Desert Island X: Group 3 Listening Thread

[LemonMelon]

It's been well over a week since the group 2 thread started and, appropriately, we amassed an impressive 200 replies there. Thank you all for keeping participation so strong thus far and remember send me your rankings for groups 1 and 2 if you haven't already.

Group 3

liamcool


Playlist: Trumped Hearts

This is a playlist of songs. I hope you find them quite good. There is a structure to this playlist - I hope you can figure it out.

1. Dinosaur Jr. - "Little Fury Things" - You're Living All Over Me (3:08)
2. Wire - "Two People In A Room" - 154 (2:11)
3. Hüsker Dü - "Celebrated Summer" - New Day Rising (4:03)
4. Hum - "Ms. Lazarus" - Downward is Heavenward (3:39)
5. Neko Case - "People Gotta Lotta Nerve" - Middle Cyclone (2:34)
6. Daryl Hall - "Something In 4/4 Time" - Sacred Songs (4:27)
7. St. Vincent - "Now, Now" - Marry Me (4:25)
8. Nick Drake - "Hazey Jane I" - Bryter Layter (4:29)
9. Big Black - "Kerosene" - Atomizer (6:05)
10. Bottomless Pit - "Null Set" - Shade Perennial (4:09)
11. Talking Heads - "(Nothing But) Flowers" - Naked (5:36)

---------------------

12. The Replacements - "Seen Your Video" - Let It Be (3:09)
13. Progress - "Mission Of Burma" - Vs. (3:06)
14. The Jesus Lizard - "Lady Shoes" - Goat (2:42)
15. Elvis Costello and The Attractions - "Living In Paradise" - This Years Model (3:46)
16. Sonic Youth - "Kissability" - Daydream Nation (3:09)
17. New Order - "Face Up" - Lowlife (5:07)
18. Owen Pallett - "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" - Heartland (5:08)
19. Codeine - "Ides" - The White Birch (5:07)
20. Red House Painters - "New Jersey" - Red House Painters (3:59)
21. Mr. Bungle - "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz" - Disco Volante (6:07)
22. Silkworm - "Wild In My Day" - Libertine (5:33)

Total runtime: 1:31:39


namkcuR

Fairer

This time around, my theme was simple: It's 100% songs sung by women. That's it. No other limitations. It's by no means supposed to be definitive, it's just two hours and thirty-eight minutes of songs that I either like or love, covering an assortment of genres, from various time periods and decades, sung by women. I've named it "Fairer", as in the "fairer sex".

I spent way too much time putting this together, but I'm pretty proud of the flow, the transitions, and the diversity. I hope you enjoy it.

1. Robyn - "Bionic Woman" - Robyn (0:16)
2. Saint Preux & Danielle Licari - "Concerto Pour Une Voix" - Concerto Pour Une Voix (4:03)
3. Loreena McKennitt - "The Mummers Dance(edit)" - A Mediterranean Odyssey (3:31)
4. Kate Bush - "Moving(7" Single Version)" - The Kick Inside (3:11)
5. Imogen Heap - "Headlock" - Speak For Yourself (3:36)
6. Madonna - "Sky Fits Heaven" - Ray Of Light (4:48)
7. Sarah McLachlan - "Sweet Surrender" - Surfacing (4:01)
8. Tori Amos - "lieee" - From The Choirgirl Hotel (4:08)
9. The Cranberries - "Dreams" - Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (4:32)
10. Sinead O'Connor - "Nothing Compares 2 U" - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (5:10)
11. Bjork - "Aurora" - Vespertine (4:39)
12. Beach House - "Troublemaker" - Bloom (4:55)
13. Lykke Li - "Love Me Like I'm Not Made Of Stone" - I Never Learn (3:47)
14. Fleetwood Mac - "Landslide" - Fleetwood Mac (3:19)
15. Joan Baez - "Farewell, Angelina" - Farewell, Angelina (3:16)
16. Katie Melua - "Where Does The Ocean Go" - Ketevan (3:37)
17. Adele - "Lovesong" - 21 (5:17)
18. Natalie Merchant - "Kind And Generous" - Orpheus (4:08)
19. Ingrid Michaelson - "The Way I Am" - Girls and Boys (2:13)
20. Brenda Lee - "Always On My Mind" - Brenda (2:50)
21. Patsy Cline - "Crazy" - Patsy Cline Showcase (2:41)
22. Bonnie Raitt - "Something To Talk About" - Luck Of The Draw (3:49)
23. Patti Scialfa - "23rd Street Lullaby" - 23rd Street Lullaby (4:22)
24. Patti Smith - "Revenge" - Wave (5:07)
25. Blondie - "Hanging On The Telephone" - Parallel Lines (2:21)
26. Garbage - "I Think I'm Paranoid" - Version 2.0 (3:38)
27. Sleater-Kinney - "Dig Me Out" - Dig Me Out (2:40)
28. HAIM - "The Wire" - Days Are Gone (4:08)
29. The Pretenders - "The Adultress" - Pretenders II (3:57)
30. PJ Harvey - "Big Exit" - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (3:51)
31. Alanis Morissette - "Uninvited" - City Of Angels: Music from the Motion Picture (4:36)
32. Janelle Monae - "Look Into My Eyes" - The Electric Lady (2:22)
33. The Supremes - "I Hear A Symphony" - I Hear A Symphony (2:44)
34. Alicia Keys - "Fallin'" - Songs In A Minor (3:29)
35. Lauryn Hill - "Doo Wop(That Thing)" - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (5:20)
36. Etta James - "At Last" - At Last! (3:01)
37. Jennifer Hudson - "Feeling Good" - I Remember Me (2:16)
38. Ella Fitzgerald - "One For My Baby(One More For The Road)" - Intimate Ella (4:20)
39. Tony Bennet & Lady Gaga - "Lush Life(Gaga Solo)" - Cheek To Cheek (4:15)
40. Melody Gardot - "My Heart Won't Have It Any Other Way" - The Absence (2:35)
41. Fiona Apple - "Pure Imagination" - Pure Imagination Single (3:20)
42. Audrey Hepburn - "Moon River" - Breakfast At Tiffany's(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2:04)
43. Judy Garland - "Over The Rainbow" - Over The Rainbow Single (2:50)
44. Julie Delpy - "A Waltz For A Night" - Julie Delpy (3:30)

Total runtime: 158:14

phanan





An ode to the music styles of synthpop from yesterday and today, with a focus on both "synth" and "pop".

Kraftwerk may not necessarily be pop, but there's no doubting their impact on the formation of the genre; therefore, they were the only logical choice to lead this off.

From there, the progression to Tubeway Army is fairly obvious, as we get our first movement into the pop arena.

After that, anything goes...

A WHISPER IN HEAVEN

1. Kraftwerk - "The Man Machine" - The Man Machine (5:32)
2. Tubeway Army - "Are 'Friends' Electric" - Replicas (5:25)
3. SPC ECO - "Push" - The Art Of Pop (4:16)
4. Little Dragon - "Feather" - Machine Dreams (4:54)
5. M83 - "Teen Angst" - Before The Dawn Heals Us (5:03)
6. Pet Shop Boys - "Home And Dry" - Release (3:58)
7. Haerts - "Hemiplegia" - Haerts (3:49)
8. Little Boots - "Stuck On Repeat" - Hands (3:21)
9. Cut Copy - "We Are Explorers" - Free Your Mind (4:18)
10. Chromatics - "Kill For Love" - Kill For Love (3:58)
11. New Order – “Your Silent Face’ – Power, Corruption & Lies (5:58)
12. Tears For Fears – “Suffer The Children” – The Hurting (3:53)
13. Roxy Music – “Over You” – Flesh + Blood (3:27)*
14. Devo – “Beautiful World” – New Traditionalists (3:34)
15. Erasure – “Blue Savannah” – Wild! (4:19)
16. Duran Duran – “The Man Who Stole A Leopard” – All You Need Is Now (6:14)
17. Information Society – “Where Were You?” - _Hello World (3:51)
18. Neon Neon – “Raquel” – Stainless Style (5:01)
19. Simian Mobile Disco – “I Believe” – Attack Decay Sustain Release (3:18)
20. Yazoo – “Situation” – Upstairs At Eric’s (5:45)**
21. Metric – “The Void” – Synthetica (3:17)
22. Goldfrapp – “Ooh La La” – Supernature (3:24)
23. Chvrches – “Gun” – The Bones Of What You Believe (3:54)
24. Purity Ring – “Obedear” – Shrines (3:29)
25. St. Lucia – “September” – When The Night (5:46)
26. Paperwhite – “Pieces” – Pieces (Single) (3:58)
27. Visage – “Fade To Grey” – Visage (4:04)
28. Depeche Mode – “Never Let Me Down Again” – Music For The Masses (4:22)*
29. Monogem – “Follow You” – Follow You (Single) (3:45)
30. OMD – “Metroland” – English Electric (7:32)

Total Time: 133:25


Notes:

*Whereas the original album is noted, the specific versions of these tracks were taken from compilations for transitional purposes only.

**This is the US 12" Mix that was included on the North American version of Upstairs At Eric's.

Cute Irish Bono

Tune Your Mind








This playlist features a lot of melodies that tune my mind and heart in the right key. I hope it tunes yours as well. From classic rock (Bowie, Fleetwood Mac) to indie rock (The National, Local Natives) to 90’s rock (Radiohead, Mojave 3) As I always say, I hope you enjoy it.



1. The Velvet Underground – “Candy Says” – The Velvet Underground (4:04)
2. The Beatles – “Something” – Abbey Road (3:55)
3. The Kinks – “Big Sky” – The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (2:55)
4. The Talking Heads – “I’m Not In Love” – More Songs About Buildings And Food (4:37)
5. Television – “See No Evil” – Marquee Moon (3:50)
6. David Bowie – “Heroes” – Heroes (6:12)
7. Fleetwood Mac – “Dreams” – Rumours (4:20)
8. Jeff Buckley – “Last Goodbye” – Grace (4:37)
9. Radiohead – “Black Star” – The Bends (4:09)
10. The National – “Afraid of Everyone” – High Violet (2:54)
11. Local Natives – “Ceilings” – Hummingbird (2:58)
12. Eels – “Railroad Man” – Blinking Lights And Other Revelations (4:19)
13. Funeral Suits – “Stars Are Spaceships” – Lily of the Valley (4:35)
14. The Megaphonic Thrift – “Tune Your Mind” – The Megaphonic Thrift (3:01)
15. Longwave - “Exit” – The Strangest Things (3:54)
16. Spoon – “Inside Out” – They Want My Soul (5:04)
17. Leonard Cohen – “Blessed is the Memory” – Songs of Leonard Cohen (3:05)
18. Mojave 3 – “Keep It All Hid” – Out of Tune (4:00)
19. Peter Gabriel – “Mercy Street” – Shaking the Tree: 16 Golden Greats (4:43)
20. R.E.M. – “Everybody Hurts” – Automatic For the People (5:20)

Total Time: 83:21

 

[bono_212]

I just noticed that Phanan has "Blue Savannah" on his list

 

[namkcuR]

My paragraph seems too concise. It was written in a hurry. I feel the need to elaborate. I'll try to elaborate concisely.

The list isn't formally divided into sections, but there clearly are sections in it. I wanted to start off with a block of more sonically interesting material, I wanted that first part to really create an atmosphere.

That eventually gives way to a more stripped down section, containing an assortment of more bare pop and country stuff.

Then a rock section to get the energy back up after all the acoustic stuff.

Then an r&b/hip-hop/soul section.

And then it concludes with a block of jazz standards(and one contemporary original) and film soundtrack standards. I knew from the get-go that I wanted to have some of that type of stuff on this list.

I think that'll do. This was all probably obvious, but I just felt like pointing it out.

 

[liamcool]

Oh thank fuck I only have three lists to listen to this round

 

[LemonMelon]

I really half-assed it last round. Between my list and being around while Ashley's list was being made, it was light listening for me.

 

[liamcool]

Okay, Cute Irish Bono:

- Candy Says is fine. Pretty gentle little song. Like a lullaby fading in. This reminds me that I need to dig into this album, so thanks!

- So far, even though The Kinks are slightly harder edged, this playlist is very sugary. That's not necessarily an insult, just an observation - you can hear every little production touch, it's pretty major key and happy, it's very clear.

- I'm Not In Love is a real kick in the ass as a result. Whereas the previous three tracks are pretty smooth, this jerks back and forward in a really satisfying way.

- Heroes is the best song ever written, so this list automatically gets full marks.

- Jeff Buckley. Filled to the brim with soul. Really beautiful song. I'll have to check out some more of his work, I think.

- Radiohead - still overblown and maudlin and whiny and boring. Fuck off, Thom Yorke.

- The Local Natives track was really pretty, lots of neat guitar interplay. A nice palette change coming into the second half here.

- Eels - Tom Waits cuts back on his cigarette intake and joins Wilco. Not bad.

- The Funeral Suits track is very well placed - its all guitar, but that guitar is disorientating and driving enough to push the song forward. Really nice contrast here.

- There's a nice contrast between Spoon and Leonard Cohen. I thought Spoon was really boring, but it was a great way to bridge the gap between the more energetic, rockier stuff, and the meditative sounds of Cohen. Thumbs down for the song, thumbs up for the placement. The Cohen song has a really weird organ solo, too.

- I love Mercy Street, and I love Everybody Hurts, but having them side by side to close the list out doesn't really work for me. They're both slow, quiet songs. It's okay to end slowly and quietly, but you need some sort of climax - the quiet stuff then acts as a coda. As it sits, it's okay, but I feel ends on a bit of a low note. Sorry.

 

[lazarus]

It's been well over a week since the group 2 thread started and, appropriately, we amassed an impressive 200 replies there. Thank you all for keeping participation so strong thus far and remember send me your rankings for groups 1 and 2 if you haven't already.


liamcool

4. Hum - "Ms. Lazarus" - Downward is Heavenward (3:39)

 

[liamcool]

 

[IWasBored]

So how do we do points again?

 

[LemonMelon]

Give up to 24 points, 8 points max.

 

[lazarus]

Unless your own list is in the group in question, in which case you have 18 points to divide among the other people.


Why do I feel like the tabulation is going to be a giant clusterfuck?

 

[LemonMelon]

Unless your own list is in the group in question, in which case you have 18 points to divide among the other people.


Why do I feel like the tabulation is going to be a giant clusterfuck?

It's not so bad so far. It was much more difficult soliciting rankings from everyone than it is determining what the top two is out of a group of four.

 

[IWasBored]

I was just waiting til the end since you said you weren't going to post them til the whole first round was done, unless you absolutely want them as we go. I've got them written down somewhere at home so far, although I still need to listen to gump from last group.

 

[LemonMelon]

It's good with me either way. I'd prefer them now to limit my own personal suspense, but it's no big deal, particularly in the case of people who join in late (Gabe just asked me for links, so yeah).

 

[bono_212]

Alright, Liam, let's go.

 

[lazarus]

It's not so bad so far. It was much more difficult soliciting rankings from everyone than it is determining what the top two is out of a group of four.

Right, but these new rules are slightly confusing, and each time someone asks what to do you're giving them incomplete instructions. Are you telling me that you don't expect anyone to give you a score totaling 24 from a group they're in at this rate?

 

[PhilsFan]

That would cause me to re-send in my first rankings if so.

 

[bono_212]

While this list started with two artists I don't really care much for, at all, it got a lot better, very quickly. I think I've heard something by Hum on a DI list long ago, something with "Green" in the title (I went and checked, it's called "Green to Me"). I loved that song, this one was no different. And I couldn't remember how this Middle Cyclone track went by title alone, but I'm pleased to see it's one of my favorites from the album. I have such good memories attached to this one, because it was from the first year that I really started listening to a lot of new music. Pretty much everything I loved from that year is in a little special place of my heart.

I had some serious trepidations seeing Darryl Hall was going to be on here, but boy that worked really well . I like that you got from Dinosaur Jr. to Nick Drake in about 20 minutes, that was impressive stuff, right there.

Alright, I don't really like the transition from Nick Drake, but I do like the song a lot. Kerosene, I mean.

In general those last three songs were kinda all over the place, but all really good. Love Talking Heads songs that sound like that.

.

 

[LemonMelon]

Right, but these new rules are slightly confusing, and each time someone asks what to do you're giving them incomplete instructions. Are you telling me that you don't expect anyone to give you a score totaling 24 from a group they're in at this rate?

If you're in a group, the max for that group is 18 points.

If you are not in the group, the max is 24 points.

You do not have to give exactly 18 or 24.

The max you can give any individual list, regardless of group, is 8 points. There is no specific minimum.

Sorry for not being sufficiently clear on this to begin with.

 

[bono_212]

Ignore that confused PM I sent you earlier, LeMel, I get it now.

 

[iron yuppie]

Sorry, one last clarification: we do or don't award points to our own list?

 

[liamcool]

Don't give points to your own list.

 

[liamcool]

Ashley I hope Mr. Bungle didn't weird you out too much. More comments when I'm sober and more people have listened.

 

[iron yuppie]

Phanan, I'm only a few songs into your list, but this "Push" song is a revelation.

 

[bono_212]

Ashley I hope Mr. Bungle didn't weird you out too much. More comments when I'm sober and more people have listened.

It just made me want to die a little, inside.

I didn't like the second half nearly as much as the first. But you included two of my favorite songs, in Pallett and Red House Painters, so that was great. I just don't really have a lot to say, I guess ...>_>

 

[IWasBored]

everyone needs a little mr bungle in their lives.

 

[IWasBored]

phanan, i'm not going to lie--i'm having a hell of a time making it through your list. m83 song was good. and i know that if i ever wake up one day and decide synth pop is something i actually want to listen to, this is the playlist for me. but truth be told, i don't know if i'll be able to make it through this thing til that imaginary day.

 

[phanan]

No worries, I figured as much. Certainly the most polarizing entry I've ever had.

 

[nielsgov]

I finished your list phanan. I certainly enjoyed it but I did have trouble with some stretches. You'd think that that would occur more frequently during the last part but I probably liked the opening few songs the least. All those songs are fairly good but nothing stood out, apart from Kraftwerk, so it didn't exactly stick with me. M83 was the first track to get me sucked in. It's another song of his I didn't know and another one I absolutely loved. From then on I enjoyed your playlist a lot more. Home and Dry was great as was Stuck on Repeat into We Are Explorers. I'm a big fan of the latest Cut Copy album so everything from it gets a big thumbs up from me. I also liked the Duran Duran track contrary to the one on LM's list. It's actually pretty funny that I listened to your lists back to back, considering the similarities.

The section from Neon Neon, all the way to and including Purity Ring was awesome. I loved the disco and the more contemporary synth pop. Each song was basically a stand-out. After that it got more hit and miss. Fade to Grey (I was familiar with that one then) and the closer were the stand-outs here.

I don't think you pulled off the overdosis of synth pop during the whole length of your playlist but there were lots of great songs on there and that one section I mentioned was perfect.

 

[iron yuppie]

Phanan: I'm through the first half or so of your list, and so far I have been impressed with how much ground the list is covering within this synth-driven genre. Kraftwerk is always a good thing, as far as I'm concerned, and The Man-Machine sets the tone well for the somewhat deadpan first stretch of songs. I am partial to this genre, and the first ten or so songs exemplify the reasons why: subject matter can be opaque or even sinister, but those themes are offset by buoyant, vibrant soundscapes. The SPC and Little Dragon tracks stand out in that regard.

Beginning around the Devo track, things get rather frivolous, for lack of a better term: I suspect that was intentional. Erasure IMO is probably the cheesiest band ever to exist (Bono212 will hate me for this, but thank Zeus Vince Clarke left Depeche Mode), but that Duran Duran track manages to be even more campy, especially in the news report outro. That said, I did enjoy those tracks as a contrast to what had come before.