So...
ALIEN SUPERSTAR
vs.
VIRGO'S GROOVE
vs.
PURE/HONEY
Only two tracks can make it onto the finale, but which one will it be?
It's not...
3
9.532
11 x 11
@Mirwais Ahmadzaï
@Petty Mayonnaise
@eliminathan
@FINISH LINE
@nikkysan
@RainOnFire
@klow
@Purple
@Dijah
@CorgiCorgiCorgi
@Joe.
HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 40 (
@aux,
@man.tis.shrimp,
@rdp,
@fatyoshi,
@eatyourself,
@boom bazooka joe,
@Remyky22,
@GimmeWork,
@RetroPhysical,
@Mr Blonde,
@Blond,
@Daniel_O,
@Cutlery,
@Ana Raquel,
@Maria,
@godspeed,
@Jonathan27,
@aaronhansome,
@Slice of Life,
@Babyface,
@BTG,
@Mushroom,
@SlowGinFizzzz,
@TéléDex,
@DinahLee,
@K94,
@reputation.,
@Dreampopboy,
@Soygirl,
@Laurence,
@Artemisia,
@Music Is Life & Death,
@papatrick,
@BEST FICTION,
@thommyh,
@Ensnare,
@happiestgirl,
@beyoncésweave,
@Trouble in Paradise,
@heavymetalgaga)
LOWEST SCORE: 6.5 x 1 (
@unnameable)
MY SCORE: 10
Disco is an
incredibly sexual genre. One of the pinnacle tracks of disco music remains being "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer, a track Beyoncé herself samples on this album. "I Feel Love" oozes a need for sex and intimacy with one of the greatest vocal deliveries ever from the great Donna Summer. Her voice reaches the highest highs with a strength and warmness that just fills the recording of that song. I know the gays say this as a joke a lot, but truly, God was in the studio with them when that song was recorded. "I Feel Love", despite originally being a b-side, became one of the most influential tracks in the history of music. Its impact on electronic music is incredibly palpable. Despite Beyoncé sampling this track later in this record, vocally, this is her take on "I Feel Love".
Beyoncé's voice completely takes over in this entire track, filling the recording of the song in the same way Donna Summer did with "I Feel Love". It's an otherworldly vocal take because... Holy fucking shit... The vocal range and control one must have to deliver something like this is wild. She delivers this song with an immense intimacy. It's a voluptuous track, rich in detail and emotion.
"VIRGO'S GROOVE" is a six minute disco odyssey that uses every minute to arrest its listener into an elevated plane of existence. There is not a moment of this track that is wasted, every second is exquisite. I will never forget pressing play on this track for the very first time. I remember closing my eyes and just surrendering to the track. It's got a power that is genuinely indescribable. It's track's like these that make me adore electronic music. A genuinely unforgettable banger of a track. I could live in the world of this song forever. The song was given the radio treatment in the UK, does this make it a single? If it does, it's up there as one of her greatest singles ever. It's just absolutely bulletproof for me. It's catnip for the type of music I adore.
I really wish this had won in some sort of tie because I genuinely adore every track left. At one point, earlier in the rate, this was the winner. Yes, every score counted into it edging down to the top three. Regardless, the song had an amazing performance.
This leaves us with our finale:
"ALIEN SUPERSTAR"
vs.
"PURE/HONEY"
Onto the commentary!
Of course, the song being titled over an astrology sign, the comments began with that.
@CorgiCorgiCorgi questions if "Maybe astrology is worth it after all?". Similarly,
@eliminathan shows that they have no bias despite their own astrology sign, writing "This song is truly immaculate and I'm not just saying that as a Virgo!"
@Dijah, seems to adore this track on the same level as myself, commenting that it's the "Best song ever recorded in the history of music." It's true.
To close us off, I leave with
@klow, who perfectly describes what makes this song so special, writing: "One of the finest examples of Beyoncé's skills as a vocalist that I can think of. On a song like "Freakum Dress", she goes about climbing Everest in the bridge - we build to hollering and thunder. Here, Beyoncé's at the summit, flexing, from the very beginning - she keeps promising to take us somewhere, but as she darts and weaves in front and behind a metronomic funk backing, it's unclear as to how anyone could possibly wish to be going anywhere else. Of course, Beyoncé is Beyoncé and Beyoncé is always right (except about music video scheduling, I guess) - because we do get to a series of cascading, beatific vocal runs at the song's end, that allow the listener to ascend to a plane higher than could have ever been conceived at the song's beginning. Simply magnificent in every respect."
