Music

[Tim Down]

Hail to the Theif is underrated as a Radiohead album.

I thought after Kid A and Amnesiac I found Hail to the Thief to be a let down apart from the 2 singles.
I love In Rainbows so much more in fact as a body of work it's just about my favourite

Totally disagree. In Rainbows was a disappointment for me and is way overrated. Does it even have a single? I really only liked Faust Arp as a song. I get that an album should be more than the sum of its parts but that's why I think Httt is underrated. I think it demands a listen as a whole work and a re-evaluation. I think In Rainbows got more attention than it deserves because it used the pay as much as you want model. If I was to rank Radiohead albums I would go as follows.

1. OK Computer/The Bends
2. Kid A
4. Hail to the Theif
5. Amnesiac
6. Pablo Honey
7. In Rainbows/King of Limbs/Moon Shaped Pool.

The last three albums for me were much of a muchness. Radiohead by numbers. The b-sides were probably better than what was on the albums. And I can't pick between Ok Computer and The Bends for the top spot.

I disagree strongly enough to be moved to post, several months later. I think In Rainbows is excellent, a nice blend of the electronic stuff that they proved they weren't very good at on Kid A and Amnesiac and the more guitar-based stuff that they do well, plus the best set of songs they'd written since OK Computer. I'll agree with you that the recovery began with Hail to the Thief, which has several good tracks but is let down by variable quality, and that the last two albums are a considerable step down from everything since Pablo Honey.

My ranking:

1. The Bends
2. OK Computer
3. In Rainbows
4. Hail to the Thief
5. Kid A
6. Amnesiac
7. King of Limbs/A Moon Shaped Pool/Pablo Honey - I never listen to these

[Tim Down]

I think paying for downloads is almost as mental as buying physical music.

Four reasons to pay for downloads:

1. Not all music is available to stream
2. Once downloaded, no reliance on the internet
3. Making compilations for others
4. Less energy use

[Paul Worsley]

I think paying for downloads is almost as mental as buying physical music.

Four reasons to pay for downloads:

1. Not all music is available to stream
2. Once downloaded, no reliance on the internet
3. Making compilations for others
4. Less energy use

5. The artist gets paid for their talent and effort.

[Jon O'Neill]

I think paying for downloads is almost as mental as buying physical music.

Four reasons to pay for downloads:

1. Not all music is available to stream
2. Once downloaded, no reliance on the internet
3. Making compilations for others
4. Less energy use

5. The artist gets paid for their talent and effort.

Yeah, I get that there are upsides to not streaming. Although I would contest almost all of the above...

1. Could you provide examples of music that isn't available to stream? I would have thought it would be extremely niche by now. And there is vastly more music available to stream than buy physically or download (I'm including YouTube here).
2. You can download stuff for offline playback with all streaming platforms.
3. You can make playlists for others with any streaming platform, although admittedly if the recipient isn't a subscriber they would get ads.
4. I don't get how.
5. Very complex area. Overall streaming is a net increaser of music revenues but the distribution model is currently broken in my opinion. However, streaming gives a platform to absolutely everyone to build an audience and then go and play live, flog merchandise etc. What about all the artists you could potentially love but don't hear because you only download music from the same artists you know?

[Callum Todd]

4. I don't get how.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2019 ... ate-change

Mostly comparing streaming to physical media but from the description of how streaming uses energy should make it obvious why downloading uses less.

[Jon O'Neill]

4. I don't get how.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2019 ... ate-change

Mostly comparing streaming to physical media but from the description of how streaming uses energy should make it obvious why downloading uses less.

I can't effectively articulate how weak I find this line of reasoning to be. The underlying concept that every watt-hour of electricity you use is an abdication of morality and an unforgivable sleight on the future of the planet is, at best, meaningless and, at worst, limply falling for the trap that the capitalist machine has set to absolve itself of any responsibility for climate change.

[Jon O'Neill]

"However, if we listen to our streamed music using a hi-fi sound system it’s estimated to use 107 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, costing about £15.00 to run. A CD player uses 34.7 kilowatt hours a year and costs £5 to run."

This is also absolute bollocks. What CD player are they talking about that isn't connected to a hi-fi system? How is that a fair comparison? Total nonsense and terrible science, which is an absolute hallmark of this article and this type of rhetoric in general.

[Callum Todd]

The fair comparison point you make notwithstanding, my linking of the article was only intended to provide information about how downloading uses less energy than streaming, which was all that Tim asserted and you said you didn't get how.

The follow-on implications that article makes about energy use are irrelevant, unless you meant you don't get how less energy use is of moral or other value, rather than how that is the case.

[Jon O'Neill]

The fair comparison point you make notwithstanding, my linking of the article was only intended to provide information about how downloading uses less energy than streaming, which was all that Tim asserted and you said you didn't get how.

The follow-on implications that article makes about energy use are irrelevant, unless you meant you don't get how less energy use is of moral or other value, rather than how that is the case.

If that article captures the gist of the argument that energy use is lower for downloading rather than streaming, then it's negligible, or no different. So I do contest Tim's assertion that it's not mental to download music rather than stream it on the basis of energy use.

It's like saying that using Graeme's buzzers in an in-person tournament is somehow morally questionable when you could choose not to use the electricity. If you were evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of Graeme's buzzers you'd never put "energy use" in the weaknesses column, even though it's factually true.

[Paul Worsley]

5. Very complex area. Overall streaming is a net increaser of music revenues but the distribution model is currently broken in my opinion. However, streaming gives a platform to absolutely everyone to build an audience and then go and play live, flog merchandise etc. What about all the artists you could potentially love but don't hear because you only download music from the same artists you know?

It's so much harder for new artists to break through now. It is true that anyone can upload a video to YouTube, but the problem is that the good stuff gets lost amongst the not so good.

Back in the 70s and 80s record companies were prepared to invest time and money in new artists, in the belief that they would recoup their money many times over if the artist made it to the point where people wanted to buy their records. Today, even if you do get that far, then your first album better be good, as you'll be dropped if it doesn't sell well. Many bands that are household names today would have fallen at this hurdle. Bruce Springsteen, Genesis, David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac (in both their incarnations) would not have been given the chance to record a second album. It's also highly unlikely that an album like Bat Out Of Hell would get made today.

You mention live music, but the truth is that there are far fewer live venues than there were twenty or thirty years ago. When they started out The Beatles were able to play most nights of the week without leaving Liverpool. Now they'd be lucky to get two gigs a week.

The end result of this is that record companies won't take a chance on new bands, and won't give them time to develop. They just stick with what they know, and the music all sounds the same.*

Another unintended consequence of free live streaming is the death of the weekly "hit parade" (see above) and the cancellation of Top of the Pops. At one time an appearance on TOTP could be a golden ticket for new bands and singers.

*I turned 60 this year, so this might just be me.

[Marc Meakin]

Not Just you Paul (I'm 60 in May)
Some good stuff energies that I like like Lizzo, Taylor Swift and Postmodern Jukebox

[Marc Meakin]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63647648

Maybe here is better

[Tim Down]

Four reasons to pay for downloads:

1. Not all music is available to stream
2. Once downloaded, no reliance on the internet
3. Making compilations for others
4. Less energy use

5. The artist gets paid for their talent and effort.

Yeah, I get that there are upsides to not streaming. Although I would contest almost all of the above...

1. Could you provide examples of music that isn't available to stream? I would have thought it would be extremely niche by now. And there is vastly more music available to stream than buy physically or download (I'm including YouTube here).
2. You can download stuff for offline playback with all streaming platforms.
3. You can make playlists for others with any streaming platform, although admittedly if the recipient isn't a subscriber they would get ads.
4. I don't get how.
5. Very complex area. Overall streaming is a net increaser of music revenues but the distribution model is currently broken in my opinion. However, streaming gives a platform to absolutely everyone to build an audience and then go and play live, flog merchandise etc. What about all the artists you could potentially love but don't hear because you only download music from the same artists you know?

1. Until a couple of years ago, everything by the KLF. Also, I bought the latest album by The Future Sound of London last week as a download because it was, in common with the majority of their more recent releases, not available on streaming services. FSOL have never been properly mainstream but were fairly famous in the 90s, so I'd say niche but not *extremely* niche. There are plenty of other things, particularly electronic music, that I listen to that aren't on Spotify. Also B-sides by mainstream artists.
2. Yes, but only in a limited way. In the case of Spotify (which is the only service I have), the downloaded files only work for a 30 days before you have to resync with the mothership. If Spotify went away, all offline copies would become useless within 30 days. Furthermore, you can only play offline copies in Spotify. It certainly doesn't feel like you own the music in a way that you do with a downloaded or physical copy.
3. Exactly: it relies on the recipient having a subscription to the same streaming service. Plus: incompleteness (see 1).
4. Addressed by others. It isn't something that had even occurred to me to worry about until recently though.
5. I can't believe I forgot this point originally. Complex though the area is, it is a fact that I spend vastly less on music than I used to before streaming while listening to just as much, and I would be extremely surprised if the total amount of money of mine that actually ends up going to artists hasn't also decreased significantly, which isn't what I want.

[Gavin Chipper]

So now you have a situation where Mariah Carey is number 1 each Christmas

Going off at a tangent here, I find it strange that the Mariah Carey song is the most streamed at Christmas. I've never really seen it as a Christmas classic, primarily because it just isn't very good. If someone asked me to name the ultimate classic pop/rock Christmas song, I'd say the one by Slade. Once you reach the point in your life where you realise that the Slade song and the Wizzard song are definitely two different songs, it's clear which the better one is. But there's loads I'd put in front of that Mariah Carey rubbish.

Edit - I meant to add that I wonder if passive streaming has something to do with it.

[Andres Sanchez]

So now you have a situation where Mariah Carey is number 1 each Christmas

Going off at a tangent here, I find it strange that the Mariah Carey song is the most streamed at Christmas. I've never really seen it as a Christmas classic, primarily because it just isn't very good. If someone asked me to name the ultimate classic pop/rock Christmas song, I'd say the one by Slade. Once you reach the point in your life where you realise that the Slade song and the Wizzard song are definitely two different songs, it's clear which the better one is. But there's loads I'd put in front of that Mariah Carey rubbish.

Edit - I meant to add that I wonder if passive streaming has something to do with it.

I'll be honest and say I've been starting to like the song a little more. So much so I found music stems online for each instrument and decided to ask music friends to help me out with recreating it from those, I think what gets me with the songs is the chords as pop music nowadays doesn't go far outside the whole I iv IV V bullshit. Ofc there's some good songs that do that e.g. Unholy by Sam Smith & Kim Petras, but I don't think I've heard a lot of pop music that goes out of that boundary.

[Mark James]

Anyone else get that thing where, it's not that a song is stuck in your head, but you just get obsessed with listening to one song over and over again for like a week?

I recently found this fantsstic video https://youtu.be/eGQQL29-2b0 of the isolated guitar track on Toto's Africa. You can barely hear it in the mix but it inspired me to listen to the original non stop for ages.

Currently though I'm obsessed with Chain Reaction by Diana Ross, written by one of the Beegees. There's like 6 key changes or something. It's bloody phenomenal.

[Marc Meakin]

Anyone else get that thing where, it's not that a song is stuck in your head, but you just get obsessed with listening to one song over and over again for like a week?

I recently found this fantsstic video https://youtu.be/eGQQL29-2b0 of the isolated guitar track on Toto's Africa. You can barely hear it in the mix but it inspired me to listen to the original non stop for ages.

Currently though I'm obsessed with Chain Reaction by Diana Ross, written by one of the Beegees. There's like 6 key changes or something. It's bloody phenomenal.

Written by the Bee Gees and backing vocals.
Im not ashamed to say that I like them more than The Beatles.
Some of their best work is for other artists

[Mark James]

There's the line from Wayne's World where they say Led Zeppelin didn't write tunes that everyone likes, they left that up to the Beegees. I personally would have picked ABBA for the example to make the point but yeah, Beegees is fair enough. Great song writing. I think Toto are underrated in that regard too.

[Marc Meakin]

There's the line from Wayne's World where they say Led Zeppelin didn't write tunes that everyone likes, they left that up to the Beegees. I personally would have picked ABBA for the example to make the point but yeah, Beegees is fair enough. Great song writing. I think Toto are underrated in that regard too.

I'm a big fan of Rosanna, but Africa has been played to death

[Gavin Chipper]

OK, if you take 7 members of one family, get them to pick 8 songs each, then pick a few more between you to get it up to 64 and then do a knockout voting tournament, which song do you think wins? It may surprise you, but the answer is Instant Crush by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes). Take it away.

[Marc Meakin]

OK, if you take 7 members of one family, get them to pick 8 songs each, then pick a few more between you to get it up to 64 and then do a knockout voting tournament, which song do you think wins? It may surprise you, but the answer is Instant Crush by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes). Take it away.

One assumes the demographics of this family are 40 year olds and below

[Gavin Chipper]

OK, if you take 7 members of one family, get them to pick 8 songs each, then pick a few more between you to get it up to 64 and then do a knockout voting tournament, which song do you think wins? It may surprise you, but the answer is Instant Crush by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes). Take it away.

One assumes the demographics of this family are 40 year olds and below

There is a span of over 60 years. Does that mean you don't like it?

[Marc Meakin]

Not that I don't like it neccessarily but it wouldn't make the 64 in my family but I'm 60, my kids are in their 20s and 30s and my siblings are mainly older.
Its not even in my top 5 Daft Punk songs tbh.

[Ian Volante]

OK, if you take 7 members of one family, get them to pick 8 songs each, then pick a few more between you to get it up to 64 and then do a knockout voting tournament, which song do you think wins? It may surprise you, but the answer is Instant Crush by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes). Take it away.

It's not bad, but I think the next song on that album is vastly more listenable and danceable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF-kLy44Hls

[Gavin Chipper]

OK, if you take 7 members of one family, get them to pick 8 songs each, then pick a few more between you to get it up to 64 and then do a knockout voting tournament, which song do you think wins? It may surprise you, but the answer is Instant Crush by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes). Take it away.

It's not bad, but I think the next song on that album is vastly more listenable and danceable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF-kLy44Hls

I personally think that one's a bit meh.

[Gavin Chipper]

But anyway, it would be interesting if some of you went away and did this. Get some family and/or friends together (preferably an odd number), pick e.g. 32 or 64 of your favourite songs between you and run a knockout competition.

[Marc Meakin]

But anyway, it would be interesting if some of you went away and did this. Get some family and/or friends together (preferably an odd number), pick e.g. 32 or 64 of your favourite songs between you and run a knockout competition.

Funny you should say that.
I did something similar but it was greatest dance song.
It was only 32 choices but the age group was from 70 down to 25 average age around 45.
We got down to I Feel Love by Donna Summer v I wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston and Whitney won convincingly
Did this about 5 years ago at a family party

[Marc Meakin]

I also did a Karaoke one and Stand By Me just Pipped Always on My Mind

[Ian Volante]

1. Could you provide examples of music that isn't available to stream? I would have thought it would be extremely niche by now. And there is vastly more music available to stream than buy physically or download (I'm including YouTube here).

I made a playlist on Deezer recently of an old dance compilation, and quickly ran into problems of availability. Mostly, it was a preponderance of the 7" or radio versions of the song, or more modern remixes which seemed to be available, but not the remixes available from the time. This was the case for about a quarter of the songs I was trying to get hold of. The relevant versions are all there on youtube for example. Not checked other services as I don't have membership.

[Marc Meakin]

Have we done this yet:
First record you ever bought with your own money.
I think mine was Shame, Evelyn "champagne" King 12 inch.

[Mark James]

Have we done this yet:
First record you ever bought with your own money.
I think mine was Shame, Evelyn "champagne" King 12 inch.

Think the first CD single I bought was Brimful of Asha by Cornershop.

First CD album with my own money was probably Appetite for Destruction by Guns 'N' Roses but may have been Led Zeppelin Remasters.

I also bought OK Computer by Radiohead on cassette.

Before all that I just taped songs off the radio or got friends to copy theirs.

[Jon O'Neill]

1. Could you provide examples of music that isn't available to stream? I would have thought it would be extremely niche by now. And there is vastly more music available to stream than buy physically or download (I'm including YouTube here).

I made a playlist on Deezer recently of an old dance compilation, and quickly ran into problems of availability. Mostly, it was a preponderance of the 7" or radio versions of the song, or more modern remixes which seemed to be available, but not the remixes available from the time. This was the case for about a quarter of the songs I was trying to get hold of. The relevant versions are all there on youtube for example. Not checked other services as I don't have membership.

All YouTube videos are available in YouTube music, which is the streaming service I happen to subscribe to. If you like anything niche then that's the obvious choice. The sound quality is often not great admittedly. Were these versions easy to download as opposed to stream?

[Ian Volante]

1. Could you provide examples of music that isn't available to stream? I would have thought it would be extremely niche by now. And there is vastly more music available to stream than buy physically or download (I'm including YouTube here).

I made a playlist on Deezer recently of an old dance compilation, and quickly ran into problems of availability. Mostly, it was a preponderance of the 7" or radio versions of the song, or more modern remixes which seemed to be available, but not the remixes available from the time. This was the case for about a quarter of the songs I was trying to get hold of. The relevant versions are all there on youtube for example. Not checked other services as I don't have membership.

All YouTube videos are available in YouTube music, which is the streaming service I happen to subscribe to. If you like anything niche then that's the obvious choice. The sound quality is often not great admittedly. Were these versions easy to download as opposed to stream?

As far as I can remember, I've managed to download all this stuff at some point, but that's more a factor of finding other people who are sharing the correct stuff rather than more conventional means.

Also, youtube's a good bit more expensive than Deezer, so I don't think I'll be moving right now.

Is youtube just reliant on randoms uploading this stuff then?

[Jon O'Neill]

I made a playlist on Deezer recently of an old dance compilation, and quickly ran into problems of availability. Mostly, it was a preponderance of the 7" or radio versions of the song, or more modern remixes which seemed to be available, but not the remixes available from the time. This was the case for about a quarter of the songs I was trying to get hold of. The relevant versions are all there on youtube for example. Not checked other services as I don't have membership.

All YouTube videos are available in YouTube music, which is the streaming service I happen to subscribe to. If you like anything niche then that's the obvious choice. The sound quality is often not great admittedly. Were these versions easy to download as opposed to stream?

As far as I can remember, I've managed to download all this stuff at some point, but that's more a factor of finding other people who are sharing the correct stuff rather than more conventional means.

Also, youtube's a good bit more expensive than Deezer, so I don't think I'll be moving right now.

Is youtube just reliant on randoms uploading this stuff then?

My initial post was defending the availability of music on streaming services as compared with (legally) downloading. I doubt there's much available to download but not stream.

YT Music is a streaming service in its own right, but it allows you to play/playlist music from videos on top of that.

[Ian Volante]

All YouTube videos are available in YouTube music, which is the streaming service I happen to subscribe to. If you like anything niche then that's the obvious choice. The sound quality is often not great admittedly. Were these versions easy to download as opposed to stream?

As far as I can remember, I've managed to download all this stuff at some point, but that's more a factor of finding other people who are sharing the correct stuff rather than more conventional means.

Also, youtube's a good bit more expensive than Deezer, so I don't think I'll be moving right now.

Is youtube just reliant on randoms uploading this stuff then?

My initial post was defending the availability of music on streaming services as compared with (legally) downloading. I doubt there's much available to download but not stream.

YT Music is a streaming service in its own right, but it allows you to play/playlist music from videos on top of that.

Fair enough, maybe an option in the future.

[Gavin Chipper]

OK, if you take 7 members of one family, get them to pick 8 songs each, then pick a few more between you to get it up to 64 and then do a knockout voting tournament, which song do you think wins? It may surprise you, but the answer is Instant Crush by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes). Take it away.

Some of us did a tournament for Christmas songs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Slade one won.

[Marc Meakin]

OK, if you take 7 members of one family, get them to pick 8 songs each, then pick a few more between you to get it up to 64 and then do a knockout voting tournament, which song do you think wins? It may surprise you, but the answer is Instant Crush by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes). Take it away.

Some of us did a tournament for Christmas songs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Slade one won.

We did something similar at work and The Waitresses won (that's the band not the cafe staff)

[Gavin Chipper]

OK, if you take 7 members of one family, get them to pick 8 songs each, then pick a few more between you to get it up to 64 and then do a knockout voting tournament, which song do you think wins? It may surprise you, but the answer is Instant Crush by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes). Take it away.

Some of us did a tournament for Christmas songs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Slade one won.

We did something similar at work and The Waitresses won (that's the band not the cafe staff)

I had to look it up. I'm amazed it won when it's a song I'm not sure I've even heard before. But one of the comments in the video is "You’ll know the lyrics to this song off by heart if you work in retail..." You work in retail don't you? Is this song part of the indoctrination ritual?

[Marc Meakin]

Some of us did a tournament for Christmas songs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Slade one won.

We did something similar at work and The Waitresses won (that's the band not the cafe staff)

I had to look it up. I'm amazed it won when it's a song I'm not sure I've even heard before. But one of the comments in the video is "You’ll know the lyrics to this song off by heart if you work in retail..." You work in retail don't you? Is this song part of the indoctrination ritual?

Strangely enough whenever this song came on the radio I was convinced it was by Bananarama, I never knew it when it first came out, but I can see now why it won the people's vote.
Btw I voted for Greg Lake, I very nearly posted my Choice of Greg Lake in the unpopular opinions thread but surely everyone agrees with me

[Marc Meakin]

I've forgotten how you make a poll here (maybe it's been removed since the spate of polls in the noughties)
I was thinking of favourite Christmas Song.
Surely only 8 titles plus other would suffice

[Gavin Chipper]

I've forgotten how you make a poll here (maybe it's been removed since the spate of polls in the noughties)
I was thinking of favourite Christmas Song.
Surely only 8 titles plus other would suffice

I could create a poll for this. I can include any songs people nominate (unless it gets to a ridiculous number), so get nominating everyone and don't complain afterwards if your favourite song is unnominated and not in the poll! I'll try to include most of the "classics" anyway, but I could easily miss some.

[Marc Meakin]

I've forgotten how you make a poll here (maybe it's been removed since the spate of polls in the noughties)
I was thinking of favourite Christmas Song.
Surely only 8 titles plus other would suffice

I could create a poll for this. I can include any songs people nominate (unless it gets to a ridiculous number), so get nominating everyone and don't complain afterwards if your favourite song is unnominated and not in the poll! I'll try to include most of the "classics" anyway, but I could easily miss some.

Sounds like a good idea

[Mark James]

This is my top 5

5. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin' Stevens
4. Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End) - The Darkness
3. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade
2. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
1. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

[Callum Todd]

A Spaceman Came Travelling
I Believe in Father Christmas
Xmas Wrapping
Stop the Cavalry
Step into Christmas
Happy Xmas (War is Over)

Also contenders

[Gavin Chipper]

This is my top 5

5. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin' Stevens
4. Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End) - The Darkness
3. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade
2. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
1. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

Really disappointed in your number 2. Just an average song that wasn't even a big hit at the time, but has been boosted over the years through the marketing machine.

[Gavin Chipper]

I'll start the poll next week some time btw.

[Marc Meakin]

Mine will be a countdown.
Play "Pick of the pops theme tune"
5 is Must Be Santa by Bob Dylan (still a tune that's not played enough)
4. Elton John Step into Christmas (again not overplayed and takes me straight back to my childhood, yes I'm old)
3.Stop The Cavalry by Jonah Louise (getting overplayed in recent years but not enough to ditch it as I have with The Slade, Wizzard, and Pogues ones)
2.The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole (Velvet voice, nuff said).
1) Kelly Clarkson, Underneath The Tree.
The most recent on this list so not had a chance to be overplayed
Edit, didn't realise the Bob Dylan one was written in 1960 (not by him though)

[Gavin Chipper]

Also I'll be running the poll with the same sensible voting system as the greatest episode poll. Basically you can vote for more than one option and also change your vote until the deadline.

[Marc Meakin]

Also I'll be running the poll with the same sensible voting system as the greatest episode poll. Basically you can vote for more than one option and also change your vote until the deadline.

Drums, fingers.....

[Gavin Chipper]

Also I'll be running the poll with the same sensible voting system as the greatest episode poll. Basically you can vote for more than one option and also change your vote until the deadline.

Drums, fingers.....

I've been busy!

[Marc Meakin]

Also I'll be running the poll with the same sensible voting system as the greatest episode poll. Basically you can vote for more than one option and also change your vote until the deadline.

Drums, fingers.....

I've been busy!

Sorry dude.
I had it in my head it was the 22nd today lol

[Gavin Chipper]

I'll try and do it tomorrow.

[Marc Meakin]

I'll try and do it tomorrow.

No pressure.
Im probably the only one interested.
Im a bit of a list freak.
Normally movies, TV, Actors and Comedian. Lists

[Tim Down]

This is my top 5

5. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin' Stevens
4. Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End) - The Darkness
3. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade
2. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
1. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

Really disappointed in your number 2. Just an average song that wasn't even a big hit at the time, but has been boosted over the years through the marketing machine.

Assuming you're not just trolling, I disagree about "average song". I'd say it's the last great Christmas pop song. Certainly at least a million times better than the feeble Darkness song, whose solitary selling point is a really poor double entendre. And I say this grudgingly as a firm fan of double entendres and definite non-fan of Mariah Carey.

[Gavin Chipper]

I don't really like the Darkness song either but my reaction to someone liking a song is also in some way proportional to how popular it is in general. Maybe the Mariah Carey song is better than I gave it credit for but there's loads I prefer.

[Tim Down]

I think paying for downloads is almost as mental as buying physical music.

Four reasons to pay for downloads:

1. Not all music is available to stream
2. Once downloaded, no reliance on the internet
3. Making compilations for others
4. Less energy use

5. The artist gets paid for their talent and effort.

6. I share my Spotify account with my partner, who inconveniently sometimes wants to use it at the same time as me. I admit that this one is not going to apply to everyone.