Every week, there are hundreds of thousands of new songs hitting the airwaves. It’s too much for just your two ears to handle: With all those options, you can’t be wasting your time on tracks worthy of a thumbs-down click.
But don’t worry, we’re going to save you the hassle. We listen to some of the most-hyped and interesting songs each week and tell you which are worthy of your precious listening time.
Here are our top 5 songs to stream this week. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our Spotify page for a playlist of our weekly picks, which can also be found at the bottom of this post.
Wilco — Normal American Kids
Wilco released a fantastic live version of Schmilco single Normal American Kids this week, courtesy of French website La Blogothèque. A simple folk tune with deep and poetic lyrics, the song is performed as a duet by frontman Jeff Tweedy and guitarist Nels Cline, and feels like it should be paired with a brisk stroll through your childhood neighborhood.
Best Coast — Christmas And Everyday
https://soundcloud.com/amazon-music/best-coast-christmas-and-everyday
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it’s high time to embrace the new sounds of the holidays, courtesy of a jingle bell-laden pop jam from Best Coast. Written in the Beach Boys style, Christmas And Everyday is part of the recently released Amazon special An American Girl Story – Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas. This one sticks to traditional sounds and harmonies without being overly corny, which is more than we can say for most of the songs you’ll run into this holiday season.
Chance The Rapper — Feel No Ways (Drake Cover)
Chance the Rapper got up bright and early this week to appear on BBC 1 radio, where he and a live band performed a fresh near-a cappella cover of Drake’s hit song Feel No Ways. There’s a distinct subtlety and humor to the way that the Chicago musician and his band play the track, with live drums, trumpet, and keyboard accompanying the vocals in a wistful four-and-a-half minute live take.
Happyness — Falling Down
Deep, ’80s-influenced guitar tones and a steady kraut-rock beat dominate the first half of British band Happyness’ newest single, Falling Down. The intro then gives way to melancholic vocal melodies for the remaining minutes. It’s a slow-building sort of song that flows beautifully from start to finish, making for an excellent first play for a car ride back from anywhere.
Cass McCombs — Run Sister Run
Afrobeat drums and baritone sax coalesce on Run Sister Run, a groovy jam from songwriter Cass McCombs’ latest release, Mangy Love. For the video, McCombs partnered with Tracie Léost, a track and field athlete who ran 115 kilometers to bring attention to missing or murdered indigenous Canadian women. Like the run, the accompanying single feels less like a eulogy than it does a song encouraging positive communal efforts — a beat-driven jam that will help carry anyone through hard times.
That’s it for now, but tune in next week for more tunes and check out our playlist loaded with our recent selections below:
