I don't know any of these :o

 

But I do know the top 3 in the next batch!

Edited July 31, 2024Jul 31 by TheSnake

Since I last commented, 'Imitation Of Life' stands as one of the last great R.E.M. singles and 'Digital Love' is an essential from Daft Punk with everything but a little magic dust that puts 'One More Time' ahead for me, but otherwise a fairly middling spell... until the last batch that is, as 'Hard To Explain' wound up as my favourite of the year - that guitar sound and vocal styling proved influential to a lot of bands that broke through in the next few years. Just like buses there's another big favourite heading up the net batch too.

The Soulchild remix of '19-2000' is a very feel-good facelift, love it :wub: both appearances from The Strokes are strong in this section too.

Roger Sanchez and Weezer are my pre-existing favourites here but this Beta Band double A side really takes you on a journey through all sorts of different styles and I find it very beautiful and almost trance inducing, so much so that it has to go at the top. “Another Chance is gorgeous though and has such a touching video.

 

9 The Beta Band Broke/Won 1st hit for this Scottish band with an incredibly captivating double A side; "Broke" is more electronic and "Won" more trip hop

8 Roger Sanchez Another Chance 902nd #1: he's had a few hits but this is the only Top 20 for the house DJ and a simple but beautiful and heartbreaking track

8 Weezer Hash Pipe Lead single from the US band's 3rd album: an effortlessly excellent track and I love the crunchy guitars and the punchy vocals

7 Feeder Turn The 3rd single from "Echo Park": they've all had very different styles and this is a lovely gentle and slightly hypnotic number

6 Jessica Simpson Irresistible Nothing mind blowing but this is by far my favourite hit of hers so far: a strong little pop tune with nicely restrained vocals

5 Blink-182 The Rock Show Lead from their 4th album: this romps along at quite a rate and it's a very serviceable number but not a hugely interesting one

4 O.P.M. Heaven Is A Halfpipe A huge hit and an odd one looking back about skateboarding: it's slightly raucous vocally but a decent melody and quite fun

3 Damage So What If I Their last Top 40 as their next effort will crash at #42: they're nice performers but this is a dull song with no tension or drama

2 Bellefire Perfect Bliss Another girl group popping up: debut hit for this Irish one which has little of interest musically and lyrically is quite saccharine

1 Wheatus A Little Respect I think his slightly whiny voice works for a quirky hit like "Teenage Dirtbag", but for a classic cover like this it's really not nice

 

 

 

 

2000 Week 29:

 

#825 21/07/2001 Robbie Williams Eternity/The Road To Mandalay 1 {1}-1-3-2-5-11-12-20-26-32-44-55-62-63-64-73->16

#826 21/07/2001 D12 Purple Pills 2 {2}-2-5-6-11-18-20-26-33-40-54-72->12

#827 21/07/2001 Wyclef Jean Perfect Gentleman 4 {4}-4-7-4-6-9-10-15-17-23-31-39-49-72->14

#828 21/07/2001 Ian Van Dahl Castles In The Sky 3 5-5-6-{3}-4-7-8-11-16-21-27-34-40-47-61-71->16

#829 21/07/2001 *NSync Pop 9 {9}-17-25-30-41-56-68-71->8

#830 21/07/2001 Super Furry Animals Juxtapozed With U 14 {14}-34-41-58->4

21/07/2001 Texas I Don't Want A Lover {2001} 16 {16}-32-47-61->4

#831 21/07/2001 The Avalanches Frontier Psychiatrist 18 {18}-29-38-51-75->5

#832 21/07/2001 Aaliyah Featuring Timbaland We Need A Resolution 20 {20}-37-50-67-65R(3)-72->6

#833 21/07/2001 Ash Sometimes 21 {21}-40-48-72-72-72->6

#834 21/07/2001 Goodfellas Featuring Lisa Millett Soul Heaven 27 {27}-53->2

 

 

 

Love the original Erasure song A Little Respect its obviously superior but I'm listening now to the Wheatus version which isn't too bad.

 

Another Chance is great, I remember Heaven Is A Halfpipe from the time, I wasn't that good at skateboarding though having tried it.

Edited August 2, 2024Aug 2 by TheSnake

Will catch up from where I left at last soon but some surprising and brutal scores in that last batch :o

I bought 'Another Chance' on release and it's been one of my top 10 songs of 2001 ever since - it is quite gorgeous, especially the breakdown with the piano about two thirds of the way through.

 

Great stuff coming thick and fast now, with *three* more of my 2001 top 10 in the next batch, plus two (edit: make that three) others I like a lot.

Edited August 3, 2024Aug 3 by jimwatts

Agree with your top 3 picks, albeit I’d put Another Chance at the top.

 

Two personal chart #1s coming up in the next batch for me and I still listen to both pretty regularly now

Two personal chart #1s coming up in the next batch for me and I still listen to both pretty regularly now

 

Dandy is a perfect gentleman?! But I'm gonna guess Eternity and Castles.

Dandy is a perfect gentleman?! But I'm gonna guess Eternity and Castles.

No way dandy* likes “Eternity” haha - probably Avalanches. :)

My money's on *dandy opting for Super Furry Animals cos it's brilliant and I would be disappointed to hear otherwise :D

 

this batch:

 

The Beta Band made no impression on me at all, at the time, sounds decent enough here. Toto, did, though. I mean Roger Sanchez! 9/10 and better than the original record. Smooth and downbeat dance. Weezer I loved/love and Hash Pipe was a rocking 9/10. Feeder's Turn was a mentionable 4/10 but didn't grow for me any bigger.

 

I found Irresistible slightly resistible, but still rated it a 7/10. I generally resist Blink-182 entirely, but they grabbed a 4/10 from me this time. Heaven Is A Halfpipe was a holiday hit and one I quite liked, 6/10. damage also scraped a chart placing from me, 5/10. Bellefire did even better and a definite 7/10, though I don't remember like I do OPM's. Bizarre! Wheatus, OK it's not as classic as Erasure, but I really enjoyed their Indie-dirtbag version 9/10.

A really good group here. As I said I’ve never quite got into “Since I Left You”, but it’s a different story with their only other hit from The Avalanches which is wonderfully experimental.

 

9 The Avalanches Frontier Psychiatrist A joyous experimental track with a delightfully mad hotchpotch of samples including a comedy sketch and a 60s instrumental

8 Ian Van Dahl Castles In The Sky Debut hit for this Belgian mixed trance group who provided their own vocals: this is an excellent ethereal crossover track

8 Ash Sometimes 3rd single from "Free All Angels" and they've all been very different in style: this is a gorgeous, tender and yearning ballad

7 Super Furry Animals Juxtapozed With U This has a lovely intimate and dreamy sound world to it, and a feeling of being gently whisked away and asked to dance

7 Aaliyah Featuring Timbaland We Need A Resolution Her last hit while alive: an understated track but the Timbaland production on this is lovely and as ever she sounds stunning

6 Robbie Williams Eternity/The Road To Mandalay 903rd #1: "Eternity" is rather ordinary and lacking in oomph but "The Road To Mandalay" is catchy and lyrically interesting

6 *NSync Pop Another very decent boyband single here: I like the staccato on the word "pop" and the call and response chorus works well

5 Wyclef Jean Perfect Gentleman Quite an odd song in that it has hard hitting lyrics but musically it's such a light hearted and tuneful track, and a nice listen

4 Goodfellas Featuring Lisa Millett Soul Heaven Only hit for this DJ outfit; the singer has featured on other house tracks, and this one is fine but not really worth 7 minutes

3 D12 Purple Pills This isn't quite as childish as "Sh*t On You" but the tune is rather juvenile and it's all a bit raucous: I prefer the rapped parts

 

 

2001 Week 30:

 

#835 28/07/2001 U2 Elevation 3 {3}-13-24-35-41-48-53-60->8

#836 28/07/2001 Sisqo Dance For Me 6 {6}-12-16-23-33-38-49-70-73-66->10

#837 28/07/2001 Da Hool Meet Her At The Love Parade 2001 11 {11}-20-26-42-58-69->6

#838 28/07/2001 Mariah Carey Featuring Cameo Loverboy 12 {12}-29-45-64-53R(4)->5

#839 28/07/2001 Oxide And Neutrino Devil's Nightmare 16 {16}-22-27-43-63->5

#840 28/07/2001 Ricky Martin Loaded 19 {19}-30-42-59->4

#841 28/07/2001 They Might Be Giants Boss Of Me 21 {21}-28-37-48-66->5

#842 28/07/2001 Kaci Tu Amor 24 {24}-43-59->3

#843 28/07/2001 David Gray Sail Away 26 {26}-34-41-53-67-74->6

#844 28/07/2001 Sugababes Soul Sound 30 {30}-51->2

 

 

Frontier Psychiatrist is great, though not as great as Since I Left You, but it is very quirky 9/10. Well here's a shocker for me, Castes In The Sky didn't chart for me according to my database, so I'm going to check on that right now! (pause) It's true! I vaguely it getting on my nerves a bit from being repetitive but that's really surprising as I quite like it these days. Worth at least a 6/10 if not more. Ash Sometimes got 7/10 and I don't remember it so Ian Van Dahl should be at least 7/10.

 

Juxtapozed With U was a chart-topping classic for me, total 10/10, still adore it, what a gorgeous tune and song. We Need A resolution was one I missed, sadly, and Robbie was very much a record of one half - the one half being Road To Mandalay which was a "million-selling" 10/10 from me. Eternity was so dreary I didnt bother to chart it or list it, so it was very annoying that hoovered up all the airplay. 2/10.

 

Pop is great pop, 9/10, always rated the band's back catalogue and feel "justified" they are back charting again! It takes time to turn back perceptions.... Wyclef's was a good 'un 8/10, Goodfellas passed me by, and Purple Pills did enough to grab a 6/10 from me.

2001 week 28:

 

'Another Chance' is unsurprisingly my favourite in this batch :wub: :wub: :wub: it may be a loopy dance song on the surface but I've always felt quite a strong connection towards it, especially when paired with the emotional video. Love the longing sample, warm swirly house elements, piano and the double drum hit.

 

I was quite late to 'Hash Pipe' (only came across it within the last couple of years or so) but found it very instant, sounding good again today!

 

I'm pretty sure I've never heard either of these Beta Band songs before but they're making a strong first impression, liking the quirky psychedelic soundscape they have.

 

Erasure's 'A Little Respect' is pop perfection but agreed that the Wheatus cover is whiny, their take on "meeeeeeee" goes right through me.

 

Random observation: the Hear'Say chart-topper 'The Way To Your Love' contained the lyric "every day, every night, fill my shadows with light" in the chorus and for this batch 'Perfect Bliss' has "we can make it right, we can make the shadows turn to light" mere weeks later :lol:

Avalanches and Super Furry Animals were my two #1 peaking tracks out of that bunch - sorry Snake! As Julian correctly assumed, Eternity is most definitely not for me, albeit the other side of the AA is quite a lot better... Castles in the Sky was pretty good though and I did buy that one.

 

Frontier Psychiatrist was genius. I was obsessed with their album when it was released, and still think it's great today - hadn't heard anything quite like it at the time, although of course now albums full of samples is much more commonplace. Juxtapozed With U was a great single from the SFAs, I hadn't heard it before release but I liked it when I heard it on the chart show, went out and bought it the next day and ended up liking it enough to knock Avalanches from the top after just a week - the album it's from was pretty great too.

The three songs that made my top 10 of the year from that batch - 'Castles In The Sky' had to be one of them as it's a big trancey pop tune, but the highest placing for me was 'Juxtaposed With U' - SFA rarely had two songs that sounded at all alike, and this is up there with 'Northern Lites' as my joint fave of theirs. The other one was the much maligned 'Eternity', which is even my favourite Robbie Williams song (he was too omnipresent for my liking generally) - it has a personal attachment as at the time I'd ended a term at uni feeling burnt out and disconnected, and it struck a chord as I took comfort in my hometown friends and family, not knowing my life was about to change forever, then it struck an even bigger chord.

 

I really like the other three songs in the top 6 here - 'Frontier Psychiatrist' is relentless and was unlike anything I'd heard at the time, 'Sometimes' is my favourite single from Free All Angels in how the music follows the lyrical journey, and 'We Need A Resolution' is another glimpse of a fresh sound that Aaliyah tragically wouldn't get to witness dominating the charts in the years that followed.

It’s tempting to give David Gray another win but instead I’m going to go for this club banger, which I really think is much improved in the remixed form that appears here.

 

8 Da Hool Meet Her At The Love Parade 2001 A remix of a 1998 hit giving this German DJ his biggest hit: a great tune inproved with touches like drums and a faster tempo

8 David Gray Sail Away The 4th brilliant single from "White Ladder", with gorgeous lyrics and the slow tempo evokes a boat on the expansive ocean

7 U2 Elevation My favourite of this run of singles despite the lyrics: I love the opening riff, the falsetto "ooh"s and the way the drama builds

6 Sisqo Dance For Me Last of his 5 hits and my 2nd favourite after "Thong Song": a really well executed pop RnB number with an intense chorus

6 Oxide And Neutrino Devil's Nightmare A really interesting garage track built around a dark Latin chant chorus: perhaps not as menacing as intended but enjoyable

5 Mariah Carey Featuring Cameo Loverboy Based around a sample of "Candy" by Cameo, this is quite like "Fantasy" in style and nice but I'd rather be listening to that

5 Sugababes Soul Sound A low peaking 4th single; the harmonies make this a sweet and lovely listen but it lacks a proper chorus and doesn't quite pop

4 Ricky Martin Loaded This isn't bad by any means but it very much repeats the style of the stronger "She Bangs", and so it feels slightly pointless

4 Kaci Tu Amor Another that's a decent track it itself, with summery Latin flavours, but too similar to an earlier hit, in this case "Paradise"

3 They Might Be Giants Boss Of Me Their only Top 40 this century with the "Malcolm In The Middle" theme: it works for that but I find it rather whiny as a single

 

 

2001 Weeks 31 and 32:

 

#845 04/08/2001 Atomic Kitten Eternal Flame 1 {1}-1-2-6-9-12-21-29-40-45-47-45-34-47-71R(9)->15

#846 04/08/2001 Destiny's Child Bootylicious 2 {2}-5-9-16-17-24-32-39-49-63-64->11

#847 04/08/2001 O-Town All Or Nothing 4 {4}-9-16-22-28-38-46-51-58-75->10

#848 04/08/2001 Cosmic Gate Fire Wire 9 {9}-15-24-34-39-55-73->7

#849 04/08/2001 Tweenies Do The Lollipop 17 {17}-17-19-25-29-39-48-55->8

#850 04/08/2001 Catatonia Stone By Stone 19 {19}-43-62-68R(3)->4

#851 04/08/2001 R.E.M. All The Way To Reno 24 {24}-48-71->3

#852 04/08/2001 Cosmic Rough Riders Revolution (In The Summertime) 35 {35}->1

#853 04/08/2001 Shortie Vs Black Legend Somebody 37 {37}-66->2

#854 11/08/2001 Geri Halliwell Scream If You Wanna Go Faster 8 {8}-18-26-31-43-52-59-59-71-69R(3)-64->11

#855 11/08/2001 Train Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me) 10 {10}-15-19-18-23-27-35-45->8

#856 11/08/2001 Janet Jackson Someone To Call My Lover 11 {11}-22-35-43-60->5

#857 11/08/2001 Depeche Mode I Feel Loved 12 {12}-31-43-54-69-72->6

#858 11/08/2001 Mauro Picotto Like This Like That 21 {21}-36-52-67->4

#859 11/08/2001 Crazy Town Revolving Door 23 {23}-32-38-49-65->5

#860 11/08/2001 Turin Brakes Mind Over Money 31 {31}-55->2

#861 11/08/2001 Gypsymen Babarabatiri 32 {32}-57->2

#862 11/08/2001 Jaheim Just In Case 34 {34}-52->2

11/08/2001 The Wurzels Combine Harvester {2001} 39 {39}-56->2

 

Castles brilliant and lyrically enigmatic.

 

Sail Away I used to really like maybe not quite as much now as it is a bit of a cheesy love song. The Da Hool song is good.

 

A huge classic in the next batch!

Edited August 6, 2024Aug 6 by TheSnake

Da Hool never charted for me in any version, as I dont recall it, playing it now ta for the link. Still rings no bell, and falls into the category of a lot of dance music of the time for me - just doesn't seem to go anywhere, I keep waiting for a melody that doesn't turn up. I do like a tune. David Gray didn't grab me much either, a 5/10, but at least I do remember the song. Elevation was a biggie for me though, didn't quite top my chart but hung around for ages, so a strong 9/10.

 

I agree Sisqo's second best record and a very strong 8/10, while the only Oxide & Neutrino track to chart for me can only manage a 3/10. Mariah carey's and your description of the Cameo sample seems to ring a bell, and checking I gave the credit to Larry Blackmon rather than Cameo as such for some reason, I must have not been convinced it was a sample. Regardless a 7/10 but Candy is a better record, yes.

 

Sugababes was a rare non-charting track for me, it must have been forgettable so I assume it's a 2/10, or I was on holiday again. I liked Rick martin's brand of fun latin pop, so Loaded scraped a 9/10 from me. Maybe an 8/10 really. As was Tu Amor, another I liked only marginally less than Ricky's. Malcolm In The Middle is one of the all-time great sitcoms, the show is still wonderful and I just started a rewatch only this week. Child actor's in a show usually don't work for me, never mind them being the focus, but this was refreshingly sentimental slop-free, manic, creative and very very funny. The theme tune was great, and up there with Birdhouse or Istanbul Not Constantinople, just about grabbing a 9/10.

2001 week 29:

 

'Purple Pills' is the best that I've heard from D12 but that's not saying much as I really dislike 'Shit On You' as well and find 'My Band' annoying. I don't recall their other two charting singles at all so shall see if either of those end up being better.

 

Agreed that 'The Road To Mandalay' is the superior half of the Robbie double A-side. I generally like his singles discography but 'Eternity' is a bit of a slog.

 

'We Need A Resolution' is awesome from Aaliyah as ever :wub: that production is so rich and hypnotic.

 

I was quite late to both 'Juxtapozed With U' and 'Frontier Psychiatrist', only finding them a couple of years ago in a BuzzJack best non-top 10 hits style contest, but both were welcome discoveries, especially the brilliance of the latter - so a fab top pick here.

 

I like 'Castles In The Sky' as well, stomping yet dreamy production mixed with a thought-provoking message. What a great top 10 run it had!