Tag: Lady A

Top 30 Songs for October 27-November 2, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's13 Comments
Photo taken from Leon album cover

Lots of changes on my latest Weekly Top 30, with a new #1 song and four new entries. Fort Worth, Texas-based singer-songwriter Leon Bridges takes over the top spot with his lovely song “Peaceful Place”. His smooth, incredibly pleasing vocals remind me at times of the late, great Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke, and I love that slide guitar and cool bass line on the track. The song is from his fourth studio album Leon, which dropped October 4th. It’s his second song to top my list, the previous being “Bad Bad News” in 2018. The wonderful video was shot in Mexico City and Los Angeles.

Entering the top 10 are “Favourite” by Irish band Fontaines D.C., at #9, and “Up All Night”, a lively foot-stomping collaboration between James Bay, The Lumineers and Noah Kahan, at #10. Of the four new entries this week, three are by acts who are totally new to me, two of which are singing about some kind of sadness. The first, coming in at #27, is the rousing “Sad in Carolina” by Dexter and the Moonrocks, a four-piece rock band from Abilene, Texas (not too far west of Leon Bridges’ home of Fort Worth) who describe their sound as “sad cowboy music”. Comprised of James Tuffs on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Ryan Anderson on lead guitar and backing vocals, Ty Anderson on bass, and Fox on drums and backing vocals, they’ve been putting out music since 2021. Released on May 1st, “Sad in Carolina” is featured on their latest EP Western Space Grunge, which dropped in July. Judging from their prodigious Instagram posts, the guys appear to have a wicked sense of humor.

The second debut is “Supersad” by English singer-songwriter, actress and model Suki Waterhouse. The London-based artist, who began modeling at the age of 16, started recording and releasing music in 2016. Her second single, “Good Looking”, released in 2017, later became a viral hit in 2022, garnering nearly half a billion streams on Spotify alone. She and her partner, actor Robert Pattinson, welcomed their first child in March, and she opened for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour on August 17th at Wembley Stadium. “Supersad” is from her second studio album Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, released on September 13th.

Coming in at #29 is “Bobby Sox” by legendary alt-rock band Green Day. The song is the fifth single from their latest album Saviors, released this past January. The fourth new entry is “Kinky”, a riotous romp by English alternative rock/hip hop band bby. Formed at the end of 2022, the young five-piece consists of Benjy Gibson on lead vocals, Jessy Jacquet-Cretides and Tommaso Medica on guitar, Deon Graham on bass, and Tom Parkin on drums. Their debut single “hotline”, released in August 2023, quickly blew up, garnering millions of streams across multiple streaming platforms. They followed with a series of singles which culminated in the release of their terrific debut album 1 this past July.

  1. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (2)
  2. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (1)
  3. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (4)
  4. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (5)
  5. GOOD LUCK, BABE! – Chappell Roan (6)
  6. THE DOOR – Teddy Swims (8)
  7. MESSY – Lola Young (3)
  8. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (10)
  9. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (11)
  10. UP ALL NIGHT – James Bay, The Lumineers & Noah Kahan (14)
  11. DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (15)
  12. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (7)
  13. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (9)
  14. THE LIGHTHOUSE – Stevie Nicks (17)
  15. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (12)
  16. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (18)
  17. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (19)
  18. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (16)
  19. HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (24)
  20. BOTHERING ME – Sarah Blasko (25)
  21. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (13)
  22. THE EMPTINESS MACHINE – Linkin Park (26)
  23. NOBODY’S SOLDIER – Hozier (27)
  24. NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (30)
  25. HOLOGRAM – Raker (20)
  26. LIKE YOU DO – Talk in Waves (21) 21st week on chart
  27. SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and the Moonrocks (N)
  28. SUPERSAD – Suki Waterhouse (N)
  29. BOBBY SOX – Green Day (N)
  30. KINKY – bby (N)

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #11: “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Favorite Songs8 Comments

The song at #11 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is the poignant “Need You Now” by Nashville-based Country band Lady Antebellum, who changed their name to Lady A this past summer in response to nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd. (That name change subsequently led to further controversy, as there was already another artist, Seattle-based African American activist and blues, soul, funk, and gospel singer Anita White, who’d been using the moniker “Lady A” for over 20 years. She and the band have sued each other over the use of the name; both cases have yet to be resolved.) Formed in 2006, the band is comprised of Hillary Scott on lead vocals, Charles Kelley on guitar and co-lead vocals, and Dave Harwood on guitar, piano, mandolin and backing vocals.  

I haven’t cared for very many country songs in recent years, however, I love “Need You Now” and it was my favorite song of 2010. The song contains strong pop elements, so it can be argued it’s more pop than country, which might explain why I like it so much. The stunning and bittersweet song was first released as a single and title track from their second studio album Need You Now in August 2009, and went to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart that December. It became so popular that it crossed over to the pop charts in early 2010, going all the way to #1 on the Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and #2 on the Hot 100. “Need You Now” won four Grammys in 2011, including for Record and Song of the Year.

The song’s arrangement and instrumentation are exquisite, especially the somber piano keys and mournful slide guitar that really tug at our heartstrings. The highly relatable lyrics, beautifully sung by vocalists Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley, describe making a phone call to a former lover in the middle of the night out of loneliness and longing for companionship: “And I wonder if I ever cross your mind / For me it happens all the time / It’s a quarter after one / I’m a little drunk and I need you now / Said I wouldn’t call, but I lost all control and I need you now.” The line “Guess I’d rather hurt than feel nothin’ at all” really sums up the sometimes painful conundrum of love, relationships and life.