Charts – 14 July 2017
If the recent rule changes were intended to speed up the chart, then it doesn’t seem to be working yet…
1. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber – “Despacito”
That’s a total of nine weeks at number one. I mean, it’s not all been long-running number ones lately. This year has seen four single-week number ones: Harry Styles, Clean Bandit, DJ Khaled and Artists For Grenfell. But juggernauts like this are becoming a regular feature. “Despacito” has peaked, so it’s possible that the new rule (which downgrades the streams of records at least ten weeks old and at least three weeks past their peak) will kick in while it’s still at number one. If so, it may not be here much longer.
“Feels” by Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean climbs to 4. That’s enough to overtake “Chained To The Rhythm” and make it Katy Perry’s biggest hit since “Dark Horse” back in 2013. It’s also Big Sean’s biggest hit ever, overtaking his guest appearance on Jessie J’s “Wild”, also back in 2013. Further down the chart, the previous single “Slide” rebounds 33-21, which strangely makes it this week’s higher climber. “Came Here For Love” by Sigala & Ella Eyre moves 12-6. “Crying In The Club” by Camilla Cabello moves 16-14.
18. Rudimental featuring James Arthur – “Sun Comes Up”
House to Astonish Episode 156
In case you’d forgotten, we do actually do a podcast about comics occasionally. And here it is! This time round, we’re remembering Joan Lee, trying to work out what Legacy actually is, chewing over the controversy surrounding Howard Chaykin’s current Image work, and chatting through Titan’s upcoming Dan Dare series, DC & Archie’s Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica, and Sean Murphy’s Batman: White Knight. We’ve also got reviews of Diablo House and Green Arrow, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook is a man of letters. All this plus a supervillain who controls milk, the forceps of DC Rebirth and some monkeys waving jawbones at Marvel’s marketing department.
The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on Twitter, by email or on our Facebook fan page.
And even though we forgot to mention it, we do actually have lovely T-shirts for sale. We’re a bit out of practice at this. Sorry.
Charts – 7 July 2017
Welcome to the exciting new era of marginally tweaked chart rules. If you weren’t reading last week, the changes are basically that acts are limited to three hits at a time (“featuring” credits don’t count towards the cap), and tracks which have been out for ten weeks and are comfortably past their peak will see their streams downweighted to stop them clogging up the charts just because the same people have still got them on playlists. Does it make a difference? Well… a bit.
1. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber – “Despacito”
Exhibit A: an eighth week at number one for “Despacito”. “Mama” by Jonas Blue featuring William Singe edges up one place to number 4 (continuing a glacially slow climb which included three weeks stuck at number six), and aside from that it’s a lot of rebounding.
6. Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean – “Feels”
X-Men: Gold #4-6 – “Techno Superior”
The thing about biweeklies is, you fall a little bit behind on the reviews, and they’ve already started the next arc. Time to catch up, then.
“Techno Superior” is the second arc of X-Men: Gold, and this time our artist is R B Silva, who is much less problematic than his predecessor. And in most ways it follows in the direction which the opening arc established: it’s going to play the hits while it re-establishes what the X-Men are all about. It’s solid, it’s a bit house style, it feels like an X-Men book, everyone feels in character, and it’s very much a return to an 80s/90s team format.
Charts – 30 June 2017
There are rule changes coming to the chart next week. Because if the compilers wanted to make a case for them, they couldn’t have wished for a more helpful chart than this one. It’s dull as ditchwater.
1. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber – “Despacito”
Returning to number one for a seventh week, after being interrupted by Artists For Grenfell (which drops to three). So, let’s talk about those rule changes.
Charts – 23 June 2017
All-New Wolverine #19-21 – “Immune”
Well, they can’t all be winners. I really like All-New Wolverine. It’s consistently one of the best X-books. But “Immune” is a three-parter devoted to setting up a contrived set-piece finale, and it’s a bit of a dud, to be honest with you.
So here’s the idea. An alien spaceship crashes on Roosevelt Island in New York – population 11,000 or so, according to Wikipedia. There’s a dying alien child inside who asks for Laura Kinney before dying. By a happy coincidence (well, presumably the kid was aiming for her), Laura and Gabby happen to be in the area doing something unrelated. Specifically, it’s a child-trafficking subplot that takes up a lot of chapter one but has no real purpose beyond keeping Laura away from the main story until it’s ready for her.
Charts – 16 June 2017
We’ll get back to reviews soon. I’ve been busy. In the meantime, here’s a quiet week on the singles chart. Five new entries, but three of them below 30…
1. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber – “Despacito”
That’s six weeks, and it’s still miles ahead of the competition. It could be there for a while, in the absence of any obvious challengers – remember, even charity fundraisers now face the challenge of getting streams as well as sales. For example, Ariana Grande’s live version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” lands at 60 this week, which is because it sold respectably but didn’t get streams.
Meanwhile, “Unforgettable” by French Montana featuring Swae Lee climbs two places to 3.
5. David Guetta featuring Justin Bieber – “2U”
Charts – 9 June 2017
Prime time television still sells records. But first…
1. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber – “Despacito”
Five weeks at number one. It’s the top streaming single of the week, but it’s not the top seller. That would be…
2. Ariana Grande – “One Last Time”
Generation X #1-2
We reviewed Generation X on the podcast a few weeks ago, but it turns out that the book is opening with a two-parter, so here we are already. This is a straightforward intro story – very straightforward – so, sure, if you’re going to start with this, best get it over with.
Be warned, this is basically going to be me putting in writing the same things I said on the show. Which is to say, there are good elements here, and some individually promising ideas, but right now it’s very much less than the sum of its parts.
