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User
Reviews 123
Approval 98%
Soundoffs 230
News Articles 8
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Album Edits 185
Album Ratings 2276
Objectivity 84%
Last Active 09-26-19 3:01 pm
Joined 01-26-17
Review Comments 9,464
| REC ROULETTE ROUND 2 -- The B-utcher
three men go in, three men come out, it's not elimination time yet.. | | 1 |  | Pavement
Watery, Domestic
B-SIDES ----- Alright, here's the criteria for this one.. I want you to rec me a B-side from three bands or artists.. B-Sides that didn't make it onto an official album, that you think should have.. I'd like you to rec me those B-sides and juxtapose them against A-Sides from the band circa the same era that you think they should have replaced.. How I will judge scores on this is none of ya goddamn beeswax.. Open genre.. | | 2 |  | Oasis
(What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Unique 1
The B-Side -- The Masterplan
The A-Side -- Wonderwall
Oasis are bit of a difficult band for me, one that have made a career out of religiously ripping off the Beatles, a band I'm not particularly fond of in the first place. Still it's hard to deny Wonderwall's infection. But The Masterplan does get a slight edge over it. A cavalcade of strings, and some well placed fuzzy guitar lend it layers that Wonderwall's basic pleasure trigger pop cannot summon, no matter how inherently catchy it is. Discarding the fact that everything in The Masterplan has been used by these two grouchy limey fucks before, from the vocal intonations to basic song structure, The Masterplan is a better song than Wonderwall. | | 3 |  | Arctic Monkeys
Suck It and See
Unique 2
The B-Side -- Evil Twin
The A-Side -- Suck It and See
Arctic Monkeys' B-Sides have always been a bit of a treasure trove. They're a typical representation of a band who discard infinitely better songs in order to maintain album cohesion (though they don't always succeed at that either). I'd already heard a few B-sides from the Suck It era and they harkened back to Humbug's muscular guitar and desert heat. And even if Evil Twin is not quite on par with the fucking fantastic You and I that they recorded with Richard Hawley, it does trump the title track's blandness with ease. | | 4 |  | The Sound
Thunder Up
Unique 3
The B-Side -- Such A Difference
The A-Side -- Hand of Love
This album comes during an era of The Sound that I barely listen to, one where they had ditched all art rock and post-punk affectations in favour of hammy new wave balladry. All that said, Hand of Love is a very decent, if overwrought mid-tempo plea. At a notch over 3 minutes, it also doesn't overstay its welcome, something a lot of their latter songs tended to do. And Such a Difference is such an inferior smack of Talking Heads' stiff disco, that I do understand why it was left on the cutting room floor. No dice on this one.
Unique -- 4/5-3/5; 4/5-1.5/5; 2.5/5-3.5/5 = 1+2.5-1= 2.5 | | 5 |  | Animal Collective
Painting With
Fripp 1
The B-Side -- Peacemaker
The A-Side -- Vertical
This one just edged it out for me, mostly for how much of an incoherent pointless collection of blips Vertical is as a song. But Peacemaker isn't much better, at least it did nothing for me on first few listens. Suppose I'll call this one a tie on account of being shite. | | 6 |  | The Beach Boys
Surf's Up
Fripp 2
The B-Side -- (Wouldn't It Be Nice to) Live Again
The A-Side -- Student Demonstration Time
This one was easy. I'm not in love with the Beach Boys, but I am in love with Dennis Wilson. Live Again is everything that's so enduring about his writing, tender and evocative and expertly lingering just on the verge of theatrical. And Student Demonstration just is what it is. A cheap, pandering protest song written by people who had no business diluting blues into such an awkward moment. Fuck that song. | | 7 |  | David Bowie
Heathen
Fripp 3
The B-Side -- Wood Jackson
The A-Side -- I've Been Waiting for You
I have shamefully not listened to any of Heathen's outtakes. Bowie does his best trying to lend Neil Young's patented loud declarative songwriting some of that Thin White Duke elegance, but it only succeeds partially. So Wood Jackson does take it for me, contemplative and incredibly soulful and instrumentally rich, it truly belonged on that album.
Fripp -- tie; 4/5-1.5/5; 4/5-2.5/5 = 2.5 +1.5 = 4 (WINNER) | | 8 |  | Devin Townsend
Infinity
bgill 1
The B-Side -- Om
The A-Side -- Noisy Pink Bubbles
Hmm. I feel an unqualified chimp to even rate this after bgill's masterfully ranging list about the man. And this is music I know little about in retrospect. But Om takes this one, mostly because I really didn't like Noisy Pink Bubbles at all. | | 9 |  | Chevelle
Wonder What's Next
bgill 2
The B-Side -- It's No Good
The A-Side -- Don't Fake This
From what little I've heard from Chevelle, I seem to like the songs that their proper fans hate the most. It's No Good builds towards a great big crash, but his vocals get so jarringly nasally and drawn out in the process, it kills the effect for me. Don't Fake This on the other hand is pretty much a by the numbers second wave nu-metal song. A tie, and a dishonourable one at that. | | 10 |  | Marillion
Script for a Jester's Tear
bgill 3
The B-Side -- Grendel
The A-Side -- Garden Party
Music like this would sit so well within a theatre setting. I mean that in an amazing way. More rock operas should be written. I'm not a huge fan of this genre's vocals outside a more histrionic setting, but Grendel's instrumental breaks are goddamn beautiful. And Garden Party's kitschy synths and kitschier brass sections kill whatever is left of the song after the guy finishes hysterically declaiming over it all. Grendel takes it on account of sheer beauty and small subtleties.
bgill -- 3/5-1.5/5; tie; 4/5-2.5/5 = 1.5+1.5 = 3 | |
butcherboy
08.06.17 | here we go.. | bgillesp
08.06.17 | So 2 songs? | bgillesp
08.06.17 | I know a bunch of B sides I love but the albums had all great songs | butcherboy
08.06.17 | three B-sides set against three songs from that era.. as in, you can't rec me a B-side from the early days pitted against an A-side from the later days after the band had gone to shit.. so six songs in total.. | Papa Universe
08.06.17 | You mean rec you 3 songs from bands that don't have an album or 3 tracks that are not on an album? | Papa Universe
08.06.17 | And you want all-in-all 6 songs submitted? 3 B-Sides and 3 era-defining underwhelmers? | butcherboy
08.06.17 | where did you get bands that don't have an album?!
rec me three B-sides and three inferior corresponding A-sides.. the b-sides could have since been released on compilations or EP's, but the point is, they weren't included on an official full-length, instead replaced by a worse song..
Oh, and you don't have to rec all three match-ups from the same artist/band obviously.. | butcherboy
08.06.17 | yep, six, senor.. | Papa Universe
08.06.17 | "I want you to rec me a B-side from three bands or artists that didn't make an official album" | butcherboy
08.06.17 | Ahhh!! you're right, it's ambiguous wording.. songs that didn't make an album.. | bgillesp
08.06.17 | I'm gonna do an Infinity-christen + 4 demos combo. Idk about the other two yet, but I'll be more free to research this afternoon | bgillesp
08.06.17 | I'll try to not make all of them Devin Townsend | butcherboy
08.06.17 | putting them as placeholder.. will update the list later this afternoon.. you CAN make them all the same artist if you so fancy.. | Papa Universe
08.06.17 | The B-Sides:
Muse - Glorious
Arctic Monkeys - Cigarette Smoke
Buzzcocks - Autonomy
The disposable A-Sides:
Bon Jovi - It's My Life
Scouting for Girls - She's So Lovely (yeah, you can say it's cheating to suggest something that was suggested to me in another competition)
Discharge - Grave New World | butcherboy
08.06.17 | no, each B-side and its respective A-side has to come from the same artist/band.. that's what I mean by the same era.. as in, it's a B-side that was omitted by this artist in favour of a song that you think is worse.. otherwise, this would be too easy!!
As in Pavement's Shot the Singer is a B-side, but I think it should have replaced Two States on the album Slanted and Enchanted, which came out around the same time.. | Papa Universe
08.06.17 | Well, that'll take much longer... | butcherboy
08.06.17 | yea. but it's better.. | Papa Universe
08.06.17 | If you say so | Papa Universe
08.06.17 | I don't suppose you're very fond of Oasis... | butcherboy
08.06.17 | it's better..
I've listened to the singles off Morning Glory, and otherwise haven't heard them but they're a decent enough band.. the judging will at least partially linger on how superior the B-Side is to its counterpart, and not strictly on whether I think the music is good.. | Papa Universe
08.06.17 | Oasis - The Masterplan (A-Side: Wonderwall)
Arctic Monkeys - Evil Twin (A-Side: Suck It And See)
The Sound - Such a Difference (A-Side: Hand of Love) | butcherboy
08.06.17 | alright, Unique's picks are in.. | bgillesp
08.06.17 | Do deluxe edition bonus tracks count? | butcherboy
08.06.17 | yep.. | Frippertronics
08.06.17 | Animal Collective - Peacemaker (A-Side: Vertical)
The Beach Boys - (Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again (A-Side: Student Demonstration Time)
David Bowie - Wood Jackson (A-Side: I've Been Waiting For You)
| butcherboy
08.06.17 | that's fripp all done.. | bgillesp
08.06.17 | Devin Townsend- Om from Christeen+4 demos should replace noisy pink bubbles as Infinity album closer
Chevelle- It's No Good bonus track from Wonder What's Next should replace Don't fake this
Marillion- Grendel bonus track should replace Garden Party on Script for a Jesters Tear | bgillesp
08.06.17 | Sorry it took so long. Just got back from my run. I'm hyped for sharknado 5 tonight | butcherboy
08.06.17 | hahahha, it's all good, dude..
we're all stocked up, should have write-ups done by tomorrow.. | butcherboy
08.08.17 | So here is how I'm scoring this -- a score out of 5 is assigned to the B-sides and A-sides, the subtracted from one another and added to a total score. My laptop is fucking with updating the list, so I'll post it from work in a bit, but here are the scores for now..
Unique -- 4/5-3/5; 4/5-1.5/5; 2.5/5-3.5/5 = 1+2.5-1=2.5
Fripp -- tie; 4/5-1.5/5; 4/5-2.5/5 = 2.5 +1.5 = 4 (WINNER)
bgill -- 3/5-1.5/5; tie; 4/5-2.5/5 = 1.5+1.5 = 3
Fripp also gets best match-up for the Beach Boys tune, though that achievement comes with no extra points or prizes.. | Papa Universe
08.08.17 | So can we post Round 3 now? | butcherboy
08.08.17 | yep.. i'll post mine in a few hours.. sorry it took so long, folks, busy few days.. |
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