March Music Madness, Round 2 - Wilco Region

And so ends the best sports weekend of the year... luckily, we got the added bonus of having an entire music tournament to talk about! If you haven't already done so, make sure you VOTE in the We Listen For You tournament. Our match-ups will look different because 1) we're giving you OUR picks and 2) we've altered the seedings so that they mimic the actual NCAA tournament seedings (something that the bracket-maker WLFY used wouldn't allow them to do). Because of that, the two brackets will look very different, but we didn't think it would be fair for a #1 seed to have to play a #5 seed in the second round (as opposed to the winner of the #8/#9 match-up). At the end of the tourney, we'll do a little comparison, admit our mistakes (or not) and explain why our picks are infinitely better than the general public's (which they probably aren't). The final bands making the Sweet 16:

(1) TV on the Radio vs. (9) Blitzen Trapper
Winner: (1) TV on the Radio
We rarely get comments at GSATW. Probably because people know that everything we say is right. However, when we moved TV on the Radio into the second round, someone mentioned that we made a mistake... that "you certainly know exactly what you're going to get" with TV on the Radio. I'm bad at understanding sarcasm through the interweb, so I'm assuming that "what you're going to get" is a fucking badass record and not some off-hand comment about them being predictable. It's a shame that "production quality" is synonymous with terms like "commercial" and "slick..." basically a death sentence for an indie rock album. Just because something sounds good doesn't mean that a band has sacrificed their musical integrity! Maybe it means they put more time and money (which they've earned putting out great albums and touring their asses off) into their work because they want better output. Dear Science, then, is not predictable and bland... it's a testament to what you can produce when you pour everything (talent, originality, effort, and yes... money) you have into something. Blitzen Trapper, while technically sound and incredibly fun to listen to, is outclassed at basically every turn. TVOTR in a landslide.


(4) Girl Talk vs. (5) Bon Iver
Winner: (5) Bon Iver
Girl Talk is the stage name of Gregg Gillis. I feel like I have a lot in common with Gregg. Gregg is from Pittsburgh. I have a friend named Greg from Pittsburgh. Gregg is/was a biomedical engineering. I majored in biomedical engineering. Gregg would leave work, fly from Pittsburgh to Miami, play a club show, fly back to Pittsburgh, and go to work the next morning. I leave work, sit on my couch, have a couple beers, play Wii MarioKart, then go to bed at 11. Tomato, tomahto. The point is, I like Girl Talk a lot, and I really respect the amount of effort it takes to sample and sequence all of the songs he puts together. But at the end of the day, Gillis cuts and pastes. Is that incredibly condescending and a gross oversimplification of what a Girl Talk album is? Absolutely. But I can't help it. Bon Iver is just the most recent beneficiary of my mash-up bias. Plus... For Emma, Forever Ago blew me away when I heard it, and his Blood Bank EP does nothing but whet my appetite for another full-length LP. This is what it'll feel like when my beloved Devils go down. Sad times.


(11) Joanna Newsom vs. (14) The Mae Shi
Winner: (11) Joanna Newsom
I need to write less. People are going to get bored, and this seems like a good time to exercise brevity. Joanna Newsom squeaked by in the first round on, let's face it, her past success. That's not to say she didn't deserve the win over Dan Deacon, but it still felt a little wrong. Luckily for her, I have very little invested in The Mae Shi. They're solid, and definitely a lot of fun, but they're prone to their indulgences (disclaimer: so is Joanna Newsom... see: Ys). But just one question... who else, in the realm of indie music, uses a harp as their central instrument? I'll give you a hint: it's not The Mae Shi. Seeing Newsom live is incredible... not only is she physically beautiful (sorry, I'm not sorry), but watching her hands deftly move up and down her harp while listening to her delicate vocal quiver is an experience you won't forget. I promise.


(2) Sufjan Stevens vs. (7) Antony and the Johnsons
Winner: (7) Antony and the Johnsons
Sufjan got through the first round on reputation alone. Period. I have to assume that he's writing new music, and if his contribution to Dark Was The Night is any indication, he's playing around with some new ideas. But I have to reiterate... Illinois came out in 2005. Avalanche (essentially all of his extra tracks from the Illinois recording sessions) and his Songs For Christmas box-set came out in 2006. And that's been it. Two years, no new proper album. Antony and the Johnsons, on the other hand, just released The Crying Light, an early favorite to be included in end-of-the-year Top 10 lists and a commendable progression from I Am A Bird Now. Antony Hegarty revels in the silence, and his voice alone should be considered an instrument on any song. Carefully chosen orchestral swells accent only the most important moments of The Crying Light, and whereas I Am A Bird Now allowed Antony to occasionally fall back on a number of guest artists, this album finds him on his own, comfortable with his sound. It's definitely an accomplishment... something Sufjan hasn't experienced for a minute.