scaryblog

Continuing my trip up the list of the most streamed songs for each year.   2004 : Let Me Love You  - Mario I must know this, but I don't recognise it from the title - I wonder how long it will take me to recognise it? Wow - I didn't recognise it at all.  It's not a terrible song (very MJ balladish) but it's not exactly thrilling and it goes absolutely nowhere.  It also has a very dull video - it features some very smooth dance moves, but apart from that the only thing of interest is that he gets a haircut in the five second intro.  As Wikipedia puts it "t he video generally features Mario dancing, alone or with backup dancers, on various sets". Wikipedia has remarkably little else on the track - it was co-written by Ne-Yo and two other guys and Ne-Yo regretted giving it to Mario once he heard what Mario did with it.  Apart from that, it's all about how well it did commercially - #1 in the US for nine weeks isn't exactly shabby, is it?  It only got to #

Continuing my trip back through the 2005 album charts. 09/01/05 : Songs About Jane -  Maroon 5 I know Maroon 5 are very popular (particularly in the US) and I know I've heard quite a few of their songs and could probably sing along to some of them, but I've got a mental blank about them.  I also know I find his voice quite annoying without being able to say why, so I'm interested as to what kind of experience this gives me. Hmmm - it's a pretty well put together selection of songs which are kinda funky and well performed.  And Adam Levine's voice is a bit annoying, but it doesn't get more annoying as the album goes on so I don't really have anything unpleasant to say about the album.  However, five minutes after the album's finished, I have absolutely no recollection of any of the tracks - and I know there were a couple on there that I knew and quite liked, but until I check on Wikipedia that's all I can tell you (ah yes, they were "This Love&qu

Continuing my trip back through the 2005 album charts. 16/01/05 : Franz Ferdinand -  Franz Ferdinand Our second eponymous album in a row and it's another one I own - I remember liking it, but I've not revisited it in years and I suspect there are tracks on here that will have me somewhat scratching my head.  The singles are great though, so I'm looking forward to it. It is quite a head scratchy album - not because it's not good though but it's just not clear how they managed to get so many people to buy into what's ostensibly an arch, art college project.  I guess it's because the singles are just so good - "Take Me Out" and "The Dark Of The Matinee" stand out in particular for me.  But the rest of the album is still, for me, pretty good and it's close enough to the singles that people probably weren't as scared off as they might have otherwise been.  And it barrels along and is over in 38 minutes so there's no time to get bor

Continuing my trip down Empire's  Top 50 TV Shows of 2023   #14 : The Fall Of The House Of Usher Mike Flanagan brought his Netflix era to an end with a darkly mischievous take on Edgar Allen Poe, spinning not just The Fall Of The House Of Usher but a handful of other poems and stories too into a wicked web of sex, death and dodgy drug dealings. Rather than go traditional gothic, Flanagan brought a subversively glossy sheen to the story of a corrupt family (here imagined as pharma pioneers) picked off one by one by a vengeful spirit; if the look was high-camp trash with lashings of Grand Guignol (the term ‘acid rave’ just got a whole new meaning), the usual Flanagan substance shone through. Boasting his usual ensemble – Bruce Greenwood, Samantha Sloyan and Carla Gugino on particularly fine form here – plus the added bonus of Mark Hamill as a formidable ‘fixer’, all were given the opportunity to chew on Flanagan-assisted Poe prose. This was a raucous wrap-up on the horror master’s as

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 26/04/24 :  The Tortured Poets Department -  Taylor Swift I had  a sneaking suspicion that this might be #1 this week so I took  a (very minimal) risk and listened to it before the charts come out - I've been avoiding it all week but it had to be done.  I was very much expecting my usual reaction of "it's fine but I don't see why so many people worship her". Yeah - it's fair to say this isn't her Scandi death metal album.  I didn't hate any of it, but there's very little to love here either - if I had to pick favourites I think I'd go for "But Daddy I Love Him" (not a good title), "Florida!!!" (Florence's voice works nicely with Taylor's) and maybe some of the songs towards the end which show a bit more variety but my brain had kinda switched off by then.  Absolutely no-one needs 65 minutes and 16 tracks of this and I hate to think what would have happened i

Continuing my trip back through the 2005 album charts. 23/01/05 : Kasabian -  Kasabian This is another one I own and I remember liking it a lot, but I've not listened to it in years - and I'm not entirely sure why, so it will be interesting to see if there's any reason for it. Nope - no idea at all. This is very decent album with a particularly strong opening stretch - " Club Foot" is an excellent opener being one of those tracks that one everyone knows without recognising it from the title (a bit like "L.S.F." which pops up later on).  This is followed up by " Processed Beats" which has a nice psychedelic tinge to it and then you have " Reason Is Treason" which also a very strong track.  And whilst the album doesn't quite keep things at that level, it still maintains a decent quality level even having that rarest of things (for such bands anyway) - a good instrumental in the bizarrely named "Ovary Stripe".  It's all

Continuing my trip back through the 2005 album charts. 30/01/05 : Push The Button - The Chemical Brothers We go from pushing the senses to pushing the button - this is an album I've heard but don't think I bought (although I definitely own its three predecessors).  I seem to recall liking it, but I've liked most of the stuff they've done so that's not a massive surprise. Yeah, I didn't mind this at all.  I recognised "Galvanize" which is the opening track (and the first single) which is a pretty standard Chemicals effort, but the rest of the album is a bit more understated in comparison - you might even call some of it subtle with some very interesting sounds and rhythms on there.  All in all, it's pretty enjoyable - and I like the album cover as well! We're at #1 with a new entry in the chart this week on the start of an 18 week run, which feels like a decent effort.  The rest of the top five were  The Killers , Rooster (a new entry - a UK roc

Continuing my trip back through the 2005 album charts. 06/02/05 : Pushing The Senses - Feeder Feeder are one of those bands that have somewhat passed me by across the years but I think they're quite like Athlete, aren't they?  Well, let's find out... Yeah, not a million miles away - a bit rockier, but not exactly rock and roll.  It was all perfectly fine but there wasn't an awful lot of variety across the album and it all went in one ear and out the other, I'm afraid - and I don't have a lot more to say about it than that!  I'm intrigued as to what's happening on the album cover though. We're at a surprisingly high #2 in the charts this week with a new entry at the start of a sixteen week run - one of ELEVEN top ten albums they've had, but they've never made it to #1 (one other one also made it to #2).  The rest of the top five were Athlete (another new entry), The Killers , Michael Bublé (another new entry) and  Scissor Sisters  and the nex

Yes - it's time for another list!   I enjoyed doing all the R.E.M. albums so was trying to decide who to do next - I felt I needed someone who was around in my youth (ie a long time ago), has hung around for some time and has been on a bit of a journey that'll be fun to write about.  But inspiration hadn't struck until I was sitting in my car and Billy Bragg's "A New England" came on and something in the corner of my mind reminded me that Murmur was released in the same year as this particularly fine album, so my mind was made up - the fact that Billy and R.E.M. are good mates is also a very pleasing state of affairs. Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy (1983) This was the first of his albums I heard, but not the first I bought - which is a bit weird because I liked it, but I did pick it up on CD several years down the line (and I'm pretty certain it cost me more than £2.99).  It's a very rough and ready album but it's one that's stood the test

Continuing my trip back through the 2005 album charts. 13/02/05 : Tourist - Athlete I'm pretty certain I didn't own this but I'm sure I listened to it - I seem to recall I found it enjoyable but insubstantial.  But I could be making that all up... Well, it's certainly enjoyable and I think insubstantial would be harsh, although I think even its mother would struggle to describe it as deep.  I knew and liked "Wires" and I also quite liked "Half Light" and "Trading Air" as well - the rest of it was all perfectly pleasant with more variety in there than I was expecting.  There's maybe a little too much slow piano on there, which is unnecessarily reminiscent of Coldplay (although his voice is less annoying than Chris Martin's).  I was also very much reminded of Embrace, who I think were around at about the same time. We're at #3 in the chart this week on a surprisingly long 32 week run with it having debuted (again surprisingly) at

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's  Top 50 TV Shows of 2023   #12 : I'm A Virgo Anti-capitalist rabble rouser, satirical take on pop culture, a diatribe against caped crusaders: Boots Riley’s tale about a 13ft teenager wasn’t your average superhero series. Instead it was an inventive, lo-fi take on a genre it seemed to want to destroy from within. Given what an original and hyper-intelligent piece of storytelling it was, if it gets another season, it might just manage it. Well, it's not unheard for me to come across something in this list which I'm completely unaware of, but I don't think I've ever had anything this high up in the list.  So my expectations are based entirely upon what The Guardian has told us above and I have to say they haven't exactly helped - so I guess I'm going to it pretty much blind. And well, it's a very curious one.  I can agree it's about Cootie, a 13ft teenager, but apart from that I struggle to either confirm or d

Continuing my trip back through the 2005 album charts. 20/02/05 : Hot Fuss - The Killers Our fourth visit with The Killers and we finally get to the one where it all started, which I like and own - and I'm quite surprised it's taken us this long to get around to visiting it.  I always remember it as a game of two halves, which feels harsh because it's not like the second half is bad, it's just not as good as the very good first half (and it's got "Andy You're A Star" on it) - it will be interesting to see how true that view is. Well, it's not entirely a fair view but pretty close when you consider how strongly this album opens.  Of the first five tracks, only "Smile Like You Mean It" could be considered to be less than a stone cold classic - "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine", "Mr Brightside", "Somebody Told Me" and "All These Things That I Have Done" all keep the hits coming.  And then "Andy You'