20

Foo Fighters - The Pretender

Artist link:6 9 18 35

"The Pretender" is the first single and first song on the Foo's new album "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace". It's a typical Foo's song very reminiscent of "All My Life" in it's dynamics and delivery. With a very good video on heavy rotation on MTV this song cannot fail. The song format follows the typical loud to quiet to loud that the Foo's have being using since their inception (a format initially pioneered by the Pixes). The lyrics of the song hint at a dischordant relationship / friendship / contact between Dave Grohl and a person in his past. This song is an excellent first song on an album that then proceeds to deliver songs that can easily blur into each other. Sadly the album is a bit disappointing but this is a stand out track that we hoped would return the Foo's back to the heady days of "The Colour and The Shape".

Emyr I

No of votes: 14, Score: 106, Highest vote: 1st

18

Girls Aloud - Call The Shots

Artist link:12 13 13 24 26 47

I'm not usually a fan of Girls Aloud as their music ain't really my thing, but whenever this song was on the radio I just couldn't switch stations. On first few listens I wasn't sure if it was good or bad but soon I found myself singing along. Is it me or does it remind you of another song? I can't quite put my finger on which one though..................... oh well, at least the ginger one gets to sing a few more lines than usual ;)

Veronica S

No of votes: 15, Score: 64, Highest vote: 2nd

16

Nelly Furtado - Say It Right

Artist link:8

For the second year in a row, the big-faced producer of this record appeared in 68% of all music videos. Timbaland is now becoming so economically significant that the nation has been invited to bilateral trade talks with the European Union. Its founder is so besotted with Queen Nelly Furtado that he spends 13 hours a day perfecting funny mouth noises for her singles and has enshrined within the constitution her right to land the royal helicopter on any rooftop in the land. This record? Nice chorus, cool beat, but I'm not sure you'll even remember it by this time next year.

Danny G

No of votes: 16, Score: 82, Highest vote: 1st

14

Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent

Artist link:1 15 22 42

I'll put my hands up, I've not been bowled over by the Arctic Monkeys in the past. But then, this song marks a noticeable shift from their previous singles. It's obviously been given a certain amount of production polish, but I don't think it's this in isolation that sets it out from previous work. It sounds a little bit like someone has taken the band, dropped them into Marty McFly's car from Back To The Future and deposited them in the late 1950s, and this is what they came up when asked to play at the local hop. From the single picked guitar riff to the kitchen sink drama style lyrics ("You used to get it in your fishnets, now you only get in your nightdress" - genius), I think for the first time I appreciate just how talented these boys from Sheffield are.

Jason M

No of votes: 17, Score: 112, Highest vote: 1st

12

Sugababes - About You Now

Artist link:3 9 25 27 27 49

Nowadays it seems all a critically acclaimed pop act needs is one good single per album to keep up the fiction that they're different from their 'manufactured' peers. This great Cathy Dennis and Lukasz Gottwald-penned track fullfilled that function nicely for the Sugababes in 2007. In some ways it's a nod to the past, with trendy / retro vocoder-effects on the Babes' voices and the reappearance of the Gary Numan electro fuzz sound from 'Freak Like Me', but what makes it work for me is the way they carry the subtle robotic theme through to the ungainly yet likeable chorus that staggers up and down the scales like a tin man trying to climb a flight of stairs. I'm not convinced that the Sugababes have that much going for them as performers, but the video to this song accurately nails the appeal of their half-hearted take on stardom, as they slink about like fashion models in the forecourt of a nondescript modern building. On the one hand they're forcing us to look at some depressing and soulless architecture and on the other they're brightening it up with their attention-grabbing and revealing yellow dresses. So how about two good singles next time round?

Harley R

No of votes: 19, Score: 109, Highest vote: 1st