Throwback Thursday: 1991 (7 Weeks at #1)

No songs started 7 week runs at #1 in 1992!

Michael Jackson - Black or White (12/7-1/18/92) (This has a long video and a short video)

Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (7/27-9/7)

Here's the video for this song. I guess Mr. Adams is not a fan of embedding things....so weird.

2016 Year End Countdown

Cold War Kids

Well, I'm back! I knew when I left that I would be probably coming back with the Year End Countdown and so it has come to pass! I'm really feeling refreshed and jazzed about doing this podcast and I hope you're all be jazzed about joining me!

Fully half of the year end countdown is taken up by two bands. I bet you can guess at least one of them!

Enjoy


2016 Year End Countdown

***Featuring***
Bear Hands
Blink 182
Cage the Elephant
Cold War Kids
Kaleo
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1993 (7 Weeks at #1)

Two songs by white guys singing reggae (or reggae-informed) pop spent 7 weeks at #1 in 1993!


UB40 - Can't Help Falling In Love (7/24-9/4)

Snow - Informer (3/13-4/24)

Top Ten Tuesday: Zayn/Taylor Swift "I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)"

Here is the lead single from the soundtrack of the next installment of the Fifty Shades of Grey series. And it features two TTT alumni: Zayn (of One Direction and solo fame) and Taylor Swift. Will it be as big as The Weeknd's "Earned It"? Time will tell.

Switched on Pop Discuss "Stressed Out" (....like 8 Months Ago)

One of my favorite podcasts right now is called Switched On Pop. The two hosts, Nate and Charlie, break down how pop songs and trends and genres work in terms of songcraft and music theory. It's really interesting for music geeks that want to go DEEP into how a song works.

So here's an episode all about the twenty one pilots song "Stressed Out". So here that is! Enjoy!

Switched On Pop - 33. The Populist Pop of Twenty One Pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1995 (7 Weeks at #1)

There were no songs from 1990-1993 that spent 6 weeks at #1. There were no songs from 1996-1999 that spent 7 weeks at #1. Amazingly, THREE songs in 1995 spent 7 weeks at #1. It was the year of Seven Weeks at #1.

TLC - Waterfalls (7/8-8/19)

Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It (4/15-5/27)

Madonna - Take a Bow (2/25-4/8)

Top Ten Tuesday: Machine Gun Kelly x Camila Cabello "Bad Things"

This was a very very compelling video and it interpolates on of my favorite Fastball songs!

And here's the Fastball song :)

Throwback Thursday: 1994 (6 Weeks at #1)

There were no songs that started their six week runs in 1995!

So we'll move on to two ICONIC 90's songs, including one of my favorite songs of all time. Try to guess which one it is!

Boyz II Men - On Bended Knee (12/3-12/10, 12/31/1994-1/21/1995)

Ace of Base - The Sign (3/12-4/2, 5/7-5/14)

Top Ten Tuesday (UK Edition): James Arthur "Say You Won't Let Go"

Pretty straightforward love song. Sweet and simple

Throwback Thursday: 1996 (6 Weeks at #1)

I feel like there are two Celine Dions: The catchy pop songstress and the emotional balladeer. This song bridges the gap between the two

Celine Dion - Because You Loved Me (3/23-4/27)

Top Ten Tuesday (UK Edition): Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie "Rockabye"

This is the current #1 song in the UK. I feel like we don't see many story songs like this very often at the top of the charts in the US. Interesting!

Throwback Thursday: 1997 (6 Weeks at #1)

When I think about Puff Daddy and Mase's collaborations, I never remember that they did this one. But people were sure listening to it in Spring of 1997!

And yeah, I know it's Tuesday and this should have been published last Thursday. But what are you gonna do? :)

Puff Daddy featuring Mase - Can't Nobody Hold Me Down (3/22-4/26)

Top Ten Tuesday: Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall "Juju On That Beat"

It's a new dance/meme craze! Woo!

Throwback Thursday: 1998 (6 Weeks at #1)

There were no songs that spent 5 weeks at #1 in 1990. There were no songs that spent 6 weeks at #1 in 1999 (well, I mean, they didn't HIT #1 in 1999)

R. Kelly and Celine Dion - I'm Your Angel (12/5/1998-1/9/1999)

Top Ten Tuesday: Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane "Black Beatles"

Rae Sremmurd is such an intriguing group. I like what they've put out so far and this song is no different. Lots and lots of youthful exuberance

Throwback Thursday: 1991 (5 Weeks at #1)

Kind of a hilarious song to be posting late. I actually love this song. It takes me back to riding in the car with my stepdad. At one time, he owned all of Paula's albums.

Paula Abdul - Rush Rush (6/15-7/13)

Top Ten Tuesday: Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj "Side to Side"

A cool video and a pretty good song. Weird Guess brand plugging, though.

Countdown News

Hey Everyone,

I think I'm going to take a break from the countdown for a while. I started it when I was at a much different place in my life and recently, it has felt that, even though I love doing the countdown, I don't have the time to devote to creating what amounts to a very time sensitive project.

I don't think this is the end. And I'm not in any sort of bad headspace or anything. I'm just looking for ways to lighten my mental load! :)

If you'd like to hear my lovely voice, you can search for me on my other podcast, Unabashedly Obsessed, which is available on iTunes. It doesn't have the musical content of this one, but it does have me talking to one of my best friends in the world!

Thanks for understanding and thanks for listening and I'll probably be talking to you soon!

Love
James

Throwback Thursday: 1992 (5 Weeks at #1)

Another installment in our series of "Inappropriate Song Pairings"

Sir Mix-a-Lot - Baby Got Back (7/4-8/1)

Vanessa Williams - Save the Best For Last (3/21-4/18)

New Countdown: SpoooookyFX

Bishop Briggs
(or at least the cover of the River Single. It was Halloween appropriate)

We're kicking off October with a double-feature for our Bonus Songs! I hope you enjoy it! See you soon!


Countdown #314

***Featuring***
Bastille
Bishop Briggs
Blink-182
Cage the Elephant
Green Day
The Head and the Heart
Kaleo
The Lumineers
NOFX
Phantogram
twenty one pilots

Top Ten Tuesday: Maroon 5 featuring Kendrick Lamar "Don't Wanna Know"

This is an amazing video. I love so much about it. I was sad that they cut the Kendrick part, but I imagine they pitched the concept to him and he was like, "Um....I'll pass." :)

This song jumps from #56 to #9 this week which is quite an impressive leap!

Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday: 1993 (5 Weeks at #1)

There were no songs the spent 5 weeks at #1 in 1994

Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) (11/6-12/4)

When I think of this song, I think of the Pop Up Video version, but the non-Pop Up Video version is awesome too :)

Top Ten Tuesday: Bruno Mars "24K Magic"

Here's a song that debuts at #5 this week. I really enjoyed watching him perform it on SNL, so I'll put that video on here too! Glad to see him making music again!

New Countdown: Ding!

Kaleo

It feels like this one took a long time to put together. Fortunately, it's a great episode and it features what I believe is my very first editor's note! So look out for that!




Countdown #313

***Featuring***
All Dogs
Bastille
Bishop Briggs
Blink-182
Cage the Elephant
Green Day
The Head and the Heart
Kaleo
The Lumineers
Phantogram
P.O.S
The Starting Line
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1995 (5 Weeks at #1)

No songs spent 5 weeks at #1 in 1996 or 1997!

It's weird that this is the video for this song. I think of Bryan Adams as kind of "middle of the road, almost soft rock" and yet this song has the weird stuff with the masks going on and stuff. Weird.

Bryan Adams - Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman? (6/3-7/1)

Top Ten Tuesday: gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien "I Hate U, I Love U"

Throwback Thursday: 1998 (5 weeks at #1)

Monica - The First Night (10/3-10/10, 10/24-11/7)

Next - Too Close (4/25-5/16, 5/30)

Top Ten Tuesday: The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk "Starboy"

I am VERY excited for this new Weeknd album. Both of his performances on SNL last weekend were fantastic and this video is great. The song leaps from 40-3. So look for it at #1 next week, would be my bet.

New Countdown: The Live(ish) Punk Edition

Kaleo

It's time for another countdown and this week we have one (almost two!) live punk songs, so I titled the whole blog post after it! Because I'm in charge around here!

Enjoy!


Countdown #312

***Featuring***
Bastille
Bishop Briggs
Blink-182
Cage the Elephant
Green Day
The Head and the Heart
Kaleo
Phantogram
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Starting Line
twenty one pilots

Artist of the Month: October 2016: NOFX

Well, this is how NOFX will make it into the top ten of my Artists of the Year countdown. There are so many NOFX albums and......yep. A new one, First Ditch Effort, comes out on the 7th! So it's a very good month to be looking into them!

I'm going to make a special effort to get to know The Decline this month

What's your favorite NOFX album? I think mine is So Long and Thanks For All the Shoes.

Throwback Thursday: 1999 (5 Weeks at #1)

Three classic late-90s songs from three Latinx performers (I'm not sure if Christina Aguilera identifies as Latina, but her father is from Ecuador, so I think it maybe counts, right?). I love it. All three of these, if they come on 90s on 9, I will leave on. Yes, even Livin' La Vida Loca.

Fun Fact: I once wrote a play about pirates in about 1999 called "Livin' La Vida Pirate"

Enjoy!

Christina Aguilera - Genie in a Bottle (7/31-8/28)

Jennifer Lopez - If You Had My Love (6/12-7/10)

 Ricky Martin - Livin' La Vida Loca (5/8-6/5)

Podcast Episode of the Week (9/18-9/25/2016)

Good grief! I listened to 19 podcasts last week! They were:

3 Limited Resources
2 Switched on Pop
2 Sawbones
2 Still Buffering
2 Harry Potter and the Sacred Text
1 Unabashedly Obsessed
1 The Adventure Zone
1 The Great Albums
1 My Favorite Murder
1 Star Wars Minute
1 Wings: The Podcast
1 Pop Shop
1 New Yorker Radio Hour
1 special edition of My Brother, My Brother and Me called My Sister-in-Law, My Sister-in-Law, and Me

I would say that the most memorable podcast of the week was My Sister-in-Law, My Sister-in-Law, and Me.

This was a special edition of what is affectionately know to fans as MBMBAM (muh-bim-bam) featuring the wives of the three hosts of the normal show, the McElroy brothers. It was interesting to hear them tackle the format of the show (which is a pseudo-advice show) and to hear their personalities come through. I know one of the wives, Sydnee, from Still Buffering and Sawbones, so it was nice to have that landmark to navigate by.

Runners up this week were the episode of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text that covered Chapter 6 from the perspective of Expectations, and the Limited Resources Set Review of the Common and Uncommon cards in the new Magic: The Gathering set. It was an eclectic week!

I don't think you can hear MSLMSLAM (muh-slim-slam) unless you are a supporter of the Maximum Fun network. A guy that listens to Unabashedly Obsessed sent it to me along with some other exclusive episodes of shows. Thanks again, Matt!

Top Ten Tuesday: D.R.A.M. featuring Lil Yachty "Broccoli"

This video is not entirely safe for work. So be warned.

This song is insanely catchy and it's also the source of one of my favorite vines (which I actually so LONG before I heard this as a proper song). So I'll put both of those on here.

Video:

Vine:

New Countdown: New Legacy

The Lumineers

What an interesting show we have this week! Listen in amazement as my voice gradually clears from the haze of sleep :)

Hear me realize that my bonus song should be different, IN REAL TIME!

But most of all....Enjoy :)




Countdown #311

***Featuring***
311
Bastille
Bishop Briggs
Blink 182
Cage the Elephant
Green Day
The Head and the Heart
Kaleo
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Starting Line
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1990 (4 Weeks at #1)

No song stayed at #1 for 4 weeks in 1992 or 1991!

Enjoy the ballads :)

Stevie B - Because I Love You (The Postman Song) (12/8-12/29)

Mariah Carey - Vision of Love (8/4-825)

Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U (4/21-5/12)

Top Ten Tuesday: DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber "Let Me Love You"

No official video for this one yet, but boy am I glad I went with Shawn Mendes a couple of weeks ago!

Here's a lyric video for the song. I feel like Justin Bieber is forging a new genre. Biebercore?

Podcast Episode of the Week (9/11-9/17/2016)

This week I had very few podcasts where I listened to more than one episode.

Embarrassingly, one of them was my own podcast, Unabashedly Obsessed.
The other was Billboard's Pop Shop podcast.

I also listened to one episode each of:
Song Exploder,
Welcome to Night Vale,
Midpoint,
Chart Beat,
You Made It Weird,
Switched on Pop,
My Favorite Murder,
The Great Albums,
The Adventure Zone,
and Wings

So, a very eclectic week, to be sure.

Probably the most memorable episode I listened to was Gary Trust from Billboard's Chart Beat podcast. He interviewed SiriusXM's Kid Kelly about his career and how he got to where he is today. It was super inspirational and I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would!

Throwback Thursday: 1993 (4 Weeks at #1)

It's a rainy and gross Monday morning, so here's one of my favorite Mariah Carey songs that spent about a month at #1 at the end of 1993 and the beginning of 1994. I missed posting it on Thursday, but I think it'll be good to hear today!

Mariah Carey - Hero (12/25-1/15/94)

New Countdown: Good Griefs

Kaleo

As we start September's countdowns, we find ourselves with a new Artist of the Month, and a NEW NUMBER ONE! Get stoked! Wooo!

Enjoy :)


Countdown #310

***Featuring***
Bastille
Beck
Bishop Briggs
Blink 182
Cage the Elephant
Foo Fighters
Green Day
Kaleo
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Starting Line
twenty one pilots

Top Ten Tuesday: Charlie Puth featuring Selena Gomez "We Don't Talk Anymore"

Wow. What a great song and what a great video. I feel like I could watch this video over and over again and keep finding new things to notice. Love it. Welcome to the Top Ten!

Podcast Episode of the Week (9/4-9/10/2016)

I've decided to try to do more with the podcasts I listen to each week, so here's something that I thought I might do. I'm going to keep track of the episodes I listen to each week and then on Sunday or Monday, publish a post talking about the most memorable one (or one of the most memorable. There's not, like, one winner and a bunch of losers).

So this week I listened to 11 podcast episodes:
Three episodes of The Great Albums,
one episode of Paste Magazine's The Archive,
two episodes of the Magic: The Gathering podcast Limited Resources,
one episode of the EXCELLENT true-crime podcast My Favorite Murder,
two episodes of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text,
one episode of Billboard's Pop Shop podcast,
and one episode of one of my own podcasts, Unabashedly Obsessed. That's right. I listen to my own shows.

And probably the most memorable of them was the episode of The Great Albums about Foo Fighters self-titled debut album.

I really thought there was some cool insight into what it was like to witness the dawning and birth of this band via Eddie Vedder's Self-Pollution Radio (a pirate radio broadcast that I am DEFINITELY going to track down on YouTube) and it was interesting to hear Bill and guest Jim Hanke discuss what makes the album great but also what on the album ISN'T great.

It's a great episode of a great podcast about Great Albums! So go check it out!

New Countdown: Goodbye Summer, Goodbye August

The Lumineers

We are getting caught up and we're starting that by finishing August! This is a fun one and it also contains the Top Ten Alternative Songs of the Summer as calculated by yours truly! I think you're gonna like it a lot!



Countdown #309

***Featuring***
Bastille
Beck
Bishop Briggs
Blink 182
Bob Dylan
Cage the Elephant
Kaleo
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
twenty one pilots
The White Stripes
Young the Giant

Throwback Thursday: 1994 (4 Weeks at #1)

Basically two versions of the same idea for a song. Both super romantic songs about true love.

Sadly, that is not Celine covering Huey Lewis and the News :(

R. Kelly - Bump n Grind (4/9-4/30)

Celine Dion - The Power of Love (2/12-3/5)

Top Ten Tuesday (UK Edition): Jonas Blue featuring JP Cooper "Perfect Strangers"

This is at #7 on the UK Charts. It's always so interesting to me how they have a SLIGHTLY different sound at the top of their pop charts. I mean, there's a lot of overlap, but then there's something like this which is very interesting.

Throwback Thursday: 1995 (4 Weeks at #1)

I mean, we're getting into some classics, here, folks. I honestly would contend that this song has held up better than any other TLC single. Yes, including "Waterfalls"


TLC - Creep (1/28-2/18)

Artist of the Month: September 2016: The Starting Line

Well this will certainly be a change from The White Stripes. I'm excited to really immerse myself in some of their latter-day albums. And they have a 3 song EP (or something) up on Spotify that came out on July 1 that I'm kicking things off with! It's quite enjoyable.

Top Ten Tuesday (UK Edition): Calum Scott "Dancing On My Own"

Of COURSE, the song that I picked for the UK Edition last week makes the Top Ten in America this week. Of COURSE it does. So this week, I'm going to try an artist that I haven't seen on this side of the pond.

New Countdown: Step Inside My Hyundai

The White Stripes

This is an episode I did mostly in one sitting, which is something I haven't done since the night of the 2015 Grammy Awards. Sometimes the spirit really moves me and today is one of those times! Which is awesome!

So, enjoy! There are some GREAT tunes to listen to.


Countdown #308

***Featuring***
Bastille
Beck
Bishop Briggs
Blink 182
Cage the Elephant
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
twenty one pilots
The White Stripes

New Countdown: Truly Alternative

Bishop Briggs

It's time for another episode of Alternative hits! I was thinking that so few of these songs are what would typically be thought of as "Alternative" in the 90's definition. And I think that's a very good thing.

Enjoy!


Countdown #307

***Featuring***
Bastille
Bishop Briggs
Blink 182
Cage the Elephant
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
The Lumineers
P.O.S
Red Hot Chili Peppers
twenty one pilots
The White Stripes

Throwback Thursday: 1996 (4 Weeks at #1)

This song found new life for me when it showed up in Pitch Perfect :)

Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre - No Diggity (11/9-11/30)

Top Ten Tuesday (UK Edition): Shawn Mendes "Treat You Better"

I feel like I should not start near the top of the UK charts, because the likelihood that I'm going to pick a song that will eventually hit the Top Ten in the US is so much higher when I start from the top. So you know what? It was going to be DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber this week (#2), but instead it's....this Drake song (#10) (the ellipses were me looking it up).

...nope. It's this Shawn Mendes song because there's no video for that Drake song. This song is at #9 on the UK Charts. It's at #12 on the US Charts. LOL and the original song I was going to do falls 12-19 this week, so maybe that would have been better. Oh well. :)

New Countdown: August When It's an Adjective

Cage the Elephant

And we're into August now! The big reveal of the first Artist of the Month happens in this episode (for those of you who don't regularly read the blog...)!!!

It's a good one and it has new Dessa in it. So I mean, what are you waiting for? Me to stop writing things? Oh, ok.


Countdown #306

***Featuring***
Bastille
Bishop Briggs
Blink 182
Cage the Elephant
Dessa
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
twenty one pilots
The White Stripes

Throwback Thursday: 1997 (4 Weeks at #1)

 I mean, I know maybe there's something sort of cringe-worthy about this now, but when I watched this video again recently after not having seen it for years, I was hard-pressed to find it. I think this one might be kind of a classic?

Spice Girls - Wannabe (2/22-3/15)

Top Ten Tuesday: twenty one pilots "Heathens"

Woohoo! There are two songs from our countdown currently in the Top Ten of the Hot 100. And they're both by twenty one pilots! Amazing! This song moves from 11-4!

New Countdown: Beating Sinead at Her Own Game

Fitz & the Tantrums

We're finishing up the episodes for July and moving into August, so we get one last week of songs from the week I was born!

Enjoy!


Countdown #305

***Featuring***
Bastille
Bishop Briggs
Blink 182
Cage the Elephant
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
Irene Cara
The Lumineers
The Police
Red Hot Chili Peppers
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1998 (4 Weeks at #1)

A classic. My stepdad bought me this soundtrack after I had a surgery. It's a very good soundtrack. This song got a tad overplayed, but I think we can all look back fondly on it now.


Aerosmith - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (9/5-9/26)

Top Ten Tuesday: The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey "Closer"

A very "late summer" song and video. I am already nostalgic about Summer 2016 and it's not even over yet!

This song debuts on the Hot 100 at #9 this week!

Also, I love the shoutout to Blink-182 in the second verse :)

New Countdown: Streaks Come to an End

Bishop Briggs

Man, there is a lot of danceable music on this episode. It wouldn't surprise me if you got halfway through it and found yourself inexplicably shaking your moneymaker. Let me know if this is the case!

Enjoy!


Countdown #304

***Featuring***
Bishop Briggs
Blink 182
Cage the Elephant
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
The Kinks
The Lumineers
Michael Jackson
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Strumbellas
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1999 (4 Weeks at #1)

Three HUGE songs from 1999. If you're making a movie about 1999, you can "No Scrubs" or "Believe" and people will know exactly when we're setting our scene.

TLC - No Scrubs (4/10-5/1)

Cher - Believe (3/13-4/3)

Monica - Angel of Mine (2/13-3/6)

Top Ten Tuesday: Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ "Cold Water"

No official video for this one yet, but since it's the only debut on the Top Ten this week, here's the Official Lyric Video for this song that debuts on the Hot 100 at #2.

Artist of the Month: August 2016: The White Stripes

So we're kicking this thing off with a bang! If you didn't listen to whichever countdown it was where I talked about it (maybe 304?), I'm going to listen to every studio album AND live album that they put out this month and I'm also going to make sure I listen to at least one White Stripes song a day. Oh and I think one of the bonus songs from each countdown in August will be a White Stripes song.

I got them from hitting Shuffle Songs. The Under Great Northern Lights version of "We Are Going to Be Friends" came on and that was that! I'm looking forward to hearing some of the older stuff that I haven't explored before.

I will attempt to do a monthly wrap-up post, as well. It's looking very Red and White for me this month! :)

Throwback Thursday: 1990 (3 Weeks at #1) (Part 2)

Last week, we looked at 3 songs that spent 3 weeks at #1 in 1990, this week, let's look at 3 more!

We've got two fun ones and then a somber one. Enjoy :)

Janet Jackson - Escapade (3/3-3/17)

Paula Abdul featuring The Wild Pair - Opposites Attract (2/10-2/24)

Michael Bolton - How Am I Supposed to Live Without You (1/20-2/3)

New Countdown: Sisyphus

Cage the Elephant

Another great show with some great contemporary Alternative hits and also a couple of hits from 1983!

Enjoy!


Countdown #303

***Featuring***
Bishop Briggs
blink 182
Cage the Elephant
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kajagoogoo
Kaleo
KONGOS
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Strumbellas
Styx
twenty one pilots

Top Ten Tuesday: Sia "Cheap Thrills"

Ok this song was already on a Top Ten Tuesday post, but that was a UK Edition and Sia just got to #1 with this song, so I figured it was worth a reposting!

Throwback Thursday: 1990 (3 Weeks at #1) (Part 1)

There were 6 songs in 1990 that spent 3 weeks at #1, so, in honor of the number "3", let's split it into two groups of 3 songs each!

Mariah Carey - Love Takes Time (11/10-11/24)

New Kids on the Block - Step By Step (6/30-7/14)

Madonna - Vogue (5/19-6/2)

New Countdown: Many Roads to the Top

Red Hot Chili Peppers

We've got a great episode this week. One that I think you'll enjoy from the very beginning to the very end. So make sure you don't let me down by not enjoying it at some point. Ok? Ok. Let's do this.



Countdown #302

***Featuring***
Bishop Briggs
Blink-182
Cage the Elephant
David Bowie
Fitz and the Tantrums
Kaleo
KONGOS
The Lumineers
Michael Jackson
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Strumbellas
twenty one pilots

Top Ten Tuesday: Adele "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"

Adele hits the Top Ten for the 6th time. All of the songs from proper studio albums that have gotten into the Top Ten have gone to #1, so I guess we'll see :)

I like this upbeat, almost gospel-flavored song!

Throwback Thursday: 1991 (3 Weeks at #1)

This song was from before I was aware of Mariah Carey. I think that I heard it many times on the radio before I knew that it was Mariah Carey, though I should have. Shame on me.

Mariah Carey - Emotions (10/12-10/26)

New Countdown: Eight Lines of Uhh's

Kaleo

And so we start my birthmonth. And I know it's nearly halfway through my birthmonth, but dude, months are super short, so lay off me :)

I've got a fun bonus song rule for the month that I think you'll enjoy very much!

So let's dig into the start of the SECOND 300 episodes!


Countdown #301

***Featuring***
Billy Idol
Blink-182
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Cage the Elephant
Cold War Kids
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
KONGOS
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Strumbellas
twenty one pilots

Top Ten Tuesday (UK Edition): Kungs vs Cookin on 3 Burners - This Girl

What a lovely and simple and sweet video and song! I like it a lot. It's hard for me to believe this is the #2 song in the UK right now. I guess it's just because it's unfamiliar.

Throwback Thursday: 1992 (3 Weeks at #1)

Two VERY different songs that somehow are perfect representatives of the kind of super catchy, memorable one-hit-wonders that the early 90's was really good for!

Mr. Big - To Be With You (2/29-3/14)

Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy (2/8-2/22)

Top Ten Tuesday: twenty one pilots "Ride"

Yay! This song stuck around on the Top Ten long enough for me to feature it on TTT! Cool, weird video for a cool, weird song :)

-->

New Countdown: A Countdown Went to CCC

The Strumbellas

Well, here we are, folks. Countdown #300. It's been a long ride and it just keeps on going. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am! Also, I was so proud of this blog post's title. I double checked to make sure that I had my Roman numerals correct. And I did!


Countdown #300

***Featuring***
Blink-182
Cage the Elephant
Cold War Kids
Descendents
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
KONGOS
The Lumineers
Panic! At the Disco
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Strumbellas
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1994 (3 Weeks at #1)

Two classics this week. I think people often forget about the Three Musketeers collab of the dusty voiced singers. It's a good one. And of course the catchiness of the Lisa Loeb song is undeniable. Huh. Both songs are from movies. But neither music video was a standard "featuring scenes from the movie" music video! Cool!


Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories - Stay (I Missed You) (8/6-8/20)

Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting - All For Love (1/22-2/5)

Top Ten Tuesday: Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna "This Is What You Came For"

This was an enjoyable song and an enjoyable video, but it feels like he didn't need RIHANNA to do this vocal, did he? I don't know. Maybe he did.

New Countdown: Triumphant Returns!

Cold War Kids

I'm getting this one up somewhat earlier this week because I'm going down to Richmond for the weekend. I'm seeing friends, family, and meeting new friends!

So I will be on this radio show called Sound Gaze at 11 am on Saturday (6/25) so here's the link if you're interested. If you aren't able to listen live, I believe that the episodes are archived at that same link! So, enjoy!

We've got some great music on this episode too, so your music dance card is filling up fast!



Countdown #299

***Featuring***
Arthur Russell
blink-182
Cold War Kids
Doomtree
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
KONGOS
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Strumbellas
The Struts
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1995 (3 Weeks #1)

No songs spent 3 weeks at #1 in 1996!

This is a CLASSIC. So sinister and so catchy. I can only imagine what it was like for people that knew the Stevie Wonder song before they heard this.

You know what? I'm going to do it. You can't listen to Gangsta's Paradise and NOT listen to Amish Paradise. So get ready for a two-fer. :)


Coolio featuring L.V. - Gangsta's Paradise (9/9-9/23)

"Weird"Al Yankovic - Amish Paradise (peaked at #53)

Top Ten Tuesday: Kent Jones "Don't Mind"

A nice summery dancey track. Very fun. Lots of scantily clad women. You know, like music videos in the summer.

New Countdown: Recording Proximity

Fitz & the Tantrums (6/13/16)
Photo Credit: Megan Cox

Well, I learned something very important this week: Recording in my office, I need to speak up, because I don't sit as close to the microphone. So I'm worried you're either not going to be able to hear me or you're going to have my vocals turned up to an appropriate level and will blow your ears out with the music. Either way, I hope you like what you hear....for as long as you CAN hear!

Isn't that picture great? My friend Marc's friend and coworker Megan took it!


Countdown #298

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
blink-182
Cold War Kids
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
Leslie Odom, Jr.
The Lumineers
Not Drowning, Waving
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Strumbellas
The Struts
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1997 (3 Weeks at #1)

This week, we have two R&B/Hip-Hop videos with huge extended action movie-style music videos. I love this instinct. To have the song going, but to really just have the musicians playing Action Hero. Love it.

Also, there's "MMMBop". And I love "MMMBop". I bought the cassingle and eagerly anticipated getting the album for my 14th birthday and I loved the album. It is a SOLID pop song and I love it.

Mariah Carey - Honey (9/13-9/27)

Hanson - MMMBop (5/24-6/7)

The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize (5/3-5/17)

Top Ten Tuesday: Pink "Just Like Fire"

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love a good soundtrack music video. I like seeing how the artist incorporates the elements of the movie into the video and maybe even what cameos there are. And I am 98% sure that's her daughter in the video with her which is awesome

New Countdown: Counting Fundamentals

Fitz & the Tantrums

I'm really proud about how early this is coming out and really eager to try to pull the reins back on my procrastination and get this thing publishing with some sort of regularity again!

So enjoy the show and stick around until the end to witness me talk at length about a fact that is 100% wrong. And then watch me backpedal. Seriously, it's in the last 20 seconds of the last intro. And it's hilarious :)


Countdown #297

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
blink-182
Cold War Kids
Farewell Flight
Fitz & the Tantrums
Kaleo
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Strumbellas
The Struts
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1998 (3 Weeks at #1)

I gotta admit. If either of these songs come on the radio, I don't turn them off. I feel pleasantly nostalgic about them in vastly different ways. Maybe you do too.


K-Ci and JoJo - All My Life (4/4-4/18)



Will Smith - Getting Jiggy With It (3/14-3/28)

Top Ten Tuesday: Rihanna "Needed Me"

Another catchy songs in what is becoming an exclusively Rihanna genre of sexy revenge videos. This one is NSFW, so I will also include just the audio, if you want to listen, but you're in an environment where boobs and butts might not be super appropriate

New Countdown: Equal Opportunity Angst

Boy have we got some great tunes for you this week. Some shake-ups and some break-ups. (I don't know what that means: "break-ups", but it sounded good for the rhyme...

Next week marks the beginning of the 2016 Appetite For Distraction Songs of Summer, and I , for one, am VERY excited with how things are leading into that competition!

Enjoy the show!


Countdown #296

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
blink-182
Cold War Kids
Empire of the Sun
Fitz & the Tantrums
The Grates
The Lumineers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Strumbellas
The Struts
twenty one pilots

Throwback Thursday: 1999 (3 Weeks at #1)

TLC - Unpretty (9/18-10/2)

This is such an underrated song, in my mind. It's not what I think of when I think of this era of TLC. Which is unfortunate. I think this song is WAY better than "No Scrubs"

Top Ten Tuesday: Ariana Grande "Dangerous Woman"

Billboard gets its charts out on Wednesdays after a Monday holiday, but I think we can all pretend it's only Tuesday, right guys? ....Guys?

Here's the title track from Ariana Grande's third album. I remember when she got her first Top Ten song. I was like "Oh she's cute!" and now here she is, this powerhouse! Enjoy!

New Countdown: I've Been Thinking Too Much (Help Me)

The Struts

The title of this post, in case you were worried, just comes from my having had that part of that song in my head when I was typing it. Not a cry for help, just a bit of sing-a-long!

It's a VERY exciting show this week, I think you'll agree, so I'll let you get to it! Enjoy!


Countdown #295

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
blink-182
Cold War Kids
Empire of the Sun
Fitz & the Tantrums
The Lumineers
Miike Snow
P.O.S featuring Moncelas Boston & Sophia Eris
The Strumbellas
The Struts
twenty one pilots
Vampire Weekend

Throwback Thursday: 1990 (2 Weeks at #1)

Feast on this 5-song smorgasbord of early 90's hits! There's some GREAT stuff here this week!

Wilson Phillips - Release Me (9/15-9/22)

Man, Wilson Phillips did some catchy songs, didn't they? I always think that they've only done "Hold On", but this song is pretty killer, as well!

Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown - She Ain't Worth It (7/21-7/28)

VERY noteworthy song here, even though you, like me, may not have ever heard of it. This article talks about it and here's a hint: it has to do with that word in between "Medeiros" and "Bobby"

Roxette - It Must Have Been Love (6/16-6/23)

There's a joke in Pitch Perfect involving this song and in order to get it, it's important to know that this song was a hit in 1990, not the 80's, a fact I didn't realize for quite some time. It's an element of the Riff-Off, if you want to go check it out.

Alannah Myles - Black Velvet (3/24-3/31)

Is this Alternative? It has sort of a Four Non-Blondes vibe, so I think it maybe is. Very cool!

Phil Collins - Another Day in Paradise (1/6-1/13)

This song gets an honorary spot on this feature at this point because it TECHNICALLY had 4 weeks at #1, but two of them were in the 80's and this is a feature about the 90's. And so I'm making a judgement call. Rather than trying to remember to include it in the "4 weeks at #1" post or not including it at all, it will go here.

Top Ten Tuesday: Drake featuring WizKid & Kyla "One Dance"

There's no official video for this song, but he did just perform it on SNL, so I'm going to post that. Don't be surprised if we revisit this one soon, with the release of a video

New Countdown: Gary Puckett and the AWOLNATION (or, The Str...'s Episode)

twenty one pilots

Well we are cooking with grease over here at the AFDAT10C. Two podcasts out in less than a week? Are you kidding me? I am not kidding you. And they're good. And the music is good. And dare I say, the intros are good, too!

So I hope you enjoy the episode in all it's silliness. Believe me, things get a little silly in this one :)


Countdown #294

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
Cold War Kids
Empire of the Sun
Fitz & the Tantrums
The Lumineers
Miike Snow
Nothing But Thieves
The Strokes
The Strumbellas
The Struts
twenty one pilots
Vampire Weekend

New Song! P.O.S featuring Moncelas Boston & Sophia Eris "Wave"

Ooh! A new P.O.S song released just in time for my 10th wedding anniversary! I'm so stoked about a new P.O.S album!

Throwback Thursday: 1991 (2 Weeks at #1) (Part 2)

What a Throwback week! 3 of the biggest names of the 90's in one place, plus one of the most "90's" songs of all time (EVERYBODY DANCE NOW.)

Mariah Carey - Someday (3/9-3/16)

Whitney Houston - All the Man That I Need (2/23-3/2)

C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) (2/9-2/16)

Surface - The First Time (1/26-2/2)

Madonna - Justify My Love (1/5-1/12)

New Countdown: A Joke So Nice, I Used It Twice (and Now Thrice!)

I'm a little late in posting this one because my sister graduated from college this weekend! Isn't that nuts?1 Remember when she graduated from High School? I was already 2 years into doing this podcast and I did a flashback countdown of songs from the first week of June from the week *I* graduated from High School. If I'd been on my game this week, I would have done a similar Flashback Countdown for this week in 2005, when i graduated from College. Oh well! Live and learn :)

I just realized that I missed celebrating the 6th anniversary of the podcast. It's crazy that I've been doing this for more than half a decade!


Countdown #293

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
Cold War Kids
Empire of the Sun
Kings of Leon
The Lumineers
Miike Snow
Nothing But Thieves
The Strumbellas
The Struts
twenty one pilots
The Wombats

Top Ten Tuesday: Justin Timberlake "Can't Stop The Feeling!"

I'm going to post the official video for this catchy-as-hell song of the summer contender. And then I'll also post the video of various celebrities (including one of my favorites: Anna Kendrick!) listening to the song and dancing around. I like Justin Timberlake. He seems great.

Throwback Thursday: 1991 (2 Weeks at #1) (Part 1)

There were only 4 songs that hit number 1 in 1991 that stayed for more than 2 weeks. And so, as a result, we will once again be splitting 1991 into two weeks. Which is good because 1991 will be a rarity from here on out!

Prince and the New Power Generation - Cream (11/9-11/6)

Color Me Badd - I Adore Mi Amor (9/21-9/28)

Mariah Carey - I Don't Wanna Cry (5/25-6/1)

Amy Grant - Baby Baby (4/27-5/4)

Gloria Estefan - Coming Out of the Dark (3/30-4/6)

Top Ten Tuesday: The Chainsmokers featuring Daya "Don't Let Me Down"

There's a new number one song by Drake this week, but there's no video available and it looks like nothing but covers on YouTube. So here's a song that moves up 7 positions to Number 7 this week!

It's a fun little dance number with an interesting and slightly silly video!

New Countdown: Hundreds of Millions of Times

The Strumbellas

It's the last countdown of April and I am ready for summer to start. The other day I thought about setting up my Song of the Summer spreadsheet, but then I was like, "Dude. Just be patient."

I think these songs are great and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. What songs are you loving on the countdown these days?


Countdown #292

***Featuring***
Bon Iver
Cold War Kids
Coldplay
Empire of the Sun
Holly Miranda
The Lumineers
Miike Snow
Nothing But Thieves
The Strumbellas
twenty one pilots
X Ambassadors

Throwback Thursday: 1992 (2 Weeks at #1)

The Heights - How Do You Talk to an Angel? (11/14-11/21)

This is a song from a fictional band called The Heights from a tv show called The Heights which appears to have been something like the Glee of its day. Only far, far less popular. Although I suppose Glee never had a song go to #1 at all, so maybe this show was more popular than I give it credit for. The song is catchy as hell, by the way.



Mariah Carey - I'll Be There (6/20-6/27)

 What a killer rendition of this song. I mean, I feel like, even if you don't like Mariah Carey, you have to admit there's something kind of amazing going on here. I think MTV Unplugged was a really good thing in many ways.

NEW MUSIC: Blink-182 "Bored to Death" and Radiohead "Burn the Witch"

I'm very excited about both of these impending releases.

The first, which came out last week, is the new single from Blink-182, the first with Matt Skiba (of Alkaline Trio) taking over Tom DeLonge's duties in the band. It comes from an album called California, which will be out on July 1. The song debuts at #18 on the Alternative Songs chart that came out today

The second was just released today and there is not a lot of information related to it. All I know is, it's a new Radiohead song. And it's good.

Top Ten Tuesday: Prince and the Revolution "Purple Rain"

That's right. This song is at Number 4! this week. "When Doves Cry" is at #8. TWO Prince songs in the Top Ten in 2016. Amazing. So many people are doing tributes to him by playing this song it's probably on people's minds, so they're listening to it and buying and all of that. So cool.

New Countdown: The Stone Temple Pilots of the 2010's

twenty one pilots

I wonder when the last band with more than 5 members was one the top ten. Could it have been recently and we just didn't know it? How many people are in Of Monsters and Men? [Looks it up] ok it looks like they DID have 6 members but one of them left to go back to school. So, maybe First Album OMAM was the last time? I only mention it because it feels like we've had a lot of duos recently.

Enjoy this new episode of THIS podcast and then head over HERE and listen to a new podcast that I just launched with my best friend Erin!


Countdown #291

***Featuring***
Cold War Kids
Coldplay
Cory Branan
Empire of the Sun
Flight of the Conchords
The Lumineers
Miike Snow
Nothing But Thieves
The Strumbellas
twenty one pilots
X Ambassadors

Throwback Thursday: 1993 (2 Weeks at #1)

Janet Jackson "Again" (12/11-12/18)

Janet Jackson is the queen of this segment recently. Seriously, if she's not on a week of Throwback Thursday, it's a surprise to me. I don't think all of the weeks have been published yet, but watch this space especially if you're a Janet Jackson fan. This song is apparently from the movie Poetic Justice although it might also have been from janet. It's a pretty great song.

SWV "Weak" (7/10-7/17)

Another in the long tradition of hits by r&b trios. I don't remember the name of the other group that was on here a couple of weeks ago, but I remember I said something like "From The Supremes through Destiny's Child or TLC..." and this song reminded me of that too.

Silk "Freak Me" (5/1-5/8)

Yep. This song is just what you'd think it would be.

There's another tradition here of groups of 4 or 5 male vocalists that is as old as the female trios, if not older!

Top Ten Tuesday (UK Edition): Sia "Cheap Thrills"

I'm starting to think that maybe I should check out some of Sia's albums. Her videos are so cool. Part of that has to do with her continuing to not show her face in them (that little girl has become Sia's avatar for the entirety of her successful singles). Enjoy this one and then go check out her other video!

New Countdown: Two Brothers

Plastic Animals

Another week of great alternative tunes counted down from 10 to 1 for your enjoyment! I can just feel summer bubbling under the surface, waiting to burst forth and shower us in memorable (and also perhaps not so memorable) tunes!


Countdown #290

***Featuring***
Cold War Kids
Coldplay
Empire of the Sun
Foals
The Lumineers
Miike Snow
Nothing But Thieves
Plastic Animals
The Strumbellas
twenty one pilots
X Ambassadors

Throwback Thursday: 1994 (2 Weeks at #1)

No songs spent 2 weeks at #1 in 1995!


Ini Kamoze - Here Comes the Hotstepper (12/17-12/24)

So this song making it to #1 for 2 weeks in DECEMBER is kind of mind-blowing for me. It's not all that uncommon for songs with a reggae vibe to them to make it to the top in the summer, but I guess this one got in there when people were longing for the beach. It features an interpolation of "Land of 1000 Dances" (a song by Wilson Pickett that peaked at #30 in 1965) which is pretty cool, too.