
Brooklyn, New York-based Two Feet (the music moniker of singer-songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire Bill Dess) has been my favorite music artist for the past four years or so. I’ve written about him numerous times on this blog, and have seen three of his live shows. His latest single “Tell Me The Truth” assumes the #1 spot on this week’s Top 30, his tenth song to top my weekly chart. Many of his songs are sultry and sensual, but “Tell Me The Truth”, taken from his fourth album Shape & Form, is one of his darkest and sexiest yet. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of a man who’s tried everything to win the love of a woman he desires, to no avail. “For too long, I dream of you, All that you do. I watch you float on, float on. For too long, I contemplate, I try to be all that you need. So tell me the truth, my baby, baby. Is it me, is it you?“
It’s a powerful and gorgeous song, and I love how it transitions from haunting interludes of restrained instrumentals and vocals in the verses, to an explosive, cinematic crescendo in the choruses, in which Two Feet’s vocals are more impassioned and raw than we’ve ever heard before. It’s also longer than most of his previous songs, and his scorching guitar solo in the final chorus is well worth the wait. He’s commented that it’s his favorite of all the songs he’s written and recorded, and I have to say that it’s certainly one of mine. The steamy video, directed by Brian Lipko and starring a finely chiseled Two Feet and sexy LA-based model and restauranteur Tina Louise, shows them experiencing the throes of unrequited sexual desire and angst, both together and alone.
Entering the top 10 this week are “About Damn Time” by Lizzo and “A Little Bit of Love” by Weezer, who I’m happy are still making music after nearly 30 years together. Making a strong upward movement are My Chemical Romance‘s “The Foundations of Decay” and Arcade Fire‘s “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)”, both of which climb seven spots to #16 and #22, respectively. Three new songs make their debut: “The Funeral” by British artist YUNGBLUD (which I realized I really like after reading this post by fellow blogger The Alternative Mixtapes), “Mistakes” by the always wonderful Sharon Van Etten, and the haunting “Failure to Comply” by MISSIO, another one of my favorite artists, who I’ll finally be seeing perform live in LA on July 30.
- TELL ME THE TRUTH – Two Feet (3)
- CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (1)
- MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (2)
- WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (4)
- AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (5)
- SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER – Sam Fender (7)
- BELIEVE – Caamp (9)
- ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (12)
- A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE – Weezer (11)
- BLOODRUSH – The Amazons (8)
- WILD – Spoon (6)
- 2am – Foals (13)
- LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (10)
- SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (15)
- THAT’S WHERE I AM – Maggie Rogers (16)
- THE FOUNDATIONS OF DECAY – My Chemical Romance (23)
- CLOSER – The Frontier (20)
- LONELY – Sea Girls (21)
- BEDS ARE BURNING – AWOLNATION feat. Tim McIlrath (22)
- SLEEP – Gooseberry (14)
- IN THE MIRROR – The Interrupters (25)
- UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID) – Arcade Fire (29)
- WARNING SIGNS – Band of Horses(26)
- LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (17)
- VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (18)
- DESPERATELY WANTING – Brian Lambert & Marc Schuster (28)
- LIN MANUEL – Onism E (30)
- THE FUNERAL – YUNGBLUD (N)
- MISTAKES – Sharon Van Etten (N)
- FAILURE TO COMPLY – MISSIO (N)