A Year In Pop: 49

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Santa Claus has well and truly come to town. But also a number of legitimate new entries a-sneakin' in before the year-end curtain falls.

[Poll #1103649]

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

J Holiday's voice is not weedy at all! I don't get the 'No Letting Go' comparison, one is a reggae-lite summer jam which isn't particularly sexy, the other is an wintry r&b slow jam entirely about sex. And I love the music, that drip-drip-drip tantalising beat, the way the song ebbs and flows and constantly shifts.

Three things I particularly love about 'Bed':

1) The key change on "I'mma rock your body, turn you over..." - it's really unexpected, it kind of pulls the rug from under your feet (to stick with family-friendly metaphors)
2) The next line - "love is war, I'm your soldier" - recontextualising the whole 'soldier' cliché which is rather prevalent in r&b and hip-hop these days (not that I ever mind it, it's a good and satisfying cliché) - have never heard it used in quite these terms before
3) The absolutely TRANSCENDENTLY GORGEOUS outro - "I'mma send you out into the world with my love", as if he is Jesus and she is his disciple who is going to convert everyone using the power of great sex /// or indeed his love will be like a talisman for her, or armour, protecting her even though she's not with him? It's a brilliant line anyway

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

I wish I could nail exactly why I like some (male-sung) love jams but hate others. Maybe I need a tinge of darkness or angst about it (the odd thing about 'No Letting Go' was that it didn't sound particularly joyous and upbeat) but I'm not sure it's that. Falsetto crooning is a huge turnoff to me. There's snow and then there's just SLUSH!

Actually the pad chords loop reminds me a little of Spiritualised's 'Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space', itself lifting from a classical piece I never remember the name of.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

'Actually the pad chords loop reminds me a little of Spiritualised's 'Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space', itself lifting from a classical piece I never remember the name of.'

Also used on Coolio's 'C U When U Get There'