Month: September 2024

Top 30 Songs for September 29-October 5, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's8 Comments
Photo by Sophie Jones

A new week, another new song to top my chart. “Messy”, the defiant, emotionally-charged single by English singer-songwriter and musician Lola Young, ascends to the #1 spot. The 23-year-old South London-based artist lists Joni Mitchell, Prince, Adele, SZA, Frank Ocean, and Anderson .Paak among her musical influences, and her provocative songwriting and smoky vocal style have earned her comparisons with the late Amy Winehouse. “Messy” is from her critically-acclaimed third album This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway, which dropped June 21st. Young named-dropped its title in a statement: “Here is my first born child, a fuck you to all my exes, and basically me just trying to figure out some shit openly and honestly on record. First of many and if you don’t like it, then this wasn’t meant for you anyway.”

Accordingly, “Messy” is an angry tirade to a romantic partner, with brilliantly written, highly relatable lyrics expressing her exasperation with them for never being satisfied with her, no matter how hard she’s tried to please them: “Cause I’m too messy and then I’m too fucking clean. You told me get a job then you ask where the hell I’ve been. And I’m too perfect till I open my big mouth. I want to be me, is that not allowed? And I’m too perfect till I show you that I’m not. A thousand people I could be for you, and you hate the fucking lot.” I love both the song and video.

Three songs enter the top 10 this week – “That’s How I’m Feeling” by Jack White, “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan, and “You Just Played My Mind” by English singer-songwriter Oli Barton, charting at #8, #9 and #10, respectively. Teddy Swims has the biggest upward mover with his marvelous single “The Door”, jumping eight spots to #20. The lone debut this week is “Die With A Smile”, the beautiful collaborative single by music heavyweights Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, finally entering my chart at #29. Though I really like both artists, it took a while for the song to grow on me for some inexplicable reason.

  1. MESSY – Lola Young (4)
  2. LIKE YOU DO – Talk in waves (1)
  3. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (3)
  4. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (5)
  5. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (2)
  6. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (8)
  7. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (10)
  8. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (14)
  9. GOOD LUCK, BABE!” – Chappell Roan (11)
  10. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (13)
  11. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (6)
  12. OH NO! – The Decemberists (7)
  13. WAR – Healer (15)
  14. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (16)
  15. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (17)
  16. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (18)
  17. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (20)
  18. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (9)
  19. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (12)
  20. THE DOOR – Teddy Swims (28)
  21. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (23)
  22. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn (22)
  23. HOLOGRAM – Raker (24)
  24. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (25)
  25. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (26)
  26. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (27)
  27. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (19) 21st week on chart
  28. UP ALL NIGHT – James Bay, The Lumineers & Noah Kahan (30)
  29. DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (N)
  30. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (21)

Top 30 Songs for September 22-28, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's8 Comments

Talk in Waves, the newly-rechristened music project of Northern Virginia-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jake Mimikos that was formerly known as The Frontier, is a long-time favorite artist of mine. The talented, hard working guy skillfully blends elements of folk, pop, indie rock and electronica to create songs that are incredibly melodic, flawlessly crafted and always catchy, all self-recorded and produced in his home studio. As with many singer-songwriters, Jake’s songs are often inspired by personal experiences, touching on relatable topics like love, relationships and loss, which are expressed through lyrics that are honest and straightforward, and delivered with his warm, pleasing vocals.

His latest single “Like You Do” (which I reviewed in May) finally ascends to the #1 spot on my Top 30 after a long, steady climb. The bittersweet song is directed toward a former romantic partner who the singer desperately longs for, and wishes would come back into his life. It’s his fifth song to reach #1 on my chart, following “Dark Places” (2019), “Can We Go Back” (2021), “Closer” (2022) and “Walk Through the Fire” (2023), while his 2020 single “Sleep” reached #2.

In other chart news of note, both Cage the Elephant‘s “Rainbow” and Lola Young‘s “Messy” advance five spots to #3 and #4, respectively, while Billie Eilish moves up two spots to enter the top 10 with her lovely song “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”. “That’s How I’m Feeling” by Jack White also climbs five spots to #14, while “Peaceful Place” by Leon Bridges leaps eight spots to #20, making it the biggest upward mover this week.

Two songs enter my chart this week, starting with the hard-driving and soulful “The Door” by American singer-songwriter Teddy Swims (aka Jaten Collin Dimsdale). Co-written by Swims and John Ryan, John Sudduth, Sherwyn Nicholls, Joshua Coleman, and Julian Bunetta, he says the song is about saving his own life and finding the courage to walk out on an abusive relationship that played a part in driving his friends and family out of his life. (Wikipedia) “The Door” was originally released last September as one of the tracks on his debut album I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1), and as the album’s third single this past April. Swims reached #1 on my chart earlier this year with “Lose Control”. Entering at #30 is “Up All Night”, a rousing collaboration by a powerhouse lineup of English singer-songwriter James Bay, Colorado-based alternative folk band The Lumineers and Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan. All three acts have previously scored #1 songs on my chart.

  1. LIKE YOU DO – Talk in Waves (3)
  2. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (1)
  3. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (8)
  4. MESSY – Lola Young (9)
  5. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (6)
  6. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (2)
  7. OH NO! – The Decemberists (5)
  8. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (10)
  9. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (4)
  10. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (12)
  11. GOOD LUCK, BABE! – Chappell Roan (13)
  12. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (7)
  13. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (15)
  14. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (19)
  15. WAR – Healer (16)
  16. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (17)
  17. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (18)
  18. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (20)
  19. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (11) 20th week on chart
  20. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (28)
  21. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (14)
  22. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn (22)
  23. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (23)
  24. HOLOGRAM – Raker (25)
  25. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (26)
  26. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (29)
  27. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (30)
  28. THE DOOR – Teddy Swims (N)
  29. WAKING LIFE – Nicholas a. Milillo feat. Dee Wolf, Bobby Jasso, Gabrielle Marella and the voice of Tony Milillo (21)
  30. UP ALL NIGHT – James Bay, The Lumineers & Noah Kahan (N)

Top 30 Songs for September 15-21, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's11 Comments

Three and a half months after its release, “Lost In Space” by Foster the People finally ascends to the #1 spot, something I would not have predicted when it first appeared on my chart 12 weeks ago. Though they’ve been one of my favorite bands for well over 10 years, I wasn’t sure about the song at first. With its throwback disco/funk beat and heavy electronic vibe , it sounded quite different from anything they’d done before. In time, however, it eventually grew on me to the point where I now love it. I like its exuberant cinematic feel, especially the lush orchestral strings. “Lost In Space” was the lead single from their fourth studio album Paradise State of Mind, released on August 16, and is their fourth song to top my chart, following “Pumped Up Kicks”, “Coming of Age” and “Sit Next To Me”.

Still based in Los Angeles since forming in 2009, Foster the People now consists of founding member and front man Mark Foster and multi-instrumentalist Isom Innis, who started as a touring member of the band way back in 2010. A lot has happened with Foster and the band since the release of their 2017 album Sacred Hearts Club; he got sober in 2018, married actress Julia Garner in 2019, and saw the departure of the band’s founding drummer Mark Pontius in early 2021 during the waning days of the Covid pandemic, when they were unable to tour or perform live. All these changes caused Foster to look inward. In an interview with GRAMMY.com, he explained “I just dove into myself, really unpacking a lot of things emotionally, psychologically. Finding out who Mark is outside of music and getting comfortable with that.” He decided to explore new musical sounds for their next record Paradise State of Mind, diving into the disco/funk crossover pioneered by artists like Nile Rodgers and Giorgio Moroder in the late ’70s, utilizing synth stylings similar to that of P-Funk’s Bernie Worrell. In a Reddit thread, he noted that 95% of the synths are analog, and all of the strings are live.

The colorful video, a great deal of which is shot in vivid red hues, was directed by Rupert Höller. It’s kind of a modernized and trippy take on the Busby Berkeley movie musicals of the 1930s, with Mark Foster filmed on various sets, one of them a tall red staircase, and surrounded by lots of dancers. Though it’s a pretty enjoyable video overall, I can’t figure out the intended meaning of all those hands swaying, fluttering and caressing Foster’s face.

In other chart news of note, Virginia-based singer-songwriter Jake Mimikos, who’s been recording and releasing music as The Frontier for the past 10 years, has just changed his music moniker to Talk in waves, to reflect his evolving sound. His latest single “Like You Do” advances a spot to #3. English singer-songwriters Lola Young and Myles Smith enter the top 10 with their songs “Messy” and “Stargazing”, each moving up two spots to #9 and #10, respectively.

Three marvelous songs make their debut this week, the first of which is the lovely and captivating “Peaceful Place” by enormously talented Texas-based singer-songwriter Leon Bridges. I love his pleasing style of R&B-influenced neo soul, particularly his smooth and warm vocals. The song is the lead single from his fourth studio album Leon, scheduled for release on October 4, 2024, and marks Bridges’ sixth appearance on my chart, four times as a solo artist and twice in collaboration with Texas-based psych rock band Khruangbin. His beautiful song “Bad Bad News” ranks #29 on my Top 100 Songs of the 2010’s list.

Entering at #29 is the delightful “can’t slow down” by San Diego-based indie pop trio almost monday. It’s their second appearance on my chart, their first being their 2020 single “broken people”. They’ll be releasing their debut studio album Dive on September 25th. Last, but certainly not least, is “Favourite” by Irish band Fontaines D.C., the second single to be released from their outstanding latest album Romance, which dropped August 23rd. Along with “Starburster”, which spent three weeks at #1 and currently sits at #4, “Favourite” gives the band two songs on this chart.

  1. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (3)
  2. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (1)
  3. LIKE YOU DO – Talk in waves (4)
  4. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (2)
  5. OH NO! – The Decemberists (6)
  6. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (8)
  7. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (5)
  8. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (10)
  9. MESSY – Lola Young (11)
  10. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (12)
  11. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (7)
  12. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (14)
  13. GOOD LUCK, BABE! – Chappell Roan (15)
  14. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (9)
  15. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (16)
  16. WAR – Healer (18)
  17. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (19)
  18. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (20)
  19. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (21)
  20. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (22)
  21. WAKING LIFE – Nicholas a. Milillo feat. Dee Wolf, Bobby Jasso, Gabrielle Marella and the voice of Tony Milillo (13)
  22. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn (26)
  23. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (27)
  24. A FORETOLD ECSTASY – Mayflower Madame (17)
  25. HOLOGRAM – Raker (29)
  26. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (30)
  27. RUN YOUR MOUTH – The Marías (24)
  28. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (N)
  29. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (N)
  30. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (N)

Top 30 Songs for September 8-14, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's13 Comments

The past week has been blazing hot in Southern California, with many locations either reaching or breaking their all-time record high temperatures (112 in downtown L.A., 114 in Burbank, 119 in Woodland Hills and 121 in Palm Springs, the sixth time this summer it’s reached or exceeded 120 here!). My latest top 30 is sizzling hot too, filled with terrific songs by some of the best artists making music today.

“The Craving” by twenty one pilots maintains a firm grip on the top spot for a third week, while Fontaines D.C.‘s “Starburster” still has the power to excite and amaze, and thus remains at #2 for a third week after spending three weeks at #1. Moving into third place is “Lost In Space” by one of my longtime favorite acts Foster the People. The song took a while to really grab me, but now I love it! Always dependable singer-songwriter The Frontier moves up a notch to #4 with his heartwarming “Like You Do”, while Beach Weather‘s sultry “High In Low Places” inches down a notch to #5. It’s the song’s 11th week in the top five, three of which were spent at #1. Cage the Elephant‘s “Rainbow” moves up one, entering the top 10 at #10. The biggest upward movers this week are “That’s How I’m Feeling” by Jack White and “Death Valley High” by Orville Peck & Beck, each advancing seven spots to #21 and #22, respectively.

Two songs make their debut this week, starting with the lovely “Hologram” by Miami-based pop-rock duo Raker (which I reviewed last month). The second is the captivating and sensuous “Garmonbozia” by Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, musician and producer Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison), which I learned about in a recent post on the wonderful New Music Jason’s Picks blog. The talented and multi-faceted artist has had a long and successful career since 2007, releasing ten albums, numerous EPs, and collaborating with the likes of Thundercat, Denzel Curry, Anderson .Paak and Smoke DZA, among others. Ellison named the song after the mysterious substance that looks like creamed corn and represents “pain and sorrow” referenced in the TV series Twin Peaks.

  1. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (1)
  2. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (2)
  3. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (6)
  4. LIKE YOU DO – The Frontier (5)
  5. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (4)
  6. OH NO! – The Decemberists (7)
  7. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (3)
  8. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (8)
  9. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (9)
  10. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (11)
  11. MESSY – Lola Young (12)
  12. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (15)
  13. WAKING LIFE – Nicholas a. Milillo feat. Dee Wolf, Bobby Jasso, Gabrielle Marella and the voice of Tony Milillo (13)
  14. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (19)
  15. GOOD LUCK, BABE! – Chappell Roan (20)
  16. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (18)
  17. A FORETOLD ECSTASY – Mayflower Madame (10)
  18. WAR – Healer (21)
  19. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (22)
  20. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (26)
  21. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (28)
  22. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (29)
  23. LUNCH – Billie Eilish (14)
  24. RUN YOUR MOUTH – The Marías (16)
  25. I HAD SOME HELP – Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen (17)
  26. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn (27)
  27. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (30)
  28. WRECKAGE – Pearl Jam (23)
  29. HOLOGRAM – Raker (N)
  30. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (N)

Top 30 Songs for September 1-7, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's11 Comments

twenty one pilots hold on to the top spot for a second week with their heartwarming love song “The Craving”, while Fontaines D.C., AWOLNATION and Beach Weather remain at #2, 3 & 4 for a second week with “Starburster”, “Panoramic View” and “High In Low Places”, respectively. Northern Virginia singer-songwriter The Frontier‘s uplifting song of tribute “Like You Do” moves up a notch to #5, and the melancholy and introspective “What if i feel like this my whole life?” by English singer-songwriter HULLAH enters the top 10 at #9. He just released another new single “Roads” this past Friday, August 30th. The biggest upward mover this week is “Messy” by English singer-songwriter Lola Young, advancing nine spots to #12.

Debuting this week are three great songs by innovative and rather unorthodox artists, the first of which is “That’s How I’m Feeling” by Detroit-born and now Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire Jack White. The song is from his sixth studio album No Name, which dropped August 2nd. White gained more of my respect a few days ago when he posted this scathing rant against the despicable Donald Trump after a woman named Margo Martin played “Seven Nation Army” at one of his campaign rallies: “Oh….Don’t even think about using my music you fascists. Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others.) Have a great day at work today Margo Martin. And as long as I’m here, a double fuck you DonOLD for insulting our nation’s veterans at Arlington you scum. You should lose every military family’s vote immediately from that if ANYTHING makes sense anymore.” His words pretty closely mirror my feelings for the odious mutherfucker.

The second debut is the delightfully catchy “Death Valley High” by enigmatic gay alt-country singer-songwriter Orville Peck (born Daniel Pitout in Johannesburg, South Africa, and known for always wearing a mask so as not to show his face publicly) and legendary singer-songwriter Beck. Co-written with Beck, the song is from Peck’s third studio album Stampede, also released on August 2nd. The album features 16 tracks, all of which are duets with other artists. Beck’s influence is immediately apparent, as the song features a riff that’s similar to the recent Black Keys #1 hit song “Beautiful People (Stay High)”, which he also co-wrote and produced.

The third debut, entering at #30, is “Big Cat Tattoos” by Scottish singer-songwriter Hamish Hawk, whose music has been described as sophisti-pop, post-punk and art rock. His rich baritone voice has been compared to those of Scott Walker, Neil Hannon and Morrissey. Released in late April, the song is from his third solo studio album A Firmer Hand, which dropped August 16th. The critically acclaimed album features 12 tracks touching on Hawk’s relationships with the men in his life including friends, lovers, family members and colleagues, and exploring themes of sex, lust, rejection, masculinity, shame and sexual repression.

  1. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (1)
  2. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (2)
  3. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (3)
  4. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (4)
  5. LIKE YOU DO – The Frontier (6)
  6. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (7)
  7. OH NO! – The Decemberists (8)
  8. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (10)
  9. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (11)
  10. A FORETOLD ECSTASY – Mayflower Madame (5)
  11. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (15)
  12. MESSY – Lola Young (21)
  13. WAKING LIFE – Nicholas a. Milillo feat. Dee Wolf, Bobby Jasso, Gabrielle Marella and the voice of Tony Milillo (18)
  14. LUNCH – Billie Eilish (9)
  15. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (19)
  16. RUN YOUR MOUTH – The Marías (13)
  17. I HAD SOME HELP – Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen (12)
  18. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (20)
  19. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (24)
  20. GOOD LUCK, BABE! – Chappell Roan (25)
  21. WAR – Healer (22)
  22. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (23)
  23. WRECKAGE – Pearl Jam (14)
  24. PAYBACK – Aaron Frazer (17)
  25. END OF BEGINNING – Djo (16)
  26. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (29)
  27. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn (30)
  28. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (N)
  29. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (N)
  30. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (N)