Round 3 - Lyrical ContentWell, everyone thinks they are going to do poorly this round. Somebody has to win it, so lets see who did.
6 pointsSoundScapeMN - Kevin Gilbert - Certifiable #1 Smash - Some songs deal in subtlety and open interpretation...this isn't one of them. However, the bash your brains in sarcasm in this song is all kinds of awesome. It's about selling out musically to make it big. Ok...I can't relate to that, but the song probably resonates so strongly with me because of my very negative view of mainstream music. Got to love the mocking of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" video. To be fair, I've recently got into Kevin Gilbert, but I haven't found a copy of this album yet, but it's only a matter of time.
YtseBitsySpider - Pink Floyd - Coming Back to Life - I'll admit to being very unknowledgeable about Floyd. I'm familiar with DSotM, a handful of songs here and there (One of These Days is one of my favorite instrumentals). The version I was sent was from their Pulse live album, which once upon a time I had listened to a few times as my dad owned it. I don't remember this song from when I was a teen, but now I really got the itch to go track down Pulse on DVD. Don't know why I never gave them serious treatment, and maybe it's time I did...this song certainly is making a strong case for it. This song seems to be about regret, something I think we can all relate to. Like how I'm regretting not making a stronger effort to introduce myself to PF all these years. Bravo Ytse, you know how to play this game. It's worth putting up with your complaining
5 pointsPortrucci - Muse - Take a Bow - Alright...another one of those bands that have never "broken through" for me. Well, this is by far the best song I've heard from them. Angry without being heavy or screaming, it's catchy and interesting enough to keep my attention on the song. Guess its time to take them off the bands I've written off, they can Take a Bow, I'll give them another chance even though I don't like some of the noise included in the song.
4 pointsZantera - Anathema - Universal - I have some experience with Anathema, owning two of their earlier albums. Lyrically, I like the open-endedness. Zantera told me why he chose this song, and I definitely see his point of view - but not having been through what he went through, I interpreted the lyrics not through the lens of loss, but of one of excitement and anticipation, maybe because I didn't get a gloomy feel from the song. Either way, its always great when room for your POV is in a song. I also liked it musically, not as much as I liked most of the stuff on Alternative 4, but enough to consider checking out their new album at some point down the road
3 pointsSeventh Son - Cormorant - Sky Burial - So this is new all around, though according to SS not representative of their body of work. While the lyrics are nothing profound, they are well versed and at not based on a well known tale. Musically, I was really digging this. The biggest complaint is that sometimes the vocals aren't as up front in the mix as they should be. Really a minor complaint. Again, SS sent me something I really like, but its coming up short basically because it doesn't really fit the round theme well.
Wolfking - Gary Moore - Empty Rooms - Since I wasn't given a link for a specific version of this song, I chose the one on the Ballads & Blues album...don't know if the other versions are the same or not. Anywho...for a ballad, this ain't bad. The song itself is about being heart broken...something I'm not really familiar with, but even without that, it's still soulful and very enjoyable.
2 pointsSigz - Modest Mouse - Bukowski - I've heard of this band for years, but for some reason thought they were an electronic band. Glad they aren't
Well, the song isn't really about Charles Bukowski, as much as it seems to be about questioning existence, notably your own, so the song does well for the round theme. While I didn't dislike the song, at the same time I don't know how well I could make it through an entire CD of similar material.
1 pointGorille85 - Thrice - Daedalus - Thrice is one of those bands I've heard everyone talk about, but couldn't get into what I heard of it, so I was hoping someone would send me a track just incase I was picking the wrong tracks at random. Lyrically, it's just a retelling of the story of Daedalus and Icarus. Nothing terribly new or interesting there - Iron Maiden went there almost 30 years ago. Musically, it wasn't bad, just not very interesting...nothing that's wetting my appetite for more Thrice. I'll stick with rice.
After 3 rounds:
SoundscapeMN & YtseBitsySpider - 17
Portrucci- 14
Wolfking - 11
Sigz - 10
Zantera - 9
Seventh Son - 6
Gorille85 - 5
Just as an aside - I don't look at who sent me what when I listen - I just load up all 8 songs and listen to them in a random order - and put names next to them after I do the bulk of the write-ups. With the brackets, no one is eliminated.
Round 4: Debut - basically an open round, but the song sent must be from the band's debut album (EP's and demos excluded)