Wood | 3 to 5 BOPS

Wood: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 7 (2023), features musical BOPS courtesy of Juicy J, Justin Timberlake, Mac Miller, Serpentwithfeet, and Taylor Swift. 

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 7^th edition of 3 to 5 BOPS (2023), we select songs that are associated with Wood in some form or fashion. The BOPS arrive courtesy of 🎙 Juicy J, 🎙 Justin Timberlake, 🎙 Mac Miller, 🎙 Serpentwithfeet, and 🎙 Taylor Swift. Okay, let’s get into it!

1. Serpentwithfeet, “Wood Boy”

💿 DEACON • 🏷 Secretly Canadian • 📅 2021

🎵 “Wood Boy” marks one of the best songs from 💿 DEACON.  DEACON is the sophomore album from openly gay, alternative R&B artist 🎙 serpentwithfeet (Josiah Wise).  This incredibly sensual record represents one of the biggest discussion pieces of DEACON. Remaining true to who he is, serpentwithfeet describes the pleasure of gay sex, specifically bottoming. Serpentwithfeet lets us know what he likes and how he likes it.  More people should be honest about sex and sexuality, right? Anyways, there’s no escaping sexual roles (“Damn, I like him inside me”) or size (“He’s stacking that wood / Just like he should / Got my wood, wood boy”).  That’s grown-folk, adult conversation, but ultimately, it’s tastefully done.

Appears in 🔻:

• 13 Songs That Explore the Power of the Joystick 🕹
• 11 Amazing Songs Associated with Trees
• serpentwithfeet, “Wood Boy”: After Dark No. 2
• An Alphabet of Random Songs
• 13 W Songs: No Rhyme or Reason

2. Justin Timberlake, “Man of the Woods”

💿 Man of the Woods • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2018

“I brag about you to anyone outside / But I’m a man of the woods, it’s my pride,” hunky (😍 🤭 🤫) pop superstar,🎙 Justin Timberlake asserts on 🎵 “Man of the Woods.” He continues, “I’m sorry, baby, you know I try / But I’m a man of the woods, it’s my pride.” Um, sure JT, sure! In the context of 💿 Man of the Woods, the fifth studio album by Timberlake, “Man of the Woods” is arguably the first song from that fits the purported sounds and concept of the LP: “modern Americana with 808s”. The title track blends country, pop, and hip-hop.  Does it work seamlessly? Meh. “Man of the Woods” didn’t earn sizable airplay on country stations, nor did it earn the characterization as a hit from the LP. Still, “Man of the Woods” is charming and interesting: “And damn anybody if they disagree / They don’t understand you’re just like me, they don’t know / We do it twice ‘cause we know we like it.” Umm, sure! It’s worth noting, the production by 🎛 The Neptunes is distinct as ever.

3. Mac Miller, “Woods”

💿 Circles • 🏷 Warner • 📅 2020 

“Yeah, things like this ain’t built to last / I might just fade like those before me.” 😢 RIP 🎙 Mac Miller, who passed away far too young at the age of 26 in 2018.  On the song at hand, 🎵 “Woods,” which graces his posthumous album, 💿 Circles, Miller never gets too high. Even though he’s chilled out and mellow, he reflects on matters of the heart, as well as his fame, seemingly.  “Hate love, heartbreak will have you bankrupt,” he asserts in the second verse. He continues, “Too many days in a daze, better wake up.” With much of Circles dominated by his more melodic side, Miller manages to weave in some un-pitched rhymes as well.  One more lyrical moment worth highlighting: “Yeah, I never slip, I never fall / I tried to tell you ‘bout a better life / And get involved big or small.”

4. Juicy J, “The Woods” (Ft. Justin Timberlake)

💿 Stay Trippy  • 🏷 Kemosabe / Columbia • 🗓 2013

Apparently, in 🎵 “The Woods”, “You can be as freaky as you should,” according to 🎙 Justin Timberlake.  In the chorus of this 🎙 Juicy J joint from his 2013 album, 💿 Stay Trippy, Timberlake goes on to encourage her to “Unleash the animal, hear my mating call / I want you to be fearless / When we go walking in the woods / A natural experience.” Interesting and of course, freaky AF.  Timberlake sets the tone on this sexual banger produced by 🎛 Timbaland. By setting the tone, Timberlake, as well as the lit production by Timbaland, give Juicy J fuel for the sexual fire.  There are no shortage of raunchy rhymes, folks!

“She keep looking back at it, we keep grinding like jack rabbits / All she want is this pipe, I turn her into a crack addict.” Woo, Juicy J! Very complimentary of her body, he spoils her throughout “The Woods.” No worries, of course, because he gets exactly what he wants – banging sex.  “In the hotel we wake the neighbors / They knocking like Jehovah’s Witness.” Damn! Later, he proclaims, “She sent from heaven, mayne / She needs wings on her / I might have to put a ring on her / Damn she so bad, damn she so thick / I wonder how she fit jeans on it.” You get the picture, and its filled with ASSets and S-E-X.  🎵 “The Woods” is a great, freaky rap banger – fitting for that Midnight Heat 🕛 🔥!

Appears in 🔻:

• Juicy J, “The Woods”: Midnight Heat 🕛 🔥 6 (2023)

5. Taylor Swift, “Out Of The Woods”

💿 1989 • 🏷 Big Machine • 📅 2014

“Are we out of the woods yet? Are we out of the woods yet?” That is the question that 🎙 Taylor Swift poses on 🎵 “Out Of The Woods,” a highlight from her 2014, 🏆 Grammy-winning album, 💿 1989. She adds in the chorus, the centerpiece, “Are we in the clear yet? Are we in the clear yet?” What exactly is Swift getting at? Love – a past relationship with some great memories that ultimately didn’t work out.  The constant repetition of  ‘Are we out of the woods yet?’ signals the tenseness of the relationship – the lack of stability.

The memories are a blast to hear Swift sing about on this 🎼 ✍ Jack Antonoff co-write.  “You took a Polaroid of us / Then discovered,” Swift sings in the first verse, “The rest of the word was black and white / But we were screaming color.” Ah, the pen – such poetic songwriting! Adding to the nostalgia, in the second verse, Swift recalls “The night we couldn’t quite forget / When we decided, we decided / To move the furniture so we could dance.” Still, for all those fun, sweet memories, things didn’t work out – they never made it out of the woods on this no. 18-peaking hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

 Wood: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 7 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; Big Machine, Columbia, Kemosabe, RCA, Warner; Khari Hayden via Pexels]