The Fall Cup: Last 64, Ties 25-28
Tie 25: The N.W.R.A. v A Past Gone Mad (Passable)
Steve: The intense drum & bass aggression of A Past Gone Mad is balanced perfectly by MES' cynical, lethargic dissection of complacent nostalgia. But it can't compete with the rich lyricism of NWRA.
Eric: Easy choice here: "Past" is reasonably good piece of Falltronica, but it's not that distinctive or special when compared to other pieces of Falltronica from its own (generally excellent) era. "The N.W.R.A.," on the other hand, is a weird shambling beast, filled with barely-tuned guitars, a bizarre blomp-blomp bass-line that sounds like a prepared and processed oompah tuba, a gloriously shambolic beat, and some of Mark's finest lyrics, a veritable mythology in song, the type of text from which weird religions and political parties could (and maybe should) emerge.
bzfgt: This is quite easy for me. Nothing wrong with APGM but NWRA is on a whole nother level.
Richard: Sonically very different, this pairing, with the sparse guitar of NWRA, and those repeated keyboard chords that sound like 7th generation photocopies, up against the sleek, polished techno torpedo of Past. I adore that lead guitar line in the latter, it is somehow valedictory and melancholy at once, and eminds me of Tchaikovsky - arguably it deserved a lyric about more than how Ian McShane is a dick (and I'm not covinced he is). An impossble choice, but tonight that "ch-chow" vocal noise seems midly annoying, so... APGM.
Lewis: Pretty straightforward one for me. A Past Gone Mad has grown on me immensely since we started this, but I still find the production a little too "wall of sound". No dispute though it's a pounding performance by all and deserves to have got this far if only for MES' anti-U2 declarations. I'm not sure Ian McShane deserves the same venom, mind. The NWRA is another of those lengthy stories, this time about the rise and fall of the North I presume and how it will return to former glories (which it hasn't). The live version from Part Of America Therein is the definitive performance, much more powerful than the Grotesque finale, though the American audiences' thoughts about such a localised English subject matter could understandably only be of bemusement. Oh and it's got one of those MES group instructions midway through, "Shift-ah!", so they dutifully change from a scratchy groove to a more laid back strumming. RT-XVII takes this one.
Result: The N.W.R.A. 4 - A Past Gone Mad (Passable) 1
Tie 26: Crop-Dust v Hurricane Edward
Steve: An interesting pairing, both tracks coming from frequently derided albums. I adore the sheer insanity of Hurricane Edward, and I'm delighted that it found itself in the last 64. But I have to go for the warped psych-garage-punk galloping drone-clatter of Crop-Dust, even if it is one of the group's most blatant 'steals'.
Eric: Levitate may be the album that has risen the most in my personal pantheon through this re-listening project, and among its many boss cuts, "Hurricane Edward" is clearly the one that stands out the most for me in this reassessment. So while I love "Crop Dust," the anomalous gem on the otherwise mostly-dreadful/dreary AYAMW, I've got to keep pushing "Edward" while I can, deeply appreciating its utter wrongness on every front, which somehow makes it glorious in its total shaggy messiness, accelerating breakneck toward oblivion as it goes. I doubt I'll get to vote for it again, so here's to celebrating it one more time, before it slumps back under the rock from which it emerged.
bzfgt: Hurricane Edward is pretty unique and engaging. It has kind of a dance beat, although I don’t know if you could dance to it, with MES gargling nonsense over top. I think it deserves more attention in general, although clearly we like it. Crop-Dust is one of their very best, though—psychedelic and kind of ominous. In fact, these are both sort of ominous, aren’t they? Crop-Dust is magical as f*ck, and it could go as far as it wants, as far as I’m concerned.
Richard: The loamy scuzz of Dust vs the sonic junkpile of Edward. Both beautiful noises, but the quiet sadness of "Mr Hughes was right in retrospect" gets me every time.
Lewis: Hurricane Edward has done exceedingly well to get this far, it's as mad as a box of frogs, a mash up of studio and live percussion and electronica with added out of tune guitar twangs. In other words it's quite amazing and is another that has grown on me throughout this project. It can't quite compete with Crop-Dust though, the highlight of AYAMW. Dark, forboding, relentless, with Ben Pritchard doing what he's paid to do instead of pretending he's in Status Quo. MES tomfoolery this time comes courtesy of the fade out at the end that fades back in again before stopping dead. I think this one will be a close call but Crop-Dust deserves the next round.
Result: Crop-Dust 3 - Hurricane Edward 2
Steve: Last Commands has performed impressively so far, topping its group in both first and second stages. And it certainly merited that: it's a taut, sinister journey through some random elements of MES' world view. Paintwork, though, is a thing of true wonder: a hugely inventive collage of (often accidental) ideas, one of the songs that first made me fall in love with The Fall.
Eric: "Paintwork" offers another favorite Mark lyric, nicely paired with one of his greater vocal performances. But its music is merely functional for its purpose, nothing special, the most sublime aspects of it being the weird bits of hotel room ambience that Mark "accidentally" put on tape. "Last Commands," on the other hand, is the real deal complete package, an outstanding and muscular musical performance paired with great MES words and vocals, and a fine Fall song title tying the whole together, perfectly. It easily trumps its older rival here.
bzfgt: Paintwork is kind of “indie rock” or something; maybe avant la lettre though. It is in my larger pantheon, but maybe not in my smaller one. LCOX—another one with the right kind of repetition. As it goes on, the keyboard part puts me in mind of the hideous piping of the amorphous idiot flute players who accompany Nyarlathotep in the void.
Richard: Two absolute silos of quotable lines. Beautifully lilting though Paintwork is, it's the thumping of swell of Commands that has a place in my heart - I adore those keyboard noises that sound like someone trying to send The Velvet Underground via dial-up.
Lewis: No contest, though I'm sure there will be someone gushing over Paintwork. I'm sorry but it's completely overrated, not a bad song, it's The Fall after all, and that's where the problem may lie. No one else would take a recording that's obviously f*cked up and use it in the final mix. It's nothing more than an amusing curio to my ears and I do not get the adoration. Last Commands however is magnificent, the centrepiece of TRNFLP and the most thrilling three and a half minutes of the album. It could and maybe should go on for twice that time, but then again sometimes a short sharp rush is all you need.
Tie 28: Smile v Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room
Steve: Paranoia Man is great: a driving, desperate descent into the anxiety of a mid-life crisis. It can't, however, compete with the ferocious anger of Smile, perhaps the best example (other than The Classical) of Paul Hanley and Karl Burns working in tandem.
Eric: This might be my least favorite pairing, in terms of personal preferences, among the 32 ties in this round. "Smile" offers among the least memorable experiences for me on PBL, an album with plentiful doses of greatness, while "Paranoia Man" is a middle-of-the-road number on the stronger Infotainment Scan. I don't dislike either of them, but I don't love either of them either. I'm going with "Paranoia Man" and its more engaging energy in this particular contest. Unless you want to change the rules so I can swap in a loser from another more impressive tie. I'll be shocked if whichever song wins the match-up advances any further.
bzfgt: F*ck f*ck f*ck. Sometimes Smile is one of my very favorites, but it’s not always easy to get on its wavelength. Musically it’s probably superior to PMICSR, as it has one of the greatest riffs they devised. I think I’m going to vote for Paranoia Man but I may be relieved if the others bail me out.
Richard: My love of almost everything in Infotainment has been well documented, but still Paranoia can't beat down the relentless barrage of Smile - who said The Fall's bludgeon only works in 4/4?
Lewis: I predict another 5-0 here, a bad run for Infotainment tracks which have landed strong opposition. Paranoia Man is another with that "wall of sound" production I don't care for, yet a song I've grown to appreciate more doing this. But it can't compete with the awesomely dense Smile. Smile must have been the track MES always wanted at the time, having sacked Marc Riley with his melodious riffs, something less tuneful was the requisit, and that is what he got. And only The Fall could pull it off so wilfully. Of course six months later they were doing C.R.E.E.P.
Result: Smile 3 - Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room 2
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