A Year In Pop: 8

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The Kaiser Chiefs at #1, and a flutter of Fratelli action in the lower reaches of the chart - but we're all about the NEW! ENTRIES! here.

[Poll #937040]

OK, who is Mumm-Ra?

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Mumm-ra is an band wot my band played a gig with about 3 years ago. Unless it is a different Mumm-ra. Which is entirely possible.

Clip of Junior Jack here (http://mp3.juno.co.uk/MP3/SF256123-01-01-01.mp3). It's not bad.

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

DUDE. Mumm-Ra is the ever-living. Obv.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

They were briefly featured in Popworld on Saturday (Alexa was feeding them pie or something).

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

OH man I have not watched Popworld since Simon and Miquita left. This is clearly why I know 0 of the songs above (well, I've heard the magic numbers one and it was bobbins but HEIN to the rest)

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

i saw that, but forgot the name of the parade of scrawn i saw.

[koganbot]

Mumm-Ra is a band that Steve would like to shoot or otherwise take of its misery.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I assume this Killers song is more structureless Brooceian glop, if "When You Were Young" was the best lead single they could come up with?

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

they covered 'Romeo And Juliet' on that Abbey Road TV show the other week. pretty pointless tho - the only good thing about The Killers is the occasional blast of synthey bombast

[koganbot]

On the previous alb's set of singles there'd be nice U2ish moments where the vocal and the keyb-guitarish swells would be rather swell; this track, though, guitar and keybs are taking up space that should have been left empty for the singing to stand on its own, which I think it could, perhaps. But "glop" seems the correct description for the orchestration.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I heard a bosh version of their last single (sung by Belle Lawrence who is usually good) - it really pointed up how dreadfully structured it is, the decision to drop the momentum for that meandering middle eight: even with a 4/4 dance beat it kills the song's energy dead.

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Are there bosh version of the two good Killers singles lying around? There MUST be a bosh Mr Brightside somewhere surely?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Dunno about Mr B but there's a bosh Somebody Told Me - not all that good tho. I will check the archives.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

There's a JLC/Thin White Duke remix of Mr. B - I quite liked it.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Ignore that comment, I can't read. When You Were Young has a catchy hook but is ultimately annoying. SHAVE THE TACHE OFF BRANDON.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Can anyone tell me why I should ilke Fergie? For no good reason, I gave her the benefit of the doubt here, even though I have had the pleasure of seeing the "Glamorous" video. (Was it here, even?)

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Because she's currently the best pop star in the world at being completely mental without seeming as if she's trying too hard. If Gwen Stefani had made the Fergie album - and let's face it it's exactly the album which she should have made - people would be going nuts over it. If you don't like Gwen you won't like Fergie but if you don't like Gwen I am afraid that neither I nor anyone else can help, only sympathise.

Everything else this week is really bad.

[koganbot]

Well, what I like about "Glamorous" is Fergie's bedroom softness in the chorus, and I've never considered Gwen capable of bedroom softness. Fergie's dully pedantic on the verses, but the softness is invitingly there every time the verse lectures end, so an easy tick.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I think it's a poor choice for 3rd single. 'Here I Come' would have been great but NOES we have to have a down-tempo track after 2 bangers.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It's my favourite song on the album!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Gwen comes close on 'The Real Thing' I think, though that's a more longing kind of vulnerability, and she'll never be able to do what Fergie does on 'Glamorous' because she can't really sing. But the shock softness beneath the krazy exterior is effective in much the same way.

Gwen in the bedroom

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

see No Doubt - "Underneath It All"

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

I can't decide if I like Gwen but she keeps disappointing me, or I don't like Gwen and she keeps surprising me. In either case, I'm not sure that recommends Fergie to me, but I'll give her a listen anyway.

This is one of those "How did this happen when I wasn't looking?" things, because the last I remember the world was wishing a quick death on... crikey I can't even remember their name now... Black-Eyed Peas.

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

i think i heard the killers track and thought it sounded like U2

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

I only ticked Mumm-Ra because of the name. And the title.

That Junior Jack record has been around for three or four years at least - I'm assuming they've whacked some duff vocal over the top of it though.

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

I'm also assuming it has a pervy video involving girls in their undies jumping around.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I like the Mumm-ra song. This is probably due to a general inclination to like anything called Mumm-ra due to the line in that Kimya Dawson song but it also sounds a bit like Delays crossed with McFly so that's fine by me.

Fergie song gets better every time I hear it and the bit that goes I'm glad my daddy told me so, he let his daughter know: IF YOU AINT GOT NO MONEY TAKE YOUR BROKE ASS HOME! makes me laugh every time. Albeit in an increasingly hysterical 'oh jesus you aint seen my debt' sort of way but still.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I just checked and the Junior Jack song is, as I suspected, completely rubbish. Suitable only for consumption after mass amounts of alcohol and even then, it'd be completely unnoticeable and indistinguishable from every single Shapeshifters-esque pile of dance-pseudo-latin-jazz-whatever-the-hell-it's-meant-to-be poo. :( :( :( Bring back trance immediately.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I ticked "DON'T LIKE ANY OF THEM" which more precisely means that I don't like the Fergie or Killers ones. And I really enjoy previous singles by both acts (love "London Bridge" and "Fergalicious" and "Mr Brightside" and "Somebody Told Me") ("When You Were Young" is any good at all). When I get home and listen to the other three perhaps my opinion will change.

America's list:
Dixie Chicks - "Not Ready to Make Nice" (re-entry)
Mims - "This Is Why I'm Hot"

Newly in the top 20:
Dixies
John Mayer - "Waiting on the World to Change"

Newly in the top 10:
Dixies
Akon - "Don't Matter"