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Get dressed! You're about to be blessed with the best of the rest...in a vest...etc...

Most Controversial Review

JLS - 'The Club Is Alive'

Y'know, I still don't really get what all the fuss was about with liking this song. It's clearly better than 'One Shot' or the Children In Need one they did (which came with its own comment storm), and even though it suffers from excessive autotune the tune it actually autos is a rather good one. Naturally, just shrugging and saying "ah well, horses for courses" was never gonna wash with the ChartBlog massive.

Key quote: "If the band are in the middle of doing what they do, and you, the audience, are concentrating on the words they're saying over, say, how they look, what muscles are flexing, which way up Aston is, the beat, the music, the clothes, the bagginess of Ortise's trousers, the hair, the teeth, the twinkly eyes, the voices, or what the song is saying even if the words are not, chances are you're not really JLS's core demographic."

The weird thing is how long the reaction to this one opinion has continued to rumble on, really. I think the idea is that if you like something that someone else doesn't like, then this exposes your soft underbelly, ready for spearing. But if you fail to like something that someone does like, then you're cruel. How this theory has continued to thrive in an era of hateful YouTube comments and snarky Twitter feeds is beyond me, but there it is.

Plus that "hey!", the one that pushed it from a 4-star to a 5-star review, is STILL brilliant. So ner.

Bubbling Under: Paramore - 'Misery Business' HOO-BOY!

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As promised, here's a brief stone-skip over some of the better moments of ChartBlog's four years of glory.

Some of these have been nominated by ChartBlog readers on Twitter. Feel free to nominate your own in the usual place.

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Most Ridiculous Froth-On

The Ting Tings - 'That's Not My Name'

The best song to have been released in ChartBlog's lifetime. Yes it is. Yes it is.

Key Quote: "Stop all the clocks. Everybody put your guitars, synths, drum machines and microphones down. There's no need to put any more music out in 2008, the race to have the Most Bestest Song Of The Year In The Whole World Ever has already been won, and if you continue to take part, you'll be lapped more times than a lone saucer of milk in Catland. "

Bubbling Under: My Chemical Romance - 'Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)'

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Hello, I have some news.

Over the last four years, it has been my privilege to write daft stuff about songs; songs which have been in the charts, songs which should have been in the charts, and songs which happily fell short of going into the charts. It has been the most fun job I've ever had.

And, as is fitting for a blog about the charts, it's been a hit! We've not really talked about it before, possibly because it would've been vulgar to crowbar a bit of bragging into a review, but somewhere in the region of five thousand of you smashers have been coming here every day to have a read and a row about pop music. ChartBlog has constantly been in the Top 3 of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ music blogs, and often in the Top 1. That's right, NUMBER ONE! WITH A BULLET!

Unfortunately, after all of this larking about, it's time for me to move on, pack up my idiosyncratic worldview, dismantle the old wry asides, saddle up the Lyriscope and ride off into pop pastures new.

By which I mean I will soon be leaving ChartBlog, to bang on about music for other people, and that means ChartBlog won't be updated, although it will continue to be archived.

There are some amazing plans for the chart on Radio 1, some really exciting new ideas are on their way, so don't fret, it's all going to be alright.

This isn't even the final ChartBlog post. Over the next few days I'm going to put together a compilation of our greatest hits - best reviews, best interviews, daftest rants - and generally wallow in a bit of nostalgia, partly because I'm a little sad to go*, but mainly as a way of saying thank you.

That's a thank you to everyone who has written things for the ChartBlog, everyone who has taken the time to roll up their sleeves and comment, and most of all, you. Yes you. You have always been the best.

Come and say hello on the internet if you haven't already. We can argue about pop music! Again!

You have all been FIVE STARS OUT OF FIVE.

Bye!

Fraser

*On the plus side, it does mean I don't have to review the new Aggro Santos single. *HIGHFIVE*