Good 1992 Vibrations. 29th November. People Everyday making Sweet Love In Your Room

 So we've got a week here with a lot of new entries mostly lower down the chart and a few interesting shifts and moves in the top ten so let's begin there, shall we? "End of The Road" by Boyz II Men has a decent hold on the number one spot now and doesn't look like relinquishing it any time soon.

In fact, I don't see anything that can knock off for number one right now, certainly not "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus stuck at number two as its sales have been falling for sometime. I don't see "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews regaining one spot to number three challenging either even as it pushed past "The Best Things in Life Are Free" slipped back to number four.

"November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses continued it's rise this time up one place to number five, it pushed "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley back to number six.

Rising three places to number seven is "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente which is nice to see however down one spot is "Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail back to number eight.

Then we have two songs spending their first week inside the top ten, the first of them is "Would I Lie to You" by Charles & Eddie which jumped from 13 to nine this week while unfortunately rising one spot to complete the top ten is "Something Good" by Utah Saints because I guess we do need audio torture somewhere in the top ten. 

Gains

Rising eleven places to 15 is "Tequila" by ALT & The Lost Civilization which is a bit of a surprise however what is not a surprise is the twelve place gain for "Ebeneezer Goode" by The Shamen (I expect this song to be big into 1993 given how huge it has been un the UK).

Unfortunately we have some garbage getting boosts like the six place jump for "Jump!" by The Movement to 24 and "Yesterdays" by Guns 'n' Roses up big off it's debut of 42 to 28.

The Sharps "Spinosity (EP)" rose from its return of 44 to 29.

Re Entries

So we got two re entries this week with the first of them being from Boom Crash Opera at 43 with "Bettadaze". Ratcat are back at 41 with "Holiday"...I don't mind either of them being back either, they aren't bad songs

Losers

So lets start off with "Rock Your Baby" by K.W.S down seven to 48 this week...I am so glad this cover is not taking off....thank goodness for small mercies.

ABBA's "Dancing Queen" collapsed nine spots from 38 to 47 while "Rhythm is a Dancer" by Snap deep sea dived down from 32 to 45 while "Do For You" by Euphoria slithered down from 23 to 31.

"Erotica" by Madonna tumbled five to hit 13 while "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff slipped three places to 12.

New Entries

This is a long week in terms of the new entries, there's eight of them so let's start with...

46. “Scars” by 1927

We’re starting this week with the lead off single from 1927’s self-titled album. Turns out it’s a gentle guitar ballad where he knows he at times frustrates and upsets his partner but knows he couldn’t survive without that partner’s love and support especially at times when the world feels like a dark place, and he’d be counting the cost of losing that love if the loved one left him. It’s fine, could have done without the ‘na na na’ at the end but this is still pretty good, check it out.

 

42. “The Last Song” by Elton John

Okay so the second single from Elton John’s album “The One”, it was written by both Elton John and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin with this song released to benefit the AIDS Foundation with Taupin sending Elton the lyrics following the death of Freddie Mercury and yeah I can kind of see why Elton would have trouble singing this because wow, this song cuts DEEP, it tells the story of an father who is estranged from his son and coming to terms with the fact his homosexual son is dying of AIDs over a gorgeous piano arrangement.  I don’t want to say too much more but this song is great. Please check it out.

 

40. “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” by The Four Seasons

Much like “Dancing Queen” a few weeks ago, this is a song making its return to the Australian charts thanks to a remix by Ben Liebrand, it originally peaked at number three on the Kent Music Report charts in 1976 and hit the year end of that year at number 22 and look again the song Is an absolute classic even if I am not personally all that wild about Frankie Valli’s vocals, it’s a fun and kind of silly reminiscent rock song with disco flourishes even if the lyrical content of the song is about remembering the first time a young man had an affair with a young woman so yeah pretty cool song that really has stood the test of time.

 

38. “You Don’t Treat Me No Good” by Sonia Dada

Okay next up is an American soul group calling themselves Sonia Dada with this song being the fist to hit the Australian singles chart and what I will say that this is catchy, that guitar riff that opens the song has some bite to it with the song mourning the fact that this guy has had enough of his lover treating him like shit so he is going to pack his bags and leave especially if the love in the relationship is gone, there’s nothing in the relationship for him anymore. Yeah the production is a bit bare bones but hey, I still dig it.

 

37. “Sweet Love” by Company of Strangers

Second single from this supergroup and honestly I think I like it a bit better than “Motor City (I Get Lost)” mostly due to the fact that the production fits the vocals and doesn’t make the vocals sound as hollow plus James Reyne probably sounds as good as he ever did. It’s a pretty simple song about being in ‘sweet sweet love” and love being all his has, he doesn’t have the luxury goods like cars and jewellery others do. I hope this does well.

 

36. “In Your Room” by Toni Pearen

An actress debuts on the singles top 50 this week in the form of ‘E Street’ actress Toni Pearen with “In Your Room” being the lead single from “Intimate” and really her debut single is pretty much your standard 90s pop song with all the usual pop trimmings and lyrics about getting up close and personal with this guy in his room and Pearen doing her best to sound sexy on the verses. I don’t hate it but I’m also not going to remember it either.

 

35. “People Everyday” by Arrested Development

About time we got a new single from Arrested Development! “Tennessee” has only gotten better since I first heard it so I am curious to see what this new single is like and…I have to be honest I am not digging this one as much and it’s hard to pin down exactly why. It’s got a nice reggae sounding groove and the vocals are pretty good with the lyrics based on real life experiences Speech had while living in Milwaukee. I certainly don’t hate it but it’s something I like or love either which is disappointing, but it happens sometimes.

 

33. “Faith” by The Dukes

Finishing up the week with Australian r’n’b, soul and funk band The Dukes which feature half of Absent Friends that being Sean Kelly, Michael King and John McKay along with Geoffrey Stapleton (formerly of GANGgajang) and Michael Armiger (formerly of Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls and The Go Betweens with “Faith” being the first song to hit the chart, a pretty jaunty song urging the listener to have faith. Yeah, it’s catchy but I have the feeling that I’m going to forget about this song minutes after writing this.

 

By all standards a pretty good week, I’m giving best of the week to “The Last song” by Elton John mostly because that song hit me where it hurt. As for the worst, there’s nothing too terrible this week so I think I’m going to have to go with “Faith” by The Dukes, only because it really seemed like a generic jaunty song. 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Top Ten/ Chart Review: 29th November: Oh My God, abcdefu is the Enemy for My Little Love

 So we have one (likely) final album bomb for 2021 courtesy of Adele's "30" but we also have an assortment of other scattered new entries but firstly to the top ten where the impact of the "30" album bomb was felt right at the top of the chart with "30" with "Easy On Me" by Adele returning to number one courtesy of strength across the board. 

It knocked "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift back to number two, now considering that most of the other songs from "Red (Taylor's Version)" either fell hard or dropped out, it's pretty impressive that this song held on enough to only fall to number two. 

From there though, "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa remained glued to number three, "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber stuck at number four and "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran frozen to number five.

New entry by Adele at number six with "Oh My God". Now we'll talk about the song's quality later but this got here thanks to strong first week streaming however that might ebb back next week

"Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran slipped back to number seven as this song's run is effectively done at this point while 'Heat Waves" by Glass Animals continues to be one hell of an annoying presence in the top ten as it slipped back one place to number eight while "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow remains at number nine.

The second new entry to the top ten comes from Adele with "I Drink Wine" debuting at number ten. Again more about this one in the new entries.

Here's how the top ten would have shaped without the Adele album bomb...

10. "Smokin' Out the Window" by Silk Sonic

9. "Ghost" by Justin Bieber

8. "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow

7. "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals

6. "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran

5. Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran

4. "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber

3. "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa

2. "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift

1. "Easy On Me" by Adele

Gains

Hard to imagine we got many gains in an album bomb week but we did get a couple and its a shame it's not on the good side with "Do It To It" by Acraze feat. Cherish breaking into the top twenty up from 23 to 16 while "Acapulco" by Jason Derulo climbed two to 44 because this would probably be bigger if not for the album bombs in recent weeks.,

Re Entries

Three re entries this week beginning with "2055" by Sleepy Hallow at 48, "Without You" by The Kid Laroi feat. Miley Cyrus at 47 and of course "Rolling in the Deep' by Adele at 46.

Losers

So over a half of the chart lost so this week I am only going to deal with songs that lost eight places or more, starting with "Run (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift feat. Ed Sheeran which fell 30 places to 49 and is one of only two songs from "Red (Taylor's Version)" to still be in the ARIA top 50 in it's second week.

Down ten places is "Moth to a Flame" by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd to 36...will be interesting to see if it rebounds in the weeks ahead even with Christmas music coming.

"Beggin'" by Maneskin down eight to 28  while "love nwantiti (ah ah ah)" by Ckay slipped eight to 26 and "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish slumped eight places to 24.

Drop Outs

The majority of the drop outs are songs from the "Red (Taylor's Version)" album bomb but we did also lose "Already Dead" by Juice WRLD (I expect to see this back when the album is released), "Leave the Door Open" by Silk Sonic, "Bad Man (Smooth Criminal)" by Polo G, "Knife Talk" by Drake feat. 21 Savage and Project Pat and "A OK" by Tai Verdes.

New Entries

We are in an album bomb situation for Adele's "30" so here's the chart positions of the songs from "30" I won't be reviewing:

"All Night Parking" feat. Erroll Gurner at 33, "Hold On" at 31, "To Be Loved" at 25, "Cry Your Heart Out" at 21, "Strangers By Nature" at 18 and "Can I Get It" at 15.

That leaves us with just six new entries to deal with so let's start with...

50. "Enchanted" by Taylor Swift

So this is an album track from "Speak Now" that went viral on Tik Tok to the point where streaming ensured it would chart and well...its decent...a pop country song where Taylor is infatuated with this guy she has met at this dull party and worrying about whether her feelings for him will be reciprocated toward her by him. It's a solid song from an overall solid Taylor Swift country pop album that being "Speak Now" and it will be interesting which re recorded album will be released next. 

35. "Enemy" by Imagine Dragons feat. J.I.D & League of Legends

So this is somehow a thing on the charts rather than anything from that last Imagine Dragons album, it's a song from the League of Legends animation series and well...I am not a fan of this...there's no real animosity or darkness that comes with having everyone else be your 'enemy" not to mention that dragged out 'enemy' on the hook is just plain annoying. This song could have afforded to sounded bigger and more imposing...something Imagine Dragons are capable of (remember "Radioactive"?) but never do anymore and as a result come off sounding like a mix of AJR and some teenage musical without the drama to make it interesting...next! 

17. "abcdefu" by Gayle

Alright this is a newcomer to the ARIA singles chart, Gayle is a seventeen year old singer/songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee with this being her breakthrough single and well...I hate saying this but...this sucks...I've heard some people compare this song to "Do Re Mi" by Blackbear but I think the closer and more immediate comparison is "Hot Gitl Bummer" where she's telling this guy's friends and family to fuck off but whem you have the vocal ability that sits somewhere between Julia Michaels and Tate McRae, the swearing on the hook comes off sounding kind of cutesy and pretty damn unbelieveable. The song is this exhausting piece of toxic immature melodrama that belongs on the worst teen dramas where nobody comes off sounding good here. I'm not buying this for a second...

11. "My Little Love' by Adele

So we begin our three song exploration of music from Adele's new album with a song dedicated to her son Angelo that actually gets to me a bit especially with Adele's emotional breakdown right roward the end of the song and the voice clips of her song asking her questions and her giving the best answers she can even if she doesn't know where life is taking her especially as her son is the only stability in her life post the divorce. 

Also let's dispel the controversy...accusations were made that Adele was exploiting her son for album sales which couldn't be further from the truth, if anything the song examines the impact that a divorce can have on a child and the child having the realization that life is going to be so different from what he is used to with his family still living in the same house. This is a good song.

10. "I Drink Wine" by Adele

This song was touted as the second single from "30" before the album was released and has been described as a 70s style Elton John/Bernie Taupin, a song about shedding ego and not taking everything so personally and needing to get over themselves, it's a pretty brutally honest piece of standing in front of the mirror and being brutally honest with herself and only then when she's reached that point of being able to not take things so personally that she can open herself to the possibility of love. Yeah another pretty good song. 

6. "Oh My God" by Adele

The final new entry of the week and the highest of the Adele album tracks that charted this week and probably the first track where she's feeling emotionally free after the divorce was made final, how she's having an internal conflict with regard to wanting to put herself first and take control of her life upon the realization that she's now single for the first time in awhile and is available for dating. Just wish the production felt a little more free as to a degree it does feel a little more claustrophobic than a song like this needs to be.

And that closes out a long week but best and worst fall out easily with the worst going to "abcdefu" by Gayle (a worst list contender if it makes the 2021 year end) for being toxic and exhausting in all the worst ways. Best of the week though goes to "My Little Love" by Adele and that's pretty obvious.

Next week, probably the first onslaught of Christmas music but we'll see what happens when the chart updates on Friday at 5pm AEDT

The Countrytown Country Music Top Twenty Ranked plus brief ARIA singles top 20 ranked.

 It's been awhile since I did a top twenty ranked at least for the ARIA singles chart but here's the one disadvantage of doing that sort of ranking format...you find yourself talking about the same songs every time you go to do the ranking and I do want to save my opinions on the hits of 2021 for year end best and worst lists (coming in January some time hopefully) but there will be a brief look at the state of the ARIA top 50 singles top 20 at the end of this.

However I did want to do a ranking and while I considered the top twenty of the Billboard Adult Alternative chart, I remembered a Aussie chart that website The Music Network hosts thanks to Radio Monitors called the "Countrytown Top 50" which ranks the top 50 most played country music songs which was ideal because I don't get the opportunity very often running a blog that is so ultra focussed on the ARIA singles chart to talk about a genre of music I do love like country music especially as country songs hitting the top 50 is so few and far between (especially on the good side of country but that's another story entirely).

The week I'll be covering is the week of 6th November, if you want to see the full list of not just the top twenty but the entire top 50 then the link is right here: Countrytown Top 50 (The Music Network)

You all know how this works...let's get this show on the road with...

Shit Tier

Geezus, I hoped I'd never have to discuss loathsome piece of shit song ever again but I guess by choosing this chart I did ask for this...

20. "Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes

Quite simply this song is an affront to country music...the younger brother of Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road" only somehow ten times WORSE. I said everything that needed to be said about this song when it debuted on the ARIA singles chart a few weeks ago and if it becomes a hit, I'll have more to say when it inevitably appears high up on the worst list. Fuck this trash.

Bad Tier

19. Country Outta My Girl" by Morgan Evans

So there's two Morgan Evans songs inside the top twenty and of the two...this one isn't good...it's this cliched country song but how you can take Morgan's girl anywhere but you can't take the country out of the girl and while I can appreciate the very country production here and Morgan selling the song with some enthusiasm, the lyrics are utterly cringe. 

18. "If I Didn't Love You" by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

What is it with artists I like making bad songs in 2021? I like Carrie Underwood but this song with Jason Aldean just has nothing to it, there's no dramatic stakes or anything that makes me want to engage with the song which is all the more telling with Jason Aldean's flat delivery and the lack of chemistry between Aldean and Carrie Underwood. This song could have worked if it was two people who still love each other but the relationship has hit breaking point but that isn't the case here especially when it feels like 2021's "Nobody But You" by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani. I get why people like it but's not an interesting song to say the least and Carrie did better on "Remind Me" with Brad Paisley.

17. "Cold Beer Calling My Name" by Jameson Rodgers feat. Luke Combs

Anyone else tired of songs about beer and the fact there's songs about inanimate objects like a can of cold beer calling their name. Seriously?. I like Luke Combs and there'll be more of him later on the list  but my god, this just feels like a song doing the standard bros in country music tropes...cold beer, pretty girls and having a good time...these sort of country songs almost need to be extraordinary in the production for me to care about them or even like them as most of these are so ridiculously formulaic, it's not worth it.

16. "Same Boat" by Zac Brown Band

So Zac Brown Band's newest album "The Comeback" is thankfully a return to form after the 2019 disaster that was "The Owl" but why on earth was this song chosen as the single from it when there is better on the album? The clunky production and generic lyrics about how we're all fishing in the same boat and pulling fish from the same hole...I get what the song is trying to do in terms of bringing people together in the midst of a divisive time in America's history but it doesn't get there.

15. "Wild Hearts' by Keith Urban

I was all set to put this in the good tier but I've since heard it a couple more times and yeah no the instrumentation doesn't cover how pathetically cliche and limp the lyrics of this song are. Maan, Keith Urban has gone backward as a writer since "Fuse". 

Meh Tier

14. "Waves" by Luke Bryan

Look, Luke Bryan has a really good voice but dear god the material he records and releases are some really either forgettable or just plain awful nonsense and "Waves" falls into the former category, I couldn't tell you anything about this song other than it's a thing on country radio for some reason.

13. "Justified" by Kacey Musgraves

I actually think this song is pretty good, it's in the meh tier here because I don't believe that this is functionally a country song therefore shouldn't be on a country airplay chart and god damn it...the next two songs here have the same issue...fuck...

12. "Kids on Cassette" by The Wolfe Brothers

So The Wolfe Brothers are the first act of several here that will require some explanation for those reading this in other parts of the world. The Wolfe Brothers are essentially a country rock band comprised of brothers Tom and Nick Wolfe along with childhood friends Brodie Rainbird and Casey Kostiuk with this song being the title track from their fifth studio album "Kids on Cassette" and much lke "Justified"...this doesn't belong on country radio because it's more a pop song with some country elements...that's it.

11. "Run Out of Road" by Melanie Dyer

Shame this sort of country pop from Aussie singer/songwriter Melanie Dyer leans way too far into pop and little less into country but otherwise it's objectively fine even if it doesn't belong on country radio.

Decent 

10. "God Took His Time On You" by Casey Barnes

So here's an Australian Idol alumni with the latest single and while "Come Turn Me On" is one of my favourite songs of 2021, "God Took His Time On You" is a slower ballad and it all sounds really nice instrumentally but I don't know I am not a huge fan of songs that invoke religious figures to talk about how hot a girl is, it's a bit cringey and definitely lowered the song to the decent tier. 

9. "Cold As You" by Luke Combs

It's solid for what it is but when Luke Combs has done better and has better coming to the charts with his new single "Doin' Time", I doubt I will come back to this all that often even if it does all the basics well. 

Good Tier

8. "23" by Sam Hunt

Yeah I know...I'm in shock myself, I still think "Southside" is a terrible album and one of the worst albums of 2020 but "23" is actually proof that Sam Hunt is capable of writing a decent song with "23' being a wistful memory of a relationship when both he and this woman were 23 but it won't matter what she does in her life or what he does in his but they can't take back the time they had together when they were both twenty three however he still wishes her well with whatever she does in her life.The song is pretty solid. I'll take it. 

7. "Love Is Real" by Morgan Evans

So this is the second Morgan Evans song to wind up here and you know...I can kind of get behind this one even if I do think the lyrics are a bit cliched...I mean really...we get it...love is a real thing but you know it's at least got a bit driving momentum and Morgan Evans sounds like he is trying his damn best to sell the song...yeah by Morgan Evans standards, this is fine.

6. "Composure" by Southbound

So we now have an Australian all female country rock trio comprising Missy Lancaster, Sara Bernardo and Andrea Krakovska, they've had at least one Australian country airplay number one with "This is Us" but honestly "Composure" is their statement single because yeah, this is pretty good, I like how the song while being obviously rock but still manages to have its country groove in the guitars, I also like how the trio harmonise here. This was soo close to the excellent category...just a few small production issues that knocked it back.

Great.

5. "Raised Like That" by James Johnston

So James Johnston is a new face in Australian country, he definitely seems to have a fan base too with both his singles doing well on the iTunes chart that I suspect a breakthrough on the ARIA top 50 singles chart might be in order if his label can get the streaming game right (he already has over 200,000 listeners a month on Spotify which is impressive for a new artist) and I do get why because "Raised Like That" is about growing up in the small NSW town of Wingham and reflecting on how he was raised to work hard and give back and is well aware that he probably wouldn't be making country music right now if he wasn't raised to have a work ethic and work hard which is something he is thankful for. I like how catchy the song is. Looking forward to an album from James sometime in 2022!

4. "One Mississippi" by Kane Brown

Kane Brown has frustrated me especially with his more bent toward kind of insipid pop country so when I first heard about this song, I was worried and turns out I shouldn't have been because yeah this is a song I have listened to A LOT in 2021 since it was released. It reminds me a lot of the sounds and tones that were on Randy Hzouser's 2019 album "Magnolia"  and that hook kind of cements that with the subject matter being two people meeting at a bar to catch up and maybe go home together or maybe not but either way it's fine, I like how much of this song is just an absolute blast to sing along too. Less pop, more country would be fine by me though, Kane!

3. "Whatchawanna" by Cornell and Carr

So here's a duo that's going to take some explanation, Matt Cornell and Mike Carr are members of fellow country singer Adam Brand's backing band...a group that has found plenty of award success in the Australian country scene so yeah I wasn't really surprised that this song as a duo turned out to be just that perfect Sunday afternoon at the pub sing a long, it's just a really fun song and the attitude of both Cornell and Car carries this. Its a unapologetically silly do whatever the hell you want country song that harks back to the good old days of the pub sing along

2. "My Boy" by Elvie Shane

Oh I wanted to talk about this song months ago and honestly writing about it now is a good reminder that I need to hear that Elvie Shane album that dropped a few weeks ago because "My Boy is genuinely one of the most heartfelt country songs of the year, Shane is talking about being a step dad to his partner's son and how while the boy may not be his child by blood, he is still his and he will still be a father figure to the boy, it's a subject that's not commonly brought up in music so it kind of sticks out in the memory a bit. Great song!

1. "Live A Little" by Cass Hopetoun

'And the number one is from an Australian singer/songwriter hailing from the Blue Mountains, Cass Hopetoun has been notching success in the Australian country scene for the last couple of years and collabed with fellow Australian country star Andrew Swift on "Say the Word" for his most recent album but "Live A Little" might be Cass Hopetoun's best song to date, it's a song that goes for the route of Hopetoun urging people to take risks, step outside their comfort zone and live life rather than sticking with the same old routine as they have always done and I love how the guitar sounds on this song. Please check this song out if you get the opportunity. 

So to sum up this season of country music, we've got one shit song, five bad songs, four meh songs, two decent songs, three good songs and five excellent songs for a score of 57 out of 100 which is not that bad but it could always be better.

Anyway before we go...as I promised a quick ranking of the current ARIA singles top 20 from November 7.

Shit.

No songs in this tier

Bad

20. "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals

19. "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber

18. "Woman" by Doja Cat.

17. "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa

16. "Beggin'" by Maneskin

Meh

15. "Meet Me At Our Spot" by The Anxiety.

14. "Love Nwantiti (ah ah ah)" by Ckay

13. "Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran

Decent. 

12. "Moth to a Flame" by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd

11. "Shivers' by Ed Sheeran (Yeah, this song grew on me...)

Good.

10. "Ghost" by Justin Bieber

9. "My Universe" by Coldplay feat. BTS

8. "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat. SZA

Excellent

7. "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" by Lil Nas X

6. "Levitating" by Dua Lipa

5. "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow

4. "That's What I Want" by Lil Nas X

3. "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish

2. "Easy On Me" by Adele

1. "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo.

Score: 64 out of 100. Pretty good!

Good 1992 Vibrations. 22nd November. Layla Taste Yesterdays and Jump Around please

Well...that change right at the very top happened in an otherwise unremarkable week here so let's start with the top ten where to the shock of nobody, ridiculous sales saw "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men take the number one spot, there was nothing 'Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus could do especially as sales fell back against the surge that was "End of the Road"

The next three remained static that being "The Best Things in Life are free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson at number three, "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews at number four and "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley.

Rising two places to number six is "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses which is continuing it's really impressive resurgence as it pushed "Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail back to number seven and "Erotica" by Madonna back to number eight while "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff couldn't make up the gap to surpass anything above it so remains at number nine.

Rising four into the top ten this week and acting on my prediction last week is "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente at number ten. This is Frente's best single to date so yeah I am happy with this being here.

Gains

Charles & Eddie's insane traction continues because "Would I Lie to You?" jumped eight to 13 this week, the way this is going, it will hit the top ten soon.

Brian May broke into the top twenty rising from 23 to 18 with "Too Much Love Will Kill You" while The Divinyls are having a really good run with "I Ain't Going to Eat Out My Heart Anymore" up ten to 22. I don't mind either gain here gaining traction, I still like both songs.

What I DO mind is "Neighbour" by Ugly Kid Joe rising from 35 to 28, the headache that is "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC jumping from 45 to 29 and the utter mess that is "Jump!" by The Movement rising eleven off it's debut to 30.

"How Do You Do" by Roxette rebounded five to 31 while "Ebeneezer Goode" by The Shamen climbed from 40 to 33. 

Re Entries

Two re entries this week with the first of them being for The Sharp with "Spinosity (EP)" back at 44, the second is for Southern Sons as "Lead Me to Water" returned at 40

Losers.

"Breaking The Girl" by Red Hot Chili Peppers slipped eight places to 48 this week as interest in this song looks to have faded while "It's Probably Me" by Sting with Eric Clapton finally looks to be on the way out after hanging around for awhile as it tumbled ten places to 43 (More on Eric Clapton later)

"Drive" by R.E.M unfortunately fell five to 39 and "Humpin' Around" by Bobby Brown skidded seven to 37. Kylie Minogue's "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" fell eight places to 36 and "No Regrets" by Tom Cochrane suffered a nine place fall to 35.

Snap's "Rhythm is a Dancer" fell from 25 to 32 as it looks to be on the way out while "Do For You" by Euphoria took a slide from 16 to 23 and "My Name is Prince" by Prince and the New Power Generation fell five to 17.

New Entries

Four new entries and unfortunately we're starting on a bad note with...

50. “Jump Around” by House of Pain

We’re starting the new entries with an American hip hop/pop group called House of Pain with this song being produced by DJ Muggs from the group Cypress Hill. The song features prominent samples from 1963’s “Harlem Shuffle” by Bob & Earl and “Popeye the Hitchhiker’ by Chubby Checker but even with the samples I can’t say this makes the song any good, that grating squeal that sounds like a vinyl record being broken on the turntable is almost enough to make me want to turn the song off. Yeah, the song has its catchy moments but so do most sexually transmitted infections…NEXT…

 

47. “Layla” by Eric Clapton

Turns out this song is actually a cover! Believe or not Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon wrote this song which was than originally recorded in September 1970 by Derek and the Dominoes as the thirteenth track of their one and only album in 1970 “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs” however it’s worth noting there’s some controversy over the crediting of the piano part of the song to Rita Coolidge who was Jim Gordon’s girlfriend at the time.

As for song itself, it was apparently inspired by a 7^th century Arabian love story which would later go on to form the basis of Nizami Ganjavi’s 12^th century poem “The Story of Layla and Majnun” so of course an acoustic version of the song by Clapton hits the ARIA singles chart and look, for a song that’s allegedly about being in love, Clapton’s throaty delivery doesn’t do much for me and given it is an acoustic guitar performance, I guess it’s fine but really I think you should probably check out Derek and the Dominoes version instead

 

46. “Taste It” by INXS

Next up the fourth single from INXS’s album “Welcome to Wherever You Are” and well, this might be the best of the singles I’ve heard from the album so far, it’s got a nice rolling bass groove and Michael sounds great here but that groove is doing a LOT of heaving lifting here before the guitar kicks in. The song apparently being about the choices we make for ourselves and the paths those choices lead us down, if we choose to or not do something and the consequences for that decision lie waiting to happen. I don’t know if I like this because I am living in times different to those of the times in 1992 but yeah, this song hit a spot for me. Nice job, INXS

 

42. “Yesterdays” by Guns ‘n’ Roses

Finishing up the week with the third track on Guns ‘n’ Rose album “Use Your Illusion”, a nice piano and guitar ballad that really didn’t need Axl Rose sounding like he’d been shot straight out of a cannon his delivery doesn’t suit the one the song is going for here. Still it’s not that bad with lyrical sentiments about moving on and saying goodbye to the past or whatever misdeeds they are trying to move on from, it would be a really solid song if the vocals didn’t feel so god dang out of place.

 

So best and worst fell out easily this week with the worst of the week going to “Jump Around” by House of Pain and the best of the week going to “Taste It” by INXS which I am surprised about because their past three singles for that album did nothing for me.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Top Ten/Chart Review. 22nd November. All Too Well Bad Man Already Do It To a Taylor's Version of Red

 Well, this week the ARIA singles chart exploded with activity thanks to Taylor Swift releasing her re recording of "Red" and other assorted songs showing up here this week which all up makes for a pretty messy week on the chart overall and with Adele swinging in with an album bomb of her own next week...things are looking pretty interesting especially as there are still songs looking to sure up a place on the year end list that might have had their runs cut short

But anyway let's get to the top ten because we have a brand new number one and the eighth of this artist's career, "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift which rode to number one on the back of streaming. Now it's not clear which version ARIA are crediting as being the number one as there is the original version that was on "Red" and the ten minute version on the re recorded edition of "Red" so we'll wait and see with regard to the crediting (ARIA may have combined both versions regardless) but I'm also not sure that this will keep the number one come next week...

Which brings us to "Easy On Me" by Adele steady at number two. Now I would expect that with the album dropping on Friday that this will return to number and we'll have a meaty chunk of the album on the singles chart next week. Hell, the first quarter of  "30" is already on the Spotify daily top 200 songs for Australia.

All of this pushed "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa down two places to number three as it's streaming and sales could not much those above it. The same pretty much goes for "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber down to number four.

Also getting knocked back one is "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran to number five, "Bad Habits" also by Ed Sheeran to number six and "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals down to number seven as it spends a forty second week in the top ten. 

The biggest gainer of the week belongs to Silk Sonic's "Smokin' Out The Window" as it jumped a massive twenty six places to number eight to become Silk Sonic's highest charting single in Australia surpassing "Leave the Door Open' which debuted and peaked at number ten (deserved better...we be knew to quote the stans)

This pushed "Indistry Baby" by Lil Nss X feat. Jack Harlow back two to number nine and "One Right Now" by Post Malone and The Weeknd back to number ten.

Gains

I already mentioned "Smokin' Out the Window" by Silk Sonic rising twenty six places to hit the top ten at number eight. The only other gain this week was a one place gain to eleven for "Ghost" by Justin Bieber but that's about it

Re Entries

The album's release saw "Leave the Door Open" by Silk Sonic back at number 41. Nice to see! Just a shame we didn't get more songs from that Silk Sonic album on the chart.

Losses

So what remained of the chart lost this week thanks to Taylor Swift's album bomb so to keep my sanity in check, I am going to go through only the double digit losses. We begin with the 21 place loss to 50 for "A OK" by Tai Verdes while "Knife Talk" by Drake feat. 21 Savage and Project Pat dropped 16 to 49.

"Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac slipped twelve places to 47, "Acapulco" by Jason Derulo plunged 16 to 46 and "Dreams" by Jolyon Petch slumped 16 to 44.

"Love Tonight" by Shouse had it's lights turned off down ten to 42 while "Need to Know" by Doja Cat slithered down ten to 37, "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Nas X skidded down ten to 36 and "Missing Piece" by Vance Joy plummeted ten to 35.

Drop Outs.

So we have a whole quarter of the chart that fell out this week, I expect some of it to return in the weeks ahead.

Locked on the year end list: "The Business" by Tiesto, "Peaches" by Justin Bieber feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon, "Little Bit of Love" by Tom Grennan, "2055" by Sleepy Hallow, "Leave Before You Love Me" by Marshmello and Jonas Brothers and "Without You" by The Kid Laroi 

Question mark over making year end: "Out Out" by Jax Jones, Joel Corry, Charli XCX feat Saweetie, "Guess I'm In Love" by Clinton Kane, "Take My Breath" by The Weeknd and "Fair Trade" by Drake feat. Travis Scott.

Probably won't make year end and I hope it doesn't: "Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes (THANK YOU TAYLOR!), "Life Goes On" by Oliver Tree and "Way 2 Sexy by Drake feat. Future and Young Thug.

Old song filling up chart space: "Mr Brightside" by The Killers

Definitely won't make year end: "Mafia" and "Escape Plan" by Travis Scott.

New Entries

Fifiteen new entries this week and being it's an album bomb week for Taylor Swift's "Red (Taylor's version)" so here's the nine songs from that project I won't be covering in full (I am

21. I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor's Version) (They made this song worse with the re recording. Didn't like the original to begin with)
25. State of Grace (Taylor's Version)

27. 22 (Taylor's Version)
31. Nothing New (Taylor's Version) feat. Phoebe Bridgers  (This is a really good song, please check it out)

33. Message in a Bottle (Taylor's Version)
34. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor's Version) (See "I Knew You were trouble")
38. Treacherous (Taylor's Version)

43. I Bet You Think about Me (Taylor's Version) feat. Chris Stapleton (Could have given Chris more to do than to just serve backing vocals, Taylor)

45. I Almost Do (Taylor's Version)

So that still leaves us with six new entries and this is already a LONG post so I am going to endeavour to keep this short but let's begin with...

48. "Bad Man (Smooth Criminal)" by Polo G

We're not starting off with Taylor Swift this week, we're starting with a new song from Polo G and I am going to be honest, I kind of like this, Polo G samples Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" (which he did get clearance to do) and then launches into a flow that I've not heard from him before, he sounds harsher and rougher in verses referencing his gang and weapon activity before a hook referencing the hook of the song he is sampling. My only criticism of the song is that it's way too short so winds up feeling more like a fragment rather than a finished song but still for a fragment of a song...it's fine. 

39. "Do It To It" by Acraze feat. Cherish

I should have guessed songs used in Squid Game were going to wind up on the charts at some point. Acraze is a 25 year old EDM producer Charlie Duncker with an edit he made to a 2006 song by r'n'b girl group Cherish called '"Do It To It' feat. Sean Paul (who I guarantee none of you have thought about in years) and I mean really it's really your standard EDM/Houst dance song that makes a song that hasn't aged well at all. Again this for me has the feeling of something that's more than a little unnecessary and that's not discounting the fact the bass on this thing made me worry for the speakers on my computer. Next.

29. "Already Dead" by Juice WRLD 

So at what point are the music industry going to let Juice WRLD just...you know...rest in peace but regardless we've got a new single from him from an upcoming album called "Fighting Demons" and well this was a song that Juice WRLD teased in 2018 on social media so of course we get this song in 2021 and is it just me but is Juice WRLD either mixed too loud over that piano and clunky sounding trap groove? It just sounds like what 2018 would sound like and has aged rather badly even if I get the lyrics about substance abuse and heartbreak and how the two are mixed but this doesn't sound good sadly. Time to let Juice rest in peace and move on. 

19, "Run (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift feat. Ed Sheeran

So tiime to begin our exploration of three highest charting songs from the re recording of "Red" and this one is from the vault on the album and is the second on the album that Ed Sheeran is featured on (the other being "Everything Has Changed") and I am surprised that this one charted so high especially as Ed Sheeran has rapidly slipped into the backlash zone even despite "=" being pretty good however both Taylor and Ed do harmonise nicely here for a song about Taylor wanting to run away with her partner over a rather nice guitar. Shame it missed the final cut on the original album because this is pretty nice...check it out. 

14. "Red (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift

The title track which is a country song ("Red" originally was a deeply compromised album with Taylor trying to transition toward a pop sound she'd later go full on in 2014 with "1989" and I got to be honest I'm not feeling this one for some reason even with the catchy chorus...I don't know why either, could be the vocal mixing and odd Taylor sounds here. It's not precisely baaad but it's not a track that I really want to come back to either. 

1. "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift.

I'll be honest, I've never cared for which ex Taylor was writing about in her songs, mainly because delving into another human being's love life back in 2012 has never ever felt interesting so with all that in mind, this song is a favourite with Taylor's fanbase and yeah I can see why, this is Taylor's best vocal performance with some really nice production with Taylor telling the story of this relationship with a guy and how the relationship fell apart. It's not quite Taylor's best song in her discography as I've heard some critics say (cuts on "Folklore" are a little better in my opinion) but you know I don't mind this being number one for now, it's good.

That wraps up the week, a long one at that. Worst of the week goes to "Already Dead" by Juice WRLD...because wow...the production on that sucked. As for the best, well it's going to Taylor Swift (I was tempted to give it to Polo G but given how unfinished "Bad Man (Smooth Criminal) feels...) for "Run (Taylor's Version)" feat. Ed Sheeran just nudging out "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)"

Next week: Adele's album bomb swings in, we'll find out where tracks from "30" land on the chart when ARIA updates it on Friday at 5pm. 

Good 1992 Vibrations. 15th November. Bettadaze for Ebeneezer Goode on a Highway to Hell

 So this week was a wild one, multiple new entries a little lower down the chart and it looks like the challenge for the number one spot is on because while "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus maintained the number one spot but as I said last week, the sales look like they are slowing for this which makes it vulnerable to the continuing momentum of "End of the Road' by Boyz II Men which rose one place to number two and looks the most likely song to take the number one spot if not next week...soon.

It pushed "The Best Things in Life are Free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson back to number three as unfortunately sales just couldn't match those of "End of the Road". The same goes for "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews which remains stuck at number four..

"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley up two to number five but I suspect that might be because the songs behind it are fading even with "Ain't No Doubt' by Jimmy Nail steady at number six however "Erotica" by Madonna down two to number seven.

However the rest of the top ten kept the status quo for the week with "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses at number eight, "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff at number nine and "Keep the Faith' by Bon Jovi on number ten. 

Gains

So "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente climbed nine spots off it's debut last week to hit 14. I would not be surprised if this goes top ten in the next few weeks. 

Felix returned to the top twenty with "Don't You Want Me' rebounding from 21 to 17 while 2 Unlimited's "The Magic Friend" also recovered up from 33 to 19 however one of the biggest gains off a debut from last week belonged to "Would I Lie to You" by Charles and Eddie which somehow jumped from 45 all the way to the cusp of the top twenty at 21...that kind of blew my mind a bit, the song is fine but for it to gain this much traction...really?

Brian May's "Too Much Love Will Kill You" continued it's upward trajectory as it surged nine places to 23 while "I Ain't Going to Eat Out My Heart Anymore" got a decent sized boost up from 46 to 32. 

Re Entries

So a re entry that doesn't really make a lot of sense here is "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" by Rozalla at 49...that seems really strange for it to come back..

Losers

So we have "Please Don't Go" by K.W.S on the way out down from 34 to 47 while the moon is setting on Margaret Urlich's "Boy in the Moon" down from 37  to 44.

Unfortunately "It's Not Over" by Rockmelons feat. Deni Hine just couldn't get a foothold on the chart as it slipped from 31 to 42  while Roxette's "How Do You Do" slipped ten to 36 and "Neighbour" by Ugly Kid Joe down five to 30. 

"Tennessee" by Arrested Development down from 24 to 31  while former number one "Humpin' Around" by Bobby Brown slipped from 19 to 30. "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" by Kylie Minogue skidded ten places to 28.

Sir Mix A Lot's "Baby Got Back" lost all it's gains from last week to tumble back to 22. 

New Entries

Seven new entries this week so going to keep it kind of brief for each song, let's start with...

15^th November

50. “Bettadaze” by Boom Crash Opera

The first four new entries are from Australian acts and we’re starting with the latest single from Boom Crash Opera this week, “Bettadaze” is the lead single from their third album “Fabulous Beast” to be released in 1993 and look this is fine? The guitar riff is doing a lot of heavy lifting here especially as I don’t think the song is anything all that special lyrically even if the chorus and the way it soars reminds me of U2 while the rest of the song seems very Boom Crash Opera and to degree that might be jarring but ehh, the song is fine, check it out if you are curious.

 

48. “Impossible to Fly” by Baby Animals

So here we have the first new music from Baby Animals since “One Word” charted…it’s legit impossible to find a studio version of this song so I’ll have to make do with the live version of this song and well, it’s a more chilled laidback song than what you might expect from Baby Animals with lots of jazz elements although the song does step it up with drums in the latter half but as usual it’s frontwoman Suze DeMarchi stealing the show, her vocals are just on point. I recommend checking this song out, it’s great.

 

45. “Highway to Hell (Live)” by AC/DC

Ooh wow…this is tonal whiplash, going from a chill almost jazz Baby Animals song to a live version of one of AC/DC’s more obnoxious songs is a bit much, I’ve never liked AC/DC, I find “Long Way to the Top” to be absolutely awful (put those bloody bagpipes away), as for this song, taken from the 1979 album of the same name,  sure the guitars have some good are just headache inducing, also if you are on a fucking highway to hell, shouldn’t the instrumentation sound more dark and imposing? It’s just too bright for a song where hook intimates he is on a highway to hell. Now I need some paracetamol to deal with this headache.

 

43. “Holiday” by Ratcat

So the fourth of our Aussie new entries comes from Ratcat who have taken the opportunity to make a cheeky rock song about going on a holiday and there being so much for them to do, it’s catchy but there’s about as much depth put into the writing of this song to the point it sounds like they actually took a holiday while writing the song although to be fair they do mention surfing and suntanning while on this holiday and the instrumentation does pick up on the vibe of a holiday…I guess I can tolerate this?

 

41. “Jump!” by The Movement

Oh god, another week another techno electronic song…I swear most of these songs are starting to blend together into ear grating mindless incoherence but anyway here we have American duo called The Movement with their song called “Jump!” which features clattering noise, somebody screaming “ARE YOU READY TO JUMP? JUMP JUMP!” into incoherence, shrill noises that convinced me that the studio was on fire and needed to be evacuated during the recording only for the noises to get shriller as the song went on and includes sections of 2 Unlimited’s “You Ready For This”, a song I am ambivalent on at best. No, this song has no right to steal the title of Kriss Kross’s far better hit from this year, all The Movement did was make my headache from AC/DC even worse and rather than jump, I just want to turn this song off.

 

40. “Ebeneezer Goode” by The Shamen

More electronic music this time courtesy of Scottish group The Shamen…a song that got huge in the UK going to number one there and unlike most electronic music in 1992, I can appreciate this one because at least it’s got a solid as hell groove and a bit of a melody and even if the lyrics sneak in references to the drug ectasy, I don’t mind this especially in comparison to the rest of what we have heard in terms of electronic music this year. It’s fine.

 

29. “Tequila” by ALT & The Lost Civilization

One of the other big trends of 1992…cover songs is also covered this week thanks to American rapper ALT and the Lost Civilization with this cover being of a 1958 Mexican flavoured rock and roll instrumental written by Chuck Rio and recorded by The Champs, it wound up being a considerable hit so of course what is needed in 1992 is for Alt and The lost Civilization to throw a rap verse over what is a pretty timeless groove and melody where the verses throw in the names of all the alcohol where he is chilling on the beach with his mates Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. All the others mentioned in the song are the names of various alcoholic cocktails, look, as far as covers go if you can get past some of the cringey rap bars, it’s not too bad…it is silly though.

 

And that wraps up the week and maan, bit of a rough week here but best of the week is going to “Impossible to Fly” by Baby Animals, just edging out both “Holiday” by Ratcat and “Ebeneezer Goode” by The Shamen.

As for worst…that’s going to whatever the hell “Jump!” by The Movement was…I don’t ever want to hear that again.

ARIA Singles Top Fifty Top Ten/Chart Review 15th November. One Smokin' Out The Window Right Now

 *** My thoughts and condolences to the nine people who died, to the families of those who died and to the many hundreds of people injured at Astroworld Festival in Houston as result of a crowd stampede last weekend. May those who are found didn't do enough to ensure the health and safety of all attending the event suffer the most serious of consequences.***

This week is a relative cool down week even though it really doesn't feel like it given we got one big debut in the top ten (we'll get to it) and three others outside the top ten and various moves which are interesting to say the least but anyway let's get to the top ten because for a second week we have "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa at number one thanks mostly to being a behemoth on sales even if it's not leading on streaming. Seems everyone loves this song...except me.

Adele's "Easy On Me" rebounded to number two thanks to strength on streaming and doing alright on sales...the song should get a boost this week thanks to the special on Channel Seven this weekend.

"Stay" by The Kid Laroi also got a rebound up two to number three this week but this song is starting to bleed a bit and there are some really strong songs rising behind it on streaming.

That's probably also the same case for both "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran down two to number four and Ed Sheeran's other hit "Bad Habits" down one to number five, they are both on their way out now

Holding steady at number six and stubbornly refusing to fuck off is "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals. Its still got traction on streaming somehow...thanks for nothing, Tik Tok.

Also holding steady is "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow at number seven. This song's hanging around in the top ten is impressive.

Riaing two places to number eight is "Meet Me At Our Spot" by The Anxiety, it's doing nicely on streaming and on sales. I just wish the song was better. 

The biggest debut of the week belongs to Post Malone with 'One Right Now" feat. The Weeknd. We'll get to the song's actual quality later but it's got streaming on side but sales really aren't on board just yet so this song remains an interesting proposition going forward.

However it did push "That's What I Want" by Lil Nas X down one spot to number ten and I suspect it might be the song to make way for one or two new top ten entries next week.

Gains

"Better Days" by Neiked and Mae Muller feat. Polo G climbed four places to 16 while "Acapulco' by Jason Derulo claimed five places to 30. Okay, this is not funny, we not need :Acapulco" becoming a hit, Australia. 

"Mr Brightside" by The Killers climbed five places to number 45

Losers

No real major losers this week although a couple of songs did lose five places with "Overpass Graffiti" by Ed Sheeran down to 13, "Moth to a Flame" by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd down five to number 20, "Leave Before You Love Me" by Marshmello and the Jonas Brothers to 37, "Out Out' by Jax Jones, Joel Corry, and Charli XCX feat. Saweetie to 39, "Peaches' by Justin Bieber feat Daniel Caesar and Giveon down to 46 and "Life Goes On" by Oliver Tree down to 49 because the virality is wearing off (thank goodness)

Drop Outs

So of the four drop outs, three of them are from Ed Sheeran with "Visiting Hours" (I don't think it will make the year end list unfortunately), "First Times" and "Tides all leaving.

The other exit belongs to "Money" by Lisa...a song I'm kind of glad is gone becaue yeah, it wasn't good at all.

New Entries

There are four new entries this week however during the week I made the decision that I wouldn't cover the two new Travis Scott songs that both charted this week nor will they be up for best or worst of the week, I can't listen to either "Escape Plan" or "Mafia" and not hear them in the context of what happened at Astroworld Festival and with everything that's piling up about what happened, I decided it's best if the focus remain on helping victims and their families rather than on Travis Scott's new music.

However both songs did indeed chart with "Escape Plan" at 22 and "Mafia" at 47 so with that out of the way, there are just two new entries to review beginning with...

34. "Smokin' Out The Window' by Silk Sonic

The newest single from the super duo Anderson Paak and Bruno Mars which released last week before their album dropped this week and...this song is GREAT. I have not been able to stop listening to it since it was released on Friday, not only is it smooth and really god damn funky. The writing here is hilarious with Bruno complaining that this woman's kids are treating his home like it's a fast food joint then there's the bridge which is basically now a meme where Anderson sings "This bitch got me payin' her rent, payin' for trips", I just love how incredibly silly and loose this feels which is appropriate with what the album as a whole is going for with that 70s soul and funk sound but with enough groove and soul to keep the song from completely being lost to the silliness. I get the feeling that this song is on the way to becoming a hit judging by how quickly the song is rising on streaming services. Although can we get a mash up of this song with "Gold Digger" by Jamie Foxx at some point?

9. "One Right Now" by Post Malone feat. The Weeknd

So after the public overwhelmingly rejected "Motley Crew", Post Malone is back and this time he has brought along one of the biggest music stars in the world right now, The Weeknd, for the apparent lead off single for Posty's new album and well this is as about as pop as I've ever heard Post Malone go with the synths and the incredibly bouncy groove that The Weeknd probably sounds way too at home over while Post Malone does well here, he seems to have lost some of that yodel that could still be prevalent in his music previously but it kind of makes sense here because this is a song where both Post Malone and The Weeknd are pissed about being screwed over by a person and how easy this person seems to think screwing Post Malone over is, the lyrics paint a rather sour and angry picture in stark contrast to the pop production. I don't hate this because yeah that groove does wonders but I do wonder how often I'll come back to it.

That ends our week, I'm not giving out worst of the week this week mostly because "One Right Now" is not that that bad however best of the week is going to "Smokin' Through The Window" by Silk Sonic and I urge you all give Silk Sonic's album "An Evening With Silk Sonic" a listen...you won't regret it.

Next week...might be a stacked one because he got a LOT of major releases including the Red re recording by Taylor Swift, Silk Sonic's album and that new Jessica Mauboy single. We'll find out how it all shakes out on Friday at 5pm.

Good 1992 Vibrations. 8th November. What's Wrong With Talking Sly on Kelly Street?

 So I can't help but think change is in the wings looking at this week's chart especially with what is rising in the top ten and looking like a threat to our current number one and speaking of that number one that remains "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus, it held on thanks to sales that are starting to slow down a little bit however it was enough to hold up over "The Best Things in Life Are Free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson which remains stuck at number two however I don't see this song as the threat to our number one.

The threat may well come from "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men which climbed four places to number three and it's got rapidly surging sales behind it, this is is looming as major player in the weeks ahead.

It forced "The Day You Went Away' by Wendy Matthews back to number four and "Erotica" by Madonna back to number five as their sales were no match for those of "End of the Road".

It was also a similar tale for "Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail back to number six and "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley back one to seven.

Rebounding two places to number eight is "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses and "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff which returned to the top ten up two places to number nine.

Then we have "Keep The Faith' by Bon Jovi rounding out the top ten rising three places to number ten to spend a first week inside the top ten.

Gains

So "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix A Lot rebounded six places to break back into the top twenty at number sixteen while Jon Secada's "Just Another Day" also broke into the top twenty up from 23 to 17.

In better news, "Digging in the Dirt" by Peter Gabriel climbed from 39 to 23 while "Too Much Love Will Kill You" by Brian May which jumped nine places to 32.

"Lead Me to Water" by Southern Sons climbed from 42 to 36 and "Dancing Queen" by ABBA climbed from 46 to 39. 

Losers

In good news, "Sesame's Treet" by Smart E's is on the way out as it fell fourteen places to 50 while "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane down from 30 to 44. 

While "Breaking The Girl" by Red Hot Chili Peppers had its somewhat weird momentum slow to a halt down ten spots to 41 while "I'll Be There' by Mariah Carey is down six to 40. 

2 Unlimited's "The Magic Friend" down eight to 33 while "Humpin' Around" by Bobby Brown down five to 19. 

New Entries

Five new entries this week so let's get the show on the road with...

49. “What’s Wrong with That Girl?” by Rick Price

The third single from Rick Price’s album “Heaven Knows” and given the successful year Price has had, I am not surprised that this single has been released. “What’s Wrong With That Girl?” is definitely a catchy enough song with a pretty incredible guitar solo…the instrumentation here is really the star here because the lyrics here don’t really do much other than Price wondering what is up with this girl who is being distant and wondering how he can ‘break into her world’ because he is intensely attracted to her. It’s a step down from both “Not a Day Goes By” and “Heaven Knows”.

 

48. “Talking Sly” by The Sharp

Ahh so here’s The Sharp, a three piece pop rockabilly group hailing from Melbourne with “Talking Sly” being the lead single from their EP “Spinosity” (which ARIA credited rather than the single “Talking Sly”) and features Piet Collins, who has been writing episodes of Neighbours and well this an interesting song, it’s definitely not bad, the guitars have plenty of energy and while I think the vocals could have afforded to be louder. The song is about a person wondering if they even know their partner anymore and wonders why said partner won’t talk to them. This is fine, check it out if you are curious.

 

47. “Shake Your Head” Was (Not Was)

We revisit the year 1983 because that’s the original release date of this song as it appears on American group Was (Not Was) album “Born to Laugh at Tornadoes” from that year before it somehow got re recorded and remixed by Steve “Silk” Hurley with the song featuring Kim Basinger and rerecorded Ozzy Osbourne vocals. All I can say is the production on this song is a nightmare who decided that squealing synth between the verses and chorus was a good idea? It sounds like a cat suffering a slow painful death and when the hook literally is just ‘shake your head’, time to move on.

 

45. “Would I Lie to You” by Charles and Eddie

Okay, so this song was penned by British born songwriters Michael Leeson and Peter Vale, the pair behind Sheena Easton’s “One Man Woman” with “Would I Lie to You” being handed to American duo Charles Pettigrew  and Eddie Chacon and it’s certainly quite the pop/soul/r’n’b song that likely would work on radio as the song reassures this girl that he’d never lie to her and that she can look into his eyes and trust him, it’s fine, Charles and Eddie have good harmonies and the backing vocals give the song more of that soul tinge so if you are curious, it’s worth hearing.

 

25. “Accidently Kelly Street” by Frente

Finishing the week with Frente and given how much I am not a fan of their previous smash single from earlier in 1992, I was wary heading into this so imagine my surprise hearing “Accidently Kelly Street” and realizing that this slice of breezy indie pop was actually pretty solid, the vocals are not as obnoxious as they were on “Ordinary Angels” and the guitars give the song this next door vibe which makes sense given the song was written after a member of the band mistakenly announced to the rest of the band that he was moving to Kelly Street to which lead vocalist, Angie Hart suggested the song be called “Accidently Kelly Street” (I realize ‘accidently’ is misspelled but the band decided to keep the misspelling)

I think it’s a pretty cute, sweet song and a improvement on whatever “Ordinary Angels” was, it’s also getting the best new entry of the week.

As for the worst…that’s going to Was (Not Was) for “Shake Your Head” a pointless and unnecessary remix.

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 8th November. Overpass Graffiti of First Times has seen Better Days thanks to Tides

 This week was surprising in more ways than one mostly because we got a new number one that I absolutely wasn't expecting nor saw coming and while we did get some impact from Ed Sheeran's album, it was incredibly muted with only a couple of songs managing to chart this week so he definitely doesn't have the overwhelming presence on the chart that he did with "Divide" back in 2017 although I would argue "Equals" is a much better album than "Divide" however let's get to the top ten because the new number one is one of the big stories of the week. 

Riding massive digital sales momentum "Cold Heart (PNAU remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa took the number one spot and I guess it surprised me because it's streaming while good isn't the strongest and kind of forgot that it's an absolute titan on digital sales. It's Elton John's sixth number one and he surpasses Sir Paul McCartney as the oldest artist to have a number one hit in Australia while for Dua Lipa, it's her first number one and given my feelings about "Cold Heart" (see my worst hit songs list in January sometime), I'm disappointed it's this that gave her her first number one in Australia rather than the excellent songs on "Future Nostalgia" but anyway...

"Shivers" by Ed Sheeran rose off gains from the album release to rise three places to number two. All this saw last week's number one "Easy On Me" by Adele slip back to number three despite being the leader on streaming this week!

Then we have former chart topper "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran hold steady at number four and another former chart topper "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber take a welcome to place slide to number five.

"Heatwaves" by Glass Animals and "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow remained steady at six and seven respectively.

A new entry at number eight and the first of the three new Ed Sheeran entries from "Equals" with "Overpass Graffiti" riding solid streaming and sales to debut in the top ten, we'll talk about this song's quality a little later.

Lil Nas X's second song inside the top ten "That's What I Want" got a one place boost to number nine.

Finally, breaking into the top ten is "Meet Me At Our Spot" by The Anxiety thanks to streaming. Guess people really like this one...

Gains

The lone biggest gain of the week belongs to "Acapulco" by Jason Derulo which rose nine spots to 35 and looks like it has got traction going forwards. Folks, we do not need to be making Jason Derulo's stupidest song to date a hit!

Re Entries

So there's two returns this week with one being "Mr Brightside" by The Killers back at number 50 while the album release saw the wonderful "Visiting Hours" by Ed Sheeran return at 29 (I really want "Visiting Hours" to make the year end at this point, there's still time)

Losers

Okay so the losers this week saw "Fair Trade" by Drake feat. Travis Scott slip nine to 48 while "Way 2 Sexy" feat. Future and Young Thug fell into a puddle  down six to 39 and "Knife Talk" feat. 21 Savage and Project Pat slipped seven to 33...I actually expect the latter to rebound thanks to attention from the video.

"Money" by Lisa is going broke down nine to 46 while "Little Bit of Love" by Tom Grennan skidded ten places to 42 (I'm so god damn tired of this song so kind of glad to see it on the way out).

Finally, "Take My Breath" by The Weeknd down eight to 38.

Drop Outs

So I am not that unhappy with the exits this week, two of them being "Someone Like You" and "Rolling in the Deep" both by Adele. 

Also I do think "Get Into It (Yuh)" by Doja Cat will return next week (It's got a video coming) along  with "Alone with You" by Arz and "Obsessed with You" by Central Cee.

The only song that likely won't return is "On My Knees" by Rufus Du Sol.

New Entries

We only have four new entries this week so let's start with...

43. "Tides" by Ed Sheeran

So the first of three Ed Sheeran songs we'll discuss is the one rock leaning song that appears on every Ed Sheeran album and yeah, this is one of my favourite songs on "=". Ed makes me wish he would just cut that god damn rock album already, I would care if it was a pastiche to late 80s U2 where the guitars just go nuts like they do in the intro on "Tides", a song about the birth of Ed's daughter and how his life has changed since becoming a dad, it's a thoughtful and introspective rock song reflecting on the arrival of his little girl into the world. Definitely check this one out if you are keen on hearing the new Ed Sheeran album in any compacity.

31. "First Times" by Ed Sheeran

There's a lot of introspection and reflection on this album and this track is no different as Sheeran sings about the many things he did for the first time when he became an adult over a gentle acoustic guitar, things like achieving his dream of performing in front of 80,000 at Wembley Stadium and meeting the girl of his dreams and the moments he has had with her, yeah it's a slightly corny and dorky song but I'm not really above a gentle acoustic ballad with strings from Ed Sheeran. It's fine.

 

20. "Better Days" by Neiked & Mae Muller feat. Polo G

Oh so the person behind the ephemerally annoying "Sexual" back in 2016 returns bringing English singer songwriter Mae Muller and well known American rapper Polo G with him for a song that seems set to be a hit well into next year and well, I'm pretty indifferent on this one mostly because Mae Muller's vocals are ones that can be easily ignored, she's only a slight upgrade on the basically forgotten Bebe Rexha or hell, most of the other disposable female singers that have come and gone in recent years, sure Polo G is pretty good here but I'm not sure this is a song that's got much replay value for me.

8. "Overpass Graffiti" by Ed Sheeran

The latest single from "=" for Ed Sheeran and you know, I actually really like this one! Yeah, it's a song where Ed sings about a break up that he just can't let go of or forget about it to the point where it lingers in his mind akin to the graffiti seen on the overpass, there's a warmth and sincerity that even with the cooler instrumentation and the percussion that slightly louder than what it should be but the song reminds a lot of the mid to late 80s pop ballads, it's got this good driving rhythm that I really really like so yeah, definitely one to check out.

"Overpass Graffiti" also earns the best of the week, all the Ed songs that charted are really good...some of the hate Ed cops is serious tall poppy syndrome nonsense. 

Worst of the week is going to "Better Days" by Neiked and Mae Muller feat. Polo G, it's not that bad but when Ed's songs stand out just that little more...I'm sorry.

Next week...wow, this week's New Music Friday was loaded...likely Travis Scott, that new collab between Post Malone and The Weeknd plus hopefully some Silk Sonic, if we are that lucky but we'll find out when the chart updates at 5pm on Friday

Good 1992 Vibrations. 1st November I Wonder Why I Ain't Gonna Eat Out Dancing Queen Anymore

 Alright so we've a bit of a calmer week here however it doesn't stop the top ten from being insane with all the movement happening there so let's start there even if there's no change to the top three, "Achy Bteaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus continues it's stubborn hold on the number one spot for another week ahead of "The Best Things in Life are Free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson remains at number two while "The Day You Went Away' by Wendy Matthews is stuck at number three...the margins were too big for any overtaking.

That might make "The Day You Went Away" vulnerable to Madonna's "Erotica" which climbed 12 places to number four this week....I get it but come on the song isn't that good.

Remaining at number five is 'Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail however it's got "Sometimes Love just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley right behind it as it jumped four to number six.

However the song that looks to have a stack of momentum going forward is "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men up six to and into the top ten at number seven, think this has the potential to be a challenger but we will have to see.

"Love Is In the Air" by John Paul Young was a victim of all the shifting as it slipped four to number eight then to round it out, we have "My Name is Prince" by Prince and the New Power Generation steady at number nine and "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses down two to number ten.

Gains.

Well we're starting on a bad note this week because "Something Good" by Utah Saints somehow rose from 30 to 16 this week which is not a good sign however the tolerable "Do You Want Me" by Felix climbed eight spots to break into the top twenty at 18. 

"The Magic Friend" by 2 Unlimited jumped from 41 to 25 while "Knockin' On Heaven's Door' by Guns 'n' Roses rose from 34 to 27.  "Breaking the Girl" by Red Hot Chili Peppers climbed five to 31.

I'm happy that "Drive" by R.E.M climbed twelve off it's debut to 38 and "Too Much Love Will Kill You" by Brian May rose eight to 41 however K.W.S's cover of  "Rock Your Baby" climbed seven to 40 because of course it did.

Re Entries

Just the one re entry with "Pressure Drop" by Izzy Stradlin back at 47.

Losers

As for the losers, well there were quite a few top ten hits that fell hard this week like "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins slipped eleven to 49 while "Amigos Para Siempre" by Jose Carreras and Sarah Brightman fell twelve places to 37, "Please Don't Go" by K.W.S skidded like the proverbial shit stain of a song it is from 22 to 35, "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane fell nine to 30 and Sir Mix A Lot's "Baby Got Back" stumbled six to 21. 

Finally "White Men can't Jump" by Riff and "Die For You" by Euphoria both fell five places to 11 and 12 respectively

New Entries

Three new entries this week, starting with...

48. “I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore” by The Divinyls

We’re starting off the week in complicated fashion as this could take a bit to explain so this song was written by Pam Sawyer and Laurie Barton in 1965 and intended to be recorded by a British Invasion artist however New Jersey act The Young Rascals had heard the song and liked it enough to subsequently record the song and release it as their debut single in November of the same year, it would only reach 52 on the Billboard Hot 100, it helped to establish The Young Rascals on the American music scene while in Australia, it would reach a peak of 48 here.

This takes us to how it appears on the chart this week in 1992 courtesy of The Divinyls recording a cover of the song for the film “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and released as the second single from their compilation album “The Collection” and so how is the song?

Well, it’s certainly a Divinyls spin on a 1960s song which they’ve managed to make into their own courtesy of the reworking of the riff and Chrissy Amphlett killing it with the attitude that she’s not going to be made to eat her heart out anymore by anyone, I wasn’t wild about the original version but yeah, I dig this cover. Nice job, Divinyls!

 

46. “Dancing Queen’ by ABBA

I am pretty certain that this isn’t a ‘new’ entry to any such degree, it was a number one for ABBA in 1976 so I am bewildered as to why it was classified as such but anyway we do have to talk about it because “Dancing Queen” has been re released by the band to help promote the group’s greatest hits compilation and really given we are dealing with an absolute classic pop song, there isn’t that much to be said about it, it’s stood the god damn test of time which is about the biggest compliment you can give a pop song where the cycle of attention is really short so yeah, absolute classic.

 

44. “I Wonder Why” by Curtis Stigers

Okay, so here we have the debut single from American singer songwriter Curtis Stigers and it comes from his self-titled debut album and unfortunately I am not feeling this song at all, Stigers voice is really nasal which would have benefitted some rougher production but instead its really smooth and really jazz based with the saxophone etc. The lyrics also feel really really clingy…it’s not precisely terrible but given the number of ballads I’ve heard in 1992, I am not going to remember it either.

 

I am going to disqualify ABBA from best or worst mostly because it’s already a god dang classic pop song so best of the week is going to The Divinyls for “I Ain’t Going to Eat My Heart Out Anymore”. Curtis Stigers takes worst of the week for “I Wonder Why”, again it’s not precisely all that terrible but it’s forgettable.