Archives – 2023 – May – 10  

Modern Qualifier 1 – CITY ZERO GIRL SHOUT
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— 10 May 2023 Tom
  1. The lead single from the French band’s Hurry Up We’re Dreaming in 2011 – nominated by Charlotte A.
  2. The lead single from the indie rockers’ 2009 LP It’s Blitz – nominated by Arron W.
  3. A heavyweight collab from Royksopp’s 2009 LP Junior – nominated by Al E.
  4. Rounding off our headline group, the title track from the Swedish’ electronic band’s 2006 LP – nominated by Graham M.
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Qualifier M1: CITY/ZERO/GIRL/SHOUT

M83 - "Midnight City" (YouTube)

YEAH YEAH YEAHS - "Zero" (YouTube)

ROYKSOPP ft ROBYN - "The Girl And The Robot" (YouTube)

THE KNIFE - "Silent Shout" (YouTube)

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Latest comments (of 25)

Arron Wright   13 months ago

Semi-finalists in 4-letter-words (Aug/Sep 2021) and 2022 (Jan of this year). Only equal or better from C21 are: Wet Leg (2 RU, 1 QF) Outkast (1 RU, 1 SF) Beyonce (1 RU, 1 QF) MGMT (2 SF)

vinnycrackers   13 months ago

I just feel they've come so close to winning (getting in Polhalla) without getting there (unless they did win before I showed up)

Arron Wright   13 months ago

Not sure I get the bridesmaids reference... they're one of only five acts I can find with two C21 songs in Pollhalla already*. None of their opponents here have even one. Though three of those […]

vinnycrackers   13 months ago

The YYYs being bridesmaids so many times makes me vote their way (to likely be bridesmaids again.) That M83 song has been used in too many commercials/interstitial bits of music in the US to hold […]

Modern Qualifier 2 – RUMOUR DIANE BROTHER DEAD
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— 10 May 2023 Tom
  1. A medley from the “Mash Off” episode in Season 3 of Glee – sung by ‘The Troubletones’ and nominated by grapefruitzzz#
  2. An inversion of Dolly’s “Jolene” taken from country singer Cam’s 2020 LP The Otherside and nominated by Al E.
  3. A 2006 single by the Canadian post-punk band, nominated by Koen.
  4. A 2004 single from the hit Final Straw LP, nominated by Kate.
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Qualifier M2: RUMOUR/DIANE/BROTHER/DEAD

GLEE CAST - "Rumour Has It/Someone Like You" (YouTube)

CAM - "Diane" (YouTube)

THE ORGAN - "Brother" (YouTube)

SNOW PATROL - "How To Be Dead" (YouTube)

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Latest comments (of 19)

Mic Waters   13 months ago

Me, a music expert: "Oh, this Someone Like You song's quite nice, I wonder who it's by."

jonathanb   13 months ago

I think I mentioned this in a previous poll, but there's an unrecognized but distinct Scottish Sound that forms a throughline in 21st century rock, encompassing the likes of Frightened Rabbit, The […]

Son of Mecha Mummy   13 months ago

Boy my relationship with Glee was a real rocky one but Amber Riley and Naya Rivera (RIP) could be relied on for strong performances long after the writing had completely fallen off a cliff (or maybe […]

Hunter Felt   13 months ago

If you needed any proof that "Rumor Has It" is Adele's all-time greatest banger, not even "Glee" could ruin it.

Modern Qualifier 3 – CLUB HOURS NAUGHTY PEDRO
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— 10 May 2023 Tom
  1. California rapper The BoyBoy West Coast hit viral fame on TikTok with this 2019 release. Nominated by jacobkupp.
  2. Taken from the indie hip-hop supergroup’s 2008 EP The Gathering, this closing cut is produced by The Grouch and nominated by Daniel C.
  3. One of the biggest Asian hits of 2004 and the lead single from the Thai singer’s I Believe LP. Nominated by Jonathan B.
  4. Lisbon-based producer Bullion released this hornpipe-themed jam in 2017. It’s a Bracket Balancer.
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Qualifier M3: CLUB/HOURS/NAUGHTY/PEDRO

THE BOYBOY WEST COAST - "U Was At The Club (Bottoms Up)" (YouTube)

LIVING LEGENDS - "After Hours (Euro Extended Mix)" (YouTube)

TATA YOUNG - "Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy" (YouTube)

BULLION - "Blue Pedro" (YouTube)

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Latest comments (of 18)

Tom   13 months ago

I can… totally hear this! Wow.

jonathanb   13 months ago

This is precisely why I nominated this song.

stabilimentum   13 months ago

YES I VOTED BULLION.

wmterhaar   13 months ago

Bullion has a math rock vibe going on. I can specifically hear Battles covering this song.

Modern Qualifier 4: AWAY CYCLIC SWEATY ROBOT
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— 10 May 2023 Tom
  1. The title track of Stella Chronopoulou’s 2022 LP on Sub Pop, which draws inspiration from Greek folk (and other things). A Steve M nomination.
  2. The epic opener to 2003’s LP Pshychic on V2 Records – the Japanese rockers’ 5th LP. Nominated by mondosalvo.
  3. An early single from the Australian banger-monger which can also be found on his 2007 debut Guns Babes Lemonade. An anonymous nomination! (EDIT: No longer anonymous! It’s commenter Smoothbrain!)
  4. A standout from the Norwegian Idol graduate’s 2006 LP, Pretty Scary Silver Fairy. Nominated by actualeesimpson.
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Qualifier M4: AWAY/CYCLIC/SWEATY/ROBOT

ΣTELLA - "Up And Away" (YouTube)

BUFFALO DAUGHTER - "Cyclic" (YouTube)

MUSCLES - "Sweaty" (YouTube)

MARGARET BERGER - "Robot Song" (YouTube)

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Latest comments (of 24)

Steve Mannion   13 months ago

Nice to see 'Up And Away' with a fighting chance here. It's mostly about that chord change on the third bar of the chorus elevating it substantially, up and away from my usual dislike of such […]

jonathanb   13 months ago

I think the mid-'00s marked a quiet revolution where the base Oz music sound ceased to be pub rock and turned into big-tune indie dance: all emerging around this time were Cut Copy, The Presets, Van […]

Kit   13 months ago

shout-out to Muscles for being the only act I have ever personally seen graduate from teenage message board troll to charting / internationally touring musician under the same login name* ** *one […]

j_e_l   13 months ago

I would strongly campaign against Metal Mickey as it’s just trying to woo the robot vote without actually being about robots or by robots. I guess in reality the Drake AI thing would win World Cup […]

Modern Qualifier 5: SHOES GOTH SUN HIPPIE
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— 10 May 2023 Tom
  1. The breakout single by Liverpool’s Johnny Boy is from 2004 – a Top 50 smash! It’s nominated by Graham M.
  2. “Adult Goth” is from the Manhattan band’s first 4AD album, 2011’s Eye Contact. Nominated by stabilimentum.
  3. The DFA Records stalwart’s 2014 LP, In A Dream, is where you can find this slow-burning banger. Nominated by idca.
  4. A 2011 single, Cornershop’s foray into kids’ music came with a picture book. It was plucked from my own hippie bag to serve as a Bracket Balancer.
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Qualifier M5: SHOES/GOTH/SUN/HIPPIE

JOHNNY BOY - "You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve" (YouTube)

GANG GANG DANCE - "Adult Goth" (YouTube)

THE JUAN MACLEAN - "The Sun Will Never Set On Our Love" (YouTube)

CORNERSHOP - "What Did The Hippie Have In His Bag?" (YouTube)

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Latest comments (of 13)

Tom   13 months ago

The extreme closeness of the 2nd places here reminds me I should put up a note on an admin post about the special rules for tie resolution rules this poll...!

Dan Bright-Amaya   13 months ago

Another great group, another 10 minute banger.

Tom   13 months ago

That's a hopeful sign in that it suggests music is actually moving and changing at least. I was similarly startled by the extreme tens-ness of the Charli/Tove/etc group. […]

RobertK   13 months ago

I voted for Juan Maclean because I listened to that album a lot when it came out but I have to admit, both it and Gang Gang Dance sounded incredibly dated to me. I forget now where I first heard the […]

MODERN Poll Day 1
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— 10 May 2023 Tom

The CURATORFEST polls are still running but we’re going to put those aside now as we get into the Qualifiers for the MODERN half of the two Charity Crusher polls.

I’ll be running 5 qualifiers a day, and at the top of the page you’ll always see the daily Spotify and YouTube playlists. Here’s Day 1, which proves its modern credentials by having two songs about loving robots – and that’s just the ones which can declare their mechanical passion.

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