Alternative Top 5 List, October 25, 2020

Some refreshing breaths of fresh air this week - we have a new No. 1, and this time it doesn't suck. Julien Baker's Faith Healer debuts on the charts at the No. 1 spot and Arlo Parks, who debuted on this blog last week, lands on the chart at the No. 2 spot with Green Eyes.  

Lana Del Rey's pop song Let Me Love You Like A Woman falls from No. 1 to No. 3.  If you don't have anything nice to say . . . 

Gorillaz' The Pink Phantom, a collaboration with Elton John sounding exactly what you'd think Elton John singing with Gorillaz would sound like, is like a booger that you just can't shake off your finger.  It remains in the Top 5 for its fourth straight week, its second at the No. 4 spot. 

Sharon Van Etten manages to make it onto the Top 5 by singing with Local Natives on their No. 5 song, Lemon.  Her Let Go from the Pepe The Frog documentary is still on the chart as No. 22.  

Looking down the list, Fleet Foxes continue their improbable journey through the chart.  Can I Believe You was No. 19 two weeks ago, moved up to No. 4 and then dropped to No. 9, is still on the charts for a fifth straight week at a respectable No. 17.  Where it goes next is anyone's guess. 

Adrienne Lenker (Big Thief) now has two songs in the Top 40 - Zombie Girl debuts at No. 23, right behind Sharon Van Etten, and her Dragon Eyes is at No. 40.  

No more Julia Holter or The Antlers gracing these charts.  The rest you can hear for yourself on the radio.  

List compiled "from over 70 alt and new release sources" by alt.nwmsc.com   Enjoy!

Alternative Top 5 List, October 18, 2020

We have a new No. 1 - Lana Del Rey's pop song, Let Me Love You Like A Woman.  A Polydor/Inerscope records release, I fail to see how this is "indie," and there's little "alternative" to the generic pop sound. If anyone can find anything interesting in this song, please let me know what it is.  I guess it's just too deep for me.

With Del Rey snagging the No. 1 spot, our 1-2-3 of last week in now 4-3-2.  Last week's No. 3, an electro-pop number by Romy titled Lifetime, is now No. 2 and last week's No. 2, Californian Soil by London Grammar, is now No. 3.  Gorillaz' The Pink Phantom falls to No. 4 from it's two-week perch at the No. 1 spot.  The Elton John collaboration sounds exactly what you'd think Elton John singing with Gorillaz would sound like.

Hit factory beabadoobee has another one out - Together debuts on the list at No. 5.  Her How Was Your Day? is still on the list (third week) at No. 24.  Her radio-friendly rock songs aren't bad and sound pretty good in a playlist, but I hope for her sake that she doesn't over-saturate the market and become a short-lived phenomenon.

Looking down the list, Fleet Foxes continue their improbable journey through the chart.  Can I Believe You was No. 19 two weeks ago, moved up to No. 4 last week, and is now No. 9.  Where it goes from there is anyone's guess. 

Further down the list, Sharon Van Etten's Let Go, which has been posted on these pages, debuts on the chart at No. 12.  Julia Holter's sublime So Humble the Afternoon, which was also posted here, debuts at No. 36. And The Antlers' Wheels Roll Home is still in the Top 40 but just barely - it dropped from No. 32 to the No. 40 spot.

The rest you can hear for yourself on the radio.  

List compiled "from over 70 alt and new release sources" by alt.nwmsc.com   Enjoy!

Alternative Top 5 List, October 4, 2020

The more things change, the more they stay the same - Gorillaz' Strange Timez finally drops out of the Top 5 (it's now No. 10), but our new No. 1 is another Gorillaz song, this time a collaboration with Elton John and rapper 6lack called The Pink Phantom.  It sounds exactly what you'd think Elton John crooning with Gorillaz would sound like.

No. 2 is an electro-pop number by Romy titled Lifetime, and No. 3 is Californian Soil by by London Grammar.  

beabadoobee is back in the Top 5 with her latest song, How Was Your Day? from her LP.  I've lost track of how many songs of hers spent their week in the Top 5, and her previous single, Worth It, is still in the Top 40 at No. 24..

Finally, England's Royal Blood, whose song Trouble's Coming, debuted last week at No. 1, are now in the No. 5 place.  

Looking down the list, I don't see much that interests me.  No more Porridge Radio and no more Yo La Tengo.  No Deep Sea Diver with Sharon Van Etten.  It's not that today's music is bad, per se, but generally speaking, it's awfully uninspired and uninspiring.  

List compiled "from over 70 alt and new release sources" by alt.nwmsc.com   Enjoy!