IF THIS IS HISTORY, WHY CAN'T I EVEN REMEMBER WHERE I AM WHEN IT'S HAPPENING?

Maybe we're just getting old and cynical and thinking about the purchase of elasticated waistbands, but is the whole hoo-hah about Gnarls Barkley getting to number one on downloads alone about as exciting as this weekend's other big event, the Boat Race?

Just as the Boat Race is of prime importance to about seven people, but if you happened to be by the river when it was happening you might go and have a look, this feels like something which would be more surprising if it wasn't happening. And it would be happening more often if the charts were based on what was selling, rather than what was selling, according to a bunch of rules drawn up to keep the larger labels happy.

What will be interesting is when the chart commisars are forced to abandon the link between singles and physical items altogether - that will be the day for the historians to make a little note.

This is an "Oxford wins" story; it's being reported as if it was a "Brunel wins".

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