It Was Her Party, But We'll Cry If We Want To (SNS week of 2/15/2015)

IT'S OUR TURN TO CRY:   A weird week in that I was sick through much of it, but it's just as well.   The blog was going to be about Saturday Night Live's 40th anniversary special on Sunday night, or at least the music aspect of it.    But then a couple days later, some unexpected news.   Lesley Gore passed away of lung cancer at the age of 68.

The passing got little press; it's probably not unexpected since her last hit was in the spring of 1967; she didn't cause any controversy.  But all of us in our generation know better.  

It was the summer of 1963 a "coming of age" for many early baby boomers (heck, just watch "Dirty Dancing", "The Flamingo Kid", or a personal, obscure favorite, "Shag" and you'll know what I mean).   Well that summer, an unknown 16-year girl from Tenafly, NJ named Lesley Gore burst on the scene with her #1 hit "It's My Party".  She would follow it up with three more top five hits, "Judy's Turn to Cry", "She's A Fool" and the now-feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me".    It pretty much echoed, just twelve months earlier, of another Jersey act, The Four Seasons.    Never underestimate Jersey people, for sure.

Gore had the girl-group sound down pat, except for one thing:  She was a solo artist.  And although other solo females abounded around that time, like Brenda Lee and Motown legend Mary Wells, Gore had the sound to herself.     The person responsible for that?    It would be producer Quincy Jones, who had worked with her label Mercury Records, and had gained notable experience producing some blues and jazz records in the 1950's.   Of course, bigger and better things were to come for Jones.

"You Don't Own Me" peaked at #2, held at that spot because of the overwhelming popularity of a new quartet from across the pond, the Beatles, right in the middle of that band's invasion of America.  And perhaps that is the reason why she never returned to the top ten after those four hits.   A great song, "That's the Way Boys Are" followed "Own" but it stalled at #12.    Still, Gore never gave up.   While other stars of the early sixties faded due to the British invasion, Lesley didn't quit.    She had some great gems after that which made the top 20.  She appeared on all the essential TV shows of the day like "Shindig".  She stayed relevant.    Thus she had more hits like "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows", "Maybe I Know" (written by legendary Brill Building stalwarts Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich) and "The Look of Love".

Her last hit, "California Nights", a #16 hit in the spring of 1967 was one of my favorites, and she sang it as a guest on the campy TV hit of the era, "Batman".  She played "Pussycat", an assistant of Catwoman who woos Robin the Boy Wonder (play by Burt Ward).  However, after a few more minor chart entries, it was it as far as the pop records went.    She moved away from pop, sang other styles as well, and started writing songs as well.    She co-wrote (with her brother Michael) "Out Here on My Own", from the movie "Fame" in 1980 which was a top 20 hit for its star Irene Cara.   Gore never stopped performing in her lifetime.

Her original producer, Quincy Jones would go on to bigger and better things, really making a name for himself in the R&B field in the 1970 for A&M records and then, of course producing Michael Jackson and made him a superstar.     As for Gore, she along with Brenda Lee were groundbreakers in paving the way for the "pop princesses" of the new millennium.  Britney, Christina and Miley can own their success to our Jersey Girl, Lesley Gore.    She will certainly be missed.

LIVE FROM NEW YORK:    Just a week after the Grammys came some more music drama at the live special of "Saturday Night Live", which is celebrating its 40th season.    It's come a long way since its debut in October, 1975.    Of course, the show is all about its cast members, and it was great to see much of them, either in new sketches, reenactments of classic ones, or just in clips from the past.   It's a showcase for comedy, but music plays a big part on the show.   They had replayed the very first episode the night before the special in which the musical guests were the stars of the day, Janis Ian and Billy Preston.   Anyone who is anyone has performed on the show.    It can make or break an artist.     It was here that I discovered Adele way back in 2008; she appeared for the first time on the same episode that Sarah Palin was on, and no doubt it helped her on the road to stardom.  Conversely it can hurt as well.  Anyone remember Ashlee Simpson.    I liked her music and she was pretty successful until it was found she was lip-syncing as the record she was supposed to be singing to was not the one she was supposed to perform.  Her career went downhill after that.

There were four musical guest on the four-and-a-half hour special (which included an hour of "red carpet" interviews.    Two of the four performed at the Grammys the week before:  Sir Paul McCartney and (take a deep breath), Kanye West; however this time they did not perform together.
Paul Simon (who was the musical guest on the second program back in 1975) and Miley Cyrus were the others.

McCartney was the first to perform, his classic from his debut solo album "Maybe I'm Amazed" which had him at the piano this time.   His playing was in fine form; however his singing was weak.  Many friends of mine felt that's what happens when you're 72 years old.  Perhaps, but he had just played a Valentine's evening gig the night before so perhaps that was the reason for his understated vocal.    I disagree with those who felt he should have hung it up thirty years ago.   He's Sir Paul and he can do whatever he wants.    More power to him.   He's a hard-working musician who wants to tackle anything.   His latest efforts with West and Rihanna testify to that.   His shows go for three hours; amazing for one his age.    But perhaps she should space apart his gigs in the future since his voice really took a hit on that show.

Miley was next, doing Simon's classic "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", a hit for him in early 1976.  Since Simon was in the house, I expect him to duet with Cyrus, but the performance was all hers.  To me, it was the surprise of the evening; she delivered a surprisingly very good performance, heartfelt and all.  Of course, many on Facebook panned the performance, pretty much because it was Miley who was singing.  A pop star, a sensational one as that, heck, it doesn't matter what she does, it sucks.   OK, I'm not the biggest Miley fan either but she, like many worthwhile singers has grown in maturity and style.    "Party in the USA", a throwback to her "Hanna Montana" made my very first blog list.   Her next record, Bangerz, she changed her style and image completely, to a scantily-clad diva and led the "twerking" craze.    Her wild image of her swinging on a wrecking ball, completely changed her image and got some nasty looks from those my age.   She was automatically lumped in with Justin Bieber and other pop stars that appear to be "souless".    Well she nailed this performance, suggesting that perhaps she is past that phase and might be taken more seriously.    That remains to be seen, of course.    Say what you will about Cyrus, but she nailed it that night.

Then it was Kanye's turn.   He was up to his old tricks in the red carpet portion; as the hosts were winding up that portion, here comes Mr. West, taking the mic away from Matt Lauer.  This time, it seemed to be all in good fun.    And, as has been a custom when a public figure creates controversy, as Kanye did when he suggested that Beck "respect artistry" and give his award to Beyoncé, appearing on SNL to lampoon one's self has been a mainstay.    There was the great "Wayne's World" skit which did make light of Kanye's behavior ("Sit down, Kanye!)".  Kanye made a motion to head up there but balked, perhaps again making fun of his actions the previous Sunday night.

As for his performance, he debuted a new song, "Wolves".   As I said earlier, I am not too familiar with the hip-hop genre so it wouldn't be fair for me to dissect it.   I'm not a fan of voice enhancement; he is good as a rapper, but his singing doesn't really do it for me.   Give him points for "artistry", and he did seem to put his heart and soul into his performance and to be honest, I just replayed that performance on YouTube.  It actually grows on you.    Then again, his talent has never been his problem.

Finally, Paul Simon finished things off with the title track to an album released around the time as the show debuted.  "Still Crazy After All These Years" was done in Simon's timeless style, and unlike the other Paul, is voice was in good shape.   It was a great summation of the show as well.  SNL, after 40 years, was indeed still crazy.

WONDER-FUL:  There was one more music special on last weekend, that being "Songs In the Key Of Life", a tribute to legend Stevie Wonder.    This was a Grammy presentation recorded in the wake of this year's awards, similar to the tribute to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr last year in the wake of the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.     Unfortunately I couldn't watch everything but those friends who posted said it was a great show.   Many of those who performed on the awards show also did so here; I heard that Lady Gaga brought down the house.  Other guest included Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams, Annie Lennox, Tony Bennett, Ariana Grande, John Legend, and Ed Sheeran. 

TO THE PRESENT:   After some weeks of stagnation, we finally seem to be getting more action on new music in the lower half of the SNS Top 20.    St. Paul & the Broken Bones posts a third week at #1, and Foster the People holds at #2 for the same duration.  Cage the Elephant inches up to #3, while Lucius and The Raveonettes are making bids for the top.    But much of the action is a bit lower as The Black Keys' "Weight of Love" jumps 49 to 14 and joins "Gotta Get Away" (#12) in the top 20.  Belle & Sebastian's great "The Party Line" makes an equally big jump from 55 to 18.  Calvin Harris, White Arrows and Foxygen make impressive entries into that echelon as well.

THE DOG DAYS AIN'T OVER YET:    The big debut this week is the brand-new single by my faves Florence + the Machine, as "What Kind of Man" enters at #44.    Florence Welch and her back-up musicians have been one of my favorites for a few years now.    She first impressed when "Kiss With a Fist" from her 2009 debut Lungs, made my year end top 100.   In 2010 they were nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy.  The second single "Dog Days Are Over" from the summer of 2010 when my blog started didn't impress me that much--at least until months later when the song was featured on the TV show "Glee", and then Dana Vandevaarst, then a teen daughter of my friend Nancy, referenced this band in one of her Facebook posts.   "Dog Days" quickly shot to the top of my chart, and "You Got the Love" followed in the summer of 2011 into the top 5.   At that time, Florence released her second album Ceremonials which hit Billboards top 10 albums, and another SNS chart-topper "What the Water Gave Me", a memory of a trip to Cape Cod that fall.   I pulled six songs from that album.  In addition, she was featured vocalist on Calvin Harris' "Sweet Nothing" which reached #2 and introduced me to Harris.  

"What Kind of Man", which I started hearing last week on Sirius XM's Alt-nation channel doesn't disappoint one iota.   It's a great feeling to hear a new song by a fave act psych you up, and this one does.   After a mellow intro, it then quickly switches into rock mode and Florence really gets into the heart and soul of things.  The sound that gives you goose bumps.  I love this song so much!   The third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is due in June.   It is that month that they will be a part of the Governor's Ball festive on Randall's Island in New York City.    2015 looks like it might be a big year for the London-born singer.

Next up, at #67 is "Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene", by Hozier, my long-awaited follow-up to the resilient "Take Me To Church".   "Church" entered my top 20 back on July 13 and hasn't left, it's still at #7 this week and still top 3 on Billboard's Hot 100.    Although "Angel" isn't the next single, it is this song that alt-rock stations have jumped on next.    If anything thinks his big hit was a freak accident and that he isn't really rock and drop that assertion with just a listen to this.   Blues-infected rock this time around with even some gospel-like harmonies; it's a worthy follow-up.    From this self-titled debut.

Kelly Clarkson, one of my favorite pop artists of the last decade, enters at #71 with "Heartbeat Song".  It's her first non-holiday single since the sorely underappreciated "Dark Side" from the summer of 2012 (#7 SNS but only #42 on Billboard).   This new one appears to have stalled on the pop side, too (it drops from #34 to 44 on the Hot 100).  That is too bad as it seems to support top 40 radio's recent move away from artists who were popular a few years back (Katy Perry, Lady Gaga) in favor of Ariana Grande, Meghan Trainor and Taylor Swift's move to pop).   I just hope it's doesn't have anything to do with the American Idol backlash as she is the best star to come from any of those music reality shows.    A good effort for her.     Ellie Goulding, best known here for her #1 "Lights", already has a pop hit with her latest "Love Me Like You Do".     Pop with an indie sensibility.  The song is from the soundtrack to the buzz-worthy movie "Fifty Shades of Grey".

Also debuting is "Waves" by the brother-and-sister LA act Blondfire.   Three others enter Tremours, including Damien Jurado's follow-up to "Silver Timothy", "Ohio", "Gooey" by Oxford, England band Glass Animals, and the German techo act Milky Chance, with, "Flash Junk Mind.

Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100

February 15, 2015

 

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	1	NUMBER ONE: ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES "Call Me" Album: Half the City (3 weeks at #1)	12
2	2	Foster the People - Are You What You Want To Be	10
3	4	Cage the Elephant - Cigarette Daydreams	10
4	5	Lucius - Hey, Doreen	8
5	9	The Raveonettes - Killer in the Streets	6
6	3	Fitz and the Tantrums - Fools Gold	13
7	6	Taylor Swift - Shake It Off	11
8	11	Cold War Kids - All This Could Be Yours	9
9	7	Hozier - Take Me To Church●	24
10	8	Meghan Trainor - All About that Bass	13
11	16	Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine	21
12	15	The Black Keys - Gotta Get Away	9
13	17	Wizards of Winter - Gales of December	8
14	49	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK: THE BLACK KEYS "Weight of Love" Album: Turn Blue	2
15	10	SomeKindaWonderful - California Love	10
16	29	Calvin Harris f. John Newman - Blame	4
17	38	White Arrows - We Can't Ever Die	4
18	55	MOVER OF THE WEEK: BELLE AND SEBASTIAN "The Party Line" Album: Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance	2
19	26	Foxygen - Cosmic Vibrations	5
20	12	Yast - Heart of Steel	11

21	32	Ariana Grande - Love Me Harder	5
22	22	Mark Ronson f. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk	4
23	31	Meghan Trainor - Lips are Movin'	5
24	13	The Fresh & Onlys - Animal of One	20
25	14	Foxygen - How Can You Really?	13
26	23	Christina Perri - Burning Gold	6
27	36	Fall Out Boy - Centuries	4
28	18	The Big Takeover - Children of the Rhythm●	16
29	19	Vivian Girls - Take It As It Comes●	22
30	28	The Decemberists - Make You Better	12
31	42	The Kooks - Bad Habit	3
32	34	Alvvays - Archie Marry Me	5
33	35	Fremont - All That I Needed	6
34	24	Fitz and the Tantrums - 6AM●	22
35	27	Colony House - Silhouettes	12
36	33	The Orwells - The Righteous One	9
37	30	Lana Del Rey - Shades of Cool	10
38	20	Foo Fighters - Something From Nothing	10
39	41	Waters - I Feel Everything	7
40	21	Ty Segall - Tall Man Skinny Lady	11
41	25	White Fence - Like That	14
42	44	Catfish & the Bottlemen - Kathleen	5
43	58	Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You)	3
44	----	TOP DEBUT: FLORENCE + THE MACHINE "What Kind of Man" Album: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful	1
45	37	Jessica Lea Mayfield - I Wanna Love You	20
46	39	A Day to Remember - End of Me	11
47	47	Maroon 5 - Animals	9
48	48	Kendrick Lamarr - I	6
49	53	TV on the Radio - Happy Idiot	5
50	62	Launderettes - Red River	3
51	64	Kjband - Man of Few Words	4
52	50	Train - Cadillac, Cadillac	5
53	57	Interpol - My Desire	4
54	61	Stater-Kinney - Bury Our Friends	7
55	75	Taylor Centers - Wild	2
56	69	Modest Mouse - Lampshades on Fire	2
57	43	Broken Bells - After the Disco	10
58	79	Phoebe Ryan - Mine	2
59	45	SomeKindaWonderful - Reverse●	28
60	40	Lykke Li - I Never Learn	10
61	46	Alabama Shakes - Heartbreaker	14
62	51	Valerie June - You Can't Be Told	29
63	54	The Gaslight Anthem  - Get Hurt	16
64	56	Junior Prom - Cheap Thrills	6
65	65	Imagine Dragons - I Bet My Life	8
66	74	Brick + Mortar - Hollow Tune	3
67	---	Hozier - Angel of Small  Death and the Codiene Scene	1
68	59	Sam Roberts Band - Shapesifters	18
69	70	Jungle - Time	20
70	89	Sir Sly - You Haunt Me	2
71	---	Kelly Clarkson - Heartbreak Song	1
72	88	Yelawolf- Till It's Gone	4
73	73	Misterwives - Reflections	7
74	77	Banks - Beggin For Thread	6
75	91	Taylor Swift - Blank Space	2
76	82	Deers - Bamboo	4
77	52	Bush - The Only Way Out	8
78	78	New Politics - Everywhere I Go	6
79	87	Shakey Graves - Dearly Departed	7
80	76	Weezer - Back to the Shack	13
81	86	Sam Smith - I'm Not the Only One	4
82	---	Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do	1
83	60	Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat	8
84	81	Julian Casablancas & the Voidz - Where No Eagles Fly	6
85	80	Airborne Toxic Event - Wrong	10
86	85	Weezer - Da Vinci	3
87	66	Phantogram - Black Out Days	16
88	71	Brick + Mortar - Locked In A Cage●	41
89	63	The Black Keys - Turn Blue	14
90	67	The Satelliters - I Said Yeah Yeah Yeah	14
91	97	George Ezra - Budapest	2
92	93	The Drums - Kiss Me Again	5
93	96	Sam Smith - Stay With Me	13
94	101	Alt-J - Every Other Freckle	1
95	---	Blondfire - Waves	1
96	68	Grouplove - I'm With You	14
97	83	Jack White - Would You Fight For My Love?	9
98	94	Grouplove - Borderlines & Aliens	3
99	95	Wild Cub - Colour	3
100	99	Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness - Cecilia & the Satellite	3

Tremors:

101	100	Royal Blood - Figure It Out
102		Damien Jurado - Ohio
103		Milky Chance - Flash Junk Mind
104		Glass Animals - Gooey

Songs with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.

●    Songs with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲       Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod.