S5, EP2: ARIA Top 10 of 1996

Aleks
Welcome to Project Engaged, a podcast for fun loving couples planning their non traditional wedding.

Eddy
We’re Eddy and Aleks, wedding DJs and celebrants who run a business in Melbourne called One More Song.

Aleks
On season five of Project Engaged, we decided to do something a bit different and bring it all back to the music.

Eddy
We’ll look at the most popular tunes in Australia by year, randomly choosing a different year for each episode.

Aleks
We’ll share our thoughts on the charts, plus tips for incorporating these songs into your wedding.

Eddy
For more wedding planning tips, please check out seasons one to four. For now, let’s get into the episode.

Aleks
Straight off the bat. First of all, welcome back. Welcome back. Sorry, I just want to. I have to say this. That intro that we recorded, you were pretty sick and you sound pretty sick. We should probably re record it.

Eddy
Yes, I sound like I want to end it, I think.

Aleks
Yeah, you have. You have a bit of a flu. Anyway, welcome back.

Eddy
Welcome back.

Aleks
What are we on episode two of season five?

Eddy
We’re on episode two and this episode we’re taking a look at 1996 of the ARIA singles charts from 10 until one.

Aleks
So excited.

Eddy
It was a pretty good year.

Aleks
It was a great year. I don’t know if it’s because I’m super nostalgic about this year because I was 11, so I was really, really into music and it was kind of a big part of my family as well, like watching Rage and listening to Kyle and Jackie O in Sydney. I know I don’t listen to that to radio anymore, but yeah, yes, it.

Eddy
Was a great year. I was 10. I remember, you know, going through all of these tracks which we will get to obvious they. Most of them sort of take me back to that time and what I was doing and school discos, assembly dances, etc and there’s one that we’ll talk about later on.

Aleks
We certainly will. Hope you enjoyed our first episode which is on 2012. I have to say I’m much more excited about this year than the last year we covered. I don’t know how you feel about it, but yeah, I’ve.

Eddy
I’ve just been loving everything. I’ve been loving last episode. I’m going to love this episode. I’m just taking everything as it comes. There are some diamonds Diamonds in the rough and there are some tracks.

Aleks
I’m sure that I was even say trash.

Eddy
Well, let’s. Let’s see, shall we? As before, let’s sort of cap things off with what was happening in that time. So of the year 1996. So there will be some listeners, I imagine, that weren’t even born in 1990. 96.

Aleks
True. Yep.

Eddy
Yep. But if you were around, you may have recalled that there was the Olympic Games, which is in Atlanta. Do you remember this?

Aleks
I remember there being Olympic Games in Atlanta, but I don’t remember what happened at these games, if you can believe that.

Eddy
Well, I imagine that the US won a whole bunch of medals.

Aleks
Okay. And.

Eddy
And that’s all I know.

Aleks
Oh. It says in, in our notes a historic event marred by a tragic bombing.

Eddy
It does, but I didn’t look any further into that. But I believe there was something to that effect, so. Which is horrible. But no, I didn’t look any further.

Aleks
Oh, okay. Yeah, I thought maybe it was a big thing that I missed, maybe.

Eddy
I remember. I don’t remember the bombing, to be completely honest with you. I do remember the Games though.

Aleks
Oh, chat. GPT again. Fooling us all.

Eddy
Yes. Anyway, and look, there were some pretty interesting things that happened and one of them was obviously the rise of the Internet.

Aleks
Oh my.

Eddy
So the World Wide Web was creeping into everyone’s households via a very noisy, very slow dial up modem.

Aleks
Maybe that’s why I love this year so much. It was pivotal.

Eddy
It really was.

Aleks
I don’t remember, actually, I don’t remember having the Internet until 12, so I don’t think. I think we were. A little bit later on maybe.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
Our family.

Eddy
I know that some of my friends who, you know, growing up, you thought, oh, these people have rich parents because they have the Internet.

Aleks
They have the Internet at home.

Eddy
Go over to their house and. And chat with random strangers online.

Aleks
It was good, wasn’t it?

Eddy
It was.

Aleks
What was your. What was your Instant messenger of choice?

Eddy
I. Well, I mean, I’m probably. I probably started with MSN Messenger. So I wasn’t really on aol. Aol.

Aleks
Oh, I was on icq.

Eddy
Okay.

Aleks
I used to make that noise. Oh. Every time you got a message.

Eddy
Because you’re a little bit older than me, so I don’t.

Aleks
Oh, okay. This is. You’re gonna remind me throughout the entire episode that you were 10 and I was 11.

Eddy
Yep. So MSN messenger came a little bit later, I think.

Aleks
Yes. And everyone was getting their music from Napster. Okay. We had that in common.

Eddy
Yes. Yeah. Actually it’s a good question. When did Napster kick off? I don’t even know, but it would have been around this time.

Aleks
But I have to say I did buy the. I bought CDs. Bought CDs. Also used to record stuff from the radio onto CDs do mixtapes.

Eddy
Yes.

Aleks
Oh, what a time.

Eddy
Yes.

Aleks
I’m super nostalgic about this. I’m really sorry to everyone listening who was born around this time.

Eddy
A lot happened before you guys are born.

Aleks
Yeah, stuff happened. The Internet wasn’t always around, for starters, but, you know, it’s like us talking about 75. Like, there’ll be so many tunes that we absolutely love and cultural phenomenon.

Eddy
Well, as I. Well, I mentioned last episode, the ARIA charts. I think I said 1987, but they start from 1988, I believe. Oh, so we won’t even get to 1975 unless we go abroad. Yes. For that, Napster was 99. So it was a little bit after this.

Aleks
Okay. So, yeah. Because I remember buying Heat Machine 12 in 1996, I think, or 1997. Yep. So, yes, I love.

Eddy
We’re on 96.

Aleks
Yeah.

Eddy
Let’s align to our year 1996.

Aleks
If anyone who’s just joined us, we’re doing 1996. Just in case that wasn’t clear enough. What else happened? Well, what movies did we have?

Eddy
We had Independence Day.

Aleks
I haven’t seen that.

Eddy
Oh, wow. Yeah, look, it’s. I think if you watched it nowadays, it’ll be a bit cringe, but it was a huge phenomenon when it came out. And Twister.

Aleks
Twister. I did watch.

Eddy
Yes.

Aleks
What’s her face? Helen Hunt, was it?

Eddy
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Aleks
She’s like so 90s. She’s very.

Eddy
She’s. Yeah. The epitome of 90s in TV. We had Seinfeld and Friends.

Aleks
Sorry, but we sit in the Seinfeld camp.

Eddy
We do very firmly and ER as well, a little show called ER. We’re super top rated TV shows. One for the gamers. The Nintendo 64 was released, which is a huge deal.

Aleks
That was probably the highlight of your year.

Eddy
Let’s definitely introducing iconic games like Super Mario 64 and of course GoldenEye 007. So that was really my childhood, that particular, particular console. So, yeah. So there’s some cool stuff that was happening. Really, really cool stuff that was happening.

Aleks
Oh, take us back. All right, let’s get into it. So we’re going to start with number 10.

Eddy
We are going to start with number 10. So did you want to kick things off?

Aleks
Yeah, let me scroll down to the bottom. Number 10. Oh, you’re making me high. Toni Braxton.

Eddy
So that was in November.

Aleks
She was in her era. I love Toni Braxton. This song is especially super soulful. It says it’s a ballad. I don’t think it’s a Ballad. It’s. It’s a more upbeat ballad, I would say.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
Would you agree with that?

Eddy
I would, yes.

Aleks
Yes. And it was actually originally intended for Brandy, if anyone remembers Brandy.

Eddy
Yes.

Aleks
But Baby Face had wrote lyrics for Braxton instead. Tony Braxton. So we’re gonna actually pull up the YouTube video and have a look at some comments because they’re pretty funny. See what people were saying about this tune. What do you think of this tune? Personally, I like it for weddings.

Eddy
Yeah. It’s not something I’d spin all the time, if at all, but I. I do like the song. I’ve always liked Tony Braxton, Toni Braxton. It a little bit. Sort of sad vibes for me, particularly for weddings with Tony.

Aleks
Oh, yeah, yeah. But, hey, unbreak My heart.

Eddy
Yeah, that. I mean, I’ve never spun that one at a wedding.

Aleks
Oh. But I would say if you’ve got a brief. So we’re talking about like earlier in the night, right? The first. I would say hour, hour and a half of the night. Regardless of whether your wedding is like a cocktail or a sit down. It is. If you like that 90s smooth kind of R B sound. This is a great tune. And various other Tony Braxtons. We have a comment on the YouTube video by a user. Chicken is the name of the user chicken and it says. Anyone here in 2024 listening to this timeless masterpiece? Yes, we are here. Oh, no, it’s Evergreen. Sorry. If you’re listening to this in 2050, ignore what I just said. Baby Face, one of the goats. Mr. Intolerance. That was Mr. Intolerance. Julian Ponto, 6971 says, this generation will never understand how dope the 90s were.

Eddy
That’s a cool. Yeah, that’s. That’s a cool little comment there.

Aleks
I love this one. I can’t even say this. Username donica whitaker. 3, 4, 04. Said I had no business singing this song with as much passion as I did at 12 years old. So, yeah, strong reactions. I would. I would.

Eddy
So I’m gathering that a lot of these commenters probably close to our own age.

Aleks
I would say so. I would say so.

Eddy
Reminiscing.

Aleks
Someone else said. Shannon Denise Broughton. 1976. 1976. There you go. Says everyone who disliked this song. Clearly didn’t grow up in a household filled with 90s R B. Poor babies. Smack my head. So there you go. Yeah, Definitely getting comments from. From the older crew.

Eddy
It just makes you think in say, 30 years time, 20 to 30 years time, whether the same comments will Be Left on Charlie XCX’s.

Aleks
Reckon they be talking about brat Summers.

Eddy
I don’t know. I don’t know. But hey, probably because that was the childhood and that was their teen years and that was their, you know, young adult years. So, you know, everyone is nostalgic about their particular time.

Aleks
So. True, isn’t it? Like, I remember when I was young mum talking about, like, Chicago and the Bee Gees. And at that time I liked that music, but I couldn’t see it in the same way that she saw it.

Eddy
Correct.

Aleks
Like a Chicago ballad would be like a Celine Dion ballad to us. So, yes, very interesting. I really like this Vibey. It’s probably not like a banger banger for a wedding. Would I play it? Yes. I’ll give it a six out of ten.

Eddy
Yeah, I’ll give it a five.

Aleks
Oh, okay. Must be other 90s RnB stuff that you like instead.

Eddy
And there is. And it is coming up. So that was number 10. Number nine. What’s got. Sorry, let me get this out. What’s Love Got To Do With It? Warren G.  What’s Love Got To Do With It. Well, maybe not obviously to some people, but it samples Tina Turner’s iconic song and gives it a bit of a modern twist, I suppose.Now, it’s a hip hop track and it samples, obviously…

Aleks
Yeah, it does. I actually forgot about this version because I’d been distracted by more recent versions of this song, such as Kygo’s version of what’s Love Got To Do with it, which I’m not a massive fan.

Eddy
See, I don’t mind that one.

Aleks
It’s all right, it’s all right. It’s not bad. I prefer this. This warranty. I actually love this. When it came out similar. I suppose you would probably put it in a similar sort of category to the previous June, Tony Braxton, I guess. But it was. Was this one in a movie?

Eddy
It was in a Jackie Chan movie, I believe. Let me just look up what it was.

Aleks
Yeah. While you do that, let’s have a look at what people say on YouTube. JB Whiteside says, I used to play this on tape in my Walkman. Yep, that’s the vibe. I don’t know why we have to. Do we have to say these usernames, they’re not listening, are they?

Eddy
You never know. It’s nice to, you know.

Aleks
Yes.

Eddy
Mention the author.

Aleks
What else have we got? Yeah. Again, people who are commenting on this is. They’re all our age, so.

Eddy
Yeah. Yeah.

Aleks
You’re not really going to get. There’s no negative comments, really.

Eddy
No, it’s all positive. So the film was Police Story 3: Super Cop, apparently..

Aleks
Police Story 3. I don’t remember one and two.

Eddy
No, I don’t. I haven’t seen any of them. But hey, it’s. That’s what it was from. What other memories do you have about this track?

Aleks
Not that much. I wouldn’t have said that. It’s a. It’s a one that really sticks in my mind. I sort of forgot about it, to be honest with you. So.

Eddy
Yeah, I’m honestly surprised it made it into the top 10. It’s a great song. It is a cover song. So I’m guessing maybe it’s. It snuck up there. A, because of the movie, which I don’t remember, by the way, and B, potentially because, you know, there were plenty of people that absolutely adored the original and that gave it a lot more gusto. So that’s. That’s what I’m thinking.

Aleks
Yeah. Meh. Would I play it? Probably not for a wedding. I’ll give it a four.

Eddy
Yep. About the same for me. Okay. Number eight. Now this is where we start to really come into our own here in 1996. So Mark Morrison, return of the Mac. Boom.

Aleks
Yes. Ultimate. Ultimate 90s. Such a great tune.

Eddy
It’s just such a feel good song. It’s such a feel good song. Every time I play this song and I do play this song, probably not as often as I should same. But this for me is the kind of song that you can spin on the dance floor or you can definitely spin as people are getting ready to dance in that build the dance floor zone of the night.

Aleks
See, it’s funny that you say this because I think we. We’ve said this before on the podcast, but there is the stuff that you play right before dance floor starts. Right. To get. To get people in the mood for dancing is, I would say argue, is the same stuff you can play late in the night.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
Weirdly, you wouldn’t think that those times of the night are similar, but they kind of are. Right. Because you kind of still trying to G people up, I suppose, because it’s kind of coming to the end of the night, it’s in that sing along phase. Or you’re right before the dance floor kicks off. So yeah, yeah, I would agree with that. I would tend to play this late in the night, big sing along. Especially if you want to get the oldies and the young ones on the dance floor. And there’s been loads of remixes and cover versions and Most recently, a lot of our listeners will know the viral mash up with Post Malone’s cooped up. Do you play that?

Eddy
I have been known to give that a spin. I do recall seeing that. This is years ago now and I thought Post Malone absolutely nailed that particular tune. He played it live and that’s the first time I’d really started to follow Post Malone. This was even after, you know, the Spider man soundtrack and all that kind of stuff.

Aleks
His tunes on there didn’t get your attention.

Eddy
You know, great songs etc. But yeah, no, I really, really enjoy what he did there and I’ve become quite a big fan ever since, so.

Aleks
Yeah, very nice. I would give this a nine out of ten.

Eddy
Yeah, solid nine. Wow. You’ve another nine.

Aleks
I know. I’ve got to really be careful about dishing out these high school.

Eddy
Okay, look, come on.

Aleks
It’s a banger.

Eddy
It’s a banger. I’m gonna give it an 8. Like my nines are going to be reserved for some epic. Epic.

Aleks
I might hand out some elevens.

Eddy
Oh, all right.

Aleks
Watch yourself. I would say if you love 90s and if you love R B and you want stuff that. That people will remember and recognise, this is one that should be on your request list.

Eddy
And you know the song. There aren’t many people that don’t know this song.

Aleks
Yeah, exactly. Which makes it perfect for a dance floor. For Weddings.

Eddy
Yes. Okay. Number seven. We’re really. We’re really rolling through these.

Aleks
Yeah, Nice. I thought you’re being sarcastic. Missing by Everything but the Girl now, actually, prior to this song, the band was actually known as an indie band. It was a UK band and they had a sort of a folk and jazz leaning. But the song was always intended to be a dance song and the version that was on the charts wasn’t actually the remix was. It was the original.

Eddy
Yeah. So I know this song best from its Todd Terry remix. Yeah. Absolute banger for me. The toddler remix would be a nine. That’s how much I love that song. Yes, I do play it at weddings. I don’t play the original very often, if ever at all. And it’s funny because again, when I was sorting all of my chart music out in my DJ software, I didn’t even put the original in at number seven. I put the to remix. So, yeah, banger of a tune. I’ll be playing it this weekend, funnily enough. Absolutely love it.

Aleks
Yeah, yeah, same. And I wouldn’t play the original at all. I reckon this is. This is good again for a Late night also, maybe even just like a final song.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
For the right crowd.

Eddy
Yeah, yeah, definitely. It’s a nice calm down tune. It’s something you probably could spin quite nicely over dinner. The original, I mean. And yeah, people know it. People know the lyrics. It’s. Yeah, it’s great. Love it.

Aleks
Beautiful. Do we want to give the Todd Terry remix then, a score out of 10?

Eddy
Well, no, we have to give the wedding. We have to give the one that was charted.

Aleks
Oh, well, I wouldn’t give it very much.

Eddy
I give it a seven. Seven for seven.

Aleks
I’ll give a five for its potential. Okay. All right. Number six.

Eddy
Number six. Okay, you can take this one.

Aleks
One of Us by Joan Osborne. The actual full title of this song is what if God Was One of Us. I remember this song. Yeah. Yeah. How did I feel about it?

Eddy
I remember it mostly in like, memes and. And things like that rather than, you know. Yeah. Sort of taking the piss out of it. It’s a song. It’s. It’s like that kind of almost the end of that grunge error sort of sort of vibe for me. Not a huge fan. Don’t play it at weddings.

Aleks
No, it’s.

Eddy
It’s a. It’s a downer.

Aleks
But, Ed, it was praised for its honesty and vulner vulnerability, making it a standout in the 90s music scene, apparently.

Eddy
Yeah. And again, I’m surprised why it was so hard.

Aleks
Obviously popular.

Eddy
Yeah. In Australia, like number six. That’s. That’s almost top five.

Aleks
Yeah. That’s crazy. Oh, it’s a bit of whiny song. You know what I mean? It’s a downer.

Eddy
And, you know, shortly after we hit number one, I will go through and pluck some cherries out of the rest of this year. Further down. And there are so many tunes that should have been higher.

Aleks
And what the hell, Australia in 1996. What were you thinking? I remember this being super popular, though. Maybe it’s good for an acoustic artist. I don’t know, like a pub session.

Eddy
Have you ever heard Nakusi guys play this in a pub?

Aleks
Probably not.

Eddy
I definitely haven’t.

Aleks
I give it a two.

Eddy
Yeah, it’s. It’s very low for me too.

Aleks
Yeah.

Eddy
Yeah, it’s two or three. It’s, you know. And look, we’re writing this based on wedding playability.

Aleks
Playability. The wedding playability scale.

Eddy
Yeah. So we’re not just plucking these numbers out of our head. We are sort of thinking about whether we would play them in the. And the height of that yeah.

Aleks
Whether it would even go anywhere in a wedding. All right, we’re halfway there.

Eddy
We are halfway there. Okay, now it gets real. Now, number five is a song called Wannabe by a little group called the Spice Girls.

Aleks
That was very. That was a very modest way of putting it. Yes.

Eddy
Look, the Spice Girls were extremely larger than life at this time. They were everywhere.

Aleks
Massive. Hey.

Eddy
Domination. World domination.

Aleks
And especially being a female in primary school. Especially being a female in primary school, you know, you’d get. You’d have to have five friends, four friends, and everyone had to pick which Spice Girl they were. And there would be arguments about it, and you’d walk around at lunchtime talking about which Spice Girl you are and singing the song. Probably didn’t have the same experience. What were you doing? Playing Nintendo 64? Not worrying about the Spice?

Eddy
No, I wasn’t too worried about Spice Girls. My sister was into the Spice Girls.

Aleks
Ah, yes.

Eddy
Love the Spice Girls.

Aleks
You guys were quite similar in age, too, so.

Eddy
Yeah, that’s right. But no, I can’t say, you know, even if I think, now, who is my favourite? I don’t know. Maybe. Well, who was your favourite?

Aleks
Oh, no, I can’t. I. It changed every week.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
Literally, I.

Eddy
Now that I look back at it, I feel like Scary Spice was such an unfortunate name for one of them.

Aleks
I know.

Eddy
Like, you had Sporty, the baby, cute one, et cetera, and then Scary.

Aleks
I know.

Eddy
Who came up with that.

Aleks
I know. What I would say is, obviously, the Spice Girls were massive. This is a great song. Obviously, super, super popular. Not my favourite by any stretch of the imagination of theirs. They had so many great songs, apparently, according to population, it was written in 30 minutes. Yeah, there you go.

Eddy
Well, I. I can see that.

Aleks
Ziggy Zagar.

Eddy
Yeah. No huge playability at weddings for the. The couples that really want that bubblegum pop. It’s. Yeah. When I look back at the. The times that I’ve played this song, it’s always canvassed a great response. You know, never really been people going, oh, this song. Not to Wannabe.

Aleks
Look, obviously it’s got to be within the brief. So if you say to us, hey, we got some 90s pop throwbacks, then we will probably play this song and similar songs. How would you rate it against, like, what other Spice Girl songs? Like, are there any that you would be like, I’d rather play this for dance.

Eddy
For my favourite Spice Girls song I’ve got. Well, probably my favourite favourite one is who you think you are. That’s my favourite. I love that. It’s got a real disco vibe to it.

Aleks
Yeah.

Eddy
Spin some other kind of fall to the floor classics around it too, like Young Hearts Run Free, the Kimizel version. Finally, Cece Pennis and that kind of vibe. They work really well together. And the other one I really like, say you’ll be there. I really like that one as well. And that one is kind of like a return to the max situation. You can play that earlier on or you can sort of sneak in a bit later as well. You can reset the dance floor with something like that. Yeah. But Wannabe, it’s great. But, yeah, definitely not my favourite Spice Girl song, but I. I definitely appreciate what it does for. Yeah. For weddings, so. Which is why I’m going to give it a solid seven.

Aleks
I really like Stop right now as well, but it is bordering on having a choreographed hands to it. You’re giving it a seven out of ten.

Eddy
Yeah. For wedding playability, for the right brief.

Aleks
Yeah. I reckon a seven as well.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
My scale is all over the shop, by the way.

Eddy
So, yeah, we’re really getting into it now. So number five, obviously, was wannabe advice. Spice Girls number four, which I love, is How Bizarre by omc.

Aleks
What a unique tune. Can I just say, this was a breath of fresh air amongst all the bubble gum pop and weird grunge stuff that we had in 1996. It’s a song written and performed by a New Zealand group, omc, and I love the way it’s been described, the sound has been described. Described as classic Kiwi strum meets punk rock meets disco meets the South Pacific beach party meets classic soul meets regga reggae.

Eddy
I love that the. The beach party lines in there, because if I heard this at a beach party, I’d be going off. It’d be so much fun. Soul meets reggae. That’s. Yeah, that’s really interesting.

Aleks
Really fun. I’ve got great memories of this. I’ve got actually some home videos because every Sunday my dad would record on his massive camcorder and me and my sister dancing around the living room to this very song. So very nostalgic for me. Super, super fun for a wedding. Definitely would play it. It is perfect for cocktail hour.

Eddy
Yep, Cocktail hour. Maybe more of a discerning sort of client that wants this kind of. I would say it’s like a wild card or anything, but it’s not something that you. You will play that often.

Aleks
Yeah.

Eddy
But when you do play it, you will find there will be people that will give you that look and go, yes, this is great.

Aleks
Or Dance.

Eddy
You know, I’ve almost forgotten about this song. It’s. It’s. Yeah, it’s such a tune.

Aleks
And as a lot of songs do, apparently became a tick tock audio meme in 2019, but those only last like a day or so. So it’s not a huge achievement, is it?

Eddy
I think if there was an infinite amount of time left for reality, every single song in existence will eventually become some sort of tick tock meme.

Aleks
It’s actually really hard to keep up now. Wedding playability. I would give this an eight.

Eddy
Eight. Wow.

Aleks
Oh, no. I’ve got to rethink my whole.

Eddy
I’m going. Look, I’m gonna go sort of a seven again for me. Wedding playability again. Not all weddings will appreciate this song. I wish all weddings would appreciate a song like this. But I think it will fly over the heads of quite a lot of guests, I reckon.

Aleks
But I reckon just give it a spin.

Eddy
Give. Just give it a.

Aleks
Give it a spin at every wedding.

Eddy
Okay.

Aleks
From now.

Eddy
Is that what you’re gonna do?

Aleks
I’m gonna do it.

Eddy
You’re literally every single wedding.

Aleks
No, I can’t. If it doesn’t fit within the brave. I guess. Yeah. I guess the way I’m looking at wedding playability is if it’s in within a brief. Is it a song I would choose out of all the songs that fit within this couple’s brief? Is this a song that I would put in if that was the kind of vibe they were going for? And that’s why I give it an 8, because it definitely is. If that makes sense. So obviously if a couple’s like, we own like, house and disco. I wouldn’t play this song.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
And it would have a playability of zero. So I’m basing it on if you’ve got a brief. Yes. And it suits. I would play this.

Eddy
Yeah. Yeah. And look, because you were mentioning some YouTube comments, I’ll grab one from Fran Cisco231. This is three years ago. Why is this song so soothing? Like everything is going to be okay. It really does scream that vibe.

Aleks
It does. So good.

Eddy
Okay, we are up to number three. So you can take this.

Aleks
All right. This one is because you loved me by Celine Dion. And of course, Celine Dion was in her element in this era with all her power ballads, this being one of the most popular ones. And it was the theme song from the 1996 film that no one’s watched, up close and personal, starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Eddy
Right.

Aleks
I remember this because I was on a plane from Sydney to New York, if you can believe it, eating a mango Whisper. This is how specifically I remember listening to this song.

Eddy
And I was obsessed with this pretty nice whisper.

Aleks
So it was so good. They feed you so well on the planes. Look, it’s a. It’s a. Obviously a ballad.

Eddy
It’s.

Aleks
It’s slow, it’s romantic. I have mixed reviews about this one. Just because I would say if it’s not a key moment song, we typically don’t play ballads like this. It’s probably a bit of a cliched wedding song. Bit of a stereotypical wedding song.

Eddy
Yeah, it’s up there with your Brian Adams and.

Aleks
Yeah.

Eddy
Such.

Aleks
And even like Adele and stuff, which a lot of our couples are like, please do not play any of that.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
Unless it is a key moment song. Like a. Like a first dance or something. But even then it’s quite cliched.

Eddy
Yeah. Oh, it’s definitely cliche and it’s funny and this is not a wedding, but this is a corporate party that I played last year. Was it last year? Was it even this year? Last year? And there was an in joke for a Celine Dion song, my Heart Will go on from Titanic soundtrack. And someone came up, requested it and I trust me, it will bring their house down. And that’s always. Yeah, that’s always a huge risk as a dj. Like, oh, I don’t know, another person. And then I think another person after that came up. So obviously it was known and yeah, played it and it was the biggest song of the night. And there’s about 300 people there, just all lost it when that song came on. It’s. It’s like a company anthem. I’m playing the same company’s party this year, I believe in December. So I’m hoping to be able to spin that one one more time and just get that.

Aleks
Maybe give because you loved me ago.

Eddy
No, it’s specific. It’s no specific to Titanic. I believe they’re a travel company. So that’s how I kind of put two and two together perhaps because ship the ship and all that kind of stuff.

Aleks
So I think this is a beautiful song. It’s a really, really beautiful song. But would I play at a wedding? No, I’ve actually for a key moment. It’s a really good parent dance, but again, it’s very slow and soppy, so I don’t know.

Eddy
Yeah, but like, is it. See, I haven’t really looked at the lyrics with a fine tooth comb, but if it is a parent stance Are the lyrics.

Aleks
The lyrics are okay. You could apply them. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, I still think it’s. It’s weird. Parent to do a really, really slow, romantic song for a parent. Dan. So sorry, Celine Dion. I’m gonna give this a two.

Eddy
Oh, a two. I’m gonna give it a three.

Aleks
Yeah, I’m very extreme with mine.

Eddy
You are. You’re extreme both ways too.

Aleks
Personally, I love this song.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
But yeah, I wouldn’t play for a wedding and I know we know that our couples just would not want to hear.

Eddy
I mean, I think your reviews or your ratings of songs. Honestly, Killing Me Softly, which is number two by the Fugees. Killing Me Softly.

Aleks
This is such a great tune and I was obsessed with it when it came out. Absolutely obsessed. It did win a Grammy award for best rap performance.

Eddy
I love this song too.

Aleks
Now the song sounds very melancholy, but the lyrics actually aren’t. It’s about a hearing a singer who had his own style and about the singer who is Lauryn Hill going to see him perform his song and being taken aback and feeling like he kind of was singing about her life. So.

Eddy
Right.

Aleks
It’s. It’s soulful, it’s a great tune, but it is a little bit melancholy for a wedding.

Eddy
It is a bit melancholy. The tune itself is awesome. Would I play at a wedding? I’ve never played this song at a wedding. And look, never say never. There might be a time. I would just think it’s an ironic thing if it was ever requested by the couple, but of my own accord. Yeah, you’d almost be shooting yourself in the foot to play something this. This sort of down tempo and sad sounding.

Aleks
Yeah, it’s weird, isn’t it? And Lauryn Hill had so much good stuff that we would play. You know, can’t take my Eyes off you is one of my favourite tunes. Just being early in the night.

Eddy
I like that thing.

Aleks
And do wop. Yeah. So nothing against Lauren Hill at all, but yeah, this song just. Yeah, just sad. If you’re feeling a bit sad, put this on.

Eddy
Well, or you could potentially put on the next song if you’re feeling sad.

Aleks
Wait, what are you giving out of 10 for wedding?

Eddy
So, okay, so wedding playability. Look, two. Yeah, look, that’s not to say that I’m giving it a 2 out of 10. I think it’s a fantastic song. Wedding playability. Very, very low.

Aleks
Oh, the next one’s going to be so interesting.

Eddy
And the next one. Okay. Right. It’s funny because before we. We obviously had the idea to start Recording the podcast or maybe in the same sort of time. We were running through quite a lot of these lists just on the couch having a look at all the years. And it had to happen one year around this and it just so happened at 1996. So we’re going to give it a bit of a drum roll. The number one ARIA single for 1996 was the Macaree.

Aleks
Bye Lost Del Rio.

Eddy
That’s right, the Macarena.

Aleks
Sorry about my tone.

Eddy
I was. Yeah, I was hoping you’d be a little bit more excited.

Aleks
Sorry. All right. I was obsessed with this song as a 11 year old, by the way. And they made us do it at every single school disco. School dance.

Eddy
Yep. I have the exact same memories of this. I remember I. The entire school assembly doing the Macarena.

Aleks
It’s so weird. It’s so cultish. If you like looked at a video of a bunch of school kids and teachers doing the macaroni, like, isn’t that weird? It’s weird.

Eddy
It is, it is.

Aleks
And they still do it at school. At school.

Eddy
I’m sure that. I’m sure they do. I’m sure they still do the nut bush. They still do the Macarena, but yes. So the Macarena, number one of 1996.

Aleks
So sad, sad state.

Eddy
Have you played this at a wedding?

Aleks
No, no, I have not played this.

Eddy
I have. And it’s maybe once.

Aleks
Maybe once.

Eddy
It’s a funny story actually. So I played a wedding and culturally both sides of the bride and the groom were just non dancers. So. And I kind of look back at this and think it was kind of cute that they made this decision, but they actually got a, a dancer in. They hired a dancer to teach their guests some. Some dancers. So. And I’m not that I really think you have to teach the Macarena. Everyone kind of knows it, but yeah, she, she did the Macarena and everyone followed along.

Aleks
So that’s different.

Eddy
I thought that was kind of cute, but.

Aleks
Yeah, well, I, I’ve played it once actually. But I have to say, obviously, if you know who we are. Hi. Where? Eddy and Aleks for one more song. Our business tagline is no more nut bush. And the Macarena, the chicken dance, everything, all this.

Eddy
Could be no more Macarena. Could be no more chicken dance.

Aleks
Just replace the nut bush with that. Basically anything that reminds you of being forced to do a dance at school is what our couples don’t want to hear and what we don’t want to play because it’s super cheesy. Stereotypical wedding vibes. So. But the song is. I mean, wedding playability. Right. If we were looking at it completely objectively and not at our clients. Come on. It’s gonna. It’s gonna.

Eddy
It’s gonna be high. So this. Yeah. So this is the predicament that we find ourselves in. Maybe we need to, again, kind of lean into wedding playability for one more song. DJ weddings.

Aleks
Yes. All right, so for our couple, specifically. So it’ll be a zero. Okay. Because. No, because none of our couples want to hear this song.

Eddy
No.

Aleks
Unless it’s a. They’re learning a dance club.

Eddy
Yeah. Look, it could be a really ironic thing. You know, there have been instances where you. I mean, you had one, right? Let’s talk the nut bush. So you had one. And you’ll be able to tell the story better than I would. But there was a Scottish contingent of the family.

Aleks
Yes. The groom was Scottish and his family was Scottish and he wanted me to play the nut bush purely for the fact that it would shock the Scots into seeing that we have some sort of weird dance.

Eddy
So it’s like a very ironic. Yeah.

Aleks
I’ve only played the nut bush. Seriously. At weddings. Ironically, maybe. I’ve thrown it in once at a. Like a tradie vibe. Corporate years ago.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
Yeah, that’s it.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
So, yeah, ironically, maybe. Yeah. But we don’t typically play this stuff. Certainly wouldn’t. But yeah. It’s a tricky one, isn’t it? I don’t know what to give this out of ten.

Eddy
I’m gonna give this a one because I want to give the nut bush a zero. Not that I. I think it will. We’ll get to that because it was earlier than I believe the chart started.

Aleks
That could be our downfall.

Eddy
Yeah. But I have to. I have to give it up, which is a stone cold zero. So I can give this one now.

Aleks
I have to. I’m sort of related. How do you feel about the ketchup song?

Eddy
Yeah, look, they’re very similar. The ketchup song isn’t as ingrained in my brain as deep as the Macarena is. Distaste for it. I don’t particularly like the Catcher song either, but I would play it over the macaroni if I had the choice. Yeah. If I had to.

Aleks
Really catchy.

Eddy
Yeah. But I think. Yeah, I. It’s much of a muchness for me.

Aleks
I’ve played the ketchup song once it went off. And the reason I played it is because the bride was French and her family was travelling from France and It was really big there, right? Yeah, I know it’s not a French song, but. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was huge.

Eddy
So there you go. So number one was the Macarena by Los del Rio in 1996.

Aleks
Very nice accent. I was like, Lois Del Rio. What would you give the year for wedding playability? What rating would you give it out of? 10 overall?

Eddy
I’ve sort of shot myself in the foot here because I haven’t been writing our ratings down, so I’m gonna have to just like lick my finger and point it up in this guy. But I think overall 1996 for wedding playability for me would be a solid 6.5. Yeah, yeah, I agree about 6.

Aleks
Yep. 6.5 based on the top 10. Because if you look at the top hundred. Different story, right?

Eddy
Oh, definitely.

Aleks
Lots of good tunes are sitting outside of the top 10.

Eddy
Lots of tunes are. And what did we give the playability for 2012, I wonder.

Aleks
I think it was a 4. 4, 5. I can’t remember.

Eddy
It was.

Aleks
Probably should keep track of this.

Eddy
We will. We’ll get better at this. It’s still a new format for us. But what I did want to do is run through some honourable mentions from that year.

Aleks
Oh, yes.

Eddy
So 1996, number 11. I love this was the X Files theme, so, you know, in conjunction with Seinfeld and Friends and. Yeah, X Files is huge too. It was a show that I was too afraid to watch at my young age.

Aleks
Young 10 year old years old or.

Eddy
9 to 10 years old. So it used to scare the Jesus out of me. So, no, I didn’t watch that. Savage Gardens. I Want you was number 12. I would have loved to have seen that in the top 10. Obviously it’s an Australian song. Let’s have a look. For some reason, and I don’t know why Macaron is in again at number 14. Maybe it was an old. Like a slightly different version.

Aleks
You know what? Because. Sorry, we should have said the Macarena that was number one, I believe was the Bayside Boys remix.

Eddy
Ah, okay. Yeah.

Aleks
Which was the main one because it was actually remixed after the. The Spanish original. So maybe the Spanish Original was number 14. Oh, there are some good tunes here.

Eddy
Yeah. So, yeah. Maximilian Sexual Healing.

Aleks
Beautiful.

Eddy
Obviously a cover, but still a fantastic song. Be My Lover came in at number 18 by Labouche. Fast Love was 20 by George Michael. No Doubt. Just a girl at number 22. I loved no Doubt. What a band.

Aleks
Yes. We know how you feel about Gwen Stone.

Eddy
Gina G. Just a little bit. Number 23. That’s a song I don’t play as often as I should. A lot of fun.

Aleks
I’m very surprised, actually, very disappointed that a lot of these Dance 90s dance anthems didn’t make their way.

Eddy
But they were very much in, you know, in the mix in the top 20 to sort of 30ish Robert Miles’s children falling just outside of that at 32.

Aleks
I have to just. Just before that. Where do you go? No Mercy. Love that.

Eddy
Yeah, that’s a great.

Aleks
Almost forget to play it, that is.

Eddy
Yeah. It’s a bit of a wild card song in my library.

Aleks
Run Away the Cause ballad.

Eddy
But yeah. And what else do we have here? We had again, another Laboo song, Sweet Dreams. Love that tune as well again. Yeah, lots of those 90s bangers.

Aleks
Wrap me up, Aleks. Party.

Eddy
Yep.

Aleks
By the way, I had. You’ll remember this wedding. I had a couple cheese that as their entrance song and they had like all the parents and all the wedding. It was such a good tune.

Eddy
That’s so cool. And look at number a hundred was how deep is your Love by Take that. So they just snuck in. But yeah, look, even like 94, 1979. The smashes pump Smashing Pumpkins. What a tune. Alan. Tomorrow sets. Got a couple in there. Yeah, it was. It was quite the year.

Aleks
It was quite the year. Yeah. So the top 10 bit disappointing, but.

Eddy
You know, but I think because, you know, There is another 90 to choose and we’re always going to look at that 90 extra amount of songs and think, oh, wow, there’s some really good ones in there to choose.

Aleks
Roof cdb that was.

Eddy
Yeah, See, it’s all the OG for me.

Aleks
I had the cassette for that one.

Eddy
There you go.

Aleks
Yeah.

Eddy
Wow. And as we did last episode, I will go through and mention from 10 to number one for the Billboard US charts. And also the Hottest 100. I always think the Hottest 100 is, I reckon, one of the most interesting parts of these. These episodes. Because for me at least, you know, and you too. Like, we’re both big Triple J people up until a point. I think everyone gets to a point then. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve then started listening to Double J, so maybe showing my age now.

Aleks
I don’t know if I was. I was. I was starting to listen to Triple J at this age. But it’ll be interesting to see.

Eddy
Yeah.

Aleks
What I think of these.

Eddy
So we’ll start with. We’ll start with Billboard, though. So number 10 was twisted by Keith Sweat.

Aleks
Yes. Oh, so good. A Little bit slow for a wedding, though.

Eddy
But number nine, you’re making me high. Let it flow. Tony Braxton. Number eight, I love you always, Forever. Donna Lewis. That’s a good chance. I would have thought that would have been up there for Australia as well. We’ll have to cheque.

Aleks
That’s also had a resurgence recently. I don’t know why.

Eddy
Yeah. Number seven was the Crossroads by Bone Thugs and Harmony. Number six was Give me one reason, Tracy Chapman.

Aleks
Oh, yeah.

Eddy
Number five, always be my baby be Mariah Carey. Number four, nobody Knows by the Tony Rich Project. Number three, because you loved me, Seline Dion. There you go. Yes. Number two, one sweet day, Mariah Carey and Boys to Men. Wow. And number one was the Macaron of the Bayside Boys mix. So we shared the number one with the US in that particular year, just because. To show that the Macarena was just a huge sensation all around the world.

Aleks
All around the world.

Eddy
Did you want to cheque what it was in the uk potentially, if. If it reached number one in the UK as well. And while you’re looking at that, I will quickly run through the Hottest 100 of 1996 from Triple J. So we had number 10, you’re gorgeous by Bay Bird. Number nine, El Scorcho by Weezer. Weezer’s not a band that I really got into, but they do have some good songs. Number eight, ballad of these Skeletons by Alan Ginsberg. Number seven was Breathed by the Prodigy.

Aleks
Okay. Yes. Now we.

Eddy
Banger central. Six was Pick you up by Powder Finger. So your powder finger were big as well. Glycerine by Bush was number five. I don’t mind that song at all. Number four, pepper by the Butthole Surfers. Number three, Underground by Ben Fobs. Five. There’s another name that was. Was huge. Number two, Stink Fist by Tool. And number one, an Aussie band, Buy me a Pony by Spider bait was number one on the Triple J Hotels 100.

Aleks
I wasn’t cool enough in 1996 completely.

Eddy
I think I started kind of at least noticing Triple J around that time.

Aleks
I started noticing Triple J around the Whitlams.

Eddy
Very good. Yes.

Aleks
It was probably the following year.

Eddy
Yeah. It wasn’t too far out. Yeah.

Aleks
From that it was still primary school. I do remember that. Interestingly, the Macarena peaked at number two. Oh. Because it was kept off the number one spot in the UK by the huge popularity of Wannabe.

Eddy
There you go. Well, yep. Got that loyalty going. Clearly, Australia didn’t have any loyalty to, say, Savage Garden or anyone that was huge at that point.

Aleks
Do we have any? We have.

Eddy
No, I’m sure. Look, I’m sure they do feature up pretty high in a couple of years, you know, kind of around 1996 potentially. But, yeah, not a single.

Aleks
We have. Didn’t have a single Aussie artist in the top 10.

Eddy
Oh, how dare Australia.

Aleks
It was very, very American. But there you go.

Eddy
There you go. So that. There you have it. 1996.

Aleks
Good year. Good year.

Eddy
Great year, Great year. So, as we did last episode, which year are we going to go and explore next episode? Pluck it. Because I did this. This 996. Pluck it straight out of the top of your head. What are you feeling?

Aleks
2016.

Eddy
2016. Wow. Okay, we’re back into the tens, back into the 10. Oh, 2016 will be a very interesting year indeed, I think. But thank you so much if you have stayed this whole time. We really appreciate you listening. What were your thoughts about 1996? Let us know, Let us know. Any memories or have you been at weddings or where, like, the Macarena was played and what was the reaction?

Aleks
I think also if you’ve listened to this and you are planning your wedding, note down any songs that do have that real nostalgic value to you and that you think, oh, I used to dance with that in the living room with my siblings and family and stuff. And note those down to give a spin later in the night. Because you might not think that it’s a banger, but depending on the reaction, it can be a banger. So, yeah, have a think about that. And thank you so much for joining us again. Till next time.

Eddy
Till next time. Thank you so much.

Aleks
Thanks for tuning in and we hope you loved this episode.

Eddy
If you did love this episode, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review on Spotify, Apple Music or a podcast service of your choice.

Aleks
See you next time.