Chart Championship Week 5 RESULTS

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Here's lisa_go_blind's verdict. Before that, though, a reminder to get your tracks in for this week - I've been very busy so I don't know who has or who hasn't, it feels like we're about halfway there.

Updates on this in a couple of hours. Without further ado:

"Thanks everyone for choosing so well! I'm relieved that I didn't have to slog through any 8-minute droning instrumentals and that I only knew one track already ("Break-A-Way"). Even the bottom-ranked ones weren't horrible. My top 3 and bottom 2 were the easiest to determine, but a lot of the middle ones could have gone either way. It was interesting to see what players picked up in my intro – lots of organ, for example, but no samples as far as I could tell, and not much to dance to. Still, I really appreciated listening to the mix and finding lots of interesting new stuff.

01. Ananda Shankar - "Streets Of Calcutta". This is a really cool, Indian-influenced instrumental. I especially love the drums at the opening. Instrumentals aren't usually my thing, but this one is so dynamic and has so many interesting components that I don't miss lyrics or vocals at all. A solid win. 4th place - WIN: infov0re starting to find some form.

02. Hugo Montenegro - "Moog Power". A '60s garage-soul instrumental that sounds kind of like a lost TV theme. It's not a bad track at all, but coming right after the other instrumental, it's a bit of a letdown. I particularly like the horns and the drum solo at the end. I could see myself playing this track for fun, but unfortunately the highest I can rank it is 7th place. - LOSE: narrow defeat for unlucky epicharmus

03. Etienne Daho - "La Premier Jour" The first of the two French songs on the mix. This one is sung by a man, and sounds rather recent. It's a pleasant enough song to listen to, but I can't seem to remember it at all when it's not playing. As a result, I don't really have much to say about it. 9th place - LOSE: drab performance by blue_russian's boys.

04. AFI - "Miss Murder (Broken Spindles Mix)". Based on the opening, I thought this would be my first place – then the vocals came in. First, I was just irritated at their over-processed and fractured nature, but around the third or fourth listen I realized, oh no, it's emo. If it weren't for the "Tainted Love"-derived opening and the "hey!" backing vocals, this song would be unlistenable. 10th place - LOSE: another misfiring display by under-pressure piratemoggy.

05. The Aphrodisiacs - "The Hour Is Late But Please Consider": This sounds like a British (?) Postal Service. I actually think the chorus is kind of pretty, but I'm a little tired of sensitive male vocals over an IDM backdrop. I prefer my electronica to be either experimental or dancey. Given another set of songs, this might have scraped a win, but as it stands I'll give it 8th place. - LOSE: unlucky loss heaps pressure on byebyepride.

06. The Charlatans - "Weirdo": Well, this song grew on me. The first couple of times, it sounded like an Inspiral Carpets/Happy Mondays pastiche but without being as good as either. There's much to be said for its catchiness, though, as I found myself mentally replaying it over and over. The song feels like it's missing a big chorus or something, but I do dig the organ solo at the end. 3rd place - WIN: persistent play pays off for lockedintheatti.

07. Irma Thomas - "Break-A-Way": This is "Break-A-Way" by fellow Louisiana gal Irma Thomas. Interestingly, this song features on the same Rhino boxed set as the Dawn track I submitted a few weeks ago. While this isn't my favorite Irma song (that would probably be "Ruler of My Heart"), it is one of her most fun. I love the versions by Jackie DeShannon and Tracey Ullman as well. 2nd place - DRAW - a precious point for martinskidmore but the performance deserved all 3.

08. Sing-Sing - "Feels Like Summer": This track reminded me of a cross between Mazzy Star and The Cardigans. It's a '60s throwback, but manages to sound more modern than musty. The female vocals here are gorgeous, and I love the guitar and xylophone as well. The bridge is a little weak, but the song still sounds like the most "complete" of the mix. – 1st place - WIN: skillextric reclaims top spot after thumping win.

09. Patrick Wolf - "Get Lost": Instant demerit for starting off sounding exactly like my alarm clock. I'll freely admit that I love indie, but this sounds like an amalgamation of the worst indie excesses of the past few years, while at the same time trying to be pop. Even then, it's not a truly bad track, and I might like another song by the same artist. As it is, though, this one just doesn't appeal to me. 11th place - LOSE - shock heavy defeat for poptasticuk from title rival.

10. Khun Paw Yann - "Title Unknown 1": This was the track that grabbed me the most on my first listen. It's an interesting look at how American psychedelic rock translated to other cultures. I don't know what language this is in, but it reminds me of Brazilian Tropicália. I'm curious as to what the lyrics are about, because the music sounds so dark and desolate. A beautiful, haunting song. 5th place - WIN - confident win sees koganbot climb table.

11. Brigitte Bardot - "Oh! Qu'il est vilain" Yé-yé with bongos, an out-of-tune recorder and weird sound effects. The singer sounds very familiar, but I can't place her. I don't have much else to say about the song, except that it's a lot of fun. 6th place - WIN - jeff_worrell sneaks fortunate win.

Comments

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Whew, scraped a win - but only thanks to Sally already knowing the Irma Thomas one.

I'm pleased Ananda Shankar got a win. Best thing here by a gazillion miles. I take Sally's point that after that masterpiece, "Moog Power" can sound a little underwhelming. I still think it's ace though. I was playing the whole Moog Power LP again this morning! I'm dying to know who picked these two tracks. I'm guessing blue_russian chose the Montenegro...

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

So it was a bit of an arbitrary choice by me, but it's a track I love, and it's got that dancey/noisey/grungey/sounds-like-a-sample vibe but is actually just a straight up old record. The texture of it, all the contrasting culture caught up in the instruments, is just so rich. Feels very dusty, too. And yet... it's just so _danceable_.

Anyhow, glad it went down so well, and glad you approved.