One thing I can say about the year gone by is that it was just a blur on several fronts. As far as music goes, we continue to be in another dimension as far as what is popular goes. Billboard magazine, thanks to new technologies and new ways of tracking popular artists and songs, can sow who is popular at this very minute. They have, in addition to the usual music charts (which include downloads, streaming, YouTube views, as well as traditional physical sales (CDs, etc.), now have charts which show how popular an artist is. Record sales, of course, determine that but what about when the artist is between releases? Many acts release product several years apart. Seems the Billboard has devised a way to measure popularity now. Aside from the methods describe above, they also use Facebook pages, Twitter and other social media, and even visits to Wikipedia pages. If only we had that technology back in the 1970's when the music actually meant something!
You might notice that my chart looks a bit different, slightly at least. The spreadsheet which I had been using to track my favorites had been on Microsoft Works, which had come with my computer. I converted it over to Excel as there are endless possibilities of what I can do with it. The problem, however was my browser. A while back, my Internet Explorer "stopped being efficient" and was "outdated" and Blogger, in which I write this, didn't work properly. The best thing it did do, however, was the transfer the lines and graphs to the blog, however, it wouldn't space correctly. I wound up creating the list on both Google Chrome and IE. Well, I just found out that IE 11, which I have, does not work properly with Windows 7, which I also have. One install away and I am back in business.
NOW, ON TO THE MUSIC: Since my hiatus last fall, I have fallen behind on a lost of current stuff, especially with the pop music as I seem to be one release behind in the likes of Meghan Trainor, Taylor Swift and others. As for my alternative rock, where it really doesn't make much of a difference, as any good music has no expiration date, I have been deviating with what alt radio has been playing for the most part. I do plan on getting back in sync with it all, but, thanks to SoundHound, I've been picking up stuff here and there in my travels that I think is really cool. I still haven't checked the current Billboard charts (I will do that in time for my next blog), but here are some new stuff I've been listening to.
GOOBERS AND.....? The year was 2005, and I stumbled on a new song and CD by an obscure duo from Denmark, The Raveonettes. Pretty in Black was an awesome album recalling the sounds of the early 1960's with music that you'd cruise in your vintage car with. "Love in a Trashcan" was the single but by no means it was the only highlight on the album. It was one of my favorites of 2005. Subsequent albums began to see the duo update their sound but oh so gradually. 2007's Lust Lust Lust produced the song "Dead Sound" which got some airplay. "Last Dance" from 2009's In and Out of Control, made some noise during my first months of my blog but it was "Recharge and Revolt" from 2011's Raven In the Grave that made an impact on SNS reaching #2. By then the duo had more of an 80's surround-sound, not unlike bands such as U2. 2012's "Observations" from the album Observator was a haunting song, further proving they've come a long way. That song hit #9 on my blog chart that year.
That's been pretty much it...or so I thought. I had wondered if they had put anything out in the ensuring two years. Their popularity had begun to wane, and alternative stations did not pick up on anything since. Their holiday entry, "Christmas Song", a staple on my Top 100 Christmas song list each year prompted me to see if they put anything else out. To my surprise, they released an album in July of 2014. It seems that I wasn't the only one surprised; the release, Pe'ahi was a complete surprise. The featured track, "Killer in the Street" takes them squarely into an early 1990's modern rock groove, not unlike what The Cure or bands of the era like EMF were doing around that time just before the Seattle sound broke up. It's great to see a band evolve like this yet not loose their emotion or pop sensibility. And although I'm a bit late on this one, it's OK, because unfortunately, nobody noticed. But you should. The song is the top debut at #47 this week.
AD-MIRABLE: Do you ever wonder about songs that you hear in commercials and wonder what it is, and who sings them? That always baffled me, and for awhile Madison Avenue put the song and artist in the bottom left corner, but they seemed to have discontinued it. Well recently, I saw a commercial for skiing in Utah, and being a skier (and one who has skied in that state twenty years ago) I took noticed of the song. Luckily in the age of interactive TV, I "rewound" it a bit, and used my SoundHound. The result is "All That I Needed", by Fremont. I don't know too much about this band as I was unable to find anything about them on the web. But the song, although a bit mellow and understated does have a dream-popish feel to it. Worth a few listens; whether it will or won't grow on you remains to be seen. It enters at #65.
FOLLOWING: Two bands that had some big alt-rock hits, Junior Prom and New Politics enter the chart this week. "Cheap Thrills" from the former has the appeal of "Sheila Put the Knife Down", while 'Everywhere I Go" does the same from "Harlem" although with a more rap rock-ish approach. Finally, although I am not a big fan of hip-hop, the faves I do have in this genre depend on what is being sampled in the background. It also helps when that song is one of your all-time faves. That would be "That Lady" by The Isley Brothers from 1973, sampled (actually it's not sampled, per se; it's replayed here) in Kendrick Lamarr's "I".
ON THE CHART: Foxygen starts off 2015 the same way it ended 2014: With "How Could You Really" staying at the top spot. "Fools Gold" and "Take Me To Church" hold down the next two spots. The latter single by Hozier, which peaked at #2 both here and in Billboard, was the number one song on alternative rock station WEQX from Manchester, Vermont. Two big movers are "Call Me" by St. Paul & the Broken Bones (10 to 5), and Foster The People, who had my #1 song of 2014 with a 13 to 5 jump with "Are You What You Want to Be", going for their third #1 from their sophomore album Supermodel.
Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100
January 11, 2015
.
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
FOXYGEN
"How Can You Really"
Album: And Star Power
|
8 |
| 2 | 2 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Fools Gold | 8 |
| 3 | 3 | Hozier - Take Me To Church | 19 |
| 4 | 4 | Meghan Trainor - All About that Bass | 8 |
| 5 | 10 | St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Call Me | 7 |
| 6 | 13 | MOVER OF THE WEEK:
FOSTER THE PEOPLE
"Are You What You Want To Me"
Album: Supermodel
|
5 |
| 7 | 7 | White Fence - Like That | 9 |
| 8 | 5 | Vivian Girls - Take It As It Comes | 17 |
| 9 | 6 | The Big Takeover - Children of the Rhythm | 11 |
| 10 | 9 | The Fresh & Onlys - Animal of One | 15 |
| 11 | 11 | Ty Segall - Tall Man Skinny Lady | 6 |
| 12 | 14 | Cage the Elephant - Cigarette Daydreams | 5 |
| 13 | 8 | The Black Keys - Turn Blue | 9 |
| 14 | 15 | Taylor Swift - Shake It Off | 6 |
| 15 | 16 | Yast - Heart of Steel | 6 |
| 16 | 12 | Fitz and the Tantrums - 6AM | 17 |
| 17 | 18 | Jessica Lea Mayfield - I Wanna Love You | 15 |
| 18 | 21 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
INTERPOL
"All The Rage Back Home"
Album: El Pintor
|
7 |
| 19 | 19 | Alabama Shakes - Heartbreaker | 9 |
| 20 | 23 | SomeKindaWonderful - California Love | 5 |
.
| 21 | 20 | SomeKindaWonderful - Reverse | 23 |
| 22 | 22 | The Gaslight Anthem - Get Hurt | 11 |
| 23 | 24 | The Satelliters - I Said Yeah Yeah Yeah | 9 |
| 24 | 17 | Strand of Oaks - Goshen '97 | 13 |
| 25 | 31 | Foo Fighters - Something From Nothing | 5 |
| 26 | 26 | Phantogram - Black Out Days | 11 |
| 27 | 34 | The Black Keys - Gotta Get Away | 4 |
| 28 | 29 | Wizards of Winter - Gales of December | 3 |
| 29 | 32 | Grouplove - I'm With You | 9 |
| 30 | 35 | Cold War Kids - All This Could Be Yours | 4 |
| 31 | 27 | Brick + Mortar - Locked In A Cage | 36 |
| 32 | 30 | Train - Angel In Blue Jeans | 11 |
| 33 | 42 | Lucius - Hey, Doreen | 3 |
| 34 | 33 | Sam Roberts Band - Shapesifters | 13 |
| 35 | 37 | Colony House - Silhouettes | 7 |
| 36 | 40 | Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine | 16 |
| 37 | 25 | Kelly Clarkson - Wrapped in Red | 4 |
| 38 | 36 | You+Me - You and Me | 6 |
| 39 | 39 | The Decemberists - Make You Better | 7 |
| 40 | 48 | Lana Del Rey - Shades of Cool | 5 |
| 41 | 44 | A Day to Remember - End of Me | 6 |
| 42 | 47 | The Orwells - The Righteous One | 4 |
| 43 | 49 | Lykke Li - I Never Learn | 5 |
| 44 | 43 | The Drums - Magic Mountain | 9 |
| 45 | 56 | Bush - The Only Way Out | 3 |
| 46 | 28 | The Killers - Joel the Lump of Coal | 5 |
| 47 |
----
|
TOP DEBUT:
THE RAVEONETTES
"Killer in the Streets"
Album: Pe'ahi
|
1 |
| 48 | 51 | Idina Menzel - Let It Go | 23 |
| 49 | 52 | Valerie June - You Can't Be Told | 24 |
| 50 | 38 | Dum Dum Girls - Rimbaud Eyes | 13 |
| 51 | 60 | Maroon 5 - Animals | 4 |
| 52 | 59 | Broken Bells - After the Disco | 5 |
| 53 | 55 | Jungle - Time | 15 |
| 54 | 45 | The Hounds of Winter - Amy's World | 27 |
| 55 | 68 | Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat | 3 |
| 56 | 63 | Guster - Simple Machine | 4 |
| 57 | 67 | Imagine Dragons - I Bet My Life | 3 |
| 58 | 50 | The Eeries - Cool Kid | 9 |
| 59 | 70 | Anna Calvi - Suddenly | 5 |
| 60 | 54 | Alt J - Left Hand Free | 8 |
| 61 |
----
|
Christina Perri - Burning Gold | 1 |
| 62 | 41 | Pentatonix - Mary Did You Know | 6 |
| 63 | 66 | Kongos - Come With Me Now | 36 |
| 64 | 81 | Waters - I Feel Everything | 2 |
| 65 |
----
|
Fremont - All That I Needed | 1 |
| 66 | 80 | Jack White - Would You Fight For My Love? | 4 |
| 67 | 77 | Knox Hamilton - Work It Out | 6 |
| 68 |
----
|
Junior Prom - Cheap Thrills | 1 |
| 69 | 46 | Idina Menzel (duet with Michale Buble) - Baby It's Cold Outside | 5 |
| 70 | 61 | Meg Myers - Desire | 15 |
| 71 | 84 | Misterwives - Reflections | 2 |
| 72 | 91 | Weezer - Back to the Shack | 8 |
| 73 | 62 | Foster the People - Best Friend | 21 |
| 74 | 69 | Royal Bangs - Better Run | 13 |
| 75 | 73 | Bear Hands - Agora | 8 |
| 76 | 74 | American Authors - Believer | 6 |
| 77 | 78 | Straight No Chaser - Text Me Merry Christmas | 2 |
| 78 |
----
| Kendrick Lamarr - I | 1 |
| 79 | 93 | Digitalism f. Youngblood Hawke - Wolves | 7 |
| 80 |
----
|
Banks - Beggin For Thread | 1 |
| 81 |
----
|
New Politics - Everywhere I Go | 1 |
| 82 | 53 | Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me | 5 |
| 83 | 65 | The Orwells - Who Needs You | 21 |
| 84 | 79 | The Griswolds - Beware the Dog | 9 |
| 85 | 90 | Airborne Toxic Event - Wrong | 5 |
| 86 | 64 | Avi Buffalo - So What | 17 |
| 87 | 76 | MS MR - Think of You | 27 |
| 88 | 89 | Milky Chance - Stolen Dance | 15 |
| 89 | 94 | Lily Allen - Air Balloon | 4 |
| 90 | 96 | Shakey Graves - Dearly Departed | 2 |
| 91 | 97 | Stater-Kinney - Bury Our Friends | 2 |
| 92 |
----
|
Julian Casablancas & the Voidz - Where No Eagles Fly | 1 |
| 93 | 57 | Meghan Trainor - I'll Be Home | 3 |
| 94 | 58 | Pentatonix - That's Christmas To Me | 3 |
| 95 | 75 | Damien Jurado - Silver Timothy | 27 |
| 96 |
----
|
Bleachers - Rollercoaster | 1 |
| 97 | 72 | MS MR - No Trace | 9 |
| 98 | 88 | Kings of Leon - Family Tree | 7 |
| 99 | 92 | The Shins - So Now What | 13 |
| 100 | 95 | My Brightest Diamond - Pressure | 7 |
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