Chez Wombat

2014 Coldplay - Midnight Saint Motel - My Type Vance Joy - Riptide Other years to follow when I'm back from my holiday x

I see we have chosen mid x Can't say I feel that strongly about either, but Alicia is better.

Tugenhadt is certainly the least awful (maybe cos he's avoided scandals unlike the others) so if guess that'd be my pick (after null-vote x) It will be Badenoch though as she gets the media headlines and flames the culture wars, yay x Braverman would've been the absolute worst case though small mercies.

So sorry I couldn't make it, All Too Well (Taylor's Version) is my clear highlight there with only a handful of others I'm quite fond of and several I'm yet to hear. Hope you all enjoyed Wild God anyway and many thanks for hosting another great set of sessions B-)

Both Fencing finals were great to watch, shame it wasn't given coverage on BBC, especially Hong Kong coming from a 7-1 deficit against France to win!

No matter what he meant or he thought he meant, it's very scary rhetoric, Hitler said similar things in the lead-up to the 1933 election. I don't think it can be understated that US democracy is seriously under threat if he wins, he's got the supreme court on his side (one can only hope Biden's last act actually does something to reform that). It stuns me that there are actually still people on the fence...

It is totally up to the host how they do the rate to be fair. I do enjoy commentaries but appreciate they can be time consuming. I do always try to discuss the tracks I enjoy and read the thread to see others' views, and that's why I think it's good the rates happen at all to allow this discussion. Anyway, Vertigo should be top 10, the peak of U2 silliness and epicness.

Whitney now, c’mon Faithless!

One of the most spectacular and ambitious opening ceremonies in a while in the end, the torch looked absolutely amazing and Celine, much as I'm not the biggest fan, sounded excellent. I didn't expect them to reunite, but I thought at least one Daft Punk song would be used in the montage, hopes dashed </3

Certainly an interesting experiment of a ceremony here with the countries broken up and the setting, a shame the weather wasn't kind to them. I do miss the stadium visuals, but did really like the Revolutonary sequence and Gojira's performance.

The Liberty X cover is completely faceless and bland, no way does Faithless deserve to go before it.

Elevation is pretty stupid ('A mole, digging in a hole / Diggin up my soul' *__*) but works for me, it's really fun and got a great guitar line. Bullet the Blue Sky is a highlight from the non-singles on Joshua Tree, very powerful.

That is really disappointing that live performances are dropped, they were great last year and where else are these unknown artists going to get a primetime mainstream slot like that? :/ I've listened to two of those (Charli & The Last Dinner Party), I do kind of hope it isn't the latter even though the album was quite enjoyable as they've had enough hype and it's not that level. Have heard selected ones from Nia Archives and English Teacher and liking what I know.

I really didn't think this sounded that much like a DNQ, I guess it wasn't the best draw overall and didn't sound as obvious a smash as a lot of the semi, but still, second last is mean :( 6Music letting me down a bit in BJSC recently. Glad at least a few of you found something to like in it. Anyway, that's nice for Pagasa, I thought they'd be out with a deduction. Most of my other favourites through, though lost a few of my small points: 08 • Sovarasma: Wardruna - Hertan 03 • Summericia: Mansfield.TYA - Auf Wiedersehen 01 • Dobago: Vladimir Dubyshkin - the rothschild party

Both me and my 8 pointer out in a fell swoop </3

Sensing a DNQ sadly, but I'll take being pleasantly surprised. Just wasn't expecting almost every song to sound like a qualifier

I liked the article, it isn't entirely dismissing the charts, it's acknowledging that there is still a lot of importance placed upon them and it can be very relevant, but ultimately they are a completely different beast to how they've ever been, and not all of that's for the best, and I do think there's something to be said about the slow state of the charts and the public's animosity as they reflect the industry and can have pretty bad consequences for newer artists and music. I would also recommend this three part series by Tom Ewing, who has been reviewing every UK number 1 ever for over twelve years now despite some slowing down in recent years and reflected him getting to the 1000th number 1, it's quite personal and you'd get more enjoyment out of it if you'd been following his reviews, but it gives a very interesting overview of how some discussions we have now aren't hugely new, there were issues raised as far back as 2005.

Doesn't seem like that's an isolated incident if it's from around the last Olympics and apparently from two and a half years ago so I fear that's not 'out of character'. Good riddance indeed.

Well this is a close poll xx JLS had an impact in the sense they showed that the appetite was there for a younger boyband in the style of Blue a good few years after they were seen as uncool, but One Direction took that so much further and actually broke through in America which was seriously unprecedented. JLS seemed bigger in their time as they were the only ones, but their spotlight got stolen eventually and they just completely faded after that whereas One Direction, though also fairly short lived, are still in the public consciousness and have found success as solo acts.

Celine x

Tony Blair had a similar rebellion in 1997 just after they'd won a landslide, no MP lost the whip there, so this is pretty extreme. I suppose it's effectiveness remains to be seen whether it works in the long run and stops future rebellions, but this is the first time in this government I've raised my eyebrows concerningly.

I have plans Sunday now for the first time in weeks oops, but still hoping to show up at some point x Olivia Rodrigo - Get Him Back! Taylor Swift feat. Bon Ever – Exile Mitski - My Love Mine All Mine Dave - Titanium The Anxiety - Meet Me At Our Spot #2 albums: Charli XCX - girl, so confusing (don't mind either version) Pet Shop Boys - Loneliness

Let's not forget Hillary was never particularly popular, had an awful lot of baggage and years of history and was up against a rising populism that many were underestimating and was new and energised against an incumbent government that was weak and unconvincing. Kamala's gender (sadly) may well put off voters, but I don't think it's in any way a done deal simply because of that. It really does depend on a myriad of factors.

Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis From the title, I mistook this for a live album, but this is actually the fifth studio album from swinging sixties icon, Dusty Springfield. Recorded initially as the title suggests in American Sound Studio in Memphis in a bid to revitalise her career after signing with Atlantic Records. Overcome by the big American names surrounding her, the recording was a challenge for her and her insecurity and anxiety meant she couldn't perform at her best and she only approved of two picks of the songs selected for her and orchestral arrangements and overdubbing vocals were recorded in New York. Initially, the album sold poorly, stalling her career rather than revitalising it, but has since grown a reputation as a classic of pop and soul and her best work containing one of her signature songs. Only really know the bigger songs by Dusty, but she had an incredible voice and was a massive talent so certainly a name I respect a lot. You can get a sense of the main themes of the album from the first few songs alone, where Dusty's strong, emotional vocals sing over soaring strings, I would usually find these songs a bit cheesy, but her performance really rinses the meaning and makes it her own. It's sad to think she was so nervous, as she really does sound stunning throughout. The most well known song here, Son of a Preacher Man, was not originally intended for her and more geared towards Aretha Franklin, however this was one of just two songs that she herself approved of and I don't think any more needs to be said, it remains an all time classic and a standout of the record, shifting the style and mood to that confident Southern soul sound. Though it may not seem it, there is actually a fair bit of diversity and mood here which she really conveys very well - Don't Want to Hear It is a sad tale of a lover that knows her love is ill-advised yet lives in denial and Breakfast in Bed sounding much more sultry (and contains a classic reply line to her other signature hit). My favourite two are probably The Windmills in Your Mind - a song that only charted in the US and was a version of the Oscar-winning song from The Thomas Crown Affair, it certainly has that dramatic movie flair and it's following song, In The Land of Make Believe has a dreamy feel that is again sold really well. I don't know if there's loads on this album I'll come back to, there's not much variance to the lyrics and lacks the adventurous nature of other music from the time, yet I do admire it a lot as it's a case of letting strong vocals do the work without overdoing it and making the songs your own. These songs may not have been written by her, but you wouldn't know it. 7.5

Honestly, I'm not really worried about a cancellation or Disney potentially dropping it whatever happens as I feel Doctor Who's one of those shows that is so embedded into the cultural consciousness in the UK that it won't ever really go away. It may be rested or even cancelled at some point, but it has such a large devoted fanbase and is that unique show that can reinvent itself completely that it'll be back fresher and reach new audiences every time. It's why I think a lot of 'Doctor Who's in trouble' articles don't really phase me as they've been declining for years. I think a lot of people these days look at the show nostalgically and I don't think there's been a lot of appeal of that kind in this current series, if they are worried about ratings, I wouldn't be surprised if they started to lean into that more and bring back more older villains next time.