That's What Friends are For? (SNS 4/26/2015)

OMNIA-MANIA?:  We have a new number one song on my list this week, "Dirt" by Staten Island native Omnia Hegazy.  It's her second chart-topper; "What's Become of Us" headed my list in the fall of 2011.    This one is quite the departure from that previous hit.   Her charming exotic world-music tendencies have been replace by a tough, rock-edge sound, which is consistent with the song's message.    I heard she played a great show a couple weeks back at New York's Rockwood Hall, and let's hope she plays some more detail as I really want to catch her performances.

Onmia, as I have mentioned numerous times, along with her twin sister Leila, are nieces to my good friend Diane Tarantino Hegazy.    Friends are very important when it comes to music.  Not only when they recommend an artist (as Taylor Centers and Phoebe Ryan also come to mind) but when it comes to them liking or recommending music.     Two more examples are evident in that Ed Sheeran suddenly takes a big jump from #50 to #18 after ten weeks on the list, and Zac Brown Band, returns after a couple years' absence and appears on the Tremors list at #107.    If it enters the SNS 100 next week, it will be the first country song in about six months to enter.    There will be more on that when that happens, but those are just two of the cases in which a friend talks about a song they like.  And whether or not its a recommendation or just stating what they like, it connects with you.   And although my list is mainly a reflection of what I like, friends, as well as public buzz also have a say in it; hence the position of "Uptown Funk".      A song is special when you associate it with an event, or more important, a person.  Sheeran's song hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year.   His "A Team" reached #21 on my chart a couple years back.   This one is from his second album, x (pronounced, "Multiply").

GREAT SHAKES:   Right after Omnia are two songs by Alabama Shakes, who's new album Sound & Color debuted at the top of the Billboard Chart last week.    Their two singles, the former #1 "Don't Wanna Fight", now #3, and "Gimme All Your Love", which leaps from #13 to #2 in only its third week, are also charting on the rock airplay lists on Billboard.   For me, I believe it's the first time that an artist occupies two of the top three slots on the SNS 100.    


COMPETITION:  My whole list is very competitive, and very few debuts this week as many don't have enough points to enter the SNS 100.  As a result, the Tremors list is 12 titles strong, many of them would normally enter the main list.    Part of the reason is that there are some really good music out there. Some I've taken from current playlists, some that are a couple years old that I may have heard or did research on.    And many songs have remained on my list for long periods of time and I am reluctant to move them down.   They include the two Fitz & the Tantrums songs which are now over two years old, "Call Me" by St Paul & the Broken Bones, and of course, Hozier's "Take Me To Church" which if it wasn't for my hiatus, would have logged just about a year on the list, and some others that were recently forced off the list.     And finally, I have been adding about eight songs each week as I am still a bit backlogged going back to my hiatus last fall, although that number is much less this week. Still, good music will always be heard.

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY:   One stand-out debut this week is "Ship to Wreck", the new single from Florence + the Machine, coming in at #55.  It's the second single from their still-forthcoming effort, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, due June 1.   After hearing this, I think it's going to be a battle between Flo and the Shakes for the best band of the year; both now have two great songs.   "Ship to Wreck" is an uptempo, poppish, soulful delivery by Ms. Welch, kind of a driving 80's-vidish beat to it.    Florence never fails to disappoint; look for this to be in my top 20 in no time.

This is a rather short blog as I am still one week behind; hopefully I can get up to speed again.   But give me credit as I have not yet had to combine any blog weeks since I got back up and running in November.      You will also notice even more titles now have links to their videos or web information; it is now the top 55, plus all new songs added the past three weeks. 

Happy Listening!

 

Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100

April 26, 2015

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	2	NUMBER ONE: OMNIA HEGAZY "Dust" (Single Only)	8
2	13	Alabama Shakes - Gimme All Your Love	3
3	1	Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight	11
4	3	The Black Keys- Weight of Love	12
5	8	Jungle - Busy Earnin'	8
6	6	Corinne Bailey Rae - Bluebird	10
7	10	Phoebe Ryan - Mine	12
8	5	Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You)	13
9	14	Tennis - I'm Callin'	6
10	7	Hozier - Angel of Small  Death and the Codiene Scene	11
11	12	Launderettes - Red River	13
12	4	Mark Ronson f. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk	14
13	9	Belle and Sebastian - The Party Line	12
14	21	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK: THE DECEMBERISTS "Calvary Captain" Album: What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World	5
15	11	Ariana Grande - Love Me Harder	15
16	16	Modest Mouse - Lampshades on Fire	12
17	26	Kongos - I Want to Know	7
18	50	MOVER OF THE WEEK: ED SHEERAN "Thinking Out Loud" Album: x	10
19	25	Catfish & the Bottlemen - Kathleen	15
20	18	Maroon 5 - Sugar	9

21	15	Florence + the Machine - What Kind of Man	11
22	24	The Big Takeover - Dolphins	10
23	33	My Morning Jacket - Big Decisions	4
24	19	The Raveonettes - Killer in the Streets	16
25	20	Taylor Centers - Wild	12
26	22	Sir Sly - You Haunt Me	12
27	17	White Arrows - We Can't Ever Die	14
28	29	Alice Russell - Breakdown	9
29	28	Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do	11
30	30	Fitz and the Tantrums - Fools Gold●	23
31	36	Avi Buffalo - Think It's Gonna Happen Again	7
32	23	Kjband - Man of Few Words	14
33	34	Django Django - First Light	9
34	27	Calvin Harris f. John Newman - Blame	14
35	48	Mumford & Sons - Believe	4
36	44	Mark Ronson f. Kevin Parker - Daffodils	6
37	37	Fitz and the Tantrums - 6AM●	32
38	47	Tame Impala - Let It Happen	5
39	42	Zella Day - Hypnotic	8
40	32	Alvvays - Archie Marry Me	15
41	38	Glass Animals - Gooey	10
42	31	Waters - I Feel Everything	17
43	43	The Drums - I Can't Pretend	10
44	49	Awolnation - Hollow Moon	5
45	83	Calvin Harris f. Ellie Goulding - Outside	2
46	35	Foster the People - Are You What You Want To Be●	20
47	52	Lana Del Rey - Shades of Cool	20
48	51	George Ezra - Budapest	12
49	57	Locksley - Let It Ride	7
50	77	St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Like a Mighty River	2
51	41	TV on the Radio - Happy Idiot	15
52	56	Real Estate - Talking Backwards	5
53	40	Lucius - Hey, Doreen	18
54	46	St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Call Me●	22
55	58	Best Coast - California Nights	6
56	---	TOP DEBUT: FLORENCE + THE MACHINE "Ship to Wreck" Album: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful	1
57	39	The Kooks - Bad Habit	13
58	60	Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best	7
59	45	Kelly Clarkson - Heartbreak Song	11
60	67	Cheerleader - The Sunshine of Your Youth	3
61	66	Meg Myers - Sorry	3
62	64	Jessica Lea Mayfield - Standing In the Sun	4
63	59	Fall Out Boy - Centuries	14
64	53	Madonna - Living For Love	8
65	85	Houndmouth - Sedona	7
66	55	The Mowglis - Through the Dark	9
67	92	Meghan Trainor - Dear Future Husband	2
68	54	Meghan Trainor - Lips are Movin'	15
69	62	The Wombats - Greek Tragedy	9
70	61	The Big Takeover - Children of the Rhythm●	26
71	82	Walk the Moon - Shut Up & Dance	7
72	73	Taylor Swift - Style	5
73	76	In the Valley Below - Peaches	6
74	81	Kid Rock - First Kiss	5
75	86	Carly Rae Jepsen - I Really Like You	3
76	79	Elel - 40 Watt	4
77	80	Life In Film - Get Closer	4
78	94	Saint Motel - My Type	2
79	87	Rival Sons - Open My Eyes	4
80	65	Fremont - All That I Needed	16
81	88	Ariana Grande - One Last Time	3
82	69	Stater-Kinney - Bury Our Friends	17
83	70	Blondfire - Waves	11
84	71	Cage the Elephant - Cigarette Daydreams●	20
85	104	Genevieve - Colors	1
86	89	Matt & Kim - Get It	8
87	96	Of Monsters and Men - Crystals	2
88	74	Yelawolf- Till It's Gone	14
89	97	Joywave - Somebody New	2
90	72	Death Cab for Cutie - Black Sun	9
91	102	Imagine Dragons - Shots	1
92	---	Cold War Kids - First	1
93	63	Foxygen - Cosmic Vibrations	15
94	68	Interpol - My Desire	14
95	75	The Griswolds - If You Wanna Stay	9
96	91	Linus Young - Fun In the Sun	5
97	93	Offspring - Coming For You	4
98	78	Rihanna, Kanye West, Paul McCartney - FourFive Seconds	8
99	84	Hozier - Take Me To Church●	34
100	95	Nate Ruess - Nothing Without Love	3

Tremors:

101		Twenty One Pilots - Tear In My Head
102	99	Robert LeLong - Long Way Down
103	100	Deers - Bamboo
104	106	Matthew E. White - Rock and Roll Is Cold
105	101	Incubus - Absolution Calling
106	103	Belle and Sebastian - Nobody's Empire
107		Zac Brown Band - Homegrown

108	107	Broncho - Class Historian
109	108	Night Riots - Contagious
110		Passion Pit - Lifted Up
111	105	Sam Smith - Lay Me Down
112	109	Sleater-Kinney - A New Wave

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.