On 8/10/2025 at 2:10 PM, conatus said:

#57. "My Funny Valentine"

aint no way!

Taylor was so threatened by the Jazz Rate's success she had to come up with a showgirl concept for her new album... the power of these ladies

4 minutes ago, Antisocialites said:

Taylor was so threatened by the Jazz Rate's success she had to come up with a showgirl concept for her new album... the power of these ladies

Trying to steal our thunder... but she will NEVER be Sarah Vaughan

 

22 minutes ago, Antisocialites said:

Taylor was so threatened by the Jazz Rate's success she had to come up with a showgirl concept for her new album... the power of these ladies

Just to serve-

Aesthetic: "Sway"

Sound: "ME!"

 

Debating whether to take it down to #30 tonight or keep pushing through until #25

 

Either way, there's TWO ladies we won't see at all in this set of results. Place your bets

 

Peggy is done I fear.

 

I'm going with Ella and Billie. Nina HAS to see an elimination atp

IDK. I'm not sure I trust that Billie will go unscathed after the confounding Solitude and I'll Be Seeing You lashes of yesterday… Julie's remaining songs are a pretty unassailable set. I wonder if she could be safe for now. But 5 slots of the top 25 is too much for her. 
 

I vote stopping at 30 because I won't be able to make today's update; the less I miss the better!  

38 minutes ago, conatus said:

Either way, there's TWO ladies we won't see at all in this set of results. Place your bets

 

Our two vocalists, Nina and Julie.

 

Spoiler

@°ColdFire° @Achilles. @Album Leak @Antisocialites @Aqua @Armani. @Atlantis @Curaga @Devin @Doogle @Eeveelution @Graves @HarajukuPrincess @John Slayne @Luigi @makeawish @mellenthin @Meloetta Carey @MP2K @pearlmercury @Penk @Reverie @roso @StonedSoulPicnic @supaspaz @superben @Supervixen @Taylor fanboy @trainsskyscrapers @Truth Teller @Vixen Eyes @Wicked

Are we ready for round 3?

no Sarah or Nancy eliminations this round, Amen (Fashion) 

7 minutes ago, conatus said:

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@°ColdFire° @Achilles. @Album Leak @Antisocialites @Aqua @Armani. @Atlantis @Curaga @Devin @Doogle @Eeveelution @Graves @HarajukuPrincess @John Slayne @Luigi @makeawish @mellenthin @Meloetta Carey @MP2K @pearlmercury @Penk @Reverie @roso @StonedSoulPicnic @supaspaz @superben @Supervixen @Taylor fanboy @trainsskyscrapers @Truth Teller @Vixen Eyes @Wicked

Are we ready for round 3?

I'm at WORK

  

 

JULIE LONDON

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

 

"Take Back Your Mink"

What is the quintessential Julie London song? Sure, her take on songs like "Cry Me a River," "Sway," and "'Round Midnight" have stood the test of time. But which song really sums up everything Julie was about? One contender for that title I'd like to put forward is "Take Back Your Mink." The fifth track on her 1961 album Whatever Julie Wants (you know, one of the many Julie albums with a cunty artwork), "Take Back Your Mink" is simultaneously sexy, assertive, brassy, tongue-in-cheek, playful, and coy. You'd be hard-pressed to find a song that is more Julie London.

 

 

@Supervixen

 

"Lush Life"

 

 

@Achilles.

 

"A Room with a View"

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This caught my eye because it shares a title with one of my favorite films and I do think it's one of Julie's more romantic recordings. Written by Noel Coward, the mind behind "Mad About The Boy," this is a very sweet and simple ode to falling for the boy next door.

A Room with a View is a lovely film.

Ready for me to go home today after work and see Sinnerman eliminated at the very end of today's reveals.

9 minutes ago, Vixen Eyes said:

I'm at WORK

Right.

 

At least it's only Julie.

A great opportunity to reup this classic that you all didn’t get!

 

 

 

BILLIE HOLIDAY

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

 

"Everything Happens to Me"

A word we can use to describe a lot of Billie's music is "miserable." This isn't necessarily meant as a derogatory categorisation, it's just that her work does lean towards the more melancholic side of things, which is one of the qualities that continues to draw so many people to her. It seems that Billie herself was even aware of this, and sometimes seemed to poke fun at this aspect of her discography. On 1955's Stay with Me, she took on the pop standard "Everything Happens to Me." Her delivery as she sings about all the bad things that happen to her veers into tongue-in-cheek, making it one of the most fascinating instances of self-reflexivity in her entire body of work.

 

 

@Achilles.

 

"I Must Have That Man!"

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One of the OG anthems about falling for a f—boy. I heard Billie Holiday sing "he's hot as Hades" and rushed to put a goddamn mark to it. She's got the best performance and arrangement of the bunch.

 

"Speak Low"

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Ella recorded this very late in her career with jazz guitarist Joe Pass and her performance is very nice, even if you can hear that her voice isn't all it used to be. Sarah has a live recording where she serves gorgeous vocals over a rather dull arrangement. But this is Billie's song. I really love her arrangement; it's distinct, catchy, and vibrant. So is her voice. I also like the writing on this one. "Time is so old and love so brief / love is pure gold and time a thief." Some of those other rhymes also just scratch an itch in my brain for some reason.

 

"Too Marvelous for Words"

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Just a perfect song about being so in love with someone that you can't even find the words to explain it. Ella's rendition is great, but Billie sings it like she's really so in love that she's struggling to talk about it.

 

@makeawish

 

"You Turned the Tables on Me"

 

 

@Supervixen

 

"Blue Moon"

 

 

@Vixen Eyes

 

"I Cried for You"

 

Edited August 12, 20251 yr by conatus

Hmm, maybe the miserable aspect was what kept me from connecting with Billie's songs. I normally need upbeat, sugary tunes to stay sane  

 

#40. "September in the Rain"

"The sun went out just like a dying ember…"

Average: 7.589393939

Highest score: 10 (@Achilles., @Album Leak, @Devin, @roso)

Lowest score: 1 (@John Slayne, @Wicked)

 

Originally written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin for the obscure 1935 film Stars Over Broadway, "September in the Rain" was instead first introduced in 1937's Melody for Two by James Melton and instantly entered the standards repertoire. In that year alone, there were three charted versions, and countless others have followed since, by artists such as Rod Stewart, Cilla Black, and Norah Jones. Lyrically, the song reflects on days gone by, and Dinah's version first appeared on her 1960 album of the same name, providing the optimal showcase for her sharp and rhythmic phrasing.

 

What the GP had to say:

 

@John Slayne

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This is too musical theatre'd

 

@Achilles.

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I love how jazz writers loved to be in a place at a time. April in Paris. Autumn in New York. September in the Rain. No wonder Julie London was inspired to sing the calendar. She and Dinah both have excellent takes of this, although both keep it under a brisk two minutes. My instinct is that a song about nostalgia out to be drawn out and drown you in your memories, but I guess I do see the appeal of keeping it brief—sometimes a memory is just a pleasant passing thought and *not* something you wallow in for an indeterminately long period of time. Not speaking from experience or anything.  Sarah also has a live performance that's so good you wouldn't know it was live if it didn't start with 40 seconds of a man explaining to the crowd that she's recording the concert.

I'm sure some of you will be glad to know this is not the only time we'll see Dinah in this round.

I loved this one. 

Oh, Dinah...

But for now...

 

 

#39. "Lullaby of Birdland"

"Never in my wordland could there be ways to reveal

In a phrase how I feel…"

Average: 7.605454545

Highest score: 10 (@Curaga, @MP2K, @StonedSoulPicnic, @trainsskyscrapers)

Lowest score: 4 (@John Slayne)

 

Composed by George Shearing with lyrics by George David Weiss, "Lullaby of Birdland" began its life as an ode to the famous Birdland jazz club in New York City. The Birdland club was renamed so in 1949 in honour of legendary jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker. Sarah's version, released as a single in 1954, remains one of her biggest hits and became a standard in her repertoire for the rest of her career, and rightfully so: even if we are now over 70 years removed from the jazz club that it honoured, what has endured is that voice. That being said, George Shearing famously preferred another recording, that of Erroll Garner, who Shearing praised for slowing the song down, "lagging it along" and "scraping his way through it."

 

What the GP had to say:

 

@Vixen Eyes

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it started out fantastic but then she had to ruin it with the scatting. get out of here with that mess.

 

@Meloetta Carey

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i know this is groundbreaking or whatever, but it's so offputting when she sings with a lowered larynx. also, mariah cleared.

 

@John Slayne

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Her singing style is really not for me.

@Doogle

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Get your licks in while you can but Sarah did what she needed to on this one!

 

@Aqua

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The random pots & pans breakdown in the middle followed by the scatting took me out in the best possible way.

 

@Achilles.

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Written in ten minutes to be the theme song for a famous New York City jazz club, and doesn't it show. Ella and Sarah both have very technically impressive renditions but it's giving me nothing lyrically or emotionally.

Lullaby of Birdland never fully clicked with me. I think I might prefer Ella's version. 

Just now, Antisocialites said:

Lullaby of Birdland never fully clicked with me. I think I might prefer Ella's version. 

Tbh even as a Sarah fan I've never really loved Lullaby of Birdland that much