All 4 1994. 27th November: All I Want Is Your Wave Pants for Christmas

 So this week brough about some movement in the top ten just not at the very top where "Tomorrow" by Silverchair remains tied to the top spot thanks to terrific sales however as per program for the past frew weaks 'Always" by Bon Jovi is right behind it at number two,

Rising one to number three is "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow while Tina Arena's "Chains' is finally moving in the right direction up three places to number four.

It pushed "Spin the Black Circle" by Pearl Jam back two spots to number five, "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails down one to number six and "I'll Make Love To You" by Boyz II Men slipped one space to number seven. 

Stsying steady at number eight is "Secret" by Madonna while "Come Out and Play" by The Offspring continues to play at number nine.

However we do have a new arrival to our top ten at number ten with "Zombie" by The Cranberries rising five spots to number ten. 

Losers

So we did see "All Come Together" by Diesel down eleven spots to twenty nine while "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour slipped six spots to twenty six. 

Kylie Minogue's "Confide In Me" fell back eight spots to twenty two while "Yesterday, when I was Mad" by Pet Shop Boys floundered six spots to nineteen. 

Gains

So let's start with Gloria Estefan's "Turn the Beat Around" up nine slots to thirteen.,.ugh. CDB also got a decent nine place gain to fifteen with "Hook Me Up".

In unfortunate news, Lucas's "Lucas with the Lid Off" jumped from twenty three to eighteen because Australia hates me.

At least Harry Connick Jr got a six spot rise with "(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name)" to twenty three while "Lay Your Love on Me"  by Roachford is getting some love laid on it up from thirty five to twenty eight. 

The Headless Chickens have found some direction despite being headless with "Cruise Control" up nine to thirty four. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week beginning with...

50. “My Wave” by Soundgarden

So this is the fourth single from "Superunknown" and was only released here in Australia. This song is unusual because of it's 5/4 time signature and you know what? I think it's better for being just that little different because I really do like this even if its more the instrumentation just being awesome, Chris Cornell is buried behind the instrumentation to the point I can hardly hear him. Nice song though

48. “Tighten Up Your Pants” by Audio Murphy feat. Melinda

I do not have the words for this, it's basically Eurodance song using country tropes including squaredancing etc and there's even bizarrely yodelling leading into the first verse of the song but no pedalsteel or rich organic country guitar to make it feel country but rather taking the tropes of country just make another vaguely stupid dance song, we've had plenty like it in 1994 and this one might be the worst yet. Awful. 

47. “Sure” by Take That

So ignoring the fact that I had to dig through nearly half the video to find the song, I am really hoping Take That can save this week because yowsers, this week is looking rough otherwise and...well...I am not sure I like this..it feels messy in some ways especially with the odd brrt noises that don't mesh well with the rest of the production and the female backing vocals singing "Sure" that kind of got on my nerves. The boys sound good at least but still...this could have been better. 

46. “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey

So I have to make something clear here, I generally do not care a lot for Christmas music...most of the Christmas standard songs do not connect for me as an Australian (it'd have to be a completely abnormal summer for Australia to see snow in December) but maybe Mariah Carey's approach to Christmas music can change that...and nope...I cannot stand this doo wopped over sung goofy assed nonsense. Mariah doesn't care about the presence she just wants her man to be sitting under the Christmas tree and in doing so insults Santa for putting a toy under the tree (Excuse me, but Santa and his elves went to a lot of trouble to get you that toy, Mariah)...All I want for Christmas is for this to go away,, 

That wraps our week and wow,,,this was rough, Audio Murphys and Melinda take worst of the week for "Tighten Up Your Pants", As for the best, it's not great but it's going to "My Wave" by Soundgarden.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: November 24th.

Not going to lie this week's ARIA singles chart feels like coming up for air because we do finally have some change at the top, yep, we have a new number one and it comes in the form of "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean, it's got the streaming margin which was no doubt helped by her performance at the ARIA awards on Wednesday night and that helped push it to the top and send "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift back to number two.

The song that continues to sour on me in all the ways possible "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters remained at number three while "Ordunary" by Alex Warren refuses to fuck off by being stuck to number four. 

Olivia Dean climbed two places to number five with "So Easy (To Fall in Love)"...I can see this song being a potential number one possibly next month, it did push "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe back to number six,\

Raye continues to climb with "Where is My Husband" up two to number seven, I am absolutely obsessed with this song right now. Taylor Swifr had a rough week overall as "Opalite' slipped two to number eight. 

Up three to number nine is another Olivia Dean song that being "Nice to Each Other" while "12 to 12" by Sombr hangs onto the top ten at number ten and given it's losing traction on streaming, it' might be a safe bet that it's not here next week. 

Gains

Most of the big gains belong with Olivia Dean with "A Couple Minutes" up twelve to thirteen while "Baby Steps" jumped five to twenty six.

"Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish rebounded six to twenty three. Tame Impala also saw a six place boost to twenty eight with "Dracula"

The biggest gain of the week belonged to "The Days (Notion Remix)" by Chrystal up thirteen to thirty seven,

Re-Entries

Three returns this week with "Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims woken up at forty nine. "Good Luck, Babe" by Chappell Roan at forty six and "Let Alone the One You Love" by Olivia Dean returning at thirty six.

Losers

Not many big time losers this week with maybe the biggest being "Wi$h Li$t" by Taylor Swift down six to thirty eight.

Drop Outs

Not much in the way of drop outs with "I Run" by Haven dropping out after streaming services pulled the song off their services because of illegalities around the vocals on the song. 

The rest are just Taylor Swift album tracks with "Wood", "Ruin The Friendship" and the two worst songs from the album gone those being "Actually Romantic" and "CANCELLED!".

New Entries

Two new entries

50. "Rein Me In' by Sam Fender and Olvia Dean

For as much as I would have loved Sam Fender's "Seventeen Going Under" to be a hit a couple of years ago, I think it's safe to acknowledge that this song is here because of the lady of the moment in the mainstream music scene...Olivia Dean and yeah...this is one of the best pop/rock songs of the year...not that we get much pop/rock on the charts these days but Sam and Olivia actually have some decent chemistry, the hook is sticky as hell and I love how that melody plays as almost a second hook to the song...definitely check this one out. 

47. "Talk of the Town" by Fred Again..., Sammy Virji and Reggie

It always surprises me when Fred again charts a new song and it shouldn't, the guy is a frequent chart presence so we got this new song that features English DJ Sammy Virji and Irish rapper Reggie, I also have to say that this is kind of lousy when Reggie's delivery isn't anywhere near what it needs to be and can get actively distracting also not helped by that beat being nothing to write home about so yeah I'll skip this.

It's the worst of the week. "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean easily takes best of the week. Next week...probably a whole load of Tate McRae.  

All 4 1994: 20th November Spin Cruise Control Twice For You

No preamble, let's dive straight into this week's top ten where for yet another week, our top two remains the same with "Tomorrow" by Silverchair at number one and "Always" by Bon Jovi at number two...now Silverchair has a decent margin on sales but Bon Jovi looks to be steady and not going anywhere 

We have a new entry from Pearl Jam at number three with "Spin the Black Circle", more that song's quality later. "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow jumps one spot to number four which pushed "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails back to number five.

Boy II Men suffered a two place drop with 'I'll Make Love to You" to number six while "Chains" by Tina Arena remained chained to number seven. 

"Secret" by Madonna is going hush hush down two to number eight while "Come Out and Play" by The Offspring climbed one spot to number nine,

Turns out the love isn't endless for "Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey down two to number ten. 

Losers

So let's blow through some of these with "Jessie" by Joshua Kadison down nine spots to forty eight. The Cult's "Coming Down" living up to it's name down six to fotty six while "Gimme" by Boom Crash Opera slipped from twenty four to forty this week.

Former chart topper "Love is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet slipped further this week down twelve slots to thirty nine hile "Nothing But You" by Cold Chisel plummeted from twenty one to thirty eight.

"Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories fell from twenty nine to thirty six while Elton John's not feeling the love anymore with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" sliding from thirty two to twenty five.

"Steam" by East 17 is losing most of theirs down eleven to thirty

Gains

So we had a bunch of gains again this week starting with "Zombie" by The Cranberries up fifteen to fifteen!

Sadly we also got "Turn the Beat Around" by Gloria Estefan up from forty five to twenty two because...ugh...just ugh,

Even worse "Lucas With the lid off" rose ten to twenty three but I'm okay with CDB "Hook Me Up" rising big from thirty eight to twenty four. 

However why the fuck is "Compliments on Your Kiss" by Red Dragon with Brian & Tony Gold up twelve to twenty five? Seriously?

Re-Entries

Just the one return this week and I am happy that it's "Standing Strong" by Wendy Matthews at forty five

 New Entries 

Just the four new entries this week. let's begin with...

50. “Last One Standing for You” by The Black Sorrows with Jon Stevens

First cab off the rank this week is a collab between The Black Sorrows and Jon Stevens which is wild considering I really never thought their sounds belonged in the same stratosphere of music but anyway, in the end we got a pretty good pop rock song even though I think Jon Stevens somewhat over the top vocals and really Stevens vocals are the main problem with this song, the rest is pretty damn solid. That's a shame.

49. “Think Twice” by Celine Dion

Canadian singer Celine Dion is back with her third single from her 1003 album "The Colour of My Love" and as is the case with most Celine Dion songs, her vocals are just the star of the song, I mean sure the subtle strings and guitar do their parts but it's Celine that shines here, she sounds absolutely gorgeous. The content is Celine begging her lover to think twice before leaving her because he might be making the biggest mistake of his life. Good song, check it out if curious. 

42. “Cruise Control” by Headless Chickens

So from Canada back to New Zealand where this group are based with thos song being the second single from "Body Blow" but remixed by a band called Eskimos in Egypt and we got the remix on the charts that isn't as good as the original version that charted so well in New Zealand,, the song just loses a lot of it's grit and texture and just feels a little too polished compared to the original from 1991 however it's not terrible, I just prefer the original that's all. 

3. “Spin the Black Circle” by Pearl Jam

We end off the week with a short sharp and loud rock song from Pearl Jam, it's the lead single from the album "Vitalogy" and is apparently about the band's love of vinyl records  The guitars are sharp and the drums are definitely doing a lot of heavy lifting here but again I do wonder if Eddie Vedder is getting buried in the mix here a bit. It's not terrible but it's definitely not a Pearl Jam song I am going to seek out.

That completes our week with "Think Twice" by Celine Dion taking the best of week while for worst, that's going to The Black Sorrows and Jon Stevens for "Last One Standing for You".

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 17th November.

 Really not much to say about this week because as per the norm lately, "The Fate Of Ophelia" rules at the top of the singles chart making it a sixth week at number one, it ruled on sales and did decently on streaming enough to keep it ahead of "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean which continues to hold strong at number two, its still lagging behind on sales but is leading on Spotify. 

At this point I am ready for anything to knock "The Fate of Ophelia" off number one. Hopefully Olivia Dean can get to that top spot. 

Anyway "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters remains at number three while "Ordinary" by Alex Warren rebounded two spots to number four while "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe remains at number five.

"Opalite" by Taylor Swift slipped two spots to number six while "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean remained at number seven, I expect this to crack the top five soon. 

A new entry in the top ten is "I Run" by Haven, now I do not expect this song to last in the top ten and we'll talk about why in the new entries, this week. 

Raye's "Where is My Husband" jumped one spot to number nine surpassing "12 to 12" by Sombr which looks to be done in the top ten. 

Gains

Biggest gain of the week belongs to Olivia Dean with "Baby Steps" up ten to thirty one.

More annoyingly "That's So Ttue" by Gracie Abrams seems to be on the rebound rising from forty five to thirty nine. 

Re-Entries

Two re-entries with "The Days (Notion Remix)" by Chrystal back at fifty and "Messy" by Lola Young returning at number forty eight. 

Losers

The biggest losers continue to be album tracks from "The Life of a Showgirl" by Taylor Swift with "Cancelled!" down ten to forty nine, "Actually Romantic" slipping eight to forty sjx, "Wood" down ten to forty two and "Father Figure" down seven to twenty seven. 

Drop Outs

We did see one decently big drop out with "Sugar on My Tongue" by Tyler the Creator gone, it took with it "Eldest Daughter" by Taylor Swift and "Pussy Palace" by Lily Allen

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week so let's talk about...

8. "I Run" by Haven

So this song randomly blew up through the week thanks to somehow going viral on Tik  Rok is from a relatively unknown UK electronic act and this might be the lone week it's on the charts as it's been pulled off streaming owing to some rather serious allegations that the song uses some form of AI because of the vocals used. 

Now the song itself is decent enough, it's catchy and it's definitely got a bit of a groove that i can see connects well with audiences so I guess this one is a bit of a damp squib as it is very likely not going to leave the charts and not return.

That was our week, I am not sure whether we are going to get anything new next week so we'll just have to wait and see. 

All 4 1994: 13th November Trouble Coming Down Interstate...Hook Me Up, Love?

 Let's just dive straight into the week with our top ten instead of mucking around because it actually looks interesting apart from our top two where "Tomorrow" by Silverchair remains at number one for a third week ahead of "Always" by Bon Jovi which cannot claw back the margin so remained stuck at number two.

Much to my surprise, "Closer"  by Nine Inch Nails climbed three spots to number three, happy to see this so high...it's just surprising, that's all, it did push "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men back one spot to number four. 

Rising six spots for Sheryl Crow is "All I Wanna Do" hitting number five, this song could make a play for the number one in coming weeks, as a result "Secret" by Madonna got shoved back to number six while both "Chains" by Tina Arena and "Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey remained at six and secen respectively.

"Come Out and Play" by The Offspring jumped one spot to number nine surpassing former chart topper "Confide In Me" by Kylie Minogue which slipped to number ten and looks to be on it's way out. 

Losers

Not many major losers this week although we did see "Fly Girl" by Kulcha down six to forty six and "Hands Out of My Pocket" by Cold Chisel slip six to forty nine.

"Red Light Avenue" by James Reyne is hitting it's chart red light as it stumbled down seven to foty two while "Do You Wanna Get Funky" by C&C Music Factory skidded down nine spots to forty one.

Former number one and likely year end chart topper "Love is All Around" continues to leave gracefully down eight spots to twenty seven. 

Gains

We got a slew of big gains and unfortunately I am not that thrilled about some of these like "Sooner or Later" by GF4 up big from twenty five to twelve or "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" by Pet Shop Boys gaining an eight place boost to fifteen. 

I will say I am pleased that Diesel's "Come Together" got a nice nine place gain to seventeen and I'm fine with "Eighteen Strings" by Tinman up nine to twenty. 

What is showing signs of momentum lies with "Zombie" by The Cranberries up a massive fifteen places to number thirty...this song might be set to rule the charts well into 1995. 

"Lucas With the Lid off" by Lucas climbed six to thirty three...sigh. Less said the better about that one.

Re Entries

Just one return this week with "Miss You" by Haddaway back at forty eight. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week, beginning with...

50. “Interstate Love Song” by Stone Temple Pilots

So the third single from the Stone Temple Pilots album "Purple" and my god...this is great, I love how sharp and prominent the instrumentation is ehre, it all sounds so crisp. As for the content of the song, well, it's moe about the lies told to loves especially around feelings like saying "I'm fine" when he really is not. Hope this does well, terrific song. 

40. “Coming Down” by The Cult

Okay, more rock only this time coming from UK rock band The Cult and while I like some of the instrumentation, I do not at all like the vocal mixing and recording at all, they sound like they were recorded three studios over and the producer added them out of sheer ambivalence, the backing vocals sound louder in the mix than the lead singer which is beyond weird. Yeah, this is a come down...next song.

38. “Hook Me Up” by CDB

Time for some pop r'n'b courtesy of Australian male four piece Hook Me Up and wow...does this sound like a Bobby Brown song that he would have left out but I am not going to lie the instrumentation sounds smooth as hell even if I have the same issues with some of the vocal mixing here as I did with "Coming Down" by The Cult. This isn't terrible but I am going to forget this in record time. 

34. “Trouble’ by Shampoo

Finally we're finishing this week off with this song from Shampoo, a British female pop duo and well...this is a pop song made for teenagers who can relate to being caught staying out late when their parents have expressly advised not to. Shampoo remind me of a more juvenile Mel and Kim ("Respectable" and "Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)', anyone?) because while that chorus is catchy as hell, the verses are delivered in a way that completely takes me out of the song...it sounds bratty in a way that isn't cute but rather annoying and distracting from the rest of the song, 

That was our week and yeah, "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots just runs away with it. As for worst of the week I'm going to give it "Coming Down" by The Cult because man, that vocal mixing should be better.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 10th November.

 So I am going to say it, I am getting frustrated with our current number one on the ARIA singles chart, "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift spending it's fifth week at the top, while it's still one of the better songs from "The Life of a Showgirl" but come on, five weeks at number one is ridiculous, it's still got decent sales and streaming.

That was enough to keep it ahead of "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean stuck at number two (I suspect this song being stuck at number two is why I am annoyed at "The Fate of Ophelia"...the better song is stuck at number two), "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters remains at number three and "Opalite" by Taylor Swift at number four.

Regaining one spot is "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe at number five, it moved past "Ordinary"  by Alex Warren, "Ordinary" is dying on streaming so expect this song to fall away HARD over the next few weeks.

"So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean continues to hold sway at number eight, the same goes for Sombr's "12 to 12" at number eight,

"Soda Pop" from K-Pop Demon Hunters is back in the top ten this week up two to number nine.

Finally, we have a new arrival to our top ten and one that I absolutely am thrilled about because it's "Where is My Husband" by RAYE, it jumped three spots to number ten. So happy to see it here.

Gains

Most of our gains continue to just be songs recovering ground post the Taylor Swift album bomb apart from "Dracula" by Tame Impala which used Halloween to scoot up thirteen spots to thirty seven. 

"Gabriela" by Katseye climbed seven places to thirty three despite the song being complete ass while "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter jumped six spots to twenty nine. 

Olivia Dean continues to make her make with "A Couple Minutes" up thirteen to twenty eight. "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish up six to twenty seven and "Victory Lap" by Fred Again..., Skepta and Plaqueboy Mas up seven to twenty four. 

"Beautiful Things" bounced back up ten spots to seventeen for Benson Boone because we still haven't got rid of that god damn atrocity to the human ear yet. 

Re Entries

Back at forty two is "Folded" by Kehlani

Losers

All of our losers are Taylor Swift album cuts that haven't gone away yet like "Eldest Daughter" which slipped fifteen to forty seven, "Ruin The Friendship" was ruined fourteen places to forty four. 

"CANCELLED!" keeps on getting cancelled down eleven to thirty nine, "Actually Romantic" continues to let the romance die down thirteen to thirty eight, "Wood" is drying up down nine to thirty two while "Wi$h Li$t" slipped ten to thirty one and the album's title track feat Sabrina Carpenter "The Life of a Showgirl" fell nine to twenty five. 

Drop Outs

"Honey" by Taylor Swift and the bigger of the two that did leave "Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims.

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week, let's dive into...

50. "Pussy Palace" by Lily Allen

If 2025 waa going to throw up a surprise, this was one of the major ones, Lily Allen hadn't released music in seven years pre the release of her new album "West End Girl" with this song being the single from it and yeah, this song is all keys and trap with some percussion as Lily sings about going to her now ex husband's apartment to drop his stuff off and she finds out that he has been sleeping with a myriad of women behind her back, she's shocked and confused, ponders whether or not he is a sex addict which is terrifying as its something she's not thought about before. 

Not the best song on the album but it is definitely one of the more shocking. I am happy to see it here though. 

All 4 1994: 6th November. Turn Lucas's Girl Around

 No mucking around this week, let's just jump straight into the top ten where for a second week, Silverchair's "Tomorrow" holds sway at number one and it's looking good for the long haul, it thankfully kept "Always" by Bon Jovi at bay at number two and "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men at number three.

New into the chart this week is "About A Girl (MTV Unplugged)" by Nirvana at number four, here on solid sales and I am sure a lot of fans wanting to heart Kurt Cobain's voice again after he died in April 1994. 

"Secret" by Madonna moved into the top five with a one place gain to number five, not sure about the strength of this song going forward. but it was enough to see "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails shift down two places to number six and "Chains" by Tina Arena unlock it's chain at five to move down two to number seven. 

 "Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey remains endlessly in love at number eight. while down two is former chart topper "Confide in Me" by Kylie Minogue to number nine.

Surprisingly...rising two to join the top ten is "Come Out and Play" by The Offspring at number ten! Wasn't expecting this song to do so well but I am fine with it being here,

Losers

So E.Y.C's "Black Book" is heading toward being given the red card off the top 50 as it plummeted from thirty six to forty nine...good riddance quite honestly. "Gimme" by Boom Crash Opera slipped seven to twenty one. 

Former number one "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet stumbled six places to nineteen. It's on it's eway out gracefully. 

Gains

Surprisingly not that many big moves this week but for some reason we did see "Sooner or Later" by GF4 get a solid eight place boost to twenty five because apparently we need a bland nothing of a song from a girl group gaining traction and Cold Chisel got one hell of a big jump from thirty one to sixteen. 

"All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow looks headed for a stint in the top ten as it rises five to eleven. 

New Entries

50. “Turn the Beat Around” by Gloria Estefan

So I am going to be honest here, I am not a fan of Gloria Estefan, I think she's talented but the material she is given to work with isn't great and this sounds like a cut that belongs to the work she did with Miami Sound Machine in the 80s and this is Gloria Estefan trying to play in a more 90s sound and it just doesn't work for me at all. Also this just feels like its riding the Eurodance trend with the big doofy beats so yeah...I don't care this. 

45. “Zombie” by The Cranberries

Oh god, there's no possible way I can talk about this song and do it justice because The Cranberries have crafted one of the most incredible political songs. The song is about an IRA bombing in Warrington in 1993 that injured fifty six people and horrifically took the lives of two children and condemns the violence and bloodshed that occured during rhe "Troubles" between the UK and the IRA (a group that wanted to separate Northern Ireland from the UK and reunite it with the Republic of Ireland. You can hear the seething rage in the vocals of Dolores O'Riordan's voice as she is singing. God damn, incredible song.

39, “Lucas With the Lid off” by Lucas

And now we get to something that's a bit weird and I am not entirely sure of the idea that it's any good. This is from Danish rapper Lucas Seccon and is the second single from Lucas's second album "Lucacentric" and somehow features a sample from Benny Goodman's "When Buddha Smiles" and I am going to have say no to this because geezus christ, this sounds like mumble rap. I wish it reminded me less of Jive Bunmy and the Mastermixers. Next.

4. “About A Girl (MTV Unplugged Sessions)” by Nirvana

I tend to be a bit reticent to cover live versions of songs mostly because music live tends to sound great and covering this specifically feels painful if you remember that Kurt Cobain died in April of 1994 so yeah out of pure respect to Kiurt Cobain, I am just going to say, this is excellent, go and give this a listen. 

However the best of the week is going to "Zombie" by The Cranberries, as for the worst of the week...that's going to Lucas for "Lucas With the Lid Off"