Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - December 27, 2009


Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of December 27, 2009 | Top 100 Songs of 2009

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Bad Romance (5th week @ #1!) - Lady GaGa - 1
2. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum - 4
3. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas - 2
4. Russian Roulette - Rihanna - 5
5. I Heard of a Girl - Miss Li - 6
6. Fireflies - Owl City - 3
7. The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 7
8. Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones - 9
9. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood - 19
10. Again - Flyleaf - 10
11. The Sweetest Thing - Camera Obscura - 14
12. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 8
13. Last Dance - The Raveonettes - 16
14. It's Your Life - Francesca Battistelli - 13
15. Welcome To The Future - Brad Paisley - 11
16. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day - 17
17. Come On (Edit) - Green River Ordinance - 18
18. Bulletproof - La Roux - 12
19. If You Only Knew - Shinedown - 20
20. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 15

Happy New Year!

As we head out of 2009, we find no new debut songs on the Weekly Top 20. The number one song stays the same as last week... yes, Lady GaGa #1 for the 5th week in a row with "Bad Romance." Country music's Lady Antebellum is hot at #2 (up from #4) with "Need You Now" and Carrie Underwood has this week's big mover, "Cowboy Casanova" going from #19 to #9.

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

1. I Only Want to Be With You - The Tourists
2. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
3. If Not For You - Olivia Newton-John
4. I Am The Walrus - The Beatles
5. Hi Hi Hi - Paul McCartney & Wings
6. Lazy Day - Spanky & Our Gang
7. Take a Little Rhythm - Ali Thompson
8. Give Up Your Guns - The Buoys
9. Summer Sand - Dawn
10. Slow Ride - Foghat

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Carrie Underwood Debuts @ #19


Carrie Underwood, originally uploaded by gabriella_dang.

Mel’s Weekly Top 20
Week of December 20, 2009

This is the last Mel's Weekly Top 20 chart that will apply to my year end chart listing. Starting next week, the Weekly Top 20 chart will be used to tabulate the Top 100 songs of 2010.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Bad Romance (4th week @ #1) - Lady GaGa - 1
2. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas - 3
3. Fireflies - Owl City - 2
4. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum - 8
5. Russian Roulette - Rihanna - 6
6. I Heard of a Girl - Miss Li - 7
7. The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 5
8. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 4
9. Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones - 11
10. Again - Flyleaf - 12
11. Welcome To The Future - Brad Paisley - 13
12. Bulletproof - La Roux - 10
13. It's Your Life - Francesca Battistelli - 14
14. The Sweetest Thing - Camera Obscura - 15
15. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 9
16. Last Dance - The Raveonettes - 18
17. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day - 19
18. Come On (Edit) - Green River Ordinance - 20
19. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood - new
20. If You Only Knew - Shinedown - new

CHART NOTES:

Happy Holidays!

Lady GaGa holds strong at #1 for a 4th consecutive week with her smash hit, "Bad Romance". The song is off her album The Fame Monster, a current hot seller.

Country group Lady Antebellum gains momentum this week with "Need You Now". The huge crossover hit moves up 4 points from #8 to #4 this week. Also breaking into the top 5 is Rihanna and her single "Russian Roulette" moving up 1 from #6 to #5.

Flyleaf and Norah Jones break into the top 10 with their hits "Again" @ #10 and "Chasing Pirates" @ #11.

Carrie Underwood
's latest single "Cowboy Cassanova" is a late arrival to my personal chart. It is a great rockin' uptempo contemporary country song.

Carrie Underwood was the big winner of the 2005 season of American Idol. Today she has 3 top hit albums, several number 1 hit records including "Jesus Take the Wheel", "All American Girl" and "Before He Cheats".

Shinedown's rocker "If You Only Knew" debuts at #20. Their former #1 track "Second Chance" fell off the Weekly Top 20 this week after a long chart run.

TOP 10 OLDIES
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30 site

1. I Only Want to Be With You - The Tourists
2. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
3. If Not For You - Olivia Newton-John
4. Lazy Day - Spanky & Our Gang
5. I Am The Walrus - The Beatles
6. God Love & Rock n Roll - Teagarden & Van Winkle
7. Hi Hi Hi - Paul McCartney & Wings
8. Beautiful Morning - East
9. Corina Corina - Ray Petersen
10. Take a Little Rhythm - Ali Thompson

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - 12/13/09 & More


Mel’s Weekly Top 20
Week of December 13, 2009 | Home Page | Blog

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Bad Romance - Lady GaGa - 1
2. Fireflies - Owl City - 2
3. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas - 3
4. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 4
5. The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 5
6. Russian Roulette - Rihanna - 6
7. I Heard of a Girl - Miss Li - 7
8. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum - 9
9. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 8
10. Bulletproof - La Roux - 10
11. Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones - 19
12. Again - Flyleaf - 14
13. Welcome To The Future - Brad Paisley - 15
14. It's Your Life - Francesca Battistelli - 16
15. The Sweetest Thing - Camera Obscura - 18
16. I Keep Falling - Lovers and Poets - 11
17. Second Chance - Shinedown - 13
18. Last Dance - The Raveonettes - 20
19. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day - 12
20. Come On (Edit) - Green River Ordinance - new

Continuing Holding Pattern: The top 7 songs remain in their same spots as they were last week. Lady GaGa is #1 for the 3rd consecutive week with "Bad Romance". The only upward movement in the top 10 is Lady Antebellum who moves up one spot from #9 to #8 with the country rock ballad, "Need You Now."

Just below the top 10, the fastest climber this week is Norah Jones who moves up 8 points from #19 to #11 with "Chasing Pirates" off her new album The Fall. On the flipside looks like Green Day lost its momentum at #12 last week, falling to #19 with "East Jesus Nowhere."

The lone debut track is Green River Ordinance "Come On" entering at #20 this week.


TOP 10 OLDIES OF THE WEEK

December 10, 2009. | Submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30
1. I Am The Walrus - The Beatles
2. I Only Want to Be With You - The Tourists
3. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
4. Lazy Day - Spanky & Our Gang
5. If Not For You - Olivia Newton-John
6. Imagine - John Lennon
7. God Love & Rock n Roll - Teagarden & Van Winkle
8. Hi Hi Hi - Paul McCartney & Wings
9. Beautiful Morning - East
10. Stop Wait Listen - Circus

TOP 3 ALBUMS


1. The White Album - The Beatles
2. White Bird - It's a Beautiful Day
3. Ram - Paul & Linda McCartney

HOLIDAY TUNES


1. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love
2. ¿Dónde Está Santa Claus? - Augie Rios
3. Dominick the Donkey - Lou Monte
4. Step Into Christmas - Elton John
5. Jingle Bell Rock - Hall & Oates

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - December 6



Norah Jones playing the guitar? Apparently so as she does on her new album The Fall. Her latest single from that album "Chasing Pirates" debuts on Mel's Weekly Top 20.

Mel' Weekly Top 20
Week of December 6, 2009.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Bad Romance (2nd week @ #1!) - Lady GaGa - 1
2. Fireflies - Owl City - 2
3. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas - 5
4. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 4
5. The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 3
6. Russian Roulette - Rihanna - 8
7. I Heard of a Girl - Miss Li - 9
8. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 6
9. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum - 12
10. Bulletproof - La Roux - 10
11. I Keep Falling - Lovers and Poets - 7
12. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day - 14
13. Second Chance - Shinedown - 13
14. Again - Flyleaf - 15
15. Welcome To The Future - Brad Paisley - 17
16. It's Your Life - Francesca Battistelli - 18
17. This Is It - Michael Jackson - 11
18. The Sweetest Thing - Camera Obscura - 20
19. Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones - new
20. Last Dance - The Raveonettes - new

CHART NOTES:

Holding Pattern: A number of songs on this week's Top 20 hold their positions from last week. They include our #1 song "Bad Romance" by Lady GaGa for the 2nd week; "Fireflies" by Owl City holding at #2 for the 3rd week, and Noisettes' "Don't Forget the Rhythm" stuck at number 4 for week two.

Further down, LaRoux holds at #10 for the 2nd week with "Bulletproof"; and Shinedown holds at #13 for the 3rd week in a row with "Second Chance". Both songs are former #1 records here at the Weekly Top 20.

Moving up are Black Eyed Peas with "Meet Me Halfway", #5 to #3; and Lady Antebellum breaks into the top 10 up from #12 to #9 with "Need You Now."

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Oldies of the Week

Every week I send Plannine's Classic Top 30 website my list of favorite oldies which he uses to compile his weekly list with submissions from me and various other readers of his chart.

I also have a couple of videos to share with you and a retro chart from Mel's Weekly Top 20.



MEL'S TOP 10 OLDIES OF THE WEEK
December 4, 2009
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30 site

1. I Am The Walrus - The Beatles
2. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
3. Imagine - John Lennon
4. Lazy Day - Spanky & Our Gang
5. If Not For You - Olivia Newton-John
6. I Only Want to Be With You - The Tourists
7. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds - Elton John
8. God Love & Rock n Roll - Teagarden & Van Winkle
9. Hi Hi Hi - Paul McCartney & Wings
10. Star Wars/Cantina Band - Meco



CHRISTMAS HITS

1. Dominick the Donkey - Lou Monte
2. ¿Dónde Está Santa Claus? - Augie Rios
3. Step Into Christmas - Elton John
4. Merry Christmas Darling - Carpenters
5. Jingle Bells - The Singing Dogs

TOP 3 ALBUMS

1. The White Album - The Beatles
2. It's a Beautiful Day - It's a Beautiful Day
3. Band on the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings

MEL'S WEEKLY TOP 20
One Year Ago - December 7, 2008.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Boys With Girlfriends - Meiko - 3
2. If I Were A Boy - Beyonce - 4
3. Around the Bend (Radio Edit) - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 1
4. Trouble Is A Friend - Lenka - 7
5. Be The One - The Ting Tings - 2
6. You Found Me - The Fray - 17
7. Just A Dream - Carrie Underwood - 19
8. Chicken Fried - Zac Brown Band - 9
9. Be OK - Ingrid Michaelson - 11
10. Human - The Killers - 5
11. Take Back The City - Snow Patrol - 14
12. Bruises - Chairlift - 6
13. Addicted - Saving Abel - 16
14. Come On Get Higher - Matt Nathanson - 18
15. Never Miss A Beat - Kaiser Chiefs - 8
16. Spaceman - The Killers - 20
17. Don't Think I Don't Think About It - Darius Rucker - 10
18. Womanizer - Britney Spears - 13
19. Sleepy Tigers - Her Space Holiday - new
20. The Weight Of Her - Butch Walker - 12

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Bad Romance Tops Weekly 20



Mel’s Weekly Top 20
Week of November 29, 2009.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Bad Romance - Lady GaGa - 7
2. Fireflies - Owl City - 2
3. The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 1
4. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 5
5. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas - 3
6. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 4
7. I Keep Falling - Lovers and Poets - 8
8. Russian Roulette - Rihanna - 9
9. I Heard of a Girl - Miss Li - 11
10. Bulletproof - La Roux - 6
11. This Is It - Michael Jackson - 10
12. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum - 16
13. Second Chance - Shinedown - 13
14. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day - 15
15. Again - Flyleaf - 18
16. Hell - Tegan And Sara - 12
17. Welcome To The Future - Brad Paisley - 19
18. It's Your Life - Francesca Battistelli - 20
19. Blame It On The Girls - Mika - new
20. The Sweetest Thing - Camera Obscura - new

CHART NOTES

Lady GaGa leaps into the #1 position in its third week on Mel's Weekly Top 20. The song made its debut 2 weeks ago at #15, shot up to #7 and is now at the top. What can I say? The song has a great hook, a wild video (see video) and in the parlance of the old "American Bandstand" show, "you can dance to it". It's the perfect song for a sizzling hot, bad date.

Due to Lady GaGa's jump to #1, the top 5 is scrambled with a hold, a bump and two falls. Holding at #2 is Owl City and "Fireflies". I thought this would go to #1, but now I doubt it. Asteroids Galaxy Tour fall from #1 to #3 with "The Golden Age" and Black Eyed Peas fall from #3 to #5 with "Meet Me Halfway." I like the song enough to give it some hope of moving it back up. Speaking of up, the only other song that moved up in the top 5 is Noisettes' "Don't Forget the Rhythm (Go Baby Go)" nudging up a point from #5 to #4. The song was a huge #2 hit in the UK earlier this year.

Elsewhere not much to report. Mostly incremental moves up and down the chart in the lower positions. Interesting to note Michael Jackson's "This is It" may have lost momentum having peaked at #10 for the last 2 weeks, and now drops a point to #11. We'll see.


Monday, November 23, 2009

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - November 22, 2009.

OneRepublic captured live in studio...



Mel’s Weekly Top 20
Week of November 22, 2009

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. The Golden Age (2nd week @ #1!) - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 1
2. Fireflies - Owl City - 3
3. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas - 4
4. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 5
5. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 6
6. Bulletproof - La Roux - 2
7. Bad Romance - Lady GaGa - 15
8. I Keep Falling - Lovers and Poets - 9
9. Russian Roulette - Rihanna - 12
10. This Is It - Michael Jackson - 10
11. I Heard of a Girl - Miss Li - 11
12. Hell - Tegan And Sara - 14
13. Second Chance - Shinedown - 7
14. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead - 8
15. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day - 16
16. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum - 19
17. Bourgeois Shangri-La - Miss Li - 13
18. Again - Flyleaf - new
19. Welcome To The Future - Brad Paisley - new
20. It's Your Life - Francesca Battistelli - new

CHART NOTES

Big movers this week include Lady GaGa up to #7 from #15 with "Bad Romance." Rihanna moves up 3 from #12 to #9 with "Russian Roulette."

Two country songs are in the top 20 this week. "Need You Now" is a great crossover hit by Lady Antebellum that recently topped the country charts and moves from #19 to #16 on this chart in its 2nd week. Making his debut on the Weekly Top 20 is Brad Paisley with his futuristic "Welcome to the Future" debuting at #19.

Asteroids Galaxy Tour repeats at #1 with "The Golden Age" for the 2nd week in a row. Hot on their heals are Owl City with "Fireflies" at #2 and Black Eyed Peas with "Meet Me Halfway" at #3.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

The Beatles - I Am The Walrus



The Beatles - I Am The Walrus
Whimsical video clip made in 1968 "from Magical Mistery Tour in freaking stereo!"

MEL'S TOP 10 OLDIES OF THE WEEK
November 19, 2009.
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30 site

1. I Am The Walrus - The Beatles
2. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds - Elton John
3. Imagine - John Lennon
4. Lazy Day - Spanky & Our Gang
5. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
6. The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies
7. Liar Liar - The Castaways
8. God Love & Rock n Roll - Tea Garden & Van Winkle
9. I'll Always Love My Mama - The Intruders
10. Hallelujah - Sweathog

What can I say? The Beatles were the greatest rock n roll group of all time. I am sure most people know that. Most of their music has withstood the test of time and will remain popular for years, decades and even centuries to come.

GOOFY CHRISTMAS TRACKS
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30 site

1. Dominick the Donkey - Lou Monte
2. Jingle Bells - The Singing Dogs
3. ¿Dónde Está Santa Claus? - Augie Rios
4. Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer - Elmo & Patsy
5. Nuttin' For Christmas - Barry Gordon

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The Golden Age at #1


Mel’s Weekly Top 20
Week of November 15, 2009

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - 2
2. Bulletproof - La Roux - 1
3. Fireflies - Owl City - 6
4. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas - 9
5. All The Right Moves - OneRepublic - 7
6. Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) - Noisettes - 8
7. Second Chance - Shinedown - 3
8. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead - 4
9. I Keep Falling - Lovers and Poets - 11
10. This Is It - Michael Jackson - 12
11. I Heard of a Girl - Miss Li - 17
12. Russian Roulette - Rihanna - 19
13. Bourgeois Shangri-La - Miss Li - 5
14. Hell - Tegan And Sara - 16
15. Bad Romance - Lady GaGa - new
16. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day - 20
17. City On Our Knees - Tobymac - 10
18. Never Forget You - Noisettes - 14
19. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum - new
20. Sweet Silver Lining - Kate Voegele - 13




CHART NOTES:

Asteroids Galaxy Tour takes over the #1 spot with their hit "The Golden Age". This is another one of those European hits that seems to not have caught on in the U.S. This is a great song that should be getting radio airplay nationwide and topping all the charts, including your own if you publish one. The single is from their album Fruit.

Big Movers This Week include Owl City's "Fireflies" going from #6 to #3, Black Eyed Peas' "Meet Me Halfway" moving from #9 to #4, Miss Li's "I Heard of a A Girl" jumping from #17 to #11 and Rihanna leaping from #19 to #12 with "Russian Roulette".

Chart Debuts for Lady Ga Ga at #15 with "Bad Romance" and country group Lady Antebellum with "Need You Now" at #19.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

This Week's Golden Oldies

THE CASTAWAYS and "Liar Liar" - great old garage rock song.



Mel's Top 10 Oldies of the Week

November 13, 2009. * Friday the 13th
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30 site.

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. Imagine - John Lennon
5. God Love & Rock n Roll - Teagarden & Van Winkle
6. Liar Liar - The Castaways
7. I Found Someone of My Own - The Free Movement
8. I Am The Walrus - The Beatles
9. I'll Always Love My Mama - The Intruders
10. Lazy Day - Spanky & Our Gang

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

BEP's Hot Mover on the WT 20



Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of November 8, 2009.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

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

CHART NOTES:

La Roux holds at #1 for the 2nd week in a row with "Bulletproof". This was a free track offered through the Apple iTunes store a few weeks ago. Probably the best Apple freebie song of 2009.



Asteroids Galaxy Tour knocks at #2 with "The Golden Age". Could it possibly go to the top next week?

Big movers of the week include Owl City and "Fireflies" up from #13 to #6; Black Eyed Peas with "Meet Me Halfway" up from #16 to #9. Also moving along is Michael Jackson's "This Is It," up 5 from #17 to #12.

Debuts include Miss Li with "I Heard of a Girl" at #17, Rihanna with "Russian Roulette" at #19 and Green Day returns with "East Jesus Nowhere" at #20. Green Day's last hit, "21 Guns" peaked at #4 this summer.


Sunday, November 8, 2009

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.

Friday, November 6, 2009

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.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

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




Thursday, October 29, 2009

This Is It - The Album

This Is It

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

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

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.

Monday, October 19, 2009

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.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

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

Monday, October 12, 2009

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.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Lovers and Poets


Lovers and Poets are a new duo formed by singer Shannon Hurley and Bryan Talbot. They play a mix of soft pop, alternative and electronic music. Shannon Hurley is a popular singer on The Sixty-One website and is well known for her hit tracks "Sunrise," "Matter of Time" and "California" which peaked at #1 on Mel's Weekly Top 20 earlier this year.

Here are Lovers and Poets' 3 new tracks. Their tracks are available for purchase at Amie Street.







Meanwhile on the charts....

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of October 4, 2009.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Never Forget You (3rd week @ #1!) - Noisettes - 1
2. Second Chance - Shinedown - 2
3. Celebration (Album Version) - Madonna - 3
4. The Other Side - AM - 6
5. Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat - 4
6. People Are Crazy - Billy Currington - 8
7. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas - 5
8. City On Our Knees - Tobymac - 9
9. Heaven Can Wait - We the Kings - 10
10. She's Got a Boyfriend Now - Boys Like Girls - 11
11. 21 Guns - Green Day - 7
12. Honey In The Sun - Camera Obscura - 13
13. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead featuring Cherine Anderson - 15
14. Next In Line - Meese - 16
15. We Are Golden - Mika - 18
16. Bourgeois Shangri-La - Miss Li - 19
17. Angel - Kate Voegele - 12
18. Nobody - Kate Earl - 14
19. Sweet Silver Lining - Kate Voegele - new
20. Bulletproof - La Roux - new

TOP 10 OLDIES - OCTOBER 1, 2009
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30

1. We're An American Band - Grand Funk Railroad
2. Tuesday Afternoon - The Moody Blues
3. The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies
4. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
5. Just Like Heaven - The Cure
6. Soley Soley - Middle of the Road
7. I Feel Fine - The Beatles
8. Guilty of Loving You - Jerry Fuller
9. Keep it in the Family - The Road Home
10. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - 9/27/09

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

This Week Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Never Forget You (2nd week @ #1!) - Noisettes - 1
2. Second Chance - Shinedown - 2
3. Celebration (Album Version) - Madonna - 4
4. Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat - 3
5. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas - 5
6. The Other Side - AM - 8
7. 21 Guns - Green Day - 6
8. People Are Crazy - Billy Currington - 10
9. City On Our Knees - Tobymac - 11
10. Heaven Can Wait - We the Kings - 12
11. She's Got a Boyfriend Now - Boys Like Girls - 17
12. Angel - Kate Voegele - 7
13. Honey In The Sun - Camera Obscura - 15
14. Nobody - Kate Earl - 9
15. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead/ Cherine Anderson - 19
16. Next In Line - Meese - 20
17. Hero - Jars of Clay - 13
18. We Are Golden - Mika - new
19. Bourgeois Shangri-La - Miss Li - new
20. (If You Are Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer - 14

CHART NOTES

The Noisettes hold on to the #1 position for the 2nd week in a row with "Never Forget You". It is a wonderful retro sounding pop/rock song. Been on the chart for more than 11 weeks now. I bought the Noisettes newest CD Wild Young Hearts. It's a great album with 10 varied tracks covering styles from retro rock to disco to torch-like ballads. Best tracks include "Never Forget You," "Don't Upset the Rhythm", "Every Now and Then" and "24 Hours". In all, 10 tracks that will keep you happy!

See the video of "Never Forget You" in the previous entry below.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Noisettes: Never Forget You



One of my favorite current songs is "Never Forget You" by the UK band Noisettes. They are a three piece combo featuring the talented lead singer and diva, Shingai Shoniwa, guitarist Dan Smith and drummer Jamie Morrison. Noisettes have been together since at least 2005 and have released 2 albums and a number of singles so far.

Their latest single "Never Forget You" has been on Mel's Weekly Top 20 chart for more than 10 weeks now and has finally reached the pinnacle position of #1. Yes, this is my current favorite song despite it not getting airplay on local radio. The song is a clever melding of early 60s soul, do-wop and rock n roll with an alternative rock overlay. Great vocals, fuzzy guitars, great sounding backup singers and musicians and a feel that harkens back to music of the early and mid 1960s.

I already own the single MP3 release of "Never Forget You" and have the album Wild Young Hearts on order. Noisettes deserve a listen and this single should be a chart topper everywhere!

Noisettes' album Wild Young Hearts.

MEL'S WEEKLY TOP 20
| Week of September 20, 2009.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Never Forget You - Noisettes - 2
2. Second Chance - Shinedown - 3
3. Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat - 1
4. Celebration (Album Version) - Madonna - 4
5. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas - 5
6. 21 Guns - Green Day - 8
7. Angel - Kate Voegele - 7
8. The Other Side - AM - 10
9. Nobody - Kate Earl - 9
10. People Are Crazy - Billy Currington - 11
11. City On Our Knees - Tobymac - 14
12. Heaven Can Wait - We the Kings - 15
13. Hero - Jars of Clay - 6
14. (If You Are Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer - 16
15. Honey In The Sun - Camera Obscura - 18
16. Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas - 13
17. She's Got a Boyfriend Now - Boys Like Girls - 20
18. (Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar - The Guild featuring Felicia Day - 12
19. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead
featuring Cherine Anderson - new*
20. Next In Line - Meese - new

* = returned to chart after originally charting in 2008.

Additional Links



unxmgd78wr

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Mel's Weekly Top 20 & Charts

Mel's Weekly Top 20

I haven't posted a chart entry in weeks. Over the past month and a half the #1 position has been locked down between Colbie Caillat and Black Eyed Peas with their respective hits "Fallin' For You" and "I Gotta Feeling." Black Eyed Peas held on to #1 with "I Got A Feeling" for 4 weeks, after which "Fallin' For You" by Colbie Caillat took over #1 for 2 weeks. Then Black Eyed Peas went up to #1 again for 2 weeks, only to be replaced by Colbie Caillat at #1 for the last 2 weeks.

We'll see what happens next week. I promise to post a chart again.. and perhaps follow up with subsequent charts as I was doing previously.

Mel's Weekly Top 20 | Week of September 13, 2009
Visit my Weekly Top 20 webpage for music & more links.

This Week Song Title Artist Last Week

2 Never Forget You - Noisettes 2
3 Second Chance - Shinedown 4
4 Celebration (Album Version) - Madonna 5
5 I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas 3
6 Hero - Jars of Clay 7
7 Angel - Kate Voegele 8
8 21 Guns - Green Day 6
9 Nobody - Kate Earl 9
10 The Other Side - AM 14
11 People Are Crazy - Billy Currington 12
12 (Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar - The Guild featuring Felicia Day 13
13 Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas 10
14 City On Our Knees - Tobymac 15
15 Heaven Can Wait - We the Kings 19
16 (If You Are Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer 18
17 You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift 11
18 Honey In The Sun - Camera Obscura 20
19 Fireflies - Chris Garneau 16
20 She's Got a Boyfriend Now - Boys Like Girls (new)

And now you can listen to some of the latest hits:


TOP 10 OLDIES for September 17, 2009
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30


1. We're An American Band - Grand Funk Railroad
2. I Feel Fine - The Beatles
3. Tuesday Afternoon - The Moody Blues
4. Tiny Bubbles - Don Ho
5. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
6. Just Like Heaven - The Cure
7. The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies
8. Guilty of Loving You - Jerry Fuller
9. Summer Sand - Dawn
10. The Pushbike Song - The Mixtures

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The Beatles 9-9-09

9 - 9 - 09: The Beatles Remastered

It's September 9, 2009 or 9-9-09. Suddenly The Beatles are new again with their entire music catalog of original albums reissued in a remastered series featuring new packaging and a video extra on each disc.

I captured the above image of The Beatles display at the Honolulu WalMart today. The CDs are handsomely packaged in cardboard eco-packs with all the graphics of the original albums apparent on the covers of each album. The WalMart prices for the single CD albums are $13.88. The White Album is $19.99 and contains two discs.

The Beatles "Past Masters" Vol. 1 & 2 have been combined into one double CD set that sells for $19.99. The album cover I saw was the white on black one used for the first volume of "Past Masters" when they were originally issued as single CDs, the second volume having a black type on white background cover.

The Beatles #1's, the red 1962-66 and blue 1967-70 compilations as well as the blue "Yellow Submarine" albums are not part of this series. Ditto for the multi-disc sets "Live at the BBC", "Anthologies 1, 2 & 3" and the "Love" albums.

WalMart Honolulu had this Beatles display sandwiched between the ongoing Michael Jackson sales racks... but then again, isn't the Michael Jackson estate still making money off the music from The Beatles?

I'm not buying The Beatles remasters. At least not now. But I ask, is this new set worth the price? I mean I have all of these albums on the original issue CDs and then some. Plus LPs, 45s, CD singles, cassette tapes with all of them ripped to MP3. Buying the same music all over again... is it worth the price?

Tell me!

The big news for gamers, Beatles fans and wanna-be's is the release of The Beatles "Rock Band" video console game to Sony Playstation, Microsoft X-Box, and Nintendo Wii today. The gaming industry which is in an economic downturn this year, is hoping this is a huge hit. The Beatles "Rock Band" certainly has gotten a lot of press and buzz. Time will tell if all the hype turn into sales.

I know I won't be getting the game anytime soon since I don't own any of the major consoles. The promotional videos for the game are quite impressive. Too bad those per song game videos can't be released on an individual DVD. It would be nice to just listen and watch. The game publishers have a whole new music video market just for The Beatles. Come on, why not?

Posted below are some clips from the games. The songs are all familiar, the videos are new.

THE BEATLES ROCK BAND COMMERCIAL



THE BEATLES ROCK BAND REVIEW



THE BEATLES ROCK BAND GAMEPLAY MONTAGE



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

Friday, August 28, 2009

Cecilio and Kapono on KGMB Sunrise

Cecilio & Kapono on KGMB 9
Cecilio & Kapono live on KGMB's Sunrise news show, August 21.


One of Hawaii's most popular and enduring recording artists, Cecilio & Kapono gave a short, open public concert performance at the KGMB TV studios parking lot on August 21. Morning news anchors invited the public to come and watch the live broadcast. Since I live near the KGMB TV studio on Kapiolani Boulevard, I walked over to the parking lot and found the group there, mostly waiting around for tape to roll.

If you know anything about TV, most of the time working on a production is spent waiting. I was there at around 6:45 am and the station did not shoot the live segment until the 7:30 am hour. In the meantime I and a very small group of people waited around and talked to each other and the two performers.

Not surprisingly for me, we ended up talking about computers among other things. Found out that both C & K are avid Macintosh computer users. We talked about the Garage Band software, computer security, identity theft and risks of using a standard Windows PC online. Cecilio is an avid golfer and he talked about using a GPS based golf course hardware device. Cool.

They jammed for a few minutes warming up and once they started playing Cecilio & Kapono treated us to about 4 or 5 songs. They included well known classics such as "Goodtimes Together," "Highway in the Sun" and "Friends". I think they also sang a song I had not heard before called "Back in the Day" which I heard again on their website.

After the broadcast I found that several of the KGMB News morning people are fans as they ended up posing for pictures with the legendary duo.

Cecilio & Kapono are coming out with a new album on September 1.

Additonal Links

Cecilio, Ben & Kapono
C & K with KGMB Sunrise weatherman, Ben Gutierrez.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Greg Hammer Band

Greg Hammer Band

I rarely go out of my way to see live music. Last weekend I did not go out of my way to see the Greg Hammer Band. They were however performing at the free Honolulu Family Festival carnival that was held on Magic Island, Ala Moana Park from July 30 to August 2. I was there on Saturday night, August 1, mainly to test out a new lens I got for one of my old Minolta 35mm SLR film cameras.

After taking photos of the sights at the carnival, I settled down in the large show tent where a kids performance was taking place at one end while I ate. I was at the far end from that show but very close to the other performance stage where the band was setting up.

The Greg Hammer Band took stage right after the kids parade was over. They are a cover band and that played some great top 40 and rock n roll hits from mainly the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s. Nearly all of the songs were radio gems that I grew up with. "Vehicle," "No Time," "Play That Funky Music," "You Made Me So Very Happy", "Get Ready," "I Just Want to Celebrate," and many more. They did a great set of hits popularized by Chicago which included "Make Me Smile," "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" and "Beginnings".

The band's vocals are handled by Greg Hammer, who bills himself as "Hawaii's premiere singer/impressionist". Impress he does as he handles the vocals with nearly perfect recreation of the artists he covers including Elvis Presley, The Commodores, Chicago, Rare Earth and more. He is backed by a tight band that keep the vibes and rhythm going. I totally enjoyed the night's show. It was great to hear all of those old hits in a live setting.

The Greg Hammer Band has a regular gig at Dave & Buster's in Honolulu.


MEL'S OLDIES OF THE WEEK
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30 site

1. Pretty Lady - Lighthouse
2. Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
3. Summer Sand - Dawn
4. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
5. Revolution - The Beatles
6. Feelings - The Grass Roots
7. Long Time to Be Alone - New Colony Six
8. Tiny Bubbles - Don Ho
9. Convoy - C.W. McCall
10. Birds of a Feather - The Raiders

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Discovering New Music & Artists @ TheSixtyOne.com

Over the past 18 months I have discovered a lot of new music and artists, many of them obscure and relatively unknown at TheSixtyOne.com music sharing website. Nearly all the songs and artists there are independents. Many genres are featured and a lot of it is crap. However there are many good songs and artists which I have "favorited" and featured on TheSixtyOne.com website as well as on this blog and my music site.

There are a small handful of mainstream established artists there ranging from golden oldies such as The Kinks and Gary Numan to current bands such as The Shins and The Ting Tings.

That all said, I have come to like several of the previously unknown artists and their songs a lot.

My most recent song and artist discovery is a musician from California by way of Oklahoma and Lousiana who goes by the name "AM". From his bio at TheSixtyOne.com, it states:
musician
"Is this the new classic rock? Echo Park indie artist AM brings a heady brew of twinkling Anglified folk-rock-pop to his new album “Future Sons & Daughters” being released on Filter US Recordings (Fontana/ Universal Distribution) exclusively on iTunes on August 11th, 2009. AM does all this with an acute, finessing ear for the ancient art of real, true songcraft. With, arguably, some of the best bridges and choruses in the bizness, drawing from the Beatles and Badfinger or Curtis Mayfield and Jorge Ben, AM demonstrates over and again the simple fact of songwriting life: that imagination and taste is what it's all about. If you watch the tele maybe you've heard AM's tunes on HBO's "Big Love" MTV "The Hills", ABC's "Brothers and Sisters"."

Most notoriously, AM probably prides himself on the fact that his professional name is hard to find on major search engines such as Google and even on TheSixtyOne.com site itself.

That I believe.

AM has dozens of songs posted at TheSixtyOne.com website. He must have been there for quite some time. However in the last 18 months since I been on the service, his name or music has never shown up until last night. I'm probably not listening to the music at the site often enough or whenever I listened to The Rack, his music never came up. Until yesterday when I clicked on the "new music" tab to see just what was recently added.

It was then that I found my first AM track and possibly my favorite song of his so far, "Self Preservation." It is a wonderful pop rock track with good vocals, lyrics and guitar work. It's off AM's new album Future Sons & Daughters which is slated for an August 11 release on iTunes only. If the album is reasonably priced, I'll probably get it. The six tracks I heard from the album are all outstanding.

I hope that the album will also be available on Amazon.com. I'd like to get it on a standard CD if possible. AM's earlier albums are available on Amazon.

AM is the latest SixtyOne.com find that I like and will place into high rotation on my iTunes as soon as I get the music. He joins other artists from TheSixtyOne.com that I think are extremely good and should be getting mainstream exposure and airplay on more venues. Those artists include Meiko, Shannon Hurley, The NuRu and Darrin Kohavi. All have music that I enjoy and tracks that have been previously featured at this blog and on my website.

For all to enjoy now, here are some of my favorite tracks from AM: