Irish Aris's Walrus: The Reveal

Irish Aris

Hello everyone and welcome to my Walrus reveal.

We have 21 Gamers - in order of submission:
Necro
Shane U
Electric Nitwit
JP Liz V1
Also Starring LeVar Burton
s1ippy
beakerjoe
Gru
Sawduck
Homer J. Fong
Mustang Shelly
Kolido
RasTa
Green&Red
lassykk
JohnGreenFan
Osh
phatkev
Zaph
the purple tin
fixXxer

A reminder on the categories:

1. The Fantastic 80s: I was a teenager in the 80s and it was when I started listening to music, so many of my favourite artists and albums are from that era. So simple enough, I’m looking for any song released in that decade.

2. The Irish Aris Connection: I moved to Ireland on October 2011 and because of all the concerts I started listening to a lot of new music. So for that category I’m looking for songs that were released from October 2011 and later. Songs can be by any artist (not just Irish artists) and obviously album tracks are allowed.

3. It takes 2 to make it right: Here I’m looking for duets and collaborations. It could be a straight forward duet (i.e. Elton John and Kiki Dee) or a collaboration (i.e. David Guetta feat. Whatever vocalist is popular). You could also select collaborations with 3 or more people, instrumental collaborations (i.e. Eno and Fripp) or even a duet between 2 lead singers of the same band (Fleetwood Mac pun intended)

4. That’s Not My Name: Simple enough: A song with a name in the title. I will also allow songs with the word “name” in the title.

5. Body of Evidence: For this one I’m looking for songs that mention any part of the human body in their title. And similar to the previous categories with the names, I will also allow songs with the word “body” in the title.

6. The Lasting First Impression: I like listening to albums from start to finish and it is always nice when an album gets to a great start. So for this category I’m looking for songs that open their respective albums and you consider them great openers. The idea here is to make me want to listen to the whole album and expand my music library further!!

7. Preach to the unconverted. . .or the choir: This is like a wildcard category. Give me a song from one of your favourite artists, one that you think everyone should listen to. This could be your chance to prove me wrong on some of the genres that I mentioned as not being a big fan of, so anything goes!!!

beakerjoe

I enjoyed these categories.... lots of scope

JP Liz V1

Looking Forward to the Reveal

Irish Aris

I plan to start the reveal midweek. Between aaronjennings's peehs, reberetta's best music act competition and the other 2 walrus's that are open, we have lots to keep ourselves entertained

Some fun stats:
145 songs submitted
2 songs submitted twice - one of them in the same category, the other one in 2 different categories.
60 songs that I have heard before (I will admit that I didn't remember some of them, but I have the albums so I have heard them before)
85 songs that I don't know/don't think that I have heard of.
The category that I knew the most songs: The Fantastic 80s (17 songs)
The category that I knew the least songs: The Irish Aris connection (3 songs)

Irish Aris

beakerjoe wrote: »

I enjoyed these categories.... lots of scope

I had a couple of more categories in mind when I was preparing, I thought though that they would have been limiting.
One of them was a song with duration of less than 3 minutes (Eurovision style), I thought though that this would reduce choices a lot.
I just wanted the categories to give an opportunity for big variety of styles. Based on what I got back, it worked - which is great musically but could make ranking more difficult

ShaneU

I have a few categories in mind but it will be difficult to complete with the Greek God himself I will post my thread at some point this week.

s1ippy

Definitely looking forward to this reveal!

fixXxer

s1ippy wrote: »

Definitely looking forward to this reveal!

We all say that until the numbers come in

Green&Red

Irish Aris wrote: »

I plan to start the reveal midweek. Between aaronjennings's peehs, reberetta's best music act competition and the other 2 walrus's that are open, we have lots to keep ourselves entertained

Some fun stats:
145 songs submitted
2 songs submitted twice - one of them in the same category, the other one in 2 different categories.
60 songs that I have heard before (I will admit that I didn't remember some of them, but I have the albums so I have heard them before)
85 songs that I don't know/don't think that I have heard of.
The category that I knew the most songs: The Fantastic 80s (17 songs)
The category that I knew the least songs: The Irish Aris connection (3 songs)

Does Tuesday count as mid-week?

Irish Aris

Green&Red wrote: »

Does Tuesday count as mid-week?

hehe, it does.
Not sure if I will be ready, couple of work calls in the afternoon. I will let you guys know but at the moment it looks like Wednesday for the first category.

Irish Aris

OK folks, I just finished with my notes and rankings for the Fantastic 80's, so we are good to go.
Reveal will start tomorrow at around 7 pm.

This was a very difficult category to rank. I kept changing places and eventually I gave up as every time I look at the list I am tempted to do more changes, so I decided to lock it. Hopefully the rest of the categories will be easier to rank.

I will try to keep things lively until then, by sharing some of the 80's songs that I like

See you all tomorrow!!

Irish Aris

OK, just finished with work, will have my dinner and will get things started at 7.

If there is one thing to say, it would be: no one is safe. My taste in music is all over the place (in a good way ) so there might be a few surprises on the rankings.

To give an idea, from an 80's perspective, my MP3 Playlist includes:

this (big fan of the whole SAW space)

this

and also this!!! :pac:

See you all in a bit!!

Tauriel

I was in two minds between two songs, I hope that I went with the right one as I changed it last minute.

Irish Aris

mustang shelly wrote: »

I was in two minds between two songs, I hope that I went with the right one as I changed it last minute.

You can tell me afterwards your other option and I will try to think if it would have done better or worse

Irish Aris

I decided to do the reveal similar to how LeVar and others have done: start from the 11th place and move towards the bottom and top end, so we can have a bit of suspense.
In this category I liked all 21 songs, it went down to nitpicking to finish the ranking. Even the song that comes last would have placed higher if it was competing in any other category.

And with that:

Irish Aris

In 11th place, submitted by

ShaneU

, Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder-Together in Electric Dreams:

I am a big fan of The Human League and although I haven’t seen Electric Dreams, this is a song so easily recognisable, the synth line is so brilliant and the song itself could be in any of The Human League’s album of that period. Initially it was flirting with top-5 but the constant moving of songs pushed it down. A great song that fell victim of the fierce competition

Irish Aris

In 12th place, submitted by

the purple tin

, Peter Schilling-Vollig losgelost (Major Tom German version)

When I saw this, I thought that it would rank poorly as I am familiar with the English version and though enjoyable it never did much for me. I don’t think I have ever heard the original German version and similar to Nena’s 99 Luftballons, this sounds much better in German than in English. Until the last listen/shuffle it was sitting comfortably at the lower ends of the top-10 but eventually it was pushed down slightly

Irish Aris

In 10th place, submitted by

JP Liz V1

, John Parr-St Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)

I am actually surprised that this song doesn’t ring a bell at all. I’ve seen St Elmo’s Fire (probably 25-30 years ago) and liked it at the time, but haven’t seen it since and I don’t recall ever listening to this song. At first listen it felt generic and landed very low, but the more I listened to it the more I liked it, it has this very 80s power pop sound that resonates with me. This was the song that moved up the most since the first ranking and went straight to my playlist.

Irish Aris

In 13th place, submitted by

Osh

, R.E.M.-Radio Free Europe

I am a big fan of R.E.M., although I am not overly familiar with their discography before Document. I knew this song from a couple of compilations. It wouldn’t be my favourite R.E.M. sound – I think at the time they were catching the college sound that was one side of the music scene of Athens, Georgia, which I found a bit generic, so I was always on The B-52’s side of Athens, Georgia during the first few years of the decade. Even so, this sound sweet and I really like Michael Stipe’s voice and Peter Buck’s guitar.

Green&Red

Hard to know what way the scoring will go here. I like 10th and 11th but don’t think 12th is any good (sorry purple tin)

the purple tin

Green&Red wrote: »

Hard to know what way the scoring will go here. I like 10th and 11th but don’t think 12th is any good (sorry purple tin)

Irish Aris

Green&Red wrote: »

Hard to know what way the scoring will go here. I like 10th and 11th but don’t think 12th is any good (sorry purple tin)

In hindsight I should have probably stirred clear of a category like the 80s. I didn't think this through and for sure the familiarity doesn't help. I have already gone through the songs in the next 2 categories where I was familiar with much less and it is really exciting (well, most of the time :pac: ) to discover new songs and makes it also easier to group them when placing them.

Green&Red

the purple tin wrote: »

Irish Aris

In 9th place, submitted by

Green&Red

, George Harrison-Got My Mind Set On You

I was 15 at the time and this was the first song by any of The Beatles that I really liked, before I even knew much of The Beatles. The saxophone is everything in this song and the arrangement combines brilliantly the original 60s feeling with the 80s sound. And though I never explored Harrison’s discography further, this is a song that I always enjoy listening to.

the purple tin

Green&Red wrote: »

Is that Burn Notice?

All is forgiven G & R. I simply can't stay mad with a fan of Bruce Campbell

Irish Aris

In 14th place, submitted by

Electric Nitwit

, The Wedding Present-Take Me

Another one of the 4 songs that I didn’t know. I know The Wedding Present as a name but don't know any of their songs. At the beginning of the first listen I thought that this would occupy the last spot. I thought the vocals were kind of lost in the mix. But at around the 3 minute mark begins a long instrumental section which I really liked and started moving the song up the ranks. Albeit this instrumental section goes on for a bit too long-almost 6 minutes with very few changes in it, and although that in itself isn’t an issue (I listen to 30+ minutes long ambient pieces with no changes in the tempo), it took a little bit out of it and eventually other songs grew on me and moved it towards the middle.

Irish Aris

In 8th place, submitted by

Also Starring LeVar Burton

, Fleetwood Mac-Tango In The Night

The Tango In The Night album was my introduction to Fleetwood Mac and though I liked it and followed the group to their next studio album Behind The Mask, I never became a big fan and didn’t check their older albums. I haven’t listened to the whole album in years and I didn’t remember this song. Also I wouldn’t be the biggest fan of Lindsey Buckingham’s voice. But from the opening moments the sound of harp won me over easily and I think the arrangement plays to Buckingham’s strengths. A great song that I will add to my playlist

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I'll take it!

Irish Aris

In 15th place, submitted by

Sawduck

, Joy Division-Atmosphere

Songs like Atmosphere show how great Ian Curtis’s voice was. This is another song that I haven’t listened to lately and it scored lower than what I would have thought, primarily because although I like Joy Division I find that I need to be in a very specific mood to enjoy their music.

Irish Aris

In 7th place, submitted by

beakerjoe

, Stan Bush-The Touch

Of the 4 songs that I didn’t know this was the one that caught my attention straight away. This is as 80s as you can get, the FM rock sound that back in the day people loved to hate and hated to love. The last few years I have been listening to a lot of 80s inspired synthwave and I would say that many of the current bands have copied riffs and melodies from songs like this one. Best discovery of this category and straight into my playlist. I wish that I could place it a bit higher but the top-6 was locked fairly early in the process.

Irish Aris

In 16th place, submitted by

Mustang Shelly

, Journey-Any Way You Want It:

Another band that I discovered much later as they were in hiatus during the latter part of the 80s, but never drilled down their discography, so I only know a handful of their bigger hits. Any Way You Want it is one of them, a great song that has what I think is their trademark sound – the orchestration of this and Don’t Stop Believing have some similarities. In other circumstances it would have been much higher, but against the competition that’s the best I could give it.

fixXxer

Irish Aris wrote: »

In 7th place, submitted by

beakerjoe

, Stan Bush-The Touch

Of the 4 songs that I didn’t know this was the one that caught my attention straight away. This is as 80s as you can get, the FM rock sound that back in the day people loved to hate and hated to love. The last few years I have been listening to a lot of 80s inspired synthwave and I would say that many of the current bands have copied riffs and melodies from songs like this one. Best discovery of this category and straight into my playlist. I wish that I could place it a bit higher but the top-6 was locked fairly early in the process.

That is a class pick and has given me an song I'm gonna force in to my next Walrus selections SOMEHOW.

Irish Aris

In 6th place, submitted by

s1ippy

, The Cure-A Forest

This was in the first 5-6 nominations I received and I thought that it would easily be in the top-3. What hurt it was over-familiarity: I am a big fan of The Cure and consider them one of the best live bands ever and many songs feature in my playlist, including A Forest. The haunting, almost goth sound of the guitar and the bass against a simple melody and lyrics makes this a song for the ages. But I have been listening to it so often so when I needed to split hairs, it took a hit.

Irish Aris

In 17th place, submitted by

Kolido

, Madonna-Crazy For You

I am a big fan of 80s and 90s Madonna and the fact that any of her songs from that period would place so low is a testament of how strong this category is. Having said that, I don’t have many ballads amongst my favourite Madonna songs (and from that period Live to Tell would be my choice), so haven’t heard this song in quite a while and it was really great to listen it again.

Irish Aris

In 5th place, submitted by

Gru

, Fun Boy Three-Our Lips Are Sealed

I can’t recall if I heard this version first or the original of The Go-Go’s. Chances are that I heard the Go-Go’s first as I am a fan of Belinda Carlisle. But I prefer the Fun Boy Three version. I love the percussion sound, especially in the intro and the arrangement and production gives the opportunity to Terry Hall to give a great vocal performance. One of my favourite Fun Boy Three songs, only one other of their songs could have placed higher.

Irish Aris

In 18th place, submitted by

fixXxer

, Devo-Whip It

Another band that was on the down towards the late 80s so I never connected with their music at the time. Whip It is probably the only song of theirs I know and while I would dance to it if it came on in a bar/club, it’s not a song that I would include in my regular playlists.

Irish Aris

In 4th place, submitted by

phatkev

, Cabaret Voltaire-Sensoria

I didn’t expect to see Cabaret Voltaire nominated, so I was really excited when I saw this song. I discovered Cabaret Voltaire during the 00s with the more conventional, poppier 80's sound and eventually checked their more experimental 70s music. Phatkev linked for me the 7’’ version. I would normally listen to the original version off the Micro-phonies album, but every single version of this song is great. It’s one of these cases where Cabaret Voltaire created a tune that could be edited and rearranged in so many wonderful ways, and the percussion sound is phenomenal.

Irish Aris

Quick bio-break and we will be back for the top 3 and bottom 3

Gamers still in it (in alphabetical order)

Homer J. Fong
JohnGreenFan
lassykk
Necro
RasTa
Zaph

Irish Aris

and we are back!!

In 19th place, submitted by

RasTa

, New Order-The Age Of Consent

I am a fan of New Order but not of the beginnings as I feel they were trying to balance the aftermath of Curtis’s death and the idea of the new direction and I don’t think Bernard’s voice suits that sound. Having said that, Power Corruption and Lies is a good album and The Age of Consent a good song. Unfortunately this list was so strong and some songs had to be moved further down the pecking order.

osh

13th could be worse I guess. Was gonna switch for this one, but didn't end up doing it.

Irish Aris

In 3rd place, submitted by

Zaph

, Talking Heads-This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)

I consider David Byrne one of the most interesting composers and arrangers of the last 40 years. That’s not to say that everything he has written is great, but he knows how to build and arrange a melody and I especially like his adventures towards world music, either as part of Talking Heads, his collaboration with Brian Eno or his solo albums. 10 years ago, This Must Be The Place would barely make it into a Top-10 of my favourite Talking Heads songs. All this changed with Paolo Sorrentino’s film of the same name. In one of the most memorable scenes of the film, David Byrne sings the song live, accompanied by strings, in an arrangement that brings the song to a whole different level. Thus I got “approval” from Zaph to include this version in the YouTube playlist.

Irish Aris

In 20th place, submitted by

JohnGreenFan

, The Travelling Wilburys-End of the Line

Another one of the 4 songs that I didn’t know. I know The Travelling Wilburys as a supergroup but they never took off in Greece and except for Handle with Care I don’t know any of their other songs. This was initially last, but the harmonies in the vocals sound really nice and I moved it up one spot.

quickbeam

Awww, that's a great song.

Irish Aris

quickbeam wrote: »

Awww, that's a great song.

You mean The Travelling Wilburys? It is a good song, just not something that I would listen to regularly, and not something that I would consider as proper 80s - I'm more on the pop side of the 80s

Irish Aris

In 2nd place, submitted by

Deleted User

, Grace Jones-Pull Up To The Bumper

when it comes to the amazing Miss Jones, I’m lost for words. An incredible, enigmatic, magnetic persona that doesn’t have to demand attention, as it is impossible not to give it voluntarily. Pull Up To The Bumper is one of her best songs. From the double-entendre lyrics (although Jones herself has dismissed the sexual innuendo aspect), to the funky, groovy music, to the assured, yet kind of laid-back vocals of Grace Jones, this is one of the most defining moments of an extraordinary career. I would have liked to give it the top spot, it was very close but fell just short.

quickbeam

Irish Aris wrote: »

You mean The Travelling Wilburys? It is a good song, just not something that I would listen to regularly, and not something that I would consider as proper 80s - I'm more on the pop side of the 80s

Yeah. That and George Harrison earlier are my two favourites so far. Mmmm, wonder if there's a connectioin?

Irish Aris

quickbeam wrote: »

Yeah. That and George Harrison earlier are my two favourites so far. Mmmm, wonder if there's a connectioin?

To be honest it is probably the fact that I didn't know the song at all and didn't catch my attention enough to place it higher. If I had Handle With Care in the mix, it would have placed higher - I reckon just outside the top-10 - because I know it.

Irish Aris

In 21st place, submitted by

lassykk

, The Police-Every Breath You Take

OK, I reckon this will be controversial. . .
By the time I started listening to music in 1986, The Police were already inactive and Sting has started his solo career. I never got into his music and it didn’t inspire me to search The Police’s back catalogue, although in later years I discovered a couple of songs I like through friends. Between that and the fact that Every Breath You Take is a bit overplayed sent it to the bottom end of the list.

Irish Aris

And in 1st place, submitted by

Necro

, Tears For Fears-Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Necro was the first to send me songs and I immediately knew that it would take something really extraordinary to beat this song. This is just one of those iconic songs that define 80s. I have seen Tears For Fears live twice the last 3 years and they started with this song both times. Where Shout is a powerhouse of a song in a slightly obvious way, Everybody Wants To Rule The World unveils its strengths so naturally. I think it also has to do with Curt Smith’s soft, sweet voice which always brings a kind of vulnerability to the songs he sings. Excellent pop music and though Tears For Fears will never be my favourite band of all times, they were consistently very good.

quickbeam

Now, THAT is a class song!

Irish Aris

Necro takes an early lead but with 6 more rounds to go and my unconventional music taste it's anybody's game!!

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Total Points
Necro 21 21
Homer J. Fong 20 20
Zaph 19 19
phatkev 18 18
Gru 17 17
s1ippy 16 16
beakerjoe 15 15
Also Starring LeVar Burton 14 14
Green&Red 13 13
JP Liz V1 12 12
Shane U 11 11
the purple tin 10 10
Osh 9 9
Electric Nitwit 8 8
Sawduck 7 7
Mustang Shelly 6 6
Kolido 5 5
fixXxer 4 4
RasTa 3 3
JohnGreenFan 2 2
lassykk 1 1