Pure and Simple

Today’s album is ‘Popstars’ by Hear’say.

Although, this album is on Amazon Music. It is impossible to get Alexa to play it. Apparently, Alexa doesn’t have any music by Hear’say. If you ask for the album ‘Popstars’, you get a compilation album of various popsongs.

I shouldn’t have to search so hard for a number one album which supplied two number one singles.

Although, lets me honest. Hear’say were awful. This album is full of manufactured pop songs. They are sung with such false emotion it hurts. It’s like the opposite of the Lighthouse Family. Terrible songs gushing with emotions.

It’s like O-Town again. The songs are awful but I’m singing them. I’ve had ‘Pure and Simple’ in my head all day. I was able to sing along with the lyrics because they’re memorable. And guessable. So terrible, yet so good.

Do Hear’say deserve to be on the best of anything list? Really no. Do I really want to know that at some point during the stupidly long ‘Greatest 2001’ album I have going that ‘Pure and Simple’ will eventually turn up? Sort of yes….I’ve add a few songs from an album before – looking at you, Daft Punk. However, I truly believed the songs I added were good songs. I can’t add a song I think is terrible just because I enjoy the terribleness.

Miracle

Today’s album is ‘Toca’ by Fragma.

This was their debut album and obviously, they are best known for Toca’s Miracle. Toca’s Miracle is a great song and if you liked it enough to play it 12 times in a row, then you’ll love this album.

All the songs are pretty samey and I know, it’s a dance album and nothing really matters when we’re dancing¹ but some sort of variety would be good. I mean, Faithless managed it during 2001, as did Basement Jaxx.

Fragma did not step up to the game.

Toca’s Miracle isn’t even a fully Fragma song. It’s a mashup of a Fragma song with vocals from Coco Star’s 1996 song.

The best bit about this song was the excellent music video featuring a women’s indoor football match which had more drama than a World Cup game involving Iceland. The goal keeper forgets her trainers and plays in heels. The one randomly wearing a neckerchief gets injured during a terrible, and unpunished foul. And yet! Like Iceland in the World Cup, the underdogs won! It truly was a miracle!

That video would be on my best of 2001 video list but I cannot find it anywhere! Where is this video? This is a scandal! Why has this awesome video been removed from the world? Also, how? How in the world of the internet can I not find this video? I mean, I’ve spent about 3 minutes looking it up but it really shouldn’t take me more than 5 seconds to find a video to a number 1 song.

Footnotes ¹ S Club 7

Fantasy Man

Today’s album is ‘Dragontown’ by Alice Cooper.

I didn’t like this album but it doesn’t appear that anyone else did either. It was his second lowest charting albums, no singles were released and although he toured this album, at most of 4 songs from the album were played at the concerts.

There were two sort of themes on the album. The first is linked to the song ‘Fantasy Man’ where Alice Cooper talks about what a real man he is and how he isn’t going to change to be anyone’s fantasy man. Fine, never change to fit someone else’s idea of what you should be. However, Alice Cooper claims that he’s suspicious of any adult man who does the washing up.

Washing up? Are you joking? There are some things you need to change about your life if your masculinity is linked to washing up.

However, since the beautiful ballad on the album is called ‘Every woman has a name’, it does make you wonder what Alice Cooper was calling women before 2001.

The second theme is linked to the song ‘I wanna be God’ where Alice Cooper discusses how he thinks he’s pretty awesome and should probably be God. In the next song, the very next song, he claims it’s too late for him and then states ‘I don’t know which God I’ve offended.’ Really? Alice? I’m guessing all of them.

Forever you are faithful

Today’s album is ‘The Noise We Make’ by Chris Tomlin.

There are 12 tracks on this album and 3 of them are over 5 minutes long which should explain why this is such a good album and is one of the reasons this goes on the best of 2001 list.

A number of songs on this album we still sing in Church which demonstrates something about the quality of these songs.

There is also a cover of the Happy Song by delirious? which just reminds me how good the delirious? version is to be honest.

There are some worship songs written which work beautifully for communal singing and others which are beautiful to listen to or meditate to but don’t work as communal singing songs.

During these lockdowns, my church has been using a lot of songs recorded by members of the church, some of these are classics which we sung before lockdown and we’ll sing together after but others have been songs to minister to those who listen.

I suppose it one of the positives which have come from the lockdowns that we’ve been able to really listen to and engage with these more meditative songs which might not work in a live, face to face service.

During this lockdown, we’ve had to go back to what it really means to worship God…with everything we held to be important – meeting together, singing together etc, – removed from church, we’ve had to rediscover what church really means, what worship really means, what being a Christian really means.

And it’s reminded us of some truths in the songs we sing…Forever God is faithful.

You know who you are

Today’s album is ‘Reveal’ by REM. This album contains two songs which were on a REM greatest hits album that I got as a gift at Christmas probably in 2004.

The fact that I was given an REM album for Christmas and the fact that I remember which songs were on that album should show that I’m generally positive about REM.

I remember reading the bits they write about each song on the album. It wasn’t the lead singer writing about the songs and I remember that the words written about the song ‘Orange Crush’ were ‘I didn’t know what this is song was about then and I don’t f*cking know now.’ And yet, Orange Crush is a totally excellent song.

It feels like so much of REM is not understanding what is going on and loving it anyway.

I love the song ‘All the way to Reno’, I’ve decided to interpret it as when you know who you are, then you’ll be a star. A nice bit of positive thinking, or self actualising. Know yourself and be the brightest you can be… Try to be something else and you’ll never shine.

I’m able to decide that’s what the words mean and it’s because it’s REM, I’m happy to say that my interpretation is the correct one.

Either way, obviously on the best of 2001 list.

Hold Steady

Today’s album is ‘Get Ready’ by New Order.

I learned many things about New Order today, well, actually, not that many things. I learned they were formed with ex-members of Joy Division. I don’t know much about Joy Division except that song ‘Let’s dance to Joy Division’ and that the song ‘Swann will tear you apart’ which is about spin bowler Graham Swann is to the tune of Joy Division’s ‘Love with tear us apart’.

Anyway, I am surprised that New Order released an album in 2001. I thought they were pretty 80s. And they obviously had their biggest hits in the 80s. This 2001 album was the first since 1993. Although, they are super 80s, this album was listed as one of the 50 greatest albums of 2001 by Q magazine.

However, I have now listened to over 80 albums and I’m not sure this one is going to make it into the top 50 out of 80, let alone, top 50 overall!

Unnecessarily R rated

Today’s album is ‘The Saga Continues’ by P.Diddy (and the bad boy family).

I enjoyed ‘Bad boy for life’ and then the 3rd track interlude happened.

Today’s blog is R rated because the 3rd track is unnecessarily R rated.

Ok, P.Diddy. I understand that you are having sex. I don’t understand why you are allowing a discussion of it as the third track of this album. And obviously, its not a discussion of a loving sexual relationship between two consenting adults who love each other. No, it’s the discussion of sex which demeans and shames women for their sexuality. Two of you had sex, so why is she a slut?

The album is 77 minutes long. The 1.06 minute interlude is the only part I can remember… make good music not horrible interludes to be remembered.

Oh, and this album features Pharrell Williams…because 2001.

Higher Ground

Today’s album is ‘Miss E…so Addictive’ by Missy Elliot. It includes the songs ‘Get your freak on’, ‘4 my people’ and ‘one minute man’ which are songs which I have previously heard before.

I listened to the album which was pretty decent Missy Elliot and I thought I was going to have no opinions about this album.

Then Missy outdid all the hidden tracks previously discussed.

A track, a hidden track which declares that you’re a witness for Jesus seems ironic in a not so good way.

What would Nick Grimsaw do?

Today’s album is ‘City High’ by City High.

This album contains the song ‘What Would You Do?’ which is well known as Nick Grimsaw’s most hated song. And it is terrible.

Some guy goes to a ‘real wild party’ with a whole bunch of strippers. He recognises one of the strippers from school and decides to take her outside to shame her for being one of the strippers he was enjoying at the party.

She then tells him a story about how she’s a single mum, baby daddy is a druggie who is in and out of jail. She doesn’t have a job but can get money by sleeping with a man. She ran away from an abusive home when she was young and is having suicidal thoughts.

He tells her ‘to get up on her feet and stop making tired excuses’.

I want to re-write this song.

He goes to a strip club, sees a stripper he knows from school, takes her outside and shames her for being a stripper.

She says ‘Yeah, whatever, this counts as a lapdance so give me £50 or the bouncer isn’t letting you back in.’

I mean, how dare this guy have a go at her, he’s the one enjoying the stripper party. If he hadn’t recognised one of the strippers he wouldn’t have been full of moral outrage about the situation. He’d be there throwing his money at the women without caring if they were single mothers, with druggie baby daddies and abusive families.

Wikipedia has angered me a lot because some crazy City High lover has reported that this is an anthem for single mothers encouraging them to keep going in difficult circumstances. It absolutely is not and I will be spending sometime trying to work out how to edit wikipedia!

Anyway, that’s not even the worst song on the album. What on earth would Nick Grimsaw do?!

’15 gets you 20′ is a beautiful song, encouraging people to check if the person they are sleeping with is underage. Maybe this is a controversial opinion, but maybe before you sleep with someone, talk to them a bit you know?

I, personally, don’t even share a lunch table with someone unless they are in agreement to a number of rules. People need to be more discerning about their sharing habits.

The thing is about this album…it’s full of dodgy songs but annoyingly catching, nicely arranged songs. I mean, ‘What would you do?’ is such an annoyingly excellent song. I’m singing along while hating myself for doing it! The vocals are good, the arrangements are excellent ….why didn’t anyone write them some less stupid songs?

No matter how much I’m singing along with ’15 gets you 20, 16 gets you 10′, this album is not going on the best of list….it should go on the worst of list but I’m not making that list.

Summer Rain

Today’s album is ‘The Optimist LP’ by Turin Brakes. I loved this album. This is what The Lighthouse Family could have produced if they were real boys.

Beautiful vocals, excellent music, arranged fantastically.

I loved the song ‘Emergency 72’ because any song which makes me repeated sing any number is going to rate highly for me.

Turin Brakes are one of those bands who positively use silence in their music. I think that shows both confidence and a true understanding of music. Spice Girls can’t leave space in their music, you’d forget what you were listening to and start doing something else. With Turin Brakes, you wait until that next note.

This is why their hidden track didn’t scare me so much. I kinda needed the 2 minutes of space.