Torple

01. TAKE THAT - Happy Now 02. CEE LO GREEN - Bright Lights, Bigger City 03. THE NAKED AND FAMOUS - Young Blood 04. THE PIERCES - You'll Be Mine 05. ANDREA CORR - State Of Independence 06. UNKLE - Only The Lonely 07. ELLIE GOULDING - Lights 08. KATE BUSH - Deeper Understanding 09. ADELE - Set Fire To The Rain 10. HURTS - Sunday 11. WHITE LIES - Strangers 12. ANDREA CORR - Tinseltown In The Rain 13. THE WOMBATS - Anti-D 14. GUILLEMOTS - Walk The River 15. PLAN B - The Writing's On The Wall 16. HURTS - Illuminated 17. LADY GAGA - Born This Way 18. TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB - Something Good Can Work 19. NICOLE SCHERZINGER - Don't Hold Your Breath 20. CHRIS BROWN & BENNY BENASSI - Beautiful People 21. ADELE - Rolling In The Deep 22. JESSIE J - Who You Are 23. KATIE MELUA - Twisted 24. ALOE BLACC - I Need A Dollar 25. MAGNETIC MAN & JOHN LEGEND - Getting Nowhere 26. ARCADE FIRE - City With No Children 27. GLEE CAST - Don't You Want Me? 28. ONEREPUBLIC - Secrets 29. MCFLY - That's The Truth 30. ADELE - Someone Like You 31. NICOLA ROBERTS - Beat Of My Drum 32. KANYE WEST - All Of The Lights 33. CLARE MAGUIRE - The Last Dance 34. CHASE AND STATUS - Time 35. ALEX GAUDINO & KELLY ROWLAND - What A Feeling 36. JUSTICE - Civilisation 37. WRETCH 32 & EXAMPLE - Unorthodox 38. ADAM LAMBERT - Aftermath 39. TINIE TEMPAH - Simply Unstoppable 40. GABRIELLA CILMI - Glue

Did no-one send Mikey the memo? Buzzjack's having a re-branding. It's been decided that moving into the world of high-end fashion is the best way for the site to grow, and the Lace Wig Forum is just the start - an experiment to see how the idea takes. If successful, we will be looking to replace the outdated and increasingly irrelevant Chart Forum with a Toenail Care and Pedicures Forum.

+15 Take That - The Flood +12 Jason DeRulo - Ridin' Solo +10 Eminem & Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie +08 Adele - Rolling In The Deep +06 Katy Perry - Teenage Dream +05 Florence And The Machine & Dizzee Rascal - You Got The Dirtee Love +04 K'Naan - Wavin' Flag +03 Chipmunk & Chris Brown - Champion +02 Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar +01 Wretch 32 & Example - Unorthodox -02 Sidney Samson - Riverside

One last tedious bump; you have until 21.00 to get your answers in if you wish to participate in this round!

+15 Iio - Rapture +12 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor +10 Outkast - Miss Jackson +08 Superman Lovers - Starlight +06 Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag +05 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Take Me Home +04 Destiny's Child - Bootylicious +03 U2 - Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of +02 D-12 - Purple Pills +01 Ronan Keating - Loving Each Day -02 Michael Jackson - You Rock My World

I LOVED today's episode. Between Susan's AMAZING stupidity (and Karen absolutely HATING on her), Melody refusing to play share, Leon's "I drew pictures. That was my contribution right there", and Tom sheepishly confessing to games of rockpaperscissors, it was a MASTERCLASS in playground games, childishness and utter humiliation. This is what The Apprentice is all about. The right decision was made. Tom made some absolutely HORRENDOUS decisions that would normally have justified a firing in any other week, but Leon was by far the most insipid, weak and lazy sod left in there and he added nothing to ANY of the tasks so far. He should never have lasted this long.

Just a casual bump BECAUSE. You have two more days to get take part in this; the link to the soundclips are here; http://soundcloud.com/theshoat/buzzcacks-shoat

+15 Take That - Rule The World +12 Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse - Valerie +10 Just Jack - Starz In Their Eyes +08 Mark Ronson - Stop Me +06 Mutya Buena - Real Girl +05 Manic Street Preachers - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough +04 Eric Prydz - Proper Education +03 Fergie - Big Boys Don't Cry +02 Shayne Ward - If That's OK With You +01 White Stripes - Icky Thump -02 Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend

+15 Jamelia - Thank You +12 Kylie Minogue - I Believe In You +10 Manic Street Preachers - The Love Of Richard Nixon +08 Kelis - Milkshake +06 Kelis - Trick Me +05 Rachel Stevens - Some Girls +04 Ice Cube - You Can Do It +03 Girls Aloud - The Show +02 Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now +01 Ronan Keating & Yusuf - Father And Son -02 Girls Aloud - Love Machine

Although to be fair, in some of those cases (Take That, Dido, Lady GaGa), the tracks were all later singles from albums that already shifted bucketloads, so it's not REALLY the case that the tracks weren't popular with the public...

Generally anything that appears on the Radio 2 playlist.

Well I can't even try and pretend not to claim this after The Corrs reveal. I knew it was a giveaway, but I really couldn't help myself. Bless Hits for implying that he was only making a wild guess that it was my compilation when in reality there was surely NO question whatsoever. Also the vast majority of Hits' guesses and assumptions regards the artists were quite BANG ON. Bravo. Anyway, I stated right from the off that whoever ended up with my CD was going to be short-changed. If you were expecting to make new artist discoveries here, think on. Beyond maybe one or two exceptions, every act here will be quite well known to most people here (and also most likely viewed with some scorn). Like I said before, there is a good reason I have always steered clear of Unknown Pleasures. No real theme to my CD, it's simply a random melting pot of songs that I love, and my hope was that although the acts were for the most part well-known, some of the tracks/remixes may not be. It just so happens that being me, the result is a list of has-beens and commercial failures. HO HUM I AM genuinely glad it was you who got this CD though. Although I did make a concerted effort to go for a little bit of variety, much of this would not have appealed to certain Indie posters here. GOD knows what Grebo would have made of this. Half-Arsed Shite 01. Full marks to you Hits, it is indeed Ash. This was one of the 26 singles released last year as part of their A-Z series. Not one of the singles did anything whatsoever on the chart, which was really a shame. Ash seem to have joined the growing legion of 90s/early 00s acts who can't catch a hit to save their lives nowadays. In the majority of cases, the commercial decline is deserved as acts lose their hunger to actually CREATE, and settle into farting out any old sub-standard MOR for Radio 2. Ash however came up with some genuinely magnificent material, and had the likes of Binary, Arcadia or Spheres been released ten years ago, they'd have been absolute MONSTERS. I included this as I wary that a lot of my CD was going to be rather plodding, and I fancied something rousing and brimming with energy to kick things off instead. It's the ideal mix of pop and rock. 02. I'm not even going to pretend I know much about this guy, bar that he was once part of Arab Strap (who I know equally little about). But nevertheless, I've always found this to be an utterly charming folky record. I love the off-key organ intro, and I love the soft and plinky synths throughout the main body of the song. I can see however his strongly Scottish accent may be slightly off-putting (I have yet to work out if he sung the line "Songs these days are too wordy and the accents are all $h!t" with or without any sense of irony). 03. You are embarrassingly spot on. Natalie Imbruglia is of course not exactly a discovery, but nevertheless this was one of the few tracks that I was genuinely confident that nobody here would have heard, given it featured on her fourth album, Come To Life, which sold fewer than 700 copies worldwide and wasn't even released in the UK (Natalie tried to pass it off as a "buzz album", which of course had NOTHING to do with it's abysmal performance in Australia beforehand). Written by Chris Martin for Coldplay's Viva La Vida... album, he eventually decided it didn't fit and gifted it to Natalie instead. He would later go on to claim that he made a mistake; he considered the track one of the best he's written and he wished he'd kept it for himself. It's an absolute shame that this will most likely never see the light of day over here, as it's possibly the best thing the woman has ever put her name to (even more so than Torn). It was initially a little surprising to see you describe this as "uplifting", as the songs's actually a lament over lost love and missed opportunities! However production-wise, the verses are admittedly rather summery and sprightly. It's the chorus that MAKES this though, and I'm still genuinely surprised to see you pick it out as a lowlight - it's where the Kate Bush comparisons come in I think - the drums fall completely out of rhythm and Natalie raises her voice by a few octaves to simply coo sweetly over it all. It's wondrous. 04. I am suddenly aware that with this inclusion, I have finally become an utter parody of myself. However, I shall stand by this song. Bizarrely enough given my huge penchant for MOR pissdrivel, I never really had any time for Katie Melua before last year; she was simply too dull even for me. But she really brought it with The House era; she and William Orbit were a match made in heaven, and he brought out the best in her. His subtle but atmospheric production style allowed her to branch out and embrace a more interesting pop styling, but at the same time without causing her to lose all of her original identity in the process; this was stuff that oldies and rubbishgais alike could get into. Admittedly it's a little weak lyrically; as you identify, the chorus does get a tad repetitive after the 24th airing, and there's nothing here that will win her any Ivor Novellos. Having said that, she's never sounded so alluring than she does here; the dark and rumbling production is a perfect contrast for Katie's vulnerable and sweet vocals; I find this very Running Up That Hill-esque. 05. As Gooddelta correctly identified, this is the Scala version of Radiohead's Creep; a Belgian girl choir; the sort of thing that normally I would have no time for, but this collective specialise in choir adaptations of random pop and rock classics (The Police, Garbage, Kylie Minogue, Nirvana, Rammstein and Terence Trent D'Arby are amongst many who get the treatment). This particular cover is one of the more well-known, and crops up on TV dramas every so often when someone is being murdered or stalked or whatsoever; it really is one of the most haunting tracks I've ever heard. Also the idea of a girls choir innocently singing "You're so f***ing special!" in unison makes the child in me chuckle. 06. KENT - Skisser För Sommaren Pavel revealing the tracklisting of his CD provided a vague LOL moment; it's only been since that I realised the track he sent me is not only performed by the same act as one of my own inclusions, but they both actually feature on the same album. I didn't know anything about Kent whatsoever; it's become quite apparent that I far from clued up on non-English music. I only discovered this particular track by accident on Spotify. I forget what I was actually searching for, but this followed on the shuffle afterwards. And it grabbed me instantly. Not being versed in Swedish, I have not the foggiest what they are singing about, so I can only go on the production of the song. Anyone can throw in a lazy "LA LA LA LA LA" chorus, but in this case, it really does make for one of the most rousing records I've heard in a long time. Perfect guitar pop. 07. The first of a few cheap entries where I recycle acts that I used in the first CD Swap last year. But hey, as we've already established, my collection of non-chart hits is somewhat lacking. Mortiis is a band fronted by a rather strange little man from Norway who dresses up as a goblin. Musically, they're what Depeche Mode would sound like if they ever started toying with industrial goth-rock. It's an intriguing mix of techno, electronica and metal. The cut of the track was admittedly a tad flawed; you got the last second of Everybody Leaves thrown in there for free at the end. It's how it came on I-Tunes, and until last week I had no idea how to use Audacity to sort it out. Sorry :( 08. For it is she who helped Mark Ronson on Bang Bang Bang; this is a punchy and snappy electropop number, and admittedly as you say, it's shortness in length is part of it's strength. It quits whilst it's ahead. As if Republica could ever sound this relevant in 2011! 09. One who has yet to hit the big-time, but seems to be fairly well-known amongst the Buzzjack faithful. MUCH classier than Lady Sovereign; this is a quirky gem; it somehow manages to be modern and relevant, but at the same time it also sounds so CLASSIC. Uffie is one of the few acts out there where I'm genuinely baffled as to how she's not yet entered the mainstream given IT'S ALL THERE. 10. Chicane is a bit of a master of the big-name collaborations; following on from his past triumphs with Bryan Adams, Tom Jones and Maire Brennan, he managed to also nab Natasha Bedingfield, Keane and Jewel to help him out with new tracks for his greatest hits set back in 2008 (he has also since added Owl City to his tally). Of the three tracks recorded for the greatest hits, it's this one that I am treasure the most. It plays to Chicane's key strength as a trance/chill-out guru, but the harsh and distorted synths here add just that little bit of edge to it all. I've also always considered Jewel to be an underrated gem as far as the UK goes, so I have an additional fondness for this. 11. A bit of an Ibiza classic that is forever popping up on those Dance Anthem compilations that the Ministry of Sound chuck out on a bi-weekly basis (also featuring Saltwater, Insomnia and For An Angel) in case anybody missed them the first 421 times. So maybe an odd inclusion on a CD Swap designed to introduce people to new music, and I suspected it would be the one that people would already know (and you proved me right). But I've always felt that the original 1997 version has always been unjustly ignored in favour of the more prominent Tall Paul remix from 1998 - which is equally wonderful in it's own right, but I don't feel is QUITE as warm and calming as this version. As far as chill-out trance goes, this really is unbeatable. And I am not talking in hyperbole. 12. NOT the original Gregorian chant version as previously asserted, but not a bad guess - this is Silence in one of it's chillout forms rather than one of the thumping trance anthem mixes. What I love about this version is despite being a downtempo version, Sarah's vocals are actually sped up and pitched a lot higher than in any of the other versions (but not to the extent of being chipmunked). It adds to the euphoria of the whole thing; Sarah sounds absolutely STUNNING particularly in the middle eight. It's a shame you didn't enjoy this one; admittedly the backing track isn't particularly interesting but it is stripped back enough to really allow Sarah to to take control. 13. SEAL - Deep Water This is the one track that I was expecting bad feedback on. It was only after I'd finalised the CD that I remembered my own reaction to this. It took my YEARS to get to the point where I even remembered how this went; very much the definition of slow burner. Now I've fallen in love with this though, there's no going back. I included this on the CD mainly because it makes for a VERY useful transition piece; the sudden switch halfway through the track makes for a good link between the chillout of the Delerium remix, and the American soft-rock of the next. It demonstrates perfectly the two sides to Seal that were present when he was actually relevant to the music scene and not just farting out covers of dad-soul. The first half is the soft and gentle singer crooning along to a pleasant acoustic tune; the second half brings in the crashing production and flips the track on it's head - it becomes a more dramatic epic number, which is where your comparison to Crazy comes in. 14. JAY SEMKO - Due South It's the theme tune from THAT show, which anybody who existed at any point in the 1990s has no right NOT KNOWING. A wonderfully charming cop comedy/drama featuring a BEAUTIFUL but naive Mountie and his pet wolf, with one of my favourite telly theme tunes of all time. Admittedly it's sounding rather dated now, but hey. Canadian soft-rock with a country twang. I suspect it's my nostalgia for the TV show that is carrying my love for this rather than the song itself. 15. The glorious title track of their debut album. Listening to this, it makes me sad to think of what they would later become. Bland fluff like Summer Sunshine really did them a dis-service. From that very first bleak piano riff, I love how dark this is; it's edgier than anything The Corrs have ever been given credit for. I particularly love the climax with the ad-lib chants layered over that final chorus which gives the whole thing a threatening almost-tribal feel, and the man who has been forgiven but not forgotten can be in no doubt that he has still been an utter bast*rd. You half expect Andrea, Sharon and Caroline to morph into the Three Witches of Macbeth and boil Jim alive for being born a male. 16. KATE BUSH - Get Out Of My House And again, you are spot on - this could only ever be barmy old Kate. Here, the unwanted intruder in her "house" is apparantly a metaphor for a rapist. Appropriately so, Kate takes to properly SCREAMING at her attacker all throughout the entire song to "Get out my ho-oooo-uuuuu-sssse!!!!". This could be distracting, but actually it makes the track all the more effective - this is genuine pain and anguish here. It doesn't seem to be your everyday incident of rape though - it seems her attacker is actually in the process of inventing an all-new innovative method of rape! "No strangers' feet. Will enter meeeeeeeee!" It also appears to require the use of a cat, whom of course Kate also screams at. Things take an even more bizarre twist at the end where, failing all else, Kate does the only thing left that one could do in such a situation; she turns around and sweetly declares her intention to change into a mule. And lo, that is actually what she does, and the final two minutes of the track feature Kate and a backing vocalist actually hee-hawing and hee-hawing over and over again. Whether it provides a successful defence or not is unknown, but it really does make for one of the most interesting listens in my record collection. Only Kate could pull this off. And yes, I think this is the oldest track on the CD (it's the closing track from Kate's 1982 album The Dreaming). 17. SINGLE GUN THEORY - Decimation Alas, there is no YouTube link for this; it seems I may actually have at least one genuine unknown gem here. Single Gun Theory are an act I only own two tracks of (this and From A Million Miles), but they seemed to specialise in early 90s electronica, New Age, and soundtracks to smoke spliffs to. In all honesty I only included this as a sort of interlude, and I needed something kooky enough to successfully cope with following on from dear old Kate. As you state, this has got a lot going on all in the short space of 2 minutes; African beats, yodelling, and a soothing deep female voice (not unlike Alison Goldfrapp) who then turns around and declares that everything is "so decimated" as police sirens come swooping in. An utterly confused mess, but no less charming for it. 18. This is really the only one where I'm genuinely surprised (and a little disappointed in all honesty) to see you didn't like. I'd say this is (and Lukas) my favourite on the entire compilation. It's certainly meant to be mournful (we're reflecting on the end of a relationship here), so I guess it's very much a song you have to be in the right (or wrong) mood for. It's music to sob your heart out or slit your wrists to. It's possibly THE saddest song I've ever heard, and despite minimal production it really is beautifully atmospheric. You can just feel the bleakness of it all. I think perhaps this suffered a little bit from the tracklisting; coming straight on the heels of two rather kooky tracks, this one probably gets a little lost as it's much more subtle. GOD I've rambled, but I'm half cut right now.

There is a new round now up in the Lounge; anyone is welcome to participate here.

To be fair to Dannii, much as I'm not a fan of that song, she hasn't really been just Kylie's sister for a good couple of years now.

+15 Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody +12 Eric Prydz - Pjanoo +10 Sam Sparro - Black And Gold +08 Wiley - Wearing My Rolex +06 Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah +05 The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved +04 H Two O - What's It Gonna Be? +03 Nickelback - Rockstar +02 Adele - Chasing Pavements +01 Leona Lewis - Better In Time -02 Soulja Boy - Crank That

I concur with Jark. Dappy is a horrendous little goblin, with clothes and without.

OUTRAGE In For The Kill is a bloody dreadful song. +15 Kelly Rowland - Stole +12 Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage! +10 The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love +08 Dido - White Flag +06 Black Eyed Peas - Shut Up +05 Lemar - Dance (With U) +04 Mis-teeq - Scandalous +03 Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body +02 The Darkness - Christmas Time +01 Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex -02 Benny Benassi - Satisfaction

HUSH Silence is one of those few tracks that has hundreds of different versions, and all of which are quite brilliant. Although perhaps not as immediate as the trance versions, the Gregorian chant original of Silence is WONDERFUL. But it wasn't the version I featured on my CD. Tracklisting later this evening...

It's actually SACRILEGE to plump for a wishy-washy Tin Tin Out remix over the GLORIOUS power balladry of the original.

Caroldene is clearly NOTHING on Des'ree, and in fact I quite RESENT the implication. She's clearly more the new Heather Small.

Some wonderful stuff there; Robyn of course, Delerium (one of the best dance anthems of all time), Take That (who I hope have given up the anthemic manband sound now, because I don't think they will top The Flood again), and Sarah McLachlan; World On Fire just about manages to avoid being preachy and is instead a rather touching worldly lament. Gorgeous.

Well out of those Corrs tracks; one is of course UTTERLY WONDROUS (see the CD Swap thread), and one really isn't; Summer Sunshine was the epitome of the Corrs at their worst; lightweight, cheap and without any substance whatsoever.

Oh don't get me wrong, I don't find Christian appealing in the least either. Syed however...

He never did anything for me. A very plain face.

John-Paul was hardly likeable, and I never understood why all the internet gays looned over him. He was a selfish sod who actively went out of his way to seduce the fiance of one of his supposed friends. And then went actively out of his way to seduce a priest. I know he was "in love" and all that, but his character was JUST as self-driven, destructive and needy as Christian, if not more so.