Hotel | 5ive Songs

In the 77^th edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with Hotel in some form or fashion.

Welcome to 5ive Songs, where we keep things short and sweet – no extra calories or needless fluff! There’s a theme/topic, five songs, and a short blurb.  Yes, it’s a playlist, but it’s a miniature playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  In the 77^th edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with Hotel in some form or fashion.  Okay, let’s get into it!

1. Quavo & Takeoff, “HOTEL LOBBY (Unc & Phew)”

💿 Only Built For Infinity Links • 🏷 Quality Control Music, LLC • 📅 2022 

“Pass me that stick, nigga make one wrong move, just pop him / Blame it on bro with a ho flooded out in the hotel lobby.” Woo! 🎙 Quavo delivers the chorus on the single, 🎵 “HOTEL LOBBY (Unc & Phew)”, which appears on his 2022 project with 🎙 Takeoff (RIP), 💿 Only Built For Infinity Links. Quavo also delivers a verse on this brief but hella potent rap banger.  At the end of the second verse, he asserts, “When I get up, we gon’ ball on these niggas / Fuckin’ up shit ‘cause we beat out the system.”

As for Takeoff, he spits the first verse, with no shortage of confidence. It begins with his assertion, “Hop off a sixteen passenger / This a G5, no, this not a Challenger.” In case you are lost, the late rapper is referencing the private jet, which fits the balling aspect of this banger.  Those are not his only colorful lines.  There is also a gem when he speaks about people getting geeked, and my favorite, “I go in the jungle and I ain’t got a coat, I bet I come out with a mink.” Hmm, PETA would have issues with that! Ultimately, “HOTEL LOBBY (Unc & Phew)” bangs hard, featuring superb production work with a lit beat, courtesy of 🎛 Murda Beatz, Keanu Beats, and Fabio Aguillarr.  Both rappers deliver agile flows that feel easy and natural, yet electric.

2. Rina Sawayama, “Tokyo Love Hotel”

💿 Sawayama • 🏷 Dirty Hit • 📅 2022 

“They don’t know you like I know you, no, they don’t,” 🎙 Rina Sawayama sings on 🎵 “Tokyo Love Hotel,” a song that appears on her 2020 debut album, 💿 Sawayama.  She continues singing, “Use you for one night and then they go away / Thought I was original, but after all / I guess this is just another song ‘bout Tokyo.” Sawayama is not talking about a sexual relationship but rather the relationship she has with Tokyo, as well as the relationship tourists have with the city. At the same time, sex is part of the equation, as there are literally hotels intended to be rented for sex.

“I don’t wanna check into the Tokyo Love Hotel / I just want your love all to myself,” Sawayama sings in the chorus, adding, “Everybody’s staying at the Tokyo Love Hotel / I just want your love all to myself.” This synthpop joint finds Sawayama taking issue with those who fetishize Tokyo and its culture, using it without truly caring about it.  “Falling for a stereotype / Has it all gone to your head?” She brings up legitimate points, while also depicting her own complex relationship with the country she was born yet emigrated as a child.

3. Joshua Bassett, “Sad Songs in a Hotel Room”

💿 Sad Songs In A Hotel Room • 🏷 Warner • 🗓 2022

“How the hell we end up, where we did? / Don’t you think it’s messed up? It all went to shit.” That shit is the reason why 🎵 “Sad Songs In A Hotel Room” gets an explicit label.  Sigh, a potty-mouthed young man!  Honestly, the s-bomb is well worth it given that 🎙 Joshua Bassett is coping with heartbreak on this compound-duple metered opener on his 2022 EP, 💿 Sad Songs In A Hotel Room.

Vocally, Bassett sounds beautiful even if he is, “Singin’ sad songs in a hotel room / … Where I once held you.” Oh, the plight of love! Beyond the relatable songwriting, the production shines, especially the guitar and the use of keys.  The harmonic progression, for you music theory nerds, is gorgeous too.  Safe to say, the title track sets the tone of the entire EP.  Furthermore, as a standalone record, it’s pretty sweet – in a sad sort of way!

Appears in 🔻:

• Sadness: 5ive Songs No. 61 (2022)
• 11 Songs Where The Boys Are Sad

4. Montell Fish, “Hotel”

💿 Her Love Still Haunts Me Like a Ghost • 🏷 Lord’s Child • 🗓 2022

“I’m a slave to her, slave to her love.” 🎙 Montell Fish goes on to say on 🎵 “Hotel”, “I’m a slave to your love, it’s who you are that I cry.” Wow, those matters of the heart – better yet, the bedroom – always make for a compelling song.  “Hotel” is no different, appearing on Fish’s 2022 EP, 💿 Her Love Still Haunts Me Like a Ghost.

Nasty, freaky happenings go down in hotels.  That is the case with Fish, who knows he’s made a mistake by meeting her in a hotel room.  “I could tell you were so bad news,” he asserts in the first verse, continuing, “But I keep messing with ya, messin’ with ya / And now you’re messing with me, messin’ with me.” The messing part seems to be both sexual and mental.  Sex is enjoyed universally, however, when it comes to a hook-up, which Fish engaged in, they can be messy – leave you full of regret.  Both enjoyment and regret play a role in “Hotel” where the body memories are, um lit, though not elaborated on lyrically: “You know me, girl / Better than I know myself, my love.” Hmm, wonder how exactly she knows him… 😈!

Appears in 🔻:

• Montell Fish, “Hotel”: After Dark 🕛 🌃 89 (2022)

5. Arctic Monkeys, “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino”

💿 Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino • 🏷 Domino • 📅 2018

“Good afternoon / Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino / Mark Speaking / Please, tell me, how may I direct your call?” Not a chorus you hear every day to say the least! Most critics embraced 💿 Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, the unique, 2018 album by British alternative band 🎙 Arctic Monkeys, though some were skeptical.  Personally, the album was intriguing – a refreshing change of pace from 🎙 Alex Turner and company. Minor key title track 🎵 “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” ranks among the crème de la crème.

“I’ve been on a bender back to the prophetic esplanade / Where I ponder all the questions but just manage to miss the mark…” Fascinating! Weird to the core, “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” encompasses politics, philosophy, technology… it’s something. Turner sings about an imaginary hotel and casino (we think), possibly on the Moon. According to an EW interview, Turner, referencing the title track states, “…Whether we’re actually talking about a sort of hotel-casino complex on the moon or not is debatable.” Additionally, many of the lyrics can be interpreted as literal or more figurative.  A perfect example is the bridge, where Turner sings, “And do you celebrate your dark side / Then wish you’d never left the house.” This represents the conscience, but also, the moon…maybe. Back up to the second verse, and Turner indeed references the moon, along with technology and sex: “Technological advances really bloody get me in the mood / Pull me in close on a crisp eve, baby / Kiss me underneath the moon’s side boob.” What more can you say but, dammnnn!

Appears in 🔻:

• 101 Best Songs of 2018
• Recapping 40 Stunning Ballads from 2018
• 13 Songs About Buildings, Real or Imagined
• 13 Totally Captivating Songs That Reference Science
• 12 Unique Songs Loosely Associated with the Moon

Hotel: 5ive Songs No. 77 (2022) [📷: Atlantic, Brent Faulkner, Clovis Cheminot, Dirty Hit, Domino, Francesco Ungaro, Lord’s Child, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay, Quality Control Music, LLC, Warner]