(* - my current favourites)
(!!! - Single Of The Week!!!)
(:O === the current all-time hate that makes even my smilie
want to hurl!)
( (R) - Repeat., ie. a re-release)
A brief analysis on the current chart situation...
16 new entries this week, one climber (Ultra Nate from 7 to 6), 3 non-movers:
Puff Daddy (1), Mr President (10) and Rosie Gaines Weight (14). Two big fallers
in the form of Blur (5 to 22) and Cast (9 to 24).
One of last week's Top 20 new entries, Primal Scream at 16 with "Star", has
disappeared altogether.
Of the new entries this week...
38 Kenickie - Punka * !!! (R)
Kenickie's third Top 40 hit follows "In Your Car" (No.24, Jan 97) and
"Nightlife" (No.27, May 97), and was originally released last September when
it made No.43
It's this week's single-of-the-week as the song's not bad, and there's just
something in the way that the lead singer says 'Punka' ;)
23 James - Waltzing Song *
Third single from "Whiplash". Excellent again.
15 New Power Generation - The Good Life :O ===
What a pile of cack the NPG have turned up with this time, and the video also
features Prince with his face covered up (what a purple prat). For those who
haven't heard it, it's not the theme tune to the popular 1970's BBC sitcom
starring Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall.
12 Fun Lovin Criminals - Scooby Snacks/I'm Not In Love
In August last year, "Scooby Snacks" made No.22. It's not bad, but it does
go on a bit, and it features soundbites from Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs
(censored on the radio edits).
9 Pet Shop Boys - Somewhere *
Normally a PSB single would easily be the single-of-the-week, but something
about this cover of a Stephen Sondheim showtune doesn't quite ring true as does
a usual single. I could say it needs more originality, but there's usually none
of that in a cover version :)
The video is a bit different. PSB did a version of the track at the Savoy
Theatre in London, but the video follows the build-up of this with interviews
with Neil and Chris and crew members at the Savoy, the video ending with a
glimpse of the song ending on stage. Perhaps they should show another version
of the whole thing with just their performance.
Curiously I was surprised this made the Top 10, given that usually all CD
singles in the first week are priced at UKP 1.99 each, whereas at every shop
I tried, this one was 2.99 each.
8 The Course - Ain't Nobody :O ===
Where do this band get off? It's not long since LL Cool J's cover version
made No.1, and now The Course turn it up a beat.
3 No Doubt - Just A Girl * (R)
No Doubt's second Top 10 hit was first released in October last year when it
made No.38. Now they've been given their break with the No.1 smash, "Don't
Speak", so their profile has been raised, and I urge everyone to check out
their latest album, "Tragic Kingdom".
1 (NEW) Puff Daddy & Faith Evans - I'll Be Missing You :O === *2nd Week at No.1*
Released as a tribute to the late "Notorius B.I.G." of whom the Top 40 singles
chart has heard very little apart from a recent Top 10 record after his death,
this new release is nothing more than a bastardisation of the Police's
excellent No.1 song from 1983, "Every Breath You Take", with lyrics altered
so that the "I'll be watching you" part of the chorus becomes "I'll be missing
you". Bleah! Get rid!
This is now the 6th single in a row to go straight in at No.1, the list looking
like this :
1. Michael Jackson - Blood on the Dance Floor
2. Gary Barlow - Love Won't Wait
3. Olive - You're Not Alone
4. Eternal featuring BeBe Winans - I Wanna Be The Only One
COPPER GIRL - 3 Colours Red
WHY HAWAII? - Aleem
LUKA - Alexa
RAW POWER - Apollo Four Forty
SOMEONE - Ascension
BIG TIME SENSUALITY / ONE DAY - Bj=F6rk
HYPERBALLAD / ENJOY - Bj=F6rk
I MISS YOU / COVER ME - Bj=F6rk
ISOBEL / HYPERBALLAD - Bj=F6rk
POSSIBLY MAYBE / ENJOY - Bj=F6rk
These are 12"-only releases with various remixes
THE BIG WIDE WONDER - Brubaker
MISS AMERICA - David Byrne
IF ALWAYS WERE A PLACE - Clive Carter
SAY GOODBYE - Cheap Trick
AIN'T NOBODY - The Course
E.V.A. - Cubism
DON'T STOP EP - Dirty Beatniks
WAITING HOPEFULLY - D*Note
TIME GOES BY - Charlie Dore
WHAT ABOUT SKY - Luce Drayton
THE BEAT - Dreamon
IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW - Ether
THE BLUE MAN EP - Famous Times
REDEMPTION - Floorplay
LIKE I DO - For Real
FLAVA - Freddy Fresh
SCOOBY SNACKS [ri] / I'M NOT IN LOVE [rm] - Fun Lovin' Criminals
NO GUITARS - Helium
JUST ANOTHER ILLUSION - Hurricane #1
TRY - Innercolours
WALTZING ALONG - James
OXYGENE 10 - Jean Michel Jarre
EVERYBODY JUMP OFF - Jhelisa
PUNKA [ri] - Kenickie
CRUSH ON YOU - Lil' Kim
MARQUIS - Linoleum
THE WAKE UP SHOW - Tha Mexakinz
I DREAM ABUSED - Moke
I HAVE FOUND MY LOVE IN YOU - Gary Moore
THE GOOD LIFE [rm] - The New Power Generation
JUST A GIRL [ri] - No Doubt
SONIC MOLOTOV EP - Petrol 3
SOMEWHERE - Pet Shop Boys
TAKE A SWIM IN THE KITCHEN SINK - Quaker
INTOXICATION - React II Rhythm
WHATEVER MAN - Redman
2:01 - Remarc
IT MUST BE LOVE - Robin S
ECUADOR - Sash! feat. Rodriguez
GAME OVER - Scarface
JULIA - Silver Sun
ON NIGHTS LIKE THIS - Soraya
WE VIE - Stakka Bo & Titiyo with Fleshquartet & Naid
86'D - Subcircus
MISSION - Amon Tobin
MAXI'S DREAD - The Unsophisticates [or is he dead?]
FEEL WHAT YOU WANT - Kristine W
June 30th :
THE JOURNEY - 911
ROLLING SEVENS - ABC
AIR WE BREATH - Alisha's Attic
BLACK IS BLACK - The Allnighters
CRAZY ON YOU - Amma
MY KANTELE - Amorphis
HALLELUJAH - Angelou
BITS + PIECES [rm] - Artemesia
LOVING YOU - As Is
ANGELS GO BALD - Howie B
HOW COME, HOW LONG - Babyface & Stevie Wonder
SLIDING IN (LIKE MCGRAIN) - Big Wednesday
4 A MOMENT OF SILENCE - Boom Boom Satellites
AIN'T NO SUNSHINE - Bourbon Haze
SLOW FLOW - The Braxtons
REACH OUT FOR LOVE - Claudia Chin
STILL COME BACK TO ME - Garry Christian
A CHANGE WOULD DO YOU GOOD - Sheryl Crow
THE SOUND - De Donatis III
SPECIAL LOVE - Patrick Jean-Paul Denis
DISKO VIXEN - Depth Charge
GIVE ME LOVE - Diddy
CAN'T HIDE YOUR LOVE - DMX Crew
WHAT ABOUT SKY - Luce Drayton
TOP OF THE WORLD [rm] - Dudearella feat. Shelley Nelson
THE REMIXES - Eruption
DEEPER - Ezio
EVERLONG - Foo Fighters
GONNA MAKE A TRIP - Freezz
CIRCLES (GOING ROUND) - Funky DL
MAGDALEN SKY - Mike-Mark Gardener
ALL THAT I GOT IS YOU - Ghostface Killah
BACK TO MY ROOTS - Earl Grey
DAYS OF YOUTH - Laurnea
MARQUIS - Linoleum
BLACK HILL - Little Jam
SHE'LL KILL YOU - Low Art Thrill
NOTHING - Minty
AFRAID - M=F6tley Crue
LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN - New Creation
LITTLE STAR - Stina Nordenstam
EYEMOTION - Oceanhead feat. Claudia Br=FCcken
FREEDOM [ri] - Martin Okasili
I CONFESS - Posh
ELECTRIC GUITAR - Prefab Sprout
UNTOUCHABLE - Rialto
MR. GORGEOUS - Smoke City
INSTANT REPEATER '99 - The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
I CAN'T SLEEP - Spearmint
PATTERNS - Speedy J
LOVE HAS PASSED AWAY - The Supernaturals
AIN'T THAT ENOUGH - Teenage Fanclub
SOMETHING GOING ON - Todd Terry feat. Martha Wash & Jocelyn Brown
SPICE GIRLS MEDLEY - Unlimited Beat
RELIGION & POLITICS - Urban Species
ONE HEADLIGHT - The Wallflowers
MOVE AWAY - Warm Jets
MOVE WITH THE SPIRIT - Waterfront
BALL & CHAIN - Paul Young
GROOVE ON - Yo Yo Honey feat. Anita Jarrett
July 7th :
SO HELP ME GIRL - Gary Barlow
STAND & DELIVER - Barry Boom
FLAMING JUNE - B.T.
C U WHEN I GET THERE - Coolio
ONE BIG FAMILY (EP) - Embrace
YOU DON'T GET ME - Espiritu
HISTORY / GHOSTS - Michael Jackson
BRAIN - The Jungle Brothers
SHE'S ON THE TRAIN - Lionrock
COLOUR CODE WHITE - Lucky 15
RISINGSON / SUPER PREDATORS - Massive Attack
D'YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? - Oasis
COWBOYS - Portishead
OYE COMO VA [rm] - Tito Puente Jr. & The Latin Rhythm
feat. Tito Puente, India & Cali Aleman
YER OLD - Reef
PIECE OF MY HEART - Shaggy
ABUSE ME - Silverchair
WE ROCK - Supercharger
BLACK EYED BOY - Texas
SAME BAND - Ultrasound
ANTHEM - The Wildhearts
July 14th :
EVERYBODY - Backstreet Boys
I WANNA KISS YOU ALL OVER - No Mercy
THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE OF SCREAMING - Super Furry Animals
LAZY DAYS - Robbie Williams
July 21st :
THE SANDMAN [ri] - The Blue Boy
PICTURE OF YOU - Boyzone
THE MAGIC PIPER (OF LOVE) - Edwyn Collins
SPEAK TO ME - Gene
ALL I WANNA DO - Dannii Minogue
ALMA MATTERS - Morrissey
GET UP! GO INSANE - Stretch & Verne
FOLLOW THE SUN - Triple J
TRIUMPH - Wu-Tang Clan
July 28th :
WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER - Sarah Brightman
BEST REGRETS - Geneva
YOU BRING ME UP - K-Ci & Jojo
August 4th:
SHINE - Monaco
August 25th:
WHERE'S THE LOVE - Hanson
September 8th :
LOVE ANYWAY - Mike Scott
October 3rd:
[tba] - Spice Girls
Other forthcoming releases
JULY
TIMERUNNER - 16C+
WHERE IS THE LOVE / THE WAY THAT YOU FEEL - Adeva
[tba] - Shola Ama
ALL ABOUT US - Peter Andre
TOKYO STEALTH FIGHTER - Dave Angel
DIN DAA DAA - Kevin Aviance
AIN'T NO NEED TO HIDE - Sandy B
CHILD - Baby Blue
LIAR'S BAR - The Beautiful South
[tba] (EP) - Belle & Sebastian
THE SANDMAN [rr] - The Blue Boy
ZEPHYR / BOFF - Boff
MISSING YOU - DJ Boom
HOLD YOUR HEAD UP HIGH - Boris Dlugosch pres. Boom!
[tba] - Joanna Bryant
ELEKTROBANK - The Chemical Brothers
DANCE 2 DISCO - Coma B
FLAME - Crustation
DIRT [rm] - Death In Vegas
MAN OF SORROW - Bruce Dickinson
DOM PERIGNON - Don-E
[tba] - Dubstar
SOMEBODY LIKE YOU - Elate
SEEIN' IS BELIEVING - Adriana Evans
DOMINATE - Fake The Bass
CRASH - Feeder
BLACKEYE - Fluffy
SUNSHINE STATE OF MIND EP - Friction Spice
SHOW ME LOVE - The Fruit Loop
SHAKE YOUR BODY - Full Intention
CLAP YA HANDS - Funk Dog
HYPERFUNKY - Funktastica
PEOPLE MAY COME - Gabrielle
FLASHBACK - Laurent Garnier
IN THE GHETTO - Ghetto People feat. L-Viz
DOWN TO EARTH [rm] / NOT OVER YET [rm] - Grace
SATISFIED (TAKE ME HIGHER) [rm] - H2O feat. Billie
HARVEST FOR THE WORLD - Terry Hunter
REACH FOR THE MELODY - Victoria Wilson James
I PULLED MY GUN ONCE - Jam & Spoon
DISCOHOPPING - Klubbheads
OPEN YOUR EYES - Ko-Ko
FRIENDS - KRS One
ISN'T IT TIME - Kuva feat. Beverli Skeete
THE THEME (IT'S A PARTY) - Tracey Lee
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY - The Levellers
PUT YOUR FAITH IN ME - Alison Limerick
MEGAMIX - Livin' Joy
DISCO MACHINE GUN - Lo-Fidelity Allstars
LOVE, PEACE & HAPPINESS - The Lost Boy
SUM - Johnny Lydon
PANTHER PARTY - Mad Moses
OUT OF MY HEAD '97 - Marradonna
YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE - Kym Mazelle
MAGIC CARPET RIDE - The Mighty Dub Katz
ALWAYS [rm] - MK feat. Alana
WHO'S THE MACK - Mark Morrison
ROLLERBLADE - Moving Melodies
THE ILLEGAL EP - Narcotic Squad
TURN ME ON - CAN'T GET HIGH WITH YOU - Joey Negro
MO MONEY MO PROBLEM - The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Puff Daddy & Mase
OUTLAW - Olive
BABY COME TO ME - Alexander O'Neal & Cherrelle
UNFAIR KIND OF LOVE - The Pastels
STOP BY - Rahsaan Patterson
CARWASH - Phat & Phunky
GET UP, STAND UP - Phunky Phantom
EXPRESS YOURSELF - Jimi Polo
SMACK MY BITCH UP - MINDFIELDS - The Prodigy
STAND BY YOUR MAN - Queen Of Scots
KARMA POLICE - Radiohead
TROUBLED GIRL - Karen Ramirez
BLUNTED BEATS EP - Mario Scalambrin feat. Reggie
[tba] - The Seahorses
NEVER GIVE UP - Serena
LET THE BEAT HIT 'EM - Shena feat. Byron Stingily
INFIDELITY (ONLY YOU) - Skunk Anansie
YOUR FACE - Slacker
THE BIT GOES ON - Snakebite
STEP TO ME - Spice Girls
ELECTRICITY - Spiritualized
YOU GOTS TO GO - Structure-Rize
WORK IT OUT - Tara
HELLO DARLING - Fuzz Townshend
SOUND ADVISER - U2
MOANER - Underworld
THE FRESHMAN - The Verve Pipe
WANTED - White Town
LA ISLA BONITA - Who's That Girl
URGE - The Wildhearts
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT - Wild Switch
WITNESS / PEOPLE OF THE UNIVERSE - Witness
HEAVY SOUL (PT. 1) - Paul Weller
AUGUST
BURN - Fear Factory
[tba] - Genesis
IMAGINATION - Deni Hines
[tba] - James
I CAN'T SLEEP BABY (IF I) - R. Kelly
[tba] EP - The Lemonheads
[tba] - The Pastels
FILMSTAR - Suede
DRUGS DON'T WORK - The Verve
SEPTEMBER
[tba] - Janet Jackson
VISION INCISION - Lo-Fidelity Allstars
ALL I WANNA DO - Dannii Minogue
In this week's Top 10, there's only one new entry for Paul Weller
(Heavy Soul, 2), and Radiohead are again at the top with "OK Computer".
Very little activity apart from that.
Elsewhere, there's a new entry for David Gates and Bread (Essentials, 13).
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP