Tag: Talk in waves

100 Best Indie Songs of 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Song Lists24 Comments
Photo courtesy of FREEP!K

At the end of each year, I publish a list of my Top 100 Songs, representing my picks for what I think are the best songs – my favorites actually – for the entire year. This year, at the suggestion of John Gilbert, guitarist and lead vocalist of Missouri folk rock band Voodoo Planet, I’ve also compiled a list of my 100 favorite indie songs of 2024 (their song “Adrift” is included in this list). Because I follow, and am followed by, many indie musicians and bands on the various social media platforms, I want to highlight some of the really outstanding music being made by them that’s every bit as good as that from mainstream acts.

These are not “indie” songs in terms of genre (though there are many that fall into that overall category), but songs by independent or unsigned music acts. Some are in fact signed to music labels, but they’re usually small, independently owned labels. There are 89 acts represented in this list, the majority of which are from the U.S., Canada and the U.K., but also from Australia, Malaysia, Norway, Spain, Germany and Ukraine. Of course, I must make note of the fact that this list contains only songs I’m aware of, and that there are likely hundreds or even thousands of other songs that deserve to be here, except that I’ve never heard them.

Though they’re ranked from #1 to 100, it doesn’t mean that a song at #30 is better than one at #70. That said, the ones closer to the top are my very favorites. And though I’d love to write a narrative about each song and artist, given my limited time and energy, not to mention people’s short attention spans, I’ve decided against that. I’ve created playlists on both Spotify and YouTube, which are included after the list itself. Enjoy!

  1. LIKE YOU DO – Talk in Waves
  2. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS
  3. THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses
  4. WINTER COWBOY – Frank Joshua
  5. A FORETOLD ECSTASY – Mayflower Madame
  6. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse
  7. I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain
  8. KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters
  9. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH
  10. FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven
  11. DIAMOND AND THE MISSING SON – Unquiet Nights
  12. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton
  13. BLUSH – Vazum
  14. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot
  15. FIND MY WAY – Ships Have Sailed
  16. WAR – HEALER
  17. GOLD – Caitlin Lavagna
  18. HONEY – Mr Bewlay
  19. MIND GAME (3:33) – Collette McLafferty & John Serrano
  20. TOO MUCH OR NOT ENOUGH? – Candid
  21. YOUR WORLD NOW – Marc Schuster
  22. WAKING LIFE – Nicholas a. Milillo, Dee Wolf, Bobby Jasso & Gabrielle Marella & the voice of Tony Milillo
  23. VICES – 5ilas & Shimmer Johnson
  24. ADRIFT – Voodoo Planet & Mikey J
  25. BICYCLE AWAY – Sam Rappaport
  26. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn
  27. AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society
  28. HOLOGRAM – Raker
  29. GOOD TIMES GO – The Kid and I
  30. JUST WANNA SLEEP – Halfloves
  31. IT’S OVER NOW – Oli Barton
  32. DYING TO MEET YOU – Gooseberry
  33. OH, WELL – John Serrano
  34. SUBMARINE – Homeless Radio
  35. BRAND NEW DAY – Ben Gorb
  36. DOWNING STREET – Brain Ape
  37. LOOSIE LUNA – Coppa Londra
  38. TEMPTATION – Pylon Poets
  39. WHY DO YOU CARE – The Muldoons
  40. I AM AM I? – NAVE
  41. THIS ALL ENDS HERE – Minus Cube & Natalie Lucie
  42. NEW PONY – The Nanners
  43. KEEPING SCORE – Snap Infraction
  44. WAKE ME UP – HEALER
  45. ODYSSEY – Josephine Pascoe
  46. LIKE THE SUN – A.Wake
  47. SMALL MERCIES – Brian Lambert & Marc Schuster
  48. EASIER AND EASIER – Lyia Meta
  49. VICTIM – Frank Joshua
  50. SMUDGE – Mock Deer
  51. THE LOST – The Ocean Beneath
  52. INVISIBLE INK – Ships Have Sailed
  53. BY DESIGN – Amongst Liars & Felin
  54. LITTLE SELF-INDULGENT – Western Jaguar
  55. PIECE OF CAKE – Bottlecap Mountain
  56. COLLISION – The Zangwills
  57. ROADS – HULLAH
  58. GUYS LIKE YOU – Olivia Miceli
  59. YOUTH – The 23’s
  60. STATELINE – Nathan Ball
  61. CHASING YOUR DREAMS – Asgard Raven
  62. ELEVEN – Minus Cube & P’like
  63. DREAM TONIGHT – The Ocean Beneath & Liz Mann
  64. SELF CONTROL – John Laurant, Ron van den Beuken & Shimmer Johnson
  65. THE BEST – Thunder Fox
  66. NEW MOON – Morning Fuzz
  67. REPOSSESS – Western Jaguar
  68. YOU ARE NOT A SLAVE – Amongst Liars
  69. CREATURE FEATURE – dwi
  70. BAD LUCK – The Macrotones
  71. WITCH TRAIN – The Blackburns
  72. NOCTURNALLY YOURS – Scoopski
  73. TANTALUS – John Serrano
  74. REAL COLORS – The Nanners
  75. DO YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW? – Set the Tone
  76. PRETTY ALRIGHT – Caitlin Lavagna
  77. LET’S RUN AWAY – Solar Eyes
  78. ONE ROOM PAST WAITING – Chief Springs
  79. ARE YOU REALLY FREE? – Alba
  80. FIREBIRD – Josephine Pascoe
  81. CHILDHOOD FRIENDS – naive nature
  82. SPACE TRAVEL – Sandrom
  83. MORE – Andrew Neil and Code Purple
  84. SMALL TIME FISH (BIG TIME POND) – Sorry Ghost
  85. THE VOID – Fuzzle
  86. GREEN EYED MONSTER – Olivia Miceli
  87. ALL I WANT – The Heroic Enthusiasts
  88. WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME – Tom Burton
  89. COCK OF THE FIFTH YEAR – The Empty Page
  90. NOT READY YET – Sean Magwire
  91. GHOST – Grizzly Madams
  92. ALWAYS DO – Melody Zenith
  93. MISSED YOU – Mal Fantome
  94. WOULD YOU WANT IT (IF YOU HAD IT) – The Barons
  95. THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF WHAT IF – Eleanor Collides & Emily Gray
  96. EVERYTHING FITS – Wons Phreely + The Horses
  97. ANYWAY – The Crushing Violets
  98. PUSH IT BACK – Kiffie
  99. ALL THE SAME TO YOU – Quizboy & Marc Schuster
  100. SHADE – Microfilm

Top 30 Songs for Dec. 29, 2024 – Jan. 4, 2025

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's7 Comments
Photo of Dexter and The Moonrocks from their Facebook account

It’s hard to believe we’re sailing into 2025, and I think it’s highly appropriate to paraphrase Bette Davis (as Margo Channing in the 1950 film classic All About Eve) here by saying “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy year!”

Hailing from Abilene, Texas, four-piece rock band Dexter and the Moonrocks is comprised of James Tuffs on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Ryan Anderson on lead guitar and backing vocals, Ty Anderson on bass, and Fox on drums and backing vocals. According to their website bio, they were formed when “a former fry cook, oil field operator, concrete surface decorator and kids’ baseball coach met up in a small town in West Texas and started playing country western music together (as one does in small town West Texas). But something didn’t feel right – so their roots in country began to cross-pollinate with the rock and grunge music they heard their parents playing at home. ‘Grunge and country are honestly so similar,’ says Fox. ‘Look at Johnny Cash’s cover of ‘Hurt’ by Nine Inch Nails. Both speak to the oppressed and the depressed – country with twang and grunge with a bite. A pair of boots can mean cowboy or combat. We are huge fans of artists like Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers and Noah Kahan – and when you take that sound and plug it into amps with electric guitars, you get Dexter and the Moonrocks. We took a bet on ourselves, and it’s paying off immensely,’ he continues. ‘We believed we had something special, and if we could just get people to pay attention they’d fall in love, and we did just that.’ ‘It feels like a fever dream, and it’s definitely helped the health of my knees’, says Ty’s cousin guitarist Ryan Anderson, who never plans to decorate concrete again.”

Describing their sound as “sad cowboy music”, they released their debut single “Couch” (which has been streamed over 17 million times on Spotify alone) in late August 2021, followed by their self-titled EP that November. The rousing ear worm “Sad in Carolina”, one of six songs featured on their latest EP Western Space Grunge, released on Nashville-based label Severance Records this past July, is my new #1 song in a week that straddles the new year. Judging from their prodigious social media posts, the guys appear to have a wicked sense of humor. And on their Spotify account, they wryly state “Our entire lives we dreamed of being pool cleaners, but we guess this will work.” I’m confident it most definitely will!

In other chart developements of note, the endearing “The Faithful Heart” by Wons Phreely + The Horses – which I love with all my heart – moves up two spots to second place, while “Bobby Sox” by Green Day advances two spots to enter the top 10 at #10. Debuting this week are two songs, the first of which, entering at #27, is the delicious “So Cold” by New Zealand alt-pop duo Balu Brigada, the music project of multi-instrumentalist writer/producer brothers, Henry and Pierre Beasley. The song was released last June, but I only learned about it – and them – a few months ago when it appeared on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. I honestly liked it when I first heard it, but inexplicably, it’s taken until now for me to add it on my chart. I now love it, along with many of their songs. Balu Brigada opened for twenty one pilots on the North American leg of their Clancy World Tour, which ran from mid-August to mid-October.

The second debut, coming in at #30, is the enchanting “Afterlife” by Sharon Van Etten, along with her backing band The Attachment Theory (consisting of percussionist Jorge Balbi, bassist Devra Hoff, and multi-instrumentalist Teeny Lieberson). The song is the lead single from her forthcoming seventh studio album Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, due for release February 7, 2025. I love Van Etten’s voice, and it’s her fourth song to appear on my chart, the previous three being “Seventeen” in 2019, “Like I Used To” (with Angel Olsen) in 2021 and “Mistakes” in 2022.

  1. SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (2)
  2. THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (4)
  3. A FRAGILE THING – The Cure (1)
  4. HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (3)
  5. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (5)
  6. DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (6)
  7. NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (8)
  8. A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals (10)
  9. NOBODY’S SOLDIER – Hozier (7)
  10. BOBBY SOX – Green Day (12)
  11. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (9)
  12. MIND GAME (3:33) – Collette McLafferty & John Serrano (13)
  13. DOPAMINE – Sum 41 (14)
  14. IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers (15)
  15. ARROW – The Head and the Heart (16)
  16. GIVING UP – Michigander (17)
  17. SUPERSAD – Suki Waterhouse (11)
  18. AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society (20)
  19. ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT – twenty one pilots (21)
  20. GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings (22)
  21. PEACE SONG – Fat Dog (24)
  22. DARKERSIDE – David Kushner (25)
  23. YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (26)
  24. DETROIT – Badflower (28)
  25. SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez (29)
  26. DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton (30)
  27. SO COLD – Balu Brigada (N)
  28. BOTHERING ME – Sarah Blasko (18)
  29. KINKY – bby (19)
  30. AFTERLIFE – Sharon Van Etten (N)

Top 30 Songs for December 22-28, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's6 Comments
Photo of the Cure in concert by Thorsten Samesch

We’ve reached the last full week of 2024, and the Cure‘s “A Fragile Thing” remains at #1 on my Top 30 for a second week. Dexter and The Moonrocks also hold at #2 for a second week with “Sad in Carolina, while Beach Weather moves into third place with “Hardcore Romance”. “The Faithful Heart” by Wons Phreely + The Horses climbs four spots to #4, while “Favourite” by Fontaines D.C. moves down two to #5. “A Tear in Space (Airlock)” by Glass Animals moves up three spots to enter the top 10 at #10.

Three songs make their debut this week, beginning with “Detroit” by Los Angeles-based alternative hard rock band Badflower. Released this past summer, the song took a while to fully grow on me, which is weird since it’s a really good, high-energy anthem. It’s their second song to appear on my chart, the first being their 2018 masterpiece “Ghost”, which peaked at #2 and ranks #21 on my 100 Best Songs of 2018 list. Formed in 2015, the band is still comprised of the four original founding members singer/guitarist Josh Katz, lead guitarist Joey Morrow, bassist Alex Espiritu and drummer Anthony Sonetti.

Entering at #29 is another song that’s been out awhile, “Sailor Song” by American singer-songwriter Gigi Perez. (Coincidentally, it was released on July 26, the same day as Badflower’s “Detroit”.) She’s been putting out music since 2021, but “Sailor Song” is her first song to chart after going viral on TikTok a few months ago. It’s reached #1 in the UK, Ireland and Latvia, and the top five in New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the Billboard Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart. Thus far, it’s reached #22 on the Hot 100. The infectious and endearing song is a love ballad about falling for a woman who looks like the actress Anne Hathaway.

The third debut is “Day & Night”, by London-based singer-songwriter Oli Barton. A supremely talented artist, Barton’s made numerous appearances on my Top 30, most recently this past fall with his previous single “You Just Played My Mind”, which spent 15 weeks on my chart. I’ve loved every single one of his releases, and the ebullient “Day & Night” is no exception!

  1. A FRAGILE THING – The Cure (1)
  2. SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (2)
  3. HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (4)
  4. THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (8)
  5. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (3)
  6. DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (5)
  7. NOBODY’S SOLDIER – Hozier (6)
  8. NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (9)
  9. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (7)
  10. A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals (13)
  11. SUPERSAD – Suki Waterhouse (11)
  12. BOBBY SOX – Green Day (12)
  13. MIND GAME (3:33) – Collette McLafferty & John Serrano (16)
  14. DOPAMINE – Sum 41 (17)
  15. IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers (18)
  16. ARROW – The Head and the Heart (19)
  17. GIVING UP – Michigander (20)
  18. BOTHERING ME – Sarah Blasko (10)
  19. KINKY – bby (14)
  20. AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society (22)
  21. ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT – twenty one pilots (23)
  22. GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings (24)
  23. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (15)
  24. PEACE SONG – Fat Dog (26)
  25. DARKERSIDE – David Kushner (29)
  26. YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (30)
  27. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (21)
  28. DETROIT – Badflower (N)
  29. SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez (N)
  30. DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton (N)

Top 30 Songs for December 15-21, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's8 Comments

For more than 40 years, English alternative goth rock band The Cure have masterfully captured both the joyous highs and painful depths of love, loss and existential angst in their music, and their latest single “A Fragile Thing” is a shining example of that, as well as a strong testament to their enduring creativity and relevance. Released on October 9, the song was the second single (after the epic “Alone”) from their 14th studio album Songs of a Lost World, their first new material in 16 years since the release of 4:13 Dream in 2008. Entirely written, composed, and arranged by The Cure front man Robert Smith, the album was originally recorded and intended for release in 2019, and is the band’s first album to feature Reeves Gabrels, who joined as a full-time member in 2012, on guitar. According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Songs of a Lost World has received universal acclaim, based on a weighted average score of 93 out of 100 from 23 critic scores.

Like all songs on the album, “A Fragile Thing” reflects the darker sentiments Smith was feeling after the loss of his mother, father and brother in quick succession. Nevertheless, he tried to keep the album “universal” in its themes, stating “So even though most of the songs are very personal, they’re not things that only happen to me.” In an October YouTube interview, he stated that he had struggled to write “A Fragile Thing”, saying it was originally a very different song titled “Kill The Sun”, but that it “mutated into this song, which is very specific to me, I suppose. “But I’m hoping that it resonates with other people because love is a universal thing.” He further explained that “A Fragile Thing” is “the ‘love song’ of the album, but not really a love song in the way that [1989’s] ‘Lovesong’ is a love song. It’s about how love is the most enduring of emotions. It’s the most powerful emotion, and it’s incredibly resilient. And yet at the same time, incredibly fragile.” The hauntingly beautiful song becomes the latest to top my Weekly Top 30 chart.

In other chart developments of note, “Sad in Carolina” by Dexter and The Moonrocks advances two spots to #2. Entering the top 10 are “The Faithful Heart” by Wons Phreely + The Horses, which climbs four spots to #8, and “Neverender” by French electronic music duo Justice and Australian band Tame Impala, moving up two spots to #9.

Two songs make their debut, the first of which, entering at #29, is “Darkerside” by American singer-songwriter David Kushner. Born in Chicago and now based in Los Angeles, the baritone-voiced artist began releasing singles in 2021, and the following year, his song “Mr. Miserable” went viral on TikTok. Though it didn’t chart in the U.S., it reached the top 40 in several European countries, Australia and New Zealand. His 2023 single “Daylight” also went viral on TikTok, becoming an even bigger hit, reaching #1 in the Netherlands, Switzerland and New Zealand and peaking at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has been streamed over 1.3 billion times on Spotify alone. The anthemic “Darkerside”, along with “Daylight”, Mr. Miserable”, and his previous singles, are featured on his debut album The Dichotomy, which was released August 30th. The song has already spent 10 weeks on the Alternative Airplay chart, the past three at #23.

Entering at #30 is “You’re My Drug”, the latest single by Northern Virginia-based Talk in Waves, the music project of the very talented and affable singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jake Mimikos. He’s been a long-time favorite of mine, and “You’re My Drug” is his eighth song to appear on my Top 30 chart. Five of them have gone all the way to #1, most recently his previous single “Like You Do” this past September. “You’re My Drug” is a sexy rocker, featuring an edgier, harder-driving sound for him, and I like it!

  1. A FRAGILE THING – The Cure (2)
  2. SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (4)
  3. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (1)
  4. HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (5)
  5. DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (3)
  6. NOBODY’S SOLDIER – Hozier (7)
  7. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (6)
  8. THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (12)
  9. NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (11)
  10. BOTHERING ME – Sarah Blasko (9)
  11. SUPERSAD – Suki Waterhouse (13)
  12. BOBBY SOX – Green Day (14)
  13. A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals (16)
  14. KINKY – bby (15)
  15. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (8)
  16. MIND GAME (3:33) – Collette McLafferty & John Serrano (18)
  17. DOPAMINE – Sum 41 (19)
  18. IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers (20)
  19. ARROW – The Head and the Heart (21)
  20. GIVING UP – Michigander (22)
  21. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (10)
  22. AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society (24)
  23. ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT – twenty one pilots (26)
  24. GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings (29)
  25. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (17)
  26. PEACE SONG – Fat Dog (30)
  27. UP ALL NIGHT – James Bay, The Lumineers & Noah Kahan (25)
  28. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (23)
  29. DARKERSIDE – David Kushner (N)
  30. YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (N)

Top 30 Songs for October 27-November 2, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top 30 Songs for October 20-26, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's7 Comments
Photo by David James Swanson

Guitarist extraordinaire Jack White remains on top for a second week with his bombastic rocker “That’s How I’m Feeling”, while silky-voiced Leon Bridges moves into second place with his mellifluous single “Peaceful Place”. Entering the top 10 are “The Door” by powerhouse singer-songwriter Teddy Swims, at #8, and “Death Valley High” by the enigmatic and sexy country singer-songwriter Orville Peck and singer-songwriter-producer Beck, at #10. Two songs share the biggest upward mover title this week – “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and “The Lighthouse” by Stevie Nicks, each jumping eight spots to #15 and #17, respectively.

The sole debut is “Neverender”, a wonderful collaboration by French electronic music duo Justice and Australian band Tame Impala. Consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, Justice is completely new to me, despite the fact they’ve been making music for nearly 20 years. They’re quite popular, with over 5.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 1.5 million followers on Facebook. Tame Impala, fronted by insanely talented singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker, ranks high among my favorite music acts. As far as I’m concerned, any song involving Tame Impala is a winner, and their collaboration “New Gold” with Gorillaz and Bootie Brown is my #2 song of 2023. “Neverender” is from Justice’s fourth studio album Hyperdrama, released this past April.

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

Top 30 Songs for October 13-19, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's15 Comments
Photo of Jack White by David James Swanson

As I curate my Top 30 chart each week – which essentially reflects my favorite songs at that moment in time – I cannot deny that my choices are influenced to some degree by what’s happening on other “official” music charts. Sometimes a song comes along that’s either so good or has such strong crossover appeal that it tops nearly every major chart. But more often than not, totally different songs top each of the various charts, with virtually no overlap. Case in point is this week, where the mediocre “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey has inexplicably spent 13 weeks and counting at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “The Emptiness Machine” by the reconstituted rock band Linkin Park is #1 on the Mainstream Rock and Alternative Airplay charts, and “Up All Night”, a collaboration between James Bay, The Lumineers and Noah Kahan, is #1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. None of these three songs appears on the other mentioned charts.

I’m not quite sure what the point of that discussion is, other than to provide a bit of context, but my new favorite song this week is “That’s How I’m Feeling” by Jack White, which does currently occupy a spot in the top 10 of most alternative and rock charts. The boisterous rocker was the lead single from his sixth studio album released as a solo artist, No Name, which dropped this past July. Many music critics and fans have praised the album and song, calling it a return to his blues and garage roots and favorably comparing it to his music with the White Stripes. It’s probably my favorite song by White as a solo artist.

In other chart highlights, “Peaceful Place” by Leon Bridges climbs six spots to #4, and the ethereal and dreamy “Into Gold” by London Grammar moves up four spots to enter the top 10 at #10. The aforementioned “Up All Night” jumps seven spots to #18, making it the biggest upward mover this week. Three songs make their debut, the first of which, entering at #25, is “The Lighthouse”, a powerful song of both anger and hope by legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks, who’s still going strong at 76. (I saw her in concert last December, which you can read about here.) She performed the song last night on Saturday Night Live, her first appearance on the long-running show in 41 years.

Inspired by the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, Nicks co-wrote the song with Magnus Birgersson and Vincent Villuis. The track was co-produced by Nicks, Sheryl Crow (who plays electric guitar and bass and sings backing vocals), and famed producer Chris Cobb (who’s worked with Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Lady Gaga, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen, Take That, Rival Sons, and many more), who also played guitar. The song begins rather tentatively, and Nicks’ vocals sound quite different in the verses; at first listen I thought they might be by another singer, but she sounds like her usual self in the anthemic choruses.

The second debut, entering at #29, is “The Emptiness Machine” by Linkin Park. I was resistant to the song at first, as I had mixed feelings about the legendary band taking on a new female co-lead singer, resulting in a major change to their style and sound. But after reading through scores of comments on the YouTube video for the song, I came to realize I was the one who was being closed-minded. The song, which quickly shot to #1 on the Rock and Alternative charts, has since grown on me. Coming in at #30 is “Nobody’s Soldier” by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier, whose previous single “Too Sweet” has become one of the biggest hits of the year. His latest single is more fast-paced and harder-driven than his usual style. I like it!

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

Top 30 Songs for October 6-12, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's11 Comments
Photo by Sophie Jones

Though it’s now Autumn, the weather here in the Southern California desert is still quite summer-like, with temperatures over the past week ranging from 107-117 (41-47C). This unrelenting heat, combined with the sorry state of our impending election, in which a vile, incoherent and corrupt serial liar has a good chance of being elected President for a second time, has made it difficult for me to stay positive. Thankfully, there’s lots of great music to help brighten my mood a bit.

English singer-songwriter and musician Lola Young‘s “Messy”, a scathing rant against a romantic partner who can never be satisfied, remains at #1 for a second week, while Cage the Elephant‘s “Rainbow” moves into second place. Jack White‘s boisterous “That’s How I’m Feeling” climbs four spots to #4, and the appropriately titled “Peaceful Place” by Leon Bridges jumps seven spots to enter the top 10 at #10. The gorgeous song is from his fourth studio album Leon, which dropped this past Friday, October 4th. “Favourite” by Fontaines D.C. is this week’s biggest upward mover, leaping eight spots to #18. (Their song “Starburster” falls eight spots to #26, its 19th week on this chart, three of which were spent at #1 and another three at #2.)

Two songs enter my chart this week, the first of which is “Hardcore Romance”, a steamy and sultry number by one of my favorite bands Beach Weather, whose equally sultry “High In Low Places” has spent the past 18 weeks on my chart, three of them at #1. Both songs will be included on their forthcoming second album Melt, scheduled for release on October 25th.

Entering at #30 is the darkly beautiful “Bothering Me”, by Australian singer-songwriter, musician and producer Sarah Blasko, which I learned about in a recent post by fellow blogger Robert Horvat, who writes a terrific blog Rearview Mirror. About the meaning behind the song, Sarah told Australian webzine Noise11: “Dreams seem to be a way of processing things that happen during the day and so I embraced dreaming as a way of getting over things. Getting older is TOUGH. Sometimes I don’t know who I am anymore and that I’ve lost touch with the person I used to be and the dreams I held. I try to let go but not let go at the same time because dreams are important.” “Bothering Me” is the second single from her forthcoming seventh studio album I Just Need to Conquer This Mountain, to be released in November.

  1. MESSY – Lola Young (1)
  2. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (3)
  3. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (4)
  4. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (8)
  5. LIKE YOU DO – Talk in Waves (2)
  6. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (6)
  7. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (7)
  8. GOOD LUCK, BABE! – Chappell Roan (9)
  9. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (10)
  10. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (17)
  11. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (5)
  12. WAR – Healer (13)
  13. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (14)
  14. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (15)
  15. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (16)
  16. THE DOOR – Teddy Swims (20)
  17. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (11)
  18. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (26)
  19. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (21)
  20. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn (22)
  21. OH NO! – The Decemberists (12)
  22. HOLOGRAM – Raker (23)
  23. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (24)
  24. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (25)
  25. UP ALL NIGHT – James Bay, The Lumineers & Noah Kahan (28)
  26. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (18) 19th week on chart)
  27. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (19)
  28. DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (29)
  29. HARDCORE ROMANCE – Beach Weather (N)
  30. BOTHERING ME – Sarah Blasko (N)

Top 30 Songs for September 29-October 5, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's8 Comments
Photo by Sophie Jones

A new week, another new song to top my chart. “Messy”, the defiant, emotionally-charged single by English singer-songwriter and musician Lola Young, ascends to the #1 spot. The 23-year-old South London-based artist lists Joni Mitchell, Prince, Adele, SZA, Frank Ocean, and Anderson .Paak among her musical influences, and her provocative songwriting and smoky vocal style have earned her comparisons with the late Amy Winehouse. “Messy” is from her critically-acclaimed third album This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway, which dropped June 21st. Young named-dropped its title in a statement: “Here is my first born child, a fuck you to all my exes, and basically me just trying to figure out some shit openly and honestly on record. First of many and if you don’t like it, then this wasn’t meant for you anyway.”

Accordingly, “Messy” is an angry tirade to a romantic partner, with brilliantly written, highly relatable lyrics expressing her exasperation with them for never being satisfied with her, no matter how hard she’s tried to please them: “Cause I’m too messy and then I’m too fucking clean. You told me get a job then you ask where the hell I’ve been. And I’m too perfect till I open my big mouth. I want to be me, is that not allowed? And I’m too perfect till I show you that I’m not. A thousand people I could be for you, and you hate the fucking lot.” I love both the song and video.

Three songs enter the top 10 this week – “That’s How I’m Feeling” by Jack White, “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan, and “You Just Played My Mind” by English singer-songwriter Oli Barton, charting at #8, #9 and #10, respectively. Teddy Swims has the biggest upward mover with his marvelous single “The Door”, jumping eight spots to #20. The lone debut this week is “Die With A Smile”, the beautiful collaborative single by music heavyweights Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, finally entering my chart at #29. Though I really like both artists, it took a while for the song to grow on me for some inexplicable reason.

  1. MESSY – Lola Young (4)
  2. LIKE YOU DO – Talk in waves (1)
  3. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (3)
  4. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (5)
  5. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (2)
  6. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (8)
  7. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (10)
  8. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (14)
  9. GOOD LUCK, BABE!” – Chappell Roan (11)
  10. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (13)
  11. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (6)
  12. OH NO! – The Decemberists (7)
  13. WAR – Healer (15)
  14. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (16)
  15. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (17)
  16. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (18)
  17. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (20)
  18. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (9)
  19. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (12)
  20. THE DOOR – Teddy Swims (28)
  21. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (23)
  22. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn (22)
  23. HOLOGRAM – Raker (24)
  24. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (25)
  25. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (26)
  26. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (27)
  27. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (19) 21st week on chart
  28. UP ALL NIGHT – James Bay, The Lumineers & Noah Kahan (30)
  29. DIE WITH A SMILE – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (N)
  30. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (21)

Top 30 Songs for September 22-28, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's8 Comments

Talk in Waves, the newly-rechristened music project of Northern Virginia-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jake Mimikos that was formerly known as The Frontier, is a long-time favorite artist of mine. The talented, hard working guy skillfully blends elements of folk, pop, indie rock and electronica to create songs that are incredibly melodic, flawlessly crafted and always catchy, all self-recorded and produced in his home studio. As with many singer-songwriters, Jake’s songs are often inspired by personal experiences, touching on relatable topics like love, relationships and loss, which are expressed through lyrics that are honest and straightforward, and delivered with his warm, pleasing vocals.

His latest single “Like You Do” (which I reviewed in May) finally ascends to the #1 spot on my Top 30 after a long, steady climb. The bittersweet song is directed toward a former romantic partner who the singer desperately longs for, and wishes would come back into his life. It’s his fifth song to reach #1 on my chart, following “Dark Places” (2019), “Can We Go Back” (2021), “Closer” (2022) and “Walk Through the Fire” (2023), while his 2020 single “Sleep” reached #2.

In other chart news of note, both Cage the Elephant‘s “Rainbow” and Lola Young‘s “Messy” advance five spots to #3 and #4, respectively, while Billie Eilish moves up two spots to enter the top 10 with her lovely song “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”. “That’s How I’m Feeling” by Jack White also climbs five spots to #14, while “Peaceful Place” by Leon Bridges leaps eight spots to #20, making it the biggest upward mover this week.

Two songs enter my chart this week, starting with the hard-driving and soulful “The Door” by American singer-songwriter Teddy Swims (aka Jaten Collin Dimsdale). Co-written by Swims and John Ryan, John Sudduth, Sherwyn Nicholls, Joshua Coleman, and Julian Bunetta, he says the song is about saving his own life and finding the courage to walk out on an abusive relationship that played a part in driving his friends and family out of his life. (Wikipedia) “The Door” was originally released last September as one of the tracks on his debut album I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1), and as the album’s third single this past April. Swims reached #1 on my chart earlier this year with “Lose Control”. Entering at #30 is “Up All Night”, a rousing collaboration by a powerhouse lineup of English singer-songwriter James Bay, Colorado-based alternative folk band The Lumineers and Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan. All three acts have previously scored #1 songs on my chart.

  1. LIKE YOU DO – Talk in Waves (3)
  2. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (1)
  3. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (8)
  4. MESSY – Lola Young (9)
  5. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (6)
  6. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (2)
  7. OH NO! – The Decemberists (5)
  8. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (10)
  9. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (4)
  10. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (12)
  11. GOOD LUCK, BABE! – Chappell Roan (13)
  12. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (7)
  13. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (15)
  14. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (19)
  15. WAR – Healer (16)
  16. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (17)
  17. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (18)
  18. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (20)
  19. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (11) 20th week on chart
  20. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (28)
  21. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (14)
  22. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn (22)
  23. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (23)
  24. HOLOGRAM – Raker (25)
  25. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (26)
  26. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (29)
  27. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (30)
  28. THE DOOR – Teddy Swims (N)
  29. WAKING LIFE – Nicholas a. Milillo feat. Dee Wolf, Bobby Jasso, Gabrielle Marella and the voice of Tony Milillo (21)
  30. UP ALL NIGHT – James Bay, The Lumineers & Noah Kahan (N)