Match-ups:
1. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 vs. alt-J - An Awesome Wave
2. The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass vs. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
3. Sigur Rós - Kveikur vs. Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton: An American Musical
4. Thrice - Vheissu vs. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia
We also have a tie from last week!: Julia Holter - Ekstasis vs. Babatunde Olatunji - Drums of Passion
***Tie! 7-7 Next vote from someone who has not already voted in this match-up wins!**
Sharing horizons that are new to us.
Last edited by Brad on Fri May 25, 2018 4:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
StevieFan13 wrote:My nom had to go up against Sigur Ros on a music forum, didn't it?
Just have to ask, are you Joe on the prediction board? I noticed someone placing that album optimistically high. (I say this without having listened to the album yet.)
StevieFan13 wrote:My nom had to go up against Sigur Ros on a music forum, didn't it?
Just have to ask, are you Joe on the prediction board? I noticed someone placing that album optimistically high. (I say this without having listened to the album yet.)
That would be me, yes.
Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand - Sir Duke (1976)
2. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 (2000) vs. 7. alt-J - An Awesome Wave (2012)
1. The Jayhawks - Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995) vs. 5. The New Pornographers - Electric Version (2003)
4. Sigur Rós - Kveikur (2013) vs. 6. Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton: An American Musical (2015)
8. Thrice - Vheissu (2005) vs. 3. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia (2008)
Favourite song from every album:
Son of Sam | Tessellate | Bad Time | The Laws Have Changed | Ísjaki | Satisfied | Red Sky | Fôrdlandia
1. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 (8/10) vs. alt-J - An Awesome Wave (8/10)
mmm too tough to call without a re-listen.
2. The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass (8/10) vs. The New Pornographers - Electric Version (9/10)
Another really hard choice, but TNP edges it - the title track is such an awesome start to this great album...
3. Sigur Rós - Kveikur (7/10) vs. Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton: An American Musical (7/10)
Ok I will admit it, I am surprised by my own choice. I HATE musicals. But this one, oh boy. It got loads of things going wrong for it. First the subject - it really doesn't strike a chord at all, but then I'm not American. Second, its length. Cut it by half, and you have something short of a masterpiece.So for the sheer unexpectedness, my vote goest to Hamilton.
4. Thrice - Vheissu (8/10) vs. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia (8/10)
As much as I like Vheissu, Fordlandia is simply too beautiful. There is a risk it gets boring after multiple plays, but this is gorgeous
Last edited by spiritualized on Mon May 28, 2018 11:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
1. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 vs. alt-J - An Awesome Wave
2. The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass vs. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
4. Thrice - Vheissu vs. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia
My picks:
1. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 vs. alt-J - An Awesome Wave
2. The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass vs. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
3. Sigur Rós - Kveikur vs. Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton: An American Musical
4. Thrice - Vheissu vs. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia
1. Elliott Smith - Figure 8
2. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
3. Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton: An American Musical
4. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia
Kveikur is for sure Sigur Rós’ most underrated album but I’ve got to stump for Hamilton here, it’s just such a uniquely entertaining and clever listen, I’m so glad it was even included here!
8. The New Pornographers – Electric Version
A bit of a let-down. I only knew Letters from an Occupant by this group, but at least that was a promise. Plus Neko Case is in there. Sadly, this album has nothing to match that song and hardly uses Case. In fact, there is very little here that catches my attention. These are all fine songs, but even the best songs don’t seem to be keepers. A bit of an average indie album for the 2000’s.
7. Thrice – Vheissu
Last year we also had a Thrice album competing, Major / Minor, and that was a pleasant surprise. Fans seem to see Vheissu as the groups masterpiece and Major / Minor as a, well, minor work. So why don’t I like Vheissu half as much as Major / Minor? It is just a solid rock album to me, with some heavy hitters, but some of the old-fashioned earnestness of the later album is missing.
6. alt-J – An Awesome Wave
One of those albums I never before dared to try. I liked the songs I heard before, but Joe Newman has a rather affected, cutesy way of singing that always comes close to getting on my nerves. An album of Newman seemed a bit much. Somehow though, he managed to never cross the line of irritation. This album is a solid listen, with some good songs and a few original twists.
5. The Jayhawks – Tomorrow the Green Grass
Speaking of original twists, that’s something you’ll probably never find on a Jayhawks album. They are too much traditionalists for that. I already heard this album as well as Hollywood Town Hall before a couple of years ago when I was actively looking for Americana acts. At the time I found them uninteresting, because they did nothing to set themselves apart from harmonic folk acts like The Byrds or Crosby, Stills & Nash, while not having the tunes of either of them. I like them more now, precisely because the tunes have revealed themselves now anyway. Blue is the most famous and is indeed very good, but I’ll say Bad Time is the real stand-out: a song that could make The Beatles weep in envy.
4. Elliot Smith – Figure 8
Another famous artist I never actually heard a full album from. Don’t have much to say outside of the obvious: that this guy has a way with twisting your emotions in a subtle but also painful way, sometimes back into a happy state. The move to a more full band sound apparently remains dividing amongst fans, but as a relative newby to Smith I found it working very well. I still feel more listens than the current two are necessary to let it sink in.
3. The Original Broadway Cast – Hamilton: An American Musical
A type of album I never expected to come across here and expected to like even less. But like it I did. This is an audacious musical, wholly committed to telling a historical tale with politics intact. Of course, real history is made more entertaining, simple and may I say populist, but it still comes off as smart, sharp and may I say witty. The writing of the lyrics are the best part, although it is certainly an achievement to have so many memorable tunes. Hip-hop purists will probably despise every second of it, but I thought the mix of rap and showtunes was executed in a surprisingly natural style. That some of the typical musical grandstanding is unintentionally funny (especially the way Angelica and Eliza seem to dramatically sing their names each time they enter a scene is very silly) is something I happily take with the good.
2. Sigur Rós – Kveikur
The first of the two atmospheric albums from Iceland. I don’t know every record by Sigur Rós, but I was surprised how loud it started. Maybe it has precedents in their work, but to me it seemed that they wanted to announce a new, heavier Sigur Rós. That’s only partially true. There is some harder stuff here and as a whole it sounds darker than I am used to with these guys. Nonetheless, their gentle and evocative sound is still intact, sketching without understandable words lively and detailed landscapes that you might find in Iceland, but perhaps only in the soul.
1. Jóhann Jóhannsson – Fôrdlandia
And here is the other Icelandic entry and one of my own nominations. When Jóhannsson died earlier this year I already loved his film work as well as Orphée, but hadn’t really checked out his earlier stuff. I discovered Fôrdlandia just in time for nominations of this poll began and immediately new this should be in. Like Sigur Rós this is mostly an artist who works in gentle, beautiful sounds that somehow paint a picture that you can’t quite see. It grips me deeply, with the title track and The Rocket Builder (Io Pan) as especially stirring tracks.
My votes presented in a simple way:
1. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 vs. alt-J - An Awesome Wave
2. The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass vs. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
3. Sigur Rós - Kveikur vs. Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton: An American Musical
4. Thrice - Vheissu vs. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia
1. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 vs. alt-J - An Awesome Wave
2. The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass vs. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
3. Sigur Rós - Kveikur vs. Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton: An American Musical
4. Thrice - Vheissu vs. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia
Sweepstakes Ron wrote:Fine, Stevie, you've sold me...
1. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 vs. alt-J - An Awesome Wave
2. The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass vs. The New Pornographers - Electric Version
3. Sigur Rós - Kveikur vs. Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton: An American Musical
4. Thrice - Vheissu vs. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia
Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand - Sir Duke (1976)
16 voters this week:
antonius
Bang Jan
Brad
DaveC
FrankLotion
Honorio
jamieW
Jirin
Kingoftonga
Listyguy
PlasticRam
Rob
Romain
StevieFan13
Sweepstakes Ron
spiritualized
Winners:
1. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 over alt-J - An Awesome Wave 10-4
2. The New Pornographers - Electric Version over The Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass 7-6
3. Sigur Rós - Kveikur over Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton: An American Musical 9-5
4. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fôrdlandia over Thrice - Vheissu 13-0