Cool Manchester

I've decided to go back 19 years this month for the charts this week in 1993

1 Whitney Houston I Will Always Love You
2 Michael Jackson Heal The World
3 Take That Could It Be Magic
4 Charles & Eddie Would I Lie To You?
5 The Shamen Phorever People
6 Snap! featuring Niki Harris Exterminate!
7 WWF Superstars Slam Jam
8 Arrested Development Mr Wendal / Revolution
9 Gloria Estefan Miami Hit Mix
10 Boney M Boney M Megamix
11 The Prodigy Out Of Space / Ruff In The Jungle Bizness
12 Lisa Stansfield Someday (I'm Coming Back)
13 Stereo MCs Step It Up
14 Madonna Deeper And Deeper
15 Diana Ross If We Hold On Together
16 Rod Stewart Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda)
17 Heaven 17 Temptation (Brothers In Rhythm Remix)
18 The Frank & Walters After All
19 Slipstreem We Are Raving - The Anthem
20 808 State & UB40 One In Ten
21 Simply Red The Montreux EP
22 Jesus Jones The Devil You Know
23 Apache Indian Arranged Marriage
24 The Lemonheads Mrs Robinson / Being Around
25 Arrested Development People Everyday
26 Faith No More I'm Easy / Be Aggressive
27 Michael Bolton Drift Away
28 Sunscreem Broken English
29 Freddie Mercury In My Defence
30 Little Angels Womankind
31 Boyz II Men Motownphilly
32 Boyz II Men End Of The Road
33 Dina Carroll So Close
34 SL2 Way In My Brain / Drumbeats
35 Pop Will Eat Itself Get The Girl! Kill The Baddies!
36 The Farm Love See No Colour
37 Undercover Never Let Her Slip Away
38 Nirvana In Bloom
39 East Side Beat Alive And Kicking
40 Paul McCartney Hope Of Deliverance

This is certainly a varied chart including Rock, Soul, House, Pop, Indie and some cracking dance tunes! As always there are some stinkers [the obvious one sitting at the top of the chart!], but not as many as other retrocharts. What were your memories of this period? The main thing that comes to mind for me was how stressful my A-Levels were and how much I hated that song at number one!

So there are less than four days left in 2011, its been an "eventful" year to say the least - but not especially in the world of movies. Its been a bit of a mixed bag of comedies that failed to hit the mark, unnecessary sequels and even more unnecessary remakes. Not really what I personally would call a classic year.

Don't get me wrong, there are have been some great films along the way. Here are my five absolute favourites:

5. Source Code

Source Code was one of the few great Sci Fi movies of the year. Jake Gyllenhaal had his work cut out to please me when I went to see this one as I had just seen Love and Other Drugs and genuinely hated it [more on that story later]. So here's the premise, a man wakes up on a train and 8 minutes later a bomb goes off... I don't want to tell you much more than that because I didn't know much more than that when I went to see it and was blown away by all the twists and turns in this action thriller.

Steven Moffat said it best though when he said "wibbly wobbly timey wimey"...

4. X Men: First Class

Let me first say that I'm not a big fan of X Men movies, I appreciate the production values, effects and all that but I just found the original trilogy self important and dull... sorry about that but its true. I am however a huge fan of Kick-Ass, so when a movie comes out from the same director and writing team I would want to see it. I'm SO glad I did!

First Class is another reboot/origins movie pretty much like Batman Begins enabling a struggling movie franchise to wipe the slate clean and start again, even the least cynical movie goer would pretty much realise that. Doing this though has made the X Men franchise more interesting as we learn much more about how the "mutants" gained their powers/abilities and as a result the characters are much more accessible and likeable. In particular Magnito played by the brilliant Michael Fassbender is a much more interesting character.

3. Hugo

Now, this film was VERY special! If you love movies as an art form as well as a piece of entertainment then this movie is definitely a must see. The 3D effects were by far and away the best I have ever seen and as a result it completely pulls you in to the overall experience.

As well as this, there are also some wonderful performances from all involved including Chloe Grace Moretz who was stunning in last year's "Kick Ass". If there are move child actors around like the one in this one, then the future of movie making will be in very safe hands.

2. 50/50

Telling people about this film was rather difficult so I'll quote the great WIKIPEDIA:

"50/50 is a 2011 comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Levine, written by Will Reiser, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. The film is loosely based on the life of screenwriter Will Reiser."

Hmmm..... that probably doesn't help either!

OK, let's not skirt around the issue. This film is a comedy about cancer. Now can you understand why it was difficult trying to explain the film to others?

The subject matter however is brilliantly handled, with the source of the comedy coming from other people's behaviour around the victim, rather than the illness itself.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives the performance of his career so far and the rest of the cast support him brilliantly.

1. Bridesmaids

I don't think I have been so enthused about a film like this in a long time. All the critics are spot on about this one, its BLOODY BRILLIANT! One thing that has been missing from the films released this year is a comedy that is genuinely funny all the way through, thinking about it the last film to make me laugh all the way through was Date Night 12 months earlier and Bridesmaids is even funnier.

The best thing about the film is the film's star and co-writer Kristen Wiig, she's pretty well known in the US for brilliant performances on Saturday Night Live and this year's Paul. She is truly stunning in this film and gives one of the best comedic performances in a movie I have EVER seen. To see how good she is all you need to do is watch a scene in the film where she is given a sugared almond to eat, it’s hilarious!

There are many, many, many other things to rave about with this film including the film's male lead Chris O'Dowd, US Air Marshalls,Wilson Phillips, puppies and a crisp white bridal shop! I don't think its possible for a film to be completely faultless but this film comes very, very close indeed!

and now for the stinkers......

3. Love and Other Drugs

First of all, I need to say that I do not hate "Rom Coms". I just hate the really bad, corny ones that use the same cliches in order to move the story along. There have been loads of them this year but Love and Other Drugs is by far the worst of them.

This could have been a great film, the two lead stars are very good actors and the subject matter is one that has rarely been touched in movies. It starts very well, Anne Hathaway is edgy and Jake shows his bottom... but then an hour in things go downhill very very fast. It is as though the scriptwriter gave up and delivered the same old plot from a thousand other Rom Coms. Maybe I'm being too harsh on this film? But after it started so well the audience can't feel anything else but betrayal.

2. The Green Lantern

This film is just too silly for words... I have no more to say on the subject

1. Johnny English Reborn

Look at that traier! Isn't it funny? Do yourself a favour and just watch that and not the movie as ALL the funny bits are in that 150 second clip.

Rowan, what were you thinking? You were in Not The Nine O'Clock News and Blackadder. This is so far beneath you! This film is so bad it makes me want to cry [I may or may not be exaggerating there!]

So now we have out Christmas playlist set up. What movies do we watch on TV this Christmas?

There are certain films that have to be watched to make Christmas even more Christmassier [is that a word???]

Here are my top five Christmas Movies

5. The Muppet Christmas Carol

There are several very good versions of this story with performances from Alistair Simm, Bill Murray and Albert Finney but Michael's Caine's Scrooge is definitely my favourite version as he plays it perfectly straight amongst all those Muppets.

However, if you still has this film on VHS video - keep hold of it. The DVD is inexplicably heavily edited!

4. Meet Me in St Louis

Everybody knows Judy Garland for her Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, but I have a soft spot for Judy in this musical. It has great songs and an ending full of Christmassy goodness!

It's worth seeing for the most adorable crying little girl you will ever see

3. Miracle on 34th Street [1947 version]

Father Christmas in court? A little girl who doesn't believe? Shopping??? This film has so many things going for it and when it comes to certain films you just can't beat the originals. [For those of you who have difficulty seeing things in Black and White, there is now a colourised version...]

2. Love Actually

Hugh Grant as Prime Minister at Christmas. That's all you need to know!

1. It's A Wonderful Life

I know the world "ultimate" gets seriously overused, but to me this is the ultimate Christmas movie. Its simply perfect in every way - from the chemistry between Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, Clarence the Angel, Annie saving up for a divorce in case she ever gets a husband and the most uplifting life affirming ending that a movie has ever seen. If you only ever get to see one film at Christmas, it HAS to be this one!

So they are my top five movies for Christmas, but there are so many other great ones. Honorable mentions also go to Home Alone, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, Gremlins and Scrooged.

What are your favourite Christmas films? Do you agree with my top five? Let me know

With one famous exception, the last non X Factor related Christmas number one was in 2004, so I thought I'd have a look at the chart in 2004 leading up to Christmas 7 years ago:

1 Band Aid 20 Do They Know It's Christmas?
2 Ice Cube featuring Mack 10 & Ms Toi You Can Do It
3 Destiny's Child Lose My Breath
4 Kylie Minogue I Believe In You
5 Girls Aloud I'll Stand By You
6 Green Day Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
7 Lemar If There's Any Justice
8 Natasha Bedingfield Unwritten
9 Gwen Stefani What You Waiting For?
10 Nelly & Christina Aguilera Tilt Ya Head Back
11 Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Drop It Like It's Hot
12 Ronan Keating featuring Yusuf Father And Son
13 Eminem Just Lose It
14 Uniting Nations Out Of Touch
15 Brian McFadden Irish Son
16 Babyshambles Killamangiro
17 Christina Aguilera featuring Missy Elliott Car Wash
18 Jay-Z / Linkin Park Numb / Encore
19 JoJo featuring Bow Wow Baby It's You
20 Robbie Williams Misunderstood
21 Geri Halliwell Ride It
22 U2 Vertigo
23 Eric Prydz Call On Me
24 Usher Confessions Part II / My Boo
25 Merrion McCall & Kensit I Got You Babe / Soda Pop
26 Jamelia DJ / Stop
27 Michael Gray The Weekend
28 McFly Room On The 3rd Floor
29 3rd Wish featuring Baby Bash Obsesion (Si Es Amor)
30 Shania Twain With Mark McGrath Party For Two
31 Blue Curtain Falls
32 Razorlight Rip It Up
33 Joss Stone Right To Be Wrong
34 Khia My Neck My Back (Lick It)
35 Morrissey I Have Forgiven Jesus
36 Deep Dish Flashdance
37 Kelis featuring Andre 3000 Millionaire
38 Britney Spears My Prerogative
39 Nadia A Little Bit Of Action
40 The Streets Could Well Be In

I was hoping to say how great the charts were before the X Factor just to convince myself of "The Good Old Days" before Cowell dominated the charts at this time of year....

However, there's really not much to celebrate about this top 40 is there?

I know it was for a good cause, but the number one single is TERRIBLE and not one I don't think anyone would want to remember fondly.

Kylie, Lemar, Green Day, Destiny's Child and possibly McFly are the best songs on this list. But for someone like me to only like 5 tracks in the entire top 40 is a rarity, even by today's standards!

Am I being to harsh about this particular period of pop music? Let me know what you think!

'The Son of The Sun' Review By Jason Waters

Gabrielles Wish refuse to go away. They are one of those bands that have experienced bad luck, changes in music culture, multiple record labels, and haven't really been commercially successful, but still, they soldier on. They have a small, but extremely loyal following, and have become something of a cult band, anyone who goes to see The Fall each year will no doubt have caught Gabrielles Wish in action, as they seem to be something of a house support band for the traveling circus that is Mark E Smiths ever changing seminal post punk group. So it's with some intrigue that I listened to the new Gabrielles Wish single 'The Son Of The Sun'. Now I'll be blunt, the first time I heard the song I wasn't really impressed. All the ingredients were there, the eerie minor key, strange breezy vocals, and as always, brilliant musicianship, but on the first few listens something didn't seem right. When the song launches into its odd melody, it comes across as some kind of bizarre sea shanty, completely at odds with what your expecting to hear. A few more listens in and I got it. The weird, almost out of place chorus is what brings the magic to life here, and sticks with you. It's hardly sing along stuff, and you'll definitely have to hear this one a few times over, but the pay off is that 'The Son Of The Sun' sees Gabrielles Wish, a veteran band of some 19 years, creating something new and fresh for their audience. Normally I'd be reviewing the B-side here, but Gabrielles Wish have released 'The Son Of The Sun' on its own, and in a charming way, the track is odd enough to carry itself without a B-side to back it up. The song is out today on iTunes, and whilst I wouldn't go as far as saying this is entirely anti commerical, you more than likely wont be hearing it on the radio very often. 4/5 Gabrielles Wish on iTunes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Hidden Revolution – Perfectly Motionless [EP] Review By Jason Waters

New band The Hidden Revolution have released their debut EP, Perfectly Motionless. They are a perfect combination of radio friendly warmth and that edginess that most northern bands seem to have installed as if by default. The lead track, 'Marching on Your Own' begins with sprays of sublime sounding guitar, and vocalist Chris Wise reveals a heavenly melody. The song is a perfect introduction, and really does have touches of magical moments throughout. 'Failing' is next, and things are darker. The lyrics are instantly engaging, "failing to communicate, circumstance has locked me out" The song then rumbles into action, with drummer Jon Clarks toms bouncing across the track like a juggernaut, this song is first class work from start to end. The Hidden Revolution then do something that takes quite a lot of confidence, they end the EP with a live track. 'Bones' is my favorite song on the EP, its uplifting guitar tones and strong vocals make it perfect listening after a stressful day. I hope they do the festival circuit next year, they are tailor made for large scale appreciation. 5/5 The Hidden Revolution on Facebook