The Fall Cup: Quarter-finals 3&4
QF3: Mountain Energei v Dr Bucks' Letter
Steve: I've voted consistently for 'Mountain' from the last 64 onwards because I love its fluid, hypnotic charm, boundless energy and crafty humour - also because there are several extended live versions that are pure joy. But for me it's met its match here. DBL, musically, is such a perfect balance: the coarse, grainy programmed rhythm track complemented by the delicate rimshot drums and the melodic guitar line that subtly cuts through the fuzz and distortion... (and yes, I am quoting from my own book here - no need to reinvent the wheel). It's good enough to sustain one of MES' more throwaway performances - but in fact he more than matches the quality of the music, with a sneering, perfectly pitched performance, filled with some of his most entertaining enunciations (‘recompense’, ‘magazine’, ‘checklist’, ‘CDs’, ‘download it’). The Realm of the Essence of Tong should be triumphant.
Eric: The toughest pairing of the Final Eight, hands down. In my 2020 essay about the Fall as part of the "Favorite Songs by Favorite Bands" series on my website, I ranked "Dr Bucks" as #10, and "Mountain Energei" as #9, so they're that close in my estimation. These songs also represent two of my clear tent-pole albums in the Fall's catalog, "The Unutterable" and "Real New Fall LP." ("Hex Enduction Hour" would be my other clear high-point framing the architecture of the shambling structure that the Fall built over the decades). "RNFLP" has been getting a lot of love and re-assessment of late on the Fall Online Forum and elsewhere with a juicy new reissue, so with that sense of buzz and appreciation, I'm going to stick with my "Favorite Songs" article and pick "Mountain Energei" to advance, by the thinnest hair.
bzfgt: This was harder than I thought, because DBL has worn off for me just a little bit. But it's still so different and exciting that I can't refuse it. I don't know if anything else sounds like it, but I don't know what. Mt. Energei is mighty but it doesn't seem like a world-topper to me, quite.
Richard: Energei ambles along with a deliciously louche gait, whilst Letter stumbles and stutters. But, it's not all about surface charm, we're not speed-dating here, and seeing as Letter is definitely one of the very best tracks the group ever recorded, it gets the vote.
Lewis: It's pretty amazing that Dr Bucks' Letter has got this far, not that it doesn't deserve it even if it did knock Sparta out. Also also pretty amazing is its parent album which on first listen had me grinning like a fool, and DRB is a vital part of that album. Then Mountain Energei came along a few albums on, and this one was one of the best from TRNFLP, even the original COTC version was notable, and quite spooky as I recall. Overall though it's quite simple to me, the jaunty bounce of Energei wins over Dr Buck creeping menacingly about in the dark.
Result: Mountain Energei 2 - Dr Bucks' Letter 3
QF4: Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S. v I Am Damo Suzuki
Steve: 'Last Commands' has had a good run, and you have to commend its intense strangeness. But like 'Leave the Capitol' and 'Prole Art Threat', I can't help feeling that it's been occupying a spot that should have been inhabited (and I know I am a bit of a stuck record about this) by 'Proteinprotection'. In fact, I'm not even sure it would be in the final four of a RNFLP Cup for me. I love Can, and was truly sorry to hear of Damo's death, but that did not influence my decision in the last round and it doesn't here. It's a rare thing to hear a track that challenges your very conception of what a song can be, but that was my experience of hearing IADS for the first time - its sheer unhinged audacity blew my teenage mind and it still resonates now. 'Commands' has had a surprisingly good run, fair play to it, but surely it has to come to an end now?
Eric: "I Am Damo Suzuki" has also been much on the mind of the FOF and the greater Fall community following the recent death of its namesake. I love it, and I love its inspiration, but sentimentality aside, I didn't vote for it in the last round, and I'm not going to do so here, either. Sorry, Can and Can Fans. "Last Commands" is one of the great masterpieces of not only latter-day Fall, but the canon at large, like "Leave the Capitol," one of those short songs that packs epic-level weirdness and malice and a vast array of MES influences into a tight and perfect package. As I noted in the last round, short-term/single-album drummer Dave Milner gets the songwriting credit here, as he did with "Mountain Energei." We all know that such credits are somewhat arbitrary and capricious, but still: that's kind of cool, I think, that have the possibility of an ephermeral member of the group making such a big impact. That's part of the magic, innit?
bzfgt: IADS sure is great, but like Mt Energei, it doesn't quite seem like a champeen to me. Last Commands shouldn't win the whole thing either, come to think of it....I guess the difference is that I can listen to the latter more often, and always want it to last longer. The piping organ seems like it's seeping in from the spaces between the stars.
Richard: One's a tiny, jewel-like miniature, the other's a garrulous bluster of a beast. Both great, but I'm voting for Commands, because the semifinals should be full of strangeness, like a rich painting.
Lewis: Holy f*ck, what a pairing! Where to start? Both are absolute corkers obviously. Xyralothep has, along with Mountain Energei, always been one of the best TRNFLP songs, and that fondness has increased the more I've listened during this contest. You can't really beat a song that builds steadily to a thrilling crescendo like Xyralothep does, although another minute or so would have been better still. I Am Damo Suzuki has always been in that still unreleased top 10 Fall songs of mine, I think the attention to detail in making it effectively as 'Can' as possible was admirable, not just MES' lyrical delivery but the drumming and discordant guitar playing too. Xyralothep has done bloody well to get this far, and up against several others in this last 16 I would have voted for it, but on balance, Damo gets it. I just want to note that in no way has Damo Suzuki's recent death affected my descision, if the song had been less brilliant than Xyralothep I'd have voted accordingly.
Result: Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S. 3 - I Am Damo Suzuki 2
- New Puritan
- Winter
- Dr Bucks' Letter
- Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S.
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