Ugh, if the year was based solely o the charts so far so iffy. The top three are all lousy, all of the albums are C or lower and except for Drake nothing from 2015 is all that thrilling at all. Big Sean was a real dig and Tyga ruins Brown’s best dance moves (Tyga? Cmon, guy). A real snooze of a list.
Well, Imagine Dragons had one job on earth and when you have one job and you do it, well, more power to you. Personally, with the exception of a song here and there I find them fairly abysmal but to add rock to EDM beats actually hit # 1… good for you.
Thunder are a really good mainstream UK style hard rock band, been around over 20 years, and are in a league with the best out there. They’re opening for ZZ Top in London and that sounds like a concert to be missed under no circumstances. Meanwhile, my buddy Johnny McElhone’s (I knew him when he managed Ramona) band Texas is back on the charts.
Give young Eddie something, he sure has staying power, Is this eight months in the charts now? Plus he has a coupla more where that comes from, “”Even My Dad Does Sometimes” is patiently awaiting its close up. Meanwhile, I don’t see the charm on the Ellie track. Sounds awful lame to these ears. Her photography is another question…
Definitely Drake’s week, but that Lord Huron may well be a case of lightning striking, because it is just a terrific little rockabilly track that begins and ends like a sweet ambient call. A masterful song. Otherwise both Kate and Letts choices were a little random, both albums have a lot of great songs.
Sam and Beck got huge bumps from the Grammys but otherwise no big time action, right? More interesting, Drake in at # 1, for what amounts to a mix tape, nearly going gold , only digital, IN THREE DAYS. And with that, Drake gets a serious claim to Kanye (or Jay Z for that matter) crown.
ot the greatest charts you’ll ever see but you can’t have everything, what it lacks in bang zoom it makes up with the Weeknd inching its way up the charts with the best 50 Shades track. Otherwise, the UK is reading more like the US charts every day, the only oddity here is Ella.
Man, that Ellie Goulding song is crappy. I can’t remember the last time an album has inspired so many astoundingly terrible songs and is Ellie’s the very worst? You know it may well be. This list makes me sleepy just reading it.
before we get to Dylan’s EIGHTH # 1 album in the UK (about 20% of all the albums he has ever released), let’s scratch our heads in amazement at the return of a guitarist who performed quite well with Dylan himself, Mark Knopfler. Brothers In Arms has two 80s masterpieces an nothing else much.
The Dylan album is a very good but he also got lucky, this is one of the weakest weeks you’ll find not surrounding Christmas. The Girlpool single is a revelation. If you haven’t heard the new AWOLNATION single, you only have yourself to blame.
I am so tired of saying Bruno Mars is overrated but he is so damn overrated. I wouldn’t say that if Little Richard or James Brown never existed but they do (one does, the other did) exist and so dumbass bruno feels like watered down spineless mimickry. Nothing personal, mind.
Sure I love that Meghan is in at # 1 and all is right on earth, good will to all doo wop songs but while I’ve only heard a coupla tracks off the Madchester stalwarts, still reeling from the death of their drummer a coupla years ago, this is as good as Brit rock gets and while I doubt it will do much Stateside, it sure should.”Come Home Baby” is knockout.
They have a nice line of patter on Karen Harding: the Whitney Houston of House, and while that might well be oversell, this is a goodie, the beats thump and Karen has a powerful and beautiful voice. This should break US, no reason not to , except for its purity as form, which might not matter, right?
This is shaping up into the best January this decade. Both FOB songs are masterful, Imagine Dragons released the only song they’ve ever written I’ve ever enjoyed, AWOLNATION is a revelation and Prass is a complete shocker. As for Bettye, well, listen to it yourself. And Kate Tempest is better than all of them.
Now I the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by Fall Out Boy, who have at least two more WHOMPING SMASH HIT SONGS awaiting for you are “Centuries.” It is amazing how big they are gonna get.
That’s a turbo charged top three pop album, indeed the top Five is very good indeed. In a reversal of 2014, 2015 is one of the best January’s in living memory. It is like everyone I s saying, hey we don’t buy your dog deads of January (no, froze days…). Which works for me, fine. A good month so far.
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by Fall Out Boy, who have at least two more WHOMPING SMASH HIT SONGS awaiting for you after “Centuries.” It is amazing how big they are gonna get.
I swear, at first glance I thought they’d misposted last weeks charts by mistake but no, the Avicii, which I quite like, is a new track from an old album. Otherwise, everything is where it was only you are there for your sins
Finally, 2015 hits the charts and while I am not crazy about #1, I am crazy about # 2, FOB’s best album ever and if it did this well in the UK, I wonder if it can take over from Meghan in the US? No, I don’t really like the new Belle & Sebastian but I approve of them as a concept.
The Viet Cong goes on for 11 minutes and deserves to, Ryan is a revelation to me though possibly not to anyone else , and I am obsessed with the Ninjas and Sleater Kinney. I would say a better start to 2015 than to 2014.
The only newbie is “Sugar” and the reason is simple, because the video is a masterpiece and it pushed it all the way into the charts by brute force. It is really a pity the same thing won’t happen for Sleater-Kinney as they find a city to live in.
I said Taylor was making a mistake when she brushed Meghan off with a text at Jingle Ball, I said Z-100 were making a mistake when they only gave her four minutes, I said Title was the best album of the week, last Jan 13th, I said the major rock critics (in lockstep: again) were being thickies when they dismissed it as mediocre. And I said it would be at # 1 this week. And I was right.
Another hit off Smith’s debut album, so good because it is one of the best of a great bunch and I can’t wait for the new Olly to get released here, it is much better than the other picker Upper. But it is hard to write about these songs again. Really, will seem be hit refresh, how many times can we discuss starbucks lovers? Let’s move on till August…
As a rule of thumb the UK charts are much more volatile than the US charts, though when it comes to albums both arrive and leave with great speed. But this chart hasn’t changed much in six week. everything is where it has been: Ed, Tay, Ezra at the top forever, and down below Olly and below him 1D and Ella. A strangely boring list.
A good week all round, Bronson on top, Shinobi next, two good rap song, a Kweezy ballad, JTW back, some real cool ska and roll. Let’s hope this is the start of a great year and if we get another ten songs as great as “Song Of Life”and “Honey Trap” it may well be
Tay nearing the 4 million mark and with “Style” making its way up the singles chart, I bet she adds another 2 million to it AND THAT IS LOCAL. The only new sign of life is Rae Sremmurd, who are kinda fun in their only little way. What else? Next week should see the end of the 1989 at the top after nine weeks -I think Mark or Meghan will unseat her. Stay tuned…
Sure, I went with Billboard’s great picture but I think I wanna take five minutes to praise my God liike genius in claiming “Thinking Out Loud” was the one when I noticed it during a first listen of X. Yes, folks I am the King Of The Pop Universe. and Ed Sheeran owes me (and Taylor) big time.
I once spent my Christmas holiday in the UK island Jersey, and it was a small hotel and for a week all the guests were best of friends but then it was over and everyone went their own way. But I ran into the couple purely by accident a couple of weeks later at home, and that’s exactly what the charts feel like in the third week of January. People you’re over.
I just gave Hozier another spin. Maybe I underestimated his voice a little, and the giggle at funerals line is a good one, but I can’t hear anything else as being much ore than Gospel tinged folkieness. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike it at all but I can’t feel anything much more stronger than a lack of contempt. How did it catch on?
The only excuse for Bruno Mars is huge sales, without huge sales he ceases to be anything at all, but with huge sales he comes a beacon of populist r&b, a Michael Jackson disciple, a true star. “Uptown Funl” is too derivitative up to the place where it hits the top of the charts. After that it is just right.
I am happily surprised to see “Into The Woods” in the top 10. Sure, it won’t do much compared to “Frozen” but it sure ain’t easy listening and I am just very pleased to note that enough people cared enough to listen. Sondheim is a great and every kid who could hear it and bought it, is better for it.
A sort of lowbrow hard rock plodding band who weathered everything from soft rock to punk to EDM with aplomb, and with their 31st album Aquostic (Stripped Bare) 11 weeks on the charts, they’ve reached 500 weeks in the UK charts.
If it wasn’t for the desperate sexism of it all, the singles charts might be dubbed the year of the woman. But really, why should we single em out? Would that then make 2015 the year of the man? So on and so forth? But let’s be honest, that’s the way society judges it. Being female has its perks, and one is they get kudos for doing stuff men take for granted
I feel about Taylor Swift in 2014 exactly how I felt about the Yanks in 1999, you knew they were unbeatable and you knew you weren’t rooting for the underdog or anything, but they are still your team and you love em!
I really like Ella despite being an X Factor contestant, and a losing X Factor contestant to boot, she has an excellent voice, soulful, moving, mainstream but good enough for EDM any time. And “Ghost” and “Yours” were fine singles. and she has a whole lotta presence on stage. wonder why she stiffed on Factor.
The return of Mark and Mars to # 1 makes you wonder if XFactor have been spiking the ball a little. The battle for Christmas single is pretty darn vicious and you gotta think… it wouldn’t take that many downloads, certainly $50K would do it… I wonder.
