| 1998 |
December may be just a little late to be picking up the Austin Powers soundtrack, but as the second best film of the year by my reckoning it's worth the wait. Pretty cool it is too (though for years I've known I was truly meant to be 17 in 1962, don't ask me what went wrong), giving us the chance to enjoy the wonders of Ming Tea, not-so-long lost Edwyn Collins singles and what may just be the start of a Divinyls revival.
Speaking of films, we are presented this month with Bond #19, Tomorrow Never Dies. Opinion is divided among friends, but nobody can really fault Pierce Brosnan. It's not the best and it's not the worst, being diplomatic. Being me: All action, bugger-all plot, loopy bad-bloke, a few nice girls, nothing too unexpected. Watch Goldeneye first, or instead even. As for the song: Tomorrow Never Dies by Sheryl Crow, it became the first Bond theme not to go top 10 since 1983. This is a bit unfair since it's a pretty good song - nicely styled and has put a few cracks in the normal Sherly Crow mould. Her voice does sound a little stretched in places. Is it nasty to suggest someone else should have sung it?
Onto more seasonal things...as usual the competition for Christmas #1 started well in advance. In terms of quality songs, I back Robbie Williams' Angels all the way. Call me soft but for a few moments it moved me more than any song has for months, maybe years. Sadly it eventually finished a disappointing seventh. Top of the pack and no surprise was the Spice Girls with Too Much, the usual sort of thing, but better than last year's 2 Become 1.
A final mention goes to the almost completely ingnored Bjork, who released the quite fantastic Bachelorette single this month. All the wonderfully different things about her are captured in it, making it quite majestic and highly recommended.
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