STILL DOIN' TIME: I never know what to make of Lana Del Rey. She is an artist who has been around for much of the decade, but she is very had to classify. Nothing wrong with that; the best artists defy any classification. Except that her style as, for the most part, been rather consistent over the years that it sometimes perplexes me where she gets talked about, and what she's all about. I still think of her as a rather obscure artist, but at the same time, referred to like an established mainstream pop singer.
Born Elizabeth Grant, in New York, the 33-year old singer has been putting out music since her 2010 debut, and has had a varied career, but in success and her involvement in many facets of the business: aside from singing, she also produces, models, directs videos, songwriter and poet. She did make a favorable first impression on my with her first single, "Video Games", #12 on my SNS 100 in 2012. Her haunting presence and approach to her singing was pretty unique, soulful at times and making an impact. For this blogger, she reached her apex with "Ride", which spent a week at #1 here in 2013 despite not making the pop charts. She seemed to repeat that style over and over with subsequent releases; the follow-up, "Young and Beautiful", reached #10 here, and that was followed by "Summertime Sadness", going to #5 here. Neither of these reached the Billboard Hot 100, until an uptempo hip-hoppish remix of "Sadness" was released; that made the #6 position on the Hot 100. She also recorded duets with pop artist The Weeknd which also made some chart noise.
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| Lana Del Rey's new single, a cover of Sublime's "Doin' Time", has a freshness to it that was lacking in recent releases. |
Del Rey continued to pump out similar-sounding songs which gradually wore away at me. Critics labeled her music as "sadcore", which is a pretty accurate term for it. Still, I read really strange things about her that didn't make sense. I was on a Facebook fan page for Florence + the Machine, where it seems Florence Welch's fans were comparing her to Del Rey (and saying that Florence blows her away), and I am here, scratching my head, as I think they are two distinct artists; besides Welch is British, while Del Rey hails from the Empire State. She still had some decent chart positions on both my blog and Billboard, but her most recent output, namely 2017's Lust for Life, with the exception of the title track, was rather lame. Her 2018 release, Norman Fucking Rockwell, I completely ignored. Perhaps time for reinvention?
Del Rey, who currently lives in the beautiful town of Lake Placid, NY, just released a new single, a cover of Sublime's "Doin' Time", which is my Top Debut, coming in at #58. Granted, it was one of Sublime's slower-sounding songs, but with a loping, pulsating beat, it comes on as a refreshing change-of-page for her even though tempo-wise, it's consistent with her prior work. It is getting some significant airplay on Alternative stations. The instrumentation backing her put is richly produced but still compliments her voice. Look for a return to my top 20, and perhaps a decent chart position in Billboard's Hot 100. something she hasn't done since "Lust for Life".
MEANWHILE: Nick Waterhouse grabbs his third #1 here as "I Feel an Urge Coming On", finally plows thru all the competition despite no radio airplay or buzz. It's still a very tight race, as just two point separate the top three. Last week's chart-topper, Lil Peep's "I've Been Waiting", falls to #2, and The Black Keys' "Lo/Hi" to #3. Next week's #1 is anyone's guess, any of those three could be at the top, as they are miles ahead of the competition.
Fitz & the Tantrums' "123456" falls off considerably, but still holds on to the 4 spot, followed by Tame Impala's "Patience", bulleting to #5, and it could be the first new song to crack the top 4 in quite a while next week.
BEACH INVASION: Although my excitement over Carolina Beach Music has waned somewhat in the last couple of week, three songs in that genre nonetheless invade my top 20, headed by The Holiday Band's "Yours", grabbing the Impact honors with a 24-12 move, putting it one notch behind fellow beachers Too Much Sylvia's 'Got the Rhythm" moving 18-11; James Hunter Six's "Whatever It Takes" becomes that band's second top 20, moving 22-14. The other entries in the top 20 are also very diverse; with neo-reggae oputfit The Big Takeover's "Shy" grabbing Mover honors in a big 33-13 jump for the Motown-flavored song; Bebe Rexha's "Last Hurrah" grabs her third top 20, the slightly off-center pop song continues to impress. And Alex Zhang Hungtai's strange, haunting "Pierrot" moves 21-15, becoming his second top 20; his "Elizabeth's Theme", recorded under the name Dirty Beaches, hit #1 in 2012.
As for the debuts, behind Lana Del Rey is the new one by Winnetka Bowling League, the project headed by Matthew Koma, with "Kombucha". The band's debut, "On the 5" reached #6, but this one, which seems to be much-influenced by Beck, may have far more staying power. It echo's Beck's "Devil's Haircut" with a dash of The Who thrown in for good measure. It's a much more rocking tune as well, especially when contrasted with Koma's usual techno style. It's not the first time Koma has emulated Beck, his "Hard to Love" borrows from Beck's "Loser" towards the end of that song.
As for the rest of the debuts, an interesting cover of the Motown standard "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" ("I Can't Help Myself") by Kid Rock. Currently on the Beach Music charts, it was intriguing enough to add. With a pronounced steady, driving beat, which you can shag to, it's the most soulful Kid Rock has probably sounded. From his 2017 set, Sweet Southern Sugar, which also produced "American Rock and Roll" which reached #50 last year. But I can't help thinking about his rap-rock roots, like "Cowboy" or "Bawitdaba" and what a far cry his new song is from. I guess it's all "evolving". Also debuting this week are Mallrat, a female singer/rapper (real name: Grace Shaw) from Australia, with "Groceries"; Bastille, coming off a big hit "Happier", a duet with Marshmello, with "Joy", and a band with the intriguing name of I Don't Know How You Found Me, with "Choke".
MORE WOODSTOCK 50 HEADACHES: You might be wondering what the latest is with the planned 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival. As you may recall, it was having all sorts of problems with various promoters pulling out of the three day event, and the search to replace them. But, on June 10, the biggest obstacle yet has put a dagger in the event: Watkins Glen International, which was to host the event, has cancelled its contract with the event, leaving Woodstock 50 without a home. Immediately after, yet another promoter, CID Entertainment, also pulled out of the festival. With just over two months until the planned weekend, there are talks regarding another host site. Let's hope this one is closer to the original site. Of course, if you remember, finding a site for the original 1969 festival was a problem as well. Will history repeat itself.
The drama continues.
DOWN THE ROAD: As I have been lagging behind lately, next week's blog, dated June 16 will be pretty much a straight SNS 100 chart. In the coming weeks, I will blog about the latest musical inductees to the New Jersey Hall of Fame. I also hope to do a blog about Roselle Park's Tom Corea, a local producer and musician who has a studio in his North Jersey home. Of course, if there is any significant music news, I will jump on it!
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
June 9,
2019
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 3 |
NUMBER ONE:
Album: Nick Waterhouse
|
8 |
| 2 | 1 | Lil Peep and IloveMakonnen f Fall Out Boy - I've Been Waiting | 10 |
| 3 | 2 | The Black Keys - Lo/Hi● | 11 |
| 4 | 4 | Fitz and the Tantrums - 123456 | 9 |
| 5 | 6 | Tame Impala - Patience | 7 |
| 6 | 5 | AJR - 100 Bad Days | 10 |
| 7 | 8 | Jonas Brothers - Sucker | 9 |
| 8 | 16 | Beck - Saw Lightning | 5 |
| 9 | 7 | Slothrust - Rotten Pumpkin | 13 |
| 10 | 13 | Catfish and the Bottlemen - Longshot | 8 |
| 11 | 18 | Too Much Sylvia - Got the Rhythm | 6 |
| 12 | 24 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
Album: Backs Against the Wall
|
5 |
| 13 | 33 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:
"Shy"
(Single Only)
|
3 |
| 14 | 22 | James Hunter Six - Whatever It Takes | 6 |
| 15 | 21 | Alex Zhang Hungtai - Pierrot | 9 |
| 16 | 14 | Foster the People - Style | 9 |
| 17 | 20 | Beck f Robyn and The Lonely Island - Super Cool | 8 |
| 18 | 25 | Bebe Rexha - Last Hurrah | 7 |
| 19 | 9 | Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper - Shallow | 23 |
| 20 | 12 | The Kooks - Chicken Bone● | 15 |
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.
¨ Songs with 100 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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