4th place and 8 points to DodgerIrish for “Holland, 1945” by Neutral Milk Hotel
Indie pop is one of those genres I don’t tend to get along with and I guess neither does Dodger so it was always going to be an uphill slog here for NMH, but they made it.
On repeated listening I did grow to appreciate the brass instrumentation which rescues it and made it likable for me, though such an upbeat tempo and mood for a song about Anne Frank…I dunno. That said, it’s good enough in this company for 4th spot.
I didn’t really know what to do for this category. I like all music except for jazz and like screamo/death metal type stuff (what you rated last), and I wouldn’t have anything to submit from there.
I looked through my catalog on Itunes and this was the only song that I saw where I knew I didn’t like anything else from the artist I’d ever heard. How I became familiar with this song:
It was definitely something that grew on me with repeated listens. I really love a song with brass too.
Why would I not believe it? All it takes is a walrus like Louis or you apparently who can follow my visionary mixtape skills. Other walruses, who may or may not still have convict genes - may struggle to keep up at times.
Onto the podium please for a 3rd place worth 9 points to suzzer99, with “Can The Circle Be Broken” by The Carter Family
Another welcome surprise in genre. I’d heard of this lot before but not heard any of their songs. It’s hard to dislike music as rootsy as this proto-country, being one of the foundation stones of so much other music - you can even hear a bit of Sun sessions Elvis in the guitar pattern, filtered down via country. A bold choice that could have gone horribly wrong, and a deserved podium.
In 2nd place for 10 points is cassette and “Rosemary” by Sierra Ferrell.
I’ll be honest. When I saw a solo performer with an acoustic guitar I wasn’t expecting to be surprised by the track, but how wrong I was.
I’m not entirely sure what genre this is (not that it matters) - a lot of country and some bits of others in an interesting hybrid of old music. What sets this apart is her voice and confidence as a singer and performer, with strong song writing and even a bit of yodelling thrown in for good measure if I’m not mistaken.
Despite me trying to quantify why I like this so much sometimes you just know when someone has it, and I find it admirable when people this talented are bold enough to have a distinctive voice/sound and carry it off with such panache. For those reasons it’s clear podium material and only loses to an exceptional and forward-looking entry that suits my taste for the unorthodox.
All of which can only mean, as keen walrus followers have surmised, that the winner of the category is OH NOT IT’S HIM AGAIN pyatnitski who garners the maximum 11 points with “Inhale Exhale” by Anna Meredith
Pyat says “I think it’s electro pop and given it’s from a few months back as well means I do not normally go for that sort of thing.”
I’m not sure exactly what it is either but it has some unusual musical ideas, takes off from about the 1 minute mark and doesn’t look back - the arrangement is really quite something.
This track successfully blends some experimentation and conventional pop in a way not totally dissimilar to how Roxy did in their day, and I like it a lot. She has real musical talent and imagination and I’ll check out her other stuff. Easy category winner and everyone round to pyatnitski’s house for dinner.
If I was submitting into this difficult category I’d probably cheat a little and choose
because I don’t usually like songs that go nya nya nya nya.
She ain’t no witch and I love the way she twitch, uh uh huh, which I remember on its release and singing along to in the school playground with school pals. Christ. A classic.
