Comments on: Which Decade Is Tops For Pops 2011: the Number 9s https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s Lollards in the high church of low culture Thu, 10 Sep 2015 08:44:01 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 By: asta https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-898912 Sun, 21 Aug 2011 21:25:13 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-898912 ( re-posting because first attempt seems to have disappeared into the ether)

Sorry for taking so long to get to these. This may be the only year I will applaud you Mike for taking so long with them; it give me time to catch up.

6 pts: Dankworth- Funny that thefagit mentioned MadMen. Listening to this I immediately pictured the cast at a half-time college football game. Any marching band could play this today, with a beefed up drumline, and win nationals.

5. Beyonce- The sentiment is ridiculous, but that never stopped Beyonce. Not much does. What makes this for me is the the work of Tofo Tofo and Beyonce’s determination to include their style in her video, determination that led to her, not the video director, choreographer, or the label or anyone else, but her hiring the troupe for dance lessons.

4 pts: Gorillaz- I may be one for the few who liked this from the beginning. then again it hit my ears at a time when I was just discovering what was happening in popular music in England and I had no prior conceptions of what to expect. I simply heard the album and fell for it.

3 pts: Electronics- This band may have been attempting languid and detached but delivered listless and bored. the only thing that saves it from total torpor is the bassline

2 pts: The Fantastics- this is the theme song for the long lost pilot of A Very Brad WEdding: Carol and Mike at the Altar.

1 pt: Landscape- Dreck

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By: hardtogethits https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-884964 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 07:49:53 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-884964 6 Electronic
5 Gorillaz
4 Landscape
3 Beyonce
2 Johnny Dankworth
1 Fantastics

An obvious pecking order for me, but a higher standard than could be expected.

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By: Clair https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-884687 Sun, 24 Jul 2011 19:46:36 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-884687 Neil and I give the following scores:

1 pt : Beyonce
2 pts : The Fantastics
3 pts : Electronic
4 pts : Johnny dankworth
5 pts : Landscape
6 pts : Gorillaz

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By: Lionel d'Lion https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-883510 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:28:35 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-883510 6 points: Landscape
5 points: The Fantastics
4 points: Gorillaz
3 points: Electronic
2 points: Johnny Dankworth
1 point: Beyonce

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By: grange85 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-875571 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:50:57 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-875571 6 points – Dankworth – More instrumental loveliness… I think I have a problem with singing and not having singing generally makes a song better.
5 points – Electronic – If I ever went to an indie disco I might stop hating it for a couple of mins while this was on.
4 points – Gorillaz – Ploddy and repetitive and Albarn’s whine… but it was OK
3 points – Landscape – Of course I knew this one but I had no idea who it was by… still don’t.
2 points – Beyonce – See what I said about singing up there… here’s evidence to support it.
1 points – Fantastics – Sounds like a billion others – and most of those are better.

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By: Al Ewing https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-875267 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:42:16 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-875267 Better late than never dept:

6 – Landscape
5 – Fantastics
4 – Electronics
3 – Johnny Dankworth
2 – Beyonce
1 – Gorillaz

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By: lonepilgrim https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-874671 Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:07:25 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-874671 Hooray!

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By: Mark M https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-874603 Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:20:21 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-874603 Re 48: exciting!

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By: Mike Atkinson https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-874580 Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:10:09 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-874580 Number 8s coming later tonight, folks.

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By: Alan not logged in https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-874476 Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:22:12 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-874476 bump

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By: lonepilgrim https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-852639 Mon, 30 May 2011 21:12:17 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-852639 any news on the Number 8s?

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By: swanstep https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-847123 Mon, 23 May 2011 03:34:52 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-847123 Beyonce doing Run the world at some award show. I knew it, B. wouldn’t let any of us not like this song for long. It’s funny, for all its problems, the music industry has real star power/glamour these days (Hollywood by way of contrast feels franchise heavy and almost star free). Amazing.

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By: jeff w registered https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-844511 Wed, 18 May 2011 14:08:27 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-844511 6pts – Landscape. I loved this at the time, recently re-acquired it on one of those “100 80s Hits!” type box sets. Still like it. Lyrics? What are they? It’s all about the whistling synth innit.

5pts – J Dankworth. RIP, sir. Classy stuff as ever.

4pts – Beyonce. I’ve only heard this once and I applauded the intention then, even if doesn’t quite come off from a musical perspective. Nice to see the limited melodic range in the vocal is still there. One of these days B will release a track which is literally sung all on a monotone.

3pts – Electronic
2pts – Fantastics
1pt – BLURILLAZ!

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By: Lena https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-843933 Tue, 17 May 2011 11:15:49 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-843933 None of these songs are exactly grabbing me, but that may well be because I associate them – the ones that I knew already – with times that could best be described as ‘interesting’.

6pts – Electronic – Only works if you see the video with its many quotation marks; New Pop giants get together to make a song that is like a big shiny postcard and Barney is once again with a woman he can’t keep…the lyrics aren’t so much fridge magnets as pointers to something maybe too sordid or complex to talk about. Then Johnny’s wah-wah comes in and I begin to think the song is a kindly New Order parody. Hmm….

5pts – Johnny Dankworth – The ghost of many things to come, and it’s Canadian – how could I not love it?

4pts – Beyonce – On the youtube comments list there seems to be a split between those who love and those who hate; this in the meantime is another missive from Queen B(ee) on how the world actually works…(part of me cannot help but think of “Women Around The World At Work” by Martha and the Muffins, another song patiently waiting to be sampled)…I like this more than love it, hence the mark.

3pts – Gorillaz – The spring of ’01 was not kind to me; I essentially had a cold that turned into bronchitis and watched way, way too many videos, even as my hearing partially went. So all the music from this time I remember in a feverish, hazy state, and this was just a bit too much for me then, as it is now. (Even though they are a cartoon band, I can never process them as one; it’s always Albarn & Co. to me.)

2pts – Landscape – HUH? It’s better than Duran Duran’s line “You’re about as easy as a nuclear war” (said with Le Bon’s gestures to emphasize just how *difficult* he’s finding her today) but this time lent itself to all kinds of well-meant but awkward gestures; already I anticipate having to explain that for a while there everyone thought the world was going to end…and so songs like this one were written. Oh dear, the lead singer’s voice *indeed*.

1pt – The Fantastics – Precisely the sort of pop that ushered in the mellow 70s, a time when all those wacky lovestruck kids decided to get married; I can’t imagine anyone really loving this song, though, as it’s just…there. Nice enough, for what it is.

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By: swanstep https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-843184 Sun, 15 May 2011 23:09:28 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-843184 @wichita. That’s quite a lot better! As well as the singer’s better tone, the backing vox *really* lift things. If we all redid our scores, I’d now take this over Gorillaz and possibly Beyonce (so 1->2/3).

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By: wichita lineman https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-843160 Sun, 15 May 2011 22:23:18 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-843160 That link isn’t the Fantastics’ original, it’s some TOTP-style remake. There’s prob not enough of a difference to make everyone suddenly give it 6, but I was wondering why everyone thought it was QUITE so weak!

Here’s the 1971 single version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4x9IhZdOUg&feature=related

Much fuller, warmer, youthclubbier.

Macaulay/Greenaway/Cook were also the team behind Edison Lighthouse’s Love Grows.

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By: AndyPandy https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-843145 Sun, 15 May 2011 21:44:02 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-843145 just seen a good description of the this track by the Fantastics on youtube “70’s youth club pop-soul” – think that about sums it up- I wasn’t at youth clubs in the early 70s but I can imagine them putting it on between the T Rex and the Slade

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By: mark sinker https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-842979 Sun, 15 May 2011 13:14:31 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-842979 6: Run The World (Girls) – Beyonce
What first caught my ear re Destiny’s Child was the tensile detail of their rhythmic robo-precision. I love the casual megalomania of this, but I can’t decide if Beyonce has ever really put together a post-DC team that allows her to stretch and bend the beat across the lines she’s riding with such trust and such daring. More of this feels like fluffed transitions than it should; but group psychology could (maybe) validate it. I guess I just prefer team sports to solo work.
5: Clint Eastwood – Gorillaz
I think if I’d spent the 90s immersed in the pop wars I might actually share the outraged disdain some of you have for this — but to me it’s the sound of the summer I started listening again, and it came without any baggage. Laidback simplicity is hard for white rock-based pop, which is always over-anxious about its “intellectual signature”, and to me, this dodges that anxiety comfortably. My lay-off protected me from the feeling that this is a bigger surprise than it is, Albarn being who HE is, etc.
4: African Waltz – Johnny Dankworth
Lovely ensemble sound and very evocative parade of sleeves on the youtube video, as JD moves into the film soundtrack trade — nothing much breaks up or away from the main riff (try out the Cannonball Adderley Orc version, from the same year, for a less lumbering, faintly more “African” rhythm section). This is the kind of music — a likeable if not perhaps the exciting example — that rock drove from the charts (a crime); and that anti-rock, whatever its pretensions, never managed to bring back (another).
3: Einstein A Go-Go – Landscape
The birth of the hardcore continuum! Very political, very silly, very let down by the singing.
2: Get The Message – Electronic
If “Clint Eastwood” reminds me of my full re-entry into pop in 2001, Electronic are part of my farewell to it in 1991: I was dep-ed at The Wire, and had my hands and ears full of what that mag was meant to be covering (or actually of just getting it out every month); didn’t have time to actually FOLLOW music! Electronic combine one thing I really like that most of his fans feel a bit guilty about (Barney’s voice) with another thing his fans slatheringly adore and I’m a bit underimpressed by (Marr’s guitar); so it was a combo I found potentially interesting. Like “Clint Eastwood” it’s laid back and slight; but this time to (at best) pleasantly nondescript effect.
1 Something Old Something New – The Fantastics
Maybe a bit unfair to remark on this 40 years later, but it doesn’t exactly deliver on the “new” there in the title. A style of soul I generally enjoy a lot, but a pretty tired and clumsy example.

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By: AndyPandy https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-842125 Fri, 13 May 2011 19:56:06 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-842125 6 – Johnny Dankworth
5 – Landscape
4 – The Fantastics
3 – Beyonce
2 – Electronic
1 – Gorillaz

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By: DietMondrian https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-842078 Fri, 13 May 2011 17:56:48 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-842078 6 – Electronic
5 – Johnny Dankworth
4 – Landscape
3 – Gorillaz
2 – The Fantastics
1 – Beyonce

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By: Ed https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-841744 Thu, 12 May 2011 21:37:24 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841744 6 pts 2011 Beyonce. “Rihanna backed by a steelworks” is right, but if anything it is even better than that makes it sound. A monster.

5 pts 1961 Johnny Dankworth. Really cool; most other weeks this would have been a 6. A revelation about the charts of 50 years ago, it is as radical a smash hit as Hendrix or the Prodigy.

4 pts 2001 Gorillaz. Whoever said the rap redeems it is right, but i still find it hard to have much of an opinion about this. They went on to do much better.

3 pts 1971 The Fantastics. The Averages would have been more accurate.

2 pts 1981 Landscape. Back in the day, we would argue about which of the supposedly disposable hits of our era would stand the test of time. I thought this would. I was wrong.

1 pt 1991 Electronic. So dull it literally brought tears to my eyes. Never thought I would miss Peter Hook and Morrissey so badly. In fact, I missed Gillian Gilbert and Mike Joyce, too.

Good thing ‘Fast Car’ wasn’t in there, as the system doesn’t seem to allow for negative marks ;)

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By: Erithian https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-841654 Thu, 12 May 2011 15:16:44 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841654 6 pts 1981 – Landscape. It was the tunes, as much as anything else, which made early 80s pop so refreshing, and I was whistling the hook to this most of yesterday. Yes, there’s the background of IMPENDING NUCLEAR DOOM, but it was a funny record, and would send you to the bunker with a smile on your face. Combining lyrics about judgment day with the chorus “you better watch out, you better beware, Albert said that E=mc2 “, what’s not to like?

5 pts 1991 – Electronic. I was watching that compilation of clips on BBC4’s 1991 theme night with recurring thoughts of “hey, this stuff was really good, you know” (with one or two exceptions, Gary Clail). This highly hummable and amiable, if less than dramatic, record among them. Good to hear it again.

4 pts 1971 – Fantastics. Since we’re among friends and (I hope) they can’t touch you for it, I’ll say this – when I was on jury service a few years ago, we acquitted (and rightly so I think) a former member of the Fantastics who was up on an assault charge. Not a classic, but a good old pop tune in the spirit of the times.

3 pts 2001 – Gorillaz. So this half-speed version was the original, and the rather better, faster version was the remix? I clearly wasn’t paying attention in 2001. Not bad at all though.

2 pts 1961 – Johnny Dankworth. Hadn’t heard it before, it’s good, although I don’t go quite such a bundle on it as others on here. But this was an indication of a possible future for pop in 1961 – trad jazz, and this more original kind, were booming in the post-RnR, pre-Beatles world, and this could have been the dominant idiom in the years to come. Cool.

1 pt 2011 – Beyonce. She’s too good a singer to produce something that sounds like Rihanna on a bad day backed by a steelworks.

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By: RobMiles https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-841433 Wed, 11 May 2011 22:45:51 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841433 This is quite tough as I don’t really like any of them, but here goes.

6 – Johnny Dankworth. Mainly because my Grandad knew him. (Sorry for name dropping)
5 – Electronic
4 – Landscape
3 – The Fantastics. Bland but inoffensive.
2 – Beyonce. I’d like it better if she wasn’t singing.
1 – Gorillaz. Damon’s voice ruins it for me.

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By: byebyepride https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-841386 Wed, 11 May 2011 20:00:05 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841386 Ah, having read the comments I see that Beyonce is getting credit from me for someone else’s WTF production jam. Might have to check out the Major Lazer album next then.

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By: byebyepride https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-841385 Wed, 11 May 2011 19:56:56 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841385 6 points – Electronic
5 points – Beyonce
4 points – Landscape
3 points – Johnny Dankworth
2 points – The Fantastics
1 point – Gorillaz

I still like the Electronic track a lot, but listening to it once every five years or so seems about right… The Beyonce I haven’t heard before but is reminding me of some of the Missy Elliot tracks that used to turn ILM upside down every so often… Landscape had some nice noises on it, Dankworth was an interesting curio, and literally ANYTHING ON EARTH has to be better than the Gorillaz.

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By: thefatgit https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-2#comment-841364 Wed, 11 May 2011 18:15:01 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841364 6 pts- Johnny Dankworth
5 pts- Electronic
4 pts- Gorillaz
3 pts- Landscape
2 pts- Beyonce
1 pts- The Fantastics

Better quality than I first imagined.
To begin, the single point goes to The Fantastics. I recognise it from an old R1 Saturday morning feature (forget which DJ, DLT probably) where the wedding dedications would accompanied by 4 songs: old, new, borrowed, blue. It usually threw up some pretty sickly dross. As a kid, I got to dislike quite a few choices on this slot, but then I wasn’t aware of the allure of the xx chromosone then.
Beyonce adds little of worth to the otherwise excellent Dancehall-Electro of Major Lazer.
Anybody mentioned “Norman Bates” yet? I preferred it’s synth-noir stylings to “Einstein A-Go-Go” but it’s not bad having said that. I tend to file them under “novelty” but that’s a little harsh. Devo tribute may be a little more accurate. Oh, and one of Landscape (Andy Pask) co-wrote The Bill theme tune!
I would have marked the Ed Case mix higher than 4, but this stood head and shoulders above everything (well almost) else in 2001, for me.
“Get The Message”? *listens*…Oh, it’s this one! I really like it, but having to be reminded of how it goes suggests the song’s charm doesn’t endure, so it misses the full marks.
So top marks for Johnny Dankworth. I hate to use the word “retro”, but in the wake of Mad Men and the inherent coolness of 60’s film scores, I’m really enjoying the vibe. Imagine wearing sharp italian tailored linen suit and sipping a hot, sweet coffee in a Marrakesh cafe, watching the world go by with Dankworth’s rhythms in the background. Evocative.

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By: wichita lineman https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841336 Wed, 11 May 2011 17:16:44 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841336 6 – Johnny Dankworth
5 – Beyonce
4 – Electronic
3 – The Fantastics
2 – Gorillaz
1 – Landscape

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By: lex https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841287 Wed, 11 May 2011 15:07:08 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841287 #27 “Frontline” was a huge club track when it came out – first notable Ill Blu production that I remember!

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By: itinerantgeoff https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841285 Wed, 11 May 2011 15:04:17 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841285 6 – Electronic
5 – Gorillaz
4 – Beyonce
3 – Landscape
2 – Johnny Dankworth
1 – The Fantastics

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By: Mike Atkinson https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841283 Wed, 11 May 2011 15:02:11 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841283 #26 – It’s odd, isn’t it: on paper this looks like a strong round, but when you actually sit down and listen, you’re left feeling rather flattened by it.

I am cheered by all the Dankworth love, as “African Waltz” has been a favourite of mine ever since I heard it on an NME cassette (Low Lights & Trick Mirrors, where it follows the wonderful vocalese of “Jackie” by Lambert Hendricks & Ross).

#24/#25 – You’ve tipped some great tunes there, Lex – which in turn led me to Princess Nyah’s “Frontline” – WOW, how did I miss this?

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By: Tom https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841271 Wed, 11 May 2011 14:46:47 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841271 Looked a promising line up but it ends up being a very soft 6 points for the winner.

6 – J Dankworth – yeah, nice to hear this kind of thing, there’s a swagger to it isn’t there? About the only coherent and soup-to-nuts enjoyable thing on offer here!

5 – Beyonce – this might grow on me, and I like the sparseness of it a lot, the drum noises too, but the centre performance/hook isn’t grabbing me enough. Bit of a mess, but unlike almost anything else here it’s an interesting mess.

4 – Electronic – this was my favourite thing on the album when I bought it at the time, I thought the chord progression on the chorus was just gorgeous. It hasn’t aged well at all though, mostly because the verses are just SO inert and Barney unbothered even by his standards. (I suspect the REST of the Electronic album would be even poorer now though, except “Getting Away With It”).

3 – Landscape – nothing to it beyond the riff, to be honest. I remember the bass and beat being a lot more muscular than this weedy guff.

2 – Gorillaz – oh god I hate Damon’s voice on this so much, that half-arsed tone he’s affected pretty much since 1997. Del The Funkee Homosapien does his best to redeem things, the backing noises are good, but CHRIST that voice, like cheesewire on my brain.

1 – The Fantastics – grossly underinspired plodder. Could barely finish it. Scrapes in as worse than the ‘rillaz.

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By: lex https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841251 Wed, 11 May 2011 14:07:03 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841251 While we’re on the subject of Ed Case, though – and yeah, his remix of “Clint Eastwood” was played way more than the original, to the extent that I didn’t realise it wasn’t the original for YEARS – anyway let’s hear it for his own finest moment imo, “Deal With The Matter” with Ms Dynamite. Pure fire. WE DON’T LIKE DEM FUSSY OLD HATER / CHA-CHING, MAN AH WE NUH CATER

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> bloody Blurillaz

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By: lex https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841244 Wed, 11 May 2011 13:57:23 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841244 6pts – Beyoncé – I’m pro-reissue exclusion both on principle and because this actually gives me a rare thing to be properly enthusiastic about this week. I don’t know whether I’ll end up thinking it’s one of B’s best singles but I do know that for now, I love it – the “Pon De Floor” beat is like catnip to me, I love that it’s become something that a bunch of artists are trying their hand at, and I think B does a pretty fab job – “I think I need a barber, none of these niggas can fade me” is the best bit. That said it’s not as strong as the two main other “Pon De Floor” samples/remixes I’ve heard – but then that’s a bit unfair given that Diddy/Dirty Money’s “Ass On The Floor” and Princess Nyah’s “Pon De Floor” were two of the very best songs of last year. Easy winner in this company, anyhow.

5pts – Einstein A-Go-Go – kind of want someone to sample to clarinet hook, it’s absolutely brilliant and would work so well in anything from disco to pop to house. Reminds me of “Funkytown” actually! And I like the loose rhythm, like something on Zé Records. Not keen on the singer though and my sneaking suspicions were confirmed with that absolutely fucking ghastly yelpy middle bit happened. Urgh. Yeah, someone just get on the sampler and then bun the original

4pts – Johnny Dankworth – this is nice enough I guess, sounds like the incidental music in some sort of old Hollywood film, but not to a particularly important scene, just the hero (Western of course) strolling around some sort of ~exotic~ location

3pts – Electronic – pretty boring and affectless, singer sounds like he couldn’t care less about what he’s singing, “I don’t know where to begin” – don’t know where to end more like. Drum fills nice but not enough

2pts – The Fantastics – generic cheesy wedding disco filler, whatever

1pt – Gorillaz – I quite liked the Ed Case 2-step remix but the original was so damn dreary. And yet probably the best thing they were responsible for! I can’t believe Damon Allbran’s fucking novelty cartoon act actually went on to the bafflingly acclaimed proper career that they have – nothing they’ve done since this has had ANY WORTH AT ALL and I just cannot see why anyone would care about them? They seem to have a weirdly high appeal among people I know, even those who should know better :(

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By: JonnyB https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841234 Wed, 11 May 2011 13:37:05 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841234 Hm. Disagreement in the comments over whether this is a good batch or not. Personally, I thought the average came in much higher here than the number tens. But that’s an average – no obvious stand-outs, none that tank. But if I’m forced to rate them WHICH I AM, then:

6 – Dankworth. Hadn’t heard it before. What everybody else said.
5 – Electronic. Without any particular reason why, other than I thought that it rattled along nicely in a restrained way.
4 – Fantastics. Not to be awkward. OK – it’s not the Four Tops but I wasn’t hit with the ‘ugh’ factor that a lot of people have picked up on.
3 – Einstein. Walks the line between interesting and irritating; just teeters off for me, but I might be being harsh.
2 – Gorillaz. I didn’t like Space much either.
1 – Beyonce. I don’t find it either catchy, hooky or remotely interesting as a piece of music.

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By: Pete https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841193 Wed, 11 May 2011 12:20:55 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841193 6: Johnny Dankworth – I used to live in his house you know. Or at least one of his houses. There was some form of keyboard in nearly every room! This is ace.
5: Einstein A-Go-Go: A lifelong earworm that I remember in 1981 being one of the first things I taped off the radio with my own tape record and played it to death. I was also an Art Of Noise fan you know.
4: Electronic: My second favourite Electronic track though in this context it is starting to sound a bit sluggish. Oddly it was always a killer on the dancefloor.
3: Beyonce: I am a bit of a sucker for marching band style tracks, but this is a bit of a mess, which could be a lot better. And Beyonce herself is about the worst thing on it (ie it doesn’t suit a decent singer)
2: BLURZILLAZ: Thought at the time it was a bizarre way to kick off the project, still think that. The rap is great but the track is so dull.
1: The Fantastics: Its a bit light entertainment innit. In a bad way.

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By: jo https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841177 Wed, 11 May 2011 11:47:46 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841177 6 points African Waltz – Johnny Dankworth (video) Ok maybe it makes us old but husband and I both agree out of this bunch this song is the best of the crop.
5 points 1981: Einstein A Go-Go – Landscape (video) (lyrics) Dear lord the 80’s were cheesy.
4 points 1971: Something Old Something New – The Fantastics (video) (lyrics)
3 points 2001: Clint Eastwood – Gorillaz (video) (lyrics)
2 points 2011: Run The World (Girls) – Beyonce (video) (lyrics)
1 point: YAWN 1991: Get The Message – Electronic (video) (lyrics)

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By: Scott M https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841158 Wed, 11 May 2011 11:23:55 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841158 6 points: Gorillaz
5 points: Landscape
4 points: Electronic
3 points: Johnny Dankworth
2 points: The Fantastics
1 point: Beyonce

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By: Erithian https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841155 Wed, 11 May 2011 11:12:44 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841155 Couldn’t agree more re Fast Car, Mike. Waiting for a chance to hear the Dankworth before voting. I have a strange connection to the Fantastics – having met a member of the band in odd circumstances a few years ago. I won’t go into detail, but I hope he and his family are well!

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By: Mike Atkinson https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841152 Wed, 11 May 2011 11:06:25 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841152 #16 – “Fast Car” is indeed a fantastic song, which would almost certianly have walked this round and given a major boost to 2011. But I just don’t think that 2011 would have deserved to benefit from it!

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By: intothefireuk https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841126 Wed, 11 May 2011 10:23:57 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841126 6 goes to Electronic a lovely horizontal ditty from the Manc co-op.
5 goes to Landscape and their electro jazz dance new pop masterpiece.
4 points to the very lovely Johnny Dankworth and nice piece of big band theme tuneism.
3 points for The Fantastics very Drifters-ish early 70s sounding number.
2 points to The Gorillaz – would have scored higher but the rap does my head in.
1 point to Beyonce – not quite sure what she is trying to achieve but whatever it is it doesn’t get there.

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By: David Belbin https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841120 Wed, 11 May 2011 10:10:27 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841120 I had to google to find out what BGT is and would nevertheless argue that ‘Fast Car’ is a fantastic song, anomaly or not. I’d certainly have given it 6, so I suppose if lots of other people did the same, that might distort things. But doesn’t the effects of crap TV reality shows tell us something about a year? Answers in no more than 250 words.

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By: Mike Atkinson https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841112 Wed, 11 May 2011 09:51:08 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841112 Beyonce is my only substitution this year. There’s actually another re-issue coming up in the next round, which I’m allowing through because the gap was much smaller and it still feels representative of its year – unlike “Fast Car”, which is a 23-year old BGT-driven anomaly that tells us next-to-nothing about pop in 2011.

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By: David Belbin https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841106 Wed, 11 May 2011 09:39:19 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841106 6 points: Johnny Dankworth
5 points: Gorillaz
4 points: Electronic Preferred ‘Getting Away With It’ but this has worn well
3 points: The Fantastics
2 points: Landscape
1 point: Beyonce (because I’m a pedant and think that excluding reissues is wrong, or at the very least you should have bumped Mann ft 50 Cent up one rather than putting this in at 9 – otherwise this would be 4 or 5 points)

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By: weej https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841076 Wed, 11 May 2011 08:37:20 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841076 6 – Johnny Dankworth – Sounds like grade-A library music, or a cut from the soundtrack of a classic film. Really a rather pleasant surprise.

5 – Gorillaz – Not as good as it was at the time, absolutely – but the guest rap from, er, Del the Funky Homosapien and the background wurlitzer noises really sell it for me.

4 – Beyonce – B herself doesn’t really add anything to it, but this still works for me, more than anything she’s done in years, just because the backing and production are so insistent and driving. If she could sit back a bit and not try to take control of the track this would be a winner for me.

3 – Lanscape – I enjoy the complete ridiculousness of this perhaps more than I should.

2 – The Fantastics – When I watch old Top Of The Pops from the early and mid 70s there seem to lots of songs like this – minor league soul-disco that hasn’t survived the last 35 years, this is as competent and uninteresting as any of them.

1 – Electronic – As utterly tedious as every other Electronic track. How can two otherwise talented people (with equally talented collaborators) have produced nothing of interest over a whole decade? It mystifies me.

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By: taDOW https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-841054 Wed, 11 May 2011 07:40:21 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-841054 6 – johnny dankworth
5 – electronic
4 – gorillaz
3 – beyonce
2 – landscape
1 – the fantastics

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By: swanstep https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-840954 Wed, 11 May 2011 02:48:55 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-840954 Boy, these are 5 seriously charm-free tracks to my ears!

6 points – African Waltz – Johnny Dankworth
Not great but it picks up enough steam half-way though to take the chequered flag here.

5 points – Clint Eastwood – Gorillaz
Not a patch on their subsequent singles. Expected more Morricone given the title. Morricone wrote great tunes, not just pirrups on harmonicas. Albarn knows that and it’s irritating he doesn’t take that to heart here.

4 points – Einstein A Go-Go – Landscape
Famously irritating, silly song, but in this company it stands pretty tall I’m finding. Has some slight charm which goes a long way.

3 points – Run The World (Girls) – Beyonce
Mike captured exactly my response to this: dislike it but B. has pummeled me into submission before.

2 points – Get The Message – Electronic
Formulaic, everything sounds preset, half asleep. Why Suede and grunge had to happen.

1 points – Something Old Something New – The Fantastics
Decent to begin with but goes absolutely nowhere. Amazing to think that this was considered chart-fresh in the year of Hunky Dory.

Oh, and as someone else said above: Fast Car (Tracey Chapman) would have won this round by the proverbial country mile!

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By: Garry https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-840874 Tue, 10 May 2011 23:41:25 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-840874 6 points: Electronic
5 points: Gorillaz
4 points: Landscape
3 points: Jonny Dankworth
2 points: Beyonce
1 point: The Fantastics

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By: chelovek na lune https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-840857 Tue, 10 May 2011 22:59:15 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-840857 #8 ah, yes, that’s a very good point indeed re. Jungle Rock. It would appear that I am indeed getting mixed up with TOTP and, erm, 1976 with 1971. Oops. Please accept my most profuse apologies… *embarassed face*

And, yes, I do remember Mistadobalina – Mistabobdobalina… it was alright…

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By: Mike Atkinson https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-840850 Tue, 10 May 2011 22:46:40 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-840850 #2 – I had completely forgotten about “Disappointed”! But yes, I’d place it and “Getting Away With It” ahead of “Get The Message”. (Hmm, what’s the common link there? Ah yes, Neil Tennant, of course…)

#2 – Likewise, I had completely forgotten the Ed Case remix of “Clint Eastwood”, as I suspect most have by now – although I think I do recall it briefly eclipsing the original in terms of exposure. But agreed, it just sounds wrong now…

#3 – As of now, the Seventies are totally tanking – but rest assured, they do have a few aces in store…

#4 – Butbutbut, there WAS no Jungle Rock last week! And besides, it was a reissued hit in 1976! Are you perhaps thinking of the BBC4 TOTP reruns?

#6 – Yes, for me the rap (from Del Tha Funkee Homosapien – anyone else remember “Mistadobalina”?) saves the track. Well, that and the melodica…

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By: Z https://freakytrigger.co.uk/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops/2011/05/which-decade-is-tops-for-pops-2011-the-number-9s/comment-page-1#comment-840849 Tue, 10 May 2011 22:41:41 +0000 https://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=21085#comment-840849 Several of these were vying desperately for last place.

6 – Johnny Dankworth – I know it, but didn’t expect it to be so strongly in 3/4 time. Anyway, I enjoyed it far more than anything else on offer here.
5 – Electronic – Pretty good.
4 – The Fantastics – I was unimpressed, it was quite ponderous and would have been far better if it had been played faster. However, once I’d heard the rest of the offerings, it went comparatively up in my estimation.
3 – Gorillaz – Reasonably enjoyable, but too long.
2 – Beyonce – Tricksy, not good.
1 – Landscape – goodness, that’s irritating.

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