Best of 2001: Heat #3

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Kylie, Daft Punk, Gorillaz, Mya and Alcazar are through - who's going to join them from round #3?

• You get a maximum of TEN TICKS over the three bits of the poll. The top five will go through to the next stage.



• If you want to change your vote (or tick too many by mistake), you can edit your votes by clicking on 'Poll #12345' then 'Fill Out Poll'.



• UK chart placings given in brackets.



• You have until next Tuesday lunchtime to vote.



• Rep for your favourites in the comments! Youtube embeds very welcome.

[Poll #1434363]

Comments

[koganbot]

Of the four or so of these I remember, I only picked one on my first pass through. Yikes.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

7 ticks so far, happy to be enlightened.

The Avalanches really annoy me, or this song does anyway. Might as well be Bentley Rhythm Ace.

A couple of "good band, not really keen on ticking this song" ones here - never thought much of Girls Girls Girls (that slurred chorus bugs me), and this isn't a specially great Streets track.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

The Avalanches annoy me except for this song! Which I still don't love enough to tick.

As Streets tracks this is really great - however as much as I loved it at the time, I've been unable to go back to Original Pirate Material for years, so hideous is everything he's done subsequently.

'Girls Girls Girls' is pure summer bliss, tipsy slurring and all. Girls all around the world! "I got a French chick, she loves to French kiss"...

[sbp.livejournal.com]

Mary J Bilge, call her by her name.

Also did Alan Hawkshaw write/perform the Grange Hill theme? He played keyboards for the Shadows for a while.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Mary J Bilge = really not funny. Yawn.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

NOT PLEASED with the last heat's results AT ALL.

Ian Brown a joke nomination I presume.

'Fallin' is such a beautifully hypnotic ballad...love the way its cyclical structure and circular melody mirror its destructive emotions, returning again and again even though you know you shouldn't...

What do people think of Lucinda Williams, btw? Frank, Chuck, other country fans? I only have two of her albums, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road and Essence, and I love them both - Car Wheels probably better songwise, Essence better for the gorgeously evocative mood she creates. Sad I couldn't nominate more, 'Are You Down' (http://www.last.fm/music/Lucinda+Williams/_/Are+You+Down) and 'Out Of Touch' (http://www.last.fm/music/Lucinda+Williams/_/Out+of+Touch) are incredible too. 'Essence' (http://www.last.fm/music/Lucinda+Williams/_/Essence) is such an aching slow burn - I love the cracked rasp of her voice, it's like her world-weariness has heightened her sensuality and ability to feel rather than jaded it. I should really find out what she's done since... (those are last.fm links btw, where you can play the whole song - only live versions on youtube.)

'Flashback' is one of my favourite Kelis album tracks - as with Essence it was frustrating not to nominate more of Wanderland, her lost album, specifically the playful 'Daddy' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkrSdfwgrV8) ("Dolce! And Gabbana! And a bag made - of iguana!") and the furious 'Get Even' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HkDcF1mkn0) (imagine if 'Caught Out There' was EVEN ANGRIER)

'Flashback', though - so good she reused it a few years later on Tasty. "You make me come - oh yeah, alive [giggles]". ♥

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Why do you say Ian Brown is a joke nomination? From recollection, I wasn't the only one who nominated it. And it's already got more than one vote. It's his best solo song, by some distance.

[meserach.livejournal.com]

Aiiie, I just thought - did we forget to nominate Christina Milian's "AM to PM" for this year? I am :( if so.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Was that in 2001? Argh, would be awful if that had been missed out.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I ticked 10, but I don't feel great about a few of the ticks and there's a lot I don't know. "Fallin" is great and needs to go through. I have three nominations this time:



This is "Firefly" by the A*Teens, a great jam.

The other two nominations are Guided by Voices and Beulah. Those were nostalgic noms that reflect what I actually listened to in 2001 (i.e. crappy indie).

[meserach.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, just listened to the A*Teens there. Feels a lot like a mid-tempo early Britney track. Pretty, but not my thing.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, I also nominated "Freaky Thangs":

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

YES. YES.

Lest we forget: "Call me Mr McGillicuddy, chasin' booty soft as silly putty."

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Jay Z, Mary J, Roots Manuva, Missy Elliot and Daniel Bedingfield were easy ticks here. I went for Marilyn Manson too, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

Spotify Playlist

[meserach.livejournal.com]

I'm assembling it as we speak, but you cna start listening to the part completed thing here:

http://open.spotify.com/user/meserach/playlist/3TUkzzWM0ERfK9Nf5pVG7C

Re: Spotify Playlist

[meserach.livejournal.com]

Is finished! Good turn-out this time, only six missing (plus I had to use a tribute version for Tim McGraw).

[vumgarda.livejournal.com]

I got 9 ticks and then really struggled for a tenth. Reading the comments it's because I somehow totally missed Fallin'!

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Well, that was easy. 10 ticks exactly on first sweep, all of them consensus choices probably - except for Cosmic Gate. I'll post a YouTube link to that one later if I can find one.

Stuff like "Fire Wire" was pretty much all I was listening to in the winter of 2000-2001. Got into Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems big time at this time. Then I moved to Brussels (Feb '01) and sort of lost touch with current UK music for a bit*. I hadn't even realised "Fire Wire" made the Top 10 until researching for this poll series!

*until September '01 when Ned Raggett pointed me to ILX

[meserach.livejournal.com]

Fire Wire's pretty good! But I'm not sure I can actually tick it. It's very clearly music for a purpose (i.e. dance), y'know? I can't really see just sitting and listening it (except that I'm doing that right now, but that's for review purposes and such).

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

ARGH SO MANY TICKS. This is the first time I've nearly ticked my full ten in the first set; I thought I was going to have to be a Train apologist, purely because I did actually buy that on CD single for some reason but actually this round is full of PURE GREBT. I'm sorry, Mazza, I can't even support you.

Oh btw, Planet Funk was in the previous round wasn't it?

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

For a moment then I nearly ticked James but then I realised it is unconditionally not the Skin cover of 'Getting Away With It,' which was what Headradio was supplying.

STOP TICKING THE STROKES

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I was a teenager then and they still weren't any good. But this was and is and always will be SOLID GOLD AMAZING


and i'm thinking: who's house is this? this is my money, this is my pain; these are my drugs, this is my brain and it's never gunna be the same

Re: STOP TICKING THE STROKES

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

SECONDED.

Both the Roots love and the Strokes hate, wtf people.

Don't Stop Movin'

[meserach.livejournal.com]

Best thing steps ever did? I think yes.

Also, the Beautiful SOuth did a cover which is oddly compelling - slowed the tempo right down, giving it a sort of easy-listening/blues feel:

http://www.last.fm/music/The+Beautiful+South/_/Don%27t+Stop+Moving

Re: Don't Stop Movin'

[meserach.livejournal.com]

Best thing S Club 7 ever did, I mean. Heh.

[meserach.livejournal.com]

I wonder if anyone will dare to tick the U2 track. :)

[meserach.livejournal.com]

There's a lot here I like but I'm not sure if it's TICK-worthy, yerknow? Gonna have to be a process of elimination.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Looks like four runaway leaders and then the mother of all battles for that fifth vacant slot.

VOTE FOR ROOTS!

(or Jay Z. or Mary J. or Alicia K. Just not The tossing Streets)

[meserach.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that's not what I'm seeing. Looks to me like we have one runaway leader ("Get UR Freak On"), then four tracks in a leading pack (S Club, The Strokes, Daniel Bedingfield and Daft Punk just a little out in front of them).

Anythign else that hopes to qualify is ging to have to overcome at least one of those, hopefully the Strokes.

I WANT TO PATCH MYSELF ON YOUR BRAIN

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

OK so I didn't expect Air to get much love here as 10,000Hz Legend is a problematic album full of incredibly beautiful moments but also a whole bunch of naffness.

Watch this amazing video anyway.

Re: I WANT TO PATCH MYSELF ON YOUR BRAIN

[zcesl53.livejournal.com]

great video
was really enjoying it until those horrid vocals came in

Kylie track

[meserach.livejournal.com]

For the title track of the album it's rather poor, isn't it? Production's a bit all over the place, lacks a strong lyrical hook... meh.

heart beating faster and work is a disaster

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

NOOOOOOO it is my FAVOURITE Kylie song!



I once listened to this on repeat all the way to and from Aberystwyth on the train, which is about ten hours in total. AND IT IS STILL AMAZING.

Luvvly Oz Disco

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

v nice feelgood track I can't remember how I came across it at the time but deserves mo luv

Wasn't Danbed kind of a big deal?

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Weird, I easily ticked about twelve in this one, perhaps because some of my indie and semi-indie faves are here. D-Plan's "Following Through," Strokes "Hard to Explain" (sorry, it's good, though it's tick 9 or 10). I almost even ticked Weezer and U2 (WOOOOO HOOOOOO) but they didn't make it. Will go back and relisten to a few I haven't heard/don't remember, though.

Why isn't Daniel Bedingfield running away with this heat?

Re: Wasn't Danbed kind of a big deal?

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

You wait til "If You're Not the One" gets only 4 ticks in the 2002 poll. *Then* you'll see tears and tantrums (from me).

Still like this too (along with most of The Altogether album)

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Re: Still like this too (along with most of The Altogether album)

[credoimprobus]

Very much seconded (to the point where I would have nominated it myself if I hadn't been beaten to it)! The Altogether is probably my third or fourth favourite Orbital album, and if there'd been space in my 10 for extra album tracks Illuminate would totally have been joined by Shadows and Last Thing. <3

Fun fact.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

All the best live performances of "Fever" feature Kylie on a hospital bed!

Dear Poptimists...

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Seriously, Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige singles in this heat aren't negotiable ticks. And I'm not even the hugest fan of either of these!

WHY ISN'T BEDINGFIELD SWEEPING THIS?????

Re: Dear Poptimists...

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

a) It's not the brand new direction for garage people thought it might be, it turns out that it's just garage, which has not traditionally done well in these polls (see The Lex's regular wailing and gnashing of teeth)
b) Continued making records, none of them as good (it shouldn't be a factor, but it often is)
c) Taint of TashBed!

[chuckeddy.livejournal.com]

This looks to me like the iffiest list yet, at least on initital inspection. Could be wrong, though. I ticked justd four for now, two of which ("Hash Pipe" and "Girls Girls Girls") are marginal. Don't remember the Chesney or McGraw or Dismemberment Plan offhand (at least by their titles), though probably I will when I hear them.