X | 5ive Songs

1. Poppy, “X”

💿 Am I A Girl? • 🏷 I’m Poppy / Mad Decent • 📅 2018

💿 Am I A Girl? Well, that’s the question that 🎙 Poppy choses as the title of her 2018 album. Furthermore, there the 12^th track of the album marks the title track.  That said, we’re not here to discuss the title of the album or the titular track.  No, the source of our interests on this X-centric list lies in the 14^th and final track of Am I A Girl?, 🎵 “X.”

“X” is a trip, period.  Poppy gives us a mix of pop and metal, which makes this a fascinating if ‘bipolar’ listen.  These are two opposing styles, yet they coexist brilliantly in her hands. On the verses, things are much less intense – more ‘peaceful’.  “Empty every bullet out of every bun,” she sings on the first verse, continuing, “Please take me back to where we began.” The chorus marks a total about face – the metal section – characterized by aggressive guitars with potent, aggressive vocals by Poppy to match.

“Get me, get me bloody, please get me bloody
You can get down on your knees if you’re naughty…”

Wow, wow, WOW! Also, worth noting, the post-chorus has an urban-pop sensibility, contrasting both the pop and metal sections.

2. Badflower, “x ANA x”

💿 OK, I’M SICK • 🏷 Big Machine • 📅 2019

“I can’t feel my toes or my fingertips / My chest if pounding so fast I can’t keep up with it / I’m losing it – FUCK! I just want to quit it.” Front man 🎙 Josh Katz and 🎙 Badflower are in a bad spot to say the least, thanks to 🎵 “X ANA x” – a stylization of Xanax –  from their 2019 debut album, 💿 OK, I’M SICK. The effects of anxiety and Xanax itself have Katz down.  He’s profane, dropping multiple f-bombs, as he suffers. Notably, Katz emphasizes the ‘ANA’ approaching Xanax like it’s a relationship.  On the first verse, he memorably states, “Judging my fucking sex ANA x ANA x / And I’m faking just to stay in my body / I’m nervous, I can’t fucking stand it.”

The lyrics, throughout the course of the song, reflect Katz’s anxiety, while the high-energy, instrumental backdrop matches the anxiousness.  As the song continues, the listener is invited more and more into the suspect mindset of the protagonist, particularly at the end of the second verse.

“The kind of sick that makes an atheist pray for Jesus
The kind of sickness that turns your power into weakness
I’m sick of being sick for this whole fucking place to witness
And I’m living a sick life that most people call privilege
And they’re kinda right
But I’m still sicker than I can cope with.”

“x ANA x” is energetic, honest, and well-rounded single. Katz has the personality to sell this anxiety-driven record superbly.

Also appears on 🔽:
🔗 🎧 13 Awesome Songs That Highlight Mental Health
🔗 🎧 Fill Your Prescription with These 11 Medicine Songs
🔗 🎧 10 Songs Fueled by Xanax

3. Billie Eilish, “Xanny”

💿 When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? • 🏷 Interscope • 📅 2019

“What is it about them? / I must be missing something / They just keep doing nothing / Too intoxicated to be scared.” The ‘druggy’ 🎵 “Xanny” gives Billie Eilish a deserved spot on the 51 Best Songs of 2019.  “Xanny” definitely keeps 💿 When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? going strong, with Eilish asserting, “I don’t need a Xanny to feel better.”  Why? Well, the effects of recreational drugs, including drink and various smokes, particularly at a party, just isn’t cool from Eilish’s perspective.

The centerpiece of this delightful, minimalist production (🎛 FINNEAS, again) is the chorus.  Eilish continues to sing coolly, embracing a most glorious undertone.

“I’m in their secondhand smoke
Still just drinking canned Coke
I don’t need a Xanny to feel better
On designated drives home
Only one who’s not stoned
Don’t give me a Xanny, now or ever.”

Also appears on 🔽:
🔗 🎧 10 Songs Fueled by Xanax
🔗 🎧 51 Best Songs of 2019: Year in Review
🔗 🎧 An Alphabet of Random Songs

4. Kendrick Lamar, “XXX.”

Ft. U2

💿 DAMN. • 🏷 Interscope • 📅 2017

The biggest surprise of 💿 DAMN., the 🏆 Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning album from 🎙 Kendrick Lamar is the fact 🎙 U2 appears as featured guests on  🎵 “XXX.” Lamar relays the harsh conditions of the streets and the country. The first verse has more of an overt, hip-hop sound, as Kendrick tells the tale of a father who lost of his son because of “insufficient funds.” Kendrick proceeds to adhere to “an eye for an eye,” asserting he’d do the unthinkable if such a thing happened.

The second verse is slower, mellower, greeted by a memorable chorus sung by Bono:

“It’s not a place
This country is to be a sound of drum and bass
You close your eyes to look around.”

K-Dot raps about the state of the union, over a more soulful, urban-rock backdrop.

“Homicidal thoughts; Donald Trump’s in office
We lost Barack and promised to never doubt him again
But is America honest, or do we bask in sin?”

Also, worth noting, K-Dot tackles the hot button issue of gun control issue of gun control (“Alright, kids, we’re gonna talk about gun control”). Following the chorus by 🎙 Bono, Lamar dives into an assortment of American problems, particularly concerning the perception of black men.

“It’s nasty when you set us up
Then roll the dice, then bet us up
You overnight the big rifles, then tell Fox to be scared of us
Gang members or terrorists, et cetera, et cetera
America’s reflections of me, that’s what a mirror does.”

Also appears on 🔽:
🔗 🎧 5 Songs That Reference Gun Violence & Gun Control

5. Marvin Gaye, “The World is Rated X – Alternate Mix”

💿 You’re the Man • 🏷 Motown • 📅 2019

X is a weird letter, so, we’ll bend the rules a feature a song where the letter is crucial but NOT the first letter of the first word of the song in the song title.  Dang, that was a mouthful! 🎵 “The World is Rated X” keeps 💿 You’re the Man, the ‘lost’ album by the late, great soul icon, 🎙 Marvin Gaye, going strong early on. A superb, socially charged standout, the production is masterful, led by the agile, robust bass lines, and the lush, dramatic strings. Gaye is locked-in, showing incredibly authenticity as he laments the corrupt state of the world.

At the end of “The World is Rated X”, Gaye’s totally disturbed and totally riled up:

“Where’s the love? Where’s the peace?
Where’s the joy? Where’s the hope for us all?
God is watching, He knows where you’re at
Yes, he’s watching the situation, that’s a fact.”

“The World is Rated X” has appeared as a bonus track on various Marvin Gaye reissues, as well as You’re the Man for good reason.  It’s a damn good song that epitomizes 70s soul through and though.

Also appears on 🔽:
🔗 🎧 11 Songs That are X-Rated, to Some Extent