Last assignments of 2012, Santa edition

What's in your stocking?

Oranges and candy bars:
DAG: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy vs. The King is Dead
Rob: Light Chasers vs. American Idiot
Steve: Left and Leaving vs. Body Talk
Nate: Picaresque vs. Suburbs

Tube of toothpaste:
Eric A.: 808s and Heartbreak vs. Begin to Hope

Coal or last year's Halloween candy:
Steg: OK Computer vs. Give Up
Sara: The Grey Album vs. Mule Variations
Anne: Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? vs. Sigh No More
Eric E.: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot vs. Hail to the Thief
Tim: Mezzanine vs. Michigan

Forth vs. Songs for Christmas

I finally tried out Verve's "Forth" for the first time last week, and I thought this review was going to be easy. But I decided to give it another listen. And then another, and it grew on me. Since it's taken me 6 months to write this review, perhaps I should take a little more time to get the names of all the songs that I liked...but I know that if I wait for that, it's going to be at least another month. I'm in spit-and-a-promise mode, so that will have to be enough. What's good: great first song, no clunkers on the album, interesting music, no "Bittersweet Symphony" ad nauseum. What's not as good: no songs that I want to put on repeat (no "Bittersweet Symphony"), not an album that I want to rush out to buy.

Forth is set against my favorite Christmas album(s), and we've recently dusted off the cobwebs to get our tree trimmed and our minds in the right state. I love the evolution of the project--long before the hipsters knew about him, Sufjan got together with a few friends to record songs for Christmas presents for friends and family. The first album predates Michigan by ~2 years...for all I know he may have been thrilled when these recordings started showing up on the internet where I first encountered them. And there are a number of great songs, from covers of Christmas classics (O Come of Come Emmanuel in 3 different versions) to originals that are even better (That Was the Worst Christmas Ever, Sister Winter). I'll be playing this box set when I'm in the old folks' home.

You would think, then, that this would be easy, a walkover for Sufjan. (I was tempted to select Sufjan just to offset Nate's obviously mis-informed bias.) But this is the Death Match, and some of the beauty of the Songs for Christmas project also makes it vulnerable. It's perfectly fine to have one crappy song per album when you're making a project for friends, especially if the trouble often comes from having friends sing along (I believe I know at least one of the guilty parties, so I won't write his name). It's also perfectly fine even if you're selling it, especially if you're giving 5 CDs with some interesting art for only $15. But stickers won't cover any weak spots in Death Match...one false move and you get the shiv to the ribs.

Sorry, Sufjan. I still love you, even if your next 5 disc Christmas set has gone a little more in the crazy direction. But I'm going to give Verve the nod here. I don't think it will be our winner, but it deserves some Sweet 16 love.

Nudge Nudge

I miss this! Write some music reviews, people!

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs vs Cake: Comfort Eagle

My first listen to either, and never has there been an easier pick.  Spoiler alert: The Suburbs wins.  Arcade Fire are brilliant and I've avoided their newer music only because I don't want to be disappointed after Funeral (and let's face it, Neon Bible was good, but not up to the standard they set for themselves.).  They've clearly matured into a sound that is more solid than their initial album, yet still bursting with creativity.  Good, and even a great album.  Comfort Eagle is ok, but not great, and maybe not even real good.  Cake seems stuck in college.  Specifically, Calvin College 1994-8.  They channel They Might Be Giants, but are less funny and can't quite pull it off.  Chock full of the inevitable over-extended metaphor... hyperbole.  Gimmicky.  Maybe 1 good song.

No contest:  The Suburbs advances.

Even Worse Than the Real Thing?

What is the difference between influence and imitation?  The question seems essential to both artists in this installment of the Deathmatch.  On one hand, Wolf Parade, a band that sounds almost identical to its fellow indie band Arcade Fire.  On the other, Moby, whose work after the groundbreaking 1999 Play never quite got away from its wildly successful formula.

Both Wolf Parade and Arcade Fire are from Quebec, and from what I can gather, they cross-pollinated there in the early 2000s, sharing clubs and even swapping band members on occasion.  The similarities do not end there: they are both fronted, primarily, by voice-cracking singers who part whine, part sing, a la Robert Smith and David Byrne.  Arcade Fire has a bigger lineup, but both bands have full, ambitious sounds, with lots of ragged guitar riffs and falsetto choruses. Arcade Fire has a greater dynamic range; Wolf Parade is less sophisticated and a little rougher around the edges.  But if I weren't a huge fan of Arcade Fire, I would have a hard time telling them apart.  Here is one of my favorite tracks from Apologies to the Queen Mary, a track called "Modern World."

And here, for the sake of comparison, is "Modern Man," a song from Arcade Fire's The Suburbs, which post-dates Queen Mary, but you'll get my point.

It's not just the musical similarities: it's the lyrical sensibility, too.  Nostalgia, disquiet, and perhaps above all, a feeling of displacement permeate the songs of both bands.  I'm not exactly sure what's wrong with Quebec, but both Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug and Arcade Fire's Wim Butler ain't too happy there.  Here's the refrain of "Modern World": 

I'm not in love with the modern world 

I'm not in love with the modern world

It was a torch driving the savages back to the trees 

Modern world has more ways 

And I don't mention it since it's changed 

Butler's "Modern Man" is more wistful and more ironic, but essentially, it's the same gripe.  Something just don't feel right about modern existence:

  
So I wait in line, I'm a modern man
And the people behind me, they can't understand
Makes me feel like
Something don't feel right

Like a record that's skipping
I'm a modern man
And the clock keeps ticking
I'm a modern man
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

For Arcade Fire, the suburbs of the 1970s seem to represent the alienation of modern life; for Wolf Parade, the dominant metaphor is ghosts--ghosts of ex-spouses and children haunt the album and give it a kind of unity.  

Of course, there are far worse things than being an Arcade Fire sound-alike. In fact, Queen Mary is a very good album. The songs are memorable, the melodies stick, and, there is an emotional intensity to many of the tracks,  especially the raw ""This Heart's On Fire."  Krug shares lead vocals with Dan Boekner, whose voice is rougher and more muscular, providing a welcome change on several tracks.  All told, I liked this album very much, if not for its originality, than at least for its similarity to Arcade Fire.

When I first heard Moby's Play in 1999, it struck me as completely original, despite Moby's heavy use of samples. In fact, after nearly wearing out the disk, I searched around in vain for another artist who sounded like Moby--not Fatboy Slim, not the Chemical Brothers, and not earlier electronica such as Kraftwerk.  There was something so refreshing and cool about the arrangements: a spare drum machine loop, a blues vocal, cut from Moby's extensive archive and tightly sampled, and a lush chord sequence to flesh out the sound--these were the Moby trademarks, perfected on Play. 




Moby found a huge audience for this formula--I remember my 60ish aunt saying she loved the album.  And I'd be hard-pressed to find a better album for driving.  So it's not surprise that Moby returned to this same formula for his follow-up albums, 18 and Hotel.  The problem, according to many critics, is that Moby didn't just revisit the formula--he cut and pasted it.  18 sounds like a weaker, more sanitized version of Play, and it made all  his earlier innovations seem stale.  Today, Moby has kind of fallen off the radar screen: his veganism and his politics get more play than his music.

What it comes down to is an absolutely original, brilliant album (Play) against a very good but less-than-innovative one (Queen Mary).  I'll vote for the sui generis work every time.

Decision: Moby, Play.  

All the things you left behind vs. Elephant.

I like the White Stripes.

This pairing however, made them sound like hacks.  The album is messy and thrown together when you put it next to the artistry and precision of craft that U2 mustered with this effort.

All the things you left behind (with the exception of the track ‘new york’?) is an old band at the height of their game.  The songs are clean without being boring.  There is balance between anthem and rock tracks.  Sadly, this just wasn’t that hard a decision.

Decision: U2, All the things you left behind

In versus In

Radiohead’s In Rainbows vs. Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

What we have here is a battle of masterpieces. One, the largely solo output of an iconoclastic musical genius; the other, a standout work from a group on the shortlist for the “world’s greatest band” badge.

But I find the pairing an apt one in that both of them are real album albums, rather than collections of isolated tracks. The songs flow meaningfully from one to the other. Heck, In Rainbows not only flows on its own, but as Tim noted, it fits into OK Computer like a zipper. Aeroplane is full of interrelated tracks — “King of Carrot Flowers Part One” without Part Two is like a chocolate chip cookie without a glass of milk.

They are both albums that I know and love. They are both albums that I have listened to while laying down on the couch, doing absolutely nothing else but listen. How then can I choose between them?

First, a bit more about Aeroplane. Whatever I decide by the end of writing this about album versus album, those first three tracks on their own are one of my favorite song arcs from any era. Back when space on one’s portable music player was a consideration, I kept only those three tracks from the album on my iPod, and played the hell out of them any time I had an approximately ten-minute window getting from point A to point B.

There are two types of tracks on this album: the “just Jeff Mangum and his guitar” tracks, and the ones with what the band’s wikipedia article refers to as “eclectic instrumentation.” My preference is definitely for the latter. Mangum is a gifted songwriter, but it is the quirky ambiance and the raw drive of the instrumentation that makes for the album’s strong points. Give me “Holland, 1945” over “Oh Comely” any day. In fact the worst things I can think of to say about the album are that the first half kicks the second half’s ass, and that “Oh Comely” is a dud.

And maybe the best thing I can say, at least in this match-up, is that I do have strong opinions about the songs, and which ones are best and worst, and know the order they come in. None of that is really true for me with In Rainbows. Radiohead’s album is a whole, one that I listen to in its entirety or not at all, preferably with headphones. It’s the band’s third best, but perhaps the one most suited for that sort of intense listening. Mangum can sometimes lose me on those acoustic tracks with endless verses, no matter how hard he strums that guitar, but Radiohead can repeat a simple vocal melody or bass riff or piano progression ad infinitum, and with the slow build of the arrangements around it — or sometimes not even build, more of a ululation — make it seem endlessly fresh. Neutral Milk Hotel’s “eclectic instrumentation” calls attention to itself and is rough around the edges, but if you’ve ever seen Jonny Greenwood at a Radiohead live show tinkering with his arcane sound board, you start to appreciate how much wacky shit is going on in those songs that you don’t even realize.

It’s coming down to heart versus head for me. Rainbows is superior technically, but I can remember specific times and places when Aeroplane came on and just hit me like a ton of bricks. In a good way.

A final consideration, perhaps a quibble, but I’m not sure if it should weigh in here or not. This is Music Death Match ’99. Aeroplane was released in 1998. That’s the only reason I didn’t put it in my top ten. The rules lawyer in me wants to punish it for this. And yet, the part of me that wants to give it the win takes comfort in the fact that, if so, Radiohead will still have a strong contender in the tournament with OK Computer. But that was released in 1997 — an even worse offender! Only someone with a crueler heart than mine could jettison both Aeroplane and Computer on a technicality, and so …

… I will make peace with my quibble, and follow my heart. This round goes to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Make my next choice be less difficult.

What's lost has been found!

We finally have new assignments. I've tried to set things up so that 1) no one reviews an album he or she submitted (unlike last round when I torpedoed one of my own...oops) and 2) no one reviews an album that she or he reviewed in the last round. Please let me know if I've made a mistake.

Leftovers:
Tim: Mezzanine vs. Michigan
Anne: Who Killed Sgt. Pepper vs. Sigh No More
EE: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot vs. Hail to the Thief

Last pairing of Round 1:
Steve: Suburbs vs. Comfort Eagle

Round 2:
Steg: OK Computer vs. Give Up
EA: Forth vs. Songs from Christmastime
DAG: All That You Can't Leave Behind vs. Elephant
Nate: In Rainbows vs. In the Aeroplane, Over the Sea
Sara: Grey Album vs. Mule Variations
Rob: Apologies to Queen Mary vs. Play

XTRMNTR vs. Demon Days

Well, I already wrote a nice showdown between Demon Days and a different album, but that turned out not to be the match I was actually assigned. Whoops!

Then I kept forgetting to do the proper review. But Eric Arnoys is coming to my town, literally, and I'm sure he'll have a big can o' whoop-ass with him, 'cause that's just how he rolls, and so I figured I should at least have this out of the way before he gets here.

You may refer to my other review for impressions of Demon Days. Primal Scream's XTRMNTR is actually a better comparison to it than Kanye -- it's more of an apples to apples thing, with both albums ranging far and wide stylistically, such that you're never quite sure what the next track is going to have in store. That also makes them harder to compare. I enjoyed them both but Demon Days takes the edge because, well, it's funkier. And I like me the funk.

Winner: Demon Days

Decemberists - Picaresque VS Brandi Carlile - The Story

Here are two albums that I can make out almost all the words on the first listen: rarities.  And this WAS my first listen to either, as I have enough Brandi Carlile-esque in my repertoire already and have always hated, hated, hated Colin Maloy's voice.  So, I sat down to write this in favor of Brandi Carlile, as I by no means hated her album: Good but not fascinating poetry and solid melodies.  I listened through it twice, but by the second listen, only a couple of songs could still hold my interest. 
I sit down to write in favor of Carlile, but I am listening to Picaresque.  How is it that after years of just being annoyed, his voice is no longer annoying me?  I almost feel affection for it.  Overly-broad and strident no longer, it seems innocent and honest.  It is even blending with the music.  I am finally appreciating the creativity, vibrancy, intricacy and power.  I'm in.

Winner:  The Decemberists

Cold Comfort Farm(s)

Low: Things We Lost in the Fire vs. Robyn: Body Talk

Firs, let me get this out the door - NOT FAIR.

I say this because both of these albums are fine collections of tracks from start to finish. Here are the similar points I'd like to compare for each album on why each one is great  in its own right...

The Album's "mood factor"
Low - You need to be in the right mood for listening to this
Robyn - Listening to this puts you in the right mood

The tracklisting
Low - Every track works in the order its been arranged
Robyn - You can re-arrange the order of every track and the album still works

Artist Regional Home and your inner temp thereafter
Low - Cold hometown (Duluth, MN) with an album that sounds warm & fuzzy
Robyn - Cold hometown (Stockholm, Sweden) with an album that sounds hot & slick

Both albums are the respective artist's 5th full-length release (if you remove two of Robyn's EPs released prior) and have been on "Best of" lists by both Pitchfork and Metacritic.

Both albums have very personal songwriting elements. Listen to "Embrace" by Low and try not to compare it to "Call Your Girlfriend".

One artist wears rather big shoes (Robyn) while the others are big shoes to fill in the indie universe (Low).

Its seriously a close call here and my choice goes to... Robyn. Why? It convinced me to enjoy pop music again with its amazing electronic elements that never fail. She produced it and shows that she's more than just that cute little teen way back who sang "Show me Love."


Something Extra:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlB1f6Vc2uY

Watching Robyn perform on SNL hits the nail right into the foundation of modern pop music

Updated bracket

Not a whole lot new to report other than the following:

• Congrats to Eric Everman! Look at the two remaining matchups--I'll be giving you the first one containing two albums that you didn't submit. I hope to look at it later today.
• Nate's matchup was Demon Days vs. XTRMNTR; please take a quick listen to the second album and then update your post!
• If Tim or Anne post reasonably soon, I'll give them the last matchup. Then we can start thinking about Round 2.

Left and Leaving vs. Hot Fuss

I thought I had put Hot Fuss on the list.  I went back and reviewed and saw that it didn't make the cut for me... but it was in the running.  There are some Killers songs that are great.  So it is with great sadness that I report here that the entire album now sounds dated to me.  I -remember- liking it more that I do now.

SO... Left and Leaving?  Honestly, a little blah BUT better than my listening to the Killers.  It had a good quality that initially really appealed to me, but never had anything that stuck in my head.  Felt a little anonymous, even after repeated listenings.

Decision: Left and Leaving.

Post Punk Showdown

If Borat started a band, it might sound like Gogol Bordello, a punk gypsy band that draws on Romani folk music traditions of eastern Europe. That's not exactly a fair comparison: Sasha Baron Cohen's fictional Borat is from Kazakhstan; the lead singer of Gogol, Eugene Hutz, was born in the Ukraine. And as Hutz himself told the LA Weekly, "Just because somebody has an accent and mustache doesn't mean a fucking fuck." Still, there are some similarities worth noting: Hutz seems to share Borat's fashion sense, for one.  Both  are also brilliant performers--Gogol Bordello is reputed to be one of the best live shows out there, if the online raves are to be believed.

And one final comparison:  like the hapless victim co-stars of Borat, I am never quite sure whether the whole thing is for real or just a send-up. Hutz's accent is so thick, his voice so abrasive, and his syntax so mangled that the overall effect, for me, is comic. I admit that Super Taranta is my first experience with Gogol, but songs like "Supertheory of Supereverything" can't be serious, can they?



 Parodic or not, Hutz's lyrics are often hilarious, though I'm not exactly sure if I am laughing with or at Gogol Bordello. The sound of the band, a kind of klezmer-on-steroids, doesn't change much throughout Super Taranta. The band has an amazingly international line-up, with members from Russia, Israel, China, and Ethiopia. And their sound is highly original, driven by the accordion, power chords, and echoes of folk melodies. The combination is unlike anything I have ever heard, and as grating as Hutz's voice is, the songs grew on me.

 The Yeah Yeah Yeahs is another post-punk band, more popular than Gogol but similarly committed to the punk sensibility.  The band is fronted by Karen O, whose raw vocals belie her Oberlin Conservatory musical pedigree.  Fever to Tell has been in my collection for a few years now.  Its best songs, such as the opening track "Rich," have a tightly controlled fury.  "Rich" seems aimed at, well, rich people, and it might make a good theme song for the Occupy Movement:



Beyond anger--at rich people, at ex-lovers--there is not a lot of emotional depth here. The lyrics seem to diminish with each listen, though Maps" is a striking, downtempo break-up song. And Karen O's frenetic sexual energy holds a lot of the lesser songs together. Overall, though, Fever was a fatiguing listening experience. Neither of these albums will be on my frequent play list, but for sheer audacity and originality, I'll give this round to Gogol Bordello.

 Decision: Gogol Bordello, Super Taranta

American Idiot vs. Eveningland

The best things in life follow a stream of consciousness.

First impressions of Eveningland: This reminds me of someone...Sarah McLachlan, who held my obsession back in the early 90s...or...Cowboy Junkies? Very pleasant. Will I want to keep listening?

First impression of American Idiot: This sounds like Green Day. It rocks, mostly. But I think it's derivative, but of what? [Oh...I bet I think it sounds like it's ripping off something all right, but I suspect the reality is that I have some exposure to this album, so it's ripping off itself...speaking of idiots...]

The failure of my first listens required a change in strategy. We've shared our favorite music with each other, but we haven't shared the context. Many of my favorites are also attached to times, places, people--this is what we listened to when we fell in love, or that summer when we were doing this or that, or that band that rawked as we were sweeping W out of office. Mr. Rozema, there's more to music than the worst lyric you can find ("Baby face, baby face, open the door, let me unpack my case...")

Let me put myself in e.e.'s shoes as I give Eveningland another go. I'm sitting in my Prius (I'm jealous), tooling around the Twin Cities or the U.P. But the car is too quiet, so the music sounds exactly the same. Still very pleasant, but a little too country for me (I can only define it as the things I like that are a little country aren't too country, whereas those that don't hold my attention are too country). I like it and would listen to it were someone to play it, but I'm not going to be playing it myself.

How does DAG listen to Green Day? You got me...I know him from English 101 and the interwebs...he's a man with a range of tastes. That's not going to help much. But what did help was getting the right track list rather than relying on a random list from Grooveshark. Turns out I'm a sucker for a concept album in which the songs belong together, and American Idiot flows well. This is good. So good, I'm listening to it again right now.

This isn't a mystery--American Idiot moves on to the next round.

Black Angels vs Jay Brannon

Anyone who has seen the move Shortbus will have no trouble remembering Jay Brannan.  His contribution to the movie soundtrack was fit in perfectly, but I had a hard time listening to him for an entire album.  He certainly is beautiful, but I don't find him to be a strong enough singer to sustain my interest for an entire album.   I did find a cover of The Freshman that swayed me a little, but that gem is outside this review.

The Black Angels were new to me and psychedelic rock was a welcome change.  The Angels certainly pass the "is this an acceptable soundtrack for walking the NYC streets?" test.   When I left the office today after 10 hours, Sniper at the Gates of Heaven really hit the spot.

Winner:  The Black Angels, Passover

808s & Heartbreak vs. Demon Days

Full disclosure: I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to hip-hop. For example, listening to Kanye's 808s for this assignment was the first time I heard auto-tune used in a non-ironic capacity. I had preconceptions of both of these albums -- Gorillaz based on the two tracks I had heard before, Kanye based on vague notions of him out there in the culture. My mental image of what Kanye would be was somewhere between what he was in 808s and what the Gorillaz were in Demon Days. I was hoping that all of Demon Days would be like the songs I was familiar with, but it wasn't -- it was quite a bit broader than that, and so while on first listen I maybe didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to, it is a broader, deeper, and ultimately probably better album than the one I was expecting to hear. (As of this month, that is officially known as the Blunderbuss effect.)

After reading Eric Everman's last reviews, I am listening right now to Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and while doing so isn't affecting my ultimate decision on 808s vs. Demon Days, it does make it a heck of a lot clearer. MBDTF is ambitious, sprawling, energetic, personal, charged.  808s sounds like a mediocre hip-hop artist trying to imitate the Kanye of MBDTF.

Demon Days is fun, kind of all over the place, to the extent that there were some dud tracks, but all in all enjoyable. I don't expect it to make the semifinals or anything but it beat the heck out of 808s.

Decision: Demon Days

The Dark Twisted Swans of Procrastination

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy vs. Seven Swans

First Listen, several months ago

My Dark Twisted Past is clearly at the top of it's genre.  Most hip hop sounds like you could produce it with a few controls similar to a fancy screen saver, but hey, this sounds pretty good.

Seven Swans is clearly an experimental alternative folk concept album by someone who was home-schooled.  The swans seem a bit thin, but there are seven of them so the fight is on.

One month on

In the interest of science, I've listened to Seven Swans on repeat for the past two weeks, sometimes six to eight times a day.  When I close my eyes I hear bells and choirgirl backup singers singing vowel sounds.  I begin to notice things, like how the angle where the floor meets the walls seems so jarring and expected.  And then, I discover I love Seven Swans.

Meta

I prize my acquired tastes.  I instantly liked candy, but later learned to love cilantro.  What about really good candy verses the ultimate in acquired taste?  And what is the Death Match 99 really about?  Is it about my tastes?  Or my ability to judge the quality of music on an objective scale?  Or guess how others might rate the same music?  Its difficult.  And what is up with Seven Swans?  I love Sufjan (from prior to the Death Match) but then someone picks what must be his most quixotic (or worst, depending on how where you come down on the questions above) album to throw into the match?!

Like, half a year passes while I think about (then forget) all this.

---

Winner:  My Dark Twisted Past
An album I will likely not listen to again.

---

May Day!

Happy Second May Day, everyone!

Stale assignments:

• Eric E.--My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy vs. Seven Swans
• Tim--Mezzanine vs. Michigan
• Nate--XTRMNTR vs. Demon Days
• Eric A.--American Idiot vs. Eveningland

Fresh assignments:

• DAG--Weakerthans: Left and Leaving vs. The Killers: Hot Fuss
• Steg--Low: Things We Lost in the Fire vs. Robyn: Body Talk
• Anne--Brian Jonestown Massacre: Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? vs. Mumford and Sons: Sigh No More
• Rob--Gogol Bordello: Super Taranta! vs. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Fever to Tell
• Sara--The Black Angels: Passover vs. Jay Brannon: Goddamned
• Steve--Brandy Carlisle: The Story vs. The Decemberists: Picaresque

Cloud Cult: LightChasers vs Wilco: Summerteeth

This was my first experience of Cloud Cult. A wide variety of sounds on this album, and it's highs are thoroughly enjoyable.

Lovely instrumental intro.

Second song has solid cord progressions. Fun.

The lead singer often sounds distressed, but I can't tell why.

I listened to this album a few weeks ago, and now listening to it again, many songs are now familiar, and I want to hear them through.

This was not my first experience of Wilco. I have been trying to like them for years. I even put 2 songs on a mix CD years ago before the time of iPods. I could tell they were good songs. And for a while I thought I might like them. Never did. So this time I gave it a real shot.

I started listening to this album over a dozen times. Only got through it twice?

Wilco is jangly yet tight. Polished yet laid back. Never offensive, always professional. But the whole album holds almost no highlights for me.

A Shot in the Arm being the one exception. It is more complex and enjoyable on close listening, with a lot going on in the lower register. The lower register being something that is absent in almost all other Wilco songs. But even this, my favorite song on the album has a chorus that repeats the song title 6 strained times!? After the 4th time I almost hit the skip button.

Most songs don't have a hook or a destination. Nothing to sing along with.

Decision: Cloud Cult: Light Chasers

updated bracket

Eric Everman, are you still out there reading this? Current assignments are given in blue.

Since Anne, DAG, and Steg were one album behind, I've updated this list with new assignments for them. Look for your assignment in the upper right of the bracket (I'll elaborate when I get the chance).

Rob and Sara will get their assignments after we have a few more people finish their current assignments.

Two really great albums

I just can't make time for fancy write up... but I've definitely been able to listen to both of these a great deal while I work.

Ben Folds Five: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner vs. Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope

Two great albums... thanks for the folks who submitted. I loved listening to these, both being ones that I'd only ever browsed.

Ben Folds: great album. Inventive and creative. Listening to it was interesting and enjoyable. Drawback: I don't think Ben's voice is all that, but the group more than makes up for it in diversity of sound. Additionally, I think that this was a 1999 album, which might punk it out of the competition?

Spektor: Also creative and new. I feel like she is doing a 'best of' album early in her career. Her light airy soprano voice might grate on some folks but it really grew on me. There is an element of risk in this album that I really liked. The kind of emotional commitment that I've heard in beginning albums of other artists that makes me fall in love with them. I look forward to hearing more from her.

Victor: Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope.

USA vs Canada v2 - the results are in

This round we have a band's major label debut (The Decemberists - The Crane Wife) and another band's, well, debut (The Arcade Fire - Funeral). Both are lauded by indie lovers, critics and even those hipsters in Portlandia.

To be honest, I didn't care to listen to either band when they first came out as I grew tired of consistently hearing day in and day out about "the next big thing" ever since bands like The Strokes and The Thrills were selling out small music venues even when they only had an EP out to the public. Remember those bands? Yeah, there you go.

In any case, The Decemberists sparked my interest with their classical approach to songwriting. Ok, they dress in funky old-school outfits which can be a little over the top, but overall, their music is very mature and reminded me of The Waterboys with a dash of R.E.M. and Donovan. The songs are deep and wide and I'm punching myself for not catching on sooner.

As for The Arcade Fire, I love how they take the depth that The Decemberists started and then take even greater risks with making the sound become, just, well, bigger. Win Butler and company are amazingly talented all around. Maybe this is because Canada subsidizes artists well and produces some amazing acts (listen to The Dears when you have the chance by the way). This is alternative music in the next realm. Wake up folks, this is music.

My choice - The Arcade Fire (sorry USA, Canada gets this one)

For your enjoyment, Who is Arcade Fire?

the philistine says...

Dear Eastman Wind Ensemble,

I can't even pretend that I am capable of evaluating your work. I'm sure you have created outstanding music and are well respected across the globe. I fully believe that many discerning people play Danzante while they cook dinner, drive to work, and perform any manner of tasks--both inspired and mundane.

It's not you, it's me. I can't enjoy music or performances that do not include words. My imagination is not robust enough to create my own interpretation or story for the product of your instruments. I am, simply put, bored.

To top it off, you have to compete with Kanye--a man who's words and actions could inspire endless psychology dissertations. I get a voyeuristic glimpse of what it's like to lose your mother in a tummy tuck accident. To be dumped by a super model.

I get to learn about the 808 drum machine. And read passages like this on wikipedia:

"West himself openly stated that he loves using Auto-Tune and is dismayed that the term has been commonly associated with being "wack".^[15] He considers the technology "the funnest thing to use" and compared the situation to when he was a child and thought the color pink was cool until someone told him "it was gay", producing an analogy of how the views of society can rob people of their confidence and self-esteem."

I appreciate Kanye and hope that he continues to seek and explore the color pink, whatever form it takes.

It's wack of me, but you didn't stand a chance.

Sincerely,

Sara

Winner: Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak

Friendly Fires vs. Wolf Parade

The name of the band “Friendly Fires” seemed so familiar to me I thought sure that I must have known them. I think I’ve been avoiding writing this review for so long because I’ve been searching for something not too biting to say about them. But here it is: I don’t get this band. They’re supposedly hailed as a great “party band” but everything I hear is recycled 80s – and I mean bad eighties. “Paris” seems to have a sound somewhere in between Duran Duran and Depeche Mode, but not as good as either of them. At first, I thought “Skeleton Boy” was a little more interesting – but it soon grew too poppy and repetitive. Once I hit “Jump in the Pool” and “Kiss of Life” the repetitiveness was out of hand. It sticks in your head the same way that a praise song sticks in your head.

I hadn’t heard of Wolf Parade, and it wasn’t immediately palatable, but I soon grew to like it. I had the same sense of “Who do they sound like?” as I did with Friendly Fires. But rather than deciding that it merely sounded like a generic 80s band, I figured out (ok – by looking it up, I admit) that it was because one of the members, Isaac Brock, used to play with Modest Mouse. That makes sense now. Unlike Friendly Fires, Wolf Parade gets more interesting every time I listen to it. Favorites including “Sons and Daughters of a Hungry Ghost” and the strangely-titled “Grounds for Divorce.” Plus, they’re from Montreal, home of another great band “Stars” who was callously struck down by Steve TenElsof. (not that I hold a grudge or anything) I was sad to read that they’re currently on hiatus – I hope that’s temporary.

Choice? No question – Wolf Parade moves forward.

Good Bands Play Fast

Although the band officially resists the label, Low is often included in the subgenre called slowcore or sadcore, along with a handful of other groups that share its stylistic leanings. From the little I know about this genre, Low's Trust seems emblematic of the slowcore sensibility: the songs rarely break 60 bpm, the vocals by Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Rogers are drawn-out dirges, and the instrumentation is spare with heavy reverb. With apologies to the fans of this kind of thing, I'll side with the blog Pitchfork here:

"The band's delivery is dispassionate and inert, and the deep mood swings that have typified some of their best outings-- the spiritual highs and dramatic depths-- are entirely absent."

Terence, this is dreary stuff. Melodically, this album has a dearth of musical ideas: there are sustained notes with backing harmony, some more sustained notes with backing harmony, a chord shift, an echoey guitar, and then some sustained notes with backing harmony. At one point, I may have lost consciousness. When I regained it, the same note/song/album was still playing.

Not that I really have anything against slow music: Leonard Cohen's latest release (Old Ideas), for example, barely breaks a sweat, and it is brilliant. But Cohen writes masterful lyrics, while Low wants us to believe that any lyric slowed down enough will gain gravitas. Not true. Here's "Candy Girl," in its entirety:

Candy girl
You sing that song so well
Candy girl
You try to stand so still
Wasting all our days
With Gillian and Dave
Candy girl
Candy girl
Candy girl
You sing that song so well

Not all of Trust is this incomprehensible--who are Gillian and Dave?--or this bland. "That's How You Sing Amazing Grace" is more meaningful, thanks to John Newton. But the lone bright spot on the album is the song "La La Song," which is lighter, faster, and more melodic than any of the acres and acres of mud surrounding it. Overall, one of my favorite reviews on "Rate my Professor" seems to apply to this album: your pillow will need a pillow.

On the other side of the musical spectrum is Here Comes Science by They Might Be Giants. If Low takes itself a bit too seriously, than Science is a pretty good antidote. I hadn't listened to the Giants since the 90's Flood, though its infectious melodies and hilarious lines have stayed with me over the years. I had no idea they were now producing children's music.

For me, the test of any movie, music, or television show designed specifically for children is whether it has a least a few rewards for adults, too. Films like Shrek, for example, have sly adults-only references that make watching bearable. This is also why I hate Diego with the heat of one thousand suns.

Here Comes Science meets this criterion: there are plenty of adult moments here, mostly at the expense of science-deniers such as Rick Santorum. "Science is Real," for example, takes a nice jab at those who might equate creationism with evolution:

A scientific theory
Isn't just a hunch or guess
It's more like a question
That's been put through a lot of tests
And when a theory emerges
Consistent with the facts
The proof is with science
The truth is with science

And so on throughout the album. I admit I might not listen to either of these albums again, but I can at least appreciate what They Might Be Giants is trying to do: educate children about the world they live in. I also appreciate the talent it takes to make memorable melodies from some pretty dry information about electric cars and shooting stars. And finally, I like a band that can play fast. Keeping it together at high speeds requires real skill. I'm not entirely sure Low could pull it off.

I apologize in advanced for dinging one of Eric E and Anne LaGrand's favorite bands. They have contributed many new bands and albums to my music collection over the years. But I'm afraid Low's Trust won't be one of them.

Decision: Here Comes Science, They Might Be Giants

New assignments

Recycled assignments:

Eric E.--My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy vs. Seven Swans

Anne--Apologies to the Queen Mary vs. Friendly Fires

Steg--Canada vs. USA (Funeral vs. Crane Wife)

Tim--Mezzanine vs. Michigan

Fresh assignments:

Rob--They Might Be Giants: Science is Real vs. Low: Trust

Nate--Primal Scream: XTRMNTR vs. Gorillaz: Demon Days

Sara Z--Kanye West: 808s and Heartbreak vs. The Eastman Wind Ensemble: Danzante

DAG--Ben Folds Five: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner vs. Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope

Steve--Cloud Cult: Light Chasers vs. Wilco: Summer Teeth

Eric A.--Green Day: American Idiot vs. HEM: Eveningland

Enjoy!

Bikers vs. Banjos

I apologize for my tardiness on this post. Won’t happen again.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 'B.R.M.C.' (2002) vs. Sufjan Stevens: Songs for Christmastime

This is so not fair.

I can almost picture these two in a ring with the colorful and welterweight Stevens in one corner with the leather clad B.R.M.C. toting chains and bats opposite him.

I listened to BRMC for a solid week and one song really grew on me (Awake).

The rest of it felt like somewhat of a bass (very heavy bass) driven chillax mix that intends to make telling the difference between one song and another difficult. That was kinda how I always felt about the Pschydelic Furs, but they also had a quirkiness going for them. I know someone thought enough of this album to make this prestigious list… but I just couldn’t get into it.

On the other side, and this is where it really isn’t fair, we have had the SS Christmas album in our holiday mix for years now and it is much loved at our house. Sufjan has accomplished a difficult task by creating exceedingly holiday feeling music without simply singing the same 1940’s songs over again. I recommend this for every listener as an addition to their holiday set.

Victor: Sufjan.

Gravel vs. Air

I had never heard of Ray LaMontagne before Death Match '99, so I came into my first listen of "Gossip in the Grain" with an open mind. My initial thoughts were that the music was pleasant, but I didn't find it too memorable. So I gave it several more tries over the last few weeks.

The album kicks off nicely with the toe-tapping "You are the best thing," but then slows down a bit for the next few pleasant but pleasant songs. Lots of airy dreaminess, lots of songs to lovers (at least I imagined), lots of stuff that makes one think of sitting on the beach as the sun goes down, shared with that special someone (more on that in a minute) sitting close by. "I still care for you" was better than pleasant, with a nice change of pace in the middle...I imagine it has provided drama to a WB episode or two (and I mean that in a good way). Then I got to a song that did grab me: "Meg White." Interesting...beautiful...a little weird...and still airy. It took me a moment to figure out that it was indeed about Meg White (I don't always hear lyrics too well), rather than some generic Meg White. But I also had to wonder--how many different women does this dude sing about? There's a song "Sarah," and there are a few other romantic-sounding tunes that don't sound like they're about Sarah, and I couldn't get it out of my head that I was listening to a college kid hung up on a string of infatuations, and that took much of the charm away.

Ray, I think you have a wonderful voice, and the music is lovely, but nothing stands out.

Tom Waits is about as much of the anti-Ray LaMontagne as you could construct, and that filled me with hesitation and dread. Everybody loves Tom Waits. That didn't strike me as all that fair to Mr. LaMontagne or to me.

And I'm glad I held off looking at reviews until after I had a few times through "Mule Variations." There seemed to be two themes: 1) Tom Waits is really good, and this album isn't bad, or 2) None of you idiots knows good music, and if you're critical of this album, it's only because you know deep down in your soul that you could only dream of some day writing a song that is remotely close to his worst music. Lucky for me I didn't have to deal with jerks voicing 2).

Up to a point I can hear it with "Mule Variations," but not completely. It's clear that Waits is good...it just wasn't clear that I liked it. Waits employs tremendous variety in tunes, rhythm, instruments (they say he keeps mixing things up to challenge himself), and though I'm still not sure I'd be interested in hearing his voice for 50 minutes at a time, songs like "Cold Water" "Big in Japan" and "Picture in a Frame" are really good.

I have to admit that I don't know what to do with "What's he building in there?" I get what it's about...people worrying about and gossiping about someone who is different without bothering to talk to him...but after once through, I'm done with it. This song is the perfect reason to go digital--you could program things once and then never have to bother getting up to hit skip again.

So I suppose this is it, then. I found "Gossip in the Grain" easier on the ears than "Mule Variations," but I find MV more interesting and am fairly certain it would have more staying power in my collection.

Much to everyone's surprise, Tom Waits moves to the next round.

Regrets and updates

I give you the bracket as it currently stands:

Anyway else wishing you'd included a few other selections in your top 10, but not really sure what album you'd have bumped? After an amazing My Brightest Diamond concert this past Monday, I wished I'd included something from her, though I'm not sure she would have jumped in line in front of Death Cab for Cutie or Deer Hunter (and my favorite song of the last year http://grooveshark.com/s/Desire+Lines/3gkzmv?src=5), which I learned about in my first DeathMatch.

C'est la vie. It's about time I weighed in with my first showdown...I'd better get that posted soon.

Vampire Weekend: Contra vs Moby: Play

Vampire Weekend: Contra

I must admit that Contra is a bit wasted on me. Perhaps by not watching Buffy I've robbed myself of cultural expertise necessary to appreciate Vampire Weekend. Either that or the hint of ska underpinning most songs was, like wasabi on sushi, enough to render it indigestible to me.

Beyond that "Holiday", had me bending over my speakers in concern that I had damaged them. Fortunately for me (although not for VW...), it turned out that the speakers were faithfully representing the sound of broken speakers.

"Taxi Cab" is tender:

You stand so close to me

Like the future was supposed to be

"California English" makes obvious it's use of Auto-Tune. This was probably intentional, and somehow meta, but still sounds annoying.

"Giving Up the Gun" had me singing along on the first pass! Interestingly enough, it's melody sounds a lot like Moby, which bring me to my next review:

Moby's Play:

(Which, btw, seems to be free of the accursed Auto-Tune.)

This album is awesome. I had never heard the album before, but recognized pretty much all the songs from radio play, and in this case I do not mean that as an insult. This is chock-full of sweet sounds. Since buying the album for DM'99 I've probably listened to it 8 times. Every song is interesting enough to listen to intentionally, rocks when turned up loud when the kids are at school, provides nice background for a party, and as my wife proved to me is sexy enough to...

Well, anyway, I will not review specific songs because they are uniformly smooth except to say that nothing makes me want to buy a Glock like "South Side". Gangbanging sounds so pretty and fun!

There are valid critiques, the biggest being Moby's precipitous decline, but at least once in the late '90's he nailed it. No, it's not rhythmically complicated, and sampling still seems a bit like cheating to me, but this is house music at it's best.

Decision: Play

The Only Reason I Feel Secure vs The King is Dead

Pedro the Lion takes me back. I listen to "Criticism As Inspiration" or "I Am Always the One Who Calls" and almost feel like I am back on the Red Line, holding my discman and watching Chicago stream by on my way downtown. I am also incredibly fond of Bazan's take on "Be Thou My Vision."

However, I will always be drawn to the better signing voice, the male/female vocals (thanks Fleetwood Mac) and the overall grandeur of an album like The King is Dead. "January Hymn" is especially gorgeous.

It doesn't seem quite fair...Bazan sounding like he's recording alone in his closet against The Decemberists with their superstar guests and HD videos and guest spots on Portlandia...but Music Death Match isn't about fairness, right?

Winner: The King is Dead

Ain't No Such Thing As Indie

If Arcade Fire's best album Grammy last year and the nominations of Mumford & Sons and Bon Iver for best record this year don't signify the meaningless of the term indie rock, then I'm not sure what does. Like alternative before it, indie has become a catch all term for a large swath of music no longer separable from the mainstream, as it was in the past, by its unique lyrical sensibility, its small market distribution, its do-it-yourself production, or its devoted cult of followers. Everybody, in other words, lives in The Suburbs. Hipsters everywhere despair: the bands you knew were cool before anyone else are now taking home the industry's highest accolade (though Bon Iver and Mumford have absolutely no chance against Adele).

All of this to say that it is no longer possible to judge allegedly indie bands by a different set of standards: sorry Sufjan, it is no longer okay for your horn section to sound like a sixth-grade band concert. Indie bands need to be every bit as polished as the mainstream acts they are competing with. This is good news for The National, a very put-together "indie" band with lucrative commercial succeses, a dark, fully realized sound, and a fantastic baritone lead--Matt Berniger. Somehow or another, Berniger's reminds me of Leonard Cohen and David Bowie put together. The dark texture of his voice suits his subject matter well. In "Green Gloves," my favorite track, Berniger sings of love and loss:

Falling out of touch with all my
friends are somewhere getting wasted,
hope they’re staying glued together,
I have arms for them.

Take another sip of them,
it floats around and takes me over
like a little drop of ink in a glass of water

Not that the whole of "Boxer" is sturm aund drang. The last track, "The Gospel" at least hints at some kind of human reconciliation, perhaps in sharing small pleasures:

I got two armfuls of magazines for you
I’ll bring em over
so hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden
hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden and I’ll
I’ll bring a nice icy drink to you

Tracks like this one kept me coming back to "Boxer" again and again over the past two weeks. I wish the same were true of Rachel Ries and "For Only You." Ries may be a real indie musician--her record label, Waterbug, has a large catalog of folk singers/songwriters, but as far as I can tell, this is a pretty homegrown affair. That in and of itself did not make me dislike Rachel Ries. But I couldn't find anything original in her singing or her songwriting. She has a sweet, even beautiful voice, but I could hear a similar voice at any coffee shop on open mic night. The music did have a kind of comfort value, but in the end, remained anonymous and forgettable.

Note to both Erics: Eric A, don't make me diss another of Eric E's choices. Eric E: Sorry man.

Decision: The National, "Boxer."

The No Contest Contest

Blink 182's "Enemy of the State" vs. Telekinesis' "12 Desperate Straight Lines"

The Blink. I remembered a couple of the songs from back in the day. The album cover more so. (Pro tip: if you absent-mindedly google around wondering who that lady is on the cover, was she a famous actress or something, TAKE CARE WHICH LINKS YOU CLICK ON. She's an actress. Kinda.)

I believe I established in my initial top ten, and in the related descriptions, the fact that, in my doddering years, I have discovered, musically speaking, a Taste for the Chutzpah. That is to say, I enjoy Green Day far more than I ever would have guessed possible if you had asked me in the 90's, and I cannot bring myself to un-wish to punch Sufjan Stevens in the face no matter how hard I try. So Blink 182 should work for me -- they are gutsy and punk-infused. But it turns out that I am still a little bit more of a prissy elitist than I thought I was. The whole time I listened to the album -- I will not be giving it a second try -- I kept stacking it up unfavorably against Green Day. It seems strange to use "too simplistic" to criticize it in this context, considering both bands wield power chords like bludgeons, and yet ... too simplistic. Too -- dare I say it? -- immature. What does that even mean? I sound like a Decemberists fan. Wait ... I AM a Decemberists fan.

I'm so confused. I don't know what I like any more. But I know that it's not Blink 182.

And so on to Telekinesis. This deck was stacked: I have their other album, or should I say his other album, since it's basically one guy who hooks up with some cool talent when he goes on the road. It's not like he made my top ten, but TK is a seed in one of my favorite Pandora mixes, so I've been listening to a lot of telekinetic music lately, as it were. Love that clean sound. Stripped down, but also amped up. I have it on good authority that, in spite of being mostly a studio operation, his live shows totally rock.

I think I might actually put his first, self-titled album a hair above this one. But either way, it's an easy call as to who advances: Telekinesis all the way.

Two more assignments

Steg: Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004) vs. The Decemberists: Crane Wife
Tim: Massive Attack "Mezzanine" vs. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (or Say Yes to Michigan)

The Indie Rock Olympics!

So here we have the first challenge. Its the make-or break moment between two Indie Rock champions from two separate nations. In one corner, we have Canadian leaders known as The New Pornographers with their 5th release "Together" versus the Elephant 6 collective heroes from the USA called Neutral Milk Hotel and their 2nd (and final) album graciously titled "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea."

Fortunately, my true Indie Rock listening collectivity has not wandered much into this ambiguous territory from my earlier days, so while I understand both bands have their own religious cult followings, I am a member of neither denomination.

As I began to listen to Aeroplane, I couldn't help embrace its raw, organic qualities. One reviewer online once said that trying to describe the album would be "like trying to describe what cologne smells like to a grasshopper." I concur. When you get used to thinking that an album that sounds folksy and raw and then suddenly burst into cacophony, you may just walk away from the experience, but thanks to Jeff Magnum's consistent vocals throughout, it perfectly melds the two opposites together.

When you first throw on The New Pornos album, you're suddenly asking yourself "where have I heard that song" before, and then you realize, its a T-mobile commercial. Like T-mobile, the New Pornos are reliable and have stuck with me for a while, but it has yet taken me over to the other side. Granted, Neko Case has the one of the best voices out there with a backing band that rivals any Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp, but like Yo La Tengo, when I listen to them and their amazing talents, I feel like I'm being schooled rather than taught by these professors of rock. Oh, Canada...

With that, I choose Neutral Milk Hotel for this round. (U-S-A! U-S-A!)

Our Endless Numbered Days v. In Rainbows

I'll admit that Radiohead has been more prominent in my musical rotation than Iron & Wine. I own both albums, but for whatever reason, I've always treated I&W as background music: pleasant enough, with moments that occasionally bubble up into consciousness, but for the most part just hover "back there." I've no good excuse for treating it like this, though. And so this match-up was the perfect opportunity to sit down and give it the careful listen it deserved.

How did Endless Numbered Days fare? It's a well-crafted album; more than the nondescript soundtrack like I have often treated it. "Naked as we Came," a song I never really paid any attention to, is amazing ("one of us will die inside these arms/ Eyes wide open, naked as we came"). "Each Coming Night" held its own. Vivid images pop out throughout, complementing its hauntingly-beautiful melodies: "your mother is drunk as all the firemen shake/ a photo from father's arms" (cinder and smoke); "your brothers left here shaved and crazy" (sunset soon forgotten); "Love is a dress that you made/ long to hide your knees" (Love and some verses).

Other songs fared worse under careful scrutiny. "I want your flowers like babies want god's love"--no idea (fever dream). And I found the music of "free until they cut me down" to be entirely too bouncy for a song about lynching. A couple others just couldn't hold my interest, even when I was trying to pay attention. But all-in-all there were no major missteps. And overall, I have a greater appreciation for I&W than before.

But in the end, Our Endless Numbered Days couldn't overtake In Rainbows...at least to my mind. It's pretty hard to compete with an album that begins with "12 Step"--a song that I must have listened to more times than I want to admit and yet still want to hear again. (And how the heck do you manage to put "et cetera, et cetera" in a lyric and make it sound like it belongs in the song?) Same for "You are All I Need," demonstrating the genius of the classic layered build that is Radiohead's signature move. "Jigsaw Falling into Place," for me, demonstrates their ability to use repetition of relatively simple phrases--both music and lyrics--to create a nuanced and deeply textured whole. ("Just as you take my hand/ Just as you write my number down/ Just as the drinks arrive/ Just as they play your favourite song/ As the magic disappears.") Radiohead at its best. "Videotape" is positively haunting ("this is one for the good days/ and i have it all here in red blue green").

Not all is beauty and light on this album. "Faust Arp" has its moments, but I've never managed to get excited about it. Same with "House of Cards" ("The infrastructure will collapse From vaulted spikes" never rang authentic for me). These two songs form a sonic trough that bog the album down towards the end.

The bottom line: both are good albums, each with their great and less interesting moments; but for my money, In Rainbows' highs are higher and more numerous, and its lows are still interesting. (And bonus points for the OK Computer mash-up; it may be a figment of the imagination of Radiohead geeks, but it works--for me at least.)

The next pairings

Bored with your music? Ready to move on?



As promised, I'm serving up some new tunes once we've had a set of reviews posted. And I'm adding myself to the rotation.



Keeping with my rules of avoiding conflicts of interest as much as possible in the early going, here are the assignments:

Eric E.: Sufjan Stevens, Seven Swans vs. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Sara: Pedro the Lion - The Only Reason I Feel Secure vs. The Decemberists, The King Is Dead
Eric A.: Tom Waits: Mule Variations vs. Ray LaMontagne, Gossip in the Grain
Rob: The National – Boxer (2007) vs. Rachel Ries, For You Only -- 2005
Nate: Blink 182: Enema of the state vs. Telekinesis '12 Desperate Straight Lines'
Anne: Friendly Fires (2009) Friendly Fires vs. Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary
Steve: Vampire Weekend--Contra (2010) vs. Moby "Play"

Bring it.

MeShell Ndegeocello vs. DJ Dangermouse

MeShell Ndegeocello - Bitter v. DJ Dangermouse - The Grey Album

This was a strange match-up for me. Neither album was exactly within my regular genre, so it made it even more difficult to make a comparison. I like MeShell’s voice – kind of hearkens back to Sade, but earthier, deeper – almost like Tracy Chapman. But ultimately, it didn’t have enough variety. I’d start listening, thinking: “hm, this is alright” Then 15 minutes later I’d check to see if we were still on the same song. The instrumentation at the beginning of the album is nice – lots of strings, but toward the end it goes into bad sax solos, long guitar riffs, and cheesy background singers. In the end, I wasn’t compelled to listen to it again.

The Grey Album, on many levels, is brilliant. But there was some difficulty in rating it as an album since it’s a mashup of two others. So to a certain extent, things I liked or disliked about the album were due to the original from the Beatles or Jay-Z. That being said, this is still a pretty impressive album. The idea is unlikely - combining the Beatles’ White Album with Jay-Z’s Black Album to create – you guessed it – the Grey Album. This is something that should have failed, but he pulled it off with finesse. I don’t like all the songs uniformly: “99 problems” is tiring and pretty offensive – same for “Dirt off my Shoulder”. But I love “Encore” and “Change Clothes.” I also love that it resulted in a huge battle with EMI, and both Jay-Z and Paul McCartney supported the mashup. Unfortunately, this will probably not become part of my regular playlist – the lyrics are too raw for the young ears at school or home.

So – for interest and originality, DJ Dangermouse moves forward.

Stars: Set Yourself on Fire vs the verve: FORTH

I had never heard either of these albums before last week.

Interestingly enough, I had only heard of The Stars because years ago I heard a less than 10 second filler clip from their song "Take Me to the Riot" as a musical interlude between 2 pieces on NPR's Marketplace Money. I liked the sound so much that I emailed the "music editor" to find out the song and she sent me a full page (yikes!) email reply. For those interested, she gets all the music interludes from her CD collection...

So, perhaps The Stars had an advantage going in.

Here are my impressions:

Stars: Set Yourself on Fire

Still catchy.

Loved the airy sound of the female lead, not so much the male.

Surprised by frequency of sex-with-girlfriend as theme. I kinda thought that had been thoroughly mined already.

Can't tell if the songs are aiming to be inconsequential (if so, bravo!) or if that was an accident.

The moment I knew the album was not going to advance: lyrics "and I was drunk as shit".

Come on!

the verve: FORTH

What a treat!

All songs very solid and lush.

Not afraid to explore beyond the boundaries of the 3 min radio-ready tune.

Could use more rhythm variety, and with it some more creative percussion.

Too many songs would benefit from having an actual ending... as is, they just keep fading until you can't hear them anymore.

Some delicate echos of Pink Floyd on "Numbness".

Rare to listen to a whole album and not want to skip ahead at least once.

Unfortunately, no songs where I want to sing along.

Verdict: the verve: FORTH advances!

printable bracket

I was not able to squeeze some of the album titles completely within the boxes, but I think this will still work. I'll update and repost it from time to time.



Here is where things currently stand: