The Suggest Music To Izulde Tournament - Round 1

[Izulde]

Updated Rule
Rather than listen to every song five times, I'm going to guarantee three listens and if there's a need for more listens, I'll tack them on.

So here we are, ready to kick off the first FOFC Suggest Music To ______ Tournament. This SMTT is sponsored by Izulde, of course. We kick things off with a digamma vs. Big Fo first round matchup.


Did You Know?
Izulde's first exposure to contemporary mainstream music didn't happen until the 6th grade. He was sitting in Home Ec when an evil fat kid named Ryan asked Izulde what he thought about M.C. Hammer. Izulde said he didn't know who that was. Ryan laughed with mocking incredulity and said, "You don't know M.C. Hammer is? Are you retarded?" The rest of the class joined in the laughter and to this day, Izulde would not mind putting a sniper bullet in the back of fat Ryan's fat head.

Despite the fact that Ryan would go on to bully and mock Izulde all through middle school, this encounter did have the benefit of Izulde discovering M.C. Hammer and Vanilla Ice, even going so far as to dye his hair with blonde streaks like Vanilla Ice. This was the coolest Izulde would ever look.

digamma - John Doe - "A Little More Time"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
At first I thought this was a joke entry, until I googled it to check it out. Never heard of the singer/group obviously, so this is going to be a blind thing. Interested to see what happens with this first entry.

First Listen
-I liked the instrumentals in the early part and the lead singer's voice was one I had trouble deciding whether I really liked or not. Didn't quite get a sense of the lyrics yet. Towards the middle and towards the end I started drifting a bit.

Second Listen
-I like the "Better" part at 0:56-0:57. Not a fan at all of the woman who joins in at certain parts. This is a very chill, very relaxing sort of a folk/country fusion to my mind (I don't know if it's correct, but I'm not a music major) but right now I'm thinking this is more of an occasional listen because I could see it getting tiresome after a while.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Third Listen
-I like the "when the sunshine" bit early on, but there's a definite drop in quality for me from the first chorus on. I even started to get a bit annoyed by it and that annoyance will only grow if I don't take a break from it.

Overall Verdict
A pleasant, tranquilizing song if heard once in a while. I'll add to my rotation, but it's one I have to be in the right frame of mind for.

Big Fo - Arcade Fire - Sprawl II "Mountains Beyond Mountains"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
I remember a lot of people raving about Arcade Fire and I think I may have listened to something by them, but maybe it's some other artist I'm thinking of. In any case, I'm a bit leery of this, as the trendy and I don't always get along in music.

First Listen
-The opening note immediately reminded me of D.J. Sammy's version of "Boys of Summer" and then it suddenly veers into what sounds like a chipmunky imitation of t.A.T.u. Wow, the outro lasted forever. Looking iffy so far.

Second Listen
-I don't much care for these girls' voices and I can understand maybe one word out seven. I'm really wanting to listen to t.A.T.u's "It's All About Us" right about now. That said, I do like the instrumentals. These chicks' singing reminds me of something/someone else too, and I'm having trouble putting my finger on it. This song really should end about the 3 minute mark, I think. "Livin' In The Sprawl" is starting to turn into an earworm phrase.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Third Listen
-Stopped at 1:45. I can't take this song anymore. By the way, the lyrics' remark/suggestion of a lesbian relationship is simultaneously amusing and eye-rolling, especially with those aggravating chicks' voices.

Final Verdict
Unfortunately, this entry doesn't even merit an occasional listen. Too long, with annoying lead singers. The best thing I can say this song is that it reminded me of t.A.T.u's "All About Us", which I immediately went and listened to and remembered how much I enjoyed.

Winner - digamma - John Doe "A Little More Time"

[Big Fo]

Compared to TATU, oh dear. It probably isn't the best song for a person who has never listened to any of their songs before I suppose.

[dfisher]

Yeah, comparing Arcade Fire to TATU is making me rethink some choices I had in case I advance. I do agree that there are much more accessible choices for them.

[Passacaglia]

That's the only Arcade Fire song I've heard, and I haven't heard the other, but I thought Izulde would like it (not that I was going to pick it, but I thought it had a good chance at advancing).

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

i always over/under estimate people's scope of music. my gf's barely heard of arcade fire but knows more about j pop than any american 30 yr old should. my buddy whose musical tastes begin and end with pearl jam stole my sufjan stevens cd.

[Izulde]

Re: the tATu hand-wringing. I tend to generally be more singles-based than group based. So while I hated "Sprawl II", maybe I'd like some of Arcade Fire's other songs.

[Izulde]

Next up, we have Scoobz0202 facing off against NorvTurnerOverDrive. Early reaction to digamma's defeat of Big Fo was horror at comparisons between Arcade Fire and tATu and we'll have to see that affects the rest of the tournament.


Did You Know?
Although the Ryan Home Ec incident clued Izulde in to contemporary music, it wasn't until a month later, on a cool, late fall evening that Izulde first had a favorite group. He was at his friend Dan's house, working with him on a bug collecting project for 6th grade science. After the two were done, they went to a classmate's house. Nick, the classmate, had a song playing on his boombox that immediately caught Izulde's attention and interest, leading our hero to ask, "What IS that?". Nick answered, with some exasparation, "Boyz II Men! Motownphilly, duh!" It sparked a love affair that would continue until after the release of Evolution. Once Michael McCary left the group because of health and personal reasons, the sound was no longer the same without his bass voice.

Scoobz0202 - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros "Home"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Cool bad name. The NFL connection has me scrambling to remember if I've heard thing song before, but I don't think so. Let's see how it goes. I've decided to use a non-live version of the song, since the David Letterman was hard to hear the voices.

Listen #1
-I feel like this should be in a clothing commercial or something. Definitely has that feel to it. Not sure yet how I feel about the voices. I really like the parts with the trumpet, though. Very foot-tapping quality.

Listen #2
-At first, I hated the first whistling, but this song is starting to grow on me, the first of the entries so far that's done that. I think my favorite section beside the trumpet is when most of the instruments drop out and there's minimal instrumentation and just the voices from 4:05-4:21.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-Fun song to sing. The spoken from 3:15-3:48 doesn't work for me at all, though, and I'd be sorely tempted to just skip that entire 33ish seconds. I'm also starting to get a touch annoyed by Jade's voice.

Final Verdict
Good, catchy beat with some attractive elements to it, but I'm not sure this would ever rise above occasional on my list. Might need a fourth and fifth listen, depending on how the other entry does.

NorvTurnerOverDrive - Neutral Milk Hotel "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
I've never heard of the group or the song. It's giving me a very folk vibe from the names for some reason.

Listen #1
-Nice guitar intro. The voice is very uneven, though. I'm wondering how this would sound as an instrumental only.

Listen #2
-Voice sounds better second time through but somewhere after the 2 minute mark it just seems to be getting blah. I hate the way he does his ee-sounds. It's not the drawing out that bugs me, it's the fact that he can't seem to hold the note when he does it.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-Now how I remember your mouth... is where the voice starts to decline significantly for me.

Final Verdict
This is a very tough song to define. It has its positive points and its signicant drawbacks. I'm still not quite sure what to feel about it. On the other hand, it's not something I feel like listening to a fourth time.

Whereas "Home" I feel like listening to again, or at least, wouldn't mind listening to it a fourth time..

And in the end, that's the difference.

Winner - Scoobz0202 - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros "Home"

[Abe Sargent]

Awesome

[dfisher]

The Neutral Milk Hotel song is the title track of one of my 5 favorite albums ever. Jeff Mangum's voice takes a while to grow on you. Good choice from that album; it had to be either that one or Holland, 1945.

The album is a masterpiece, and it is the last album NMH recorded. Mangum had a nervous breakdown after this.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

can't argue. that home song is catchy as fuck. i've been whistling it all day.

[Izulde]

During the smoke break I just had, I found myself singing snatches from "Home" and enjoying it. It really is a fun song. Not one I'd necessarily rush and say it's a favorite or anything, but very enjoyable.

A quarter of the way through the first round and I'd rank the songs like this.

1. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros 'Home"
2. John Doe "A Little More Time"
3. Neutral Milk Hotel "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"
4. Arcade Fire "Sprawl II"

"Home" is pretty far in front of the other three right now. "A Little More Time" is significantly ahead of "Aeroplane", and "Sprawl II" is far, far down the list as the only song I didn't make it through three listens of.


Did You Know?
The song with the most different versions that Izulde's listened to and liked is "Leaving On A Jet Plane". In fact, there hasn't been a version he's heard and disliked. It's also the one of the few songs he can sing really well and he use to sing it to one of his girlfriends.

Next up, Peregrine vs. Ronnie Dobbs2

Peregrine - Amadou and Miriam (ft. Manu Chao) "Senegal Fast Food"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Interesting song title and we'll see how Peregrine's switch of songs affects his chances. I noticed a lot of French when I searched, which makes sense given Senegal's a Francophone country.

Listen #1
-I like a good number of foreign-language songs, but this just isn't grabbing me at all. It's not a bad song by any means, though. It'd be good background music to have on while doing something else.

Listen #2
-It's growing on me on the second go-round. I like the beat and the voices are starting to hook me more. It's something I'll probably put on my iPod, but I'm not sure if it'd be an active listen yet.

*Lyrics Retrieved, although I don't know French*

Listen #3
-I find myself I understand more of the French than I thought I would, based on the English and Spanish I know. This is really becoming an enjoyable song and I haven't gotten annoyed by anything in it. I think this one is the one I'd be least likely to skip if it came up in the rotation so far.

Final Verdict
This is why I wanted to listen to songs multiple times, in case an entry like this came up, where it didn't hook me at first, but then grew on me.

Ronnie Dobbs2 - Da Dip "Freak Nasty"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Just based off the artist name and song title, I'm cautiously optimistic for this one. If it works out like I think it might, this could be the first overtime matchup we have.

Listen #1
-This feels like a knockoff of 69 Boyz "Tootsie Roll". So far I like it okay, but it's suffering from the comparison to 69 Boyz.

Listen #2
-I do like this song, I think, but it's more of a background listen compared to an active listen. Then again, I said the same thing about "Senegal Fast Food".

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-I'd already figured it was a dance instruction song, but yeah. Be fun to dance into in the club. Starting to get really repetitive and tiresome now.

Final Verdict
This is a song I've heard before and it's nothing really new or catching. I'd find myself skipping quite a bit, to be honest.

I started giving "Senegal Fast Food" a fourth listen and it wasn't even close. Its freshness and catchy beat trumps "Da Dip"'s been there, done that.

Winner - Peregrine - Amadou and Miriam (ft. Manu Chao) "Senegal Fast Food"

[AENeuman]

what place did the Wire come in?

[cthomer5000]

Compared to TATU, oh dear. It probably isn't the best song for a person who has never listened to any of their songs before I suppose.

Yeah, you failed hard as an Arcade Fire ambassador on that one. Mountains Beyond Mountains? Really?

[Peregrine]

Izulde, that song is set in Senegal but Amadou and Mariam (the blind couple in the dark glasses in that video) are from Mali. Mali is Francophone as well of course.

[lordscarlet]

The song with the most different versions that Izulde's listened to and liked is "Leaving On A Jet Plane". In fact, there hasn't been a version he's heard and disliked. It's also the one of the few songs he can sing really well and he use to sing it to one of his girlfriends.

Mine would definitely be "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and I've found that I pretty much love every version I have heard.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Mine would definitely be "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and I've found that I pretty much love every version I have heard.

Have you listened to the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes version?

[Easy Mac]

Did You Know?
Izulde has never had a girlfriend.
.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

Sigh.

[lordscarlet]

Have you listened to the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes version?

I have a couple of their albums, but I have not heard that one I don't think. I will go hunting.

edit: Sounded how I expected :)

[Suburban Rhythm]

I have a couple of their albums, but I have not heard that one I don't think. I will go hunting.

edit: Sounded how I expected :)

They are certainly an acquired test...either loved or hated, no middle ground.


Did You Know?
The song with the most different versions that Izulde's listened to and liked is "Leaving On A Jet Plane". In fact, there hasn't been a version he's heard and disliked. It's also the one of the few songs he can sing really well and he use to sing it to one of his girlfriends.

Also done by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.

[Big Fo]

Yeah, you failed hard as an Arcade Fire ambassador on that one. Mountains Beyond Mountains? Really?

It is my favorite song off the new album. But I probably should have gone with "The Suburbs" instead. Oh well.

[lordscarlet]

They are certainly an acquired test...either loved or hated, no middle ground.



Like I said, I own a few of their albums. :) I wasn't putting them down by saying it was what I expected, just that if you know the band you pretty much can guess how they'll treat a song.

[Abe Sargent]

No contest today?

[Izulde]

I was just going to start, actually.

[Izulde]

After this next set of songs, which features wade moore vs. thesloppy, we'll be halfway through the first round.

But first, I just noticed Ronnie Dobbs2's edited entry when I went to check and see who was next, so as a consolation prize, I'll listen to it.

Belated Edit Ronnie Dobbs2 - The Hold Steady "Stuck Between the Stations"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
The band name sounds familiar, but it's not clicking entirely.

Listen #1
-I'm getting a Blues Traveler vibe from this, but the only Blues Traveler song I liked was "Run Around". Not much to say beyond that right now.

Listen #2
-It also feels like this is the sort of song/band indy college kids really like. It's not a bad song, but just not all that much in my wheelhouse. Bonus points for the one dude's Mario mustache.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-Yeah I've got the Twin Cities/U of MN vibe more firmly in place after looking at the lyrics. Could also see them in Madison. Stopped at the 1 minute mark.

Final Verdict
Just not my kind of thing and it doesn't change the result. It's a far superior song technically, lyrically, and vocally than Ronnie Dobbs2's joke entry, but Peregrine would still have won.


Did You Know?
Izulde's been to a handful or so of concerts. His favorite was The Gin Blossoms, because they were in his home town, he had a free ticket, he was there with a friend of his, and by the time the concert ended, it was his birthday. Even better, he heard the song "Dinosaur" as the concluding song,which he spent years searching for, until Allosaurus (I think that's who it was) on FOFC linked him to the track. It's now one of his most prized mp3s.

Other concert highlights include the Nintendo Power Tour with Evanescence headlining. Seeing and hearing Amy Lee in person gave him inspirational chills, especially since he was so close to the stage. In fact, one of the novels he's experimenting with is partially based on that night. His friend, however, was there to see Cold. The rest of the lineup was forgettable.

There was also Laserfest, where his buddy was there to see headlining Godsmack, who earned a giant meh from Izulde. He did, however, discover Trapt there and the eponymous CD became one of his favorite albums of all time.

Another unexpected discovery was Harborfest, where both he and a different friend than the earlier concerts were there to see headliner Uncle Kracker. Uncle Kracker was horrible and Izulde and friend left early, but while there, they discovered Ingram Hill, who became a favorite mutual band and one of the friend's few forays outside the realm of country.

Ingram Hill was also the only concert Izulde's been to by himself, down in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Despite not being with anyone, that night and concert still rank as one of the best times he had in Fayetteville, other than hanging out with MJ4H.

The worst concert Izulde went to was with the first friend, seeing Our Lady Peace at Summerfest. Izulde got drunk off his ass before the concert so he thought OLP was awesome and enthusiastically bought all their CDs while still drunk, at Wal-Mart. When he sobered up and listened to the music, he realized how terrible he thought they were and how much money he wasted.

wade moore - The Avett Brothers "Murder in the City"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Haven't heard of them before, but apparently it's gotten really high FOFC praise. Will this become the musical equivalent of The Wire[i]? Or will it crash and burn from the weight of hype and expectations?

Listen #1
-I love the guitars in this. I wasn't sure about the voice at first, but I really like it the more I listen to it. Really nice piano, too. Have to love the beards. ;)

Listen #2
-For whatever reason, this is reminding me of Damien Rice "The Blower's Daughter", which was my favorite part of the terribly disappointing movie [i]Closer. Well that and Natalie Portman, although I liked her better in other movies. This song would actually be perfect as part of a movie soundtrack.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-The lyrics were clear and easy to understand for the most part in the early listens. To be honest, I'm not all that crazy about the lyrics or the subject matter, but it's not enough to make me stop listening to the stunning other elements of the song.

Final Verdict
This one's instantly zoomed to the top of the list as my favorite in the tournament thus far. And honestly, it's not even close at this point.

thesloppy - Mogwai "Yes I Am A Long Way From Home"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Brutal, brutal matchup for thesloppy. It's really tough to follow that kind of performance, but we'll see how it does.

Listen #1
-I don't know if the spoken part in the beginning in the version I heard is supposed to be there. The instrumentals of this really have me craving weed right about now. This would be a great song to listen to while high, whether on weed, oxy, whatever. The problem is, I have no patience for 99% of instrumental only songs when sober, so I'm cutting this one off at a single listen.

Final Verdict
I'm literally not in the right frame of my mind at the moment for this song. Unfortunately, it doesn't have enough to it to be in that 1% of instrumental songs I actually like listening to (most of which tend to be video game soundtracks anyway).

No question here.

Winner - wademoore - The Avett Brothers "Murder in the City"

[Izulde]

Halfway Standings
1. The Avett Brothers "Murder in the City"
--------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------
2. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros 'Home"
3. Amadou and Miriam (ft. Manu Chao) "Senegal Fast Food"
--------------------------------------------
4. Neutral Milk Hotel "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"
5. John Doe "A Little More Time"
--------------------------------------------
6. Freak Nasty "Da Dip"
7. Mogwai "Yes I Am A Long Way From Home"*
--------------------------------------------
8. The Hold Steady "Stuck Between Stations"
9. Arcade Fire "Sprawl II"

The ---------- lines indicate where there's a significant degree of separation between liking levels. I tripled the Avett Brothers to show just how strong the separation is.

You'll notice that NMH has risen above John Doe and could possibly, with time, move up into the second tier were these to be the only 8. In fact, it might even eventually have forced a draw with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

That circumstance may lead me to create a second chance bracket at some point, but I want to see how the second half of the first round goes first.

* - That represents Mogwai's sober ranking. Mogwai's high ranking would move it up another tier.


Did You Know?
Izulde's favorite instrumental song, and the only one he won't skip sometimes on his iPod, is "Theme of Love" from Final Fantasy IV. His favorite version is here:

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Next up, Logan vs. Ksyrup

Logan - Kei$ha - "Tik Tok"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
I've heard the name and I *think* she should be in my realm of affinities, but you never know.

Listen #1
-Wow. I was not expecting that eyecandy. The intro was eh, but once this song gets going, it really gets going and it makes me want to dance. Hell, I'm already dancing in my chair.

Listen #2
-0:42 is when the song really starts picking up. 2:20-2:33 is probably my favorite part. I appreciate the various changes in rhythm, cadence and tempo, though not all of them work.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-What fun lyrics! I don't like her voice so much in the spoken parts, though. The chorus is really catchy and the true backbone of this song, in my opinion.

Final Verdict
A bit uneven, but an enjoyable entry into the dance song list. Definitely something I'd listen to quite a bit.

Ksyrup - Vast "Be With Me"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
I've heard the name before, but don't recall if I've listened to any songs or not. In any case, I suspect this will be an interesting contrast to the peppy fun of Ke$ha.

Listen #1
-A definite contrast. Heh. I think I like it, but it seems a bit crowded with all the instruments and voices in a way that most of the other songs haven't, if that makes sense.

Listen #2
-The first 20 seconds reminds me a little of Isle of Q, although I'm not sure. Isle of Q, by the way, is a good example of the singles-based nature of a lot of my music scene. "Little Scene" is a song I really enjoy and is perfect for some of my moods, but I don't think there's another one by them I really like. So far I'm thinking this one is in the category of background music and not active listen.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-Cool lyrics. This song is starting to grow on me and is another song I think would be good for when I'm high. It also has a nice, tranquilizing effect.

Final Verdict
I feel like this is a NMH-style entry, where it'd grow on me with multiple listens.

Too tough to decide.

So we're into OVERTIME!

Overtime Rules
Each song will be listened to a fourth time. If no winner comes through, they'll get a fifth listen. If still no winner, then the two contestants will be asked to submit a different song.

Listen #4 Faceoff
-"Tik Tok" doesn't have quite the manic inducement that it did before, but is still enjoyable. "Be With Me" is starting to drag a bit and reverse course from its initial gains. I suppose that's a decline for both, but I feel like listening to "Tik Tok" again and "Be With Me" not so much.

So in the end, despite what is sure to be mass horror on the part of FOFC :D

Winner - Logan - Ke$ha "Tik Tok"

[Abe Sargent]

Awesome. Picking the dance music makes me happy!

[wade moore]

w00t! I'm hoping after all of this you listen to the Avetts some more. I'm sure if LS makes it to round 2 you'll probably get another shot at them though, so don't listen yet ;).

[wade moore]

I'm starting to wonder...

Did you listen to "Murder in the City" or "And It Spreads"?

[Izulde]

I'm starting to wonder...

Did you listen to "Murder in the City" or "And It Spreads"?

"Murder In The City"

[wade moore]

"Murder In The City"

Ok, cool - I ask cause I almost picked "And It Spreads" (and initially had links for it by accident until I fixed it) because I thought you'd like the piano in it ;).

Carry-on.

[Ksyrup]

Awesome. Picking the dance music makes me happy!

See, VAST is what I consider to be dance music. This other stuff is just what girls listen to. :p

I'm kinda surprised my choice made it to OT, TBH. But that's cool. I just won't mention this result on Jon Crosby's FB page.

[Izulde]

Next set of matchups will come later tonight. Was doing the Halloween thing last night and I've a coffee date and some other things going on today.

[lordscarlet]

Thought I'd bump this since it worked its way to the second page. :(

[cthomer5000]

It is my favorite song off the new album. But I probably should have gone with "The Suburbs" instead. Oh well.

I think you would have to concede that the chick singer is far far far less accessible and more of an acquired taste than Win Butler. I mean, you basically offered up a Ringo Starr vocal to represent The Beatles.

Off the top of my head I would have picked 'City With No Children' 'Ready To Start' or 'Suburban War'

[cthomer5000]

Re: the tATu hand-wringing. I tend to generally be more singles-based than group based. So while I hated "Sprawl II", maybe I'd like some of Arcade Fire's other songs.

Tough to say. While it was far from an ideal choice for Arcade Fire, they are also indisputably an 'album band' and they consciously drive for thematic homogeneity, etc. 'Sprawl II' has a very different payoff in the context of the album than it does on it's own. Still, they're a pretty hard band to pin down slam-dunk 'singles' for.

[Maple Leafs]

Next time around, don't overthink the Arcade Fire nom and just go with "Wake Up".

(That should win easily unless it has the bad luck to go against some really shit pop music aimed at pre-teen girls.)

[Peregrine]

I have to say Izulde, the only rule I don't like about this is the one where people can re-use the same artist that someone else did. For a contest where you are trying to find new music, anything that encourages people to just pick songs by groups we already know you like isn't a really good idea.

[Izulde]

Ugh, sorry I haven't updated. Got slammed with a major project due Wed. that I'm still working on.

[Abe Sargent]

Next time around, don't overthink the Arcade Fire nom and just go with "Wake Up".

(That should win easily unless it has the bad luck to go against some really shit pop music aimed at pre-teen girls.)

First of all, I think it's bad form to suggest nominations when anybody else can still nominate Arcade Fire with a different song. Ick. Secondly, I just went and gave your sure hit a listen, and I thought it was okay. Not stupendous, but okay. A little too angry at the world for my tastes. I like violin and the drummer/tamborine man. Voice was okay, but sometimes launched into shouting. I generally don;t like my music to shout at me. I'd say it was okay. Not a sure hit in my book.

[Abe Sargent]

I have a line up of 9 songs to use for the rest of the tournament! I'm bursting to find out if The Girl and the Robot makes the cut!

[dfisher]

I keep thinking of songs as well. I vote to make this double elimination.

[Izulde]

I keep thinking of songs as well. I vote to make this double elimination.

That's an interesting idea. Hmm. I'll think about it more.

Okay, I think I've got time to get another matchup in.

[Suburban Rhythm]

That's an interesting idea. Hmm. I'll think about it more.

Okay, I think I've got time to get another matchup in.

Another matchup, meaning 2 new entries?

If so, I posted something in the original nomination thread just after it was closed, before realizing we were cutting off nominations.

[lordscarlet]

Another matchup, meaning 2 new entries?

If so, I posted something in the original nomination thread just after it was closed, before realizing we were cutting off nominations.

I think he means complete one from the original list. :)

[wade moore]

I keep thinking of songs as well. I vote to make this double elimination.

That's an interesting idea. Hmm. I'll think about it more.

Okay, I think I've got time to get another matchup in.

Perhaps we consider a second tournament after this one is finished instead? Double elimination just seems like it will be a bit odd and potentially drag this on a bit too long? Seemed like we had a nice clean, concise format to me.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, I thinnk this tournament is set up fine. And the first order of business on improving it will be to find someone who appreciates good music. :p ;)

[Matthean]

First of all, I think it's bad form to suggest nominations when anybody else can still nominate Arcade Fire with a different song. Ick. Secondly, I just went and gave your sure hit a listen, and I thought it was okay. Not stupendous, but okay. A little too angry at the world for my tastes. I like violin and the drummer/tamborine man. Voice was okay, but sometimes launched into shouting. I generally don;t like my music to shout at me. I'd say it was okay. Not a sure hit in my book.

Possibly could not be used since it was rather well played last year due to it being used for the "Where the Wild Things Are" film. If I was going to offer a Arcade Fire I think the obvious one is (edit). :lol: But yeah, I withhold any song suggestions due to the rules. Only "Murder in the City" makes me pause in thinking I could have come up with something better. :devil:

P.S. For the life of me I haven't gotten into Arcade Fire's newest album no matter how many times I listen to it. Based on what I like and their previous work I should love it.

[Izulde]

So now we're up to lordscarlet squaring off against dfisher.


Did You Know?
Women often ask Izulde what song they should play when they're planning stripteases for their boyfriends. He invariably answers TLC's "Red Light Special" and it's always come back a success.

lordscarlet - Ingrid Michaelson - "You And I"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Tough luck by lordscarlet to have his song of choice sniped by wademoore, but we'll see how he does with this alternate entry. Certainly if previous results are any indication, he's got a favorable draw here.

Listen #1
-I feel like I'm at Woodstock or something listening to this song. The fact that I appreciate the song's brevity may be a double-edged sword.

Listen #2
-Be okay seems is appropriate for this song. So far it's not bad, it's not great. Decent earworm potential. Michaelson's voice is growing on me, the male vocalist is ehhh, group vocals are okay. Guitar is okay, too.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-Mildly amusing lyrics. I could also see people in an old folks' home clapping along to this.

Final Verdict
The very definition of average. May or may not put on iPod. Then again, I *do* like the south of France okay.

dfisher - The Hold Steady "The Weekenders"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Very, very dangerous territory after The Hold Steady's spectacular flameout in the Ronnie Dobbs2 mention. But it doesn't have to be great, just good. Can it do that?

Listen #1
-Much better than "Between the Stations". Vocals are much better, sound is much better, everything's much better. Ends pretty abruptly, though.

Listen #2
-The song doesn't kick in for me until about the 0:54 mark. Nice guitar solo from 2:36 to 3:00. I think I like this a little better than the Michaelson song. The ending is still too abrupt me.

*Lyrics retrieved*

Listen #3
-Heh. Now that's an annoying set of lyrics.

Final Verdict
Technically and in terms of sound, I like this one better than the previous The Hold Steady entry and the Michaelson song. However, the just plain dumb, and not so dumb they're kind of fun, lyrics, remind me of really bad undergraduate poetry and that really, really irritates me.

So much so that I'm going to give this one to lordscarlet. While not a standout, the Michaelson song doesn't have anything that annoys me to the extreme. He can count himself lucky here.

Winner - lordscarlet - Ingrid Michaelson "You and I"

[lordscarlet]

I thought it was a risky maneuver, but I'm glad I made it to the next round. I was a little thrown by Wade and his stealing ways. ;)

[Easy Mac]

Possibly could not be used since it was rather well played last year due to it being used for the "Where the Wild Things Are" film. If I was going to offer a Arcade Fire I think the obvious one is (edit). :lol: But yeah, I withhold any song suggestions due to the rules. Only "Murder in the City" makes me pause in thinking I could have come up with something better. :devil:

P.S. For the life of me I haven't gotten into Arcade Fire's newest album no matter how many times I listen to it. Based on what I like and their previous work I should love it.

That's odd, as I was less a fan of their first two albums, but kind of love their new one. It plays like a Canadian Springsteen album. Before, I've only really liked Wake Up, Neighborhood #2 and In the Backseat.

[Abe Sargent]

2nd page bump back

[Izulde]

I'll hit this again tonight. Ironically enough, I was just swearing at Game Dev Story for a jackass reviewer giving Lucky Britt, my pop star life game, a 6, thereby just knocking out of the Hall of Fame status.

[Izulde]

And we're back! We're in the home stretch now, with just two matchups remaining in the first round. For the second to last battle, we've got Easy Mac facing Recoil. I certainly wouldn't recoil from some Kraft macaroni and cheese right now, although Easy Mac tends to be feel slimy.


Did You Know?
Izulde tends to listen to a single song on repeat for hours on end when he really likes it. The last one he did this for prior to the tournament was Jay Sean (ft. Sean Paul and Lil Jon) "Do You Remember"

Easy Mac - How To Dress Well "You Won't Need Me Where I'm Goin'"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Well now, that's an interesting band name. No real feelings one way or the other right now, although for some reason I'm getting a slight bleh vibe. Maybe it's been my mood all this week.

Listen #1
-Wow, that instrumental intro grates on my ears. The voices hurt my ears too. And that's with flipping through multiple youtube videos to see if it was just a fluke. Stopped at 1:41. That was literally painful.

Recoil - The Tallest Man on Earth "The Gardener"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Obviously, things just got a lot easier for Recoil. All he has to do to advance is for me to make it through his entry. That shouldn't be hard to do, right?

Listen #1
-Decent guitar, although the voice is pretty meh at first blush. Then again, I tend not to like Swedish accents in general. Although Recoil's already won this one, I'll give it a second listen, but it's not anything that makes me want to listen to a third or more times.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #2
-Gruesome, much? Voice is better on second listen. I'll cut this listen short, at 2:35 because every comment I've seen says a live version is better.

Bonus Listen (Live Version)
-Yep, better live. But I wouldn't consider him gush-worthy based on this one song. On the other hand, the song title "King of Spain" intrigues my monarchist/royalist sensibilities. Cut at 1:43, because this is already won and I just don't feel like listening to this anymore.

Winner - Recoil - The Tallest Man on Earth "The Gardener"

[b]

[terpkristin]

So wait, you buy/download all the songs suggested? I'm intrigued.

How did I miss this I wonder.

/tk

[terpkristin]

Dola,

I'm so intrigued I'm playing along. I can't say I've heard any of these songs except the Arcade Fire one (which I own the album). So a playlist called Izulde is getting made on my iPod.

/tk

[Izulde]

So wait, you buy/download all the songs suggested? I'm intrigued.

How did I miss this I wonder.

/tk

I actually listen to the songs via YouTube. Which reminds me, I'll finish off the first round later today/tonight.

[Abe Sargent]

Yay!

[Izulde]

And finally, in the last match-up of the first round. Abe Sargent vs. Passacaglia.


Did You Know?
Izulde also has an affinity for movie soundtracks, particularly songs that are in-scene. One of his favorites is this one:

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KlGI17bMF4g?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KlGI17bMF4g?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

Abe Sargent - Royksopp (ft. Robyn) "The Girl and the Robot"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
There's a noted similarity in tastes for certain things between Abe and Izulde, so we'll have to see if that comes through in this one.

Listen #1
-Good genre, fairly weak choice so far. It feels very monotone and lacking in variance.

Listen #2
-This is actually starting to put me to sleep, which is never a good thing for a dance track. On the other hand, its blandness makes it decent background music.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-It's getting a little better now, but I'm feeling very lukewarm towards it right now. This just isn't on the same of level as Real McCoy or even Ace of Base, to use mid-late 90s Eurodance comparisons.

Final Verdict
The musical version of diner coffee. It doesn't have the potency or flavor of what you usually drink, but it does in a pinch if you're thirsty for coffee.

Passacaglia - No Kids "For Halloween"
Pre-Listen Thoughts
A daring seasonal entry. Never heard of the group or the song, so it'll be interesting going up against something I know fits genre-wise.

Listen #1
-Hmm. This is an interesting combination of voices and instruments, probably one of the more unusual ones to my ears this one. I'm not quite sure how to feel about it just yet, but I'm liking it more as the song goes on.

Listen #2
-This seems much more lively than the other entry in this matchup and I'm liking the mix of instruments and voices a fair bit. Not a favorite, but pleasant, especially 2:49 - 3:03. The first time I didn't like the pauses and mini-foghorn type sound immediately following, but this time I do. It provides a changeup.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
-I'm officially charmed by the lyrics. Flamenco mentioned in the first line of a halloween song. This is a song I could see growing more on me and I find myself actively listening rather than the passive glossing of some of the other songs in this round.

Final Verdict
A quirky entry that somehow works, but it took multiple listens to really get into it. Bonus points for the daring seasonal selection.

It's fairly clear which one has won this. I'm really looking forward to Round 2.

Winner - Passacaglia - No Kids - "For Halloween"

[Abe Sargent]

Thanks Izulde!

[Passacaglia]

There's a noted similarity in tastes for certain things between Abe and Izulde,

I noticed that too in the 90s Mount Rushmore thread that I linked to, so I wasn't happy going up against Abe -- especially since the songs I've heard by Royskopp featuring Robyn were good stuff. I'm not sure if Abe's recommendation was one of the songs I heard, but I'll find out when I listen to the entire playlist as part of my research for Round 2!

[terpkristin]

Well, for fun, I did the play-along-at-home (actually, I listened to them all at work on my iPod) version of this game. I found that by and large, my "winners" were the same Izulde selected. In round 4, though, I accidentally used the belated entry instead of the official entry.

Round 1 winner: Arcade Fire. I admit, I like AF and have the album that song's on. I liked the John Doe song but I didn't like his voice, and that tipped the scales for me.

Round 2 winner: The Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes song. I remembered it from the Ford Fiesta ad and liked the bouncy-ness of the song. The Neutral Milk Hotel song had the "fake folky" sound to it, which drives me nuts. Also, I thought the lead singer had a whiny voice.

Round 3 winner: Amadou & Mariam. I liked the zither (or whatever sounded like one) and I liked the French lyrics. I did like the Freak Nasty song, too, but I ended up voting for the Amadou & Mariam song because it was new to me.

Round 4 winner: When it was between The Hold Steady and The Avett Brothers, it was very close; I couldn't decide. While The Hold Steady sound reminded me a bit of Counting Crows (a generally bad thing), I liked the tempo and enjoyed the song. Murder in the City was a nice, mellow sound. When I used the right song, by Mogwai, The Avett Brothers won easily. The instrumental sound just wasn't doing it for me in the Mogwai song.

Round 5 winner: Ke$ha. I liked both songs, but Ke$ha's voice reminded me a bit of Rhianna's, and I liked the dancey-ness. Vast's song was good. Kind of dark, but good. I could see this winner changing with my mood.

Round 6 winner: Ingrid Michaelson. I liked the female voice, she reminded me a bit of Yael Naim. The song was fun, reminiscent of some of the tracks from the Juno soundtrack. The Hold Steady song in this round also reminded me of Counting Crows, and this time, it was too much.

Round 7 winner: The Tallest Man on Earth. This was really a win by default. I could not stand the scratchy/fake-folksy sound of the How to Dress Well song. That one is probably getting deleted from my iPod entirely (something I rarely do).

Round 8 winner: On my way home from work last night, it was the No Kids song. When I listened again this morning, it was Royksopp. I think this one is one that changes with my mood. I liked them both.

/tk

[Ksyrup]

Round 5 winner: Ke$ha. I liked both songs, but Ke$ha's voice reminded me a bit of Rhianna's, and I liked the dancey-ness. Vast's song was good. Kind of dark, but good. I could see this winner changing with my mood.


VAST (Jon Crosby, he IS the band) is definitely a mood/atmosphere band. I just love Crosby's dark lyrics and the music fits well with it - lots of chanting and guitars, but also a Depeche Mode/Cure/U2 feel to some of it (which I typically don't like, but it works with his style). Vocally, he's like a drunk Jim Morrison at times. Just brilliant stuff, though - I really connect to it.

His latest stuff has been an exploration of Americana folk, and he released 6-8 internet EPs of a bunch of songs at various points of production (some just live acoustic guitar and vocal only; others more produced and with strings, etc.). He finally released a proper album of a dozen of the songs called Me and You.

If you are interested, here is probably his most famous song (his first single from way back in the late 90s which has been used in a couple of movies and TV shows) and one of my favorites from his folk stuff:


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http://<OBJECT width=480 height=385>


<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y3vrkOqo8A8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></OBJECT> (http://<object width=)</P>

[terpkristin]

Nice, thanks, Ksyrup!

/tk