Springsteen hasn't had a big "hit" in about twenty years or so, but his music right up to the present is memorable. Of course it was during the 1970's and 80's that he made his mark. He remains an artist who is every much true to himself. This guy could play stadiums (and in fact, he did four shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, breaking records for length of time...close to four hours each time). You definitely get your money's worth.
But that's Springsteen for you. He can do that, while being an everyman who you could run into at, say the Manasquan Inlet down the shore, or making a surprise at a local rock club, as he's done many times at the Stone Pony in his adopted town of Asbury Park. And although I have yet to meet him (or even see a show), you got to admit that he is the real deal.
Six years ago, we did a road trip to Ohio which included a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It just happened that there was a temporary Springsteen exhibit there, tracing his career from the humble beginnings in Freehold, through stints with The Castiles, a band called "Earth" and finally "The Bruce Springsteen Band", which would evolve into the E-Street Band, named for band member, keyboard player David Sancious, who lived on that street in Belmar. In fact, the song "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" also pertains to that shore down, and you can see a tribute in a form of a guitar where the two streets intersect.
While Bruce has made my SNS top 100 chart twice, including the top 20 "High Hopes" a couple years ago, and still puts out quality music, it is, of course, his classic material that set the stage for the ultimate Jersey Shore experience. Songs like "Spirit in the Night", "Blinded by the Light" (both covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band and were top 40 hits), "Rosalita" (a great wind-down to a great party night at any of the many Jersey shore clubs), "Sherry Darling", "Backstreets", and the list goes on. Don't forget Born in the USA, his most successful album commercially, with seven top ten songs, the second artist to achieve that feat, next to Michael Jackson's Thriller.
I could do several blogs in tribute to Jersey's own, but I will stop right there.
Then, on the other hand, you have current "stars" like Justin Bieber, who reportedly said to a few of his fans, "You suck". Apparently several of his devoted fans were photographing him and shouting out 'hi" to what they perceive as their generation's superstar, when he then yelled back at them.
I have always been a Bieber critic and wonder why he has been at the top of the charts for the past seven years. Still, I gave him some kudos for his latest effort, one which showed maturity in his songwriting and performances, after his hiatus in which he seemed to get in trouble every week. I even considered adding one of his songs. He still has two entries in the Billboard top 10 as featured performers and still has his fans.
Granted, he has been in the public eye and under the microscope (as has Springsteen a few times as well), but unlike The Boss, the Biebs just doesn't seem to be able to handle this pressure, one that automatically comes with superstardom. Telling those following him to bug off may come back to haunt him if his career takes a dive and he is out on the streets, down and out.
Pop music has changed so much in the past thirty years and what we, as Baby Boomers, think as "uninspiring", could mean the soundtrack to their growing up. Unfortunately, pop radio is controlled by corporate suits and unfortunately not my local interest anymore. It's a shame, really. But, if you want to follow a young singer that seems to have it together and has talent (although not on the level of a Springsteen), try Charlie Puth (who, like Springsteen, lives in Rumson NJ), Shawn Mendes from Canada, or Long Island's up-and-coming Matt Weiss. Music from the heart.
Much like The Boss.
CARLOS VS. COREA: It's another close race at the top this week as The Hounds of Winter's "Oh Paige" narrowly beat out Santana's "Blues Magic". Last week, Santana was on top by one fave point; this week it's the Hounds by two points. There is a possibility they would swap places again next week. Tom Corea's band has gotten much buzz from my friends, but in a week that I had listened to a lot of currents, I am still heavily into the original Santana line-up's reunion album track. The Hounds are the fifth "up-and-coming" act to top my charts, following Rachel Allyn, both Hegazy sisters Leila and Omnia, and Shannon Marsyada.
The other songs are far back, but Michael Kiwanuka's "One More Night" has a solid grip on the third spot, while Us Commoners pick up their second top five single in two months with "Fallin'" moving from 18 to 4. Dinosaur Jr's 'Tiny" also makes a big jump from 28 to 10.
Extended listening this past week has revived a few moribund songs on my list. Foals' 'What Went Down" regains its bullet at #17; that song has a nice psychedelic jam at the end of it, much similar to recent songs from The Joy Formidable, Golden Void, and Ray Lamontagne. "Snakeskin" by Deerhunter also gets revived by a few more listens. Two debuts from last week make big gains, most notably Maybird's "Turning Into Water" which blew my mind after a couple of listens this past week. It moves from 97-48. Sometimes all you get is a sample when deciding whether or not to download, but when you hear it from start to finish, it makes a really big difference. This song borders on psychedelia, with some phase shifting and jams as well, and reminds me a big of XTC's "25 O'clock" from the early 1980's under their Dukes of Stratosphear persona. Another big mover is kjband's "Waves" as that song starts out like Nathaniel Rateliff or St. Paul, with a dash of early Chicago thrown in for good measure, as the song is somewhat of a surprise, given Ken Johnston's past efforts.
FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE: Remember The Big Takeover, the mid-Hudson Valley reggae-rock hybrid that topped my chart two years back with "Children of the Rhythm"? Well, the band, headed by Jamaican-born Nee Nee Rushie has a new song and video out, "Come Before Fire". This is more of a ski-influenced trip rather than straight reggae, but these Nee Nee and the guys are really having some fun on this one. The band heads some established SNS-based artist debuts. KT Tunstall, best known for her 2006 hit "Black Horse & the Cherry Tree", but had a #1 here back in 2010 with "Fade Like a Flower", is back with "Evil Eye". Miike Snow, who I saw perform on Conan this week, had a good new one with "My Trigger"; "Paddling Out" was a top 5 entry in 2011. Wild Belle goes for six top 20's in a row with "Our Love Will Survive"; it's easily the best effort since the entries from their first album, it approaches ballad mode, with nodes to the reggae-influenced style of songs like "Keep You". Sam Roberts Band and Arkells also complete the debuts; Roberts hit the top 20 in 2014 with "Shapesifters".
ROCKING WITH YOU: During this week as I write this, we lost Rod Temperton to cancer. If you didn't know who he was, you probably do recognize the music that he wrote and produced. Temperton came to fame as the keyboardist for Heatwave, the late 1970's R&B unit that hit with three consecutive top 20 songs, all creating memories for me: "Boogie Nights", which to me was the soundtrack of the autumn of 1977, a season where we hung out at Squire's at Far Hills, the ballad "Always and Forever", which got played as a slow dance song anywhere you went, and would warm a cold winter's evening, and finally "The Groove Line" which took off when I graduated college and went on a road trip. All of these songs were written by Temperton.
But he is probably more associated with the hits he wrote for Michael Jackson which kicked off his adult superstardom. He wrote two hits from his breakthrough Off the Wall album, including the top ten title track, and the #1 "Off the Wall". He then came back and wrote the title track from the monster-selling Thriller album.
Finally, on a personal note, I had lost a friend, Tom Maloney two weeks ago. I've known Tom for 22 years and was part of my circle of friends that skied, camped and parties. He was always the life of the party, cracked jokes, and seemed to love life. But he loved music as well, and he would always ask me about particular songs or artists. He'd comment on many of the songs that I'd play up at our ski house or camping trip, and got me to make some mixed CDs for his many St. Patrick's Day parties. He seemed to love my music selection, be it the coolest rock jams, or guilty pleasures. And yes, he was a Springsteen fan, going to his most recent concerts at MetLife Stadium just a few weeks ago. He leaves behind a beautiful wife, Marianne, and two children, Alison and Kevin. You were truly an inspiration.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
October 2,
2016
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 2 | NUMBER ONE:
"Oh
Paige"
(Single Only)
|
5 |
| 2 | 1 | Santana - Blues Magic | 9 |
| 3 | 7 | Michael Kiwanuka - One More Night | 7 |
| 4 | 18 | Us Commoners - Fallin' | 4 |
| 5 | 4 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Complicated | 11 |
| 6 | 6 | M83 - Go | 12 |
| 7 | 5 | Finish Ticket - Color | 13 |
| 8 | 9 | Charles Kelley- Lonely Girl | 19 |
| 9 | 3 | Billy Spanton Band - Shake Your Soul | 11 |
| 10 | 28 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Tiny"
Album: Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not
| 5 |
| 11 | 15 | Rachel Allyn - For What It's Worth | 6 |
| 12 | 16 | Coldplay - Hymn For the Weekend | 12 |
| 13 | 17 | DMA's - Too Soon | 10 |
| 14 | 12 | Barns Courtney - Fire | 11 |
| 15 | 13 | The Blossoms - At Most A Kiss | 12 |
| 16 | 14 | The Strokes - Oblivius | 11 |
| 17 | 20 | Foals - What Went Down | 11 |
| 18 | 21 | Two Door Cinema Club - Are We Ready (Wreck) | 9 |
| 19 | 8 | Phoebe Ryan - Chronic | 12 |
| 20 | 24 | Zac Brown Band - Castaway | 8 |
Tremors:
| 101 | ---- | Charlie Puth f. Selena Gomez - We Don't Talk Anymore |
|
|
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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