Twostepcublog

    Saturday is here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the previous week. Luke Combs is up on blocks at #1 for an eleventh week, while Noah Kahan and Post Malone (pictured above) leaps into the top ten. Former big hits from Miley Cyrus, Blur, Jon Pardi, Cole Swindell, and Shinedown drop off my list, while songs from Miley Cyrus, Metallica, and Fall Out Boy make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And under the list everything is Spotify playlisted for 5 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. It's swimming with rats time in New York!   This Week                Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Fast Car - Luke Combs (1) 2. Dance The Night - Dua Lipa (2) 3. Snooze - SZA (4) 4. Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift (3) 5. Need ...

    " Love Of My Life (An Ode To Hip-Hop) " - Erykah Badu featuring Common from the albums Brown Sugar (Original Soundtrack) (2002) and Worldwide Underground (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song comes from neo-soul singer Erykah Badu , who scored a top ten pop crossover hit in the autumn of 2000 with " Bag Lady ", which also topped Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart for seven weeks. At the time, she began a romantic relationship with hip-hop artist Common (aka Lonnie Rashid Lynn), and sang on the remix of his single " The Light ", which almost made the Hot 100 top 40 at #44 at around the same time "Bag Lady" was cresting. A year later, she also guested on a single from Macy Gray, " Sweet Baby ", which climbed to #23 on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format in America while reaching #16 on the British Singles chart.  In the fall of 2002, Badu returned with a contribution...

    " She Hates Me " - Puddle Of Mudd from the album Come Clean (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 19   Today's song comes from the rock group Puddle Of Mudd , who scored a huge crossover pop success with their second single " Blurry ", which reached the top five on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the spring of 2002. That was followed by the mood piece " Drift & Die " (a very decent Alice In Chains pastiche), which was a huge rock radio hit, topping the Mainstream Rock chart for six weeks and spending four weeks at #3 on the Alternative Rock counterpart. However, mainstream radio was too much bright and shiny pop to fit in, and it stalled at #61 on the Hot 100.  For the fourth and final single from the record, the band still rocked but in a goofily comic way on "She Hates Me". Written by Wes Scantlin and former bandmate/guitarist Jimmy Allen, the songs lyrics tell of a romance that flamed out prett...

    "' 03 Bonnie And Clyde " - Jay-Z featuring Beyonce Knowles from the album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 21   Today's song comes from rapper Jay-Z , who broke through the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 for the first time as a lead artist with the lead single from his 2001 album The Blueprint with " I.Z.Z.O. (H.O.V.A.) " and followed it with the top-20 " Girls, Girls, Girls ". The following year, the rapper released the sprawling double-disc sequel The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse , with the most highest-profile collaborations of the year as the first single. "'03 Bonnie and Clyde" paired the Sean Carter with Beyonce Knowles , who had last been in the series with her cover of the soft-disco classic " Emotion " which hit the pop top ten in the close of 2001. It was basically a "coming out" to the public for t...

    " Landslide " - The (formerly Dixie) Chicks from the album Home (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 22 Today's song comes from the (at the time "Dixie") Chicks , whose Home album had brought them into the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with the song " Long Time Gone " in the summer of 2002. For the second single from the album, the trio released a remake of a song long-revered but never an "official" hit for its original writer. "Landslide" was written by Stevie Nicks while she was just starting her stint in Fleetwood Mac, and appeared on the band's self-titled 1975 album. The song was never released as a single at the time (her composition "Rhiannon" was instead) and remained a fan favorite for years.      In 1994, the alternative rock group Smashing Pumpkins covered the song for their Pisces Iscariot set. And while that is well wasn't released as a physical ...

    " American Child " - Phil Vassar from the album American Child (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #48 (two weeks)   This week's 'robbed hit' comes from country music singer/songwriter Phil Vassar , whose self-titled debut album had spun off five top-20 hits on Billboard magazine's Country Songs airplay chart, two of which cracked the top-40 on the 'pop' Hot 100 with " Just Another Day In Paradise " and " That's When I Love You ".  In the spring of 2002, Phil released the title track to his sophomore effort American Child as the lead single. Written by Vassar with Craig Wiseman, with Phil co-producing with Byron Gallimore, the track attempts to jump the patriotic train that was running at full steam after 9/11. The first and second version put the context in his own rags to riches story, with the third shifting it to the birth of his daughter. He then tosses a couple lines about his father who would be 80 but died in World Wa...

    " Die Another Day " - Madonna from the albums Die Another Day (Original Soundtrack) (2002) and American Life (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 10   Today's song is from Madonna , whose first album of the new millennium, Music , had sold three million copies and brought her back to the top of the Billboard 200 sales tally for the first time since the 80's. It also spun off three hits with " What It Feels Like For A Girl ", " Don't Tell Me ", and the #1 smash " Music ".  In 2003, Madonna, who had been dabbling into acting again after marrying British director Guy Ritchie, was commissioned to record the theme to the twentieth "James Bond" film, Die Another Day , as well as have a cameo in the film. The result, "Die Another Day", was another electro-dance track she wrote and produced with Mirwais Ahmadzai, who assisted on five of the tracks on Music . The lyrics contain a lot o...

    Saturday is here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Luke Combs hangs on for a tenth week at #1, while Billie Eilish (pictured above) holds tight in the top ten. Songs from Fall Out Boy, Doja Cat, and Ayron Jones make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, boygenius, Becky Hill, Lauren Daigle, and Justin Moore drop out. And under the list everything is Spotify playlisted for 5 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. Happy Kylie Day!   This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Fast Car - Luke Combs (1) 2. Dance The Night - Dua Lipa (2) 3. Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift (3) 4. Snooze - SZA (6) 5. Need A Favor - Jelly Roll (5) 6. Love...

    " When The Last Time " - Clipse from the album Lord Willin' (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song comes from the rap duo Clipse, who cracked the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the summer of 2002 with " Grindin' ".  Pusha T and then-Malice followed that up with the single "When The Last Time". Written by the pair with producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, aka the Neptunes, the record is your usual club track with the first verse having them grab a couple of women (out of the throng going for them) for a sex-filled ride to the club, but as soon as they're down the girls are tossed to the curb so the boys can find new meat in the VIP lounge. Ugh. This continues throughout, and it that's your gig, you'll find the pole-ready groove meaty. Pharrell and pre-"Milkshake" singer Kelis sing backup and appear in the music video...    "When The Last Time...

    " Jenny From The Block " - Jennifer Lopez  from the album This Is Me...Then (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song comes from actress/singer/dancer Jennifer Lopez , who had changed her musical path like a chameleon since her debut " If You Had My Love " during the "Latin Explosion" of 1999, trying to segue into a dance-pop star with " Love Don't Cost A Thing " from her second album J-Lo . However, after she scored three consecutive hits in a row with hip-hop style reworked versions of songs from that record with the top ten " I'm Gonna Be Alright " with rapper Nas and two #1 singles with " I'm Real " and " Ain't It Funny " (both with rapper Ja Rule), her direction was set in stone (for a while at least).  For the lead single for her third studio album (following the remix collection J to the L-O! The Remixes ), there was apparently a corporate d...

    " Dontchange " - Musiq (Soulchild) from the album Juslisen (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #17 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song comes from neo-soul artist Musiq , who had dropped the "Soulchild" part of his moniker for his second album Juslisen , which already had spun off a top-20 crossover hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in " Halfcrazy " in the summer of 2002. The second and final single from the record was "Dontchange", written by Musiq (real name Taalib Johnson) with producers Carvin Haggins and Ivan Barias along with guitarist Frank Romano. The lyrics are a profession of love, with the "for better or worse" called into question as his partner questions her worth. He says his love is unconditional, with the chorus starting out.. See I'll love you when your hair turns gray, girl I'll still want you if you gain a little weight, yeah..   I mean, it's not doing the "when she asks is ...

 " The Game Of Love " - Santana featuring Michelle Branch from the album Shaman (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 33   Today's song comes from the classic rock band Santana , led by guitar master Carlos Santana, whose "comeback" album Supernatural in 1999 had scored a pair of massive #1 pop hits with " Smooth " with Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas as well as " Maria Maria " with the duo Product G&B, with both spending double-digit stays at the summit of Billboard magazine's Hot 100.  They also took home eight Grammy Awards out of nine nominations, only because they were running against themselves in the Pop Vocal Collaboration category. With all this success, the world (and the music business) waited to see if Santana could continue that critical and commercial momentum. In the autumn of 2002, the group returned with the first single from their nineteenth (!) studio album Shaman . "The Game...