Friday, September 21, 2007
Oops... I Did It Again.
|
 So I forgot to include some very important tracks in yesterdays post about my top 21 songs thus far of 2007. The songs, which I'll just casually list for you now (in order of preference,) are:
Roisin Murphy - Let Me Know
Roisin Murphy - Off & On
Rogue Traders - What You're On
Roisin Murphy - Overpowered
Operator Please - Get What You Want
Muscles - Sweaty
Nelson Clemente - You Me Us We
Obviously that would make it a Top 28 instead of a Top 21, and I've not told you WHERE in the chart these songs would go, but whatevs yo. FYI: the first two are definitely Top 15 material though, I am loving the Roisin something fierce. The video for "Let Me Know" is easily the best oh-seven has given us so far too.
Carry on.Labels: Charts
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Three Quarter Post :07
|
 I'm sure you have all been wondering what my favourite songs of the year have been now that we are nearly 3/4's through 2007.
Well wonder no more.
Here's the list, the top 21 in fact.
PLEASE NOTE: Semi-detailed blurby bits below are only for songs I have not discussed on here before.
01. McFLY - THE HEART NEVER LIES
The reason I haven't spoken about this song yet is simply because I wanted to see how it sat with me after listening to it for a couple of weeks straight. From the first listen I just had a feeling about this track; I wanted to talk on here about how I thought it was probably the Fly's finest single, but also wanted to be sure I'd feel the same way after weeks of repeated listens. Anyway, a few weeks have passed and I can honestly say that The Heart Never Lies is, without a doubt, not only their best single, but easily their best song to date. Right ahead of Not Alone, Transylvania and Too Close For Comfort." Brilliant stuff, I couldn't have asked for anything more, and that's why this song is thus far the best 2007 has given.
02. ANGIE HART - ASLEEP
She off-of the Frente! and Splendid has just released a completely stunning, raw and spectacular debut solo album called Grounded Bird. Asleep, the records opening track, is its finest moment, and that's saying something. This bares a very minimal resemblance to Imogen Heap's Hide & Seek, and a slightly larger one to Bjork's Hyperballad. Both very, very beautiful songs which I hold in as much high regard as this one. Truly magical stuff, I haven't heard a song this luscious in a very long time. If you're an Aussie with an iTunes account, you'll be pleased to know this song is this weeks free audio file. Download it from here.
03. SUGABABES - ABOUT U NOW
04. M.I.A. - JIMMY (ALTERNATE VIDEO VERSION)
Have you heard this slightly different, brand new re-tweak of "Jimmy?" Fucking sensational. Takes the bollywood disco charm of the original album version to new, dizzying heights. Cannot wait to see her live this Saturday at Parklife.
05. ROGUE TRADERS - DON'T YOU WANNA FEEL
06. ARCTIC MONKEYS - TEDDY PICKER
07. BABYSHAMBLES - DELIVERY
It's such a basic pop song that rips off so, so much of music which has come and gone, but it works and I love it.
08. MADONNA FT. GOGOL BORDELLO - LA ISLA BONITA
09. ARCTIC MONKEYS - DO ME A FAVOUR
10. GIRLS ALOUD - SEXY! NO NO NO...
11. THE ROYAL WE - ALL THE RAGE
This song has been around for ages, but it's only being released next week in the UK and shortly after here in Oz. Very cute indie-pop from (I think?) Scotland, which takes a full minute to get right into itself, but once that's happened, it spends its final two minutes absolutely working a killer chorus, throwing together a toe-tapping bassline and even gives us DOUBLE HAND CLAPS. Gorgeous, love it.
12. FIELDS - SONG FOR THE FIELDS
This one is thanks to xo. Not sure where this will sit by the end of the year (I suspect it will either stick around the top 20, or end up in the lower 30's, pending on what the remains of 2007 has in store for us,) but for the last couple of weeks I've been playing this LOTS. In fact, I'm fairly sure my neighbours now know of the song and are more than likely sick to death of it. That video clip (which is GREAT,) sadly incorporates the radio edit, and not the epic 5:47 version found on their ace album Everything Last Winter.
13. REBA FT. KELLY CLARKSON - BECAUSE OF YOU
Well, Kelly Clarkson has put her name to something listenable this year, I'll give her that. Have you seen the clip for this shiz? It's major. Clarkson sports a black eye and Reba sports the worlds greatest wig. The songs great too, and a hundred times better than Kelly's original solo which I never really liked. That Reba!
14. SUGABABES - DENIAL
15. YELLE - A CAUSE DES GARCONS
Totally bonkers electropop this is. I have no idea what the fuck this French lady is on about, but boy is her album FUN. She could be planning the destruction of the universe through song, all in French, and I'd sit there completely oblivious to it all picturing the sunshine season and party drugs. There is a bonza instrumental moment from about the 2:34 mark which set my ears and feet alight. Another one I'll be catching on Saturday at Parklife.
16. KATE NASH - FOUNDATIONS
17. THE VERONICAS - HOOK ME UP
18. ARCTIC MONKEYS - BABY I'M YOURS
Technically, this song is from last year, but I first heard it THIS year which - in my head - makes this completely eligible. A cover of the Barbara Lewis track from 1965, this was a B-Side to the Arctic's "Leave Before The Lights Come On" single, and is just very, very special. It gives me goosebumps, and is probably one of my absolute favourite cover versions of recent years.
19. SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR - LOVE IS HERE
20. MUSCLES - ICE CREAM
Chris Copulos, aka Muscles, has had a whirlwind 2007. He's toured with Midnight Juggernauts, Robyn, and Soulwax, plus found his productions the toast of Australia's club scene. This single is a clever slice of electronic delights and a little bit Rosdale in vocal arrangement... More importantly, it's really very cute. Quite awesome that this guy comes from country Victoria, too. Please note that I couldn't find the actual video clip for this on YouTube so the link on offer is just some shoddy fan-made job.
21. OPERATOR PLEASE - SONG ABOUT PING PONG
It's a little bit indie in places, innit? But that list up there is a very strong indication of how my ears have been shaped musically this far into 2007.
On another note, looks like I'm heading back to radio as of next Friday night. This time, I'll be on air from 8PM till 10PM, which you'll agree is a much more flattering timeslot than the old Midnight till 2AM gig I had before. As I said, kicks off next Friday night and every Friday night on 94.7 The Pulse here in Geelong, and I may decide to upload shows here and there in the future. It's called "Inside Splinters" by the way, which is the same name of the column I just took over in Forte Magazine. End plug.
And in even more unrelated, personal news, today I got a bloody filling put in my tooth. When I got home, the numbing of one side of my whole face pissed me off so much I couldn't even watch Doctor WHO. I contemplated taking a sleeping tablet (at 4pm in the afternoon) just to rid myself of that awkward and uncomfortable feeling of having one side of your face paralyzed. If I ever have a stroke, I'm going to make it known that the attack is to be followed by a bullet to the head. Anyway, I also found out I need a root canal done on one of my teeth immediately (AT LEAST IT WONT HURT ANYMORE,) have the remaining three wisdom teeth taken out AND have a very small section of one of the front teeth capped. Fucking hell, this bitch better be sporting some rockin' grillz with all the money I'm about to spend on this dentistry crap.
Labels: Charts, McFly
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
My Hump (Part 2)
|
 You might recall that a couple of weeks back I posted about my mid-year-hump albums of the so-far year.
Now it's time for a list of singles and songs.
The 6 month mark has come and gone, but because I have been incredibly lazy of late, it's only finding a home on the interweb now.
Without further ado, here are the top songs of the so-far year. This isn't a list of singles, but a list of the songs that have made an impact on me for the first half-and-a-month of 2007. Currently, there are songs listed from number 1 to 247 for my end of year chart.
Instead of sharing such a monstrous list, here are the first 40 (Where available, click on the song title to view a YouTube clip.)
--
1. MADONNA ft. GOGOL BORDELLO La Isla Bonita (Live Earth)
Seeing as I only just spoke about its brilliance a couple of days ago, in place of repeating myself, I'll just redirect you to the blog post in question.
2. ARCTIC MONKEYS Do Me A Favour
Ahh Alex Turner. The more I listen to this song, the more I am convinced Turner is the greatest lyricist of the 21st Century. Parting with the one you love is hard, and "Do Me A Favour" deals with the situation in a painfully realistic manner. This desperately needs to be the third single from Favourite Worst Nightmare.
3. RIHANNA Umbrella
An absolute thunderstorm (BOOM TISH) of a pop song. As is the case with the previous Rihanna lead single off an album ("S.O.S,") this was offered to about 6 different people before it finally landed on the desk of Rihanna HQ. I seriously could not imagine anyone else doing it as much justice as she has. Her nasal, 'I can't be bothered' vocal approach is stellar and fits so comfortably with this songs groove. And that album, well, who knew it was going to turn out so good?
4. SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR Can't Have It All
So tragic, so beautiful... so Sophie. I cannot help but be drawn to this song, surprisingly not one of the tracks that stood out to me when listening to this album for the first time. Such a pity it's a UK Bonus Track, this has winter-single written all over it. In fact, don't you think that the video clip for new single "Today The Sun's On Us" would have fit better with this? I do too.
5. SHAKIRA Pure Intuition
I cannot decide whether I prefer the English or Spanish versions of this track. The Spanish version is the one with a clip (and a fantastically simple yet effective one at that), but the English version is something I not only understand completely, but can sort of relate to. Gorgeous melody, beautiful chorus ("We've been wanting each other since before we were born/and I will want you even after I am gone") and a stunning final 30 seconds (which is--without a doubt--an exquisite homage to the intro of Kim Wilde's "Keep Me Hangin' On" cover.) Now let's have an English clip and Western release please.
The remaining 35 songs, in ALPHABETICAL order;
ALPHABEAT Fascination
ARCTIC MONKEYS 505
ARCTIC MONKEYS Balaclava
ARCTIC MONKEYS Diamonds Are Forever
ARCTIC MONKEYS Fluorescent Adolescent
ARCTIC MONKEYS This House Is A Circus
BRIAN McFADDEN Alice In Wonderland
BWO Save My Pride
COBURN Give Me Love
DRAGONETTE Take It Like A Man
GARBAGE Tell Me Where It Hurts
GROOVE ARMADA FT. MUTYA BUENA Song 4 Mutya*
JUSTICE Stress
KYLIE MINOGUE In My Arms
LA ROCCA Non Believer
MARK RONSON FT. DANIEL MERRIEWATHER Stop Me
MARK RONSON FT. LILY ALLEN Oh My God
MAROON 5 Makes Me Wonder
McFLY Baby's Coming Back
McFLY Transylvania
PATRICK WOLF The Magic Position
RIHANNA Breakin' Dishes
RIHANNA Don't Stop The Music
RIHANNA Question Existing
ROGUE TRADERS Way To Go! (Metro Radio Edit)
ROSE McGOWAN Useless Talent #32
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT Going To A Town
SILVERCHAIR Waiting All Day
SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO Wooden**
SIOBHAN DONAGHY Medevac
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR China Heart
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR If You Go
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR Love Is Here
THE GOSSIP Standing In The Way Of Control (Soulwax Mix)
TORI AMOS Bouncing Off Clouds***
* Much better clip than the one GA & Mutya have provided us.
** MP3 for your downloading pleasure.
*** EXCELLENT live performance from Sessions @ AOL.
Take into consideration that list will most definitely have a few changes by the end of the year, especially with predicted new releases from Girls Aloud, Madonna, Kylie, Britney, etcetera.
COMING UP: I'm off to see Harry Potter V in about 90 minutes, so expect some full blown, fizzing-at-the-slit style appreciation of Ron Weasley Thursday evening. Bitch it is on.Labels: Charts
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Australia: This is your chart.
|
 Oh would you look at that? It's the Australian ARIA Singles and Albums charts. For the first time in exactly 36 years, both of the charts are almost interesting enough to discuss this week. Let's take a look at some of the more, er, notable entries...
SINGLES
#01 - SILVERCHAIR - STRAIGHT LINES
Debuting at number #1 this week, and easily Silverchair's (Chris Joannou, bassist, pictured right) strongest single to date. First studio album in over 5 years is on its way this month... March 31st could not come any quicker.
#03 - HINDER - LIPS OF AN ANGEL
Australia, what is going on here?
#06 - MIKA - GRACE KELLY
Australia catches onto the Mika craze. Album out this week - will it find a spot on the top 40?
#13 - GIA FARREL - HIT ME UP
As if Rihanna's "Pon De Replay" wasn't tedious enough the first time around, Gia Farrel's here to provide us all with an extremely watered down poor man's version of the song.
#17 - JAMELIA - SOMETHING ABOUT YOU
Something Jamelia's not used to these days, her single's managed to rise up 2 places from 19 to 17 this week. "Beware Of The Dog" is already being played on Nova.
#27 - SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM - PICTURES
New single please!
#29 - TAKE THAT - PATIENCE
Debuting at Number 29 thanks to their (somewhat) extensive promo tour of Australia last week. Most radio stations across the country have decided to start playing this even though it was originally released here in November last year - four whole months ago. Melbourne radio were quite happy to interview the boys last week on their top-rating programs, but the song's still not good enough for the airwaves of Melbourne, with neither Fox or Nova adding "Patience" to their playlists. Even though they had the boys in last week. Go figure. The Hit lift-out in tomorrows Herald Sun Newspaper is going to have an alarmingly telling figure as to what peoples thoughts are in relation to Take That's lack of airplay in Melbourne. Keep an eye out for it...
#34 - STEPHANIE MCINTOSH - SO DO I SAY SORRY FIRST
Up one spot after a disappointing debut last week, Steph's strongest song and single to date barely cuts the lower end of the charts. Pity, both the song and clip have been the first real indication of McIntosh actually being quite serious about this whole pop thing. Time for a new album then...
#41 - DIXIE CHICKS - NOT READY TO MAKE NICE
Hanging around on downloads alone, this is quite probably the 13th greatest song of all time.
ALBUMS
#12 - JESSICA MAUBOY - THE JOURNEY
Guess who got this from work to review this week? SonyBMG have been a bit tight on providing any press with the DVD particle of the package, obviously quite aware that no one wishes to relive Australian Idol 2006 with visual aid at all.
#16 - DIXIE CHICKS - TAKING THE LONG WAY
I have a lot of time for the Dixie Chicks. They're very clever young women with an incredibly strong back catalogue worthy of further praise on this website. You have been warned.
#21 - AMY WINEHOUSE - BACK TO BLACK
Down two spots this week after spending its second week at Number #19, Amy's got her album in the wanted parts of the chart without having an active single on radio or without any promo on her part. Apparently we should be expecting her down under quite soon though.
#26 - ROGUE TRADERS - HERE COME THE DRUMS
68 weeks in the top 50 and counting. Natalie Bassingthwaighte revives her Neighbours character of Izzy Hoyland this week on Australian television
#27 - SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM - SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM
Vocalist Miss Connie's musical background includes fronting defunct ace Pop/Rock/Alternative outfit Primal in the late 90's.
#32 - TAKE THAT - BEAUTIFUL WORLD
Is this going to rise next week? The boys pretty much confirmed that the only reason we're not getting a tour in 2007 is because they want to test the waters here first. A stupidly cancelled appearance on Channel 7's Dancing With The Stars could have been their meal ticket into the homes and hearts of the nation again. If singing one lousy song on that show got Westlife to Number 1 here, Take That would have had not a problem at all in doing so. But apparently due to confusion on managements part (No!?), the schedule was changed to fit in more radio interviews (pfft) and Dancing With The Stars was given the boot. Even though the night of Dancing With the Stars the boys were lounging in their hotel lobby, rather than doing any radio interviews. Universal Music Australia waving that magical wand of incompetence all over again it seems.
#35 - JEFF BUCKLEY - GRACE
Unbelievable. Surely everyone (who would want it) owns this by now?
#41 - XTINA - BACK TO BASICS
Christina's very boring, serious and funless album manages to climb back into the albums top 50 with thanks to radio playing "Candyman", the albums only strong point.
#45 - KORN - MTV UNPLUGGED
Let's hope their cover of "Word Up" was forgotten about for this one.
#46 - YOUNG DIVAS - YOUNG DIVAS
Everyone's favourite homegrown(ish) dairy farmers are going on tour in May. Without Ricki-Lee. Who will be Lee's replacement? AND - more importantly - when do we get a new album of covers? I insist that Sabrina's "Boys Boys Boys" gets a go on the next record.
Labels: Charts
|
|
|
