Best Song of 2001: Heat #6 Run-off

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The universe manages not to end thanks to Vitalic progressing through - he's joined by Nelly, Basement Jaxx, Sugababes and... oh lord, it's a three-way tie. J-Lo, Wyclef and Andrew WK must fight it out in the run-off below (last minute vote change from the Lex discounted because I'd already typed out the poll and can't be arsed changing it).

[Poll #1440917]

Which is all the poll action you're getting from me today, I'm afraid - I'm off my jolly hols for a couple of weeks so it wouldn't really be fair to give the next heat an extended ticking run. I'm sure you'll all cope.

In the meantime I can point you at meserach's 2001 Spotify playlist, and the nominations box for the Lex 20p Indie Prize are still open.

Comments

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Phoned up my mama, said 'I'm in love with the stripper yo'.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

This actually suprised me! Perfect Gentleman is a fine song, but I would have thought Mr WK was more your kind of thing.

I am also not above pleading on tactical grounds: there needs to be more pop-metal going through (I don't think Chop Suey even made it, though I could be wrong)!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I love 'Play' a lot more than 'Perfect Gentleman' but will tick whatever gets the appalling Andrew WK out.

stevem78 what was with your last-minute vote switch! I thought you wanted the horrific WK out too.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Also I've weirdly seen a lot of Andrew WK talk lately. He even seems to be following me on Twitter. I HATE HIM SO MUCH. One of the worst 10 artists of this decade, definitely. And possibly the worst defenders, too: always fawning over him and literally comparing him to Jesus and so on; going on about the ideology being so POSITIVE and so on, as if “doing what you love” or “becoming more than yourself through partying” is a concept unique to him, hasn’t been done a million times before and a million times better, doesn’t apply to half my record collection already. It’s really not conveyed in his clumsy, lurching, neanderthal music, which strikes me as totally atavistic and regressive.

So yeah. Get the fucker out of here already.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I feel I have Andrew WK to thank for my Pitchfork job! I like him well enough but I still voted for Wyclef.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

by that reasoning I should be ticking Klaxons when they come round - not, I hope, that they'll be nominated.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

I'm not imagining that you'll be won around on this one, but 'clumsy' is definitely the wrong word for this slice of Metal Abba - even by metal standards it's very precise.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

confused now as i unticked wyclef again in order to bring 'play' into run off but now he's on 16 after your re-vote

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

aargh I ticked Wyclef to get rid of WK once and for all - didn't trust poptimists to get this run-off right so sacrificed 'Play'. AARGH STEVEM WE COULD HAVE BEEN RID OF THIS TROUBLESOME ROCKER BY NOW >:(

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

The reason I'm not ticking play - and I know this is unfair to J.Lo. - is that she has many other better singles. Now true "I'm Real" didn't get through and there's no guarantee that "Jenny from the Block" will either, but that's my reasoning here.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

No I agree, that's why I felt I could sacrifice it first to rep for lesser-ticked tracks, and then to push 'Perfect Gentleman' ahead of WK before Stevem screwed up my plans. 'Love Don't Cost A Thing' is already through and I assume 'Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)' will go through. Ticking 'Play' here as I don't really care about Wyclef but will not hesitate to switch votes for the greater good if necessary.

Maxine Put Yr Red Shoes ON

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

Thankfully I thought again about giving a vote to Andrew WK, so I can now happily vote through the song that is closest to my heart.

we goin to the disco

[ms-bracken.livejournal.com]

Everybody who did not vote for Perfect Gentleman please listen to it again now and then change your vote (http://open.spotify.com/track/3kJrESsM3ISObFTfBQfJ8H). The chorus is a series of barely connected statements! Awesome.

There is also an bit where he sort of implies he likes her better when she cries, which I haven't noticed before and which possibly makes me like it a bit less.

We gonna elope to Me-he-he-heee-co

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

The lyrics are a bit confused, so I'm not entirely sure what he's trying to say, but I believe the heart is in the right place. Yes, people who voted incorrectly really must change their vote!

call up my mama say i'm in love with a stripper yo

[ms-bracken.livejournal.com]

It's the attitude to the passage of time that makes it particularly confused, I think. I mean, he's telling us that just because she dances go-go, it don't make her a ho (no), and that's fine, that's just laying the logical foundations of the rest of the chorus. But, we've sort of assumed that he's actually watching her dance while he's singing this, so the next line - in which he requests that she wear a specific pair of shoes, because they're going to the disco now - sort of blindsides you, because suddenly they're both at home and Wyclef is standing by the front door ready to go out and Maxine is still faffing with her eyeliner, and he's going "JUST WEAR THOSE NICE RED SHOES OKAY, no-one's going to notice if your lipstick isn't *exactly* the same shade". Then just as you've got this (sort of enchanting) image fixed in your mind, they're eloping to Mexico, and... is this the same night? Does he tell her they're going to this cool club night his friend has, and then change his mind and say, actually, let's just drive to Mexico and get married? It's sort of a relief that the next line actually makes sense, that he's taking advantage of Maxine paying for the petrol and stocking up on Ginster's to call his mum (who must, let's face it, have suffered quite a bit with this one) and let her know exactly what's going on.

In conclusion : tick.

Re: call up my mama say i'm in love with a stripper yo

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

I think the first two lines of the chorus are more related to eternal verities - in fact Wyclef may well be making the stronger statement that just because she has danced go-go at some point, doesn't make her a ho at any point.

Re: call up my mama say i'm in love with a stripper yo

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

I think it telegraphs the passage of quite some time into just the four lines. They all logically flow from one another: he spies her in the club (oh yeah, fellas, don't pretend you don't go, you're really missing out, etc etc), they move in together, they elope, they're married and he needs to break the news to his ma.

Re: call up my mama say i'm in love with a stripper yo

[koganbot]

Curious what you'd think of a country take on this theme (a song that I think is truly powerful, by the way)(and the fact that there's a man wooing her and winning her is strictly subtext).

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

two weeks? but isn't there only one 2001 heat left? nooooooo etc.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Two heats left. You'll have to sit on your hands or something.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I like Andrew WK and may yet be convinced to switch back, but for now I've voted for Wyclef, which is a song I have more experience with personally and very much enjoy.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

(BTW the winner will be announced when the next heat is posted up as usual, but I'll give a reminder about this poll before then).

[spazhammer.livejournal.com]

as much as i love "perfect gentleman", its gotta be AWK. of the two songs, AWK always gets a dancefloor going nuts. wyclef only does it 50% of the time...

[petronia.livejournal.com]

"Play" doesn't hold up as well as I thought it would on re-listen, but it mattered a lot more to me at the time than "Perfect Gentleman".

[chuckeddy.livejournal.com]

possibly the worst defenders, too: always fawning over him and literally comparing him to Jesus and so on; going on about the ideology being so POSITIVE and so on, as if “doing what you love” or “becoming more than yourself through partying” is a concept unique to him, hasn’t been done a million times before and a million times better, doesn’t apply to half my record collection already.

I agree with this, by the way. And do think the schtick he stole and codified from Twisted Sister or whoever is really overrated -- wrote some recent comments on Jukebox to that effect. But I voted for his song anyway; when I went back and listened to them, I was surprised to be reminded how engaging the WK track was, and how run-of-the-mill the J-Lo one was. I apologize to anybody offended.