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Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 2:01 pm
by Brad
Welcome to Round 3.1 of Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019.
Vote for your favorite album in each match-up.
Remember, anyone can vote as long as the voter has heard both albums.

Good-spirited comments are encouraged, but not absolutely necessary.
Deadline = September 24th at 10am EST.

Here's a link to the bracket for the entire tournament:
http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?t ... Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019

Match-ups:
1. Grimes - Art Angels vs. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
2. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine vs. The Velvet Underground - VU
3. Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends vs. Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way
4. Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis - Deep Listening vs. Tokyo Jihen - Kyōiku


Not everybody does it
But everybody should

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 2:03 pm
by Brad
Also:
Two Ties from last week!:
2. Lou Reed/John Cale - Songs For Drella vs. Tom Waits - Closing Time 9-9
4. Kadhja Bonet - Childqueen vs. The Sound - Jeopardy 8-8
***Next vote from someone who has not already voted in these match-ups wins it!!!***

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 3:00 pm
by acroamor
Match-ups:
1. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
2. The Velvet Underground - VU
3. Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends
4. Tokyo Jihen - Kyōiku

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:15 pm
by Listyguy
1. Grimes - Art Angels vs. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
2. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine vs. The Velvet Underground - VU

Apologies if this has been covered before, but where can I hear the Shankar and Tokyo Jihen albums?

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:29 pm
by Rdwdbob
GRIMES - ART ANGELS
VELVET UNDERGROUND - VU
RAVI SHANKAR - SHANKAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
TOKYO JIHEN - KYOIKU

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 5:27 pm
by Brad
My picks:
1. Grimes - Art Angels vs. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
2. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine vs. The Velvet Underground - VU
3. Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends vs. Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way
4. Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis - Deep Listening vs. Tokyo Jihen - Kyōiku

Thanks!

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 6:29 pm
by Rob
Listyguy wrote: Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:15 pm
Apologies if this has been covered before, but where can I hear the Shankar and Tokyo Jihen albums?

Do these work for you?



https://mio.to/album/Pandit+Ravi+Shanka ... nd+Friends

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 7:19 pm
by DaveC
1. Grimes - Art Angels vs. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
2. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine vs. The Velvet Underground - VU
3. Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends vs. Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way
4. Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis - Deep Listening vs. Tokyo Jihen - Kyōiku

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 7:55 pm
by Romain
1. Grimes - Art Angels
2. The Velvet Underground - VU
3. Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends
4. Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis - Deep Listening

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 7:57 pm
by Listyguy
Rob wrote: Tue Sep 17, 2019 6:29 pm
Listyguy wrote: Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:15 pm
Apologies if this has been covered before, but where can I hear the Shankar and Tokyo Jihen albums?

Do these work for you?



https://mio.to/album/Pandit+Ravi+Shanka ... nd+Friends
The Shankar link appears to, the Spotify stuff doesn't though. Thanks!

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 8:39 pm
by FrankLotion
1. Grimes - Art Angels
2. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine
3. Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way
4. Tokyo Jihen - Kyōiku

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 9:23 pm
by bonnielaurel
Grimes - Art Angels
Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine
Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way
Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis - Deep Listening

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 9:33 pm
by Safetycat
Art Angels > Are We There
Heartattack and Vine > VU
Shankar Family and Friends < It's My Way
Deep Listening < Kyōiku

Art Angels and Heartattack are both extremely atmospheric albums. One is the sound of going to a rave run by scene kids, and the other is the sound of an impoverished dockworker lamenting his life outside your apartment at 2am. Amazing moods. Automatic votes.

Meanwhile, It's My Way and Kyoiku are both really strong - but they mostly win due to me being not a fan of the other two albums they're against.

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 12:19 am
by mileswide
I don't understand what distinguishes Art Angels in the main from Asian pop or even late 90s Europop (I'm thinking Aqua meets happy hardcore). PC Music do this kind of thing with more risk-taking and piss-taking. Aside from the itchily infectious Scream and suspenseful drum patterns on some tracks, most notably on Venus Fly, I found the album underwhelming compared to We Appreciate Power, one of last year's high points.

It would've been trickier to choose had Tidal got to this point but Are We There is still a worthy winner, remaining just as bewitching as during the last round.

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 4:18 am
by Madzong
Grimes - Art Angels
The Velvet Underground - VU

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 12:10 pm
by Madzong
Buffy Saint Marie - It's My Way

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 2:15 pm
by Jirin
Art Angels 87 - Are We There 85
VU 85 - Heartattack and Vine 84
Shankar Family and Friends 94 - It’s My Way 89

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 2:37 pm
by mileswide
Heartattack and Vine was Waits' last conventional album and it's a weepy. It can get too maudlin at times and In Shades is little more than a pallet-cleanser but here, he's a musical Hemingway, documenting the depths of human feeling he sees in the outcasts he meets and sometimes sleeps with through his journey through the world's gin joints. Saving All My Love for You and Ruby's Arms particularly are cinematic in their sweep and clinical in their detail.

VU hits similar heights of street-toughness at its best but listening to it this week doesn't change the sense that it still feels more like an (above-average) outtakes album than a studio one; Heartattack and Vine gets my vote.

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 3:34 pm
by Honorio
Third round, time for some four-line comments...



8. Grimes - Art Angels (2015) vs. 7. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There (2014)
Two contemporary female singer-songwriters (in the broad sense) of quite similar age (7 years of difference) but with hugely different approaches to music. Grimes plays in the millennial league with her eclectic mix of styles (with a synth-pop foundation), her J-pop and Goth influences and her blend of eccentric and accessible. On the other hand Sharon firmly steps into classic territory, with her elegant, spacious, laid-back and heart-wrenching brand of folk rock. Classic for me, please.

6. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine (1980) vs. 1. The Velvet Underground - VU (1985)
It could seem unfair to give the top position of the week to an album of throw-away tracks. Especially when Waits (by the way the only 100% male act of the week) delivers an excellent transitional album between the jazzy-beatnick early albums and the inventiveness of the Island trilogy, with peaks as high as the immortal "Jersey Girl." But the VU lost album would have been the pop counterpart to the avant-garde debut, the experimental second, the opiate third and the classic-rock fourth.

4. Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends (1974) vs. 3. Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way! (1964)
Two albums pushing the boundaries of traditional folk. The Shankar album combines a dream team of East and Western musicians. The vinyl A-side goes from Harrisonesque pop to Indian folk but it's on the (mainly improvised) long suite on the B-side when the two languages fuse in a fascinating way. Sainte-Marie's album inscribes in the Greenwich Village-style folk of the early 1960s but adding Native American lyrical and musical content, played and sung with such intensity that won my vote.

2. Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis - Deep Listening (1989) vs. 5. 東京事変 - 教育 (2004)
Few bands got a sound as unique as Deep Listening Band. They fuse electronics with traditional instruments like accordion (Oliveros), voice (Panaiotis), trombone and didgeridoo (Dempster) recording them in a huge underground cistern with a 45-second reverberation time, creating a mesmerizing soundscape. Tōkyō Jihen sound is no less unique, backing the trademark blend of weirdness and girly pop of Ringo Sheena by a very professional but energetic/punkish rock band. Choose deep…

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 7:09 pm
by mileswide
Given my lack of exposure to Indian music and the genre fusions of the group, Shankar Family and Friends sounds most accessible when it's at its most experimental, the seemingly compromised I Am Missing You excepted. I can imagine the Nightmare suite challenged how music from the subcontinent were expected to sound with Shankar himself on the Moog and warring saxophones on Dispute and Violence. Some of it still sounds beamed from a more advanced planet to this day.

It's My Way, while not aiming for the same sonic territory, just can't compete with Shankar Family and Friends.

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2019 4:13 pm
by Rob
The first poll of each round remains the highlight. All 8 of these are worth my while.

7. Grimes - Art Angels vs. 6. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
1. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine vs. 3. The Velvet Underground - VU
5. Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends vs. 4. Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way
8. Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis - Deep Listening vs. 2. Tokyo Jihen - Kyōiku

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2019 8:18 pm
by mileswide
Deep Listening is interesting in its creation (thanks for the backstory, Honorio!) and mainly as impressive in its outcome. Lear is as minimalist as a 24-minute track can be while still keeping you captivated, Ione touches on classical music (seeming at times like it'll drift into Also Sprach Zarathusa) and Nike starts off sounding like the echoes of a haunted steel mill. Only Suiren didn't leave a firm impression on me.

Kyōiku is still fun and is the album of this week that I would be most relaxed at progressing at the expense of my first choice but Deep Listening affects me more.

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:21 am
by Gillingham
1. Grimes - Art Angels vs. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 2:40 pm
by Listyguy
3. Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends vs. Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 4:52 pm
by Bang Jan
4 | Grimes | Art Angels
6 | Sharon Van Etten | Are We There

3 | Tom Waits | Heartattack and Vine
1 | The Velvet Underground | VU

7 | Ravi Shankar | Shankar Family and Friends
2 | Buffy Sainte-Marie | It's My Way

5 | Pauline Oliveros | Deep Listening
8 | Tokyo Jihen | Kyoiku

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:05 pm
by Brad
2 hours left to vote!

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 1:25 pm
by Kingoftonga
Winners in red:

1. Grimes - Art Angels vs. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
2. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine vs. The Velvet Underground - VU
3. Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends vs. Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 1:29 pm
by Brad
Half hour left and we have a tie... anyone else?

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2019 - Round 3.1

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:03 pm
by Brad
17 total voters this week:
acroamor
Bang Jan
bonnielaurel
Brad
DaveC
FrankLotion
Gillingham
Honorio
Jirin
Kingoftonga
Listyguy
madzong
mileswide
Rdwdbob
Rob
Romain
Safetycat

Some close match-ups...
Winners:
1. Grimes - Art Angels over Sharon Van Etten - Are We There 10-7
2. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine vs. The Velvet Underground - VU ***TIE! 8-8***
3. Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way over Ravi Shankar - Shankar Family and Friends 9-6
4. Tokyo Jihen - Kyōiku over Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis - Deep Listening 7-5

We have a TIE:
2. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine vs. The Velvet Underground - VU ***TIE! 8-8***
Next vote from someone who has not already voted in this match-up wins!

Round 3.2 up soon!