5 seconds of every No. 1 pop song all in one spot

File this under weird and unneccesary but nonetheless engaging: "Five Seconds of Every #1 Pop Single."

Yep, it's an audio string of five-second snippets of chart-topping pop singles from the 1950s on. A SoundCloud user who goes by the handle mjs538 laboriously pieced together hundreds of audio files totaling more than 70 minutes. That is a ton of work. 

I can't say it makes for long-form listening but it's fun to hear how song styles change and how many one-hit wonders have come and gone over the years. Can you say C.W. McCall? 

You can play Part 1 above and Part 2 below. 

Old music print ads brought back to life

I'm not sure exactly who to credit but someone with a deep understanding of music is republishing old Billboard magazine advertisements in a Tumblr blog called Billboarding Party. And it's a blast.

What I like about Billboarding Party is it's like an old FM station: no format, you'll never know what's around the corner. One post might be for a rock artist, followed by a country act, then an R&B performer and a lounge singer. It's eclectic in a good way.

I singled out just three ads here:

• A simple Percy Sledge spot from 1966 that features a nice cutout image of the singer and touting "another million seller" in "Warm and Tender Love."
• A text-heavy 1975 Atco ad explaining the controversy behind Roxy Music's controversial "Country Life" cover, which was banned in some countries because it featured two women in various states of undress. Atco, tongue in cheek in this ad, explains why it was selling two versions of the album cover in the States: One with the women completely removed and one with the original sleeve wrapped in green shrinkwrap. By the time I discovered Roxy a few years later, the green shrinkwrap was long gone, and I was left with the choice of only the censored cover. Being both a purist and prurient, I remember shelling out extra to buy the import version of the record, with its "classic" sleeve. I still have it.
• A simple 1978 note of condolence from Columbia Records to mark the passing of Chicago guitarist Terry Kath. Kath was an unbelievable guitarist -- tell me the solo on the album version of "25 or 6 to 4" isn't among the greatest ever -- but his wild side proved to be too much and he accidentally shot himself. This ad is simple, and uses "white space" to great effect.

Billboarding Party features many more. Check out the Tom Jones ad for "She's a Lady," Rick Springfield, The Kinks, Johnny Cash, BeeGees and many more.

First new Cars song in 24 years

The Cars have released "Blue Tip," its first new song in 24 years. The video is entertaining but I was hoping for something a bit more evolved songwise after a quarter century. But can't say I'm surprised. The band never really evolved after album No. 3, and unfortunately released its best song, "Just What I Needed," right out of the gate.

A new album is scheduled for release May 10. Let's hope the songs get better.

I'll close with this excellent Live Aid performance of "Just What I Needed," featuring engaging lead vocals from the late Benjamin Orr.