Forget | 3 to 5 BOPS

Forget: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 75 (2023), features musical BOPS courtesy of d4vd, Lewis Capaldi, Michael McDonald, Patrice Rushen, and Sam Hunt.  

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 75th edition of 3 to 5 BOPS (2023), we select songs that are associated with FORGET in some form or fashion. The BOPS arrive courtesy of 🎙 d4vd, 🎙 Lewis Capaldi, 🎙 Michael McDonald, 🎙 Patrice Rushen, and 🎙 Sam Hunt. Okay, let’s get into it! 

 1. d4vd, “Don’t Forget About Me” 

💿 Petals to Thorns (EP) • 🏷 Darkroom / Interscope • 📅 2023

“Tell me it was all in your head / Don’t tell me you forgot about me.” 🎙 d4vd (pronounced David) may be young, but he’s ready, Keith Sweat! On 🎵 “Don’t Forget About Me,” he proves  himself to be one talented teenager 💪. At just two-and-a-half minutes in duration, the fourth track from 💿 Petals to Thorns (EP) yields ample sweet music to the ears.  The production (🎛 Nextime, Evan Wise, and Robin Hannibal) is chill, with the timbre of the guitars shining.  The main attraction, d4vd, delivers lovely, expressive, and nuanced vocals. Furthermore, the vocal production is strong 💪, particularly the tasty effects that appear during select moments.  

Other pros from “Don’t Forget About Me” include fabulous melodies, on both the verses and choruses. The chorus, of course, is the crowning achievement. It’s well-written and memorable. Thematically, matters of the heart is always a viable topic:

“‘Cause I don’t wanna relive this feelin’ of alone 

And I don’t wanna keep cryin’ on your sofa 

Swear I thought we’d be together ‘til we’re older 

Too many thoughts inside my head, they’re spillin’ over.”

Woo! One final pro: those strings 🎻 that appear in the final 30 seconds. 

2. Michael McDonald, “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)” 

💿 If That’s What It Takes • 🏷 Warner • 📅 1982 

“I keep forgettin’ we’re not in love anymore / I keep forgettin’ things will never be the same again.” 🎙 Michael McDonald had a successful run as a member of 🎙 Doobie Brothers, an iconic, soft-rock, pop-soul collective. He also experienced a successful run as a solo artist beginning with his first and best studio album, 💿 If That’s What It Takes.  The crown jewel of his 1982, gold-certified LP is 🎵 “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)”. “I Keep Forgettin’” was a pop hit, peaking at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, his most successful solo single. “I Keep Forgettin’” is an exceptional example of sound songwriting, period (McDonald, 🎼 ✍ Ed Sanford, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller). The lyrics are strong, but also, the crossover appeal is what really stands out.  McDonald lies somewhere in the rock/pop/soul sphere, which makes him appeal to multiple audiences.  Thematically, McDonald is struggling with a break-up.  Sure, we’ve heard ‘this song and dance’ many times but it never grows old.  Clearly, McDonald hates that things have ended, and he isn’t coping well.  In the bridge, he asserts, “Don’t say that, don’t say that, don’t say that / I know you’re not mine anymore-anymore-anytime / But tell me how come I…” Basically, like all of us who have broken up with someone, you must work through it, sigh.  

Appears in 🔻:  

• Michael McDonald, I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near): Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 62 (2022) 
• 11 Fabulous Songs You’ll KEEP Spinning (2022) 
• 15 Must-Hear, Throwback Vibez (2022) 

3. Sam Hunt, “Hard to Forget” 

💿 SOUTHSIDE • 🏷 UMG Recordings, Inc. • 📅 2020 

“It’s kinda funny how I can’t seem / To get away from you / It’s almost like you don’t want me to.” Hmm, that’s interesting, 🎙 Sam Hunt.  Maybe, just maybe, she misses that handsome face and banging body, ya hunk 😈! Anyways, 🎵 “Hard to Forget” captures one’s attention instantly given the 1953 🎙 Webb Pierce sample, 🎵 “There Stands the Glass”.  “Hard to Forget” dives back into a pop and R&B-infused take on country music – not unfamiliar to Hunt (💿 Montevallo exemplified).  Even with contemporary music cues, Hunt doesn’t eschew tried and true country themes, in this case, a girl who’s totally inescapable.  See the chorus:   

“You’ve got a cold heart and the cold hard truth
I got a bottle of whiskey, but I got no proof
That you showed up tonight
In that dress just to mess with my head
So much for so long
Out of sight, out of mind
Girl, you’re lookin’ so good
It’s drivin’ me out of mine
Oh, you’re breakin’ my heart
Baby, you’re playin’ hard to forget.”  

Vocally, he’s on, and the chorus is among the crème de la crème of his 2020 sophomore LP, 💿 SOUTHSIDE. 

4. Lewis Capaldi, “Forget Me” 

💿 Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent • 🏷 Universal Music GmbH • 📅 2023 

“Days ache and nights are long / Two years and still, you’re not gone.” 🎵 “Forget Me”, released by Scottish singer 🎙 Lewis Capaldi in 2022, ultimately appears on Capaldi’s 2023 album, 💿 Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent. “Forget Me” commences abruptly.  The lack of an intro is a bit off-putting.  Regardless, Capaldi makes up for the abruptness with a song that’s emotional, well-sung, and lacks no shortage of quality. As always, Capaldi brings his A game, singing with a beautiful tone that many musicians would die to have.  He is poised during the verses but remains commanding. He ‘tears it up’ in the chorus.  Besides his dynamic performance during the chorus, lyrically, it’s catchy, memorable, and quite tuneful:   

“’Cause I’m not ready 

To find out you know how to forget me 

I’d rather hear how much you regret me 

And pray to God that you never met me 

Than forget me…”  

Matters of the heart are firmly in play, something that the verses speak to as well (“Know you can’t stand my face / Some scars you can’t erase, babe / Guess you still feel the same”). Backing Capaldi is a nice groove and sound production work including piano.  Furthermore, later in the record, the use of layered vocals, intensifying things, is a stellar tough.  All told, “Forget Me” is a winner. 

Appears in 🔻:  

• Awesome Songs: September 2022 

5. Patrice Rushen, “Forget Me Nots” 

💿 Straight from the Heart • 🏷 Strut • 🗓 1982 

“Sending you forget me nots / To help you to remember.” Well, that’s incredibly thoughtful, 🎙 Patrice Rushen! She continues singing in the chorus of 🎵 “Forget Me Nots”, “Baby, please forget me not / I want to remember you.” Sweet, sweet, sweet! “Forget Me Nots” appears as the opening track from the singer/songwriter/pianist’s 1982 album, 💿 Straight From The Heart. Straight From The Heart marked the most successful album of her career, eventually peaking at no. 14 on the Billboard 200. Furthermore, “Forget Me Nots” marked the biggest hit of her career, peaking at no. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

The chorus goes a long way in solidifying the success of “Forget Me Nots” – it’s catchy, infectious, tuneful, etc. However, it’s just one of the reasons why the song was and still is a BOP.  The funky groove is inescapable, PERIOD.  The bass line (🎸 Freddie Washington) is incredibly active, featuring that glorious slapping technique, which was extremely popular in the 1980s. The production (Rushen and 🎛 Charles Mims, Jr.) is a huge selling point – a V-I-B-E to the nth degree! As for the star, Patrice Rushen, she sounds incredibly refined vocally – sophisticated.  Rushen never breaks a sweat, singing coolly yet still bringing the heat.  Her modest approach speaks volumes as she tackles the universal topic of L-O-V-E. “Was it the simple things / That made me so crazy about you,” she sings in the first verse, continuing, “Was it your charm or your passion / It’s not hard to believe / I love you and I need you…” WOO! Unfortunately, Rushen and her lover ended up as friends, we learn in the second verse, though Patrice wants more, hence sending those “forget me nots” and reminding him of “Good times we had.” Perhaps 🎵 “Forget Me Nots” is underrated compared to bigger R&B hits of the 1980s.  It shouldn’t be. Just like that bass 🎸, it still totally slaps! Rushen, Washington, and 🎼✍ Terri McFaddin penned a good one!

Appears in 🔻: 

• Patrice Rushen, Forget Me Nots: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 139 (2023)  

Forget: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 75 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Darkroom / Interscope, Strut, UMG Recordings, Inc., Universal Music GmbH, Warner; Mental Health America (MHA) from Pexels]