Top 30 Songs for September 11-17, 2022

One of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I’ve heard this year is “Broken Record” by British artist NAVE, the solo music project of singer-songwriter, composer and producer Nathan Evans. The prolific and hyper-talented musician creates gorgeous and dramatic music incorporating a broad array of genres and styles, including alternative electronica, rock, ambient, trip-hop, orchestral and dark wave. He’s also front man for alternative rock band Native Tongue. He wrote “Broken Record” to address the powerfully addicting allure of social media and its impacts on our emotional and mental health. Nathan states “‘Broken Record’ focuses on the like, follow and share society we have transitioned into over the past decade. Likes release dopamine like a drug and we become addicted to the validation, attention and acknowledgment of our successes or happiness. We hide behind filters and fake smiles to show an inaccurate reality we wish was real.” The song is stunning, with mournful, contemplative piano keys overlain with arresting percussion, swelling strings and mysterious vocal effects. I love male singing voices in the higher ranges, and Nathan’s is especially captivating here. Not only is “Broken Record” a gorgeous song, it also resonates very strongly with me, and I’m thrilled to place it at the top of my list this week.

In other notable chart developments, The Killers‘ uplifting anthem “boy” leaps 17 spots to #4, Cafuné‘s “Tek It” advances a notch to enter the top 10 at #10, Steve Lacy‘s “Bad Habit” jumps 11 spots to #18, and Beach Weather‘s “Sex, Drugs, Etc.” climbs nine spots to #21. The lone debut this week is the delightful “Party4One” by the brilliant Canadian artist dwi, which enters at #30.

  1. BROKEN RECORD – NAVE (2)
  2. UNTIL I FOUND YOU – Stephen Sanchez (1)
  3. SUPERMODEL – Måneskin (3)
  4. BOY – The Killers (21)
  5. FAILURE TO COMPLY – MISSIO (5)
  6. VIVA LAS VENGEANCE – Panic! At the Disco (8)
  7. BONES – Imagine Dragons (9)
  8. BREAK MY SOUL – Beyoncé (10)
  9. CLOSER – The Frontier (4)
  10. TEK IT – Cafuné (11)
  11. HERE TO FOREVER – Death Cab for Cutie (14)
  12. LEMON TREE – Mt. Joy (7)
  13. MISTAKES – Sharon Van Etten (6)
  14. SIDELINES – Phoebe Bridgers (12)
  15. WHAT’S THE TRICK? – Jack White (13)
  16. PLEASE WRITE RESPONSIBLY – Granfalloon (19)
  17. PART OF THE BAND – The 1975 (20)
  18. BAD HABIT – Steve Lacy (29)
  19. SEASICK – The Rare Occasions (22)
  20. ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (15)
  21. SEX, DRUGS, ETC. – Beach Weather (30)
  22. FREE – Florence + the Machine (23)
  23. CRACKER ISLAND – Gorillaz featuring Thundercat (24)
  24. SOMETHING LOUD – Jimmy Eat World (26)
  25. GREY – Holy Coves (18)
  26. GIANTS – WALK THE MOON (27)
  27. LIN MANUEL – Onism E (17)
  28. THE FUNERAL – YUNGBLUD (16)
  29. COMPLIANCE – Muse (25)
  30. PARTY4ONE – dwi (N)

Top 30 Songs for September 4-10, 2022

Not a lot of changes from last week on my latest Weekly Top 30. Stephen Sanchez‘ beautiful retro love ballad “Until I Found You” holds the top spot for a second week, while “Broken Record” by British artist NAVE, and “SUPERMODEL” by Italian band Måneskin, each move up a notch to second and third place. “Bones” by Imagine Dragons and “BREAK MY SOUL” by Beyoncé enter the top 10 at #9 and #10, respectively. The biggest upward mover is “Boy” by The Killers, which climbs seven spots to #21.

Debuting this week are the charming funk-pop song “Bad Habit” by Southern California artist Steve Lacy – the song has already reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and is at #3 on the Hot 100 – and the enchanting “Sex, Drugs, Etc.” by Massachusetts alternative pop-rock band Beach Weather.

  1. UNTIL I FOUND YOU – Stephen Sanchez (1)
  2. BROKEN RECORD – NAVE (3)
  3. SUPERMODEL – Måneskin (4)
  4. CLOSER – The Frontier (2)
  5. FAILURE TO COMPLY – MISSIO (7)
  6. MISTAKES – Sharon Van Etten (5)
  7. LEMON TREE – Mt. Joy (8)
  8. VIVA LAS VENGEANCE – Panic! At the Disco (9)
  9. BONES – Imagine Dragons (11)
  10. BREAK MY SOUL – Beyoncé (12)
  11. TEK IT – Cafuné (14)
  12. SIDELINES – Phoebe Bridgers (15)
  13. WHAT’S THE TRICK? – Jack White (16)
  14. HERE TO FOREVER – Death Cab for Cutie (17)
  15. ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (10)
  16. THE FUNERAL – YUNGBLUD (6)
  17. LIN MANUEL – Onism E (13)
  18. GREY – Holy Coves (17)
  19. PLEASE WRITE RESPONSIBLY – Granfalloon (21)
  20. PART OF THE BAND – The 1975 (22)
  21. BOY – The Killers (28)
  22. SEASICK – The Rare Occasions (24)
  23. FREE – Florence + the Machine (25)
  24. CRACKER ISLAND – Gorillaz featuring Thundercat (26)
  25. COMPLIANCE – Muse (25)
  26. SOMETHING LOUD – Jimmy Eat World (27)
  27. GIANTS – WALK THE MOON (30)
  28. UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID) – Arcade Fire (23)
  29. BAD HABIT – Steve Lacy (N)
  30. SEX, DRUGS, ETC. – Beach Weather (N)

Top 30 Songs for August 28-Sept 3, 2022

A year after it’s release, the gorgeous throwback love ballad “Until I Found You” by adorable 19-year-old Nashville crooner Stephen Sanchez reaches the top spot on my Weekly Top 30. With it’s wonderful retro 50s doo wop vibe, highlighted by Sanchez’ beautiful jangly guitar and vibrant vocals, I cannot get enough of it! The song quickly went viral on TikTok, and has reached #1 in Malaysia, #5 in the Philippines and on the Billboard AAA chart, but only recently began climbing the Hot 100 Chart, where it currently sits at #88. The song is included on his 7-track EP Easy On My Eyes, which dropped August 19th.

For the marvelous official video, which came out in late June, Sanchez channels his inner Elvis, also pairing himself with a Marilyn Monroe lookalike as his love interest with whom he sings the song in a duet (although the layered vocals on the track are all his, from what I can tell). He told Rolling StoneI was obsessed with the style of the 50s when I was growing up. The glamorous cars, movie theaters, mom & pop shops. I romanticized all of its visually stunning colors and sleekness. I wanted to implement all of that beauty into my dream of being a 1950s singer debuting his ‘hit’ song on the Ed Sullivan Show.”

In other chart highlights, the hauntingly beautiful “Broken Record” by British artist NAVE, and “SUPERMODEL” by Italian band Måneskin, each climb three spots to #3 and 4, respectively, and “Viva Las Vengeance” by Panic! At the Disco enters the top 10 at #9. Making their debut this week are “boy” by The Killers, at #28, and “Giants” by WALK THE MOON, at #30. As an old geezer myself, it’s heartening to see songs by veteran artists and bands over 40 like Sharon Van Etten, Jack White, Muse, Death Cab for Cutie, Jimmy Eat World, the Killers, Damon Albarn of Gorillaz, and Brian and Marc of The Star Crumbles, all of whom are still at the top of their game.

  1. UNTIL I FOUND YOU – Stephen Sanchez (2)
  2. CLOSER – The Frontier (1)
  3. BROKEN RECORD – NAVE (6)
  4. SUPERMODEL – Måneskin (7)
  5. MISTAKES – Sharon Van Etten (4)
  6. THE FUNERAL – YUNGBLUD (3)
  7. FAILURE TO COMPLY – MISSIO (8)
  8. LEMON TREE – Mt. Joy (9)
  9. VIVA LAS VENGEANCE – Panic! At the Disco (11)
  10. ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (5)
  11. BONES – Imagine Dragons (13)
  12. BREAK MY SOUL – Beyoncé (15)
  13. LIN MANUEL – Onism E (14)
  14. TEK IT – Cafuné (16)
  15. SIDELINES – Phoebe Bridgers (17)
  16. WHAT’S THE TRICK? – Jack White (20)
  17. GREY – Holy Coves (18)
  18. HERE TO FOREVER – Death Cab for Cutie (21)
  19. COMPLIANCE – Muse (19)
  20. SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (10)
  21. PLEASE WRITE RESPONSIBLY – Granfalloon (25)
  22. PART OF THE BAND – The 1975 (26)
  23. UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID) – Arcade Fire (12)
  24. SEASICK – The Rare Occasions (27)
  25. FREE – Florence + the Machine (28)
  26. CRACKER ISLAND – Gorillaz featuring Thundercat (29)
  27. SOMETHING LOUD – Jimmy Eat World (30)
  28. BOY – The Killers (N)
  29. DESPERATELY WANTING – The Star Crumbles (23)
  30. GIANTS – WALK THE MOON (N)

Top 30 Songs for August 21-27, 2022

The Frontier with his trusty sidekick Atlas

Northern Virginia-based artist The Frontier (the music project of enormously talented, funny and gracious singer-songwriter Jake Mimikos) is a long-time favorite of mine. Drawing from elements of pop, folk, rock and electronica, his music is incredibly pleasing, relentlessly catchy, and flawlessly crafted. The prolific artist has released an impressive amount of music both as a band and a solo artist under The Frontier moniker since around 2015, and I’ve featured quite a bit of it on this blog. Several of his songs have appeared on my Weekly Top 30, with two – “Dark Places” (from 2019) and “Can We Go Back” (from 2021) – going all the way to #1. He now reaches the top spot for a third time, with his lovely, upbeat song “Closer”. I find that the more I hear his songs, the more I grow to love them, and “Closer” is no exception.

And speaking of love, I’ve fallen head over heels for the gorgeous “Until I Found You” by 19-year-old Nashville crooner Stephen Sanchez, which climbs three spots to #2. The song is included on his new 7-track EP Easy On My Eyes, which dropped August 19th. Entering the top 10 is the wonderfully complex “Lemon Tree” by L.A. indie folk-rock band Mt. Joy. Big upward movers this week include “Viva Las Vengeance” by Panic! At the Disco, which climbs six spots to #11, “What’s the Trick?” by Jack White, also moving up six spots to #20, and “Here to Forever” by Death Cab For Cutie, jumping seven spots to #21. Three great songs finally make their long-overdue debut: “Free” by Florence + the Machine, “Cracker Island” by Gorillaz featuring Thundercat, and “Something Loud” by veteran rockers Jimmy Eat World, entering at #s 28, 29 and 30, respectively.

  1. CLOSER – The Frontier (2)
  2. UNTIL I FOUND YOU – Stephen Sanchez (5)
  3. THE FUNERAL – YUNGBLUD (3)
  4. MISTAKES – Sharon Van Etten (4)
  5. ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (1)
  6. BROKEN RECORD – NAVE (7)
  7. SUPERMODEL – Måneskin (8)
  8. FAILURE TO COMPLY – MISSIO (10)
  9. LEMON TREE – Mt. Joy (12)
  10. SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (9)
  11. VIVA LAS VENGEANCE – Panic! At the Disco (17)
  12. UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID) – Arcade Fire (6)
  13. BONES – Imagine Dragons (15)
  14. LIN MANUEL – Onism E (14)
  15. BREAK MY SOUL – Beyoncé (18)
  16. TEK IT – Cafuné (19)
  17. SIDELINES – Phoebe Bridgers (21)
  18. GREY – Holy Coves (20)
  19. COMPLIANCE – Muse (23)
  20. WHAT’S THE TRICK? – Jack White (26)
  21. HERE TO FOREVER – Death Cab For Cutie (28)
  22. IN THE MIRROR – The Interrupters (11)
  23. DESPERATELY WANTING – The Star Crumbles (16)
  24. WARNING SIGNS – Band of Horses (13)
  25. PLEASE WRITE RESPONSIBLY – Granfalloon (27)
  26. PART OF THE BAND – The 1975 (29)
  27. SEASICK – The Rare Occasions (30)
  28. FREE – Florence + the Machine (N)
  29. CRACKER ISLAND – Gorillaz featuring Thundercat (N)
  30. SOMETHING LOUD – Jimmy Eat World (N)

Top 30 Songs for August 14-20, 2022

Lizzo remains at #1 for a second week on my latest Weekly Top 30 with her infectious dance song “About Damn Time”, while The Frontier‘s delightful “Closer” and YUNGBLUD‘s wonderfully frantic “The Funeral” both move up a notch to #2 and #3. respectively. Climbing four spots to enter the top 10 at #10 is the darkly beautiful “Failure to Comply” by MISSIO. Some big upward movers this week include “Lemon Tree” by Mt. Joy, which jumps eight spots to #12, “Viva Las Vengeance” by Panic! At the Disco, climbing seven spots to #17, and “Break My Soul” by Beyoncé, which leaps 10 spots to #18. Making their debut this week are terrific new songs by three great pop-rock bands: “Here to Forever” by Death Cab For Cutie, “Part of the Band” by The 1975, and “Seasick” by The Rare Occasions, which enter at #s 28, 29 and 30.

  1. ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (1)
  2. CLOSER – The Frontier (3)
  3. THE FUNERAL – YUNGBLUD (4)
  4. MISTAKES – Sharon Van Etten (5)
  5. UNTIL I FOUND YOU – Stephen Sanchez (6)
  6. UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID) – Arcade Fire (2)
  7. BROKEN RECORD – NAVE (9)
  8. SUPERMODEL – Måneskin (10)
  9. SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (7)
  10. FAILURE TO COMPLY – MISSIO (14)
  11. IN THE MIRROR – The Interrupters (8)
  12. LEMON TREE – Mt. Joy (20)
  13. WARNING SIGNS – Band of Horses (11)
  14. LIN MANUEL – Onism E (16)
  15. BONES – Imagine Dragons (17)
  16. DESPERATELY WANTING – The Star Crumbles (15)
  17. VIVA LAS VENGEANCE – Panic! At the Disco (24)
  18. BREAK MY SOUL – Beyoncé (28)
  19. TEK IT – Cafuné (21)
  20. GREY – Holy Coves (22)
  21. SIDELINES – Phoebe Bridgers (26)
  22. SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER – Sam Fender (12)
  23. COMPLIANCE – Muse (27)
  24. A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE – Weezer (13)
  25. AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (19)
  26. WHAT’S THE TRICK? – Jack White (29)
  27. PLEASE WRITE RESPONSIBLY – Granfalloon (30)
  28. HERE TO FOREVER – Death Cab For Cutie (N)
  29. PART OF THE BAND – The 1975 (N)
  30. SEASICK – The Rare Occasions (N)

Top 30 Songs for August 7-13, 2022

I’m thrilled to place Lizzo‘s infectious feel-good single “About Damn Time” at #1 on my latest Weekly Top 30. I love a good dance song, and with its funky bass-driven groove, “About Damn Time” fits the bill quite nicely. From her fourth album Special, it’s her first song to top my chart, and her second to top the Billboard Hot 100. Born Melissa Jefferson in Detroit, the 34-year-old singer has already had an interesting life. After moving with her family to Houston when she was 10, Lizzo began studying the flute with renowned music teacher Claudia Momen. She also started rapping in her early teens, and formed a musical group called Cornrow Clique with her friends, at which time she acquired the nickname “Lizzo”. After graduating from high school, she studied classical music with a concentration on flute at the University of Houston, but by 21, was living out of her car for a year while trying to break into the music industry. She released two studio albums, Lizzobangers in 2013 and Big Grrrl Small World in 2015, but neither charted. Lizzo finally achieved breakthrough success in 2019 with her single “Truth Hurts” after it was featured in the Netflix film Someone Great. The song became a viral sleeper hit, reaching #1 two years after its initial release. Lizzo’s life-long struggles with her weight have led her to become a fearless advocate for body positivity and self-love.

In other chart highlights, “Closer” by The Frontier and “The Funeral” by YUNGBLUD, hold at #3 and #4, and “Mistakes” by Sharon Van Etten climbs four spots to #5. Entering the top 10 are “Until I Found You” by Stephen Sanchez, which jumps six spots to #6, “Broken Record” by NAVE, up seven spots to #9, and “SUPERMODEL” by Måneskin, which leaps 10 spots to #10.

I wanted to add at least six new songs to my chart this week, but had room for only these three, each of which could not be more different from one another: “BREAK MY SOUL” by Beyoncé, “What’s the Trick?” by Jack White, and “Please Write Responsibly” by British artist Granfalloon, the music project of talented singer-songwriter Richard Lomax, making his first appearance on my chart.

  1. ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (2)
  2. UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID) – Arcade Fire (1)
  3. CLOSER – The Frontier (3)
  4. THE FUNERAL – YUNGBLUD (4)
  5. MISTAKES – Sharon Van Etten (9)
  6. UNTIL I FOUND YOU – Stephen Sanchez (12)
  7. SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (7)
  8. IN THE MIRROR – The Interrupters (8)
  9. BROKEN RECORD – NAVE (16)
  10. SUPERMODEL – Måneskin (20)
  11. WARNING SIGNS – Band of Horses (10)
  12. SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER – Sam Fender (5)
  13. A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE – Weezer (6)
  14. FAILURE TO COMPLY – MISSIO (19)
  15. DESPERATELY WANTING – The Star Crumbles (17)
  16. LIN MANUEL – Onism E (18)
  17. BONES – Imagine Dragons (22)
  18. TELL ME THE TRUTH – Two Feet (11)
  19. AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (14)
  20. LEMON TREE – Mt. Joy (24)
  21. TEK IT – Cafuné (25)
  22. GREY – Holy Coves (23)
  23. BELIEVE – Caamp (13)
  24. VIVA LAS VENGEANCE – Panic! At the Disco (28)
  25. THE FOUNDATIONS OF DECAY – My Chemical Romance (15)
  26. SIDELINES – Phoebe Bridgers (30)
  27. COMPLIANCE – Muse (29)
  28. BREAK MY SOUL – Beyoncé (N)
  29. WHAT’S THE TRICK? – Jack White (N)
  30. PLEASE WRITE RESPONSIBLY – Granfalloon (N)

Top 30 Songs for July 31-August 6, 2022

Photo by María José Govea

While the top two songs on my latest Weekly Top 30 – Arcade Fire‘s “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” and Lizzo‘s “About Damn Time” – remain in place for a second week, there are lots of changes to the rest of the list. Several songs fall out of the top 10, including Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” after a 15-week run in that rarefied group, clearing the way for a newer crop of songs to move up. Jumping seven spots to #3 is “Closer”, by The Frontier (the music project of the very gracious, funny and talented Northern Virginia-based Jake Mimikos). We’ve followed one another on social media for over six years, and I’m quite fond of both him and his music. Entering the top 10 are: “The Funeral” by YUNGBLUD, which leaps eight spots to #4, “In the Mirror” by The Interrupters, climbing five spots to #8, “Mistakes” by Sharon Van Etten, up six spots to #9, and “Warning Signs” by Band of Horses, which moves up four spots to #10.

Other big movers this week are Stephen Sanchez, with his stunning retro love ballad “Until I Found You”, which leaps 10 spots to #12, and British artist NAVE, whose hauntingly beautiful “Broken Record” climbs five spots to #16. Two songs make their debut this week, “Viva Las Vengeance” by Panic! At the Disco (which recently spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, and took a while to click with me) at #28, and “Sidelines” by Phoebe Bridgers, which enters at #30.

  1. UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID) – Arcade Fire (1)
  2. ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (2)
  3. CLOSER – The Frontier (10)
  4. THE FUNERAL – YUNGBLUD (12)
  5. SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER – Sam Fender (3)
  6. A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE – Weezer (5)
  7. SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (8)
  8. IN THE MIRROR – The Interrupters (13)
  9. MISTAKES – Sharon Van Etten (15)
  10. WARNING SIGNS – Band of Horses (14)
  11. TELL ME THE TRUTH – Two Feet (5)
  12. UNTIL I FOUND YOU – Stephen Sanchez (22)
  13. BELIEVE – Caamp (6)
  14. AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (7)
  15. THE FOUNDATIONS OF DECAY – My Chemical Romance (9)
  16. BROKEN RECORD – NAVE (21)
  17. DESPERATELY WANTING – The Star Crumbles (18)
  18. LIN MANUEL – Onism E (19)
  19. FAILURE TO COMPLY – MISSIO (20)
  20. SUPERMODEL – Måneskin (23)
  21. LONELY – Sea Girls (11)
  22. BONES – Imagine Dragons (24)
  23. GREY – Holy Coves (25)
  24. LEMON TREE – Mt. Joy (28)
  25. TEK IT – Cafuné (29)
  26. 2am – Foals (16)
  27. MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (17)
  28. VIVA LAS VENGEANCE – Panic! At the Disco (N)
  29. COMPLIANCE – Muse (30)
  30. SIDELINES – Phoebe Bridgers (N)

Top 30 Songs for July 24-30, 2022

Photo by María José Govea

My new favorite song this week is the uplifting and poignant “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid” by Canadian art-rock band Arcade Fire. Released in late April, it’s the second single from their sixth studio album WE. About the song, band front man Win Butler told Pitchfork‘Lookout Kid’” is a reminder, a lullaby for the end times, sung to my son, but for everyone…. Trust your heart, trust your mind, trust your body, trust your soul. Shit is going to get worse before it gets better, but it always gets better, and no one’s perfect.” The video, produced by Ben Matheny and Nathan Harrison, and directed by Benh Zeitlin, is delightful.

Singer-songwriter and rapper Lizzo advances to #2 with her feel-good dance song “About Damn Time”. Debuting this week at #s 28-30 are “Lemon Tree” by L.A.-based alternative/indie folk rock band Mt. Joy“, “Tek It” by Brooklyn-based electro-pop duo Cafuné, and “Compliance” by British alt-rock band Muse.

  1. UNCONDITIONAL I (LOOKOUT KID) – Arcade Fire (2)
  2. ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (3)
  3. SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER – Sam Fender (1)
  4. A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE – Weezer (6)
  5. TELL ME THE TRUTH – Two Feet (4)
  6. BELIEVE – Caamp (5)
  7. AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (8)
  8. SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (10)
  9. THE FOUNDATIONS OF DECAY – My Chemical Romance (11)
  10. CLOSER – The Frontier (12)
  11. LONELY – Sea Girls (13)
  12. THE FUNERAL – YUNGBLUD (14)
  13. IN THE MIRROR – The Interrupters (15)
  14. WARNING SIGNS – Band of Horses (16)
  15. MISTAKES – Sharon Van Etten (17)
  16. 2am – Foals (7)
  17. MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (9)
  18. DESPERATELY WANTING – Brian Lambert & Marc Schuster (20)
  19. LIN MANUEL – Onism E (21)
  20. FAILURE TO COMPLY – MISSIO (22)
  21. BROKEN RECORD – NAVE (23)
  22. UNTIL I FOUND YOU – Stephen Sanchez (25)
  23. SUPERMODEL – Måneskin (26)
  24. BONES – Imagine Dragons (29)
  25. GREY – Holy Coves (30)
  26. WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (19)
  27. CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (18) 20th week on list
  28. LEMON TREE – Mt. Joy (N)
  29. TEK IT – Cafuné (N)
  30. COMPLIANCE – Muse (N)

Top 30 Songs for March 6-12, 2022

After a long, steady climb, the wonderfully ebullient “Two Car Family” by Leeds five-piece Apollo Junction has reached the pinnacle of my Weekly Top 30. The song is from their latest album All In, which is so full of great songs, I could just as easily have chosen some of its other tracks to place at the top of my list. I love their melodic, high-energy brand of electro pop-rock, and so do thousands of adoring fans. I’m so happy to see their star continue to rise.

In other major chart developments this week, the captivating song of unrequited love “Caviar”, by my favorite artist Two Feet, leaps 10 spots to #10. I love the sultry vibe and gorgeous Latin-flavored guitars. Counting both his solo tracks and collaborations with SubUrban and grandson, Two Feet has continuously had a song on my Weekly Top 30 every single week since early November of 2020! Portugal. The Man‘s “What Me Worry?” and the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ “Black Summer” both climb six spots to #21 and #22, respectively. Finally, there’s so much great new music out now, I wanted to add at least eight new tracks this week. But that would have required dropping eight from my list, which I just could not do. So, I had to settle for only three stellar new additions: “Broken Horses” by Brandi Carlisle, “Once Twice Melody” by Beach House, and “Cheer Up Baby” by Inhaler.

  1. TWO CAR FAMILY – Apollo Junction (3)
  2. THE HARDEST CUT – Spoon (1)
  3. ONE AND THE SAME – Future Theory (4)
  4. CHAPSTICK – COIN (6)
  5. THE ONLY HEARTBREAKER – Mitski (8)
  6. WAKE ME UP – Foals (5)
  7. I SEE THE SUN – Solar Eyes (2)
  8. THE OUTSIDE – twenty øne piløts (7)
  9. OH MY GOD – Adele (10)
  10. CAVIAR – Two Feet (20)
  11. HEAD IN THE CLOUDS – Thunder Fox (11)
  12. JUST LIKE ALWAYS – Oli Barton & the Movement & Maella (13)
  13. REDCHURCH STREET BLUES – Philip Morgan Lewis (14)
  14. I’LL CALL YOU MINE – girl in red (16)
  15. BROKEN HEARTS – Ships Have Sailed (17)
  16. B-SIDE – Khruangbin & Leon Bridges (19)
  17. SOMETHING FROM NOTHING/POINTS OF LIGHT – Secret Postal Society (18)
  18. MAGNIFICENT HURT – Elvis Costello & the Imposters (15)
  19. LOVE DIES YOUNG – Foo Fighters (21)
  20. GIVE A LITTLE LOVIN’ – Jamie Alimorad (22)
  21. WHAT, ME WORRY? – Portugal. The Man (27)
  22. BLACK SUMMER – Red Hot Chili Peppers (28)
  23. STARTS WITH YOU – Shimmer Johnson (9) 19th week on chart
  24. CRUTCH – Band of Horses (12)
  25. IF YOU EVER LEAVE, I’M COMING WITH YOU – The Wombats (26)
  26. LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (29)
  27. BROKEN HORSES – Brandi Carlisle (N)
  28. ONCE TWICE MELODY – Beach House (N)
  29. WON’T STAND DOWN – Muse (30)
  30. CHEER UP BABY – Inhaler (N)

Top 30 Songs for February 27-March 5, 2022

Though they’ve been around since the mid 1990s, I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I didn’t come to fully appreciate the music of Spoon until 2017, with the release of their fantastic album Hot Thoughts. I love their distinctive sound that incorporates elements of rock’n’roll, art rock, post-punk revival and experimental rock, not to mention the raspy vocals of frontman Britt Daniel, who at 50 is still going strong. The Austin-based rock band’s gnarly stomper “The Hardest Cut” has been around awhile, and finally reaches the top of my Weekly Top 30. The song is from their 10th and latest album Lucifer on the Sofa, which was written by Daniel during lockdown.

Adele’s “Oh My God” enters the top 10, and both “B-Side” by Khruangbin & Leon Bridges and “Caviar” by Two Feet leap eight spots to #19 and #20, respectively. Three new songs debut this week: “Black Summer” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Love Brand New” by Bob Moses, and “Won’t Stand Down” by Muse. Though I really like Muse, most of their songs take a while to grow on me. I often dislike them upon the first few listens, but almost always end up liking or even loving them, and “Won’t Stand Down” is no exception.

  1. THE HARDEST CUT – Spoon (2)
  2. I SEE THE SUN – Solar Eyes (1)
  3. TWO CAR FAMILY – Apollo Junction (4)
  4. ONE AND THE SAME – Future Theory (6)
  5. WAKE ME UP – Foals (7)
  6. CHAPSTICK – COIN (8)
  7. THE OUTSIDE – twenty øne piløts (9)
  8. THE ONLY HEARTBREAKER – Mitski (10)
  9. STARTS WITH YOU – Shimmer Johnson (3)
  10. OH MY GOD – Adele (14)
  11. HEAD IN THE CLOUDS – Thunder Fox (13)
  12. CRUTCH – Band of Horses (5)
  13. JUST LIKE ALWAYS – Oli Barton & the Movement & Maella (15)
  14. REDCHURCH STREET BLUES – Philip Morgan Lewis (16)
  15. MAGNIFICENT HURT – Elvis Costello & The Imposters (17)
  16. I’LL CALL YOU MINE – girl in red (22)
  17. BROKEN HEARTS – Ships Have Sailed (20)
  18. SOMETHING FROM NOTHING/POINTS OF LIGHT – Secret Postal Society (21)
  19. B-SIDE – Khruangbin & Leon Bridges (27)
  20. CAVIAR – Two Feet (28)
  21. LOVE DIES YOUNG – Foo Fighters (24)
  22. GIVE A LITTLE LOVIN’ – Jamie Alimorad (26)
  23. TIME IN DISGUISE – Kings of Leon (11)
  24. GOOD FRIEND – dwi (12)
  25. I DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – The War On Drugs feat. Lucius (18)
  26. IF YOU EVER LEAVE, I’M COMING WITH YOU – The Wombats (29)
  27. WHAT, ME WORRY? – Portugal. The Man (30)
  28. BLACK SUMMER – Red Hot Chili Peppers (N)
  29. LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (N)
  30. WON’T STAND DOWN – Muse (N)