Playlist of the week

Editor’s Note: This week’s playlist is about celebrating the four openers and two headline artists who will rock Springfest this Saturday afternoon. We do not have a song for the first opener, Ani, as he will be playing original music.

 

“What’s My Age Again” – Blink-182

When “What’s My Age Again” was released in 1999, the British music journalism magazine New Music Express generously described it as “mindless, punk-pop guitar thrashing from the world’s current favorite American brats,” and gave the song a singular plus side: “the song — much like Blink-182’s career, we hope — only lasts for two-and-a-half minutes.” Today, “What’s My Age Again” is considered a pop punk classic, but considering Blink-182 has a new lead singer and is now a shadow of the band they once were, the New Music Express did eventually get half of what it hoped for. The band playing this song at Springfest is R.I.P. Reuben, whose 3:30 set will be, like this song, mercifully short.

 

“Anna Sun” –  Walk The Moon

“Anna Sun,” a hit single off the 2012 major-label debut album of indie pop band Walk The Moon, will be performed by Slab, the second-place finisher at Springfest’s Battle of the Bands. The album itself, also titled “Walk The Moon,” was not generally well received by critics, but the song escaped the same hate. Dani Beck and Derek Robertson with DIY called it, “sunny, easy, carefree electronic pop,” and praised its danceability, a trait this reporter can corroborate after seeing Walk The Moon live in January.  

 

“Can’t Stop” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is nearly every sound the Red Hot Chili Peppers have squished into one song. Frantic vocals, melodic choruses and a driving distinctive bassline punctuate the track chosen by Battle of the Bands winner Marshall and the Molson Twins. Much like the name of the song, Marshall and the Molson Twins can’t seem to stop doing good things for the Case Western Reserve University music community, appearing as openers at UPBeats for The Mowgli’s and making yet another return to the Springfest stage after cleaning up at Battle of the Bands in February.  

 

“Airplanes” – B.o.B.

The number one Spotify song for Springfest main event opener B.o.B., “Airplanes,” is a grade-A 2010 pop single which will probably be a highlight of the rapper’s set. The song features Paramore singer Hayley Williams’ soulful vocals espousing the joy of airplanes flying through the night sky—they look like shooting stars—and the more pop focused rap stylings of noted flat-earther B.o.B. The song truly shines due to its use of an upbeat and powerful musical background, and the irony of a rapper who believes the earth is a flat disk singing about planes, a technology that works because of GPS satellites and radar that functions on the basis of the Earth being a globe. 10/10 song, 15/10 logic.

“Fire Burning” – Sean Kingston

And finally, in the headliner slot is Sean Kingston with ”Fire Burning.” If you ever went to a middle school dance, you know this song. For the half of you who did not go to a middle school dance (I’m with you, social interaction was legitimately terrifying at the time), “Fire Burning” is an absolute classic and, along with “Beautiful Girls,” the most popular song by Jamaican-American singer Sean Kingston. Get ready to call 911, because even in the less than stellar weather predicted for Saturday, this song is sure to ignite a fire in the crowd.