Garbage In....? (Music Review 3/26/2012)

Let's get right down to the real nitty gritty. Does anyone remember the band Garbage? The alternative-rock, post-grunge ruled the modern rock charts in the late 90's, along with No Doubt. For awhile, Gwen Stefani and Shirley Manson went hand in hand when it came to female-led alternative rock bands. Classic (at least for me) songs from their first two sets (their 1995 eponymous debut as well as 1998's Version 2.0) like "Queer", "Only Happy When it Rains", "Special", and "Push It" were among my favorites of that decade. Much of my social activity, in particular hanging out with friends from my Mt. Snow ski house as well as backpacking during that era, would reference a song by Garbage, many of their songs I could place with other events as well. They were that good.

Then for some reason, their fortunes faded. 2001's Beautiful Garbage was not well-received; in fact, the album wasn't even given a chance, considering their success with their prior output. 2005's Bleed Like Me, was a brief comeback of sorts, with the title track garnering some airplay, but that was basically it. They never officially broke up (technically they did, briefly in 2003 before their last effort), but after Bleed, they basically went on hiatus.

Well, for those who still care, the band is active again. They severed ties with their prior record labels, and went the indie route with their own effort. Their new set, Not Your Kind of People, will drop in May. The lead sing, "Blood For Poppies" is my top debut this week at #77. While not as immediate as their modern-rock classics, it does become clear after a couple of listens that the band still has it. In my opinion, we need bands like this to become popular again. Time will tell in future listens, and when the set drops, if we'll be enamored with Shirley and company once again. They have a gig at Webster Hall in New York City, on May 22; that show is sold out, indicating that they still do have some sort of following. Their show at the House of Blues in Atlantic City three days later still has tickets, so if you want to check them out, there is still time.

"Blood..." heads nine debuts this week, by a mix of familar artists and newbies. Country, except for the unmistakable Rachel Allyn has been pretty absent from my chart lately, but new entries by Toby Keith and Lady Antebellum at least fill the void partially. Keith's new song "Red Solo Cup" I am actually excited about. It is about, those red plastic cups used at parties, the song is actually a bit fun (Keith called it "freakin' awesome"). It's pretty catchy, it has made top 10 on the Country Chart, and Top 20 on Billboard's Hot 100.

I was curious about what Maroon 5 would come up with after their commercial #1 (and SNS Top 20), "Moves Like Jagger", given Adam Levine's current "celebrity" position with the hit show "The Voice". So I was a bit surprised by their new one "Come Away To the Water". First impressions of this one indicate this is a bit understated than their recent output, maybe kind of the way they initially sounded. That may change with a few more listens, but so far I like it. The song is from the soundtrack of the box-office breaking movie The Hunger Games. A look at the film's soundtrack suggest this could be another "Twilight: Eclipse". Bands that appear include such SNS faves as Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, Neko Case, and The Civil Wars. May be worth checking out. Maroon 5 themselves, will be releasing a new set later this year as well.

Haley Reinhart, my favorite from American Idol Season 10 has released her first official regular single, "Free". It's her third effort on my chart; her riveting performance on the show of "House of the Rising Sun" was a charter last summer; and her holiday effort "Baby It's Cold Outside" with fellow contestant Casey Abrams also was an entry on my chart last December. She joins fourth place James Durbin's "Love Me Bad" on the chart this week. The top two, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, also made SnS previously. By the way, if you're wondering, my season 11 faves so far are Colton Dixon and Elise Testone. I'll feature a blog in a few weeks, devoted to "Idol" if those two are still around regarding this year's crop.

As far as artists new to my chart, we have Miike Snow (yes, their first name has two "i"'s, and yes, it is a band, from Sweden), with "Paddling Out". Their second effort, Happy To You, dropped a couple weeks back. The three-piece outfit will perform at New York's Terminal 5 for three days, from April 24 to 26. White Rabbits, hail from Missouri, "Heavy Metal" comes from Milk Famous, released earlier this month. They will be local in the middle of next month: Maxwell's in Hoboken on April 11; Webster Hall in the city the next day.

Finally, we have Ty Seagall and White Fence, with "I Am Not A Game". This is actually a duet; they are normally separate artists. Seagall hails from the West Coast; White Fence are also from the left coast; their collaboration Hair, is in current release.

BRIEFLY: The top three songs remain the same this week: Fun., Gotye, and The Rapture. "We Are Young" holds at the top of Billboard's chart for a fourth week; while "Somebody That I Used to Know" is #4. The Rapture, which missed the national charts when released last year, is still strong. In fact, many of the songs I associated with my Lake Placid ski trip a month and half ago are still in my mind; some great memories abound. The big mover is "Screws Get Loose" by Those Darlins', and may be the only one to challenge the top echelon in a couple of weeks.

Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100 for Week of March 26, 2012:

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	1	FUN. featuring JANELLE MONAE "We Are Young" Album: Some Nights (2 weeks at #1)	17
2	2	Gotye f. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used to Know	10
3	3	The Rapture - How Deep is Your Love	11
4	5	Veronica Falls - Bad Feeling	10
5	4	Wild Nothing - Nowhere	9
6	7	Pageants - Edible Rust	11
7	6	Rachel Allyn- Ain't No Fun	15
8	8	The Black Keys - Gold On the Ceiling	9
9	10	Caveman - Old Friend	9
10	13	Nada Surf - Waiting For Something	8
11	9	Kelly Clarkson - Stronger	12
12	15	Sarah Jean - At Last	9
13	17	Bush - Baby Come Home	9
14	12	Snow Patrol - New York	13
15	28	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK: THOSE DARLINS "Screws Get Loose" Album: Screws Get Loose	3
16	11	The Cranberries - Tomorrow	13
17	14	Tennis - Origins	12
18	16	Atlas Sound - The Shakes	16
19	20	Young the Giant - Apartment	6
20	18	Sharon Van Etten - Serpents	15

21	19	Grouplove - Tongue Tied	15
22	21	Dr. Dog - That Old Black Hole	10
23	22	E'lissa Jones - Sweet Surrender	6
24	26	Gary Clark Jr - Bright Lights	9
25	27	The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Heart Attack	11
26	32	Electric Guest - This Head I Hold	4
27	33	Omnia - Grace	15
28	41	E'lissa Jones - Best I Ever Had	4
29	23	Wilco - Dawned On Me	14
30	24	Adele - One and Only	18
31	39	Santigold - Disparate Youth	5
32	31	Florence + the Machine - No Light, No Light	11
33	29	The Shins - Simple Song	11
34	35	My Morning Jacket - First Light	12
35	40	Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless	8
36	36	Anna Calvi - Desire	7
37	25	Adele - Love Song	18
38	46	Fitz and the Tantrums - L.O.V.	3
39	30	Mayer Hawthorne - The Walk	24
40	34	Red Hot Chili Peppers - Look Around	7
41	43	Ingrid Michaelson - Ghost	7
42	42	Delta Spirit - California	5
43	52	The Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time	4
44	44	Katy Perry - Part of Me	6
45	47	Islands - Hallways	6
46	50	Leila - Black and White	4
47	38	Martin Solvag & Dragonette - Hello	22
48	37	Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks	14
49	54	Cage the Elephant - Always Something	5
50	56	That Ghost - Morning Now	5
51	60	Florence + the Machine - Never Let Me Go	3
52	66	Jessie J - Domino	4
53	80	MOVER OF THE WEEK: BEACH HOUSE "Myth" Album: Bloom	2
54	55	Jack White - Love Interruption	9
55	49	Heartless Bastards - Parted Ways	10
56	59	The Kooks - Junk of the Heart	37
57	62	The Wombats - Jump Into the Fog	3
58	61	James Durbin - Love Me Bad	7
59	48	The Kooks - How'd You Like That	14
60	51	The Ting Tings - Hang It Up	6
61	92	Dirty Heads - Spread Too Thin	2
62	67	Norah Jones - Happy Pills	3
63	53	Sleeper Agent - Get Burned	16
64	64	Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine	5
65	85	The All American Rejects - Bee Keepers Daughter	2
66	88	Dante vs Zombies - Natural Disaster	2
67	45	Omnia- Change This Place	15
68	72	Howler - Back of Your Neck	4
69	70	Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up	5
70	69	The Wanted - Glad You Came	5
71	75	Madonna - Girl Gone Wild	4
72	68	Flogging Molly - Saints and Sinners	6
73	74	Walk the Moon - Anna Sun	3
74	57	Red Hot Chili Peppers - Monarchy and Roses	21
75	71	Bruno Mars - It Will Rain	7
76	63	Civil Twilight - Fire Escape	8
77	----	TOP DEBUT: GARBAGE "Blood For Poppies" Album: Not Your Kind of People	1
78	----	Miike Snow - Paddling Out	1
79	79	Tribes - We Were Children	4
80	----	Haley Reinhart - Free	1
81	97	Eve6 - Victoria	2
82	81	Foster the People - Don't Stop (Colors on the Walls)	21
83	----	Colbie Caillat - Favorite Song	1
84	----	Ty Segall & White Fence - I Am Not A Game	1
85	89	Train - Drive By	11
86	78	Florence + the Machine - What the Water Gave Me	31
87	82	The Features - Big mama Gonna hip	9
88	87	Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun - We Were Wild	3
89	----	Toby Keith - Red Solo Cup	1
90	----	Lady Antebellum - Dancing Away With My Heart	1
91	91	Animal Kingdom - Strange Attractor	2
92	----	Keane - Silenced by the Night	1
93	73	Shearwater - You As You Were	4
94	65	R.E.M. - We All Go Back To Where We Belong	20
95	83	Dum Dum Girls - Coming Down	26
96	----	Maroon 5 - Come Away To the Water	1
97	----	White Rabbits - Heavy Metal	1
98	58	Lady Gaga - Marry the Night	15
99	----	Alabama Shakes - Hold On	2
100	----	Demi Lovato - Give Your Heart A Break	1

TREMORS

101	96	Imagine Dragons - It's Time
102		Lana Del Ray - Born To Die

103	105	Julia Holter - In the Same Room
104		The Big Pink - Hit the Ground Superman

105

103

John Mayer - Shadow Days