Beach Blog Bingo! (SNS 6/16/2013)

SUMMER MEANS FUN:   So, now that we're into the summer season, no doubt, the sounds will keep up with it.     With the exception of the December holiday season, is there a time of year where the music matches the frame of mind so well?.     Let's face it, summertime means the beach.   Or if you can't get there, the lake.  Or a local fishing hole.     Maybe you don't need water at all, the back deck of your house would suffice.

And chances are you have music.   In the 1960's you'd bring your transistor radio on the beach.   I used to go to Manasquan NJ growing up, and walking down along the beach walk, you could hear a popular song, be it "All You Need Is Love" in 1967, or "People Got to Be Free" a year later.    And those didn't even have summer themes.   Still who couldn't remember "Summer in the City", "Sunny Afternoon", "See You In September" from the summer of 1966?     How about Sly & the Family Stone's '"Hot Fun in the Summer Time" (1969), Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" (1970), or War's "Summer" (1976)?.    And don't, of course, forget the Beach Boys; the name alone conjures up memories of summers gone by.

As the years went on, the ways to listen to music changed.   Boom boxes became the device of choice in the 1980's.   It was less radio and more mix tapes and CD's in the 1990's, and finally, MP3 players today.     But summer themed music just kept on coming.  "Cruel Summer" (1984), "Summer Vacation" by The Party (1991), and a few others.     The last real "summer" record came in 2008, via Kid Rock's "All Summer Long".

Well, the top debut is a high one which continues this tradition.    And it's one that hits home with us here in New Jersey.     At a lofty #32 comes the latest from the Garden State's song laureate, Paul Czekaj, called "At the Beach", of which you can click on the link to the video below.    As you probably know by reading my blog, Paul hails from Flanders NJ, and has come up with a lot of songs about our great state.    Most recently, he dedicated his song "Even Better Than Before" to the victims of Hurricane Sandy, with the promise of making it the best it can be, and to say Jersey Strong.    That song peaked at #4 last week, and drops a notch this week to #5.

This one, is an upbeat, up-tempo song about the best feature of New Jersey, and the fun many of us have had down the shore.   Good times on the boardwalks, bars, and of course on the sand.    It's just a good time song in the vein of many of the Beach Boys classics, and I can also hear a bit of Freddy Cannon's "Palisides Park" (another song about a Jersey treasure) as well.     Paul has been promoting the heck out of this song, and has had the song played on Hackettstown radio station WNTI.  What was more impressive that it was played after Bruce Springsteen's cover of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" (the inspiration for "Surfin' USA"), and before the Beach Boys' "Dance Dance Dance", and Jan & Dean's "Ride the Wild Surf".    Not a bad bit of company to be included with.

  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd93dZXatWk


FOLLOW-UPS.    As SNS approaches its third birthday, some acts not heard of since the earlier times of my blog, come out with new songs.   Mayer Hawthorne, the Michigan soul singer who has #1 SNS hits under his belt ("The Walk", "Henny & Gingerale") is back with a new song, "Her Favorite Song"., from his forthcoming set, Where Does This Door Go?.     Here, he continues to explorer some of the classic soul, or in this case, funk of an earlier time.    The song is firmly rooted in the 1970's and really crosses much of the R&B styles of that decade.     But, like Adele and Fitz & the Tantrums latest, however, he relies less on totally sounding like that era, injecting a bit of the present.  However this is the most retro sounding of those three artists.      A worthy successor to his last album.    The new album drops July 13.   He'll be at The Bowery in New York City in two days after that.

When I did my first year end Top 100 on Facebook in 2009 (and the first such list since 2003), many people wondered why I left out Neko Case, the Tacoma, Washington singer/songwriter, whose album that year Middle Cyclone, debuted at #3 on the charts.    When I started SNS in August, 2010, I quickly made up for that error.    "Maneater" was on the original SNS chart, and it made the top 10 here, as well as the year-end 2010 list.    This time around, I'm at the forefront, as her new single "Man" (I guess the "eater" was eaten!), comes on the chart at #80.   The song hails from her new set (take a deep breath) The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You. 
This song has a more fuller feel to it than the previous song, a lot more rocking and driving, but still with the gut and emotion of "Maneater".     Definitely a song to keep the interest in her strong.  The album drops on September 3, and on the 26th of this month, she'll be at Radio City Music Hall.

Remember Pepper, the Hawaii-based reggae band who hit #3 on SNS back in the fall of 2010 with "Wake Up"?  Well, they're back with something called "Fkarnd" (not sure what that means, although the picture on the mp3 suggests it's a bit obscene!).  It's from their forthcoming self-titled album.    This time around it's less reggae and more of a hip-hop / pop-rockish vein.     Whatever it lacks from a tropical standpoint it makes up for it in a catchy fun way.   The pop approach this time keeps in the tone with their tour, in which they are opening up for Carly Rae Jepsen on the Canadian stretch of their latest tour.   But in these parts, they're on their own, including a September 21 date at Webster Hall.

BRIEFLY AT THE TOP:    It's a fourth week at the top for The Veils' "Through the Deep Dark Wood", but knocking on their door is Foxygen's "San Francisco" at #2.  New Politics and Matthew Koma are the big movers within the top 20, and Daft Punk's red-hot "Get Lucky" is the only one to enter the top 20.     It was a very competitive week.

Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100

June 16, 2013

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	1	NUMBER ONE:     THE VEILS "Through the Deep Dark Wood" Album:  Time Stays, We Go (4 Weeks at #1)	11
2	7	Foxygen - San Francisco	9
3	3	Calvin Harris f. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing	11
4	9	New Politics - Harlem	16
5	4	Paul Czekaj - Even Better Than Before	10
6	6	Fitz and the Tantrums - Out of My League	18
7	5	Lana Del Rey - Ride	19
8	2	Pink f. Nate Ruess - Just Give Me A Reason	15
9	14	Matthew Koma - Parachute	9
10	8	Serena Ryder - Stompa	14
11	12	Rachel Allyn -October	8
12	11	Golden Void - Shady Grove	14
13	13	Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Sacrilege	17
14	15	Hanson - Get the Girl Back	11
15	10	Leila - Monday	15
16	20	Omnia Hegazy - Aziza	5
17	17	Pageants - August Moon	9
18	16	Palma Violets - Last of the Summer Wine	12
19	26	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK: DAFT PUNK featuring Pharrell Williams "Get Lucky" Album: Random Access Memories	8
20	18	The Satelliters - Gonna Get Away	11

21	23	Portugal. the Man - Evil Friends	5
22	21	Alabama Shakes - Hang Loose	12
23	22	Wild Belle - Keep You	15
24	27	Rihanna - Stay	8
25	19	Vicci Martinez f. Cee Lo Green- Come Along	19
26	30	Guards - Ready To Go	10
27	29	Alicia Keys - Girl on Fire	12
28	45	Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful	3
29	46	Kurt Vile - Waking on A Pretty Day	4
30	25	Dawes - From A Window Seat	15
31	28	Fun - Carry On	33
32	----	TOP DEBUT:   PAUL CZEKAJ "At the Beach" (Single Only)	1
33	24	Django Django - Hail Bop	17
34	37	Local Natives - Heavy Feet	14
35	38	The Black Angels - Don't Play With Guns	5
36	50	Waaves - Demon to Lean On	4
37	32	Phillip Phillips - Gone Gone Gone	18
38	34	Depeche Mode - Heaven	16
39	64	MOVER OF THE WEEK:   PHOENIX "Trying to Be Cool" Album: Bankrupt!	2
40	51	Dirty Beaches - I Dream In Neon	4
41	59	Cayucas - High School Lover	3
42	31	Pure X - Things In My Head	17
43	49	Dan Croll - From Nowhere	10
44	53	Churchill - The War Within	5
45	33	Grizzly Bear - Sleeping Ute	17
46	39	Phoenix - Entertainment	16
47	36	Leagues - Spotlight	20
48	35	Maroon 5 - Daylight	25
49	55	Kelly Clarkson - People Like Us	8
50	61	Candice Glover - I Am Beautiful	3
51	88	The Thermals - I Go Alone	2
52	40	Golden Void - The Curve	35
53	44	Chelsea Light Moving - Groovy and Linda	14
54	43	Avett Brothers - February Seven	21
55	48	Kurt Vile - Never Run Away	11
56	52	Depeche Mode - Soothering Soul	9
57	41	Rachel Allyn - Do It Yourself	19
58	84	KT Tunstall- Feel It All	2
59	54	Linkin Park - Castle of Grass	10
60	60	Vampire Weekend - Diane Young	8
61	63	Michael Franti and Spearhead - I'm Alive	5
62	42	Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside - They Told Me	18
63	68	Plain White T's - Should've Gone to Bed	3
64	47	Pageants - Musing of the Tide	21
65	71	Emeli Sande - Next To Me	24
66	82	Sara Bareilles - Brave	2
67	----	I Am Dynamite - Hey Girl	1
68	----	Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Under the Earth	1
69	----	Mayer Hawthorne - Her Favorite Song	1
70	65	Deathfix - Better Than Bad	14
71	66	Wild Feathers - The Ceiling	5
72	89	Little Green Cars - Harper Lee	2
73	58	Taylor Swift - 22	9
74	73	Maroon 5 - Love Somebody	3
75	56	Paramore - Now	19
76	72	Matchbox Twenty - Our Song	5
77	62	The Law Langhorne Slim - The Way We Move	10
78	75	Swedish House Mafia f. John Martin - Don't You Worry Child	5
79	96	Mumford and Sons - Babel	2
80	----	Neko Case - Man	1
81	95	Delta Rae - If I Loved You	2
82	57	Of Monsters and Men - King & Lionheart	12
83	79	Muse - Panic Station	8
84	78	Jay Arner - Don't Remind Me	8
85	83	MS MR - Hurricane	3
86	----	Pepper - Fkarnd	1
87	93	Jamie N Commons - Rumble & Sway	5
88	94	Ben Howard - Keep Your Head Up	3
89	87	The National - Don't Swallow the Cap	4
90	----	Atlas Genius - If So	1
91	92	Crystal Fightres - You and I	5
92	99	Jimmy Eat World - I Will Steal You Back	3
93	----	Savages - She Will	1
94	98	Said the Whale - I Love You	4
95	74	The XX - Sunset	10
96	81	Imagine Dragons - Demons	9
97	91	Imagine Dragons - Radioactive	28
98	80	Churchill - Change	39
99	70	Goo Goo Dolls - Rebel Beat	9
100	----	Case Studies - Everything	1

TREMORS:

101. Anna Kendrick, Cups
102. Dirty Heads, Cabin By the Sea
103. The Neighborhood, Afraid
104. Avril Lavigne, Here's To Never Growing Up
105. Lady Antebellum, Downtown