Twostepcublog

Hey folks, it's time for my tunes for the week. This week, British band Muse make the top spot with the third single from their latest album, while Chris Daughtry (pictured above) moves into the top-5. Nickelback & Rob Thomas leave the list, while Gwen Stefani, Delerium, and Inaya Day make big jumps. Giddyup, cowboy! This Week Song/Artist (Last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Starlight - Muse (2) 2. Stupid Boy - Keith Urban (1) 3. Runaway - Jamiroquai (5) 4. This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race - Fall Out Boy (6) 5. It's Not Over - Daughtry (7) 6. Settlin' - Sugarland (8) 7. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol (3) 8. Irreplaceable - Beyonce (4) 9. What Comes Around...Goes Around - Justin Timberlake (17) 10. Say It Right - Nelly Furtado (14) 11. U & Ur Hand - Pink (9) 12. Here (In Your Arms) - hellogoodbye (10) 13. Keep Holding On - Avril Lavigne (15)

There are songs you have no idea how they get popular, then you realise they're stuck in your brain like a tumor. Behold. Jermaine Stewart started out as a dancer on Soul Train and tried out for the lead in Shalamar along ST vets Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniels. Alas, not to be. Fast forward to Stewart singing backup on Culture Club's Colour By Numbers album, which apparently gave him enough clout for a record deal with Arista. After a first album produced a minor R&B and pop hit ("The Word Is Out"), Stewart's second album, Frantic Romantic surprised most by producing the top-5 song " We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off " courtesy of hitmaker-of-the-time Narada Michael Walden. I remember the big talk being about the supposed "safe-sex" message, completely missing the fact that this is being sung by the prissiest guy this side of Boy George (in fact George seems to outbutch him). Doesn't take away the geniune fun of the son

Jasonhare.com each week has cool music-geek features like "Adventures In Mellow Gold" dissecting soft-rock classics, and "Chart Attack" which reminisces about the top 10 of a particular week.

It's that time again, my tunes of the week (now I'm even early for Friday's list. Who knew?). As always you can click on any highlighted artist name to go to their website (it's better to rightclick to bring up another window or tab, but whatever). This week Keith Urban spends a second week in the top spot, while Fall Out Boy (pictured above) catapult into the top-10. DHT, Stone Sour, Goo Goo Dolls, Amber, Jody Watley, and Rachel Panay all have songs falling off the list, while Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, the Dixie Chicks, and Modest Mouse make some of the biggest moves. Lying in bed with the radio on moonlight falls like rain... This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Stupid Boy - Keith Urban (1) 2. Starlight - Muse (3) 3. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol (4) 4. Irreplaceable - Beyonce (2) 5. Runaway - Jamiroquai (6) 6. This Ain't A Scene

In the world of 80s pop-soul, there were weird acts, mostly for the way they dressed more than their cookie-cutter music that prevailed in that decade. Nobody with tunes as weird as Was (Not Was) had any chance of making any success. Who knew. On their third album, the collective masterminded by non-relatives David (Weiss) Was and Don (Fagenson) Was scored with three charting songs, with two hitting the top-20 in 1988. What Up, Dog? frames those three with a hodgepodge of experiments that would pretty much shock anyone expecting an album full of glossy R&B. " Somewhere In America There's A Street Named After My Dad " is a strange enough beginning to the set, not so much for the long title but for the laidback jazz groove. It would've made a good middle interlude to the album, but somehow was pushed in front. Next comes " Spy In The House Of Love ", which is miles above the rest of the album in quality, with it's Brit-soul-like production of rubbery

I'm spending the weekend cleaning the house, but came across this while snacking (don't ask me how, youtube has some weird suggestions. All I know is, it's one half OMG and one half WTF. Apparently according to Wikipedia , this guy is huge in Bulgaria. Imagine.

Hey boys and girls, it's time for the weekly music, now on Fridays for real this time. This week, newly-rehabilitated Keith Urban makes #1 with his second single from Love, Pain, and the Whole Crazy Thing , while Jamiroquai (pictured above) makes a big jump into the top 10. Jennifer Hudson, Gwen Stefani, Lady Sovereign, Alan Jackson, and Paolo Nutini make big moves, while Supafly, Inc., Brad Paisley, Incubus, and Janet Jackson leave the list. C143SB, baby! This Week Song/Artist (last weeks position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Stupid Boy - Keith Urban (3) 2. Irreplaceable - Beyonce (2) 3. Starlight - Muse (6) 4. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol (4) 5. It Just Comes Natural - George Strait (1) 6. Runaway - Jamiroquai (12) 7. U & Ur Hand - Pink (5) 8. Snow (Hey Oh) - Red Hot Chili Peppers (7) 9. It's Not Over - Daughtry (11) 10. Here (In Your Arms) - hellogoodbye (8) 11. How To Save A

There are bands that I thought were way cooler than they actually were. Take the Tubes . The first I can remember them, they had a proto-new wave-ish song called " Talk To Ya Later " which combined American crunchy guitar riffs with neo-keyboard solos taken from a Halloween show. It came together with some throw-off kiss-off lines to make a pop nugget that has aged much better than the majority of American rock in 1981. That was followed two years later by " She's A Beauty ", which catapulted them into the pop top-10 and provided me with hairbrush lipsyncing bliss for weeks. Basically a song built from a hundred hooks, it was at the time a rock masterpiece in my ninth-grade eyes. Little did I know both those songs are the product of a fledgling producer names David Foster, who would go on to curse/bless the world with the likes of Celine Dion and pussy-era Chicago.These two songs anchor EMI-Capitol's The Best Of The Tubes 1981-1987 , which collect 10 songs

Well, it started with the best of intentions... due to my schedule I was gonna change my chart date to Friday, making it easier to put on here. However due to some bad (work) and really good ( you know) distractions, it's a little late. Apologies and all that. This week George Strait remains on top for a second week, while English band Muse (pictured above) moves up in the top-10 with their third single from their latest album. Jason Aldean, Altar, AFI, The Killers, Little Big Town, and the Wreckers (with their newer of 2 singles, even) fall off the chart, while Fall Out Boy, Justin Timberlake, Mika, and The Killers make big jumps. And after the Oscar buzz, the Dixie Chicks returns for a fourth time. It just comes natural, baby... This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. It Just Comes Natural - George Strait (1) 2. Irreplaceable - Beyonce (2) 3. Stupid

Without the Righteous Brothers , there would be no room for white guys to be seen as legitimately soulful singers. In the age where artists like Pat Boone and the like made sterile the best of the soul acts of the fifties and early sixties, Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley brought the true soul goods. A true 2-lead-singer duo, with each as distinct from each other as Lennon and McCartney, in a very short time generated a handful of classics still lauded as among the best singles in the rock era. However, that candle burned brightly but quickly; the pair's best work was within a year and a half's time. After that, scattered collections attempted to collect portions of their work, with only the recent Gold album truly capturing the best of the groups early and revival periods. I picked up a couple older CD's recently by them, one that was once the definitive hits set, the other a toss-off of their 70s material. The Very Best Of The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody is a s