My top pics of The GWIM Project for the past decade (2016-2025)

Originally posted Sept 2025 Jade Thirlwall. The Geordie from Little Mix who astounded me with her debut solo single “Angel Of My Dreams”. So much so I declared it my favourite singles of 2024. She has continued to impress me every since. https://youtu.be/ZP3XMEayaVo?si=nWaz45_zv-3gxvqM I think her outstanding talent was solidified with me when I saw/heard her version of “Backbone”. Wow! Chase & Status, and Stormzy “Backbone” https://youtu.be/Qtogm_mo1AQ?si=XpndgRxrS3_qXLWy Ja

Originally posted Feb 2026 ALBUMS ALSO – AM I CONTINUING THE GWIM PROJECT? Marking Key at bottom. Ed Sheeran “÷” This kicked off my 2017 listening very well. I’d summarise it as an album that showcases the versatility of the artist. No track is like the last one. For example, if we start from the top, “Erasure” is a striking opening – its like a heavily produced folk number (but one that is largely rapped, interestingly). “Castle On The Hill” is a perfect example of Sheeran’s

Originally posted Jan 2026 INTRO ALSO – THOUGHTS ON HOW THE CHART IS COMPILED ALSO – AM I CONTINUING WITH THIS PROJECT (SEE 2017: Albums & Conclusions). 2017 was the big ‘Ed Sheeran Controversy’ year. Just a few year’s earlier, streaming (which had its own off-shoot chart since 2012) was incorporated into the official charts (2014 for singles & 2015 for albums). The stand-alone streaming chart included any single track that streamed – so it didn’t necessarily have to be a ‘

Originally posted Nov 2025 INTRO A notable point about 2018was that musicals/musical-films had a surge in popularity. “The Greatest Showman” was the #1 album of the year .“Mamma Mia – Here We Go Again”, “A Star Is Born” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” were all not far behind. If you remove those, George Ezra’s “Staying At Tamara’s” was the leading album with Ed Sheeran’s “÷”, the biggest album of 2017, still performing strongly just behind. The biggest single was Calvin Harris & Dua

Originally posted May 2025 INTRO: So – this was the last year that video streaming was not included in general chart. I didn’t suspect this was have a major bearing on the chart. I did wonder if it had something to do with the success of some numbers from “Wicked” in 2024. However, there were some similarly (in fact, even more so) successful numbers from “Encanto” in 2022 that evidences otherwise. In fact, this was one of the key years that demonstrated how the inclusion of a

Originally posted April 2025 ALBUMS: Marking key at bottom Lewis Capaldi “Broken By A Desire To Be Heavenly” The most successful album of 2023 that was not a classic album, an album released earlier than 2023, a best of or other compilation album, or one of Taylor Swifts re-make albums. However, it was actually only the 15 th most successful album of the year overall. This is something that I will continue to highlight as a problem with the album charts now. In this case, yo

Originally posted Dec 2025 INTRO Strange – and music can be strange. This marks the end of my 2 nd year doing this project. That’s kinda crazy. Its feels overblown to say ‘I’m a changed man’..... but in this particular area of my life, I think I am. Simon Ore knows me best (especially in this subject) so he would be a better person to assess me than myself. So, what is ‘strange’? Because gut feeling is I did not enjoy the 2025 music as much as 2024. However, the data suggest

Originally posted Dec 2025 Marking Key at bottom Richard Ashcroft “Lovin’ You” This album, from the legendary Verve front man, has me confused. I really like the addictive opening track “Lover”. There’s something about its simplicity (built around the familiar ‘lover ooo hoo’ line from Joan Armatrading’s “Love & Affection”) juxtaposed with its hint of mystery – given to us by the thickly textured ambient backdrop of the track, a trait of Ashcroft both with the Verve and solo.

Marking key at the bottom. Wet Leg “moisturise” I can’t quite tell if this is a step up or step down from their fiery debut. Perhaps its a side step..... a maturing after hammering all our doors down and streaming at us. The melodies seem more ‘catchy’ but arguably better crafter than before although there are some metal-y outbursts that remind us of their debut. The lyrics, as before, are simultaneously impactful but playful....... sort of political but with a fun cynicism.

Originally posted Oct 2025 Justin Bieber “DAISIES” (#1) https://youtu.be/QyvREl7epGY?si=pUr3DvZBR4UOjNlZ There’s something about the style of this – the raw rough guitar playing, the simplicity of the composition etc., that makes it very attractive. Not that its amazing. Its one of those tracks – I’ll really enjoy it when its on....... but never choose to put it on myself. HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI & KPop Demon Hunters “Golden” #1 https://youtu.be/yebNIHKAC4A?si

Originally posted July 2025 ALBUMS Marking Key at bottom Black Country, New Road “Forever Howlong” I’ve never resorted to this before during the project but there we go. I really loved this, and my plan was to do one my more detailed lengthy analytical reviews like I did for The Last Dinner Party. I just never even got round to starting it and have forgotten a lot of the detail now. So Instead, here’s another review. I did make a note that my favourite tracks were “Two Horses

Originally posted July 2025 INTRO So, just like that - we are halfway (plus a month now) through the year. The 1 st quarter started off fairly weak. I have another branch of this project now - a whistle-stop tour backwards through the years to 2000. The years 2022-20 have been a general thumbs down too. Thankfully the 2 nd quarter did pick up quite a bit. Admittedly, some of this was released earlier than the 2 nd quarter but just undiscovered by me until later. In the wor

Originally posted April 2025 ALBUMS Marking Key At Bottom Ringo Starr “Look Up” ..... and why not kick off with Ringo? I’m happy with that. A lot of people don’t I speak to don’t realise that, aside from 2 periods, Ringo has churned out an album every couple of year (and it was more frequent on the 70s). The 1 st period of silence was from the early 80s into the 90s, although you could still catch him if you tuned into Thomas the Tank Engine. The 2 nd was just now – his las

Originally posted April 2025 INTRO Some of the biggest hits of 2025 so far have been residuals from 2024. Rose & Bruno Mars, Lola Young, Chrystal, Gracie Abrams, Myles Smith, Teddy Swims, Kendrick Lamar etc. Although it was less apparent to me last year because everything was brand new to me, this was very much the case then too. Nonetheless, when we take the residual tracks away, 2025 has-been a little disappointing to me thus far. SINGLES Doechii “Denial Is A River”...

Originally posted Feb 2025. So, a reminder of my 2024 summary. I concluded that modern pop music was shorter, more eclectic, focused less on melody but more on rhythm, and, most importantly, whilst there ARGUABLY has been a decline in quality over the years it is MASSIVELY overstated by the grumps. My listening was largely tracks and albums that made the UK top ten. My single of the year went to Jade with “Angel Of My Dreams” https://youtu.be/ZP3XMEayaVo?si=k33thvEBF_9IsTU1

BACK TO THE START (The old man): So, let’s take a quick look at the 1 st 2 parts of this 10 part write up to see where I’ve landed. Well........ at least I'm much further away from becoming the old dismissive man I feared. In the 1 st part, I talked about research that strongly suggested becoming such a person was all part of a natural process. A ‘natural process’, maybe – but one that shocked and upset me nevertheless less. Death is ‘just a natural process’ too! The resear

THE START OF THE GWIM PROJECT I think its an idea to recount my ‘day 1 experience’ – listening to the very 1 st playlist of top ten singles. I had an idea in my head, probably the same idea many older people have, of what I expected to hear. I pressed play ........... and that expectation was immediately shattered with Noah Kahan's “Stick Season”..... which was #1 that week!! https://youtu.be/JKrDdsgXuso?si=ENyqSqtc9DmvbJTm It continued to be shattered with Teddy Swims “Los

Yes there’s still 3 charts left before the end of the year. However, because of the Christmas takeover of the charts due to streaming, these days by the end of November we are essentially at the end of the year chart-wise. Here’s the rest. SINGLES (OCT – DEC) (See Part 3 for Jan-Sept) The Weeknd & Playboi Carti “Timeless” I like some things about it, I like the way the vocal passes around, I like the keyboard ‘bip bip’ figure, and I like the ‘ambient’ background. But, the t

Country Music Country music's popularity has been on an upward trajectory for a decade and spiked in 2024. This article discusses this https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/this-aint-texas-country-music-renaissance-in-uk-as-genre-surges-67-in-2024/ Despite paying almost no attention, I HAD also noticed an upward trend in folk, drinking songs, sea shanties and the like. This is great for fans of country music, right?........... or wrong? I turn here to my friend Simon Ore