The Fall Cup: Stage 2, Groups G-H
The panel must award a total of 78 points to the songs in these groups; no song may receive more than 20 points, and they must give points to at least 8 of the 12 songs. The top 4 go through to the last 64.
Group G is made up of the qualifiers from groups 13 and 14 in the first stage.
In FOF circles, Eric is renowned for his championing of 'Noel's Chemical Effluence' (he regularly posts the meme below - see also this thread), so his maximum mark was inevitable. Whilst this did help it to top spot, it got plenty of support elsewhere, even if Lewis suggested that 'it doesn't really sound like a Fall song... [perhaps] MES' reason for leaving it off Code Selfish.'
'How I Wrote Elastic Man' and 'The Man Whose Head Expanded' are considered to be classic tracks from a 'golden era' by most Fall fans, and whilst that hasn't always prevented a such songs making an early exit in this competition, this pair sailed through with ease. That said, Eric thought both to be a little 'overrated'. Lewis was a firm believer in their classic status, although he suggested that the 'techno mix' of 'Expanded' (that appeared on the Fiend With A Violin compilation) should be avoided:
'Ladybird (Green Grass)' qualified in equal fourth. 'A storming album opener, perfectly executed,' according to Lewis; 'a better pop song than Disney’s Dream, and it rocks harder,' thought bzfgt. 'Guest Informant' has, as Eric put it, 'possibly the most analyzed and argued-about lyrical fragment in the entire Fall catalog.' Lewis is convinced that the line in question is 'Bastard! State Cog! Analyst!' (and also recommended this live version). Whatever the lyric actually is, Richard is not a fan of this particular aspect: 'We spent so many years trying to make out that "Bazdad" bit we didn't notice how annoying that "Bazdad" bit was. The rest of the song's good.' But not quite good enough to progress.
My list of personal disappointments was extended to include 'Junger Cloth'. My 13 points (the first time in this stage I've given 12+ points to something that failed to qualify) were offset by mixed feelings from Richard ('The words are great - Yog-Sothoth gets an eye test - but the music plods somewhat') and a low score from Lewis. The latter was a big fan of 'Disney's Dream Debased' ('simply no one else could write such horrifying lyrics to such sweet and gentle instrumentation'), but it was undone by a zero from Eric ('it's just dull, beyond its semi-interesting back story') and a measly 2 from bzfgt ('not as good as its reputation').
We've had plenty of divisive songs, but 'No Respects Rev.' was a particularly notable example, its 28 points coming entirely from me and bzfgt ('an astoundingly great piece of music'). Richard's view was 'MES in catarrh hero mode, band set to "forgettable"'; Lewis found it 'stodgy... it sort of washes over me' and Eric dismissed it as 'the type of vamp that R&B bands used to warm up a crowd before the star took the stage.' He was similarly unimpressed by 'Taking Off': 'a mid-tempo rocker with twangy guitar that sounds like many other Fall mid-temp rockers with twangy guitar, only not as good, as with the usual Ersatz sonic acid bath eating away what substance it actually has.' bzfgt was more positive, albeit with reservations: 'one of those tracks that feels really blissful to listen to... The only thing that keeps this from the stratospheric point levels is the lyrics seem a bit blah.'
The general view regarding 'English Scheme' was that it was good, but paled in comparison to other songs from the same era. Despite a hefty 14 from Eric, 'Cruiser's Creek' fell a long way short. bzfgt recognised its 'great riff' but had 'no points left'; Richard described it as 'big chunky Duplo blocks of musical material laid out far into the distance.'
I've always found 'Carry Bag Man' to be drearily predicatable and one-dimensional; bzfgt also thought it 'a little dull' and Richard described it as 'middle-tier Fall in every respect.' It was, according to Lewis, 'one of the better Frenz Experiment tunes,' but it remained firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.
Group H is made up of the qualifiers from groups 15 and 16 in the first stage.
'Neighbourhood of Infinity' and 'Weather Report 2' finished a considerable distance ahead of the rest of the pack. Both inspired some lengthy comments from the panel.
Eric, on 'Weather Report 2':
One of my essential Desert Island Fall Song, hands down. It offers two and half minutes of melodic guitar rock, followed by four of gnarly synth gurgles and MES declaiming with as much vulnerability as he ever displayed on record, truly haunting when heard in a vacuum, but even more so years later when we realized the sorts of medical challenges Mark was facing at this time. I'd say this may be Eleni Poulou's golden moment in the catalog, and her duet with Mark in the synth section seems to foreshadow the equally skeletal guitar-voice duet of "Nine Out of Ten" some years later, closing the story of the Fall.
Lewis, on 'Neighbourhood of Infinity':
Sometimes it's difficult to explain my feelings or thoughts on a song, other than the fact that to these particular ears the song is just brilliant. I think it could be something as trivial as the fuzzy non-official Youtube video with the Oriental lass dancing to the song while scattering Fall records about, reminding me that you can dance to The Fall when the need or mood arises. Oh and Hanley's bass kicking in near the start. Yes, they're good enough reasons for a top placing.
The final qualifier was 'Impression Of J Temperance', one of those dark, curious tales that MES was so adept at writing in the early 80s. 'Menacing and downright spooky,' thought Lewis; 'All sorts of weirdness making a nominally straightforward song into something wonderfully garish and great' was Eric's view. Richard had an equally positive if slightly different angle: 'This song is so strong, that I'm always let down that it concludes "ha, he f*cked a dog, mate".'
For the second time, one of my 12+ pointers failed to make it; frankly, I'm astonished that the belligently furious 'Prole Art Threat' is exiting the competition. Eric gave it a scandalous zero, although bzfgt admitted that it was 'better than the score I gave it.' One of the FOF's regular posters, academichamilton, has regularly bemoaned the lack of recognition given to The Fall's 1970s output, so no doubt he will be vexed by the failure of 'Repetition' to progress. And he has a point: it's a wonderfully angular and snarkily humorous piece, an early indication of how different The Fall were to the punk herd. bzfgt could only offer an apologetic 'kind of a classic but ran out of points.'
'Elves' got nearly half its marks from Lewis ('sinister Fall at its finest') but also recieved some positive regard from Eric ('one of the finest songs of Brix's first era') and bzfgt ('a document of paranoia that is to be approved of for its groove. What matters it that the riff originated elsewhere? You can say that about a lot of things'). I was much more keen on the rollicking 'Second House Now', but Richard in particular did not share my enthusiasm: 'Forceful, but nondescript rock.'
Eric commented that this group was 'was the most clearly segmented/stratified one we've done so far, with a clear front group head and shoulders over the others, a consistent and solid middle, and a clear group of also-rans.' And so we come to the last of those categories...
'Way Round' (memorably described by Tommy Mackay in 40 Odd Years Of The Fall as ‘Iggy Pop meets Dr Who’) recieved some support from Richard and Lewis, but was dismissed by Eric as 'a pretty stock bit of Fall electronica.' He and I liked 'Oxymoron', but Lewis was unmoved: 'just a pointless remodel of He Pep.' Richard: 'In some ways it would be perfect if a bashed out thump featuring vocal samples from another song won the cup. Smash the canon, destroy hegemonies! Amuse our friends, enrage your enemies! Sorry, where was I? Oh, this track - it's OK, I suppose.'
I have a lot of time for the surf-rock/spaghetti western soundtrack combination of 'Cowboy George', but Lewis criticised the 'daft overlong ending' and bzfgt thought that 'it doesn’t really have legs.' I was also in the minority with 'Pine Leaves', which I find enjoyably fragile and wistful but Eric derided it as 'a dull plodder with awful keyboard sounds.' In fact, as far as the 'consensus' score goes, this was an atypical round, as I (along with Lewis) gave the lowest average score to the four that qualified. Even more surprisingly, it was bzfgt that was most in tune with the overall outcome for once, with all of his big hitters going through.
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