It's been a cold week as I write this week's blog. I added eleven songs to my playlist this week (two of which were supposed to be new last week but didn't sort them into my spreadsheet. Some interesting debuts which run the gamut from an ex-Beatle to a conglomerate of musicians spread out over the continent, to some other cool stuff.
Starting off with a look at the latest SNS 100 blog playlist, Bakar still rules the roost, with "1st Time" logging its sixth week at the top, holding off Elise Farnsworth's "Pixie Dust" by just a couple of points. "1st Time" is aided by its rise to the top of Billboard's Triple-A chart; the British artist's second in a row to accomplish that feat--"Hell N Back" also attained the lead spot there, while hitting #3 on my list last year.
The six weeks logged at the top match Pepper's "Change", which ruled my summer of 2020 for the most weeks in pole position in the last six years. The last song to hit six weeks at the top before that was "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran back in 2015. Four songs have stayed at the top longer: There is a three-way tie with seven weeks, by "Screws Get Loose" by Those Darlins; "Out of My League" by Fitz & the Tantrums; and "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" by Pink. The all time leader is The Black Keys' "Fever" which made it 8 weeks back in 2014.
So, can Bakar get a seventh week? It's a possibility, although "Pixie Dust" and the #3 song "Headstart" by Jade Bird have a chance as well. Five female artists, incidentally are behind Bakar; aside from Farnsworth and Bird, Shannon Marsyada ("The Road", dropping a notch to #4 but still gaining points); Gia Ness ("Across the Universe") moving up a notch to #5; and finally Emily MacMahon making a big jump from 16-6 with "Only Us", which could be a couple weeks away from the top spot. Other big jumps include "Fire For You" by Cannons (15-7, Billboard's #1 alternative song this week); "Crybaby" by Ariel Pink (18-10), and Tinkers Lane's "Honey Honey" (Impact award, 32-14).
Now for the debuts: David F. Porfirio grabs Top Debut honors with his third entry "That Night on Bergenline" coming in at #60. While the sound might be similar on the surface to "Driving at Dusk" and "Evening at the Pier" (both of which are still on the playlist), as it features his guitar and the unique percussion (what is it? Sounds like an electric/steel bass drum of sorts), this actually might be his best. The prog leanings are pretty much jettisoned for a guitar jam, punctuated by that percussion, but arranged in a more catchy, rhythmic way. His guitar playing echoes Eddie Van Halen at times, and Carlos Santana or Terry Kath at others. It's a groovin' track, for sure. And while the first two songs suddenly shift tempo and style in the middle before returning for the last portions, I was waiting for the inevitable switch in the middle of the song; it didn't come. Instead, there is a much subtle switch for the last minute of the song as it goes to a rhythmic combo of percussion, reminiscent in a way of the outro of Chicago's "Beginnings", although of a deeper texture than that song. While his first two songs are pretty much for listening (or driving), this one you could actually dance and groove to.
A new artist discovery is next, with "Space Girl" by Frances Forever. The singer, whose real name is Frances Garrett, is from Boston and had released a debut EP Pockets, in 2018. This new single has a great good-timey pop sensibility to it, and is in the vein of artists such as Caroline Rose, King Princess and Courtney Barnett. It starts out rather up-tempo and sugary but evolves into a slow, dreamy thing. While I am not sure whether this is Garrett solo (her web page suggests that this is a group), production from Beach Bunny (of "Prom Queen" fame) and Orion Sun, make this song a winner.
HOUNDS AROUND THE WORLD: The next debut comes from a project that involves many musicians spanned around the continent and perhaps the world as well. Tom Corea, who if you're a regular blog reader, has had during his musical career many projects including his own studio, producing, writing and performing both live and in the studio, most notably with The Hounds of Winter, had, during the pandemic, contributed drums and percussion to many artists scattered around the world, which now has been seeing their release. Corea recently posted many songs which were part of collaborations with different artists, that fit together thanks to a website called SoundBlend. The site enables musicians to come together from different parts of the world and contribute various pieces that fit together. The songs, available for download for 99 cents, list the contributing musicians involved, as opposed to a group name. One of the songs, "Broken", for example was done with Tom, along with some of his Hounds of Winter cohorts with Israeli artist Gal Hornstein. The track I am featuring, "One More Time" was done with pretty much the same lineup as the recent holiday song "Is It Over Yet?", with core Hounds members Corea, Steve Roman (who sings lead and wrote the lyrics) and Mario Licata; plus Steve Shouse (from the state of Kansas, who wrote the music) and Richard Bradley from Toronto.
As for the song, it combines a vintage tempo (even doo-wop-ish at times) with what is probably Roman's strongest vocals yet. A very palatable guitar as well, makes this a worthy entry. Incidentally, as mentioned above, technically this contingent doesn't have an official band name, but since Corea mentioned that this is pretty much the same group of musicians that developed "Is It Over Yet?", I used the name The Hounds of Winter, for now. The song enters at #70.
Next is the latest from Kings of Leon, "The Bandit". For me, this is a rather underrated band, that, even though they've had much success (and in fact, 2009's "Use Somebody" is one of the last guitar-driven rock bands to have a top 10 Billboard pop hit), it's been a while since we've heard from the Nashville TN band, but this song, from their forthcoming When You See Yourself, is right up the band's alley that has a rock, yet melodic and gutsy feel to it. The band has five top 10 blog hits, and this one is a good bet to make it number six.
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| Paul McCartney's latest album McCartney III is, in keeping with the first two self-titled albums, is one that he plays all the instruments himself. |
MACCA DIY: Next is the first (as a lead artist) blog entry from the legendary Sir Paul McCartney, "Find My Way". While everyone knows who this ex-Beatle is, he still has a sort of mystique about him when it comes to music. McCartney, who had appeared on my blog list as a featured performer (along with Kanye West) on "FourFive Seconds", has released his latest album McCartney III. Of course, Macca has had more than three solo records out, but the premise of this, like 1970's McCartney, and 1980's McCartney II, is that he sings and plays all the instruments. And while he's noted as a songwriter and guitarist, he is talented at many other instruments, most notably drums and keyboards; heck, he even played drums on a couple Beatles tracks when Ringo Starr walked out of a session. The78 year old legend's single off of the album, is a worthy gem, and although it's just him, it's pretty much a fully produced effort. McCartney, as opposed to his late bandmate John Lennon, has had more of a whimsical side to them, and it's pretty much evident here. I had the pleasure of catching him in concert at Landover Field in 2009 when he put on a three hour show. While no one would accuse Sir Paul of being "underrated", the fact that he's still making music at his age, shows how dedicated he is, and not willing to rest on his laurels.
Also added this week are Scottish band Baby Strange's "More! More! More!"; "Radical" from Awolnation; The Jacks' "Just a Little Bit", and "Family Farm" by The Hold Steady. The latest from Foster the People and Cold War Kids, mistakenly omitted last week, are also added. Re-entering this week is "Bang" by AJR, which had a 29-week run on my blog, peaking at #15. The catalyst for its re-entry is that it's the latest "novelty" alternative cross-over to the pop chart, currently at #9 on the Hot 100, making it the first such song since Panic! at the Disco's "High Hopes" to score on that chart.
PASSINGS: We had a slew of deaths over these past two weeks, encompassing many phases of entertainment. Actress Cloris Leachman, had a long and brilliant career with many television and film roles, most notably as Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and starring in Young Frankenstein. She was 96 years old. Hank Aaron was a legendary Hall of Fame baseball player who, among other accomplishments, hit 755 career home runs and broke Babe Ruth's record. He was 86. Sonny Fox, noted mainly for hosting the classic children's show Wonderama, was 95.
Two music-related passings include Phil Spector, the producer who was most noted for his "wall of sound" and his involvement in many of the "girl groups" such as the Ronettes and Crystals, as well as Darlene Love, and later was involved in producing The Beatles' Let It Be, as well as solo John Lennon and George Harrison albums, as well as working with acts as disparate as The Righteous Brothers and The Ramones. Eventually he was accused of murder and spent the final 12 years of his life in prison. He was 81. And finally Tim Bogert, who grew up Ridgefield NJ, and was a journeyman bassist and vocalist, most notably with psychedelic rockers Vanilla Fudge, passed due to cancer. He was 76. Aside from Vanilla Fudge, he was also in the trio Beck, Bogert, Appice, along with Jeff Beck and Fudge-bandmate Carmen Appice. He was also part of Bob Weir's (of Grateful Dead) side project Bobby & the Midnites in the 1980's. Bogert was active until 2014 when he was part of the hard rock band Hollywood Monsters.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
January 24, 2021
|
This Week |
Last
Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks
on List |
|
1 |
1 |
NUMBER ONE:  "1st Time" (Single Only) (6 weeks at #1) |
11 |
|
2 |
2 |
10 |
|
|
3 |
4 |
10 |
|
|
4 |
3 |
6 |
|
|
5 |
6 |
9 |
|
|
6 |
16 |
4 |
|
|
7 |
15 |
6 |
|
|
8 |
12 |
11 |
|
|
9 |
7 |
10 |
|
|
10 |
19 |
3 |
|
|
11 |
5 |
12 |
|
|
12 |
9 |
19 |
|
|
13 |
8 |
12 |
|
|
14 |
32 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  (Single Only) |
4 |
|
15 |
11 |
10 |
|
|
16 |
18 |
7 |
|
|
17 |
20 |
15 |
|
|
18 |
10 |
11 |
|
|
19 |
13 |
13 |
|
|
20 |
14 |
13 |
|
|
21 |
21 |
9 |
|
|
22 |
26 |
8 |
|
|
23 |
30 |
7 |
|
|
24 |
29 |
10 |
|
|
25 |
34 |
4 |
|
|
26 |
17 |
11 |
|
|
27 |
25 |
14 |
|
|
28 |
43 |
3 |
|
|
29 |
39 |
5 |
|
|
30 |
31 |
27 |
|
|
31 |
27 |
21 |
|
|
32 |
28 |
10 |
|
|
33 |
22 |
11 |
|
|
34 |
41 |
4 |
|
|
35 |
46 |
4 |
|
|
36 |
23 |
20 |
|
|
37 |
24 |
14 |
|
|
38 |
58 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  Album: Waiting For Tomorrow |
2 |
|
39 |
33 |
16 |
|
|
40 |
36 |
17 |
|
|
41 |
44 |
18 |
|
|
42 |
52 |
5 |
|
|
43 |
54 |
3 |
|
|
44 |
40 |
13 |
|
|
45 |
51 |
4 |
|
|
46 |
48 |
8 |
|
|
47 |
38 |
19 |
|
|
48 |
45 |
20 |
|
|
49 |
37 |
Christina Alessi & the Toll Collectors - Where the River Flows |
13 |
|
50 |
42 |
15 |
|
|
51 |
47 |
16 |
|
|
52 |
50 |
16 |
|
|
53 |
49 |
9 |
|
|
54 |
56 |
7 |
|
|
55 |
63 |
3 |
|
|
56 |
60 |
3 |
|
|
57 |
35 |
9 |
|
|
58 |
61 |
3 |
|
|
59 |
62 |
3 |
|
|
60 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  (Single Only) |
1 |
|
61 |
77 |
2 |
|
|
62 |
68 |
3 |
|
|
63 |
70 |
2 |
|
|
64 |
72 |
2 |
|
|
65 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
66 |
53 |
25 |
|
|
67 |
55 |
36 |
|
|
68 |
64 |
4 |
|
|
69 |
75 |
2 |
|
|
70 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
71 |
67 |
4 |
|
|
72 |
66 |
8 |
|
|
73 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
74 |
59 |
20 |
|
|
75 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
76 |
79 |
2 |
|
|
77 |
76 |
3 |
|
|
78 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
79 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
80 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
81 |
65 |
21 |
|
|
82 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
83 |
74 |
23 |
|
|
84 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
85 |
82 |
21 |
|
|
86 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
87 |
71 |
17 |
|
|
88 |
73 |
20 |
|
|
89 |
57 |
5 |
|
|
90 |
69 |
7 |
|
|
91 |
78 |
20 |
|
|
92 |
80 |
23 |
|
|
93 |
81 |
24 |
|
|
94 |
RE ENTRY |
30 |
|
|
95 |
83 |
23 |
|
|
96 |
84 |
6 |
|
|
97 |
85 |
15 |
|
|
98 |
86 |
10 |
|
|
99 |
87 |
8 |
|
|
100 |
88 |
22 |
|
|
Songs with the greatest increase in
favorite points over the prior week. ●
Songs with
25 or more plays on iTunes/iPods ▲ Songs with 50 or more plays.
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