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the vocals are supposed to sound soft and vulnerable (re. Hot Chip)

That's as may be, but to me it's more feeble and wimpy. I can't stand the beat either (as previously referred to). I keep thinking the proper beat is going to come in, but it doesn't. Not that I want some great big dance beat to come in, but something a bit more solid.

what does 'swinging' have to do with it - it's obviously supposed to move vertically not horizontally

I guess the way it's constructed is intentional but I just don't like the rhythmic effect. It sounds leaden too me. No bounce.

yeah i guess how it could be seen as leaden, but i think that just means your misconstruing the intent of the song. like i said i think it's basically a ballad - you don't dance to ballads. unless you're slow dancing, and i think you could slow dance to "electric feel"

also i think the bassline is pretty bouncy

It doesn't come across as a ballad (not the song but the arrangement). It's got this big heavy downbeat, 4 beats to the bar feel to it, which is what I don't like.

good for walking and high-fivin

Isn't "Electric Feel" around 100 bpm? A bit fast for a ballad, and the drums almost play a march. Beck doing "Road To Nowhere".

14 - Aeroplane feat. Kathy Diamond - Whispers
158 points, 13 votes, 1 #1 vote
240 in P&J, 31 in p4k

What I love about them as original producers - the sense that on every single occasion they're consciously trying to make the most enjoyable record imaginable. And their ability to mix pop-disco and e-transcendence and that sense of wide-eyed wonder without ever really coming over as twee or cloying or annoying. Whispers is my favourite single of this year by several light years.
-Matt DC

Wow! I'd never heard that Aeroplane track. Really, really good. Well done everybody else!

best song on the list so far

that's very good. Lovely-looking video as well

Hadn't heard this before tonight, may well have voted for it if I had. Based on their remixes for Friendly Fires and Grace Jones and this I think they'll have one of the albums of 2009 when it's released in the Autumn.

It's got this big heavy downbeat, 4 beats to the bar feel to it, which is what I don't like.

― dubmill, Thursday, February 5, 2009 1:59 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Sry for pedantry, but most of the song is in 6/4 time.

That was my #1 - I thought it might actually sneak into the Top 10 if the right people voted it high enough, but 14 isn't too bad at all :)

(Got a feeling the Friendly Fires song might be propelled quite high by a combination of original votes and remix votes, people seemed to keep nominating the remix at any rate)

Not so nuts about the Aeroplane there, the vox don't do a lot for me. She's no Roisin Murphy is she?

Well no she's not on Roisin's level, but she's a pretty good vocalist... you should check out her album Miss Diamond To You lots of great production by Maurice Fulton.

That version of Whispers isn't quite as good as the full six minute version but it gets the point across. Is that the real video? It works really well anyway.

I still need to hear that Kathy Diamond album.

Matt tell me you've at least heard her "I Need You"...

Sry for pedantry, but most of the song is in 6/4 time

As soon as I posted about '4 beats to the bar' I knew you would pick up on that. But you know what I meant. Also, if you listen to the drums, what they play is indistinguishable from a 4/4 pattern. But yes, I SHOULD have said It's got this big heavy downbeat, 6 beats to the bar feel to it, which is what I don't like.

Tim, probably, we saw her play at Glastonbury. Unfortunately it was at 11am in the Guardian Lounge and most people were sitting in armchairs, hungover, reading the paper and drinking tea, so probably not the ideal setting.

wow hadn't heard Whispers before. this is great.

13 - Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire
161.5 points, 16 votes
64 in P&J, 7 in p4k

It shouldn't work, but it does. A maximalist masterpiece: synth stabs; nice arpeggios; "It Takes Two"-ish samples; trance builds; cheesy sax; New Order high-octave bass outro. All it's missing is a hip-house verse warning of the dangers of actually setting your heart on fire.
― Shane Black-Macken

idgi

I love that one as well - it threatened to be overplayed all summer but never actually got there.

hooray for aeroplane! although i think the cosmic jam remix of grace jones is better than theirs by some distance

My favorite track on the Miss Diamond To You album is "Between the Lines". The multitracked vocals in the
chorus get me every time.

i have another aeroplane as my number 1.

kathy diamond's vocals seems to really divide people. i think she compliments both aeroplane and maurice fulton's music very well.

I'm disappointed by that one (Cut Copy). The repeated line is such a cop-out - there are a couple of verses already, why not go for it a little bit more and turn it into a proper song? It's not manic or hypnotic enough to bear that amount of repetition. As it stands I'm switching off midway through, when it's a nice-sounding thing and deserves better

geez, seems = seem and compliment = complement

are we going to see the top 10 today?

Whoah, can't believe Kim & Jessie didn't finish top ten!

As soon as I posted about '4 beats to the bar' I knew you would pick up on that. But you know what I meant. Also, if you listen to the drums, what they play is indistinguishable from a 4/4 pattern. But yes, I SHOULD have said It's got this big heavy downbeat, 6 beats to the bar feel to it, which is what I don't like.

Suggest Ban Permalink
― dubmill, Thursday, February 5, 2009 3:17 PM Bookmark

I should have added an "I feel you tho" to my pedantry

no, top 10 is tomorrow, we'll get up to 11 today

that Aeroplane is A++ thank u all for voting it I needed to hear that

hearts on fire is the jam of all jams

it was cemented as my fav song from the album for a while but last night i thought that maybe "so haunted" is better

not a single vote for the hercules and love affair remix of "whispers" is interesting/perplexing. maybe it just wasn't nominated.

i think it's hard to beat the original, to be honest

Just checking back, that was my number 2 song, so I think I did my part to get it up there. Anyone know if that is an official video?

12 - Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
171.5 points, 15 votes
6 in P&J, 4 in p4k

Holy shit is that "LES Artistes" song amazing. I don't hear M.I.A. there (more like a kind of recent Nelly Furtado over indie rock on that one); but I haven't heard any other Santogold songs yet. I can't stop playing "LES Artistes," though. It's just huge.
― Ben Boyerrr

x-post: With gukbe on this one: the H&LA remix is fantastic but the original of "Whispers" is sublime, and it would have been odd voting for both.

lower than expected?

that grace jones track is good, i've been meaning to track down that album.

also, youtube embeds are a great addition to these threads. how did we live without them?

L.E.S. Artistes was well lower than I expected. Should have guessed what with Lights Out not getting a shout, but I am surprised.

i heard the "whispers" remix before the original and that is what hooked me. i like the original, but the remix is more fun to play around with in a dj mix imo.

the youtube embeds really are a great addition.

yeah, without them i would have just thought "hey, a list i should check out (but most probably never will" and now i am actually spending time listening and enjoying and making an effort to actually get into this stuff.

yeah echoing youtube love over here

The Aeroplane Grace Jones and MGMT remixes are dope too. Will have to seek out more Aeroplane.

friendly fires remix to come as well then, obviously. It really has been the year of Aeroplane.