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!

Alternative Top 5 Chart, September 27, 2020

Gorillaz are continuing to hang in there. Strange Timez, which debuted at No. 1 two weeks ago and hung in at the top spot last week, drops one spot to No. 2 this week for it's third straight week in the Top 3.  The song features Robert Smith of the Cure sounding exactly what you'd think Robert Smith singing with Gorillaz would sound like.

Our new No 1 champion is a debut by England's Royal Blood, who, frankly, I had never heard of before.  They have a Jack White, White Stripes/Raconteurs kind of sound, which is very popular in some circles and very radio friendly, so it's no surprise that they're at No. 1.

Here's a neat trick - Tame Impala are back in the Top 5, this time with a remix of a song that previously made the Top 5.  Blood Orange's remix of Borderline is enough to land them the No. 3 spot.  It's a nice, long, sexy, slow jam, bringing out the best in both the original artist and the remix artist.  It should also be noted that Blood Orange also has a song, a collaboration with 박혜진 Park Hye Jin, called Call Me (Freestyle) currently at the No. 29 spot.

This is sweet - Kurt Vile recorded a nice, Appalachian-sounding folk song, How Lucky, with the late John Prine before the latter's demise, and this simple and unassuming song debuted in the charts at the No. 4 position.

Finally, Sufjan Steven's latest, Sugar, hangs in the list at No. 5 after debuting last week at the No. 2 spot.  I may have sounded flippantly dismissive of the song last week - yes, it does sound unmistakably like Sufjan Stevens, but that's a good thing and this is a good song, a worthy addition to Steven's long discography.

Looking down the list, Porridge Radio's 7 Seconds is still in the Top 40 but just barely at No. 36. and there's no longer any sign of Deep Sea Diver and Sharon Van Etten's Impossible Weight.  Yo La Tengo's sole original composition, Bleeding, from their new album otherwise of covers, Sleepless Nights, debuts at No. 39 and probably isn't going to be in the Top 40 for very long.

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

Alternative Top 5 Chart, September 20, 2020

After last week's complete rewash of the Top 5 (all five songs were new debuts last week), we now have a measure of relative stability.

Last week's No. 1, Strange Timez by Gorillaz, which debuted at the top spot, is still our No. 1 reigning champion. The song features Robert Smith of the Cure sounding exactly what you'd think Robert Smith singing with Gorillaz would sound like.

Sufjan Steven's latest, Sugar, debuts this week at the No. 2 spot and Future Islands' Moonlight debuts at No. 3.  Nothing against either song - they're both perfectly fine - but both are by well established artists sounding unmistakably like themselves. 

Last week's No. 2 song, New Order's Be A Rebel, falls to the No. 4 spot and last week's No. 3, Worth It by beabadoobee, is our new No. 5.  

So three of last week's five debuts are still in the Top 5.  That's some notable stability for this list.   

Looking down the list, Porridge Radio's 7 Seconds makes its debut on the list at No. 16, and Deep Sea Diver and Sharon Van Etten, who debuted two weeks ago at No. 5 with Impossible Weight and then fell to No. 18 last week, are now at No. 33.

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

Alternative Top 5 Chart, September 13, 2020

Well, hit my Refresh button and call me "Renewed."  This week's Top 5 songs are all debuts, and none of last' week's songs are still in the Top 5.  Last week's No. 1, girl in red's rue, is now No. 11 and last Week's No. 2, Temples' Paraphernalia, is now No. 6.  Last week's 3 and 4 are now 19 and 17, respectively.  Sadly, Deep Sea Diver's Impossible Weight, which debuted at No. 5 last week, is now No. 18.

Our new No. 1 and ranking champion is Gorillaz latest, this time featuring Robert Smith of the Cure, sounding exactly what you'd think Robert Smith singing with Gorillaz would sound like.

Speaking of 80s goth bands (The Cure), New Order are back with a song, Be A Rebel, at No. 2.

beabadoobee keeps cranking them out, and her latest, Worth It, debuts at No. 3.

Ditto Sylvan Esso (cranking them out).  Their Frequency debuts at No. 4.

Finally, The National's Matt Berninger goes solo, and his solo song, One More Second, is our new No. 5. 

Still mourning the lack of Deep Sea Diver in the Top 5 here.

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

Alternative Top 5 Chart, July 26, 2020

Last week's No. 1 and 2, Future Islands' For Sure and beabadoobee's Care, fall to No. 3 and 4, respectively.  Two new songs replace last week's leaders, Gorillaz' Pac-Man (featuring Schoolboy Q) at No. 1. and Sylvan Esso's Ferris Wheel at No. 2.  

Idles and James Blake fall out of the Top 5, and boy pablo's awful Honey is replaced by a better Honey, this time by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard in the No. 5 spot.

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