REVEAL - Homer J. Fong's "Difficult Second Walrus"...now with added HEEPS!

[Homer J. Fong]

In 16th place and scoring 2 points:

Elton John - Levon



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Kol

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

I’m just not a fan of Elton John, I’m afraid. I appreciate that he is talented but his music doesn’t do it for me. I get that this song tells a story but I find it a little dull, and it’s not something I really want to listen to again. It does feel very harsh to put this second last because it's not like I hated it or anything, but the competition was very tough here.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 2nd place and scoring 16 points:

Against Me! - Black Me Out


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Sawduck

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

I’ve heard of the band and was aware that their lead singer transitioned, but I’ve never listened to them. The thing that jumps out here immediately is the anger in the lyrics, the threat to “piss on the walls of your house” and “chop rings off your fat-fucking fingers”. But the most powerful lines arguably come at the very end; “All the young graves filled, Don't the best all burn out So bright and so fast?”, probably a reference to the very high rates of suicide among young transgender people. This song really pucks a punch (musically as well as lyrically) and moved up and up the list each time I listened. I now wanna go around yelling about pissing on people's walls in a burst of fist-pumping cathartic rage. Really happy to have been introduced to this, and will be investigating more by them.

[Homer J. Fong]

The nerves of the playoffs again - I think I preferred being first out of the hat!

In 17th place and scoring 1 point:

The Communards - Don't Leave Me This Way



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cdeb

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? Yes

Comments:

Cast your mind back to my comments on Bronski Beat:

As for the song itself, I do enjoy it - I’m not a huge fan of his voice but at the same time I do think it fits the mood of the song quite well, conveying the sense of vulnerability and melancholy.

Well there isn't much vulnerability or melancholy here, just a grating vocal on a cheap-sounding cover of a song that's been done much better before. I'm sorry, I really dislike this version of the song. Give me Thelma Houston any day!

[Cdeb]

Boo!

[osh]

Boo!

Welcome to walrus Cdeb  

I've had my share of misplaced last finishes too...

[Homer J. Fong]

And finally our winner for this round:

In 1st place and scoring 17 points:

Troye Sivan & Jónsi - Revelation



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Irish Aris

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? Yes

Comments:

God damn, this song makes my gay little heart tremble. The haunting melody perfectly accompanies the lyrics that encapsulate the excitement and the nerves of a first same sex encounter, and the revelation that the world still stands afterwards. I love Troye’s voice on this song, he doesn’t have the strongest voice or widest vocal range but he has a lovely deep tone that somehow manages to feel both relaxing and tense. Boy Erased is an excellent film btw, for anyone who hasn’t seen it. This was probably the easiest first place to award of all the rounds thus far. A proper "goosebumps" song. Superb pick.

[Homer J. Fong]

So after three rounds, Aris has opened up a three-point lead over Necro. osh moves up to third. Declan is still holding the spoon but there's only one point between him and Tauriel. It only takes one round to change everything, and there are still four rounds to go!



The next round is Nordic FINDS and I'll aim to do it on Sunday night. 

Thanks everyone for tuning in.  

[Irish Aris]

Homer, thank you very much for selecting this theme. Have to say it was a very strong list of songs and listening to some of them made me somewhat emotional.
Glad you like Revelation. This was my introduction to Troye Sivan, haven't listened to his music before that, think it really suits the tone of the film.

[E.N.]

Homer, thank you very much for selecting this theme. Have to say it was a very strong list of songs and listening to some of them made me somewhat emotional.
Glad you like Revelation. This was my introduction to Troye Sivan, haven't listened to his music before that, think it really suits the tone of the film.

That is a very nice song Aris, well done


...though I wish Jónsi had sung more on it

[jp liz v1]

Homer, thank you very much for selecting this theme. Have to say it was a very strong list of songs and listening to some of them made me somewhat emotional.
Glad you like Revelation. This was my introduction to Troye Sivan, haven't listened to his music before that, think it really suits the tone of the film.

Well Done @Irish Aris

[Necro]

By jove how am I second @Homer J. Fong
we've come a long way from Motorcycle Emptiness

Some great selections so far and really enjoying the commentary on each song

(Sorry I'm not more present btw Homer I'm just knee deep in rehearsals at the moment)

[Homer J. Fong]

The next round is Nordic FINDS and I'll aim to do it on Sunday night. 

Thanks everyone for tuning in.  

Right, so you feckers have not made this easy at all for me. Genuinely there are no songs in this Nordic round that I hate, or even any that I dislike; at worst there is some indifference or "it's ok, I guess". Meanwhile there are four or five potential winners for this category. 

I've got a lot more listening, thinking, ranking and re-ranking to do over the next couple of days.

[Cdeb]

Boo!

Welcome to walrus Cdeb  

I've had my share of misplaced last finishes too...

Am I so out of touch?   No.   It's the children Homer J Fong who is wrong.

Thing is my FINDS song was a nod to Fong's suggestion of dreampop or shoegaze.   But even after googling, I have no idea what those mean, so I just went with something random.   If it were my walrus, I'd score it fairly low and look for a blast of Raga Rockers instead.   And my last sub is perilously close to one of Fong's "avoid" genres - but I said feck it, cos I like it.   Which of course isn't the point here. 

Have I peaked too early - with Alanis fecking Morrisette?! 

All good fun though

[E.N.]

...I said feck it, cos I like it.   Which of course isn't the point here

That's always the point

[Tauriel]

Really looking forward to the Nordic round and hoping that I might discover something new.

If I recall correctly, I didn't go with symphonic metal for this round ?

[Homer J. Fong]

Apologies, won't be able to get around to Reveal tonight. It's probably gonna be Wednesday night at this rate, I'll confirm it during the week.

Fortunately you all have E.N.'s Advent Calendar to keep ye occupied in the meantime!

[Homer J. Fong]

Apologies, won't be able to get around to Reveal tonight. It's probably gonna be Wednesday night at this rate, I'll confirm it during the week.

Fortunately you all have E.N.'s Advent Calendar to keep ye occupied in the meantime!

Update - gonna be next week before any more Reveals I'm afraid. This week has not been co-operative.

[E.N.]

Damn uncooperative week

[Homer J. Fong]

We will finally get back to this Reveal on Sunday night.

[Homer J. Fong]

Still listening and ranking, this round is incredibly tough.

Here are a few picks that would have done well with me, by country:

Finland 
This is the country I'm least familiar with of the five, I typically associate them with symphonic metal and emo, neither of which is my favourite genre. So all I really have to go by is their Eurovision entries!

Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah



Norma John - Blackbird



Iceland
Gonna avoid the obvious two here (Björk and Sigur Rós)

Samaris - Wanted 2 Say



Mamút - Salt (I believe I entered this myself in a previous Walrus)



Norway

Susanne Sundfør - Fade Away



Röyksopp - Eple



Denmark

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Around The Bend



When Saints Go Machine - Mental Shopping Spree



Sweden
Waaaaaay too many choices here: The Knife, Fever Ray, Lykke Li and of course ABBA are just some of the names coming to mind. 

Albin Lee Meldau - Bloodshot



Molly Nilsson - Hiroshima Street



Zeigesit - Tar Heart

[Homer J. Fong]

Let's get started with the Round Four Reveal.

In 14th place and scoring 4 points:

Roxette - Listen To Your Heart



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Necro

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? Yes

Comments:

So I pretty much only know two songs by Roxette – this, and “It Must Have Been Love”. Unfortunately, you picked the wrong one of the two as I do prefer the latter by a good distance. Which isn’t to say I don’t like this song, I actually do quite enjoy it – but in a very high quality round I sadly couldn’t rank it any higher than this. 

Side note: never realised before how much this sounds like “Alone” by Heart.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 13th place and scoring 5 points:

Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend



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cee_jay

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? Yes

Comments:

I do like Robyn but she can be bit hit-and-miss. She has some amazing songs and some absolute dogshít. This one is...somewhere in between. It’s a good tune, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not her best and unfortunately got outranked in this round.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 12th place and scoring 6 points:

Iceage - Shelter Song



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ShaneU

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

The Iceage song I’m most familiar with is "Pain Killer" (which I discovered because it featured Sky Ferreira) and that is one hell of a tune. I’d listened to a few more by them along the same lines but this one sounds a bit different. Has a bit of a Britpop vibe, to my ears, which I'm not quite as keen on. It’s a slow burner and took me a few listens but I do enjoy it....I think.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 11th place and scoring 7 points:

Múm - Green Grass of Tunnel



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osh

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

The instrumental here is just gorgeous. Dreamy, hypnotic and really blissful. Exactly the kind of music I love. Unfortunately I am not a fan of the vocal, when it arrives – her voice is very childlike, which I find a little grating, and the whispery delivery doesn’t help. I really wanted to like this one more than I did overall and I’m afraid its score suffers as a result.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 10th place and scoring 8 points:

Seigmen - Metropolis



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cdeb

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

Nice to hear something not in English, was hoping I’d get at least one. This is a good song, I can definitely hear grunge influences but it's more downtempo and.....sludgy. Some very nice production touches on this one, I like the subtle things going on in the background like with the extra percussion.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 9th place and scoring 9 points:

Mew - Comforting Sounds



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E.N.

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

A good song overall but Jaysus, it takes a long time to get going! It struggles to hold my interest for the first part, when he’s singing. I actually prefer the second part where it’s all instrumental, that’s when it really flows nicely and builds up to a very nice ending.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 8th place and scoring 10 points:

Tuomas Holapainen - A Lifetime of Adventure



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Tauriel

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

Googled this guy and found out he’s the guitarist in Nightwish, so was expecting some symphonic metal here (which is a genre that I’m not too keen on, even though I certainly do respect the artists' talents and understand why some love it). So when I actually listened, this turned out to be a surprise. It definitely has an “epic” feel to it, very much sounds like a soundtrack to a fantasy movie (as it turns out, it’s actually inspired by The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck!!!) Anyway this was a very nice pick, enjoyed listening to it.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 7th place and scoring 11 points:

Emiliana Torrini - Sunny Road



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Barna77

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

I knew a couple of Emiliana Torrini songs before this round (namely "Jungle Drum" and "Gun") and quite enjoyed them. This is another nice little addition. She has a beautiful voice and it works well with this very delicate song. The lyrics remind me a bit of Pulp’s Disco 2000 actually, maybe this is like the low-key Nordic version of that?

[Homer J. Fong]

In 6th place and scoring 12 points:

The Raveonettes - Love In a Trashcan



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Zaph

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No, but it does sound oddly familiar.

Comments:

This just oozes cool. Really nice, jangly indie-rock number with a memorable riff. Very solid pick. 

Not sure how well those opening lines go down in the #MeToo era though!!

[Homer J. Fong]

In 5th place and scoring 13 points:

The Cardigans - Erase/Rewind



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Declan A Walsh

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? Yes

Comments:

I’ve never listened to any of the Cardigans’ studio albums, which is something I should probably do because I’ve enjoyed all of the singles I’ve heard by them. This is an excellent song, only thing keeping it from scoring any higher is over-familiarity.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 4th place and scoring 14 points:

Alice Boman - Waiting



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jp liz v1

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

I do enjoy some lo-fi from time to time and this ticks all the right boxes. Angelic voice, pretty instrumentation, lovely production, suitably melancholic but also with an odd sense of warmness to it – very good choice.

[Homer J. Fong]

So this Round's top and bottom three are:

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Hello 2D Person Below
Irish Aris
Kol
Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick
Sawduck
the purple tin

Some of them have been here before, for others it's their first time here.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 15th place and scoring 3 points:

LOVA - Dance For The Hell Of It



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Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

Bottom three feels very harsh as this wasn’t bad at all but it just didn’t grab me as much as some of the others. It’s a nice radio-friendly pop song but it feels a little bit....disposable, in the sense that it’s nice when it’s on but I’m not rushing to seek it out again later.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 3rd place and scoring 15 points:

First Aid Kit - My Silver Lining



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Sawduck

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? Yes

Comments:

Simply a great song; vocals, lyrics, melody, harmonies. Everything here is great. Nothing more needs to be said. I haven’t really listened to much more by First Aid Kit though, which is something I should probably rectify soon.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 16th place and scoring 2 points:

Michael Learns To Rock - Something You Should Know



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Kol

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

What to say about this one? It's not bad, I didn't dislike it as such but it didn't do much for me either. It's just kinda....there.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 2nd place and scoring 16 points:

Emiliana Torrini - Speed of Dark



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Irish Aris

Have I listened to the artist before? Yes

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

Emiliana makes her second appearance of the night, and I'm very happy to see (hear) her again because god damn I just love the bass in this track. Some songs take me a while to “get” but this one gripped me on the very first listen. Really great choice here, this one's gonna be a regular on my playlists.

[Homer J. Fong]

In 17th place and scoring 1 point:

Circle with Erkki Kurenniemi  - Kello 12.12



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the purple troll...I mean tin

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

[Homer J. Fong]

And finally, tonight's winner:

In 1st place and scoring 17 points:

Wardruna feat. AURORA - Helvegen



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Hello 2D Person Below

Have I listened to the artist before? No

Have I listened to the song before? No

Comments:

Wow! Just...wow! Stirring, dramatic, otherworldy....superb! Fantastic choice, very happy to have been introduced to this.

[E.N.]

[b]Mew - Comforting Sounds

A good song overall but Jaysus, it takes a long time to get going! It struggles to hold my interest for the first part, when he’s singing. I actually prefer the second part where it’s all instrumental, that’s when it really flows nicely and builds up to a very nice ending.

Yeah, but that's the point
Once you know the song and know what's coming then the build up gets better and better

Genuinely one of my favourite ever songs, the second half simply is my happy place

[Homer J. Fong]

So we're just past the midway point now and Aris has taken a commanding 13-point lead, with liz moving up to second. osh and Necro are joint third, with H2DPB just one point behind after winning the latest category.

We have a new holder of the spoon for now, as the purple tin sinks to the bottom. 



I honestly don't know when I'll get around to the next Reveal, it might be next month (i.e. next year!) before I'm able to close this out.

But as always thank you again to anybody who's been following along.