The top ten tracks for January 2023 on Bandcamp and SoundCloud have been published in a new compilation.
How Did We Calculate The January 2023 Chart?
The algorithm we use gives greatest weight to downloads and reposts, then likes and comments (active engagement) over plays (passive engagement).
When somebody reposts a track, that gives it the opportunity to be heard by a potential new fan. This is always a tremendous help for creative souls!
We have combined the stats from both SoundCloud and Bandcamp for the new chart. This is because it will not be long until all our Bandcamp tracks are also published at SoundCloud.
Radio play and songs published at other platforms are omitted from the statistics. There may be further developments when our music is added to more platforms.
Archive tracks and bonus tracks are also ignored, as are likes and comments from people who clearly didn’t listen to the music. We have ways of knowing these things.
Only you, the listener, can influence our February 2023 playlist. So if there is a track you particularly like, keep playing it! Leave a comment, repost it and share it to your social media feeds! It absolutely can make a difference.
Thanks For All Your Help!
Massive thanks go out to everybody who helped to support all of us during January 2023 by listening to, commenting on and reposting our bands’ tracks on SoundCloud, Bandcamp and elsewhere.
All the wonderful fans of our bands who supported us with downloads from Bandcamp are especially appreciated. You genuinely help us keep the fires burning and collectively we thank you for that most graciously. May you be blessed by the gods of rock n roll! :)
We would also like to say a special thank you to all the splendid people on Twitter who have been enjoying and reposting our tracks to their followers. All the support and positive feedback has been incredibly heartwarming for us all. It makes our endeavours here seem worthwhile.
Thank you very much to everyone who bought items from our merch store. Anyone who shares a photo of themselves with their Wud item on social media will receive an extra goody from oursevles once we have seen it and shared the photo on to our community as well.
There are numerous upcoming changes planned for the Wud Records merch store, so please keep an eye on our News service and Twitter for future announcements.
Flicker’s merch store opened recently and has been contributing to the Wud Records coffers. Dark Company will be opening their own merch store soon.
Who’s In The January 2023 Top Ten?
The Bastard Sons of Dennis
Congratulations to The Bastard Sons of Dennis! They enjoyed a particularly splendid month in January 2023, dominating the chart by occupying half of the available places. All five of their songs on the new chart come from their splendid Cosy Lube Turtle album.
Cosy Lube Turtle has been available on Bandcamp for some time. We recently released the Cosy Lube Turtle album to SoundCloud as well, and sent it away to a distributor for global distribution. More news on this will follow soon.
Climbing back up from number three to number one on the new chart is Astronomy. This is a beautiful and haunting song composed by the Bouchard brothers, Joe and Albert, and Sandy Pearlman. It is the final track of Blue Öyster Cult’s 1974 Secret Treaties album, and an absolute masterpiece of progressive rock composition.
The version of Astronomy by The Bastard Sons of Dennis is a little more produced in the opening bars than their live performances. They would often end a show with Astronomy, introducing it as a song that was famously covered by Metallica. “We wrote it, of course; ahem, cough…” Chuck would quip.
A re-entry at this month‘s number three is She’s as Beautiful as a Foot. This is another Blue Öyster Cult cover, which originates from the Long Island quintet’s 1972 eponymous album, Blue Öyster Cult. The original version is highly psychedelic.
When covered by The Bastard Sons of Dennis, Chuck tunes his guitar to DADGAD. The twinkly noises at the beginning are created using an old computer fan and its assorted danglesome appendages. She’s as Beautiful as a Foot was often performed first in a set of Bastard Sons of Dennis songs, due largely to the tuning.
Last month‘s chart topper moves down to number four on the chart this month. Seven Screaming Diz-Busters is a highly esoteric and extraordinary piece of progressive rock composition, beautifully interpreted by The Bastard Sons of Dennis. It is a song for which they were well known.
Originally it was released by Blue Öyster Cult on their 1973 Tyranny and Mutation album. It was big crowd favourite at a live performance by The Bastard Sons of Dennis and you can enjoy watching a video of them playing it live by clicking here.
Bouncing back into our chart at number five is the second re-entry and the fourth Cosy Lube Turtle song. This one is a cover of Blue Öyster Cult‘s Wings Wetted Down, from the 1973 Tyranny and Mutation album.
Wings Wetted Down is a masterfully crafted piece of songwriting, with its clever key changes and all its vocal and instrumental melodic hooks. It is considered a deep cut among BÖC fans. The version performed by The Bastard Sons of Dennis is largely true to the original, with the addition of a riff section that Derek solos over.
Rising up from number nine to number seven we see another song from the Cosy Lube Turtle album. This is the opening track, Dominance and Submission. Originally released by Blue Öyster Cult on their 1974 Secret Treaties album, The Bastard Sons of Dennis would indulge in various acts of tomfoolery during a live performance of this song. Derek would introduce the band and thank the venue and sound engineer. He would also encourage the crowd to join in with the cries of “Dominance!”, “Submission!”.
In the long pauses before “It will be time!”, Derek and Chuck would spin their guitars upside down. Stuck on the back of Chuck’s guitar was a large sign that read “Throw panties now!”, and on the back of Derek’s was a similar sign that read “If no panties, bras!” Very few undergarments were ever actually tossed onto the stage, apart from on one occasion when somebody had brought a big bag full of old knickers and distribued them to the audience. Both the stage and the band were covered in them.
Flicker
Flicker enjoyed a very strong month to kick off 2023 and achieved three entries on the new Wud Records chart. All three came from their incredible 2002 album At Least 1000 Words.
Welcome to the Family is a non-mover on the new chart, remaining at number two. Welcome to the Family is a wonderful latin-jazz-rock-fusion instrumental. It builds from its acoustic guitar beginings to a heady climax of guitar feedback and noise. There is a lovely bass solo from Dave, who also plays all the keyboard parts with outstanding aplomb and sensitivity.
Welcome to the Family was inspired by The Godfather by Mario Puzo and a new chord from a Portuguese sea shanty. It is one of Flicker‘s most enduring and popular releases.
Ascending one position this month is Oily Road Hideaway at number five. This is a delightful and catchy latin jazz dance. Oily Road Hideaway is the only track from Flicker‘s first album with programmed drums. It also has twin bass guitars playing in unison, with Dave panned to the left on his Fender and George panned to the right on the Plank.
A very unusual instrument called a string fish appears towards the end of the tune. This is a home-made creation, from the workshop of Pyg frontman Martin Dearmunn. A string fish is a little like a pair of dulcimers or zithers, joined together at an acute angle. The strings are vertical and played with fingers, like a harp. To play a scale, the player must alternate between the left and right side, like a kalimba.
Week Five is up one position to number nine on the new chart. Week Five has a remarkably live-sounding feel for a studio recording. It is a breezy feel good latin rock dance number with summer vibes that wouldn’t sound out of place in a set from Carlos Santana.
Week Five is a piece about looking forward to the future and feeling excited about forthcoming adventures and new experiences. It begins with a sample from the Prague metro and as the tune builds it becomes progressively more intense.
Dark Company
Sinking down four places to number eight this month is Dark Company’s awesome alternative / hard / psychedelic rock and funk song Dancing In The Dark. The version you can hear is still work-in-progress.
Pete wrote the lyrics in 1989 and the song was originally performed by Alien Heat. In Dancing In The Dark, Pete describes his memories of going nightclubbing in the West End of London after being revved up by his good friend Billy.
Pete was not actually terribly keen on the song and would always refer to it as “Farting in the Park”.
Back in the days of Alien Heat, Dancing In The Dark included Graham’s drum solo. This was when everyone in the band would roll a cigarette (or something a little more flavoursome) while he performed it, hopefully having the deed done and the object lit in time to carry on with the song at the drum solo’s conclusion.
Laughing Sun
It’s been a while since the awesome psychedelic ensemble Laughing Sun managed a Wud Records chart appearance, but they are back this month with their earthy, organic rendition of Marc Bolan’s Cosmic Dancer. Laughing Sun would perform several covers over the years, and Cosmic Dancer was the first they ever performed live. This version features the redoubtable Cliff Smith on lead guitar.
Laughing Sun‘s sound was very homely and DIY. There was no drummer in the early days. Rhythm was provided by bongos, fur drum and assorted home made percussion devices. Laughing Sun’s live performances would be lit by an oil drop projector and band members would showcase their versatility by frequently swapping instruments between songs. Band membership was somewhat fluid, with numerous Wud personnel and many others coming and going during the course of the band’s lifetime.
* None of our other acts made it onto the January 2023 chart. *
Listening Options
If you would like to go to SoundCloud to hear the top ten songs from Wud Records in January 2023, as played, liked, commented upon and reposted by listeners, please click here.
If you prefer to listen right here at the Wud Records website, you will find that it is the new default music player. You will find it on all non band-specific pages at the site, including our Links collection and homepage.
Recently we have added a few more of the previous charts as pages to their section of this website. We are less than a year behind in this work now, as some catching up has been done. If you’d like to see all our old charts, they can be accessed easily by clicking here. More pages will be added soon, when there is time.
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