36. I Believe In You – Kylie Minogue
1999: Cold Blooded Old Times – Smog
1994: Nervous Breakdown – Carleen Anderson
1989: Helyom Halib – Capella
This collaboration between Kylie and the Scissor Sisters had one f**kload of a lot of expectations to live up to. Consequently, it rather underwhelmed on the first few listenings. (I was expecting more from the chorus than simply repeating the title four times over, for instance.)
But then, like the Phoenix album before it (see below), what at first seems disappointingly slight and gossamer-thin slowly reveals itself over time, as Kylie’s delicate magic touch swooshes you up into a giddy swirl of breathless delight.
(Or a breathless swirl of giddy delight. The effect varies, so I’m told.)
I Believe In You is also the first single on this year’s list which, on a clear day with a good following wind, can sometimes sound, if only for a few seconds, like the best single ever made. There will be many more.
In a recent-ish interview, Kylie explained that – after fighting against it for many years – she had reached an acceptance of the fact that, on some level or other, she would always be a little bit naff. And that, I think, is a key element of her appeal. (Conversely, Madonna won her fight against naffness – but in doing so, lost a crucial part of her appeal.)
Alan’s brief sojourn at the top of the pile comes to an end, as nascent super-blogger Joe. My. God. (just watch them Bloggies; you heard it here first!) takes over the lead.
Already listed:
#36 I Believe In You – Kylie Minogue (Joe) · #38 Love Machine – Girls Aloud (Alan) · #49 The Show – Girls Aloud (Paul) · #64 Take Your Mama – Scissor Sisters (Chig) · #85 Matinee – Franz Ferdinand (timothy)Not (yet?) listed:
Tits On The Radio – Scissor Sisters (Todd) · Babycakes – 3 Of A Kind (dave) · Filthy/Gorgeous – Scissor Sisters (asta) · Heartbeats – The Knife (Swish David) · Girls (rex the dog mix) – The Prodigy (Waitrose David) · Toxic – Britney Spears (Angus) · Trick Me – Kelis (Ben) · Common People – William Shatner & Joe Jackson (Gary F.)
Keep those guesses coming!
troubled diva 