Twostepcublog

We're down to my last "chart sweep" of the day, checking out the songs reaching the singles charts in Billboard magazine this week, and I'll close things out with the newest dance jams in the clubs and on the radio... On the DJ-polled Hot Dance Club Play chart, Avicii managed to spend a second week on top with " Wake Me Up ". That makes two records (with Daft Punk's "Get Lucky") to do that this year, a rare feat these days on this volatile (and somewhat rigged) chart.. As expected the top entry on the chart at #39 is Mother Monster herself Lady GaGa with what has to be another #1, "Applause", my " Dance Pick of the Week "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time for part four of today's "chart sweeps" of the new songs making the grade on the radio charts in Billboard magazine, and this time out it's the latest on country radio... On the Hot Country Airplay chart, Keith Urban grabs his fifteenth #1 airplay hit with " Little Bit Of Everything "... There's only one debut of the 60-place chart this week, and it belongs to Dierks Bentley, whose first single from upcoming album Riser "Bourbon In Kentucky" stalled at #45, so hastily released at #59 is "I Hold On", by default the " Country Pick of the Week "... ....and we'll close things out in 90 minutes as I bring you the latest dance jams in the clubs and on the radio....Twang On!

We're at the "hump" of today's "chart sweeps" checking out the songs reaching the radio charts in Billboard magazine, and this time out I'm serving the latest R&B jams on the radio... On the main R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart, Robin Thicke's " Blurred Lines " holds steady for a sixth week at #1.... The top entry on the list at #34 is the soul "super-group" of Tyrese, Ginuwine, and Tank for "I Need".... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

 Round two of this week's "chart sweeps" of the new songs reaching the charts at Billboard magazine is up, and now I've got the latest on rock radio.... On the aggregate Hot Rock Airplay chart, Lorde reigns for a second week with " Royals ".... Vampire Weekend claim the top debut at #32 with the second hit from their Modern Vampires Of The City set, "Unbelievers". It's already at #14 on the Triple-A format, and it's my " Rock Pick of the Week "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, it's time to kick off today's five part "chart sweeps" sampling the songs reaching the various singles charts in Billboard magazine, and as always I'll start off with the pop side of the house... On the "big" chart, Billboard 's Hot 100 , which combines sales, radio airplay, and internet streaming, Robin Thicke reigns for a twelfth week with " Blurred Lines "... Thicke's performing (and "twerking") partner on the MTV Video Music Awards, Miley Cyrus, claims the top debut of the week at #50 with the second single from her upcoming Bangerz album, "Wrecking Ball". It's a more straight-forward pop confection then it's predecessor, " We Can't Stop ", which sits at #3 this week... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Styx - " Music Time " from the album Caught In The Act (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 2 Today's Song of the Day is by the arena-rock group Styx , whose foray into concept-album dramatics, Kilroy Was Here , had scored them two top-ten singles with " Mr. Roboto " and " Don't Let It End ". However, it created a rift within the band between the flashy showtunes style of singer Dennis DeYoung and guitarists Tommy Shaw and J.Y. Young. After the tour for that album, Shaw bolted from the group, and as a coda (and probably for contract-fulfilling reasons) they released a live set, Caught In The Act . Included on the double-album was one new song recorded before Shaw left, and brought them one more top-40 pop hit in the DeYoung-penned "Music Time". In fact, Shaw only shows up for a brief second in the clip by himself pretending to be interested in all this... "Music Time" went to the Ame...

Hey gang, the start of a holiday weekend (in the US) is upon us, and time to roll out my top 100 tunes from the last week. Robin Thicke twerks in at #1 for a lucky seventh week, while Anna Kendrick (pictured above) makes it into my top-10. Songs by Jason Aldean, Pet Shop Boys, and Plumb make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits by the Zac Brown Band, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Antoine Clamaran, and Miguel (finally) leave my list. Vacation again? Woohoo! This Week            Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke f/T.I. & Pharrell Williams (1) 2. Treasure - Bruno Mars (3) 3. Brave - Sara Bareilles (2) 4. Safe And Sound - Capital Cities (4) 5. Get Lucky - Daft Punk f/Pharrell Williams (5) 6. Demons - Imagine Dragons (8) 7. Runnin' Outt...

Dan Hartman - " I Can Dream About You " from the albums I Can Dream About You and Streets Of Fire (Original Soundtrack) (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's Song of the Day is by the late singer/songwriter Dan Hartman , who came from Pennsylvania's capital city of Harrisburg to join the Edgar Winter Group, blues rockers led by the albino band namesake. Dan made the top-20 with them with " Free Ride ", which he wrote and sung lead on. After leaving the group in 1976, and after a couple of rock releases, Hartman took a left turn to disco, and in 1978 reached the top-40 on the US chart with " Instant Replay ", which also topped the dance chart, and featured future Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent and Saturday Night Live bandleadre G.E. Smith. His follow-up album, Relight My Fire , produced one of the best all-time disco epics ever with the title track with Loleatta Holloway on vocals. When the 80s...

It's time to catch up with what's new "down under" as I serve up the records reaching the official music singles chart in Australia, as Katy Perry's " Roar " runs up to #1. This makes the three lead singles from each of her major albums all chart-toppers ("I Kissed A Girl" and "California Gurls" are the others)... The top entry at #20 is British singer/songwriter/ Voice mentor Jessie J with "It's My Party". It's the second single from her upcoming sophomore album Alive ; the first, "Wild", went to #6 earlier this year. This one sounds more like the dance fare of "Domino"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Well, I'm down to the last "sweep" from last week to catch up with, and it's the new records making the Top 200 Albums chart in Billboard magazine. As usual I've included links to buy anything if available... Country A-lister Luke Bryan sells an amazing 500 thousand plus of his fourth regular studio album Crash My Party to debut at #1. It's his third release to top the big chart, after 2011's Tailgates & Tanlines and the compilation from his EP releases Spring Break...Here To Party . (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Well, my catch-up continues as I'm back with what normally would be Sunday's British music chart recap, as Ellie Goulding sticks around for a second week at #1 with " Burn "... The top entry on the chart at #3 is Austrian dance music group Klang Karussell ("Sound Carousel"), whose international hit "Sonnentanz" ("Sundance"), which went top 10 all over Europe, gets English lyrics sung by Londoner Will Heard and subtitled "Sun Don't Shine" .... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Howard Jones - " What Is Love? " from the album Human's Lib (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's song of the day is by singer/songwriter/keyboardist Howard Jones , who broke through the din of new wave bands with his one-man (and a mime) act with the bouncy " New Song " which made the American top-40 in the spring of 1984. For the follow-up, Jones released a moodier and more pensive piece called "What Is Love?". Cowritten with lyricist and spiritual writer Bill Bryant, the minor-key hook-filled record became his biggest hit at home, and scored more success in the States, even with its rather pessimistic refrain of "does anybody really love anybody anyway?"... "What Is Love?" became Jones' second top-40 hit in America in June of 1984, while going as high as #2 on the British singles chart, the highest he would ever get there. It also went top-10 in Germany (his only on...

It's time to wind down this week's belated "chart sweeps" with the latest dance jams on the radio and in the clubs according to Billboard magazine... On the DJ-polled " Hot Dance Club Play " chart, Avicii leaps from #6 to the top with " Wake Me Up! "... The top entry at #30 is Selena Gomez with "Slow Down". It's the followup to her #1 club hit "Come & Get It"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

I'm back with part four of this week's "chart sweeps" sampling the songs reaching the radio charts in Billboard magazine, and now it's time for the newest on country radio... On the Hot Country Airplay chart, Brett Eldredge holds at #1 with his first chart-topping hit, " Don't Ya ", for a second week... The top entry at #51 is sibling trio the Band Perry with the third single from their Pioneer album, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely". It follows two #1s, "Better Dig Two" and "DONE."... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

We're at the "hump" of this week's belated "chart sweeps" checking out the latest songs reaching the radio charts in Billboard magazine, and now I've got the newest on R&B radio... On the main R&B/HipHop Airplay chart, Robin Thicke hangs in for a fifth week at #1 with " Blurred Lines " with T.I. and Pharrell Williams... The only new song on the chart at #48 is Sevyn Streeter with her first hit, "It Won't Stop"...  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, it's round two time for this week's belated "chart sweeps" tracking the songs reaching the radio charts in Billboard magazine, and now I'm up to the latest on rock radio... And in a development as important (if not more so) to the GaGa/Perry chase on the pop chart, after two dozen weeks at #1, Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" has been deposed to #2 on the Hot Rock Airplay chart, and it took the first chart-topping solo female hit to do it as Lorde's " Royals " is the new champion on the aggregate rock list. Congrats! The top entry on the main rock radio chart at #41 is neo-metal veterans Korn with the first single from their upcoming October release The Paradigm Shift . "Never Never" is already at #21 on both the Mainstream and Active rock formats, and it's my " Rock Pick of the Week "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, since I was away last weekend, I didn't have the chance to catch up on my "chart sweeps", but since it was a big week release-wise, I can't let it go (OCD that I am)...so here's part one, sampling the pop hits making the charts at Billboard magazine... On the "big" chart, the Billboard Hot 100 , Robin Thicke holds tight to #1 for an eleventh week with " Blurred Lines ". It's the longest stay on top since the Black Eyed Peas' " I Gotta Feeling " racked up 14 weeks at #1... Well, technically, this was the week of the "battle of the rabid fangirls", as both Katy Perry and Lady GaGa's new records saw their first week of sales. But even though Katy sold over twice as much as Mother Monster, since her record leaked to radio and slipped on the chart last week, " Roar " growls from #85 to #2, while GaGa claims this week's top debut on the chart and takes my " Pop Pick of the Week...

ZZ Top - " Legs " from the album Eliminator (1983) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's Song of the Day is by the Texan blues-rock trio ZZ Top , whose 1983 synth-driven masterpiece Eliminator did as much to bring back the keyboard to heavy metal as Van Halen's dabblings with it. The first single from the set, " Gimme All Your Lovin' ", reached the pop top-40, while third single " Sharp Dressed Man " became their most lasting classic song to date. The fifth single from the set would prove to be the band's biggest pop hit yet. Although co-writing credit on the record was shared between lead guitarist/singer Billy Gibbons, bass-man Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard (the one with out the beard), only Gibbons played and sang on "Legs", with the musical backdrop provided by engineers Terry Manning and Linden Hudson (who later sued for credit). Add a video where the trio are again just p...

I'm back with the latest songs to make the grade of the official sales charts in Germany, as Avicii's " Wake Me Up " holds for a sixth week at #1... The top debut is be Jamaican dancehall singer Sean Paul with "Other Side Of Love". Rocketing in at #3, he's only been higher once with "She Doesn't Mind" which climbed a step higher in 2011.. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, it's time to cross the Atlantic to check out the songs reaching the official sales chart in France this week, as Stromae's " Papaoutai " holds on for a fourth week at #1... In the "battle" between Katy Perry and Lady GaGa's fangirls, it's Mother Monster who wins with her single "Applause", which comes in as the top entry at #3. She topped the charts in this country only twice with "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Rod Stewart - " Infatuation " from the album Camouflage (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's Song of the Day is by Rod "The Mod" Stewart , who started 1984 a little behind, as his album Body Wishes became his first studio set in almost twenty years to not spawn a top-10 hit, though " Baby Jane " did make the top-20 (and #1 in his native Britain) and follow-up " What Am I Gonna Do " reached the top-40. For his 13th album, Camouflage , Rod brought back his old friend Jeff Beck to handle guitar, and his playing featured prominently on the first single, "Infatuation". Written by Rod and produced by Michael Omartian, the song is a "big pop song" with an awesome guitar hook and great horn backup. For MTV, he also rolled the gimmick of the "alternate ending" video, where either he gets the girl or he doesn't... "Infatuation" brought Rod back to the...

Queen - " I Want To Break Free " from the album The Works (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45 This week's "robbed hit" is by the British rock band Queen , who started out 1984 with what would be their last top-40 pop hit in the US, " Radio GaGa ". The follow-up to that single, "I Want To Break Free", was written by bass player John Deacon, and featured a hilarious video that put all four members of the group in drag (singer Freddie Mercury is especially awesome in a Tracey Ullman kind of way)... But while "I Want To Break Free" was a huge hit around the world, going top-10 everywhere and topping the chart in Holland and Austria (it topped out at #4 in the UK), the single stalled at #45 in the States. Perhaps the over-the-top video was too much for Reagan-era lunkheads. Oh well. The song is their campiest triumph, and one of my faves of the band. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Icicle Works - " Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) " from the album Icicle Works (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's Song of the Day is by the new wave band from Liverpool Icicle Works, who came together in the early 80s under singer/songwriter Ian McNabb. Their first release to gain notice in Britain was a jangle-pop single called "Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)". Written by McNabb and produced by Hugh Jones, who also helmed acts with a similar sound like Echo & The Bunnymen and Simple Minds, the track originally sputtered in the lower tenth of the chart. Their followup, " Love Is A Wonderful Colour ", did much better, peaking at #15 in the UK in 1983. On that popularity, "Birds Fly" was re-released, and did a little better, reaching #52. At this point, the bands' debut album was also released in the US, and like new wave bands like the Fixx and Wang Chung, they did much better over ...

The Cars - " Magic " from the album Heartbeat City (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's song of the day is by the Boston new wave group the Cars , who came back from a year break with their biggest album Heartbeat City , which already produced a top-10 hit with " You Might Think ". For their follow-up they went all power-pop with another (lead singer) Ric Ocasek-penned song that producer Mutt Lange polished within the edge of its life. With it, they rented out the Hilton mansion for the music video which featured Ric on a clear plastic box to look like he's 'walking on water'. It's a "one-trick-pony" gimmick that MTV ate up like it was the second coming... Besides the ultimate cheese of the video, the song was hook heaven, and it topped the rock radio chart, as well as going top-10 in Canada and top-20 in the US.. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Wang Chung - " Dance Hall Days " from the album Points On A Curve (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's Song of the Day is by the British new-wave group Wang Chung , who scored their first top-40 hit in the spring of 1984 with " Don't Let Go ". The follow-up release, written by singer Jack Hues, was the nostalgic "Dance Hall Days", which brought them an even bigger success. This original video used rare color film footage from the director's father... "Dance Hall Days" reached the American top-20 in July of 1984, while almost doing the same in their native Britain, topping out at #21 and becoming their only top-40 hit. The single also went to #8 on the rock radio chart, as one of the biggest new wave hits on that format, as well as topping the dance club play chart in Billboard for a week. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, the weekend is just about here, and time for my top 100 tunes from the last week. Robin Thicke holds on to #1 for a sixth week, while country hunk Randy Houser (pictured above) moves up in the top-10. Former hits by Fall Out Boy and Darius Rucker leave my chart, while tracks by Avicii, Lorde, and Depeche Mode make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). Chi-Town here I come! This Week          Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke f/Pharrell Williams & T.I. (1) 2. Brave - Sara Bareilles (3) 3. Treasure - Bruno Mars (4) 4. Safe And Sound - Capital Cities (2) 5. Get Lucky - Daft Punk f/Pharrell Williams (5) 6. I Need Your Love - Calvin Harris f/Ellie Goulding (7) 7. Runnin' Outta Moonlight - Randy Houser (9) 8. Demons - Imagine Dragons (8) 9. Love Somebody - Maroon 5 (10) 10....

Bruce Springsteen - " Dancing In The Dark " from the album Born In The USA (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 15 Today's Song of the Day is by New Jersey's pride Bruce Springsteen , who became part of the pop pantheon in 1984 with his album Born In The USA . After gigging in a string of bands, one of which earned his the nickname of "The Boss", Bruce was signed to Columbia Records and released his debut album Greetings From Asbury Park in 1973. But despite his devoted local fanbase, there was nothing of a stir nationally for his first two albums. All that changed with Bruce's "Spector moment". Taking over a year to record Born To Run , the wall-of-sound epic glory of the title track was totally worth it, and gave Bruce his first top-40 pop hit, while landing his famously on the covers of both Time and Newsweek in the same week. But while the growing amount of album rock stations were playing his ...

I'm ready for this week's 80s throwback, and this time I'm delivering up eight more nuggets from 1988, the year of the Tompkins Square Park Police Riot protesting a curfew... Depeche Mode - " Never Let Me Down Again " from the album Music For The Masses (1987) Billboard   Hot 100 peak: #63 Songwriter: Martin L. Gore Indeed. One of the best solo road trip songs ever. Erotic and mournful at the same time. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang - it's time to serve up seven more nuggets of seventies realness, and this week I'm back to 1978, the year Pope Paul VI died, succeeded by John Paul I, who only was pope a month before dying as well... Yvonne Elliman - " If I Can't Have You " from the albums Saturday Night Fever (Original Soundtrack) and Night Flight (1978) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriters: Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb The Hawaiian singer had the fourth #1 pop hit from the iconic disco soundtrack album after the Bee Gees were going to give her "How Deep Is Your Love" instead. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Mike Reno and Ann Wilson - " Almost Paradise " from the album Footloose (Original Soundtrack) (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's Song of the Day is yet another hit single from the insanely popular soundtrack to the Kevin Bacon movie Footloose . After the title track by Kenny Loggins topped the chart, Bonnie Tyler's epic " Holding Out For A Hero " made the top-40. Then the bubbly " Let's Hear It For The Boy " by R&B singer Deniece Williams scored the movie a second #1 hit, while post-disco trio Shalamar made a respectable showing in the top-20 with " Dancing In The Sheets ".  The next single to reach pop radio was a duet between the lead singers of two big-name mainstream rock acts Mike Reno of Loverboy and Ann Wilson of Heart. At the time, it was actually Reno that had the momentum, as his group scored back to back top-10 albums, while Heart at the time of Footloose was in a ...