iGEN: BECK SHINES

iGEN by Ted Volk

The Place Where Radio and Records come Together Without Talking

iGEN: BECK SHINES

6/17/15

Congrats to Bill Carroll and Howard Petruziello for a perfect launch on Beck’s new single, “Dreams” (Capitol), which was virtually added everywhere upon arrival 24 hours ago.
Did you know Beck’s had two #1’s at Modern Rock? I’m sure you remember 1994’s “Loser.” The other may escape you; it was “E-Pro” in 2005.
Beck will go for the rare trifecta of having #1s in three different decades. The only other acts that have done that at Modern Rock are BUSH, Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
I’ve never bought into the M-score data when evaluating records, but songs’ streaming numbers should be a valuable tool when deciding on new music to play.
Speaking of streaming numbers, there’s reason #26 that you should play Cold War Kids’ “First” (Downtown). The numbers are legit and the song is now inside the Top 20.
Congrats to KIDinaKORNER/Interscope’s X Ambassadors for going #1 this week with “Renegades.” I should let you know that my cohort Karen Glauber has been screaming at me for over a year now about the future greatness of X Ambassadors.
Every year, she gives me one of these what I consider to be oddball predictions. The last two were Lumineers and Tame Impala.
Speaking of Lumineers, whenever I hear Houndmouth’s “Sedona” (Rough Trade), it reminds me of them. That’s a record to watch. There’s an instant Shazam reaction when it gets played.
RCA’s Walk The Moon have another chart-topper on their hands with “Different Colors,” which was among the Most Added again this week!
By the time it’s over, Elle King’s “Ex’ and Oh’s” (RCA) will end up on six formats. It’s a massive hit, and in just six weeks on the Modern Rock chart, it’s quickly approaching Top 10.
Epic made a real good hire with Drew Hauser, who spent many years at Wind Up. Drew’s first order of business is Modest Mouse’s new single, “The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box,” which, after just a couple of weeks, is already inside the Top 30.
Don’t sit on the sidelines for Florence + the Machine’s new single, “Ship to Wreck” (Republic). The new album has already sold 160k in two weeks. It’s big!
This week, Glassnote’s Mumford & Sons will do something you don’t see much anymore; they’re going to have two songs in the Top 10 at the same time. “The Wolf” will probably enter the Top 10 at #8, while “Believe” continues to hover around the Top 5 at #6.
Glassnote also has a record to watch in Robert DeLong’s new single, “Don’t Wait Up,” which was added at KROQ!
It’s great to see Of Monsters and Men’s “Crystals” (Republic) go Top 5 this week! The callout is strong, as are their first-week album sales.
Another record to watch is Coleman Hell’s “2 Heads” (Columbia). It’s got what you want to see from a new band: immediate single sales and Shazams.