Since my last entry and post of my favorite summer songs of 2015, a friend, Cindi Robinson Artegier commented on why there were no songs from the Country genre on the list. Well, it wasn't just the top 20 summer songs list they were absent on; much of my SNS top 100 had no country on it. I am well aware of that omission, and it is a misnomer that I do not like Country music---or at least what passes for it nowadays.
Growing up, country music was always an afterthought. Sure I would see performers on variety shows and programs like Hee Haw regularly featured them. And there were a good share of "crossover" songs (country songs that got played on top 40 stations). The late Lynn Anderson's "Rose Garden" is a classic example of one; Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors" is another. In 1980 you had the "Urban Cowboy" craze, and that era had many crossover hits, partly due to the movie, but many before and after that film. Kenny Rogers comes to mind, as does Ronnie Milsap, Anne Murray, Crystal Gayle, and New Jersey's own Eddie Rabbitt.
But as the 80's wore on, country was pretty much contained to fans of that genre; less and less were heard from in the pop arena. Many of the stars were those from the decade before, or those who were pop stars during that time as well. It wasn't until the "new country" sound in the 1990's that Garth Brooks and Clint Black pioneered, that country became relevant again. Shania Twain, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill and others added a modern take on this music, with less twang and more relevance. Nightclubs catering to country, complete with line dances and the return of the mechanical bull (such as New Jersey's Colorado Café), returned with a vengeance.
By the early 2000's, we had more stars like Kenny Chesney, Shania Twain, Blake Shelton, Toby Keith and many others. By then, the genre started to hit home with me. The main reason for this, was that I started dating a woman originally from Houston, Texas, who moved to New Jersey for a few year, and hung out with her and her friends who were nothing but country fans. A radio station near the Jersey shore sponsored many concerts at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, and we went to several of them. By 2003, Country was taking up spots on my monthly burned CD's. Eight songs, including the #1 "It's Five O'clock Somewhere" (Alan Jackson with Jimmy Buffet) landed on my year-end Top 100 of that year.
Then in 2010, I had went to a local gig by an aspiring country artist, Rachel Allyn, who mixed country with classic rock and alternative. I was inspired by her performance, as well as emerging artists like Lady Antebellum, Thompson Square, Zac Brown Band, Taylor Swift, and others. Thus, when I started my blog in August 2010, many of these artists appears regularly. Zac Brown had the most songs on my 2010 year-end list, for example. Swift's songs made my SNS 100 well before she turned pop. The blog was a way to re-discover country once more.
So the, what happened? Why has 2015 been just about devoid of country songs. When Allyn's "Restless Times (Call for Reckless Measures)" dropped off my list at the beginning of this year, there were no country songs for five months. It's not that I disliked anything that came out, or anything like that. Here is the main reason: When I had my unexpected "hiatus" during this time of year in 2014, I was stockpiling songs in my primary genre of alternative rock; the backlog was close to fifth songs. Adding those songs, along with newly released songs in that genre to "catch up" was my priority, thus country sat on the back burner much of this year.
It was friends, however, that got me back to the genre gradually. A friend, Wendy Intili, told me about the latest from the Zac Brown Band, an outfit which I was really into, but had lost interest a couple years ago. "Homegrown" became the first new country song I added this year, and their collaboration with grunge veteran Chris Cornell made my top 30. Then in July, as I had posted my current SNS 100 at the time, another friend, Gary Gabriel posted his top five current songs; all country. One of this, Tyler Farr's "A Guy Walks Into A Bar", I added, and is still climbing my chart; it sits at #43 this week. The ball was rolling once again.
I asked Cindi to give me a list as to what good country songs are out there now, and what she has been listening to. She gave me a pretty extensive list that I went through. As I like my blog playlist to be as current as possible, I checked some of here songs with Billboard's Country Songs chart, and came up with several that I liked. Two of these, Jason Isbell's "24 Frames" and Sam Hunt's 'House Party" are on my up-and-coming "Tremors" list, due to crack my SNS 100 next week. Also, I will add current songs by Luke Bryant, Florida Georgia Line, and Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter will debut next week.
Many people have said that "country is the new rock'n'roll. Given the absence of rock on the pop charts in the last several years, this indeed is the closest thing to rock. The music itself bares little semblance to that of several decades back, and perhaps this is the new home to southern-inspired rock music. With mainstream alternative (how's THAT for an oxymoron) sounding a bit staid lately, perhaps this could be a new trend for SNS?
Once again, it's my friends' taste in music as well as their discovery of new music that is responsible for fueling my blog, just as much as my discoveries are. So keep the suggestions coming.
WHAT I'M LISTENING TO: It's been one of those periods that I haven't been listening to current songs too much, so much of the movement on my chart was based on a couple weeks ago. "Coming Home" by Leon Bridges hold for a second week at the top. Elle King continues to gain popularity among my friends and radio stations, thus "Ex's and Oh's" holds at #2, while Maroon 5's "This Summer's Gonna Hurt.." makes it to #3. The big song of late is "S.O.B." which storms into the top 20 in its third week.
Friends continue to have an effect on my list: Ed Sheeran, who has two songs in the top 20, has fave "Thinking Out Loud" posted by friend Diane Tarantino Hegazy and inches back up a notch to #17, now in its 29th week. My guess that the #1 song of the year will be between this and "Ex's and Oh's", I will report on that race as we near the end of the year. A Gail Cacciarelli Bradley post of X Generators' former alternative #1 "Renegades" regains its bullet, holding at #31. Finally, Fall Out Boy's "Uma Thurman" is still marching back up the chart as I have heard the song in several places lately; it moves from 28-23.
NEW: Not much pickins' this week, but the top debut at #87 does to "Give Me A Try" by The Wombats, the second single and follow-up to the rather disappointing "Greek Tragedy", both from their third album Glitterbug. This one is a little more accessible, while being more poppy as a result. Matthew Murphy's lead vocals are in command here, and although it's not quite at a par with their "Tokyo" and "Vampires and Thieves", the song is action-packed and should return them to the top 20.
The other song of note is "Lightning Strike" by A Silent Film, the follow-up the #82 peaking "Tomorrow". That song was pretty much lost in the shuffle, the new one, similar to the Wombats mentioned above, is a bit more accessible. The song itself resembles Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In the Dark", but it has a few twists and turns, along with the instrumentation to make it on its own. Like the Wombats, they are from England, in this case Oxford, and are currently a duo. Worth checking out if you have a few minutes to spare.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
September 20 - 27,
2015
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
"Coming Home"
Album: Coming Home
(2 Weeks at #1) |
6 |
| 2 | 2 | Elle King - Ex's and Oh's● | 19 |
| 3 | 5 | Maroon 5 - This Summer's Gonna Hurt | 14 |
| 4 | 4 | Phases - I'm In Love With My Life | 11 |
| 5 | 3 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Last Raindrop | 12 |
| 6 | 6 | The Arcs - Outta My Mind | 13 |
| 7 | 7 | Foals - Mountain At My Gates | 8 |
| 8 | 9 | Mumford & Sons - The Wolf | 11 |
| 9 | 10 | Matt Weiss - Black Magic | 10 |
| 10 | 12 | Demi Lovato - Cool for the Summer | 7 |
| 11 | 13 | Lana Del Rey - High By The Beach | 7 |
| 12 | 8 | Beck - Dreams | 14 |
| 13 | 16 | Hozier - Someone New | 9 |
| 14 | 30 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"S.O.B."
Album: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
|
3 |
| 15 | 17 | Ed Sheeran - Photograph | 11 |
| 16 | 11 | I Am Dynamite - In the Summer | 11 |
| 17 | 18 | Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud● | 29 |
| 18 | 14 | Alabama Shakes - Future People | 9 |
| 19 | 22 | Hippo Campus - Suicide Saturday | 7 |
| 20 | 15 | Courtney Barnett - Dead Fox | 13 |
Tremors:
| 101 | Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness - High Dive | |
| 102 | El Vy - Return to the Moon | |
| 103 | Jason Isbell - 24 Frames | |
| 104 | Sam Hunt - House Party | |
| 105 | 106 | Boots - I Run Roulette |
|
|
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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