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THE SQUARE TABLE 25 / KYLIE MINOGUE & THE SCISSOR SISTERS – “I Believe In You”
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— 23 Dec 2004 Steve Mannion 1 comment

POP FACTOR: 760 CONTROVERSY RATING: 187

This one has it all!*
– Classy Cocktail Kylie but with added good song!
– Smooth and modish production
– Genuinely good lyrics (“I don’t believe I’d fall in love just topass[…]

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THE SQUARE TABLE 24 / BRIAN MCFADDEN – “Irish Son”
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— 3 Dec 2004 Tom Comment

Pop Factor: 258 Controversy Rating: 214
Brian McFadden’s two-fisted attack on the Catholic Church is a braver and more lucid political statement than anything, say, Bono has ever managed. That it’s also part of the most naked grab for cr[…]

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THE SQUARE TABLE 22 / Gwen Stefani – “What You Waiting For?”
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— 29 Nov 2004 Tom Comment

Pop Factor: 709 Controversy Factor: 255
Trying to be Madonna is a noble and not uncommon aim for our pop stars. Britney tries, Christina tries – you could probably make a case for Robbie trying, and let’s not even consider the efforts o[…]

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THE SQUARE TABLE 21 / Dizzee Rascal – “Dream”
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— 17 Nov 2004 Tom 2 comments

Pop Factor: 711 Controversy Rating: 286
From a marketing point of view, the double-whammy repositioning of Dizzee in the mainest of mainstreams is startling, particularly as the rest of Showtime is only user-friendly compared to his older stuff. I […]

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THE SQUARE TABLE 20 / Fatboy Slim – “Slash Dot Dash”
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— 8 Nov 2004 Tom Comment

POP FACTOR: 342 CONTROVERSY RATING: 247
Simultaneously lazy and ballsy, a rum way to end a pop career but weeks away from its brief radio life at least it sounds like a footnote, so not as undignified as it might have been. As a track on one of the[…]

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THE SQUARE TABLE 19 / CIARA ft PETEY PABLO – “Goodies”
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— 19 Oct 2004 Tom Comment

POP FACTOR: 762 CONTROVERSY RATING: 205
An apology: work has been very, very busy lately. Something had to give, and that something was the Square Table. Hopefully it is now, in the immortal words of Barlow,G. “back for good”.
Touch-don[…]

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THE SQUARE TABLE 18 / Alcazar – “This Is The World We Live In”
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— 29 Sep 2004 Tom Comment

POP FACTOR: 857 CONTROVERSY RATING: 174
My second favourite record of the year – ten out of ten! Ten squared! Can I justify that? Maybe. There are a lot of things I can use music for – catharsis, communication, comfort, profundity, scra[…]

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THE SQUARE TABLE 17 / Girls Aloud – “Love Machine”
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— 16 Sep 2004 Tom 1 comment

POP FACTOR: 774 CONTROVERSY RATING: 190
Girls Aloud take their mockabilly strut a little too fast, there’s a lockstep urgency to the rhythm that makes the fun more frantic by giving you the feeling they’re just a trip away from falling […]

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THE SQUARE TABLE 16 / The Thrills – “Whatever Happened To Corey Haim?”
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— 10 Sep 2004 Tom 1 comment

POP FACTOR: 288 CONTROVERSY RATING: 226
The problem with retro in a pop context: absorbing the lesson that things were better back when can limit you. If you believe in the golden past then maybe you subconsciously believe that all YOU can do is pu[…]

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THE SQUARE TABLE 15 / Natasha Bedingfield – “These Words”
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— 7 Sep 2004 Tom Comment

POP FACTOR: 624 CONTROVERSY RATING: 263
Sometime in the endless pre-release life of “These Words” I decided I loved the disarming ending. A little while later I decided I loved the beginning too – so confident, so cute. And the mi[…]

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