Tag: Green Day

Top 30 Songs for January 14-20, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's9 Comments
Photo by Ryan Fleisher/imageSPACE

Alabama-born and now Nashville-based singer-songwriter Brittany Howard takes over the top spot this week with her soulful and funky kiss-off single “What Now”, displacing Green Day‘s “The American Dream Is Killing Me” after it’s three week run at #1. The astonishingly talented artist with a powerhouse voice was front woman of rock band Alabama Shakes, but went solo in 2018 when the band went on hiatus. She released her debut album Jaime in 2019 to widespread acclaim, and was nominated for numerous music awards, winning a Grammy in 2021 for Best Rock Song for her single “Stay High”. “What Now” is the lead and title single from her forthcoming second album of the same name, scheduled for release on February 2. About the single, Howard explains “It was written during the pandemic when the question “What now” was on all of our minds.  I think it is a feeling that has continued to the present moment in the world we live in. It is also the title of the new album and I think when you hear it you will understand why I landed on that title…but more on that later.” The dark video was directed by Danilo Parra, produced by Adam Braun and filmed by Benjamin Whatley. In addition to Howard, the video features Mohnsta Simmons, Anaelle Rabotoson, Laquane Barnes and Andre Lambert.

In other notable chart developments, Georgia singer-songwriter Teddy Swims is the biggest upward mover for the third consecutive week, as his bluesy and blistering “Lose Control” leaps nine spots to #3. Moving into fourth place is “Attraction”, the sweet song of budding love by talented young British trio Wild Horse, followed by “My Love Mine All Mine” by Mitski at #5. Entering the top 10 after a long slow climb are the ethereal “All I Die For” by Canadian indie rock band SWiiMS and “Modern Girl” by pop-rock band Bleachers.

Making their debut this week are two songs that couldn’t be more different from each other: Entering at #29 is “Lovin On Me” by the enormously popular rapper Jack Harlow, who’s racked up a stream of hits over the past five years, some of them collaborations with other artists. The song is already a massive hit, currently returning to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 after all the Christmas songs that dominated the chart in December dropped off. I’m not generally a fan of his type of music, but with its infectious groove, “Lovin On You” has finally grown on me. Entering at #30 is the lovely “Your World Now” by fellow blogger, musician and all-around Renaissance man Marc Schuster. About the song, he explains: “On the surface, it sounds like it could be a wistful breakup song in the style of Jens Lekman or Belle & Sebastian, but it isn’t really influenced by any personal experiences beyond the broad strokes of realizing that the world is changing and that I’m okay with handing the reins over to people who will do things differently than I would.” I think it’s one of Schuster’s best songs yet, and his vocals have never sounded better.

  1. WHAT NOW – Brittany Howard (2)
  2. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (1)
  3. LOSE CONTROL – Teddy Swims (12)
  4. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (5)
  5. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (6)
  6. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (8)
  7. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (7)
  8. DARLING – Western Jaguar (3)
  9. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (13)
  10. MODERN GIRL – Bleachers (14)
  11. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (4)
  12. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (9)
  13. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (10)
  14. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (11)
  15. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (15)
  16. LOVING YOU – Cannons (17) 22nd week on chart
  17. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? – Antony Szmierek (19)
  18. HOUDINI – Dua Lipa (20)
  19. BLAME BRETT – The Beaches (21)
  20. NOTHING MATTERS – The Last Dinner Party (23)
  21. PRETTY VICIOUS – The Struts (22)
  22. WINTER COWBOY – Frank Joshua (24)
  23. NORTHERN ATTITUDE – Noah Kahan feat. Hozier (25)
  24. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (16)
  25. THE TOWER – Future Islands (27)
  26. ALIVE! – Bakar (28)
  27. MOTHER NATURE – MGMT (29)
  28. NICE TO KNOW YOU – lovelytheband (30)
  29. LOVIN ON ME – Jack Harlow (N)
  30. YOUR WORLD NOW – Marc Schuster (N)

My Favorite Song for Every Year, Part 3: 2000-2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Favorite Songs26 Comments

Here’s Part 3 of my favorite songs for each year from 2000 through 2023. In 2003, Coldplay became my favorite band, along with Green Day, Incubus and Weezer, and that lasted for about 10 years until they were replaced by Foster the People for a brief period. In 2015, twenty øne piløts became my favorite act, and in the years since, MISSIO, Foals, Lord Huron, Two Feet and, most recently, Beach Weather have been my favorites. I’ve written in varying detail about all of these songs in previous posts over my eight-plus years of blogging, so won’t write narratives about any of them here. Just the year, the song and the artist, and the best video I could find for each one.

2000 BENT – matchbox twenty

2001 FAMILY AFFAIR – Mary J. Blige

2002 LOSE YOURSELF – Eminem

2003 CLOCKS – Coldplay (my #1 song of the 2000s)

2004 THE REASON – Hoobastank

2005 BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS – Green Day

2006 SEXYBACK – Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland

2007 THE PRETENDER – Foo Fighters

2008 VIVA LA VIDA – Coldplay

2009 LOVE HURTS – Incubus

2010 NEED YOU NOW – Lady Antebellum

2011 ROLLING IN THE DEEP – Adele (my #1 song of the 2010s)

2012 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW – Gotye featuring Kimbra

2013 SWEATER WEATHER – The Neighbourhood

2014 LOVE ME AGAIN – John Newman

2015 TEAR IN MY HEART – twenty øne piløts

2016 STRESSED OUT – twenty øne piløts

2017 FEEL IT STILL – Portugal. The Man

2018 BROKEN – lovelytheband

2019 I SEE YOU – MISSIO

2020 BLINDING LIGHTS – The Weeknd

2021 FIRE – Two Feet

2022 AS IT WAS – Harry Styles

2023 TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather

Top 30 Songs for January 7-13, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's6 Comments

Not a lot of changes to this week’s Top 30, with the songs in the top six spots remaining in place for a second week. Green Day‘s “The American Dream Is Killing Me” is #1 for a third week, while Brittany Howard‘s “What Now” holds on the #2 spot for a second week. The lovely “Cool About It” by boygenius climbs three spots to enter the top 10 at #8. The biggest upward mover again this week is “Lose Control” by Georgia singer-songwriter Teddy Swims, jumping seven spots to #12. The sole debut this week is “nice to know you” by L.A. pop-rock trio lovelytheband, who I had the pleasure of seeing in concert last June. In fact, in addition to lovelytheband, I’ve also seen two other acts on this list – Cold War Kids and Cannons.

  1. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (1)
  2. WHAT NOW – Brittany Howard (2)
  3. DARLING – Western Jaguar (3)
  4. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (4)
  5. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (5)
  6. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (6)
  7. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (10)
  8. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (11)
  9. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (7)
  10. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (8)
  11. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (9)
  12. LOSE CONTROL – Teddy Swims (19)
  13. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (14)
  14. MODERN GIRL – Bleachers (15)
  15. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (12)
  16. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (13)
  17. LOVING YOU – Cannons (16) 21st week on chart
  18. GOOD OLD DAYS – The Revivalists (18)
  19. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? – Antony Szmierek (20)
  20. HOUDINI – Dua Lipa (21)
  21. BLAME BRETT – The Beaches (22)
  22. PRETTY VICIOUS – The Struts (23)
  23. NOTHING MATTERS – The Last Dinner Party (24)
  24. WINTER COWBOY – Frank Joshua (26)
  25. NORTHERN ATTITUDE – Noah Kahan feat. Hozier (27)
  26. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (17)
  27. THE TOWER – Future Islands (28)
  28. ALIVE! – Bakar (29)
  29. MOTHER NATURE – MGMT (30)
  30. NICE TO KNOW YOU – lovelytheband (N)

Top 30 Songs for December 31, 2023 – January 6, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's14 Comments

Happy New Year! As we transition from 2023 to 2024, Green Day remain on top for a second week with their protest anthem “The American Dream Is Killing Me”. They’ve been a long-time favorite of mine, and I’m glad they’re still making music nearly 34 years after the release of their first album 39/Smooth. They’ll be dropping their 14th studio album Savior on January 19th. Brittany Howard‘s gloriously defiant “What Now” climbs five spots into second position, while Cold War Kids (who I saw open for Tears for Fears last August) enter the top 10 with “Run Away With Me”. British pop-rock band Wild Horse move up three spots to #5 with their breezy love song “Attraction”, followed at #6 by Mitski‘s contemplative “My Love Mine All Mine”. The biggest upward mover this week is the bluesy “Lose Control” by Georgia singer-songwriter Teddy Swims, leaping 10 spots to #19.

Four songs debut this week: Entering at #27 is “Northern Attitude”, a terrific duet by Vermont-based singer-songwriter Noah Kahan and Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. The song is a newly-recorded version of the track from Kahan’s critically-acclaimed album Stick Season, which also features his hit single “Dial Drunk”. He’s also recorded collaborative versions of a number of the album’s tracks, including “Dial Drunk” with Post Malone. Hozier also scored a successful and acclaimed album in 2023, Unreal Unearth, which features his hit songs “Eat Your Young” and “Francesca”. Next up is “The Tower” by always wonderful Baltimore-based synth pop band Future Islands. The song is from their forthcoming seventh studio album People Who Aren’t There Anymore, slated for release on January 26. Coming in at #29 is “Alive!” by British singer-songwriter Bakar, marking his third appearance on my chart. The song is the lead single from his second album Halo, which was released in September. Last but certainly not least is the lovely “Mother Nature” by American neo-psychedelic rock band MGMT. The song is the lead single from their upcoming fifth studio album Loss of Life, due for release on February 23, their first new music in six years.

  1. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (1)
  2. WHAT NOW – Brittany Howard (7)
  3. DARLING – Western Jaguar (2)
  4. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (3)
  5. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (8)
  6. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (9)
  7. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (4)
  8. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (5)
  9. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (6)
  10. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (12)
  11. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (16)
  12. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (10)
  13. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (14)
  14. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (15)
  15. MODERN GIRL – Bleachers (17)
  16. LOVING YOU – Cannons (13) 20th week on chart
  17. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (11)
  18. GOOD OLD DAYS – The Revivalists (18)
  19. LOSE CONTROL – Teddy Swims (29)
  20. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? – Antony Szmierek (23)
  21. HOUDINI – Dua Lipa (25)
  22. BLAME BRETT – The Beaches (26)
  23. PRETTY VICIOUS – The Struts (27)
  24. NOTHING MATTERS – The Last Dinner Party (28)
  25. WHITE HORSE – Chris Stapleton (20)
  26. WINTER COWBOY – Frank Joshua (30)
  27. NORTHERN ATTITUDE – Noah Kahan feat. Hozier (N)
  28. THE TOWER – Future Islands (N)
  29. ALIVE! – Bakar (N)
  30. MOTHER NATURE – MGMT (N)

Top 30 Songs for December 24-30, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's11 Comments
Photo by Emmie America

We’ve arrived at the final week of 2023, and though it would be nice to have a sweet song at the top of my chart to bring us a bit of Christmas cheer, alas, that’s not to be. Instead, Green Day‘s boisterous protest anthem “The American Dream Is Killing Me” ascends to the #1 spot. The black and white video they made for the song is pretty violent and dark, with Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool made up as zombies, performing the song amidst hordes of zombies rioting in the streets and attacking people. Some scary stuff indeed!

In other chart developments, Brittany Howard‘s “What Now” is once again the biggest climber of the week, jumping eight spots to #7. The song is now #1 on the Billboard AAA chart. After spending three weeks at #4 in November, “Loving You” by Cannons reverses its downward course and moves back up five spots to #13, followed by “Wild” by Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster, “All I Die For” by SWiiMS, and “Cool About It” by boygenius, all of which advance five spots. Bleachers‘ “Modern Girl” moves up six spots to #17. Making their debut are the bluesy “Lose Control” by the gruff-voiced Georgia singer-songwriter Teddy Swims (born Jaten Collin Dimsdale), at #29, and “Winter Cowboy” by silky-voiced British artist Frank Joshua, at #30. It’s Frank’s second song to appear on my chart, the first being his beautiful “Bluebell Wood”, which peaked at #6 this past Spring.

  1. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (2)
  2. DARLING – Western Jaguar (1)
  3. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (3)
  4. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (4)
  5. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (5)
  6. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (6)
  7. WHAT NOW – Brittany Howard (15)
  8. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (9)
  9. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (11)
  10. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (8)
  11. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (7)
  12. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (15)
  13. LOVING YOU – Cannons (18)
  14. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (19)
  15. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (20)
  16. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (21)
  17. MODERN GIRL – Bleachers (23)
  18. GOOD OLD DAYS – The Revivalists (17)
  19. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (10)
  20. WHITE HORSE – Chris Stapleton (22)
  21. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (12)
  22. YOUR SIDE OF TOWN – The Killers (14)
  23. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? – Antony Szmierek (25)
  24. ANGRY – The Rolling Stones (16)
  25. HOUDINI – Dua Lipa (27)
  26. BLAME BRETT – The Beaches (28)
  27. PRETTY VICIOUS – The Struts (29)
  28. NOTHING MATTERS – The Last Dinner Party (30)
  29. LOSE CONTROL – Teddy Swims (N)
  30. WINTER COWBOY – Frank Joshua (N)

Top 30 Songs for December 17-23, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's4 Comments

We’re now into the home stretch of 2023 with just two weeks left in the year, and though the Billboard Hot 100 is dominated by vintage Christmas songs, my chart says ‘no’ to that! Accordingly, the delightful love song “Darling” by Canadian artist Western Jaguar holds onto the top spot for a second week. Green Day moves into second place with their rousing protest anthem “The American Dream is Killing Me”, while The Beatles‘ nostalgic “Now and Then” climbs three spots to #3. (The song is #1 for a second week on the Billboard AAA chart.) “THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND” by American hard rock band Bad Omens spends a fourth week at #7.

British pop-rock band Wild Horse enter the top 10 with their sweet song “Attraction”, moving up four spots to #9, and Brittany Howard‘s wonderful “What Now” is this week’s biggest climber, leaping 10 spots to #15. The lone debut this week, entering at #30, is “Nothing Matters” by British all-female indie rock band The Last Dinner Party. Although the song’s been a sizable hit on the Alternative charts, and seems to be almost everyone’s favorite, it’s taken a while to grow on me.

  1. DARLING – Western Jaguar (1)
  2. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (3)
  3. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (6)
  4. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (2)
  5. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (4)
  6. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (5)
  7. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (7)
  8. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (9)
  9. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (13)
  10. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (10)
  11. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (16)
  12. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (8)
  13. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (15)
  14. YOUR SIDE OF TOWN – The Killers (12)
  15. WHAT NOW – Brittany Howard (25)
  16. ANGRY – The Rolling Stones (11)
  17. GOOD OLD DAYS – The Revivalists (18)
  18. LOVING YOU – Cannons (19)
  19. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (20)
  20. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (21)
  21. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (22)
  22. WHITE HORSE – Chris Stapleton (23)
  23. MODERN GIRL – Bleachers (24)
  24. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (14)
  25. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? – Antony Szmierek (26)
  26. EVICTED – Wilco (17)
  27. HOUDINI – Dua Lipa (28)
  28. BLAME BRETT – The Beaches (29)
  29. PRETTY VICIOUS – The Struts (30)
  30. NOTHING MATTERS – The Last Dinner Party (N)

Top 30 Songs for December 10-16, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's11 Comments

One of my favorite indie artists is Western Jaguar, the music project of Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Trainor. Based in the eastern outskirts of Vancouver, British Columbia, Western Jaguar was born in 2012 when Trainor turned to music to get him out of a low point in his life. With the help of an evolving lineup of musicians, he released three EPs and several singles between 2013 and 2019, including the excellent “Disappear”, which went to #1 on my Weekly Top 30 in 2019. After experiencing a creative slump that began during the Covid pandemic, when he all but gave up on Western Jaguar, he later resurrected the project and completed an outstanding album of new and previously-written songs. The album, which he named Oblivion, was released in July (you can read my review here).

Though many of the album’s tracks deal with loss, Trainor is in fact a happily-married man, which he celebrates on the sweet love song “Darling“. Calling it the poppiest song he’s ever written, it’s definitely the most upbeat track on the album, with a bouncy melody, sunny guitar lines, plucky bass, cheerful xylophone and exuberant hand claps, accompanied by Trainor’s earnest and pleasing vocals. It’s a perfect little pop song, and I’ve grown to love it. Accordingly, it ascends to the top spot on my latest Weekly Top 30, becoming Western Jaguar’s second song to top my chart. The endearing video was filmed in the beautiful Fraser River valley of British Columbia.

Otherwise, not many changes from last week, and there are no new debuts.

  1. DARLING – Western Jaguar (4)
  2. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (1)
  3. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (5)
  4. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (2)
  5. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (3)
  6. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (9)
  7. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (7)
  8. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (6)
  9. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (10)
  10. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (11)
  11. ANGRY – The Rolling Stones (12)
  12. YOUR SIDE OF TOWN – The Killers (13)
  13. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (14)
  14. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (8)
  15. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (16)
  16. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (19)
  17. EVICTED – Wilco (15)
  18. GOOD OLD DAYS – The Revivalists (18)
  19. LOVING YOU – Cannons (20)
  20. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (21)
  21. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (22)
  22. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (23)
  23. WHITE HORSE – Chris Stapleton (24)
  24. MODERN GIRL – Bleachers (25)
  25. WHAT NOW – Brittany Howard (26)
  26. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? – Antony Szmierek (27)
  27. SUMMER OF LUV – Portugal. The Man ft. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (17)
  28. HOUDINI – Dua Lipa (28)
  29. BLAME BRETT – The Beaches (29)
  30. PRETTY VICIOUS – The Struts (30)

Top 30 Songs for December 3-9, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's16 Comments

Formed in 2018, Black Pumas is an American band based in Austin, Texas, fronted by singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada. Their music has been described as psychedelic soul, R&B and neo-soul, with strong blues and funk influences, and their distinctive sound alternates between a visceral rawness and smooth soulfulness, and everything in between. They’ve already earned six Grammy nominations over a three-year period for Best New Artist, Record of the Year, American Roots Performance, Album of the Year, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Album. Their beautiful soulful single “More Than a Love Song”, from their second album Chronicles of a Diamond, takes over the top spot on my Weekly Top 30, after spending four weeks at #3. The song, which has an arresting gospel quality, recently spent six non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay chart.

“Now and Then” by the Beatles (which has dropped completely off the Billboard Hot 100 after just two weeks, but is #2 on the AAA chart) and “Atomic City” by U2 enter my top 10. Two high-energy songs make their debut this week: “Blame Brett” by Toronto, Canada-based all-female indie rock band The Beaches, at #29, and “Pretty Vicious” by British glam rock band The Struts, at #30.

  1. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (3)
  2. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (1)
  3. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (2)
  4. DARLING – Western Jaguar (5)
  5. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (8)
  6. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (6)
  7. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (7)
  8. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (4)
  9. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (11)
  10. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (13)
  11. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (14)
  12. ANGRY – The Rolling Stones (15)
  13. YOUR SIDE OF TOWN – The Killers (16)
  14. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (18)
  15. EVICTED – Wilco (10)
  16. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (17)
  17. SUMMER OF LUV – Portugal. The Man ft. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (9)
  18. GOOD OLD DAYS – The Revivalists (19)
  19. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (20)
  20. LOVING YOU – Cannons (12)
  21. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (22)
  22. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (23)
  23. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (24)
  24. WHITE HORSE – Chris Stapleton (26)
  25. MODERN GIRL – Bleachers (27)
  26. WHAT NOW – Brittany Howard (28)
  27. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? – Antony Szmierek (29)
  28. HOUDINI – Dua Lipa (30)
  29. BLAME BRETT – The Beaches (N)
  30. PRETTY VICIOUS – The Struts (N)

Top 30 Songs for November 26-December 2, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's16 Comments

The boisterous “HONEY (ARE U COMING?)” by Italian rock band Måneskin remains on top for a second week, while “ONE MORE TIME” by blink-182 holds at #2 for a second week after spending four weeks at #1. “More Than a Love Song” by Black Pumas spends a fourth week at #3, while the Foo Fighters‘ “Under You”, Western Jaguar‘s “Darling”, The 23s‘ “My Kinda Girl” and Bad Omens‘ “DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND” all advance a notch. Green Day enter the top 10 at #8 with “The American Dream Is Killing Me”, while The Beatles‘ “Now and Then” moves up one spot to #11. The song debuted at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 but plummeted to #76 in its second week, indicating that it was heavily streamed upon its release, but that the public seems to have quickly lost interest, which is really too bad.

As we enter the final month of 2023, five terrific songs make their debut on my chart this week. First up is the gorgeous “White Horse” by Nashville-based country-rock artist Chris Stapleton, entering at #26. The lead single from his fifth studio album Higher, “White Horse” was actually released this past July. Next up is “Modern Girl” by alternative pop-rock band Bleachers, headed by singer-songwriter and producer extraordinaire Jack Antonoff. The rousing song, which features some marvelous sax, took a while to grow on me but finally enters my chart at #27. Entering at #28 is the soulful “What Now” by American singer-songwriter Brittany Howard, who possesses one of the more powerful and interesting voices of any artist today. The song is the lead single of her forthcoming second album of the same name. Bringing up the rear are two wonderful dance singles, the first of which is the delightful “How Did You Get Here?” by talented young British singer-songwriter Antony Szmierek, which I learned about from fellow blogger Andy Peterson (who has a great blog titled The Voice Of Unreason). And last, but certainly not least, is “Houdini”, the latest single by impossibly beautiful English-Albanian singer-songwriter Dua Lipa.

  1. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (1)
  2. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (2)
  3. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (3)
  4. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (5)
  5. DARLING – Western Jaguar (6)
  6. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (7)
  7. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (8)
  8. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (11)
  9. SUMMER OF LUV – Portugal. The Man feat. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (9)
  10. EVICTED – Wilco (10)
  11. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (12)
  12. LOVING YOU – Cannons (4)
  13. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (16)
  14. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (17)
  15. ANGRY – The Rolling Stones (18)
  16. YOUR SIDE OF TOWN – The Killers (19)
  17. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (20)
  18. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (21)
  19. GOOD OLD DAYS – The Revivalists (22)
  20. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (24)
  21. HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE – Fall Out Boy (15)
  22. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (25)
  23. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (26)
  24. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (27)
  25. RUNNING OUT OF TIME – Paramore (13)
  26. WHITE HORSE – Chris Stapleton (N)
  27. MODERN GIRL – Bleachers (N)
  28. WHAT NOW – Brittany Howard (N)
  29. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? – Antony Szmierek (N)
  30. HOUDINI – Dua Lipa (N)

Top 30 Songs for November 19-25, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's12 Comments

What an exciting chart we have this week, with a new #1 song and new debuts by two legendary acts. Since winning the Eurovision Song Contest two and a half years ago with “Zitti e Buoni”, Italian rock band Måneskin have amassed enormous commercial success and legions of passionate fans, if not always critical acclaim. Formed in 2016 while still in high school, the irrepressible and charismatic foursome consists of Damiano David (lead vocals), Victoria De Angelis (bass), Thomas Raggi (guitar) and Ethan Torchio (drums). I love their bombastic rock extravaganza “HONEY (ARE U COMING)?”, which takes over the #1 spot on my Weekly Top 30 chart after spending three weeks at #2.

Released on September 1st, the song is the sixth single from their most recent album RUSH (previous chart-topping singles from the album include “SUPERMODEL” and “THE LONELIEST”). Though generally favorable, reviews for RUSH were mixed, with Sam Law of Kerrang! writing that Måneskin are “still utterly unstoppable when they tap into the youthful exuberance and fiery eccentricity that got them here in the first place“, whereas Jeremy Larson of Pitchfork called it “absolutely terrible at every conceivable level: vocally grating, lyrically unimaginative, and musically one-dimensional. It is a rock album that sounds worse the louder you play it.” While I think the album is a bit too long (it features 18 tracks, but was reissued on November 10th as RUSH (ARE U COMING?) with a whopping 22 tracks), I love the band’s explosive energy and enjoy most of their songs.

The two very notable debuts, both of which were released on November 2nd, enter my chart quite high this week. The first, entering at #11, is “The American Dream Is Killing Me” by California pop-punk trio Green Day, released alongside “Look Ma, No Brains!” as the lead single from their forthcoming 14th studio album, Saviors, due out next year. Never afraid of making a socio-political statement, band front man Billie Joe Armstrong told Stereogum that the song is “a look at the way the traditional American Dream doesn’t work for a lot of people—in fact, it’s hurting a lot of people.”

Debuting right behind at #12 is “Now and Then” by The Beatles. At first I had mixed feelings about the song and how it came to be, but I’ve come to like it. Released as a double A-side single along with a new stereo remix of their first single, “Love Me Do”, they serve as a kind of “bookends” to the band’s history. “Now and Then” was written and recorded by John Lennon in 1977 as a solo piano demo on his home tape recorder, but was never finished. After his death in 1980, the song was considered for inclusion along with “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” for The Beatles’ 1995–1996 retrospective project The Beatles Anthology, but shelved due to its poor audio quality. Paul McCartney later remarked that George Harrison disliked the song, calling Lennon’s demo recording “fucking rubbish“. (Wikipedia)

Fast forward to 2023, McCartney and Ringo Starr were able to use the machine-learning-assisted audio restoration technology – originally commissioned by Peter Jackson for his 2021 documentary The Beatles: Get Back– to successfully extract Lennon’s vocals from the original demo. They then added their new vocal overdubs, Harrison’s 1995 guitar tracks along with a new slide guitar solo by McCartney, Starr’s new drum parts, and a string section written by Giles Martin (son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin), McCartney, and Ben Foster, to complete the new version of “Now and Then.” The result is a song that’s, in the words of Benjamin H. Smith who wrote about it for the website Decider, “underwhelming at first, due to its minor key verse and stately tempo, [but] repeated listens pull you in with its its artistry and gravitas“, which was exactly my own personal reaction.

The song has generally been well received by many critics who felt it was a worthy finale for the Beatles, however, some have been less generous, with a few bloggers I follow bitterly denouncing the entire project. Be that as it may, “Now and Then” has already topped the music charts in the UK, Germany, and Austria, and last week debuted at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the highest-charting song by the Beatles since “Free as a Bird” reached #6 in 1995.

Also worth noting on this week’s chart is the 10-point jump of U2‘s anthemic “Atomic City” (another song I was initially ambivalent about, partly because the chorus sounds a lot like Blondie’s “Call Me”), which is currently #1 on the Billboard AAA chart. With songs out now by both the Beatles and Rolling Stones, as well as veteran acts U2, Green Day, Wilco, Foo Fighters and blink-182, one can be forgiven for wondering what year we’re in!

  1. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (2)
  2. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (1)
  3. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (3)
  4. LOVING YOU – Cannons (4)
  5. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (6)
  6. DARLING – Western Jaguar (8)
  7. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (9)
  8. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (10)
  9. SUMMER OF LUV – Portugal. The Man feat. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (11)
  10. EVICTED – Wilco (12)
  11. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (N)
  12. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (N)
  13. RUNNING OUT OF TIME – Paramore (5)
  14. WHEN WE WERE CLOSE – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (7)
  15. HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE – Fall Out Boy (15)
  16. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (26)
  17. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (20)
  18. ANGRY – The Rolling Stones (21)
  19. YOUR SIDE OF TOWN – The Killers (22)
  20. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (23)
  21. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (24)
  22. GOOD OLD DAYS – The Revivalists (25)
  23. DIAL DRUNK – Noah Kahan (13)
  24. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (27)
  25. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (28)
  26. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (29)
  27. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (30)
  28. OVERCOME – Nothing But Thieves (14)
  29. BAD IDEA RIGHT? – Olivia Rodrigo (16)
  30. PULL ME THROUGH – Royal Blood (17)