The Lightning Seeds - if only, 1999

"Occasionally, the Lightning Seeds sound like a warmer version of the Pet Shop Boys, especially on "If Only" and "Happy Satellite."

Pet Shop Boys - i don't know what you want but i can't give it anymore album version, 1999

"Aside from that fairly clever narrative device, simply taken as a song—that is, only as melody, chord structure, and lyrics—it's one of the dimmer lights in the Tennant-Lowe catalogue, particularly among their singles. Yet it's performed with such tragic, even epic grandeur that you can't help but admire the thing."

Dido - isobel, 1999

“Isobel” tells an anguished woman to stop punishing herself for an unnamed offense."

James - i know what i'm here for live, 1999

"It's about the meaning of life. It's also about the nature of being in a band: the fulfilment of adolescent fantasies of endless drugs, drink and sex. But unless there's self-discipline, it can easily become a nightmare… Initially we did it almost as a blues song, but [producer] Brian Eno came up with the wacky, space-funk hookline. It became the album's first single, to make an announcement that we'e gone into a new musical area."

REM - the great beyond, 1999

"The Great Beyond" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., written for the 1999 film Man on the Moon. It was released as a single the same year for support of the film's soundtrack album. On the soundtrack, there is some dialogue from the movie at the end of the track; meanwhile, the single version is a radio edit, with the bridge omitted."

Moby - everloving, 1999

"I just wonder why the sound in this track is so broken in the beggining, like noisy and playing only from the left, then it suddenly goes good. It kinda amplifies the drop which is good but still I can't stop wondering why"

Pet Shop Boys - lies, 1999

"This track holds a noteworthy place in the PSB corpus in that it's one of the very few—along with the multi-tracked "Postscript" and the later "This Used to Be the Future" — in which Chris actually sings (rather than speaks) lyrics in a voice that hasn't been greatly distorted somehow. Once again Chris demonstrates his mastery of upbeat, techno-oriented Europop. He creates vast sonic landscapes made for dancing. The lyrics, which were indeed written by Chris (a rarity for PSB tracks), emerged from what he describes in the Format booklet as "a true story."

Pet Shop Boys - the only one, 1999

"The best thing, in fact, about this track is its superb, imaginative production. Just listen to the way Neil and Chris slink their way into it with soft, subtle electronic squiggles and burps"

Bonnie Prince Billy - i see a darkness, 1999

"Mojo deemed it a "modern classic" and the twentieth best album released during the magazine's lifetime. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die."

Electronic - late at night, 1999

"Late at Night" is a rock song by the English band Electronic. It was written and produced by its members Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr, and co-produced with Arthur Baker. "Late at Night" was taken from their third album Twisted Tenderness and was their last single."

The Lightning Seeds - pussyfoot reprise, 1999

"Until now, the Lightning Seeds have been a byword for pristine, crystalline pop. Here, Broudie scratches the music's frictionless surface with distortion, hard dance beats, faster, more active drumming - courtesy of Ringo Starr's son - and some of his strongest, most affecting melodies"

Dido - slide, 1999

"Dido wrote this song to help reconcile her depression. It was the mid-'90s and she was in a panic over her management and publishing contracts she signed that she came to regret. Feeling trapped, she stayed in the house and ran through her conundrum over and over in her head."

The Lightning Seeds - life's too short, 1999

"Originally conceived as a one-off experiment for respected longtime producer Ian Broudie, his expertise in the studio and sugary voice made for easy hit-making, so Lightning Seeds took on a life of its own. Ten years later, we now have his fifth effort, and the magic is still there. Broudie has an uncanny flair for pure pop, and Tilt is no exception. He seems to be trying to attract a younger audience with the club-anthem sound of the “Life’s Too Short” single, which sounds a bit campy, but it’s forgivable."

The Flaming Lips - waitin for a superman, 1999

"Waitin' for a Superman" (subtitled "Is It Gettin' Heavy??" for the song's U.S. album release) is a song by The Flaming Lips, released as the second single taken from their 1999 album The Soft Bulletin"

Saint Etienne - keep nothing, 1999

"Track written as potential B-side for one of the singles off the Tiger Bay album... In retrospect it could have fitted neatly on Continental"

James - i know what i'm here for, 1999

"It's about the meaning of life. It's also about the nature of being in a band: the fulfilment of adolescent fantasies of endless drugs, drink and sex. But unless there's self-discipline, it can easily become a nightmare... Initially we did it almost as a blues song, but [producer] Brian Eno came up with the wacky, space-funk hookline. It became the album's first single, to make an announcement that we'e gone into a new musical area."

Mike Oldfield - moonlight shadow live, 1999

"One of the first “live” version of “Moonlight Shadow,” I ever watched, was on a German TV show where a black woman, possible Pepsi DeMacque (who is awesome on “Man in the Rain”), performed the vocals, whoever she was, she was clearly not Maggie Reilly, but it sounded just like Reilly. In fact, the entire live performance sounded identical to the studio version. It was a lip sync, which I thought was really strange, because no one was upset by it. It did not make any sense, Mike Oldfield was there with a guitar, why not just perform the song live? Obviously, this would be the part of the review where I post the video, but I cannot find it anymore. I am pretty sure I did not imagine it during a fever dream."

Pet Shop Boys - footsteps, 1999

"The recurring line "Footsteps in the dark" recalls the title of a 1977 Isley Brothers song—yes, "Footsteps in the Dark." The very next line, "Only love will break your heart," is a near-echo of the title of two past pop hits: Gene Pitney's 1962 single "Only Love Can Break a Heart" and Neil Young's 1970 single "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (my emphasis in both cases). "Footsteps" in general virtually mimics the arrangements of a number of popular 1970s R&B/soul ballads, perhaps most notably "You Are Everything," a major 1971 hit by the Stylistics. You might even say that it owes a stylistic debt to a Stylistics song."

Dido - all you want, 1999

"All You Want" is a song by English singer-songwriter Dido, released as the fourth and final single from her debut album, No Angel (1999)."

James - crash, 1999

"Although similar in style and taste with previous efforts while still sounding contemporary, James managed to include a new twist on a familiar model. In fact the first four songs are fabulously James, yet refreshingly unfamiliar. And as with all James’ records they managed to mix in a few tracks with decidedly ambient inclinations and ethereal moods amongst the rockers. Standout tracks such as “Crash,” “Just Like Fred Astaire,” and “Shooting My Mouth Off” show off their majestic amalgamation of anthemic stadium rock and alternative pop hooks while slow cookers “Hello,” “We’re Going to Miss You,” and “Vervaceous” are more effusive as they flirt with more ambient, experimental sounds."