Monday, December 31, 2012

The Top 50 Songs of 2012

Dave’s Music Database:

Top 50 Songs of 2012

These are the top 50 songs of the year based on their overall performance in Dave’s Music Database, which is determined by combining chart data, sales figures, streaming, video views, and aggregates from 39 year-end lists (see sources at bottom of page).

Check out “Top Songs and Albums of the Year” lists here.

    DMDB Top 1%:

  1. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz “Thrift Shop
  2. Psy “Gangnam Style
  3. The Lumineers “Ho Hey
  4. Bruno Mars “Locked Out of Heaven”
  5. Imagine Dragons “Radioactive
  6. Passenger “Let Her Go
  7. Florida Georgia Line with Nelly “Cruise
  8. Pink with Nate Ruess “Just Give Me a Reason”
  9. Rihanna “Diamonds

    DMDB Top 2%:

  10. Maroon 5 “One More Night”

  11. Maroon 5 with Wiz Khalifa “Payphone”
  12. Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
  13. Bruno Mars “When I Was Your Man”
  14. Imagine Dragons “Demons”
  15. Taylor Swift “I Knew You Were Trouble”
  16. Adele “Skyfall”
  17. Mumford & Sons “I Will Wait”
  18. Rihanna with Mikky Ekko “Stay”

    DMDB Top 5%:

  19. Nicki Minaj “Starships”
  20. Icona Pop with Charli XCX “I Love It”

  21. Fun. “Some Nights”
  22. Flo Rida “Whistle”
  23. will.i.am. with Britney Spears “Scream & Shout”
  24. The Neighbourhood “Sweater Weather”
  25. Frank Ocean “Thinkin’ ‘Bout You”
  26. Phillip Phillips “Home”
  27. Bruno Mars “Treasure”
  28. Jason Mraz “I Won’t Give Up”
  29. Katy Perry “Wide Awake”
  30. Miguel “Adorn”

  31. Alicia Keys “Girl on Fire”
  32. Swedish House Mafiar with John Martin “Don’t You Worry Child”
  33. Lana Del Ray with Cedric Gervais “Summertime Sadness”
  34. Katy Perry “Part of Me”
  35. V.I.C. “Wobble”
  36. Capital Cities “Safe and Sound”
  37. Pink “Blow Me One Last Kiss”
  38. Muse “Madness”
  39. Train “Drive By”
  40. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Mary Lambert “Same Love”

  41. Justin Bieber “Boyfriend”
  42. Emeli Sandé “Next to Me”
  43. Taylor Swift “22”
  44. Alabama Shakes “Hold On”
  45. Disclosure with Sam Smith “Latch”
  46. Usher “Climax”
  47. The Lumineers “Stubborn Love”
  48. Kanye West with Big Sean, Pusha T, & 2 Chainz “Mercy”
  49. Kongos “Come with Me Now”
  50. Imagine Dragons “On Top of the World”

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First posted 1/2/2013; last updated 1/18/2023.

2012: Top 25 Albums

First posted 12/31/2012; updated 1/8/2021.

Dave’s Music Database:

Top Albums of 2012

Based on a combination of year-end lists (see sources at bottom of page) and overall status in Dave’s Music Database, these are the top 25 albums of 2012:

  1. Frank Ocean Channel Orange (Grammy nominee for album of the year, #1: AlbumOfTheYear.org, Billboard – critics’ picks, DMDB, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, Paste, Pop Matters, Spin)
  2. Kendrick Lamar Good Kid m.A.A.d. City (#1: Consequence of Sound, Pitchfork)
  3. Taylor Swift Red (#1: best seller of the year, Squidoo)
  4. Mumford & Sons Babel (Grammy nominee for album of the year, #1: NPR)
  5. Lana Del Rey Born to Die
  6. Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (#1: Spinner, Time Magazine)
  7. Bruno Mars Unorthodox Jukebox
  8. Imagine Dragons Night Visions
  9. Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball (#1: Rolling Stone, my favorite of the year)
  10. Jack White Blunderbuss (Grammy nominee for album of the year, #1: Mojo)

  11. Nicki Minaj Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
  12. Emeli Sandé Our Version of Events
  13. Pink The Truth About Love
  14. Tame Impala Lonerism (#1: Obscure Sound)
  15. Fun. Some Nights (Grammy nominee for album of the year)
  16. The Weeknd Trilogy
  17. Rihanna Unapologetic
  18. The Lumineers The Lumineers
  19. Florida Georgia Line Here’s to the Good Times
  20. Zac Brown Band Uncaged

  21. Alabama Shakes Boys & Girls
  22. One Direction Take Me Home
  23. Justin Bieber Believe
  24. Bob Dylan Tempest
  25. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis The Heist

Resources and Related Links:

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Bruno Mars “Locked Out of Heaven” hit #1

Locked Out of Heaven

Bruno Mars

Writer(s): Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine (see lyrics here)


Released: October 1, 2012


First Charted: October 7, 2012


Peak: 15 US, 16 RR, 17 BA, 13 DG, 7 AC, 2 A40, 2 UK 13 CN, 4 AU, 16 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.11 UK, 11.86 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1001.04 video, 1470.36 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Bruno Mars burst on the scene in December 2009 when he was featured as the vocalist for B.o.B.’s “Nothin’ on You,” a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Three months later, he provided guest vocals to Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire,’” which got to #4. In 2010, he also released the first two singles (“Just the Way You Are” and “Grenade”) in support of his own debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans. In the U.S. alone, the album sold more than two million copies and reached #3.

He was primed for even greater success with his follow-up, 2012’s Unorthodox Jukebox. Sure enough, it was another multi-platinum seller and this time he reached #1 on the album chart. The album featured another pair of chart-topping songs – “Locked Out of Heaven” and “When I Was Your Man.” The former – the lead single – became the first song to hit a million streams in a week’s time. SF It was also nominated for Grammys for Record and Song of the Year.

“Locked Out of Heaven” featured a mix of reggae and pop influenced by new wave and funk. The lyrics celebrate “a relationship that is so good the narrator feels like he was ‘locked out of heaven’ before he met his lover.” SF Some critics compared Mars’ vocals to Sting, which was fitting since Mars cited Sting’s former group, The Police, as his greatest influence in writing the song. WK Mark Ronson, one of the producers, brought the Dap-Kings (who backed Amy Winehouse on her Back to Black album) to get a “crisply syncopated, locked-in groove.” WK

The Guardian’s Paul MacInnes called the song “a brazen – but successful – welding of Dire Straits’ ‘Sultans of Swing’…and ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’ by the Police.” WK The Idolator’s Carl Williott said “the angular guitars and Mars’ Sting-like staccato delivery are heavily indebited to The Police.” WK Melinda Newman of HitFix also noted the similarities to the Police as well as The Romantics’ “What I Like About You.” WK The Los Angeles Times’ Mikael Wood said it was like The Police-era Ghost in the Machine album with a heavy influence from the Human League. WK

  • AMG All Music Guide
  • SF Songfacts
  • WK Wikipedia


    Related Links:


    First posted 7/20/2023.
  • Friday, December 21, 2012

    “Gangnam Style” passed 1 billion views on YouTube

    Gangnam Style

    Psy

    Writer(s): Park Jae-Sang/ Yoo Gun-hyung (see lyrics here)


    Released: July 15, 2012


    First Charted: September 9, 2012


    Peak: 2 US, 10 RR, 16 DG, 16 ST, 32 A40, 11 UK, 17 CN, 16 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


    Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.38 UK, 13.67 world (includes US + UK)


    Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4880.29 video, 399.88 streaming

    Awards:

    Click on award for more details.

    About the Song:

    South Korean singer and rapper Park Jae-sang, better known as Psy, was no stranger to the music scene when “Gangnam Style” took over the world, landing at #1 in more than 30 countries. WK In the U.S., it peaked at #2 for 7 weeks behind Maroon 5’s “One More Night.” Psy had released five albums and 17 singles WK and become a big name in Korea, where his fans had huge expectations about his dancing. Psy told the New York Times he stayed up late about 30 nights to come up with the dance, testing animal-inspired moves with his choreographer before settling on what he called the “invisible horse dance” where he pretends to hold the reins of a horse, spin a lasso, and move his legs in a side-shuffling gallop. WK

    Psy’s dance moves in the video became a phenomenon, driving multiple parodies and spawning a dance craze unlike anything seen since “Macarena” in the 1990s. It was so successful that it became the first YouTube video to reach a billion views. WK Deborah Netburn of the Los Angeles Times called it “one of the greatest videos ever to be uploaded to YouTube.” WK MTV’s James Montgomery said the song “is either the track we, as a culture needed right now, or the track we, as a culture, deserved.” WK The Washington Post’s Maura Judkis said Psy “has made an extraordinarily stupid-looking dance move suddenly cool.” WK Psy himself said the point of the dance is “to dress classy and dance cheesy” WK and that for the video the intent was “to be ridiculous as possible.” SF Even NASA weighed in, calling it “a dance-filled music video that has forever entered the hears and minds of millions of people.” WK

    About.com’s Bill Lamb praised the song for “spreading smiles and pure fun around the world in record time.” WK He called Psy a “powerfully charismatic…showman.” WK Digital Spy’s Robert Copsey criticized the song for being monotonous and The Guardian’s Paul Lester knocked it as “generic ravey Euro dance with guitars.” WK The Village Voice’s Robert Myers dismissed the song as an “inspired piece of silliness.” WK Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, called the song the greatest cultural masterpiece of 2012. WK

    “Gangnam Style” is a Korean phrase referring to a trendy and lavish lifestyle associated with Seoul’s Gangnam District. WK Psy compared the area to Beverly Hills in California. Psy said the video and song mock “the posers and wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are ‘Gangnam Style’ – so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying very hard to be something that they’re not.” WK


    Resources:


    Last updated 6/26/2023.

    Wednesday, December 19, 2012

    Popular Music Hall of Fame

    image from reverbnation.com

    This Hall seems to be defunct now. Web searches only turn up the more recent America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame and the pophall.org link is now dead. The Hall had 25 inductees from the pre-rock era:

    • Andrews Sisters
    • Tony Bennett
    • Irving Berlin
    • Hoagy Carmichael
    • Rosemary Clooney
    • Nat “King” Cole
    • Perry Como
    • Bing Crosby
    • Dr. Lee DeForest
    • Walt Disney
    • Tommy Dorsey
    • Thomas Edison
    • Judy Garland
    • George Gershwin
    • Benny Goodman
    • Al Jolson
    • Jerome Kern
    • Glenn Miller
    • Mills Brothers
    • Patti Page
    • Cole Porter
    • David Sarnoff
    • Frank Sinatra
    • Kate Smith
    • Ed Sullivan

    Resources:

    Friday, December 14, 2012

    Today in Music (1912): “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” charted for first time

    Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

    Felix Mendelssohn (music), Charles Wesley (words)

    Writer(s): Felix Mendelssohn (music), Charles Wesley (words) (see lyrics here)


    First Charted: December 14, 1912 (Trinity Choir)


    Peak (all versions): 4 PM, 14 AC, 41 CW, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


    Sales (in millions): --


    Airplay/Streaming (in millions – all versions): -- radio, 74.7 video, -- streaming

    Awards:

    Click on award for more details.

    About the Song:

    Bethel Lutheran College says no other hymn “has won such universal favor…except ‘Rock of Ages.’” BLC ClassicFM.com says the carol is “one of the most recognisable and popular ones…[with] a cracking descant.” CFM

    “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” first appeared in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems in 1739. The English Christmas carol is based on the Biblical passage Luke 2:14 about a chorus of angels singing praises to God. Charles Wesley, who wrote text for more than 6000 hymns, SF wrote the original version as “Hymn for Christmas Day.” WK He was inspired by the sounds of church bells while walking to church on Christmas day. SF It consisted of ten four-lined stanzas and opened with the line “Hark! How all the welkin rings, Glory to the King of kings.” BLC

    In 1753, George Whitefield published the carol in Collection of Hymns for Social Worship with a change to the opening words. Now it started with the more familiar “Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.” BLC The first six stanzas would later be combined into three eight-lined stanzas with the first two lines added as a refrain. BLC

    It would be over a century before “Hark!” was set to music by Felix Mendessohn. In 1840, he composed the cantata Festgesang (Festival Song) to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the invention of movable type by Johannes Gutenberg. In 1855, William Hayman Cummings, an organist at Waltham Abbey Church, adapted “Gott Ist Licht” (God Is Light), the second movement from the piece, to fit with the lyrics of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” SF It was first published in Richard Chope’s Congregational Hymn and Tune Book of 1857. WH

    The song first charted in 1912 when the Trinity Choir reached #4 on the pop charts. The only other song they charted was a #5 version of “Joy to the World” in 1911. PM The group included Elise Stevenson as a member. She charted nineteen hits from 1907 to 1911, including the #1 songs “Because You’re You,” “Are You Sincere?,” “Good Evening, Caroline,” and “Shine on, Harvest Moon.” PM


    Resources:


    First posted 12/21/2023.

    Wednesday, December 12, 2012

    The Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert

    December 12, 2012:

    Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert

    The nearly six-hour concert to raise relief funds for victims of Hurricane Sandy was held 12/12/12 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Tickets ranged in price from $150 to $2500. More than $30 million was raised just on ticket sales. HP Millions in the New York and New Jersey areas were left without heat or electricity for weeks and more than 300,000 homes were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. HP

    The show was televised, streamed, and aired on radio all over the world. It was shown on 37 television stations in the U.S. and over 200 worldwide. HP Producers said as many as 2 billion people might tune in. HP Locals dominated the show with performances from Jersey’s Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi and New Yorkers’ Billy Joel and Alicia Keys. Live sets consisted of about 30 minutes with celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Adam Sandler, and Brian Williams, making pleas for pledges and introducing acts.

    Springsteen opened with a set including “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “Wrecking Ball,” “My City in Ruins,” and a cover of the Impressions’ “People Get Ready.” Jon Bon Jovi joined him for “Born to Run.” Bon Jovi returned later with his band for a set with another hook-up with Springsteen on “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”

    Roger Waters, whose tour for The Wall is the highest grossing of the year, performed a scaled down version of that show with a set featuring classics like “Another Brick in the Wall Part II,” “Money,” and, with Eddie Vedder as a guest vocalist, “Comfortably Numb.”

    Eric Clapton was up next with a three-song set of “Nobody Loves You When You’re Down and Out,” the obscure Derek and the Dominos’ song “Got to Get Better in a Little While,” and “Crossroads.” The Rolling Stones, in the midst of celebrating their 50th anniversary, followed with just two songs – “You Got Me Rocking” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Mick Jagger joked about it being “the world’s biggest collection of aged British rock stars,” BB a reference to other legendary performers on the bill such as Clapton, The Who, Paul McCartney, and Roger Waters.

    Alicia Keys performed a more intimate two-song set with new song “Brand New Me” and “No One.” She returned at the end of the show with a performance of “Empire State of Mind,” originally a #1 song she recorded with Jay-Z.

    The Who, currently touring behind their classic Quadrophenia album, did a limited version of that tour and included favorites like “Who Are You,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Baba O’Riley,” and “Love Reign O’er Me.” It was one of the weaker performances of the night as Roger Daltrey’s voice was not in stellar form. By the way, Mr. Daltrey, you are in great shape for a 68-year-old man, but please button up your shirt.

    Kanye West seemed out of place, being “stuck representing youth and the hip-hop community on the bill.” BB His shortened versions of his songs didn’t allow his “music to develop a dynamic quality on par with the rock acts.” BB

    Billy Joel performed a set of several favorites, including the appropriately-themed “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway),” and “New York State of Mind” before Coldplay’s Chris Martin took the stage. He performed a couple songs solo and brought out R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe as a surprise guest on a duet of “Losing My Religion.”

    In the most anticipated performance of the night, Paul McCartney performed a set heavier on Wings-era material than Beatles before being joined by former Nirvana members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear for a new song, “Cut Me Some Slack.”

    The full set for all the night’s performers is available at Billboard.com.


    Resources and Related Links:


    First posted 12/13/2012; updated 12/7/2023.

    Tuesday, December 11, 2012

    The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2013 Inductees Announced

    clockwise, from top left: Public Enemy, Albert King, Randy Newman, Rush, Heart, Donna Summer; image from Billboard

    The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were announced on December 11, 2012 by Flea, the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (a 2012 inductee). The announcement was made at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater where the induction ceremony will be held April 18. The inductees are Lou Adler, Heart, Quincy Jones, Albert King, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Rush, and Donna Summer.


    Lou Adler Induction category: Ahmet Ertegun Award for Lifetime Achievement

    Adler was an American record producer (Sam Cooke, Carole King, The Mamas & the Papas), manager (Jan & Dean), director, and an owner of the famous Roxy Theater. He founded Dunhill Records in 1964 and Ode Records in 1967. He helped produce the Monterey International Pop Festival and cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Carole King’s Tapestry, which he produced, won the Grammy for Album of the Year and rates as one of the top 100 albums of all time. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.


    Heart Induction category: Performer

    Heart was a rarity in the male-dominated world of classic rock in the ‘70s – a band led by women – sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. Ann said, “Some people have an idea of what the shape of rock & roll is supposed to look like. We’re not really it. Personally that’s why I think it’s taken quite a while…So this kind of acknowledgement is really sweet.” RS The band made a name for themselves with classic-rock staples like “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You,” and “Barracuda” before getting a second life in the mid-‘80s as a mainstream pop group with #1 hits “These Dreams” and “Alone.” See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.


    Quincy Jones Induction category: Ahmet Ertegun Award for Lifetime Achievement

    Jones started as an R&B/jazz musician and bandleader, but made his name as a producer. He ranks as one of the top 50 producers of all time. His most notable work was with Michael Jackson on Thriller, which tops the list of the best-selling albums of all time. That album, as well as Jones’ own Back on the Block, snagged Grammys for Album of the Year. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.


    Albert King Induction category: Performer

    One of two posthumous inductees (the other is Donna Summer), King already ranked as one of the top 100 blues acts of all time and one of the top 100 greatest guitarists. He was previously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. His 1967 album Born Under a Bad Sign ranks as one of the top 1000 albums of all time. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.


    Randy Newman Induction category: Performer

    Newman is already an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and ranks as oe of the top 100 songwriters of the rock era. Of his induction into the Rock Hall, he said, “I thought maybe I’d have to die before they let me in.” RS He also said, “They’re always a little doctinate about what’s rock & roll and what isn’t rock & roll. It’s nice they opened up a little to let me in.” RS His albums 12 Songs (1970) and Sail Away (1972) rank in the top 1000 albums of all time list. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.


    Public Enemy Induction category: Performer

    They are the fourth hip-hop act to be inducted into the Hall, following Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (2007), Run-D.M.C. (2009), and the Beastie Boys (2012). Their songs “Rebel without a Pause” and “Fight the Power” both rank in the top 100 rap songs of all time; the latter is also in the top 1000 songs of all time list. Their 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back ranks as one of the top 100 albums of all time. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.


    Rush Induction category: Performer

    Fan loyalty for this classic prog-rock Canadian trio is rivaled only by KISS fans when it comes to lobbying for enshrinement into the Hall. This year, fans were allowed to vote and the results were counted as one of the six-hundred-something ballots. Rush was the overwhelming favorite. Geddy Lee, th band’s singer and bassist, expressed gratitude to the band’s hardcore fans. “It was a cause they championed. I’m very relieved for them and we share this honor with them, for sure.” RS Alex Lifeson, the band’s guitarist, said, “It’s a privilege to be able to play music…and it’s an even greater privilege to have such a fantastic audience.” BB The band’s albums 2112 (1976), Permanent Waves (1980), and Moving Pictures all rank in the top 1000 albums of all time list. Among their best-known songs are “Closer to the Heart,” “The Trees,” “Freewill,” “Limelight,” and “Tom Sawyer,” a song ranked as one of the top 100 classic rock songs of all time. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.


    Donna Summer Induction category: Performer

    Sometimes known as the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer was hugely successful in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. Her songs “Last Dance” and “Hot Stuff” rank in the DMDB’s top 1000 songs of all time. When she died last May, the DMDB blog featured a tribute to her in which her top 20 songs were ranked (“Last Dance for Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco: May 17, 2012”). See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.


    Resources and Related Links:

    Saturday, December 8, 2012

    Music Lessons from The Pit: The Playlist

    Music Lessons from The Pit is my in-progress novel set in the 1980s. The story follows Gil through college as he navigates the trek from youth to adulthood, accompanied by the era's burgeoning college-rock movement. In fact, Gil's life is so tied to music that each chapter is named after a song and the subsequent reflections that ensue in that chapter are inspired by that song.

    What follows is a playlist of songs referenced in the book. You can watch the video, buy it via Amazon, or check out the lyrics.


    Chapter 1: Should I Stay Or Should I Go


    The Clash “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” (1982) went to #45 in the U.S. and #17 in the UK in the summer of 1982. In 1991, the song was revived in the UK thanks to a Levi’s commercial and went to #1. In the U.S., “Rock the Casbah,” another cut from the Combat Rock album, gave The Clash mainstream American success, going top ten. However, the group only released one more album before calling it quits.


    U2 “40” (1983) was never released as a single, but became a concert favorite for U2. It hails from their War album which became the group’s American breakthrough and one of the early staples of the burgeoning college rock movement.


    Chapter 2: Blue Monday


    New Order “Blue Monday” (1983) was first released in March 1983 in the UK. It reached #12 despite exceeding 7 minutes in length and being available only as a 12” single. The song reached #68 in the US and was rereleased multiple times in the UK. The 1988 remix got to #3. With sales exceeding 1 million in the UK, the song became the biggest 12” single of all time.



    Chapter 3: Like a Virgin


    Madonna “Like a Virgin” (1984) was the song that lifted her to the ranks of superstardom and spawned Madonna-wannabes everywhere who copied her style. She’d built a following with her eponymous debut from 1982 to ’84 on the strength of her hits “Holiday,” “Borderline,” and “Lucky Star.” However, “Virgin” became her first of many #1’s in the U.S. and peaked at #3 in the U.K.


    Psychedelic Furs “Love My Way” (1982) was a minor hit in both the U.S. and UK, peaking at #44 and #42 respectively. However, the group was one of the early favorites of the college-rock movement, also having success with songs like “Pretty in Pink,” “The Ghost in You,” and “Heartbreak Beat.”


    Violent Femmes “Add It Up” (1983) did not chart, but was a favorite in dance clubs and on college-rock radio. The group’s debut album, from which this song comes, also produced the college-rock staple “Blister in the Sun.”


    Split Enz “I Got You” (1980) was another college-rock favorite which failed to chart stateside. It went to #12 in the UK. The group was an early MTV staple with their wacky and colorful videos. The group’s leader, Tim Finn, went on to a solo career and his brother and bandmate, Neil Finn (who sings lead on “I Got You”), went on to form Crowded House.