My vote is for CDT beyond a shadow of a doubt. But I’m loving the fact that people feel just as strongly about Simple.

I’ve been trying to figure out why Simple doesn’t land for me as JOTY. Simple’s 40 minutes of nonstop, driving energy is super-impressive, and indicative of 4 friends having a lot of fun while also being locked in. But I don’t feel like I ever get to take a breath in Simple. Ideas are introduced and explored in under 2 minutes before moving on to the next thing. Few sections get enough time and patience to become emblematic of the jam as a whole. By contrast, I don’t think a day has gone by over the past 2 weeks where I haven’t whistled or hummed the section of CDT that starts at 12:53.

If this was a movie, Simple would be a 40-minute tracking shot, without any cuts or other punctuation to tell the viewer to breathe. I realize the analogy isn’t perfect, but I do think it’s too much of a good thing. If you think about classic tracking shots (Children of Men; Season 1/Episode 4 of True Detective; the restaurant scene from Goodfellas), you need the shot to end so that you can ask yourself “why does it feel like I’ve been holding my breath for the last however many minutes?”

For me, 12:53-14:48 (or so) of CDT is a perfect section, because it’s been set up over the prior 6 minutes. The dreamy, hazy opening section of the jam suddenly gives way to an absolutely triumphant melodic run, which is given enough time to develop and breathe. The March of the Bubble Beast later on is much the same - a climactic section that serves as a counterpoint to the prior minutes of dissonant deconstruction.

Anyway, I fully appreciate the ardor of the folks who are on Team Simple. And I will give it a few more listens this week to see if I can reach that “magic spin” where it all comes together and makes sense.