Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 10

These were the new entries in the Dutch Top 40 that never made the UK Top 40:

Sugar Lee Hooper - De Wandelclub

As I don't speak Dutch it's hard for me to tell if this song is supposed to be a novelty hit or not. As I was intrigued I translated the lyrics and they're certainly odd. Sugar Lee Hooper was a singer who was in her late 40s at the time and she was bald and wearing some bizarre clothing. She passed away in 2010 so never got to witness the weird looking singers of the modern era.

Herbie - Right Type Of Mood

Herbie is a British artist whose only UK Top 40 hit as an artist was featuring on "Gotta Be You" by 3T. He has however had plenty of success as a songwriter writing hits for 5ive and Backstreet Boys amongst others. He was one of the Cherion Studios songwriters in Sweden that was started by Denniz Pop and continued by Max Martin and basically took over the songwriting side of modern pop music. This is a Eurodance record with Herbie rapping on it.

Irene Moors & De Smurfen - Waarom Doe Jij Nooit Gewoon - Hela Hola

The Smurfs are back with Irene Moors, but this didn't match the success of their "No Limit" cover. They're singing and rapping in Dutch, but it almost sounds like they're trying to do "No Limit" again. It may be a cover of a Dutch record I don't know, can't find anything else with the same title though.

2002: The Good Old Days? - September

We're in the era when I would describe my music taste as dance, rap and R&B. One genre I should of perhaps included in there was dancehall because I was listening to that too.

There were 2 dancehall new entries in September 2002 and both were good. We had "Feel It Boy" by Beenie Man & Janet Jackson which I loved at the time. Then we had the debut Top 40 single for Sean Paul with "Gimme The Light" which found greater success when it re-entered the Top 40 a few months later.

Aside from these 2 dancehall records the rest of the points all come from the dance, rap and R&B genres.

The best of these was "Two Months Off" by Underworld. Whilst "Born Slippy" is by far the best known Underworld record I'd say "Two Months Off" is a fans favourite.

This month I've given full marks to a vocal trance record. N-Trance team back up with Kelly Llorenna to do "Forever" which was billed as a sort of "Set You Free" reunion even though she'd sang for them since. It was also before Kelly Llorenna did "Heart Of Gold" etc so I guess I was feeling nostalgic at the time hence I liked it. There's more of a proper trance record in "Can U Dig It" by JamX & Deleon and we also have "Nessaja" by Scooter which is possibly their best record of the 21st century.

Rap wise we have "Cleanin Out My Closet" by Eminem and "Nothin" by Nore both getting full marks. There were also 2 non-So Solid Crew efforts from So Solid Crew members with mixed results. Oxide & Neutrino were partly responsible for the demise of UK Garage but they were much better at doing rap and "Dem Girlz (I Don't Know Why)" is decent. Harvey on the other hand had a terrible record with "Get Up And Move" and after this he seemingly left his music career and gangsta roots behind to become a T4 presenter.

R&B wise there were just 2 records and both were crap. There was "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" by Ms Dynamite who's only ever made one good record and "Call Me" by Tweet who I don't think has ever made a decent record.

Time for the worst record then which goes to Pink with "Just Like A Pill". She broke through a couple of years earlier as an R&B singer but now she was a rock singer. In reality she was a watered down version of both and there was nothing genius about her reinventing herself as a rock singer. She just got Dallas Austin to write her a record instead of Babyface.

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: 22%

Here's a look at the chart:

2002 hasn't been convincing so far. Maybe the first half of the year will get stronger like 2003.

UK Number 40s: Primal Scream - Dolls (2006)

 

With this record Primal Scream became the 3rd act to score 2 number 40 hits. They had previous reached number 40 with "Higher Than The Sun" back in 1991. They followed in the footsteps of Queenryche and Saint Etienne.

They had been around since the 80s and made a point of changing their sound with each album. A consequence of this meant there was the danger of running out of sounds to change to. This is what the critics said had happened with their album "Riot City Blues" on which this appears.

Yet the lead single from the album "Country Girl" had reached number 5 earlier on in the year and became their highest charting single to date. This would be their final Top 40 hit but they would carry on making music for years to come.

UK Number 40s: Frank - I'm Not Shy (2006)

 

We'd already seen a number of successful music acts called Frank such as Frank Sinatra, so it would have been a brave move simply calling yourself Frank. Except this wasn't a person called Frank just using their first name, this was a girl group.

They were part of a TV show called "Totally Frank", a Channel 4 TV series that follows a band called Frank who were struggling to make it in the music business. It lasted for 2 series with each series containing 13 episodes.

These struggles were the reality for Frank themselves though. This was their only Top 40 hit and they were dropped from their record label shortly afterward.

The song was originally recorded by Nylon who were yet another long forgotten girl group from this era.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 9

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

I've decided against repetition from previous weeks moving forward so will only feature the records I'm reviewing for the first time. I also won't repeat the reviews from the Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed posts.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the records new to the top 30 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

29. Metallica - Whiskey In The Jar

Although Metallica are American, I've always though that James Hetfield sounds Irish when he sings. I therefore found it quite amusing when Metallica did a version of a traditional Irish song. The nature of the video meant it was often on the music channels late at night. I would say this was a return to form for them.

Verdict - Good

28. Michelle Collins - Sunburn

After Michelle Collins left Eastenders she went on to star in the TV series "Sunburn", a fictional show about holidays reps which was a bit crap as I recall. This was the theme music to the TV show. The only positive thing I can say is that it's not as bad as the crap fellow Eastender Martin McCutcheon did that year.

Verdict - Rubbish

23. Gene - As Good As It Gets

The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Gene and the last time they'll feature as their final Top 40 hit never made the Top 30. They debuted in 1994 so had a pretty good innings. This record is quite possibly as good as it gets for Genes music, but that doesn't mean it's any good.

Verdict - Rubbish

22. Babybird - Back Together

The 7th Top 40 hit for Babybird and he wasn't finished yet. Not bad for someone who's only really remembered for just one song. One of the reasons he's only remembered for one song has to be due to the fact his other songs aren't that memorable.

Verdict - Rubbish

18. Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild

It had been 30 years since this originally was in the Top 40 and it looks like it was rereleased to promote a greatest hits album even though this was their only hit. It's one of those classics that many of us like, including me.

Verdict - Good

14. Lucid - Crazy

This was the follow up to their chart debut "I Can't Help Myself", a record I absolutely loved at the time. It was therefore always going to be difficult to follow up with a record that's as good. This record isn't as good, but I do recall thinking this was pretty crazy when I saw it on Top of the Pops, and in a good way.

Verdict - Good

5. 'N Sync - I Want You Back

At the time I remember somebody pointing out this record sounds just like the Backstreet Boys when it came on the radio. I thought it actually was the Backstreet Boys, but it was actually the breakthrough hit in the UK for N Sync. It was written by Denniz Pop and Max Martin so could have just as easily ended up being a Backstreet Boys record.

Verdict - Rubbish

4. Lauryn Hill - Ex-Factor

The solo career of Lauryn Hill is best known by 2 songs with this one being the 2nd. There's something quite unique about having a highly regard career as both a solo artist and as part of a group with both being so brief. Quality of quantity I guess.

Verdict - Good

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 15.5/30, or 52%. The 3rd week in a row we've had this score.

25 Years Since....February 2000

We found that most of the records I was enjoying in January 2000 were ones I was more enjoying in 1999. How about February then?

Byron Stingily - That's The Way Love Is

We begin with a record that first charted in 1989. The artist was Ten City whose singer was Byron Stingily and here he is as a solo artist covering his own record. It's not as pointless as it sounds on paper though. Dance music had evolved so much over the years, the idea of the original record did blend in with the music being made in the year 2000 but needed modern production standards for it to blend in with an upfront set.

CRW - I Feel Love

Now we have a tune from 1998 that didn't hit the Top 40 until the year 2000. It was from the "Kevin and Perry Go Large" film. I must confess I never watched the film, I'm not much of a film person. I did however love those sketches on the "Harry Enfield and Chums" show particularly being a teenager myself at the time.

Baby Bumps - I Got This Feeling

Dance music was so big around this time that we had the inevitable cheese that goes with any music genre enjoying a surge in popularity. Sometimes the cheese that comes with it is actually quite good and this is an example of this.

Scanty Sandwich - Because Of You

Another of those records which tells me that the 21st century has arrived, but from the perspective of looking forward to what the 21st century has to offer. This was on Southern Fried records, Fatboy Slims record label and sounds like it could just as easily be a Fatboy Slim record.

Air - Playground Love

One of my favourite albums of all time is "Moon Safari" by Air. The only way I think the album could have been better is by having "Playground Love" on it. Instead it's on the soundtrack to "The Virgin Suicides" which is basically an Air album in itself which I own. I like the music so much that I decided to watch the film. This is one of the best chill out records ever.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 9

All the new entries this week made the UK Top 40. However, it was the week that Gompie entered the charts with "Alice, who the X is Alice" which was a UK number 17 which in turn led to Smokie reviving the song with Roy "Chubby" Brown. Gompie were Dutch and they would perform this cover with the crowd chanting back "Alice, who the fuck is Alice". This would go on to be a Dutch number one.

2002: The Good Old Days? - October

October 2002 was perhaps an early indication that the charts would become dominated by indie music in the middle of the decade. Indie is the most prolific genre accounting for nearly a third of the new entries.

We have an indie record that gets full marks which is "Formulae" by JJ72 which was their final Top 40 single. There's also a half mark for The Coral with "Dreaming Of You".

The best record is a tune from 1996. Nakatomi were a Dutch happy hardcore act and they charted in Holland with "Children Of The Night" at the time but didn't chart in the UK until 2002. It was the first time since the mid-90s that we had and happy hardcore record in the Top 40 and we've not had one in there since.

There's another dance record from the 90s getting full marks which is "Cafe Del Mar" by Energy 52. Originally coming out in 1996, this was just one of many remixes we've had of the record since. 

It's one of the better months for dance music from around this time. When I say better I mean the vocal trance isn't as annoying, but still not worthy of points. There's half a point for instrumental trance record "Reload" by PPK which is basically "Resurrection" with a few tweaks making it not as good.

Just the one decent rap record which comes from Irv Gotti and a bunch of artists on his Murder Inc records with "Down 4 U". There's also half a point for Ludacris with "Saturday (Oooh Oooh)".

Just the one decent R&B record too which comes from Nelly & Kelly Rowland with "Dilemma". I think that Nelly does R&B better than rap and it looked promising for the start of Kelly Rowlands solo career, but in the end it turned out a load of crap like her Destiny's Child days.

What's left is the worst record which goes to Las Ketchup with "The Ketchup Song". I know it's supposed to be shit but at the same time I heard it a lot and found it really irritating.

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: 25%

Here's a look at the chart:

I had the feeling the score would be around 25% before I even saw the list of records. Improvement is needed if we are to declare 2002 as the good old days.

UK Number 40s: Richard Ashcroft - Words Just Get In The Way (2006)

 

The Verve were one of the big names from the Britpop movement, but they only had 6 Top 40 hits in the 90s. After the band split up Richard Ashcroft started a solo career which resulted in him having 9 Top 40 hits.

This was the 9th and final one of those Top 40 hits. It's that familiar story of "Break The Night With Colour", the lead single off the "Keys to the World" album being his joint highest charting single making number 3. Then the album comes out and another two Top 40 hits follow which don't hit the same heights in the singles chart.

In reality though the fans were really wanting music from The Verve rather than Richard Ashcroft solo records. Their wishes came true the following year when The Verve reunited and then in 2008 returned to the charts with their final hit "Love Is Noise".

UK Number 40s: Klaus Badelt - He's A Pirate (2006)

 

My lack of chart knowledge by 2006 means I incorrectly said that "Fire" by Ferry Corsten was the final trance record to make number 40. It turns out that the version of this record to make the Top 40 was a trance version.

Klaus Badelt is a German composer and he made this record for the 2003 film "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl". 

It was remixed by Dutch DJ Tiesto which got it into the Top 40 and appeared on the 2007 Tiesto album "Elements of Life". I can't say for sure whether this will be the last trance record to make number 40, but what I can see is after that album Tiesto moved away from trance and onto EDM.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 8

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

I've decided against repetition from previous weeks moving forward so will only feature the records I'm reviewing for the first time. I also won't repeat the reviews from the Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed posts.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the records new to the top 30 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

20. Loop Da Loop - Hazel

This record hasn't aged well at all. I didn't mind it at the time and still think there are some good elements to it. It was always a bit on the cheesy side, but now I just find it irritating. It is a jump on the big beat bandwagon type of  record.

Verdict - Rubbish

19. Kleshay - Rush

The 2nd and final Top 40 hit to date for long forgotten British R&B group Kleshay. It wasn't back to the day job for them after this though, one of them would go on to become a presenter on the TV show "A Place In The Sun". So basically entertainers who tried and failed with music.

Verdict - Rubbish

16. The Moffatts - Crazy

The Moffatts were a long forgotten Canadian boy band with instruments and this was their Top 40 debut. That's right, they also had another Top 40 hit but I won't be listening to that as it never made the Top 30. Based on this record though I don't think I'm missing out on anything.

Verdict - Rubbish

14. Cevin Fisher ft Loleatta Holloway - (You Got Me) Burning Up

Yet another dance record that samples "Love Sensation". I think it had been done to death by this point and this record does nothing to tell me it was worth doing again. Had this been the first record to use the sample I may have liked it, but as it isn't I don't.

Verdict - Rubbish

13. Next Of Kin - 24 Hours From You

Next Of Kin were basically a British version of Hanson i.e. a boy band with instruments who were actual boys. If you like Hanson then just listen to Hanson, if you don't like Hanson then it's highly unlikely you're going to like this. I'm of the latter category.

Verdict - Rubbish

8. Unkle ft Ian Brown - Be There

The Top 40 debut for Unkle and also their highest charting hit. Amongst it's members at the time was DJ Shadow and he wrote this along with Ian Brown who provided vocals. When I first moved to London I was regularly using a tube station with a lift and it reminded me of this video. A solid record.

Verdict - Good

5. Barenaked Ladies - One Week

I thought this record couldn't be an more American if it tried, which is quite funny because the Barenaked Ladies are Canadian. They're also a male band. It's been featured in many films and it's almost the perfect song for them i.e. shit.

Verdict - Rubbish

4. DJ Sakin And Friends - Protect Your Mind (For The Love Of A Princess)

I remember taping this tune off of Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems one Sunday night when Phats and Small were sitting in for Dave Pearce. There was also a happy hardcore version around the same time minus the vocals. It's the vocals that are the sticking point, it would be so much better without them. That said I do still like it.

Verdict - Good

1. Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away

In the late 90s there were still adverts on TV that I actually liked. One of those adverts was for the Peugeot 206 which featured this song on them. The general public it seemed agreed and this record ended up topping the charts as a result. 

Verdict - Good

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 15.5/30, or 52%. We remain above 50%.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 8

These were the new entries in the Dutch Top 40 that never made the UK Top 40:

Clouseau - Laat Me Nu Toch Niet Alleen

Clouseau are a Belgian band who record in Dutch, which no doubt helped them into the Dutch Top 40. They had recorded in English prior to this but that never lead to a UK Top 40 hit. It's a pretty non-descript ballad that sounds like it might start at some point, but it never does. They will be back with an even bigger hit later on in the year

DJ BoBo - Love Is All Around

In my Chemistry class I sat next to a fellow raver. One day he came in with a list of DJs and MCs which he passed to me and others asking if we could think of anyone else to add to the list before it got confiscated by the teacher. I thought he was making some of them up, but it turned out some did really exist. One of those was DJ BoBo, though he's not what you would describe as being rave. He's a Eurodance vocalist who comes from Switzerland where he has enjoyed great chart success including some number ones. In the UK he managed a solitary minor Top 40 hit in 2003 with "Chihuahua".

Juliane Werding, Maggie Reilly & Viktor Lazlo - Engel Wie Du

Here we have a German singer, Scottish singer and French singer all singing in their respective languages. This means unless you can speak German, English and French then there will be bits of the song you won't understand. Maggie Reilly had charted in the UK as vocalist on "Moonlight Shadow" by Mike Oldfield, the other two haven't ever made the UK Top 40.

2002: The Good Old Days? - November

We had 68 new entries in November 2002, the most we've had in a month out of all the months we've looked at so far. This means more room for good records but each good record carries less weight.

As a result we have representation around most of the mainstream genres but it is pop music that leads the way. This time none of the pop records score any points.

Outside of pop music the most represented genre is dance music which once again varies in terms of both quality and sub genres. We had some drum & bass from Shy FX and T-Power with "Don't Wanna Know" which is decent. 

On a more experimental front we had "Purple Haze" from Groove Armada which is a mixture of lots of things and works. The same thing could be said for DJ Shadow with "Six Days". Both records get full marks.

On more of a chill out tip we have "Poor Leno" by Royksopp which contributed to my decision to but the "Melody AM" album. We also have "In This World" by Moby and I already owned his "18" album at the time on which it appears.

What seems to be standard in this era is the vocal trance records appearing which are mostly crap. This leads me onto the worst record which is "Heart of Gold" by Kelly Llorenna. This is a cover of a happy hardcore record by Force & Styles, one of the early examples of crappy watered down happy hardcore covers. Had Kelly Llorenna called it a day after singing on "Set You Free" by N-Trance she would be fondly remembered. Now though I think of her as more of a singer of crappy commercial dance records.

The best record is a rap record which is "From That Chuuuch To Da Palace" by Snoop Dogg. This was the first of his singles to be produced by The Neptune's. As I recall Snoop Dogg was showing he didn't need to rely on Dr Dre's production to make a good record which he did, though it helped having perhaps the most in demand producers of the moment.

Speaking of The Neptunes's productions we also have the solo debut from Justin Timberlake with "Like I Love You". Given his boy band past I didn't want to like this record but had to concede it was a good record and I could use the producers as a justification for liking it.

Elsewhere we have "Still Waiting" by Sum 41 which I found surprisingly good at the time and is probably the best thing I've heard from them. We also have "Wonderboy" from Tenacious D which I would describe as novelty music there's no shame in liking. 

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:

My initial reaction is this isn't a great score but then it's actually the best November of all the years we've looked at so far.

UK Number 40s: Little Man Tate - What? What You Got? (2006)

 

In 2006 the biggest social media platform on the internet was MySpace. With it came a number of music acts who broke through after making a name for themselves on there. Little Man Tate were one of those bands.

This was their Top 40 debut. They were an indie band from Sheffield, a bit like Arctic Monkeys who had made their Top 40 debut several months earlier after also making a name for themselves on MySpace.

It had the same sort of raw sound, like they were a Northern band playing in a local Northern pub which they probably were prior to this charting. They would clock up 5 Top 40 hits in total and the highest position they would reach would be number 20.

UK Number 40s: Corinne Bailey Rae - Trouble Sleeping (2006)

 

Corinne Bailey Rae made her Top 40 debut in 2005 with "Like A Star" which made number 32. It was however her 2nd Top 40 hit "Put Your Records On" which was her true breakthrough record which made number 2.

The popularity of that record may have hindered any future releases though with this being her only other record that would make the Top 40. It appeared quite a bit on the music channels at the time and has a reasonable number of views of YouTube so that lack of chart success may not be such an issue.

It was taken from her self titled debut album which topped the albums chart. The album was already out by the time this was released.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 7

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

I've decided against repetition from previous weeks moving forward so will only feature the records I'm reviewing for the first time.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the records new to the top 30 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

19. Idlewild - When I Argue I See Shapes

The Top 40 debut for Idlewild, a Scottish indie band who were said to have a harder sound than their fellow indie bands. If you compare to fellow Scottish indie band Travis, that isn't difficult. What it does mean though is they trying to sound heavy but just sound weak.

Verdict - Rubbish

16. Mansun - Eleven (EP)

Mansun have made it to 11 Top 40 hits which had all been chronologically number EPs. Just to add a bit of confusion though the main song from this EP is called "Six". It could be the same song as the one on their "Six EP" for all I know, they all sound the same.

Verdict - Rubbish

15. Supercar - Tonite

Alex Gaudino is a big name EDM DJ of the modern era, but he was around in 1999 as one of the writers of this record. Quite how much input he had to it I don't know. Supercar were a duo that didn't include Alex Gaudino and there were a further two writers on it. A sign of things to come with everyone and everyone else writing an EDM record then, but fortunately this is musically far better than your average EDM record.

Verdict - Good

13. M People - Dreaming

The final Top 40 hit to date for M People who took an extended hiatus after this charted. With proper dance music becoming more and more popular I guess there was little room for the commercial throwaway rubbish by M People. 

Verdict - Rubbish

12. Mirrorball - Given Up

There were a lot of house remakes of old disco records around this time, but this record is more using a disco sample than doing a remake. The sample in question is "Giving Up Giving In" by The Three Degrees. The minimal vocals make for a good record.

Verdict - Good

8. Soulsearcher - Can't Get Enough

This record features Thea Austin on vocals, the same person who provided vocals for "Rhythm Is A Dancer" by Snap! It's another house remake of an old disco record, this time it's "Let's Lovedance Tonight" by Gary's Gang. It's definitely more on the commercial side, but still acceptable.

Verdict - Good

5. A+ - Enjoy Yourself

The only Top 40 hit for A+ who was a child rapper in the 90s and was 17 when this came out. He then disappeared off the face of the earth after this. It samples "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy and I always thought it was pretty solid.

Verdict - Good

3. Tatyana Ali ft Will Smith - Boy You Knock Me Out

We'd already had the Top 40 debut for Tatyana Ali aka Ashley from "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" but just incase we missed that the first time round we have the Fresh Prince himself here to remind us. It seems quite fitting that this of all Tatyana Ali records features Will Smith after what happened at the Oscars.

Verdict - Rubbish

1. Blondie - Maria

It had been 17 years since we'd last seen Blondie in the Top 40 with any original material. As far as comeback singles after a period of that sort of length go, this is amongst the best. The fact it was by Blondie would have played a part in it topping the charts, but the fact it's a genuinely good record must have been a factor too.

Verdict - Good

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 15.5/30, or 52%. We've got above 50% for the first time in 1999.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 7

These were the new entries in the Dutch Top 40 that never made the UK Top 40:

TOF - Funk It Up

In the UK in the mid-90s we had a few hits from Reel 2 Real. TOF sounds like the Dutch equivalent of this. This was the big hit with a lower charting follow up coming later on in the year. TOF stands for The Original Flyguy.

Urbanus - Poesje Stoei

Another week, another non-musician with a new entry. This time though it's a Belgian comedian rather than a Dutch one. Urbanus had a few hits in his native Belgium dating back to 1979, but this was his only Dutch Top 40 hit. 

The Captains - Mega Hit Medley Vol 1

One of the big things in the UK charts in 1981 was medleys and the first one that springs to mind is Stars On 45. Now I've mentioned this you might have gathered Stars On 45 came from Holland. This record is essentially what Stars On 45 would have sounded like in the 90s.

2002: The Good Old Days? - December

We can loosely define 2005 as being the year of indie, 2004 as the year of rap and R&B and 2003 as the year of dance. What about 2002?

Well based on the new entries in December it very much looks like the year of pop. It was full of boy bands, girl groups, pop stars, pop idols and those who were once in boy bands. The only one of these records to get any points is "Feel" by Robbie Williams. He's someone I consider to have been overhyped at the time and under appreciated now. At the time many said he'd show his music credentials after being in a boy band, these days many say his music's crap hence charity shops are full of his CDs. I do think some of his tunes are decent and this is one of them.

Many of these pop records are worthy of being the worst record, but then they serve a purpose. Therefore the one I've picked is one for the pop kids who see themselves as a bit alternative but they're not. I'm talking about "Sk8er Boi" by Avril Lavigne, pop with guitars basically. Furthermore there was no avoiding it when on a night out at the time.

What about the decent music then? Well rap gets 100% helped by there being only 2 rap records. There's the best one which is "Thug Lovin" by Ja Rule and Bobby Brown. Then there's "Lose Yourself" by Eminem.

R&B wise we have the "Girl Talk" which is the final Top 40 hit from TLC which came shortly after the death of Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes but she does feature on the record and it's decent. We also have "Girlfriend" by Alicia Keys, I already had the album and thought this was the best track. Not so good is "Put Him Out" by Ms Dynamite who was proving she only has one decent record to her name.

Dance music wise we only have points for Scooter with "Posse (I Need You On The Floor)". The rest are cheesy vocal trance/eurodance which generally isn't to my liking.

Elsewhere we have older acts such as Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen all with records that show they were all past their best. To give Bon Jovi credit, the video for "Misunderstood" is entertaining but points are based on the music not the video.

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: 16%

Here's a look at the chart:

Not a great start, but then we know the quality of music declines towards Christmas so there's still time.

UK Number 40s: Hot Chip - Boy From School (2006)

 

With guitars now taking back their crowns from turntables a number of dance acts were now starting to add rock elements to their music. Hot Chip had another idea though, to be a dance band with instruments. 

They weren't the first to do that, but with indie music being more popular than ever they managed to appeal to the indie crowd with their music. As a result their music has been described as being indietronica music.

The full title to this record was "And I Was A Boy From School" and came from their 2nd album "The Warning". Their Top 40 debut came earlier on in the year with "Over and Over" which made number 27. Their 3rd and final Top 40 hit came in 2008 which became their biggest hit making number 6.

UK Number 40s: Forward Russia - Nine (2006)

 

When a nationality or country is in a band name it almost inevitably means the band in question don't come from the country in their name. This is the case with Forward Russia who were a British indie band who hailed from Leeds.

In their early days all of their songs were numbers which was in the order the songs were made in. Quite similar to what Mansun were doing in the 90s with their EPs. The difference though was that Forward Russia only had 2 Top 40 hit with this being the 2nd. It followed "Nine" which made number 36.

This may explain their lack of chart success then. When "Twelve" came out people were looking for "One" and then when they discovered their Top 40 debut was called "Twelve" they started looking for "Thirteen" when they were looking for this. After that they must have just given up.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 6

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

I've decided against repetition from previous weeks moving forward so will only feature the records I'm reviewing for the first time.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the records new to the top 30 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

26. Mercury Rev - Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp

Mercury Rev were one of those bands I'd heard of but not knowingly heard any of their music. This was mainly because a lot of people at university seemed to like them. The intro to this record sounded quite promising, it has similarities to "Strings of Life". It very quickly gets boring though.

Verdict - Rubbish

19. Leilani - Madness Thing

Leilani is just one of several long forgotten pop singers we'll encounter in 1999. This was her big hit which was followed by a minor hit that scraped into the Top 40 and by the end of the year nobody remembered her. There's nothing to like about this record at all, it's terrible.

Verdict - Rubbish

11. Placebo - Every You Every Me

This was the final Top 40 hit of the 90s for Placebo, but they had many more in the 21st century. It was on the soundtrack to "Cruel Intentions" which was a pretty big film at the time. It suits the film in that it sounds like the sort of rubbish you'd get in these American high school films at the time.

Verdict - Rubbish

10. Inner City - Good Life (Buena Vida)

It had been over a decade since Inner City made the Top 40 with "Good Life". It had become one of the all time anthems, and with dance music being as popular as it was in 1999 it was given a makeover. It works well and reminds me that I never went to Ibiza in 1999 even though I wanted to.

Verdict - Good

9. Garbage - When I Grow Up

I'm finding myself still humming along to it even though the song has ended. Garbage are really proving themselves to be a sort of forgotten gem of the 90s in that their music sounds a lot better now than I remember it being. Another decent record from them.

Verdict - Good

8. The Divine Comedy - National Express

The biggest hit for The Divine Comedy. By this point I knew to expect the subject matter to be pretty random, but even then a record about a bus company seemed very odd. What was even weirder was the lyrics about the jolly hostess selling crisps and tea. I've never been on a National Express that has had one of those. Always loved this record.

Verdict - Good

4. Dru Hill - These Are The Times

The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Dru Hill and their final one by themselves. It also became their highest charting by themselves. It was written by Babyface who was no longer as prolific with writing Top 40 hits as he'd been a couple of years earlier. It was also written by Damon Thomas and this was his first Top 40 hit as songwriter. It completely passed me by, but retrospectively I think it's pretty solid.

Verdict - Good

1. Armand Van Helden ft Duane Harden - U Don't Know Me

I remember this seemed to be around for a while before it actually charted. I may have even taped it off the radio before then, I certainly did at some point. It wasn't really a surprise that it did top the charts given how popular it was. I also remember considering it to be old by the end of the year.

Verdict - Good

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 14/30, or 47%. Another big improvement.