The Fall Cup: Last 64, Ties 1-4

And so we reach the knock-out stage...

Group winners from the second stage are paired with fourth-place qualifiers from a different group; second-place songs are paired with a third-place qualifier from a different group.

A1 v P4, A2 v P3, B1 v O4, and so on.

Tie 1: New Puritan v Chicago, Now!

Steve: An incredibly easy one to start with. Chicago is solid enough, but is surely only here due to the last group being a relatively weak one. New Puritan is a work of towering genius.

Eric: Where the general narrative through the first two rounds has been surprise about "Chicago, Now!" advancing, my own narrative has been surprise at that surprise. I think it's a great song, unique in the catalog, strong musically and vocally. In the same way that "I Am Damo Suzuki" feels like a perfect homage to Krautrock, "Chicago, Now!" feels like a perfect homage to the slinky jazzy blues of the City of Big Shoulder. "New Puritan" certainly beats "Chicago" lyrically, and I recognize that it's a key part of the literary Fall canon, but it runs on too long; not musically strong enough to hold my interest until the epic lyrics run their course. "Chicago, Now!" is fully formed, concise, evocative, and a delightful musical departure and travelogue that fits Mark's voice perfectly. Bonus points for Charlotte Bill's oboe, an interesting sonic choice that brings in some of the experimental jazz elements for which Chicago is well and rightly known.

bzfgt: Paul Hanley’s drumming and the hypnotic scritch-scratch of Scanlon and Riley’s psychedelic post-punk riffing make the coda one of the most thrilling pieces of Fall music. MES’s lyrics and delivery here are quintessential - he seems to both embody and excoriate a certain kind of Puritanism that never gets clearly defined, but I think this song contains his most basic message which is that we can only be redeemed through creative hard work. Some things resemble good works but are soulless, whereas other things may directly rip off other works but that doesn’t matter if they are inspirited - only those in the first category can be “plagiarists” (some of this message I am cobbling together from other places). Could go all the way!  

Chicago Now! Is a really nice one; the closest the Fall can come to the vibe of Steely Dan, maybe. It can’t compete with New Puritan.  

Richard: Both brooding beasts, apparently watching mankind's struggles from afar like a brooding god, but the cryptic scrabble of Puritan just takes it.

Lewis: New Puritan offers something special and exciting, Chicago Now, while a good solid Fall song, can't compete.

Result: New Puritan 4 - Chicago, Now! 1

Tie 2: Living Too Late v Shake-Off

Steve: Unlike the first tie, I found this incredibly difficult. I love the grinding ennui of LTL, but my vote (just) goes to the sonic mayhem of Shake-Off.

Eric: This was the hardest choice for me. I like both well enough, though neither are particular favorites. While we've debated the use of "dated" as a descriptor, I do feel that it's apt for "Shake-Off," especially in its skittery drum rhythms and canned synth pads - interesting in their time, but  an annoying affectation years after the fact. I also think Mark stretches his voice into the shrieking can't hit the notes zone more often than I like. "Living Too Late," on the other hand, is stately and timeless, in both its cleaner "Too Late" version and the stretched-out and skuzzier "Too Long". Of course, Mark also shrieks a lot in this one, which is suboptimal, but the use of that vocal technique ties to changes in the sonic bed behind him, so they feel purposeful, whereas in "Shake-Off" it just feels like he had a bad vocal take. I'm more surprised at these two being in the final 64 than I am about "Chicago, Now!" being there, and I suspect/predict that whichever one wins here will make a hasty, probably unanimous, exit in the next round. 

bzfgt: LTL is a rare instance of conventional songwriting on MES’s part, although that kind of goes out the window on the bridges. The whole thing stands or falls on those - they grate at first, but gradually one comes to see that they work. He cops a kind of Sunday Morning Coming Down vibe here. Beautiful. 

Shake-off is a really nice one; although, if anything warrants the “generic soul rave-up” charge Eric has been tossing about, then it’s probably this one. The lyrics are gloriously garbled (although one could probably say that about a good many Fall songs). LTL wins.

Richard: Living Too Late has a relentless rhythm like laborious woodwork (industrial music, at garden shed level), but it is trounced by Shake-Off's swivel-eyed mania.

Lewis: I never really took to LTL, Shake Off on the other hand is huge fun and has shot up in my estimation while doing this project.

Result: Living Too Late 2 - Shake-Off 3

Tie 3: Bury! v Glam-Racket

Steve: A pair of worthy stompers, but the way MES delivers the 'bad knaves' line in Bury is worth the vote on its own.

Eric: Before this project, I would have chucked "Glam-Racket" based on my memories of the "Star" version, which I can't stand, but I find the chuggy lads version on Infotainment Scan to be more enjoyable than I remembered. It's a toe-tapper and head-bobber with a good Mark vocal. My prefered "Bury" is the "Pts. 2 + 4" version that features in the official video. A little bit of piss-take at the beginning, but not as long and tiresome as in the "Pts. 1+3" version. It's actually got a similar musical feel to "Glam-Racket" (Non-Star version), similarly toe-tappy and head-bobby, with an interestingly and mysteriously antagonistic lyric, and nice backing vox from Eleni. Plus, perhaps their best music video. Bury wins.

bzfgt: It’s a pretty straightforward matter before us - Bury just rocks, I guess. Glam-Racket is a really nice one; it also rocks, it’s I suppose a kind of Gary Glitter trip. I guess I just get more pleasure out of Bury, but I’m not too worked up about the results of this one.

Richard: Two very similar tracks, built more on mirth than malice, the former a grubbier version of The Sweet, the latter a maladjusted Mud, both packed with bright lyrical shards.  Almost nothing to choose between them, but Glam-Racket wins.

Lewis: Both great but I only loved Brix's Star version of Glam Racket while all versions of Bury are huge. What a riff (or is it a chord?).

Result: Bury! 4 - Glam-Racket 1

Tie 4: Couples Vs Jobless Mid 30s v Behind The Counter 

Steve: Counter is a decent tune, but the unhinged progginess of Couples is a clear winner for me.

Eric: While I certainly like the proggy collage of "Couples," this is the easiest choice  for me, with "Behind the Counter" up there among my very favorite cuts from the '90s Lads Fall. One of my more pervasive "Arizona Anomaly" proclivities is my affection for Middle Class Revolt, which seems out of synch with the conventional wisdom regarding the hierarchical rankings of Fall albums. I think it's mostly great, a fitting and fine follow-up to the warmly regarded Infotainment, with just a bit more shaggy messiness likely brought on by the Return of Burns, though (mostly) appropriately contained within Rex Sargent's polished production job. I love Steve Hanley's circular bass line here, up there with "League of Baldheaded Men" for me in terms of memorable four-string work from that era. I also think Dave Bush's keyboard textures are interesting here without immediately dating them to their time, and his "when all else fails, we can always blow the whistle" touches always make me smile.

bzfgt: Couples is very weird and almost doesn’t work. I guess I not only like it, I admire it since it is so singular. Behind the Counter is a really nice one; again, I’m not all that invested in the result of this one. As much as I like BTC it doesn’t quite stand out enough for me, whereas CVJ certainly stands out.

Richard: Both tracks that roil and bubble in their different ways, Couples a bleary psychedelic gumbo and Counter a whilrpool of fuzzy bass. It may be the automotive paranoia of Counter that tops this one, we've all felt as though cars are tailing us on a dark street.

Lewis: Couples vs Jobless is the highlight of NFE I think, they could still turn out a weird one right to the very end when they wanted to. 

Result: Couples Vs Jobless Mid 30s 3 - Behind The Counter 2

Home page