What a great week this has been, with a sizable majority of American voters finally waking from their stupor to give a massive repudiation to Trump and his sycophantic Republican party. I’m feeling even more hopeful now than I did when Joe Biden was elected in late 2020.

OK, back to the music. My love for Fontaines D.C. continues to grow, and their song “Marianne” remains at #1 for a fourth week. Many others appear to share my love and admiration for the Irish band too, as evidenced by my response to a recent Instagram post about Liam Gallagher of Oasis stating that Fontaines D.C. aren’t good enough to be an opening act for their upcoming 2027 tour. An opinion writer for The Irish Times posted that Gallagher – who’s arguably one of the biggest assholes in the music industry – was wrong about Fontaines D.C. My comment on the Times‘ Instagram post that Oasis should be the ones opening for Fontaines D.C. has gotten 2,000 likes and counting as of this writing, with a few snarky replies of course. One prick commented that the worst Oasis song is better than any that Fontaines D.C. have put out. Oh well, can’t please them all, and even esteemed acts like The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and Adele have their haters.

The next four songs in the top five – “Stone Over Water” by Death Cab for Cutie, “I Feel Hope Coming” by Alabama Shakes, “Loser” by Tame Impala, and “We Might as Well Be Strangers” by Weezer feat. Wednesday, remain in place. The biggest upward mover this week is “Metastasized” by Canadian band Bealby Point, climbing four spots to #6. And two songs enter the top 10, “Behind The Lines Of Reason” by English indie rock band Hardwicke Circus and “Love To Go” by Nashville-based alt rock band Edgehill.

The lone new addition to this week’s chart is “Stay With Me”, the latest single by northern Virginia artist Talk in Waves. The music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jake Mimikos, Talk in Waves has been a favorite of mine since at least 2019, and I’m thrilled to have another song of his appear on my chart. I’ve loved most of this songs, with six of them reaching #1 on my charts, one of which – “Like You Do” – also topping my 100 Best Indie Songs of 2024 list. Mimikos has been mainly DIY on most of his recordings, but more recently has teamed up with Jarrett Nicolay of Mixtape Studios for recording, mixing and mastering, and his friend Shawn Battle for singing backing harmonies.

1. MARIANNE – Fontaines D.C. (1) 4th week at #1
2. STONE OVER WATER – Death Cab for Cutie (2)
3. I FEEL HOPE COMING – Alabama Shakes (3)
4. LOSER – Tame Impala (4)
5. WE MIGHT AS WELL BE STRANGERS – Weezer feat. Wednesday (5)
6. METASTASIZED – Bealby Point (10)
7. WINDOW – Foo Fighters (9)
8. PRIVATE – The Neighbourhood (6) 20th week on chart
9. BEHIND THE LINES OF REASON – Hardwicke Circus (12)
10. LOVE TO GO – Edgehill (13)
11. EDGE OF THE EARTH – The Beaches (8)
12. LOST BOYS – Phoebe Bridgers (7)
13. YOUNG AGAIN – Shinedown (14)
14. BLACK DOG RABBIT HOLE – Devon Gilfillian (15)
15. GOOD TIMES // END TIMES – Goose (16)
16. ALREADY GONE – Orville Peck (17)
17. I KINDA LIKE THAT – The Paradox (18)
18. OH YEAH? – Steve Lacy (19)
19. BEACHES IN TENNESSEE – Cage the Elephant (11)
20. EXIT SIGNS – LEAP (22)
21. BOTTLE – Remi Wolf (23)
22. BEDHEAD – Balu Brigada (24)
23. NEW AESTHETIC – Beach Weather (25)
24. WHO’S THAT – The War on Drugs (26)
25. FIVE – Secret Postal Society (27)
26. MY WHOLE WORLD – Kings of Leon (29)
27. BEYOND THE RAIN – Johnny Marr (30)
28. I CAN TAKE THE SUN OUT OF THE SKY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (20)
29. HIGH HOPES 3000 – ROLE MODEL (21)
30. STAY WITH ME – Talk in Waves (N)