Twostepcublog

Hey guys, it's time to run down my top-100 tunes for the week. This week Kylie Minogue spends a second week at the top, while Matchbox Twenty (pictured above) score themselves another top-10 single on my chart. Former big hits by Dierks Bentley, Eva Simons, The Wanted (twice), and Nicki Minaj drop off my list, while tracks by Madonna, Scissor Sisters, and Miranda Lambert make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). This Week           Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Timebomb - Kylie Minogue (1) 2. Lights - Ellie Goulding (4) 3. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen (2) 4. Payphone - Maroon 5 f/Wiz Khalifa (3) 5. Wide Awake - Katy Perry (5) 6. Everybody Talks - Neon Trees (6) 7. She's So Mean - Matchbox Twenty (11) 8. Some Nights - fun (12) 9. Let's Go - Calvin Harris f/Ne-Yo (9) 10. Burn It Down - Linkin Park (7) 11. Little Talks - Of Mo

Today, August 31st, marks Debbie Gibson's 42nd birthday... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Diana Ross - "Muscles" from the album Silk Electric (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (six weeks) Weeks in the top-40: 10 Today's Song of the Day is by legendary R&B/pop singer/actress/diva Diana Ross . After leaving the Supremes in 1970, Ross promptly released her self-titled first solo album. The first single, " Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) ", became her first top-40 pop hit, top-10 R&B hit, and first top-40 hit in the UK. The followup however, " Ain't No Mountain High Enough ", became her signature song and first #1 pop and R&B hit in the U.S., and top-10 in Britain. The followup album, Everything Is Everything , scored her a #1 hit in the UK with " I'm Still Waiting " the following year. Diana placed five more charttopping singles through to 1981's duet with Lionel Richie, " Endless Love ", which ruled Billboard for nine weeks. After that, she left Motown, her label since the sta

Thanks for dropping by, in return I'll bring you eight more nuggets from the 80s. This time out it's 8 from 1986, the year The Oprah Winfrey Show debuted. Phyllis Nelson - "I Like You" from the album I Like You (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #61 Post-disco smash that sneaked in a bisexual ("you can be a girl, you can be a guy") subplot. (Click to read the rest of the post)

Hey folks, it's time for 7 of the 70s, where I'll bring you seven nuggets from the Me Generation. This time out it's seven from 1975, the year Bill Gates founded Microsoft... Neil Sedaka - "Bad Blood" from the album The Hungry Years (1975) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Elton John lends Sedaka a hand to a fun, cheesy pop Hot Pocket of goodness. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Today, August 30th, marks veteran DJ Paul Oakenfold's 48th birthday.... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Billy Joel - "Pressure" from the album The Nylon Curtain (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #20 (three weeks) Weeks in the top-40: 8 Today's Song of the Day is by "Piano Man" Billy Joel , who grew up in New York which shines through in his music throughout the years. After trolling around in a few bands like the Hassles and Attila, and doing bar gigs in the early 70s, Joel was signed to a small indie label and released his debut album, Cold Spring Harbor in 1971. After switching to Columbia Records, his sophomore work, Piano Man , brought him into the national spotlight, and scored Billy a top-40 hit with the title track in 1973 (it also made the top-5 on the adult-contemporary chart.) After a couple more albums, Joel achieved his critical peak with 1977's The Stranger . That album spun off four top-40 singles in the US, including the #3 pop/#1 adult-contemporary " Just The Way You Are ", gracing wedding playlists until eternity. Duri

It's time to sample the new music selling down under, according to their official charts. This week Guy Sebastian hangs on to #1 for a second week with " Battle Scars ". The top entry this week is by the Irish rock band the Script, with help from will.i.am, who is a judge on the British version of The Voice with Script lead singer Danny O'Donoghue. They come in all the way at #7 with "Hall Of Fame". The band has had two previous top-10 hits here, " Breakeven " and " Before The Worst "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey folks, it's time to bring you a half-dozen more nuggets from the golden age of music, the 60s. This time out it's six from 1965, the year the modern Canadian flag was put into use. The Toys - "A Lover's Concerto" from the album The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" and "Attack!" (1966) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 The Minuet in G Major from 1725 was cribbed for this sweet girl-group delight. (Click to read the rest of the post)

Today, August 29th, marks the 26th birthday of Glee 's Lea Michele... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Joe Jackson - "Steppin' Out" from the album Night And Day (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (four weeks) Weeks in the top-40: 15 Today's Song of the Day is by singer/songwriter Joe Jackson , not Michael's father, but rather the British guy born with the first name David (he was nicknamed "Joe" in school). Jackson grew on on the southern coast of England, and muddled around in a few bands before releasing his first album, Look Sharp! , in 1979. That album scored him his first top-40 hit in both the UK and America with the angst-filled " Is She Really Going Out With Him? ". A sophomore set released the same year, I'm The Man , produced the British top-5 hit " It's Different For Girls ", his highest-peaking single there to date. After another less successful third album and a since revered swing-jazz album ( Jumpin' Jive ), Jackson's career was in need of a boost. With a lush and reverential ode to New

Hey folks, it's time to bring you the latest music selling over in Germany courtesy of their official charts. This week Asaf Avidan & The Mojos spend a second week at the #1 spot with " One Day/Reckoning Song ". The highest debut this week here belongs to George Michael, who's performance of his "White Light" at the closing ceremonies of the London Olympics a little over a week ago catapult his single to #21. Michael had previously had ten top-10 hits in Germany including his Wham! days, lastly in 2002 with " Freeek! "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Bonjour, folks, it's time to check out the new music selling over in France this week, courtesy of their official charts . This week Brazilian singer Alex Ferrari grabs the #1 spot with his sertanejo hit " Bara Bara Bere Bere "... The high debut this week belongs to French DJ David Guetta, who surprisingly only has topped the charts in his home country twice, with " Gettin' Over You " in 2010 and his collaboration with Snoop Dogg the same year with " Sweat ". On his new one, Chris Brown provides the vocals, and he's been in the top-10 once, supporting Pitbull on " International Love "; Lil' Wayne cameos with a rap, and he's hit the top-20 twice, with 2008's " I'm So Paid " with Akon his biggest. "I Can Only Imagine" debuts at #65... (Click below to read the rest of the post)

Today, August 28th, marks country singer Shania Twain's 47th birthday. My favorite Twain tracks... 1) (If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here! 2) Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You) 3) You Win My Love 4) No One Needs To Know 5) Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? 6) Any Man Of Mine 7) You're Still The One 8) That Don't Impress Me Much 9) Love Gets Me Every Time 10) Dance With The One That Brought You (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Survivor - "American Heartbeat" from the album Eye Of The Tiger (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #17 (two weeks) Weeks in the top-40: 7 Today's song of the day is by the rock group Survivor , who by the fall of 1982 were coming off of their biggest hit ever, " Eye Of The Tiger " from the movie Rocky III . For their followup single, "American Heartbeat", the band drudged the same patriotic bed they mined their last hit, again written by band members Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan and produced by Sullivan... The song made the top-20, and it would be the last top-40 hit by Survivor featuring original lead singer Dave Bickler. After another album that relatively bombed, they recruited Jimi Jamison who would help them score more hits in a couple years. (Click below to read the rest of the post)

Yaz - "Situation" from the album Upstairs At Eric's (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #73 This week's "Robbed Hit" that criminally missed the American top-40 is by the British electronic-music duo Yaz. Vince Clarke left Depeche Mode after their debut album, and recruited brassy singer Alison Moyet to record the name Yazoo (shortened to Yaz for the US since another band held the moniker). Their first album Upstairs At Eric's is a classic in the new wave/dance world, and the single "Situation" was a track years ahead of its time in the clubs, combining the cold, maniacal synths of British new wave with Moyet's belting vocals. The song was a huge hit in the clubs, topping the American Dance Club Play chart, but only managed to be a minor hit on pop radio. (In England, it didn't chart since it was the B-side to their hit "Only You") (Click below to read the rest of the post)

Hey folks, time to roll out the second half of this week's "album sweep" where I sample the new records debuting on this week's Top 200 Albums chart in Billboard magazine . You can check out part one here . Encino Valley boys the Faceless rock in the form of "technical death metal", which combines the intricate structures of progressive rock with the brain-shattering severity of deathcore metal. THeir third studio set Autotheism debuts at #50 this week... (Click below to read the rest of the post)

Today, August 27th, marks Daryl (the "Captain") Dragon of Captain & Tennille's 70th birthday... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Rick Springfield - "I Get Excited" from the album Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (two weeks) Weeks in the top-40: 5 Today's Song of the Day is by Australian-born singer and General Hospital 's Dr. Noah Drake, Rick Springfield . Rick followed up " Don't Talk To Strangers " and " What Kind Of Fool Am I " with the third single from his Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet album, "I Get Excited". Like the other two hits from the album, the song was written by Rick and produced by veteran arena-rock producer Keith Olsen, which explains the punchy pop singalong nature of this song. The song became Rick's lucky seventh top-40 hit in the fall of 1982, and just missed the top-40 in Canada. The album is cheesily awesome, and I used to borrow it from my sister all the time.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey folks, the weekend's coming to a close, and it's time to sample the new music selling over in England according to their Official Chart Company . It looks like we've got this summer's required novelty dance record (albeit a little late) as Sam and the Womp! debut in the #1 position with "Bom Bom"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey folks, it's time for the first part of this week's "album sweep", where we sample the newest records selling in the US, courtesy of Billboard magazine's Top 200 Albums chart . Debut all the way at the top is rapper 2 Chainz, with his first regular studio release Based on a T.R.U. Story . ... (NSFW) (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Today, August 26th, marks Garbage's Shirley Manson's 46th birthday. My favorite Garbage singles... 1) Special 2) Only Happy When It Rains 3) When I Grow Up 4) I Think I'm Paranoid 5) Stupid Girl (Click below to read the rest of the post)

Toni Basil - "Mickey" from the album Word Of Mouth (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the top-40: 18 Today's Song of the Day is by the choreographer and singer Toni Basil, who was born Antonia Basilotta in Philadelphia, and the daughter of performing parents. She got her start dancing and acting as choreographer on TV shows like the T.A.M.I. Show , as well as movies throughout the 60s and 70s, even appearing in the Monkees' psychedelic flick Head . Even though she had started recording music since the 60s (check out the obscure throwback " Breakaway "), it was after she choreographed the Saturday Night Live skit " Swan Lake " that she got the momentum to record an album of both music and videos, Word Of Mouth . The first single from the set, "Mickey" was recorded back in 1980, and is a gender-changing remake of a song by the British band Racey called "Kitty"... The co-writer of that song, Mik

Hey guys, thanks for coming back, it's time to wrap up this week's "chart sweeps" of the newest music to hit the Billboard charts this week, and I'll finish with the latest dance tracks in the clubs and on radio. On the DJ-polled Hot Dance Club Play chart, Zedd with Matthew Koma reach the #1 spot this week with " Spectrum " (oddly, the first of two songs with that title in the top-5). The top debut belongs to newly-minted American Idol judge Mariah Carey, who has has fifteen #1 dance club hits during her career, from 1991's " Someday " to 2009's " Obsessed ". Coming in at #42 with a good chance of becoming her sweet sixteenth if "Triumphant (Get 'em)", featuring Meek Mill and Rick Ross... (Click below to read the rest of the post)

Hey guys, I've got part four of this week's "chart sweeps", where I bring you the latest music making their entrance on Billboard magazine's weekly charts. This time out, it's the latest on the country chart , and as opposed to last week's debutless chart, this week's got six new songs, as Blake Shelton's " Over " jumps into the #1 spot. The top debut is by wedding reception nightmare Taylor Swift, who crashes the country radio party with a song that's decidedly not country-leaning. She has topped the chart six times here, from 2007's " Our Song " to last year's " Ours ", so I guess Swift's got a little leeway, and it pays off, as "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" rockets in at #13. But beware, the last single to debut that high, another "event" record that wasn't really country, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw's "Feel Like A Rock Star", ended up pea

It's time for part three of this week's "chart sweeps" of the latest music on Billboard magazine's weekly charts that sample radio and track sales online and in stores. This time out it's the latest on the R&B/HipHop and Adult R&B radio lists. On the main R&B/HipHop chart, 2 Chainz' " No Lie " spends a third week at the top. Singer/songwriter Trey Songz' fifth album came out this past Tuesday, and is appropriately titled Chapter V . The third song from the set to make the US R&B chart, "Hail Mary", featuring rappers Young Jeezy and Lil' Wayne, is the highest entry this week at #77. He's previous topped this chart with " I Invented Sex " in 2009 and " Can't Be Friends " a year later... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey folks, thanks for dropping by, it's time for the second "chart sweep" of the week, where we sample the latest music debuting on Billboard magazine. This time out its the latest on rock radio. On the Rock Songs chart, Green Day spend a fourth non-consecutive week at #1 with " Oh Love ". The highest debut here at #21, as well as on the Modern Rock/Alternative radio chart (at #26), is Canadian post-grunge band Three Days Grace, with their latest, "Chalk Outline", from their upcoming album Transit Of Venus , due in October. The group has placed two songs at #1 on Rock Songs since its start in 2009 (" Break " and " The Good Life "), and have also had three Modern Rock charttoppers (including 2003's " Just Like You ")... (Click below to read the rest of the post)

Hey guys, it's time to kick off this week's "chart sweeps" of the latest music making their way onto the charts at Billboard magazine . This time out it's the newest singles on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and the Adult top-40 pop charts. On the Hot 100 , Taylor Swift crashes the party at #1 with "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together". The new #1 album (which I'll cover on tomorrow's "album sweep") is rapper 2 Chainz' Based On A TRU Story , which has three songs in this weeks chart (along with two more songs he's guesting on). While his " No Lie " is still hanging around the top-40 at #28, his track "Yuck!" featuring Lil' Wayne comes in at #80... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Today, August 25th, marks country singer (and fave of mine) Jo Dee Messina's 42nd birthday. My favorite Jo Dee songs... 1) Burn 2) Stand Beside Me 3) Bye Bye 4) Downtime 5) That's The Way 6) You're Not In Kansas Anymore 7) I'm Alright 8) Bring On The Rain 9) Lesson In Leavin' 10) Heads Carolina Tails California (Click below to read the rest of the post)

The Who - "Athena" from the album It's Hard (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (three weeks) Weeks in the top-40: 6 Today's Song of the Day is by the classic British rock group the Who , who released their 10th studio album in 1982, It's Hard . The group formed in the early 60s with Roger Daltrey on vocals, Pete Townshend on guitar, John Entwhistle on bass, and newly recruited bad-boy Keith Moon on the drums. Their first single as "The Who", " I Can't Explain "in 1964, was a top-10 hit in Britain, as well as their first minor chart hit in the US the following year. They continued to have success in the UK, but it wasn't until 1966's " Happy Jack " that gave the Who their first American top-40 hit the next year. In 1967 the band released The Who Sell Out , which was the first of their classic concept records that sold albums by the caseload, and gave them an American top-10 hit with " I Can See For Mile

Hey folks, it's time for my top-100 tunes for the week. This week Carly Rae Jepsen finally relinquishes the top spot to Kylie Minogue, while Calvin Harris and Ne-Yo (pictured above) hang on in the top-10. The biggest jumps are made by Green Day, No Doubt, and Little Big Town (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits by the Eli Young Band and Katharine McPhee drop out. Link-O-Rama is still in effect, so you can click on any of the highlighted artists' names to go to their official website. Float on! This Week                   Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Timebomb - Kylie Minogue (3) 2. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen (1) 3. Payphone - Maroon 5 f/ Wiz Khalifa (2) 4. Lights - Ellie Goulding (8) 5. Wide Awake - Katy Perry (6) 6. Everybody Talks - Neon Trees (7) 7. Burn It Down - Linkin Park (5) 8. Little Talks - Of Mons

Today, August 24th, marks comedian Dave Chappelle's 39th birthday. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Crosby, Stills, & Nash - "Southern Cross"  from the album Daylight Again (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's Song of the Day is by the folk-rolk supergroup Crosby, Stills, & Nash, who heralded their 1982 comeback album Daylight Again with the top-10 hit " Wasted On The Way ". For the followup, Stephen Stills took a took by the Curtis Brothers, "Seven League Boots", and wrote new lyrics for it, making it a breezy ode to the sea and escaping a lost love through sailing and music. Lending backing vocals were Art Garfunkel and former Eagles falsetto-man Timothy B. Schmit... "Southern Cross" was a big hit on adult-contemporary radio, peaking at #6, as well as scraping the rock radio top-40. It would be the trio's last top-40 hit, and these days they're more known for David Crosby siring Melissa Etheridge's children. (Click below to see the rest of the post)