The Learning Network Blog: What Are You Listening to?

Chad Batka for The New York Times Thomas Bangalter, left, and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, the French duo known as Daft Punk. Go to related article » Questions about issues in the news for students 13 and older.

If Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” is already starting to seem like the “song of summer” to you, you’re not alone. The group’s new album is also No. 1 on the Billboard charts, while the rap duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis extends its run with the top single.

What are you listening to these days? Why?

In “Daft Punk Holds On at No. 1,” the ArtsBeat blog reports:

Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories” (Daft Life/Columbia), featuring the hit single “Get Lucky,” had 93,000 sales in its second week out, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That is a 73 percent drop from its opening week, but it was enough keep the album on top, beating out a handful of new releases.

Alice in Chains’ new release, “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here” (Capitol) — the grunge-era group’s second album since reuniting with a new singer, William DuVall — opened at No. 2 with 61,000 sales. John Fogerty’s “Wrote a Song for Everyone” (Vanguard), featuring Creedence Clearwater Revival and other of his songs recorded with stars like Kid Rock, Keith Urban and Jennifer Hudson, sold 51,000 copies to open at No. 3. Also this week, the British group Little Mix bows at No. 4 with 50,000 sales of “DNA” (Syco/Columbia).

On the singles chart, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s “Can’t Hold Us” stays at No. 1 for a fifth week, with 184,000 downloads and five million streams in the United States on services like Spotify and YouTube. Earlier this year, the group’s “Thrift Shop” spent six weeks as the top single.

Students: Tell us …

What are you listening to right now? Do you find your playlist changes with the seasons?If so, what do you think of the concept of a “song of summer“? What songs do you associate with previous summers? What do you think will be this summer’s song?How much do you tend to follow pop music? Are your favorite songs ones everyone knows, or more obscure music?If you want to find new music, you might try the new “Press Play” music blog. What songs there do you like? Why?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

Teachers: We have a related lesson plan, “Puttin’ On the Hits”

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