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

[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.