The Silence Between: Music Recommendations

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 12:58 pm

New forums! New music thread! I love hearing music suggestions so much - I have expanded my repertoire of favorites immensely from listening to things people mention here, and it helps me keep track of things I want to purchase or listen to more of. At the moment, apart from jazz and classical that form the normal regular listening habit, in pop music I am down to one thing: BTS. They uplift better than a fancy industrial strength brassiere at a moment where uplift is much needed. If they're imperfect in any way, don't spoil it for me, I don't wanna know. I just wanna know your favorite BTS song.

I see the most important smilie is present. Joy!

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 1:07 pm

Anything by Regina Spektor is pure joy to me. She's an odd nut (my wife hates her music) but her voice is beautiful and the weirdo risks she takes are awesome- even if 30% of them don't land properly.

I've never heard a BTS song.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 6:47 pm

Love her! Even the songs I don't like are at least interesting, and usually I like them. Of course my favorite version of them involves remixes on a cello and other instruments... I like her voice though.

BTS is responsible for that Dynamite song being played everywhere right now, but this one (ON) is probably my favorite. Usually the person in front is the one singing. Ronster used to post these videos and I had no idea who was who, and then like Jimmy Kimmel, as my children say, I became a "BTS stan" and now I can tell you which one it is from the sound of the voice or some tiny glimpse. It's a struggle because sometimes you don't want to pick a favorite and other times they're so great that a preference for one forces itself upon you... (Wait there's a word for this I've forgotten - the fan base is called ARMY and they do all kinds of amazing charitable acts as a group). Oh yes, the "bias" - the one you like best is your bias and sometimes if you like more than one the kids make a joint name out of it to indicate this. The level of obsession over this stuff is unreal; I do really think it's only comparable to the Beatles or Elvis and even then this goes way beyond it. Luckily they're all young enough to be tiny babies to me so I think of them as if they were my kids rather than handsome pop idols; meanwhile, some ridiculous percentage of generation z or Alpha or whatever they're calling those people is madly in love with these guys.

You might think from this type of live performance that they aren't singing but they are singing the whole time. They sing on top of a muted track of themselves singing, I believe, but you can still hear them singing over the top in the live performance. At the moment I'm very team J-Hope, but this video renews my righteous indignation and resentment over Jin not being considered an excellent dancer, which he most certainly is even though they try to exclude him left and right (literally) in the choreography for this thing. Often one of the younger ones like Jungkook or Jimin does the singing early on and Jin does the chorus and the more dramatic stuff that punches out the ending. Jin by far has the best voice but the mix of all of them is really great. This particular song features Jungkook doing that awesome high solo bridge in the middle. I normally have zero liking for high-pitched male singers but these guys are amazing. Some of them like V and RM and J Hope have pretty low voices, so the whole mixture is good, but Jin's voice is just a sparkly red and gold perfection every time.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/MZh-w2nysuI[/youtube]

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 7:09 pm

Here's one that plays on the whole Beatles fan mania stuff, but it is not a joke - it's probably a serious concern to prevent stampedes that could kill somebody when they appear in public in certain places. This video is kind of cool because it's from Colbert and they're singing over the top of their track with Halsey, so you can tell when it's background noise and when they're actually singing while doing this dance. This is the track that allowed me to figure out Jin had the best voice, because whenever you hear that really good voice pop out on the top it's his, and even the crappy mic using here doesn't stop him.
https://youtu.be/BtLD72Uro8U

Post by **Mike** » Mon Nov 30, 2020 7:24 pm

Crap. Someone here needs to figure out the media plugin so we can embed those again.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:07 am

Ah, forgot to mention that the "silence between" is a Mozart quote - I don't know if it's an authentic quote or not. But it's nice, whether from him or whatever random 20th century person threw it on the internet.

My kid was raised in the firm belief that rap was the exclusive province of Black women plus Kendrick Lamar and a few others. Somehow because he goes to school among other kinder he has developed a Travis Scott thing, and ... why? What is going on? How do I manage to screw this up despite such careful effort at mind control? At least both of us look upon Drake with deep disdain now.

Anyway, I don't listen to other popular music besides BTS now, so here are the Jin vocals to end you, and by end you I mean burn away all of the ugliness that has ever existed in your life so that nothing remains but a glowing orb of peaceful love. Ha ha hasn't worked on me yet but maybe I just need to keep listening. This is very intense because it's a live show, but you had to hear him do his vocals live no matter how many millions of screaming fans are in the background, and it helps if you simply remember that objectively speaking this is the most beautiful male person alive, and somehow he has to try to live a normal life under these conditions.
https://youtu.be/Dd0PHnVor_g

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:28 am

I asked my kids if everyone is listening to BTS, and they all rolled their eyes and said, "Duh. Dynamite? That's BTS." I've never heard the song. I'm going to go on youtube and listen to some of it to confirm.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:30 am

Right. Never heard it. I'm a weird old man.

Post by **Mike** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:56 am

I'm with you. I am aware of BTS and have been for many months now. I have never heard even one of their songs. That is not a badge of pride or shame... it just happens to be the case.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:21 pm

BTS Dynamite song I've heard a bunch of times on the radio. I think it's pretty good, except it is blatantly copying Bruno Mars' vocal work on Uptown Funk.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:47 pm

Here's a really interesting thing, which happens to have popped up at a timely moment (or at least it's interesting to me): the same Jin with the golden rosy voice described above is the oldest member of the group and would have needed to enlist in the Korean army in a few more days on his birthday. To address this national emergency, the Korean government has passed a law creating a special exemption for members of K-pop groups who can then defer their required military service until they are 30!

I find it remarkable that the government intervened!
Like, WOW, they are serious about this cultural product, and for good reason because these companies are worth big bucks. The public offering of BTS's company turned them all into multimillionaires and their primary manager into a billionaire. Despite his humble origins, J-Hope was already the richest one for various other reasons I won't go into here but that make me continue to stan him as my bias, as those lovely kids say.

Anyway, K-pop is promoting economic growth and doing all kinds of things to extend South Korea's reach around the globe. The BTS ARMY numbers in the multi-millions, and they are very active and engaged group - not just fans but a group that can raise millions of dollars for charity in a matter of hours, and one of the primary reasons Trump's big Tulsa appearance was a fiasco due to mass faux ticket purchases. Many ARMY are now learning Korean with members of the group in a phone app, which is something I surely would be doing if I wasn't too busy. If this old lady is doing it, I can only imagine the kind of influence they are having on young people who are much more truly engaged fans. I'm just here because it boosts my serotonin levels during the time of pre-holiday stress. But imagine millions of people around the world learning the Korean language and being hundreds of times more enthusiastic about Korean products and Korean culture because of a music group! I already had those views due to some long-term friendships with Korean natives, but maybe it's different and more powerful when one of them is objectively the most attractive male person alive, and the other one is my hope, J-Hope?

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 1:52 am

More BTS things I didn't have time to address before... You may also have heard the song "Savage Love"? It's the remix of a track by a Samoan/Cook Islander producer from NZ, Jawsh 685. He put this track out last spring and it went viral, with various artists expressing interest in making a recording with lyrics. Jason Derulo just went ahead and put his out (Savage Love), in a manner that to me smacks of appropriating the work of this previously less well known producer.

So the song was popular, but the way that it was sort of seized by a particular artist didn't sit well with many people, and apparently some of the BTS members were among those people, because they did their own remix, in a collaboration approved of by Jawsh the original producer. They absolutely owned Jason Derulo by singing "his" song better, adding a much better Korean rap verse, and subsequently the song went to number one. So Derulo was bragging about this #1 but it's not him - it's this other guy's catchy tune, and BTS jumping in is what made it a #1 hit (and then BTS had the top two songs on the chart). I don't really care what the top songs on the chart are but the point is, they pulled off a sort of lesson teaching boss move here and I am amused. The video below helps indicate who is singing what parts. Even more amusingly, it's BTS "featuring" Jason Derulo, lol.

Link so you can determine whether you've heard it, like, in the car: https://youtu.be/QVE0vWffWoc

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:46 am

Other amazing BTS things you should know:
Besides their frothy pop songs, they also have so many serious and profound songs, like this one which deals with all kinds of injustices against children and young people. One specific example associated with the song has been the hundreds of high school students who died when the MW Sewol ferry capsized due to negligence, and the Korean coast guard took a very long time to respond, so most of the survivors had to be rescued by local fishermen while the others died. There were all kinds of complaints about the government response and cover up.

But the song video also has that interesting reference to The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, and there are lots of other song lyrics in conjunction with this that indicate, well, responsiveness to a much broader and complicated set of concerns about abuse. Once I heard some of the things the members were saying about these events, not to mention the depth and subtlety of their considerations about their role as Korean artists on the broader international stage, I became much more impressed with them. They are constantly interacting with fans and giving interviews and all of their statements are carefully scrutinized - in fact some of them have caused unintentional political incidents! Likely due both to the large number of Chinese BTS fans and the influence of the group over huge numbers of people across Asia, China in particular is very sensitive about anything they say that contradicts Chinese interests. Others have been offended by things as simple as a piece of clothing they felt was an expression of Korean nationalism. It's wild. Personally I think it would be utter hell to live the way they have to live now, despite all the advantages that might flow from it. One hope is that with their increasing stardom they gain the power to change some of the things that are wrong with the system that produced them, and their fan base is so effective and enormous that even nation states like China have had to back down publicly when they tried to tangle with the group. It's tricky for those with complaints to be perceived as hostile to people who are so beloved by so many, but these men seem to be using their powers for good!

Anyway, Spring Day: https://youtu.be/xEeFrLSkMm8

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:52 am

One other thought about national security implications of the Korean congress's decision to defer the draft for K-pop members: I find it impossible to imagine this music, and other aspects of the whole fandom, doesn't leak into North Korean society secretly. It could be a really powerful leverage in undermining that regime, seriously.

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 4:25 pm

19 Composers - 1 Compiler - 4 Players - 1 piece of music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bEwX46 ... x-&index=1

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 8:03 pm

Are you the One Compiler?

Post by **Mike** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:03 pm

I bet it was the short guy.

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:13 pm

For this particular instance, I was not!

There will be this on the 12th:

https://www.sphereensemble.org/holiday-concert

That has some of my music. (There will also be an album that goes with it!)

There's this that's happening right now:

https://chautauqua.eventive.org/schedul ... 28eb438eb5

Then there's a musical that will be broadcast in January or February that I did the orchestrations for. Haven't even started rehearsal yet!

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:37 am

So exciting! Let us know when the album is happening.

Since I only listen to BTS now, I give you a cheerful morning song. This color-coded lyrics in multiple language is the type of thing one can expect the fandom to produce. They also do a dance rehearsal video (choreography) for most releases like this, in addition to the music video (mv). I enjoy the choreography videos because J Hope really is a genius expressing it through dance. The way he puts things together is completely unique, and follows certain regular patterns that start to emerge. The choreography video for fake love is really cool because you see how they tape a bizarre diagram out on the floor to get their positions, and a bunch of other dancers are involved to create shapes.

Morning video: https://youtu.be/pfLIis1WtOY

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Thu Dec 03, 2020 8:54 am

One of the fun parts of my project isn't just listening to acclaimed songs, but also going on a deep-dive on the artists included. And one I'm really enjoying is the Mississippi Sheiks. Fiddle-filled but more bluesy than bluegrass, they are soulful and fun and the low-fidelity works so well with them. They are right up my alley.

Their most famous song is "Sitting on Top of the World" from 1930 and is truly great (hence why I started a deep-dive).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnxUXBnZ-is

As for a lesser-known track, I really like "Stop and Listen Blues #2 (Live)" -- I haven't heard #1 nor there isn't much difference between this live track and any of there other recordings. But it has this truly funky guitar lick (40 years before funk) that I can't get enough of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUL_IoRAFnE

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Fri Dec 04, 2020 12:24 am

Technically not BTS but also BTS because j-hope! This is one of the many, many reasons he is my favorite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3xic3n7R_s

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:57 pm

BTS singing Christmas songs is beyond my powers to grapple with right now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKxWfiI_n0c

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Wed Dec 09, 2020 9:43 am

You can pre-order!

https://www.sphereensemble.org/holiday-album

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 11:26 pm

This is a really different type of thing from BTS, sung by V! He was the first one who became my favorite out of the group, because of this video where they bring in puppies and he starts exclaiming about the puppies and it's just... it's too much. He clearly loves puppies more than anyone else, so that's why he was my favorite. But over time, despite the fact that Jin is the beautiful one, I like J-hope's personality and musicality, energy, movement. Music just flows through him so naturally. I also want to know who's responsible for writing this particular good song and am too tired/lazy to look it up.
https://youtu.be/p8npDG2ulKQ

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Dec 14, 2020 9:45 pm

I am so obsessed with that Singularity song by V, in a manner that I suspect is driven by being down in the dumps about Pandemic Christmas. It turns out that I like Christmas more than I thought I did, and all of its attendant activities and events, and while I like them in an introverted way, most of them have become impossible. I also feel a very un-Christmas-like sense of blame and resentment toward those who prevented us from getting a lid on this pandemic, as we might have done had we been ... an entirely different society? Maybe there was no hope to begin with.

I tried to divert myself by listening to the peppier Jin on MOON, one of his other solos with BTS (each member has these from time to time). Jin has such an amusing personality - in their recent interview someone asks him, do you have any jewels, and he is like, I am myself a jewel, why do I need other jewels? And he pretends he isn't ever doing anything of use beyond eating and sleeping, but he is producing all sorts of interesting things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veFU2gr9zA4
But I'm sorry, as great a singer as Jin is, including in his frothy pink outfit here, Singularity is a better song and I love it and it speaks to me on all levels. I am only sorry that V is a very smoll bby in his 20s and thus I find myself unable to truly appreciate the good looks - a task for someone else, like, hundreds of millions of them.
What I like are the words - I like this method of putting up the words because I can pretend to follow the Korean and imagine I am learning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em9OSqwJsy8

Stan · Post by **Stan** » Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:22 am

Eliahad wrote: ↑Wed Dec 02, 2020 4:25 pm 19 Composers - 1 Compiler - 4 Players - 1 piece of music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bEwX46 ... x-&index=1

That gets pretty intense. Love it.

Stan · Post by **Stan** » Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:30 am

I was aware of K pop but not BTS prior to this thread. My kids do not keep me informed of current pop due to their unusual tastes. The older one is mainly into metal and klezmer. The younger one is into old stuff like Beatles, Cat Stevens, and Queen.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:18 am

Stan wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:30 am metal and klezmer.

These have a greater affinity than it might appear - it makes sense!

I didn't ever listen to K-pop until Ronster posted a bunch of it on the other NPR and then my kid's spotify had BTS playing and I started inquiring. I looked into a little K-pop outside of BTS and found I don't really like it. I really don't like the ladies' groups I've heard - I don't know exactly why, but the aesthetic is generally offputting and the music physically hurts my head, so that might be part of it. In general Kpop is head-hurty in that relentlessly formulaic way, but for some reason BTS is not like this and has achieved something really special and good. My family members do not feel the same way; youngest appreciates Dynamite and will tolerate it being played; oldest appreciates multiple songs but doesn't get why I like it so much; the other two roll their eyes in disgust every time it's on. Which now that I have found an HOUR LOOP of Singularity, is all the time.

I really like MrGreen btw. Someone noted to me that BTS, though it stands for Bangtan something or other, is also kind of like an acronym for BeaTleS, like they were planning to follow a similar playbook? Well, it worked, but i don't think it would have unless the members were all individually and collectively as talented and pleasant in personality as they are. They're just fun to listen to, fun to watch, nice to hear in interviews. Whole different aesthetic, so uplifting and caring, clearly dedicated to working at their art, and so totally different as a model of masculinity. That hour loop of Singularity is basically preventing me from laying face down in the snow in despair at the moment. Help yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiWUmJLWem4

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Wed Dec 16, 2020 7:08 am

More and more listening to 2020 hits to prep for rating them before the Grammys on Jan 31st. So here's my current listening mix

8 Nominees:
Black Parade - Beyoncé
Colors - Black Pumas
Rockstar - DaBaby (feat. Roddy Ricch)
Say So - Doja cat
Everything I Wanted - Billie Eilish
Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa
Circles - Post Malone
Savage - Megan Thee Stallion (feat. Beyonce)

8 Best Songs Noms + Biggest Snubs:
The Box - Roddy Ricch
Cardigan - Taylor Swift
I Can't Breathe - H.E.R.
If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe (feat Julia Michaels)
Dynamite - BTS
Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles
Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
WAP - Cardi B (feat. Megan thee Stallion)

In my project, that leaves 8 remaining spots. I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick a Fiona Apple song for one of those, probably "Shameika" as it was released with a music video, and thus would be the closest to a single.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM63Tzv ... ture=share

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Wed Dec 16, 2020 7:26 am

Oh! "Into the Unknown" --- I have to add that. Of all these songs, that one will be sung a century from now.

Should I have it fight WAP?

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Wed Dec 16, 2020 9:21 am

Everything I Wanted - Billie Eilish
Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa
Savage - Megan Thee Stallion (feat. Beyonce)

I think these three songs are all great. All very deserving. People really love Post Malone and that is just not my thing, because I can't stand that bleating/warbling sound he makes - it's like sound cavitation in a car somehow translated into a human voice - but the Grammys seem to like the bland food.

I don't follow this enough to know what the snub list is all about but if they have snubbed BTS they're completely insane. Millions of people can be wrong, but in this case billions of people are not wrong.
Also not surprised they would snub WAP, just because people are very fussy about this still for some reason, but it deserves better because it really was a monster song. Just constant radio play here. The reason to be unimpressed is not that it's a bad song or that it's too explicit; it's that nothing even remotely resembling macaroni in a pot should be happening anywhere near this subject matter and nobody needs to have that kind of gruesome mental image, particularly when a primary audience of pop music appears to be 10-year-olds. Do we want them thinking this is normal? It's not normal! Seek medical help.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Wed Dec 16, 2020 8:08 pm

Lol. An amazing genius annotation for that line:

“Macaroni in a pot” is likely a reference to a popular Vine video by Mohamad Zoror from December 2014, in which his mother stirs macaroni and cheese in a pot and he says, “That’s what good p***** sounds like.”

The more you know...

Dynamite was nominated for a lower category but not Best Record. I do think it's very catchy. I find the lyrics full of western references amusing in a way. My main issue though, and I do like this song, is it's verses remind me so much of those in Uptown Funk.

Shoes on, get up in the morn'
Cup of milk, let's rock and roll
King Kong, kick the drum
Rolling on like a Rolling Stone
Stylin', wilin', livin' it up in the city
Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent
Gotta kiss myself, I'm so pretty

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Thu Dec 17, 2020 10:36 am

Ahhhhhhh so it's a sound rather than a... Thing. That makes a lot more sense. That's a big relief actually. I'm still not sure about it. I'm still thinking maybe no. But it's better than it was.

I don't know about those lyrics - maybe the problem is I don't listen to a lot of Bruno Mars so the brain isn't ready to do a pattern match there. Much as it's not ready to do it in the dilemma above.

Today's BTS earworm is Savage Love, but I'm too lazy to link it. I enjoy the fact that their version kicks the ass of Jason Derulo's version, and they only took a few of the seven to do it - they were just like here, we will show you how we can both rap and sing better, and maybe if you hadn't stolen that dude's song we would have just handled it ourselves, because you needed us to make it a number one hit. You're welcome.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Tue Dec 22, 2020 11:53 am

Added a few more songs I found listed as #1 of 2020 on assorted popular lists. Up to 22. Need two more to start a little poll here. Three more if we declare "Into The Unknown" a 2019 song, which I'm tempted to do.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Dec 22, 2020 1:35 pm

I'm sad that this had less airplay than you'd expect from Beyonce, while her Savage remix with Megan Thee Stallion was played approx every twenty minutes for a while there. It's okay though - I only listen to BTS now, still. The conjunction of the planets and the solstice and Kyle's birthday have changed nothing. It's an all BTS all the time party over here. Today's song, which I give you in color coding because it allows me to pretend I am learning Korean in the process and therefore employing myself usefully:

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:57 pm

I have had some tracers of Dua Lipa today that give me hope for someday breaking free from the comprehensive BTS obsession. In the meantime, I will cook Korean food and listen to the RM back catalog:

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:08 pm

I'm becoming a Dua Lipa fan. I'm almost there, just gotta memorize a few more songs.

I'm almost done assembling my 2020 song bracket

: justmewards 2020 (1).jpg (38.29 KiB) Viewed 40390 times

Record of the year nominees get first round byes, then it's filled with Song of the year nominees, the big snubs, other songs that ended up as #1 on end of the year lists, the more acclaimed songs from the acclaimed albums. Not sure about all these matches yet, and may switch out one or more songs but maybe not.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 10:30 am

I am shocked at how few of these songs I know by name. I attribute some of that to not driving every day three times a day during the past year. All I have is a radio so I listen to a lot of radio there, and that's the only place I encounter new stuff unless my kids present it. Or Lizzo which I got from you! It could be all those songs got heavy radio play here and I clicked most of them off. I know that's true of Watermelon sugar, as I figured out what it was but don't like it. Which Savage is this remix? The one with Beyoncé and Megan got a huge amount of airplay here, but then there's Jason Derulo and then there's the remix of his version by BTS? I believe the latter was the one that went number one finally, because BTS. They didn't say this, of course, but I think it was their way of boosting the Samoan artist who wrote it, while casually showing they could one up Jason Derulo on "his" song without even using all their members.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 2:30 pm

The Savage Remix is the one with Bey. Here are all the songs in a playlist:

I think this is a good list. Gonna listen to these a few more times each and then start.

Switched around the playlist again.

: justmewards 2020 (2).jpg (39.44 KiB) Viewed 40372 times

Round 1, Match 1. I Can't Breathe vs. The Bigger Picture

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Sat Dec 26, 2020 8:27 pm

I Can't Breathe vs. The Bigger Picture.

Both of these are epic pathos-filled primal screams at systemic racism. I like both, even though they can be hard listens. Whenever HER calls America out, calls me out (hoping for something that "validates your wokism and erase your racism" letting me ignore my complicity), for past and present deeds, it's hard to hear. But the keys to all of these, are not only an ode to those who have fallen, a screed against those who failed them, but they are a call to action. Lil Baby's call to action is to protest ("It can't change overnight, but we gotta start somewhere") and to make it matter at the ballot box ("I can't lie like I don't rap about killing and dope, but I'm telling my youngins to vote"). HER's call to action is for everyone else to listen. They are both asking to be heard.

In a less serious note: the music. When it comes to the message, they are equal. For the lyrics, "The Bigger Picture" is a bit better in my opinion. But HER's music is easily better. If it was all instrumental, HER would win. HER, if just instrumental would be enjoyable to put on in the background. But hold on, this isn't supposed to be enjoyable background music, and that's why, by a hair, and it feels backwards to what I'd normally do, I'm giving this to "The Bigger Picture."

Next:
Blinding Lights by Weeknd
vs.
Rain on Me by Lady Gaga (featuring Ariana Grande)

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:58 pm

I'm glad you're doing this because I had never heard either of these! Apart from Dua Lipa, this is another song I remembered liking in the car, and I was very pleased to figure it out because I already liked both Wale and Jeremih independently of this! Maybe this is a 2019? I don't know that it counts for this year.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:28 pm

I love this song so much! So much!!! It is new!!! I think V is our jazz icon for the same reasons he is so odd in behavior and reactions. He's just functioning on his own plane and it works for the jazzy songs. Plus the husky voice. Elements of this song are already familiar, in that a grab bag of things was borrowed and simplified, yet the end result puts it together in a wholly new and fascinating way:

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Sun Dec 27, 2020 8:17 pm

I admit, since the main news out of the Grammys was The Weeknd snub, part of me wanted to make it easy for him to get to the final eight. But is me planning an easy route any better than the assumed backroom deals that lead to him getting snubbed in the first place?

So I figured facing off against a Gaga song I wasn't gaga for would be an easy round one. But I didn't plan on "Rain On Me" hooking it's hooks in me, making me enjoy it's joy, its Madonna homages, it's throwback to the early sound of Daft Punk and house music. It really grew on me. That is to say, it was a worthy competitor. "I'd rather be dry, but at least I'm alive" is a great line. Ariana does a passable job.

Very tempted to upset the snub from the get go, but for now it stays on.

Next match:
People, I've Been Sad by Christine and the Queens
vs
Gospel For a New Century by Yves Tumor

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:38 pm

Funky and soulful and weird and experimental, most importantly: fun. Prince-esque (where'd you go, sweet smilie), indebted to horn-filled funk but also very grungy. I get why critics and nerds like me eat this up. It's trying and succeeding at being cool. It should be a hit, and kinda get why it's not. Both of these songs should be. What this has over Christine and the Queens is I don't think I've heard a song quite like this. It's hard to create something this weird and catchy at the same time. But it's also hard to make something so damn pretty too...

Next match:
Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
vs
Dynamite by BTS

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 7:17 pm

I used to like Lady Gaga so much but cannot find any excitement over her output in the last few years. It's not that the Rain on Me song is bad - I was delighted to discover that it existed and she had surprised me with a new album full of songs. But after listening I was like, meh. Meh. I don't think it's the dislike of Ariana Grande - it's the atmosphere of the whole thing, fraught and yelling and trying very hard. Like, I wish it was toned down about 87 notches and had Dua Lipa singing a mellow version of the vocals instead. I liked Dua Lipa before the pandemic, but she is the smoky, silky voiced disco queen our current quarantine situation demands. Gaga and Grande are so TIRING on this song. I have no idea what song you've put up against it, lol. No idea whatsoever. My radio listening has taken a hit. I need to hunt it down. The one you linked video for above - I see the virtues but it too seems so heavy, so trying-hard, so MUCH. I think you're right about the Prince influence, but Prince is so light and free, even when dropping monstrous guitar and bass lines on you. It's the whole "tight but loose" vs. "constricted and burdensome".

UPDATE: oh my goodness, of COURSE I know the Weekn'd song you were battling with there, and OF COURSE it is better x20 than the Rain On Me song. I have heard it many times but had no idea what it was called. Super catchy, yes. No idea what he's saying really but I do listen to this and like it.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 7:55 pm

Hehe. I hear ya, especially on Dua Lipa. I do like the Yves Tumor song but can here your complaints. Prince could do weird and cool and still be warm.

Dynamite vs Watermelon when I pitted them it was a closer race and I knew voting against BTS might sour me on these BTS Pride Radio boards (future spoiler: it's got a large hill to climb). Watermelon Sugar is pure sugar, a gumdrop. Hits ya in the tongue and rots yo teeth. I'm a sucker for British pop, with guitars, a great voice, and cheeky swagger. A Robbie Williams thing. That said, two things turned me against this otherwise harmless confectionary, and it's all from the video. First, a dedication to touching. Seven months later, it just makes me grumpy. Then there's the video where the singer cavorts with models. That's it? Meanwhile his ex Taylor Swift is making art: poetry in song and video. No contest, BTS stays.

Next match:
I Know The End
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC6mE ... ture=share
vs
If The World Was Ending
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=1jO2w ... ture=share

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:40 pm

Ugh, I am glad you made the right call above, the only OBJECTIVE, FACTUALLY ACCURATE CALL that could be made under such horrifying circumstances. That Watermelon song is just... bad, but the video is an actual nightmare scene. I feel about that the way that the people in this house feel about the far reaches of the BTS back catalog during hour seven, the difference being that my revulsion is based in objective reality.

I don't know how the Grammy's or the ratings lists come up with songs, but one BTS problem is that Dynamite became their big radio hit even though it is from the most recent album, and they had a different album back in February featuring no fewer than four (if I'm being restrained and reasonable, as opposed to fangirling wildly over the lesser known tracks) songs that are also objectively better than most other 2020 releases on the list. It makes sense to take Dynamite as the top entry from this one group, but I would take Boy With Luv, ON, Black Swan, and Make it Right over most all other challengers. BIASED? WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT? Impossible!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Tue Dec 29, 2020 11:13 am

LOL. I like how I'm like "oh, I don't like being mean but..." and then you just throw fire and burn it all down.

I think Grammys weigh heavily two things that regular critics try to avoid: popularity and lifetime achievements. Dynamite fits the first, and kinda fits the second one too, as they finally hit #1 after years of trying. I'm not sure why critics also like it, other than maybe they are taking their queues from an adoring public. I wouldn't mind doing a 24bracket of BTS songs at some point...

Now onto the fight between two apocalyptic songs. I'm a sucker for lots of stuff, I'm finding out, and here's another one: singer-songwriter duets. Love em. Gimme well written songs with beautiful harmonies, now! If Dolly is also singing harmony, even better. Plus the phrasing here is great, even though the guy sounds too much like Chris Martin. But that's just nearly everyone now. I remember when Martin was imitating Thom Yorke, and now here we are. I'm old. I like this song in moderation. I tend to skip it half the time, but I do like it. Though part of me does feel like they'd call up this long-lost love at the end of the existence and the other would be like "what? no -- we broke up for a reason." It only works well because it's a duet, we know they both feel that way. Also a brief negative with the video, the emergency alert system makes me panic. I get yer setting a story, but do something else, leave that off.

Next match:
The Box by Roddy Ricch
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=UNZqm ... ture=share
vs
Ju$t by Run the Jewels featuring Zack De La Rocha and Pharrell Williams
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=b4B_Y ... ture=share

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Dec 29, 2020 5:49 pm

I will remain neutral on this one except to agree with you that the emergency alert is unhelpful - similar thoughts about other pop songs that employ weird noises like sirens, beeps, and other things that make you turn down the volume to check for problems with ambulances or your vehicle.

I have refrained from listening to music so far today, besides a little jazz; trying to achieve some mental quiet and see what bubbles up in evening.

OK, I listened to nothing. I cleaned, I cooked, I solved problems, I thought thoughts, and my mind was quieted, and this is what bubbled up enthusiastically of its own accord, and I love it so much, there are no words except LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Tue Dec 29, 2020 8:28 pm

I think my biases might play a bit here. It is not a shock that I related less to a song by two twenty somethings than to a song recorded by three guys in their 40s and one who recently turned 50? Dude, 50 year old Zack De La Rocha still got it.

As for "The Box", it was a hit so it doesn't need my approval. It'll be fine. It's rapped well, and has a good sonic bed, a catchy chorus, and it amused me to no end that "put a stick in the box" is bleeped out. Since when does a modern rapper shy away from saying "dick?" And still gets bleeped anyway!

Next match:
Cardigan by Taylor Swift
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=K-a8s ... ture=share
vs
Shameika by Fiona Apple
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=0SbNu ... ture=share