Tragically, contrast was only discovered in the late 60’s…
Some years are easier than others when it comes to choosing material. Ray Charles very nearly had it this time out, though it would likely mean discussing either “I Can’t Stop Loving You” or “You Don’t Know Me”, neither of which are remotely his best material and both of which are syrupy slop. Elvis rears his inevitable bequiffed head again but will not be distracting us. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” made it to Number 2, though discussing it would consist of a lot of legal talk about how artists get screwed over copyright. Anyone for “The Loco-motion”? No? Fine, then let’s go with Chubby Checker, owner of the award for the most successful single in Billboard 100 chart history. That song – “The Twist” – isn’t what we’re talking about this week though. Instead we’re discussing “Let’s Twist Again”.
We could have been talking about Elvis. “A Mess Of Blues” made it to the number two slot, but it’s not a terrifically inspiring song and it’s exactly nobody’s idea of his best performance, despite some nice honky-tonk piano. We could have been talking about Roy Orbison. His voice is one of the great achievements of Western civilization, and even when the material faltered that most perfect of vocals never did – even up to his death he sounded perfect. And the song would have been “Only The Lonely”, which… well, its amazing. But no. Instead, we kick this nonsense off with Eddie Cochrane.
A series exploring the songs which almost – but not quite – made it to the top of the charts across the span of four decades.
Hello! And welcome to my latest excuse to ramble on about music with this, We’re Number Two. It’s a series of articles spanning four decades, from 1960 to 1999, covering a song which made it to Number Two in the charts. Hence, you know, the name. Plenty gets written about the chart toppers but sometimes it’s nice to spend a bit of time discussing the songs that almost – but never quite – made it.
The only criteria for entry is that the song in question must have hit the number two position on the charts in either the UK or the US – it doesn’t matter if it went in at Number Two, if Number Two was the song’s highest charting position, or if the song went in at number one and sank back to Number Two. As long as it’s held that slightly coveted position and that’s the song’s most meaningful position, it’s eligible. And I’ll be talking about songs that mostly interest me for whatever reason rather than necessarily that year’s best known songs, so anyone desperate to find out my stance on the Bay City Rollers will just have to be disappointed, I fear. There shall be no repetition of artists – solo artists who were in a band are eligible – so for example I could talk about The Beatles and John Lennon, but not two Beatles singles nor two John Lennon singles, and let’s not have the Plastic Ono Band making life any more difficult for us than it needs to be. As ever, I shall be dispensing with the twin straightjackets of objectivity and fan consensus.
Electronica’s most enduring and successful stars, introduced.
What’s The Topic? Pet Shop Boys
It seems hard to imagine that Pet Shop Boys (never the Pet Shop Boys) have been around for thirty years and counting, but they have been, you know, and have gone on to be the most successful duo in British music history. Formed in 1981 and still turning out engaging, interesting, and challenging material all these years later, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe’s somewhat unlikely survival in an ever-shifting pop and electronic music landscape is a testament not only to the quality of the material but to their inventiveness and their refusal to be pigeonholed or defined in any way but their own. The electronic band were a permanent fixture of the late 80’s singles charts, and while there best-known work remains their earlier material they have continued to turn out interesting, challenging, emotional, pop music.
The most signifiact and influential text in electronic music, introduced.
What’s The Topic? Kraftwerk
It’s hard to overstate the influence Kraftwerk have had over the years on popular music. Formed in Düsseldorf, West Germany in 1970 and initially part of the Krautrock scene that saw Germany start to produce popular, original music for the first time since the end of World War Two, the band rapidly outgrew its roots and went on to become one of the most important and influential bands of the 20th Century. Always a four-piece revolving around core members Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider – at least until Schneider’s improbable departure in 2008 – the band’s obsessions with technology became their primary focus, starting with their fourth official album, 1974’s Autobahn. Autobahn spawned an unlikely radio hit with an edit of the title track, helping to cement the band’s position, unexpected though that success was.
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