It is a Friday as I begin to write this week's blog, which no doubt won't be completed until Saturday. Normally, I will start a day or so early to compile my current playlist, the Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100, but I had to make sure I waited until today, April 16. That's because not one, but two favorite indie bands, both long awaited, had new singles released today.
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| New Jersey-based ScreenAge released their new single, "North Star" to download and streaming platforms on April 16. The song is this week's Top Debut at #39. |
It's been awhile for both of them. But New Jersey's ScreenAge, and Long Beach California's Pageants both released songs today, and while neither band has ever made a national chart (at least yet, they are both deserving), for me, they both have some sort of history on my blog, and the front woman for each of them has set records in my almost eleven year history of SNS. ScreenAge, fronted by Emily MacMahon has its long-awaited follow-up to 2020's number one song, "Blue Eyed Addiction", "North Star", while Pageants, led by Rebecca Coleman, who hit #1 back in 2013 with "Musings of the Tide", release "All Bets Aside", their first output since 2019's "Will O' The Wisp". The songs debut at a high #39 and #42 respectively.
Let's start first with "North Star". The four-piece band that hails from Edison, Freehold, and Milltown in the Garden State had a very interesting teaser last week to promote their new song, their first in one year. And you gotta hand it to them for that: What looked like a daily countdown to perhaps a new song turned out to be not that, but instead an announcement. Turns out that "North Star" would be the single released on April 16, with their sophomore set DNR due on May 21. Both releases are part of a concept project in which I will explain below.
Hot on the heels of Ms. MacMahon's blog-topping song "Only Us", the band was feverishly completing their new project. And judging from "North Star", it seems the band was definitely influenced by that song. While not as slow as "Only Us", the song is indeed a mid-tempo/ballad and strays a bit from their alternative rock roots. But that is not a bad thing at all; if anything it shows the band's versatility, and the production, and texture is top notch. Once again, this song could have been released decades ago and fit right in, but the song is no copycat at all. It's hard to believe the members are barely, if at all, just out of their teens. Emily's voice is awesome, very unique and heartfelt. This is a well produced gem that only gets better with each and every listen.
As I mentioned above, the new album, the band's sophomore effort, following 2019's Station 42 is a concept album. As the band noted on its website, the album is about the different stages in life. Judging from the lead track "North Star", whose video consists of vintage clips of the band members as babies and kids growing up, the album purports to be an extensive effort to touch upon the various stages in life. Aside from Emily MacMahon on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards, the band also includes Alex D'amico on backing vocals, guitar, Joey Banwer on bass and backing vocals, and Sam Novotny on drums, sax and synthesizer.
When the album is released, I hope to do a review of it. In the meantime, you can check out the band's website: ScreenAge (screenageband.com)
The band is also documenting the making of the album in various episodes. They definitely seemed to enjoy themselves while making it. That can only be great news for us fans. They are attracting buzz from as far as London in the UK. You can view the first episode on their Facebook, Instagram, or their website.
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| Rebecca Coleman of Pageants. The duo has released a new single, "All Bets Aside" which debuts at #42. |
ALL BETS ON: While I had been anticipating ScreenAge's single for quite awhile, it was a pleasant surprise to see a new song from Pageants which debuted the same day. And while Emily MacMahon is one of only four artists in the blog era to nab a number one as both a solo artist and as part of a band, Pageants front Rebecca Coleman is the only artist to have blog number one's with two different bands. Her prior band Avi Buffalo grabbed the brass ring in 2010 with "What's In It For", and three years later with Pageants' "Musing of the Tide". Six of the band's songs have hit my blog, and all have reached the top 20, with five of them going top 10.
This is a significant and much welcome release for the band which consists of Ms. Coleman and Devin O'Brien. Last year, Rebecca came forward about being sexually assaulted and raped by her former band's frontman Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg back during that band's heyday. The band's label, Sub Pop, promptly deleted both of Avi Buffalo's albums from the marketplace.
Similar to "North Star" and perhaps a slight change from the band's rather raw but sweet alt rock, "All Bets Aside" is another rather dreamy song, The tempo chugs away with Rebecca's very sweet voice holding command throughout. She sounds a little bit like Phoebe Ryan, but more of a soft ambient rock vibe than Ms. Ryan's pop prowess. Her gentle keyboards combine with O'Brien's guitar work is soft but meld together nicely.
The video takes place in Ms. Coleman's bedroom (similar to what Vivian Girls did with "Take It As It Comes"), with Devin there as well. It seems sort of a "safe spot" for her and she comes across as happy in her own little world. I have been a fan of this band since its inception, and it would be nice if more people would discover them. Since they're based out in California, there's probably no chance of then making their way here anytime soon (pandemic or not). I would love to see more output from them. Aside from the singles released, I believe they have only released one album--2018's Forever which contains blog topper "Musing of the Tide", plus top tens "Chai" and Lingr". So glad to see Rebecca Coleman making music once more and being strong.
TO THE CHART: Fleet Foxes narrowly hold off Anna Lavigne's "Every kind of heaven" as "Sunblind" spends a second week at number one. The top 7 remain stagnant with only a little jostling for position. Boy Pablo moves 5-3 but is well behind the top two. Oneiric makes an impressive jump from 15-8, as does Jade Bird from 16-10. The Weeknd grabs his first blog solo top ten (he previously appeared in a duet with Ariana Grande) as "Save Your Tears" moves 13-9. Big movers in the next ten include Tytillidie (17-11) and Winnetka Bowling League (20-13). Beyond that, there are some good moves in the 30's with Elle King & Miranda Lambert, Lauren Davidson, LP, and The Neighbourhood.
ADDS: Aside from ScreenAge and Pageants, two other bands that are often compared to each other, in this case, the rare alternative to pop crossovers, enter the list: Twenty One Pilots and Imagine Dragons. Because of their more modern pop sensibility, neither really grabbed my attention--until perhaps now. The Pilots' "Shy Away" is a strong single for them. It probably won't score at pop because they are using real rock instruments but it should equal the blog success of 2017's top ten blogger "HeavyDirtySoul". It is their 14th entry onto my blog list, so that accounts for something.
Then we have Imagine Dragons with their 13th blog entry, "Follow You". Like the Pilots, they have one blog top ten, 2018's "Natural" ("Radioactive", their big hit, which holds the Billboard record for most weeks on the Hot 100 with 87, accumulated 41 weeks on SNS in three chart runs in spite of never getting higher than #49). While this song is more pop-slanted than 'Shy Away" with auto-tune and that hip-hop beat, it is a strong, instrumental-filled, rock-oriented approach, and should do well here. I gotta love the video on this one. It takes place in an empty concert hall (which looks a lot like Radio City in New York), with a girl leading her blindfolded boyfriend down the aisle to the front as a surprise birthday present with his favorite band. He thinks it's The Killers, but it turns out to be HER favorite, the Dragons. To be honest, this effort seems stronger than the Killers' recent material.
Also added is the latest by Moon Taxi, whose "Two High" hit #1 in 2018, with "Say". This is a more pop effort than that blog hit, actually not too far from the Imagine Dragons song. But the song is sung with some soul and melody and could make a sizable dent on my playlist. Love the "Say" chant throughout. Fiona Apple's "Shameika" somehow got through the cracks last year, as it was named a favorite alternative song by many. It won a Grammy, and better late than never, it is an add this week. Newcome Claud Mintz, who goes by his first name is from Brooklyn, NY and has released his debut single, "Soft Spot". He is signed to Phoebe Bridgers' label. The song has been added to many alternative playlists. Finally St. Vincent, which hit top 10 with "New York" in 2017-18 comes back with "Pay Your Way in Pain".
DISCOVERIES: In two of the last three blogs, I have referenced "Start the Commotion", a pseudo-instrumental recorded in 1998 by British EDM duo The Wiseguys. When it was featured in a Mitsubishi commercial in 2001, it was re-released and made my year-end top 10 (#6) that year. While it's not entirely an instrumental (there are vocal parts in it), I considered it one. It was mentioned a second time last week when I looked at my top ten for that year. Well, as it turns out, perhaps not surprisingly for a song in that genre, that most of the song was sampled from a 1960's song.
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| Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Ventures, whose 1966 album cut "Wild Child" was the impetus of EDMers The Wiseguys' 2001 song "Start the Commotion". |
In my blog on instrumentals I had mentioned The Ventures as one of the most successful instrumental bands of all time (if not THE most successful). Turns out that "Start the Commotion" borrows heavily from a 1966 album track by The Ventures, "Wild Child". The main beat and the guitar twang are from that song by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group. Let's face it: I may be into current music that makes up a good portion of this blog, but my heart rests with vintage 1960's music, and that perhaps explains why The Wiseguys song was so appealing to me. It's no coincidence either that artists that pay homage to that era, such as Nick Waterhouse, to name just one, are among my favorites.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
April 11, 2021
|
This Week |
Last
Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks
on List |
|
1 |
1 |
NUMBER ONE:  Album: Shore (2 weeks at #1) |
7 |
|
2 |
2 |
7 |
|
|
3 |
5 |
9 |
|
|
4 |
3 |
15 |
|
|
5 |
4 |
12 |
|
|
6 |
6 |
12 |
|
|
7 |
8 |
13 |
|
|
8 |
15 |
6 |
|
|
9 |
13 |
10 |
|
|
10 |
16 |
5 |
|
|
11 |
17 |
8 |
|
|
12 |
7 |
12 |
|
|
13 |
20 |
6 |
|
|
14 |
10 |
11 |
|
|
15 |
14 |
9 |
|
|
16 |
9 |
15 |
|
|
17 |
21 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  Album: Let the Bad Times Roll |
6 |
|
18 |
12 |
21 |
|
|
19 |
11 |
14 |
|
|
20 |
24 |
6 |
|
|
21 |
26 |
8 |
|
|
22 |
25 |
15 |
|
|
23 |
19 |
11 |
|
|
24 |
29 |
11 |
|
|
25 |
34 |
5 |
|
|
26 |
18 |
13 |
|
|
27 |
31 |
8 |
|
|
28 |
23 |
20 |
|
|
29 |
35 |
5 |
|
|
30 |
38 |
4 |
|
|
31 |
22 |
12 |
|
|
32 |
44 |
3 |
|
|
33 |
50 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  "Drunk (And I Don'tWant to Go Home)" (Single Only) |
3 |
|
34 |
27 |
14 |
|
|
35 |
46 |
4 |
|
|
36 |
47 |
7 |
|
|
37 |
28 |
15 |
|
|
38 |
30 |
13 |
|
|
39 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  Album: DNR |
1 |
|
40 |
37 |
9 |
|
|
41 |
32 |
14 |
|
|
42 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
43 |
41 |
10 |
|
|
44 |
40 |
6 |
|
|
45 |
39 |
13 |
|
|
46 |
33 |
10 |
|
|
47 |
56 |
5 |
|
|
48 |
49 |
4 |
|
|
49 |
48 |
Black Coffee ft. Maxine Ashley and Sun El Musician - You Need Me |
10 |
|
50 |
53 |
5 |
|
|
51 |
54 |
5 |
|
|
52 |
59 |
3 |
|
|
53 |
36 |
15 |
|
|
54 |
52 |
7 |
|
|
55 |
55 |
7 |
|
|
56 |
45 |
7 |
|
|
57 |
57 |
4 |
|
|
58 |
42 |
22 |
|
|
59 |
58 |
11 |
|
|
60 |
62 |
3 |
|
|
61 |
72 |
2 |
|
|
62 |
51 |
19 |
|
|
63 |
67 |
3 |
|
|
64 |
43 |
18 |
|
|
65 |
83 |
2 |
|
|
66 |
69 |
8 |
|
|
67 |
71 |
3 |
|
|
68 |
66 |
8 |
|
|
69 |
76 |
3 |
|
|
70 |
80 |
2 |
|
|
71 |
68 |
4 |
|
|
72 |
70 |
6 |
|
|
73 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
74 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
75 |
64 |
30 |
|
|
76 |
75 |
5 |
|
|
77 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
78 |
65 |
21 |
|
|
79 |
85 |
2 |
|
|
80 |
86 |
2 |
|
|
81 |
81 |
2 |
|
|
82 |
63 |
13 |
|
|
83 |
61 |
11 |
|
|
84 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
85 |
60 |
9 |
|
|
86 |
89 |
2 |
|
|
87 |
74 |
4 |
|
|
88 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
89 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
90 |
84 |
12 |
|
|
91 |
77 |
12 |
|
|
92 |
78 |
15 |
|
|
93 |
73 |
14 |
|
|
94 |
79 |
5 |
|
|
95 |
82 |
12 |
|
|
96 |
90 |
17 |
|
|
97 |
92 |
10 |
|
|
98 |
87 |
16 |
|
|
99 |
88 |
6 |
|
|
100 |
91 |
8 |
|
|
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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