STATSWATCH

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The lunch break has been spent updating my BIG SPREADSHEET of Now polls. DO NOT CLICK ON THE CUT if you don't wish to see some stats.


The overall chart is pretty static despite the inclusion of 6 new comps since last updated - only 4 out of the top 25 are from NOWs 14-19, and only Betty Boo got a high enough % to get in the Top 10. Why might this be?

- more Poptimists voting in these particular polls means less likelihood of a 90%+ score.
- Older poptimists moving out of the 'halo effect' caused by being young.
- breakdown of consensus in pop coincident with the arrival of "young person's dance music".

I reckon it's a combination of 2 and 3 given that the actual average percentage per track per album is not notably dwindling.

But who exactly are our poptimists - here's the demographic breakdown, as requested on a thread the other day:



Meanwhile, here are the first 2 volumes of The Compleat Poptimism, which is the CDs what I will be making for Ms catsgomiaow. Each takes the consensus-best 18 tracks from a set of 9 NOW albums (1-9;10-18;etc.) I picked 18 as the number because it allows for about 2 per album and 18 tracks seems a good length for a CD and will fit unproblematically. If anyone else wants copies of these please say, though it should be possible to make your own with minimal effort.

The Compleat Poptimism Vol.1
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill 
Run D.M.C. - Walk This Way
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax
Nena - 99 Red Balloons
Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey - Together In Electric Dreams 
Pet Shop Boys - Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money) 
Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
Cameo - Word Up
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes
Pet Shop Boys - Suburia
Mel & Kim - Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend)
Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Grandmaster & Melle Mel - White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)
Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine 
Bananarama - Venus 
Duran Duran - The Reflex
Weather Girls - Its Raining Men
The Smiths - What Difference Does It Make?

The Compleat Poptimism Vol.2
Salt 'n' Pepa - Push It
M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up The Volume
Betty Boo - Where Are You Baby?
S-Express - Theme From S-Express
Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind
Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth
Pet Shop Boys - Rent
The Pogues With Kirsty MacColl - A Fairy Tale Of New York
Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now
Adamski - Killer
Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance
Bananarama - Love In The First Degree
Beats International feat. Lindy - Dub Be Good To Me
Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
The Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis
Happy Mondays - Step On
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
Yazz And The Plastic Population - The Only Way Is Up

Comments

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

I am SPEECHLESS WITH JOY at the Compleat Poptimism! :D Tom I owe you many many pints!

(PS I have just come across the PERFORMANCE VERSION (ie 12") of You Spin Me Round by Dead Or Alive and it's ace and if anyone would like a little Friday pay-back for all those gmails the other day... ;))

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Well I haven't actually MADE them yet. But it won't take too long.

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

Sorry - I did actually mean speechless w/joy at the tracklisting rather than at the CDs themselves. But still! The office won't know what's hit it :)

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Cor that is one corker of a comp.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Its volumes 1 and 2 of seven! What does on the rest??? James Blunt YOU DECIDE!

[sbp.livejournal.com]

Cudja make me one too? I shall give you some blank CDs and full pints for your trouble.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Grey PanthX0rs = me, dubdobdee and who else? (heh, possibly I am not counted as one of them given that I've only ticked two boxes ever in 19 NOW! polls)

Nobody born in 1970 = no shaggin in 1969/70 season = best or worst period ever for teh pop? (best says I)

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

I am the oldest! I assume FK doesn't vote, not actually having 1xLJ and so on.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Well there may be others, this is just people who gave a year on their LJ profile. But I think you're the oldest voter. And no, FK doesn't vote.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

Yes, I would also love copies of these! Or if it's easier or just as easy, I could wait until the end and have them all on one CD in MP3 form! It seems like ages since I had lots of new music to listen to...

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

My cat is named Tiffany, she is 18 and a half now. I think she is sorta named after the '80's pop star.

Wow, I am becoming an elder statesman of the internet. Can I start telling my anedcotes about real-time chat rooms soon?

[(Anonymous)]

Another problem may be that dance pop got significantly worse in the early '90s as it drew more on techno and house and less on Hi-NRG, Europop, and freestyle. (But I didn't note you guys voting for a lot of '80s Hi-NRG, Europop, and freestyle anyway, so this explanation is probably "rub," as you Brits say.)

He Who Is A Stay-At-Home Voter

[(Anonymous)]

By the way, Martin old boy, could you send a link to your Little Big Town review when it goes up? My own Little Big Town review will run in the Voice one of these days, unless the new regime fires my editor or orders him to stop running country reviews or something.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

It was omitted, Frank! I keep sending more reviews in to William whenever I have something I think is worth saying about any singles not assigned to me. He's published more than he assigned me, but it does mean some get dropped. It would have been merely another small piece like the others here (http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=2107). I don't think I had much to say.

[(Anonymous)]

Next question: does William (and isn't there a Todd involved too) ever pay money for writing? And does he fuck with the text you send? Does he help the text you send?

Busted Flat in Denver

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

William is something like the singles editor, and I'm just doing some singles reviews for him, more because I like him (personally and as a writer) than because I much like Stylus. He has edited me at times: the only times I have noticed are when, as one of the six reviewing a single, points are repeated. I've never minded, but I don't care that much. Todd is editor of Stylus as a whole. There is no money in it for the likes of me, certainly, and I suspect this is true for most everyone else involved also. I don't think it's a place for you, Frank.

Hurrah, I get to review the nth release of You Got The Love this week. I love it more than I ever could my own child.

[(Anonymous)]

Stylus not a place for me because I never write without getting paid! (Sorry, Tom, I know you didn't want it revealed that I receive a stipend from Poptimists LLC for posting comments on these comment threads, as you are afraid that once people find out that I get a tubful of jellybeans a substantial sum every week, then everyone would want one. But I seem to have let the cat out of the bag, the pandora out of the box, and the panda out of the zoo.)

Remunerativated Diviner

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

ha, I was partly thinking that you were enquiring about new markets, but also there was something of the 'it's bad enough for me => it's clearly not good enough for Frank' in my thinking. I think that's an equation I stand by, too*. Obviously they may decide at some point that they aren't bad enough for me, who knows?

* Except Tom writes for the singles part too, which rather fucks up my maths.

[(Anonymous)]

Not that the above request is remotely on-topic. When was the last time a country & western track hit the English pop charts?

Graybeard

[umlauts.livejournal.com]

The only one I can think of off the top of my head is "Amazed" by Lonestar. One of whom went on to be in you know who.

Tim McGraw did release a single (was it the cracking "Live Like You Were Dying" or something crap?) but it did nothing.

DUCK TOM

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

ceefax just warned the world of a virus called NYXEM which wipes out SPREADSHEETS

Re: DUCK TOM

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

Frank

Todd is a bit supercillious, fucks with prose, adn tends to clean things up a little much, but im bitter, and cant w rite, so dont take my word for it.

also i owe you an email

ase