Tag: Portugal the Man

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)

Top 30 Songs for November 12-18, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's6 Comments

It’s been quite a while since a song has spent four weeks at #1 on my chart (the last time was two years ago this month with Two Feet’s “Don’t Bring Me Down”), but “ONE MORE TIME” by blink-182 still strongly resonates with me. “HONEY (ARE U COMING)?” by Italian rock band Måneskin holds at #2 for a third week, and in fact, the entire top 7 remains unchanged from last week.

The middle of my chart, however, has lots of movement, with several songs making big upward moves. Three songs enter the top 10: “Darling” by Canadian artist Western Jaguar; “My Kinda Girl” by British synth-pop trio The 23s, and “THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND” by American metalcore band Bad Omens, all of which advance six spots. The biggest climbers this week are “Summer of Luv” by Portland-based alt-rock band Portugal. The Man featuring Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and “Evicted” by Chicago alt-rock veterans Wilco, each jumping seven spots to #11 and #12, respectively. The bottom third of the chart is more sluggish, with all ten songs advancing one spot. Bringing up the rear is the lone debut, “Cool About It” by boygenius, a long-overdue addition to my chart.

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

Top 30 Songs for November 5-11, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's15 Comments

blink-182 maintains a firm grip on the #1 spot for a third week with their heartwarming “ONE MORE TIME”, while Måneskin‘s boisterous gem “HONEY (ARE U COMING)?” holds at #2 for a second week. I’ve fallen in love with Black Pumas‘ soulful “More Than a Love Song”, which jumps eight spots to #3 this week. The song has now spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard AAA chart. The sensuous “Loving You” by LA dream pop trio Cannons moves up two spots to #4, and Paramore‘s rousing “Running Out of Time” – which could be my theme song – moves up two spots to #5. Foo Fighters climb four spots to #6 with “Under You”.

Three songs debut this week: the ethereal beauty “My Love Mine All Mine” by Mitski, from her wonderfully-titled latest album The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We, at #28; “Wild”, the cool title track from the new album by prolific Texas singer-songwriter Brian Lambert, featuring contributions by Harmoni Kelly and Marc Schuster, at #29; and the enchanting “All I Die For” by Toronto, Canada indie rock trio SWiiMS, at #30. I was introduced to the song by fellow blogger The Alternative Mixtapes, a terrific blog worth checking out.

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

Top 30 Songs for October 29-November 4, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's25 Comments

On this week’s chart, the beautiful and poignant autobiographical “ONE MORE TIME” by Blink-182 remains on top for a second week, while Måneskin‘s bombastic gem “HONEY (ARE U COMING)?” slides into second place. “Under You” by the Foo Fighters enters the top 10, and “More Than a Love Song” by Austin, Texas neo-soul duo Black Pumas leaps 10 spots to #11. Making their debut are “”Good Old Days” by New Orleans roots rock band The Revivalists, (which is currently at #1 on the Billboard AAA Chart) at #29, and “Atomic City” by legendary Irish rock band U2, who’ve been putting out music for nearly 45 years, at #30.

  1. ONE MORE TIME – Blink-182 (1)
  2. HONEY (ARE U COMING) – Måneskin (4)
  3. FRANCESCA – Hozier (2)
  4. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (3)
  5. DIAL DRUNK – Noah Kahan (5)
  6. LOVING YOU – Cannons (7)
  7. RUNNING OUT OF TIME – Paramore (8)
  8. WHEN WE WERE CLOSE – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (10)
  9. KISSES – Slowdive (6)
  10. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (12)
  11. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (21)
  12. BAD IDEA RIGHT ? – Olivia Rodrigo (11)
  13. OVERCOME – Nothing But Thieves (13)
  14. PULL ME THROUGH – Royal Blood (14)
  15. DARLING – Western Jaguar (16)
  16. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (18)
  17. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (19)
  18. HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE – Fall Out Boy (20)
  19. SUMMER OF LUV – Portugal. The Man feat. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (22)
  20. EVICTED – Wilco (23)
  21. DAYDREAMS AND ALGORITHMS – Eleanor Collides (9)
  22. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (24)
  23. ANGRY – The Rolling Stones (25)
  24. YOUR SIDE OF TOWN – The Killers (26)
  25. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (15)
  26. OVERRATED – dwi (17)
  27. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (29)
  28. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (30)
  29. GOOD OLD DAYS – The Revivalists (N)
  30. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (N)

Top 30 Songs for October 22-28, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's13 Comments

Though I’ve liked some of their songs, I’ve never really followed nor been a big fan of pop-punk band Blink-182. But like most people, I love happy endings, so even I am thrilled to see the original line-up back together again and still making music. Formed in 1992 by guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, and drummer Scott Raynor, the Southern California act was originally named Duck Tape, then Figure 8, then Blink. Unfortunately, an Irish pop-rock band already had that name, and rather than engage in a legal battle, the band agreed to change their name by adding the number “182” – which they’d picked at random – and from that point forward, they’ve been known as Blink-182. Rayner was dismissed from the band in 1998 and replaced by Travis Barker, who remains the drummer to this day.

Despite their commercial and popular success, they’ve had more than their fair share of ups and downs over their 30-year history. After releasing five albums, three of which reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, as well as scoring two number one songs on the Modern Rock/Alternative charts, the combination of family commitments (all three guys now had children), the toll of touring and increasing artistic differences were causing tension among the band members. Consequently, they decided to go on a hiatus in early 2005 that ended up lasting nearly four years, with the band members not speaking with each other until October 2008, after Barker was involved in a plane crash that killed four people, leaving he and his collaborator Adam Goldstein as the only two survivors. Barker sustained second and third degree burns which ultimately required sixteen surgeries, multiple blood transfusions, and numerous skin grafts, and also resulted in him developing PTSD. Barker’s brush with death prompted him, DeLonge and Hoppus to come together, which led them to put aside their differences and reunite as a band.

Following their reunion, the band toured extensively and in 2011 released their sixth studio album Neighborhoods, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 Album chart. Nevertheless, tensions between the three persisted, with this period of Blink-182’s history characterized as dysfunctional by both Barker and DeLonge. Hoppus commented in a 2016 interview with Rock Sound: “Everything was always very contentious. There was always just a strange vibe … I knew there was something wrong.” DeLonge decided to leave the band indefinitely at the end of 2014, at which point Hoppus and Barker continued Blink-182 with Matt Skiba, of punk rock band Alkaline Trio, on lead vocals and guitar. That iteration of Blink-182 released two albums, California and Nine, the first of which reached #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and earned the band a Grammy nomination. One of the album’s singles “Bored to Death” also became their third song to hit #1 on the Alternative chart.

In June 2021, the band was hit with yet another setback when Hoppus confirmed that he’d been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and had been receiving treatment in secret for the previous three months. This led to him, Barker and DeLonge coming together yet again in response to a crisis, and the three decided to reunite for a second time in late 2022. Both their latest album One More Time and its heartwarming and poignant title track touch on their history and the challenges that brought them back together. In a sense, “One More Time” is a kind of successor to their 2004 hit “I Miss You”, which they name-drop in the lyrics. “I wish they told us, it shouldn’t take a sickness, or airplanes falling out the sky. Do I have to die to hear you miss me? Do I have to die to hear you say goodbye? / I miss you, took time, but I admit it. It still hurts even after all these years. And I know that next time, ain’t always gonna happen. I gotta say, “I love you” while we’re here.” The beautiful ballad, on which all three members sing, is my new favorite and #1 song on my Weekly Top 30.

In other notable chart developments, “HONEY (ARE U COMING)?” by Italian rock band Måneskin moves up two spots to #4, “When We Were Close” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit enters the top 10, and charismatic British pop-rock band Wild Horse debut with their sweet new song “Attraction”, which I think is one of their finest songs yet.

  1. ONE MORE TIME – Blink-182 (4)
  2. FRANCESCA – Hozier (2)
  3. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (1)
  4. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (6)
  5. DIAL DRUNK – Noah Kahan (5)
  6. KISSES – Slowdive (3)
  7. LOVING YOU – Cannons (8)
  8. RUNNING OUT OF TIME – Paramore (9)
  9. DAYDREAMS AND ALGORITHMS – Eleanor Collides (7)
  10. WHEN WE WERE CLOSE – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (12)
  11. BAD IDEA RIGHT? – Olivia Rodrigo (13)
  12. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (14)
  13. OVERCOME – Nothing But Thieves (15)
  14. PULL ME THROUGH – Royal Blood (16)
  15. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (10)
  16. DARLING – Western Jaguar (20)
  17. OVERRATED – dwi (11)
  18. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (19)
  19. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (21)
  20. HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE – Fall Out Boy (22)
  21. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (23)
  22. SUMMER OF LUV – Portugal. The Man feat. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (24)
  23. EVICTED – Wilco (25)
  24. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (26)
  25. ANGRY – The Rolling Stones (28)
  26. YOUR SIDE OF TOWN – The Killers (29)
  27. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (18)
  28. ODYSSEY – Beck & Phoenix (17)
  29. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (30)
  30. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (N)

Top 30 Songs for October 15-21, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's15 Comments

Virginia singer-songwriter The Frontier holds the top spot for a second week with his beautiful and uplifting pop-rock gem “Walk Through the Fire”, while “Francesca” by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier moves up a notch into second place. Blink-182‘s “ONE MORE TIME” moves up three spots to #4, and “HONEY (ARE U COMING)?” by Italian rock band Måneskin continues its rapid upward trajectory, entering the top 10 at #6.

Three songs make their debut this week: Entering at #28 is “Angry” by The Rolling Stones, a pretty solid banger that shows the legendary rockers still have what it takes. Who would have ever imagined that Mick and Keith would still be going strong at 80 and 79, 60 years after they released their first single “Come On” in 1963.

The second debut is “Your Side of Town” by American alt-rock band The Killers, entering at #29. The synth-driven song was intended to be included on their next album, however, band frontman Brandon Flowers nixed that project. In an interview with British news publication The Sunday Times, he explained “Halfway through recording I realized, ‘I can’t do this’. I think this will be the . . . I don’t think you’ll see us making this type of music anymore. This is the crisis I’m in. The Killers are my identity, and our songs fill seats, but I’m more fulfilled making music like ‘Pressure Machine’ [their 2021 roots rock album]. I found a side of myself writing it that was strong. This was the guy I’d been looking for! I’m as proud of ‘Hot Fuss’ as you can be for something you did when you were 20, but I’m not 20. So I’m thinking about the next phase of my life.”

The third debut is “Run Away With Me” by L.A.-based indie rock band Cold War Kids (who I saw in concert in August when they opened for Tears for Fears), at #30.

  1. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (1)
  2. FRANCESCA – Hozier (3)
  3. KISSES – Slowdive (2)
  4. ONE MORE TIME – Blink-182 (7)
  5. DIAL DRUNK – Noah Kahan (4)
  6. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (11)
  7. DAYDREAMS AND ALGORITHMS – Eleanor Collides (8)
  8. LOVING YOU – Cannons (9)
  9. RUNNING OUT OF TIME – Paramore (10)
  10. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (5)
  11. OVERRATED – dwi (6)
  12. WHEN WE WERE CLOSE – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (13)
  13. BAD IDEA RIGHT? – Olivia Rodrigo (14)
  14. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (19)
  15. OVERCOME – Nothing But Thieves (17)
  16. PULL ME THROUGH – Royal Blood (18)
  17. ODYSSEY – Beck & Phoenix (12)
  18. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (15)
  19. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (22)
  20. DARLING – Western Jaguar (23)
  21. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (24)
  22. HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE – Fall Out Boy (25)
  23. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (27)
  24. SUMMER OF LUV – Portugal. The Man feat. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (28)
  25. EVICTED – Wilco (30)
  26. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (29)
  27. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (16) 22nd week on chart
  28. ANGRY – The Rolling Stones (N)
  29. YOUR SIDE OF TOWN – The Killers (N)
  30. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (N)

Top 30 Songs for October 8-14, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's2 Comments
Jake and his faithful sidekick Atlas

A long-time favorite artist of mine, on both a professional and personal level, is The Frontier, the music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jake Mimikos. Based in northern Virginia, the talented, gracious and hard-working guy skillfully blends elements of pop, folk, rock and electronica to create memorable and pleasing songs about love, relationships and loss. Delivered with comforting pitch-perfect vocals, Jake’s lyrics are honest and relatable; there’s just something about his songs that makes them so addictive, and I’ve found that they continue to grow on me more with every listen.

Since 2015, he’s released an impressive number of songs, and I’ve loved them all. Three – “Dark Places”, “Can We Go Back” and “Closer” – have reached #1 on my Weekly Top 30 charts, while “Sleep” and “It’s You” both reached the top 4. His latest single, “Walk Through The Fire“, now becomes his fourth single to top my chart. Serving up three minutes of infectious toe-tapping grooves and beautiful jangly guitar notes, the song is a plea to a loved one for a second chance: “Everyone falls sometimes. Dying to stay alive. Everyone has their fight. It’s how we walk through the fire.”

In other notable chart developments, the beautiful “Francesca” by Hozier moves up three spots to #3. A whopping four songs enter the top 10, the first of which is the poignant auto-biographical song “ONE MORE TIME” by pop-punk veterans Blink-182, which is also the highest-debuting song this week, entering my chart at #7. The other three, all of which advance 4 spots, are “Daydreams and Algorithms” by British artist Eleanor Collides, at #8, “Loving You” by L.A. dream pop band Cannons, at #9, and “Running Out of Time” by Tennessee pop-punk band Paramore, at #10. For a second week, “HONEY (ARE U COMING)?” by Italian rock band Måneskin, is the biggest upward mover, jumping 10 spots to #11. And finally, besides Blink-182’s new song, the other debut is the wonderful “Evicted” by Chicago alt-rock band Wilco, which enters at #30.

  1. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (2)
  2. KISSES – Slowdive (1)
  3. FRANCESCA – Hozier (6)
  4. DIAL DRUNK – Noah Kahan (5)
  5. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (3)
  6. OVERRATED – dwi (4)
  7. ONE MORE TIME – Blink-182 (N)
  8. DAYDREAMS AND ALGORITHMS – Eleanor Collides (12)
  9. LOVING YOU – Cannons (13)
  10. RUNNING OUT OF TIME – Paramore (14)
  11. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (21)
  12. ODYSSEY – Beck & Phoenix (7)
  13. WHEN WE WERE CLOSE – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (16)
  14. BAD IDEA RIGHT? – Olivia Rodrigo (17)
  15. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (8)
  16. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (9) 21st week on chart
  17. OVERCOME – Nothing But Thieves (18)
  18. PULL ME THROUGH – Royal Blood (19)
  19. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (20)
  20. CALL ME WHAT YOU LIKE – Lovejoy (10)
  21. FORGIVING TIES – Deer Tick (11)
  22. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (23)
  23. DARLING – Western Jaguar (24)
  24. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (25)
  25. HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE – Fall Out Boy (26)
  26. CANNONBALLERS – Colony House (15)
  27. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (28)
  28. SUMMER OF LUV – Portugal. The Man feat. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (29)
  29. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (30)
  30. EVICTED – Wilco (N)

Top 30 Songs for October 1-7, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's11 Comments

It’s hard to believe we’re now into October, as 2023 continues to speed past at a dizzying pace. British dream rock band Slowdive holds the top spot for a second week with their bewitching song “kisses”. Sliding into the #2 spot is “Walk Through the Fire” by Virginia singer-songwriter The Frontier, with “Good Vibrations” by Texas duo MISSIO right behind at #3. Otherwise, the top 10 songs remain the same, albeit with a bit of shuffling around. The biggest upward mover this week is “HONEY (ARE U COMING)?” by Italian rock band Måneskin, leaping nine spots to #21.

For the second week, there are three new songs making their debut, though truth be told, there were seven or eight I wanted to add, but that would have meant dropping more off, which I couldn’t do. “More Than a Love Song” by Austin, Texas-based neo-soul duo Black Pumas (currently the #1 song on the Billboard AAA chart), enters at #28, “Summer of Luv” by Portland, Oregon-based rock band Portugal. The Man, featuring New Zealand psychedelic rock band Unknown Mortal Orchestra, at #29, and “The Shameful” by British hard rock band Amongst Liars (which I reviewed a month ago today), at #30.

  1. KISSES – Slowdive (1)
  2. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (3)
  3. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (4)
  4. OVERRATED – dwi (2)
  5. DIAL DRUNK – Noah Kahan (6)
  6. FRANCESCA – Hozier (9)
  7. ODYSSEY – Beck & Phoenix (7)
  8. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (8)
  9. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (5) 20th week on chart
  10. CALL ME WHAT YOU LIKE – Lovejoy (10)
  11. FORGIVING TIES – Deer Tick (12)
  12. DAYDREAMS AND ALGORITHMS – Eleanor Collides (13)
  13. LOVING YOU – Cannons (14)
  14. RUNNING OUT OF TIME – Paramore (15)
  15. CANNONBALLERS – Colony House (11)
  16. WHEN WE WERE CLOSE – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (18)
  17. BAD IDEA RIGHT? – Olivia Rodrigo (19)
  18. OVERCOME – Nothing But Thieves (20)
  19. PULL ME THROUGH – Royal Blood (21)
  20. UNDER YOU – Foo Fighters (24)
  21. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (30)
  22. WHAT WAS I MADE FOR? – Billie Eilish (17)
  23. MY KINDA GIRL – The 23s (26)
  24. DARLING – Western Jaguar (27)
  25. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (16)
  26. THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND – Bad Omens (28)
  27. HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE – Fall Out Boy (29)
  28. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (N)
  29. SUMMER OF LUV – Portugal. The Man ft. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (N)
  30. THE SHAMEFUL – Amongst Liars (N)

Top 30 Songs for July 23-29, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's7 Comments

I love synthpop songs with a good dance groove, and the collaborative single “Essence”, by young Danish DJ and electronic house music producer Refeci and Canadian-American singer-songwriter and musician Shimmer Johnson, fits the bill quite nicely. The mesmerizing song holds the #1 spot on my chart for a second week. The Foo Fighters‘ exhilarating “Rescued” remains at #2 for a second week after spending three weeks at #1. Sliding into third place is the beautiful “Leaving” by Michigan singer-songwriter Au Gres (aka Joshua Kemp), and “Why” by supremely talented British alt-rock band Future Theory moves up to #5. Olivia Rodrigo‘s biting “Vampire” (pun fully intended) enters the top 10 at #9.

Two wonderful songs make their debut this week. Entering at #28 is the hauntingly beautiful “Daylight” by American singer-songwriter David Kushner. A relative newcomer to the music business, in just a year and a half, his songs have already racked up more than 725 million streams on Spotify alone, thanks to some of them going viral on TikTok (a platform I rarely look at, but is far and away the most popular for young people). In an interview with webzine Paper, Kushner remarked “TikTok has played the biggest role in my music career. It started as a fun thing. I definitely had not planned to market my music. …after writing “Miserable Man”, I decided to just leak the song on the platform. I didn’t expect that the next day I’d wake up to a couple hundred thousand likes. Not even a few weeks later, “Mr. Forgettable” did the same thing. At that point, I knew that TikTok would be a powerful tool to be able to connect with new people.”  Released in April, the gospel-like “Daylight” has already been streamed over 387 million times on Spotify.

The second debut is “I Don’t Believe In You” by Texas-based singer-songwriter Brian Lambert, entering at #30. The powerful song, which I reviewed a month ago today, is a reimagining of the original track written and performed by Jr Moz Collective (aka singer-songwriter Mike Mosley, who played guitar, bass and synths on the track, with drums by Paul Prater).

  1. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (1)
  2. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (2)
  3. LEAVING – Au Gres (4)
  4. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (3)
  5. WHY – Future Theory (6)
  6. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (7)
  7. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (8)
  8. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (10)
  9. VAMPIRE – Olivia Rodrigo (11)
  10. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (5)
  11. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (9)
  12. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (12)
  13. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (15)
  14. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (16)
  15. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (17)
  16. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (21)
  17. KID – The Revivalists (13)
  18. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (14)
  19. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (18)
  20. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (23)
  21. BONES – HEALER (24)
  22. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (25)
  23. ORBIT – Gooseberry (26)
  24. OVERRATED – dwi (27)
  25. LAST TIME EVERY TIME FOREVER – Grian Chatten (28)
  26. CALL ME WHAT YOU LIKE – Lovejoy (29)
  27. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (30)
  28. DAYLIGHT – David Kushner (N)
  29. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (20)
  30. I DON’T BELIEVE IN YOU – Brian Lambert & Jr Moz Collective (N)