Two Feet maintains a firm grip on the #1 spot for a third week with his darkly beautiful and brooding “Don’t Bring Me Down”, while Adele’s poignant “Easy on Me” holds at #2 for a second week. Glass Animals climb two spots to third place with their buoyant “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)”, and My Morning Jacket’s “Love Love Love” enters the top 10 at #8.
As we enter the final month of 2021, a whopping six new songs (well, five new and one refashioned) debut this week. Taylor Swift’s epic 10 minute and 13 seconds long “All Too Well” – which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 – enters my chart at #19 (I’m old school about music charts, and have a problem with songs debuting at #1). The five other new entries are “I See the Sun” by British psychedelic pop/rock band Solar Eyes, “Two Car Family” by British electro-rock band Apollo Junction, “Left Behind” by Chicago post-punk band a million rich daughters, “Kaleidoscope” by Tacoma psychedelic power pop artist Soda Cracker Jesus, and the enchanting “Journeyman’s Ballet” by Brooklyn singer-songwriter Sam Rappaport.
DON’T BRING ME DOWN – Two Feet (1)
EASY ON ME – Adele (2)
I DON’T WANNA TALK (I JUST WANNA DANCE) – Glass Animals (5)
BEGGIN’ – Måneskin (6)
TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (3)
NEVER LOOKED BACK – The Zangwills (4)
I DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – The War on Drugs ft. Lucius (10)
LOVE LOVE LOVE – My Morning Jacket (11)
CAN YOU HANDLE MY LOVE?? – WALK THE MOON (8)
MINE FOREVER – Lord Huron (7)
SURVIVOR – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats (9)
JUSTIFIED – Kacey Musgraves (14)
LOVE IN OCTOBER – Ships Have Sailed (15)
GOOD FRIEND – dwi (16)
COLORADO – Milky Chance (13)
WRECKED – Imagine Dragons (12)
STARTS WITH YOU – Shimmer Johnson (19)
TIME IN DISGUISE – Kings of Leon (24)
ALL TOO WELL (10 Minute Version) – Taylor Swift (N)
Not a lot of changes from last week’s list. Two Feet remains on top for a second week with his smoldering gem “Don’t Bring Me Down”, while Adele’s heartstrings-tugging “Easy on Me” climbs two spots to #2. The War on Drugs enter the top 10 with “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” and Band of Horses are the lone debut this week with “Crutch”, their first new music in five years.
DON’T BRING ME DOWN – Two Feet (1)
EASY ON ME – Adele (4)
TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (3)
NEVER LOOKED BACK – The Zangwills (2)
I DON’T WANNA TALK (I JUST WANNA DANCE) – Glass Animals (6)
BEGGIN’ – Måneskin (10)
MINE FOREVER – Lord Huron (5)
CAN YOU HANDLE MY LOVE?? – WALK THE MOON (8)
SURVIVOR – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats (9)
I DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – The War on Drugs ft. Lucius (11)
It was inevitable that Two Feet’s darkly beautiful and mesmerizing “Don’t Bring Me Down” would ascend to the top of my Weekly Top 30. It’s his 4th song to reach #1 on my chart this year, and his 8th in total, beginning with his monster hit “I Feel Like I’m Drowning” in the summer of 2018. He’s one of the finest guitarists around today, with a soulful and sultry music style unlike anyone else, and highlighted by bluesy guitar work and deep floor-rattling bass grooves. I love every single recording he’s released, and have seen him perform live twice, in November 2018 and again this past May. He engages regularly with his followers on social media, which has earned him an incredibly loyal and passionate base of fans, me included. I deeply love and respect this man as both a musician and human, and he’s my favorite artist in the world right now.
In other chart highlights this week, Roadkeeper’s politically relevant “Take the L” moves up to #3, followed by Adele’s heartfelt “Easy on Me”. Glass Animals’ delightful “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)” moves up a notch to #6, and Måneskin’s saucy “Beggin'” enters the top 10. Leaping 10 spots each are The War on Drugs’ “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” and My Morning Jacket’s ebullient “Love Love Love”, which climb to #11 and #12, respectively. Debuting this week are “Time in Disguise” by Kings of Leon, “Smile” by Wolf Alice and “The Tipping Point” by the legendary Tears For Fears.
Fun fact: In addition to Two Feet, I’ve also seen three other acts on this list in concert: twenty øne piløts, Coldplay and Tears For Fears.
DON’T BRING ME DOWN – Two Feet (2)
NEVER LOOKED BACK – The Zangwills (1)
TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (4)
EASY ON ME – Adele (6)
MINE FOREVER – Lord Huron (3)
I DON’T WANNA TALK (I JUST WANNA DANCE) – Glass Animals (7)
WRECKED – Imagine Dragons (5)
CAN YOU HANDLE MY LOVE?? – WALK THE MOON (8)
SURVIVOR – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats (10)
BEGGIN’ – Måneskin (12)
I DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – The War on Drugs ft. Lucius (21)
After a three-week run on top with “Mine Forever”, Lord Huron have been supplanted by British indie pop-rock band The Zangwills, whose gorgeous and cinematic “Never Looked Back” takes over the #1 spot. I featured them and their song a few months ago, and immediately recognized it as a future number-one hit. They’re definitely a band with a bright future if they continue putting out such quality music.
Closing in fast is my favorite artist Two Feet, with his smoldering “Don’t Bring Me Down” rising three spots to #2. Texas alt-rock band Roadkeeper holds at #4 with their politically-charged “Take the L”, and Adele’s poignant “Easy on Me” is #6 for a second week. The lone entry into the top 10 this week is “Survivor” by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats. Canadian rockers Bealby Point continue their climb up my chart with “Talk to Me”. The Strokes-esque gem with a killer bassline lands at #14 this week. The War on Drugs’ beautiful “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” debuts at #21, while silky-voiced Australian singer-songwriter G. Samedi enters at #30 with his sensual track “Rearview”.
NEVER LOOKED BACK – The Zangwills (3)
DON’T BRING ME DOWN – Two Feet (5)
MINE FOREVER – Lord Huron (1)
TAKE THE L – Roadkeeper (4)
WRECKED – Imagine Dragons (2)
EASY ON ME – Adele (6)
I DON’T WANNA TALK (I JUST WANNA DANCE) – Glass Animals (8)
CAN YOU HANDLE MY LOVE?? – WALK THE MOON (10)
DISTORTED LIGHT BEAM – Bastille (9)
SURVIVOR – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats (16)
I just love Lord Huron’s music, and their beautiful “Mine Forever” remains at the pinnacle of my Weekly Top 30 for a 3rd week. Imagine Dragons’ “Wrecked” and The Zangwills’ “Never Looked Back” hold at #2 and #3, and Roadkeeper’s “Take the L” climbs a notch to #4. Four songs enter the top 10 this week: Two Feet’s “Don’t Bring Me Down” and Adele’s “Easy on Me”, both of which leap nine spots to #5 and #6, respectively, Glass Animals “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)” and WALK THE MOON’s “Can You Handle My Love??” The jolting and raw “Survivor” by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats took a while to grow on me but now I love it, and it jumps eight spots to #16. Debuting this week are three great new songs: “Love Love Love” by My Morning Jacket, “Good Friend” by dwi, and “Starts With You” by Shimmer Johnson.
Lord Huron hold the top spot for a second week with their stunning “Mine Forever”, and Imagine Dragons’ poignant “Wrecked” moves up to second place. I think it’s one of the best songs they’ve ever done. Climbing four spots to #3 is the cinematic beauty “Never Looked Back” by British alt-rock band The Zangwills, who I first learned about this past August when I reviewed the track. Otherwise, all the songs in last week’s top 10 remain in that esteemed group again this week.
This is also an exciting week for debuts, with five new entries. My favorite artist Two Feet has released another fantastic, smoldering single “Don’t Bring Me Down”, which enters at #14, replacing his song “Devil” which spent four weeks at #1. This is his fifth song in a row to appear on my Weekly Top 30, giving him an unbroken run of 52 weeks. My favorite female vocalist Adele dropped her first new music in six years with her emotion-filled “Easy On Me”, which enters at #15. Kacey Musgraves makes her first appearance on my Weekly Top 30 with her heartfelt single “justified”, which debuts at #27. I have mixed feelings about the new collaborative single “My Universe” by Coldplay (a longtime favorite band of mine) and Korean band BTS, but I do like it well enough for it to enter my chart at #28. Last, but certainly not least, is “Love in October” by L.A.-based duo Ships Have Sailed, which debuts at #30 and replaces their previous single “Take My Money” after its ten-week run. Two of their singles, “Escape” and “Breathe” have reached #1 on my Weekly Top 30.
Los Angeles-based Lord Huron have become one of my favorite bands over the past year, and I think their gorgeous album Long Lost is one of the very best of 2021. “Mine Forever”, the second single to be released from the album, is my new #1 song this week. It’s their second song to top my chart this year, the first being “Not Dead Yet”, the first single from Long Lost.
Entering the Top 10 this week are “Never Looked Back” by British band The Zangwills, and “Distorted Light Beam” by Bastille. Continuing their climb up the charts are “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)” by the Glass Animals and “Bitter Taste” by the legendary Billy Idol, both leaping seven spots. The lone debut this week is “Beggin'” by Italian rock band Måneskin, entering the chart at #30, and giving them two songs on this list (the other is “I Wanna Be Your Slave”, at #14).
Willow Smith and Travis Barker’s bombastic “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” stays on top of my Weekly Top 30 for a second week, with Lord Huron’s gorgeous “Mine Forever” knocking on the back door. Cold War Kids enter the top 10 with their rousing “What You Say”, and British band The Zangwills anthemic “Never Looked Back” continues it’s climb up the chart to #11. Glass Animals leap eight spots to #22 with their delightful “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)”, while Billy Idol’s “Bitter Taste” jumps five spots to #23. It’s taken me a while to get into Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats’ latest single “Survivor”, which debuts at #30.
One of my very favorite indie bands is Los Angeles-based duo Ships Have Sailed. The brainchild of vocalist/guitarist Will Carpenter, who originally formed the band in 2012 with a few other musicians who’ve come and gone over the succeeding years, Ships Have Sailed has for the past five years or so consisted of just him and drummer Art Andranikyan. They play a pleasing style of alternative pop-rock characterized by beautiful melodies, intelligent, uplifting lyrics, and sublime arrangements and instrumentation. I love their music, and have written about several of their songs on this blog over the past three years. Two of them – “Escape” in 2019 and “Breathe” earlier this year – have reached #1 on my Weekly Top 30, with “Escape ranking #19 on my Top 100 Songs of 2019 list. And their last single “Take My Money” is currently enjoying an extended run on my Weekly Top 30. On September 30th, they dropped a brand new single “Love in October“, which is so special, I’ve chosen it as my New Song of the Week.
Will told me the song and its accompanying video were born out of both a long daydream of his, and their 2020 tour that was abruptly cut short by the Covid pandemic. He elaborates: “A lot of my songs come from a real, personal experience, [but] that actually isn’t the case here. This loss I’m describing in ‘Love In October’ didn’t happen in real life, it happened in a long and involved daydream (kind of a waking nightmare if you will) that prevented me from making a series of decisions that would have led straight to the actual situation. I’m grateful for that and for the fact that such a beautiful song came out of it.”
One of the many things I like about Ships Have Sailed is that every song of theirs sounds uniquely different. Some of them, like “Escape” and “Breathe”, are uplifting ballads, while “Skin” has a laid-back folk vibe, and “Take My Money” is fun, bouncy pop. “Love in October” is one of their most musically complex songs yet, with a dramatic blend of cinematic and alternative rock elements that make it particularly compelling.
The song begins with a gorgeous orchestral instrumental intro that slowly builds into an almost religious experience. At about 55 seconds in, a rather haunting guitar note enters as the song transitions to a mid-tempo beat, accompanied by the introduction of bass, percussion and more guitar. Will’s beautiful vocals are heartfelt and vulnerable as he gently sings to a loved one, admitting he’s made mistakes and asking her to not abandon their relationship “Don’t walk away, I want you back. It seems I’ve stumbled in the wrong direction, on the train but off the track again. Ooh, I’d do anything to keep the leaves from falling. You know I’m all in.” When the chorus arrives, the song explodes into a full-fledged rock track, with blazing guitars, driving bass and Art’s aggressive drumbeats. Will’s vocals rise with emotion along with the more intense instrumentals as he fervently implores “How did we get here, love in October. Same old sun is so cold. But I don’t wanna let go.”
“Love in October” is a stunning track from start to finish. The gorgeous instrumentation and vocals, dramatic arrangement and flawless production make it one of their best songs yet.
With regard to the video, in March 2020, after much planning and preparation, Ships Have Sailed embarked on what was to be a 10-show tour across the Southwestern U.S. with fellow L.A. band Quitting Whitney. After playing only the first show in Las Vegas, their tour came to an abrupt halt the next day as Covid suddenly began spiraling out of control. Will explained “When we realized (in Denver) that our tour was going to completely fall apart, we had a choice to make: turn around and slump back to LA, or follow our non-refundable tour route and create as much content as possible along the way…really telling our story. We were sharing a van and all gear with another duo (Quitting Whitney) and we all agreed to find a silver lining and create some content and art along the way. We outlined two music video treatments on our way from Denver to Albuquerque, one for them and one for us, and I had Danny (my co-producer on ‘Love In October’) print me the rough production of the song (which wasn’t even totally finished yet) so we could have playback.”
Each band shot video of the other playing their instruments at the AirBnB where they were staying, while the owner, who was staying in an adjacent guest house, thankfully didn’t mind the noise. They captured film footage from the road, and managed to turn a ‘ruined’ tour into something of an adventure, making two new friends in Matt and Ryan of Quitting Whitney along the way, and Will and Art becoming closer through the experience as well. Will also said that this is their first video that his wife Payal (via their wedding photos) has ever been willing to appear in.
I just love “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l”, wherein 20-year-old WILLOW (the daughter of actors Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, for those who don’t already know) goes off on fake and duplicitous people with scathing lyrics, raging guitars and the pummeling drumbeats of Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. The lead single from her fourth solo studio album Lately I Feel Everything, it’s my new #1 song this week, displacing twenty øne piløts’ “Saturday”, which falls to #2. Entering the top 10 is “Take the L” by Texas alt-rock band Roadkeeper, one of my favorite indie bands who’ve become regulars on my Weekly Top 30. “Take the L” is their fourth song to appear on my list, all of which have made the top 10. Two songs make their debut this week: “Colorado” by German alternative pop-rock band Milky Chance, and the delightful “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)” by British electro psych-pop band Glass Animals.
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 