Posts

The Fall Cup: The Final, pt 3

Image
                 And so, after six months, 51 posts and thousands of words, we finally reach the end of the road and announce the winner of this Fall Cup... But before we get to the final result, a few thanks: - To those on the Facebook groups Mighty Fall and It's Not Repetition... who liked and commented (often incredulously!) - Similarly, to those who did likewise on Twitter, especially  Paul Garratt , who reliably gave his verdict on pretty much every tie. - To the good folk on the Fall Online Forum, who contributed over 1300 posts to the 'Fall Cup' thread and never hesitated to express their views in their inimitably frank way! - And finally, of course, to Eric, bzfgt, Richard and Lewis, whose thoughtful, entertaining and perceptive commentary made this both an enjoyable read and a pleasure to run. Thanks for your good company guys. Right, on with the results... Scores after the second round : 25 Winter 22 Dr Bucks' Letter 20 New Puritan 13 Last Commands Of Xyraloth
2 comments
Read more

The Fall Cup: The Final, pt 2

Image
                Scores after the first round : 13 Dr Bucks' Letter 11 Winter  9 New Puritan  7 Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S. Round 2 New Puritan v  Dr Bucks' Letter Steve:  1-3   DBL was always going to be my winner here, but NP is more than good enough to give me a little pause for thought - so  by the criteria set out in the last post, it has to be a 3-1 result. Eric:  1-3          I'm temperamentally more of a "Year-Zero Nazi" than a "Look-Back Bore," so in the cases where one of the older cuts meets one of the new cuts, right here, right now, I'm going to favor the latter. In looking at these compositions and how they were presented, there's no good studio version of "New Puritan," and I've never heard a great live version of "Dr Bucks," so they're not quite the complete across-the-spectrum complete deals for me. But still, "Bucks" in its best form is a better song than "Puritan" in it
Post a Comment
Read more

The Fall Cup: The Final, pt 1

Image
               After 48 posts, thousands of words and endless deliberation, we have arrived at the final stage of this competition. The songs that are going to slug it out for this prestigious award are: New Puritan Winter Dr Bucks' Letter Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via MES We are not going to have a traditional knock-out semi-final and final; instead, the panel are going to vote in a 'round robin' format. It will work like the group stage of the World Cup: each track will 'play' each of the other in three sets of matches. For each tie, the judges have three scoring options: 4-0 (Clear-cut, no-brainer decision) 3-1 (Some pause for thought before deciding the winner) 2-2 (Unable to separate them) N.B. I will post the results in three stages, but I won't begin until all of the panel have cast all of their votes, so as to avoid any temptation to vote 'tactically'. (I entered my own scores before any of the rest of the panel voted.) Round 1 New Puritan v Wi
3 comments
Read more

The Fall Cup: Quarter-finals 3&4

Image
              QF3: Mountain Energei v Dr Bucks' Letter Steve : I've voted consistently for 'Mountain' from the last 64 onwards because I love its fluid, hypnotic charm, boundless energy and crafty humour - also because there are several extended live versions that are pure joy. But for me it's met its match here. DBL, musically, is such a perfect balance: the coarse, grainy programmed rhythm track complemented by the delicate rimshot drums and the melodic guitar line that subtly cuts through the fuzz and distortion... (and yes, I am quoting from my own book here - no need to reinvent the wheel). It's good enough to sustain one of MES' more throwaway performances - but in fact he more than matches the quality of the music, with a sneering, perfectly pitched performance, filled with some of his most entertaining enunciations (‘recompense’, ‘magazine’, ‘checklist’, ‘CDs’, ‘download it’). The Realm of the Essence of Tong should be triumphant. Eric : The toughest
Post a Comment
Read more

The Fall Cup: Quarter-finals 1&2

Image
             QF1: New Puritan v Fiery Jack Steve : I do value 'Jack': not only is it a beautifully drawn vignette of working class life with some concisely evocative lyrics (' My face is slack /  And kidneys burn i n the small of my back') but it also has a crisp, invogorating energy that still sounds fresh over four decades later. It's also a significant moment in Fall history, a first 'dabbling in rockabilly' that fed into some of their most notable work of the period. However, I voted against it in the last 32 and last 16 and I'm going to do so again. For all its virtues, it sounds thin and slight compared to the towering, awe-inspiring ' righteous maelstrom’  that is 'New Puritan'. The third Peel session was an even more seismic shift in Fall history, and its apex was NP's torrent of lyrical invention (MES sounds like he's almost struggling to keep up with the ideas pouring from him) which,  coupled with the lacerating guitars and
Post a Comment
Read more

The Fall Cup: Last 16, Ties 7-8

Image
            Tie 7: Crop-Dust v Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S. Steve : I rate RNFLP  very highly (see my recent review here ), but although I appreciate the merits of Last Commands, for me there are several better songs on the album. In fact, I would argue that it's sitting here taking the place of Proteinprotection, which was eliminated criminally early. Crop-Dust has been a bit of a surprise package: I can't imagine that anyone would have envisaged any tracks from AYAMW  still being in the competition at this stage. But I think that its murky, fractured psychedelic sprawl, however plagiarised it might be, deserves to go even further. Eric : Dave Milner appeared on but one proper Fall studio album, but boy did he make his mark with it, as two of the final 16 songs standing in this contest carry his songwriting credit. I had to vote against one of them ("Mountain Energei") earlier in this round, so it's a no-brainer for me to tout Team Milner in this tie, a
1 comment
Read more

The Fall Cup: Last 16, Ties 5-6

Image
           Tie 5: Weather Report 2 v Mountain Energei Steve : The most difficult tie of the last 16 for me. I adore the fractured vulnerability of WR2, but Mountain's light-hearted, controlled exuberance (especially in its live recordings) brings me so much joy that I have to give it the nod. Eric : This is the first of three consecutive ties featuring internecine 21st Century Fall Battle Royales, all of them sort of dreadful choices, this one perhaps the worst of the trio. In my "Favorite Songs by Favorite Bands" series on my website, posted in July 2020, I ranked "Energei" as #9 in my Top Ten, and "Weather" as #5.  With a lot of resigned reluctance, I'm going to hew to that ordering here and select "Weather Report 2" as my choice for advancement to the Elite Eight. "Mountain Energei" is a joy of a number, fun, catchy, cleverly arranged, and tight. All admirable elements, but the woozy and spooky and sad vibe of "Weather&q
Post a Comment
Read more