Board 8 > Rank the Tracks Week 66: Portishead's Third (+ Japanese Breakfast results)

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Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, June 12 at 8:00 AM EST - though if you are for whatever reason listening to the album around that time, just say so in the topic and I can delay a bit
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle - the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).

Portishead - Third track list:
1. Silence
2. Hunter
3. Nylon Smile
4. The Rip
5. Plastic
6. We Carry On
7. Deep Water
8. Machine Gun
9. Small
10. Magic Doors
11. Threads

User Cycle:
6/12: Seanchan (blink-182 - Enema of the State)
6/19: Giggsalot (Love - Forever Changes)
6/26: RyoCaliente
7/3: darkx
7/10: neonreaper
7/17: Great_Paul
7/24: jcgamer107
7/31: ChichiriMuyo
8/7: BlueCrystalTear
8/14: MetalmindStats
8/21: HBJDubs
8/28: Raetsel_Lapin
9/4: TheArkOfTurus
9/11: Steiner
9/18: Snake5555555555
9/25: Jesse_Custer
10/2: ZaziGuado
10/9: firefdr
10/16: Johnbobb
10/23: VeryInsane
10/30: CasanovaZelos

Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
CasanovaZelos (12)
Johnbobb (12)
BlueCrystalTear (12)
Seanchan (16)
HBJDubs (18)
MetalmindStats (20)
Raetsel_Lapin (22)
VeryInsane (24)
neonreaper (36)
Snake5555555555 (36)

General Album Comments

CasanovaZelos: "Paprika" and "Be Sweet" make the ultimate one-two punch opening. "Paprika" is the sound of a parade tearing through town, with "Be Sweet" mellowing things out with its opening verse only to shoot for the sky during the chorus. With those two out of the way, Zauner dives deeper into her emotional core for the remaining tracks. It might be the ultimate indie pop experience, a dreamy haze over emotional landscapes. Even if "Be Sweet" is my easy standout, Zauner pulls off a distinct style on every track, making Jubilee the rare album where each track could have been an effective single. Absolutely among the best of 2021.

Raetsel_Lapin: Japanese Breakfast is a band I've wanted an excuse to listen to some more of for a while now, so I was quite excited to see them get picked for this and the album did not disappoint. It had quite a few songs I really liked and didn't overstay its welcome.

Seanchan: Did the rare 4 listens this week. There's really no bad songs here, or at least there's parts of every song that I enjoyed. There's good variety, good singing, slide guitar on one song, saxaphone on another, and it's the right length too.

Overall, I liked the album but I didn't love it, and I'm not sure exactly why. To be topical, maybe I just haven't felt pain yet enough to truly connect with the sentiment on offer here. And I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing...

Oh yeah, one last thing. There's a certain timelessness to this album compared to many that we've covered the last few months that are inexorably linked to a certain period of time, whether that's the 60s, 80s, or early 00s. It's somewhat shocking that Jubilee came out only a year ago. You could have told me this came out 20+ years ago and I would have believed you.

BlueCrystalTear: The thing with this album that immediately stuck out to me is that the songs sound similar enough, yet are distinguishable. They all have the same coat of paint, but some focus more on guitars, some more on violins, and others on sax. The album manages to be a consistent whole without all sounding like one track, and that's impressive. The theme is consistent, too: It's pretty obviously about a depressed person learning to feel joy again. I wish I was capable of that.

"Be Sweet" is a catchy pop tune that absolutely had to be the first single. I can understand why that was stuck in your head, Johnbobb. It's easily my favorite. Really, there's not a bad song on here, just two I like less - "Savage Good Boy" ends too abruptly and "Sit" is a snoozer based on how it's placed after the similar but much superior "Posing in Bondage." The string section on "Tactics" is why it stands out to me.

It took me a bit to realize who the voice reminded me of: Michelle Branch, circa Hopeless Romantic (and this one's name is Michelle also, lulz). I know this board has a longstanding history of disliking Michelle Branch but that really shouldn't be the case (and I don't know how much of that ancient history's left).

I enjoyed this as a bright, "reaching the light at the end of the tunnel" sort of thing. Wouldn't say it's one of my favorites we've covered, but it's not one of my least favorites either.

VeryInsane: Felt great listening to it again, and I am happy that everyone else here seemed to find some enjoyment out of it! Especially after my last one I nominated which seemed super divisive (Velvet Underground)

Jubilee track ranking

10. Sit (Track #6)
Score: 33 (Average Rank: 7.7/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin, neonreaper (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): CasanovaZelos, Seanchan, Johnbobb, BlueCrystalTear (#10)

9. In Hell (Track #8)
Score: 37 (Average Rank: 7.3/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Snake5555555555 (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#10)

8. Tactics (Track #9)
Score: 43 (Average Rank: 6.8/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Snake5555555555 (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): VeryInsane (#10)

7. Savage Good Boy (Track #7)
Score: 44 (Average Rank: 6.8/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Snake5555555555 (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): neonreaper, HBJDubs (#10)

6. Kokomo, IN (Track #3)
Score: 56 (Average Rank: 5.9/10)
Biggest Fan(s): neonreaper (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): MetalmindStats (#10)

5. Posing for Cars (Track #10)
Score: 67 (Average Rank: 4.7/10)
Biggest Fan(s): VeryInsane (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): MetalmindStats, Snake5555555555 (#7)

4. Slide Tackle (Track #4)
Score: 70 (Average Rank: 4.9/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin, Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555 (#9)

3. Posing in Bondage (Track #5)
Score: 72 (Average Rank: 5/10)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs, MetalmindStats (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555 (#10)

2. Paprika (Track #1)
Score: 89 (Average Rank: 3.6/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb, VeryInsane (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#8)

1. Be Sweet (Track #2)
Score: 109 (Average Rank: 2.3/10)
Biggest Fan(s): CasanovaZelos, BlueCrystalTear, Snake5555555555 (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): VeryInsane (#6)

It took 11 years for Portishead to release their third album, and times had changed. Trip hop, the genre they helped define during the 90s, had largely played itself out. Instead of revisiting their familiar sound, they went in an entirely new direction, a style I have never seen properly imitated in the 14 years since. This is a dense atmospheric trip, harshly metallic in its sound design. Few albums have ever sounded this straight-up intimidating, yet Beth Gibbons' angelic voice offers the perfect counterbalance. The full album feels like the soundtrack to some future war, the entire world in paranoid shambles. The one moment of sonic relief comes in Deep Water, and the transition from that into Machine Gun might just be my favorite juxtaposition on any album.

(Also, if this is your introduction to the band and you enjoy it, make sure to check out their debut, Dummy - I actually like Dummy even more!)

My ranking:
The Rip (#375 all-time)
Machine Gun (#520 all-time)
We Carry On (#2242 all-time)
Threads
Hunter
Silence
Magic Doors
Plastic
Small
Deep Water
Nylon Smile

Bump

up

First listen done. Can't say I was digging this very much. There were bits and pieces where I was like "okay, alright" but overall my first reaction was more on the negative side.

1. Machine Gun
2. Small
3. The Rip
4. Threads
5. Hunter
6. We Carry On
7. Plastic
8. Silence
9. Magic Doors
10. Nylon Smile
11. Deep Water

what is this

like... seriously

I've never heard anything like this

To put it bluntly: I... both love it and hate it? I honestly don't know what to make of it.

A few of the early tracks definitely blended together but the later ones all felt distinct enough; like last week, this works as a complete whole yet doesn't feel like one super long track. There's some great stuff on here, like "Machine Gun" sounding like an actual gun, but it went on a bit too long and started giving me a headache.

We'll see if I can find a ranking I'm happy with, because I don't expect I'll be doing more than two listens to this one.

bump

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siO6dkqidc4

The outcasts album. Nothing really compares, as far as I'm concerned.

The White Stripes - Elephant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY

Great fun rock album. Seven Nation Army is one of those songs.

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC5zHACynR4

Cool post-punk album that's pretty great all the way through.

Will actually rank Third tomorrow.

1. We Carry On
2. Machine Gun
3. The Rip
4. Threads
5. Hunter
6. Magic Doors
7. Small
8. Plastic
9. Deep Water
10. Silence
11. Nylon Smile

1: The Rip
2: Deep Water
3: Hunter
4: Small
5: Machine Gun
6: Magic Doors
7: Silence
8: Threads
9: Plastic
10: Nylon Smile
11: We Carry On

up

cool pick, definitely happy to have an excuse to listen to this for the first time in a few years. I have lots of little issues with this record that stop me returning to it more often - some of the song structures feel completely unfinished, the production is oddly thin compared to their other albums, and in some ways it feels more like a grab bag of great ideas than a cohesive, complete work of art - but overall this is superbly creative stuff. a deserved modern classic!

1. Machine Gun
2. The Rip
3. Magic Doors
4. Silence
5. Hunter
6. Threads
7. Small
8. Plastic
9. We Carry On
10. Deep Water
11. Nylon Smile

bump

up

last day

I still don't know what exactly this album is, but it's certainly one of the most unique things I've ever listened to. I did enjoy it, though it's not exactly my cup of tea. It's just... I wanted to say "uneven" but that's not the right descriptor. There are things I like about this cohesive whole but there are other things I don't. A few of the songs definitely felt a bit redundant but that's okay here - this isn't the kind of thing you want to diversify from TOO much.

1. The Rip - The payoff here is so good. So, so good.
2. Hunter - Sleepy, yet haunting. The focus on the vocal is great at getting the desired effect. The early placement also helps it.
3. Machine Gun - The sound effects are so epic here and it definitely sounds like a machine gun. The only downside is that they get tiring by the end of the song.
4. Deep Water - A standout because it's acoustic folk hidden between the heavy instrumentation. It doesn't make any sense here, which is why I enjoy it. It's a very deliberate pace changer that only feels heavy because of the cloud engineered around this album.
5. Small - This is tiringly long and feels like it's trying to do what The Rip and Machine Gun already did better. That said, it does those really good things, so points for that.
6. We Carry On - It's a bit long, but it's good, and highlights the uniqueness of this band pretty well.
7. Magic Doors
8. Plastic - Another great harmony of vocal and instrumentation. Even if I can't understand the lyrics.
9. Threads
10. Silence - Weird voices to start and no vocals until halfway through. It's... interesting.
11. Nylon Smile - I think that bassline just drowns out a lot of this. Beautiful vocal, but I take nothing from it.

1. The Rip
2. We Carry On
3. Machine Gun
4. Hunter
5. Plastic
6. Nylon Smile
7. Deep Water
8. Silence
9. Magic Doors
10. Small
11. Threads

I FUCKING HATED THIS! Granted, I don't think doing my normal "out of order" third listen helped, but this was torturous to listen to. This is one of the few albums we've covered where I can't even say I enjoyed my top 1-2 songs very much. Certainly an album I will not be revisiting anytime soon.

Seanchan posted...

I FUCKING HATED THIS! Granted, I don't think doing my normal "out of order" third listen helped, but this was torturous to listen to. This is one of the few albums we've covered where I can't even say I enjoyed my top 1-2 songs very much. Certainly an album I will not be revisiting anytime soon.

I only listened to it twice. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it, either. Very unique musicianship like this one has makes an album polarizing. Most will either love it or hate it, but I'm just one of those people who understand both sides and says "It's very unique and well-crafted, but not really my thing."

This being said... may I ask why you kept listening? In the past when we've done albums I either didn't like or couldn't comprehend ranking, I simply didn't waste my time. I don't feel the need to rank every single week, only when I feel an album is listenable enough.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

I only listened to it twice. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it, either. Very unique musicianship like this one has makes an album polarizing. Most will either love it or hate it, but I'm just one of those people who understand both sides and says "It's very unique and well-crafted, but not really my thing."

This being said... may I ask why you kept listening? In the past when we've done albums I either didn't like or couldn't comprehend ranking, I simply didn't waste my time. I don't feel the need to rank every single week, only when I feel an album is listenable enough.

I'm probably the topic regular who has listened to the least amount of music in their life. Probably 80+% of these albums are new to me. I want to give each album (and the person who nominated it) the time and respect it deserves. There's usually a certain amount of evolution in my feelings over the course of a few listens. Sometimes I sour on an album, like I did here. But other times it's the opposite. If I stopped after a first or second listen, I feel like I'm not giving the album a chance.

I'm also just the type of person that I'm either in or out. I tend not to half ass things. I'm still a little annoyed at myself for missing the 3rd listen on Jimi Hendrix... It's a certain point of personal pride that I've not missed a week yet. I'm sure that won't last forever, but I'll do my hardest to keep that going as long as I can.

The Rip
Machine Gun
Small
Magic Doors
Threads
We Carry On
Plastic
Silence
Hunter
Nylon Smile
Deep Water

It took a little while for me to get back into this album, it was my introduction to Portishead but I got more acclimated to the trip hop styles of Dummy, especially since I listened to it a lot after the Massive Attack nom. The main song I distinctly remember is Machine Gun. Definitely different, but I enjoyed the experimentation and found the album interesting again.

Seanchan posted...

Probably 80+% of these albums are new to me.

Try 90-95%+ in my case - even Rubber Soul was a discovery for me!

That comment aside, I pretty much agree with what you said (...even though my own track record of commitment to this series and its participants isn't quite where I'd like it to be). For example, I didn't know what to think about Melodrama the first time around, only to fall hard for it after my next two spins. Conversely, while my opinions about this week's album haven't changed much from listen to listen, the nature of my engagement with it sure has.

Anyways, my Third ranking:

1. Hunter
2. Nylon Smile
3. Plastic
4. We Carry On
5. Machine Gun
6. Deep Water
7. Threads
8. Small
9. Magic Doors
10. Silence
11. The Rip

I might be the only one to feel this album's sort of frontloaded, but my fourth spin in three days attests to how fond of it I've become anyways.