An Alternate Soundtrack To The Prom

For any teen, the high school prom is a time of celebration and a time of fear. Not only is there the internal struggle around who to ask as a date, what to wear or what type of corsage to buy, there's all those questions regarding the music that will be played. Sure, there's all the latest hip songs to dance to and some classic songs from the early '90s, but in the midst of this joy is the anxiety of being with that special someone for the last dance.

Fortunately, Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" has ended its reign as the standard "last song." Sure, it did start out as this romantic slow ballad, but then Robert Plant had to go ruin the mood by picking up the tempo to the point where even the smoothest dancers out on the floor boards were losing the beat and looking like escapees from an electro-shock research laboratory. Then for awhile, Guns 'n' Roses became the replacement for Led Zep creating equally trepidatious results with "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "November Rain."

Here's my chance to proclaim to the world some of my favourite romantic songs — the ones that truly would end a prom on the right note. First on the list, "The Look Of Love" — especially Dusty Springfield's version from the forgotten James Bond film-spoof Casino Royale, starring Woody Allen. This original version is some 10 miles ahead of Diana Krall's insipid Chrysler-hocking drivel. I also like "Waterfall" by TLC. Gotta say a little prayer for Left-Eye this year. R.I.P. Other choices include "Moonchild" by Cibbo Matto, "The Old Phaseout" by Motorpsycho; "Snowflakes & Heartaches" by Zumpano, "I Can't Stop Smiling" By Velocity Girl, "Roam" by The B-52s, "Hardly Wait" by The Replacements, "You're The Best Thing" by The Style Council, "No Matter What" by Badfinger, "Loving You Ain't Easy" by Pagliaro and so on and so on.

Having not heard every one of the 50 albums on the charts this week, I'm quite sure there are at least a half a dozen great prom songs of the future hidden amongst this list. One that comes directly to mind is "Spacy Basement" from Royal City's record tying album Alone At The Microphone. In response to my own comment last week, I didn't jinx them. Alone joins The New Pornographers' Mass Romantic for the most number of weeks appearing on the Top 50 chart at 24 weeks. Stay tuned... The new #1 album this week is Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot — the long-awaited fourth album rocketed up from #15 last week in its second week on the charts. White Stripes' White Blood Cells moves up to #2 followed by Tom Waits' Blood Money at #3, The Constantines' The Modern Sinner Nervous Man EP at #4 and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's Plastic Fang rounding out the Top Five.

The rest of the Top 10 consists of former #1 Do Make Say Think's & Yet & Yet at #6, Tom Waits second Top 10 album, Alice #7 (which also experienced the largest upward movement of 33 positions) and Badly Drawn Boy's About A Boy soundtrack which moves up 26 places to #8. Promise Ring's Wood/Water is at #9 and Cornershop's Handcream For A Generation comes in at #10.

Elvis Costello's When I Was Cruel is the highest debut of the week at #11 aided by the 4 top ten finishes (CFRU Guelph, ON #1, CHRW London, ON #1, CHSR Fredrickton, NB #2, CKUW Winnipeg, MB #8). Other significant debuts include two compilations — Verve Remixed at #28 and Kill Rock Stars' Fields And Streams at #29 — plus Blackalicious' Blazing Arrow at #31, Mark Kleiner Power Trio's Love To Night at #33 and Jazzanova's In Between at #37

Moving downwards are two former top dogs — Trail Of Dead's Source Tags And Codes drops 12 places to #14 and Boards Of Canada's Geogaddi slides down nine spots to #15. The biggest fall was experienced by Fly Pan Am's Ceux qui inventent n'ont vecu down 35 places to #40.

After Royal City's stupendous run of 24 weeks, the next longest album on the charts this week is the Tribute To The Nashville Soundtrack by Carolyn Mark And Her Roommates at 12 weeks and BOC's Geogaddi at 11 weeks. Source Tags And Codes, Buffalo Daughter's I and the horrid Andrew W.K. 's I Get Wet all have entered the double digits in chart survival each with 10 weeks on the College Chart.