INDISCIPLINE – 15.5
Hedwig And The Angry Inch 5.5 2 0 7.5
A Man Of No Importance – Love Who You Love 6 2 0 8
I really don’t mind musical theater; some of it is really compelling and transcendent. I liked this, and the lyrics were as powerful as you indicated. But the first song – I’m assuming that was John Cameron Mitchell – was full of promise that it didn’t deliver. That end section (“The origin of love…. Woooo!”) just screamed “MEAT LOAF”, but it didn’t have Meat Loaf’s flair or theatrics. This is why “musical theater” sometimes suffers; in my opinion you need over the top without being too over the top. If that makes sense. He (JCM) gave it all he had but it seemed to fall short for me. I would not say the same for “Love Who You Love”. I liked that; I don’t know for certain who that is (Roger Rees?), but I liked that. It got to the heart of things and had the investment that the song needed. I don’t know that I’d go back to Hedwig, but I’d go for Robin Colcord again (you get a metaphorical point if you get that reference!)
KINGSHMEGLAND - 15.5
Echolyn – Past Gravity 6 2 0 8
The Feeling - Strange 5.5 2 0 7.5
I’ve gotten Echolyn in my other roulette; I thought this was really a beautiful song and a wonderful lyrical idea. It’s actually a really fine example of how music (how THE music) can really reinforce a lyric or complement a lyric. This is a truly powerful and moving song (and now the second from that band that falls in that category; added to the list!). I liked the second one as well; not as much as the a-side but I liked it. At first I identified with the lyric but thought it a little obvious, but there’s a nugget in there: the part about “makes them feel they own you better” and that really hit the target (since I have a situation just like that here at home).
JINGLE.BOY – 16.5
Hardline – In The Hands Of Time 6.5 2 0 8.5
Threshold – The Hours 6 2 0 8
Probably the song I was most looking forward to, once I saw the submissions. BIG Neal Schon fan, and while I love all the Journey stuff, the fusion stuff, and the early Santana-esque stuff, I think he’s underrated as a ROCK (or “rocking”) guitarist. He’s got a neat way of adding balls to what would otherwise be schlock in lesser hands. Not that this is schlock; this is good. The guy should be in “Runaway”, the local Bon Jovi cover band, he sounds so much like young Jon; that’s a good thing. The song had me at that soaring chorus: “Whoa-o-oooooo, o-o-ooooo… Yeah! It’s in the hands of time!” I could listen to that all day long. I just might when this roulette is done… Now, the second song; at first it was okay; it’s a band I’ve heard before in my last roulette (and liked the song a lot), and of course I read your comment and I identified with the lyric in question IMMEDIATELY, as I have a similar experience (though different outcomes). I went back, though, and looked at the lyrics separately, and they REALLY resonated on a couple levels. That gave new appreciation to the song, and I found myself going back to that song again and again during the listening. It’s not the song of the round – that’s your other song or TAC’s a-side – but it was the “grower” of the round by a long shot.
TAC – 16.0
Armored Saint – Tainted Past 6.5 2 0 8.5
Loch Vostok – Expiry Date Of The Soul Of Man 5.5 2 0 7.5
Armored Saint; shock of the round. I can’t exactly say what I was expecting here, but it wasn’t that! What a pleasant surprise too; VERY melodic (my thing) and John Bush can SING. I know this is an odd thing, but with the name “Armored Saint” and his work in Anthrax, I always got a sort of “Phil Anselmo” vibe from him; not the racist stuff, but just “METAL UP YOUR ASS!” kind of vibe. But that was a really poignant song and some really thoughtful phrases in there. Add that to the sort of “’70’s” vibe of the music (honestly, I thought “Guess Who” at one point) it was a real winner. The second song was good – and in my opoinon, had the better line; I agree with you on your note – but it didn’t grab me in the same immediate way. It grew on me on repeated listens, but it was at best a decent track. (GREAT band name, though.)
V-CHLORTHO – 15.0
Blue October – Hate Me 5.5 2 0 7.5
Cowboy Junkies – To Live Is To Fly 5.5 2 0 7.5
Hmmm; two good – not great – songs, with some really poignant thoughts. I too thought that verse from “Hate Me” was a really vivid way of describing dark impulses without it being salacious. And I’m a big fan of Margo Timmons, and have been for some time now. My problem is that I like her a lot more than her band. I’m not the hugest Cowboy Junkies fan, though like anyone from that time, you have to know (or know of) “The Trinity Sessions”. Problem here is that the songs themselves kind of got swallowed up by their competition.
ROMDRUMS – 15.5
Shattered Skies – You Will Know My Name 5.5 2 0 7.5
Karnivool 6 2 0 8
I liked the song; the keyboard hook was really catchy; the verses lost me a little bit, but the chorus was good and I liked how the singer projected that “You Will Know My Name” isn’t exactly a good thing. He sang it almost like a threat! That caught me. Karnivool is another band in my insane world of “preconceived notions”. I’ve heard them somewhere along the line – second band to be a repeat from a past roulette, but for whatever reason the name conjures up “Insane Clown Posse” nonsense. (And imagine my surprise when I learned where the name came from…; imagine my additional surprise when I read my writeup for the other song by them and it was almost identical, except with “Five Finger Death Punch” instead of ICP). Having shared too much there, I’ll say that the song was good. I get that it’s one song, but I don’t hear any of the bands that were mentioned as “contemporaries” in the Wiki article I read, except for Tool. There’s a hard core Tool vibe in the way the song ebbs and flows, which is really cool (that crescendo at about 4:00 almost made the entire song) and a good thing. I got almost zero Audioslave or Velvet Revolver, though, which, even though I like those bands, is also a good thing. About the only thing I didn’t care for was the quivery, Maynard-like aspect to some of the vocals. Didn’t’ ruin the song, or anything, but prevented it from being transcendent to me.
EVERMIND – 16.0
Beyond The Bridge – The Difference Is Human 6 2 0 8
Beyond The Bridge – All A Man Can Do 6 2 0 8
Well, no one can accuse you of playing it safe! First time I heard this I thought “WTF!?”. It seemed like a different song, different tempo, different band, different singer… every 35 seconds. By the third or fourth time, it just seemed… right. Same with your quote: I was like, okay, that’s meaningful, I guess but not really to me. Then having heard the song, heard that EPIC chorus (“My heart is a ponderer; my soul is a wanderer…”) it just fell into place, and made a lot of sense. Even to me (though in a different context). I also liked the way the second song wrapped up the thought in such a satisfying way. At first I didn’t think the song was quite as good as the first one, but it’s just that the build was slower and more deliberate. At first I thought It was a vehicle for the idea more than the idea itself, but I think the music came to symbolize the process of deliberation, of realization of the answer. This was a REALLY good round for you; good stuff here.
LOWDZ – 15.0
Giant – I Can’t Let Go 5.5 2 0 7.5
Danny Vaughn – Is That All There Is 5.5 2 0 7.5
I liked the first song; good singing, good playing, but it didn’t really stick with me. For all the metal ballads out there, bro! (I’m joshing with you). I toyed with giving a half a point for the favorite line being silence, and at first I wasn’t sure where you were talking about, then, like a squeaky wheel, it became something I couldn’t not hear (you didn’t get the point, though. ). As for Danny Vaughn, I’m familiar with him from Tyketto and being on with Eddie Trunk; I think he’s a really good singer; I just didn’t really dig the song too much. It had a sort of quasi-country feel to it that didn’t really ring authentic to me. Again, I like his singing, I just didn’t think this was the best example of it. I appreciated the sentiment, though.
Topic: Stadler's Roulette, 2.0: Singles A's and B's: We have a Champeen! (Read 48086 times)