Ok, so... the Brits has shook the charts up completely. There has been some massive changes in the chart: some positive, some less so. There's no time like the present, so I'm just diving straight in this week:
10. Big For Your Boots - Stormzy (Chart Position - 3)
Oh s***... EDM finally did it, didn't it? Call On Me really was it's last gasp, wasn't it? Now, I just want to say that this isn't the worst song from this year, because unlike Black Beatles (remember that? Barely? Good), this at least feels like someone actually wanted to try and make it interesting. However, I have to be honest... I HATE Grime. I'm sorry, but that's just my opinion. I don't like it, I just find it obnoxious, and I can never understand what it's actually about. I also hate the overuse of certain swear words, and I also find it really aggressive. In this song's defence, this is probably on the better end of Grime, but it's still full of issues: the beat is all over the place, some of the additional sounds layered over the top just don't fit, the vocals are far too fast to understand anything that Stormzy is trying to say and the mixing is terrible: it's too loud and it's just deafening. I cannot believe this has genuinely entered into the top 50 chart, let alone the top 10. I don't want to offend anyone who makes or likes Grime music, but it's completely lacking in even a basic musical competence that's just frustrating. This is poor, and You Don't Know Me is even still in the charts.
9. You Don't Know Me - Jax Jones (Chart Position - 6)
Don't think that because there's a song lower than this, that this is getting a week off... because it really isn't. This suffers from a lot of the same flaws I mentioned with Big For Your Boots. The lyrics are nonsensical, the beat has been mashed together like some kind of Frankenstein's monster, the effects are just piss poor (including the 2008 levels of auto-tune, something you certainly couldn't level at Stormzy) and the mixing is a mess. It's only saving grace is that, unlike Big For Your Boots, you don't feel like you've been deafened when the song finishes. This is still a mess, and the only saving grace of Stormzy's accent is that this song's steady position has been well and truly shattered. Hopefully, we won't have to endure it for too much longer.
8. Shape Of You: Stormzy Remix - Ed Sheeran (Chart Position - 10)
This is the first time I'll have to talk about this song on this list, and I'm not entirely happy about that. For one thing, I'm not really comfortable talking about the same song twice on this list, and second, this is just an inferior version of the original. Often, when rappers decide to remix on top of already completed songs, it just comes across as a complete mess. Now, unlike rappers like Sean Paul (see Rockabye and the single version of Little Mix's Hair from last year), at least Stormzy seems to have given some thought to his additions, and they do, for the most part, slot into the original, even if they seem to make no sense. I did think the bridge became a bit choppy, where they were cross-cutting between him and Sheeran. However, I did think the overlap of Ed and Stormzy's vocals in the chorus was actually really, really good. Stormzy has to tone down his voice, and it's automatically more successful. He's just much more subtle than in Big For Your Boots, and it's a shame he couldn't have been more like that there. It might have been more palatable. This is still a much inferior version, but it isn't completely without merit. However, I don't want it to stay, especially if it keeps How Would You Feel out of the charts.
7. Chained To The Rhythm - Katy Perry (Chart Position - 7)
I can't say that Katy Perry has ever been the most interesting artist. After all, her last album, PRISM, was met with little more than a shrug and a 'oh, is she still making music'. Sure, Dark Horse did fairly well in the charts, but the rest of them either didn't do as well as they needed to (Birthday and Unconditionally in particular) or were just plain rubbish (This Is How We Do). After that, people genuinely thought she was, musically, dead. And now, despite a brief rise in quality last year with Rise (which, while a little hollow, was at least an attempt to do something different), Katy has finally hit pure mediocrity with her latest single. Chained To The Rhythm is a completely generic pop ballad: seriously, I can barely comment on it beyond that. There's an artist called Skip Marley that... I've never heard of before, and, judging from his performance here, will never hear from again. He certainly reinforces my point about rapper's guest versing on pop songs that I made above. But, other than that, I have nothing else to say. It's bland, it's generic, it's mediocre. It's neither good, nor bad. It just sits in the complete middle, even more so than Don't Wanna Know (which, up till now, has been the most mediocre song of the year). This is just a big blob of nothing, that I really couldn't care about. There, I don't have anything else to say. I think this could be a recurring problem with this song.
6. Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers (Chart Position - 4)
The first of two Chainsmokers singles currently in the chart, this is certainly the inferior one. It's a shame, because the song has, for the most part, a dreamlike quality that gives it that feeling of when you have a perfect dream, and you're conscious of it, but still enjoying it. The lyrics themselves don't quite reflect this, being about someone basically wanting to be in a relationship. However, I really like the way it feels like you're dreaming when you listen to the song, and I really like the construction of the beat in the verses, which give off the dreamlike vibe. However, there are two problems with the song that stop this being another Chainsmokers classic. The first is the beat drop at the end of the choruses. It just comes out of nowhere, and it's far, far too obtuse. It's all over the place, loud, and rather annoying. And the second is The Chainsmokers' guest vocalist. Now, I've never been hugely enamoured to Coldplay. I've never really cared for them, and I don't really like the type of music they produce. I like Viva La Vida and Adventure Of A Lifetime, but other than that, I really don't care for them. And here, Chris Martin just sucks all the life out of the song completely, with some really flat vocals and a really bored delivery. It feels less like a great mash-up between two bands, and more like The Chainsmokers just wanted to work with their idols, and Coldplay really weren't that bothered. It's a shame, because had it not been for the two issues mentioned above, Something Just Like This would be a much better song, and would certainly be a lot higher on this list. A wasted opportunity.
5. It Ain't Me (with Selena Gomez) - Kygo (Chart Position - 9)
While EDM might be struggling, Tropical House seems to be doing rather well at the moment. Something Just Like This, Paris and this song are all big hitters on the chart, and the number of songs this genre has managed to chart so far this year has been much higher than EDM. Now, I think It Ain't Me is a pretty good song... but for the life of me I can't work out why. I just can't put my finger on what makes this song work. It's not a disaster that should be sat at the bottom of the chart, it's just I've no idea why this song works. There's the summery feelings that the song gives off, yet that's not the reason why this song works. There's Selena Gomez, who I've never been hugely keen on, giving one of her stronger vocal performances, yet that's not the reason why this song works. There's the up-tempo beat, and lightness of touch in the production, yet that's not the reason why this song works. I'm genuinely stumped by this song, and have no idea what to make of it. There's nothing quite like it on the charts at the moment, which is both a good and a bad thing. I simply have no clue as to why this song works, it just does. It's a freak of nature, and it's a mystery that's going to bug me until I figure it out. Still, at least I like it. That means that I don't mind listening to it over and over again to work out what it is I like about it. Could be worse.
4. Paris - The Chainsmokers (Chart Position - 5)
I feel like this song hasn't had the attention that it deserves. In the past few weeks, Paris has been surrounded by massive new behemoths that it's just faded into the background. And it's a shame, because it's an important charting point in The Chainsmokers' story. With each song, I feel like they reinvent themselves slightly, trying to push at being different, and not remaining predictable. While Paris follows similar lines to Closer and All We Know, it feels like the natural extension of those two: rather than just being a song that's similar to them, it builds upon them instead. The world building that the song creates is fantastic: more so than any song in the top 10 right now, this song is telling a story. I love the poetry, the imagery and the wonderful way it conjures up the feeling of the most amazing romantic escape. The tone, the lyrics, the beat, the vocals, all of them are near perfect, and Paris is an excellent song from a group who, since Closer, have been firing on all cylinders.
3. Human - Rag'n'Bone Man (Chart Position - 8)
Having been involved in possibly the biggest BRITS in this decade, Rag'n'Bone Man is certainly riding the crest of the wave. Human is, as I have said many times, an amazing song, a highlight of the decade, and an amazing piece of work. Of course, it has, perhaps, suffered from a great deal of overplay, but I can't deny that it's a great song that manages to be suitably different form everything else on the charts at the moment. Yep, I really like this.
2. Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran (Chart Position - 2)
It feels like, at the moment, Ed Sheeran is everywhere. He's inescapable. However, I can't really complain, especially if he's producing music like this. I love this song's very open melodies, it's road trip nature and Sheeran's vocals are fantastic. I think that, out of the two releases that have sat at the top of the chart for nearly 2 months now, this is probably the one that's had the least exposure, which is a real shame, as it's such a great piece of work. I haven't tired of this song yet, and I certainly hope not to, because it's utterly fantastic.
1. Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran (Chart Position - 1)
Simply amazing.
What, you want me to say some more?
Well, it's one of the strongest songs around at the moment. I'm really surprised that this hasn't dropped in popularity or quality. While the two previous songs on this list are still amazing, I don't think I could listen to them on a constant loop like this one. This has got strong vocals, excellent lyrics, a very good beat, some fantastic melodies and a great deal of replay factor. I think that this could remain as good as it has done for a good portion of the year (something I think it will need to, since I don't think that it's going anywhere), and the end of the year will be interesting with a song like this.
So, this is the Spotify Chart cross-compared with my listings for ease of reference:
Spotify:
1. Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran
2. Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran
3. Big For Your Boots - Stormzy
4. Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers
5. Paris - The Chainsmokers
6. You Don't Know Me - Jax Jones
7. Chained To The Rhythm - Katy Perry
8. Human - Rag'n'Bone Man
9. It Ain't Me (with Selena Gomez) - Kygo
10. Shape Of You: Stormzy Remix - Ed Sheeran
Me:
1. Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran
2. Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran
3. Human - Rag'n'Bone Man
4. Paris - The Chainsmokers
5. It Ain't Me (with Selena Gomez) - Kygo
6. Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers
7. Chained To The Rhythm - Katy Perry
8. Shape Of You: Stormzy Remix - Ed Sheeran
9. You Don't Know Me - Jax Jones
10. Big For Your Boots - Stormzy
Join me next week for our first chart ranking of March!
10. Big For Your Boots - Stormzy (Chart Position - 3)
Oh s***... EDM finally did it, didn't it? Call On Me really was it's last gasp, wasn't it? Now, I just want to say that this isn't the worst song from this year, because unlike Black Beatles (remember that? Barely? Good), this at least feels like someone actually wanted to try and make it interesting. However, I have to be honest... I HATE Grime. I'm sorry, but that's just my opinion. I don't like it, I just find it obnoxious, and I can never understand what it's actually about. I also hate the overuse of certain swear words, and I also find it really aggressive. In this song's defence, this is probably on the better end of Grime, but it's still full of issues: the beat is all over the place, some of the additional sounds layered over the top just don't fit, the vocals are far too fast to understand anything that Stormzy is trying to say and the mixing is terrible: it's too loud and it's just deafening. I cannot believe this has genuinely entered into the top 50 chart, let alone the top 10. I don't want to offend anyone who makes or likes Grime music, but it's completely lacking in even a basic musical competence that's just frustrating. This is poor, and You Don't Know Me is even still in the charts.
9. You Don't Know Me - Jax Jones (Chart Position - 6)Don't think that because there's a song lower than this, that this is getting a week off... because it really isn't. This suffers from a lot of the same flaws I mentioned with Big For Your Boots. The lyrics are nonsensical, the beat has been mashed together like some kind of Frankenstein's monster, the effects are just piss poor (including the 2008 levels of auto-tune, something you certainly couldn't level at Stormzy) and the mixing is a mess. It's only saving grace is that, unlike Big For Your Boots, you don't feel like you've been deafened when the song finishes. This is still a mess, and the only saving grace of Stormzy's accent is that this song's steady position has been well and truly shattered. Hopefully, we won't have to endure it for too much longer.
8. Shape Of You: Stormzy Remix - Ed Sheeran (Chart Position - 10)
This is the first time I'll have to talk about this song on this list, and I'm not entirely happy about that. For one thing, I'm not really comfortable talking about the same song twice on this list, and second, this is just an inferior version of the original. Often, when rappers decide to remix on top of already completed songs, it just comes across as a complete mess. Now, unlike rappers like Sean Paul (see Rockabye and the single version of Little Mix's Hair from last year), at least Stormzy seems to have given some thought to his additions, and they do, for the most part, slot into the original, even if they seem to make no sense. I did think the bridge became a bit choppy, where they were cross-cutting between him and Sheeran. However, I did think the overlap of Ed and Stormzy's vocals in the chorus was actually really, really good. Stormzy has to tone down his voice, and it's automatically more successful. He's just much more subtle than in Big For Your Boots, and it's a shame he couldn't have been more like that there. It might have been more palatable. This is still a much inferior version, but it isn't completely without merit. However, I don't want it to stay, especially if it keeps How Would You Feel out of the charts. 7. Chained To The Rhythm - Katy Perry (Chart Position - 7)
I can't say that Katy Perry has ever been the most interesting artist. After all, her last album, PRISM, was met with little more than a shrug and a 'oh, is she still making music'. Sure, Dark Horse did fairly well in the charts, but the rest of them either didn't do as well as they needed to (Birthday and Unconditionally in particular) or were just plain rubbish (This Is How We Do). After that, people genuinely thought she was, musically, dead. And now, despite a brief rise in quality last year with Rise (which, while a little hollow, was at least an attempt to do something different), Katy has finally hit pure mediocrity with her latest single. Chained To The Rhythm is a completely generic pop ballad: seriously, I can barely comment on it beyond that. There's an artist called Skip Marley that... I've never heard of before, and, judging from his performance here, will never hear from again. He certainly reinforces my point about rapper's guest versing on pop songs that I made above. But, other than that, I have nothing else to say. It's bland, it's generic, it's mediocre. It's neither good, nor bad. It just sits in the complete middle, even more so than Don't Wanna Know (which, up till now, has been the most mediocre song of the year). This is just a big blob of nothing, that I really couldn't care about. There, I don't have anything else to say. I think this could be a recurring problem with this song. 6. Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers (Chart Position - 4)
The first of two Chainsmokers singles currently in the chart, this is certainly the inferior one. It's a shame, because the song has, for the most part, a dreamlike quality that gives it that feeling of when you have a perfect dream, and you're conscious of it, but still enjoying it. The lyrics themselves don't quite reflect this, being about someone basically wanting to be in a relationship. However, I really like the way it feels like you're dreaming when you listen to the song, and I really like the construction of the beat in the verses, which give off the dreamlike vibe. However, there are two problems with the song that stop this being another Chainsmokers classic. The first is the beat drop at the end of the choruses. It just comes out of nowhere, and it's far, far too obtuse. It's all over the place, loud, and rather annoying. And the second is The Chainsmokers' guest vocalist. Now, I've never been hugely enamoured to Coldplay. I've never really cared for them, and I don't really like the type of music they produce. I like Viva La Vida and Adventure Of A Lifetime, but other than that, I really don't care for them. And here, Chris Martin just sucks all the life out of the song completely, with some really flat vocals and a really bored delivery. It feels less like a great mash-up between two bands, and more like The Chainsmokers just wanted to work with their idols, and Coldplay really weren't that bothered. It's a shame, because had it not been for the two issues mentioned above, Something Just Like This would be a much better song, and would certainly be a lot higher on this list. A wasted opportunity. 5. It Ain't Me (with Selena Gomez) - Kygo (Chart Position - 9)
While EDM might be struggling, Tropical House seems to be doing rather well at the moment. Something Just Like This, Paris and this song are all big hitters on the chart, and the number of songs this genre has managed to chart so far this year has been much higher than EDM. Now, I think It Ain't Me is a pretty good song... but for the life of me I can't work out why. I just can't put my finger on what makes this song work. It's not a disaster that should be sat at the bottom of the chart, it's just I've no idea why this song works. There's the summery feelings that the song gives off, yet that's not the reason why this song works. There's Selena Gomez, who I've never been hugely keen on, giving one of her stronger vocal performances, yet that's not the reason why this song works. There's the up-tempo beat, and lightness of touch in the production, yet that's not the reason why this song works. I'm genuinely stumped by this song, and have no idea what to make of it. There's nothing quite like it on the charts at the moment, which is both a good and a bad thing. I simply have no clue as to why this song works, it just does. It's a freak of nature, and it's a mystery that's going to bug me until I figure it out. Still, at least I like it. That means that I don't mind listening to it over and over again to work out what it is I like about it. Could be worse.4. Paris - The Chainsmokers (Chart Position - 5)
I feel like this song hasn't had the attention that it deserves. In the past few weeks, Paris has been surrounded by massive new behemoths that it's just faded into the background. And it's a shame, because it's an important charting point in The Chainsmokers' story. With each song, I feel like they reinvent themselves slightly, trying to push at being different, and not remaining predictable. While Paris follows similar lines to Closer and All We Know, it feels like the natural extension of those two: rather than just being a song that's similar to them, it builds upon them instead. The world building that the song creates is fantastic: more so than any song in the top 10 right now, this song is telling a story. I love the poetry, the imagery and the wonderful way it conjures up the feeling of the most amazing romantic escape. The tone, the lyrics, the beat, the vocals, all of them are near perfect, and Paris is an excellent song from a group who, since Closer, have been firing on all cylinders. 3. Human - Rag'n'Bone Man (Chart Position - 8)
Having been involved in possibly the biggest BRITS in this decade, Rag'n'Bone Man is certainly riding the crest of the wave. Human is, as I have said many times, an amazing song, a highlight of the decade, and an amazing piece of work. Of course, it has, perhaps, suffered from a great deal of overplay, but I can't deny that it's a great song that manages to be suitably different form everything else on the charts at the moment. Yep, I really like this. 2. Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran (Chart Position - 2)
It feels like, at the moment, Ed Sheeran is everywhere. He's inescapable. However, I can't really complain, especially if he's producing music like this. I love this song's very open melodies, it's road trip nature and Sheeran's vocals are fantastic. I think that, out of the two releases that have sat at the top of the chart for nearly 2 months now, this is probably the one that's had the least exposure, which is a real shame, as it's such a great piece of work. I haven't tired of this song yet, and I certainly hope not to, because it's utterly fantastic. 1. Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran (Chart Position - 1)
Simply amazing.What, you want me to say some more?
Well, it's one of the strongest songs around at the moment. I'm really surprised that this hasn't dropped in popularity or quality. While the two previous songs on this list are still amazing, I don't think I could listen to them on a constant loop like this one. This has got strong vocals, excellent lyrics, a very good beat, some fantastic melodies and a great deal of replay factor. I think that this could remain as good as it has done for a good portion of the year (something I think it will need to, since I don't think that it's going anywhere), and the end of the year will be interesting with a song like this.
So, this is the Spotify Chart cross-compared with my listings for ease of reference:
Spotify:
1. Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran
2. Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran
3. Big For Your Boots - Stormzy
4. Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers
5. Paris - The Chainsmokers
6. You Don't Know Me - Jax Jones
7. Chained To The Rhythm - Katy Perry
8. Human - Rag'n'Bone Man
9. It Ain't Me (with Selena Gomez) - Kygo
10. Shape Of You: Stormzy Remix - Ed Sheeran
Me:
1. Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran
2. Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran
3. Human - Rag'n'Bone Man
4. Paris - The Chainsmokers
5. It Ain't Me (with Selena Gomez) - Kygo
6. Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers
7. Chained To The Rhythm - Katy Perry
8. Shape Of You: Stormzy Remix - Ed Sheeran
9. You Don't Know Me - Jax Jones
10. Big For Your Boots - Stormzy
Join me next week for our first chart ranking of March!
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