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"

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 3rd November

 Sigh, more than half the top ten are stagnant this week so let's not waste time and get on with this because for a fourth week "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift remains at number one and there seems like there is no stoppping this song even though it's lost the streaming lead however Taylor did release a new version of the song on streaming yesterday much to my annoyance but we shan't talk about gaming the charts now, shall we?

It held up over Olivia Dean's "Man I Need" stuck at number two (this deserves a week at number one at least...come on), "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters holding steady at number three, "Opalite" by Taylor Swift hanging around at number four, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren glued at number five and "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe keeps dancing at number six,

Moving up three to number seven is Olivia Deans "So Easy (To Fall in Love)", this song is getting a run together on streaming, it could climb higher in the weeks ahead. The same could apply for "12 to 12" by Sombr which jumped one spot to number eight, both songs pushed past "Elizabeth Taylor" by Taylor Swift which fell two spots to number nine. 

Finally returning to the top ten this week is "Back to Friends" by Sombr which climbed four spots to number ten. 

Los

Gains

The gains are mostly older song gaining back ground as the Taylor Swift album bomb continues its slow recedation, for example "Daisies" by Justin Bieber rebounded eight spots to seventeen and "Undressed" by Sombr jumped back up nine spots to eighteen. 

"Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars got an eight place rebound to thirty seven. 

Losers

Alright, lets get started on the mass losses that songs from Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" suffered this week, we begin with "Honey" which sunk another eleven places to thirty nine, "Eldest Daughter" suffered shrinkage down nine to thirty two, "Ruin the Friendship" dropped eight to thirty, "CANCELLED" got stamped down seven more times to twenty eight, nobody's knocking on "Wood" so it's down eight to twenty three, "Wi$h Li$t" dipped eight to twenty one and "Father Figure" is losing its shapely figure down six to fourteen.

The only non Taylor Swift song to lose big chunk of ground was "Dracula" by Tame Impala down ten to fifty but I do expect that to get a Halloween boost next week

New Entrie

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

41. "A Couple Minutes" by Olivia Dean

Considering I absolutely adore "The Art of Loving" and in particular this song, I am pretty happy that Olivia Dean is having a continued impact on the charts and it's for the better because yeah this is such a great song. that oorchestral backing is just majestic as Olivia Dean slides in, the content works well here as she sings about the intimacy of a very brief reunion and discovering that that old connection still has a spark to it. Check this out.

Next week is a bit who knows, could be another quiet one afoot (having far too many quiet weeks on the charts this year). 

All 4 1994: 30th October. Sooner or Later, All Come Together for You

 Well, wasn't expecting a new number one this week but that's what we have because we have a trio of teenagers at the top of the chart, that's right, Silverchair's "Tomorrow" has climbed two spots to take the number one. 

It mercifully moved past "Always" by Bon Jovi which remains at number two. Former chart topper "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men fell two places to number three.

The big surprise other than our new number one was the nine place gain for "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails to number four. I wasn't expecting this song to get here.

Tina Arena keeps chaining herself to new chart positions each week as "Chains" climbs two to number five, it pushed past "Secret" by Madonna which slipped one to number six,  "Confide in Me" by Kylie Minogue which fell three spots to number seven and "Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey which slipped two spots to number eight.

Finally two songs remain where they are those being "Swamp Thing" by The Grid and "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry at number ten. 

Losers

Def FX slipped seven places to fifty with "Post Moronic" while JX's "Son of a Gun" slipped fourteen spots to forty four. 

Also suffering a massive collapse is former top five hit "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters as it tumbled from twenty eight to forty one. "Red Light Avenue" by James Reyne is going the wrong way but can't seem to find a way to go back down eight to forty. 

Not going to complain that "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M slipped nine to thirty eight while "Do You Wanna Get Funky?" by C&C Music Factory stumbled seven spots to thirty. 

Unfortunately "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" by Elton John crashed from sixteen to twenty two.

Re-Entries

Just the one return with "Love Ain't Here Anymore" by Take That back at forty seven. 

Gains

I am reasonably happy that "(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name" by Harry Connick Jr jumped twelve spots to thirty seven and 'Eighteen Strings" by Tinnan got a sizeable boost from forty six to twenty seven.

However why is "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" by Pet Shop Boys up from forty seven to twenty six and "Gimme" by Boom Crash Opera up eight to fourteen? Ugh. 

 New Entries

Five new entries this week, beginning with...

34. “The Strangest Part (These are the Times)” by INXS

New INXS single from the band's greatest hits album and this one is actually better than a lot of their recent output, it has a groove thanks to the drums plus Michael Hutchence has enough charisma that I'm fairly certain he could convince somebody to buy a bridge. As for the content of the song, it appears to be a commentary on the band's lifestyle. It's a little safe for INXS but considering I haven't likeed any of their singles in 1994, I'll take this one. 

33. “Sooner or Later” by GF4

The brand new single from Girlfriend or as they are now known GF4 following the departure of Robyn Loau and yeah, this is not great, sure the harmonies here are really good but it's the weird ass dance electronic instrumentation that doesn't blend well with the girls voices and leaves them sounding insubstantial and wispy in the mix and as for the rap verse...it's find but wow it shows just how much the departure of Robyn has hurt this group. Not good but not terrible either. 

31. “Nothing But You” by Cold Chisel

So this is another song of those songs that really does feel like a Cold Chisel demo. Ian Moss taking the lead on the song and it doesn't quite have the same stick or hit the landing as good as some of Cold Chisel's other songs with Moss as lead such as "My Baby" (a song I think is one of Chisel's best), I don't think it's a bad song but when the instrumentation doesn't feel like it's on all cylinders than yeah I am going to pass on it more often tthan not. 

24. “All Come Together” by Diesel

I think by now most people know that I am a sucker for Diesel's music and yeah this one is no different because this is pretty damn good almost great even if I think the chorus don't quite come together the way it should. The song hits on everyone working together to reach a common cause or purpose and the connection of people in overcoming diversity to find love. Definitely a damn good song that I think might get a little underrated, check this out. 

16. “All I Wanna Do” by Sheryl Crow

We end of this week's new entry reviews with a song from American singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow and well, this song is certainly an interesting pop/rock song because the opening line of the song "All I wanna do is have a little fun before I die" comes from the opening line of a poem by Wyn Cooper and the song has this really interesting downbeat vibe where this man is sitting at a bar just watching the world go by and everyone else hustling to clean cars in work clothes all while he feels like he is wasting his life. It's a dark song but a good one check it out

That wraps up our week, I am going to give worst of the week to "Sooner or Later" by GF4...a return that fell flat for me. Best of the week is going to Diesel for "All Come Together"