Twostepcublog

Hey boys and girls, it's time for my birthday week tunes. This week Finger Eleven stay at the top for a second week, while Pink (pictured above) rockets back into the top-10 in her second ride on the list with "Who Knew", while "U & Ur Hand" is still in the top-40. In fact six of the artists in the top-10 have two songs on the chart. Other big moves come from songs by Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, Rihanna, and Kelly Rowland, while Beyonce & Shakira, Yoko Ono, September, Daughtry, and Rob Thomas drop off. As always Link-O-Rama is in effect, so click on any highlighted name to bring up their website (right clicking to bring it up in another window or tab is extra cool). I'll be all quiet-like, Sugarbear is sleeping... This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (1) 2. Rehab - Amy Winehouse (2) 3. Umbrella - Rihanna...

Eight songs. In this day of overstuffed CDs of half-filler (especially in the R&B department), it was refreshing to go back to an album that cut most of the chaff. In this case it’s the Gap Band , with their fourth album Gap Band IV (of course) running light on songs but heavy on the funk. In fact, until the end, this is a non-stop party machine, with three of the biggest soul songs that year. Kicking off the “ Early In The Morning ”, the mood is of course, more funk than substance, but the rebound track is so infectious you forget Charlie Wilson was dumped in the first place, with all the cowbell I’ll ever need. Things settle down for a seemingly reserve-time plea to sty together in the ballad “ Season’s No Reason To Change ”, and further back possibly to the meeting in “ Lonely Like Me ”, where Charlie picks up a girl to sooth his (somewhat) broken heart. “ Outstanding ” was the third and least pop-oriented tracks at the time, but seems to have the most lasting effect (sampled...

Well, first off, points on the name. “ Tennessee ” Ernie Ford was one of the most popular “celebri-singers” of the 40’s and 50’s, more known for his persona than his style (you listening, Paris and Hilary?) From radio shows to TV, Ford coined the hokum caricature that entertained country and pop audiences durng the black-and-white era. Surprisingly for a long-running artist whose material has been mostly on one label, he hasn’t been anthologized as much, though that may be due to his “kitsch” factor. RCA’s Vintage Collection attempts to accomplish this on a single disc, and for the most part succeeds in giving a brief but incomplete glimpse into Ford’s work. At twenty tracks, the set is high on content, with a good representation of his down-home comic songs like “ Milk ‘Em In The Mornin’ Blues ” (which somehow seems to end with him loving his cow?), “ Anticipation Blues ” (on the rollercoaster ride of near-fatherhood), and “ Shotgun Boogie ” (about a love of a lady who guns). Th...

Dedication for my Sugarbear tonight...

Well, I'm happy but way sunburnt from a day at "rodeo school", but I'm chilling with my tunes for the week. This week Finger Eleven reach the top for the first time, while Plain White T's (pictured above), a Sugarbear fave, move within the top-10. This week there's another exodus, as songs by Mat Kearney, Jennifer Lopez, Jody Watley, Jake Owen, Emerson Drive, and Brad Paisley leave the chart, and Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, Bob Sinclar, Matchbox Twenty, and Clay Walker make big moves. And as usual, linkmania is in effect - you can click on any artist name to go to their website (rightclick to bring it up in another window). Now please let me hit the Powerball! Please! This Week Song/Artist (last Weeks position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (2) 2. Rehab - Amy Winehouse (1) 3. Umbrella - Rihanna (5) 4. Makes Me Wonder - Maroon5 (3) 5. I Told You So - Keith Urban (4) 6....

First, he proclaims they have the best album ever coming out. Next, he disses Green Day and anyone who is in his view “anti-American” (read anti-Bush). Brandon Flowers gives a lot of reasons for me to hate his band, despite my liking for feminine post-wave rock-disco stylings. But I was already somewhat won over by the first single, “ When You Were Young ”, and of course picked up resulting album, Sam’s Town , named for the local-yokel casino in their native Las Vegas , with an open mind. While I can safely say the Hall of Fame doesn’t need to clear a place real soon, The Killers ’ Sam’s Town is a somewhat enjoyable pop-rock piece that offers a convincing change of direction for the group. Meant to emulate Bruce Springsteen (by default, Born To Run most likely), Flowers et al feel the need to prelude the prelude (here called the “ Enterlude ”) with the Title song , a long, ok but sort of forgettable, descript of the desert-city scene. After the prelude comes the first of their tw...

More funniness. Tanks, MT.

Ok, Karl...you're right, this is friggin' hysterical. I can even figure out if this is a gay thing, or just European... Update: They have a website ....oh boy. You can even "Simpsonize yourself"...I'm afraid.

Music compilations can be a hit-or-miss affair. 80’s compilations even more so. 80’s one-hit wonder compilations even beyond more so. Most contain your usual offenders – your “Mickey”, your “She Blinded Me With Science”, your “867-5309”. I picked up Time-Life’s Another Lost Decade-The 80’s: Hard To Find Hits in the waning days of Tower Records in New York . Time-Life, while being mostly a mail-order company with all the ill repute that the genre carries, was at times very successful in creating complete, interesting, and different sets cross-licensing material that’s hardly ever found on a multi-artist set. With Another Lost Decade-T8:HTFH , they’ve tossed the “one-hit wonder” stipulation to be able to stick in a couple “ringer” hits, like top-10’s “ When Smokey Sings ” by ABC , (which has aged really well for the era), Hall & Oates ’ “ Method Of Modern Love ” (notsomuch), and the Thompson Twins “ Lay Your Hands On Me ” (again, aged better than other songs from the time). Whi...

Hey boys and girls, another full weekend, and finally got to post my tunes for the week. This week Amy Winehouse spends another week at the top, while Big & Rich (pictured above) move within the top-10. This week, Erasure, Christina Aguilera, Gym Class Heroes, and KT Tunstall fall off the chart, while Idina Menzel, Ben Macklin, Dierks Bentley, Hilary Duff, and Rascal Flatts make some of the biggest moves. Linkmania is still in effect, so click on the highlighted name of any of the artists to go to their website (by rightclicking you can bring it up in a new window or tab without losing this...) Hope you got home safe, Sugarbear... This Week Song/Artist (last week's position) --------------------------------------------------------- 1. Rehab - Amy Winehouse (1) 2. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (2) 3. Makes Me Wonder - Maroon5 (3) 4. I Told You So - Keith Urban (4) 5. Umbrella - Rihanna (5) 6. What I've Done - Linkin Park (7) 7. Lost In This Moment - Big & Rich (...

Damn , I’m old. This album came out twenty-six years ago! Depeche Mode arrived on at least the English music scene with the Speak And Spell album, subtly yet importantly changing the landscape of electronic music. Previously the habitat for gloomy navelgazers like Gary Numan and the like, original member Vince Clarke guided the band into a pop-influenced territory that is almost anarchistic to the point of being punk, yet too chipper to be totally in the “New Romantic” camp. Loaded with three UK hit singles, Speak & Spell was the start to a career that produces top-10 albums to this day. To celebrate their 25 th anniversary, Rhino Records re-introduced all their albums in double-disc special editions, containing the original version of the album, with a DVD containing a short film, a 5.1 DTS mix of the album, and four additional song originally only available as b-sides and 12” releases. Let me tell you first off, this series is one of the most frustrating reissues I’ve own...