“KCSU’s Top 10 Songs Spinning This Week” is written by the KCSU music directors and describes the top artists that your local 90.5 FM DJs are playing this week. The article is updated weekly on Sundays and discussed on their show, “KCSU Weekly Gem Countdown,” which airs every Monday from 12-1 p.m. During the show, you can learn more about each musician or band before tuning in to the top 10 countdowns on Mondays, in which the music directors present to you the latest songs topping the charts and breaking down each song’s sound and feel. 

*=Brand new to the charts this week.

1. *Chelsea Cutler — Pop — (9 Spins on “Forever” off of the 2021 album “When I Close My Eyes”)

“Forever” is the opening track of Chelsea Cutler’s newest album, “When I Close My Eyes.” Chelsea Cutler is a 24-year-old, singer, songwriter and producer from Connecticut, making her mark in the pop world.

In this song, Cutler displays the feeling of falling in love and changing her mind when it comes to long-term relationships. Cutler also adds a voicemail from her girlfriend in the bridge, proving to the audience that she was the muse to the catchy chorus, “forever never sounded good before I met ya.”

In a Genius interview, Cutler admits that “the debate over the order of the singles took forever (no pun intended). We literally spent months trying to figure out what ones we wanted to go with. I’m not 100% convinced we went with the right order. I think the song could have been a great first single, but I’m stoked the album is out, so it doesn’t really matter.”

2. Amber Smoke — Hip Hop/Rap — (8 Spins of “Money Orders” off of the 2020 single release “Money Orders”)

Amber Smoke keeps her #2 spot here at KCSU for the second week in a row. According to her Spotify, Smoke is a “rising international music superstar.” Originally from Houston, she also rappers, singers, writes music and acts.

Her music covers “many relatable issues head on, like social injustice, difficulties finding love, bridging the misunderstandings created by social inequality in black relationships, and navigating being a young strong woman in the industry willing to pave her own way without compromising her beliefs,” according to her Spotify.

This upbeat, true hip-hop tune allows Smoke to claim her place as a strong woman in the music industry.

3. Andra Day — R&B/Soul — (8 Spins of “Gold” off of the 2015 album “Cheers to the Fall”)
Andra Day moves up four spots on the top 10 charts and keeps a spot for the second week in a row. According to her Spotify, “Andra Day is a powerful singer and artful songwriter who isn’t merely a throwback R&B specialist; her roots in gospel, jazz and the blues, displayed with ease and finesse, translate to the present.”

In the song “Gold,” she sings about her past infidelity after her new partner is unfaithful to her. Mixing jazz and R&B, Day delivers a refreshing new style with interesting stories to tell.

4. Animal Collective — Alt/Indie — (7 spins of “Doggy” off of the 2003 album, “Campfire Songs)

Animal Collective claims another spot on the top 10 charts for the second week in a row — moving up four spots. According to its Spotify, the group is “creating a twisted musical language all their own” with experimental rock sounds.

Animal Collective’s frontman, Avey Tare, shared with Genius, that he wrote this song about a dog he had when he was younger, that fell out of a tree and sadly passed away.

The group has amassed over 800,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, but it still stays true to its roots and continues to challenge the limits of its sound.

5. Danielle Ate The Sandwich — Local Folk — (6 spins on “On the Planet Earth” off of the 2009 album “Things People Do”)

Danielle Anderson, also known as Danielle Ate the Sandwich onstage, started making music in Fort Collins, Colorado. After establishing herself on YouTube through homemade videos that drew in her audience, Danielle began touring nationally in 2009.

According to her Spotify, “her songs can be thoughtful, heavy and serious, but Danielle rarely takes herself too seriously.” Danielle first wrote this song as a ukulele song and put it out on YouTube, but after a large number of views, she decided to release the song with some differences.

6. Geoff Bradford — Alt/Rock — (6 spins on “Seven Fat Years” off of the 2021 album “Seven Fat Years”)

Bradford claims another spot on the top 10 charts for the second week in a row. According to his Spotify, Geoff Bradford “explores dissonant musical textures, a variety of song forms and lyrics reflecting on life” in his 2021 album, which happens to be his second EP.

His own experiences continue to heavily influence his lyrics and his life. Bradford is a talented vocalist, songwriter and bassist, and he utilizes all of those skills on his EP.

7. Homeshake — Alt/Indie — (6 spins of “Mindless”  off of the 2021 album, “Under the Weather”)

  Homeshake is the stage name for the alternative artist Peter Sagar. According to his Bandcamp, Peter “was staying at home a lot, long before the pandemic.

Sagar wrote the majority of his fifth studio album, ‘Under the Weather’ in 2019 when he was going through a long, unrelenting period of sadness.” Sagar explains, “I was in a deep, deep depression. Tours were breaking me. It was awful. It was a bit of a dark pit. That’s kind of what the whole album is about.”

Though the album was released two years later in 2021, Sagar thinks that most people will think he wrote about being alone during COVID — but really he has been writing about feeling isolated his whole life.

8. Lady Gaga — Pop — (5 spins of “Babylon (Haus Lab Version)” off of the 2021 album “Dawn of Chromatica”)

  Lady Gaga claims a spot on the top 10 charts for the fourth week in a row. From her Spotify: “Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy-winner Lady Gaga is a one-of-a-kind artist and performer. She has amassed over 35 million global album sales and 32 billion streams, making her one of the best-selling musicians of all time.”

Among great musical accolades, she also acted as the lead role in the Oscar-winning 2018 remake of “A Star is Born.” Her most recent release is “Love For Sale” with Grammy winner Tony Bennett.

9. Remi Wolf — Pop — (4 spins of “Sauce” off of the 2019 EP “You’re A Dog!)

  Remi Wolf is a unique, up-and-coming indie-pop artist with a distinctive voice. Wolf first released the single “Guy” in 2019, followed by three more singles until she finally released her debut 2019 EP “You’re A Dog!”

On her 2019 track “Sauce,” Wolf asks her partner to drop their pride, as well as her, as it shows their conflicting relationship. Throughout the chorus, Wolf then dives deep into her relationship, pointing out things she has to do in order to make her partner comfortable and how her partner controls her.

Though this upbeat song feels like a happy love song, Wolf lays out her rocky relationship for the audience.

10. Buzzc—‘s — Rock — (3 spins of “Keep On” off of the 2003 album “Buzzc—‘s (Expanded Edition)”)

  From Buzzc—‘s Spotify: “With their crisp melodies, Pete Shelley’s biting lyrics and … driving guitars, Buzzc—‘s were one of the most influential bands to emerge in the initial wave of punk rock. … The group’s powerful punk-pop proved to be enormously influential and timeless, with echoes of their music being apparent in bands like … Nirvana and The Exploding Hearts.“

“Keep On” describes the keeping it real in life and expressing how you feel, from the band’s seventh studio album.

The KCSU music directors can be reached at music@kcsufm.com.