Pop Open Group H: DEATH

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Oh Death, where is thy tick? Five tracks from beyond the veil, available to you in a bijou 20Mb Sendspace download (http://www.sendspace.com/file/rjhg2y) or streamed over at Freaky Trigger: http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2007/07/pop-open-week-4/ (make sure you play each track individually - the default seems to be track 5)

As ever, you can vote for your two favourites, but only out of the tracks you didn't already know. Reveals on Thursday, and voting closes at 12 noon (UK time) next Monday.

[Poll #1014583]

Eagle-eyed players might notice that this group was originally announced as having six players, one of whom was me. I have pulled out, because I think there's a player short in Violence, so I will fill that gap instead. Just as well for me, as I'd not have won against this lot.

Thanks to this week's players: kill_yr_idols, mackromackro, mippy, poptasticuk and stevem78.

And of course...what would YOU have entered?

Comments

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I really like all five of these tracks - knew one, which wd have got a vote if I hadn't, and either of the two others I didn't vote for would have got 2nd place in any of the last 3 weeks.

I can answer the "What I would have submitted" question easily, because up till yesterday afternoon it was my actual submission - even though I was thinking probably too many people knew it: ABBA's "Like An Angel Passing Through My Room".

I also considered John Leyton's "Johnny Remember Me" and (briefly) Alcazar's cover of "Seasons In The Sun", and a couple of other things I might now call on for violence.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Post the Alcazar track anyway when you have time. I am intrigued (although it surely cannot top the T. Jacks version - cf. my comment below)

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

I have never heard Alcazar's Seasons In The Sun so I second Jeff, you must post it! Or just send it to me - I have all the other Alcazar songs I know of so I want my collection complete!

The one I thought you were going to post was The Ark - One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young, so I was wrong. I don't know that ABBA track I don't think.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I've now posted Alcazar and ABBA, in case you missed the entry.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Track One is fantastic and would've got my top vote if I didn't know it.

Track Two tackles the subject from a humourous point of view - what I do like about it best is the sense of the people behind it being 'serious about fun' - it seems throwaway yet thoughtful all at once.

Track Three sounds great and is my favourite although the lack of vocals seems a shame in the end.

Track Four may be a little TOO jaunty and the vocals too annoying but it has a nice fun magical feel all the same.

Track Five I really like the music of but the lyrics I find v annoying - I know this song was recently covered by a leading UK Dadhouse act.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Haha never mind Dad House, an investigation on YouTube reveals TWEEMAGEDDON.

I don't find the lyrics annoying though.

I will be very interested to see what happens after the reveal - the track three payoff isn't really in the music, so it's a risky submission maybe.

[elegantfaker.livejournal.com]

TOTAL TWEEMAGEDDON! I kind love both versions, though, for different reasons.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Track Three sounds like Feadz, or something else at the better end of Ed Banger.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

At first it sounds like Vangelis!

[strange-powers.livejournal.com]

YES

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I was thinking Moroder (or something in that eurodisco line) rather than Vangelis.

[elegantfaker.livejournal.com]

Me too, but I couldn't quite place it.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

So Track 1 is yours? :)

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Oddly although I think this group is very strong (and as a contestant I am worried!), for the first time in Pop Open i only voted for one track - the two others I could've voted for I found something to dislike about rather too quickly despite recognising pleasant aspects of both instantly.

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

Track Five is curiously reminiscent of Wire in their psych pop moments (Outdoor Miner/Kidney Bingo) when they also went for hard-to-grasp lyrics, though probably with a different underlying philosophy...

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

It reminded me of The Beta Band i mean Wire too.

[elegantfaker.livejournal.com]

Am I allowed to say that the band behind track five is most def. an influence on all of the above?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Not particularly keen on any of them really though I think picking my top two will be relatively easy. Two of them are definitely Any Good At All but something about each stops me LOVING them - all of the Injustice tracks were better than the best here! Another two outright irritate me, and the other one just passes me by w/out the shadow of a trace of an impact.

I haven't thought about what I'd pick - maybe Sinead O'Connor's cover of 'Ode To Billy Joe' which is absolutely gorgeous, definitely prefer it to the original. Or 'Playboy Mommy' by Tori Amos which is a lovely swooning country thing.

My favourite song about death, which I wouldn't have submitted b/c everyone knows it, is Rex The Dog's 'I Look Into Mid-Air'.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Anyway I must remember to actually vote at the weekend - I know which two I'll vote for but not which order, need more time with them.

[strange-powers.livejournal.com]

The Sinead O'Connor Ode to Billie Joe is gorgeous indeed, as good as the Bobbie Gentry version but a lot less surprising in some ways. For me, O'Connor has this eerie and dislocated air that suggests horror right from the start, where the original seems to be set against the pressure-cooker heat of a southern state summer and offers a queasy punchline amid snoozy and complacent gossip. A fabulous song by any measure.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

'I Look Into Mid-Air' is about death??

(I had this same reaction to track 1 tho...i NEVER think about the meaning behind what's being sung ever :/)

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I heard it was written when Rex's best friend died? It fits, anyway.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

'sometimes i see you there...' *scales fall from eyes* ha ha

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I know number one by a bizaree coincidence, since doubt would have heard it on my own but a friend who has frankly appalling music taste put it on a CD for me a few years ago and it was one of the few tracks I kept hold of.

I suspect I might well have submitted 'Zombie Girl' by the Spazzys, had I been in this group, although a lot of people would have known it I assume.

Obscure B side alert

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I would have submitted "Endless Sleep" by The Poppy Family* (a cover of the Jody Reynolds' teen-death classic).

*a.k.a Terry and Susan Jacks. Terry of course went on to make the grebtest death-related record ever.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Track 1 I knew already but would have got my first place otherwise.

The others were all pretty good! Well done dudes.

I would have submitted 'Judgement Day' by Johnny Dowd.

[strange-powers.livejournal.com]

Track One was a great start until the babyish second vocal kicked in, and I went right off it.

Track Two I know because one of my favourite bands covered it, and I sought out the original. It might have been one of my two, as it's pretty funny in a goofy way. 577kbs!!!!

Track Three is brilliant. I can't decide whether it's more like the calculated eurosynth of Kraftwerk or a Harold Faltermeyer soundtracked love scene from a dodgy mid-eighties action film.

Track Four was just too Alvin and the Chipmunks for me. I understand the appeal, but I'd rather be listening to Del Shannon's Runaway if you're going to start with that intro.

Track Five's spooky style really grabbed me too. It's familiar, but I can't put my finger on artist or song title and I think if I did hear it before the chanting wasn't against a gorgeous Wally Scott-esque orchestration.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

which band covered track 2?

[strange-powers.livejournal.com]

The Fall.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

wao!

[mippy.livejournal.com]

I really want to know what track three is now, as I can't listen to any of these at the moment! Gah.

Not sure my pick is that much about death, but I was listening to it one day and thought 'hang on, there's something quite sinister about this one...'

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Didn't know Track One, got my first place vote. Will probably do a head-smack when I see who it is (I felt that way about several tracks).

Track Two is a Dr. Demento staple, can't hardly listen to a Halloween Demento show without hearing it! I'm sure I have it on one of the shows c. 1987-1989 I just found on an old comedy music thread. Might have been good for a novelty second place finish.

Track Three: hm, nice instrumental but it didn't stick. Will try again later, might swap my second place with this.

Track Four: I feel like I should know this, but I don't. So it gets my honorary novelty second place finish. (Not the novelty track I'd pick for "DEATH," though, probably "Transfusion" by Nervous Norvus.)

Track Five: I know I know this, but I don't, y'know, know it. Would speculate here (I think I might even own the album...), except if I'm right I'd give the game away. Anyway, wouldn't get my tick anyway, a little too samey and dull. Also, MCR could sell a line like "I'm glad I'm not dead." Pink could probably sell that line, too.

My automatic response to this was "One of Us Is Gonna Die Young" by the Ark, but too many people would know that one. Since I didn't mention it last week, "Unforgiven" by Fefe Dobson would be my Injustice track.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I too know Track Two from a Halloween-themed radio show (although not Dr Demento - it's on an old tape of my friend Robbie DJing on local radio). Nice to have an mp3 of it at last!

Didn't know any of the others.

This is the strongest round by far to date. I think I know what my first choice pick will be, however.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I guessed who the producer is of track 4 btw, and from that was able to identify the track. But I hadn't heard it before.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

After my exit in Week 1 of the Pop Open, and subsequent Glasto-enforced absence, I feel like I haven't contributed much to the Pop Open as of yet.

So this week's tracks:

Track 1: Sounds familiar, I really should know this I'm sure, but I couldn't name the artist or song. Either way, I love it. Great pop song, great beat, nice vocals.

Track 2: Weird, but not in a good way. It's just a bit irritating in my opinion. Incidentally, the CD cover came up in iTunes, and it is taken from quite possibly the weirdest compilation album ever! Of course, this now means I know what the song is, but I didn't know it beforehand, so that's cheating!

Track 3: Oooh yes, starts with a Turkish/Middle Eastern/Balkan/Russian intro (I'm not very good at placing music geographically), then a sort of Gary Numan-esque synth comes in. I like. This definitely appeals to my tastes in music.

Track 4: It's nice enough... I imagine that if I were writing on the 1960s version of Poptimists, I'd probably be all in favour of this track. Candy-pop. It's a good tune, although I'm not sure what the "death" connection is. However, up against stiff competition (good pun, eh?!!) I can't see this getting my vote.

Track 5: Again, it's very nice, quite an interesting eerie sound, but I think my mind is already made up.

Very strong round. Well done all players.

[mippy.livejournal.com]

Haha, what's the compilation album?

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

It's track 2 on Incredibly Strange Music - Volume 2 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Incredibly-Strange-Music-Various-Artists/dp/B000001PAF/ref=sr_1_1/203-4774313-1364727?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1183637837&sr=8-1)!!!

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

I had some tough competition I think! I find it quite funny that the songs for Death week are so very jolly, the jolliest so far in fact.

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

And it's weird that 3 had a sort of childish funness to them which hasn't been a particular theme elsewhere.

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

I have just changed my vote after watching the youtube video of a certain band of Twee-sters covering no. 5!!