Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 6, 2013 19:50:32 GMT 1
Oops you're right- altered! thanks
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 6, 2013 19:40:17 GMT 1
22ND MARCH- BETTER IN TIME/ FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND- Leona Lewis (1 wk)I should start by saying that I loved "Bleeding Love" and the whole "Spirit" era Leona. Undoubtedly the greatest "voice" that was found on the programme, it was perhaps one of the greatest ironies that a show focusing on music was trying to find the "X Factor" which, however much you like Lewis as a vocalist, you would have to conceed she doesn't come across well as a personality. Of course not all popstars are good singers but true superstars are exactly about that "X Factor" which in reality doesn't have that much to do with the singing voice, Lewis is talented but only as talented as the vehicles she's given and certainly Simon Cowell got the big guns in for that debut album, top names like Ryan Tedder, Max Martin, Billy Steinberg are all present and everything seems to have been carefully thought about, the killer launch single (I'm ignoring "A Moment Like This" for now) the image crafted of a talent that has to be handled carefully and a voice to be unleashed. Perhaps the problem with the second album was that it felt too much like a retread but I get ahead of myself here. Anyway I love both of these tracks, BIT bops along plaintively with enough sincerity to convince and Lewis manages to escape the traditional ballad (though it's hardly dance music here) to produce something which demonstrates there could be more to her than just becoming a balladeer, though of course FITS is a return to that territory. It perhaps proved a chart point though, namely that double A Sides were now a thing of the past after the split of sales in the digital age cost this the No 1 spot. The problem is just what can do with that voice? and somewhere between album one and two Cowell et al just couldn't answer with anything that conclusive, an inevitable drift lead to increasing public indifference, whilst Lewis may have the vocals of your Dion, Carey and Houston what she lacks is the "attitude" and however a painful point of history it makes we like our diva's to be just that- Sande take note....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 6, 2013 19:10:37 GMT 1
1ST MARCH- WHAT'S IT GONNA BE?- HtwoO Featuring Platnum (3 wks)No prizes for guessing this isn't going to be a glowing review, I'm no fan of this genre but then I suppose it wasn't aimed at 30 somethings whose clubbing days were in the main behind them. H Two O were a due from Leicester who roped in the trio Platnum to provide vocals for this song which did unfathomably well in the charts of March 2008, I can't really find much positive to say about the track and it is perhaps significant that the group didn't trouble the charts again though of course featuring act Platnum did. I know this will have its fans (and almost everything does) but in the cold hard daylight of 2013 this dosn't come of well in valuation, tinny, hollow and much of what was wrong with the charts of the time.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Apr 28, 2013 13:30:40 GMT 1
16TH FEBRUARY- ROCKSTAR- Nickelback (2 wks)OK, now at the time this was widely derided as generally speaking "S**t", looking back now I don't think that's quite fair. Nickelback are never a band that I would actively choose to listen to but as a sideways critique of the rock genre and bands in it it does it job with appropriate good humour and nods and winks. Enlisting the "help" of several celebrities to lip synch in the video in another clever idea (the band perhaps knowing that they weren't going to sell the song well on their own) and so we get treated to the likes of Gene Simmons and Nelly Furtado who are in on the joke. So why did it get the slating it got? Firstly I would say that the criticisms that it got attracted more attention than they merited, for a song in this genre to be such a bit hit during a period when rock music was out of favour (and had been for a long time) is something remarkable, also it sold in prodigious quantities. It isn't the most melodic or the most exciting of songs and it struggled in airplay on UK radio which is much more concerned with dance and pop yet it was a hit despite all of this, I don't object to listening to "Rockstar" when it comes on the TV/ radio these days (not that it comes on regularly) perhaps a little distance can cause a re-evaluation here?...
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Apr 28, 2013 13:17:11 GMT 1
26TH JANUARY- CHASING PAVEMENTS- Adele (3 wks)After the initial failure of "Hometown Glory" this was the track to introduce the masses to Miss Adele. Back in 2008 she was pitted against Duffy for much of the year with the battle being won squarely by the Welsh singer but the war, well that certainly went to Adele. "Chasing Pavements" is everything that you would expect from an Adele song, it's an intensely personal song written in the immediate aftermath of a split from her then boyfriend it has the requisite amuont of heartbreak and sorrow to touch the soul. For me the real moment happens at 2.47 when there is something approaching real emotion in the voice, the rawness of hurt. The songs best moments are underplayed, it doesn't have the immediate hit of something like "Rolling In The Deep" or the simple classiness of "Someone Like You" nor indeed the glossy production of the "21" era but it's a dignified record plaintive and direct, the orchestration seems to swell and ebb with the emotion of the song and everything is in the right place. It isn't her best single but this is a marker to those who thought that the "21" period is a one off, Adele is an artist for whom it really is all about the voice and whilst she may never be as "big" again she should always be around.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Apr 14, 2013 12:28:51 GMT 1
19TH JANUARY- PIECE OF ME- Britney Spears (1 wk)So Britney's back (b****!) and thematically it's a case of as you were- specifically her relationship with the media. Though it isn't commented on much Spears is probably one of the most self obsessed singers in pop these days, count up how many songs have a self biographic theme, here Spears is not reaching out to a new audience. Indeed this is aimed fairly and squarly at her existing fanbase, nothing wrong in that and indeed "Piece of Me" isn't a bad record even if it rely's too much on production and gimmickry for my personal taste, it's just that its rather Britney by numbers. Robo-pop Britney (as she's been termed) is synonymous with her output post 2007, a time when mainstream pop did indeed move with her, curious then that her success in this period has been rather patchy, but underneath the exterior this is another song that unconvinces. "You wanna piece of me" she asks, but you fancy if anyone said "yeah let's have it" she'd cower, much of her state of mind through this period had already been chronicalled very publicly (including an awful VMA performance of "Gimmie More" which was ill-advised) and the sentiment of the record is based on the idea the best form of defence is attack, I would argue that perhaps it would have been better to take a leaf out of early Britney and release something more in the vein of "Everytime" but that's just my opinion. We are therefore in something of a paradox, a song about her and her relationship with the press isn't actually as personal as it should have been
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Apr 14, 2013 12:14:17 GMT 1
12TH JANUARY 2008- CRANK THAT (SOULJABOY)- Soulja Boy Tell Em (1 wk)This is rather a curious entry now looking back, a poor sales climate post Christmas saw this make No 2 on sales of less than 20k, it was of course rather notorious at the time not only for the dance craze it inspired but when it was revealed just what "supermaning a ho" actually entailed (look up for urban dictionary to find out!). At just 17 one has to wonder how much supermanning he'd done by that stage which makes the track unintentionally amusing and far removed from some of the misogynistic tracks that still emerge from the genre. Yes it's not going to win awards for lyrucal greatness but it was catchy enough in a cold January to make us interested, but it never really convinces, Soulja Boy's later 2008 track "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" seems to be delivered with much more sincerity- let's mark this down to teenage bravado then it's kinda endearing...
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Apr 1, 2013 18:50:21 GMT 1
1ST DECEMBER- HEARTBROKEN- T2 Featuring Jody Asyha (3 wks)You'd expect me to be less than bowled over by this and you'd be right. Asyha's vocals sound like she was around 10 or 11 (she was 18 at the time) which are the only thing remotely endearing about this, it's the kind of thing you expect to hear coming from that gang's flat that Liam is currently covorting about with on Eastenders (I'll never get that reference years from now if I read this back but hey-ho). Then again this kind of music isn't aimed at my age range, nor was it at the time (I was just into my 30s) so perhaps that shouldn't surprise me, but neither is it a song that I hear much now and the fact that it spent 3 weeks in the No 2 position suggests it was bigger than I recall even at the time, so nothing good to say about this really- a damp squib to end 2007 sorry....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Apr 1, 2013 18:39:45 GMT 1
3RD NOVEMBER- RULE THE WORLD- Take That (4 wks)Gary Barlow basically writes two kinds of ballads and success or failure stands on which route he chooses. Firstly good verses with a chorus that disappoints as it just never really arrives- "Greatest Day" is a prime example of this (though ironically it was a No 1) this is much akin to Barlow on autopilot- it's a genre that he is clearly adept at and can write in his sleep, that doesn't always mean it's a success. Fortunately "Rule The World" is in the other camp, where the chorus isn't an afterthought it's the focus, and my what a chorus. Rousing, uplifting and anthemic RTW hits every spot just right and has just a whiff of "modern classic" about it which suggests that it will age well and still be on the radio in some 20 years. It's use in the film "Stardust" seems rather incidental here and indeed Take That were still, by 2007, clearly very happy to be back together and back from the pop wilderness, lyrically it never sounds too full of hyperbole though its gestures are slightly excessive, catchy but not cheesy, and sincere without being gushy, Barlow seldom gets it AS RIGHT as he does here, in many ways it's his "Back For Good" for the NEW Take That, a song that you sense he had up his sleeve for a planned reunion many years ago, that fact that it's so good makes up for his less than enamouring attitude as an X Factor judge- MORE exposure is not always good Gary......
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Apr 1, 2013 18:27:25 GMT 1
27TH OCTOBER- VALERIE- Mark Ronson Ft Amy Winehouse ( 1 wk)How long did this seem to be in the charts for? I seem to recall it seemed like an eternity, Ronson was back for a second time in 07 at the runner up spot this time with tabloid regular Winehouse in tow. Obviously the original was by The Zutons who had hit the top 10 just the year before, but in the year in which Ronson was probably the second most successful producer in the land after Timbaland it gained a new popularity and a new peak thanks in no small part due to his choice of collaborator. It was Winehouse who first covered the track on Radio 1's Live Lounge and put it onto her deluxe version of "Back To Black" before Ronson got in on the act, Winehouse is absent on the video incidentally due to her touring commitments rather than any other dubious reason which the press printed at the time. It's significantly a chirpier version than the Zutons (though no better) and bussles along nicely, perhaps being slightly more assessible to the general public for it, Winehouse turns in a very good vocal performance which countered the already ample tales of drink and drugs that surrounded the singer by the time 2007 had finished and the notoriously unpredictable live performances had commenced. Ronson and Winehouse never got as near as again to the top spot, in all fairness this isn't a bad epitaph to either's pop career.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Apr 1, 2013 18:26:51 GMT 1
Gosh, I feel for you doing this - "you listen to this so we don't have to". Thanks - yes I don't think I quite knew what I was undertaking when I started this series 2 years ago!
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 31, 2013 13:15:05 GMT 1
13TH OCTOBER- LET ME THINK ABOUT IT- Ida Corr Vs Fedde Le Grand (2 wks)I fell out with dance music around 2006 to be honest, it became just "noise" or I got older one of the two. Since the turn of the decade I've started to get back into it but the period 07-10 was bleak for me and this song is endemic of the problem, a reliance much less on tune but on gimmick, throughout the 90s and into the early 00s (trance etc) the melody was always paramount, but with sliding sales it allowed much more "niche" genres of dance to chart, which on the one hand was good as it exposed people to different kinds of music they mightn't have heard before. What is also did however was to convince record labels that there was a genuine demand for hardhouse etc as it charted but on poor sales, a paradox in some respects. I don't state that this is hardhouse of course, but I use it to show the kind of desperate state that dance music was in during these years, and until I listened to this again I had no idea how this went, perhaps the rebirth of pop that occured during this time diverted my attention. Picked up by Le Grand after his No 1 single "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit" it was remixed by him into this version which never troubled the Sugababes at No 1 thankfully.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 31, 2013 12:53:58 GMT 1
6TH OCTOBER- NO U HANG UP/ IF THAT'S OK WITH YOU- Shayne Ward (1 wk)Though he had a longer career than either Steve Brookstein or Leon Jackson, the writing was clearly on the wall for Ward as early as 2006 when third single "Stand By Me" failed to make the top 10 and even this double A-side (his first release from a second album) had difficulties in even getting off the ground. Originally penciled in as an August release, only "If That's OK With You" was the sole A side but performed poorly at radio and was held back in search of something more commercial. This perhaps explains why the track has a reggae lite feel to it in an attempt to make Ward into a Sean Paul Mk II, in truth that could never happen with truly awful lyrics like "I'm gonna make you feel like you are heaven on earth/ I'm gonna thank your mother just for giving you birth" he was onto a loser from the start, Ward had already been cast as a balladeer and that's what the public wanted and expected. The song is catchy enough but the package as a whole is just dire, a fact that even his good looks can't overcome. So onto "No U hang Up" a far slicker peice of RNB pop which plays much more to his strengths, slowed down pace and an attempt to push Ward as a sex symbol. Ok his personallity which had a whiff of paint drying didn't help (the Beckham complex) but it's smoothly executed in a rather souless pop way, there isn't much sincerity going on here, the kind of thing you know was written for him (as indeed all his songs were) but it's still an enjoyable three minute romp, though you feel kinda dirty after it- but isn't that how you're meant to feel?
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 2, 2013 16:18:00 GMT 1
29TH SEPTEMBER- AYO TECHNOLOGY- 50 Cent Featuring Justin Timberlake (1 wk)There is NOTHING original here, let me say that first, yet despite that there is something really beautiful about "Ayo Technology"- yes I said it. 50 Cent is not an artist that I love and the theme of the voyeur finally seeing a woman in real life that matches up to his (considerable) experience of internet porn may be slightly humourous I suppose, but this is 2007 and of course a certain Mr Timbaland on production and uncredited vocals. Timbaland was of course the producer of the moment and could do little wrong, and certainly here there is a lot going on production wise, this is the producer throwing the kitchen sink into the mix and there's a lot that says this SHOULDN'T work yet incredibly it just does. Constant companion Justin Timberlake is also present but contrary to his appearence on Snoop Dogg's 2005 No 2 "Signs" here it isn't to add a pop touch and keep the tone light, it's to indulge the filthiness of Mr Cent's tale. There's some element of the seediness here, it's an ode to basically getting down to it but it doesn't descent into crassness like some of the genre but communicates clearly, anyone having doubts as to the greatness of the song should check the Milow version on Youtube which transposes it into a much more acoustic version and went top 10 on the continent though it sadly did nothing here, nevermind, for a genre which isn't my usual bag I have a lot of time for this one.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 2, 2013 16:01:50 GMT 1
15TH SEPTEMBER- HEY THERE DELILAH- Plain White T's (2 wks)Like a "More Than Words" for the noughties this is indeed proof not all American sentimentality has to be either saccherine or airbrushed and all it took was a guitar and some heartfelt words (take note Fergie). This was the sole top 50 entry for the band and I have to confess that I rather like it now, NOT however at the time due to the fact it appeared to played to death for many months on end which made me rather tired of it but after a break revisiting it re-enlightens me to its charms. The plea to his long distance lover that they'll be reunited soon and a better life will ensue is believable enough yet there's something more here, the sense that deep down this is a reminder that he exists, fears of infidelity also seem to be an undercurrent certainly in the first verse. Through the song however he seems to grow more confident that she's not gadding about in the big apple, and the promises to her become more extreme as the verses go by ("this world will never be the same" etc) this is an emotional rollercoaster ladies and gentleman and if you climb on board I'm sure we can all relate here.....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Feb 18, 2013 19:50:48 GMT 1
21ST JULY- BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY (PERSONAL)- Fergie (1 wk)Now anyone who pays attention to my posts will know that I'm not a fan of BEP (playing to the lowest common denominator music wise and Will.i.am is no different) and true to form her first solo single here "London Bridge" didn't endear me to here at all. "Big Girls" is better and a step in the right direction towards something approaching a ong instead of a shouted catchprase over electronica. It isn't great though, in part because it plays to the opposite side of the Nash record, whilst "Smile" (to coninue my comparator) was all cocky revenge, and "Foundations" concerned itself with the mixed feelings of break up, "Big Girls" is far too sentimental and perhaps American to really hit the spot in a meaningful way. Fergie also looks way too good looking in the video to be someone who is upset about a break-up. The guitar twangs gently in the background and everything is in place but it feels empty where its heart should be, kind of like it was written to be played over the ending of "Dawson's Creek" or something (showed my age there). Not a song that I ever return to, but then I don't dislike it either, so quite a recommendation given my thoughts on her other work!
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Feb 18, 2013 19:38:41 GMT 1
07TH JULY- FOUNDATIONS- Kate Nash (5 Wks)So close, just 16 copies in fact from No 1, but it wasn't to be and so Nash ends up in this thread. Often compared to Lily Allen at the time the comparison is an obvious one but there is a lot of difference if you listen closely and don't let the narrator's voice distract. The same jocular and bitter tone pervades much of the song much like Allen's "Smile" but in the latter track the protagonist exacts her revenge and is happy to jettison the wayward lover by the end of the track. Nash is leaving her man too, but the whole key to this song is at 2.33 "Dear God I hope I'm not stuck with this one" she sings with real lament and despair in a way that Allen would never allow herself to express, the vulnerable underbelly of this relationship being torn apart is what makes it a tangibly better record and a much realisitic exploration of the thought process behind break ups. The outro here which lasts for some 30 seconds allows the listener to think about what has occured in those 3 and a half minutes after being dazzled by the words from the the first two verses and then allowing them to actually permeate, it actually rewards far better than "Smile". Ok it's not earth shattering stuff but as a break from the whole Destiny's Child thing of "I don't need no man" it hits the spot, the lack of front and attitude when all is said is done makes this rather plaintive and direct after the comedy-esque start, barriers have fallen and credit has to be given to Nash to allow such a personal piece into the public arena.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Feb 16, 2013 13:03:42 GMT 1
Also it's always good practice in these threads to credit your sources, saves annoying people....... Are these your figures then Gezza? If so do you know the answer? Some figures are from MW and some are my estimates yes. Based on the sales in the download period it would suggest that CITW is selling about 5k annually, so about 20 years roughly at that rate.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Feb 16, 2013 12:08:35 GMT 1
Also it's always good practice in these threads to credit your sources, saves annoying people.......
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Feb 14, 2013 20:27:48 GMT 1
30TH JUNE- ANY DREAM WILL DO- Lee Mead (1 wk)And now prepare yourself for words I never thought I'd write.........this isn't Jason Donovan is it? Meaning of course that Donovan's version has finally been made good by what can only be described as a much lamer version, of course it's here courtesy of Mead's victory in the BBC singing competition of the same name in which "The Lord" decided who to cast in his production of "Joseph and his amazing technicolour dreamcoat" as a reward. Make no mistake this version is quite "stage" Mead enunciates every word in a rather theatrical manner and I'm not quite sure that transfers well into the world of pop, the great "benefit" of the Donovan version was of course that he (or the producers) at least attempted to make the track into a pop song, one that wouldn't appear out of place on the radio stations of 1991, here no such attempt is made, and it just sounds....strange. Mead went on to star in other west end productions, "Casualty", and of course to become Mr Denise Van Outen making this a rather eccentric epitaph to his pop career, definitely one of 2007's more unusual No 2 hits.
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