Happy New Year!
Well, if that's kind of a late greeting, it just goes to show that once you get away from something, it's hard to get back into it. The last time we talked, I was recapping my favorite songs of the year gone by. But it was even a couple weeks before that when I had done my last regular blog entry as well as my weekly favorite 100 songs list. It seems like a long time ago, and indeed it's been a month since.
The holidays were very hectic. Lots of shopping, card sending, gift wrapping. And for seven days straight, I wound up driving somewhere. I guess that pretty much is a good thing as we were busy during that holiday period. A day trip to Bethlehem PA (aka the "Christmas City") the Saturday before Christmas. A couple of parties the next day. Christmas Eve with my Mom in Roselle Park, and Christmas Day with my wife's co-worker's family. After that, it was visiting my father-in-law up in Staatsburg NY, by the Hudson River; another friend in Mahwah, and finally a trip back up to New York, this time in Saugerties. Very exhausting.
And then came my year end recaps. Compiling my Top 100 of the year was easy as everything was on a spreadsheet from my weekly entries. Just a sort, and viola, my year-end top 100. The hardest part was presenting it on my blog. I had to go out in Google pictures of all the artists whose songs made my list. And true, many of them I already had from my weekly charts (for number 1, Impact, Mover and Top Debut designations); but many of them I didn't have anything. Plus writing descriptions for them all. But it was done.
Probably the biggest mistake I made was counting down my Top 100 songs on my group page, "Scenes 'n' Soundwaves Music Page". I've done one for my favorite Holiday songs, so I thought I would repeat that for the year's favorites. Of course, many of my friends weren't into new music. So, except for some of the familiar pop hits that made the list, a good portion were not liked or commented on. But surprisingly, many of them were. I started off at #100 on December 26, but it wasn't until January 12th that I made it to the top. To be honest, it sucked the wind out of me. Note to self for next year...don't try it again. Top 20? Yes. Top 30? Perhaps. Top 100. I think not (unless people demand it of course).
Now it was the second week in January, and I had to catch up on other things: Holiday bills, taking down the Christmas decorations (thank goodness for a warm spell which melted the snow and loosened the ground so I could get all the stakes of my lawn decorations out of the ground.
Well, it's now almost the end of January, and the question is, what do I do with this blog and my SNS 100? I had thought about putting an end to it. It had taken up a lot of my time, time that could be spent on other things. Then I thought, "well at least, give it a try, and see what the feedback still is, and take it from there". So I went with that.
But now, how does that affect my weekly favorites chart. After all, I haven't listened to new music on my iPod in over a month, how do I rate the songs? And, since the chart is week-sensitive, what do I do with the chart positions and the "weeks on list" column. Well, this is what I came up with.
The last regular chart was dated the week of December 17-23. I traditionally skip the last week (December 24-30); thus there is no chart. For the week of December 31-January 6, which is the first week I resume things, the chart is frozen, with the weeks at #1 and on the list, incremented by one. And I also froze the chart for January 7-13. Thus, The Killers' Christmas entry, "I Feel It In My Bones", had a three week stay at #1. The chart below is technically January 14-20, but I will start using the Saturday date of January 19 (as it's been eons since I completed a blog on time, and even now I'm a week late). I will follow this blog in a few days with one dated January 26, and hopefully will get back on track in February.
ON THE CHART: With limited music exposure this past month, I relied on anything I heard on the radio or in my memory to move the positions. Not surprisingly, many current songs that were on my year-end list got the most exposure. This accounts for my new #1 song, "Put the Gun Down" by ZZ Ward, a song that is indeed catching on elsewhere. It leaps from #7 to the top spot. Others have moved back up the chart, albeit temporarily.
Not surprisingly, it's the pop hits that move up, as there is no new rock station in New York City (we almost had WRXP back for a third time, this go round on 94.7 FM, but it wound up as Country --wish they'd play some Rachel Allyn!). Thus Pink's "Try" moves 20-12, Kelly Clarkson's "Catch My Breath" moves 27-19 (becoming her third straight top 20 entry), Ed Sheeran's alternative crossover "The A Team" (63-38), Maroon 5's "Daylight" (78-41), Taylor Swift's very infectuous (yeah, I admit it) "I Knew You Were Trouble",the Mover of the Week, and the current Billboard #1, Bruno Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven", which to me sounds like high-tech Sting & the Police, enters at #71.
As for the indie stuff, whatever moved last month will stlll move and what entered is based on reputation from past material by the artist. Such as the case of this week's Top Debut, at #50, "Teenage" by London indie-pop band Veronica Falls. You may remember the song "Bad Feeling", which peaked at #4 early last year and #23 on the year-end list. That song, which reminded me a lot of 1960's folk group The Seekers, was from their eponymous debut from 2011. This song is from their just-released second set Waiting for Something to Happen. The indie-folk/pop sensibilities are still apparent, with more indie rock and folk this time out. The harmonies remain excellent. Very nice song and another winner.
Another band that had an SNS "hit" last year is Foxygen. "Make It Known" peaked at #2 in September and #44 for the year. The song hailed from their 2012 debut Take the Kids Off Broadway. Their new entry, "Shuggie" coming in at #75 is from their new set We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic . The sound is a bit different this time around. Still incorporating different styles, this one contains hints of Ziggy-era Bowie, maybe some Jonathan Richman, some late 70's new wave, and many others. Like Veronica Falls, this is a winner as well.
Our annual ski weekend is coming up in just a few weeks. Last year brought a lot of memories, and it's time for new songs to enjoy this go-round. If nothing else, it's a motivator to listen to the new stuff.
Scenes'n'Soundwaves 100, January 19, 2013
|
This Week
|
Last Week
|
ARTIST-Title
|
Weeks on List
|
|
1
|
7
|
NUMBER 1
ZZ WARD
"Put the Gun Down"
Album: Til the Casket Drops
|
17
|
|
2
|
2
|
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Stars
|
18
|
|
3
|
1
|
The Killers - I Feel it In My Bones
|
6
|
|
4
|
5
|
Generationals - When They Fight They Fight
|
12
|
|
5
|
3
|
Golden Void - The Curve
|
14
|
|
6
|
6
|
Grizzly Bear - Yet Again
|
16
|
|
7
|
4
|
Churchill - Change
|
18
|
|
8
|
8
|
Leila - Mirror Mirror
|
14
|
|
9
|
13
|
Fun - Carry On
|
12
|
|
10
|
14
|
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Runaway
|
12
|
|
11
|
15
|
The Vaccines - I Always Knew
|
9
|
|
12
|
20
|
Pink - Try
|
12
|
|
13
|
16
|
The Satelliters - Shake Shake Shake
|
9
|
|
14
|
9
|
Child Actor - If You Loved Me
|
14
|
|
15
|
10
|
Dinosaur Jr. - Don't Pretend You Didn't Know
|
13
|
|
16
|
19
|
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Holy Roller
|
8
|
|
17
|
11
|
Alabama Shakes - I Ain't The Same
|
13
|
|
18
|
12
|
The Satelliters - Lost in Time
|
19
|
|
19
|
27
|
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
KELLY CLARKSON
"Catch My Breath"
Album: Greatest Hits, Chapter One
|
10
|
|
20
|
24
|
Gary Clark Jr. Ain't Messin' Around
|
7
|
|
21
|
18
|
Matt & Kim - Let's Go
|
9
|
|
22
|
17
|
Adele - Skyfall
|
14
|
|
23
|
23
|
Phillip Phillips - Home
|
33
|
|
24
|
32
|
The Raveonettes - Curse the Night
|
10
|
|
25
|
22
|
Green Day - Let Yourself Go
|
14
|
|
26
|
26
|
Civil Twilight - River
|
13
|
|
27
|
38
|
Tame Impala - Apocalypse Dreams
|
10
|
|
28
|
36
|
The Lumineers - Ho Hey
|
28
|
|
29
|
31
|
Dirty Beaches - Elizabeth's Theme
|
22
|
|
30
|
28
|
Django Django - Default
|
21
|
|
31
|
45
|
The Killers - Miss Atomic Bomb
|
9
|
|
32
|
43
|
Benjamin Gibbard - Teardrop Windows
|
13
|
|
33
|
52
|
Passion Pit - Carried Away
|
6
|
|
34
|
21
|
The Hounds of Winter - Come on Christmas
|
6
|
|
35
|
49
|
Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
|
7
|
|
36
|
25
|
Rebecca Ferguson - Nothing's Real But Love
|
23
|
|
37
|
48
|
Muse - The Madness
|
16
|
|
38
|
63
|
Ed Sheeran - The A Team
|
12
|
|
39
|
42
|
Alex Clare - Too Close
|
33
|
|
40
|
64
|
Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backward
|
5
|
|
41
|
78
|
Maroon 5 - Daylight
|
4
|
|
42
|
41
|
The Heavy - What Makes A Good Man
|
29
|
|
43
|
46
|
Silversun Pickups - The Pit
|
17
|
|
44
|
47
|
Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
|
22
|
|
45
|
30
|
The Joy Formidable - This Ladder Is Ours
|
12
|
|
46
|
96
|
MOVER OF THE WEEK:
TAYLOR SWIFT
"I Knew You Were Trouble"
Album: Red
|
4
|
|
47
|
67
|
The Lumineers - Stubborn Love
|
5
|
|
48
|
58
|
Capital Cities - Safe and Sound
|
7
|
|
49
|
59
|
Allen Stone - Unaware
|
7
|
|
50
|
----
|
TOP DEBUT:
VERONICA FALLS
"Teenage"
Album: Waiting For Something To Happen
|
1
|
|
51
|
44
|
Tegan and Sara - Closer
|
10
|
|
52
|
61
|
Shinedown - Enemies
|
8
|
|
53
|
29
|
Maroon 5 - One More Night
|
24
|
|
54
|
57
|
Ke$ha - Die Young
|
6
|
|
55
|
68
|
The Mowglis - San Francisco
|
5
|
|
56
|
50
|
Metric - Breathing Underwater
|
17
|
|
57
|
53
|
Yeasayer - Henrietta
|
21
|
|
58
|
74
|
Dum Dum Girls - Lord Knows
|
4
|
|
59
|
33
|
Cee Lo Green - What Christmas Means to Me
|
7
|
|
60
|
60
|
Pink - Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
|
27
|
|
61
|
51
|
The Offspring - Turning Into You
|
9
|
|
62
|
56
|
Gin Wigmore - Man Like That
|
8
|
|
63
|
71
|
Yeasayer - Reagen's Skeleton
|
6
|
|
64
|
62
|
Youngblood Hawke - We Come Running
|
22
|
|
65
|
35
|
The Hounds of Winter - Christmas All Over Again
|
5
|
|
66
|
70
|
San Cisco - Awkward
|
8
|
|
67
|
72
|
Willy Moon - Yeah Yeah
|
8
|
|
68
|
73
|
Widowspeak - Ballad of the Golden Hour
|
8
|
|
69
|
55
|
Kopecky Family Band - Heartbeat
|
19
|
|
70
|
86
|
Frank Ocean - Thinking About You
|
4
|
|
71
|
----
|
Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven
|
1
|
|
72
|
54
|
The Shins - It's Only Life
|
21
|
|
73
|
34
|
Paul Czekaj - My Home New Jersey Part II
|
8
|
|
74
|
80
|
Family of the Year - Hero
|
6
|
|
75
|
----
|
Foxygen - Shuggie
|
1
|
|
76
|
40
|
Rod Stewart - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
|
6
|
|
77
|
81
|
Neon Trees - Everybody Talks
|
26
|
|
78
|
----
|
Train - Mermaid
|
1
|
|
79
|
37
|
Colbie Caillat - Christmas in the Sand
|
7
|
|
80
|
----
|
Gold Friends - Dark Again
|
1
|
|
81
|
87
|
Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten
|
5
|
|
82
|
----
|
Lifehouse f. Natasha Bedingfield - Between the Raindrops
|
1
|
|
83
|
----
|
The Neighborhood - Sweater Weather
|
1
|
|
84
|
77
|
Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Bulletproof
|
14
|
|
85
|
39
|
Blake Shelton f. Reba - Oklahoma Christmas
|
6
|
|
86
|
82
|
Jack White - Freedom at 21
|
21
|
|
87
|
90
|
Deap Vally - Ain't Far
|
4
|
|
88
|
84
|
Grouplove - Itchin' On A Photograph
|
23
|
|
89
|
66
|
Rihanna - Diamonds
|
8
|
|
90
|
----
|
Dinosaur Jr. - Pierce the Morning Rain
|
1
|
|
91
|
65
|
Hedley -Kiss You Inside Out
|
20
|
|
92
|
75
|
Walk the Moon - Tightrope
|
19
|
|
93
|
----
|
Youth Lagoon - Dropola
|
1
|
|
94
|
79
|
Grassfight - Look Homeward Heathen
|
27
|
|
95
|
85
|
Dirty Heads - Dance All Night
|
20
|
|
96
|
91
|
Those Darlins - Mystic Mind
|
18
|
|
97
|
89
|
Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen
|
17
|
|
98
|
69
|
Train - 50 Ways to Say Goodbye
|
30
|
|
99
|
88
|
The Avett Brothers - Live and Die
|
26
|
|
100
|
76
|
Dropkick Murphys - The Season's Upon Us
|
5
|
