2003: The Good Old Days? - October

In this journey I found that the end of 2003 was very pop heavy and the beginning of 2004 was the start of the mid-00s indie boom. Quite typical then that I find October 2003 to be quite an indie heavy month.

The story stays the same though because amongst these indie records were the final Top 40 hit for Suede and the final one Blur would have for a decade, so more of a Britpop hangover really. Likewise hits from Feeder and Travis suggests more 90s then mid-00s even though neither were finished yet. What it does have in common with much of the mid-00s indie is the collective zero the records score.

We had just as many dance new entries in the Top 40 which included the debut from David Guetta with "Just A Little More Love". This was a different David Guetta to the one we know today. It's generally know he has little to do with the writing of his records and in those days the writer was Joachim Garraud and as such it's actually quite good.

Elsewhere we have points for Paul Van Dyk with the double a-side "Time Of Our Lives / Connected". We also have Scooter doing a typical Scooter record "Maria (I Like It Loud)" which is always welcome. I found half a point for Morjac featuring Raz Conway with "Stars" but the rest of the dance records were all crap.

The best record is a rap record which is "Where The Hood At" by DMX. I love the sheer aggression on this record. Chingy gets half a point with "Right Thurr" and there's no points for 50 Cent with "PIMP".

I would have described myself as an R&B fan at the time but could only find half marks for Craig David with "World Filled With Love". Beyonce was never getting any points and B2k were often a bit too pop for my liking. 

Erasure were in the Top 40 for the first time with "Oh L'amour" which failed to make the Top 40 when it was first released in the 80s and this one gets full marks.

Onto the worst record then which goes to Clea with "Download It". They were the group who failed to get in Girls Aloud on Popstars: The Rivals. This was their debut which was embracing the modern world of the internet but would have aged very quickly. 

Here's a list of the records with the best on top, worst at the bottom and the good ones in green, OK ones in amber and rubbish ones in red (and in no particular order):

Score: 20%

Here's a look at the chart:

2003 is starting to make 2004 look good now, but there's still time.