Twostepcublog

It's time to cross the border to Germany to check out the songs making their official singles chart, as French duo Lilly Wood and the Prick spend a fifth week at #1 with " Prayer In C ".... The top debut of the week belongs to German rapper Kontra K as his first hit "Woelfe" ("Wolves") comes in at #19... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

I'm ready to cross the ocean to check out the songs reaching the official singles chart in France this week, as local heroes Lilly Wood and the Prick claim their first #1 hit with the Robin Schulz remix of " Prayer In C "... It's a slow week on the charts here this week, with only four new entries in the entire top 100, and the highest debut not showing up until way down at #68. It's from the British modern rock group with the Francophile name, Bastille, with "Things We Lost In The Fire". It immediately does better than their breakthrough single, " Pompeii ", which surprisingly only went to #96 in France.... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Starpoint - " Object Of My Desire " from the album Restless (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #25 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's Song of the Day comes from a funk/soul collective who started out in central Maryland in the late 1960s, but it wasn't until 1980 that Starpoint released their self-titled debut album under the big disco label Casablanca Records. A single from the set, " I Just Wanna Dance With You ", became a top-40 hit on the R&B and dance club play charts in Billboard magazine. They continued with moderate success throughout the early 80s, as their sound evolved to a more slick funk from the disco they started with. In 1984, their single " It's All Yours " from the album of the same name returned them to the top-40 on the soul chart and even became a minor hit in England. With their next album, Restless , the band fit more with the sound of the other "star" groups (Atlantic, Midnight) with a touch ...

Talking Heads - " And She Was " from the album Little Creatures (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #54 This week's "robbed hit" comes from a pivotal new wave/modern rock band that were following up their first big pop success. The Talking Heads , a quartet of former art-schoolers led by Brit David Byrne, found themselves with a top-10 single in 1983 with " Burning Down The House " from their fifth studio album Speaking In Tongues . The following year, instead of releasing another studio set, the band put out a film documenting their tour, Stop Making Sense , whose soundtrack companion became one of their longest-lasting sellers to date, even ending up on Rolling Stones best albums of the rock era poll. So by this time the "Heads" were the stars of the art-rock scene. Maybe it was jarring then for fans to get a first taste of their next album, Little Creatures , which sounded polished, tight, and very mainstream. With enough hooks to ...

John "Cougar" Mellencamp - " Small Town " from the album Scarecrow (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's Song of the Day is by the rural workingman's rocker John Mellencamp , whose second album after winning the right to put his real last name on his records, Scarecrow , had already produced a top-10 pop hit with " Lonely Ol' Night ". For its follow-up he released a song that was like a companion to his previous single "Pink Houses". "Small Town" recollected John's days as a kid in Indiana, and its down-home midwestern message rung true throughout the rest of the country... "Small Town" followed John's previous singles success to the #6 spot in December of 1985, while stopping one rung short of #1 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart. The record also crossed over to the normally serene Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") chart...

It's time to head back over the Atlantic to check out the songs making the official singles charts in Britain this week, which includes both sales and internet subscription streaming these days... The new #1 song in the UK is the first single for British "boy-band" and Scooter Braun proteges Rixton with "Me and My Broken Heart". The song has already reached the top-20 in both the United States and Canada. Lead singer Jake Roche is the son of Eastenders actor Shane Ritchie and singer Coleen Nolan, who as part of the "girl-group" the Nolans had eight top-40 hits in Britain with " I'm In The Mood For Dancing " going all the way to #3 in 1979. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Time to catch up from my vacation with my top 100 tunes from last week. Sam Smith "stays" at #1 for a fourth week, while Norwegians Nico and Vinz (pictured above) leap up four spots in the top ten. Songs from Sia, Dierks Bentley, and Disclosure make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Miranda Lambert, Neon Trees, Gia, Ray Lamontagne, and Cage The Elephant drop off my chart. Ah, P-Town, parting is such sweet sorrow... This Week             Song/Artist (Last Week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Stay With Me - Sam Smith (1) 2. Sing - Ed Sheeran (4) 3. Fever - The Black Keys (2) 4. Come With Me Now - KONGOS (3) 5. Summer - Calvin Harris (7) 6. Am I Wrong - Nico & Vinz (10) 7. Rude - Magic! (14) 8. Birthday - Katy Perry (8) 9. Girls Chase Boys - Ingrid Michaels...