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Trollheart's Chart Fifty
No, not me running down through the top fifty! Sure why would I want to do that, and why would you want me to? No, this is, as usual, something far more complicated and involved. I’ll be looking at the top forty/fifty/seventy-five/whatever the hell it is these days, choosing one single at random. I’ll write as much as I can about it (big surprise there, TH! Shut the hell up, you!) and telling you what I personally think of it. Then I’ll be going back fifty years in ten year segments, to check out what was at that place in the chart at this time ten years ago, twenty years ago, and so on, all the way back to the seventies, hence the “fifty” in the title. Neat, huh? What do you mean, no?
I’ll be looking at how the chart has changed - one single at a time - over the course of five decades, and each time I do a new selection I’ll mention how the one(s) I’ve already done are now doing at this point in time: have they slid down the chart, risen, got to number one, fallen out? Well, the point is to make it fun. What? No, for me. Not for you. You can all fuck off. Oh well, I suppose if you want to you can check the songs out with me. Nobody should take offence as my opinion is blah blah yadda yadda rhubarb rhubarb you know how it goes by now. Oh yeah, I've decided also that I'll check out the number one from each decade as well, so this year, 2012, 2002, 1992, 1982 and 1972. |
My first random spin gave me number 33, so what's there this week and what was there this week up to fifty years ago? Well, this week (or as close to it as I can get anyway) we have this:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...reaky_Girl.png Title: “Super Freaky Girl” Artist: Nicki Minaj Nationality: Trinidadian Genre: Hip-hop, Pop Rap Written by: Rick James, Alonzo Miller, Lukasz Gottwald, Aaron Joseph, Lauren Miller, Vaughan Oliver (Lyrics by Onilka Maraj/Nicki Minaj and Gamal Lewis/LunchMoney Lewis) Original release date: August 22 2022 Highest chart position (at time of writing): 10 (1 in the USA) Chart position (at time of writing): 33 Progress, if any, at time of writing: Descending From the album: N/A What do I know about this artist? Very little; I know her name and that she’s a rapper/pop artist and usually has pink hair, but other than that, nada. What do I think of this single? Okay, hands up anyone who thought I liked it? Huh? Oh, right. You just joined today. Well, you’ll learn once you get to know me. Look, it wasn’t as terrible as I had expected it to be, but let’s be honest here: the main thrust (ooer) or if you prefer the meat (double ooer) of the song is in the original: that instantly recognisable keyboard riff, the beat, it’s all James and then she’s spouting sexual not-quite-innuendos all over it. Yeah it’s okay and I can see how it was so popular, and you can’t fault the video (not that that should really factor into my decision, but this is the age of MTV, sort of). But really the only thing this song showed me was that I do actually know “Super Freak”, and it’s a cool song. This is okay but you know, meh. What have I learned about this single? Seems to have been very successful, taking her to number one in the US, in fact debuting at number one, though it didn’t do quite as well over here, as you can see. Still made the top ten. Just. It’s not from any album, as seems to be increasingly the norm these days with pop artists - probably due to the popularity of streaming sites: indeed, this was the highest-charting debut for a female solo rap singer (well, it says biggest debut, but I assume that’s what it means) on Spotify. It liberally samples Rick James’s 1981 hit “Super Freak” (which then proves she didn’t exactly go outof her way to title it, just adding a “y” and “girl” to the song) but I’m no fan of James so could not tell you how, if at all, it compares to the original. Some controversy apparently, if you care, about her being annoyed it was chosen as a pop rather than a rap single, which kind of seems like splitting hairs to me, but there you go. Then some sort of “Twitter battle” between her and some other rapper, Latte or Ladder or, no, Latto, that’s the one. As if I care. My rating: A- |
Yeah well my general view of the charts is that much of it is ****, but I'm always ready to give something a chance. It's hard to rate this song, as it's not really hers. She's just sort of piggy-backing on Rick James's melody, but I guess she does it well. Rap is not for me though, so while I'm initially averse to it, I understand too that I am outside my wheelhouse a considerable deal here, and I would not make judgements on it - other than a very surface one - in the same way I would not do with a jazz or rockabilly record. As ever, what's written here is my own impression of the song and my own personal opinion of it. Yours may of course vary.
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And going back 10 years….
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...eTalkssong.jpg Title: “Little Talks” Artist: Of Monsters and Men Nationality: Icelandic Genre: Indie Rock Written by: Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson Original release date: December 20 2011 Highest chart position: 12 (20 in USA) Progress, if any, at that time: Descending From the album: My Head is an Animal What do I know about this artist? Nothing other than I’ve heard the name What do I think of this single? It has a nice bouncy tempo and a sort of Celtic feel; certainly does not sound Icelandic - no Bjork or Sigur Ros here - and the dual vocal works very well. Not sure I would become a fan but this is pretty decent. What have I learned about this single? Not an awful lot really. Other than that it became the highest-charting single for a band from Iceland on the Billboard Hot 100 and seems to have received a lot of praise. Oh, also that it was their debut single. My rating: A |
Good luck with this thread, TH. I'm intrigued by your plan to look at a rather random collection of pop singles, and your process has already thrown up a small gem, imo - and that is the video for "Little Talks". The style of the video is a nice balance between strange and mildly amusing, with it's touch of old-style animated figures. When I open a thread called Ephemera Better Than You Expected, I'm going to steal your clip for my OP.
Pop charts the way they used to be: In Britain, there was just one weekly best-selling singles chart from the record industry. That one chart was accepted as definitive and used by every media source and pop tv program; the simply-calculated rankings were never doubted. But today things are more diverse aren't they? Popularity on Spotify, downloads, singles bought, YouTube hits - so I'm curious about what charts you're using, TH, and how (inter)national they may be. |
Since you didn't have the guts to go back sixty years, here are the number one and number 33 songs for November 3, 1962 respectively...
1. The Crystals- He's a Rebel. Phil Spector really exploded onto the scene with this gem. Pity he was a violent loony. 33. Roy Orbison- Working For the Man- This Roy Orbison classic actually peaks here. Guess they didn't like his rockers so much, not until Oh Pretty Woman anyway. . |
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Once I realised I could select any year, any week and see the full chart for that week, I thought this would be a cool thing to do. Also gives me a chance to listen to current chart music, something I haven't done since I had no choice and that was all I had access to. Quote:
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And what was occupying the number 33 slot twenty years ago on this week?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...lyDrawnBoy.jpg Title: “You Were Right” Artist: Badly Drawn Boy Nationality: English Genre: Alt rock Written by: Badly Drawn Boy (Damon Michael Gough) Original release date: October 14 2002 Highest chart position: 9 Progress, if any, at that time: Descending From the album: Have You Fed the Fish? What do I know about this artist? Nothing other than I’ve heard the name What do I think of this single? Seems a little fractured, musically, to me: the chords keep descending and somehow don’t seem to match his singing, but hell, what do I know? Reminds me a little of The Lightning Seeds. Some nice orchestration, though it’s a little sporadic I feel. I also get a sense of early Divine Comedy from it, sort of Liberation/Promenade/Casanova era. It’s not really for me though. What have I learned about this single? That it was his highest-charting single (bit of a theme going on here), that the lyric was assembled from random phrases which recall his idols, and that it was highly acclaimed. My rating: B+ |
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Yeah, I might do my own random review of the Billboard charts from 1962-1971 if anyone happens to be interested- so there! :p: By the way, if the recent Billboard chart is any indication, I wouldn't hold too much stock in the recent charts. Taylor Swift owns the top ten songs on Billboard this week. When was the last time anyone here heard a Taylor Swift song on the radio? |
Slipping back to the twentieth century now, what was at number 33 on this week, thirty years ago in 1992? This.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...27t_Enough.jpg Title: “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” Artist: Patty Smyth/Don Henley Nationality: American Genre: Rock Written by: Patty Smyth, Glen Burtnick Original release date: August 1992 Highest chart position: 22 (2 in Ireland, 1 in USA) Progress, if any, at that time: Descending From the album: Patty Smyth What do I know about this artist? Not very much about Smyth, plenty about Henley, being a big Eagles fan and also a fan of his solo work. What do I think of this single? Love it and it brings back some really nice memories. The duet between the two works excellently and I like the acoustic guitars. What have I learned about this single? Well this is one I actually owned. I do love my ballads, and once Henley is involved, count me in. Seems it was the most successful single in Canada that year, and was a sort of reciprocation by Smyth for having worked on two of Henley’s albums. My rating: A+++ |
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