March 16, 201411 yr "Not So Manic Now" :wub: Such a great song, Brick Supply did the original - but Dubstar's cover was great.
March 16, 201411 yr Wow. I never knew it was a cover. Yeah, released in 1994 on the "Somebody's Intermezzo EP" by a band from Wakefield called Brick Supply. cpKlwFNMI60 They sounded a bit like the Smiths..
March 16, 201411 yr Author weWtRqoSUOI 20/01/1996 Tori Amos - Caught A Lite Sneeze Back with a new album in 1996 - an album that would be hard work for me. This was the lead single from Boys for Pele and a superb song it is to. She'd brought the harpsichord into her repertoire and it sounded perfect. The trip-hop beat was cool too. It's not exactly her most melodic song but I was attuned to her vocal phrasing at the point of its release so I liked it a lot and still like it a lot now. When the piano comes back in is really quite great. 2 Weeks 20/01/1996 1 - Caught a Lite Sneeze - Tori Amos 2 - Not So Manic Now - Dubstar 3 - For the Dead - Gene 4 - Jesus to a Child - George Michael 5 - Fingers and Thumbs- Erasure 27/01/1996 1 - Caught a Lite Sneeze - Tori Amos 2 - Not So Manic Now - Dubstar 3 - Loops of Fury - Chemical Brothers 4 - Jesus to a Child - George Michael 5 - Weak - Skunk Anansie
March 16, 201411 yr Author IrTB-iiecqk 03/02/1996 Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out) This song has been part of my life since I first heard it on The Chart Show's preview of what it would be featuring the following week in early 1996. The chiming prettiness of the riff, also its hypnotic descending sound, the metronomic percussion, the relaxing sound of the drums on the second chorus, that keening, soaring chorus, the lamenting backing vocals from Thom, the rising strings, the almost rapturous climax and final release. It's been by second favourite single of all time for over 17 years. If anything it's only going to rise to number 1 at some point. Some amazing songs were in the Top 5 while this was number 1 - I Got 5 On I and the astonishing Hyperballad being year highlights. The latter would turn out to be one of the highest performing number 2s of the decade in this chart. 6 Weeks 03/02/1996 1 - Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead 2 - Caught a Lite Sneeze - Tori Amos 3 - Slight Return - Bluetones 4 - Not So Manic Now - Dubstar 5 - Jesus to a Child - George Michael 10/02/1996 1 - Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead 2 - Slight Return - Bluetones 3 - 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins 4 - Caught a Lite Sneeze - Tori Amos 5 - Jesus to a Child - George Michael 17/02/1996 1 - Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead 2 - I Got Five On It - The Luniz 3 - Slight Return - Bluetones 4 - 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins 5 - Caught a Lite Sneeze - Tori Amos 24/02/1996 1 - Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead 2 - Hyperballad - Bjork 3 - I Got Five On It - The Luniz 4 - Slight Return - Bluetones 5 - 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins 02/03/1996 1 - Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead 2 - Hyperballad - Bjork 3 - I Got Five On It - The Luniz 4 - Hallo Spaceboy - David Bowie 5 - Dark Therapy - Echobelly 09/03/1996 1 - Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead 2 - Hyperballad - Bjork 3 - I Got Five On It - The Luniz 4 - Hallo Spaceboy - David Bowie 5 - Dark Therapy - Echobelly Edited March 16, 201411 yr by AnthonyT
March 16, 201411 yr Love "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" and "1979" - "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" features on one of my favourite NOW's (33) one track ahead of "Live Forever" which somehow got retrospectively added 'cause it actually was released as a single in 1994. "I Got 5 on It" is also on said compilation "He's On The Phone" and "Not So Manic Now" but unfortunately at the time I was slightly obsessed (along with the rest of the UK) with "Spaceman" by Babylon Zoo.
March 16, 201411 yr Author aT9ffGF3R6M 16/03/1996 The Beatles - Real Love It's probably a strange opinion to have but this is my favourite Beatles song - I was never a huge fan anyway. I reminded me of Crowded House. This was taken from Anthology II and was their last Top 30 hit. They had a few Top 40 hits in 2010 when their catalogue was put on iTunes. 2 Weeks 16/03/1996 1 - Real Love - The Beatles 2 - Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead 3 - Hyperballad - Bjork 4 - I Got Five On It - The Luniz 5 - Lady Killers - Lush 23/03/1996 1 - Real Love - The Beatles 2 - Lady Killers - Lush 3 - Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead 4 - Hyperballad - Bjork 5 - I Got Five On It - The Luniz
March 16, 201411 yr great to see Real Love at 1, one of the Beatles songs that didn't top my chart but in retrospect wish it had, it has a sweet charm to it but has been forgotten for nearly 2 decades. Others, George and Bowie was a number 1 for me (Hello Spaceboy) and Luniz came close.
March 17, 201411 yr Author wmin5WkOuPw 30/03/1996 The Prodigy - Firestarter It's so very hard to pick the best Prodigy single. This was my fave for a while, a few years ago. It's the layering - so totally full of foreboding and menace, all sitting naturally on top of each other. It really has to be said that Liam Howlett is one of the geniuses of dance music, and of any genre. The lyrics are throwaway, of course. 4 Weeks 30/03/1996 1 - Firestarter - The Prodigy 2 - Real Love - The Beatles 3 - Ladykiller - Lush 4 - Hyperballad - Bjork 5 - Going Out - Supergrass 06/04/1996 1 - Firestarter - The Prodigy 2 - Walk Away - Cast 3 - Real Love - The Beatles 4 - Ladykiller - Lush 5 - Stars - Dubstar 13/04/1996 1 - Firestarter - The Prodigy 2 - Stars - Dubstar 3 - Walk Away - Cast 4 - Real Love - The Beatles 5 - 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman - California Love 20/04/1996 1 - Firestarter - The Prodigy 2 - Stars - Dubstar 3 - 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman - California Love 4 - Walk Away - Cast 5 - Ironic - Alanis Morisette
March 17, 201411 yr Author TfEoVxy7VDQ 27/04/1996 Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life No surprises here for my favourite single of all time. Amazingly, I didn't like it a whole lot at the time. I kinda passed me by. I wasn't a fan of them at the time. That is another story to be told later on in this thread. It was the song that made them carry on after Richie had disappeared in 1995. James felt they still had something to say. It was a lot more direct and accessible than much of what they'd done before. I mean, his has a string-section for crying out loud! And what a magnificent string section it is too. Mike Hedges was brought in to give them a retro, Phil Spector-esque sound which worked very well. Many long term fans cried sell out because of their change in sound, and comparative lyrical simplicity. It's utterly filled with thundering, majestic, symphonic rock that just floors you and swells your heart at the same time. The way the video shakes at 2:37 almost looks like the power of song is causing the Earth to shake, James looks almost orgasmic when the strings come back in after calm of the middle-eight and Nickiy looks like his bass is controlling him, rather than the other way around. The four descending notes of guitar and accompanying crescendo of torrential strings at 3:19 is possibly the best part. I cried when I heard them play it live for the first time in 1997. __________________________________________________ It's rare I will do a full review of a song peaking at number 2 in this chart but I feel that it is warranted here. On what is probably my favourite date (another one will rival it later on) for single releases ever, Orbital decided to release their comeback single to promote their (genius) 5th album In Sides. The Box came out on the 20th April 1996, the very same day as A Design for Life. Unlike that song, The Box hit me straight away. It was the type of music I had been searching for since I'd heard Aphex Twin's On in 1994. Alien, precise, brittle. Like Firestarter, it's the layers that get me but this in a whole other league. The synths shift left to right, in sympathy with the archaic dulcimer, the bass is phenomenal and the drums are like some musical tumble-dryer. As it progresses it gets more and more intense. That's to say nothing about the whole EP version! The best piece of electronic music I've heard and it only seems to get better with age. Easily the best number 2 in this whole chart. These pair kept the fantastic Tonite, Tonite and Sale of the Century out of the Top 2. 7 Weeks 27/04/1996 1 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 2 - The Box - Orbital 3 - Firestarter - The Prodigy 4 - Walking Wounded - Everything But the Girl 5 - Salvation - The Cranberries 04/05/1996 1 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 2 - The Box - Orbital 3 - Firestarter - The Prodigy 4 - Sale of the Century - Sleeper 5 - Goldfinger - Ash 11/05/1996 1 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 2 - The Box - Orbital 3 - Sale of the Century - Sleeper 4 - Goldfinger - Ash 5 - Firestarter - The Prodigy 18/05/1996 1 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 2 - The Box - Orbital 3 - Tonite, Tonite - Smashing Pumpkins 4 - Sale of the Century - Sleeper 5 - Goldfinger - Ash 25/05/1996 1 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 2 - The Box - Orbital 3 - Tonite, Tonite - Smashing Pumpkins 4 - There's Nothing I Won't Do - JX 5 - Sale of the Century - Sleeper 01/06/1996 1 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 2 - The Box - Orbital 3 - Tonite, Tonite - Smashing Pumpkins 4 - Sale of the Century - Sleeper 5 - Until it Sleeps - Metallica 08/06/1996 1 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 2 - The Box - Orbital 3 - Until it Sleeps - Metallica 4 - Tonite, Tonite - Smashing Pumpkins 5 - In a Room - Dodgy Edited March 17, 201411 yr by AnthonyT
March 17, 201411 yr Author F3WIHtOmkBg 15/06/1996 Metallica - Until It Sleeps I'd loved Nothing Else Matters but alas in 1992 there were too many classic singles released for it to make it the Top 3 in this chart. Until it Sleeps was even more slick and polished and probably didn't go down well with the old school fans. Customarily moody and gloomy. 2 Weeks 15/06/1996 1 - Until it Sleeps - Metallica 2 - In a Room - Dodgy 3 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 4 - The Day We Caught the Train - Ocean Colour Scene 5 - The Box - Orbital 22/06/1996 1 - Until it Sleeps - Metallica 2 - The Day We Caught the Train - Ocean Colour Scene 3 - In a Room - Dodgy 3 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 5 - The Box - Orbital Edited March 21, 201411 yr by AnthonyT
March 17, 201411 yr "Firestarter" and "A Design For Life" are both firmly 10/10 nineties moments. For me, "Breathe" holds the strongest memories as it was an end of the year mess around day at school (y'know the ones where you did little/nothing all day because it was the last day of term and teachers couldn't keep control of you) in late 1996 and one of my best friends brought that song in on cassette tape to blast out in registration on his portable stereo. :lol:
March 21, 201411 yr Author F1Fmhzne5Kk 29/06/1996 Ocean Colour Scene-The Day We Caught The Train In some sense they found the mid-point between The Beatles and the Stones with this song. The bounce of the Fab Four was there in the verse and the vocals had the distinctive raw temper of Mick Jagger at times. One of the bands that prospered most from the rise of Oasis and the resurgence of Paul Weller. They sold a million copies of their album in 1996. A few called them "Ocean Duller Scene" for their devotion to classicism but others just enjoyed the music. This isn't even their best song - that comes later. 2 Weeks 29/06/1996 1 - The Day We Caught the Train - Ocean Colour Scene 2 - Until it Sleeps - Metallica 3 - In a Room - Dodgy 4 - The Divine Comedy - Something for the Weekend 5 - A Design for Life - Manic Street Preachers 06/07/1996 1 - The Day We Caught the Train - Ocean Colour Scene 2 - The Divine Comedy - Something for the Weekend 3 - Until it Sleeps - Metallica 4 - In a Room - Dodgy 5 - Wrong - Everything But the Girl Edited April 3, 201411 yr by AnthonyT
April 3, 201411 yr Author ZFjfa_RB6Pc 13/07/1996 The Divine Comedy - Something For The Weekend Somewhat capitalising on the popularity of slightly character driven, sex-obsessed vignettes of Pulp's recent output and a recommendation by Mr Damon Albarn - The Divine Comedy found themselves with a lot of interest from the brit-pop buying public. Something for the Weekend is the perfect introduction to their world. 2 Weeks 13/07/1996 1 - Something for the Weekend - The Divine Comedy 2 - Tattva - Kula Shaker 3 - The Day We Caught the Train - Ocean Colour Scene 4 - Until it Sleeps - Metallica 5 - Wrong - Everything But the Girl 20/07/1996 1 - Something for the Weekend - The Divine Comedy 2 - Tattva - Kula Shaker 3 - The Day We Caught the Train - Ocean Colour Scene 4 - Until it Sleeps - Metallica 5 - Wrong - Everything But the Girl
April 3, 201411 yr Author uU5trjpFus0 27/07/1996 Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go This song is one of the turning points in my musical history. I first heard it on Top of the Pops and it hit me with its direct melody and dramatic retro arrangement. I had paid no attention to this band before this point. The following day I got a black-market copy of the parent album. It was so addictive I got a cd copy a week later. A month later it was my favourite album ever and stayed there for over a year. Later that year I would start buying their back catalogue and any singles that I could get my hands on. I became obsessed with them for 5 or 6 years. It wasn't until Lifeblood came out that I started to realise that they'd lost it. But even that grew on me. The sound is so full and exhilarating, the vocals cathartic. Amazing. It would only manage one week at the top as in 1996 we were never far away from a decade highlight song. 1 Week 27/07/1996 1 - Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers 2 - Hey Jupiter (Dakota version) - Tori Amos 3 - Head Over Feet - Alanis Morrisette 4 - I Am I Feel - Alisha's Attic 5 - Something for the Weekend - The Divine Comedy
April 3, 201411 yr Author nZ2BnaIOUmQ 03/08/1996 Tori Amos - Hey Jupiter (The Dakota Version) Now, even though I was a huge fan of this lady I didn't actually hear the Dakota Version of this song until 1997 when an Irish radio station played it instead of the vastly more popular Professional Widow stating that it was a double A-side with this the year before. I hadn't bothered with it because the remix of Talula was fairly unremarkable and I hadn't heard her improve on any original with a remix. I'd liked the original a lot but this was on a whole new level of emotion. Re-using the atmospheric percussion of China B-side, Sugar, she'd add the painfully beautiful "I go from to day to day....." backing vocals which have me welling up sometimes, the organ, plaintive electric guitar and an extended outro section that I never want to end and finally one of the most emotionalyl resigned pieces of piano work that she's ever done to bring it all to a close that is heart-breaking. Absolutely one of her best ever songs. Along with hold the majestic Everything Must Go at number 2 for 4 weeks, If I Ruled The World was criminally reduced to a number 3 position. It would have easily beaten the three number 1s that precede Everything Must Go. 4 Week 03/08/1996 1 - Hey Jupiter (Dakota version) - Tori Amos 2 - Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers 3 - Trash - Suede 4 - Head Over Feet - Alanis Morrisette 5 - I Am I Feel - Alisha's Attic 10/08/1996 1 - Hey Jupiter (Dakota version) - Tori Amos 2 - Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers 3 - If I Ruled the World - Nas feat Lauren Hill 4 - Trash - Suede 5 - Head Over Feet - Alanis Morrisette 17/08/1996 1 - Hey Jupiter (Dakota version) - Tori Amos 2 - Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers 3 - If I Ruled the World - Nas feat Lauren Hill 4 - Trash - Suede 5 - Not the Girl You Think You Are - Crowded House 27/08/1996 1 - Hey Jupiter (Dakota version) - Tori Amos 2 - Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers 3 - 12 Reasons Why I Love Her - My Life Story 4 - If I Ruled the World - Nas feat Lauren Hill 5 - Not the Girl You Think You Are - Crowded House
April 11, 201411 yr Bit sad that you've not even included "Born Slippy" in your Top 5. :-( Do like a bit of "Everything Must Go" though.. Summer '96 was one of the last times until 2005 when you could get genuine chart monster hits entering outside the Top 20 - the ones I remember are Donna Lewis' "I Love You Always Forever" (which debuted at 34) and OMC's "How Bizarre" (which debuted at 22). *Reminisces*
April 12, 201411 yr Author Born Slippy (and Underworld in general) never did much for me. I love Rez though.
April 18, 201411 yr Author Fz1W9EWTdVY 31/08/1996 My Life Story - 12 Reasons Why I Love Her One of the camper songs from the britpop era but also managing to echo the retro magnificence of Everything Must Go - almost like Marc Almond's younger brother covering that song. Utterly irresistible. 1 Week 31/08/1996 1 - 12 Reasons Why I Love Her - My Life Story 2 - Becoming More like Alfie - The Divine Comedy 3 - Not the Girl You Think You Are - Crowded House 4 - Hey Jupiter (Dakota version) - Tori Amos 5 - Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers
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