Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post Reply
Brad
Higher Ground
Posts: 4718
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:38 pm

Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Brad »

Finally, the time is here... I've been chomping at the proverbial bit to get this started.

It's time to start the fourth annual Moderately Acclaimed Album competition, whereby we, the music-loving populous of the Acclaimed Music Forums, get to pick the music we feel deserves even more acclaim than it currently receives, while sharing our diamonds with other forum contributers.

Here, again, is the entire bracket:
http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=439202

Here's the first blast of the Round One nominees:

Round 1.1

Vote for your favorite album in each match-up.
Remember, anyone can vote as long as he or she has heard both albums!
Comments are strongly encouraged but not absolutely necessary.
Deadline = March 11th at 10am EST

1. The Cure - The Head On The Door vs. Sigur Rós - ( )
2. Low - Things We Lost In The Fire vs. Mogwai - Young Team
3. Smog - Knock Knock vs. Amon Tobin - Supermodified
4. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth vs. Ondatropica - Ondatropica

Let's Get This Party Started!
Jirin
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3350
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:12 am

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Jirin »

I've been excited for this all weekend. So far I'm up to week 7 in listening and the only one I haven't been able to find in some form is Mezcal Head.

Ondatropica - Ondatropica 86/100
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Black Earth 84/100
Smog - Knock Knock 81/100
Sigur Ros - () 77/100
Amon Tobin - Spermodified 76/100
Low - Things We Lost In The Fire 69/100
The Cure - Head On The Door 67/100
Mogwai - Yong Team 66/100

A good group of albums, nothing spectacular and nothing I particularly dislike.

My two favorite of the week are up against each other, that's pretty unfortunate. Ondatropica is a constant grower.

I'm surprised to be voting for Smog because all of the other Smog/Bill Callahan stuff I've heard I don't like because of the talk-singing, but in Knock Knock he makes it work.
User avatar
Stephan
Site Admin
Posts: 913
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 10:34 am
Contact:

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Stephan »

Week 1: Great discovery in Smog for me; it's now probably my favorite thing by Callahan. Pretty easy choices this week, and we start off with a WWWWLLLL week; a promising start!
1. Sigur Rós - ( )
2. Smog - Knock Knock
3. Low - Things We Lost In The Fire
4. Ondatrópica - Ondatrópica
5. The Cure - The Head On The Door
6. Amon Tobin - Supermodified
7. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth
8. Mogwai - Mogwai Young Team
Greg
Unquestionable Presence
Posts: 537
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 1:53 am
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Greg »

1. The Cure - The Head On The Door
2. Low - Things We Lost In The Fire
3. Smog - Knock Knock
4. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth
User avatar
nicolas
Moderator
Posts: 1545
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:55 pm
Location: Paris area, France

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by nicolas »

Sorry I am new to this game and there is something I don't understand

Where can I find a schedule of the upcoming weeks so that I can listen to the albums in advance?

Thanks!
User avatar
Stephan
Site Admin
Posts: 913
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 10:34 am
Contact:

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Stephan »

http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=439202 has an overview of all the brackets. This week we're doing bracket 1, 17, 33, and 49, next week 2, 18, 34, and 50, etc.
Billy
The Only Way Is Up
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2013 6:44 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Billy »

1. The Cure - The Head On The Door --- The Cure album edges out Sigur Ros as I find it to be a tad more enjoyable while not being as sonically grandiose. Honestly...it's a toss up here... but I'll go with The Cure.
2. Mogwai - Young Team --- I just find Low to be boring. Musically its okay, but its just really boring to me. Mogwai early efforts don't really strike me as their best, but its a good representation of what they do. Mogwai wins because I just don't like Low.
3. Smog - Knock Knock --- Bill Callahan is great, and this is one of his better albums too. Honestly I like every track. A healthy victory for Bill.
4. Ondatropica - Ondatropica --- Ondatropica is fun, and wholly ambitious at the same time. Plenty of variation. Again a very good recent album... another healthy victory for Ondatropica. It seems Ondatropica seems to win a lot on these boards. :)
Nassim
Full of Fire
Posts: 2793
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:35 pm
Location: Lille (France)

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Nassim »

1. Sigur Rós - ( )
I didn't enjoy this Cure album much out of the singles. () isn't Agaetis Byrjun, but it's still a great album

2. Mogwai - Young Team
Things We Lost in the Fire is at the bottom of my top 100 albums of all time, so I'll be happy to vote for this wonderful piece of restrained music next round (and as economical at it is, it's still much denser than their previous albums). But Young Team is at the end of my top 50 albums of all time, so I have to give it the edge.

3. Smog - Knock Knock
My only issue with Smog is that I can not really recall which album is which between this one, Red Apple Falls and Dongs of Sevotion. After checking, this is my favorite of them (though I like them all pretty much the same), partly thanks to the wonderful "Teenage Spaceship". There are some really great tracks on Supermodified (especially the opener) but there were some part I didn't enjoy much too.
DaveC
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3482
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 12:04 am

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by DaveC »

1. Sigur Rós - ( )
Only have positive things to say about the Cure album, but I love (). Hard to believe it is only moderately acclaimed.

2. Low - Things We Lost In The Fire
Another album I love overcomes a good album. I also consider C’mon underrated.

3. Smog - Knock Knock
This is where it gets interesting. Two albums I haven’t heard before. Supermodified starts with two excellent tracks, but there are some tracks I just don’t want to hear again. Never really warmed to Bill Callaghan, but Knock Knock deserves to go forward.

4. Ondatropica - Ondatropica
This was difficult. My 3rd & 4th favourites of the week in a tight tussle.
Brad
Higher Ground
Posts: 4718
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:38 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Brad »

My picks:

1. The Cure - The Head On The Door over Sigur Rós - ( )
Very close. This was the Cure album that broke through for me personally. I saw them twice on this tour (opened with "The Baby Screams"). "Push" is my favorite track here by far.
2. Mogwai - Young Team over Low - Things We Lost In The Fire
Didn't expect this - I thought I'd heard the best of Mogwai until I got a hold of this one. Wow. I love the Low album as well, but Mogwai is mammoth.
3. Amon Tobin - Supermodified over Smog - Knock Knock
I hear an album like Supermodified and realize I don't give electronic music as much attention as I should - some great stuff here that simply interests me more than the Smog offering.
4. Ondatropica - Ondatropica over Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth
Perhaps Black Earth is too subtle for my limited exposure to it. Ondatropica is fun!

Thanks!
User avatar
Honorio
Higher Ground
Posts: 4480
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:38 am
Location: L'Eliana, Valencia, Spain

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Honorio »

No comments on first round (sorry). Well, only one: listening to "Ondatrópica" after soooo many extra-slow and gloomy albums was one of the most refreshing music experiences of my whole life.

1. The Cure - The Head on the Door vs. Sigur Rós - ( )
2. Low - Things We Lost in the Fire vs. Mogwai - Young Team
3. Smog - Knock Knock vs. Amon Tobin - Supermodified
4. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth vs. Ondatrópica - Ondatrópica
jamieW
Keep On Movin'
Posts: 1938
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 9:19 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by jamieW »

My winners:

The Cure—The Head on the Door
My personal favourite group with the first album I ever bought by them. “A Night Like This” (one of my all-time top 20 songs) and “Sinking” are childhood highlights. Too bad, because Sigur Ros is my second favourite album of the week, and would’ve won any other matchup.

Mogwai—Young Team
“Embrace” alone is so great that it’s almost worth voting for Low; but I’ve always loved the morose atmosphere of Mogwai.

Amon Tobin—Supermodified
Smog is very hit-and-miss for me (although the “hits,” “River Guard” and “Sweet Treat,” are particularly great). Typically, electronic music is the very definition of hit-and-miss to my ears, but somehow I found Tobin to be more consistent.

Ondatropica—Ondatropica
I’d never heard “Black Earth,” and really liked the gloomy, menacing atmosphere it created throughout. In this matchup, though, the high points of Ondatropica (“Tiene Sabor, Tiene Sazon,” “Linda Manana,” and “Dos Lucecitas”) top the consistency (if there’s one thing that can be said about “Black Earth,” it’s consistent) of Bohren & der Club of Gore.
User avatar
Romain
Happy Up Here
Posts: 5431
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:25 pm
Location: Lyon, France

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Romain »

1. The Cure - The Head On The Door vs. Sigur Rós - ( ) My two favorites albums of the week, too bad they are together.
2. Low - Things We Lost In The Fire vs. Mogwai - Young Team I love a lot Mogwai. This one in particular.
4. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earthvs. Ondatropica - Ondatropica One the best discovering of the last year.
Brad
Higher Ground
Posts: 4718
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:38 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Brad »

About 18 hours or so left to vote
Henry
Into the Groove
Posts: 2349
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:39 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Henry »

1. The Cure - The Head On The Door is my preference compared to Sigur Rós - ( ) Both albums deserve to move on to the next round. My slight preference for The Head On the Door could be temporary as a I suspect that the Untitled album is a grower.
User avatar
Henrik
Site Admin
Posts: 6439
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 10:09 am
Location: Älvsjö, Stockholm, Sweden
Contact:

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Henrik »

1. The Cure - The Head On The Door vs. Sigur Rós - ( )
2. Low - Things We Lost In The Fire vs. Mogwai - Young Team
4. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth vs. Ondatropica - Ondatropica

Yeah, I'm a gloomy fucker.
Everyone you meet fights a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.
User avatar
HRS
Let's Get It On
Posts: 252
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:59 am
Location: Brazil

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by HRS »

2. Low - Things We Lost In The Fire vs. Mogwai - Young Team
3. Smog - Knock Knock vs. Amon Tobin - Supermodified
4. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth vs. Ondatropica - Ondatropica

Wish I could comment, but I'm in class typing from my phone. :)
Brad
Higher Ground
Posts: 4718
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:38 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by Brad »

Results:
1. The Cure - The Head On The Door over Sigur Rós - ( ) 7-5
2. Low - Things We Lost In The Fire over Mogwai - Young Team 7-5
3. Smog - Knock Knock over Amon Tobin - Supermodified 8-2
4. Ondatropica - Ondatropica over Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth 8-3

Look for Round 1.2 real soon!
User avatar
nicolas
Moderator
Posts: 1545
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:55 pm
Location: Paris area, France

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.1

Post by nicolas »

I forgot to vote in time but it wouldn't have changed the results anyway

1. The Cure - The Head On The Door : I'm not sure I've heard the Sigur Ros album but I think I heard a few tracks and found them a little boring

2. Pass. I didn't like the Mogwai album (except fot the first and last tracks) and I didn't listen to the Low album

3. I didn't listen to the Smog album but I really love Supermodified. As a French critic wrote, if DJ Shadow is the Mozart of electro, Tobin is the JS Bach of the genre.

4. Ondatropica. No real suspense. I listened to Black Earth, and I really loved that album. Very original and most of all, beautiful!! But Ondatropica is my favorite album of 2012 and of this week.

Yes, I am a groovy MF :D

1. Ondatropica - Ondatropica 5
2. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth 4
3. Amon Tobin - Supermodified 4
4. The Cure - The Head On The Door 4
5. Sigur Ros () 3
6. Mogwai - Mogwai Young Team 2.5
Post Reply

Return to “Music, Music, Music...”