en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal The Last.fm journal for calvin101. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2011/01/12/45kfno_my_top_545_singles_2000_-_2009_(545_-_) Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:00:10 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2011/01/12/45kfno_my_top_545_singles_2000_-_2009_(545_-_) It's taken a while, but I have finally managed to trawl through the past ten years of UK top 75/100 chart archives and compile a list of my top 545 singles over the decade just passed.

I will commence shortly - this will be a slow burner as I would like to write something for each entry. It's not so much about ranking them against one another (although I have) but more an overview of a chart decade which opened to the throes of manufactured pop and closed re-embracing pop music, having had something of a major fallout during the mid-00's; and of course the inclusion of downloads was one of the most significant changes to the chart ever.

I was tempted to include ANY song which charted in the UK (and some from other countries) but given the number of older tracks which have entered the chart over the past 2-3 years in response to reality TV/death/incidental music/general demand it started to get a bit STUPID, so it's restricted to anything which dates from the last decade, although not necessarily when it became a hit as some songs were "officially" released this year but charted last year and thus still made the countdown.

545. Girl Thing - Last One Standing (Released: 2000, peak: #8)

Chart run: 8-19-28-35-39-40-50-71-x-x-x-65-67


The writing was on the wall for Girl Thing before they had a chance really; perceived to be an attempt to launch the new Spice Girls, 'Last One Standing' wasn't dreadful by any means, but 'Wannabe' it certainly wasn't. To add insult to injury, they originally recorded 'Pure & Simple' which later went on to be a million-seller for Hear'Say - but once this track entered at #8, there was no way back. They at least had the decency to record an album which was released outside of the UK before one of them ended up in Hollyoaks.

544. Mero - It Must Be Love (Released: 2000, peak: #33)

Chart run: 33-52


Formed by Simon Cowell, it's hard to see what the marketing plan was with Mero, this is a summery little Motown-styled uptempo which is much catchier than its chart peak would suggest. Weirdly, it sounds like something a1 would've released before they went all "mature", which was totally at odds with Mero's image as a trendy, cool duo. Evidently sensing the project was a bit of a no-hoper, Mero were promptly dropped and Cowell turned his attention to Girl Thing instead. It's probably fair to say that the turn of the decade was not quite a golden period for him.

543. Ronan Keating - I Love It When We Do (Released: 2002, peak: #5)

Chart run: 5-18-29-46-61-65-72-x-x-62-46-x-x-x-x-x-x-75-72


I can imagine that the idea of Ronan Keating as a solo artist was never appealing to many factions of Moopy, but for his first few singles I thought he made quite a decent stab at it. This was probably the turning point - Boyzone had become ballad-heavy, so it made sense to have Ronan do a few uptempos to differentiate from them. I don't think this is a BAD song per se, but it's almost identical to the far superior 'Lovin' Each Day' and pretty much cemented Ronan as a one-trick pony. The subsequent slew of poor cover versions came as little surprise.

542. Melanie B - Feels So Good (Released: 2001, peak: #5)

Chart run: 5-12-19-23-31-43-53-62


I was never much a fan of Mel Beh's album - fair play to her for managing to stretch the campaign over a four year period though. Following 'I Want You Back' in 1998 and 'Tell Me' in 2000, 'Feels So Good' arrived in 2001 courtesy of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. To date (and probably forever, let's be frank), this is her second biggest seller and it's really not hard to see why - an obvious single, this is the kind of thing the Spice Girls should have been trying to emulate on 'Forever' - a pure pop chorus with smatterings of R&B production during the verses.

541. Gabrielle - Out Of Reach (Released: 2001, peak: #4)

Chart run: 4-6-4-5-7-6-11-13-21-25-27-34-40-54-60-67


If you were asked to name a song from either Bridget Jones movie, the first image to come into your head would probably be anorexic Geru writhing around in the rain to a tuneless rendition of 'It's Raining Men'. Truly, this subdued ballad is a million miles away in a different league, it's still the perfect song if you're in the mood for some pensive downtime. Oft-forgtten I suspect, but it managed to turn in a respectable 320,000 sales.

540. D-Side - Pushin' Me Out (Released: 2004, peak: #21)

Chart run: 21-42-68


After three top ten singles which were hardly MASSIVE hits, D-Side really needed something to push them to the next level so opted for this, a frenzied electro-pop-rock uptempo which is a much better impression of the Backstreet Boys than it really has any right to be. Somewhat predictably it entered far south of the top ten and their time was up. Far more bizarrely, despite a few line-up changes, they are still together and have scored three #1 albums in Japan.

539. Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl (Released: 2005, peak: #8)

Chart run: 8-8-12-15-20-19-22-22-28-37-38-49-66-75


Sometimes the UK is so fickle and inconsistent when it comes to "novelty" tracks. In this case I think we got it wrong - many other countries around the world welcomed this into their top ten, in America it peaked at #1 and was also the first download track to sell a million copies. Yet here it had far less impact - ultimately yes, I can see why people pulled their hair out when this was released over stuff like the DIVINE 'The Real Thing', but it did exactly what it needed to, cemented Gwen as a bona-fide solo star and produced one of the most memorable middle-eights of 2005.

538. Sugababes - Ugly (Released: 2005, peak: #3)

Chart run: 3-6-12-8-7-11-20-20-27-28-30-41-59-63-72


Another track that made people wince as it was released; 'Ugly' was a divisive (as in everyone vs. me) choice as the Sugababes festive 2005 single. True, it makes absolutely no attempt to be credible, and was perhaps their first slip following ballads like 'Too Lost In You' and 'Stronger' which positioned them in a different league to Girls Aloud. Yet 'Ugly' is undeniably catchy and the chorus is one GIANT hook. Taking into account the past two years, this surely isn't as bad as it seemed at the time?

537. Destiny's Child - Girl (Released: 2005, peak: #6)

Chart run: 6-8-14-23-32-35-47-52-68


'Girl' really backfired quite spectacularly for DC - originally picked by the fanzzz to be the third single from 'Destiny Fulfilled', it was one of their smallest hits in America and despite reaching #6 in the UK, was their final commercial release here, as subsequent singles were cancelled. The best bit about the single was probably the Sex & The City-inspired video, but the song itself is a decent little laidback loungey R&B mid-tempo. Not the best song on a weak comeback album (that would be 'Through With Love'), nor a fitting swansong for the group, but infinitely preferable to the dire 'Soldier'.

536. Hilary Duff - Fly (Released: 2006, peak: #20)

Chart run: 20-29-50-70-74


Proving that 'Radar' was far from the 2000's most absurd single choice, 'Fly' started life in 2004 as the first single from Hilary Duff's self-titled second album in America. The intention, seemingly, was to re-create the moody-pop of 'Come Clean' which had reached #35 on the Billboard 200 the year before. It failed, and the whole album was promptly swept aside in favour of 'Most Wanted' (the first of two Hilary Duff Greatest Hits albums to be released between 2005 and 2008 ) and the single 'Wake Up' which mysteriously reached #7 in the UK singles chart - thus a follow-up was needed, hence 'Fly' being recalled to the table and released here two years down the line. How it reached #20 I will never know - the idea of anyone besides myself buying into a brooding pop-rock mid-tempo by Hilary Duff seems somewhat RIDICULOUS and yet...]]> http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2008/10/29/28xbak_review:_the_saturdays_-_chasing_lights Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:26:49 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2008/10/29/28xbak_review:_the_saturdays_-_chasing_lights

The Saturdays have, until now, mostly passed me by. Their debut single passed me by and second single 'Up' didn't do a whole lot for me either. If this was supposed to be the comeback of pop then I have to admit I'd been expecting something louder, brasher and altogether more fun.

Approaching the album with some trepidation I maintained my opinion over the first track, incidentally also first single 'If This Is Love' - it's lightweight and throwaway, two things that any act looking to bring about the second coming can't really afford to be.

Second track and, surprise surprise, second single 'Up'. Evidently moving from the chart into an album required the song to acquire additional production along the way, thus you'd be forgiven for wondering why there are additional bleeps and what sounds like a dial tone in the background.

So, the two singles out of the way, how was the rest of the album going to hold up with nothing recognisable between here and the final track, a tacked on remix of 'Up'? Surprisingly well actually. 'Keep Her' keeps the electro-pop vehicle running whilst mixing it up with a chorus that sounds like it belongs on a Kelly Clarkson song.

Attention is inevitably going to fall on the title track and it doesn't disappoint. A floaty mid-tempo that has an irresistibly stirring chorus, you can't help but want to root for the five girls as they trill "I don't wanna waste another night, I don't wanna give up chasing lights". With Girls Aloud and the Sugababes now well past the traditional girl group shelf life and still going strong, The Saturdays have a long road to travel if they want to go half that distance.

Elsewhere 'Work' has a thumping electro beat that suggests the subtle charm of 'Up' is far from a one-off. Resisting the temptation to overload the album with ballads to show off their vocals is also a good move, particularly as those that do appear will have you banging your head at the sheer predictability of the lyrics. For example in 'Issues': "Me and my heart we got issues, don't know if I should hate you or miss you, damn I wish that I could resist you, can't decide if I should slap you or kiss you."

Therefore whilst the likes of 'Up' suggest there could be more to the group than one album and a handful of mild hits, there's certainly not enough conviction that would have you placing bets on it. In truth, the album was probably never intended to be groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination, but it fulfills the need to maintain interest - a point which just about sums up the album.

There's nothing awful on here but you'd also be hard pressed to find a track to get genuinely excited about. If this really is evidence of the new wave of pop groups then the good news is they've brought less fillers than the typical four-singles-and-ten-tracks-to-make-up-the-numbers package that pop once became saddled with. Unfortunately they've also forgotten to pack that rush of euphoria, the little moments which have you rewinding and replaying tracks over and over.

That said, there is more than enough here to justify paying the £5.99 price tag on iTunes.

6/10]]> http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2008/10/14/27z6sb_review:_britney_spears_-_womanizer Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:46:03 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2008/10/14/27z6sb_review:_britney_spears_-_womanizer

Ok, confession time. Despite the fact that for many people, 'Blackout' was the creative peak of Britney's career thus far, I wasn't a fan. It wasn't a bad album, I didn't hate it, but it left me a bit cold. For the most part it sounded like an album that was hastily assembled around scraps of recordings (example: 'Get Naked (I Got A Plan) featuring little more than a fleeting appearance by the lead artist). Choruses that amounted to little more than repeating the title of the song ad nauseum. Ironic then that it should sit so well with critics and fans alike.

'Womanizer' acts more as the spiritual follow-on from 'Blackout' in much the same way as 'Oops...I Did It Again' was the natural progression from Britney's debut album. That is, it retains the hallmarks of it's predecessor - lets face it, "Womanizer, woman-womanizer, you're a womanizer oh, womanizer oh, you're a womanizer baby" probably didn't take much longer to compose than 'Gimme More'.

So what's changed in that case? The vocals, still laced with vocal touch-ups and hefty post-production values seem to have something behind them this time. That is, they lack the lifelessness of pretty much everything on 'Blackout'. The delivery reinforces the real-life persona, gone is the passive, breakdown Britney and in place is material that sounds like it was recorded, not pasted together.

It's not perfect though, the middle-eight is horribly out of place in a song that until that point is frantic, zipping from verse to chorus in relentless fashion. It also lacks the authentic, geniunely irresistible beat from 'Gimme More' so that you're left wondering whether to try and keep up with the song or just sit it out altogether. The choreography in the video suggests a similar dilemma that was resolved by doing a bit of both.

Nonetheless, the whole package is thankfully a million miles away from the likes of 'Me Against The Music' which is always something to be glad of.

7/10]]> http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2007/11/08/1060_my_favourite_albums Thu, 8 Nov 2007 02:45:24 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2007/11/08/1060_my_favourite_albums This is intended to be an entry that I can update as and when...

There aren't really any limits on what I'd class can be counted as a "favourite album", though I would try to avoid including anything from the past 18 months.

I've not really ever thought much about ranking my favourite albums, but in retrospect it should be much easier with iPods and technology. There are few albums left that I would ever listen to on a physical format, but all of the ones in this list are ones that I wouldn't dare not own.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2007/02/07/105z_avril_lavigne_-_girlfriend_%5Bthoughts%3F%5D Wed, 7 Feb 2007 17:35:12 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2007/02/07/105z_avril_lavigne_-_girlfriend_%5Bthoughts%3F%5D Not that anyone reads these things but what do people think of this? Borrows a lot from Toni Basil's 'Mickey', not musically but in terms of the way it's structured, and the backing track at the chanting bits.

I'm glad it's something a bit different and I wasn't overly keen on 'Don't Tell Me' from the last album so I certainly can't say I'm more disappointed than that but it's all a bit underwhelming.

It does at least suggest she's going back to the youthful 'Sk8er Boi'-sound and whilst I'm all for acts moving on she really had that style nailed. Some people hated it, some people loved it, as it should be. The last album and all the clones that sprung up in the meantime never quite captured the energy and exuberance of 'Let Go'.

Now...to stop babbling.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2006/03/15/105y_review_of_kelly_clarkson_(hallam_fm_arena:_09-03-2006) Wed, 15 Mar 2006 12:11:31 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2006/03/15/105y_review_of_kelly_clarkson_(hallam_fm_arena:_09-03-2006) Having sold over a million copies of her sophomore album Breakaway since its release last year, the original American Idol Kelly Clarkson brought her international Behind These Hazel Eyes tour to Sheffield in an attempt to prove she can outlast the limited lifespan provided by Simon Cowell’s cash cow.

The audience varied from groups of teenagers (and younger) to adults who could have been their parents had they not stood from start to finish singing along. From the opening chords of her new single Walk Away, the audience was with Clarkson word-for-word, especially during Because Of You, the obligatory my-life-was-so-tough-back-then-angst ballad where an emotional Clarkson faltered, leaving the audience singing on.

The arena was noticeably fuller towards the front than the back; the mixture of standing and seated audience meant that much of the crowd moved closer to the stage for the performance although those seated towards the back may have felt cheated at paying the same price with no such flexibility.

In keeping with her reality-TV origins the concert was more performance than visual based; the only stage feature was a dull grey backdrop which I assume was immediately returned to Sheffield Central Library. Equally, the only obvious change to costume was a wedding dress for Behind These Hazel Eyes (replicating the video much to the audience’s delight). Clarkson’s minimal interaction with the audience was hard to hear which led to audience response being at times muted, though this was more than made up for during the songs.

After performing all of her singles a short encore of Breakaway ensued. Despite being the title track to the album it felt unnecessary. Nevertheless the audience lapped up every moment of the former American Idol’s barefoot performance.

Overall the show was an enjoyable hour, though for £22.50 you’d be forgiven for expecting a longer performance or at least more on the visual side when those seated may have felt a bit removed from the experience, especially during Since U Been Gone (by which point singing had been replaced by a mixture of shouting and screeching) when Clarkson spent time encouraging those around her to repeat what she sang, seemingly forgetting there were more people than just the hundred or so around the stage.

The choice of songs was limited - three from the first album plus two covers, with the rest understandably geared towards the second album. Nevertheless it would have been nice for Clarkson to have had more proper hits under her belt, especially when the better known singles were saved until the end so that the first half felt like a build-up.

Still, the immense level of cheering and applause would imply that the diverse audience left satisfied and entertained, though the loudest sound of the night was undoubtedly the chinking of money in Clarkson’s pockets as she cemented her departure from American Idol to global star.

For a few more months at least.

3.5/5]]> http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2006/03/09/105x_stuff_i%27m_into_at_the_moment... Thu, 9 Mar 2006 01:24:09 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/calvin101/journal/2006/03/09/105x_stuff_i%27m_into_at_the_moment... Ok, not sure why but I'm into that whole Dawson's Creek-esque style of music at the moment. I'm well into Jesse McCartney and the soundtrack to A Walk To Remember. Maybe it's because the weather has been unusually sunny recently (despite the cold). I must own almost every teen angst album at the rate I'm going!]]>