The song at #79 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Stereo Hearts” by American rap/rock band Gym Class Heroes, featuring additional vocals by Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine. I love this song! It’s so damned catchy and upbeat, with a joyful melody and irresistible hip hop beat, and just makes me feel happy. The endearing lyrics are filled with music-based metaphors that make the song very relatable to a music freak like me. Though the song was played nearly to death on the radio, I never tired of hearing it.

The track opens with Levine singing the chorus hook: “My heart’s a stereo. It beats for you, so listen close. Hear my thoughts in every note. Make me your radio. Turn me up when you feel low. This melody was meant for you. So sing along to my stereo.” Gym Class Heroes front man Travie McCoy then raps the lyrics directed at a former loved one, using musical metaphors to proclaim his love and devotion in the hope of winning her back: “If I was an old-school, fifty pound boom box. Would you hold me on your shoulder, wherever you walk. Would you turn my volume up in front of the cops, and crank it higher every time they told you to stop. And all I ask is that you don’t get mad at me when you have to purchase mad D batteries. Appreciate every mix tape your friends make. You never know we come and go like we’re on the interstate.” Songwriting doesn’t get any better than this.