Thursday 31 December 2009

The Noughties – what a rather shit decade for UK radio

… according to PPL. These were the most commonly played songs on the radio in the UK over the last 10 years:

1. Snow Patrol – Chasing Cars (2006)
2. Take That – Shine (2006)
3. Scissor Sisters – I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ (2006)
4. Feeling – Love It When You Call (2005)
5. Sugababes – About You Now (2007)
6. Take That – Rule The World (2007)
7. James Blunt – You’re Beautiful (2004)
8. Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot (2004)
9. Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out Of My Head (2001)
10. Gnarls Barkley – Crazy (2006)
11. Razorlight – America (2006)
12. Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back In Town (1976)
13. Gwen Stefani featuring Akon – The Sweet Escape (2006)
14. Stereophonics – Dakota (2005)
15. Spiller – Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) (2000)
16. Take That – Patience (2006)
17. Nelly Furtado – Say It Right (2006)
18. Mika – Grace Kelly (2006)
19. Natalie Imbruglia – Torn (1997)
20. Candi Staton – Young Hearts Run Free (1976)
21. Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love (2007)
22. Stranglers – Golden Brown (1981)
23. Outkast – Hey Ya! (2003)
24. Keane – Somewhere Only We Know (2004)
25. Duffy – Mercy (2007)
26. Toploader – Dancing In The Moonlight (2000)
27. Modjo – Lady (Hear Me Tonight) (2000)
28. Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby (2006)
29. Police – Every Breath You Take (1983)
30. Scissor Sisters – Filthy/Gorgeous (2003)
31. Pink – Who Knew (2006)
32. BeyoncĂ© featuring Jay-Z – Crazy In Love (2003)
33. Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse – Valerie (2007)
34. U2 – Beautiful Day (2000)
35. All Saints – Pure Shores (2000)
36. Stereophonics – Have A Nice Day (2001)
37. Stealer’s Wheel – Stuck In The Middle With You (1972)
38. Kooks – She Moves In Her Own Way (2006)
39. Robbie Williams – Rock DJ (2000)
40. Onerepublic – Apologize (2007)
41. Barry White – You’re The First, The Last, My Everything (1974)
42. Feeling – Fill My Little World (2005)
43. Abba – Dancing Queen (1976)
44. Bon Jovi – Livin On A Prayer (1986)
45. Elvis Presley – A Little Less Conversation (1972)
46. Pink – Trouble (2003)
47. Daniel Powter – Bad Day (2004)
48. Fergie – Big Girls Don’t Cry (2006)
49. Orson – No Tomorrow (2006)
50. Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Prayer (1968)

Of course this list will ignore the playlists of many community and RSL stations up and down the UK who don’t have to list every single song they pay to PPL, paying a blanket fee instead. Actually with some of the community station’s I’ve heard (outside the Brentwood area of course) Take That might have even more songs in there if you include those.

Wednesday 30 December 2009

Singles and albums of the year – 2009

Back to the present at last, 10 years of charts posted up in the last 2 days, so now I can get working on my songs and albums of the decade!

A really strong line up this year, but I love the prog rock of Everything Everything, wrapped up in no pomp at all and for all the world just coming out like a regular bit of indie that we all know and love.



The Mighty Roars single is just such a great feel-good song too, and a nice video too.



After the suprising amount I played Franz Ferdinand during the first half of the year, it was edged from being the best album by some foul-mouthed young ladies from Norwich, the Brownies. Caught them live twice this year and while not groundbreaking, the music and energy is mightily refreshing.



Singles

1. Everything Everything – Photoshop Handsome
2. Mighty Roars – Elvis Lives
3. Senser – Resistance Now
4. Lovely Eggs – I Like Birds But I Like Other Animals Too
5. Brownies – Dance Romance
6. Fiona Bevan – Moths
7. Camera Obscura – French Navy
8. We Are The Physics – Goran Ivanisevic
9. Art Brut – Alcoholics Unanimous
10. Joy Formidable – The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade
11. Metric – Gold Guns Girls
12. Ash – Return Of White Rabbit
13. Tom Allalone and the 78s – Sign On You Lazy Diamond
14. Hafdis Huld – Kongulo
15. Rose Elinor Dougall – Start/Stop/Synchro
16. Lovely Eggs – Have You Ever Heard A Digital Accordian
17. Cerys Matthews – It’s What’s Left (That Makes It Right)
18. Baikonour – Oben Beg mk3 CBC theme
19. Cheek – Hung Up
20. Senser – Brightest Rays
21. Prodigy – Omen
22. Soft Toy Emergency – Critical
23. Kovak – I’ll Be Good To You
24. Hjaltalin – Traffic Music
25. Cerys Matthews – Arlington Way
26. We Were Promised Jetpacks – Quiet Little Voices
27. Future Of The Left – Arming Eritrea
28. Joy Formidable – Whirring
29. Skunk Anansie – Tear The Place Up
30. Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy
31. Franz Ferdinand – Can’t Stop Feeling
32. Choppersauraus – Boy Recesson
33. Duckworth-Lewis Method – The Age Of Revolution
34. Good Shoes – The Way My Heart Beats
35. Super Furry Animals – Inaugural Trams
36. Killed By 9V Batteries – This City Is Lit When You’re On Top Of It
37. Radiohead – These Are My Twisted Words
38. Robocop Kraus – Sometimes I Wonder If You’d Been A Dog In A Previous Life
39. Department S – Wonderful Day
40. Death Of The Elephant – Trypticon
41. Silversun Pickups – Substitution
42. Surfquake – Surf And Destroy
43. Eliza – Hopeless Case
44. WeirdGear – Game
45. Hickey Underworld – Mystery Bruise
46. Everything Everything – My Keys, Your Boyfriend
47. MJ Hibbett and the Validators – My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once
48. Therapy – The Head That Tried To Strangle Itself
49. Ungdomskulen – Idunno
50. White Rose Movement – Cigarette Machine (club mix)
51. Monocle Rose – Alley Cat
52. Bleech – Is It True That Boys Don’t Cry
53. Pet Shop Boys – Love etc
54. Madness – Idiot Child
55. Pale – Stop It, I Might Like It
56. Miike Snow – Silvia
57. Maximo Park – Wraithlike
58. Pan I Am – Fire Dance
59. Delphic – Doubt
60. Muse – Uprising
61. Sicknurse – Sheepnesting
62. Le Corps Mince De Francoise – Something Golden
63. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Rise
64. Grave Architects – The Bike Song
65. Polly Scattergood – Please Don’t Touch
66. Rakes – 1989
67. Royksopp – Happy Up Here
68. Baddies – Holler For My Holiday
69. Maximo Park – Questing Not Coasting
70. Patrick Wolf – Hard Times
71. Helmholtz Resonators – Choc’ Full of Chix
72. Pure Reason Revolution – Les Malheurs
73. Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity Of Huge
74. Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications
75. Blizzards – Trust Me I’m A Doctor
76. Trash Monroe – Love Dysmorphia
77. Kabeedies – Petits Filous
78. Silversun Pickups – There’s No Secrets This Year
79. Boxer Rebellion – Evacuate
80. Charlotte Hatherley – White
81. Animal Kingdom – Tin Man
82. Simple Minds – Rockets
83. A Camp – Stronger Than Jesus
84. Camera Obscura – The Sweetest Thing
85. Japanese Voyeurs – Dumb
86. Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard – Roll Bus Roll
87. Florence And The Machine – Rabbit Heart [Raise It Up]
88. A Place To Bury Strangers – In Your Heart
89. Esser – Work It Out
90. Andy J Gallagher – Faster
91. Angry Vs The Bear – I Am Electric
92. Charlotte Hatherley – Alexander
93. Violet Violet – C-C-C-Cat
94. Editors – Papillon
95. I, Ludicrous – We’re The Support Band
96. Client – Can You Feel
97. Asteroids Galaxy Tour – The Golden Age
98. Le Monnier – Save Yourself
99. Empire Of The Sun – We Are The People
100. Milk Kan – Don’t Panic

Albums

1. Brownies – Ourknife Yourback
2. Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
3. Senser – How To Do Battle
4. Joy Formidable – A Balloon Called Moaning
5. Cerys Matthews – Don’t Look Down
6. Therapy? – Crooked Timber
7. Art Brut – Art Brut vs Satan
8. Lovely Eggs – If You Were Fruit
9. Pure Reason Revolution – Amor Vincit Omnia
10. Duckworth-Lewis Method – The Duckworth-Lewis Method
11. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
12. Baddies – Do The Job
13. Madness – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate
14. Metric – Fantasies
15. Future Of The Left – Travels With Myself And Another
16. Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years
17. Boxer Rebellion – Union
18. Frank Turner – Poetry Of The Deed
19. Tom Allalone and the 78s – Major Sins pt 1
20. MJ Hibbett and the Validators – Regardez, Ecoutez et Repetez
21. Maximo Park – Quicken The Heart
22. Baikonour – Your Ear Knows Future
23. Hjaltalin – Sleepdrunk Sessions
24. Miike Snow – Miike Snow
25. Pale – Proper Order
26. Franz Ferdinand – Blood
27. 9bach – 9Bach
28. British Sea Power – Man Of Aran
29. We Were Promised Jetpacks – These Four Walls
30. Trash Monroe – Shooting From The Lips And Other Crimes Of Passion
31. Hickey Underworld – The Hickey Underworld
32. Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications
33. Charlotte Hatherly – New Worlds
34. Violet Violet – The City Is Full Of Beasts
35. Ungdomskulen – Bisexual
36. Trashcan Sinatras – In The Music
37. A Camp – Colonia
38. Client – Command
39. Florence and the Machine – Lungs
40. Editors – In This Light And On This Even
41. Patrick Wolf – The Bachelor
42. Polly Scattergood – Polly Scattergood
43. Sean Taylor – Calcutta Grove
44. Human Foals – Antidotes
45. Graham Coxon – The Spinning Top
46. Kasabian – The West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
47. White Lies – To Lose My Life
48. Mika – The Boy Who Knew Too Much
49. Asteroids Galaxy Tour – Fruit

Tuesday 29 December 2009

Exclusive: Queen (person, not band) is “bo-ring”

From Chortle


The comedian behind inept DJ Ivan Brackenbury has been fired from a genuine radio station – after interrupting the Queen’s speech with a gag.

Tom Binns was sacked by the Midlands-based Orion Media after pulling the plug on the royal Christmas broadcast and saying on air: ‘Two words: Bor-ing.’

A couple of listeners complained – including one who made a death threat – which was enough for bosses to give Binns the boot.

However, the group of stations, which includes BRMB in Birmingham and Mercia in Coventry, was never meant to broadcast the Queen’s message in the first place.

Binns told Chortle: “blah blah” (best read it on the link I think).


Good of his employer to sack him for keeping to the schedule.

I think you have to admire the courage of his convictions as well as his sheer stupidity. As someone who dabbles in radio broadcasting from time to time, and who is OF COURSE professional at all times, I should be rubbing my hands with glee saying “ha! Another idiot bites the dust!” but I just can’t quite seem to this time for some reason.

I think Mercia is a great name for a radio station too. I have visions of guys in full Anglo-Saxon battle gear trying to get their headphones on over their big horny helmets.

Monday 7 December 2009

Katy Perry singing I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles

Rather badly too, it would appear …

PRETTYBUBBLES by katyperry

Everyone knows it’s “United! (clap clap clap) United! (clap clap clap)” and not “United! (clap clap) United! (clap clap)”

I particularly liked the comment on one of the West Ham message board which ran along the lines of .. “Suicide seems more tempting than listening to this shower again. One of the most cringeworthy moments in the history of humankind when she unleashed the “United” (clap clap) crap at the end.” The poster then gave it a very generous 7.5 out of 10. Probably because this is still fresh in West Ham fans’ minds?