//////////////shawty got poll poll poll poll poll poll poll (part I: 2008 TRAX)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

I first heard it on mp3. xps

I'm not sure it's something I would go for even if I didn't think the production was poor. A bit white-bread for my tastes. (n/sfj)

I guess my problem with the production is that it sounds like everything is crammed into the mids, with no high or low end or space between instruments.

"it sounds like everything is crammed into the mids, with no high or low end or space between instruments."

not that it should change your dislike, but I think this is not only true but very deliberate.

"Fascination" feels like one of those songs which at first sound great, but pretty soon you forget about them. A lot of instant, ear-grabbing hooks, but it kinda lacks the sort of melodic and sonic sensibilities that make an evergreen pop song. A fun piece of fluff nevertheless.

24 - Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
120.5 points, 12 votes
3 in P&J, 23 in p4k

Single Ladies will still be played years from now in chick-flick ads and at weddings to introduce the bouquet toss
-dmr

So Single Ladies is one of those singles that suddenly makes sense as being amazing aaages after it gets released I think.
―I know, right?

wooooo erykah badu

Wow, 24? I thought for sure this would rank higher. Top 12 at least.

hey musically once you stop for today can you post the results so far in list form?

single ladies is pretty divisive on ilm

I found Alphabeat till I heard fascination on the radio earlier for the first time in forever and it just clicked why it was so fun. So i'm happy it placed. xpost.

was the healer actually a single? because for an album track, i think that 24 doesn't seem too bad.

I'd have thought that Single Ladies was a dead cert for the top ten, if not the top five. Not, like, three places above Alphabeat.

single ladies is pretty divisive on ilm

Right. The home of contrarianism.

ah idk about that - i mean the haters say that's it's just a retread of b'day tracks and it can be certainly read as that, because it basically is. the rest of us, i think, thing that's a b'day track as a massive pop single

yeesh - the rest of us, i think, thing that it's a b'day track as a massive pop single

I rated "Oh My God" high on my ballot, having only just heard it for the first time a day or two before, thanks to the nomination thread. It remains headsticky and sharp, a great example of milking a ton of energy out of a limited premise and very few lyrics. The drummer deserves bonus credit here, although clearly the center of this thing is Ms. Maria, whose Nico von Bjork style is a kind of guaranteed win. Good song.

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, February 4, 2009 9:55 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

Okay, I like 'Oh my God', but Nico von Bjork?! What kind of comparison is that? Is it even related to this song?

Forgive me, I'm just trying to find a way to convey the various indie-cool affectations she's cramming into her vocal style - she totally runs the map from the "birth of the flattened cool" to scrunched-up pixie with odd enunciation. There are probably much clearer and more contemporary references but I don't really keep up with the music of today.

oh, I forgot to add my 2c about Single Ladies.

i have heard "get me bodied"
i have listened to "get me bodied" many times
"get me bodied is one of my favorite songs
"single ladies," you are no "get me bodied"

it grew on me and all but still, i am annoyed that get me bodied was saved for the kitchen cleanout singles blitz during the waning days of the b'day promo and wasn't given a proper release.

oh well.

23 - Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
121 points, 11 votes
40 in P&J

Hopefully "Oxford Comma" ranked too, because "A-Punk" shouldn't be the only representation Vampire Weekend gets.

Forgive me, I'm just trying to find a way to convey the various indie-cool affectations she's cramming into her vocal style - she totally runs the map from the "birth of the flattened cool" to scrunched-up pixie with odd enunciation. There are probably much clearer and more contemporary references but I don't really keep up with the music of today.

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:15 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

No worries! I couldn't name contemporary references to this myself. It's just that I'm heavily into Nico and can't find a single trace Nico might have left in this song. But I could be entirely deaf to it, I must admit.

The deep, husky parts on some (not all) of the verses - some of the repetitions of "pin a smile," "for-tress" etc. I'm not good enough at describing voices (nor a fan enough of Nico!) to really do this justice, though.

Listening to "Kids" now, heard it before but this is the first time I'm paying attention. It's good but maybe playing its cards a little too forcefully in the case of that main keyboard hook. Everything else is really beautifully put-together, though - especially that wonderful, wonderful Super Nintendo solo in the middle there. I much prefer the sound of "Time To Pretend" (which I assume we'll be getting to in due time) but this sort of Faint-esque digression seems like a reasonable thing for this band to do and they equip themselves well. Love the rampaging "Blue Monday" drums that come crashing back in later on. This is pretty okay!

I wasn't too convinced by "Fascination" before, but damn, I wish I had bought the album when it was a fiver.

22 - T.I. Feat. Rihanna - Live Your Life
123.5 points, 10 votes
13 in P&J, 40 in p4k

"Live Your Life" with Rihanna is New/Numan Pop awesome.
-Marcello Carlin

it's all a bit rich considering that the man doling out life lessons is about to serve a year in jail, but it's quite affecting regardless.

last one for tonight:

21 - Air France - Collapsing At Your Doorstep
135 points, 13 votes, 1 #1 vote
117 in P&J, 8 in p4k

wow, gang gang dance apart (and...surely 'first communion' and 'princes' should place higher?), 30-26, 23 and 21 are some bullshit. was feeling so happy and enthused about the list til then.

'single ladies' is the kind of song that only someone who doesn't care enough about beyoncé to follow her career, or enough about r&b to follow the genre, could vote for. nonetheless i would much rather be that sort of person than the sort of person who gives a shit about the dreary greyness of deerhunter or fleet foxezzz, or who can not only bear but enjoy alphabeat.

spent the day hanging out w/t.i. and his gorgeous smile <3 so now is not the time to grump about numa numa for me

I'm kind of surprised you don't like Air France.

eh, i don't hate it but it's just boring and a bit twee. i really really hate twee shit.

Listening to "Disturbia" now - had heard it 2-3 times before but now actually paying attention. It's pretty damn good except for the TITLE - "Disturbia"? It's just a corny word, and aligns badly with the the Marilyn Manson "gothy fast-motion spaz out" video imagery.

But I like the way it comes together as a soundscape, a little 4-minute Blade Runner, the "city of wonder" inhabited by this incredibly machined voice...and yet the prechorus sounds an uplifting note, humanity still alive in the darkness. The suggested narrative is way better than the complete set of actual real-life lyrics.

It's pretty damn good except for the TITLE - "Disturbia"? It's just a corny word, and aligns badly with the the Marilyn Manson "gothy fast-motion spaz out" video imagery.

or the Shia LeBouf film

Yeah, well, exactly. Coming next year from Rihanna: "The Ring," "Spider-Man 2," and "Gothika."

re: A-Punk: Wow, it's THAT song! I wonder how many people are in my position of having heard it but never figured out who it was. Catchy thing, I kinda feel like I've heard enough of it by hearing it straight through once though. The guy's voice does nothing at all for me - all the hooks are really in the instrumental.

annnnnd that Fleet Foxes song is pretty. Does all this mean I really have turned into a boring coffee shop grown-up music listener?

Re: Fascination. Hah, I hadn't even bothered to listen to it, on the grounds that it couldn't possible be as good as the Human League. But wow! Agree with the Katrina and the Waves thing. That's my idea of a pop song!

ugh son

wow, gang gang dance apart (and...surely 'first communion' and 'princes' should place higher?), 30-26, 23 and 21 are some bullshit.

pretty much otm except i like the ida maria song -- it's like a lost '90s modern-rock radio track. but let's just assume this is the indie-ghetto portion of the countdown.

(and my first reaction to "single ladies" was that it sounded like a b'day b-side, but after a while either i changed my mind or i decided that wasn't a bad thing.)

I am loving this list because I have no knowledge of stuff like lindstrom and all the 'dance' (only calling it this because i'm not sure what genre all this stuff actually is) and, like the metal one, it's giving me an easy 'in' to something i never really knew how to start digging into.

everytime i've read someone talk about 'live your life' they always look at hypocritically but, especially considering the video, does no-one else take away the lyrics as tip reassessing his own situation?

Air France possibly making the mistake here of having more than one good tune.

ILM tracks lists always seem to have an indie ghetto around this point.

Hopefully "Oxford Comma" ranked too, because "A-Punk" shouldn't be the only representation Vampire Weekend gets.

Yeah it'd be terrible if Vampire Weekend didn't get the critical attention they deserve.

Indie ghetto
And his mama cries
'cause if there's one thing that she don't need
it's another "wonky pop" act to feed
Indie ghetto

(x-post)

hahahahaha

ditto on the lols.

Also right there with foxes a hoy hoy on the "dance" (?) stuff which mostly sounds really lovely to me - I have no idea how to evaluate it but it's nice!

Only put dance in '' because it's a ridiculous fucking term, but don't know my balaeric from my minimal, what's house, what's techno, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Air France is not particularly twee, certainly not compared to, say, 'Sandcastle Disco'