To use a more recent example, in the autumn of 2012, what song do you think of first, "Gangnam Style" or "Elizabeth's Theme" by Dirty Beaches (my #1 song in October of that year). Again, I prove my point.
Perhaps because of this, I am more than willing to give exposure to the better pop artists and songs of the day. Since August 2010, artists like P!nk, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Robin Thicke, and Pharrell Williams have landed in my top 10, on many occasions. While you may debate the pros and cons of its integrity (and some of them will just dismiss them entirely), they do define pop music in this decade.
Late last year, another pop artist intrigued me, Ariana Grande. She broke thru in pop circles with her 2013 album Yours Truly, and with the #9 Billboard song "The Way". But it was her second set, Sweet Talker that she became a regular on the pop chart with "Bang Bang" that featured fellow artists Jessie J and Nicki Minaj, and followed that with "Love Me Harder". But it was the holiday season last year that I took to her Christmas single, "Santa Tell Me" was one of my entries last December, and I thought to myself, she is a talented singer.
When January rolled around, I added her hit "Love Me Harder", and the song ascended to #7 on my SNS 100, and had a 21 week run, dropping off just a couple weeks ago. It was a soulful song, and I saw her perform on some of the awards shows. We could do much worse than her. However, the next single "One Last Time" only made it to #81 on my list, and nationally, it peaked at #13, breaking her string of four top ten singles on the Billboard chart. It was a song that, to be honest, I could do without.
Well, by now, all of you have heard the news about her donut incident, and her pretty much dissing our country. This stemmed from her licking the donuts that weren't hers, then putting down America and Americans. Naturally, this caused a lot of headlines, being one of the top pop stars f the day, and a huge blacklash ensured. She then did damage control, taking it all back, and apologizing for her actions. Apparently it had been some kind of protest of the obesity issue in our country and that she said that she went about it all wrong.
As far as I am concerned, the damage has been done. She apologized a second time, but will no longer be performing at baseball's All-Star Game due to her actions. The one person who came to her defense was none other than Justin Bieber, which will tell you about the public support of her, which is nil. Or at least I hope so.
So the question is, will the public forgive her? Will radio stations no longer play her music? Given the taste in top 40 music these days, I am sure her young fans will forgive her and return in droves. As for me, no doubt "Love Me Harder" will have enough points to make my year-end top 100 of 2015, but I will no longer add any of her music. Pop stars have responsibility as a role model to their fans, and in this sense, she dropped the ball. Granted, with all the issues facing the country these days, this is trivial, but with music fans, especially those with sophisticated tastes, artists that chose pop music (a genre that is historically uninspired), should face extra scrutiny.
IS AGE JUST A NUMBER?: Readers of this blog can probably jump to the conclusion that Florence + the Machine is one of my favorite bands out there these days. Because of their rock-leaning stature, they haven't had a big top 40 hit, but they are one of the few groups out there with a young following. Let's face, back in 2011, I had re-added their "Dog Days Are Over" song because a teenage daughter of a good friend of mine posted on Facebook that she is a fan of theirs; an age where kids can't really be expected to know good music when they hear it. That song went on to top my charts, and many other songs followed it into my top 20. Florence's current album How Big How Blue How Beautiful already has had two top five SNS songs, including "Ship to Wreck" which sits in my number three position. Both songs have made the Alternative and Triple-A charts on Billboard as well.
As I have done with some of my favorite current bands, I joined a Facebook fan page. Well, just last week, one of the posts were asking how old everyone was on there. There were the usual, 18, 23, 16, 19, maybe a thirty-something thrown in here and there. And then I chimed in with "58". I didn't see anyone older on there. Boy, did I feel old when I scrolled down that post. But it's okay, I do love her music, it has heart, it has soul, something that is rare in music today. Especially in the minds of the teenagers that listen. And indeed they should listen to the likes of Florence Welch, Brittany Howard, Grace Potter and even Courtney Barnett (whose awesome "Bad Fox" jumps from #72 to #21 in its second week. Good music has no age limit--in either direction.
CLASSICAL ROCK: It's been said that current country music is the new rock. So, does that mean that classic rock is the new classical music? Think about it. While the current country (with an example of the current Zac Brown Band / Chris Cornell song as case in point) a throwback to the country-rock and southern-rock of the 1970's, it seems the common belief that we talk about the decades long era of rock and roll music as something from the past, just the way, we as kids, talked about Brahms', Beethoven, and the like. Think about it. Back then, kids took piano and violins; nowadays you see guitar lessons being taught, there are places such as the "School of Rock" out there. Oh, and one more thing...tune into a PBS station and they have a lot of vintage performances of rockers from the 1960's, where they used to feature classical music. So there you have it.
I have mentioned many times that as far as top 40 is concerned, rock is dead, and yes, there are crossovers from the Alternative chart out there (Walk the Moon being the recent example), they are often new bands, and often become one hit wonders anyway. Although people who read this know better, it's often said that rock is dead. Without preaching for the umpteenth time that you just have to look harder for it, I will leave this discussion to that music made in the past.
This past July 4th weekend, I went to a barbecue, and of course, rock music was blaring out the speakers. Much of it ranged from The Rolling Stones classic Exile on Main Street, to some 80's rock like Sammy Hager (with and without Van Halen), plus some in between. I actually love discussions involving rock history. Much of the classic era is either twenty to fifty years old (depending on your age) and it's cool to put bands and artists into perspective all these years later. This group was a bit younger than me, so its focus was primary late 1970's through the hair-metal and arena rock era of the eighties. So, who did you like better, ELO, Styx, Journey, or AC/DC? I'm sure the debate can go on and on ad infinitum.
Before I do close out this portion, I just wanted to acknowledge the passing of bassist Chris Squire, from the progressive rock band Yes. Yes was one of my favorite album rock bands of the early 1970's, and among my faves in High School. He was an original member and although many members could lay claim to membership, Squire was with the band almost during their entire life. I had the pleasure of seeing them perform a couple years in a row in the late 1990's / early 2000's. There was nothing like them and nothing like Chris Squire. He will be missed.
MORE THAN JUST AN ALBUM: It's been well over two years since we were introduced to Fitz & the Tantrums' second album More Than Just A Dream. All three singles had long ago run its course, all three of them hitting my top spot and two of those landing at #1 on the Alternative chart. Along the way, I added two album cuts as well, with one of those also hitting the top spot on SNS and another peaking at #3. If you've been looking at my chart, you'll notice that the third single "Fool's Gold" as well as the "6 AM" cut, have been hanging around in the top half of the chart for what seems ages. They are the two oldest songs on the chart, with the latter now at week 40. Because of the combined blogs recently as well as the 14 week layoff last fall, it's actually been over a calendar year since "6 A.M." debuted.
So I hope no one is offended that I add one more album cut to my list, especially in a week where there's not really a standout new song. "Last Raindrop" is my top debut at #63, and once again it shows the slightly-modified soulfulness of the band. So let's keep this album relevant for just a few more months and perhaps then it's time to look forward to the next set, whenever that may be.
BACK TO THE BEACH: One more debut of note is "Sparks" from the dream-pop, Baltimore duo Beach House. They are no stranger to my list, with three entries, all reaching my top 20 between 2010 and 2012, including "Lazuli" from Bloom. Their fifth effort, Depression Cherry, on the legendary Sub Pop label, will be released August 28. The band has indicated that this is a return to basics, away from the built-up tendencies of their prior two albums which put them in the public eye. This track, full of distortion but living up to its "dream pop" label is a spacey journey to take all in. Put the speakers on, stare into a wall or outside and let the music take over. A worthy effort.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
July 5,
2015
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
"Thinking Out
Loud"
Album: x
(4 weeks at #1)
|
18 |
| 2 | 2 | The Decemberists - Calvary Captain | 13 |
| 3 | 3 | Florence + the Machine - Ship to Wreck | 9 |
| 4 | 5 | Grace Potter - Alive Tonight | 7 |
| 5 | 6 | St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Like a Mighty River | 10 |
| 6 | 4 | Calvin Harris f. Ellie Goulding - Outside | 10 |
| 7 | 8 | Elle King - Ex's and Oh's | 8 |
| 8 | 9 | Alabama Shakes - Gimme All Your Love● | 11 |
| 9 | 7 | Mumford & Sons - Believe | 12 |
| 10 | 12 | Tame Impala - Let It Happen | 13 |
| 11 | 10 | MS MR - Painted | 8 |
| 12 | 17 | Coin - Run | 6 |
| 13 | 15 | Walk the Moon - Shut Up & Dance | 15 |
| 14 | 13 | George Ezra - Budapest | 20 |
| 15 | 14 | Meg Myers - Sorry | 11 |
| 16 | 18 | The Vaccines - Dream Lover | 7 |
| 17 | 42 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Dreams"
(Single Only)
|
3 |
| 18 | 20 | Locksley - Let It Ride | 15 |
| 19 | 11 | Omnia Hegazy - Dust | 16 |
| 20 | 25 | Wiz Khalifa f Charlie Puth - See You Again | 5 |
Tremors:
| 101 | ---- | A Thousand Horses - Smoke |
|
|
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. 
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