The Fall Cup: Last 32, Ties 13-16

          

Tie 13: The N.W.R.A. v Crop-Dust

Steve: Oh God, how to seperate these two? Taken from two very different periods in Fall history, it's challenging to compare them. NWRA is lyrically outstanding, and like Garden and Winter, find the group ploughing a wonderfully repetetive furrow whilst MES pours forth ideas that he can barely contain. Crop-Dust rips off another song, is murky to the point of incoherence, and contains some brutally jarring edits - and yet, with repeated listens to this pair of songs, it has been the defiant, in your face don't give-a-sh*t-what you think arrogance of Crop-Dust that has won me over.

Eric: "Crop-Dust" is without question the highlight of the weedy AYAMW, and it's a song that I almost always enjoy hearing, in both passive background and active focus modes. But we all know that the musical components, so important to its appeal, are (along with "Over! Over!") probably the most heinous act of intellectual property theft in the entire Fall catalog, lifted uncredited as they are from The Troggs. I've been forced to vote against some favorite Fall epics already in this round, so while I don't love "The N.W.R.A." as much as I do, say, "Winter" and "Garden," I'm going to pick it here as the more original and, therefore, more interesting and enduring of the pair.

bzfgt: Crop-Dust. This may be the most difficult one ever. Both deserve to win the whole thing, and I’ll almost definitely be on the losing end. My vote is almost arbitrary, as I don’t really prefer one over the other, and both have a perfect riff and groove. CD is almost a parody of psychedelia, although without recognizable antecedent (and certainly not the Troggs song!). One thing MES excels at is making fun of the spiritual journey he’s nevertheless leading you on. He’ll take you there.

Richard: I was all set to vote for the preposterous rock riff that is Crop Dust, but then I played the A Part Of America, Therein version of NWRA for the first time in ages, and it became a simple decision. Ch-chow!

Lewis: Well this is surprisingly nigh on impossible to choose. Until the pairing was made, I'd never have had them down as very similar songs, so we have fascinating lyrics, relentlessly repetitive music (although NWRA is split in two with a MES "Shift!" instruction) and a touch of misbehaviour. To try and seperate the two, The NWRA is quite shambolic in it's delivery while Crop Dust is almost regimented, but I'm struggling to make a call here. And so in the interests of trying to mix the project up a bit, I'm picking one I've enjoyed more than I thought I would. Crop Dust has after all thrilled me throughout all this. 

Result: The N.W.R.A. 2 - Crop-Dust 3

Tie 14: Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S v Smile

Steve: One of the more straightforward ones of this round for me. Lots to admire about the wonderfully odd Last Commands, but the astonishingly powerful aggression of Smile (best experienced via the group's first performance on national TV - see above - with the Hanley brothers and K.Burns on particularly peerless form) wins hands down for me.

Eric: Easiest choice in the Round of 32 for me, with "Last Commands" utterly dominating "Smile," the presence of which this deep in the contest still mildly surprises me. It's not bad, not at all, but it's not essential for me either, nor do I consider it to be one of its source album's finer moments, by a fair longshot. "Last Commands" is yet another example of how incredible the RNFLP group were, both in terms of songwriting and performance, and in terms of how well it both fits in with and transcends the album matrix from which it is cut.

bzfgt: Another arbitrary vote. As much as Iove Smile, Last Commands is a place I like to be—I feel like the song could be 20 minutes long, and the Fall are one of the few bands that do that for me. All Leave Cancelled, Mister Rode, Auto Chip, Youwanner—none of those ever have to end, as far as I’m concerned.

Richard: Smile is a slice of glory, but Commands is one of my favourite tracks ever - listen to the Fall In Fives Radio Show if you want to hear my thesis.

Lewis: As with NWRA v Crop Dust, this is another that's difficult to decide on, but unlike those two, these are light years apart in style and feeling. Smile is of course up there in classic Fall land, dark and menacing, impenetrable to many even, yet not without it's humour ("Go on, you can do it..."). Last Commands on the other hand is positively jaunty, thrilling and with ever increasing volume until the fade out. Yet subject wise it's a list of things MES has presumably come to grief with in his time (money mostly I suspect) so is quite serious and cautionary in that respect. Once again I'm pretty well down to what gives me most pleasure today, and that is Xyralothep, your true God.

Result: Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S 4 - Smile 1

Tie 15: Fantastic Life v Fortress/Deer Park

Steve: An even bigger nightmare than tie 13. Almost impossible to seperate these two, both completely top quality Fall. Repeated listens can't separate them musically or lyrically, so I'll have to go with Deer Park because of the memory of using it to commemorate MES' death that I mentioned in tie 30 of the last round.

Eric: This one's pretty clear and easy for me, too, with the exceptionally well-crafted, tight, immediate and engaging "Fantastic Life" being far more appealing on many planes than the ramshackle and multi-part "Fortress/Deer Park." I don't think I'm alone in much preferring the latter half of that two-part construction to its introductory elements, and for me, "Deer Park" would have been a much stronger number if left to its own devices. But still not strong enough to top "Fantastic Life." Not even close, really.

bzfgt: Deer Park: I’m almost glad I’ll lose this one—I shouldn’t be asked to make a decision like this… 

Richard: I have a theory that Fantastic Life contains within pretty much every element of a great Fall song, whcih I will share with you when it goes through to the next round ;)  Deer Park is similarly brilliant, though the appendation of Fortress loses it this very close match.

Lewis: Yet another grueller, I suppose this is how it will be now though. Both classic status, both early years, it's harsh. Fantastic Life I have championed throughout as 1981's best song, possibly debatable but based on the fact it's impossible to pick a Slates song out so I went for that instead. Then there's Fortress/Deer Park, one of the highlights of Hex Enduction Hour and similarly to Fantastic Life it's loud, exciting and in your face. For me I think the clincher is that awesome upping of Steve Hanley's bass volume 3/4 of the way through which kicks in like a motherf*cker, and so F/DP is my choice.  

Result: Fantastic Life 2 - Fortress/Deer Park 3

Tie 16: I Am Damo Suzuki v New Big Prinz

Steve: A slightly easier decision: much as I love the stomping glam of Prinz, the 'bloody hell I've never heard anything like this' memory of experiencing IADS for the first time trumps it.

Eric: While I had to ding "Crop-Dust" as an uncredited cover rip-off, I don't find myself feeling quite so negatively indisposed toward these two songs, both also covers of a sort. "Damo" lifts heavily from Can's "Oh Yeah," but its lyrical and instrumental elements make it openly clear that it's an homage, not an act of bald musical theft. "Prinz" is obviously a reinvention/reinterpretation of a classic cut from the Fall's own catalog, so no hurt/no foul there either. Between the two, I'm going to appreciate the later song here, hopeful that the Hip Priest soldiers on for at least one more round, since his original incarnation has already bit the dust. 

bzfgt: Damo: Another one I’m glad to vote for after voting against. NBP is like Sparta—lots of fun, good pop. Give me the more interesting one this time.

Richard: At the time of writing, it's 24 hours since I heard of Damo's death, so I unashamedly use that as justification for my vote; Prinz is a glitter-booted stomp of delight, mind. [Editor's note: the other four votes were cast before the announcement of Damo's death, lest you think the result is merely a sympathy vote.]

Lewis: I imagine several will find this one to be another "favourite child" moment, but for me at least it's the easiest to deal with of these four pairs. NBP is basically MES' signature tune, updated obviously from Hip Priest, and it served him well for years. So much improved over the original, everyone likes a bit of stomping glam rock especially when it's set to a ballet routine. However as readers must be aware by now, I Am Damo Suzuki is in my one day to be officially decided Top 10 Fall songs, such is the awesomemess of the tribute and Karl Burns' drumming. NBP is around #11 in my Top 20, so there's the result. I ought to try the BNP (oops!) version again to see if that changes things but I can't be arsed. 

Result: I Am Damo Suzuki 4 - New Big Prinz 1

And so, we have a final 16:

• Blindness
• Bury
• Crop-Dust
• Dr Bucks' Letter
• Fiery Jack
• Fortress / Deer Park
• How I Wrote 'Elastic Man'
• I Am Damo Suzuki
• Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via MES
• Leave The Capitol
• Mountain Energei
• New Puritan
• The Classical
• Theme From Sparta FC
• Weather Report 2
• Winter

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