Another Year In Pop: 20

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Madge is knocked off the top again - this time not by German hyperbosh but by some shouty indie-pop! Meanwhile, Ashlee and Santogold are still climbing, Chanelle Off Big Brother's debut single goes in at no.63 and Snap's 'Rhythm Is A Dancer' pops up at 71 due to this...

[Poll #1190243]

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

GOOD

Weezy F Baby - yeah this underwhelmed me when I first heard it b/c I thought he'd toned down his flow tooo much, and Weezy of all people didn't need to jump on the T-Pain Autotunewagon, but it's really grown on me - I love the decadent slow-as-molasses tempo, and the way Weezy's voice sort of wobbles in and out of the thick background fug. Surprised that "lovely lady lumps" took this long to become a hip-hop meme. "Lil' mama had a swag like mine/She even wear her hair down her back like mine" A+. Totally hyped for Tha Carter III!

Rihanna - hadn't realised she'd got a new single out! I like this, you start off thinking it suffers by so obviously recalling 'Irreplaceable' - plus it's impossible to see a song called 'Take A Bow' and not think of the best Madonna ballad ever - but it's pretty good. Not as completely devastating as 'Cry' though.

Taio Cruz - yeah, definitely the new Seal. I'm not completely sold on his style but I like how committed he is to it. There's a terrific remix of this with Estelle but the Delinquent refix is disappointing :(

BAD

Fall Out Boy - oh christ I was hoping it wasn't a cover :( Actually worse than the drunken Winehouse version. Ugh I have just been reminded of that time Alien Ant Farm desecrated 'Smooth Criminal' :(

Royworld - blahzzzzzz

Ting Tings - whuh? No 1? How? This is annoying and characterless at the same time. It's like they've put just enough effort into it for it to grate slightly, but not enough to convey any sense of who they are or why they're shouting. Like, so you're not Stacey or whoever, but you're not making me care about who you are. Also saying you're not Stacey is a mistake cuz that just makes me think of the Ferg and how she is 1000x the pop star that the Ting Tings chick will ever be, and how she could have totally pulled something like this off.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

also ~*they're called "THE TING TINGS" ffs*~

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

"Take a Bow" - A horrible choice for a single. Extremely disappointing. And the best Madonna ballad is "Live to Tell".

"Lollipop" was #1 in America a couple weeks back. As minimalist rap goes it's pretty good, but I'm not too crazy about it. Bad week.

[koganbot]

Weezy F Baby

Thought it was f. Static Major (who has since died due to aneurysm, according to wiki).

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It is - he's singing the "shawty wanna thug" bit, yeah? though it's all so vocodered you can barely tell - I don't think he's an official credit though. It's not on the promo copy anyway.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Also, RIP: he's been involved in some of my favourite tracks of the past decade.

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

didn't think i was going to tick Ting Tings cos it's quite dull for a good minute or so. but the song grows and then it di grows ON me by the end of one play. despite her vocal making it sound like a skipping chant, i'll go for TICK in the end

rih - marginal no.
taio - YES. it's ok.
Royworld - WHO? try harder. no.
lil -wayne - is the video a piss-take? the sleaze feels dated. borders between catchy and irritating. but in the end, marginal yes :-)
FoB cover - pointless. no

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I got sent a lollipop in the shape of a dice in the Lil' Wayne promo package!

They call me STAY-see!

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Ting Tings: is the summer anthem that Tom was searching for last week? I only heard it for the first time yesterday, so right now I'm loving it. Whether it will wear out its welcome in two weeks time is another matter though.

Rihanna: zzzz
Lil' Wayne: yay!

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

TICKY:
Taio Cruz, just about, although that is my second-to-least favourite song on his album and a BAD CHOICE as a single
Rihanna because DUDE she looks hot in the video. She could be singing the fvcking Meow Mix song and I'd tick it if she looked like that doing it.

BORDERLINE NON-TICKY:
Lil Wayne because I think I may like this but can't remember it and 'Lollipop' just makes me think of that fvcking 50 Cent song

NO TICKY IN HELL:
The Ting Tings And Their Boring Indie Pop Fans Thinking They're Edgy Due To Listening To Mediocre Self-Conscious Music
Who The Fvck Are Royworld?
I Never Liked Beat It In The First Place

the murky, strange recesses of Nos 40-75

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

OK if those Ashley Alexandra Dupré tracks were C-list versions of 'Turn It Up' then Chanelle's single is Z-list. APPROPRIATELY ENOUGH.

Worryingly, Sandi Thom appears to have a new song at No 59 :/

Re: the murky, strange recesses of Nos 40-75

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Worryingly, Sandi Thom appears to have a new song at No 59 :/

Popjustice likes it :(

Re: the murky, strange recesses of Nos 40-75

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Didn't they say that because they wanted to do a feature on her? Feature itself (http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2568&Itemid=266) = content free but good photo captions.

Re: the murky, strange recesses of Nos 40-75

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Why did they want to do a feature on her in the first place though? Am assuming it's one of their bouts of ridiculous contrarianism eg the 'Dakota' debacle.

Re: the murky, strange recesses of Nos 40-75

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I think they might have thought up the puns first.

Re: the murky, strange recesses of Nos 40-75

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I hadn't even noticed the puns. Very poor excuse for even a minor blog post.

Re: the murky, strange recesses of Nos 40-75

[koganbot]

But this is an excellent piece! Reminds me of old Smash Hits and Creem!

I've long been a fan of pun-based journalism.

Re: the murky, strange recesses of Nos 40-75

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS FABRIC

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Ting Tings - not convinced with this yet. She's not... snarly enough? I dunno. It might grow on me I guess.

Rihanna - I like her hairdo, v Whitney! She actually has some facial expressions going on there as well! Not sure about the lipstick though. Oh right, the song - sadly this isn't a Madge cover (I think she'd do that quite well) and is way down the Swedes-do-Ne-Yo ballad pecking order after eg Irreplaceable.

Taio Cruz - Is he actually sampling 'Pure Shores' here? Nothing on the credits, blimey that's really quite blatant. I like his voice but no tick here.

Royworld - Keane without the tunes. Potential here but they need get some better production in here to spice it up a bit.

Lil' Wayne - Not sure about this one either, it's a bit too sleazy.

FOB/Mayer - This song is so good that it would be worth a tick even if Sandi Thom was doing it. As it is, Fall Out Boy make a good fist of it (guitar solo excepted).

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

Yes, but the guitar solo is John Mayer's fault, so FOB emerge relatively unscathed. Also, Patrick wears a hat in the video.

[koganbot]

I like the solo. Worth noting that guitar soloist is bass player's wife's sister's ex.

[mippy.livejournal.com]

Gah that Ting Tings song grates so much. It's meant to be fun and etc., but it's so MANNERED. That bit where she goes 'name-ame-ah ah ah' makes me go all killy.

[mippy.livejournal.com]

Self-conscious, that was the word I was looking for.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

First time in ages that I've tickedy-ticked "DON'T LIKE ANY". Of the ones I've heard, The Ting Tings is growing on me (but not in a good way), 'Take A Bow' is my least favourite Rihanna song, and Fall Out Boy doing 'Beat It' - no, just no.

You won't get no desert until you clean off your plate

[koganbot]

OK, without looking at what any of you lot wrote...

I've listened to "That's Not My Name" ten times since yesterday and I still can't decide if it's a tick or not. "cant believe this shit beat rihanna to no. 1. this is truly fucking crap rihanna should be there." So wrote someone on the YouTube thread, and that ought to be definitive but it isn't. And I've listened to "Take A Bow" four or five times (as well as all the times I've heard it before today), and I haven't decided whether it's a tick either. (And most of you will be unhappy with my choice of sure-thing tick.)

So, let's go to it:

Ting Tangs "That's Not My Name": I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS SHIT BEAT RIHANNA TO NO. 1. Reminds me unpleasantly of this St. Mark's Place joint in the early '80s called Club 57 that had godawful Naive Rhythm Nights where stupid white people would play stupidly reductive "rhythmic" music. But this track does have force, some sort of emotional timing, and if it had been the only one of its type in the world ever I might have ticked it for its novelty value. The fact that I listened to it ten times without committing suicide speaks in its favor. Subject For Further Tick Research.

Rihanna "Take A Bow": On "Haunted" which is on the CDS for "Take A Bow" Rihanna does an excellent job of playing Joan Fontaine in the first half of Rebecca, all the burnt-voice psychoneuroses of "Unfaithful" repeating themselves. The spectre of the woman who is present by her absence. "Take A Bow" suffers from not being "Haunted." I used to complain that Rihanna is too much an emotional one-note when she goes into anguish, but I'm realizing that the relative restraint and subtlety of "Take A Bow" make me wish for the single-minded emotional obsessiveness of "Haunted" and "Unfaithful" instead. Why isn't "Haunted" the single? Fact that "Take A Bow" isn't making me consider suicide possibly counts against it. Subject For Further Tick Research.

Taio Cruz "I Can Be": "Sometimes the rain can turn into a waterfall." And other times it can't. NO TICK.

Royworld "Dust": High voice gives this a chance to go shimmering and shiny in its skystrokes. Chance is not taken. TICKLESS.

Lil Wayne "Lollipop": Wayne bumps into blips of lolly. Fellow named Static Major sings sweet nothings. Vocoder. Compared to several thousand recent moments of brilliantly perfunctory Wayne goofiness, this is kind of unbrilliantly perfunctory. But is nice to hear. TICK.

Fall Out Boy f. John Mayer "Beat It": Funny boys bull their way through '80s classic. Compares favorably to Weird Al version. SURE THING TICK.

Re: You won't get no desert until you clean off your plate

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I want to hear 'Haunted' now! Talking of Rihanna's single-minded emotional obsessiveness, did you ever hear 'Cry' (was a UK bonus track on Good Girl Gone Bad) or 'Final Goodbye' (A Girl Like Me album track)? Same thing exhibited there.

Re: You won't get no desert until you clean off your plate

[koganbot]

I quite like "Cry," was one of my reasons for putting the alb in my top ten. Haven't heard "Final Goodbye" (or any of A Girl Like Me except the hits).

Re: You won't get no desert until you clean off your plate

[koganbot]

Wait, I have heard A Girl Like Me about a year and a half ago. (Was confusing it with Music Of The Sun, which I haven't heard.) I remember making a note of liking "Final Goodbye." Am listening now, is the one whose rhythm and sad lilt reminded me of "Greensleeves."

Re: You won't get no desert until you clean off your plate

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Yes! I's a fascinating track because what leaps out first is her anguish, and paired with the title you assume the song's about the pain of farewells. Then you listen to the lyrics, and it's actually a declaration of unswerving love and loyalty, so you think, so why the anguish? Then you notice how the one thing complicating the love and loyalty is the narrator's obsession with her own mortality, recurring in every chorus, and THAT'S the goodbye of the title...so beneath the declaration of undying love there's this constant awareness that nothing is undying.

Re: You won't get no desert until you clean off your plate

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

'Haunted' is incredible. Chilling, in fact. RIH-BECCA MORE LIKE.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Ting Tings are really annoying and this is the first time I've ever heard it. It's the twang in her voice that sets me off I think: the backing is lumbering but not awful.

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

I'm not a fan of "That's Not My Name", but I really enjoyed "Great DJ", their previous single (I believe).

Please help someone who has never heard it

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

What is 'Lollipop' about?

Poptimists, don't fail me now.

Re: Please help someone who has never heard it

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

[Hook: Lil Wayne]
Sh-Sh-She lick me
Like a lollipop
Sh-Sh-She lick me
Like a lollipop
Sh-Sh-She lick me
Like a lollipop
Sh-Sh-She lick me
Like a lollipop

[Chorus: Static Major + Lil Wayne]
Shawty wanna thug
Bottles in the club
Shawty wanna hump
You know I'd like to touch
Ya lovely lady lumps
[x2]

Re: Please help someone who has never heard it

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Fourth grader response in a media survey as to why "Lollipop" was her favorite single: "because it is about lollipops and I love lollipops."

Sarcasm-meter still out on that one.

Re: Please help someone who has never heard it

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

That is amazing.

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

I am utterly shocked that the Tings Tings are number one. They are the worst band I've ever heard.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a case for ... JUDGE POP!

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

They make Mates of State look innovative.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

At about 1:30 I'd ticked Rihanna, but by the end it's an UNTICK. Haven't listened to Ting Tings yet. Or the new "Beat It" for that matter. Taio has unthinkably grown on me in the way I expected Ne-Yo's album from last year to, even though I'm pretty sure that Ne-Yo's album is better. What's up with that??

[boyofbadgers.livejournal.com]

Have just heard the bottom three for the first time thanks to Hits! TV.

Fall Out Boy - awesome song, obv, but this cover is completely pointless. NO TICK.

Lil Wayne - it's only twenty minutes since I heard it and I can't remember anything about it. NO TICK.

Royworld - does the world need another Keane? NO TICK.

Take a Bow

[misspelledwerd.livejournal.com]

I was going to post about this in a few days, but I might as well mention Priscilla Renea now. I posted a little bit about her on ILX last year. She's this awesome Youtube artist who started off posting covers but then moved onto original material...Why I bring her up: I found that Rihanna song super boring until I heard Priscilla's cover on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8nC4VFcO1g

It doesn't vary that much from the original but her delivery sold it for me...more soulful, I think.

And "Lollipop" gets a tick.

[weasel-seeker.livejournal.com]

Rihanna: She sang this last night on the Glow in the Dark tour and I had no clue what it was. This is why checking poptimists on a regular basis is important. I hear the emotion in this song in a way that I never do in (the nonetheless wonderful) Hate That I Love You. (Sidenote: Observation of Rihanna on this tour confirms the facts that she is seriously bonkers. Awesome, but BATSHIT crazy.)

Taio Cruz: What is going on with this beat? The intro is like going for a hip-hop Bittersweet Symphony thing? And it keeps morphing under the verses comes back for chorus one and then changes into stutter-synths and hey-la's. Soppy lyrics and mixed up motivational cliches. Regardless, iffy TICK. (TICK would be assured if he was also BETTER BETTER and FASTER FASTER)

It's Weezy, Baby: I was right about this. It was a grower. And it's awesome. Two questions. What is up with Static Major playing guitar on the roof of the limo? And why are Static and Wayne the only two in the video sucking on lollipops? (Also, lollipop dice? Crazy.) TICK.

[heslop01.livejournal.com]

I have to go for the ting tings. I bought their album yesturdy and it's awesome! The music is mostly upbeat and quite enjoyable.