Saturday, August 05, 2006

Number 946 - Fiona Apple


Number 946

Fiona Apple

"Criminal"

(1996)
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Genre:Alt Pop
"SHE'S young, talented, beautiful, and, if her handlers have done right by her, she's well on her way to becoming a rock star. No wonder Fiona Apple is so miserable."
"At least that's how she appears. Observe, for example, how Apple stares searchingly from advertisements for her debut album, Tidal: her eyes are sunken, dark-rimmed; her hands clutch at the corners of her open shirt, giving a perception that she's been violated in some unspeakable, albeit very sexy and not altogether involuntary, manner. The image is a shocking and highly inappropriate one, given that Apple was herself a victim of rape at age twelve."
sezzy
"Next, listen as Apple rants at the Awards about how "this world [the entertainment industry] is bullshit," prematurely dismissing a generation of potential Fionabes with the admonition "go with yourself." But don't fail to note that her helplessly waifish on-screen image is directly in keeping with the kind of systematic objectification of women for which many critics have indicted . Her clip for "Criminal," for instance, unfolds like outtakes from a porno film, as Apple, clad only in underwear, prowls among a houseful of partied-out teenagers reposing in various stages of undress. Either Apple has indeed been a "bad, bad girl," as her "Criminal" lyrics profess, or she just plays one on TV. As once asked, who's zoomin' who?"
For Aretha Franklin see Number 563
Seems the media and Ms Apple are not on friendly terms. The song, however, is a classic, regardless of the hype and misunderstandings.
What does Rolling Stone think of Fiona Apple
A late-'90s overnight sensation, Fiona Apple was cast as the antidote to packaged pop divettes like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Considering her angst-ridden lyrics and her propensity to shock interviewers, some critics classed her among such provocateurs as Alanis Morissette and Sinéad O'Connor; others, listening to her jazz-tinged, full-throated, accomplished debut, compared her to Laura Nyro and Nina Simone.
Tidal, featuring Apple’s melodically and rhythmically intricate songs, strong piano work, and achingly confessional lyrics, along with Slater’s inventive production work, drew nearly unalloyed raves. Yet Apple was controversial, speaking openly about her rape at age 12 (the basis for the song “Sullen Girl”) and appearing in her underwear for the video for “Criminal” (#21 pop, 1997). The video was interpreted alternately as either self-exploitation or a cryptic denunciation of such exploitation. Accorded Best New Artist in a Video honors at the 1997 MTV Video Awards, Apple, in an obscenity-laced acceptance speech, derided the star-making machinery of show biz and its deleterious effects on adolescents, a maneuver that was mocked by some and praised by others. Musically, with gems like the Modern Rock hit “Shadowboxer” making her case, Apple was unassailable; in media terms, however, she’d become known as a “loose cannon.” [RS from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)]
For Alanis Morissette see Number 548
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Nope, They hated it) and the Album ranked at Number (Nope, didn't know it was out yet)
This song has a crowbarred rating of 53.6 out of 108
Search Artist here:1-2-3-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

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posted by crowbarred at 11:02 pm 0 comments

Number 945 - Tubeway Army


Number 945

Tubeway Army

"Are Friends Electric?"

(1978)
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Genre:Electronica
This is one of those rare gems that change music, some people will disagree, some will just nod and some will say "Its Crap". But hey, that music and it all comes down to personal choice.
I remember way back when i heard this and here in (New Zealand) there was no other song that even sounded like this not even remotely close. The synth hooks rip through this song like a freaky jason on halloween night. The beat echoes like a church bell on a sunday, constant and eerie with an even more spooky harping on at me "Are friends electric?"
My friends might not have been, but 's music was electric to my ears.

It was so different i thought i would never hear anything like "Electric" again, but little did i know it was the true birth of New Wave (to me anyway) and for what was to come.

P.s Here is a cool link for everything you need to know about Gary Numan! www.numanme.co.uk ~ crowbarred 19.12.06

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Nope, They hated it) and the Album ranked at Number (Nope, didn't know it was out yet)
This song has a crowbarred rating of 53.6 out of 108
Search Artist here:1-2-3-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

underlay trademe

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posted by crowbarred at 11:28 pm 0 comments

Number 947 - Beatles


Number 947

Beatles

"I Want You"

(1969)
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Genre:Rock
Mr Gary Shackleton (Gazza) always reminds me "How we can get the Beatles Back together again........ with just 2 bullets)

I have ignored that comment for 20 years now. (Back then it was 3 bullets)

Still wasn't amusing back then either.

Anyhow.....

Instead of me telling you why this is the greatest band ever, lets look at some of the facts (pay attention Mr Shackleton you will learn something here)
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Total Weeks On Chart = 1,278 This is a record, NO act has had more weeks on the chart.
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Number Ones = 15 This tops the list of "Most number Ones by any act", with the Rolling Stones 5 albums behind them in 2nd place.Total Weeks At Number One = 175 A clear record, with no-one else coming anywhere near this total.
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Most weeks at Number 1 in one year = 40 This was in 1964, in 1963 they were number one for 34 weeks, and 1967 for 26 weeks.The record is by "South Pacific", which managed the whole of 1959 at number one (all 52 weeks).
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Most number 1 albums in one year = 3
The Beatles did this in 1965, the feat was equalled by in 1972.(The Beatles had two number one's in a year on five occasions)
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Album spending the longest at Number one, "Please Please Me" = 30 weeks
This is fourth in the all-time list.
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Most Consecutive weeks at Number one, "Please Please Me" = 30 weeks Second to "South Pacific", but the Beatles are 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th behind it.
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Consecutive number one hit albums = 7
This is beaten by Abba and Led Zeppelin both with 8 consecutive number ones.
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First EVER album to debut at number one = "Help !"
The Beatles then entered straight in at number 1 a total of 6 times.
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Self-replacement at the top = 2
The Beatles are the only band to twice knock themselves off the top of the chart.
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Total weeks at the top of album and singles chart at the same time = 45 weeks
This is over double the number of any other act.
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Most consecutive weeks at the top of album and singles chart at the same time = 7 weeks
Once again a record, although a few have come close.
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The most chart domination at ANY time in history = 12th December 1963
For THREE weeks, The Beatles had :The number 1 and 2 top singles.The number 1 and 2 top E.P.'sThe number 1 and 2 top albums.
The only ever "double-whammy" in history !! - 23rd July 1964
The Beatles knocked the Rolling Stones off the top slot in the Singles AND album charts.
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Consecutive Christmas Number One albums = 3 1963-1965
The Beatles ARE the artist with the highest album sales in total in the U.S.
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They have sold almost 107,000,000 albums in the U.S. (Garth Brooks is 2nd with 92,000,000)
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Gold Albums Paul McCartney has been awarded 17 in the U.K. (and 20 in the U.S.)
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The Beatles been awarded 14 in the U.K.
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For Rolling Stones see Number 689 & #767
For more Beatles see Number 489, #587, #894
For Abba See Number 919
For Led Zeppelin see Number 577 & #957
For Garth Brooks see @ MM Vol 1 #128

Beat that Miss !

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Not this one anyway) and the Album ranked at Number 14
This song has a crowbarred rating of 53.6 out of 108
Search Artist here:1-2-3-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

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posted by crowbarred at 9:00 pm 0 comments