Last Weekly Top 20 for 2010

Video: Michael Jackson with Akon - "Hold My Hand" @ #9.

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of December 26, 2010.

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	We No Speak Americano (2nd Week @ #1!)	Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup	1
2	Grenade	Bruno Mars	3
3	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	2
4	Like A G6	Far East Movement	5
5	Back To December	Taylor Swift	7
6	Hands	The Ting Tings	6
7	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	4
8	The Time (Dirty Bit)	Black Eyed Peas	9
9	Hold My Hand	Michael Jackson & Akon (Duet)	19
10	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	10
11	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	8
12	Just A Dream	Nelly	12
13	Boots	The Killers	13
14	Live It Up	Group 1 Crew	14
15	Baby Lee	Teenage Fanclub	18
16	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	11
17	Turn It Up (feat. Usher) (Prod. by T-Minus)	Ciara	20
18	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	15
19	I Just Wanna Run	The Downtown Fiction	--
20	Stereo Love	Edward Maya ft. Alicia	--

CHART NOTES:

Yolanda Be Cool &Dcup hold the #1 spot for the 2nd week in a row with "We No Speak Americano", a very catchy, retro sounding dance track. The song been on the chart for at least 6 weeks and carries the year 2010 out at the top. Could it be in the year-end top 100 hits of 2010? We'll see.

Michael Jackson and Akon have the fastest moving chart single this week. "Hold My Hand" debut on the Top 20 last week at #19 and this week rises 10 spots to #9. Could this be the first posthumous #1 hit for Michael Jackson? Last year he charted a top 10 hit with "This is It," about 5 months after his untimely June 2009 death.

Two debut tracks this week: The Downtown Fiction is back with "I Just Wanna Run" at #19. Edward Maya featuring Alicia debuts at #20 with "Stereo Love" another sizzling dance track could be headed to the top in 2011.


See you in the new year. Have a great holiday weekend.

We No Speak Americano @ #1

This is a catchy dance song with a great retro vibe. Four weeks on my chart and it's the new number #1 hit. Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season. Merry Christmas.

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of December 19, 2010

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	We No Speak Americano (Original)	Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup	2
2	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	1
3	Grenade	Bruno Mars	5
4	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	4
5	Like A G6	Far East Movement	6
6	Hands	The Ting Tings	7
7	Back To December	Taylor Swift	8
8	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	3
9	The Time (Dirty Bit)	Black Eyed Peas	10
10	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	9
11	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	11
12	Just A Dream	Nelly	15
13	Boots	The Killers	17
14	Live It Up	Group 1 Crew	14
15	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	12
16	Crossfire	Brandon Flowers	16
17	Stuck	Caro Emerald	13
18	Baby Lee	Teenage Fanclub	20
19	Hold My Hand	Michael Jackson & Akon (Duet)	--
20	Turn It Up (featuring Usher)	Ciara	--

Mel's Weekly Top 20: Dec 5 & 12, 2010

I'm still dealing with personal family issues. This posting brings the WT20 up to date.

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of December 12, 2010.

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	A Year Without Rain (2nd week @ #1!)	Selena Gomez & The Scene	1
2	We No Speak Americano (Original)	Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup	4
3	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	3
4	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	2
5	Grenade	Bruno Mars	5
6	Like A G6	Far East Movement	6
7	Hands	The Ting Tings	7
8	Back To December	Taylor Swift	10
9	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	9
10	The Time (Dirty Bit)	Black Eyed Peas	17
11	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	12
12	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	8
13	Stuck	Caro Emerald	11
14	Live It Up	Group 1 Crew	16
15	Just A Dream	Nelly	20
16	Crossfire	Brandon Flowers	13
17	Boots	The Killers	19
18	Mine	Taylor Swift	14
19	We Are Police	ERECT	15
20	Baby Lee	Teenage Fanclub	--

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Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of December 5, 2010.

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	2
2	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	1
3	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	3
4	We No Speak Americano (Original)	Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup	11
5	Grenade	Bruno Mars	6
6	Like A G6	Far East Movement	7
7	Hands	The Ting Tings	9
8	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	4
9	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	5
10	Back To December	Taylor Swift	12
11	Stuck	Caro Emerald	8
12	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	13
13	Crossfire	Brandon Flowers	15
14	Mine	Taylor Swift	14
15	We Are Police	ERECT	16
16	Live It Up	Group 1 Crew	20
17	The Time (Dirty Bit)	Black Eyed Peas	--
18	Our Kind Of Love	Lady Antebellum	10
19	Boots	The Killers	--
20	Just A Dream	Nelly	--

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - Novermber 28, 2010

Due to a death in my family, postings to this site will not be very timely.

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of November 28, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	1
2	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	2
3	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	3
4	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	5
5	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	4
6	Grenade	Bruno Mars	7
7	Like A G6	Far East Movement	8
8	Stuck	Caro Emerald	6
9	Hands	The Ting Tings	9
10	Our Kind Of Love	Lady Antebellum	11
11	We No Speak Americano (Original)	Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup	19
12	Back To December	Taylor Swift	20
13	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	13
14	Mine	Taylor Swift	15
15	Crossfire	Brandon Flowers	16
16	We Are Police	ERECT	17
17	Hey You	Heart	10
18	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	12
19	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	14
20	Live It Up	Group 1 Crew	--

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Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of November 21, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	1
2	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	4
3	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	3
4	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	2
5	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	7
6	Stuck	Caro Emerald	8
7	Grenade	Bruno Mars	10
8	Like A G6	Far East Movement	19
9	Hands	The Ting Tings	15
10	Hey You	Heart	11
11	Our Kind Of Love	Lady Antebellum	12
12	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	5
13	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	14
14	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	6
15	Mine	Taylor Swift	9
16	Crossfire	Brandon Flowers	18
17	We Are Police	ERECT	20
18	I Don't Wanna Dance	Hey Monday	13
19	We No Speak Americano (Original)	Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup	--
20	Back To December	Taylor Swift	--

Thai Girls Dancing

While at Kapiolani Park late yesterday afternoon, I was lucky enough to catch this group of young dancers at a Thai cultural celebration that was wrapping up for the day. It is interesting that this "traditional" music has a somewhat modern dance beat. Enjoy the video and the music.

Mel's Weekly Top 20: November 14

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of November 14, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Rhythm Of Love (2nd Week @ #1!)	Plain White T's	1
2	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	2
3	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	3
4	A Year Without Rain (video)	Selena Gomez & The Scene	4
5	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	6
6	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	5
7	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	8
8	Stuck	Caro Emerald	10
9	Mine	Taylor Swift	7
10	Grenade	Bruno Mars	13
11	Hey You	Heart	12
12	Our Kind Of Love	Lady Antebellum	14
13	I Don't Wanna Dance	Hey Monday	9
14	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	16
15	Hands	The Ting Tings	19
16	Brand New Day	Lindsey Ray	11
17	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	17
18	Crossfire	Brandon Flowers	20
19	Like A G6	Far East Movement	--
20	We Are Police	ERECT	--

CHART NOTES:

Plain White T's hold on to the #1 spot with their single, "Rhythm of Love". It's the 2nd week at the top for the popular song. The Top 4 stays the same with Plain White T's leading the way followed by Bruno Mars @ #2 with "Just The Way You Are", Rihanna @ #3 with "Only Girl (In the World)" and Selena Gomez & the Scene holding at #4 with "A World Without Rain". Gomez' video is in this week's showcase at the top.

The two debut songs this week are "Like a G6" by Far East Movement at #19 and ERECT's "We Are Police" at #20.

Most of the other songs make small incremental climbs up the chart. Several have fallen including "I Don't Wanna Dance" by Hey Monday down from #9 to #13 and "Brand New Day" by Lindsey Day, down from #11 to #16.

Apple adds The Beatles to iTunes

This is like - wow - finally happened. It's a good move for both Apple, Inc. and The Beatles. A new generation may sample and actually buy more Beatles albums and tracks over the coming years.

All of The Beatles albums are at iTunes. That plus several new re-releases and a compilation of Apple tracks from artists such as Badfinger, Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, the Hot Chocolate Band and Chris Hodge to name a few. It's all good and it is great to see nearly the entire Apple Records catalog on iTunes.

Additional Links

• Beatles join iTunes, while Brooks and AC/DC hold out
• Apple: The Beatles

Rhythm of Love is #1 for Plain White T's

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of November 7, 2010.

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	2
2	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	1
3	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	4
4	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	5
5	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	3
6	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	7
7	Mine	Taylor Swift	6
8	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	9
9	I Don't Wanna Dance	Hey Monday	11
10	Stuck	Caro Emerald	13
11	Brand New Day	Lindsey Ray	12
12	Hey You	Heart	14
13	Grenade	Bruno Mars	16
14	Our Kind Of Love	Lady Antebellum	15
15	Stuck Like Glue	Sugarland	8
16	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	18
17	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	17
18	Good To Be Me (Feat. Kid Rock)	Uncle Kracker	10
19	Hands	The Ting Tings	--
20	Crossfire	Brandon Flowers	--

CHART NOTES

Plain White T's top the chart with a new #1 song. "Rhythm of Love" a casual, summertime sounding pop piece reaches the top after several weeks on the chart. They replace Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" which falls from #1 to #2 this week after a 3 week reign at the top. Plain White T's topped the WT20 back in 2007 with a number 1 hit called "Hey There Delilah." Good to see them on top again.

Elsewhere on the Weekly Top 20: Hey Monday moves into the top 10 with their alt rocker "I Don't Wanna Dance" up 2 from #11 to #9. Caro Emerald moves from #13 to #10 with "Stuck", the latest in a series of swing style big band jazz numbers. Emerald is very popular in parts of Europe.

Two songs make their debut on the 20. They include "Hands" by The Ting Tings at #19 and "Crossfire" by Brandon Flowers at #20. Flowers is the lead singer for the group The Killers, who've enjoyed chart success here in the past.

I Caught Dengue Fever

I've become a fan of Dengue Fever. They are another indie band that has been around for years. I was recebtly made aware of them a few months ago, although I may have listened to a song or two some years back too. Thanks to my friend Daniel, he turned me on to their music and today I own 3 of their albums and enjoy nearly all of their songs.

The thing that make Dengue Fever quite unique is the fact that this high powered indie rock outfit pays homage 1960s style Cambodian Psychedelic Rock, complete with female Cambodian singer Chhom Nimol singing most of the songs in her native Khmer language. The other members of the band are all from California - Zac Holtzman also on vocals and guitar, his brother Ethan Holtzman "farfisa" organ/keyboards, Senon Williams on bass, David Ralicke on saxophone/brass and drummer Paul Smith.

According to their Facebook biography, Dengue Fever was started by brothers Ethan and Zac Holtzman in 2001 "when they discovered they shared a love for the Cambodian pop music of the 60s. After adding sax man David Ralicke, drummer Paul Smith and bassist Senon Williams, they went looking for a Cambodian singer. Enter Chhom Nimol, who performed regularly for the King and Queen of Cambodia . Her powerful singing, marked by a luminous vibrato that adds exotic ornamentations to her vocal lines, and hypnotic stage moves based on traditional dances, complimented the band's driving Cambodian/American sound."

I was lucky enough to catch them at a free concert held in Honolulu on the night before Halloween (see photo slide show above). Like most bands in the alternative rock genre, Dengue Fever sounded way better live than they do on their records. They have a lot of energy with Chhom the mesmerizing center-point of their show. Any guy could fall in love with her! She's great on vocals and to me has a gracious way of connecting with her audience, not to mention that she can also ROCK.

I hardly make it many live concerts, but for 2010, Dengue Fever probably tops the list of favorite live performances that I have seen.

Find out about Dengue Fever by watching the video and listening to the audio tracks below.



Dengue Fever - Tiger Phone Card (live in studio)



Dengue Fever - Seeing Hands (music video)



Dengue Fever - A Go Go (live at UC Davis)

Chhom Nimol - Dontrey Besdoang (live, 9-2009)

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - October 31, 2010

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of October 31, 2010

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Just The Way You Are (3rd Week @ #1!)	Bruno Mars	1
2	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	2
3	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	3
4	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	5
5	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	8
6	Mine	Taylor Swift	6
7	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	7
8	Stuck Like Glue	Sugarland	4
9	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	10
10	Good To Be Me (Feat. Kid Rock)	Uncle Kracker	9
11	I Don't Wanna Dance	Hey Monday	12
12	Brand New Day (with Tim Myers)	Lindsey Ray	13
13	Stuck	Caro Emerald	17
14	Hey You	Heart	16
15	Our Kind Of Love	Lady Antebellum	18
16	Grenade	Bruno Mars	19
17	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	11
18	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	20
19	Misery	Maroon 5	15
20	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	14

CHART NOTES

There are no new songs that made a debut on the chart this week. Instead we just had some upward and downward movement of all of the songs that were on last week's chart.

The Top 3 positions remain the same with Bruno Mars holding on to #1 for a 3rd week with "Just the Way You Are". Plain White T's hold at #2 with "Rhythm of Love" while Katy Perry holds at #3 with her former #1 hit "Teenage Dream". Rihanna moves up one from #5 to #4 with "Only Girl (in the World)". Selena Gomez & the Scene move up 3 points from #8 to #5 with "A Year Without Rain".

The Doobie Brothers move up one from #10 to #9 with their latest reunion single, "Nobody".
Caro Emerald makes the biggest move up the chart going from #17 to #13 with her latest single, "Stuck".

Bruno Mars at Number 1

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of October 24, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Just The Way You Are (2nd week @ #1!)	Bruno Mars	1
2	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	3
3	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	2
4	Stuck Like Glue	Sugarland	5
5	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	6
6	Mine	Taylor Swift	4
7	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	7
8	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	9
9	Good To Be Me (Feat. Kid Rock)	Uncle Kracker	12
10	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	13
11	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	8
12	I Don't Wanna Dance	Hey Monday	15
13	Brand New Day	Lindsey Ray	14
14	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	10
15	Misery	Maroon 5	11
16	Hey You	Heart	16
17	Stuck	Caro Emerald	19
18	Our Kind Of Love	Lady Antebellum	20
19	Grenade	Bruno Mars	--
20	Fade Like a Shadow	KT Tunstall	--

CHART NOTES

Holding at #1 for the second week is Bruno Mars and his hit "Just the Way You Are". Despite being in trouble with the law, the singer originally from Hawaii has managed to top this chart and several others all over the world. His new album just came out last week, and another track from it made it to the Top 20 this week... "Grenade" by Bruno Mars makes its debut at #19.

Elsewhere Plain White T's are knocking at #2 with "Rhythm of Love" up from #3 last week. Behind them is Sugarland holding at #4 with "Stuck Like Glue", and Rihanna at #5 with her latest, "Only Girl (In the World)".

Uncle Kracker and the Doobie Brothers break into the top 10 for the first time with their hits "Good to be Me" at #9 and "Nobody" at #10.

Since the chart from last week was not posted, it is presented here:

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Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of October 17, 2010.

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	2
2	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	1
3	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	4
4	Mine	Taylor Swift	3
5	Stuck Like Glue	Sugarland	6
6	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	10
7	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	8
8	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	9
9	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	11
10	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	6
11	Misery	Maroon 5	7
12	Good To Be Me (Feat. Kid Rock)	Uncle Kracker	12
13	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	16
14	Brand New Day	Lindsey Ray	14
15	I Don't Wanna Dance	Hey Monday	19
16	Hey You	Heart	20
17	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	15
18	2012 (It Ain't The End)	Jay Sean	13
19	Stuck	Caro Emerald	--
20	Our Kind Of Love	Lady Antebellum	--

The Caro Emerald Showcase

Caro Emerald is my favorite singer of 2010. She hit the top of Mel's Weekly Top 20 with her #1 song "Back it Up" for 2 weeks earlier this year. The singles "A Night Like This" and "Stuck" were also hits on the Weekly Top 20. This post contains some of Caro Emerald's videos and an 8 track jukebox playlist. Give these a twirl and find out what Caro Emerald is all about.

The Volebeats

I hate it when I find new music that I know I will like by a band I never heard of only to learn that they have been around for months, or in this case years. The Volebeats are such a band. They hail from Detroit, Michigan and have apparently been making a blend of alternative country rock music since at least the late 1980s.

I found them today after Amazon.com offered one of the tracks from their latest album, "The Volebeats" as a free download. I love the new song "Me and You". I will probably get their new album soon if I can find a reasonably priced CD. If not, then opt for the MP3s.

Meanwhile I searched some of the music websites and found selections from previous albums on GrooveShark which I promptly put together in the play list featured below. There are 8 songs. I also went to YouTube and did find a couple of videos there. One of those videos is embedded above.

So far the song that has grown on me the fastest is "In the Garden".

One thing for sure, this band has certainly been under the radar. They barely have a MySpace presence, just started a Facebook page and have no Wikipedia entry at all. This and being together "off and on" for more than 10, maybe 20 years. Wow.

From Bloodshot Records, the label describes The Volebeats:

"As much myth as institution in the Motor City, The Voles have been around since the late 80's and, like their namesake, are hard to track down, disappear for long periods of time, and remain totally loveable.

Sure, they've got the twang, but they infuse it with some serious Brian Wilson lushness and pop smarts. With Jeff Oakes' lazy, forlorn vocals and guitarist/vocalist Matt Smith's (Outrageous Cherry) bountiful knowledge and love of all good music as the constants (virtually everyone in Detroit has been a Volebeat at one time or another), The Volebeats managed to elude widespread success despite writing and performing some the of most supple and catchy music since Pet Sounds."

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - October 10, 2010

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of October 10, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Teenage Dream (2nd week @ #1!)	Katy Perry	1
2	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	3
3	Mine	Taylor Swift	2
4	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	6
5	Stuck Like Glue	Sugarland	8
6	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	4
7	Misery	Maroon 5	5
8	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	9
9	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	11
10	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	18
11	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	20
12	Good To Be Me (Feat. Kid Rock)	Uncle Kracker	14
13	2012 (It Ain't The End)	Jay Sean	13
14	Brand New Day	Lindsey Ray	12
15	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	7
16	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	19
17	I Saw the Rain	Lovers and Poets	10
18	Release Me	The Like	15
19	I Don't Wanna Dance	Hey Monday	--
20	Hey You	Heart	--

CHART NOTES:

Katy Perry holds on to the #1 spot for the 2nd week in a row with "Teenage Dream'". The song is off her album of the same title and is the latest in a string of top 10 hits for the young songstress.

Moving up from #3 to #2 is Bruno Mars, a former student here in Hawaii and child Elvis impersonator with "Just the Way You Are". The song has topped the Billboard charts and may be headed in the same direction here.

Plain White T's break into the top 5 with "Rhythm of Love" up 2 from #6 to #4. It is the latest in a successful string of softer AC rock.

Rihanna makes a leap from #18 to #10 with her latest "Only Girl in the World". She is closely followed by Selena Gomez & the Scene's "A Year Without Rain" moving up from #20 to #11. Both songs made their chart debuts last week.

Two new songs enter the chart. They are "Hey You"by Heart @ #20 and "I Don't Wanna Dance" by Hey Monday at #19.

Local Music Pictures From Hawaii

The slide show shown above are pictures I shot at various live venues in Hawaii, mainly in Honolulu over the past few years. I don't go out to many live concerts mainly because of the cost. However there are plenty of free or nearly free live music opportunities to listen to and photograph some of Hawaii's most popular and upcoming talents around.

As most people know, Hawaii has a large "homegrown" music industry here consisting of tourist oriented hula shows, a traditional Hawaiian music recording industry and the popular "island music" genre populated by artists who mix Hawaiian music in with reggae, R & B, and rock n roll. There is also plenty of rock, country, alternative, pop, jazz and island grown hip hop music artists that don't get as much mainstream exposure in the islands as mainstream Hawaiian and "island music" styles.

Then there are parades and sports activities where marching bands are common, the most well known being the City & County of Honolulu's Royal Hawaiian Band. They play at various venues including concerts, mall appearances, schools, grand openings and parades. The University of Hawaii Rainbow Marching Band is also popular making appearances at most home football and basketball games. They recently recorded a video of the "Hawaii Five-0" theme song which you can view a few posts below this one.

There are many public and private grade school and high school marching bands added to this colorful mix too. The bands perform at various events including concerts, sporting events and parades.

Lastly in the area of fine arts, the Honolulu Symphony is on hiatus with the status of its return doubtful as the organization is mired in a long and bitter bankruptcy procedure.

Mel's Weekly Top 20s

Since I did not post a chart last week, this week we got 2 charts. The new current one and the one that did not get posted from last week. Look em over, run the video, enjoy!

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of October 3, 2010.

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	2
2	Mine	Taylor Swift	3
3	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	5
4	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	1
5	Misery	Maroon 5	4
6	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	12
7	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	6
8	Stuck Like Glue	Sugarland	14
9	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	11
10	I Saw the Rain	Lovers and Poets	10
11	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	13
12	Brand New Day (with Tim Myers)	Lindsey Ray	15
13	2012 (It Ain't The End)	Jay Sean	16
14	Good To Be Me (Feat. Kid Rock)	Uncle Kracker	17
15	Release Me	The Like	7
16	Fire With Fire	Scissor Sisters	8
17	Be My Thrill	The Weepies	9
18	Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	--
19	Nobody	The Doobie Brothers	--
20	A Year Without Rain	Selena Gomez & The Scene	--

CHART NOTES (10-3-10)

Katy Perry leads a pack of three up one point each to capture the #1 song of the week. Her latest smah hit is "Teenage Dream" and it's at #1 for the first week. Following Perry is Taylor Swift with her latest crossover country pop hit "Mine" coming in at #2, up from #3 of last week. Following her is Bruno Mars up 2 from #5 to #3 with "Just the Way You Are." All a good songs, worthy to be at the top.

Sinking from #1 to #4 is Taio Cruz and hist latest, "Dynamite". While he may be at #4 this week, just wanted to remind you that his only 2 records to make it to this chart both hit #1. A few months ago the guy was at #1 with "Break Your Heart."

Rounding out the top 5 is Maroon 5 who slip 1 from #4 to #5 with their former #1 hit, "Misery".

The fastest moving singles in the top 20 are both in the top 10 this week. Each moving up 6 points, they are "Rhythm of Love" by Plain White T's, up from #12 to #6. Not too far behind is the country duo of Sugarland with their latest, "Stuck Like Glue" moving from last week's #14 to the #8 spot. These are probably headed for the top 5 by next week.

Three songs make their chart debut. They are "Only Girl (in the World)" by Rihanna stopping by at #18; "Nobody" a comeback single by The Doobie Brothers, checking in at #19; and the latest track, "A Day Without Rain" from Selena Gomez & The Scene debtcomes in at #20.

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Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of September 26, 2010.

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Dynamite (2nd week @ #1!)	Taio Cruz	1
2	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	3
3	Mine	Taylor Swift	5
4	Misery	Maroon 5	2
5	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	8
6	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	4
7	Release Me	The Like	7
8	Fire With Fire	Scissor Sisters	6
9	Be My Thrill	The Weepies	10
10	I Saw the Rain	Lovers and Poets	11
11	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	9
12	Rhythm Of Love	Plain White T's	18
13	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	14
14	Stuck Like Glue	Sugarland	20
15	Brand New Day	Lindsey Ray	16
16	2012 (It Ain't The End)	Jay Sean	19
17	Good To Be Me (Feat. Kid Rock)	Uncle Kracker	--
18	Cool My Heels	Nikki Yanofsky	13
19	Heavy Feeling	Justine Bennett	12
20	Animal	Neon Trees	15

CHART NOTES (9-26-10)

Taio Cruz holds on to the #1 spot for the 2nd consecutive week with "Dynamite". Hot on his heals are Katy Perry with "Teenage Dream" at #2 and Taylor Swift with "Mine" at #3. These 3 records are in top position to claim the top spot next week. Who will it be? Rounding out the top 5 is Bruno Mars and his hit "Just the Way You Are" moving into the #5 spot up from #8 last week.

Fastest 2 moving songs on the chart belong to Plain White T's and their latest single "Rhythm of Love" moving up from #18 to #12 and Sugarland's "Stuck Like Glue" up from #20 to #14. Both tracks are enjoying their second week on the chart.

Only one song debuts this week and that belongs to Uncle Kracker with Kid Rock. The name of the song is "Good to Be Me". It checks in for the first week at #17.

Variations on a Theme

Here we go... versions of the world famous Hawaii Five-0 theme done by various marching bands in the U.S.A. The original song was written by Morton Stevens and popularized over the decades as the theme song to the venerable hit TV series starring Jack Lord. The song was also recorded by The Ventures and became a top 5 hit in 1969. As a high schooler I remember playing this for band. Fun song. Easy to learn and play.

Today "Hawaii Five-0" is one of the most recognized songs on the planet and is once again the theme for the new "Hawaii Five-0" TV series now showing on CBS. Here are the videos... enjoy!









This one's funny...





There's more. Just do a search on YouTube.com.

Mel's Weekly Top 20: Sept. 19, 2010

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of September 19, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	2
2	Misery	Maroon 5	1
3	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	5
4	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	4
5	Mine	Taylor Swift	8
6	Fire With Fire	Scissor Sisters	3
7	Release Me	The Like	9
8	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	17
9	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	11
10	Be My Thrill	The Weepies	12
11	I Saw the Rain	Lovers and Poets	13
12	Heavy Feeling	Justine Bennett	6
13	Cool My Heels	Nikki Yanofsky	7
14	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	15
15	Animal	Neon Trees	14
16	Brand New Day (with Tim Meyers)	Lindsey Ray	19
17	Bulletproof	La Roux	10
18	Rhythm of Love	Plain White T's	--
19	2012 (It Ain't the End)	Jay Sean	--
20	Stuck Like Glue	Sugarland	--

CHART NOTES:

Taio Cruz claims the #1 spot with "Dynamite", the second of his 2 top 20 hits to go to the top this year. Cruz scored a #1 hit earlier this summer with "Break Your Heart" which held the position for 2 weeks. Katy Perry moves up 2 from #5 to #3 this week with "Teenage Dream." Country superstar Taylor Swift climbs into the top 5 with "Mine" her latest pop hit moving from #8 to #5.

Fastest rising single on the chart is "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars, who at one time was a child singer celebrity in Hawaii doing impressions of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Looks like the guy has a smash hit on this hands as the single moves from #17 to #8. Unfortunately for Mars, he was busted this week in Las Vegas for coccaine possesion.

New songs on the Top 20 include "Rhythm of Love" by Plain White T's at #18, "2012 (It Ain't the End)" by Jay Sean at #19 and "Stuck Like Glue" by Sugarland at #20.

Hawaii Five-0 Set to Debut Sept. 20

The highly anticipated re-boot of Hawaii Five-0 premieres this Monday night on CBS TV. The show's producers have wisely chosen to re-record the familiar, brassy, rock heavy theme song by Morton Stevens to closely echo the original version used on the classic series from 1968 to 1980. I think it is a great move on CBS's part. Let's hope the show itself is worthwhile watching week after week and that it soars to high ratings.

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - September 12, 2010

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of September 12, 2010

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Misery (4th Week @ #1!)	Maroon 5	1
2	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	3
3	Fire With Fire	Scissor Sisters	2
4	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	5
5	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	10
6	Heavy Feeling	Justine Bennett	4
7	Cool My Heels	Nikki Yanofsky	6
8	Mine	Taylor Swift	19
9	Release Me	The Like	11
10	Bulletproof	La Roux	9
11	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	13
12	Be My Thrill	The Weepies	15
13	I Saw the Rain	Lovers and Poets	16
14	Animal	Neon Trees	14
15	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	17
16	A Night Like This	Caro Emerald	7
17	Just The Way You Are	Bruno Mars	--
18	Jar of Hearts	Christina Perri	8
19	Brand New Day (with Tim Myers)	Lindsey Ray	--
20	Come Over Love	Anuhea	12

CHART NOTES:

Two songs make their debut on the top 20 this week. They are "Brand New Day" by Lindsey Ray with Tim Meyers. This song might be familiar to many TV viewers as one of the current themes for a series of TARGET store ads. "Brand New Day" bows in at #19.

The second debut song this week is by Bruno Mars. This guy grew up in Hawaii and started his musical career as a kid impersonating Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Today he has a nationwide top 10 hit called "Just The Way You Are". It marks its chart appearance here for the first week at #17.

Taylor Swift is this week's fastest moving artist. Her latest countryfied pop hit "Mine" shoots up from #19 to #8 this week, an eleven point leap. Future #1?

Moving into the top 10 is Katy Perry with "Teenage Dream" moving up 5 from #10 to #15. Holding on to #1 for the 4th straight week is Maroon 5 and "Misery"

Mel's Weekly Top 20: Sept. 5, 2010

Mel's Weekly Top 20

September 5, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Misery (3rd week @ #1!)	Maroon 5	1
2	Fire With Fire	Scissor Sisters	2
3	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	5
4	Heavy Feeling	Justine Bennett	3
5	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	7
6	Cool My Heels	Nikki Yanofsky	4
7	A Night Like This	Caro Emerald	8
8	Jar of Hearts	Christina Perri	9
9	Bulletproof	La Roux	6
10	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	19
11	Release Me	The Like	13
12	Come Over Love	Anuhea	12
13	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	14
14	Animal	Neon Trees	18
15	Be My Thrill	The Weepies	16
16	I Saw the Rain	Lovers and Poets	17
17	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	20
18	Undo It	Carrie Underwood	11
19	Mine	Taylor Swift	--
20	My First Kiss (Feat. Ke$ha)	3OH!3	10

CHART NOTES:

Maroon 5 is still at #1 with "Misery". This is the 3rd consecutive week for that song to be at the top spot. Holding at #2 for a second consecutive week is Scissor Sisters and their track "Fire With Fire". Moving up from #5 to #3 is Taio Cruz and "Dynamite". New to the top 5 is A Rocket to the Moon and "Like We Used To". The song is up from #7.

Katy Perry took a huge leap this week from #19 (her debut) to #10 this week. The song is "Teenage Dream" and is currently #1 on several other charts and comes at the release of her new album with the same name. Could this track be headed for the top here?

Moving up 4 spots from #18 to #14 is Neon Trees and their former #1 hit "Animal". The track was almost going to fall off the chart this week, but picked up momentum because I saw it listed at #1 or near the top of several other charts. It's one of the best songs this year to be recorded in a new wave, alt rock style.

Mel's Weekly Top 20: August 29, 2010

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of August 29, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Misery (2nd week @ #1!)	Maroon 5	1
2	Fire With Fire	Scissor Sisters	4
3	Heavy Feeling	Justine Bennett	3
4	Cool My Heels	Nikki Yanofsky	5
5	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	7
6	Bulletproof	La Roux	2
7	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	8
8	A Night Like This	Caro Emerald	9
9	Jar of Hearts	Christina Perri	10
10	My First Kiss (Feat. Ke$ha)	3OH!3	6
11	Undo It	Carrie Underwood	11
12	Come Over Love	Anuhea	12
13	Release Me	The Like	16
14	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	15
15	Uh Oh (Radio Edit)	Kyrah	17
16	Be My Thrill	The Weepies	19
17	I Saw the Rain	Lovers and Poets	20
18	Animal	Neon Trees	13
19	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	--
20	MoneyGrabber	Fitz and the Tantrums	--

CHART NOTES

Maroon 5 holds on to the #1 spot for the 2nd consecutive week with "Misery". Scissor Sisters move up 2 from #4 to #2 with "Fire With Fire". Justine Bennett holds at #3 with "Heavy Feeling" and Nikki Yanofsky moves up from #5 to #4. She held the #1 spot for a few weeks in late July and early August. New to the top 5 this week is Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" up from #7 to #5.

Katie Perry debuts at #19 with her latest single, "Teenage Dream", title track from her latest album. Also making a debut is Fitz & the Tantrums and their single "MoneyGrabber" at #20.

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - August 22, 2010

The Like sing an acoustic version of their single, "Release Me".

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of August 22, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Misery	Maroon 5	3
2	Bulletproof	La Roux	2
3	Heavy Feeling	Justine Bennett	4
4	Fire With Fire	Scissor Sisters	6
5	Cool My Heels	Nikki Yanofsky	5
6	My First Kiss (Feat. Ke$ha)	3OH!3	1
7	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	11
8	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	8
9	A Night Like This	Caro Emerald	7
10	Jar of Hearts	Christina Perri	10
11	Undo It	Carrie Underwood	12
12	Come Over Love	Anuhea	13
13	Animal	Neon Trees	15
14	California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)	Katy Perry	9
15	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	17
16	Release Me	The Like	18
17	Uh Oh (Radio Edit)	Kyrah	16
18	Wake Up	Pepper	19
19	Be My Thrill	The Weepies	20
20	I Saw the Rain	Lovers and Poets	--

CHART NOTES

Maroon 5 breaks into the #1 spot with their lates single, "Misery". The track moved up 2 points from #3 to #1. La Roux holds at #2 for a 3rd week with "Bulletproof". Justine Bennett moves up 1 from #4 to #3 with "Heavy Feeling". It's one of the most underrated tracks on the top 20 this week. More charts should list it and it would be a great add to AC radio.

Breaking into the Top 5 for the first time are the Scissor Sisters with their single "Fire With Fire" up 2 from #6 to #4. Holding at #5 for another week is Nikki Yanofsky and her former #1 hit "Cool My Heels". And making the big drop this week from #1 to #6 is 3OH!3 and "My First Kiss".

The only song to make a debut on the chart is "I Saw the Rain" by Lovers & Poets at #20.

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - August 15, 2010

Caro Emerald has turned out to be my favorite female artist of 2010. Her videos have been featured several times on this blog. Here is a great find. Caro sings her 2 hit songs over recorded tracks in a studio. "Back It Up" followed by "A Night Like This."

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of August 15, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	My First Kiss (Feat. Ke$ha)	3OH!3	1
2	Bulletproof	La Roux	2
3	Misery	Maroon 5	5
4	Heavy Feeling	Justine Bennett	4
5	Cool My Heels	Nikki Yanofsky	3
6	Fire With Fire	Scissor Sisters	8
7	A Night Like This	Caro Emerald	7
8	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	9
9	California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)	Katy Perry	6
10	Jar of Hearts	Christina Perri	11
11	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	16
12	Undo It	Carrie Underwood	13
13	Come Over Love	Anuhea	14
14	24 Hours	Noisettes	10
15	Animal	Neon Trees	12
16	Uh Oh (Radio Edit)	Kyrah	18
17	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	19
18	Release Me	The Like	20
19	Wake Up	Pepper	--
20	Be My Thrill	The Weepies	--

CHART NOTES

Two songs make their chart debut this week: "Wake Up" @ #19 by Pepper and "Be My Thrill" by The Weepies at #20. Both artists are making their debuts to the Weekly Top 20, having never charted before. Of the two, I think The Weepies have a better chance of calling their track a hit, at least on this chart.

The number one and number two songs remain the same as they were last week. Maroon 5's "Misery" continues to track up - this week moving from #5 to #3. Will the song make it to #1?

Elsewhere most of the songs remain steady movers with only incremental jumps up. The only exception is Taio Cruz with his latest single "Dynamite" moving from #16 to #11 this week. The track already tops several other charts.

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - August 8, 2010

The Noisettes live and their track "24 Hours"

Mel's Weekly Top 20

Week of August 8, 2010

This Week	Song Title	Artist	Last Week
1	My First Kiss (Feat. Ke$ha)	3OH!3	2
2	Bulletproof	La Roux	3
3	Cool My Heels	Nikki Yanofsky	1
4	Heavy Feeling	Justine Bennett	5
5	Misery	Maroon 5	8
6	California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)	Katy Perry	4
7	A Night Like This	Caro Emerald	7
8	Fire With Fire	Scissor Sisters	10
9	Like We Used to	A Rocket to the Moon	11
10	24 Hours	Noisettes	12
11	Jar of Hearts	Christina Perri	13
12	Animal	Neon Trees	6
13	Undo It	Carrie Underwood	14
14	Come Over Love	Anuhea	16
15	Drummer Boy	Debi Nova	15
16	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	19
17	Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)	Shakira	9
18	Uh Oh (Radio Edit)	Kyrah	20
19	Please Don't Go	Mike Posner	--
20	Release Me	The Like	--

CHART NOTES

The single "My First Kiss" featuring Kesha and starring 3OH!3 tops the chart for the first time this week as it moves from #2 to #1, replacing Nikki Yanofsky. Nikki's hit "Cool My Heels" slips 2 points from #1 to #3. This is the first time 3OH!3 has topped the Weekly Top 20. Their single has been a number 1 track on Apple's iTunes alternative rock chart for several weeks this year.

LaRoux is up to #2 this week with "Bulletproof" the biggest comeback hit on the chart this year. The song was a #1 track for a few weeks last year.

Elsewhere in the top 5, Justine Bennett moves up 1 from #5 to #4 with "Heavy Feeling" while Maroon 5 climbs from #8 to #5 this week with "Misery".

Mike Posner and The Like make their chart debuts this week with the singles "Please Don't Go" by Posner at #19, and "Release Me" by The Like at #20.

Falling off the chart this week are "A Stitch in Time" by The Smashing Pumpkins and "Every Subway Car" by Barenaked Ladies.