Tryna make ends meet, you're a slave to money then you die

Continuing my trip up the list of the most streamed songs for each year.  

1997 : Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve

This is a fine track but I actually struggle to imagine too many people think "hmmm - I need a bit of that bitter sweet track because that would fit my mood right now!".  But we know how believable this list has been so far - so let's just run with it, OK?  I do reckon we'll get some decent cover versions though.

I don't think I ever saw the video but it's actually pretty memorable - it's 4:35 of Richard Ashcroft walking down the street and not stopping or deviating from his path for anything, except for a nice Jag (he steps over another car at one point - I think it's a Metro, but I'm not sure).

Wow - internet diversion.  It IS a Metro but it's not a Jag, it's a Daimler - and i know this because of imcdb.org.  Yes, it's internet movie cars database dot org - a list of which cars have been used in film/TV/videos.  It's utterly mad (but, as we've seen, very useful at very niche times) - for example, it has 4253 entries for basic Ford Fiestas, but it has additional entries for a further very specific 26 types of Ford Fiestas.  Totally wow.

Anyways, back to the video, I have to mention that the Metro driver was not happy at having some oik walk over her bonnet but he just walks off anyway.  And it all ends with the band joining Rich as they all walk off into the sunset.  It's a good video - I liked it.

Wikipedia tells me the street is Hoxton Street (a far too trendy neighbourhood for the likes of me - but apparently not quite so trendy at the time) and they note the similarity with Massive Attack's "Unfinished Symphony" (but even I clocked that!).  They also mention that Fat Les's "Vindaloo" video is a parody of it - and, to my shame, I can remember seeing that video but not the original.

However, obviously the most interesting section of the entry is around the copyright issues - and I apologise because this is going to take some time to explain, but it's really worth understanding.  The short version is that the track is based around a sample of a Rolling Stones song and The Verve got sued and had to hand over all their royalties - but that doesn't even begin to explain it.  Buckle up, kids...

The song in question is "The Last Time" which was their first original single and, if you listen to it, doesn't really sound like it has a lot in common with BSS.  Until you listen to the Andrew Oldham Orchestra version - who, by the way, were not an orchestra at all but basically just Andrew Loog Oldham (the Stones' original manager) using session musicians, who often included members of the Stones.  And when you listen to that, the connection really leaps out at you - the string arrangement was done by David Whitaker who worked with an eclectic mix of artists in his lifetime including Air, Serge Gainsbourg, Jimmy Page, St Etienne and Simply Red.

Between '66 and '96, no-one paid any attention to it in the slightest - but The Verve liked it and decided they'd build a song around it.  They got it all cleared and paid Decca Records, the copyright holder of the track, to use the sample - all good, right?!?  Wellll - Allen Klein (another ex-Stone's manager) owned the copyright to pre-1970 Stones' songs and he argued (successfully, obviously) that The Verve had used more than was agreed - apparently the vocal melody is a half-time version of the original version.  And ooops - there goes the royalties.

Amusingly Andrew Loog Oldham sued both The Verve and Allen Klein at various stages - everyone was out to get their dollars from anyone.  There is a bit of a happy ending - when Allen Klein died, his son took over and, with agreement from Jagger and Richards (who were credited as the songwriters, but never involved in any of the legal stuff), signed over the rights to Richard Ashcroft (but I suspect the earnings since then haven't quite been the same as beforehand).  But in a final ironic twist, it turns out The Stones basically stole "The Last Time" from The Staple Singers' "This May Be The Last Time", which is a version of an old gospel song.  As David Whitaker put it quite eloquently "the whole thing just makes one a bit sick, really".

The critics were very impressed by it all but, continuing the irony, the track got to #2 in the UK - kept off the top by Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You" which arguably featured far less original creative content.  And the final Wikifact is that Coldplay and Richard Ashcroft played it at Live 8.  And, FINALLY, we're done!

There are no cover versions from Wikipedia, so we're straight to secondhandsongs.com who give us The Rolling Stones, The Who - hey, hold on, they're pre-covers!  Post-covers include errr - no-one I've ever heard of.  And the same for YouTube.  Oh well, I guess I was wrong.  But none?!?

I think this is likely to be one of the best tracks of the year, but I reckon there will be some other top tracks out there.  The best selling track of the year was actually the best selling track of all time - Elton John's "Candle In The Wind '97" - I wonder how often that gets streamed these days?  The rest of the top five are an eclectic mix - Aqua's "Barbie Girl" (which has probably been streamed LOADS this year), Puff Daddy, the BBC's "Perfect Day" and, saving the best to last, the Teletubbies' "Teletubbies Say Eh Oh" (which we were still several years away from experiencing/enjoying).  There's a LOAD of shite on the list - the only tracks I'd actually listen to are Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn", The Cardigans' "Lovefool" (a sadly under-rated band), Shola Ama's "You Might Need Somebody" and (somewhat bizarrely, all the way down at #38) Robbie Williams's "Angels".  The Verve also make the list - #31 with "The Drugs Don't Work".

Looking at the charts from the year, we come up with George Michael's "Older" and "Star People '97", Placebo's "Nancy Boy", The Chemical Brothers' "Block Rockin' Beats", The Lightning Seeds' "You Showed Me", Olive's "You're Not Alone", Eels' "Susan's House", The Rembrandts' "I'll Be There For You", Hanson's "MmmBop", Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" and "Karma Police", Sneaker Pimps' "6 Underground" (one of the best 90s tracks imho), The Seahorses' "Blinded By The Sun" (that's a good album), Texas's "Black Eyed Boy", Will Smith's "Men In Black", Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping" and The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up".  Looking over the pond, Elton had the best selling track with a somewhat surprising Jewel at #2 - I like her, but I've never heard this track ("You Were Meant For Me").  And the rest of the list were utter garbage...

There were plenty of tracks I preferred from the year, but I'm happy to give it to The Verve - it's a fine track and I really enjoyed reading up about it and watching the video.  It does feel like a looonnnng time ago though!

1996 - A wannabe winner.  Apparently.
1998 - One I didn't recognise from the title