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Post by pendlewitch on May 6, 2020 6:13:33 GMT -5
Nothing from this millennium in the next set of 10!
40 The Four Tops – Reach Out (I’ll Be There) (1966) 39 The Jam – Going Underground (1980) 38 Blondie – Heart of Glass (1979) 37 Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody (1973) 36 David Bowie – Let’s Dance (1983) 35 The Pretenders – Brass in Pocket (1980) 34 Rod Stewart – Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? (1978) 33 Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual (1965) 32 Britney Spears – … Baby One More Time (1999) 31 Althea and Donna – Uptown Top Ranking (1977)
Somebody who doesn't wish to see jk eat his keyboard!
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Post by jk on May 6, 2020 7:39:13 GMT -5
Nothing from this millennium in the next set of 10!
40 The Four Tops – Reach Out (I’ll Be There) (1966) 39 The Jam – Going Underground (1980) 38 Blondie – Heart of Glass (1979) 37 Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody (1973) 36 David Bowie – Let’s Dance (1983) 35 The Pretenders – Brass in Pocket (1980) 34 Rod Stewart – Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? (1978) 33 Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual (1965) 32 Britney Spears – … Baby One More Time (1999) 31 Althea and Donna – Uptown Top Ranking (1977)
Somebody who doesn't wish to see jk eat his keyboard!
What a nice man! He's right, of course. The greatest 45 of all time deserves to be at #1. Ooohh! I know all these songs. And I like most of them, including "DYTIS", whatever robbo100 says. Thanks again, pw. It's much more fun to see them here and comment where necessary.
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Post by pendlewitch on May 7, 2020 2:50:23 GMT -5
Another set of oldies! But still no Good Vibrations...
30 Madonna – Vogue (1990) 29 Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody (1987) 28 The Kinks – You Really Got Me (1964) 27 Wham! – Careless Whisper (feat George Michael) (1984) 26 The Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (1965) 25 Bee Gees – Night Fever (1978) 24 Freda Payne – Band of Gold (1970) 23 The KLF – 3am Eternal (1991) 22 George McCrae – Rock Your Baby (1974) 21 T Rex – Get It On (1971)
The final 20 are going to take 4 (four!) weeks to get through. One per weekday starting on Monday.
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Post by jk on May 7, 2020 3:41:56 GMT -5
Another set of oldies! But still no Good Vibrations...
30 Madonna – Vogue (1990) 29 Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody (1987) 28 The Kinks – You Really Got Me (1964) 27 Wham! – Careless Whisper (feat George Michael) (1984) 26 The Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (1965) 25 Bee Gees – Night Fever (1978) 24 Freda Payne – Band of Gold (1970) 23 The KLF – 3am Eternal (1991) 22 George McCrae – Rock Your Baby (1974) 21 T Rex – Get It On (1971)
The final 20 are going to take 4 (four!) weeks to get through. One per weekday starting on Monday.
"GV" deserves a higher placing than #21! Preferably #1, but we'll see. (I'm considering the best sauces for the occasion in a worst-case scenario.) All good stuff, with a slight dip at #29 (not a fan of WH). #24 is unusual in being extremely upbeat musically and extremely downbeat lyrically. (Although the sitar guitar riff has something ominous about it.)
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Post by AGD on May 7, 2020 10:51:51 GMT -5
Another set of oldies! But still no Good Vibrations...
30 Madonna – Vogue (1990) 29 Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody (1987) 28 The Kinks – You Really Got Me (1964) 27 Wham! – Careless Whisper (feat George Michael) (1984) 26 The Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (1965) 25 Bee Gees – Night Fever (1978) 24 Freda Payne – Band of Gold (1970) 23 The KLF – 3am Eternal (1991) 22 George McCrae – Rock Your Baby (1974) 21 T Rex – Get It On (1971)
The final 20 are going to take 4 (four!) weeks to get through. One per weekday starting on Monday.
"GV" deserves a higher placing than #21! But it's not at #21 anyway. I have no idea what you're trying to say here.
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Post by jk on May 7, 2020 11:12:39 GMT -5
"GV" deserves a higher placing than #21! But it's not at #21 anyway. I have no idea what you're trying to say here. OK. I'm saying that "GV" is not in this group, not even at #21, precisely because it deserves to be much, much higher. Preferably (and this is probably too much to hope for) at #1. Sorry if I was being opaque (again).
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Post by pendlewitch on May 11, 2020 4:18:22 GMT -5
The slow slog to number 1. This post will get updated as the days go by. I don't want to make 20 fresh posts on this topic! Oh, maybe I'll also put the daily in the shoutbox. Mini Guardian review below, but they also have a full page write-up.
17 Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out of My Head (2001)
"This was always a Kylie classic in the making. Blessed with the perfect pop voice, she delivers each line with just enough blank space for the listener’s own interpretations. Is it about a crush? A recent heartbreak? Does the person Minogue is singing about know about the obsession? What is the dark secret she is harbouring? Even those famous “la, la, las” take on several functions, catalysing an irresistible earworm, a delirious, dancefloor-ready singalong moment and a distraction mechanism for the recently brokenhearted."
18 Ian Dury & the Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (1979) "Dury told chatshow host Michael Parkinson that he wanted his success to dispel society’s discomfort with and patronising attitudes to disability and provide hope to those for whom things hadn’t turned out so well. Today, his best-known tune still sounds fresh and wonderfully off-kilter, a beacon of pop’s ability to embrace oddity and celebrate the other."
19 Lil Nas X – Old Town Road (remix feat Billy Ray Cyrus) (2019) "Old Town Road was unstoppable, with no apparent end to its appeal. Children rioted in their love for it. Its vast stable of remixes made it a genre-splicing Rosetta stone. But as much as the song is an urtext in how to go viral (until the rules change again), Old Town’s Road’s magic lies in its affirming faith that a sunnier future is just around the next bend, designer Stetson optional."
20 Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe (2012) "On first listen, the song seemed deceptively featherweight. The strings sound like ringtones; the guitar parts as though they were lifted from a PlayStation 2 game. But even the most synthetic production can’t detract from songwriting this ironclad. It is telling that Call Me Maybe was intended as a folk song; it would be catchy played on a kazoo, or underwater."
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Post by kds on May 11, 2020 7:19:17 GMT -5
The slow slog to number 1. This post will get updated as the days go by. I don't want to make 20 fresh posts on this topic! Oh, maybe I'll also put the daily in the shoutbox. Mini Guardian review below, but they also have a full page write-up.
20 Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe (2012)
"On first listen, the song seemed deceptively featherweight. The strings sound like ringtones; the guitar parts as though they were lifted from a PlayStation 2 game. But even the most synthetic production can’t detract from songwriting this ironclad. It is telling that Call Me Maybe was intended as a folk song; it would be catchy played on a kazoo, or underwater."
This list is now an epic troll job.
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Post by jk on May 11, 2020 9:38:26 GMT -5
The slow slog to number 1. This post will get updated as the days go by. I don't want to make 20 fresh posts on this topic! Oh, maybe I'll also put the daily in the shoutbox. Mini Guardian review below, but they also have a full page write-up.
I'd say whoever's interested can look up each daily goodie for themselves. Anyway, I'm not sure you'd get that long to edit a post--I believe 24 hours is the limit. I'll be looking in there anyway. And I'd be happy to comment on anything of interest (to me). Others could do the same. So I wouldn't worry too much about documenting the "slow slog", pw. Thanks for getting this fine topic on the road!
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Post by Will/P.P. on May 11, 2020 16:49:18 GMT -5
Oh my God, my sides hurt. Just the very idea that somebody would rank the Spice Girls over Procol Harum. Whew. Yeah. Many of the 2000s acts I don't even know who they are or what they sound like.
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Post by Will/P.P. on May 11, 2020 16:54:54 GMT -5
Nothing from this millennium in the next set of 10!
40 The Four Tops – Reach Out (I’ll Be There) (1966) 39 The Jam – Going Underground (1980) 38 Blondie – Heart of Glass (1979) 37 Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody (1973) 36 David Bowie – Let’s Dance (1983) 35 The Pretenders – Brass in Pocket (1980) 34 Rod Stewart – Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? (1978) 33 Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual (1965) 32 Britney Spears – … Baby One More Time (1999) 31 Althea and Donna – Uptown Top Ranking (1977)
Somebody who doesn't wish to see jk eat his keyboard!
If you can only have one, they should have picked "Beat Surrender" for the Jam. The Bowie, Pretenders and Rod Stewart tracks are soo far from their best, it's hard to believe. Rod, especially, was done by the late '70s.
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Post by jk on May 12, 2020 4:09:32 GMT -5
34 Rod Stewart – Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? (1978)
Rod, especially, was done by the late '70s. Aww, I love "DYTIS"--that bass! Today's choice was Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road", the remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, which I must confess I like! I suspect this one will be remembered in the decades to come, when most of its contemporaries are long forgotten. Here it is without the official video, just to show the song stands on its own:
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Post by kds on May 12, 2020 7:14:18 GMT -5
Oh my God, my sides hurt. Just the very idea that somebody would rank the Spice Girls over Procol Harum. Whew. Yeah. Many of the 2000s acts I don't even know who they are or what they sound like. Many pops acts of the 2000s make The Spice Girls sound like The Supremes.
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Post by pendlewitch on May 15, 2020 3:52:01 GMT -5
This week's 16-20 with the G's words of wisdom. Guardianistas will be shocked Beyonce only made #16.
16 Beyoncé – Crazy in Love (2003) "The announcement of her arrival via those unforgettable blaring horns, sampled from the Chi-Lites’ 1970 hit Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So), erred on regal fanfare, inspiring endless struts across makeshift dancefloors-turned-catwalks to this day. Beyoncé was auditioning for the part of pop’s new reigning diva, a role she knew she had already secured."
17 Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out of My Head (2001) "This was always a Kylie classic in the making. Blessed with the perfect pop voice, she delivers each line with just enough blank space for the listener’s own interpretations. Is it about a crush? A recent heartbreak? Does the person Minogue is singing about know about the obsession? What is the dark secret she is harbouring? Even those famous “la, la, las” take on several functions, catalysing an irresistible earworm, a delirious, dancefloor-ready singalong moment and a distraction mechanism for the recently brokenhearted." 18 Ian Dury & the Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (1979)"Dury told chatshow host Michael Parkinson that he wanted his success to dispel society’s discomfort with and patronising attitudes to disability and provide hope to those for whom things hadn’t turned out so well. Today, his best-known tune still sounds fresh and wonderfully off-kilter, a beacon of pop’s ability to embrace oddity and celebrate the other." 19 Lil Nas X – Old Town Road (remix feat Billy Ray Cyrus) (2019)"Old Town Road was unstoppable, with no apparent end to its appeal. Children rioted in their love for it. Its vast stable of remixes made it a genre-splicing Rosetta stone. But as much as the song is an urtext in how to go viral (until the rules change again), Old Town’s Road’s magic lies in its affirming faith that a sunnier future is just around the next bend, designer Stetson optional." 20 Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe (2012)"On first listen, the song seemed deceptively featherweight. The strings sound like ringtones; the guitar parts as though they were lifted from a PlayStation 2 game. But even the most synthetic production can’t detract from songwriting this ironclad. It is telling that Call Me Maybe was intended as a folk song; it would be catchy played on a kazoo, or underwater."
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Post by jk on May 15, 2020 6:18:22 GMT -5
16 Beyoncé – Crazy in Love (2003) 17 Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out of My Head (2001) 18 Ian Dury & the Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (1979) 19 Lil Nas X – Old Town Road (remix feat Billy Ray Cyrus) (2019)20 Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe (2012)Thanks, pw. I know and like #18 and #19, have heard #17 (rather too often) and know the singers of #16 (obviously) and #20 but not the songs.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2020 10:49:19 GMT -5
Jk, the best way to appreciate Crazy in Love is here:
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Post by jk on May 17, 2020 3:30:31 GMT -5
Jk, the best way to appreciate Crazy in Love is here: That's sensational! Thanks, ls--good call. This will help ease the pain of having to wait until tomorrow to see what's next on The Guardian's little list of goodies.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2020 17:03:08 GMT -5
Glad you enjoyed it, jk. What a bold and talented trio, eh.
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Post by jk on May 18, 2020 3:57:50 GMT -5
Glad you enjoyed it, jk. What a bold and talented trio, eh. They are, aren't they... Today's song is an unexpected pleasure (although my favourite Jerry Lee track is "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"):
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Post by jk on May 19, 2020 16:34:17 GMT -5
I missed today's choice in the flurry of on- and offline activity. I'm racking my brains trying to recall when and how I connected with Kate's music. (It wasn't in 1978, that's for sure.) In all likelihood it was after seeing a live performance on BBC TV of "Running Up That Hill". After subsequently listening to all her albums on YouTube and liking every one, I decided my favourites were The Sensual World and The Red Shoes, along with the later related Director's Cut. "Wuthering Heights" (#14 in the lockdown list) sounds pretty good to me now:
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Post by Beach Boys Fan on May 19, 2020 23:23:54 GMT -5
Yikes, Kylie Minogue is in list, really? Can't stand her. Ditto Rod Stewart, Blondie, Britney Spears, T. Rex, Madonna blah blah. Never cared about David Bowie's music, not to this listener's music taste. Listers could choose Bee Gees' 60s pop song, they'd miles better songs then, for example "Claustrophobia", "New York Mining Disaster", "1st Of May", "Could It Be", "Barker Of The U.F.O.". Rolling Stones got too better songs - "The Singer Not The Song", "Lady Jane", "Paint It Black", "Sweet Black Angel", "Salt Of The Earth", "Tumbling Dice", "Ruby Tuesday", "Sympathy For The Devil", "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)".
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Post by pendlewitch on May 20, 2020 2:44:14 GMT -5
Ha BBF, join the ranks of the outraged! Obviously you can't please all the people all of the time
I love Kate, she should be higher. My 16-year-old could name this one after only a few tinkling notes even though *shock* *horror* it came from the last millennium.
(The same couldn't be said for Great Balls of Fire or many of the others. I have not taught her well.)
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Post by AGD on May 20, 2020 3:25:42 GMT -5
Yikes, Kylie Minogue is in list, really? Can't stand her. Ditto Rod Stewart, Blondie, Britney Spears, T. Rex, Madonna blah blah. Never cared about David Bowie's music, not to this listener's music taste. Listers could choose Bee Gees' 60s pop song, they'd miles better songs then, for example "Claustrophobia", "New York Mining Disaster", "1st Of May", "Could It Be", "Barker Of The U.F.O.". Rolling Stones got too better songs - "The Singer Not The Song", "Lady Jane", "Paint It Black", "Sweet Black Angel", "Salt Of The Earth", "Tumbling Dice", "Ruby Tuesday", "Sympathy For The Devil", "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)". Suggest you read the topic heading again - very few (if any) of those songs would qualify.
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Post by jk on May 20, 2020 6:30:13 GMT -5
Great to see FGTH's "Relax" at #13. It has always amused me how this got banned by the BBC when they were quite happy to play Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" at all hours of the day.
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Post by pendlewitch on May 22, 2020 3:15:14 GMT -5
#11. The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations (1966)
I weep, I wail, I gnash my teeth. Not high enough!
Laura Barton: "Few pop songs are as revered for their technical prowess as this post-Pet Sounds October 1966 release by the Beach Boys. With lyrics by Mike Love and writing and arrangement by Brian Wilson, who also produced, it was at the time the most expensive single ever made.
The song’s provenance was Wilson’s longstanding preoccupation with cosmic vibrations – a concept apparently introduced to him by his mother. After several mis-starts, Love claims to have written the lyrics on his drive to the studio. He wondered how the band’s fanbase, wooed by early hits such as Surfin’ USA and Help Me, Rhonda, would greet this new avant-garde production. His masterstroke was the familiar tale of boy-meets-girl at the heart of Good Vibrations – one simply recast in the haze of the psychedelic and flower-power movements then emerging along America’s west coast, to tell of “colourful clothes” and a “blossom world”.
Back when most pop singles were finished in a couple of days, Good Vibrations became an unwieldy creation. Between February and September that year, Wilson recorded numerous short musical pieces with his bandmates and a clutch of session musicians across four different studios in Hollywood, producing 90 hours of tape that could then be spliced together. It was an early example of an artist using the recording studio itself as an instrument. Wilson was building on the work he had begun on Pet Sounds, in which songs were crafted out of musical fragments he referred to as “feels”. “Each feel represented a mood or an emotion I’d felt,” he explained, “and I planned to fit them together like a mosaic.”
That mosaic was a startling thing: comprising frequent shifts in key and texture, a diverse range of influences including the work of Stephen Foster, the Crystals’ Da Doo Ron Ron and a chord progression known as “Andalusian cadence”. Alongside its polyphonous vocals it included cello played at a triplet beat, jaw harp, Hammond organ, bongos and electro-theremin. Wilson has spoken movingly about the sensation of finishing the track: “It was a feeling of power, it was a rush,” he said. “A feeling of exhilaration. Artistic beauty. It was everything.”
Often referred to as a “pocket symphony” (a phrase allegedly coined by the band’s publicist), Good Vibrations’ structure is divided into six distinct sections, from verse to coda, via refrain and episodic digressions, over three minutes and 35 seconds – then deemed an epic length for a pop single. You can hear some of its legacy in the unlikely structure of songs such as the Beatles’ A Day in the Life, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. The song had its critics: many felt it lacked the emotional heft that had carried much of Pet Sounds. “It’s like Psycho is a great film but it’s an edit film,” the producer Phil Spector said. “Without edits, it’s not a film; with edits, it’s a great film. But it’s not Rebecca … it’s not a beautiful story.” But others saw those edits as an emotional expression in themselves. Good Vibrations was at once the mumbled inarticulacy and heightened feelings of love, but also the sound of a culture changing – almost in real time. In this collision of sound and sentiment, Wilson and his bandmates succeeded in capturing the moment when everything we thought we knew about pop songs dissolved."
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