Twostepcublog

Hey gang, Friday is finally upon us, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the past week. After a long long run on my list, Clean Bandit finally take over the #1 spot, while Ed Sheeran (pictured above) climbs up a notch in the top-10. Former big hits from OneRepublic, Jennifer Lopez, and Dierks Bentley drop off my list, while songs by Erasure, Steve Angello, and Chris Willis make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). Booooooo! This Week         Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Rather Be - Clean Bandit f/Jess Glynne (2) 2. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor (1) 3. Stolen Dance - Milky Chance (3) 4. Riptide - Vance Joy (4) 5. Secrets - Mary Lambert (6) 6. Don't - Ed Sheeran (7) 7. Roller Coaster - Luke Bryan (5) 8. Stay With Me - Sam Smith (8) 9. Cool Kids - Echosmith (9) 10....

Simple Minds - " All The Things She Said " from the album Once Upon A Time (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's Song of the Day is by the Scottish alternative rock band Simple Minds , whose first album after their Breakfast Club -goosed breakthrough in America had already spun off two top-40 singles with " Alive & Kicking " and " Sanctify Yourself ". The third release from the album, "All The Things She Said", sported a groovy special-effects video that had the band cloned including backup singer Robin Clark, who really shines on this song.. "All The Things She Said" became the third top-40 hit from Once Upon A Time in May of 1986. The single also crossed over to #9 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart in Billboard . Internationally, the record went to #9 in Britain, and top-ten in Ireland and the Netherlands. You know, back at that point in time I would've probably put...

It's Throwback Thursday 80s time, and this week I'm back to 1982, the year British TV Channel 4 starts broadcasting... AC/DC - " Let's Get It Up " from the album For Those About To Rock We Salute You (1981) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #44 Songwriters: Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young  One of my faves of the band, this dirty little number doesn't make any pretenses about its inclinations. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

G'day mates, it's time to head Down Under to check out the songs making their debut on the official singles chart in Australia this week, as Ed Sheeran spends a second week at #1 with " Thinking Out Loud ".... The new winner of the X Factor in this country lands in the runner-up spot, as "Stand By You" by Marlisa is in at #2. It's rather unusual, since she never had a performance of hers reach the top-50 during the show, as opposed to the second and third-place finishers... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Tears For Fears - " Mothers Talk " from the album Songs From The Big Chair (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak; #27 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's Song of the Day comes from the British new wave band Tears For Fears , whose second album Songs From The Big Chair had already produced a pair of #1 pop hits in America with " Everybody Wants To Rule The World " and " Shout ", along with a top-3 follow-up with " Head Over Heels ". The fourth release from the project in the U.S. was actually the first single put out in their native England, "Mothers Talk", went to #14 on the UK chart in 1984. On its release in America, the song was completely re-done by the group and produced by big-sound guru Bob Clearmountain (Bryan Adams and such).... "Mothers Talk" became Tears For Fears' fourth top-40 pop hit in May of 1986. The song also nicked the Canadian chart at #87. (Click below to see the rest of the post) ...

Hey gang, I'm ready to wrap up this week's expanded "album sweep", sampling the records making the Top 200 Albums sales chart in Billboard magazine this week. You can check out the other two parts by clicking here and here , and as before I've included links to buy anything if available along with some of the artists' other major work. Pop/punk band Set it Off are in at #86 with their second full-length album Duality . It's their first to get to the top half of the chart... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's hump day 70s party time, and this week I'm serving up seven more nuggets from 1972, the year that Thomas Eagleton drops off the ticket for vice-presidential ticket after revelations of mental health issues, to be replaced by Kennedy clan member R. Sargent Shriver... The Moody Blues - " Nights In White Satin " from the album Days Of Future Passed (1967) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 Songwriter: Justin Hayward This sweeping orchestral masterpiece took five years to go to the top of the American charts. It was remade in 1995 by the guy behind the new-age act Enigma. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's the top-10 singles in Germany this week, as Meghan Trainor is on top for a third week with " All About That Bass "... 1. "All About That Bass" - Meghan Trainor (1) 2. "Keine Ist Wie Du" - Gregor Meyle (DEBUT) 3. " Fade Out Lines " - The Avener (2) 4. " Geronimo " - Sheppard (4) 5. "Shake It Off" - Taylor Swift (6) 6. "Blame" - Calvin Harris featuring John Newman (5) 7. "Lovers On The Sun" - David Guetta featuring Sam Martin (3) 8. "Ghost" - Ella Henderson (8) 9. "Sun Goes Down" - Robin Schulz featuring Jasmine Thompson (DEBUT) 10. "The Days" - Avicii (7) German singer Gregor Meyle, from the southern region of Baden, enters at #2 with "Keine Ist Wie Du" ("No One Is Like You")... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Billy Ocean - " There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) " from the album Love Zone (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's Song of the Day is by Trinidadian singer Billy Ocean , who continued his pop success in the mid-80s with the song from the movie Jewel Of The Nile , " When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going ". That #2 single was the first from his 1986 release Love Zone . The second was a ballad in the adult-pop vein of the title track from his last album, Suddenly . "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" was written by Ocean with his album producers Barry Eastmond and Wayne Braithwaite, and the smooth track won over all the soccer moms... "There'll Be Sad Songs" became Billy's second #1 pop hit in America in July of 1986. The record also topped both the Adult Contemporary and R&B genre charts in Billboard as well. Internationally, the song went to #1 in C...

I'm ready to go back to the 60s, with a half-dozen more nuggets from 1962, the year Johnny Carson starts his tenure on the Tonight Show .... Neil Sedaka - " Breaking Up Is Hard To Do " from the album Sings His Greatest Hits (1962) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriters: Howard Greenfield, Neil Sedaka The singer/songwriter went to the American pop top-10 twice in two decades with two dramatically different versions of the same song. My heart still lies with this one, comma comma down doobeedo down down. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's the top-ten singles on the official singles chart in France this week, as Lilly Wood & The Prick climb back to #1 for a fourteenth non-consecutive week with " Prayer In C "... 1. " Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Remix) " - Lilly Wood & The Prick (2) 2. "Habits (Stay High)" - Tove Lo (4) 3. " Dangerous " - David Guetta featuring Sam Martin (1) 4. "Chandelier" - Sia (3) 5. " Cosmo " - Soprano (6) 6. " Fade Out Lines " - The Avener (5) 7. " Andalouse " - Kendji Girac (10) 8. "Budapest" - George Ezra (7) 9. "Wicked Wonderland" - Martin Tungevaag (DEBUT) 10. "Black Widow" - Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora (RE-ENTRY)  The sole debut of the week at #9 is from Norwegian DJ/producer Martin Tungevaag, with his rave track "Wicked Wonderland". The record has already topped the chart in Austria... Tomorrow I'll be back with the latest in ...

Howard Jones - " No One Is To Blame " from the album Action Replay (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's Song of the Day comes from the British new wave singer/songwriter Howard Jones , whose second album Dream Into Action spun off two top-40 hits in 1985 including " Life In One Day " and the top-5 single " Things Can Only Get Better" . The following year Jones released a companion EP with remixes of older songs just in the United States. Included in that set is a cut from Dream Into Action , "No One Is To Blame". With a remix from Phil Collins and Hugh Padham that has Phil singing backup, the single became his biggest hit in America... "No One Is To Blame" became Howard's second and so-far most recent top-10 pop hit in the U.S. in July of 1985. The single had its biggest success on "easy-listening" radio, landing him his first #1 American chart hit on the Adult Co...

Starpoint - " Restless " from the album Restless (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #46 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the lite-funk band Starpoint , who were one of they many many-membered R&B outfits that were scoring hits in the mid-80s. Coming from Maryland, the group had a long-lasting top-40 hit in 1985 with " Object Of My Desire ". The following year, they put out the similarly-sounding title track to their album, written by member Ernesto Phillips and producer Keith Diamond... While "Restless" reached the top-20 on both the R&B (#11) and Dance Club Play (#13) charts, the single stalled out at #46 on the Hot 100 in April of 1986.

Part two of this expanded album sweep is up, sampling the records making the official Top 200 Albums sales chart in Billboard magazine this week. You can check out part one by clicking here , and as before I've included highlighted links to buy anything here available, along with some of the artists' other major work.... Singer/songwriter and "out" lesbian Mary Lambert celebrates her first big album hit as her debut full-length album Heart On My Sleeve comes in at #29... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

The Jets - " Crush On You " from the album The Jets (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (two weeks) Weeks in the top-40: 13 Today's Song of the Day is from the R&B/pop family act the Jets , who are the children of Samoan-American parents in Minnesota. Like the Osmonds, the Mormon siblings of the Wolfgramm family started performing together as children, and released their debut album in 1985. The first single from the album, the Prince-influenced " Curiosity ", was a big hit on R&B radio, reaching #8 on the "Black Singles" chart in Billboard , but didn't make a scratch on the Hot 100 pop list. That changed with single number two, a pop/dance offering in the Madonna-lite vein, "Crush On You". Written by Jerry Knight and Aaron Zigman, the former being half of the Ollie & Jerry duo that went top-10 with the theme from Breakin' , "Crush On You"was a fun, frenetic piece of dance radio fluff, but comparing the t...

Hey folks, the end of the weekend is here, so it's time to check out the new songs making their way on to the just-released official singles chart in the United Kingdom this week, as Meghan Trainor spends a fourth week on top with " All About That Bass "... The highest debut of the week on the top-200 is a rework of a song that originally went to #8 on the chart here twenty years ago. Neo-house act Waze & Odyssey take R. Kelly's " Bump & Grind " and land at #3 on the UK chart this week...(mind you, I have to say that Bump N' Grind did not appear on TP-2.com, the record the guy in the video puts on. It's on 12 Play . Just had to get that out.) (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time to start out this week's "album sweep", sampling the records making their first appearance on the official Top 200 Albums sales chart in Billboard magazine. As usual, I've included highlighted links to pick up anything here, along with some of the artists' other major work. Support the talent! Since there are a whopping 33 newbies on the list I'm break this sweep into three parts this week, with the second part tomorrow and the third on Tuesday... The top-selling album of the week last week is the second effort from country crossover duo Florida Georgia Line, who land their first #1 with Anything Goes selling close to 200,000 copies in its first week. (It's also the third country album in a row to top the albums chart; the first time in four years)... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Starship - " Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight " from the album Knee Deep In The Hoopla (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #26 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's Song of the Day comes from the band Starship, who re-emerged Bionic-Man-like after losing all the original Jefferson Airplane members save Grace Slick, only to score back-to-back #1 pop hits with " We Built This City " and " Sara ". The third single from their Knee Deep In The Hoopla album, "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight", written by Robin Randall and Steven Cristol, was a slice of lite-rock that was actually a more enjoyable listen than the vapid commercialism of "We Built...". But what kind of gay life preserver is Grace wearing in this video? "Tomorrow..." became the third top-40 pop hit from the album in May of 1986, while climbing to #25 on the Mainstream Rock chart in Billboard . (Click below to see the rest of the post)

I'm ready to wrap up today's "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making the charts in Billboard magazine, with the latest dance jams in the clubs and on the radio... On the DJ-polled Dance Club Play chart, Olivia Somerlyn lands her first #1 hit with " Parachute "... The top new entry is a rework of a song that topped the dance chart back in 1995, " Everybody Be Somebody ", from New Jersey's Ruffneck with vocals from Yavahn... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Part four of today's "chart sweeps" has the latest country songs on the radio as monitored by Billboard magazine. On their Country Airplay chart, Jason Aldean scores his twelfth #1 single with " Burnin' It Down "... Racing in at #31 is Toby Keith with his latest, "Drunk Americans". It's the first single from his upcoming 35 MPH Town . He's had 20 #1 hits so far, the most recent being " Made In America " in 2011.. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

We're at the "hump" of today's "chart sweeps", sampling the songs making the airplay charts in Billboard magazine, and now I'm serving up the latest songs on R&B radio... On the main R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart, Chris Brown spends a second week at #1 with " New Flame "... The sole debut on the chart at #50 is rapper Cash Out with "Let's Get It" featuring Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla Sign. It's the title track to his debut full-length album... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Round two of this week's "chart sweeps" brings you the latest songs to make the rock radio charts this week in Billboard magazine... On the main Rock Airplay chart, Milky Chance spend a fourth week on top with " Stolen Dance ".... What threatens another week at #1 here is the return of the Foo Fighters, as they rocket back on to the list at #5 with "Something For Nothing", my " Rock Pick of the Week ". It's the preview of their upcoming  eighth studio album Sonic Highways . Since this aggregate charts' inception in 2009, they have landed three #1 hits with " Wheels ", " Rope ", and " Walk "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time to kick off the first of today's five "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making their way on to the singles charts in Billboard magazine this week. As always, I'll start off on the pop side of things, then move on to what's new in rock, R&B, country, and dance music. And away we go... On the "big chart", the Billboard Hot 100 , which combines tallies from sales, internet streaming (like Spotify and YouTube), and radio airplay from all genres, there's an all-female top-5 for the seventh week in a row, with Meghan Trainor's " All About That Bass " on top for that amount of frames... With the top-selling song of the week, Taylor Swift enters all the way up at #18 with "Out Of The Woods", the second track released from her upcoming 1989 album. The first, " Shake It Off ", is at #2 for its seventh week after dropping from #1. It sounds more like 1987, like T'Pau's " Heart And S...

Honeymoon Suite - " Feel It Again " from the album The Big Prize (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3 Today's Song of the Day is brought to us by the Canadian hard rock band Honeymoon Suite , who hail from the Ontario side of Niagara Falls. They came together under lead singer and guitarist Johnnie Dee in the early 80s. After winning a radio band contest, the group released their self-titled debut album in 1984, redoing the song that won the contest, " New Girl Now ". That new single reached the top-40 in Canada, and moved them to the American pop chart, peaking at #57 as well as scaling to #7 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart. For their sophomore effort, the band brought in fellow Canuck rockers Loverboy's producer, Bruce Fairbairn, and the big-sounding single from the set, "Feel It Again", gave them major exposure on MTV... "Feel It Again" became Honeymoon Suite's second to...

Hey folks, it's Friday, and time to run down my top 100 tunes from the past week. Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" is #1 for a fourth week, while Mary Lambert (pictured above), climbs four spots within the top-10. Songs from Maroon 5, Sam Smith, and Rosabel make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Demi Lovato, Mr. Probz, and Ariana Grande drop out. All aboard! This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor (1) 2. Rather Be - Clean Bandit f/Jess Glynne (4) 3. Stolen Dance - Milky Chance (3) 4. Riptide - Vance Joy (2) 5. Roller Coaster - Luke Bryan (5) 6. Secrets - Mary Lambert (10) 7. Don't - Ed Sheeran (9) 8. Stay With Me - Sam Smith (6) 9. Cool Kids - Echosmith (12) 10. Dangerous - Bi...

Julian Lennon - " Stick Around " from the album The Secret Value Of Daydreaming (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's Song of the Day is by British singer/songwriter Julian Lennon , whose uncanny vocal resemblance to father John helped a bit in the success of his debut album, which placed two singles in the top-10 in America with " Valotte " and " Too Late For Goodbyes ", and a third, " Say You're Wrong " in the top-40. For his sophomore effort, The Secret Value Of Daydreaming , Julian went a little "harder" in sound ( just a little) with the first single, "Stick Around", which fit in the radio atmosphere in the mid-80s dominated by the likes of Mr. Mister... "Stick Around" became Julian's first single to reach #1 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart, as it reached the top-40 in America in May of 1986. Although it was a top-40 pop hit in Canada (going o...

It's throwback Thursday time again, and this week's 80s helping is eight more nuggets from 1981, the year the Police released their Ghost In The Machine album (one of the first albums I ever bought myself)... Kim Carnes - " Bette Davis Eyes " from the album Mistaken Identity (1981) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriters: Jackie DeShannon, Donna Weiss Kylie Minogue recorded a pretty respectable version of this 80s classic this year: if only she would've used it on her tour. In the States. For real. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time to head Down Under to check out the songs making the official singles sales chart in Australia this week, as Ed Sheeran nabs his second #1 hit (after " Sing ") with " Thinking Out Loud "... Electro-house duo Peking Duk, who hail from the capital city of Canberra, land at #15 with their latest, "Take Me Over" featuring Safia. It follows " High ", which peaked at #5 earlier this year... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Culture Club - " Move Away " from the album From Luxury To Heartache (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's Song of the Day comes from the British pop band Culture Club , whose third album Waking Up With The House On Fire had racked up two top-40 hits with " The War Song " and " Mistake No. 3 ", but their momentum definitely was slowed from their first two huge album successes. Adding to their problems was lead singer Boy George's descent into major drug addiction, which hampered the recording of their fourth album From Luxury To Heartache , and ultimately broke up the band. The lead single from the project, "Move Away", was written by the band with touring keyboardist Phil Pickett (who also co-wrote their "Karma Chameleon"), and produced by lite-soul master Arif Mardin, giving a mid-80's electrofunk sheen to the album, As for the video, I think it's rather hilarious tha...

Hey guys, it's hump day 70s time, and this week I'm back to 1971, the year Walt Disney World opened in Orlando.... James Taylor - " You've Got A Friend " from the album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriter: Carole King If the religion of rock and roll had a "Lord's Prayer" hymn, this would be it. King's words with Taylor's voice is simply transcendent. Tears every time. (Click below to see the rest of the post)