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