10 Minute Documentary: Buy Sell Trade

Over the years I have kept most of my vinyl records. Today vinyl has made a comeback and it is good to see that young people have rediscovered vinyl.

This short film has been out for about a year, published to YouTube in April 2013.

Found The Cocktail Slippers

Cocktail Slippers' "St. Valentine's Day Massacre"

Every now and then I "find" a band or artist that I never heard of but then almost instantly fall for their music. A few years ago a friend of mine turned me on to the band Dengue Fever. Been a fan ever since.

Recently while searching YouTube for any video of the old Connie Francis track "Don't Ever Leave Me" written by Ellie Greenwch, I found this band called Cocktail Slippers. Their version was released in 2009 and totally updates the original bringing the song into the 21st century with a sassy, electric, rock n roll edge it truly deserves. Just below the fold then is Cocktail Slippers' version of "Don't Ever Leave Me":



The video is Cocktail Slippers' tribute to all of the "girl groups" of the 1960s. For some reason the audio on this video is not as sharp or loud as the version posted just below:



Of course Cocktail Slippers have recorded many more songs beyond this reworked 1960s gem. Then again who are Cocktail Slippers?

From Wikipedia: "Cocktail Slippers is a five-piece, all-female rock band from Oslo, Norway. Current band members are: Hope (vocals), Rocket Queen (guitar), Piper (keyboard/organ), Bella Donna (drums) and Aurora de Morales (bass). Cocktail Slippers was formed in 2001 and has since released three studio albums and two Christmas singles. They are known for their entertaining live rock n roll performances and have played alongside artists such as Nancy Sinatra, Crowded House, Elvis Costello and The Strokes.[1][2] The band is continuously touring Europe and the USA. The band's main musical influences are Blondie, The Shangri-Las, Joan Jett, Foo Fighters, The Ramones, and The Beach Boys."

So once again I have become a fan of another musical artist from overseas who have yet to be discovered in a big way in the United States. Still their music is quite good and Cocktail Slippers' have amassed quite a discography of catchy rock songs, many of which could be huge hits. A leading example is at the top of this post..... a song called "St. Valentines' Day Massacre".

I'm still "discovering" more of their music and have posted a few more tracks below.



Doesn't the old guy in the bar resemble the old guy in Churchill's roller skater version of "Change"?

A Thousand Years - Their Technology - The Video

Their Technology from King Deluxe on Vimeo.

Addition to the previous post... their video. Very cool.

A Thousand Years - Their Technology

A Thousand Years - Their Technology - Click on their link to watch the music video. It's quite good. Category: Electronic.

Listen on Soundcloud.

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - Week of July 20, 2014

First Aid Kit - My Silver Lining



First Aid's "My Silver Lining" is #1 for a second week.

First Aid Kit Holds @ #1;  
Train Close Behind
Mel's Weekly To 20 - Week of July 20, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	My Silver Lining (2nd week @ #1!)	First Aid Kit	1
2	Angel in Blue Jeans	Train	3
3	Riptide	Vance Joy	4
4	Night Like This	LP	5
5	Love Runs Out	OneRepublic	2
6	Fever	The Black Keys	6
7	Try	Colbie Caillat	9
8	Maps	Maroon 5	14
9	A Sky Full of Stars	Coldplay	8
10	Paris	Magic Man	10
11	Cool Kids	Echosmith	20
12	I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends)	Neon Trees	15
13	Happy (From "Despicable Me 2")	Pharrell Williams	7
14	Dangerous (feat. Joywave)	Big Data	16
15	Best Friend	Foster the People	17
16	Back To the Earth	Jason Mraz	11
17	Girls Chase Boys	Ingrid Michaelson	12
18	Raging Fire	Phillip Phillips	13
19	Stolen Dance	Milky Chance	--
20	Tongues (feat. Kopps)	Joywave	--

CHART NOTES

First Aid Kit holds on to the #1 position for a 2nd week with "My Silver Lining". They are a duo consisting of Sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg who come from a suburb in Stockholm, Sweden. Their latest album Stay Gold was released on June 10 in the U.S. and features the hit single along with 9 other tracks.

Train could soon have a #1 song as "Angel in Blue Jeans" moves up a spot from #3 last week to #2 this week. It's a great song and to me compliments our #1 song with a similar sound. Following Train we see Vance Joy also moving up 1 from #4 last week to #3 with his breakout hit "Riptide". Again another good song that could go to #1.

Rounding out the top 5 we find newcomer LP moving up 1 from #5 to #4 with "Night Like This" and OneRepublic slipping 3 with their former #1 track "Love Runs Out" losing 2 dipping to #5 from last week's #3.

We see that Maroon 5 is back with their latest single "Maps" breaking into the top 10 at #8. That song is up six points from last week's #14 position.

Still the fastest charting track belongs Echosmith as their single "Cool Kids" jumps up 9 points from last week's #20 debut position to hold on to #11 this week. Only 2 weeks on the chart this song is destined to go higher!

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

My Silver Lining - First Aid Kit (2)
Love Runs Out - OneRepublic (1)
Fever - The Black Keys (3)
Happy - Pharrell Williams (8)
All of Me - John Legend (3)
Says She Loves Me - Aer (2)
Sleeping With a Friend - Neon Trees (4)
Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (4)
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - July 13, 2014

First Aid Kit and "My Silver Lining" acoustic version.

First Aid Kit Captures the #1 Spot
Mel's Weekly Top 20 - July 13, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	My Silver Lining	First Aid Kit	2
2	Love Runs Out	OneRepublic	1
3	Angel in Blue Jeans	Train	4
4	Riptide	Vance Joy	5
5	Night Like This	LP	9
6	Fever	The Black Keys	3
7	Happy (From "Despicable Me 2")	Pharrell Williams	6
8	A Sky Full of Stars	Coldplay	10
9	Try	Colbie Caillat	11
10	Paris	Magic Man	12
11	Back To the Earth	Jason Mraz	15
12	Girls Chase Boys	Ingrid Michaelson	7
13	Raging Fire	Phillip Phillips	8
14	Maps	Maroon 5	19
15	I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends)	Neon Trees	18
16	Dangerous (feat. Joywave)	Big Data	17
17	Best Friend	Foster the People	20
18	Me and My Broken Heart	Rixton	13
19	All Of Me	John Legend	14
20	Cool Kids	Echosmith	--

CHART NOTES

First Aid Kit gets the #1 song this week at "My Silver Lining" moves up 1 from last week's #2 to the top spot. First Aid Kit is a duo consisting of Sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg from a suburb in Stockholm, Sweden. Their latest album Stay Gold was released on June 10 in the U.S. and features the hit single along with 9 other tracks. "Silver Lining" took only 4 weeks to get to #1. The track debut at #19 on June 15 and has steadily risen, going up to #9, #3, #2 and finally #1.

The only debut track this week comes in at #20. Here we find Echosmith with "Cool Kids".

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

My Silver Lining - First Aid Kit (1)
Love Runs Out - OneRepublic (1)
Fever - The Black Keys (3)
Happy - Pharrell Williams (8)
All of Me - John Legend (3)
Says She Loves Me - Aer (2)
Sleeping With a Friend - Neon Trees (4)
Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (4)
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - June 29, 2014 and July 6, 2014.

Catching up with Mel's Weekly Top 20....

OneDirection Nudges Into the #1 Spot

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of July 6, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Love Runs Out	OneRepublic	2
2	My Silver Lining	First Aid Kit	3
3	Fever	The Black Keys	1
4	Angel in Blue Jeans	Train	10
5	Riptide	Vance Joy	6
6	Happy (From "Despicable Me 2")	Pharrell Williams	4
7	Girls Chase Boys	Ingrid Michaelson	5
8	Raging Fire	Phillip Phillips	7
9	Night Like This	LP	13
10	A Sky Full of Stars	Coldplay	11
11	Try	Colbie Caillat	16
12	Paris	Magic Man	14
13	Me and My Broken Heart	Rixton	8
14	All Of Me	John Legend	9
15	Back To the Earth	Jason Mraz	18
16	Heaven Knows	The Pretty Reckless	15
17	Dangerous (feat. Joywave)	Big Data	17
18	I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends)	Neon Trees	20
19	Maps	Maroon 5	--
20	Best Friend	Foster the People	--

CHART NOTES:

Two songs make their debut to the chart. They are "Best Friend" from Foster the People and "Maps", the latest single from Maroon 5. The songs come in at #20 and #19 respectively.

Coldplay finally breaks into the Top 10 with their latest single, "A Sky Full of Stars" off their latest album. Up 1 from #11 to #10. Will this go higher?

"Love Runs Out" by OneRepublic is the new #1 song this week displacing The Black Keys' "Fever" who falls 2 points from #1 to #3. "Love Runs Out" moved from #2 to #1, followed by First Aid Kit's "My Silver Lining" at #2 moving up from #3.

A shout out to Mark Anthony Perez who has been following this chart for some time: "I've been following your weekly charts religiously for years now. I gotta say I've been noticing a trend of you leaning a bit more to the indie pop rock of music. For me its a great transition. Our charts a looking more and more alike. Magic Man, Pretty Reckless, Neon Trees. All my favs right now to. keep up the good musical look out."

Thanks for the comment Mark. My charts fluctuate between alt rock/indie and some mainstream adult contemporary. I think these songs make a good mix for me.

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

Love Runs Out - OneRepublic (1)
Fever - The Black Keys (3)
Happy - Pharrell Williams (8)
All of Me - John Legend (3)
Says She Loves Me - Aer (2)
Sleeping With a Friend - Neon Trees (4)
Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (4)
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

---

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of June 29, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Fever (3rd Week @ #1!)	The Black Keys	1
2	Love Runs Out	OneRepublic	4
3	My Silver Lining	First Aid Kit	9
4	Happy (From "Despicable Me 2")	Pharrell Williams	2
5	Girls Chase Boys	Ingrid Michaelson	3
6	Riptide	Vance Joy	10
7	Raging Fire	Phillip Phillips	5
8	Me and My Broken Heart	Rixton	6
9	All Of Me	John Legend	7
10	Angel in Blue Jeans	Train	19
11	A Sky Full of Stars	Coldplay	11
12	We Won't Go Home	The Colourist	8
13	Night Like This	LP	12
14	Paris	Magic Man	13
15	Heaven Knows	The Pretty Reckless	17
16	Try	Colbie Caillat	20
17	Dangerous (feat. Joywave)	Big Data	--
18	Back To the Earth	Jason Mraz	--
19	Heart's On Fire	Passenger	--
20	I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends)	Neon Trees	--

CHART NOTES:

Four songs make their chart debut this week, "Angel in Blue Jeans" by Train leaps from last week's #19 debut to #10 this week, and "Fever" by The Black Keys hold at #1 for a 3rd consecutive week. Wow! The chart is here.

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - June 22, 2014.

"Fever" Holds at #1 For a Second Week

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Fever (2nd Week @ #1!)	The Black Keys	1
2	Happy (From "Despicable Me 2")	Pharrell Williams	2
3	Girls Chase Boys	Ingrid Michaelson	4
4	Love Runs Out	OneRepublic	8
5	Raging Fire	Phillip Phillips	3
6	Me and My Broken Heart	Rixton	7
7	All Of Me	John Legend	5
8	We Won't Go Home	The Colourist	6
9	My Silver Lining	First Aid Kit	19
10	Riptide	Vance Joy	14
11	A Sky Full of Stars	Coldplay	13
12	Night Like This	LP	15
13	Paris	Magic Man	17
14	Mmm Yeah [feat. Pitbull]	Austin Mahone	9
15	Salt	Bad Suns	10
16	West Coast	Lana Del Rey	12
17	Heaven Knows	The Pretty Reckless	20
18	Love Never Felt So Good	Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake	11
19	Angel in Blue Jeans	Train	--
20	Try	Colbie Caillat	--

CHART NOTES:

The Black Keys hold at #1 with "Fever" for a second week. Biggest gainer is by First Aid Kit as their track "My Silver Lining" leaps from its #19 debut of last week to #9 this week. It's a great song. I love it.

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

Fever - The Black Keys (2)
Happy - Pharrell Williams (8)
All of Me - John Legend (3)
Says She Loves Me - Aer (2)
Sleeping With a Friend - Neon Trees (4)
Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (4) 
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - June 15, 2014.

Black Keys Capture the #1 Spot with "Fever"

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Fever	The Black Keys	7
2	Happy	Pharrell Williams	1
3	Raging Fire	Phillip Phillips	3
4	Girls Chase Boys	Ingrid Michaelson	6
5	All Of Me	John Legend	2
6	We Won't Go Home	The Colourist	4
7	Me and My Broken Heart	Rixton	9
8	Love Runs Out	OneRepublic	13
9	Mmm Yeah [feat. Pitbull]	Austin Mahone	10
10	Salt	Bad Suns	12
11	Love Never Felt So Good	Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake	11
12	West Coast	Lana Del Rey	5
13	A Sky Full of Stars	Coldplay	17
14	Riptide	Vance Joy	16
15	Night Like This	LP	19
16	Best Day of My Life	American Authors	8
17	Paris	Magic Man	20
18	Says She Loves Me	Aer	14
19	My Silver Lining	First Aid Kit	--
20	Heaven Knows	The Pretty Reckless	--

CHART NOTES:

The chart resumes... again, and with a new song at #1. The Black Keys top the chart for the first time ever with their track "Fever". The song is from their latest album Turn Blue. It jumps from #7 to #1 after spending 4 weeks going up several positions at a time.

Pharrell Williams' "Happy" held the #1 spot for the past 8 weeks, and in the history of this chart, is the longest run for any song to hold on to the top spot. The track is likely to be the top song for 2014. We'll see.

Plenty of other new songs at various positions on the chart since the last update back in May. I am trying to resume regular updates to the chart, but other circumstances in my life have been more of a priority lately. Granted, I am still keeping track of popular songs in my collection internally even though a weekly chart may not be posted.

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

Fever - The Black Keys (1)
Happy - Pharrell Williams (8)
All of Me - John Legend (3)
Says She Loves Me - Aer (2)
Sleeping With a Friend - Neon Trees (4)
Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (4) 
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Flashback Friday: Singer Joey Heatherton "Gone"

FLASHBACK FRIDAY on Mel's Internet Universe Weblog

Any kid who grew up in the 1970s who watched TV most certainly caught those "Perfect Sleeper" commercials for Serta by actress and singer Joey Heatherton. She was a blonde bombshell who probably sold many beds for Serta singing about the "Perfect Sleeper".... She was hot, blonde and always dressed for a good night's sleep.

In 1972 she had a hit single with the Ferlin Husky penned tune called "Gone". The record hit the Billboard Hot 100 on MGM Records and peaked at #24. I bought the record and the B-side was the track "The Road I Took to You (Pieces)" which is featured in the video below. Ms. Heatherton also released an album that featured the tracks, but the disc did not sell very well.

She has since been relegated to chart history as a "one hit wonder".





Here is one of the "Perfect Sleeper" commercials she did for SERTA.

Flashback Friday: Magneto and Titanium Man

FLASHBACK FRIDAY on MEL'S INTERNET UNIVERSE MUSIC BLOG

We flash back to 1975 and the release of Paul McCartney and Wings follow-up album to 1973's "Band on the Run". This release is called "Venus and Mars" and features a number of memorable tracks including the title song medley and "Rock Show" plus the number 1 hit "Listen to What the Man Said". However one of my favorite tracks on the album is "Magneto and Titanium Man", a song that surely I thought, would be a follow-up single to "Listen". The track was never issued as a lead single but instead showed up as a B-side to I think "Letting Go" which was not a very big hit for Wings.

Nevertheless "Magneto and Titanium Man" remains one of my favorites. The included video with this post was issued a few years ago and is independently made consisting of clips from various Marvel Comics animated programs. Take a look and give the song a listen!

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - March 23, 2014

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of March 23, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Says She Loves Me (2nd Week @ #1!)	Aer	1
2	All Of Me	John Legend	4
3	Dark Horse [feat. Juicy J]	Katy Perry	3
4	"Happy (From ""Despicable Me 2"")"	Pharrell Williams	9
5	Sleeping With a Friend	Neon Trees	2
6	Turn It Around	Lucius	6
7	Coming of Age	Foster the People	7
8	Hey Brother	Avicii	5
9	Timber (feat. Ke$ha)	Pitbull	12
10	Magic	Coldplay	15
11	Are You Listening	Kopecky Family Band	13
12	Best Day of My Life	American Authors	20
13	Taxi Dancer	Dengue Fever	14
14	Young Heart	Blondfire	17
15	Cardiac Arrest	Bad Suns	8
16	Say Something [feat. Christina Aguilera]	A Great Big World	10
17	#Selfie (Instrumental Mix)	The Chainsmokers	--
18	The Giving Tree	Plain White T's	11
19	Team	Lorde	--
20	Raging Fire	Phillip Phillips	--

CHART NOTES

Aer holds the @ number 1 for a 2nd week in a row with "Says She Loves Me". Great sounding single that is not getting much airplay. Too bad. Good song.

John Legend comes in at #2 with the year's most popular love ballad "All of Me". May be #1 by next week. We'll see.

Pharell Williams jumps from #9 to #4 this week with his song "Happy".

Three songs debut on the chart this week. They include the dance oriented track "#SELFIE" by The Chainsmokers at #17. At #19 we find Lorde and her latest "Team". In at #20 is the 2nd single to make the chart by Phillip Phillips. This one is called "Raging Fire".

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

Says She Loves Me - Aer (2)
Sleeping With a Friend - Neon Trees (4)
Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (4)
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - March 16, 2014.

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of March 16, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Says She Loves Me	Aer	3
2	Sleeping With a Friend	Neon Trees	1
3	Dark Horse [feat. Juicy J]	Katy Perry	5
4	All Of Me	John Legend	8
5	Hey Brother	Avicii	4
6	Turn It Around	Lucius	7
7	Coming of Age	Foster the People	2
8	Cardiac Arrest	Bad Suns	6
9	"Happy (From ""Despicable Me 2"")"	Pharrell Williams	18
10	Say Something [feat. Christina Aguilera]	A Great Big World	10
11	The Giving Tree	Plain White T's	12
12	Timber (feat. Ke$ha)	Pitbull	9
13	Are You Listening	Kopecky Family Band	16
14	Taxi Dancer	Dengue Fever	17
15	Magic	Coldplay	19
16	Stay The Night	Zedd	14
17	Young Heart	Blondfire	20
18	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	11
19	Story Of My Life	One Direction	13
20	Best Day of My Life	American Authors	--

CHART NOTES:

Sorry the charts haven't been published in a couple of weeks. Internally I kept them going, just never had time to web publish much of anyting lately. The missing charts will eventually be posted to my music blog.

In the meantime we have a new song at #1. Aer makes it with this hit that so far is a non-hit in most places. "Says She Loves Me" is a catchy song that should be getting more airplay and chart action. Perhaps it is a summer kind of song (along with its music video) that may still gel later this season. We aren't even into spring yet. Still I like this song enough to make it my #1 for the week.

Otherwise the usual suspects are here along with an eclectic few. Enjoy.

Flashback Friday: The Hollies

FLASHBACK FRIDAY - The Hollies
The Air That I Breathe & more

This week our Flashback Friday spotlight is on The Hollies, a British group that has entertained the public since the mid 1960s. They were part of the original British Invasion of music groups that burned up the charts in the mid 60s along with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five and others.

The Hollies are well known for several chart hits, of which the top 10 I have posted here. My favorite Hollies song of all time is "The Air That I Breathe", a 4 minute long opus written by singer / songwriter Albert Hammond who had his own hits in the early 1970s (It Never Rains in Southern California).

"The Air That I Breathe" was a top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at #6 in the summer of 1974.

My 10 top tracks by The Hollies follow:

1. The Air That I Breathe (1974)
2. Long Cool Woman [in a Black Dress] (1972)
3. Bus Stop (1966)
4. Carrie Anne (1967)
5. Jennifer Eccles (1968)
6. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (1970)
7. Look Through Any Window (1965)
8. On a Carousel (1967)
9. Stop Stop Stop (1966)
10. Magic Woman Touch (1973)

Flashback Friday: The Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought the Law (and the Law Won)

FLASHBACK FRIDAY on Mel's Internet Universe Music Blog

One of my favorite rock n roll songs of the sixties belong to The Bobby Fuller Four. Released as a single in December 1965, "I Fought the Law" climbed to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966. The song is a cover recorded by Bobby Fuller of a song first published by The Crickets, Buddy Holly's old group, in 1958 shortly after Holly died.

"I Fought the Law" was the biggest hit the Bobby Fuller Four ever had because a few months later Bobby Fuller himself was found dead in a garage after an apparent suicide.

The song has been covered many times, most famously by The Clash in 1978.



More Covers

The Big Dirty Band



Bryan Adams (1988)



Larry L

Flashback Friday: Bruddah IZ "Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World"

FLASHBACK FRIDAY @ Mel's Internet Music Universe Blog

One of the most beautiful songs to ever come out of Hawaii, this is Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's (Bruddah IZ) is a medley of the classic Judy Garland track "Over the Rainbow" and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World."

According to the Wikipedia this song was recorded in one take in 1988 and was included in IZ's album Facing Future that was released in 1993. The song eventually received international acclaim, airplay and recognition after being featured in several movies including Meet Joe Black, Finding Forrester and 50 First Dates.

IZ died in 1997 and unfortunately never saw this recording reach the stellar heights it has received over the past decades. The song is a consistent best seller in the digital music space at services such as Amazon.com and iTunes.

Today in honor of "Somwhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World", we make it the Flashback Friday feature track on this blog.



Judy Garland's original version of "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz (1939).



Louis Armstrong's recording of "What a Wonderful World"

Flashback Friday: For What It's Worth

FLASHBACK FRIDAY on Mel's Internet Universe Music Blog

Surely anyone and everyone who grew up in the mid to late 1960s have heard this song. It probably is Stephen Stills' most famous music composition.

"For What It's Worth" was a song written in reaction to a curfew set by Los Angeles residents and business owners to against young people who were late night club goers. The song drew about a thousand demonstrators at one local nightclub after an L.A. radio station publicized the event and played the song.

From that time on, the song has become a synonymous as a protest anthem, mostly against the war in Vietnam during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

"For What It's Worth" was recorded and released as a single by Stephen Stills' band at the time, Buffalo Springfield. Neil Young as also a member of the band. He and Stills would later form Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.


Studio mix

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - Neon Trees @ #1

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of February 16, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Sleeping With a Friend	Neon Trees	2
2	Timber (feat. Ke$ha)	Pitbull	1
3	Coming of Age	Foster the People	6
4	Hey Brother	Avicii	9
5	Royals	Lorde	3
6	Says She Loves Me	Aer	11
7	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	7
8	Hold On	Colbie Caillat	5
9	Harlem	New Politics	4
10	Human	Christina Perri	10
11	Cardiac Arrest	Bad Suns	15
12	Turn It Around	Lucius	16
13	The Heart of Dixie	Danielle Bradbery	13
14	Saideira (feat. Samuel Rosa)	Santana	8
15	Shake	The Head And The Heart	14
16	Say Something [feat. Christina Aguilera]	A Great Big World	19
17	The Giving Tree	Plain White T's	20
18	Unconditionally	Katy Perry	12
19	Dark Horse [feat. Juicy J]	Katy Perry	--
20	Story Of My Life	One Direction	--

CHART NOTES

Neon Trees moves from last week's #2 to #1 with "Sleeping With a Friend". This is the band's 2nd single to top the chart. They went to #1 in 2010 with their debut single "Animal". Falling from #1 to #2 is "Timber" by Pitbull. Up from #6 to #3 is Foster the People and their latest track "Coming of Age."

Aer's "Say She Love Me" moves up 5 points from last week's #11 to #6 this week. Good song.

Two songs make their chart entry. First up is Katy Perry and the latest track from her current album, Prism. This one is called "Dark Horse" featuring Juicy J. The song is #1 on many charts including iTunes and Billboard. In its first week on the track is at #19 on this week's Top 20. The second of the two debut singles is "Story of My Life", a latecomer of an established hit from One Direction. It checks in at #20. We'll see how high these tracks go in the coming weeks.

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

Sleeping With a Friend - Neon Trees (1)
Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (4)
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - February 9, 2014

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of Februry 9, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Timber (feat. Ke$ha)	Pitbull	1
2	Sleeping With a Friend	Neon Trees	4
3	Royals	Lorde	2
4	Harlem	New Politics	3
5	Hold On	Colbie Caillat	5
6	Coming of Age	Foster the People	13
7	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	7
8	Saideira (feat. Samuel Rosa)	Santana	9
9	Hey Brother	Avicii	12
10	Human	Christina Perri	11
11	Says She Loves Me	Aer	17
12	Unconditionally	Katy Perry	6
13	The Heart of Dixie	Danielle Bradbery	15
14	Shake	The Head And The Heart	14
15	Cardiac Arrest	Bad Suns	18
16	Turn It Around	Lucius	19
17	That's My Kind Of Night	Luke Bryan	8
18	I Love You	Said the Whale	10
19	Say Something [feat. Christina Aguilera]	A Great Big World	--
20	The Giving Tree	Plain White T's	--

CHART NOTES:

Pitbull holds on to the #1 spot for a 4th week with his hit "Timber".

Neon Trees moves from last week's #4 to #2 with "Sleeping With a Friend".

Fast movers: Foster the People leaps from #13 to #6 with "Coming of Age"; Aer's "Say She Loves Me" jumps from last week's #17 debut to #11. New on the charts are A Great Big World with "Say Something" at #19 and Plain White T's at #20 with "The Giving Tree".

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (4)
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Flashback Friday: The Beatles - The Night That Changed America

FLASHBACK FRIDAY on Mel's Internet Universe Music Blog

50 Years ago this weekend The Beatles made their U.S. Debut on CBS TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show". They sang 4 songs on that first show including "All My Loving," "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" the latter being the #1 single in the U.S. at that time.

I was a kid when The Beatles debut on "Ed Sullivan". I remember watching with glee as they sang their songs, shook their heads and got the audience filled with screaming girls all fired up. It was something. They sounded great on our console style, Zenith black and white TV. My Dad shook his head in mild disapproval over their hair style.

I remember watching The Beatles subsequent appearances on "Ed Sullivan" several more times (I was a young fan now), and still my Dad never liked them. I remember him telling me, "I don't like them because they were not Americans". So what? The music was great.

My Dad was not a big fan of rock n roll music and preferred big band, jazz and Hawaiian music. Funny thing is a few years later I remember watching a TV concert featuring Creedence Clearwater Revival and he liked them. My Dad also liked Elvis when he was doing the Las Vegas thing in his later years.

One thing for certain. After seeing The Beatles on TV for that first time many years ago, I became a fan and have listened to their music continuously for many years now.

This weekend CBS will be doing a Beatles retrospective commemorating their first appearance on "Ed Sullivan" on a special this Sunday night called "A Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute". The show will feature contemporary artists covering a range of Beatles songs including Stevie Wonder, Maroon 5, Alicia Keys and Keith Urban. The two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will also appear on the program.

It will certainly be a show that Beatles fans will watch and reflect on 50 years of history. Should be great.





The original audio on this clip was overdubbed with the studio version of the track.

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - 3 Songs Make Chart Debut

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of February 2, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Timber (feat. Ke$ha)	Pitbull	1
2	Royals	Lorde	4
3	Harlem	New Politics	2
4	Sleeping With a Friend	Neon Trees	11
5	Hold On	Colbie Caillat	6
6	Unconditionally	Katy Perry	3
7	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	5
8	That's My Kind Of Night	Luke Bryan	7
9	Saideira (feat. Samuel Rosa)	Santana	9
10	I Love You	Said the Whale	8
11	Human	Christina Perri	12
12	Hey Brother	Avicii	13
13	Coming of Age	Foster the People	20
14	Shake	The Head And The Heart	15
15	The Heart of Dixie	Danielle Bradbery	16
16	Who You Love (feat. Katy Perry)	John Mayer	10
17	Says She Loves Me	Aer	--
18	Cardiac Arrest	Bad Suns	--
19	Turn It Around	Lucius	--
20	Wake Me Up	Avicii	14

CHART NOTES

Pitbull holds on to the #1 spot for a third week with his hit "Timber", in which the vocals are also shared by Kesha, who's had a few hit singles in her own right.

Lorde moves up the chart from #4 to #2 with her former #1 song "Royals". Must be a Grammy Award bump for the "Song of the Year" winner.

Neon Trees makes a big leap into the top 5 with "Sleeping With a Friend" moving up 7 points from last week's #11 to #4 this week. Could "Sleeping" become the band's next #1 hit. They hit it big in 2010 with their first single "Animal", a track that went all the way to #1 that year.

Three songs make their chart debut: Aer leads the newcomers with their debut single "Says She Loves Me" at #17. At #18 we find our second debut record by Bad Suns. Their single is "Cardiac Arrest". The third debut single is "Turn It Around" by Lucius at #19. We'll see where these tracks go in the coming weeks.

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (3)
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Flashback Friday: Circus "Stop Wait & Listen"

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Mel's Internet Universe Music Blog

I have this single on Metromedia Records from 1973. From WIXY 1260 Music Mike introduces CIRCUS and "Stop Wait & Listen".

WT20 - Pitbull Holds @ #1 New Politics Still @ #2

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of January 26, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Timber (feat. Ke$ha)	Pitbull	1
2	Harlem	New Politics	2
3	Unconditionally	Katy Perry	3
4	Royals	Lorde	4
5	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	5
6	Hold On	Colbie Caillat	7
7	That's My Kind Of Night	Luke Bryan	6
8	I Love You	Said the Whale	10
9	Saideira (feat. Samuel Rosa)	Santana	14
10	Who You Love (feat. Katy Perry)	John Mayer	11
11	Sleeping With a Friend	Neon Trees	19
12	Human	Christina Perri	13
13	Hey Brother	Avicii	20
14	Wake Me Up	Avicii	9
15	Shake	The Head And The Heart	17
16	The Heart of Dixie	Danielle Bradbery	18
17	Sweeter Than Fiction	Taylor Swift	8
18	Roar	Katy Perry	12
19	Changing of the Seasons	Two Door Cinema Club	16
20	Coming of Age	Foster the People	--

CHART NOTES

Pitbull tops the chart for a second week with "Timber" a duet in which singer Kesha shares vocals. Only 1 song makes a chart debut this week. At #20 we find Foster the People entering with "Coming of Age". Santana breaks into the top 10 at #9 with "Saideira", a latin flavored rock track that should get more airplay. Vocals on this track are by Samuel Rosa.

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (2)
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Flashback Friday: Eumir Deodato and Friends

FLASHBACK FRIDAY on Mel's Internet Universe Music Blog

This week on Flashback Friday I invite you to sit back, kick up your heals and listen to the jazz sounds of Eumir Deoato recorded at the 2010 Estival Jazz Lugano. The video is nearly an hour long and contains many of his most well known tracks.

Deodato was one of the first live concerts I saw back in 1974 in Hilo, Hawaii. Right around that time he was coming off the success of his biggest hit, "Also Sprach Zarathustra" commonly known as the "Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey." His first album on CTI is an elusive classic and contains instrumental jazz tracks such as "Baubles, Bangles and Beads," "Spirit of Summer" and "Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun", a piece originally published by Claude Debussy.

By the late 1970s Deodato had hopped on the disco wave and released dance inspired albums such as "Love Island", "Knights of Fantasy" and "Night Cruiser". He also produced records for artists such as Frank Sinatra, Kool & the Gang and Dexy's Midnight Runners.

Pitbull's Timber Tops the Chart

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of January 19, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Timber (feat. Ke$ha)	Pitbull	6
2	Harlem	New Politics	4
3	Unconditionally	Katy Perry	1
4	Royals	Lorde	3
5	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	2
6	That's My Kind Of Night	Luke Bryan	5
7	Hold On	Colbie Caillat	11
8	Sweeter Than Fiction	Taylor Swift	7
9	Wake Me Up	Avicii	8
10	I Love You	Said the Whale	12
11	Who You Love (feat. Katy Perry)	John Mayer	13
12	Roar	Katy Perry	10
13	Human	Christina Perri	16
14	Saideira (feat. Samuel Rosa)	Santana	19
15	The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)	Ylvis	9
16	Changing of the Seasons	Two Door Cinema Club	15
17	Shake	The Head And The Heart	14
18	The Heart of Dixie	Danielle Bradbery	20
19	Sleeping With a Friend	Neon Trees	--
20	Hey Brother	Avicii	--

CHART NOTES

Pitbull reaches the top of the chart after only 2 weeks. "Timber" the hit single featuring vocals by Kesha jumps from #6 to #1 this week in only the song's 3rd week on the chart. Two weeks ago "Timber" debut at #19. Now it's #1.

Two song make their chart debut: The latest from Neon Trees is called "Sleeping With a Friend". That single enters at #19. Coming in at #20 is "Hey Brother" by Avcii, who is still on the chart with the former #1 song "Wake Me Up" now at #9 this week.

Songs That Went to #1 in 2014

Timber - Pitull featuring Kesha (1)
Unconditionally - Katy Perry (3)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Catching Up With Mel's Weekly Top 20

We catch up on the last 2 weeks worth of Mel's Weekly Top 20 charts.

Katy Perry - Unconditionally



Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of January 12, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Unconditionally (3rd Week @ #1)	Katy Perry	1
2	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	2
3	Royals	Lorde	3
4	Harlem	New Politics	6
5	That's My Kind Of Night	Luke Bryan	4
6	Timber (feat. Ke$ha)	Pitbull	19
7	Sweeter Than Fiction	Taylor Swift	5
8	Wake Me Up	Avicii	10
9	The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)	Ylvis	7
10	Roar	Katy Perry	8
11	Hold On	Colbie Caillat	11
12	I Love You	Said the Whale	13
13	Who You Love (feat. Katy Perry)	John Mayer	14
14	Shake	The Head And The Heart	15
15	Changing of the Seasons	Two Door Cinema Club	16
16	Human	Christina Perri	20
17	Compass	Lady Antebellum	9
18	Slow Down	Selena Gomez	12
19	Saideira (feat. Samuel Rosa)	Santana	--
20	The Heart of Dixie	Danielle Bradbery	--

---

Luke Bryan - That's My Kind of Night



Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of January 5, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Unconditionally	Katy Perry	1
2	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	2
3	Royals	Lorde	4
4	That's My Kind Of Night	Luke Bryan	5
5	"Sweeter Than Fiction (From ""One Chance"" Soundtrack)"	Taylor Swift	3
6	Harlem	New Politics	10
7	The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)	Ylvis	6
8	Roar	Katy Perry	7
9	Compass	Lady Antebellum	9
10	Wake Me Up	Avicii	8
11	Hold On	Colbie Caillat	13
12	Slow Down	Selena Gomez	14
13	I Love You	Said the Whale	15
14	Who You Love (feat. Katy Perry)	John Mayer	17
15	Shake	The Head And The Heart	16
16	Changing of the Seasons	Two Door Cinema Club	20
17	Underneath the Tree	Kelly Clarkson	11
18	Just Another Girl	The Killers	12
19	Timber (feat. Ke$ha)	Pitbull	--
20	Human	Christina Perri	--

Flashback Friday: Christine McVie & Fleetwood Mac

FLASHBACK FRIDAY on Mel's Internet Universe Music Blog

Big news breaking this week was notification that longtime Fleetwood Mac vocalist Christine McVie is re-joining the band after a long hiatus. The news broke in Billboard Magazine this week: "The band's publicist, Liz Rosenberg, has confirmed to Billboard that McVie has rejoined the band after departing the group in 1998."

McVie who joined the band in the early 1970s has been responsible for singing and writing some of the band's most well known hits including "Don't Stop", "Songbird", "Say You Love Me", "Over My Head", "You Make Loving Fun", "Little Lies", "Everywhere" and "As Long As You Follow" to name some here. She pre-dates the band's most well known line-up by a few years when she used to share vocal duties with former bandmates Bob Welch and Danny Kirwin.

Today, McVie joins the band's most well known line-up which also includes her ex, John McVie; singer-songwriters Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham and percussionist - drummer Mick Fleetwood.

Fans are hoping that Fleetwood Mac goes on tour this year with the revived line-up and even work on and release a new album.

Fleetwood Mac is the only band that I have seen in concert twice, once in 1977 and again in 1980. Mick Fleetwood is a part time Hawaii resident and put in an appearance at the Hawaii State Legislature last year lobbying for a privacy bill with fellow rocker Steven Tyler of the band Aerosmith.

Flashback Friday: The Beatles - 50 Years Ago

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: The Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

A day late but not a dollar short, the Flashback Friday track for today takes us 50 years into the past and the release and charting of the first American hit for The Beatles. Yes, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" a single penned by Lennon and McCartney and vocalized mainly by John Lennon became the first big hit in America by the Fab Four. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on January 18, 1964 and by early February was a #1 hit single. It held on to the #1 spot for 5 weeks and established The Beatles as a bonafide hit making rock n roll group.

They would invade America a few weeks later by showing up for their famous live performances on CBS TV's "Ed Sullivan Show". The rest as they say, is history!




Original Capitol Records issue 45 rpm.


My CD3 version of "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

50 Years ago I was only a kid when I first heard the song. From the time I heard it on the radio or somewhere unknown, I was hooked. The Beatles became my favorite rock n roll group of all time... the gold standard to all other rock acts that followed. To me "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is the first signature song among many that was recorded by The Beatles until their break-up in 1970.

I never owned the original 45 but have many reissues of the song on various Beatles singles and albums on different types of media.

Flashback Friday: The Everly Brothers

FLASHBACK FRIDAY on Mel's Internet Universe Music Blog

Word out today is that Phil Everly, one of the two Everly Brothers died today at the age of 74. The Everly Brothers consisting of brothers Phil and Don enjoyed huge chart success in the late 1950s and early 1960s with hits such as "Wake Up Little Susie", "Bye Bye Love", "Til I Kissed You", and "Let It Be Me". In the above clip they perform two of their most well known hits: "All I Have to Do Is Dream" and "Cathy's Clown".

The Everly Brothers were influenced the sound of many rock artists to follow, most notably The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and many others. Paul McCartney paid tribute to them in his Wings hit, "Let Em In" which mentions Phil and Don in one of the song's verses.

Link: The Everly Brothers (Wikipedia) | Discography

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - January 1, 2014.

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of January 1, 2014.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Unconditionally	Katy Perry	2
2	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	1
3	"Sweeter Than Fiction (From ""One Chance"" Soundtrack)"	Taylor Swift	3
4	Royals	Lorde	4
5	That's My Kind Of Night	Luke Bryan	7
6	The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)	Ylvis	5
7	Roar	Katy Perry	8
8	Wake Me Up	Avicii	9
9	Compass	Lady Antebellum	13
10	Harlem	New Politics	15
11	Underneath the Tree	Kelly Clarkson	6
12	Just Another Girl	The Killers	12
13	Hold On	Colbie Caillat	16
14	Slow Down	Selena Gomez	14
15	I Love You	Said the Whale	17
16	Sail	AWOLNATION	11
17	Who You Love (feat. Katy Perry)	John Mayer	19
18	Shake	The Head And The Heart	20
19	Light of Christmas (feat. tobyMac)	Owl City	10
20	Changing of the Seasons	Two Door Cinema Club	--