March Madness 2022 - Release Wins!

[wease]

120. Of the Girl vs. Nothing As It Seems (23-22)

Bunch of fucking idiots, right there.

The right call was made

[wease]

120. Of the Girl vs. Nothing As It Seems (23-22)

Bunch of fucking idiots, right there.

Look at All or None beating Black. RM goes big for long flat songs that go nowhere.

NAIS is the epitome of long flat songs that go nowhere

[stip]

Nothing As It Seems has that pretty powerful bridge into what feels like a much more substantial final chorus. It definitely has a peak and a resolution

[LetMeSleep]

The beauty of NAIS is that Ed in particular doesn't go for the soaring anthemic crescendo. Matt and Mike take no prisoners. Stone and Jeff anchor it.

It's an anti anthem if there is such a thing.

[stip]

sure. i never said a song had to be an anthem to have a resolution or emotional movement. NAIS transfers it to the music. Of the Girl just transfers it to the nothing

[epilogue]

120. Of the Girl vs. Nothing As It Seems (23-22)

Bunch of fucking idiots, right there.

Look at All or None beating Black. RM goes big for long flat songs that go nowhere.

[Kevin Davis]

120. Of the Girl vs. Nothing As It Seems (23-22)

Bunch of fucking idiots, right there.

Look at All or None beating Black. RM goes big for long flat songs that go nowhere.

I've learned that whenever someone describes a song as "going nowhere," I'm almost sure to like it. It's not a criticism that resonates with me, or whose meaning is even overtly clear to me: Is it that there aren't enough different parts to the song? Is it that the song is too slow? Too repetitive? A lot of my favorite music just kind of stakes out a satisfying space and lingers there, and I'm glad those pieces don't jerkily shift gears every 60 seconds.

"All or None" is currently up against "Release," a droning, lingering piece of music if ever there was one. Of all the songs in PJ's catalog, "Release" may be the one that feels most to me like it "goes nowhere"; it starts, exists and finishes in very much the same space, but it completely inhabits that space and owns it. It's a meditative experience, not a carnival ride, and it's one of the best things about the song.

[epilogue]

Gods bless Kevin Davis.

[stip]

120. Of the Girl vs. Nothing As It Seems (23-22)

Bunch of fucking idiots, right there.

Look at All or None beating Black. RM goes big for long flat songs that go nowhere.

I've learned that whenever someone describes a song as "going nowhere," I'm almost sure to like it. It's not a criticism that resonates with me, or whose meaning is even overtly clear to me: Is it that there aren't enough different parts to the song? Is it that the song is too slow? Too repetitive? A lot of my favorite music just kind of stakes out a satisfying space and lingers there, and I'm glad those pieces don't jerkily shift gears every 60 seconds.

"All or None" is currently up against "Release," a droning, lingering piece of music if ever there was one. Of all the songs in PJ's catalog, "Release" may be the one that feels most to me like it "goes nowhere"; it starts, exists and finishes in very much the same space, but it completely inhabits that space and owns it. It's a meditative experience, not a carnival ride, and it's one of the best things about the song.

All or None has less of the quality I was referring to, though it shows up as a deficit compared to Black, which has it in spades. I generally do prefer music with more movement/dynamics rather than a droning piece, but a droning piece can still end up being very powerful (nothingman, Indifference, come to mind). Usually they do have at least one moment that really punctuates the song - that reaches a conclusion, clarifies an intention, expresses a core emotion. It's not the song I go to first, but it is obviously very powerful when done right.

Of the Girl is, for me, an example of an interesting piece of music (I like the music) that not only goes nowhere in the sense I was describing above, it also (for me) has almost nothing at stake, and so I'm not even sure what I am supposed to be reflecting on or experiencing while I remain in it.

[Kevin Davis]

So are you referring to songs with not a lot of kinetic energy (i.e. "Indifference," "HTI"), and/or don't necessarily point to the kinds of breaking points or payoffs that you get in songs like "Black?" A song that you'd say "goes somewhere" is a song that tends more toward dynamic shifts, points in the song where the pressure levels are different, etc.?

I can hear some of that -- I'm not sure I'd describe it the same way, or at least not within a framework that suggests "going nowhere" is an inherent defect of a song, as opposed to just one of its objective qualities. Sometimes going nowhere is exactly what a song aims to do. Songs like "Release" and "Indifference" are relatively musically static, and they're great; a song like "Inside Job" jumps all over the place and is flawed by comparison. What happens inside the space a song defines, no matter how broad or narrow, is everything.

That said, I can't say I don't somewhat relate to what you say about "Of the Girl," about not being sure what you're supposed to be experiencing. But I think I enjoy that lack of clarity, as it's easier for me to project my own feelings and experiences onto the music, as opposed to feeling like I'm being told how to respond based on musical cues or lyrics, and then have that meaning and experience potentially change from listen to listen. Not to say that you couldn't also have this experience with a more emotionally explicit song, but definitely one of the reasons I feel like I've been drawn to longform instrumental music (which sometimes goes on and on with very little dynamic change) in my adult life is precisely that open-ended lack of clarity you describe. I find that not knowing what I'm supposed to be reflecting on, as you put it, freeing.

[epilogue]

But I think I enjoy that lack of clarity, as it's easier for me to project my own feelings and experiences onto the music, as opposed to feeling like I'm being told how to respond based on musical cues or lyrics, and then have that meaning and experience potentially change from listen to listen

There's some of this in In The Moonlight, too. Which is exactly why the song is so bewitching to me.

[stip]

So are you referring to songs with not a lot of kinetic energy (i.e. "Indifference," "HTI"), and/or don't necessarily point to the kinds of breaking points or payoffs that you get in songs like "Black?" A song that you'd say "goes somewhere" is a song that tends more toward dynamic shifts, points in the song where the pressure levels are different, etc.?

Sure, though some of this can be in the music, vocal performance, or even a thematic shift or conclusion. Sometimes it is subtle. Sometimes it is pretty overt.

I can hear some of that -- I'm not sure I'd describe it the same way, or at least not within a framework that suggests "going nowhere" is an inherent defect of a song, as opposed to just one of its objective qualities. Sometimes going nowhere is exactly what a song aims to do. Songs like "Release" and "Indifference" are relatively musically static, and they're great; a song like "Inside Job" jumps all over the place and is flawed by comparison. What happens inside the space a song defines, no matter how broad or narrow, is everything.

I agree, and wouldn't say this is an inherent defect either as much as a predisposition towards one type of song or another. Inside Job probably has a lower bar to clear for me than a song like NAIS, but NAIS is definitely the better song, and a great version of something that is not in my natural wheelhouse will beat out an average or sub par version of something that is.

That said, I can't say I don't somewhat relate to what you say about "Of the Girl," about not being sure what you're supposed to be experiencing. But I think I enjoy that lack of clarity, as it's easier for me to project my own feelings and experiences onto the music, as opposed to feeling like I'm being told how to respond based on musical cues or lyrics, and then have that meaning and experience potentially change from listen to listen. Not to say that you couldn't also have this experience with a more emotionally explicit song, but definitely one of the reasons I feel like I've been drawn to longform instrumental music (which sometimes goes on and on with very little dynamic change) in my adult life is precisely that open-ended lack of clarity you describe. I find that not knowing what I'm supposed to be reflecting on, as you put it, freeing.

Hence your vote

[Kevin Davis]

But I think I enjoy that lack of clarity, as it's easier for me to project my own feelings and experiences onto the music, as opposed to feeling like I'm being told how to respond based on musical cues or lyrics, and then have that meaning and experience potentially change from listen to listen

There's some of this in In The Moonlight, too. Which is exactly why the song is so bewitching to me.

Right?! I don't know whether those nightbirds are there to protect me or descend upon me in anger, but damn it I never want to stop hearing about them!

[epilogue]

But I think I enjoy that lack of clarity, as it's easier for me to project my own feelings and experiences onto the music, as opposed to feeling like I'm being told how to respond based on musical cues or lyrics, and then have that meaning and experience potentially change from listen to listen

There's some of this in In The Moonlight, too. Which is exactly why the song is so bewitching to me.

Right?! I don't know whether those nightbirds are there to protect me or descend upon me in anger, but damn it I never want to stop hearing about them!

All the time

[stip]

shutting the round down

[stip]

Quarterfinals

121. Release over All or None (31-21)
122. Brain of J over Alive (33-18)
123. Nothingman over Dance of the Clairvoyants (30-27)
124. Immortality over Off He Goes (31-19)

[stip]

Your Semi Finalists

Release
Nothingman
Immortality
Brain of J

[stip]

in the end, four worthy finalists.


Dance needs a tour if it's going to progress further

[thesound]

Suddenly it is nearly the end of March Madness! Thanks for running it.

[stip]

We still have the winners bracket (the prior 7 winners plus this one). So there's just about a week left. A lot of heavy hitters we haven't heard from yet