I have never been one to place politics on my blog, in spite of many of today's artists making a stand one way or another, and I will not attempt to do that here, either. But, as you all very well know, we have encountered again what appears to be an act of terrorism, when, at the end of an Ariana Grande, Manchester, England, UK concert, a bomb went off, killing 22 people and injuring 59. It was the deadliest attack in that country since 2005, which had also seen terrorism take place in London since then as well. It is just the latest of many attacks on various places around the world in the last few years. The bomber has been identified, whose name will not be mentioned here. While it hasn't been official confirmed that the person in question is a member of the extreme group ISIS, all signs seem to point in that direction.
While, of course, this is just one of the latest of tragic events that have taken place not just over in Europe, but here in the States, some people have made an issue over Grande's stances herself. That stems from her words a couple years back about her "hating America" and licking donuts in a donut shop. Those actions had led me to ban her music from my blog at the time. Her song "Love Me Harder" had peaked on my playlist at #7 in early 2015, but, after the follow up, the aptly-titled "One Last Time" peaked at #81, I have not added any more Ariana songs since that time.
To be honest, I do think she has talent. I had thought about breaking down and adding some of the songs from her most recent album Dangerous Woman. Of course, my blog is more geared to alternative rock, there are many pop artists that have appeared here, and to be honest, she is one of the better ones.
But I understand the politics involved. The problem I have is that people seem to revel in the fact that the tragedy that happened seemed "second-rate" to what she had stood for, and probably to the fact that they are lumping in Grande with today's pop music, a genre that, to be honest, leaves a lot to be desired. People hate her because she is a current pop artist and they seem to direct their hate at her rather than the issue of terrorism that looms as at threat to our freedom around the world. So, does their put-down of Grande mean they supported this attack? If this happened to, say Justin Bieber, would people start to sign-up to join ISIS or whatever terrorist group claimed responsibility for this? On the other hand, if this happened after, say, a Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney concert, would people be more concerned at this extreme "fundamentalism" that has been rampant around the world?
Say what you will about the political beliefs, mostly liberal, of not just current stars, but established ones such like Cher, Madonna, Green Day and Bruce Springsteen. But also, acknowledge that terrorism around the world is a bigger threat than ever. And it doesn't matter if the current President is "yours" or not. Or do we need another 9/11 to bring home that point? Because today it might just be an Ariana Grande concert. Tomorrow, it might be any concert, motion picture or other forms of entertainment as we know it. Wake up, everyone.
MALIBU MILEY: And, while I am on the subject of pop stars, there's Miley Cyrus. Once again, she is very vocal about her politics, being one of those who threatened to "leave the country" if the current President got elected. Of course, she didn't go anywhere. Cyrus, along with Bieber, seems to be the poster child for what is wrong with popular music nowadays. And much of it is deserved, although you need to admit that she, as most stars do, reinvented herself. She went from the innocence of the "Hanna Montana" era to the suggestive, steamy, twerking of the Wrecking Ball years. And, when she announced she was putting out a new song, I thought to myself, "who cares?".
Her new song, "Malibu" was performed on the Billboard Music Awards which aired on May 21, which I had no intention on watching. However, I did watch the season finale of The Voice on Tuesday, May 23, in which she again performed the song, and dedicated it to Grande and to the victims of the Manchester tragedy.
The question I posed to myself is, if this is an artist that you don't like or care for, and they come out with a song that blows you away, is it okay to jump aboard and support it? I ask this because, to be honest, "Malibu" just hit me hard when I saw the performance. I absolutely love this song. It's soulful, it's tearful. I might have said a few years ago that Cyrus had talent but, like Lady Gaga, she rarely utilized it. Well, we know what Gaga has done the last few years or so, but perhaps if this is Cyrus' new direction, I like it. I add the song at #48 this week, one behind the Top Debut. It's the fourth song of hers to make my list. "Party In the USA" was on my first blog list back into 2010, and remains her highest peak at #41, which she no doubt will break next week. In her "twerking" era, "Wrecking Ball" reached #49, while "We Can't Stop" from that album landed at #89.
KICKS, ROUND III: Foster the People has been one of my favorite acts of the 2010's and the blog era. Their big pop hit "Pumped Up Kicks" was my #2 song of 2011, from their debut Torches; they followed that up with two other SNS top 20 songs from that debut. Their second album Supermodel, while less successful in the pop world, spawned two SNS #1 songs, "Best Friend" and "Coming of Age", the latter of which was my #1 song in 2014, and the #2 "Are You What You Want to Be".
The band, however, was on record saying that their third album, perhaps trying to sell-out and pander to the pop world, would be more "hip-hop", and after listening to the lead single, the aptly-titled "Doing It For the Money", seemed to confirm that. It's an okay song, though and I will eventually add it. However, another of the three advanced tracks from the new album, "SHC" is the FTP of old, and with their success on my blog in the past and thirty for some of their new stuff, I immediately make it my Top Debut, at #47.
R.I.P.: We lost another key musician at such a young age. Chris Cornell, of the grunge-era Soundgarden, as well as part of the supergroup Audioslave (with members of Rage Against the Machine), was found dead, apparently by suicide (hanging), at the age of 52. He was also the front man for the important Seattle group Temple of the Dog which teamed him with several members that would become Pearl Jam. He had just finished a concert with Soundgarden at the Fox Theater in Detroit. His most well known songs include "Black Hole Sun", "Spoonman", "Burden in My Hand", and, as a solo artist, "Can't Change Me".
Finally, congratulations to The Voice winner Chris Blue. Actually, all four finalists put out some good music as their coronation singles, but my favorite is Aliyah Moulding, and I may add her single soon. Watch out for this 15-year old talent.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
May 14 &
21, 2017
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 2 | NUMBER ONE: 
"Push Off"
(Single Only)
|
12 |
| 2 | 1 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Get Right Back | 9 |
| 3 | 8 | Keith Urban f. Carrie Underwood - The Fighter | 12 |
| 4 | 9 | DMA's "Timeless | 10 |
| 5 | 11 | Phoebe Ryan - Dark Side | 9 |
| 6 | 5 | Christina Taylor - Don't Look Good in Your T-Shirt Anymore | 12 |
| 7 | 3 | Cage the Elephant - Cold Cold Cold | 11 |
| 8 | 4 | Lolo - Not Gonna Let You Walk Away | 11 |
| 9 | 6 | Ed Sheeran - Shape of You● | 13 |
| 10 | 7 | Tennis - Ladies Don't Play Guitar | 11 |
| 11 | 13 | Cold War Kids - Love Is Mystical | 8 |
| 12 | 10 | Electric Guest - Back For Me | 10 |
| 13 | 16 | Thomas Rhett - Star of the Show | 6 |
| 14 | 19 | LP - Lost on You | 7 |
| 15 | 18 | Kings of Leon - Reverend | 6 |
| 16 | 12 | Coin - I Don't Wanna Dance | 11 |
| 17 | 20 | Fleet Foxes - Third of May /Odargahara | 8 |
| 18 | 21 | MOVER OF THE WEEK:
"Fiend"
Album: Terraform
|
7 |
| 19 | 14 | The Hounds of Winter - Lesson Learned | 12 |
| 20 | 22 | Train- Play That Song | 11 |
|
|
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. 