As mentioned previously, the first of the final match-ups is between Nick Cave (Murder Ballads) and The Band (The Band). You can make a new post or leave your vote in the comments. I'm giving you three days. After that (Thursday, midnight), I'm tallying the votes of those who got them in, and we're going on to the next one.
I'm also instating the rule that if you've already listened to one or both of these, you don't have to listen again (or if you are overly familiar with either). This should make three days seem more tenable.
Go to it folks. Don't let me down like Lost did last night.
Obviously my vote goes to The Band. I reviewed both albums at different points in the death match, but to distill it: The Band, in addition to ruling musically, brings me up; Nick Cave's Murder Ballads, while being all kinds of fascinating, is a long, dark trip down.
ReplyDeleteNo contest. It's gotta be The Band for this one and a whole host of other reasons.
Oh, and if you haven't yet, congratulate Uncle Eric, who, as of Saturday, is Father Eric. Meaning his first child was born, not meaning he is a priest.
ReplyDeleteCongrats Eric. I agree with Sarah. The Band in a landslide. Especially, on a beautiful spring day.
ReplyDeleteMe too for The Band. Honorable mention to Murder Ballads, though. That is one substantial album.
ReplyDeletei don't want it to be a landslide...
ReplyDeletemaybe i have a borderline personality, but, murder ballads seems so full of life to me, especially the louder, more violent songs...i love the lyrical detail of songs like the curse of millhaven, kindness of strangers, and o'malley's bar...there is so much energy and drama...i love the singing...i'm almost always up for listening to this...that's why i chose it...
all that said, murder ballads doesn't seem to be the kind of album that should win the death match...it's more of a niche album...i really can't believe it made it this far...
the band are great...long live the band
(the band wins)
Murder Ballads winning the Death Match. Now that would be puntastic.
ReplyDeleteI too am voting for The Band, (it was my number 3 choice after all), but I give mad props to Murder Ballads for making it this far, I think that's the lowest seed to do so well.
ReplyDeleteWe're still waiting on Jeff, Karl, Jane, Mark, and Eric I think. But I'm sticking to my deadline of midnight tonight.
Murder Ballads: 4.2
ReplyDeleteThe Band: 4.0
My vote goes to Nick Cave. I actually do calculate these ratings, too; I don't just pull them out of my butt. I respect, admire, and appreciate The Band, but I don't often feel like putting them on the hi-fi. And when I do, I sometimes wish I were listening to CCR, Gram Parsons, or The Byrds instead. Sometimes I get a little bored while listening to The Band, which is blasphemy, but it's true.
I'm not always in the mood for Murder Ballads, but this album is truly unigue, intelligent, and never dull. NCATBS have the ability to get me really excited about music, and Mr. Cave is a master story-teller/ word-smith.
I couldn't let this be a shut out, folks. I know I'm fightin' for a lost cause, but here is where I stand.
P.S. Thanks for the words of congratulations. A baby is a thing to behold. Good times, tired times. Can't wait to turn her on to mid-late 60s Kinks...;)
My vote is for Murder Ballads as well.
ReplyDeleteMurder Ballads: 4.25
The Band: 3.95
These numbers were pulled out of my butt.
I'd say both were pretty darn good, not Poison good, mind you... Donald Trump knows what I'm talkin' about.
My vote is for The Band.
ReplyDeleteWell, I advanced both The Band and Nick Cave . . . but I dunno. It's strange, when I'm making decisions in early rounds I think, "Nothing new can be an overall winner," but when I get down to an overall winner I think, "Why are we voting on 40-year-old music?" It's just so hard to get excited about something 15 years old, let alone 40.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'll give a random fickle vote for Nick Cave, since tonight I feel down on old music. Ask me tomorrow. Wait, can I vote again tomorrow?
Hey, is that midnight EDT? Whoa.
ReplyDeletePosting near midnight! Posting near midnight!
ReplyDeleteThe blog server clock is slightly different than my own, so I'm posting again!
That's because of a cyclical irregularity in the superluminal region of the earth's magnetic field called the Ratcliff-Swanson sequence which occasionally effects servers because of their reliance on magnetic storage.
ReplyDelete