Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 73
Chart Week: May 5, 1979 Song: “Music Box Dancer” – Frank Mills Chart Position: #3, 15th week on the chart. This was the song’s peak. Songs like “Music Box Dancer,” complete outliers to everything else on the pop chart at the time, fascinate me. It makes no sense that this track spent over four months in the Hot 100 and…
Friday Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6APHaq6NZeEF0f87JHijhx?si=1dd3c386c6584b37 “Do You Pray?” – Tess Parks When artists are described as “Psych rockers” it can go several directions. I like the direction Parks takes that description. “Falling Apart (Right Now)” – Wilco Wilco has had a hell of a journey through their nearly 30 year career. They’ve meandered all over the soundscape, had various levels of success, had lineup…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 72
Chart Week: April 26, 1980 Song: “Cars” – Gary Numan Chart Position: #22, 11th week on the chart. Peaked at #9 for three weeks in June. It has always bothered me that Gary Numan never seemed impressed with the biggest song of his career, 1980’s “Cars.” I’ve read several stories in which he speaks of it dismissively. On the song’s…
Friday Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7curiq1YPat8lwaHLQzfIR?si=7715cf94c2a04e21 “Roman Holiday” – Fontaines D.C. FDC’s new album dropped last week, to critical acclaim. It is a little too one-note for me, so no surprise that this track is the one that stuck out to me, as it is the only one that varies (slightly) from the rest of the album’s sound. “Wonderment” – Chastity Brown Hey, it’s Adele…
Friday Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3pPq5rG5tq9LcLyLoO2rhc?si=ff9c013661944deb “More Than Love” – Hand Habits Meg Duffy spent the lockdown huddled in a home with fellow artist Sasami and engineer Kyle Thomas. Duffy said the time spent with them gave her the courage to write the songs for her latest album. I’ve given it a listen and this is, by far, the standout track from it. “Dignitary Life”…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 71
Chart Week: April 19, 1986 Song: “A Little Bit of Love (Is All It Takes)” – New Edition Chart Position: #38, 8th week on the chart. Peaked at #38 for two weeks. Every teen pop group faces a dilemma as they get older: how do they maintain their audience as they, their fans, and their music matures? New Edition was…
(Good) Friday Playlist
I promised an extra-thick playlist last week. To be honest, I really didn’t deliver. Since it’s a holiday weekend, I’ll recommit myself to dropping a heaping helping of high quality tunes on your ears. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4hpfZLwW3nPTES1rVVOhF1?si=735baf9bb4274b9c “Don’t Turn Around” – Crystal Eyes I know it’s dumb when I say things like “This band sounds like they are/are not from this place.”…
Friday Playlist
We’ll go a little long this week as I attempt to clean out the queue a bit after missing a week. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0kNTguupxFGGSKkuqvElAy?si=f32dd0515a834d4d “The Lightning I/II” – Arcade FireDamn, I really should have included these two weeks ago when they first came out, but I forgot to drop them into my working list for the Friday PLs. The good thing is…
Friday Playlist
A slightly larger playlist this week, as my pool of songs to share has grown and there will likely be no list next week as I enjoy my spring break. Bad weather in Siesta Key could always change that. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4CYo6KNA1sx5zyPkjFedlM?si=883bdd8e66b447c3 “Heavy Heart” – Bartees Strange Strange’s debut album was terrific and showed great promise. This first peek at what most…
Friday Playlist
A playlist filled with, mostly, heavier tracks this week. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/20H1Qm5v0ajlRaH8RFh5NH?si=ed9fb74dce5a4c1d “Angelica” – Wet Leg A little change in sound on this latest track from Buzz Band Wet Leg. There’s some Missing Persons in the DNA of this song. And some grungy guitars that aren’t quite Shoegaze but certainly owe something to that movement. “Rockstar” – Momma Speaking of crunchy, ’90s…