I was thinking to do a non-prog round but it was suggested to me to include prog artists as well. 

Just promise me this won't become a prog round if I allow it.

Post a prog song only if you cannot think of a non-prog song.

Once final nominations are posted, choose three favorite songs from the poll. 

UFO - song from 2015

Simple Minds - song from 2018

Placebo - song from 2013

Depeche Mode - song from 2009

a-ha - song from 2015

This is harder than i thought, I might post a few more songs

other bands i thought of are The Fixx, New Order, Europe, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, and quite a few metal veterans are doing a great job these days but I don't wanna torture anyone 

Have fun with this! 

Very nice theme. First nomination goes to a band that I have used already, but anyway, they are among my absolute favourite bands and it was very sad that their last album The Glamour (1995) didn't sell well, ultimately leading to the breakup of the band. It wasn't because of the music though, the album is really as good as they come, and this one is a very straight in your face starter. Psychedelic Dungeon, The Comsat Angels.

I could go on forever. 

can you post the videos?

 If not, write the name of the artist and song. 

But here's my nomination: 

The Fall - Mountain Energei (2003)

Here's a live version: 

 

It was me who suggested including prog artists because I wouldn't be able to participate otherwise. Even with prog artists included, my choices are very limited due to my general disinterest in new music from old artists.

 

 

Van der Graaf Generator - Mr Sands:

 

 

 

and one with David Jackson, but without Peter Hammill singing

 

Van der Graaf Generator - Manuelle:

 

Still recovering from the wisdom teeth extraction I guess.

Let me give it some actual thought and I'll try again later...not 'later'. 

In the meantime, enjoy the great tunes.

I'll keep thinking about it there might be a few more.

^ I was thinking about that Joe Jackson one as well.

Blackstar is of course the iconic example... won't score well on the "only vote for what I don't know" scale of course (although I don't always consider that one as shown in the previous poll).

This one is not on PA although I'm not sure if it counts. The dinosaur here is obviously Jaki, his collaboration with Burnt Friedman doesn't exactly go back to stone age, but anyway, very impressed with what Jaki still was capable of in 2015 aged 76 I think.

I decided to go with later day Tv-2, but since I couldn't decide on a song, here are three choices.

Tv-2 originally formed as Taurus in the mid-70's. At that time they played a kind of symphonic rock, and they released one album under that name, Whatever Happened To the Sixties (1978). It didn't sell well, but it has later become a collector's item, and people gladly pay hundreds of euros to own a copy.

In the early 80's they became influenced by among other things new wave, and they regrouped as Tv-2. As such they have become an institution in Denmark, especially due to the lyrics by singer and songwriter Steffen Brandt. Many of them are ironic, dealing with societal issues, but there are also some songs about the difficulties of love and life more generally.

The 80's were their classic years, but some of their later work is not uninteresting either. In recent years, however, they have begun to sound worn-out, so I went for the 00's.

The lyrics play a central role, so I suggest you read the translations.

1. På kanten af småt brændbart (On the edge of [the container for] small flammable items, 2002)

You have to imagine a recycling station where people come with their trailers to get rid of things.

Lyrics and translation: http://docdroid.net/Sow6n3z/pa-kanten-af-smat-braendbart-pdf" rel="nofollow - http://docdroid.net/Sow6n3z/pa-kanten-af-smat-braendbart-pdf

2. En mand og hans hund (A man and his dog, 2005)

Lyrics and translation: http://docdroid.net/JAHZGcg/en-mand-og-hans-hund-pdf" rel="nofollow - http://docdroid.net/JAHZGcg/en-mand-og-hans-hund-pdf

2. Bjørnen sover (The bear is sleeping, 2002)

Lyrics and translation: http://docdroid.net/ChoIyih/bjornen-sover-pdf" rel="nofollow - http://docdroid.net/ChoIyih/bjornen-sover-pdf

For this poll, I'm going to stay with some more familiar artists.  I will dig into some deeper stuff if these don't qualify.

Eric Clapton - "River of Tears" (1998)

_____________________

Although this one is a world apart from the one I just posted, Mick Jones has been around for a long time.  After The Clash broke up, he started Big Audio Dynamite in the 2nd part of his career.  I've had this guilty pleasure sort of love for this band.  I just love the way this track takes a complete left turn right in the middle, but that was left out of the radio single.  Can you pick out the "Baba O'Riley" loop?

Big Audio Dynamite - "Rush" (1991)

_____________________________

Perhaps this one belonged in the poll we did for covers a few months back, but this one comes from the artists later years.  It was on one of those tribute albums.  Imagine, if you will, Billy Joel singing a cover of a lesser known Leonard Cohen song.  Well, imagine no more because here it is....get ready to get your socks blown off.....

Billy Joel - "Light as the Breeze" (1994)

I know these songs all come from the 1990's, which may be a bit old considering it is about 30 years later for them, but all of these songs are from the later part of the artist's career.  I hope that they qualify, but if they don't, I can find some that do.

No...Really,please...someone...

WHAT THE HELL DO THEY WANT FROM US ??????

(and now...back to our regularly scheduled posts) 

your choices are fine, no worries. 

yes, that's exactly what i asked - songs you love from later day albums, you got it. 

"loosey goosey"  - I giggled, the expression sounds really funny to me. 

Rocking Oldies? I think I will take away the longevity prize with my first suggestion: Golden Earring!They founded in 1961 (!) and called it quits just a couple of weeks ago following the sad news of guitarist and founding member George Kooymans' ALS disease. So this is also a homage to this great Dutch band.

They first called themselves The Golden Earrings. For their second album they got rid of the definite article and continued as Golden Earrings and in 1970 they thought that one was enough, so they became Golden Earring (without the "s"). Their last studio album is from 2012 and is called (just because I'm curious how the PA censorship machine will handle this): Tits 'n Ass. And a solid album it is...

Golden Earring - Flowers in the Mud

Don't know what it is with Dutch bands, but they don't seem to like the definite article... The Nits founded in 1974, and some 15 years into their career they thought that the "The" was too much, so since 1989 they're called Nits. And they're still active. The other connection with Golden Earring is the keyboardist Robert-Jan Stips: he played a couple of years with them in the mid 70s. In an earlier poll I presented you with their 80s hit In The Dutch Mountains. This one is from their 2019 album Knot.

Nits - The Electric Pond

Another band that I quite like, but I did not really follow them: I picked them up again a couple of years ago. They formed in 1978 and are still active. From their 2017 album The Punishment Of Luxury:

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Ghost Star

I'm also going to nominate just one song, which in this case is truly a shoe-in:

nice! 

three final nominations already 

First up is The Kaleidoscope (US) with "Ghost Riders in the Sky," from their When Scopes Collide recording, which came out in 1976, six years after Bernice, released in 1970.  Where else can you hear a gravelly voiced guy singing a cowboy song, with saz providing the primary stringed instrumentation? 

Next is Tom Rapp (Pearls Before Swine legend), with "Running In My Dream," from the 1999 release of Journal of the Plague Year, after a really long dry spell since 1973's Sunforest.  There are many hauntingly beautiful tunes on this recording and a really funny dialogue from a live show describing the music business in the 1960's at the end.    

Lastly, but certainly not leastly (as I like to say), Frank Wyatt and Friends from his wonderful Zeitgeist release of late 2019, many here may remember Happy The Man, Oblivion Sun, and Pedal Giant Animals, a duo effort with Stanley Whittaker.  This was in 2006, so quite a few years here between music.  But, so gorgeous, and so worth the wait.  Here is the first movement from the sweeping "Perelandra Suite," from this recording, "To Venus (Perelandra Mvt. I, Andante)."  

I could see it that way, as well...it's kind of open to interpretation, I think, and note that people did look at it from different angles.

"Songs you love," of course, can be songs that may sound dated to others, or that others may actually loathe.  I do love each of these, for very different reasons.

It was not an easy decision.

UFO - Devils in the Detail (2015): I knew this band only by name. Despite being from 2015, the song sounds a lot older (70's-80's), but I guess this is the era they formed. There is lots of lead guitar and heavy riffs, counterpointed by a (for the genre) relatviely restrained vocal. Straight forward hard rock. Simple Minds - The Signal and the Noise (2018) is gloomy electro. It's hard for me to judge that kind of music which sadly does little for me. Depeche Mode - Peace (2009) is in a similar style, but more intriguing to me with the rather analogue pling plong sounds and a bit more happening harmonically. It's also more melodic. Still very cold. Placebo - Loud Like Love (2013) is more in the area of indie rock which - interestingly enough - is not a genre I hear much around here. Personally I don't really think the composition goes anywhere. It's very distanced, and there's not much to invite me into this universe. Except perhaps towards the end. A-ha - Living at the End of the World (2015) is in a much more warm and welcoming mood. The melody is perhaps a bit too grandiose for my taste, also with the strings that come in later.

Lewian (part 1)

The Comsat Angels - Psychedelic Dungeon (1995). Never heard of this band. It has quite a big sound with very dominating drums. The mood is rather dark and hypnotic. At the moment I am unsure of what to think of it - will probably have the hear it again - but there's obviously some intensity in it.

Shadowyzard (part 1)

Ajda Pekkan - Ben Yanmışım is in a very pop'ish mood; also on the visual side as there a lot of emphasis on show and dancing in the clip. As such I have some distance towards it. I do like her singing voice, and the melody isn't bad. It's just too pop'ish for my taste overall. The other clip I really enjoyed, though not necessarily for the right reasons. Let's just say his vocal performance is different... At times his vocal phrasings remind me of David Byrne, but I don't know if it's on purpose.

David Bowie - Dollar Days (2016). Normally I don't vote for music I already know, so it probably won't be a contender. But it's a very nice composition, and a very sad one. The album makes a perfect final statement from the master after years of albums of very mixed quality (a bit like Queen's Innuendo btw.).

.... which funnily enough comes next. Since I also know this one, and it is not a nomination anyway, I will skip it.

I dedicate this poll to the three singers-songwriters I have followed since I was a teenager (Springsteen) or since I was twenty-five (Francesco Guccini and Fabrizio De Andrè). The other one I should mention is Peter Hammill, who I leave out, however.

1) The first song IF I WAS THE PRIEST is taken from Bruce Springsteen's latest album (Letter to you, 2020) and is indicative of his songwriting with Catholic ancestry. Springsteen sang it, guitar and vocals, along with other songs, at his 1972 audition in front of Columbia's talent scout John Hammond (the same who discovered Dylan). Springsteen never released it, but it ran as a pirate song on many studio or live bootlegs. Finally last year he released it in a folk-rock version with the E Street Band. 

I like it very much.

Here it is.

1*) With Springsteen I am undecided: Better "If A Was A Priest" (which is a simple rock ballad) or better this melodic song of symphonic folk genre, which has its best part in the instrumental, orchestral pieces, worthy of John Williams' film music?

2) DE ANDRE' & MINA: "La CANZONE DI MARINELLA" (Marinella's song) is one of the first songs written by Fabrizio De André, at the end of the Sixties. At the time, Mina, the greatest Italian interpreter of melodic and pop music, she had led the song to success. Over the years De Andrè regained possession of that song and at the end of his career he made a completely different version, jazzed, singing it together with Mina. It looks like a masterpiece to me. The song is not recent because it was published in 1997 but I chose it because, unfortunately, De Andrè died in 1999.

3) MAURO PAGANI & GUCCINI: CHRISTAMS AT PAVANA.

Francesco Guccini (81 years old), who before being a singer songwriter is a writer, has now retired from the music scene to devote himself solely to writing. But his colleagues always try to involve him in some project and so Mauro Pagani (former singer and multi-instrumentalist of PFM) managed to convince him to write the lyrics and sing a song in the dialect of Guccini's hometown (Pavana). And so here's to you the song,  musically written and arranged by Mauro Pagani with the ethnic-folk style with which he had also arranged the latest De André albums.

Van der Graaf Generator - "Mr Sands" starts with some rather weird oohs, then transforms into a groove where every second bar is in 7 and 5 respectively. More odd time signatures follow, and there's a heavy use of organ, so overall the track says archetypical prog to me. Composition-wise I like the chord changes a lot, as well as the often daring melody lines, but it's not a kind of music that really blows me away as unusual. Except perhaps the track is remarkably short for this type of music. "Manuelle" is a bit longer. It starts with some odd guitar orchestration, and then the drumbeat sets in. There are some sound effects along the way. Later comes a sort of Pink Floyd'ish sequence that leads my thoughts to the part of "Echoes" that comes directly after the second verse. There's also a sax solo. As a whole it's a kind of organized chaos. Unsure of what to think at the moment.

Peter Gabriel - "No Way Out" has an interesting rhythmic pattern. I think I will have to listen to this some more times. King Crimson - "Elektrik" starts (and ends) with what could have been by some 20the Century classical composer. Then it becomes more typically crimson'ish with Robert Fripp's trademark guitar playing. There's some electronic beats too. After 6:00 it gets pretty heavy. There are plenty of advanced chord changes and unusual time signatures. PFM: "Ho Mangiato Gli Ucelli" is in the more pompous department with among other things a heavy drum sound. It's a bit too much for my taste. Joe Jackson - "Fool" has a dancehall beat, and there is also som rap. There are also some oriental sounds, and later some latin piano. Not really my taste, unfortunately. But kudos to Joe Jackson for mentioning Polly and Ester (polyester) from my avatar

Robert Plant - "Calling to You" also has - not surprisingly - quite a heavy sound. To be honest I am not so much of a Led Zeppelin fan, but I like the song. At times it reminds me a bit of "When the Levee Breaks". Steve Hackett - "Omega Metallicus" has a very 90's sounding beat and a funky bass sound. Around 2:50 there's a break with some guitar orchestration. Unsure of what to think of it overall, but I like the way the beat sneaks in again in the final minute.

Cristi:  UFO “Devils in the Detail” Here we have a hybrid hard rocker/metal rocker from UFO.  Classic construction for this type of song and a strong male vocalist.  Clean leads and heavy hitting all through.  Well-crafted for hitmaking, this one, in it’s genre.  Simple Minds “The Signal and the Noise”  Begins with synths and a steady beat, this one is more poetic, lyrically than the previous selection, but also a more complex piece of music.  Jim Kerr’s voice has a roughness to it that wasn’t present in his earlier forays, but it is still very compelling.  It is recognizably Simple Minds, yet not sounding quite so 80’s.  A band I enjoyed in the 80’s, I was unaware of this release.  Love the washy guitars, too.  It retains that kind of dark edge that made me a fan of the band.  Placebo “Loud Like Love”  This one starts with slightly washy guitar, a sound I enjoy, as noted earlier.  This one is much more upbeat than the previous selection, with a sense of optimism.  Clear vocals with a vocalist who is quite distinct.  Reminds me a bit of Michael Stipe when he lost the mumble, but with more tremolo in his voice.  This one might stick with me, first time I’ve heard this band.  Depeche Mode “Peace”  This begins with some pulsating electronic keys and a little less monotone-ish singing than I associate with them.  I like what I’m hearing (another band I appreciated from it’s era), here, really like how he opens up at the “just look at me,” verses, which vary a bit each time.  This one is also more optimistic than I generally think of the band as being.  A-ha “Living At the End of the World”  Another one from a-ha, who I have to say I really enjoy much more than I would have thought from their smash hit, which did suffer from over-exposure, at least for me.  A lovely ballad-type song with pretty orchestration and of course the fabulous singer at the fore.  A song of depth and sadness, despite the feeling of elation in it. 

Lewian:  Comsat Angels “Psychedelic Dungeon”  Looking forward to this one, with the name.  Definitely a psychedelic, raga-like beginning.  This one has an almost garage-y edge to it, like Love when they were moving from their garage roots into psychedelia.  I like the whole feel to this, it’s a more “traditional,” song than I’m used to hearing from you, or am I just getting more used to your picks?  Either way, yes. 

Shadowyzard:  Ajda Pekkan “Ben Yanmisim”  All the Turkish stuff you post is so different than what I think of as Turkish music, obviously this is modern pop, but with a Turkish twist.  This one has a female singer, I find the combination of styles very intriguing, as you can hear the vestiges of the more traditional Turkish style.  I like this one.  Poetic Assassin “Inverti In Darkness”  Now this one, I might have voted for, in the April Fool’s poll.  The guy’s deadpan delivery is quite funny to me, although a bit less time would have made the point.

JD:  Since you stated you were changing your selections on better understanding of the poll theme, I will skip your first entries. 

Logan:  David Bowie “Dollar Days”  This of course, is very moving, especially given the circumstances of the recording.  Eloquently sung, beautiful production, understated orchestration.  The double meaning of the “dying to,” and “dying too,” lyrics are just the kind of thing that speaks deeply to me.  Lovely sax solo as well.  Song ends with a drumbeat (heartbeat), fading out. I actually haven’t heard the recording, even though it was much mentioned at the time, so thank you for making me stop and take a listen.

Hiram:  Queen “Innuendo”  Here we have the irrepressible Freddy Mercury and his ace bandmates with a  metally/prog/rock anthem.   Nice change of pace about halfway in where they slow it down and then trasition into a  flamenco burst of guitars and handclaps, becoming operatic in tone and then back to the full on electric band.  The Fall “Mountain Energei”  Drums and bass lead in to a punkish Velvet Underground sort of feel all around.  This song appears to have many levels of ways you could perceive the lyrics, some literal and pop culture references are in it, along with plenty of disdain for society.  Live version.  Interesting 2 mic technique, don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone use two at once, although I have seen people play 2 recorders at once, and even with their nose, lol (not laughing at the band here).  There is a sense of detachment, even as the intensity builds in the piece, as there is with this sort of band. 

I prophesy disaster:  Van der Graaf Generator “Mr Sands”  Starting off with wiggly vocals and keyboards, drums, all come in stronger as the wiggly vocals subside.  Snappy sort of rhythm and sing-songy vocals, not quite monotone, but close.  The rhythms shift about quite a bit, from more rapid to slower and sort of swinging along, ebbs and flows along in waves and decreases and intensities.  Another from VDGG with “Manuelle”  This one comes in with guitar meanderings (maybe some sax or brassy keys?) and cymbal crashes, more interesting to my ear, for the start than the first one.  Some strong organ hits come in with a steadier beat and now it definitely sounds like sax joining in there, with the guitar and keyboards.  We enter a more funky realm with sax and drums to the fore about halfway in, accompanied with some wailing guitar.   The general trend continues with the sax becoming more doubled in sound, along with odd organ chords thrown in here and there.  Fuzzy lead guitar comes to the fore with the organ towards the end.  And back to sax and blips on guitar and organ, the sax gets the final say at the end.

JD:  Peter Gabriel “No Way Out”  Love Peter Gabriel, this is a recording I never really heard, however.  Wangly guitar starts the piece and steady drumbeats with some keyboard/organ hits.  His beautifully expressive voice describes a scene of potential death of someone he knows.  Ends with plenty of crashy percussion and keyboards.  Very moving, especially if you’ve attended the passing of a person.  This is just fantastic, I will probably have to get this recording.  Thank you!  King Crimson “Elektrik”  Another band that I’ve loved through every incarnation.  Begins with keys/flutes then crashes into wriggly guitar intermingled with blats of other guitar.  Some spooky kind of voices come in here and there, buried way way back.  Builds wonderfully in intensity with violin-y effects on guitar.  Then the patterns shift and there is a heavier sound overall.  The sonic assault continues with a reprise of the original quiet keys/flutes passage.  Can’t vote for it, since I know it, but dang, are they ever spectacular.  PFM “Dracula Opera Rock -07- Ho Mangiato Gli Uccelli”  Starts with some pretty ominous plinks and orchestral hits and discordant keys, jumpy organ and counterpoint effected guitar.  Strident voiced male vocalist, not sure of lyrics, because of language.  I did once have a PFM LP, long ago when so much of this was being imported to the US, back in the 70’s, this was not that, obviously.  This does sound much like how I remember them.  Definite operatic/cinematic feel to this, as the title suggest.  Ends as ominously as it begins.  Joe Jackson “Fool”  Now I am late to the Joe Jackson party, but was turned on to “Heaven and Hell,” which I just love.  This one begins with repeating guitar notes, drums Joe singing in a staccato way.  Some sitar-guitar here, too?  Or could be just an effect.  I have always liked the idea of The Fool who can speak truth to power.  He sings a kind of childhood singsong tune as one of the repeated choruses.  I picture a demented royal court kind of scene to this.  Fantastic playing, instrumentally.  Robert Plant “Calling To You”  Starts with sparkly guitars and then wastes no time in hitting hard with full band kicking in, Robert Plant, another famously emotive singer, comes in strong with lots of embellishments added to his voice.  Lots of heavy orchestration to this piece, very oriental in feel, with shivery violin sounds (but may be guitar effects, not sure), as the piece comes to a fade.    Steve Hackett “Omega Metallicus”  Bass note then some whangy guitar sounds, with drums and a sort of Woody Woodpecker laugh, as more “straight,” guitar comes blazing in.  This reminds me more of a jam sort of thing going on, definitely some ace guitar showmanship, with lots of fooling about and whing-whangs, but not as structured as I expect from Hackett. (sorry about the shift in formatting, happens sometimes here).  

I did pick, yesterday

Joe Jackson - Fool

Can I write it in the poll already? 

Finishing the songs on page 1.

Lewian (part 2)

Friedman & Liebezeit - "182-11". This one caught my attention from the very start. Very interesting piece, and one that's in the relatively rare time signature of 11/4. Features some electronic work that interacts perfectly with the drumming (by one of my favourite drummers). It should be an obvious contender for my votes.

mathman0806 (part 1)

Cheap Trick "The Summer Looks Good On You" is a straight forward mainstream rock song. It's a bit too "radio friendly" for my taste, but I really like the instrumental section after the second chorus.

Eric Clapton - "River of Tears" (1998). With the exception of the Unplugged album, I am not very familiar with Clapton's later work (as in: after 1980). I think I have heard a couple of songs from the Pilgrim album, but I can not recall this was among them. The song is a slow ballad. The vocals set in approximately after 2 minutes. It's not generally a sound I would associate with him, but you can sense the bluesiness underneath. Fine song, but not something I go wow about. It is also very long for that type of music (it is not after all a prog track with multiple musical transformations). Big Audio Dynamite - "Rush" (1991) is in a very different mode. Melodically it reminds me of the Rolling Stones' "Get Off of My Cloud", and then a particular Motown song, but I don't remember which one. The sample from "Baba O'Riley" seems a bit random. Later it cites some totally unrelated music before going back to the actual song. Billy Joel - "Light as the Breeze" (1994) is a bluesy ballad with a Hammond organ in the background. I like the discreet guitar work a lot. Fine song, maybe a bit too long.

mathman0806 (part 2)

Robert Plant - "Carry Fire" has a clear Middle Eastern touch to it, espeically due to the solo instrument that plays along with the vocals, as well as the melodic patterns and the constant bass note. Not uninteresting, and I like it much better than the previous Robert Plant song.

Snicolette wrote: Lewian:  Comsat Angels “Psychedelic Dungeon”  Looking forward to this one, with the name.  Definitely a psychedelic, raga-like beginning.  This one has an almost garage-y edge to it, like Love when they were moving from their garage roots into psychedelia.  I like the whole feel to this, it’s a more “traditional,” song than I’m used to hearing from you, or am I just getting more used to your picks?  Either way, yes.

Thanks for your observations. I do love some straight songs but it's hard for me to explain for what reason something straight clicks and some other thing doesn't. I know that the Comsats from beginning to the end had the hand for making things click for me, although some of their stuff is more twisted. In fact the Glamour album from which this is has two or three even more psychedelic and longer tracks, which was a turn I loved to see them take (their three longest songs are on Glamour, their ninth regular album), but there isn't much from that album on youtube, hardly anyone has it after all. 

1) LOGAN: This is a song of the past, heir to glam-rock, melodic, mesmeric, enveloping song, and at the same time also evanescent, devoid of consistency, as often happens with Bowie. A melodic song but where the melody wraps around itself, turns in a circle, and then slowly dissolves, after the intervention of the saxophone, in an almost psychedelic final coda. Very evocative and suggestive song. Contender

2) JD: Joe Jackson plays a post-punk song where he mixes his encyclopedic knowledge of music, moving from the Indian sound of the sitar to an interlude of Latin Amerina music (mambo?) and then moving on to a jazz atmosphere guided by the bass. Great display of virtuosity and eclecticism (it also reminds me of Green Day in the singing and the choirs). Of course he is very educated and competent - perhaps too much.

3) HIRAM: Post-punk song, indeed I would almost say revival of the new wave, with a tribal rhythm that has the only flaw of always being the same, and a good rhythmic song, an energetic song that has its effect.

4) RAFF: The video opens with a slightly gothic image, but just a little ;-) Undoubtedly, Blue Oyster Cult have aged remaining true to themselves, still capable of grit, heavy metal guitars, passion, anger.

1. Yello - Limbo  ( I hope the video doesn't distract too much from the music)

2. Yello - Kiss the Cloud

Yello, like Yaz, were a great 80's band.

I used 'Oh Yeah' for my wedding when I did the garter thing, mouthing the words "Oh Yeah" as I danced around like a stealthy shadow and moved Mrs. JD's dress just a little higher each time to get to the garter. It was a blast and very well received.

Lewian:  Friedman & Liebezeit “182-11”  Already, here is something I would think of you, immediately, if I heard it and didn’t know who’d posted it.  Love that it’s live and we can watch them with their percussive beats and plinky plonky keys and wriggly sounds as they begin the piece.  Pretty hypnotic here, at the beginning, I already like the groove they are in.  Some wwwwhhhhhaaaaas transpire along as there are more layers added and some long wwwwwhhhhhiiiiiings and wibblies.  This music, as usual, is very fun to try and figure out how to describe the sounds.  Some almost steel drum sounds come along about halfway in with some more wibblies and spiraly sounds.  More steel drums come plinking in and some big whirs as the cymbals are played and one last bang on the drum concludes the piece.    

The Anders:  Tv-2 “På kanten af småt brændbart “Here there is a bit of a bouncy beat and a cheery kind of vocal.  The translation, however, is a bit more dark in feel, though not so dark as disposing of a body in the container….this is just about letting go of items that perhaps should be let go of, and of reflection on the passage of time and how people end up in different walks of life, apart, differently than they would have thought at one time in their shared past.   This has kind of a pop feel in tone and music to me, but a bit deeper lyrics than more modern pop.  Tv-2, some more, with “En mand og hans hund”  This one begins with some nicely played acoustic guitar.  The lyrics are sung a bit rapidly with violin pizzicato sounds added to the acoustic guitar.  Every once in a while, his vocals sound almost Dylan-esque to me.  An observation of an ordinary life from another who really isn’t part of that life, outside of the often meeting during the dog’s walks.  Were they closer?  Maybe is implied, but not confirmed, unless the narrator is the ice cream, figuratively. And a third selection from Tv-2 “Bjørnen sover” This one similarly has a Dylan-esque feel to the vocal, along with spare arrangement.  It is a much more reflective piece than the previous one, with a look at the impermanence of us all.  And also how much of nothing is truly done that matters in a life.  There is almost an echo of “Dear Prudence,” in the  chorus melody, here.

George:  Cheap trick “The Summer Looks Good On You”  I know Cheap Trick well!  One of our bus company managers was also Rick Nielsen’s guitar tech, they were all friends in high school.  He came to work for us in the early 90’s when the band wasn’t touring so much anymore and we had a flexible deal with him, so he could take the short hiatuses he needed to go on the road with them.  That all being said, they are great guys, and pretty much a hit-making powerhouse of their sort of rock.  So, can’t vote for it, but noting that this song is very much keeping their sound intact.  Fun music for good times.  Robert Plant “Carry Fire”  Oh, here you’ve really grabbed my ears with the Middle Eastern flavour, zils and perhaps an electric oud?  His voice is really sublime here with the lyrics done in an archetypal Sufic poetic verses of love.  Violin is also enthralling.  This one’s got my vote, lol. 

Mike:  Eric Clapton “River of Tears”  Not heard this one before, so interested to see how “Clapton-y,” it sounds.  A slow bluesy bass with light percussion and Slow Hand’s tasteful accompaniment on his electric guitar, along with very soft organ or other keyboard chords, in the background of the production.  Solemn vocals, well suited to the song.  This was apparently more dealing with grief music, no doubt cathartic for him.  Big Audio Dynamite “Rush”  Definitely a change of pace.  This one is, as one would suspect, punkish in feel.  Punk always makes me think of early garage bands like early Love and The Seeds.  This is a direct descendent of those bands (and, incidentally, a bit of the early Who, so, yep, of course I got the Baba O’Riley thing).  It is funny, when he does the aside about halfway in and next, we get into percussion, with sax and horns and some wingle-y keys and guitars and back into punk-y vocals, kinda early Stones-ish.  Billy Joel “Light as the Breeze”  No doubt about it, Billy’s got a great voice and plays the heck out of a piano.  I do know this song, being a Leonard Cohen fan, but what a great and surprising cover of it (which I didn’t know).  The arrangement is sort of Ray Charles-ish with the backing chorus and the horns.  My favourite of yours, here. 

Thanks to TCat and Nickie for your comments.

The singer and songwriter of Tv-2, Steffen Brandt, later recorded a solo album with his own translations - or rather re-tellling - of Dylan songs, so he has obviously been a big influence.

ok

I hope mathman will help us with a playlist at the end.

Pretty please. 

Mini reviews:

- Simple Minds try to go back to the sound of the origins but in my opinion they exaggerate in the special effects. 

- Placebo: I know this band well, and I like various albums, I really like Molko's voice; the song is nice, but it doesn't convince me at all. 

- Depeche mode: I love the Depeche Mode of maturity, not the first ones, here the sound is very synthetic, like in the first albums, a bit too much for my taste, but the vocal intertwining and the composition are very good. 

I think that's the one I like more.

My friend, I got the face, you got the words... Peter Hammill is our idol.

I was undecided if nominate or not nominate songs written by him and now I see you've nominated two wonderful songs by  VdG...

@Lewian

And now for the first songs on page 2.

mathman0806 (part 3)

Pearl Jam "Dance of the Clairvoyants" (2020) starts with bass and drums. Then enters vocals and some interesting guitar. It's almost funky, and towards the end there are some choirs that lead my thoughts to "The Great Curve" from Remain in Light. All in all very cold and dark sounding.

Golden Earring "Flowers in the Mud": I admit I haven't really been listening to Golden Earring, except I know "Radar Love". This one is as pretty classic rock song, the composition is perhaps a bit R.E.M.-like at times. Fine number. Slightly inappropriate album cover. Nits - "The Electric Pond" is in the more experimental area with interesting sound elements and some quite impressionistic chord changes. I prefer this to Golden Earring, even if it very much to the dark side. I think I have heard of the band before, but I didn't know any of their music. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - "Ghost Star" begins with dark synths and some exotic bird sounds. More synths enter the sound, this time some rather agressive ones. I can visualize the musicians/producers turning the knobs in the studio. I expected the track to be instrumental, but a singing voice comes in at some point and sings what is essentially a ballad. Then come the "drums". The singer sounds a bit too much like Bono for my taste, but apart from that I really like what I hear. My favourite among those three by far.

Blue Öyster Cult. What is it with hard rock and metal bands and the umlaut? (Ü, Ö) The song is a bit bombastic, and I can't really figure out if the song is satirical or not (an alchymist with sunglasses, a graveyard, a church etc.), but I guess it is meant to be tongue-in-cheek at least. There are some hints at 80's heavy metal too. Only having heard "Don't Fear the Reaper" (it is them, right?), the song was not exactly what I expected. I quite enjoy it for what it is.

Friedman etc.

In this music there is Christian at the nth power: instrumental piece, sounds bordering on noises and cacophony, but in this case with a sober arrangement, it is basically a tribal cybernetic piece, similar to the King Crimson of the second period, it could have a dealing also with the Tibetan Ki Gong. Contender

- Pa Kanten etc: synthetic song that evokes the synth pop, which has a singing that recalls the French, all in all it's a pop song verse-chorus but arranged in a very experimental way and with curious sounds.

- En mand etc. Rock ballad with rough sounds, but with a very melodic base, with a hard rock chorus, I would say very eclectic, it reminded me of the Blur of the best times, very marked singing that stands out the original language. It is the one I prefer, candidate for the podium

- Bjornen etc soft and melodic song that could recall certain Beatles refrains, nice, but of the three it is the one that attracts me less. When the melody gets on the major tonality, did you also notice that it sounds like Dear Prudence? Or is it just my impression?

I never tire of listening to his guitar .

Speaking of "Dear Prudence", when I presented C.V. Jørgensen some editions ago, I thought about including this song. It has some obvious similarities:

Yes, it is not an intended effect.

Absolutely love this man's work since Fairport Convention...Assuredly one of the longest continuous careers in folk/rock/prog music.  I would have brought him here, if I hadn't added the long hiatus twist between last recording to next recording. Fabulous lyricist and musician.  Excellent choice!  

Wonderful ballad from a wonderful artist's swan song. Bowie's singing sounds better than ever. I like how the song grows towards the end and how the vocals echo away. 

Heavier than I expected, but I'll admit I'm not super familiar with the band. Powerful and melodic hard rock. Not my favourite kind of music, but I listened to this without problems and can appreciate it. Nice dynamics and atmosphere and cool guitar duelling in the middle. 

I wasn't familiar with Joe Jackson before, but this is very good. Quirky art pop that I need to investigate further, it seems. Very good production where you can hear everything clearly. While there are quite different building blocks here, nothing feels forced. 

Eurovision Song Contest type stuff that definitely has its entertainment value. Good show on the video that's big part of the fun with this kind of artists. 

Thanks for all the insightful comments on The Fall track. It's a latter day gem from them. I think the two-mic thing on the live video is just for show. At least I don't hear a difference whether MES is using one or two mics. 

-Cheap Trick: I would say that if we take out the almost heavy metal arrangement, this song would become a sixties-style melodic song. Overall then we have a melodic hard-rock piece, complete with a distorted guitar solo. I like it, contender?

Oh, yes, the phrase on the guitar, since the beginning, is very similar to Dear Prudence, anyway, very good soft ballad.

His early works are Post Punk / New Wave I suppose (1979 - 1981). He then began to explore his deeper understanding and love of music for sure. I highly recommend 'Body and Soul' as well as 'Big World'. But all his stuff s stellar in my opinion.

Page 2 continued.

Logan (part 2)

David Bowie - "Girl Loves Me". It feels almost unnatural to hear Bowie sing the F word. He is usually far too elegant for that kind of thing. Apart from that, this is a truely fascinating number with an interesting groove. The beat is kind of electronic, just played on real drums. The fact that he doesn't know where Monday did go is even more odd considering we all know that Bowie will only love you till Tuesday.

The Hateful Eight kind of sounds like the name of a Grateful Dead cover band. Instead we get some ominous scoremusic with low-pitched and quite instruments held up against high-pitched violins. Surely something violent is going to happen in a few minutes. This is a calm before the storm, and the music gradially builds a tension. Around 5:30 the battle is beginning to take place I guess. Classic style score music that could have been from some big production from the 1960's.

The Kaleidoscope - "Ghost Riders in the Sky" begins with bluesy sounds, lncluding some slide guitar. We're in the Wild West once again. The vocals are nasal with a country twang. The atmosphere is kind of gothic. I like this a lot, and it should be a contender.

Tom Rapp I mostly know for Pearls Before Swine. On "Running In My Dream" his singing has improved a lot since One Nation Underground. It's a folkish singer/songwriter ballad with acoustic guitars and a flute in the background. It's rather melancholic and thoughtful. I like it, but I think I prefer the prevous track slightly.

Frank Wyatt and Friends - "To Venus" has a rather pompos orchestral arrangement. It's a bit too much for my taste, but I like the track composition-wise. There are many far-out chord changes, and at times it almost becomes atonal. It sounds kind of cienematic sometimes. The Kalaidoscope song is still my favourite among those three.

I'll add a couple just because:

Thanks for the recommendations! I'll make sure to check him out. 

this is not how this works

everyone nominates songs and once all final nominations are made, we listen to all the songs and choose three favorites. 

Page 3

Bruce Springsteen - "If I Was the Priest". I like the lyrics a lot; there's a bit of Dylan in them perhaps. It is also very well played by the band. Springsteen's vocals tend to be a bit too much for my taste, but that's just his style, I know. The song is also rather long for that type of music. "Chasin' Wild Horses" is more in the singer/songwriter genre. There's acoustic guitar and some discreet strings. Later we get pedal steel which - to be honest - is an instrument I have a somewhat strained relationship with. At times the strings are rather dominating (maybe I just have to get used to them), but songwise I like it a lot, and I prefer it to the previous one.

De Andrè & Mina - "La canzone di Marinella" is a slow jazzy duet, at least in this version (I haven't heard the original). It is emotional and melancholic with a kind of gothic feel to it, especially with regards to the lyrics. I can't say I fully understand what it's about, other than there's a girl called Marinella who has an affair with a king without a crown, and then she disappears into a river. The final lines suggest that "Marinella" might be a symbol of something else, rather than an actual person. Not a type of music I normally listen to, but I like the song.

what about two days from now?

TCat wrote: Kees  Golden Earring – Flowers in the Mud – This is another band I’ve followed a bit through the years mostly because of my love of a few of their earlier albums.  But I did get a little frustrated with them because they kept putting out mediocre albums for a while.  However, this track is pretty good.  Nits – The Electric Pond – Out of your entries, this is the band I never heard.  Is it good enough to be a contender?  Yes.  Interesting and odd enough to get my attention.  This will be another band to put on my “gotta check this out” list.  OMD – Ghost Star – I always loved their style, even during their popular years.  This track is nice, mellow and upbeat, yet still leaves me with that sense of longing that their music always gave me.  I hadn’t heard this track before, but I love it and would probably say it is my favorite of your posts.  Definitely in the running.

First of all: Happy Birthday!

Secondly thanks for your comments. Yes most of GE albums are not that interesting, apart from one or two songs. Their last one is a decent rocking album with a very consistent quality throughout. Glad you also liked Nits and OMD. Nits are a bit mellower than before but keep their signature sound and songwriting quality. OMD are just very good in being OMD...

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The razamataz is a pain in the bum

Thanks for the birthday wish Kees!  They tell me I'm 40 years old today (60 is the new 40, right?)

TCat wrote: Thanks for the birthday wish Kees!  They tell me I'm 40 years old today (60 is the new 40, right?)

Oh, that's a great thing! So I'm just 7 years-and-a-tiny-bit short of being 40 again... Drinking a whisky on your health and happiness!

Thank you so much for saying that about MaCavity.  It's been a tough one for me since we were so connected.  They say that you can have a pet that can also be a soul-mate and that best describes it.  But I still see his spirit in so many different things, especially in the nature that he loved so much.  He's always sending me and my wife signs that he is still there.  The first day we brought him home, he was so small he fit in the palm of my hand and fell asleep there.  We were there when he passed, this time with his beautiful face in laying in the palm of my hand and with love in his eyes.  He has made many journeys together with us, but now he has to go on ahead.  I'll love that cat forever!

if you want to participate, you're more than welcome, it's an interactive poll because we listen and react to each other's songs and then we choose three in the end.