The History Of Pop Part 57 aka I could teach you, but I'd have to charge

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The titanic clash that was the Now 56 poll is NOT OVER YET, with Beyonce and Rachel Stevens slugging it out in a tie breaker. Meanwhile Now 57 also has its share of modern giants, as well as debut appearances by Keane, Snow Patrol, Joss Stone and the RETURN OF INDIE (ok ok it never left).

Click below the cut if you want a chance at sorting it all out.


[Poll #768484]


STICKY TICKY

Comments

Fya!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten about Fya! They were going to be the Mis-Teeq of dancehall, you know - oh dear. Three years on I still get 'Must Be Love' stuck in my head on a regular basis, especially when the sun is out - if anyone has forgotten I will upload this tomorrow, it really is a marvellously great pop song.

Re: Fya!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It is Fya ft Smujji by the way.

The line I most get stuck in the head is "I'm crazy but I don't know why - I'm not that kind of guy, must be love!"

Re: Fya!

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

which is the Fya track that samples Sly & Robbie's 'Boops (Here To Go)'? that was ace.

[umlauts.livejournal.com]

GOLDEN AGE FOR POP ALERT

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It really is! I would love to believe that there's always something worth listening to in the charts but I think the past couple of Nows reveal that, regardless of where we as individuals were 'at' at various periods and how this might have affected our relationship with chart music - it is unarguable that 2003 >>>>>>>>>> 2006.

[cis.livejournal.com]

hah there was this glorious moment where the results were like the ultimate intersection of alexmacpherson/umlauts/cis-brand poptimism.

(i'm seriously contemplating going out and buying nows 55-7 at least as they seem from here golden.)

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. I thought it was going to be good, but there are some real monsters on here: Toxic vs Thank You vs Jump vs Comfortably Numb vs Leave Right Now vs I Miss You vs Take Me Out vs She Wants To Move (which I suspect some people have probably forgotten as it seems too normal a title - the real name of the song should be written in Atlantean or something)

[miss-newham.livejournal.com]

How does 'Come with me' by Special D go? I suspect I know it, but not from that nondescript name.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

At the end of every week
Each one of us becomes a freak

very very bouncy handbag-hardcore

[cis.livejournal.com]

it goes BOSH BOSH BOSH BOSH BOSH, mostly. And there is chipmunk-voicing!

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Half of these were in the infamous Hey Ya! Focus Group that never saw the light of day due to being racist.

In the absence of that Focus Group can I just say 'Comfortably BUM more like!"

'Leave Right Now' is fantastic, isn't it? Still, this is Toxic v Milkshake all the way.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Hey Ya! is on the next one - v. v. interested to see what happens there.

[zenith.livejournal.com]

Alex Parks is doing better than expected and that makes me happy! Were we all watching that series of Fame Academy then?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

You reminded to go back and tick it - it really is quite an excellent powerballad. I never watched Fame Academy! I think this is probably the best ever Fame Academy song though.

Deadlock

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I feel bad for Rachel S. - leading till the last minute in the last Now poll and now getting pummelled in a head-to-head with Bouncy.

Britney and Kelis tho - this could go all the way!

Re: Deadlock

[umlauts.livejournal.com]

POPTIMIST VOTERS IN BEING RACIST NON SHOCKA.

i have this NOW, and you are all forgetting

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

Deepest Blue, Give it away

probly for good reasons - but i think it's a GEM.

Re: i have this NOW, and you are all forgetting

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

remember Dirty Vegas? no me neither

Busted

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Why do only their shit singles make it onto Now! albums? Are we ever going to see Crashed The Wedding?

Re: Busted

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

No, BUT Now 58 contains T-Birds.

"Dude"

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

A very important song for me - opened up lots of doors. There were plenty of as good, if not better, dancehall tunes & rhythms around at the time, true. But this one sounded best on the radio.

I need a dude who will do me in his van

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Yes this was terrific, in the same vein as Fya - led me to check out Shawnna as well, she was a guest rapper on this (though presumably not this version). She had a great single in America around this time with Ludacris called 'Shake Dat Shit'.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

YSI!!! i haf 0 recollection of this track...

[miss-newham.livejournal.com]

That's who I was thinking of!

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Another great Now... the face-off between Britney and Kelis, best singles by Will Young, Katie Melua (only vaguely listenable thing she ever recorded), Blink 182, plus classics from Franz Ferdinand, N*E*R*D, and Scissor Sisters.

But at the other end of the spectrum, some utter poo - I'm looking squarely at you Joss Stone, Jamie Cullum, Keane, S'no Petrol, Norah Jones.

Does this Now therefore herald the start of the "Singer-Songwriter Utter Crap Era"? I've always connected 'Run' and 'Somewhere Only We Know' as being responsible for James Blunt etc. Those songs took the Coldplay/Travis format and made it even more slushy and meaningless, and from there it was a short bunny-hop to 'You're Beautiful'.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

None of those bands did anything as heavy as "Run" though.

the keane song is lovely

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

poos to you all

Re: the keane song is lovely

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

it's been stripped of all it's value now. overplayed and sold for adverts.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

I guess I should sit down with this over the weekend. You're all showing so much love for this collection, but while there are are certainly some monster classics, when I compare the bulk of the songs to the 100% that Britney and Kelis have, there's a lot of mediocrity here. With the possible exception of 'Milkshake' if this Now were erased from history, I'm fairly sure I wouldn't miss it. Anyone with a good single (that I know anyway) has better things elsewhere, with the exception of the Franzes only good song.

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

Nah, I'm in complete agreement with you. Only Britters, Kelis, FF & the Scissor Sisters really matter to me out of this, and there is a huuuuuuuge chunk of MOR mediocrity in here.

[whalefish.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised at the lack of love for Timberlake there. I know it's his worst single by a long way (and dubious in other ways), but a gash Timberlake single is still better than a lot of other stuff.

[koganbot]

Any thoughts about Cathy Dennis, who co-wrote "Toxic" and the amazingly stunningly way-better-than-either-Toxic-or-Milkshake GREBT "Reveal"* by Celine Dion?

*but wasn't a single, as far as I know

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Have you ever heard Cathy Dennis' solo dance-pop stuff? She was a minor pop star here in the early 90s - "Come On And Get My Love" showed up on a Now poll I think.

32 votes and both on 100%

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

pretty impressive that. But can it hold? Has this happened yet? My addled memory can't remember if we've had a 100% yet, let alone two on one Now.

Re: 32 votes and both on 100%

[the-roofdog.livejournal.com]

Erm, no it can't. Damn.

17 votes for "Stacy's Mom"

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Oh you crazy kids.

Re: 17 votes for "Stacy's Mom"

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

i'm surprised you seem to hate it almost as much as i do!