Bed 🛏 | 5ive Songs

1. Dan + Shay, “I Should Probably Go to Bed 🛏”

“I Should Probably Go to Bed” • Warner • 2020

High-flying vocals and vocal harmonies shine on “I Should Probably Go to Bed”, a single by Grammy-winning country duo Dan + Shay. “I Should Probably Go to Bed” possesses many of the cues that we’ve come to expect from the duo. While this duo walks the fine line between country and pop, “I Should Probably Go to Bed” leans more pop.

The song dabbles in matters of the heart. Lyrically, it could’ve used a wee bit more development.  Still, we get the gist: the guy has been on the struggle bus regarding heartbreak, gets off the struggle bus, finds out his ex- is returning to town, and decides he should ‘go to bed.’

2. Dua Lipa, “Good in Bed 🛏”

Future Nostalgia • Warner • 2020 

While love and sex have dominated Future Nostalgia, penultimate cut “Good in Bed” manages to separate itself from the rest.  It features contrasting production work, courtesy of Lindgren and Take a Daytrip – there’s a more soulful, old-school, hip-hop vibe. “Good in Bed” sounds like a record that Amy Winehouse might’ve recorded had she lived.  “Good in Bed” finds Dua Lipa giving us some of her most cutting, throaty vocals of the album, not to mention a heaping dose of repetition on the infectious, tongue-n-cheek chorus:

“I know it’s really bad, bad, bad, bad, bad
Messing with my head, head, head, head, head
We drive each other mad, mad, mad, mad, mad.”

3. Powfu, “death bed 🛏 (coffee for your head)”

Ft. beabadoobee

Poems of the past (EP) • Columbia / Robots and Humans • 2020

Canadian rapper/singer Powfu raps about his “death bed (coffee for your head)” (Poems of the past (EP)), getting a mighty assist from indie-pop singer/songwriter, beabadoobee. Beabadoobee plays a big role, thanks to a sample of her song, “Coffee”, fueling the fire.  Otterpop does a nice job producing this chill yet potent and thoughtful record. Powfu rides the beat with ease. He reflects on love, life, and God.  “I been praying for forgiveness, you’ve been praying for my health,” he raps on the first verse, continuing, “When I leave this earth, hopin’ you’ll find someone else…”  The second is shorter but keeps the same energy. He’s happy she’s with him, recollects the memories, but also, sadly tells her, “Soon you’ll be alone, sorry that you have to lose me.”

Of course, the centerpiece is the chorus on one of the 51 Best Songs of 2020 (So Far).

“Don’t stay awake for too long, don’t go to bed
I’ll make a cup of coffee for your head
It’ll get you up and going out of bed.”

4. The Chicks, “Sleep at Night”

Gaslighter • Columbia • 2020

Justin Tranter and Teddy Geiger – two songwriters NOT typically associated with country music.  Regardless these pop stalwarts come through strong on “Sleep at Night,” which masterfully continues the unrest caused by divorce on Gaslighter, the big-time, comeback album by The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks). Honest AF, Natalie Maines sings on the second half of the second verse, “Half of the shit you won’t believe / But I know it’s not unique to me.” The banjo solidifies this record as idiomatic of country music, but it’s just as much pop, showcasing The Chicks’ massive crossover abilities. The chorus is B-I-G.

5. Sam Smith, “How Do You Sleep?”

Love Goes • Capitol • 2020

“I’m done hatin’ myself for feelin’ / I’m done cryin’ myself awake.” Those lyrics, excerpted appear on, “How Do You Sleep?” from Love Goes, the third studio album by Sam Smith. Lyrically, thematically, and vocally, the Academy Award and Grammy-winner is true to themself, while the production (Ilya Salmanzadeh) is sleeker and more modern compared to their past releases.  Smith still does a fine job of singing about matters of the heart.  The pre-chorus and chorus are where Smith’s bread is buttered.  On the catchy pre-chorus, they ask, “What have I become now / Lookin’ through your phone / Oh now, love to you is just a game…” After continuing to build up the case against their lover (or whatever he is to Smith), he drops the crowning achievement, the chorus:

“Baby, how do you sleep when you lie to me?
All that shame and all that danger
I’m hopin’ that my love will keep you up tonight
Baby, how do you sleep when you lie to me?
All that fear and all that pressure
I’m hopin’ that my love will keep you up tonight.”