Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 26, 2012 11:17:45 GMT 1
As for Ultrabeat and those other dance records...(a) did anyone actually buy them other than DJs and (b) does anyone actually listen to them today? Didn't you read the review? me for one
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vastar iner
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I am the poster on your wall
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Post by vastar iner on May 26, 2012 13:12:28 GMT 1
I thought you were being ironic. I wish I had tape-recorded the static on the radio, I could have turned that into a dance hit circa 2003.
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TheThorne
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*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
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Post by TheThorne on May 27, 2012 7:37:46 GMT 1
still hear car radios near us blasting stuff like Ultrabeat, Happy Hardcore is still huge in our main 'underager' club
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 30, 2012 17:03:11 GMT 1
30TH AUGUST- DANCE (WITH U)- Lemar (1 wk)I'd almost forgotten all about this record but here's little Lemar's first baby steps into the pop world. After coming third in "Fame Academy" his debut track is rather a funky pop effort with his vocal's sounding deliciously dreamy on the track. It isn't all good news, there's more than a small debt to 70s Jacksons going on here, and the track, whilst pleasent is a little bit thin certainly in comparison to the mighty "If There's Any Justice" which teems with genuine loss. Of course that song is a different beast, what I mean here is that this isn't his best work but it more than passable for the singer who's turned out some decent tracks when he wasn't treading the MOR road too much, all told well done Lemar.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 30, 2012 17:18:27 GMT 1
13 SEPTEMBER- WHITE FLAG- Dido (2 wks)She's like a little dirty secret now, but back in 2003 there were fewer bigger stars on the pop scence than Dido. Her brand of acoustic pop wasn't to everyone's taste it was true but to be honest I was a Dido fan! There I got it out in the open. "White Flag" is exactly what you would expect from the singer really, easy on the ear commercial pop that gives a passing similarility to something quite deep, quite profound and yet something disappoints and if I had to pinpoint it I think its the feeling of laziness. What the Dido of 2003 really is is just a repeat of the "No Angel" period with slightly less amazing songs, the good news is that the songs were still pretty damn such was the high bar set with the debut album. "White Flag" could easily have sat on the first album with little suspicion but you get the feeling that she could have done something truly mesmerising if she pushed herself, something that would have made her the biggest female star of the decade. Very often you hear bands and artists complain that the record company say to them "we want more of the same thing from you" and how that irks the artist in question, you're left with the impression here that Dido said "OK that's no problem". Don't get me wrong I really like "White Flag" I did at the time, but at its heart there's a hollowness where its soul should be....
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 30, 2012 18:21:25 GMT 1
I think she went into hiding after what she saw happen to Di, Dodi, Dando and the dodo.
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Post by Earl Purple on May 31, 2012 22:49:05 GMT 1
Di and Dodi died in 1997 and Dando in 1999 and the Dodo long before those so I doubt it.
And Ken Dodd is still alive.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jun 1, 2012 6:22:52 GMT 1
His dad's dog's dead though.
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Post by greendemon on Jun 1, 2012 10:59:16 GMT 1
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borneoman
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love is tough, when enough is not enough
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Post by borneoman on Jun 1, 2012 13:20:09 GMT 1
disagree in regards to Dido... think album 2 is better than album 1 (but then album 3-the flop- is her best)... and she might sing without putting a lot of passion, but the passion is in the lyrics, songs like Don't Think of Me or The Day Before the Day or Life for Rent are masterpieces!!!!
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Post by greendemon on Jun 1, 2012 13:24:20 GMT 1
i always loved dido's voice. anyone who thinks she doesn't sing with passion clearly hasn't heard 'here with me'.
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borneoman
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love is tough, when enough is not enough
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Post by borneoman on Jun 1, 2012 13:47:10 GMT 1
yes, I've never figured out why it's uncool to like Dido
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Post by evansabove on Jun 1, 2012 19:29:59 GMT 1
Who cares what is uncool to listen to? I loved both of Dido's first 2 albums, No Angel was on pretty much repeat play for me when it first came out
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Post by Smurfie on Jun 1, 2012 20:15:21 GMT 1
White Flag was a good link from album one to album two. But album two had a little more filler, but still some good singles (NOT Sand In My Shoes, that was kinda cringe), but it was all a gentle downhill slope for me. The third album was not great, the first album was splendid. I haven't quite written her off yet.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 8, 2012 12:07:15 GMT 1
27TH SEPTEMBER- SWEET DREAMS MY L.A EX- Rachel Stevens (2 wks)Rather famously written by Cathy Dennis as a response to "Cry Me A River" and offered to Britney who was rather interested in it until it was pointed out what it was about. Anyway step forward Rachel Stevens who obviously thought it was perfect for a solo career launch, I warn you know I was obsessed with this record at the time! Yes it's fantastic pop, savage and cutting lyrically with an odd disjointed electro feel that suits the focused tone of the record. Of course all of this is rather wasted on Rachel Stevens who was as bland as beige in interviews and quickly gave lie to the belief that anything in this song reflected her personality. The point is that this track was before all of that, in S Club she always had her mates around her, the paper thin personality wasn't so noticeable, but as a vehicle for her sex appeal (hey FHM Can't be wrong can it?) it was the perfect combo. Of course good songwriting will out and Cathy Dennis in the early 00s was on a roll that most would be envious of, and in greater hands I think this could be considered as a pop great, but it's much too big a beast to be done justice by Stevens sadly. That aside I can't fault this record- pop perfection!
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 8, 2012 12:18:39 GMT 1
4TH OCTOBER- I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE- The Darkness (1 wk)It isn't their best single (that goes to "Growing On Me" but this is the song that catapulted the band, briefly, into the A list of pop stars. Ok it's all very tongue N Cheek pompous rock which harks back to the very worst of the 70s excess, but it was all done with ironic 00s raised eyebrows and the sense that the band didn't take it seriously meant we forgave a lot. Initially at least, the problem is of course that if people believe you aren't taking it seriously then they stop taking it seriously, queue a rapid descent from favour when the joke wears thin. Now, looking back the Darkness are quite painfully 2003, a curiosity in what was a curious year in many ways, now that pop had imploded on itself after ruling the roost from 1998 and the fall of brit pop, naturally it takes a transition to the next fad and 2003 was just a year in retrospect. I didn't mind the Darkness and I even bought the album, but I can't say I listen to it anymore, perhaps that's a fitting epitaph to the tale.
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borneoman
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love is tough, when enough is not enough
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Post by borneoman on Jun 8, 2012 12:36:04 GMT 1
loved LA Ex!!!!!!! The Darkness... not so much
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jun 8, 2012 14:54:07 GMT 1
Always misread the one song as "Goodbye My Ex Lax", which seemed fitting. Heard nothing but bad things about Ms Stevens and her conduct...
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Post by Smurfie on Jun 8, 2012 19:38:35 GMT 1
Sweet Dreams My LA-Ex is a GREAT single, it is a pity that the debut album was so meh that people didn't bother with her second "Come And Get It", which for me was one of the best pop albums of the 00's. The waiting for the third solo album has dragged on so long now, it will no doubt if it ever sees the light of day, be disappointing (for me) (although I am still holding out hope).
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Post by Smurfie on Jun 8, 2012 19:39:42 GMT 1
Oh, and the Darkness for me were always terrible, especially that awful Christmas single they released.
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