Board 8 > Rank the Tracks 140: Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges - Clube da Esquina

(+) Yeah! (+)

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_2
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_3

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, November 12th at 4:00 PM Central Time; the future week poll will close earlier, when I am putting up the next topic
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle (a new user will be added to the end of the current cycle as long as there are four weeks remaining) - 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).
7c. I have added a tiered vote structure - the least popular album will be removed and its backup votes distributed to the other two entrants.
8. Starting with the next cycle, every four weeks will be a competitive week where those listed choose a single album to face off against others.
9. Skits and tracks under 40 seconds will be excluded from the rankings unless argued otherwise

Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges - Clube da Esquina track list:
1. Tudo Que Voc Podia Ser
2. Cais
3. O Trem Azul
(4. Sadas e Bandeiras N 1)
5. Nuvem Cigana
6. Cravo e Canela
7. Dos Cruces
8. Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo
9. San Vicente
(10. Estrelas)
11. Clube da Esquina
12. Paisagem Da Janela
13. Me Deixa Em Paz
14. Os Povos
15. Sadas e Bandeiras N 2
16. Um Gosto De Sol
17. Pelo Amor De Deus
18. Lilia
19. Trem De Doido
20. Nada Ser Como Antes
21. Ao Que Vai Nascer

Current cycle:
11/12: neonreaper (Run DMC - Raisin' Hell)
11/19: Great_Paul (Simple Plan - Get Your Heart On!)
11/26: jcgamer107
12/3: Snake5555555555/RyoCaliente/BlueCrystalTear
12/10: ChichiriMuyo
12/17: BlueCrystalTear
12/24: rwlh
12/31: NFUN/Fluttershy_Pony/ChichiriMuyo
1/7: NFUN
1/14: StifledSilence
1/21: MaxGalactica
1/28: ZaziGuado/HBJDubs
2/4: Sheep007

Future Cycle:
2/11: HBJDubs
2/18: Fluttershy_Pony
2/25: Steiner
3/3: competitive week
3/10: Snake5555555555
3/17: ZaziGuado
3/24: firefdr
3/31: competitive week
4/7: Johnbobb
4/14: FoolFantastic
4/21: Seanchan
4/28: competitive week
5/5: Giggsalot
5/12: RyoCaliente
5/19: darkx
5/26: competitive week

1: Tudo O Que Voc Podia Ser
2: Paisagem Da Janela
3: O Trem Azul
4: Trem De Doido
5: Nada Ser Como Antes
6: Um Gosto De Sol
7: Cais
8: Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo
9: Ao Que Vai Nascer
10: Lilia
11: Cravo e Canela
12: Clube da Esquina N 2
13: Os Povos
14: Nuvem Cigana
15: Dos Cruces
16: San Vicente
17: Me Deixa Em Paz
18: Sadas e Bandeiras N 2
19: Pelo Amor De Deus

I'm quite happy we get to cover a more obscure, foreign language pick like this album for a change of pace. It's not quite one of my favorites, but it was fun.

Bump

Also...just throwing this out there... What if we had a week or two off at some point during the upcoming holidays? Bit of a recharge/catch up period. If feel like we've had a lot of people (myself included) who have been taking more time than usual lately.

Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo - I liked this one from the very beginning. It started out being right up my alley and stayed there even with the change later in the track.
Tudo Que Voc Podia Ser
O Trem Azul
Um Gosto De Sol
Trem De Doido
Cais
Nuvem Cigana
Cravo e Canela
Clube da Esquina
Lilia
Nada Ser Como Antes
San Vicente
Os Povos
Ao Que Vai Nascer
Dos Cruces
Me Deixa Em Paz
Pelo Amor De Deus
Paisagem Da Janela
Sadas e Bandeiras N 2

I liked my top 8 tracks - some are great!

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
MaxGalactica (35)
FoolFantastic (37)
Blur (40)
Fluttershy_Pony (48)
RyoCaliente (50)
Johnbobb (52)
Sheep007 (56)
HBJDubs (60)
Seanchan (63)

General Album Comments

Seanchan: Haven't heard this in a long time. Surprised how much I still generally remembered of it aside from a few tracks near the end (except for Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), which is memorable). I do want to sit down and pay a bit more attention to the lyrics on my next listen.

Perhaps it's just because we listened to it recently, but it feels like someone smarter than me could make some insightful comparisons between this and Illinois. That album jumped into my head within a few tracks of re-listening to The Suburbs, despite this album being much more traditionally "rock" sounding.

Also, I'm starting to feel like interplay between male and female vocalists is a thing for me. It's not quite as prevalent here as it is with Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal or The xx - xx, but there's something about that dichotomy which seems to please my brain.

Johnbobb: This album is all solid, but for it's length I definitely kinda wish there was more variety to its sound. It sounds like it's intended to be a coming-of-age movie soundtrack, but one that couldn't afford to get Sufjan Stevens. It was also considerably stronger in the first half.

Fluttershy_Pony: I really liked this album. I don't usually revisit albums that we've covered too often (outside of the "Rank the Albums" period where I need to refresh my memories), even the ones that I enjoy, because it can be a bit rough trying to make extra time for it. I need to prepare to listen to whatever our next album is, there's usually an unrelated music topic or two on board that I'm trying to follow, I've got my own music that I want to listen to, and sometimes I do things other than listen to music. So, dropping everything to sneak in one extra listen and rearrange my list is very out of character for me & is a pretty good sign that I'd rank this as one of the top tier albums we've covered.

[Later, after having finished the relisten]

Well, it's definitely a long album. I'd say I really, really like about half of it; I suppose if I were to score every song on the album and average them to give a "fair" ranking, this would *probably* wind up several spaces lower in my Rank the Albums list than it's going to... but seven high scoring songs, for me, more than makes up for any parts of the album that try to drag it down.

Seanchan: I'm still a little surprised that I enjoy this album as much as I do, as it feels a little bit out of my normal wheelhouse. And I say that dating back to originally listening to this album in the wake of it winning a Grammy back over a decade ago. This isn't an "artsy" album per se, but it probably has "more to say" than most other albums I liked back then? I don't know. That still doesn't feel quite right. Maybe it's just that there's almost nothing here I'd consider a "radio hit" and yet this is a very strong album with lots of fun hooks.

Ultimately, for me this is an album that's more than the sum of its parts.I found it difficult to do the ranking and feel like this could have fluctuated pretty wildly if I was doing it at a different time. In very quickly scrolling past the rankings submitted so far, I suspect this one is going to be all over the place with lots of songs in someone's top 5 and someone else's bottom 5.

Thinking about the album as a whole, it feels like the pillars are The Suburbs, Suburban War (espeically with some of the lyrics brought back from that initial track), and Sprawl II. Those are the 3 songs that encapsulate the tone, vibe, and message of the album.

MaxGalactica: I liked this album a lot more than I expected when I previewed the album during the initial vote for this album. Several high quality, catchy songs. The top 6 in my ranking are all songs that I'd definitely go back to in the future (Sprawl II, Ready to Start, Empty Room, Half Light II, The Suburbs, and Modern Man). Great album with great songwriting.

HBJDubs: I didn't really get into Arcade Fire back then but I like this album a lot more now (same goes for Funeral). Nothing in particular stands out but I think that's by design and a good call, everything sounds better together.

Sheep007: Good album, I've heard a few of the songs here before and I think they're actually better in terms of this album than by themselves. It comes together as a cohesive whole and the songs range from excellent to fine enough - I think there's a dropoff in the middle, but it's back to being pretty good when it comes full circle on the theme towards the end. The top three was pretty tight - I think The Suburbs isn't quite as unique as Sprawl II, but it sounds bloody good, and same with Ready to Start.

Blur: I am quite surprised how much I enjoy this record now. I considered it a pretty big disappointment on release, and while I still don't think it reaches the heights that Funeral and Neon Bible do - or at least doesn't reach those heights as consistently - I enjoy it so much more than I used to. At the very least, it's probably Arcade Fire's most poignant album.

Shocked at the diversity of rankings on We Used to Wait! I have always adored that song so much. It was initially hard to pick between that and Sprawl II for the top spot. I've listened to more of We Used to Wait over the years...but that's not enough to give it the edge. Sprawl II is an unimpeachable masterpiece. Inject me with that beautiful synth. Don't think I've ever enjoyed Chassagne's vocals more.

Suburban War rounds out the top three with a bang. The guitar work might be simple, but it's probably my favorite riff on the album. Both Win's lyrics and vocals are the perfect amount of melancholy here, and the last minute of this song is sublime.

Half Light is just sheer beauty. A very ethereal song. While I feel like I could use that word to describe a third of this album, this song does it best.

The next four are about equal levels of greatness and I really struggled to rank them. Deep Blue sounds like a lost Bon Iver song and I'm here for it. Poignant, nostalgic lyrics bolstered by a beautiful piano. Feels ahead of its time with an anti-technology/social media message. Ready to Start is simultaneously catchy and grim and just a tsunami of energy. The Suburbs is an excellent, tone-setting opener. Modern Man has some of my favorite lyrics and the best guitar work on the album.

Half Light II doesn't hit me as hard emotionally as its predecessor, but this upbeat follow-up makes up for it with its catchiness. Another standout for the songwriting.

Empty Room is such a great little jam. Love the ethereal vocals juxtaposed with a blistering guitar and intense drums. Wasted Hours is a lovely little nostalgic ditty that feels like a Kimya Dawson song with richer instrumentation.

11 great tracks and we finally have a quality drop off. City With No Children might be the poppiest song on the record, but it's also one of the most forgettable. Rococo is almost as forgettable, but at least has pretty vocals. The Suburbs (continued) would be a nothing track, but the final lines are such a haunting end to the record that I have to give it a little love. Finally, Month of May has some great energy, but it's ultimately the only song on the album I don't really care for.

The Suburbs track ranking

16. Month of May (Track #10)
Score: 32 (Average Rank: 12.44/16)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#10)
Biggest Detractor(s): Blur (#16)

Fluttershy_Pony: Ehh... I shouldn't be so blunt about it, but the more typical rock sound on this track kinda bores me? Like, it's *fine*, but....

14 (tie). Sprawl I (Flatland) (Track #14)
Score: 36 (Average Rank: 12/16)
Biggest Fan(s): Sheep007 (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, Fluttershy_Pony (#15)

14 (tie). Rococo (Track #4)
Score: 36 (Average Rank: 12/16)
Biggest Fan(s): RyoCaliente (#6)
Biggest Detractor(s): Fluttershy_Pony (#16)

13. Wasted Hours (A Life We Can Live) (Track #11)
Score: 38 (Average Rank: 11.78/16)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic (#16)

12. The Suburbs (continued) (Track #16)
Score: 40 (Average Rank: 11.67/16)
Biggest Fan(s): Fluttershy_Pony (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, HBJDubs (#16)

Fluttershy_Pony: A short, poignant outro. I'm sure there's an argument that the song is too short for me to be giving it such a high placement--I'm honestly considering moving it up to first--but I'm not really bothered by short tracks. It comes in, hits the emotional beats it wants to, and fades away. A perfect end to the album

11. City with No Children (Track #6)
Score: 47 (Average Rank: 10.78/16)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): MaxGalactica (#16)

Fluttershy_Pony: Catchy tune and the second verse has some very pleasing self-doubt. I enjoy this.

10. Half Light I (Track #7)
Score: 63 (Average Rank: 9.11/16)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): RyoCaliente, Sheep007 (#16)

9. Deep Blue (Track #12)
Score: 65 (Average Rank: 8.78/16)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs, Sheep007, Blur (#6)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic (#13)

Sheep007: This one really worked for me. Not sure why.

8. Half Light II (No Celebration) (Track #8)
Score: 71 (Average Rank: 8.22/16)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#14)

Fluttershy_Pony: A song that is close to greatness. I love low tones and this song certainly *toys* with the idea of powerful, rumbling tones but never fully commits to it; there's a fair amount of pain over growing up--"In this town where I was born, I now see through a dead man's eyes" is definitely the type of blunt sadness I go for--but I never quite connect with it the way I should. I do like the song, but it feels like it should be something I love and it never quite reaches that mark.

7. We Used to Wait (Track #13)
Score: 78 (Average Rank: 7.89/16)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs, Blur (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#16)

RyoCaliente: I barely lived in a time of writing letters, and this track still manages to make me nostalgic.

6. Modern Man (Track #3)
Score: 83 (Average Rank: 7.22/16)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Fluttersh_Pony, HBJDubs (#11)

5. Empty Room (Track #5)
Score: 85 (Average Rank: 7.33/16)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic (#14)

Fluttershy_Pony: The other song I wanted to revisit as I've had this stuck in my head for days. "When I'm by myself, I can be myself"... am I that easily manipulated by such basic lyrics? Yes. ....Ehhh, very close call between this and Suburbs (Continued), but I think I'll jump this one up to second place. Honestly, my top three are all really close this time around, I could cycle them in any order and be content with it.

4. Suburban War (Track #9)
Score: 89 (Average Rank: 6.22/16)
Biggest Fan(s): Blur (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#10)

RyoCaliente: Such an incredibly cool sound.

Fluttershy_Pony: One of the songs I most wanted to revisit and move up a few notches. I have a hard time figuring out why I'm drawn to this track, but I am drawn to it regardless.

3. The Suburbs (Track #1)
Score: 109 (Average Rank: 4.67/16)
Biggest Fan(s): RyoCaliente, Seanchan, Sheep007 (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Fluttershy_Pony, HBJDubs (#8)

RyoCaliente: So emotional to me. Everything before is great, but everything after So can you understand... again is one of those top music moments.

Fluttershy_Pony: It's an odd complaint, but the backing music on this track feels a bit too jaunty for me. It is better than I gave it credit for (or, perhaps, my love of "The Suburbs (Continued)" is eroding my ability to judge this track fairly [or, perhaps, both]) and I'm moving it up my ranks a little.

Sheep007: I'm realising I'm kinda a sucker for opening songs in a lot of these albums, but a lot of the good ones have strong starts, and this is probably the best standalone, too.

2. Ready to Start (Track #2)
Score: 132 (Average Rank: 3/16)
Biggest Fan(s): Fluttershy_Pony, HBJDubs (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#6)

Fluttershy_Pony: I'm not sure how it'll hold up, but I think this may actually be my current favorite song of the cycle. There's a lot of competition and it likely depends on what type of mood I'm in that day, but still, great song.

1. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) (Track #15)
Score: 139 (Average Rank: 2.89/16)
Biggest Fan(s): RyoCaliente, FoolFantastic, MaxGalactica, Sheep007, Blur (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb (#8)

RyoCaliente: They heard me singing and they told me stop/Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock/ Absolutely one of my favourite tracks of anything ever.

Fluttershy_Pony: A good song that's dropped a bit from where I had it before. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I'm typically drawn towards darkness, so a blunt line like "I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights" is basically cheating in terms of 'things I'm obligated to give a lot of points for'. Still, it's not quite as catchy as "Empty Rooms" or as emotional as "The Suburbs (Continued)", so I think I want it moved down just a couple pegs.

Very strong, with a nice blend of styles.

Tudo Que Voc Podia Ser
O Trem Azul
Cravo e Canela
Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo
Cais
Paisagem Da Janela
Nada Ser Como Antes
Um Gosto De Sol
Trem De Doido
Nuvem Cigana
Sadas e Bandeiras N 2
Clube da Esquina
Os Povos
San Vicente
Dos Cruces
Ao Que Vai Nascer
Lilia
Pelo Amor De Deus
Me Deixa Em Paz

Initial listen is done, I definitely enjoyed it but have no idea how to rank it

Johnbobb posted...

Initial listen is done, I definitely enjoyed it but have no idea how to rank it

Signing on to this. Didn't get a first listen until yesterday and at over an hour and 21 songs...yeah...the thought crossed my mind that I might skip doing a ranking.

Johnbobb posted...

Initial listen is done, I definitely enjoyed it but have no idea how to rank it

I listened earlier today and uhh this is where I'm currently at. Kinda wish I started earlier in the week, but I've been busy with something IRL (same reason why I've missed most of BOST this week). I'll see if I can pull something together tomorrow but I might not get to it.

1. Tudo que voc podia ser
2. Dos cruces
3. Cravo e canela
4. Um girassol da cor de seu cabelo
5. Me deixa em paz
6. San Vicente
7. O trem azul
8. Os povos
9. Trem de doido
10. Lilia
11. Nada ser como antes
12. Clube da Esquina n 2
13. Cais
14. Um gosto de Sol
15. Ao que vai nascer
16. Nuvem cigana
17. Pelo amor de Deus
18. Paisagem da janela
19. Sadas e bandeiras n 2

Great album with great instrumentation and vocals. Not a single bad song. Ranking was a bit difficult at times, but my top 5 are very clear. Nice to cover some very different albums than the norm here from time to time.

Glad people are enjoying this one! I hope that those who need a little more time can find the opportunity to rank it. And if not, at least you discovered a great album :)

1. Clube da Esquina n 2
2. Trem De Doido
3. O Trem Azul
4. Tudo Que Voc Podia Ser
5. Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo
6. San Vicente
7. Nuvem Cigana
8. Nada Ser Como Antes
9. Lilia
10. Cravo e Canela
11. Paisagem Da Janela
12. Me Deixa Em Paz
13. Cais
14. Dos Cruces
15. Sadas e Bandeiras N 2
16. Um Gosto De Sol
17. Os Povos
18. Pelo Amor De Deus
19. Ao Que Vai Nascer

Glad people are enjoying this one! I hope that those who need a little more time can find the opportunity to rank it. And if not, at least you discovered a wonderful album :)

1. Clube da Esquina n 2
2. Trem De Doido
3. O Trem Azul
4. Tudo Que Voc Podia Ser
5. Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo
6. San Vicente
7. Paisagem Da Janela
8. Nuvem Cigana
9. Lilia
10. Nada Ser Como Antes
11. Cravo e Canela
12. Dos Cruces
13. Me Deixa Em Paz
14. Cais
15. Um Gosto De Sol
16. Pelo Amor De Deus
17. Ao Que Vai Nascer
18. Sadas e Bandeiras N 2
19. Os Povos

(revised my ranking after a quick re-listen!)

My unintentional trend of finding the endings and beginnings of albums far more compelling than the middles continues. I'm glad we covered this album, even if it isn't my thing - I haven't listened to a ton of Brazilian music although I have a few MPB (Brazilian pop) tracks that I adore. This doesn't feel quite as poppy or focused on the instruments as the stuff I do like, and it's hard to click with the lyrics for obvious reasons when you don't know the language. My rankings feel a little arbitrary as a result, and very little wormed its way into my brain even after a couple listens. Still, it's fun to listen to music I would never otherwise run into!

1. O Trem Azul
2. Trem De Doido
3. Tudo o Que Voce Podia Ser
4. Um Girassol Da Cor Do Seu Cabelo
5. Um Gusto De Sol
6. Cravo E Canala
7. Dos Cruces
8. Nuvem Cigana
9. Nada Sera Como Antes
10. Cais
11. Os Povos
12. Ao Que Vai Nascer
13. Me Deixa Em Paz
14. Pelo Amor De Deus
15. Lilia
16. San Vincente
17. Saidas e Bandeiras
18. Paisagam De Janela
19. Club Da Esquina

1. Paisagem Da Janela
2. Tudo Que Voc Podia Ser
3. Trem De Doido
4. Clube da Esquina
5. Nada Ser Como Antes
6. Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo
7. O Trem Azul
8. Cravo e Canela
9. Sadas e Bandeiras N 2
10. Me Deixa Em Paz
11. Nuvem Cigana
12. San Vicente
13. Lilia
14. Pelo Amor De Deus
15. Ao Que Vai Nascer
16. Os Povos
17. Um Gosto De Sol
18. Dos Cruces
19. Cais

I gave it my best effort at a ranking but this one was very tough, as evidenced by how much movement there was between my preliminary and "final" rankings. Overall though I really did enjoy this album despite not speaking any Portuguese. I have to wonder how differently this album hits if you understand the lyrics. For me, it was just letting it wash over me and enjoying the instrumentation.

Sheep007 posted...

My unintentional trend of finding the endings and beginnings of albums far more compelling than the middles continues.

I find myself feeling the same way many times, though maybe not quite with this week's album. In particular, I do love a great "closer". People always talk about great "openers" but "closers" are very underrated (sometimes literally in this series).