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CF Music Swap

Mysterious Sue

Strata Poster
Got a bit carried a way there but I like this kind of thing. Reminds me of my old days doing music reviews for the uni radio.

@mouse I listened to the 7 minute version and you're right, it's much, much better. I really like the dark ride section towards the end, why on earth did they remove it for the radio edit? I take your word for Paak man playing a character. Sadly the world seems filled enough with people whoring the music scene as some kind of long advertisment, without someone pretending to do that too.

@gavin I'm afraid you're probably not going to like much of my music taste as it contains mainly variations around a 'wailing man' theme (in fairness, probaby comparable to your 'female songstress' theme ;p. Suede were heavily influenced by The Smiths (who were basically the inventors of indie with Rough Trade etc.). You only have to listen to songs like 'What Difference Does It Make?' to see what Brett based his style on. And I deliberately avoided Muse...
As for National Express urgh that song is the worst. It's to Divine Comedy what Country House is Blur or Shiny Happy People is to REM - the song that will always overshadow them yet somehow highlights none of their talent or general tone. If you don't like it, you don't like it though.

BTW, I loved Tightrope. That's such a great track. I love songs that get all funky with a brass section.

@caffeine_demon On Your Own is such an underrated Blur Song. It's so happy and fab. Go home Will ;p I love it's juxtaposition on the Best Of album next to Blur's other hugely underrated song 'This Is A Low', but I'll leave that one for Nic to wax lyrical about.
 
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Will

Strata Poster
What have we learned? Will likes slightly over the top theatrical rock :p
Like Sue, I deliberately avoided my two favourite bands so as not to be too obvious, and to keep the track lengths down, but I also made sure there was a bit of a cred theme.

You're right - A Day Away IS part of a rock opera, as Mercy Falls is a concept album. One critic once referred to them as 'Disney metal' which is a description I don't dislike.

Last Ride of the Day is also part of a story - Imaginaerum, which is set in a kind of fairground fantasy world - a film has been made using the album as the soundtrack, and this song accompanies a dramatic rollercoaster chase scene.

Forever is For You is part of Europa Park's Halloween soundtrack, but I actually think it's an amazing song on its own merits - I'd love to have seen the stage show it was part of.

I have a lot of love for Gabrielle Aplin and I've tried to persuade her that Start Again should be included as an album track, as it's one of her best in my opinion, but apparently it was written for the end credits of an episode of Skins and therefore Channel 4 (or whoever) own the rights and she, alas does not.
 

Mysterious Sue

Strata Poster
Like Sue, I deliberately avoided my two favourite bands so as not to be too obvious, and to keep the track lengths down, but I also made sure there was a bit of a cred theme.
Indeed. Although, part of me wishes I'd had the guts to go with the eight and a half minute epic Asphalt World from Suede's more experimental album, if only to picture Gavin's face XD.
 

caffeine_demon

Strata Poster
"Labrinth feat. Emile Sande – Beneath Your Beautiful
Before I even hit play on this one, I’m inwardly cursing whoever’s choice it was, but here goes…"

Glad you liked it!! :D
 

jayjay

Giga Poster
People seem to like this, so it's back open for another round. Either send me your five tracks by PM, or post in the topic to say you want a go.

ROUND 3 SIGNUPS
jayjay
Mysterious Sue
Gavin
Pink Cadillac
Thekingin64
caffeine_demon
GuyWithAStick
 
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Mysterious Sue

Strata Poster
Yay! I'm back in again, love this. Get ready for more pointless critique.

Was thinking, if people lose inspiration in future, we could do categories, like favorite love songs, cover versions, live songs, songs with creds/parks in them. That sort of thing.
 

jayjay

Giga Poster
How dare you.

Calling a close on entries now. I'll PM anybody who hasn't sent me their five songs yet, and get the given lists sent out.
 

jayjay

Giga Poster
Alreet, I got five out of seven sets of reviews back, so anybody who I'm still waiting for... gimme your words :).
 

jayjay

Giga Poster
And that's a wrap on round 3. Everybody's posted and everybody's sent their reviews back. Thanks for another good game of music swap.

Pink Cadillac on thekingin64


Turisas - Rasputin

What sort of unpredictable nonsense is this? The music video seemed to be set in a club which was a good sign but it unfortunately descended into a metal song (nothing against them, I just don't listen to metal). But it turned out to be a jolly metal song. Then an irish fiddle appears. Then the man in the club trying to act slick started sing-talking over the top. By this point I was certain this had to be a Scandinavian eurovision entry and all was confirmed when the Wildings found there way onto the main stage. It could have have been a lot worse? Yes. Do I hope I will never hear of this band again? Yes. As this is so unbelievably far from what I would listen to, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that only straight people can contemplate this genius work of art.

Jonsi - Where No One Goes
Still haven't seen the first film. I thought the production was pretty and also could fit well in a theme park! However, the vocal aspect of the song was absolutely useless. Vocally careless, lyrically dull and melodically banal. The singer lethargically plodding through the song makes lines such as "We slow for no one" and "Get out of our way" laughable. I get that it plays in the end credits to inspire the little children that they can be anything or whatever, but it really fails.

Bob Seger - Night Moves
What sort of dogging anthem. Pretty inoffensive. I'll go as far as saying it was alright ;) The piano was probably my favourite thing.

Elton John - Rocket Man
Not bad, just don't care for it. The new music video was really good though and made me enjoy the song even more. I'd say the best song of the bunch.

Meat Loaf - Paradise By The Dashboard Light
I've heard of Meat Loaf for a long time, but not heard anything by them and this sounded a lot more theatrical than I was expecting. My parents went to see a Meat Loaf musical recently and I certainty see how this would fit in a musical. Too bad I hate musicals. It's safe to say it crossed the line of being annoying. However, it was the least boring of all the songs. The shifts in the music kept my attention going for the full 9 minutes.

Sorry to this person :( I didn't want to be too rude, but at the same time, I didn't want to lie.


Gavin on Pink Cadillac

Blue Nile: Saturday Night

I kept hoping it would go somewhere, considering it’s about 3-hours long, but it never really did. Wasn’t a fan of this really. If you want a song about Saturday night, best sticking with Whigfield.

Grimes: Art Angels
I like Grimes, but had sort of forgotten about her and haven’t listened to anything since the Visions album. This track is far from the best thing she’s done, but I liked it and it’s a reminder that I need to check out the latest album, so result I guess.

Cassie: My House
I’m assuming that this was some MySpace singer that never got anywhere? Can’t say I’m surprised. Heard it a thousand times before.

Sonic Youth: Sister
I want to like Sonic Youth, but I could just never get into them at all. This song doesn’t change that.

Joanna Newson: Sapokanikan
I’ve only very recently started listening to her after having her name crop up quite a lot recently in those annoying “New Kate Bush!” ways. I haven’t listened to Divers yet, which I’m assuming this must be from? Anyway, yeah, I really like it. Totally the kooky-female sort of thing I’m often into.


jayjay on Gavin

Madonna - Like a Prayer

Classic! A big roomy late-80s pop song, though not my favourite Madonna by any means (that would be Vogue). Tight production that expands to a colourful explosion with the gospel choir backing up. There's passion in Madonna's singing, but I don't think I ever got behind her as a singer. I guess she was more important for kicking the whole "pop image" era off, as shown by the fabulous music video. Overall, yes! Like this one.

Paula Cole - Where Have All the Cowboys Gone
The whole package works here. Paula puts out a vulnerable performance. The snarled way she sings "beer" really hammers that last pre-chorus in. But there's a melancholy that goes through the whole song.

Grace Jones - Slave to the Rhythm (I like to think that Gavin likes Grace Jones because they both have similar names)
Thanks for the prompt to look for more Grace Jones. Somebody I've known about but been mostly blind to, but this is my favourite song here. Lots of colour in every corner, from her expressive and powerful vocals, to the production and music (liking the light jazz chords). Sounds like there's some social commentary in the lyrics too, which makes me want to make comparisons to Chained to the Rhythm (Grace wins easily, obvs). WTF is the music video though? 80s at its finest.

Klaus Nomi - Total Eclipse
Holy crap, this is amazing! Klaus is hamming it up, with his really earnest interpretive dance moves, makeup and operatic falsetto. I'm enjoying the very German consonant-spitting (and was that a Holocaust reference in there?). Can't decide if it's actually a decent song beyond the novelty. That bassline's banging and there's some great synth hooks in there, so I'll give it a pass. Apparently Klaus has never gone in for Eurovision which is a great shame.

Lady Sovereign - 9 to 5
She's like the flippant, humorous version of Kate Tempest. Got to be honest, I relate to the cheery laziness a little too much but not hugely bothered by this one. I'm not good with lyrics, so I tend to place more rap emphasis on flows and wordplay, which is not what she's going for here.


Mysterious Sue on jayjay

Temples - Certainty
I love this. It’s just the sort of thing that I listen to and I was hooked from the start on the repetitive, catchy keyboard. It’s that perfect indie blend of upbeat with a subtle sorrowfulness underneath. The singer kind of reminds me of Grizzly Bear (if you’ve heard of them) but all the keyboards (and haircuts) give it a fab 70s twang. The video was ok, kinda odd but funny in places (the fish/man thing – just wtf?!). I want an octopus skeleton thing of my very own. Yeah, this is queued up on my next playlist now. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. 8/10

Calling Chris straight off the bat. I think we share somewhat similar music tastes and it seems to fit his previous selections.

Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best
I like it - the chorus is quite catchy and I approve of the general anti-establishment theme of the song and video. Think I remember this from a few years ago but it didn’t stick in my head for some reason, probably because it doesn’t have much of a coherent tune. Although the rambling vocal style was refreshing at first, it started to grate a bit as the song went on and I’m not sure it’s something I’d re-listen to often because of that. After a bit of a Google, I found some other songs of hers that I liked a lot more, especially Avant Gardener (lol at the name), where she has more of a tuneful approach. Did you pick this for the theme park video? I was trying to work out where it was filmed throughout the whole thing and then at the end it just blatantly showed it was a place called Funfields. I checked – it has no creds L. Overall, not my favourite but I did quite like it. Great to hear an accent come across in song, that’s quite rare. And plus points for an interesting and amusing video. Sadly, I’m deducting points for sounding too much like Molly’s Chambers by the Kings of Leon. 7/10

A-Ha - Hunting High and Low
It’s 80s, so I’m still thinking Chris, lol. Hadn’t come across this particular A-Ha track before and it’s actually quite fab. Perhaps a little too 80s sounding now (even without looking at the hair, you can easily guess the decade) but it’s definitely a classic. I like the vocals and the fact that some orchestra gets involved at the crescendo – they don’t make them like that any more! Considering its age (and the lack of CGI), the video is also really good. Just one little niggle. I take it the guy/shark/bird/lion is hunting for the girl he loves? A-Ha! Nothing says true love like turning into a Great White and approaching her in the shallows? WTF! But seriously, I liked it (and approved very much of the anti-hunting message). Giving it a 7/10, mainly because I like the guy’s voice. But I’ve also subtracted one because I’ve never quite forgiven them for influencing Coldplay. If you don’t like my score, you can ‘take on me’…I’ll get my coat.

M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up The Volume
Such a blast from the past! I don’t know why but I remember my dad playing this lots when I was a kid. It was always on VH1 (god, I’m so old). And it’s a total, out-and-out classic. I was a bit too young to appreciate its importance at the time - apparently, it was the first, mainstream track to be made up mostly of samples - but maybe, because it is just a collection of samples, it still sounds fresh today. The video worries me. I’m always reminded when I see old footage of space missions, how bloody terrifying it must have been. I remember seeing some of the moon landing equipment once and it looked like it was made out of quality street wrappers. Anyway, where was I? The song’s a great nostalgia trip and totally timeless. Can I bring creds into this? Yes I can. Can’t help comparing it to an old woodie that’s historic but has been superseded by so many others now. But one that you still can’t help but love. 8/10

Kero Kero Bonito - Trampoline
Ahhh what even is this? I was so ready to hate on it but then I realised it’s obviously all a bit of a pisstake. And then the Asian girl gets involved haha. Yeah, it’s funny and the sort of thing that I’d probably play through the summer and then completely forget exists five minutes later. But that’s fine because it seems entirely the spirit with which it was meant. All the glitter. All the kawaii. All the…trampolines. Japan sure has a lot to answer for. But I don’t have a trampoline *cries* *runs back to hide in a world of dark emo colours and cleanse myself by gazing at shoes that aren’t pink and that remain firmly on the ground*. Err, yeah…5/10

And I’ve still got that Temple’s hook in my head. Damn you!


GuyWithAStick on Mysterious Sue

Aimee Mann - Little Bombs

I really liked this one! Pretty good vocals, nice instrumentals, and had a tone that I enjoyed. I can see myself listening to this one on the road or on a long train ride. 8/10

Muse - Soaked
Another enjoyable song! The beginning was slightly jarring considering the rest of the song has a much more somber feel. I still enjoyed it, though. I got a nice Bohemian Rhapsody vibe from it. 7/10

Elbow - Grounds for Divorce
Mystery Person, you have a really nice taste in music! This one has some very nice instrumentals as well as some good vocals. Although I must say that I hated the amount of times they used that boomerang effect in the video. It was just so distracting! 7/10

Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
Just the other day I was reading some stories online(reddit mostly) about some lifelong relationships(they're some really nice timekillers, and have some really nice storytelling), and this song really reminded me of those, especially ones that end in breaking up or some other tragedy. Those things are some of my favorite works of writing out there. Some great vocals by the guy, really liked the high notes he was able to pull off. I'd definitely listen to it on my main soundtrack. 8.5/10

Manic Street Preachers - The Masses Against the Classes
Not available in my country. :p I found another version though, so I'm going to review that:
Wasn't quite sure on the song at first, but after reading a bit up on it, I think they did a good job on their (sort-of thumb-up-the-ass) response to critics. Great tempo, very early 2000s rock. Not sure if I'd really listen again since it (seems like) it was more of a song made for critics saying they can't make a good song after a member left, not casual listeners. Still a nice tune, though. 7/10


caffeine_demon on GuyWithAStick

"Cast of "Dear Evan Hansen" - Waving Through a Window"

A difficult song to judge on a first listen - on the plus side it;s a little quirky and slightly familiar, but on the down side it has that "epic"ness - which means further listening may result in either me deciding it's utterly cheesy and awful, or just fab!

Gorillaz - Sleeping Powder
I love Damon All-bran(sic), surprised I haven't got any gorllias cds in my collection - loved the track - it maintains a good level of "blurishness", and combines it with a sort of lighter radiohead from kid a type days!

Cast of "Come from Away" - Costume Party
Unfortunately the video is now "unavailable"- but I did manage to see a clip from it - rather liked it, a little bit of Alanis Morisette in there.

Imagine Dragons - Thunder
ticks most of my "instant like" buttons - catchy, quirky, just the right amount of cheese, just very listenable! had a listen to a few of their other track samples on amazon, and this is probably as good as they get.

Elton John - Rocket Man
all time classic - and I think it's going to be a long long time before I get tired of it


Thekingin64 on caffeine_demon

U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love)

OK song, wouldn't complain if it was on the radio. Could do without the scream style singing though. 7/10

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Who doesn't love this song?! Fab song in every way. 10/10

Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Also a very good song, very catchy chorus and guitar riff. 9/10

The Animals - House of the Rising Sun
I have heard this song before but can never remember how it goes, just one of those songs I always recognise but can't name. Very good song though. 8/10

Aerosmith - Love in an Elevator
Pretty catchy and enjoyable to listen to, no other comments. 7/10

Overall: Think it's lucky I'm also a big fan of this style of classic rock! Very good selection, definitely wouldn't complain if any of these came on the radio. Have even added a few to my Spotify list!
 

Mysterious Sue

Strata Poster
Have to disagree with @Pink Cadillac on Jonsi here - 'vocally careless' is the appeal. I already knew this particular song from the film but @Ploddish introduced me to him properly last year and I think he makes some beautiful, uplifting music. Actually, where is Plod? He totally needs to be contributing to this topic - he has the most eclectic taste in music of anyone I know.

Also that version of Rasputin killed me. Amazing!

@GuyWithAStick 'Mystery Person, you have a really nice taste in music!' - aww thanks very much. Most of my friends are into mainstream pop and tell me (half jokingly) that my taste swings from depressive to 'thrash death metal'. Nice to see at least one person approves. I finally resisted the urge and got some Muse in there. Maybe next time I'll join in on the cred-related fun - got a few lined up for that.

The Aimee Mann track is from an amazing concept album called The Forgotten Arm about an alcoholic boxer/Vietnam vet. He falls in love with a women at a state fair and it then tracks their volatile relationship. This song is about him waking up after a binge and realising he's lost everything - staring out the hotel window watching everyone going about their normal lives. I'm always trying to get more people to listen to Aimee Mann, she's so underrated. The Jeff Buckley song is from the same album as THAT song from Shrek BTW - also an amazing album.

I only put the Manics in as a UK election special tbh. You are completely right, the song isn't really about politics - it's about the band getting a load of hatred from their fans when they hit the mainstream. But it has become more than that and a bit of a political anthem because of the chorus/title and general rebellious sound. Not sure if the pun is obvious or not to those outside the UK, so apologies if it is, but 'masses against the classes' only rhymes if you have a northern rather than a posh southern accent. Shame you couldn't get to see the live version I posted - damn copyright rules.

On another political note, @jayjay I forgot to ask if Kero Kero Bonito were part of the Labour grassroots movement? They kept singing about momentum. No wonder they got the yoof vote!

Damn Chris wasn't even in the running. This is why you should always read the exam questions kids.
Also, @Will get your arse in gear. I don't like being the only one over-analysing these things.
 
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mouse

Giga Poster
Enjoyed reading through all the reviews in this round, will take part again if there's another one. I like the idea to have categories for the chosen songs to fit into!
 

jayjay

Giga Poster
On another political note, @jayjay I forgot to ask if Kero Kero Bonito were part of the Labour grassroots movement? They kept singing about momentum. No wonder they got the yoof vote!
Ha! Tempting as it may be, pretty sure their songs are literally about bouncing on a trampoline, or waking up in the morning, or trying to remember a song on the radio.
 
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