We're starting to get down to the nitty-gritty in this first round here. This is the 8th of 10 matchups. Here are our next contestants:
Slapp Happy - Slapp Happy
This is Avant-garde Proggy Pop or Rock In Opposition band from England and Germany. When I listen to this album, I picture myself sipping absinthe and smoking a cigarette through a jade holder, on the balcony of an apartment on the Champs-Élysées.
The first 11 tracks on this link.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5XTA3Hd1nmV2spLX2q5sU7?si=dCRIgOA_QKCOmO5n2bliSw
Or youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN6UYcG-DMU&list=PLVZbPSE4nfitHPj4zpmqZqgVKaYVcmUhA
vs.
Jono El Grande - Melody of a Muddled Mason
Norwegian nutter throws everything into an album that is mad, off the wall (and at times up it) comical, melodic, dark and playful all the while following a proggish forays into melody and rock.
Available in Bandcamp and other streamings.
https://jonoelgrande.bandcamp.com/album/melody-of-a-muddled-mason
So this round is going to be totally off the wall. We had a joint LP by Slapp Happy and Henry Cow a few years ago - does anyone remember the weird German lady singing about her hat? (I do, because the rat bastards eliminated my rec that year, the eponymous Flash album.) And it sounds like Jono El Grande is going to be as far out there. So we'll see how this round goes, and if my (somewhat tenuous) sanity can stand it.
