Start | 5ive Songs

On the 7^th edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with the word START in some form or fashion.  

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elcome 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.  On the 7^th edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with the word START in some form or fashion.  Okay, let’s get into it!

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1. Dua Lipa, “Don’t Start Now”

💿 Future Nostalgia • 🏷 Warner • 📅 2020

“Did the heartbreak change me? Maybe / But look at where I ended up / I’m all good already / So moved on, it’s scary / I’m not where you left me at all…” In October 2019, 🎙 Dua Lipa returned with the electrifying, energetic single, 🎵 “Don’t Start Now”, which ultimately appears as the second track on her brilliant sophomore album, 💿 Future Nostalgia. She describes the song to Apple Music stating that it “Is a perfect breakup song, about when you finally find your feet and then somebody decides to come crawling back just when you’ve moved on.”

“Don’t Start Now” has all the makings of a pop bop, period! The groove is infectious, instantly a catalyst for foot tapping, head nodding, and busting a move on the dance floor.  Further cementing the bop status are other elements of the production – robust bass line, keyboards, and synths (including strings).  Stylistically, “Don’t Start Now” can be characterized to some extent as a nu-/neo-disco single – a pop single incorporating dance and R&B cues.  All those positives don’t even capture additional greatness. First and foremost, Dua Lipa impresses with her husky, expressive lead vocals. Beyond that, the songwriting is catchy and quite engaging.  The focal point is matters of the heart, specifically rejecting the ex who ultimately said goodbye to her:

“Don’t show up, don’t come out

Don’t start caring about me now

Walk away, you know how

Don’t start caring about me now.” 

Appears in 🔽:

• 11 Awesome Songs That Tickled My Fancy in October 2019
• 11 Totally Relatable Songs About Exes
• 13 D Songs Selected with No Rhyme or Reason

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2. Chris Stapleton, “Starting Over”

💿 Starting Over • 🏷 Mercury • 📅 2020 

🎵 “Starting Over” commences 💿 Starting Over – the 🏆 Grammy-nominated, 2020 studio album by Chris Stapleton – on a high note. This gem is written by Stapleton and 🎼✍ Mike Henderson. Early on, “Staring Over” keeps things simple, featuring rhythmic guitar accompaniment and a light, though rhythmic snare drum groove. Set in a major key, the optimism is at an all-time high.  As always, Stapleton delivers commanding, expressive vocals, bringing ample assertiveness to the table.  Even with the grit behind his pipes, the melodic lines throughout are quite tuneful.

The songwriting on “Starting Over” is well-rounded, focusing on taking risks and taking the plunge even amidst uncertainty. The memorable chorus serves as the centerpiece:

“Let’s take our chances and roll the dice

I can be your lucky penny; you can be my four-leaf clover

Starting over.”

Highlighting the production once more, eventually, the backdrop fills out. Stapleton adds a robust bass line, organ, and fuller drums.  An instrumental interlude with a different harmonic progression is worth highlighting. “Starting Over” is incredible.

Appears in 🔽:

• 100 BEST SONGS OF 2020: 50 – 26
• 100 BEST SONGS OF 2020

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3. Kim Petras, “Future Starts Now”

🎵 “Future Stars Now” • 🏷 Amigo / Republic • 📅 2021

“Ain’t nobody gonna stop me / Don’t you let the music stop now.” 🎙 Kim Petras delivers a surefire bop on 🎵 “Future Starts Now”.  “Future Starts Now” is an ear-catching, slickly produced dance-pop joint featuring the production skills of 🎛 Aaron Joseph, 🎛 Vaughn Oliver, and 🎛 Dr. Luke.  The synths sparkle and the groove anchors, fueling Petras’ artistic fire. Though the song runs north of four-and-a-half-minutes, it’s a glorious four-and-a-half minutes.  In addition to those awesome production cues, Petras unleashes tremendous personality.

Petras slays, from the occasional French lyrics (“Le future c’est maintenant / Un, deux, trois, quatre”) to her exuberant, commanding vocals on the chorus, excerpted above and continued as follows:

“You’re more than just anybody

Don’t give up, the future starts now

Worry ‘bout it in the morning

Take it to another level

You’re more than just anybody

Don’t give up, the future starts now.”

Those lyrics are encouraging – positive and uplifting! On the verses, she is also future-minded, essentially urging us to put those worries aside and embrace a new-day with new possibilities. After compelling with her performance, we get an extended instrumental to close things out. Petras shines on “Future Starts Now” with elite production, strong vocals with ample personality, and memorable, thoughtful songwriting.

Appears in 🔽:

• Awesome Songs: September 2021

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4. EDEN, “start//end”

💿 vertigo • 🏷 Astralwerks • 📅 2018 

“Is this burning, right? Am I living bridges? / Can we build our past, right? / Learning through future solecism.” 🎵 “start//end”, the third track from 🎙 EDEN’s (🎙 Jonathon Ng) full-length debut album, 💿 vertigo, is intriguing from the start, commencing with lovely, lush, robust strings. There’s a distinct, expressiveness about Ng vocally, that draws the listener in.  He’s authentic, emotional, and passionate. Following a dramatic verse, the pre-chorus (excerpted above) signals a shift within the record.

Unstable, its intriguing, unpredictability piques interest, continuing through the chorus, where the identity establishes itself.

“(I’ve missed times) It’s played out

(Been disconnected) I’ve moved on

(I stressed time) Get fucked up

(Forgetting timing) My new draw.”

The electronic vibe and a sense of stability and groove establish themselves on the bridge and successive chorus. Finally, the second verse arrives, with the clear identity of the record established, intact with lush strings and an electronic backdrop.  “start//end” is the centerpiece of Vertigo.

Appears in 🔽:

• 11 Songs That Key in on The End

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5. Michael Jackson, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”

💿 Thriller • 🏷 MJJ Productions Inc. • 📅 1982

“Ma-ma-say, ma-ma-sah, ma-ma-coo-sah!” 💿 Thriller (1982) is one of the best albums of all-time – NO CAP! Furthermore, 🎙 Michael Jackson wasn’t called The King of Pop for nothing, woo! Jackson kicks off his once-in-a-lifetime pop/R&B masterwork with a surefire six-minute bop, 🎵 “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.” Among the best of Thriller, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” comes in at fourth at best, trailing 🎵 “Billie Jean”, 🎵 “Beat It”, and 🎵 “Thriller”.  Regardless, this incredibly rhythmic joint won’t be denied!  

“I said you wanna be startin’ somethin’

You got to be startin’ somethin’

It’s too high to get over (Yeah, yeah)

You’re too low to get under (Yeah, yeah)

You’re stuck in the middle (Yeah, yeah)

And the pain is thunder (Yeah, yeah).”

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” is incredibly fun, PERIOD!  The outro is infectious to the nth degree! So is the chorus for that matter, even without the Swahili lyrics.  Michael Jackson delivers an energetic, exuberant performance that shows him at his very best.  Sure, Jackson would go on to nail it on Bad (1987) and usher in the New Jack Swing era with Dangerous (1991), but Thriller remains the album to beat. It all starts with “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.” 

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Start: 5ive Songs No. 7 (2022) [📷: Amigo, Astralwerks, Atlantic, Brent Faulkner, Clovis Cheminot, cottonbro from Pexels, Mercury, MJJ Productions Inc., The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay, Republic, Warner]

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