Song Search. Download. Listen. Vote!
Round One: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5
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Week 6: The final round
Congratulations to our 5 finalists for making it this far! It's been a tough road, littered with lots of amazing songs, but now things get really serious -- the winner this week will be crowned Song Search champion, an accolade that comes with the added bonus of $5,000. Two runners-up will also be given $1,000 each.
The contest turned out to be a great display of democracy in action, as each week, after reading the expert commentary of our guest bloggers (Simon Reynolds from Blissblog, and Blair from Music For Robots) the voters went against the picks of celebrity judges Rob Thomas, John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, and Cibo Matte's Miho Hatori.
By and large, the voters seemed to favor softer, poppier tracks over heavier fare like Generals & Major's "Every Night's A Bust In NYC," which was ousted in a come-from-behind victory by Bishop Allen's gently bittersweet "Like Castanets." Likewise, Mammoth's darkly challenging "Tenochitlan," was no match for the insistent choruses of the Main Drag's "A Jagged Gorgeous Winter." Masonic, with "End of Summer," and the Caterpillars, with "Motorbike," both scored victories with summery psychedelic indie-rock. And in something of an upset, Hallelujah the Hill's rollicking self-titled tune beat out blogger and celebrity fave Eli Reed's vintage soul slow-burner, "I'll Roll With You."
Almost two months after we began, these five voter's favorites are the only songs left standing. It's up to you to decide which one deserves to the grand prize. So make the best of your last chance to download, listen, and vote!
A note on the voting: Concerns have been raised about whether the poll can be gamed. We will be closely monitoring the voting as this final week progresses, and we will police any irregularities as best we can. So don't try to cheat, unless you're prepared for public humiliation! Besides, it's really not in the spirit of this competition. Trust us: the karmic retribution will be swift and extremely painful.
The finalists are listed below in alphabetical order:
(Click link to listen)
"Like Castanets," Bishop Allen
"Motorbike," the Caterpillars
"Hallelujah the Hills," Hallelujah the Hills
"A Jagged Gorgeous Winter," the Main Drag
"End of Summer," Masonic
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Week 5 winner: Masonic
"End of Summer," Masonic
Made up of brothers Brian, Kevin, and John Mason as well as friends Mike Norfleet and Eryn Gettys, Masonic has been gigging around the Austin, Texas indie-rock since 2001, performing a self-styled mix of "keyboard-rock-meets-noise-pop."
Blair from Music for Robots found "End of Summer" to be a solid hit of "nice straight-up indie pop, period."
What Miho Hatori said: Our final celebrity judge is Cibo Matto singer and songwriter Miho Hatori, and she's very enthusiastically picked between this week's two contestants.
"I like 'Getaway Car,' from Grey Revell!!! It's interesting and fun!! Nice groove and good drum sound. I like that he is using effects a lot, not being afraid of them, but in a good way. He has a unique style and good melody. I vote for him!"
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Week 4: Bishop Allen
(Click song title to listen or download)
"Like Castanets," Bishop Allen
Brooklyn's Bishop Allen have been plying the boards of the country's rock clubs for the better part of four years; "Like Castanets" was the September installment of their ambitious plan to record and release a four-song EP for every month of the year.
Music for Robot's Blair thought the song was "sweet, simple sounding pop-stuff on first listen -- the more time I spend with the music the more I enjoy it, though, and the more attention I pay to the layers and layers of instrumentation they're using."
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Week 3 winner: The Main Drag
(Click song title to listen or download)
"A Jagged Gorgeous Winter," the Main Drag
The Main Drag is the collaboration of Boston-area musician/producer/music writer Adam Arrigo and members of the Blanks. Arrigo says, "Most everything I put into my recordings comes from organic material that I've recorded, morphed and chopped up in my computer. It sounds like I should be making avant-garde electonica, but my first love has always been pop music." Our go-to blogger, Blair from Music for Robots, says, "Love the piston-like drums and chorus-singalong vocals, plus the horns! So very good -- makes me want to party (no, not joking either -- this could really be the most fun song on here)."
What John Darnielle said: This week's celebrity guest judge is Mountain Goats auteur and Last Plane to Jakarta blogger John Darnielle. He has sized up the Main Drag's "A Jagged Gorgeous Winter" and "Tenochitlan" from the Mammoth and settled on a favorite.
"While I want to point out that 'A Jagged Gorgeous Winter' is a genuinely killer song title, it was the Mammoth's 'Tenochitlan' that really grabbed me: such a murky, swampy little downtempo number. Vocally, there's a little bit of early David Byrne going, which is cool, but the shuffling drums and wandering guitar and Bubbling Noises of Indeterminate Origin (steel drum? treated strings?) reminded me of Souled American, and anything that reminds me of Souled American heads immediately over to the 'win' column. It's brave to make music like this -- stuff that doesn't try to grab the listener by the lapels but sort of sits in the corner playing with its toys in the shadow. The Main Drag have a lot going for them, but they were up against something really different and unusual here!"
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Week 2 winner: Hallelujah the Hills
(Click song title to listen or download)
"Hallelujah the Hills," Hallelujah the Hills
Hallelujah the Hills is a Boston band that recently formed out of the ashes of the Stairs (who were nearly also Song Search contenders). Of their crackling eponymous entry, Blair said, "Weird! Not bad -- very '90s, i.e., Flogging Molly or similar."
What Chris Walla said: Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla trains his musical eye on this week's Song Search finalists and, after careful consideration of both Eli Reed's "I'll Roll With You" and "Hallelujah the Hills" by Hallelujah the Hills, has settled on his pick.
"My money is on 'I'll Roll With You.' It's a testament to the beautiful thing that can happen when a group is both talented and studied: The Ahmet-era Atlantic R&B idioms are right on; the recording is spectacularly live (and mono); the key change is seamless; Eli's vocal is both relaxed and convincing; and, most important, the song is awesome."
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Week 1 winner: the Caterpillars
(Click song title to listen or download)
"Motorbike," the Caterpillars
The Caterpillars, hailing from somewhere in the woods outside of New York City, are a duo made up of Melanie Rock and Greg Talenfeld, who produced albums by the John Spencer Blues Explosion, Pavement and the French Kicks. Reynolds said, "I liked the sweetly wistful quality of the song and the vocal... a twilight, fading-of-the-day feel that really sets in towards the end of the track. It reminded me a tiny bit of the Young Marble Giants -- self-contained, delicate, subtle, a gentle sadness."
What Rob Thomas said:
Rocker Rob Thomas is our first Song Search celebrity judge this week, weighing in on Colorform's "Green and White Stripes" and "Motorbike" by the Caterpillars. His pick?
"After listening to these two really great songs, I've chosen 'Green and White Stripes' by Colorforms. For me, I judge every song by the same scale, and that is: 'Does it take me somewhere?' This song has all of the elements that I love in Beth Orton and Cat Power. I'm supposed to be judging the song, but it's hard to not be taken in by the dreamy production and the singer's oh-so-engaging voice. If I were to run across this song on iTunes, I would certainly buy the album. Yeah Colorforms!"
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About Song Search:
Remember the last time you came upon a song you hadn't heard of before, a catchy tune that entered your head and refused to leave? The last time a fresh new sound seemed to open up the world just a little bit more? That's what Song Search is trying to find -- we want to unearth the greatest song you've never heard.
We need your help -- and, in this scenario, everyone's a winner. Listeners get to hear great new music; unsigned artists get to reach new fans and compete to win fame, glory and a $5,000 grand prize, or one of two $1,000 second prizes.
Here's how it works: A panel of Salon's critics and some of the best music bloggers have helped us whittle the hundreds of hopefuls down to 10. Starting Oct. 30, we'll match two new songs on Audiofile every Monday morning and have you voting online for the winner. We'll also have celebrity judges weigh in each week with their picks, including Rob Thomas, Chris Walla and other surprise guests. In the final week (starting Dec. 4), the five winners from Round 1 will face each other in a victor-takes-all round of online voting, with the champion taking home the Song Search crown, the $5,000 first prize and untold glory and adoration.
So download, listen and vote!
