I thought that this was a tremendous opening round. Having such a wide category to start with allowed players to choose different genres, time periods, nationalities, etc. for their songs, which is something that you want to see early on in the game. I enjoyed listening to every song, but there was a group of 6-7 songs that I personally felt were very strong. A few of those songs in that upper tier could be switched, but I feel confident in my choices.
Rankings (I'll work on a full commentary off and on this afternoon as I have free time)
1. Benjamin Clementine - Cornerstone
This performance just blew me away. The raw but powerful vocals, flinty and full of emotion, match the piano's flourish magnificently. It's just passionate and hammers home his emotion through the confident repetition which doesn't drag but serves to draw you in. I especially like the moments when his accent comes out strongly and there's a sense of just pure singing, as if he's unconcerned with his notes and how clean his delivery is. This is the sort of powerful, risky song that you want to see early in this game, where there isn't much to lose but ample opportunities to impress. The last moments with his breathing and piano playing are just spellbinding.
2. Anderson .Paak - Heart Don't Stand a Chance
Would love to chart how many changes, beat shifts, and sundry other complexities were used in this song. Love funk, becoming more and more appreciative of hip-hop, and there's just so much going on in the song. Enjoy the raspy vocals, love the guitar and bass having a throwback sound, and could listen to that beat and chorus all day. That chorus is so smooth and the rapping is fast and fluid. I can't anticipate where the song's going at times but it's so well put together that I can just enjoy the experience. The sound effects at 4:00 in or so are just so funky and the ending drag is just perfect. Love the strange ass sound byte at the end.
3. Tame Impala - Sundown Syndrome
I adore Tame Impala, so this was a welcome sight for this Round. Retro is a word that can be thrown around here, but I think it transcends that label, as it doesn't truly sound like something from the past. It sounds informed by older music, but the chord changes and the drums sound more sophisticated than what one may have expected in the past. I think the vocals are fantastic and the hammering bass is very pleasing. The song truly enters an almost progressive rock feel during the slower jam parts of the songs. Just a trip of a song, but I think it doesn't take the risks that the two songs above do. I would never call this song safe, but it seems representative of a good portion of the neo-psychodelic songs that have been in vogue in the last decade or so. The top six or so songs here are so good, that one has to consider how safe a song is and it just is a shade under the above songs, imo. It is an epic song, however, and I absolutely love seeing it used here.
4. Modest Mouse - The Ground Walks, With a Time Box
One of the descendants of post-punk, Modest Mouse takes a litany of influences and combines them into a heady jam that transcends any sense of imitation. The idiosyncratic vocals, the persistent beat, the simple but effective guitar work: this song just gets it. There's also a vast sound here, one that can support different little bells and whistles that add a depth to the song. There are sections of sound that groove their way into a sense of calm, of completion, and the ending drifts away in a pleasing way. This is a song that may take a bit of time to adjust to, to appreciate all that's going on, but it's very rewarding.
5. Dengue Fever - Tiger Phone Card
Wonderful throwback sound and one of several duets to show up in the Round. The bass is quite thrilling in the song, but I'm not as impressed with the rest of the instrumentation. The Cambodian influence is something that I mark out to see this early. I had an idea who picked the song based on that. I think the song sort of ends and doesn't have a satisfying crescendo, which would have added even more to the song. The female singer, Chhom Nimol, has a lovely voice and I felt that she was the standout element of the song. I've heard her singing in Cambodian, as youtube skipped ahead to another song, and that's even thrilling. I absolutely loved this pick, so don't let a fifth place ranking dissuade you. I greatly enjoyed the verve, the funk, of this pick and it was both welcoming and exotic at the same time. Also, it was about my stolen Phone Card. Bitches better give it back.
6. Animal Collective - Brother Sport
This song has a big sound. There are many layers going here and the different vocal effects, the layering of music sounds and the repeating of motifs help create a soundscape. The song picks up at around the 1:30 point and you either find the sound grating or whimsical. I find it fun and upbeat, with the use of repetition and, especially, the drum beats to be inviting. I think it might be a bit too clever for it's own good at times, though, especially when the vocals return later in the song. I like this genre of music and I marked out for Animal Collective's use in the past, but I think there's a level of pretension that I don't particularly like. It is a work-out of a song, though, and would score a bit higher with me in a round with lesser songs (and I had this even higher, but changed ranking after additional listens). Probably just me, but I wanted a bit of a more escalation in terms of vocals before the instrumental finish.
7. Mastodon - Seabeast
Happy to see the musical diversity continue with this selection. Metal can be a contentious genre of music and people seem to have a tolerance for what they will find musically palatable and what they find overbearing. I feel this song has an undeniable melody to it that keeps it enjoyable for the listener. I have a difficulty understanding the vocals at times, but I'm a fan of shoegaze, where that was a hallmark of the genre. The last minute or so doesn't necessarily live up to the promise of the first section of the song, as it's more straightforward. I like the chord changes and the interaction between the two vocalists in the beginning, so I wish the song built on that later. Still, I'm a fan of Mastodon and this is one of their better songs, imo. The melody makes it more compelling song than lesser band would achieve and I welcome hearing more music in this vein in the competition. I also like the concept of sea monsters
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8. Bone Symphony - One Foot In Front of The Other
I find it delightful to see a new wave song in this Round, as it is one of my favorite musical genres/time periods and not one that we see all too often in FAN Idol. I love the beat and how poppy everything is, but I think the vocals are a bit anemic. There's less of a presence there, in terms of vocals, then you would see in, say, Duran Duran. I like the strange "bleeps and bloops" solo at around the 1:45 point and wonder what would the song be like if more effects like that were employed. It's very much of its time period and seems very specialized; like, this could be a minor hit but, considering what else was going on at the time, it seems lacking. I do like that it was included and I think it was fairly strong for the Round, helping the Round end up being very strong, but I think it was more specialized than what the Round demanded.
9. Alex and Sierra - Scarecrow
Songwriting was beautiful and I loved the lyrics. The duo compliment each other well with their voices, but I felt the chorus was a bit too much. I would love to hear a less overproduced take on this, like an acoustic version or a stripped down one. I think that I could rank this a bit higher, but the competition was very strong, and I felt there was more to a few of the songs I ranked higher. I still think this was a great start to the game and my fellow judges loved it. It was very effective for the type of song that it is and maybe I should rank it higher due to that criterion. Maybe it's just me and I'm looking into things too much, but this would have been excellent with less production.
10. Gotye - Eyes Wide Open
I find the beat to have a rather epic quality to it and it complements the vocals well. The vocals are decent to me and I found the lyrics about walking the plank to be evocative and helps give weight to the song. The song doesn't build to a solo or vocal high point and I wished that did. The drumming and some of the later vocals are very enjoyable, and I guess that could be considered the climax of the song, but I just wanted more. Really got into the song and the beat and vocals married well, but I needed more.
11. Iggy and The Stooges - Open Up and Bleed
Ranking the Stooges this low is a bit blasphemous for me, as they are in my top ten, maybe top five bands of all time. I would rank a song from Fun House or Search and Destroy pretty high almost automatically and I felt I would do the same here, but I just don't think the song succeeds as well as songs like "Search and Destroy" and "Down in the Street". It runs a bit long for what they are doing and I don't think it's heavy enough. Iggy's sludgy vocals are a bit exposed in this song, as he slurs his way through it at times. When the Stooges work for me, they're as rewarding as they are raw, but I think they don't really know where to go in this song. Sometimes when you play as raw as this, it can be too unfocused and too reminiscent of a band's stronger material. That's what I think is going on here.
12. Frozen - Love is an Open Door
Another pleasant duet, which I figure makes sense given the theme (the metaphorical opening of doors and such). This is a very pretty song, with delightful vocals, and for what it strives to achieve, it works very well. There is another dimension to the song, as it belies the plot twist, and if you take it like that, then there are elements to the song that give it greater depth. It's a lot of fun to listen to, but many of the other Round songs just have some much going with them. This is very well performed, but I think it would've crushed in a more specialized Round. I shouldn't use that to guide my judgement, but I think it falls a bit in the face of other songs. Would love to see this live, though (gf and I are going to Disney on Ice in October and this will probably be played
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13. Skrillex ft. Penny - All I Ask Of You
I have this feeling that, at least in terms of the beats, the song is trying to sound like DeadMau5, which is ironic considered the two's relationship. I think the problem with being an originator of a style like dubstep is that you fall into the trap of adhering to its stylistic conventions instead of pushing them. The song structure is a bit predictable and while fairly pleasant, it doesn't grab my attention and falls a bit into background music territory. There's a lack of a real build to the song. I know that there's complexity here, sure, but I don't know where it's going. The female vocals are fairly paint by the numbers; they aren't bad at all, but they aren't exciting and the sound manipulation takes away a bit from them. That said, electronic music something I want to see being used and I can't fault the player here for taking a risk.
14. Madonna - The Power of Goodbye
I thought this was an adventurous record for Madonna overall, but I think Frozen was a better song. Madonna is incredibly charismatic as a performer but I don't think her strengths lie in a ballad like this. The timbre of her voice isn't particularly strong and it can be drowned out a bit by the electronic music. I don't think this sound has aged very well; Madonna's Bedtime Stories is earlier and feels more contemporary. I enjoy electronic music, but there's too much going on here at times and it clashes with the soothing quality of her voice. I do like to see songs like this show up, because it is not an obvious choice, and we need to see different types of music represented when possible, so please don't let my ranking reflect how I feel about seeing this song pop up and keep playing in this manner.
15. Was (Not Was) - Walk The Dinosaur
I dig the beat and the lyrics, but it's a bit too much of a novelty song for me. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but there's just too much in the way of competition in the round. I enjoy the vocals, but it doesn't leave much of an impression on me. Maybe because I've heard it too often or that you don't really appreciate the joke, it won't linger much on your mind, but it's a bit of a "eh" pick for me, especially when so many other songs could be chosen. I did find the "I killed the dinosaur" part to be a bit of perverse coolness, so I enjoyed that. I think that this really wasn't the Round for the song.
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