Though it’s now Autumn, the weather here in the Southern California desert is still quite summer-like, with temperatures over the past week ranging from 107-117 (41-47C). This unrelenting heat, combined with the sorry state of our impending election, in which a vile, incoherent and corrupt serial liar has a good chance of being elected President for a second time, has made it difficult for me to stay positive. Thankfully, there’s lots of great music to help brighten my mood a bit.

English singer-songwriter and musician Lola Young‘s “Messy”, a scathing rant against a romantic partner who can never be satisfied, remains at #1 for a second week, while Cage the Elephant‘s “Rainbow” moves into second place. Jack White‘s boisterous “That’s How I’m Feeling” climbs four spots to #4, and the appropriately titled “Peaceful Place” by Leon Bridges jumps seven spots to enter the top 10 at #10. The gorgeous song is from his fourth studio album Leon, which dropped this past Friday, October 4th. “Favourite” by Fontaines D.C. is this week’s biggest upward mover, leaping eight spots to #18. (Their song “Starburster” falls eight spots to #26, its 19th week on this chart, three of which were spent at #1 and another three at #2.)

Two songs enter my chart this week, the first of which is “Hardcore Romance”, a steamy and sultry number by one of my favorite bands Beach Weather, whose equally sultry “High In Low Places” has spent the past 18 weeks on my chart, three of them at #1. Both songs will be included on their forthcoming second album Melt, scheduled for release on October 25th.

Entering at #30 is the darkly beautiful “Bothering Me”, by Australian singer-songwriter, musician and producer Sarah Blasko, which I learned about in a recent post by fellow blogger Robert Horvat, who writes a terrific blog Rearview Mirror. About the meaning behind the song, Sarah told Australian webzine Noise11: “Dreams seem to be a way of processing things that happen during the day and so I embraced dreaming as a way of getting over things. Getting older is TOUGH. Sometimes I don’t know who I am anymore and that I’ve lost touch with the person I used to be and the dreams I held. I try to let go but not let go at the same time because dreams are important.” “Bothering Me” is the second single from her forthcoming seventh studio album I Just Need to Conquer This Mountain, to be released in November.

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