SGTC: Mach II, Round 1

[murlough23]

I'm going to go ahead and list our critic picks now, and give everyone a head start, since I may be busy tomorrow. Everyone has until Midnight PST on Friday, October 7 to register their guesses. Critics who still want to participate can PM me until midnight tonight with their album picks.

I'm like to extend a hearty welcome to our newest critics - NinjaRob, plvarona, and Wildcat. You three will certainly be the wildcards for at least the first few rounds, since we're all less familiar with your tastes and your reasoning.

OK, everybody, over the next week, listen to clips, downloaded mp3's, or the CD if you have it, or just take a wild guess, for each of the albums that these people have chosen. Try to determine, on a scale of 1 to 5, what each person would rate the album they chose.

bdg: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl (Clips)
bloop: Hillary Duff, Hillary Duff (Clips)
Brenden: Kanye West, Late Registration (Full Album)
Danny: Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen (Clips)
Josh: Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Blood and Chocolate (Clips)
Murlough: David Crowder Band, A Collision (Clips)
NinjaRob: Becoming the Archetype, Terminate Damnation (Clips)
plvarona: David Crowder Band, A Collision (Clips)
Wildcat: Van Halen, Fair Warning (Clips)
worldofcm: David Crowder Band, A Collision (Clips)

Here'a a refresher course for the scoring:

Exact match = 10 points
Off by 1 star = 5 points
Off by 2 stars = 2 points
Off by 3 or 4 stars = 0 points

Your score at the end of a round is the sum of your points divided by the number of critics whose scores you had to guess. You don't guess your own score (obviously), so for critics in this round, the total will be divided by 9, and for everyone else playing (participants can jump in or out at any time, but obviously it's to your advantage to play every round), it'll be divided by 10. The winner is the person with the highest score after 12 rounds.

Note to critics: It's not required, but it would be helpful if you uploaded a track from your album to Vlad!'s Phorum Hub (see the "Provisional Pub" thread under music). I'll take care of a track from the David Crowder Band CD for this round.

OK... GO!

[murlough23]

Just for fun, I'll put a few of my guesses out there first.

bdg: 4 stars
bloop: 2 stars
Brenden: 4 stars
Danny: 4 stars
Josh: 3 stars
NinjaRob: 4 stars
plvarona: 5 stars
Wildcat: 4 stars
worldofcm: 4 stars

[Brenden]

You can listen to the whole Kanye album Here

[Wildcatblue7]

P.S.  I'll make an attempt to upload something to the Pub sometime in the near future . . . I don't have the software downloaded right now, but perhaps in a future round.

[murlough23]

P.S.  I'll make an attempt to upload something to the Pub sometime in the near future . . . I don't have the software downloaded right now, but perhaps in a future round.

No software needed; in the future just use this web page. Might eb kind of cumbersome on a dial-up, but that's true for any upload method.

[murlough23]

ACK! I accidentally edited Wildcat's post. Stupid proximity of the "Edit" and "Quote" buttons. Can you repost your guesses, Wildcat? Sorry about that.

[Wildcatblue7]

haha.  yes, I can.  

bdg: four
bloop: two
Brenden: four
Danny: three
Josh: four
Murlough: four
NinjaRob: four
plvarona: four
worldofcm: four

ta da!

edit--uploading "Unchained" now.

[bloop]

bdg:  Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl 4 stars
Brenden: Kanye West, Late Registration 4 stars (prediction:  personality and hubris overload strikes again)
Danny: Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen 3 stars
Josh: Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Blood and Chocolate 4 stars
Murlough: David Crowder Band, A Collision 5 stars
NinjaRob: Becoming the Archetype, Terminate Damnation 4 stars
plvarona: David Crowder Band, A Collision 5 stars
Wildcat: Van Halen, Fair Warning hmm, I'll go with 5 stars.
worldofcm: David Crowder Band, A Collision 5 stars.  Solidarity!

1 = F
2 = D
3 = C
4 = B
5 = A
Yes?

*edit* Just in case you don't read sigs, I did put a Hillary Song up on the pub.

[murlough23]

bdg just chimed in with a critic pick, so make sure you guys take note of that.

[eatahouse]

bdg: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl (Clips) 4
bloop: Hillary Duff, Hillary Duff (Clips) 1
Brenden: Kanye West, Late Registration (Full Album) 3
Danny: Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen (Clips) 4
Josh: Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Blood and Chocolate (Clips) 4
Murlough: David Crowder Band, A Collision (Clips) 5
NinjaRob: Becoming the Archetype, Terminate Damnation (Clips) 4
plvarona: David Crowder Band, A Collision (Clips) 5
Wildcat: Van Halen, Fair Warning (Clips) 4
worldofcm: David Crowder Band, A Collision (Clips) 5

[NinjaRob17]

bdg: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl - 4 Stars
bloop: Hillary Duff, Hillary Duff - 1 Star
Brenden: Kanye West, Late Registration - 4 Stars
Danny: Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen - 3 Stars
Josh: Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Blood and Chocolate - 4 Stars
Murlough: David Crowder Band, A Collision - 5 Stars
plvarona: David Crowder Band, A Collision - 5 Stars
Wildcat: Van Halen, Fair Warning - 5 Stars
worldofcm: David Crowder Band, A Collision - 5 Stars

Also, I put "One Man Parade" by BTA on the pub. You can also listen to "The Epigone" and "Into Oblivion" here. You can also download "Elegy" here.

[Josh]

All subject to change, of course...

bdg: 4
bloop: 2
Brenden: 4
Danny: 3
Murlough: 5
NinjaRob: 4
plvarona: 5
Wildcat: 5
worldofcm: 5

[beautifulmess]

bdg: 4
bloop: 2
Brenden: 3
Danny: 4
Josh: 4
Murlough: 4
NinjaRob: 3
plvarona: 4
Wildcat: 5
worldofcm: 5

[worldofcm]

I'm gonna have to start this game off sucking...

bdg: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl - 4 stars
bloop: Hillary Duff, Hillary Duff - 2 stars
Brenden: Kanye West, Late Registration - 4 stars
Danny: Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen - 2 stars
Josh: Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Blood and Chocolate - 5 stars
Murlough: David Crowder Band, A Collision - 5 stars
NinjaRob: Becoming the Archetype, Terminate Damnation - 4 stars
plvarona: David Crowder Band, A Collision - 5 stars
Wildcat: Van Halen, Fair Warning - 3 stars
 

[Brenden]

bdg: 4
bloop: 2
Danny: 3
Josh: 4
Murlough: 4
NinjaRob: 4
plvarona: 5
Wildcat: 4
worldofcm: 5
 

[plvarona]

My guesses:

bdg: 4 stars
bloop: 1 star
Brenden: 4 stars
Danny: 3 stars
Josh: 4 stars
Murlough: 5 stars
NinjaRob: 4 stars
Wildcat:4 stars
worldofcm: 4 stars
 

[bdg13disciple]

bloop: 2
Brenden: 4
Danny: 3
Josh: 4
Murlough: 5
NinjaRob: 5
plvarona: 5
Wildcat: 3
worldofcm: 5


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

[danny316]

bdg: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl 3 stars
bloop: Hillary Duff, Hillary Duff 2 stars
Brenden: Kanye West, Late Registration 4 stars
Josh: Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Blood and Chocolate 5 stars
Murlough: David Crowder Band, A Collision 5 stars
NinjaRob: Becoming the Archetype, Terminate Damnation 4 stars
plvarona: David Crowder Band, A Collision 5 stars
Wildcat: Van Halen, Fair Warning 4 stars
worldofcm: David Crowder Band, A Collision 5 stars

[bdg13disciple]

i'm not going to be around tonight or probably tomorrow...

if you could make your prediction for my score soon, i'll PM you the answer...
otherwise, i hope you read this first and don't open your PM too soon...


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

[murlough23]

Just a reminder to everyone - your guesses are due today before midnight PST. After that time, please post your rating of the album you reviewed to this thread (or PM me with the rating before then - I've made all my guesses now). I'll need to start the next round tomorrow, so also PM me with the albums you'll be reviewing in the next round. Thanks.

[NinjaRob17]

I give it 5 stars.

More on why later.

[Wildcatblue7]

Fair Warning is one of those funny albums that I think of less highly when I'm not listening to it.  When I'm not listening, it's a solid four; when I am, I think five.  Too bad we can't do half ratings.  But for the sake of making life easy for the rest of you, I'll give it four stars.  "Mean Street" and "Unchained" rule, and a couple of the lesser known songs ("Dirty Movies," and I can't tell if it's criticizing the porn industry or supporting it, and "Push Comes to Shove"--even "Saturday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot Out the Door") are pretty nifty.  It doesn't measure up to the debut ("So This is Love?" is such an annoying, cheese ball song--the debut's worst song is better than "So This is Love?") and comes in barely behind 1984--therefore ranking as the third best DLR-era VH album.

[plvarona]

Here's my official verdict:

Album Reviewed: A Collision - David Crowder Band

Pros: The musical instrumentation and the song arrangement appear to be very well thought-out.  The album for the most part flows very smoothly, with the short interludes especially helping to ease the transition between songs.  The band also stretches themsevles out musically, and with a few exceptions, the results were very rewarding.  Even when the band goes through familiar material (mostly during Part A), they execute it quite well.  I was especially impressed with Part C, as the instrumentation and musical moods really clicked for me there.

Cons: Their cover of "I Saw The Light" does nothing for me.  A few songs can get a little repetitive for my taste.  The lyrics, while a cut above those for your typical worship album, are really nothing special.

The Bottom Line: The David Crowder Band has really stepped it up with this one.  The combination of excellent arrangement and instrumentation helps to make this one enjoyable listen-through, with few flaws in between.

Rating: "A-", although I could see myself bumping this up to an "A", as this album is continuing to grow on me.  Either way, this translates to a rating of 5 stars.

[Brenden]

While Kanye has made an entertaining and often amusing rap album, which definatly makes him stand out in my mind apart from most mainstream rappers, there are enough moments where his ego gets in the way and bugs me, and less interesting parts here and there.

a low 4 stars for me.

[worldofcm]

I don't really have time to devulge much - but I settled nicely into a 4 1/2, until the latter part of this week when the album really just kind of "hit" me.  A Collision by David Crowder Band recieves 5 stars from me.

[Brenden]

When should we have our next round picks in by?

[murlough23]

I don't really have time to devulge much - but I settled nicely into a 4 1/2, until the latter part of this week when the album really just kind of "hit" me.  A Collision by David Crowder Band recieves 5 stars from me.

Aargh. You and I totally flip-flopped on that one, because you specifically said it was good, but not a 5-star album, and I was sure it was going to be one just because it appeared to be so darn creative. In the end, I found myself getting really annoyed with the interludes and the sudden cuts from one song to another that really hindered the flow of the album, plus the interview at the end is totally unnecessary as part of the audio portion of a CD. The actual songs are great, even if they don't really surpass normal DCB standards until around track 9, when the album really starts to hit its stride. It's creative, but flawed, so 4 stars.

I'll add up scores later. Folks who don't have their album picks for this round sent to me, please send them ASAP.

[Brenden]

the sudden cuts from one song to another that really hindered the flow of the album

 

Totally agree there. I don't find the interludes to be that bad, though.

[bloop]

Because my computer was infected, I'm busy doing a complete overhaul of the system, so I don't have time to really go into it much, but I'd give Hillary Duff 2 stars, so good for those of you who think I'm a nice guy.

[Josh]

I give Blood and Chocolate 4 stars.

I would explain my logic, but most of you guessed it right anyway, so I guess there's no need.  =)  

[Danny]

Good round for me!

I'm giving Ben Folds Five a strong 4 stars. They're a really tight trio, and they have a strong set of strongs here. The novelty value of the line about "Major Boredom and General Apathy" was worth the 25-cent cost of admission alone. Good stuff!

I'll take on Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing next week.  

[Danny]

I rushed off after writing that last post and THEN realized that I'd already commented on that album elsewhere. Put me down for Velour 100's Fall Sounds instead. (Clips at http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&s...10:98q2g40mtvjz )

[murlough23]

Guys, I'll have to score this round on Sunday afternoon. I spent all of Saturday on the go and didn't get the free moment at home that I had hoped to. I'll push back subsequent rounds a day, so they'll be Sunday through Saturday instead of Saturday through Friday, if that's alright with everyone.

[murlough23]

Round Two has begun.

NP: "All That's Left", Margaret Becker