Song of the Week: 27 Dec 2010 - 2 Jan 2011 Just the Way You Are

Sorry for the late update, holidays and all.



Bruno Mars brings us this week's song Just the Way You Are. This song was nominated for a Grammy award this year and its plain to see why. As Mars says, this song is simple and straight from the heart. It reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA and also reached the #1 spot on charts in the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. Just the Way You Are has also reached a Platinum sales status twice.

Christmas Song of the Week: 20 - 26 Dec God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Song of the Week: 20-26 Dec Drops of Jupiter

This week's feature Drops of Jupiter  by Train. This song was featured on top 10 lists around the globe, and made it to #3 on the US Top 40 and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. I might extrapolate when I don't feel as sick.........

Playlist

This week as I've been studying for finals and working countless overtime hours at work only one thing has kept me going: this awesome playlist I put together on grooveshark.com. In fact it is so chill I wanted to share it with the world. The artists on the playlist are April Smith & the Great Picture Show, Imagine Dragons, Ingrid Michaelson, J. Wride, Jump Little Children, Mudbison, Safetysuit, Shaun Barrowes,and The Rocket Summer. Have fun!

Christmas Song of the Week: 13-19 Dec Deck the Halls

This is another of my holiday favorites.During this time of year you can often see me cruising the streets in my '91 Buick rocking out on the steering wheel to Deck the Halls by Utah (where I currently live) natives SHeDAISY. This beautiful re-imagining of the Christmas classic reached #37 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. I know I said I'm not big into country and I've already featured 3 or 4 but this one definitely deserves it!

Songs of the Week: 13-19 Dec Lean On Me & I Want You

So this week I had kind of a retrospective mood and heard 2 songs from decades past that I really enjoyed.






Lean On Me was originally sung and released by Bill Withers back in 1972. The video is a cover, which I really enjoy, is performed by christian rock trio dc Talk. Lean On Me was Withers' only song that topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart but the song topped it again 15 years later when performed by Club Nouveau. The version by Club Nouveau is the one I heard on the radio this week and inspired me to make this one of the Songs of the Week. This is definitely a feel good song. I'd love to hear it covered by an a capella men's group though....




Savage Garden bring us this week's other featured song, I Want You. Released in the United States in early 1997, I Want You reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream. The song also reached #1 status in Canada and #4 in Savage Garden's home country Australia. It has a very 80's rock feel while being unique at the same time. It's rap-like vocals set to a pop beat are extremely intriguing to me and I haven't gotten tired of it yet!

Christmas Song of the Week: 6-12 Dec Betelehemu

Ok, so this ain't your Burl and Ives traditional carol. Betelehemu is a Nigerian Christmas carol performed here by the world acclaimed Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This beautiful and upbeat hymn is one of my absolute favorites for the Holiday Season. The music is fun to listen to and the message, translated of course, is beautiful. Enjoy!

Song of the Week: 6-12 Dec Parachute

New York based singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson brings us this week's song: Parachute. This upbeat pop fusion track is really catchy and has been stuck in my head several times this week. This song, when sung by British pop star Cheryl Cole, ranked #5 in the UK, but I personally prefer Michaelson's take on it. I also enjoy the thorough steam-punk feel of the video.

Now for some shameless plugging! Last night I went to an awesome concert that showcased 7 great local bands and artists here in Utah Valley. It was amazing! I wanted to showcase one of their songs but I ran into several problems. 1. Too much great talent to choose from and 2. not so many YouTube videos to choose from. So, I decided to put in this plug with links to their sites where most of the feature FREE DOWNLOADS! That's right.

Lovecapades
Steven Stucki
J. Wride
Nate Baldwin and the Sound
Nate Manning
Jesse Williams
Jenn Blosil

If I discover links for the rest I'll be sure to put them up!

Have a great week and enjoy!

Christmas Song of the Week: 29 Nov - 5 Dec 12 Days of Christmas

I discovered the 12 Days of Christmas sung by acapella group Straight No Chaser a few weeks back and was amazed. The group, formed in 1996, disbanded 2 years later but reunited a decade later because of the viral status this song obtained while posted on YouTube.

Song of the Week: 29 Nov - 5 Dec Rains in Asia

This week's winner is one of my all time faves and has been for a couple of years now. I discovered the song Rains in Asia on Pandora one day at work and I haven't been able to get enough of it since. It's sung by Jump, Little Children, a not to well known indie group from South Carolina. They never mad an official music video so this is the best I could find. Enjoy!

Songs of the Week: 22 - 28 Nov. 2010 Sweet Serendipity and Stuck Like Glue

This week has two winners.



The first winner is Sweet Serendipity by Lee DeWyze. I immediately started drumming on the steering wheel when Sweet Serendipity came on the radio on my way to work the other day. This year's American Idol winner released this song on his album Live It Up shortly after his prime time victory. The song reached number 38 on the US Adult Pop charts.


On my way another song caught my ear and wouldn't let go. That song is Stuck Like Glue  by country duo Sugarland which is featured on their new album The Incredible Machine. I'm not a big country fan but Stuck Like Glue has enough country to make it country but enough influences from other genres to make it unique and amazing in my opinion. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country and #17 on the Hot 100.