BillyH

As emo as it sounds, January to September 2011 was to this day the last truly 'happy' era in my life - it's the last time I had unadulterated youthful optimism in everything I did and the world genuinely felt like an exciting happy place. From September 2011 onwards my final year at uni began, and then from the summer after that I've been stuck in a post-graduation world of jobs, househunting and other boring adult things ever since. Similarly all the friends that I used to get drunk with every weekend in 2011 - and many weekdays too - are now all settling down into similar routines. It's really kinda sad when I think about it and I'll have some very mixed feelings as I read some of these posts as almost every track for those first nine months will provide some sort of happy memory for me (and the last three months unhappy memories of studying, exams etc <_< ) but it'll also take me back to a time that, while only three years ago is now a long-distant wistful memory. Sigh. Oh yeah, and New Year 2011 was my best New Year ever for reasons I won't go into on a public forum :P

Buzzjack in 1990:

26/02/00: All Saints - Pure Shores dVNdTXEJv1A Comeback #2 and what a return for the Never Ever gang, William Orbit producing a single that's been critically acclaimed absolutely everywhere and has sold in huge numbers this week. Used in the film 'The Beach' and All Saints have crossed the millennium gap with ease. Is it too early to call it a noughties classic? Perhaps, but I do hope this is still remembered and played in years to come as it's heaven on the ears at every listen to the point where I'm worried I'm going to wear out the CD.

Almost the same time for the internet for me, end of March 2000. Thanks for the comments all :) I've got a bit of a mad idea to just go the whole hog and carry this up right to the present day, then going back into the past and doing 1988-1998 (my first ten years alive) in the future. It means I need to write a lot ahead though so I have enough to do regular updates. Meanwhile, in February 2000... 12/02/00: Armin van Buuren - Communication (2 weeks) 2mD7-V5foZI 2000 gets its first future trance classic, confusingly named the same as Mario Piu's novelty hit in December. No ringing phones on this one though, just more euphoric brilliance in a constantly evolving and maturing scene, just beating Sash's 'Adelante' to the top. Armin could end up being the next Ferry at this rate, so long as he doesn't ever sell-out into bland pop music which would be a tragedy to all concerned. Difficult to say yet what the defining sound of the year yet is going to be given the sheer variety so far, but then early 1999 was similarly a varying mix. The charts flood with new entries every week, from new acts trying to make their mark on the new century jostling with old desperately trying to stay relevant with them. Again thinking back to 1990 we had the Madchester craze but that had all but fizzled out by the following year, indeed it's hard to even sum up the music of the 1990s given how different the start of it sounded to the music of two months ago. Difficult to know at this stage what the legacy of the 90s will be and even harder to even attempt to predict what the...2000s? "noughties"? Whatever you want to call it - will be.

This is a Reuters news article from March 1997 about what was seen as a worrying state of the charts at the time, interesting reading:

Poor Surfin' Bird...I think I'm alone in thinking that original Trashmen song is something rather joyous, a quirky-as-hell party track that had never charted here and the campaign should have focused on giving a previously obscure song a chart position it deserves after being helped by a memorable episode of Family Guy. But by coming a year after the Rage Against the Machine campaign it came across to many as an inferior, immature copy, getting ignored quickly and now every time it's mentioned its with rather hushed embarrassment - I think a certain vocal group of obsessive, rather young online fans didn't help at the time, hyping it up to be THIS HUGE THING when it was always nowhere near Matt Cardle in the midweeks. Without all the hype I think it would be remembered more fondly as a fun festive novelty song, certainly it got played at a lot of Christmas parties that year with everyone doing the Peter Griffin dance.

Looking at the chart itself, 1997 was a weirdly transitional time, wasn't it? A year earlier would be much more Britpop, a year later much more late 90s manufactured pop. That's a massively varied chart even in just the top 10 with no real musical trend or sound standing out. I would have been eight at the time and remember liking Men In Black, Tub Thumping and Picture Of You the most, but today it's all about Freed From Desire, Ecuador, and Karma Police, three awesome tracks I didn't discover until a few years later. Then of course you had the madness of the end of the year with all those million-selling singles!

Yeah it's just a bit of a nothing track for both Guetta and Rihanna - see also Robbie Williams and Dizzee Rascal a few years later, a combination that back in 2010 you'd think would be a massive million seller, not a low-selling #5 that zooms straight out the chart. Both Guetta and Rihanna released brilliant follow-ups though.

It did get a bit scary around this time how genuinely huge The X Factor had become - even if you absolutely hated it you couldn't avoid it. The last series I'd actually properly watched was 2009's after which I got a bit sick of it, but I still remember every contestant from the following year and every staged "controversy" even though I didn't watch a single full episode that year! Every Facebook status, every Tweet, every Monday morning conversation was about it - it had got as big as Big Brother had been a few years earlier. And literally every "live" performance of every song would make it zoom to #1 at the soonest opportunity - Simon Cowell could have badly karaoke sung 'Thong Song' and it would have been a #1. Both shows still exist (ridiculously in Big Brother's case, didn't they make a big deal about it "ending" like five years ago?), both still get mentioned but thank god they're not as big as as they were.

05/02/00: Gabrielle - Rise na93MI5NFy0 Surprise comeback time as Gabrielle hits the top immediately with one of her best, classiest singles, probably up there with 1996's 'Give Me a Little More Time' in greatness. Worldwide it's her best-selling track since her 1993 debut Dreams. hitting top 5 in Austria, Norway and New Zealand (yet only #76 in Australia, go figure). Little else to say other than it's a fab listen and for once appeals to the older music buyer given the usual pop and dance at #1 in this country.

22/01/00: Scooch - More Than I Needed To Know (2 weeks) YLncxyCXPsU New year but the manufactured pop that's dominated the end of the 90s seems definitely here to stay based on the latest mixed group, following the Steps and S Club 7 tradition even to the point of starting with the letter S. At least I say the above except I then think back to ten years ago, January 1990 starting with a #1 by Stock/Aitken/Waterman act Kylie Minogue only for the late 80s powerhouse producers to fall greatly in popularity over the next few months. So maybe the pop bubble is about to burst? Who knows. Waterman continues to have success with Steps while his former partners Stock and Aitken write and produce for Scooch, who already had a minor chart hit with 'When My Baby' late last year. This follow-up is so Stepsalike that I wouldn't be surprised if those hearing it on the radio assume it's a new one by the likes of H, Claire and the rest, another slice of optimistic pop cheese the kids adore and buy in their tens of thousands. New it ain't, but it's so lovingly inoffensive how can you hate it? It makes you wonder how many sales would be made by a Steps/S Club/Scooch supergroup single, although given that would involve sixteen voices singing at once perhaps it's for a good reason that has yet to be done. For now, well done to Natalie, Caroline, David and Russ for making their mark on the pop scene and let's see how well 2000 goes for them.

15/01/2000: Pet Shop Boys - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk ZHQ2BMGq0Ss Recovered yet? It'll take me a while to adjust to writing a '2' at the start of the year, but here we are. The year 2000! And the first number 1 of the new century is an act very firmly from the old, hardly spring chickens as they approach their late 40s but they've taken advantage of the January lull to make chart history. As much as I love them - they're my favourite group of all time - I hate to say that their most recent album, Nightlife, is their worst. Going for a 'modern' dance sound recruiting the likes of Rollo, their Faithless-style songs sounded dated even by the time the album was released, and their first two singles failed to capture the public's imagination - 'I Don't Know What You Want But You Can't Give It Anymore' (god that's long) nicely produced but too bleak and tuneless, while the upbeat 'New York City Boy' went too far the other way and while fun was perhaps a bit too over the top for casual purchasers. And worst of all, neither sounded enough like Pet Shop Boys songs, meaning both hardcore and casual fans were put off in equal measure. Then out of nowhere they release a third single of utter brilliance. Fitting in perfectly with the mother of all hangovers the country's been in since January 1st, YOTMYLMWYD is up their with their classics, getting the melody right and finally Neil and Chris sound at their best again. Credit to them both for first arriving on the charts in 1986 and still - just - achieving big hits to this day. Hopefully their next album will sound like them at their 80s and early 90s peak after their more recent experimental efforts.

Thinking Of Me and What's My Name = SNOW. Acres and acres and acres of snow EVERYWHERE, trudging through it all over London to get to various Christmas parties and then, even more ridiculously, spending the season itself in Devon only to find snowmen on the beach!! It was the snowiest winter of my lifetime beating the one before, and I may never see the likes of it again - 2011 was completely snowless in London, 2012 just one ridiculous Saturday night in February and then it returned for the first half of 2013 (seem to remember it even snowing in April?!) and none since then. Waking up on Christmas Day that year to see an actual White Christmas was utterly astonishing. Not a Rihanna fan and What's My Name isn't a song I often play but as gooddelta mentioned it definitely defined the end of the year and indeed the beginning of the next. Thinking Of Me I've loved since I first heard it - Olly's probably got the best track record for songs out of any other X Factor contestants.

Awesome, but god at you being only four years old when the 2000s started :o Wasn't that long ago I felt like one of the younger people on this forum and I was 11 at the millennium! Will def check that blog out. (it's 'century' by the way, might want to change that if it's possible)

18/12/99: William Orbit - Barber's Adagio for Strings (4 weeks) VIbIHxKh9bk Bloody hell it has!! Tranceheads around the world have their official Millennium anthem and we have the most bizarre Christmas number 1 since Mr Blobby, but an absolutely fitting one for the last weeks of 1999, the 1990s and the 20th century - especially as it fuses the start of the century with the end. Samuel Barber composed 'Adagio for Strings' as a classical piece back in 1936, and in the decades since has been used in various state events and funerals as well as, memorably, the 80s war flick 'Platoon'. Up to the 1990s, and DJ William Orbit did his own version on album 'Pieces in a Modern Style' but that version sounds fairly similar to the Barber original, just with synthesised instruments. Then Ferry Corsten got a hold of it. Absolutely cementing him as the biggest-selling artist of 1999 when System F, Veracocha, Gouryella are combined - not to mention all his remixes - he finishes the year with a masterpiece, initally confusing clubbers around the world by starting with the original classical piece before BOOM, the trance beats start to come in. The result is a musical experience impossible to describe in words, a work of genius that the late Samuel Barber I like to think would be very proud - if amused - by, turning one of the most heartbreaking pieces of music into one of the most astonishing trance anthems I've ever heard. As we move through into January 2000 it continues to ride high at the chart, which makes you wonder what on earth can stop it? Happy new millennium everyone, may the forthcoming 21st century be one of peace, wealth and happiness.

11/12/99: Mario Piu - Communication (Somebody Answer The Phone) xphxPPQXJKw Oh dear. A silly song but a slightly frustratingly catchy novelty one at that, based around the technological craze of the year. While they've been around for over a decade, it's been 1999 when the mobile phone has truly made the crossover from business people in suits to something everyone has to have, with slightly scary stories of children as young as 8 or 9 now owning one. They've also increased in power while decreasing in size, to the point where the ultra-compact Nokia 3210 is the must-have model of the moment, finally dispensing the silly aerial at the top for a stylish rounded design with clever features like predictive text and even a way of composing your own ringtones. I say this like I know this stuff - I don't, I'm still someone who doesn't own one, but that may have to change soon as I'm starting to feel a bit 20th century. So it was up to Italian DJ Mario Piu to cash in on it all and base a dance track on all the weird and wonderful monophonic noises you get from these things, then given a further boost by being given a remix by Yomanda (Northern Irish DJ Paul Masterson) for its lead single release. Reports already in certain clubs around the country are of the more well-off clubbers holding up their phones in drunken joy as this song plays, so as rather ridiculous the song is it's clearly resonated with some of today's generation. File it under the guilty pleasures for me, as long as it only lasts a week at #1 I'll stand it. We're two weeks away from the festive chart but the rush really kicks off next week. There's one track from a certain chart behemoth just released that I'm secretly hoping goes all the way, but not getting my hopes up too much...

04/12/99: Alice Deejay - Back In My Life ldgwAAwj9zs Can you believe it? We're in December already, the most important December in ten centuries as we are days away from entering the third millennium. Unsurprisingly the Christmas number 1 battle is as big as ever, but - thank god! - no Spice Girls this year although a few solo split-offs are having a go. The result is a rush of entries from around the world coming over the next few weeks, and presumably one that will resume in January as everyone competes to be the first #1 of the year 2000. For now, did anyone expect Alice Deejay to follow-up Better Off Alone? They've shed the one-hit wonder tag with ease and surely bets are on now for them to carry on this luck through 2000, they've found a perfect middleground between pop and trance with their releases so far and while this doesn't quite have the killer melody of BoA, it's still a wonderful listen and sounding weirdly festive for a sound so generally summery. Can't help noticing though that the CD single features a short edit of, you guessed it, Better Off Alone though, so perhaps that was an extra incentive for people to buy it as you're essentially getting two songs in one. Otherwise if you didn't buy Better Off Alone while its single was still available in the summer, how else are you meant to hear it other than pay £15 for Now That's What I Call Music 43?

27/11/99: Wamdue Project - King of My Castle DXSyQjppqG0 Somewhat of a shock #1 although following the pattern of the last few weeks, like 'Get Get Down' it's the unlikely place of the United States where the origins of this lie, starting out as a much more downtempo track two years ago by Atlanta resident Chris Brann before being remixed by a bloke called 'Roy Malone', actually an alias for Italian Mauro Ferrucci. The result is a hit all over Europe, and, as ever, nowhere to be found in the US Hot 100 although hitting the top on their Hot Dance Club chart. Difficult to pinpoint exactly what's appealed to so many but it's probably that thudding house beat, refreshing to hear something so housey after the trancemania of the year.

Main memory of The Flood is a bizarre-as-hell performance on The X Factor, everyone being very reserved and serious except for Robbie who looked like he was being electrocuted, shaking and bouncing all over the place. Some said drugs, others just said it was his excitement/nerves at being back with Take That, I just thought it was attention-seeking, either that or they were playing a drum & bass remix in his earpiece by mistake. Then a really awkward bit afterwards when Dermot asked Gary Barlow (a year away from judging the show) who he wanted to win, Robbie immediately interrupted shouting "WAGNER! WAGNER!" only to get completely ignored by everyone as Gary properly answered the question.

13/11/99: Alena - Turn It Around (2 weeks) 0kNDKr5ofKk It's like a permanent hangover from the summer as the downtempo trend continues with this stunning pop/dance masterpiece, yet again hailing from the Netherlands with Alena Lova and Dutch producer Carlo Resoort but charting here in a remix from British DJs The Space Brothers. Synths are kept much subtly here at first before springing a bit more to life as the track goes on, and a fantastic vocal from Miss Lova pushes it into greatness. Further down the chart it's a shame to see two pretty good tracks - Planet Perfecto's 'Bullet In The Gun' and Madison Avenue's 'Don't Call Me Baby' underperform somewhat, the latter especially as it's been a major hit in its native Australia. Both surely had the potential to be huge top ten hits. Oh well, can't win them all and maybe they'll gain more recognition in the far future.

06/11/99: Solar Stone - Seven Cities m1j_aOZk-v4 And even dance music changes with the seasons, as while this could technically be called "trance" it sounds very different to the pounders released in the Spring and Summer, this keeps the beat but downplays everything else and is something of a spiritual experience, a fly through the closing few skies of the 20th century and another that can work both in the club and on a Sunday morning chilltime. Radio plays the 3:31 edit, but it's worth buying the CD for the full length 8:11 mix to truly immerse yourself. Progressive trance at its finest and another worthy #1, just beating boyband Five to the top but their 'Keep On Moving' should have some staying power of its own all the same.

16/10/99: Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle (3 weeks) kIDWgqDBNXA Staying in America and watch out Britney, you've got competition. 18 year old Aguilera locks onto the #1 spot with a track that dominated the American airwaves over the summer and becomes a deserved Autumn smash here. It's actually odd to imagine it as a summer hit as its slightly melancholic sound fits the sound of falling leaves and darkening skies more, but it seems seasons can't stop this from being a hit no matter what. But how can two similar-sounding teen pop sensations co-exist in harmony? Will one fall in popularity leaving the other to rule victorious, or will it be a case of Britney Who and Christina Huh by circa 2001? As ever, time will tell.

It had a negative reputation even then - this was when people started to get really sick of Cheryl as for the last two years she'd been hyped up by everyone big time. All the Cheryl fans mostly bought it in the first week and it fell down the charts soon after, and the next year or so saw something of a downfall as 'The Flood' underperformed and then there was the whole US X Factor controversy in 2011. I'm amazed she managed to rescue things with Call My Name to be honest, but that did basically just sound like every other number 1 in 2012 so it basically just cashed in a trend.

Ah I joined in 2007 once I started collecting them all from charity shops, you're right though within a couple of years it was dead. Still visit occasionally but its past its best. My proudest achievement was perhaps posting a deliberately jokey tracklist for Now 100 (Summer 2018), which at the time was ten years away. Looking back it's not quite as amusing as I thought it was but it satrically sums up that musical era well.

Surprised to see so many zeros and -1s for Beautiful Girls, always really liked it!