I'll be updating momentarily. It turns out that I wasn't actually supposed to post 2 rhythmic/urban entries last night, so I'm posting none tonight. Also, I'm delaying the start of my worst songs list until Friday, so there will only be 2 positions posted tonight, both for the pop list.
I really wanted to hate this song, even after being a fan of the V era in general, but it just didn't happen. Maroon 5 has blatantly embraced the concept of letting a maddeningly catchy chorus carry their material, so it is not surprising that only 32 seconds of the bouncy Don't Wanna Know is devoted to the verses. The remainder consists of an insistent succession of prehooks and hooks complemented by the most transient Kendrick Lamar verse I've ever heard. The band's production team has evidently been spoiled enough by their success to completely forego anything other than the instrumental equivalent of the stock photo. It's a shame that Adam Levine's versatile voice has to be wasted on songs like this, but at least he's distinct enough to save the track from feeling completely anonymous (though it's still comfortably the shallowest hit of the year). A hook that gets stuck in your head during exams shouldn't make up for all of this, but it does.
This position in 2015: Sia - Elastic Heart This position in 2014: Maroon 5 - Maps
gnash f/Olivia O'Brien - i hate u, i love u
6.4/10
From its gloomy piano chords to gnash's rant-like verse to the pretentiously liberal usage of lowercase letters in the title (and closed captions of the music video), this song is intensely evocative of the stereotypical "Tumblr culture." It's a fascinating collection of lucid feelings, many of them contradictory, but gnash quickly distracts from this with his obnoxious, deadpanned flow. His nasal tone makes his verse sound less like the main portion of a top 10 hit and more like an audition for a character in the next Pixar film. Indeed, most of the positive contributions from this song come from O'Brien, and gnash only sounds good when the two are harmonizing. In fact, I would love to hear an extended solo version from the perspective of her character in the song. The 17-year-old possesses a smooth voice, one that she tempers beautifully for the bridge and chorus. gnash's non-invasive, sparse production works as well, and the writing from both artists is candid. While this is absolutely a standout track in almost every aspect, its distinct features are very much a mixed bag.
This position in 2015: Rachel Platten - Fight Song This position in 2014: Sam Smith - Stay With Me
I think you'll get your wish. I see them pulling an American Authors.
Oh, can they? That would be lovely.
But I don't know, they were infinitely more successful, as a whole, than AA. I think they can get at least one more minor hit with their next album. We'll see.
Don't Wanna Know is bad but catchy, I like it I can't say the same about the other one... I don't know, there is something missing in my opinion, maybe is that cheap production or I don't know what
Top 40:
The Greatest Middle PILLOWTALK
Let It Go... remix??? How dare you, the original is flawless on its own.
I love Maroon 5 but DWK is their biggest disappointment in a while. Yuck @ gnash
I can't say the same about the other one... I don't know, there is something missing in my opinion, maybe is that cheap production or I don't know what
Middle 
PILLOWTALK 
