The first time I heard “Love From the Other Side” by rock band Fall Out Boy, I knew it would be a number one hit. And sure enough, in just four weeks it’s reached the top of my weekly chart (it’s also currently #1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart). I love hard-driving rock songs with symphonic elements, so “Love From the Other Side” is right up my alley. It’s their first song to ever top my chart (as well as any Billboard chart), and I can say with certainty that it’s already my all-time favorite song by them. Their first new music release in four years, the song is the lead single from their forthcoming eighth studio album So Much (for) Stardust, due for release on March 24th. The song marks a return to Fall Out Boy releasing music under the Fueled by Ramen label.

The lyrics are filled with meanings open to interpretation, but overall, they seem to address the band’s internal struggles with their own stardom and success. According to a comment on Genius Lyrics, “The song [and] music video have a general theme of a new beginning. The last release from the band was ‘Mania’ from 2018. ‘Mania’ didn’t resonate very well with the audience, and the band didn’t release anything after 2019 outside of some collaborations. The ‘apocalypse’ is the failure of Mania and the following silence, with the new album being ‘the other side’ and a new beginning for their career, popularity, and music style.” ‘The apocalypse” can also likely be construed as a reference to the Covid pandemic. The imaginative video features band member Pete Wentz as an old man, reading a fantasy story to his granddaughter.

In addition to “Love From the Other Side”, there are so many fantastic songs out now, many by veteran artists and bands. The gorgeous “Transmitter” by Sea Power climbs four spots to #6, “Tropic Morning News” by The National rises five spots to #12, “New Gold” by Gorillaz, Tame Impala (who’s now recovering from recent surgery to repair a broken hip), and Bootie Brown jumps seven spots to #16, and “Ghosts Again” by Depeche Mode leaps 13 spots to #17.

Four songs make their debut this week: “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus finally enters my chart at #27 after having just spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though I think she has a pretty good singing voice, I’ve never been much of a fan, as some of her slutty antics really turned me off. But after giving the song a careful listen the other day, it finally clicked with me and I have to concede that it’s a good song. With “Flowers”, Cyrus makes her very first appearance ever on my chart. The other three debuts include the boisterous “Modernise” by English rock band Slow Readers Club, at #28, the beautiful “The Walk Home” by one of my favorite American pop-rock bands Young the Giant, at #29, and the enchanting “Bluebell Wood” by English singer-songwriter Frank Joshua, at #30.

1. LOVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE – Fall Out Boy (3)
2. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (1)
3. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (4)
4. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (2)
5. PAGES – White Reaper (5)
6. TRANSMITTER – Sea Power (10)
7. WILD AS THE WIND – HULLAH (7)
8. MAYFLY – Callum Pitt (8)
9. JUST BEFORE THE MORNING – Local Natives (9)
10. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (6)
11. YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO – Darksoft (13)
12. TROPIC MORNING NEWS – The National (17)
13. PEPPER – Death Cab for Cutie (15)
14. SUREFIRE – Wilderado (16)
15. SLEEPWALKING – All Time Low (14)
16. NEW GOLD – Gorillaz, Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (23)
17. GHOSTS AGAIN – Depeche Mode (30)
18. EVERGREEN – Mt. Joy (20)
19. SOFTEN – Alex Southey (22)
20. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (11) 20th week on chart
21. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (12)
22. EYEZ – The Arcs (24)
23. WEIGHTLESS – Arlo Parks (25)
24. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (18)
25. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (19)
26. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (21)
27. FLOWERS – Miley Cyrus (N)
28. MODERNISE – Slow Readers Club (N)
29. THE WALK HOME – Young the Giant (N)
30. BLUEBELL WOOD – Frank Joshua (N)