metapost: Happy Canada Day!

I know the day's nearly over now, but while I'm between albums I thought I'd throw in a quick list post. The first of July is Canada Day, and tonight you've missed a performance in Trafalgar Square with the Tragically Hip, among others. It's as good an excuse as any to shoehorn in what I think is a fairly comprehensive list of Canadian acts featured in the series; I'm only counting lead credits and predominantly Canadian acts, so no All Saints or Dragonette. With apologies to Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Barenaked Ladies, Alanis Morrisette and Holy F, here's who made the grade:

Men Without Hats: Now 1
They were from Montreal, so there's even a little bit of French in the song.

Bryan Adams: Now 6 (with Tina Turner), 34, 43

Not that surprising that he's the first Canadian I've found on more than one Now album (I'm counting 'It's Only Love' as one of his), though his small total number of appearances is a bit of a surprise. Even if you also add his lead vocal of Chicane's 'Don't Give Up', his biggest hit is conspicuous by its absence. I'm not complaining.

Glass Tiger: Now 20

It seems a long gap, but I can't think of any Canucks in the other 1980s volumes at all, so this is the surprising third appearance for the nation. The largely forgotten Number 33 hit 'My Town' features an uncredited Rod Stewart, which might be why it's there. 

kd lang: Now 24

I'm listing her ahead of the other Canadian act on Now 24 on alphabetical order, though she also pops up on Now 23 duetting with Roy Orbison. Unsurprisingly she's represented by her big solo hit 'Constant Craving'.

Snow: Now 24

Unusually for a reggae-based rapper, he's a white guy from Canada, hence the stage name. Though he did have other charting singles, he gets a mention here from 'Informer', which landed in the middle of the all-reggae Top 3 in Spring 1993.

Crash Test Dummies: Now 29

The only act other than XTC to have a hit with an XTC song, though that's not what they feature on here. Mmmm, I wonder if you can guess which of their songs it is?

Céline Dion: Now 29

She outdoes Bryan Adams by having two million-selling Number One singles that aren't on Now albums. Instead her only showing is 'The Power Of Love', ironically a cover of another million-selling chart-topper that didn't make it to the Now series. 

Shania Twain: Now 39, 44, 45, 46

Had you forgotten she was Canadian? I believe these songs would have fallen foul of the protectionist Can Con rules, as they were co-written and produced by her then-husband "Mutt" Lange, who is from the US. A comeback album is due in 2013 apparently. 

Bran Van 3000: Now 44

The collective who brought us 'Drinking In LA', perhaps the only Top 3 hit to use the word "Bupkiss". Like several other acts mentioned here, they did have another hit (the Number 40 'Astounded') but were only noticed this once.

Nelly Furtado: Now 48, 50, 64, 65, 66

The most featured Canadian I can find, even ignoring her vocal of Timbaland's 'Give It To Me'. Her return to English-language recording in 2012 didn't add to her tally though.

Sum 41: Now 50, 51

Another of the less obviously Canadian acts to show up. Lead singer Deryck Whibley beats his ex-wife to the series, though her chart career was much longer.

Nickelback: Now 51, 56, 69

Perhaps not the greatest advert for the nation's musical creativity. But all three of their features are Top 10 hits; 'Someday' from 2003 is the one you might be struggling to remember.

Avril Lavigne: Now 67, 68

As previously noted, the former Mrs Whibley is quite a late arrival, five years on from her first hit. It took the Sony/BMG merger and the closure of the Hits series to get her on here, with the endlessly annoying 'Girlfriend' and its power-ballad follow-up.

Feist: Now 68

In singles chart terms, a genuine one-hit wonder thanks to a certain advert. 

Michael Bublé: Now 74, 77

Not an obvious Now act, but he obviously became so big with radio programmers that his first Top 10 hit couldn't be ignored. Only his upbeat singles seem to attract Box Music's attention though.

Justin Bieber: Now 76, 82

You knew this was coming. He actually doubles up on 76, duetting with Sean Kingston and then having his own hit with 'Baby' (which also features Ludacris)

K'Naan: Now 76

Also a one-hit wonder in a solo capacity (he's on a Number 40 hit by Keane), with this World Cup anthem. It wouldn't have occurred to me to pick a Canadian for that job, but maybe that's the point.

Drake: Now 81

Yes, it's Drake Featuring Rihanna, but it's very much his single from his album. 

Carly Ray Jepsen: Now 82

Thanks to the aforementioned Mr. Bieber, the most recent debutant from the land of the maple leaf. And 'Good Time' by her and Owl City appears on Now 83, which is the most recent representation to date. Mind you, the Now 85 tracklisting is due soon, so we could be getting another dose of Bublé.

I can promise now, I won't be listing all the American acts on Thursday.

Metapost: comedy songs

I know it's well after midday, but it's still the 1st of April so I thought my latest in the monthly list posts should mark the day in some sense. So here's a partial (in both senses) list of 20 comedy tracks as they've appeared on the main series of Now! albums.
I gave myself some ground rules when looking for material here: mere novelty doesn't cut it (sorry, DJ Otzi), and neither does wit (sorry, Beautiful South et al). Nor would I include the knowingly ridiculous (Shaggy) or the unknowingly so (too many to count). I also excluded old records that were merely revived for their presumed humour value, so no room for Tony Christie or Phil Collins - and if 'Let's Get Ready To Rhumble' shows up on Now 85, that won't belong here either. But speaking of 85, that's the year when we really get started.


The Commentators 'N-N-Nineteen Not Out' (Now 5)
Though some tracks on the first four volumes in the series might seem funny now, I think it's safe to say that this number, tucked away at the end of Side Three, is the first one that was trying to.

Lovebug Starski 'Amityville (House On The Hill)' (Now 7)
Not a full-blown novelty or comedy track but still has enough jokes and silly voices to qualify.

Fat Boys With The Beach Boys 'Wipeout' (Now 10)
Comedy-rap again...

Morris Minor & The Majors 'Stutter Rap (No Sleep Till Bedtime)' (Now 11)
...And yet again. By this point they were threatening to outnumber more serious hip-hop hits.

The Timelords 'Doctorin' The Tardis' (Now 12)
Generally the KLF aren't quite jokey enough to qualify for this list, and this does flirt with mere novelty but on balance I've included it.

Bananarama and LaNaNeeNeeNooNoo 'Help!' (Now 14)
The first of the Comic Relief singles to appear, in which French And Saunders and Kathy Burke serve as backing singers to "The Bananas".

Hale & Pace and the Stonkers 'The Stonk' (Now 19)
And here's the second, with the comedians taking top billing for once, and jokey interjections throughout. It's not actually funny, but it's meant to be.

Vic Reeves and the Wonder Stuff 'Dizzy' (Now 20)
Joke cover versions are a borderline category for this list, I think, this one just about sneaks in even though it's not that funny either.

Monty Python 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life' (Now 20)
And I suppose this one is funniest in its original context, but still identifiable as a comedy song, or at least as a parody, outside that.

Dr Spin 'Tetris' (Now 23)
Also on the border of novelty, but I've decided it's an unfunny joke song. The next track on Now 23 was 'Supermarioland', which I have arbitrarily decided is just a novelty record.

Bjorn Again 'A Little Respect' (Now 23)
And again we're in silly cover territory, but as an answer record to Erasure's Abba covers, this qualifies as a joke by its very existence. Now 23 is clearly one of the sillier albums in the series, they even attempt a joke in the sequencing with Heaven 17 next to East 17.

The BC-52s '(Meet) The Flintstones' (Now 28)
Back to covers, I suppose, but between the fact that this is from a comedy film and the jokey pseudonym, it counts.

Absolutely Fabulous 'Absolutely Fabulous' (Now 28)
Another Comic Relief track, unusually issued in an even-numbered year (we don't get the Right Said Fred song from 1993) and a return for Jennifer Saunders in her Edina guise, backed by a pseudonymous Pet Shop Boys.

Precocious Brats featuring Kevin & Perry 'Big Girl' (Now 45)
And here in the year 2000 is the return of Kathy Burke, alongside Harry Enfield with the title song from their little-remembered (but apparently profitable) movie Kevin And Perry Go Large.

The Cuban Boys 'C vs. I' (Now 45)
Ending the late-90s drought of comedy on Now albums, this finally say commercial release in December 1999 after months of exposure of John Peel's show. The Cubans lean towards KLF-style art pranksterism, but their one hit, based on a website that had done what we'd now call "going viral", fits among the comedy songs.

David Hasselhof 'Jump In My Car' (Now 65)
About as funny as genocide, I know, but it's supposed to be ironic.

The Proclaimers featuring Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' (Now 66)
The return of comedy-led Comic Relief singles, albeit in tandem with pop-star releases. And the debut of an audible Peter Kay, as he's not really on 'Amarillo'.

Geraldine 'The Winner's Song' (Now 71)
And here's Kay again, with a reality-show parody that some were apparently surprised wasn't for charity. Written by Gary Barlow, in the days before he became an X-Factor judge.

Vanessa Jenkins & Bryn West featuring Tom Jones & Robin Gibb '(Barry) Islands In The Stream' (Now 72)
Comic Relief again, and a rare example (here) of established musicians appearing on a comedy song under their own names.

Comic Relief presents Susan Boyle and Geraldine McQueen 'I Know Him So Well' (Now 78)
One last song from the bi-annual fundraiser (getting direct billing for the first time) and one last appearance from Peter Kay as well. He hasn't added to that in 2013, merely helping 'Sit Down' by James back to the Top 75. See you in 2015 then?

Metapost: The Missing Million-Sellers

Second in my monthly-so-far list series, a selection of big million-sellers (since 1983) that didn't find a home in the Now series. I've excluded Christmas songs and some charity releases as they wouldn't be expected to show up, and also 'Impossible' by James Arthur, the most recent single to make seven figures, as that's all but guaranteed to show up on Now 84.
Again, possible spoilers after the jump.

Metapost: 2013 begins/opening tracks

Happy new year folks

As some of you might know, 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of the Now albums, and thus the fifth anniversary of this blog. Whilst these birthdays don't occur until the end of the year, I thought I would led up to it with some lists and features about the albums... Who knows how many I'll actually get round to writing in time, but I'm starting the year in the most obvious way, with a study of the opening tracks on the 83 albums to date.

I've assembled a Spotify playlist for those who want to listen along, although I have to warn you that 4 isn't quite the right version and 7 isn't officially on there, so you'll only hear it if you've already got it on your computer. Naturally this also contains spoilers for possible future posts, so be warned if you actually care about that. List follows after the jump.