Post Malone, Ngonda Maintain BB, SNS Positions; Silvestri double e-feat; Abi Wins 'Idol''; Charlotte, Lesa, E'lissa Updates (SNS week of 6/2/2024)

 A LITTLE LATE, THUS BRIEF:  On the Billboard Hot 100, the top four remain the same, topped by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's "I Had Some Help", followed by Kendrick Lamar, Tommy Richman and Shaboozey.   Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" advances to #5, with the latest by Zach Bryan debuting at #6, "Pink Skies".

Here on the SNS 100, it's another tight race, as for the second week, Jalen Ngonda's soulful "If You Don't Want My Love" barely holds off Deb Browning and Marlisa Kay Small's "Sunshine and Summertime".  Meanwhile, Juliet Callahan moves 5-3 with "Don't Phase Me" (even though she's busy promoting her re-mix of "Burning Up", and seems to be posting pictures of herself everywhere from Canada to Bermuda.   Good for her!   Hozier's "Too Sweet" drops from 3 to 4, while Anna Lavigne's "Butterfly" inches up to #5.

Three new entries in the Top 10 this week, with beach music artist Sylvia Johns Ritchie leading the way, advancing 12-7 with "Good Love Don't Come Easy".    It's her first solo top 10; she previously hit #5 with Doyle Wood on "Not Tonight (I Have a Heartache)".   Royel Otis, still top five on the alternative chart, grab its first blog top 10 with "Murder on the Dance Floor" (11-8), and Kacey Musgraves has her second top ten with "Cardinal" (13-9).

New in the top 20 are this week's Impact winner, The Mac Daddy's Band's "Flip Flops and Margaritas" (23-18), while Rivermist grabs its third straight top 20 with "Don't Walk Away" (24-19).    Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter, already making noise on the Hot 100, supplements it with not only "Espresso" (18-15), but also "Feather" getting Mover honors (54-35).   The song is #26 on both the Hot 100, and John Hook's Beach Music Top 40.    Lissie's "Night Moves" (40-26), Pink Slips' "Dance" (56-47, and topping some beach music charts this week), and last week's Top Debut, the remix of Juliet Callahan's "Burning Up" (47-40) are some of the other prime movers.

SUMMER BREAK SHAKE:  Turning to new adds this week, it's headed by the latest from Starbuck, "Beach a Go Go", following up the Bruce Blackman-led entity's blog #1 "Spring Break Shake".    While the name of the new one, debuting at #60. might suggest sort of a Beach Boys surf-pop kind of thing (and the video would suggest the same), the song has a very cool Latin rhythm and texture, once again showing Blackman's versatility.   Thus, it gives the song a very appropriate tropical feel to it.    Think Gloria Estefan's "Conga" or "Oye Mi Canto" and you get the idea of this one.    The sight of Charo included on the song's video montage of those grooving on the beach, among others, clinches it!     Should be another blog hit for sure.

Meanwhile, Teddy Swims enters with "The Door".   Like Starbuck, Swims is also following up a #1 blog hit with "Lose Control" (which also hit Billboard's top spot as well).  This one starts up with a beat similar to Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks", but Swims makes it his own.    This soulful voice fits in perfectly with what I'm listening to these days.    Currently top 20 on the Hot AC chart, this, with a very catchy beat, should make it two in a row for Teddy, as the song never lets up.

Abi Carter has won Season 22 of American Idol, and she debuts this week on the SNS 100 with "This Isn't Over"

Next is the new American Idol winner, Abi Carter, debuting with "This Isn't Over", which she performed on this season's finale.    It's been a while since the winner of that competition show has made it big, but I think Abi has the best chance of those in recent years.   She definitely sings from the heart, tough pop with a rock edge perhaps along the lines of Colbie Caillat, or Natasha Bedingfield.    While some say that she isn't bringing anything new to the table, it has been a while since a presentation of this kind has scored, and Ms. Carter would definitely be the one to bring it back.

The Massachusetts indie band Eavesdrop, still in the top ten this week with "Honest", follow it up with "Only One", which leads off the septet's new Evergreen EP.    A bit understated compared to "Honest" or their first blog hit "Alive", but the beat moves along, and the harmonies are top-notch.

Italian drummer Daniele Silvestri appears on both the Orbis Max single, "Fields", as well as Einsteins Dads' current blog hit "To The Moon", making him the first musician to appear on songs by both of the "Internet" bands.

Orbis Max, which seems to release new songs as quickly as people inhale, are back again, this time with "Waiting All Night".  The e-band, headed by Red Bank's Dw Dunphy, continues to showcase that Jersey Shore sound, and this one still jams.  The band now has FIVE songs on the SNS 100 this week, so it's always a pleasure to listen to them.    I just wish that this band could get all get together and perform live; that would definitely be a sight (and sound).  Maybe someday.  Incidentally, "Fields", moving to #52 this week, features Daniele Silvestri on drums.  Silvestri, from Italy, is also featured on that other Internet-driven band, Einsteins Dad's "To the Moon", #22 this week.    Silvestri also performs with The Wheelgunners, which charted here with "Girls Alright" last year. You gotta love the endless possibilities that technology can be applied positively to music, when done right.   And Orbis isn't done yet, as two more releases are in store this month!

I've been keeping tabs on the Indie chart.  Shang Hi-Los continue to move up my list with "Op-Operator" after topping the Indie Radio Alliance chart, and now The Amplifier Heads follow suit with a blog debut for "The Best It's Gonna Be".  Starting off with a 60's surf-style riff, it moves more onto the New Wave scene of the 70's,   A very good example of what indie music should be.  The song keeps moving, and I hope to troll the indie chart more often in the future.  

Too Much Sylvia follows up their top 20 blog hit "It Still Is" with "Another Day".  The beach music ensemble stays fully in that lane and is already attracting airplay in that genre, while Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweat's latest, "Heartless" continues their bluesy laid-back, rolling rock.   While I wish the band would do another "S.O.B.", Rateliff and company seem very relaxing doing what they do, and that's a good thing.

The multi-talented singer-songwriter E'lissa Jones will perform at Horseshoe Lake here in Roxbury NJ on Monday, June 17.

SOUND-BITES:  Charlotte Sessions, with her two blog #1 songs this year, takes her songwriting craft up to Connecticut next week as she will perform three originals at the Connecticut Songwriters Collective on Tuesday June 11, in a format similar to that of last month's Garwood, NJ Crossroads writer's symposium...........Lesa Hudson, moving up the charts with "Groovalicious" is gearing up for a promotion of a dance associated with the song, as I reported a couple weeks back.   The song, moving up to #49 this week, from hers and Rick Strickland's Power of Two set, is the subject of a contest which invites listeners (and dancers) to show off their groove.  Those who do, will score a one-of-a-kind "Groovalicious" pin........Remember E'lissa Jones?    The lower Hudson Valley singer-songwriter who scored a pair of top 20 blog hits back in 2012 is still active and making the rounds:   Among the gigs will be right here in my town of Roxbury, at the town's Horseshoe Lake on Monday, June 17.

Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist

June 2, 2024

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	1	NUMBER ONE: JALEN NGONDA "If You Don't Want My Love"▲ Album: ComeAround and Love Me (2 Weeks at #1)	13
2	2	Deb Browning and Marlisa Kay Small -Sunshine and Summertime	8
3	5	Juliet Callahan - Don't Phase Me●	7
4	3	Hozier - Too Sweet	8
5	6	Anna Lavigne - Butterfly	11
6	4	Deb Browning - Put Your Hand in the Hand	10
7	12	Sylvia Johns Ritchie - Good Love Don't Come Easy	9
8	11	Royel Otis - Murder on the Dance Floor	11
9	13	Kacey Musgraves - Cardinal	6
10	9	Eavesdrop - Honest●	9
11	8	SZA - Saturn	12
12	14	Mumford and Sons ft Pharrell Williams - Good People	13
13	15	Benson Boone - Beautiful Things	15
14	16	The Black Keys - On the Game	6
15	18	Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso	5
16	10	The Six Piece Suits - I Thought You Knew●	14
17	7	Starbuck - Spring Break Shake▲	13
18	23	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK: THE MAC DADDY'S BAND "Flip Flops and Margaritas" (Single Release)	7
19	24	Rivermist -Don't Walk Away	11
20	19	Charlotte Sessions - I've Fallen For A Dragon▲²	17
21	26	Bon Jovi - Legendary	7
22	27	Einsteins Dad - To The Moon	6
23	17	Say Sue Me - 4 AM	12
24	30	Dua Lipa - Illusion	4
25	29	Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone - Fortnight	5
26	40	Lissie - Night Moves	3
27	25	Black Pumas - Sauvignon●	22
28	20	Sadie Leigh - Finger Wave●	14
29	21	Beyonce - Texas Hold Em	14
30	36	Lenny Kravitz - Human	4
31	32	C. Lynne Smith - Follow It Down	4
32	38	Suki Waterhouse - My Fun	4
33	33	Zac Brown Band - Tie Up	7
34	37	Shang Hi Los - Op-Operator	6
35	54	MOVER OF THE WEEK: SABRINA CARPENTER "Feather" Album: emals I can't send fwd:	2
36	45	Rhonda McDaniel - Better	3
37	22	The Decemberists - Burial Ground	12
38	42	Orbis Max and Tim Izzard - You Know What You're Doing	6
39	28	Orbis Max - Not This Time	10
40	49	Juliet Callahan -Burning Up	28
41	31	Jaime Wyatt - Feel Good	14
42	34	Rivermist - Everything's Changed●	21
43	47	Green Day - Dilemma	14
44	46	Randy Clay Band - Party Street	9
45	48	Calypso Joe and the Coconuts - New Lattitude	6
46	35	Sheryl Crow - Alarm Clock	18
47	56	Pink Slips Band - Dance	3
48	52	I-42 Band - Looking So Good	4
49	55	Lesa Hudson - Groovalicous	3
50	41	The Castaways - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me	13
51	39	Vacations - Next Exit▲	16
52	58	Orbis Max and Lindsay Murray - Fields	3
53	43	Cage the Elephant - Neon Pill	17
54	57	Winnetka Bowling League - America In Your 20's	4
55	44	Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot - It's Over	12
56	62	Gary Clark Jr ft. Stevie Wonder - What About the Children	4
57	50	Paramore - Burning Down the House	12
58	75	The Beaches - Edge of the Earth	2
59	53	Teddy Swims - Lose Control	19
60	---	TOP DEBUT: STARBUCK "Beach a Go Go" (Single Release)	1
61	69	Whiskey-Chitto Ramblers - Cigarette	3
62	68	The Black Keys - Beautiful People (Stay High)●	18
63	---	Teddy Swims - The Door	1
64	51	Karen Clayton and Mike Taylor - I'm Your Puppet	17
65	61	Nadia Shutkufski - Top Down	15
66	63	Ariana Grande - we can't be friends (waiting for your love)	5
67	74	Travis - Gaslight	2
68	77	David F. Porfirio - Spanish Harlem	2
69	67	The Marias - Run Your Mouth	5
70	---	Abi Carter - This Isn't Over	1
71	60	Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot - Sitting In the Park	28
72	---	Eavesdrop - Only One	1
73	72	Glass Animals - Creatures In Heaven	5
74	---	Orbis Max - Waiting All Night	1
75	79	Fontaines DC - Starbuster	2
76	85	Joywave - Scared	2
77	82	Kaleo - Lonely Cowboy	2
78	---	The Ampifier Heads - The Best It's Gonna Be	1
79	59	The Driver Era - Get Off My Phone	6
80	64	Rick Strickland - Joined At the Heart	18
81	71	Maggie Rogers - Don't Forget Me	5
82	---	Too Much Sylvia - Another Day	1
83	---	Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats - Heartless	1
84	65	Debbie Gibson - Love Don't Care	10
85	73	Suki Waterhouse - OMG	15
86	70	Orbis Max - Something About You	13
87	84	Rev. Bubba D. Liverance and the Cornhole Prophets - Something In the Water	19
88	87	Charlotte Sessions - Should I Be The Man●	34
89	66	Guster - Keep Going	7
90	78	Rachel Platten - Girls	4
91	80	Juliet Callahan - She Was Me	16
92	89	Richard Swift - Would You●	25
93	90	Marlisa Kay Small - No Matter Where You Go	25
94	76	Taylor Swift ft. Florence + the Machine - Florida!!	5
95	83	Varsity - Runaway	25
96	99	Tate McRae - Greedy	9
97	81	Local Natives - April	8
98	91	Thee Sacred Souls - Easier Said Than Done▲	26
99	86	Knox - Not the 1975	12
100	88	The Rolling Stones - Mess It Up	8

Murmurs:

Billie Eilish - Lunch

Black Pumas - Mrs. Postman

Cage the Elephant - Good Time

Post Malone ft. Morgan Wallen - I Had Some Help

Michael Marcagi - Scared to Start

Train - Long Yellow Dress

Tommy Richman - Million Dollar Baby

Royel Otis - Foam

The Holiday Band - I Don't Want to Cry

R. Mark Black - End to End

Zach Bryan - Pink Skies

The Early November - About Me

Kate Hudson - Gonna Find Out

Murmurs: Songs which are in the queue for future adds onto the Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist.

 

Songs with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week ▲Song garnered most plays on Spotify, for the  month, with a superscript following the symbol if most played for multiple months; or if a song was among the top 5 most plays for two months. ● Song among top 5 most plays on Spotify.  Awards given during the last blog of each month.  To qualify, the song must be currently or have peaked in the top 40.

 

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