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

[Mike]

you can skip me, i'll pick later. busy right now

[ABNorman]

I was pretty bummed when FJ took Bizness, but then I realised I'd forgotten this little ditty and all was right with the world.

tUnE-yArDs - Powa

[Brett]

Here's another Pitchfork-approved rapper that's supposed to be a musical savior or something. Kind of dark and low-key. Kendrick's delivery and flow isn't too bad. I don't really like the vocals in the chorus, though.

Fiona Apple returns to action thanks to DCT. There's more theatricality to this one than those picked so far. The brushed drums are a nice touch, and the song keeps trying to come unhinged when it enters into the choruses, but it doesn't quite get there.

Here's another artist I don't really know outside of a few guest spots here and there that I've run into her on. An upbeat piano-based song that's got an insistent rhythm and some buzzy keyboards that is for some reason about eleven minutes long. I get why people give me shit for picking long songs, because they don't have any like for the song to begin with, so the length is another obstacle. That's kinda the case here.

How to Destroy Angels; that's Trent Reznor and his wife, right? Makes sense, since it sounds like a slow NIN song with a female singer. It doesn't really seem to go anywhere interesting.

[BigRedLedbetter]

Pitchfork-approved rapper?

Love it!

[Brett]

Heathen's Marissa Nadler song is a dreamy folk-rock tune that's a bit haunted. I'm not really into it, truth be told. It feels rather one-dimensional to me.

"Wash." is one of my favorite songs from Bon Iver, Bon Iver, so I'm glad to see BRL give it a home here. One of the more ethereal tracks from that album, it basically marks the point right before the record climaxes. Like the rest of the album, there's superbly lush and intricate arrangements here.

One of the better songs on King Animal, I really like the Indian influences on "A Thousand Days Before." It's kind of spacey, while still managing to have a lot of energy.

"Bizness" is a pretty cool song that I remember liking from couple years ago, but never really exploring any further. Tribal and Afro-Caribbean pop influences abound. I really like the music video, too.

"You Hung the Moon": Now this is classy. Big band, pop orchestra type stuff that's got a singer who fits right in. Some nice, wordy lyricism, too. Really nice pick, Jorge.

"Powa" is a more reserved tUnE-yArDs song that uses it's longer running time to stretch out and unfold itself a little bit. I like the bass work in this one. Really takes the lead and forges the song's identity.

[Norah]

Okay, for Stip's benefit, here's a little bit about my pick: Varis made an offhand remark in his review of my mix that the Sandro Perri song I chose there could use about ten minutes or so of guitar noodling. You don't quite get that here, but this is from the same album and is the longest song from it. This is sort of a song about songs, but it's more than that, too.

Next up is Queens of the Stone Age's piano ballad? Okay, maybe not, it does pick up into a fuzzy little space-rock type thing as it progresses. And then we're on into some Pink Floyd territory. I think I like this one a little more than the one picked earlier in the thread.

"Hannah Hunt" is a bit of a yawnfest. Sleepy, barely there indie-pop. It probably makes more sense in the context of an album, but it's pretty weak here. Ah, here comes the climax, shouting vocals and all, with quick deflation.

Numbers's next pick is a little more lively and lush, but I'm not into this one either. Sorry, man. I like the term "landfill indie" for this stuff, since it seems to fit real well.

I was fully prepared to not like the Tame Impala song, because they seem like they would fit the theme of the last couple of picks, but it's alright. A little heavy-handed with the reverb, especially on the vocals, but I do like the washed out instrumental sections. They're really going all-in with the psych-rock tribute, complete with stereo panning and all.

Apologies to Stip for 25 minutes of Sufjan Stevens, but if you like, you can listen to it in portions, since it's got five well-delineated sections. You'll lose the full effect of it that way, of course, but it is an option. Anyway, obviously I like a bit of Sufjan, but nothing matches up to The Age of Adz and this is its culmination. There's just about everything else he's done present in this one song, so it's quite a trip.

I don't know why, but I'm getting a '90s vibe from this Mynabirds tune, which makes no sense. There's soul elements there, as well, with some organ and brass and whatnot. Not a bad song, but it doesn't pique my interest rally, either.

Will Oldham is one of those artists who I wish I had the ambition to get into, but his discography is just too god damn huge. Otherwise, I really enjoy the stuff I do know. This one's a slower, gentle number with some quiet acoustic guitar and tapping drums. Leading the way is Oldham's wonderful voice. Good pick, LMS.

I don't hear the 90s vibe from that mynabirds song. I think the strength of that album is the timelessness of the sound, the way it feels almost like one of those old standards that gets passed down from generation to generation.

You're making me very uncomfortable with all this stuff I agree with, stip.

[stip]

Rangi has 30 minutes.

[Rangi Guy]

Give me a tick....

[Rangi Guy]

Again - would have been happy with pretty much anything off this album


Ben Harper - Don't give up on me now

[Mike]

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang - The Sounds Are Always Begging

[numbers]

Soundgarden - A Thousand Days Before

Love this song.

[BigRedLedbetter]

Afraid of Everyone - The National

[ABNorman]

Four Tet - Angel Echoes

[LetMeSleep]

Hey that's a good pick.

[stip]

I know previous picks by this guy haven't exactly lit the world on fire, but this is probably my favorite song by Leonard Cohen. He wrote this when he was approaching 80, and it's just a gorgeous meditation on death, regret, and forgiveness.

Leonard Cohen - Come Healing



These are also some unbelievably beautiful lyrics.


O gather up the brokenness
And bring it to me now
The fragrance of those promises
You never dared to vow

The splinters that you carry
The cross you left behind
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

And let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb

Behold the gates of mercy
In arbitrary space
And none of us deserving
The cruelty or the grace

O solitude of longing
Where love has been confined
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

O see the darkness yielding
That tore the light apart
Come healing of the reason
Come healing of the heart

O troubled dust concealing
An undivided love
The heart beneath is teaching
To the broken heart above

O let the heavens falter
And let the earth proclaim:
Come healing of the Altar
Come healing of the Name

O longing of the branches
To lift the little bud
O longing of the arteries
To purify the blood

And let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb

O let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb

[stip]

And here's Brett

Carla Boxulich - Lazy Crossbones

http://soundcloud.com/constellation-rec ... es/s-jPO3q

[Heathen]

And here's Brett

Carla Boxulich - Lazy Crossbones

nice one

(and it's Bozulich)

[stip]

take that spelling up with Brett

[Heathen]

I did

[bada]

Where are we here?