WINNER STAYS ON!

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

OK you might have noticed that Popt'ists has been much concerned in recent weeks with larnin' the membership on the glorious history of pop (Level 42, Baltimora, etc.). But what of the modern variety, it risks neglect? Yes indeed, so here's the second twice-weekly feature that will see the community into the '06 and double the amount of polls I get to do:

WINNER STAYS ON!

The concept of WSO is childishly simple. Every Tuesday and Friday I post 2 YSI links, which battle it out vote-style for the title of "The Greatest Track Of Right Now". The loser is forgotten and may never appear again. The winner STAYS ON and appears in the next face-off: so for instance whichever track wins today will be present on Tuesday facing a new challenger.

Which tracks can 'play'? Anything you like - we're not formally limiting it but the idea is to favour what's exciting in current pop (be as wild as you like about yr definition of 'pop' and of 'current') and to encourage debates and shouting and that sort of thing.

To start with we have two of the most frothed-over recent singles.


Current UK #1 single "Hung Up" by Madonna (YSI here), ABBA-sampling disco comeback.

VS!!!

Much-loved critics' darlings Girls Aloud and their head-turning pop patchwork "Biology" (YSI here)

NOW VOTE:
[Poll #625080]


Please also let me know in the comments box if you want to nominate the next challenger - first come first etc.

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

It's Madge's best song in years, but dem Girlz win.

Am tempted to nominate Smiley Culture but that is already accepted as being full of merit. WOT ABT My Friend Dario by Vitalic?

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

biology for me too, but not too enthusiastically. i don't really like it all that much, but the madonna track is feeble - it catches my ears cos of the sample obv, but for NOTHING ELSE.

[zenith.livejournal.com]

*waits for alexmacpherson's head to explode at the injustice*

This was quite hard 'cos I've found 'Hung Up' to be a grower whereas my initial crazed enthusiasm for 'Biology' has faded ever so slightly, BUT having watched some of 'I'm Going To Sell You A Secret Book About Kaballah' last night I have to vote for them Girls.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

OH NO I CAN'T DOWNLOAD! Although I have heard these two obv so can vote this time.

Sounding like JLC >>>>>> sounding like Franz Ferdinand.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

this is a good idea. it's like Pop Countdown. a bit.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

OMG I have just remembered the "Scale" option on the LJ poll, must put that in for Tuesday...

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

LJ get 1xgraphic-contrariometer

[plumsbitch.livejournal.com]

Biology=Good abrasive and has jumped out at me in the last few days.

Hung up=ok but a bit uninspired. Yes, best thing she's done in years=not saying much.

Biology WINS.

I JUDGE THAT...

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

GA: imagine the creepy identikit ladies in a ROBERT PALMER video -- they start to move, they break the glass, they step out and take a walk through the city -- they go to a studio and reform ROXY MUSIC, except actually this doesn't work bcz the stompin vaudeville rnr is more like WIZZARD, so imagine the creepy identikit lady on the cover of a ROXY MUSIC lp -- even the greatest stars multiply themselves in the looking glass -- to into a studio and... except the problem is the singing, actually, it's just slightly too blah to carry the strange torque of the "supermannequin as tormented pop art aesthete" concept EP nu-prog-in-three-mins collage effect of the song

M: i like the idea of it as a wedding songsein it's the creepiest stalker-obsession song, nutcase alone in his/her room listening to richard and judy passing messages to him about how his HONEY is being heldf HOSTAGE by ENEMIES and that's why s/he has to pretend to IGNORE him/her, since "every breath you take" (the sample encapsulates the frazzled obsessive irritation; the video the sense of dance-release turned in on itself, a frantic endless prison)