poptimists | (no subject)

In my evergoing pursuit of something or other I decided to compile a list of all the singles to have entered the charts and peaked between positions 41 and 75 this year so far. I managed to track down most of them on iTunes so I could listen to an extract of each one. Observations / conclusions:

1) Most of the songs are crap.
2) If you think there's a lot of British nu-indie/rock in the top 40 there is just as much if not more bubbling under - it really does seem to be the dominant chart species now more than ever.
3) There is no real difference in quality between the stuff that makes top 20 and the stuff that languishes between 41 and 75 (this goes for ALL genres really).
4) That said, there really isn't a big sense of 'this SHOULD'VE done better' pervading the following lengthy list bar a handful of exceptions which I have marked with an asterisk (based on my personal tastes/preferences natch).

But daer poptimists I am interested in YOUR views too, so have a look down the list and mention in comments any songs YOU particularly like/think deserve more attention for some reason. I am thinking of including a bunch of these songs in a poll to go with the monthly top 40 poll (August poll next week, probably Monday).

Afi - Miss Murder
Alex Parks - Honesty
All-American Rejects - Move Along
Andy Abraham - Hang Up
Angels & Airwaves - It Hurts
A-Studio ft. Polina - S.O.S.
Avenged Sevenfold - Beast And The Harlot
Be Your Own Pet - Let's Get Sandy   *
Beautiful South - Manchester
Beenie Man ft. Akon - Girls   *
Bell X1 - Flame
Belle & Sebastian - White Collar Boy
Big Brovaz - Hangin' Around
Boy Kill Boy - Civil Sin
Boy Least Likely To - Be Gentle With Me
Breaks Co-Op - The Otherside
Cerys Matthews - Open Roads
Charlatans - NYC (There's No Need To Stop)
Chocolate Puma - Always And Forever   *
Choong Family - Memory Lane
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - In This Home On Ice
Coheed & Cambria - The Suffering
Coldcut ft. Roots Manuva - True Skool   *
Concretes - Chosen One
Crimea - White Russian Galaxy
Dave Gilmour - On An Island
Dave Gilmour - Smile
David Gray - Alibi
Death Cab For Cutie - Crooked Teeth
Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Follow You Into The Dark
Dem Franchise Boyz - I Think They Like Me
Divine Comedy - To Die A Virgin
Dixie Chicks - Not Ready To Make Nice
Duels - Animal
Egg - Walking Away
Fallout Trust - Washout   *
Ferry Corsten - Watch Out
Field Mobb ft. Ciara - So What
Fightstar - Hazy Eyes
Filterfunk - SOS (Message In A Bottle)
Flaming Lips - The Wand
Foo Fighters - No Way Back
Francesca Berlin - Colours Faded
Fun*dmental '03 - Jump/Playground   *
Futureheads - Worry About It Later
Gary Numan - In A Dark Place
Gemma Hayes - Undercover
Ghostface Killah ft. Ne-Yo - Back Like That
Gomez - GirlShapedLoveDrug
Haji & Emanuel - Take Me Away
Harrisons - Blue Note
Hayley Sanderson - Something In The Air
Hundred Reasons - Kill Your Own
iForward Russia! - Eighteen
Imogen Heap - Goodnight And Go   *
Infadels - Can't Get Enough
Jack Johnson - Sitting Waiting Wishing
Jack Johnson - Upside Down
Jamie Foxx Ft Kanye West - Extravaganza
Jamiroquai - Space Cowboy '06
Jim Noir - Eanie Meany
Jim Noir - My Patch
Joey Negro - Make A Move On Me
John Parr Vs Tommyknockers - New Horizon
Juelz Santana - There It Go (The Whistle Song)   *
Katie Melua - Spider's Web
Keisha White - Don't Mistake Me
Keyshia Cole - I Should Have Cheated
Killing Joke - Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell
KT Tunstall - Another Place To Fall
Lacuna Coil - Enjoy The Silence
Ladyfuzz - Bouncy Ball   *
Larrikin Love - Edwould   *
Less Than Jake - Overrated (Everything Is)
Liberty X - X   *
Like - June Gloom
Lil Kim - Whoa
Love Bites - He's Fit
Marcos Hernandez - If You Were Mine
Mario Rosenstock - Jose And His Amazing Technicolour Overcoat
Mark Morrison ft. DMX - Innocent Man
Mark Ronson ft. Alex Greenwald - Just
Martin Solveig - Jealousy
Mary J Blige ft. Brook-lyn - Enough Cryin'
Metric - Monster Hospital   * (esp. the MSTRKRFT mix)
Mew - Why Are You Looking Grave?
Micky Modelle vs Jessy - Dancing In The Dark
Mobb Deep - Put 'Em In Their Place
Moby - Slipping Away
Morning Runner - The Great Escape
Mync Project ft. Abigail Bailey - Something On Your Mind
Mystery Jets - You Can't Fool Me Dennis
Natasha Thomas - Skin Deep
New Order - Blue Monday (2006 re-press of 12")   *
Notorious BIG - Spit Your Game
OK Go - A Million Ways
Peaches - Downtown
Placebo - Infra-red
Plan B - Mama
Porno - Music Power
Prince - Black Sweat   *
Prince - Fury   *
Rammstein - Mann Gegen Mann   * (the Vince Clarke mix is alright)
Red Carpet - Alright
Regina Spektor - On The Radio   *
Research - Lonely Hearts Still Beat The Same   *
Research - The Hard Times
Ricky - We Are England
Russell Watson - Can't Help Falling In Love
Santana ft. Sean Paul & Joss Stone - Cry Baby Cry
Secret Machines - Lightning Blue Eyes
Seth Lakeman - Lady Of The Sea (Hear Her Calling)
Shy FX & T Power ft. Top Cat - Everyday
Signal 1 and Signal 2 - Standing Together
Similou - All This Love
Sleepy Jackson - God Lead Your Soul
Sout Out Louds - Please Please Please
Spinto Band - Did I Tell You
Spinto Band - Oh Mandy
Starsailor - Keep Us Together
Stunt - Raindrops
Sunshine Underground - Commercial Breakdown
Sunshine Underground - I Ain't Losing Sleep
Tatu - Friend Or Foe *
Tiga - Far From Home   *
Trina - Here We Go   *
View - Wasted Little DJs
Vines - Anysound
WigWam - Wigwam   *
Wolfmother - Dimension
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Turn Into
Yellowcard - Lights And Sounds
Ying-Yang Twinz ft. Pitbull - Shake   *
   as of 19/08/06

It really makes you wonder just how poorly singles by The Knife or the stuff you see on Channel U or all that European Young Person's Dance music must be selling.