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: Reasons this poptimist has not warmed to Funky House:

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

It does seem like bad pop not to mark the rise to prominence with a new moniker though! Is it just that this used to be done by NME/Smash Hits/MM and this situation doesn't apply any more (I really have no idea if the fans of funky would care if EG Mixmag decided that tomorrow it would be called "Francis")

Re: Reasons this poptimist has not warmed to Funky House:

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

OH GOD STOP USING PHRASES LIKE "BAD POP" AS IF IT MEANS ANYFUCKINGTHING AT ALL, jesus

Re: Reasons this poptimist has not warmed to Funky House:

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Well, it means something to me, and I hope it means something to Tom: that the genre seems less interested in making people exited in it than other genres, that this relates to the impression stated above that it's less thrill-powered than Bassline. There is of course all sorts of assumptions about 'good pop' in there, some of them present in the context of "when we were kids" that I try to establish later. I'm not suggesting that Tom agrees with my opinion, or even thinks that the concept is particularly useful, but I think it's a useful unit of communication.

Re: Reasons this poptimist has not warmed to Funky House:

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I dunno Andrew, I think funky is as immediate as bassline - bassline is ticking more of my particular boxes because the stuff it's drawing from (bittersweet happy hardcore, speed garage, northern house) is stuff I like more than the new york house, broken beat, etc. that funky house draws from.

Re: Reasons this poptimist has not warmed to Funky House:

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

As for the name I wished "Niche" had been the one that stuck for bassline!

Re: Reasons this poptimist has not warmed to Funky House:

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

this would've just caused so much more head-scratching tho, i don't think i could stand it. at least Bassline gives you some idea of what to expect. i know we had this earlier in the year tho (i know Garage isn't really any more indicative without greater context).

Re: Reasons this poptimist has not warmed to Funky House:

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

"less interested in making people excited in it" is an odd criticism, as I can't think of any genre that applies to - it's just that obv different genres have different rules about how excitement is attained. Really, UK funky's rules aren't hugely unfamiliar: big, warm vocal hooks, build-ups and breakdowns, the general atmosphere of "good vibes". (When I interviewed Crazy Cousinz, Flukes said that if he had to sum up funky house with one phrase, it'd be "good vibes".)