Second-Guess the Critic: Round 3

[murlough23]

[Josh]

From where I'm sitting, this looks like a much easier round than the last one, with just one or two real wildcards.

[murlough23]

From where I'm sitting, this looks like a much easier round than the last one, with just one or two real wildcards.

I'm counting at least 4 for me. But this game definitely favors those with broader horizons. (That's by design.) It's much easier to guess based on an album you've heard, or an artist you're familiar with, than soundclips from an artist you've never heard of before.

NP: "Memories", Eisley

[Josh]

Yeah. I've heard four of them myself, and the others are all ones that, given the critic's particular tastes and inclinations, I feel like I can guess fairly accurately.

[murlough23]

By the way, I find the juxtaposition of bdg and Brenden's picks to be amusing.

[Brenden]

As do I.

[bloop]

Yeah, I think I'm ready to guess already:

bdg:  Atom Bomb, The Blind Boys of Alabama:  4 stars
Brenden:  How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2:  4 stars
Danny:  Funeral, The Arcade Fire:  5 stars
Josh:  Picaresque, The Decemberists:  5 stars
Murlough:  Borrowed Heaven, The Corrs:  2 stars
WorldofCM:  Grown, Kendall Payne:  4 stars

[Josh]

[worldofcm]

[murlough23]

[enemy anemone]

I'm going to go with 4 stars from everyone.  

[beautifulmess]

bdg: 4 stars
bloop: 4 stars
Brenden: 4 stars
Danny: 4 stars
Josh: 4 stars
murlough: 3 stars
worldofcm : 5 stars

[danny316]

I'm not ready to guess yet, but I felt like clearing up something from last time:

The thing I had posted in the Music Journals thread wasn't even a full initial reaction. It was late, I was in the middle of listening to it for the first time, it was the first thing that came to mind when I had only heard part of the album. Sorry if that was misleading, but it really wasn't accurate of the album. I'll have to try to avoid posting about something before I've had a chance to really digest it from now on. That said, I'd give most of the Mortal/FoldZan albums 4 stars, including their more "electronica" ones - so they'd be ahead of Big In Japan in that catagory too.

I think people will be really surprised with what I have to say about the Arcade Fire. That is, assuming my reaction to that one doesn't change too much during the week.  

[murlough23]

It's OK, Danny. Reactions change, and I probably shouldn've known not to take so literally what was basically your reaction to something you were still digesting.

[murlough23]

I'm going to go with 4 stars from everyone.

I maintain that it would be hilarious if you won the game by doing this every round.

[eatahouse]

[Brenden]

[bloop]

I maintain that it would be hilarious if you won the game by doing this every round.

I'm fed up, that's it!  I'm doing Nickelback or Good Charlotte next time.

[dgp11776]

[cbluejays]

bdg - 4
bloop - 5
Brenden - 4
Danny - 4
Murlough - 3
WorldofCM - 4  
Josh - 5

[bdg13disciple]

before i forget...

bloop: 4
Brenden: 4
Danny: 4
Murlough: 2
Josh: 3
WorldofCM: 5


peace... love... bdg...

[murlough23]

A PM from bloop just reminded me - now's a good time for you all to PM me with your album picks for round 4.

[danny316]

[murlough23]

Technically still 10 minutes in the round, but most or all of you are probably asleep by now, so I'll post my score before I go to bed.

I'm giving Borrowed Heaven 3 stars. The Corrs jumped the shark a long time ago and I have extremely low expectations of the band at this point. Most of their lyrics are fluff, their drummer has apparently been replaced by DAT tracks, and the Irish influence on all but their first album has been sorely lacking. Borrowed Heaven makes some effort to make up for lost time, fusing the Irish stuff and the unabashed fluffy pop stuff (as opposed to the more mature pop sound of the debut) somewhat well. It's likeable, and certainly a breath of fresh air in comparison to the wretched In Blue. Plus, the title track and "Time Enough for Tears" are very pleasant surprises that oddly manage to succeed without leaning on the Irish influence very much (the latter being helped by a co-writing credit from the one and only Bono).

NP: "Divorce", Burlap to Cashmere

[bloop]

I'm giving Arular 5 stars.  It's definitely pop - sometimes seeming to venture into hoochie territory (I could tell you for sure if I could understand all the lyrics), so I can see why some would guess a little low for me, but there is more depth to it than what would appear on the surface.  Musically, it has at least as many influences as songs, and the instrumentation also tends to be a lot more interesting and diverse than the Britneys of the world, even with their star producers, typically employ.  More importantly, all the influences are integrated into the songs themselves just about flawlessly.

Still, I can't give it an unreserved recommendation for everyone here as I just don't think most here would enjoy it much.  I could see Andree (or those with similar tastes) loving it even more than me, though.

[Brenden]

I'll give U2 4 stars, it was very close though. Crumbs From Your Table irritates me everytime I listen to it, and One Step Closer and Original of The Species are highly forgettable, but there's enough good stuff for it to not fall to three stars. But it is right on the verge.

[Josh]

Well, as much as I tried to resist its seductive melodies and its dramatic storytelling, I'm going to have to give Picaresque a solid 5 stars. In my review I'll be giving it an A-, which is just barely five stars, but still... there's a lot to love about this album, even if it's not the kind of thing I imagine myself coming back and listening to for years to come.

[murlough23]

bloop - Dang! I was gonna go with 5, but dropped it to 4 after hearing a lot of the vocal snippets in the clips. Didn't think it'd be your cup of tea even though you'd respect it critically, so 4 was my way of splitting the difference.

Josh - Ditto. I had 5 originally, and changed it to 4. I need to stop second-guessing myself!

Brenden - Woohoo, I was right! You feel exactly the same way I do about this album. Seriously.

[dgp11776]

So I hit bloop, Josh, and Brenden dead on.  I originally had 3 for murlough and changed it a flippin' 2...doh!!

[murlough23]

So I hit bloop, Josh, and Brenden dead on.  I originally had 3 for murlough and changed it a flippin' 2...doh!!

I think almost everyone voted a 2 for me. I guess they've heard me complain about The Corrs' non-Irishness one too many times.

NP: "Stars & Stripes", Olivia the Band

[Brenden]

I was just off on bloop, murlough, and josh.

[worldofcm]

Kendall Payne - GROWN

Technically, this would recieve a 4 1/2, but it's good enough in my opinion to round up to a 5 rather than rounding down to 4.  Extremely smart album.

5 STARS

[bdg13disciple]

so due to some technical issues...
my CMC review for Blind Boys is still in a holding pattern...

but, since this game is waiting for my score...
it landed an 85 which is safely in the low 4 range...

peace... love... bdg...  

[cbluejays]

So far, I've hit everyone dead on (even Murlough), except for missing WorldofCM by one star...I think you should round down   .  This of course is pending Danny's score...

[murlough23]

This of course is pending Danny's score...

Yeah. Danny, where you at?

[murlough23]

Still no word from Danny, so I can't score this yet, but I'll give you guys a start on Round 4.

http://www.thephorum.net/index.php?act=ST&f=7&t=2017

NP: "In State", Kathleen Edwards

[eatahouse]

I hit right on on bdg, Brenden, and WorldofCM. I missed Josh's and bloop's by 2, and murlough's by 1    

[danny316]

Sorry, Danny was busy all day....normally he's up 'til midnight so he can post right away, but he went to bed before midnight for some reason. Thursday's the longest schedule for him too, and then he wound up staying out of town to take Jill to the hospital and then spending some time out with the family. Now he's talking in the third person for the hell of it.

So, the Arcade Fire is a rip-off. A good rip-off, and I like who they're ripping off, so they actually get a full 5 points from me. I think they sound an awful lot like self-titled-era Sixpence None the Richer - the creative rock, the unusual instrumental sounds, the strings, the chirpy female vocals, the song in a foreign language trick, etc. I don't know if Arcade Fire is more talented or if they're just better at managing their talent, but they do a good deal of new stuff with the sound, and it's not like Sixpence is still using that sound anyway. Where Sixpence was subdued and folksy, Arcade Fire is upbeat and dancable. The actual songs aren't bad either. 5 stars, easily one of the best "rip-off"s I've ever heard.

Hey, I did promise I'd say something surprising about them. Did anyone see that coming?

[Josh]

Wow. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I disagree with your assessment, Danny, but hey, I guessed your score correctly, so I won't argue.

[danny316]

Wow. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I disagree with your assessment, Danny, but hey, I guessed your score correctly, so I won't argue.

The similarities are probably sticking out to me more than they normally would because I'm such a big Sixpence fan, but I do think they are there and not just in my head. It could just be a coincidence that they sound similar though, I really haven't heard anything about Arcade Fire liking Sixpence.