Rihanna - "Umbrella" - Go ahead and skip over that forgettable Jay-Z intro verse. Bieber sings: "I was wondering about your mama/ Did she get that job she wanted/ Sell that car that gave her problems?/ I'm just curious about her, honest." Does he really only want to be friends? Or is he trying to rekindle the romance that "didn't end so good?" The woman never answers his question: "Can we still be friends?" but the mood of the songs feels like, 'probably not.' Either way, the Robyn-esque beat will induce you to hit 'repeat' and think about it again. (Honorable Mention) Justin Bieber - "Friends" - It starts so innocently. On the other hand, "You've Got a Friend in Me" (aka the Toy Story theme song) by Randy Newman is sweet, and a perfect setup for the movie, but not list-worthy. All I can picture is the six of them jumping around that stupid fountain. "I'll Be There For You" (aka the Friends TV show theme) by the Rembrandts defines annoying. The two most famous Friendship songs of all time don't make the list. It takes just the right tone to make you say, "Aww," not "Eckk." Sorry, no:
There aren't many songs about friends or friendship in its many forms, and those that do exist, are often schmaltzy (sorry, James Taylor). So today we're taking one slice of that 10% and looking at the Top 5 Songs About Friends. So let's get to it: They say 90% of all songs are about love, but that the other 10% are the most interesting. Here's the format: A quick setup, then the list, then one nugget of marketing wisdom related to it.
SouthpawWisdom: This is the next installment in a weekly series combining two things I love: pop music and marketing.