#205-#201

 #205. Stormzy - Big For Your Boots (#91, 2017)

25th of 2017

You may have heard this piece of chart history before. In 2017, Ed Sheeran releases "÷". It's his 3rd album, and it comes in the wake of cementing himself as a global star on his last album. If that's not enough, he releases two singles at once and they become two of the biggest hits of the year at the same time. "Shape of You" is a contender as one of the biggest hits of all time depending on how you measure it. We've never been more perfectly primed for an album to absolutely soak the charts, and that's exactly what happens. There are 16 tracks on the deluxe edition of the album and in the UK, they all arrive within the top 19. That's just 3 tracks getting in the way of him sweeping the top 16, and just one in the top 10. It's such a big starting point that even though most of the tracks suffer heavy declines, he still has 9 of the top 10 even in the second week.

You'll see this brought up for two reasons usually. One is to call it the worst chart ever, something I can't really agree with even as someone who isn't a big fan of that Ed Sheeran album, and the other is to point out that this was the tipping point that made the OCC change the rules, limiting the number of songs by one artist on the chart. I have my doubts about this too. Mainly because I think I, and many people at the time could clearly tell that this was a generational circumstance. The perfect amassing of the highest possible percentage of the listening public to coalesce on one album. No one has ever replicated or surpassed the sheer magnitude of it. Only Taylor Swift has gotten somewhat close.

I think it's the aftermath that brought about the change. Because it wasn't just Ed Sheeran doing this. He'd laid down the groundwork as a proof of concept and the unwitting imitators came thick and fast. Two weeks later, Drake released "More Life", and while it obviously wasn't as big, he had 11 tracks in the top 40, meaning that he and Ed Sheeran collectively had more than half of it to themselves. Four weeks after this, Kendrick Lamar did it as well. Again, not to the same extent but nearly all of "DAMN." was in the top 50. And of course, if this wasn't enough, then I left out the fact that one week before Ed Sheeran did it, Stormzy also sent most of his album into the chart. Ed Sheeran is the fall guy here, but the reality of it was this feeling that this was going to be a monthly situation. Unrelated hits just taking an endless battering and never getting to properly shine. To me, the whole thing has just felt like an overreaction to something that isn't nearly as common as that two month period made it seem. I'm writing this a week after Harry Styles has released his latest album, and his album tracks would definitely be swallowing up the top 40, but he's part of a very small group of artists who can do this, and even he's not being very convincing with it. This is all for me to make a segue and say that at this point in time, Stormzy got way too big for everybody's boots.

How did we get here? Well, it's Part 3 of the tale of Kanye West performing "All Day" at the BRIT Awards being one of the most important events for British hip-hop. Little known Stormzy was on stage for that performance, and it might have been his biggest claim to fame for a while. This would change quite a bit by the end of the year. Stormzy scored his first top 40 hit with "WickedSkengMan 4", but it'd be the b-side, "Shut Up", that would get the most attention. After getting a bit of virality with its YouTube video, which is just a freestyle performance in the park with a bunch of people around him (I'm underselling it, but it's the best version of the song. I feast on the energy of it all). Stormzy pushed the song for a Christmas #1 campaign, and it fell short but gave him a top 10 hit by landing at #8. I mainly bring up that song to highlight that Stormzy directly addresses accusations calling him a backup dancer because of the "All Day" performance. You'll remember the line because he ends 6 consecutive bars with 'Backup dancer'.

Easy to say that this was all just a gimmicky moment of virality, but Stormzy put all those backup dancers in their place just two months later when he released "Big For Your Boots", which debuted right at #8, before eventually peaking at #6. It'd stay as his highest charting song for a couple of years, until he reached #1 with a song that will appear later on this list. Though it didn't really escape the UK, it was to me one of the most exciting chart moments of the time because Stormzy just seemed so vital as an MC. Making music that was completely his own, and drawing in so much fascination and attention for it. Not a moment feels wasted as he manages to both play and subvert the pop game at the same time. And yes, some of the charm does come from the fact that it sounds like he's saying 'byewts'. Taking a tired idiom and injecting some life into it just by making it sound like he wants to kick someone in the face who deserves it. Maybe the last time Stormzy sounded genuinely threatening.

#204. Vampire Weekend - Step (#26, 2013)

37th of 2013

Oh ya hey Vampire Weekend, it's been a little while. We last saw this band some...78 weeks ago (#982). I can't yet say if this is the longest gap between appearances on here because by my approximation, there are still two artists for which it is mathematically possible. One of these artists would have to get all three of their remaining songs to land in the top 10 but never say never until you have to. I'd like to say that this is an appropriate situation to represent the extremes of Vampire Weekend but I'd be lying if I didn't say that most of their entries from 2008 to 2010 would be littered around the middle of the rankings.

It does however represent the extremes when it comes to "Modern Vampires of the City". It's my favourite Vampire Weekend album, but it's an experience of occasional valleys alongside peaks. Not perfect, but it was the album that let me change my tune with this band, who seemed so utterly twee and incapable of doing anything beyond that. I think the biggest shift comes instrumentally, and you feel that right from Track 1. It all feels so much more fleshed out, warm and fulfilling. They still have their moments that remind me that it's the Vampire Weekend of old (even on songs I really like), but the whole thing is just so much more rewarding. You've got tracks like "Don't Lie" which builds to a big satisfying climax, and contrasted with a later highlight in "Hudson", one of the spookiest songs that I've not seen put forward for Halloween canon.

"Step" is another good illustration of this, and I was pretty chuffed to see it rewarded by being the highest ranked Vampire Weekend song that year. It's not a very immediate song, but once it clicked, I never looked back. The dynamic variation is the big thing. The chorus stands out because it's so reserved. A little playful melody in the background, but it lets the drums and Ezra stand out and make their mark. Maybe it's impossible to not sound like a weathered veteran once you start mentioning wisdom teeth, but I certainly welcome a grown up Vampire Weekend.

#203. The Chemical Brothers - Go (#46, 2015)

28th of 2015

If you're an electronic music producer, it's hard to get much wider recognition that you're an auteur worthy of attention. It's been shifting a little bit on the charts lately, but for a long time, it's been the norm that the most popular dance hits are the ones where they're just pop songs with different marketing. The producer might get lead credit, but the singer, likely famous in their own right, is getting the kudos and attention. Hard to build a brand when there are many cases that just appear to be a vehicle for the singer.

This is probably why many singers aren't credited at all on big dance hits. It's a way to get them out of the spotlight, and make them into an instrument that the producer is playing around with. We see them as geniuses, rather than hacks who are relying on name power. Fatboy Slim, The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, all geniuses that build everything from the ground up. It's a shame because in many cases, it's a scummy practice (though you can't always be sure it wasn't consented). Yet it's encouraged because so many of the most enduring popular artists are always doing this. Our brains are just wired like that.

There is a vocalist on this song by The Chemical Brothers. It's not just a quick sample; it's a very clear role as an MC steering it the whole way. It's not the first time he's worked with The Chemical Brothers. Perhaps more famously, they teamed up a decade earlier on "Galvanize". You know what I'm about to say, I can't say who it is just yet, but he'll certainly get his turn. Non-crediting is just so common for The Chemical Brothers but I can't say it doesn't shape my perception of it. For a long time, I had no idea who was singing on "Believe" even though it's a singer in a rather famous band (who will eventually appear in this list). For however many times I've inputted "Setting Sun" into a spreadsheet, it'd feel so different if it had a '(feat. Noel Gallagher) attached to it (and now it does on YouTube, look how weird it looks). Acknowledging it just feels like breaking a weird illusion I've put up for myself. Noel also sings on "Let Forever Be". That's a good link to the other big return collaboration on this song, because I believe "Go" is the 3rd Chemical Brothers song to have a music video directed by Michel Gondry.

As far as the art of music video directing goes, Gondry might just be the GOAT. He's directed so many and they're almost always incredibly memorable or impressive. This is where I link the video for "Sugar Water" and again have my mind blown at how that was pulled off. I don't know if I'd necessarily put "Go" near the top of that pile. Best I can say is that it's visually striking but I think they run out of interesting things to do with metal poles too quickly. Maybe it's all just a reference to the "Let Forever Be" video which also has 7 women doing a choreographed routine in matching outfits, going for minimalism over being incredibly busy. I know which one I'd rather go back to though.

"Go" though, what an odd late career hit for Ed & Tom. Their first entry in 8 years, this time with slightly less information about salmon in the song. I get the feeling that they're only here to make me go, put that on an orange shirt (this clip will make no sense if you haven't seen the whole movie, I regret). This is a group that have been doing it for 2 decades at this point, they absolutely know how to do it. Like the video, "Go" seems so stripped down to the bare essentials. Maybe it's not a relentless party like "Hey Boy Hey Girl", but it's a welcome return.

"Go" though, what an odd even later career hit for Ed & Tom. The song was used in the 2026 film "Apex". I don't remotely know the full context behind it, but Eggsy from the Kingsman movies starts dancing to it under conditions seemingly akin to "The Running Man". This has turned the song into an even bigger hit than before, a song that would be a new top 50 hit in Australia, but thanks to restrictive new rules isn't charting at all. By comparison, it's comfortably riding in the UK top 10 running on similar popularity but different chart rules, giving me a great new example to use. I think the funniest thing about it all is how much the US just isn't really messing with it. Like, we've got a whole new generation of music fans that have so little loyalty to the previous standards that all countries' taste seems to blend together, and yet the US are still incapable of digging The Chemical Brothers.

Update: Possibly my worst aging post of all time because an hour and a half after this went live, "Go" actually did re-enter the ARIA Charts at #14 today and is now The Chemical Brothers' highest charting single of all time. If not for Drake releasing 3 albums this week, it would also be in the top 10.

#202. Thelma Plum - How Much Does Your Love Cost? (#95, 2014)

25th of 2014

As I look at Thelma Plum's glowing career that she's gone on to have, I always think of those quaint beginnings. Back when she was just uploading songs to triple j Unearthed, and getting that occasional spot of airplay between bigger names and bigger songs. Cute songs like "Father Said" and "Dollar", where nothing about this seems like we've got a big star on our hands. Every time her career seemed to elevate, it just seemed stranger and stranger. The only explanation I had was that I undeniably took notice of her early on, and it obviously wasn't just me.

The surprise is twofold though. Firstly that the breakthrough happened so quickly, and then that it was put on pause for several years. Thelma Plum scored this as her first Hottest 100 entry in 2014. She had a couple of feature credits in 2015, but then disappears completely until 2018. No new singles, no new anything. That's a remarkably long time to go away for a not completely established artist. Everyone could have just moved on or forgot, and she'd just be another short-lived success story, with "How Much Does Your Love Cost?" being her stamp of fame.

When I hear this song, the success makes more sense. Compared to her early singles, the production values have been stepped up considerably here. Maybe she should be breaking out with thanks to her lyrics and singing, but it's also everything in-between that makes this song soar. The rolling guitar riff gives it a "Misirlou" feel, and then the whole thing explodes on the chorus. It's the kind of hook writing that made me realise she might just be something special in the long run. Cashing in that cheque just took a little while longer than it should have.

#201. Polish Club - Clarity (#76, 2018)

22nd of 2018

Sometimes I don't necessarily have much to contribute and I can't even blame an influx of entries for spreading me thin. This is the only entry Polish Club have ever mustered, and they're just a band I've never had much to say about. One of the more successful 'Club' bands going around, and they can lay claim to winning the battle of the three that were on this list. What I wouldn't do to have some Cry Club or Press Club here as well. Well there's "Hanging By A Thread" (#461), but that hardly counts.

Regarding Polish Club though. They're a duo, though in the spirit of bands like Royal Blood and Hockey Dad, sometimes it's surprising to remember this. When "Clarity" was first released, they'd put out just one album. You might be surprised to know that they just put out their 7th album late last year. The main thing that sticks out to me with this band is David Novak's distinct voice. I never know what I'm going to get from them musically, but there's a bold confidence to him that often can elevate the whole thing. Almost ill-fitting at time with how high he gets, but gives the band some character.

"Clarity" has always been a winner in my books. A song where they lock in from the opening bar and never look back. A song that's so catchy, there are probably three different parts of the song that you could call a chorus. Really love the guitar though. There's a rollick to it that completely sets it apart.