In the 1970s, the local charts weren’t as homogenized as they are now, what about this top ten shouts British to you? There is something so worldwide about these songs, they could be anywhere. Spain? US? Australia? It is completely homoginized, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer but the charts remain a consistent shade of off white. Everything is exactly the same everywhere.
Avicii and Calvin Harris are the old face of new dance, but boy are they old faces. This MOR beats stuff has grown beyond tedious and if this was 1989, these two would be the first at the guillotine as privileged pampered arbittors of manufactured crap.
So I guess these are the songs of the summer, Jess Glynne didn’t make it so I guess I called that wrong, also I didn’t think much of the Max Martin production (much prefer “The Hills” so I didn’t get that one right either. Oh, and please, that “FFight Song” song -no, just no
I would like to congratulate Billboard in completely baffling me as to when their charts come out and what week (week? ha that’s a joke). This was published on Saturday as a post which I missed and it is definitely ending 7-25 because I check the 7-25 and it is the one I posted last week, so this must be for the one that they will put up on Tuesday… right? There is no singles alternative anywhere. What chaotic stupidity, there one true job on earth and they can’t do it… PS the Tyrese album is a complete dog: Earth to r&b: WRITE SONGS.
A very good week is completed with a very very good list of new songs for the week. All three hip hop songs are about sound not lyric, the samples that fuel Vic and Young Thug are exemplary (Skrillex is behind Vic, better than anything with Diplo) and the clashing swords on “Swords” is a terrific sound, as is the guitar on the Wilco track.
David – Laura Marling – A new one off her Director’s Cut version of Short Movie, a lovely song: completely perfect Laura territory, I’ve heard her play this live (on youtube) and she performs it in a different key here -not a great idea – B+
Now that’s something you don’t see every day, two Ed Sheeran album, his only two albums, one from 2014 and one from (astoundingly) 2011, in the charts. Why? Because of his residency at Wembley Stadium. Between the two maybe six great songs.
I know, Walking The Moon is rock but cmon, listen to those drums,and Tinie is a rapper but the song ain’t. Folks, every song on the UK’s charts is middle of the road EDM. According to Spotify, hip hop is the most popular form of music, but I wonder how much of what they call Hip Hop is really dance?
I have no doubt Nielsen will have no problem having the numbers ready by early Monday, Billboard can post their overview (and I can long hand) on Monday and the charts will be posted by Tuesday morning. What is so wrong with that, right? On Monday’s we get new release for the upcoming week, and old sales for the previous week
A bad week for new music, still the top isn’t terrible. Coheed and Cambria are specifically excellent, the Mary J cover epochal, and Kaya Stewart a pleasant surprise. Plus, the dearth of top materials, leaves you free to spin Fay-Ann again.
I have no idea why Birdy is back on the charts, it must be a UK thing. Good song. So is David Zowie’s back to the basics House track. “House Every Weekend” hasn’t hit here yet but it could well do a great deal of damage before the season has followed.
This is pretty lousy, plus I am thoroughly confused as to when they drop the next charts (I am two days late). If I was a better mood, the UK rappers plus plenty of US featured artist Krept & Konan might have done better. But from Florence Welch to Lucy Rose, this would be overrated as mediocre.
This is looks like the summer in a nutshell, there were a couple of other songs I thought might show up, no Jess Glynne and I coulda sworn I’d see her here, but otherwise this is as read more or less. It seems like OMI and The Weeknd will be the real battle and the only two songs I can imagine intruding on this is Demi Lovato and maybe, though it is off the chargts again, Maroon 5.
The shift in the sales tracking week related to the new global release date will result in adjustments to when our charts, and charts-based editorial content, will be finalized and presented on Billboard.com. All charts will be refreshed each Tuesday morning on Billboard.com starting July 14 (as opposed to the current Thursday). As has historically been the case, Billboard’s charts are post-dated to the second Saturday following online posting (now 11 days later). So, charts that go live on Tuesday, July 14, will be dated July 25
What, you ask, is young Lionel doing at the top of the charts? Well, apparently he was better at Glastonbury than he was at the awful show I saw at Barclay’s Center last year. And so, after 23 years, he returns to the top of the charts. Those British are crazy.
The Rita Ora is new to me, but it is a real good, nice little use of a cliche and checkout OMI, makes me think there might not be a flat out winner this year, no “Call Me Maybe” or “Blurred Lines”. Not bad MOR dance pop music for the masses. We’ve had worse.
Fatal Flaw – Titus Andronicus – As we get closer to the release of The Most Lamentable Tragedy, it becomes clear there is a whole lot of baggage to go along with Patrick Stickles epic disaster disaster, sort of “Inside Outside” for solipsistic egomaniacs. And with songs as great as this, a flat out masterpiece and one of his greatest Stickles’ songs of all time, I could care less.
The thing to keep in mind about this week is it is much less a great song than great album week, the albums accumulate force but without too much stuff sticking out. “people Want to Hear About Love” is the perfect example of a pretty good song on a pretty good album. Most things here are pretty good and also? There will be a lot more of them…
This is awful bland though Billboard made an interesting comment, Silento is the third rapper, Fetty and T Wayne were the first two, to go viral on youtube and then break pop. None of the songs are particularly good, though they aren’t terrible either. The “nae nae” hook is addictive. Otherwise, another boring week on the charts.
How could the charts be any more jumpy? Five new releases, two newish releases, and three holdovers from 2014. One neo soul, one American, one country, one old school, and five pop albums. Break it down any way you cant this is a highly caffeinated piece of work, and if you added up all the units, you would go Gold combined.
Unlike most months you can think of, June belonged to two songs, Dawes “All Your Favorite Bands” and Titus Andronicus’ “Fatal Flaw”. The former is easily their best song, a genius benediction to a former love and the latter was so good it made the brilliant “Dimed Out” sound like an also ran. If these don’t end up in the top five singles of the year, I assure they will be in the top ten.
Before This World – James Taylor – A late career masterpiece by Sweet Baby James Uncle, songs as sweet and strong as memory and as strong and lasting as this exact moment, as though before this world there was this world and just this world was then and now.
Wow, talk about catching a band at the height of their heat! Following my viewing of Wolf Alice last week, they have killed it at Glastonbury and were only stopped from the top spot, on their debut album I might add, by another artist who killed it at Glastonbury, who I have also seen recently and also wasn’t crazy about live. PS: I took Taylor down a notch because, frankly, she is losing her sweetness.
Okay, with the estimable Jess Glynne handling the hook, this is the word to crack Tinie Tempeh Stateside. He has come close in the past , “Written In The Stars” reached #12 back in 2010, but it hasn’t happened big time as well as appearing on Swedish House Mafia’s “Miami To Ibiza” , so this one could finally do it. Meanwhile, Flo, Fet, the Felix remix -lotsa good stuff.
Heading into July, and Wiz has been at # 1 for ten weeks straight and there has only been three songs at # 1 all year… for the first time since 1996. All three songs have been nothing great, the Taylor “Bad Blood” was her weakest on 1989 and Bruno and mark have written a pastiche of funk. Wi is terrible but Charlie has a great voice. But the extreme conservatism of the charts is borderline babrbaric. PS not a single new song entered the charts this week.
James Taylor’s first number one album ever. How wonderful for him and sure, 96,000 copies sold isn’t exactly the smash Sweet Baby James was 45 years ago, still you play with the hand you’re dealt and this hand finds a terrific album at the top of the charts!
Fleetwood Mac just closed the Isle Of Wight Festival, which explains what this is doing here, and Simon played with Sting in London a coupla weeks ago. I guess something happened in the UK to bring the estimable Mr.Miller back on the charts. Before his life was tragically cut short on a plane ride to entertain the troops during WWII back in 1944. Pardon me boys if you know this, but Miller got his distinctive sound by moving a saxophonist move to clarinter and playing the saxophones part.
Yeah, nothing to see here but even so LA DJ Deorro nails it dead to rights with “Five More Hours” -a nearly perfect dance pop confection. I’ll take it over just about everything and it may be too late but I can see it contending for summer song of the 2015.
the rest of the album isn’t as good but this song is a terrific track by the St. Etienne leader, otherwise in the battle for singer songwriter supremacy 2015 style, Patrick has pulled ahead of Jason Isbell, Isbell’s new song didn’t even make it in my best of list, let alone the top ten.
Looks to me as though we have the song of the summer with “Cheerleader” -it has been in the UK charts for a coupla weeks now and it has just broken the top ten here, which means if it has legs, and it sure might have, this is gonna be on the charts all summer. While wiz is still at number, it is very vulnerable to a coup d’état and sooner rather than later
Just to gain some perspective on all this: 40% of the albums on this list have been on this list all year, and I mean that almost literally, maybe Meghan fell off for a week here and there but that is it. Everything else (where’s Willie?) kasts a week to three tops and disappears. Muse moved 79,000 units. That is anemic.
Not to be a reactionary, but this week has been the least reactionary chart of all time. The only new song here is the less than earth shattering “Shut Up And Dance” and everything else is mediocre jockeying for position. This is like a very warm Sunday afternoon -time for a snooze.
Nobody is surprised at the first two, what I’m surprised at is the Brand New Heavies leaders great EDM band Leftfield having a new album I don’t know and I am surprised how it is the best sounding album around and I completely missed it. Their first in 16 years and it is mindblowing. Don’t let this happen to you.
The James Taylor song, that may be really major, same with most of the others, including the not remotely easy going AraabMuzik even though he sounds like it. But when the self-loathing Patrick Stickles follows a typical piece of self immolation “Let me show you my fatal flaw” he asks but pays it off with “it’s the best thing you never saw.” While Dawes benediction saves cliches like ” I hope your brother’s El Camino runs forever” with “and may all your favorite bands stay together. A line so great it has become an instantaneous cliche.
Miss Armor – Azealia Banks – A modern day “She Bop”, Azealia’s ode to break up and masturbation, is the rhythm of the diddle come to life, it jumps out in heat and desire and should’ve been the first single, a great hook filled romp and even better live – A
Lonely Woman – Ornette Coleman – The best bits on this iconic piece are when Coleman on sax and Don Cherry on trumpet plays this heartbreaking melody together, unbelievably sad and yet abrasive, like a nightmare that you wake up crying over – A
Giving fidelity a really really bad name, please meet Andy Grammer, one of the more annoying pop stars in the world who gives jauntiness whole new levels of irritation on a truly dreadful song. This past year has been a drag for the world of pop, as conservative and sedentary as music can get.
When is a hit album not a hit album? When it is by two of countries biggest stars and still only moves 30K units. To put it another way, including Grandkids and Great Grandkids, cousins, seconds cousin, and former bandmate’s next of kin, nobody else actually bought the damn thing. Talk about going to pot.
Playing catch up after three days of music and music and music, this is very late but it is nevertoolte for a song as great as “Fatal Flaw” -it is the sort of song that makes some of Titus fanatics. nd as for “All Of Your favorite bands”? Reminds you how crappy their other songs are.
After not much caring for the Miike Snow offshoot Galantis last week, this week it sounds much better. But it is Natalie La Rosa’s cover of Whitney Houston’s huge single that makes me less than surprised at the chance of it being a song of summer 2015.
One of the strangest things about life is the UK’s penchant for high brow, low talent classical pop pap, here represented by Will Young and Collabro -both brought to us by Simon Cowell, a man who knows the value of everything and the worth of nothing.
Wiz is back on top, Tay is right behind and if you include “Uptown Funk” that is nearly every # 1 we’ve had this year. The songs here, I like some, I like some less, but they are all of a piece and it all starts with the drums. The drum sound here is uniform across every single song, including “Shut Up And Dance with me”. Looking at this, I am amaed by the duiversity… in 1967. This is all very similar.
I know I am in the minority but I prefer A$AP Rocky’s new one to Kendrick’s new one, not lyrically and not rapping, but sound and song it is a masterful piece of work. Try “Acid”, “Excuse Me” and “Jukebox Joints” and then go in deep. Otherwise, I know a “C+” doesn’t seem impressive, but in the world of CCM it is the equivalent of an “A”
Irony. Utility. Pretext – Algiers – A deep track off their very dramatic new album is, well, very dramatic, a soulful wail like Jim Morrison with a cold and thrashing swirls of dark snyths and whips, all leading to a Gospel denouement. Wild stuff from the deep South – B+
this is the blandest of bland charts, there is nothing, not even the Tay remix, that isn’t product and not great product either. Maybe, MAYBE Lunchbox Lewis is the real thing, MAYBE Omi, but everything else here is way too manufactured even for a manufactured cult.
A$AP Rocky has been on heavy rotation all week and I see no reason to stop now, Will Young on the other hand is a painfully wimpy MOR singer who I have whole other levels of meh for. This is the fourth # 1, who won the very first season of the franchise that would be know as American Idol, the UK’s Pop Idol.
Tom’s Diner – Giorgio Moroder with Britney Spears – The Suzanne Vega track with a hook to die for is given a full blown disco work over, including a Moroder spoken interlude and a Britney heavily vocoded vocal. Terrific but the song was always a goodie – A-
Something About You – Hayden James – Aussie producer is the purest of house, tinkering with tempo, slowing it down to a crawl on the bridge before readying a steady pounding mid-tempo sound. It goes deeper and deeper before free falling out -as far from dropping the bass as you can get – B
The two top songs are both among the best of the year, I can see “Acid” ending up in the top ten, and “Love 3X” in the top 20 for 2015. “Handcuffs” was better than I gave it credit for and at least Muse have one sure shot song on their newbie.
The Hills – The Weeknd – The one time I saw this guy live I was impressed, less a DJ then a soul man, and this soulful come on, trying to get her out of the Friend zone, is yet another gorgeous neo-R&B track , it clicks nicely and is as good as anything he has ever done- A-
