he/him
Laura Marling????
✦ 00s Indie Pop ✦ & ✖ 00s Indie Rock ✖ Rates | ✖ Indie Rock Rate Finale! ✖
- Thread starter soratami
- Start date
Laura Marling????
He/Him
The way I am deep back into Alas I Cannot Swim thanks to this rate and my unhealthy obsession with The Captain and the Hourglass
ohnostalgia
Staff member
She/her
St. Vincent can leave anytime… I hope we’ll get an explanation of why that track was chosen in the elimination post..
she/her
Top 5, yes xx and so does Laura Marling.
he/him
Yes to the xx
✦
#33
#68
Jesus Saves, I Spend
St. Vincent
6.529
10 @Oleander | 9.5 @Trouble in Paradise
2 @Epic Chocolat | 2.5 @daninternational
Host's score: 9
In third from last place we have, somehow, one of the most popular indie pop rate artists in the forum. And to make things worse, Jesus Saves, I Spent was actually in last place for a while there, a mess. This song was definitely divisive, receiving both a good share of 8+ scores and also getting negative scores from five different voters. I guess it's a case of "if you get it, you get it".
I don't think St. Vincent (AKA Annie Clarke) really needs an introduction, but anyway, she's a multi-talented singer-songwriter/musician from Texas who has released six studio albums from 2007 onward, with the most recent, Daddy's Home, having been released this May. Jesus Saves, I Spend was the lead single from her debut album Marry Me, which came out in 2007. Now as to why Jesus Saves, I Spend was the song picked to represent her in the rate? Well, there were only four 00s singles to choose from, the other three being Now, Now from the debut, and then Actor Out Of Work and Marrow from sophomore album Actor (2009). Now, Now is cute, but I think it would have done even worse than Jesus Saves, I Spend, and as for the other two, they felt both too rocky for the indie pop rate and too alt for the indie rock rate, so here we are. In retrospect, maybe I should have ignored the singles rules and included Paris Is Burning, AKA the best song in the album, instead, or maybe Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood, a non-single-with-a-music-video from the sophomore, both of which I imagine would have done better, but oh well (please listen to both below if you're not already familiar, definitely two of her best songs). But going back to Jesus Saves, I Spend, I'm surprised it got such a negative reaction? It might not be St. Vincent's absolute best, but it's still a great song with interesting lyrics and a pretty distinctive sound... though I get the "pum pum pum" chants and kid noises might have been a bit too much for some people, but for the song to be compared to aural abomination Autotune Baby (which I most definitely won't be linking) and get eliminated this early? Some of you are doing a bit too much.
@daninternational (2.5) “Not sure this will make me popular, but there's too much going on here. The backing vocal beat, tempo shifts and those kid noises”
@DominoDancing (3) “Cool, the Indie Pop version of Autotune Baby, just what I needed in my life. Seriously, St. Vincent would go on to write MUCH better music.”
@Sprockrooster (4) “For a track not clocking in 4 minutes, this sure feels very long.”
@berserkboi (7) “Marginally better than The Pierces with this track!”
@DJHazey (8.5) “I don’t know what I expected really, but I’m not sure I expected the first St. Vincent song I heard would sound quite like this. The weird sound effect that screams “weird baby cry/giggle” works in strange and mysterious ways, as well as the deadpan chants in the back. What the fuck is going here? Don’t know, but it’s impossible to leave behind.”
✦
#33
#68
Jesus Saves, I Spend
St. Vincent
6.529
10 @Oleander | 9.5 @Trouble in Paradise
2 @Epic Chocolat | 2.5 @daninternational
Host's score: 9
In third from last place we have, somehow, one of the most popular indie pop rate artists in the forum. And to make things worse, Jesus Saves, I Spent was actually in last place for a while there, a mess. This song was definitely divisive, receiving both a good share of 8+ scores and also getting negative scores from five different voters. I guess it's a case of "if you get it, you get it".
I don't think St. Vincent (AKA Annie Clarke) really needs an introduction, but anyway, she's a multi-talented singer-songwriter/musician from Texas who has released six studio albums from 2007 onward, with the most recent, Daddy's Home, having been released this May. Jesus Saves, I Spend was the lead single from her debut album Marry Me, which came out in 2007. Now as to why Jesus Saves, I Spend was the song picked to represent her in the rate? Well, there were only four 00s singles to choose from, the other three being Now, Now from the debut, and then Actor Out Of Work and Marrow from sophomore album Actor (2009). Now, Now is cute, but I think it would have done even worse than Jesus Saves, I Spend, and as for the other two, they felt both too rocky for the indie pop rate and too alt for the indie rock rate, so here we are. In retrospect, maybe I should have ignored the singles rules and included Paris Is Burning, AKA the best song in the album, instead, or maybe Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood, a non-single-with-a-music-video from the sophomore, both of which I imagine would have done better, but oh well (please listen to both below if you're not already familiar, definitely two of her best songs). But going back to Jesus Saves, I Spend, I'm surprised it got such a negative reaction? It might not be St. Vincent's absolute best, but it's still a great song with interesting lyrics and a pretty distinctive sound... though I get the "pum pum pum" chants and kid noises might have been a bit too much for some people, but for the song to be compared to aural abomination Autotune Baby (which I most definitely won't be linking) and get eliminated this early? Some of you are doing a bit too much.
@daninternational (2.5) “Not sure this will make me popular, but there's too much going on here. The backing vocal beat, tempo shifts and those kid noises”
@DominoDancing (3) “Cool, the Indie Pop version of Autotune Baby, just what I needed in my life. Seriously, St. Vincent would go on to write MUCH better music.”
@Sprockrooster (4) “For a track not clocking in 4 minutes, this sure feels very long.”
@berserkboi (7) “Marginally better than The Pierces with this track!”
@DJHazey (8.5) “I don’t know what I expected really, but I’m not sure I expected the first St. Vincent song I heard would sound quite like this. The weird sound effect that screams “weird baby cry/giggle” works in strange and mysterious ways, as well as the deadpan chants in the back. What the fuck is going here? Don’t know, but it’s impossible to leave behind.”
✦
Commentary Guessing Game
Jesus Saves, I Spend
Jesus Saves, I Spend
@slaybellz:
5. “[REDACTED] has worked on so many awesome songs, how is this so boring? Sure, some of the chord changes are of the beaten path, but otherwise this doesn't really offer me a lot.”
@daninternational & @Untouchable Ace:
9. “Kinda iconic, but kinda annoyingly quirky for the hell of it ddd. Also a little too long..”
So none of the songs in the bottom three were among the ones in the guessing game, but the next song being eliminated is. Will someone finally earn a point? Find out later today (and feel free to keep sending your guesses in the meanwhile).
he / him
I guess that we don't, ddd.
I think a lot of people are more into her later albums than her early ones? The debut especially has always seemed really underrated to me, it's one of my favourites. Anyway, I've said this before and I'll say it again: someone needs to run a St. Vincent rate already
He/Him
Glad we are rating the song by its strength rather than whether the act performing it is popular on a versus Rate like this one.
This track was weaker than most of its section so I am glad it is out.
Yippee @ making the title!!
This track was weaker than most of its section so I am glad it is out.
Yippee @ making the title!!
He/Him
It’s not Annie’s best or even best on the album but bottom 3 is tooooo much! Some of y’all heard the opening pum pum pum’s and floored it
You mentioned Jesus Saves, I Spend was the first St. Vincent song you ever heard, but I think you'd very much be here for the Masseduction era, especially these two bangers:
Bananis and Avodacis.
Same, but I'm partly glad that her status didn't affect the song, because, as @soratami mentioned, there are far better choices. For example, "Paris Is Burning" is my favourite song on the album and one of my faves by her in general, but I know it wouldn't really fit the rate concept.
And as someone who really appreciates St. Vincent's output, I feel like even I was a tad generous with an 8 for "Jesus Saves, I Spend". It's a nice song, obviously, but too Christmassy and has some odd effects - no wonder that resulted in some divisive scores. A really odd lead single, too. The middle-8 is the only proper highlight of the song for me, it's quite lovely.
I'll put up a mini spotlight for her later because there are some really great songs from her albums that deserve to be heard. Also because I haven't heard them in quite some time (except "Masseduction" and "Daddy's Home").
I would congratulate you, but your comment, though...