2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1

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Holden
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2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1

Post by Holden »

Hello! Welcome to Round 1 of the 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions! Here are the rules for this game overall, as a refresher:

Each of the 27 competitors submitted one album and ten songs. The ten songs each compete in one of ten rounds, each with a different type of competition. Meanwhile, the albums will be rated (out of ten) as time goes on. After each round, each competitor will receive points based on their performance in the round. At the end of all ten rounds, the points will be totaled from each round and the rating of the album, and a winner will be declared!

This week's rules:
The first round is going to be a standard single-elimination tournament. Unfortunately, we have 27 competitors, so that isn't going to work! We need to bring that down to 16, so I have divided the 27 randomly into 9 groups of 3. This week, you will get five groups, next week you will get four. Please pick your two favorites from each group. The sixteen highest scorers (based on percentage) will advance. Here they are:

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Tétard | "Envie"
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Muse | "Cave"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Jonathan Coulton | "When You Go"
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"

Playlist


If any of these are wrong, PM and I'll fix it.

A reminder, pick your TWO favorite songs from each group!

Next up, the albums! Here is a list of every album: List

However, to make the albums more digestible, I will be 'featuring' one album a week for those who wish to follow along this way. This week's album is:

Image
Jesca Hoop | Memories Are Now (2017)



Alright, in conclusion:
Chose your favorite two songs from each group of three! You have exactly seven days (January 8th) from the time of this post!

Additionally, rate albums from the list out of ten. You can do this at whatever pace you like, but post your ratings in the most recent thread!


Note: I am aware that some of these may now be bubbling under. In order to have more time for submissions with an uncertain update date, I allowed people to submit lists based on Acclaimed Music's list at the time of entry. So if they were sent in before the update, they may now be included. The spirit of unacclaimed songs/albums was held throughout though, in my opinion.
Last edited by Holden on Fri Jan 08, 2021 12:39 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Holden
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Holden »

My Picks:

Group 1
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie”

Group 2
Tétard | "Envie"
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call”
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"
Last edited by Holden on Fri Jan 01, 2021 2:52 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by ordinaryperson »

Holden wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:25 am Alright, in conclusion:
Chose your favorite two albums from each group of three! You have exactly seven days (January 8th) from the time of this post!
Shouldn't this say songs instead of albums unless I'm missing something.
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Madzong »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Muse | "Cave"

Group 4
Pass

Group 5
Jonathan Coulton | "When You Go"
Beach House | "Take Care"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Rob »

I guess in this case we shouldn't reveal which songs and album we picked, am I right?
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Holden »

ordinaryperson wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 7:55 am
Holden wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:25 am Alright, in conclusion:
Chose your favorite two albums from each group of three! You have exactly seven days (January 8th) from the time of this post!
Shouldn't this say songs instead of albums unless I'm missing something.
Yup, all fixed!
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Holden »

Rob wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:13 pm I guess in this case we shouldn't reveal which songs and album we picked, am I right?
I’d say that would be advantageous.
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Emerald »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by whuntva »

Group 1
Steely Dan--"Josie"
Fleet Foxes--"Jara"

Group 2
Tetard--"Envie"
Death--"Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie--"Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Muse--"Cave"

Group 4
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber--"Komm, süsser Tod"
Tom Waits--"Take It With Me"


Group 5
Jonathan Coulton--"When You Go"
Beach House--"Take Care"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Schüttelbirne »

The cursive ones are the ones I threw out, if it isn't clear.

Group 1
6 | Steely Dan | "Josie"
4 | Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

13 | Fleet Foxes | "Jara"

Group 2
12 | Tétard | "Envie"
10 | Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

15 | Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"

Group 3
11 | Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
7 | Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

14 | Muse | "Cave"

Group 4
1 | Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"
3 | Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

5 | Desire | "Don't Call"

Group 5
8 | Beach House | "Take Care"
2 | Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"

9 | Jonathan Coulton | "When You Go"
_________________________________________________________________________________

Jesca Hoop | Memories Are Now: 6/10
Highlights: "Animal Kingdom Chaotic", "Songs of Old", "Unsaid", "The Coming"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by DaveC »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Muse | "Cave"

Group 4
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Holden »

Jesca Hoop | Memories Are Now: 8/10
"The better a singer's voice, the harder it is to believe what they're saying."
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Fred »

Choices for advancement:

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"

Group 2
Tétard | "Envie"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Muse | "Cave"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"


Jesca Hoop - Memories are Now - 7
Last edited by Fred on Sun Jan 03, 2021 1:24 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by bonnielaurel »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Muse | "Cave"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Jonathan Coulton | "When You Go"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"

Jesca Hoop 6/10
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Tétard | "Envie"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Muse | "Cave"

Group 4
Shiro Sagisu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Jonathan Coulton | "When You Go"
Beach House | "Take Care"

Overall, very solid group of picks. "Rosie" was a good find.
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by DaveC »

Jesca Hoop | Memories Are Now (2017): 7/10. Highlight "The Lost Sky"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Romain »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Tétard | "Envie"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"

Already a few wonders here that I didn't know about: Tétard, Death and Desire.
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by spiritualized »

Group 1
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Tétard | "Envie"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Muse | "Cave"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"

Group 5
Jonathan Coulton | "When You Go"
Beach House | "Take Care"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by hero »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Jonathan Coulton | "When You Go"
Beach House | "Take Care"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Romain »

spiritualized wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 7:55 am
Excuse-me Spiritualized but I just saw your profile picture below mine and the parallelism made me laugh :-) :mrgreen:
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by spiritualized »

Tu ne devineras jamais !
En plus ma femme (en photo) est anglaise :) comme celle sur ta photo !
Bien vu le rapprochement 😂😂il me manque les feuilles de chou quand même !

Sorry - In English now
You would never guess that my wife in the picture is English (although the AM League knows her quite well), as the other lady in your photo !
The matchup was well spotted - although the cauliflower ears are kinda missing on me 😂😂
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Romain »

spiritualized wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:15 pm Tu ne devineras jamais !
En plus ma femme (en photo) est anglaise :) comme celle sur ta photo !
Bien vu le rapprochement 😂😂il me manque les feuilles de chou quand même !

Sorry - In English now
You would never guess that my wife in the picture is English (although the AM League knows her quite well), as the other lady in your photo !
The matchup was well spotted - although the cauliflower ears are kinda missing on me 😂😂
:mrgreen: Classieux ! T'es sûr que les "cauliflower ears", ça leur parle ? Si oui, j'aurais appris quelque chose ! :D
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by spiritualized »

Romain wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 8:01 pm
spiritualized wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:15 pm Tu ne devineras jamais !
En plus ma femme (en photo) est anglaise :) comme celle sur ta photo !
Bien vu le rapprochement 😂😂il me manque les feuilles de chou quand même !

Sorry - In English now
You would never guess that my wife in the picture is English (although the AM League knows her quite well), as the other lady in your photo !
The matchup was well spotted - although the cauliflower ears are kinda missing on me 😂😂
:mrgreen: Classieux ! T'es sûr que les "cauliflower ears", ça leur parle ? Si oui, j'aurais appris quelque chose ! :D
Oh yes :)
Having played rugby, I can guarantee that cauliflower ears is a common way of describing seriously damaged ears. However, I don't think Gainsbourg had rugby ears, he had just big, unstuck ones :)
Clare (my better half) confirms this as an English teacher !
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Romain »

Ne lui fais JAMAIS lire mes messages en anglais s'il te plaît.. she will have une crise cardiaque :-)
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Rdwdbob »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"

Group 5
Jonathan Coulton | "When You Go"
Beach House | "Take Care"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Rdwdbob »

Jesca Hoop | Memories Are Now: 4/10
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by rumpdoll »

Group 1
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Tétard | "Envie"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"

Jesca Hoop - Memories are now 6/10
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Rob »

It's almost against my nature to write nothing with the votes, but I don't want to give my choices away too easily. What I do want to say though is that the first week has a very good selection of songs. All solid songs; I even end up voting for Madonna.

Group 1
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"

Jesca Hoop | Memories Are Now: 10/10
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by SL3 »

Group 1
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Muse | "Cave"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"

Album:
Jesca Hoop | Memories Are Now (2017)
7

I can't resist adding some comments too because that Death track is awesome & I've never heard of it before so thank you to whoever picked that! Also the Jesca Hoop final track, The Coming, what a great song & sounded so familiar - I hope Lana Del Rey gave her a writing credit because "hope is a dangerous thing to have..." is totally lifted from this!
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by acroamor »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Tétard | "Envie"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Muse | "Cave"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Holden »

Just a reminder you have until January 8th at the time of the original post to enter your vote, I plan to have the next part be posted on the 8th since I posted this thread early (around midnight for me, in fact, sort of a New Years thing)
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by mileswide »

Group 1
5. Joan Armatrading - Rosie
11. Steely Dan - Josie
-------------------------------------------------
12. Fleet Foxes - Jara

Group 2
4. Tétard - Envie
6. Death - Politicians in My Eyes
-------------------------------------------------
10. Madonna - Till Death Do Us Part

Group 3
2. Muse - Cave
8. Ooberman - Shoreley Wall
-------------------------------------------------
9. Death Cab for Cutie - The Ghosts of Beverly Drive

Group 4
1. Desire - Don't Call
13. Tom Waits - Take It with Me
-------------------------------------------------
14. Shiro Sigasu feat. Arianne Scheiber - Komm, süsser Tod

Group 5
3. Fabrizio de André - Al ballo mascherato
7. Beach House - Take Care
-------------------------------------------------
15. Jonathan Coulton - When You Go

Album
Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now 4.9 (my #27 for 2017)
My highlight: Pegasi

I'm going to let you all in on a secret about this week's album: it wasn't me who nominated it.
All I got inside is vacancy!
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Sweepstakes Ron »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato"
Splish splash, I was raking in the cash
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Holden »

Alright, everyone, you have five hours left to submit your picks for these five groups! Remember, you can still vote for album ratings until the very end of the entire competition (all ten rounds).
"The better a singer's voice, the harder it is to believe what they're saying."
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by panam »

Group 1
Steely Dan | "Josie"
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"

Group 2
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"
Death | "Politicians In My Eyes"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Muse | "Cave"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Shiro Sigasu, featuring Arianne Schreiber | "Komm, süsser Tod"

Group 5
Beach House | "Take Care"
Fabrizio De André | "Al ballo mascherato
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by votingbloc »

Group 1
Fleet Foxes | "Jara"
Joan Armatrading | "Rosie"

Group 2
Tétard | "Envie"
Madonna | "Till Death Do Us Part"

Group 3
Death Cab for Cutie | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"
Ooberman | "Shorely Wall"

Group 4
Desire | "Don't Call"
Tom Waits | "Take It With Me"

Group 5
Jonathan Coulton | "When You Go"
Beach House | "Take Care"
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Rob »

mileswide wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 1:39 pm
Album
Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now 4.9 (my #27 for 2017)
My highlight: Pegasi

I'm going to let you all in on a secret about this week's album: it wasn't me who nominated it.
I'm really surprised with this low rating, considering you liked her Hunting My Dress. What's the problem?
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by mileswide »

Rob wrote: Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:54 am I'm really surprised with this low rating, considering you liked her Hunting My Dress. What's the problem?
During my time with this album, I had a phrase that I see a lot in reviews gnaw at my consciousness, namely "I really wanted to like this album". I mention this not to mock the idea (it occurred to me just as sincerely as all those reviewers who used it) but to examine what I thought I meant by it: why did I want to like it and what was stopping me from liking it? I suppose, in a way, vanity could account for my answer to the first question; there is nothing here that I would be embarrassed to admit to being fond of, no false steps into questionable lyrical territory, no ill-fitting genre experiments, just an artist with a strong sense of self surrounded by an inviting, clear production that takes none of the shine off Hoop's rootsy integrity. It helps that, over the course of the three albums of hers I've heard (the other being Stonechild), she comes across amiably- serious about her art yet good-humoured, humble yet opinionated. I was so keen to get another serving of Hoop's music that I'd actually given Memories Are Now a couple spins last month, not long after your recommendation on the BF: AV thread, and I'm relistening as I write.

Through the past year, though, I've begun to reconcile myself ever more with having a full scale of opinions on *my* artists (I've realised it's ok to rate Rainy Day Women lower than Stuck inside of Mobile) while letting my resolve lessen around those I've not previously gotten into (my prior indifference to Sufjan Stevens didn't stop me warming to parts of The Ascension album). Hunting My Dress remains a stunning album to me*, both as a cohesive whole and as a set of memorable individual songs ranging in dynamism giving centre-stage to a strikingly original voice. I'm sad to say I don't get any of that from Memories Are Now. The vocals are still there of course but I'm not compelled by what she has to say here. Aside from Pegasi, her gift for natural and mythical imagery seems largely supplanted by takes on relationships and Internet culture that lack personality as far as I'm concerned. I feel she doesn't stretch her voice either, she doesn't appear to be engaged enough in the songs. Without that emotional ebb and flow comes a lack of resolution, a cyclical inclination to much of the project. And because it feels so earthbound in its reach, its attempts for the heavens, like her would-be ethereal overdubbed coos on the title track, don't succeed for me. Admittedly, this could all change after more than my 3 listens and I won't rule out hearing it again but these were my impressions based on my spell with Memories Are Now.

This isn't meant to excoriate the album- nothing here is bad in a technical sense- nor to devalue your opinions, which I share with regard to Coil Rotorvator, Ekseption and evidently Hunting My Dress, none of which I would have heard without your suggestions. But I can't artificially inflate a rating of an album I don't, erm, rate, even if I support the artist or the nominator (not saying you nominated this but I'm aware of your advocacy of it). I can elaborate on any of my points but, either way, I hope I'm I've not overstepped the mark by saying any of the above.

*I'd rate Hunting My Dress a 9.2 by way of comparison.
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Rob »

mileswide wrote: Sat Jan 09, 2021 9:15 pm This isn't meant to excoriate the album- nothing here is bad in a technical sense- nor to devalue your opinions, which I share with regard to Coil Rotorvator, Ekseption and evidently Hunting My Dress, none of which I would have heard without your suggestions. But I can't artificially inflate a rating of an album I don't, erm, rate, even if I support the artist or the nominator (not saying you nominated this but I'm aware of your advocacy of it). I can elaborate on any of my points but, either way, I hope I'm I've not overstepped the mark by saying any of the above.
Well, let me first say it is unnecessary to add this sort-of apology, because you worded your opinion well and I'm not easily offended when someone doesn't like something I do. You have very much a right to your opinions.

I feel that it makes a difference that we came to this album from different perspectives. For me, Memories Are Now, was the introduction to Jesca Hoop. More specifically, it was the song The Lost Sky. That song's unusual time signatures created a curious rhythm and sense of movement that gripped me immediately, especially since the vocals managed to keep up with the weird flow and added to it. The song feels like an odd dance and the lost spatial feeling in the lyrics confirmed this in a way. The lyrics on much of this album are more impressionistic than narrative. Pegasi and The Coming are the big exceptions and I think both of these are masterpieces, but overall I feel that The Lost Sky, the title track and Unsaid capture the feel of the album the best.

I guess that if you go from Hunting My Dress to this it can be a disappointing, as that albums is more about the stories and the vocals are indeed more dynamic in each song on itself. At the same time I feel that on Memories Are Now she experimented more with her voice. On a single song basis she doesn't show as much range, but that is because each song feels like it based on a vocal approach, making it sometimes feel that different people sing these songs. It's interesting that you feel that her singing is less engaged, while I think this album is foremost a masterpiece in singing. It helps that the instrumental parts can be so sparse at times that it ends up sounding close to a-capella.

Yes, there are too few people that tell great stories like on Hunting My Dress. The impressionistic mode seen on most of Memories Are Now is far more common. It is perhaps a loss, but I feel the beauty of this album is greater still in the end.
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by mileswide »

Rob wrote: Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:25 pm I feel that it makes a difference that we came to this album from different perspectives.
Yup, context is key if we're to see musical taste as largely a matter of individual opinion free from impartiality but it wouldn't have done me any harm to step back and consider how much more I would've liked the album in different consequences. I was disappointed when you said you wouldn't be commenting on the albums in this tournament, so I'm pleased I effectively coaxed you into reviewing, even though that's not what I intended to do!
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Re: 2021 AMF Tournament of Champions: Round 1, Part 1 (Current)

Post by Rob »

mileswide wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:03 pm I was disappointed when you said you wouldn't be commenting on the albums in this tournament, so I'm pleased I effectively coaxed you into reviewing, even though that's not what I intended to do!
Well I try to keep a secret what my nomination is. Luckily Memories Are Now is not the only album I have praised through the roof in the past in the line-up.
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