LISTEN & WATCH

ISLAND IN THE SUN
WEEZER
2001
Weezer out-Weezed themselves on this one, to the point of earning themselves a big ol’ pop hit.

MICKEY
TONI BASIL
1981
A classic, even if a little clawing. Every cheerleader moment that followed – and there’s been a plethora – is paying homage to “Mickey.”

SHE’S SO HIGH
TAL BACHMAN
1999
This is how you build to a moment! A generally lovely song, but that chorus…man, it really takes you up to soar along with it.

DYNAMITE
TAIO CRUZ
2010
It’s the simplest of things that often are the most effective. While there’s virtually no substance here, damn it’s a bop.

STEAL MY SUNSHINE
LEN
1999
This song just feels like summer, and it’s got that fantastic one hit wonder glow about it.

COME ON EILEEN
DEXY’S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS
1982
While I do feel like we should let Eileen make her own decisions without pressure, it’s impossible not to get absorbed into this song when it comes on. It’s a pretty unique fixture of pop in the last fifty.

BREATHLESS
THE CORRS
2000
This is just one of the most uplifting love songs you could ever hope to hear. I think the production choices are really fun!

SCREAM
MICHAEL JACKSON & JANET JACKSON
1995
In pop history, there are many Jacksons – but there are two Jacksons. Michael and Janet coming together is momentous in its own right, but “Scream” more than rose to the occasion. Twenty years later, it’s a bigger standout in their respective catalogs than ever.

ALL ABOUT THAT BASS
MEGHAN TRAINOR
2014
This is a classic debut single. That hook is craveable like candy, and the bass part does live up to the name.

NOTORIOUS
DURAN DURAN
1986
Duran Duran + Nile Rodgers expectedly equals pop gold. “Notorious” is hard-hitting and funky, and we all know that hook one way or another (shoutout Biggie).




















