Twostepcublog

    " Stay (Wasting Time) " - Dave Matthews Band from the album Before These Crowded Streets (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #44   This week's "robbed hit" comes from the Dave Matthews Band ,  whose progressive third album Before These Crowded Streets had already scored a top ten rock radio hit with the bayou groove of  " Don't Drink The Water ", which just scraped the top half of the pop airplay chart in the spring of 1998. The second song from the set promoted to radio would be the jam rock nugget "Stay (Wasting Time)". Written by Matthews with bassist Stefan Lessard and sax player Leroi Moore, the song and the music video recreates the wandering joy of New Orleans culture, with the melody and chord changes venturing off in many directions as Dave sings about romantic times with his girl in the hot, sticky lazy days of summer... Since like "Don't Drink The Water", ...

    " I Still Love You " - Next from the album Rated Next (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 17   Today's song of the day comes from the R&B vocal group Next, who had landed the biggest hit of 1998 on Billboard magazine's official Hot 100 pop chart with " Too Close ", and also scored a top-20 single with their first try " Butta Love ".  The third and final release from their debut album would be the smooth mid-tempo "I Still Love You". Built on an interpolation of the Deele's 1988 top ten pop hit " Two Occasions ", has lead singer R.L. Huggar and siblings Terry and Raphael Brown trying to convince their woman not to end things after a fight the previous night, and how good relationships have their highs and lows. though not promising much more than sticking around. In any case, it fit on R&B and pop radio, and the trio found themselves with another decent hit... "I Still Love ...

    " Gotta Be " - Jagged Edge from the album A Jagged Era (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #23 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 6   Today's song of the day comes from the R&B vocal group Jagged Edge , who came together in Atlanta in the mid 1990's. Twin brothers Brian (who sang on Usher's #1 hit " Nice & Slow ") and Brandon Casey, along with Kyle Norman and Richard Wingo, signed on with producer/rapper Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label, where they released their debut album A Jagged Era in the fall of 1997. Lead single " The Way That You Talk ", which featured Dupri in his rapper role (as "JD") and Da Brat, climbed to #65 on Billboard magazine's pop Hot 100 chart, and #34 on their R&B list. That song may have hit a little bit of resistance with mainstream stations because of the long rap intro to the record, but that wasn't the case of the second offering, "Gotta Be". Written by the Casey Brothers w...

    " The Chase 2000 " was a big club hit for the maestro of disco Giorgio Moroder. Remixed by the German duo Jam & Spoon, the stand-alone single was a re-release of his #1 club hit from 1978 from the movie Midnight Express that won Moroder an Academy Award. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single again topped the list in 2000.      

    " The First Night " - Monica from the album The Boy Is Mine (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (five weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 23   Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer Monica , who along with frenemy Brandy dominated the summer of 1998 with their #1 hit " The Boy Is Mine ".  The second single from her album The Boy Is Mine would be the disco reinvention of "The First Night". Incorporating the instrumental to Diana Ross' 1976 club classic "Love Hangover" written by Pam Sawyer and Marilyn McLeod, the song from Tamara Savage and producer Jermaine Dupri has Monica pondering whether to give it up on the first date. It does have her more worried on how he'd think if she said yes than her own wants or regrets, but Monica was only eighteen years old when this was released, so a very young person in that position naturally would have those thoughts. By the end of the song, it's unsure whether they'll have a sec...

    " Be With You " was a big club and radio hit for Enrique Iglesias. Appearing on his first English-language album Enrique , the song was written by Iglesias with Paul Barry and producer Mark Taylor. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 2000, while also topping their pop Hot 100 chart in America as well. It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording, criminally losing to the Baha Men's "Who Let The Dogs Out". (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Silk Sonic remain on top for a fourth week, while Dua Lipa (pictured above) climbs into the top five. Songs from twenty-one pilots, Jason Aldean, and Regard/Troye Sivan/Tate McRae make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Ava Max, Kings Of Leon, Shane Codd, and Nathan Evans' Shantytok hit fall off my list. Hope everyone has a great weekend, and happy birthday Dean!   This Week           Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic (1) 2. Save Your Tears - The Weeknd (2) 3. Follow You - Imagine Dragons (4) 4. We're Good - Dua Lipa (6) 5. Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X (5) 6. Way Less Sad - AJR (10) 7. My Head and My Heart - Ava Max (3) 8. Willow - Ta...

    " Closing Time " - Semisonic  from the album Feeling Stranglely Fine (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #11 (four weeks) Weeks in the Airplay Top-40: 29 Today's song of the day comes from the band Semisonic , who came together in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the mid-1990s. Lead singer/guitarist Dan Wilson and bassist John Munson, who were previously in the local band Trip Shakespeare, teamed up with drummer Jacob Slichter to form the trio and independently released an EP before being signed to MCA Records. Their debut album Great Divide came out in 1996, and from it the single " F.N.T. " made the Mainstream Rock radio chart in Billboard magazine at #30, helped by its inclusion in the hit teen-movie 10 Thing I Hate About You , an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew .    It would be their second effort, however, that would bring the group their biggest success. In 1998, they returned with Fe...

    "Set Me Free" was a club hit for the duo Hard Attack. Released as a stand alone single, the track was written and produced by Israeli musicians Assaf Ambursky and Omri Anghel. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #17 in 2000.      

    " Intergalactic " - Beastie Boys from the album Hello Nasty (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 10   Today's song of the day comes from the Beastie Boys , who we had last seen in the pop top-40 in America in the fall of 1989 with their Paul's Boutique single " Hey Ladies ".  Despite the fact that the album had sold relatively poorly compared to their big debut Licensed To Ill , the record was critically heralded as one of the best sets of the genre in that decade, and that clout allowed them to branch even farther in their musical palette on Capitol Records. Their third studio full-length, Check Your Head , arrived in 1992, and a sign that their focus had shifted was that the big single from the set, the drum-heavy " So What'cha Want ", failed to make the R&B chart but instead climbed to #22 on Billboard magazine's Alternative Rock radio list (and #93 on the pop Hot 100). The album did climb to #1...

    " Down Down Down " was a club hit for Gamba Freaks, the recording moniker for Italian DJ and producer Stefano Gambarelli. Released as a stand-alone single , the track was written and produced by the artist. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #10 in 2000.      

    " Daydreamin' " - Tatyana Ali from the album Kiss The Sky (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song of the day comes from actress and singer Tatyana Ali , who grew up on Long Island and had appeared on Sesame Street and the singing competition show Star Search . But her big break came in 1990 when she was cast as Ashley in Will Smith's sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air , which she was in until the series close in 1996. She was signed to Michael Jackson's "vanity label" MJJ Records, where she released her debut (and sole full-length) album Kiss The Sky . The lead single from the record was the "Daydreamin'", a mid-tempo love jam written by producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins along with brother Freddie,  LaShawn Daniels, and Shawn "Lord Tariq" Hamilton or the rap duo Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, who provide a rap cameo on the record, which also happens to sample Steely...

    "I Want You" was a club hit for singer Marcy Faith. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written by Faith with Ren Lehman and Stefan Price. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #42 in 2004. Faith now works mostly as a photographer in the Denver area.      

    " Can't Get Enough Of You Baby " - Smash Mouth from the albums Can't Hardly Wait (Original Soundtrack) (1998) and Astro Lounge (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #27 (two weeks) Weeks in the Airplay Top-40: 7   Today's song of the day comes from the rock band Smash Mouth , who had scored a huge radio hit in the beginning of 1998 with the song " Walkin' On The Sun ". Later that year, the group contributed to the soundtrack to the movie Can't Hardly Wait , which had already spun off a top ten pop hit with the Miami Bass-adjacent song " Swing My Way " by K.P. & Envyi. Smash Mouth went in a totally opposite direction, covering a garage rock nugget from 1967. "Can't Get Enough Of You Baby" was written by the team of Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, who wrote for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and originally released by the band ? & The Mysterians, who were all ...

    " I'm Addicted " was a club hit for the studio act Eday. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written and produced by the act. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #48 in 2004.      

    " Black Ice (Sky High) " - Goodie Mob featuring Outkast from the album Still Standing (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #50   This week's "robbed hit" comes from the Atlanta-based rap group Goodie Mob, who had cracked the pop top-40 in the autumn of 1995 with their single " Cell Therapy ". In 1998, they returned with their second album, Still Standing . The comic track " They Don't Dance No Mo' ", which climbed to #53 on Billboard magazine's R&B Airplay chart. For the first retail single release, though, the group went a bit more serious with "Black Ice", written by group member Cameron "Big" Gipp and producer David "Mr. DJ" Sheats, and featuring fellow Georgia rappers Outkast . The song paints a picture of life in the poor "Dirty South" but really comes to life on Outkast's Andre3000's verse, where he goes from quoting Shakespeare to getting to the real life of drugs and cri...

    " Real World " - Matchbox 20 from the album Yourself or Someone Like You (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (one week) Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #9 (seven weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 30   Today's song of the day comes from the rock band Matchbox 20 , whose debut album Yourself or Someone Like You had already spun off a pair of top ten radio hits with " Push " and " 3AM ".  The next song from the record promoted to radio was "Real World", written by lead singer Rob Thomas and produced by Matt Serletic. In the song Rob ponders if he were a different fantastical person than the way he is, and the troubles involved in them. The music video, well the clip has Thomas walking a camel through a bowling alley (coke was a thing in the 90s), as his bandmate are put in other scenes (and one in drag). Since "Real World", like the previous two hits, wasn't put out commercially as a retail "single", it initially wasn...

    " Insane " was a club hit for the English electronica duo Dark Monks, consisting of James Reynolds and Jan Carbon. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was based on Moby's single "Go", which itself was lifted from Angelo Baldamenti and David Lynch's "Laura Palmer's Theme" from Twin Peaks , and featured vocals from Mim (Miriam Grey). On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #4 in 2002. It also was a minor hit in the UK at #62. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Iris " - Goo Goo Dolls from the albums City Of Angels (Original Soundtrack) and Dizzy Up The Girl (both 1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #1 (eighteen weeks) Weeks in the Hot 100: 14 Weeks in the Airplay Top-40: 45   Today's song of the day comes from the band Goo Goo Dolls , who had transformed from punk rockers to adult-pop hitmakers with their single " Name ", which reached the top ten on pop chart in America at the beginning of 1996. A year later, their song from the Batman & Robin soundtrack, "Lazy Eye", made the top ten on Billboard magazine's Mainstream Rock radio chart at #9. In 1998, they put another song on a movie record, this time the Nicholas Cage/Meg Ryan film City Of Angels . "Iris", written by lead singer John Rzeznik and produced by the band with Rob Cavallo, has lyrics relaying the theme of the movie, which has an immortal (Cage) willing to give it up for love. Th...

    " Through The Rain " was a big club hit for Mariah Carey. Appearing on her album Charmbracelet , the song was written by Carey with Lionel Cole, and originally produced by the singer with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. On Billboard 's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 2003.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Ooh La La " - Rod Stewart from the album When We Were The New Boys (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #39 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1   Today's song of the day comes from rock and roll veteran Rod Stewart , who had a big hit album with his MTV Unplugged live set, which spun off three big pop hits in America with " Having A Party ", " Reason To Believe ", and the top ten version of " Have I Told You Lately ". He also appeared on the #1 hit "trio" record " All For Love " with Bryan Adams and Sting at the beginning of 1994.  The album went to #2 on the Billboard 200 sales chart in the U.S. and sold over three million copies. Despite that big success, his next studio effort, Spanner In The Works , received a more muted response, stopping at #35 on the sales chart in 1995. While the set scored a pair of top-20 hits in his native Britain in " You're The Star " (#19) and " Purple Heather " with...