The wait is over. And not a bad wait for a band that just technically released its "debut single".
On Friday, March 3, the new (and first) single from the duo Colorjoy, "Golden Age" finally dropped, ending a year of anticipation.
Okay, so what you might be thinking is "Who the heck is Colorjoy, and why are they treated like superstars on my blog?". Well, just listen to a few bars of their music and you'll be convinced. And you wouldn't be the only one to feel that way.
 |
| Colorjoy, consisting of Sam Novotny (L) and Emily MacMahon have released their debut single "Golden Age". Both are former members of ScreenAge. |
You see, Colorjoy, despite "forming" a little over a year ago, is not really "new" at all. That's because its members---lead singer, keyboardist and guitarist Emily MacMahon and drummer, bassist and synth player Sam Novotny were in another band which, if you've read this blog the last several years, you might be familiar with: ScreenAge.
Emily and Sam were part of that Central Jersey-based quartet which formed around 2015 and as their name suggests, were in their mid-teens. They played gigs around the state over the next several years, and their breakthrough of sorts came in 2019, when the band's first album, Station 42 and single "Crook" were released. While it didn't set the rock world on fire (although it definitely should have), the rawness of that album garnered them a following that stretched far beyond New Jersey. They had played at popular venues such as Asbury Park's Stone Pony and Asbury Lanes and even had a following over in the U.K. where the foursome were subjects of several blogs. Their reach also entered South America as well, as the band appeared on a Brazilian talk show. Locally, the band played Maplewoodstock and even Roselle Park's Arts Festival in my hometown, where the band first caught my eye.
While I didn't attend that performance, one of the organizers of Roselle Park's event told me that they were a very talented band, and that was confirmed when I saw their performance on video. Their rawness was a throwback not only to the alternative rock of the 1990's, but the "garage rock" of the 1960's...not bad for a group of teenagers that weren't yet born in either of those eras.
That prompted me to add the band's second single, "Vague". It steadily climbed the SNS 100, peaking at #6 on December 1, 2019, and it also made my year-end list of 2019, coming in at #89. For me, that might have been it for the band since I had ended my blog with the beginning of 2020. And then came COVID-19.
With nothing else to do (I had been a substitute in the local school system, but they closed down in March expediting my retirement), I reactivated my blog, and decided to give new music another try and picking up where I left off. As "Vague" descended down my chart, as I usually do, I look for any follow-ups by the band. And sure enough, "Blue Eyed Addiction" was released and debuted on my chart on May 10, 2020. More catchy and polished than the prior songs, but with the same swagger and attitude, the song slowly climbed the charts, and it became ScreenAge's first #1 song on the blog, hitting the top the week of August 23, 2020, taking 15 weeks to do so, and then staying there for four weeks. It was around this time that I had reached out to some of the members on social media, and I was surprised by their friendliness and humbleness, including hearing from some of the members' parents.
"Blue Eyed Addiction" became my #1 song of 2020 and of course I was thirsty for a follow-up. One new song "Going Back" was featured in a video late that summer, although it wouldn't find a release until the following year.
I had become friends on social media with both Emily and her mom Rowena and noticed that a new song was posted on their page. Except it wasn't by the band, but rather a solo venture. Emily cut two new songs in the late summer of 2020, one of them was called "6 Ft Away" (obviously a reference to "social distancing" as a result of the pandemic), and the other, "Only Us" was a dreamy, retro throwback to some of the great romantic songs of yore, such as "I Only Have Eyes for You", "Always and Forever", "Colour My World" and others. Actually, Stephen Sanchez's current song "Until I Found You" is in that style as well, proof that songs like these never go out of date.
"Only Us" hit #1 on February 21, 2021, and stayed there for two weeks. And then it was time for DNR.
ScreenAge started introducing songs from their second album, which was a concept piece with the songs documenting stages of life, from a newborn coming into the world to the loss of a loved one later on and perhaps looking at your own mortality. The first track, "North Star" debuted on April 11, 2021, and hit #1, while the second track, "Think Again" was released three weeks later, scoring a #28 debut, only the fourth time a song had debuted in the top 30 on my charts. It also knocked "North Star" out of the top spot, becoming only the second act to succeed itself at #1. The band, still in the grasp of the pandemic, performed songs on a Livestream feed and just blew me away. By the summer, two more tracks from DNR, the finally released "Going Back" and "Questions" became blog chart toppers as well, with "Questions" knocking out "Going Back", making it the second time in just a month or so that the band succeeded itself at the top (most recently done by Anna Lavigne and Deb Browning).
DNR as an album should have been the band's breakthrough, it was a more polished, commercial outing without compromising the foursome's alt-pop style. Several of my friends became fans of the band as well. And, with summer here and gathering restrictions lifted (albeit temporarily), the band finally got back on the road. I caught the band live for the first time down in Farmingdale NJ at an outdoor venue and saw their talent firsthand. And, by popular demand, they returned to Roselle Park's Arts Festival in late September, and then again when the town sponsored an anti-bullying rally two weeks later. A fifth track off of DNR, "Like Fine Wine" hit #1 on December 5 and stayed there for two weeks. This gave the band five number ones for the year, and their sixth in a row, counting "Blue Eyed Addiction". Both of those tied records previously set by Fitz and the Tantrums and their More Than Just a Dream album. Fittingly, the band once again topped my year-end list, with "Think Again" hitting the top spot for 2021, becoming the first outfit to have back-to-back year-end #1's since The Beatles did it in 1964 and '65. The band also had three of the top four songs, again being the first since the Fab Four in 1964.
Anticipation for anything new as 2022 began was at an all-time high for me. And then the shocking news came: The band broke up.
Perhaps because of the pandemic, it seemed that DNR didn't attract the buzz that Station 42 did in expanding the band's fanbase. Whether that was a factor in the break-up is unknown; it was probably more that the members were now in their 20's and it was time to explore new projects and move on.
It was comforting to know that immediately after the breakup was announced, in January of 2022, two of the members--Emily and Sam would form a new outfit, Colorjoy and that a new album, entitled Golden Age would be released during that summer.
But then, nothing. What happened?
Well, turns out that Emily was tabbed to front a local cover band called August Rage, led by seasoned artist, producer and engineer Stephen DeAcutis. Ms. MacMahon was spotted back down in Asbury Park playing with the legendary New Jersey band The Nerds. I had remarked that it seemed like an honor for her to play with that band, but Stephen remarked that it was the other way around, and he was right about that. August Rage played several gigs in the spring of 2022, including one at the Crossroads rock club in Garwood NJ, which my wife and I had the pleasure of seeing. While it was a cover band, it gave Emily much exposure, playing with seasoned musicians and honing her craft. Members of her former band were on hand in the audience, and I had talked with Rowena who had mentioned that many things were in store for Emily.
 |
| Yours truly (3rd from left), with touring members of Colorjoy at the Roselle Park Arts Festival in September 2022. |
Colorjoy finally reconvened during the summer as Emily and Sam took to the road and started playing venues around New Jersey. That included yet another return to the Roselle Park Arts Festival in September. New music was interspliced with covers of classic songs, including the likes of Tears For Fears' 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and Prince's "Let's Go Crazy", which ended with an awesome guitar solo by Ms. MacMahon.
Emily was much in demand in the fall of 2022, teaming again with DeAcutis in a John Lennon tribute band, and she also was set to play on an album by Dave Bickler, the original lead singer of Survivor (he sang lead on their biggest hit "Eye of the Tiger").
What is remarkable about all of this is that Emily kept up with her studies during all this activity. She recently graduated Summa Cum Laude at Stevens Institute of Technology.
With 2023 here, it was time to finally work on the new Colorjoy album along with Sam Novotny; the new single "Golden Age" dropped on March 3. The song debuts at a lofty #28, the same position that "Think Again" did two years earlier. With DeAcutis helping out with the production chores, the song picks up where the talents of ScreenAge left off and elaborates on it to a further degree. The song starts off with a jangly guitar reminiscent of The Cure that persists through the whole song. But once Emily's smooth vocals kick in, it showcases the writing style that she perfected with her prior band. The hooks are in the right place, and this is alt-pop heaven. The production is top-notch as well, and a pleasant surprise is towards the end of the song where the saxophone kicks in for a time.
For me, the only concern is that, in the year-plus that we last heard from Emily and Sam is the domination of Carolina beach music on the SNS 100. However, examination of my chart in recent weeks is that many female singer-songwriters with eclectic styles are invading the upper reaches of my charts, like Arlo Parks, Danielle Ponder, Jenna Ren, Caroline Rose and many others. In fact, 14 of the top 20 this week are either by female artists, female-led bands, or co-ed duets. Emily would fit right into that growing phenomenon.
Colorjoy will drop another single from the upcoming album on March 17, then release other tracks in advance of the long-awaited album.
CHARTWISE: Rick Strickland and Lesa Hudson's "Got It Right (The First Time)" spends a fifth week at #1 on the Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100 narrowly holding off "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus. That's the longest run at the top spot in almost two years since Fleet Foxes' "Sunblind" also spent five weeks in pole position. The song tops Pat Gwinn's countdown for a second week and rises to the top on The Wave survey. "Flowers", which had its six-week run on the Billboard Hot 100 end this week is close to the top spot here and it's a toss-up as to which one will reign on next week's SNS 100. Stephen Sanchez and Rev. Bubba D. Deliverance are a solid 3 and 4, with the former rising again on the Hot 100.
The Arcs' "Eyez" moves from 10 to 6, but the big mover into the Top 10 is Arlo Parks' "Weightless" with a 26-10 move to grab Impact honors. Jenna Ren and Caroline Rose also make big moves into the top 20. As mentioned above, women are becoming a force on the chart. In addition to 14 of the top 20 either female-led or co-billed, they also account for 24 positions of the top 40. That includes the new Say She She "In My Head", the Mover of the Week (41-23). As mentioned above, Colorjoy's "Golden Age" enters at#28, tied for the fifth highest all time.
All this activity results in some moving songs being pushed down a notch or two despite still making gains: The latest by Wet Leg, Tim Izzard, K.Flay and Tennis are affected but are still assuredly moving up the list.
OVER ON THE HOT 100, we have a new number one song, thanks to a remix of sorts. "Die For You", by The Weeknd, which had been in the top 10 for several weeks there, jumps to the top spot thanks to a new remix featuring Ariana Grande. On my list, I have replaced the solo version with the new version by Ms. Grande as the song, which peaked at #13 here, had burned out with me. This results in a rebound to #31 on the SNS 100. "Flowers" is still strong at #2 on the Hot 100.
NEW: Behind Colorjoy there are eight other debuts this week, including Stephen Sanchez's follow-up to "Until I Found You", "Evangeline". Starting out with an intro that echoes Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" hit from 1968, it moves on from there. While it differs from the late 50's vibe of "Until I Found You", it still echos days gone by; hence it's different enough to become his second blog hit. I like its chances.
The beach music entry this week is "Mr. Dream Merchant" by The Castaways. I have seen this band on the Carolina charts before and had to check whether it's the same band that had a 1967 hit with "Liar Liar" (you never know, I thought the same with Starbuck, which turned out to be true), but I believe this is a completely different band. The remake of Jerry Butler's 1967 hit is perfectly done and should follow other recent beach remakes of sixties hits to the top 20.
Other debuts include the first blog song for Inhaler, a quartet from Dublin, Ireland that sound more Motown-ish than U2. The band has been around since 2012. White Reaper, also new to SNS debuts with "Pages". The band is from Kentucky and has a neo-garage punk sound to it but also hints of post grunge as well. The Blue Stones have had a few top 20 blog songs and they return with "Don't Miss" with a fuzzy squarely rock outing. Bakar, which topped the blog two years ago with "First Time" returns with "Good News", a moderately-textured rhythmic romp that could click with repeated listenings.
After seeing it in the top 3 of the Hot 100 for weeks, and after repeatedly suggestions from Spotify, I break down and add SZA's "Kill Bill", and it was a pleasant surprise. Sure, it has hip hop overtones, but it's quite melodic and the production is anything but sparse. This could be a blog hit with repeated listenings as well.
Next is "Lost" by Linkin Park, an unreleased gem from 2003's Meteora album which has been remastered. The band, which lost its leader Chester Bennington to suicide a few years ago, is actually still together, but on hiatus. In the blog era, the band has had ten songs on my chart, led by the #12 "Burn It Down". "Lost" has the feel of the band's 2001 "In the End" and in spite of it being twenty years old, "Lost" has recently topped the alternative charts.
Finally, there's the latest by Orbis Max, "Whatever You Think It Is". The long-distance band has had a fluctuation of members; this one is done by a trio of DW Dunphy on vocals drum programming, Don Baake on guitars and Craig Carlstrom on bass. Notably absent is frequent contributor Tim Izzard, but the band without him has a unique rock sound on it and could click with this one.
GO GREEN: Starting this week, I have a new symbol designation for some songs on the chart, in response to my transitioning the songs on my list to the Spotify platform. You might have noticed red symbols next to songs that had twenty-five and fifty plays on my iTunes playlist. Unfortunately, Spotify doesn't tell you how many times you streamed a song (although it does tell the artists how many times their songs were streamed. However, Spotify does rank the songs you streamed each month, thus I am not denoting with green symbols song that have the most streams in a given month (triangle) as well as those in the top three (dot).
ONE MORE THING: I was about to hit the "publish" button, but I just wanted to check out a Facebook Live feed of Deb Browning's new song "Think I Found Forever" which was released today (March 9) and debuted on Jim Quick's show on 94.9 The Surf, as I write this. All I can say is "WOW". Where will it debut next week? Should be very interesting!
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
March 5, 2023
|
This
Week |
Last
Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks
on List |
|
1 |
1 |
NUMBER ONE:  RICK STRICKLAND and LESA HUDSON "Got it Right (The First Time)" (Single Only) (5 Weeks at #1) |
7 |
|
2 |
2 |
8 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
8 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
Rev. Bubba D. Liverance and the Cornhole Prophets - Ti Ta Ti Ta
Ti Ta Ta |
8 |
|
5 |
5 |
16 |
|
|
6 |
10 |
5 |
|
|
7 |
9 |
8 |
|
|
8 |
6 |
20 |
|
|
9 |
8 |
Deb Browning and Six Piece
Suits - It Don't Get Better Than This |
18 |
|
10 |
26 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  Album: My Soft Machine |
4 |
|
11 |
7 |
7 |
|
|
12 |
13 |
6 |
|
|
13 |
14 |
6 |
|
|
14 |
16 |
8 |
|
|
15 |
21 |
5 |
|
|
16 |
22 |
4 |
|
|
17 |
15 |
16 |
|
|
18 |
17 |
7 |
|
|
19 |
18 |
5 |
|
|
20 |
11 |
10 |
|
|
21 |
20 |
6 |
|
|
22 |
12 |
13 |
|
|
23 |
41 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  (Single Only) |
2 |
|
24 |
32 |
3 |
|
|
25 |
23 |
8 |
|
|
26 |
25 |
4 |
|
|
27 |
19 |
14 |
|
|
28 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  Album: Golden Age |
1 |
|
29 |
27 |
6 |
|
|
30 |
37 |
5 |
|
|
31 |
34 |
18 |
|
|
32 |
39 |
4 |
|
|
33 |
35 |
7 |
|
|
34 |
50 |
2 |
|
|
35 |
38 |
8 |
|
|
36 |
31 |
39 |
|
|
37 |
51 |
3 |
|
|
38 |
24 |
15 |
|
|
39 |
40 |
7 |
|
|
40 |
29 |
8 |
|
|
41 |
54 |
2 |
|
|
42 |
30 |
13 |
|
|
43 |
52 |
3 |
|
|
44 |
33 |
32 |
|
|
45 |
59 |
Jimmy Ogburn's Salt Luvs Pepper ft. David Cornelius - Love Me
Like I Love You |
2 |
|
46 |
28 |
13 |
|
|
47 |
49 |
4 |
|
|
48 |
36 |
21 |
|
|
49 |
53 |
5 |
|
|
50 |
43 |
8 |
|
|
51 |
65 |
2 |
|
|
52 |
48 |
5 |
|
|
53 |
80 |
2 |
|
|
54 |
45 |
22 |
|
|
55 |
46 |
Carolina Coast Band ft Rhonda McDaniel - The Thing About You● |
33 |
|
56 |
55 |
5 |
|
|
57 |
42 |
15 |
|
|
58 |
73 |
2 |
|
|
59 |
47 |
19 |
|
|
60 |
44 |
20 |
|
|
61 |
72 |
3 |
|
|
62 |
76 |
2 |
|
|
63 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
64 |
64 |
6 |
|
|
65 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
66 |
75 |
3 |
|
|
67 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
68 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
69 |
63 |
7 |
|
|
70 |
56 |
12 |
|
|
71 |
74 |
7 |
|
|
72 |
79 |
3 |
|
|
73 |
68 |
7 |
|
|
74 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
75 |
57 |
6 |
|
|
76 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
77 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
78 |
60 |
23 |
|
|
79 |
71 |
25 |
|
|
80 |
82 |
3 |
|
|
81 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
82 |
61 |
14 |
|
|
83 |
70 |
16 |
|
|
84 |
84 |
3 |
|
|
85 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
86 |
69 |
14 |
|
|
87 |
77 |
43 |
|
|
88 |
83 |
6 |
|
|
89 |
62 |
14 |
|
|
90 |
78 |
22 |
|
|
91 |
81 |
25 |
|
|
92 |
67 |
21 |
|
|
93 |
66 |
16 |
|
|
94 |
87 |
18 |
|
|
95 |
91 |
21 |
|
|
96 |
94 |
39 |
|
|
97 |
58 |
4 |
|
|
98 |
85 |
13 |
|
|
99 |
86 |
7 |
|
|
100 |
88 |
6 |
|
|
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. ▲Song
garnered most plays on Spotify in current or past month. ● Song among top 3 most
plays on Spotify in current or past month.
Songs
on the SNS 100 are included on the following public Spotify playlists
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves Top 40: Contains songs in positions 1-40 on the SNS 100
Scenes
Up and Coming: Songs below #40 that are moving up the chart.
Scenes
Recurrents: Songs which have
dropped below the top 40 but are still on the SNS 100
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