The History Of Pop Part 37 aka The Panic The Vomit

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

This seemed to take forever to type out - it marks probably some kind of personal nadir in terms of my enjoyment of pop, or at least the degree of attention I was paying it. But of course for some of you this may be an Elysian pop idyll, so it's over to you in the comments and I'll stop my grumbling.

White Town's "Your Woman" scored a pretty convincing win in the Now 36 poll, beating the Chemicals and Prodigy by around 6 votes. Well done Jyoti M.

And onwards into the vale of tears that was mid-1997...


[Poll #712248]


VOTEY VOTE.

Comments

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

There's a LOT of stuff here I don't remember, and a lot I kind of dimly remember as being mediocre. Even the stuff generally admired as 'good pop' i.e. Hanson, Cardigans, Spices seems to me either rub or overrated. :(

BAH, in summary.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Though of course it's a cliche that the first year or so after University is when the mind and body REJECTS POP and music is never worse than then.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Yeah but Rosie Gaines! Ultra Naté! Shola Ama! En Vogue! Backstreet Boys!

I agree that the Hanson is overrated though, it strikes me as a great song not fully realised because it is a great Girl Group song and they are not a girl group.

This may be the point at which proper pop started hooking me back in.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

one of the Spice Girls best singles imo

the first third here is pretty excellent but the other two drag the whole thing down to new fathoms

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Getting here late as usual:

Both Mmmbop! and Who Do You Think You Are are classic, classic, classic, and WFYTYA is the best Spice Girls song by a mile. It also gets a tick because they could have put Mama on there, for which we are all eternally grateful. I have also ticked Paranoid Android by the Radioheads. I think it still actually be my favourite on here.

That Shola Ama record is horrendous. I find it impossible to listen to without imagining Jools Holland sitting there rubbing his legs. Ugh.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Every song in the first section is great! (Except I don't remember the G Michael one.)

Ultra Naté: just how amazing and good?

Also I will totally rep for 'I Believe I Can Fly' even though lots of people seem to hate it. Haters.

[boyofbadgers.livejournal.com]

The Saint rly quite awful by Orbital's standards, but still just abt makes it over the any good at all bar.

No recollection at all of the last four tracks. Also, No Mercy?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

None asked, none given.

[juror8.livejournal.com]

Ropey Latino boyband, released the same single twice with different lyrics. Possibly due "Night At The Roxbury"-esque ironic critical reappraisal within five years.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

All I remember is that it is some mid-point of Ibiza-bosh and boy band, and it goes "where do you go to, my lovely?"

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

Can't remember much of this -- the only standouts must have filtered through to student radio / discos I guess.

Also -- can't imagine if any particular consensus will emerge here either.

BUT: Bittersweet Symphony = WORST RECORD IN THE WORLD EVER? Surely?

[juror8.livejournal.com]

"Sweet Soca Music" is aces, though.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I liked BSS at the time a great deal, I was in a bad state in 97. I liked it so much I almost thought I should tick it now but then I remembered the video.

The one good thing about this Now is that we might get a tie-breaker :)

The Seahorses

[juror8.livejournal.com]

IT'S AN ANAGRAM OF "HE HATES ROSES". DEEP.

Re: The Seahorses

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The existence of the Seahorses really had slipped my mind. Deplorable.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

ER NO ONE EXCEPT ME HAS TICKED 'DON'T LET GO (LOVE)'. SURELY SOME MISTAKE. PLEASE AMEND ACCORDINGLY.

[boyofbadgers.livejournal.com]

I honestly can't remember it. YSI, anyone?

[mrs-leroy-brown.livejournal.com]

ha ha, i'm the only one who likes supergrass.
i'm going to get BOOTED OUT of this community eventually :S

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Just for a change, I have voted in this one - and I ticked Supergrass. They were a great singles band (stay clear of their LPs though, except the hits one obv), and this is one of the best. Great synth solo.

How I Learned To Love The Thom

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The single thing that turned me round on "Paranoid Android" - more so even than that karaoke performance - was someone on ILX claiming (from memory here) that it's about Thom Yorke trying to get served in a pub towards closing time. "The crackle of pigskin" is pork scratchings, obv.

Re: How I Learned To Love The Thom

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

well the video features that annoying Robin dude trying to get served iirc, and it's all downhill from there

i really hated the Robin cartoons.

No Mercy YSI

[dorsalstop.livejournal.com]

"Where do you go" is not *that* bad! YSI:
http://s58.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1EHU7OV6I8CZM2H7YHDOTPUAB1
(ridiculously low bitrate for no apparent reason)

Also, the Sarstedt song is a great pick for worse song ever (if you don't know any Dutch 'carnaval' [sic] music, that is).

Re: No Mercy YSI

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Sarstedt is pure class, man.

(I have just had a vision of a world where Peter Sarstedt rather than, say, Steve Marriott was the sine qua non of britrock cool. It's a bad world. I think I may need some more sleep.)

Fun hatin' Fun Lovin' Criminals

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I own the CD that Scooby Snacks is on, but never play it. One of the very few purchases I've made over the years that I really really regret. Dud to the nth degree.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I ticked Paranoid Android because I was immensely pleased with myself once I had learned to play it all on the guitar.

I am now immensely pleased that Boyzone has 0 votes.

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

Sorry Kat :(

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

Anyone who doeesn't tick Lovefool hates pop. Or least wasn't fourteen when it and Love is the Law were triumphantly and radiantly the Best Songs Ever. Zero out of two is nearly fifty percent right?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

two random end-of-day addenda:

1) I am surprised that 'Who Do You Think You Are' is holding up so well! I think it's great but it's definitely the kind of song which I can imagine people really hating, if they don't love it. I didn't love it at the time and dissed it for being "aerobics music", I still think that but it actually means it's superb.

2) Eternal, En Vogue, Shola Ama aren't getting enough love to please me. I love all of those songs v deeply. Shola Ama is kind of inspirational! I think she was discovered singing on the Tube, she was really young, like 18 or so; after this song got big she ruined her career by taking several tonnes of coke. But now she is back, and doing (fantastic) grime songs ('Contagious' which she did with Terrah Danjah is especially incredible). I saw her live a few months ago, her voice is really amazing.

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

I can't remember the En Vogue but the other two are incredible, the second and third best things here (and lovefool is one of my favourite songs ever) - send me some shola ama! Old or new, it doesn't matter.

I really hate 'Who Do You Think You Are', predictably, I think I dislike it even more than Wannabe :(

[plumsbitch.livejournal.com]

Can I go home now, it's too dark out here for me.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

does anyone have the Diddy track? i keep getting Tony De Vit's 'Hooked' or Mrs Woods' 'Joanna' when I try and think of it and need clarification!

[the-roofdog.livejournal.com]

"It took Paul McCartney ten minutes to write 'Young Boy'. He must've spent five minutes looking for a pen."