dizzee hits the charts

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so no one seems to have commented on dizzee rascals low placing in the charts over the weekend. he only got to 29. i was pretty surprise, i was looking for him to be in the top 15 at lkeast, despite the lack of publicity.. could xl just not be bothered or something? they did pretty well for the white stripes. the guy i met from xl said that they would 'do pretty well' for dizze. maybe that meant keeping him out of the charts. maybe it was a step to far for the nation to handle?

― ambrose (ambrose), Monday, 2 June 2003 12:53 (twenty-one years ago)

he's not the kind of lad you blitz all over the media. people will come to realise of their own volition. much like norah jones, god help us.

― matthew james (matthew james), Monday, 2 June 2003 13:23 (twenty-one years ago)

dizzee is sik and an excellent lyricalist. he has what it takes to explode in the charts but i respect him for keeping him self original and underground garage. nuff love to dizzee.

― rudi watson, Monday, 2 June 2003 14:03 (twenty-one years ago)

29 is pretty good for Dizzee Rascal ambrose, i didnt expect more than that myself. its highly unlikely a track even as 'uncomprimising' as 'I Luv U' would do better esp. with such scant publicity (ONLY Radio 1 and 1Xtra giving airplay i guess, perhaps just 10-15 plays a week only in the last fortnight too) - its a promising start to a hopefully strong career anyway.

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 15:15 (twenty-one years ago)

It's a shame XL felt they had to release two copies. Why didn't they just put out one with the Wiley mix, the radio edit and 'Vexed' as a B-side?

Anyway, clearly P2P culture is to blame. If everyone on ILM who quams there critical panties over it had actually bought it it may have gone to at least 28.

― ss, Monday, 2 June 2003 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

since when do American sales figure into britcharts?

― James Blount (James Blount), Monday, 2 June 2003 15:52 (twenty-one years ago)

29 seems like a pretty respectable position for a debut single, especially given that most of the core audience for a UK Garage record probably had it several months previously.

Besides, if memory serves me correctly, the debut Streets single didn't crack the Top 20. So it's early days, and all that.

― Jason J, Monday, 2 June 2003 15:59 (twenty-one years ago)

true, altho its unlikely Dizzee will really attract the same degree of critical praise and media attention, for reasons that will become apparent if not already so

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 16:22 (twenty-one years ago)

hah yeah, i would love to buy this, like, today. yet somehow i dont see it hitting olympia any time soon.

the album will make or break dizzee, frankly.

i think dizzee stands to attract even MORE critical praise because he's not saddled with the "do you really think he means it/is he serious/is this parody" monkey.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Monday, 2 June 2003 16:23 (twenty-one years ago)

famed author simon reynolds sent me a flier for a "london pirate radio listening night" in washington d.c. (the "cricklewood massive" haha) featuring "so soild crew, roll deep, etc." i suppose because the 12"s are - again - so hard to find in america that they couldnt do a "real" dj night.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Monday, 2 June 2003 16:26 (twenty-one years ago)

(famed ilx persona james blount told me that poor mikey skinner will be opening in atlanta for...wait for it...they might be giants. somehow i doubt dizzee would be doing same.)

― jess (dubplatestyle), Monday, 2 June 2003 16:28 (twenty-one years ago)

thats insane

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 16:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha "Cricklewood Massive".

I always suspected Mike Skinner was emo.

― ss, Monday, 2 June 2003 16:37 (twenty-one years ago)

see, i could always see the streets becoming a surprise hit on the american "band geek" circuit (tmbg, moxy fruvos, etc.)

― jess (dubplatestyle), Monday, 2 June 2003 16:40 (twenty-one years ago)

maaaaahahahaha..... Mike Skinner what are you thinking??

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Monday, 2 June 2003 16:46 (twenty-one years ago)

In England he's massive with NME reading Coldplay fans because he's not threatening and isn't associated with (but not entirely removed from) the bling-blinging Cristal soaked So Solid circle which Indie kids despise to borderline racist degrees. So yeah assuming US emo is the equivalent to Coldplay, Stereophonics et al it wouldn't surprise me.

Whereas Dizzee will probably be massive with Forcefield fans.

― ss, Monday, 2 June 2003 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

ss - emo and tmbg band geeks are two decidedly different scenes (and skinner has much better odds with the latter group)(playstation factor)

― James Blount (James Blount), Monday, 2 June 2003 17:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Mike Skinner actually being bothered to play in places like Atlanta is somewhat mystifying - still i feel compelled to take my proverbial hat off to him for it. it just doesnt make sense given his apparent nonchalance for media coverage and even record sales...perhaps thats just part of the act but he does seem pretty genuine. i think i'd rather he stopped wasting time in the States and get on with some new material tho (no disrespect meant to the 18 people in Georgia and surrounding area who might in fact like to see The Streets live)

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 17:19 (twenty-one years ago)

the bling-blinging Cristal soaked So Solid circle which Indie kids despise to borderline racist degrees

careful now...

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 17:20 (twenty-one years ago)

thats more to do with a general resentment to anyone who likes to wave money (that you don't have) in your face and smugly declare how they're considerably richer than you (despite possessing little real artistic talent or whatever is felt may have really earned that wealth) as is the common interpretation, and has nothing to do with race really.

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Well i've encountered indie fans complaining that So Solid are only on the front of the NME because they threatened the editors with guns. Oasis don't get accused of being famous only because they strong arm industry types.

― ss, Monday, 2 June 2003 17:26 (twenty-one years ago)

My mate was once mugged by a black guy, thus all blacks are criminals.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 June 2003 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

the Gallaghers have probably had just as much experience of guns as So Solid have i.e. not much, at all (possibly once saw one on the dashboard of a Yardie's motor when they were a kid)

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Exactly, which is why assuming that a primarily Black pop group is on the front page of a primarily white, indie-centric magazine because they threatened the editorial staff with guns is obviously racist!

― ss, Monday, 2 June 2003 17:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Sample So Solid lyric:

It's on this year
Better beware
Clips and we bust like a firing line of duty
It's on this year
Better beware
Clips and we bust like a firing line of duty

Sample Oasis lyric:

Talkin to the songbird yesterday
Flew me to a place not far away
She's a little pilot in my mind
Singin songs of love to pass the time

It's not a racial issue at all. So Solid associate themselves with gun culture, Oasis don't. I mean, say that Insane Clown Posse appeared on the cover of Wire magazine. A small minority of Wire readers would then probably claim that they got on the cover by threatening people with guns, whilst nobody claims as such if they put, say, Solomon Burke on the cover.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 June 2003 17:50 (twenty-one years ago)

"his apparent nonchalance for media coverage " - you know, like when he played Leno, or the monthly appearance in Rolling Stone, or or or. also, the gig in question is a whoreathon playin for the Atlanta alt-rock station that has 'let's push things forward' crammed in it's playlist right now. so mike skinner bothering to play atlanta isn't any more surprising than r. kelly bothering to release his records in the uk. the key is skinner's getting played on the alt-rock station, not the top 40 station or the hip-hop stations. check the ratings too - turns out more Atlantans choose Killer Mike over Mike Skinner (go figure - home court and all).

― James Blount (James Blount), Monday, 2 June 2003 17:52 (twenty-one years ago)

But back to the original point - Dizzee Rascal getting to #29 yesterday was actually a really rather good achievement - it may have got played on Radio 1, but it wasn't on their mainstream playlist, and I really can't think of anywhere where it would have been. Plus which, look at the new entries it got in ahead of - Turin Brakes, Shy FX & T Power, P.O.D., Junkie XL and Skin - all of whom have had top 10 singles at one time or another.

Also worth remembering - this is his debut single on XL. The White Stripes' debut single on XL, Hotel Yorba, only got to #26, and look where they are now...

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Monday, 2 June 2003 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

possibly construed as racist, but if members of So Solid choose to play up to the stereotypical image, however convincingly, then quite frankly they're equally to blame for any misinterpretations.

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 18:13 (twenty-one years ago)

"his apparent nonchalance for media coverage "

yes, stemming from his insistence of not being bothered in interviews, snubbing award ceremonies and repeatedly claiming he may not even make another album...but its all part of the image really (it worked with the likes of the Prodigy in their early days for example)

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 18:16 (twenty-one years ago)

he must be assume a different persona when dealing with the uk press than he does when dealing with american press then

― James Blount (James Blount), Monday, 2 June 2003 18:19 (twenty-one years ago)

that racist thing is bullshit,the worst excesses of political correctness for the sake of it,black people who don't listen to coldplay and oasis aren't being racist,they just don't like that type of music
growing up in a culture means you are more likely to listen to the music from that culture
i don't like music from senegal,for example,not because of racism,it just doesn't appeal to me
now maybe if i made a concerted effort to get into senegalese music i would like it more,but it isn't racism that prevents me from doing so

― robin (robin), Monday, 2 June 2003 20:46 (twenty-one years ago)

he must be assume a different persona when dealing with the uk press than he does when dealing with american press then

yes he must...which is quite curious - i think its really weird he is trying that hard over there

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 June 2003 21:11 (twenty-one years ago)

well someone has to care about him in the states! might as well be him.

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Monday, 2 June 2003 21:12 (twenty-one years ago)

the album will make or break dizzee, frankly.

it's incredible.

― Chris Houghton (chrish), Monday, 2 June 2003 22:59 (twenty-one years ago)

when's the album out?? i hear it's called Boys In The Corner..?

― Ryan Kuo, Tuesday, 3 June 2003 01:27 (twenty-one years ago)

er Boy In The Corner that is.

― Ryan Kuo, Tuesday, 3 June 2003 01:28 (twenty-one years ago)

just heard 'brand new day'...sounds like dizzee riding 'goon gumpas' style aphex, or some morr music! like, wtf?

― ambrose (ambrose), Tuesday, 3 June 2003 07:32 (twenty-one years ago)

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dizzee hits the charts - not really