[identity profile] freakytigger.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] poptimists
From the mouth of [livejournal.com profile] inhibitorylinks comes...JUDGEMENT.

"First of all, as a long-time lurker at poptimists, I just wanted to say a big thank you to all for letting me be a part of this very fun event. Thanks also for my tracks, which I burned onto a CD and listened to as I sojourned around Sydney for work yesterday - it's not often I can do that and feel content at the same time.

For what it's worth it was VERY hard to separate most of these tracks into "winners" and "losers" - aren't we all winners in the end, after all?

01. High5 - "Dooset Daram": I'm always up for a bit of foreign language madness, and the "tik-tikka-tik" snare in the background throughout was a pleasure for reasons I can't really explain, though it begins to wear a little thin by the three minute mark. The singer sounds a little tired as well, though he could just be pacing himself. 9TH PLACE - LOSE - [livejournal.com profile] dubdobdee's title dreams shattered by cruel defeat.

02. Jon Brion - "Monday": At the risk of sounding like an old man, "charming" is the first word that sprang to mind when I heard this. I also had visions of friendly monsters doing the Viennese waltz on a frozen lake. I don't know why that is. Reminds me of the best bits of the "About A Boy" soundtrack. One of the few instances where I don't feel that a vocal would improve proceedings, and my only real complaint is that it doesn't go on for long enough. 1ST PLACE - WIN - [livejournal.com profile] fugitivemotel arrests his slump in dazzling style.

03. The Timelords - "Doctorin' The TARDIS": This IS "Doctorin' the Tardis" by The KLF, isn't it? For some reason I'm not entirely sure, and am nervous about my obvious lack of knowledge of the classics. It's certainly glamtastic, and finally katstevens' "yer what" icon makes sense to me, as does the word BOSH. Definitely an important poptimists artefact. 6TH PLACE - DRAW, though I'd award it a win if I could. - [livejournal.com profile] braisedbywolves snatches a point but will it be enough to stave off relegation?

04. Luigi Nono - "...Solo Dolce Tacere": I've never really been fond of that Ligeti choral piece I submitted several weeks ago for hauntedballroom; it always seemed too much like the sort of music that would be the soundtrack to my most distressing and Dali-esque nightmares. This piece is, for whatever reason, significantly less distressing, but I just can't shake my Pavlovian reflex to shudder slightly and say "creepy!" 10TH PLACE - LOSE - tactical misfire could cost [livejournal.com profile] xyzzzz_ dear.

05. Oi Va Voi - "Seven Brothers": The trumpets and cymbal rolls at the beginning promise drama, and it indeed delivers, although it's a drama that boils and seethes just beneath the surface, rather than drama with bombast and lightning flashes. I particularly like how the bass line doesn't conform to any standard sort of rhythm, which means that you can never settle into any particular groove. This is "7 Brothers" by Oi Va Voi. 2ND PLACE - DRAW - crucial point keeps [livejournal.com profile] katstevens' head above water.

06. Grosvenor - "Private Domain": I'm a sucker for a string section, and also harpsichords. This song offers both! It reminds me of The 6ths, or at least something that Stephin Merritt has had his finger in; there's a wonderful baroque fussiness to it that, admittedly, would probably become a little grating over an entire album, but in isolation it's dramatic, uplifiting and I find more to hear in it with every listen. 3RD PLACE - WIN - [livejournal.com profile] strange_powers keeps his side in contention for the title.

07. Dr John - "She's Just A Square": Never has being called a "square" seemed more insulting. Surely the best song on the soundtrack to that lost Blues Brothers movie, this is accompanied by all sorts of far-out and groovy instrumental Rhodes organ and flute flourishes. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking about this, but it's definitely a lot of fun. 5TH PLACE - WIN - buoyant performance makes [livejournal.com profile] bengraham sure of safety.

08. Charlie Christian - "Death Letter Blues": Oh god, a harrowing tale of death and despair over weary piano and muted trumpets. Almost spiritual in places, really. I don't really know enough jazz songstresses from the past, and after listening to this I feel that has to change. And the line at the end about wanting to take her sweet papa's place...good lord, pass me a tissue. 4TH PLACE - WIN - [livejournal.com profile] hauntedballroom's third win must surely make her safe from the drop?

09. Rocker Spaniel - "Where The..?": The storyteller in this certainly seems to be having "fun," but it's a tuneless, aimless "women in bikinis/uniforms using office stationery/garden tools/spelunking equipment in a sexually suggestive manner" type of fun that ends up being a bit sterile and not much fun at all. I must admit that I feel slightly violated. 11TH PLACE - LOSE - have [livejournal.com profile] zenith's high-flyers got altitude sickness?

10. Man Or Astro-Man - "Bermuda Triangle Shorts": Ridiculous soundbites, yay! I forgot to mention that I also love music that reminds me of surfing (which I also cannot do), but I feel that an extended guitar solo is a poor replacement for lyrics about the sun being high in the sky or catching waves or whatever. 7TH PLACE - DRAW - deserved draw for [livejournal.com profile] jel_bugle's team of entertainers.

11. Considering that this is sung from the viewpoint of a woman who eventually puts a bullet in her "dirty ho" best friend when said ho sleeps with her (the singer's) man (but NOT before making it VERY clear that she does not appreciate said friend using up her toilet paper), this could certainly have done with a bit more emotion, both in the vocal and the instrumentation. This is "Moodring" by Mya, and I DO applaud her thanking me for listening to her album at the end of the song; the world needs more polite popstars. 8TH PLACE - LOSE - [livejournal.com profile] alexmacpherson's fans left biting nails as play-offs threaten to slip away from them.

So far in Week 11 we've had a healthy haul for Epicharmus and almost nothing for Dubdobdee! Come on! Don't be scared!

Reveals at 4-ish.
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Date: 2007-05-09 12:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] strange-powers.livejournal.com
Okay, on track! I'm happy you liked mine.

Next week's submission is proving a challenge. You'll have something by tommorow!

Date: 2007-05-09 12:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] strange-powers.livejournal.com
Or even by tomorrow.

Date: 2007-05-09 12:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] braisedbywolves.livejournal.com
Robbed! (It was The Timelords! Oh alright, I'll get my parka)

"mistakes were made"

Date: 2007-05-09 12:56 pm (UTC)

Date: 2007-05-09 01:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hauntedballroom.livejournal.com
i found that line about taking her dead papa's place infinitely more creepy than the ligeti piece! i seem to finally be on a roll though.
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/xyzzzz__/
aargh if only I'd known you didn't like the Ligeti!! What ws 'scary' ws listening to this (really good) mix and seeing the track you chose being the longest by some distance (apart from of course sounding v odd one out in this company).

As far as next week - shouldn't be a problem, ws too fluey to go into my CD collection to find the track I have to rip. mp3 on the way soon-ish.

Date: 2007-05-09 01:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] katstevens.livejournal.com
Bums. So close to a win! I didn't realise it was Oi Va Voi until much later, as I found the track off this nice lady's website (http://www.sevara.uz/audio).

Date: 2007-05-09 01:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bengraham.livejournal.com
GETINTHEREMYSON!!!!! Graham eases relegation fears with narrow victory thanks to song about being a square!

Date: 2007-05-09 01:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] katstevens.livejournal.com
Surely everyone in the world knows this song!

(But what a song. Bloody brilliant)

Date: 2007-05-09 01:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bengraham.livejournal.com
By the way, must give thanks to my "assistant manager" Andy. On Friday and Saturday, having still not submitted a track, I was staying round Andy's and separated from my music collection. I showed him [livejournal.com profile] inhibitorylinks's likes and dislikes and asked him to provide a selection of songs from which I could choose one to submit. Looks like the combined effort worked wonders!

Date: 2007-05-09 01:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alexmacpherson.livejournal.com
Bah! And haha I forgot Mya's thanks were at the end of the track.

The point of the song is that she's not emotional - she is a dignified ice queen who is staking out the moral high ground, rising above the whole sordid situation, emphasising her classiness in contrast to the dirty ho, she's not gon' diss her on the internet but she'll still shoot her in the head.

haha ARE YOU SCARED?

Date: 2007-05-09 01:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dubdobdee.livejournal.com
YOU SHOULD BE!!

Date: 2007-05-09 01:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] braisedbywolves.livejournal.com
I thought it was worth a punt that 24-year-old australians might have only heard of it. Ah well.

Date: 2007-05-09 01:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] blue-russian.livejournal.com
Good lord she is gorgeous! What are you doing browsing Uzbek pop singers' websites?!

Date: 2007-05-09 01:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] katstevens.livejournal.com
Trying to find songs noone has heard already!

To Hell With The Pop

Date: 2007-05-09 01:46 pm (UTC)
koganbot: (Default)
From: [personal profile] koganbot
Here are my very unconsidered rankings:

Winners:
--TRACK FOUR: Bits of space, the singers playing a relay game, someone lets notes fall, a pause, other voices pick it up. Intensity in its sparness, so it's the art music equivalent to "Me & U" and "Coz I Luv You," though I doubt the title will contain misspellings.
--TRACK FIVE: Horns weep from outer space. Eccentric melody lines cross measure bars, time sig something like 7/8, vocalists spray paint shards of passion.
--TRACK ONE: Gentle singing that's somewhat surprising in relation to the Moroder dance chug.
--TRACK THREE: OK, a lot of this is shit, the Dr. Who crap half ruining "Rock and Roll Pt. 2," but it is followed on by a beautiful Jamaican-style Morriconesque spare melody (prob'ly something as famous in Britain as the Gary Glitter song, but I don't know it). And when the Doc Who hooey returns the beautiful stuff is folded in and rescues it.
--TRACK NINE: A totally irritating neurotic self-involved young woman goes on about her petty and unpetty sorrows, round hard beats lend an air of ominousness that makes this compelling, and the menace allow me to imagine that this could be a slasher film and the woman will be stabbed to death, though no such luck.

Draw:
--TRACK SEVEN: A full-of-himself freak does a beatnik soul version of "I Hear You Knockin'." Bohos being dumbos, but the boho posturing carries itself with snide authority.

Re: To Hell With The Pop

Date: 2007-05-09 01:48 pm (UTC)
koganbot: (Default)
From: [personal profile] koganbot
Its sparness = its spareness (but perhaps there's sparness as well)

Re: To Hell With The Pop

Date: 2007-05-09 01:58 pm (UTC)
koganbot: (Default)
From: [personal profile] koganbot
It may well be. A quick visit to YouTube could answer this question, but I need to go complete the rankings (a hiccup from Internet Explorer wiped me out in midsentence).

Re: To Hell With The Pop

Date: 2007-05-09 01:58 pm (UTC)
koganbot: (Default)
From: [personal profile] koganbot
Ah, speak of the devil.

Re: To Hell With The Pop

Date: 2007-05-09 02:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] katstevens.livejournal.com
Unless it is the 'you wot you wot' bit, which IS as famous in Britain as Gary Glitter :-)
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