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Post by andrew07 on Mar 4, 2012 17:31:35 GMT 1
Love Daft Punk, their first two albums are ace And I was laughing hysterically when Bob The Builder ended Westlife's run of consecutive No.1's back then.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 7, 2012 19:15:23 GMT 1
13TH JANUARY 2001- THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL/ TOO BUSY THINKIN BOUT MY BABY- Steps (1 wk)So it's January 2001 and I turned 25, somehow that seems important, probably because you start to realise at that time that you won't always be young and you're maturing in a way you hadn't before. What exactly do I mean and why is it relevant here? Well I mean that whilst you're growing up you come to expect and understand that everything is geared at you, fashion, music, lifestyle, marketing understands that you are the consumer of the future so it gets in quickly, but there comes a time when you realise that suddenly it's not about you anymore. Your mid to late 20's are a strange time, you're still young but you're not "Youff", and it strikes me that in early 2001 Steps are starting to become aware that the clock is ticking on them. There is a shift away from the child friendly dance routines that dominated their output of 1997-2000 (up to "Deeper Shade Of Blue" in fact), and by now only 1 member of the band was now under 25, the constraints of what they were doing are starting to show, they know the market is changing and that simply they will be too old shortly to be marketed to the same audience as they were, yet they were too associated with that audience to know that transition would be nearly impossible. Of course we now know that the factions in the band were quarrelling and the group was slowly coming apart at the seams anyway, but from this record on there seems a genuine step down in the pace of the records, to be honest Steps circa 2001 was probably the period where they were at their best for me. In a year of "you'll be Sorry" and this track they were still turning out good pop records, and this is a guilty pleasure of mine, the build up to the chorus is as sublime a piece of pop as you'd want in 2001, it isn't a song that shouts about its good qualities but rewards for repeated listening, to be snobby about Steps is to misunderstand the audience and the concept of the group, it's not Ivor Novello stuff, it's simple tunes designed to appeal to teens and under, we can look back and regret things we liked at the time but they were all stepping stones to where we got to now and Steps I'm happy to say were definitely one of my stepping stones (geddit?!)
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 7, 2012 19:25:28 GMT 1
3RD FEBRUARY- POP YA COLLAR- Usher (1 wk)After an explosive introduction to the UK in the form of No 1 "You Make Me Wanna" in 98 Usher was back in 01 with the "8701! album and this lead track. There's a problem here, compare this to Donnell Jones a year earlier and you can see it. There's no depth here, no soul ironically given this has to be classified as Soul/R N B/Pop, a song designed to primarily to prove that the guy can dance, and on that front there is little doubt, but it's the record that suffers, light unsubstantial, and forgettable, indeed apart from the chorus I had little recollection on how this went at all. All of this is, sadly, entirely in keeping with Usher's personality which was always lacking, it's almost like he's running on auto pilot on this one, with a vocal deliverly that seems incidental to be honest, surprising really as he did write it himself. Altogether underwhelming in all honesty, the killer "Yeah" would revive his reputation in my eyes 3 years later but on this one i'll pass.
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Post by andrew07 on Mar 7, 2012 23:49:46 GMT 1
That Steps single was sold in record stores, by mistake a week before it was meant to be released, resulting in a first week charting of No.72. I read that this was the first time that happened since "Everybody In The Place" by the Prodigy in 1992.
Musically, things started to get a bit better in 2001, The Strokes released what I think is the first brilliant album of the 21st century "Is This It". The White Stripes and Gorillaz emerged onto the scene too, Elbow released their debut album, and Avalanches released what I felt was album of the summer, "Since I Left You", they're supposed to be releasing that long-delayed follow up this year too.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 8, 2012 10:05:16 GMT 1
That might be the first time I've heard that Usher record, but it's difficult to tell, it sounds exactly the same as every other bloody record he and people of his kith, ilk, kind and stamp have made.
It would be interesting to interview people who bought it at the time and ask them now to hum it.
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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 Mar 8, 2012 10:08:22 GMT 1
actually that Usher song flopped in the US so kinda surprised it did so well in the UK, very very ummemorable
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 10, 2012 17:27:30 GMT 1
10TH FEBRUARY- STUCK IN A MOMENT YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF- U2 (1 wk)OK, the factual bit, a second single from "All That You Can't Leave Behind", and a tribute to Michael Hutchence in which he and Bono have a conversation about suicide where Bono tries to talk him out of it. Strip that ridiculous notion out of the song and this is actually an enormously tender song, a bit tough love but that's ok, it's like when a good friend sits you down adn gives that talk that you don't like but you need to hear. This thankfully isn't Bono the moraliser, or soppy Bono, and best of all NOT political Bono, but just an ordinary guy trying to shake someone from depression. On that level it works and its an arresting piece of pop theatre simply because of the personal nature, thre are only a few great 00s U2 moments and this is one of them but this is a song that is fantastic IN SPITE of itself rather than BECAUSE of itself and by the time the mid 00s came around if you liked a U2 song it was despite Bono who is himself rather a drawback to their image where once he was an asset. Sometimes, just sometimes, there are reminders of the greatness, of how U2 got to be where they are and this is one of them.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 10, 2012 17:39:49 GMT 1
17TH FEBRUARY- TEENAGE DIRTBAG- Wheatus (2 wks)US whiney indie rock or subversive sly knowing and mocking pop? Well that depends on your opinion but for me I've always quite liked "Teenage Dirtbag", it's meant to be mocking of the genre, I hope, the triumph of the underdog, it must be a joke, after all whoever thought of taking an erasure track ("A Little Respect") and turning into the same genre has to have a sense of humour, the joke might have worn thin quickly but this is a little gem and I confess I bought it at the time. The "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to the chorus delivers and certainly the longevity and sales it generated in 2001 proved I wasn't the only one, it isn't one of the greatest No 2 hits of the year (there's one up next) but I'd say this one passes with me. Enjoyable fun but don't look too deep.
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Post by rubcale on Mar 10, 2012 20:04:48 GMT 1
13TH JANUARY 2001- THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL/ TOO BUSY THINKIN BOUT MY BABY- Steps (1 wk)So it's January 2001 and I turned 25, somehow that seems important, probably because you start to realise at that time that you won't always be young and you're maturing in a way you hadn't before. What exactly do I mean and why is it relevant here? Well I mean that whilst you're growing up you come to expect and understand that everything is geared at you, fashion, music, lifestyle, marketing understands that you are the consumer of the future so it gets in quickly, but there comes a time when you realise that suddenly it's not about you anymore. Your mid to late 20's are a strange time, you're still young but you're not "Youff", and it strikes me that in early 2001 Steps are starting to become aware that the clock is ticking on them. There is a shift away from the child friendly dance routines that dominated their output of 1997-2000 (up to "Deeper Shade Of Blue" in fact), and by now only 1 member of the band was now under 25, the constraints of what they were doing are starting to show, they know the market is changing and that simply they will be too old shortly to be marketed to the same audience as they were, yet they were too associated with that audience to know that transition would be nearly impossible. Of course we now know that the factions in the band were quarrelling and the group was slowly coming apart at the seams anyway, but from this record on there seems a genuine step down in the pace of the records, to be honest Steps circa 2001 was probably the period where they were at their best for me. In a year of "you'll be Sorry" and this track they were still turning out good pop records, and this is a guilty pleasure of mine, the build up to the chorus is as sublime a piece of pop as you'd want in 2001, it isn't a song that shouts about its good qualities but rewards for repeated listening, to be snobby about Steps is to misunderstand the audience and the concept of the group, it's not Ivor Novello stuff, it's simple tunes designed to appeal to teens and under, we can look back and regret things we liked at the time but they were all stepping stones to where we got to now and Steps I'm happy to say were definitely one of my stepping stones (geddit?!) It's amazing how fans of groups get stereotyped. I am a 48 year-old heterosexual woman (make that late 30s when Steps ruled the waves) and thought they were brilliant. What's wrong with good melodic pop records? And TWYMMF was the best of the bunch.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 10, 2012 21:39:17 GMT 1
What's wrong with good melodic pop records? Nothing at all, I just wonder what Steps had against them.
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Post by Earl Purple on Mar 11, 2012 0:17:13 GMT 1
I didn't know you were as old as 48, rubcale. I thought you were mid-30s. I also sometimes find it hard to work out what music you like.
I never thought Steps were that good. I did quite like some of S Club 7's songs.
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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 Mar 11, 2012 9:32:41 GMT 1
Gezza, surprised you liked the U2 song so much.... very mediocre song imho good intentions don't always translate into good songs...
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 11, 2012 11:48:40 GMT 1
Gezza, surprised you liked the U2 song so much.... very mediocre song imho good intentions don't always translate into good songs... I surprise myself really , like I say there isn't much U2 in the 00s I do like...
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 11, 2012 11:49:06 GMT 1
3RD MARCH- MS JACKSON- Outkast (1 wk)Written by Andre 3000 as an apology to his ex's mother for hurting her daughter this is an amazing song. His ex was none other than singer Erykah Badu so the song has a very public resonance in addition to a personal message, the video is naturally brilliant, a whole managre of animals and creatures joingin in with the track as the duo's house virtually falls apart around them. It's all meant to be symbolic naturally, the rain and thunder being indicitive of the stormy relationship that the couple had but Andre pledging to stick by his daughter and be there for her throughout his life, quite touching really and all of course rapped up in a delicious melody. Much attention is naturally paid to the much bigger hit (contemporary speaking) of "Hey Ya!" but THIS has always been the greatest of their work in my opinion, taking a genre like rap and showing that it does have more sides to it than just sex, guns, and violence, feels slightly subversive in a delicious way. There's also a generous amount of pathos in it "Ms. Jackson my intentions were good I wish I could/ Become a magician to abracadabra all the sadder Thoughts of me" and "You could plan a pretty picnic/ But you can't predict the weather, Ms. Jackson" the undercutting of the traditional male posturing was quite refreshing back in 2001. A strong narrative with something we can all relate to, showing that thinking about the message can reep vast rewards and a song that just gets better as the years go by.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 11, 2012 12:01:45 GMT 1
28TH APRIL- LOVIN' EACH DAY- Ronan Keating (1 wk)There is something quite cold and calculating about Ronan, it's why, as a popstar, he's hard to warm too somehow, like he'd have to check with his career plan before you could be friends. Fortunately on this occasion he has a song written by the excellent Greg Alxander, former frontman of New Radicals and writer of "Inner Smile" by Texas, a song with an infection rate greater than the common cold so he's onto a winner. Don't get me wrong the song could have been so much better delivered by someone with convinction and a more deft pop hand, but even Ronan can't spoil the loveliness of the song (though it's last of his releases that he doesn't spoil or waste). Relentlessly upbeat and positive the track is life affirming, anyone familar with Alexander's work will attest to the fact that he is always at his best and most commercial writing such songs so Ronan got ver lucky with this gem I shan't be so glowing when next we meet.
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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 Mar 11, 2012 14:09:39 GMT 1
loved Ms Jackson, the Ronan K song is just ok...
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Post by Earl Purple on Mar 11, 2012 16:11:21 GMT 1
Gregg Alexander wrote "Life Is A Rollercoaster" and "Lovin' Each Day". It's a shame that the New Radicals only had one UK hit of their own before disappearing into obscurity and needing Ronan Keating to make his songs hits here, but better those than the dull Garth Brooks songs he was singing later.
Teenage Dirtbag is still considered a classic today. We play it at ukulele jams. It was nearly a UK #1, topping the midweek chart and only being overtaken by Atomic Kitten at the weekend. In my chart it did reach #1, the closest there was to a UK/NM #1 in 2001.
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Post by greendemon on Mar 14, 2012 13:03:17 GMT 1
'ms jackson' and 'teenage dirtbag' were two of my favourite songs of the decade. also the video for 'ms jackson' has owls, you can't argue with that
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 14, 2012 19:14:39 GMT 1
also the video for 'ms jackson' has owls, you can't argue with that Unless you're a bit of a twit.
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Post by rubcale on Mar 14, 2012 19:37:46 GMT 1
What's wrong with good melodic pop records? Nothing at all, I just wonder what Steps had against them. I think you should see your doctor, Vas to get your ears dewaxed!
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