Quick Hits, Vol. 244 (Pile o' Singles)

I've let a load of singles pile up in my Spotify queue - as I delete out the albums I've heard and reviewed, I leave behind anything that was not album length stashed among the albums.  These are usually in the list because I've looked at the New Released page for Spotify, and hoping that I was finding a full length new album, I've added the track.  Let's do some extremely quick hits on these, shall we?

1. Take a Daytrip - Stressed.  Tough rap very clearly from a British guy.  Kind of a Skepta sound, over a very brawny beat.  I like it.  Adding it to my Popcorn Rap playlist.
2. Mortal Bones - The Well.  5:30 of sludgy, plodding rock and roll.  It steps up a little at the 3 minute mark, with a little better groove and chug for the guitar solos and Sabbath-sounding jam.  But then it goes back to the slog.  I'm good without this one.
3. Black Bananas - Powder 8 Eeeeeeeeight.  Where the hell did this one come from?  Psych freakout with electronica from a band that rings zero bells.  Nope.
4. GoldFish - Moonwalk Away.  I like the reference (I assume it is a reference) to Eddie Murphy's old standup about how dumb the moonwalk is for a partners dance.  But this is a very chilled electronica thing.  It's nice.  Not very interesting, but seems like something that would belong on the soundtrack to The Beach, or would soundtrack some time at a ritzy hotel's pool.
5. Ty Segall - Every 1's a Winner.  Love this tune.  Was going to add it to my list of top rock and roll songs from 2019, before realizing that it is actually a 2017 song that somehow came onto my radar two years later.  Psych crunch and phuzz and a loose groove ready made for head bobbing pleasure.
6. Young Thug, J. Cole, Travis Scott - The London.  Meh.  J. Cole puts down the best verse, but the whole track is mediocre.  Too much autotune, not enough intelligence in the rhymes.
7. Cardi B - Press.  This is a crappy song.  Cardi has done some good tracks, but this is not one of them.  Very bark-y delivery, stilted sounding, and uninteresting lyrics.
8. White Reaper - Might Be Right.  Very good tune.  I like the White Reaper thing - pop rock in the vein of Weezer, throwing down some Kiss solo sounds in the middle, but otherwise making a tuneful, catchy rock song.
9. Bon Iver - Hey, Ma.  The best song on that new album - I really like this one.  Poignant, longing, beautiful.
10. Strung Out - Daggers.  Pretty solid alt rock tune.  Has one of those lulls in the middle, where I can imagine the moshing kids catching a breather and circling while they wait for the rock to kick back in.  Sounds like Sum 41 to me.
11. Migos - Stripper Bowl.  As usual, not a good song.  Terrible lyrics.
12. Spoon - Bullets Spent.  Yeah, this one is good.  I like Spoon, I don't love Spoon, but this is a good jam.
13. Jeremy Renner - Heaven Don't Have a Name.  YES!  I have been waiting for so long to finally discuss this song.  If you don't know who Renner is, he is the actor who plays that pointless ass arrow shooter boy on the Avenger movies, and also was in the one Bourne movie that didn't feature Damon.  This is a single, of several singles he released in 2019, that is fucking absolutely godawful.  Like, nothing at all is redeeming.  The music blows.  The singing sucks.  The lyrics are cringeworthy death.  As an overall product, it is just about the worst.  And yet because it was after some album that I liked for a while, I've heard it no less than 15 times.  Truly godawful.
14. Prophets of Rage - Made With Hate.  Nothing great.  Very generic RATM groove combined with pretty boring bars from Chuck D.
15. Death Cab for Cutie - Kids in 99.  I like it.  Lyrically, its interesting, even if the music itself is pretty plain jane.  Although, I'm also kind of a sucker for the DCFC sound.
16. Foals - Black Bull.  I named this one of my top rock songs for the year - its a good jam.
17. Vince Staples - So What? Episode 01.  Fine.  He's done much better tracks in the past.
18. A$AP Rocky - Babushka Boi.  I think I've realized, over time, that Rocky's first album was deceptively awesome because of Clams Casino's production.  I don't think he's released a purely good track since that first album.  The track is a little interesting just because its weird, but the bars are nothing special.
19. Pusha T feat Lauryn Hill - Coming Home.  Another one that is nothing special.  I like both of these folks, but the beat sounds like a spare one left over from an old Kanye track, and while Lauryn's voice still sounds good, the lyrics are generic.
20. Big Sean and A$AP Ferg - Bezerk.  I like Big Sean more than I should - something about his delivery always gets me excited.  Ferg is awesome.  This one works well - properly bouncy and fun for a popcorn rap song.

Whew!  A lot of mediocre stuff!  I need to be better about just deleting the singles that aren't any good!