Beyond Radio is the place where music discovery and music nostalgia collide. It is your one-stop source for playlists, music charts, remembrances and recommendations. Our Podcast and music therapy playlists combine elements of nostalgia and discovery, while my blog entries reflect on our musical past through the lens of my personal charts from decades past. I weave a story that includes the connection between artists, chart facts and personal anecdotes that hopefully conjure a connection to the soundtrack of your own life. The current charts and playlists are updated monthly or bi-monthly (bi-weekly for the BR250) and are curated based on a passionate audience that produce their own personal charts weekly.
The Beyond Radio Presents universe has a new podcast. It is something I am very proud of and excited about. A special and unique way to interview musicians coming from a fan's POV and musicians promoting other musicians. Let the lovefest begin.
This is the inaugural episode of our artist interview podcast (a two-parter). The title, 8Trax, harkens back to the era of the 8 Track tapes and indicates that 8 main songs will be discussed. The interview style is set up as follows. The artist brings 3 of their lesser-known songs that they love to the table and I do the same. The conversation moves through the stories of these songs and of course, leads down many roads. I felt that proceeding in this manner gets people deeper into an artist while my approach is that of a fan. The remaining 2 tracks are from different artists we wanted the other to hear. I love the idea of artists promoting other artists.
With my weekly personal chart background I have delved deep into many artist's catalogues. For these indie rockers from Nashville, I charted 20 songs from their 3 records with all but one making my weekly top 20 and 12 of them going to #1. Yes, I am an absolute fan.
Even though they haven't put out new music since 2015 this year they have been featured on 6 episodes of Beyond Radio Presents so far. A 2-part episode comparing them to major bands of the last 50 years (Queen, Live, Muse, etc.), a most beautiful interview, and snippets from the interviews that became their own mini-episodes.
I explained the premise of 8trax to them and they wanted to be guinea pigs for the pilot episode. Clearly, there was still much to discuss as it is another 2-parter. David, Hildee (Jeff), and Andy are fun, cerebral, spiritual, introspective, and serious (I'm sure the same can be said for the missing members, Jeff and Matt). I consider them a gift unto my life. Most importantly, their music deserves to be heard.
In all over 30 songs were discussed or mentioned and all but one of those can be found on the companion playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.
Jun 16
The Music Party #5's
The #5’s include 3 songs that were my #1 of the year, “Life Is A Highway” in ‘92, “Pink Motel” by the Glorious Sons in 2021, and “Sing” by My Chemical Romance in 2012. One of the most powerful remakes of all-time is also included, “The Sound Of Silence” by Disturbed. Nickelback and Christina Aguilera show up twice and Jewel sort of does back-to-back. “Foolish Games” was #5 in 1997 and in 1998 it was Fastball’s “The Way”. The beginning of that song is the sound of someone flipping through the radio dial and Jewel’s voice is heard for about a second. Another interesting Jewel anecdote is that she showed up at #4 (“You Were Meant For Me”), #5 with the aforementioned “Foolish Games” (both in the same year), and in 2002 #6 with “Standing Still”.
Three recent episodes, the first is an update of an episode from April 2020 featuring Guuster and some of my all-time favorite songs. I'm going to see Guster tomorrow evening with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
As the title suggests we start to explore the bridges in songs and this leads to a '70s band popping up again, a ghost singer (?), a '90s music magazine trend, and 2 of my favorite albums of all-time. I test Jeff's memory (some things click, others don't) and we end with an intense vocalist whose legacy is tragic on more than one level. Oh and a guest appearance by a couple of members of Manic Bloom.
This is the full conversation with the members of Manic Bloom about "Army".
You can get the direct downloads of the episodes at the link above or find the episodes on Spotify.
May 8
Music Party #13's
The Party #13’s starts with the iconic “Safety Dance” from Men Without Hats. It was written by the lead singer in response to being kicked out of a club for pogo dancing, a form of dancing that was becoming popular with new wavers. The following year “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” by Yes landed at #13 and was their only Hot 100 #1 song. 1985 saw another Hot 100 #1, “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister take the unlucky number.
In the ‘90s the ladies dominated the #13 position. Bonnie Raitt’s Something To Talk About” in 1991. The fabulous “Sleeping Satellite” by Tasmin Archer in 1994 followed by Sheryl Crow’s debut hit “All I Wanna Do” in ’94, and then by Natalie Merchant’s solo debut “Carnival in ’95. The unbroken heart of Toni Braxton was at the position in 1996 and the end of the decade saw back-to-back Madonna songs, “The Power Of Goodbye” and “Beautiful Stranger” in 98/99. Overall I really lost interest in her as the decade progressed.
In 2003 the Russian duo T.A.T.U. scored with “All The Things She Said”, their only hit in the States. In 2005 it was “Take Me Out” by Scottish band Franz Ferdinand. A #3 UK and alternative hit, it was chosen as the #1 song of the year on the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop poll and also on the Australian influential alt station Triple J. The Welsh singer Duffy came in at 13 in 2009 with the very Amy Winehouse-ish “Mercy”.
Shinedown’s “If You Only Knew” is one of 4 songs that made the party top 50 from the album “The Sound of Madness”. This one was a pop and rock hit and still sounds great. The other entries from the album were “Sound of Madness (#26), “The Crown and The Butterfly (#20 and talked about on the next episode of the Beyond Radio presents podcast), and their biggest pop hit “Second Chance (#4).
More rock showed up at #13 in 2012 (“Gold On The Ceiling” by the Black Keys), Fall Out Boy’s “Centuries” in 2015, the cover of the Cranberries “Zombie” by Bad Wolves in 2018, and the unlikely combo of Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton, and Bruno Mars on the blistering “Blow” in 2020. If you haven’t heard that one, I highly recommend.
Apr 23
Music Party #17's
The first #17 was one of my sister's favorites of 1983 (possibly her #1), Adam Ant's "Goody Two Shoes". His debut solo single, it only reached #12 on the Hot 100 but I think it would have possibly made the top if MTV airplay was included in that chart.
I was listening to the playlist the other day in Uber when this next song came on. My passenger was so excited to be hearing a Backstreet Boys song (her favorite artist). We had a lively discussion about music and she shared that she has had a number of bad Uber rides and it became a thing she often shared with her friends and co-workers. She said this was her best Uber ride ever and a positive way to start the day. I love when those things happen. Other than my connection to music and the joy that the podcast brings me, Uber is the most gratifying job I have ever had. One-on-one connections that lift the spirit.
Imagine Dragons had back-to-back #17's and Pink had 2 with Bandi Carlile's "The Joke" separating them.
My least favorite #17 came in 2021 and perhaps is in my top 5 worst songs of all-time is "WAP" by Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion. Nuff said about that. It sits between 2 cool entries, Lizzo's "Boys" in 2020 (and should have been a hit) and last year's "How Not To Drown" by Chvrches & Robert Smith of the Cure. This is by far my favorite Chvrches song, spending 2 weeks at #1 on my weekly chart and a welcome return to the airwaves for Smith.
The most interesting song to grace the #17's is Just Jack's "Starz In Their Eyes" in 2008. It was a #2 hit in the UK in 2007. It only reached #63 on my weekly chart and I know it clicked with a small circle of participants.
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