Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

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Brad
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Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Brad »

Well, if this doesn't get you excited, nothing will... it's the kick-off of Moderately Acclaimed Albums Volume 6!

It's simple - vote for your favorite album in each match-up.
Remember, anyone can vote as long as the voter has heard both albums!
Comments are encouraged but not absolutely necessary.
Deadline = March 23rd at 10am EST.

Match-ups:
1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues vs. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser vs. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1
3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me vs. American Football- American Football
4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties vs. Muse - Showbiz

Links (including a nearly complete Spotify playlist) are available on the "Draw" thread, which can be found here:
http://acclaimedmusic.net/forums/viewto ... f=2&t=2577 Special thanks to Maschine_Man, Nassim, Honorio and Rob for doing the hard work!

Let The Good Times Roll!
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Honorio
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Honorio »

As usual (for me), no comments on first round, but I'll include like last year the "hardest decision of the week" section.

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues (1988) vs. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods (2005)
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser (2006) vs. Traveling Wilburys - The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988)
3. The Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me (1973) vs. American Football - American Football (1999)
4. Jane Birkin - Ex fan des sixties (1978) vs. Muse - Showbiz (1999)

Hardest decision of the week: Waterboys vs. Sleater-Kinney (but this first week I enjoyed a lot every album I have not voted for, especially "The Woods" and "The Captain and Me").


Last year I included information about the length of the albums, but for this edition I'm going to replace it for the styles, using the main style as appears on the RateYourMusic entry, so in the end of Round 1 we will able to check the styles more frequently represented on our list. This week we have Celtic Rock, Indie Rock, Electronic, Pop Rock, West Coast Rock, Midwest Emo, French Pop and Alternative Rock.
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PlasticRam
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by PlasticRam »

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues vs. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser vs. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1
3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me vs. American Football - American Football
4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties vs. Muse - Showbiz

Best album I didn't vote for: Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me
I feel like that
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ordinaryperson
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by ordinaryperson »

1.The Waterboys- Fisherman's Blues
2.Thom Yorke- The Eraser
3.The Doobie Brothers- The Captain and Me
4.Jane Birkin- Ex fan des Sixties
There is No More Firmament.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Jirin »

Sleater-Kinney - The Woods 99-78
Traveling Wilbury's - Volume One 74-55
American Football - American Football 87-83
Jane Birkin - Ex-Fan Des Sixties 74-65

Only one I'm missing from next week is Rite of Spring, is that on Grooveshark?
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by DaveC »

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues vs. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser vs. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1
3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me vs. American Football- American Football
4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties vs. Muse - Showbiz

The last two match-ups are quite close, so I won't be too sorry if the Doobies or Muse don't make it. Muse's next three albums totally eclipsed this effort, but it is still quite enjoyable.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Brad »

My picks:

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues vs. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
love 'em both
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser vs. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1
3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me vs. American Football- American Football
4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties vs. Muse - Showbiz
flip-flopped a lot on this one

Thanks!
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Henry »

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues preferred over Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
2. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1 preferred over Thom Yorke - The Eraser
3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me preferred over American Football- American Football
4. Muse - Showbiz preferred over Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by jamieW »

The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me
Muse - Showbiz

Glad to see this back. Thanks, Brad!
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Poliuks »

Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me
Muse - Showbiz
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Romain
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Romain »

Match-ups:
1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me
4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties
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Maschine_Man
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Maschine_Man »

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues
2. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1
3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me
4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by phil »

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues vs. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods

2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser vs. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1
If only all of 'The Eraser' was as good as the opening/title track. Unfortunately it isn't, so consistency wins the day.

3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me vs. American Football- American Football
Slight edge to American Football.

4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties vs. Muse - Showbiz
Jane Birkin was a nice surprise (first time I'd heard it). But I've always considered Showbiz as very underrated. Often dismissed by critics as just a Radiohead knockoff at the time, I always thought that this was unfair. From the great piano parts in Sunburn and Cave to one of the best ballads on Muse's catalog (Unintended) to the guitar-centric tracks like Uno and Fillip, the album covers a lot of ground. Loved it when it came out and love it now.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Brad »

23 hours left to vote!
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Rob
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Rob »

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues vs. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
I've discovered The Woods through this game and to say I love it is an understatement. It jumped straight up in my all-time favorite list and I can't stop listening to it (though I have to thanks to this game). There is a wildness to the sound, a pure raw feeling that many rock artists seem to aim for, but very, very few achieve. Ironically, it's probably going to
lose to one of my own nominations: Fisherman's Blues. I love that one to death (they are the two best albums of the week, easily), but The Woods hit me with a force like few others.

2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser vs. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1
The only non-Radiohead work by Thom Yorke I heard before was Amok by Atom's for Peace, which didn't do anything for me, so I neglected his other (semi-)solo work up til now. The Eraser at least shows his work is worthy. It's a good, understated mood piece, if somewhat unmemorable and strangely enough not all that much a showcase of Yorke's formidable voice. I'm voting for the Traveling Wilburys, who might deliver something less original and Volume 1 is lightweight material, but it is also a lot of fun. Just a few musicians having a ball while recording. That those musicians are all legends is surprisingly irrelevant. Love-able is the right word for Volume 1.

3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me vs. American Football- American Football
I had my doubts about listening to a full length album by the Doobie Brothers, but luckily those doubts where unfounded. It's a joy from start to finish. The album tracks are as good as the hits. It may not be particularly original and it is VERY much a product of it's time, but who cares if it is this well done? American Football is much more original and its best moments trump The Captain and Me with ease. Sadly, those moments are too few to make it a satisfactory listen. Honestly, I want it to be all like The One With the Wurlitzer: a completely musical album with a great saxophone in the middle of attention. Now, every time the singer comes on much of the instruments take a back seat for a somewhat dull voice singing uninspired lyrics. I don't want to downplay it's achievements, but it just doesn't work as well as I should like.

4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties vs. Muse - Showbiz
I can easily see why people would vote for Ex-Fan des Sixties as it is the more distinctive work. Sadly, this is just a case in which my tastes push me to the more conventional choice. Jane Birkin just isn't for me, because the high dose of cuteness that comes with her voice just doesn't appeal to me. It works as a one-song novelty a bit, but a whole album of Birkin is just more than I can stand. Muse isn't necessarily a great band. They wear their Radiohead admiration perhaps to much on their sleeves, but they know how to make their songs work and they are obviously talented, even in the early stage of their careers (not all that much has changed in their sound, in fact).
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Michel »

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Nassim »

1. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Would have been a tough call against This is the Sea but I don't think Fisherman's Blues sustains the same level of greatness, despite starting with 2 amazing songs. The Woods is only my 3rd favorite SK album, but still a hell of an album ; I went to a concert of the band last Friday and the songs from the Woods (What's Mine is Yours, Jumpers, Modern Girl and especially Rollercoaster and Entertain) were the stand out... I might love the Dig Me Out ones more, those one took some show stopping punch and depth live.

3. American Football - American Football

4. Muse - Showbiz
Showbiz is the best Muse album because the band already had its strength (one of the best modern rhythm sections and a taste for romantism) without what would later make their sound so bloated and pretentious. It never gets better than the opening track but it has a lot of other heigths, I can see why people would prefer Origin of Symmetry but picking any other album than one of those 2 as Muse best album doesn't make any sense.
Of all the songs written by Gainsbourg for actresses, I always found those for Jane Birkin to be the lesser (really, any one with Bardot, or Dieu, Fumeur de Havanes or Pull Marine are much more to my liking).
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by DaveC »

Nassim wrote:I can see why people would prefer Origin of Symmetry but picking any other album than one of those 2 as Muse best album doesn't make any sense.
Well.... You did vote for Showbiz & The Woods so you are absolved.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by notbrianeno »

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues vs. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser vs. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1
3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me vs. American Football- American Football
4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties vs. Muse - Showbiz
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by GucciLittlePiggy »

I vote for The Woods in the first matchup.
I just wanted to be one of those ghosts
You thought that you could forget
And then I haunt you via the rear view mirror
On a long drive from the back seat...
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Rob
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Rob »

Jirin wrote: Only one I'm missing from next week is Rite of Spring, is that on Grooveshark?
It should be in Machine_Man's Spotify playlist, but here is a separate link:



Or isn't it available in your region?
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Nassim »

DaveC wrote:
Nassim wrote:I can see why people would prefer Origin of Symmetry but picking any other album than one of those 2 as Muse best album doesn't make any sense.
Well.... You did vote for Showbiz & The Woods so you are absolved.
I'd say it goes :

Great :
Showbiz
Origin of Symmetry

Good :
Absolution (this one might actually deserve some reappraisal, haven't listened to it in a long while and looking at the tracklist I'm not too sure what I have a problem with)
The 3rd Law (which was a good surprise, a few pretty bad cuts but some surprisingly funky tracks... putting dubstep in their music is as bad an idea as long orchestral movements, but other elements of electronic music, more in a Depeche Mode vein, is a very good one)

Bad :
Black Holes and Other Revelations

One of the worst albums I have ever listened to :
The Resistance (only Undisclosed Desires should be saved for this total trainwreck)
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Kingoftonga »

1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Brad »

Fantastic turnout for Round 1.1 - 18 total voters!:
Brad
DaveC
GucciLittlePiggy
Henry
Honorio
jamieW
Jirin
Kingoftonga
Maschine_Man
Michel
Nassim
notbrianeno
ordinaryperson
phil
PlasticRam
Poliuks
Rob
Romain

Here's the Results:
1. The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues over Sleater-Kinney - The Woods 11-7
2. Thom Yorke - The Eraser vs. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1 ***TIE! 8-8 Next Vote Wins!***
3. Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me over American Football- American Football 8-7
4. Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties vs. Muse - Showbiz ***TIE! 8-8 Next Vote Wins!***

Off to a flying start with two ties!
Thom Yorke - The Eraser vs. Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1 ***TIE! 8-8 Next Vote Wins!***
Jane Birkin - Ex-fan des sixties vs. Muse - Showbiz ***TIE! 8-8 Next Vote Wins!***

Next vote for either match-up wins... Don't be shy!
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by DocBrown »

2. Traveling Wilburys
4. Jane Birkin
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Brad »

Thanks Doc... Always there in a crucial moment!

Traveling Wilburys and Jane Birkin move on!
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Listyguy »

I always say I'm going to participate but then I get caught up in other listening...it almost cost one of my picks this week...
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by DocBrown »

Brad wrote:Thanks Doc... Always there in a crucial moment!
Ahem... Always procrastinating 'til the last moment.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Honorio »

Brad wrote:Fantastic turnout for Round 1.1 - 18 total voters!
Yes, that's true, a fantastic turnout. But, as in previous editions, we have less people voting than nominating (18 vs. 24). It seems again that people is more willing to make suggestions than to listen to other people suggestions. I'm not complaining here at all, just stating a fact. Anyway there are many games running right now at the forum and it's impossible to participate in every game unless you are not interested in living a life. And moreover this is a free world, anyone can choose the games he wants to play on, of course (I'm the first one participating in few games right now). It would be nice having 20 people or more voting but (Brad, correct me if I'm wrong) this never happened in past editions, even in the finals. So we'll be content if we can keep this number of 18 during the whole game.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by jamieW »

Honorio wrote:
Brad wrote:Fantastic turnout for Round 1.1 - 18 total voters!
Yes, that's true, a fantastic turnout. But, as in previous editions, we have less people voting than nominating (18 vs. 24). It seems again that people is more willing to make suggestions than to listen to other people suggestions. I'm not complaining here at all, just stating a fact. Anyway there are many games running right now at the forum and it's impossible to participate in every game unless you are not interested in living a life. And moreover this is a free world, anyone can choose the games he wants to play on, of course (I'm the first one participating in few games right now). It would be nice having 20 people or more voting but (Brad, correct me if I'm wrong) this never happened in past editions, even in the finals. So we'll be content if we can keep this number of 18 during the whole game.
And I'm just the opposite - I rarely nominate but always vote, since I love listening to others suggestions, but am hesitant to nominate anything myself. I wonder if it's because I'm just too thin-skinned to hear others opinions of my favorites, or if I just truly believe others don't share the same tastes as I do and don't want to waste their time. At any rate, I second Honorio's hopes that we'll keep this impressive opening week turnout the same, or even improve upon it. It's a great game full of great discoveries, and I would love to see everyone feels the same!
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by Romain »

Jamie, it's always more interesting to listen albums by people who don't have the same taste than a thousandth album in the same genre, the genre you love ;-)

If you think you have different tastes to the other participant, you must nominate some album. I say this for years here, it is the best in this forum, the discovery of the other and the infinite variety of tastes in this world.

And don't worry about the other opinions... you know, when I put a French album, even if it's a must hear and one of the greatest album of all times for me, I know that not many people know it, and that not many people will really listen it... but if only one person listen and like it... mission accomplished :mrgreen:
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 6 - Round 1.1

Post by jamieW »

Romain wrote:Jamie, it's always more interesting to listen albums by people who don't have the same taste than a thousandth album in the same genre, the genre you love ;-)

If you think you have different tastes to the other participant, you must nominate some album. I say this for years here, it is the best in this forum, the discovery of the other and the infinite variety of tastes in this world.

And don't worry about the other opinions... you know, when I put a French album, even if it's a must hear and one of the greatest album of all times for me, I know that not many people know it, and that not many people will really listen it... but if only one person listen and like it... mission accomplished :mrgreen:
Thanks, Romain. I agree with everything you said and I will definitely nominate albums during next year's Moderately Acclaimed. Besides, I don't know what I'm worried about anyway, since past nominations of mine on AM have often done well. And when they haven't (unlike some forums), the participants on this site are never mean-spirited about it. As you said so well, if one person listens and enjoys a nomination (and I think two years in a row now I've discovered favorites through your nominations in Jirin's end of year Moderately Acclaimed game), then mission indeed accomplished!
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