A Hit Song from an Unlikely Source (SoundRaves week of 5/9/2011)

First up, I apologize for the lateness of my blog entry this week.   As many of you know, my wife and I celebrated our fourth anniversary this week on a cruise to Bermuda, which we returned to glorious New Jersey yesterday morning (Thursday, May 12),  Then the Blogger website went down the next two days, so this is the first opportunity to check in all week.    I will be writing a blog on both the cruise and its musical aspects of it later on, but as the music heard on it was, for the most part, unrelated to the current stuff, I will defer my observations until that later time.

In the meantime, we have another new number 1 song, "Dog Days Are Over", by Florence + the Machine, a project headed by British artist Florence Welch and an assortment of backup musicians.  The sounds have been labeled everything from indie rock to baroque pop.    And it was almost overlooked by me, but brought back to me by a teenager.

"Kiss With a Fist", the first single off Florence's 2008 album Fist, made a good impression with me, landing in my year-end top 100 of 2009.    When I began my Sound-raves chart, however, the second single, "Dogs Days Are Over" somehow fell through the cracks.   Adding the song last September 20, the song only spent three weeks on my list, peaking at a lowly #82.   Now I don't know whether I confused this with another song and just dismissed it altogether, but I constantly ignored it despite its climb on the Billboard Hot 100, Triple A and Adult Top 40 radio airplay charts.  For about six months I forgot all about it.  

In March, I joined some friends in New York City, doing a little bar hopping.   As I have done before, we discussed some of the current music out there (and the bartender was playing "Rill Rill" by the Sleigh Bells which we had gotten into).    But the real inspiration hit me when I was walking back to Penn Station when 16-year old Dana Vandervaarst, whose mother Nancy is a friend and former shorehouse mate and co-worker, posted on Facebook that she was listening to Florence + the Machine.  

I hate to stereotype demographics, but when I think of music listened to by teenagers, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, hip hop and other pop stuff come to mind, not an act of Ms. Welch's caliber.   And her mom, back in the day (and presumably the present also), was a country music aficionado which perhaps may be an influence.   So it came as a shock when I saw Dana's status.   I texted back "you get bonus points just for knowing who they are", figuring she was thinking outside the pop music box.    But Dana's response was "I thought they were a new group?", figuring that an old fogie like me would like something that has been around for decades.

I assured Dana that they were a new band, just that I liked them.   But I kind of lied since I essentially dissed the single, but I promised I'd give it another listened.    Then just two days later, Barbara and I were watching a Glee rerun.   In the music-intensive show, the cast performed a cover of "Dog Days are Over".   At that point I couldn't resist any longer, added the song back on SoundRaves and my iPod, and the rest is history.   Only seven weeks later the song tops my chart this week.   Thank you, Dana!

Otherwise, the chart is basically the Adele show.    The album 21 is still atop the Billboard 200, and it was announced that on next week's Hot 100, "Rolling in the Deep" will have hit the number 1 spot.   Since it topped my chart back in January, the song becomes the first to headline both lists (the closest to that point was Katy Perry's "Firework" which was #1 nationally and #3 on my chart earlier this year).    The song, which has been in my top 10 for 21 weeks and counting, has been inching back up that last few weeks, only to be trumped by its soon-to-be followup "Someone Like You".    A third track, "Rumour Has It", enters the top 20 at #11.   Adele thus becomes the second artists (after Stone Temple Pilots) to land three songs in my top 20, but the first to do it simultaneously (previously  Jack Penate and The Decemberists had two concurrent songs in the upper echelon).

It was pretty much a lean week, with slim pickings.  Lady Gaga's new song "Judas" is the top debut, and I had to rely on follow ups to songs previously played (singles by Plan B, Mumford & Sons, Train, and The Thermals) for new material.    But several cool singles will be available on May 17 in time for next week's chart:   new stuff from Kate Voegele, Linkin Park, and Brian Sniatkowski's latest Song of the Week "Beat & the Pulse" by Austra.

The Sound Raves 100:

1	2	FLORENCE + THE MACHINE "Dog Days Are Over" Album: Lungs	10
2	6	The Raveonettes - Recharge and Revolt	6
3	10	Adele - Someone Like You	3
4	5	Adele - Rolling In the Deep	22
5	1	Leila - Hush Little Baby	12
6	7	Rachel Allyn - Gettin' By	17
7	3	Mt. Desolation - Bitter Pill	13
8	9	The Vaccines - Post Break-up Sex	9
9	4	Foo Fighters - Rope	10
10	19	The Wombats - Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)	4
11	29	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:   ADELE "Rumour Has It" Album: 21	3
12	13	Lucinda Williams - Buttercup	12
13	24	Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi-Two Against One	5
14	18	Death Cab for Cutie - You are A Tourist	5
15	22	Dom - Living In America	5
16	8	Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks	16
17	15	TV On the Radio - Will Do	8
18	16	The Cars - Sad Song	7
19	23	Dark Sacrament - Realm of Unlight	5
20	11	Peter Bjorn & John - Second Chance	14

21	52	The Drums - The New World	3
22	12	Ra Ra Riot - Too Dramatic	14
23	17	Cold War Kids - Louder Than Ever	18
24	34	Telekinesis - Please Ask for Help	5
25	27	Rihanna - S&M	7
26	32	Company of Thieves - Death of Communications	7
27	39	Michael Franti & Spearhead - I'll Be Waiting	7
28	40	Chk Chik Chick - Wannagain Wannagain	7
29	14	Kings of Leon - Pyro	15
30	41	Superhumanoids - Malta	7
31	67	PRIME MOVER OF THE WEEK:       CAGE THE ELEPHANT "Around My Head" Album: Thank You, Happy Birthday	2
32	21	Tamar Kaprelian - New Day	10
33	33	Helvetia - Arise Pt 1	10
34	36	Devotchka - 100 Other Lovers	9
35	51	Bell X1 - Velcro	3
36	30	Colbie Cailat - I Do	13
37	46	Ben Harper - Rock n' Roll is Free	5
38	49	Brother - Darling Buds of May	4
39	62	Foster the People - Houdini	2
40	31	Jack Johnson - From the Clouds	13
41	44	The Band Perry - You Lie	9
42	43	Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues	14
43	20	Yuck - Get Away	12
44	26	The Holidays - Moonlight Hours	16
45	28	The Decemberists - This Is Why We Fight	15
46	25	Acrylics - Sparrow Song	11
47	53	Scars on 45 - Give Me Something	12
48	56	Richard Ashcroft - Are You Ready	8
49	35	Downtown Crossing - Seventy 4	12
50	54	Fitz and the Tantrums - Money Grabber	23
51	48	Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know	14
52	58	Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now	5
53	37	Cee Lo Green - Fuck You (Forget You )	28
54	64	Redlight King - Old Man	4
55	45	Downtown Crossing - Translation	15
56	65	Neon Trees - Your Surrender	3
57	59	My Chemical Romance - Bulletproof Heart	5
58	63	Alexander - Truth	6
59	69	Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise	4
60	73	Augustana - Steal Your Heart	4
61	38	Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill	12
62	42	Iron & Wine - Tree By the River	16
63	50	Dropkick Murphys - Memorial Day	11
64	55	He Is We - Happily Ever After	8
65	57	The Sounds - Something to Die For	7
66	72	Cake - Long Time	3
67	60	The Beets - Dead	6
68	47	The Airborne Toxic Event - Changing	15
69	61	The Black Keys - Howlin' For You	19
70	85	Drive-By Truckers - Everybody Needs Love	2
71	86	Middle Brother - Me Me Me	2
72	76	The Kills - Satellite	8
73	77	Manchester Orchestra - April Fool	4
74	90	Andrew Allen - Loving You Tonight	2
75	----	TOP DEBUT:       LADY GAGA "Judas" Album: Born This Way	1
76	66	Jenny and Johnny - Big Wave	19
77	68	Twilight Singers - On the Corner	14
78	70	The Decemberists - Down By the Water	27
79	80	Incubus - Adolescents	3
80	75	Goo Goo Dolls- Notbroken	21
81	81	Taylor Swift - Mean	4
82	----	Plan B - She Said	1
83	78	Anberlin - Closer	9
84	82	Marianas Trench - Good To You	14
85	99	R.E.M.- Oh My Heart	2
86	79	Katy Perry - Firework	25
87	----	The Thermals - Not Like Any Other Feeling	1
88	93	Eddie Vedder - Longing to Belong	2
89	----	Interpol - Try It On	1
90	71	Katy Perry - E.T.	8
91	74	Arcade Fire - City With No Children	11
92	----	Zac Brown Band f Jimmy Buffet - Knee Deep	1
93	84	One Republic - Good Life	6
94	----	Bayside - Sick Sick Sick	1
95	----	Train - Save Me San Francisco	1
96	83	Plan B- Stay Too Long	19
97	88	The Strokes - Undercover of Darkness	13
98	87	Twin Tigers - Everyday	15
99	92	Biffy Clyro - Many of Horror	4
100	100	Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough	8