Twostepcublog

    " Dude " - Beenie Man featuring Ms. Thing from the album Back To Basics (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #26 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6   Today's song comes from dancehall DJ/toaster Beenie Man , who had scored his second top-40 hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the autumn of 2002 with " Feel It Boy " with help from Janet Jackson. So momentum was primed for his next release, Back To Basics, which arrives in 2004. The lead single from the set went back to his reggae roots with "Dude", which also featured fellow Kingston, Jamaica native Nateshia "Ms. Thing" Lindsey. Written and produced by Dave Kelly, the lyrics have the pair trade come-ons to their readiness, to, well, you know . Beenie claims that he can " put it on when dem wiggle and scream". while Ms. Thing wants a " dude who will do me in his van". Classy. The production from Kelly, which uses the "Fiesta riddim" backdrop instead of the o

    " Roses " - Outkast from the album Speakerboxx/The Love Below (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song comes from the Atlanta hip-hop duo Outkast, whose Grammy-winning double-disc opus Speakerboxx/The Love Below had already spun off a double-song single which featured both members from their respective discs, Big Boi's " The Way You Move " and Andre3000's " Hey Ya! ". Both songs had went to #1 in 2003. Another track from Andre's Love Below record, " Prototype ", had its own music video and got enough airplay on urban radio to place at #63 on Billboard 's R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart, and peaked at #15 in the Scandinavian country of Finland. They also lent a hand to singer Sleepy Brown (who sang on "The Way You Move"), appearing on his top-40 hit " I Can't Wait ". For the next "official" single from Outkast, they also went back to The Love Below

    " Redneck Woman " - Gretchen Wilson from the album Here For The Party (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 8   Today's song comes from singer/songwriter Gretchen Wilson , who came from rural southern Illinois. Moving to Nashville in the mid-1990s, she was discovered by John Rich of the successful country acts Lonestar and Big & Rich, was signed to Epic Records, where she released her debut album Here For The Party in 2004.  Wilson and Rich co-wrote the lead single for the record, "Redneck Woman". The lyrics have Wilson waving the flag for what passes as "white trash", including the barefoot and pregnant trope and randomly name-checking "country" artists like (Lynyrd) Skynyrd, Kid (Rock), and (George) Strait (most likely including the latter to not be completely laughed out of the Opry). I mean, it's posturing at a grand scale, but Gretchen does seem authentic, and in a post-9/11 time when the f

    " Paint Me A Birmingham " - Tracy Lawrence from the album Strong (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #42   This week's "robbed hit" comes from neo-traditionalist singer Tracy Lawrence , who after years of success on country radio slipped into the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the spring of 2000 with " Lessons Learned ", the lead single and title track from his sixth studio album. However, concurrently his record company, Atlantic Records, was being shuttered in Nashville with its remaining acts dumped to Warner Brothers Nashville. His next album, a self-titled set (which usually indicates a change in sound, but in this case, notsomuch), became his first to miss the top ten on Billboard 's Country Albums chart (though came close at #13), as well as first to miss the top half of the Billboard 200 sales tally at #136. Of its two singles, only one barely managed to scraped the top-40 on the Country Songs airplay chart when " Lif

    " Confessions Part II " - Usher from the album Confessions (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 22   Today's song comes from Usher , who in 2004 had already spent twenty weeks at #1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " Yeah! " and " Burn ".  The third single from the set was oddly enough the second "part" of a two-part title song of the album (I'll get to part one - which wasn't officially promoted as a single, later). "Confessions Part II", written by Usher with Bryan-Michael Cox and producer Jermaine Dupri, deals with the aftermath of an affair, which involves the other woman getting pregnant. But according to them, it really wasn't Usher's story but Dupri's (though current Diddy-related events may cloud that). And this is a messy song - in one verse he'll telling his steady that the ex-girlfriend is preggers and is keeping it, to saying she is the first thing he

    Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes of the previous week. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars reign for a third week, while Jelly Roll (pictured above) leaps four spots in the top ten. Former big hits from Sublime, Benson Boone, Sam Hunt, Muni Long, October London, and Bailey Zimmerman drop off my chart, while songs from OneRepublic, blink-182, and Alesso/Nate Smith make 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 down to the wire...   This Week              Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.  Die With A Smile - Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (1) 2. Birds Of A Feather - Billie Eilish (2) 3. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart - Taylor Swift (3) 4. Stargazing - M

    " Don't Take Your Love Away " - Avant from the album Private Room (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3   Today's song comes from R&B singer Avant , who had landed the biggest hit of his career in the beginning of 2004 with the lead single from his third album , " Read My Mind ". The second single from the record would be "Don't Take Your Love Away". Written by the singer with producer Steve Huff, the lyrics could be a progression from the previous hit, with that conquest actually having him cheat on his real woman, with her leaving him and he's begging her to come back. He's laid out the truth, but doesn't really give much evidence that it will chance except the "trust me, bro" salves. The production from Huff is 70s retro soul lushness, but it's just a little too polished, though Avant delivers his R Kelly impression with gusto. The music video has him being caught in the act

    " Happy People " - R. Kelly from the album Happy People/U Saved Me (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11   Today's song comes from singer/songwriter/producer and future incarcerated felon R. Kelly, who was still riding out his legal troubles but still had enough clout in the early 2000s to be one of the most prominent forces in the music world. His single " Step In The Name Of Love " returned him to the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 at the end of 2003, while he was featured on two more hits with Nick Cannon's " Gigolo " and Cassidy's " Hotel ".  Kelly returned in the summer of 2004 with an ambitious two record release, his second after 1998's R. which spun off four top-40 Hot 100 hits. This time, he delegated the set to half "party songs" and half inspirational tracks, helmed by the title songs Happy People and U Saved Me . "Happy People", written and produc

    " Sweet Southern Comfort " - Buddy Jewell from the album Buddy Jewell (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1   Today's song comes from Buddy Jewell , who won the first season of the television singing competition  Country Star (beating out future SOTD artist Miranda Lambert). His debut single after his triumph, " Help Pour Out The Rain ", went to #3 on Billboard magazine's Country Songs airplay chart and reached the top-40 on their all-genre Hot 100 in the autumn of 2003. For Buddy's follow-up he released another ballad, but without the preachiness, "Sweet Southern Comfort". Written by Rodney Clawson and Brad Crisler, the lyrics are the nostalgic name-check to the deep south states that would appear in a picture book sold at Cracker Barrel. But at least it's not offensive and waxes more wistful than the usual "I'm better" branding that pervades the genre. The production from country music

    " Letters From Home " - John Michael Montgomery from the album Letters From Home (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #24 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 9   Today's song comes from country music artist John Michael Montgomery , who had scored a second top-40 crossover hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the autumn of 2000 with " The Little Girl " from his seventh studio album Brand New Me . However, his record label at the time, Atlantic, was in the process of being folded into Warner Brothers in that millennial age of music merger madness.  John's first album on Warner, Pictures , was his first to not spin off a top ten country hit, with the lead single, "' Til Nothing Comes Between Us ", only made it to #19. (It deserved better.) The album hit #110 on the Billboard 200 sales tally and #13 on the Country Albums list. A holiday record, Mr. Snowman , followed, but surprisingly went mostly unnoticed. In 2004, Montgomery returned with h

    " I Miss You " - blink-182 from the album Blink-182 (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #42     Today's song comes from the pop-punk band blink-182 , who had made it into the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the beginning of 2000 with " All The Small Things " from their album Enema Of The State . The trio followed this album up with a live release, The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show , which had one new studio recording with " Man Overboard ", which was a thinly veiled recount of the troubles with alcoholism from departed drummer Raynor. The song took two weeks at #2 on the Alternative Rock chart, while "bubbling under" the pop Hot 100 at #117 in the fall of 2000. The album did well for a live set from a group with just one "big" album reaching #8 on the Billboard 200 and selling over a half million.   The following year, Hoppus, Delonge, and Barker returned with their fourth studio effort Take Off Your Pants and Ja

    " Mayberry " - Rascal Flatts from the album Melt (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6   Today's song comes from the country crossover trio Rascal Flatts , whose second album Melt had already spun off three big Nashville radio hits which crossed over to the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " These Days ", " Love You Out Loud ", and " I Melt ". The fourth and final single from the record was the nostalgia branding of "Mayberry". Written by Arlos Smith, the lyrics attempt to paint the usual "it was better in the old days trope, though those first two lines (in the title of this post) make absolutely no sense whatsoever. I'm sure the people affected by the hurricane this year in western North Carolina would be comforted to know that it happened because of today's "fast pace". Sheesh. I mean, if you don't pay close attention and just let the Cracker Barrel

    Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 hits of the week. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars spent a second week at #1, while Myles Smith (pictured above) climbs a pair of notches in the top ten. Songs from Tyrese, Hozier, and the Funeral Project/Ice Nine Kills make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Chris Young, Falling In Reverse/Jelly Roll, Mavis Staples, and the Heavy Heavy drop off my chart. And under the list everything is Spotify-playlisted for five 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. It's coming down to the wire...   This Week                   Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Die With A Smile - Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (1) 2. Birds Of A Feather - Billie Eilish (3) 3. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart - Taylor Swift (4) 4. Good