Summer is upon us, and the music in this edition of my personal chart is generally very sunny and Popervescent! And that’s always something I can turn to, especially during the past few weeks where life has been full throttle and I’ve just been unable to find the words to write… hence this is my first blog since June 7! Well that’s an exception… Tomorrow, I hope to write about a few more tunes and artists that have interested me over the past while.
Penguin Prison’s “The Worse It Gets” puts me in a good mood whenever I play it, so it hangs onto the #1 spot for a 3rd chart (6 weeks). Just below it, Simon Curtis’ “Beat Drop” stays put at #2 and I’ve now resigned myself to the fact that it is indeed my favourite track from Simon’s 8-bit Heart mixtape – I had previously wrote that “Delusional” (which like “Beat Drop” held court at the top for 4 charts) was my fave… but they’re awfully close! Simon’s got some new music up his sleeve for sometime during the summer too. The title track from his mixtape also lands at #4 and is surely a contender for #1. Right behind him at #5 is Mike Posner, whose “Cooler Than Me” is now a North American hit.
The more negativity I read about Christina Aguilera’s “Not Myself Tonight”, the more it seems I appreciate it. The song jumps 10-7… flashy and edgy video aside, you folks are missing a good song with a terrific vocal if you shunt it aside. The Gossip lands in the Top 10 with “Pop Goes The World”, and Welsh singer Rod Thomas, aka Bright Light Bright Light, has the fastest riser on the chart with the taste he’s providing of his upcoming album, “A New Word To Say”.
Below the Top 10, there’s a great deal of activity with songs pushing their way to the Top 10, including those by Justin Nozuka, Ryan Star (whose album release show in NYC I will be attending on August 3!), Evan Taubenfeld x 2, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Drake, Travis Garland, and Two Door Cinema Club. You will certainly get an infectious case of good cheer by listening to many of these songs successively!
The debuts this week all belong to women with unique vocal stylings. First up is actually a UK trio called The Good Natured, fronted by lead singer Sarah, who could be the happy result of Adele-meets-Tracey Thorn with her own brand of intrigue. Their track “Your Body Is A Machine” as remixed by Baby Monster debuts at #26 – a delightful acoustic video clip of the song is at the top of this page. Next up, Goldfrapp arrives on this chart for the first time with “Dreaming”, a track from the duo’s latest album Head First. I’ve never truly got to appreciate Goldfrapp’s past efforts beyond passing listens, and the songs from Head First have yet to really gel with me – almost an about-face for the duo to create a record that might be over-the-top commercial. But within it is “Dreaming”, which captured me with it’s heavy late-70’s disco influence while also giving a tip of the hat to Kate Bush along the way. Last up, Reni Lane is an American singer whose album Ready dropped last Fall. “Place for Us” has been gracing my iTouch for a while now, and the haunting quality of her voice in the Will Eastman remix has sunk in. You can check out the video of the original mix at the bottom of this page.
You can view the chart in its entirety by clicking on the link under ***BILL’S PERSONAL CHART*** to the right, or by clicking right here.
Thanks for reading and any comments that you have are greatly appreciated!
My next chart will be posted early in two weeks as I will be on a family vacation during the first week of July.
BILLCSMUSIC BLOG 