I'm currently in the studios of the mighty PHOENIX FM here in Brentwood, Essex, England. We're a small community radio station that only goes on air from time to time. However our tiny status belies our ALMIGHTY INDIE CLOUT. Two of our regular presenters are Les "Fruitbat" "I hit Philip Schofield in front of an eternally grateful nation" Carter, once from Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, and Chris T-T, of whom I have no nickname, although Huw Stephens did give it a plug on Radio 1 earlier this week, even though it clashes with his own show, which is awfully decent of him. We also have Steve Davis (the snooker player) on our roster but that's a story for another day.
As well as presenting a weekly show, Chris T-T is one of 23 artists who've record an exclusive session for us and that will be broadcast some time this month. Others to have done likewise are Les Carter's current outfit iDOU and the undeniably GRATE MJ HIBBETT who kindly allowed me and another presenter, Steve, to sing backing vocals on one of his songs.
But there's more - we've got some special guest presenters doing the two hour programme thing, including the 80s-tastic brilliance of THE MODERN, NIALL from the mighty Sultans of Ping, and DOMINIC from the fantastic THE OTHERS. Not at all bad for a little community radio station, eh.
My Sunday show is quite eclectic and not so indie. Here's what I done so far:
Turin Brakes – Pain Killer Franz Ferdinand – This Boy McAlmont and Butler – Yes Saint Etienne - Join Our Club Kate Bush – Pi Jamiroquai – Love Foolosophy Texas – Say What You Want Rialto – Summer’s Over Nizlopi – JCB Song Strokes – Juicebox Modern – Industry Celeste – Nothing In The Sky (With Diamonds) Maximo Park – Shiver British Sea Power – It Ended On An Oily Stage Len – Steal My Sunshine All Seeing I – 1st Man In Space Tahiti 80 – Soul Deep Royksopp – Eple
Album of the week – Flood by They Might Be Giants (1990) They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse In Your Soul They Might Be Giants – Particle Man They Might Be Giants – Hearing Aid
3 short songs (this is where I pick 3 songs under 2 minutes) Pizzicato Five – I Rakes – 22 Grand Job Clash – Career Opportunities
1 long song (this is where I redress the balance with a non-prog-rock behemoth of a tune, minimum 8 minutes. I expect this is where I lose my audience) Divine Comedy – Eric The Gardener
Phoenix FM Creative Sessions Dirty Fairies – Rhythm Jacksonswarehouse – Hotel By The Sea
Cork Corner Frank and Walters - How Can I Exist Sultans of Ping – 2 Pints Of Rasa
Guess the Furby song Madness – I Chase The Devil AKA Ironshirt
More info on tonight's show is here: www.phoenixfm.com/eddie's-other-show.php. Don't be confused by the use of the word Eddie, just like listeners to the station aren't confused when they hear people call me Paul.
Normal service on the free mp3s will be resumed when I get half a minute. In the meantime if you want to listen to Phoenix FM you can click here: http://bluedog.wavestreamer.com:5478/listen.pls. If you like let me know what kind of stuff you want me to play, and then tune in, and that would be really nice!
A really stupid all-time list to end all really stupid all-time lists
Just remember - don't blame the NME, blame the fans ...
Arctic Monkeys beat Beatles
The Arctic Monkeys have beaten the Beatles in a list of the greatest British albums ever. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not came fifth in the NME poll while the Beatles' Revolver only made ninth place.
Top of the list was the self-titled debut album from The Stone Roses, released in 1989.
Second was The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths, followed by Oasis with Definitely Maybe and The Sex Pistols with Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
NME said the Arctic Monkeys deserved to be in such exalted company despite the fact their album was only released on Monday.
It is shaping up to be the fastest-selling debut album of all time, with nearly 120,000 copies sold on its first day in the shops.
"Consider some of the great British debuts: The Smiths, Definitely Maybe, Original Pirate Material. Now consider the Arctic Monkeys," NME said.
"Lumping Whatever People Say I Am... in with these records might seem premature, but what made them all great was attitude and innovation and sheer balls - something the Monkeys possess in abundance.
"Passion, belief and style are timeless, and so will this be."
Besides the Beatles, the rest of the top 10 was made up of Modern Life Is Rubbish by Blur, Different Class by Pulp, London Calling by The Clash and Up The Bracket by The Libertines.
The NME compiled its list of 100 greatest albums to mark Britain's "musical renaissance".
Top 20 Greatest British Albums Ever
1 The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses 2 The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead 3 Oasis - Definitely Maybe 4 Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks 5 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not 6 Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish 7 Pulp - Different Class 8 The Clash - London Calling 9 The Beatles - Revolver 10 The Libertines - Up The Bracket 11 Radiohead - The Bends 12 The Specials - Specials 13 The Verve - A Northern Soul 14 David Bowie - Hunky Dory 15 Primal Scream - Screamadelica 16 Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels 17 The Streets - Original Pirate Material 18 Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand 19 The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come 20 The Beatles - Rubber Soul
(Me again now) good shout on Blur at no 6 - MLIR is an awesome and (until now) much underrated album, and followed up with Pulp's opus at no 7 is no bad thing either. Really bad shout with the Sex Pistols - perhaps the most overrated album of all time. I've got it and it really is cack from start to finish.
Recorded from yesterday's live BBC 6Music Hub session, Belle and Sebastian with acoustic versions of their new single, Funny Little Frog, and a new version of a beautiful track from a few years back, Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying.
By the way any sessions I put from here are never recorded from the BBC's excellent but less-than-perfect-quality Listen Again feature, the ones and zeroes go straight from digital broadcasts to my hard drive, in case anyone was wondering!
Here's something new - some MP3s from next week's UK no.1 artist, The Arctic Monkeys. They're well known for shifting vast quantities of coloured vinyl and cassette singles, not really having embraced the digital age yet.
I think this is Girls Aloud, can someone please check for me?
They have, however, embraced the world of perfectly crafted pop songs, as the second song listed (a Girls Aloud cover, for the benefit of people outside the UK) will testify. Both were recorded live on Radio 1 earlier today.
I've recently recorded another 2 hour radio show with my radio partner in crime, Steve (I appear as Eddie on the programme but don't let that confuse you). It's going out as a download/stream only on BOA, but next month I will be back on 87.7 FM for another month of indie marvelling and no doubt there will be more mentions of that soon enough on here.
Current playlist is:
Hybrasil - Hy Fy Modern - Industry Long Blondes - Seperated By Motorways Delays - Valentine S*M*A*S*H - All By Myself Eat - Belly Town Sultans Of Ping FC - I Said I Am I Said Others - How I Nearly Lost You Jegsy Dodd and the Original Sinners - Grumpy Old Men Saucy Monky - I Touch Myself Victorian Gentlemens Club - My Son Spells Backwards Shortwave Set - Repeat To Fade Data Panik - Rulers and the States Upper Room - All Over This Town Chalets - Sexy Mistake Rakes - Binary Love ¡Forward, Russia! - Twelve Sultans of Ping FC - Scar On My Face Aberdeen City - God Is Going To Get Sick Of Me Alps - Last Dance Amphetameanies - This Boy Audioweb - Test The Theory Envelopes - Free Jazz Editors - Munich Chris T-T - A Plague On Both Your Houses Frank and Walters - How Can I Exist Crimea - Lottery Winners On Acid Modern - Jane Falls Down Belle and Sebastian - Funny Little Frog Mew with J Mascis - Why Are You Looking Grave? Wurzels - Remember Me
A reasonable mix of current and early 90s stuff with very little in the middle, and that's the way I like it right now. It's been a long long time since I heard anything from Eat - admittedly not the easiest band to search for on the net. The S*M*A*S*H song is actually a self-released new track that was put out in 2005, their first for 9 years or so. You can listen to it and download it from their Myspace, here.
If you're too lazy to listen to the whole show here's a few MP3s you can nick for nowt.
This Scottish ska (not Reel Big Fish type ska, but proper ska) band has one of Data Panik (Bis) in it and one of Franz Ferdinand from time to time as well. That makes the track all the more interesting - it's actually the original song, which Franz Ferdinand covered for their second album, You Could Have It So Much Better. It's a totally different take on it. The track is also a session, recorded for BBC Scotland's Air show (of which Data Panik's Amanda McKinnon is, coincidentally, a one-time presenter). Website
An instrumental from the band's one release to date, the We Got Music EP which came out last summer in their native Ireland and troubled the lower edges of the top 40. I understand the EP is going to have a UK release shortly. Hard to describe them really, definitely indie/rock with added electronic bits which are more prominent on this song. I saw them live at the Borderlin last year and they were great - they're playing a number of UK dates next month, have a look at their Myspace for dates. Website Myspace
The best bit about this is the way they describe themselves as "Victorian Funk". Having heard them I don't really know how accurate that can claim to be, but I did have a good hard think about what they said. Website Myspace
In other news ...
Good Weather For Airstrikes has listed their Top 65 Music Videos of 2005 and it's a pretty impressive list. I think my favourite of all of those is the Cardigans (because it's a great song, you understand .. okay that was brave of me!)
It's a big one .. the top-selling 200 albums in the UK in 2005
A bit of a long and colourless and somewhat depressing post - here is the list of the UK's 200 top selling albums of 2005, with the actual or rounded unit sales in brackets.
Some of the chart does actually make interesting reading. Despite the puzzling inclusion of James Blunt at no.1, whose album has sold more in the UK in one calendar year than any other album EVER, you've also got Coldplay almost making 2m - they have done now, so that's all 3 albums that have crossed that mark, not bad for a little indie band whose first record sold about 400 copies on Fierce Panda.
1. James Blunt - Back To Bedlam (2367758) 2. Coldplay - X&Y (1999000) 3. Robbie Williams - Intensive Care (1434000) 4. Kaiser Chiefs - Employment (1312000) 5. Gorillaz - Demon Days (1205000) 6. Westlife - Face To Face (1143000) 7. KT Tunstall - Eye To The Telescope (1018000) 8. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway (952631) 9. Eminem - Curtain Call (926012) 10. Faithless - Forever Faithless (915000) 11. Katie Melua - Piece By Piece (869000) 12. Killers - Hot Fuss (859000) 13. Oasis - Don't Believe The Truth (848000) 14. Il Divo - Ancora (840000) 15. Madonna - Confessions On A Dancefloor (830000) 16. Green Day - American Idiot (814000) 17. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (787000) 18. Keane - Hopes And Fears (757000) 19. Take That - Never Forget (755000) 20. Gwen Stefani - Love Angel Music Baby (746000) 21. Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business (689000) 22. Sugababes - Taller In More Ways (640000) 23. David Gray - Life In Slow Motion (625000) 24. Basement Jaxx - The Singles (595000) 25. Pussycat Dolls - PDC (574000) 26. G4 - G4 (573000) 27. Foo Fighters - In Your Honour (571000) 28. Tony Christie - Definitive Collection (561000) 29. 50 Cent - The Massacre (554000) 30. Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams (531000) 31. Mariah Carey - The Emancipation Of Mimi (526965) 32. Athlete - Tourist (499000) 33. Akon - Trouble (487000) 34. Will Young - Keep On (477974) 35. Prodigy - Their Law - The Singles (468000) 36. Eurythmics - Ultimate Collection (453000) 37. Stereophonics - Language, Sex, Violence, Other (451000) 38. Jeff Wayne - The War Of The Worlds (446000) 39. Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers (444000) 40. Mariah Carey - Greatest Hits (439000) 41. Supertramp - Retrospectacle (438000) 42. Michael Bublé - It's Time (431300) 43. Kanye West - Late Registration (431200) 44. Kasabian - Kasabian (412000) 45. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (411000) 46. Barbara Streisand - Guilty Too (397000) 47. Katherine Jenkins - Living A Dream (372500) 48. Il Divo - Il Divo (371300) 49. Joss Stone - Mind Body & Soul (368200) 50. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better (368000) 51. Razorlight - Up All Night (358000) 52. Damien Rice - O (355000) 53. G4 - G4 & Friends (349000) 54. U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (348200) 55. Hard-Fi - Stars Of CCTV (347897) 56. Jem - Finally Woken (343000) 57. White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan (343000) 58. Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane (337000) 59. Anastacia - Pieces Of A Dream (333300) 60. Rod Stewart - Thanks For The Memory (329600) 61. John Legend - Get Lifted (314500) 62. Daniel Powter - Daniel Powter (312500) 63. Kate Bush - Aerial (312300) 64. Green Day - Bullet In A Bible (309000) 65. Simon Webb - Sanctury (307500) 66. Game - The Documentary (298000) 67. Snow Patrol - Final Straw (298000) 68. Jamiroquai - Dymanite (294000) 69. Enya - Amarantine (293000) 70. McFly - Wonderland (291000) 71. Robbie Williams - Greatest Hits (287999) 72. Eminem - Encore (285000) 73. Lucie Silvas - Breathe In (269300) 74. Girls Aloud - Chemistry (269000) 75. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (261000) 76. Goldfrapp - Supernature (260000) 77. Craig David - The Story Goes (256000) 78. Snoop Dogg - Rhythm & Gangsta (256000) 79. Chemical Brothers - Push The Button (250000) 80. Blink 182 - Greatest Hits (247000) 81. Lemar - Time To Grow (240000) 82. Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love (236000) 83. Green Day - International Superhits (231000) 84. Charlotte Church - Tissues And Issues (224000) 85. Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (222000) 86. Kylie Minogue - Ultimate Kylie (217000) 87. Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler - Private Investigations (215000) 88. Michael Jackson - The Essential (206000) 89. Bryan Adams - Anthology (206000) 90. Usher - Confessions (203000) 91. Mario - Turning Point (199000) 92. Choirboys - The Choirboys (197000) 93. E.L.O - All Over The World (196000) 94. Katie Melua - Call Off The Search (195879) 95. Joss Stone - The Soul Sessions (194000) 96. Rooster - Rooster (192000) 97. Bryn Terfel - Simple Gifts (192000) 98. REM - In Time The Best Of (191000) 99. Michael Ball - Music (189000) 100. Natalie Imbruglia - Counting Down The Days (185000) 101. Coldplay - Parachutes (184000) 102. Plil Collins - Love Songs (182000) 103. Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (180000) 104. Michael Bolton - The Very Best Of (179000) 105. Doves - Some Cities (178000) 106. Embrace - Out Of Nothing (173000) 107. Feeder - Pushing The Senses (172000) 108. System of a Down - Mezmerize (170000) 109. Nelly - Suit (169000) 110. Mylo - Destroy Rock & Roll (168000) 111. Jamie Cullum - Catching Tales (167000) 112. Darkness - One Way Ticket To Hell And Back (166000) 113. Carpenters - Gold - Greatest Hits (165000) 114. Simply Red - Simplified (164000) 115. Lionel Richie & The Commodores - The Definitive Collection (163000) 116. My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (162000) 117. Elvis Presley - Hitstory (161000) 118. Abba - Gold - Greatest Hits (160000) 119. Patrizio Baunne - The Italian (159000) 120. Destiny's Child - No 1s (158000) 121. Ciara - Goodies (157000) 122. Matt Monro - The Ultimate Collection (156000) 123. Elvis Presley - Elvis - 30 No 1 Hits (155000) 124. Sam Cooke - Portrait Of A Legend (154000) 125. Elvis Presley - Love Elvis (153000) 126. Bruce Springsteen - Devils & Dust (152000) 127. Antony & The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now (151000) 128. Bon Jovi - Have A Nice Day (150000) 129. Queen - Greatest Hits I, Ii & Iii (149000) 130. Rod Stewart - The Story So Far (148000) 131. Arcade Fire - Funeral (148000) 132. McFly - Room On The 3Rd Floor (147000) 133. Oasis - What's The Story Morning Glory (147000) 134. Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies To Paralyze (146000) 135. Britney Spears - Greatest Hits - My Prerogative (145000) 136. Girls Aloud - What Will The Neighbours Say (144000) 137. Zutons - Who Killed.. (143000) 138. Shakin' Stevens - The Collection (142000) 139. Ian Brown - The Greatest (141000) 140. Savage Garden - Truly Madly Completely - The Best Of (140000) 141. Sean Paul - The Trinity (139000) 142. Destiny's Child - Destiny Fulfilled (138000) 143. 2 Pac - Loyal To The Game (137000) 144. Jools Holland - Swinging The Blues Dancind The Ska (136000) 145. Various - Sing The Number 1s (135000) 146. 50 Cent & G Unit - Get Rich Or Die Tryin' - OST (134000) 147. Bravery - The Bravery (133000) 148. John Lennon - Working Class Hero (132000) 149. Jay-Z & Linkin Park - Collision Course (131000) 150. Katherine Jenkins - Second Nature (130000) 151. Crazy Frog - Crazy Hits (129000) 152. Ronan Keating - 10 Years Of Hits (128000) 153. Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak (127000) 154. Green Day - Dookie (126000) 155. Jennifer Lopez - Rebirth (124000) 156. Pink Floyd - Echoes - The Best Of (122000) 157. Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire - The Legend Of (121000) 158. Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac (120000) 159. Futureheads - The Futureheads (118000) 160. Nirvana - Nevermind (116000) 161. Various - The Best Of Vol 1 & Vol 2 (114000) 162. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (112000) 163. Athlete - Vehicles & Animals (111000) 164. Daniel O'Donnell - Teenage Dreams (110000) 165. Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang (109000) 166. Andrea Bocelli - Aria - The Opera Album (108000) 167. Shania Twain - Greatest Hits (108000) 168. Paul Weller - As Is Now (107000) 169. Van Morrison - Magic Time (107000) 170. Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company (106000) 171. Muse - Absolution (105000) 172. System of a Down - Hypnotise (105000) 173. Daniel Bedingfield - Second First Impression (104000) 174. Maximo Mark - A Certain Trigger (103000) 175. Steve Brookstein - Heart & Soul (102000) 176. Michael Jackson - Number Ones (101000) 177. U2 - The Best Of 1980-1990 (100000) 178. Pogues - The Ultimate Collection (100000) 179. Stevie Wonder - The Definitive Collection (99000) 180. Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free (99000) 181. Christina Aguilera - Stripped (98000) 182. Editors - The Back Room (98000) 183. Black Eyed Peas - Elephunk (97000) 184. Oasis - Definitely Maybe (97000) 185. Gorillaz - Gorillaz (96000) 186. David Gray - White Ladder (96000) 187. Slade - The Very Best Of (95000) 188. Cream - Ultimate Cream (95000) 189. Kirsty MacColl - The Best Of (94000) 190. Libertines - The Libertines (94000) 191. Guns N Roses - Greatest Hits (93000) 192. Hayley Westenra - Odyssey (93000) 193. Rod Stewart - Stardust - The Great American III (92000) 194. Jamelia - Thank You (92000) 195. Babyshambles - Down In Albion (91000) 196. Blondie - Greatest Hits (91000) 197. Tony Christie - The Best Of (90500) 198. Will Young - Friday's Child (90036) 199. Cliff Richard - The Platinum Collection (89000) 200. Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething (89000)
Oh and just because they are the second great band of 2006, it doesn't mean they are worse than the first great band of 2006. I haven't really thought about an order yet.
If you know nothing about them, here are some facts to whet your appetite:
1. They have a singer called The House Of Lords, apparently because he is the grumpy second chamber of the band, constantly vetoing their great ideas. (You need to know a bit about British politics to get that one). 2. They released their mini album "The Young Knives ... Are Dead" on Oxford label Shifty Disco in 2002, and appear to be too lazy to have released anything since (until single The Decision came out last month). 3. They dress like accountants. 4. They used to be a Ned's Atomic Dustbin covers band (although that could be some bollocks made up by the PR company. They sound nothing like the Neds). 5. They are touring in the UK in February and March, GO SEE THEM AND BUY ALL THEIR STUFF, DO IT NOW!
If they don't spend another year playing a million gigs to a hundred people instead of the other way round. Get to see them in a small venue, before only the big ones beckon.
These tracks are session versions, recorded yesterday at BBC's Maida Vale studios. 12 is a new version of their new single, and of course, 17 shares its name with two other great tracks, by the Regents (yes, I'm old!) and Ladytron.
EDIT: Just got the third track, Nine, and I've added that too.
This is the top 200 of the year, including both physical and download sales.
1 Tony Christie Feat. Peter Kay - (Is This The Way To) Amirillo - 1100233 2 Shayne Ward - That's My Goal - 874444 3 Crazy Frog - Axel F - 526740 4 James Blunt - You're Beautiful - 471388 5 Pussycat Dolls Ft Busta Rhymes - Don't Cha - 369520 6 McFly - All About You / You've Got A Friend - 338250 7 Akon - Lonely - 335026 8 Madonna - Hung Up - 325463 9 Westlife - You Raise Me Up - 319976 10 Sugababes - Push The Button - 303301 11 Daniel Powter - Bad Day - 296280 12 Nizlopi - JCB Song - 295056 13 2Pac ft. Elton John - Ghetto Gospel - 275683 14 Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. - 258903 15 Will Smith - Switch - 199775 16 Bodyrockers - I Like The Way - 187232 17 Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor - 177792 18 Robbie Williams - Trippin' - 164241 19 Snoop Dogg & JT - Signs - 163581 20 Audio Bullys - Shot You Down - 162840 21 Mario - Let Me Love You - 161893 22 Mariah Carey - We Belong Together - 158977 23 Jennifer Lopez - Get Right - 158924 24 Nelly & Tim McGraw - Over and over - 157021 25 Black Eyed Peas - Don't Phunk With My Heart - 152290 26 Gorillaz - Dare - 148270 27 Sean Paul - We Be Burnin' - 146693 28 Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone - 141649 29 50 Cent - Candy Shop - 140738 30 Oasis - Lyla - 137705 31 Pussycat Dolls - Stickwitu - 137699 32 Rhianna - Pon De Reply - 128129 33 Charlotte Church - Crazy Chick - 128026 34 Oasis - The Importance of Being Idle - 123278 35 Stereophonics - Dakota - 122779 36 Kanye West - Gold Digger - 122229 37 Black Eyed Peas - My Humps - 120809 38 M.V.P - Rock Ya Body Mic Check 1, 2 - 120723 39 Amerie - 1 Thing - 117892 40 Mylo vs Miami Sound Machine - Doctor Pressure - 115980 41 Coldplay - Speed of Sound - 112593 42 Razorlight - Somewhere Else - 111526 43 Simon Webbe - No Worries - 110906 44 Eminem - Like toy soldiers - 107065 45 Ciara - 1, 2 Step - 104510 46 Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl - 102952 47 Gwen Stefani feat. Eve - Rich Girl - 99836 48 Sunset Strippers - Falling Stars - 99516 49 50 Cent ft. The Game - Hate it or Love it - 97415 50 Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends - 90486 51 Simon Webbe - Lay Your Hands - 89876 52 Chemical Brothers - Galvinize - 88670 53 McFly - I'll Be Ok - 88447 54 Westlife feat. Diana Ross - When You Tell Me That You Love Me - 88265 55 Studio B - I See Girls - 86361 56 Missy Elliott - Lose Control - 85200 57 Coldplay - Fix You - 83948 58 Foo Fighters - Best of You - 83531 59 Akon - Locked Up - 82904 60 Black Eyed Peas - Don't Lie - 82244 61 Jem - They - 81433 62 Craig David - Don't Love You No More - 80503 63 Ciara - Goodies - 79532 64 Katie Melua - Nine Million Bicyicles - 79096 65 Eminem - Mockingbird - 77948 66 Girls Aloud - Biology - 77423 67 Mariah Carey - It's Like That - 77378 68 Brian McFadden & Delta Goodrem - Almost here - 75894 69 Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot / Sink That Ship - 75409 70 Bobby Valentino - Slow Down - 73752 71 Uniting Nations - Out of touch - 73304 72 David Gray - The One I Love - 71352 73 Jessicca Simpson - These Boots Are Made for Walkin' - 71297 74 Liberty X - Song 4 Lovers - 70675 75 Jay-Z/Linkin Park - Numb/Encore - 70250 76 Cabin Crew - Star to Fall - 68835 77 LL Cool J - Hush - 68113 78 Kelly Clarkson - Behind These Hazel Eyes - 67585 79 Kaiser Chiefs - Everyday I Love You Less and Less - 67520 80 Natalie Imbruglia - Shiver - 67187 81 U2 - Sometimes you cant make it on your own - 66170 82 Sugababes - Ugly - 66105 83 Coral - In The Morning - 65576 84 Phantom Planet - California - 65475 85 Ashanti - Only U - 65249 86 Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams - 64429 87 KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See - 64368 88 Pogues - Fairytale of New York - 62922 89 Athlete - Wires - 62917 90 Goldfrapp - Oh La La - 62187 91 Oasis - Let There Be Love - 60911 92 50 Cent ft. Mobb Deep - Outta Control - 59697 93 Kanye West - Diamonds from Sierra Leone - 59498 94 Daddy Yankee - Gasolina - 59196 95 Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To - 58382 96 Ciara feat. Ludacris - Oh - 58214 97 The Game ft. 50 Cent - How We Do - 58062 98 Lemar - Time to Grow - 57730 99 Killers - Somebody Told Me - 57561 100 Lee Ryan - Army of Lovers - 57355 101 Eminem - Ass Like That - 57329 102 Pharrell Ft Gwen Stefani - Can I Have It Like That - 56752 103 Bob Sinclar ft. Gary Nesta Pine - Love Generation - 56604 104 Gorillaz - Dirty Harry - 56367 105 Kelly Clarkson - Because of You - 56143 106 Destiny's Child ft. Lil Wayne - Soldier - 56107 107 Max Graham vs Yes - Owner of A Lonely Heart - 54132 108 Girls Aloud - Wake Me Up - 53600 109 Crazy Frog - Jingle Bells/U Can't Touch This - 53477 110 Destiny's Child - Girl - 53188 111 50 Cent - Just A L'il Bit - 52911 112 Kaiser Chiefs - Oh My God - 52797 113 Son Of Dork - Ticket Outta Loserville - 51730 114 Britney Spears - Do Something - 51711 115 U2 - City of Blinding Lights - 51076 116 Jennifer Lopez ft. Fat Joe - Hold You Down - 50832 117 Mariah Carey - Get Your Number/ Shake It Off - 50459 118 Rob Thomas - Lonely No More - 49433 119 Hard-Fi - Hard To Beat - 49162 120 Eminem - When I'm Gone - 48936 121 James Blunt - High - 48638 122 Steve Brookstein - Against All Odds - 48409 123 Caesars - Jerk It Out - 48249 124 Basement Jaxx - Oh My Gosh - 48213 125 KT Tunstall - The Otherside of the World - 47976 126 Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock - 47965 127 Gwen Stefani - Cool - 47140 128 Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight - 46977 129 Akon - Belly Dancer (Bonnanza) - 46845 130 Friday Hill - Baby Goodbye - 46748 131 McFly - I Wanna Hold You - 45916 132 Liberty X - A Night To Remember - 45911 133 Elvis Presley - Wooden Heart - 44857 134 Girls Aloud - Long Hot Summer - 44728 135 Kylie Minogure - Giving You Up - 44572 136 Will Young - Switch It On - 43618 137 Charlotte Church - Call My Name - 43546 138 Kate Bush - King of the Mountain - 43469 139 Elvis Presley - (Your The) Devil In Disguise - 43444 140 Elvis Presley - Good Luck Charm - 43205 141 Elvis Presley - Rock -A-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - 42985 142 White Stripes - Blue Orchid - 42704 143 White Stripes - My Doorbell - 42655 144 Les Rhythmes Digitales - Jacques Your Body - 42381 145 Roll Deep - The Avenue - 42346 146 Scissor Sisters - Filthy Gorgeous - 41770 147 Craig David - All The Way - 41613 148 Elvis Presley - (Maries the Name) His Latest Flame/Little Sister - 41435 149 Elvis Presley - A Fool Such as I - 41356 150 Mario - Here I Go Again - 41317 151 Elvis Presley - One Night/I Got Stung - 41190 152 Elvis Presley - The Wonder of You - 41068 153 Elvis vs JXL - A Little Less Conversation - 40887 154 Babyshambles - Fuck Forever - 40768 155 The Bravery - An Honest Mistake - 40689 156 Jamiroquai - Feels Just Like it Should - 40683 157 Inaya Day - Nasty Girl - 40621 158 Elvis Presley - Crying in the Chapel - 40614 159 Bloc Party - Two More Years - 40592 160 Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never - 40466 161 Elvis Presley - Return To Sender - 40456 162 Backstreet Boys - Incomplete - 39960 163 Hillary Duff - Wake Up - 39906 164 Usher - Caught Up - 39892 165 Kelly Osbourne - One Word - 39645 166 Elvis Presley - She's Not You - 39488 167 The Game - Dreams - 39328 168 Elvis Presley - Surrender - 39126 169 Pond Life - Ring Ding Ding - 39054 170 Dht Ft Edmee - Listen To Your Heart - 39018 171 Tom Novy - Your Body - 38941 172 Nelly - N Dey Say - 38703 173 Mylo - In My Arms - 37728 174 DJ Sammy - Why - 36537 175 Rooster - Staring at the Sun - 36021 176 Elvis Presley - Way Down - 36019 177 Lucile Silvas - Breathe In - 35734 178 Tatu - All About Us - 35614 179 Darkness - One Way Ticket - 35589 180 Freeloaders - So Much Love to Give - 35537 181 Jem - Just A Ride - 35530 182 Depeche Mode - Precious - 35500 183 Bon Jovi - Have A Nice Day - 35179 184 Damian Marley - Welcome to Jamrock - 34812 185 One World Project - Grief Never Grows Old - 34316 186 Eric Prydz - Call On Me - 34246 187 Mattafix - Big City Life - 34076 188 Sean Paul - Ever Blazin' - 33959 189 Faithless - Insomnia 2005 - 33649 190 Xzibit Feat. Keri Hilson - Hey Now (Mean Muggin) - 33441 191 Uniting Nations - You & Me - 33142 192 Elton John - Electricty - 32410 193 Rachel Stevens - Negotiate With Love - 32377 194 Rachel Stevens - So Good - 32299 195 Girls Aloud - See The Day - 32122 196 Robbie Williams - Advertising Space - 31992 197 Dana Rayne - Object of My Desire - 31559 198 Raghav - Angel Eyes - 31395 199 Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast - 31221 200 Shapeshifters - Back to Basics - 31179
Yes I love them, you love them too, that's why you're here. (Unless you're looking for MP3s/videos etc). I'm updating this post over the weekend and if I get anything else worthy then I'll add them too.
UK sales - Top 10 singles of 2005
1. Tony Christie Feat. Peter Kay - (Is This The Way To) Amirillo 2. Shayne Ward - That's My Goal 3. Crazy Frog - Axel F 4. James Blunt - You're Beautiful 5. Pussycat Dolls Ft Busta Rhymes - Don't Cha 6. McFly - All About You / You've Got A Friend 7. Akon - Lonely 8. Madonna - Hung Up 9. Westlife - You Raise Me Up 10. Sugababes - Push The Button
What a load of crud. Still, at least Shayne Ward wasn't no. 1.
UK sales - Top 10 albums of 2005
1. James Blunt - Back To Bedlam 2. Coldplay - X&Y 3. Robbie Williams - Intensive Care 4. Kaiser Chiefs - Employment 5. Gorillaz - Demon Days 6. Westlife - Face To Face 7. KT Tunstall - Eye To The Telescope 8. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway 9. Faithless - Forever Faithless - The Greatest Hits 10. Eminem - Curtain Call - The Hits
Both singles and albums have just been announced (Jan 1, around 3pm) and I'll be putting the full top 75s up on this site quite soon.
Take Your Medicine - Top 10 singles of 2005
1. Bridge Gang - London Sky Tonight 2. Sufjan Stevens - Chicago 3. Go! Team - Ladyflash 4. Mystery Jets - You Can't Fool Me Dennis 5. Art Brut - Emily Kane 6. Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek 7. We Are Scientists - The Great Escape 8. Playwrights - Dislocated (London version) 9. Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure 10. Pipettes - It Hurts To See You Dance So Well
I've really enjoyed Mike's ridiculously-detailed blog this year and this chart is typical of the wide range of music covered on a much-more-regular basis than this one. The no 1 by the Bridge Gang is well worth a listen - if there's one thing I've learned this year it's that there's a frightening wealth of talent in the hands of unsigned bands all over the UK.
1. Kaiser Chiefs - Employment 2. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm 3. Editors - The Back Room 4. Arcade Fire - Funeral 5. Audioslave - Out Of Exile 6. Foo Fighters - In Your Honour 7. Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers 8. Coldplay - X & Y 9. Kanye West - Late Registration 10. Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger
WTF is right! That well known East End song, Knees Up Mother Brown (or KUMB for short) is home to the largest community of West Ham United fans, and for some reason I ran the end of year poll this year. Mostly predictable fare - although a nice high placing for Editors, who will hopefully repeat that next week with the re-released Munich; the full chart has some very interesting choices on it, and you can see the whole list of 105 here.
BBC Radio 1 OneMusic Festive 50 - Top 10 singles of 2005
1. Jegsy Dodd and the Original Sinners - Grumpy Old Men 2. Crimea - Lottery Winners On Acid 3. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor 4. King Creosote - Klutz 5. Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies) 6. Early Years - All The Ones And Zeros 7. Camera Obscura - I Love My Jean 8. Ollo - Lord Lucan Is Still Missing 9. Steveless - Bored 10. Laura Cantrell - Bees
Formerly known as John Peel's Festive 50, of course. The full 50 was shown in my earlier post, here.
NME - Top 10 singles of 2005
1. Futureheads – Hounds Of Love 2. Arcade Fire – Rebellion (Lies) 3. Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor 4. Kanye West – Gold Digger 5. White Stripes – My Doorbell 6. Babyshambles – Fuck Forever 7. Antony And The Johnsons – Hope There’s Someone 8. Razorlight – Somewhere Else 9. Franz Ferdinand – Do You Want To 10. The Strokes – Juicebox
NME - Top 10 albums of 2005
1. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm 2. Arcade Fire - Funeral 3. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better 4. Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now 5. Kaiser Chiefs - Employment 6. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan 7. Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise 8. Kanye West - Late Registration 9. Babyshambles - Down In Albion 10. Gorillaz - Demon Days
A lot of controversy over these lists, particularly since the NME were accused by another website of "doctoring" the chart to represent their target readership, or something. Specifically, Arcade Fire apparently topped the poll of polls from the NME writers, but the editor allegedly put Bloc Party at no 1 because it was felt that this would be a more popular winner with its readership. The rumour spread all over the place; I'm sure you saw the story somewhere.
I had a lot of problems with this whole hoo ha. Firstly, I think the NME is the easiest of easy targets and I just can't be bothered to knock them, I think they do what they set out to reasonably well and there's plenty of other places for me to get my musical fix. Moaning that the NME isn't as good as it used to be is like complaining that BBC1 has too many children's programmes - they don't change, you do!
Secondly, the rumour was started by a little read blog which had no evidence, and to make it worse they said they did but they wouldn't publish it. Hmmm ...
Thirdly, who cares if they did doctor it? I doctored my end of year poll - I put the ones I liked best at the top!
I've overlooked the obvious fact (not opinion, FACT!) that the Bloc Party album is miles better than the Arcade Fire one anyway. And no, I don't want a job on the NME - I doubt they could afford me.
The top 50 single and album lists have been preserved here.
Q - Top 10 albums of 2005
1. Coldplay - X&Y 2. Gorillaz - Demon Days 3. Kaiser Chiefs - Employment 4. Oasis - Don't Believe The Truth 5. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning 6. James Blunt - Back To Bedlam 7. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better 8. Arcade Fire - Funeral 9. KT Tunstall - Eye To The Telescope 10. Hard-Fi - Stars Of CCTV
This is really uninspiring, even for Q, master of the pointless list (something I'm a big fan of if it's done good). The top 50 can be seen here.
Rolling Stone - Top 10 albums of 2005
1. Kanye West - Late Registration 2. Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang 3. White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan 4. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine 5. Bruce Springsteen - Devils and Dust 6. My Morning Jacket - Z 7. Beck - Guero 8. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake - It's Morning 9. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois 10. 50 Cent - The Massacre
This is even worse than the Q list. To see it in all its gory, click here.
My Own Charts - Top 10 singles of 2005
1. Mystery Jets - You Can't Fool Me Dennis 2. Bloc Party - Banquet 3. Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure 4. Robocop Kraus - Small Houses Odd Cars 5. Futureheads - Hounds Of Love 6. Others - Lackey 7. Young Knives - The Decision 8. Rakes - Retreat 9. MJ Hibbett and the Validators - Never Going Back To Aldi's 10. Kate Bush - Mrs Bartolozzi
1. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm 2. Robocop Kraus - They Think They Are The Robocop Kraus 3. Others - The Others 4. Rulers Of The Planet - In 30 Minutes We Destroy The Earth 5. Kate Bush - Aerial 6. Kaiser Chiefs - Employment 7. Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger 8. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock 'n' Roll 9. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better With 10. Frank and Walters - Souvenirs
According to Audioscrobbler/Last FM, these are the bands I've played the most in 2005, with the number of plays.
1. Sultans of Ping F.C. 211 2. Kate Bush 112 3. Rulers Of The Planet 96 4. The Robocop Kraus 90 5. The Others 89 6. Bloc Party 69 7. The Cardigans 58 8. Blur 57 9. Franz Ferdinand 56 10. Art Brut 54
