The Fall Cup: Stage 1, Groups 11-12
Group 11
Dktr Faustus, Backdrop, The Usher, Kicker Conspiracy, Leave the Capitol, Symbol of Mordgan, Feeling Numb/Numb At The Lodge, It’s The New Thing, Hot Aftershave Bop, The Book of Lies, Live at the Witch Trials, Contraflow, Hey! Luciani, Cab It Up!, Bonkers in Phoenix
The Fallen
'Symbol Of Mordgan' (despite being a candidate for 'Most Fall-like Song Title') was the latest entry on the growing list of 'throwaway/filler/p*ss-take tracks that were clearly destined for an early exit'. A recording of Peel and Scanlon discussing football might have made for an acceptable 30 second interlude, but three minutes? Even Eric couldn't find it within himself to give it any points.
'Live At The Wich Trials' received quite a bit of support in the Twitter poll I mentioned in the introduction, presumably from people who didn't really know what they were voting for. It only managed a solitary point here (bzfgt: 'there's something affecting about it '), but to be fair, it's one of those that suffers from a lack of context when evaluated as a standalone track. As Richard put it:
'Like a little pond snail, this does a very useful job in its natural habitat, but shrivels and dies swiftly on removal.'
I find 'The Usher' to be a pleasant enough little interlude (I especially enjoy the way the list goes from A-F and then 'six'), but it was always going to struggle here. 'Feeling Numb' is, as Lewis said, a 'decent enough upbeat tune', but, as bzfgt pointed out, 'all the "Prozac, baby!" stuff seems... trite'.
I had expected 'The Book Of Lies' to be another zero-pointer, and indeed Lewis described it as 'more or less unlistenable vocally' and Richard felt that 'the pronunciation of “lah-hah-hize" is surely one of the least appealing moments in The Fall’s catalogue'. However, bzfgt gave it three (although he confessed to doing so in order to annoy Lewis) and Eric gave it an inexplicable seven.
I'm sure I'm not alone in being taken aback by 'Bonkers in Phoenix' managing to attain twelve points. Brix's original tune ('Shiny Things') was, by her own admission, 'girly and sickly', and for me there's an unfortunately vindictive tone to MES's mangling of the song. Nonetheless, Eric found that 'after a couple of refresher listens, I actually find myself liking Mark's mucking about'.
I was also disappointed to see 'Hot Aftershave Bop', with its trademark muscular Steve Hanley bass line, fall at the first hurdle. Richard, however, described as 'a half-cut boogie'.
The last two of the 'fallen' are both tracks whose early exit might be considered controversial, but they finished some way off the pace. 'It's The New Thing' is certainly brash and energetic, although Lewis thought it 'a bit of a shambles'. 'Hey! Luciani' was in general quite fondly regarded by the panel, but the overall verdict was, as Lewis put it, 'a bit too poppy'.
The (Are You Are Missing) Winners
No surprises at the very top, with 'Leave The Capitol' achieving a sizeable winning margin despite some strong opposition. The next three were fairly predictable as well, although many will not have expected 'Cab It Up!' to outscore 'Backdrop' and, in particular, 'Kicker Conspiracy'.
'Kicker' was held in fourth place by bzfgt's frankly outrageous score of zero. It turns out his objections are not music-based, but concern the song's entry on his Annotated Fall website: 'the page annoys me so much with its reams of incomprehensible soccer commentary'. He did, however, confess that 'if I was drunk and it played at a bar I'd probably pound the table and sing along.'
Group 12
Frightened, Alton Towers, Recovery Kit, I’m Into CB, Garden, The Coliseum, O.F.Y.C. Showcase, The Mixer/The Re-Mixer, Vixen, The Reckoning, Bournemouth Runner, Inevitable, Twister, Fibre Book Troll/Facebook Troll, Beatle Bones ‘n’ Smokin’ Stones
The Fallen
'Vixen' received considerable derision. bzfgt: 'Absolutely horrible... a reimagining of Mannish Boy that no one asked for, or if they did they shouldn't have'; Eric: 'A bad dose of Fallabilly music with bad vocals and lyrics.' Richard was only slightly more positive: 'passable whiny chug.' Beefheart cover 'Beatle Bones ‘n’ Smokin’ Stones' fared no better points-wise. Eric's summary was 'BAD IDEA'; Richard allowed that it was a 'pretty decent stab at the Beefheart song, considering it was almost certainly unrehearsed' but went on to say that 'the guitar tone sounds like toothache'.
Predictably, everyone thought that 'The Coliseum' was far too long, although Lewis felt that there are 'some groovy electronics deep in the mix'. I have a friend whose favourite Fall song is 'The Mixer': he'll be very disappointed by its poor showing here. I don't mind it especially, but I do find it rather bland and dull; Eric agreed - 'anaemic sounding and thin'. 'Inevitable' is pleasant enough, if somewhat forgettable; bzfgt thought it 'a bit half-baked'. 'Twister' clatters along nicely enough, and might have fared a little better in a weaker group.
'Bournemouth Runner' is one of those Fall songs whose popular appeal I find a little mistifying. Although Lewis loves it ('both dark and funny at the same time'), I'm with Richard on this one:
'There’s a hollowness here, a feeling that the constituent parts don’t hang together, that something is missing, whether it be more musical material or just a bit more chutzpah in the performance.'
'The Reckoning' is rather sweet but inessential. 'Fibre Book Troll' divided the panel: Eric expressed disdain for the lyrics: 'His beefing about technology just comes across as "You darn kids, get off my lawn" fare. No thank you.' Lewis' points were awarded for the Modeselektor version.
The (Are You Are Missing) Winners
'I'm Into CB' and 'Garden' unsurprisingly sailed smoothly into the next round, even if Lewis confessed that the latter 'never did much' for him. The woozy, jazzy 'Alton Towers' scored strongly, although Lewis was again the naysayer: 'just plain weird... very drab'.
'Frightened' and 'Recovery Kit' received universal support; 'O.Y.F.C. Showcase' was much more divisive. I adore it, and Lewis considered it 'a stunning opening track', but it only recieved one point from the other three judges and only just squeezed into a qualifying position.
Comments
Post a Comment