Poptimists Tracks Of 2008 PART FIVE

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Here it is! The ten best tracks of 2008 according to YOUR votes.

10. MJ HIBBETT AND THE VALIDATORS - "It Only Works Because You're Here" (28 points)

I'll let the voters go into more detail on this one, I think.

9. ADDICTIVE ft T2 - "Gonna Be Mine" (29 points)

Mariachi bassline explosion! 2008's most unjust non-hit gets its due.

8. LIL WAYNE - "A Milli" (30 points)

Hip-hop's biggest crossover ripples through to Poptimists.

7. CASSIE ft LIL WAYNE - "Official Girl" (33 points)

That rarest of things, an actual Cassie release!

6. MGMT - "Time To Pretend" (40 points)

MGMT are too hip for embeds. Their other hits picked up a vote each too.

5. SANTOGOLD - "L.E.S. Artistes" (45 points)

A handful of these points were for the XXXChange remix (which is also very good). Santogold. A horse. Rum goings-on.

4. GOLDFRAPP - "A&E" (47 points)

Alison G. cavorts with some leafy otherkin. Benefitted from a late flurry of votes.

3. WILEY - "Wearing My Rolex" (78 points)

featuring N London dance troupe the River Fleet Foxes.

2. JORDIN SPARKS AND CHRIS BROWN - "No Air" (94 points)

The runaway early leader, then flagged a bit in late voting.

1. ESTELLE ft KANYE WEST - "American Boy" (113 points)

"Who killin them in the UK? Everybody gonna say you, K" - it is impossible to find an actual video for this song on YouTube!

Thanks to all who voted - tomorrow I'll put up the full list and appendix (every song mentioned). Now let the debate begin!

Comments

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

i was watching estelle and kanye performing AB on TV (on some TFM award show) -- not very persuasively actually -- and estelle was wearing the OOGLIEST dress in couture history wtf

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Hahaha go on the Hibbett (how many voters are we talking about here?)! My vote for the L.E.S. Artistes was basically for the version on the Santogold vs Diplo mixtape, which features crucial Air Horn! Also blimey, you're not kidding about the jump from three to four.

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

no air would have been a good #1. all these are OK+, about half are great for me.

hibbett shouldn't be here though. naughty poptimists

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

WTF is MJ Hibbett? Is this a joke? Ughhh "comedy".

Apart from that and boring MGMT it's a great top 10 and a very appropriate No 1, though I think 'A&E' is being overrated somewhat - I don't dislike Goldfrapp-gone-pastorale but it does make me want to listen to the Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man album instead.

No 'Blind'!!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Estelle's dresses are often fugly I'm afraid - she seems to have a penchant for shapeless strapless pieces of material which make it look as if she has no waist and fit really uncomfortably on her tits :(

[ijgrieve.livejournal.com]

None of mine are in the Top 10 (though failing to vote for 'Time To Pretend' was a bizarre omission). Happy that 'No Air', most irritating song of 2008 in my (likely singular) opinion, isn't #1.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

"Blind" got one top vote but nothing else! I was a bit surprised. "Closer" got one #7 vote.

The MJH isn't comedy, it's whimsical romantic indie, and all three of its voters sincerely like the song I believe. Even so I think a degree of collusion was involved.

MJ Hibbett

[ijgrieve.livejournal.com]

Wow, first time I've heard this. It's perfect for my 'geek compilation' I just happen to be putting together this week (coming soon to Poptimists :D).

[koganbot]

My predictions for top five were all correct (though the order wasn't). Big surprise was no Chris Brown "Forever" (not that I'm particularly strong about that song, but I thought a lot of you were). Happy surprise was "Gonna Be Mine." Another happy surprise was no "Blind."

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I think 7 of these are great, one is pretty good, one is boring (but actually quite good by the low, low standards of indie) and one is bafflingly terrible.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Slightly embarassingly SIX of these were among my votes - I didn't vote for Hibbett, "A Milli", MGMT or Estelle (though I like Wayne and Estelle a lot, and I like MGMT enough to tick it in the weekly poll).

I was surprised "A&E" did so well - I knew Swygart was likely to vote for it. I like it partly because it evokes being in hospital on a quiet morning so well, so it reminds me of my hospital scare last year and reminds me, in a sappy sort of way, not to take things for granted.

[koganbot]

A handful of these points were for the XXXChange remix (which is also very good). Santogold. A horse. Rum goings-on.

As Godard said, all you need for a video is a girl, a gun, and a horse.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Having heard it, 2002 (and by Timbaland) sounds about right :)

[koganbot]

(I actually had seen the Hibbett.)

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I'm not disappointed about the lack of 'Blind', it's v good but not top 10 worthy for me - this is a nice counterbalance to it being really overrated elsewhere.

The Wayneless version of 'Official Girl' is much much better than the official version.

I'm not especially surprised at the absence of 'Closer' but I am surprised that 'Miss Independent' was the consensus Ne-Yo pick! Would've expected 'Closer' where 'Miss Independent' was. Not complaining though, they're both great and I probably listen more to the latter these days.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

According to Wikipedia not only the Santogold video but also the MGMT one references "The Holy Mountain" by Jodorowski (which I've never seen).

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Were people really that high on 'Forever'? The standout Chris Brown solo single was 'With You', for me.

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

this one appeared to have a very large box lid inserted up her skirt so that the corners stuck out sideways!

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I quite like Wayne's presence in the song, not because his guest verse is especially good, but it makes it more bittersweet that Cassie's expending so much emotional energy on trying to stay with this sleazeball, whose response to her pleas for committment is basically "So what, I give good head don't I?"

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

i'm assuming the only other vote for any other Gfrapp song came from me (for Happiness). not big on A&E myself but love the H&LA remix.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Okay, I can see a lot of criticisms of Time to Pretend (admittedly most of them falling under "hating fun"), but boring is hardly one of them! Particularly compared with, say, the tall glass of warm milk that Solange provided yesterday. How do you listen to it and describe it as boring? I'm not trying to be confrontational, I just have NO IDEA what your ears are doing.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

It's mid-paced and keeps repeating the same falling melody in its verse and chorus?

(I don't think it's boring, I like the keyboard sounds, but I don't think it's especially thrill-powered!)

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

You've been down the pub with MJ at least once, Lex.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I voted for Wiley and Estelle (worthy winner IMHO) - totes unsurprised that four of my top ten didn't get a look in (Booka Shade, Jay-Z, Seal, Kanye's Flashing Lights).

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I think Flashing Lights would have picked up a cpl of votes if the newer material hadn't monopolised people's Kanye picks.