I did not expect to see a Panic! At the Disco song on the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot 100 in 2019, but here we are. The song ‘High Hopes’ occupies the #6 spot.
This is the highest chart position ever for the emo pop band, having previously reached #7 with 2006’s ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies.’ Their albums have actually sold pretty well over the past decade-plus, buoyed by the Hot Topic crowd.
Post Malone scores his fourth top five hit and Swae Lee lands his second with ‘Sunflower,’ a featured track from the great new movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
In the film, the song is a favorite of lead character Miles Morales.
This is as good a time as any to recommend Into the Spider-Verse, which is certainly one of the best attempts to bring the webslinger to the screen (and there have been many).
Travis Scott sits at #4 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100, with an assist from Drake, who has pretty much owned this chart for more than a year now.
This is Scott’s second appearance in the top ten, and his first as the primary artist (he previously reached #6 as a featured performer on Kodak Black’s ‘Zeze’).
Women rule the Billboard Hot 100 this week, earning the top three spots. At #3 is Mariah Carey’s 1994 Christmas classic ‘All I Want for Christmas is You.’
This is only the second holiday song to reach the top five on this chart (the first was ‘The Chipmunk Song’ way back in 1958). It likely would have done so much sooner but for years Billboard’s rules prevented holiday songs, and then “recurrent” songs, from appearing on the Hot 100. The latter rule was changed in 2012, and the track has hit the Hot 100 several times since.
I still have some 2018 wrapping-up to do, including diving into Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop poll when that’s released and naming my own top music and movie moments of last year, but I’m kicking off 2019 with a look at where the Billboard charts stand one week into the year.
Yes, it’s the latest edition of ‘What the Kids are Listening To,’ though you’ll find this installment comes with a heavy dose of nostalgia due to the holiday season.
Barenaked Ladies’ 2003 album Everything to Everyone was a bit of a stumble following the successes of Stunt and Maroon. While the band’s previous five albums had reached Gold or Platinum status in either Canada, the U.S., or both, this one failed to sell very well in either country.
In fact, no subsequent BNL album would reach those heights either, making this album a real turning point in the band’s career.
At their best, Random Weekends brings songs to my attention that I have long forgotten. Such is the case with today’s selection.
I’ve loved XTC’s 1986 album Skylarking since I was first introduced to it during my freshman year of college (by none other than frequent commenter Dana). Produced by Todd Rundgren, this album is as fine an example of British experimental pop as you’ll ever hear.
