TOP TEN SONGS: WEEK ENDING JANUARY 11


I am going to start writing about the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 charts again, and I imagine there will be much rejoicing. I'll bet people will be excited to hear my many witticisms.

I'm also going to compare/contrast the current top ten with the top ten this week in 1970, 80, and 90, in order to give a sense of perspective. You will find that below the current top ten.






TOP TEN SONGS FROM THIS WEEK IN 2020

1. CIRCLES by Post Malone
2. MEMORIES by Maroon 5
3. THE BOX by Roddy Rich
4. SOMEONE YOU LOVED by Lewis Capaldi
5. ROXANNE by Arizona Zervas
6. GOOD AS HELL by Lizzo
7. DANCE MONKEY by Tones and I
8. HIGHEST IN THE ROOM by Travis Scott
9. 10,000 HOURS by Dan And Shay With Justin Bieber
10. LOSE YOU TO LOVE ME by Selena Gomez

I really like Selena Gomez' angelic LOSE YOU TO LOVE ME. I especially dig the sort of unison choir at the end, it reminds me of Kate Bush. :: Not even a slick, glossy coating of the Biebs can rescue 10,000 HOURS from mediocrity. :: HIGHEST IN THE ROOM is a re-entry into the top ten, it previously went all the way to number one. I don't know why it's back, or for that matter why it was ever in the top ten in the first place but the ending does sound like Floyd so I'm sort of into it :: DANCE MONKEY will almost certainly annoy its way further up the charts. :: GOOD AS HELL is good as hell :: ROXANNE I can see moving up the charts as well; this guy has a neck tattoo that you can almost hear in the song. :: Lewis Capaldi: no more 1/5/6/4 please, c'mon. :: THE BOX: I'm not the target audience for this and I can't say I care for it. :: I continue to be vexed by the enduring legacy of Maroon 5. :: I find CIRCLES aggressively mediocre but America wants what America wants.


THE TOP TEN SONGS FROM THIS WEEK IN 1970

 1. RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN’ ON MY HEAD by B.J. Thomas
2. SOMEDAY WE’LL BE TOGETHER by Diana Ross and the Supremes
3. LEAVING ON A JET PLANE by Peter, Paul and Mary
4. I WANT YOU BACK by Jackson 5 (Motown)
5. WHOLE LOTTA LOVE / LIVING LOVING MAID (She’s Just a Woman) by Led Zeppelin
6. VENUS by The Shocking Blue
7. DOWN ON THE CORNER / FORTUNATE SON by Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. NA NA HEY HEY KISS HIM GOODBYE by Steam
9. LA LA LA (If I Had You) by Bobby Sherman
10. JAM UP AND JELLY TIGHT by Tommy Roe

There's a lot of great songs in this top ten. And there's actually 12 songs, as two of the entries are double A-sides, where both sides of the record were stress tracks. Double A-sides were a relatively short-lived phenomenon, and when this chart came out Billboard had just changed their policy about them, from tracking their sales and radio play separately to bundling them together.

Two songs that are not good are the Tommy Roe song and the Bobby Sherman song, which are both cringe-worthy bubblegum nonsense from two guys with the same haircut.

I do prefer the Bananarama version of VENUS but the original is good too.

I don't think RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY HEAD is one of the better songs in the Bacharach canon but it is still Bacharach, whose songwriting displays a sophistication that simply doesn't exist on the pop charts anymore, and hasn't for years.

NA NA HEY HEY KISS HIM GOODBYE is a song that many of us are hoping to be singing come this November.


THE TOP TEN FROM THIS WEEK IN 1980

 1. ESCAPE (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes
2. ROCK WITH YOU by Michael Jackson
3. DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME by The Captain and Tennille
4. SEND ONE YOUR LOVE by Stevie Wonder
5. PLEASE DON’T GO by K.C. and the Sunshine Band
6. STILL by The Commodores
7. COWARD OF THE COUNTY by Kenny Rogers
8. LADIES NIGHT by Kool and the Gang
9. WE DON’T TALK ANYMORE by Cliff Richard
10. BABE by Styx

This top ten has a couple outstanding songs: MJ's ROCK WITH YOU is inarguably a classic, from one of the best pop albums ever recorded. Stevie's SEND ONE YOUR LOVE may not be one of his standout moments, but I invite you to listen to it after ROXANNE from this weeks chart and see if it doesn't sound like the most brilliant thing you've ever heard after having your mind ransacked by dumb.

Other than those two, ESCAPE seems to have stood the test of time even though it's completely ridiculous, and I always thought the vocal harmonies in the chorus of BABE by Styx sounded awkward and Dennis DeYoung is one of the silliest singers in rock history but I love the band anyway.

I actually prefer the cheesy 90's KWS remix of PLEASE DON'T GO over the original. You could make an argument for just about anything on this list.


THE TOP TEN FROM THIS WEEK IN 1990

 1. ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE by Phil Collins
2. RHYTHM NATION by Janet Jackson
3. PUMP UP THE JAM by Technotronic Featuring Felly
4. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU by Michael Bolton
5. DON’T KNOW MUCH by Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
6. EVERYTHING by Jody Watley
7. THIS ONE’S FOR THE CHILDREN by New Kids On The Block
8. JUST LIKE JESSE JAMES by Cher
9. WITH EVERY BEAT OF MY HEART by Taylor Dayne
10. JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME by Lou Gramm

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE is, if not the worst Phil Collins song, certainly one of his worst, and I am an unapologetic fan.

PUMP UP THE JAM is a classic.

I was pretty plugged in at this point in pop history and I don't even remember that Cher song, or the Taylor Dayne song, or the NKOTB song, or the Lou Gramm song, which shows how ephemeral a lot of this list is, especially compared with the chart from 1970.

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Tune in next week for more. I think. Maybe I'll only do it monthly, as the charts don't really change meaningfully enough to do it weekly. But I might try anyway.

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Follow my band the Dream Eaters so you can write your own blog about how stupid my songs are.

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