12 August 2004 Moldova and Romania weren't among the ten countries who officially joined the EU in an outdoor ceremony on a warm, sunny Irish day in May 2004. Their respective candidate status and accession come a few years later. Still, there's a nice serendipity to us also having that summer our first Irish number … Continue reading O-Zone – ‘Dragostea Din Tei’ →

22 July 2004 I'm just like you. I see some of these Irish chart toppers from back in the day and I too go: really? That actually went to number one? Yes, I remember 'Dry Your Eyes' from 2004, but The Streets had until then been a sort of critically-acclaimed indie-garage UK rap act: Mike … Continue reading The Streets – ‘Dry Your Eyes’ →

17 June 2004 We're still a few years from public head-shaving and private conservatorship, but already by 2004 the Britney story was becoming uncomfortable viewing. I had the impression that 'Everytime' leant into that mood by design, so it didn't appeal to me greatly then and I haven't looked forward to revisiting it now. On … Continue reading Britney Spears – ‘Everytime’ →

20 May 2004 As a Kerry person, I have devoted my life to showing compassion to people from Cork. Yes, they live in their own filth and eat their young: we know all that; we don't need to rehash their many failings. Let's instead celebrate the positive in Cork. After all, Cork are the second-best … Continue reading Tim O’Riordan & Natural Gas – ‘The Langer’ →

15 April 2004 "Disingenuous" is probably not the first bone you'd pick with this single, I grant you. However, the expression 'Fuck It', the track's title, has an air of resigned acceptance: a world-weary shrug. The track itself, though, is a spittle-flecked, vein-bulging "Fuck you", repeatedly, to a woman he calls some quite derogatory and … Continue reading Eamon – ‘F**k It (I Don’t Want You Back)’ →

1 April 2004 The capital of US chart music in 2004 was Atlanta. Already that year, OutKast had occupied the top two spots of the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, the sort of pre-digital feat then associated with The Beatles. Now here's Usher, Texas-born but relocated to Atlanta at age ten, with the first … Continue reading Usher ft. Lil Jon & Ludacris – ‘Yeah!’ →

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’ →

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’ →