September 2013 – BILLCSMUSIC BLOG

BILLCS Top 30 #414 – September 23/13

In the Top 5:

“Black Light” by L.A. singer Kaden rides the top of the chart for a third appearance, while Ryan Adamés’ ever-stunning ballad turn of Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me” is now at #2. Just to make it interesting, Toronto’s Neverest glides to #3 with their rivetting “Rewind”.

Fastest Risers:

I’m on a mission to get Miguel’s “Adorn” to be a bigger hit than it was at the top of 2013. Thanks to an exquisite remix featuring Jessie Ware, the song zips up my chart to #13.

Lady GaGa looks to have one of her biggest charting songs here with “Applause” racing to #6.

“Somebody Loves You” by Betty Who had the viral delight of being featured in a massive marriage proposal announcement video for two men in Salt Lake City. Indeed it is a beautiful song that fits the occasion and moves up to #16.

Other newcomers to the chart besides “Adorn” last week all climb up six places: “Love Is A Bourgeois Construct” by Pet Shop Boys (video is on its way), “Headhunter” by Parralox, and “I Remember” by Nick Pes, from the must-have dance compilation This Beat Is…Poptronik Volume Two!

New to the Chart:

I’ve already written about the three premieres, but they are all well worth repeating.

It was almost an instantaneous decision to add the lone new song from FrankMusik’s Between Us acoustic piano album, “Hymn”, and it arrives at #24. It’s one of Vince’s most painful and beautiful songs to date. I’ll have to check, but I don’t think there has been a chart in 2013 that has not featured a FrankMusik song!

Right behind at #25 is DATABOY’s devistatingly original mashup “We Can’t Stop Summertime Sadness”, seamlessly blending the Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey songs in an electronica way that you could never have imagined. And you can see the guys sing their hearts out in the video – can’t wait until they can tour. More new music on the way soon from Cameron and Adam! Download it for free after watching the video using the link below the video 🙂 I think the only other ‘mashup’ I’ve charted was Pet Shop Boys’ blend of “Viva La Vida” and “Domino Dancing” a few years back, though another worthy one is Penguin Prison’s “GoldenTrain/Working Day And Night”.

Ryan Star is currently accepting pledges to fund his upcoming album via PledgeMusic. He’s already recently released a well-received EP of his thoughtful form of rock, and sold out four shows in New York City at the beginning of August. His single from the EP deserves some belated attention, so “Impossible” arrives at #29, joining a slew of other Ryan Star songs to appear on the chart, including the Top 5 “Right Now”, “Last Train Home”, and “Breathe”.

Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and details web edition of my chart.

Here’s the full basic BILLCS Top 30 🙂

01 01 BLACK LIGHT (Stormby remix) Kaden
03 02 AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME Ryan Adamés
06 03 REWIND Neverest
04 04 SKIRT Kylie Minogue
02 05 VOCAL Pet Shop Boys
13 06 APPLAUSE Lady GaGa
07 07 DIRTY FLOORS Andy Suzuki & The Method
10 08 HOMEWRECKER Travis Garland
12 09 TAKE BACK THE NIGHT Justin Timberlake
05 10 BEGGING Anton Ewald
15 11 LEARN TO WAIT Sam Dickinson
14 12 ROYALS Lorde
21 13 ADORN Miguel featuring Jessie Ware
08 14 BROKENHEARTED Lawson featuring B.o.B.
19 15 PROBLEM (Kat Krazy remix) Natalia Kills
22 16 SOMEBODY LOVES YOU Betty Who
23 17 LOVE IS A BOURGEOIS CONSTRUCT Pet Shop Boys
18 18 WHAT’S GOING ON Monsieur Adi featuring A*M*E
09 19 LIFE (IS MY REVENGE) FrankMusik
26 20 HEADHUNTER Parralox
27 21 I REMEMBER Nick Pes
24 22 MA RADIO Osvaldo Supino
11 23 REMIX MY LOVE Killian Wells featuring Kristinia Debarge
New 24 HYMN FrankMusik
New 25 WE CAN’T STOP SUMMERTIME SADNESS DATABOY
17 26 WINNING GROUND Eric Saade
16 27 BLURRED LINES Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell Williams
20 28 HEARTS Dan Black featuring Kelis
New 29 IMPOSSIBLE Ryan Star
28 30 I THINK I LOVE YOU Bongiovanni

Feed Those EDM Emotions: “An Open Heart” by @BrightLightx2

BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT, “An Open Heart”

I’m so very pleased to say that he’s done it again, and it’s not of the oops! kind. Welsh-born London-based Rod Thomas, as Bright Light Bright Light, has many more masterstrokes of words and melody to unleash from his head, so it’s time to tear up a bit while you’re dancing to “An Open Heart”. But as sad as some of Rod’s songs may be, they often include many happy or joyous moments, which make you feel reassured that everything is all right again at the end. Co-written with Ian Masterton, “An Open Heart” reminds me most at times of my favourite BLx2 song “Love Part II” with its focus on gorgeous upper scale synth notes that end up embedded in your head after a mere listen. “An Open Heart” is from BLx2’s forthcoming EP of new songs In Your Care, due in November. Rod is back in New York City in October, including a full band show at Joe’s Pub on October 25. Take in FrankMusik’s show the night before you lucky NYCers (I’m thinking of you Jamie Sward!) and your end of the week might never be the same! Dare I say that this could be one of the best songs of 2013 this early on? 🙂

“Daylight” Shines for @DATABOYMusic with @KidMassive & @WeSmileOfficial

KID MASSIVE & WeSMILE featuring DATABOY, “Daylight”

Immediately following a massively successful and original mashup of Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” and Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” called “We Can’t Stop Summertime Sadness” (with over 10,000 You Tube views already), Austin duo DATABOY pairs up once again with Danish producer Kid Massive for the percolating electronica of “Daylight” on the prestigious dance label Strictly Rhythm. Earlier this year the lads and Kid Massive had a Top 5 UK club hit with the ear candy of “Good Girlfriend”. “Daylight” adds Swedish duo WeSmile’s voices into the mix and the result is enticing dance pop that keeps you listening while your feet are shuffling. Pick it up on Beatport!

DATABOY, “Daylight” (acoustic)

Even better to me is the free download of an acoustic version of “Daylight” by DATABOY. It uses beautiful violin to excellent effect to substitute for dance music rhythms which will leave the song stuck in your head and wanting much more. DATABOY continues in the studio to follow up last year’s totally amazing album Dreams Are Gold. Download this special acoustic rendition of”Daylight” below and watch the video to see some of what DATABOY does best 🙂

@GentlemenHall Rocks On with “Every Morning”

GENTLEMEN HALL, “Every Morning”

Boston sextet Gentlemen Hall returns to a potent blend of pop and rock with their latest song “Every Morning”. It’s a follow up to that bright pop song that you heard in a few TV commercials, “Sail Into The Sun”, one of my faves of the year, which eventually was picked up by Island Def Jam for official release. “Every Morning” is GH at its best – winning harmonies, slick instrumentation, lyrics to which everyone can relate – enhanced by a sometimes comical but always interesting claymation video. Music-wise, the song harkens back to the 60’s (whether intentional or not), particularly when the Summer of Sgt. Pepper Love was seguing into 1968’s White Album. “Every Morning” starts out like it might be a blissfully sweet pop song, but then gets its rock on pretty hard, which makes it all the more memorable.

Effervescent Electropop from @SIRPAUL “Every Single Moment”

SIRPAUL, “Every Single Moment”

It’s been a busy year thus far for one-of-a-kind veteran New York dance/EDM singer/producer SIRPAUL. We’ve seen and heard “Glow” (also available on This Beat Is…Poptronik Volume Two), as well as dazzling collabs with Armand Deluxe like “Touch Me” and “One Love”. “Every Single Moment” is from his upcoming Seventh Star album, due before year’s end, and is as Europop as it gets for an American singer. SIRPAUL sings from the heart and songs like “Every Single Moment” immediately draw you in with those vocals, plus production by AKB and the singer which always takes steps forward but retains a sound uniquely SIRPAUL. Get “Every Single Moment” on iTunes and listen below.

Moving On, Europop Style: “Over You” by @CarlManMusic

CARL MAN, “Over You”

After honing a career on stage and cruise lines, UK singer Carl Man has climbed aboard the Europop train via Denmark for the sunny pop of “Over You”. Fans of Bruno Mars, Taio Cruz and Canadians Audio Playground will take to “Over You” instantly. The video has Carl (who gets his smouldering looks from his half-Chinese heritage) getting ready Mika-style (cue the “We Are Golden” video) to dance the night away. You won’t be surprised to find yourself wanting to join him. While “Over You” doesn’t really cover any new ground, it’s a breezy near-four minutes that makes its good-timey presence known immediately.

Revel in the Good Ol’ Times of @SteveGrandMusic’s “Stay”

STEVE GRAND, “Stay”

Through his Steve Starchild cover videos and most recently the well-received “All American Boy”, Illinois singer/guitarist/pianist Steve Grand has a talent that is undeniably contagious. In his latest video for new song “Stay”, Steve and friends celebrate the good times with a huge party where being happy in one’s own skin is part of that party, instead of being separated out or given special attention. Of course it’s our guy Steve’s video, so spotlight this time is on him and his guy, but the video has a much bigger vision and kudos to the director for that. The song doesn’t exactly fit into what I normally have occupying my playlist, bridging pop, rock and country quite handily, but it’s refreshing and shows off Steve’s huge talent just fine, thank you. Two months later, his Facebook posts show Steve Grand as a well-rooted, ever-thankful, genuine young man. Other singers are wise to take note. Looking forward to seeing Steve’s show whenever it rolls into my town.

The Video (At Last): @NickIsTheTruth with “Ex Games”

NICK, “Ex Games”

It has quietly slipped onto the scene as the lead song from Nick Hagelin’s upcoming Streamline/Interscope album – a year and a half after it debuted on Soundcloud when I wrote about it, quickly becoming (and remaining as) my most-read post in the history of this blog! But I’m glad to see this slick video telling the story of this sweet-and-sour breakup song which might be the counterpart to Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor”. With all of the smooth R&B/pop singers breaking through in 2013, is there room for another? I say a BIG yes to Nick, who has been building up this release with many sterling covers that I’ve written about, including Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Eric Benet’s “Sometimes I Cry”. This video and song gives Nick more direct streetwise cred – you’ll definitely think of Drake – which seems to be otherwise lacking in many other releases this year. Been waiting for that full album, sooo looking forward to it!!

2 Of A Perfect Pair: @TheFrankMusik’s Between Us and Between

FRANKMUSIK Between Us

No sooner than his album Between was released this past Spring, FrankMusik was already planning to issue an acoustic version called Between Us. It saw release last week, and the prolific singer/songwriter/everything guy has created the perfect vocal-and-piano flipside to the EDM emotional rollercoaster of the original album. That’s not to say that there’s any less emotion in these stripped down versions, in fact the emotional basis of the songs is in many cases quite heightened. But we also hear what songs perhaps fit better as dance revelations, while others do fare better with just voice and piano. And some are clearly fine in both versions.

In fact, I like “Map” and “Captain” as much as I do the originals. With “Map”, it aches with sadness in this rendition, while “Captain” is still a storm of a slightly different bent. “Cake” seems to be a much more obviously angry song stripped of its frenetic production, and I definitely connect better with “Pins and Needles” in its Between Us version. “Did Love” becomes less of a big production number and more of a solo climactic point. “Thank You” is arguably the most heartfelt song on the record. And there’s a new song that could easily generate some tears. “Hymn” is a “hymn” as much about “him” (the Other Guy) as it is about his ex. Even if you’ve never been in that kind of messy situation, the song is a piece of storytelling bar none and should be heard (below).

Kudos to Vincent Frank for laying most of his emotional cards on the table for us to hear in 2013, along with some Between States USA shows this past summer (with what I hope will be more to come) and undoubtedly more projects up his creative sleeves. As a bonus treat, take a listen to FrankMusik’s lovely electronic cover of The Beatles’ “From Me To You” below.

Full Album’s A Gem: Self-Titled Debut by @TravisGarland

TRAVIS GARLAND (self-titled album)

After tantalizing us with two EP’s Fashionably Late Parts I & II earlier this year, L.A.-based singer/songwriter Travis Garland is completely on point with his full-fledged debut album release. It’s crammed with stories about relationships (some songs darker than others), longing, having fun, having sex… set to layered tracks produced by The Stereotypes which are alternately funky, danceable, stripped away – but almost always on the R&B/soul tip perhaps more so than in the pop genre. You’ll certainly think of Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, Usher, Michael Jackson as you listen… but at the end you will definitely think Travis Garland!

You’ve already heard the stunning (and personal faves of mine) “Blue Electric Roses” and “Homewrecker” (which seem to stand in tact from the Part II EP), but “Where To Land” has been re-recorded sans the rap, and “Abby Lee” (from Part I) becomes a fun jam. I wrote about new single “Clouds” as well as album preview “Motel Pool” last week. Counting those two, that’s 10 completely new songs on the album. A standout is the stylish and Spanish-influenced dance number “Easy” (above), which is begging for remixes and dance club attention! Not what I expected to find within, so Travis definitely has surprises in store for us all. “Pullin’ My Hair” (below) bridges rap, funk and calypso, giving it a streetwise flavour. “Modern Life” is probably the most amped up rock-oriented song within. “AllSheWannaDo” is most reminiscent of JT circa FutureSexLoveSounds. Bonus song “1 Of 1” combines MJ vocals with a retro 80’s vibe.

What’s important too about this album is that it debuted within the Top 20 on USA iTunes on the day of its release. Travis Garland is not signed to a major label, it’s an independent release. Travis has some pretty big celebrity supporters too. Be sure to listen to this record, one of the best of 2013, and join what will undoubtedly be a huge musical joyride for Travis Garland for the rest of the year 🙂