Irish Aris's Walrus: The Reveal

Irish Aris

JohnGreenFan wrote: »

I sense last place for me for this round...

Irish Aris

In 6th place, submitted by

JP Liz V1

, Patty Smith & Don Henley-Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough

This for me was a top-notch duet. I know of Don Henley (I really like Boys of Summer) but have never heard of Patty Smith (for a moment I wondered if it was a typo. . . you know, Patti Smith. . . ). This is a classic rock ballad and when the 2 of them sing together, it is a match made in heaven. Great choice, I wish I could place it a bit higher but the top-5 includes 5 songs that I really really like.

beakerjoe

Great choice Liz. A song i forgot exists.

Irish Aris

In 17th place, submitted by

Necro

, Celine Dion & Josh Groban-The Prayer

I have mixed feelings about Celine Dion. I recognise that she has a great voice, but I generally don’t like her material as it is dominated by ballads. This duet with Josh Groban is decent enough, I think their voices combine fairly well and although it feels that they try to outdo each other in a couple of occasions, it is so brief and can easily be interpreted as a crescendo. But I didn’t like the song that much to really care.

JP Liz V1

I love that song, glad it placed high as I wasn't sure it would

Irish Aris

In 5th place, submitted by

beakerjoe

, East 17 feat. Gabrielle-If You Ever

I liked both East 17 and Gabrielle back in the 90’s and find this song one of the best moments for both of them. Gabrielle has a great voice and while Brian Harvey could be hit and miss at times, here he gives a fine vocal performance. A song that I haven’t heard in quite a while and really enjoyed it.

beakerjoe

Happy my song placed high. I know its no George Michael vs MJ Blige, but its a song that reminds me of my youth. I loved it at the time and its very nostalgic to me.

Irish Aris

beakerjoe wrote: »

Happy my song placed high. I know its no George Michael vs MJ Blige, but its a song that reminds me of my youth. I loved it at the time and its very nostalgic to me.

George Michael and Mary J Blige is also a great duet - I reckon it would have placed high too, maybe 1 or 2 spots lower than If You Ever.

Irish Aris

In 18th place, submitted by

lassykk

, Christina Aguillera & Blake Shelton-Just a Fool

A few years ago I heard the tongue-in-cheek phrase “Don’t Christina it out”. It describes perfectly my opinion of Christina Aguillera: I feel that she oversings everything, there is no control whatsoever. This seems to be worse in ballads and this one is a perfect example. Add to that that I didn’t like Blake Shelton’s voice and you can understand why this song scored so low.

beakerjoe

Irish Aris wrote: »

George Michael and Mary J Blige is also a great duet - I reckon it would have placed high too, maybe 1 or 2 spots lower than If You Ever.

Im shocked , its one hell if a duet. Number 1 for me.

Though I appear to have made the right choice.

JP Liz V1

East 17 are underrated, Tony was a great song writer and Brian could deliver a good vocal and of course their unique clothes style so alright

Irish Aris

In 4th place , submitted by

the purple tin

, Kristin Hersh feat. Michael Stipe-Your Ghost

Another song that I haven’t heard in many many years, as I have moved away from this acoustic rock sound. I reckon I discovered this because of Michael Stipe, I am pretty sure that I didn’t know Throwing Muses at the time. An amazing song, the strings make a big difference and accompany the guitar beautifully and it is amazing to hear Stipe hit the high notes while Hersh stays focused on her melancholic singing. A wonderful song.

beakerjoe

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

East 17 are underrated, Tony was a great song writer and Brian could deliver a good vocal and of course their unique clothes style so alright

Tony was a great underrated writer. Brian was hit and miss. Together though they made a good team, whether its dancy pop tine or slower sweet tracks.

Thunder and House of Love nearly made it into LeVars Walrus

Irish Aris

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

East 17 are underrated, Tony was a great song writer and Brian could deliver a good vocal and of course their unique clothes style so alright

I'm glad I'm not the only one to think that about Tony Mortimer, really thought that at the time their songs were better than say Take That - though Take That were probably easier on the eye and played a lot with their image.

Irish Aris

6 songs remaining, our gamers in it in alphabetical order:

Gru
JohnGreenFan
osh
phatkev
RasTa
Sawduck

Irish Aris

In 19th place, submitted by

JohnGreenFan

, The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem-The Wild Colonial Boy

When I moved to Ireland I grew an interest in traditional Irish music. I tried to learn some traditional Irish dancing and even gave the bodhran a go for a couple of months. The novelty though wore thin very fast and know I don’t have any interest in it. This is another song with a lot of banjo and I can imagine it being very popular in trad fests, but I’m afraid it’s just isn’t my thing anymore.

Irish Aris

In 3rd place, submitted by

osh

, Queen & David Bowie-Under Pressure

Well what can I say about this song. An absolute classic. A few years ago, I found the below video on YouTube, an a cappella version of Under Pressure, which leaves very little doubt on how amazing both these singers were.

Irish Aris

In 20th place, submitted by

RasTa

, Run The Jewels feat. Greg Nice & DJ Premier-Ooh La La

I disliked this from the first Ooh La La. This is the kind of hip-hop that rubs me the wrong way and I can’t listen to it for long. After the first couple of listens I was tempted to skip it, but had to be fair and give it a chance. . .though it never really had one.

JP Liz V1

Jedward and Vanilla Ice at No. 1

Irish Aris

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Jedward and Vanilla Ice at No. 1

is this really a thing? :pac:

JohnGreenFan

Irish Aris wrote: »

In 19th place, submitted by

JohnGreenFan

, The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem-The Wild Colonial Boy

When I moved to Ireland I grew an interest in traditional Irish music. I tried to learn some traditional Irish dancing and even gave the bodhran a go for a couple of months. The novelty though wore thin very fast and know I don’t have any interest in it. This is another song with a lot of banjo and I can imagine it being very popular in trad fests, but I’m afraid it’s just isn’t my thing anymore.

Not last so I suppose I'll take that. Starting to think that I had the wrong idea about how to play walrus

Irish Aris

In 2nd place, submitted by

Gru

, Jay Z & Linkin Park-Numb/Encore

This is one of the most amazing collaborations ever. I went through a rock phase during the mid and late noughties and Linkin Park were one of the bands that listened to a lot – and was fortunate enough to see live. Collision Course is a great EP, it made me appreciate Jay Z as well (though not enough to search his discography in detail) and also Mike Shinoda (I think this EP has some of his best vocals, as he can also be a bit hit and miss). An excellent choice, another song that I haven’t heard in a while and will reintroduce in my playlist.

Irish Aris

JohnGreenFan wrote: »

Not last so I suppose I'll take that. Starting to think that I had the wrong idea about how to play walrus

For what its worth, you are the only participant that I don't know any of the songs submitted.
And for my point of view there is no right or wrong idea on how to play a walrus. The idea is to help each other discover more music - if our tastes match there is the extra bonus of finishing high in the game.

I have to say, between the various Walruses and Surlaws I have discovered some really great songs, let's keep it going!!

Sawduck

I don't think i have ever finished first or last in a walrus before and i know which i'd prefer to happen first

Irish Aris

Sawduck wrote: »

I don't think i have ever finished first or last in a walrus before and i know which i'd prefer to happen first

I'm really sorry Sawduck, this is on me, not your fault. . .

In 21st place, submitted by

Sawduck

, Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood-Summer Wine

You might recall recently ASLB making his opinion very clear about Have You Ever Seen The Rain? Well, I have somewhat similar feelings about Summer Wine. It was a song that for many years I was completely indifferent to. And then came the cover version from Natalia Avelon and Ville Vallo which I absolutely hate – and it didn’t help that it was on Greek radio on heavy rotation for months. Since then I dislike the song in general and don’t enjoy any version of it. Tough luck Sawduck, you couldn’t possibly know this.

RasTa

Yay, not last!

phatkev

Irish Aris wrote: »

In 20th place, submitted by

RasTa

, Run The Jewels feat. Greg Nice & DJ Premier-Ooh La La

I disliked this from the first Ooh La La. This is the kind of hip-hop that rubs me the wrong way and I can’t listen to it for long. After the first couple of listens I was tempted to skip it, but had to be fair and give it a chance. . .though it never really had one.

Great pick RasTa, I was this close to entering an RTJ song for one of the categories but IA's dislike of Hip Hop made me go against it!

Irish Aris

In 1st place, submitted by

phatkev

, Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue-Where The Wild Roses Grow.

Where Sawduck got unlucky with his selection, phatkev hit the jackpot with his. Where The Wild Roses Grow is linked to an important personal moment in my life and it’s a song that I hold very close to my heart. A song that showcased that Kylie Minogue can actually sing (I saw her live years later and was very impressed by her voice) and one of the many great songs that Nick Cave wrote throughout his career.

Sawduck

Sawduck wrote: »

I don't think i have ever finished first or last in a walrus before and i know which i'd prefer to happen first

I once managed both in the same Walrus! :pac: (Actually, I think it was joint-last in one round and joint-first in another)

If it's any consolation I think "Summer Wine" is a great tune, if this were my Walrus you'd have scored very well with that. I actually had another Lee and Nancy tune, "Some Velvet Morning", initially selected for this round, changed my mind at the last minute.

Sawduck

Irish Aris wrote: »

I'm really sorry Sawduck, this is on me, not your fault. . .

In 21st place, submitted by

Sawduck

, Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood-Summer Wine

You might recall recently ASLB making his opinion very clear about Have You Ever Seen The Rain? Well, I have somewhat similar feelings about Summer Wine. It was a song that for many years I was completely indifferent to. And then came the cover version from Natalia Avelon and Ville Vallo which I absolutely hate – and it didn’t help that it was on Greek radio on heavy rotation for months. Since then I dislike the song in general and don’t enjoy any version of it. Tough luck Sawduck, you couldn’t possibly know this.

That's grand, i always wanted the Wooden Spoon