Let's face it: Music has two facets...the song itself, and the memories it creates. Perhaps a song or band that is much-maligned by critics as 'artistic ineptitude' might be the song that someone fell in love with, spent a memorable moment with, or simply reminds oneself of a great time.
This past Saturday, August 19, my wife and myself invited 12 friends over to our home for a barbecue and party. All of the guests had one thing in common: They were from my hometown of Roselle Park and most of them traveled the hour ride from that area to get here. And while one or two of those people I do remember going to school with back in the 1970's, most of them I've only known during the last few years (thank you, Facebook!). And just, in those last several years, these people became my family.
It was a nice sunny day as the gang---who I affectionately refer to as "the Posse"--made their way up here. There was beer, soda, munchies, various salads and appetizers, and then burgers, hot dogs, everything you'd expect. And then there, of course, was the music.
No good event is without a soundtrack, and that morning, I sifted through close to 5000 songs on my iPod to make a playlist for the event. When you do this, you have to know your audience, and even though I didn't know most of these people back in the day, I did think I knew what they liked; heck I was actually there in high school as this memorable music took place. So, for the most part, I combined popular music from the 1960's, along with much of the progressive and classic rock from the early 1970's, and that formed the basis of the music we heard. Around 3:30 when the first guests arrived, I put the think on shuffle and the seven and a half hour playlist was in progress.
Where it was the luck of the random draw, the music was a hit. Some of the gang....mainly the gals from the Class of '72 and '73 were singing and dancing on our deck to the tunes of "See You In September" (The Happenings, 1966), "Let's Hang On" (Four Seasons, 1965), "Too Lake To Turn Back Now" (Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, 1972), and "Lightning Strikes" (Lou Christie, 1966), among many, many others.
I did throw in a few newer tunes as well, including "Malibu" and a couple of others, but they played after people had left. However there was one song that a friend loved that she hadn't heard before: "It's Time" by Nick Waterhouse, included because of its retro sound. Gail Bradley, who I have mentioned in this blog several times before, as she has championed music from all eras, including the pop and alternative songs of today, had asked me who did this song. I mentioned it was Nick Waterhouse and that it is a new song (actually it came out in late 2016, hut it's current enough). She loved the song.
And while the other songs they loved will, perhaps will remind me of our barbecue, they will always remind me of growing up in the 60's, while "It's Time" will now be linked to what had to be the event of our summer.
It was a fantastic time that we had, with friends I call "family" and how us from our hometown of Roselle Park do "stick together". A big thanks to those who shared that Saturday afternoon and evening with.
TOP OF THE SNS POPS: While Trapdoor Social's "Winning as Truth" spends a second week at the top, two songs "endorsed" by Gail in recent weeks bullet in the top 4: "It's Time" because of the party, rebounds and re-bullets back to #2; the song had spend a single week at the top two weeks ago. And Portugal. The Man's "Feel It Still", a song she also posted last week, continues to move up. The song, which spends its 9th week at the top of Billboard's Alternative chart, moves from #7 to #74 in it's 18th chart week. Even more impressive is that the song is a major entry on the Billboard Hot 100, where it moves from 30 to 27. This could be the latest "novelty" alternative crossover, following "Pumped Up Kicks" or "Safe and Sound" and others. The band, a longtime SNS fave going back to 2011, seems to making inroads into popularity, which I love to see.
Sandwiches in between those two songs is Fitz and the Tantrums' "Fool" which moves from 5 to 3, becoming that outfit's 11th consecutive song to make the top 3. The bad news is that it's unbulleted and is far off the top two. Unless it picks up steam, it will end the band's streak of #1 songs at six. Dan Auerbach's "Shine On Me" rounds out the top 5.
Tennis gets it's fourth straight top 20 as "In the Morning I'll Be Better" moves 22-12. Matthew Koma rebounds from the disappointing "Kisses Back" as "Hard to Love" (26-20), it's his third SNS top 20 as lead performer; he was also featured on The Knocks' "I Wish", which peaked at #6 this spring.
"Despacito", the Spanish-language song by Luis Ponsi and Daddy Yankee (with English lyrics by Justin Bieber), spends at 15th week at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 and is making strides at SNS with a jump from 65 to 48 in its fourth week. The song is one away from tying the Hot 100 record for most weeks at #1, which is 16, set by "One Sweet Day" by Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey, from 1994. It will be, without a doubt, Billboard's #1 song of the summer there, but with a new Taylor Swift release in a couple of week, it might prevent a record being set. Stay tuned on that.
Local favorite Phoebe Ryan, still trying to crack the Hot 100 as a lead performer (she had charted as a featured artist on a Chainsmokers song last year), is back yet again with her latest, "Forgetting All About You". It's her eight appearance on the SNS 100 in 2017: Four as lead artist (including the new song which features Blackbear) and four as featured artist. Will this song, definitely fitting the pop scene while breaking barriers with it, be the one to finally break her? She enters at #84. The War on Drugs, an indie band from Philadelphia, enter with "Holding On"; the band previously made my list in 2014 with the #77 "Red Eyes".
While The Cranberries might be thought as an over the hill 1990's band, they are still producing some great songs in the 2010's. This week, they debut with "Why" from their seventh album Something Else. Led by Delores O'Riordan, the Irish band's previous album , 2012's Roses, yielded "Tomorrow", which topped the SNS 100 for two weeks in early 2013. Cold War Kids have a new single with Bishop Briggs, "Can We Hang On" that has entered the charts, but I add another cut from L.A. Devine, "Invincible". The Arkells' have their third SNS entry with "Knocking At the Door" and New Jerseyan Charlie Puth's latest pop top ten hit "Attention" has garnered my attention as it debuts at #99. St Vincent's "New York", a Tremor last week, also enters the big chart, as does Demi Lovato's "Sorry Not Sorry".
FINAL NOTE: Beth Ditto's "I Wrote the Book" is the Mover of the Week as it rises from 88-58. The techno throwback, which I thought was her new single, as it turned out was from a 2011 extended play, appropriately titled EP. As I was not familiar with neither the song nor the artist, formally in the band Gossip, I am sticking with the song which is infectious. It is not unusual for me to add songs which have been around for several years, after all, it's all about my discovery, not the actually released date. She does have a new single, "Fire" from her current album Fake Sugar. I will add that song in a few weeks.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
August 20, 2017
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE: 
"Winning
As Truth"
Album: Trapdoor Social
(2 weeks at #1)
|
9 |
| 2 | 3 | Nick Waterhouse - It's Time● | 10 |
| 3 | 5 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Fool | 6 |
| 4 | 7 | Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still● | 18 |
| 5 | 2 | Dan Auerbach - Shine on Me | 9 |
| 6 | 4 | Miley Cyrus - Malibu● | 11 |
| 7 | 6 | Twenty-One Pilots - HeavyDirtySoul | 16 |
| 8 | 12 | Pageants - Lingr | 9 |
| 9 | 9 | Pop Etc - Routine | 11 |
| 10 | 13 | Foxygen - On Lankershim | 7 |
| 11 | 15 | Saint Motel - Sweet Talk | 7 |
| 12 | 22 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"In the Morning
I'll Be Better"
Album: Yours Conditionally
|
5 |
| 13 | 10 | Keith Urban f. Carrie Underwood - The Fighter▲ | 22 |
| 14 | 17 | Øffguard - Maybe | 8 |
| 15 | 8 | The Hounds of Winter - I Get You● | 14 |
| 16 | 11 | Foster the People - SHC● | 11 |
| 17 | 14 | LP - Lost on You● | 17 |
| 18 | 16 | Jake Owen - Good Company | 9 |
| 19 | 21 | Middle Kids - Edge of Town | 17 |
| 20 | 26 | Matthew Koma - Hard to Love | 8 |
Tremors:
101. Zedd and Alessia Cara - "Stay"
|
|
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.
The “Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100” is a list
of current and recent song playlist which I am listening to.
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