Another Year In Pop: 51

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I imagine most of you are off on holiday somewhere at the moment, but for those of us wearily pressing F5 at work, here's this week's chart poll, which includes the least surprising Christmas No.1 ever and a Beyonce track from last year.

[Poll #1320352]

Remember, all the chart polls are open until the end of the year, so if you've changed your mind about anything you can go back and tick/untick the polls here. Also, don't forget to send your top 10s of the year to leagueofpop@gmail.com!

Comments

[koganbot]

I don't vote for re-entries no matter how good except on the occasions when I do, and "Listen" would probably not get a tick from me anyway, then or now. But it's an interesting performance: she's tearing at the song. Not grand, but desperate. She's no longer the full-throttle playful Beyoncé of The Writing's on the Wall, that's for sure.

Also tend not to count oldies (whether re-entries or not), so didn't evaluate Jeff Buckley last week, but that was probably a mistake; the song belongs to now. So Leonard, you're in my sights.

Alexandra Burke "Hallelujah": Makes the song rich and mournful and is less celebratory than I'd feared - which isn't to say that this isn't appropriately celebratory; appropriate for the occasion, that is, not necessarily for the lyrics, whatever they are. It's got the word "Hallelujah" in it, right? And that's why we're all singing it, right? TICK.

Geraldine "Once Upon A Christmas Song": Ack! Singing stupid songs badly is not funny, and it's not empowering, either. This'd be worst of the year except his last single was about fifty times worse. I feel sorry for Britain. NONTICK.

Basshunter "I Miss You": Why is this so tepid? I've nothing against what this guy is trying to do, Europop that's bassed-up and boshed-up a bit, but "Boten Anna" is the only single of his that's not been mediocre. NONTICK.

Leonard Cohen "Hallelujah": Wide-eyed wonder, self-mockery, Biblical references, jab-you-in-the-ribs goofball rhymes, ambitiousness, ridiculousness. The full repertoire, except I think Michael Jackson would do the terror better. TICK.

Girls Aloud "The Loving Kind": Starts pale but finds its way into a warm, comforting envelope while the words express discomfort ("Kiss me, then make up your mind"). Melody barely shows up. In any event, the enveloping lushness puts this at a distance. I'm giving this a BORDERLINE TICK on the faith that it's a grower. It seems almost like anti-music, for better or worse.