MAD's ROUND 2!! # 1's have been posted!! (1 Viewer)

[Charlie Steiner]

Just found yet another bonus track that has forced its way into the discussion.

Wait a Minute is not only The Seldom Scene's most frequently requested song, it also appeared twice on the countdown. In my original writeup for it, I mentioned the song was written by one Herb Petersen. Well, Herb is a 'west coast' guy but still managed to collaborate with many of the same artists as the 'Scene during the 70s, which is probably how they came to record his song.

Anyway, what I stumbled upon just last night is Herb and former bandmate and frequent collaborator Chris Hillman's version, played with just a mandolin and guitar. I will leave it up to the masses to judge.

 

[Eephus]

Unfortunately the rain arrived concurrently with the #1s playlist so my dog walking listening has slowed to a drizzle.

 

[Eephus]

In case anyone cares, here's my Collective Soul playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2A7EK5PiuH2uJ1sZzBdsin?si=3eb86bee94754a02

Rank	Song	Album
31	This	See What You Started By Continuing
30	Not the One	Dosage
29	When the Water Falls	Collective Soul
28	Needs	Dosage
27	Bearing Witness	Afterwords
26	In Between	Disciplined Breakdown
25	Tremble for My Beloved	Dosage
24	Collection of Goods	Collective Soul
23	Compliment	Dosage
22	Perfect Day (featuring Elton John)	Blender
21	After All	Blender
20	Reunion	Collective Soul
19	Home	Youth
18	AYTA	See What You Started By Continuing
17	Under Heaven's Skies	Youth
16	Shine	Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
15	Maybe	Disciplined Breakdown
14	Why, Pt. 2	Blender
13	Disciplined Breakdown	Disciplined Breakdown
12	Gel	Collective Soul
11	Listen	Disciplined Breakdown
10	Hollywood	Afterwords
9	Goodnight, Good Guy	Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
8	Blame	Disciplined Breakdown
7	Run	Dosage
6	December	Collective Soul
5	Heavy	Dosage
4	She Said	Dosage
3	Precious Declaration	Disciplined Breakdown
2	Forgiveness	Disciplined Breakdown
1	The World I Know	Collective Soul

As you can see most of my selections came from 3 albums - Collective Soul, Disciplined Breakdown and Dosage. I don't enjoy the "newer" stuff anywhere close to as much as these earlier productions. I do like the See What You Started by Continuing album a fair bit though. Only had 2 songs from this release but if you liked "This" or "AYTA" maybeyou'd like some additional tunes from it.

Other slow songs that were close to the cut
Crown
Bleed

And a more upbeat ones
Skin
Better Now
Counting The Days

I’ve always liked this band. Nice playlist.

Even with the limited album selection, Collective Soul showed a lot more range than I expected going in.

 

[Mt. Man]

Selected favorites from the #1s? Hmm, I think I’ll be a little less selective this time and include (f more than usual. In an effort to not simply copy/paste Zegras’ list, I will have to have some limit. So if I don’t list your song this time around, it’s not necessary that I didn’t like it, considering I decided to keep it to a “top” 20 at maximum.

Really, I’ve enjoyed all the artists involved in this round, with the usual range from “very familiar” to “(near?) completely unknown. But hopefully more on that fairly soon. Anyway. Not shuffled. Not separated by known/unknown. Not commented since I plan on (eventually) typing a lot more. Let’s Go!

–
Little Red Corvette - Prince
Burning Down the House - Talking Heads
Chandelier-Sia
Wait A Minute - The Seldom Scene
Night Still Comes - Neko Case
Sinnerman - Nina Simone
Little Miss Magic - Jimmy Buffett
Town Called Malice - The Jam
All My Happiness Is Gone - Purple Mountains
Moonage Daydream - David Bowie

Jump (For My Love)- The Pointer Sisters
Rain on the Scarecrow - John Mellencamp
Hunger Strike - Temple of the Dog/Chris Cornell
No One Knows - QotSA/Josh Homme
I Need Never Get Old - Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Go For Soda - Kim Mitchell
Selfless, Cold and Composed - Ben Folds Five
Boxing Night - Frightened Rabbit/Scott Hutchison
The Bleeding Heart Show - The New Pornographers
Man on the Silver Mountain - Rainbow

 

[scorchy]

Thanks to all involved. Sorry I wasn't around as much. Here's my Against Me! playlist:

31 from Against Me!

 

[KarmaPolice]

JAGUAR GOD -

This one was another where my love for it grew as I listened more. Honestly, I was obsessed with Andromeda and the drum video for that one, so what I realized is that along with skipping over too much of The Hunter and Once More, I usually stopped listening to Emperor at Andromeda or just got to distracted with that tangent. When I was talking about what might be their best guitar work as a team I was talking about the stretch here from about the 4:50 mark on. The riff there is great but the drop off around the 5:45 mark is where it really takes off, and that heartfelt solo to finish off the song. THIS is the song you should blame for the playlist format. Before this I was already teetering on 9 songs for the playlist from the album since I was trying to lean into the group's taste as much as I could with them. Jaguar God hooked me, it's such a great finishing song I think at that point I said might as well play the whole damn album if I put that on too. So, that's what I did.

 

[scorchy]

@Dr. Octopus - special thanks for the DBT playlist. It's quite the testament to their body of work that your excellent list only had 13 overlaps with my draft DBT 31. A couple of my faves were missing, but that's neither here nor there. What I wanted to link were a few tracks, not all of which were on my top 31, that highlight a couple other aspects of the Truckers' persona: Patterson's live monologues and both his and Cooley's senses of humor:

18 Wheels of Love (Live from Charlottesville) - the full story of Chester and Patterson's mom
Box of Spiders (Live in SF) - all about "The General"
Panties in Your Purse - Cooley at his most sardonic

 

[JB Breakfast Club]

Thanks to all involved. Sorry I wasn't around as much. Here's my Against Me! playlist:

31 from Against Me!

Great band and well curated list. I'm seeing LJG January 3rd at a new venue in Minneapolis. Looking forward to it!

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Probably closer than you might think

Andrews Sisters?

Ok,not that close.
And if there is a Pointer Brothers, not them either.

There’s a Jonas Brothers.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Probably closer than you might think

Andrews Sisters?

Ok,not that close.
And if there is a Pointer Brothers, not them either.

Brian Setzer has a brother, you know.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

Probably closer than you might think

Andrews Sisters?

Ok,not that close.
And if there is a Pointer Brothers, not them either.

Brian Setzer has a brother, you know.

You talking about his bro Mo?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Probably closer than you might think

Andrews Sisters?

Ok,not that close.
And if there is a Pointer Brothers, not them either.

There’s a Jonas Brothers.

I would rather listen to a MAD31 of a reggae artist doing all covers.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

would rather listen to a MAD31 of a reggae artist doing all covers.

I've heard some good Pink Floyd songs done that way.

 

[Raging weasel]

Echoed thanks to Zegras and KP (and anyone else I’m missing) for putting this together.

I’m down to do whatever the masses want - covers draft, 3rd round of this, etc. If/when we do the 3rd one, I’m going to be a bit more strategic on my choice as I don’t think Thin Lizzy resonated that well.

I liked Thin Lizzy and spotlighted a bunch of their songs. I only knew 2-3 of their songs coming in so most were new

 

[KarmaPolice]

MAD31 Mastodon (or 42 again)

MAD31 Mastodon (or 42 again) · Playlist · 41 songs

open.spotify.com

Playlist updated. Just like last time, I beefed it up to 42 songs and added in some other favorites of theirs. I didn't even touch their newest album. It's very good, but uneven since they took an ill-advised try at a double album. Mostly, I thought the playlist flowed best when mixing in songs up to and including Emperor, and Hushed and Grim has a little different sound as well. I threw in 3 from that one, 3 more from my 1b album Blood Mountain, and 4 others I thought anybody listening that playlist would also like. I didn't include any of Brent's side projects, but I do think some of you would like of of the 4 other groups he has put out music with. I am just not overly familar with them so I didn't put any on the playlist. Plus, 11s my number so I think along with my 1.1M listeners shtick, I will add 11 bonus songs to each MAD31 final playlist. Here is a song each from his other adventures:

West End Motel Mostly a Brent band for his interests. We have horns and pop here. Doom-*** according to Spotify?
Fiend w/o a Face Little more twang and rockabilly here.
Giraffe Tongue Orchestra First supergroup here with Brent and members of Mars Volta, Dillinger Escape Plan, and the vocalist from MAD 31 artist AIC.
Legend of the Seagullmen This was the other "supergroup" I mentioned that has Brent and Danny Carey from Tool on drums.

Brent is an odd dude. Talented though.

Best American Metal Band. That was my thesis, and after a few months of listening and thinking, I'm not backing off that statement, especially when you factor in the extra stuff - band longevity and dynamic, amazing videos, and kick *** merch. I have odd tastes that very obviously now lean prog/technical and there are 2 others that come to mind, and I am slowing researching and assembling playlists for myself. One I can't imagine anybody ever doing for a MAD31 - Death. Chuck was something else and the drumming he had around him was ridiculous. The other has been name dropped as a possible MAD31, so I won't here again. Then there are a few others I would disagree with, but wouldn't put up too big of a fight over. Talking the "big 4" of the 80s and some other bands here. As for Mastodon, I can't recommend highly enough their 4 albums that I would say are perfect metal albums - Leviathan, Blood Mountain, Crack the Skye, and Emperor of Sand. Those are all truly albums like I grew up on - great concept albums to put the headphones on and escape with. Metal at it's finest, IMO.

I hoped you enjoyed at least some of the ride and the spastic postings.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Echoed thanks to Zegras and KP (and anyone else I’m missing) for putting this together.

I’m down to do whatever the masses want - covers draft, 3rd round of this, etc. If/when we do the 3rd one, I’m going to be a bit more strategic on my choice as I don’t think Thin Lizzy resonated that well.

I liked Thin Lizzy and spotlighted a bunch of their songs. I only knew 2-3 of their songs coming in so most were new

and I was the opposite. They have grown into a favorite of mine and I was working on a playlist and was almost done with my first wave of adds. I loved the choices and there were still some surprises for me.

 

[landrys hat]

Here's the John Prine palylist

John Prine 31

Playlist · 23tap · 36 items · 4 saves

open.spotify.com

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Listening to friend of the thread, Sufjan Stevens’ new album - good stuff. Glad I was forced to expand beyond Illinois here.

 

[KarmaPolice]

My other best of MAD31 that I started got lost in the shuffle along the way, but what I started today was the KP5s. As I go, I will put 5 from each artist into the playlist for shuffling. I think at least 90% of the songs will be from the MAD31 playlist, but I'm not going ignore a song that grabs me listening to something else from the artist during the day of listening. That's what I will use to randomly listen to an album from our MAD31 artists as well for more exploring.

THE JAM

Pre-MAD31 knowledge 1/10. I had heard of them, and probably could have told you they were British. Couldn't have named you a song. Pip won me over with Chicago, but I still had a feeling I wasn't going dig The Jam much. After listening to songs That's Entertainment stuck out as an "oh yeah" moment. I was hooked shortly after that when I heard the stretch from Pretty Green to Away from the Numbers.

I might have to name a MAD31 category after Pip's for artists who are the biggest surprises or exceed my expectations the most. I already knew they were one of the frontrunners and will admit that I started listening ahead and a couple weeks ago spun one of their records while waiting for the artist playlists. Very pleasantly surprised than Pip was first to post a playlist, so I spent today with The Jam.

I posted after a few songs that The Jam was one that I wasn't sure about, but today I struggled narrowing it down to just 5 and was getting cranky about it and my dumb random ideas. I listened to the playlist twice, and I don't think there was a song I didn't like and most had me impressed and engaged with something - either impressive musicianship or some lyric that cracked me up. It was tough and I started with 10 or 11 and had to make some cuts. Here is what made the KP5:

Town Called Malice, Funeral Pyre, In the City, Strange Town, and The Modern World.

Thanks again for the music, @Pip's Invitation

 

[Mister CIA]

Regarding Neko Case's Night Still Comes, the delivery of, "You never held me at the right angle" is an all-timer mic-dropper. It's the anthem of 27, and 57. ish

edit: and there's an unmistakable Sinead vibe going on here.

 

[Mister CIA]

The biggest whiff of my internet career, Local Girl. This song packs an emotional punch.

 

[krista4]

The biggest whiff of my internet career, Local Girl. This song packs an emotional punch.

Weird. I just popped in to read the final page here, and these threads are now 2-for-2 in someone posting a live version of a song featuring Chicago's own Kelly Hogan on backing vocals (the first one had a song from The Decemberists that had Kelly as well as my friend Nora).

By the way, I'll post about the new M-AD countdown of covers soon. Came home from New Orleans with a COVID souvenir. Pretty mild case, but it's zapping my energy.

 

[Ilov80s]

Today would have been a much more appropriate spot for my Sufjan Christmas song to have been placed lol

 

[Mt. Man]

Copying something I did for round 1. A bit more detail this time around, but still keeping it fairly light.

Artists I Knew Well (Say, 25+ songs known)
Beastie Boys, David Bowie, Jimmy Buffett, Cheap Trick, Chris Cornell, Collective Soul, CSN(Y), Josh Homme, Tom Petty, Talking Heads

Top 3 that I might have (eventually) down were 1)Josh Homme (I’d debated just QotSA or his whole career) 2) Tom Petty, and 3) Collective Soul. The latter came closest to not making this category, as the band had fallen off my radar after Blender for whatever reason. CSNY was the biggest victim of me trying not to overly spotlight a band, though all these artists could’ve been featured in at least half the favorites easily

Artists I Knew Decently (Certainly the hits, but not a deep knowledge):
Incubus, Kid Rock, John Mellencamp, Mike Shinoda, Nick Cave, Prince, Rainbow, Sia, Tears for Fears, The Pointer Sisters, Thin Lizzy

Mellencamp proved to be close to the previous category, with Rainbow and Tears for Fears relatively close but definitely with blind spots. For Mike Shinoda I knew most of Linkin Park, but I enjoyed his other work too. Sia was an excellent retrospective. Really enjoyed all these artists though, including some picks that were deeper cuts (for me).

Artists That I Knew A Handful of Songs From (usually but not always the hits):
Ben Folds, Faith No More, John Lee Hooker, The Jam, Los Lobos, Mastodon, Nina Simone, Sufjan Stevens, Tchaikovsky

Incubus might belong better in the 2nd category, but this is from my judgment call at the start. I really enjoyed the catalogs of Faith No More’s and Los Lobos, and recognized more John Lee Hooker songs than I thought (even if most were covers). Tchaikovksy probably deserved more love, but I can be a bit of a Middle-Aged plebian.

Artists Where I Went in Blind (or so I thought?):
Against Me!, David Berman, black midi, Neko Case, Tanya Donelly, Drive-By Truckers, Scott Hutchison, Kim Mitchell, The New Pornographers, John Prine, Nathaniel Rateliff, Royksopp, The Seldom Scene

Nathaniel Rateliff (with or without The Night Sweats) and Drive-By Truckers are among the playoffs I’ll check out first. Neko Case and the semi-attached New Pornographers will get some love, too. Kim Mitchell seems like someone me & my friends would’ve gotten really into in the 80s (I remembered ‘Go For Soda’, if after the fact). Really, this group is full of artists I plan to check out at some time. Plausibly several times.

 

[KarmaPolice]

David Berman

Pre-MAD31 Knowledge: 0/10. I didn't know who it was when posted, and I thought MAYBE I had heard of Silver Jews, but zip beyond that.

Just like last time, it's going to be a lot of the same comments - impressed with the playlist and music. Based on the above, I also didn't know he teamed up with some of Pavement, and that comes out a bit in the songs and hear it after reading that. It's still it's own thing, and mixes in the twang that I assume is Berman's influence (I'm sorry, I for sure missed a lot of background posts and am trying to catch up). There were a couple of songs that weren't quite my thing, but here was another new to me artist where I was struggling to pick the five. It seems I leaned into the American Water and Purple Mountains albums the most when going through, so those would be my starting points when I dig deeper, and I will be. I have definitely grown more into a lyrics person by doing these playlists and countdowns. That really stood out in here, and my favorite of the bunch was:

I know you love to line dance
Everything so democratic and cool

That is what really hooked me at the start of the playlist and had me really leaning into the lyrics more than I typically do listening to music. Tennesse was one of the hard cuts I made at the end, and "you're the only ten I see" had me cracking up a bit too. I loved the mix of very serious and goofy as hell in this playlist. Anyway, the 5 I landed on after a couple spins:

Random Rules, Margaritas at the Mall, People, We Could Be Looking for the Same Thing, and Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed

Thanks for the music, @The Dreaded Marco

 

[KarmaPolice]

It looks like I have date with Ms. Simone tomorrow.

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

David Berman

Pre-MAD31 Knowledge: 0/10. I didn't know who it was when posted, and I thought MAYBE I had heard of Silver Jews, but zip beyond that.

Just like last time, it's going to be a lot of the same comments - impressed with the playlist and music. Based on the above, I also didn't know he teamed up with some of Pavement, and that comes out a bit in the songs and hear it after reading that. It's still it's own thing, and mixes in the twang that I assume is Berman's influence (I'm sorry, I for sure missed a lot of background posts and am trying to catch up). There were a couple of songs that weren't quite my thing, but here was another new to me artist where I was struggling to pick the five. It seems I leaned into the American Water and Purple Mountains albums the most when going through, so those would be my starting points when I dig deeper, and I will be. I have definitely grown more into a lyrics person by doing these playlists and countdowns. That really stood out in here, and my favorite of the bunch was:

I know you love to line dance
Everything so democratic and cool

That is what really hooked me at the start of the playlist and had me really leaning into the lyrics more than I typically do listening to music. Tennesse was one of the hard cuts I made at the end, and "you're the only ten I see" had me cracking up a bit too. I loved the mix of very serious and goofy as hell in this playlist. Anyway, the 5 I landed on after a couple spins:

Random Rules, Margaritas at the Mall, People, We Could Be Looking for the Same Thing, and Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed

Thanks for the music, @The Dreaded Marco

Thanks for giving the playlist a listen, KP. Glad you found a few songs you liked.

I did post Berman’s history as the founding and only continuous member of Silver Jews, (including with Malkmus) early on in the thread but those easily get lost in the mix.

He is one of my favorite musical lyricists and has so many gems in these 31 songs, including the one you highlighted.

I appreciate that you go through every playlist like this.

 

[Mister CIA]

My five favorite David Berman songs that did not make the cut.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

My five favorite David Berman songs that did not make the cut.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Three of those were among my final cuts.

 

[Eephus]

It looks like I have date with Ms. Simone tomorrow.

That's so Raven

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The last 5 out from my ranking of songs by The Jam:

32. Dream Time

Dream Time

The Jam · Sound Affects · Song · 1980

open.spotify.com

Album: Sound Affects (1980)
Released as a single? No

Another psychedelia-influenced track from Sound Affects, this begins with atmospherics and swirling sitar-like sounds but shifts into chugging post-punk at home with the best tracks on Setting Sons and Sound Affects. Notably, Bruce Foxton's bass provides much of the melody and Paul Weller's guitar much of the rhythm.

33. Smithers-Jones

Smithers-Jones - Single Version

The Jam · Setting Sons (Deluxe) · Song · 1979

open.spotify.com

Smithers-Jones

The Jam · Setting Sons · Song · 1979

open.spotify.com

Writer: Bruce Foxton
Lead vocals: Bruce Foxton with Paul Weller
Album: Setting Sons (1979) (string quartet version)
Released as a single? B-side of When You're Young (1979) (band version)

Smithers-Jones is Bruce Foxton's best song and The Jam recorded two versions of it. The full-band version was the B-side of When You're Young, a non-album single that preceded Setting Sons by a few months. When Polydor pressed the band to finish Setting Sons and Paul Weller hadn't completed the song cycle he envisioned, drummer Rick Buckler suggested the band re-record Smithers-Jones with a string quartet. The song succeeds with both arrangements, but the real star is Foxton's lyrics, which provide biting social commentary on par with some of the best efforts of Weller and Ray Davies. Inspired by his father who decided to retire early after being "made redundant," Foxton chronicles the crushing tale of a worker who thinks he's getting a promotion but instead is being laid off by his heartless employer.

34. News of the World

News Of The World

The Jam · Snap! · Song · 1983

open.spotify.com

Writer: Bruce Foxton
Lead vocals: Bruce Foxton
Album: Non-album single (1978)
Released as a single? Yes (UK #27)

The only Bruce Foxton song to be released by The Jam as an A-side, News of the World came out after This Is the Modern World and before All Mod Cons. It takes shots at Britain's awful media but is most memorable for Paul Weller's stuttering Townshend-like guitar lines.

35. David Watts

David Watts

The Jam · All Mod Cons (1997 Remaster) · Song · 1978

open.spotify.com

Writer: Ray Davies
Lead vocals: Bruce Foxton and Paul Weller
Album: All Mod Cons (1978)
Released as a single? Yes (double A-side with 'A' Bomb in Wardour Street, UK #25)

I wrote up my highest-ranking Jam cover song in my #1 entry.

36. When You're Young

When You're Young

The Jam · Setting Sons (Deluxe) · Song · 1979

open.spotify.com

Album: Non-album single (1979)
Released as a single? Yes (UK #17)

A bit of a retrenchment after the sonic expansion of Strange Town, their previous single, When You're Young is still a rollicking good time and will appeal to those who like their punk/Mod leanings. The band plays around with various rhythmic ideas in interesting ways and Paul Weller gives us one of his best lines: "Life is a drink and you get drunk when you're young."

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I didn't see the links to MAD 2 individual artist playlists collected in one place, so I added them to the spreadsheet that was created for the MAD 1 individual artist playlists: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17RAPgKxIScWOHEOiArRLPobbVquc5qcrK1H2Gqfj4Cs/edit?pli=1#gid=0

Feel free to add your own.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I didn't see the links to MAD 2 individual artist playlists collected in one place, so I added them to the spreadsheet that was created for the MAD 1 individual artist playlists: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17RAPgKxIScWOHEOiArRLPobbVquc5qcrK1H2Gqfj4Cs/edit?pli=1#gid=0

Feel free to add your own.

Awesome - thanks! Hopefully after the weekend and holiday chaos dies down a little I will finish off the artists from last time and add those and then work on some for this round and add them in.

 

[Don Quixote]

It looks like I have date with Ms. Simone tomorrow.

Curious to see what you think of her covers, given your general view of them.

 

[KarmaPolice]

It looks like I have date with Ms. Simone tomorrow.

Curious to see what you think of her covers, given your general view of them.

First question is usually do I know the song being covered in the first place. If it's yes, then it's much less likely I like the song. If not, ignorance is bliss.

 

[kupcho1]

I didn't see the links to MAD 2 individual artist playlists collected in one place, so I added them to the spreadsheet that was created for the MAD 1 individual artist playlists: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17RAPgKxIScWOHEOiArRLPobbVquc5qcrK1H2Gqfj4Cs/edit?pli=1#gid=0

Feel free to add your own.

You are the man!

 

[Yo Mama]

II wasn’t able to do many commentary write ups this time, but I did listen to all the playlists and really enjoyed lots of the known to me and new to me selections.

Favorite known artists that would have been on the short list for me in round 3 if they weren’t taken - Prince, Talking Heads, Incubus, Linkin Park, Cornell, QOTSA. Loved hearing some songs on theses playlists not in my normal rotation.

Other well-known to me artists that I really enjoyed - Bowie, Pointer Sisters, Mellencamp, Tears for Fears, Petty.

Artists I knew some songs, but liked exploring more of their work in this - Sia (loved her early selections, going to dig in more), Los Lobos, Faith No More, The Jam, Thin Lizzy, Collective Soul, Ben Folds.

New to me artists I plan to explore more - Mastodon, black midi, Royksopp, Roger Clyde, Sufjan Stevens, Nathaniel Rateliff, New Pornographers.

Great stuff all around. I have no idea who I’ll choose for a potential third round since my first two were no brainers and a lot of my other options have already been chosen.

 

[Scoresman]

Here is the Sia playlist. Reminder, It's in chronological order except for Chandelier.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1OaO7RWhTCt9TQiu8IVUxJ?si=bb89708571f94384

I predicted that more of you would enjoy her early career work over her pop songs, and I think that turned out to be true based on comments. I agree, with the exception of Chandelier being my favorite overall song of hers. Otherwise I really enjoyed what she did with Zero 7 and her other solo albums from around the same time.

 

[Yo Mama]

Beastie Boys was tough to narrow down to 31 songs since they have so many great songs and so much variety. I tried my best to bring as many different styles and represent most of their albums in my 31, but there were some difficult omissions.

Basically anything else from License to Ill- most notably No Sleep Till Brooklyn and Brass Monkey. This album hasn’t aged too well for me overall, but those two were the closest to making the cut for me.

Instrumentals - they have so many great options and they have a fun compilation of their best instrumentals that are great chill listening for background music. I cheated by including Shambala as the lead in to Bodhisattva Vow, but otherwise couldn’t squeeze one into my list. Closest to making the cut were Groove Holmes and Ricky’s Theme.

Punk stuff from their dedicated hardcore albums Polly Wog Stew and Aglio E Olio - notably Egg Raid on Mojo and Soba Violence. I think I was able to get enough of their punk songs on my list but I was really close to including one of these to recognize these albums.

Other tough omissions included Professor Booty, The Negotiation Limerick File, Rhyme the Rhyme Well, and B-Boy Bouillabaisse.

Hope you enjoyed my selections.

 

[falguy]

Here is the Sia playlist. Reminder, It's in chronological order except for Chandelier.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1OaO7RWhTCt9TQiu8IVUxJ?si=bb89708571f94384

I predicted that more of you would enjoy her early career work over her pop songs, and I think that turned out to be true based on comments. I agree, with the exception of Chandelier being my favorite overall song of hers. Otherwise I really enjoyed what she did with Zero 7 and her other solo albums from around the same time.

I've heard this Christmas song of hers lots this year and really like it
Snowman

 

[Scoresman]

Here is the Sia playlist. Reminder, It's in chronological order except for Chandelier.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1OaO7RWhTCt9TQiu8IVUxJ?si=bb89708571f94384

I predicted that more of you would enjoy her early career work over her pop songs, and I think that turned out to be true based on comments. I agree, with the exception of Chandelier being my favorite overall song of hers. Otherwise I really enjoyed what she did with Zero 7 and her other solo albums from around the same time.

I've heard this Christmas song of hers lots this year and really like it
Snowman

This almost made the cut, but peer pressure against christmas songs influenced me.

 

[Don Quixote]

Here is the Sia playlist. Reminder, It's in chronological order except for Chandelier.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1OaO7RWhTCt9TQiu8IVUxJ?si=bb89708571f94384

I predicted that more of you would enjoy her early career work over her pop songs, and I think that turned out to be true based on comments. I agree, with the exception of Chandelier being my favorite overall song of hers. Otherwise I really enjoyed what she did with Zero 7 and her other solo albums from around the same time.

I've heard this Christmas song of hers lots this year and really like it
Snowman

This almost made the cut, but peer pressure against christmas songs influenced me.

I picked a couple of her Christmas songs in Eephus’s Holly Jolly Palozza thread (Snowman and Underneath the Mistletoe). Really like her Christmas album.

 

[kupcho1]

No Sleep Till Brooklyn and Brass Monkey.

These definitely would have been on my 31, but then again, my 31 might have been more than 31.
Great work

 

[Eephus]

It finally stopped raining long enough to get Lou out for a decent walk. I always find the lists via thelukewarm's Spotify profile. I assume KP put MAD2 in a folder or something because it wasn't at the top of the list.

I shuffled up the #1's playlist but couldn't figure out whether the first song was by Faith No More, Incubus, Collective Soul or somebody else. The singer sounded familiar but I couldn't figure out the artist. I checked my phone and discovered it was Clutch from MAD1.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I predicted that more of you would enjoy her early career work over her pop songs, and I think that turned out to be true based on comments

That was true for me, as I had said. I’m not a big fan of current pop but as I also said a few weeks back, her voice alone puts her near the top of most pop songs I have come across

 

[KarmaPolice]

Well, @Don Quixote - your playlist does contain a cover I would say is better than the original!

I have to see if it makes the 5 later when I relisten with the headphones tonight for a final decision.

 

[Don Quixote]

Well, @Don Quixote - your playlist does contain a cover I would say is better than the original!

I have to see if it makes the 5 later when I relisten with the headphones tonight for a final decision.

Hallelujah!

 

[KarmaPolice]

Well, @Don Quixote - your playlist does contain a cover I would say is better than the original!

I have to see if it makes the 5 later when I relisten with the headphones tonight for a final decision.

Hallelujah!

Definitely not that cover.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

David Berman

Pre-MAD31 Knowledge: 0/10. I didn't know who it was when posted, and I thought MAYBE I had heard of Silver Jews, but zip beyond that.

Just like last time, it's going to be a lot of the same comments - impressed with the playlist and music. Based on the above, I also didn't know he teamed up with some of Pavement, and that comes out a bit in the songs and hear it after reading that. It's still it's own thing, and mixes in the twang that I assume is Berman's influence (I'm sorry, I for sure missed a lot of background posts and am trying to catch up). There were a couple of songs that weren't quite my thing, but here was another new to me artist where I was struggling to pick the five. It seems I leaned into the American Water and Purple Mountains albums the most when going through, so those would be my starting points when I dig deeper, and I will be. I have definitely grown more into a lyrics person by doing these playlists and countdowns. That really stood out in here, and my favorite of the bunch was:

I know you love to line dance
Everything so democratic and cool

That is what really hooked me at the start of the playlist and had me really leaning into the lyrics more than I typically do listening to music. Tennesse was one of the hard cuts I made at the end, and "you're the only ten I see" had me cracking up a bit too. I loved the mix of very serious and goofy as hell in this playlist. Anyway, the 5 I landed on after a couple spins:

Random Rules, Margaritas at the Mall, People, We Could Be Looking for the Same Thing, and Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed

Thanks for the music, @The Dreaded Marco

I’m listening to this one while watching Seton Hall basketball. My dog hates the buzzers in basketball (and they’re more common than I thought) but it gives me a good excuse for more music anyway.

I knew the No. 1 song from a past music draft (and LOVED it) which got me to give that album a listen and one Jews album but didn’t go beyond that for whatever reason. I was a big fan all throughout the playlists each time they came up and knew I’d give them a serious go when this is done.

Love this playlist but I’m an albums guy and that’s how I’ll go next time around.

Couldn’t pick a favorite songs at this point. All have really hooked me after 15 songs in.

 

[zamboni]

I’m listening to this one while watching Seton Hall basketball.

Was at the game - totally shamed UConn.