POPFITES: The Saga Continues

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

More than halfway through the first round of Popfites, and with BOWIE and DAPHNE added to the ranks of winners, are we any closer to finding out what makes a great pop star? Perhaps the entrance of two of the BIG GUNS will help us, ranged against a bopping elf and a pop prankster - are there shocks in the offing?


[Poll #774747]

Comments

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

This doesn't seem much of a contest. So, what does make a pop star? Presumably it is not tight-fitting leather pants.

[ruudboy.livejournal.com]

First fite: a walkover, second fite: exciting neck and neck battle innit.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Other way round for me.

First fite = titanic clash between two of the biggest pop stars ever (I guess you had to be there to get why Bolan is one of them).

Second fite = very one sided (in favour of Kylie).

[ruudboy.livejournal.com]

I was talking in terms of the votes cast when I posted (5-1 and 3-3). Kylie's pulling ahead now.

If Bolan had lived and built the body of work that Madonna has, I expect I'd have voted for him.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The first one isn't really.

I don't think Kylie is that great a pop star though.

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

I don't really know Bill Drummond (is he in the KLF or someone like that?) so I couldn't really comment deeply about him, but what is it in particular? Is it the image, or is it the music that makes a pop star? I'm wary of just voting for the shiniest and most overtly 'popular' (voting for image over substance, I suppose; voting for the Poptimist badge/poster star). At the end of all this polling, the most popular will win (in democratic terms), but does that necessarily make them the greatest pop star? There may be qualities which are missed in a democratic poll, and I'd hate to be the one getting in between the best 'man' not winning.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Drummond is an 'ideas man'. he is had some of the best ideas ever and applied a lot of them within the domain of pop.

it's hard to pin down why Kylie is good/bad. obv. she has good writers and producers behind her but so could anyone.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Yeah she's an oddly slippery pop star - she's hugely LIKEABLE but is that a good reason?

Drummond is surely too awkward to be the 'greatest pop star' but I'd vote for him in this match (and did).

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Kylie reaches a massive audience though - even the metaller kids like Kylie. Plus, Lily Allen doesn't like the idea of Kylie at Glasto! POPCATFITE!

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I think she's the new Cliff!

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

If it had occurred to me, I would seriously have nominated Cliff, just to see what would happen.

You could of course do CLIFF CANON! On a day when you've got, like, no work at all to do.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Dude *I* will do the Cliff canon, I'm so blimmin' bored...

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Cliff Canon is an excellent idea.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Do we count The Shadows as well?

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

The Shads are good enough for their OWN poll innit

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Gordon Bennet, there's 50 singles before 1968 alone! I think it might have to be solo stuff only...

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Actually I'll take them off wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_richard_discography)...

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Argh, hoist by my own petard! I was going to do another big Best Album Ever poll but it can wait until next week.

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Drummond has made better records than Kylie (just!) but he's not a great pop star, in the way Timbaland isn't a great pop star (although I suppose Timbaland never left machine-gunned the Brits or left a dead sheep on stage or whatever).

Kylie's appeal is she's the ultimate chameleon popstar, almost anything can be projected on her (see glitch-Kylie from the last album and getting a song like Slow to number one). Where she wins here and lesser popstars (eg Rachel Stevens) is she's unthreateningly charmismatic enough to be held in widespread public affection regardless of the quality of what she actually does. She's not the Princess of Pop - she's the Queen Mum of Pop!

I suppose there's that thing with her bottom as well.

Madonna is still making great records but is now A RUBBISH POP STAR. Still, heyday Madonna is still better than heyday Bolan (just!) Bolan vs Adam Ant, now that would've been interesting.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Bolan vs Adam Ant is the male Madonna vs Kylie!

Queen Mum of Pop - this is what I mean by new Cliff!

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

But Adam Ant is rubbish though!

I would like to venture that no one who isn't played at gay discos can be the best pop star ever.

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

have you become the lex's PA!?

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

I suppose that's true, but she has an image and in the world of popularity, that counts for something, surely. But I suppose the only thing that matters insofar as who is the greatest pop star, is the end result of the poll?

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

marc wd have been way more of a contender if he had not died in 1977 :(

HE INVENTED HOT GOBLINISM PPL!! also when he snag "ride a white swan" on 'lift-off with ayesha" (=best pop programme EVAH) he was ACTUALLY RIDING ON A GIANT PAPIER MACHE SWAN

he is kind of the ur-poptimist, as he (very successfully) dumped hippyoid folkism for the tennybopper market

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

I thought Being Dead = SCIENTIFIC PROOF OF GREAT POP STAR though?

[http://users.livejournal.com/xyzzzz__/]

Dead => Rock more than pop star

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

it does, but here it sadly clashes w.lack of overlap w.actual real lives of voters

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

There was a great Chris Roberts(?) piece somewhere in MM (or poss. in that MM "Unknown Pleasures" paperback) which may not have been about Bolan as such but mentioned Metal Guru getting to #1 and the impact Bolan / that event had on him and indeed an entire generation.

I only 'got' this by proxy so to speak (via my older sister), but I knew exactlky what he meant.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

My two nominations pitted against one another, dammit! Marc Bolan wins, for me, through being one of my favourite singers ever, one of my favourite lyricists ever, one of my favourite guitarists ever, one of my favourite songwriters ever. They made a string of great singles that I still love totally, and were incredibly HUGE. Marc also had a formative influence on my sexuality, and still strikes me as one of the sexiest men ever. Also, I saw T. Rex play live! I am that old!

I am very sorry he was drawn against Madonna in the first round, as he has no real chance of progressing.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

is it true that, unbeknonwst to he, througout 1973 Marc Bolan's hair actually played host to a CHAFFINCH?

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I nommed Bolan too, Martin! (Kylie was my second pick)

Agree about the unlucky draw - there should've been seedings dammit.