5 April 2007 With its cheerleader-chanting vocals and clapping rhythms, topped with a prominent "you're so fine", 'Girlfriend' certainly owes a tip of the metaphorical hat to Toni Basil's 1981 smash hit 'Mickey'. However, it was a late-'70s US power pop band called The Rubinoos who went lawyer-side at its similarities to the chorus of … Continue reading Avril Lavigne – ‘Girlfriend’ →

29 March 2007 There's a whole sub-genre of '00s landfill indie and alt-rock that soundtracked deathbed scenes in Grey's Anatomy. If you, a Grey's Anatomy character, caught the swelling strains of Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars', for instance, you weren't much longer for this world. 'How To Save A Life', title irony and all, is another … Continue reading The Fray – ‘How To Save A Life’ →

22 March 2007 A lot has changed since 2007 - for instance, you now know 21 Demands by a different name. However, in 2007 a lot had already changed too. 21 Demands came to prominence that year as the runner-up in the latest series of You're A Star, which by now had recused itself from … Continue reading 21 Demands – ‘Give Me A Minute’ →

1 February 2007 There are two kinds of people in the world: those who like Queen, and those who'd sooner listen to roadworks. I'm in the latter, correct camp. Mika is clearly in the former: aside from name-checking Freddie Mercury, he could just as well have named this whole Freddie-style flamboyant piano-driven track after him … Continue reading Mika – ‘Grace Kelly’ →