Since we have a tendency to look below the radar for our music, we decided to take a weekly look at The Populist View. We’ll stop short of calling our tastes underground, let’s just say we’re pop-culturally inept. So we’ve devised a way to keep up to date.

Its quite simple actually. We’re just going to give side by side comparisons of top ten U.S. singles from Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and the Official top ten UK singles of every week. This way we’ll always know what’s spreading the cheese for radio programmers and people who still buy music in the two most influential music markets in the world. And if this week’s list is any indication, the people want their Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga on both sides of the Atlantic!

Billboard’s top ten U.S. singles for the week of 05.28.09
#01. “Boom Boom Pow” – The Black Eyed Peas
#02. “Poker Face” – Lady Gaga
#03. “Blame It” – Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain
#04. “Don’t Stop Believin’” – Glee Cast
#05. “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” – Pitbull
#06. “New Divide” – Linkin Park
#07. “Day ‘N’ Nite” – Kid Cudi
#08. “Halo” – Beyonce
#09. “Birthday Sex” – Jeremih
#10. “Waking Up In Vegas” – Katy Perry

The Official top ten UK singles for the week of 05.28.09
#01. “Bonkers” – Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden
#02. “Boom Boom Pow” – The Black Eyed Peas
#03. “Number 1″ – Tinchy Stryder feat. N-Dubz
#04. “We Made You” – Eminem
#05. “Red” – Daniel Merriweather
#06. “In For The Kill” – La Roux
#07. “Not Fair” – Lily Allen
#08. “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” – Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em feat. Sammie
#09. “Poker Face” – Lady Gaga
#10. “Fairytale” – Alexander Rybak

In honor of the Memorial Day weekend, we took a very small poll asking a few friends to give us their ideal summer song. You know, the kind you would want to hear if you were outside driving around right now without a care in the world. Then we narrowed it down to seven eleven (an arbitrary number, who knows, it still may expand). So, here are seven eleven summer classics from Sister Nancy, Pavement, The Pharcyde, Donovan, Dizzee Rascal, Animal Collective, Screeching Weasel, People Under the Stairs, Dan Deacon, Queen and the one, the only, The Notorious B.I.G..

Sister Nancy – “Bam Bam”

Pavement – “Gold Soundz”

The Pharcyde – “Runnin”

Donovan – “There Is A Mountain”

Dizzee Rascal – “Bonkers”

Animal Collective – “My Girls”

Screeching Weasel – “Totally”

People Under The Stairs – “Acid Raindrops”

Dan Deacon – “Crystal Cat”

Queen – “Fat Bottomed Girls”

The Notorious B.I.G. – “Juicy”