Sunday, October 21, 2012

The Fall of Autumn Songs (Music Review - 10/15/2012)

FALL INTO THE GAP:  Fall has always been my favorite time of year.   I'm not sure whether it's the leaves changing, the cripness of the air (and a welcome relief after hot, sticky and muggy summer heat), or Halloween (which is also my birthday).   It used to be because I loved snow (and still do...away from my home and preferably up north where I can ski on it), and this time of year was the anticipation of that coming.    But I love it, regardless.

There are so many summer songs out there, but really none (or at least, popular) for the autumn season.   Some late-blooming tunes, like "Beach Baby" and "Summer Breeze" became hits this time of year, but, aside from Roger Williams' 1957 instrumental "Autumn Leaves", can you think of any?  I certainly can't.

But, having said that, I think those songs that were hits this time of year are very memorable; watching football games (first high school, then of course the pros), going to school, then college, some of my best times were this time of year.    There, of course, some years that stand out more than others.   In my case, it was 1968.   I really can't explain why that year; nothing overtly happened to me then, other than I entered a new school in seventh grade.  

"Hey Jude" was probably the best soundtrack to that season; it seemed to be #1 during that whole period.  It was then #2, and 3 until almost Christmas.    Add "Those Were the Days", "Midnight Confessions", "Magic Carpet Ride", "My Special Angel", "Little Green Apples", "Gotta Get A Message To You", "Time Has Come Today", and even the flip-side of "Hey Jude", "Revolution".    That fall, in addition to going to Junior High School, I bowled in a league on Saturday morning, went to my Church youth group (and I remember going on a hayride in late October of that year, to where, I can't remember though).   It was sort of magical even though I only turned twelve.  

They just don't make songs like that anymore, but you just can't take away those memories!

BACK TO THE FUTURE: So now, we turn to the current music scene--or at least my take on it.   Hanging in there for a fourth week at the top is "Elizabeth's Song" by Dirty Beaches, but there is formidible competion coming up the ranks.  The "Sniatkowski songs", as I like to call then:  Brian's "Default" (Django Django, which is now getting airplay on WEQX), and his brother Mark's favorite, The Satelliters' garage-tinged and aptly-named  "Lost In Time" garner spots 2 and 3.  

Some great movers going on, headed by Adele's "Skyfall" which rockets 48-10 and is the first song to reach the Top 10 in its second week in over a year.    The James Bond theme is picking up airplay on many radio formats, similar to her smash, "Rolling In the Deep", another song that made my top 10 in its second week.     Other strong movers include "Change" by Churchill (11-7),  "Yet Again" by Grizzly Bear (36-14), "If You Loved Me" by Child Actor (59-26), and "Mirror, Mirror" by Leila (63-38).  Looks like it will, indeed be a nice autumn, at least on my SNS chart.

FEELIN' NO PAIN:  Remember Dinosaur Jr?   The Amherst, Massachusetts alternative rockers have been around since the ealry 1990's, but are best known for their modern rock hits "Start Choppin" from 1993, and especially "Feel the Pain" from the following year (as well as my favorite track "Outta Hand", both from that year's "Without A Sound".   Success faded after that, and the band broke up in 1997.

The band, however, reformed in 2006 and have released a few albums since, including Bet On Sky, their latest. which was released here last month.    The lead track is "Don't Pretend You Didn't Know", and it's the top debut at #66.   Despite them being away, they have lost absolutely nothing, as listening to this track suggests.    The feedback rock of their older stuff is still there.    And actually, it reminds me of a cross between the two Without a Sound tracks I mentioned above, if that's possibile.    This is a band that should have been more popular than it was.   Rarely do bands split up this long but come back as if they never left.    They are touring, mostly in the U.S., and will pull into New York's Terminal 5 come December 1.  Might be a great show to check out.

SCENES 'N' SOUNDWAVES 100 for Week of October 15, 2012:

This Week


Last Week


ARTIST-Title


Weeks on List


1


1


 
DIRTY BEACHES
"Elizabeth's Theme"
(Single Only)


10


2


3


Django Django - Default


9


3


4


The Satelliters - Lost in Time


7


4


2


Rebecca Ferguson - Nothing's Real But Love


11


5


6


Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait


10


6


5


The Heavy - What Makes A Good Man


17


7


11


Churchill - Change


6


8


8


Psy - Gangnam Style


4


9


7


Pink - Blow Me (One Last Kiss)


15


10


48


TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK
 
ADELE
"Skyfall"
Album: Skyfall (Soundtrack)


2


11


13


Grassfight - Look Homeward Heathen


15


12


19


Youngblood Hawke - We Come Running


10


13


10


Ty Segall Band - I Brought My Eyes


20


14


36


Grizzly Bear - Yet Again


4


15


20


Yeasayer - Henrietta


9


16


24


Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - Stars


6


17


9


The Avett Brothers - Live and Die


14


18


18


Kopecky Family Band - Heartbeat


7


19


16


Hedley -Kiss You Inside Out


8


20


23


The Shins - It's Only Life


9




21


28


ZZ Ward - Put the Gun Down


5


22


22


Phillip Phillips - Home


21


23


17


Snow Patrol - In the End


12


24


14


Dignan Porch - Picking Up Dust


14


25


21


Tristan Prettymen - My Oh My


10


26


59


MOVER OF THE WEEK:
 
CHILD ACTOR
"If You Loved Me"
Album: Victory


2


27


27


Maroon 5 - One More Night


12


28


12


Foxygen - Make It Known


13


29


32


Silversun Pickups - The Pit


5


30


15


Two Door Cinema Club - Sleep Alone


13


31


29


Taylor Swift - We Are Never Getting Back Together


9


32


31


The Lumineers - Ho Hey


16


33


25


Basement Batman - On A Streak


12


34


34


Those Darlins - Mystic Mind


6


35


38


Alex Clare - Too Close


21


36


37


Jack White - Freedom at 21


9


37


30


The Killers - Runaways


14


38


63


Leila - Mirror Mirror


2


39


26


Matchbox Twenty - She's So Mean


18


40


39


Sean Rowe - Horses


10


41


40


Coldplay - Hurts Like Heaven


9


42


47


Allen Stone - Sleep


7


43


33


Grouplove - Itchin' On A Photograph


11


44


49


Neon Trees - Everybody Talks


14


45


51


Metric - Breathing Underwater


5


46


35


The Black Keys - Little Black Submarine


18


47


46


Fun. - Some Nights


29


48


50


Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen


5


49


53


Taylor Swift - Ronan


5


50


43


Linkin Park - Lost In the Echo


8


51


56


No Doubt - Looking Hot


4


52


41


The Features - Another One


15


53


42


The Raveonettes - Observations


16


54


68


Golden Void - The Curve


2


55


54


Helvetia - Nothing in Rambling


6


56


52


Emeli Sande - Next To Me


17


57


60


Walk the Moon - Tightrope


7


58


55


Of Monsters and Men - Mountain Sound


18


59


58


Dirty Heads - Dance All Night


8


60


44


Green Day - Oh Love


13


61


84


Green Day - Let Yourself Go


2


62


45


Mayer Hawthorne - No Strings


10


63


62


Little Big Town - Pontoon


6


64


67


The Soft Moon - Insides


6


65


89


Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Bulletproof


2


66


----


TOP DEBUT:
 
DINOSAUR JR.
"Don't Pretend You Didn't Know"
Album: I Bet On Sky


1


67


72


Imagine Dragons - Radioactive


6


68


69


Aerosmith - Legendary Child


12


69


57


Beach House - Lazuli


19


70


92


The Beach Boys - Isn't It Time


2


71


65


The Wombats - Jump Into the Fog


32


72


66


Those Darlins - Screws Get Loose


32


73


77


OneRepublic - Feel Again


5


74


88


Muse - The Madness


4


75


61


Kelly Clarkson - Dark Side


20


76


83


The XX - Angels


9


77


64


The Mungers - B School


15


78


91


Daughtry - Start of Something Good


4


79


96


Train - 50 Ways to Say Goodbye


18


80


----


Alabama Shakes - I Ain't The Same


1


81


70


M83 - Reunion


22


82


74


Weeks - The House We Grew Up In


16


83


100


Blondfire - Where The Kids Are


2


84


----


Benjamin Gibbard - Teardrop Windows


1


85


87


Sick/Sea - Robot


4


86


 
----


Civil Twilight - River


1


87


71


The Royal Concept - Gimme Twice


17


88


94


Sad Robot - Hold On


4


89


 
----


Divine Fits - Would That Not Be Nice


1


90


73


Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - Never Go Back


27


91


82


Maroon 5 - Come Away To the Water


30


92


 
----


The XX - Chained


1


93


81


The Shins- The Rifle's Spiral


28


94


95


Ellie Goulding - Lights


39


95


86


Oberhofer - Away From You


26


96


93


Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe


20


97


85


Trails and Ways - Nunca


21


98


99


Electric Guest - This Head I Hold


33


99


----


Alt-J - Fitzpleasure


1


100


 
I Am Dynamite - Where Will We Go


1