Playlist & Top 5 : August 2, 2010Here's the playlist from last night's England Swings show : 


Teeth - See Spaces
Plan B - Prayin' (The Defamation Of Strickland Banks)


Slade - Mama Weer All Crazee Now
Villagers - Ship Of Promises (Becoming a Jackal)


O Children - Dead Disco Dancer
Skream - Listenin' To the Records On My Wall


Feargal Sharkey - A Good Heart
Frank Ifield - The Wayward Wind


The Fab Four Freakout :


Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever Mix 26
Beatles - This Boy
Beatles - Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand
Beatles - I Me Mine (Let It Be)


Tom Jones - Did Trouble Me (Praise and Blame)


Tricky - Murder Weapon


Abba - The Name Of the Game
Robert Fripp - North Star (Exposure)


I Am Kloot - Proof (Sky At Night)
Singing Nun - Dominique


...and this week's UK Top 5 : 


5). Flo Rida ft. David Guetta - Club Can't Handle Me (new)
4). Eminem ft. Rihanna - Love the Way You Lie (-2)
3). Travie McCoy - Billionaire (new)
2). Yolanda Be Cool & DCup - We No Speak Americano (-1)
1). Wanted - All Time Low (new)


TOP 5 ANALYSIS and REVIEW


Well, look at all that fresh blood dripping into the top five this week! Three new songs, and two hangers-on from previous weeks. Also, the higher reaches of the charts have become a little less urban and a little more diverse. 


We start with the new song at number 5, in which David Guetta continues to ingratiate himself into the New American Hip-Hop Community. And this time he does a bang-up job, making Flo Rida sound smooth and debonaire with "Club Can't Handle Me". Flo sounds less like a rapper here than an R&B singer, which is also a surprise. Who knew he could sound like this?


The song is slick and streamlined, but like the best of Guetta's work, it doesn't sound crowded. I notice that the song is sitting at number 54 on the American charts right now, but the tune has enough appeal to become a major hit in the USA. 


On the England Swings scale of 1-10, I give it an 8.


Now to one of the tunes that won't go away, and probably never deserved to be there in the first place. Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie" drops to number four this week, while maintaining the top position in the USA. 


And I'm sorry, but the song is just ugly. It's interesting the first time you listen, but after that it's a bit like seeing a plane crash. Over and over again. It's got a false and insincere intensity that grates on the nerves. It tells an unattractive story. It doesn't even have a decent backing tune. 


Maybe I just don't get it, but I can't think of many songs less deserving to be a hit on either side of the Atlantic. I want it to go away. Soon. I give it a 3. 


Now, why would Mr. McCoy change his name to the diminutive "Travie"? "Travis" is perfectly good - it worked for that group that did "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?".


"Billionaire" is at heart a novelty song, but it's not a bad one. It's a bit clever, a bit catchy. It's sparse, though, and has a definite 1970s feel to it. That might be part of its charm. It's just downright cute. 


Already a hit in the USA, the song crashes into the British charts at number three this week. The British have already demonstrated an affinity for the singer's former group, with two songs by Gym Class Heroes reaching high places in the charts. So I guess it was inevitable that this song would do well. I'll give it a 6. 


Yolanda Be Cool and DCup continue to do well with "We No Speak Americano", even though it drops a place this week to number 2. It's one of those songs that shows the amazing capacity of the British charts to absorb literally anything - can you imagine this song becoming a top 40 hit in America? Not gonna happen. 


The song manages to keep its hook for weeks on end. I'll admit to a small amount of annoyance at it nowadays, but you've got to admire the chutzpah of the whole thing. I'm still giving it an 8 this week.


And speaking of the capacity of the British charts, another thing that happens with alarming frequency is the entrance of complete unknowns, the build-up of buzz that lasts for nearly a week while some new talent(s) capture the imagination of the public and come out of nowhere to land at the summit. 


That's the case this week with the Wanted. What's that you say, Americans? Who are the Wanted? Well, that's just what I'm talking about. So here's the section where I explain yet another new band :


The Wanted are a pre-fab five band found through auditions in the UK, who have managed to become the biggest band in the UK in a mere week's time. They're kind of a boy band, but the song they've released applies orchestration and great vocals to create a kind of "indie boy band" sound, if it's possible for such a thing to exist. 


Nevertheless, "All Time Low" is a great song, reminiscent of the Temper Trap, or some of Take That's best songs. The future of the band remains a bit cloudy; much will depend on which direction they go in during the coming months. One day, Americans, you might hear more about them. For now, though, the number one hit in the UK belongs to them, and I give the song an 8. 


Album Review . . . tomorrow!

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