Wine, Woman....and Pretty Songs (Music Review 2/20/2012)

Sometime last week, my good friend Stephen Harris had texted me and wondered who the name of the singer that Barb and myself were always talking about.   He wondered if it was E'lissa Jones.    Apparently, this E'lissa Jones was playing at the Warwick Valley Winery, in Pine Island. NY (just outside the beautiful town of Warwick) and he and his girlfriend Rene were going to invite Barb and myself to join them.

I told Steve that I had never heard of E'lissa Jones, and that he must have been thinking of Rachel Allyn, whom we mention constantly.    Steve acknowledged that yes, that's the one.     So at first it was unclear whether he thought our favorite up and coming country singer was performing at the winery that Saturday afternoon, or whether he actually did mean E'lissa Jones.   Of course, a quick check of the winery's website confirm this...it would be E'lissa playing.

Initially disappointed, but looking for an opportunity to get out for the day and to finally meet Steve's girlfriend...and of course to check out a talent I had never heard of before, on this slightly chilly sunny Saturday, we made the trek up Route 94 to check out the events, getting there an hour early (with the intention of wine tasting first).

Well, apparently, Ms. Jones has quite a following in the Hudson River Valley, since all the tables in the cafe were taken (in warmer weather, the winery's concert series takes place outside, but it was clearly too chilly for that today)...needless to say we canned the tasting (we've been there once before), and went scavaging for chairs for us and our friends.   We did manage to pick out four.   No tables to put our wine glasses or food, but that was just a minor inconvenience.

And it paled in comparison to what we were going to listen to for the next three hours.     E'lissa was fantastic, very talented.     Just when you thought originality in music has run its course, along comes Ms. Jones.     Not only a great voice, but she is a master of the strings instruments.    Brought up in classical music (and composer of some short pieces at a young age), she has been exposed to many musical greats in more popular music fields.    She sang backup for R&B legend Wilson Pickett during that singers final years.   She has also opened up for Steve Forbert and Pete Seeger.     Those names should tell you about how versatile she is, crossing many genres of music.    She is a master of the violin, but also the guitar.      And was that a fiddle she was playing during her cover of Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"?   Her website describes those genres ranging from rock, classical, folk, jazz and R&B, but I swear you could hear country and even celtic in her songs.

And what songs she has.    Her and her three-piece band spent the afternoon jamming....some covers such as the Daniels song above, and many of her originals.    And apparently she's been around for quite awhile; her first CD, Shadows, was released in 1997.   Her sixth and latest CD, Like Water, was released in 2011, which she is currently promoting.   The standout performance of those songs on that CD was "Best I Ever Had", not to mention "Sweet Surrender".      And then where was the moving tribute to the late Whitney Houston; "I Will Always Love You" brought a misty eye to myself during her solo performance of that song.   

And perhaps, a fitting end to the day, her boyfriend went up to the stage and proposed to her; a nice unexpected treat for this Saturday afternoon crowd.    If you want to check her out, much of her shows are around the Hudson River valley, Warwick, Campbell Hall, or northern NJ towns like Montvale or Maywood.     To find out more about her, check out her website:   http://elissajones.com/shows.htm

ON THE SNS:  It's The Cranberries at the top for a second week as "Tomorrow" set a record for points (the ranking are determined by the points I give them).    Facebook friend Suzanne Logeman loves this and shared the song when I posted it last week, no doubt helping it stay at the top.  A very competitive top 10 results in holds or changes in one position, with the notable exception being Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know".   The song is obviously the most popular of my current favorites; it was a hit on my Lake Placid trip, and is #1 on Billboard's Alternative Rock chart, and #2 on the Triple-A chart as well.   Wild Nothing leaps into the Impact spot in the Top 20 with "Nowhere", and The Black Keys are in that elite circle for the fifth time with the bluesy "Gold On the Ceiling".

I had posted that "Best I Ever Had" by E'lissa Jones was my Pick of the Week; however I am changing that to "Sweet Surrender".    I would prefer my "awards" to have some video attached to it, or at least a link, and since "...Surrender" does have a video, I opted to make that my pick; however I will add "Best..." in the coming weeks.    This is a talent to be witnessed.

RECORDS:  I, from time to time will mention what's going on with the pop charts.  I last reported that Adele had her third number one from 21, "Set Fire to the Rain".    With the Grammy awards' help, all three singles jumped back into the top 10, giving Adele the record for more songs in the Top 10 by a female.    Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" is #3 and two of her other classic songs are in the Top 50 as well.    Her Greatest Hits album sits at #2, but ironically, one of her records actually got broken by you-know-who.     Adele's 21 sits at the top for its 22nd week, breaking the record for longest album spent by a female artist:  Houston's soundtrack to The Bodyguard.  Finally, although she didn't break the record for most #1's from a single album, Katy Perry hasn't yet stopped.   Her new single, "Part of Me" becomes the 20th song to debut at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100.  The song is from an upcoming remix album, and enters on SNS at #76 this week.

Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100 for Week of February 20, 2012:

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	1	THE CRANBERRIES "Tomorrow" Album: Roses (2 weeks at #1)	8
2	2	Tennis - Origins	7
3	3	Rachel Allyn- Ain't No Fun	10
4	5	The Rapture - How Deep is Your Love	6
5	4	Atlas Sound - The Shakes	11
6	12	MOVER OF THE WEEK   GOTYE featuring KIMBRA "Somebody That I Used to Know" Album: Making Mirrors	5
7	7	Wilco - Dawned On Me	9
8	8	Kelly Clarkson - Stronger	7
9	9	Sharon Van Etten - Serpents	10
10	11	Grouplove - Tongue Tied	10
11	10	Adele - One and Only	13
12	6	Omnia- Change This Place	10
13	22	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:   WILD NOTHING "Nowhere" (Single only)	4
14	16	Pageants - Edible Rust	6
15	13	Adele - Love Song	13
16	21	The Black Keys - Gold On the Ceiling	4
17	14	The Kooks - How'd You Like That	9
18	18	Snow Patrol - New York	8
19	15	Mayer Hawthorne - The Walk	19
20	17	Lady Gaga - Marry the Night	10

21	38	Veronica Falls - Bad Feeling	5
22	27	Fun f. Jarelli Monee - We Are Young	12
23	25	Martin Solvag & Dragonette - Hello	17
24	32	Florence + the Machine - No Light, No Light	6
25	19	Silversun Pickups - Broken Bottles	8
26	30	Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks	9
27	33	The Shins - Simple Song	6
28	46	Caveman - Old Friend	4
29	26	Red Hot Chili Peppers - Monarchy and Roses	16
30	20	Fitz and the Tantrums - Breaking The Chains of Love	8
31	45	Sarah Jean - At Last	4
32	40	My Morning Jacket - First Light	7
33	37	Expensive Looks - Nothing More	12
34	24	Lana Del Rey - Video Games	10
35	31	M83 - Midnight City	11
36	43	The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Heart Attack	6
37	34	Graffiti6 - Free	16
38	29	Ellie Goulding - Lights	20
39	23	The Knux - Razorblade	14
40	50	Dr. Dog - That Old Black Hole	5
41	51	Bush - Baby Come Home	4
42	35	R.E.M. - We All Go Back To Where We Belong	15
43	28	The Black Keys - Lonely Boy	16
44	36	Blitzen Trapper - Love the Way You Walk Away	21
45	52	Sleeper Agent - Get Burned	11
46	39	Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn	17
47	41	Real Estate - It's Real	18
48	62	Nada Surf - Waiting For Something	3
49	55	Coldplay - Charlie Brown	6
50	49	The Kooks - Junk of the Heart	32
51	64	Red Hot Chili Peppers - Look Around	2
52	----	TOP DEBUT   E'LISSA JONES "Sweet Surrender" Album: Like Water	1
53	44	Foster the People - Don't Stop (Colors on the Walls)	16
54	47	Train - Drive By	6
55	54	Florence + the Machine - What the Water Gave Me	26
56	59	Madonna - Give Me All Your Luvin'	4
57	42	Kathleen Edwards - Change the Sheets	16
58	53	Dum Dum Girls - Coming Down	21
59	48	Phantogram - Don't Move	17
60	60	Death Cab for Cutie - Home Is A Fire	11
61	56	Fleet Foxes - Lorelai	15
62	73	Anna Calvi - Desire	2
63	57	Scars on 45 - Heart on Fire	22
64	58	Warren Haynes - River's Gonna Rise	14
65	61	The Big Troubles - She Smiles for Pictures	17
66	67	Heartless Bastards - Parted Ways	5
67	72	Civil Twilight - Fire Escape	3
68	70	Band of Skulls - Sweet Sour	7
69	71	Frank Turner - If I Ever Stray	6
70	63	Mumford & Sons - Winter Winds	12
71	----	Young the Giant - Apartment	1
72	65	Sleeper Agent- That's My Baby	19
73	76	Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless	3
74	75	Jack White - Love Interruption	4
75	77	Bon Iver - Holocene	4
76	----	Katy Perry - Part of Me	1
77	----	The Ting Tings - Hang It Up	1
78	84	James Durbin - Love Me Bad	2
79	68	Neon Trees - Everybody Talks	7
80	69	Adele - Set Fire To the Rain	32
81	----	Islands - Hallways	1
82	66	Kasabian - Days Are Forgotten	18
83	74	Death Cab For Cutie - Stay Young Go Dancing	28
84	79	The Features - Big mama Gonna hip	4
85	83	Bonnie Raitt - Right Down The Line	3
86	99	Gary Clark Jr - Bright Lights	4
87	88	Ingrid Michaelson - Ghost	2
88	----	Flogging Molly - Saints and Sinners	1
89	----	The Lumineers - Hey Ho	1
90	90	Bruno Mars - It Will Rain	2
91	87	Blink 182 - After Midnight	3
92	----	Bruce Springsteen - We take Care of Our Own	1
93	89	Foxy Shazam - I Like It	2
94	----	Alabama Shakes - Hold On	1
95	81	Carolina Liar - Drown	24
96	78	Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Maniac	15
97	80	Zac Brown Band - No Hurry	5
98	82	Mates of State - Maracas	9
99	85	Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside - I Swear	26
100	86	Florence + the Machine - Shake It Out	18

Whitney, Adele, Grammy and Placid (Music Review - 2/13/2012)

I really thought it was going to be easy this week.    I would blog about my recent trip to Lake Placid, one that, unlike some other recent getaways, WOULD feature some current stuff I've been listening to.

But something funny happened...and not the "ha-ha" kind, either.

On Saturday, Whitney Houston died.    Then my blog broke the 3,000 hit mark.    Then I remembered that the Grammys were on Sunday night, and that Adele was up for six of them.    And then, I said, Oh my God, I'll be up all night.    So, needless to say we're on a Friday night again.  So it's time to touch on all the stuff that has gone down the last week and a half.

Scenes'n'Soundwaves hits the three thousand hit mark.   Yep, I think it was Friday that we broke that barrier.   Not bad for someone who, at the suggestion of a friend, decided to start one ten months ago.   Looking at the stats, it appears that it's not just Facebook friends reading it, but perhaps it has gotten hits on Google and other search engines.    But I know Facebook accounts for much of it, because whenever I post old columns on my wall, the tally of those views increases.

Whitney Houston.    On Saturday up in Lake Placid, I got the shocking news that the Jersey diva had passed, at the young age of 48.    A shocker, but perhaps not entirely so, given the drug problems that have been besetting her for the last fifteen years or so.     It is a shame, but then again, we've recently seen it from Amy Winehouse, who also threw away a great career.   Whitney had re-written many of the chart record books in her heyday.     She had a string of seven consecutive #1 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 from 1985 to 1988.  Her second album, Whitney, became the first album to debut at the top spot, and her signature song, "I Will Always Love You", reigned at the top of the chart for 14 weeks.   Then there was here touching and riveting performance of The Star Spangled Banner at the 1991 Super bowl, where the country had just gone to war.  

I admit I wasn't that big a Whitney Houston fan...I agree that she had all the talent in the world, but I wasn't a big ballad guy back in the 1980's either, and much of her hits were in that vein.    In fact, only two of her songs hit my year-end top 100 lists, both having to do with sporting events and neither from any of her studio albums:

• "One Moment in Time", from the official 1988 Summer Olympics album, landed at #85 on my 1988
• "The Star Spangled Banner", as performed at Superbowl XXVI, came in at #93 in 1992.

Whitney, who grew up in New Jersey, in both Newark and East Orange, and is the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, and the cousin of Dionne Warwick, will be greatly missed.


The Grammys and Adele:   Whitney's sudden passing put a somber spin to the music industry's highest awards, but Adele did manage to clean up, winning all six of her nominated categories, which include Album of the Year (21), Record of the Year and Song of the Year ("Rolling in the Deep"), plus three others.     Best New Artist went to Bon Iver for his self titled album, an honor that Adele herself won three years ago.     It's nice to see that artists who create real music are copping these honors instead of the contrived pop stars and songs.     I'm not a huge Bon Iver fan, but, like Mumford and Sons, another act that everyone likes but for some reason hard for me to get inside, I do applaud the decision, and have been given them the chance to catch on with me.    Both of them are in my SnS 100 this week.

As for Adele, she also performed "Rolling....", her first performance since she underwent throat surgery.  She has not lost that powerful voice, although she subsequently announced that she will be taking an extended hiatus lasting a few years.    Of course the way her album has been performing (twenty-one weeks at #1, with three number one singles), she may be on the airwaves and sales charts continuously until that point.      By the way, it was also announced that the fourth single from the album "Rumour Has It", a former #1 on SNS, will be released to radio stations.   

In the rock and alternative categories, Foo Fighters swept all the Rock categories with their album Wasted Light (which originally knocked 21 out of the top spot last spring, by the way), as well as the songs "Walk" (a top 20 SNS entry) and "White Limo".    The aforementioned Bon Iver won the best alternative album category.  Country, which I have featured a few songs on my list this year, went to Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellem, and The Civil Wars, all who have been listed on my chart at one time or another.

Lake Placid:  And now, finally my originally lead story, my weekend trip up to the Adirondacks.   Check my Facebook page and photo album for the actual details, but current music did play a good role, as it did last year when I made it up to Vermont.     Focusing at first on my Top 20 and Top Currents playlist (based on my SnS 100), one stand out song for me was The Rapture's "How Deep Is Your Love".   This song kind of reminded me of a similar trip up there in 1990 where I heard D-Mob "C'Mon And Get My Love" a similarly-structured dance song that was a hit in that year.    It set the stage as I was driving into the darkness up I-87.   As I approached Albany, I tuned into WEQX, a station that I heard throughout the weekend at Mount Snow last year (and of course, during our "Skihaus" years as well), but expected to drive in and out of their signal on this trip.      Many songs that were played were those already on my chart, but the only new one was the Red Hot Chili Peppers' third single from their I'm With You set, "Look Around".

The fun started when I got there.   Anthony Josephs, who ran the trip, had his iPhone, which he used with my Bose system.   When in his car, he had Sirius XM satellite radio, thus were exposed to a lot of songs.    I would stay that the "song of the weekend" would go to Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know".     Wilco's "Dawned On Me", Grouplove's "Tongue Tied", Graffit6's "Free", and Martin Solvag's "Hello" (heard at Roomers night club) got some good play as well.    Also, songs going through my head were the current Cranberries, Atlas Sound, Veronica Falls' "Bad Feeling", Caveman's "Old Friends", Pageants' "Edible Rust" and most notably "Nowhere" by Wild Nothing.

SNS 100:  The Cranberries' "Tomorrow" hits the top spot.  Although I did not hear this song on any radio station this past weekend, I did hear their first hit "Linger", and this song DID get played on my iPOD this weekend.     "Origins" by Tennis drops to #2.    The biggest movers are as a direct result of the weekend:   Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" (42-12) and Wild Nothing's "Nowhere" 65-22.

Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100 for Week of February 13, 2012:

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	4	THE CRANBERRIES "Tomorrow" Album: Roses	7
2	1	Tennis - Origins	6
3	2	Rachel Allyn- Ain't No Fun	9
4	3	Atlas Sound - The Shakes	10
5	9	The Rapture - How Deep is Your Love	5
6	5	Omnia- Change This Place	9
7	7	Wilco - Dawned On Me	8
8	10	Kelly Clarkson - Stronger	6
9	8	Sharon Van Etten - Serpents	9
10	6	Adele - One and Only	12
11	11	Grouplove - Tongue Tied	9
12	42	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:   GOTYE featuring KIMBRA "Somebody That I Used to Know" Album: Making Mirrors	4
13	12	Adele - Love Song	12
14	13	The Kooks - How'd You Like That	8
15	14	Mayer Hawthorne - The Walk	18
16	25	Pageants - Edible Rust	5
17	18	Lady Gaga - Marry the Night	9
18	23	Snow Patrol - New York	7
19	19	Silversun Pickups - Broken Bottles	7
20	20	Fitz and the Tantrums - Breaking The Chains of Love	7

21	40	The Black Keys - Gold On the Ceiling	3
22	65	MOVER OF THE WEEK:   WILD NOTHING "Nowhere" (Single Only)	3
23	15	The Knux - Razorblade	13
24	21	Lana Del Rey - Video Games	9
25	27	Martin Solvag & Dragonette - Hello	16
26	17	Red Hot Chili Peppers - Monarchy and Roses	15
27	32	Fun f. Jarelli Monee - We Are Young	11
28	16	The Black Keys - Lonely Boy	15
29	22	Ellie Goulding - Lights	19
30	36	Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks	8
31	28	M83 - Midnight City	10
32	34	Florence + the Machine - No Light, No Light	5
33	37	The Shins - Simple Song	5
34	33	Graffiti6 - Free	15
35	24	R.E.M. - We All Go Back To Where We Belong	14
36	26	Blitzen Trapper - Love the Way You Walk Away	20
37	31	Expensive Looks - Nothing More	11
38	51	Veronica Falls - Bad Feeling	4
39	39	Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn	16
40	44	My Morning Jacket - First Light	6
41	29	Real Estate - It's Real	17
42	35	Kathleen Edwards - Change the Sheets	15
43	47	The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Heart Attack	5
44	38	Foster the People - Don't Stop (Colors on the Walls)	15
45	55	Sarah Jean - At Last	3
46	62	Caveman - Old Friend	3
47	45	Train - Drive By	5
48	30	Phantogram - Don't Move	16
49	41	The Kooks - Junk of the Heart	31
50	57	Dr. Dog - That Old Black Hole	4
51	58	Bush - Baby Come Home	3
52	56	Sleeper Agent - Get Burned	10
53	46	Dum Dum Girls - Coming Down	20
54	49	Florence + the Machine - What the Water Gave Me	25
55	54	Coldplay - Charlie Brown	5
56	43	Fleet Foxes - Lorelai	14
57	48	Scars on 45 - Heart on Fire	21
58	50	Warren Haynes - River's Gonna Rise	13
59	61	Madonna - Give Me All Your Luvin'	3
60	53	Death Cab for Cutie - Home Is A Fire	10
61	52	The Big Troubles - She Smiles for Pictures	16
62	67	Nada Surf - Waiting For Something	2
63	63	Mumford & Sons - Winter Winds	11
64	----	TOP DEBUT:   RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS "Look Around" Album: I'm With You	1
65	59	Sleeper Agent- That's My Baby	18
66	60	Kasabian - Days Are Forgotten	17
67	71	Heartless Bastards - Parted Ways	4
68	69	Neon Trees - Everybody Talks	6
69	64	Adele - Set Fire To the Rain	31
70	72	Band of Skulls - Sweet Sour	6
71	74	Frank Turner - If I Ever Stray	5
72	80	Civil Twilight - Fire Escape	2
73	----	Anna Calvi - Desire	1
74	66	Death Cab For Cutie - Stay Young Go Dancing	27
75	79	Jack White - Love Interruption	3
76	84	Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless	2
77	85	Bon Iver - Holocene	3
78	68	Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Maniac	14
79	83	The Features - Big mama Gonna hip	3
80	75	Zac Brown Band - No Hurry	4
81	73	Carolina Liar - Drown	23
82	77	Mates of State - Maracas	8
83	88	Bonnie Raitt - Right Down The Line	2
84	----	James Durbin - Love Me Bad	1
85	76	Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside - I Swear	25
86	70	Florence + the Machine - Shake It Out	17
87	94	Blink 182 - After Midnight	2
88	----	Ingrid Michaelson - Ghost	1
89	----	Foxy Shazam - I Like It	1
90	----	Bruno Mars - It Will Rain	1
91	91	Fitz and the Tantrums - Pickin' Up the Pieces	28
92	78	Omnia - What's Become of Us?	20
93	81	Sarah Jean - Hometown	21
94	87	Paul Czekaj - My Home New Jersey	21
95	82	Zac Brown Band - Keep Me In Mind	17
96	86	Dawes - Time Spent in Los Angeles	19
97	89	Katy Perry - The One That Got Away	16
98	90	Man Man - Knuckle Down	23
99	92	Gary Clark Jr - Bright Lights	3
100	93	Deer Tick - Let's All Go To the Bar	11