tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-697219816427349669.post3903117486395551250..comments2023-11-17T00:07:33.896-08:00Comments on March Sadness 2016: First Round Matchup: DEPECHE MODE at GARY JULESUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-697219816427349669.post-53597283941798247742016-03-09T06:03:40.107-08:002016-03-09T06:03:40.107-08:00I'm glad this topic is part of the conversatio...I'm glad this topic is part of the conversation. In the case of This Moral Coil, cover songs are automatically MORE sad because they are covers. All of what TMC accomplished, especially on the album Blood, is a treasure. Though they are covers, the songs stand on their own as stylized versions crafted within the unique constraints of the 4AD project. How they strip a song to its essence! The pregnant space between notes! Ah, the strings, keys, and harmony! “Mr. Somewhere” & “With Tomorrow” forever & always.<br /><br />Tim Buckley's “Song to the Siren,” performed lovingly by Cocteau Twins’ Frasier & Guthrie as This Mortal Coil is an all-timer for me. Please vote it to the finals or I will DDoS this website. ;-)Kenneth Caldwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11419559471567343465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-697219816427349669.post-25696762803467384082016-03-09T05:38:51.879-08:002016-03-09T05:38:51.879-08:00“Mad World” never struck me—to my ear it sounds va...“Mad World” never struck me—to my ear it sounds vapid, medicated, passionless. Maybe it's Jules' voice? Maybe if Julee Cruise sang it? In any case, I am a proponent for the Donald Drako OST. Lots of good cuts from the likes of others in this fair tournament. Among my favorites: Tears for Fears, The Church, Echo & the Bunnymen. It was a soundtrack of discovery for me, one that introduced me to several artists whom I now hold dear, much like the Lost in Translation OST (e.g., JAMC, Phoenix, Death in Vegas). Also, Michael Andrews’ score can't be trifled with—“Gretchen Ross” is one of the singular most beautiful instrumentals under one minute.<br /><br />This round appears to be a runaway in favor of Gary Jules, but I voted for DM. Clearly, “Blasphemous Rumours” deals with sad subject matter, lyrically. But more than that, I feel like I am voting on account of my familiarly with the artist’s work in general, my propensity for their aesthetic, as opposed to directly addressing the question, “Which is saddest?” I'm an ardent fan of “It Doesn't Matter,” another track from the DM album, Some Great Reward, so that is what I'm really voting for here.Kenneth Caldwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11419559471567343465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-697219816427349669.post-85370532539008747252016-03-07T22:49:13.358-08:002016-03-07T22:49:13.358-08:00The committee doesn't necessarily agree with t...The committee doesn't necessarily agree with that argument either (after all, it's not like most songs—or works of literature—are much more than recombinations of previously existing materials), but we're interested in it too. I think it's the default response for a lot of listeners (on account of the American ken for authenticity and the myth of the artist as the individual genius), so the performance of the song sort of has to overcome it, I suspect, for it to move on. We have several covers here aside from this one in the bracket: "Song to the Siren," "Romeo and Juliet," "Henry Lee" (sorta), "Hallelujah." It seems like one good way to evaluate them is to consider other versions of the song to see what this version—or another—reveals (like how the Johnny Cash version of "Hurt" clearly influenced people's voting for the Nine Inch Nails version). We'll see how much that matters with Jeff Buckley or the This Mortal Coil of his father's song. Anderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13162102610439637214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-697219816427349669.post-26343252183943581592016-03-07T19:46:32.251-08:002016-03-07T19:46:32.251-08:00I'm interested in the argument that cover song...I'm interested in the argument that cover songs are automatically less sad because they are covers. That was my initial reaction as well but I'm not convinced it's the right one. I suppose there is the argument a cover is less raw, more removed from the original sadness. But isn't there also an argument that a cover signals that a song's sadness has a certain resonance? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-697219816427349669.post-4468732873621661862016-03-07T08:15:49.808-08:002016-03-07T08:15:49.808-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Meganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08734139373091586689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-697219816427349669.post-44165164599009901772016-03-07T08:15:44.679-08:002016-03-07T08:15:44.679-08:00Google won't let me post a Peter Gabriel "...Google won't let me post a Peter Gabriel "Don't Give Up" gif re: Jake, so just imagine one in your head.Meganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08734139373091586689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-697219816427349669.post-65170446386311063262016-03-07T07:57:19.054-08:002016-03-07T07:57:19.054-08:00I won't question the committee on "Mad Wo...I won't question the committee on "Mad World"'s release date and though I'm hesitant to vote for a song that *feels* too recent, two things swayed me. 1) This song makes me sad that I'll never go to bed with Jake Gyllenhaal. 2) I have always found Depeche Mode vaguely embarrassing.Moo Moohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09449387228310691035noreply@blogger.com