Poptimists Tracks Of 2008 PART ONE

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

THE MAIN EVENT! These are #s 50-42 of the Top 50 as voted for by you (there's a tie at #40 so we'll see those tomorrow). Thanks to the miracle of embedding disabled by request you'll have to investigate some of these away from the comforting womb of LJ - sorry, it's The Man's fault.

50. BRITNEY SPEARS - "Womanizer"

Something of a fall from grace for poptimists favourite Britney: the nudie video to her song about a machine that makes women can be found here.

49. BLACKOUT CREW - "Put A Donk On It"

A lesson we can all learn.

47=. THE VERONICAS - "Untouched"

Imperious, desperate teenpop.

47=. DAVEIGH CHASE - "The Happiest Girl In The Whole USA"

Something of a surprise entry, this isn't a single or even released track, it's a performance from TV drama Big Love, which I had never heard of. I will leave it to its nominators to explain the context (tho you can get the gist on Wikipedia)

45=. PUSSYCAT DOLLS - "When I Grow Up"

Embedding disabled on all PCDs' videos, here is this one.

45=. BLACK KIDS - "I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You"

It strikes me that Universal are shooting themselves in the foot a bit by refusing to make the video from nindie pan-flashers Black Kids embeddable! Hear its jaunty retro-jangle here.

44. PUSSYCAT DOLLS - "I Hate This Part"

Them again! Beating its fellow Pussycat track by a whisker - here the girls get a bit more sensitive.

43. IDA MARIA - "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked"

A scratchy vid that takes me back to the halcyon days of Mambo Taxi etc. Not much talked about on Poptimists, it seems to me.

42. PALEFACE ft KYLA - "Do You Mind (Crazy Couzinz Remix)"

For whatever reason, funky house hasn't caught the poptimist imagination the way bassline did last year (though actually I think only T2 showed up in last year's poll). I like Kyla, she has an honest face.

Check back tomorrow for #40-31!

Comments

Re: latin

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Oh please do - I often find myself kneejerk-shouting "why can't people just do things PROPERLY" about British pop/culture; the tendency to wallow in deliberate crapness (and the uglier flipside of that, tall-poppy syndrome, cutting people down who seek to rise up) is near the top of my "reasons to emigrate to the US" list.

Re: latin

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

My latest theory as foundation for this is: UK was traditionally and generally more receptive to American musical invention than anyone else because there's no language barrier. Also the UK was in a position where the lure of becoming more like the USA was desirable than for any other country in Europe (special relationship and all that). This results in many great and indeed, crucially, inimitable responses but you are never really going to beat people at their own game. SO better to remix that, fuse it with your own ideas and influences from elsewhere. Other countries 'caught up' and overtook in certain ways but there are other factors to explain a decline in art, media and consumer standards here too.

Obv it also depends on what is meant by 'properly'. Some people would insist there is a 'proper' way to make rock n' roll, we read this tedious line about proper pop meaning Girls Aloud when it used to mean Take That and before them something else again. Radiohead are surely doing their thing 'properly' etc.

Re: latin

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Finding yrself kneejerk-shouting about doing things properly IS British culture :)