Chez Wombat

Kool And The Gang - Celebration Abba - Super Trouper Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry Adam And The Ants - Antmusic Kate Bush - December Will Be Magic Again* Diana Ross and Blondie just outside, not a lot of great discoveries cos of all the Christmas silliness but Spandau Ballet, The Clash and Gary Numan were good songs I didn't already know I don't usually do Worst, but I do want to single this rather heinous thing out (yes, St. Winifreds was better x) Mac Davis - It's Hard To Be Humble

I was struggling to remember what the 2nd song was, I was sure it had already been given all the modern songs seemed to not do as well here, but that's a great surprise result. It's a fantastic song, I prefer it in A-Trak remix form but both are great, The winner is slightly less unexpected but no qualms with it at all, it's a beautiful, simple song that connects with just about everyone. It's context of creation is lovely too as one of the songs that was more hopeful in the drama-filled Abbey Road recording sessions. Below them, Champagane Supernova and The Sound of Silence were my favourite 2 left,. I would say the former is much less of a blatant rip-off of the Beatles than some of their songs, it works really work well as an homage to psychedelia, the mid-90s soundscape and the lyrics ('slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball') are as Oasis as you can get x Shame it hasn't yet managed to get top 40 on the back of the tour, but guess that works better for this rate and it need not be said at this rate, but Sound of Silence is one of the most profound and beautiful songs ever written, I do have a soft spot for the Disturbed cover as well x I can't really fault any of that top 10 even though none were quite at the top of my votes, all very clear classics that have aged really well. Thank you for the excellent effort you put into hosting this, gasman, it's been great to follow.

Definitely a worthy number 1 of the year however many polls put it there, it was just light years ahead of almost everything at the time and still sounds so distinctive to this day, I was 9 at the time and I even remember it standing out then! I don't mind that version of Lady Marmalade, I grew up with it and it fits the vibe of Moulin Rouge, however messy it is with all the different vocal styles. Touch Me has unfortunately always gone a bit over my head, Another Chance is better out of the random dance number 1s this year, but Survivor is a classic. I think this would be my top 10, roughly: Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out of My Head Roger Sanchez - Another Chance Destinys Child - Survivor Atomic Kitten - Whole Again S Club 7 - Don't Stop Movin' So Solid Crew - 21 Seconds (robbed in this countdown x) Emma Bunton - What Took You So Long Shaggy feat. RikRok - It Wasn't Me DJ Pied Piper & The Master of Ceremonies - Do You Really Like It? Daniel Bedingfield - Gotta Get Thru This There are a fair few guilty pleasures here, but 2001 is generally quite a poor year overall with not a lot of favourites. Thanks for hosting Wardy, would love this becoming a regular thing for a different poster per year if that is happening x

Well, the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin, not involving Zelenskyy, about trying to resolve the war was, to the surprise of absolutely no one, a waste of time and money with no deal reached.g I could've predicted that about a week ago but somehow the media were hyping this up as really significant... Maybe a failed distraction tactic with the Epstein files, but given how quickly he thought he could end this war, he is really failing.

Good to know that some reboots can still work well, I really enjoyed this, I love the original films, as well as the Airplane! movies which had a similar style and I think this did a brilliant job in replicating that style, with so many gags at once on the screen, I particularly liked Cold Cases and P.L.O.T Device as well as 'Can I ask why?'. Liam Neeson was also perfectly deadpan (he's about ten years older now than Leslie Nielsen was when he played the role!). There was some great callbacks to the original with things like the monologues and montages but they felt fresh and utterly bizarre at points which worked well, and it's nice to see a film give something for those who stick around for the credits, some great gags and nice to see Weird Al's cameo pay off. Like a lot of these reboots, I don't think it needed to exist at all, but when there is a clear love and respect for the originals as well as a clear attempt to have it's own style as well, I think it justified it.

So many classics in the 11-20 section so far that I thought would be higher, Perfect Day is such a beautiful song, the minimal backing and quiet, slightly strained vocal add real authenticity to it, the BBC cover version was good in a different way, but doesn't come close to the sentiment of the original (we don't talk about the BBC version of God Only Knows though x). Also love Comfortably Numb, so atmospheric and dreamy and a standout sequence in The Wall as well. Love I Follow Rivers in both remix and original form too, I'm glad it's much more remembered than its peak might suggest.

It's basically your standard 'I Want' musical song, but within the film, when it's successfully performed, it works well as a culmination of Rumi's plotline and explores her growth as a character, the high note is one of the subtle elements that shows this that won't be as obvious without context. I would probably not be as into this if I hadn't seen the film and it's still not my favourite from the soundtrack (that'd be How It's Done), but it's still a really well-done song and love that an original (and good x) film having this much success and cultural impact.

That's impressively high for Walking on a Dream, I remember it from the time before they had their breakthrough and it's a very underrated song. Where Is My Mind and Gimme Shelter obviously big classics too x

That's fantastic for Weapons! Do we know Barbarian's overall gross or opening? That was definitely more of a slow burner and I think the similar rug pull that that had probably helped this one.

This is a great film, I keep seeing chart forum posts saying 'I like the songs but the movie's not my thing' etc. but it's a lot more mature and deeper than you'd expect for a film with a concept like this and the animation, humour and story are all fantastic and can easily be enjoyed by adults as well as teens so don't be put off x and fantastic to see this happening to an original movie in a sea of sequels/remakes. I think my only issues with it were with some of the writing near the end - After the big reveal, I feel we don't really learn enough about the backstory and the demons felt a bit of an afterthought and somewhat unfairly dismissed when I feel they could've had a more inclusive message. I do hope there may be more (much as I hate encouraging more sequels) as it does feel like there's more they can do with the world.

Queen - Another One Bites The Dust Air Supply - All Out Of Love The Sweet People - Et Les Oiseaux Chantaient (And The Birds Were Singing) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay Motörhead - Ace Of Spades Heavy on the classics this week, no room sadly for Madness, Bob Marley, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Kate Bush & AC/DC (and a good double a-side discovery from the Specials), I can't not vote for The Sweet People as I am blessed to have another birdsong-heavy song in my life x

Hopefully Champagne Supernova is a fair bit higher up for Oasis x Run Boy Run is another loss, although I'm pleasantly surprised it's made it this far and has managed to make a dent in the public consciousness outside of BJSC, it always sounded like a huge and distinctive song.

This is probably my favourite top 3 in any of these 😍 I've gone for the Killers, but it's like picking between Neapolitan ice cream flavours.

Lost all of 3-1 points, not great but I guess it's better than the 3 the other end! 03; Scotland 2 \ Che - BLACK SWAN 02; Bronzil \ Mirella - Timanttei 01; Lookylion \ Henryk Górecki, Dawn Upshaw, London Sinfonietta & David Zinman - Symphony No. 3, Op. 36: II. Lento E Largo - Tranquillissimo I'm hoping that there's a lot of growers in this semi, as I left listening quite late so didn't get as much time to connect with them, as well as some goods in Semi 2.

Thought for sure I was in the wrong semi there, but glad to sneak out of it, thanks all Sad for Scotland 2 (knew it was completely doomed, but a striking song for sure) and Lookylion (Much as I love classical music, I'm not quite as big a fan of opera so that did dock it a few points, but still a lovely, standout piece). Ah, Bronzil too now, that was a nice song aww x

The video to Another Chance is gorgeous, it's a really nice song anyway but played alongside makes it hit a lot harder.

This was really good. Zack Cregger's proving to be a real master of unravelling storytelling, there was a palpable sense of dread throughout and seeing things through different perspectives was really well done. I did think once the climax came and it got a little more silly in the conclusion, it lost some of it's earlier power and I did think Barbarian did the mad tonal shift a bit better, but it didn't affect my enjoyment and it's still an insanely gripping film until the final minutes. I watched with a fairly quiet audience so I guess I got off lucky there (quiet morning screenings are so much better x)

I'm glad to at least see one nation actually doing something concrete to sanction them, weak finger wagging and saying this is wrong is doing nothing at this stage. The cards are on the table now - he fully intends to take Gaza City, contradicting their earlier foreign policy, and the US is just shrugging it's shoulders, they're not gonna stop while they've still got that support. I'm trying my hardest to not doom-scroll and despair, but it's pretty tough right now, what a bleak world we live in.

Take Me Home Country Roads was played in a restaurant when I was in India and me and the Americans I was travelling had a bit of a fun moment with it, a timeless song x Swimming Pools (Drank) is one of my favourites from Kendrick, so that's a disappointing early exit. Love on the Brain is a recent discovery from listening to ANTI and I really love the 50s doo-wop sound, I'm pleased it made it this far. No complaints about Believer that low though, that being here is borderline insulting the classics that dropped out at the semis.

From what I gather, I don't think the employee is even confirmed to be Trans? It's just this woman assuming so due to their height. It seems like it was almost planned to be a hit piece especially with how quickly the press picked it up, despicable stuff.

I didn't know this at all until the research so there you go, your influence spans wider than I thought! (She's not actually listed as an official member on wiki, although apparently she's his wife and co-produced the album so that checks out x) I only vaguely remember her entry, but unless it was Norwegian noise rock then I guess not x Was hoping for 1BF as this song is a pretty niche pick and sure enough that's a dreadful draw for me, coming for whoever put semis ahead after I last looked xx

This has been instant love from first listen. I agree it really brings to mind Cocteau Twins and that 90s shoegaze/alternative sound, and I think it's wonderful we have someone using their starpower to harken back to this sound rather than imitate what's popular now. As much as The Giver fell flat for me, I do think this coming straight after confirms that she's not afraid to experiment which makes every release much more interesting.

Oh Wardy! 21 Seconds is an absolute classic of it's genre and absolutely does not deserve bottom 10 amongst all that blandness x That would easily be top 10 for me. I would also dispute Afroman being last, it's a gimmick but it's a fun one. 2001 was a pretty poor year for number 1s overall, but there were a few highlights and pleased to see most of them still to come x

and done x 50; Oasis- Champagne Supernova 49; Lou Reed- Perfect Day 48; Pink Floyd- Comfortably Numb 47; Simon & Garfunkel- The Sound Of Silence 46; Woodkid- Run Boy Run 45; Tame Impala- Let It Happen 44; Vampire Weekend- A-Punk 43; Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Heads Will Roll 42; Pixies- Where Is My Mind 41; Lykke Li- I Follow Rivers 40; The Beatles- Here Comes The Sun 39; Dolly Parton- 9 To 5 38; Alphaville- Forever Young 37; The Waitresses- Christmas Wrapping 36; John Denver- Take Me Home, Country Roads 35; Blondie- One Way Or Another 34; Oasis- Morning Glory 33; The Beach Boys- Wouldn't It Be Nice 32; Talking Heads- Psycho Killer 31; Empire Of The Sun- Walking On A Dream 30; Gorillaz- On Melancholy Hill 29; Rihanna- Love On The Brain 28; Kendrick Lamar- Swimming Pools (Drank) 27; Stevie Nicks- Edge Of Seventeen 26; The Beatles- Blackbird 25; Queen- We Will Rock You 24; Blossoms- Charlemagne 23; Frank Ocean- Lost 22; Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here 21; Fleetwood Mac- The Chain (Aerosmith - Dream On) 20; Kiss- I Was Made For Lovin' You 19; The Rolling Stones- Gimme Shelter 18; David Bowie- Changes 17; Daryl Hall & John Oates- You Make My Dreams 16; Van Morrison- Brown Eyed Girl 15; The Beatles- In My Life 14; Lily Allen- F**k You 13; The 1975- Somebody Else 12; Arctic Monkeys- Mardy Bum 11; Arctic Monkeys- I Wanna Be Yours 10; Elton John- Tiny Dancer 09; Bryan Adams- Summer Of '69 08; Oasis- She's Electric 07; The Who- Baba O'Riley (Oasis - Half the World Away) 06; Tina Turner- Proud Mary 05; Two Door Cinema Club- What You Know 04; Adele- Rumour Has It 03; Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell- Ain't No Mountain High Enough 02; Duke Dumont- Ocean Drive 01; Imagine Dragons- Believer

I'm planning to vote, I've just got back from my holiday so I just need to famiiarise myself with some of these