It started out with a kiss - how did it end up like this?

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

2003 : Mr Brightside - The Killers

For once, a winner that doesn't surprise me - this has just hung around for ages and is surprisingly popular with young people as well as oldies like me.  If you ignore the weird Xmas weeks from early December to early January, it's been in the charts for the entire decade so far - it's currently on its 403rd week in the chart and the next most weeks in the current chart is a mere 230 for Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved" (which I should point out is still nearly 5 years!).

All of which makes it all the more surprising that I don't remember the video in the slightest.  Or, more accurately (I learn), I don't remember the videos in the slightest.  One is a mostly black and white minimalist thing features the band and some arty video - which I can quite believe I have seen and instantly forgotten.  Whereas the other one - well, I'm not entirely sure what it is (except for obviously higher budget when they realised how popular the song was).  It's populated with a cast of characters in the most extraordinary costumes lounging around what might be a members or burlesque club whilst the band (also in silly clothes) play the song and interact the audience in a most peculiar manner - and I've definitely never seen that one, because I'd remember it.

My first exposure to the song was when I saw them play it live at their first Glasto appearance when there was a LOAD of buzz about them and boy did they deliver - even if I couldn't get close enough to the John Peel stage to actually see what was going on.  I had a much better view the following year when they appeared on the Pyramid stage, but they didn't really have any better songs.

Wikipedia tells us this was one of the first songs they wrote and was their debut single - apparently it came together pretty quickly, but the fact that it's only got the one verse might have helped there (although admittedly it is quite a long verse).  It also tells me "the "calling a cab" section of the song has both a musical and textual similarity to the middle section of the song "Queen Bitch"" - I checked it out and yes, there's a similarity for at least five seconds.  

Most of the rest of the entry is how phenomenally successful it's been - the numbers are just off the charts and it was still #22 in the year-end chart last year.  So well done to Brandon and all the other guys who I wouldn't recognise if I saw them at a Killers concert, let alone anywhere else.

Wikipedia also gives us some cover versions - Paul Anka (sounds exactly like you'd expect, but it's still well done), ELEW (yeah, this is quite something - but why is he wearing gauntlets?), McFly (even more inessential than you'd imagine), Playradioplay! (a kinda 8-bit version - I didn't mind this), the MIT a cappella (quite impressive - but it's only here because I watched Pitch Perfect last night!), Thirteen (hardcore covers always make me laugh) and Charlotte Campbell (nice to hear a female voice giving it a go and she slows it down nicely).  YouTube also offers up The Vamps (this is much better than McFly's), Blake Lewis (a decent Rat Pack style version) and approximately a million other versions - this one is very popular!

I'm not in the slightest bit surprised it took the year, but I'll be interested to see how high up the year-end list it was and what came top.  Top over here was The Black-Eyed Peas' "Where Is The Love" which is one of the few decent things they've done so I'm happy enough they took it.  The rest of the top five is the peculiar mix of Gareth Gates & The Kumars' "Spirit In The Sky", R Kelly's "Ignition", Michael Andrews & Gary Jules's "Mad World" and Will Young's "Leave Right Now" (which I like).  And "Mr Brightside"?  Absolutely nowhere - it didn't chart in the UK until '04 when it managed a whole four weeks and it didn't really get going until '07 when it managed 25 weeks and it's charted in every year since except '11 for some weird reason.

The rest of the chart is a similar mixed bag with the good being Evanescence's "Bring Me Back To Life", Beyonce's "Crazy In Love", Junior Senior's "Move Your Feet", Girls Aloud's "Sound Of The Underground", Jamelia's "Superstar", Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River" and The Darkness's "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" and "Don't Let The Bells End"  - which is actually a pretty good haul for the year end chart.  There's obviously some bad & ugly offerings as well though including taTu's "All The Things She Said", Ozzy & Kelly Osborne's "Changes", Shane Richie's "I'm Your Man", Bo Selecta's "Proper Crimbo" and Fast Food Rocker's "Fast Food Song" (which is perfectly dreadful but still gets sung in this house from time to time).

Looking further down the chart we have Electric Six's "Danger! High Voltage", Busted's "Year 3000" (I love this!) and "Crashed The Wedding", Coldplay's "Clocks", The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army", Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" and "Fighter", Muse's "Time Is Running Out" and R.E.M.'s "Bad Day" - not too many this year!  Looking over the pond, the best selling track was 50 Cent's "In Da Club" and most of the chart is either R&B shite, rap shite or rock shite although it was a surprise to see Daniel Bedingfield in there.

This is a fine song and I'm happy for it to take the year, although it's a bit of a surprise that it's been quite so popular for quite so long - it was weird seeing my daughters and their cousins screaming along to it last summer when we were over in Australia.

2002 - Both better and more popular than I remembered
2004 - One I don't recognise at all