f50

[Stuart McHugh]

aside from all the talk of a 'campaign', anyone feel that the quality 
of the records in the chart was really quite poor? Even the Cinerama 
stuff IMO wasn't as good this year as last, so it might be an 
indicator of the overall standard. But still miles ahead of the likes 
of Miss Black America (dull), Pinhole (a campaign, and not by fans, I 
suspect!) and the Yeah Yeah Yeah's (simply unbearably tedious - you 
know how you're often dying for the record to end so you can get to 
the top of the chart; that feeling crept over me many many time in 
the top 10.
So for me, Saloon was perhaps appropriate at #1 - one of the dullest, 
wash-all-over-me records I've heard in quite a while. Doubtless that 
will upset those of you who voted for it, but just my opinion (I 
quite liked Saloon's split 7" of a couple of years ago but their 
newer ones in the F50 weren't a patch on that).
Really, the problem for me is it now stands there in history, 
alongside the likes of The Smiths, Joy Division ,The Fall and the 
Pistols, as an all-time great. Not since the dark days of Bang Bang 
Machine has the name of the Festive 50 been so sullied!
(Nothing personal, Saloon friends and family,  if you're reading!)
Bah humbug!

Stuart
--