+6
Round 8
1. Black Mountain - Defector
(Super cool vibe. Spark a fattie and stare at the ceiling. Pretty sure I've stumbled across this band before, but whatever tracks I listened to in the past certainly didn't grab me like this one. Might be my favorite first-time listen of the tournament thus far.)
2. Charley Crockett - The Poplar Tree
(I love Crockett's voice and his old-school sound, but for the most part I prefer him when he's singing other people's songs. This is one of the better original tunes I've heard from him with its Marty Robbins-like, 50's-western-plot-encapsulated-in-a-3-minute-song type storytelling, which is an area that country excels at more than any other genre.)
3. Megaherz - Zombieland
(Catchy little headbanger. It seems this tournament has featured fewer metal songs than usual, so I welcome the heaviness.)
4. Scrapper Blackwell - Shady Lane
(Authentic blues are sorely underrepresented in these tournaments. Hard not to wear a stank face as he plucks away.)
5. Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon
(Not one of my favorite Ozzy tracks, but a fun October song nonetheless.)
6. Michael Jackson ft. Santana - Whatever Happens
(Don't think I've ever heard this before despite being a fan of both artists. Both seem a bit on cruise control, and I wish the song wasn't so repetitive, but it's still cool hearing MJ do his thing over Santana's chords.)
7. Killing Joke - Love Like Blood
(Listening to this on the heels of "Zombieland" did it no favors. That song was Tallahassee. This song is Columbus.)
8. The 3rd and the Mortal - Salva Me
(Ambient and experimental, and I like small pockets within the song, but overall not really feeling it -- especially the vocals.)
9. Yapoos - Anti Ennui
(Too much for my brain this early in the morning.)
10. All Saints - Pure Shores
(Sounds too much like beaches and sunshine and happiness and I'm more of a shadowy forest of moroseness.)
11. Neil Diamond - Glory Road
(Zzzzzz . . .)
Sitting out the weekend, but I'll be back for round 10.