Paul Czekaj is a singer-songwriter from my part of New Jersey. He's been all over my blog lately, and if anyone wonders what he's up to now, he's got a cool new video out, "Wheels on Fire", his follow-up to my #1 Summer Song, "At the Beach" which stayed at #1 for six weeks this past summer, and is still hanging onto my SNS chart at #98. This time around he trades the surf for some "heavy metal thunder" and extolls the enjoys of biking. The video, as many of his songs are, was shot on highways around New Jersey, including our local Route 46 in Ledgewood, I-80 and some other familiar places. While his previous song displayed a sixties-pop/surf sound, he once again matches his subject with a rocking out tour de force, the way that genre is supposed to be delivered. Also, of note, is that the drummer on the song is Frank Bandiera, and if that surname sounds familiar, it should. He is the brother of Bobby Bandiera, who has played the Jersey Shore circuit with his own band, as well as a member of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, and is currently with Bon Jovi. But his brother Frank is no slouch behind the drum kit.
The song is from his 2011 album Young and Free, which also contains his first SNS hit, "My Home New Jersey". If you're anywhere near Stanhope, NJ, catch him this Friday, November 15 as he'll be appearing at Bell's Mansion.
JIM THORPE DELIGHT: It's no secret that I love the fall. Saturday of this weekend I headed up to Dutchess County in New York state to geocache on the Rail Trail, as well as to go up on the "Walkway Across the Hudson River". Although the leaves were past peak, there was still plenty of color, and the serene-ness of the fall season was apparent.
And that was certainly the case last month as we headed down to Jim Thorpe, PA for that town's annual fall celebration. The town, buried deep in the mountains, along the Lehigh River was a perfect backdrop to the festivities. The weather was similar to today (albeit a little warmer). As with any good festival, it had its share of music. After walking, checking out the town and doing another geo trail along the Lehigh, I got back to the festival area, and heard a band play some really good music. The Shannon Marsyada Trio was performing and decided to catch some of their songs, a mix of originals as well as some of their influences, like Florence Welch and Adele. I'm happy to say that if you like those artists, you'll dig this trio from Hazelton PA. The band also includes Mike Hawke on drums and Lisa Welch on bass.
The song I featured, "What You Do To Me" is from their 2011 effort For You. While the two artists I mentioned no doubt are influences on Marsyada's music, this song is definitely original. It rocks, has soul to it, and just a pleasure to hear. The song was selected in 2011 to the New Songwriter's Hall of Fame, so you know that something good is happening here. They've played at venues like Philadelphia's Hard Rock Café, and New York's Bitter End, a great breeding ground for talent, where SNS favorites Leila and Omnia Hegazy also perform regularly. I believe they are working on a new album which should be released soon. I hope that the SMT will become regulars on SNS. Good luck to Shannon and the band!
MAN UP: Man Man holds at #1 for a second week with "Head On", but the top songs are still bunched together, with "Royals" by Lorde, entering the top 5. Many alt-rock stations are now playing the new "Team", which I'll add once the current song runs it's course here. I guess the sign of a successful song is that it permeates the brain, and that's exactly was "Royals" is doing. Three songs enter the top 20. Those Darlins, whose "Screws Get Loose" was my #2 song of 2012, enter with the new wave-ish "Optimist" at #20, and Wild Belle, whose "Keep You" could well be in the top two of this year (and still sits at #8 in its 35th week), hit the upper echelon with their second single "Backslider", which does it in just its second week (in contract to the previous song which took over twenty to do).
The third entry, "Safe and Sound" by Capital Cities, is the Impact song in the top 20, after giving it a second chance. It's one of several getting a reprieve for various reasons. For some reason, I wasn't originally impressed with the song, as it had a short run on SNS the first time around. But it's been a national hit, and upon giving it another listen, it was "what the hell was I thinking". I like this song a lot, and so it's making up for lost time.
Another re-entry takes place this week, "Ride On/Right On" by Phosphorescent, which didn't get higher than 99 in a two week run this summer, comes back on at #95. Unlike the Capital Cities song, this one didn't get much radio airplay, but I didn't remove the song from my currents playlist. I love the haunting beat of this, and remember to put this one back on the chart. It's going thru my head as I speak. It's got a groove to it, for sure. And finally, although it doesn't appear on the Tremors list, Leila Hegazy's former top 10 hit "Mirror, Mirror" is knocking on the door to a re-entry, possible next week. The catalyst there is the release of the video for the song.
OBSERVATIONS: Just two more regarding other debuts. Cate Le Bon's "Are You With Me Now" was recently featured as Brian Sniatkowski's "Song of the Week". From Wales, her album Mug Museum arrives this Tuesday. A great indie pop sound to this one. It amazes how fresh a lot of these songs are. Nice job on this. And finally, I add the latest Bruno Mars' song, "Gorilla", a follow-up to his top 20 (and national top 10) "Treasure". What has impressed me with Mars, especially during the past year, is the versatility is tackling various genres of music past and present. "Locked Out in Heaven" of course, was homage to The Police, while "Treasure" owed its sound to some late 70's funk. The latest one, while featuring an overall hip-hop beat and covering familiar territory, has a definite rock sound to it, complete with overriding guitars in it. Another palatable effort from the singer.
Scenes 'n Soundwaves 100
November 10, 2013
|
This Week
|
Last Week
|
ARTIST-Title
|
Weeks on List
|
|
1
|
1
|
NUMBER ONE:
MAN MAN
"Head On"
Album: On Oni Pond
|
14
|
|
2
|
2
|
Terraplane Sun - Get Me Golden
|
15
|
|
3
|
3
|
Cage the Elephant - Come A Little Closer
|
13
|
|
4
|
4
|
Fitz and the Tantrums - Keeping Our Eyes Out
|
11
|
|
5
|
7
|
Lorde - Royals
|
12
|
|
6
|
8
|
Field Mouse - How Do You Know
|
14
|
|
7
|
5
|
Robin Thicke f. T.I. & Pharrel Williams - Blurred Lines
|
16
|
|
8
|
6
|
Wild Belle - Keep You
|
35
|
|
9
|
10
|
Golden Void - Rise to the Out of Reach
|
13
|
|
10
|
9
|
Portugal. The Man - Purple Yellow Red & Blue
|
19
|
|
11
|
15
|
Tame Impala - Elephant
|
20
|
|
12
|
12
|
Katy Perry - Roar
|
13
|
|
13
|
17
|
Foals - My Number
|
18
|
|
14
|
13
|
Matthew Koma - One Night
|
13
|
|
15
|
18
|
Smith Westerns - Varsity
|
7
|
|
16
|
19
|
The Veils - Another Night on Earth
|
11
|
|
17
|
27
|
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
CAPITAL CITIES
"Safe and Sound"
Album: In a Tidal Wave of Mystery
|
14
|
|
18
|
11
|
Blake Shelton - Boys 'Round Here
|
18
|
|
19
|
59
|
MOVER OF THE WEEK:
WILD BELLE
"Backslider"
Album: Isles
|
2
|
|
20
|
31
|
Those Darlins - Optimist
|
5
|
|
21
|
16
|
Kings of Leon - Supersoaker
|
15
|
|
22
|
29
|
Avicii - Wake Me Up
|
9
|
|
23
|
28
|
Florence + the Machine - Spectrum (Say My Name)
|
12
|
|
24
|
35
|
The Satelliters - Where Do We Go
|
9
|
|
25
|
39
|
Zedd f. Foxes - Clarify
|
9
|
|
26
|
42
|
Emiliana Torrini -Speed of Dark
|
3
|
|
27
|
14
|
Case Studies - Everything
|
21
|
|
28
|
36
|
Passenger - Let Her Go
|
16
|
|
29
|
40
|
Arcade Fire - Reflektor
|
9
|
|
30
|
26
|
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Better Days
|
14
|
|
31
|
41
|
Panic! at the Disco - Miss Jackson
|
5
|
|
32
|
21
|
Phoenix - Trying to Be Cool
|
22
|
|
33
|
33
|
Fitz and the Tantrums - Out of My League
|
38
|
|
34
|
64
|
Fitz and the Tantrums - The Walker
|
2
|
|
35
|
24
|
Franz Ferdinand - Right Action
|
16
|
|
36
|
20
|
Rachel Allyn - Dear Prudence
|
15
|
|
37
|
38
|
Lady Gaga - Applause
|
11
|
|
38
|
55
|
Cold War Kids - Lost That Easy
|
5
|
|
39
|
34
|
The Avett Brothers - Another Is Waiting
|
9
|
|
40
|
50
|
San Cisco - Fred Astaire
|
5
|
|
41
|
30
|
Leila Hegazy - The Reason Why
|
14
|
|
42
|
48
|
Phillip Phillips - Where We Came From
|
7
|
|
43
|
52
|
Emeli Sande - My Kind of Love
|
7
|
|
44
|
22
|
Train f. Ashley Monroe - Bruises
|
19
|
|
45
|
54
|
Taylor Centers - Alibi
|
7
|
|
46
|
25
|
Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness
|
17
|
|
47
|
47
|
OneRepublic - Counting Stars
|
14
|
|
48
|
32
|
Bruno Mars - Treasure
|
17
|
|
49
|
49
|
The Livesays - Until You Kissed Me Like That
|
9
|
|
50
|
23
|
Silversun Pickups - Dots and Dashes
|
18
|
|
51
|
57
|
Wig Party - She Figured It Out
|
9
|
|
52
|
53
|
Dawes - Most People
|
9
|
|
53
|
56
|
Porchistas - Johnny Miner
|
11
|
|
54
|
67
|
The Killers - Shot At the Night
|
5
|
|
55
|
37
|
Pink f. Lily Allen - True Love
|
16
|
|
56
|
68
|
Brent Dennen - Wild Child
|
7
|
|
57
|
66
|
Bonnie McKee - American Girl
|
7
|
|
58
|
65
|
The 1975 - Chocolate
|
12
|
|
59
|
71
|
Coldplay - Atlas
|
5
|
|
60
|
63
|
The Unlikely Candidates - Follow My Feet
|
15
|
|
61
|
----
|
TOP DEBUT:
PAUL CZEKAJ
"Wheels on Fire"
Album: Young and Free
|
1
|
|
62
|
43
|
Atlas Genius - If So
|
21
|
|
63
|
58
|
Foxygen - No Destruction
|
17
|
|
64
|
74
|
Hands - The Game is Changing Us
|
9
|
|
65
|
62
|
Mikal Cronin- Change
|
12
|
|
66
|
70
|
Sara Bareilles - Brave
|
22
|
|
67
|
83
|
Bastille - Pompeii
|
3
|
|
68
|
45
|
Palma Violets - Best of Friends
|
20
|
|
69
|
90
|
Eagulls - Pompeii
|
3
|
|
70
|
60
|
Pixies - Bagboy
|
16
|
|
71
|
44
|
Dan Croll - From Nowhere
|
30
|
|
72
|
51
|
Cayucas - High School Lover
|
23
|
|
73
|
77
|
J Roddy Wilson and the Business - Heavy Bells
|
7
|
|
74
|
46
|
Paramore - Still Into You
|
19
|
|
75
|
61
|
Imagine Dragons - Radioactive
|
48
|
|
76
|
75
|
Grouplove - Ways to Go
|
19
|
|
77
|
81
|
Taylor Swift f. Ed Sheeran - Everything Has Changed
|
7
|
|
78
|
88
|
King Tuff - Sun Medallion
|
3
|
|
79
|
92
|
The Joy Formidable - Silent Treatment
|
2
|
|
80
|
69
|
Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Under the Earth
|
21
|
|
81
|
----
|
Shannon Marsyada Trio - What You Do To Me
|
1
|
|
82
|
99
|
Of Montreal - Fugitive Air
|
2
|
|
83
|
101
|
Jagwar Ma - Come Save Me
|
1
|
|
84
|
86
|
Ellie Goulding - Burn
|
14
|
|
85
|
----
|
Cate Le Bon - Are You With Me Now
|
1
|
|
86
|
80
|
Bell X1 - The End Is Nigh
|
5
|
|
87
|
91
|
Linkin Park - A Light That Never Comes
|
2
|
|
88
|
79
|
Calvin Harris f. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love
|
17
|
|
89
|
95
|
Pearl Jam - Sirens
|
3
|
|
90
|
----
|
Haim - Forever
|
1
|
|
91
|
73
|
Foxygen - San Francisco
|
29
|
|
92
|
89
|
Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop
|
3
|
|
93
|
98
|
American Authors - Best Day of My Life
|
2
|
|
94
|
----
|
The Colourist - Little Games
|
1
|
|
95
|
RE ENTRY
|
Phosphorescent - Ride On/Right On
|
3
|
|
96
|
----
|
The Head and the Heart - Shake
|
1
|
|
97
|
----
|
Bruno Mars - Gorilla
|
1
|
|
98
|
72
|
Paul Czekaj - At the Beach
|
21
|
|
99
|
82
|
New Politics - Harlem
|
36
|
|
100
|
----
|
White Denim - Pretty Green
|
1
|
TREMORS:
101. John Mayer, Wildfire
102. The Limousines, Love and A Dog From Hell
103. James Blunt, Bonfire Heart
104. Saints of Valory, Neon Eyes
105. Ylvis, The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)
106. Holy Ghost, Okay
107. Goo Goo Dolls, Come to Me
108. Miley Cyrus, Wrecking Ball
109. Plain White T's, The Giving Tree
110. Daughtry, Waiting for Superman
111.Twenty-One Pilots, House of Gold
112. Jack Johnson, I Got You
113. Fall Out Boy, The Phoenix
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