Oh Not That Song Again..."From a Distance" by Bette Midler (1991)

Don't think I've made any secret of the fact that I don't like religion and all the problems that especially organised religion brings with it so when I started this series I really wasn't keen on starting with a song that cakes itself in a religious bent but none the less here we are starting with Bette Midler's 1991 hit "From a Distance" mainly because I have been wanting to express the pain that this song gives me every time I hear it.

However let's do a little background before we dig into why "From a Distance" sucks, Bette Midler, at the time, of this song was an ultra successful recording artist and actress, this song was released off the back of the massive success of  the song "Wind Beneath My Wings" and the film "Beaches" and she then decided to record "From a Distance" in 1990 which was a cover of a Nanci Griffith country song written by songwriter Julie Gold released in 1988 and became a number nine hit in Ireland, it was released in late 1990 and peaked at number two on the ARIA singles chart in 1991. It's also important to note that this song came out at the time of the Gulf War. 

Anyway enough of that...now, let's get stuck into the actual song and yeah, the nice opening organs and then Bette Midler opens her mouth and sings the opening verse.

"From a distance

The world looks blue and green

And the snow capped mountains white"

Well yeah but from that same kind of distance the earth is also shades of brown, red and gray, the earth isn't just green grass, blue oceans and white snow capped mountains. Did the writer forget about arid deserts, droughts and grey clouds in the sky too.

We continue

"From a distance
The ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight"

Unless the eagle is flying toward outer space and swooping back down, you aren't going to see an eagle from the kind of distance you are thinking of. Also oceans meet rivers not quaint little streams!

Then we get to the chorus and this is where this song takes a turn from being factually inaccurate to really creepy.

"From a distance
There is harmony
And it echoes through the land

It's the voice of hope

It's the voice of peace

It's the voice of every man"

So I get that this mantra is supposed to rally people and make them feel good but even from that distance Midler has sung of...what harmony echoes through the land? We've always had some kind of war or trouble in the world since humans inhabited it, Also the world isn't just one big land mass either. It's just feel good wishy washy made to make the listener feel good and not see the song for the ridiculous rot it is.

"From a distance

We all have enough

And no one is in need

And there are no guns,

No bombs, and no disease

No hungry mouths to feed"

Again this is wishy washy feel good nonsense,this is somebody living in a dream world where no guns, bombs or disease exist and nobody is going hungry, it's this false distant utopia that doesn't ring true or connect at all and even if it is meant to sell this ideal utopia why is the production so fucking miserable and why does this song get even cornier?

"From a distance

We are instruments

Marching in a common band

Playing songs of hope

Playing songs of peace

They are the songs of every man"

Actually depends on the person, the songs that the writers of this song were singing are likely not the songs the every man are singing or connect to because while yes. we are all human, we are all different and look at a piece of music differently. This is the writer of this song living in some dream world that everybody is dancing around a fire singing "Kumbaya" and "The Land of Hope and Glory" at the top of their voices...then we get to the whole creepy point of this song...

"God is watching us

God is watching us

God is watching us

From a distance"

Holy shit, all that shit about us marching in a common band and how the world is just shades of blue, green and white just to tell us that some God is a Big Brother type fixture watching from a distance...that is just really creepy, even as somebody who is agnostic, this is really creepy in some of th worst ways possible and its matched by how miserable and lifeless the production is but we get a brief break from this creepy God watching us for an anti war epithet.

"From a distance
You look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance
I just cannot comprehend
What all this fighting's for"

So this person looks like your friend and yet you are at war with them? If you are at war with somebody, they aren't your friend, they are your enemy!. Also of course you can't comprehend what the fighting is for if you stand at a distance from it...geezus, doesn't take much to read a newspaper or something instead of pretending you aren't on this planet.

And from there we're back to the main hook about harmony, voices and how some predator called "God" is watching us all from a distance...this song when it's not being creepy, doesn't make a lot of sense and has a lot of vague platitudes. 

Good 1992 Vibrations. 19th July. This Used to Be My Sexy MF so I Don't Care

Ughh...fair warning folks, this week was not a good one in a lot of ways and there are two new entries that pissed me off, one I didn't expect to do that either and when I look at our top ten...it moved in ways that are somewhat depressing because we got a new number one this week..."Save the best for Last" by Vanessa Williams, yep, we now have a gaping hole of a bland sweet nothing of a song at number one even if its not a strong number as it got to the top mostly because it got enough sales

However right behind it is "Hazard" by Richard Marx which moved up to number two and looks set to take the number one next week if "Save the Best for Last" falters.

This pushed last week's number one "Jump" by Kriss Kross down two places to number three as its sales fell away but it remained ahead of "Too Funky" by George Michael and "Cry" by Lisa Edwards (I'm seriously shocked at how well this song is doing right now).

However all three songs are facing a challenge from...and I cannot believe this is happening..."Please Don't Go" by K.W.S which jumped nine places to slot into the top ten at number six, folks, we don't need anymore shitty covers of great songs on the year end list....JUST STOP already.

Hell, I'd even take "Clunk (EP)" by Frente doing better but it slipped one spot to number seven this week.

In better news, the beautiful "Heaven Knows" by Rick Price climbed four places to number eight pushing back "I Can Feel It" by Radio Freedom to number nine.

Finally the biggest loser of all the frantic shuffling was "Take It from Me" by Girlfriend as the former number one slipped from number seven to number ten.

Gains

So what else gained big this week outside of "Please Don't Go" by K.W.S?. Well, "Abba Esque" by Erasure jumped five places to 15 which is good however it brought "Beauty and the Beast" by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson with it as broke into the top twenty surging from 23 to 18...why?

Then there's the questionable gains for "God Gave Rock n Roll to You II" by KISS which jumped ten places to 22...that's not a good sign. At least "Make Love Like A Man" by Def Leppard jumped from 39 to 24 this week.

"Just Take My heart" by Mr Big surged ten places to 27 bringing "She's Got that Vibe" by R.Kelly and Public Announcement up twelve places to 28 with it and I'm fine with the latter...the song is still pretty good.

Then we have songs rising off their debuts last week with "Love Is Holy" by Kim Wilde surging up from 45 to 29 and "I'll be There" by Mariah Carey rising eighteen to 30.

Losers

So there's good news here because "James Brown is Dead" slumped down from 34 to 49 and seems to be finally on the way out...good! See ya on the worst list.

Unfortunately "Fathers Day" by Weddings Parties Anything slumped six places to 47 while "Smells like Nirvana" by Weird Al Yankovic tumbled ten places to 44.

Former number one "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers slipped from 27 to 43 while "Remedy" by The Black Crows needs a cure for its twenty place slide to 41.

"In the Closet" by Michel Jackson is heading further back into the closet on the charts as it fell ten to 40 while "Djapana (Sunset Dreaming)" by Yothu Yindi slipped twelve spots to 38.

"Midlife Crisis" by Faith No More is experiencing a mid charts crisis as it fell six to 37. "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam slumped from 29 to 36 and "Mistadobolina" by Del tha Funkee Homosapien slipped from 28 to 35

Euphoria took a ten place hit with their former number one "One in a Million" to 34 while "Man Alive" by Diesel slipped eight places to 33. 

Finally Mr Big's former number one "To Be With You" skidded from 16 to 23...hopefully a sign that the song is on the way out

New Entries

Five new entries this week and unfortunately...we start with...

50. “This Used to be My Playground” by Madonna

So the queen of pop returns and I was curious about this what evolution Madonna would have in store this time after the smash she had in 1990 with “Vogue’ with “This Used to be my Playground” being the theme song for a comedy film called “A League of their Own” and well, if this song is a sign of what Madonna has planned for her fifth studio album than can I politely suggest that this is not it because this song is just painfully dull and not anything like the Madonna that was making some of the best pop music in mid to late 1980s and in 1990, the production is slow and flat and Madonna singing in a flat monotone that doesn’t suit her at all, this is dreary sludge in a year that’s already had way too much dreary sludge on the charts. NEXT!

42. “I Can’t Help Myself” by Teen Queens

After the inexplicable success of their still pretty terrible cover of “Be My Baby”, Teen Queens return with a cover of The Four Tops massive 1960s hit “I Can’t Help Myself” which is a Motown classic and beloved by so many so what do we get from Teen Queens cover? Well we certainly don’t get smooth happy vibes that the production gave the original, instead we get this jerky weird electro dance vibe that Teen Queens just don’t have the voices to match the energy of the song or the charisma to match the passion in the delivery, if you can’t help yourself than where’s the fucking desperation, Teen Queens? When Four Tops recorded this originally, there was passion and desperation when they sang they couldn’t help themselves but love this girl. Yeah this is get in the bin…NEXT!

31. “Perfect Place” by Voice of the Beehive

Alright so after the success of their cover of “I Think I Love You” earlier in the year, Voice of the Beehive are back with a new single and you know what? This is pretty good, yeah the vocals could afford to be a little louder but compared to the previous two songs this is really good and doesn’t blow absolute ass. I like the melody here and even if the lyrics play into this naïve idealism where they just want to try to make the world a better place even if at times it feels hopeless, yeah this is good, check it out!

25. “Sexy MF” by Prince and The New Power Generation

Prince has underwhelmed me so far in 1992 so with this song being the latest single from the album “Love Symbol” I was curious to see if the pace had stepped up a bit from “Diamonds & Pearls” and again I’m not all that impressed, yeah it’s got a solid groove but the rapping sounds really nasal and not at all fitting with the vibe the song going for especially when Prince croons “Sexy MF” (okay, mother f***er is not at all a sexy term but still) and all in all the track feels slow and plodding in a way that I cannot describe…this just doesn’t work for me…that’s all.

20. “I Don’t Care” by Shakespears Sister

So here’s the third single from “Hormonally Yours” and given the kind of week it is this week, I’m kind of hoping that this is good? Yeah I think it might be, it’s a fast paced pop/rock song anchored heavily in guitar even if I think the high pitched vocal delivery of “I don’t Care” doesn’t work as well as they might have hoped but hey I’ll still take this because it’s a damn solid song. Check it out if you are curious. 

That wraps up an ordinary week on a better note, I’m going to give Voice of the Beehive best of the week for “Perfect Place” just ahead of “I Don’t Care” by Shakespears Sister. Neither song is great but they are still good enough.

As for the worst…I’m giving that to “This Used to be My Playground” by Madonna for being one hell of an unexpectedly dreary song coming from somebody like Madonna…there’s no excuse for that shlock but “I Can’t Help Myself” by Teen Queens is right behind me and is a song that I can see getting even worse.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Top Ten/Chart Review: 19th July. Motley Crew needs Permission to Stay for an NDA

 So this week turned out exactly as I suspected it would with the big story being our new entries and everything else shuffling up or down to fill in space to a degree but anyway let's dig right in with our top ten where we have a new number one..."Stay" by The Kid Laroi feat Justin Bieber, now I'll say more about this song later but it got to the top because streaming is lapping this song up and while it's got sales...those streaming numbers might see this number one for awhile.

It pushed past "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran which fell back to number two because while it's strong on sales, it just could not match the streaming of "Stay". The same goes for "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo which just doesn't have the strength anymore to fight for number one. 

Then there's "Beggin" by Maneskin which slipped one place for much of similar reasons to the two before it, this song doesn't have the streaming to overtake it.

"Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat. SZA slipped back to number five on fading streaming.

There's a new entry at number six courtesy of "Permission to Dance" by BTS. I'll write about this song in detail later but this is here on massive sales of the original and instrumental because while this song is in the top 50 on Spotify, it's streaming numbers there aren't all that impressive so much like every other BTS song before it, I expect it to fall back next week.

All of this pushed back "Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby back two spots to number seven and likewise for "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd back two to number eight and "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals slipping two to number nine.

Finally returning to the top ten is "Without You" by The Kid Laroi as it rose three places to number ten mostly because of the new number one and people wanting to check out what else The Kid Laroi has recorded.

Gains

Our only major gain was "Butter" by BTS which climbed 11 places to 26 thanks to the release of physical copies and likely because this song was attached to the single version of "Permission to Dance" on Spotify so a small boost in streams for this song happened as result. This song has faded on me a A LOT lately.

The other much smaller gain was a five place rise for "Thot Shit" by Megan Thee Stallion to 38.

Re Entries

Somehow "You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae is back at 50...sigh

Losers

So the four new arrivals had the weird impact of shunting mostly everything else down but let's begin with the Olivia Rodrigo album tracks that are somehow still here like "Brutal" discovering it really is brutal on the charts down 11 to 43, "Jealousy Jealousy" down seven to 40, "Happier" down eight places to 34 and "Favourite Crime" down six to 28 while her hits "Drivers License" dropped five places to 24 and "Deja Vu" dropped four places to 14

As for album tracks still on the chart, "You Right" by Doja Cat feat. The Weeknd slipped nine spots to 21

Then there are songs that have had their momentum shortened like "Missing Piece" by Vance Joy down five to 23 and "Leave Before You Love Me" by Marshmello and Jonas Brothers down five spots to 32.

Some likely year end list making songs also took a hit like "Hold On" by Justin Bieber which slipped seven places to 48 and "Leave the Door Open" by Silk Sonic down five to 41 (a new single from Silk Sonic is welcome any time now, guys)

Finally "Holiday" by KSI stumbled 12 places to 47.

Drop outs

The drop outs are to be expected with yet another exit from the top 50 for "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I (Might be back next week thanks to the release of her debut album) and "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran also gone.

We also lost "Need to Know" by Doja Car and thankfully, "Build A Bitch" by Bella Poarch (that song's moment came and went pretty quickly). The other exit was for 'Wusyaname" by Tyler, the Creator and to say I am disappointed about that one is an understatement especially when it's considered what turned up new in the top 50 this week.

New Entries

Four new entries beginning with...

***WORST OF THE WEEK***

22. "Motley Crew" by Post Malone

So when I heard that we were getting new music from Post Malone, I got pretty darn excited mostly because Post Malone's last album "Hollywood's Bleeding" showed he had made some genuine improvement and "Circles" is still one of the best songs he has ever made so imagine my shock, disappointment and dismay when I heard this song...a trap inflected snooze where Post Malone tries to impersonate both Lil Baby and Juice WRLD and manages to sound terrible. The lyrics are basically Post bragging about his wealth, success and gangs...yeah no, this is one hell of a major disappointment for me. Post, I'm not mad...just incredibly disappointed... NEXT.

***BEST OF THE WEEK***

16. "NDA" by Billie Eilish

So with sophomore album only a couple of weeks away, we get yet another taste of "Happier than Ever" and yeah, this is more like it from Billie, this song taps into what made "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go" so compelling, the song is about how Billie is dealing with her rise to prominence in the pop music world and fame so much so that any guy she dated would have to sign a non disclosure agreement and as the track progresses she's wishing that life could have less of the obstacles she's facing now. This is actually probably the second best track I've heard from "Happier than Ever" so far. Still looking forward to the album!

6. "Permission to Dance" by BTS

So given the controversial success of "Butter" on the US Billboard Hot 100, BTS have released this as their follow up single and...I'm not impressed at all, for one thing the song feels so sterile for pop song all about asking for permission to have a dance with someone and yet the song has no real groove and feels really kind of flat...almost kind of like what One Direction did when they first started out...their music painfully bland and sterile ("What Makes You Beautiful" is still a BAAAD song) and doesn't really do the members of BTS many favours in terms of showing off their personalities. It's not really bad but it is pretty forgettable.

1. "Stay" by The Kid Laroi feat. Justin Bieber

Well this was a team up I just should have known was coming, mediocre rapper teaming up with Mr No Personality popstar turned wannabe R'n'B star so when this song was announced I was dreading it however what did we get? Look, I am not going to say this song is great or anything like that especially when Kid Laroi is still trying way too hard to impersonate Juice WRLD and he sounds somewhat off key on his verse where he pleads for his lovers forgiveness and begs her to stay in spite of whatever it is he has done because he can't find anyone else and Bieber is still goo goo ga ga over his wife with his somewhat over the top vows of admiration for her but that 80s style groove in the production really works here even if Bieber sounds better than Kid Laroi on it. It's fine enough. Not anything great but I can tolerate this

So that completes this week, next week likely some impact from that new Tones and I album plus that new single from Normani who brought Cardi B along with her...anyway we'll find out when the chart updates at 5pm on Friday 

Good 1992 Vibrations. 12th July. Workaholic Living In England is Better than the Real Thing

 Oh finally, it's a much calmer week after the weeks of chaos we had but there's more chaos looming on the horizon especially as the contest for number one is pretty close however "Jump" by Kriss Kross held onto the top spot thanks to sales being slightly ahead of  "Save the Best For Last" by Vanessa Williams which remained at number two but it's tightening those margins and looks set to make a strong case to go to number one in spite of how mind numblingly boring and bland it is.

Rising three places to number three is "Hazard" by Richard Marx as it shapes as a challenger to the top two along with "Too Funky" by George Michael up one to number four. 

However the big surprise this week is the four place rise to number five of  "Cry" by Lisa Edwards. This blew me away a bit to be quite honest. Didn't expect people to like this cover of Godley & Creme so much so much so it helped to push Frente's "Clunk (EP)" down two places to number six, "Take it From Me" by Girlfriend down four places to number seven and even "I Can Feel it" by Radio Freedom down one to number eight.

Ignoring my pleas from last week, somehow "As Ugly as They Wanna Be" by Ugly Kid Joe jumped one spot to number nine.

While "That Word (L.O.V.E)" by The Rockmelons feat. Cutty Ranks, Nardo Ranks and Deni Hines slipped two places to number ten and looks to be headed out of the top ten.

Gains

So looks like Australia is indulging the awful cover of KC & The Sunshine Band because KWS's cover of "Please Don't Go" jumped twenty places to 15...yikes.

In  better news from last week, "Heaven Knows" by Rick Price climbed five places to number 12 and "Abba esque" by Erasure jumped eleven places to break into the top twenty at number 20.

"Remedy" by The Black Crows jumped from 36 to 21 this week and "Midlife Crisis" by Faith No More climbed six places to 31. 

"The Disappointed" by XTC climbed from 42 to 35 and "Make Love Like A Man" climbed from 44 to 39 while "Always the Last to Know" by Del Amitri jumping nine places to 40. 

Losers

As per usual, let's start at the bottom of the chart and work our way up, we begin with "Simply The Best" by Tina Turner and Jimmy Barnes which slumped from 32 to 47 while "Kickin' To the Undersound" by Sound Unlimited Posse kicked down from 39 to 46.

Former top ten hit "Stay" by Shakespears Sister plunged from 34 to 42 while "Father's Day" by Weddings Parties Anything dropped from 33 to 41. 

"This Road" by James Blundell is going the wrong way down the wrong road as it dropped down eight places to number 38 while people are ignoring Mr Big's begging to "Just Take My Heart" as it slipped from 28 to 37 (Not surprising considering the song is BAD).

"James Brown Is Dead" by L.A. Style is slowly dying down from 29 to 34 while "Smells Like Nirvana" by Weird Al Yankovic is starting to drift a bit as it dropped from 26 to 33. 

"God Gave Rock n Roll to You Part 11" by KISS handed back their gains to stop at 32 while "In the Closet" by Michael Jackson slipped six places to 30. 

"Even Flow" by Pearl Jam dipped from 22 to 29 while "Mistadobolina" by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien fell nine to 28 and "One in a Million" by Euphoria fell ten places to 24 and "Nothing Else Matters"  by Metallica got hit with a dip from 16 to 22 .

Finally "Twilight Zone" by 2 Unlimited took a seven place plunge to 18. More about a new song from 2 Unlimited in a moment.

New Entries

50. "Workaholic" by 2 Unlimited

Oh boy, the last time I talked about this act, it didn't go well and I still stand by my comments about "Twilight Zone" being a wall of migraine inducing noise so maybe "Workaholic" is better? It slightly even though that squawking noise is really fucking irritating to the year and only punctuated by the rap verses, the chorus and a voice saying "Workaholic". All the song is is declaring themselves workaholics on the dancefloor. Yeah, this is pretty annoying...NEXT.

45. "Love Is Holy' by Kim Wilde

Last week it was XTC, this week it's Kim Wilde being the 80s holdover with a new single on the charts, this being the first single for her album "Love Is" and well, it's not bad! Yeah it's a pop song very much rooted in the early 1990s but Wilde sounds great here and even if the lyrics are just your basic platitudes about nothing taking love away and love being holy when dude is laying with her so yeah if you are expecting Bible quotes based on the title...you might be disappointed. Still it's catchy and has a tightness to it that makes the song work...check it out if you are curious.

44. "Fly Like An Eagle" by The Neville Brothers

This week's cover comes from an American R'n'B, soul and funk group that formed in New Orleans in 1977, this is a cover of "Fly Like An Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band and actually has Steve Miller playing guitar in some parts and well...this cover might be alright? Certainly it's got a fair bit of groove and energy about it and the Neville Brothers are certainly selling the song with some passion in their delivery. The only thing I am not wild about is that odd noise in the mix that makes the song sound like it's being recorded in a factory but otherwise yeah this is pretty good.

19. "Living in England" by The Screaming Jets

Rock courtesy of the title track of the Screaming Jet's EP "Living in England" and of course this track features fast drums, wild guitars and Dave Gleeson actually sounding oddly restrained against production that reminds me a lot of the Baby Animals sound on their debut album but let tell you when that guitar unleashes for a short solo in the middle of the song it's glorious!. It's a short sharp song about having fun living in England, if you just want something to rock out to, this might be worth a listen!

11. "Even Better Than the Real Thing" by U2

About time we got a second single from "Achitung Baby" and yeah this song works around that one central Edge guitar riff while the lyrics play to a sense of irony given the times in 1992 where people would look for instant gratification rather than seeking out the truth (arguable that people seeking instant gratification has always been a thing). I also got to be honest here, I love this sound for U2, Bono sounds great here and the song just pops off. I'd like to see this become a hit if that is possible. Check this out.

Pretty shockingly solid week but I'm giving best of the week to "Even Better than The Real Thing" by U2.

Twilight Zone run away with the worst of the week for "Workaholic"...it's the song that works the least of the five songs here.

ARIA Singles top 50 Top Ten/Chart Review. 12th July. Thot's Heartbreak Anthem S***

We got a cool down week here, folks, even for allowing for a surprise or two in the re entries and even a new entry's arrival that shocked me however on to the top ten and the shock of nobody "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran retained the top spot for the second week in a row, it's got sales and is slowly working its way to the top on streaming, this might have some weeks left to run at the top yet, folks. 

It held up easily over "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo which remained at number but is starting to bleed in the margins on both sales and streaming, it's not as strong as it once was so I can see this coming under pressure from "Beggin" by Maneskin which has a whole heap of momentum thanks to both sales and streaming, there's potential for this song to go to number one down the track.

This pushed "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat SZA back to number four,   "Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby back to number five and "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd at number six.

"Heat Waves" by Glass Animals holds firm or refuses to go away by staying at number seven while that renewed streaming interest in "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" by Lil Nas X helped it to rise a spot to number eight however that might also be because "Astronaut in the Ocean" by Masked Wolf dropped one to number nine (honestly I am hoping the influx of new entries will clean this song and one or two other bad songs in the top ten out)

Finally "Deja Vu" by Olivia Rodrigo held steady at number ten, it's locked in it's year end spot now. 

Gains.

Olivia Rodrigo's album tracks still on the chart actually GAINED back ground with "Traitor" up 3 to 11, "Favourite Crime" up three to 22, "Brutal" up two to 32 and "Jealousy Jealousy" up 5 to 33. These album tracks holding up so remarkably well that I am convinced that both "Traitor" and "Favourite Crime" will make the year ARIA end list for 2021 in particular.

"Leave Before You Love Me" by Marshmello feat. Jonas Brothers jumped six to 27 and "I Wanna Be Your Slave" by Maneskin climbed six to 15 as both songs are going to be hits in the making. 

"Holiday" by KSI regained 11 spots to 35 while "Little Bit of Love" by Tom Grennan climbed four places to 20 because this song is now a radio staple for some ungodly reason. 

Re-Entries

Two returns this week that I cannot explain for the life of me...the first of them being Ed Sheeran's 2018 hit "Perfect" back at 48 (Okay it's probably linked to the current number one) while "Dance Monnkey" by Tones and I  refuses to die as it returns at 50. 

Losers. 

There were two album tracks that fell hard this week with Tyler, the Creator's "Wusyaname" feat. Youngboy NBA and Ty Dolla $ign slipping 18 to 40 (come on, let it rebound next week) while "Need to Know" by Doja Cat plunged 14 to 46 (Okay I know it got a video but the song isn't good and "You Right" with The Weeknd is going to be the actual single) but apart from that most of the rest were smaller not really notable losses.

Drop Outs

Similar story this week goes for the drop outs, nothing too notable here with "Lumberjack" and "Juggernaut" both Tyler, the Creator dropping out along with "Solar Power" by Lorde and "I Don't Do Drugs" by Doja Cat. Okay, Lorde's song dropping out is disappointing but not surprising.

New Emtries

Just the two new entries this week, beginning with...

47. "Heartbreak Anthem" by Galantis, David Guetta and Little Mix

So seeing this group of artists on a song together kind of surprised me but also highlights that Little Mix's success in Australia has been scattered at best and that's being polite ("Heartbreak Anthem" is the first song that's hit the Australian singles top 50 since "Woman Like Me" feat Nicki Minaj in 2018) they are more successful in the UK which is kind of disappointing given "Break Up Song" is pretty darn good and while "Heartbreak Anthem" is fine enough, I have no idea why the production on the bridge attempts to drown out Perrie Edwards multiple times on the bridge but otherwise the song is fine and works well, Little Mix sound good here over that piano as they sing about moving forward from heartbreak. Check it out if you are curious.

43. "Thot Shit" by Megan Thee Stallion

So before Megan Thee Stallion became a charting presence, she had an alter ego called Tina Snow which formed the base of her first EP and helped "Big Ole Freak" to chart on thr USA's Billboard Hot 100 and it seems she's returned to that level of lyrical dexterity that was on that EP because this song is awesome, Megan continues her unapologetic sex positive framing which calls out conservatives for their ridiculous moral panic over "WAP" (I just think most conservatives are lazy parents and can't be bothered to actually be parents so complain when the music industry doesn't self police) and continues to assert herself all the while taking ownership of words like "hoe' and 'thot' because she wants to remind men that those words aren't the drag on women they seem to think they are. Anyway, this song is awesome and if this is the direction Megan is continuing in then hell, let the thot girl summer continue!

No worst of the week this week but "Thot Shit" by Megan Thee Stallion is getting best of the week.

Next week, New Music Friday was LOADED with big releases eg: The Kid Laroi collaborating with Justin Bieber, BTS dropped an Ed Sheeran penned song, Billie Eilish released a new song from her forthcoming second album and Post Malone dropped his lead single for an upcoming album so next week is going to be fun when the chart updates at 5pm AEST on Friday

Good 1992 Vibrations. 5th July. Heaven Knows and is Sent so Please Don't Go having a Midlife Crisis

 Ughhh...this week was wild...again...up and down the chart and the turnover as crazy as we got nine new songs in the ARIA top 50 this week but let's begin with the big story in our top ten where to the surprise of absolutely nobody, "Jump" by Kriss Kross get a second week at number one as it has a pretty solid sales margin

Rising one place to number two is "Save the Best for Last" by Vanessa Williams because it's got sales traction...of course it has...it's easy listening dippy doo lovesick schlock that isn't interesting in the slightest but none the less it pushed "Take It From Me" by Girlfriend back to number three as it is starting to lose ground on sales but it did stay ahead of "Clunk (EP)" by Frente which stayed at number four this week.

Rising three places to number five is "Too Funky" by George Michael and it's bringie ng "Hazard" by Richard Marx with it because "Hazard" also climbed three places to number six.

"I Can Feel it" by Radio Freedom rebounded three places to number seven mostly thanks to the collapse of "That Word (L.O.V.E)" by The Rockmelons feat. Cutty Ranks, Nardo Ranks and Deni Hines three places to number eight.

Rising three places into the top ten is "Cry" by Lisa Edwards which I am fine with I guess...I don't hate the song at all however I am not fine with "As Ugly As They Wanna be" by Ugly Kid Joe rising three places to number ten...seriously?

Gains

So outside of the top ten, there was a ten place gain for 'Damn, I wish I was your lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins to 18 this week as it seems like this song is going to be a hit.

Not on the good side of things though is the rise of "Beauty and the Beast" by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson up from 31 to 25...I know 1992 is the year pop blandness but just stop letting this rise please.

In an even worse piece of news, "God Gave Rock n Roll to You II" by KISS jumped eight places to 27 while "Just Take My Heart" by Mr Big is up ten to 28. 

Losers

Let's start at the bottom and work our way up...dropping seven places to 50 is "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton while "Senza Una Donna (Without a Woman)" by Zucchero and Paul Young dipped five places to 47.

2 Unlimited' s "Get Ready for this" slipped from 39 to 45 while "Be My Baby" by Teen Queens plunged thirteen to 43.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers suffered losses on both fronts this week with "Suck My Kiss" completely collapsed from 26 to 41 and their number one hit "Under the Bridge" tumbled from 16 to 23

"Viva Las Vegas" by ZZ Top lost it's legs to drop 11 places to 40 while "Stay" by Shakespears Sister dropped 14 places to 34 and "Simply The Best" by Tina Turner and Jimmy Barnes stumbled nine spots to 32.

"In the Closet" by Michael Jackson slipped nine to 24 while "To Be With You" by Mr Big skidded out of the top ten down six to 12.

New Entries

Nine of them this week beginning with

49. "Always the Last to Know" by Del Amitri

So this is the latest single from Del Amitri, it comes from the album "Change Everthing" and I kind of like the production here. I just wish the vocals had a little more power to make the song's story stand out. The lyrics about him being the last to find out his girlfriend is cheating on him before the song twists and it's him cheating on her and her being the last to know but there's no real anger or resentment in the vocals which you would think would be necessary for a song like this especially given the subject matter. It's not precisely bad but it is forgettable.

48. "I'll Be There" by Mariah Carey

So this is an unplugged cover via MTV of the Jackson 5's hit from 1970 and look, this is probably what you would expect from a cover by Mariah Carey, the song is performed well even if I think Mariah is over singing at the end. It's fine, check it out if you are curious but the Jackson 5's original is even better.

46. "You Won't See Me Cry" by Wilson Phillips

Ahh new Wilson Phillips...this song song being the first from the group's second album "Shadows & Light" and well...this is actually darker than what I've heard from this act...for one thing the song is a piano ballad as the lyrics highlight sadness yet strength as this woman vows that her ex won't see her cry over the end of their relationship. Yeah, I like this as fair bit...the harmonies on show here are fantastic and fit the mood of the song...check it out.

42. "The Disappointed" by XTC

Ooh here's a hold over from the 80s I didn't expect to see here but none the less it is the lead single for the album "Nonsuch" and according to the band's lead singer Andy Partridge, the song is about people who have experienced being rejected romantically forming a union called "The Disappointed" (it kind of brings to mind incels and neckbeards and yeah look the song is really catchy which I expect from XTC even if I think the song feels like its trying to stick to a formula that worked in the early to mid 80s and its definitely not out of the ordinary for 1992 in popular music but it's fine, check it out if you are curious

37. "Midlife Crisis" by Faith No More

Time for some rock thanks to Faith No More with this song being the lead single from their fourth album "Angel Dust". Interestingly the band's lead Mike Patton suggested that this song was kind of about Madonna which makes this an interestingly framed track because I am not sure I'd want to be told my heart is menstruating...that's kind of yuck and the vocals sound like they might be a little too close to the microphone at points in the verses. I think I'll nope out of this one.

35. "Please Don't Go" by K.W.S

A British dance act covering a KC and the Sunshine Band classic and wow, this is garbage even by 1992 standards...at least KC sold the song with some sincerity in terms of not wanting this girl to leave him but KWS sound like they are singing this the moments after she left and they have been left crying at the door! The vocal delivery here doesn't sound believable AT ALL combine that with the thumping dance beat and there's a headache for everybody. See this trash on my end of year worst list should it become a hit...next!

31. "Abba Esque" by Erasure

So Erasure have covered Abba's "Take a Chance On Me" and unlike KWS, at least there's some genuine sincerity and belief in what they are singing from Erasure and look this ends up being just a really fun cover of an Abba song that I'm not a huge fan of but hey it's ten times better than whatever it was KWS delivered.

17. "Heaven Knows" by Rick Price

Hey a follow to "Not a Day Goes By" (I still like that song) but this is a heartfelt piano ballad that definitely feels like a follow up to the previous story given the lyrics about a love lost, she's moving on and Rick Price wondering if his love will return and their hearts will find a way somehow and he is leaving that to the heavens but the end of this relationship is hurting Price. Honestly this song is pretty terrific. Hope this is a hit for Rick.

13. "Heaven Sent" by INXS

Well we're ending a very long week with INXS single ahead of their eighth studio album "Welcome to Where Ever You Are" and my expectations were promptly met by roaring guitars that unfortunately almost drown out Michael Hutchence. Apparently it was written as a ballad but they turned it into a rock song which does make a lot of sense given the production here but yeah even with that...this is kind of disappointing. 

That was the week and I think Rick Price just takes best of the week for "Heaven Knows" with Wilson Phillips getting honourable mention for "You Won't See Me Cry".

On the other end of the scale, no question that "Please Don't Go" by KWS gets the worst of the week, that song is just a really shitty cover.  Faith No More are getting dishonourable mention for "Midlife Crisis"

ARIA Singles Top 50: July 5th. Wusyaname Lumberjack, I Don't Do Drugs, it's Bad Habits

 I haven't seen a non album bomb week like this in years where there are several big stories up and down the chart starting right at the very top of the chart, what turned up in the top ten and indeed what turned up in the top 50 because yeah we had impacts from albums from Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat but we also had scattered singles impact most of which I have no clue as to whether they will stick around but anyway let's begin with the big story of the week, our brand new number one that kind of blindsided me given I had suggested otherwise on Twitter, "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran debuts at number one, it's Sheeran's 6th number one single in Australia (His previous number ones were "Sing", "Thinking Out Loid", "Shape Of You", "Perfect" and "I Don't Care"), I'll have more to say about the song a bit later but this song got to number one thanks to really cutting through with that sales impact, digital sales did Ed Sheeran a solid this week because this song is not leading on streaming.

That streaming lead belongs to "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo which got pushed back to number two, now its still strong on streaming but those sales are what allowed "Bad Habits" to overtake it, it's still a player for top spot, it stayed comfortably ahead of "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat SZA which despite the album release managed to fall to number three, it's still strong on streaming but again...it needs sales to support it and it's just not getting that support.

"Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby remained at number four and not really looking like it's going to take advantage of the chaos above it even as "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd fell past it down two places to number five.

Maneskin land their first ever top ten song in Australia with "Beggin'" jumped sixteen places to number six!. Now we do have more Maneskin to discuss in the new entries but this song has plenty of momentum to possibly go higher in the weeks to come.

Remaining steady are both "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals at number seven and "Astronaut in the Ocean" by Masked Wolf at number eight. 

Up one place to number nine is "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Nas X which has experienced a rebound in traction on streaming which is fine by me!

Down four this week is "Deja Vu" by Olivia Rodrigo to number ten. This is on it's way out now having made the year end list anyway.

Gains

So I already mentioned "Beggin'" by Maneskin rising 16 places to hit the top ten at number six but what else gained? 

'Well...Vance Joy's "Missing Piece" broke into the top 20 up three places to 20 while "Little Bit of Love" by Tom Grennan jumped six places to 24. 

"Need to Know" by Doja Cat rebounded eleven places to 32 thanks to the release of the album while "Leave Before You Love Me" by Marshmello feat. Jonas Brothers climbed five places to 33. 

Losers

So as you can imagine with eight new entries this week, there was a lot that lost ground, let's begin with the massive drop for "Holiday" by KSI which plummeted 22 places to 46 and Lorde's "Solar Power" got turned off down 17 spots to 44.

Then there's the eight place drop for Bella Poarch's "Build a Bitch" to 50 and the losses to songs that have spent way too long on the chart now like "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles down 6 to 47, "Someone You Loved" down five to 45 (honestly this song is the perfect example of why the ARIA singles chart needs recurrency rules), "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry down six to 41 and "Mood" by 24k Goldn and Iann Dior down five to 39.

Then there's cases of continuing loss of momentum like 'Butter" by BTS which slipped six to 37. Honestly,  this song has had absolutely no traction on the chart since it's debut week on digital sales or streaming.

Let's blow through the Olivia Rodrigo "Sour" album tracks that fell hard this week like "Jealousy Jealousy" which slipped six places to 38, "Brutal" down nine to 34 likewise for "Happier" which slipped to 27 "Favourite Crime" dropped ten places to 25 and "Traitor" tumbled out of the top ten down five to 14.

Also tumbling out of the top ten was "Body" by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne which tumbled seven places to number 12...this might fall quicker and harder than I think most expect (mostly because the song is kind of bad) while "Rapstar" by Polo G fell nine places to 28 as the album boost died off.

Drop Outs

The chart finally said goodbye and good riddance to "You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae...thank god. Also gone is "Heartbreak Anniversary" by Giveon which unfortunately never got the traction to be the huge hit it deserved to be. 

Maroon 5's "Beatiful Mistakes" feat. Megan Thee Stallion also took it's exit for a second time along with "Lost Cause" by Billie Eilish (bad signs for that new album), "Late At Night" by Roddy Ricch and "The Angel of 8th Ave" by Gang of Youths 

The final two drop outs are Olivia Rodrigo "Sour" album tracks, those being "Enough for You' and "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back" 

New Entries

So there are eight new entries this week...granted the majority of these are from Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat so I'm going to endeavour to keep things brief especially as this blog entry is already running long, starting with...

49. "Juggernaut" by Tyler, the Creator feat. Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell Williams

So here's the first of the Tyler tracks to chart this week with featuring credits from both Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell and I will admit that this does feel more like a fragment of a song than anything else but that distorted and somewhat bass heavy production is very much something that Tyler has done in the past of songs like "Okra". Also has to be said that both Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell ride the beat here really well even if its all just hyperbolic bragging about cars and money (Tyler references the fact that he made more money last year than what Google claimed) and Pharrell brags about wearing Chanel and an expensive watch he wears. I'm not going to say that the subject matter weighs the song down a little for me but hey all three ride the beat well so I'll take it.

48. "Cloudy Day" by Tones and I

So we are finally getting an album later this year from Toni Watson with this song being the latest for that album and I have to be honest here if you find Tones and I's voice to be annoying or anything like that than you might well enjoy this track because it's clear here that Tones isn't sounding as abrasive here as she did on "Dance Monkey" or even on "Fly Away", she sounds like a completely different artist. Lyrically, she's questioning  whether she's living in the moment, its actually pretty standard Tones and I fare with that rather anthemic and catchy chorus. Look, it's okay but I wouldn't be surprised if I forget about this in the weeks ahead.

43. "I Don't Do Drugs" by Doja Cat feat. Ariana Grande.

So we have the first of two Doja Cat songs new to the chart this week following the release of the underwhelming album "Planet Her" and we start with a song that I forgot I'd heard five minutes after hearing it where the hook is Doja Cat saying she wants to hook up with this guy but she doesn't do drugs over this weirdly childish beat that wouldn't have sounded out of place on that last Ariana Grande album (which maybe why Ariana fits in so well on this track). The song is just this flat trap beat that does nothing to accentuate the charisma of  Doja Cat and when Ariana starts cooing on the second verse...yeah...this is just one of a couple of examples of the production trying to outdo rather than support Doja Cat on her album. I think I'll pass on this one.

40. "Lumberjack" by Tyler, The Creator

So look this was a strange choice of lead single from "Call Me If You Get Lost" because it does feel like it does better in the context of the album given the song's material spans from Tyler rapping about him releasing this song on Wednesday when the industry accepted new release day is now Fridays to referring to Drake being booed off stage at a music festival in 2019 when the crowd were expecting Frank Ocean. It's not my favourite cut from the album but it's still pretty good...check it out but if you want one of the best songs from "Call Me If You Get Lost"....well....

22. "Wusyaname" by Tyler, the Creator feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Ty Dolla $ign

I am so happy that this song broke through because this is one of the best songs of the year with that stunning production where Tyler admits he has fallen in love with this woman only to discover that she already had a partner and the harmonising by Young Boy NBA and Ty Dolla $ign on that hook is just gorgeous and combined with the sampling makes the song sound like an R'n'B jam that was released in the early 2000s!. Yeah the song is short at a flat two minutes but it's the best two minutes of music you'll hear this year. Please check this out and make it a hit!

21. "I Wanna Be Your Slave" by Maneskin

Geezus, can't we get "Zitti e Buoni" to chart please? Okay, I kind of get the the charm of this song, it reminds me a lot of what Arctic Monkeys  did on their debut album except this is just really clunky sounding like the drums haven't quite been properly mixed here. Either way while "Beggin'" has grown on me, I am not sure this will so I'm going to pass.  

11. "You Right" by Doja Cat feat. The Weekend

This is one of the better songs one the album more because it seems to match the mood that Doja Cat is going for and The Weeknd can also play in this territory pretty openly where Doja is expressing that she's got a man but she's wanting this other guy. I just wish that the chorus wasn't so repetitive but hey, it's fine for what it is so I guess I'll take it...

1. "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran

So here's the big number one debut for Ed Sheeran...a synthpop song where I'm left wondering whether Ed Sheeran is trying to go for a similar sound to The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" with its synth pop sound on the hook that to be fair is pretty catchy and Sheeran sounding kind of like his vocally trying to sound like Bieber for the rest of the song, seriously he sounds anonymous here which kind of makes sense given he is singing about some bad habits in a relationship. Ehh..the song is decent rather than great.

That finally wraps up a long week, best goes to "Wusyaname' by Tyler, the Creator feat. Young Boy Never Broke Again. As for honourable mention, I'll give it to "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran (only because it's more memorable than most of the other new entries).

As for the worst, there's nothing truly atrocious but Maneskin are getting dishonourable mention for "I Wanna Be Your Slave" while Doja Cat and Ariana Grande get worst of the week for "I Don't Do Drugs".

Next week, will likely be a cool down week hopefully after all this latent insanity. The chart updates at 5pm on Friday.