twostepcub's music chart for March 4, 2011...

Hey folks, it's already March, and time for my top-100 tunes for the week. This week Bruno Mars has his fourth week at the top with "Grenade", while Enrique Iglesias (pictured above) makes it into the top-10. The biggest jump are made by songs by Cee-Lo Green, Tim/Berg, and Adele (former big hits highlighted in red), while former big hits by Cake, Swedish House Mafia, and Chris Willis drop out. Drop out harder than Charlie Sheen! Link-O-Rama is still in effect, so you can click on any of the highlighted names on my chart to get to their official website for info on their music, videos, tours, and much much more. Gas up!

This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses)
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1. Grenade - Bruno Mars (1)
2. Maybe - Sick Puppies (4)
3. Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine (5)
4. Firework - Katy Perry (3)
5. For The First Time - The Script (2)
6. Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You) - Enrique Iglesias f/Ludacris (11)
7. Fuckin' Perfect - Pink (15)
8. Raise Your Glass - Pink (6)
9. Waiting For The End - Linkin Park (7)
10. Hello - Martin Solveig f/Dragonette (14)
11. Marry Me - Train (9)
12. Tighten Up - The Black Keys (8)
13. Rolling In The Deep - Adele (23)
14. What's My Name - Rihanna f/Drake (18)
15. Rhythm Of Love - Plain White T's (13)
16. Shake Me Down - Cage The Elephant (21)
17. Secrets - OneRepublic (17)
18. Voices - Chris Young (12)
19. Who's That Chick? - David Guetta f/Rihanna (20)
20. Better Than Today - Kylie Minogue (25)
21. We R Who We R - Ke$ha (19)
22. Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars (22)
23. Somewhere With You - Kenny Chesney (10)
24. Can't Be Friends - Trey Songz (28)
25. You Are - Charlie Wilson (29)
26. You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me - Cher (16)
27. Back To December - Taylor Swift (31)
28. Sing - My Chemical Romance (38)
29. Animal - Neon Trees (24)
30. A Year Without Rain - Selena Gomez & The Scene (35)
31. Jar Of Hearts - Christina Perri (33)
32. Someone Else Calling You Baby - Luke Bryan (32)
33. This - Darius Rucker (41)
34. Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons (34)
35. Hello World - Lady Antebellum (36)
36. Take Over Control - Afrojack f/Eva Simons (30)
37. Rock Tonight - J786 (37)
38. Don't You Wanna Stay - Jason Aldean f/Kelly Clarkson (42)
39. Colder Weather - Zac Brown Band (48)
40. Who Are You When I'm Not Looking - Blake Shelton (43)
41. Higher - Taio Cruz f/Kylie Minogue & Travie McCoy (51)
42. Let Me Down East - Billy Currington (46)
43. Hold It Against Me - Britney Spears (47)
44. The Time (Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas (44)
45. Fuck You (Forget You) - Cee-Lo Green (60)
46. Put You In A Song - Keith Urban (26)
47. The Last Days Of Disco - Robbie Williams (40)
48. Born This Way - Lady GaGa (DEBUT)
49. Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna (39)
50. S&M - Rihanna (DEBUT)
51. Move On Fast - Yoko Ono (55)
52. Rocketeer - Far East Movement f/Ryan Tedder (52)
53. Closer To The Edge - 30 Seconds To Mars (53)
54. Little Miss - Sugarland (56)
55. The Cave - Mumford & Sons (59)
56. What Do You Want - Jerrod Niemann (58)
57. Just A Dream - Nelly (49)
58. I Need Love - DJ Yiannis f/Georgie Porgie (66)
59. Help Is On The Way - Rise Against (67)
60. Loca - Shakira f/Dizzee Rascal (50)
61. Isolation - Alter Bridge (69)
62. The Animal - Disturbed (62)
63. I'm Doing Me - Fantasia (65)
64. This Is Country Music - Brad Paisley (64)
65. What The Hell - Avril Lavigne (74)
66. Party Of The Year - Jipsta f/Sandy B (71)
67. Baby Likes To Bang - Zayra (68)
68. Wildflower - JaneDear Girls (70)
69. From A Table Away - Sunny Sweeney (73)
70. Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not - Thompson Square (79)
71. The Shape I'm In - Joe Nichols (76)
72. Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (72)
73. Sleepyhead - Passion Pit (77)
74. Naked - Consuelo Costin f/Massi & DeLeon (82)
75. Start A Fire - Ryan Star (57)
76. Stuck Like Glue - Sugarland (81)
77. We Are The People - Empire Of The Sun (78)
78. Lay With You - El DeBarge f/Faith Evans (88)
79. New Low - Middle Class Rut (87)
80. Sanity - Hannah (DEBUT)
81. Seek Bromance - Tim/Berg (92)
82. Family Man - Craig Campbell (89)
83. Machine Gun Blues - Social Distortion (DEBUT)
84. Stay The Night - James Blunt (84)
85. Real - James Wesley (86)
86. Price Tag - Jessie J f/B.o.B (94)
87. A Little Bit Stronger - Sara Evans (DEBUT)
88. Sun Is Up - Inna (96)
89. Coming Home - Diddy-Dirty Money f/Skylar Grey (91)
90. Yeah 3X - Chris Brown (99)
91. Welcome To The Family - Avenged Sevenfold (98)
92. Georgia Clay - Josh Kelley (93)
93. Where Do I Go From You - Clay Walker (95)
94. Heart Like Mine - Miranda Lambert (DEBUT)
95. Share My Life - Kem (DEBUT)
96. Thriller/Heads Will Roll - Glee Cast (DEBUT)
97. Champion - Chipmunk f/Chris Brown (DEBUT)
98. My Body - Young The Giant (DEBUT)
99. Never Gonna Leave This Bed - Maroon 5 (DEBUT)
100. Celui - Colonel Reyel (100)

This week there are eleven new songs on my list (debuts highlighted in yellow), with two jumping into the top half. I've included these artists' previous clips (highlighted in orange) for you viewing pleasure.

The top debut is by the woman who has the biggest-sellling single in the US this week, Lady GaGa. "Born This Way", a discofied anthem of empowerment and equality in race and sexuality, has been hyped for months, ever since last September when she sang the title at the MTV Video Music Awards. There was high speculation as to what the track would sound like, especially after she released the lyrics on Twitter. When the track was finally released the Friday before the Grammy awards, it became the top-seller in the US after only three days of sales, ensuring her a third number-one hit after her debut "Just Dance" and its followup "Poker Face". There also was a lot of backlash, even surprisingly from people in the gay community, for being similar to Madonna's classic "Express Yourself". Here's my take: yes, it does sound a bit like EY. And a ton of other house music songs from the late 80's early 90's. Dance music as a rule is at times very plagiaristic , and that's been the case for years. The thing is, beyond the similarities in production and key, the lyrical message is much more progressed. I'm elated that a song that includes nods to gays, lesbians, bisexuals, AND transgendered by name and not just by intonation, as well as a call for equality for race and gender (even as her somewhat clumsy slang usage of "chola" and "orient" did prick a few ears), made it as the biggest song in the USA three weeks counting is quite an achievement, and I really feel a beacon on the attitude of the America that is shaping up (as some are so afraid of happening). And that always is a good thing. Here's "Born This Way"...



The other song jumping into the top half of my chart straightaway also has an alternative sensibility, but totally in a different direction. Rihanna already has three other songs on my chart - "What's My Name" at #14, "Who's That Chick" at #19, and "Only Girl(In The World)" the next spot up at #49. WMN and OG were two of her seven US #1 pop hits, like her first, the Soft Cell-sampling "SOS" to last year's "Rude Boy". After her troubles with the assault from Chris Brown a couple years back, it came as quite a shock that the first track on her latest CD Loud is an ode to leather and bondage which no hidden innuendo. Right down to the name, which even the BBC deemed too "risky" to name on air and simply called "Come On". But there's no mistaking the addicting hook that anchors "S&M"...



The third highest debut is another dance track from Hannah (last name Pruili), a singer born in the former Russian republic of Estonia on the Baltic Sea in northeast Europe. She was born in the capital of Tallinn, and has become a major star in her homeland of over a million people. In the US, she has had two top-20 hits on the Dance Club Chart (as well as making my list as well), "Keeping Score" and "I Believe In You", and both are still favorites of mine. Her latest has already surpassed those to become her first top-10 and it's called "Sanity"...



Now for something completely different, in this case the longtime punk stalwarts Social Distortion return in the 28th year since their first LP. The Los Angeles outfit only has lead Mike Ness from their original lineup, but in those years the band name has had two top-5 modern rock hits with "Bad Luck" in 1992 and "I Was Wrong" in 1996. Both those songs were from their years at the Epic label, and reflected a much more mainstream rock sound. After losing longtime guitarist Dennis Darrell, the group is now on Epitaph, home to the Offspring and other LA garage bands, which suit the group which must be considered royalty there. Here they are live on the Jimmy Kimmel show with "Machine Gun Blues"...



And for something even more different, Sara Evans is back with a song featured on the soundtrack to the Gwyneth Paltrow/Tim McGraw movie Country Strong. Evans has had a career that includes four country charttoppers from "No Place That Far" in 1998 to "A Real Fine Place To Start" in 2005. Since then, she may be known a little more for her stint in Dancing With The Stars as well as her high-publicity mudfight of a divorce from Republican politician Craig Schelske. Despite her bad choice in reality shows and husbands (and political views), it's good to see a great voice back, with "A Little Bit Stronger"...



Blake Shelton just made my top-40 with "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking", and his fiance' Miranda Lambert makes it a double-win with a debut for the fifth top-40 country single from her latest CD Revolution, which includes her first #1 hit and Grammy nominee for song of the year, "The House That Built Me". Here is "Heart Like Mine"...



Neo-soul singer Kem (Owens) was last on my list with a song that hit #1 on Billboard's Adult R&B chart, "Why Would You Stay?". It was his second following "I Can't Stop Loving You" in 2005. He's back with the acoustic soul of "Share My Life"...



I'm still a bigtime Gleek, and their Superbowl episode didn't disappoint me, especially with its continuation of the redemption storyline for closeted football bully Dave Karofsky. Even though in the end he chickened out of joining the club (for now, I hope), the episode shows that he did have quite a heart stuffed down there. It also has some kickin' performances, including the Zombies' "She's Not There" and "Bills Bills Bills". But the highlight was the 'halftime' performance of the mashup of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" with alt-rockers Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Heads Will Roll". Ingenious concept, and awesome in execution....



Jahmaal Fyffe is a rapper from London, England who records under the name Chipmunk, and he was last seen on my list with a song that was a #1 hit in the UK, "Oopsy Daisy" in 2009. His new single was kept from the top by Jessie J's "Price Tag", but beat the UK 3-day total for GaGa's "Born This Way", which is quite a feat. He gets a little help from R&B bad boy Chris Brown for "Champion"...



Irvine, California is the home of rock band Young The Giant, who have their first hit single on modern rock radio with "My Body"...



and finally, fellow Californians Maroon 5 (from LA) place their third single from their latest CD Hands All Over on my list. Their biggest success was the #1 US pop hit "Makes Me Wonder" in 2007, and they had their last #1 on my list with "Misery" last year. Here's "Never Gonna Leave This Bed"...




Now get to bed!