Tag: Noah Kahan

Top 30 Songs for June 18-24, 2023

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The wonderful “Not Strong Enough” by supergroup boygenius enjoys a second week at #1 on my latest Top 30 chart, while “Rescued” by the Foo Fighters moves into second place. The exuberant “1982” by Dutch rock band Morgendust enters the top 10 in its 11th week on the chart.

There were at at least seven songs I wanted to add this week, but unfortunately had to limit them to only three, as I didn’t want to drop any other songs off. Two of them – “Psychos”, by American singer-songwriter, musician, and teen movie actress Jenny Lewis, and “Spellbinding” by Chicago alt-rock band The Smashing Pumpkins – took a while to grow on me. I’ve never been a huge fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, mainly because of front man Billy Corgan’s nasally and shrill vocal style I often found grating, though I have liked some of their songs. “Spellbinding” is from their monumental 33-track album Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts, released on May 5th. The third debut, entering at #30, is “The Narcissist” by legendary Brit-pop band Blur, their first new music in eight years, since their 2015 album The Magic Whip. The song is from their forthcoming ninth album The Ballad of Darren, scheduled for release on July 21.

I must say that it’s heartening for an old man like me to see artists over 50, including Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan, Damon Albarn, Bootie Brown, Dave Gahan & Martin Gore of Depeche Mode, the Leto brothers, and the guys of Morgendust, still putting out great music.

  1. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (1)
  2. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (4)
  3. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (2)
  4. KID – The Revivalists (3)
  5. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (6)
  6. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (5)
  7. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (8)
  8. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (9)
  9. LEAVING – Au Gres (10)
  10. 1982 – Morgendust (12)
  11. PAID OFF – Oli Barton & the Movement (7)
  12. THOSE EYES – New West (15)
  13. WHY – Future Theory (17)
  14. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (16)
  15. THE WAY – Manchester Orchestra (14)
  16. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (19)
  17. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (20)
  18. NEW GOLD – Gorillaz, Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (13)
  19. MARRY ANOTHER MAN – Wise John (22)
  20. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (21)
  21. THE PERFECT PAIR – beabadoobee (11)
  22. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (23)
  23. CHEMICAL – Post Malone (24)
  24. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (28)
  25. GHOSTS AGAIN – Depeche Mode (18)
  26. SUPERGLUE – Michigander (27)
  27. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (29)
  28. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (N)
  29. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (N)
  30. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (N)

Top 30 Songs for June 11-17, 2023

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For those who may be unaware, boygenius is an American indie rock supergroup comprised of three incredibly talented female singer-songwriters – Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, each of whom are successful artists in their own right. Their beautiful single “Not Strong Enough”, from their debut album The Record which was released on March 31st, takes over the #1 spot on my Weekly Top 30.

In an interview for Rolling Stone, Phoebe elaborated on the meaning behind the song’s Sheryl Crow-inspired lyrics: “The two wolves inside us can be self-hatred and self-aggrandizing. Being like, ‘I’m not strong enough to show up for you. I can’t be the partner that you want me to be.’ But also being like, ‘I’m too fucked up. I’m unknowable in some deep way!’ Self-hatred is a god complex sometimes, where you think you’re the most fucked-up person who’s ever lived. Straight up, you’re not. And it can make people behave really selfishly, and I love each of our interpretations of that concept.”

Besides their intelligent songwriting and outstanding musicianship, a prominent component of boygenius’ wonderful music are the three ladies’ distinctive vocals and gorgeous harmonies. For “Not Strong Enough”, Bridgers sings the first verse, Baker the second, and Dacus leads the chant in the song’s bridge: “Always an angel, never a god”, with all three singing the exuberant choruses.

The delightful video, shot by the three members of boygenius and edited by Phoebe’s younger brother Jackson Bridgers, shows the three having fun and enjoying each other’s company in various locations around Los Angeles, including the Santa Monica Pier and Getty Villa in Malibu, one of two campuses of the J. Paul Getty Museum.

And here’s a charming video of boygenius breaking down the meaning of “Not Strong Enough”, which shows their strong camaraderie and love for each other:

  1. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (2)
  2. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (1)
  3. KID – The Revivalists (3)
  4. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (7)
  5. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (5)
  6. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (6)
  7. PAID OFF – Oli Barton & the Movement (4)
  8. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (10)
  9. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (12)
  10. LEAVING – Au Gres (13)
  11. THE PERFECT PAIR – beabadoobee (9)
  12. 1982 – Morgendust (14)
  13. NEW GOLD – Gorillaz, Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (8)
  14. THE WAY – Manchester Orchestra (15)
  15. THOSE EYES – New West (16)
  16. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (19)
  17. WHY – Future Theory (20)
  18. GHOSTS AGAIN – Depeche Mode (11)
  19. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (22)
  20. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (24)
  21. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (23)
  22. MARRY ANOTHER MAN – Wise John (25)
  23. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (26)
  24. CHEMICAL – Post Malone (27)
  25. THE WALK HOME – Young the Giant (17)
  26. FLOWERS – Miley Cyrus (18)
  27. SUPERGLUE – Michigander (28)
  28. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (29)
  29. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (30)
  30. WOLF – Yeah Yeah Yeahs (21)

Top 30 Songs for June 4-10, 2023

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Hozier‘s provocative “Eat Your Young” remains at #1 for a second week, while “Not Strong Enough” by boygenius moves into second place. “The Perfect Pair” by Filipino-English singer-songwriter beabadoobee and “Essence” by Danish producer-composer Refeci and Canadian-American singer-songwriter Shimmer Johnson enter the top 10. Two songs make their debut this week: “Stuck” by L.A.-based alt-rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, now a duo consisting of the ageless Leto brothers Jared and Shannon, at #29. Their first new music in five years, the song is the lead single from their forthcoming sixth studio album, It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day, due for release on September 15. Entering at #30 is the wonderful “Puppet Show” by another L.A.-based artist Beck Black, which I reviewed two weeks ago.

  1. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (1)
  2. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (3)
  3. KID – The Revivalists (2)
  4. PAID OFF – Oli Barton & the Movement (4)
  5. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (6)
  6. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (7)
  7. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (10)
  8. NEW GOLD – Gorillaz, Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (5)
  9. THE PERFECT PAIR – beabadoobee (11)
  10. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (12)
  11. GHOSTS AGAIN – Depeche Mode (8)
  12. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (16)
  13. LEAVING – Au Gres (17)
  14. 1982 – Morgendust (15)
  15. THE WAY – Manchester Orchestra (18)
  16. THOSE EYES – New West (19)
  17. THE WALK HOME – Young the Giant (9)
  18. FLOWERS – Miley Cyrus (13)
  19. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (20)
  20. WHY – Future Theory (21)
  21. WOLF – Yeah Yeah Yeahs (14)
  22. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (24)
  23. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (25)
  24. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (26)
  25. MARRY ANOTHER MAN – Wise John (27)
  26. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (28)
  27. CHEMICAL – Post Malone (29)
  28. SUPERGLUE – Michigander (30)
  29. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (N)
  30. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (N)

Top 30 Songs for May 28-June 3, 2023

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Irish singer-songwriter and musician Hozier (born Andrew John Hozier-Byrne), has never shied away from addressing social and political topics in his songs, and in a 2021 interview with Forbes magazine, he stated that he believes “the personal is the political“. His breakout hit “Take Me to Church” highlighted the injustices and violence perpetrated against the LGBTQ community; the video for his song “Cherry Wine” raised awareness of domestic violence; and “Nina Cried Power” paid homage to such artists as Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, and Mavis Staples, whose work often took political or social justice stances.

His latest single “Eat Your Young” was inspired by Gluttony, one the 9 Circles of Hell contained in the first part of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem Divine Comedy, and describes a feast being prepared and served together with the chaos that comes with it. Many of the allegorical lyrics can be construed to be anti-war, with references to corporate greed and capitalistic warfare, and sacrificing our young to fight our wars. According to an annotation in Genius, the line “pull up the ladder when the flood comes” could be interpreted to mean that when the biblical flood comes, rather than leaving the ladder down to help other people climb to safety, the ladder is pulled up-presumably because to save them would be to share resources with them. The darkly captivating song, from his forthcoming third album Unreal Unearth, due for release in August, ascends to the #1 spot on my latest Top 30. It’s Hozier’s third song to top my chart.

In other chart developments, the Foo Fighters‘ “Rescued” climbs six spots to enter the top 10. Four songs make their debut this week: the lovely and heartwarming “Marry Another Man” by singer-songwriter Wise John (whose wonderful EP The Mr. Love Sunset Show! I recently reviewed), “We’re All Gonna Die” by singer-songwriters Joy Oladokun and Noah Kahan, “Chemical” by superstar Post Malone, and “Superglue” by pop-rock band Michigander.

  1. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (2)
  2. KID – The Revivalists (1)
  3. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (4)
  4. PAID OFF – Oli Barton & the Movement (6)
  5. NEW GOLD – Gorillaz, Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (3)
  6. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (9)
  7. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (10)
  8. GHOSTS AGAIN – Depeche Mode (5)
  9. THE WALK HOME – Young the Giant (7)
  10. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (16)
  11. THE PERFECT PAIR – beabadoobee (12)
  12. ESSENCE – Refeci featuring Shimmer Johnson (14)
  13. FLOWERS – Miley Cyrus (8)
  14. WOLF – Yeah Yeah Yeahs (13)
  15. 1982 – Morgendust (17)
  16. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (18)
  17. LEAVING – Au Gres (19)
  18. THE WAY – Manchester Orchestra (20)
  19. THOSE EYES – New West (21)
  20. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (22)
  21. WHY – Future Theory (23)
  22. BLUEBELL WOOD – Frank Joshua (11)
  23. TROPIC MORNING NEWS – The National (15)
  24. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (27)
  25. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (28)
  26. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (30)
  27. MARRY ANOTHER MAN – Wise John (N)
  28. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (N)
  29. CHEMICAL – Post Malone (N)
  30. SUPERGLUE – Michigander (N)

Top 30 Songs for March 5-11, 2023

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Beach Weather maintain a firm grip on the #1 spot for a third week with their languid and sultry “Trouble With This Bed”, while their monster hit “Sex, Drugs, Etc.” also spends its 25th week on my chart. Both songs are featured on their wonderful new debut album Pineapple Sunrise. Welsh singer-songwriter and actress Caitlin Lavagna‘s “Night Bus” holds at #2 for a second week, and Fall Out Boy‘s hard-driving cinematic gem “Love From the Other Side” continues its rapid climb, moving up five spots to #3. Entering the top 10 are the beautiful “Just Before the Morning” by Local Natives, at #9, and “Transmitter” by Sea Power, at #10.

The lone debut this week is “Ghosts Again” by legendary electronic band Depeche Mode, which now essentially consists of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore. The song is their first new release since the death of co-founder and keyboardist Andy Fletcher last May. About the song, Gahan said it “captures this perfect balance of melancholy and joy“, while Gore noted it has “such an upbeat feel to it“. The duo has intimated in interviews that the song is a sort of tribute to Fletcher, touching on the fragility of life and the possibility of an afterlife, namely, that everyone will eventually turn into “ghosts again”. (Wikipedia) With “Ghosts Again”, the duo leave no doubt they can still deliver a stellar song after more than 40 years.

  1. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (1) 3rd week at #1
  2. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (2)
  3. LOVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE – Fall Out Boy (8)
  4. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (4)
  5. PAGES – White Reaper (5)
  6. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (3)
  7. WILD AS THE WIND – HULLAH (9)
  8. MAYFLY – Callum Pitt (10)
  9. JUST BEFORE THE MORNING – Local Natives (11)
  10. TRANSMITTER – Sea Power (12)
  11. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (6)
  12. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (7)
  13. YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO – Darksoft (15)
  14. SLEEPWALKING – All Time Low (16)
  15. PEPPER – Death Cab for Cutie (17)
  16. SUREFIRE – Wilderado (20)
  17. TROPIC MORNING NEWS – The National (21)
  18. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (13)
  19. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (14)
  20. EVERGREEN – Mt. Joy (22)
  21. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (19)
  22. SOFTEN – Alex Southey (25)
  23. NEW GOLD – Gorillaz featuring Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (30)
  24. EYEZ – The Arcs (27)
  25. WEIGHTLESS – Arlo Parks (28)
  26. SEX, DRUGS, ETC. – Beach Weather (23) 25th week on chart
  27. STICK SEASON – Noah Kahan (24)
  28. TONIGHT – Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (18) 21st week on chart
  29. KILL BILL – SZA (26)
  30. GHOSTS AGAIN – Depeche Mode (N)

Top 30 Songs for February 26-March 4, 2023

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There’s so much incredible music out now, and this week’s Top 30 is one of the best in a while, chock-full of songs I can honestly say I love. Beach Weather remain on top for a second week with their beautiful “Trouble With This Bed”, one of the many stellar tracks from their debut full-length album Pineapple Sunrise, due out this coming Friday, March 3rd. “Sex, Drugs, Etc”, another track to be included on the album, spends its 24th week on my chart. “Night Bus”, the wonderful autobiographical song by Welsh singer-songwriter and actress Caitlin Lavagna, slides into second place, followed at #3 by “The Loneliest” by Italian band Måneskin. “Pages” by American rock band White Reaper climbs four spots to #5.

Three songs move into the top 10: the stupendous “Love From the Other Side” by Fall Out Boy, leaping 13 spots to #8; the sultry “Wild as the Wind” by British singer-songwriter HULLAH, entering at #9, and the lovely “Mayfly” by another British singer-songwriter Callum Pitt, at #10. The sole debut this week is “New Gold”, a glorious collaboration between British act Gorillaz, Australian act Tame Impala, and American rapper Bootie Brown. The song is from Gorillaz’ latest album Cracker Island, which dropped this past Friday.

  1. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (1)
  2. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (4)
  3. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (5)
  4. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (7)
  5. PAGES – White Reaper (9)
  6. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (2)
  7. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (3)
  8. LOVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE – Fall Out Boy (21)
  9. WILD AS THE WIND – HULLAH (11)
  10. MAYFLY – Callum Pitt (12)
  11. JUST BEFORE THE MORNING – Local Natives (13)
  12. TRANSMITTER – Sea Power (14)
  13. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (6)
  14. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (10)
  15. YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO – Darksoft (17)
  16. SLEEPWALKING – All Time Low (18)
  17. PEPPER – Death Cab for Cutie (19)
  18. TONIGHT – Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (8) 20th week on chart
  19. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (15)
  20. SUREFIRE – Wilderado (24)
  21. TROPIC MORNING NEWS – The National (26)
  22. EVERGREEN – Mt. Joy (23)
  23. SEX, DRUGS, ETC. – Beach Weather (23) 24th week on chart
  24. STICK SEASON – Noah Kahan (20)
  25. SOFTEN – Alex Southey (28)
  26. KILL BILL – SZA (16)
  27. EYEZ – The Arcs (29)
  28. WEIGHTLESS – Arlo Parks (30)
  29. I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU – The 1975 (22)
  30. NEW GOLD – Gorillaz featuring Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (N)

Top 30 Songs for February 19-25, 2023

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In the space of only six months, alternative pop-rock trio Beach Weather have become one of my favorite bands. Though they’d been around since late 2015, I first learned about them last summer when I heard their song “Sex, Drugs, Etc.”, which I loved at first listen. The song was originally recorded in 2016, and included on their debut EP Chit Chat, but wasn’t released as a single back then, and largely went unnoticed. After dropping a second EP What a Drag, the band went on hiatus as the three members, Nick Santino, Reeve Powers, and Sean Silverman, relocated to different cities and began working on their own solo projects. Fortunately for us, they reunited in late 2021, and began work on their forthcoming debut album Pineapple Sunrise, due for release on March 3rd. In the meantime, “Sex, Drugs, Etc.” went viral on TikTok and became a huge hit on alternative radio, going all the way to #1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. It’s also spent nearly six months on my Weekly Top 30, three of them at #1, and ended up at #3 on my 100 Best Songs of 2022 list.

Last August, they started releasing a string of new singles from Pineapple Sunrise, beginning with “Unlovable”, their first new release in five years. They followed in November with the melancholy but beautiful “Trouble With This Bed”, which takes over the top spot of my Weekly Top 30. (They’ve since dropped two more singles, “Homebody” in January, which I reviewed, and “Hard Feelings” this past Friday the 17th.) “Trouble With This Bed” touches on a romantic relationship crippled by uncertainty and unfulfilled desires, acted out by a young couple in the accompanying video, interspersed with scenes of Beach Weather performing the song, all on the same bed. I particularly love the song’s beautiful languid groove, Nick’s dreamy layered vocals, and that dominant bassline. 

I’m excited to add four marvelous new songs to my list this week: “Love From the Other Side” by rock veterans Fall Out Boy, their first new music in four years, entering at #21; “Soften” by Canadian singer-songwriter Alex Southey, whose latest EP Common Fantasies I also reviewed last month, at #28; “Eyez” by Black Keys member Dan Auerbach’s side project The Arcs, at #29; and “Weightless” by hyper-talented British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks, her first appearance on my chart, bringing up the rear at #30.

  1. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (3)
  2. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (1)
  3. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (2)
  4. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (5)
  5. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (7)
  6. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (4)
  7. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (9)
  8. TONIGHT – Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (6)
  9. PAGES – White Reaper (13)
  10. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (8)
  11. WILD AS THE WIND – HULLAH (11)
  12. MAYFLY – Callum Pitt (12)
  13. JUST BEFORE THE MORNING – Local Natives (15)
  14. TRANSMITTER – Sea Power (16)
  15. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (10)
  16. KILL BILL – SZA (14)
  17. YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO – Darksoft (20)
  18. SLEEPWALKING – All Time Low (22)
  19. PEPPER – Death Cab for Cutie (24)
  20. STICK SEASON – Noah Kahan (18)
  21. LOVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE – Fall Out Boy (N)
  22. I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU – The 1975 (17)
  23. SEX, DRUGS, ETC. – Beach Weather (27)
  24. SUREFIRE – Wilderado (28)
  25. EVERGREEN – Mt. Joy (29)
  26. TROPIC MORNING NEWS – The National (30)
  27. LUX ÆTERNA – Metallica (19)
  28. SOFTEN – Alex Southey (N)
  29. EYEZ – The Arcs (N)
  30. WEIGHTLESS – Arlo Parks (N)

Top 30 Songs for February 12-18, 2023

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The Star Crumbles remain on top for a second week with their aptly-titled gem “Shadows in the Dark”, while Paramore‘s “This Is Why” holds at #2 again after spending three weeks at #1. Sliding into third place is the beautiful and sultry “Trouble With This Bed” by Beach Weather, who’ve become one of my favorite bands over the past year. Their song “Sex, Drugs, Etc.”, which spent three weeks at #1 on my chart last fall and ranks #3 on my 100 Best Songs of 2022, re-enters at #27, as I still can’t get enough of it. The biggest upward mover this week is the lovely “You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do” by Darksoft, jumping seven spots to #20.

Three wonderful new songs make their debut this week at #s 28-30: “Surefire” by Oklahoma-based folk-rock band Wilderado, “Evergreen” by L.A.-based indie rock band Mt. Joy (whose previous single “Lemon Tree” peaked at #7 on my chart last September), and “Tropic Morning News” by legendary alt-rock band The National (their previous single “Weird Goodbyes”, with added vocals by Bon Iver, peaked at #6 on my chart in late December-early January). I absolutely love The National front man Matt Berninger’s distinctive soothing vocals.

  1. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (1)
  2. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (2)
  3. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (5)
  4. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (3)
  5. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (6)
  6. TONIGHT – Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (4)
  7. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (8)
  8. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (9)
  9. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (10)
  10. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (7)
  11. WILD AS THE WIND – HULLAH (13)
  12. MAYFLY – Callum Pitt (14)
  13. PAGES – White Reaper (15)
  14. KILL BILL – SZA (16)
  15. JUST BEFORE THE MORNING – Local Natives (19)
  16. TRANSMITTER – Sea Power (21)
  17. I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU – The 1975 (11)
  18. STICK SEASON – Noah Kahan (18)
  19. LUX ÆTERNA – Metallica (22)
  20. YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO – Darksoft (27)
  21. EVERYTHING I OWN – Dom Thomas (23)
  22. SLEEPWALKING – All Time Low (24)
  23. DISORDER – Columbia (12)
  24. PEPPER – Death Cab for Cutie (30)
  25. OUT OF MY SYSTEM – Louis Tomlinson (17)
  26. OFFCUTS – Mount Famine (20)
  27. SEX, DRUGS, ETC. – Beach Weather (RE)
  28. SUREFIRE – Wilderado (N)
  29. EVERGREEN – Mt. Joy (N)
  30. TROPIC MORNING NEWS – The National (N)

Top 30 Songs for February 5-11, 2023

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The Star Crumbles came to be rather serendipitously last year when singer-songwriter Brian Lambert, who’s based in Denton, Texas, reached out to singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Marc Schuster, who lives in suburban Philadelphia, for some help with his song “Kids”. The two originally met on Twitter, but had never previously worked together on a music project. Well, they immediately hit it off, so much so that they decided to collaborate together on more music projects, eventually leading to their creation of a new music act they dubbed The Star Crumbles. Last fall, they released their marvelous debut album The Ghost of Dancing Slow (which I reviewed). One of my favorite tracks from that album, “Shadows in the Dark”, has spent 15 weeks and counting on my Top 30 chart, and at long last ascends to the top spot. The darkly beautiful song has a strong retro 80s vibe that borders on darkwave, with moody synths and brilliant guitar work, highlighted by a scorching little guitar solo and Brian’s fervent vocals, which have never sounded better. The cool video, created by Marc, features pixelated renditions of the band trapped in an eight-bit Atari nightmare.

In other chart highlights, the beautiful “Backpatters and Shooters” by astonishingly talented British four-piece The Zangwills enters the top 10. Two equally gorgeous songs make big upward moves: “Just Before the Morning” by L.A.-based indie alt-rock band Local Natives climbs six spots to #19, and “Transmitter” by British band Sea Power leaps eight spots to #21. The lone debut this week is “Pepper”, a great new single by veteran alternative pop-rock band Death Cab for Cutie, who never disappoint.

  1. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (2)
  2. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (1)
  3. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (3)
  4. TONIGHT – Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (4)
  5. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (6)
  6. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (8)
  7. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (7)
  8. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (9)
  9. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (10)
  10. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (12)
  11. I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU – The 1975 (5)
  12. DISORDER – Columbia (13)
  13. WILD AS THE WIND – HULLAH (15)
  14. MAYFLY – Callum Pitt (16)
  15. PAGES – White Reaper (17)
  16. KILL BILL – SZA (18)
  17. OUT OF MY SYSTEM – Louis Tomlinson (11)
  18. STICK SEASON – Noah Kahan (22)
  19. JUST BEFORE THE MORNING – Local Natives (25)
  20. OFFCUTS – Mount Famine (14)
  21. TRANSMITTER – Sea Power (29)
  22. LUX ÆTERNA – Metallica (23)
  23. EVERYTHING I OWN – Dom Thomas (24)
  24. SLEEPWALKING – All Time Low (27)
  25. LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – Crystal Cities (19)
  26. THEN IT ALL GOES AWAY – Dayglow (20)
  27. YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO – Darksoft (30)
  28. WHITE HORSES – Art Block (21) 19th week on chart
  29. SNAP – Rosa Linn (26)
  30. PEPPER – Death Cab for Cutie (N)

Top 30 Songs for January 29-February 4, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's10 Comments

Paramore maintain their firm grip on the #1 spot for a third week on my Top 30 with “This Is Why”, while The Star Crumbles‘ “Shadows in the Dark” holds at #2 for a second week. Taylor Swift‘s “Anti-Hero” (which recently spent eight non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100) moves up a notch to #3. Entering the top 10 are “The Loneliest” by Italian rock band Måneskin, at #9, and “Dance For Me” by talented Brooklyn singer-songwriter Sam Rappaport, at #10.

I’m thrilled to add two fantastic new songs I’ve fallen in love with this week: The first is “Transmitter” by British alt-rock band Sea Power. Though they formed in the mid-90s and have been putting out great music since 2001 (originally as British Sea Power, which they shortened to Sea Power in 2021 due to, in their words, “a rise in a certain kind of nationalism in this world – an isolationist, antagonistic nationalism we don’t want to run any risk of being confused with“, I only recently became aware of them when I heard their brilliant 10th studio album Everything is Forever, which was hailed by many critics as one of the best albums of 2022. It’s certainly one of mine!

The second debut this week is the dreamy “You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do” by Portland, Maine-based artist Darksoft. The song is from his latest album Beigeification, a gorgeous work I recently reviewed. It’s his second song to appear on my Weekly Top 30, the previous being “Wannacry”, which spent three months on my chart, and ranked at #84 on my 100 Best Songs of 2019 list.

  1. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (1) 3rd week at #1
  2. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (2)
  3. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (4)
  4. TONIGHT – Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (3)
  5. I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU – The 1975 (5)
  6. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (7)
  7. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (6)
  8. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (10)
  9. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (11)
  10. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (12)
  11. OUT OF MY SYSTEM – Louis Tomlinson (8)
  12. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (16)
  13. DISORDER – Columbia (15)
  14. OFFCUTS – Mount Famine (9)
  15. WILD AS THE WIND – HULLAH (18)
  16. MAYFLY – Callum Pitt (19)
  17. PAGES – White Reaper (20)
  18. KILL BILL – SZA (21)
  19. LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – Crystal Cities (14)
  20. THEN IT ALL GOES AWAY – Dayglow (17)
  21. WHITE HORSES – Art Block (13)
  22. STICK SEASON – Noah Kahan (25)
  23. LUX ÆTERNA – Metallica (27)
  24. EVERYTHING I OWN – Dom Thomas (28)
  25. JUST BEFORE THE MORNING – Local Natives (29)
  26. SNAP – Rosa Linn (22)
  27. SLEEPWALKING – All Time Low (30)
  28. WEIRD GOODBYES – The National featuring Bon Iver (23)
  29. TRANSMITTER – Sea Power (N)
  30. YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO – Darksoft (N)