A theme!

Hello!

I have hugely exciting news!
As the title suggests I have come up with a theme for this blog. Now I have deliberately done no research to see if anybody else does this as they almost certainly do, but none the less I am still excited because at the very least it will interest me.
I am going to be doing short chart reviews of what was in the chart this time last decade. So I will be looking at the top ten from ten years ago, seeing what I remember, what has lasted, and whether there are any hidden gems.
The top ten on the 25th of September 2003 looked like this:

10. Limp Bizkit - Eat you Alive


Granted this type of music isn't really my thing so it was going to be hard for me to enjoy this, but I really didn't think it was very good. I'd never heard it before and it honestly didn't seem to go anywhere, I have literally just listened to it and I couldn't hum it back if there was a gun to my head. The video is really high quality though, its 10 years old and looks better than new band
video's now.
( I still love Rollin'!)

9. So Solid Crew - Broken Silence

This was so surprising! I didn't remember any other So Solid Crew song other than 21 seconds but I have to say this had a really catchy chorus. Its really slow and definitely supposed to be a song you take seriously. You can definitely tell it's not current as some of the vocals sound a bit ropey but on the whole not bad. There is no Lisa Mafia though which is disappointing.

8. Jamelia - Superstar

First song on the list that I remember being released. At the time I really didn't like Jamelia, I think she got a lot of hype around her at the time and I did not think it was deserved. This song was my favourite that she released around this time but still don't rate it even now. I don't mind Jamelia so much as a person now though as she is very inoffensive on the panel show appearances she does.
.
7. Big Brovaz - Baby Boy

This is soooooo 2003. The production on it is so of the time it made me really nostalgic. I definitely suggest watching the video, it's a F.R.I.E.N.D.S spoof, they do some hilarious 'acting' in it and they are hilariously dressed for a pop video. Cherise spends a lot of time in a baby pink velour tracksuit.

6.Nickleback - Someday

This is such a tune! Listen to it RIGHT NOW! I also think Chad Kroeger's award for ugliest man in music or something is totally unjustified.

5. Louise - Pandora's Kiss

I love Louise Redknapp, she seems like a very lovely person but after hearing this I am very glad she has found a second career in presenting. Its not even bad, it's quite good, it's just nothing special :(. I am however listening to it for the second time and it definitely gets better with more than one listen.

4. Westlife - Hey Whatever

Westlife's lead single off their new album. It was billed as this major departure for the band and going to be dead cool. The video is so try hard, it's supposed to be the morning after the night of some wild party with loads of sexy wasted people everywhere, but it really doesn't change the fact that its squeaky clean Westlife, they seemed more like guardians than guests. This song is not half as bad as I remember though, its actually quite poptastic, with a classic Westlife key change. Charting at 4 was an absolute disaster for them at the time and I wonder how their musical output would have changed if this had been an absolute smash. Don't get me wrong, I doubt it would have been that good it just would have been different.

3. Dido - White Flag

I think this song will go down in future as a bit of a classic. Its very romantic and radio friendly. This song was totally ruined for me though when my brother told me that Dido says 'alway swill be' instead of 'always will be'. Its all I can think about, even when I am looking at David Boreanaz.

2. Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams my LA Ex

This should have been the making of Rachel Stevens! This is a perfectly put together pop song. I genuinely think all of her solo stuff was good though, I don't know why more people didn't buy any of it. Though nothing will ever top Natural, S Club 7's crown jewel.

1. Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love?

Another classic. I can't believe it's been 10 years since this was released. Where the hell has my life gone??
Great song but there is a very high chance that I will need to review it next week as well so not really good for the interest of the blog.


Best song on the list? Nickleback. Enjoy!

X Factor hidden gems

I would just like to take a minute to talk about two acts from the X Factor who were criminally overlooked with their first singles.

Laura White - You Should Have Known





I think Laura is the perfect example of how fickle the X factor is. When Laura was eliminated in week in week 5 there was uproar. (Just like the situation with Ella now.) Petitions were started, people demanding that she be brought back into the show, there were complaints to Ofcom and Simon Cowell well and truly got it in the neck. I'm sure at the time Laura wasn't worried, lots of press and people claiming they couldn't sleep because they were so upset. But here is her first single, which at the time of release nobody cared about so was barely played or heard. It is in fact brilliant, its angry and dancey which is one of my favourite combinations. If Kelly Clarkson had covered it I think we'd have had a major classic.

Belle Amie - Girls Up





I think the writing was on the wall for Belle Amie from the start, I just don't think they had enough connection with the audience. They did better than FYD but I wasn't expecting them to even stay together once the X Factor finished. But they did and they released this absolute beauty of a song Girls Up, now I may be biased because I love girl bands but I think this song is so brilliant. Its catchy and up beat, meant for dancing and general frivolity. I'm not sure whether the message is natural is best, or spend loads of money on surgery to feel good, but either way I love it. I think the only reason Belle Amie failed is because they didn't adhere to the new pop rule that everybody in a band has to be the same height.

'and the'

The term 'and the' is now everywhere for bands. Not just with the obvious such as Florence and the Machine, you've got obscure things like Peter and the Wolf (which is brilliant) or Gregory and the Hawk (which makes no sense).
Back in the 60's it made sense to have the term 'and the' used in band names as that actually represented something, Gerry and the Pacemakers meant something, the Pacemakers were also members of the band. Diana Ross and the Supreme's, when you here those killer harmonies you would know that's what the Supreme's were doing. (Though I am sure that was the least popular 'and the' name in the world, poor Supreme's).
I imagine what the 'and the' term stands for now is something arty and beautiful, like childhood or memories, or emotions. Whatever it is and even if it's pretentious, I kinda love it so let's celebrate the best of the modern day 'and the'.





Oh I so love this song, who would have thought a song about killing a bird would make me feel so happy.





This song is so lovely, but there's nothing like naming your band Gregory and the Hawk when you're actually a woman named Meredith. 

Honorary mentions go out to Marina and the Diamonds, Peter and the Wolf, Sam and the Womp, Emily and the Woods and Carole and the Singers.

(Okay, the last one is fake but its brilliant!)

Girl Bands

I love Girl Bands, Pretty things singing pop tunes dancing around and being happy. How could anyone not enjoy that?? I also think if I were to be famous it would be through being in a Girl Band, I probably wouldn't have any solos in the songs but I would be really funny in interviews and have a very scandalous personal life.

Most Girl Bands are amazing, and I would like to show you some that are amazing but maybe not for the same reasons that Spice Girls and Girls Aloud are.



This is Vida with their sing Boombox. It is hilarious they say the word Boom almost a hundred times and that is closely followed by the term Boombox. If you took out those two terms the song wouldn't really consist of anything at all. I think it would be safe to say that they are dancers more than singers with autotune being the biggest player in the song. They have been styled to the max and I love that they are all looking desperately sexy except for one who appears to have come as an American teenage boy.



Here is From Above, and if you think you recognise the blonde member that does the singing thats because she is Daisy from S Club Juniors! Turns out it's not just Frankie and Rochelle trying to make it in a girl band still. I love this because it seems to follow the generic formula of old school girl bands, you only need two that sing and then everybody else just look pretty and dances along. The video is really grainy in quality, you almost think it should be about 15 years old and been resurrected for nostalgic purposes. I do love songs about revenge though and this does have a pleasing amount a head nodding and finger wagging.

Long live the girl band, good and shit.

My love for The Heavy is too heavy.

The Heavy have been around since 2007 though I only really heard of them late last year. They are one of those bands that you wouldn't know but when you hear their songs you realise that you've heard and like loads of them. Their single from their second album 'How You Like me Now?' was used in a Strongbow advert and for the new movie Ted.

It is really good, but the song that I've been hitting repeat for recently is their single 'What Makes A Good Man' which is off their third album. It sounds so old and gospel that it makes me happy even though it's all angry and sad.



On another note, I have recently come back from holiday in Menorca and I have to say the thing i noticed most while out there was that spanish radio station love Train. Not a single car journey went by when we didn't here either 'Hey Soul Sister' or 'Drive By.' I love Train and they have the accolade of being the first album that I ever owned, Drops of Jupiter so in honour of my holiday everybody enjoy Train!.

Hello

I am starting a new blog based just on music as hopefully this will make me want ot actually post on my blogs. This will just be me talking about songs that I am listening to at the moment.

First up is,

First Aid Kit - Blue




I love this. I love anything that can sound so happy when being about something so sad. It's very melancholy and sounds a little bit like Camera Obscura (which is a plus in my opinion anyway). However if you don't like hippy things and ethereal sounds then I might give it a miss. If you do like catchy laid back songs which make you feel summery even when it's raining then enjoy!