Jump to content

Colm

Members

  • Joined

  • Last visited

View Profile Find content

Posts posted by Colm

    ·

    Edited by Colm

    1998 is such a rich year musically. So many albums that I like/love and most of those providing excellent singles.

    I too was anti-Lighthouse Family but loved High.

    No Surprises is nice. I was never a fan of that Oasis song. In fact I lost interest in Oasis in 1997.

    I loved Angels from the beginning. It had that Oasis trick of having a real long vowel sound in the chorus which meant that it could be belted out by drunk people in a pub or at a gig.

    On 30/05/2025 at 17:17, Gezza said:



    1- TOO MUCH- Spice Girls (218,000)
    2- TELETUBBIES SAY EH-OH- Teletubbies (150,000)
    3- PERFECT DAY- Various Artists (137,000)
    4- NEVER EVER- All Saints (102,000)
    5- TOGETHER AGAIN- Janet Jackson (91,000)
    6- ANGELS- Robbie Williams (88,000)
    7- BARBIE GIRL- Aqua (60,000)
    8- TORN- Natalie Imbruglia (60,000)
    9- BABY CAN I HOLD YOU/ SHOOTING STAR- Boyzone (58,000)
    10- CANDLE IN THE WIND 97/ SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT- Elton John (54,000)


    The end of 1997 has always been a fascinating period for single sales for me.

    And final week, in particular where the top 10 all ended up in the 40 best selling songs of the year.

    1 - Austria 2014

    Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Phoenix

    My number 1 won't come as a surprise to some of you.

    There have been times in the last few years when I watched this repeatedly maybe 5 times and still wanted more. And it does need to be watched live. The defiant, soaring vocals make me feel stronger and more resilient. And we need that.

    As insane as it feels to type these words, in 2023 my choir were invited by Conchita to singing backing vocals at a surprise performance of Rise Like a Phoenix at a prominent gay bar in Dublin. She was so sweet and had no ego. When we were singing during the sound check our choir leader kept asking her what she wanted us to do. She just said let them have fun with it.

    Best bit: 2:31 the fist-clenching key change.

    • Like 2
    • Cheeseblock 1

    ·

    Edited by Colm

    2 - Croatia 2023

    Let 3 - Mama ŠČ!

    This is without any doubt, the most underrated Eurovision entry. Creative chaos,. The breakdown (of sorts) about a minute into the song might be the most avant garde thing to ever happen on the Eurovision stage. And then there's the operatic backing vocals - genius. Both of these things could be lifted off Mansun's second album Six. The main melody later on in the song is very strong too. Even though he sort of shouts it, it's still there and enjoyable.

    It's too much for some Eurovision fans who see it as a joke entry. Joke entries don't have this much musicality in them. It works without the visuals too.

    Best bit: 1:07 the chaotic diversion into madness.

    • Cheeseblock 2

    3 - Serbia 2023

    Luke Black - Samo Mi Se Spava

    An immediate favourite of mine from the time I heard it in the Serbian national selection. It's just really well produced with lots of Nine Inch Nails sonics. And Luke's voice is so hypnotic.

    We'll never know how well this would have done if it was sound-mixed properly in the final.

    Best bit: the laughter bit 😁

    • Like 1

    4 - Switzerland

    Gjon's Tears - Répondez-Moi

    What places this 2 spots above Tout L'Univers is the shock factor. His almost supernaturally gorgeous voice was known to us by 2021 but here is where we were first introduced to the marvel of it and that still stuns me to this day.

    Best bit: 0:53 the first time we hear Gjon's characteristic vocal flutter.

    5 - Portugal 2024

    Iolanda - Grito

    I'm not sure if there's another victory on the horizon for Portugal because the televote isn't often their friend but it's not because they don't enter quality. It doesn't need emphasising but this just exudes a rare purity found on the Eurovision stage - an almost magical melancholy.

    Best bit: 2:36 the white-out climax.

    6 - Switzerland 2021

    Gjon's Tears - Tout l'Univers

    Gjon had raised expectations to an almost impossibly matchable level in 2020 but with Tout l'Univers he didn't disappoint. An absolutely sumptuous vocal tone and the bombast turned up to 11 made this utterly compelling. A winning performance in most other years.

    Best Bit: 1:29 the piano phrase that reminds me of Radiohead's Pyramid Song.

    • Like 1
    • Love 1

    7 - Armenia 2023

    Brunette - Future Lover

    I totally dismissed this until the semi-final. I had travelled over to Liverpool to be in the city for at least some of the contest. The crowd in bar that we were in had just witnessed the shockingly flimsy performance of Denmark's Riley when on comes Brunette with her striking, multi-faceted performance of Future Lover.

    What's also impressive about this song is that, even thought it twists and turns in different directions, it wasn't written by committee but by Brunette herself.

    Yeah - the dance break is unnecessary but it wasn't totally inappropriate either.

    Best bit: 2:53 the Armenian part

    • Like 1
    • Love 1

    9 - Ukraine 2016

    Jamala - 1944

    I can't really say much that hasn't already been said about this song. Quite rightly regarded as one of the most arresting performances ever seen on the Eurovision stage. Who knows how much of that is because of the subject matter but it's certainly part of the impact.

    Best bit: A tough choice between the "tree moment" and the high pitched note at 3:02

    • Like 1
    • Love 1

    10 - Latvia 2023

    Sudden Lights - Aijā

    There's something very early 00s about this. I don't know if it's because it has the emotional tug of a Jimmy Eat World ballad or because of the System of a Down coda. But it definitely my favourite entry that didn't qualify. It's speckled with gorgeous musical touches.

    Best bit: 2:13 the understated, almost inaudible climax of guitar leading into the Latvian closing piece.

    • Cheeseblock 1

    11 - Austria 2018

    Cesár Sampson - Nobody But You

    This was far from my favourite back when I watched the 2018 contest. And even before I started compiling and ranking this list I didn't pick this is a highlight either. Some of it does come across as a bit affected but OMG that chorus. The clunky staging does it no favourite.

    Best bit: 2:40 the best rendition of that chorus.

    • Like 1

    12 - Ireland 2018

    Ryan O’Shaughnessy - Together

    This is Ireland doing what Ireland did best back in the 90s. A quality ballad. Not the tedious, dated and inadequate stuff that had been sent in most cases since the turn of the century and in most cases since. It was a strong semi and Ryan didn't just scrape through either.

    Best bit: 2:40 the backing vocals.

    • Like 1