The Singles Jukebox, 2024: June

I didn’t blurb much in June, but did discover that I apparently like sexy drill (Cash Cobain’s Version). Also: Kane Brown’s second awful single of the year.

NewJeans - How Sweet
I'm absolutely here for NewJeans giving us a little bit of ecstasy. If this kicks off a revival of second-wave freestyle, I'll be very happy. (Someone call Sabrina Carpenter to the white courtesy phone, stat!) [8]

Tommy Richman - Million Dollar Baby
I like the vibe he's going for, and I wanna love it ('90s R&B yes please), but this is a series of Casio keyboard presets in search of a song. [5]

Cash Cobain x Bay Swag ft. Ice Spice - Fisherrr (Remix)
The low-key almost lo-fi-ness of this grabs me hard and won't let go: it's mostly just some synth chords and a click track backing up Cobain and Swag, both of whom have oddly appealing voices. (Normally I'm allergic to the Auto-Tune they're using, but here it functions more like another instrument.) A bassline doesn't even show up until almost two minutes in; it also helps that it appears while Ice Spice is dropping her sharp guest verse. This goes so soft it goes hard, y'know? If this is archetypal "sexy drill," I may well be all in. [9]

RM - Come Back to Me
So sleepy it feels as if he took some Ambien before recording. I miss the old Rap Monster of “Do You.” [3]

Marshmello & Kane Brown - Miles on It
I hate this ode to fucking in the back of a pickup for the following reasons: 1) grown men need to stop calling women "girl"; 2) a trad EDM-adjacent boom-bap shouldn't be all over mainstream country radio; 3) "we could break it in, if you know what I mean" is an utterly icky turn of phrase. [0]