The Real World and My Fake One (Music Review - 12/23/2011)

In recent weeks, aside from this blog being late, I have been focusing only on my take on the current music scene, without referencing what is current popular and selling in the real world.   And although I will do the same this time, I also want to make aware what is currently happening on the music charts.    So i will discuss the former along with referencing the latter, so here goes.

On the last weekly chart of the year, I have yet another #1 song, the fourth such one in as many weeks.    Ellie Goulding's "Lights" takes the top spot after slipping down to 3 the previous week; it thus replaces R.E.M.'s "We All Go Back to Where We Belong", which itself took over for The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy".   Finally, that one replaced Omnia's "What's Become of Us", which started this one-week trend by knocking off Mayer Hawthorne's two-week run of "The Walk".  Got it?

Goulding, R.E.M. and the Keys are locked in a very tight battle for the top and any of them could grab the brass ring come the beginning of the New Year.    In the real world, however, The Black Keys are cleaning up with their new one, from their just recently released album El Camino.    The song tops both the Billboard Alternative and Triple-A charts for multiple weeks, and the album debuts at #2, topped only by the ongoing #1 status of Michael Buble's "Christmas" set.     The song advances in to the 50's on the Billboard Hot 100, easily the Akron duo biggest hit there.    As predicted a few weeks back, it could be the next big rock crossover.

The big mover into the Top 20 is the seasonal entry from Grace Potter, "Naughty, Naughty Children" which dumps #24 to #8, easily winning the title of favorite Christmas song this year.  Eight entries made the SnS chart this year, with the Killers "The Cowboys' Christmas Ball" next at #25 and the only such new entry this week, Kelly Clarkson's take on the classic "I'll Be Home for Christmas".  I always loved Kelly in spite of my disappointment in her current single "Mr. Know It All".    This is Grace's best showing on my chart, her "Paris" reached #10 a year ago.   The aforementioned Michael Buble's album yielded two entries, there was another Potter song, plus The Civil Wars and the Haley Reinhart-Casey Abrahms take on "Baby It's Cold Outside".  

And then there's Adele, who posts Top 20 entry number six as the bluesy "One and Only" jumps 26-16.  Her album 21 is still a strong seller, almost re-claiming the top spot, climbing to #2 before the Black Keys pushed her back down to #3, but still ahead of Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe" offering.   Over on the Hot 100, where she's had two #1's, her latest single "Set Fire to the Rain" also enters that chart's top 20 while hanging onto the lower rungs of mine.

Aside from the holiday stuff, the biggest movers this week were the locals Rachel Allyn and Omnia with their high debuts from last week; whie the top debuts this week are follow ups to big hits of mine.   Wilco's "Dawned on Me", which follows the #1 "I Might"; and The Kooks' "How You'd Like That", the follow to the #2 "Junk of the Heart" which continues to resurge back to #21 as a good friend loves that song.

Finally, back into the top 20, the only other new entry there, behind Potter and Adele, is Katy Perry's "The One That Got Away" (21-19).     This is Perry's sixth single from Teenage Dream and the third to make my top 20.   Of course, it's a well known fact that the first five hit the top spot, tying Michael Jackson's Bad for accomplishing that feat.     On the Hot 100, "One" jumps to #4 making a serious bid for the record-breaker.

This is the final regular blog for the season, and maybe for awhile.     Although I have been approaching 2500 hits since I moved it to Blogspot back in April, it does take up a lot of my time.     I have never gotten any comments on the blog and very few, if any when I posted it on Facebook.   My time can be much better spent.   I still hope to keep music flowing each week and maintain my chart.    I'm not sure if it will be posted here or not.     In the meantime, I will be introducing my Top 100 of 2011 here in stages next week.  I have complied it already and there seems to be a lot of multiple entries by acts, when compared to very few last year.    There was a bumper crop of good songs.     I can tell you that two artists have two entries in the top 10, one artist has five songs on the Top 100, and two others have four.   Stay tuned.

Scenes n' Soundwaves 100 for week of December 19, 2011:

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	3	ELLIE GOULDING "Lights" Album: Lights	12
2	1	R.E.M. - We All Go Back To Where We Belong	7
3	2	The Black Keys - Lonely Boy	8
4	5	Real Estate - It's Real	10
5	7	Red Hot Chili Peppers - Monarchy and Roses	8
6	4	Mayer Hawthorne - The Walk	11
7	10	Phantogram - Don't Move	9
8	24	MOVER OF THE WEEK:   GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS "Naughty, Naughty Children" (Single Only)	5
9	14	Graffiti6 - Free	8
10	15	Blitzen Trapper - Love the Way You Walk Away	13
11	6	Sleeper Agent- That's My Baby	11
12	12	Florence + the Machine - Shake It Out	10
13	11	Dum Dum Girls - Coming Down	13
14	8	Sarah Jean - Hometown	14
15	9	Omnia - What's Become of Us?	13
16	26	Adele - One and Only	5
17	13	Death Cab For Cutie - Stay Young Go Dancing	20
18	17	Fleet Foxes - Lorelai	7
19	21	Katy Perry - The One That Got Away	9
20	20	Foster the People - Don't Stop	8

21	25	The Kooks - Junk of the Heart	24
22	23	The Big Troubles - She Smiles for Pictures	9
23	18	Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn	9
24	19	Carolina Liar - Drown	16
25	39	The Killers - The Cowboys Christmas Ball	4
26	16	Adele - I'll Be Waiting	15
27	28	Warren Haynes - River's Gonna Rise	6
28	46	MOVER OF THE WEEK:   RACHEL ALLYN "Ain't No Fun" (Single Only)	2
29	29	Scars on 45 - Heart on Fire	14
30	33	Kathleen Edwards - Change the Sheets	8
31	22	Florence + the Machine - What the Water Gave Me	18
32	31	Portugal. The Man - So American	7
33	34	The Knux - Razorblade	6
34	27	Zac Brown Band - Keep Me In Mind	10
35	30	Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside - I Swear	18
36	35	Kasabian - Days Are Forgotten	10
37	32	Dawes - Time Spent in Los Angeles	12
38	37	Beirut - Santa Fe	13
39	44	Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - Please Come Home For Christmas	5
40	66	Michael Buble - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas	3
41	43	Adele - Love Song	5
42	40	Martin Solvag & Dragonette - Hello	9
43	71	Omnia- Change This Place	2
44	36	Paul Czekaj - My Home New Jersey	14
45	41	Joy Formidable - A Heavy Abacus	7
46	42	Blink-182 - Up All Night	9
47	58	Atlas Sound - The Shakes	3
48	38	St. Vincent - Cruel	13
49	45	Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Maniac	7
50	57	Michael Buble - All I Want For Christmas Is You	4
51	49	Man Man - Knuckle Down	16
52	78	Haley Reinhart & Casey Abrhams - Baby It's Cold Outside	3
53	74	Civil Wars - Tracks in the Snow	3
54	62	Expensive Looks - Nothing More	4
55	75	Lady Gaga - Marry the Night	2
56	48	Faith Hill - Come Home	6
57	69	Death Cab for Cutie - Home Is A Fire	3
58	47	Fruit Bats - Tangle and Ray	12
59	60	Funeral Party - NYC Moves to the Sound of LA	11
60	52	Fitz and the Tantrums - Pickin' Up the Pieces	21
61	68	Fun f. Jarelli Monee - We Are Young	4
62	----	TOP DEBUT:   WILCO "Dawned on Me" Album: The Whole Love	1
63	89	Lana Del Rey - Video Games	2
64	53	Best Coast - Our Deal	15
65	59	The Big Troubles - Bite Yr Tongue	19
66	----	The Kooks - How'd You Like That	1
67	56	Wilco - I Might	22
68	80	Mumford & Sons - Winter Winds	4
69	----	Kelly Clarkson - I'll Be Home For Christmas	1
70	73	First Aid Kit - Lion's Roar	7
71	83	Deer Tick - Let's All Go To the Bar	4
72	61	Snow Patrol - Called Out In the Dark	15
73	64	Rachel Allyn - Lovely Lily	18
74	67	Bush - The Sound of Winter	20
75	50	Foo Fighters - These Days	11
76	54	Cage the Elephant - Aberdeen	17
77	82	Rachel Yamagata - Starlight	5
78	95	Sharon Van Etten - Serpents	2
79	65	Anna Calvi - Blackout	19
80	88	Rihanna - We Found Love	7
81	85	Adele - Set Fire To the Rain	24
82	92	M83 - Midnight City	3
83	91	Grouplove - Tongue Tied	2
84	51	Sara Bareilles - Gonna Get Over You	11
85	55	Coldplay - Paradise	15
86	90	Awolnation - Not Your Fault	8
87	70	Duran Duran - Leave A Light On	12
88	79	Plan B- Love Goes Down	26
89	76	Thom Sebastian & the Hounds of Winter - Not Broken	17
90	98	Mastodon - Curl of the Burl	2
91	----	Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks	1
92	63	The Vaccines - Wetsuit	10
93	72	The Fray - Heartbeat	9
94	77	Daughtry - Crawling Back to You	12
95	86	Ladytron - White Elephant	7
96	93	Bombay Bicycle Club - Shuffle	5
97	81	Ryan Adams - Lucky Now	10
98	----	Mates of Estate - Maracas	1
99	94	Best Coast - Something In The Way	27
100	84	WU LYF - Spitting Blood	10