vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 21, 2014 21:25:33 GMT 1
94. MomusNicholas Currie, aka Momus, nicked the username I would have quite liked to adopt (Momos was the Greek god of criticism - when Zeus proclaimed how wonderful a creation the bull was, Momos pointed out that an intelligent designer would have put the eyes above, rather than below, the horns). If you discount his being a cousin of Del Amitri's Justin Currie, his closest approach to the charts came with another Snub TV video, for the Pet Shop Boys-noir " Hairstyle Of The Devil". Still recording, still extremely arch, and big in Japan. Main other act under consideration was Sleater-Kinney. The power trio (Cream, Hendrix and so on) was a phenomenon that arose in the late sixties; it took a while for female power trios to catch on (Girlschool, Luscious Jackson), but they did to an extent that there was even a Busted created for them (The Faders). Sleater-Kinney were the most successful of them, only they broke up when the market might just have moved in their favour, and have now got back together as the market has moved away from actual music.
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 22, 2014 18:42:55 GMT 1
93. The Popinjays
Lots of pop around in the eighties. The Pop Group, The Poppies, The Poppyheads (aforementioned), The Popguns and, best of all, The Popinjays, basically another power trio - Wendy Robinson and Polly Hancock, with an ever-changing line-up of bassists, before becoming a bona-fide quartet by having a permanent drummer at the time of their chart hit. I got the feeling this was something of a Hail Mary, as it was their first single for a few years, and perhaps One Little Indian had told them to have a hit or else. It wasn't - quite - and that was the last we heard of The Popinjays. Their finest moments had come beforehand though - the Ian Broudie-produced " Monster Mouth" deserved to be a hit and had The Lightning Seeds been bigger perhaps it would have done. One of a run of half-a-dozen exquisite pop singles that were just that bit too early for Britpop. Another out-of-their-time act who were under consideration were Kitchens Of Distinction, their slightly goth-y sound was probably a couple of years too late. Otherwise quite a sparse number, but positively effervescent compared to 92...
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 22, 2014 18:54:45 GMT 1
92. Xmal Deutschland
Researching this was, at times, a nightmare, as I kept coming across acts of which I had never heard, and so checked out to see what they were like. And they were almost all complete total and utter rubbish. 92 was the worst number for this. Lots of one-hitters and a strong preponderance of unlistenable DJ crap like La Luna and The Infinity Project. Does anyone genuinely ever listen to this sh*te nowadays? On top of that, were things that were even worse, like "Dur Dur Etre Bebe" by the embryo Jordy, which was no. 1 in France for about eighteen years. And something called New Guys On The Block. And, even worse than all that, records by Rangers and Heart of Midlothian, the Jambos winning the Edinburgh derby 92-98 and Celtic oddly never making it.
So it was with some relief I seized on the female side of Krautrock. Decent enough, nothing special, but at least listenable. Their near-hit was a Hugh Cornwell production at a time they were supporting The Stranglers in the UK.
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 22, 2014 19:51:47 GMT 1
91. Vincent Vincent & The Villains
Surely a can't-miss act? Fun name, distinctive sound, adored by the critics, and absolute barnstormers live. Should have been the spearhead of a movement of a number of mid-2000s acts that could have re-defined music. Instead, we got stuck with Bowell's ghastly karaoke which destroyed any chance of anyone not part of his gilded circle from even having a sniff of success. What the hell went wrong? I blame you. All of you.
Fitting to choose them for 91 as there was quite a retro theme about it; Nelson Riddle's single hit came with a re-release of his Batman theme, and Cherry Poppin Daddies, who looked to the teddyboys rather than the rockers, also made 91. The only other act though I really thought about for here was The Red Guitars, and I'll have more to say about them interfrastically.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Dec 22, 2014 20:26:33 GMT 1
Loved Popinjays didn't get Momus don't know the others
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 22, 2014 21:12:56 GMT 1
90. The Are They Having A Laugh Number
BMX BanditsA group that always makes me think "awww" whenever I think of them. Everything about them was innocent perfection; from the name, taken from a cult kids' film (that is, a cult film for kids, rather than something you might have found in an Al Qaeda creche), to the cover of the Life Goes On album (a couple of pigtailed models having a food fight), Duglas T Stewart's ever-changing line-up came out of the Postcard scene, with a few transcendent recordings for the tiny 53rd and 3rd label, based out of Avalanche Records in Edinburgh. Insidiously influential, one of their biggest fans was Kurt Cobain, and they provided a berth for the first Oasis gigs as support. 11 albums in and this is their sole chart brush. Not their best single - I'd put that down as their kazoo-singalong debut " E102". Their main competition for the no. 90 spot was American band Drop Nineteens, that rarity amongst shoegazers, namely being American, so influenced by Slowdive they even had a hot female bassist. But no. 90 is more notable for some of the downright oddities that peaked there. Mel Blanc, for instance, whose "I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat" for some unfathomable reason re-released in 1988; Suzy & The Red Stripes, which was actually Linda McCartney doing reggae; and " The Gangster Single", which defies any rational description, not being some sort of rap collective, but being little more than excerpts from gangster films. Just can't see any rational reason for buying any of those three at all. But, tied in with the insidious playfulness of BMX Bandits, seems to make number 90 very much an odd sort of even number.
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Post by TheThorne on Dec 22, 2014 22:37:57 GMT 1
Winona by Drop Nineteens is a brilliant song and but just because it's named after the best actress and my biggest crush ever .
BMX Bandits gave more songs though even if none are as great as above my personal favourite was 'serious drugs' the single version, the version you get now is nowhere near as good
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Post by vya on Dec 22, 2014 22:37:59 GMT 1
Momus: the Pet Shop Boys for perverts, in short. a good thing.
Popinjays were fun if a bit slight. Don't know the others yet , will check em out -: not sure how the BMX Bandits passed me by, as they were one of the very few (almost) big bands to play gigs at my uni when I was an undergraduate (Teenage Fanclub and Whiteout, or possibly Perspex Whiteout being the others)
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 23, 2014 18:44:27 GMT 1
89. New Fast Automatic Daffodils
Some time in the early 90s a new term - t-shirt bands - came briefly into vogue. Relating to bands which seemed to have more success selling t-shirts than singles. Perhaps the original of this genre was Inspiral Carpets, whose Cool As f*** t-shirts were not merely a fashion accessory, but were also banned because of the obscenity. At around this time, one of the top t-shirts to get was in honour of the New FADS, whose beguiling mix of ambient and baggy was briefly fashionable on the student underground.
Another one of those odd coincidences is that a couple of guitar heroes, who have had monster success elsewhere, both had singles peaking at 89, both with guest vocalists who have topped the charts; The Edge, who tagged with Sinead O'Connor, and Adrian Belew of King Crimson, who had Bowie provide vocals. Also The Reindeer Section, that Scots super-group manque, had a single peak here, plus reggae pioneers Misty In Roots, but otherwise 89 is a bit of a dance desert.
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 23, 2014 18:58:16 GMT 1
88. The Pooh Sticks
They were never really meant to be serious. Tracks like "I Know Someone Who Knows Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well" betray that. And most of their songs were about the music industry itself (even their fourth album, The Great White Wonder, which featured the perfect Amelia Fletcher on vox, was named after the infamous Dylan bootleg). But they could knock out a very decent tune. Basically, a side-project of producer and Fierce Records head honcho Steve Gregory, who teamed with Swansea's Huw Williams and some fictitious other members. Main competition for the 88 spot were from divergent musical spectra. Huggy Bear, riot grrls who famously hijacked The Word, and Jean-Jacques Perrey, electro pioneer whose " EVA" was used for an advert to become a minor success in 1997, over two decades after its recording. Another legend (of sorts) to peak at 88 was David Bellamy. Someone must have been on crack when they came up with this.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Dec 23, 2014 19:13:23 GMT 1
Cant believe that was New Fads biggest song 'Big' was awesome and should have been top 40, have that Pooh sticks track on a Indie Top 20 album its alright.
As for T Shirt bands that first started in the metal scene, teenagers would wear certain bands do make themselves look hard or sometimes reflecting their taste but mostly too look hard!! see bands like Anthrax,Slayer,Metallica, Iron Maiden etc
In the early 90s T shirt era I was a fully sworn James T-Shirt guy, think I Had 4!! wearing James T-shirts definitely didn't make you look hard hehe
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 23, 2014 20:05:30 GMT 1
Yeah, James t-shirts - especially long sleeve ones - were quite the thing at univ. I remember Dave Gedge wearing one that read "sh*te".
87. The Blue Number
Cowboy Junkies
Called it that because of the unusual number of blue-based acts that peaked here; Blue States, Corbin Bleu and this cover of "Blue Moon". Despite the strong claims of Patti Smith and Seefeel, I had no choice in the matter. Margo Timmins' voice is too gorgeous and this cover too perfect. Why it wasn't a major hit beggars belief. At some point it will be re-discovered for an advert and dominate the charts...
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 23, 2014 20:35:53 GMT 1
86. Frank ZappaFor one marvellous week, Frank Zappa had a top ten album in the United States. Had there been a proper singles chart, he might have had a top ten single as well. His urine-take " Valley Girl", with daughter Moon vocalizing, staggered to 32 in Billboard in 1982, becoming his biggest hit; however, it barely got any airplay worthy of the name. The magazine Variety at that time had a sales-only chart (albeit based on a small sample), in which it peaked at a mighty 5... Anyway, if only for being legendarily obscurist, and for a lack of any real competition (maybe Indigo Girls were worthy of inclusion, but definitely not Fat Slags or Russell Grant), I have to go with Zappa for this slot. A Phil Spector medley peaked here so there is at least an argument for including him, but it seems a bit of a stretch given his involvement in that was as original producer rather than performer. Really a Various Artists type affair.
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 23, 2014 21:32:48 GMT 1
85. Spacemen 3
From the ridiculous to the sublime. I was positively spoilt for choice here. The closest competition came from Swedish siblings The Knife, but there is a whole bunch of indie heroes that made 85 but no more: the short-lived Motorcycle Boy who spun out of an act that will feature higher up; Frank Tovey's alter ego Fad Gadget, who took half a decade to breach the indie top 10; perennial underachievers Lords of the New Church; and long-running experimentalists Swans, who, to my absolute surprise and delight, top fortied transatlantically in the albums chart earlier this year. But it has to be a band that was local to me. I first heard them on Snub TV (sob) with their lo-fi video for the very lo-fi " Revolution". Mesmeric to the extreme. As you may have gathered, I'm a sucker for this Velvets wall of guitar sound. So I was instantly hooked on them. And remained so until their acrimonious split in 1991, just as "Hypnotized" looked like it might break them through. They might however make another appearance...
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Post by Smurfie on Dec 23, 2014 22:08:40 GMT 1
Winona by Drop Nineteens is a brilliant song and but just because it's named after the best actress and my biggest crush ever . BMX Bandits gave more songs though even if none are as great as above my personal favourite was 'serious drugs' the single version, the version you get now is nowhere near as good Winona is excellent, as was Your Aquarium, and Limp. The second album I don't otherwise recall at lot from, I remember listening to it on the school bus and being utterly disappointed and thinking that the tracks sounded a bit like the theme tune to Flipper.
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Post by TheThorne on Dec 23, 2014 22:28:13 GMT 1
yes Spacemen 3 best choice their and yes I bought 'Revolution' on 12" after seeing it on Snub probably still my favourite of theirs.
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 23, 2014 22:40:32 GMT 1
84. BroadcastDammit. Another one of those acts whom everyone seems to like, critics and listeners alike, but who never got the right airplay at the right time. This, their biggest hit, is just lovely; a mix of St Etienne and Portishead, with a dash of Sandie Shaw and Francoise Hardy. Something absolutely rotten in a world where Broadcast are not a much bigger name. And they never will now. RIP Trish Keenan. (Others under consideration: The March Violets, who moved from goth into something more poppy, and Superchunk, whose bassist Laura Ballance shaved off her hair in protest at having a love song written about her, which was slightly unnerving to me as I had a girlfriend at the time who looked like her. She and fellow Chunker Mac McCaughan are now accidentally one of the most successful acts in the States, as they founded, and still run, Merge Records, who have topped the Billboard 200 via The Arcade Fire...)
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 24, 2014 8:42:26 GMT 1
83. The TelescopesI mentioned Fierce Records in The Pooh Sticks' entry and this is one of the finest acts signed up to it. The Telescopes seared across the consciousness with similar feedback experiments to My Bloody Valentine, but whereas MBV fell headlong into it later, The Telescopes took on more of a baggy sensibility at the time of their biggest singles success. Their best single was the gorgeous " Flying", which does what it says on the tin, although they are perhaps best-remembered for " The Perfect Needle", which featured in Trainspotting. Stephen Lawrie and Jo Doran took a decade break from the music scene before coming back in 2002, but it was a short-lived reunion as Doran soon left; Lawrie still uses the name. Nothing much else at 83, although there are a couple of points to note. The resolutely uncommercial Higsons got this high with a definite plea to the mass market in the form of " Music To Watch Girls By"; Charlie Higson is of course better known now for his Fast Show role, but he did make the top 5 producing Harry Enfield's "Loadsamoney". And both the Barry Crocker original and Dame Edna cover of the Neighbours theme peaked at 83. God alone knows how.
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 24, 2014 8:52:06 GMT 1
82. Blonde RedheadTwo acts under strong consideration for this spot, coming at it from opposite perspectives. One I couldn't believe had even made it this high as they are such an outre act; the other I couldn't believe had never made the chart because they were such an important group. In the end I've gone for the outre one, who for a brief moment looked as if they could at least make a decent impact as an album band, but their most recent appears to have missed the charts. The only Italo-Japanese act on the list - the Pace brothers and Kazu Makino on vocals. Yet they formed in NYC. The other act was The Chameleons, whom I have already put forward in an Indievision. Albeit not with their biggest 'hit' (" Swamp Thing"). Seems really odd that such an influential act never made the 75. Similar to The Nightingales, who never even made the 100...
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Post by vastar iner on Dec 24, 2014 19:44:54 GMT 1
81. Electrelane
The song "Heard About Your Band" by Brakes has a disproportionate influence on this list; two bands namechecked in it will make the list. This is the first. One of the many acts bubbling around Brighton (Fatboy Slim released their first single) in the 2000s who deserved a lot more success than they got. It is beyond satire that the one band that came out of that scene to mainstream renown is The Kooks, who might be the absolute single worst band ever in the history of popular music, but they went to the right school so the mass media masturbated all over them.
Electrelane always sounded to me a bit like a sort of Kleenex analogue (the Swiss group, rather than the tissue) and were unusual in having pure instrumentals as well as vocal tracks. They went on hiatus at the end of 2007, briefly interrupted in 2011, so there is still some hope that they will get back together properly - certainly none of their separate projects have had the same impact.
The only other decent act peaking at 81 was new wave pioneers The Monochrome Set, who formed out of the short-lived B-Sides, one of whose members was a certain Stuart Goddard. Indeed a couple of early Ants ended up in The Monochrome Set, and two are still members of the intermittently recording band.
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