We’re back! Apologies for the late running of this round – I’m juggling a lot of different projects at the moment (and writing a lot more for Popular of course). But we have Round 4 finally ready to go so here are the RESULTS of our League Instrumentals week. Thanks to our players for what I thought were a particularly strong and varied set of tunes!
Things are still pretty tight at the top but there was a clear winner last week, several votes ahead of the two joint-second place tracks: kosmische vibes from Ashra and post-(Daft)-punk electro fun from Ratatat. The winner though was the whistle-while-you-work rhythms of the Ghana Postal Workers, a field recording nominated by JOE KAY who moves into the lead in our overall scoreboard. He’s only a few points ahead of the field, though, with much to play for.
The Week 5 challenge is going to be a festive special – 21st Century Christmas Songs! As for Week 4, that’s a bit trickier to explain – maybe I should just put it up…
This week’s theme – picked by a League player, as usual! – is INSTRUMENTALS (which I’ve decreed can include whistling). As usual, thankyou to our 11 intrepid selectors for choosing tracks to vote on.
How do you take part?
Please pick up to FOUR of these tracks.
DO NOT PICK TRACKS YOU ALREADY KNEW!
Spotify and YouTube playlists in the playlist post.
The poll has expired!
Immediate votes/adds to my streaming library: Doggett (Toussaint was mine so no surprise that I voted for the other 50s R&B/jazz piano guy), Birhane, and (sigh) FourPlay. Last vote was a tough […]
"Java" was a 4 letter words outtake for me too! I was glad to finally have a chance to nominate it for something else (I was twitching on the sidelines when 4 letter words & short songs came up […]
I am honestly not sure - I think there may be a box I can tick to allow it, but that would also allow changes of votes, which wouldn't be a great idea.
My other votes went to the jazz and funk contingent - Bill Doggett and the Lafayette Afro Rock Band, though Allen Toussaint and Kirhom Birhane could easily have got votes if my mood was only […]
We’re back with Season 2 Round 3 – and this round the brief was a simple one: find us all some instrumentals we haven’t heard. Note that I’ve decided to allow whistling in the instrumental category (if you want to be stricter than I was, that’s up to you, but the track is well worth hearing IMO). When you’ve had a listen, go vote in the Poll Post.
As usual we have a Spotify and YouTube playlist. The Spotify has all but the final song.
The missing track is “Ghana Postal Workers Cancelling Stamps”, a field recording. It’s the final track on the YouTube playlist:
Here’s our line up for this week!
Apologies for the delay posting these and the new poll, though at least it’s given our 11 seekers after pop more time to work on the somewhat tricky Week 4 task..
Anyway, the white smoke has now issued from the Pop Vatican and I can announce the WINNER of Round 2’s Religion challenge.
In third place, SISTER WYNONA CARR took us out to the ball game! In second place, YELLOWMAN delivered some of the teachings of Jah. And the clear winner from was MARY LOU WILLIAMS, whose “Anima Christi” was the perfect combination of spirituality and awesome jazz chops. I think it’s the oldest recording so far to have won a League round – well done healingandy especially as his Round 1 pick came last! As you can see from the leaderboard this time there’s no clear front runner – Joe Kay with a double bronze has an early advantage, but all the top 8 players are within 4 points of each other.
Instrumentals will be up soon – for now, thanks again to your selectors for their handling of a tricky religious brief!
Appropriate, though!
Just the most remarkable coincidence that the artist who inspired the week's theme was also the one I happened to pick. Bizarro.
This week’s League Of Tracks is the first theme to go beyond pre-existing pop polls – we are tacking RELIGION with a selection of devotional, heretical, or otherwise spiritual tunes from across the history of pop.
As usual the rules are simple.
Into the multi-denominational faith room of pop we go…
Oh, you might be surprised. Care for a game of Diamondback?
If it helps, they didn't seek permission or offer payment...
I think I'm trying to find the sweet spot between NEVER WINNING and NEVER LOSING and that's my life metaphor!
Oh, a rare fellow Cerebus reader! Not many of those around. […]
For the second theme of the new season Dave chose RELIGION – go as broad as you like, he advised. Let’s see what you unholy lot came up with.
As ever, listen to the playlist and then vote in the POLL POST.
This time all but one of the tracks are on Spotify:
The final track, “All Things Bright And Beautiful” by The Goodies, is at the end of the YouTube playlist.
ORDER OF SERVICE
Great choice of theme. Damn!* Dave, you win everything. If I were playing I'd have gone into agonies over whether to choose the Staple Singers' "This Could Be The Last Time" (I had put it in the […]
WILD!
Wow…the impetus for choosing “Religious Songs” was that I was listening to Mary Lou Williams’ “St. Martin De Porres” from this album and thinking about how I’d love an opportunity to nominate it for […]