James Silkstone

So, a year has nearly passed and I've FINALLY decided to kick start the 2011 reviews. So, here we go: 01/01/2011 Katy B feat Ms. Dynamite Lights On http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/35/Lights_On.jpg/220px-Lights_On.jpg Katy B's second top ten single is a bit of a non-entity to tell you the truth. Whilst it certainly is a track that one could find pleasantly melodic, it doesn't really work as a dance song for me, it's more of a rather upbeat easy listening track. I've never really known what kind of star Katy B has wanted to be, and I don't think she herself has truly known the answer to that either, and it makes for an all together messy though not exactly poor discography. There's very little I can find to say about 'Lights On'. As nice as it was to have confirmation that Miss Dynamite was still with us, I actually find her verses to be the worst aspects of the song and kind of hard to decipher what the hell she's actually on about. I first heard this track being played at an Xmas party which was held on either the 22nd/23rd December 2010, and I didn't pay much attention to it. Mainly because the song on before that had been 'Whip My Hair' which had resulted in a mass rush to the center of the room, and this certainly chilled the place out somewhat after that. Overall, a rather chilled track that is a pleasant listen but if it's not fierce enough to be a dance record nor mellow enough to be an easy-listening one. Not a mess per say, but a definite confusion. 2NNQxN448Tk

'Flowers' and 'Candy' are both favourites there, it's a shame 'I Wanna Be With You' stalled at #21

Reviews will continue on Thursday with hits from Shania Twain, Madonna and some woman called Rebecca Wheately

26/02/2000 Christina Aguilera What A Girl Wants http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Christina_Aguilera_-_What_a_Girl_Wants_CD_cover.jpg I have....issues with Christina Aguilera, and they're all rather unfairly to do with the fact that she's not Britney Spears. And that really in unfair of me, because any old idiot can see that Christina is about 90% better at her craft than Britney ever has been or will be and if all was fair in the world Christina would probably be the more successful and beloved star, she's got the voice of her generation but she isn't the voice of her generation if that makes sense (neither is Britney, at this point that title belongs to either Pink or Beyonce). Christina and Britney have been in competition from day one, even if they liked each other fine, commercially there has always been a rivalry between them and it's a battle Christina eventually lost, though it's not like she went out without a fight. Image is very important when you're marketing yourself as a pop star, and Britney's image at the time was very good, she was sweet, naive, goofy and seemed like the kind of girl every boy had a crush on school and was universally liked. In other words, Britney could be your best friend whilst Christina came across more as your 'above it' elder sister who would occasionally condescend to your level but would make it very clear she wasn't really chuffed to be there. This whole first album campaign seems very odd and disjointed from Christina's later work, not because of a drastic change in sound, but because it's clear hear that Christina was going through the motions. She was placed into the teen pop sound, and it's not a sound she wanted, which explains why her second album both took so long and was so obviously a 'coming of age, I'm a woman' now kind of deal...but more on that when we come to it. 'What A Girl Wants' for me, is the one of the worst teen pop songs ever. Whilst not as lyrically bad as some particularly egregious examples from the era, this fails on every level as a teen pop record because Christina just sounds so utterly bored and disconnected from it all, say what you want about Britney, at this point she was much better at emoting and relating to her material than Christina was (though the tables would turn, and Britney is essentially a computer these days). Going back to the superior elder sister role, Christina very much seems like she's saying "yeah, I can be Britney if you want me to. But I don't want to." Which is fair enough, really. (NOTE: None of these issues were apparent in 'Genie In a Bottle' which, whilst a teen pop song, certainly is more mature than your average teen pop song. Christina excels in the sexual undertones of the song way better than Britney was capable of at the time) hpspGHeLOPE

05/02/2000 Gabrielle Rise http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41-T3lz6tgL.jpg I have always seen quite a bit of acclaim for this record, and whilst I certainly appreciate for as a 19-year old than I did when I first heard when I was around 12/13, I still don't really understand what is quite so good about this. Admittedly, I don't really know much about Gabrielle - as far as I know, she sang 'Dreams' in the 90's which is an absolute cracker, did some other songs that my mum passively liked, did this and approximately one good song following it that we'll talk about more when we reach it but I've no connection to her as a singer. 'Rise' is one of those criminal dull records for me - I appreciate the themes of self love, recovery and independence enough but I've always felt ballads aren't really inspired genre choices for those type of songs. If I want to feel powerful, if I want to feel like I'm empowered and on my way back, I want to listen to a big stomping anthem and not a perfectly nice but remarkably twee little ballad. I have no personal use for 'Rise' is what I'm trying to say, but that doesn't and shouldn't discredit the entire thing by any means, I'm aware some probably have a lot of use for this and maybe there is something to be said for a more mellow angle of self reflection and love. Maybe in six or seven years time I'll understand this record even better than I do at 19 but until then I'll be sticking to 'The Eye of the Tiger' for my self-empowerment. na93MI5NFy0

29/01/2000 Britney Spears Born To Make You Happy http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5a/Born_to_Make_You_Happy.png/220px-Born_to_Make_You_Happy.png It seems fitting that our first entry here comes from miss Spears, easily the most omnipresent female artist at the dawn of the new Millennium and the best selling female artists' of the 2000's decade (seriously, what are we calling that decade? Have we decided yet? I feel like it shouldn't be this hard) though she's likely lost her title as biggest of the Millennium judging by her relatively poor chart performance in this decade so far. Now, I didn't really get into music properly and consciously until late 2003, and I am only four years old at this point, but if there's one musical act I do remember from late 1999/early 2000 it is Britney. I guess she must have been played on the radio a lot back then or something because I do have rather distinct and clear memories of this song and various other hits from her early career from the time, though obviously I don't remember how 4-year old James reacted to this track so will have to go with what 20-year old social justice minded James thinks of it and...well Look, before I start bashing this, I just wanna quickly say that I adore Britney. Not just as an artist, but as a person, it's very easy (and somewhat justifiable) to just write her off as a vapid, personality-less pop star who really contributed very little in terms of the actual production of her music. She certainly contributed to the pop culture of the time but more for her celebrity than for any deep and meaningful messages that were hidden in her music. Which is probably a good thing, at least here, because 'Born To Make You Happy' is rather....disturbing when you think about it. Now, I don't want to get into a rant about how popular media directly influences and reinforces the patriarchal roles society has put on women but when stuff like this is about, that claim becomes remarkably hard to refute. "I was born to make you happy" is a statement that takes away Britney's own humanity and purpose, she wasn't here to fulfil any of her own, she was born with the sole responsibility of making this boy happy. She, quite literally, does not know how to live without your love. Now, I know what you're thinking - "James, you're reading far too much into this, it's just a pop song can't you like just switch off your brain and enjoy it?" and my answer to that is a firm no. Why should I? I like my brain and I like using it and whilst I doubt Britney and her umpteen writers created this with the intention of it being deeply analyzed, it's still here and it exists and that makes it open for any kind of analysis in my eyes. And yeah, upon inspection, this promotes some pretty harsh and worrying ideals. Now, that's not to say I dislike the track. For me, what makes a song bad is not necessarily how it sounds or how the lyrics are structured, what makes a song bad or fail for me is it inspires no feelings of anything for me be it love or anger. In other words, boring songs are the kinds of songs I hate. I wanna feel something from my music, and 'Born To Make You Happy' does succeed in that. It may elicit feelings of worry, anxiousness and an overwhelming desire to reach into the telly and tell young Britney she can find self worth without a man but they're feelings nonetheless. And it does sound good too. Like most of Britney's singles from the first 5/6 years of her career, it's immensely catchy and just an all around good pop song. Albeit with some...uneasy themes. Yy5cKX4jBkQ

Hi folks, so with too much time on my hands yet again, I decided to look back at the decade in which I grow up (the 00s) and particularly focus on the female singers of the decade. The criteria for this thread is I will review any single that reached the top ten that was sung completely solo by a female artists; no collaborations, no featured artists, just completely on their own, So sit back, enjoy, reminisce and of course, feel free to contribute :)

I cannot believe Dakota is 10 years old, that makes me feel bloody old

I have to say, the top end of the chart is rather good at the moment. I love the whole top five from last week. Years & Years for #1 today!!

I want George Ezra to get something but I just know Sam and Ed will have blocked him in all his categories.

Better than 'Heartbeat Song' but still not up to her usual high standard. This era's not going well for me.

This song is absolutely amazing, hope it does well :wub:

They wouldn't have qualified, Emma's the youngest and she was 20 when Wannabe was released.

Didn't realize Cheryl was only 19 when Girls Aloud started! Same age as I am now. Odd thought.

How the hell did Avril go from not outstanding but a pretty decent standard of songwriting at 16-18, to crap like 'Hello Kitty' by the time she's 30? Rock N Roll is the only decent thing she's done since 2005.

I had no idea Ash were that young! 'Girl From Mars' is one of my favourite songs of all-time

Hope George can break through in a few weeks!

JoJo was great, it's such a shame 'Disaster' will never get the recognition it deserves

100-96 100: 5 Seconds of Summer - Everything I Didn't Say 4z41_XZ30ko And so we kick off the Top 100 with an album track for 5SOS. Despite having everything going against them for my to like them, I've actually found this band growing on me a lot during the course of 2014. This should've been a single over 'Amnesia' and 'Good Girls' if you ask me, it's like a better 'Amnesia' for one thing. Second best track on a pretty good debut album too 99: The Vamps - Can We Dance UqSww10eeKw And carrying on with the theme of teenage boy-bands I should know better than to like as much as I do, here at #99 are The Vamps with their debut hit from September 2013. I hated this at first, but it's a damn ear worm and I ended up embracing it. It's just a fantastic pop song. 98: MKTO - Classic 4Ba_qTPA4Ds One of the songs of Summer 2014 for me, I have nothing much to say about 'Classic' other than it's a joyous, care free, fun pop track. 97: Drake - Find You Love Xyv4Bjja8yc Way back to 2010 now, and the first Drake song I ever loved. I'd first come across Drake back in late 2009 when his hit 'Best I Ever Had' was massive in the U.S., and fare to say I hated it and thus avoided him until I first heard this. This then lead onto me discovering 'Forever' (unfortunately not eligible here as it came out in 2009) and I've been a fan of Drake ever since 96: Disclosure feat Sam Smith - Latch 93ASUImTedo I've not really got on the Sam Smith bandwagon yet, but he's slowly growing on me. This was my first experience of him back in 2012, and despite some pretty creepy lyrics, 'Latch' has remained on pretty constant play for me since.

Take Me To Church has iconic #2 written all over it tbh.

Early 2005 probably remains the darkest day for the singles charts :lol:

Gutted that it looks like Listen To The Man won't be reaching The Top 40. It's his best song. Love Me Harder's never going anywhere near either. Sigh.

Listen To The Man is never gonna get into the Top 40 is it? :(

I'd forgotten what an underrated little gem 'Lose My Mind' was!

7.00 5 Seconds Of Summer- Don't Stop 7.00 5 Seconds Of Summer- She Looks So Perfect 6.00 A Great Big World Ft Christina Aguilera- Say Something 4.00 Aloe Blacc- The Man 7.50 Ariana Grande Ft Iggy Azalea- Problem 7.00 Ariana Grande Ft Zedd- Break Free 8.00 Avicii- Hey Brother 9.00 Avicii- Wake Me Up -1.00 Band Aid 30- Do They Know It's Christmas 10.00 Bastille- Pompeii 2.00 Ben Haenow- Something I Need 5.50 Beyonce Ft Jay Z- Drunk In Love 5.00 Calvin Harris- Summer 7.00 Calvin Harris Ft Ellie Goulding- Outside 9.00 Calvin Harris Ft John Newman- Blame 8.50 Charli XCX- Boom Clap 6.00 Cheryl Ft Tinie Tempah- Crazy Stupid Love -1.00 Chris Brown- Loyal 11.00 Clean Bandit Ft Jess Glynne- Rather Be 10.00 Clean Bandit Ft Jess Glynne- Real Love 4.00 Coldplay- A Sky Full Of Stars 3.00 Coldplay- Magic 2.50 David Guetta Ft Sam Martin- Lovers On The Sun 2.00 David Guetta Ft Skylar Grey- Shot Me Down 1.00 DVBBS & Borgeous Ft Tinie Tempah- Tsunami (Jump) 4.50 Duke Dumont Ft Jax Jones- I Got U 10.00 Ed Sheeran- Don't 5.00 Ed Sheeran- I See Fire 6.00 Ed Sheeran- Sing 7.50 Ed Sheeran- Thinking Out Loud 11.00 Ella Henderson- Ghost 6.00 Ellie Goulding- How Long Will I Love You 8.00 Eminem Ft Rihanna- The Monster 0.00 Enrique Iglesias Ft Pitbull- I'm A Freak 2.50 Faul Ft Wad Ad And Pnau- Changes 2.20 Fuse ODG- Million Pound Girl (Badder Than Bad) 4.00 Fuse ODG Ft Sean Paul- Dangerous Love 9.00 George Ezra- Blame It On Me 11.00 George Ezra- Budapest 5.00 Gorgon City Ft MNEK- Ready For Your Love 10.00 G.R.L- Ugly Heart 9.00 Hozier- Take Me To Church 3.00 Idina Menzel- Let It Go 5.00 Iggy Azalea Ft Charli XCX- Fancy 6.00 Iggy Azalea Ft Rita Ora- Black Widow 4.00 Imagine Dragons- Demons 5.00 Jason Derulo- Trumpets -1.00 Jason Derulo Ft Snoop Dogg- Wiggle 6.00 Jeremih Ft YG- Don't Tell Em 8.00 Jess Glynne- Right Here 10.00 Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj- Bang Bang 3.00 John Legend- All Of Me 9.00 Katy B- Crying For No Reason 2.00 Katy Perry- Roar 3.00 Katy Perry Ft Juicy J- Dark Horse 11.00 Kiesza- Hideaway 7.00 Klingande- Jubel 4.00 Kristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn, Katie Lopez- Do You Want To Build A Snowman 8.00 Lillywood Ft Robin Schulz- Prayer In C 7.00 Lorde- Royals 7.50 Magic- Rude 11.00 Mark Ronson Ft Bruno Mars- Uptown Funk 5.00 Maroon 5- Maps 7.00 Meghan Trainor- All About That Bass 4.00 Michael Jackson Ft Justin Timberlake- Love Never Felt So Good 8.00 Mr Probz Ft Robin Schulz- Waves 3.00 Neon Jungle- Braveheart 10.00 Nico And Vinz- Am I Wrong 7.00 Oliver Heldens Ft Becky Hill- Gecko (Overdrive) 9.00 Olly Murs Ft Travie McCoy- Wrapped Up 5.00 One Direction- Steal My Girl 7.00 One Republic- Counting Stars 7.00 One Republic- Love Runs Out 9.00 Paloma Faith- Only Love Can Hurt Like This 1.00 Pharrell Williams- Happy 6.00 Pitbull Ft Kesha- Timber 5.50 Rita Ora- I Will Never Let You Down 7.00 Rixton- Me And My Broken Heart 6.00 Route 94 Ft Jess Glynne- My Love 2.00 Sam Smith- I'm Not The Only One 8.00 Sam Smith- Like I Can 1.00 Sam Smith- Money On My Mind 9.00 Sam Smith- Stay With Me 3.00 Secondcity- I Wanna Feel 11.00 Sia- Chandelier 10.00 Sigma- Nobody To Love 4.00 Sigma Ft Paloma Faith- Changing 5.00 Take That- These Days 9.00 Taylor Swift- Blank Space 7.00 Taylor Swift- Shake It Off 7.00 Tiesto Ft Matthew Koma- Wasted 6.50 Tove Lo- Stay High (Habits) 7.00 The Script- Superheroes 9.00 The Vamps Ft Demi Lovato- Somebody To You 11.00 Vance Joy- Riptide 3.00 Wankelmut Ft Emma Louise- My Head Is A Jungle 1.00 Will.i.am Ft Cody Wise- It's My Birthday 1.00 Will.i.am Featuring Miley Cyrus, French Montana, Wiz Khalifa And DJ Mustard- Feelin Myself 5.00 Zedd Ft Hayley Williams- Stay The Night 3.00 Zhu- Faded