail to mention that fun music video! Woo! All told, “Pink Boy Heart” is well-sung, well-written, well-produced, and entertaining, all in a tight, two-and-a-half-minute package.


2. Charli XCX, “pink diamond”

💿 how I’m feeling now🏷 Warner UK • 📅 2020

Charli XCX, how i'm feeling now [📷: Warner UK]“I just wanna go real hard, I just wanna go real hard / Pink diamond in the dark.” Woo! 🎵 “pink diamond” is the first indication that 💿 how i’m feeling now – the ‘quarantine’ album by 🎙 Charli XCX – is quite a trip. The ‘raw’ nature of the LP begins here. The synths are wild – totally in your face.  Furthermore, when there is a groove, it’s also quite aggressive and feels like it’s going to pummel the shit out of you.

“I’m online and I’m feeling so glamorous (Ah)

Watch me shine for the boys and the cameras (Hey)

In real life, could the club even handle us?”

At the same time Charli actually isn’t turned up to the same overt degree as her backdrop, yet manages to capture the same emotion – weird, but true.  Here, her lines are fast-paced, rhythmic, and chanted/pop-rapped.  If it does nothing else, “pink diamond” sets the tone.

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3. Scene Queen, “Pink Rover”

💿 Bimbocore (EP) • 🏷 Hopeless • 📅 2022 

Scene Queen, Bimbocore (EP) [📷: Hopeless]“Pink rover, pink rover / Please send the coward over / And if that bastard whistles / Put a knife up to his boner…”  Wow, 🎙 Scene Queen… I’m honestly speechless right now. 🎵 “Pink Rover,” the shocking song at hand,  clocks in under two minutes in duration. Yeah, it’s brief, but believe it or not, two minutes is a sufficient amount of time for Scene Queen to ‘put in work.’ She has, indeed, unveiled ‘bimbocore!’

“Pink Rover” appears as the fifth and penultimate track from her 2022 EP, 💿 Bimbocore. Basically, bimbocore is metalcore from a female perspective – pretty cool! On “Pink Rover,” Scene Queen gives a performance that’s tongue-in-cheek, explicit, outlandish, and totally unapologetic.  There are no shortage of outlandish lyrics.  Even if they are, um, cray-cray, they are totally entertaining (“Touch me again and I’ll fucking scream / Covered in blood, just girly things”). The production is awesome, incorporating elements of pop, hip-hop, and of course, metalcore with those massive guitars.  Scene Queen rocks 🤘!


4-5. Blackbear, “Bright Pink Tims” (Ft. Cam’Ron) + “Pink Rolex”

💿 Cybersex + ANONYMOUS 🏷 Alamo / Interscope 📅 2017 + 2019 

blackbear, cybersex [📷: Interscope]“Yeah, I make money, I start trends / My first car, it was a Benz / My whole closet, your whole crib / See through shirt on, bright pink Tims.” 🎙 Blackbear gets specific about his clothing on banger 🎵 “Bright Pink Tims”, the first of two pink songs to grace this pink musical compendium. “Bright Pink Tims” ranks among the highlights from his 2017 mixtape, 💿 cybersex. The record commences with dark, mysterious, foreboding production work, including trap drum programming. Ultimately, instrumental intro sets the tone of the record.

Blackbear flexes from the jump.  He melodically raps the first verse. He doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking, but he’s effective with cocky, confident hip-hop clichés (“Your main chick a 6, a 7 at best / She leave with me, she turned to a 10…”).  The chorus is assured, intact with ‘bear’s natural vocals, as well as pitch-shifted vocals. 🎙 Cam’ron drops the second verse, starting slow at first, before coming into his own: “And don’t even ask / These shoes I got on, you could never pronounce.”

blackbear, ANONYMOUS [📷: Alamo / Interscope]Okay, how about a double dose of blackbear 🐻! “Seein’ me draped in wool / It’s Saint Laurent and it’s itchy / Got your name and your city in the back of my mind / My heart’s iced over, I found a new owner.” Woo! Blackbear commences his 2019 album, 💿 Anonymous with a bang on the brief 🎵 “Pink Rolex.”  Blackbear is doing well financially but he’s suffering from broken heartedness and finding legitimate friends who aren’t superficial or fans via social media.  Ah, those first world problems!

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6. Janelle Monáe, “PYNK” (Ft. Grimes)

💿 Dirty Computer🏷 Bad Boy • 📅 2018

Janelle Monáe, Dirty Computer [📷: Bad Boy]“Pynk, like the inside of your… baby.” 💿 Dirty Computer, the third album by eclectic R&B artist 🎙 Janelle Monáe, is by far her boldest and most personal. She’s assisted by 🎙 Grimes on 🎵 “Pynk”, one of the very best songs from the album. In the verses, Monáe likens pynk to vagina, women in general, and feminism. The theme of the record – feminism and same-sex female attraction/love – earns more attention than the production and sound of the record, which is excellent too.

“Yeah, somethin’ like that

Owwww! Somethin’ like thar

Yeah, somethin’ like that

‘Cause boy, it’s cool if you got blue

We got the pynk.”

Dirty Computer serves as Monáe’s coming out party – she officially came out as pansexual during the album rollout. Notably, four years later, in 2022, she came out as nonbinary, utilizing they/them, her/she, and free-ass motherfucker pronouns (I kid you not about the latter).  Anyways, “Pynk” was selected as the third best song on the 🎧 100 Best Songs of 2018, deservedly so.

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7. Baby Keem, “Pink Panties”

💿 The Melodic Blue 🏷 Baby Keem, LLC / pgLang LLC / Columbia • 📅 2021

Baby Keem, The Melodic Blue [📷: Baby Keem / pgLang / Columbia]“Call me in the nighttime when you needin’ some dick / Call me any day (anytime) when you needin’ the dick.” Wow, 🎙 Che Ecru, thanks for informing us. Ecru is sampled on 🎵 “Pink Panties,” which appears as the second track on 💿 The Melodic Blue.  You might say that 🎵 “Fuck….. Instagram” gives 🏆 Grammy-winning rapper 🎙 Baby Keem a lift, at least during the chorus!

“Pink Panties” is an entertaining record. It’s also sexual, as to be expected by the sample and the song title. “Put my soul in these condoms, spent time, lil’ bitch / Laaid up at the crib on some Seinfeld shit,” Baby Keem spits in the second verse, adding, “We overdue for some fuckin’, huh / We overdue for some suckin’, huh.” Well, that’s between him and her, right? Anyways, besides the chorus by Ecru and the intriguing verses by Keem, the production is a big selling point (🎙 Hykeem Carter and Ecru), particularly the synths and the beat.  There’s no way you don’t nod your head to this one, in all its pinkness!


8. Alessia Cara, “Four Pink Walls”

💿 Know-It-All 🏷 Def Jam 📅 2015

Alessia Cara, Know It All [📷: Def Jam]Canadian pop/R&B artist 🎙 Alessia Cara clearly represented the new guard and the ‘next big thing’ on her fabulous, 2015 debut album, 💿 Know-It-All. A welcome new presence, it’s no surprise Cara ended up with the 🏆 Grammy for Best New Artist.  Where does she fit within this pink list? Why she sings about 🎵 “Four Pink Walls.”

“Four Pink Walls” is one of many highlights from the stacked Know-It-All.  The record is drenched in authenticity.  Why so authentic? It’s real talk about Cara achieving her dreams: “Then the universe aligned / With what I had in mind / Who knew there was a life / Behind those four pink walls?”  Sigh, more artists would benefit from speaking upon their personal experiences.  The second verse confirms Cara’s come-up from those ‘four pink walls’:

“Now I wake up to a different bedroom everyday

Living up in the clouds thinking of how it all changed

Used to sit and watch paint dry

Amazed by the limelight

I can’t ever be afraid.” 

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9. James Bay, “Pink Lemonade”

💿 Electric Light • 🏷 Republic • 📅 2018

James Bay, Electric Light [📷: Republic]“‘Do you wanna talk? Do you wanna talk it through?’ / Swear I ain’t got anything on my mind / I don’t wanna talk to you.” 🎵 “Pink Lemonade” marks one of the truly elite moments from 💿 Electric Light, the 2018 sophomore album from 🏆 Grammy-nominated British artist 🎙 James Bay.  Bay focuses on the highly consumed beverage, pink lemonade, or does he?

Honestly, Bay DOES NOT spend the majority of “Pink Lemonade” singing about the beverage.  The first and only mention of pink lemonade occurs on the bridge, near the end of the song! He sings:

“Let me wake up heavy head

Lying in my bed with you naked

Go put that song on, that you love

On repeat, until we can’t fake it

I wanna drink pink lemonade

Watching movie trailers ‘til it’s late

And let’s remember all the words

That we think are gonna make our hearts break.”

“Pink Lemonade” has little to do with fruit juice or any beverage.  Bay stated in the behind-the-scenes video that the song is about “this massive urge and desire to escape.”  Interesting! So are the lyrics throughout the verses, especially the brilliant, ‘pink lemonade-less’ chorus (“‘Do you wanna talk? Do you wanna talk it through?’/ Swear I ain’t got anything on my mind / I don’t wanna talk to you”). “Pink Lemonade” is an aggressive, thrilling rock joint. The guitars are robust, choked-full of massive ‘stank,’ while Bay opts against vocal finesse in favor of unapologetic grit.

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10. Carrie Underwood, “Pink Champagne”

💿 Denim & Rhinestones🏷 UMG Recordings, Inc. • 📅 2022 

Carrie Underwood, Denim & Rhinestones [📷: UMG Recordings, Inc.]“And your kiss got me wishin’ I could bottle it up / Every sip to my lips is a sweet sugar rush / ‘Cause your love gets me more buzzed than pink champagne.” Woo, 🎙 Carrie Underwood!  As the lyrics, excerpted from the chorus, suggests, 🎵 “Pink Champagne” is fun.  It’s not a heavy song nor particularly transcendent. Underwood tells Apple Music, “It’s super happy. It’s bubbly. When we wrote it, it was just a fun, easy day, and it’s one of those that you want to sing along with.” Totally agree, Carrie!

This bright, exuberant record from 💿 Denim & Rhinestones appears as the eighth track.  It features an awesome groove and memorable, repetitive guitar riffs.  The production is slick, giving way to more of a contemporary country sound that also appeals to the pop crowd.  As always, Underwood gives us assertive, particularly during that hella tuneful, ‘sing along’ chorus. “Pink Champagne” is delish!


11-12. Frank Ocean, “Pink Matter” (Ft. André 3000) + “Pink + White”

💿 channel ORANGE + Blonde🏷 The Island Def Jam Music Group + Boys Don’t Cry • 📅 2012 + 2016

Frank Ocean, Channel Orange [📷: Def Jam]Ah, yet another PINK two-for-one! This time, it’s 🏆 Grammy-winner 🎙 Frank Ocean, who embraces pinkness on two songs from two different albums. It begins with 🎵 “Pink Matter,” from his 2012 debut album, 💿 channel ORANGE.  Ocean taps 🎙 André 3000 for this slow, captivating, and thought-provoking cut.  Deep diving into “Pink Matter,” it seems like Ocean is reflecting on numerous things including women, spirituality, and sexuality.  It’s a complex record that’s an incredibly rewarding listen.  Honestly, a decade after channel ORANGE was released, I appreciate its genius much more.  Ocean sings the first part of the record, capped off by an intense hook where Ocean belting with great intensity: “My God, giving me pleasure / Pleasure, pleasure, pleasure / Pleasure over matter…” André 3000 only amplifies the excellence as only André 3000 can (“Well frankly when that ocean So mu’fuckin good…”).  

Frank Ocean, Blonde [📷: Boys Don't Cry]The second pink record is 🎵 “Pink + White,” which appears on his platinum-certified sophomore album, 💿 Blonde (2016).  “Pink + White” is set in six-eight meter, giving it a lilting quality and a more soulful vibe.  Safe to say, it’s idiomatic of R&B.  Ocean gets some help from friends. 🎛 Pharrell Williams handles the production, which is always awesome, while 🎙 Beyoncé contributes background vocals. Focusing on the Ocean, what does he sing about in “Pink + White?” Well, he references a past life and love experience, Hurricane Katrina, and a temporary “high.”

“Just the same way you showed me, showed me

You showed me love

Glory from above

Regard, my dear

It’s all downhill from here.”


13. Henry Mancini, “Pink Panther Theme”

💿 The Pink Panther (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • 🏷 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. / Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. • 📅 2006

The Pink Panther (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [📷: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. / Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.]When you think of 🎵 “Pink Panther Theme,” you think of color.  The timbre – the tone color – of this instrumental joint penned by 🎙 🎼 ✍  Henry Mancini,  is the dominant element of music.  “Pink Panther Theme” is #ICONIC, characterized by its jazzy vibes which serve as the perfect soundtrack to an animated character/cartoon series.

What makes Mancini’s masterpiece, well, a masterpiece? It all begins with that sassy saxophone melody – a total vibe! There’s also the inescapable groove, in all its jazzed-out glory.  Of course, you can’t leave out the colorful use of piano, vibes, string bass, and of course, big band horns. Also, can’t leave out the flutes, which provide a marvelous timbrel contrast to the sax melody 😍.  Did I already mention that “Pink Panther Theme” is a surefire vibe?  Also, you’ve got to check out the trap remix version too!


 13 Songs About All Things Pink [📷: Alamo, Baby Keem, Bad Boy, Boys Don’t Cry, Brent Faulkner, Columbia, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Def Jam, Hopeless, Interscope, The Island Def Jam Music Group, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., The Musical Hype, Myylo, pgLang LLC, Republic, UMG Recordings, Inc., Warner UK, Greta Hoffman, Hassan OUAJBIR, Karley Saagi, kytalpa, last evan, MART PRODUCTION, Megan Forbes, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pexels, Pixabay, SHVETS production, Vinicius Altava]

 

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the musical hype

the musical hype aka Brent Faulkner has earned Bachelor and Masters degrees in music (music Education, music theory/composition respectively). A multi-instrumentalist, he plays piano, trombone, and organ among numerous other instruments. He's a certified music educator, composer, and a freelance music journalist. Faulkner cites music and writing as two of the most important parts of his life. Notably, he's blessed with a great ear, possessing perfect pitch.

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