Chart Championship Week 7 RESULTS

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Here's lockedintheatti's results - featuring the savage cruelties of the DRAW SYSTEM. Incidentally, there's only 10 tracks - epicharmus missed deadline so has an automatic lose (sorry Mike!).

"Well, I was very pleasantly surprised by this week's selections - I can genuinely say this is the first time I have ever received a compilation in which I've liked every single track, there were none that I had the urge to skip on repeated listens. Having said that, there was a very, very clear winner, and the second choice was quite an easy pick too. After that that it was a real struggle deciding on the placings, and I could have picked any of the songs from third to sixth position in a different order as I pretty much liked those 4 equally.

01. Antena - "Achilles": The clattering percussion and whooping female voices in the introduction remind me of the start of the Clapping Song by the Belle Stars; when it gets going the sexy synth noises remind me a bit of OMD's Electricity. The half-spoken female voice didn't quite work for me though, and ultimately it just didn't excite me enough for a good placing. 9th Place - LOSE - an off day for lisa_go_blind.

02. Bass D And King Matthew - "Like A Dream": Happy hardcore has never been my favourite dance genre, although it's been a while since I heard any and the speeded up vocals and tinny synth-piano line certainly raised a smile. What made me like this though was the unexpected appearance of a looped line from Madonna's Like a Prayer halfway through - if you'd described this to me I'd have thought it wouldn't work, but somehow it did. Still, stronger competition keeps this in the bottom half. 8th Place - LOSE - enthusiasm not enough for byebyepride.

03. Marco Borsato - "Rood": This starts slowly and atmospherically with just piano, strings and voice, and then after about 30 seconds starts to build dramatically with swooping strings that remind me a little of the middle eight of Live and Let Die. As it builds to a climax I can't wait to hear where it's going to go next, but then it drops back down to tease you for just a little longer before the next unexpected turn - a key change and triumphant shift into marvellous euro-pop. The last surprise is the way the strings suddenly turn into a barndance in the middle eight. This is an incredible popsong - uplifting, joyous, life-affirming, majestic, epic - and it makes me grin whenever I hear it. Unfortunately for whoever submitted this, I also know it already - it's Marco Borsato's Rood, and it's one of my favourite songs of last year. I can't imagine a song like this ever being big hit in the UK - it would be derided as far too cheesy - so good on the Dutch for making this number one for 11 weeks last summer. 1st Place - DRAW - freakish result for skillextric as he batters the opposition but just can't get the goals.

04. Anakhi - "Lok Boliyan": Ooo. Indian rap - this is nice, but a bit overlong and not enough happens. The sample from Cornershop's Brimful of Asha popping up in the middle is nice though. 7th Place - DRAW - koganbot snatches a lucky point.

05. Hairy Diamond - "Givin Up": Atmospheric, sexy soul. I love her voice, and the really simple backing track - just strings and percussion work really well. I'm sure I've heard this before and will probably kick myself when I find out what this is. 3rd Place - WIN - martinskidmore pulls off vital win.

06. Fields - "Song For Fields": This is the second one I know - it's Song for Fields by Fields, although it's a slightly different version from the one I have - a bit longer and slightly less punchy in the production. It's a gorgeous record - a nice extended intro with the male and female voices complimenting each other really well, before the crunching guitars come in to drive it forward. I think if I'd heard this fresh it might have made my top 3, but familiarity has dulled its edge a little. 5th Place - DRAW - infov0re unfortunate not to get a win.

07. The Paper Chase - "We Know Where You Sleep": This song is the one that grew on me most over several listens - there's a lot going on here and it really works - starting with just a single repeated note on piano, then the spooky strings come in, and it just keeps building in various elements as it goes on. I particularly like the dischordant guitar solo. His voice is the kind of voice that annoys me sometimes, but not here - it works wonderfully. This sounds a little bit like the Arcade Fire to me, but weirder. 2nd Place - WIN - win for piratemoggy gives fans hope.

08. Siobhan Donaghy - "Sometimes": Lovely female-vocaled pop song, with various pulsing and bubbling synths and a nice beat propelling it forward. On that alone it probably wouldn't have stood out, but the lovely 'ooo-ooo-ooo' harmonies that act as the intro, the chorus, and then layered over the vocals at the end are what won me over as I found them swirling around my head at work the next day. 6th Place - WIN - poptasticuk grabs the three points with smooth win.

09. Sam Phillips - "What Do I Do?": Perhaps it's because there are lots of other songs with strings here that this suffers in comparison - it's a very pretty song, with male and female vocals backed by a string quartet, but pretty isn't enough in this company, and he just sounds a bit wet. The strings rouse themselves towards a bit of a climax near the end, which is nice, but not enough. 10th Place - LOSE - pressure on for blue_russian after heavy defeat.

10. ELO - "So Fine": Another string-drenched track, the 5th in total out of the 10, so that was clearly the bit from my request that most people seemed to have picked out. Sounds a bit like ELO (it could even be them, as to my shame I don't know many of their records). I love the production on this, there are so many little elements that stand out - the funky descending bass in the chorus, the little nagging guitar sound that sounds like the intro the 'You Keep Me Hanging On' that take you out of the chorus, the marvellous bit where everything drops out and an an alien starts jamming with the band. The weather helps too - this is a perfect accompaniment to wandering down the street in the sun with your headphones on. 4th Place - WIN. - classic tactics help jeff_worrell to victory.

Comments

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Looking at my list of who submitted what tracks, I think "blow the title race [even more] wide open" is the result here.

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

Gah, so close. (I was Song for the Fields). It's the version from the album (Everything Last Winter) rather than the EP (7 from the Village). I've seen them live twice, now, and they're wonderful. Still: draw, not bad.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I loved that one.

It was another high quality CC mix yet again this week. The only track I didn't really care for was the happy hardcore one. And I tend to agree with the comment on #9. Otherwise, all my fellow Chart Champers done good again. :)

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

Happy hardcore has never been my favourite dance genre

You see -- this is where your mistake lies!!

Anyway, clearly opting for thrill power was my mistake.

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

i.e. no-one on poptimists likes pop, or perhaps no-one means the same thing by 'pop' that I do.

I am such a bad loser!!

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

no-one means the same thing by 'pop' that I do

Which obviously I should know by now!! Sadly the same seems to be true of pretty much every word I use. But why do I feel like this is MY fault?

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Dude, why are we on different leagues?

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

I think I may have only my second win! I hope I've guessed right which was mine.

[koganbot]

Martin, would you happen to have the Ad Libs' recording of "Giving Up" (the one that's being sampled here)?

First win! :D

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad, cus it was my favourite song of last year. ^^ The band themselves appear to be hilariously pretentious but the music is the most brilliant teen horror schlock. :D (track seven if anyone was wondering)

Track five is amazing. Although I also have no idea what it is and will probably kick myself when I find out. :D

Re: First win! :D

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I remember now! I thought number 7 sounded like They Might Be Giants!

Re: First win! :D

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Congrats.

(track seven if anyone was wondering)
Nah, I immediately pegged that one as yours.

Re: First win! :D

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that one - in almost any other company it would have won, it's a brilliant piece of music. Is the rest of their stuff any good?

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I loved track number 3! It was totally bonkers - that would have been my 1st place definitely.

The happy hardcore was amusing but a bit thin-sounding. For full-on mentalism it needs more OOMPH.

Track 7 I thought at first might be the Dresden Dolls or similar, but the voice was wrong. Interesting, nonetheless.

The bhangra-rap was good - nice beats and decent vocal, but somehow didn't have enough sparkle. I am very demanding!

The Fields got Rick very excited just like blue_russian's shoegazey track for piratemoggy the other week. It left me underwhelmed after the fourteenth play through though :-)

The last track was lovely - we were guessing what year it might have been released and went for 1978: hippy soul redux. Lots going on and unexpected early synths cropping up. Yay!

I can't remember the rest of them. Sorry!

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

we were guessing what year it might have been released and went for 1978

1976 in fact, so v. close. The whole album is fantastic. Clearly I need to post more ELO songs on poptimists.

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

I'm gald someone else appreciated the wonders of track 3. It sounds like a mess on paper but works. And impressively, it manages to be all 5 of the things I said I like at the same time.

Last place?! :(

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

What a drag.

Re: Last place?! :(

[koganbot]

Was in my bottom half too, but I like it enough that I'll search out more by her. I've always been curious about Sam Phillips, but never had the time to check her out.

[koganbot]

I love this set; music that fucks with form without losing its force or its flow, or hiding behind noise. lockedintheatti's intro helped this to happen.

Here's how I'd rank 'em, not counting my own (TRACK FOUR, the bhangra one). Pretty much a dead heat among the last five tracks (i.e., for the last winner's spot).

Winners
--TRACK FIVE: The drama of disco and soul given jagged beats and jagged strings. Don't know if this is a mashup or a regular track, but it's emotional and mind-engaging.
--TRACK SIX: Starts quasi-flamenco, then goes to a hard bluesy country strums, with intricate vocals that have nothing to do with country, then joined by a guitar roar but vocals retain their intricacy and refuse to roar with it as the instruments flatten all in their path. Emotional and mind-engaging. (I just said that.) (I'm guessing this is piratemoggy's)
--TRACK TEN: An edgy white "discofied" early '70s-style funk given goofy prog vocals and sudden inexplicable moments of greatness, psychedelic soul.
--TRACK ONE: A track that seems half atmospheric and half dance, while the rhythm seems somewhat drone and somewhat Afrobeat.
--TRACK SEVEN: The singer has clear "deliver-the-words" vocals, which I associate with theatre students (or Devo or the Mountain Goats) and which do better at signifying emotions than conveying them. Which ought to put this in last place, but the equally theatrical musical accompaniment is rich with dark and funny tones.

Losers:
--TRACK TWO: Ah, murder beats, which I love for their intensity. Loses its way a bit when it becomes tuneful, even though the tune is one I like ("Like A Prayer").
--TRACK THREE: Guy starts off sounding gentle, but you know it's gonna turn into a romantic barn burner. But it also turns into various colors of happy boshcore, with Hollywood country strings thrown in to boot. Fascinating.
--TRACK NINE: I like the melodramatic melody, and there's lots of interesting orchestral stuff and polyphony, but it does seem to be getting in the way of itself.
--TRACK EIGHT: At first this sounds like Ronnie Spector trapped in a Bristol mood piece, then the track reaches for dance while background singers do slow-motion oohs and aahs. Kinda great, but something about the arrangement seems to fuzz up my access to its emotions.

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

"vocals retain their intricacy and refuse to roar with it as the instruments flatten all in their path."

so: that's the best description of that track I've heard. When they do it live, it's the same - they manage to maintain the dynamic range of their music very, very well; the two singers never break out of their mezzo-forte, but the rest of the band - the bass especially - turns into this huge steamroller.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Yes - the vocals on track 6 were the best bit for me, especially the repeated harmony bit in the middle.

[koganbot]

Either the songs are getting better from week to week, or (just as likely) I'm unconsciously getting to hear them better as I'm hearing more and more from the same people. Also, some of my favorite sets (this one, last week's for Jel, the first week's for xyzzzz__) tend to be asking for stuff away from the Poptimist beaten path.

guilty as charged

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

somehow i like the siobhan donaghy better knowing that it's her. (as noted, though, the oo's are of course great in any case)

Re: guilty as charged

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised it's her - not what I was expecting her new stuff to be like. I assumed it was something from the mid-90s.

[lisa-go-blind.livejournal.com]

Heh, I was actually pretty sure I was going to lose this week, especially after hearing my song in the context of the mix. I had a lot of trouble coming up with something good and so just went out on a limb. I'm curious about how my pick will do next week, as it's another track I'm taking a real chance on.