4 March 2004 A chart-topping pop record called 'Toxic' is distilled essence of the '00s. The early '00s especially were high times for lads mags, zoo radio, upskirt paparazzi, skeezy music videos, and an all-round unpleasant pop-cultural vibe: a virtual Temple Bar of crassness, sexism, homophobia and misogyny. Ironically, 'Toxic' isn't the worst offender: the … Continue reading Britney Spears – ‘Toxic’
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Kelis – ‘Milkshake’
29 January 2004 'Milkshake' popped up in the news unexpectedly in 2022, in circumstances best described as sour. A snippet of it was interpolated by Beyoncé in 'Energy', from her blockbusting album Renaissance, where 'Milkshake' was credited as “written by Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and performed by Kelis.” Kelis had previously criticised the Neptunes as … Continue reading Kelis – ‘Milkshake’
Will Young – ‘Leave Right Now’
20 December 2003 The male TV talent show stars of 2002-03—Will Young and Gareth Gates in the UK, Mickey Joe Harte and Simon Casey here in Ireland—were a homogenous bunch: mild-mannered, boyish, with similar spiky haircuts and blazer-over-bootcut-jeans dress sense. If that profile sounds familiar, then yes, they were a sort of applied Westlife - … Continue reading Will Young – ‘Leave Right Now’
The Black Eyed Peas – ‘Shut Up’
13 December 2003 Their reign of tedium beds in. 'Shut Up' is The Black Eyed Peas par incompétence: an inane shouty catchphrase hammered home by matching stresses in the music and rhythm. Kids: this is what '00s radio sounded like, and this sort of bland, dumbed-down school-age frippery is generally the only rap and hip … Continue reading The Black Eyed Peas – ‘Shut Up’
Westlife – ‘Mandy’
22 November 2003 You probably know all this already, but it was new information to me that Barry Manilow's 'Mandy' was itself a cover version - and the song was originally called 'Brandy', not 'Mandy'. Further intel—let's just say that the Westlife offering includes an autobiography and leave it there—holds that the brainwave for Westlife … Continue reading Westlife – ‘Mandy’
Britney Spears ft. Madonna – ‘Me Against The Music’
15 November 2003 'Me Against The Music' was Madonna's first Irish number one in 14 years, since 'Like A Prayer' in 1989. (Yes, that means Madonna had no Irish number one singles in the '90s.) In the grand scheme of things this doesn't mean much by itself; she had four UK number ones in that … Continue reading Britney Spears ft. Madonna – ‘Me Against The Music’
Fatman Scoop ft. The Crooklyn Clan – ‘Be Faithful’
8 November 2003 I've waded through enough of the Outhere Brothers, Eminem and Shaggy at number one to know that any single which comes in a 'clean' and a 'dirty' version will attract a certain clientele. 'Be Faithful' in dirty mode makes liberal use, in one of its many exuberant chant-along refrains, of the world's … Continue reading Fatman Scoop ft. The Crooklyn Clan – ‘Be Faithful’
The Black Eyed Peas – ‘Where Is The Love?’
6 September 2003 One of the fonder memories of my '00s and '10s in Paris is being in the starting area of various marathons and half-marathons when the sound system invariably dropped some Black Eyed Peas, to which hundreds of keyed-up pre-race French runners around me would groan a pained "aww mer-de!" As music criticism … Continue reading The Black Eyed Peas – ‘Where Is The Love?’
Blu Cantrell ft. Sean Paul – ‘Breathe’
23 August 2003 Sean Paul's breakthrough hit 'Get Busy' had only reached no. 14 in the Irish charts earlier in 2003. However, it was a massive US number one and drove a mainstream surge in the Diwali Riddim—that distinctive handclapping beat—and dancefloor in general. It also serves as groundwork for the arrival of a new … Continue reading Blu Cantrell ft. Sean Paul – ‘Breathe’
XTM – ‘Fly On The Wings Of Love’
9 August 2003 Well, this is cheeky. Mickey Harte's 2003 Irish Eurovision entry and number one 'We've Got The World' was noticed to have a similar chorus melody to the 2000 Eurovision winner, 'Fly On The Wings Of Love' (or as it was known in my house, 'Wings On The Fly Of Love') by the … Continue reading XTM – ‘Fly On The Wings Of Love’
