no, indeed yes, look you see. i did as point of fact go and do that "day of release" business for the new U2 album. also, we have had snow, to be sure. these are things i would normally write of here, but chance has not been of enough fortune to let me.
that i will, decidedly, cover them is in the hands of time. for now, though, yet again i comment, rant, whine, whinge or make statement on the barbarous way in which the singles chart has been ruined; and ruined for no discernable reason good or bad.
i do wonder if it is only me that cares about this. certainly, the small circle of people i am in contact with on an ad hoc, occasional and rare basis do not mention it. perhaps i should not bother then, but, well, i am here doing it now.
behold, the most recent album chart. well, the top four of it. and by recent i mean recent to when i was writing this, although i trust you to observe that it says 1 December on it. 2017, for the record, or (2017) as per the agreed, defined Kasabian way of stating such.
one of the most interesting aspects of the chart is that Morrissey's album, Low In High School, has seemingly dropped out of the Top 40. it is reassuring to know that the "Smiths phenomenon" still exists. for those unaware, that was a thing in the 80s. so passionate was the fanbase for The Smiths that all fans rushed to buy their latest single or album on day of release. then after that, no one in particular did. so, from a sales only basis, The Smiths regularly struck the top ten on week one of the charts it was eligible for, only to fall out completely the following week.
well done, then, to Mr Noel Gallagher and, ostensibly, his "High Flying Birds" (who i assume are session musicians hired as required mostly for how good they are at saying "yes Noel" and "you are the greatest Noel"), for getting a number one album. this he managed to do without me, and many others, not purchasing it after he told a significant number of fans to "just f*** off and not buy it".
this next bit is the rant, etc, but not a dig or a jibe. i mention it to get to the point. Noel got to number one with this album despite selling some 25,000 copies less than Liam Gallagher did with his debut solo album, As You Were. knowing this, and knowing at least three of the several different ways the Official Chart company now throw together the singles chart on the basis of the album chart, i went and had a look at the singles chart. and was horrified.
yes, in at number 31 and being called a "new entry" despite them saying it has been in the charts for 7 weeks (no, me neither - maybe outside the top 40 but who knows. not The Official Chart Company, anyway) one finds Holy Mountain, the lead single from Noel's album that is 100% genuine, original, creative and real and not, as many of us had accidentally assumed, simply She Bangs covered with different words and a touch of Diamond Dogs thrown in for the smell of it.
with the way that they "work out" the singles chart these days - corrupted entirely by Ed Sheeran earlier this year - Holy Mountain has entered the singles chart due to sales of the album, as well as "streamed" plays. after the Sheeran debacle this counts as a "single" because it was "released" as one before the album.
this is, of course, in a way in which none of the three "allowed" singles by Liam Gallagher did not. despite huge sales, "stream", etc, for some reason the Official Chart people excluded Wall Of Glass, Chinatown and For What It's Worth counting for the singles chart on the basis of album sales.
just make up your minds, Official Chart Company. it's frustrating, and heartbreaking, to have something that you cared deeply about for years - decades as it happens - made a total joke. as things stand, the singles chart seem to not know what it is. there's no level playing field for purchases, plays or "streams", and it would certainly not seem to reflect what people are actually listening to.
the singles chart used to reflect the time they were from for many years to come. that, obviously, just isn't going to happen any more.
hey ho.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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