The Chart Show: Five locals start the New Year with cheer
by Mark Wheat
January 07, 2016
Happy New Year, everyone!
Appropriately, the first chart of the year is always very fresh, but this one beats the old record: There are 14 brand new entries and one re-entry — our first No.1 of 2016 — Wolf Alice! Here's another Chart Show denizen, Lauren of CHVRCHES, talking about their song "Bros" and what it means to her.
Five locals kick off the new year on our chart, two of whom — Gramma's Boyfriend and John Mark Nelson — you can see perform at The Current's 11th Birthday Parties on Jan. 22 and 23 at First Avenue!
Submit your Chart Show ballot this week for a chance to win tickets to both night's of The Current's 11th Birthday Parties at First Avenue on Jan. 22 and 23!
Kurt Vile, who's touring Down Under this week, bounces back at No.5. He and the band admitted to engaging in surprising pre-show entertainment in Melbourne!
Sufjan Stevens, new at No.8, is one of the many performers set to play Coachella this year. My day of choice would be Friday, but I have to say, Ice Cube followed by — who knows how much later — Guns N' Roses is an inspired combo!
Lucinda Williams is one of the new entries with a song from an album that is yet to be released. You can pre-order The Ghosts of Highway 20 before she starts her world tour in Dublin on Jan. 19.
Cage The Elephant, up to No.12, are our Album of the Week with Tell Me I'm Pretty. The Current's program director Jim Mcguinn suggests that they ought to see bigger success.
"Mess Around," along with other chart placers Cloud Cult (No.7), Lizzo (No.2) and Florence and the Machine (No.9) also made it on to The Current's listener-curated Top 89 countdown of the best songs of 2015.
And looking to the future, I optimistically predict that Animal Collective's (No.19) new album Painting With, due Feb. 19, will be high on next years Top 89! They play First Avenue on Feb. 28 (not the last day of the month this year!) and have a big feature on Pitchfork this week.