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 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!

Beabadoobee

Beabadoobee claimed the No. 3 spot in last week's Alternative and Indie Top 5 list, but No. 1 in my personal preference from the short list of five.  

Here she is doing an acoustic cover of her current No. 21 song (and former No 2), Care.      

Alternative Top 5 Chart, August 9, 2020

It's been a big week for Bon Iver.  While Justin Vernon's collaboration with Taylor Swift fell off the Top 40 list after just two weeks, his song AUATC (Ate Up All Their Cake) debuted at the No. 1 spot, and mxmtoon has a song titled Bon Iver at the No. 29 spot. 

AUATC knocked Angel Olsen's Whole New Mess out of the No. 1 spot, but it only fell to No. 2 (it's been a good week for Angel Olsen).  Last week's No. 2, Sylvan Esso's Ferris Wheel, fell to No. 8.  

It's been a good week for beabadoobee.  Her song Sorry debuted at No. 3, while her song Care remained on the Top 40 for its 4th straight week, now sitting at the No. 21 spot.  

It's been a good week for the band Glass Animals.  Their It's All So Incredibly Loud remained at the No. 4 spot for the second straight week, while their song Tangerine debuted at No. 10.  

Finally, Washed Out's song Paralyzed debuted at No. 5.  

I surprise myself, but of these five songs, my favorite is probably beabadoobee's Sorry.  It's a good performance by the singer/songwriter, but it's status as my pick of the lot is probably more a process of elimination than preference.  Bon Iver continues, in my opinion, to border on the unlistenable with his Autotune experiments and tape manipulation.  Angel Olsen is an extremely talented singer, but Whole New Mess is a tad too austere for me.  I kept waiting for the bass or any low end to kick in and fill out the brittle sound, and by the time I realized it wasn't going to happen, the song became a tedious experience.  I can't put a finger on exactly why Glass Animals don't cut it for me, other than it all sounds a bit too formulaic and derivative - the band sounds to me like what an old-time label A&R man might come up with for fans of Radiohead and Muse.  And Washed Out's song is fine, but they're not exactly paving any new territory here - it sounds exactly like any other Washed Out song, which is okay but the lyrics video only serves too reveal how trite and cliche the actual words are.  Some things are better left to the imagination.

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 

Alternative Top 5 Chart, July 19, 2020

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

For those who care about such things, this is the second straight week that Future Island's For Sure took the Number 1 spot, while James Blake's Are You Even Real? fell from second place to fifth.  All the other songs debuted on the charts this week.