Poptimists Tracks Of 2008 PART FOUR

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The hairy cornflake returns with Nos. 20-11 of your favourite tracks of the year.

20. GIRLS ALOUD - "The Promise"

Perhaps a lower-than-expected showing for perennial Poptimist darlings GA - their retro-themed video is not embeddable.

17=. MARIA DANIELA Y SU SONIDO LASSER - "Duri Duri"

This year the chart's been particularly good for niche enthusiasms getting a welcome shot of publicity. Here's sometime Podcast Panellists MDYSSL with some very bouncy pop.

17=. LILY ALLEN - "The Fear"

It's not even out yet! Though, unlike Cassie, it will be.

17=. KLEERUP ft MARIT BERGMAN - "3AM"

It's not just Robyn who gets to voice moody Kleerup tracks you know.

16. BEYONCE - "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"

If you liked it then you should have embedded it.

15. ALPHABEAT - "Fascination"

Sign of the music biz times (if true): Alphabeat have apparently been dropped by their UK label because their FIFTH single off their album flopped. Remember them this way! (NB the Bimbo Jones remix picked up a fraction of the points here).

14. RIHANNA - "Disturbia"

Last year's runaway winner makes a decent showing again.

13. HOT CHIP - "Ready For The Floor"

They really are trying to look like Buggles in this video, aren't they?

12. SOLANGE - "Sandcastle Disco"

Solange Knowles outpolls her sister, even if she hasn't outsold her.

11. KANYE WEST - "Love Lockdown"

Non-embeddable warriors! Kanye might feel hard done by here to be honest since SEVEN different people voted for this. If we were doing it solely on mentions he'd be at #5.

What powerhouse kept him out of the Top 10? Check back tomorrow when ALL will be REVEALED (and then at the weekend for the monster list of everything).

Comments

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

"I have 0 idea what people mean by "more pop" any more."

really i mean i think 'Lollipop' is...less uncompromising than 'A Milli'. a better comparison with 'A Milli' might be 'Drop It Like It's Hot' but again to me the latter seems more pop as it's got more conventional or traditional hooks...and a chorus! But it must still be one of the most minimal rap tracks ever to have made the top 10 here. same goes for Busta's 'Touch It' (but there a recognisable sample surely drew more people in).

But none of that really explains success of 'A Milli' in the US charts where the game is totally different. i'm just talking conceptually, sonically it confounds (my?) expecations/defies convention.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I think it's a bit reductive to assume that less compromising = more pop: it seems to me popular success can be down to novelty or familiarity or a mix of both (new ppl providing something familiar, or vice versa, maybe). Compromise is a strategy for getting to familiarity, but lack of compromise is a strategy for getting to novelty.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

"I think it's a bit reductive to assume that less compromising = more pop"

Yes it is reductive and my argument doesn't quite work in that much of this decade has seen hip-hop increasingly stripped down (as if a contest to see who can make the most out of so little) but no less popular in the US for it.

But at least it explains why I don't like it (can't speak for the rest of the UK, too many other factors).

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I don't think 'A Milli' is even that harsh or uncompromising sonically? The beat is great, and I could understand being irritated by it, but it's hardly that WTF - as you say hip-hop has been trending minimal anyway - surely the appeal of 'A Milli' is Wayne himself, the lyrics and the cadence of his flow and his voice, generally. Pretty much all the enthusiasm I've seen over 'A Milli' has been about his lyrics and performance rather than the beat.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

'surely the appeal of 'A Milli' is Wayne himself, the lyrics and the cadence of his flow and his voice, generally. Pretty much all the enthusiasm I've seen over 'A Milli' has been about his lyrics and performance rather than the beat.'

yeah this is exactly right of course. that's just a problem if you're used to being attracted to hiphop by the beats or a more eventful or detailed production first. this is why i can't get with much hiphop now (or at least don't talk about it much), however good or distinctive the lyrics/flow/voice/performance aspect otherwise. that may sound narrow-minded but it's just a question of where preferences lie.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

if you don't pay attention to hip-hop lyrics then fair enough but you shouldn't be surprised at the success or otherwise of any given track, b/c that's not how the genre operates!

it's an interesting qn though - do you mean you really never ever know/care what's being said? there are still some hip-hop tracks I love primarily for the sound (inc the voice) rather than specific lyrics, but when the lyrics are as prominent (and great) as in 'A Milli' I can't not notice them.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

"if you don't pay attention to hip-hop lyrics then fair enough but you shouldn't be surprised at the success or otherwise of any given track, b/c that's not how the genre operates!"

I still think it's surprising when it gets as stripped down as it has done in the last few years. I might've said this about Master P 10 years ago too tho...

And it's not that so much not paying attention to the lyrics, just not regarding them as the most important part. This applies to me with all pop anyway! Lyrics are nothing without something for me to catch onto musically (even if that's just a sample sometimes). I often read rap lyrics quoted on the net and don't get why they're being presented as so great (hearing them in context obv better). but sometimes there is cool wordplay or jokes that it's easier to appreciate. it can take years for the appreciation to come thru with some stuff too. getting that distance from the hype can be useful.

I'd hate for this to get to a point where it's like unless you value lyrics and MC performance first you're wasting your time but I think that may be something which has taken over.