More bat out of hell votes kplzthx
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So a bad early group means we are gonna have some groups with 5 top songs in them thanks to the rand gods
Got to listen to these with better audio quality than my usual set up on my work computer. National song is really good, the rest were a little underwhelming but not as terrible as some made it sound, voted for Hater but looks like the ranking is mostly set at this point.
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I was critical. But round wasnāt āterribleā. There isnāt going to be a truly terrible round. This is the best of the best. Iām just judging this on what I expect is coming. I think this round will be seen as terrible compared to what is coming.
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Iāll try and get round 2 up this afternoon or evening euro time, then close 1 out Sunday morning. Worried for 'Loaf, but fingers crossed!
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Voted for Meatloaf in memory of 10 year old me.
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Attaboy
How do bookmarks work? Can I bookmark the poll? Letās seeā¦
Group 2
Letās hope the random numbers have been kinder. To me thereās some absolute classics in this lot, but thereās no accounting for [your] taste[s], obviously.
First up is guitar hero Jack Rose with Sunflower River Blues.
@cassette gave @Pauwl a victory in, fittingly, the āGuitarā category.
A song with a great guitar riff, intro, or solo
cassette said:
First impression: Ok, yup. Banger.
Later: Fuck yeah. A beautiful melody, great guitar tone, and an ace performance. Plus itās a guitar and only a guitar. Iāve been into this bluegrass/country stuff a lot lately and this hit the spot. Good fit, good song. Iāll listen to some more this. Cheers.
Rose is pure class in my book. (Although sadly I think I should have said Rose was class.)
Next we have another guitar hero Eric Johnson with some smoooooth work on East Wes.
I gave @Rivaldo the victory in a category about tracks that ended albums in a satisfying manner.
Most albums end, but only some end with something that just feels right as a last track. Feel free to tell me why you think that along with the submission, and I wonāt mark people down for not fitting with my own understanding - itās a lot to do with the album itself anyway.
I then handed down the definitive judgement of the song:
Rivaldo may have broken my brain (I think this is him). Why am I putting on guitar-lead, easy listening instrumentals? Even more worryingly, why do I seem to love them? On the one hand this might be playing in a lift in an 80s deodorant advert, on the other itās amazing. Just listen to that guitar. The tone, the precision, fuck me, itās lovely.
The song itself is some kind of alien smooth jazz, weaving and folding itself through four or so different sections before elegantly sliding to a halt after just 3 and a half minutes. The drummer calmly marks time in as intricate a manner as he possibly can without ruffling his no doubt immaculately pressed suit, and, as seems to happen a lot, the keyboard player has been told to only play 20% of the time, but when allowed is doing some great noodling round the edges.
I imagine if David Lynch ever made a version of Miami Vice this song would be a key part of its soundtrack, haunting every cursed character that shuffled across the screen. And thatās why itās in first place.
And then what has to be the bookieās favourite, the song that won two rounds, the mighty Lingua Ignota with DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR.
I and @Jalfrezi gave @cassette and @LouisCyphre victories. Iād asked for Noisy or Depressing songs, jalfrezi had wanted non standard instruments (something featuring something other than guitar, bass, drums & keyboards.)
We judged it thus:
Part of me wonders if Iām being trolled with this submission, but, if so I donāt careālike Sparks last time this one blew my little socks off. I wonāt be capable of highlighting even a small percentage of why I like this so much. One thing is definitely the section starting about 4:20 in where it gets properly scary. The base is thunderous and sheās screaming almost full throttle and itās just amazing.
One of the things that I think is both little appreciated, but also very pointless if you just hate it, is that making music as non melodic as this absolutely requires tremendous and pretty traditional technical skill. I think thatās more in evidence with this than a lot of noise music, so it might be something to cling to if this just isnāt your bag. Give it a go, itās tremendous.
If not, though, no problem, and, as she says near the end, āthrow your body in the fucking river.ā
āHow do I break you before you break me?ā Well. Itās difficult listening but interesting and at nine minutes is the longest track here and a bold choice for a walrus.
Her wiki page explains that she makes music reflecting the experience of domestic abuse survivors and her live performances act as exorcisms, and itās harrowing to listen to but also complex and intriguing enough to return to. I certainly like it but was undecided about how much for several listens, mainly because of the screaming, but itās deceptively musical with a subtle sense of harmony, and these qualities elevate it way above the ranks of most violence-obsessed āmetalā.
Itās what Iād call good Art by a serious musician, but the vocals in the middle section arenāt enjoyable listening for me - though at the same time I totally understand the need for it within the context of the song. I find it very hard to rank this because the other seven minutes are excellent, and the length of this write-up shows the predicament I found myself in.
I canāt wait to hear what she does to the AM radio classic I Want To Know What Love Is (Iām not kidding, itās in the pipeline apparently) and I hope her music keeps her on the straight and narrow.
An absolute monster.
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Group 2 cont
Time to relax a little, step forward genuine music legend Cat Stevens whoās with Alun Davies to bring us Lady dāArbanville.
@King_of_NY gave @Rexx a Triumph in the āBritishā category. He commented:
The original is special, but this version is just beyond. Enjoy.
Next up a song that I would imagine is a contentender for overall honours given how quickly it was installed as an all time classic, Johnny Cash covering Nine Inch Nailās Hurt.
@mjiggy awarded @SwankyWilder first place in a ācover that improves the songā round.
One thing I have been listening to a lot of lately is covers of modern songs by their contemporaries. Not sure why but Iāve always been a big fan of covers. The catch here is that I donāt want to hear covers that sound exactly like the original; after all if thatās what I wanted to hear Iād just listen to the original. I will only be rating this based on the quality of the song submitted, not how well it stacks up with the original song and there will be no particular deductions based on popularity of either song.
He commented:
When I made this category, I was sort of hoping that no one submitted this song because I knew it would be hard to beat. When I saw it was the very first submission, I just hoped that multiple people hadnāt submitted it. It seems like the submitter agreed with me:
I considered another cover because I assume everyone will pick this, but then I went ahead anyway because there has been no better cover version in the history of music. The first time I saw it I cried like a baby.
Take what I said about Chris Cornellās Nothing Compares 2 U and then take it up another level for this song because of the weight added by him singing this song, with these lyrics, at the end of his career and towards the end of his life. It just takes on a completely different life than the original version in Cashās hands.
Finally the first of nine entries that critics are calling āthe pickā of this contest, Fairport Convention with Tam Lin
I won @LouisCyphre 's 2nd choice category, which was a song that was 2nd choice in one of his other categories.
After making this clearly impeccable choice Louis added:
This song could have easily made the podium in the story or folk category. I have a penchant for modern interpretations of medieval music. There are a bunch of bands who do this really well for German traditional music and I also like other artists that do it for British and Scandinavian traditional music. Iām glad to now have discovered Fairpoint Convention. They have released literally dozens of albums.
What makes this better than for comparison āMiri it is while sumer ilastā in 7th place is the addition for modern rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums). It adds some variety. For example, whatās that thing called they do at 0:20 (and repeatedly throughout)? Anyway, I dig that.
The singer also tells her story beautifully. I can listen to this on repeat. I have high hopes to find more like this in their back catalogue.
What an entry! What a song!!
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See above for songs. Youāre voting for the two that should progress.
Note poll fail - I accidentally have allowed up to 6 votes. Donāt think it matters, if you vote for 6 itās pointless.
Group 2
- Jack Rose - Sunflower River Blues
- Eric Johnson - East Wes
- Lingua Ignota - DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR
- Cat Stevens & Alun Davies - Lady dāArbanville
- Johnny Cash - Hurt
- Fairport Convention - Tam Lin
0 voters
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Honestly donāt know my vote for this one yet.
I think any of these would have made my final 2 of the previous round.
I need to hear a couple of these again.
Voted the two I know and love for now but will listen to all later.
Best part of this tourney is itās easy enough to listen to all these winners and find some good new music.
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I think Iām less impressed with this category than the first but at the same time itās a little more interesting musically and Iām not sure what to vote for
Will do the same. Johnny Cash and Fairpoint Convention for now. I havenāt listened to Cat Stevens, Jack Rose and Eric Johnson yet.
āĆa plane pour moiā rules, letās get it through.
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Poor Eric.
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After review the ruling on the field is confirmed.
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