Modern Qualifier 47 – Diddy Dirty Money, Katy B, Little Dragon, Kelis

From the 2010 LP Last Train To Paris. A Bracket Balancer.
Top 5 hit from the 2014 LP Little Red. Nominated by Arron W.
Single from the Swedish band’s 2011 EP Ritual Union. Nominated by Julia H.
Closing track from the 2010 LP Flesh Tone. Nominated by actualeesimpson.

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Modern Qualifier 48 – Chelsea Wolfe, Wu Lu, The Mars Volta, Mastodon

Modern Qualifier 46 – CURATED by Kat S!

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j_e_l

25 May 2023 13:13

Say what you like about Diddy, he’s a great pop star and I love the hyperbole and drama of his songs! Smashed it in this group!

Arron Wright

25 May 2023 13:35

My space-saving explanation for why I still love ‘Crying For No Reason’ so much after nearly 10 years.

Tom

25 May 2023 13:43

Reply to Arron Wright

Let me see if I can.. yes! (apparently)

Last edited 1 year ago by Tom

Arron Wright

25 May 2023 15:19

Reply to Tom

Thanks!

Apart from this very much post-hoc awareness of subliminal, now-obvious influences, I’m really drawn to the unusual scenario of non-specific guilt and mental anguish. It has something of The Winner Takes It All’s unresolved circularity, but everyone knows exactly *what* Agnetha was singing about.

Also, huge bonus points for that preposterous outro and the choice of a hard ending over a fade.

Tom

25 May 2023 14:13

Flesh Tone is such an undervalued LP and this is such a triumphant way to end it, so I’d have voted “Song For The Baby” even if DDM’s “Coming Home” wasn’t a balancer.

But “Coming Home” is totally Diddy’s finest moment! Last Train To Paris is more fascinating than good for me, Diddy’s equivalent of the Chris Gaines record, an astonishingly rich megastar trying to make a record for the critics. It’s still pretty good but more significant for giving Dawn Richards a break than anything else. HOWEVER, “Coming Home” is where he gets it right, marrying the more personal approach of the LP to the huge corny pop instincts of the rest of his career. Also I got to admit, as a still recent Dad when it came out, the “I ain’t finished growin!” bit got me in the feels.

actualee simpson

25 May 2023 14:30

This might be the cruelest group one of my noms has ever been in!! I adore all four of these songs. (But “Song for the Baby” is dearer to my heart.)

vinnycrackers

25 May 2023 22:11

Song for the Baby is great and I feel like Kelis needs to get more of her due.

bartlebooth45

25 May 2023 22:28

Four great pop tunes. Went for Crying For No Reason but Little Man could be a golden beat.

wmterhaar

26 May 2023 17:04

The Swedes once again coming to the rescue when the Anglo-Saxons come up with two awful (Diddy & Katy B) and a meh (Kelis) song. Little Dragon should burninate the competition here.

Jeff Worrell

28 May 2023 13:26

The only one of these I don’t have on CD is Little Dragon and I didn’t enjoy it that much. Not keen on supporting bracket balancers but DDM clearly best here.

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Modern Qualifier 47 – Diddy Dirty Money, Katy B, Little Dragon, Kelis

Modern Qualifier 48 – Chelsea Wolfe, Wu Lu, The Mars Volta, Mastodon

Modern Qualifier 46 – CURATED by Kat S!

The Discourse