The Pop Open Group A - PASSION

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

This week's group has as its theme PASSION! The usual rules apply - listen to the tracks, pick your favourites of the ones' you didn't know, vote for them before noon on Monday.

Unfortunately due to home internet issues I've not got the sendspace file sorted out - just the streaming tracks on FT: http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2007/07/pop-open-week-6/

Piratemoggy has put the individual tracks up here: http://www.box.net/shared/fvduhkv3af

I will try and zip them tonight.

[Poll #1022950]

Thanks to this week's players - atommickbrane, cis, credoimprobus, mcatzilut and ms_bracken.

Comment away! (And - what would YOU have submitted?)

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I really liked these. Well done chaps!

[cis.livejournal.com]

I was orig. going to submit a BRIGHT EYES track for this! then I reconsidered the idea of getting nul points.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

This is probably the most interesting group so far -- not my favorite, but actually kind of hard to make a choice (might go back and change mine, dunno).

Will say that the guitar on Track Two reminded me of t.A.T.u., which scored bonus points.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Sendspace hates me but I put the tracks on my box.net thing in this folder, which would sort of take some of the bandwidth off your space at least:
http://www.box.net/shared/fvduhkv3af

[mcatzilut.livejournal.com]

So exciting. It's funny. I thought we were going first. And we end up going last! :-P

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Already know tracks 1 & 4. Track 1 was shared by charltonlido about a year ago IIRC. I've been searching for a CD by the artist (with no joy) ever since. "Passion" was of course the entire raison d'etre of the band responsible for track 4 (at one point anyway). But I'm not sure this track is a particularly good example of them living up to their creed. In fact, I actively dislike it.

Of the rest, one easily stood out on first play. But the other two had potential so not sure how I'll vote yet.

(Track 5 still has image and copyright tags attached btw.)

[mackromackro.livejournal.com]

Passion One: this reminds me of a song I'd find on one of those bootleg "Top Of The Pops Volume #X" cassettes you'd find somewhere in the dusty corner of a thrift shop. This would be one of those exclusive songs that wasn't already a charting hit, perhaps to give the cassette maker's cousin a break in the industry. I enjoyed this, but it went off my attention after a couple of minutes.

Passion Two: This is precisely the type of music I WANT to mine more. I call this "Baja Fresh!" music, because this is precisely the type of modern Spanish/Mexican pop you hear at a Baja Fresh! franchise... and if anything, what they play there in general sounds that a mixture of modern AOR like Radiohead or Coldplay mixed with late 80s/early 90s UK indie dance pop -- the blend of choice among latino/latino pop makers these days, I guess. This song in particular sounds like Curve without the fangs. Sigh, I've asked the people at Baja Fresh! so many times how I can find out more about the music they play at the store, and they always evade my question telling me "well, this is just.. Spanish pop. I have no idea what the songs are.. well, sometimes I do, but it's just pop music, teehee. Next" They think I'm completely mad for wanting artists and title tracks. I've emailed Baja Fresh!, but to no response. :( At least there's this song. GOT MY #1 Vote

Passion Three: I blame my tenure of living in Orange County, California throughout the 90s decade, but third wave ska with early Gwen shades sends me to sleep. (No Doubt and Gwen post-2K = wonderfulicious, however)

Passion Four: This is precisely the hole of early to mid 80s UK pop that evades me. If Beechwood put out those Pride Of Independents compilation CDs back when the CD first came to be, I'd imagine this song would be on it as a dark horse.

Passion Five: Not usually a fan of a cappella treatments, but this one is weird, without falling into the Laurie Anderson well. (I like Laurie Anderson, but I've heard a lot of bad imitations of her.) I like the odd harmonies in the "huh" "huh" "huh" "huh"s, and the vocals hover nicely above it. Some twists and turns, but a nice transcendental pop song that fits the theme well. Got my #2 vote

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Like last week, I'll write them up as I listen, stream of consciousness style.

Track 1 - Weird, weird tune. Sounds a bit Arabic/Turkish. Surely this is a song about love, not passion? I like the drum beat, but the song doesn't really do it for me.

Track 2 - Agree with the comment above about the guitars sounding like T.A.T.U. In fact, this whole song sounds like the sort of pop which regularly tops the charts across Europe. This could even be a Eurovision entry in my eyes. I approve.

Track 3 - Ska-lite, a hint of Blondie, probably more so than No Doubt because the vocal is more Debbie Harry than Gwen Stefani. S'ok I guess.

Track 4 - Followed immediately by Smiths-lite. I'm amazed by how many of the "passion" songs seem to actually be love songs. It's ok, I quite like the trumpets/trombones in the background, but the song is pretty average in the context of the three previous.

Track 5 - Is this a cappella? Yes, it does appear to be. It's alright, as a cappella goes.

Jeez, my answers sound identical to mackromackro directly above. I'm going to be a bit different though and give my #2 vote to Track 3. Track 2 gets the first vote.

[strange-powers.livejournal.com]

The bit where Track One suddenly drops into the actual words to I Feel Love was jaw droppingly unexpected. Wonderful!

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

I agree with strange_powers about track 1 -- I love this track to bits, and easily my no. 1. I can see no. 4 growing on me, but a little bit too Costello, although I suppose the brass should have given it away... I'm down with the ska, whereas the metal didn't really do it for me passion-wise. No. 5 was TOO passionate, and the graphic stuff at the end actually put me right off my breakfast.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

Hope I'm not too late. I only knew track 4.