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.
Down the Rabbit Hole We Go, 2010 Part 3 and New Music Picks
Learn more about an era of music and the connections behind the songs. Interwoven with personal anecdotes, commentary and artist history. A unique way to tap into music nostalgia and discovery.
The companion Spotify playlist has all the songs discussed in the blog that are available. Individual playlists for each blog entry are available on My YouTube Channel.
My Personal Chart Blog, June 1, 2010
Part 3, Pop Got Punked and There Will Be Fall Out, Party Music and the Orbit Around Mars
Boys Like Girls/Heart Heart Heartbreak (3)
YouTube playlist with the songs from Part 3(a total of 93 songs on this one, there’s a lot of history here)
Aah, the aughts, and early 2010s saw a lot of boy bands under the Punk-Pop moniker and it certainly had an impact on me. This song had just dropped from #1 2 weeks earlier. The Boston area band emerged in 2007 with the top 10 Pop single “The Great Escape” and scored a couple of other top 25 hits in the following 2 years. Taylor Swift (I may get into my overall dislike of her at some point) helped bring them back to the Pop top 10 in late 2009 with “Two Is Better Than One”. Up to this point, the band did not register to a great degree, though they did make my 60 in 2009 with “Love Drunk”, another moderate Pop hit.
“Heart Heart Heartbreak” was their moment to shine on my chart with its huge hook. This one really never lets up the energy from beginning to end. It was their last Pop charter, reaching #31. It is a common occurrence that my favorite songs by an artist tend to not be their biggest hits. The song did make the music party top 40 at #36 the summer of 2010. For those uninformed, my annual music party, started in 1984, features a countdown of the top songs of the prior 12-month period, so June through May. The participants are mostly friends and usually in the 20-25 range so a song that is well-liked by a few people can make the lower reaches of the top 40.
The band released a final album in 2012 and made my chart 1 last time with “Be Your Everything”. Lead singer Martin Johnson re-surfaced in 2017 as the Night Game, a name he took from a Paul Simon song. His first single was “The Outfield” with backing vocals from Gotye, the artist who had the biggest song in the world in 2012, “Somebody That I Used To Know” (and also the #1 song at the summer 2012 party). It’s as if Gotye vanished after the success of that song, he never released another album. The funny thing about “The Outfield” is that it totally reminds me of the 80’s band of the same name, especially their song “Your Love”.
It was the more interesting song, “Once In A Lifetime” that would make it to #3 on my personal chart in December 2017. This one starts with a subdued, almost mysterious vocal style. It has a quality that is unlike any other song I can remember though I could hear Crowded House doing this song. His guitarist is from Australia (as is Gotye) so maybe that makes sense. Also, though sounding different, I can relate this to the late 80’s song “Welcome To The Boomtown” by David & David (the #3 song at the 1987 party). The Night Game just released a song on May 29 of this year called “Magic Trick”.
What is interesting to me is that Johnson co-wrote and produced songs for a lot of Pop artists over the last decade. These include Jason Derulo (“The Other Side”), Avril Lavigne (“Here’s To Never Growing Up”) and Elle King (“America’s Sweetheart”). He also is partially responsible for 2 other top 5 songs on my weekly chart, Lavigne’s “Rock N Roll” and Country artist Hunter Hayes’ “Yesterday’s Song”.
2 Canadian Punk-Pop bands from British Columbia were making some waves north of the border at the time. Faber Drive was discovered by Chad Kroeger of Nickelback (and husband of Avril Lavigne) in 2007. They were enjoying their biggest hit in 2009 with “G-Get Up And Dance”. 2 songs from 2007 made my top 20; “When I’m With You” and “Second Chance”.
Hedley has had the more prosperous career though mired in some scandal. All 7 of their albums have made the Canadian top 10 and they have had 10 top singles as well. They splashed on the Canadian charts at #1 in 2005 with their first song “On My Own”. This was right after lead vocalist Jacob Hoggard’s third-place showing in 2004 on “Canadian Idol”. In 2009-10 they were riding high with “Cha-Ching” and “Perfect”. It wasn’t until 2014-15 that they reached my top 10 with “Crazy For You” and “Hello”. In recent years Hoggard and the band have been involved in sexual assault accusations which led to their management company dropping them and the band going on indefinite hiatus.
The Tallahassee band Mayday Parade joins the conversation with 3 connections to the Night Game and Johnson…Read the rest here
New Music to check out
Groovin’ to some new funky blues from Fantastic Negrito.
Just about to start writing the next blog entry that will include Needtobreathe and here they are with a new song.
I’m liking this and “Fire in Bone” more than “Caution”.
The fun little ditty reached #7 on my personal chart last December. It’s just been sent to radio. It’s also on the “Fun In The Country Music Therapy” playlist.
More fun in the country with the Brothers Osborne.
