30
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Morrissey - First Of The Gang To Die
Like many others I re-discovered Morrissey in 2004. Suddenly there he was, indulging in the full-on media merry-go-round. Firstly proving that Jonathan Ross's interviewing technique definitely does not suit all! And perhaps even more surprisingly talking to the NME for the first time after a souring of the relationship some ten years before. But for me it was the uplifting experience of hearing the opening lines of "First of the gang to die" whilst driving through the streets of Tooting at sunrise on a Sunday morning in June that prompted me to buy "You are the Quarry" purely on the strength of this single. (The experience seriously almost up there with hearing "Reel around the fountain" for the first time over twenty years ago. Can it really be that long?) Against the odds, Morrissey has fought back from no record deal to UK top ten single status and Platinum album sales, even referencing aspects of life in the USA as successfully as the references to "dear old Blighty", that we all know and love (or hate)!
Claire J
No of votes: 10, Score:
50, Highest vote: 2nd
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29
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Goldie Lookin' Chain - Guns Don't Kill People Rappers Do
What you can say about the GLC without sailors walking out is not a lot. But they are original, with a whole ranch of satire that reminds me of Tenacious D. Both bands deliver their goods in a spot on manner, albeit in a slightly different style. They are a band borne out of the frustrations of living in a drab South Wales town (Newport) a place well known for its underground clubs (e.g. Newport Tg's). GLC bring much needed humour to a South Wales that has never known how to laugh at itself. My only worry about GLC is that they will depart from the music scene before they get a chance to indelibly mark it with their own humour. Also of worth and an amusing listen is the Radio 1 take off of this song called "dogs don't kill people wabbits do".
Emyr I
No of votes: 11, Score:
37, Highest vote: 4th
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28
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Snow Patrol - Spitting Games
Your first single release off the new album. It's the one your record company hopes will launch you into the stratosphere. No damned bugger buys it. Your second single release. The record company decides it's time for the ballad. It goes top 5. Your career goes into the stratosphere. You release 2 more singles, then the inevitable happens. "Hmm, tell you what, we've got 15000 copies of the first single kicking around the warehouse, shall we try and shift it this time?" Whatever, in my opinion this is STILL the best single off of a great album. And no, I didn't vote for it in 2003 when it first came out.
Jason M
No of votes: 11, Score:
53, Highest vote: 2nd
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27
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Natasha Bedingfield - These Words
Makes you sick doesn't it when your little sister does it better than you... Natasha Bedingfield took the Britpop world by storm in 2004 with one catchy
singalong song after another. "These Words" is both irritating and clever. A love song about, err... writing a love song. With her raw, soulful voice, Natasha
tells us how trawling through the words of our greatest poets doesn't get her any closer to writing the perfect love song. Still, it comes close to the perfect pop song, just hear it once and you'll be humming it for days.
Karen G
No of votes: 11, Score:
61, Highest vote: 3rd
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26
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D12 - My Band
This was the record that made me sit up and say HELLO to D12. ‘My Band' eclipsed anything else the '12 had released, and hit the number 2 spot in April 2004. It was cheeky, a little menacing, and self-mocks Eminem's ‘I am the big I am'-ness. Hell, members of D12 we probably didn't even know exist are given a verse to sing here, and it's sure as hell fun to have a sing off with your mates to!
Talia K
No of votes: 11, Score:
62, Highest vote: 1st
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25
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Kelis - Milkshake
Kelis is one of those artists that always does things differently and very memorably, she broke into the mainstream screaming how much she hated you so much right now. Her song "Milkshake" is one of the standout tracks on her album "Tasty". With its distorted bass sound and its suggestive lyrics it is a very catchy and memorable song and well worth a listen. All that hear this track first time should be enticed to go out and check out her album.
Emyr I
No of votes: 11, Score:
76, Highest vote: 1st
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24
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Keane - Somewhere Only We Know
I remember the first time I heard this track on the radio, thinking "ooh, this new Travis song is quite good!" till the DJ told me otherwise (little did I realise that Keane were, at that time, actually supporting Travis on tour, how spooky). And so my interest in Keane began, and for me they've been THE band of 2004. This track just builds into a great song that gets stuck in your head, and the more you listen to it, the more you love it! Even the video that goes with it is quite good, apart from all the little weird aliens, what's all that about?!?
Veronica M
No of votes: 11, Score:
78, Highest vote: 1st
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23
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Kings of Leon - The Bucket
Yet another song from the inimitable Aha Shake Heartbreak with reference to hair, or rather lack of it. One might think that the Followill boys would be wise to refrain from drawing attention to their tendency towards being folically-challenged, especially as all empirical evidence is to the contrary. However, its clearly playing on their minds. This first single from their second album is probably one of the least explicit, in more ways than one, but also one of the most immediately musically accessible. The verse chords sound fairly familiar, in fact putting one in mind (ever so slightly) of a Belle and Sebastian track, illustrating some interesting tendencies aside the imputed Lynard Skynard-influenced Southern Rock. But Caleb's howling chorus is raw and unexpected. And the song is better for it, elevated from being the predictable, albeit pleasing, toe-tapper it initially threatens to be. Other than that, I think it's about them getting a bit pissed off with each other and the mundanities of touring.
Nelson
No of votes: 11, Score:
80, Highest vote: 1st
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22
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Embrace - Gravity
Simultanousley grand and brittle, Gravity brought Embrace back to our attention. Perhaps they hedged their bets a little by taking a Chris Martin penned song. But it was a fine way for a anthemic band to return. Singing songs that fill empty voids and corners, Embrace re-entered the room.
Paul M
No of votes: 12, Score:
67, Highest vote: 1st
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21
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Girls Aloud - Love Machine
Unlikely as it sounds, someone on the Girls Aloud songwriting team has a copy of 'The Unutterable' by The Fall - I'm not the only person to spot the similarity between Mark Smith's 'Cyber Insekt' and the rhythm track for 'Love Machine'. The song is a success in it's own right though, padding the basic track out with the usual retro-futuristic electronica and a nice 1920s feel to the vocals. But whilst Girls Aloud may be the most enduring act to come out of Reality Pop TV they're also the most contrived - it's hard to get too fond of their calculated attempts to be knowing and coy. And it's funny that whenever they perform great care is taken to give each Girl a turn on the mike - which just serves to highlight that all their voices sound the same. At least we could tell The Spice Girls' apart!
Harley R
No of votes: 12, Score:
69, Highest vote: 1st
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A MASSIVE THANKS also to all those who slaved over a hot keyboard to produce the write ups: Danny G, Paul M, Kat H, Andrew S, Isaac H, P Shoo, Jon B, Liza H, Derek K, Harley R, Karen G, Spencer G, Emyr I, Greg B, Claire J, Lisa G, Nelson, Veronica M, Kaz, Talia K, Emi H