Another Year In Pop: 32

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

For better or worse, Katy Perry is this week's brand new Number 1. Rihanna moves up into the top ten, and in inexplicable re-entry news, Baz Luhrmann's in at no.72 with 'Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)'. Okaaay.

[Poll #1238683]

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I think this is the first time for ages that there hasn't even been one half-decent song in the top 5 :(

The physical release of 'Stryderman' pushed it up...one place to No 73 :(

The Lloyd single peaked at No 75, and DJ Q/MC Bonez are already plummeting, not that they reached much of a height to plummet from :(

The only really great (as opposed to Any Good At All) songs in the top 40 are about a million years old :(

Every second song seems to be by the Ting Tings or Alphabeat :(

'Body On Me' and 'Baditude' are OK (hey 'Baditude' has a shout-out to THE END!) but really WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY??? Why does the record-buying public have such terrible taste? Who the hell buys the fucking Verve when they could buy Tinchy Stryder?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

and why are Young Jeezy, Jennifer Hudson, Jazmine Sullivan, Cassie et al not being released here? ffs J-Hud WAS IN DREAMGIRLS. SHE IS KNOWN TO BRITISHERS. RELEASE HER GODDAMN SINGLE WHICH PISSES OVER THE ENTIRE TOP 40 ALREADY.

and I am sick in living in a country where 'A Milli' is not blaring from every car and flat and shop. How on earth has this song eaten America but is COMPLETELY UNKNOWN here.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

and WHERE IS MY FUNKY HOUSE INVASION.

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

I imagine one thing is the conservatism of radio programmers, who I think are ignoring lots of this stuff, and the other thing is that lots of the stuff missing out has a younger appeal, and the youngsters are probably more likely acquiring this stuff for free rather than buying it off iTunes.

I hope that is the case otherwise I would entirely lose faith in this country.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

i can't believe you have succumbed to writing 'Britishers'. it is a DISEASE.

Verve WTF

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

What the hell is going on in this song? The intro sounds really... *different* and hints that it might even attain the dizzy heights of Not Dreadful, but then it just does the same thing over and over again? There's no chorus at all! I know R.Ashcroft doesn't have the highest standards in the world, but this is one of the laziest singles I've ever heard - like he's left the same tape running on a loop for 3 minutes.

Re: Verve WTF

[miss-newham.livejournal.com]

And why does the intro feature vocals by the Laughing Gnome?

Re: Verve WTF

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I thought it was Pingu

OK I have ticked this song. It qualifies as Any Good At All IMHO. It's basically a typical The Verve song: interesting sample - check. Competent landfill indie backing - check (in this case, driving the song along nicely). Weak lead vox by Ashcroft - check. Same as it ever was then.

I'm not quite sure what pushes it over the edge into tickdom, but it's got something about it.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

VERVE: hahaha MAJOR LYRICS ALERT - "Will those feet in modern times walk on souls that are Made in China?" CLEVER REFERENCE THERE FROM THE MODERN DAY BLAKE. Kat is right that the backing tape is a loop - this is the indie rock "A Milli" in that it's designed to show off the amazing skills, charisma and wisdom of the singer allowed to interact with such minimalism, and it is here that the Verve's master plan falls down a wee bit. Twat then, twat now. NO TICK.

NELLY: What is this sample? V familiar. Not an especially inspiring song, bumps around without ever striking me. Marginal, but no tick.

CASCADA: I think I agree with Piratemoggy that this is a bit of a missed opportunity, Cascada seem to be holding back a bit. Still good though - interesting how well the lyrics work in a rave alert context. TICK!

SPOON, HARRIS, ETC: Yes, I like this one, worth a tick, not something I'd listen to a lot, reminds me a bit of that New Young Pony Track except more joyful and good.

SCOUTING FOR GIRLS: It's like someone decided that the problem with the Beautiful South was that their baffling subtlety alienated the audience. No tick.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I am now imagining Mad Richard actually doing 'A Milli'

*cries again*

Grumble

[koganbot]

Well, Lex has already pushed ahead in the grumbling line, but, um, even though I'm not British, this week's offerings are worth a grumble anyway. And Lex is overrating "Body On Me" and "Baditude."

Number Ones of the year so far

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

1067 19 Jan Basshunter featuring DJ Mental Theo's Bazzheadz Now You're Gone 5
1068 23 Feb Duffy Mercy 5
1069 29 Mar Estelle featuring Kanye West American Boy 4
1070 26 Apr Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake 4 Minutes 4
1071 24 May Ting Tings That's Not My Name 1
1072 31 May Rihanna Take A Bow 2
1073 14 Jun Mint Royale Singin' In The Rain 2
1074 29 Jun Coldplay Viva La Vida 1
1075 5 Jul Ne-Yo Closer 1
1076 12 Jun Dizzee Rascal featuring Calvin Harris & Chrome Dance Wiv Me 4
1077 9 Aug Kid Rock All Summer Long 1
1078 16 Aug Katy Perry I Kissed A Girl 1

*cries*

Re: Number Ones of the year so far

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Like: 3 (Estelle, Rihanna, Ne-Yo)
Tolerate: 3 (Basshunter, Madonna, Dizzee)
Dislike: 3 (Duffy, Mint Royale, Katy P)
Really Dislike: 3 (Ting Tings, Coldplay, Kid Rock)

Re: Number Ones of the year so far

[koganbot]

Like: 4 (Ne-Yo, Madonna, Katy P, Duffy)
Ticked but liked much more in another language: 1 (Basshunter)
OK but no ticky yet: 3 (Estelle, Kid Rock, Rihanna)
Still haven't made up my mind: 1 (Ting Tings)
Meh: 1 (Dizzee)
Really Dislike: 2 (Mint Royale, Coldplay)

Re: Number Ones of the year so far

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

nothing amazing for me, but plenty to like (obv yer lexical M do V).

what was last year's list?

Re: Number Ones of the year so far

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Love: 2 (Estelle, Ne-Yo)
Like: 1 (Madonna)
Don't Care (Ticks): 1 (Rihanna)
Don't Care (Nonticks): 2 (Duffy, Coldplay)
Dislike: 2 (Basshunter, Dizzee Rascal)
Lowest Of The Low: 2 (Mint Royale, Kid Rock)
Hitherto Unplumbed Depths: 2 (Ting Tings, Katy Perry)

Re: Number Ones of the year so far

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

so you think it's been a bad year for #1s but a good year for the top 5 in general?

Re: Number Ones of the year so far

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

For comparison, US version:

Flo Rida ft. T Pain - "Low" (10 weeks)
Usher ft. Young Jeezy - "Love in This Club" (3 weeks)
Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love" (4 weeks)
Mariah Carey - "Touch My Body" (2 weeks)
Lil Wayne ft. Static Major - "Lollipop" (5 weeks)
Rihanna - "Take a Bow" (1 week)
Coldplay - "Viva La Vida" (1 week)
Katy Perry - "I Kissed a Girl" (7 weeks)

Because the nightlife belongs to lovers

[koganbot]

The Verve "Love Is Noise": Agree with Kat that this just a lazy loop, but the loop itself isn't so bad now, is it? I mean, compared to what I was expecting. Serviceable DOR beats in the midst of big, sappy atmospherics (provided by our faithful loop). Singer is an awful wet blanket, but the atmospherics are enough to engulf the wetness. Borderline TICK.

SPOILER ALERT: So, the Verve of all people save this week from being yet another DON'T LIKE ANY.

Nelly f. Akon & Ashanti "Body On Me": Always liked Nelly for his light touch, and Akon back when his touch was light too. But this track is negligible. Light on its feet, but missing the old snap. NO TICK.

Cascada "Because The Night": This song has long needed a good dramatic dance version, the original Patti-Bruce rocker being a bit clonky. But this totally misses the swelling romance that a good disco version of "Because The Night" ought to have. There's no night in it! Not even any dusk. NO TICK.

(A plug here for Cyndi Lauper's current single, "Into The Nightlife," which has all the romance that Cascada is missing.)

Spoon, Harris & Obernik "Baditude": Oh my, this is zany, but w/ a dollop of ennui, like Gwen Stefani accompanied by farts. TICKLESS.

Scouting For Girls "It's Not About You": Actually, it is about you, your sorry voice in particular and the faux jaunty beats and crippled ooo-ooos that ruin what would otherwise be a solidly mediocre song. NO TICK.

uk poptimists in hating what's in the uk pop charts, shocker

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

spoon baditude is ok. i'll have forgotten about it soon enough, but it gets a little dance in the office chair from me.

cascada - ditto missed opportunity.

nelly and verve, blah

scouting for girls have inherited the 'quo joke' viz: "I see Scouting for Girls have released their song again"

Re: uk poptimists in hating what's in the uk pop charts, shocker

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

There's enough grumbling on this thread already that I'm actually holding back. Heroically, I might add.

Baz?

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Wait a minute, how on earth could anyone have possibly used that song (in a TV ad or whatever the hell else) in a way to de-novelty it enough to get on the charts? Just heard "Mambo No. 5" in the supermarket the other day, enjoyed it, but I imagine that once you hit a certain kinda one-hit-wonder ubiquity, there's a much much longer moratorium on how long it takes yer song to be repurpose-able. Though to be fair, I saw a 2005 (or 6?) Austrian movie that used "Macarena" admirably. (Ditto the use of "Down on Bended Knee" in the awful Gus Van Sant Kurt Cobain movie.)

Re: Baz?

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Woop, the film was "Free Radicals," more like 2003-4.

Re: Baz?

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Mambo No.5 was successfully appropriated for test cricket tv coverage over here some years ago - it's not THE cricket music (Soul Limbo is still used on the radio and this will continue until heat death of the universe) but I do immediately think 'cricket' when I hear it now.

[ijgrieve.livejournal.com]

Cascada was the only tick, reluctantly. Cascada << Jan Wayne