Another Year In Pop: 2

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Now Leon is gone, and Basshunter rules the roost. But what else is going on in our beloved charts this week?

[Poll #1121009]

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Kanye - oh god I love this song. How in the world is CHRIS SODDING MARTIN responsible for one of the finest moments on Graduation?? And is that him playing ragtime as well? He should do that more. There's just something about the line "fireworks at Lake Michigan" which gets me - the chord change, the celebratory imagery, and along with Kanye's verses there's that brilliant, unstoppable sense that wrongs are going to be righted, a bit like the PSBs' 'Always On My Mind'. It's a really evocative song, the imagery is very tangible - which brings us neatly on to

Lupe Fiasco - wow, top 10. Happy for him! I'm not wholly down with his nerd schtick but it's easy to overlook it. Am impressed on a couple of listens with the new album, it seems a bit over-long but there are some absolutely terrific tracks on it. Like this: I like that he's approached the whole potentially yawnsome sleb theme without really being judgey-judgey about it, but it's the second verse which really makes it for me - "you better wear your shades, the spotlights here can burn holes through the stage - down to the basement, past the Indian graves where the dinosaurs laid; then out through China, nearly miss the airlinersl; magnified times five, unless it's pointed at the rhymer, ricochets off the moon and sets the forest ablaze." That's amazingly evocative, it's something Lupe does quite a lot - run-on lines where he doesn't really pause for breath but moves the narrative through this range of unexpected imagery. It's very cinematic, and I mean that in a v specific way - it's like a camera panning through locations, and you feel yourself in motion while it's happening.

Robyn - I still hate her, seeing her hatchet face on posters everywhere irritates me a lot. I also hate that she has a couple of really good songs, of which this is one. Also it's something like three fucking years old now. GO AWAY. I shall have no qualms in rescinding my tick if it looks like winning, no way should she have more approval than Kanye or Lupe.

British Sea Power - overwrought blah indie blah. Inoffensive I guess but can't hear anything in it which would render it tickworthy.

Oystar - wtf is this doing in the top 40?? I hate this country.

I didn't try the Wombats. I hope they die.

Homecoming >>>>> Stronger

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Discuss!

Re: Homecoming >>>>> Stronger

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree completely! I didn't like 'Stronger' at all when I first heard it - I like it now but if nothing else it's far too long, there are two entire minutes which don't need to be there. 'Homecoming' is awesome but my favourite tracks on the album still haven't been singles - 'Barry Bonds' in particular, plus 'Can't Tell Me Nothing' (a US single but not UK), 'Flashing Lights', 'Drunk And Hot Girls'...the woozy, druggy ones basically.

Re: Homecoming >>>>> Stronger

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Good, it's not just me then :)

I think having CM on the track really helps with shifting the focus away from "HI DERE I AM KANYE ALL BOW DOWN BEFORE ME", even if CM's role is a shuffling orphan boy wanting more gruel.

Re: Homecoming >>>>> Stronger

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Yeah the match-up of someone for whom humility is an alien concept with someone who can't perform in any other way than humble is surprisingly effective! God I can't believe that even Chris Martin's yelps near the end sound good, in any other context they'd probably be unforgivable.