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Unacclaimed Week 6

Welcome to Week 6!

Please listen to the songs before making your choice, and provide comments (however brief) to form the basis of your pick.

The deadline for Week 6 is 11:59 PM, November 6th AM time.

You can read the descriptions of why these songs were nominated in the rules thread.

Match 21:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band- "Going in the Right Direction"
Nina Simone- "Sinner Man"

Match 22:

The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water"
Carly Simon- "Why"

Match 23:

Streetlight Manifesto- "A Better Place, A Better Time"
Stereophonics- "Local Boy in the Photograph"

Match 24:

Yann Tiersen- "La valse de Monstres"
Mark Joseph- "Lady Lady"

Go, go, go!

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Vote: Nina Simone

When Unclassified came out I didn't understand why it didn't get more critical attention. Maybe because Robert Randolph is lumped in with the jam band scene, but it's a great album, full of energy and life. But Sinnerman is such a beautiful song with that atmospheric piano and soulful vocals. I can't vote against it. Even if it is unnecessarily long.

Vote: The Bellrays

Shocking vote for the Bellrays from the guy who picked them. This album I think got ignored because the rest of the album sounds like 80's hair metal. I really like this song. It's got Guns N Roses epic guitar rock combined with soul. Why is a good song but I'm not too fond of the 'La-de-da-de-da' part.

Vote: Streetlight Manifesto

I'll take a fun bombastic ska-ridden song than those sort of 'Adorably off key' indie vocals over very basic, lifeless guitar chords.

Vote: Yann Tiersen

I'd rather vote against a pure instrumental waltz in this game, but I couldn't stand Lady Lady. The vocals were schmaltzy and embellished and the lyrics were steeped in cliche male self-pity.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

#21 Nina ~~~ I liked both, but I like the Simone track a little better...

#22 Bellrays ~~~ Not bad.

#23 Stereophonics ~~~ One of my favorite songs from the late 90's. Britpop at its best, hard to believe this song wasn't bigger...

#24 Mark Joseph ~~~ Best of the two...

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21
I like the guitar and vocals of "Going in the Right Direction," but "Sinner Man" is just amazing. I don't recall I've ever heard this song, but it is one of my favourites I have heard so far in this competition.
Winner: Nina Simone, "Sinner Man"

Match 22
I quite enjoy "Footprint on the Water." I hope this moves on, as it is one of the reasons I love this competition: discovering new great songs. As for "Why," it's a weak song from an already-acclaimed, already-well-known artist.
Winner: The Bellrays, "Footprints on the Water"

Match 23
The Streetlight Manifesto number is quite unique, where the Stereophonics' song is less annoying.
Winner: Stereophonics, "Local Boy in the Photograph"

Match 24
Hmm...a piece of film score that doesn't blow me away from an already-acclaimed movie. Mark Joseph didn't even have to be that good for it to get my vote, but thankfully, it is great!
Winner: Mark Joseph, "Lady Lady"

A lot of wonderful discoveries this week!

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band- "Going in the Right Direction": I liked this one pretty well, it's the type of modern gospel that I prefer, though the production is still a touch slick for me.

Nina Simone- "Sinnerman": This is an absolute masterpiece, one of Nina's very best, and one of the best songs of all-time in my estimation.

WINNER: Nina Simone (no one this week would have had a chance)


Match 22:

The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water": I quite liked this, sort of a '90s throwback in a way.

Carly Simon- "Why": There are Carly songs I like much better, even '80s ones (i.e. "Let the River Run").

WINNER: The Bellrays


Match 23:

Streetlight Manifesto- "A Better Place, A Better Time": Boy, this match pretty much does not work for me at all. I really don't like any modern-ska influenced stuff, though this is a bit more bearable just for the sheer ambition of it. Though I would have preferred it a lot shorter.

Stereophonics- "Local Boy in the Photograph": I have never liked a single Stereophonics song, and this continues the trend. I just find them boring.

WINNER: Streetlight Manifesto (though I didn't like either song)


Match 24:

Yann Tiersen- "La valse de Monstres": Very good track from "Amelie", I'm always pro-accordion.

Mark Joseph- "Lady Lady": This was pretty good epic-y pop, reminded me A LOT of something I couldn't put my finger on. Stuck in my head now, though not really in a pleasant way.

WINNER: Yann Tiersen (in a close one)

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21:
Robert Randolph & The Family Band- "Going in the Right Direction"
Nina Simone- "Sinner Man"

I really like the verses of "Going In The Right Direction", but I'm not that impressed by the refrain. Very entertaining song, but it's up against one of the many Nina Simone songs that should be higher on AM (or just listed at all, like this one) and that makes "Sinner Man" an easy—although slightly overlong—winner.

Match 22:
The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water"
Carly Simon- "Why"

Very interesting song by the Bellrays, definitely not something I would turn off, but not one of my favorites from this week either. Luckily for the Bellrays it faces a song I only appreciated because of the weird dudes in the clip. Simon's greatest hits album is filled with songs better than this one, and I'm not such a big fan of most of those songs either.

Match 23:
Streetlight Manifesto- "A Better Place, A Better Time"
Stereophonics- "Local Boy in the Photograph"

Don't really like either song, but "Local Boy in the Photograph" is a little better.

Match 24:
Yann Tiersen- "La valse de Monstres"
Mark Joseph- "Lady Lady"

I'm a big fan of the Amélie soundtrack (and the film, for that matter) and although this is not the song I would've picked from the album (Comptine D'un Autre Été (L'Après Midi) is my favorite) it still wins this bracket. "Lady Lady" would've won the two brackets above and comes quite close to Tiersen but doesn't quite make it. I'd love to hear the original Guy, any way you could make it available?

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

"Sinner Man" def. "Going in the Right Direction"

Robert Randolph & the Family Band's tune is a nice accessible jam with a solid bassline, but it faces perhaps the stiffest competition of the first round in Nina Simone's genuine masterpiece. Why this track is not highly acclaimed is beyond me.

"Footprints on the Water" def. "Why"

Neither of these tracks are really my thing. I don't feel like the Bellrays track has a solid enough vocal to overcome its bland production, but that's still enough to beat the stereotypically 80s "Why."

"Local Boy in the Photograph" def. "A Better Place, A Better Time"

I honestly couldn't stand either of these tracks. Generic alt-rock defeats whiny pop punk; both are undeserving to move on.


"La Valse des Monstres" def. "Lady Lady"

After the first five seconds on the Yann Tiersen track I thought to myself "this sounds like something from the Amelie soundtrack." Sure enough, I look it up and it was on the Amelie soundtrack. It sounds extremely fresh and original, especially when listened to back-to-back with the generic Mark Joseph song.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21:
Nina Simone- "Sinner Man"

Robert Randolph agains one of musics greatest. There are very few(none) of the songs this far that will beat"Sinner Man". It is pure joy on the edge to euforism to here Nina let it all out in this Beautiful song. I do not think it is to long. When it ends i keep playing it on repeat again and again.

Match 22:
The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water"

"Footprint on the water" is this weeks nice new discovery. "Why" gives me chills of all the things i did not like with a lot of the eighties music.

Match 23:
Streetlight Manifesto- "A Better Place, A Better Time"

This weeks weak bracket. Streetlight wins a match-up i feel a little indifferent to.

Match 24:
Yann Tiersen- "La valse de Monstres"

I like "La valse de Monstres". It has a simplicity to it that make me forget that i am not supposed to enjoy accordeon music. Perhaps it is the same reason that makes me like "Beirut" and "Detektivbyrån". It is not likely thou, since the only thing Tiersen has in common whit them is the accordeon. I might just have to addmit to myself that i like accordeon music.
"Lady Lady" is an OK song. It is just that i have heared a lot of songs like this one before and this one does not get me interested.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21: Two of the best songs I've heard in this game so far.

Winner: Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction"

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction": Awesome funky track! Better than all songs I know from Sly & the Family Stone and Funkadelic.
Nina Simone- "Sinner Man": Impressive song. Loved the jazzy arrangements and specially her unique timbre. Maybe only loses here for being too long. Anyway, both the songs of this match are perfect.

Match 22:

Winner: The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water"

The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water": Another great track. Top 3 of the week. Looks much like Prince.
Carly Simon- "Why": Didn't care for it.

Match 23:

Winner: Stereophonics- "Local Boy in the Photograph"

Streetlight Manifesto- "A Better Place, A Better Time": I don't have prejudice against ska and pop punk, indeed, I assume I have some Smash Mouth and Green Day songs among my favorites (and also some Pixies tracks which flert with those genres), but this probably won't joint them. It's good at the first listen, but then becomes tiring for being so repetitive.
Stereophonics- "Local Boy in the Photograph": Nice pop-rock tune! Always good to hear some good Britpop.

Match 24:

Winner: Mark Joseph- "Lady Lady"

Yann Tiersen- "La valse de Monstres": Not my kind of song.
Mark Joseph- "Lady Lady": Good song, specially in the beginning. It is only a conventional pop track, but it's quite beautiful.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21 Winner: Nina Simone, "Sinner Man"

Tough match-up for a really fun song by Robert Randolph. Great performance by the Family Band; the song itself is not quite as good. But I really should check out more of Randolph's stuff. As for the classic Simone track... I am reserving judgment as to whether it should be the clear favorite to win the whole thing. If I want to be nit-picky, I'd say that some of Simone's declamations feel a bit off to me. That's minor though. It is a mighty track by a mighty artist.

Match 22 Winner: Bellrays, "Footprints on Water"

An interesting match-up of not entirely successfully funky tunes. The Bellrays number, which is a bit by the numbers in its 90's pop-soul, is redeemed by a very good vocal performance by the singer, and some nice bass work. As for "Why," it's an almost great track, and certainly is evocative of that early 80's time frame. I really love Chic, and think the world of Rodgers and Edwards as musicians. But I have some real problems with some of Rodgers/Edwards production work in the 80's. (E.g., Some of Madonna's worst singles were the Rodgers' produced tracks off of Like a Virgin. On the other had, I like Bowie's Let's Dance album better than a lot of people.) Here the drum and bass work is interesting, but the song remains flat... and I don't think it is Carly Simon's fault entirely.

Match 23 Winner: Stereophonics, "Local Boy in the Photograph"

Streetlife Manifesto were ambitious in scope, but the track felt unoriginal. A warmed-over mash of ska and Pinkerton-era Weezer... but needed some better (or at least more surprising) production to make it more interesting. And while the Stereophonics single felt overly familiar, I enjoyed the lead singer's mix of anthemic wail and raspy character.

Match 24 Winner - Yann Tiersen, "La Valse de Monstres"

What I liked about this, besides the warm remembrance of a fun film that I have not seen in a long time, is how the slight variations on the theme build through the recording, giving the track a nice slow crescendo-ing feel. The Joseph song has a real Oasis vibe, but even slicker... and in the end too slick for my tastes.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21:
Nina Simone- "Sinner Man"
The Robert Randolph song is good and has a lot going on in terms of exciting licks, etc., but "Sinner Man" is epic, and easily my favorite from this bracket.

Match 22:

The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water"
It's not that I'm crazy about "Footprints"... it's more that I listen to the Carly Simon song and I hardly notice it. Sounds very dated and just not very interesting to my ears.

Match 23:

Stereophonics- "Local Boy in the Photograph"
Very close on these two. My gut response is what I'm going with... Stereophonics.

Match 24:

Yann Tiersen- "La valse de Monstres"
I like the Mark Joseph song and expect it to do well next time around, but for now Yann Tierson has the sound of something I want to hear more of.

Thanks!

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

I'm only voting for songs on Spotify today due to time (as well as the songs I already have a decent opinion on).

Nina Simone - "Sinnerman"

How can you vote against this? That it's eligible for this game is a travesty.

Carly Simon - "Why"

I actually like this song a lot. You can't go wrong with Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards in the studio producing.

Streetlight Manifesto - "A Better Place, A Better Time"

Stereophonics were too straightforward, while this is ska-punk (itself an underrated style) at its finest.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21:
Although it could've been cut 3 minutes shorter, Sinner Man is a strong contender for the final rounds and will probably win this match. That's the reason why I'm voting for Robert Randolph's Going In The Right Direction, which happens to be an excellent song as well, and certainly doesn't deserve the severe beating by Sinner Man it gets right now.
Robert Randolph wins.

Match 22:
Carly Simon's Why doesn't do very much for me, so The Bellrays win with a good song that includes a nice bridge.
The Bellrays win.

Match 23:
Streetlight Manifesto's A Better Place A Better Time & Stereophonics' Local Boy In The Photograph, both decent songs while not outstanding. The Stereophonics effort is just a tid-bit more solid.
Stereophonics win.

Match 24:
I've listened to Yann Tiersen's Amelie soundtrack in the past and back then decided not to purchase it. I'm glad that it gets a second chance here with me, because La Valse De Monstres is a terrific piece of music. Mark Joseph's Lady Lady is OK, but doesn't stand a chance against the Yann Tiersen track.
Yann Tiersen wins.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21:

Nina Simone- "Sinner Man"

As winter hits that Robert Randolph song makes me sad, because it reminds me of open air music festivals and big BBQs. It's a really strong song, but Sinner Man has a lot of prestige.

Match 22:

The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water"

Bellrays a solid song... mostly a winner because Carly Simon didn't do anything for me.

Match 23:

Streetlight Manifesto- "A Better Place, A Better Time"

This song was kind of a sprawling epic version of the emo-ska-punk ditties that were very common in the 1990s. The other song didn't stand out as much.

Match 24:

Mark Joseph- "Lady Lady"

I can't really put incidental instrumental music in the same category with these other songs. Mark Joseph wins by default.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21 :
Nina Simone - Sinner Man
Same as almost everybody, Robert Randolph song was a very good surprise but could not stand the tough competition is had to face

Match 22 :
The Bellrays - Footprints on the Water
Bellrays have been one of the worst deception of my musical experiences, some French critics sold them as the best existing rock'n'roll band and obviously, they are not. Still, Why is quite annoying.

Match 23 :
Streetlight Manifesto - A Better Place, a Better Time
Music I was running away when I was 14 vs music I was looking for when I was 18, but always turned being disappointing, with the notable exception of "Destruction by Definition" by the Suicide Machines which I still enjoy listening to once in a while

Match 24 :
Yann Tiersen - La Valse des Monstres
A quick look at my all time top 50 songs (or just at my top 3) will show that I like waltz, or 3/4 time songs to be more large, that gave the edge to Yann, even though I like La Valse d'Amélie more.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band- "Going in the Right Direction"
Nina Simone- "Sinner Man"

I liked Robert's, but Nina Simone and her Sinner Man are unbelievable good. Her voice is an unique instrument.

Match 22:

The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water"
Carly Simon- "Why"

You can throw the rocks but I love this song! The lariladira, the beat and Carly vocals fit the song well, nice change of pace from her late 70s days.

Match 23:

Streetlight Manifesto- "A Better Place, A Better Time"
Stereophonics- "Local Boy in the Photograph"

It was a weak bracket, but i did liked Streetlight better, maybe if i gave Stereophonics a little more time it could grown on me.

Match 24:

Yann Tiersen- "La valse de Monstres"
Mark Joseph- "Lady Lady"

Different from everything i've heard before - in a good way. Looking forward to hear more of this song next round. Lady Lay was a nice pop song, but i guess that for now i prefer Yann.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Match 21:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band- "Going in the Right Direction": I like Unclassified quite a bit, and had this nomination been for "I Want More Love", I would have voted for it over just about everything. Instead, I have to give a sad 2nd place to one of the best songs to not get my vote.

Nina Simone- "Sinner Man": Holy crap. This is invigorating, haunting, beautiful and challenging all at once. My Dad was a huge fan of hers, but I haven't listened to a whole bunch of her stuff. That's going to change now. Wow.

Match 22:

The Bellrays- "Footprints on the Water": This is definitely a solid pick, and is quite interesting- something I may grow to like more with more listens.

Carly Simon- "Why": I normally have similar taste to my Mom. She got into Carly Simon a few years ago in a big way and I listened to a lot of her stuff. Hated it all. That said, this was not one of the songs I heard, and "Why" has the distinction of being the first Carly Simon song I actually like- totally 80s is right up my alley. That said, I can't see myself getting much more out of it, so I vote for The Bellrays.

Match 23:

Streetlight Manifesto- "A Better Place, A Better Time": Though not quite as blatantly obnoxious as stuff like Sum 41 and New Found Glory, this is still aggressively annoying. My extreme bias against 90s and 00s pop-punk prevents me from getting any enjoyment out of this, largely due to the bratty vocals.

Stereophonics- "Local Boy in the Photograph": I wanted to smack the singer a little bit less, and that's enough to win this match.

Match 24:

Yann Tiersen- "La valse de Monstres": I'm a fan of Amelie, and this definitely fits the mood of the film perfectly. I like how it gets more intense toward the end.

Mark Joseph- "Lady Lady": I had a strange reaction to this song. At first, it sounded a bit strummy and Beatlesy, and I was dreading what was to come. Then, it went into some rather beautiful verses with a great falsetto, and I was intrigued. Then, the chorus came in and was a letdown. It makes me feel that I may change my mind with future listens, but I'm not there yet.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Voting for this week is now closed.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Here are your results for Week 6!

Match 21:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction": 2
Nina Simone - "Sinner Man": 14

With a blowout from start to finish, Nina Simone asserts herself as a strong candidate to win it all.

Match 22:

The Bellrays - "Footprints on the Water": 14
Carly Simon - "Why": 2

Another blowout, it looked like The Bellrays could actually sweep the match until Carly Simon picked up 2 late votes.

Match 23:

Streetlight Manifesto - "A Better Place, A Better Time": 7
Stereophonics - "Local Boy in the Photograph": 9

It looked like Stereophonics were going to run away with an easy win, but Streetlight Manifesto stormed back to cut the lead to 8-7 but came up a bit short.

Match 24:

Yann Tiersen- "La valse de Monstres": 11
Mark Joseph- "Lady Lady": 4

Another easy victory, but not a blowout. Mark Joseph kept it close early, but could not maintain the pace.

The winners advance to the Winners Bracket 1 (W1), while the losers can take heart in the fact that they are not out of the game yet, and move to Losers Bracket 1 (L1).

Up-to-date brackets are available here.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

Stephan
"Lady Lady" would've won the two brackets above and comes quite close to Tiersen but doesn't quite make it. I'd love to hear the original Guy, any way you could make it available?


Stephan, if you're still interested (I know I haven't posted on the forum in what feels like ages but I literally haven't had a spare second these last few weeks), just give me an address and I'll email the original version to you, minus the wedding band drums and full symphony orchestra.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 6

stephan at neoptolemos dot com, thanks!