What's this all about?
Top 40 Countdown
Number of eligible records: 9
⬆ (30) Mark Ronson ft Lykke Li - Late Night Feelings
⬆ (26) Kygo ft Rita Ora - Carry On
New (39) Sigala ft Becky Hill - Wish You Well
New (31) Jess Glynne ft Jax Jones - One Touch
New (29) 5 Seconds of Summer - Easier
New (18) Young Thug ft J Cole & Travis Scott - The London
New (17) NSG - OT Bop
New (9) Ed Sheeran ft Chance the Rapper & PnB Rock - Cross Me
(1) Ed Sheeran ft Justin Bieber - I Don't Care
Missing Out
None
Thursday, 6 June 2019
Monday, 3 June 2019
25 Years Since....May 1994
Yes I know it's 25 years and 3 days but that's near enough to look at the records I was enjoying at the time:
Stiltskin - Inside
It had been a month since the death of Kurt Cobain but Grunge was still very much alive with tunes like this. I had been following the Grunge scene as had several of my friends but until I saw this being performed on Top of the Pops I had never heard of Stiltskin, nobody had ever mentioned them before.
Personally I liked it but I was conscious that some people would say it's a poor imitation of Nirvana. The following day people were very positive about this, it was almost like Nirvana had now been put to bed as the next big Grunge band had arrived.
The reality was they weren't the next big Grunge band, far from it. This song was written specifically for the Levi's advert by Pete Lawlor who did everything but sing on it and then the band was formed but did nothing else of note.
Killing Joke - Millennium
This appeared on the same episode of Top of the Pops that Stiltskin appeared on. The name Killing Joke rang a bell but nothing else. It turned out they had been in the Top 40 once before, in 1985.
What appealed to me about this was simply the shouty nature of it, particularly in the chorus.
Whilst reaction to Stiltskin was positive the next day, I was the only one who seemed to like this.
Sonic Youth - Bull in the Heather
This was the third and final Top 40 hit for Sonic Youth and the only hit to feature Kim Gordon on vocals.
As mentioned previously, Sonic Youth were a band who arguably made a name for themselves thanks to the Grunge movement without being Grunge themselves.
This one doesn't really sound anything like Grunge, I don't really know what I'd describe it as, it's quite and odd one but I like it.
Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
I thought this was a really odd one when I first heard it. My first thought when this was introduced on Top of the Pops was that the singer looked like Neil from the Young Ones. Then he started singing in a loud deep voice, I thought what the fuck is this.
However, I started to like it after a few listens. Of course a song sung by a Neil from the Young Ones lookalike with a funny voice and a chorus that is simply "mmm" repeated several times is hard to take seriously. If you listen to the rest of the lyrics though they're actually quite meaningful.
N-Trance - Set You Free
This is where my transformation to a Raver began. Or is it?
One thing I've learned from compiling these lists is that I don't remember the chronological order of events as well as I think I did. This reached number 39 when released in May 1994 but then reached number 2 when re-released in January 1995. The former seems too early but the latter seems too late. As it only reached 39 I probably never heard this in May 1994, but it must have become popular later on in the year to warrant a re-release.
As the charts are used as a guideline it therefore seems more appropriate to include this when it charted as opposed to trying to pinpoint when I first heard it.
Stiltskin - Inside
Personally I liked it but I was conscious that some people would say it's a poor imitation of Nirvana. The following day people were very positive about this, it was almost like Nirvana had now been put to bed as the next big Grunge band had arrived.
The reality was they weren't the next big Grunge band, far from it. This song was written specifically for the Levi's advert by Pete Lawlor who did everything but sing on it and then the band was formed but did nothing else of note.
Killing Joke - Millennium
What appealed to me about this was simply the shouty nature of it, particularly in the chorus.
Whilst reaction to Stiltskin was positive the next day, I was the only one who seemed to like this.
Sonic Youth - Bull in the Heather
As mentioned previously, Sonic Youth were a band who arguably made a name for themselves thanks to the Grunge movement without being Grunge themselves.
This one doesn't really sound anything like Grunge, I don't really know what I'd describe it as, it's quite and odd one but I like it.
Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
However, I started to like it after a few listens. Of course a song sung by a Neil from the Young Ones lookalike with a funny voice and a chorus that is simply "mmm" repeated several times is hard to take seriously. If you listen to the rest of the lyrics though they're actually quite meaningful.
N-Trance - Set You Free
One thing I've learned from compiling these lists is that I don't remember the chronological order of events as well as I think I did. This reached number 39 when released in May 1994 but then reached number 2 when re-released in January 1995. The former seems too early but the latter seems too late. As it only reached 39 I probably never heard this in May 1994, but it must have become popular later on in the year to warrant a re-release.
As the charts are used as a guideline it therefore seems more appropriate to include this when it charted as opposed to trying to pinpoint when I first heard it.
Sunday, 2 June 2019
Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed - Week 22
Here's my weekly look at the Top 20 from 20 years ago. On the basis we'd reach the Top 20 in the Top 40 countdown around 17:30 on a Sunday at the time the plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.
Here is the Top 40 in full.
Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.
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 top 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:
Prior to hearing this tune, "Red Alert" to me was one half of Red Alert and Mike Slammer, a Rave duo who did "In Effect" in the mid 90s and who ran Slammin Vinyl. This was the second hit for Basement Jaxx and the one that made the masses start to take notice. Perhaps a bit overplayed at the time but a good tune.
Verdict - Good
One day in 1999 I was in HMV and asked to listen to a CD at the listening post. When I got to the listening post, the man who had just been listening at it told me it's the New Radicals on there, not knowing I'd gone up to the counter to ask for something else. That was the first time I'd heard that name and maybe a couple of weeks later I heard this. I thought maybe it would have been good to have listened to them at that listening post as I quite like it. I still like it today but still haven't heard any other New Radicals tunes, given that after their breakup frontman Gregg Alexander started writing rubbish for Ronan Keating and Sophie Ellis Bextor amongst others maybe it's better that way.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Lost Witness which was remixed by Lange. I think this is better than the original too, though it probably helped that I'd heard the remix first and that I like Lange.
Verdict - Good
Just under a year before Chicane topped the charts with his collaboration with Bryan Adams he remixed "Cloud Number 9" by Bryan Adams. The result is a record that is more Dance and less guitar than your typical Bryan Adams song. It's alright, but it's nothing special.
Verdict - OK
I remember knowing quite a few people at the time who loved the Stereophonics and I just didn't get it. One man in particular who used to wear a Stereophonics hat all the time would say Pop Music has no skill because everything gets written for you, Dance Music has no skill because DJing is easy, but the music he listens to is written by the bands themselves who can play instruments and play together and that takes skill. Fair enough, but if using your skills of writing songs, playing instruments and playing together produces something that sounds like this then what's the point?
Verdict - Rubbish
Ever wondered what happened to Nomad, who did "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" in the early 90s? Well one of it's members, Steve Mac teamed up with another songwriter, Wayne Hector, to write this the debut hit of Westlife. A complete change of direction then, but I guess it helped pay the bills.
Verdict - Rubbish
The problem with Rap is that there are rappers you like and rappers you don't like. But then inevitably you'll get collaborations between rappers you like and rappers you don't like. Here we have Nas, a rapper I like, collaborating with Puff Daddy, a rapper I don't like. Fortunately Puff Daddy doesn't really do much on this record which is probably why I like it.
Verdict - Good
Were they named after Travis Nash, the Home and Away character? or Travis Perkins, the construction company? Turns out it's neither, but how ironic a band that could be named after a construction company does a song about wood. I'd say wooden is a pretty good way to describe this song.
Verdict - Rubbish
By the time this tune charted I'd heard it a lot and I remember it appearing on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems on Radio 1 pretty much every week. I also remember Phats & Small presenting the show themselves one week when Dave Pearce was on holiday. Despite it being overplayed though I have good memories of this tune, despite the lyrical content of someone being down it's a feel good Dance record. Funnily enough "Feel Good" was the name of their next hit.
Verdict - Good
Football songs are rarely any good so I didn't really expect much after just listening to it for the first time ever (I think). Let's just say I didn't make it to the end of the song.
Verdict - Rubbish
I specifically remember this record and "You Get What You Give" by the New Radicals being out at the same sort of time and like to listen to them back to back. I also own the "14:59" album which features this song as well as another Sugar Ray album. Needless to say I like it.
Verdict - Good
TLC were big in the mid 90s with their "Crazy Sexy Cool" album and then for me at least they just disappeared until this came out. It was a great comeback though, and the funny thing is that had Xscape not broken up the year before it could have been an Xscape single given Kandi and Tiny of the group were two of the writers.
Verdict - Good
One memory I have of this song is a work colleague at the time singing this on his last day. I just find the song irritating though.
Verdict - Rubbish
The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.
Verdict - OK
The Eurovision entry for the UK in 1999 by a group that contained future Atomic Kitten member Jenny Frost. I think it's better than any Atomic Kitten song I've ever heard, but that doesn't make it any good.
Verdict - Rubbish
A year after leaving the Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell released her first solo record. I can't decide if this is better or worse than your average Spice Girls record but what I do know is it's bloody awful.
Verdict - Rubbish
The other week I was in the pub and this song came on. Someone asked me what year it was from and I said 1999, but they weren't convinced. Well here's confirmation, although it does appear on their self titled 1997 album. It's alright, nothing special.
Verdict - OK
The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.
Verdict - Rubbish
The penultimate Top 40 hit for Boyzone before going on hiatus and their final number one. In true Boyzone style it's a poor cover of an old song. I don't particularly like the original and this version is even worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
During the mid to late 90s it was all about House and Garage, but then in 1999 it was all about House and Trance. The "Kiss in Ibiza 99" compilation had a House CD and a Trance CD, the House CD contained the Garage tune "Straight From the Heart" by Doolally. That's despite the fact Doolally, who were now known as Shanks & Bigfoot, had a number one Garage record with "Sweet Like Chocolate". I like UK Garage and a like a lot of the commercial stuff, but this ones a bit too cheesy for my liking, but I guess it's not bad.
Verdict - OK
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 9/20, or 45%. We're starting to slide compared to previous weeks.
Here is the Top 40 in full.
Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.
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 top 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:
20. Basement Jaxx - Red Alert
Prior to hearing this tune, "Red Alert" to me was one half of Red Alert and Mike Slammer, a Rave duo who did "In Effect" in the mid 90s and who ran Slammin Vinyl. This was the second hit for Basement Jaxx and the one that made the masses start to take notice. Perhaps a bit overplayed at the time but a good tune.
Verdict - Good
19. The New Radicals - You Get What You Give
One day in 1999 I was in HMV and asked to listen to a CD at the listening post. When I got to the listening post, the man who had just been listening at it told me it's the New Radicals on there, not knowing I'd gone up to the counter to ask for something else. That was the first time I'd heard that name and maybe a couple of weeks later I heard this. I thought maybe it would have been good to have listened to them at that listening post as I quite like it. I still like it today but still haven't heard any other New Radicals tunes, given that after their breakup frontman Gregg Alexander started writing rubbish for Ronan Keating and Sophie Ellis Bextor amongst others maybe it's better that way.
Verdict - Good
18. Lost Witness - Happiness Happening (New)
The Top 40 debut for Lost Witness which was remixed by Lange. I think this is better than the original too, though it probably helped that I'd heard the remix first and that I like Lange.
Verdict - Good
17. Bryan Adams - Cloud Number 9
Just under a year before Chicane topped the charts with his collaboration with Bryan Adams he remixed "Cloud Number 9" by Bryan Adams. The result is a record that is more Dance and less guitar than your typical Bryan Adams song. It's alright, but it's nothing special.
Verdict - OK
16. Stereophonics - Pick A Part That's New
I remember knowing quite a few people at the time who loved the Stereophonics and I just didn't get it. One man in particular who used to wear a Stereophonics hat all the time would say Pop Music has no skill because everything gets written for you, Dance Music has no skill because DJing is easy, but the music he listens to is written by the bands themselves who can play instruments and play together and that takes skill. Fair enough, but if using your skills of writing songs, playing instruments and playing together produces something that sounds like this then what's the point?
Verdict - Rubbish
15. Westlife - Swear It Again
Ever wondered what happened to Nomad, who did "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" in the early 90s? Well one of it's members, Steve Mac teamed up with another songwriter, Wayne Hector, to write this the debut hit of Westlife. A complete change of direction then, but I guess it helped pay the bills.
Verdict - Rubbish
14. Nas ft Puff Daddy - Hate Me Now (New)
The problem with Rap is that there are rappers you like and rappers you don't like. But then inevitably you'll get collaborations between rappers you like and rappers you don't like. Here we have Nas, a rapper I like, collaborating with Puff Daddy, a rapper I don't like. Fortunately Puff Daddy doesn't really do much on this record which is probably why I like it.
Verdict - Good
13. Travis - Driftwood (New)
Were they named after Travis Nash, the Home and Away character? or Travis Perkins, the construction company? Turns out it's neither, but how ironic a band that could be named after a construction company does a song about wood. I'd say wooden is a pretty good way to describe this song.
Verdict - Rubbish
12. Phats And Small - Turn Around
By the time this tune charted I'd heard it a lot and I remember it appearing on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems on Radio 1 pretty much every week. I also remember Phats & Small presenting the show themselves one week when Dave Pearce was on holiday. Despite it being overplayed though I have good memories of this tune, despite the lyrical content of someone being down it's a feel good Dance record. Funnily enough "Feel Good" was the name of their next hit.
Verdict - Good
11. 1999 Manchester United Squad - Lift It High (All About Belief) (New)
Football songs are rarely any good so I didn't really expect much after just listening to it for the first time ever (I think). Let's just say I didn't make it to the end of the song.
Verdict - Rubbish
10. Sugar Ray - Every Morning (New)
I specifically remember this record and "You Get What You Give" by the New Radicals being out at the same sort of time and like to listen to them back to back. I also own the "14:59" album which features this song as well as another Sugar Ray album. Needless to say I like it.
Verdict - Good
9. TLC - No Scrubs
TLC were big in the mid 90s with their "Crazy Sexy Cool" album and then for me at least they just disappeared until this came out. It was a great comeback though, and the funny thing is that had Xscape not broken up the year before it could have been an Xscape single given Kandi and Tiny of the group were two of the writers.
Verdict - Good
8. Hepburn - I Quit (New)
One memory I have of this song is a work colleague at the time singing this on his last day. I just find the song irritating though.
Verdict - Rubbish
7. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.
Verdict - OK
6. Precious - Say It Again (New)
The Eurovision entry for the UK in 1999 by a group that contained future Atomic Kitten member Jenny Frost. I think it's better than any Atomic Kitten song I've ever heard, but that doesn't make it any good.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. Geri Halliwell - Look At Me
A year after leaving the Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell released her first solo record. I can't decide if this is better or worse than your average Spice Girls record but what I do know is it's bloody awful.
Verdict - Rubbish
4. Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me (New)
The other week I was in the pub and this song came on. Someone asked me what year it was from and I said 1999, but they weren't convinced. Well here's confirmation, although it does appear on their self titled 1997 album. It's alright, nothing special.
Verdict - OK
3. Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much
The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. Boyzone - You Needed Me
The penultimate Top 40 hit for Boyzone before going on hiatus and their final number one. In true Boyzone style it's a poor cover of an old song. I don't particularly like the original and this version is even worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
1. Shanks And Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate (New)
During the mid to late 90s it was all about House and Garage, but then in 1999 it was all about House and Trance. The "Kiss in Ibiza 99" compilation had a House CD and a Trance CD, the House CD contained the Garage tune "Straight From the Heart" by Doolally. That's despite the fact Doolally, who were now known as Shanks & Bigfoot, had a number one Garage record with "Sweet Like Chocolate". I like UK Garage and a like a lot of the commercial stuff, but this ones a bit too cheesy for my liking, but I guess it's not bad.
Verdict - OK
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 9/20, or 45%. We're starting to slide compared to previous weeks.
Thursday, 30 May 2019
Top of the Pops: 30/05/2019
What's this all about?
Top 40 Countdown
Number of eligible records: 8
⬆ (9) Lewis Capaldi - Grace
New (39) Dominic Fike - 3 Nights
New (37) DJ Khaled ft Chris Brown & Lil Wayne - Jealous
New (36) Martin Garrix ft Macklemore & Patrick Stump - Summer Days
New (26) Halsey - Nightmare
New (30) Tyler the Creator - I Think
New (17) Tyler the Creator - Earfquake
(1) Ed Sheeran ft Justin Bieber - I Don't Care
Missing Out
None
Top 40 Countdown
Number of eligible records: 8
⬆ (9) Lewis Capaldi - Grace
New (39) Dominic Fike - 3 Nights
New (37) DJ Khaled ft Chris Brown & Lil Wayne - Jealous
New (36) Martin Garrix ft Macklemore & Patrick Stump - Summer Days
New (26) Halsey - Nightmare
New (30) Tyler the Creator - I Think
New (17) Tyler the Creator - Earfquake
(1) Ed Sheeran ft Justin Bieber - I Don't Care
Missing Out
None
Monday, 27 May 2019
Record of the Year 2015: Galantis - Runaway (U & I)
Picking a record of the year is getting more difficult, if anything because the number of Top 40 hits is giving me less records to choose from. The days of a more interesting Dance record getting into the charts are long gone and in 2015 it would appear you'd have 2 choices, either background music or cheese.
I decided to go for cheese and decided my favourite was "Runaway (U & I)" by Galantis.
I can't remember how I first heard this but I do remember it entering my head one day and turning to Google to figure out what the tune was.
Maybe it wasn't that difficult to choose after all, I think this is the only Top 40 hit of 2015 that I've gone out of my way to listen to, so on that basis maybe it was the only contender for record of the year.
Sunday, 26 May 2019
Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed - Week 21
Here's my weekly look at the Top 20 from 20 years ago. On the basis we'd reach the Top 20 in the Top 40 countdown around 17:30 on a Sunday at the time the plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.
Here is the Top 40 in full.
Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.
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 top 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:
Whatever happened to Fierce? This was their second Top 40 hit and it narrowly missed the Top 10. It took until their fourth single for them to score their first Top 10 hit and then they promptly disappeared off the face of the earth. It's definitely of it's time, but then that's a good thing.
Verdict - Good
The only solo Top 40 hit from Pete Heller of Heller & Farley. He is also a well known DJ in the House scene. One of the best records of 1999 in my opinion, great tune.
Verdict - Good
When Fatboy Slim and Armand Van Helden went head to head in 1999, who actually won? I have no idea but the chart battle was clearly won by Fatboy Slim who made number 2 with this (vs Armand Van Helden at 18). This was the final single from his "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" album and a great tune to hear out loud with your hands in the air.
Verdict - Good
One day in 1999 I was in HMV and asked to listen to a CD at the listening post. When I got to the listening post, the man who had just been listening at it told me it's the New Radicals on there, not knowing I'd gone up to the counter to ask for something else. That was the first time I'd heard that name and maybe a couple of weeks later I heard this. I thought maybe it would have been good to have listened to them at that listening post as I quite like it. I still like it today but still haven't heard any other New Radicals tunes, given that after their breakup frontman Gregg Alexander started writing rubbish for Ronan Keating and Sophie Ellis Bextor amongst others maybe it's better that way.
Verdict - Good
I don't think I've heard this one for 20 years so it sounds a bit different to the way I remembered it. I think this is one of those songs you need to listen to several times over to really appreciate, but as I've not done that it just gets an ok from me at the moment.
Verdict - OK
I ended 1998 watching the death of Tiffany on Eastenders and then going to the pub and wondering why I bother watching Eastenders because it's just depressing. I stopped watching Eastenders from that point, but then a few months later Tiffany comes back to haunt me with this crap. The formula was to take a dreary song by Polish singer Edyta Górniak and in true Eastenders style make it even more depressing.
Verdict - Rubbish
Despite the band members being in their mid-30s by this point, The Offspring seemed very American high school to me in this era. This was their follow up to "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" and to be honest I just found it irritating.
Verdict - Rubbish
Summer was just around the corner and what better way to mark it than with this tune. Powerhouse aka Lenny Fontana and vocalist Duane Harden, the vocalist on "You Don't Know Me" by Armand Van Helden, came with what is almost the perfect summer anthem. I liked it at the time, but when I heard it down the pub on Christmas Eve that year, possibly for the first time since the summer, I decided I loved it.
Verdict - Good
Prior to hearing this tune, "Red Alert" to me was one half of Red Alert and Mike Slammer, a Rave duo who did "In Effect" in the mid 90s and who ran Slammin Vinyl. This was the second hit for Basement Jaxx and the one that made the masses start to take notice. Perhaps a bit overplayed at the time but a good tune.
Verdict - Good
Super Furry Animals were a band I'd put on the list of boring bands alongside the likes of Travis and Stereophonics. I'd struggle to name a record of theirs which I presumed to be because they were so boring I'd forgot them. However, years later I realised the error of my ways, their music isn't actually that bad and certainly isn't boring. They hold the record for most Top 40 hits without a Top 10 and this was their most successful single peaking at number 11.
Verdict - OK
Just under a year before Chicane topped the charts with his collaboration with Bryan Adams he remixed "Cloud Number 9" by Bryan Adams. The result is a record that is more Dance and less guitar than your typical Bryan Adams song. It's alright, but it's nothing special.
Verdict - OK
This was their third single in a row which was an old song they ruined. I've since discovered all the songs on their final studio album were covers.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember knowing quite a few people at the time who loved the Stereophonics and I just didn't get it. One man in particular who used to wear a Stereophonics hat all the time would say Pop Music has no skill because everything gets written for you, Dance Music has no skill because DJing is easy, but the music he listens to is written by the bands themselves who can play instruments and play together and that takes skill. Fair enough, but if using your skills of writing songs, playing instruments and playing together produces something that sounds like this then what's the point?
Verdict - Rubbish
By the time this tune charted I'd heard it a lot and I remember it appearing on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems on Radio 1 pretty much every week. I also remember Phats & Small presenting the show themselves one week when Dave Pearce was on holiday. Despite it being overplayed though I have good memories of this tune, despite the lyrical content of someone being down it's a feel good Dance record. Funnily enough "Feel Good" was the name of their next hit.
Verdict - Good
Ever wondered what happened to Nomad, who did "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" in the early 90s? Well one of it's members, Steve Mac teamed up with another songwriter, Wayne Hector, to write this the debut hit of Westlife. A complete change of direction then, but I guess it helped pay the bills.
Verdict - Rubbish
TLC were big in the mid 90s with their "Crazy Sexy Cool" album and then for me at least they just disappeared until this came out. It was a great comeback though, and the funny thing is that had Xscape not broken up the year before it could have been an Xscape single given Kandi and Tiny of the group were two of the writers.
Verdict - Good
The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.
Verdict - OK
The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.
Verdict - Rubbish
A year after leaving the Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell released her first solo record. I can't decide if this is better or worse than your average Spice Girls record but what I do know is it's bloody awful.
Verdict - Rubbish
The penultimate Top 40 hit for Boyzone before going on hiatus and their final number one. In true Boyzone style it's a poor cover of an old song. I don't particularly like the original and this version is even worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 10/20, or 50%. Again an evenly balanced Top 20.
Here is the Top 40 in full.
Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.
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 top 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:
20. Fierce - Dayz Like That
Whatever happened to Fierce? This was their second Top 40 hit and it narrowly missed the Top 10. It took until their fourth single for them to score their first Top 10 hit and then they promptly disappeared off the face of the earth. It's definitely of it's time, but then that's a good thing.
Verdict - Good
19. Pete Heller - Big Love
The only solo Top 40 hit from Pete Heller of Heller & Farley. He is also a well known DJ in the House scene. One of the best records of 1999 in my opinion, great tune.
Verdict - Good
18. Fatboy Slim - Right Here Right Now
When Fatboy Slim and Armand Van Helden went head to head in 1999, who actually won? I have no idea but the chart battle was clearly won by Fatboy Slim who made number 2 with this (vs Armand Van Helden at 18). This was the final single from his "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" album and a great tune to hear out loud with your hands in the air.
Verdict - Good
17. The New Radicals - You Get What You Give
One day in 1999 I was in HMV and asked to listen to a CD at the listening post. When I got to the listening post, the man who had just been listening at it told me it's the New Radicals on there, not knowing I'd gone up to the counter to ask for something else. That was the first time I'd heard that name and maybe a couple of weeks later I heard this. I thought maybe it would have been good to have listened to them at that listening post as I quite like it. I still like it today but still haven't heard any other New Radicals tunes, given that after their breakup frontman Gregg Alexander started writing rubbish for Ronan Keating and Sophie Ellis Bextor amongst others maybe it's better that way.
Verdict - Good
16. Skunk Anansie - Secretly (New)
I don't think I've heard this one for 20 years so it sounds a bit different to the way I remembered it. I think this is one of those songs you need to listen to several times over to really appreciate, but as I've not done that it just gets an ok from me at the moment.
Verdict - OK
15. Martine McCutcheon - Perfect Moment
I ended 1998 watching the death of Tiffany on Eastenders and then going to the pub and wondering why I bother watching Eastenders because it's just depressing. I stopped watching Eastenders from that point, but then a few months later Tiffany comes back to haunt me with this crap. The formula was to take a dreary song by Polish singer Edyta Górniak and in true Eastenders style make it even more depressing.
Verdict - Rubbish
14. The Offspring - Why Don't You Get A Job?
Despite the band members being in their mid-30s by this point, The Offspring seemed very American high school to me in this era. This was their follow up to "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" and to be honest I just found it irritating.
Verdict - Rubbish
13. Powerhouse ft Duane Harden - What You Need (New)
Summer was just around the corner and what better way to mark it than with this tune. Powerhouse aka Lenny Fontana and vocalist Duane Harden, the vocalist on "You Don't Know Me" by Armand Van Helden, came with what is almost the perfect summer anthem. I liked it at the time, but when I heard it down the pub on Christmas Eve that year, possibly for the first time since the summer, I decided I loved it.
Verdict - Good
12. Basement Jaxx - Red Alert
Prior to hearing this tune, "Red Alert" to me was one half of Red Alert and Mike Slammer, a Rave duo who did "In Effect" in the mid 90s and who ran Slammin Vinyl. This was the second hit for Basement Jaxx and the one that made the masses start to take notice. Perhaps a bit overplayed at the time but a good tune.
Verdict - Good
11. Super Furry Animals - Northern Lites (New)
Super Furry Animals were a band I'd put on the list of boring bands alongside the likes of Travis and Stereophonics. I'd struggle to name a record of theirs which I presumed to be because they were so boring I'd forgot them. However, years later I realised the error of my ways, their music isn't actually that bad and certainly isn't boring. They hold the record for most Top 40 hits without a Top 10 and this was their most successful single peaking at number 11.
Verdict - OK
10. Bryan Adams - Cloud Number 9
Just under a year before Chicane topped the charts with his collaboration with Bryan Adams he remixed "Cloud Number 9" by Bryan Adams. The result is a record that is more Dance and less guitar than your typical Bryan Adams song. It's alright, but it's nothing special.
Verdict - OK
9. 911 - Private Number
This was their third single in a row which was an old song they ruined. I've since discovered all the songs on their final studio album were covers.
Verdict - Rubbish
8. Stereophonics - Pick A Part That's New
I remember knowing quite a few people at the time who loved the Stereophonics and I just didn't get it. One man in particular who used to wear a Stereophonics hat all the time would say Pop Music has no skill because everything gets written for you, Dance Music has no skill because DJing is easy, but the music he listens to is written by the bands themselves who can play instruments and play together and that takes skill. Fair enough, but if using your skills of writing songs, playing instruments and playing together produces something that sounds like this then what's the point?
Verdict - Rubbish
7. Phats And Small - Turn Around
By the time this tune charted I'd heard it a lot and I remember it appearing on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems on Radio 1 pretty much every week. I also remember Phats & Small presenting the show themselves one week when Dave Pearce was on holiday. Despite it being overplayed though I have good memories of this tune, despite the lyrical content of someone being down it's a feel good Dance record. Funnily enough "Feel Good" was the name of their next hit.
Verdict - Good
6. Westlife - Swear It Again
Ever wondered what happened to Nomad, who did "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" in the early 90s? Well one of it's members, Steve Mac teamed up with another songwriter, Wayne Hector, to write this the debut hit of Westlife. A complete change of direction then, but I guess it helped pay the bills.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. TLC - No Scrubs
TLC were big in the mid 90s with their "Crazy Sexy Cool" album and then for me at least they just disappeared until this came out. It was a great comeback though, and the funny thing is that had Xscape not broken up the year before it could have been an Xscape single given Kandi and Tiny of the group were two of the writers.
Verdict - Good
4. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.
Verdict - OK
3. Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much (New)
The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. Geri Halliwell - Look At Me (New)
A year after leaving the Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell released her first solo record. I can't decide if this is better or worse than your average Spice Girls record but what I do know is it's bloody awful.
Verdict - Rubbish
1. Boyzone - You Needed Me (New)
The penultimate Top 40 hit for Boyzone before going on hiatus and their final number one. In true Boyzone style it's a poor cover of an old song. I don't particularly like the original and this version is even worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 10/20, or 50%. Again an evenly balanced Top 20.
The Hitlist Review
Last night we had the first episode of a new TV music quiz, The Hitlist. Here's what I made of it:
When I saw a trailer for the show the impression I got was mixed. On one hand it's a music quiz so should be right up my street. But in the trailer they said "Do you know your Ed Sheeran from your Ariana Grande?" which implied it might be too modern for my liking. The fact it's presented by a member of JLS and a member of The Saturdays would also imply that.
There were 3 pairs of contestants who walked into the studio to a song of their choice. First was a father and daughter who came out to "I Drove All Night" by Roy Orbison, good song. Then came Glen and Christopher who came out to some Cheryl Cole song, a terrible choice but more to the point surely they should have came out to "Diamond Lights". Finally we had 2 females come out to "The Best" by Tina Turner. When the female presenter asked why they chose "Simply the Best" I shouted at the TV for the first time saying it's "The Best" not "Simply the Best.
The introduction went on far too long for my liking, but that's a complaint I have about most TV quizzes. It was 7 minutes into the show before we had our first question.
Round 1 was Number Ones and Number Twos. They played a clip of a number one and the contestants had to buzz in and give the artist and title. If they got it correct they'd get played the number two record from the same week as the number one and would be the only contestants to get the opportunity to answer. The first 2 pairs to get 5 correct would progress to the 2nd round.
The first clip was played and it was something modern I didn't know. Obviously the number two record was also modern, and I didn't get that one either. Fortunately not all clips were modern so I got some. I think I knew all the 20th Century clips and the only 21st Century one I got in that round was "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry.
Onto the 2nd round where the contestants would pick a category that would contain 4 clips. Each clip would have a clue as to who the artist is, for example there was the category "Stage Names" and the clue was the real name of the artist in the clip. Each pair would take it in turns to pick a clip and they'd have 45 seconds to name the artist and title for all the clips they hear with the option to skip 3 clips, first to run out of time would get eliminated.
Again I was good on the older clips but not so good on the modern ones. They had to be entirely accurate when giving the artist and title, when played "Re Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)" by Artful Dodger the contestants weren't given it because they said "Rewind" instead of "Re Rewind". Fair enough, but then in another clip the contestants were given it when they said "Mysterious Girl" by Peter Andre when it's in fact by Peter Andre and Bubbler Ranx.
It was the father and daughter who made it to the final round. They picked a category and would be played clips related to the category. They would begin the round with £10,000 and would have 5 seconds to give the artist and title of each clip, after which the money would start going down like a clock until they gave the answer. They would have the option to skip and be played a new clip, but the money would continue to go down. After 10 correct answers the contestants would win however much money is left.
I knew all the clips in the final round including the ones the contestants skipped, but that was because there was nothing too modern in there. It was the father who answered all the questions in this round, but his daughter did get a few of the modern ones earlier on in the quiz.
How did I find the quiz then?
Well I'd say it's as good as can be expected. Ideally I would want there to be no waffle at the beginning and no modern questions, but that was never going to happen. It wasn't as modern as I expected it to be though which is a good thing.
Would I apply to go on?
Not sure, the problem is I don't know anyone with decent knowledge of modern music to go on with. I've done music quizzes before with some pretty knowledgeable people and got all the 20th century questions correct, but ended up not winning from flopping on the modern ones. But never say never.
When I saw a trailer for the show the impression I got was mixed. On one hand it's a music quiz so should be right up my street. But in the trailer they said "Do you know your Ed Sheeran from your Ariana Grande?" which implied it might be too modern for my liking. The fact it's presented by a member of JLS and a member of The Saturdays would also imply that.
There were 3 pairs of contestants who walked into the studio to a song of their choice. First was a father and daughter who came out to "I Drove All Night" by Roy Orbison, good song. Then came Glen and Christopher who came out to some Cheryl Cole song, a terrible choice but more to the point surely they should have came out to "Diamond Lights". Finally we had 2 females come out to "The Best" by Tina Turner. When the female presenter asked why they chose "Simply the Best" I shouted at the TV for the first time saying it's "The Best" not "Simply the Best.
The introduction went on far too long for my liking, but that's a complaint I have about most TV quizzes. It was 7 minutes into the show before we had our first question.
Round 1 was Number Ones and Number Twos. They played a clip of a number one and the contestants had to buzz in and give the artist and title. If they got it correct they'd get played the number two record from the same week as the number one and would be the only contestants to get the opportunity to answer. The first 2 pairs to get 5 correct would progress to the 2nd round.
The first clip was played and it was something modern I didn't know. Obviously the number two record was also modern, and I didn't get that one either. Fortunately not all clips were modern so I got some. I think I knew all the 20th Century clips and the only 21st Century one I got in that round was "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry.
Onto the 2nd round where the contestants would pick a category that would contain 4 clips. Each clip would have a clue as to who the artist is, for example there was the category "Stage Names" and the clue was the real name of the artist in the clip. Each pair would take it in turns to pick a clip and they'd have 45 seconds to name the artist and title for all the clips they hear with the option to skip 3 clips, first to run out of time would get eliminated.
Again I was good on the older clips but not so good on the modern ones. They had to be entirely accurate when giving the artist and title, when played "Re Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)" by Artful Dodger the contestants weren't given it because they said "Rewind" instead of "Re Rewind". Fair enough, but then in another clip the contestants were given it when they said "Mysterious Girl" by Peter Andre when it's in fact by Peter Andre and Bubbler Ranx.
It was the father and daughter who made it to the final round. They picked a category and would be played clips related to the category. They would begin the round with £10,000 and would have 5 seconds to give the artist and title of each clip, after which the money would start going down like a clock until they gave the answer. They would have the option to skip and be played a new clip, but the money would continue to go down. After 10 correct answers the contestants would win however much money is left.
I knew all the clips in the final round including the ones the contestants skipped, but that was because there was nothing too modern in there. It was the father who answered all the questions in this round, but his daughter did get a few of the modern ones earlier on in the quiz.
How did I find the quiz then?
Well I'd say it's as good as can be expected. Ideally I would want there to be no waffle at the beginning and no modern questions, but that was never going to happen. It wasn't as modern as I expected it to be though which is a good thing.
Would I apply to go on?
Not sure, the problem is I don't know anyone with decent knowledge of modern music to go on with. I've done music quizzes before with some pretty knowledgeable people and got all the 20th century questions correct, but ended up not winning from flopping on the modern ones. But never say never.
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