Tag: Blur

Top 30 Songs for July 30-August 5, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's14 Comments
Photo by Alex Finlay

I’ve been a fan of British alternative psychedelic rock band Future Theory since early 2017, and love their intelligent songwriting and ace musicianship. Comprised of Max Sander on rhythm guitar and vocals, Chris Moore on lead guitar, Jacob Brookes on bass and Rohan Parrett on drums, they blend alternative and progressive rock, psychedelia, grunge, shoegaze and funk to create arresting songs characterized by complex melodies and arrangements, lavish instrumentation, and Max’s distinctive mesmerizing vocals. I’ve written about them and their outstanding music many times on this blog, and it’s been gratifying to see them mature and grow as artists. One of their singles “One and the Same”, from their 2022 debut album Future Theory, spent 18 weeks on my Weekly Top 30 and ranks #42 on my 100 Best Songs of 2022 list. They began releasing a series of new singles this past April, the first of which, “Why”, is a dramatic and beautiful song about a dysfunctional relationship that’s breaking apart. They’ve since dropped two more great singles, “Rage” and “Too Bad”, but “Why” remains my favorite. Now, in its 14th week on my Top 30 chart, it reaches the top at last.

In other notable chart developments, the top 10 contains the same 10 songs for the third week in a row, albeit in different positions. Lana Del Rey‘s “Say Yes To Heaven” is the biggest upward mover, climbing five spots to #11. Two songs make their debut this week: Entering at #29 is the captivating “kisses” by longtime British dream rock band Slowdive, which I learned about from Andy Peterson, a superb writer with great music taste who writes his own blog The Voice Of Unreason. Bringing up the rear at #30 is “Dial Drunk” by Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, who’s also represented on this list by “We’re All Gonna Die”, a duet with American singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun that sits at #14.

And now for a special rant about the Billboard Hot 100 and the questionable music tastes of the American public. Two weeks ago, Olivia Rodrigo’s “vampire” debuted at #1, which led me to believe she would enjoy a long run at the top. But I was terribly wrong, and her song has already fallen to #7. Meanwhile, the top songs on the chart are a catchy but throwaway pop song from Junk Kook, one of the members of South Korean K-pop boy band BTS, who sings about fucking his beloved seven days a week, accompanied by rapping by female rapper Latto. That is followed by three Country songs – Jason Aldean’s awful “Try That in a Small Town”, Morgan Wallen’s tiresome “Last Night” (which spent 12 weeks at #1), and Luke Combs’ remake of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”,  which I concede isn’t bad. The song at #6 is the horrific “fukumean” by American rapper Gunna. Whatever…

Here’s my far superior song list:

  1. WHY – Future Theory (5)
  2. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (1)
  3. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (2)
  4. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (7)
  5. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (6)
  6. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (8)
  7. VAMPIRE – Olivia Rodrigo (9)
  8. LEAVING – Au Gres (3)
  9. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (4)
  10. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (10)
  11. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (16)
  12. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (14)
  13. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (15)
  14. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (13)
  15. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (11)
  16. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (12)
  17. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (20)
  18. BONES – HEALER (21)
  19. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (22)
  20. ORBIT – Gooseberry (23)
  21. OVERRATED – dwi (24)
  22. LAST TIME EVERY TIME FOREVER – Grian Chatten (25)
  23. CALL ME WHAT YOU LIKE – Lovejoy (26)
  24. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (27)
  25. DAYLIGHT – David Kushner (28)
  26. KID – The Revivalists (17) 20th week on chart
  27. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (18)
  28. I DON’T BELIEVE IN YOU – Brian Lambert & Jr Moz Collective (30)
  29. KISSES – Slowdive (N)
  30. DIAL DRUNK – Noah Kahan (N)

Top 30 Songs for July 23-29, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's7 Comments

I love synthpop songs with a good dance groove, and the collaborative single “Essence”, by young Danish DJ and electronic house music producer Refeci and Canadian-American singer-songwriter and musician Shimmer Johnson, fits the bill quite nicely. The mesmerizing song holds the #1 spot on my chart for a second week. The Foo Fighters‘ exhilarating “Rescued” remains at #2 for a second week after spending three weeks at #1. Sliding into third place is the beautiful “Leaving” by Michigan singer-songwriter Au Gres (aka Joshua Kemp), and “Why” by supremely talented British alt-rock band Future Theory moves up to #5. Olivia Rodrigo‘s biting “Vampire” (pun fully intended) enters the top 10 at #9.

Two wonderful songs make their debut this week. Entering at #28 is the hauntingly beautiful “Daylight” by American singer-songwriter David Kushner. A relative newcomer to the music business, in just a year and a half, his songs have already racked up more than 725 million streams on Spotify alone, thanks to some of them going viral on TikTok (a platform I rarely look at, but is far and away the most popular for young people). In an interview with webzine Paper, Kushner remarked “TikTok has played the biggest role in my music career. It started as a fun thing. I definitely had not planned to market my music. …after writing “Miserable Man”, I decided to just leak the song on the platform. I didn’t expect that the next day I’d wake up to a couple hundred thousand likes. Not even a few weeks later, “Mr. Forgettable” did the same thing. At that point, I knew that TikTok would be a powerful tool to be able to connect with new people.”  Released in April, the gospel-like “Daylight” has already been streamed over 387 million times on Spotify.

The second debut is “I Don’t Believe In You” by Texas-based singer-songwriter Brian Lambert, entering at #30. The powerful song, which I reviewed a month ago today, is a reimagining of the original track written and performed by Jr Moz Collective (aka singer-songwriter Mike Mosley, who played guitar, bass and synths on the track, with drums by Paul Prater).

  1. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (1)
  2. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (2)
  3. LEAVING – Au Gres (4)
  4. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (3)
  5. WHY – Future Theory (6)
  6. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (7)
  7. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (8)
  8. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (10)
  9. VAMPIRE – Olivia Rodrigo (11)
  10. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (5)
  11. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (9)
  12. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (12)
  13. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (15)
  14. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (16)
  15. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (17)
  16. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (21)
  17. KID – The Revivalists (13)
  18. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (14)
  19. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (18)
  20. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (23)
  21. BONES – HEALER (24)
  22. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (25)
  23. ORBIT – Gooseberry (26)
  24. OVERRATED – dwi (27)
  25. LAST TIME EVERY TIME FOREVER – Grian Chatten (28)
  26. CALL ME WHAT YOU LIKE – Lovejoy (29)
  27. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (30)
  28. DAYLIGHT – David Kushner (N)
  29. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (20)
  30. I DON’T BELIEVE IN YOU – Brian Lambert & Jr Moz Collective (N)

Top 30 Songs for July 16-22, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's14 Comments

After a long, steady climb up my chart, I’m happy to announce that “Essence”, the stunning electro-pop collaboration between young Danish DJ and electronic house music producer Refeci (aka Victor Cornelius Tommerup) and Canadian-American singer-songwriter and musician Shimmer Johnson, has reached #1. They’ve each released an impressive amount of music both as solo artists and in collaboration with numerous musicians and vocalists. Refeci composed the mesmerizing and sensuous music, while Shimmer wrote the lyrics that speak to the importance of having faith in ourselves to forge our own path: “Don’t ever ever doubt your life. Make a wish and just believe. Find the path that’s right. It’s the essence of life.” It’s Shimmer’s second song to top my chart, her first being “Starts With You” early last year.

In other notable changes this week, “The Narcissist” by Brit pop band Blur enters the top 10 at #8, and “Psychos” by American singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis leaps 10 spots to #10. Three songs enter the chart, the first of which, “Vampire”, by 20-year-old Southern California-based singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo, debuts at #11. Released on June 30, the heartrending song debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, her third single to do so (the others were her 2021 monster hit “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U”). “Call Me What You Like” by British indie rock band Lovejoy, enters at #29, and “Good Vibrations” by Texas duo MISSIO (which I recently reviewed) enters at #30.

  1. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (2)
  2. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (1)
  3. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (4)
  4. LEAVING – Au Gres (5)
  5. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (3)
  6. WHY – Future Theory (7)
  7. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (9)
  8. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (12)
  9. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (10)
  10. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (20)
  11. VAMPIRE – Olivia Rodrigo (N)
  12. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (15)
  13. KID – The Revivalists (8)
  14. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (11)
  15. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (17)
  16. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (18)
  17. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (19)
  18. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (16)
  19. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (6)
  20. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (13)
  21. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (24)
  22. THOSE EYES – New West (14)
  23. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (23)
  24. BONES – HEALER (25)
  25. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (26)
  26. ORBIT – Gooseberry (28)
  27. OVERRATED – dwi (29)
  28. LAST TIME EVERY TIME FOREVER – Grian Chatten (30)
  29. CALL ME WHAT YOU LIKE – Lovejoy (N)
  30. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (N)

Top 30 Songs for July 9-15, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's12 Comments

The Foo Fighters remain on top for a third week with their cathartic “Rescued”, while the mesmerizing “Essence”, by Danish electronic artist Refeci and Canadian-American singer-songwriter Shimmer Johnson, slides into the #2 spot. Rounding out the top five are “Not Strong Enough” by supergroup boygenius, “Rescue Me” (lots of rescuing going on!) by L.A. ska band Dirty Heads, and “Leaving” by Michigan singer-songwriter Au Gres. Entering the top 10 are “Why” by British alt-rock band Future Theory, at #7, “Pineapple Sunrise” by Beach Weather, at #9, and “In My Head” by Mike Shinoda and Kailee Morgue, at #10.

The biggest upward mover this week is “The Narcissist” by legendary British band Blur, leaping 10 spots to #12. Two fantastic new songs make their debut: “Overrated” by the brilliant Canadian artist dwi, who’s wonderful album Zoo Life I reviewed last Friday, at #29, and the gorgeous “Last Time Every Time Forever” by also-brilliant Fontaines D.C. front man Grian Chatten. The song is one of the singles from his superb debut solo album Chaos For The Fly. 

  1. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (1)
  2. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (3)
  3. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (2)
  4. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (5)
  5. LEAVING – Au Gres (6)
  6. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (4)
  7. WHY – Future Theory (11)
  8. KID – The Revivalists (8)
  9. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (13)
  10. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (14)
  11. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (7)
  12. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (22)
  13. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (9)
  14. THOSE EYES – New West (10)
  15. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (15)
  16. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (17)
  17. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (18)
  18. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (19)
  19. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (20)
  20. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (21)
  21. MARRY ANOTHER MAN – Wise John (16)
  22. 1982 – Morgendust (12)
  23. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (24)
  24. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (29)
  25. BONES – HEALER (26)
  26. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (27)
  27. CHEMICAL – Post Malone (23)
  28. ORBIT – Gooseberry (30)
  29. OVERRATED – dwi (N)
  30. LAST TIME EVERY TIME FOREVER – Grian Chatten (N)

Top 30 Songs for July 2-8, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's8 Comments

Not a lot of changes from last week’s Top 30. Foo Fighters‘ “Rescued” remains at #1 for a second week, while boygenius‘ “Not Strong Enough” holds at #2 again after having spent two weeks at #1. The mesmerizing “Essence”, by Danish electronic artist Refeci and Canadian-American singer-songwriter Shimmer Johnson, climbs four spots to #3, and the beautiful “Those Eyes” by Toronto collective New West enters the top 10. Debuting this week are “Say Yes To Heaven” by the always captivating Lana Del Rey, at #29, and the bluesy “Orbit” by the exceptionally-talented Brooklyn trio Gooseberry, which enters at #30.

  1. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (1)
  2. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (2)
  3. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (7)
  4. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (3)
  5. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (8)
  6. LEAVING – Au Gres (9)
  7. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (4)
  8. KID – The Revivalists (5)
  9. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (6)
  10. THOSE EYES – New West (11)
  11. WHY – Future Theory (12)
  12. 1982 – Morgendust (10)
  13. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (15)
  14. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (13)
  15. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (14)
  16. MARRY ANOTHER MAN – Wise John (16)
  17. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (18)
  18. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (19)
  19. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (21)
  20. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (24)
  21. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (26)
  22. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (27)
  23. CHEMICAL – Post Malone (20)
  24. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (28)
  25. PAID OFF – Oli Barton & the Movement (17)
  26. BONES – HEALER (29)
  27. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (30)
  28. SUPERGLUE – Michigander (23)
  29. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (N)
  30. ORBIT – Gooseberry (N)

Top 30 Songs for June 18-24, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's16 Comments

The wonderful “Not Strong Enough” by supergroup boygenius enjoys a second week at #1 on my latest Top 30 chart, while “Rescued” by the Foo Fighters moves into second place. The exuberant “1982” by Dutch rock band Morgendust enters the top 10 in its 11th week on the chart.

There were at at least seven songs I wanted to add this week, but unfortunately had to limit them to only three, as I didn’t want to drop any other songs off. Two of them – “Psychos”, by American singer-songwriter, musician, and teen movie actress Jenny Lewis, and “Spellbinding” by Chicago alt-rock band The Smashing Pumpkins – took a while to grow on me. I’ve never been a huge fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, mainly because of front man Billy Corgan’s nasally and shrill vocal style I often found grating, though I have liked some of their songs. “Spellbinding” is from their monumental 33-track album Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts, released on May 5th. The third debut, entering at #30, is “The Narcissist” by legendary Brit-pop band Blur, their first new music in eight years, since their 2015 album The Magic Whip. The song is from their forthcoming ninth album The Ballad of Darren, scheduled for release on July 21.

I must say that it’s heartening for an old man like me to see artists over 50, including Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan, Damon Albarn, Bootie Brown, Dave Gahan & Martin Gore of Depeche Mode, the Leto brothers, and the guys of Morgendust, still putting out great music.

  1. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (1)
  2. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (4)
  3. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (2)
  4. KID – The Revivalists (3)
  5. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (6)
  6. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (5)
  7. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (8)
  8. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (9)
  9. LEAVING – Au Gres (10)
  10. 1982 – Morgendust (12)
  11. PAID OFF – Oli Barton & the Movement (7)
  12. THOSE EYES – New West (15)
  13. WHY – Future Theory (17)
  14. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (16)
  15. THE WAY – Manchester Orchestra (14)
  16. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (19)
  17. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (20)
  18. NEW GOLD – Gorillaz, Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (13)
  19. MARRY ANOTHER MAN – Wise John (22)
  20. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (21)
  21. THE PERFECT PAIR – beabadoobee (11)
  22. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (23)
  23. CHEMICAL – Post Malone (24)
  24. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (28)
  25. GHOSTS AGAIN – Depeche Mode (18)
  26. SUPERGLUE – Michigander (27)
  27. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (29)
  28. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (N)
  29. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (N)
  30. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (N)