Smashin' show last night with the following tunes : 

Blackout - Higher and Higher
Does It Offend You, Yeah? - The Monkeys Are Coming

Who - I'm Free (Tommy)
Ladytron - Ace Of Hz (Tiesto Remix)

Chromeo ft. Elly Jackson - Hot Mess (Business Casual)
Skream ft. Example - Shot Yourself In the Foot Again

Strawbs - On Growing Older (Grave New World)
Yes - Everydays (Time and a Word)

The Fab Four Freakout : 

Beatles - I'm Down (live at the Hollywood Bowl)
Beatles - I'm Looking Through You (Rubber Soul)
Beatles - Ask Me Why (Please Please Me)

Brother - Darling Buds Of May

Belle & Sebastian - I Want the World To Stop (Belle & Sebastian Write About Love)

Corinne Bailey Rae - Is This Love (The Love EP)

Radiohead - Bloom (The King Of Limbs)

Frankie Vaughan - Tower Of Strength

Scooter - Ramp! (The Logical Song)
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - Okay!

...and this week's top 5 songs in the UK : 

5). Chipmunk ft. Chris Brown - Champion (-3)
4). Adele - Rolling In the Deep (+1)
3). Lady Gaga - Born This Way (non-mover)
2). Jessie J ft. B.o.B - Price Tag (-1)
1). Adele - Someone Like You (new)

TOP 5 ANALYSIS and REVIEW

Well . . . wow. The British charts have been even more unpredictable than usual lately, with last week's Lady G surprise, and a surprise this week from another lady. This makes for a lot of interest amongst us chart followers (okay, chart geeks). The surprises have come from completely different directions, and the Wednesday midweek chart update has been completely changed by the time the actual chart plays on Sunday. 

Kinda cool, yeah?

So let's run 'em down : 

Chipmunk and Chris Brown drop three places this week to hang on at number 5. I said last week that the best thing about this song ("Champion") is the Brown vocal, and that Chipmunk is just whiny. 

This week, I haven't changed my mind. The whole Chipmunk/Tinchy/etc. template was broken last year by Tinie Tempah (thank goodness), and shattered even further by Wretch 32. That makes the whole annoyingly sincere-but-squeaky grime pop sound outdated and tired. 

On the England Swings scale of 1-10, I can only muster a 4.5 for Chippy. 

Now comes the Adele invasion, as "Rolling In the Deep", instead of quietly exiting the top 5 this week, instead rises a place to number 4. 

That's okay. I can still listen to the song, and it has lost little of its power. That tom-tom beat, the handclaps, the backing vocals - it all is gorgeous. I give the song another 8 this week, but as you'll see below, we're not done with Adele. 

Lady Gaga, tipped early in the week to ascend to the top, remains at number 3 with "Born This Way". This song, in case you haven't heard it, is an exercise in overkill, busy to the point of being grating. The hook is okay, but it gets buried in all the antics - you would think that someone with the pop sensibilities of the Lady would know better. I hope it's all not indicative of the new album. THAT would suck. 

Of course, the song went straight in at number one in America, but I'm not sure of it's lasting power even there (here, that is). It's almost a novelty song, really. I think it may fade away as the mistake it is. 

I give the Lady a 5 on the scale this week.

Jessie J, along with B.o.B, drop to number two after two weeks at the top of the chart with "Price Tag". I've noticed that the song debuted in the USA at number 88, and has dropped this week to the extreme of the chart, at number 100 exactly. Will it rebound? I think it's possible, but then again . . . I'm still slightly worried about the whole Spice Girls soundalike thing. Not that Jessie sings like a Melanie (well, maybe Melanie B), but the whole structure is a bit late-90s and happy. I'm sure that Jess wouldn't like a comparison to, say, S Club 7, so I won't. I will say that I like the song, and that I give it a 7.5 this week.

And here's our surprise at number one! Here are some facts : 

- This is Adele's first number one. 

- The song took off like a rocket after her live performance at the Brit Awards. 

- I saw on some music site that this was actually a Van Morrison song. No. It's not. 

- The live version of the song sold on iTunes at about a ratio of 3 to 1 with the studio version.

"Someone Like You" is, very simply, a classic ballad that contains nothing but piano and a striking and stirring vocal. It's only in the UK that songs like this get such a buzz, and in this case, it's all well-deserved. Go ahead and YouTube it if you haven't heard it. I guarantee that it's stunning. 

I'm giving it a 9 on the scale. 

So Adele beats out the veteran (Lady Gaga) and the up-and-comer (Jessie J) this week, making for a unique and interesting chart! 

Let's have more weeks like this, okay?

Album review (Radiohead!) later this week . . . 



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