Arron Wright
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nonoxcol.bsky.social
Arron Wright
@nonoxcol.bsky.social
840 followers 640 following 6.8K posts
Pop craziness!

See alt @mu21cvs.bsky.social for music challenges.
Current: #TheTwen2ie5.

He/him. Green.

Profile pics from my #TheTwen2ie5 list:
Jockstrap, 'Greatest Hits' (#1, 12 points)
Posts Replies Media Videos
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#TheTenx5

I have to get done early for reasons, so I'll start the ball rolling.

By country (all appearances incl features/dual)

USA 26
UK 20
Barbados 3🤔😆
Sweden 2🤔
Albania, Canada, France, Germany, Nigeria, NZ, Trinidad all 1

NKC 3/50
Poppy 6/50

And does this year graph tell a story:
Screenshot of my 2010s main 50 by year in coloured vertical bar graph format. 2010 - 9 songs 2011 - 8 2012 and 2013 - 3 2014 - 1 2015 - 3 2016 - 4 2017 - 5 2018 and 2019 - 7
December 12, 2025 at 4:20 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
Alternatively, from the "images preceding unfortunate events" file:
Spooge's missus declaring that she ain't no skank.
December 11, 2025 at 5:47 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
The TV Teaser if this qualifies next year...
Super Hans looking uncharacteristically horrorstruck outside a New Years Eve party, with his silent girlfriend: IT'S THE HEART OF DARKNESS, JEZ. IT'S THE FUCKING DIRT.
December 11, 2025 at 5:41 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
This me.
Distracted boyfriend meme pointing out that, apart from any by/featuring Rihanna, the best selling singles of the 10s in the UK are inferior to Alexis Jordan's first two.
December 11, 2025 at 11:16 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
I had a similar experience on Tuesday in the presale - 12,000 ahead of me, just bad seats left by the time it was my turn (I have.an aversion to sitting alone).

For previous experience of the O2 I'd say AXS is much better than Ticketmaster (tbh being Alastair Cook in this pic > Ticketmaster).
Alastair Cook falling to the floor after being hit in the goolies by a cricket ball. Joe Root laughing behind him.
December 11, 2025 at 10:42 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
Something something those who wait...
Confirmation of order for Rosalia in Amsterdam. on 23rd April 2026.
December 11, 2025 at 10:26 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
Here you go, a little earlier than normal - can't see anything changing my mind now.

Thanks and look forward to the shows!
2025 Festive 50 WOLF ALICE, ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ UK LADY GAGA, ‘Abracadabra’ USA DANNY L HARLE ft PINKPANTHERESS, ‘Starlight’ UK AMAARAE, ‘S.M.O.’ USA-Ghana PINKPANTHERESS, ‘Illegal’ UK JENNIE, ‘Like Jennie’ South Korea CONFIDENCE MAN & JADE, ‘Gossip’ Australia/UK ROSALIA, ‘Reliquia’ Spain LILY ALLEN, ‘Madeline’ UK LITTLE SIMZ ft OBONGJAYAR & MOONCHILD SANELLY, ‘Flood’ UK/Nigeria/South Africa With apologies to CMAT (Ireland), who has three songs I like about equally but none quite enough. NKC/ISC 100%, although 10% heavily indebted to Underworld :)
December 8, 2025 at 2:44 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
Nico and Vinz, seen earlier today in "not angry, just disappointed" mode..
Nico and Vinz, the men behind 'Am I Wrong?', one of just three songs to top the UK singles chart for more than a week between March and September 2014.
December 7, 2025 at 1:29 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
Happy 20th birthday to this phenomenal song, my #ALL50RTS 12.

And to the 9 other songs first released today on Chemistry... Long Hot Summer & Biology were already out.

(but not the cover - see below😇)
From the Wikipedia entry for Girls Aloud's cover of 'See The Day' from Chemistry. Not my words Carol, the words of actual Girls Aloud. Band comments While reflecting on their discography during an interview with the Gay Times promoting their 2024 reunion tour, the band expressed negative feelings towards the song, with Nadine sardonically stating "That's not a single. I don't know what happened there" and sarcastically referred to the track's release as a single as "an accident." Kimberley explicitly disavowed it, saying "We don't claim it." Cheryl called the song a "blip".[23] Cheryl also stated in 2008 that "See The Day" was only released because they were stuck for ballads, saying "I wish we hadn't released See The Day. I absolutely hate that track, I don't think it's us at all, it's really old fashioned."[24]
December 5, 2025 at 8:20 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#SpotifyWrapped

See alt text for explanations.
Biggest music listening day was Saturday March 15th "a 9-hour pop relay" of 538 minutes, 153 tracks, 66 artists. Possibly one of the last days I went to the Leadmill. Definitely the last day of Charli's ArtistFave15. Most energetic day was Friday May 16th, when I "let Girls Aloud power an all-out pop sprint" of 278 minutes. In fact this was my afternoon walk, marking the 10th anniversary of me learning about their deep cuts - it probably finished in the car/at home. Friday 8 August was my most repeat-heavy day, when I "built a carousel out of PinkPantheress and Amaarae". This was the morning I walked to the top of Vidova Gora near Bol in Croatia, and Black Star was released. Then I went to the beach with my summer playlist, then had some cocktails. So... yeah. On Sunday 19 October I has my most diverse day, letting "50 genres crash the same party". I *suspect* this was the night I went through Dave and Jonathan's picks for #TheTwen2ie5. It was also a few days after the Little Simz gig, and the first weekend in 2 months I was fit enough to clean the house after the leg injury.
December 3, 2025 at 7:43 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#SpotifyWrapped

4th, the bloody slackers.

STILL only two different winners in 5 years!😆

(I think Primavera and the first #ArtistFave15 helped here)
Top 5 artists of 2025: Charli xcx AGAIN, SZA, Lady Gaga, Girls Aloud AGAIN, PinkPantheress. Spotify Wrapped says Charli xcx was my top artist in spite of only releasing two new tracks, top 0.2% global fan apparently.
December 3, 2025 at 7:25 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#SpotifyWrapped

I actually guessed the top 4 songs here, though not in order...

I guessed three of the albums (1, 2, 5) - March must have been a very heavy month of listening.
Top 5 songs for 2025 on Spotify Wrapped - Nissan Altima 2024, Abracadabra, Delicious 2017, illegal, Tonight (all 2025 unless otherwise stated). Top 5 albums on Spotify Wrapped, all 2025 unless otherwise stated: Mayhem, Fancy Some More?, Ruby, SOS 2022, Fancy That.
December 3, 2025 at 7:19 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#SpotifyWrapped

LOLZ.

(I think the Q4 challenge had a lot to do with this, but then so did Q1-Q3...)
According to Spotify Wrapped, my listening age for 2025 was 21 "since I was into music from the early 2020s".
December 3, 2025 at 7:12 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
And 'Mambo No.5' and 'Mucho Mambo (Sway)' of course.

(Ricky was at no.10 this week)
Top 3 at the end of August 1999 - Lou Bega, Shaft, Geri Halliwell.
December 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
I realise this isn't news to anyone with a functioning brain and soul, but my god AI is fucking SHIT.
A Google search for "ian botham last ashes innings" whose first result is an AI Overview which, impressively, gets absolutely nothing right apart from '14th Test hundred' (same series, but wrong ground and not actually his final series) and 'quick century at Brisbane' (but not actually his penultimate Test). All News Images Videos Shopping Short videos More Tools AI Overview https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQofxHY-G1-8KqJSpPBEn3pmdAP3UJAZrOjwpjq3kPYBaI0pyGD Ian Botham's last Ashes innings was in the 1986-87 series, where he scored a century in the final Test at Melbourne. In his penultimate Test at Brisbane, he scored a quick century that helped England secure a series victory. His final match was in Sydney, where he took four wickets and scored a 50. Last Ashes innings: In his final Ashes series, the 1986-87 series, Botham's last Ashes innings was his 14th Test hundred at Melbourne. Final Ashes match: His final Test match was in Sydney, where he played his part by taking four wickets, including the wicket of Allan Border, and scoring a quick 50.
December 2, 2025 at 12:31 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
"What a fucking band"

23
Five young women seated on high chairs in a television studio. Left to right: CHERYL TWEEDY, dark brown hair, dark burgundy dress, high heeled shoes, smiling broadly NICOLA ROBERTS, ginger hair, white top, dark trousers, high heeled shoes, smiling while looking at Cheryl NADINE COYLE, dark brown hair, burgundy sleeveless top, white trousers, high-heeled shoes, caught looking rather sceptical KIMBERLEY WALSH, blonde hair, top a shade darker than Nadine's, long white skirt, high-heeled boots, smiling with mouth closed SARAH HARDING, blonde hair, sleeveless white top, short burgundy skirt, high-heeled boots, mouth open in laughter, head turned towards Nicola and Cheryl. They are seated in order of being announced as part of the girlband in 'Popstars: The Rivals' on ITV, 30th November 2002. This is the moment immediately after Davina McCall (arm just visible to left of shot) has announced to the nation the name of said girlband: "GIRLS ALOUD"
November 30, 2025 at 10:56 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
It's all about the
NICOLA ROBERTS, then a dark/strawberry blonde in her early 20s, wearing an indigo dress, in a still from the video for CALL THE SHOTS. The shot is from the middle eight/bridge (to be precise, it’s “to a glimmer”), which is her finest moment with Girls Aloud, and probably the single greatest individual moment anyone ever had in the band. Without this, 'Call The Shots' would be very good, but not the elite GA song it became.
November 27, 2025 at 12:29 PM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#THETWEN2IE5 DAY 50

Baby.
You know I could go on.
So play me one more...
Song.

As you're the only person on this list 3 times Georgia, how can I say no.

1. 🥇

JOCKSTRAP (1/2)
'GREATEST HITS'
UK 2022
⭐⭐12 points

See you on the other side
(of HMs)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1-x...
1.🥇 ⭐⭐JOCKSTRAP | GREATEST HITS⭐⭐ Sep 2022 UK 1/22 2022: 1/12 Album track, single in November Alpha 20, Chrono 26, Stream 34 PPP: N/A Artist 1/2 ⭐⭐12 points Only a miracle could beat both ‘Girl, so confusing’ and ‘Saoko’, but that’s exactly what the greatest (non) hit of the 20s is. Many little miracles, deliberately layered to evoke how music works in the same way as dreams; unlocking the subconscious mind, or the soul, and elevating life itself. Or, more prosaically, justifying my love. For pop. From the start, Georgia Ellery’s disembodied voice and the ‘Baby Batter’ sample lull you into a childlike dreamstate. But that vulnerability is simply a precursor to intimacy. “I believe in dreams… do you?” Georgia sings in the chorus, and it’s exquisite, reaching back through time to female indie icons while rejoicing in the present moment. The lyrics are sensual yet subliminal: ‘Woom (womb) Room’, “dreaming in the dark”, “see you on the other side”. Meanwhile Taylor Skye has unleashed the rayguns over that first chorus, making me grin like a child at Christmas. There is nothing I would change about this record’s structure. Every disparate element just flows, like the best dream you ever had, made real. Taylor’s string break two minutes in, after the second chorus, into Georgia’s “Baby. You know I could go on, so play me one more… song.” And a long percussion break before the main melody picks up again. Then, of course, the bit which seals 12 points: “Imagine I’m Madonna. Imagine I’m the Madonna…” Because, yes, it’s a sexy record, without ever being crude or obvious. There’s no denying the outro: “wanted to feel what you feel inside”, “want you to know what I know in my mind”, “wanna see what you see through your eyes”. If we are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep, then come to her you must. On the third floor. Speedy. Quick. Before your eyes close. It’s the Greatest Hits, and she / ain’t tryna hide it… THE Madonna, dressed in pink. From the video for 'Material Girl', a 1985 single. With a saucy look on her face and a pink gloved finger to her lips. (and some men in tuxedos carrying red hearts)
November 25, 2025 at 6:59 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#THETWEN2IE5 DAY 49

And so to the runner-up.

2. 🥈

ROSALIA (1/1)
'SAOKO'
Spain 2022
⭐11 points

Fourth of five duplicate artists.
From my album of the decade.
#1 MOTOMAMI

Will anyone else come this close to the track/album double in these challenges?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o7b...
2.🥈 ⭐ROSALÍA | SAOKO⭐ Feb 2022 Spain 1/2 2022: 2/12 Single Alpha 36, Chrono 19, Stream 14 PPP: Quarter-final (Pollhalla), 2022 Artist 1/2 ⭐11 points ‘Saoko’ is huge. It’s the turning point of the decade. The opening track on my favourite album of the 2020s. The opener at her homecoming Primavera show in 2023. Most importantly, it blew open a door in my brain I didn't even know existed. Without this: less curiosity, no Amaarae, no amapiano, no foreign languages, no renaissance of genre clashing, no [no.1 artist]. No #Twen2ie5, basically. And that was an instinctive, intuitive response: I knew little of Rosalia’s previous work and didn’t understand much Spanish. It was therefore beautiful to discover the chorus is about transformation, serving as meta-commentary on her own artistic development and my musical 2020s. It’s experiment, deconstruction and reinvention all at once. In less than 140 seconds. There’s a “talking avant-jazz” interlude, followed by the most head-spinning half minute of 2022, the “La pampara” section and outro. Few openers have set the tone for an album this perfectly. I will always follow Rosalia’s career now, because of ‘Saoko’. The cover art of my album of the decade, MOTOMAMI by Rosalia.
November 24, 2025 at 7:00 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
Which means, like the Women's World Cup of 2023 and Euros of 2025, it comes down to a final clash between England and Spain...

Here are the women involved.
Representing England, it's Georgia Ellery! Representing Spain, it's Rosalia Vila Tobella!
November 23, 2025 at 11:56 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#THETWEN2IE5 DAY 48

And so to the podium.

3.🥉

CHARLI XCX & LORDE
'GIRL, SO CONFUSING FEATURING LORDE'
UK/New Zealand 2024
⭐11 points

Could say why Lorde's verse surpasses even 'A minorrrrr" as my pop moment of the decade.

But Charli said it in two words.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q3K...
3.🥉 ⭐CHARLI XCX & LORDE | GIRL, SO CONFUSING FEATURING LORDE⭐ Jun 2024 UK 2/22, New Zealand 1/1 2024: 1/7 Single Alpha 18, Chrono 45, Stream 12 PPP: 3rd, 2024 Artist 1/2 (Charli XCX) ⭐11 points All three podium songs make a compelling case for 12. This - specifically “the remix” - kickstarted my Brat summer. And made me realise we were living through an all-timer season of pop (I was distracted by the show for most of May and June). It remains the defining track of that mini-era, yet so much more. Months later, Lorde’s section in particular suddenly hit me hard emotionally. I realised I wasn’t alone, even among middle-aged men. We can never completely understand how hard the song hits girls struggling with friendships, identity, miscommunication, repressed trauma. Let alone the specific travails of young women in the music industry performing for “coin”. But their disarming absence of cynicism stands out in this low, dishonest decade. I know they’re playing with reality and artifice, both confessing and selling. It doesn’t matter: I want to buy every word, especially as it comes after Charli’s grief and unresolved issues on ‘So I’. Has an electro-pop song ever got right to the core of this famous quote, so elegantly and unexpectedly: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” Charli XCX on Instagram, sharing Lorde's verse and her own two-word response, which is "Fucking hell".
November 23, 2025 at 10:07 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
Ben Stokes, speaking to TMS earlier today.

#TheAshes
Stephen Fry as General Melchett, in military uniform with helmet and glove, saluting in the opening credits of Blackadder Goes Forth. Caption: "If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through."
November 22, 2025 at 11:45 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#THETWEN2IE5 DAY 47

"Like an outhouse door in a gale" department...

4.

NIA ARCHIVES
'OFF WIV YA HEADZ'
UK 2023
⭐11 points

It bangz.

(unfortunate timing if you're following 🏏events in Perth, however...

...call it a desperate Hail Mary jinx 😄)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrnD...
4. ⭐NIA ARCHIVES | OFF WIV YA HEADZ⭐ Jun 2023 UK 3/22 2023: 1/11 Single Alpha 30, Chrono 36, Stream 30 PPP: Nomination (main), 2023, reached last 16 ⭐11 points Ssssshh. There’s scarcely an original note in this song. ‘Heads Will Roll’ by Yeah Yeah Yeahs is a great record. The A-Trak remix is even better. A benchmark for reinventions, a blend of indie rock, dance and electroclash that sounds like a last hurrah for the spirit of the 2000s, ready to hand over to Gaga, Rihanna and hyperpop. Here, Nia Archives takes that remix, lassoes it to a jungle beat and shoves it into a 165bpm bullet train. Is that… enough? You might know where this is going…;) ‘Freak Like Me’ by Adina Howard is a great record. ‘Are “Friends” Electric?’ by Tubeway Army is even better. And there’s scarcely an original note in Richard X’s mash-up ‘We Don’t Give A Damn About Our Friends’, originally credited to Girls On Top and later made famous by Sugababes Mk II in a UK No.1 hit. But that record harnessed the spirit of the 2000s and redefined my pop life. And it meant that, 21 years later, I would respond in exactly the same way to ‘Off Wiv Ya Headz’. It didn’t change my life; I was 50. But it makes me want to “dance til you’re dead” and it’s still the most purely thrilling racket of the 20s. Damn right that’s enough. Nia Archives with her eyes closed - cover art for single 'Off Wiv Ya Headz'.
November 22, 2025 at 9:03 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#THETWEN2IE5 DAY 46

Bonus time.

"This is my fucking country
And it's never been fucking lovely."

5.

BOB VYLAN
'WE LIVE HERE'
UK 2020

Not racists, they're just proud.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFqh...

'Comments are turned off" of course.
5. ⭐BOB VYLAN | WE LIVE HERE⭐ Mar 2020 UK 4/22 2020: 1/7 Single Alpha 47, Chrono 4, Stream 33 PPP: Semi-final, 2020 (also lost to Christine and the Queens & 🤖s) ⭐11 points ‘Angel’ or ‘XS’ could have taken this bonus slot. I considered arguments, e.g. from Graham Meikle, that ‘We Live Here’ felt rather played out. But in the end, what Centuries Of Sound wrote on Day 1 was more convincing: “Even before the events of the summer this was one of my favourites of the decade. After the summer, it seems essential.” In 2020, ‘We Live Here’ was a coruscating reminder to Britain that it should never feel complacent about its attitude to race and citizenship, and certainly shouldn’t think itself inherently superior to the USA. In 2025, we have a government that has done little but appease racism (even this week!) in a forlorn attempt to “neutralise” an electoral threat. The worst of us are emboldened: the flags Bobby and Bobbie stamp on are all over lampposts and windows. The Opposition threatens to deport people with ILR status. That three-word title resonates even more powerfully. And of course, after Glastonbury, Bob Vylan are now (in)famous. A cause célèbre. Bobby remains more articulate than his critics on any number of issues, not least the government-aided genocide he stood up to oppose. The four songs to come are my favourites. But ‘We Live Here’ is essential to the unfinished story of Britain in the 2020s. A bunch of white people with "legitimate concerns" giving it the big 'un round London Town at the 'Unite the Kingdom' rally, September 2025.
November 21, 2025 at 6:38 AM
nonoxcol.bsky.social
#THETWEN2IE5 DAY 45

The final bonus slot was a coin flip between "governed by the worst" and "governed by the worst".

Guess who lost*

6.

RINA SAWAYAMA
'XS'
UK-Japan 2020

Shiny pop's best attempt at a state-of-the-nation-no-the-world banger since 'The Fear'

(*Us)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO2c...
6. RINA SAWAYAMA | XS Mar 2020 Japan 1/1, UK 5/22 2020: 2/7 Single Alpha 50, Chrono 3, Stream 20 PPP: Final groups, 2020 (it was in the same group as nos. 10 & 5 and all three were separated by two votes) Arguably even more Xenomaniac than ‘Angel’, sonically if not structurally, ‘XS’ satisfies my craving for kitchen-sink maximalist pop while also taking a big swing at something even more damaging than Cowell. It just wasn’t a hit, because something something Coldplay Nazis. Speaking of which, ‘XS’ - like ‘Rainforest’ (#26) - now sounds all the more prescient. Where do you end up with when billionaire turbo-capitalism remains unchecked, and idiocies like AI, limitless plunder, planetary colonisation and neo-feudalist government are indulged as a result? Cambridge graduate Rina is bright enough to see the bigger picture and realise individual, desire-driven humans let this shit happen. To cram all that into a very 21st-century melange of Neptunes beats, gonzo nu-metal riffs and 10s electro is genius-level. As for the chorus - well, again, only Super Hans can sum it up. Like crack, it’s really moreish. A hand-held protest sign on white card reading CAPITALISM (blue) = (black) CLIMATE CRISIS (red)
November 20, 2025 at 8:16 AM