True to my word, I’ve had some free time and paid due diligence to this tonight. Suffice to say I may have confused myself. I can see where you are coming from with the September track - “Beg For You” is a definite improvement and is certainly less indebted to Bronski Beat (although the ghost of “Small Town Boy” is still there and is part of what I will concede I like about the song.) In the same way, I like The Good Ones, which certainly owes something to Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams”. There’s nothing wrong with being drawn to the familiar in music but I’m not sure it should be the overriding positive (which I think it is in my case). In general I also feel like I have to already be paying attention in order to appreciate these songs, whereas music I really love draws my attention to it. So I guess I’m still on the other side of the fence.
Wow . What a difference a guitar and a Smooth voice can make to a song , I have just listened to the original version there and just can't take to it . Sorry!!! I think I may be too old too hear it for what it is?. This version needs to be uploaded to Spotify ASAP!! . It was great to see you guys live again in Dublin last week , I was looking for a vinyl copy of megaplex of you Chris if you can remember ( still looking for one ) I got a photo taken with u... which is now for sale on Ebay...
Cheers Keith for signing my two concert tickets while you on stage packing up !! .. Next time......
I love this cover despite completely failing to get “Crash” in any way. I really enjoyed the accompanying notes too. You make a sincere and impassioned argument which needs to be taken seriously so perhaps I’ll go back and try again. Always happy to have my musical horizons challenged and broadened!
Emma, there's something almost admirable about your paranoia. I know we have created this situation by lying, again and again, to you and our other readers, but I promise, we really do love Charli XCX. I'm surprised that you like Christine but find Charli unredeemable…
What about "Stay Away," off her album "True Romance." That could have been a great Blood Orange song or Sky Ferreira song or even Editors song back in 2013. You think we're joking when we say we like it? And if you don't, then surely you must begin to doubt your own doubt! Doubt must be creeping into your doubt!
Thanks, Emily. I have to say, I feel I should get some sort of special award for the amount of listening effort I’ve put into this over the weekend 😂
Both of these albums improve with each listening but I still feel I’m looking for the bits I like rather than having an emotional response.
One of the things I love about the people I’ve met through WAS is that we all seem to have fairly divergent music taste but meet in this one place. I think that’s pretty cool.
Even though I lean more to her hyperpop releases, Beg For You and Crash as a whole were definitely up there on my 2022 lists and Charli remains one of my favorite artists. Love to hear this cover and the fervent admiration behind it.
Now if you guys cover a song from my other favorite 2022 album, JID's Forever Story, I'll really be impressed.
Commenting on this post from the Edinburgh Fringe (the world’s greatest arts festival) and I have seen some magic 🪄 here, but this cover is 👌🏻🔥 no clowning 🤡
Genuinely so good! I was so surprised to see you’d covered my suggestion
Inspired suggestion! 💪Now we just need Team WAS to upload to Spotify (I'm sure there will be ZERO issues with this 🫠) so we can all stop having to return to this Substack post to listen to it!
Bit of a delayed response from me but I can’t stop listening to this over the last week 🥰and I concur with the request to upload this to Spotify ASAP! Pretty please 🙏
On the subject of samples - what’s the tiny sample used on Operator Error, at 43 seconds in? It’s somehow familiar but I can’t put my finger on where I’ve heard it (or perhaps just something incredibly similar!) before!
Also thanks for an awesome show on your UK tour! Would love to hear Faultlines live on the next :)
It’s the one that sounds like three fast rising semitones, kinda reminds me of an old school Yoshi hatching out of its egg. Maybe it’s not a sample at all though and just my nostalgia talking…!
Ah yeah, that's what I was thinking of as "soda can." That is indeed a sample, though not a particularly noteworthy one, I don't think: it's from a large bank of percussion samples that we sometimes use when we're feeling too lazy to actually record percussion. I think it's originally made by a guiro.
Forever in awe of KM’s strong falsetto 🤩
I know we’re all out on Lizzo rn but I love her verse on “Blame It On Your Love” (off of “Charli”)
Pretty sure she had not yet begun harassing her dancers when she recorded this for Charli!
True to my word, I’ve had some free time and paid due diligence to this tonight. Suffice to say I may have confused myself. I can see where you are coming from with the September track - “Beg For You” is a definite improvement and is certainly less indebted to Bronski Beat (although the ghost of “Small Town Boy” is still there and is part of what I will concede I like about the song.) In the same way, I like The Good Ones, which certainly owes something to Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams”. There’s nothing wrong with being drawn to the familiar in music but I’m not sure it should be the overriding positive (which I think it is in my case). In general I also feel like I have to already be paying attention in order to appreciate these songs, whereas music I really love draws my attention to it. So I guess I’m still on the other side of the fence.
Wow . What a difference a guitar and a Smooth voice can make to a song , I have just listened to the original version there and just can't take to it . Sorry!!! I think I may be too old too hear it for what it is?. This version needs to be uploaded to Spotify ASAP!! . It was great to see you guys live again in Dublin last week , I was looking for a vinyl copy of megaplex of you Chris if you can remember ( still looking for one ) I got a photo taken with u... which is now for sale on Ebay...
Cheers Keith for signing my two concert tickets while you on stage packing up !! .. Next time......
Hey: a banger's a banger! End of. I'm a lover of the cover ✈️
Outstanding cover👏🏻
Would love to see a We Are Scientists + Charli XCX track.. it needs to happen!
I love this cover despite completely failing to get “Crash” in any way. I really enjoyed the accompanying notes too. You make a sincere and impassioned argument which needs to be taken seriously so perhaps I’ll go back and try again. Always happy to have my musical horizons challenged and broadened!
Don't do it Lou! They're playing you, me and everyone here for a fool! 😉
I honestly don’t think so. I often read in sarcasm where there is none but I’m not getting any here 🤷♀️
I can't even tell if you're being sarcastic now 😂 I will concede that she has a song called 'Gone' with Christine and the Queens that I do like
Emma, there's something almost admirable about your paranoia. I know we have created this situation by lying, again and again, to you and our other readers, but I promise, we really do love Charli XCX. I'm surprised that you like Christine but find Charli unredeemable…
You've absolutely confirmed my paranoia is valid with that last sentence.
What about "Stay Away," off her album "True Romance." That could have been a great Blood Orange song or Sky Ferreira song or even Editors song back in 2013. You think we're joking when we say we like it? And if you don't, then surely you must begin to doubt your own doubt! Doubt must be creeping into your doubt!
😂😂😂
Crash is excellent but if you’ve never heard her first record True Romance, give that one a go!
Thanks, Emily. I have to say, I feel I should get some sort of special award for the amount of listening effort I’ve put into this over the weekend 😂
Both of these albums improve with each listening but I still feel I’m looking for the bits I like rather than having an emotional response.
One of the things I love about the people I’ve met through WAS is that we all seem to have fairly divergent music taste but meet in this one place. I think that’s pretty cool.
It’s the ‘yeahs’ at the end that make it
Even though I lean more to her hyperpop releases, Beg For You and Crash as a whole were definitely up there on my 2022 lists and Charli remains one of my favorite artists. Love to hear this cover and the fervent admiration behind it.
Now if you guys cover a song from my other favorite 2022 album, JID's Forever Story, I'll really be impressed.
!!! Damn, that’s a tall order. (And a great record)
Commenting on this post from the Edinburgh Fringe (the world’s greatest arts festival) and I have seen some magic 🪄 here, but this cover is 👌🏻🔥 no clowning 🤡
Genuinely so good! I was so surprised to see you’d covered my suggestion
Inspired suggestion! 💪Now we just need Team WAS to upload to Spotify (I'm sure there will be ZERO issues with this 🫠) so we can all stop having to return to this Substack post to listen to it!
Bit of a delayed response from me but I can’t stop listening to this over the last week 🥰and I concur with the request to upload this to Spotify ASAP! Pretty please 🙏
On the subject of samples - what’s the tiny sample used on Operator Error, at 43 seconds in? It’s somehow familiar but I can’t put my finger on where I’ve heard it (or perhaps just something incredibly similar!) before!
Also thanks for an awesome show on your UK tour! Would love to hear Faultlines live on the next :)
Oh! Which sound, the one that kind of sounds like a rattle snake's tail or the one that sounds a little bit like a can of soda being opened?
It’s the one that sounds like three fast rising semitones, kinda reminds me of an old school Yoshi hatching out of its egg. Maybe it’s not a sample at all though and just my nostalgia talking…!
Ah yeah, that's what I was thinking of as "soda can." That is indeed a sample, though not a particularly noteworthy one, I don't think: it's from a large bank of percussion samples that we sometimes use when we're feeling too lazy to actually record percussion. I think it's originally made by a guiro.
Ah interesting. Thanks for taking the time to answer - I can stop pondering where I’ve heard it from now! 😂