Music – Page 16 – BILLCSMUSIC BLOG

BILLCS Top 30 #413 – September 9, 2013

Hey! The BILLCS Music Blog is now 4 years old! My chart however has been around a lot longer, debuting online 15 1/2 years ago in January 1998. So without further adieu, here’s edition #413 😀

No change to the Top 5 songs. Kaden’s slick and memorable “Black Light” reigns at #1 again, while contender “As Long As You Love Me” by Ryan Adamés (below) hangs at #3 again. Only songs by Kylie Minogue and Anton Ewald switch places, with “Skirt” achieving a #4 high matched for her only by last year’s “Timebomb”.

One of the best Canadian pop hits of 2013 is Neverest’s smashing “Rewind”(below), which is the fastest riser on the chart, soaring 15-6. Could a #1 berth in the coming weeks be possible? Hmmmm…
NYC’s Andy Suzuki & The Method are coming to a city near you? You’ll likely get to hear their indie musician anthem “Dirty Floors” (concert version below), which also continues its climb to #7.
Lawson put on a heck of a show with Neverest on August 30, with new single “Juliet” coming in October and a Chapman Square Part II album too (North American release please!). In the meantime, “Brokenhearted” rises to #8.
Yesterday, FrankMusik released a gorgeous acoustic repackaging of his album Between called Between Us, on which you will get to hear a much less driven “Life (Is My Revenge)” still come across with a lot of power. The song moves up to #9.
Also released yesterday is Travis Garland’s self-titled album, which does indeed contain the unique and thought-provoking “Homewrecker”, which is now #10.

Look what’s just sitting outside the Top 10? Why it’s “Turn Back The Night” by Justin Timberlake, which is better than any other song on The 20/20 Experience yet seems to be underperforming. Think Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall, folks. It’s #12 on my chart.
“Applause” by Lady GaGa is not wasting any time proving that it’s a Top 5 contender on my chart. It puts the pedal to the metal and ends up at #13.
Is Lorde’s “Royals” suddenly overexposed with its pop radio success? Nonetheless, you’ve gotta give it credit for being what will likely be one of the defining songs for 2013. It’s up to #14.
If you’re in the UK, go out and see Sam Dickinson in concert because this lad can sing his soul out. His single “Learn To Wait” (below) comes from his top notch album The Stories That Occurred, and moves up to #15.

Waiting ever so patiently for the official release of Monsieur Adi & A*M*E’s dynamic “What’s Going On” (below)! This splendid recreation of Soul II Soul’s “Back To Life” goes BOOM in the best ways and rises to #18.
Meanwhile, Natalia Kills’ sophomore release Trouble arrived last week on the heels of second single “Saturday Night”. The Kat Krazy remix of her first single from the album “Problem” continues to build and moves to #19.
Two more of last week’s debuts are well on their way. “Somebody Loves You” by Betty Who jumps to #22, while “Ma Radio” by Osvaldo-with-a-boombox-Supino sails to #24.

Four particularly potent debuts arrive on the chart.

There had to be a way for the ever-so-talented Miguel to climb on to my chart, seeing that I arrived so late at Grammy time for his album Kaleidoscope Dream and the Top 20 hit “Adorn”? Well, thanks to Nick of the Chart Shaker music blog, “Adorn” does indeed land on my chart, in a startlingly grand remix featuring the glorious Jessie Ware at #21.

While 2013 year end #1 contender “Vocal” sits pretty at #2 again, the second single from Pet Shop Boys’ Electric sees release, and it’s my next favourite on the album, featuring such classic PSB lyrics and imagery, “Love Is A Bourgeois Construct” at #23.

As Parralox’s “Silent Morning” almost ends its run on the chart, another one of the most infectious songs premieres from their choice album of cover versions Recovery. And it’s an odd choice for a cover but it’s done so well! “Headhunter” (#26) was an industrial dance hit for Front 242 back in 1988, and John von Ahlen’s vocal provides a perfectly complimentary and contemporary update.

The collection of electronica and danceable pop on the collection This Beat Is… Poptronik! Volume Two will keep you dancing through to the winter months. One of its best songs that HASNT’ already appeared on my chart is the wistful end of summer tune “I Remember” by Nick Pes which bows at #27. It’s in good company with 7 other performers who are still or have appeared on my chart: FrankMusik (former #1 “Map”), Adam Tyler (#29), Parralox and Ryan Adamés (#30), Kaden (#1) , Osvaldo Supino (#24), Killian Wells (#11), and Tao Hypah.

Counting Down to @TRAVISGARLAND’s Self-Titled Album with “Clouds” and “Motel Pool”

TRAVIS GARLAND, “Clouds” and “Motel Pool”

I’ve been saying it for months now since I heard Parts I & II of his Fashionably Late EP’s: Big things are in store for L.A. based singer/songwriter Travis Garland. It almost makes his debut single “Believe” from 2010, released by Geffen Records no less, seem like a false start. Travis continues with his polished soulful tones and gritty undertones with new single “Clouds” and album track “Motel Pool”, premiered no less by Ryan Seacrest last week, and produced by heavyweights The Stereotypes. “Clouds” is perhaps the biggest pop explosion we might hear from Travis in his new songs. My comments want to drift into descriptions like “lighter weight”, and “breezier” than his other songs, but I don’t want these words to detract from a solid, romantic and sexy pop song. Personally, I think there’s much more to come in his self-titled album, which features most of the songs from the previous EP’s (I’ll wager, like FrankMusik, Travis and team may have kicked them up a notch for the album).

“Motel Pool” is to me the more interesting of the pair, much more of a sizzling R&B story-song companion to beauties like (my #1) “Blue Electric Roses”, “Neighbor”, or “Homewrecker”. Makes ya just want to dive in and keep swimming! The album is out on September 10 and is certain only to create the best kind of buzz because a lot of people have been waiting for it. In the meantime, get “Clouds” on iTunes.

Glittery and Thoughtful Nu.Disco from NYC’s @LiquidDiet “Writing On The Wall”

LIQUID DIET, “Writing On The Wall”

NYC trio Liquid Diet – featuring Australian Georgia Haege (yes she of “Kiss My Lipstick Off”, and about to tour with “Mamma Mia”!), witty Californian Billy Hanson, and electromaster Jonathan Sorge – should be far from the best-kept-secret that they are. Their playful “Hand Dance” captured my ears and thoughts a while back, and after gigging in NYC they have now released the thoughtful nu.disco epic “Writing On The Wall”. It’s available as a free download in a much zingier mix than was leaked a few weeks back. The song connects with me as I remember so much good feeling, thoughtful disco in my younger years. What Liquid Diet adds to the mix is a fine balance of vocals by Georgia and Billy, as well as repartee and innuendo that shows there’s much more to their music than just shuffling your feet. I’m sure this translates to an exhilarating club concert performance. “Writing On The Wall” is crisp dance music that would segue nicely with other favourites of mine by fellow NYCers Penguin Prison or Jessica 6. And if “Hand Dance” wasn’t pushing it a bit (in a Cyndi Lauper kind of way), Liquid Diet has also unleashed the naughty and definitely NSFW “My C**t”, also a free download. Listen below in the confines of your vivid imagination. You will blush. And, perhaps you will gasp. But you should just dance 🙂

@DATABOYmusic Reinvent “We Can’t Stop” and “Summertime Sadness”, Collaborate on “Spiral”

DATABOY, “We Can’t Stop Summertime Sadness”

DAVID HOPPERMAN & XANTRA featuring DATABOY, “Spiral”

If there’s any surprise shocker heading out of left field and straight onto the dance floor, it’s this mashup from Austin’s more-than-just-clever duo Adam and Cameron aka DATABOY. Yup, Miley Cyrus meets Lana Del Rey – and it evolves into an emotional end-of-summer anthem in what actually features one of the guys’ finest vocals. You get it all in a free download right here. And – we get to seem them throughout the entire video, at last! But, in total adoration of last year’s Dreams Are Gold album, I know that DATABOY has some fine, fine music coming which will build another project. And I want to see a club show one of these days again (2011 is getting long ago!). The duo also recently collaborated and provided gorgeous vocals on some splash progressive house by France’s David Hopperman and Xantra called “Spiral” (below), which has been making the rounds in dance clubs, deservedly so.

Repeat. @Zendaya “Replay”. Repeat.

ZENDAYA, “Replay”

I always pay attention to Disney and Nickelodeon TV network talent that often seems trapped within the confines established by their TV show. The Jonas Brothers sure are one, Zac Efron was one, Ross Lynch of “Austin & Ally” (about whom I’ve written) is another. Now that her TV show “Shake It Up” is seeing an end after three seasons, 17 year old Californian Zendaya Coleman is branching off into a slick and confident style that I really like – 1 part Janet Jackson, another part Jordin Sparks, another part Ciara – and all heavily influenced by Michael Jackson. You can’t fault any of those. “Replay” packs a lot of punch and power, yet has an affecting emotional side that doesn’t always match with an uptempo melody and chorus in other songs. And you wouldn’t think Rocky Blu would have quite the voice that Zendaya has. I was pleased to see her show in Toronto last week, where she basically stole it from R5 with her hour set. Her Twitter fans liked my tweets from the concert which made my timeline quite busy that day. Zendaya and her self-titled upcoming album are well worth the price of admission for both your ears as well as your mind and feet too.

No Romeo, Just @LawsonOfficial’s “Juliet”

LAWSON, “Juliet”

Fresh off their fun, melodic and energetic show in Toronto on Friday night, the lads from Lawson – Andy, Ryan , Joel and Adam – continue to tantalize us with their infectious brand of rocking pop, which has already taken them a few times to the UK Top 10, most recently with “Brokenhearted”. “Juliet” is definitely another smart story that is guided by a hook that tears a page out of Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out Of Heaven” (which of course nods heavily to The Police). Snappy drum work by Adam and always affecting everyguy vocal by Andy will help “Juliet” likely find a bigger audience than some of their other songs. Now we just need a new album or EP to package it up along with”Brokenhearted” and a few other new songs. Like the retro costuming in the video too! “Juliet” is due in October in the UK. Below is a pic from their concert.

“Tonight’s The Night” to Party with Canada’s @ElevenPastOne

ELEVEN PAST ONE, “Tonight’s The Night”

In my comments about their Canadian gold single “The World Is Ours”, I may have unfairly (but still somewhat accurately) compared quintet Eleven Plus One to The Wanted. To get more to the point, there is a style of pop/rock fashioned currently by bands like Lawson, Neverest, Down With Webster, The Stereos, and others, which totally reminds me of post-boy band bands from 10 years ago like McFly and Busted. They write their own songs, play instruments well… and in Eleven Past One’s case, they have a great harmonies (like The Wanted 🙂 ) and a powerhouse lead voice in Daniel Richter. “Tonight’s The Night” is a simple but classy pop song about partying the night away, no rocket science here. The video’s fun and completely captures the band’s lively presence in concert, which I watched last week. Signed to Warner Music in Canada, after three singles now I’m hoping an album or EP is not far off.

The Return of Remy Shand (@remingtonshand) “Where Are We Going?”

When we last heard from Canadian pop/R&B singer Remy Shand in 2003, he indicated that he was recording a follow up album to The Way I Feel, which won him a Juno Award and four Grammy nominations. Then he disappeared… I’m not so interested in why, though I heard about his marriage and subsequent divorce, and apparently some personal issues.

My friend and fellow blogger Adam Soybel of Pop! Goes The Charts has been in a retro mood lately on Twitter and tweeted about the singer and the song. That got me thinking about yet another scan of the Interweb for this major talent. And I found him on Twitter, at over 1,000 tweets this far @remingtonshand 😀

The big news is that he’s back!!! 🙂 The Way I Feel was my favourite album of 2002 and “Take A Message” (below), the international pop and R&B hit, was my favourite single.

When we were all listening to that, there was no Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Instagram, etc. But aside from newer performers, the same playing field of pop and R&B singers – Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, Usher, Jamiroquai – are all around and doing even better, especially this year. So Remy’s decision to return is timely. I hope he has some great people behind him to work this return hard.

His new song “Where Are We Going?”, sounds like it doesn’t miss a step from songs from The Way I Feel. It is particularly soft funk-jazzy, and may sound a little understated. But there’s that golden, recognizable voice, and like his quiet return (in May it seems), the only way is back up 🙂

I was fortunate enough to see his show in Toronto at the Phoenix club at the time of his heyday. It was a blisteringly funky, high energy affair that kept people dancing while Remy held court for the majority of the show at his keyboards. Below is a clip of him from the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2002.

I look forward to keeping you all informed about one of the best singers of the 2000’s. Welcome back, Remy Shand 🙂

New for 2012: Vincent Did It, Jason Mraz, Marianas Trench… and a couple of neat remixes

Vincent Did It “Dynamo”

Vincent Frank laid his Frankmusik moniker to rest in December and took a break from Twitter. As of today, he’s back as Vincent Did It with his first free download of the year, “Dynamo”. On one hand musically it’s unlike anything that he’s ever done, and on the other contains the thoughtful lyrics he’s been known for over the past few years. 2012 needs someone to push the envelope and Vincent Did It is just the guy. I’ll look forward to whatever Vince releases this year because of all of the work he puts into everything. This is the second time in a year he’s had to put a positive spin on a turn of events, and this is the way to do it – in style. Hopefully he’ll continue with the uStream studio visits he started in December too!

Download “Dynamo” for free below, courtesy of Flop of the Pops blog.

Also be sure to check out Vince’s pre-Christmas take on dubstep called “Fathom”, available for free download below.

Jason Mraz, “I Won’t Give Up”

It took me till after the first minute with the chorus, but Jason Mraz’s new single “I Won’t Give Up” will help keep you warm and fuzzy during the first part of winter. The song just gets better as it goes along, bridging nicely the quiet, relaxing style that won him Grammys with “I’m Yours” a few years back, as well as the lyricism that made his first two albums such winners. The song simply exudes happiness, and we all need songs like this to turn to when we need to tune out of life for 3 minutes. Can’t wait for the rest of his upcoming fourth album. “I Won’t Give Up” is a return to what made me enjoy Jason Mraz on record and in concert. Get it on iTunes.

Marianas Trench’s album “Ever After”

It was released back in November, so my comments about the Trench’s third album Ever After are a little overdue. However the Vancouver quartet may have just released its best single yet in the form of “Fallout”, which sits at the centre of the album and pretty much anchors it.

The album has a winning story about a quest for happiness, and definitely contains some of their best lyrics yet, though I still greatly cherish those in sophomore album Masterpiece Theatre. Singer Josh Ramsay produced and wrote the entire record, which is a major accomplishment.

Ever After leaves behind some of the subtleties of Masterpiece Theatre in favour of a more radio-friendly pop sound, but to the contrary of what I’ve heard from some fans, it does not abandon its rock origins – the instrumentation from guitarist Matt Webb, bassist Mike Ayley, and drummer Ian Casselman (Josh and Matt also play piano) comes off as quite versatile – if anything it flaunts them.

Overall, Ever After sounds like a variation of Roy Thomas Baker-produced albums of the 70’s and 80’s, particularly Queen’s A Night At The Opera and Jazz or The Cars’ debut. Most of those albums were sequenced with little or no gap between songs, and so Ever After sounds seamless like them. Other key songs include “By Now” (a bit similar to “Right Beside You” from Masterpiece Theatre), “Desperate Measures” (listen below), “Porcelain”, “B Team”, and the finale (of course) “No Place Like Home”.

Ever After could be the record to break the very deserving Trench internationally – they already have many American followers.

REEEEEEMIXES!

I love remixes when they’re done right, and a couple have put their spins on some recent songs.

Rihanna “Where Have You Been” (Jadion Missing Persons remix)

I’m one of the few people who seems to be on the fence about Rihanna’s Talk That Talk album. I have failed to get into the first two singles, “We Found Love” and especially the awful “You Da One”, and I think I like Rihanna best when she’s sassy (like in “S&M”) or captured by a club vibe (‘Don’t Stop The Music”, “S.O.S.”). Jadion, known for his innovative production of records by Simon Curtis and Ro Danishei, has managed to de-Dr. Luke-ify “Where Have You Been” in favour of a tribal, dubsteppy bounce – this remix does not give an inch and sustains all four and a half minutes. Download it for free right here and mix it in with your post-New Year’s party music for 2012!

Sky Felix featuring Adam Tyler, “Taking Back My Love” (remix)

Producer/writer Sky Felix is one of the contributing creative forces amid Adam Tyler’s Shattered Ice album, which has already drawn two hits on my personal chart, “I Won’t Let You Go” and “Pull The Trigger”. Adam’s about to release a video for the currently charting “Like A Drug” (tantalizing snap from the video shoot above), and in the meantime Sky has put a crisp, bright, and snazzy retro house spin on “Taking Back My Love” that’s too good to pass by (note: download link will return!). Be sure to get Adam’s Shattered Ice on iTunes and watch for the video in the coming weeks!

Saade’s Hotter… with the Highest Debut: BILLCS Chart – January 2, 2012

It’s a new name for the blog and personal chart, but the number one song on the chart looks to remain the same for the next while anyway. Eric Saade & Dev hold at the top with “Hotter Than Fire”, but the 21 year old Swede also has the highest debut in this edition. I love so many of the slamming electropop on Saade Volume Two that it was tough to choose another one… so this will probably be the second in a series of songs to chart from that album. Nonetheless, the most rocking track “Backseat” bows at #11. This song has major international fan appeal. I don’t think it will be the second official single but it shouldn’t be overlooked as one of the best songs on the record.

You can view the full chart using the link under ***BILL’S PERSONAL CHART*** to the right, or you can click right here. You can hear all of the songs on the chart or watch their videos by clicking on the pics on the chart page.

Some songs didn’t appear in my year end Top 75 Songs list because they carried over into the current year. So “Don’t Fuck With My Money” by Penguin Prison gets cozy at #3, while Lana Del Rey’s “Blue Jeans” (Penguin Prison remix preferred) slides into the #5 spot, and “Black Out The Sun” by Darren Hayes lands inside the Top 10 at #8 with “Bloodstained Heart” hanging in at #4. Also new to the Top 10 are the riveting “Make You Mine” by Joe Jonas at #6, fastest riser “Home” by UK soul singer Stone Walters at #10, and “The Stars Are Saying Yes” by Boy Banned at #7. You can listen to the former and watch the latter below. But alas Boy Banned has called it a day, so in the coming weeks you will hear more about the upcoming activities of two of the quartet, Paul (Pob) O’Brien and Ethan Bourne.

The middle of the chart is absolutely crammed with songs vying for the Top 10 by Jon McLaughlin, Joe Jonas (again), Mika, and The Midway State. It’s rather ironic that “Fire!” by The Midway State precedes fast riser “Earthquake” by Lanbrinth featuring Tinie Tempah, which soars 23-16. Other recent tunes by Lady GaGa, Adam Tyler (whose video for “Like A Drug” arrives in a few weeks), and Nelson Clemente all continue to climb.

Four more debuts arrive on the chart. I’ve already blogged about the second entry by Lana Del Rey, whose stunning video for “Born To Die” (#24) arrived a few weeks before the holidays. The gal is one to watch, as she has signed to Interscope for her upcoming album of the same name. Above “Born To Die” is the second single from Marianas Trench’s third album Ever After. I enjoyed first single “Haven’t Had Enough” but other songs prevented it from entering my chart in the Fall. So their second single “Fallout” is that much more unique and is actually the core of the Ever After album. I’m enjoying the album immensely and expect to have a full review of it later in the week. Listen below – an official video for “Fallout” is coming soon!

Frankmusik gave us an enjoyable animated video for “Wrecking Ball” which I blogged about before the holidays, and as “No I.D.” drifts down the chart, “Wrecking Ball” debuts at #26. Just above that, I’ve dug deeper into The Midway State’s Paris Or India album. My impressions of the record keep changing as I listen to it. The group performed “St. Paul & The Wolf” with a local college’s marching band’s members when I saw them in concert on December 17. The song’s storytelling and anthemic sound continues to win me over and arrives at #25. Watch a live clip of the band below performing the song this past summer.