Tag: Chappell Roan

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)

Top 30 Songs for August 25-31, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's13 Comments

Ever since learning about them nearly 10 years ago, twenty one pilots have ranked among my all-time favorite music acts. Their 2015 masterpiece Blurryface is one of my top 10 favorite albums of all time. Still based in their hometown of Columbus, Ohio, the dynamic duo consists of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun. Joseph is a brilliant and imaginative songwriter, as well as a damn fine rapper, and Dun is one of the best drummers around today. Their eclectic sound is a blend of alternative rock, hip hop, synth-pop, bedroom pop, emo rap, indie and garage rock.

This past May, they released their seventh album Clancy, the final installment of their nearly decade-long series of conceptual albums. Clancy concludes the storyline of the character Clancy, who resides in the fictional dystopian city of Dema in the metaphysical world of Trench we were introduced to on their 2018 album Trench. The album was co-produced by Joseph and his frequent collaborator Paul Meany, a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music director and producer who’s also front man of alt-rock act Mutemath. One of the album’s tracks, “The Craving”, was released in two different versions, one being the album cut featuring a stripped-down acoustic arrangement subtitled “Jenna’s Version”, and the other the single version featuring a fuller arrangement. Joseph wrote the song as a dedication to his wife Jenna. The beautiful single version is my new #1 song this week, making it twenty one pilots’ 11th song to reach #1 on my chart (their previous single “Overcompensate” recently peaked at #2).

In other chart news of note, Sabrina Carpenter‘s breezy dance-pop gem “Espresso” climbs six spots to enter the top 10 at #10, and Lola Young‘s powerfully defiant “Messy” moves up six spots to #21. Two songs make their debut this week: entering at #29 is the hauntingly beautiful “Into Gold” by English indie pop trio London Grammar. Formed in 2009 the band consists of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic “Dot” Major. They’ve released three albums thus far, with a fourth, The Greatest Love, due for release later this year. Though their albums have been quite successful in the UK, many European countries and Australia, some reaching #1 in those countries, they’ve had only limited success in the U.S. “Into Gold” was released on June 21st as the third single from The Greatest Love, and marks London Grammar’s first appearance on my chart. Entering at #30 is the topically relevant and captivating “Permanent Record” by Welsh singer-songwriter GG Fearn, which I reviewed last month. The talented artist just released her album “Scopophobia”, a soundtrack to the independent Welsh horror film of the same name, featuring “Permanent Record”, along with previously-released songs and new ones written especially for the film.

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

Top 30 Songs for August 18-24, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's18 Comments

I’m still enthralled with Fontaines D.C.‘s bombastic and unsettling masterpiece “Starburster”, consequently it remains at #1 on my Top 30 chart for a third week. twenty one pilots and Beach Weather hold the #2 and #3 spots again this week with their beautiful songs “The Craving” and “High in Low Places”, while “Panoramic View” by AWOLNATION moves back up to #4. Norwegian psych-noir duo Mayflower Madame‘s darkwave gem “A Foretold Ecstasy” moves up two spots to #5 and The Decemberists move up a notch to enter the top 10 with their delightful Latin-esque “Oh No!”

Two songs, both of which have been out for a while, finally enter my chart this week. At #29 is the enchanting “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish, giving her two songs on this chart, the other being “LUNCH”, which currently sits at #6. Both songs are from her latest album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.

Coming in at #30 is “Good Luck, Babe!” by Missouri-born and now L.A.-based singer-songwriter sensation Chappell Roan. With her campy music aesthetic and performing style heavily influenced by drag queens, she’s recently gone viral, and I’ve happily climbed aboard the Chappell Roan bandwagon! Her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, released in September 2023, was not an immediate commercial success despite being included on several best albums of 2023 lists. But following her run as an opening act for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour, which ran from February-April 2024, and performances at music festivals like Coachella, Governors Ball and Lollapalooza, where she allegedly broke the record for the most crowded set at that festival’s history, Roan and her album eventually garnered a cult following. By mid-2024, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess had climbed numerous worldwide charts, reaching #1 in Ireland, New Zealand and the UK, and the top five in Australia and on the US Billboard 200 Album chart. Subsequently, several of the album’s singles entered various charts for the first time since their release, along with her follow-up single “Good Luck, Babe!”, which reached the top 10 in many countries, making it her most successful single to date.

  1. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (1)
  2. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (2)
  3. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (3)
  4. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (5)
  5. A FORETOLD ECSTASY – Mayflower Madame (7)
  6. LUNCH – Billie Eilish (8)
  7. LIKE YOU DO – The Frontier (9)
  8. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (10)
  9. WRECKAGE – Pearl Jam (4)
  10. OH NO! – The Decemberists (11)
  11. END OF BEGINNING – Djo (6)
  12. I HAD SOME HELP – Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen (12)
  13. RUN YOUR MOUTH – The Marías (16)
  14. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (17)
  15. PAYBACK – Aaron Frazer (18)
  16. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (19)
  17. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (20)
  18. CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (13)
  19. TOO SWEET – Hozier (14) 19th week on chart
  20. WAKING LIFE – Nicholas a. Milillo feat. Dee Wolf, Bobby Jasso, Gabrielle Marella and the voice of Tony Milillo (21)
  21. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (22)
  22. VICES – 5ilas & Shimmer Johnson (15)
  23. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (25)
  24. WAR – Healer (26)
  25. BABY BLUE MOVIE – Cigarettes After Sex (27)
  26. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (28)
  27. MESSY – Lola Young (29)
  28. DOWNING STREET – Brain Ape (30)
  29. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (N)
  30. GOOD LUCK, BABE! – Chappell Roan (N)