A kung fu fighter in a disco

buster_bloodvessel_in_lederhosen.jpg

From:

koganbot

Don't know what this says about the Eighties, or

poptimists, but all four of these self-consciously reference the pre-Eighties, often lightly for half-comic effect. (Track Three isn't all that referential, but surely, we would like to thank Blondie, without whom etc.)

Also, another thing that may say something about

poptimists: my first reaction to Track Two was, "Lex is not going to like this."

Didn't realize you could download these a track at a time from where you stream 'em at FT. Wish I'd know this for previous matches, as this is a lot easier than wrestling with zip files.

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Yep, you can! We encourage the zipfiles for selfish bandwidth-saving reasons (though on this occasion download away as it's my fault there's no zip).

From:

chezghost.livejournal.com

'but all four of these self-consciously reference the pre-Eighties'

track 3 only just! but yeah it seems a shame in a way but there was so much of this going on at that point.

it's all 'early 80s' which is my minor gripe, but that's in keeping with average person's perception of the decade generally i guess.

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This is the first time I might let my perceptions of the decade influence my vote - I'm leaning a bit more towards tracks which remind me of bits of the decade where I don't think "oh, yes, eighties".

From:

alexmacpherson.livejournal.com

I didn't like it, no!

tbh I didn't really like any of them. the two I voted for were OK I guess but I wasn't moved to d/l any.

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It's probably prudent not to reveal too much, but ironically one of these tracks is the exact track I was considering submitting. It's a really great track. We'll see how my decision fared.

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acc. to previous postings, the 4 contestants are me, byebyepride, carsmilesteve, and cis.

From:

carsmilesteve.livejournal.com

ooh i wonder if it's the one i submitted ;)

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carsmilesteve.livejournal.com

actually i was wondering what would happen if somehow two people DID submit exactly the same thing...

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I would email the second person to send me it and say "BZZZT. Try again."

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I can reveal that byebyepride, carsmilesteve, cis and justfanoe are relying on your vote this week.

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somehow I get the odd feeling that I am the one who was forgotten :(

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Actually I forgot my OLDEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD byebyepride!

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Shocking!

From:

koganbot

I was originally a bit fazed by the gloss of track one and the staginess of track three, but now both of those are growing on my tremendously, leading to another three-way photo finish for second place. The way things look at the moment:

Track One: "Don't Trust Ovid"? Er, "Don't Try To Stop It." Really funny glossy technicolored Smash Hits version of the Fifties. The Fifties gloss is actually a cover for crypto disco. There's a sneaky suspense-movie break that doesn't conflict with the breeziness of the whole. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this guy is not American. Loses points for not being as good as Kenny's "Fancy Pants." Would do well in a weaker group (not that we've had any weak groups recently).

Track Two: Ah, a Dwight Twilley tribute band. (No, not Twilley, he'd not have done this piano-guitar thing.) Well, I'm a professed lover of mid-Sixties Dylan and mid-to-beyond-mid-Sixties Byrds, but also a professed hater (or at least doubter) of almost all performers who come across as "new Dylans" and "new Byrds." But this piano has a dark jazz density that moves me right away, and the guitar gets the quick restlessness of McGuinn that most Byrds copiers overlook, so there's lots of beauty and motion packed in. And the singer has a good pang, even though Pettyoid Dylan is quite a cliché by now. The lyrics are not only cliché, they're resentment-ridden nasty stuff, petulance posing as deep feeling. But they don't undercut the dense, restless beauty of the sound, so this has a strong shot at second, if it can fend off...

Track Three: The singer's drama-school enunciation put me off at first, but by second listen I adjusted and she came to sound a lot more natural. And the harmony at the end of the chorus jumped me as haunting, on second listen. And the paper-thin haunted-house synth jumped me as funny. Good tune, which might be what gets this across. And the lyrics give hints of being about something, but I've not given them a close examination and I wouldn't bet on it.

Track Four: I was just saying to myself this morning as I got out of bed, "You know what I haven't heard lately and really have a hankering for? Some German* neo-ska pop from the Eighties, but not just any German neo-ska pop from the Eighties, rather a track that captures the r&b leanings of the original ska in its keyb solo and the hidden jazz tendencies of ska in its sax, that uses ska as a day-to-day r&bish dance rhythm rather than as herky-jerky punkiness, yet has a singer who's at home in himself and isn't remotely trying to sound Jamaican." And this fits the bill! Easy winner.

*or is it Dutch?

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ah! I can guess what track 1 is just from Frank's description! "Good song, that", as Dale would no doubt say.

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...and hearing it again it still stands up as a great single IMHO. Shame I can't vote for it.

From:

damnspynovels.livejournal.com

I actually have the first one on 7". They were Smash Hits cover stars at one point

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Like the Rezillos last time, two of these (1 and 3) were things I'd heard OF but not actually heard. I enjoyed both of them very much (in fact I enjoyed all of them very much).

From:

damnspynovels.livejournal.com

Oh I missed the last one. Rezillos? What was it, TOTP? The cover version of that which Shampoo did was stellar.

From:

koganbot

"I Can't Stand My Baby"

From:

chezghost.livejournal.com

Once again my favourite track is the only one I already knew altho I didn't realise I knew it until the chorus. Painful tick.

Track 4 got my foot tapping without me realising too so I guess that's the best. Track 2's vocals put me off what is otherwise a nice tune.

From:

koganbot

As for what I'd have chosen, there are scads of Eighties freestyle that you lot seem to know nothing about: Cynthia's "Change On Me," Judy Torres' "Come Into My Arms," Sequel's "It's Not Too Late," and the Cover Girls' "Inside Outside" just to name a few. And I would win. Or I'd pick a track from Stacey Q's Hard Machine, "Good Girl" or "The River" or "Don't Make A Fool Of Yourself."

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I was listening to Kate Bush's Never For Ever and Peter Gabriel 3 last night (both 1980, and with a lot of cross-over in their musician cast lists). I'd probably have picked something from one of these.

[note to self: start a "let's make a Kate CD for Frank" thread]

From:

cis.livejournal.com

I was thinking about submitting some freestyle! But with freestyle, since I wasn't into it at the time (being born in the eighties and all), I can't work out what people are likely to have already heard or not heard; I was a bit unsure about the track I eventually submitted, too, but i thought it might be a little more unknown while still totally awesome (i love it ridiculous amounts).

From:

koganbot

Well, some people here have probably heard "Let The Music Play" (which is terrific but is borderline as to whether it counts as freestyle) and I've forced Debbie Deb's "When I Hear Music" down poptimist throats, and I think Company B's "Fascinated" has gotten some notice in these parts, and possibly possibly so have the Exposé hits, but in general I'd assume that no more than two or three poptimists have heard much of any freestyle.

From:

credoimprobus

First weak group this round for me personally -- I admittedly have ISSUES with a lot of the eighties, though, so the amount of misses wasn't unexpected.

I only actually liked one track at all this week (track 3), but then I LOVED that one, so it evens out. It also felt very familiar -- and I'm sure I've seen/heard What Must Be the Title somewhere, at least -- but I wouldn't claim (luckily for my voting!) to outright know it. Maybe it's another one of those heard it in passing in a film or sth things?

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What are you issues with the 80s? I am intrigued!!

From:

credoimprobus

Ahaha, um. I think it stems from the 80s being the decade I grew up in, but not the decade that was my formative period -- ie the stuff I get nostalgic about -- in any way? (That being the 90s instead.) So it's got all this irrational "childhood stuff = cheesy!" baggage attached to it, which transfers over to a lot of the most quote unquote "typically 80s" sounds, which in turn means that listening to music with those specific types of sounds gives me a very visceral averse reaction. It's like a bizarre version of "familiarity breeds contempt", in a way.

I have no idea if that makes any sense, but it's the best I can explain it, heh.

(Also, I hate the tinny production that was so common back then. Dear god, why so heavy on the treble, people?)

From:

lockedintheatti.livejournal.com

This is the decade I was looking forward to most (I LOVE the 80s) but for me it's weaker than all the others so far.

I already know tracks 3 & 4, which I both quite like. I don't really like 1 & 2 very much at all, so coming up with a vote will be pretty tricky!

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I apologize! (In a week you will know whether I am apologizing for submitting a bad track or one that's too well known)

From:

lockedintheatti.livejournal.com

Just in case it was you, I should point out I do actually love track 4 rather than just quite like. I only discovered it about a month ago when I was trawling the web for Neue Deutsche Welle tracks to download, as one does. This was one of my favourites.

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