If Midnight Oil is in the top 5 I’m leaving and not coming back
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Did you know that lead singer Peter Garrett later became Minister for the Environment in a Labor federal government?
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And the former governor and current Junior Senator of Florida?
I didn’t, but did you know that the average person in Australia swallows three spiders a year?
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Neil has a song called “Alabama” too.
Man, this is really hard. I don’t want to put any of this stuff in 5th. Nonetheless, here we go.
In 5th place, scoring 11 points, WesleyC with Fake Empire by The National
Wes is a real life friend of mine, he’ll probably show up in the thread at some point. He’s trying to convince me to come to Melbourne with him to see The National, a band I don’t know very well, so they’re both of his first two submissions. His campaign is off to a good start here. When I mentioned to him that his submission was doing well but that I was having trouble sorting out the top 5 songs, he said “guess I’m 5th then”. Well, here you go, buddy.
I like the time changes in the middle here and the drum pattern in the second half which add interest and elevate what is at heart a simple song. Like the vibe of it. I also like the category fit - this song is from 2007 but the chorus “We’re half awake in a fake empire” has only got more relevant in 2019. Good stuff.
Sorry to interject more nonsense but I just got served this ad
I live in new york state
And it’s shitting on my meme game too?
I’m getting trolled by Air Asia all of a sudden, this is life
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That’s hilarious. You know why you got that, probably? Stella Donnelly is from Perth.
At that price you can‘t afford not to go.
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Hi All, new poster and IRL friend of CVs.
When I heard CV was doing a Walrus, the chance to force a bunch of good music on him was too much to resist. If you knew how much he likes to sing along you would realize what a critical mission you’ve all undertaken!
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OK, that was tough but I’m making moves now. Got my groove back. Let’s power towards the podium.
In 4th place, scoring 12 points, Twist with Viva La Quinta Brigada (Live in Glasgow) by Christy Moore
I didn’t recognise the artist name and based on the title, Irish folk was the last thing I was expecting. Solid song, elevated here by pretty guitar accompaniment and the energy of the crowd. Folk being what it is, the crowd plays a part in any folk performance.
Good category fit too - some history I’m pretty vague on, people from around the world going to fight in the Spanish Civil War against Franco. Some of those from Ireland left the IRA after a vote to make the IRA a socialist organisation failed, and instead joined the front lines of the earliest fight against fascism, the prelude to WW2.
So there you have it. Educational and a blast to listen to, just missing out on the podium.
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Prepare yourselves for podium!
I write up all three final songs in one post. Here we go.
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Lets do eeeeet
one of Hemingway’s greatest novels revolves around foreigners involved in the Spanish Civil War
(Pamplona embraces Papa Hemingway as one of their own now. There’s even a statue outside of the bullring)
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In third place, scoring 13 points, Lawnmower_Man with On The Turning Away by Pink Floyd
I had the most trouble with this of any song in the category. So for starters, this is one of my favourite Pink Floyd songs. The first thing I thought about was whether this was too obvious. It is, after all, a single by one of the biggest rock bands ever - but it’s not one of their big singles. I conducted a poll of my friends and a number of them had not only never heard it, but had never heard OF it. I don’t like to penalise a song when it might not be clear to the submitter that they’re picking something widely known. So I decided not to penalise it on that basis.
The other thing is that the live version on Delicate Sound of Thunder is just better. Like, it’s a scientific fact:
But in the end, it’s a good fit, I love the song, and I wanted to show it some love. It’s a stadium rock song that - especially in the live version - straddles that line between stirring and melodramatic/overwrought, and for me comes down triumphantly on the correct side.
Also, to answer their question: Yes. It is only a dream that there’ll be no more turning away. Sorry, I know it’s a bummer.
Further up the podium…
In 2nd place, scoring 14 points, Louis Cyphre with The Hunt by New Model Army
This is very cool. I’ve never heard of this band before but I really dug this. It made a late run at first place. I think new wave/post-punk etc is best with some dark menace in it and this definitely has that. It’s a questionable category fit but I did say the politics could be as tangential as you liked, so I can’t really penalise it for that.
Both this and the 1st place song introduced me to bands I’d never heard of and am keen to check out more from, so that’s a big win.
Moving on to the winner. I feel like this might be controversial.
In 1st place, scoring 15 points, hokie with Tech Noir by Gunship
hokie writes:
Trying to go off the beaten path here, if we consider a future nuclear wasteland to be political
No dude, I mean this is definitely politics in 2019:
A three-hundred thousand degree baptism by nuclear fire
I’m not sorry, we had it coming
A surge of white-hot atonement will be our wake-up call
Hope for our future is now a stillborn dream
(John Carpenter giving that speech, by the way. Just in case it wasn’t already 80s enough).
It sounds like 80s synthwave and yet it was immediately obvious to me that this was a present-day song - which I think is the mark of a good homage. Nostalgic, but not obnoxiously so. I think some people are going to find this boring or naff, but for me the production is so impeccable, big cinematic sound with a lot of richness and texture that keeps it from getting dull. Sounds great loud in headphones. While I was listening to the rest of the category I kept wanting to go back and listen to it again. Even if it’s ultimately ephemeral and the pleasure of it wanes, it’s my #1 right now.
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This concludes the first category reveal. Please have a pleasant night
Going to lunch with Wes now actually. I’ll keep an eye on comments, questions, butthurt etc. Hoping to get category 2 done same time tomorrow.
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Nice work. I had no idea how the reveal would go. I figured you’d just post like a spreadsheet or something. Much better this way obv. Enjoy your lunch.
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3:43 to 4:25 alone of the winning track. wow. so good
reminds me of something, cannot place it
found it
Ghoatkie
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That surprises me. I thought 51st State is one of those songs that everybody knows:
I’m obviously quite happy with 2nd place. I didn’t really know what to expect.
The only songs I already knew are Here We Go, Testify and Viva La Quinta Brigada and got to hear a wide range of artists I might never have otherwise.
Bone apple tea.
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