This Week's Golden Oldies

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass took their Spanish influenced instrumental pop sound to the top of the charts starting in 1962 with "The Lonely Bull". Listen to the song by clicking on the video graphic above.

TOP 10 OLDIES OF THE WEEK
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30 chart.
November 6, 2009.

1. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
2. The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies
3. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds - Elton John
4. Soley Soley - Middle of the Road
5. Imagine - John Lennon
6. God Love & Rock n Roll - Teagarden & Van Winckle
7. Liar Liar - The Castaways
8. Duncan - Paul Simon
9. Gotta Get Away - Cecilio & Kapono
10. I Found Someone of My Own - The Free Movement

Listen to more oldies by clicking "Class of 1975: 60s & 70s Mix" on the right hand column to this entry.

New Music of Note

The following embedded tracks and videos are some of the new and current music that I am listening to this week.

MISS LI - I Heard of a Girl - A bittersweet tune of an outcast girl.



MISS LI - Oh Boy - from a few years ago, a song that looks like fun.



From THE SIXTY-ONE Music site, the following tracks have been recently favorited:

The Agency: "Bumpers"



AM "The Other Side" - went to #2 on Mel's Weekly Top 20
Buy AM's album Future Sons & Daughters - one of my favorite albums of 2009.



Lovers & Poets - " I Keep Falling" featuring Shannon Hurley
I think they have an album upcoming in 2010.



Shannon Hurley - Beg Steal Borrow - great new track... love it!



Tiffany Desrosiers - Alone




Asteroids Galaxy Tour - The Golden Age - burning up my chart at #3 this week.



Caitlin Hart - Seven Minutes



Listen to more indie songs by selecting the Digital 45 player to the right. Be sure to listen to the full length albums posted on the right hand column.

Bulletproof Hits #1

La Roux La Roux
Originally uploaded by Po Li

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of November 1, 2009.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Bulletproof - La Roux - 2
2. Second Chance - Shinedown - 1
3. The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 9
4. City On Our Knees - Tobymac - 4
5. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead - 7
6. Bourgeois Shangri-La - Miss Li - 8
7. People Are Crazy - Billy Currington - 3
8. Never Forget You - Noisettes - 5
9. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 11
10. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 13
11. Sweet Silver Lining - Kate Voegele - 12
12. We Are Golden - Mika - 10
13. Fireflies - Owl City - 17
14. I Keep Falling - Lovers and Poets - 15
15. The Other Side - AM - 6
16. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas - 20
17. This Is It - Michael Jackson - new
18. Celebration (Album Version) - Madonna - 14
19. Heaven Can Wait - We the Kings - 16
20. Hell - Tegan And Sara - new

CHART NOTES:

Michael Jackson makes his chart debut with "This is It", the "new" single from his movie soundtrack compilation album of the same name. The track checks in at #17 this week. The only way to get this track is to buy the album, comprised mostly of Michael Jackson rehtreads such as "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Starting Something", golden oldies that have already been issued to previous albums.

La Roux claims the number 1 spot this week with "Bulletproof". Great dance/alt rock track.

Asteroids Galaxy Tour is knocking on the #1 slot with "The Golden Age", their latest single which climbs 6 points from #9 to #3 this week. See the video here.

The biggest dropping track is "The Other Side" by AM. The song peaked at #2 a few weeks ago, fell to #6 last week and is on its way out at #15. Still a good song. Hopefully more tracks from his album will show up on the Weekly Top 20.

Noisettes breaks into the top 10 with their second hit, "Don't Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go)" picking up 3 points moving from #13 to #10. Meanwhile their former #1 hit "Never Forget You" still holds in the top 10, dropping from #5 to #8.

Listen to La Roux and "Bulletproof" at this link:
http://www.last.fm/music/La+Roux/_/Bulletproof

This Is It - The Album

The $10 single disc album by Michael Jackson is mostly a rehash of some of his previous hits with the title single "This Is It" thrown in. Most of the songs on this have been issued on Michael Jackson albums. and compilations.

However if you want the song "This Is It", the album seems to be the only way to obtain it. A more expensive double CD is also available which contains 5 additional tracks on a second CD. "This Is It" is also available as a digital download from the usual places... Amazon, iTunes, etc. Recommended only for the die hard fan.

Track List - Disc 1 & Single Album

# - Title - Length
1. - "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" - 6:03
2. - "Jam" - 5:39
3. - "They Don't Care About Us" - 4:46
4. - "Human Nature" - 4:06
5. - "Smooth Criminal" - 4:18
6. - "The Way You Make Me Feel" - 4:59
7. - "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" - 3:54
8. - "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" - 4:12
9. - "Thriller" - 5:58
10. - "Beat It" - 4:18
11. - "Black or White" - 4:17
12. - "Earth Song" - 6:47
13. - "Billie Jean" - 4:55
14. - "Man in the Mirror" - 5:20
15. - "This Is It" (album version) - 3:38
16. - "This Is It" (orchestra version) - 4:55

Track List - Bonus CD Deluxe version

# - Title - Length
1. - "She's Out of My Life" (demo version) - 3:19
2. - "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (demo version) - 5:43
3. - "Beat It" (demo version) - 2:05
4. - "Planet Earth" (poem) - 3:15

Additional Links

• Listen to the Title Track "This Is It"
• Michael Jackson "This Is It" Album

Second Chance @ 1, Bulletproof @ 2....

Mel’s Weekly Top 20
Week of October 25, 2009.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Second Chance (3rd week @ #1) - Shinedown - 1
2. Bulletproof - La Roux - 7
3. People Are Crazy - Billy Currington - 4
4. City On Our Knees - Tobymac - 5
5. Never Forget You - Noisettes - 3
6. The Other Side - AM - 2
7. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead featuring Cherine Anderson - 9
8. Bourgeois Shangri-La - Miss Li - 10
9. The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 19
10. We Are Golden - Mika - 12
11. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 15
12. Sweet Silver Lining - Kate Voegele - 14
13. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 17
14. Celebration (Album Version) - Madonna - 6
15. I Keep Falling - Lovers and Poets - 20
16. Heaven Can Wait - We the Kings - 8
17. Fireflies - Owl City - new
18. Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat - 11
19. Next In Line - Meese - 13
20. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas - new

CHART NOTES

Owl City debuts at #17 with their hit single "Fireflies." This is the second song with the same title to chart on Mel's Weekly Top 20 this year. This past summer Chris Garneau took his different version of "Fireflies" to #12.

Black Eyed Peas smash #1 hit "I Gotta Feeling" fell off the chart this week after making an incredible run throughout the summer having topped the chart not once, but twice accumulating 6 weeks at the coveted spot. Don't count the Peas out as their latest single "Meet Me Halfway" makes its debut at #20.

The fastet mover this week is Asteroids Galaxy Tour. Their single, "The Golden Age" leaps from #19 to #9.

La Roux is knocking on the door with "Bulletproof" making a bulleted jump from #7 to #2.

I would have listed Michael Jackson's new single "This is It" to the top 20. However since I don't own a copy of it yet, it will more than likely chart next week. The single and album is slated to be released on Tuesday, October 27. You can listen to "This Is It" at this link.



Miss Li has the #8 song this week with "Bourgeois Shangri-La" from the 5G iPod commercial. Not much of a video, but the song is catchy. Give it a listen.

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

Asteroids Galaxy Tour is a new band from Denmark that has been recording since 2008. They released two singles last year, the most famous being "Around the Bend" which was featured on an Apple iPod commercial. Shortly afterward the band caught my attention and I bought their two track EP which featured "Bend" as well as the single "The Sun Ain't Shining No More." Both songs hit Mel's Weekly Top 20 with "Around the Bend" going to number 1 and staying there for 3 weeks. It ended up as my 8th most favorited song on my Top 100 Hits of 2008 chart.

Asteroids Galaxy Tour are back this year with a new single and a new album. Fruit is their new album that has already been released in Europe and will be released in the U.S. on October 27. The first single is "The Golden Age" and features the vocals of lead singer Mette Lindberg as has been with the band's 2 previous hits. She's an acquired taste much like perhaps, Stevie Nicks. "The Golden Age" is a catchy song with a wonderful video that I think is one of the best for 2009. "The Golden Age" debuts at #19 on Mel's Weekly Top 20. Enjoy it here:



Keep in mind that over time, YouTube or the publisher of embedded videos may pull their content off of the service.

That all said here are the Top 20 Hits of the Week from Mel's Weekly Top 20 chart:

MEL'S WEEKLY TOP 20
Week of October 18, 2009.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Second Chance (2nd week @ #1!)  - Shinedown - 1
2. The Other Side - AM - 3
3. Never Forget You - Noisettes - 2
4. People Are Crazy - Billy Currington - 5
5. City On Our Knees - Tobymac - 6
6. Celebration (Album Version) - Madonna - 4
7. Bulletproof - La Roux - 13
8. Heaven Can Wait - We the Kings - 8
9. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead featuring Cherine Anderson - 10
10. Bourgeois Shangri-La - Miss Li - 12
11. Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat - 7
12. We Are Golden - Mika - 14
13. Next In Line - Meese - 15
14. Sweet Silver Lining - Kate Voegele - 16
15. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 18
16. She's Got a Boyfriend Now - Boys Like Girls - 9
17. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 20
18. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas - 11
19. The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - new
20. I Keep Falling - Lovers and Poets - new

CHART NOTES: Focus on Indie Artists & Tracks

Looking over my chart and comparing it to charts from the industry and others, I find that many of my current songs are not in the mainstream. Among those are the following:

I Keep Falling - Lovers and Poets: Lead singer Shannon Hurley is quite popular on the indie music website TheSixtyOne.com. I heard this song and 2 others there and love all of em. Debuts at #20.

Don't Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes: Not a staple on American charts or radio, this is actually quite old. It went to #2 in the UK, #17 here. The follow-up single "Never Forget You" barely dented domestic charts. It went #1 here and currently sits at #3.

Sweet Silver Lining - Kate Voegele: I can't figure out why she is not popular on radio at all. She has a solid album full of radio friendly songs. "Sweet Silver Lining" is one of them. Currently at #14 up from #16.

Next in Line - Meese: This is one of those Apple iTunes giveaways. Got it a few weeks ago. I like it. Good enough to place at #13.

Bourgeois Shangri-La - Miss Li: This song is featured on the 5th generation iPod Nano commercial from Apple. Like previous iPod songs, this track is very catchy and should be a hit. Currently at #10.

City on Our Knees - tobyMac: OK, so this song is out of the mainstream but very popular in the Contemporary Christian music market. It's #1 on iTunes. #5 on my chart. Great song.

Bulletproof - LaRoux: This techno alt dance track is really catchy. Was a hit also in the UK. I love it and got it for free from Apple. Yes, they do occasionally give away good free music on iTunes. This one is coming on strong fast, in its third week already at #7.

The Other Side - AM: I have no idea what AM's real name is, but he is quite active on Twitter and has his own blog. Reports airplay of his songs from various regions. I like his album Future Sons & Daughters, which is a good mix of catchy sounding pop-rock. Radio stations everywhere ought to be playing this and other tracks from AM. A good fit for CHR. #2 this week on Mel's Weekly Top 20.

Shinedown - Second Chance

After 3 weeks of being stuck at #2, Shinedown finally breaches into the #1 position with their rock anthem "Second Chance." This song is about as good as rock music gets these days. The song is more than a year old having been released in September 2008. Since I don't listen to much mainstream radio these days, the song was totally off my radar until it was featured on a talk radio show as bumper music. I got wind of it and purchased the track in early August of this year. It made the top 20 the same week I got the song.

"Second Chance" is the 2nd single released from Shinedown's album The Sound of Madness. According to the Wikipedia, it was the last song Casey Kasem played on his final American Top 40 radio show before retiring.



Embedded videos from YouTube.com may be removed without notice by their respective publishers or the YouTube.com service itself.

MEL'S WEEKLY TOP 20
Week of October 11, 2009

1. Second Chance - Shinedown - 2
2. Never Forget You - Noisettes - 1
3. The Other Side - AM - 4
4. Celebration (Album Version) - Madonna - 3
5. People Are Crazy - Billy Currington - 6
6. City On Our Knees - Tobymac - 8
7. Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat - 5
8. Heaven Can Wait - We the Kings - 9
9. She's Got a Boyfriend Now - Boys Like Girls - 10
10. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead featuring Cherine Anderson - 13
11. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas - 7
12. Bourgeois Shangri-La - Miss Li - 16
13. Bulletproof - La Roux - 20
14. We Are Golden - Mika - 15
15. Next In Line - Meese - 14
16. Sweet Silver Lining - Kate Voegele - 19
17. 21 Guns - Green Day - 11
18. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - new
19. Honey In The Sun - Camera Obscura - 12
20. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - new

MORE CHART NOTES

Billy Currington makes it into the top 5 with his country hit "People Are Crazy." It's a good song and would be a great crossover hit into AC and pop music radio.

The Noisettes who had last week's #1 hit, "Never Forget You" slip to #2, but also enter the chart with their dance oriented single "Don't Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go)" which was a huge hit in the UK peaking at #2. It debuts this week at #20. Both songs are from the Noisettes new album Wild Young Hearts which was finally released in the U.S. late last month. It has been sold in the UK since April.

The fastest mover in this week's chart is "Bulletproof" by LaRoux, which climbs seven points from its debut at #20 last week to #13 this week. I like this synth based alt dance track. Could be a good top 10 hit soon.


TOP 10 OLDIES OF THE WEEK
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30

1. We're An American Band - Grand Funk Railroad
2. The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies
3. Just Like Heaven - The Cure
4. Soley Soley - Middle of the Road
5. Imagine - John Lennon
6. Tuesday Afternoon - The Moody Blues
7. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
8. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
9. Take a Letter Maria - R.B. Greaves
10. Crocodile Rock - Elton John

This is It

Michael Jackson's new single and link to his upcoming movie, and album. Surely to be a million seller. Hear it now.