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ATRL: BoTB 90s Style Week 5: Quit Playin' Foolish Games
Member Since: 11/29/2010
Posts: 19,102
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ace Reject
[*]Anything else from the Music Box album[*]ANYTHING else from the Rainbow album
Thanks.
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I'm gonna clock this.
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
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I think I'm ready.
FYC:
KYLIE MINOGUE
Singles
Better the Devil You Know
What Do I Have to Do
Shocked
Finer Feelings (Brothers in Rhythm remix)
What Kind of Fool (Heard it All Before)
Confide in Me
Put Yourself in My Place
Where is the Feeling
Where the Wild Roses Grow (with Nick Cave)
Breathe
Cowboy Style
German Bold Italic (GBI)
Album Tracks/B-sides/Unreleased - PWL
Rhythm of Love
I Am the One for You
Secrets
The World Still Turns
Things Can Only Get Better
Right Here, Right Now
Too Much of a Good Thing
No World Without You
Live and Learn
Closer
Do You Dare?
Album Tracks/B-sides/Unreleased - Deconstruction
Falling
Where Has the Love Gone
Nothing Can Stop Us
Love is Waiting
Aston Martin
For All I'm Worth
If I Was Your Lover
...
Tears
Say Hey
Drunk
I Don't Need Anyone
You're the One
Take Me With You
Limbo
Through the Years
Dreams
Vote for nothing else. Please and thank you.
I go hard for my queen.
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Member Since: 12/3/2010
Posts: 19,759
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ace Reject
I think I'm ready to start my Mariah FYC. Be forewarned, I will edit in crying gifs.
MARIAH CAREY
Please vote for:
- Emotions
- If It's Over
- Can't Let Go
- Make it Happen
- Underneath the Stars
- Fantasy REMIX with Ol' Dirty Bastard
- Always Be My Baby
- Looking In
- Fourth of July
- Breakdown
- Honey
- Close My Eyes
- The Roof (Original OR Queensbridge remix with Mobb Deep)
- OUTSIDE
- Butterfly
- Heartbreaker w/ Jay-Z
Please DO NOT VOTE for:
- My All
- Hero
- Without You
- One Sweet Day
- Anything else from the Music Box album
- ANYTHING else from the Rainbow album
Thanks.
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I'm gonna need Slipping Away added to this list, and that is all. Otherwise it gets a pass from me.
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Member Since: 8/23/2010
Posts: 16,089
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I'm so excited for next week.
I kinda wish more people will participate I want to see their ranks.
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
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Quote:
Originally posted by BnPac
I'm so excited for next week.
I kinda wish more people will participate I want to see their ranks.
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Your wish is my command.
This week turned out to be surprisingly tough for me to rank; I had one obvious ten and one obvious one, but everything else is relatively debatable.
Ojos Asi - The only song I was relatively unfamiliar with, which puts it at a distinct disadvantage. Shakira's vocal is so much more settled in Spanish, full of confidence and with a healthy amount of vibrato. The late 90s "middle-eastern" production techniques are a bit much, though. 2
Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Sheer perfection; the only song that's actually of a piece with its dated acoustics. NSYNC might have produced a star, but BSB has the singers - and the songs. I can't get over how much this approximation of R&B works when sung by five mainly White/Latino young men and written and produced by Swedes. As I listened to it, I was struck by how good the voices in this group were. Brian Littrell - I mean, he's actually a real singer. Full of soul, and has the ability to sell the meaning of the song; most teen pop singers really don't. Not as harmony crazy as last week's I Want You Back, but that's a good thing. 9
The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) - I can't believe I've let time go by for song without hearing this. Damn. Such a great first single/introduction for all of Missy; the weird rhyming style, the jokes about weight and size that belie real pain and insecurity, the sheer awesomeness of her delivery. One line in the first verse struck me - "ME and Timbaland .. we so tight that you get our styles tangled." How fitting, and how true. Most people would assume all of this song's genius to Timbo, but that's a mistake. I don't think we'll ever see a female rapper with as much courage and genuine forward-thinking as Missy. Not MIA, Not Nicki, not anybody else. 6
Wide Open Spaces - Speaking of strong debut singles. Doesn't feature the things I truly love about the Chicks - namely, their harmonies, and true musicianship (the banjos and violins are not as forefront in the mix as I'd like them to be) - and the last verse is a little weak, lyrically (rhyming "go" with "go" is not, and will never be, the business), but that chorus soars, doesn't it. 5
Linger - Hard choice number one. I can remember identifying with this song before I ever had a first crush, so it's a bit hard for me to separate my nostalgia from the song's actual value. It's very 1993, but not in a way that hinders it. So strong lyrically, with an empathetic vocal. Aces. 8
Foolish Games - I'm not going to lie, I know every lyric to this song and love when Jewel goes deep into her range, like she does at the end. But, this is the epitome of 90s coffeehouse production, isn't it? And not even like indie coffeehouse, but the Starbucks in Times Square.
Maybe it's just me growing up, and moving away from this style. Fools, by the Dodos, was the next song after this on my iPod, and the first twenty seconds of that track grabbed me more than anything here. 3
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) -Nope. 1
Spiderwebs - One of my favorite voices, literally and lyrically, in pop music, backed by her boys. For some reason the middle eight is hitting me hardest now; one really gets a sense of the proverbial shitstorm Gwen's in due to this unresolved emotional mess she's been through. 7
Torn - It's a tough week when this isn't in my top five. First of all, kinda tangentially, but one of my first crushes in life was on the guy in this video. 4
One in a Million - Genuinely the best song of the week. I think Aaliyah, Missy, and Timbaland - our generation will never see a match like this again. Get into Missy's background vocals! What I love about this song is how it contributes to the persona Aaliyah had already established, that of the older-than her years cool but graceful R&B chick, and deepens it. There's a beautiful union between the uncertainty of the world Timbaland creates and the (is a cliche, but it works) angelic quality of Aaliyah's voice. And that guitar lick that fades the song out; pure beauty. 10
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 9/24/2001
Posts: 5,400
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10) Ojos Asi
9) One In A Million
8) Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)
7) Torn
6) Spiderwebs
5) The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
4) Wide Open Spaces
3) Linger
2) Foolish Games
1) Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
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I'm very pleased with the way votes have gone so far. I'm quite happy with the woman leading the week.
But I've received only one vote for next week's songs? Remember guys - without your votes, there can be no game.
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Member Since: 2/26/2006
Posts: 62,897
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10. The Cranberries, performing Linger Beautiful melody, amazing lyrics and definitely one of their best works.
9. Natalie Imbruglia, performing Torn Another classic that never gets old for me and one of the signature songs of 1998
8. Backstreet Boys, performing Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart) BSB is probably my favorite boyband and this song is a great representation of their classic pop tunes of the 90's.
7. No Doubt, performing Spiderwebs
6. The Dixie Chicks, performing Wide Open Spaces This song is such a nice surprise. I really enjoyed it.
5. Shakira, performing Ojos Asi
4. Jewel, performing Foolish Games
3. Marilyn Manson, performing Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
2. Missy Elliot, performing The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
1. Aaliyah, performing One in a Million
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Member Since: 8/23/2010
Posts: 16,089
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I can't believe none of you like Marilyn's version.
Glad to see Missy in the the top 5 on most list.
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
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Okay guys, last day to get rankings and song choices in for next week!
And we NEED song choices for next week. Like, whoa.
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Member Since: 10/28/2008
Posts: 22,771
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Let me do this JUST because I can't deal with y'all shading Manson like this!
10. Spiderwebs
9. Sweet Dreams
8. Ojos Asi
7. Foolish Games
6. Torn
5. Torn
4. Quit Playin' Game with My Heart
3. One In A Million
2. Wide Open Spaces
1. Missy Elliot, performing The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
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Member Since: 2/26/2006
Posts: 62,897
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I just sent my tops for next week.
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Member Since: 8/23/2010
Posts: 16,089
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Quote:
Originally posted by arkl
Let me do this JUST because I can't deal with y'all shading Manson like this!
10. Spiderwebs
9. Sweet Dreams
8. Ojos Asi
7. Foolish Games
6. Torn
5. Torn
4. Quit Playin' Game with My Heart
3. One In A Million
2. Wide Open Spaces
1. Missy Elliot, performing The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
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Oh and Torn appears twice in your list.
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Member Since: 11/30/2007
Posts: 26,796
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10) Torn
09) Ojos Asi
08) Spiderwebs
07) Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)
06) The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
05) Linger
04) Wide Open Spaces
03) One in a Million
02) Foolish Games
01) Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
When No Doubt is at number eight?!?! My top two songs mean so much too me, but my least favorite song is a complete joke, though and I'm not that big of a fan of the original Mixed emotions about next week, that's all I'm gonna say. Mariah is one of my favorite artists, but....
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
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Wow. The rankings have changed DRASTICALLY. This is exciting!!!! (I say as the game-thrower. As a fan of the two tracks that know look like they won't make it to the next round, I'm royally pissed.)
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
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Voting's done. Next week, we're probably looking at the toughest week of the round. Like, crazy packed. My name might as well be Sophie.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/23/2008
Posts: 14,330
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Looks like I'm too late, but I'll post anyway.
The Cranberries Linger
You really shouldn't give a damn about the heart-breaking chap, but then again, you weren't the one who called things off; you didn't check out of the relationship early. Your in so deep, he knows you're such a fool for him, and unfortunately, he's still got you wrapped around his finger. Dolores and company so perfectly captured that desperate stage of post-breakup pining; it's such a senseless period of time, yet it's a totally necessary step in the recovery process. Excuse me while I attempt to muffle my sobbing by burying my face in a pillow. (10)
Backstreet Boys Quit Playing Games With My Heart
BoTBE (Best of the Boyband Era). (9)
No Doubt Spiderwebs
Gwen spins a fantastic lyrical web with this one. Tragic Kingdom was the first CD I ever bought (along with Chumbawumba's Tubthumper ); "Spiderwebs" was one of the main reasons for that purchase. Conceptually, this flew over my little child's peanut brain for a long time, but in recent years I find that I am stimulated by more than just the musicality of the track (this applies No Doubt tracks I listened to, when I still listened to No Doubt/Gwen). My debate at this point in time; Is dude legit stalker-ish, or is Gwen just a stuck up bitch? (8)
Missy Elliot The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
Supa dupa entertaining. Missy is brilliantly clever. (7)
Jewel Foolish Games
"Foolish Games" plods along, and I have to admit, getting through the whole thing can be a bit tedious, but even though this track lacks infectious spirit ("You Were Meant for Me", another Jewel encrusted tale of heartbreak, has more of a hook and is ultimately more tolerable), it does present an interesting songwriting perspective. This aloof, philosophy-discussing, better-than-you, sort of gentleman, is really getting under Jewel's skin; both annoying her and breaking her heart with his total inability to be affectionate. It's a nice counterpoint to "Sarah McLachlan's "Building a Mystery", which sort of builds a case for weird-distant-boyfriend worship. To identify with Sarah's song is to be a 13 year old girl foolishly lusting after an Edward Cullen-type, to identify with Jewel's song is to be an empowered woman who's too sensible to put up with this he's-uncaring-but-maybe-he-cares-but-he-probably-doesn't ********. (6)
The Dixie Chicks Wide Open Spaces
Clenches the number five spot with its singable, grand chorus of all choruses. The rest is a bit meh, though totally enjoyable. (5)
Aaliyah One in a Million
Any other Aaliyah track would have warranted a higher ranking. it's not that I dislike "One in a Million", it's just that I don't find it all that interesting, particularly on the production front. But it offers an enjoyable slow jam groove, nonetheless. (4)
Natalie Imbruglia Torn
That chorus is so gut-wrenchingly awful ("I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel. I'm cold and I am shamed, lying naked on the floor."), but truthfully, I love everything about "Torn"; diary entry chorus and all. In a weaker week it might have been my number seven, maybe even number eight, but I just can't justify that sort of ranking on this outing. When I was determining my rankings, I realized just how stacked this week is with incredible tracks and incredible artists... and then I really got to thinking; What can Natalie offer outside of this? Is anything else on Left of Middle good enough to justify the fact that she might advance, while a stronger act with a legitimate line-up of strong material will be kicked out before round two? No. I don't want to listen to her next round, unless perhaps "Smoke" has been selected as the next offering from her repertoire. (3)
Shakira Ojos Asi
I'm sorry, Shakira. There's nothing to dislike about this track, but unfortunately, there's nothing to that gets me particularly excited. And perhaps I'm unfairly biased against this particular offering because, due to translation issues, there's nothing that resonates with me. On a positive note, I think Shakira's quirky vocals fit the Middle Eastern stylization of this song very well. 2
Marilyn Manson Sweet Dreams
A very expected interpretation from the alternative goth king. (1)
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
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Quote:
Originally posted by Patrick
Looks like I'm too late, but I'll post anyway.
Natalie Imbruglia Torn
That chorus is so gut-wrenchingly awful ("I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel. I'm cold and I am shamed, lying naked on the floor."), but truthfully, I love everything about "Torn"; diary entry chorus and all. In a weaker week it might have been my number seven, maybe even number eight, but I just can't justify that sort of ranking on this outing. When I was determining my rankings, I realized just how stacked this week is with incredible tracks and incredible artists... and then I really got to thinking; What can Natalie offer outside of this? Is anything else on Left of Middle good enough to justify the fact that she might advance, while a stronger act with a legitimate line-up of strong material will be kicked out before round two? No. I don't want to listen to her next round, unless perhaps "Smoke" has been selected as the next offering from her repertoire. (3)
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Too bad she's still the highest ranked artist this week.
I'm very curious as to how Week 6, which will be up later today, will fare. For me, it's ... going to be unbearable (to have to rank so many songs I genuinely love.) For someone like Flashing Lights, I think it'll be unbearable (because I'm going to assume he's heard, at a push, four of the ten.)
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 3/18/2009
Posts: 35,164
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Okay, I know I'm really late, too, but please accept my vote, Ace! I was busy this week starting my summer internship, and today I went to the Femme Fatale Tour, so I just around to this. Plus, you know it's not a BOTB round without me...
No Doubt, performing Spiderwebs: 10
The song grabs you at first because it's quirky and interesting, but then the chorus kicks in and it's catchy as hell and then you're completely hooked (for life).
Natalie Imbruglia, performing Torn: 9
I feel guilty putting this up so high when Natalie Imbruglia has pretty much nothing else to offer to this game and there are so many other worthy competitors this week, but I will never get over this song. One of my favorite of the '90s.
Backstreet Boys, performing Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart): 8
Ignoring that they later hit pop perfection with "I Want It That Way," BSB was really operating at its peak with the amazing mid-tempo ballads of its first album. This is an argument for all that was right with the boy band era.
The Cranberries, performing Linger: 7
This song exists in a funny emotional place: I feel like it works no matter what mood I'm in. I think it's because of the mellow tone and the hint of melancholy in the vocals; you can either embrace the deeper heartbroken meaning or enjoy it for the lovely track it is on the surface. Regardless, I love that.
Aaliyah, performing One in a Million: 6
I had forgotten that Aaliyah was not the strongest of singers, but her voice is still incredibly sexy. The production on this track has held up really well, especially compared to some of the other '90s R&B we've encountered in this game.
Missy Elliot, performing The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly): 5
Yes, Timbaland did genius work for Missy. But would the song work half as well as it does if Missy didn't completely live within his beats? Her flow and swagger on this track (and always) are just SO. DAMN. GOOD.
Jewel, performing Foolish Games: 4
Yes, the lyrics are kind of silly -- even for early Jewel -- but I'll be damned if she doesn't sell them. It's an achingly beautiful vocal performance on her part.
Shakira, performing Ojos Asi: 3
I love the Middle Eastern rock feel of this track. Shakira can be a very sonically exciting and adventurous artist, and I think this is a great early example.
The Dixie Chicks, performing Wide Open Spaces: 2
Country music is not necessarily my cup of tea, and I've always preferred the Dixie Chicks' more rock- and AC-oriented sides, but I can appreciate their earlier output. This one is perfectly nice, but it honestly never really grabs me (even on the chorus).
Marilyn Manson, performing Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This): 1
Well, unlike some of his stuff, I at least made it all the way through the song, but it certainly doesn't improve on the original in any way.
This was such a tough week for me, because I wanted to put almost everything in my top three. The fact that so many of my favorite '90s artists probably won't advance to the next round is really sad. Best of luck to Missy, Aaliyah and Jewel, because it's not looking to good for you right now...
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Member Since: 10/28/2008
Posts: 22,771
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Quote:
Originally posted by arkl
Let me do this JUST because I can't deal with y'all shading Manson like this!
10. Spiderwebs
9. Sweet Dreams
8. Ojos Asi
7. Foolish Games
6. Torn
5. Linger
4. Quit Playin' Game with My Heart
3. One In A Million
2. Wide Open Spaces
1. Missy Elliot, performing The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
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FIXED!
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