Twostepcublog

Hey everyone, it's time for my tunes for the week (on time, this time!). This week Maroon5's second single from their new album reaches the summit, while Rihanna (pictured above) jumps within the top-10. The biggest jumps come from Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, and Linkin Park (all the bigger jumps in red), while Barbara Tucker, David Guetta, and Fall Out Boy drop out. Link-O-Rama is still in full effect, so you can click on the highlighted name of any artist to bring up their website (you can rightclick and bring it up in another window for handy-dandy convenience). Now that's a muffin! This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Wake Up Call - Maroon5 (2) 2. Bubbly - Colbie Caillat (1) 3. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (3) 4. Love Today - Mika (4) 5. Over You - Daughtry (6) 6. Shut Up And Drive - Rihanna (9) 7. Free & Easy (Down The Road I Go) - Dierks Bentley (5) ...

I had written earlier about Bronski Beat , the “gayest band ever” in my eyes. Well, after one album and an aforementioned remix set, lead singer Jimmy Somerville left the group. Instead of going solo, he formed the Communards with childhood friend Richard Coles. This pairing didn’t stray too far from the Bronski formula of political angst, but including more orchestral-styled pieces as well. Well Coles and Somerville lasted for just two albums, before Somerville finally embarked on a solo career. Heaven is a compilation of songs from both albums and a few live and stray tracks. Rather than a hits collection, it is more of a sampler of their work. If you are looking for their two biggest successes, the remakes of “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and “Never Can Say Goodbye”, neither are here. It may be understandable that Somerville or the record company wouldn’t want to focus (or pay royalties) for non-Somerville-written material, but then there’s “ Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart ”, wh...

Hey boys and girls, finally my cold is starting to break. I hate being sick on a holiday, and I made it through Thanksgiving wheezing and swooning. Now I'm back, and ready for my tunes for the week. This week, Colbie Caillat spends a fourth week at number one, while Daughtry (pictured above) sees their third single move up within the top-10. Simply Red, Maroon5, the Perry Twins, and Gwen Stefani have songs dropping out, while Rascal Flatts, Buckcherry, and Seal make the biggest jumps (the big moves are in red). Link-O-rama is still is full effect, so you can click on the highlighted name of any artist to bring of their webpage (rightclick to bring it up in another window). I am Beowulf! This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Bubbly - Colbie Caillat (1) 2. Wake Up Call - Maroon5 (2) 3. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (4) 4. Love Today - Mika (6) 5. Free & Easy (Down The Road ...

Bronski Beat is the gayest band ever. Ever. And that is not a slight. The boys from London combined insightful pondering about being persecuted as a class in the 80s with socialistic views and bubbly but subversive dance-pop beats. They were truly the first stars to truly be out-of-the-closet from the start, and a big chunk of that was due to the out-of-this-world falsetto of lead singer Jimmy Somerville , who channeled soul divas of the 70’s into a totally new direction, while being accessible enough to get a top-40 rank and gold record status in the States with their debut album, Age Of Consent . Internal band turmoil after that saw the departure of Somerville, who would later front the Communards before setting off for a completely solo career. But before that, the band’s stopgap after the first album was a hodgepodge of extended mixes from AOC as well as new songs in a package called Hundreds and Thousands . Five of the ten tracks are alternate versions from their debut, and i...

Bob Dylan is the ultimate adult music. Why? Show me a child who likes Dylan’s recordings and I’ll show you a freak of nature. If you asked me when I was young what was the worst singer, in a heartbeat I’d give his name. Of course, I didn’t have that much exposure to him at the time, so I was mostly basing my bias on his whining tone of “ Just Like A Woman ”. Now that I’m scraping 40, I’ve come to appreciate the bard. And the release of the movie I’m Not There prompted me to dig out the initial big-name boxset that was ever released, Dylan’s Biograph . Originally released in 1985, this now 3-CD collection paved the road that many, many box-set compilations followed its recipe of hits, cult favorites and rarities. And while Biograph doesn’t contain as much meat as the new 3-disc Dylan “best-of”, it succeeds in giving a rounder picture of Dylan the performer as well as the artist. However, the collection betrays its age most by two reasons – obviously coming too early to capture ...

Hey guys, I know it's back to back charts, but I've been fighting a cold. More rambling goodness coming shortly. Until then, here's my tunes for the week. This week Colbie Caillat enjoys a third week at the top, while Mika (pictured above) jumps up within the top-10. The biggest moves come from I Nine, Seal, Feist, and Seether (I redmarked the best leaps) while Daughtry, Luke Bryan, and Mark Ronson have songs dropping off the list. As usual, Link-O-Rama is in full effect, and you can click on the highlighted name of any artist to bring up their webpage (you can rightclick to bring it up in another window). More egg nog, please! This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Bubbly - Colbie Caillat (1) 2. Wake Up Call - Maroon5 (4) 3. Free And Easy (Down The Road I Go) - Dierks Bentley (2) 4. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (5) 5. Who Knew - Pink (3) 6. Love Today - Mika (10) 7...

Hey guys, I'm back from Kansas City, and trying to catch up. Here's my tunes for last week, and I'll be on my way. This week Colbie Caillat spends a second week in the top position, while late-80's dance superstar Taylor Dayne (pictured above) is back in the top-10 with her current single. Darren Hayes, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Kenny Chesney have songs dropping off the list, while Sugarland, Inez, and Blake Shelton make some of the biggest moves. Now what did you order again? This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Bubbly - Colbie Caillat (1) 2. Free & Easy (Down The Road I Go) - Dierks Bentley (3) 3. Who Knew - Pink (2) 4. Wake Up Call - Maroon5 (7) 5. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (6) 6. Lovestoned - Justin Timberlake (4) 7. 1973 - James Blunt (5) 8. I'm Not Featuring You - Taylor Dayne (10) 9. White Lies - Paul Van Dyk f/ Jessica Sutta (9) 10. Love...