Awesome Songs That Tickled My Fancy: November 2021 | Playlist 🎧

6. Travis Scott, “Escape Plan”

🎵 “Escape Plan” • 🏷 Epic • 🗓 11.5.21

“Twelve-figure estate plan, that was the escape plan.” Woo! 🏆 Grammy-nominated rapper 🎙 Travis Scott dropped that ether on 🎵 “Escape Plan”! The rapper’s music, of course, has become secondary to immense tragedy.  Here, we focus merely on the music.

“Prolly soaking up her panties, nasty when she off the – / Bust a move, I’m Marco Angie, I just went and bought a planet.” Scott keeps things short though ultimately sweet.  “Escape Plan” runs just two-and-a-half-minutes long but that’s sufficient.  Starting with the production (🎛 OZ and 🎛 Nik D), “Escape Plan” features a slick trap beat, moody synths, and is set in a minor key. The sound is a menacing vibe, playing to Scott’s strengths.  He delivers his typical, agile, confident, and relatively easy-going flow (“That WAP need draining, just have it if you singing, okay”).  Expectedly, we hear the “it’s lit!” ad-lib.  The crowning achievement, of course, is the melodic, rhythmic chorus:

“Twelve-figure estate plan, that was the escape plan
But hate investigatin’, that shit was a waste, man
But wait, I stopped the facin’ ‘cause shit just started erasin’
But wait, it opened gates and this shit just started paradin’, olé (let’s go).”

Travis Scott doesn’t change the world with “Escape Plan,” but musters up a solid banger.

7. Years & Years & Galantis, “Sweet Talker”

💿 Night Call • 🏷 Polydor • 📅 2022

“Oh why, oh why, oh why do I listen / To promises, you’re gonna break.” Well, it’s foolish 🎙 Years & Years, but we’ve all done it, repeatedly.  Love, once again proves to be a lesson on 🎵 “Sweet Talker”, a collaboration with 🎙 Galantis. Galantis ‘puts in work’ on the production. The backdrop is bright and exuberant – ear catching.  Furthermore, the record is incredibly rhythmic, evidenced by the piano lines and the dizzying strings on the chorus.  With such a desirable backdrop, 🎙 Olly Alexander, has the perfect fuel for his fire. on the sixth track on the 2022 album, 💿 Night Call.

“Sweet Talker” has everyone’s favorite topic in mind – love.  “You wrote a romance, slow dance / Your way into my hands, before I knew,” Olly sings on the first verse, continuing, “You found my deepest weakness / Couldn’t keep a secret that it was you.” My, my, my! Here, Alexander serves up beautiful vocals, singing with a radiant, easygoing tone.  He’s enticed something fierce by this man, best evidenced on the chorus where he characterizes him as “sweet talker” yet ultimately finds himself disappointed by ‘fools good’ you might say:

“You’re such a sweet talker
You made me believe
Every lie was a beautiful sound
You’re such a sweet talker
Man of my dreams
Tell me where are you, where are you now?
Sweet talker.”

While Olly Alexander’s love interest may be no good, this latest Years & Years record, alongside Galantis is terrific. Olly shines vocally, as always, while Galantis remain consistent and excellent behind the boards (with a little help from 🎛 Mark Ralph).

8. Summer Walker & JT, “Ex for a Reason”

💿 Still Over It • 🏷 LVRN / Interscope • 📅 2021

“Don’t fight over a nigga that got his attention all over the place…. I hope you learn from my mistakes.” Woo! 🎙 Summer Walker spits the truth via tweet regarding 🎵 “Ex for a Reason,” the promo single from her no. 1 debuting sophomore album, 💿 Still Over It.  On “Ex for a Reason,” Walker taps 🎙 JT of 🎙 City Girls for the assist.

“The bitch your ex (Your ex), for a reason though (Reason though)
Try me, trespass
Guaranteed to beat your ass
The bitch your ex (Your ex), for a reason though (Reason though)
It’s too much for her heart to take
I give no fucks ‘bout what she gotta say (No, woah).”

Clearly, Summer Walker is ‘over it!’ She cusses like a sailor on the first verse, clearly irritated.  “Fuck a bitch on? Stress is always the mindset I’m in (I’m in) / But a ex game is not the game I’m tryna play at all.” JT is even more hard-nosed on the second verse, commencing with the fiery “That bitch in the ditch for a reason though / She was singin’ on his dick with them easy notes.” Day-um! She remains unapologetic throughout, threatening at the conclusion of the colorful verse, “‘Cause a real bitch’ll pull up with the click-clack.” Holy shit! If it’s not clear, neither Summer or JT are about some BS.  They spit the truth on this 🎛 Buddah Bless / 🎛 Sean Garrett / 🎛 Boobie produced joint.

Also appears on 🔽:
🔗 🎧 Ex-: 5ive Songs No. 94 (2021)

9. Paul Cauthen, “Country as Fuck”

💿 Country Coming Down • 🏷 Velvet Rose / Thirty Tigers • 🗓 2022

“Call it country / Country as fuck.” Well, that’s an on-the-nose lyric, 🎙 Paul Cauthen. The Americana/country singer/songwriter clearly didn’t get the memo that country musicians can’t release songs with f-bombs! Obviously, he doesn’t give a F considering he clearly wants the world to know how country he is on 🎵 “Country as Fuck”, the opener from the Texan’s 2022 album, 💿 Country Coming Down.

How serious do we take Mr. Cauthen? “Country as Fuck” is it has its pros.  One pro is the groove, which incites the body to M-O-V-E.  Another plus is the approach by Cauthen, who quasi-sings and quasi-raps rhythmically, often in an undertone.  Making himself pop culturally relevant, he references Lil Nas X and Tim McGraw (“Call me Lil Nas / Call me Tim McGraw / Not a moment too soon / I had horses in the stall”).  He also manages to shade Kenny Chesney asserting, “I was driving tractors before it got sexy / Real cowboys don’t rock to Kenny Chesney.” Besides colorful pop cultural references, Paul spends plenty of time confirming his country status, including trips to Piggly Wiggly, hunting, and of course, FISHING.  Did we mention that this man is country as fuccckkk on this novelty record that you should take with a ‘grain of salt’?   What’s undeniable about “Country is Fuck” is that its, pardon my French, intriguing as fuccckkk.

Also appears on 🔽:
🔗 🎧 Country: 5ive Songs No. 95 (2021)

10. Alicia Keys, “Best of Me”

💿 Keys • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2021

One of the biggest surprises of 2021? 🏆 Grammy-winning R&B singer/songwriter 🎙 Alicia Keys releasing a new album a mere year after releasing 💿 ALICIA!  In advance of 💿 Keys, Keys released singles 🎵 “Best of Me (Originals)” and 🎵 “Best of Me (Unlocked)” – two distinct versions of the same song.  One of the big things that stands out about “Best of Me” is the vibe.  Keys seems to be channeling a certain aesthetic – sound more than poetic, transcendent songwriting.

“Best of Me” takes its time establishing itself, never feeling like it’s in a rush.   There’s a sense of enigma initially.  Lyrically, Keys keeps it simple on the verses, pre-chorus, as well as the centerpiece, the chorus:

“Baby, baby
We gonna rock forever
Ah-ha, ah-ha, ah
You get the best of me
... You got a way to make me feel.”

Vocally, Keys sounds nice, not doing anything game changing with her pipes but again, embracing feel and vibe.  She produces the original version while the ‘unlocked’ version adds 🎛 Mike WiLL Made-It to the fold.

Also appears on 🔽:
🔗 🎧 Best: 5ive Songs No. 91 (2021)

11. Adele, “I Drink Wine”

💿 30 • 🏷 Melted Stone / Columbia • 📅 2021 

“‘Cause I need some substance in my life, somethin’ real, somethin’ that feels true.” Wine 🍷, right?  What’s better than one 🎙 Adele song on 🎧 Awesome Songs That Tickled My Fancy: November 2021? How about two! Among the top-tier of 💿 30, the fourth studio album by the 🏆 Academy Award & Grammy winner, is undoubtedly 🎵 “I Drink Wine.”

This ‘alcoholic’ number obviously mentions wine – “Soaking it all up for fun, but now I only soak up wine” – but ultimately, transcends it. “I Drink Wine” is a soulful pop record about introspection, self-improvement, and of course, L-O-V-E.  Adkins takes us to church, particularly on the chorus, which features some of her most inspired vocals:

“Well, I hope I learn to get over myself
Stop tryin’ to be somebody else
Oh, I just want to love you, love you for free, yeah
'Cause everybody wants somethin’ from me, you just want me.”

Fancy sufficiently tickled. Of course, the entire LP could’ve appeared on this edition of Awesome Songs!