THE POP OPEN GROUP I: Fifties And Before

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The Pop Open is BACK for Round 2!

If you haven't played before, here's the setup - each week, we put up 4 tracks (each selected by a member of Poptimists). You listen to them and vote for your two favourites in the poll below. The only thing is, you mustn't vote for anything you already knew. Tracks are anonymised at first then revealed after a couple of days, and results are announced next Monday. Anyone can vote! (well if they're logged in to LJ)

This week's theme is "Fifties And Before" - you can get hold of the tracks either as a 13Mb zipfile here, or by streaming them at Freaky Trigger, here. Go go go, you crazy beatniks you.

[Poll #1060889]

Thanks to stevem78, martinskidmore, inhibitorylinks and hauntedballroom for this week's tracks. If you are playing in Round 2 and haven't sent your track in yet, please do! :)

Comments

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

I like my track best, but since a) I don't remember what I sent you, and b) I haven't DLed any of them yet, that may be a biased viewpoint.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

oh bollocks I remember the other weekend I eventually narrowed my own shortlist down to three (from about 15) and now I can't remember which three!

Attention Listeners

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Track 1 is v quiet so if you turned yr volume up to hear that on the stream adjust it down for the other ones :)

Re: Attention Listeners

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Arrrgh yes Track 2 has just deafened me :o

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Some good stuff here (and I knew none of them). We should make it a rule for all future games that all submissions must be from Fifties And Before :)

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

TRACK TWO! I want to own EVERYTHING THIS WOMAN HAS RECORDED, whomsoever she may be. I got one of those reverse-influence feelings off her, you know, when you hear an old song and suddenly realise where a new band got their ideas from, in this case it's Nellie McKay, from the penchant for swooping melodies to the flippant wit.

I can't work out whether I know Track 4 or not, some lines ring a bell and others don't. Don't like his voice anyway.

I like 1 and 3 - KD Lang covered Track 3 for her smoking album, but I didn't know the original. Track 1 kind of reminds me of...the freakfolk scene, but played straight? CocoRosie, Devendra Banhart et al, except without the fucking smackable childish affectations, there's something quite lullabic about this but it's not put on or contrived. But I think I prefer the loucheness of 3.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I am not honestly sure Lex, but I think 2 might be a newer singer singing an old song.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Proving once again that new >>>> old :)

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about this last night. I was expecting this week to be the least enjoyable for me, as I always prefer newer stuff. Perhaps I have prejudiced ears, but I always find it harder to warm to stuff I've known when it came out, perhaps it's because I get the context better.

But this week has really surprised me, especially the first two tracks, which I love - although there's a newness thing with both of them: track one I'm presuming is a proper 50s song, but one that wouldn't sound dated if it came out today, and track two is one that I guessed was someone new doing something 50s-sounding.

[koganbot]

Singing in Two seems a bit overbearing, but that's only in comparison to Track Three, which seems vastly more at home with itself. "At home" doesn't always beat "overbearing," but I think it does in this instance, though actually I like the Track Two singer pretty well; but her song seems to need a snappier tune, though, so isn't quite kicking emotionally, despite the strong arrangement and the powerful singing.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I actually like it a little less now I think it's a contemporary singer...I'm now actually a bit suspicious of why she's opting for such a retro sound, and comparing her to other contemporary acts, rather than my previous attitude of "hey for something recorded way back in the mists of time this is really good".

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Having listened to track #2 in full now, I do recognise the last bit - this is v. famous - but not the context in which it sits. Here, it's all slow and wistful, whereas the version of the song I'm familiar with is fast and boisterous. I'm intrigued to see the reveal on this one.

That said, I don't think it's getting my vote.

I've also worked out who the artist is on track #3. I possess a few tracks by them but not this one. Definitely my favourite of the four.

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

ha ha I'd forgotten that my itunes was on shuffle, so playing through the pop open fifties I was thinking 'no wonder lex likes this - it sounds exactly like modern R&B' then realised it was actually Kelly Rowland!!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

haha I enjoy the thought that Kelly Rowland could be mistaken, however, briefly, for a 50s period piece! Do you like Kelly's album btw?

[koganbot]

Track Four is a Buddy Holly song, but this isn't Holly, obviously (Holly far more deft and sly than this bloke). Strange to have casually intricate New Orleans instrumentals accompanying such ragged vocals. Makes the song interesting but so far (first play) the singing just doesn't deliver.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

The spluttering piano just rescues #4 I think. I've given it my second place vote.

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

hope you got mine, sent it a cpl of weeks ago, i think

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

Well done everybody - a tough decision this one!

[mackromackro.livejournal.com]

I never got to post this for Round 1, so I'll do so for Round 2. Basically, the criteria I use to decide my votes:

1.How thematically DECADE-Y is the tuen
2.How authentically DECADE-Y is the tuen
3.How GRATE is the TUEN!

All three don't have to score highly, but just to give an idea. I noticed people weren't open about the science or possible lack thereof behind the votes. So I'm submitting myself as a guinea pig.

Anyway, Fifties and before:

1.I like this sort of thing usually, but this psrticular song didn't stick with me.
2.I would have liked this choice a lot more had it been more concise. I know this is likely a movement in a musical, so it's sacrilege to trim away at what's presented as a song. That said, I'm guessing this was going more for the Thematically 50's-and-before rather than recorded then. It's a pretty song, but it didn't end up sticking with me.
3.THIS is what I was hoping for! Spacey, sublime, and atomic. I love the ringing sounds of the top of the guitar neck I hear faintly in the background. I'll be impressed whether this was actually recorded in the 50s (or before) or not! This one easily stood out and got my #1 vote.
4.This one was alright, but not a winner. Except for #3, all the songs seemed longer than they actually were including this one. This one had some relative pep though. This got my #2 vote.

I would have strained for a good candidate for Fifties And Before round, so kudos to all of you who participated.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Track 1: was this the inspiration for The Animals' 'House of the Rising Sun'? I like his style of pronounciation. It sounds like it was probably a bit ahead of its time. Was this the first ever emo hit?

Track 2: this is more what I was expecting to hear from the category... an upbeat music hall number. I could imagine a Disney character singing this.

Track 3: the lament of the war widow, perhaps? No, it turns out it's an advert for smoking. Sexy, sultry vocals.

Track 4: a portent of what was to come... this is exactly the sound replicated by the early Beatles material.

A good selection to choose from. Tough decision awaits!