Since I last checked in back in late August, I had been spending much of the summer playing "catch up" since my last hiatus that took place in May and June. I spent the summer feverishly trying to catch up, by updating my current top 100 fave chart every two weeks. I was almost caught up in early September, being one "two-week" blog away from getting back up to speed. It wasn't easy. Working during the day, watching some favorite shows in the evening, and going out on some event (usually geocaching) one night. Or just simply tired to do this. After all this has been a tedious undertaking. Alternative rock is alive and well on alternative stations, but rock music as a popular medium has all been dead; you need to look and explore underground through various means to stay in touch.
September and early October were pretty much hell for me. I put my new music interest on hold while I was working feverishly to make a deadline (a similar deadline in early July was the reason for my prior absence here). Staying until six, seven, or even past eight o'clock in the evening to work really hard. No time for any new music. My "currents" playlist on my iPod (which echos my "SNS 100" I publish along with this blog) got recycled with the same old songs for a couple of weeks; which was gradually, in turn, replaced by oldies (a sure sign when a vintage song from back in the day goes through your head it means you're totally turned off of new music.
By early October, I completely shut myself off from new music. I'd see my friend Brian Sniatkowki's "song of the week" and maybe I'd listen, maybe I'd comment...or another friend, Deepti Sinha would share something new with me. I'd catch some new artist or band on a show like Ellen DeGeneres or one of those music competition shows, and briefly it would hit me that I'm not keeping up with the music. Even Sirius XM Satellite radio, which I subscribed to in order to actually hear these current songs, I completely stopped listening to. In the pop world even, I there wasn't anything to take the place of "Happy", or even "Am I Wrong".
As October 1 arrived, our department met our goal in record fashion and we were treated to pizza and salads for a luncheon that Friday (October 3). Then on Monday the sixth, I was let go. Fired. Terminated. I saw it coming. Didn't meet expectations they said. Hard work? Late nights? They didn't seem to care. Ten years of dedication which included being a coach/mentor? Didn't matter to them. Oh well it was a good run, but at least I had some free time. Begin a search for a new job, and now more ample time to go geocaching. We had some nice fall weather to do this. Out on the trails. Reflecting. The numbness that permeated me a few days after I was let go (and over thirty other people would be let go around the same time as me), slowly began to subside. Knowing I had no earned income coming in, just unemployment for now, and that I was trying to get my resume out there,with one or two a day, I was enjoying this respite. But between the job search and geocaching, I still ignored this blog and new music. No commute to work, no music station. And although I did use my car to make my caching excursions, I reverted back to listening to WFAN (the sports radio talk station in New York); a sure sign I've given up on music.
The middle of October brought my 40th high school class reunion. It was a great weekend, with many of us attending a Friday night football game, touring the school, and then the actual reunion that evening. Well, you can hazard a guess that the music I was listening to that weekend wasn't The Black Keys or Fitz and the Tantrums. On Facebook, I posted Billboard's number one songs during my freshman and most of my sophomore years (if I had more time, I would have done the rest). My iPod, synced up to my car was, of course, playing all songs from 1973 and 1974 on it. New music seemed so far, far away.
Now early November and finally I listened to my Top 20 which I compiled in late August. All of these I had not heard in two months (except for "Take It As It Comes" by the Vivian Girls, and that's only because my friend Alan Corso plays it at our Jets tailgates). Listening to it, however, reminds me of unearthing a jukebox and looking at the songs on it and seeing how "outdated" it was. Well, after listening to some great songs on my top 20, I then listened to my top 100 and realized some good stuff on there. And it's been only in the past couple of weeks that I think I'm getting the mojo for new music again Heck, we finally have a catchy pop song in "All About the Bass", and I'm looking at the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 and see Hozier's "Take Me to Church" at #8 (I was curious why my friend Gail Cacciarelli posted that song recently...now I know why....it's popular!).
So here I am. But the question is what do I do now? I've lost two followers on my blog. No one has posted that they missed it (one person, Molly Birosak, at a recent Halloween party, did wonder what happened, but she was the only one). I did get a good response last summer the last time I had put it on hold whether to bring it back.
Last time, I did a multiple series of blogs covering two week intervals, which means, even though I updated my SNS 100 chart to reflect my tastes going back that far, it really wasn't a true indication of what I was listening at the time. So, this is what I came up with: I plan to do this blog every week using the current Sunday date and updating it every week. However the songs on my "SNS 100" list will be updated as they currently are. There will be a "time warp" of sorts. The weeks on chart as of August 20 will be incremented by one and not twelve, as I really hadn't listened to these songs in almost three months, none of them have burned out. Songs will move up and down the charts as if only one week had progressed. Obviously that would make some of these songs "outdated' (my last #1, "Best Friend" by Foster the People got airplay back in spring, six months ago, for heaven sake). But except for pop songs, doesn't it matter when I get into a song? "Take It As It Comes" was from 2011 but I'm enjoying it now. Some others were released last year. Who cares? Yes, it was fun when in late 2010 I got into "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele six months before everyone else, or getting into Fitz and the Tantrum when no one knew who they were but I don't think people really care when you get into a song.
So if you look below you will see my current 100 favorites, some of them memories from the summer gone by. There will be quicker turnaround as I have stockpiled a list of newer, current stuff, and soon it will permeate my chart. I will try and post more music, either on my Facebook page, or even reactivate either of my "Scenes 'n' Soundwaves" pages on Facebook. Hopefully I can pick up more followers of this blog. I'll try and introduce new things and new styles in future blogs. I will try and adhere to this as I got the new music bug once again. There's much at stake this time of year with the holidays (I do a countdown of my favorite holiday songs), plus my Top 100 of the year. Let's see how it works out. If there's little interest, I will put this out to pasture once and for all and reflect on the good times of the last four-plus years.
BRIEFLY: The time-warped SNS 100 which picks up where I left off on August 27 (shown as "Last Week" on the chart shows SomeKindaWonderful's "Revenge" ascending from #2 to #1, knocking out Foster the People's "Best Friend". Vivian Girls' "Take It As It Comes", fueled by Alan Corso playing it at Jets tailgates this year, jumps from #9 to #3. But the biggest stories this week are two high debuts. Foxygen, one of my favorite bands in my blog era, with personal hits from their last two albums (2012's "Make it Known reached #2 and last year's "San Francisco"---another Corso fave having two weeks at #1), have outdone themselves with their new one, "How Can You Really?" from their third set ...and Star Power. The band, which always embraced the psychedelia of the 1960's does so again with this song. It's got a Tommy James & the Shondells vibe to it that, if that band was producing new stuff nowadays, they'd probably sound like Foxygen. It debuts at #26, the second highest debut in SNS history. Close behind is the latest from Fitz and the Tantrums, 'Fool's Gold", the third single from their More Than Just a Dream Set, and the fifth track featured here. "6 AM" currently sits at #4 on my list.
Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100
November 9, 2014
.
This Week
|
Last Week
|
ARTIST-Title
|
Weeks on List
|
1
|
2
|
NUMBER 1:
SOMEKINDAWONDERFUL
"Reverse"
Album: SomeKindaWonderful
|
16
|
2
|
1
|
Foster the People - Best Friend
|
14
|
3
|
9
|
Vivian Girls - Take It As It Comes
|
10
|
4
|
4
|
Fitz and the Tantrums - 6AM
|
10
|
5
|
11
|
Hozier - Take Me To Church
|
12
|
6
|
3
|
Calvin Harris - Summer
|
14
|
7
|
7
|
Terraplane Sun - You Never Know
|
18
|
8
|
13
|
Avi Buffalo - So What
|
10
|
9
|
12
|
Tacocat - Bridge to Hawaii
|
12
|
10
|
5
|
MS MR - Think of You
|
20
|
11
|
6
|
The Hounds of Winter - Amy's World
|
20
|
12
|
26
|
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
THE BIG TAKEOVER
"Children of the Rhythm"
Album: Children of the Rhythm
|
4
|
13
|
19
|
Brick + Mortar - Locked In A Cage
|
29
|
14
|
8
|
Lily Allen - Hard Out Here
|
16
|
15
|
20
|
Vampire Weekend - Step
|
10
|
16
|
21
|
Maroon 5 - Maps
|
10
|
17
|
10
|
Mac DeMarco - Chamber of Reflection
|
18
|
18
|
14
|
The Black Keys - Fever
|
20
|
19
|
17
|
Broken Bells - No Matter What You're Told
|
20
|
20
|
29
|
Rachel Allyn - Restless Times Call for Reckless Measures
|
10
|
.
21
|
32
|
Jessica Lea Mayfield - I Wanna Love You
|
8
|
22
|
15
|
Jack White - Lazeretto
|
18
|
23
|
24
|
Afghan Whigs - Algiers
|
22
|
24
|
25
|
The Fresh & Onlys - Animal of One
|
8
|
25
|
30
|
Damien Jurado - Silver Timothy
|
20
|
26
|
----
|
TOP DEBUT:
FOXYGEN
"How Can You Really?"
Album: ..And Star Power
|
1
|
27
|
18
|
Lykke Li - No Rest of the Wicked
|
16
|
28
|
16
|
Anna Calvi - Eliza
|
14
|
29
|
22
|
Lana Del Rey - West Coast
|
16
|
30
|
33
|
The Orwells - Who Needs You
|
14
|
31
|
35
|
Strand of Oaks - Goshen '97
|
6
|
32
|
55
|
MOVER OF THE WEEK:
THE BLACK KEYS
"Turn Blue"
Album: Turn Blue
|
2
|
33
|
----
|
Fitz and the Tantrums - Fools Gold
|
1
|
34
|
38
|
Phantogram - Black Out Days
|
4
|
35
|
48
|
Train - Angel In Blue Jeans
|
4
|
36
|
47
|
Sam Roberts Band - Shapesifters
|
6
|
37
|
23
|
Junior Prom - Sheila Put the Knife Down
|
20
|
38
|
51
|
The Gaslight Anthem - Get Hurt
|
4
|
39
|
40
|
Dum Dum Girls - Rimbaud Eyes
|
6
|
40
|
44
|
The Kooks - Around Town
|
6
|
41
|
39
|
Ray LaMontagna - Supernova
|
12
|
42
|
27
|
Lucius - Turn It Around
|
35
|
43
|
41
|
Nico & Vinz - Am I Wrong
|
14
|
44
|
42
|
Lorde - Glory and Gore
|
12
|
45
|
37
|
Dirty Heads - My Sweet Summer
|
12
|
46
|
28
|
Arctic Monkeys - Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High
|
18
|
47
|
77
|
Alabama Shakes - Heartbreaker
|
2
|
48
|
78
|
White Fence - Like That
|
2
|
49
|
45
|
Weird Al Yankovic - Word Crimes
|
4
|
50
|
43
|
Caveman - In the City
|
10
|
51
|
50
|
Young the Giant - Mind Over Matter
|
6
|
52
|
31
|
Kongos - Come With Me Now
|
29
|
53
|
74
|
The Satelliters - I Said Yeah Yeah Yeah
|
2
|
54
|
Meghan Trainor - All About that Bass
|
1
|
|
55
|
53
|
OK Go - The Writing's on the Wall
|
8
|
56
|
56
|
Jenny Lewis - Just One of the Guys
|
8
|
57
|
62
|
The Shins - So Now What
|
6
|
58
|
69
|
MS MR - No Trace
|
2
|
59
|
58
|
Royal Bangs - Better Run
|
6
|
60
|
65
|
Sam Smith - Stay With Me
|
10
|
61
|
72
|
The Drums - Magic Mountain
|
2
|
62
|
63
|
Linkin Park - Until It's Gone
|
4
|
63
|
67
|
Jungle - Time
|
8
|
64
|
66
|
Meg Myers - Desire
|
8
|
65
|
61
|
Spoon - Do You
|
6
|
66
|
73
|
Better Than Ezra - Crazy Lady
|
4
|
67
|
80
|
The Eeries - Cool Kid
|
2
|
68
|
34
|
Boyce Avenue - I'll Be the One
|
18
|
69
|
49
|
Man Man - Loot My Body
|
12
|
70
|
68
|
Idina Menzel - Let It Go
|
16
|
71
|
52
|
Band of Skulls - Hoochie Coochie
|
18
|
72
|
60
|
Phillip Phillips - Reging Fire
|
10
|
73
|
89
|
Grouplove - I'm With You
|
2
|
74
|
----
|
Weezer - Back to the Shack
|
1
|
75
|
----
|
Alt J - Left Hand Free
|
1
|
76
|
54
|
Pharrell Williams - Happy
|
26
|
77
|
79
|
Horse Thief - Devil
|
6
|
78
|
36
|
Foster the People - Coming of Age
|
31
|
79
|
59
|
Fitz and the Tantrums - The Walker
|
41
|
80
|
83
|
Broods - Bridges
|
8
|
81
|
92
|
Milky Chance - Stolen Dance
|
8
|
82
|
88
|
ZZ Ward - Last Love Song
|
4
|
83
|
71
|
Kongos - I'm Only Joking
|
8
|
84
|
87
|
Conor Oberst - Zigzagging Towards Delight
|
4
|
85
|
96
|
The Griswolds - Beware the Dog
|
2
|
86
|
46
|
Kings of Leon - Temple
|
37
|
87
|
97
|
Iggy Azalea - Fancy
|
6
|
88
|
----
|
Benjaman Booker - Valent Shiver
|
1
|
89
|
----
|
Bastille - Flaws
|
1
|
90
|
57
|
No - Leave the Door Wide Open
|
22
|
91
|
----
|
Bear Hands - Agorn
|
1
|
92
|
84
|
David Gray - Back in the World
|
6
|
93
|
64
|
Kings of Leon - Wait For Me
|
16
|
94
|
91
|
Rachel Allyn- Triggerman
|
29
|
95
|
70
|
Chromeo - Jealous
|
20
|
96
|
81
|
Phantogram - Nothing But Trouble
|
14
|
97
|
90
|
Young the Giant - Crystallized
|
20
|
98
|
95
|
Vance Joy - Riptide
|
31
|
99
|
75
|
Bear Hands - Giants
|
26
|
100
|
85
|
Bleachers - I Wanna Get Better
|
22
|
.
.
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