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Post by Smurfie on Mar 3, 2021 16:58:49 GMT 1
La Serenissima was on a different label to Toms Diner, so after A&M bought/negotiated the rights to the DNA track rather than sue them for the unused sample - I should imagine it was pushed out by Raw Beat to cash in whilst their name was high in the charts.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 5, 2021 0:56:54 GMT 1
Heh. 69 Brambles. We start with Adamski looking like Captain Sensible. He gets to sing on this one. Maybe he's clubbed Seal. Audience is so comatose that Mr Tinley has to gee them up. It's a weird thing, a techno take on "All Shook Up". It sounds like a novelty single rather than a no. 1 follow-up.
Mariah Carey, joined near the end because video. Bored now.
Charts. Cocteau Twins at 39! Deep joy. Bassomatic and DNA (again) and a band called Epic with a song called "Faith No More". And New Model Army and Janet Jackson all new. What are the odds that they will play the dullest (Jackson obvs) and eschew the others?
Talk Talk get a climb and a video show. This is just different class. It's a proper song with proper instruments and so on.
A band discovered by Peter Powell. The Anthea Turner Fanclub? No, it's The Farm. Harry Cross in the video but not on Ver Pops. The inspiration for bringing him on was he played a retired engine driver in Brookside. The actor, Bill Dean, named after Dixie, had something of a musical side to him - he did the theme to Oh No It's Selwyn Froggatt. This is OK, at least one indie band is getting a go at cracking open the complacency.
Aaaaaand because we don't want to give Cocteau Twins any publicity it is the top 5 albums. Which means Madonna, Pavarotti, Phil Bloody Collins, New tw*ts Who Should Be On The Executioner's Block, Elton John. Basically a load of acts that need no publicity. God, the people making this show are congenital morons. Or on the take. No idea how to attract an audience. None whatsoever.
Caron Wheeler. According to Brambles, proving there is life after Soul II Soul. Judging by this meandering cack, no there isn't.
Charts. Which are intensely dull. Loose Ends are a high climber to give some sort of idea. Everything seems to be going down. Deee-Lite to finish. They're at no. 4 but the song is joined basically at the bridge. This is pleasingly shambolic. Even the video has an air of "just pull some shapes and we'll bung something in there".
We cut to Loose Ends. Must be cursing Soul II Soul for stealing their thunder. This is pretty good, Caron should have joined them.
May as well go straight to the playout. Aaaaaaaaaaand I called it. Janet. f***ing. Jackson. Trying to be Alannah Myles. TOTP had an actual opportunity to play Cocteau Twins and they decided instead to show pointless albums and Janet Jackson. They should be hanged for treason.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 5, 2021 11:28:02 GMT 1
13/9. Davies. Londonbeat, who have added something of a funky beat behind their close-to-a capella. Hm. It works. Not very deep but appealing.
Janet Jackson, which is a positive insult, given the ludicrous choice to prefer her to someone of any interest.
Charts. Newies for S'Express, Stone Roses, and Quireboys. Cocteau Twins go up, which means they're guaranteed a play, right? Right? RIGHT?
Now Davies introduces the only British girl to have her first five singles go into the top 20. Really? Sonia. Oh God. No Cocteau Twins, but we get this sh*te.
And. Shall we parse this bullshit about Little Miss Talentless Prissypony? If for instance I take the charts for the week ending 18 March 1955 and we see Ruby Murray with her first 5 singles ALL IN THE TOP 20 AT THE SAME TIME??!?!?!? It's pretty obvious that the BBC is basically the advertising agency for Stock Aitken Waterman. It's appalling. They're just making b****cks up in order to promote utter sh*t.
INXS. "Suicide Blonde". Supposedly written about Kylie Minogue, who, to my knowledge, has not committed suicide. The wigs in the video are atrocious, could they not find any natural blondes? Song is OK, nothing more.
Bass-O-Matic. Song title describes the song. This is really interesting, blissed out, slightly otherworldly.
Charts. They finally get the name Faith No More right. Maria McKee is a newie.
KLF. Mrs C still giving it large.
Maria McKee, who has been to no. 1 as a songwriter. In the studio singing live. Wonder if Prissypants is embarrassed. Not sure about the dress, it looks like she's found the dressing-up box. Days Of Thunder is a pretty poor film. Although they did enter 2 cars for the Daytona 500 for some legit race footage. The bridge is the best bit in the song, it's very short but brilliant and gives it a genuinely soaring quality.
Top 10. Deee-Lite are joint no. 1 but Gallup puts them at 2 so that someone who was vaguely a noise in America 20 years ago can get an unneeded chart-topper. Faith No More only get the playout despite being a new entry and then a climber. Another well-named song, absolutely brilliant and should have been on the main show, rather than wasting it on Lying Sonia.
Note that they stop playing breakers when that means they would have to play Cocteau Twins. These programme planners are maggots. They are conspiring with the SAWmill so the world doesn't see just how utterly sh*te their useless wastes of space are.
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Post by ManicKangaroo on Mar 5, 2021 13:27:33 GMT 1
Now Davies introduces the only British girl to have her first five singles go into the top 20. Really? Sonia. And. Shall we parse this bullshit about Little Miss Talentless Prissypony? If for instance I take the charts for the week ending 18 March 1955 and we see Ruby Murray with her first 5 singles ALL IN THE TOP 20 AT THE SAME TIME??!?!?!? Knowing the BBC by "British" they probably meant English
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vya
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Post by vya on Mar 5, 2021 23:50:51 GMT 1
20 Sept Campbell in a sharper suit than usual, playing a cross between Baudrillard, Iain Sinclair and what Gary Davies aspired to be circa 1982
Twenty 4 Seven ft Captain Hollywood - I Can't Stand It This is poor even by the standards of Anglophone continental European dance music
Stone Roses - Fools Gold At last one of the re-releases gets on, but one that's already well known. Still decent but.
Snap! - Cult of Snap Campbell makes a passing reference to the impending war in Kuwait. Musically by far the most interesting thing Snap! have put out so far (to damn with faint praise). They'll need to get rid of Turbo B, though, whose mumblings are reliably the worst part of their records.
AC/DC - Thunderstruck Not for me. Indeed, if someone made a record and video that was intended to be a parody of AC/DC, how would anyone know?
Breakers: S'Express - Nothing To Lose: Sounds surprisingly dated, energetic pop that is neither unenjoyable nor remarkable; DNA - La Serenissima - not the finest tribute to Venice ever, and how is that "wooh yeah" sample STILL around; Monie Love ft True Image - It's A Shame (My Sister). Monie is a cut above many contemporary rappers, so why we don't hear her rap in the excerpt in a mystery. Fortunately she has good taste in samples too.
Charlatans - Then Melancholic and deep and swirling, a calm assault on the senses. Best thing so far tonight by miles.
Iron Maiden - Holy Smoke Fairly sure this is purely a fanbase buy now.
The Farm - Groovy Train "Amazingly this band was ignored by all the major labels". Not sure they were wrong, really. One nice riff apart, this is grim, like having a brick constantly shoved in front of your face.
Steve Miller Band - The Joker "He's a stalker, he's a talker, he's a bit of a porker, isn't he, I'd like to see old Steve Miller get into a pair of size 30 jeans". Campbell would not say that now. Presumably "midnight toker" joins "subtle whoring" as a combination of words found in only one big hit single. Not a commentary on jeans ads, really.
MC Tunes vs 808 State - Tunes Splits The Atom An innovative, unique track, 30 years later, still nothing else sounds like it.
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vya
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Post by vya on Mar 6, 2021 0:28:00 GMT 1
27 Sept, Turner
Monie Love ft True Image - It's A Shame (My Sister) As neat a mix of the early 70s and early 90s as to be found anywhere ,without ever really catching on fire.
Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes A band on top of their game, even by the fourth single from the album. Synth music for bleak and broad landscapes (that's the influence of South Essex for you) and stadiums.
Londonbeat - I've Been Thinking As You This is really rather good.
Wedding Present - Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) The early 90s smashing up the legacy of the 70s, the new thrashier Weddoes work. Probably ticks both boxes of the "do it different and do it better" rule for covers. Mellow it is not.
The Cure - Never Enough Even they are leaning in the direction of the new dancier indie trend. Not convinced it suits their gifts.
Status Quo - The Anniversary Waltz Part 1 Cheerily unpretentious
Bass-O-Matic - Fascinating Rhythm A cut above
Marie McKee - Show Me Heaven Rather more than alright
Ride - Taste Almost brilliant guitar pop
Decent edition, two tracks from EPs, unusually.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Mar 7, 2021 20:10:18 GMT 1
27 Sept, Turner Monie Love ft True Image - It's A Shame (My Sister) As neat a mix of the early 70s and early 90s as to be found anywhere ,without ever really catching on fire. Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes A band on top of their game, even by the fourth single from the album. Synth music for bleak and broad landscapes (that's the influence of South Essex for you) and stadiums. Londonbeat - I've Been Thinking As You This is really rather good. Wedding Present - Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) The early 90s smashing up the legacy of the 70s, the new thrashier Weddoes work. Probably ticks both boxes of the "do it different and do it better" rule for covers. Mellow it is not. The Cure - Never Enough Even they are leaning in the direction of the new dancier indie trend. Not convinced it suits their gifts. Status Quo - The Anniversary Waltz Part 1 Cheerily unpretentious Bass-O-Matic - Fascinating Rhythm A cut above Marie McKee - Show Me Heaven Rather more than alright Ride - Taste Almost brilliant guitar pop Decent edition, two tracks from EPs, unusually. Best show for a very long time, I never saw this one at the time, saw the previous one as I remember Nicky Campbell weird quib before Charlatans. But this clashed with my 2nd freshers week. I would have died seeing Ride getting their entire track played
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Post by o on Mar 7, 2021 21:31:35 GMT 1
Cure - Never enough, love it, and this is a good track as well, Bass-O-Matic - Fascinating Rhythm.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 11, 2021 22:42:00 GMT 1
Twenty Slash Nine. Campbell. Audience average age: looks about 35. Twenty Four Seven. Bit bold to call your single "I Can't Stand It". There is a rumour at school that the singer is only 16. She looks much more mature. There are four of them on stage but the contribution of two of them is non-existent. It's like a demo, there's something there that needs oofle dust on it but right now it's ultra-bland.
Stone Roses. You can't keep a good track down. I think Silvertone are just reissuing everything because they're losing the band.
Charts. Cuts to Campbell saying Snap. And my heart sinks. Quite rightly. Who in the name of f*** is buying this sh*t? Does Turbo B only record while he is eating?
Accadacca. They've never had a top 10. This could break that duck, it's in at 16, they're a fanbase buy but this is the sort of thing that might catch on. Indeed there's almost something synthpop about it. The video could not be more Accadacca. Everyone's giving it 11. Wonder if Angus ever regrets the school uniform bit. After all a flat 'at is a lot less embarrassing.
Oh look. Now they bring back the breakers because they haven't got James or Cocteau Twins. b*st*rds. S'Express, they are on their 14th minute. DNA, which is Rondo Veneziano with that f***ing ANNOYING woh yeah thing in the background. A major contrast to their other hit. Monie Love. Something of the New Jack Swing about this, not unpleasant, but nothing earth-shatteringly must-listen either.
Charlatans. Audience quite rightly shuts up to listen to this. It sounds way better than I remember, albeit possibly because at this time I think I'd given up on TOTP and was only listening to Peel. Swirly Hammond that suddenly explodes into audibility at the chorus.
Charts. New in at 3...Iron Maiden. With a video that seems to be using cameras they've just got from Dixons. Uberlow budget. It's Iron Maiden. What is anyone expecting? Although the bit they play is more about the guitars than about Dickinson's voice.
Campbell introduces The Farm in an intensely confusing way, he lost his place halfway through the sentence and Partridged to the end.
Top 10, sh*t no. 1, Campbell fatshames Miller, and we play out with "Tunes Splits The Atom", which is one of the best songtitles I've heard. It's not as grabby as the previous one but it's still very good, they've even invented chiptune with it without making it aggravating. It's also pretty good that there are British rap artists not aping the American sound. Manchester saved this show from the abyss.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 12, 2021 19:33:40 GMT 1
3332. Turner, having been dunked in coffee. The Wedding Present are here? Say what now? Anyhoo we start with Monie Love and a vaguely charming shambling sort of new jack/De La Soul rap-up. She's come dressed as Minnie the Minx. No idea who's doing the singing.
Fast Fashion, with a cheap and unimaginative video which suits a song that seems to have been released because Mute had some spare vinyl. This is a very nothing single, it's the definition of album filler. Not up to their usual standard by a very long chalk.
Charts. God, another f***ing turtle record. "Thundering in at 38 are Thunder." I bet she was SO proud of thinking that one up. Ride new in at 34 with "Fall, the EP". Does anyone get the impression she has no idea what an EP is?
Anyway, Londonbeat, same performance as before.
Wedding Present with an EP, Turner gets confused again and only does the brackets of "Make Me Smile". f***in love the Weddoes. Gedgey looks bored as f***. Doesn't like miming. There's something gloriously basic though. After all the highly-polished or institutionalised performances of the usual popstrels in recent weeks, this is four blokes in anti-fashion get-up just blasting away at something. And Solowka takes the p*ss with his doubleneck, playing the bass in his solo while fingering the six-string fret.
Highest new entry is The Cure. Hints of industrial in this to my ears. Also, fittingly, hints of Siouxsie. It's properly dark, quite like it.
Back to the charts. Megadeth at 24, wonder if they will get a play? Bobby Vinton gets an advert entry at 16. Ackerdacker can't quite make the 10, up to 13.
Turner tries and fails to get a bit of crowd involvement. The Quo with "The Anniversary Walts". Let's see, what do we have? "Let's Dance" (the Chris Montez one, not the David Bowie one, which would have been more interesting), "The Happy Organ" (don't think that was ever a hit in Britain), "No Particular Place To Go", "The Wanderer" (haven't they already done this one?), "I Hear You Knockin". The audience is unironically lovin it. Well, why not. It's a jolly rollocking rocker that's a bit of unabashed fun. The Weddoes threw them a mention in their own cover.
Bass-O-Matic, see before. This is a startlingly good show. Only Depeche Mode really letting the side down. But we've had a mix of dance, synthpop, indierock, blues rock, it's not bad for a wider audience.
Top 10. Fascinating Rhythm at no. 9 with "Bass-O-Matic". Jesus, can't they stop giving this job to the YTS trainee? Iron Maiden go down, and there's a new no. 1, power ballad for another different genre of music. "She's over there." f***ing liar, this is her previous performance. Imagine Minogue trying to pull this off armed with nothing but a mike.
Playout is Ride. This is...fantastic. It's really an avalanche of a drum solo with plummeting exploding explosive guitars trying to keep up. I wonder who the girl in the video is. Sweet but psycho. And they play the whole lot.
Wow. That was manna to a starving vastariner. That's the best episode they've had in...well, years.
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vya
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Post by vya on Mar 12, 2021 22:55:57 GMT 1
Castlemaine day (4.X) Mayo (drowned out by screaming audience)
Twenty 4 Seven ft Captain Hollywood A contender for the most tedious top tenner of the year, now that the kids are bored with SAW's second division offerings.
MC Hammer - Have You Seen Her On balance less irritating than his previous hit. Can the mention of the Cosby Show be sufficient to get it cancelled though, maybe?
Pet Shop Boys - So Hard It's not clear yet they are past their commercial peak, but this is just the beginning of their most creative and appealling spell, "Behaviour" and "Very" the fruits. A splendid, sophisticated, smart, satisfying return.
Technotronic - Megamix Mayo references the World Service. Technotronic meanwhile ran out of ideas after the first chorus of "Pump Up The Jam". An extraordinary cheap and nasty cash-in that makes the Bobby Brown or Alexander O'Neal ones look like works of art.
Top 5 Albums of September Deacon Blue - Circus Light (wish I'd seen them live around this time) Michael Bolton - Soul Provider (music is horrible, but song is considerably less objectionable than his prior hits) Elton John - Club At The End Of The Street (OK no more no less) George Michael - Waiting For That Day (Clearly a real, substantive and classy step forward) Pavarotti, Domingo, Carreras - O Sole Mio (amazing what the hand of Paul Gascoigne can do)
MC Tunes vs 808 State - Tunes Splits The Atom Truly innovative and eccentric and rather wonderful. And while he and they might dress like casuals of a random Division Four football team somewhere in or around Greater Manchester, and the hip wiggle is maybe knowingly ironic, maybe just not giving a damn (which might be better), and while he may have nothing much to say, as a rapper he is a master.
Breakers Adventures Of Stevie V - Body Language: weak, wack, pale imitation of his previous hit. Should have stuck it on the B-side of that and left it there; Beautiful South - A Little Time: an argument in song. Certainly worth a listen Neneh Cherry - I've Got You Under My Skin: no argument about the quality of the song or the calibre of the singer, and while there is nothing really wrong with it, somehow it fails to grip me Chimes - Heaven - More or less a Weegie relative of the Soul II Soul sound, and a welcome and attractive one, glad to see them getting another hit
Bobby Vinton - Blue Velvet I'm really getting Eastern European vibes here that I did not notice at the time (and yes: checking his background, yes, indeed). Can we call him the American Vyacheslav Malezhik, even more than Manilow? I prefer Malezhik.
Maria McKee - Show Me Heaven Superior film soundtrack. Better than "Take My Breath Away" even.
Hi Tek 3 ft Ya Kid K - Spin That Wheel (Turtles Get Real) Cos just what the world needs is Technotronic crossed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Bad.
Really can't call this a great episode
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vya
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Post by vya on Mar 12, 2021 23:27:39 GMT 1
11.10 Brookes
Sisters of Mercy - More Pleasingly theatrical in both sound and visuals. A rebuke to all this laddish tedium doing the rounds. Not their finest moment musically, but whatever.
Cliff Richard - From A Distance Bette Midler's own cover of this is a bit outside the top 40 this week, too, and it's (easily) the better of the two. The song is fine, but why would you choose this version, when both vocally and musically it doesn't come close to standing up to the competition?
(Charts: Innocence - Let's Push It. Now that is something)
Chimes - Heaven I'm entranced by her voice and by the whole vibe, this is so so good. Some cute subtleties in there too. Another rebuke to all the workaday blandness spilling out of, in particular, North-West England.
New Kids On The Block - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)? (though Bruno appears not to know that is what it's called) This isn't even from their latest album, is it, but from the one before? I guess they sense their time is running out...The song is superior to most of their own stuff, indeed so much so that it saved me from typing "from the sublime to the ridiculous" as I thought may have been warranted. Not sure why you'd not go to straight to the Delfonics though.
Beautiful South - A Little Time Amazing how much better than the Housemartins this lot are. Something distinctive, eccentically English and provincial. Another story song, too, with cutting lines too. Love it.
Neneh Cherry - I've Got You Under My Skin OK this is an innovative reinterpretation, and a personal one, too, and Neneh Cherry is divine. I'm still not quite convinced it really works, somehow, though.
Monie Love ft True Image - It's A Shame (My Sister) So many 70s revivals or 70s inspired pastiche revivals around now, this is alright, no more no less.
Status Quo - The Anniversary Waltz Part One Good fun (also: much better than most of their recent original stuff: fair enough, they've earned it)
Maria McKee - Show Me Heaven Haunting in places, spine-chilling even.
Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes Yes
Not bad, overall.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 15, 2021 0:39:22 GMT 1
4/10. Not the marks for the show, but the date. Mayo introducing 24/7. There's no way that girl is 16. All very slick dance moves. I'm missing the shonky choreo of the likes of Bananarama. Song is still dull. There's nothing there that's worth a close listen.
MC Hammer. My God, his imagination and songwriting has run out already. A talked cover version? Jesus. This is...God almighty, I'm running out of adjectives to describe how abyssal this is. Actually, that's given me a clue. Dante in his Inferno writes how Count Ugolino is trapped in the bottom circle of Hell, encased in ice, forever gnawing at the skull of Archbishop Ruggeri, who had him starved to death with his children in a castle siege. I would rather be Ruggeri in Inferno than listen to this absolute sh*te ever again.
Charts. Criminal Element Orchestra. Isn't that Arthur Baker? Jesus Jones in the 40 too.
Highest new entry was also the Radio 1 Record of the Week. Surprisingly enough it's by a former magazine editor who also used his media contacts to persuade the BBC to give him a shitload of promotion after his debut single flopped. This is however a good single, their best since "It's A Sin".
Technotronic at 12 with a megamix, because what the world needs right now is the ONE Technotronic that they've released several times already being re-issued YET AGAIN under YET ANOTHER different name. God almighty. Some people should not be allowed out of the house.
Top 5 albums, oh joy. More big names that don't need the publicity. Deacon Blue (again Lorraine showing that Ricky should NOT be fronting), Michael f***ing Bolton, Elton John (OH COME ON), George Michael (oh, is this basically a sneaky way to get him on?), and £30.
No. 18, MC Tunes. Something tantalizing me at the back of my mind. Maybe some of the bleeps on Dazzle Ships. Heh, looks like the old BBC Micro programme on their screens. There's something urgent and vital about this. Hope 24/7 are watching.
Breakers post-charts. Adventures of Stevie V. You know how people have second album syndrome, because they spend a lifetime on album 1 and have 12 months on album 2? V seems to have run out of ideas in single 1. Beautiful South, re-enacting a particularly tricky moment on Bake Off. Neneh Cherry with a good cover of Cole Porter. And The Chimes who belie their name by not being jangly indiepop but forgettable housey housey music.
Bobby Vinton with a dull old soap advert. Some people liked Elvis; the record industry fought back with blando dandoes like Boone and Vinton.
Maria McKee is on video this time, with clips from Days Of Thunder, which is basically every single Tom Cruise film (cocky superstar, loses his way and the girl, goes back to basics, wins girl, wins thing).
Playout is...Techno f***ing Tronic. Technically. What happened to the rule about not playing the same act twice? This is what Belgium gives to the world.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 16, 2021 0:42:00 GMT 1
XI/X. Brookes channelling his inner peace pipe. Sisters Of Mercy. Starts just like "Temple Of Love" and guitarist looks like Marilyn. Eldritch very obviously dyes his hair and the backing singers have very obviously been told to get stuff out of the fancy dress box. It's like Eldritch got Jim Steinman to write him some backing. This is SO incongruous on TOTP, it's like the goth kids in the South Park talent show.
Cliff Richard in a sparkly jacket and what looks like a male cheerleading squadron plus a pensioner version of The Village People. Well, that confirms the rumours. Dire cover of a dire song.
Charts. Rita McNeil, Tina Turner, Innocence, Aztec Camera, Phil "Why?" Collins, Mica Paris, PWEI (yay!), all new entries. Jesus Jones climb to 31 with "Right Here Right Now" and they eschew the opportunity for the very obvious link by going to The Chimes, which I can't be arsed with.
NKOTB. Jesus f***ing Christing arsing f***. For starters their voices are somewhere below that of Stephen Hawking. Secondly this is a Harold Shipman job on a great old song. Thirdly have they not mined enough sh*t from their album? Fourthly how thick are girls? Fifthly why is the BBC giving this sh*t airtime?
Beautiful South, with some fun lyrics, albeit not that long a song. Something of a twist ending. Cute but insubstantial. Brianna has a great voice.
Charts again. Newies include A-ha. Chimes only go up 4 but that means consecutive plays. Stupid given the number of newies in the thirties. Funny that Cliff is nearly as popular as New ****s On The Block. Deee-lite above Steve Miller, too late.
Neneh Cherry, who gets on despite barely going up from breakerage last week. I've said it before but this policy is asinine.
And Monie Love is on again despite only going up 2. It's obvious that this single has run out of steam and isn't going to get much higher, if at all. So why waste a few minutes of an already truncated show on playing it rather one of the half-dozen new entries at the bottom end? Especially as it's a very similar sounding song to the previous one. How can you grow the audience by showing one genre continually? Are we going to get Twenty f***ing Four f***ing Seven f***ing again?
Even worse given we're not going to get breakers this week. Of all the weeks when it would be justified. Instead we get two repeats from last week. And now Quo. So that means we now have more cover versions on the show than actual singles. Wow.
McKee still number one - and yet again a waste of a play by having Depeche Mode on the playout. Again they've staggered up a spot or so, so the song is commercially spent.
That was a waste of a show. So much opportunity to give new and fresh blood a chance, and instead we get 3 repeats for songs that are done climbing, and 2 cover versions. Meanwhile 8 songs in the 31-40 zone - one of which has been entitled to a play twice - are totally ignored, not even given breaker status. The programme planner needs to be fired. From a cannon. Into a brick wall. Waste of DNA.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Mar 16, 2021 8:32:56 GMT 1
Yes utterly shocking.The playout should have been Jesus Jones and it might have become the massive hit it deserved which it will be in the US next year.
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vya
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Post by vya on Mar 19, 2021 22:36:17 GMT 1
18.X Goodier
A-ha - Crying In The Rain I like the notion of this lot being an updated Everly Bros, and in their own inimitable style they pull it off too. Not up there with their more innovative or quirky or haunting peaks, but a refreshing shower for sure.
Aztec Camera & Mick Jones - Good Morning Britain Definitely not the best thing Roddy Frame has ever written (but he has written some real gems). Main problem: the sheer unthinking mindnumbing utter conventional Guardianista viewpoints in the lyrics that bear little resemblance to objective reality. Musically a pleasure, though.
Innocence -Let's Push It Yes, let's. Proper funky groove, lyrics with some edge to them, soaring but subtle vocals, a saxophone used purposely, even, a small slab of gorgeousness (and oh so much better than the album version, this is how you do a remix to make a 7" single of a dance track). Great, great, great. A strike rate of three singles, all of them excellent.
Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight Her single choices have been a bit hit and miss over the years, but this falls somewhere between the two. Her voice is angelic, and the song thrusts without quite having a hint of the classic about it. Better than most though.
Happy Mondays - Kinky Afro Quite possibly their creative apex, the opening verse is the Mondays to a tee. No pretence at all. How is this turning into such a good show? Loving Ryder's nonchalance as they fill the stage with Manc jemenfoutism.
Rita Macneil - Working Man An oddity, chartwise. A folky Canadian (could easily be Irish) evocation of coalminers. Davy lamps aloft. Warming and heartfelt.
Breakers: Berlin - Take My Breath Away: did this sort of thing before Maria McKee got similarly caught up in Hollywood tangles, as a talent still punching through the polish Tina Turner - Be Tender With Me Baby: one of her stronger and more touching songs of this period, but why is her voice twinned with such bland instrumentation and production, over and over again? It's insulting. But it is overemoted. Paul McCartney - Birthday: Not a career highlight it would be fair to say
Hi Tek 3 ft Ya Kid K - Spin That Wheel (Turtles Get Real) Is this the last (s)hit with "wooh! yeah" all over it? I mean it's not the worst quasi-Technotronic record (and even sounds a bit Todd Terry/Royal House, three years late), but..not good. (am now reminded of the Scottish pizza chain of the early 90s, the Pizza Gallery,- incongruously with one English branch, in King's Lynn, all of whose pizzas were named after artists: inspired by the film?)
Maria McKee - Show Me Heaven Let's hope she gets more singles success on the back of this, showing off more of the rawness that Hollywood toned down a wee bit here. It's a fine number 1, still.
Belinda Carlisle - (We Want) The Same Thing A severe case of trying too hard to have a big hit, laying it on too thick, too too much.
With the notable exception of Technotronic-lite, this was an astoundingly, surprisingly, agreeable selection of songs
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vya
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Post by vya on Mar 19, 2021 23:05:28 GMT 1
25.10 Brambles
Belinda Carlisle - (We Want) The Same Thing I suppose I can't blame her laying on the production with a shovel after the lack of commercial success of the mostly rather (or slightly) more subtle singles off the same album, but of them all this is the one I'd skip.
Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody See what a film tie-in can do for you. A real elegance here, anyway.
Public Image Ltd - Don't Ask Me Vaguely eco lyrics, characteristic Lydon wisdom and insight with eccentricity, energy and something off-kilter. Agreeable enough but more a curio than absolutely essential.
Berlin - Take My Breath Away See what a TV screening of a film tie-in can do for you. A real careful balance of tension held taut here, anyway.
Soup Dragons - Mother Universe A fairly dire band with one half-decent song, and this is it. Enjoy it while it lasts. More like half a song than a whole song though really.
Jason Donovan - I'm Doing Fine Straight in at no 35, it's over, "tribute to the Beatles" indeed. Dire. Embarrassing. Can't imagine PWL would even endorse this...sub-Big Fun.
Paul Simon - The Obvious Child Hypnotic drumming + gentle but powerful and story-telling vocals as only PS can do. A cut above.
Breakers: George Michael - Waiting For That Day: Pure class Elton John - You Gotta Love Someone: With a gospel choir, but not the most convincing Reg number
Paul McCartney - Birthday Not subtle
Beautiful South - A Little Time Argumentative duets are rare. But how well this one is done. A minor delight. Superb songwriting as well as performing.
Roxette - Dressed For Success Another re-release, and one of their spikier numbers. Seems really go-getting 80s actually, maybe a few years late.
A curate's egg edition
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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 Mar 23, 2021 0:07:52 GMT 1
2 years before an overture. Goodier (with some very shouty graphics) dressed like a dad. A-ha! with "Crying In The Rain", so it starts with a thunderstorm. Imaginative. Harmonies to start with. Lots of double denim. Did they mug Quo? But in a theme that is depressingly common this year it's a cover. Maybe this is a safe movement into country rock. It's all very polished, which in this case makes it very sterile.
Aztec Camera and Mick Jones, with a fun take on the Good Morning Britain clock running backwards. Just to make sure we get the message, the lyrics are running along the bottom of the screen. Because the thing we all want is to be lectured about politics by someone who can spend 5 minutes throwing out a song and retiring on the proceeds.
Chartomatics. Two records at the start going down because they didn't get the play they deserved. PiL and Soup Dragons now warrant a play. We do get Innocence who do merit a play even though they have had less success than "Right Here Right Now". It's a throwback to Britfunk but to be brutal there's nothing here to warrant more than a few seconds of attention.
Whitney Houston with something by-numbers. Can't be buttocked with this one either
Charts again. Berlin are back in? Have people forgotten already? Amusingly the highest climber is Rita Macneil. Is that a sign that TOTP is losing its touch? Plenty of songs recently that have fallen after the supposed boost, yet one it studiously ignored gets a big boost. Moz with a reference to polari, albeit mis-spelt.
Happy Mondays. This is charmingly shambolic. Everyone seems to be acting independently of everyone else, but the overall effect works.
And then we go to Rita Macneil, with something that smacks of being an unexpected Christmas hit. Goodier with the tactfulness to call her literally a huge star given her bodytype is more Denise Lasalle than Denise van Outen. It's an homage to mining. It's far more effective than Rod & Mick's artless hectoring. This is exactly why TOTP needs to be more imaginative with its look at the charts; totally different to the Mondays and Innocence. There's surely something for everyone rather than stuffing it with Sinitta and f***ing Sonia.
Aaaaaand instantly to prove me wrong they introduce the breakers with a song that was a hit very very recently. Immediately a waste of a play that could have gone to something else. Turner and McCartney with things that are not very inspired. Given Covid my hair is looking like Macca's these days. Oh, great, could have had e.g. PiL or Soup Dragons and instead time is wasted on songs from acts that absolutely do NOT need the publicity.
And that's followed up by more f***ing turtles. Just f*** OFF.
No. 1 is McKee, playout is Belinda Carlisle, who has been to Carlisle once. Nice timpani. It's one of those rousing stadium rockers but it's not very her.
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vastar iner
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I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,427
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 23, 2021 12:46:05 GMT 1
525x2. Brambles. Reformed Go-Go's? They should have done this, give it a proper punk spin. Nice harmonies at the start but if they are were going to play it this week they shouldn't have played it last week.
Another re-issue now. New in at 3. It's a total cheek to credit this to The Righteous Brothers given this is all about Bobby Hatfield. There have been so many versions of this song and this one is the best. Crying shame that Al Hibbler's is not considered a canon no. 1 but Jimmy Young's pile of sh*te is.
Charts. Quite a high-powered 40-31. PiL on video with an ahead of their time eco protest. The full video has a funny introduction. It's far more good humoured than the Aztec Camera harangue. 13 years on from NMTB and Lydon is still something of a chameleon.
Berlin on AGAIN. Bad enough that we're having another re-issue, bad enough that we're getting it a second time in a row, but has anyone really forgotten what it goes like?
Soup Dragons, this is also a re-issue, albeit one that's been baggied-up from its Postcardish origins and initial Mandelbrot set video. Prefer the original. But it means we still only have 2 original songs on so far.
Charts. At no. 22 is "Public Image Limited" by Don't Ask Me. Why is this SO f***ing DIFFICULT TO GET RIGHT? There are so many dire records in this segment.
Jason Donovan, despite being at 35, gets airplay. Anyone now believe that this show is being picked on the level? After all Morrissey wasn't on despite being 20 places higher. Anyhoo, this is apparently Donovan's tribute to The Beatles, which is one of those outright wtf? moments, like an monkey throwing sh*t at a wall is paying tribute to Picasso. It's almost redundant to say that this is less a tribute and more an insult.
Paul Simon with something Burundi-sounding, although it's in Salvador, Brazil. The Spanish and Portuguese were REALLY sh*t at place names. Something of a shuffle, has pretensions of being Deep but it's not really.
Breakers. George Michael has relented into doing a video albeit as basic as possible. Elton John with some decent gospel. How interesting though that they bring the breakers back when there are big names to play, but not when it's people who actually need it. And how interesting that the breakers are just those two. Rather than Poison or even take a punt on Nightmares On Wax, or, dare I say it, Lush.
Macca with a live recording, seems to be an attempt to create a new traditional birthday song, and doing a live recording is as cheap as it can get.
Top 10, new no. 1. Beautiful South are in the studio to enjoy it. Dave doesn't look that happy, he's obviously aware that Hatfield is going to steamroller them. Bad luck on timing, two film songs getting an unfair advantage. Dave keeps literally putting Briana in the shade. Weird staging, very uncomfortable and appallingly lit. Deliberate artlessness?
Playout is Roxette, which is more rock than most of the rock chart at the moment. It is very middle-management at the Christmas do.
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mfr
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Post by mfr on Mar 23, 2021 20:59:32 GMT 1
Jason Donovan, despite being at 35, gets airplay. Anyone now believe that this show is being picked on the level? After all Morrissey wasn't on despite being 20 places higher. Yes, it is. October 11th - 10 tracks plus no breakers. Lowest was number 25, hence no Rita McNeil, who was at 39. October 18th - 9 tracks plus 3 breakers. Lowest featured track Innocence at number 33. The 3 breakers were all higher but none available for studio. October 25th - 10 tracks plus 2 breakers. Lowest featured track Jason Donovan at number 35. The 2 breakers were higher but neither available for the studio. In that time only Morrissey was higher than the lowest featured track, but presumably the content or video were an issue. None of what is featured is there to prevent something else being on.
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