It was tough to place this so low because it was very promising for the first two minutes. Cool hi-hat going on, guitar raw but not too raw, and I liked the vocals. The finish was also great. However, at 2:50 we get an all knobs to 11 guitar solo that grated on the various parts of my auditory system. Then at 4:25 there seems to be a 30 second homage to the ear bleeding static I remember from the age of scanning between AM radio stations. I’m not sure if it was supposed to symbolize anything, but I’m not enlightened enough to appreciate the noise factor, it just irritated me, otherwise this is a top half entry easily.
I tried to like this more, I just couldn’t get there. It’s perfectly nice, but also quite far from anything that gets my juices flowing. It had one of the more interesting comments about the song’s historical context:
From Paris 1919, an album about Europe as the Treaty of Versailles was signed. This one’s about British officers coming back home to lord it over the plebs, after having just presided over their slaughter. Lots of officers died miserably too, but tactics in WW1 were appalling so I’ll allow it.
Given I liked the first two so much I was expecting this. I did have no confidence in the selection, though, I was mostly relieved of having thought of a thing.
(I do love the song and album, just I think it’s a bit strange and not a crowdpleaser.)
I only have a few minutes between calls, but I wish to register that I, for one, appreciate the effort that went into the theater before the reveal proper.
I look forward to checking back in about an hour from now to collect my 12 points.
I have System of a Down in the mental category of talented, unique, but just not quite for me. Nothing wrong with the song per se, you just ran into my personal taste ceiling on the sound of the band. If I were less familiar with their sound I would have placed it higher.
Buffy Sainte-Marie – Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
A couple of things to like about this entry. Starts off in the style of talky-folk but quickly kicks into a bluesy feel with a satisfying chorus. Her voice is beautiful and has a quality to it that I don’t know the proper word for (like a tremolo almost). Gripping account of the contemporary Native experience with institutional injustice. Reasons it didn’t score higher: still not quite in my wheelhouse in terms of personal musical taste. Also slightly repetitive, although I am one to talk given what I submit.
Pretty cool, although I’m embarrassed to say that the instrumentation and arrangement reminded me of Hot Hot Hot by Buster Pointdexter for some reason, such is the breadth of my musical knowledge. Also a definite bull’s-eye in terms of category fit. Same as the previous entry, not rating it higher because of personal musical taste, not going to listen to it more than a few times.
Not a huge RATM guy but this is really good stuff and if it were simply about replayability this would have been nearer to the podium. Like I can rock out to this no problem. But I’m too familiar with the sound, and close calls had to be made.
This one was pretty fun. Closest so far to the kind of music that blows my hair back. I detect some Iron Maiden in there. Gets a little too growly in the verses but hey, it still melts face. Bagpipes at the end? Nice touch. Cool historical connection to the Jacobite Uprising which I knew basically nothing about, good song, good read.
