The Pop Chart Christmas Spectacular

On December 14th, we’re forsaking the 40 best hits of the week in favor of the fifty best Christmas songs ever! Nominate the holiday-themed songs you wouldn’t actually mind listening to all day, or even all year, be they traditional or modern, religious or secular. Nominate as many as you’d like, but if it’s a standard (like Silent Night or Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, say) let us know which version you prefer.

Next Week’s Top 10

Next week I’m counting down your picks for the 10 Best Songs to ever come out of Scotland. Whether it’s Arab Strap or Kelly Marie, if it’s poppy I’ll count it down.

Leave your votes in the comments section below, or if you’re listening live you can send me an IM (BSR REQUEST) or call me at the station (401-863-9277).

The Pop Chart – November 30, 2008

Listen here.  (Or don’t.  Apparently I’m not actually broadcasting right now.  Hopefully the archive’s working, though…)  Because I’m broadcasting now.  And if you missed the sound of my voice introducing the songs, you can always check back and listen to the archive later.

This week. Artist, Title (Last Week, Peak, Weeks on Countdown)

1. Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (1, 1, 6)
2. The Kills, Tape Song (3, 2, 4)
3. The Last Shadow Puppets
6. Ipso Facto, Six and Three Quarters (4, 4, 8)
7. Bloc Party, Talons (5, 1, 10)
8. The Research, I Think She’s The One I Love (8, 8, 6)
9. Alesha Dixon, The Boy Does Nothing (11, 9, 6)
10. The School, I Want You Back (7, 7, 7)

11. The Courteeners, That Kiss (16, 11, 4)
12. Lady GaGa, Poker Face (13, 12, 6)
13. Jazmine Sullivan, Bust Your Windows (17, 13, 3)
14. Amadou & Mariam, Sabali (18, 14, 4)
15. Sneaky Sound System, UFO (21, 15, 3)
16. The Ting Tings, Be The One (14, 14, 5)
17. The Tough Alliance, Neo Violence (20, 17, 3) 
18. Lykke Li, Little Bit (22, 18, 3)
19. Lisa, Drole de Creepie (23, 19, 2)
20. Skint & Demoralised, The Thrill of Thirty Seconds (25, 20, 2)

21. Fall Out Boy, I Don’t Care (9, 2, 8)
22. Manda Rin, Guilty Pleasure (26, 22, 3)
23. The Girls, Not I (28, 23, 3)
24. Antony and the Johnsons, Another World (15, 12, 7)
28. The Dears, Money Babies (32, 28, 4)
29. The Raveonettes, Blush (NEW)
30. Estelle, Come Over (feat. Sean Paul) (36, 30, 2)

31. New Kids On The Block, Dirty Dancing (37, 31, 2)
32. Vivian Girls, Tell The World (19, 5, 8)
33. Esser, Satisfied (34, 33, 2)
34. Low, Santa Is Coming (NEW)
35. Ian Carey Project, Get Shaky (NEW)
36. Marianne Faithfull, Easy Come Easy Go (NEW)
37. The Living End, Moment In The Sun (NEW)
38. VV Brown, Crying Blood (30, 30, 4)
39. Il Genio, Pop Porno (NEW)
40. Madrugada, What’s On Your Mind? (29, 20, 5)

Fifteen or Sixteen Years Ago

My Top 25 of this week in 1993 included seven debuts:

the cranberries, Linger (#16)
The Lemonheads, Into Your Arms (#17)
Cher featuring Beavis and Butthead, I Got You Babe (#19)
Xscape, Just Kickin’ It (#20)
Gin Blossoms, Found Out About You (#21)
Queen Latifah, UNITY (#22)
Haddaway, What Is Love (#23)

Ace of Base was still #1. On the back page of this chart I had also listed my top 5 songs of that week in 1992:

5. Shanice, Saving Forever For You (6)
4. Mary J Blige, Real Love (2)
3. Arrested Development, Mr. Wendal (3)
2. En Vogue, Free Your Mind (1)
1. Don Henley and Patti Smyth, Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough (4)

Which, I think, is still a really good top five. Also, I think, the only Don Henley song I don’t hate hearing.

Girls! Girls! Girls!

Next Sunday I’m going to be counting down the list of the All-Time 10 Best Girl Group songs. So whether you’re into the Chiffons or Sweet Sensation of 702, I want to know what you think the best-ever girl group songs are.

As usual, you can leave your votes in the comments section, e-mail me, or, if you’re listening to the show when it’s live, you can send me an instant message at BSR REQUEST.

The Pop Chart – November 23, 2008

I’m back!

Listen to the show here.

This Week. Artist, Title (Last Week, Peak, Weeks On The Chart)

1. Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (1, 1, 5)
2. Britney Spears, Womanizer (3, 2, 7)
3. The Kills, Tape Song (11, 3, 3)
4. Ipso Facto, Six and Three Quarters (4, 4, 7)
5. Bloc Party, Talons (2, 1, 9)

6. The Last Shadow Puppets. My Mistakes Were Made For You (9, 6, 5)
7. The School, I Want You Back (7, 7, 6)
8. The Research, I Think She’s The One I Love (10, 8, 5)
9. Fall Out Boy, I Don’t Care (5, 2, 7)
10. Duffy, Rain On Your Parade, (18, 10, 3)

11. Alesha Dixon, The Boy Does Nothing (14, 11, 5)
12. Rainbow Arabia, Omar K (6, 4, 7)
13. Lady GaGa, Poker Face (15, 13, 5)
14. The Ting Tings, Be The One (16, 14, 4)
15. Antony and the Johnsons, Another World (12, 12, 6)

16. The Courteeners, That Kiss (23, 16, 3)
17. Jazmine Sullivan, Bust Your Windows (29, 17, 2)
18. Amadou & Mariam, Sabali (25, 18, 3)
19, Vivian Girls, Tell The World (8, 5, 7)
20. The Tough Alliance, Neo Violence (28, 20, 2)

21. Sneaky Sound System, UFO (31, 21, 2)
22. Lykke Li, Little Bit (28, 22, 2)
23. Lisa, Drole de Creepie (HIGHEST DEBUT)
24. The Lady Tigra, First Black First Lady (13, 9, 7)
25. Skint & Demoralised, The Thrill of Thirty Seconds (NEW)

26. Kaiser Chiefs, Never Miss A Beat (17, 17, 5)
27. Manda Rin, Guilty Pleasure (32, 27, 2)
28. The Girls, Not I (35, 28, 2)
29. Madrugada, What’s On Your Mind? (20, 20, 4)
30. VV Brown, Crying Blood (33, 30, 3)

31. Sam Taylor-Wood, I’m In Love With A German Filmstar (9, 19, 5)
32. The Dears, Money Babies (34, 32, 3)
33. Solange, T.O.N.Y. (NEW)
34. Esser, Satisfied (NEW)
35. Solange, Sandcastle Disco (23, 5, 10)

36. Estelle, Come Over (feat. Sean Paul) (NEW)
37. New Kids On The Block, Dirty Dancing (NEW)
38. Portishead, We Carry On (21, 9, 9) BIGGEST DROP
39. Manda Rin, DNA (26, 1, 10)
40. Ladytron, Runaway (24, 1, 10)

The Pop Chart Turns 15! (Sort Of)

I’ve been making The Pop Chart since September, but although I’m just now starting to broadcast the list it’s not my first experience making a weekly pop songs countdown. I’ve actually been doing it on and off since I was seven or so.

Fifteen years ago this month, my seventh-grade self began actually keeping track of my countdowns, posting them all in a spiral-bound notebook, which I overlaid with a ridiculous amount of facts and statistics that could only make sense to someone who was just out of elementary school.

The first countdown in the notebook was for the week of November 17-23, 1993, and it was a top 25. (The length of these countdowns varied quite a bit, from twenty-five to fifty, over the next five years before I got too old for this sort of thing. Or so I thought!) Some notes indicate that I was already making countdowns on a regular basis before this, but I’m not really sure where those might be.

Anyway, for nostalgia’s sake, here’s my 25 favorite songs from the first countdown. Remember, I was twelve.

Rank. Artist, Title (Previous Week)

25. Clint Black, No Time To Kill (21)
24. Inner Circle, Bad To The Bone (16)
23. Mariah Carey, Dream Lover (19) OLDEST SONG ON COUNTDOWN
22. Meat Loaf, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) (9) BIGGEST DROP
21. Culture Beat, Mr. Vain (NEW)
20. Bryan Adams, Please Forgive Me (23) [nb: EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW!!!!]
19. Zhane, Hey Mr. DJ (NEW)
18. Inner Circle, Rock With You (NEW)
17. Belinda Carlisle, Big Scary Animal (12)
16. John Mellencamp, Human Wheels (22)
15. Clive Griffin, Commitment of the Heart (17)
14. Gin Blossoms, Hey Jealousy (7)
13. Lorrie Morgan, Half Enough (15)
12. Garth Brooks, Ain’t Going Down (11)
11. Snoop Dogg, What’s My Name? (NEW)
10. Billy Ray Cyrus, Heart of a Woman (14)
9. Blind Melon, No Rain (5)
8. Lisa Keith, Better Than You (10)
7. 10000 Maniacs, Because The Night (NEW)
6. Toni Braxton, Breathe Again (6)
5. Mariah Carey, Hero (13) GREATEST GAIN
4. Janet Jackson, Again (4)
3. Mr. Big, Wild World (3)
2. Toni Braxton, Another Sad Love Song (2)
1. Ace of Base, All That She Wants (1)

I like that in my world, Billy Ray Cyrus, Inner Circle and Mr. Big were all multi-hit artists.  Also that even as a pubescent boy I knew that Another Sad Love Song was one of the best songs ever.  I also listened to a lot of different radio stations, since it wasn’t like Snoop Dogg and Clive Griffin and Clint Black were sharing airtime anywhere.

This may or may not turn into a feature, where I highlight the new songs I liked from this week fifteen years ago.

The Pop Chart – November 16, 2008

Sorry this week’s show didn’t make it on the air.  I’ll be doing the Rhode Island countdown next week instead, but here’s this week’s Top 40.

This Week. Artist, Title (Last Week, Peak, Weeks On The Chart)

1. Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (6, 1, 4)
2. Bloc Party, Talons (1, 1, 8)
3. Britney Spears, Womanizer (2, 2, 6)
4. Ipso Facto, Six and Three Quarters (8, 4, 6)
5. Fall Out Boy, I Don’t Care (2, 3, 6)

6. Rainbow Arabia, Omar K (4, 4, 6)
7. The School, I Want You Back (12, 7, 5)
8. Vivian Girls, Tell The World (5, 5, 6)
9. The Last Shadow Puppets, My Mistakes Were Made For You (13, 9, 4)
10. The Research, I Think She’s The One I Love (15, 10, 4)

11. The Kills, Tape Song (24, 11, 2)
12. Antony and the Johnsons, Another World (17, 12, 5)
13. The Lady Tigra, First Black First Lady (9, 9, 6)
14. Alesha Dixon, The Boy Does Nothing (19, 14, 3)
15. Lady GaGa, Poker Face (18, 15, 4)

16. The Ting Tings, Be The One (23, 16, 3)
17. The Kaiser Chiefs, Never Miss A Beat (22, 17, 4)
18. Duffy, Rain On Your Parade (26, 18, 2)
19. Sam Taylor-Wood, I’m In Love With A German Filmstar (21, 19, 4)
20. Madrugada, What’s On Your Mind? (25, 20, 3)

21. Portishead, We Carry On (11, 9, 8)
22. Solange, Sandcastle Disco (7, 5, 9)
23. The Courteeners, That Kiss (33, 23, 2)
24. Ladytron, Runaway (16, 1, 9)
25. Amadou & Mariam, Sabali (31, 25, 2)

26. Manda Rin, DNA (10, 1, 9)
27. The Tough Alliance, Neo Violence (HIGHEST DEBUT)
28. Lykke Li, Little Bit (NEW)
29. Jazmine Sullivan, Bust Your Windows (NEW)
30. Saint Etienne, Burnt Out Car (14, 11, 8)

31. Sneaky Soundsystem, UFO (NEW)
32. Manda Rin, Guilty Pleasure (NEW)
33. VV Brown, Crying Blood (40, 33, 2)
34. The Dears, Money Babies (39, 34, 2)
35. The Girls, Not I (NEW)

36. Tindersticks, Boobar (20, 10, 7)
37. Late of the Pier, Heartbeat (29, 4, 9)
38. Glasvegas, Daddy’s Gone (27, 2, 9)
39. David Cronenberg’s Wife, Runaway Pram (34, 34, 3)
40. TI & Jay-Z ft. Lil Wayne & Kanye West, Swagga Like Us (30, 30, 3)

The Very Definition of Clusterfuck

So, due to a used book sale I’m doing in Providence tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon, I had planned on pre-recording this week’s Pop Chart. Unfortunately, BSR is a lively place and there weren’t four open hours of studio time to do the recording until the wee hours of tonight and early into tomorrow morning, after The Kitchen ends at 2. (The Kitchen is one of my favorite shows on BSR, for the record, and I actually sort of wanted to meet whoever does it, because I don’t think I have yet.)

So I planned on napping through today, calmly drinking Old Rasputin and pricing books through the evening, and then running over to record the show in the late night. (It’s actually a lot of fun recording things overnight. I’m not sure why, but it is. Except for the part where my car might get towed because Providence for some reason thinks it’s necessary to have a citywide overnight parking ban every night of the freaking year.)

But unfortunately, my napping this afternoon was prevented by a rally for marriage equality and a dreadful rainstorm. And tonight I learned that my garage (where I was keeping all the books) has several drippy leaks in its roof, so rather than peacefully listening to Belle and Sebastian and pricing books like I planned, I spent my evening frantically re-boxing Judith Krantz hardcovers as best I could and then moving them into somewhere safe. By which I mean the cab of my truck, which was the nearest dry place. But I had parked pretty near to the house, so I figured it would be easier if I moved the truck a little bit over in the driveway.

And… my battery’s dead. I mean, I think it’s just wet, maybe, but it’s also supposed to rain for the next fourteen hours so I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon.

So tomorrow morning I need to call AAA and wait, probably for hours, for somebody to jump the truck so I can drive it to my parents’ house and borrow their car to go to the book sale. (Which, when I get there, might be the sale of the century, since I haven’t actually priced 3/4 of the books yet.) So, in theory, The Pop Chart could happen, but it would involve pulling an all-nighter and also walking 45 minutes each way in this humid monsoon thing to and from the radio station. And I wouldn’t get any rest until, at the earliest, about six o’clock tomorrow evening. And I’d even consider doing that were it not for the fact that I only got about two hours of sleep last night. (Different story involving a fun dance party that meant going to bed at four, and a rude cat with tuna breath waking me up at six. Seriously. I know you might be tempted to buy Figaro brand cat food because the labels are so cute, but holy Jesus does it smell even worse than most fishy cat foods. And it’s more of a chipped beef color, which seems wrong for tuna.)

Regardless. I still plan on recording the show, especially since this week I was counting down the 10 Best Songs To Ever Come Out Of Rhode Island. But Lord knows when. Sorry, listeners!

Rhode Island Is Famous For Them

I asked you for your ten favorite songs to ever come out of Rhode Island and you gave them to me. (And Lightning Bolt was nowhere to be found!)

10. Erin McKeown, Rhode Island Is Famous For You (2005)
9. Callers, More Than Right (2008)
8. The Cowsills, The Rain The Park and Other Things (1969)
7. Thee Hydrogen Terrors, Mexico (1994)
6. Combustible Edison, Pink Victim (1996)
5. Throwing Muses, Not Too Soon (1991)
4.. The Trade Winds, New York’s A Lonely Town (1964)
3. Wendy Carlos, Air on a G String (1968)
2. Six Finger Satellite, Cock Fight (1995)
1. Scarce, Days Like This (1996)