Yet Another Year In Pop: 5

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The wintry weather hasn't stopped Lily parachuting straight in at number one; other high climbers using their pickaxes and oxygen apparatus include Alesha (who moves into the top ten) and Jason Mraz (who just misses out at 11). The rest of the chart might as well be stuck in a snowdrift.

[Poll #1342054]

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Lily Allen - don't hate this as much as I've hated her stuff in the past but the beat is too tinny and I still can't get with her voice, that accent &c

Tommy Reilly - wtf is with dude's mewling enunciation? like if David Gray was trying to emulate Devendra Banhart, but EVEN WORSE than that?

Shontelle - 'Irreplaceable'/'With You' redux, sure, but it has its own charm I think - admittedly this was only brought out by the remix with The-Dream (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-IlqKnL5FM), but it made the original better in retrospect. Her album's not bad, need to listen to it a bit more to get into it - she's more the female Ne-Yo than the new Rihanna, in that her strength is her songwriting and the way she depicts/evokes specific situations in her lyrics, rather than any particular performative skillz

The Fray - do not exist to me

PCDs - it hurts to withhold a tick here but this song is just lame, clumsily galumphing beat in search of a point, and no hook to speak of. It was like the only boring moment in their otherwise awesome show last week, even more dull than the non-Nicoles' solo bits. I blame Missy. Why are 'Bottle Pop', 'Halo', 'Magic' or 'Hush Hush' not singles yet.

Airborne Toxic Event - who? what? why? awful pompous emo, GO AWAY

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Kyla's 'Do You Mind' is at No 48 btw. On the one hand, hurrah! first incursion of UK funky into the charts! On the other, it had better go higher...

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

TI's Dead & Gone has appeared in the lower reaches too, and that's before the vid's even been released. It'd better be a huge hit.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

The video is being filmed on Thursday in LA and I shall be on set!

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The PCDs is well below their usual standards but still tickable in my generous estimate.

The Lily song, somewhat to my surprise since I've not been that keen on her before, is my favourite pop song of the year so far.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It surprises me more that you weren't into her before. What's different now? It seems very "Lily does Lily" to me, though obv she's doing "Lily as celebrity urchin" rather than "Lily as London street urchin".

Sadly I'm pretty sure that the PCDs won't grow on me any more, as I've been trying to get into 'Whatcha Think About That' since the album came out, on the basis that if it was chosen as a single it must have something to it, but - to paraphrase the new Ciara - if I don't love it by now, I will never ever love it. It's their first duff single I think :(

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Maybe I find Lily talking about celebrity more appealing that Lily talking about London street life! I think it's her strongest ever melody, and I also think it's well-timed: the celebrity satire stuff is way too blunt but something about the song seems to chime with the unease of a country emerging from a consumer bubble. Perhaps I'm just being too Carmodic though.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Oh god that interpretation had not occurred to me but aaagh.

a) I can see how it would fit with the lyrics
b) I'm sure Allen herself will catch on and try to claim this interpretation herself
c) Even though it was probably 100% inspired by bitching about some no-name WAGs
d) Which means that it annoys me EVEN MORE.

Have you heard the new Crazy Cousinz track? It's called 'Inflation' and is based around this amazing ascending xylophone riff and looming, menacing synths - there's definitely a zeitgeisty feel to it! It is the most perfect synthesis of "good vibes" and "recession doom".

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Hahaha terrific! I must hear it.

Lytton has got very keen on "Heads Shoulders Knees And Toes" by the way - I am surprised nobody has scanned a certain London Paper article in for Poptimists!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

People can feel free to do so! I have three copies of the thing, but no scanner. Fame at last. 'Heads Shoulders Knees N Toes' is so good, I did the dance at Night Slugs on Friday. LAYDEEZ LEMME SEE YOU GET DOWN LOW :)

I'll upload 'Inflation'...

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

what is this mysterious London Paper article? Not all of us live in the snowy iceplains of the metropolis.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

it is a half-page picture of me raving at Night Slugs - it's one of my fbook photos - accompanying a Chantelle Fiddy piece about London clubbing, inc. the 'Heads Shoulders Knees N Toes' dance craze.

[edgeofwhatever.livejournal.com]

b) This is the interpretation she's been giving all along, though.

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

I think the Lex is getting stuck on content and personality here: the big difference with The Fear is that Lily is serving the song, rather than just the whole thing being a vehicle for her attitude (I really like Smile, but not much else she has done until now). And it's a kind of whooshing tune, and she's never done anything that sounded like that before. Sonically – as I may have said before – it is far closer to About You Now than to any of Lily's previous stuff.

HE GOT TO GO!

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Of course there is a hook! Bay-baaaaaaay-eh, bay-baaaaaaay-eh...

I have to say I haven't really listened to the album that much. As in more than once. Um.

Re: HE GOT TO GO!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

idk the "He got to go!" bit just seems like a huge signifier of attitude w/out anything to back it up to me...

I'm not surprised re: the album, it is 18 tracks long after all (apparently including the various itunes bonuses, it comes to a total of 23 tracks wtf). 11 of those tracks I have never listened to again, but it's worth it for the seven I've incessantly jammed... ('When I Grow Up', 'I Hate This Part', 'Halo', 'Love The Way You Love Me', 'Hush Hush', 'Magic', 'Bottle Pop').

Re: HE GOT TO GO!

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

i still can't get over how amazing halo is. i've sort of ignored the rest of the album as a result.

Re: HE GOT TO GO!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

How amazing is the outro? "I didn't mean to fall from grace, I didn't mean to fall from grace..." And how perfectly suited to the role of corrupted angel is Scherzinger?

Re: HE GOT TO GO!

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

it blows everything else on that album so far out of the water... and the cat noises at the start are a genius touch. nicole's perfectly suited to the bitterness, it can support a bit of oversing as she's wont to but doesn't let it get too out of control. it could have the most amazing video set in a police interrogation cell, too.

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

Tommy Reilly: winner of the Orange Unsigned act thingy last week, hence his appearance here (it was on telly)

I have no idea how or why he won, as this is beyond awful.