superbossanova

Doing a massive catch-up here: On A Ragga Tip - Pretty much agree with Gezza on this one. I imagine this is a record that young teenagers thought they were very cool buying back then with its flashy production and unusual beats, and isn't the title a reference to drugs as well or is my slang dictionary way off (probably, I'm hardly cool enough to know all these terms)? Interestingly also while this IS very much a 1992 sound as you said the reggae sample also makes it somewhat ahead of its time in a way given what is to come in 1993 and 1994 - funny how that works, isn't it? Anyway, not my cup of tea but I can see the appeal and it's better than most songs of its ilk. Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Not got much opinion on this but I don't think this is a good cover, although I'm not that keen on the original either, which technically might be a good song but is ruined by Bob and his usual awful vocals; I generally can't stand Guns N' Roses either so Axl Rose doesn't make it much better. Raving I'm Raving - Very poor. The rave beats/bassline might have been nice at the time but in 2011 they sound dated, tinny and weak. I can't imagine anyone raving to this one either in a current context. And the sample incorporation is just cheesy - put on my raving shoes? LOL. Did kind of raise a smile when I first heard it though, but not exactly in a good way. Jump - A catchy song that does what it says on the tin quite literally. I put this down as a song that isn't trying to be anything but a bit of a fun so it seems silly to hate it. Perhaps more interesting to look at this as a part of marketing of rap music as you touched on - using kids to make rap easily more relatable and sellable to young kids? Of course, that was nothing new musically (Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, etc.) but this was perhaps the first blatant example of it that I can think of in respect to rap - others like Lil' Bow Wow followed later. Heartbeat - Having perused her record collection many times, I can confirm with certainty that my mum actually owns a copy of the ALBUM(!!!) this is taken from. I did watch Heartbeat when I was a kid but that was more because my parents were watching it; I had usually just come down from having a bath and had to be in bed by 9 at the latest and I think it was on at 8 after Coronation Street - plus Nick Berry had long since left the main role by that point IIRC. Anyway don't have much opinion on this song. It's pretty inoffensive and as much as the whole song seems like it should get your foot-tapping it's just a bit bland - both on this and Buddy Holly's version, so I'm not sure it's anything to do with Nick either. I'll Be There - No mention of the fact this is an actual "duet", although uncredited, with Trey Lorenz (an old school friend of Mariah's who she later hired as one of her backing singers)? Seems a bit odd to leave that detail out. And that's why she doesn't try to take over the song! Anyway in terms of Mariah duets this is one of her better ones with a nice voice complimentation between Mariah and Trey. Certainly better than the schmaltz-fests like One Sweet Day and Against All Odds anyway. Sesame's Treet - This isn't that bad! In fact, it's very cheerful. At least it's not boring like SU&D. Wouldn't rush to listen to this one but certainly wouldn't skip it if it came up on my iTunes (although I'm not sure I actually have it on there!). And I'm not sure you can say it killed rave if the scene just naturally evolved - into jungle and then maybe into the big beat style that was very popular in the late 90s (The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, etc.)? It happens to every type of music eventually, and a genre like dance music was always naturally evolving at this time I guess as it was still relatively fresh in comparison to other genres which stagnate eventually. Anyway I'm waffling and making no sense now so I'll shut up. Barcelona - Well I guess technically it's a decent song. Good vocal performances from both obviously. Dramatic build-up to a powerful chorus. But not even remotely close to being my kind of music and frankly putting up with dear Montserrat (god bless her) and her pipes + vocal stylings for that long would drive me crazy eventually. Would never listen to this. The Best Things In Life Are Free - Flimsy! Sorry, I'm bored of writing by this point :D But this feels very weak production-wise. Probably another case of that D word. Average anyway. Will do the other 2 on my next catch-up as I can't be arsed right now. Although neither are that special and the Undercover one is awful!

If you add the words "of" and "Buzzjack's" (or something like that) between favourite and songs it won't be misleading anymore.

Liberty X - Just A Little is easily my least favourite. A very, very boring song more concerned with appearing 'cool' than composing anything resembling a decent tune.

Hmm, I wouldn't be TOTALLY against this, unlike most people here. I've always looked at the charts as a window into what's going on in the music scene at the time (although that's a bit of an old-fashioned view considering there are several components of the music scene that never get into the charts these days) and while I don't mind the old songs cropping back up it still feels more than a bit pointless to me and doesn't "show" anything except people still like those boring, overplayed songs. That said, if the aim is of helping the lesser acts... well, it would be a bit unnecessary improving their position by a few spots (especially since their SALES would still be the same, which is what the record companies are interested in anyway). So basically I'm saying I wouldn't care if it was done but it would be pretty pointless anyway in the grand scheme of things for the record companies.

There's one more #2 still to come in 1992 that I like rather a lot - not sure if it'd be the one you'd expect but then again I don't think anybody really knows my music taste that well here, not like I have acts I like plastered in my avatar/signature like most people here :lol: 1992 seems to get worse as it goes along as far as I can tell (in general, not in terms of the #2 hits!) - Now 23 doesn't look good at all! And the Xmas chart looks truly dire. I know Christmas is the time of ridiculousness but honestly. But getting a bit ahead of myself here; that can be discussed when we get to December. I loved the existence of Iron Maiden in chart terms - they're surely the only act in chart history whose entire career seemed to depend almost completely on the sales climate? Watching their positions drop to lower top 20 at best from their "career peak" in 1991/92 before suddenly going back in the other direction post-2002 as sales decreased again, and reaching a peak almost as good as before in 2005-07 was very amusing. Musically I never "got" them either but I do miss their presence in the charts too. For me they almost encapsulate the chart variety we've lost in the internet age [/oldmangrumbling]

Noo @ Never Be The Same Again going :( I wanted it to win! At least it made the decade game I suppose but I'm sure it'll be one of the first out there just because older songs always seem to perform worse in these kind of things (probably because some people don't have memories attached to them, I guess?) Voted for Spiller. Great song but the other two are better (although it wasn't until a couple of years later that I finally accepted the fact I liked the Sonique song :angel:)

Was listening to Now 21 last night before bed to get into the early 1992 mood :D Actually it reminded me that this period wasn't so bad in terms of the notable hits, it's just the good'uns seemed to stall lower in the top 10 or outside of it. I might make this a regular thing if I can be bothered as I do actually own all the main series from 1991 onwards. Anyway, as we approach April, 1992 seems to be a bit more swing now. So, CeCe Peniston. I guess it's a rather typical piece of early 90s vocal house - the big diva belter, the spritzy piano to give it that extra bit of pizzazz, etc. Personally speaking it's been kind of killed for me by association. I'm sure I did like it when I first heard it (although god knows when that would have been!) but it seems to have become THE ultimate dance track of the MoR radio stations nowadays, rolled out constantly on Heart FM's Club Classics show for example. Heck, even in the last 30 days Compare My Radio says it's been played a gigantic 362 times which is a huge amount for a track that is 20 years old, with the likes of Touch, Heart and Atlantic FM giving it generous support. So yes, I have to say I'm rather sick of it and would quite happily send it to a metaphorical death. Also I didn't realise CeCe had a top 10 hit before Finally (I assumed it got re-issued after being a hit in the US like was the way with quite a lot of tracks) which came up on Now 21 last night and I prefer it to this actually. The Shanice track is okay but hard to conjure up any strongs feelings on it. For some reason listening to it reminds me strongly of some of Tatyana Ali's (to truly pluck a name out of obscurity!) late 90s hits and I could imagine her having sung this track too if she had been old enough at the time. I liked those a lot back then but of course that was with a more updated production job to fit the late 90s R&B sound which naturally appealed to me more.

^ Yeah, maybe. Doubt it would be a million seller though, unless the new songs are big. Wasn't Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits promoted off Always - which was a HUGE hit? So not sure if it's a good comparison, as it would have naturally driven people to check out their older material and snap up that as an easy route in that case. But it would do well probably. Since everyone is making potential tracklistings, Usher Greatest Hits: 01 You Make Me Wanna... 02 Nice and Slow :wub: 03 Pop Ya Collar 04 U Remind Me 05 U Got It Bad 06 Yeah! (feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris) 07 Burn 08 Confessions Part II 09 My Boo (w/Alicia Keys) 10 Caught Up 11 Love In This Club (feat. Young Jeezy) 12 Moving Mountains 13 OMG (feat. will.i.am) 14 DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love (feat. Pitbull) 15 More (RedOne Jimmy Joker Remix) ... then x amount of new songs. Can't believe he hasn't done one yet considering he could make a hit-packed single disc GH like this. Not sure if it's worth adding any of his featured songs apart from maybe I Need A Girl...

:o That's one of my favourite Kanye tracks! How could someone not just :wub: at those utterly gorgeous synths/strings. I don't think Kanye is ready for a Greatest Hits yet though. If he did do one I think I would prefer one tailored more to the fans (maybe voted for by them, like Björk did with hers years ago) as his biggest hits are some of his worst tracks IMO. By the way, Mariah always releases country-specific compilations. She practically has to more than any other act as her hits in some countries are so drastically different. Against All Odds would definitely be on the UK/European version but no way would it make the US release though. This was the case for her The Ballads album. I would quite like another Greatest Hits from her though as her last one was a very impersonal contract-ender and released with no personal input from her as it was in 2001 when she was at the lowest point of her career of course.

Hmm, speaking objectively, I think Twilight Zone is QUITE significantly worse than Get Ready For This. Instrumentally, GRFT is actually quite good IMO. In fact, if the instrumental was given to a more talented interesting dance act then it could have been something special (ok, maybe I'm going a bit overboard here :lol:). Twilight Zone is just their usual ear-assaulting clunky, typical noise, sadly. Like you, however, I'm not sorry to see the back of 2 Unlimited in this thread, especially since they were only getting worse from the point of a passable first single. Just listening to their follow-up to this now (Workaholic, a #4 hit) as I didn't recognise it from the title and it's yet again another step down in quality... :wacko: My Girl, on the other hand, is a classic! I could listen to those smooth, pristine vocals all day - perfection! I agree that 1992 is a poor year for #2s in general but with this already being the 2nd perfect pop track to reach the position this year at least it started off better than any other year so far. Again though this seems like a rather default #2. Looking at the chart for this week on Chartstats it seems like 1992 is still struggling to make its mark with a rather worrying amount of re-issues knocking about in the upper reaches (always a clear sign of poor quality IMO) - but at least we now have a clear leader in the form of Shakespear's Sister.

That Kylie record is a shocker indeed! Haven't heard the original that I recall but her version is just a badly-sung (she sounds awful on that chorus!) 60s pastiche with a weak melody to boot. Then again, I hate Better The Devil You Know as well and I've made obvious on this forum my dislike for Kylie, bar a select few songs :D I also look forward to her next record on this list where I can actually say something positive about one of her songs! Anyway, back to GMJALMT, I'm guessing this only got to #2 due to the usual weak competition in January? Everybody In The Place is okay but pretty weak by their standards. They had better songs with better riffs even in this year. Again, I imagine this only got so high due to weak competition. Out Of Space was far more deserving of such a peak than this, but of course that was released near Xmas... I think you're being a bit harsh putting (early) The Prodigy in the same bracket as the likes of and though. The fact they sold far more albums than was typical of dance acts even at this infant stage of their career suggests there was far more interest in them than just a niche rave audience to me...

Yes, I agree, Justified and Ancient is just excellent. I guess its brilliance lies in its ability to create something so unique and interesting from fusing a number of different styles, while still maintaining the sense of fun that makes great pop music. It really does add up to this unstoppable energy that never lets up. Just adore it. And The KLF were excellent in general. Only Basement Jaxx since have even come close to matching them in making creative dance music with pop sensibilities. Funny to read the background on Amy Grant. I knew nothing about her before but I always filed that song next to the likes of New Kids On The Block and Debbie Gibson in my mind (i.e. something from the teen pop genre). Sorry Amy! :D The song itself is very annoying with that jaunty rhythm. And yes, dated as hell too. Not a fan. 1991 was a pretty bleak year for #2s in general (bar Seal and The KLF) but it is good that the list was more focused and more relevant to what was going on in the music scene at the time - be it rave, new jack swing, eurodance, the Madchester scene, etc - compared to 1990 which just feels like a random list of songs. As such it feels more like a part of the 1990s, rather than a continuation of the 1980s (although there are still some songs that belong in the 1980s hanging about like Amy Grant and Extreme). 1992 even more so I would say, without spoiling anything...

Oh, I like Rise as well. I was actually expecting it to do better after Out Of Reach did surprisingly well in the 2001 game but I think the general perception seems to be that 2000 is quite a strong year considering most people seem to be commenting they like the majority of the songs left. So Gabrielle could get away with being inoffensive more in 2001 than she could in 2000, I guess? Agreed about The Bad Touch. Such a cleverly-written song, unique, humourous, brilliant detail to rhyming, great hook, catchy horns, etc. But like I said in the other round, people on here just don't seem to like humour in songs anyway, and I don't think people really appreciate clever writing either. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just saying what seems to be the case from what I've noticed. And yes, Born To Make You Happy is being robbed. I'm just blaming it on the fact it's so late 1990s/early 2000s in every way. Which is partly the reason why I love it anyway. And there was no one better than Britney at consistently bringing out perfectly-crafted pop tunes back then! Sadly far from the case in 2011 though... :lol:

Not sure about that. Usually the inoffensive songs get voted off with a chorus of "this is boring, so dull", etc, very suddenly at some point. Like what happened to poor Gabrielle the other round! Maybe this is about to happen to Madison Avenue though, especially after we've drawn everyone's attention to it with this conversation? I agree it's pretty 'meh' though. The main problem for me was always the singer's voice. I think she's trying to be sultry or something but it never worked for me. Her lifeless vocal just makes the whole song totally flat.

Once Born To Make You Happy inevitably leaves this round, my three favourites at the start will all have gone (The Bad Touch and The Real Slim Shady were the other two). After this I guess I'll be hoping for either Stan or Never Be The Same Again to win. I think NBTSA might have a chance... The voting here with dance songs is quite baffling if you ask me... do people really prefer Madison Avenue to Spiller? :wacko: I'm not the biggest dance fan myself but the latter is far superior to me. And Ian Van Dahl lasted right to the end in 2001 over IMO much better songs like Roger Sanchez or Supermen Lovers.

God, The Corrs really need to leave now. Getting bored of voting for them now. Plus I've been wanting to vote for Madison Avenue for ages (I preferred the follow-up, Who The Hell Are You?) but I can't because they won't piss off. Save Born To Make You Happy! At least let the far inferior Oops! I Did It Again go before it :drama:

Oh, didn't see Darude getting knocked out :o That kind of came out of nowhere in terms of the pattern of votes to me. It's better than Madison Avenue at least in terms of dance... Anyhow, voting for The Corrs as usual. Will also insert my usual remark of disbelief that this is still here (and as of now I'm the only voter for it!) - t'is madness, honestly. Think The Bad Touch will go this time but it's done very well considering BuzzJack clearly fails at 'getting' humour within songs (see: Afroman, Eminem, etc.) - a testament to the fact it actually stands up as a pop song with a brilliant melody as well, I think.

Once again - The Corrs. Easily the most snooze-worthy track here. I struggle to even remember the tune if I'm perfectly honest. 3 votes for Bloodhound Gang!!! Oh noes. Is this a double elimination? :cry:

Muse and Coldplay are the ultimates! I would buy both as they have plenty of songs I can appreciate but don't like them enough to buy their albums. I have only one Coldplay album (VLV) and no Muse albums. Both would be massive sellers I think as I'm sure there's lots of people who feel the same. I'm sure Usher has never released a Greatest Hits, has he? I've been following the charts spanning almost his entire career and I don't remember him ever releasing one anyway, if he did it must have been a very quiet release with no promotion. A Black Eyed Peas one would be a huge seller for sure but I bet they'd be c**ts and leave off their absolute best song Request + Line :drama: (and I'd be the only person in the world who would shake my head at its non-inclusion anyway). Not sure if Jack White is the type to bother with a pointless GH album, though now would obviously be a good time when they've split up. (just realised this post is a bit of a mess structure-wise, lol. It's like a stream of random thoughts :( Sorry!)

Wow, who knew Torn was THAT popular on here? :D Both years in the top 2! And suddenly the The Drugs Don't Work/Don't Look Back In Anger top 2 in the 1990s #1 Rate doesn't seem as surprising as everybody claimed back then looking at the 2006 game here! It's like BuzzJack has gone full circle and back to where it was before taste-wise! :lol: I doubt Angels would get that high now surely though. And why did Baby One More Time never make the top 10 until 2009 (its last year) - very strange, maybe people went off it due to its bubblegum influence before they finally accepted that it was too good a song to deny? Interesting stuff though. It's also strange how when the game was first run it was nowhere near as leaning to current releases as it is now - it's only really in 2008 that you can see that start happening more drastically. I agree this year has the best top 5. The early years are quite good too but they're ruined by Can't Get Out Of My Head constantly propping up its place there, and the last two by Poker Face and Since U Been Gone. This year is the first that I like the whole top 5.

Once again: The Corrs. People DO still realise this boring turd is here, right? You know, when you're voting out brilliant songs like Born To Make You Happy and Rock DJ (not to mention when the likes of Real Slim Shady and Freestyler are already gone!!) while this isn't picking up any votes I'm starting to think NOT quite frankly. At least all The Bad Touch h8rs have disappeared though.

I wasn't laughing because I was surprised they were there! Just the thought of The Corrs still being hammered to death on radio in 2004 is probably the biggest reflection of how behind radio was with what the public was actually buying, that's all! At least someone like Joss Stone was having lots of people buy her album(s) :lol: I would say V were basically the last band to be successfully launched in the "old skool" way. They were on the same label with McFly and had been touring with them I think. Signings galore. Appearing on CD:UK et all plenty of times pre-release. I'm inclined to say Smash Hits were probably all over them too but I had stopped buying it by then. They weren't even in the airplay top 100 that week though!!!

Sales Top 10 the week Mr Brightside debuted: 01 (01) Frankee - Furb (F U Right Back) 02 (NE) Kelis - Trick Me 03 (02) Eamon - f*** It (I Don't Want You Back) 04 (03) Cassidy feat R. Kelly - Hotel 05 (04) The 411 - On My Knees 06 (NE) V - Blood, Sweat and Tears 07 (05) Christina Milian - Dip It Low 08 (07) Anastacia - Left Outside Alone 09 (NE) Kristian Leontiou - Story Of My Life 10 (NE) The Killers - Mr Brightside Airplay Top 10 from the same week: 01 (03) Keane - Everybody's Changing 02 (05) The Corrs - Summer Sunshine :rofl: 03 (08) Christina Milian - Dip It Low 04 (02) Maroon 5 - This Love 05 (04) Joss Stone - Super Duper Love 06 (01) Natasha Bedingfield - Single :blink: (How?!) 07 (07) The 411 - On My Knees 08 (09) Anastacia - Left Outside Alone 09 (20) Mario Winans - I Don't Wanna Know 10 (10) Kristian Leontiou - Story Of My Life

But people could see how good it was back then. Very few songs got into the top 10 off the back of the support it received (i.e. attention in the indie press like NME, getting played on MTV2, minor support from Radio 1); it got that high purely because it was better them all. And for a band with very little fanbase, too! It got basically the same support as the first release of Somebody Told Me yet charted 18 places higher, which kind of says it all, surely?

Meh at another win for Bad Romance! I suggest it should be retired now to let someone else win next year :P I'm not sure how it can be beaten unless Lady Gaga releases some new song that sends the stans crazy. It's good but it's not even the best Gaga single of the last decade, let alone the best single full stop! And I really thought Robyn would win this year off the back of her last album campaign, but I guess she just isn't popular enough to beat the Gaga juggernaut. The results are indeed quite good overall. Varied, I think, which is good. I guess you could complain about the lack of dance in that respect but it's probably more of a reflection of the dire quality of commercial dance from 2001-2010 than anything else. Smooth presentation, RFC, bar that one hiccup! Good job :D