Chart Championship Week 6 RESULTS

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Over to infov0re! Come back in a couple of hours for revelations.

"I think this lot is a pretty accurate representation of the kind of stuff I like - the electronic and hip-hop are almost all winners; the more guitar-led pop turns out to be something I'm fussier about. Anyhow, there are definitely more than 6 winners here; I think only a few tracks I could do without any future. So definitely a success. Also: nice to see people responding not only to the kind of stuff I've been sending _out_, but also my biog. I still don't feel very "poptimist", but am glad there's enough stuff here I like! Also, amused that the first three tracks are my favourites - I usually gravitate to the beginning of CDs, but those three are all solid gold, for me.

01. Nachlater - "Fett": Love it. I'm a sucker for this sort of stuff - tight, European electro. Makes me want to dance, even at my desk. And, as usual, I just really love the way it sounds - great gamut of frequencies in here. Lyrics are both German and French - the French stuff is great; I'm a sucker for French rap too; love the polytrhythmns coming out of the repetetive stuff at the end. I know it's first on the CD, but this is perhaps my favourite right now. 1st Place - WIN - lockedintheatti's cosmopolitan squad bangs them in.

02. Roisin Murphy - "Leaving The City": Really like this, too - I used to listen to an awful lot of music like this. Love the emphasis on the plucked samples, which are processed and truncated all over the shop - the accelerating bouncing-ball style riff sounds great. There's a nice flow to it, and the vocals aren't too floaty. There's a definite edge in the singer's voice, which is something I like - too many girl + electronics outfits go for the ethereal/floaty too much, and are weaker for it. Her voice is lovely at the deep end. Reminds me a little of Frou Frou, before Imogen Heap went too floaty. 2nd Place - WIN - smooth play leads to an easy win for blue_russian

03. Pack - "Vans" And this is great too! I've actually heard _of_ this without hearing it (though I've heard other things from the Hyphy scene, and this feels a bit different). Really catchy, love the unusually high sine-bass, and it's (Vans, The Pack). Like. Had heard _of_ this without actually hearing it. 3rd Place - WIN - koganbot plays a pressing game to come away with points.

04. Carina Round - "Into My Blood": Reminds me of PJ Harvey; both in terms of lyrics and the singer's great voice: enough growl but a great top-end. As a song, it's alright. I like the rhythmic thrust, but it doesn't seem to take I enjoyed it, but am not necessarily sure I need more of it in my life - it'd be interesting to see how an album develops. 8th Place - LOSE - a mis-step by skillextric throws title race wide open.

05. Dave Clarke - "No One's Driving (Chemical Brothers Remix)": I think I got this because I mentioned Big Beat. Hmn. It's making me re-examine my relationship with big beat. I mean, the peaks of big beat were great, but there was a lot of middle-of-the-road stuff churned out. This reminds me a bit of Midfield General, which makes it not at all bad, but very unremarkable. It just doesn't connect with me very much. 11th Place - LOSE - martinskidmore's side just don't perform on the night.

06. Saul Williams - "Reparations (List Of Demands)": This is good - really insistent, great lyrics, works so well; there's a definite _edge_ to the whole thing. Is it Saul Williams? The spoken word bits are very familiar (I've got _Amethyst Rock Star_, which is stunning). (That said: very reminiscent of parts of _St Elsewhere_, which is a complement to both Cee-Lo and Saul). 5th Place - WIN - hard-fought win for lisa_go_blind - her fourth in a row.

07. Rasputina - "Deep In The Sweetwater": I like the layered cello loop, but it's a bit Enya-y. As a whole, this is reminding me a bit of Lamb. I'm not sure it develops as well as it good - they get too stuck in the loop and a too-gentle crescendo. The middle eight doesn't do much for me at all, though. I really like this style of thing, but I'm not enjoying it as an example of a genre. 9th Place - LOSE - board issue vote of confidence for beleaguered piratemoggy

08. 2 Live Crew - "Pop That Coochie": Hah, this is fun. I think that's the best thing I can say about this - I'd definitely be caught dancing to this. I ilke the way it's essentially over-the-top in the lyrics, and love the contrast between the guitar-looped chorus and the rhythmic verses that just let the flow stand out. Nice drum programming too; feels slightly retro as a whole. 6th Place - DRAW - byebyepride cheered by unexpected point.

09. Squeeze - "Is This Love?": Very indiepop. It's possibly a bit too "beat combo" - uptempo, unremarkable singing, and it's not very memorable. I do like the guitar solo, though. Feels a bit older - reminds me a little of the kind of thing Mando Diao are doing these days (but they're at the "rock" end of the spectrum, with this nearer to "pop"). Not so good. 10th Place - LOSE - old stars fail to perform for jeff_worrell

10. Lo Fi Fnk - "Steppin Out": Very electropop. Not sure about the vocals - they're buried a bit too much, and feel almost too shy - but I like the contrast the backing track has with them - the off-beat synth-chords, and that bass. I also really like the arpeggiated riff, and what it brings to it. Somewhere in the middle. This makes me feel a bit like track four, except that I _would_ want to hear more of that. 7th Place - LOSE - cruel defeat for popjusticeuk

11 Apples In Stereo - "The Bird That You Can't See": Oh, this is definitely fun. A certain kind of American pop I really like. And the beginning! Love that DESH bassline that kick it off. I'm a sucker for vocal harmony, too. A total grower - ended up rating it higher than I'd have expected. 4th Place - WIN - epicharmus leaves it late to seal win.

Comments

Bouge bouge bouge bouge

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Agreed on the first place - loved it, the switch from German to French is terrific.

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

To explain: some of my comments are repetitive and incoherent because they were written in two different places and my copy paste fucked up. Nowhere more obvious than on 2/3. I am not that repetitive normally.

Also, I'm a sucker for lots of things, it seems.

The Punk Rock Shoe With The Logo On The Back

[koganbot]

Interesting set in that all but a couple of these people sound like they're taking a style they don't particularly feel at home with and deliberately getting it wrong in order to combine it with something else. This can undercut the power but also can inspire inventiveness. But everyone keeps the beat, so nothing's powerless, and there's nothing here that I dislike.

Not counting mine (TRACK THREE), here's how I'd rank them:

Winners:
--TRACK EIGHT: Tag-team rapping over vintage electro-funk, w/ bits of popness inserted into the ventilation system. (Martin's pick? Or would that be ELEVEN?)
--TRACK FOUR: Woman sings with dark and "provocative" seriousness while guitarist digs holes in his pick guard. I feel like a sucker for liking this.
--TRACK ONE: Germans rapping in French and doing an endearingly clumsy dance with a word that I pretend is "fête" which I take to mean Party!
--TRACK SIX: The "I Wanna Be Your Dog" chords techno'd-up while hungry white boys smack you with their voices. I feel like a sucker for liking this.
--TRACK SEVEN: Cellist goes goth while wisps of fog descend from mountains to glades. Chords match "Under My Thumb."

Losers:
--TRACK ELEVEN: Funk backdrop pasted under engaging rock song. Quite nice.
--TRACK FIVE: Strong pulse getting its beat on, while governments conspire evil.
--TRACK NINE: Excellent Mexicanized country-rock guitars, unexpectedly backing up progressive pop prettiness.
--TRACK TWO: Well-trained singer is distracted by eclectic sliced-up instrumental track. I'm not bored.
--TRACK TEN: Electro blips ride atop electro thumps while singing essayist tries to negotiate dance beats. Fascinating and pleasing for what I'm claiming is last place.

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

No. 8 is me!!

Do I get a point for a draw?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I knew three of these - 3, 8 and 9.

3 is excellent - I love its intensity and the loving detail with which the rappers make what is essentially a sales pitch. If I had my way this track would be played to every marketer who waffles on about word-of-mouth and 'brand advocacy', to say: "THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT" (and also "Is this really what you want?")

8 I will talk about more post-revelation.

9 is a band whose best 3 or 4 singles I absolutely adore - this isn't one of my favourites but I still enjoy it.

Of the others, 1 is the clear easy win, 11 surprisingly enjoyable given who it is, and the remaining 2 wins and 4 loses would have been pretty much random - except 6 would have been a lose eight times out of ten.

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling mine was no.10, but since it seems to have been one of many electro submissions this time I'll have to wait to be sure.

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

Popjusticeuk???? Hahaha!

Well, I guessed right anyway.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Arse, I vaguely thought that had a chance at at least one more point. Should have sent this one to lisa_go_blind and AFI to infov0re possibly.

The depressing thing is that I do actually spend ages thinking about the tracks I'm sending, cus I'm a compulsive mixtape maker and I like recommending people music or whatever. Hohum!

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

So: I'm definitely going to check out the Roisin Murphy album. That was an interesting turn up.

I didn't get Squeeze, and really, I tried to like it... but it just drove me nuts. Reminded me of all the reasons I hate the Beautiful South. To be honest, everything from 7th - maybe even 8th - up was a WIN. And it's only really 10 and ESPECIALLY 11 that were LOSEs, so (whilst I hope there are no hard feelings), I think that's a great haul. Thanks, everybody!

God, that Nachlater is good.

2 Live Crew

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

This pick by Alex sent me on a frenzied 2 Live Crew d/l mission, acquiring the definitive ("Me So Horny"), the party tracks ("Face Down Ass Up", "Move Somethin'") and the incredibly dreadful ("The Fuck Shop").

What else should I get? Or have I already got too much?

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Track 11 is indirectly responsible for me knowing 100% of people on LJ and most of the people in my life. Weird how things work out, innit?

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

Dear me, after a lucky start, I seem to be lousy at this game. I love that Dave Clarke track (in the original as well) and it's among my favourite remixes ever. I think I am heading for relegation!

[anatol-merklich.livejournal.com]

FETT werde ich, wenn ich zu viel Pommes hatte hahahaha!

I found this a very enjoyable round! No 1 is a winner, I agree, most others were excellent and (eg #11) not really what I expected, and Jeff has placated my mind's stupid unreformed Britpop longings by reminder of there being 1 x humongous Squeeze catalogue to be sampled.