A Year In Pop: 1

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

A what in who? This is the first of a series of polls replacing the mighty stevem78's monthly Top 40 polls.

The Top 40 polls were an grebt idea because they put the focus on NEW pop, unlike the canons, P&Js, Now polls etc. But they were by all accounts a hassle to do and response was never great, partly because there were SO MANY songs to deal with.

By doing them weekly (hear the method in the madness) we have a much smaller number of songs to pick, so there's more chance of individual songs getting discussion time, and also more chance of people who haven't heard the new goodies hearing them via YSIs or YouTube or what have you. (To save my time and sanity I will leave it up to commenters to hunt these down).

Of course I will be keeping track of the scores on these!

[Poll #904685]

What about teh AMAZING NEW CHART REVOLUTION then? My arbitrary rule is that re-releases will be included but only if they weren't in Steve's polls, which I think rules out all of this week's.

Comments

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

neat idea and should placate the demand for top40 poll to have continued in it's previous form nicely.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The Jojo song is poor.

Eric and his Prids is a decent effort but it is lacking oomph somehow - the video makes up for it tho. Save the planet, kids!

what madness is this!

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

The JoJo song is excellent! Not as good as 'Leave (Get Out)' [but then very little is] but since it's pretty much a carbon copy of it, it still satisfies.

And the Eric Prickz song is k-rub.

Re: JoJo

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

"Too Little..." has grown on me a bit (it has a nice hook, I guess), but I'm still closer to Kat's view on it. I have the album, which is also a disappointment :( The one (1) great song on it is "Like That".

[maura.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with the thumbs-down on JoJo. The way her voice is recorded/manipulated conjures the image of a bright, sweaty block of Velveeta in my head.

Thoughts and Prejudices

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Eric Prydz: dunno if I've heard this specific Floyd bootleg but I have a base liking for any and all, though none truly satisfy. Gets a tick.

U2: unlikely to be good, also makes me think of "Window In The Sky" by Acen which is almost certainly a lot better than this. No tick.

Jojo: this is excellent, from the girl who did "Leave (Get Out)", it's a similarly expressive and heart-on-sleeve bit of R'n'Pop. Hearty tick.

Eminem/50/Lloyd: Not heard it yet - I can't remember the last time I liked something Eminem was involved in though. No tick.

Amy Winehouse: Hated "Rehab", not heard this yet. Probably no tick.

Re: Thoughts and Prejudices

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard the JoJo but I have just this second received her album in the post and I am feeling generous so I ticked it.

Re: Thoughts and Prejudices

[koganbot]

First track, "This Time" (at least on the U.S. alb), is one of my favorite Storch tracks of 2006. Comes on like "Me & U" and then turns sweet.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Why have they put that absurd rap on the single version of 'You Know I'm No Good?'

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

it's not absurd! it's not Ghostface's highest point but it doesn't ruin the song or anything, it's a decent touch.

(nb - I haven’t heard whatever version will actually be the single, just the Ghostface ft Amy Winehouse version which is on his album – he basically removes her verses to do his own, but keeps the beat and the chorus. He namedrops Kelly Clarkson!)

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

On the single version, it sounds like separately or more integrated into the song, the rap would be good but it just sounds kind of pointless in the middle of Amy's singing, like some contrived afterthought they had to try and make it 'down with the kids' or something. Maybe they should have put the Ghostface version as the B-Side or something, rather than lessening the appeal of both versions by just gluing it onto Amy's.

I just looked up the mostly-Ghostface version and I agree, that is good. The single mix is not.

youtubery

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

U2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VskbxuehP3I)
Eric Prydz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWdbBhQ7U8A)
JoJo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FY8hl6b54A)
Eminem et al (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLcWEAPzGKc)
Amy Winehouse (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFVM5pVTwkM)

(You're welcome.)

...but I have no sound at work, so no go on all five for me.

Re: youtubery

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

I was wondering whether 'now heard any' would win, given the poptimist demographic, but then again, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that radio 2-friendly Amy W is in the lead.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Actually we're both at the high-end of the poptimist demographic, age-wise. That said I've no idea what R2's target market is.

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

I think I maybe meant something more like mind-set, in a snarky 'Call Yourselves Poptimists!' kind of way.

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard any but this new weekly format meant it was feasible to look at all of them on youtube, which was impossible before when there was a whole month's worth to do at once.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The start of the year is fairly slow, so it may be that things do get a bit mental, but on the other hand I think the new chart rules will clog stuff up more than liberating it.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Is Amy Winehouse on Radio 2 these days? No wonder my dad's switched to Capital Gold. :o

Radio 2 playlist (for reference, not recommending this!)

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

A LIST:
*NEW* DUKE SPECIAL - Freewheel; MADELEINE PEYROUX - A Little Bit; AMY WINEHOUSE - You Know I'm No Good; NERINA PALLOT - Learning To Breathe; KEANE - A Bad Dream; NORAH JONES - Thinking About You; MIKA - Grace Kelly; U2 - Window In The Skies; GUILLEMOTS - Annie Let's Not Wait

B LIST
*NEW* SIMON WEBBE - My Soul Pleads For You; *NEW* ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Latitude 88 North; *NEW* JAMIE PEARCE - More Than Enough; THE VIEW - Same Jeans; DJ SHADOW - This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way); ANNA KRANTZ - Sweeter Devotion; LIOR - This Old Love; JOSH GROBAN - February Song; LOUISE SETARA - Wrong Again

C LIST
*NEW* JESSICA SIMPSON - A Public Affair; *NEW* KARINE POLWART - Daisy; *NEW* VINCE GILL - Album: These Days; LILY ALLEN - Littlest Things; RAZORLIGHT - Album: Razorlight; KOOP - Come To Me; JAMES MORRISON - Album: Undiscovered; JARVIS - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time

:O

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Amy W is the only good thing on that list!!!!!!

(NB: havbe not heard the new Simpson Sr.)
(NB: I love that Jarvis song on the Nancy Sinatra album of 2004, which he originally wrote it for. I can't imagine him doing it any better than her, and tbh if he's recycling songs he wrote for other people three years ago this is hardly a good sign wrt his own creative fertility these days.)

Re: :O

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

And DLHWYT is the best song on the album!

Re: :O

[avv.livejournal.com]

new Simpson = 80s Madonna

Re: :O

[koganbot]

Simpson Sr one of her best ever, sort of an (appropriately) summer-resort disco-smooth variant of Madonna's "Holiday."

Re: Radio 2 playlist (for reference, not recommending this!)

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

So regular radio 2 listeners would have heard 2 of these. I bet the Norah Jones single is better than the Amy Winehouse one (and I'm not a Winehouse hata). On the other hand -- Razorlight! Keane! James Morrison! ARRGGHH. Also: so that's what's happened to Jessica Simpson.