04/19/2024 The Queens MC's groundbreaking debut turns 30 today. 04/19/2024

For part-time potheads, 4/20 is a holiday that comes but once a year. But for the steadfast stoner, you can celebrate 4:20 every day (twice a day is possible, but inadvisable). Regardless of how deep your love for the leaf runs, everyone knows that marijuana and music are peas in a pod. We’ve previously rounded up 25 toking tunes, an editorial playlist that encompasses Cypress Hill, Afroman, Miley Cyrus, Bob Dylan, Peter Tosh, Wiz Khalifa and, of course, Snoop Dogg. This list ain’t that. Looking at biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits of all time, we decided to round up the highest hits in the chart’s history. For purposes of this list, we’re casting a bloodshot eye toward songs with a title that includes “smoke,” “puff,” “high,” “stoned,” “burn,” “drug,” “toke,” “weed” or some variation. If the song’s title doesn’t tip to something along those lines, it’s out. (That means songs such as Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & #35” aren’t eligible; we’re sure he’ll get over it.) We are also discounting songs where weed-adjacent words are in the song title but are clearly not referring to drugs or intoxication. For example: We include Sean Paul’s “We Be Burnin’” but not Usher’s “Burn.” “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” isn’t here because The Platters weren’t singing about hotboxing the dance floor, but “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” is eligible. Sure, most folks assume cigarettes are what Brownville Station and/or the Crüe were puffing at school, but we don’t know for sure, so we’re giving that one the benefit of the dank doubt. Anyone who’s a fan of mind-altering substances should know that truth is subjective, man, and this list is no exception. While the selections – and the order in which they appear – are culled from the biggest hits in Hot 100 history (more on that below), editorial decisions were made on what to include on this list. Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” isn’t here because it’s about a love that is above (i.e., better than) others; “I Want to Take You Higher” is eligible, however, because you can (and probably should) interpret “higher” as substance adjacent. Also included: The many songs that refer to love as a drug, as well as songs that use “stoned” for a general sense of intoxication. If it’s about a mind-altering state brought about by romance, booze or whatever, it’s in. Don’t like the criteria? Sounds like you need to chill out, catch a cool buzz and hit play on one (or all) of these songs and just follow the vibe where it takes you. Responsibly, of course. This ranking is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from each era, certain time frames were weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those years. Afroman, "Because I Got High" (2000)

Fans who got their hands on the physical copies of Taylor Swift‘s new album The Tortured Poets Department received an extra surprise when the project arrived Friday (April 19) — a passage written by the OG tortured poet Stevie Nicks. The Fleetwood Mac frontwoman penned a poem dedicated to Swift, as printed inside the CD casings of the 16-track record. “He was in love with her/ Or at least she thought so,” it reads. “She was broken hearted/ Maybe he was too/ Neither of them knew.” “He really can’t answer her,” the text, dated Sept. 13, continues. “He’s afraid of her/ He’s hiding from her/ And he knows — that he’s hurting her/ She tells the truth/ She writes about it/ She’s an informer/ He’s an x-lover/ There’s nothing there for her/ She’s already gone.” Trending on Billboard Nicks dedicated the poem, “For T — and me…” The contribution from the “Edge of Seventeen” singer comes hand in hand with the shoutout Swift gave Nicks on the Tortured Poets closing track, “Clara Bow.” “You look like Stevie Nicks in ’75, the hair and lips,” the pop star sings on the finale. “The crowd goes wild at her fingertips/ Half moonshinе, a full eclipse.” Later on in the song, the “Anti-Hero” artist turns the line on its head — “You look like Taylor Swiftin this light, we’re loving it/ You’ve got edge, she never did.” The two stars’ surprise partnership with Tortured Poets comes after Nicks praised Swift’s Midnights track “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” last year. When Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie passed away in November 2022, the “Landslide” icon took comfort in the younger star’s lyrics, she revealed. “Thank you to Taylor Swift for doing a favor for me, and that is, writing a song called ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid,’” Nicks said at one of her concerts. “That is the sadness of how I feel.” Read Stevie Nicks poem for Tortured Poets below.

Let the games begin! Quickly after Taylor Swift dropped her The Tortured Poets Department album, Swifties were sifting through the lyrics to play their favorite parlor game: who is this lyric about? And while longtime fans were sure the singer’s 11th studio album — which, in a surprise, is a 31-track, double-disc, two-hour behemoth — would plumb into the end of her affair with former longtime boyfriend actor Joe Alwyn, or perhaps gush over new beau NFL player Travis Kelce — the lyrics many keyed in on were not about either man. In fact, a number of Swifties speculated that on the title track she references a fellow musician who Taylor allegedly dated for a brief period in early 2023, The 1975’s shambolic singer Matty Healy. The lines in question refer to an ex as a “tattooed golden retriever,” which many Swifties thought seemed to poetically sum up the hedonistic, cigarette-puffing, inked-up rock rabble rouser who seamlessly swings from eager-to-please to gratingly off-putting. Trending on Billboard “You smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate/ We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist/ I scratch your head, you fall asleep/ Like a tattooed golden retriever,” she sings on the collection’s gauzy second song. Healy often puffs cigs on stage during his band’s shows and his band released a song called “Chocolate” in 2013. Other clues? A seeming reference to Healy’s one-time friend Lucy Dacus, in which Swift sings, “Sometimes I wonder if you’re gonna screw this up with me/ But you told Lucy you’d kill yourself if I ever leave/ And I had said that to Jack about you so I felt seen/ Everyone we know understands why it’s meant to be/ Because we’re crazy,” which also name-checks longtime friend and the song’s producer, Jack Antonoff. While Swift, and her team, never confirmed that the two were romantically linked, Swifties, as usual, dug deep for receipts. “TTPD – Thank you Taylor for my new favorite description of Matty Healy, ‘Tattooed golden retriever.’ The Lucy & Jack name drop & wedding ring thing here triggered some kind of sleeper agent in me. Kinda wish this was the lead single but it feels too personal to be. 8/10 #TTPD,” wrote one, with another quipping, “the matty healy thing could have been a bizarre wrinkle in taylor swift lore and now it is the backbone of a major turning point in her career lmao.” Oner song detective launched a deep-dive X thread with seemingly connected all the dots, including, “‘you left your typewriter at my apartment’ matty mentioned his love for typewriters multiple times, he spoke about it in this interview for example and a typewriter is also always a part of the stage of the 1975,” as well as “also when multiple magazines reported in may 2023 that matty is writing songs with taylor, they mentioned that he already left stuff like his guitar effect pedals, audio interfaces, synths and his macbook at her nyc apartment where he got papped multiple times the day before.” At press time it did not appear that Healy had commented on the song. Check out the fans comments and speculation below. also when multiple magazines reported in may 2023 that matty is writing songs with taylor, they mentioned that he already left stuff like his guitar effect pedals, audio interfaces, synths and his macbook at her nyc apartment where he got papped multiple times the day before pic.twitter.com/S15LW6BAQ6— shelly ⎕ (@balladofmaroon) April 19, 2024 “sometimes i wonder if you’re gonna screw this up with me but you told lucy you’d kill yourself if i ever leave and i said that to jack about you so i felt seen” lucy dacus and jack antonoff are both mutual friends of taylor and matty pic.twitter.com/NesasQafYk— shelly ⎕ (@balladofmaroon) April 19, 2024 matty lovebomving taylor and telling lucy dacus he’s going to kill himself about it 💔— ୨୧ graham┊peoples princess .ᐟ (@juniperfever) April 19, 2024 TTPD – Thank you Taylor for my new favorite description of Matty Healy, "Tattooed golden retriever." The Lucy & Jack name drop & wedding ring thing here triggered some kind of sleeper agent in me. Kinda wish this was the lead single but it feels too personal to be. 8/10 #TTPD— Yanny ⎕ | Missing the Guys (@laurelsnotyanny) April 19, 2024 Imagining a heated argument between Taylor Swift and Matty Healy about typewriters.— Steven Hyden (@Steven_Hyden) April 19, 2024 the matty healy thing could have been a bizarre wrinkle in taylor swift lore and now it is the backbone of a major turning point in her career lmao— claire shaffer (@claireeshaffer) April 18, 2024

In October 2021, Elvie Shane earned his first Billboard No. 1 Country Airplay hit with the tender ode “My Boy,” inspired by his role as a stepfather. The song was certified platinum by the RIAA, and he followed it with his debut album Backslider, further ushering Shane into the circle as one of country music’s most-buzzed about new talents. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news But while “My Boy” and its successor “County Roads” were relatively tame odes to family and life lessons learned during moonlit nights on backroads, his new album, Damascus, out April 19 on Broken Bow/Wheelhouse Records, offers a fuller picture into Shane’s struggles and perspectives. Melding elements of country, rock and hip-hop, Damascus follows an arc of emotions, guiding listeners through heavier themes of addiction (“Pill”), prison (“215634”), championing blue-collar workers (“Forgotten Man”), redemption and peace (“Does Heaven Have a Creek”) “I had songs like ‘Forgotten Man,’ ‘Baptized’ and ‘Jonesin’,’ but it seemed like there was a stark contrast in these songs, sonically and lyrically. I wanted to do something with all of them,” Shane tells Billboard. “I wasn’t focused on trying to write something for a specific genre.” Trending on Billboard Kentucky native Shane took inspiration for the album and the album title from a Biblical story, but also from Damascus steel, which is made from forging together different types of steel, making it stronger in the process. “I approached this album as if I was making a Damascus knife, working with different types of steel—of sounds, and genres that have inspired me. I put them all together and created this album, and the concept frees me up. I wanted a narrative on the album, and I didn’t really have that with Backslider. I had a collection of the best songs I’d written along the way, and I found some kind of concept by the songs that I picked for Backslider, but it wasn’t as purpose-driven as this one.” [embedded content] For Damascus, which he started working on in 2022, Shane and producer Oscar Charles teamed up to record in a rented home in Alabama, writing and recording with creatives including Ryan Tyndall, Dan Couch and Luke Preston. Shane is unflinching in probing difficult themes on his new album. Songs including “Pill,” “Jonesin’” and “Appalachian Alchemy” address opioid addiction, giving voice to people who are struggling and seeking solace. The music video for “Pill” addresses opioid addiction, while the song was written essentially as an apology letter to his brother for the years that Shane faced his own hard struggles. “Jonesin’” was written as Shane, following the success of “My Boy,” slipped back into some of the self-destructive habits that he had previously fought to leave behind. “All the pressure of continuing to perform was piling up and taking care of my family and everything,” he says. ‘And regrettably, I just wasn’t as strong as I should have been. I allowed things back into my life that I had sworn off years ago. I wasn’t going as far into that as I had in my early twenties,” he says. However, he describes the night he wrote “Jonesin’” in detail, saying, “I had probably had six different substances in my body throughout that day, and we wrote that song. That night, I was lying awake, and I think I had a resting heart rate of 180 for 20 minutes. I was having a bad time by myself there in the living room. But the next morning I got up and sang that vocal in ‘Jonesin’” and I feel like that is the most of me I’ve ever put into a vocal. It was real and in the moment.” The defiant album opener “Outside Dog” was borne out of frustration with feedback he received when presenting his new batch of songs to members of his team. [embedded content] “They were hesitant, like, ‘I don’t know if we need to put this stuff out here or if we should be looking for some other songs.’ And that really didn’t sit well with me,” Shane says. Shane had moved with his family to his wife Mandi’s hometown in Kentucky during the making of the album. According to Shane, the back-and-forth with his team over the album’s content continued, until he reached a breaking point. “It got to a point where I had to make a call and said, ‘I’m just going to stay in Kentucky.’ I was struggling with the industry and I thought, ‘I’m going to go back to cutting trees for my father-in-law or go drive a truck with my brother and dad.’ I could play some bar gigs from time to time to still have music in my life, but I was just done with this idea of having to write about very generic or a small set of topics that were able to be covered, to be able to be successful. Everyone on the team wants the same thing. They want to see success — people listening, buying tickets, consuming the music. But I wanted to include topics that I feel get glazed over from time to time. I want to go in and use the right verbiage and tell the stories the way they are.” The turning point came with the Robert Deaton-produced Stoned Cold Country, a Rolling Stones tribute project, which featured several country artists performing classic Stones songs, including Shane’s rendition of “Sympathy for the Devil.” “They did a documentary and played it for the record label and the team here,” Shane says. “The story I’ve heard from members of the team is when they saw that video, they got more of an inside glimpse into who I am and what I’m about, and they wanted to go down this road — so thank god for Robert Deaton letting me be part of that project because it led to a boost in believing in this project.” Elsewhere on the album, the more light-hearted “First Place” welcomes Little Big Town — though Shane says it took a little liquid courage to get them to join the song. [embedded content] “After I wrote it, a friend videoed me and the writers jamming to it. I got just drunk enough to send it to [Little Big Town member] Karen Fairchild on Instagram,” he recalls. “I was like ‘Hey, I listened to “Boondocks” today. Thanks for the inspiration.’ But that was a serious cop out, because what I really wanted to do was ask them to be on the song. So about 20 minutes later — a little more liquid courage later — I asked them about singing on it. I woke up the next day and had a message from Karen saying they would sing on it. They were so great in the studio, worked so hard and sounded incredible.” The album closes with “Does Heaven Have a Creek?,” which he wrote after thinking about his late grandmother. “I was sitting outside of my camper in Kentucky at the lake we were living on. I was listening to Tyler Childers’ Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven? and Brent Cobb’s And Now, Let’s Turn the Page, so I was immersed in kind of gospel and hymns,” he recalls. “I thought of my grandmother who’s been gone 20-plus years now. I looked up at the sky and was like, ‘Granny, does heaven have a creek where I can swim in my old blue jeans?” And I got my guitar and played that.” The WME-signed Shane previewed the album on his Acoustic Stories Tour earlier this year. The album’s harder rock moments would seem to be a fit beyond solely country radio, something Shane is also keen on. “It’s on my bucket list to have a rock single. That would be amazing,” he says. [embedded content]