SINGING IN THE MILLENIUM WITH YOU....

2000. A new year and (in the minds of most people, anyhow) new millenium beckoned. Back at my parents, working nights in a local garage, and still single (terminally, in my opinion). As the possibilities of a career in radio work or music writing looked decidedly slim, i lost myself in my love of music. The bright new dawn of great British guitar music was a long distant memory, and the charts were dominated by godawful club sounds, gangsta rap, and UK Garage, an "urban" offshoot of dance and jungle with rap and hip hop influences, typified by the likes of Craaaaaig Daaaaavid. Not to my tastes and clearly aimed at at younger generation of twats in hoodies, my beloved indie and guitar music looked like it was being pushed to the margins. Now, there was a time when indie bands scoffed at chart success, refusing to play Top Of The Pops and being happy with a few plays on John Peel, but i wanted my favourite music to be successful, i wanted to have conversations with like-minded people about it and hear it on the radio. Thankfully, in amongst the Britneys, Sash!-es, and Steps, there were a few highlights. After a couple of years of drifting dangerously close to the middle of the road musically, Manic Street Preachers remembered their rebellious punk rock roots and delivered an anthem for the disaffected that blew away all the crap pop fluff. "The Masses Against The Classes", a roaring rock and roll rant, was released on 10th January for one day only, and went straight in at No. 1, booting sappy boyband Westlife off the top spot to become the first new chart topper of the year. Elsewhere, a band called Muse were starting to have some success with their brand of dramatic and apocalyptic rock, having their first Top 40 single with "Sunburn" in February. Bruce Dickinson returned from the heavy metal wilderness to front Iron Maiden once again and give them their first big hit in a few years, "The Wicker Man". And from the USA, the catchy sounds of what became known as Skate Punk began to pop up, the likes of Blink 182 would deliver several of their Offspring and Green Day influenced and wholly adolescent anthems to huge international success, becoming part of that summers soundtrack. The brattish and puerile humour of Blink 182's "All The Small Things, complete with piss-taking video certainly provided an antidote to the ever-present sounds of Moby, whose tedious Play album sold ridiculous amounts that year, presumably bought by people who thought it would lend their surburban dinner parties and barbecues an "edge", but bored the shit out of me.

Another so-stupid-it's-good act that year were The Bloodhound Gang, whose double entendre-laden alt-pop track "The Bad Touch" hit No.5 and stayed on the charts for weeks. Clearly the "spring break" mindset was in.

A few indie bands were still doing well. Idlewild, The Bluetones, even perennial outsiders Belle and Sebastian - who had their only Top 20 single with the 60's pop-inspired "Legal Man" - fought against the tide of bland identikit pop and dance.

An echo of my childhood and early teens appeared when, after several years away, Norwegian pop giants A-ha snuck into the lower reaches of the Top 40 with the melancholic "Summer Moved On" (it hadn't, it was June!), a song that deserved to be a much bigger hit, and is notable for Morten Harket holding a note for 20.2 seconds, a European record. A reminder that pop doesn't have to be a dirty word!

The only mainstream stuff that i liked that year was Destiny's Child, the US r'n'b girl group who launched the career of Beyonce. Their Timbaland-produced album, The Writing's On The Wall (it was for two of the groups members) was a work of stuttering electronic pop and soul that pisses over their more commercial later music, singles like "Get On The Bus", "Bills Bills Bills", "Bug-a-Boo" standing out. The late Aaliyah had a cracking hit in a similar vein, "Try Again". Certainly better than Vengaboys or Eastenders actor Sid Owen (aka RICKAAAAAY!) walking down a beach in a string vest murdering lovers rock classic "Good Thing Going".

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' album, Californication, became part of the soundtrack of that Summer for me, driving around with my brother and friends.

One of my favourite bands - Mansun - returned with their biggest hit yet, and one whose title was apt. "I Can Only Disappoint U" (check out the nod to Prince there), was a sweeping but funky track and my hopes for their third album were high. Little Kix turned out to be a damp squib, recorded in the midst of arguments between band members and the record label, the latter wanting a more commercial record after the proggy experimentation of 98's Six. There were a few good tracks - the summery indie rock of "Electric Man" (which i suspect would have been a bigger hit if actually released in the summer instead of November), and the dark "Comes As No Surprise", but overall it was a let down, and the band would split within a couple of years. Luckily there were other new bands cropping up, and as the year wore on it seemed that the wheel of fortune might turn in favour of rock and indie again. JJ72, whose soaring angst-filled sound was topped by vocalist Mark Greaneys' extraordinary wail, released a decent album and several Top 30-piercing singles, the best of which was the string-laden "Oxygen".

MTV had launched a channel- MTV2 - that played more alternative music, new bands, and less commercial sounds, so that was a big help in discovering new music. It wasn't always good, as they were in the habit of playing a lot of "nu-metal" shite, but there would be the odd gem. Bands like Queens Of The Stone Age, At The Drive-In, and Soulwax would be introduced to me through this channel, and lead me to buying their albums. Radio still played a part though: I would often listen to John Peel during my night shifts, and occasionally Lamacq and Mark & Lard, if i happened to be awake in the daytime! At The Drive-in were a surprising addition to the daytime playlist of R1: playing a style of music known as post-hardcore (basically a more experimental strain of hardcore American punk), they'd been ploughing their own furrow for a few years before their album Relationship Of Command became an unexpected success. Slightly more polished and melodic than their previous work, but still a frantic headlong rush of heavy guitars, careering rhythms, and surreal lyrics that were shrieked, wailed, screamed and shouted, the three singles from the album all hovered around the bottom of the Top 50, but the fact they charted at all was a surprise for the band. The lead single, "One Armed Scissor", is still astounding today: changing rhythms, lacerating guitars, vocals wailing, spoken, and screamed. Garage rock legend Iggy Pop featured on the second, "Rolodex Propaganda", yelling "manuscipt replica!" on the chorus.

2000 saw the sad closure of Creation Records, one of independent musics' most ardent promoters. The label that bought us My Bloody Valentine, The Boo Radleys, Ride, Super Furry Animals, Teenage Fanclub, Oasis, and Primal Scream came to an end, and it was the latter band who released the final record, the defiantly uncommercial squalling speed rock of "Accelerator".

Looking back at the charts for the end of that year, it's a depressing sight: Steps, S Club 7, Britney Spears, Bob The Builder as the Christmas No.1. Only the whiny indie of Coldplay seemed to be doing well. But outside the mainstream, new and vibrant scenes were developing, both here and in the US, and over the next few years a wave of charismatic guitar bands would emerge to give the music world a kick up the arse.