Well. I was born on October 27th 1998 so that is the year we shall be in for today.
Once again though I’ve decided that I won’t just do one song and be done with it. I’ll elaborate on a few favourites before I make my final choice for my new answer to this part of the 30 Day Song Challenge.
But first, let’s see what I chose back in 2020.
Day 18: A song from the year you were born
2020: “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next”, Manic Street Preachers
I was a bit obsessed with this song back in the day. It’s another one of those ones that appeal to the disenchanted youth while dressed up as a little history lesson, a Manics specialty. I remember signing off the last Drivetime show I did on the radio before the 2019 general election with this song, skating on thin ice given that neutrality is a must during those events. However, I think I got away with it as I lamented that sweet FA was really going to change no matter who got the keys to Number 10 that year, and I was right. Brexit was a foregone conclusion, and little did we know what other thrills and spills awaited us. Incidentally, 2020 was the year that the comment section for the video of “If You Tolerate…” was hijacked by the anti-mask, anti-vax brigade. Bless their cotton socks. It meant I quickly got over that obsession with “Tolerate” and ended up preferring “A Design For Life”, but that’s not to disparage this song. It is one of the Manics’ finest, and fully deserving of the Number One spot in the charts.
Ok. Time for the 1998 Lightning Round – One song, one sentence. Off we go!
“This is Hardcore”, Pulp – Best song from Pulp, forever and always.
“Angel”, Massive Attack – Drips with atmosphere and I love it for it.
“Whippin’ Piccadilly”, Gomez – My most hummed song at work this year.
“Destiny Calling”, James – Worth the price of admission for the line about black ones, posh ones, and cute ones.
“Road Rage”, Catatonia – Why do people not like Cerys’ voice?
“The Ballad of Tom Jones”, Space – If I had a Welsh friend, I’d have chosen this yesterday.
“Pure Morning”, Placebo – After my recent nightmare on the ferry, relatable.
“Stay”, Bernard Butler – ‘Bit much’ said Phil Spector.
“Millennium”, Robbie Williams – There are worse John Barry bits to sample.
“Tourniquet”, Headswim – This is sentimental to be honest; my biological father and his band are thanked in the notes of Headswim’s debut.
And that’s the end of the Lightning Round.
But for today, I am going to not only select a song from 1998, I’m going to go for the song that was Number One in the UK Charts on the day I was born in 1998! And that is:
2025: “Believe”, Cher
Ah, when Cher realised that autotune wasn’t just a remedy but a toy. And Christ, I hate this song for it. It’s that one bogey you can’t flick away. Once you’ve listened to it, it ain’t going away. But Number Ones are Number Ones so c’est la vie.
Except that time when the Tweenies released a song not long after called “No. 1” and completely missed the mark. That was f*cking hilarious.
A-Side Glance 