As for the relief concert that took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it was one for the ages, especially for those people who grew up around the same time as I did. As it was New Jersey and New York in the spotlight, those artists from our area--namely Alicia Keys, Billy Joel, and Jerseyans Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi, took center stage and captured what is the heart and soul of this area's music. The songs, like "My City of Ruins", "Born To Run", "It's My Life" and countless others, were written for other situations, but fit in for this cause very nicely. These artists are successful for a reason: they care, give back to their area and remember where they come from. In the case of the latter two, they are still relevant after all these years, and have survived many musical trends. Keys is also a very talented artist, lending her beautiful soulful voice; it's fitting that she was the one who ended the concert, with the awesome "Empire State of Mind". Joel, inactive for many years, made a triumphant return; his songs have always touched the hearts of those living in the country's largest city as well as Long Island, where he grew up.
But what intrigued me were some of the other music legends who lent their time for the cause. Rock music has a very long history, and they've could have gotten anyone from the last 60 years or so. Many artists from the 70's and onward would have done fine, but the fact that people from the "important" British groups of the 1960's were together on stage was mind blowing.
If you told me that you would have, on stage, at the same concert, members from The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, Cream, and Pink Floyd, you'd say "yeah, right!". But they were there. Eric Clapton, considered by many, the greatest guitarists of all time, has had a very interesting career playing both solo and many important bands. Clapton played "Crossroads", one of Cream's finest, plus a more obscure Derek & the Dominoes song as well. The Rolling Stones, old but still rocking, played briefly, but still know how to rock. "Jumping Jack Flash" was still a gas, gas, gas, and Mick Jagger still has those moves that Adam Levine apparently knows a lot of. Roger Waters performed a few as well, including a number with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder (the grunge era also played a part tonight, more on that later).
The Who followed shortly thereafter, with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend still rocking out. The two of them still know how to make a killer performance, although the rawness of their classic British rock, without Keith Moon or John Entwistle didn't show up as much as in their heyday. But you still gotta love them.
And then there's Sir Paul McCartney who ended the show. One of two artists that I have seen live (Bon Jovi being the other), the ex-Beatle didn't disappoint. He played threee Beatle songs, including opening with "Helter Skelter". He also did the acoustic Blackbird as well, plus a few numbers with Wings ("Live and Let Die", "Nineteen Hundred and Eight-Five", and "Let Me Roll It", the latter two from his "second act's" Band on the Run.
But the intruging part of the night, McCartney played with the surviving members of important grunge rockers Nirvana, "Cut Me Some Slack", a new song. Also appearing was a hip-hop set by Kanye West, and Coldplay's Chris Martin (with a special guest appearance by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe). Very memorable indeed.
CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE: Grace Potter remains at the top with "Stars", but the big news has to do with SNS chart history concerning a few holiday entries. Leading the way with the Impact award is The Killers' annual Christmas entry, "I Feel It In My Bones", which leaps from 51 to 8, which I believe is the biggest jump into the top 10 in the 2 1/2 years of doing this. The song, which doesn't sound like a holiday song, but definitely is, as well as falling in line with what I've been listening to lately, eclipses "Skyfall" by Adele, which a few weeks back jumped 48-10. I'm still having trouble getting friends who would normally like this kind of music, into this song, but hopefully another post will do the trick. Thus, for the third year in a row, a seasonal entry has entered the top 10, following Dave Barnes & Hillary Scott's "Christmas Tonight", (#7) in 2010, and last year's "Naughty Naughty Children" by Grace Potter (#8). No doubt The Killers', whose "The Cowboys Christmas Ball" hit #25 in 2011, will surpass the above, but will it hit #1 next week? We shall see.
But, not to be outdone, we have our first "double-award" winner ever. That would come from East-Hanover, NJ-based The Hounds of Winter. Bested out of the Top Debut award last week because of The Killers, The Hounds' "Come On Christmas" is the Top Mover (59-37), and another entry, a cover of Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again" is the Top Debut and Pick of the Week at #62. Both are from their new holiday album "The Hounds of Winter Ride Again". They are no strangers to releasing holiday songs, having done so for the better part of the past decade. This song was the first to catch my ear; the band is adept at taking previous songs that may not be oft-covered and making great versions of them. In the past, they've tackled such one-artist gems like "Snoopy's Christmas", Elton John's "Step Into Christmas" or Jim Croce's "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way". This time around, not only do they keep that tradition up (Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas"), but they also take on songs that aren't Christmas standards, but those theme would very well fit the season ("Hazy Shade of Winter", "California Dreaming"). Tom Corea, Tom DiPaolo, frequent collaborator Sarah Jean Teti and others have done a great job. For more information, including free downloads, check out Tom Corea's Facebook page. Awesome.
One more holiday entry, which is by Boston-based Dropkick Murphy's, "The Seasons' Upon Us". As you'd expect, it's December 25 meets March 17. Non-holiday debuts are follow-ups by The Lumineers, The Gaslight Anthem and Tame Impala. New to SNS are The Mowgli's, a band from southern California, singing a song about northern California ("San Francisco").
There is one more week to the year, and then I will reveal, and possibly count down, my year-end Top 100. I have seen some year-end lists already, which are interesting. Billboard just revealed theirs, although I haven't checked out the whole list, I do know what #1 is. Will last year's double #1 of Adele's "Rolling In the Deep", be repeated this year? Stay tuned!
Scenes'n'Soundwaves 100 for Week of December 10, 2012:
|
This Week
|
Last Week
|
ARTIST-Title
|
Weeks on List
|
|
1
|
1
|
NUMBER 1:
GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS
"Stars"
Album: The Lion The Beast The Beat
(2 weeks at #1)
|
14
|
|
2
|
2
|
Golden Void - The Curve
|
10
|
|
3
|
3
|
Churchill - Change
|
14
|
|
4
|
5
|
Grizzly Bear - Yet Again
|
12
|
|
5
|
6
|
Generationals - When They Fight They Fight
|
8
|
|
6
|
9
|
ZZ Ward - Put the Gun Down
|
13
|
|
7
|
4
|
Adele - Skyfall
|
10
|
|
8
|
51
|
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
THE KILLERS
"I Feel It In My Bones"
(Single only)
|
2
|
|
9
|
8
|
Child Actor - If You Loved Me
|
10
|
|
10
|
10
|
Leila - Mirror Mirror
|
10
|
|
11
|
7
|
The Satelliters - Lost in Time
|
15
|
|
12
|
11
|
Dinosaur Jr. - Don't Pretend You Didn't Know
|
9
|
|
13
|
12
|
Alabama Shakes - I Ain't The Same
|
9
|
|
14
|
17
|
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Runaway
|
8
|
|
15
|
18
|
Matt & Kim - Let's Go
|
5
|
|
16
|
26
|
Fun - Carry On
|
8
|
|
17
|
23
|
The Vaccines - I Always Knew
|
5
|
|
18
|
14
|
Maroon 5 - One More Night
|
20
|
|
19
|
28
|
The Satelliters - Shake Shake Shake
|
5
|
|
20
|
13
|
Rebecca Ferguson - Nothing's Real But Love
|
19
|
|
21
|
16
|
The Joy Formidable - This Ladder Is Ours
|
8
|
|
22
|
15
|
Django Django - Default
|
17
|
|
23
|
19
|
Phillip Phillips - Home
|
29
|
|
24
|
22
|
Green Day - Let Yourself Go
|
10
|
|
25
|
39
|
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Holy Roller
|
4
|
|
26
|
25
|
Pink - Try
|
8
|
|
27
|
20
|
Dirty Beaches - Elizabeth's Theme
|
18
|
|
28
|
21
|
The Lumineers - Ho Hey
|
24
|
|
29
|
36
|
Civil Twilight - River
|
9
|
|
30
|
31
|
Paul Czekaj - My Home New Jersey Part II
|
4
|
|
31
|
32
|
The Raveonettes - Curse the Night
|
6
|
|
32
|
24
|
Alex Clare - Too Close
|
29
|
|
33
|
42
|
Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath
|
6
|
|
34
|
29
|
The Heavy - What Makes A Good Man
|
25
|
|
35
|
47
|
Gary Clark Jr.- Ain't Messin' Around
|
3
|
|
36
|
40
|
Tegan and Sara - Closer
|
6
|
|
37
|
59
|
MOVER OF THE WEEK:
THE HOUNDS OF WINTER
"Come On Christmas"
Album: The Hounds of Winter Ride Again
|
2
|
|
38
|
30
|
Metric - Breathing Underwater
|
13
|
|
39
|
53
|
Cee Lo Green - What Christmas Means to Me
|
3
|
|
40
|
44
|
Tame Impala - Apocalypse Dreams
|
6
|
|
41
|
35
|
Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
|
18
|
|
42
|
37
|
Silversun Pickups - The Pit
|
13
|
|
43
|
54
|
Colbie Caillat - Christmas in the Sand
|
3
|
|
44
|
34
|
The Shins - It's Only Life
|
17
|
|
45
|
38
|
Yeasayer - Henrietta
|
17
|
|
46
|
46
|
Benjamin Gibbard - Teardrop Windows
|
9
|
|
47
|
33
|
Kopecky Family Band - Heartbeat
|
15
|
|
48
|
43
|
Pink - Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
|
23
|
|
49
|
49
|
Muse - The Madness
|
12
|
|
50
|
58
|
Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
|
3
|
|
51
|
57
|
The Offspring - Turning Into You
|
5
|
|
52
|
61
|
The Killers - Miss Atomic Bomb
|
5
|
|
53
|
27
|
Psy - Gangnam Style
|
12
|
|
54
|
41
|
Train - 50 Ways to Say Goodbye
|
26
|
|
55
|
80
|
Blake Shelton f. Reba - Oklahoma Christmas
|
2
|
|
56
|
48
|
Youngblood Hawke - We Come Running
|
18
|
|
57
|
45
|
Hedley -Kiss You Inside Out
|
16
|
|
58
|
64
|
Gin Wigmore - Man Like That
|
4
|
|
59
|
78
|
Passion Pit - Carried Away
|
2
|
|
60
|
69
|
Capital Cities - Safe and Sound
|
3
|
|
61
|
83
|
Rod Stewart - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
|
2
|
|
62
|
----
|
TOP DEBUT:
THE HOUNDS OF WINTER
"Christmas All Over Again"
Album: The Hounds of Winter Ride Again
|
1
|
|
63
|
52
|
Walk the Moon - Tightrope
|
15
|
|
64
|
74
|
Shinedown - Enemies
|
4
|
|
65
|
76
|
Allen Stone - Unaware
|
3
|
|
66
|
50
|
Grassfight - Look Homeward Heathen
|
23
|
|
67
|
55
|
Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Bulletproof
|
10
|
|
68
|
95
|
Ke$ha - Die Young
|
2
|
|
69
|
60
|
Neon Trees - Everybody Talks
|
22
|
|
70
|
62
|
Grouplove - Itchin' On A Photograph
|
19
|
|
71
|
72
|
San Cisco - Awkward
|
4
|
|
72
|
77
|
Rihanna - Diamonds
|
4
|
|
73
|
82
|
Ed Sheeran - The A Team
|
8
|
|
74
|
70
|
Willy Moon - Yeah Yeah
|
4
|
|
75
|
71
|
Widowspeak - Ballad of the Golden Hour
|
4
|
|
76
|
56
|
The Avett Brothers - Live and Die
|
22
|
|
77
|
63
|
Dirty Heads - Dance All Night
|
16
|
|
78
|
68
|
Jack White - Freedom at 21
|
17
|
|
79
|
----
|
Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backward
|
1
|
|
80
|
94
|
Yeasayer - Reagen's Skeleton
|
2
|
|
81
|
65
|
Ty Segall Band - I Brought My Eyes
|
28
|
|
82
|
----
|
Dropkick Murphys - The Season's Upon Us
|
1
|
|
83
|
75
|
Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen
|
13
|
|
84
|
66
|
Sean Rowe - Horses
|
18
|
|
85
|
92
|
Family of the Year - Hero
|
2
|
|
86
|
----
|
The Lumineers - Stubborn Love
|
1
|
|
87
|
73
|
The Soft Moon - Insides
|
14
|
|
88
|
----
|
The Mowglis - San Francisco
|
1
|
|
89
|
91
|
Matchbox Twenty - Overjoyed
|
5
|
|
90
|
----
|
Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten
|
1
|
|
91
|
67
|
Taylor Swift - We Are Never Getting Back Together
|
17
|
|
92
|
84
|
Those Darlins - Mystic Mind
|
14
|
|
93
|
88
|
Of Monsters and Men - Mountain Sound
|
26
|
|
94
|
81
|
Divine Fits - Would That Not Be Nice
|
9
|
|
95
|
89
|
Linkin Park - Lost In the Echo
|
16
|
|
96
|
99
|
Aerosmith - Legendary Child
|
20
|
|
97
|
87
|
OneRepublic - Feel Again
|
13
|
|
98
|
79
|
Taylor Swift - Ronan
|
13
|
|
99
|
85
|
Tristan Prettymen - My Oh My
|
18
|
|
100
|
86
|
Snow Patrol - In the End
|
20
|
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