Video Showcase: Noah and the Whale

One of those songs that I missed a few years ago. From 2013 this is Noah and the Whale with their single "Lifetime". Two years after this came out the band split up.

My favorite songs by Noah and the Whale:

1. Tonight's the Kind of Night
2. There Will Come a Time
3. Lifetime
4. Five Years Time
5. Life Goes On

Noah and the Whale's Video Channel

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - June 16, 2016 - 6-16-16

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of June 13, 2016.

This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. Handclap - Fitz & the Tantrums - 1
2. Spirits - The Strumbellas - 3
3. Brazil - Declan McKenna - 4
4. Ophelia - The Lumineers - 2
5. Can't Stop The Feeling - Justin Timberlake - 7
6. Piece by Piece - Kelly Clarkson - 6
7. New Romantics - Taylor Swift - 8
8. Unsteady - X Ambassadors - 11
9. Better Place - Rachel Platten - 14
10. Rule the World - Walk Off The Earth - 5
11. No - Meghan Trainor - 10
12. Fire and the Flood - Vance Joy - 16
13. Electric Love - B√òRNS - 9
14. You & Me - The Hunna - 17
15. Born to the Stars - Marina V - 18
16. You Bring the Summer - The Monkees - 20
17. New Americana - Halsey - 12
18. Hello - Adele - 13
19. Gentlemen - Will Jay - new
20. Radar - AudioDamn! - new

Mel's Weekly Top 20 Webpage
http://macpro.freeshell.org/music/WTop20.html

Mel's Internet Universe Music Blog
http://macprohawaii-music.blogspot.com/

Radio M.I.U. on 8Tracks.com
http://8tracks.com/macpro/mixes/1

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"?

The Top 100 Hits of 2013

TOP VIDEO HITS OF 2013



FLASHBACK FRIDAY: THE TOP 100 HITS OF 2013

We take a last look at 2013 with this mega chart of 100 top hits as compiled from the performance from the last 52 weeks of Mel's Weekly Top 20 music charts.

Rank	Title	Artist	Peak Pos	TAP	Total Weeks
1	Get Lucky (Radio Edit)	Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams	1	8	26
2	Change	Churchill	1	7	21
3	Roar	Katy Perry	1	4	18
4	Royals	Lorde	1	4	12
5	Carry On	Fun	1	3	20
6	Tangled Up	Caro Emerald	1	3	17
7	Blurred Lines [feat. T.I., Pharrell]	Robin Thicke	1	3	16
8	Treasure	Bruno Mars	1	3	11
9	The Walker	Fitz & The Tantrums	1	3	10
10	Daylight	Maroon 5	1	2	23
11	Wake Me Up	Avicii	1	2	19
12	Waves	Blondfire	1	2	19
13	When I Was Your Man	Bruno Mars	1	2	17
14	Safe and Sound	Capital Cities	1	2	16
15	Anything Could Happen	Ellie Goulding	1	2	15
16	The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)	Ylvis	1	2	11
17	Little Talks	Of Monsters And Men	2	4	25
18	Unconditionally	Katy Perry	2	3	7
19	Burn	Ellie Goulding	2	2	12
20	Summertime Sadness (Alternative Radio Mix)	Lana Del Rey	2	2	12
21	Best Song Ever	One Direction	2	2	9
22	I Knew You Were Trouble	Taylor Swift	2	2	8
23	I Will Wait	Mumford & Sons	2	1	12
24	Running for Cover	Ivan & Alyosha	3	4	13
25	Just Give Me A Reason	P!nk featuring Nate Ruess	3	3	10
26	22	Taylor Swift	3	2	11
27	Sweeter Than Fiction	Taylor Swift	3	2	9
28	Now Is the Start	A Fine Frenzy	3	1	18
29	Home Again	Elton John	3	1	14
30	Locked Out Of Heaven	Bruno Mars	3	1	13
31	Between The Raindrops	Lifehouse	3	1	11
32	Wagon Wheel	Darius Rucker	3	1	11
33	Come & Get It	Selena Gomez	4	2	13
34	Pompeii	Bastille	4	2	12
35	Devil's Got a Gun	Whitehorse	4	2	9
36	Mermaid	Train	4	1	16
37	Sad Angel	Fleetwood Mac	4	1	12
38	Wasting All These Tears	Cassadee Pope	4	1	12
39	Almost Home	Mariah Carey	4	1	11
40	Because We Can	Bon Jovi	4	1	10
41	Love Me Again	John Newman	4	1	9
42	Let Her Go	Passenger	5	2	14
43	Things We Lost In the Fire	Bastille	5	2	14
44	Brave	Sara Bareilles	5	2	10
45	Applause	Lady Gaga	5	1	11
46	Liquid Lunch	Caro Emerald	5	1	10
47	Hero	Family of the Year	6	2	14
48	There Will Come A Time	Noah & The Whale	6	1	10
49	Boomerang	Barenaked Ladies	6	1	9
50	Underneath the Tree	Kelly Clarkson	6	1	2
51	Out Of My League	Fitz and The Tantrums	7	3	15
52	Tornado	Little Big Town	7	2	10
53	Clouds	Zach Sobiech	7	2	8
54	Sail	AWOLNATION	7	1	10
55	Get To Me	Lady Antebellum	7	1	9
56	Everything Has Changed	Taylor Swift Feat. Ed Sheeran	7	1	7
57	Rock & Roll Love Affair	Prince	7	1	6
58	That's My Kind Of Night	Luke Bryan	7	1	4
59	Little Games	The Colourist	8	2	12
60	Put the Gun Down	ZZ Ward	8	2	8
61	Why Am I the One	Fun	8	2	8
62	Downtown	Lady Antebellum	8	2	7
63	Diamonds	Rihanna	8	1	13
64	See You Again	Carrie Underwood	8	1	9
65	Stubborn Love	The Lumineers	8	1	7
66	Ho Hey	The Lumineers	9	2	28
67	The Wire	HAIM	9	2	9
68	New	Paul McCartney	9	2	8
69	One Day (Radio Edit)	Caro Emerald	9	2	7
70	Heart Attack	Demi Lovato	9	1	8
71	That's My Jam (feat. Owl City)	Relient K	9	1	8
72	Callin' Me When I'm Lonely	Sheryl Crow	9	1	7
73	Two Black Cadillacs	Carrie Underwood	9	1	7
74	Just Another Girl	The Killers	9	1	6
75	Atlas	Coldplay	10	2	7
76	Heartbeat	Jjamz	10	1	11
77	State Of Grace	Taylor Swift	10	1	9
78	The Clock (Radio Edit)	The View	10	1	8
79	The War Within	Churchill	10	1	8
80	Bad Blood	Bastille	10	1	7
81	Big Blue Wave	Hey Ocean!	10	1	6
82	Lose Yourself To Dance	Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams	10	1	6
83	Light of Christmas (feat. tobyMac)	Owl City	10	1	5
84	Ready or Not	Bridgit Mendler	11	2	5
85	Ark In A Flood	Churchill	11	1	11
86	Love Somebody	Maroon 5	11	1	11
87	There's No Going Back	Sick Puppies	11	1	7
88	What About Now	Bon Jovi	11	1	7
89	Christmas In The Sand	Colbie Caillat	11	1	6
90	Closer	Tegan and Sara	11	1	6
91	Easy	Sheryl Crow	12	2	6
92	Gentleman	Psy	12	1	6
93	Compass	Lady Antebellum	13	2	6
94	The Mother We Share	Chvrches	13	1	8
95	I Got You	Jack Johnson	13	1	6
96	Mr. Mellow	Anuhea	13	1	6
97	We Both Know	Colbie Caillat	13	1	6
98	Cups (Pitch Perfect's "When I'm Gone")	Anna Kendrick	13	1	4
99	We Can't Stop	Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox	14	2	5
100	The Monster (feat. Rihanna)	Eminem	14	1	5

You can also visit the official TOP 100 OF 2013 hits page.

CHART NOTES

Rank - The numercial rank on this chart.
Peak Position = Highest position song held on Top 20
TAP = Length of stay at peak position = "total weeks at peak"
TW = Total weeks spent on Mel's Weekly Top 20

Some songs are listed in both the 2012 chart as well as the 2013 chart since their chart runs ran from the end of one year and into the next.

SONGS THAT WENT TO #1 IN 2013

The Walker - Fitz & the Tantrums (3)
The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) - Ylvis (2)
Royals - Lorde (4)
Wake Me Up - Avicii (2)
Safe and Sound - Capital Cities (2)
Roar - Katy Perry (4)
Get Lucky - Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams (2)
Treasure - Bruno Mars (3)
Waves - Blondfire (2)
Blurred Lines [feat. T.I., Pharrell] - Robin Thicke (3)
Get Lucky - Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams (6)
Tangled Up - Caro Emerald (3)
When I Was Your Man - Bruno Mars (2)
Change - Churchill (7)
Daylight - Maroon 5 (2)
Carry On - Fun (3)
Anything Could Happen - Ellie Goulding (2)

(x) = Total weeks @ #1

Mel's Weekly Top 20 - December 2, 2012.

Mel's Weekly Top 20
Week of December 2, 2012.

This Week	Title	Artist	Last Week
1	Diamonds (2nd Week @ #1!)	Rihanna	1
2	Locked Out Of Heaven	Bruno Mars	3
3	One More Night	Maroon 5	2
4	Skyfall	Adele	4
5	Ho Hey	The Lumineers	8
6	Anything Could Happen	Ellie Goulding	9
7	We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together	Taylor Swift	6
8	Gangnam Style	Psy	7
9	Daylight	Maroon 5	11
10	Carry On	Fun	14
11	Want U Back	Cher Lloyd	5
12	Now Is the Start	A Fine Frenzy	13
13	My Oh My	Tristan Prettyman	8
14	I Could Be A King	The Dunwells	16
15	Mermaid	Train	17
16	Little Talks	Of Monsters And Men	19
17	Madness	Muse	--
18	Tornado	Little Big Town	--
19	Christmas In The Sand	Colbie Caillat	--
20	Doom And Gloom	The Rolling Stones	12

CHART NOTES:

Rihanna holds at #1 with "Diamonds" for a 2nd week on the Weekly Top 20. She is followed at #2 byBruno Mars and his latest hit "Locked Out of Heaven" up one from #3 of last week. Dropping to #3 from #2 is Maroon 5's former #1 hit "One More Night". Holding at #4 for for a 4th consecutive week is Adeleand her theme song from the latest James Bond 007 movie "Skyfall". New to the top 5 this week we findThe Lumineers "Ho Hey" who have inched up the charts over the past weeks only to bolt 3 up from last week's #8 to #5 this week.

Just below the top 5 we find Ellie Goulding also moving up 3 points from #9 to #6 with her latest hit "Anything Could Happen". New to the top 10 this week is Maroon 5 with their third single off the albumOverexposed called "Daylight" up 2 from #11 to #9 this week. Moving up 4 points from #14 to #10 is "Carry On" by Fun, the third single off their latest album Some Nights, the title song which hit #1 this past summer.

New debuts this week include "Christmas in the Sand" by Colbie Caillat at #19, "Tornado" by Little Big Town at #18 and "Madness" by Muse at #18.

Songs That Went to #1 in 2012

One More Night - Maroon 5
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
Gangnam Style - PSY
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
One More Night - Maroon 5
Good Time - Owl City featuring Carly Rae Jepsen
Some Nights - Fun
She's So Mean - Matchbox Twenty
Set Fire to the Rain - Adele
Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
Payphone - Maroon 5
Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye featuring Kimbra
Glad You Came - The Wanted
Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye featuring Kimbra
Drive By - Train
The One That Got Away - Katy Perry
Red Solo Cup - Toby Keith
Someone Like You - Adele
It Will Rain - Bruno Mars
Run For Your Life - Matt Cardle

Video Showcase: The Lumineers

The Lumineers are an American folk rock band based in Denver, Colorado. The core band consists of Wesley Schultz on guitar and lead vocals, Jeremiah Fraites on drums, percussion, mandolin and vocals, and Neyla Pekarek on cello, mandolin, piano, and vocals, with added musicians for tours.^[1][2] Their self-titled debut album was released on Dualtone Records on April 3, 2012, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart.

More at this link. | The Lumineers Official Website

It's the 1990s Again

It's the 1990s Again from macpro on 8tracks.

Here's an embed from 8-Tracks.com. Check out some great adult alternative rock and pop songs from the 1990s. Features The Connells, Fastball, 10,000 Maniacs, The Cranberries and more. To listen click on the arrow / graphic.

Cool New Song From The Shins

Press the PLAY button and listen to the new Shins single "Simple Song". Cool. Can't wait for their new album coming out in March.

Dengue Fever - Cement Slippers

Dengue Fever is coming out with a new album. This is what the cover will look like. The first single off the album is a track called "Cement Slippers". Got a great beach vibe, fuzzy guitars and saxophone. Vocals by Chhom Nimol and guitarist Zac Holtzman are great. Reminds me somewhat of the old "Rock Lobster" song from The B52's. Give it a listen.

The new album Cannibal Courtship is coming out in April.

More Dengue Fever

Dengue Fever Official Website
Cannibal Courtship Preview
I Caught Dengue Fever (Oct. 30, 2010)

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)

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."

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.