Top 40 Singles Of 2006 Pol #9: September

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

The first Tuesday of the month = latest Top 40 singles poll. But as we enter the Autumn of diss content, can anything topple Gnarls from the top of the leaderboard?

[Poll #835808]

Comments

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

This is the first month since we stopped having the radio at work and I am COMPLETELY adrift! Help! What might I like?

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Cherish, PCDs maybe, Lil Chris i would've thought!

v slim pickings this month

this poll is a nice idea but combination of not enough people knowing or caring about current charts + general rubness of current charts means prospects do not look good for carrying it on next year.

[koganbot]

I took the time to listen to [almost] everything I'd not heard (there was only one I couldn't find on Launch Yahoo or YouTube); this took about two hours. I can do this 'cause I work at home. Also, I'm great at rationalizing such fucking off as "exploring music I could potentially get paid to write about."

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

truly you suffer for the cause! i'm thinking October will be better but have nothing to base this on yet.

Hounds of Heck

[koganbot]

Actually, the Lil Chris track is fairly likable, though it's overshadowed in the kiddie rock category by Grak's tremendous version of "Seven Nation Army," which I predict will convince Tom that the White Stripes have at least a little value.

Re: Hounds of Heck

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

U&K features of that great Grak video:
1. The guitarist is the human embodiment of the poptimists Community icon.
2. The video was shot at Taylor Parkes Fun Fair!!

[koganbot]

Tom, I ticked ten but only feel enthusiastic about three, two of which you ticked yourself (LDN and LDN BRIDGE). The third, "Breaking Free," totally melts my heart, probably the one real keeper from HSM (though I quite enjoy the two Ashley Tisdale-Lucas Gabreel tracks, and Tisdale is hilarious in the movie as the wicked white bitch of the West). The r&b on here feels generally cold and disappointing; I ticked "Do It To It" because it's audacious, sorta Ciara's "Oh"-style soft beauty, w/ Jeezy slow "ayes" inserted by The Other Sean Paul, but (unlike "Oh"), it feels really disengaged. Very pretty, though, esp. the bass beat.

Interesting fact about "Breaking Free": notice how Zac Efron's voice takes on a different character when he heads towards the higher register. That's 'cause Andrew Seeley is singing the high parts. So this duet's by a trio.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

yeah 'Do It To It' really reminds me of 'Oh' but i think i prefer it - lighter and catchier (pops up in my head a lot more)

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I love that Zac Efron is totally channelling that post-Donny Osmond/David Cassidy cadre of 70s teen idols in HSM.

I ticked "Breaking Free" but I think I prefer the basketball number, "Get'cha Head In The Game" (the cast version, not the B5 version on the soundtrack CD).

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I had the impression that a lot more good stuff was released this month!

There are some really awful bands there, half the list should be wiped off the face of the earth.

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. I think your half of the list might be different to mine.

The James Dean Bradfield is truly terrible. And Nelly/Janet is pretty stinky. And the new Evanescence is pretty appalling, especially the campy/gothy-as-fuck video.

And then there's Jet (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/38853)

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

O'Donnell is a MASSIVE hit with the Grans. Lives in a ranch in Galway or something. Horribleh.

What the fuck is Crunk?

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Crunk is meant to be crazy/drunk, yes? I personally think it sounds more woozy/dazed and while I seem to like quite a few songs which are classed as 'crunk' I still don't understand what it is that makes them crunk, not just r'n'b. :/ Is it the copious mentions of southern cooking that make it crunk?

Re: What the fuck is Crunk?

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

how come you understand what makes those tracks 'r'n'b' tho? i.e. most inappropriate extension of a genre name ever! Crunk is actually one of the few relatively logical and fitting names for a subgenre out there.

Re: What the fuck is Crunk?

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I was generally taking r'n'b to be things Trevor Nelson might play. I do have an untrained ear in that sort of thing, to be honest although did used to listen to his show so yes... that's what I imagine r'n'b is.

Re: What the fuck is Crunk?

[koganbot]

No. Crunk's sound is much darker and more menacing, minor key sounds from the suspense-film soundtrack, and the beats are more electro than northern hip-hop; half the tracks are full of rah-rah party-sex lyrics and gang shouts, which, given the darkness of the sound, is disconcerting and amazing. Like grime but way more accessible and generally better. I'm not sure why the crunk question was asked in relation to this poll, since almost nothing on here is crunk. "Do It Do It" is borderline (it's got the YoungBloodZ' Sean Paul, but the track is more a Ciara-style r&b achey angsty track than a YoungBloodz track would be).

Here's a typical crunk track.

Here's a typical r&b track that's not crunk (it's produced by Swizz Beatz, a New Yorker who nonetheless uses a lot of Southern-style electro beats, but he's not after a crunk sound on this track).

Here's a Ludacris classic that I would consider crunk for the background motif, which could have been written by an Eastern European romantic composer of the early 20th century.

Re: What the fuck is Crunk?

[koganbot]

That's a xpost, response to Moggy.

Re: What the fuck is Crunk?

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Ah, I thought crunk was probably the more electronic stuff but it confuses me by being languid where I think of drunk and crazy as more high-speed and a bit thrashy/stumbly in a Missy-during-Timbaland-era way. I generally find it a bit 'meh' whereas I really like the bits of grime I've heard (Roll Deep, Dizzee Rascal, etc. ...am not sure where the 'grime or not' thing stands on them but I think the consensus is that they are) but I think I've been rather put off crunk by the Ciara stuff post-'Goodies' which seemed like it was actually quite an interesting new sound whereas '1,2 Step' was just 'whatever,' so will explore further when have own internet to pirate with. Have certainly always like Ludacris so seems like would probably be my sort of thing.

Am glad that Beyonce track is not crunk, 'tis a dire song IMO and would easily put me off a genre.

Thank you for clarifying this, incidentally, it has been bothering me for ages!

Re: What the fuck is Crunk?

[koganbot]

Well, I would call Ciara R&B, not crunk. Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins, David Banner, and the YoungBloodZ are the names that jump immediately to mind when I think of crunk. Usher's "Yeah" and Lil Jon's "Get Low" are probably the genre's biggest hits.

In order of amazingness

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

1. London Bridge (truly amazing, excellent video has a BOUNCY CAR as well)
2. Lily Allen (of course, but the old video was better)
3. Kelis (BLUE DOG)
4. Lil Chris (bless)
5. Nelly F (grown on me an awful lot & I like this much better than Maneater now despite lack of DOG in video)
6. Scissor Sisters (again, a grower)

Also the Pussycat Dolls continue to grow in my estimation. And now I finally know what the Lead Pussycat's name is! NICOLE! She's everywhere is our Nicole, setting things on fire like the little arsonist she is...

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

OK Go video is wonderful. A shame that the song is just average.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Seconded

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I really like both song and video, unfortunately, they play it every half a fucking hour in Varsity and so I'm beginning to want to vomit every time I hear it. This is more due to the terrible vaseline-chilli that is the only vegan food in Varsity than the song, though, I think.

Piracy!

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

You can get UK Top 40 torrents every week - NO MORE IGNORANCE.

So far I have discovered that I like "Torn" by Letoya and the Nelly and Janet song. And that the Kooks are shite. Hurrah!