Single Saturdays: April 6, 2024

Single Saturdays is Five Cent Sound’s weekly roundup, where our staff members share a song that they’ve fallen in love with and make their case for why others should give it a listen.

“Dead Girl Walking” by Jensen McRae

by Norah Lesperance

My last week was one long, excruciating proof of Murphy’s Law: anything that could have possibly gone wrong did, in fact, go wrong. I started falling behind on my assignments, and I cried more than my ceiling did (we had a very stubborn leak — it’s a long story). I looked for comfort in my Spotify “Daylists,” and found one song to keep me moving. “Dead Girl Walking” by Jensen McRae played on high volume in my headphones all week long.

McRae’s 2022 album Are You Happy Now? is full of stunning songs, but “Dead Girl Walking” has stuck with me. McRae’s smooth and relaxing vocals accompany a backbeat that’s more uptempo than the rest of the album, but still exudes a “chill” vibe. It made for the perfect soundtrack to my week — the lyrics were relatable and provided an outlet for my frustration, but the overall sound of the track wasn’t painful enough to make me feel even worse. 

“I’m a dead girl walking but I’ve walked this far”

McRae is right: I may feel like a dead girl walking, but at least I’ve made it here, so I can keep going.

“Been Like This” by Meghan Trainor ft. T-Pain

By Emily Zeitz

Mrs. Meghan Trainor has done it again! And by “done it again,” I mean she has managed to write the same song again in the form of another song! “Been Like This,” her new single featuring T-Pain, is everything you could want and expect from a Meghan Trainor song, and it is certainly a bop. The random T-Pain verse in the middle was a jumpscare of sorts at first, but has now become completely normal to me within this random song about (you guessed it) butts. Sure, it’s nothing new, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it! She has 13 songs with over 200 million streams on Spotify, with 6 of them having over 500 million, so I think it’s safe to say she’s cracked the algorithm. The song’s vibes are very 2000’s, in an era where nostalgic music is super trendy. Her songs, including this one, tend to trend on TikTok due to their consistent feel-good quality and reliable tendency to get stuck in your head for days. Personally, I’m only talking about this song now because it’s been stuck in my head for about a week, but do I really want it to leave? (Rhetorical question. Answer: not really.) It has even become a joke within my friend group that I’m obsessed with the song, and constantly ask them to play it when we’re listening to music. My friends may be sick of it, but I certainly am not! While it may not be a modern musical marvel, “Been Like This” is a banger and a half, and deserves a spot on your playlist this week!

“Your Touch” by Saâda Bonaire

By Gavin Miller

German pop trio Saâda Bonaire– comprised of German models-turned-vocalists Stefanie Lange and Claudia Hossfeld, singing alongside the slick beats of DJ Ralph “Von” Richtoven–  carried a rare authenticity that speaks through their lyricism. Accompanying the release of Saâda Bonaire’s 1984 single, “You Could Be More As You Are” is a short interview and video where vocalist Claudia Hossfeld states, “Well, we don’t understand ourselves as feminists and we’re not militant either. We only tell the stories that happen to us every day.” The spirit of that notion is driven home by “Your Touch,” the closing song on Saâda Bonaire’s self-titled record.

“Your Touch,” blends a reggae-style horn section and steady electronic drums with the spectacular essence of 1980’s West German synthpop. If that sounds like a messy combination, that’s because it is. Saâda Bonaire certainly isn’t for everyone. If, however, you want to take a walk on the suave side, if you want a little auditory trip to the 1980’s German club scene, if you want authentic experiences, funky dancing and goofy synths, then Saâda Bonaire will pleasantly greet your ears.

As an album closer, “Your Touch” is wondrous in its personal, powerful, and retrospectively impactful lyrics. “Your Touch” sees Claudia Hossfeld dwelling on a music industry run by men while still craving love. In the exhausting, patriarchal world of “Record businessmen [..] talking jive” and “boring clubs,” the underlying hunger for the touch of one’s lover is still emphasized. Hossfeld makes her desires public, declaring that she “need[s] a man / or a cigarette.” In the track’s shining lyrical moment, Hossfeld, after expressing her exhaustion, slips into German to say, “Each day…Ich denk' ich ruf mal Zuhause an”, meaning “Each day…I think I’ll call home.” The moment reflects the honest and tired nature of women in the music industry, a story made more devastating by the group’s label rejection following their first single. As genre-bending pioneers of their time, Saâda Bonaire was destined to be remembered.

We don’t deserve Saâda Bonaire. Rejected by their time but embraced in the modern era, one is left wondering how the trio’s music would have developed if they hadn’t been dismissed in the 1980s. But as long as they grace digital streaming with records that were never supposed to see the light of day, “Your Touch” will be on repeat.

“Like That” by Future, Metro Boomin, Kendrick Lamar

By Maya Genuardi

Being a fan of the rap industry often feels like watching an episode of reality tv – especially when pivotal, foundation-shaking bars are dropped that have people running to Tik Tok and Twitter to dissect every line. In 2013, Kendrick Lamar’s feature on Big Sean’s song “Control” was one of these moments, launching him to the top of the rap game and reshaping its hierarchy forever. On Future and Metro Boomin’s song “Like That,” Kendrick does it yet again. The song opens with average, predictable lines from Future about sex and drugs that are immediately forgotten as soon as Kendrick starts rapping. Haphazardly stacking rhymes in his frenzied climb to the top, he can’t help but step on a few faces – namely Drake (this time, J. Cole is just a casualty of war). He sneaks references towards Cole and Drake’s recent single “First Person Shooter” before refuting Cole’s claim that he, Kendrick and Drake are the “big three” (“Motherfuck the big three… it’s just big me”). Kendrick loads, aims, and fires with the line “Nigga, Prince outlived Mike Jack.” This particularly low blow refers to the popular rivalry between Prince and Michael Jackson. As the more popular, commercially successful musician, Kendrick is comparing Drake to Michael Jackson and himself – the more artistically-valued rapper – to Prince. In my opinion, this line is the most powerful of them all, and the most definitive to have fans up in arms. When Future gets back on the mic, even he seems to understand that the moment isn’t about him. The song slowly fades out and the listener is left only with the memory of Kendrick’s rage. 

“Falling Asleep at the Wheel” by Holly Humberstone

by Meira Fiber-Munro

This spring has been feeling very nostalgic for me, and the mood I’ve been in is captured really well by Holly Humberstone’s “Falling Asleep at the Wheel.” Complete with the primarily major chords within its piano instrumentals, catchy beat, and infectious harmonies, it’s easy to forget that the song is about a relationship losing its momentum. Some of my favorite lyrics are “How am I supposed to be your ray of light? I get dark sometimes, does it pass you by? I should be your ray of light.” Humberstone talks through realizing that her partner is not on the same page that she is, and simultaneously feeling a responsibility to be a source of joy for her partner, even as she is struggling. Holly Humberstone’s lyricism is unmatched and I’ve been enjoying her newest pop-adjacent album, Work In Progress. I recommend all of her music, especially to those who have been through a difficult heartbreak, but also to anyone who just appreciates a good harmony and G major piano chords! 

“Cardinal” by Kacey Musgraves

By Emma O’Keefe

As more and more pop artists step into country for the first time, Musgraves makes a full return to country songwriting with a twist of pop on “Cardinal.”

A couple weeks ago, Kacey Musgraves released her new album Deeper Well, which takes the artist back to her country and folk roots. While Musgraves never departed from the country genre, her last album Star-Crossed leaned deeper into the pop element of her music, especially in its breakup focused lyrics. This new album is refreshing for fans who have been waiting for music more grounded in folk and country from her.

“Cardinal” is the opening track of the album. Here Musgraves sings about a bird possibly “bringing [her] a message from the other side” or “just watching and waiting for spring” while acoustic guitar plays in the background. With a synthesizer on the track too, Musgraves doesn’t completely lose her pop influence. However, the very concept of “Cardinal” - questioning the symbolism of a passing bird - feels more country and folk than anything she’s released in the past few years.

“Sweet talk” Dear and the Headlights

By Maya Eberlin

“Oh, you forgot I called

Won’t take it personal, personal honey”

Yearning for a short and sweet midwestern emo track to blast in your headphones as spring begins in all its chilled, rainy glory? Look no further than the Phoenix-native Dear and the Headlights’ glimmering track, “Sweet Talk”. Despite only being active for just over five years, the band’s two full-length album releases are packed with incredible tracks, standout lyricism and riveting instrumentals that I just can’t help replaying.

“I know you’ve just been busy or

You need to be alone

Well you can call me when you’re bored”

Now I know what you’re thinking: midwest emo is for drowning out the beginning-of-semester blues as you try not to count down the endless days until next summer. “Sweet Talk,” however, is a sonically bright take on the genre’s angsty conventions. Frontman Ian Metzger laments about his ex-girlfriend finding love in a new relationship, showing off his vocal range throughout. There is genuinely not a single lyric in this song that I don’t find perfect – the heartbreak of wanting to be there for someone despite them having someone new is conveyed so accurately that it makes me want to go through a gutting breakup so that I can experience the song to its fullest extent.

“You got your new boyfriend

I bet he likes you more than he likes me ‘cause

I’m the former one

He’s the latter one

He’d never say it but it’s right”