A FEW THINGS TO TALK ABOUT THIS WEEK, but I wanted to say a few words on the 25th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. I was going to tell my story about that horrific day, but then I realized I wrote a big deal about those experiences on the 20th anniversary of five years ago. You can read that blog right here (as well as the songs on my chart back then):
While I try to steer clear of overt politics as this is a music blog, I can't help wondering what would happen if a similar attack happened now. Several friends have posted "I would never ever want another 9/11, but I miss the America of 9/12". Granted, there has been a big division in this country, and it just seems to be getting worse. Back then, several artists wrote and released patriotic songs in the wake of the attack; nowadays, we have artists delivering political rallies in their concerts or telling certain people on one "side" not to stream their music. And let's face it, "both sides" are guilty of it as artists beloved in the past all of a sudden, their music "sucks" even though its production never changed over the decades. We all seemed to be "together" just a couple weeks ago when Dolly Parton passed away; everyone seemed to love her, and I'm sure much of it, aside from her humanity and philanthropy, was that she kept her political beliefs to herself; it was her own business. Yes, our country has problems, we all have the right to voice our opinions, if indeed that will help things, but a catastrophic event like 9/11 should remind everyone that we are one country and need to come together as one.
OK LET'S GO TO THE HOT 100 where once again, it's the same ole song. Namely, that's Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" which logs a 21st week at the top of the Billboard chart. That puts it just one week behind the all-time record of 22 weeks set by Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You", which occurred over seven seasonal chart runs from 2019 to 2025.
To be honest, I'm finally getting tired of the song as it drops to #9 on my Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100 chart this week. It was just named Billboard's "Song of the Summer" for 2026 (no surprise there), and most likely will be its year-end chart-topper with just a month and a half to go. But cover bands keep playing it, deejays and people I know play it, and so it lives on. Perhaps it's time to move on. But having said that, I do wish it would log a few more weeks at the top to finally pass Mariah Carey (although no doubt, she'll make up the weeks this holiday season). "Choosin' Texas" is also a candidate for SNS Songs of the Summer, which will conclude next week, and is also a contender for year-end honors. And frankly, it's been ages since a song seemed to be universally popular. And it's actually real music, a far cry from the "sparse pop" and cluttered hip-hop in recent years.
Except for Bruno Mars' "Risk It All" moving back into the top ten (11-9), the top songs are the same as last week. There was a report that came out in the past week that the record industry is in great shape, as the IFPI Global Music Report, 2025 was the 11th consecutive year of global growth. Streaming continues to grow, as does physical sales, in particular vinyl. Say what you want about streaming but there are so many options for music that in no way you could access decades ago. But all that makes it more troubling that the same songs are at the top of the charts week after week.
Last week, I had wondered if, with a full week of sales and streams after her death, if Dolly Parton would continue to make gains on the chart. Five songs of hers entered the Hot 100, topped by "Jolene" at #16. However, this week, two of her songs---"Islands in the Stream" and "Here You Come Again" drop off. "Jolene" drops to #22, while "9 to 5" drops a notch to #19, presumably from a spike in the streaming of the movie of the same name, and "I Will Always Love You" drops to #45.
GETTING TO THE SNS 100, "The Sea, Sand and You", by Deb Browning and Townsend Link, returns to the top spot for a sixth, non-consecutive week. It's the third time the song has risen to the top spot. It first hit the top for the combined week of June 28/July 5, before yielding to Ella Langley's "Be Her". The song returned to the top on July 19, racking up four straight weeks, before yielding to The Womack Sisters' "If I Let You". This echoes the pattern from two years ago when Deb and Marlisa Kay Small's "Sunshine and Summertime" had three trips to the number one slot totaling six weeks. Sienna Spiro's "Material Lover" is a very close #2, however. That song, not on any local beach chart, does move 20-17 on John Hook's Beach Music Top 40 national chart. Last week's chart topper, The Womack Sisters' "If I Let You", drops to #3 after three weeks on top. It also moves 61-30 on the Radiowave Triple-A chart. Brooke Combe's "Love Was Made of Stone" remains at #4 with a bullet. Marsha Morgan's "Whenever There's Summer" holds at 5, and the big mover in the top 10 is Vaughan Penn, with her second big hit, "Sandbar Shuffle" (12-6). The other new entry in the top 10 is Thee Sacred Souls' "Any Old Fool"; it's the first all-male act to hit the top region in several weeks.
In the second ten, Alabama Shakes grab the Impact award with "I Feel Hope Coming" (24-15), while Michelle Branch and New Radicals (Gregg Alexander) move 21-18 with a cover of Ms. Branch's 2002 SNS #1 with Santana, "The Game of Love". Just outside the top 20 is Starbuck's "Bongo Bay" (27-21). The Womack Sisters, just one notch away from having three songs in the top 10, has a fourth, "Monster" (61-42), moving from last week's Top Debut to this week's Mover.
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| Michael Fite, lead singer of The Mac Daddy's Band, will leave that band at the end of the year to join The Pink Slips Band following that outfits departure of Townsend Link |
PROBABLY THE BIG NEWS in local beach music circles, as I reported last week, The Pink Slips' lead singer, Townsend Link, currently #1 with his Deb Browning duet, as well as #36 with "Windows Rolled Down" with his band, is retiring and leaving them at the end of this year, and they were looking for a replacement. It looks like that will be none other than Michael Fite. Yes, THAT Michael Fite, currently the lead singer for The Mac Daddy's Band. He will assume lead singer duties for The Pink Slips' starting in 2027. As for the Daddy's, Fite will stay with them through the end of the year. There is no word on whether that band will continue without him. Both Fite and the Daddy's have done very well on SNS. Like Townsend, Michael also recorded duets with Deb Browning, garnering a #1 with "I Never Wanted To" (also topping my 2025 year-end chart), and its follow-up, "Getaway Car" which peaked at #2, and is still on a few beach charts.
As for The Mac Daddy's band, who I caught last fall at Captain Archie's, they've done well too. In 2024, they hit #5 with "Flip Flops and Margaritas", then followed that in 2025 with the #1 "Seaside in the Sand". Earlier this year, came their cover of "Bad Time" which got to #9. And now they have a hot one with "Shirley, You're Kidding" up from 38 to 25 in its third week. The band pulled out all the stops on that one with many of the beach community here behind the song and video, which makes it more shocking that Michael is leaving.
But the band he is moving to is no slouch either. The Pink Slips Band has done well in beach circles as well. On the SNS 100, the Slips hit #6 with "Dance" in 2024, and earlier this year, got to #9 with "Catch a Ride". The addition of Fite, combined with the band's songwriter David Howard Faircloth, should ensure continued success. And hopefully, the Slips will play the same area clubs that the Daddy's are currently doing.
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| Scotland's Anna Lavigne has released her latest album, Just Be. The set includes her first single, "One Black Swan", this week's Top Debut at #75 |
DEBUTS, WE HAVE DEBUTS: The new entries are led by the latest from Anna Lavigne, "One Black Swan", the lead single from her latest album, Just Be. While she tried some harder sounds on her last album (mixed in with her folk prowess), this one returns her to her Scottish and Celtic roots. The song reminds me a bit of Clannad or Enya. It's a nice, smooth, easy-going, charming effort. I've yet to hear the rest of the album, but it'll be worth hearing. Entering at #75 as Top Debut, Ms. Lavigne should be joining her fellow Scot (but with a vastly different style) Brooke Combe at the top of the chart.
The ever-versatile Devon Gilfillian follows his western-themed "Hold On (Hourglass)", with "Black Dog Rabbit Hole". He's done many styles, and this one just plain rocks out. He has a Lenny Kravitz vibe on this one. He's definitely getting at least Triple A play on this (the format where I discovered him), but if alternative stations don't play him, they're missing something.
Meanwhile, The Half-Cubes which recently visited the nineties with its cover of Jellyfish's "The Ghost at Number One" (of which that band's keyboardist Roger Manning Jr, is featured on The Pozers currently charting "Somewhere in My 21"), goes back to the 60's with another cover, "The Mighty Quinn". A 1968 top ten hit for Manfred Mann, and written by Bob Dylan, this take is apparently from a Dylan tribute album with various artists. Aside from the Cubes' patently stance on it, it's pretty much a faithful remake of Manfred Mann's version. It should put the duo back up the chart. It enters at #95.
Bruno Mars' latest album The Romantic has a nice variety of songs on it, and although I discovered a great track in "On My Soul", his "Risk It All" enters Billboard's top ten, so I added that one (although I also added "On My Soul" as a Murmur). "Risk" has sort of a Latin vibe to it, a nice ballad. Bruno has always been diverse in his styles, so it's nice that, 16 years after his assault on the charts, he's still relevant.
Fontaines DC has been on my chart a few times, and their latest, "Marianne", which is sort of center-lane mid-tempo alternative, and enters at #99....Similarly, Michigander, aka Jason Singer has made the chart a few times, enters the Tremors bubbling under list with "Freakin' Out". A steady-uptempo romp here.....finally, guitarist extraordinaire David F. Portfolio has also tackled many styles. His follow-up to "The Drifter" is in a jazzy-mode and proves that is rock-oriented guitar works in that frame. A lot of things going on here with much different instrumentation, but as always, his guitar work is in rare form.
AND FINALLY, next week (chart dated September 13) will be the final week for consideration on my "Song of the Summer" contest, which will be based on chart data stemming from May 10 through next week. I haven't computed anything yet, but there's a bunch of contenders for this year's crown.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
September 6, 2026
|
This Week |
Last Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks on List |
|
1 |
2 |
NUMBER ONE:  (Single Release) (6 Weeks at #1) |
18 |
|
2 |
3 |
7 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
9 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
6 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
10 |
|
|
6 |
12 |
6 |
|
|
7 |
8 |
13 |
|
|
8 |
11 |
8 |
|
|
9 |
7 |
33 |
|
|
10 |
9 |
14 |
|
|
11 |
15 |
8 |
|
|
12 |
13 |
11 |
|
|
13 |
17 |
12 |
|
|
14 |
20 |
6 |
|
|
15 |
24 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  Album: I Must Be Dreaming |
4 |
|
16 |
6 |
16 |
|
|
17 |
16 |
10 |
|
|
18 |
19 |
8 |
|
|
19 |
21 |
6 |
|
|
20 |
10 |
27 |
|
|
21 |
27 |
5 |
|
|
22 |
14 |
9 |
|
|
23 |
26 |
5 |
|
|
24 |
29 |
9 |
|
|
25 |
38 |
3 |
|
|
26 |
25 |
11 |
|
|
27 |
32 |
8 |
|
|
28 |
37 |
7 |
|
|
29 |
28 |
9 |
|
|
30 |
45 |
3 |
|
|
31 |
18 |
15 |
|
|
32 |
39 |
8 |
|
|
33 |
36 |
9 |
|
|
34 |
31 |
22 |
|
|
35 |
22 |
15 |
|
|
36 |
41 |
7 |
|
|
37 |
43 |
5 |
|
|
38 |
23 |
15 |
|
|
39 |
33 |
19 |
|
|
40 |
30 |
15 |
|
|
41 |
40 |
21 |
|
|
42 |
61 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  "Monster" Album: The Womack Sisters |
2 |
|
43 |
48 |
5 |
|
|
44 |
44 |
18 |
|
|
45 |
50 |
5 |
|
|
46 |
34 |
15 |
|
|
47 |
35 |
12 |
|
|
48 |
51 |
7 |
|
|
49 |
42 |
10 |
|
|
50 |
70 |
2 |
|
|
51 |
56 |
4 |
|
|
52 |
64 |
3 |
|
|
53 |
55 |
7 |
|
|
54 |
65 |
3 |
|
|
55 |
60 |
4 |
|
|
56 |
46 |
11 |
|
|
57 |
63 |
6 |
|
|
58 |
59 |
7 |
|
|
59 |
47 |
12 |
|
|
60 |
66 |
5 |
|
|
61 |
53 |
9 |
|
|
62 |
68 |
Sylvia Johns
Ritchie and Doyle Wood - I've Got the Just Can't Help Its |
18 |
|
63 |
69 |
4 |
|
|
64 |
89 |
2 |
|
|
65 |
74 |
3 |
|
|
66 |
77 |
4 |
|
|
67 |
49 |
15 |
|
|
68 |
76 |
4 |
|
|
69 |
67 |
6 |
|
|
70 |
73 |
6 |
|
|
71 |
52 |
12 |
|
|
72 |
93 |
2 |
|
|
73 |
84 |
2 |
|
|
74 |
54 |
11 |
|
|
75 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  Album: Just Be |
1 |
|
76 |
78 |
16 |
|
|
77 |
87 |
2 |
|
|
78 |
86 |
3 |
|
|
79 |
58 |
14 |
|
|
80 |
62 |
18 |
|
|
81 |
92 |
3 |
|
|
82 |
98 |
3 |
|
|
83 |
72 |
11 |
|
|
84 |
79 |
4 |
|
|
85 |
88 |
5 |
|
|
86 |
101 |
1 |
|
|
87 |
57 |
12 |
|
|
88 |
95 |
3 |
|
|
89 |
83 |
47 |
|
|
90 |
91 |
3 |
|
|
91 |
103 |
1 |
|
|
92 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
93 |
71 |
9 |
|
|
94 |
99 |
2 |
|
|
95 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
96 |
97 |
16 |
|
|
97 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
98 |
82 |
14 |
|
|
99 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
100 |
75 |
8 |
Tremors:
101. The Revivalists - Heart Stop
102. Brandon Flowers - Plans
103. Michigander - Freakin' Out
104. The Jayhawks - Keeping Our Heads Above Water
105. Beck - Disappearing Act
106. Michael Hyatt - Shagging in Carolina
107. David F. Porfirio - The Velvet Grindhouse
Tremors: Songs which have steady or increasing points but not enough to chart on the SNS 100.
Murmurs:
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
●Songs garnering 25 plays on Spotify (“Scrobbles”) according to Last.Fm (effective October 2024) ▲ Songs garnering 50 plays.
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 41-100 and Newbies Songs in Positions 41-100 on the SNS 100 plus new additions
Scenes Recurrents: Songs which had been in the top 20 and/or songs on the chart 25 weeks or more, that have dropped off the SNS 100.
(Rob Sheldon is a music fan who has followed music trends the past 60 years, and covers new and classic music, specializing in pop, rock, alternative, beach, soul and country genres). He can be contacted at rsheldonx4804@gmail.com
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