BILLCS Music Blog Top 75 Songs of 2012 – #20 to #11

#20  Foster The People “Houdini” (Green Children remix)

The art of the remix will be mentioned in this next list of songs as sometimes (but not always) can a remix improve on a song.  Foster The People have been known to dabble in remixes themselves, and when I heard this remix in a store one day I didn’t even realize it was them during the first minute of the song.  The Green Children remix dazzles by grabbing you from the very start and not letting you go till the end.  It’s also important to note that the duo remixed this for the SOS Children’s Village charities too.  Foster The People’s lyrics are quite inspiring – encouraging young folks to “focus on your ability” rather than disappearing because of fear.  I don’t know how that all fits into their own odd but innovative Grammy-nominated video.  You can watch the animated one to the Green Children remix as well as the original below.

 

#19  Eric Saade “Fingerprints”

I’ll bet regular readers of this blog were wondering when Le Saade would appear, right?  “Fingerprints” is one of three songs from Saade Volume Two to grace this list and reach the Top 3 on my chart.  Somehow the Swedish star’s glory needs to spread outside of the Nordic countries, and I thought the propulsive electronica from that album would have been a sure thing – and it might have, had the album been released in more places.  Nonetheless, “Fingerprints” is a great story (“there’s no face in the mirror / your image is the killer”) and guaranteed to make large crowds bounce along.

 

#18  Joe Jonas “Make You Mine”

If people would have told me two years ago that some of my favourite songs of 2012 would have been by Joe Jonas, I probably would have given them strange looks.  But here it is at #18, the best song from Joe’s Fastlife album “Make You Mine”, a smartly written and romantic (“Gonna rock with you til sunrise /Can I, let me do all the little things you like”) slice of pop/electronica with a driven melody and couldn’t-be-better vocal from Joe.  Should. Have. Been. A. Single.

 

#17  Kyle Patrick “Go For Gold”

This free download and precursor to Kyle’s self-titled EP finds the 26 year old Georgia born singer of The Click Five continuing with his energetic brand of power pop that has given him and his band much success in Southeast Asia, where he has continued to tour throughout most of 2012.  Why this couldn’t have spread more to the rest of the world is a little beyond me.  “Go For Gold” in fact is the perfect song for any Olympics celebration.  Its upbeat singalong message is simply contagious and inspiring (“Chasing every heartbeat / We can feel it starting” “Chase it till we own it / Living in the moment”).  Kyle acquitted the song perfectly in the video (also available in 3D!!), which didn’t look like it had a lot of edits, giving it a free-flowing roam-around-a-set feel.

#16  Lana Del Rey “Blue Jeans” (Penguin Prison remix)

Remix case-in-point #2.   Take Lana Del Rey’s dreamy and flowing “Blue Jeans” from her Born To Die album, throw in a funky backdrop to continue to highlight her Stevie Nicks-ish sounding vocal on the song and layer some lush keyboards around it, and you have the basis for Penguin Prison’s sexy remix, which to me blows the original out of the water.  This remix of “Blue Jeans” continues to be one of my most-played songs even though it arrived for free online late last year.  And I had the pleasure of seeing Penguin Prison perform the remix in concert twice this year.  Check out all three – original video, remix, and Penguin Prison’s performance – below.

 

#15  Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin “Don’t You Worry Child”

Sometimes we all need a positive message and when it’s set to some rich EDM it makes the experience even better!  Such is the case as Swedish House Mafia apparently close the door on their project with this worldwide smash, featuring powerful and touching vocals by singer John Martin.  “Don’t You Worry Child” held court at #1 on my chart for 2 appearances (4 weeks) starting in late November.  It’s a Grammy nominee for Dance Recording of the Year.

 

#14  Kylie Minogue “Timebomb”

I continue to ask myself why Kylie’s best and most accessible record in 10 years did not become a major hit outside of Australia.  Despite raves from bloggers and music fans, the song disappeared in short order, which is a shame.  It’s a fun song, a terrific dance floor filler, and a great companion to something like “Till the World Ends” by Britney Spears.  I think time will serve this song well!  Fun video, too, below.

 

#13  Florence & The Machine “Spectrum” (Calvin Harris remix)

Always a favourite song of mine from Florence’s sophomore album Ceremonials, “Spectrum” somehow managed to be improved with the help of a Calvin Harris remix, which sent it to #1 in the UK among other places (it was also a #1 US dance club play smash).  The remix takes advantage of what a big and dynamic song it is, with a smashing vocal performance that cannot be bested (despite game attempts in viral covers, including on “The Voice”).  I’m glad the group ended up with two Grammy nominations this year, as did Harris for Best Dance Recording for “Let’s Go” (but, oddly enough, not for Remixer).

 

#12  Penguin Prison “Don’t Fuck With My Money”

Strangely enough, by the time Penguin Prison’s album surfaced in mid-2011, I think I was still caught up in songs like “Multi-Millionaire” and “Golden Train”, though I had heard this song already in concert.  Being the album’s opener, though, it does set a tone, and by late last year its anthemic  urgency had won me over big time, becoming impossible not to sing along with it at a Penguin Prison concert.  Audiences and club DJ’s agreed, and it became a Top 10 Billboard Dance/Club Play hit that will endure.  I can’t wait for more new music from Chris Glover and Penguin Prison in ’13.

 

#11  River Tiber “Symmetry”

From Now On, the debut album from Toronto band River Tiber, who are one of my 13 Performers To Watch For ’13, is my current go-to album when I want to drift away with songs that have glorious mood changes and deliberate moments of quiet.  “Symmetry” is one of the songs that contains exactly that, with a charming and subtle vocal by Tommy Paxton-Beasley till he sings “I thought I could fall in to you” half way through, which actually becomes the uncharacteristic climactic point of the song, allowing you to drift along with it like you would in a really solid good dream.  “Symmetry” (in a chart geek moment 😉 the only song this year to peak at #2 on my chart) is the first of two songs on this list from River Tiber, whose next album Synapses drops on January 1.

Published in: on December 30, 2012 at 7:03 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BILLCS Top 30 #394 – December 17, 2012

“Parachute” by Matthew Koma becomes the New York singer’s second #1 of 2012 (heading into 2013 – this is my 2012-ending chart – the next one for December 31 counts towards 2013), following his partnership with Zedd on Billboard’s #1 Dance Club Play song of the year, “Spectrum”.  I would actually put money on the fact that Matthew will be one of the Ones to Watch for 2013, given the quality of his EP Parachute.  In fact, his spirited and edgy rocker “1998” is the chart’s fastest riser, moving 19-6.  I can’t wait for the full album to hear what else Matthew has been up to. 

 “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia & John Martin is still going strong at #2, while “Yeah Yeah” by the currently-touring Willy Moon soars to #3 and will challenge “Parachute” in the coming weeks to find which song sticks in my head the most!  With the recent release of Almeria, Lifehouse & Natasha Bedingfield (video above) hold steady at #4 with “Between The Raindrops” and the band (whose 7th Top 10 entry this is on my chart) will undoubtedly promote the album with another single release.  The long-lasting “Music Makes You Lose Control” by Portugal’s Carlos Nóbrega sticks tight at #5 and – spoiler! – will rank highly on my Best of 2012 year end list, which will come to you gradually starting on December 26.

 One of the joys about creating a personal chart is to see independent releases alongside of major label names, and quite often this chart consists more than 50% of indies.  It started off as a free download, and now an album is in progress for Vague-à-bonde as the Minnesota-based singer holds at #7 with “Evolved” (ab0ve).  Right behind at #8 are Matt & Kim, whose main aim is fun, as songs from their album Lightning articulate, with “Let’s Go” (and further down with “Now” at #20).  Tao Hypah’s dance pop of another colour is at #9 with “Play The Girl” – Mr. Hypah’s 2nd Top Tenner following the #3 “Celeb”, which will also appear in good company on my year end list.  Call it a jam-packed Top 10 finishing off with Adele’s “Skyfall”.  It’s her 5th Top Tenner on the chart.

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.  Any free downloads that are identified are sanctioned by the performer.  There’s always a tiny place at the bottom of the blog post with tags and the statement “Leave A Comment” – please feel free to do so :)

 

More indies on the rise just outside of the Top 10 – Kid Massive & DATABOY, Chris Wallace, Arty/Nadia Ali/BT, and Bim – with a special mention going to Chris for achieving airplay in New York with one of this year’s special songs “Remember When (Push Rewind)”, which has also been in Mediabase’s Top 40 for weeks and is still climbing.  Chris also debuts on the chart with “Keep Me Crazy” (ab0ve) at #29, recently free on Amazon in the USA.  “Time Bomb (Walk Away)” (#12), “Remember When”, and “Keep Me Crazy” can all be found on Chris’ excellent album Push Rewind.  Rounding out the other indies, “O.V.E.R. U.” by Daniel Bedingfield climbs to #16, while “Fast As I Can” by Frankmusik jumps to #19 as the singer now records his album You Are Here (and promises an acoustic piano version of it too!).

 

There are no surprises as the release of Synapses approaches that River Tiber debuts at #22 with their 4th chart entry “What Are You Afraid Of”, which is still available as a free download on the Toronto band’s Soundcloud page.  If you’re in Toronto, catch them on January 3 for an album release party at the Drake Hotel.  I’ve already written about Passion Pit’s weirdly anthemic “Take A Walk” (#24), and now I’ve heard it locally on radio too!  There was an overdose of Ne-Yo on TV two weeks ago and “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)” (above) has become embedded in my ears, so it somewhat belatedly arrives on the chart at #26.  It’s the singer’s 7th chart entry and first since he appeared on Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down” in 2009.  Last but by no means least at #30 is “Miss Unknown” by the talented Eric Saade, which I wrote about on the weekend and might be a game-changer for the singer if people embrace the softer side of his music along with a mostly delightful video.  It’s already his 7th song to appear on my chart since “Popular” (my #1 song of 2011) started the ball rolling.

 

 

Published in: on December 18, 2012 at 12:14 am  Leave a Comment  
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BILLCS Top 30 #393 – December 3/12

I think we should be seeing some new blood invading the chart soon. In the meantime…

“Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia & John Martin holds at #1, while “Parachute” from Matthew Koma’s EP of the same name is now at #2 and looks to follow his pairing with Zedd on “Spectrum” (#10) to the top spot. “Music Makes Me Lose Control” by Carlos Nóbrega hangs tough at #3, while the understated (and unfortunately underperforming) “Between The Raindrops” by Lifehouse & Natasha Bedingfield zips up to #4. Lifehouse’s Almeria will be on release before the next chart on December 17. And Bright Light Bright Light gets yet another Top 5er with “Feel It”. Do go to this link for BLx2’s musical Christmas Advent calendar of mashups – today he meshed his own “Moves” with “Your Loving Arms”, the classic 90’s club hit by Billie Ray Martin (listen and download below).

In the ‘movin’ on up’ category, we find a contender for the top bounding up to #6 – “Yeah Yeah” by Willy Moon (stylish video up top), who performs two gigs in New York City this week. “Evolved” by Vague-à-bonde continues to impress by rising to #7, and “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” by Jane Badler (who is in Sweden, for fans of “V” – video below) moves to #8. “Let’s Go” by Matt & Kim becomes their third Top Tenner on this chart at #9.

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.  Any free downloads that are identified are sanctioned by the performer.  There’s always a tiny place at the bottom of the blog post with tags and the statement “Leave A Comment” – please feel free to do so :)

Not to be outdone, “Skyfall” by Adele is no slouch at #12, while the fastest riser on the chart is the infectious controversy-generating “Play The Girl” by The Netherlands’ Tao Hypah, vaulting 21-13. It’s just one of those songs that has a message which is totally secondary to its engaging melody and chorus. “Good Girlfriend” by Kid Massive & DATABOY and “Must Be the Love” by Arty, Nadia Ali & BT continue to follow each other’s dance steps up the chart at #14 and #15 respectively. Bim’s “Burn” continues to sear its way up at #17, with last week’s pop parade of “Time Bomb (Walk Away)” by Chris Wallace and “1998” by Matthew Koma” in tow at #18 and #19, as well as Daniel Bedingfield’s “O.V.E.R. U.” at #21.

The three debuts have already been written about in these pages so absolutely no surprise that they land on the chart. “Fast As I Can” bows at #25 and is the first independently released single by FrankMusik from his upcoming album You Are here, due at end of January. As good as the song is, this one revels in a powerful, soulful Vincent Frank vocal. Vince also posted a most beautiful demo of a ballad recently called “Shores” – do give a listen below. Matt & Kim score entry #2 from their Lightning album with “Now” at #27 (live clip below).  After the duo take a well-deserved break from touring, they will be back at it with Passion Pit in the new year.

Finally, The Presets arrive at #29 with “Youth In Trouble” from their Pacifica album (live clip below). The song was the first video we saw and has resonated much longer than the official single “Ghosts”. The duo will be back in home country Australia in the new year for more dates.

Published in: on December 3, 2012 at 11:50 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BILLCS Top 30 #392 – November 19/12

Bear with me with this bare-bones write up of the songs on my latest personal chart.  Aside from a few new videos, of course 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.  Any free downloads that are identified are sanctioned by the performer.  There’s always a tiny place at the bottom of the blog post with tags and the statement “Leave A Comment” – please feel free to do so :)

Swedish House Mafia & John Martin get their turn at the top with the memorable “Don’t You Worry Child”, which displaces another fave of mine, “Music Makes You Lose Control” by Carlos Nóbrega, which should hang around in the Top 10.

But aside from the turnover at #1, the chart seems to be about one name.  The name is Koma. Matthew Koma. Not only does his collaboration with Zedd on “Spectrum” stay in the Top 5 at #3, but the title track of his EP Parachute vaults 17-4, which could result in a shorter stay at #1 for the Mafia.  The New Yorker also debuts at #26 with “1998”, which definitely shows his edgier rock style, definitely recalling post-punk folks like Elvis Costello and XTC.  His album Propaganda will be out in early ’13 – woo!

It puts a smile on my face every time I play Bright Light Bright Light’s mashup of his hit “Feel It” with Scissor Sisters’ “Let’s Have A Kiki”.  “Feel It” moves up to #6 this week, and the Lifehouse/Natasha Bedingfield collaboration on “Between The Raindrops” is slowly finding favour, rising 10-7.  Watch the video below – too bad there aren’t any scenes with Jason and Natasha together.

Two newcomers join the Top 10, songs that you won’t really find elsewhere!  “Evolved” by Vague-à-bonde climbs 11-8 as the singer (Nicole Alicia) prepares a video and more new songs.  “Evolved” has one of those immensely likeable qualities – it just sneaks up on you and hits you between the eyes with its chorus.  Mesmerizing in a different way is “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” by Jane Badler which rises 12-10 and can be found on Jane’s EP Mistaken Identity which you can buy on iTunes.

Despite many songs tumbling on the chart, there’s still quite a bit of activity.  “Yeah Yeah” by New Zealand’s Willy Moon soars 22-11 as the singer tours in the UK.  Matt & Kim wrap up their Lightning tour (though they are touring with Passion Pit in 2013) and “Let’s Go” jumps 15-12.  Kid Massive & DATABOY make a great pairing as “Good Girlfriend” moves 20-17 (video below).  Right behind is the Arty/Nadia Ali/BT collaboration “Must Be The Love” at #18, Adele’s “Skyfall” at #19, “Burn” by Bim at #20, and “Play The Girl” by Tao Hypah at #21.

Joining the chart are two more new entries.  I’m hoping it may not be too premature, but since “Remember When” by Chris Wallace exits after a mandatory 10 chart (20 week) run, I’ve installed “Time Bomb (Walk Away)” at #25.  To me this is the natural follow up to “Remember When”.  Over the past two weeks, Daniel Bedingfield released the provocative video to “Secret Fear”, which got to #5 on my chart this summer.  The video is quite a feat, developed and directed by Daniel, and filled with numerous meanings.  I’ve also been playing “O.V.E.R. U.” from his free Secret Fear-Stop The Traffik EP for months, and it arrives on the chart at #27.  Listen to “Time Bomb” and “O.V.E.R. U.”  and watch the video for “Secret Fear” below.

Shorter and more frequent blog posts coming your way soon!!

Published in: on November 20, 2012 at 11:28 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BILLCS Chart #391 – November 5/12 – Lose Control with Carlos Nóbrega’s New #1!

Even though we had a song with a video about an alien love story at the top of the chart two weeks ago, my Hallowe’en party song for 2012 is “Music Makes You Lose Control” by Portugal’s Carlos Nóbrega, which climbs to #1 for this edition of my chart, succeeding “Spectrum” by Zedd & Matthew Koma. Carlos is working on an album and I’ll be one of the first to have news on it as it happens. In the meantime buy “MMYLC” on iTunes and support independent music by doing so!

Zooming to #3 to become a real challenge for the top is “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin, which looks to replicate its UK #1 status in other countries too. The Mafia are playing to huge crowds on what looks to be a final tour for the trio.  Below is a live clip of the song.  Also joining the Top 5 is “Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding, which still seems to be getting lost in the success of “Lights”. Nonetheless it is one of the more joyous sounding songs of the year.

After coming off of a successful UK tour supporting Scissor Sisters, Bright Light Bright Light continues to rise up the chart to #7 with new single “Feel It”, which features several remixes and a new/old song “Good Times”. Rod Thomas (BLx2) has once again given us a free download of a remix, coupling “Good Times” with Black Box’s “Everybody Everybody” as “Good Body”, below.

Two songs join the Top 10. “Unheard” (#9) by Netherlands singer Jeronimo isn’t a single, but is one of the most enjoyable and irresistible songs from his debut album One Kiss. And “Between The Raindrops” by Lifehouse featuring Natasha Bedingfield is indeed a grower, leaping 18-10, as I look forward to the band’s next album Almeria and perhaps a tour in 2013.  Take a look at a live clip of Lifehouse performing the song, below.

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.  Any free downloads that are identified are sanctioned by the performer.  There’s always a tiny place at the bottom of the blog post with tags and the statement “Leave A Comment” – please feel free to do so :)

Below the Top 10 is a steady busy stream of great music. “Evolved” by Vague-a-bonde moves to #11 as the singer records a new album.  This independent release has a crackling good hook and a soft, winning vocal (listen below).  Jane Badler’s “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” is at #12 and is also featured in the Stormby remix on the compilation Kiss My Lipstick Off. Imagine Dragons’ anthem “It’s Time” is now at #14, while Matt & Kim’s rollicking “Let’s Go” climbs to #15. As the release of Lotus approaches, “Your Body” by Christina Aguilera moves up to #16, and Mika’s “Popular Song” (taking its cue from “Popular” from “Wicked”) is up to #18. Kid Massive & DATABOY have a UK club hit with “Good Girlfriend” at #20, while “Must Be The Love” by Arty, Nadia Ali & BT jumps to #21.

As I expected two weeks ago, the chart got a bit of housecleaning and there are five new entries. It’s no surprise that the highest, at #17, is “Parachute” by Matthew Koma, if you read my rave about it recently. The one newcomer that I haven’t written about yet is “Yeah Yeah” by Willy Moon at #22. You know it as an iPod commercial song. But on its own, it’s a powerful crowd-pleaser from this 23 year old New Zealand native who is currently touring in the UK and Europe opening for Jack White. Watch the stylish, simple and fun choreography in the video below.

Despite the overhype, Adele’s theme for the new James Bond film “Skyfall” rises above it all, being such a gorgeous piece of drama unto itself, landing at #23 on the chart. At #25 is “Burn” by Bim from their Lifelines EP, which is due for worldwide release this week. This is the opener to the EP but is the core of it, full of intense emotions that could write their own book. The video is intriguing with its comic book theme, and really doesn’t have much to do with the song – watch below. Lastly, “Play The Girl” by another Netherlands singer, Tao Hypah, which I also wrote about recently, debuts at #28 following the #3 success of “Celeb”.

Published in: on November 3, 2012 at 10:41 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BILLCS Top 30 #390, October 22/12

This edition of my personal chart is top heavy with activity, which means only two debuts and a number of songs which will exit the chart in two weeks (including DATABOY’s magnificent #1 “Dreams Are Gold” (#10), which is at its maximum 10 appearances – 20 weeks).

“Spectrum” by Zedd featuring Matthew Koma slides comfortably into #1 as the German producer continues his tour (stopping here in Toronto on November 2) to promote his new album Clarity. But the song will be battling it out in two weeks with the insanely catchy “Music Makes Me Lose Control” by Portugal’s Carlos Nóbrega, which has been itching to bust a move up the chart these past few weeks, and finally does so, vaulting 6 to 2. This leaves “Remember When (Push Rewind)” by Chris Wallace at #3, “Go For Gold” by Kyle Patrick at #4, and the Green Children remix of “Houdini” by Foster The People at #5.

And there’s no shortage of movement in the rest of the Top 10. “Long Time” by Sweden’s John De Sohn featuring Andreas Moe climbs to #6, “Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding (below) jumps 10-7 despite getting lost in the extended success of “Lights”, and “Feel It” by Bright Light Bright Light featuring Mikal Kilgore is the only new addition to the Top 10 at #9.

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.  Any free downloads that are identified are sanctioned by the performer.  There’s always a tiny place at the bottom of the blog post with tags and the statement “Leave A Comment” – please feel free to do so :)

There’s a bit of a log jam just outside of the Top 10, with “Unheard” by Jeronimo bumped up to #11, and Bim’s “Lights Out” rising to #12. But then we have the fastest riser, “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin soaring 24-14 and bound to be a contender for #1 in the coming weeks. Jane Badler’s sensational drama of “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” moves to #15, “Evolved” by Vague-à-bonde (below) climbs to #16 – the lady herself is opening for Diamond Rings in Minneapolis soon – with “It’s Time” by Imagine Dragons and “Between The Raindrops” by Lifehouse featuring Natasha Bedingfield right behind. Lifehouse announced the title of its new album this week, which is called Almeria.

Last week’s debuts make bountiful moves. “Your Body” by Christina Aguilera zips up to #19, with Mika’s “Popular Song” immediately after, and Matt & Kim’s rollicking “Let’s Go” (official lyrics video below) bounding 30-22.

The two debuts this week are guaranteed to make your feet move. The renown BT has teamed up with young Russian DJ/producer Arty and the always marvelous Nadia Ali for “Must Be The Love” at #24. It’s a dandy hybrid of trance and house made even more conspicuous by Nadia’s signature voice, and resonates in the original 12″ version at the top of this page. Both BT and Nadia Ali are no strangers to my chart. Here are their respective chart histories:

BT

Simply Being Loved (Somnambulist), #1, 2003

Superfabulous (featuring Rose McGowan), #1, 2003

The Force Of Gravity (featuring JC Chasez), #3, 2003

Love Comes Again (with Tiesto), #5, 2004

Break My Fall (with Tiesto), #6, 2007

Suddenly (with Christian Burns), #6, 2010

The Emergency, #17, 2011

Nadia Ali and iio

Rapture (Tastes So Sweet) (iio), #3, 2002

At The End (iio), #2, 2003

Smooth (iio), #5, 2003

Is It Love (iio), #21, 2005

Love Story, #3, 2009

Believe It (with Spencer & Hill), #12, 2012

The remaining debut is “Good Girlfriend” by Danish producer/DJ Kid Massive featuring the one and only DATABOY at #25. This song takes a little time to catch on and will finally be available digitally in the coming two weeks. All kids of remixes abound with Alex Van Alff’s currently available as a free download. Do check out the video at the top of the blog. Not only does the song flow really well with the story, you get to see DATABOY’s Cameron and Adam performing (and you can match up the voices to the guys now ;).

Published in: on October 21, 2012 at 8:09 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BILLCS Top 30 #389 – October 8/12

While the rest of my personal chart is stunted with pent-up activity from songs on the rise, the songs at the top of the chart pretty much stay intact.  So that means we have the very talented Chris Wallace gracing #1 for a fourth time with “Remember When (Push Rewind)”, and you can watch for another song from the Push Rewind album to debut in these parts in two weeks.  

Zedd has been on Lady GaGa’s lips a lot lately, if you happened to miss the “High Princess/Stache” mashup on the weekend (it’s below).  So featuring Matthew Koma’s dulcet boyish tones, the German producer claims #2 with “Spectrum”, which looks to succeed “Remember When” at the top.  

“Go For Gold” holds steady at #3 for Kyle Patrick, while “Dreams Are Gold” by DATABOY (#4) continues to hang in the Top 5  – where it has been for all of its appearances but one (it debuted at #8) – while the loveable “Genius” continues to rise at #8.  “Houdini” by Foster The People holds tight at #5 with the free download of the Green Children remix, which is just cause for lots of random dancing.

There’s a long stretch of songs on hold or rising between #5 and #15, so I’ll touch on the bigger moves.  “Music Makes You Lose Control” by Carlos Nóbrega (below) moves 8-6, hovering  just below the Top 5 in anticipation of a bigger move in two weeks – can it get to #1?  I have been saying it since I first heard it – Hallowe’en dance parties, this is YOUR song!  

Vaulting 12-7 is the emotional Swedish dance music that is currently so appealing by way of “Long Time” by John De Sohn featuring Andreas Moe.  Another dance floor filler is Markus Riva’s “We Dance 4 Reason”, holding at #9.  And then Ellie Goulding’s “Anything Can Happen” arrives at #10 just as her Halcyon album hits stores tomorrow in North America.  Let’s get those remixes onto iTunes as well, shall we?

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.  Any free downloads that are identified are sanctioned by the performer.  There’s always a tiny place at the bottom of the blog post with tags and the statement “Leave A Comment” – please feel free to do so :)

The fastest riser of the lot is “Feel It” by Bright Light Bright Light featuring Mykal Kilgore, which soars 18-11.  Bright Light Bright Light has scored opening UK concert dates for Scissor Sisters, which I hope will translate into a second go round for the Sisters in North America.  Their “Let’s Have A Kiki” is still on the pulse of dance clubs right now, and BLx2’s own mashup of it and “Feel It” (“Let’s Have A Feel”) continues to put a smile on my face, prompting me to want to lock the door and lower the blinds… Listen below.

While we do not have a video for Colin Munroe’s triumphant “Over It” (up 17-13), we do have one for previous Top 5 single “The Fight Of My Life” from his mixtape Unsung Hero, so give it a view below.  There’s some intriguing imagery completely befitting of the song.  Well done!

That smashing duo from the UK, Bim, currently has “Lights Out” climbing the chart, moving 19-14, but in preparation for their stunning Lifelines EP (now on pre-order on iTunes – you can read my initial thoughts on it right here), the pair have a new video on deck below for next single “Burn”, which remembers those fond days when we as children could be superheroes for just one day.  There’s some pretty impressive graphic artistry, see the poster below as well.

“Yesterday’s Tomorrows” by Jane Badler climbs 21-17, but that captivating Stormby’s Drama mix of the song is now also featured on the compilation Kiss My Lipstick Off, now available on iTunes and featuring other fine folks like Liz Primo, Spray, and Nathalie Archangel.  Last week’s debuts all get stuck together temporarily at songs #20-22, waiting for a gap in the chart to occur (likely in two weeks), so be sure to check out indie release “Evolved” by Vague-a-bonde (watch for the video soon but in the meantime listen to the song below), Imagine Dragons’ “It’s Time”, and “Between The Raindrops” by Lifehouse featuring Natasha Bedingfield (video also due soon).

You can watch the video for the lead debut on the chart (#24) at the top of this post.  While I’ve enjoyed the music of Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello over the years in solo and various other projects, their Swedish House Mafia project never really got on my radar till this year.  And apparently their album Until Now and sell out tour represent an end to the project.  I never believe ‘never’ in the music business, but in the meantime we can all enjoy “Don’t You Worry Child”, once again featuring outstanding urgent and emotional vocals by another of Sweden’s go-to-guys, John Martin.

I’ve long appreciated the powerful and soulful voice of Christina Aguilera, though her songs have not always been consistent and therefore haven’t appeared in this chart until more recently.  But every time a song has charted (this is the 7th time), it has reached my Top 10.  We’ll see if that happens with the outrageous but fun “Your Body”, which bows at #25 with the accompanying entertaining video.  It’s from her upcoming 5th studio set (excluding Latin, Christmas, and Best Of compilation) called Lotus.

I recently wrote about Mika’s The Origin Of Love album, which is a diverse collection that may take a few listens to grow on you.  One aspect of the record that is very appealing is how it lets loose on a couple of the songs.  So two songs debut on this chart, the quirky “Wicked” inspired “Popular Song” at #26, and then his duet with Pharrell Williams (himself no stranger to the chart, having appeared with Snoop Dogg on “Beautiful” and Robin Thicke on “Wanna Love U Girl”, as well as with his trio N.E.R.D. on the #1 “Rock Star” and “Hypnotize U”) on “Celebrate” at #29.  These songs mark Mika’s 7th and 8th appearances, with his most successful being in 2009-10 when “Rain” got to #1 and “Blame It On The Girls” and “We Are Golden” reached #2 and #3 respectively.  Watch the joyous video for “Celebrate” below.

And at #30 is “Let’s Go” by Matt & Kim, the lead single from their fourth album Lightning, which hit stores last week.  I caught them in concert last week and will have my thoughts about that show and their album in the coming week.  The duo have worked exceptionally hard to make all of their music accessible in various formats, and have created lyrics videos for each song on the new album.  Watch the video for “Let’s Go” below – I’m sure we’ll be seeing and hearing more from Matt & Kim as their tour progresses.  The Brooklyn, NY duo have previously reached the Top 5 on the chart with “Daylight” and “Block After Block”.

Published in: on October 8, 2012 at 11:58 am  Leave a Comment  
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