here's it is. hardest ever!
Radiohead - Kid A vs Marvin Gaye - What's Going On?
take a moment and think about making that choice before you read on.
what's that?
yes, i would rather choose between $1,000,000 and $1,000,000 worth of happiness.
for this round i'm going to my own sort of point system.
before i make my comparisons, i'd like to share a few historical facts regarding these albums, the relationship to me.
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On?: Don't own this album. I owned Mavin Gaye's Greatest Hits, so I know the singles from this album. I love Marvin Gaye, but not in my top 30 album picks.
Radiohead - Kid A: I own this album and have likely listened to it a zillion times. It was on my top 30. Radiohead is one of my favorite bands, and this is my favorite album of theirs.
So, point system goes thusly:
0: worst
1:bad
2:poor
3:good
4:great
5:genius
Lyrics
Radiohead: 2 (I think Thom York writes decent, lazy lyrics. He can write a good phrase that usually represents the theme of the music, and vice versa, but he repeats a few phrases and relies and the strength of them to carry the song)
Marvin Gaye: 4 (He sings from heart, the soul; he sings about what mattered and still matters tomorrow, he loses genius status only cause his plea for us to "think of the children" got in the way, and his "don't talk bad about my father" line stunk it up a bit)
Album Cover (got to put this in only cause it's going to be a close one)
Radiohead: 4
Marvin Gaye:2 (his first credit as sole-producer, and crediting the funk brothers makes up for it)
Singing
Radiohead: 4 (Thom York may not have the greatest lyrics, but he's another instrument that no one gets to play but him)
Marvin Gaye: 5 (Nuff said)
Musicianship
Radiohead: 4 (Jonny Greenwood factor is huge, Thom York's previously mentioned instrument is huge, and even the programmed and live drummer need a special mention here)
Marving Gaye: 5 (Funk Brothers at their prime = HUGE)
Songwriting
Radiohead: 4 (Unbelievably creative, strong arrangements, memorable without being overly catchy, fave: the national anthem)
Marvin Gaye: 4 (Powerful, pioneering in the way of a concept album, although I didn't give it a 5 it really is genius, fave: mercy mercy me)
Album Flow
Radiohead: 4 (The only hiccup is track 5 which feels to me too much like the soundtrack to a show a the planetarium, and the bonus track followed by the 2 minutes of silence is the biggest waste of space since someone thought bonus tracks would be cool)
Marvin Gaye: 4 (I really don't like save the children and god is love, they have great messages but they become too much about the message and not the music to me)
Impact
Radiohead: 3 (Great album for the fact that it showed a great band could last while progressing, but it didn't really say anything other than that)
Marvin Gaye: 5 (Marvin Gaye reacted to the vietnam war with an album that wasn't nearly as full of rage as the common protester of the era, he reacted a lot cooler than that; he spoke of loving each other; he said that we were the ones to mess things up, but we're the ones who can fix it, and he said all these things through one bad-ass funky mofo and the most sincere voice we may ever hear, album on charts for more than a year)
String Arrangements
Radiohead: 4 (Strings on track 4 are possibly the most amazing thing on this record; they float with thom's voice, and drop out just as our feet are taking that first step off a ledge)
Marvin Gaye: 4 (Phil Spector likey)
Variety
Radiohead: 4 (It's all over and it's still got flow)
Marvin Gaye: 1 (This album is pretty sexy, this album is pretty political, if you're not it the mood for either of those things, it may be a tough listen)
Well, those are the important categories to me.
Score: Canada 7 / Russia: 3!!!!!
(Just got back from the hockey game)
Radiohead - Kid A: 33
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On?: 34
Wow! Much closer than the hockey game!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm impressed, slippers. You pretty much summed up all the reasons I love "What's Going On" more articulately than I could have..."Makes me wanna holler/ Throw up both my hands"...Well done.
ReplyDeleteHard choice Dwight. I appreciate how you went about this. Marvin Gaye affected the world with his music as did Radiohead. One thing Jeff pointed out in his review of Surfer Rosa was that "without the Pixies we wouldn't have Nirvana." That's probably true. But after Nirvana, all the bands that were influenced by Nirvana felt the need to lie about how they were really influenced by the Pixies. It's like a 30 year old who says, "I haven't liked the Cure since they put out Disintegration" as if 7 year old would have been all that discerning or even aware of the Cure's subsequent work.
ReplyDeleteBut I'll believe artists who pledge fidelity to Radiohead. They are at once mainstream and innovative. They pushed boundaries on the global stage in a way that earlier alternative bands couldn't...even when they tried.
And what modern R&B singer doesn't swear by "What's Going On"?
Tough call. I think you made the right one though.
Plus, no one will call us racist anymore. Except maybe Los Lobos fans.
My musicology prof once said "If I had to choose between Motown and Stax, I'd try and shoot myself out of the situation." I just realized that this tournament is essentially tempting us all to violence. Way to handle this one peacefully though, and for the record, I fully support your decision. Now here's another one you gotta make: (16) Low - Curtain Hits the Cast vs. (17) Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin.
ReplyDeleteThis does not look good for me.
ReplyDeletethanks guys. i really did enjoy making the decision though. fun few days of listening to 2 super albums.
ReplyDelete