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BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Mike_Diver by Mike Diver [Edit this content] ▾ 70 comments 13:35 January 9th, 2004
The BBC's 'Buzz Chart' for 2004, compiled by 60-odd opinion-makers (including a certain DiS head-honcho) may contain few surprises, but does show that DiS has, yet again, been ahead of the game regarding a number of acts.

Originally reported last week, the BBC's chart is as follows:

1. Keane
2. Franz Ferdinand
3. Wiley
4. Razorlight
5. Joss Stone
6. McFly
7. The Scissor Sisters
8. The Ordinary Boys
9. Tali
10. Gemma Fox

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, y'all.

Keane Razorlight Franz Ferdinand
From the archive

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Scissor Sisters? Slightly average, heard-it-all-before, right? They'll be huge then, just look at KOL and Jet.

Note: this is controversy for the sake of it.
brusma | 9 Jan '04, 13:55 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

hate to bring this up again, i dropped pretty much the same thought on another thread just a few days ago but my god what a taste of mediocrity this list is!
bands who are ripping it up at gigs across london like metro riots, corporation:blend and nebraska don't get a look-in 'cos they're not signed yet.
originality and brilliance count for nothing in the music industry.
wernhamhogg | 9 Jan '04, 14:18 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

wow. i know two of those bands. how scene am i?
and i cant imagine scissor sisters being big
alcxxk | 9 Jan '04, 14:27 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

no, it's cus those 60 people probably listen to a helluva lot more signed bands (using the filtering out the 50 records in the post a day theory that if someone is prepared to put money into something). What people on the outside fail to realise is that it is near impossible for a lot of people to listen to a billion records a year (I know at dis towers we truly struggle! as it's a case of listening to music you enjoy, or suffering 500 demoes to 1 good one).

Plus if a band are signed before 2004, there's more chance they'll have an album out a success by the end of 2004 - which if you're gonna predict bands to be big in 2004 (and hope enough of the other 60 people vote for the same as you) then you've gotta make educated guesses.

Still can't believe people are excited about Keane, i can kinda see why, but it utterly rubs me up the wrong way (but then so did and still do, Coldplay!).
sean @wernhamhogg | 9 Jan '04, 14:44 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

KEANE???!!!!! Jesus wept!!

They're like Gene with *even less* punch and charisma!!! Whats the point of them?

CAN *SOMEBODY* PLEASE TELL ME THE POINT OF KEANE!!!!!
broken_telecaster | 9 Jan '04, 14:45 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

martin rossiter from gene is an ex-boxer so they must have had a bit of punch.

BUT I STILL DON'T KNOW THE POINT OF KEANE!!!
angelac @broken_telecaster | 9 Jan '04, 14:58 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

coldplay ARE legendary charismatic passionate blah blah
keane ARE insipid pools of grey wank
-Raz- @sean | 9 Jan '04, 14:59 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

god they DO sound just like gene don't they.....how insightful sah!
fishbone @broken_telecaster | 9 Jan '04, 15:04 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

At least they have a loyal army of fans ready to spring to their defence.....

....they're obviously too busy listening to ben folds five to reply *shudder*
broken_telecaster @angelac | 9 Jan '04, 15:06 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

thought i had better check

http://www.keanemusic.com/

"everyone's changing" real stream... love what he says after the track completes its plodding tune...

.......how could that be possible !?
fishbone @broken_telecaster | 9 Jan '04, 15:08 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

ha! on the very button ...

...they are probably all too deep underground....

*demonstrating a frustrating ability not to forget things that he should*
fishbone @broken_telecaster | 9 Jan '04, 15:09 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

to be honest i don't have the time or the inclination to sit through that toss just to hear what he says at the end.

utter wank
angelac @fishbone | 9 Jan '04, 15:11 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

i *suspect* your flappy hands cant find their way to the correct button.
fishbone @angelac | 9 Jan '04, 15:13 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

does he say something like 'better out than in'?
broken_telecaster @fishbone | 9 Jan '04, 15:14 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

quite unbelievably he says

".. and now for a slow one.."

........ time would have to do something clever for that to be possible.....
fishbone @broken_telecaster | 9 Jan '04, 15:15 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

a slow what? death? dump?!

the man is an arse sah!
broken_telecaster @fishbone | 9 Jan '04, 15:19 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

oh you can fuck off. am surprised you didn't start supporting gene what with your smiths fan curtain haircut of the past.
angelac @fishbone | 9 Jan '04, 15:20 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

HAHA!

She has got your number pal !
fishbone @fishbone | 9 Jan '04, 15:21 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

but that is the kind of thing robbie 'fat dancer' williams would say before launching in to a self conciously ironic version of a dean martin vegas classic.

tut

angelac @fishbone | 9 Jan '04, 15:22 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Okay, bear in mind this is who will be big.

Bear in mind what sort of bands are big at the moment.

Bear in mind what style of music the majority of the population is likely to go and listen to.

Bear in mind this is not necessarily the best, but the most probably most successful 'decent' music of the year. And that's decent as in non-shit pop.

There'll always be a lot of people on this site who find their tastes don't sell well. (The Blood Brothers rated highly throughout but you don't see them getting top20 albums).

A lot of people who listen to music just want something nice. That's what makes a band successful. Easy to listen to. And yes they're not brilliant, genre-setting, awe-inspiring. Because they're not trying to be. They just do a style of music that people tend to like, and that's what this list is trying to show.
brusma | 9 Jan '04, 15:40 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Yes yes i know all that but i mean, Keane? *really*

At least now I can justifiably slag them for being sodding careerists as well as being crap.

broken_telecaster @brusma | 9 Jan '04, 16:01 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

The Blood Brothers are my boyfriends. You can't have them.

Except Johnny as he smells of liver and bacon casserole.

And spunk.
Old_Anonymous_Comments @brusma | 9 Jan '04, 16:03 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

That is a quite astonishingly bad version of a overrated song.... i nearly fell of my chaise long.

...The Cheeky Girls might as well do Wish You Were Here..
fishbone @brusma | 9 Jan '04, 16:05 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Surley they should have had the Martini Henry Riffles in that top 10...C'mon?!
shotkey | 9 Jan '04, 16:12 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

My new band is going to have the next Christmas #1
-Raz- | 9 Jan '04, 16:44 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

razorlight couldve been tipped to be big from the easryl summer. there new single sounds curiously the same as rip it up. ain't complaining tho as its all good (well technically i am complaining...)
easy_rob | 9 Jan '04, 16:56 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

i think that Jet are good!! they beat the scissor sisters!!!
Callan_CJD @brusma | 9 Jan '04, 16:57 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

wad about da Boxer Rebellion, eh?
Old_Anonymous_Comments @easy_rob | 9 Jan '04, 17:05 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

What? No Control Of Reason? Crikey.

I'm throwing my hat onto the Keane bashing train for certain, Franz Ferdinand sound pretty good, and I'm a bit partial to a bit of Razorlight, it must be said, and The Ordinary Boys talk a good game if nothing else.

The rest of 'em, though? I can't see Wiley breaking into the mainstream, even if he is a pioneer or whatever. Actually, wasn't he in Pay As U Go who did that Champagne Dancer tune....anyway, I can't see him doing a Dizzee.

Joss Stone, again, I think will mainly end up being loved by those who don't rely on the charts - see Floetry, Terri Walker, et al...

The rest of 'em, though, I've got to hold up my hands and say I don't know much about, even if I don't like the McKay and Scissor Sisters material I have caught the end of.

I don't have any tips, mind you, because I'm generally wrong. See Baby Chaos, Mexican Pets, blah blah blah...

Cheerio

Ian. http://twang.topcities.com
ian_distort | 9 Jan '04, 17:54 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

i reckon the shins are gonna get a lot more recognition in2004. their deut is amazing but neer got released here, if the next one is half as good theyll do well.
monkeyman1983 | 9 Jan '04, 18:07 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Hmmmm...

Keane are sappy bollocks, At least when Coldplay came out, There seemed to be some emotion in their songs that wasn't meticulously calculated...

I'll go With Razorlight, but FF again seem too arty & calculated. Not exactly what I'd go for, but people are gonna love it, so they will inevitably be huge.

Heres hoping for a few surprises though. Anyone want to lay down the odds on some outside bets?
Old_Anonymous_Comments | 9 Jan '04, 20:52 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Yeah too right. TV on the Radio from US will do well, but won't do the BBC chart much harm as they're American, The Fallout Trust from Bristol are blinding. Anyone else heard yourcodenameis:milo's Albini recordings? They should be amazing, but somehow are a pile of pap. They're a great band, but their 'big break' recordings are worse than the original demos. Shame. Er what else, Amy Winehouse could be the next Norah Jones if you're that way inclined. Straylight Run (again US), The Holiday Plan and Avenged Sevenfold could all do well if post hardcore revisited stays alive long enough.
gymmy | 9 Jan '04, 23:25 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

I like Keane. Take aim...

Wait a minute - The Fallout Trust? My friend's boss is the Dad of a member of that band. I saw them in Bristol supporting The Futureheads and... they were alright.
Damian | 9 Jan '04, 23:32 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

agree about the Shins...great band. Shame the new album is also not getting a release here. It's on import on Sub Pop.
gymmy | 10 Jan '04, 00:13 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

keane and ff are both over-rated, but are getting radio play and will therefore do ok. razorlight will get somewhere coz they are great.

apart from that i reckon bloc party and puscha will get some attention as will 65daysofstatic, coz they are better than all of that top ten put together.

ps isnt the shins album being released early this year some time??
rossiterandy | 10 Jan '04, 09:47 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Reckon I might go see Keane when they come play Notts actually...see what all the fuss is about. And don't bother saying 'don't bother' cos i reckon you've got to take any chance you can to see a band with loads of apparent promise while they're small. If only so you can slag 'em off when they get big.

Err...blerg.
brusma | 10 Jan '04, 11:23 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Joss Stone is the only one worth piss on that list. Betty fucking Wright homo's!

http://www.rock-city.co.uk/joss/
Old_Anonymous_Comments | 10 Jan '04, 11:28 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

scissor sisters suck serious A. Got their promo at the student radio station and it set a new record. 3.2 seconds before it was flung across the room and doused with lighter fluid. Even the cheeky girls made it to 5.
mooseman | 10 Jan '04, 13:07 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

the wiley record will be interesting. strange no one's commented on his placing yet
Old_Anonymous_Comments | 10 Jan '04, 16:40 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

coldplay ARE legendary ....
wait a minute! that's not Raz...
Old_Anonymous_Comments @-Raz- | 10 Jan '04, 17:41 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Keane are riding in on the bland boringness of Coldplay and Dido. I guess its easy listening for the Noughties. Franz Ferdinand have got quite an arty sound and it is entrancing and interesting. Yet again look what happened to 'arty' Yeah Yeah Yeah's and their lack of commercial success. McFly suck and are Busted rehashed. Razorlight are the Libertines for 2004 basically and will be popular. Theyve got a quite a bit of charcter, especially if you delve into their lifes before.
CaviarAndCigarets | 10 Jan '04, 20:32 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Don't beat about the bush; say what you REALLY think.
shadyadie @CaviarAndCigarets | 10 Jan '04, 20:45 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

I REALLY think that bland music needs to be killed off.
Old_Anonymous_Comments | 11 Jan '04, 01:02 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

i like keane too. first heard them live and was wholly impressed. was similarly impressed with their reading set. they sound good on record too. they are direct targets for the "bland radio daytime bollocks", because they aren't challenging anything particularly, or trying to be post-post-post-post-clevercleverartwank - but i do think they have exceptionally beautiful songs. they may well go the way of coldplay [who started with a clutch of subtle but beautiful songs and descended into vague, faceless pleasantness], but for the time being they're excellent.

rather listen to them than the profoundly irritating and repetitive franz ferdinand, or the identity-less razorlight anyhoo.

x
gen
-gen- @Damian | 11 Jan '04, 02:37 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

the yeah yeah yeahs suffered from nme overating :/. 'best debut ever' syndrome. it was reasonable but nothing really special.
easy_rob | 11 Jan '04, 10:58 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

which is exactly what will happen to FF. They are great, but not the best band in the world.
Of this 10 my money would go on Keane, McFly and Joss Stone to do great...
But only FF and Scissor Sisters out of that lot actually deserve to make any waves as they're the only ones actually attempting something new. At least there's no Jet's in there this year. They are the new Ocean Colour Scene.
gymmy | 11 Jan '04, 17:23 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

haahahahaha u sound a bit pretentious . 'theyre the new OCS dont u know darling.' At least jet are unpretentious thats a GOOD point. Franz Ferdinand are NOT original nor are Scissor Sisters - nothing in music is original - its how you interpret the music you like + have grown up with. its about emulation jus look at jet man. i like FF tho, them + Stellastarr* , reckon the black keys should have made it theyre amazing. as for NME overrating, of course they do it, but i bet you'd jump at the chance to write for them yeah? i would. maybe bang mag is better tho.
Nelson | 11 Jan '04, 21:20 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

If NME didnt overhype bands, what would they write about every week?
scarfo | 11 Jan '04, 22:22 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

This is what Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) had to say about Jet:

"I'd rather listen to 15 Emma Bunton albums than a single song by Jet, who I think are the most offensive band in the world right now. They are militantly retro, combined with this ugly arrogance. Jet say that they want to be like the Rolling Stones, who are, they claim, the only good band in the world. But when the Stones made their great albums, that wasn't their attitude at all - their ears were open to so much."

I reckon he's hit the mark now.

Also he has the added bonus of being one of the artists of last year, and, like, way more talented.
brusma @gymmy | 11 Jan '04, 22:55 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Keane are great. Of course they also have a very mainstream sound hence the eagerness of some of you to slag them off. But they head that list for a reason - they WILL be the most successful of those acts this year. Razorlight are so average its untrue.
Old_Anonymous_Comments | 11 Jan '04, 23:50 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

I quite like the mod-dy image of FF, the awkward dancing etc... specifically the guitarist and the singer. It's another example of retro theming, granted, but I feel it's a useful counterbalance to the nu-greaser imagery of Kings of Leon etc.
Old_Anonymous_Comments | 12 Jan '04, 12:42 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

yeah FF sound all jerky its cool....but i like Kings of leon..they remind me of Creedence Clearwatcer revival....i like it alot. mmmm..
Nelson | 12 Jan '04, 19:29 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

i wudnt like to write for the nme. i wud rather work for dis :p
easy_rob | 12 Jan '04, 20:51 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

your spelling is certainly up to scratch. when can you start?
shadyadie @easy_rob | 12 Jan '04, 23:29 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

McFly write half of Busted's songs. Same label as Keane, come to think of it. Someone at Island must have been buying BBC lunch...
mysmokingjacket @CaviarAndCigarets | 13 Jan '04, 00:34 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

i only spelt would (wud) wrong :[.
easy_rob | 13 Jan '04, 09:58 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

saw keane live and they made me smile- stop being such music snobs
Old_Anonymous_Comments | 23 Jan '04, 19:05 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

you can't judge a song on the first 3.2 seconds, don't be so flippant.
elmsyrup @mooseman | 2 Feb '04, 22:10 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

well I don't like Coldplay at all but I'm a big supporter of Keane. They really are mindblowing live and, I don't know, are people hearing different songs than me? Because actually I don't like Franz Ferdinand or Jet or all those 'The' bands or, oh, most people Zane Lowe plays either. OLD ROCK MUSIC! It's just ugly. Keane make me say wow.
elmsyrup @sean | 2 Feb '04, 22:14 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Oh God ... this coming from a guy who likes grunge and gives Faith No More (little more than Chili Peppers rip offs) a 5. Please ... go back to the early 90s and play your little Nirvana records and give us all a break.
fonda_cox @mooseman | 25 Jun '04, 14:09 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

Not sure about the Cheeky Girls, but the Wyclef Jean version of 'Wish You Were Here' was certainly bad enough. It features a rap about how his brother turned him onto Pink Floyd and other Britrock oldies.
dale @fishbone | 25 Jun '04, 14:18 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

ROFL

If you really think so, you would be perfect for the NME.
fonda_cox @easy_rob | 28 Jun '04, 20:33 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

well i spelt would wrong twice. in the word wouldn't and would (wudn't and wud) so i did only spell the word 'would' wrong, but twice.
easy_rob @fonda_cox | 29 Jun '04, 10:26 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

...and thats only because i was being lazy
easy_rob @easy_rob | 29 Jun '04, 10:27 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

tee hee indeed.
how unimaginative of me.
alcxxk @iainf | 3 Jan '05, 13:37 | X | Reply

BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

It's hardly fair to call Keane bland.

Also, it just looks like the Scissor Sisters are having a laugh. They're fun. There's nothing wrong with that.

Razorlight are alright, but nothing special. Same with Jet. If you can even tell them appart.
CustardCreamQueen | 28 Aug '05, 12:51 | X | Reply

Re: BBC Top Ten: No Alarms and Few Surprises

i think its all too fair to call Keane bland, clearly the "ready salted" of the music world... tasteless, dull and leave you needing a drink!
artformisfits @CustardCreamQueen | 28 Aug '05, 14:06 | X | Reply

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