Tag: Cold War Kids

Top 30 Songs for September 12-18, 2021

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's4 Comments

L.A. band The Neighbourhood hold the top spot for a second week with their beautiful single “Stargazing”. Moving up to #2 is “Missing Piece” by Vance Joy. Though I’ve liked the Australian singer-songwriter ever since hearing his 2014 hit “Riptide”, it took a while for “Missing Piece” to grow on me. But it’s such a sweet love song, it’s hard not to like it. A band I’ve really come to love is Lord Huron, and their song “Mine Forever” leaps 14 spots to #7. Imagine Dragon’s poignant “Wrecked” jumps 10 spots to #9. Debuting this week are “Freak” by L.A. band Surf Curse and “Never Looked Back” by British alt-rock band The Zangwills.

  1. STARGAZING – The Neighbourhood (1)
  2. MISSING PIECE – Vance Joy (3)
  3. SATURDAY – twenty øne piløts (4)
  4. DEVIL – Two Feet (2)
  5. TRANSPARENT SOUL – WILLOW featuring Travis Barker (6)
  6. LAST TRAIN HOME – John Mayer (7)
  7. MINE FOREVER – Lord Huron (21)
  8. STOP MAKING THIS HURT – Bleachers (9)
  9. WRECKED – Imagine Dragons (19)
  10. LIKE I USED TO – Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen (5)
  11. BE A WOMAN – DeLaurentis (13)
  12. ENNUI – Dawning (12)
  13. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X (8)
  14. BAD DREAM – Cannons (16)
  15. WHAT YOU SAY – Cold War Kids (17)
  16. TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (18)
  17. THE ANGEL OF 8TH AVE. – Gang of Youths (20)
  18. EVERY WINDOW IS A MIRROR – Joywave (11)
  19. SOLAR POWER – Lorde (9)
  20. I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE – Måneskin (23)
  21. TAKE MY MONEY – Ships Have Sailed (24)
  22. MAKING A FIRE – Foo Fighters (25)
  23. CAN YOU HANDLE MY LOVE?? – WALK THE MOON (26)
  24. CAN WE GO BACK – The Frontier (14) 20th week on list
  25. WE ARE BETWEEN – Modest Mouse (15)
  26. DISTORTED LIGHT BEAM – Bastille (28)
  27. NDA – Billie Eilish (29)
  28. HUSH – The Marías (30)
  29. FREAKS – Surf Curse (N)
  30. NEVER LOOKED BACK – The Zangwills (N)

Top 30 Songs for September 5-11, 2021

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's14 Comments

I’m going to try something different for my Weekly Top 30 posts. Because they get little engagement, I’ll start providing a brief narrative introduction at the beginning to hopefully generate a bit more interest.

After Two Feet’s four-week-long reign at the top with his darkly smoldering “Devil”, Los Angeles alternative rock band The Neighbourhood take over the top spot with their dreamy love song “Stargazing”. Ever since the release of their gorgeous monster hit “Sweater Weather” in 2013 (which ranks at #4 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s), The Neighbourhood have been one of my favorite bands. I love just about every song they’ve released, and I’m happy to see them still flourishing after eight years. The sweet video shows the band as their alter-egos Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones, and features cameos by Lana Del Rey, Blake Griffin, Jaden Smith, Benny Blanco, Devon Carlson, Mac DeMarco and Alexa Demie.

Debuting on this week’s list are “NDA” by Billie Eilish and “Hush” by The Marías.

  1. STARGAZING – The Neighbourhood (2)
  2. DEVIL – Two Feet (1)
  3. MISSING PIECE – Vance Joy (4)
  4. SATURDAY – twenty øne piløts (5)
  5. LIKE I USED TO – Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen (3)
  6. TRANSPARENT SOUL – WILLOW featuring Travis Barker (11)
  7. LAST TRAIN HOME – John Mayer (12)
  8. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X (6)
  9. STOP MAKING THIS HURT – Bleachers (10)
  10. SOLAR POWER – Lorde (7)
  11. EVERY WINDOW IS A MIRROR – Joywave (13)
  12. ENNUI – Dawning (14)
  13. BE A WOMAN – DeLaurentis (16)
  14. CAN WE GO BACK – The Frontier (8)
  15. WE ARE BETWEEN – Modest Mouse (9)
  16. BAD DREAM – Cannons (18)
  17. WHAT YOU SAY – Cold War Kids (19)
  18. TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (20)
  19. WRECKED – Imagine Dragons (21)
  20. THE ANGEL OF 8TH AVE. – Gang of Youths (22)
  21. MINE FOREVER – Lord Huron (23)
  22. WELCOME TO THE PARTY – Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions (15)
  23. I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE – Måneskin (25)
  24. TAKE MY MONEY – Ships Have Sailed (26)
  25. MAKING A FIRE – Foo Fighters (27)
  26. CAN YOU HANDLE MY LOVE?? – WALK THE MOON (28)
  27. STICKY – The Maine (17)
  28. DISTORTED LIGHT BEAM – Bastille (30)
  29. NDA – Billie Eilish (N)
  30. HUSH – The Marías (N)

Top 30 Songs for August 29-September 4, 2021

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's2 Comments
  1. DEVIL – Two Feet (1) 4th week at #1
  2. STARGAZING – The Neighbourhood (2)
  3. LIKE I USED TO – Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen (3)
  4. MISSING PIECE – Vance Joy (8)
  5. SATURDAY – twenty øne piløts (9)
  6. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X (4)
  7. SOLAR POWER – Lorde (6)
  8. CAN WE GO BACK – The Frontier (5)
  9. WE ARE BETWEEN – Modest Mouse (7)
  10. STOP MAKING THIS HURT – Bleachers (11)
  11. TRANSPARENT SOUL – WILLOW featuring Travis Barker (12)
  12. LAST TRAIN HOME – John Mayer (17)
  13. EVERY WINDOW IS A MIRROR – Joywave (15)
  14. ENNUI – Dawning (16)
  15. WELCOME TO THE PARTY – Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions (10)
  16. BE A WOMAN – DeLaurentis (18)
  17. STICKY – The Maine (14)
  18. BAD DREAM – Cannons (20)
  19. WHAT YOU SAY – Cold War Kids (21)
  20. TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (22)
  21. WRECKED – Imagine Dragons (23)
  22. THE ANGEL OF 8TH AVE. – Gang of Youths (24)
  23. MINE FOREVER – Lord Huron (25)
  24. MARTYR – Oli Barton & the Movement (13)
  25. I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE – Måneskin (26)
  26. TAKE MY MONEY – Ships Have Sailed (27)
  27. MAKING A FIRE – Foo Fighters (29)
  28. CAN YOU HANDLE MY LOVE?? – WALK THE MOON (30)
  29. NOTHING2 – Strange Souvenirs (19)
  30. DISTORTED LIGHT BEAM – Bastille (N)

Top 30 Songs for August 22-28, 2021

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  1. DEVIL – Two Feet (1)
  2. STARGAZING – The Neighbourhood (4)
  3. LIKE I USED TO – Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen (5)
  4. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X (3)
  5. CAN WE GO BACK – The Frontier (2)
  6. SOLAR POWER – Lorde (9)
  7. WE ARE BETWEEN – Modest Mouse (7)
  8. MISSING PIECE – Vance Joy (10)
  9. SATURDAY – twenty øne piløts (11)
  10. WELCOME TO THE PARTY – Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions (6)
  11. STOP MAKING THIS HURT – Bleachers (12)
  12. TRANSPARENTSOUL – WILLOW featuring Travis Barker (13)
  13. MARTYR – Oli Barton & the Movement (8)
  14. STICKY – The Maine (15)
  15. EVERY WINDOW IS A MIRROR – Joywave (16)
  16. ENNUI – Dawning (17)
  17. LAST TRAIN HOME – John Mayer (19)
  18. BE A WOMAN – DeLaurentis (20)
  19. NOTHING2 – Strange Souvenirs (14)
  20. BAD DREAM – Cannons (23)
  21. WHAT YOU SAY – Cold War Kids (24)
  22. TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (25)
  23. WRECKED – Imagine Dragons (27)
  24. THE ANGEL OF 8TH AVE. – Gang of Youths (28)
  25. MINE FOREVER – Lord Huron (N)
  26. I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE – Måneskin (29)
  27. TAKE MY MONEY – Ships Have Sailed (30)
  28. SINNER – Young Decades (18)
  29. MAKING A FIRE – Foo Fighters (N)
  30. CAN YOU HANDLE MY LOVE?? – WALK THE MOON (N)

Top 30 Songs for August 15-21, 2021

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  1. DEVIL – Two Feet (1)
  2. CAN WE GO BACK – The Frontier (2)
  3. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X (6)
  4. STARGAZING – The Neighbourhood (7)
  5. LIKE I USED TO – Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen (8)
  6. WELCOME TO THE PARTY – Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions (3)
  7. WE ARE BETWEEN – Modest Mouse (4)
  8. MARTYR – Oli Barton & the Movement (5)
  9. SOLAR POWER – Lorde (9)
  10. MISSING PIECE – Vance Joy (11)
  11. SATURDAY – twenty øne piløts (13)
  12. STOP MAKING THIS HURT – Bleachers (16)
  13. TRANSPARENTSOUL – WILLOW featuring Travis Barker (20)
  14. NOTHING2 – Strange Souvenirs (15)
  15. STICKY – The Maine (17)
  16. EVERY WINDOW IS A MIRROR – Joywave (18)
  17. ENNUI – Dawning (19)
  18. SINNER – Young Decades (10)
  19. LAST TRAIN HOME – John Mayer (23)
  20. BE A WOMAN – DeLaurentis (25)
  21. BED HEAD – Manchester Orchestra (12)
  22. FOLLOW YOU – Imagine Dragons (13)
  23. BAD DREAM – Cannons (28)
  24. WHAT YOU SAY – Cold War Kids (29)
  25. TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (30)
  26. HIGHER POWER – Coldplay (24)
  27. WRECKED – Imagine Dragons (N)
  28. THE ANGEL OF 8TH AVE. – Gang of Youths (N)
  29. I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE – Måneskin (N)
  30. TAKE MY MONEY – Ships Have Sailed (N)

Top 30 Songs for August 8-14, 2021

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's4 Comments
  1. DEVIL – Two Feet (3)
  2. CAN WE GO BACK – The Frontier (1)
  3. WELCOME TO THE PARTY – Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions (2)
  4. WE ARE BETWEEN – Modest Mouse (4)
  5. MARTYR – Oli Barton & the Movement (5)
  6. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X (6)
  7. STARGAZING – The Neighbourhood (9)
  8. LIKE I USED TO – Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen (10)
  9. SOLAR POWER – Lorde (14)
  10. SINNER – Young Decades (7)
  11. MISSING PIECE – Vance Joy (16)
  12. BED HEAD – Manchester Orchestra (8)
  13. FOLLOW YOU – Imagine Dragons (11)
  14. SATURDAY – twenty øne piløts (23)
  15. NOTHING2 – Strange Souvenirs (15)
  16. STOP MAKING IT HURT – Bleachers (17)
  17. STICKY – The Maine (18)
  18. EVERY WINDOW IS A MIRROR – Joywave (19)
  19. ENNUI – Dawning (20)
  20. TRANSPARENTSOUL – WILLOW featuring Travis Barker (24)
  21. ZITTI E BUONI – Måneskin (12)
  22. CRAWLING KINGSNAKE – The Black Keys (13)
  23. LAST TRAIN HOME – John Mayer (28)
  24. HIGHER POWER – Coldplay (25)
  25. BE A WOMAN – DeLaurentis (30)
  26. FLATLINE – Two Feet (21)
  27. BETTER – Michigander (22)
  28. BAD DREAM – Cannons (N)
  29. WHAT YOU SAY – Cold War Kids (N)
  30. TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (N)

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #27: “First” by Cold War Kids

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Favorite SongsLeave a comment

The song at #27 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “First” by Los Angeles-based alt-rock band Cold War Kids. The dramatic and stunning anthem is their second song on this list, the other being “So Tied Up”, which appeared at #64. Released in February 2015 as the second single from their fifth album Hold My Home, “First” was my introduction to the band, even though they’d been putting out music since 2006. It’s their most successful single, spending an incredible 64 weeks on the Billboard Alternative chart, seven of them at #1.

“First” is about a troubled relationship in which both parties are deeply unhappy, and wracked with both guilt and anger toward each other. The intelligent lyrics are particularly compelling: “Flying like a cannonball, falling to the earth / Heavy as a feather when you hit the dirt / How am I the lucky one? / I do not deserve to wait around forever when you were there first / First you get hurt, then you feel sorry.” Musically, the song features a gorgeous chiming guitar line over explosive drumbeats and bold hand claps, creating a magnificent wall of sound for lead singer Nathan Willett’s emotionally-charged vocals. The song brings chills every time I hear it.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #64: “So Tied Up” by Cold War Kids feat. Bishop Briggs

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Favorite Songs2 Comments

The song at #64 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “So Tied Up” by blues rock band Cold War Kids featuring vocals by Bishop Briggs. Based in Long Beach, California, Cold War Kids formed in 2004 and has undergone numerous changes in lineup, and now consists of Nathan Willett (lead vocals, piano, guitar), Matt Maust (bass guitar), David Quon (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Schwartz (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar, percussion), and Joe Plummer, who formerly played drums for bands Modest Mouse and The Shins (drums, percussion). I love their vibrant, hard-driving sound, and they have two songs on this list – “So Tied Up” and their 2015 single “First”, which appears later.

Singer-songwriter Bishop Briggs, based in nearby Los Angeles, is pretty awesome too, with a distinctive, powerhouse voice. Combining her passionate vocals with the commanding vocals of Cold War Kids lead singer Nathan Willett on “So Tied Up” results in auditory fireworks to match the biting lyrics about a destructive co-dependent relationship that’s become so toxic the two partners loathe each other, yet are powerless to escape from it. The song is from Cold War Kids’ sixth album L.A. Divine, which also features another great song “Love is Mystical”. I loved “So Tied Up” at first listen and never tired of hearing it.

The song is positively electrifying, with an aggressive stomping beat-driven melody highlighted by pounding drums and piano keys, and fortified with a heavy thumping bass line, gritty synths and fantastic guitar work. The track’s massive sound combined with Willett and Briggs’ fiery vocals never fails to cover me with goosebumps. Shockingly, the song was not a very big hit, peaking only at #9 on the Billboard Adult Alternative and #12 on the Alternative charts. It spent two weeks at #1 on my own Weekly Top 30 chart, however.

The darkly amusing and rather violent video shows Willett and Briggs singing the song interspersed with scenes of a couple hell-bent on killing each other. By the time the song was released, Bishop Briggs had become quite popular in her own right, and many of her fans complained that her vocals weren’t prominent enough on the song. So, Cold War Kids invited her back into the studio so she could dub more of her vocals onto the track. The official video was reissued with her vocals given greater prominence.

Song of the Day Challenge – Day 13: COLD WAR KIDS – “Complainer”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Favorite Songs6 Comments

Song A Day Challenge

Today’s Song of the Day Challenge theme is “A song that describes you”. Self-reflection can often be a difficult thing to do, but sadly, I have to go with the song “Complainer” by L.A. alt-rock band Cold War Kids. While some of the lyrics don’t exactly describe me or my personality, the title absolutely does. All my life, I’ve been a glass half-empty pessimist and malcontent. I bitch, whine or moan about at least one thing or another on a daily basis, driving those around me nuts for as long as I can remember. I wish it were otherwise, but it is what it is. On the plus side, three things that keep me from being a complete asshole are my inherent kindness, empathy and sense of humor.

Getting back to the music, I’m a big fan of Cold War Kids. My favorite songs from them are “First”, “Love is Mystical”, “So Tied Up” and “Miracle Mile”, and I also love their cover of Rihanna’s “Love On the Brain”.

 

Top 30 Songs for September 22-28, 2019

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1. UNDER THE COLD LIGHT OF THE MOON – Crystal Cities (5)
2. COMING UP FOR AIR – Mars Motel (1)
3. RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE DEVIL – Revolvers (2)
4. 3 NIGHTS – Dominic Fike (6)
5. GO – The Black Keys (7)
6. SOCIAL CUES – Cage the Elephant (9)
7. CRINGE – Matt Maeson (8)
8. THE HYPE – twenty one pilots (11)
9. FALLING WITH STYLE – Heist At Five (3)
10. DOIN’ TIME – Lana Del Rey (4)
11. FOUR WINDS – Unquiet Nights (12)
12. RAGGED TOWN – Second Player Score (13)
13. THIS LIFE – Vampire Weekend (14)
14. HEAT OF THE SUMMER – Young the Giant (15)
15. GOOD THINGS FALL APART – ILLENIUM with Jon Bellion (16)
16. GOODBYES – Post Malone featuring Young Thug (17)
17. WHEN AM I GONNA LOSE YOU – Local Natives (10)
18. THE MIDDLE – Agency Panic (20)
19. SECRETS – The Million Reasons (21)
20. WHY DID YOU RUN? – Judah & the Lion (22)
21. DISSOLVE – Absofacto (23)
22. WANNACRY – Darksoft (25)
23. UNDER THESE SCARS – Falling Into Red featuring Dev (26)
24. BAD GUY – Billie Eilish (18)
25. ALLIGATOR – Of Monsters and Men (19)
26. DESERVING OF LOVE – Lyia Meta (29)
27. SOMEONE YOU LOVED – Lewis Capaldi (N)
28. FIGHTER – Joseph (N)
29. UNDERGROUND – MISSIO (N)
30. DRIFTING AWAY – Stereohaze (N)