The Pop Open - Group B: LOVE

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

This week's group is the group of LOVE. You can hear the music of love either by going to Freaky Trigger and streaming it - http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2007/07/pop-open-week-5/ - or by downloading a zipfile from sendspace: http://www.sendspace.com/file/pfry7p - it's 28 Mb.

When you've listened to them, pick your favourite two that you didn't already know and vote for them here. Deadline for votes is 12 noon (UK time) next Monday.

[Poll #1018626]

This week's swinging lovers include anatol_merklich, braisedbywolves, fugitivemotel, w3ft, xyzzzz_ - thanks to them all!

What would YOU have submitted?

Comments

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

That was my easiest voting week yet. I knew two of them, didn't like a third, and loved the other two. Only difficulty was choosing which of those two to go first, and even that wasn't too much of a struggle.

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

It's certainly not a spinning, heart-racing, giddy feeling of love that anyone's gone for here...

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Maybe the existence of a PASSION group influenced them.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I don't think I would have gone for a head-racing thrilling rush-of-love song either...the immediate ones which spring to mind are Madonna's Open Your Heart' and Amerie's '1 Thing', both of which everyone knows anyway.

Maybe 'Things Come And Go' by Mya and Sean Paul, I know Jeff knows it but don't think anyone else does - it's very real and beautiful, all about consistency and stability, finding the passion in that. Or maybe 'Still In Love With My Ex' by Kelly Rowland which is also very very real and very very beautiful, but very very sad as well; all those ultra-raw emotions sung with dignity and restraint, Kelly allows herself just a tinge of melancholy, which obv all makes it the most emotional song ever.

[cis.livejournal.com]

I probably would have picked Brooke V's 'long as you come home' - I really think this group is ideally suited to dignity-and-restraint r'n'b slowies.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

god, I love that song. r&b does love + possession = denial so well...see also Field Mob and Ciara's 'So What', her entire part could be summarised as "lalala I can't hear you".

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

also, Brooke is a really good artist to pick for these games - I don't know why I haven't done it yet! She's been considered, most times I've had to pick something.

[umlauts.livejournal.com]

Easy. Knew 3, liked one, hated the other. I understand 2 is one of the Lex's exceptions to british blokes with guitars and sad songs being rub, yes?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

This is the first group where I didn't know any - though I'd heard of everyone involved, with one exception.

Track 4 feels like a somewhat bold pick.

[(Anonymous)]

My reasoning was that as long as I didn't submit something everyone knew, or an Elbow track, I'd have a 75% chance.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

hmmm, yes. I disciplined myself to sit through all five and a half minutes of track 4, but not sure I'll ever play it again.

Only knew one of these (track 1), and then only because I happened to buy the first three albums by this artist when they were reissued on CD earlier this year - ALL ARE AWESOME btw!

Don't think I've heard this version of track 5 before. I'm counting as "don't know it" anyway.

I would have probably chosen something in a similar vein to Maggie Berger's "Robot Song", only older and less well known obv.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

yes wtf is no 4 jesus my ears.

is track 4 cesaria evora?

easy 2 winners for me, anyway.

[http://users.livejournal.com/xyzzzz__/]

shame I can't d/l as I've been offline (not been able to participate in any voting bcz of shitty interweb serive providing) - could someone keep this file for me? Just in case i'm not 'back' this week

[anatol-merklich.livejournal.com]

The tracks are now all on my computer, and I since I don't really delete stuff, I can ysi or mail them or whatever when you like. (Also, it can be smaller, since I guess you don't need your own contribution eh?)

[http://users.livejournal.com/xyzzzz__/]

thx for the offer but I've just been able to log on and d/l this now!

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

I'm writing this as I listen to them, so if it seems like I'm rambling, it's probably because I am.

Track 1 - my parents would love this. It's 70s soulful disco, heavily influenced by the Motown sound. Not my cup of tea at all.

Track 2 - this starts off sounding like early REM, but then the chorus is much more like something Athlete would release. It's nice, I like it. Doesn't jump out as an obvious winner, but I haven't heard the other tracks yet.

Track 3 - Great intro, with the trumpets (at least I think they're trumpets). Hey, this vocal is not at all what I was expecting after that intro. It's a woman with a very masculine voice. Tune's great, I'm not sure the vocal has entirely won me over though.

Track 4 - Is this Ireland's premiere Johnny Cash impressionist? It's a bit crooning, although it probably feels the most "romantic" of any of the songs so far. I could imagine The Corrs doing a really good cover of this.

Track 5 - The obligatory foreign language entrant. It sounds like a French cabaret tune, but it's clearly not French, and there's a Latino feel to it as well. Hey, didn't some guy play this whilst I was having dinner with my girlfriend in a restaurant in Spain?!!

Well, that was interesting. I think I'm going to have a very hard choice again, but for different reasons to last week. None of these songs really grabbed my attention. Sorry folks.

[anatol-merklich.livejournal.com]

I would have... no wait, I sent one obv.

But here (http://www.yousendit.com/download/OGhjT2pPd0FZY1EwTVE9PQ) is my early-worm contribution, to be sure not to miss deadlines and thus disqualify. Feel free to give its rank from 1 to 6 according to you if it were added to the current field. Fairly recognisable band of course, and at their most famous, but I guess the album may not be entirely common-knowledge nowadays?

[mackromackro.livejournal.com]

Love #1 -- In an alternate universe, I imagine this is what Nico would have been doing around 1976 or 1977 had she been cast away from her art-centric friends in New York.

Love #2 -- I almost think I know who this is, but not enough to say "I know this." Very swooney. I love the brass bridge, and I love the sudden ending. if only the vocals could catch up in the wave.

Love #3 -- Peppy and spooky. Oh, to infer what the chorus lyrics have to do with love! Bridge harmonies amplify and resonate the spookiness.

Love #4 -- folk with a quivering masculine minstrel. Aw, the mistrustful bastard. I swear I won't fib again if it means i have to see that finger of delusion pointing at me singing that word at me in THAT WAY.

Love #5 -- This is from a semi-recent movie soundtrack, isn't it? Phonetically translating the final words into English, oh the lols.

OK, I know none of these songs. One song is definitely a stand out and is getting my first-place vote. Will have to relisten to the other four to see if one stands out amongst them.

[mackromackro.livejournal.com]

OK, second place has been decided!

[cis.livejournal.com]

I'm really shocked that anyone wouldn't already know track five, which I think of as the most readily-recognisable of all versions of a really well-known song (so shocked, in fact, that I started doubting my own recognition of it!). people, where is your background in the classics!

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

*raises hand sheepishly*

It ws a very pleasant surprise!

I feel I ought to have known both the tracks I would vote for, actually.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

I only knew #1. I know what #5 is, but I don't know who it is by. It was easily my favourite, and since I didn't care for #2 or #4, #3 got my other vote.