Best Decade Tournament 2010->: Finals 9/18-9/20

[LetMeSleep]

I'm around.

I'm going to crash soon so I'll send DeLima's through to you. He may be about but at least you can post them if needed.

[ABNorman]

Cool. Coolcoolcool.

[LetMeSleep]

I just tried to edit it with some pleasantries but you read it first.

Hello. Thanks. Cheers. Etc.

[ABNorman]

I don't do pleasantries anyway. I guess I'd be conflicted if I ever got somebody's picks and they clashed with mine. Hasn't happened yet, though.

[Brett]

Lotsa catching up to do, now.

Koopee's pick is a guy doing a Sabbath tune in a soul style. Intriguing, and a quick google tells me that's pretty much his shtick. I may have to look into this more at some point, because this sort of weird covers thing amuses me.

St. Vincent. Again. At least this is one of the better ones picked thus far. And it doesn't have that goofy choreography from the Letterman performance. I do like the fuzzy guitars and keyboard basslines, so there's that.

I already gave Heathen kudos for this excellent Matana Roberts pick. It was a song I was thinking of taking for this tourney. Very powerful music that draws from numerous stylistic reference points and is all held together by stellar performances and a compelling narrative.

"Harlem River Blues" is an upbeat country-gospel-rock number. I'm not usually big into stuff that mines this particular territory, but this is pretty good. There's a nice energy, and the organ and choir actually seem to add to the tune rather than distract from its core.

I've heard a few Spoon songs here and there, and they're alright. This one has a really awkward and clunky feel to it, like all the parts don't quite fit together and the song has a hard time moving because of it. Not a big fan of the false ending, either.

"Oh Maker" is nice. I like how some of the backing arrangements seem like they're suffering from tape warp and are slipping out of time. I also like the kind of old-timey melody fused together with the hip-hop beat. I've thought about checking Janelle Monáe out a couple times, but have never gotten around to it, and have had some turn-offs with some of the brief exposure I have had to some of the music. This is good, though.

[stip]

I don't know if I'll have time to listen to all this stuff until the weekend (and possibly not until voting) thanks to solo parenting. So I'm living vicariously through brett.

[Brett]

I don't know why, but the name Alabama Shakes bugs me. I'm not really sure what it's supposed to be evocative of. Can't say the song really did anything for me, either. She's got a nice set of pipes for screaming, but something about it's not sitting right with me, and the retro, revival, whatever music is pretty tired.

Kanye West, supposedly the greatest artist of the 21st Century, and he's making sure to remind us of that by mentioning it a few times. The arrangements are alright, but the King Crimson samples sound shitty and are pasted in really badly. I've said before that hip-hop's not really my thing, so I can't really evaluate this on its merits alone. I can say that I've heard better, and I've heard worse.

"Good Intentions Paving Co." is a good pick from Mike. I've got this album, but I don't give it as much attention as I should. Three discs is a lot, ya know? This is one of the highlights, though. Nice, bouncy melodies and intricate arrangements.

"Hell Broke Luce" starts off with a tribal beat that builds into a gritty little tune with Tom Waits's trademark growl. The lyrics are weirdly banal at points, which is almost amusing. There's also some pretty twisted stuff mentioned, which obviously fits the war theme well. I'm only passingly familiar with Waits, but I've heard other songs of his that I like more.

[Brett]

I don't know if I'll have time to listen to all this stuff until the weekend (and possibly not until voting) thanks to solo parenting. So I'm living vicariously through brett.

Go right ahead, though I wasn't planning on posting about my own picks. Maybe I will write up a little bit, though, just to give you some insight.

[ABNorman]

KP is skipped. I've got DeLima's pick, but I'll give him 15 minutes in case he's around.

I've also got Dsb's.

[ABNorman]

DFA 1979 - Government Trash

[Brett]

"Terror in the Canyons" has some lush arrangements that are superficially pretty, but offer no nutrition. Some hand percussion, slide guitar, brass, reverby vocals. Basically checks all the boxes for a sort of "Baroque" indie pop style. It's inconsequential, basically.

"Suburban War" is another Arcade Fire song from The Suburbs. I like "The Sprawl" better, but this one's alright. It's not one of the stronger songs from that album; in fact it's one of too many weaker mid-tempo songs that kept that record from reinvigorating the band for me. I do like some of the more wary, depressive features of the song's first half, though.

"Higgs Boson Blues" is a title that I rather like. I don't really know Nick Cave very well, and I'm not a big fan of the projected aesthetic that he puts out. This song's not bad, though. I like the slow, drifting feel of a hazy, broken-down lounge, along with the little mini-climaxes that don't quite explode.

I like the playful, really sparse arrangement of Stip's Fiona Apple pick. I was concerned a few times that it would morph into a regular pop-rock song, but it managed to maintain that atmosphere throughout its duration, which was really nice. What's up with her vocals in this one, though? It sounds like she's singing with something stuck in her mouth at times.

[ABNorman]

Jenny and Johnny - Big Wave

[William Bloke]

Okeydokes.

Pick #3 will be:

Low - Especially Me

[Heathen]

Okeydokes.

Pick #3 will be:

Low - Especially Me

[ABNorman]

Okeydokes.

Pick #3 will be:

Low - Especially Me

[William Bloke]

I seem to be doing well with the Heathen vote. Which is nice.

Track #4 is gonna be:

Beach House - Norway

Back in 2010 this song was stuck in my head for about 6 months...

[Mike]

I seem to be doing well with the Heathen vote. Which is nice.

Track #4 is gonna be:

Beach House - Norway

Back in 2010 this song was stuck in my head for about 6 months...

[Heathen]

All good things must come to en end. Here we are.

[Heathen]

I guess it's not that bad, I don't care for Beach House but that song is listenable.

[ABNorman]

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - I Learned the Hard Way