Archives – 2023 – May – 18  

Modern Qualifier 26 – Ariana Grande, VV Brown, Will Young, John Grant
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— 18 May 2023 Tom
  1. Major hit from 2016’s Dangerous Woman. Nominated by Arron W.
  2. Single from 2009’s Travelling Like The Light LP. A Bracket Balancer.
  3. Single from the Pop Idol winner’s 2011 LP Echoes. Nominated by Natalie G.
  4. Standout from the singer-songwriter’s 2003 LP Pale Green Ghosts. Nominated by Al E.
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Qualifier M26: INTO SHARK JEALOUSY GMF

ARIANA GRANDE - "Into You" (YouTube)

VV BROWN - "Shark In The Water" (YouTube)

WILL YOUNG - "Jealousy" (YouTube)

JOHN GRANT - "GMF" (YouTube)

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The poll has expired!

Latest comments (of 17)

SmoothBrain   14 months ago

That Ariana song exceeds it's brief to be a sexy dancefloor slinkover song, great stuff.

Steve Mannion   14 months ago

Ah turns out this is not the case - can't see why it wouldn't work from here. Quick test... Ordered list test: List item 1List item 2List item 3Unordered list test: List item 1List item 2List […]

itinerantgeoff   14 months ago

Tough to choose between Peak Ariana, Peak Will Young & the beautiful John Grant one, but in this case my personal tiebreak rule of 'does it have Sinead O'Connor on backing harmonies'? decides it […]

j_e_l   14 months ago

Oh, I don’t suspect Will Young of anything, other than needing votes!

Modern Qualifier 27 – CURATED by Al K
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— 18 May 2023 Tom

It’s today’s only Curated Group! This one comes from Al K (@housetoastonish on Twitter) and I believe it’s unthemed.

  1. A UK No.1 and the biggest hit of the “Amelle era”. From 2007’s Change.
  2. From the singer-songwriter’s 2016 Impossible Dream LP.
  3. From the Twin Cities hip-hop collective’s 2011 LP No Kings.
  4. A 2011 single with her band the Hooves Of Destinty.
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Qualifier M27: CURATED by Al K!

SUGABABES - "About You Now" (YouTube)

HALEY BONAR - "Kismet Kill" (YouTube)

DOOMTREE - "Team The Best Team" (YouTube)

BETH JEANS HOUGHTON - "Liliputt" (YouTube)

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The poll has expired!

Latest comments (of 14)

wmterhaar   14 months ago

Doomtree my favourite by a long distance.

koganbot   14 months ago

See my response to qosephine.

koganbot   14 months ago

The two songs share a producer.. […]

Hunter Felt   14 months ago

Doomtree, I guess? Nothing inspiring in this one.

Modern Qualifier 28 – Spoon, Deerhunter, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, New Pronographers
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— 18 May 2023 Tom
  1. From the Pitchfork favourites’ 2007 LP Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. It’s a Bracket Balancer.
  2. From the Pitchfork favourites’ 2010 LP Halcyon Digest. Nominated by Ian Y.
  3. From the Pitchfork favourites’ 2007 LP Some Loud Thunder. Nominated by Aidan B.
  4. From the Pitchfork favourites’ 2003 LP Electric Version. Nominated by Josh B.
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Qualifier M28: BOMB HELICOPTER SATAN LAWS

SPOON - "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" (YouTube)

DEERHUNTER - "Helicopter" (YouTube)

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH - "Satan Said Dance" (YouTube)

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS - "The Laws Have Changed" (YouTube)

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The poll has expired!

Latest comments (of 9)

SmoothBrain   14 months ago

I like this spoon track but prefer them in a slightly more downbeat mode. The other songs are new to me, quite like Satan Said Dance.

Hunter Felt   14 months ago

Now this? This is a damn good group. Three classics plus a vaguely acceptable Clap You Hands And Say "Annoying Band Name" filler track."The Laws Have Changed" might be the definitive New […]

ajjr82   14 months ago

That CYHSY album back to back with Flaming Lips' 'At War With The Mystics' made me really cautious about Dave Fridmann-produced albums. Just two of the most viscerally unpleasant-sounding albums I […]

j_e_l   14 months ago

I liked Spoon carrying on the long indie tradition of sounding a bit Phil Spector. Deerhunter sound better than I remember, a bit more listenable. I’m sure Satan is saying ‘yes, what do you want? […]

Modern Qualifier 29 – Reniss, BNegão, Alejandro y Maria Laura, Nine
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— 18 May 2023 Tom
  1. Hit song from the Cameroonian artist’s 2016 LP Tendon. Nominated by Joseph K.
  2. A cut from the Rio funksters’ 2013 set Sintoniza La. Nominated by magnets321.
  3. From the married Peruvian folk duo’s 2017 LP La Casa No Existe. Nominated by Garry McK.
  4. From 2023, and the series of solo singles by OnlyOneOf members. Nominated by Isabel E.
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Qualifier M29: SAUCE BAILE EQUILIBRIO BEYOND

RENISS - "La Sauce" (YouTube)

BNEGAO & SELETORES DE FREQUENCIA - "Essa E Pra Tocar No Baile" (YouTube)

ALEJANDRO Y MARIA LAURA - "Aguita Del Equilibrio" (YouTube)

NINE - "BeyOnd" (YouTube)

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The poll has expired!

Latest comments (of 7)

stabilimentum   14 months ago

"Agüita del Equilibrio" was such a surprising and lovely tune. Took me down a rabbit hole where I found out they released an album this year. I love it when this happens.

Jeff Worrell   14 months ago

The same thinking guided my vote. The first three songs are all strong though.

Garry   14 months ago

No sure if I nominated Animal Chuki a couple of years ago. We've also had Dengue Dengue Dengue. Not sure who was first.

j_e_l   14 months ago

This was a good group of songs! I enjoyed the laid back flow from Nine. I think La Sauce was the best song here, and I hope it goes a long way in the poll

Modern Qualifier 30 – Penelope Isles, Mauskovic Dance Band, Dummy, Freezepop
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— 18 May 2023 Tom
  1. Opening track from the Brighton indiepoppers’ 2019 Until The Tide Creeps In. Nominated by Aidan B.
  2. This one’s from the Amsterdam producer’s 2018 Down In The Basement EP. Nominated by TremendaoNeil.
  3. From this LA band’s 2021 debut LP Mandatory Enjoyment. Nominated by ladyelevator.
  4. Going all the way back to 2004’s Fancy Ultra-Fresh collection of indie synthpop. Nominated by Julia H.
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Qualifier M30: CHLORINE OPPOSITE DAFFODILS HEART

PENELOPE ISLES - "Chlorine" (YouTube)

THE MAUSKOVIC DANCE BAND - "The Opposite" (YouTube)

DUMMY - "Daffodils" (YouTube)

FREEZEPOP - "Duct Tape My Heart" (YouTube)

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The poll has expired!

Latest comments (of 7)

j_e_l   14 months ago

Test - comments format

Tom   14 months ago

Felt like MDB were streets ahead here - big apologies to its nominator but Freezepop’s twee romance is the track I’m currently least looking forward to hearing again in R1…

Jeff Worrell   14 months ago

Already knew the MDB; it’s fine. We’ve had a Penelope Isles song before in a poll, right? I liked that one and this one’s good too. But it was hard to see past Freezepop here, and now of course I’m […]

Tom   14 months ago

Apologies to our NOMINATORS here cos I forgot to credit them in the post! Corrected now.

Modern Playlists Day 6 + Covers Crowdsourcing
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— 18 May 2023 Tom

Welcome back! This post is doing DOUBLE DUTY as a standard playlist post but also as a crowdsourcing exercise for one of the Day 11 groups next week, a themed group on “21st Century Covers of 20th Century Songs”.

There are two criteria here. One is that it’s a genuinely transformative cover, not just an ‘interpolation’ or some John Lewis piano shit. So like “Comfortably Numb” by Scissor Sisters. The other is that it’s something we haven’t polled before. So NOT like “Comfortably Numb” by Scissor Sisters.

Suggestions in comments please! Now onto the playlists:

Latest comments (of 46)

stabilimentum   14 months ago

Paul Banks - I'm a Fool to Want You Molotov - Amateur (cover of Rock Me Amadeus)

Steve Mannion   14 months ago

The Residents - Paint It, Black (2000) Tiga - Burning Down The House (2004) Gonzales, Feist & Dani - (Like A) Boomerang (2005) Gnarls Barkley - Gone Daddy Gone (2006) Feist - Sealion ) […]

somejerkoff   14 months ago

The first one that comes to mind is Hot Chip’s “Dancing in the Dark.” Other ones I’m a big fan of: Titus Andronicus, “A Pair of Brown Eyes” Spoon, “Held” (or keeping with Britt Daniel in a band […]

I miss the bees   14 months ago

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction - Cat Power Miss You - The Concretes Space Oddity - We are KING Baby’s on Fire - Superpitcher I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish - Bow Wow Wow Panic - Tiffany […]

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