Bell 🔔 | 3 to 5 BOPS

Bell 🔔: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 76 (2023), features musical BOPS courtesy of Anita Ward, DARKSIDE, Halsey, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Wale. 

Ah, you know what time it is! It’s 3 to 5 BOPS time – WOO! On 3 to 5 BOPS, it’s all about brevity and sweetness… for the most part! There’s a theme/topic, 3, 4, or 5 songs, and a blurb – two paragraphs or less.  3 to 5 BOPS, hence, is a mini playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  In the 76th edition of 3 to 5 BOPS (2023), we select songs that are associated with BELL 🔔in some form or fashion. The BOPS arrive courtesy of 🎙 Anita Ward, 🎙 DARKSIDE, 🎙 Halsey, various artists from The Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack, and 🎙 Wale. Okay, let’s get into it! 

1. Wale, “Name Ring Bell” 

💿 Folarin II • 🏷 Warner • 📅 2021  

“Anyway, you catch me any day / Sippin’ Hennessey, all of my peeps got heavy chains / Who name bell ring? What / Who name bell ring?” Need a compelling flow? Well, 🎙 Wale always seems to deliver in that department.  The Washington D.C. rapper brings hella confidence on 🎵 “Name Ring Bell,” which appears as the second track on his 2021 LP, 💿 Folarin II.  It also doesn’t hurt that producer 🎛 Trizzy sets him up with an electrifying, groovy backdrop that plays to his strengths.  Notably, “Name Ring Bell” samples 🎵 “Ting-A-Ling” by 🎙 Shabba Ranks. “A lot of my haters is mad, but I forgive ‘em,” Wale asserts in the first verse, adding, “‘Cause every bad bitch in the city tatted ‘Ambition’.” If you didn’t catch it, he’s referencing his 2011 album, 💿 Ambition, which marked his breakthrough moment.  The point is, he’s confident AF, something that continues in the second verse: “Soldiers on the way if you wan’ play ‘cause I ain’t playful / I got bitches, I got paper, but I’m great ‘cause I got favors.” Also, he drops the gem, “Say I got a ego, I deserve a EGOT.” Woo! “Who name bell ring?”   

Appears in 🔻:  

• 15 Compelling Name Songs (2021)  

2. Halsey, “Bells in Santa Fe” 

💿 If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power • 🏷 Capitol • 📅 2021

“Don’t call me by my name / All of this is temporary / Watch as I slip away for your sake / All of this is temporary.” Um…K… A minimalist, driving rhythm commences 🎵 “Bells in Santa Fe,” a standout from the 🏆 Grammy-nominated, 🎙 Halsey (Ashley Frangipane) LP, 💿 If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power. This groove remains intact throughout, eventually expanding – growing heavier. The influence of producers 🎛 Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor are incredibly pronounced. The production is part of the reason why “Bells in Santa Fe” has a darker vibe compared to Frangipane’s past work.  There are plenty of lyrical highlights, including the liberal reference to the resurrection of Christ: “Jesus needed a three-day weekend / To sort out all his bullshit, figure out the treason.” Woo!   

3. DARKSIDE, “Liberty Bell” 

💿 Spiral • 🏷 DARKSIDE / Matador • 📅 2021 

“Some of me could see her come into / The house of a sinner gone, now come here, too / See me alive / The me in the sin awoke / You want sin in a rose?” Um… well now… 🎵 “Liberty Bell” can be described as quite the vibe by alternative duo, 🎙 DARKSIDE (🎙 Nicolas Jaar and 🎙 Dave Harrington). This highlight from 💿 Spiral (2021) commences with a spacey, enigmatic introduction. This makes the listener lean on every note that is played. Part of the charm of “Liberty Bell” is how the track evolves – how it percolates. Within the first minute, it becomes more intense, yet also stabilizes. The pacing is awesome from start to finish, never feeling like this four-minute-plus track is needlessly drawn out.  Additional pros include a colorful palette of sounds, including keys, guitar, drums.  Furthermore, the vocal performance is enjoyable – poised, yet feels fitting. Even with the colorful palette, the minimalism of “Liberty Bell” is appreciated.  Of course, you can’t neglect to mention the songwriting, with its fair share of memorable moments:

“Like the liberty bell 

Shining in the night 

An arrow that I drew 

And a jockey dressed in black 

Blood on the racehorse 

Tell when to place the show 

Announcing my mistake.”

All told, DARKSIDE shines on this colorful, surefire alt gem. 

4. David Ogden Stiers, Tony Jay, Paul Kandel, Chorus, “The Bells of Notre Dame” 

💿 The Hunchback of Notre Dame • 🏷 Disney • 📅 1996

“Morning in Paris, the city awakes / To the bells of Notre Dame.” One of the best, most dramatic and intense soundtracks during the Disney renaissance period undoubtedly hails from 💿 The Hunchback of Notre Dame (shout out music by 🎼 ✍ Alan Menken and the lyrics by 🎼 ✍ Steven Schwartz). Hard to believe that The Hunchback of Notre Dame earned a G rating, isn’t it? Anyways, the crown jewel from the soundtrack is 🎵 “Heaven’s Light / Hellfire” – emphasis on “Hellfire.” Even so, 🎵 “The Bells of Notre Dame” is no slouch – epic in its own right.  Following the introductory Latin performed by the choir, Clopin (voiced by 🎙 Paul Kandel) sings the excerpted lyrics, setting up the narrative track.  As the narrator, Clopin informs us about the gypsies with baby Quasimodo (who is deformed), fleeing from the cruel, judgmental Judge Claude Frollo (voiced by🎙 Tony Jay).  Frollo, who ends up with Quasimodo, considers him a monster, and plans on killing him before the Archdeacon (voiced by 🎙 David Odgen Stiers) stops the murder. Ultimately, Frollo agrees to ‘care’ for Quasimodo, who lives locked away in the bell tower of Notre Dame.  At the end, Clopin and the chorus exuberantly sing, “Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells / Bells, bells, bells, bells / Bells of Notre Dame.” “The Bells of Notre Dame” is best experienced, as opposed to analyzed. 

5. Anita Ward, “Ring My Bell” 

💿 Ring My Bell • 🏷 601 Music • 🗓 1979

“You can ring my bell, ring my bell / You can ring my bell, ring my bell.” Ring my bell, huh? Ah, the sexual innuendo is lit 🔥, 🎙 Anita Ward 😈. In her career, on the pop charts, Ward charted only two songs. 🎵 “Don’t Drop My Love” spent just five weeks on the charts, peaking at a tepid no. 87. That is NOT considered a hit – an understatement.  Furthermore, “Don’t Drop My Love” wasn’t a success on the R&B charts either, peaking modestly at no. 52. However, 🎵 “Ring My Bell”, her first charting song, spent two weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979 – that’s a big-time hit! Furthermore, “Ring My Bell” earned Ward the sole 🏆 Grammy nomination of her career for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female.  It is safe to say that Ward is rightfully characterized as a one-hit wonder.   

“Ring My Bell” appeared on Ward’s second album of 1979, 💿 Songs of Love, renamed, you guessed it, 💿 Ring My Bell for its biggest hit. Written by 🎼 ✍ Frederick Knight (yes, the renowned 🎵 “I’ve Been Lonely For Song Long” artist), “Ring My Bell” is sexy without crossing any lines. Glad her man is home, Ward asserts in the first verse, “Well, lay back and relax while I put away the dishes /… Then you and me can rock-a-bye.” Woo! In the second verse, “The night is young and full of possibilities,” with Ward concluding the verse by saying, “Tonight was made for me and you.” What is clear is that the bell is going to be rung on this not-so-innocent disco gem.  Ward sings well, manages to be classy, yet also embraces pleasure. 🎵 “Ring My Bell” is a rad one-hit wonder, all told 💪. 

Appears in 🔻: 

• Anita Ward, Ring My Bell: 1 Hit WONDERful 👏👏👏 No. 6 (2023) 

Bell 🔔: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 76 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; 601 Music, Capitol, Disney, DARKSIDE, Matador, Warner; cottonbro studio from Pexels]