Macklemore (2) - Week of June 22, 2013

In which our unholy triumvirate at the top of the countdown is finally broken up…..before we get on to this week’s Fresh 45, here’s a list of all the songs we’re saying good-bye to this week.

• Jay Sean - Where You Are
• Krewella - Alive

The Countdown:

1. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#3) [Second Week at #1]

2. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#7)

3. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#4)

4. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#2)

5. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#1)

6. Icona Pop - I Love It (#6)

7. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#12)

8. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#5)

9. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#28)

10. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#9)

11. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#10)

12. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#25)

13. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#14)

14. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#16)

15. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#13)

16. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#18)

17. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#19)

18. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#11)

19. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#21)

20. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#20)

21. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#15)

22. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#24)

23. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#17)

24. The 1975 - Chocolate (#22)

25. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#27)

26. Awolnation - Sail (#26)

27. Mariah Carey Ft. Miguel - #Beautiful (#41)

28. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#8)

29. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#31)

30. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#32)

31. Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up (#23)

32. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#34)

33. Ariana Grande - The Way (#39)

34. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#38)

35. Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets (#33)

36. Taylor Swift - 22 (#30)

37. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#37)

38. Ke$ha - Die Young (#36)

39. Emblem 3 - Chloe (DEBUT)

40. Chris Brown - Fine China (DEBUT)

41. fun. - Some Nights (#40)

42. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#35)

43. MKTO - Thank You (#42)

44. Little Mix - Wings (#43)

45. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#44)

Biggest DDDDDRRRROOOOPPP!!!!!....of the week: Olly Murs – Troublemaker (-20)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Demi Lovato – Heart Attack (+19)

I’m a huge fan of Chris Brown’s voice, but his new song Fine China doesn’t initially resonate with me the way She Ain’t You or International Love did (his two most recent countdown contributions).  Nonetheless, it’s a pretty smooth tune and I’m more than willing to give it the benefit of the doubt going forward.  Don’t be surprised to see it in a future Editor’s Picks list.  Emblem 3 – Chloe is your standard run-of-the-mill countdown fodder that’s interesting enough to listen to for a few weeks, but will leave you clamoring for a station change in about a month.  The lyrics are only a slight notch above something that Hot Chelle Rae might produce (for you countdown newbies….that’s bad).  Be VERY surprised to see it in a future Editor’s Picks list.

Blurbfast Club

- Guess I’ll wipe out the obligatory administrative stuffs right off the bat.  Emeli Sande – Next to Me is still here [gets stranger every week folks….can’t stop bringing it up] and Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child held onto the #37 spot for a somewhat ridiculous fifth week in a row.

- To elaborate on this week’s introductory line, I am of course speaking about Pink Ft. Nate Reuss – Just Give Me a Reason, Fall Out Boy – My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘em Up) and Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Can’t Hold Us.  This is the first week since April 27^th that these three songs have not been the Top 3 on the countdown, in some order.

- Somewhat surprising is the ascension of Imagine Dragons – Radioactive to the #2 spot.  I never really thought of it as a serious contender for #1, but hell, I’d take it over the current #1 song in a heartbeat, and certainly over Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up, which has risen to a dangerous spot at #3.  I can’t recall ever hearing Hung Up outside of Hits-1.

- Come to think of it, outside of Radioactive, I’m not thrilled with any of the top 8 songs right now.  The new blood is long overdue, but Icona Pop – I Love It, Selena Gomez – Come & Get It, and the aforementioned Hung Up really do not live up to their billing.

- Daft Punk – Get Lucky finally made some progress ascending to its eventual #1 spot on the countdown.  Knowing this particular set of rankings, it’s gonna happen months after the world is hooked on it.

- Avril Lavigne – Here’s to Never Growing Up and Michael Buble – It’s a Beautiful Day seem to be played with far lower frequency during regular airplay than their countdown rankings would suggest.  I could see the former taking a big tumble on the countdown pretty soon.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity

2) The 1975 – Chocolate

3) Jason Derulo – The Other Side

4) Daft Punk – Get Lucky

5) Capital Cities – Safe and Sound

Fall Out Boy (6) - Week of June 15, 2013

Allllluuuuhhhhrrrriiighhhttt!!!!  We’re back for realz this time around.  Before we get on to this week’s Fresh 45, here’s a list of all the songs we’re saying good-bye to this week.

• will.i.am Ft. Justin Bieber - #thatPOWER
• Muse - Madness (DTHNOBx2)

The Countdown:

1. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#2) [Sixth Week at #1]

2. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#3)

3. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#1)

4. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#8)

5. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#5)

6. Icona Pop - I Love It (#4)

7. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#13)

8. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#6)

9. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#14)

10. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#20)

11. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#11)

12. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#12)

13. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#17)

14. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#16)

15. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#7)

16. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#15)

17. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#9)

18. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#18)

19. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#25)

20. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#28)

21. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#19)

22. The 1975 - Chocolate (#21)

23. Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up (#33)

24. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#24)

25. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#29)

26. Awolnation - Sail (#26)

27. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#35)

28. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#10)

29. Jay Sean - Where You Are (#22)

30. Taylor Swift - 22 (#23)

31. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#39)

32. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#34)

33. Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets (#27)

34. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#36)

35. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#44)

36. Ke$ha - Die Young (#32)

37. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#37)

38. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#40)

39. Ariana Grande - The Way (DEBUT)

40. fun. - Some Nights (#30)

41. Mariah Carey - #Beautiful (DEBUT)

42. MKTO - Thank You (#38)

43. Little Mix - Wings (#43)

44. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#45)

45. Krewella - Alive (#41)

Biggest DDDDRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!....of the week: Demi Lovato – Heart Attack (-18)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Tie between Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am – Crazy Kids and Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull – Live It Up (+10)

Including last week’s debut, we’ve got 3 new songs to talk about, but don’t jump out of your seats; none of them are worth getting super excited over.  If I had to pick a “best of the bunch”, I’d say Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande – Beneath Your Beautiful.  It was the #1 song in the UK earlier this year and has been on HitBound forever (there’s something about Emeli Sande and HitBound).  It finally got its chance to debut on the countdown the weekend of June 8^th.  Lyrically, it’s a cut above your typical Hits-1 song and it’s pretty well-performed.

Holy plagiarism Batman!  Ariana Grande debuted with The Way, and the beat is completely ripped off of Big Pun / Fat Joe (okay, not precisely, but we’re talking Under Pressure / Ice Ice Baby–level similarity).  Make your own damn songs, and if you have to tread on decade-old ground, at least have the decency to make the end product a lot better than The Way.  Not surprisingly, while not credited on Hits-1, Mac Miller had a role to play in this disaster.

In this week’s edition of things that really, really don’t need a hashtag, Mariah Carey debuted with #Beautiful.  For some reason Hits-1 doesn’t credit Miguel with a “featuring”, but he’s pretty good in this song.  This is one of those that’s going to be nice to have around while it’s still a shiny new toy, but I don’t love it, and it’s likely going to cement itself in the ranks of countdown mediocrities.

Blurbday Cake

- Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child has been #37 for 4 straight weeks, an oddity in such a volatile part of the countdown.

- Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up in the Top 5, is, to quote Juno MacGuff, one big, fat sack of NO!

- Imagine Dragons – Radioactive – got to the Top 10 much more quickly than It’s Time.

- Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am – Crazy Kids had the Biggest Jump of the Week two weeks in a row.

- Daft Punk – Get Lucky sure is taking its sweet time ascending to its eventual #1 spot on the countdown.

- [Obligatory comment about how Emeli Sande – Next to Me is still here]

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) The 1975 – Chocolate

2) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity

3) Daft Punk – Get Lucky

4) Jason Derulo – The Other Side

5) Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am – Crazy Kids

Macklemore - Week of June 8, 2013

Abridged and delayed, as promised.  Before we get on to this week’s Fresh 45, here’s a list of all the songs we’re saying good-bye to this week.

• Maroon 5 - Daylight
• Imagine Dragons - It's Time (DTHNOBx2)
• Jake Miller - A Million Lives (DTHNOBx2)

The Countdown:

1. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#2) [First Week at #1]

2. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#1)

3. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#3)

4. Icona Pop - I Love It (#4)

5. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#6)

6. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#5)

7. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#8)

8. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#10)

9. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#14)

10. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#7)

11. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#17)

12. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#9)

13. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#21)

14. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#16)

15. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#19)

16. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#18)

17. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#11)

18. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#15)

19. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#35)

20. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#41)

21. The 1975 - Chocolate (#23)

22. Jay Sean - Where You Are (#28)

23. Taylor Swift - 22 (#12)

24. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#25)

25. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#24)

26. Awolnation - Sail (#27)

27. Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets (#26)

28. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#38)

29. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#22)

30. fun. - Some Nights (#13)

31. will.i.am Ft. Justin Bieber - #thatPOWER - (#20)

32. Ke$ha - Die Young (#29)

33. Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up (#31)

34. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (DEBUT)

35. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#39)

36. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#34)

37. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#37)

38. MKTO - Thank You (#42)

39. Tegan & Sara - Closer (RE-ENTRY)

40. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#30)

41. Krewella - Alive (#43)

42. Muse - Madness (#44)

43. Little Mix - Wings (#33)

44. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (RE-ENTRY)

45. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#40)

Biggest DDDRRRROOOOPPPPPP!!!!....of the week: fun. – Some Nights (-17)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am – Crazy Kids (+21)

New Entrants:

• Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (will review next week)
• Tegan and Sara - Closer (resurrection)
• Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (resurrection)

Fall Out Boy (5) - Week of June 1, 2013

I made an error.  Next week is when this will be delayed.  This week, we’re right on time!  Before we get on to this week’s Fresh 45, here’s a list of all the songs we’re saying good-bye to this week.

• Ke$ha - C'mon
• fun. - Carry On
• Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man
• Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment

The Countdown:

1. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#3) [Fifth Week at #1]

2. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#2)

3. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#1)

4. Icona Pop - I Love It (#5)

5. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#4)

6. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#7)

7. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#6)

8. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#20)

9. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#16)

10. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#9)

11. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#14)

12. Taylor Swift - 22 (#10)

13. fun. - Some Nights (#15)

14. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#11)

15. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#13)

16. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#18)

17. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#23)

18. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#21)

19. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#17)

20. will.i.am Ft. Justin Bieber - #thatPOWER - (#26)

21. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#19)

22. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#32)

23. The 1975 - Chocolate (#25)

24. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#22)

25. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#27)

26. Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets (#39)

27. Awolnation - Sail (#30)

28. Jay Sean - Where You Are (#24)

29. Ke$ha - Die Young (#31)

30. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#29)

31. Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up (#35)

32. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#34)

33. Little Mix - Wings (#8)

34. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#33)

35. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#28)

36. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#36)

37. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#37)

38. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#42)

39. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (DEBUT)

40. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#44)

41. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (DEBUT)

42. MKTO - Thank You (#43)

43. Krewella - Alive (#45)

44. Muse - Madness (RE-ENTRY)

45. Jake Miller - A Million Lives (RE-ENTRY)

Biggest DDDDRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!....of the week: Little Mix – Wings (-25)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Drop City Yacht Club – Crickets (+13)

Muse – Madness and Jake Miller – A Million Lives came back, so we’re down to two debuts.  Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding – I Need Your Love is reasonably similar in quality to Calvin Harris’s previous countdown entry, Sweet Nothing.  I think I like the underlying sound effects significantly more in this song, but like pretty much any other Calvin Harris song, I’m thinking it won’t take too long to develop into a station-changer.  Ke$ha (!!!) is back with will.i.am (…oh) with the song Crazy Kids.  This one’s got a pretty addicting chorus, and I generally enjoy when Ke$ha is singing, but I dislike the pseudo-rap/talk (you know, Ke$ha style) that she does during parts of the verses.  Oh, yeah, and everything will.i.am “contributes” to the song absolutely murders it. 

Ermahgerd, Blurbs!!!

- Spyder Harrison mentioned that Lumineers – Ho Hey was one of the songs we’re saying good-bye to during his weekly rundown, but that song wasn’t present on the countdown last week.

- You remember Tegan and Sara – Closer, right?  That song that got kicked off the countdown on May 11^th?  Well guess where it is now?  Hit-Bound.  It was a countdown song for about a coupla months, and now it’s “bound” to be a “hit”.  I was fairly bothered by how little sense this makes.  Why is Hits-1 trying to pass this off as new music?

- Spyder Harrison also took note of the plight of Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Can’t Hold Us, being stranded at #2 while Pink and Fall Out Boy oscillate between the #3 and #1 spots each week (seriously, they’ve switched off for 6 weeks now, though Can’t Hold Us has only been the meat of the sandwich for three).

- So Robin Thicke Ft. Pharrell and T.I. is going to be a thing, huh.  Juuuuuust wonderful.

- As mentioned above, next week’s update is gonna be a little late and will be mostly the quick hits. 

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity

2) The 1975 – Chocolate

3) Daft Punk – Get Lucky

4) Krewella – Alive

5) Capital Cities – Safe and Sound