Music blog

Take That's new album, 'Circus' has officially achieved the biggest first day sales of the year due, in no small part, to the custom of grannies, original Take That fans in their 20s and 30s who really should know better and teenage girls who again, should know better. I'm letting the grannies off.
The 133,000 units shifted by the Take That gents means that they have taken the title of "biggest first day sales 2008" from the lads in Coldplay who had previously held the honour with their June release of the catchily named 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends'. Now I don't really care about such frivolities, and nor should you for that matter, but the incident has made me think about something which might well be interesting.

Coldplay used to be awesome. I loved their first album - every single song, from the poignant optimism of 'Don't Panic' to the haunting hope of 'Everything's Not Lost'. It was an antidote to the true, true horror that was nu-metal, incredibly bland pop and 'Bound 4 Da Reload' garage "music". Now, of course, it is guitar music that is everywhere - skinny boys in women's jeans trying to be The Libertines. And although Coldplay aren't trying to be The Libertines, I'm afraid they are just as boring as those artists who are.

Which leaves me in a bit of a pickle - do I actually prefer Take That nowadays? God, that would be awful because I really used to hate them. They were the devil's troubadours as far as I was concerned - manufactured little tossers who didn't care what they were singing about. They were the ultimate enemy of a young indie kid and I would have argued the case with anybody. But now they annoy me a lot less than Coldplay. Coldplay annoy me because they're just not very good any more and they never came close to reaching my expectations. They could have been brilliant but like another youthful favourite, Oasis, they've never reached the heights of their debut release. It's so very disappointing.

In contrast, I've never had any expectations of Take That. Why should I? I never cared. So why do I find myself actually enjoying their versions of songs like 'Could It Be Magic' and 'Relight My Fire'?! It's really scaring me and I don't know what to do. I hope it's just a phase because if in a couple of years time I find myself enjoying the solo work of Robbie Williams or Ronan Keating I may have to rip my heart out with a spoon and offer it to Lord David Bowie in the hope that his magic will cure me.

Seriously guys, I'm scared.