I was robbed
3 Likes
Thank God I’m not going mad and that song is in a mix of Spanish and French (the second being a language I have to pretend to speak.)
My instinct says you might have ended up in the same spot. It is better, though.
2 Likes
one of the best solos by Marty imo (this was mine obv)
3 Likes
In fifth place with eight points
Isla Cameron - Died for Love
"Isla Cameron (5 March 1927 – 3 April 1980) was a Scottish-born, English-raised actress and singer. AllMusic noted that “Cameron was one of a quartet of key figures in England’s postwar folk song revival”
Unusually there’s more songs I was already familiar with from here on in than were new to me. This is one, Isla Cameron being (as above) big news in the British (not just English, AllMusic!) folk revival. Working for the submitter was that I never listened to this album much (and probably not at all for many years), so I was ready to hear it afresh. Working against them was that I never listened to this album much (and probably not at all for many years), so it’s something that I clearly didn’t go mad for.
It’s undeniably beautiful stuff, her voice is clear and affecting and it’s a really simple and sad song that feels complete in ~90 seconds. My complaints were that I didn’t find the tune too memorable, and that I much prefer accompanied folk music to a cappella. Probably my failing there, and I’m not consistent because I love Anne Briggs who did a lot of this sort of thing, but, as ever, them’s the breaks. I was glad to listen again and it’s lovely to see something like this in a Walrus.
6 Likes
Huh. Cool. Pretty good!
1 Like
In fourth place with nine points
Opeth - Deliverance
I suspect we left any modification of just ‘decent’ behind with the last song. We absolutely have now, though only because of something close to a technicality. I didn’t know this one beforehand, I’d heard of Opeth but only as one of the innumerable Scandinavian metal bands I’ll never listen to. Minutes two to nine here demonstrate why, there’s nothing wrong with them per se, they’re sometimes pretty damn decent, it’s just not really my thing.
But given this track clocks in at over 13 minutes we still have the start and end to consider, and they were really great. They’re built around riffs being hammered out to perfection but there’s much more as well, especially in the outro. It’s a great balance between the simplicity of being LOUD and the (somewhat) intricate arrangements as elements and sections phase in and out, building and releasing. If the whole track was like those bits it could have won.
4 Likes
In third place with ten points
Özgür Baba - Dertli Dolap
Another one I knew, though, again, that didn’t hurt. It’s only a youtubes as far as I can tell, so I’ve just listened maybe 3 or 4 times prior to this, and I have to guess the submitter is also who posted it on Unstuck for me to have found in the first place.
It’s an incredibly evocative video, 15 minutes of Turkish folk music played by an otherworldly looking fellow sat somewhere on a mountain. You hear his ‘guitar’, his voice and then a background hum of countryside noise. The whole performance is mesmerising, with the song slowly coalescing out of his gentle picking, and then being built around a repeated and varied phrase that feels like it could stretch out forever.
It’s apparently a take on a 13th century poem about love, but I don’t have a clue if the music is also that old. In fact I wouldn’t be that surprised if it turned out the whole thing is a hoax, and actually it’s a 20-something hipster with make up and a green screen. Whatever it is exactly, it’s great.
5 Likes
What the heck. World’s a big place.
1 Like
Yeah, that was me. Forgot I posted it in my Walrus way back.
3 Likes
Mine - was hoping to do well here, especially as the outro is outstanding and taps into your appreciation of quality repetition.
Given your general indifference to the genre I am quite happy with 4th!
2 Likes
This is considered a masterpiece by many.
1 Like
In second place with eleven points
Boris - Pink
There’s actually a simple formula to doing well in my Walrus rounds, pick something from an album I love but that I haven’t actually listened to for years and years. This track used the formula with almost ruthless precision and as soon as it started I knew it would take some beating. What a massive tune this is.
Boris is musically all over the place. This is from one of their metal albums.
I used to listen to a lot of bands like this, Japan has been ground zero for heavy psychedelic noise for a while (thanks to bands like e.g. Ground Zero). Sadly having made the lifestyle decisions to get a wife and child and live with them in a small-ish apartment, opportunities to crank stuff like this loud and jump around are few. That explains why it hit quite as hard as it did.
Seriously, what a monster. No real analysis possible, this stuff either jacks straight into the pleasure centres or seems like a really annoying racket. If it’s the latter then I get it, but it is absolutely your loss.
6 Likes
Noice.
2 Likes
Dayum, Cassette on a tear
3 Likes
Love it.
2 Likes
That’s fucking great
1 Like
I was originally going to send you 7.5 minutes of double-bass and growls which I didn’t dare to send you for your drums category. Going through the previous grab bag I read that you hate double-bass shortly before submitting it. Looks like a dodged a bullet twice.
1 Like
I do want to hear this, obviously.
In first place with twelve points
Harvey Milk - Brown Water
Actually, ignore that, the formula you want is how to win my Walrus round, not just do well. It’s even simpler, just pick a band I should have listened to and loved already. I’m not sure how I found out about Harvey Milk, but it wasn’t that long ago and I remember reading a description and thinking they sounded great. I wacked them on my spotify follows but there they may have stayed, forever unheard if not for this submission. Thank you.
It’s almost a cross between the other two podium finishers. The song gradually gathers itself from languidly beautiful guitar pickings, but this time, instead of a delicate acoustic phrase to build around, at a certain point they stamp on their pedals and, with Boris, explore the joys of noise.
It pulls a nice trick of seeming to have a pretty original and idiosyncratic take, but with all the simple, conventional joys of a quiet / quiet / REALLY FUCKING LOUD structure. It has (to me) a very welcome doom-y quality with the slow tempo, but without any real ‘doom’ atmosphere. They even stick some guitar heroics in near the end, which was very enjoyable too. I just loved it every time.
3 Likes
That’s a gutsy submission.
2 Likes