Homer J. Fong IS The Walrus - Grand Reveal!

Necro · 02-02-2020 9:53pm

That is class

02-02-2020 9:53pm

12th place and 6 points for

HAIM - Forever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEwM6ERq0gc

This Joker was submitted by

My boy Lolliclarke bop bop bop bop

Aka

Barney92 is a dinosaur from our imagination

Giving them a final Walrus score of

35

points

Comments:
I sound like a broken record but this is yet another case of "verses are cool, chorus is meh". I have seen HAIM live, way back in 2012 when they played support to Florence + the Machine. They were.....fine. Surprisingly loud actually! But I wasn't inspired to check them out again afterwards, and this isn't really doing it for me either. There are some nice individual elements for sure but overall it's just not lighting my world on fire.

Electric Nitwit · 02-02-2020 9:53pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I'm going to award points here for the sheer balls of submitting something as ridiculous as this

I know which one I'm listening to first! That's the sort of description Walrus entries should get

02-02-2020 10:01pm

11th place and 7 points for

Joonas Rahmo - Radiance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXYVUXgSpvU

This Joker was submitted by

Spencerpop goes the Weasel

Aka

.......Rikand Morty..........

Giving them a final Walrus score of

32

points

Comments:
So dance/techno isn't really my thing, as previous scores may have indicated. But this has a pretty good beat to it. Am nodding my head along, which is a good sign. It's always good to be dragged out of your comfort zone and hear songs/artists you may never have heard of otherwise.

02-02-2020 10:06pm

10th place and 8 points for

Less Than Jake - The Rest of My Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBU5ScXHlmM

This Joker was submitted by

Together in perfecrt Harmony Cullran

Aka

The Buckeeeet residence, the Lady of the house speaking…oh it’s you Sheridan81.

Giving them a final Walrus score of

46

points

Comments:
Have heard of Less Than Jake but never listened to them. This seems to be a pop-punk type tune, probably huge with angsty teens and grown-ups who were angsty teens when it came out! It's fairly benign, moves along quite inoffensively. An agreeable song but not necessarily one I'll be in any rush to revisit.

02-02-2020 10:15pm

We're at the halfway point now.

9th place and 9 points for

Métisse - Boom Boom Ba

This Joker was submitted by

Fa fa fa fa, fa fa fa Fanghoward

Aka

And here come the Pretzills

Giving them a final Walrus score of

60

points

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj4mg4CkNGs

Comments:
Never heard of this band before, an Afro-Irish electronica-soul band. Sounds interesting. Definitely an interesting mish-mash of styles - the non-English bits appear to be Dioula, a language spoken in parts of West Africa - those bits in particular are very nice and melodic, she has quite a pretty voice. I'd like to score this higher but there is one thing that grates with this song and that is the constant repetition of "a boom boom ba" - it's just a bit too much. Which is a shame, because otherwise there are some very nice aspects of this song. Very interesting submission anyway.

tusk · 02-02-2020 10:18pm

sometimes art is just too highbrow for some people. I'm okay with it :pac:

02-02-2020 10:25pm

8th place and 10 points for

Broadcast - Come On Let's Go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oH_6-O0554

This Joker was submitted by

You’re Marflutter-fly, sugar, baby

Aka

Choose a starter; Snivy, Tepig or OSHawott?

Giving them a final Walrus score of

64

points

Comments:
Interesting sound here, kind of old school psychedelic. It's quite a slow burner. Laconic vocal delivery, reminds me a little of Nico (minus the strong accent). It's very nice but missing a "wow" moment. I'd be interested in hearing more by them though, so that's always a positive.

02-02-2020 10:37pm

7th place and 11 points for

Placebo - Loud Like Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi_AJxsdOKo

This Joker was submitted by

The splendid Countess of Bathrobinson Bailecoffin

Aka

It's very difficult to do any kind of wordplay with Triceratops Ballet

Giving them a final Walrus score of

52

points

Comments:

I do like Placebo but generally only in small doses; his voice is so distinctive and peculiar, I would find it hard to listen to it over the course of a whole album. I wasn't familiar with this song before listening but first impressions are positive; has a suitably fist-pumping feel to it, can imagine going down a storm live. I hear some Smashing Pumpkins influences in here (though apparently Billy Corgan hates them, which isn't saying a whole lot as he hates pretty much everyone! :pac: ), could imagine Billy singing this tune. Very nice, will definitely be listening to this again.

Green&Red · 02-02-2020 10:39pm

Deleted User wrote: »

15th place and 3 points for

Kings of Leon - Revelry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZyGWg0uqkw

This Joker was submitted by
Hey Hey Hayesshine

Aka
And I feel my finger on your Trigger

Giving them a final Walrus score of
34
points

Comments:

I hate to be one of "those" people....but I did like Kings of Leon better in their pre-Sex on Fire era. To be fair I did actaully buy Only By The Night when it was released, and there were a few tracks on it I did really enjoy - Closer and Crawl were a fantastic opening duo. I also quite liked I Want You. Any of those songs would have scored very well here. But even at the time Revelry did absolutely nothing for me. There's nothing specifically wrong with it, it's just a bit sleepy. Doesn't really go anywhere or have any standout moments.

I love this song

02-02-2020 10:44pm

6th place and 12 points for

Frou Frou - Let Go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13WAhlE02ew

This Joker was submitted by

Yompson "It's a marvellous night for a" Hamoondancer

Aka

Michael’s Big Cat – MicksJaguar

Giving them a final Walrus score of

45

points

Comments:
Many years ago, in the days before Shazam, I heard a track I liked playing in the background in (what used to be) HMV in Cork city. Asked the lad behind the counter what it was and he said it was a band called Frou Frou. The song that was playing was called Psychobabble and I remembered listening to it and adding it to a playlist but I never properly listened to the parent album in full. Similarly I'm familiar with Imogen Heap's big solo hit Hide And Seek but haven't yet listened to much more by her.

Anyway this is quite nice, has a lovely trip-hop feel but a bit more uptempo. Love the strings on it; cello at around the 02:30 mark is really nice, adding cello is almost always a good idea! Should definitely listen to more of these guys.

Green&Red · 02-02-2020 10:45pm

Deleted User wrote: »

6th place and 12 points for

Frou Frou - Let Go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13WAhlE02ew

This Joker was submitted by
Yompson "It's a marvellous night for a" Hamoondancer

Aka
Michael’s Big Cat – MicksJaguar

Giving them a final Walrus score of
45
points

Comments:
Many years ago, in the days before Shazam, I heard a track I liked playing in the background in (what used to be) HMV in Cork city. Asked the lad behind the counter what it was and he said it was a band called Frou Frou. The song that was playing was called Psychobabble and I remembered listening to it and adding it to a playlist but I never properly listened to the parent album in full. Similarly I'm familiar with Imogen Heap's big solo hit Hide And Seek but haven't yet listened to much more by her.

Anyway this is quite nice, has a lovely trip-hop feel but a bit more uptempo. Love the strings on it; cello at around the 02:30 mark is really nice, adding cello is almost always a good idea! Should definitely listen to more of these guys.

I really like that, never heard of them before

02-02-2020 10:52pm

5th place and 13 points for

The Gutter Twins - Each to Each

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMyOJ612KJQ

This Joker was submitted by

And oh oh woah, I was a Kingolas under your control

Aka

I sing the Body Electric (Nitwit), baby!

Giving them a final Walrus score of

63

points

Comments:
Not familiar with this band, vaguely recall hearing the name before but couldn't have told you what genre they were. I see Mark Lanigan is involved, I know of him through his work with Queens of The Stone Age and that one song I know by Screaming Trees (Halo of Ashes, a great tune it is too!) I like his voice. Love the riff that repeats throughout this song, very simple but effective. Definitely planning to listen to more by these guys.

phatkev · 02-02-2020 10:55pm

Love the Gutter twins stuff, its a pity they only have the one album

02-02-2020 11:01pm

4th place and 14 points for

Faker - Sleepwalking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LM3DlrsjyI

This Joker was submitted by

Mediphira fi fo fum

Aka

Also Starring Joan Burton….oops, I mean Also Starring LeVar Burton

Giving them a final Walrus score of

50

points

Comments:
More so than any other song, in any other round, this was one I did a complete 180-turn on. After my first listen to the Jokers this was in the bottom half of the pack - maybe I was just in a bad mood but I had written down "meh, not doing much, don't like his voice, possibly a grower"...that last bit is key. This absolutely is a grower, and how! On repeated listens this song wedged its way into my brain and shot up hugely in my estimation. His voice is perfectly fine, I'm not sure what I heard first time round that bugged me but now I'm actually keen to listen to more by these guys. This is actually a really catchy, infectious, well-written tune and I'm very glad to have heard it.

Also Starring LeVar Burton · 02-02-2020 11:04pm

Nice. My best finish! Very happy with that, I was quite nervous, because as you mentioned the song is a grower. Wasn't too gone on it myself first time I heard it, but fast became one of my all-time favourites.

02-02-2020 11:10pm

3rd place and 15 points for

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIIxlgcuQRU

This Joker was submitted by

Is this burning An Eternal (Palka Stephen)flame

Aka

If you're not really here, I don't wanna be either, I wanna be next you, Green and Red, Green and Red, Green&Red

Giving them a final Walrus score of

52

points

Comments:
A modern classic, one that was disgracefully unappreciated by those philistines in the Best of the Noughties thread (it wasn't even my nomination but I was still disgusted by the lack of love it got). :mad: Not even my favourite YYY's song, which shows what a class band they are!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are often quite lyrically obtuse, their songs very rarely have any clear meaning but the chorus "they don't love you like I love you" is filled with such longing and heartbreak that it's impossible to not be moved. If I had one criticism of this song it would be the "say say say" repetition in the first verse - that does feel a little like they just ran out of ideas a bit. But otherwise this is a gorgeous song that will be remembered in years to come. If I hadn't heard it before it would have blown me away and almost certainly have won this round.

02-02-2020 11:17pm

16 points and 2nd place for

Hans Zimmer - Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxabLA7UQ9k

This Joker was submitted by

I put a (Jameslon Bar)spell on you, because you're mine...

Aka

Mustang Shelly, guess you better slow that Mustang down

Giving them a final Walrus score of

45

points

Comments:
First let me say that I've never seen Inception (yes, yes, I do live under a rock!) Furthermore, while I've heard of Hans Zimmer and gather that he's quite a big deal in the film-scoring world, I wouldn't be able to name or hum a piece by him offhand. So this was kind of a step into the unknown here.

And what a step it was. Takes a while to get going, for sure; the first minute is so subtle and calm that it almost feels like the song hasn't even started. But when it takes off the results are magnificent; tension is built steadily throughout, can definitely imagine this underscoring a very dramatic moment. The strings have a sinister edge but still sound beautiful. This is a lovely piece, and a very interesting submission.

I might actually go watch Inception now. :pac:

Tauriel · 02-02-2020 11:26pm

If* I were to ever host my own Walrus, Hans Zimmer can never go wrong;)

* that's a very big IF.

I'm pleasantly surprised how well this went down. Another personal favourite that I thought was risky but did well for me.

The entire Inception soundtrack is absolutely amazing.

02-02-2020 11:30pm

1st place and 17 points for

Tigran Hamasyan - Entertain Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-GUNcSWSko

This Joker was submitted by

Highway to Hel-raham Jamesorty

Aka

Oooh phatkev-en is a place on Earth

Giving them a final Walrus score of

67

points

Comments:
Armenian jazz pianist, you say? We're taking a leftfield approach to this round anyway!...Oh wow ok, there's so much going on here it's hard to keep track. Jazz is a genre I'm trying to listen to more of and I'm delighted to see some make its way in here, particularly from someone I may never have stumbled across myself. This isn't just jazz though, it's got some clear hard rock/metal influences. And it absolutely works. This is exactly wwhat everyone who hosts a Walrus wants; something they've never heard before that would blows them away. I can't even begin to imagine how much musical skill is required to compose and play something like this, it's mindblowing! It's probably not a song that has universal appeal and in that sense this is a pretty ballsy submission. But I love it. Really do love this. A most excellently played Joker, indeed!

tusk · 02-02-2020 11:34pm

Great game Homer. Fair play.

Aside from your extremely poor taste in music, you seem like a decent enough lad :pac: :pac: :pac:

Tauriel · 02-02-2020 11:40pm

Thanks Homer for the superb reveal!!!

02-02-2020 11:40pm

Which means, our Walrus winner is....

PHATKEV, who just pips osh to the post in the last round.
Many congratulations!

Here is our final table, with bonus points as promised to tusk to thank him for all his hard work in helping me set up this game (you really were the one person I didn't want to finish last...but here we are! :P )

Rank # Alias Boards name Colours Score Love Score 90's Score 10's Score Joker Score Bonus points Total Score
1 Helraham Jamesorty phatkev 6 14 17 13 17 0 67
2 Marflutter osh 5 17 16 16 10 0 64
3 Kingolas Electric Nitwit 17 5 13 15 13 0 63
4 Fanghoward Pretzill 12 10 12 17 9 0 60
5 Countess Bathrobinson Bailecoffin Triceratops Ballet 8 16 14 3 11 0 52
6 Palka Stephenflame Green&Red 14 12 10 1 15 0 52
7 Mediphira Also Starring LeVar Burton 9 11 4 12 14 0 50
8 Harmony Cullran Sheridan81 7 15 9 7 8 0 46
9 Jameslon Barspell mustang shelly 15 4 1 9 16 0 45
10 Yompson Hamoondancer MicksJaguar 1 13 15 4 12 0 45
11 Lolliclarke Barney92 2 2 11 14 6 0 35
12 Hayesshine Trigger 16 3 6 6 3 0 34
13 Yollins Roseverse spook_ie 10 9 5 8 2 0 34
14 Aleshark beakerjoe 4 7 7 11 4 0 33
15 Spencerpop Rikand 11 6 3 5 7 0 32
16 Rosparkle Necro 13 1 2 10 1 0 27
17 Marshallazora Satanwest tusk 3 8 8 2 5 0.99 26.99

Once again thank you all so much for participating; I hope the anonymous format worked ok, definitely helped me out in scoring and adding to the fun anyway. But if it prevented you from making some comments earlier then the shackles are now free, so work away!

I shall definitely be adding many new artists to my future playlists now - Tigran Hamasyan, Faker, The Gutter Twins, Spiritualized, DJ Shadow, Flipper's Guitar, Lost Under Heaven to name just a few.

So that's goodnight and good luck from me. Here's looking forward to sullivlo's Walrus.

Also Starring LeVar Burton · 02-02-2020 11:43pm

Great show Homer. Well done. Glad you enjoyed the majority of my songs too!

phatkev · 02-02-2020 11:46pm

WOOHOO, two in a row baby!!!!!!!!!

Also Starring LeVar Burton · 02-02-2020 11:48pm

phatkev wrote: »

WOOHOO, two in a row baby!!!!!!!!!

Congrats.

Pretzill · 02-02-2020 11:50pm

Thanks Homer a great reveal - delighted with a not too shabby fourth place in Walrus - some great stuff tonight which I'm looking forward to going back to.

ETA: Well done Kev another one and you'll have to bring the Walrus home to live with you

tusk · 02-02-2020 11:55pm

me and necro last 2 again. how many is that now, three?

Electric Nitwit · 03-02-2020 12:02am

Nice one Homer

I'll take fifth tonight, I love YYYs and Zimmer so happy to come behind them and a couple of new ones to check out. I'm super excited about hearing this Armenian Jazz Pianist, that's how to play and win in style, congrats Kev!

Given you liked LUH and The Gutter Twins I would highly recommend the albums, Spiritual Songs for Lovers To Sing might be my favourite of the last decade, and Saturnalia is amazing. If you need more like The Gutter Twins then they're basically The Twilight Singers in disguise

Electric Nitwit · 03-02-2020 12:23am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Once again thank you all so much for participating; I hope the anonymous format worked ok, definitely helped me out in scoring and adding to the fun anyway. But if it prevented you from making some comments earlier then the shackles are now free, so work away!

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Kingolas got the most love in Round 1 but must be content with 13th place and 5 points this time round for Pulp - F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.

Damn you, you cloth eared caveman!

I had four top-five finishes apart from this modern masterpiece that you savaged

Different Class is a truly brilliant album, I'd still recommend trying it despite your misgivings

Trigger · 03-02-2020 4:18pm

Only seeing this now, great stuff Homer, well done to Kev again.

Mid table for me, happy enough with my selections.

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03-02-2020 11:04pm

Here's the final playlist; once again we have a Slade song that can't be found on Spotify (this time not even with a cover version) and I've had to use the original Witcher song instead of the remix (which I did actually find but it's greyed out/unavailable)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/30DeV3IzcPvEE8LSnBH6ZL?si=QinqqKwDQHaSorgQfOWFPg

Electric Nitwit · 22-02-2020 1:56pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I shall definitely be adding many new artists to my future playlists now - Tigran Hamasyan, Faker, The Gutter Twins, Spiritualized, DJ Shadow, Flipper's Guitar, Lost Under Heaven to name just a few

phatkev wrote: »

Love the Gutter twins stuff, its a pity they only have the one album

Electric Nitwit wrote: »

If you need more like The Gutter Twins then they're basically The Twilight Singers in disguise

Greg Dulli, the creative force behind The Gutter Twins, Twilight Singers and Afghan Whigs, released a new solo album, Random Desire, yesterday which is well worth a listen. I've only had one listen but it sounds very good. He's also on these shores next month - Roisin Dubh on Thurs 19th, Whelans on Fri 20th, see you there