Dog Days Are Over: The Florence + the Machine Discography Rate (And the winner is...)
- Thread starter Fortune
- Start date
It's probably in my Florence top 3, so I'm very pleased.
Ship To Wreck on the other hand should have left ages ago, it's so damn overrated.
You've Got The Love shouldn't be in at this stage. The original is one of the best songs ever, but even though the Florence version isn't bad I don't think it should have punched so many brilliant original songs out of the game.
17.
You've Got the Love - 8.619
High: 11 x 1 – @ohnostalgia, 10 x 14 - @Can’t Speak French, @Sprockrooster, @Vixen, @munro, @Reboot, @TR, @constantino, @A$AP Robbie, @aaronhansome, @slaybellz, @Animalia, @Claudette's Carving Knife, @Push, @beyoncésweave
Low: 5 x 3 – @Aester, @Raisin Hell, @Squashua
Sorry, @ohnostalgia.
You’ve Got the Love was first released as the B-side to Dog Days Are Over in December 2008, receiving critical acclaim, before becoming a single in its own right in November 2009 and getting its own music video. It eventually hit #5 in the UK charts on 10th January 2010 after being featured in the last episode of Gavin & Stacey, becoming Florence + the Machine’s first UK Top 5 single. It was also used in the last episode of Gossip Girl. Queen of finales.
It’s a cover of a gospel track, ‘You Got the Love’, by the Source featuring Candi Staton. Candi Staton’s acapella vocals were originally recorded in the 1980s for a straight-to-video documentary about an obese man trying to lose weight. When approached by the Source in 1991, she initially didn’t have the faintest idea what vocal of hers they were talking about using. Florence has described the original as one of her favourite songs ever, saying that when she heard it at clubs and raves, she always felt euphoric. At Bestival, she felt they needed an ace-in-the-hole cover version, and the initial wonderful crowd response meant that she kept coming back to it. It’s fairly simple, but absolutely beautiful. It’s so packed with raggedy charm, and it feels like such a victory lap at the end of Lungs and a celebration of what the album has accomplished. The slower live version she does now really brings the soul out, and is equally if not even more breathtaking.
For the longest time in voting, this was stuck in 20th place, with Sweet Nothing in 21st. It essentially seemed to serve as a gatekeeper, as no matter how high the score Sweet Nothing got this would always be just a few points higher. Then some people really shook the leaderboard up, this shot upstairs and Blinding got booted down to 21st.
For Sprockrooster, this was “the song that acquainted with me with Florence. I was instantly taken by that celestial voice on this. So searching for more songs from them was really a treasure box.” Plethorya observes how “she treats personal situations as divine, so it’s no surprise she pulls off what was originally a gospel song.” munro says that “this still sounds sooo good after almost a decade.” Come on, it’s been less than seven years since it started to take off, please don’t use the ‘d’ word, makes me feel old.
2014 deems it “a fitting album closer but she has done soooooo much better since and needs to bin it from live shows teebs.” Noooo never, it is so good live. Kuhleezi also observes how this has paled in the context of her career as she’s progressed, “This is a certified bop, and I won't try to deny it. That key change in the chorus is life-affirming, and I won't try to deny it. But this seems all so inessential after pretty much everything else she has done. Also, I much prefer the slowed down version they perform live.”
Some of you feel that it’s been played quite a bit over the past few years, but it’s not all negative. AllGagaLike calls it “overexposed to hell and back but still good.” Remyky22 notes the obvious reason why it would be used again and again, “I've grown quite tired of it, but after all, it's an amazing cover of a really good song.” It’s ah-maaaaaaaazing. It’s not like it was a shit song that got played to hell and back. Pinkieshy agrees, “I think it was overplayed a tad back in the day, and I never completely recovered from that enough to put it on of my own accord, but it’s a brilliant cover.” On the other hand, Squashua wasn’t having it from Day 1, “I've always found this version too shouty compared to the Candi Staton original, long before it was overplayed on top of that criticism. Give me any of her other covers but this one. Lovely DreamWorks sparkly moon/balloon combo in the video though.” Great gowns, beautiful gowns.
Constantino also gets life from the video, but thinks the whole song is “iconic. On principle, I hate it when acts become most known for a cover; a) it erases the fact that there is an original and b) it overshadows the many (incredible) songs that Florence actually wrote. That being said, the fact that she has Dog Days, Spectrum and Shake It Out, three equally well-known hits, under her belt too softens the blow. I also adore the video, she is really committing to the melodrama and I live for the giant crescent.” Cover versions don’t actually eliminate the original version from existence, praise the Lord (Calum Scott Dancing on My Own cough cough), but I think I sort of understand what you’re trying to say. A$AP Robbie “would be quite happy with this as the first dance at my wedding.” Bitch, me too! Wouldn’t it just be the best to twirl around to in flowing bridal kaftan?
Oleander says that “this song is a classic and while I enjoy the original quite a bit, Flo's version is definitely my favorite. The vocals successfully capture the sentiment behind the lyrics.” Runawaywithme calls it “an excellent cover that makes me touch the sky and the stars and reminds of so many great defining moments of my life and always cheers me up, a perfect end to this magnificent album.”
You've Got the Love - 8.619
High: 11 x 1 – @ohnostalgia, 10 x 14 - @Can’t Speak French, @Sprockrooster, @Vixen, @munro, @Reboot, @TR, @constantino, @A$AP Robbie, @aaronhansome, @slaybellz, @Animalia, @Claudette's Carving Knife, @Push, @beyoncésweave
Low: 5 x 3 – @Aester, @Raisin Hell, @Squashua
Sorry, @ohnostalgia.
You’ve Got the Love was first released as the B-side to Dog Days Are Over in December 2008, receiving critical acclaim, before becoming a single in its own right in November 2009 and getting its own music video. It eventually hit #5 in the UK charts on 10th January 2010 after being featured in the last episode of Gavin & Stacey, becoming Florence + the Machine’s first UK Top 5 single. It was also used in the last episode of Gossip Girl. Queen of finales.
It’s a cover of a gospel track, ‘You Got the Love’, by the Source featuring Candi Staton. Candi Staton’s acapella vocals were originally recorded in the 1980s for a straight-to-video documentary about an obese man trying to lose weight. When approached by the Source in 1991, she initially didn’t have the faintest idea what vocal of hers they were talking about using. Florence has described the original as one of her favourite songs ever, saying that when she heard it at clubs and raves, she always felt euphoric. At Bestival, she felt they needed an ace-in-the-hole cover version, and the initial wonderful crowd response meant that she kept coming back to it. It’s fairly simple, but absolutely beautiful. It’s so packed with raggedy charm, and it feels like such a victory lap at the end of Lungs and a celebration of what the album has accomplished. The slower live version she does now really brings the soul out, and is equally if not even more breathtaking.
For the longest time in voting, this was stuck in 20th place, with Sweet Nothing in 21st. It essentially seemed to serve as a gatekeeper, as no matter how high the score Sweet Nothing got this would always be just a few points higher. Then some people really shook the leaderboard up, this shot upstairs and Blinding got booted down to 21st.
For Sprockrooster, this was “the song that acquainted with me with Florence. I was instantly taken by that celestial voice on this. So searching for more songs from them was really a treasure box.” Plethorya observes how “she treats personal situations as divine, so it’s no surprise she pulls off what was originally a gospel song.” munro says that “this still sounds sooo good after almost a decade.” Come on, it’s been less than seven years since it started to take off, please don’t use the ‘d’ word, makes me feel old.
2014 deems it “a fitting album closer but she has done soooooo much better since and needs to bin it from live shows teebs.” Noooo never, it is so good live. Kuhleezi also observes how this has paled in the context of her career as she’s progressed, “This is a certified bop, and I won't try to deny it. That key change in the chorus is life-affirming, and I won't try to deny it. But this seems all so inessential after pretty much everything else she has done. Also, I much prefer the slowed down version they perform live.”
Some of you feel that it’s been played quite a bit over the past few years, but it’s not all negative. AllGagaLike calls it “overexposed to hell and back but still good.” Remyky22 notes the obvious reason why it would be used again and again, “I've grown quite tired of it, but after all, it's an amazing cover of a really good song.” It’s ah-maaaaaaaazing. It’s not like it was a shit song that got played to hell and back. Pinkieshy agrees, “I think it was overplayed a tad back in the day, and I never completely recovered from that enough to put it on of my own accord, but it’s a brilliant cover.” On the other hand, Squashua wasn’t having it from Day 1, “I've always found this version too shouty compared to the Candi Staton original, long before it was overplayed on top of that criticism. Give me any of her other covers but this one. Lovely DreamWorks sparkly moon/balloon combo in the video though.” Great gowns, beautiful gowns.
Constantino also gets life from the video, but thinks the whole song is “iconic. On principle, I hate it when acts become most known for a cover; a) it erases the fact that there is an original and b) it overshadows the many (incredible) songs that Florence actually wrote. That being said, the fact that she has Dog Days, Spectrum and Shake It Out, three equally well-known hits, under her belt too softens the blow. I also adore the video, she is really committing to the melodrama and I live for the giant crescent.” Cover versions don’t actually eliminate the original version from existence, praise the Lord (Calum Scott Dancing on My Own cough cough), but I think I sort of understand what you’re trying to say. A$AP Robbie “would be quite happy with this as the first dance at my wedding.” Bitch, me too! Wouldn’t it just be the best to twirl around to in flowing bridal kaftan?
Oleander says that “this song is a classic and while I enjoy the original quite a bit, Flo's version is definitely my favorite. The vocals successfully capture the sentiment behind the lyrics.” Runawaywithme calls it “an excellent cover that makes me touch the sky and the stars and reminds of so many great defining moments of my life and always cheers me up, a perfect end to this magnificent album.”
Should've closed the voting sooner.
What. I am glad You Got The Love got an 11 as it is deserved.
ohnostalgia
Staff member
She/her
You're all awful.
16.
Lemme just chuck this out first.
Howl - 8.67
High: 11 x 2 – @2014, @Jam, 10 x 8– @Vixen, @Kyle., @LTG, @Deja-Boo, @Animalia, @Petty Mayonnaise, @Book Jockey, @Robsolete
Low: 7 x 6 - @tylerc904, @munro, @TR, @Terminus, @Jersey, @beyoncésweave
Howl is the final album track from Lungs to depart. A low score of 7 is pretty decent going, but it didn’t have that many major supporters and at this stage if you’re not raking in the 10s you’re not going to get that much further. Howl is as far as Florence gets into passionate primal blood-and-guts mode for Lungs, but it stops just short of being OTT like Seven Devils, and the fast tempo helps to keep it from seeming too self-serious and plodding towards implosion. This is one of those songs that Florence wrote while hungover, feeling incredibly emotional from the night before. She had behaved so badly she felt practically feral, and began to think about how young love can completely take you over, and how sordid and dangerous that feeling could be. In this song, sweet love becomes overwhelming obsession like a hunter for their prey. Combine that with a preoccupation with werewolves on that particular day, throw in some other Gothic things like comparing flesh to wedding dresses and licking beating hearts and presto. This is something I used to love way back when, but as time’s gone on and her discography has expanded, I’ve come back to it less and less. I'm glad it did well but it feels right to exit here.
Kyle. calls it “amazing, wolf queen.” Plethorya asks us “is this why people like werewolves? Because if so, I get it now.” I don’t know why people like werewolves. They’re weird. Squashua thinks that the werewolf territory is tired and predictable, like florals for spring, “Sure it's very much caught up in borderline predictable werewolf territory for a song called Howl (annoyingly at a time when Vampires and Werewolves were boiled down to Edward vs Jacob by the general public) but THAT MIDDLE 8. It's a rush, a moonlit gory and a desperate one.” Sprockrooster echoes the adoration for the middle eight, “an intro with that means something iconic is coming. In this case absolute truth, with that blazing middle-8.”
Some of y’all think it should’ve been a single and gotten a shiny music video. Pinkieshy dubs it “the single that never was, this felt like it was in every other advert at one point! I think it’s a bit rough and sounds like it was written very off the cuff (even though it probably wasn’t), but that effortlessness is where a lot of the charm comes from.” AllGagaLike echoes that, “Great stuff, really emotive and primitive; probably would've made a good single too.” They would’ve probably rereleased Dog Days Are Over instead, teebs.
This gives Book Jockey “goosebumps every single time.” Remyky22 calls it “an absolute monstrosity of a song, the end is taking away all the lives I've had and feeding me the same amount simultaneously.” Push says that “this is a very accessible and straightforward song from her”, which somehow sounds a bit shady to me.
As ever, Kuhleezi strives for the status of Supreme Stan by referencing the live version, and the good sis is down for some filthy explicit action, “I admit my love for this song cooled down a bit over time. Absolutely adore the explicit lyrics and the Halloween synths in the chorus, as well as the repeated bridge and that orgasmic build up towards the end. The ending she uses (used?) in live performances is better though (a dramatic pause before the last "ground" rather than the abrupt ending we get on the album).” Oleander isn’t totally in love with it either, but still finds plenty positive to say, “Now this is more like it. The production fits the lyrics really well, but I do wish it was a bit louder and more powerful. Flo's voice captures the sentiment of the lyrics perfectly and the abrupt ending is great.” constantino is also decently happy but not overly enthusiastic, and the presence of boppability is always a bonus, “Not the most memorable track on the album but the piercing strings(?) absolutely decimate my puss every time. Florence sounds particularly great in the verses, it’s nice to see her explore a more restrained vocal.”
Finally, our 11 givers. Jam says that “My 11. It has to be, my pure obsession with this track.” And 2014: “SO hard to pick an 11 but I’ve gone for this; it has EVERYTHING and more in its 3 minute and 34 second run and it was robbed of being a single with a proper, epic video to partner it. I hope it goes top 5 because it is ultimate Florence for me.” Well, it made it to 16th place. Sorry to dash your hopes and dreams!
Lemme just chuck this out first.
Howl - 8.67
High: 11 x 2 – @2014, @Jam, 10 x 8– @Vixen, @Kyle., @LTG, @Deja-Boo, @Animalia, @Petty Mayonnaise, @Book Jockey, @Robsolete
Low: 7 x 6 - @tylerc904, @munro, @TR, @Terminus, @Jersey, @beyoncésweave
Howl is the final album track from Lungs to depart. A low score of 7 is pretty decent going, but it didn’t have that many major supporters and at this stage if you’re not raking in the 10s you’re not going to get that much further. Howl is as far as Florence gets into passionate primal blood-and-guts mode for Lungs, but it stops just short of being OTT like Seven Devils, and the fast tempo helps to keep it from seeming too self-serious and plodding towards implosion. This is one of those songs that Florence wrote while hungover, feeling incredibly emotional from the night before. She had behaved so badly she felt practically feral, and began to think about how young love can completely take you over, and how sordid and dangerous that feeling could be. In this song, sweet love becomes overwhelming obsession like a hunter for their prey. Combine that with a preoccupation with werewolves on that particular day, throw in some other Gothic things like comparing flesh to wedding dresses and licking beating hearts and presto. This is something I used to love way back when, but as time’s gone on and her discography has expanded, I’ve come back to it less and less. I'm glad it did well but it feels right to exit here.
Kyle. calls it “amazing, wolf queen.” Plethorya asks us “is this why people like werewolves? Because if so, I get it now.” I don’t know why people like werewolves. They’re weird. Squashua thinks that the werewolf territory is tired and predictable, like florals for spring, “Sure it's very much caught up in borderline predictable werewolf territory for a song called Howl (annoyingly at a time when Vampires and Werewolves were boiled down to Edward vs Jacob by the general public) but THAT MIDDLE 8. It's a rush, a moonlit gory and a desperate one.” Sprockrooster echoes the adoration for the middle eight, “an intro with that means something iconic is coming. In this case absolute truth, with that blazing middle-8.”
Some of y’all think it should’ve been a single and gotten a shiny music video. Pinkieshy dubs it “the single that never was, this felt like it was in every other advert at one point! I think it’s a bit rough and sounds like it was written very off the cuff (even though it probably wasn’t), but that effortlessness is where a lot of the charm comes from.” AllGagaLike echoes that, “Great stuff, really emotive and primitive; probably would've made a good single too.” They would’ve probably rereleased Dog Days Are Over instead, teebs.
This gives Book Jockey “goosebumps every single time.” Remyky22 calls it “an absolute monstrosity of a song, the end is taking away all the lives I've had and feeding me the same amount simultaneously.” Push says that “this is a very accessible and straightforward song from her”, which somehow sounds a bit shady to me.
As ever, Kuhleezi strives for the status of Supreme Stan by referencing the live version, and the good sis is down for some filthy explicit action, “I admit my love for this song cooled down a bit over time. Absolutely adore the explicit lyrics and the Halloween synths in the chorus, as well as the repeated bridge and that orgasmic build up towards the end. The ending she uses (used?) in live performances is better though (a dramatic pause before the last "ground" rather than the abrupt ending we get on the album).” Oleander isn’t totally in love with it either, but still finds plenty positive to say, “Now this is more like it. The production fits the lyrics really well, but I do wish it was a bit louder and more powerful. Flo's voice captures the sentiment of the lyrics perfectly and the abrupt ending is great.” constantino is also decently happy but not overly enthusiastic, and the presence of boppability is always a bonus, “Not the most memorable track on the album but the piercing strings(?) absolutely decimate my puss every time. Florence sounds particularly great in the verses, it’s nice to see her explore a more restrained vocal.”
Finally, our 11 givers. Jam says that “My 11. It has to be, my pure obsession with this track.” And 2014: “SO hard to pick an 11 but I’ve gone for this; it has EVERYTHING and more in its 3 minute and 34 second run and it was robbed of being a single with a proper, epic video to partner it. I hope it goes top 5 because it is ultimate Florence for me.” Well, it made it to 16th place. Sorry to dash your hopes and dreams!
ohnostalgia
Staff member
She/her
Paying for this callous comment, I see. Hehe.
D
Deleted member 11565
3 down, 3 to go!
Aww I love Howl. Top 16 is probably a fair place for it to settle though.
@Pinkieshy, you may have No Light No Light & Ship to Wreck as your final sacrificial lambs from your kill list (I concur) but Rabbit Heart is top 5 material. Casting a protection spell as we speak...
@Pinkieshy, you may have No Light No Light & Ship to Wreck as your final sacrificial lambs from your kill list (I concur) but Rabbit Heart is top 5 material. Casting a protection spell as we speak...
Nooooooooooooooo
Oh well. There are so many Florence songs I love that I can't be too upset. But Howl has always held something special for me. The intro always draws me in.
and then the first verse:
'If you could only see, the beast you made of me,
I held it in, but now it seems you set it running free,
screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart,
drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart'
are some of my favourite Florence lyrics.
It's always been on the right side of loud and I've always found relief in singing (or at least miming) along with the Hoooooooooowls.
I remember being so glad when series 2 of BBC3's Being Human used in in its trailers (I was also quite the fan of that show).
Oh well. There are so many Florence songs I love that I can't be too upset. But Howl has always held something special for me. The intro always draws me in.
and then the first verse:
'If you could only see, the beast you made of me,
I held it in, but now it seems you set it running free,
screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart,
drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart'
are some of my favourite Florence lyrics.
It's always been on the right side of loud and I've always found relief in singing (or at least miming) along with the Hoooooooooowls.
I remember being so glad when series 2 of BBC3's Being Human used in in its trailers (I was also quite the fan of that show).
She/her
!!!!