JUDGE POP vs THE PIPETTES

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

In the first of a rub new POPTIMISTS SERIES, Mega-City Pop's toughest JUDGE needs YOUR help to decide what sentence to pass on today's hot new "talents". First up are 'girl group' The Pipettes, who seem to divide Poptimists opinion, requiring arbitration from the unbending arm of THE LAW.

[Poll #759407]

So erm basically the poll is 'do you think the Pipettes are a good thing or a bad thing' and the comments box is where you suggest WHY.

Comments

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

against everything i hold dere, this bloody song, or just a 3-second loop of it, is TOTALLY stuck in my head

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Which one? Might I surmise 'Pull Shapes'?

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

It would be inappropriate and boorish to drone on about the hottness of the brunette, so I won't do that.

Seeing as Joe Dredd is the biggest rockist of all time, meaning Judge Pop must be JUDDA (or KRAKEN), the answer must be city freedom. Even tho Pipettes are pop, indie, crap and good all at the same time.

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

Well, I'll tell you what, dear THE JUDGE, but this is hard for me. The photo you have posted there is of the early Pipettes, before they dumped Julia (on the left) and got some floozy in to replace her. I really liked them back then. Now, I find it hard to judge. They seem to be far more set on being faux-retro and it's a little bit irksome. On the other hand, they have some pleasing songs.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

i was gonna say the one on the left doesn't look the one i've seen in vids, photos and such. this explains that then.

[zenith.livejournal.com]

This makes it sound as if the line-up change was less cynical... (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/06/24/bmpipettes24.xml&sSheet=/arts/2006/06/24/ixtop.html)

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Basically, 'they cannot sing' is the reason why.

Shimura Curves >>>>>>>>>>>>> Pipettes

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Based on what I've heard, I don't think Pipettes are worse singers than Shimura Curves (plus prefer former's production in practice if not necess. conceptually). But is this really a good comparison? How similar are the two bands really?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Reasons to not like them:

- blah blah the pure pop sound of girl groups etc.
- they are mistaken for a better band which QUITE BY COINCIDENCE is full of people I know and like.


Reasons to like them:

- what they're ACTUALLY reviving is the 1984 sound of later Stiff Records and BELLE AND THE DEVOTIONS etc., this is an odd and pleasant choice for a 'sound' I think, even if it was kind of a revival itself. It just goes to show that 'retro' is almost always interesting despite itself. (I'm not sure I believe this)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Mari Wilson. Tracey Ullman. ("Pull Shapes" is nowhere near as good as "They Don't Know" but it's a lot better than "Just What I Always Wanted")

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

reposted from ilx:

the problem with the pipettes is that the concept is brilliant and the execution is abysmal. they don't have any pop performative sensibilities at all, they don't have any understanding of how to convey all the things they want to. and they can't sing.

obviously this is not either/or but compare the way the pipettes sing their lyrics to how girls aloud, sugababes, christina milian, christina aguilera, will young and rihanna sing theirs - all of the names i mentioned have pretty instinctive commercial pop nous, they're extremely adept at conveying emotions and emotions-beneath-the-emotions and emotions-at-odds-with-actual-words and subtleties and nuances, and their producers and arrangers are also extremely adept at this. the pipettes are sterile in comparison - i don't feel compelled by their songs at all.

[boyofbadgers.livejournal.com]

Yep, that about sums it up why the don't work musically. And that's before we get on to the whole business of the drooling indie boy fans, the 'ooh, aren't they a glamourous antidote to other indie' attitude and the whole pure pop concept which is an idea which should have fvcked off and died in 1988.

WHICH IS THE PUNISHMENT?

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

surely isocubes >>>>> freedom of megacity one!

Re: WHICH IS THE PUNISHMENT?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

What did Judge Dredd say at the David Bowie gig?

"Five Years", creep!

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

The honest truth is that I thought they were rubbish when just listening to songs (and after viewing an early video - "Dirty Mind" I expect). As noted above, a good girl vocal group needs to have actual singers. Substitution of new Welsh blonde means there is now one actual singer and two shouty ones.

However, after watching "Pull Shapes" video, I am a convert. They are FUN and fun is GOOD. Production values have improved, although there are some suspicious choices. Now, is it fair for me to change my mind based on having seen the video?

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

i'm not sure i liked the video - so cheesy! could've been a lot better, song is...OK.

interesting tho that 'your kisses are waste on me' video was shot at a gig (or they did a gig for purposes of making a video) given the apparently bad rep live!

[whalefish.livejournal.com]

It kind of depends. I used to HATE them, still hate them as a band really, and there are so many things about them that I just find horrible. But the problem is that I heard a copy of their album the other day and I really enjoyed it, there are some lovely tunes on it.

In a week I'll be sick of Pull Shapes, though, I know that. I love it today, I will love it tonight when I'm drunk, but in a week I'll think it's cack.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

how could you hate the band before hearing them if you're in favour of the concept generally tho? or do you mean you heard stuff by them before the album and didn't like that?

POP FUN IN UNLIKELY PLACES

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

MUSE

Re: POP FUN IN UNLIKELY PLACES

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I have not heard the new Muse but am 100% convinced this is 'Dakota' all over again.

[fathands.livejournal.com]

I feel like they're these quite dull girls who've somehow been invited to a 50's theme party and have decided to dress up for it, and think it's quite cool, and they look great, but it's just a bit of fun, and they wouldn't normally dream of wearing any of this stuff, or listening to that sort of music, not really. They seem fake to me, and simply not very good. I could possibly forgive the falseness if they sang nice songs, but they don't.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Therefore you like the Long Blondes, who live their (her) image, apparenlty?

I actually think they are quite clever girls, who have decided to throw a 50s theme party, regardless of who comes. And they keep throwing it over and over, and more people keep coming. This cleverness is why they are ultimately indie.

Incidentally

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Judge Dredd looks pretty disco in that picture.

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

I tried to like Dirty Mind and nearly did, but Pull Shapes doesn't do much for me. I might try and hear the album. I think Tom is absolutely right about the true revival here being early 80s Stiff stuff i.e. 2nd degree. Those saying this is retro as pastiche are probably right -- this is fossilised in aspic trainspotterism combined with sad indie ghetto fanboy wankery. The original girl group sounds they are aping were supposed to sound big and powerful musically, with, admittedly stylised at times, a genuine attempt at emo-pop. The retro version i.e. purposely limiting your sound when you could pull out all the stops, just makes no sense, and swamps the attempt to emote in the effort of posing. Of course if they wrote a genuinely awesome (or touching) song, I'd forgive them all of this.

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

Also a hefty dose of Helen Love in here. I bet TG loves them.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I would like it if some of the pro-Pipettes tickers would say things too.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

I said things!

I should also note that 'Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me' should be listened to as well. That's my proof for the 'one of them can sing, two are shouty' bit.

[dansette.livejournal.com]

I want to hate them but I can't! I can't stop listening to them even though I know they are just playing into the hands of sad old men and people who can't bring themselves to like the Sugababes etc etc. The album is so glossy and nice.

Glyn, what's the Welsh for 'trance'?

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Newest Pipette used to do young person's dancing music in Welsh!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmbOBviWMn8&search=pipettes

[miss-newham.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you asked, I was going to enquire why the Poptimists hated them so! They are good fun live, but I get annoyed with them listening to their songs at home.

[zenith.livejournal.com]

In the new Plan B they are described as "wholesome" and it is meant as a compliment. I think this speaks to the fundamentals of why I can't enjoy them really - I liked 'YKAWOM' at first, but after repeated listens it just started to sound shrill and tinny.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

God, people on Poptimists are such music snobs. Let's face it, most of the Poptimist members grew up listening to nindie/nalternative music and many still do. As fans of such music, it was the done thing to "diss" pop music. For many of us, the onset of age in recent times has led us to reevaluate pop music and thus determine that actually pop music can be A GOOD THING, and ergo, nindie music must be no longer a good thing. And suddenly we all profess our undying love for Girls Aloud and our massive distrust of anything pertaining to be alternative. I know I'm as guilty of this as the next person. And then The Pipettes come along. And to my mind they have the persona of an indie group, but they release pop songs. And it's the image that people seem to be having a problem with.

Actually, I take that back, people seem to have a problem with the music as well. But why? I don't understand. I have 3 Pipettes songs downloaded (We Are The Pipettes, Pull Shapes and Your Kisses...) and I've had those three songs going round in my head for the last fortnight non-stop. They are as catchy as anything I've heard this year, and Poptimists should get off their high horses and appreciate this fact.

Also, did you see I managed to use the word 'ergo' in this comment? There, I just did it again. Twice in one comment. ACE!

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Pipettes = Kenickie with noisy guitars removed and 50s affectations added. I am downloading the album at the moment and actually quite like it.

From A Teapot

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

I've not heard them. I think I saw them in Vogue or somesuch magazine.

Oh, just found their myspace page ---- hmmm, it's okay when they sing properly, but the chanty ldn accent bits are the kind of thing that annoy me.

[ultraruby.livejournal.com]

They're like a more Motowny Sleeper but with three Louises.

This doesn't mean I don't like, them, though.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I'd already buggered off down the pub on Friday when this was posted.