Homer J. Fong IS The Walrus - Grand Reveal!

Bit of a change in genre now. The first two rounds were rough on Lolliclarke but they refuse to go down without a fight, as they stake their claim on 7th place and 11 points for Blackstreet - No Diggity



Pre-listening notes:
Doo doo, doo doo, mmm hmmm
Doo doo, doo doo, mmm hmmm
Doo doo, doo doo, mmm hmmm
Doo doo….NUH-NUH NUH-NUH NUH-NUH NUH

Listening notes:
Such a recognisable tune, yet I couldn’t tell you another one by them….wonder why they didn’t have more commercial success? Fun fact actually; three former members of Blackstreet randomly ended up as backing vocalists for the 2015 Macedonian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest…it did not go well. Anyway, back to the song; smooth groove, some very nice voices actually; guy singing the second verse has a really nice voice. Lyrics are very relatable, of course: “Giving 'em eargasms with my mellow accent” sure don’t I always have to deal with that exact problem! I may lack the medical credentials that the good Doctor has but otherwise myself and Dre are peas in a pod!

Verdict:
Wouldn’t say it’s my type of thing normally (to be fair, extremely white boy from rural county Cork was probably not the target audience!) but it’s fairly difficult to dislike this one. It’s so catchy and hummable, and definitely evokes the spirit of the nineties, and it’s got 205 million plus hits on Youtube for a reason! Not a song I’d choose for a playlist normally but on a night out I imagine I’d be thrilled to hear this come on. Nice submission. Worst thing about this is the ventriloquist dummy in the video - fúcking hate those yokes.

Still very much rocking in the free world as we turn out attention to 6th place and 12 points - tonight they go to Fanghoward for Queen - The Show Must Go On



Pre-listening notes:
I have very mixed feelings when it comes to Queen. Some of their stuff is properly magnificent, other songs I could take or leave, and some songs are painfully overplayed and overrated (*cough* Bohemian Rhapsody *cough* ) Freddie’s voice was obviously superb and he was arguably unbeatable as a showman but I often find the music quite overblown and pompous.

Listening notes:
So my understanding is that this was one of the last songs Queen recorded before Freddie’s death, and the lyrics are basically his way of acknowledging that he knew he didn’t have much time left. Nice synthy intro, similarities to INXS’s Never Tear Us Apart. The standard doesn't slip during the song, powerful fist-punching chorus. Nice statement of defiance.

Verdict:
I doubt I’ll ever call myself a fan of Queen, because there are too many of their songs that rub me up the wrong way. Thankfully this is not one of them. This is up there with Who Wants to Live Forever as one of their best songs imo. The poignancy of the lyrics, knowing what we know now about Freddie's imminent death, make it even more powerful.

Yollins Roseverse is up next. So we all know who's coming! :pac:
13th place and 5 points for Slade - Radio Wall of Sound



Pre-listening notes:
NIBBLE NOBBY'S NUTS!!!

Listening notes:
Is this definitely nineties yeah? *turns to Google*….ok, it checks out. Still has that “classic” Slade sound from earlier days (heh, listen to me talking as if I’m a Slade connoisseur! Which at this stage I guess I kind of am tbh :pac: ) Anyway this is….well, it’s Slade. Noddy Holder’s got a good voice in fairness, and it almost has a comforting familiarity at this stage, given the extent that I’ve now listened to it! I like the “Telegram Sam” reference, nice of them to pay tribute to Marc Bolan and T-Rex….am I crazy or does the chorus sound a bit like Jesus Christ Superstar?

Verdict:
Ah sure it’s grand. If you like your 90’s music to sound like the 70’s then this is the song for you. Not sure I’ll revisit it much but won’t object if it too strongly if I hear it somewhere.

14th place and 4 points go to Mediphira for The Sons - Too Much of a Good Thing



Pre-listening notes:
This is an unknown quantity…Dumb and Dumber soundtrack, eh? I have a feeling I saw that movie years and years ago, when I was too young to really remember it. Adult me has no desire to ever watch it tbh.

Listening notes:
Both the intro and the voice sound oddly familiar, although I don’t think I know this song at all. He has a twang in his voice that reminds me more of seventies style country rock more so than nineties, for some reason. This is all perfectly fine but it’s not really exciting me.

Verdict:
It’s ok. That’s as much as I have to say about it really. Perhaps it evokes something special for the submitter but I’m afraid I’m rather indifferent to it. It’s listenable but it’s not lighting up my world. After a couple of listens I still struggled to remember this. Sorry.

Tonight's 15th place finisher, scoring 3 points, is Spencerpop with Sash! - La Primavera



Pre-listening notes:
Off the top of my head I know two songs by Sash! – Encore Une Fois and Ecuador. I’m going to take a wild guess that this one operates in a similar musical space.

Listening notes:
So we have some sultry Italian one purring at us….oh this tune sounds familiar actually. I probably did hear this years ago, it just faded from my memory. Definitely has a “Top 30 Hits” vibe to it. Brass kicks in around the two minute mark, helps lift it a bit. When in doubt, add some brass! Overall though this is kinda....meh. Only three and a half minutes but feels longer somehow.

Verdict:
It’s not an earth-shatteringly brilliant piece of music or anything but it is VERY 1990’s. Just like Ronseal, it does exactly what it says on the tin! But I’m honestly not in a rush to listen again. Encore Une Fois would possibly have fared a bit better in the scores.

The good news for Rosparkle is that they avoid a second successive wooden spoon. The bad news is they still have to settle for 16th place and 2 points for Puff Daddy feat. Faith Evans - I'll Be Missing You



Pre-listening notes:
This was one of the biggest Number Ones of my youth. I remember this being in the charts for quite a while. This was before I knew of the Police song that it heavily samples….in all honesty, I don’t particularly like “I’ll Be Watching You” and that feeds into my assessment of this song. But I owe it a listen with fresh ears, so here goes.

Listening notes:
That (now) unmistakable riff kicks off, and just as in the Police song it doesn’t do a whole lot for me. Puffy beings his rapping….while I’m far from a connoisseur of rap music, his lyrical flow isn’t exactly awe-inspiring; I’d like to think I can at least recognise good rappers from poor ones, and Mr Diddy just sounds like he’s reeling off a script rather than putting in any real emotion to it. Faith Evans sings her chorus perfectly fine but she’s not really given much of a chance to shine throughout the song which, given that she was Notorious BIG's widow, seems almost kinda disrespectful, like she's been pushed into the background. The subject matter of the song obviously should give it some emotional heft, but it doesn’t really come across in the recording too well; even in the video Puffy is doing his posturing and coming across more like someone trying to sell his image rather than grieve for his departed friend.

Verdict:
It’s difficult to judge this one, given the subject matter. Was it actually a heartfelt tribute from a grieving friend, or a cynical cash-in from an astute business man? Having said that, I realise this song may mean a lot to someone who has lost a loved one so I’m reluctant to be too critical about it (I hope this is not the case with our submitter; if it is then I am sorry). But at the end of the day this just isn't a song that I'd listen to out of choice.

Oh-oo-oh, Jameslon Barspell may think this is special, oh-oo-oh might think it's something else. Sadly, I can't quite agree. 17th place and a solitary point for Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much

I haven't included the official video here, because the audio sounds weird on it; the instrumentation is twangier and less dancey, it's definitely not what I remember growing up anyway! So below is a lyric video with what I regard as the more "classic" version



Pre-listening notes:
Tempting fate a little with this song title, aren’t we? :pac: Now this does take me back, I remember this being top of the charts. I can even recall the video with her in the leopard print coat out in the desert. When it comes to nineties music, Shania Twain is not among the artists I’m keen to revisit. I actually do think “You’re Still the One” is a very nice song, and holds up as a genuinely good love song. But this one never did a whole lot for me. Has anything changed?

Listening notes:
I can imagine a group of rowdy women on a hen night going nuts to this but otherwise the mass appeal this song had is a bit lost on me. Vocals are fine but nothing spectacular (You’re Still the One proves that she can sing but here it’s mostly just talking in a vaguely sing-songy way). Melody is pretty straightforward, there aren’t any great instrumental flourishes that jump out at me. Lyrics are cheeky and vaguely amusing but perhaps not as clever as they think they are. I get a sense of smugness from this song, like she’s really the one who thinks she’s special and something else.

Verdict:
Well look, the nostalgia factor is probably the biggest asset this song has. It reminds me of my childhood but even back then it felt like a bit of a novelty tune rather than a proper good song. Shania Twain was ridiculously successful, her albums are among the biggest-selling of all time. But what do I have to say to her? "Ok, so you’re a multi-millionaire and sold a shítload of records; That don’t impress me much!"