Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Onward, March! (SNS 3/9&16/2014)

HELLO:  Hi, my name is Rob Sheldon and I run a music blog here...just in case you forget...which is entirely possible, since it's been quite awhile since my last one.     Well, ya know it's getting pretty tough her to maintain this every week.    This one encompasses two weeks, March 9 and 16, which still leave me over a week behind.    I did update my chart almost a week ago, so that is accurate to that time.  I just thought I'd update you as to what I'm listening these days.

On my lat blog, I lamented that except for a couple of new bands (Temples, and Hospitality),. there wasn't much out there to listen to.    Enter my good friend Brian Sniatkowski, who started rattling off some other great stuff out there:  Beck, Phantogram, Broken Bells, Dum Dum Girls, Stephen Malkmus...just to name a few.   And lo and behold, they are all on my list.   Yeah, there's a lot of good stuff out and it's time I make a concerted effort to listen to it all.

HAPPY:  Unless you've been living under a rock the last couple of months, the big pop song out there now is "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.   It's featured in the movie Despicable Me 2, in a much of commercials, news features...and of course on the radio.   It's been the number one song on Billboard for weeks now and there is no letting up.    It's the perfect pop song for the time.   It's got soul and is a bit of a throwback to the 1960's.  Many say James Brown, but for me it's Ray Charles.    I feel that soulful vibe that Charles always sang with.    This song is a bit Charles-lite, but compared to other things out there now, it's a good choice.    It reminds me a bit of Outkast's "Hey Ya" from 12 years ago that had a similar vibe.   In it's second appearance on my SNS chart (3rd week), it jumps from a debut of #37 to the top 10.   And it'll be close to the top soon enough.

DEFENDING U2:  In my last blog, I mentioned that the Irish band U2 performed on the first night of the new Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.   Their new single, "Invisible" jumps from #83 to #49, and will be from a planned new album (their 13th studio effort) to be produced by Danger Mouse, currently in my top 20 as part of Broken Bells, also of the huge SNS hit with Daniele Luppi on "Two Against One", as well as his legendary stint with Cee Lo Green in Gnarls Barkley.

As a result of the Fallon performance, not to mention the band's recent visibility, there have been many potshots thrown their way.  Some of it is justified, mainly because of Bono's outspoken activism.  But when it comes to the music, those critics have crossed a line.     The band's only crime was that they came from the 1980's, instead of the decades before that, which to some people is the requisite of credibility. But in that arena, give the band a break.    They came across in the new wave, recorded meaningful songs, social commentary during a time when it may not have been desirable.

Then, in the face of grunge, they changed their style.    Then changed it again as they were a chameleon band throughout the 1990's constantly reinventing themselves.  They stabilized a bit in the 2000's, but "Vertigo" and their New Orleans Katrina tribute with Green Day, "The Saints Are Coming" were among my favorites of that decade.    Say what you will about Bono, but musically they're one of the best.  My opinion, anyway.

IN A NUTSHELL:    I added the follow-up to Cage The Elephant's Billboard Alternative and SNS #1 song, "Come A Little Closer".  "Take It or Leave It", also from the band's latest, Melophobia, is another gutsy winner.   Expect another quick jump in the top 10.    Golden Void's b-side to their current standalone single "Rise to the Out of Reach", is "Smiling Raven", another retro-jam that takes you though classic rock and psychedelia in one full swoop.   Love the guitar work on it.

Bowling Green, Kentucky gave us Cage the Elephant, and now Sleeper Agent, whose new one "Waves", hailing from their new set About Last Night.   Their last set, 2011's Celebrasion, yielded a top 10 SNS song, "That's My Baby".   This one is some more uptempo jangly dream pop.

Finally there's John Legend's current pop hit "All of Me".  His "Green Light" was one of my favorites of 2008, and this one is a worth successor.  A nice, piano and vocal ballad.

Finally, I am hoping to get this out with more frequency.   I feel like I'm falling behind the times as some friends are posting new songs and getting reaction to them.    I need to get back into the loop.

 And finally, Fitz & the Tantrums' "Out of My League" has been on my chart for 54 weeks now.  Wonder why?  More than just a dream indeed!

So, until next time...happy listening!

Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100

March 9 & 16, 2014

.

.

This Week

Last Week

ARTIST-Title

Weeks on List

1

3

NUMBER ONE:

 YOUNG THE GIANT
"It's About Time"
Album: Mind Over Matter

15

2

4

Tired Pony - All Things All At Once

16

3

2

Fitz and the Tantrums - The Walker

18

4

5

Shannon Marsyada Trio - What You Do To Me

17

5

8

Foster the People - Coming of Age

8

6

6

Caveman - Shut You Down

15

7

1

Capital Cities - Kangaroo Court

13

8

9

Phantogram - Fall in Love

10

9

7

Haim - Forever

17

10

37

 TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
PHARRELL WILLIAMS
"Happy"
Album: G I R L

3

11

10

Broken Bells - Holding On For Life

14

12

13

Paul Czekaj - Elvis in Heaven

10

13

11

Man Man - Pyramids

15

14

16

Lorde - Team

14

15

18

Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know

13

16

12

Eminem f. Rihanna - The Monster

13

17

23

Hellogoodbye - Everything Is Debatable

10

18

14

Katy Perry - Unconditinally

14

19

17

Field Mouse - How Do You Know

30

20

15

Wild Belle - Backslider

18


.

21

22

Dum Dum Girls - Lost Boys and Girls Club

12

22

19

Zedd f. Foxes - Clarity

25

23

20

Eli Young Band - Drunk Last Night

12

24

30

Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes

10

25

26

The Fray - Love Don't Die

16

26

34

King Tuff - Sun Medallion

19

27

33

Those Darlins - In the Wilderness

11

28

36

Of Monsters and Men - Dirty Paws

13

29

25

Portugal. the Man - Modern Jesus

14

30

29

Ylvis - The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)

16

31

40

Wild Belle - It's Too Late

6

32

43

Rachel Allyn- Triggerman

6

33

28

Emiliana Torrini -Speed of Dark

19

34

32

Cate Le Bon - Are You With Me Now

17

35

38

Zedd f. Hayley Williams - Stay the Night

8

36

31

New Politics - Tonight You're Perfect

14

37

35

Alt J - Tesselate

15

38

42

Kings of Leon - Temple

14

39

21

San Cisco - Fred Astaire

21

40

55

Beck - Blue Moon

6

41

27

Cold War Kids - Lost That Easy

21

42

39

Phoenix - SOS in Belaire

8

43

24

Capital Cities - Safe and Sound

30

44
----
TOP DEBUT:
 
 CAGE THE ELEPHANT
"Take It Or Leave It"
Album: Melophobia

1

45

60

Hospitality - Going Out

6

46

49

Vance Joy - Riptide

8

47

84

MOVER OF THE WEEK:
 
 LUCIUS
"Turn It Around"
Album: Wildewoman

12

48

52

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Lariat

8

49

83

U2 - Invisible

3

50

62

Silversun Pickups - Cannibal

7

51

54

Of Montreal - Fugitive Air

18

52

57

Franz Ferdinand - Bullet

11

53

59

Imagine Dragons - On Top of the World

8

54

67

Kongos - Come With Me Now

6

55

44

Terraplane Sun - Get Me Golden

31

56

77

Hospitality - Rockets and Jets

3

57

45

Fitz and the Tantrums - Keeping Our Eyes Out

27

58

58

Wild Club - Thunder Clatter

10

59

76

Temples - Shelter Song

7

60

66

Grouplove - Shark Attack

7

61

92

Sam Roberts Band - We're All in This Together

3

62
----
Golden Void - Smiling Raven

1

63

46

Cage the Elephant - Come A Little Closer

29

64

65

Mind Spiders - The Steady

12

65

41

Lorde - Royals

28

66

50

Cut Copy - We Are Explorers

15

67

53

Man Man - Head On

30

68

71

Augustines - Walkabout

6

69

64

Arcade Fire - Afterlife

10

70

87

Papa - Put Me to Work

3

71

51

Florence + the Machine - Spectrum (Say My Name)

28

72

93

Temples - Keep In the Dark

3

73

48

Sara Bareilles - Brave

38

74

80

Avicii - Hey Brother

7

75
----
Sleeper Agent - Waves

1

76

86

Birdy - Skinny Love

6

77

89

Brick + Mortar - Locked In A Cage

6

78
----
Bad Suns - Cardiac Arrest

1

79

61

Golden Void - Rise to the Out of Reach

29

80

88

Lost in the Trees - Past Life

7

81

68

Wild Belle - Keep You

51

82

56

Jagwar Ma - Come Save Me

17

83

70

Fitz and the Tantrums - Out of My League

54

84

91

Bear Hands - Giants

7

85

98

Lady Gaga - Do What U Want

3

86
----
Crosses - The Epilogue

1

87

47

Passenger - Let Her Go

32

88

74

Twin Forks - Cross My Mind

16

89

----

Bruno Mars - Young Girls

1

90

69

Eagulls - Nerve Endings

19

91

75

St. Lucia - Elevate

11

92

81

Valerie June - You Can't Be Told

16

93

94

Basic Vacation - I Believe

6

94
----
John Legend - All of Me

1

95

63

The Joy Formidable - Silent Treatment

18

96

----

White Sea - They Don't Know

1

97

----

Blitzen Trapper -Thirsty Man

1

98

90

Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardner

7

99

79

The Satelliters - Where Do We Go

25

100

----

Katy Perry - Dark Horse

1



TREMORS:

101. Tegan & Sara, Everything's Awesome

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