***Put Ya Hands Up for the 2006 ILX TRACKS POLL RESULTS***

(since the video is edited, my ending sentence doesn't make sense (instead of 'oh snap,' it's 'oh, shit'))

I think I gave "London Bridge" my #2 spot and it deserves considerable acclaim IMO. I definitely hated on it on first listen (see the "check out the new MIA single" thread) but it grew on me rapidly. We've certainly heard songs by talentless lushes before, but I've never heard a song that so captured the experience of being a talentless lush - "London Bridge" perfectly captures the confidence, moodiness, and impenetrable certainty in one's own rightness that we've all seen in the faces of a thousand people at clubs yelling in cell phones that they're totally wasted and wish they didn't wear these shoes. There's something completely pure in the performance - possibly something quite unintentional, as the stabs at legitimate sex symbolism elsewhere in her career would suggest. But Fergie is much more "pissed jeans" than she is "Glamorous", and "London Bridge" seems to suggest that, hell, that's enough for a Thursday night on the town. Magnificent.

I had the exact same experience with London Bridge as I did with Rudebox:

-hated it on first listen (really, really, really hated)
-really liked next single (Lovelight and Fergalicious)
-went back and realized their first single was actually ace

Incidentally, if anyone hasn't clicked on that link for the Ghostface song, you're missing out on the chance to see a bunch of teenaged anime boys playing tennis to Ghostface, with great vigor.

"London Bridge" isn't my thing but no way is it anywhere near as horrible/annoying as any given Pussycat Dolls song

If you ignore the whole idea of the Pussycat Dolls, they really have some amazing songs.

i was disappointed by 'london bridge' at first, it seemed like such a pale version 2.0 of HUMPS! love it now obv but 'glamorous' is my fave ferg - gorgeous harmonies, whodathunkit?

i love the idea of the pussycat dolls and at their best they are awesome ('BUTTONZ', Y'ALL), though their album gets a bit awful when they start with the dodgy cabaret covers.

I dislike "Buttons." That voice grates.

nicole's a really good singer i think, a bit dead-souled in her delivery but we all like fembots don't we...the others barely sing.

am i the only one eagerly anticipating nicole's solo career? the song with rihanna is really good.

buttonz is the shit. london bridge I didn't quite rate, I don't expect anything other than sloppiness from Fergie and I'm ok with that but the song's kind of tired. My beef is with those two awful girls aloud songs -- I even like GA but those must have been like, lifetime achievement noms. GET REAL.

what happened to you, musically?

I've been super busy the last couple days, but I'm going to update both the tracks and albums tomorrow.

please do!

30. Sally Shapiro - I'll Be By Your Side
(51 points, 5 votes)

Via last.fm

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/illbeby.jpg

Other ILXors said...

An italo-disco Annie is so obviously what the world has always needed that it amazes me no one has thought of it before. The single, I'll Be By Your Side is on Bigstereo right now, and it's been a long time since I've loved a song this much on first listening.

If it does sound like Annie (yeah, it's a lazy comparison), it's the wistful Annie of Heartbeat or My Best Friend. But the backing is proper italo, straight out of 1983, no question.
-Matt DC

29. Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancin'
(53.5 points, 6 votes)

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXZ1tygRaVw">via Youtube</a>

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/dontfeel.jpg

28. Midlake - Roscoe
(54.5 votes, 5 votes)

via Youtube

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/roscoe.jpg

Other ILXors said...

If there's one thing "Roscoe" doesn't seem to be, it's straightforward. The vocal turns in this song are consistently slippery and unique. More so than on the rest of the album. Probably the most memorable phrasing I've heard this year comes from this song: "Whenever I was I child I wondered what if my name had changed into something more productive like Roscoe, been born in 1891, waiting with my aunt Rosaline". That line repeats in my head for days. And I like it.
-cosmo vitelli

26. Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control
(54.5 points, 5 votes, 1 number one)

via Youtube

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/standing.jpg

26. Ricardo Villalobos - Fizheuer Zieheuer
(54.5 points, 5 votes, 1 number one)

Via Youtube (great video)

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/fizheuer.jpg

Sorry for missing the last few days. Unfortunately events in my life tend to get in the way of ILXing. My plan is to post 10 in each today, 10 in each tomorrow, and finish on Friday.

yay sally shapiro!

I heart the Gossip, but despite my best efforts, I just could never quite get into the song "Standing In The Way Of Control." There was something herky-jerky about it, or just not hooky enough. Felt like a huge departure from their sound without really getting anywhere.

More importantly, it came out in 2005, so I call DISQUALIFIED.

I am delighted that Sally Shapiro placed so high and sort of amazed The Gossip placed so low - I had that penned as a top five entry easy.

apologies, on a shit PC right now & everything is hard but can someone tell me where the 2006 albums thread is, seeing as the new answers page is way too fucking short now... so much stuff keeps slipping off before getting search/google indexed. Unless you're on here watching 24/7 it's a bit of an arse to keep up with honestly...

Why doesn't that link work?

http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=57588

thank you! :)

25. Muse - Knights Of Cydonia
(57 points, 4 votes, 1 number one)

via Youtube

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/knights.jpg

Who would have thought fusing together 80s Queen, Ennio Morricone in his spaghetti Western mode, and surf rock guitar would have produced one of the most jaw-dropping rock singles in years? Muse, apparently. It's probably best experienced with the crazy futuristic western video, but the song conjures up enough imagery and grandeur on its own even without visual accompaniment. Don't waste your time, or time will waste you.
-Jeff Treppel

I love the crap out of that Midlake song and its accompanying remix. I'm glad to see it getting props

seconded. yay Roscoe!

24. Clipse - Wamp Wamp (What It Do) (Feat. Slim Thug)
(59 points, 5 votes)

Via Youtube

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/wamp.jpg

23. Cansei De Ser Sexy - Let's Make Love and Listen To Death From Above
(59 points, 7 votes, 1 number one)

via Myspace

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/letsmakelove.jpg

Ah, we meet again!

22. Ciara - Promise
(62 points, 5 votes, 1 number one)

via Youtube

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/49.JPG

There have been plenty of good hit ballads in the past couple years, but none have felt as genuine as "Promise." There's something so amazing about the way Ciara sings here. Rather than trying to asking Polow Da Don to hide her voice, she takes a leading role on the track and coos with real sincerity.

Ok, so "Promise" is not an original track by any means, but for a smooth Ciara single, it's pretty close to perfect. The song itself is pretty simple...It's just a gorgeous beat, complete with some genius vocoder clips, and Ciara, who sounds more powerful here than she ever has.
-Tape Store

A curveball, at first: what's this, the thin-voiced Princess of Crunk leading her second album off with an opulent ballad? 'Promise' was an ambitious undertaking triumphantly executed: there was its epic structure (two intros! two middle eights, one of them spoken word!), there were the sumptuous layers of multi-tracked voices, the wonderfully tactile drum pads, the soft gasps of breaths used as extra percussion, the echoing longing of the vocodered backing vocals, the devotional romance of the lyrics (with added reference to the sources: you can be my Prince, my Knight indeed) - and above all, there was Ciara, replete with emotion, singing her heart out. And, even better, the video was a dancing video! By my count, this is the third of Ciara's singles which is a genius pinnacle of human achievement: a record which brooks no argument as to who, exactly, is the greatest pop star in the world right now.
-lex pretend

And the last track of the day...

21. Justice vs Simian - We Are Your Friends
(62.5 points, 5 votes)

http://ilx2006music.googlepages.com/weareyour.jpg

via Youtube via Youtube

Thoughts?

22 songs voted better than "LMLALTDFA" (my #1)? I hope I missed out on a lot.

This is taking too long.

Wait, 49 and 22? WTF?

#49 was a fuckup.

though if 'promise' took up each and every one of the top 50 spots it would be more than deserved!

shocked that CSS was so low. i ended up not voting for it but assumed it was a lock for the top 5 or so.

who are the closet muse fans? and why?

I am an out and proud Muse fan kthx

I am a muse fan and I am not in the closet about it. I have a lot of goodwill towards them left over from my days when I only listened to indie. And they deserve all of it. Black Holes And Revelations was a great step forward for them and they went even more over the top - The massive opening track about burning in hell sets the pace for what is a hypnotic, crazy, yet compulsively danceable and singalongable album. And I am glad I have some common ground with the metalists.

Also, I'm a little surprised by "Roscoe"'s low placing. Everyone here seems to be praising it to the high heavens. Deservedly so.

And can someone please explain why they voted for "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'." I went to see them recently and sang along to every word as only a gay boy can but practically everything on new album is very disappointing.

I voted for Head Home rather than Roscoe.

I saw the Scissor Sisters and I Don't Feel Like Dancin' was mental fun, as it is on record. I'll agree about the other new album tracks (live, at least - haven't got the product), but I Don't Feel Like Dancin' is immense.

Shocked SPEECHLESS that Let's Make Love And Listen Death From Above placed so low.

If Crazy doesn't win this I will buy every single person who voted a pint.

who are the closet muse fans?

I voted for "Knights of Cydonia". My #3, actually.

and why?

Having a headbang section > Not having a headbang section.

i don't really understand why people like to headbang. dancing is better!

Both have their merits.