postulation: chart-pop this decade has not come even remotely close to re-attaining the heights of "pure shores" and "beautiful stranger"

have at it

do you want a list or what? do you include rap & r&b in 'chart-pop'

i don't include them. my terminology is unstable but my heart is fixed: william orbit production jobs circa 2000 were responsible for better whatever-you-call-it bubblegum pop than anything since. i want a refutation, and examples, yes.

two examples, one MOR as fuck the other just plain BAD?

not the strongest argument I've ever seen put forth on here.

i mean musically those things twist, thump and soar with genuine conviction and thrill, they *sound* so full of invention and excitement, nothing since has aimed for wide-eyed pop heaven and found it so effortlessly

haha and it starts

this is what happens when art-rock indieprog fuxx attempts to talk pop

I mean even for Willam Orbit produced Madonna tracks alone(!) it's still top nothing of anything.

It's only effortless in that you can tell no effort was put in whatsoever for a crappy movie tie-in

i like pure shores but i dont really have any love for beautiful stranger

To these ears, it sounds wondrous (Beautiful Stranger). The bit with the recorders! The beat-drop! The echoey bridge! The "restart" descending keyboard swash! All fits together magically.

"Ray of Light" is great too, obv.

What I'm really looking for is stuff in this mould, sonically-adventurous rollercoaster pop.

what's wrong with Girls Aloud then?

nothing i've heard of 'em has rly caught the ear

I'd best stop trolling and get on with my xmas wrapping now ;-)

The argument is just wrong, although "Pure Shores" is a very good song ("Black Coffee" is better though, and "Dreams" perhaps best of all). Orbit's productions were ostentatiously swirly, but this is not the only sign of a well-produced pop song. And the pop songs he propped up tended to be a bit on the timid side. Ray Of Light "Beautiful Stranger" would be pretty pointless without his nice keyboard sounds.

Here's a mere handful of chart-pop songs since then that have been better (not even including R&B/hip hop/house-pop/trance-pop/UK Garage). Some of them are immaculately constructed. Some of them are monolithically euphoric. Some of them are satisfyingly stringent. Some of them are disarmingly sweet. Some of them are gorgeously poised. None of them are ostentatiously swirly, and none of them are the worse for not being so.

Backstreet Boys - Shape Of My Heart
Sophie Ellis Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor
Blue - If You Come Back
Kylie Minogue - Love At First Sight
Sugababes - Freak Like Me
Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body
Holly Valance - Down Boy
Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One
Girls Aloud - No Good Advice
Rachel Stevens - Some Girls
Britney Spears - Toxic
Kelly Clarkson - Since You've Been Gone
Ashlee Simpson - Boyfriend
Madonna - Get Together
Gwen Stefani - Cool
Robyn - With Every Heartbeat
The Veronicas - Untouched

"Pure shores" is fine.

"Beautiful Stranger" though.... The first line "Haven't we met?" Ahem, read the song title?

thank you! :)

actually when discussing this recently someone mentioned "toxic" and i was all "ya that is a superb song BUT it is more raunchy-grind and I want swirly-euphoric-heavengaze"

not necessarily swirly maybe but sonically grandstanding

If I wanted to win over someone looking for "swirly-euphoric-heavengaze" in chartpop (a dubious notion, but let's run with it) I'd suggest:

Sugababes - Maya (very Orbit-y)
Britney Spears - Breathe On Me
the entire second Siobhan Donaghy album
Robyn - With Every Heartbeat
Gwen Stefani - Cool

I think that "swirly-euphoric-heavengaze" vibe is often much more present in R&B, especially at the moment. Chris Brown's "Forever" is a good representative example.

Thank you, I will check 'em out. Cheers for engaging! I know these are choppy waters for me, but between this and the TVOTR creativity debate you seem to have an answer to my every wild conjecture.

TS: Swirly Euphoric Heavengaze vs. Intergalactic Avant Gay Dance etc

...or are they one and the same

"Beautiful Stranger" = her best nineties single after "Deeper and Deeper" and "Vogue."

RONG!!! Though it's better than a lot of them.

Sugababes - Maya:

Hey - this is really good! It's a lot subtler than my suggestions, slower-burning, and it doesn't go in for the constant Orbit musical-and-emotional pyrotechnics, but the payoff is mighty. It doesn't really ricochet between sections, but it builds gradually, almost imperceptibly. Maybe not as spectacularly gratifying, but it's definitely got something good.

The one quibble is perhaps a lack of melodic variance, which is something that features heavily in the Orbit songs (and is something I personally like). But I guess the point of this one is that it stays in the same place while not staying in the same place, if that makes sense.

Here's the song the Sugababes actually did with William Orbit, "Spiral":

Chris Brown - Forever:

predictably i liked "spiral" a lot

although again, it could have done with more melodic variation, some sort of counterpoint chorus maybe

how much would the chris brown tie in with itt: kinda out there, maybe kinda experimental, maybe kinda pretentious modern r&b (and would i like the stuff on that thread)?

I think only to the extent that sometimes ideas flit between the two areas and both mainstream R&B and alterna-R&B can come up with pretty spacey grooves. But yeah you'd probably like stuff in that thread.

Aaliyah - It's Whatever:

Destiny's Child - Perfect Man:

Tim beats me to it, "Black Coffee" was definitely better than "Pure Shores". Is there an extended mix that draws out that nice little idea in the outro? There should be.

"Black Coffee" doesn't throw itself into the sky with such reckless kinetic abandon, which tbh is what I most often want from my pop. I think I'm just a sucker for pop songs which use guitars as the framework around which to drape synth flurries, vocal harmony and pretty melodies (with the occasional shift in beat-ferocity very welcome). The odd bit of well-used disharmony or abrasive texture wouldn't go amiss either.

how does 'pure shores' have 'reckless kinetic abandon'? 'pure shores' is better imo. do think the madonna track is underrated but, being a madonna track, it has really terrible lyrics and mediocre delivery.

not even guitars, but synth "riffs", rather than repetitive beat-patterns

basically, seeing as NRQ is here, i'll say it straight: chart-pop if orbital made chart-pop (i.e. in a parallel universe where "otono" made #1 for 10 weeks)

pure shores has 1) its chorus and 2) its dancy bridge, both of which pick the song up and run

Louis trying to talk about pop music is really distressing actually.

you really didn't have to bump this thread, i only linked it for the lolz

I needed to say that though.

Also, despite CBs car trouble I still wanna listen to forever most days.

Do you like Gwen's "Cool", louis?

havent really read whole thread but "swirly-euphoric heavengaze" brings "rockin' that shit" to mind

o lol this is old thread

That tune by Jem. Them? Or Us? Louis might like that. I can kind of see where he's going for. 2nd Siobhan Donaghy album is in this territory, aye; final track would probably make Louis have a little pop orgasm.

Haha is this Rolling Pop LJ Likes '09 now?

Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One

Tim F, wtf?

have a listen to this louis! http://www.last.fm/music/Ciara/_/Echo

def fits in w/the twisting thrilling summer pop heaven you're getting from 'beautiful stranger' and 'pure shores'

are you on last.fm btw?

I'm not on last.fm but I am perfectly willing to hear any suggestions placed on this thread. I'll find it somehow. :)

Again, it works because it is subtle, organic and crafty where the Ashanti was like a brick to the skull.

maybe save some fresh ears for the rest LJ, its late.

The-Dream - Rockin That Shit

Wasn't J0rdan just posting this to quote the title?

Clubometer: Engage hot female in rump-shaking context. Win.

*contest, although context does still work iirc

more tomorrow

now let me take you to a place far beyond in a whole 'nother galaxy
travellin' your mind, explore your sexuality

yeah i am an honorary ringtone bisexual did u not get the memo

(this is, I will concede, much MUCH better than the other the-dream songs i've heard)

how is ringtone bisexual a crew? isn't there just two of them?

ringtone bisexual is a feeling

and a spectrum

I love you blueski. Those two Barbara Morgenstern songs are really good.

Gui Boratto - Beautiful Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuoxwpKnHQk

It had to be a chart-pop hit somewhere right?

lol @ Tape Store

thaking u lj

lol lj. btw, i provided a "devotion" last.fm link upthread which iirc has the whole song. and i want a full review for rockin that shit, it was i who suggested it and i think it fits well here!

ok technically not chart-pop (but then technically neither are schnauss, allien, boratto) but whatever, this gorgeous breathtaking song makes me dream of a world where pearson throws down epic chart busting tunes til the end of time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NzExoxxBFU

"clubometer" is killing me softly tbh

might be of interest to LJ, highly recommended to any and all fans of lush-mode Danja:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDVuKMxFMbU

The Cassie song that marries swirl and snap best is Turn The Lights Off, I think.

yeah i realise this, but I thought a more wtf arrangement would be needed to prick the ears,

Louis please revive that thread from a couple months ago and listen to the ones you haven't heard

― ash ra - i love temple (k3vin k.), Friday, 21 August 2009 20:47 (32 seconds ago) Bookmark

let's do this thang

Alright!

yes!!

can you list the ones you haven't heard so i know what i can look forward to

Britney Spears - Why should I be sad?
Britney Spears - Anticipating
Cassie - I don't love you
Sugababes - whatever makes you happy
Rihanna - If it's lovin' that you want
Ciara - Dancin' On Me
Mariah Carey - OCC
Utada - You Make Me Want to be a man (if you like that check out easy peasy, ignore lyrics)
also off topic Apparat, Ellen Allien (esp their collab; orchestra of bubbles, I would esp rec Metric off that) and Delia and Gavin (Relevee Carl Craig remix)
Janet Jackson - Empty
Tweet - Drunk
Toya - No Matter What (Party All Night)
Ciara - Promise
Chris Brown - Forever
Teedra Moses - For A Lifetime
Aaliyah - Never No More
Amerie - Float
Ashanti - Voodoo
Bobby Valentino - Tell Me
Christina Milian - Dip It Low (Original Mix)
that Elektrik Red song
and all the latter youtubes

can't wait, how many of us have asked u to revive this already btw?

several. but now is the right time. let a dude grab a bite to eat first and then i'll be on it

that this thread was proposed by anyone is proof of that recent study indicating that biochemistry has as much to do with what pop music you like as anything else does

i worry that this idea is gaining popularity

but could add Bent's 'Swollen' to the list - it's on Michael Caine's ipod u kno

Britney Spears - Why should I be sad?

I like the third chord of this song's verse cycle. The fourth one becomes pretty tasty as well. Then the first one follows suit and becomes extremely listenable. Only the second one remains a bit boring. Muted percussion provides an oddly stark backbeat to the downhearted synth stylings of this subtly desperate number. Those autotuned 3-part "Britney let's go" harmonies act in violent and affecting contrast to the gritty ebb-and-flow of Britney's delivery. It's put together intriguingly. Maybe lacking a little in terms of punch, it nonetheless contains plenty of string-effect craft and dare I say pathos. She actually sounds pretty miserable in this one, but her voice is definitely in thrall to the musical framework rather than the other way round. Around the 1.50 mark, the counterpoint strains urgently against the minor-key lope, and we enter a fleetingly hopeful middle-eight. It is a quickly silenced vision, and we are plunged back into the main cycle. My predominant problem with the song is that it finishes fairly weakly, but for a Spears song, it demonstrates ample feeling and craft.

Clubometer: Come to aid of incapacitated friend in bathroom, offer an arm to lean on and a walk home

Britney Spears - Anticipating

This has already rubbed me up the wrong way. Forced jaunt, pizzicato synth innuendo. Verse is deeply irritating and as I can actually make out the lyrics in this one, it's worsened further still. Chorus is better, mostly because the song's better served by legato strings than processed burbling. But this just ain't sexy. The lyrics, suggestive of preparations to get jiggy, hie outwith my given standards for erotic wordsmithery. It comes across as cheap and cheerless, and the only dreams here are those of a facially disadvantaged gentleman seeking his next ten-second thrill. Perhaps this is a noble aim. What do I know? There's just no tact in this production, no restraint in kitschy throwaway trash-noise. Yeah, glissando jingle-bell sounds, I'm looking at you.

Clubometer: Spend 3 minutes trying to avoid being engulfed within the clammy embrace of someone wearing a Father Christmas outfit

Cassie - I don't love you

Can only find a short extract of this on Youtube. It doesn't excite me a great deal. It's competently written. Production is Timbaland by way of Prozac. Has a sheen of authentic early-00's earnestness which endears it to me. The vocals possess an innocent yearning quality which I can at least appreciate. Other than that, there isn't much to untilt the old hormone balance. Perhaps the song blossoms later on. Auspices are not overwhelmingly prosperous but I can believe.

Clubometer: Oh look, there's that person I had a crush on way back! And they're dancing alone. How cute!

cassie is always slow burn until you "get" her aesthetic, but I don't know who rec'd that one because she has way better songs

all my recommendations were based on either having a clean McEntire pallet or a humid gear shifting interior.

yeah has he even reviewed like, "official girl"?

i'm glad that the minus wayne version is the canon version too btw

i kinda get the feeling that wayne's verse on that made me start to loathe seeing his name featured on tracks. i mean, he had plenty of mediocre verses back when he was actually, yknow, a good rapper, but after he ruined "official girl" i havent really liked much he's done.

a lot of the blame should go to danja and how he lets him autotune all over the outro

how does one ruin a song that was never good to begin with?

was waiting for you or "some" other "dude" to come here and post that great joke

jagger goin ham

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/blog/Statler_Waldorf.jpg

R-L: me, al

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXw1qxOFeOg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2tmtpHMA6c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao61G9hkEwc

let's make love, k3vin, right now

and moan breathily as robin thicke literally charms our panties to the ground

well then

clubometer: sex in the club

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqqY07OZWps

not a recommendation btw. usher peaked on My Way imo.

wait lj i am confused...are you proposing sex or do you like the song

why not both?