SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 22, 2020 10:36:20 GMT 1
653 - Valerie by Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse No. 2 in 2007
An unusual hit now, a very successful cover of a song which had only been a hit in its original version the previous year.
The Zutons were an indie band from Liverpool. Their debut album, Who Killed The Zutons, was all kinds of wonderful. It was a level of brilliance that was never going to be possible to sustain, and their second album, Tired Of Hanging around, was nowhere near as good, with the one glaring exception of the brilliant single and probably their career highlight, Valerie. It did well for an indie record in 2006, reaching number 9 in the charts.
Mark Ronson, I guess, simply recognised that this was an excellent song which had not reached its full potential audience. He'd worked lots as a producer with Amy Winehouse, and so he asked her to sing it on a track that would be credited to him on his album Version. It was a huge success, with a phenomenal 14 weeks in the top 10, maybe not an unsual chart run these days but at the time it seemed like it would never go away. Bizarely, in a sign of the quirks that the new download era would bring, an acoustic version credited to Winehouse which appeared on the deluxe version of her album Back To Black, charted seperately at the same time, so for a few weeks she was in two different positions in the top 40 singing the same song.
I'm not sure what I think about this single really. Instinctively, I feel slightly indignant that it takes a pop version to make a song this massive, the Zutons version was already wonderful and deserved million selling status in its own right. That said I am a huge fan of Amy's, and frankly hearing her sing anything is always fantastic, so there's not much here to complain about.
From a singles chart perspective, this is her biggest ever hit, only kept off the number one spot by The Sugababes with arguably their own career highlight About You Now. It is perhaps surprisingly her only appearance on the Millionaires list. Mark Ronson will appear one more time, very near the top.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 21, 2020 13:26:15 GMT 1
vastar iner I miss your acerbic reviews, have you given up? For me part of the fun of watching these repeats was guessing what you would think! That said, I'm not sure there was much to bring you joy in recent episodes. New Kids On The Block's recent chart topper was particularly flabbergasting in its awfulness. Four shows into 1990 now and one of the main highlights was Nicky Campbell saying "Kylie Minogue there with Tears On My Pillow, which you can hear playing over the credits of her new film The Deliquents, if you manage to stay in the cinema for that long". A bit surprised he got away with that.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 21, 2020 12:04:20 GMT 1
Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers No. 16 in 2000
Now to the gloriously laid back west coast sound of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They're a funny bunch really. They formed in Los Angeles in 1983, but first came to mine and most UK music fans' attention when a re-issue of the brilliant Under The Bridge made the top 20 in 1992. Over the following 10 years or so they never changed their sound drastically, but somehow continued tweaking it just enough to remain consistently appealing and relevant.
Californication is absolutely amongst their best tracks. It was the fourth single from the album of the same name, strange choice of release order in a way because although the whole album is great this is surely the standout track. It meanders through all sorts of pop culture references and is very much a homage to the state which gives it its name. That part of the United States has had a massive impact on music over the years, this song seems to be a nod towards that influence, and at the same time has helped the band become a significant part of it.
It's interesting to note that the Chili Peppers' music does well in the digital era, their last top 40 hit was in 2007 but they seem to continue to rack up a lot of sales. Oddly, although they have 3 songs on the millionaires list, none of them are amongst their 4 singles which actually reached the top 10. I guess they must have lacked the immediate appeal that would make them big hits but make up for it in long lasting impact. I wonder if they have a few others bubbling under this list which will make it on here in years to come too.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 20, 2020 16:46:30 GMT 1
655 - Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division No. 13 in 1980
Next, a song which, in 2002, the NME named the greatest single of all time, and you can see their point. I must confess the first I knew of the song was a Paul Young's version from his No Parlez album, which one of my older sisters played repeatedly when I was about 5. It was quite a while later when I discovered the original and came to realise it was one of the greatest tracks ever.
It's hard to find the superlatives for this one, in some ways I think in here somewhere is the essence of the very reason I love music. The whole thing is absolutely beautiful, a three and a half minute listening experience that takes my mind away from everything that has ever troubled me, which I guess is strange when it's very much about the things that troubled someone else. I just absolutely adore it.
The guitar is wonderful, unmistakably indie and low-fi and authentic and all the things it needs to be to truly appeal to me, and yet at the same time sketching out a tune which is is unquestionably pop. It just makes me want to dance in a jerky flailing kind of way, exactly as Ian Curtis used to while performing it.
Then there's the lyrics. The dreary realisation that a relationship has reached a phase very different to the passion and excitement that was felt at first is an angle that is not often covered in pop songs, but here it is defined so exquisitely as to act almost as a warning to listeners what to expect to happen if you don't work on it. "Why is the bedroom so cold? / Turned away on your side / Is my timing that flawed? / Our respect run so dry?" - it is painfully relatable, you can imagine yourself in that situation even if you've never been in one remotely like it. There are, quite simply, very few songs this perfect.
Interesting to see Love Will Tear Us Apart on the Millionaires list. Its sales must have been quite hard to track, it looks like one of those indie singles that could have sold fairly consistently under the radar even in the physical era. It was originally released in 1980, just weeks after Curtis' suicide, and peaked at 13. It then reappeared in 1983 and crept up as high as 19, a position it scaled once again on a third trip to the top 20 in 1995. All the same, it must have shifted hefty numbers in the digital era too.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 19, 2020 16:24:48 GMT 1
656 - Like A Prayer by Madonna No. 1 in 1989
Now for the Madonna record that is liked even by people who don't like Madonna.
From 1984 onwards Madonna dominated the UK pop charts, the astonishing thing about her 80s output was not so much the quality but the consistency. She just kept having hit after hit with quite good bouncy pop songs, none of them were absolute classics but as a body of work it is the absolute soundtrack to the 80s, she was never far away and crucially never bad, all of her music was at least alright.
In March 1989 though she totally stepped up a gear. Out of nowhere came a complete change of style and a genuinely fantastic single. Forget everything you thought you knew about Madonna, she's now much better and far more interesting. Like A Prayer is all kinds of wonderful and sounds nothing remotely like 1989 in general. Gothic, moody, sacriligious, and yet still uplifting and ticking the singalong box, it's a production triumph as much as anything. She was never the most amazing vocalist, but here it doesn't matter at all.
Like A Prayer was Madonna's sixth number one. It mercifully knocked Jason Donovan's trite career peak Too Many Broken Hearts of the top after only 2 weeks, but for all 3 weeks it was number one Jason held at number 2, proving that regardless of quality his was a very popular single at the time. Eventually they both gave way to a combination of The Bangles and Simply Red, how very late 80s.
One result of Madonna's consistant success is that she kept selling bucketloads of singles without any individually cracking the 1 million mark prior to the digital age, which seemed odd considering her enormous impact on pop. Downloads and streaming have rectified that somewhat, she now has 3 singles on the Millionaires list, no doubt many others just below it.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 17, 2020 10:46:31 GMT 1
The Clash - London Calling
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 16, 2020 15:43:00 GMT 1
Best no. 1s of 2005 1. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys 2. Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley 3. Dakota by the Stereophonics 4. Ghetto Gospel by 2Pac featuring Elton John 5. The Importance Of Being Idle by Oasis
Worst no. 1s of 2005 1. That's My Goal by Shane Ward 2. Axel F by Crazy Frog 3. You Raise Me Up by Westlife 4. Against All Odds by Steve Brookstein 5. Lonely by Akon
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 16, 2020 15:40:08 GMT 1
Bit late with this but I have my best and worst for 2004. It was a strange year, there's only 1 number one that I really like, and yet I found the worst list difficult to do too, there wasn't much that was obviously more terrible than anything else, it was all just bad. Anyway, this is what I decided:
Best no. 1s of 2004 1. Dry Your Eyes by The Streets 2. F*** It (I Don't Want You Back) by Eamon 3. Toxic by Britney Spears 4. Call On Me by Eric Prydz 5. Take Me To The Clouds Above by LMC vs U2
Worst no. 1s of 2004 1. All This Time by Michelle McManus 2. With A Little Help From My Friends by Sam & Mark 3. Cha Cha Slide by DJ Casper 4. Yeah by Usher 5. Real To Me by Brian McFadden
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 16, 2020 11:34:57 GMT 1
Erasure - Stop
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 16, 2020 10:33:45 GMT 1
657 - The Scientist by Coldplay No. 10 in 2002
Coldplay have 9 songs on the Millionaires list, and the first one we get to is my favourite.
Similar to Ed Sheeran, Coldplay are a band who get a lot of stick from people who consider themselves fans of 'proper' music. I think it's because they seem to try hard to maintain a balance between authenticity (verses, choruses, real instruments) and mass appeal, I guess they value that mass appeal more than credibility. They deliberately make music which ticks all the indie rock boxes while at the same time sounding perfect for radio, they never do anything that might alienate any sector of their potential audience. In doing so, they instantly alienate people who only want to listen to music which does alienate part of the potential audience. Some people want to feel like their musical taste puts them in a little club of like minded individuals. If you buy a Coldplay album that puts you in a club of about 15 million people.
All of this does my head in, quite frankly. I only want to judge any act on their music, I really couldn't give a monkeys who else likes it. When I listen to The Scientist I hear a beautiful sound, the piano hook is lovely and the whole thing just gives you a fantastic feeling of romance and longing. I sometimes wonder if Chris Martin is actually a particularly good singer, or if we've all been conditioned to ignore the fact he isn't just by weight of the fact that he's Chris Martin. Here though the fragility in his voice lends a kind of reality to the song.
As a song writer, Martin has the same talent as Bono in that he seems able to select words that brilliantly convey a feeling despite not having any clear meaning, and I guess that's part of the key to their success. I really don't know what The Scientist is about, I just know it's lovely.
The track entered the charts at number 10 in November 2012, fell to 25 the next week and was never seen in the top 30 again. It seems to have been a consistent seller ever since though, entering the top 100 another 8 times, most recently in 2016. It's one of those songs which frequently soundtracks sad moments in TV documentaries, I guess it's never far from the public's attention. Personally, I think it's wonderful and that Coldpay have never done anything better.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 16, 2020 7:00:52 GMT 1
Two of my absolute all time favourite number ones! Is it just because "Killing In The Name" won against X-Factor winner ? No, I’ve always thought it was brilliant, bought the single first time it was out. Beating the X-Factor single did help too though.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 15, 2020 23:02:45 GMT 1
"Crazy" - very annoying song and my second least favourite UK # 1 from 2000s decade, only higher than "Killing In The Name". 😮 Two of my absolute all time favourite number ones!
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 15, 2020 16:16:49 GMT 1
I could also mention Empire State Of Mind was no. 38 in my personal list of the 100 greatest songs of the 21st Centrury, and no. 23 in my personal list of the all time greatest number 2s. I really do love that track.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 15, 2020 16:13:03 GMT 1
At this point it would be remiss of me not to mention probably my favourite ever parody, Newport State Of Mind - "Concrete jumble nothing in order, not far from the border..."
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 15, 2020 15:36:19 GMT 1
658 - Empire State Of Mind by Jaz-Z featuring Alicia Keys No. 2 in 2009
I love hip-hop, but what's probably not very cool to admit is that I love it most when it crosses into the mainstream. Rap music spends a lot of time preaching to the converted, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I know I only got into the genre after hearing Dr Dre's mega-hits from his album 2001. Every now and then you need a big hit to draw people in, and they don't come much bigger or more memorable than Empire State Of Mind. This is a wonderful single.
All the componants here are perfect - Alicia Keys' singing is glorious, Jay-Z's rapping is at its 99 Problems style most relatable best, the production is top drawer. At it's heart though I think what makes this track so brilliant is Jay-Z's obvious passion for the subject matter, it is a tribute to his home, and as he clearly loves it. Part of the reason this is so brilliant is how much it evokes New York, it makes you feel like you know the place even if you've never been.
I have been, just the once, and I was alone. I worked for 2 weeks in Pennsylvania in March 2012 and on the middle weekend, rather than sit bored in my room in a Holiday Inn at the site of a freeway, I decided to get a Greyhound bus to New York. I was pretty skint at the time (twas ever thus!), the hotel room on the Saturday night was about all I could manage, but I walked and walked for miles, in absolute awe of this iconic city which has had such a huge influence on western popular culture. I made a playlist for the trip and Empire State Of Mind, only 2 years old at the time, seemed to capture the essence of the place better than anything else I had on there. It will be ringing in my ears again in the event I ever get to go back (I'd love to).
In this form, Empire State Of Mind spent a solitary week at number 2 behind the Taio Cruz's vastly inferior Break My Heart. Only a few weeks earlier Jay-Z had already been at number 1 with the also inferior (if not vastly) Run This Town, so maybe the UK public had just had enough of him for the time being. It hung around for a long time though, racking up 30 weeks in the top 40.
Part way through its run Alicia Keys charted with her solo version of the track. That peaked at number 4 but also had a very long chart run, and I think I remember reading at the time her version actually outsold the original. Sales wise they must have swapped places again though as this is the only version on the millionaires list, and in fact Key's only appearance. It is one of 6 appearances for Jay-Z.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 15, 2020 7:35:28 GMT 1
Just a tier 3 girl Livin’ in a lockdown world
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 14, 2020 14:09:38 GMT 1
Amen Corner - If Paradise Is Half As Nice
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 14, 2020 11:19:51 GMT 1
659 - Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran No. 8 in 2017
It actually seems a bit odd that 83 songs into this thread we are only now mentioning for the first time the words 'Ed Sheeran'. He appears on the Millionaires list an incredible if not all that surprising 19 times, it is perhaps a further indication of his astonishing success that none of them are particularly near the bottom.
My take on the Sheeran phenomenon is that commentary on new music in the second half of the noughties was constantly of the moaning variety, with an ever present argument that no one writes proper songs any more, no one plays proper instruments anymore and no real songs make the charts. Then, in 2011, along came Ed, writing and playing his own proper songs, and within the blink of an eye the same people that were complaining when he didn't exist started moaning that he was rubbish because they didn't like the fact he was so popular.
That said, it's not as if I'm an unquestioning Sheeran fan, I just refuse to do what so many people I otherwise respect do, which is write off all of his music without even listening to it. In this thread every one of his entries will be considered on its own merits, and I am confident that I will say some of them are rubbish and some are excellent. Looking through the list there are some I'm not sure at this stage I even know.
Supermarket Flowers is an interesting place to start. It is in one sense a desperately sad song, dealing with the very practical aspects of the death of a close relative. He wrote it upon hearing of the death of his own grandmother, and subsequently performed it at her funeral, which is confusing because the lyrics gave me the impression it was about his Mum, although she is apparently alive and well. In his typically relatable everyman lyrical style there is some positivity to be found too, he uses the opportunity to give thanks for her life as well as mourning her death. It's a song I can imagine giving comfort to others upon the deaths of their loved ones, not really something you expect to find in the top 10 but a song of value nevertheless.
The track entered the charts at 9 on the contraversial week when 16 of the top 20 were from Ed's album ÷. Unlike most of his tracks that entered that week, it actually climbed a place the week after. Over a year later it was promoted as a single, but could only climb back as high as high as 29. It's not exactly a song that lends itself to airplay on cheery radio stations.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 13, 2020 16:38:53 GMT 1
I quite like Problem. Not a major favourite, but a perfectly solid example of 'that' sound of the early-mid 2010's.She sounds pretty good on it too I find. I think I may have had my fingers in my ears furing the early-mid 2010s, only listening to 1960s folk music. I guess I'm not fully prepared for what I'm going to find as we move through this thread...
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Post by SheriffFatman on Oct 13, 2020 15:07:02 GMT 1
My milkshake brings a maximum of 5 boys from 2 different households to the yard.
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