The streak…is over.
3 Likes
Glad I could help.
4 Likes
In fifth place with six points
Holger Czukay - Cool in the Pool
Probably not what you think of when it is late at night but sometimes late one could feel a little chaotic/silly. This is a good chaotic song.
Holger was in the greatest band in the history of music, Can. If someone had submitted a song off of Future Days (one of their masterpieces) then they’d have won this category at a canter, it’s a majestic late night headphones listen. As it is we got this from a solo album (that also features Can drummer and god-who-once-walked-the-earth Jaki Liebezeit).
I don’t think I’ve heard this before, but I have dabbled in Holger’s solo albums and this seems pretty representative. That should be impossible to say as he’s been active in a bewildering array of styles, but his solo stuff always seemed to have a silly, off the cuff atmosphere. Sometimes this song just annoyed me but then other times it clicked and I loved it. Most often parts of it made me smile or nod my head, but it went on too long and my mind drifted slightly. Fifth feels about right and wacking this album on one night seems an attractive prospect.
4 Likes
Holy hell I might even get a podium out of this.
2 Likes
In fourth place with seven points
Gesaffelstein - Pursuit
When its late at night I tend to look for songs I feel like I can get lost in without being disturbed. Something that creates a mood or atmosphere for my mind to wander about it. This is one of those songs for me.
If I ever listen to straight ahead techno like this then it’s late at night on headphones, and I have been doing that a bit lately. I thought that was perhaps slightly idiosyncratic of me and didn’t really expect it to turn up here, but seems not. It’s always nice to find others like you out there. Maybe it’s not all pointless?
That said it’s not any higher as I couldn’t quite get behind the track whole heartedly. The submitter says “[I] look for songs I feel like I can get lost in”, which I endorse, but for me that means stretching sections far longer and not switching things up quite so much. All just personal taste, but I want maybe a two note keyboard riff, a beat and no thoughts about major changes till at least 6 minutes in. There’s some lovely stuff here, though, textbook builds, drops and breakdowns. Very enjoyable.
2 Likes
Yay! Podium!
3 Likes
I honestly don’t even know why I picked this. I don’t even like this band. Good judgment.
3 Likes
Nice choice with the porn
This video is age-restricted and only available on YouTube. Learn more
6 Likes
I felt the same about my song, but the lead singer of Opeth said it was a great track so I went with it.
3 Likes
This one is mine, and once again I will take my Pauwl Zone victory with pride.
2 Likes
In third place with eight points
Day Wave - Drag
A song for when you’re tired on Sunday night and really should go to bed, but you just don’t feel like it. You want more weekend, dammit.
If Daughters fell over repeated listenings, then this song just kept rising. Especially the first few goes it felt like I should dislike it, it’s really not the sort of thing I ever put on now, but instead of languishing it got stuck in my head. I found myself humming it around the house and feeling surprisingly happy when it came on.
I think it reminded me of some bands I half knew but couldn’t quite remember, people doing indie pop but with big doses of ambient keyboards and electronics. The thing I really loved was the tune, with the guitar line in particular being a gorgeous hook, but the overall relaxed atmosphere is just as good. The mood is slightly tired or lazy, but somehow not in a bad way. I dunno, I second guessed myself a lot about this one but in the end I couldn’t deny that I just enjoyed it every time.
4 Likes
Bronze medal is mine. 
4 Likes
I listen to this and think to myself: WTF!?
Then I read the writeup.
Story checks out.
4 Likes
In second place with nine points
Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights
After everyone is asleep; this is the time to scrape that exposed nerve. Pluck it until it sounds like the guitar at the end of the song. To do this properly, you can’t have any lights on, nobody needs to see this, including you; you may have to shoot out the streetlight if it’s seeping through the window.
Beautifully put, but I must say I try and avoid this sort of thinking at night. Not that I always can, but spiralling around what seems an ever growing issue (which, in the light of day, doesn’t seem too big a deal) isn’t great.
However when these philosophical issues are ignored (as we should all problems) you ended up sending a fine song. For no good reason I’ve never listened to Richard & Linda Thompson, despite thinking that when Richard was in Fairport Convention they were one of the best bands about. An oversight made graver by the stately power of this song, one which didn’t so much grow on me (as I enjoyed it a lot from first listen) as gradually reveal greater and greater depths.
It’s a rich brew, though quite a stark and slow piece of rock music. Its theme is stalked out by lingering chords, looming base, and a doomy bit of vocal work (I presume from Richard). Those account for about half the song and, apart from the central refrain, never quite seem to choose a stable structure. As above, though, the real late night desperation is in the guitar solos, particularly the final one. It gets increasingly abstract until it drags the whole song down along with it. Lovely stuff.
5 Likes
In first place with ten points
Conjure One - Into The Escape
If it puts you to sleep that’s kinda the point!
This was the first track I listened to and struck me as a decent entry from the start, though with some initial misgivings. I tend to stray away from music that seems very mannered or controlled, and the precise way it’s composed triggered that and obscured just how satisfying a song it is.
The first minute is a gentle ambient wash, then a simple melody builds around an acoustic guitar. That chord pattern is then mined for more-or-less the rest of the track, layering on drums, more guitars, keyboards and so on. It reminded me of someone like Explosions in the Sky, who also get a big ‘epic’ feel out of building and building on simple melodies.
In a way I have the least to say about this one, it’s a simple tune executed extremely well. There’s lots of intricate embellishments that add satisfaction, but the essence is as pure as it gets and it really clicked with me over repeated listening. A worthy winner.
5 Likes
…
6 Likes
What a plucky contestant!
4 Likes
Another masterful reveal from the goat. And if the winner happened to be submitted by smrk4 then the rest of us are in some trouble…
6 Likes
I thought it was him even before Pauwl’s post. It’s his Walrus to lose!
2 Likes
Here are the scores as I recorded them:
1 pt : Superuberbomb
2 pts: Louis the 16th
3 pts: Jean P (that rascal)
4 pts: microbat
5 pts: Cassavetes
6 pts: Niño
7 pts: satés
8 pts: eyeboogie
9 pts: cash_face
10 pts: smirf4
8 Likes