Wednesday, December 21st, 2005

Time	Event
1:07p	Best Songs of 2005 - The REST 15. Mariah Carey - Its Like That The first of two entries for Ms Carey, this was her big comeback single from the massive Emancipation of Mimi album. Mariah at her vocal best, with excellent prodcution value from Jermaine Dupris, this could have been a strong song of the year contender for me. However, the presence of the shrill Fatman Scoop at the end of the track costs this song dearly. Fatman is a great producer no doubt, but can he please shut up! 14. Lee Ryan- Army of Lovers First Kelly Osbourne, and now an ex-Blue member, but I can't help loving this song. Its two and half minutes of pure ballad genius with a soaring vocal from Lee. Fantastic. 13. Fallen Angels - City Life (Ian Carey Remix) Ian Carey provides a great electro-rock beat to this dance track, all about how great big city life is, no matter where you are from. A very under-appreciated track. 12. Max Linen - Back To Mine Linen was reponsible for last years infectious 'Flashback', and he uses a similar male voice-over on this follow-up, to tell a story about meeting a wild girl at a club and taking her back to her place. The story has a very funny twist in the end, and a sublime bassline to boot. 11. Destiny's Child - Soldier The DC girls go crunk, and they are looking for some tough thugs, and it works for the most part. The rapping on this track is a bit dull, but is made up for by a seductive minimalist beat and an assured vocal performance from Beyonce and Co. One of the few highlights on the disappointing Destiny Fullfilled album. 10. Girls Aloud - Biology This song kicks off with a bluesy piano riff and then switches gear twice, and as one critic pointed, it does sound like 3 songs blended into one. A track that I hated at first due to its strange structure but now can't get enough of. Also features the campest line of the year: 'So I got my cappucino to go, and I'm heading for the hills again.' How can you NOT love Cheryl Tweedy. 9. The Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha You really couldn't ecape this single at all this summer, and it got a tad boring after so many plays. This is how great girl-band R&B should sound like, even if its only one girl in the group that can actually sing. 8. Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl This Sh** is Bananas - B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Need I say more ? 7. Kelly Clarkson - Behind These Hazel Eyes Ok, so I loved this Kelly Clarkson this year, she could do no wrong, and here she continues her pissed off streak with guys who have hurt her, but don't worry because she doesn't cry on the outside anymore! Maybe she needs to lighten up a bit on her next album, but I am not complaining. 6. James Blunt - You're Beautiful Another song that suffered from over-play this summer, but I can't help but still loving this song about falling in love with a stranger on a train. I think the beauty of this song is that its really personal but everyone can relate to it. 5. Chanel - My Life (Haji & Emmanuel Mix) Probably the best song to be remixed by the Haji / Emmanuel team in 2005. An uplifting and infectious house track, this was a great one to dance to at the club. 4. Freemasons - Love On My Mind Likely the biggest disco-influenced house song of the year, this samples from Jackie Moore's 'This Time Baby' and Tina Turner's 'When The Heartache Is Over'. Dancefloors went bezerk for this all summer long, and so did I. 3. Mariah Carey - We Belong Together Mariah back on form, even if this song is a tad generic, its sung with such wonderful emotion that Ms. Carey makes it truly special. 2. Missy Elliott feat. Ciara and Fatman Scoop - Lose Control Missy Elliott never really went away in the past few years, but even her most die-hard fans must admit that her form has slipped of late. Thankfully she came back with this monster of a track enlisting the help of hot R&B siren of the day Ciara and (God help us) Fatman Scoop. The Jaques Lu Cont mix and the mash up with M.A.N.D.Y's 'Body' are a great fusions of house music with rap. 1. Madonna - Hung Up There was never any doubt that this would land in the number 1 spot, and by a huge margin. Gone is the self-indulgent reflection of Madge's last album American Life, replaced by a truly fierce disco sound provided by the one and only Stuart Price. Best heard in the middle of the dance floor on a Saturday night at 1 am surrounded by hundreds of queens raising their hands in the air at the first hint of the ABBA riff. This is Madonna's best single in a very long time. (Comment on this)
1:09p	Things Thae Make You Go Hmmmm I was having a conversation with a friend and he pointed out that I am a 'List' person, which I am. That is why I love this time of year, its a good excuse to make lists, as evidence by my recent Top Songs of 2005 entry. I love making lists so much that I can probably do a list of Reasons Why I Love Lists, but that might be a bit OTT. Anyway, here are the top 5 things that baffled me in 2005: 5. Sienna Miller I am likely the type of person who should adore Sienna. She's really pretty and she has that 'IT' girl factor about her. The problem is that she is way more famous than she should be, she has only been in two films of note (Layer Cake and Alfie) and neither of them were major Box Office hits. Not sure why women want to emulate her style either, as she looks really frumpy all the time. This woman is famous more than anything because of her relationship to Jude Law, and the fact that he cheated on her has elevated her rather too quickly into the 'jilted lover' role that Nicole Kidman used to great effect a few years ago. I am officially BORED. 4. Desperate Housewives Ok, I agree that its a reasonably good tv show, and there are some funny lines in it and it does have the Sex And The City of empowered women element to it. Watch the repeats however and you'll realise that this show is mainly fluff and not that greatly acted. And God help us, not only has it revived Nicolette Sheridan's career but it also inflicted us with Eva Langoria and countless interviews about her sex life. This must stop. 3. George W. Bush From his nomination of Harriet Mier, to his mishandling of the Iraq War and its political fallout to his adminstrations clearly 'vague' rules about torture, I am amazed with Bush's ability to just push through his right wing agenda with no regard for the consequences. I cannot beleive we still have a few more years left with this guy in charge of the most powerful country in the world. 2. Crazy Frog The Crazy Frog had one of the biggest selling singles of 2005, who bought this shit ? 1. Kate Moss Ok, I can sort of understand how the papers love using the term 'Cocaine Kate' and now they are all happy that they will be able to do so from now until the end of eternity. And I can sort of get how her relationship to Pete Doherty can cause a bit of interest. What amazes is me is the hypocrisy of the whole situation, I am a 30 year old man (around the same age as Kate) living in London with a fairly reasonable income coming in. I can guarantee that even without knowing them that the people who condemned Kate are people who have taken charlie at least once in their life. Its everywhere in London and taking coke is as readily acceptable as downing a shot of sambuca on a Friday night at the pub. Its truly baffling how big this story became, and I am glad that it has died out. (Comment on this)

<< Previous Day

2005/12/21 [Calendar]

Next Day >>