"I Want It That Way": Uh... yeah.

Fuck, I just remembered the Simpsons are shilling them too. Then again, the Simpsons have FELL OFF. Back when they were good their tie-ins were with Subway.

Daria: welcome to ILM!

It's easily their best song, for what it's worth.

but you do have a point about 'Lite FM'. continuous background 'Lite FM' music can make you go crazy, as proven by science. when i worked in a schizophrenia research lab, my co-workers insisted on playing 'Lite FM' all day. the idea, i guess, was that it was inobtrusive and soothing (read: oppressive and maddening) background noise, good music to slice brains and kill rats to. but after 8-10 hours of continuous 'smooth smooth sounds' each day, The Fear starts to set in.

They're both great though.

Helltime's question is interesting. My policy was generally to download the tracks I wanted and buy CDs second-hand, and then spend my money on CDs which came out on labels I thought needed it more. A rise in disposable income though has meant I end up now buying most stuff that interests me - I bought the Sugababes, Timberlake and Holly Valance albums new, for example. I usually download key tracks first where possible and apply a "3 good tracks = album worth checking out" rule of thumb.

obviously I got my formers and latters confused.

But back to the back to the beat y'all...McDo's Quarter Pounder: izzat shit boiled or what?

ARGH. I will go to my grave saying that this is the most overrated song of the past six years. DOES NOT STICK IN MEMORY FOR ME = fails in the Nediverse. Glad you all like it, though!

"Shape of My Heart," please. I seem to remember a complaint or two that it reminded people of Sting -- or rather, maybe it was praise in that it was Sting but good, so if that's the point of comparison, then I just think of it as Sting without the drama and passion (which admittedly is like saying Kraftwerk without the explosive vocal arpeggios).

I'll take "Lucky" over "I Want It That Way" in the end, though "I Want It That Way" renders the entire N'Sync song catalog as the annoying idiocy it is. Exception: that remix of "The Call" is miles better than anything Justin's put out on his own.

Yeah, the "ruling cognoscenti" were all over "I Want it that Way" because they wanted to prove to Village Voice readers how "in touch" they were. Far out.

Love "Genie in a Bottle," hate "Backstreet's Back"

I have no opinion on "Oops." I don't think I've ever heard "Shape of My Heart." Should I?

I respect your opinion, Ms. the Saint, but . . . uh . . . I'm not FEELIN' it. MY big ass needs still more bass to get movin' than I recall "BB" having.

But . . . currently logging onto Soulseek to reexamine my opinion on the matter.

kates qualifier makes her statement true, even though "Backstreet's Back" is just a "My Prerogative" knockoff.

Anyway the Backstreets are the greasiest boy band therefore they are great, I mean look at them. I'm really not a huge fan of I Want It That Way but Backstreet's Back and The Call are the two greatest songs of the past like ten years or whatever.

I think we had a thread on IWITW before. It kind of turned into the American "Back For Good" - hey I don't like boybands but this is CLASSY POP MAN - and like "BFG" it is good but not that good.

Grrrr. I try my best to give up on my rockist ways, but everytime I actually like a Pop song, ILM informs me that it's not the real deal! First I fall in love with the current Neptunes-produced brand of Chartpop and get told that it's just a watered down version of the current Neptunes-produced brand of Hip-Hop; then I remember that two of my previous "guilty pleasures" were these two songs and proceed to gleefully turn them into proud pleasures, and now this!!!! What does a poor Elvis Costello fan have to do to belong, damnit?

I'm hoping that's the title of an upcoming BSB single.

Surely you wouldn't say the same about "Shape of My Heart"? A few months ago I heard it on the radio and it led to me downloading all their "greatest hits" tracks, but none of them are in the same league. (Although I think IWITW and a couple others distinguish themselves from the rest.)

As for "Backstreet's Back", I'm not in denial at all Tom- I just can't imagine it being any fun except in an ironic way, and I'm not generally a fan of liking songs for ironic reasons. "The Call" on the other hand is pretty good by itself.

Curtis - it can't be because they broke up a couple years ago didn't you hear? :(

People! Open-ended meanings = good. BSB dance trax gr8 but are primarily showcase for Swedish geezers & don't allow Boys to show personalities (stop laughing) like ballads do."Shape of My Heart" sounds like Chicago - overproduced into a ball of lacquer, structurally formulaic with a crap key change to boot - I'd trade all that album for "As Long As You Love Me". Ultimate all-powerfulness of IWITW shown beyond doubt when you sing it karaoke - melody all-enveloping, gain respect for Boys' singing - smoothness with which that high B on the key change is hit is unbelievable (shows up soullessness of "Shape"'s) - probably thanks to Max M. "Shape" produced by faceless machine, IWITW produced by mega-awesome supersonic faceless machine!

(Days of pent-up anger at paying $70 to see Pink and then having her lose her voice and not sing and then not get a refund subside. Hate stops, self-pity returns.)

Uh... yeah.

Tell me why?

Yesterday I went to watch my nephew and his friends sing this for a school choral competition (they are like 12, I don't understand how this even exists in their universe) and it was the funniest shit I've ever seen. As it happens they did not win, but they did remind me how impossibly catchy this song is.

No one has bothered mentioning that the OP may be an indie twat.

That is deeply inaccurate.

I Want It That Way has a nice melody, but I can't tell what they're singing about (I'd like to think its about their fear about some daunting sexual position, but I'm naughty).