I am back. As I hinted at a couple of weeks ago, I was going to take a week's hiatus as my plate was pretty loaded recently. I had gone on a geocaching road trip onto Upstate New York, first at Cooperstown then around the Finger Lakes, Oswego on Lake Ontario and the Sackets Harbor/Watertown area, and finally Scranton PA. Except for some showers on the first day, and some rain early on the last day, I had some really nice weather. It was a bit chilly on the way up but warmed up nicely the middle two days and even the final day was nice in the afternoon and evening, as this unusually mild autumn continues. Music didn't really play a part, except for having my iPod on shuffle in the car, but during a stop at the Sackets Harbor Brewery, they piped in some really cool soul and R&B music, both past and present. It was nice hearing music from the likes of Kool and the Gang, Sly and the Family Stone and other classics, but surprisingly, much of the music was from this past decade. A few songs that I discovered last week:
"Easy to Come Home", Dojo Cuts
"Strictly Reserved For You", Charles Bradley
"Coming Home to You", Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics
Spine chillin' retro soul....check them out!
DUA LEAP-AS TO THE TOP: Dua Lipa's "Love Again" takes pole position on this week's SNS 100 playlist, switching places with Maneskin's "Beggin'" which drops to #2. However, in the real world, "Beggin'" has the upper hand, scoring a fourth week at #1 on the Alternative chart, and holding at #15 on the Hot 100, while "Love Again" drops to #61, superseded by Ms. Lipa's duet with Elton John, which sits at #21 on the big chart and #32 here. The two songs are within a point of each other on my playlist and either could be the chart topper next week. With an outside chance is Halsey's "You Asked For This", which jumps 12-4. It's quite possible that one pop star could unseat another, although the Halsey tune is definitely rock. The rest of the top 10 is pretty flat, except that Tim Izzard's "Watching For the Man" moves 11-8, netting him his second top 10 and topping the #9 peak of "Night Nurse".
In the second ten, it's Bakar, Fleet Foxes (Impact award) and Winnetka Bowling League, the latter surpassing their "Barcelona" and returning to the top 20 with "Pulp", as the new entries in the upper echelon.
THE PROS AND CONS OF ADELE: In my last blog, I talked about Adele's new single "Easy on Me" and its chances at success, given the change in music style (and music composition) over the six years since the British songstress last released music. Here, she garners the Mover award, going from 43 to 22. I was a bit concerned last week when the song debuted at #68 on the Hot 100 (after I predicted it would bow at #1), and although the song debuted (high, in many cases), on Top 40, Hot AC, Adult Contemporary and even Triple-A, perhaps the lackluster entry on the Hot 100 would suggest that the downloaders and streamers aren't along for the ride. Well, a look at the charts doesn't really tell the whole story when just seeing its position.
Apparently, when the cut off date of that week in Billboard chart came, the song had been available for.......four hours! In just four hours (as compared to 7 days for everything else), "Easy on Me" made a debut on the Hot 100! Well, as you could guess, this week, it jumps up to #1. And it is top ten on the radio formats I mentioned above, including a #6 on Triple-A and Hot AC, and #14 on Top 40. Still, there is a mixed opinion on the song. When I first heard it, I thought it was good, just okay but got stronger with a few more listens.
Rick Beato, who runs a podcast on YouTube discussed the song and loved it, saying that nobody else releases a song like this anymore....her vocals are real--not autotuned--- as well as the piano and bass arrangements. Adele wrote the song and it was from the heart and sings it that way. Beato mentions that in this day and age, it's a breath of fresh air in an era of techno-produced music. The song has slight flaws but that's what makes it great because it's a human production, after all.
You can watch his YouTube video here:
But not everyone shares that opinion. A friend posted an article which posed a question to the singer: What was more of an influence? The Beatles or Spice Girls. Adele responded the Spice Girls; the famed girl group that she grew up with. While I understand that you stay with when you listened to as a kid, I can safely say that Adele sounds NOTHING like the Spice Girls. Yes, I get the "girl power" thing at all, but pretty much the only trend that the Spices set were the choreographed, auto-tuned, drum machine, artists-not-playing-their instruments, trend. One friend responded that she hated "Hello", and the general consensus was that her early stuff, namely her 2008 debut, was awesome, and that she went downhill after that. Even I laid that argument down and said that in my last blog as well as commenting on that post.
"Easy On Me" is a good song, otherwise I wouldn't have moved it up my playlist (although it's far behind where "Hello" was in its second week). Much of this increase is hype; heck you want to join in on the party. But there is something lacking in this song, though nicely done, when you compare it to 2008's 19 set or even 2011's 21, which had my #1 song of that year (and the decade), "Rolling in the Deep". The song scored points because it's written and done the old fashioned way, but how much of it differs from that of her previous album 25, remains to be seen. I will continue to monitor the song.
BRANDON? Which leads me to the next topic. It's a given that "Easy on Me" is a top selling and streaming song, given its rapid rise to the top of the Hot 100, but she apparently has competition in Brandon....and I don't mean Brandon Flowers of the band The Killers which by the way debuts here with "Quiet Town". Seems that on the iTunes charts this week, "Easy on Me" is only #3. So, what are 1 and 2?
Well, apparently they are two different songs with the same name: "Let's Go Brandon". One is by Loza Alexander, and the other is by Bryson Gray featuring Tyson James and Chandler Crump. The former actually debuts on the Hot 100 at #45. So, who the heck is "Brandon"?
Well, if you've been watching social media, online news and even sports events, this is actually an anti-President Joe Biden chant. Seems that a few weeks ago, NASCAR driver Brandon Brown won a race in Talladega, Alabama. The chant that had been permeating several sports events to that point was "F**k Joe Biden", which the crowd was chanting that day. When Brown was being interviewed by NBC reporter Kelly Stavast, amidst that chant, she mentioned that the crowd was cheering for Brown, thinking they were chanting "Let's Go Brandon". Since then, "Let's Go Brandon" has been a mocking chant which really is an attack on the current president.
Of course, music and politics have long been linked to each other. During the Watergate era, amidst calls for Richard Nixon to resign (which he eventually did), many songs, particularly R&B in nature, were attacks on him: Stevie Wonder's "You Haven't Done Nothing" and Lamont Dozier's 'Fish Ain't Biting" have direct or indirect references to Nixon. Then of course there was the prior president, Donald Trump. While there were no hit songs about him (to my knowledge), many performers dissed The Donald at many concerts and award shows. Such songs as Gary Clark Jr.'s "This Land" and Hegazy's "Here to Stay" referred to either his policies, his followers, or the general social climate under Trump.
But former American Idol contestant Allison Iraheta seems to have had the most vicious attack on the former president. Songs by her bands Halo Circus and Fuhm lash at him head on. "Narcissist" and "Send Out the Clown" no-holds barred are anti-Trump. Although none of these songs charted, they did hit my playlist; in fact "Narcissist" made my top 10, while "Send Out the Clown" reached #87. "Here to Stay", about the "Dreamers" (not the band that debuts this week) who come here and not documented, hit #1.
So, it seems that the "Let's Go Brandon" songs are the "answer" of sorts to those attacking Trump. But it's not the first; Aaron Lewis' "Am I The Only One", about the left-fueled 'cancel culture' invading traditional American values, reached #62 here a couple weeks back and is #90 this week, it also resided on the lower rungs of the country chart, obviously the more conservative ones. Unlike the Iraheta and other songs, these seem to be making the charts. "Am I The Only One" debuted at #15 in July and dropped off after two weeks. And as mentioned above, the Loza Alexander song debuts this week and both versions are 1-2 on iTunes. That version is pretty much a chant throughout, while the Gray version has lyrics to it. Will these fade after a couple of weeks, or will they hit the Top 10? Both songs are hip-hop in nature. So, will I add either of them? I guess if these hit the top rungs of the national charts, maybe but for now, I'm on the sidelines.
One final thing...there was a neutral topical song on my list in 2016 that "attacked" both sides. That would be "Bad Hombres and Nasty Women" by Gregory Brothers featuring 'Weird Al' Yankovic. Released during that election season and the nasty debates, the song reached #12 on my blog then fell off quickly.
VIDEO 'BOY': Christina Taylor has finally released a video for her latest single "Damn Boy", which moves 31-26 this week; the video replaces the lyric one and the change has been updated on my playlist. Ms. Taylor is still heavily promoting the song, but it still hasn't cracked any major charts. C'mon country stations, this is a great song, get with the program!
DEBUTS: Six this week, with most of them having a rhythmic beat to it, in various forms. Leading the way is the latest from Leon Bridges, "Steam". After coming on the scene with the retro-sounding "Coming Home", he has been more on the contemporary lane since, and "Steam", while it might have some 80's overtones, is pretty "current", and in a good way. His best in a while. I was wondering what happened to St. Paul and the Broken Bones; I had thought about them since they remind me of Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats which have been on the charts again. Fear not they are back. The band has kept their bluesy sensibility, but in a more contemporary rhythmic beat, similar to the Bridges song. The next two bands that traditionally were rock have also entered the rhythm area, thanks to supporting artists. Dreamers team up with rapper Big Boi for their latest, "Palm Reader" which has that hip-hop influence, but the band hasn't totally abandoned their rock base. And Coldplay gets together with K-Pop sensation BTS, with "My Universe". It's the Korean boy band's blog debut, and the song debuted at #1 a couple weeks ago; Coldplay's first since 2008. Not bad at all.
Finally, it's the "other Brandon"....Flowers and his band The Killers with "Quiet Town", and perhaps the only non-rhythmic song among the debuts is Blake Shelton's "Come Back As A Country Boy".
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| Singer Jay Black who fronted Jay and the Americans, passed away at the age of 82. |
MANY MAGIC MOMENTS: Finally last week we lost a pop music legend, Jay Black. Black, the leader of the band Jay & the Americans, died from pneumonia at the age of 82, but had suffered from dementia in recent years.
Jay and the Americans had hits spanning the decade of the 1960's, although Black wasn't the original lead singer. Jay Traynor was the original leader, with the band getting their first hit "She Cried", in 1962. However, Traynor, after two unsuccessful releases, left the band. They then recruited a singer named David Blatt, but since the band name was JAY and the Americans, he changed it to the stage name of Jay Black. Their first hit with Black singing lead was "Only in America" in 1963. But like many American bands back then, they took a dive with the advent of Beatlemania, but by the end of 1964, recovered for a nice string of hits like "Come a Little Bit Closer", "Let's Lock the Door (and Throw Away the Key)", "Cara Mia", and "Some Enchanted Evening", a song originally from the musical South Pacific.
After cooling off again, they had one last big hit in 1969 with "This Magic Moment", and a final top 20 with a personal fave "Walking in the Rain", which reached #19 in early 1970. The band toured extensively, and at one time included future Steely Dan members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. The hits stopped coming, but the group toured, usually in oldies packages throughout the decade. Black started using his full name when fronting the band (as Jay Traynor also toured), until he was forced to give up the rights to the Americans name. in 2006 (although he still performed solo under his stage name Jay Black), at which time he was replaced by a third "Jay", John "Jay" Reincke. Black performed solo until around 2017 when he reportedly he was suffering from dementia.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
October 17 and 24, 2021
|
This Week |
Oct 10 |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks
on List |
|
1 |
2 |
NUMBER ONE:  Album: Future Nostalgia |
10 |
|
2 |
1 |
9 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
11 |
|
|
4 |
12 |
7 |
|
|
5 |
6 |
14 |
|
|
6 |
4 |
11 |
|
|
7 |
5 |
15 |
|
|
8 |
11 |
14 |
|
|
9 |
9 |
10 |
|
|
10 |
8 |
14 |
|
|
11 |
7 |
14 |
|
|
12 |
14 |
11 |
|
|
13 |
17 |
6 |
|
|
14 |
10 |
24 |
|
|
15 |
15 |
13 |
|
|
16 |
22 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  Album: Shore |
4 |
|
17 |
16 |
20 |
|
|
18 |
20 |
8 |
|
|
19 |
13 |
10 |
|
|
20 |
27 |
4 |
|
|
21 |
21 |
Christina Alessi and the Toll Collectors - Stone Meets the Sea |
12 |
|
22 |
43 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  Album: 30 |
2 |
|
23 |
23 |
7 |
|
|
24 |
18 |
11 |
|
|
25 |
25 |
8 |
|
|
26 |
31 |
6 |
|
|
27 |
19 |
17 |
|
|
28 |
30 |
8 |
|
|
29 |
24 |
20 |
|
|
30 |
32 |
9 |
|
|
31 |
35 |
5 |
|
|
32 |
39 |
7 |
|
|
33 |
29 |
11 |
|
|
34 |
36 |
15 |
|
|
35 |
37 |
6 |
|
|
36 |
26 |
13 |
|
|
37 |
28 |
11 |
|
|
38 |
33 |
22 |
|
|
39 |
54 |
4 |
|
|
40 |
71 |
2 |
|
|
41 |
41 |
11 |
|
|
42 |
52 |
4 |
|
|
43 |
47 |
9 |
|
|
44 |
38 |
16 |
|
|
45 |
34 |
15 |
|
|
46 |
49 |
8 |
|
|
47 |
56 |
3 |
|
|
48 |
40 |
14 |
|
|
49 |
68 |
3 |
|
|
50 |
58 |
4 |
|
|
51 |
46 |
7 |
|
|
52 |
42 |
14 |
|
|
53 |
64 |
5 |
|
|
54 |
69 |
3 |
|
|
55 |
81 |
2 |
|
|
56 |
57 |
10 |
|
|
57 |
66 |
4 |
|
|
58 |
44 |
21 |
|
|
59 |
51 |
25 |
|
|
60 |
70 |
3 |
|
|
61 |
74 |
3 |
|
|
62 |
75 |
2 |
|
|
63 |
45 |
15 |
|
|
64 |
50 |
16 |
|
|
65 |
78 |
3 |
|
|
66 |
53 |
19 |
|
|
67 |
48 |
13 |
|
|
68 |
83 |
2 |
|
|
69 |
62 |
19 |
|
|
70 |
84 |
2 |
|
|
71 |
73 |
5 |
|
|
72 |
60 |
6 |
|
|
73 |
61 |
21 |
|
|
74 |
59 |
21 |
|
|
75 |
55 |
8 |
|
|
76 |
65 |
16 |
|
|
77 |
82 |
6 |
|
|
78 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  "Steam" Album: Gold-diggers Sound |
1 |
|
79 |
89 |
5 |
|
|
80 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
81 |
86 |
3 |
|
|
82 |
91 |
2 |
|
|
83 |
76 |
5 |
|
|
84 |
63 |
20 |
|
|
85 |
67 |
6 |
|
|
86 |
77 |
5 |
|
|
87 |
93 |
2 |
|
|
88 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
89 |
72 |
16 |
|
|
90 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
91 |
79 |
20 |
|
|
92 |
88 |
4 |
|
|
93 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
94 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
95 |
80 |
15 |
|
|
96 |
90 |
14 |
|
|
97 |
98 |
17 |
|
|
98 |
85 |
10 |
|
|
99 |
87 |
12 |
|
|
100 |
92 |
18 |
|
|
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.
