Lurker > Raetsel_Lapin

Okay, trying the update again:

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REMAINING SONG COUNT

Bane: 14*/38 Remaining
BlackDra90n: 10/30 Remaining
cakophon: 7/20 Remaining
CJones: 4/18 Remaining
CPU: 9/30 Remaining
DoctorJimmy: 11/24 Remaining
Dragon66116: 8/12 Remaining
handsomeboy: 16/31 Remaining
Haste: 4/31 Remaining
hotdogturtle: 4/14 Remaining
Jesse_Custer: 14/29 Remaining
kateee: 12/21 Remaining
Kopazzynth: 2/21 Remaining
Lasa: 2/14 Remaining
Mega Mana: 17/38 Remaining
Metalmind: 15/25 Remaining
Murphiroth: 8/32 Remaining
NBIceman: 12/22 Remaining
NFUN: 10/31 Remaining
paulg: 13/52 Remaining
Player_0: 11/33 Remaining
Raka: 19/31 Remaining
rwlh: 9/24 Remaining
sergio: 2/13 Remaining
Snake: 12/32 Remaining
TheArkOfTurus: 7/17 Remaining
TunnelScene: 10/27 Remaining
UF8: 16/30 Remaining
Xtlm: 7/13 Remaining
ZaziGuado: 15/28 Remaining

*Sorry Bro was uneliminated.

----------------------

Raka has the most songs remaining at 19, with Mega Mana right behind with 17.

===============

Percent Remaining:

Raka: 61.29%
Metalmind: 60%
kateee: 57.14%
NBIceman: 54.55%
Xtlm: 53.85%
Zazi: 53.57%
UF8: 53.33%
handsomeboy: 51.61%
Jesse Custer: 48.28%
DoctorJimmy: 45.83%
Mega Mana: 44.74%
Ark: 41.18%
rwlh: 37.5%
Snake: 37.5%
TunnelScene: 37.04%
Bane: 36.84%
cakophon: 35%
BlackDra90n: 33.33%
Player 0: 33.33%
NFUN: 32.26%
CPU: 30%
hotdogturtle: 28.57%
Murphiroth: 25%
paulg: 25%
CJones: 22.22%
sergio: 15.38%
Lasa: 14.29%
Haste: 12.9%
Kopazzynth: 9.52%

===============

Surprisingly, eight players still have over half of their songs remaining (two of which are at or above 60%)! Perhaps unsurprisingly, Raka has the high marks on this version of the update as well. Still a lot of songs to go though and it only takes one song to win.

And four more to actually reach the top 300 for real this time:

==============================

#304: Soshi Takeda - Floating Mountains (6:01):
https://youtu.be/hhsnr5aTVO8

Nominator: Snake [12/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 65.00
Revised Score: 66.59
Final Score: 63.062 [Upgraded to 63.192] [Upgraded to 66.15]

(First Reaction: An incredibly nice instrumental that feels a bit like a loading or waiting screen. You know in Mario Kart 8 how, if you join a race in progress, you just watch everyone else for a minute? This feels like the type of pleasant waiting music that would be playing as you quietly wait to get into a match. I'm sure it's blasphemous to compare a song like this to background music, but I can't really control where my mind wanders & it's incredibly nice & i like it, so nyah.)

!A bit long, but it's nice to relax with.

[Final Thoughts: I still like the song, but the length is a bit much here. Not a lot happens musically, so it feels like it was extended just for the sake of being extended, which can be a bit of a hard sell when I have to listen to it repeatedly. Still, there's a very nice dreamy & tranquil feel to it, so I do like this.]

[Later: Minor boost.]

[Later, that same day: And a more substantial boost. I was going to eliminate this, but I changed my mind.]

==============================

-There's some 4s in this house-

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#303: Luniz - I Got 5 on It (4:14):
https://youtu.be/Dsct-TZ26Pw

Nominator: Metalmind [15/25 Remaining]

Initial Score: 70.00
Revised Score: 66.25
Final Score: 66.25

(First Reaction: Ah, is this where that saying came from? I feel like I've heard the song referenced a lot back when Da Party (Austin Creed/Xavier Woods, Adam Cole, Tyler Breeze, and Cesaro) were playing their weekly Uno games, but never felt like searching to find out what the reference was about. Sadly, the YouTube channel is basically dead now after WWE fired damn near everyone associated with it & refuses to pay Creed for all the work he put into it... but I digress. If you let me start venting about the current state of the WWE, this writeup will never end.

So, the song: Is good! I've mentioned how I don't care about drugs enough in the past, so there's not a lot to glomp onto from the lyrics... but it's got a good beat, a slow & smooth vibe that I dig, and it's easy to listen to & appreciate. Feels like an easy 70 point song--not something I love, but definitely a solid tier above the songs that I just like.)

!The UpUpDownDown channel is back up and doing fairly well again! They even managed to bring Breeze back. ...Not relevant, I know, but I'm happy.

Song still has a good sound and vibe to it, but I think I slightly overvalued it originally just because it gave me extra context for some old videos I loved.

[Final Thoughts: It's not a weekly thing and not part of Woods' channel anymore, but Da Party is back playing Uno on Twitch occasionally! How things have changed over the past year. On topic, I should say that this is the music video of the song which is shorter and censored; doesn't really make a difference, but still, the type of difference that should be clarrified somewhere. Either way, this is a rap song with a good groove to it; I like it.]

[Later: *looks at WWE's current state* ...Well. It is... kinda weird how every single time this song comes up to be listened, something has radically changed the entire company. I know it's coincidental, but I almost want to delay this elimination in hopes that something will change again because WWE's current state is... bad. This is very, very bad.

Back on topic, I do like this song.]

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-the eternal choice between an overly extended version of a song with high sound quality or a brief version of it with terrible quality-

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#302: BT - Suddenly (Album Version) (8:06):
https://youtu.be/nR38z2Eb3hM

Nominator: hotdogturtle [4/14 Remaining]

Initial Score: 74.69
Revised Score: 74.69
Final Score: 66.297933

(First Reaction: I think I might want to hear more music by him. His voice really, really appeals to me--with the right song, he'd be an easy contender for first place. I don't think this track is quite it, I'm not as into his voice when he goes for the high notes, but there's still a lot to love here & it's close to being absolutely amazing.)

!This song is oddly enchanting.

[Final Thoughts: Wow, these lyrics just repeat on an endless loop, don't they? I'm kinda... kinda really wanting this song to stop several minutes sooner than it actually does. His voice is entrancing, the backing music is enchanting, I kinda dig the way the song freak out during the breakdown, this has a lot of points going for it... but it feels like he said "And I love it when you fall" a hundred times in a row. I'm still going to say I like this quite a bit, but uhh... I could really use some more lyrics later on in this track because this borders on being a slog to make it through at times, as much as I kinda love most of it.]

[Later: I think I want to try to hear more of his work later because I do quite like what is here. It's just a bit much. (It's a shame the audio quality on the music video is very subpar because halving the runtime would be nice, if it didn't also make everything sound so bland.).]

============================

-and a very significant jump in points because another massive block of songs got moved up-

========================

#301: Every Time I Die - People Verses (3:33):
https://open.spotify.com/track/1ky1EDkwmYtN5GpgVCYGVd?si=aa927dcb3de14abb

Nominator: Bane [14*/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 56.14
Final Score: 60.00 [Upgraded to 61.993] [Upgraded to 63.12] [Upgraded to 67.12]

(First Reaction: This song feels like it belongs on the first half of the album. This call for righteous anger and to stop fighting fair certainly fits the album's themes, but we'd largely been moving away from such direct calls to action on the second half of the album, It's not a bad thing for things to circle back to where they started, but I think placing this song before "Thing With Feathers" would make the album feel more cohesive.

That being said, I still like the song and I'm adding it to the clump. I think this is the album with the most songs in the clump, which is an interesting statistic (even if it is potentially setting Bane up to lose a bunch of songs that all managed to tie with each other).)

!It's so weird how the vast majority of First Reactions are completly irrelevant, but then you get to songs like this where I talk about 'album cohesion' as though that were something I ever actually noticed or cared about.

I do still generally like this song. It's got a fair amount of clean vocals to it and there's nothing wrong with it, but in retrospect there are several other tracks on the album that I like more & I'm not as into metal at the time I'm doing the second part of the ranking so I feel my enjoyment is a few points less than the original score.

[Final Thoughts: Moving this back up where it came from. Will worry about sorting out the new Neo Clump of 60 point songs later.]

[Later: "What we fail to do defines who we are". Well, that line is hitting harder than usual for reasons. Going to add one extra point for the moment, revisit this on a later day.]

[Later: I think I want to add a bit more to the score here.]

[Later: Four extra points. Mostly for that one line, but I want to hear what I want to hear.]

========================

Double drops for Ark & NBIceman for the next four songs:

============================

#308: The Dear Hunter - The Most Cursed of Hands / Who Am I (6:42):
https://open.spotify.com/track/66Y8otWil998QC8FCDDXAa?si=87f7e6cc91184d27

Nominator: NBIceman [13/22 Remaining]

Initial Score: 66.01
Revised Score: 66.66
Final Score: 66.02

(First Reaction: A song in which we ditch the current story to tell a short story about gambling with the devil, as an allegory or whatever. *shrugs* Hey, more albums should randomly throw in a song about Satan in the middle of their stories, so I'm cool with this.)

!A pretty neat parable and I'm always up for songs featuring Satan.

[Final Thoughts: Hail Satan.]

============================

-not nearly enough Satan in this topic-

========================

#307: Riverside - Egoist Hedonist (8:56):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKlPRzemdIY

Nominator: Ark [8/17 Remaining]

Initial Score: 64.14
Revised Score: 70.00
Final Score: 66.047

(First Reaction: The instrumental outro goes on a bit too long and I don't think the three parts were equal (I > III >> II), but it was generally a good song.)

!I make jokes about how often I use the word "interesting" way too often, but here we go again; this song is interesting enough to get moved up a tier.

[Final Thoughts: The second section is still by far the best and carrying the song.

It's not right
It's not fair
When I am forced to live your life
It's not right
Just let me live without your pain

Not exactly the most complicated lines, but they are the type of lines that I'm very drawn to. Unfortunately, those lines are kinda only present in one of the song's three movements, so I think this fits in better as a mid-to-high 60 point song instead of a 70 point one.]

========================

-

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#306: Anathema - One Last Goodbye (5:23):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhg1KGezkCc

Nominator: Ark [7/17 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.00
Revised Score: ?.? [Later set to 60.00 so it can actually be in the ranking.]
Final Score: 65.09 [Upgraded to 66.06]

[REDACTED, oh god, so much redacted text]

Well, no other song at this topic has had so long of a writeup be completely redacted. Let's just say I have family issues to work through. I think this may be the only song to officially have question marks as its score because said family issues cause this track's score to go absolutely berserk; one of those things that is simultaneously first, last, completely neutral, and everywhere inbetween. Even more so than that Spring Awakening song from a topic or two ago (which I have since decided I actually really like).

For obvious reasons, I'm not going to go into any deeply personal stories and I can't reflect on this song without going into the feelings and flashbacks, so this writeup will say less than nothing. Either way, due to the overwhelming emotions, this is something that is virtually impossible to rank and I have no idea what I'm going to do with it.

[Third Listen, because the song needs to have *A* score on the spreadsheet: Let's put the very strong emotional song into the "I like this" Neo Clump. That feels like an acceptable placement, or at least as acceptable as a song this volatile is going to get at this stage.]

[Final Thoughts: Moving this song further up the list, though I am... disinclined to speak about the memories.]

[Later: Adding one point to the score.]

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-

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#305: The Dear Hunter - The Fire (Remains) (5:26):
https://open.spotify.com/track/0jIHgUfojekFEuGobepy4H?si=aa05a584b797430d

Nominator: NBIceman [12/22 Remaining]

Initial Score: 64.56
Revised Score: 66.09
Final Score: 66.09

(First Reaction: It's a great song, but somehow all I can imagine are more terrible Simpsons Memes

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/6/5/AAakf6AAEFE1.jpg

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/6/6/AAakf6AAEFE2.jpg

!As usual with this album, this is a good song but I'm very much enjoying it for the wrong reasons.

[Final Thoughts: I may be broken & completely ruining the songs, but I'm enjoying myself and that's really all that matters. To me. I also like the sounds of the fire & the angry lynch mob at the end of the track.]

[Later: Soo.... it's blasphemy, but there's going to be quite a few Simpsons memes in response to this album. I'm... well, not sorry exactly, as apologizing implies that I would undo the things that I have done and I am very much still going to do this. Still, I at least feel some level of regret that I don't take many of the songs as seriously as they should be.]

============================

ZaziGuado posted...

I find it interesting that you view the chorus as being lyrics. I've only ever thought of the chorus as an instrumental chorus with her voice just acting as another instrument.

Well, I mean, a focus on non-lyric vocalizations doesn't usually work well for me either... again, not something I actively hate and you can find plenty of examples of high scoring songs that feature them, but they tend to be an easy target.

IhatethisCPU posted...

I was the most unsure... other than with I'll Pretend

I thought Lonely was the one you expected to do the best? Though thinking back, I suppose you just said you were most interested in it or something...

-

Four songs to start the morning, featuring a group of songs that were given a small boost in score to make it to this exact point! Which, back when I thought we were reaching a milestone, meant a lot... now it's just kinda sad and awkward...

-

========================

#312: Bjork - Cover Me (2:06):
https://open.spotify.com/track/2DjBfhvS7yRM2l1sk0Jnti?si=4b1c4ce231f14e60

Nominator: Bane [15*/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 67.02
Revised Score: 61.04
Final Score: 64.03 [Upgraded to 66.005]

(First Reaction: A short, quiet, and mysterious song. It feels like the start of an adventure, as though we are venturing deeper into a seaside cave and awaken that which should never be awoken. What impossible horrors await in the depths of these caverns and why am I following her siren call knowing that this can only end in our deaths?? It's all very unusual and intriguing, and feels like it came from a completely different album.)

!The song remains as intriguing and mysterious as ever, though I think I had it ranked a bit too highly at first.

[Final Thoughts: Moved the song too far down; averaging the two scores might give a better value?]

[Later: Putting this a bit closer to the Initial Score.]

========================

-

============================

#311: Grimes - World Princess part II (5:05):
https://open.spotify.com/track/7v9t1j6m5nYYGG1etmAD12?si=a330fdd40da342eb

Nominator: Player_0 [11/33 Remaining]

Initial Score: 57.44
Revised Score: 58.22
Final Score: 62.98 [Upgraded to 65.793] [Upgraded to 66.007]

(First Reaction: I wish the song ended sooner. There's a very long stretch after the last verse and before the outro where it feels like the song is just going on for the sake of going on; this is unfortunate because I like the rest of the song and the outro, but kinda space out a bit during that long gap.)

!I don't know what past me was complaining about, that break is pretty short... song's neat enough. I like the slow fade to darkness during the outro.

[Final Thoughts; Well, I'm oddly vibing with this song tonight, so up a tier it goes.]

[Later: Adding a few more points to this one.]

============================

-

====================

#310: Michael Sambello - Maniac (4:04):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GCNUeTFSbA

Nominator: Handsomeboy [16/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.64
Revised Score: 60.00
Final Score: 60.00 [Upgraded to 60.00000004] [Upgraded to 66.00000004] [Upgraded to 66.0091]

(First Reaction: Not a bad song, but one that's been overplayed to heck and back & which I never fully got the appeal of. There's some appealing lines, especially in the second verse--"On the ice-blue line of insanity" stands out as particularly interesting--but it's unlikely that the song is suddenly going to click for me after all these years.)

I imagine everyone's familiar with this song's history, how it started off as being about a serial killer before being rewritten to actually fit into Flashdance? ...Well if not, you are now, that's basically the entire story. I was going to kill some time by repeating the tale, but between most people knowing it & the story being so brief, that did not take up nearly as much space as I was hoping it would.

Either way... it's an iconic 80's dance song and I enjoy 80's pop music, so yeah, I like this. I undervalued it at first because I was a bit tired of how overplayed it was, but honestly, I still enjoy it. There's not a lot here to analyze lyrically and I'm not likely to have any sudden revelations about the song's quality, but it's an enjoyable time and I can safely move it up a tier.

[Final Thoughts: I like it. It's overplayed, but it's a fine example of an era of pop music that I enjoy & an enjoyable way to kill a few minutes.]

[Later: Catchy and iconic enough that I think I will give it that little fraction of a point to put it above the Neo Clump.]

[Later:

In the real-time world no one sees her at all
They all say she's crazy

It is.... close to resonating. After all, I can only exist in un-real worlds and am fairly crazy. Though I hate dancing.

...Still, this song does warrant further research. Let's try going up to 66 points for a while, as it seems that this song may "suddenly click for me after all these years".]

[Later: I am enjoying this song more than i ever thought possible.]

====================

-

================

#309: Ario - Imago [4:35]:
https://ariomusic.bandcamp.com/track/imago

Nominator: Kopazzynth [2/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 62.00
Final Score: 64.00 [Upgraded to 66.00000005] [Upgraded to 66.0092]

(First Reaction: The intro feels like the entrance to some evil sci-fi alien church, which is a fascinating and new musical landscape to explore... the song doesn't really go in that direction once it picks up, giving way to more "space shmup adventure" and "hopeful because this is a fairly easy stage and you shouldn't be too stressed" type vibes. I like it.)

!I still like the intro part the best, but this is a pretty neat sound all the way through.

[Final Thoughts: Some fun musical environments to picture in this track. Very space-y, but also foreboding & hopeful & introspective & shooty. Very neat!

Also, I decided to check the following track (Thirdly Serious) and that's a rare example of a pulsing beat done well, so I think I may actually like this artist.]

[Later: Going to add a couple extra points to this one; I'm more into it than usual for some reason.]

================

...Okay, let's just say there were a lot of errors all over the place and there are 312 songs left.

----------------------

REMAINING SONG COUNT

Bane: 16*/38 Remaining
BlackDra90n: 10/30 Remaining
cakophon: 7/20 Remaining
CJones: 4/18 Remaining
CPU: 9/30 Remaining
DoctorJimmy: 11/24 Remaining
Dragon66116: 8/12 Remaining
handsomeboy: 17/31 Remaining
Haste: 4/31 Remaining
hotdogturtle: 5/14 Remaining
Jesse_Custer: 14/29 Remaining
kateee: 12/21 Remaining
Kopazzynth: 3/21 Remaining
Lasa: 2/14 Remaining
Mega Mana: 17/38 Remaining
Metalmind: 16/25 Remaining
Murphiroth: 8/32 Remaining
NBIceman: 14/22 Remaining
NFUN: 10/31 Remaining
paulg: 13/52 Remaining
Player_0: 12/33 Remaining
Raka: 19/31 Remaining
rwlh: 9/24 Remaining
sergio: 2/13 Remaining
Snake: 13/32 Remaining
TheArkOfTurus: 9/17 Remaining
TunnelScene: 10/27 Remaining
UF8: 16/30 Remaining
Xtlm: 7/13 Remaining
ZaziGuado: 15/28 Remaining

*Sorry Bro was un-eliminated.

----------------------

I haven't found all the errors, but the list goes from #434 to #432 without any song being in 433rd place. A few "remaining song" counts were off, but correcting those still leaves me at 312 remaining, so I'm a bit lost.

...but the remaining count says 312 & the Public Song List says there are 312 songs that haven't had scores posted, so that seems to be accurate? So, false alarm, we're not actually at the top 300 and apparently the placement numbers are very, very far off.

============================

#302: Yelle - Que veux-tu (3:54):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xXvEqo3DKk&list=PLR2ATVrSGTX91hJXNoWIHovzSIqVNBM8u&index=2

Nominator: hotdogturtle [5/14 Remaining]

Initial Score: 62.24
Revised Score: 56.27
Final Score: 59.333 [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 61.965] [Upgraded to 65.73]

(First Reaction: I really like the chorus on this track, it's bouncy & fun (musically, not so much with the lyrics) but the verses feel like they're a few steps behind musically.)

!Not as drawn to the chorus this time around, though it is still fairly bouncy.

[Final Thoughts: I'm not particularly interested in the story told by the lyrics, though I have nothing against them either. Some of the translations of one of the lines are kinda funny:

I'd really love to say to you "I love you" without consonant or vowel
Things would happen by themselves, I have the flame and the laziness

Which is oddly relatable. I too am very passionate and lazy. But either way... this has a highly enjoyable energy to it, like a dance-y pop song done right. I don't know that I quite want it at that 60 point level, but it's pretty good and very close to it at least.]

[Later: Minor boost to Neo Clump. That line is pretty great.]

[Later: Is that line relatable enough to get an extra point? ...Yes.]

[Later: Is it worth several extra points? ...Yes.]

============================

-and we reach the 66 point mark here, at #301:-

============================

#301: Coeur de Pirate - Combustible (3:30):
https://open.spotify.com/track/6xflVTxAELGne4B7X2thlv?si=RdU-L_a4TZepAgUpxge1lQ

Nominator: Jesse Custer [14/29 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.3? (treated as 53.35)
Revised Score: 55.55
Final Score: 55.55 [Upgraded to 57.292] [Upgraded to 58.292] [Upgraded to 60.75] [Upgraded to 66.004]

(First Reaction:

But I warned you: monsters are hiding
Inside my heart thats changing
But free-spirited, I secretly pray
That my alter ego doesnt show itself

...

And when will you stop?
You cant change me, a broken being

Non-human metaphor, check ; alternate personas, check ; blunt sadness, check. Well, I can't say this song isn't the literal definition of what I've asked for, Still, somehow, I'm not entirely sold on the song itself.. I'm missing a bit of a dark edge to her voice or the instruments to sell the misery. I don't really feel the inner torment in the way I'd like to; I do kinda like the song anyway, but it's missing the darkness to jump to the top of the charts.

The song feels very "53.3?" in that I'm sure I want to give the first three digits, but would be rather content putting anything 0-9 as the last digit. But that uncertainty would break my formatting, so we'll call it down the middle and enter a 5 on all official records.)

I still feel the same way as before. The lyrics are exactly what I want and her performance is good, but her voice feels too pure and bright for a broken monster. It keeps me from forming a true connection to the song and leaves it as something that's enjoyable and very close to being what I want, but not quite reaching its full potential. Which is unfortunate because I do like her music, just not as much on this specific track.

[Final Thoughts: Too upbeat and poppy for the way the lyrics make me feel, but there's some great lyrics here & I generally like her music, so I kinda like this.]

[Later: Let's move this one up a bit.]

[Later Still: Eh, let's add one extra point exactly.]

[Later: I think I like this. Going to move this one up a tier as well.[

[Later: This is another of those songs that starts winning me over with how many times I listen to it as I refuse to cut it. Adding another six points.]

============================

Standings update soon.

Hanabie. song has been added to the post-ranking list, thank you!

And the final five songs that just miss the top 300 (barring anything else being retroactively moved up), though I'll likely need two posts to fit them all in:

====================

#305: Made in Heights - Ghosts (3:30):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX9SEkpJ-VQ

Nominator: ZaziGuado [15/28 Remaining]

Initial Score: 54.06
Revised Score: 59.077
Final Score: 57.26 [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 65.50] [Upgraded to 65.525]

(First Reaction: Fantastic verses & tedious choruses.

Wow, only way to feel is wow
Wow, wow, wow, wow
Wow, wow, wow, wow
Ow, ow, ow
Ow, ow, ow
Ow, ow, ow
Ow, ow, ow
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey

That stretch of the song is actively painful to endure and not in a fun way. I really like the verses enough that my final opinion of the song might be positive, but... well, my hatred of repetition has been stated enough times, I suppose.)

This song is carried by the instrumentation in the verses. There are a lot of those low tones throughout the verses that I really love and her wispy singing voice is pleasing. I'm learning to tolerate the choruses a bit more since the repetition isn't as bad when I'm aware it's coming up, but I can't honestly say I like them. It makes it difficult for me to move the song up a tier because, while there are aspects I love, there's definitely a fair amount of the song that I don't like which is holding it back. Still... generally a good song and I appreciate people nominating songs with parts that I love even if the whole doesn't live up to its full potential.

[Final Thoughts: Yeah, I kinda like this and the choruses are definitely not bad once I'm properly prepared for what they're doing.]

[Later: Let's go ahead and move this back up where it was for a minute.

...nah, let's just put this into the Neo Clump. I think I can say I like this now.]

[Later: Song is starting to grow on me these days. Going to try moving it up to 65 points.]

[Later: Minor boost to put it over the Bird.]

====================

-

============================

#304: Electric Wizard - Vinum Sabbathi (3:05):
https://youtu.be/vuONl02N-Kw

Nominator: Kateee [12/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 54.50
Revised Score: 62.11
Final Score: 65.497 [ [Upgraded to 65.53]

(First Reaction: A hard track to score. The droning certainly conveys the feeling of being tormented by the ancient ones and I like the dark, Lovecraftian feel to everything, but... well... the experience isn't exactly something I'd call enjoyable, since enjoyment is not something they were aiming for with this track. It's an experience I'll remember and appreciate, but not likely to be something I come back to on a regular basis.)

Fun Fact; This is the first song I'm rating after taking time off to recover! This is certainly an interesting song to have as my reintroduction to this topic... quite dark and intense, but in a way that's quite fun and enjoyable. I'm not sure I'd like an entire album of this type of music, but as a standalone track, it offers me the darkness I like in a package that is at the right level of intensity... heavy enough to convey the idea of torment, without actually turning into torture itself. Good song choice here.

[Final Thoughts: I like this.]

[Later: A minor boost. Not enough to delay the elimination even for a day, but it moves it above a few other songs. I like the final note of the song which is this buzzing tone that lingers in the air; buzzing is nice.]

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#303: Two-Mix - White Reflection (4:40):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNSOcPjL-Gw

Nominator: Handsomeboy [17/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 63.44
Revised Score: 63.44
Final Score: 65.605

(First Reaction: Ooh, from the Endless Waltz soundtrack. I actually don't have much experience with the anime version of Endless Waltz, oddly enough. I didn't get around to watching it until years after the TV series had finished airing--I loved Gundam Wing at the time, but I felt the ending wrapped things up nicely enough that I didn't particularly yearn for a continuation & I had more interesting things to do at the time it came out, so it just wasn't something I got around to. I eventually wound up renting the DVD from Netflix, back when they were exclusively sending films through the mail. Eesh, has it really been that long?

...Aaaanywho, I mainly know the song from instrumental versions in the Super Robot Wars series. A lot of Gundam Wing's appearances in the series are set in the Endless Waltz or post-Endless Waltz timelines; it's easier to adapt the short film to fit into any story & Wing Zero Custom is awesome, so it's actually rare for the TV series to get any love. (If you need a strategy RPG version of the TV series, please look into "SD Gundam G Generation: Cross Rays", now available worldwide on Steam!). And whenever Endless Waltz is adapted, they use a version of White Reflection as the theme for all of the characters. Just do a search for Super Robot Wars White Reflection and you'll be awash with a variety of covers to choose from. How many enemies have I had Heero shoot down with this song playing in the background? Probably thousands from SRW X alone. (I'd go into why Endless Waltz makes no sense to be included in X, but then X was a low-point for the series and virtually none of the series had any reason to be included. That game was basically just a bunch of people getting teleported to the world of Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru for absolutely no reason while Wataru serves as more of a protagonist than even the main character of the game, but that would be an unrelated tangent inside of a tangent, and we'll never escape from this writeup if you let me get that sidetracked.)

.....AAANYWHO, song is fine. It's a bit weird to hear it with lyrics and it's just as weird that the lyrics are so lovey when I'm used to this song accompanying the slaughter of thousands of generic enemies, but it's still another Gundam Wing song by the band who performed the best Gundam Wing songs, so I like it.)

!I know it's a personal fault of mine, but I can't quite adjust to hearing this song with lyrics. Since my first... several hundred times hearing it came from instrumental versions, this actual version now feels *incredibly* odd to listen to. It's an intriguing feeling, but not a type of strangeness that I'm in love with.

[Final Thoughts: Gundam music is good.]

[Later: I like that I had to hard reset myself during a hard reset. I apparently found it virtually impossible to get on topic on this track.]

========================

*continued in next post*

Four more, including a double drop from CJones & the Diablo Swing Orchetra:

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#309: Diablo Swing Orchestra - Jig Of The Century [4:32]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMi1TuCSRYY&list=PLbqs-W3v0JokCip1yCvbDS5Diki_yhvvC&index=5

Nominator: CJones [5/18 Remaining]

Initial Score: 58.23
Revised Score: 58.23
Final Score: 58.23 [Upgraded to 61.481] [Upgraded to 62.69] [Upgraded to 64.23] [Upgraded to 65.293]

(First Reaction: Combining metal and a traditional jig is an interesting idea and it largely works well here, to a point where I'm not sure how the song could actually be improved.)

!It's a fun combination that works well. Not something I want to move up a tier, but definitely a fun song that I'd suggest people listen to to hear something different.

[Final Thoughts: Very fun song.]

[Later: I'm going to place this a peg above the Neo Clump, actually. I like this combination of genres enough to give this a few extra points.]

[Later: At least one extra point for the novelty this track brings.]

[Later: Giving this song another bit of a boost... it's certainly interesting.]

[Later: One more point, but I think this is probably the last boost for this song.]

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#308: Masashi Hamauzu - Weltall (4:18):
https://open.spotify.com/track/2mMaRT6GugiZ5JjEu6MP4f

Nominator: Haste [4/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 29.92
Revised Score: 56.14
Final Score: 56.14 [Upgraded to 57.99] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 62.136] [Upgraded to 65.295]

(First Reaction: Dun dun. Dun dun. Dun dun. Dun dun. Dun dun. Dun dun. Dun dun. Dun dun. It's like having a chime bouncing back and forth in my head. I wouldn't call it painful or say I hate it, but it almost feels like the song wants to come in last place.)

Another of those songs where the score went way up on a relisten and I'm not entirely sure why, beyond the obvious "being prepared for what the song was going to do" making it easier to tolerate. It's still a bit too long for how monotonous it can wind up feeling, but it creates the sensation of exploring a magic imperial city. The repeated dun-dun sounds are like a very rapid marching song (perhaps not the right cadence for a marching song, but work with me here), while the other instruments impart a bit of a mysterious feeling because these are magical soldiers from an empire or whatever. So while it's definitely not a favorite track or anything, it was an interesting headspace to inhabit for a bit and I enjoyed it.

[Final Thoughts: Yeah, I actually do kinda like this now. It definitely paints an interesting picture.]

[Later: Moving this one up some ways.]

[Later: Hmm... I may go ahead and raise this one up to 60 points. It.... intrigues me enough to keep it around, at least until the all-consuming Neo Clump.]

[Marching Towards Later: I do like musical experiences and this is an *experience*. Going to add a couple more points.... though while this song has grown on me immensely since the first listen, I think we're starting to reach this song's limit.[

[Later: And a few extra points because this song has really grown on me, in spite of the repetitive nature of the chimes.]

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#307: Diablo Swing Orchestra - Out Came The Hummingbirds [4:21]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92mP0t85GXA&list=PLbqs-W3v0JokCip1yCvbDS5Diki_yhvvC&index=8

Nominator: CJones [4/18 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.13
Revised Score: 73.29
Final Score: 65.40

(First Reaction: The rare song that is rather rave dance adjaent, yet something that I thoroughly enjoy )

!I'm surprised this song was only at the 60 point tier considering the lyrics are pretty much exactly what I want.

[Final Thoughts: I suppose there are days when asking to be held endlessly is exactly what I'm in the mood for, but for better or worse, that's not quite what I'm looking for at the moment.... I still like this, but I'm missing that personal connection that pushed it to the next tier.]

[Later:

It's a fight
Going on in my mind
[...]
I'm falling deep
Hold me now
Endlessly

Definitely the type of lyrics I'm into and there's a good beat to the track. I do like this, but I'm not as strongly attached to the words as I was the second time around.]

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#306:The Trashmen - Surfin Bird (2:20):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gc4QTqslN4

Nominator: paulg [13/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.13
Revised Score: 60.00
Final Score: 65.5213

(First Reaction: The video goes a long way in helping this song. Seeing someone bold and confident enough to get up on stage and run around in circles while flapping their arms may be the most inspiring thing in the entire topic series and I'm exactly the type of crazy where I actually mean that,

The song is... something I've learned to tolerate due to its ubiquitous nature. I'm still not a fan of it, but there's some enjoyment to be had from it at least.)

I should not give this song as many points as I am because this is being caried almost entirely by the video, but there is something so beautiful and pure about this man deciding he's going to run around in circles while pretending to be a bird & people loving him for it. It is quite possibly the most beautiful and inspirational thing to have ever been posted in this topic series---it conveys a feeling that everyone, absolutely everyone, can find a place where they belong and I'm almost crying at how moving a performance this is.

There's also something that can charitably be called a "song" playing alongside the video.

[Final Thoughts: ...I don't care, I'll raise this song up as high as I want.]

[Later: ...In retrospect, one of the voices in my head probably should have cared but I'll stand by this placement anyway.]

===================

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Going to take a break here and resume later this afternoon. I'll try to squeeze in another five so that we can officially reach the top 300, but that's not guaranteed.

NFUN posted...

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RzjNof-Tj3M&list=PLSkBT8UcCTh_QUTOs4rLUnd61I43T2P1c&index=1

11 videos and about three hours... not as bad as I feared, honestly. I'll give it a shot after the main ranking ends; personally, I'm hoping to stretch the post-ranking out until April because March kinda sucks emotionally (anniversary of some events I'd rather not get into), so longer blocks of videos are actually pretty welcome at the moment.

(Not bad enough emotionally that anyone should be concerned, just having this topic continuing for a distraction would be nifty.)

Thank you!

NFUN posted...

give the YouTube English compilation a shot

I imagine that's a bit longer than I might like, but I might be interested in giving it a chance... I don't suppose you have a link? Searching Zektbach English Compilation on YouTube isn't getting me anywhere.

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Three songs to start the day off early:

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#312: dave rodgers - Deja Vu (Classical Version) (4:13):
https://open.spotify.com/track/7aA7bCsLTvrMWM9Vmz71MK?si=610d3d760769408c

Nominator: CPU [9/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 55.20
Revised Score: 55.04
Final Score: 53.22 [Upgraded to 55.20] [Upgraded to 58.65] [Upgraded to 62.499] [Upgraded to 65.033]

(First Reaction: It's nice. "It's so hard when I try to be me" feels really close to the lyrics I love, but I'm not fully jiving with it tonight.)

I prefer the ridiculously over-the-top nature of the original version, which manages to be "fast pulsing dance music done right" in a very charming way... this slowed down, classical version is certainly a different take on the song, but I don't know that it entirely worked out.

[FInal Thoughts: I'm just not clicking with this track. It's too subdued and quiet, which keeps the lyrics from having much of an impact. It's like I know the lyrics are on point and the instrumentation is objectively good, but it's lacking enough of a punch to really push it to the next level. The instrumental outro is also way too pretty for the song's general vibe. It's still.... almost something I like, I suppose, but it's still a bit of a misfire tonally.]

[Later: Actually, I do enjoy this more than any of the songs that I'm actually eliminating at the 53 point level... going to move this back up to its Initial Score, see if it fits in better with that group.]

[Later: Adding a few extra points.]

[Later: Let's take this up a tier.[

[Later: A few extra points.]

[Later: The lyrics are fantastic, but I think this is as far as I want to take the song itself, I'm afraid.]

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#311: Fishmans - Night Cruising (6:02):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD29iWW94yg

Nominator: rwlh [9/24 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 58.73
Final Score: 54.911 [Upgraded to 55.00] [Upgraded to 58.73] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 60.002] [Upgraded to 63.06] [Upgraded to 65.08]

(First Reaction: I feel like this song might go on a bit too long for something with so few lyrics, but it has both an "interesting dream-like feeling" and a "distorted, trapped inside a radio wave feeling" overlapping with each other and it's such a unique experience that I'll be adding it to the Clump of 60 point songs anyway.)

!A bit on the long side, but still an enjoyable trip.

[Later: I feel like I really enjoyed this when I wasn't expecting "radiowave dream pop", but it's lacking that surprise factor on relistens. I do still enjoy it, but it's one of those where the score gets a bit lower each time, sadly.]

[More Later: Ehh... I'm still not nearly as into this, but I remember the good times & it hurts to see this song so low. Which I guess means I like it enough to move it up a little? ...Eh, let's just go back to the Revised Score.]

[Also Later: Moving this back up to the Neo Clump. I'd still like to cut one or two minutes from the runtime, but it's an enjoyable dreamy trip & I don't want it to drop any earlier than the 60 point tier.[

[Later: The vibes on this song are fantastic, but it doesn't seem to know when to end... I like it, but the last two minutes feel a bit excessive. I think I'll move it up a bit since I like it more than most CLUMP'd songs, but this would be a much easier sell if it were a bit shorter or did anything new towards the end of the song.

...well, I suppose I do like the last note. It's kinda distorted and static-y.]

[Later: It's odd... I so strongly dig the general vibe of this song that I keep refusing to eliminate it, but the last several minutes seem so aimless that I never feel like giving it a lot of extra points. I guess I'll try adding three points? Maybe I'll be more in a mood to eliminate it when we get up there.]

[Time Has No Meaning: Two more points, I guess? I still can't work out exactly how I feel about the song... I do love the atmosphere, but I do wish it started to fade out around 3:20. Falling into the radio waves and slowly vanishing would be perfect, but the track is barely half over at that point. Still, I guess I do enjoy it enough to get at least 65 points?]

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#310: moussa - cabrioli [2:32]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l98fXGtGkqg

Nominator: cakophon [6/20 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 59.86
Final Score: 60.00 [Upgraded to 65.29]

(First Reaction: Wealth and glory to the CLUMP.

Song is fun. There's never any telling which very overly romantic songs will work for me and which won't, but something about his voice and choice of metaphors really clicks for me. "She has flames in her pupils" is obviously a garbled translation of the fairly generic "fire in their eyes" saying, but... i dunno, I like it. I like his voice and I like the thing his voice is saying, don't care if the sentiment isn't especially original.)

!Good voice and some nice lyrics, but I think I like it just a tiny bit less than 60 points.

[Final Thoughts: I like this and I'm moving it back up. He's definitely got a voice that pleases me, I may also look into some of his other work sometime in the future.]

[Later: I don't enjoy the artificial high notes, but the clean lyrics feature a rather sensual voice that is quite appealing. I'm going to go ahead and move this song up quite a ways, to the 65 point area.]

====================

And so many songs have been shuffled around that I'm taking a half-day today... five drops, coming in right now:

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#317: Diablo Swing Orchestra - Les Invulnerables [6:02]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eGnECCX1SA&list=PLbqs-W3v0JokCip1yCvbDS5Diki_yhvvC&index=10

Nominator: CJones [ 6/18 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 60.00
Final Score: 64.60

(First Reaction: Daniel's verses are perfect, though I'm less sold on Kristin's performance... not because there's anything wrong with it, but there's a strong "quiet tragedy" vibe in Daniel's voice that I'm drawn to and want to experience fully. While she's fine (or even good), the parts I love just don't happen to include her & her performance feels notably different than his.)

!This is probably his most enchanting vocal performance, probably around the high 70's to low 80's, but I feel like her voice is utterly wasted on repeating the same few lyrics in a style that doesn't really complement his. I do like it, but the combination doesn't quite work for me.

[Final Thoughts: I really, really like his performance on this song, so I'm adding a few extra points to this.]

[Later: Sorry, I do kinda love his performance on this track... just not quite enough to raise the score any further, since he's only featured on about half the song.]

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#316: Saturday Night Slam Masters - Theme of Gunloc [1:55]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9lHMPPx5kI

Nominator: paulg [14/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.26
Revised Score: 52.66
Final Score: 52.46 [Upgraded to 55.00] [Upgraded to 56.25] [Upgraded to 64.947]

(First Reaction: Ohh, I love Slam Masters! Unfortunately, I don't have any real feelings towards the soundtrack? It's fine, but "fight music" is rather low on my list of VGM preferences and there's no interesting soundfonts to make the song fascinating. So it's a little nostalgic and an interesting bit of Capcom's history, but not something I'm really excited to listen to.)

GUNLOC TRIVIA:

Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game Spoilers: Blade's ending reveals that he was really Gunloc going deep undercover and posing as a Shadaloo officer. While that game obviously isn't canon, Blade does have an official Street Fighter profile that lists him as having the same height, weight, and favorite food as Gunloc which means that the backstory may actually be canon??

...of course random robots from the American Street Fighter cartoon have official profiles as well, so that probably doesn't mean a whole lot: https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column/132734

While the Slam Masters characters are inspired by real life wrestlers, people are still unsure as to who Gunloc's inspiration was. Possibly Lex Luger??

As for the actual song... I kinda like the soundfont being used here and could see myself highly enjoying a song in this style, but I'm not hearing anything here that sets this track apart from any other random 90's Capcom song. It's perfectly fine, but on the short side and doesn't inspire any real reactions other than "yep, that sounds like Capcom music alright".

[Final Thoughts: Odd how this song's score changes every time, but only by such a minor fraction of a point that it has little-to-no impact on anything. Definitely a song from a game I have a lot of nostalgia for, but the song isn't triggering any memories or flashbacks... I wonder if it's because I've only played the SNES version and this is the arcade version I've never heard?

*goes to listen to a few of the SNES tracks*

Nah, no real nostalgia bombs here either. I guess I just never really noticed or had an interest in this soundtrack, in spite of how many times I played through the game. (Best 16-bit wrestling game there is, not that there's much competition).

[Later: Actually got this stuck in my head while trying to sleep last night and I'm starting to kinda like this one.]

[Laterier: Going to give this one another brief delay.]

[Laterierier: Yeah, I'm starting to get pretty into this track for some reason.]

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#315: nekono - Mystagia (4:00):
https://youtu.be/d-vXws6WaJQ

Nominator: NFUN: [10/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 78.40
Revised Score: 78.62
Final Score: 64.999

(First Reaction: This is the good kind of repetitive thumping. Didn't know there was a good kind? Neither did I! But this is it.)

!I find this song combines rather pretty and soothing backing music with pulsing techno & the contradiction between the styles elevates the song in a way that it becomes a fantastic example of something I don't typically like performed in a way that I almost love--I don't quite want to put it at the 80 point tier, but it's right up against it at the very least.

[Final Thoughts: A fun combination of styles that is quite enjoyable, though not as completely mesmerizing as I once found it to be.]

[Later: There's a brief stretch around the 50 second mark with the low tones I love, combined with an ethereal sort of beauty that I find works quite well. The rest of the song does have quite a bit of thumping going on--not enough that I'd say it ruins the song or anything, but it fails to compare to that moment.]

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#314: Minako Adachi - Malie City (Day) (2:12):
https://youtu.be/ED1D822MfYg

Nominator: Haste [5/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 49.94
Revised Score: 57.601
Final Score: 57.601 [Upgraded to 64.987] [Upgraded to 65.00]

(First Reaction: Japanese city music. It's instantly recognizable for what it is, so it's definitely accomplishing every goal & fitting perfectly for where it plays. I just don't think it's something that really appeals to me.)

I'm not sure why I didn't like this song the first time around, as it seems rather nice now! It's... hard to describe in any remotrely coherent way. It feels as crisp as an autumn morning, mixed with feelons of "light adventure" and "vaguely foreboding sense of danger" which combine in a novel way to create something as intriguing as it is exhilarating.

...which feels like something that should be worth a lot more points than I'm giving it, yes, but somehow I'm still not completely into it. i enjoy it well enough and I appreciate it as being much better than I initially realized, but I feel like it's not quite what I want from a song at the moment for some reason...

[Final Thoughts: Deciding if I typo'd feelings or intentionally created the new word of feelons to describe this song is an exercise left to the reader.

[Later: I am suddenly really, really in the mood for Japanese city music apparently.]

[Later: Very minor boost to this song to at least reach the 65 point marker.]

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#313: Gorillaz - The Lost Chord (4:04):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5jDIIpm38XbdvvSt4oilcI?si=mSeptPLMTjix1pZk70aGsg

Nominator: Jesse Custer [15/29 Remaining]

Initial Score: 64.47
Revised Score: 64.47
Final Score: 64.47 [Upgraded to 65.003]

(First Reaction: I feel like I need to listen--or at least read about--Plastic Beach to get context for this song, as the discussion is a bit rough when you can't understand all the references and symbolism everyone is talking about. That being said, it's a... *consults thesaurus for another word for "nice"* ducky. It's a ducky song with a mellow beat that I dig, quack quack quack.

*proceeds to pace back-and-forth quacking for far more time than is healthy*)

!I like the First Reaction's implication that there is a healthy amount of time to pace in front of your tablet quacking at the walls.

The lyrics are a tad repetitive, but the mellow groove works and I like this.

[Final Thoughts: *resumes quacking at the walls*]

[Later: Up to 65 points]

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kateee posted...

i don't remember if i mentioned it before but with Dream House, the following track on the album is a more calm one evoking that similar type of feeling and it just transitions seamlessly

I'm not sure if you mentioned it either. I don't recall hearing another song by them until this ranking topic, but I also wasn't listening to every song that got mentioned back then & my memory isn't exactly the best. So I'll go ahead and add Dream House + Irresistible to the post topic list; wouldn't mind revisiting Dream House after all these years and it seems worth hearing the transition instead of just going directly to the new song.

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On an unrelated note, I regret my decision to eliminate Sorry Bro (I Love You) and I'm retroactively raising it to the next tier. So now Bane can have an asterisk'd name for a while. The few songs that fell after it are dropped one ranking spot & we'll resume with the new #317... later.

I woke up on time today and have listened to a fair number of songs, but thus far I've given extra points to everything... and looking at the upcoming songs, I have a feeling that I'm probably going to be giving points to the next few as well and don't have the time to listen to anything else right now.

And the last five, featuring a double drop from Bane & a lot of musical variety.

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#321: Tomosuke Funaki - L'avide (4:31) :
https://youtu.be/haoGCu55cuU

Nominator: NFUN: [11/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 58.36
Revised Score: 60.00
Final Score: 60.00 [Upgraded to 64.281]

(First Reaction: A pretty and wistful song.)

!Yeah, I like this. I also like what I've managed to get from the story being told here, so that's also nice.

[Final Thoughts: Is this the shortest writeup for anything at the 60 point level? I'm not sure.]

[Later: Much prettier than I remembered, adding four more points.]

[Later:

The Epic of Zektbach is a complex multimedia project initiated by video game music composer Tomosuke "Zektbach" Funaki, and graphical artist Maya Takamura. It started with a music video for the rhythm game Beatmania IIDX, called Apocalypse ~Dirge of Swans~, and its goal is to tell a long and complete story through the use of Zektbach's music as well as videos (some of them by Maya, especially the earlier ones) and textbooks.

The story takes place in the fantasy world of Aria Te'Laria, inhabitated by eight races of completely wild beings, none disposing of any self-awareness or emotion. One day, however, a strange ship falls from the sky, housing a purple gem that brings them all to gain those gifts and start developing. But this gem's powers will not only bring forth prosperity...

Suffice it to say that trying to study all the available info is beyond what I'm willing to attempt at this point, but it seems like a pretty good story from what little I've read.

Also I'm aware of how poor parts of that description from the Wiki is, but I'm preserving it as written.]

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#320: Dorian Electra - Sorry Bro (I Love You) (1:27):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5mcQEEsF7qB67sxzoVJvhC?si=bdf4986c7ff448fe

Nominator: Bane [16/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 62.46
Final Score: 60.69 [Upgraded to 61.034] [Upgraded to 62.474] [Upgraded to 64.296]

(First Reaction: All songs go to the clump. Glory to the clump. More seriously, I'll get into this later.)

!Surprisingly sweet song that also features those low tones I tend to love.

[Final Thoughts: Yeah, I like this one.]

[Later: Very minor boost.]

[Later: A very, very minor boost apparently... I think this is the first time I increased a song's score and ran into it again on the same day. I suppose I'll move it up to its Revised Score; I still don't want to eliminate it right now and I'd prefer it at least be delayed by an entire day. (NOTE: Score was slightly revised further to avoid ties)]

[Later: Adding another pair of points to this one.[

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#319: The Smurfs - Smurfhillbilly Joe [2:59]:
https://archive.org/details/tvtunes_25178

Nominator: paulg [15/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 68.84
Revised Score: 70.00
Final Score: 64.31

(First Reaction: I wanted to believe this was a Smurfs parody of Cotton Eye Joe, but was skeptical that such a thing would even exist. And yet, here it is! It's a rather well selected choice: someone important to me was a fan of Cotton Eye Joe (or at least listened to it often enough that one would have that impression) and I do have a noted interest in cartoon music. The Smurfs aren't exactly my favorite characters, but I don't particularly dislike them and I think I enjoyed the second live-action film at the time... haven't seen it in quite a few years though, so I kinda doubt it held up..

...Well, whatever, I like the song quite a bit and it was exactly what I hoped it was.)

!This is so stupid and yet I kinda love it anyway.

[Final Thoughts: Took a while to find a replacement link for this one since there isn't one on YouTube or Spotify, as far as I can tell as of this writing. I still like this song and it's a fun novelty, but it's not quite as much fun as I remember it being.]

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#318: Every Time I Die - Hostile Architecture (2:36):
https://open.spotify.com/track/0YQQn6gBg1qXABJR9bVBkD?si=aa08b47929214961

Nominator: Bane [15/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.05
Revised Score: 56.89
Final Score: 64.33

(First Reaction: There's some hint of dissociation and alternate personalities that appeal to me towards the end of the song:

All this pain inside
But all this pain can't be mine
I'll become the ones that I buried in the past
I look in the mirror, is it a face? Is it a mask?

Those are some fairly great lines and he compares himself to a stray dog, so you can almost make it work in a furry context if you're willfully ignorant enough (and I very much am), but I can't connect with the rest of the song. Having never been in the type of relationship he had with his ex-wife, there's nothing I can relate to and the story hasn't been fictionalized enough to work from a story perspective. It's like... "well, from what you've told me, your ex-wife was a bitch and I'm sorry she made you feel that way" which is not exactly a top-tier reaction. It's nice that he can be vulnerable like this, it's nice that it's so personal, and there are some great lines here but it's missing something to really draw me in.)

Ooh, a first reaction that actually stayed on topic and counts as an actual writeup. So rare.

I don't have a lot to add here. That quoted verse is still great and I also rather like the repeated apologies in the outro, but most of the song is a bit too hardcore for my blood and I can't fully connect with it which keeps it from going up another tier. Still, definitely something I like and it's generally on the right track.

[Final Thoughts: Ooh, I like this. The lyrics are top tier--as usual, I'd like to dial the aggressive nature of the instruments down a few notches, but it's hardly a deal breaker.]

========================

-

==================

#317: BANKS - Drowning (4:07):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzGHgQBPyV0

Nominator: Dragon66116 [8/12 Remaining]

Initial Score: 86.11
Revised Score: 75.1933
Final Score: 64.36

(First Reaction: https://www.stereogum.com/1682482/banks-drowning/news/

The song, Drowning, is an angry fist-wave from a woman scorned. Its not necessarily a triumphant vengeance, though, because shes still drowning and all.

I'm not sure if that's a self-aware parody of a music critic or not, but I love it.)

!It's a song that does everything right; I dig her voice, I'm into the lyrics, the vibe, the sound... but somehow it's not really clicking for me this evening. Like I still appreciate the song and everything about it, but in more of a "mid-70's, I like this quite a bit way" than a "mid-80's, I think I love this" way.

[Final Thoughts: I don't know... I like everything about the song, but I'm consistently less into it with each successive listen. It's like I love her voice and the crushing weight of the music, but it's missing one killer element that gets me to keep playing it on a loop.]

==================

First five of the day, featuring a double drop from Mega Mana:

============================

#326: The Dear Hunter - Regress (1:22):
https://open.spotify.com/track/59oL5ViTv269IMOrPPFEls?si=49a7f5c02d2b4487

Nominator: NBIceman [14/22 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.39
Revised Score: 64.09
Final Score: 64.152

(First Reaction: A nice intro. Suitably bleak, yet melodic... kinda short though and it's more building the setting and emotions than doing a lot on its own. So I like it and appreciate it, but there's not enough here to really go to the song by itself.)

!I like what the song is doing, I just wish there was more of it & leading directly into "The Moon / Awake" makes it a bit hard to listen to this track by itself.

[Final Thoughts: Far too short, but I do like it. The abrupt ending actually does kinda work... "the end comes swiftly for you *sudden silence*" would be a pretty defining moment, were it not meant to segue into the next track.]

[Later: I suppose I could have combined this with The Moon / Awake to create a monster three part track... but I don't think doing so would have actually improved things.]

============================

-

============================

#325: Brick + Mortar - Locked in a Cage (3:16):
https://open.spotify.com/track/1Z4bpgy49F5P9mQrp29OVK?si=bkLj-ml-RUabeZ4yDGpx4w

Nominator: Jesse Custer [16/29 Remaining]

Initial Score: 58.00
Revised Score: 54.49
Final Score: 64.19

(First Reaction: I'm not literally docking points for the album cover, but the me from the universe in which I never looked at that is marginally happier and I inexplicably feel the need to not only share this information with you, but to share it in this utterly nonsensical way.

Song is nice, I think I'll pass on saying anything here--it's been, like, six minutes since the song ended and I haven't found anything I'm willing to share right now, so we'll just bounce along.)

!I was really expecting something much more hideous for the album cover considering past Raetsel's reaction to it. Song is fine... chorus feels a bit repetitive & I'm not really attached to any part of it, but the performance is fine enough that I wouldn't mind trying some of their other songs later.

[Final Thoughts: I'm not entirely sure why, but I want to move this up to the liked tier. Fairly far up the tier as well. I know the "locked in a cage" refrain appears frequently, more frequently than certain things on some songs I've trashed for being too repetitive, but there's something oddly captivating about this song. I'm going to move this up almost 10 full points.]

============================

-

============================

#324: Third Eye Blind - Losing a Whole Year (3:21):
https://youtu.be/MwlqymYLCb4

Nominator: Mega_Mana [18/38 Remaining[

Initial Score: 53.00
Revised Score: 60.76
Final Score: 64.222

(First Reaction: *before listening* Not an officially ranked song, though I did go through the entire album for brief thoughts at the end of the first ranking. I dismissed this song as not leaving much of an impression (apparently my top three were "Motorcycle Drive-By > The Background > God of Wine", though I provided no reasoning at all for that). That being said, I haven't listened to this song in years, and only heard it once without making any attempt to analyze it, so I'm optimistic that I may have a more favorable impression this time around.

*after*

Well, it's still not a breakup song that I connect with, but the chorus is pretty catchy.)

I like this song, but I'll pass on commenting on it for now. It's lame that I'm doing that WAY too often, but I'll probably come back to this before the ranking is actually posted. Probably.

*per usual, we do not come back to this*

]Final Thoughts: I like breakup songs and this is a good one. Not my favorite because it's a type of pain that isn't exactly relatable enough for me to vibe with, but I dig it.]

============================

-

==========================================

#323: Usuwa Suu - Marmalade and Daydreams (5:13):
https://youtu.be/djxJM15NaPw

Nominator: UF8 [16/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 67.119
Revised Score: 59.38
Final Score: 64.27

(First Reaction: It's about time we got some Lo-Fi music going in this topic, or lo-fi adjacent at any rate. I'm a bit surprised so many of the comments feel that this is a relaxing song, when it feels like a very "quiet, painful sadness" type song. I suppose that could just be my imagination, but the Google Translation of the lyrics certainly don't come off happy either: "a lonely, distorted daydream; alone in tears"? That... that certainly seems to fit the vibe I was getting from the song.

And since I like this type of lo-fi music and this type of sadness, I like this.)

!Well, now it feels like a much more relaxing song and I'm not getting all the notes of pain that I was so drawn to the first time... it's still a nice vibe, "relaxing lo-fi" certainly isn't bad, but I'm missing the connection to it that I felt originally.

[Final Thoughts: I like this again.]

==========================================

-

============================

#322: Sonique - It Feels So Good (3:39):
https://youtu.be/zns8Y8phigk

https://open.spotify.com/track/4Y8q64VnhD0vFYy9g2WFpi?si=4ad0ab2ee1644961

Nominator: Mega_Mana [17/38 Remaining[

Initial Score: 82.01
Revised Score: 64.45
Final Score: 64.28

(First Reaction: I think I might love this song. It's a bit more club-like than I usually go for and I can't say I'm actually into the lyrics or repetition, but I felt really positive feelings towards this song from the first note & it didn't let me down.)

!I still enjoy this song, but it's rather firmly in the "I like this tier" as opposed to one of the "I love this" ones and I'm not entirely sure why I loved this song originally, nor why it's not hitting those highs the second time around.

...also I'd say I'm not sure if I should include the little bit at the end of the video which isn't exactly part of the song, but the brief line doesn't seem to help or hurt the song in any way, so I see no reason to argue for or against including that spoken word ending there.

[Final Thoughts: I'm going to cheat and use a Spotify link; it's 20 seconds longer & doesn't have the spoken dialogue so I am blatantly cheating by doing so, but the audio feels so much crisper compared to the music video that I feel it's the right move.

....I know the score is still going down, but I was thinking of moving the video version down a tier, so this is at least close to where I had it.]

==================

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars > Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 > The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

Makes things easier for me; I was heavily considering nominating Ziggy for the competitive week I'm in, but heavily suspected someone else would use it before we reached that point. It was really just a matter of who & when.

handsomeboy2012 posted...

I'm not sure which exact line got translated to 'eat the canal', but assuming it's the thrid line the correct translation would be 'you must eat them when you drink (beer)'.

Here's another fun commerical jingle featuring rap that I wanted to nominate initially.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JoC99uBCfo

Commercial jingle is officially added to the list; I'm pretty sure something shorter and presumably lighthearted would offer a nice contrast to some of the other songs that have been added.

And sadly Google Translate no longer garbles the line that way and is much closer to your accurate version:

Golden Turtle Mark Miles Wang Peanut
Less salty, more crispy
Drink the cup, you must eat it

I remain unsure how it was translating "it" as "canal" a year ago, though I still feel that version of the line almost sounds profound.

-

And we end the day with two of the more relaxing nominations:

============================

#329: Pat Metheny - So May It Secretly Begin (6:24):
https://youtu.be/vmc2JgoUOYU

Nominator: NFUN: [12/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.00
Revised Score: 54.61
Final Score: 54.77 [Upgraded to 55.00] [Upgraded to 57.27] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 62.12] [Upgraded to 64.125]

(First Reaction: I don't think I'm a fan of Pat Metheny. I've been trying to find an album to nominate for you for a long time and since you gave high marks to Pat, I've spent more than a few nights searching for artists like Pat in hopes of finding something similar enough to Pat that you'd like it, while still being something I enjoyed and wanted to nominate. You gave this song & album high marks over four months ago and I have yet to find anything that fills both the "similar to Pat Metheny" and "I like this" quotas. This isn't a bad song or anything, I do like relaxing instrumentals, this just doesn't quite... actually relax me or inspire any bizarre fantasy dream sequences. It's definitely the best I've heard of in the "songs by or similar to Pat Metheny" category, I'm just afraid that isn't saying a lot coming from me.)

Well some reviews of Pat Metheny say he occasionally creates really avant-garde borderline noise type music, so I probably shouldn't say "I'm not a fan" when I've really only heard a few of his songs that are decidedly not as experimental as that sounds. By all accounts, his music transcends the concepts of genre and rules, so there's probably something I like somewhere in his discography. Aaanywho...

As usual with instrumentals that don't inspire any bizarre feelings, I find it difficult to say much about them at all. The song's relaxing and elegant, kinda "lounging in a deck chair on a fancy cruise ship" 'lazy in a rich and fabulous way'. Kinda. Not to a point that I particularly feel as though as I have been magically teleported to a cruise ship, but in a way that's still vaguely reminiscent of such things. (Though probably not really and only to me).

So... it's pleasant and semi-relaxing, though not exactly in ways that I tend to love. And I probably shouldn't call it an instrumental do to the light vocalization in the background at the end, but it's so faint and non-specific that I lack a better term to describe it.

[Final Thoughts: Close to greatness, but I want something more... something that makes me actually relax or inspires a more specific feeling than "lounging around".]

[Later: Not sure if I want to move this above the Wall or not, but I do want to hesitate and think about it for a bit. Delaying the elimination for a day or two while I think.]

[Later: Yeah, I think this is smooth and relaxing enough to go up to 57 points.]

[Lounging Around Later: Well, let's move this up a tier to the Neo Clump. I'm getting ridiculously carried away with adding things to Neo Clump, but whatever, I can put things wherever I want to.]

[Suckin' on a chili dog outside the Tastee Freez: Yeah, I'm actually starting to dig this. Going to move it further up the list ]

[Later, Wondering Why We're Quoting Jack & Diane: Two extra points.]

============================

-I really have no idea where that reference came from or why-

================

i#328: lkae - LSK+ [5:33]:
https://ilkae.bandcamp.com/track/lsk

Nominator: Kopazzynth [4/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 63.19
Final Score: 64.143

(First Reaction: This song is nice to zone out too. It's not really tiring or relaxing, it's just nice in a way that shuts my mind off for five and a half minutes.Which I like, so it's being added to the clump.)

!The song is unusual in ways I find appealing and it's really nice to just kinda relax with, but it's not something I find so enthralling that I can say I want to move it up a tier... still, it's a fair bit better than the exactly 60 point songs & quite neat in ways we don't see often.

[Final Thoughts: This song is the relaxing, tranquil side of chaos.]

================

Three more songs and then I need to take a break before I post the last two of the day. Got a block of songs that are getting more points, so it'll be later this afternoon before I can work on moving them around the list & seeing what actually drops.

========================

#332: Hammers of Misfortune - The Locust Years (7:32):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRhEurx9N3Y

Nominator: Ark [9/17 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.62
Revised Score: 51.76
Final Score: 60.25 [Upgraded to 63.84]

(First Reaction: I like the lyrics to the chorus. They're nicely apocalyptic, drowning the world in flames & blood & pain. Unfortunately, neither the prolonged instrumental intro, nor the verses, offer anything that I find interesting. I honestly found the song rather dull until we got to the chorus, which isn't enough on its own to get the song a truly great score. It's enough to give it a positive amount of points & I wouldn't mind trying a different song from the album--with their references to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse & at least one review comparing the band to Ghost, it's quite probable that a song I love is somewhere among the tracks.)

Now that we're unchained
We'll reign, insane
And drown the world in flames
And blood, and pain

That is exactly the type of villain song I can fall in love with. It's evil in a fun way; fire, blood, and torment but not in a realistic tragedy way. All the darkness, none of the trauma. Even the lyrics to the verses are a bit better than I recalled, with the singers' pausing to define a Latin word in the middle of their song/speech serving as a particularly theatrical bit of comedy. Frankly, the story and setting here are A+. I'm just not really into the song itself...

In a way, it reminds me of some of the songs from Metallica's "Master of Puppets" album that we recently (at the time this was written) covered at Rank the Tracks. Some of the ideas were sound, but I *really* could not get into that album... it's easily my most disliked album we ever covered and it's not particularly close. I can easily point at things from it that I like the idea of (the Lovecraftian horror song seemed like it'd be the best thing ever), but the genre and style are so against what I want to hear that I just have a hard time saying I enjoyed any of it. I'd probably take The Locust Years over anything from that album and it's certainly not getting an outstanding score. So while I love aspects of this song and while I love some songs from subgenres of "metal", I think I can safely say this is just "too metal" for my blood. Solid idea though and I can see why someone would be into it/why it makes sense as a nomination, even if it didn't work out.

[Final Thoughts: Not quite a type of metal that appeals to me, but the flair for the theatrical and evil appeals to me enough that I kinda like this.

...Actually, I think I may just actually like this. Like 60 point like this like this. I am in a very "drown the world in flames" mood, after all.]

[Later: Not sure why I was against the song to start with, but I'm definitely turning around on it now. This absurdly theatrical style of evil is exactly the type of thing I enjoy, so a score lower than 60 points feels positively absurd. I'm still not a fan of the prolonged instrumentals that open and close the song, but they are hardly dealbreakers. Also, there are still some songs yet to come with far more drawn out intros/outros, which only raise further questions about why/how this was so low.]

[Later: Great lyrics and concept, but a bit too epic for my blood.]

========================

-from long and epic, to short and fun-

===================

#331: Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl - Main Menu [1:57]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDTiOnFaWpU

Nominator: paulg [16/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 59.27
Revised Score: 59.70
Final Score: 60.80 [Upgraded to 62.4192] [Upgraded to 63.8406]

(First Reaction: It's a surprisingly good song, but not exactly the most memorable; I remember liking it, but I'd be hard-pressed to tell you anything about the song itself.)

!I like this, but I still have a remarkably hard time finding the slightest thing to say about it--or even remembering the track in general as soon as it ends.

[Final Thoughts: I like this. It's.... computerized battle music, but not intense or epic or any of the words I would usually use to describe battle music. It's really quite good.]

[Later: Slight boost to score.]

[Later: Adding another point to this. I do like it more than I realized.]

===================

-from short and fun, to... also short and fun-

========================

#330: Sze Hing Loong - Peanut commercial (0:29):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikBSrA45-Go

Nominator: Handsomeboy [18/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 65.48
Final Score: 61.411 [Upgraded to 63.94]

(First Reaction: This is surprisingly catchy and actually makes me kinda want to try a wanli wang peanut. I don't particularly care for nuts, but these peanuts are prepared in a different way that may make them more appealing? Credit to the video description for explaining the process:

After the peanuts are dug out, they should be cleaned immediately, then boiled with salt water, then air-dried or sun-dried, and finally fried and baked.

Neat! And surprisingly well translated for Google Translations. The lyrics are typical commercial fare--"less salty, more crispy", there's enough sweetness, and they're very good for any occasion... but Google Translate fails at one specific line:

"You must eat the canal when you drink the cup"

Which is probably something completely normal when translated professionally, but feels almost like a profound bit of wisdom in its garbled form.)

!Short, memorable, well-performed, and quite good at selling the product. Can't really ask for anything else from a commercial.

[Final Thoughts: They do sound like good peanuts.]

[Later: And a few extra points to this song as well!]

========================

And I'll see you again in a few hours.

============================

#344: Ayumi Hamasaki - End of the World (4:40):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5W8nkF93BjTenNIw37Wu52?si=642a8b0cdfa24f47

Nominator: Kateee [13/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 82.00
Final Score: 63.79

(First Reaction: Ooh,a new (to me) song from someone who performed one of the InuYasha ending themes! I have a lot of nostalgia for that show and her song (Dearest, the third ending theme) is so angelic that getting to hear more from her is a treat. This is a fairly nice jpop song; I'd say I don't like it as much as Dearest, but Dearest has the advantage of many, many years of nostalgia & power behind it so it's not a fair comparison. For now, I'll place this in the ever-growing Clump of 60 point songs--I like it and we'll see if it goes up or down once I stop endlessly comparing it to the only other Ayumi Hamasaki song I know.)

!

You were the first one
To try to understand me
And the way I am

Simple, but it triggers the type of painful memories I need to work on moving on from, so this is... significantly better and more important to me than I initially realized. Surprised I gave it such a comparatively low score at first.

[Final Thoughts: A good choice of artist & the lyrics are the type of thing that can hit me incredibly hard when I'm in the right mood, but I'm not quite connecting with them tonight... I mean, I know why I loved them so much, but... well, let's just say that I still like the song & I'm glad to hear more from her.]

============================

-I should just go back and listen to all the InuYasha ending themes again...-

============================

#333: The Dear Hunter - The Haves Have Naught (4:12):
https://open.spotify.com/track/4tlKcVyNLf8JoshzORIGN5?si=d0c3602eadd04ecb

Nominator: NBIceman [15/22 Remaining]

Initial Score: 63.83
Revised Score: 63.83
Final Score: 63.83

(First Reaction: The Dear Hunter having a duet with two different people singing? I'm actually shocked. After Act IV's "this is a duet, but good luck figuring out which verse goes to which character or even which two characters are here since we only have the one singer doing the same voice for every character in this story" song, I wasn't really prepared for multiple singers.

More seriously, this song does a good job of advancing the story & I like the way their voices and verses play off of each other, and the outro is just slightly unsettling in a very pleasing way. I like this.)

!Nothing else to really add here. An unexpected & welcome duet that advances the story nicely and has a very pleasingly ominous outro.

[Final Thoughts: A good duet with fun lyrical contrasts between their verses. I like it.]

============================

The fun thing about not having a finalized list is that I honestly have no clue if anyone loses a bunch of songs in succession and couldn't possibly spoil that even if I wanted to!

...Though by coincidence, you do have one song in the next block of five songs, dropping now (though I'll likely have to use two posts to fit them).

===================

#347: Rhapsody of Fire - The Wizard's Last Rhymes [10:25]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M2hsI78pzM

Nominator: paulg [17/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 46.904
Revised Score: 33.15
Final Score: 50.08 [Upgraded to 50.50] [Upgraded to 55.505] [Upgraded to 55.948] [Upgraded to 63.722]

(First Reaction: The song is a bit too epic for me and I don't really get basing the song on the New World Symphony... like I've never felt classical music needed to be more epic. I like the spoken word section, I like the parts in Latin, and the idea of a high fantasy song with "snakes from the abyss" & whatnot is sound. I'd just prefer it to be less epic, less classical, or both.)

Yeah, I'm rarely in the mood for classical music or epic music, so Epic Classic is a hard concept to sell me on under the best of circumstances. Right now, I just quite actively do not want to be listening to this... just ten and a half minutes of "thing I don't particularly like" done in "style I dislike" and that is especially draining to my motivation. Normally, I can at least acknowledge that there are aspects that I like, but right now... eesh. Maybe I'll be in a more charitable mood on the final score, but tonight, this was not an easy song to get through.

[Final Thoughts: The song starts off on a bad foot and never really recovers. Classical's typically not my first choice and epic drumming is a big turn-off usually... this song opens with a classical song with epic drumming added to it. It does have its moments--there's a more subdued instrumental towards the middle which is pleasing, spoken word sections (while not automatic win buttons these days) are still worth a few extra points, the synth is fun and used sparingly, and the fantastical lyrics are fairly amusing. It's not quite for me, but I'm moving this song back up to where it was--there's enough positive traits for this to be in the high-40's, at least.]

....actually, let's go ahead and move this into the positive scoring category. It's kinda close, but I think the sections without the drums are nice enough that I wind up kinda liking more parts of the song than not.]

[Last Thoughts: So, fun fact, I'm just pretending this song is about "The Looney Tunes Show"'s version of Daffy Duck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi_hcwB8i64

And treating this as one of Daffy's hallucinations is helping this song a lot. But it's so, so long... there are long songs I love, but this one just doesn't stop. I've had my fun laughing at the song by the three minute mark. It does eventually do some different things, adding in the synths and spoken word section, and by seven minutes I'm content with everything the song accomplished.

Then it continues.

Finally the song reaches a natural ending point at around the 9 minute mark, which is rough, but well, we made it. Then we get an instrumental outro because the song actively hates me. And it's just a lot. Though it is something I kinda enjoy (albeit for reasons that are wrong and nonsensical) and it wouldn't be the first song that I've liked in spite of not ending when it should have.

....Ehhhh.... I suppose I do kinda like this now,, strange as it is to admit that.]

[Later: I do like this more than the earlier writeups implied, these days at least... though I do still feel like I'd prefer it to be shorter. There's nothing wrong with long songs, but this really isn't a preferred genre & it's a bit of a hard sell even if I'm starting to like it more.]

===================

-So far we've had references to Daffy, Sylvester, and an old Looney Tunes intro. I wonder if we'll see a fourth reference? I didn't even remember having this many in the first place...-

====================

#346: Feu! Chatterton - Un Monde Nouveau (5:01):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwJji0LBkwY

Nominator: ZaziGuado [16/28 Remaining]

Initial Score: 70.00
Revised Score: 74.036
Final Score: 63.724

(First Reaction: It feels like the song's ending is a bit abrupt, though it's probably a good sign that I was actually disappointed that it ended & wanted more of it. I don't have any particular opinion on the lyrics, but the music gives me a fair amount of those lower toned notes that I love & the singer's voice is nice enough that I don't really care what he's singing about. I'm going to add this to the 70 point song cluster for the moment to mark it as a song I really liked.)

!Wow, Spotify's sound quality for this song is garbage... I briefly tried listening to it there (I was already there and it was faster to just type in the song name), but the song is not even half as deep & powerful sounding there... I'd say this song is getting at least 20 extra points for the quality of the link as compared to the Spotify version. Good choice.

[Final Thoughts: I still like this, but it's not quite deep & bwoom-ing enough for me tonight to stay up at the "really like" tier, though it's still quite a nice nomination.]

====================

-the heart goes "bwoom-bwoom, bwoom-bwoom".-

============================

#345: Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street (6:12):
https://youtu.be/dU6w56epBdc

Nominator: Mega_Mana [19/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 68.14
Revised Score: 63.75
Final Score: 63.75

(First Reaction: Ah yes, the 80's song from GTAV with the very pronounced sax, yes, I like this one. It's probably the best song that game's soundtrack introduced me to. (Also, it is apparently a late 70's song, which I obviously did not know.))

!

Rafael Ravenscroft has a way of stealing the limelight with his sax Baker Street, Year of the Cat, Gunners Dream (Pink Floyd).

Well, now I need to go listen to Gunner's Dream to complete the trio of Ravenscroft sax solos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIJN6WWf3Rg

...Yeah, I'm not really a fan of Gunner's Dream, but the sax is on point at least.

Aaanywho, Baker Street is a fine song & I still like it, but it's one of those songs that I'm starting to get a bit tired of... like, I'll always like listening to it, but it's hard for it to compete against new experiences or old songs that I still truly love. Still, definitely a good piece of classic rock with some iconic sax playing.

[Final Thoughts: A good song, but I think I've heard it enough times that I'm not as attached to it as I might have been a few years ago.[

============================

-out of space, continued in next post-

============================

#349: Feeder - Tumble and Fall (4:19):
https://open.spotify.com/track/1D0uRqlJvv70VMi7HhRoXl?si=NhCvbVSxRLKhbGUejnTX3Q

Nominator: Jesse Custer [17/29 Remaining]

Initial Score: 91.00
Revised Score: 84.71
Final Score: 63.69

(First Reaction: I'm really tempted to dock some points from the score for the outro...

yeah yeah yeah *3
chorus*2
yeah yeah yeah*6

...seriously guys, if the song is over, you can stop. You don't have to keep playing and repeating one word to pad out the time It's cool. But it is an emotional song that I was able to connect to, so I love it anyway,)

!I'm not really connecting with the song tonight, but it sounds pretty and I like it quite a bit anyway.

[Final Thoughts: That...uhh...didn't sound like a mid-80's writeup. Sounds like the type of thing that songs in the 60 point zone are getting. Which is kinda where I feel like the song should be at the moment; It sounds very nice and I like listening to it, but I don't have a personal attachment to the lyrics and it just goes on aimlessly for so much longer than it needed to. Sorry; this song was at the absolute highest tier, but I'm not quite getting that emotional resonance that I need these days.]

[Later: Another unfortunate song that I once truly loved and has been on a rather steep downward trend since then. I still like the song, but I'm not entirely sure why I loved it and I've been unable to recapture that magic.]

============================

-and the last song for now:-

=========================================

#348: Spiritbox - Constance (4:30):
https://open.spotify.com/track/0hdDPaUbhi1OkzhyicPSBb?si=f0a3e79dad70487d

Nominator: BlackDra90n [10/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 74.823
Revised Score: 76.94
Final Score: 63.7000007

(First Reaction: A heavy song--emotionally that is, it's definitely one of the lighter songs in terms of intensity--that's easy to connect with. While I can't say I've experienced anything like losing someone to dementia or not being able to say goodbye to a dying loved one, the lyrics and vocal performance make it easy to relate to the emotions and feelings anyway. Great song.)

!Tonight I'm feeling kinda opposite on things, in that I'm here entirely for the backing music--that power starting at around 1:05 is *chef's kiss* and that outro is exactly the type of thing I love. The vocal performance and lyrics are fine, but when I'm getting really drawn into the backing music, they almost get in the way of the parts I love... which is definitely not how I felt a few months ago, but somehow works out to almost the same score anyway.

[Final Thoughts: It's a nice song and it shows off a softer, more emotional side for the band. I still like it, but I'm not quite clicking with any aspect of it the way I did the first two times.]

=========================================

Last five of the day, though I'll likely need to break this into two posts:

========================

#352: Serj Tankian - Reality TV (4:09):
https://open.spotify.com/track/0OQRA4JVazdXw30zLCUe9y?si=28d74eb3d3a644f4

Nominator: Murphiroth [8/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 32.30
Revised Score: 32.30
Final Score: 32.30 [Upgraded to 59.00] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 63.57]

(First Reaction: I honestly find this song rather dull. I wouldn't say I especially dislike it, but there's absolutely nothing here that appeals to me and it's easily the weakest song of the album.)

The music is at a very pleasing "slightly intense" level, where it's not exactly easy listening but it's tamer than you'd get from the average metal song. I like the band on this track. Sadly, the lyrics are pretty far removed from anything I want to hear. "I abhor the whore who calls herself reality TV" is an oddly sexist lyric for Serj and he eventually descends into just shouting body parts:

Body piercings, those of
Ancient kinky Egyptian slave prisoners fly at me
Nipples, tongues, testicles, cheeks
Nipples, tongues, testicles, cheeks

And it's just... man, I'm an easily offended twit who's triggered by everything and I fear I may be more open-minded towards sexiness than he is. ...Well these days at any rate, I mean, I did give Candyman last place a few years back for the line about panties dropping... but, I mean, I'm less likely to do that sort of thing NOW at least. *coughs* Either way, while there are some solid arguments to be made for pure lowest common denominator drivel being actively detrimental to society, I don't feel the song ever makes much of a point in that regard. Like, yeah, it's not all shouting whore and naming body parts, but he certainly dedicates more time to "eww, sex" than on anything resembling a point.

...Still, there is a good band here, at least.

[Final Thoughts: Song is fine, but the lyrics are probably the biggest miss of the entire topic. I'm aware that he has a point about society and lowest common denominator drivel destroying culture,, but screeching EGYPTIAN SLAVE TESTICLE WHORE NIPPLE!!!!!1!11!" borders on being the most ridiculous way to deliver that point. The song is fine enough that I should give it more points, but I'm just not into this.]

[Later: Well, I actually do kinda like this now... the lyrics are still a miss, but the song itself is high quality.]

[Latest: Oh hey, we're FINALLY here! I can remove that asterisk from Murphiroth's remaining song count... it's been over 200 songs since I planned on eliminating this and then un-eliminated it & made everything so much more complicated than it needed to be...

Honestly, I do need to go back and revisit a few eliminated songs & possibly upgrade their scores a bit, but I'm trying to wait until I get a Final Score for all remaining songs before I go back and re-evlaute anything else... either way, back on topic, this is a good song. It kinda drags in the middle when he starts just yelling body parts, but the main part of the song is catchy as hell and I do fairly like it....

....ehhhh.... alright, I'll upgrade this to 60 points and add it to the Neo Clump...]

[Later: I actually really like most of this song--from a musical standpoint at least--but the body part interlude is still unappealing. I'm quite tempted to move the song up anyway because there's quite a few parts that I really like...ehh, fine, let's try the 63 point zone for a bit.]

[Later: I do like this, but the interlude is kinda... not up to the level of the rest of the song, even if I fully disregarded the lyrics themselves. ]

========================

-the dream is dead-

==============================

#351: Miranda Lambert - We Should Be Friends (2:50):
https://youtu.be/2fOxxRf_3XI

Nominator: Snake [13/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 74.992
Revised Score: 63.66
Final Score: 57.21 [Upgraded to 58.225] [Upgraded to 60.00] ]Upgraded to 63.614]

(First Reaction: I don't know why, but I am really into that instrumental break part way through the song. Like, I genuinely enjoy all of the song, this laid-back mellow vibe is hitting the right notes for me, but I jumped the score up more than ten points based entirely on the guitar work during that break,)

!Short and sweet, but I wish it was longer and had a bit more to it... also that guitar break is really cool, but only about 17 seconds long and I'm having a hard time justifying that +10 bonus for something that brief since it leaves me wanting more.

[Final Thoughts: Whatever part of me loved that instrumental doesn't appear to be around tonight. The song is... fine and I still kinda like it, but there isn't much that I find interesting in the lyrics & this song was being carried entirely by the guitar playing that I'm just not especially into this time around.]

[Later: I don't know, let's go with one exxtra point for now.

That was a typo, but I'm keeping it.]

[Later: ...I don't know. It's quite memorable and stuck in my head a lot... I may just add it to the Neo Clump for want of a better idea of what to do with it.]

[And Still Later: Ehhhh... I'm going to move this to a point where it'll be one of the last Neo Clump songs eliminated. I haven't decided if I want to move this up or not, so I'll just put off making a decision as long as possible.]

[And Still Later: ...Well delaying the elimination doesn't entirely work when I rearrange this part of the list to go by nominator. Snake is not last alphabetically. </.<

But.... while I'm not into the lyrics, I am starting to remember why I liked it so much originally. Moving it closer to the Revised Score.]

==============================

-though we could have temporarily changed his name to Znake or something if we really wanted to put him at the end of the list...-

========================

#350: Hu Ito - Seaside Vacation (4:44):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oq9utTsAMg

Nominator: DoctorJimmy [11/24 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.27
Revised Score: 74.09
Final Score: 63.68

(First Reaction: A fairly standard jpop love song that is notable more for the context in which it plays than the quality of the song itself. It's enjoyable enough, but doesn't do much to stand out on its own merits.)

13 Sentinels was a great game. I'll refrain from commenting on it to avoid spoiling things for anyone who may not have played it yet (and if you haven't, then seriously, you should make a point of playing it as soon as possible), but still, great game. This song is cute and sweet, which is what I want right now. It also involves beaches and I'm apparently really, really, *really* easily manipulated by beaches at this exact point in time. I'm... honestly not convinced that this song is really all that great by itself, but the line about waiting for them on a beach completely wrecked me in the best way possible, so I'm jumping this up multiple tiers. Triggering pleasant flashbacks is as valid a reason to rate a song highly as any other... at least at topics where I don't have to care about objectivity anyway.

[Final Thoughts: I still love the thought of beaches, but I'm less into the song... let's just split the difference and set this at the average of the two extreme scores.]

========================

-out of room-

Three more songs, kupo:

========================

#355: Bjork - It's Oh So Quiet (3:37):
https://open.spotify.com/track/0OMNQyneWmmZtTQpULYJcl?si=2bf79356b4044f13

Nominator: Bane [17/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 46.14
Revised Score: 51.43
Final Score: 58.27 [Upgraded to 63.4000003]

(First Reaction: Oh hey, this song played on a commercial a while back, and I was like "what the heck is this? I can't tell if I hate it or if it's just weird enough to be interesting". Though this version of the song doesn't sound quite right in comparison to said commercial version.

*a few minutes of Googling later*

Ah, so Bjork's version is a cover of the Betty Hutton version (which is what I heard on a Facebook commercial) which was itself a cover of a German song from the late 40's.

Betty Hutton's >> Bjork's >>>> Horst Winter's.

That was a fun detour, though it sadly makes me like this version a bit less. I just think Betty has a deeper, richer voice that compliments the song better & I'm having a hard time seeing a reason I'd listen to this version of the track... which really isn't fair, but c'est la vie.)

I do like the way the song cycles between the two extremes, the changing speed makes it feel almost like a Vib-Ribbon track. It's a fun gimmick and well executed. I'll also say this version does compare more favorably to Betty Hutton's than I first thought, having gone back to compare them once again. At the very least, I don't think the backing singers contribute anything of value to Betty's song & Bjork's decision to be a solo vocalist made more sense.

...but I don't have any lyrics that I'm particularly attached to & the song's main gimmick makes it a bit hard to get an emotional reaction out of. Slow-Fast-Slow-Fast kills any chance of connecting with the song emotionally, because the song will bounce to the opposite emotion every thirty seconds or so. Without a connection to the words or feelings, this song feels more like a novelty: Neat to experience in the moment, but a bit fleeting.

...Okay, so that's exactly the point the song's going for. Well played.

[Final Thoughts: Much better than I remembered it being. Quite catchy and memorable.]

[Later: Extra points, yeah, extra points, yeah!]

========================

-because everything I say is a reference to something, please imagine that "Well played" was said like Leonardo Leonardo from Clerks: The Animated Series.

Also the later part should be read to the tune of the Wacky Deli theme. Even though the syllables are off.-

============================

#354: Hooverphonic - Deep Forest (3:22):
https://open.spotify.com/track/0LgsEbNaKJlvGo23hAtl3b?si=sCaFbqd8RCSiSonZKmiDxA

Nominator: Jesse Custer [18/29 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.13
Revised Score: 60.00
F'nal Score: 63.45

(First Reaction: Yeah, I typo'd Final Score, but I like the way it looks and I'm keeping it. Very Klingon-esque.

I think I need a second listen to judge this fairly. The intro was so tense and dark, I was expecting a really deep voice... I'm not complaining about her singing, but her voice & the direction the song went were so far removed from what I expected, that it was very jarring and kinda gave me a headache. Which is very much a "me" problem and not the song's fault, but I don't know how to make myself judge it for what it actually is & not what my mind hyped up was going to be the greatest song of all time.)

Song is definitely better now that I know what to expect from it. The instrumental intro & outro are still my favorite parts, but I've also learned to appreciate her singing.

...another ridiculously short writeup, but... AEW's Double or Nothing is starting soon-ish at the time I'm writing this and I have things I need to take care of before the show starts, so I'm having a hard time concentrating enough to get anywhere. So we'll put this writeup on old, like so many--many, many, many, many--many others and hopefully have something to say by the F'nal Score.

[F'nal Thoughts; Chorus-Bridge-Chorus-Chorus is still a bit more repetitive of a music format than I'd like, but this is a high quality song. The instruments are fantastic, her voice is pleasing once I've accepted that it's not going to be as deep or resonate as the instruments, and the lyrics aren't bad either. I like this a fair amount.]

============================

-Internet was down earlier this morning, so I had all of these writeups prepared & just couldn't post them until recently-

============================

#353: Hitoshi Sakimoto (arr. Yoshimi Kudo) - Above Ota City (microcynic mix) (4:06):
https://youtu.be/YVVIbGVfdjs

Nominator: NFUN: [13/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 53.27
Final Score: 63.50

(First Reaction: Good shmup music. Even without having ever heard of the game, it's really easy to tell that this is a shmup song, so I'd say this song is definitely accomplishing whatever it's going for. I'm quite fond of the opening 10 seconds... it's brief and I can't quite place what emotion it's making me feel, but it's definitely inspiring some sort of feeling which is commendable. I do enjoy the rest of the song, but that intro is sublime.

...I never noticed how weird that word looks. sub-lime. Not going anywhere with that, it just looks weird.)

!Just not in the mood for shmup music tonight, I suppose.

[Final Thoughts: Complicated song that I'm pretty into at the moment, but can't think of a way to describe why I like it outside of the generic "I like this" response.]

============================

kateee posted...

also interesting you mentioned not thinking of it as 'club music' because there is a pretty well-known(?) scene from the Bling Ring where they are very much dancing to this song lol

I have no idea what that is and I can't fathom why anyone would dance to this, but I'll take your word for it... can't really fathom modern dancing at all to be honest. I just typically think of club music as having a more THUMP-THUMP-THUMP one-note beat, as opposed to this song which is very much not monotonous.

CJones posted...

There are songs in The Music Man other than Seventy Six Trombones?

I don't think I know that one. Or at least, the name and the lyrics don't seem familiar. I'll probably add it to the list for no specific reason.

Xtlm posted...

As a fan of Birthday Massacre....I did not realize this cover was theirs!

I'd love to take credit for recognizing the band, but I randomly stumbled onto it through Audiosurf 2 during the brief period I was playing it a lot. I was browsing the songs that were recently played by other people and someone was listening to this on a link that credited The Birthday Massacre & I was somewhat interested in the band following the song you nominated last year, so I checked it out and wound up with a brief obsession with the song.

PIayer_0 posted...

Please Remember from Sunbather?

kateee posted...

Happy Birthday

Added both of these to the list as well.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ZA'LIST 2023 EDITION:

UF8: "there actually is another song i probably 100% would've picked had it been fully out then though that also has a harumaki gohan-esque music video, remind me to bring it up if/when the ranking ends in another year or so lol"

The Great Escape by Seventh Wonder

Try something else by Thomas Dimuzio and 5uu's

Exit Strategy of a Wrecking Ball (Diablo Swing Orchestra)

Sunbather by Please Remember

The Birthday Massacre - Happy Birthday

The Music Man - Seventy Six Trombones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw6hANHeIaw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuRZYB9EEZM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLlsWpxvmgc

https://youtu.be/D_Jh6upswd0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT-uWOVP5q0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVbH1BVXywY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCLsqg05boo

https://youtu.be/paepYX9E6iU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUS-_CaMftE

Electric Callboy - Tekno ( Pump It, [the one that might count as a censor bypass], Spaceman, Hurrikan )

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As usual, if I forgot to add something to that list, please let me know:

-

Two songs to start the morning, because that's what I have room for in this post.

===================

#357: Kimihiro Abe - Space Ship (3:46):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roPBGGy_DMQ

Nominator: sergio [2/13 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.76
Revised Score: 60.00
Final Score: 63.309

(First Reaction: I think I ran out of ways to say "nice instrumental track that doesn't make me envision anything speific" a few topics ago.)

I like this tonight. I'm...oddly interested in the string instrument here (violin or whatever it may be) and it provides a pleasing contrast with the futuristic space vibe the other parts of the song are going for. It still not a very *inspiring* or *hallucinogenic* song, but it is a song I like, which is well worth moving up a tier.

[Final Thoughts: I really dig the stringed instrument & the contrast between it and the future ship vibes of the rest of the track. It's a very nice effect.

The score isn't exactly what I want to give, but it's as close as I can get on the spreadsheet. I feel like the score is "63.Three Hundred", but 63.300 is considered to be the same as 63.30 because extra zeroes do not matter to normal people. So there'll just be a 9 instead of a 0 because that's "an actual number" and "works properly on the spreadsheet".]

===================

-

====================

#356: The Lion King Broadway Musical - He Lives in You (Reprise) (4:12):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GqyE7GiRJ4

Nominator: ZaziGuado [17/28 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 63.19
Final Score: 63.40

(First Reaction: Song repeats itself a few too many times, but it's good and a welcome addition to the story and significantly better than the version from The Lion King 2 soundtrack.)

!Good song, though it does feel a bit long due to the lack of new lyrics towards the end.

[Final Thoughts: I like this.]

====================

And three more to close out the day:

================

#360: IKTS - f:l:d [6:45]:
https://ikts.bandcamp.com/track/f-l-d

Nominator: Kopazzynth [5/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 56.44
Revised Score: 57.92
Final Score: 61.01101 [Upgraded to 62.22] [Upgraded to 63.285]

(First Reaction: There are some overly pronounced "brrappp" type sounds that are the wrong type of static (??), but there's a really nice backing melody underneath all the chaos. Feels like a more computerized version of Venetian Snares Li2Co3:

https://venetiansnares.bandcamp.com/track/li2co3

Not a bad note to end the first phase on.)

!I love static, but this brrapp-ing sort of noise is remarkably unpleasant. It's like they're doing something that I love, but doing it completely wrong and I can't articulate what is wrong about the song, it simply *is* wrong. Which is an odd feeling because I should know why I'm vaguely repulsed by it, but the inability to process what is wrong makes it almost as enticing as it is repulsive. It is a wholly bizarre experience.

Still, there is also a beautiful song layered under the distortions, which is also appealing. I do not think that I like this quite enough to move it up a tier, but it is one of the most fascinating tracks to be nominated and i almost want to move it up a tier purely on principle.

[Final Thoughts: A song so fascinating & unappealing that it could fall virtually anywhere on the list, which has seemed to wound up in the middle of the "kinda like" zone. It's oddly beautiful and simultaneously unattractive, living in the middle between the two extremes. Smoking guns, hot to the touch, would cool down if we didn't use them so much, yeah. We're soul alone and soul really matters to me. Too much.

...*moves the song up a tier. You probably think I can't move a song up because it caused me to burst into a completely unrelated song for no reason, but there are no rules here. We've got no future, we've got no past. Here today, built to last, in every city. In every nation. From whatever the first place he names is to that second place, I'm not really in the mood to look up the lyrics.*

.....Okay, I'm not really sure what's happening right now, so I'm just going to flee to the next song before I wind up singing yet another song.]

[Later: Certainly a unique experience and worth an extra point.]

[Later: And another point. The song has a bit of a slow start, but once it gets into full swing, it's offering an experience unlike anything else on this half of the list.]

================

-Welcome to the Fantasy Zone-

============================

#359: Linkin Park - By Myself (3:09):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9voGeDduOXM&list=PLSZnrWBCBT3ng1xEWEkXC91StoZjD8BP3&index=6

Nominator: Mega_Mana [20/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 59.90
Revised Score: 57.13
FInal Score: 56.9507 [Upgraded to 63.29]

(First Reaction: The sadness, lack of self-confidence, and failure are all familiar topics for Linkin Park and this song is still good--it just doesn't seem to land as strongly as much as many of the other songs on the album do, leaving this song feeling almost superfluous. I mean, I still like it, but I don't think it contributes all that much to the overall album.)

Not entirely sure why I'm not fully connecting with the song. It's good and performed well, and the interlude is amazing:

How do you expect I will know what to do
When all I know is what you tell me to?

Those lines really hit. But the rest of the song feels like it's missing something... maybe it's the way the pre-chorus is a bit more metal than I'd like, maybe it's the way the song ends abruptly, or maybe it's something entirely unrelated. Either way, I never connect with the song strongly enough to move it up to the next tier.

[Final Thoughts: Probably the pre-chorus. I just seem to prefer the Linkin Park songs that don't go quite that hard. It's not a surprise that my favorite part is the interlude which is an incredibly subdued and quiet sadness in contrast to the rest of the song. Definitely something I kinda like, but it's fairly low scoring for a Linkin Park song.]

[Later: Okay, now I'm suddenly into these lyrics. Going up a tier.]

============================

-Get Ready-

============================

#358: The Band's Visit (original Broadway Cast) - Omar Sharif (3:24):
https://open.spotify.com/track/2TlW6dZNsvMiMf5nAZ6TV2?si=bbeca96b6345445a

Nominator: @Raka_Putra [19/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 70.00
Revised Score: 68.44
Final Score: 63.297

(First Reaction: Katrina Lenk has a powerful voice and I think she's one of the artists I'd most want to see a performance by. With her alluring voice, I feel like she could sing just about anything and it would be well worth the listen. I can't say the lyrics to this song really do a lot for me, as I can't say I relate to them or have much of a reaction, but her singing and stage presence are so great that it scarcely matters.)

1A fantastic performance by a tremendous singer that I'd love to hear more from, but I'm not really invested in the lyrics or story which I think makes me move this down *slightly* to just below the 70 point mark.

[Final Thoughts: Her voice continues to impress, but I'm not quite as attached to it as I use to be.]

============================

Continuing on from whatever that was with four more songs:

================

#364: Laurie Anderson - Radar [2:06]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=412Qkjb-yys

Nominator: @TunnelScene [10/27 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 60.08
Final Score: 60.08 [Upgraded to 61.72] [Upgraded to 63.22]

(First Reaction: I like the faint backing music near the end of the track, but I can't place what it's reminding me of. Something 8-bit, maybe? Ah well; I immediately listened to this a second time and still don't have a real guess, but it held my attention through both listens, so I'll say I liked this and add it to the Clump.)

!Probably just my imagination, but the computer-ish guitar playing reminds me of the intro to The Protomen - The Stand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnkbJ-H4r5k

Either way, the nominated song is neat. Simple, but slightly synthetic in a vaguely mysterious way. I like it.

[Final Thoughts: Even if the nostalgia is in my imagination, this song still tickles my fancy in a strangely nostalgic way. It's pretty neat.]

[later: Going to add an extra point here.]

[Later: I do like that instrument and the memories it brings back... going to try adding a bit more to the score here.[

================

-

============================

#363: The Birthday Massacre - Lovers End (4:14):
https://youtu.be/QNBd2xDYysE

Nominator: Kateee [14/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 71.00
Revised Score: 72.00
Final Score: 63.26

(First Reaction: Ooh, I've actually wanted to more from this band for a while now! I don't recall the name of their previously nominated track, but I remember enjoying it and finding it quite interesting. What really got me into them was when I randomly hit their cover of Last Daze which I played a lot last year. I'm always impressed by the way the lead singer can effortlessly shift between clean vocals & Nekrogoblikon demonic growling while still being easily understood--too many of the more extreme metal growling artists are borderline impossible to understand even with the lyrics in front of me.

This isn't as immediately gripping as Last Daze, largely because I'm not as interested in the story here... evil children aren't exactly my favorite story subjects. But the song itself is damn good and the band continues to not disappoint, so I highly enjoy it.)

!This song acts as a pretty good introduction to the "I really liked this" tier. While not my favorite song by the group, this is definitely the type of song I'm into these days and an enjoyable horror song that is surprisingly a rather easy listen.

[Final Thoughts: I still like the band and want to hear more from them, but the story of killer children isn't really connecting with me tonight... I do like the song, but I don't think it's quite at that "really like" level.]

[Later: The Birthday Massacre -Last Daze (Funland Mix):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8uuThyr3hI

In case anyone wants to check out that one.]

============================

-

====================

#362: Roman Tam, Jenny Tseng - [You're the Best in the World] (1998 Live Performance) (2:17):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtTbgb2_grs

Nominator: Handsomeboy [19/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 74.00
Revised Score: 75.55
Final Score: 63.2714

(First Reaction: *before listening* As much as Google Translate has improved, there's always a few points where it gets incredibly lost. It wants to translate the song title and lyric as "World Always Hello" which... kinda funny, yeah, but still utterly incoherent. (This has no impact on anything, I just wanted to laugh at it for a minute.]

*after listening* Is it just me or does the backing music sound kinda like the intro to Lavos' final battle theme? It's a simple note progression so I'm sure notes like those appear everywhere, but it adds an apocalyptic flair to this love song that I enjoy. It also makes this song feel like it was somehow created as a sarcastic rebuke to my criticism of "Iron Blood & Loyal Heart". The song's all, "oh, you think our romance is too traditional, huh? What if our next love song took place at the end of time while a giant alien space flea blows up the planet? Would you like that better?!?" and I'm like "yes, yes, so very much yes.")

!Not really much to add here. I still really like the song for the same blatantly-wrong-but-I-don't-care reason as before. Time Traveling Apocalyptic Romance=Big Points, apparently.

[Later: I'm not feeling the Chrono Trigger vibes as strongly as I usually do, but I do still like this a fair amount.[

====================

-

===================

#361: Deafheaven - Come Back (9.17)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMDw5A2eGOU

Nominator: Xtlm [7/13 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.41
Revised Score: 62.00
Final Score: 63.28

(First Reaction: *before listening* Ah,, this band. I remember the name from the first topic, Kateee nominated Dream House by them. I don't recall where the song placed, but I don't think I was prepared for this band at the time. I'm not sure I'm prepared now, but I've been exposed to far more songs of the genre so it'll be interesting?

*after* When the song started with overly intense drumming and vocals I couldn't make out even with a lyric sheet (that part I expected from the band), I thought it was going to be a bit difficult to listen to for the full nine minutes. But the song really doesn't stay full intensity for long; the instruments soften a bit, the lyrics get a bit cleaner, and then the song eventually transitions into practically being a radio-friendly soft rock instrumental for the remainder of the time It's certainly an unexpected journey and transition, much like Frank Zappa's "Truck Driver Divorce" in terms of impact (though certainly not in terms of anything musical).)

I'm not a fan of the first three minutes, there's just too much intense drumming for it to be something I enjoy--though I will say that, even at it's worst, the song never drops below like a "43.12" rating so it's not *bad*. It's just going all-in on a style that I don't care for. But once we get past that three minute hurdle, I do start to honestly like the song. Putting aside what the song is actually about and the lyrics, what I'm really drawn to is just the way the song feels: It conveys the feeling of breaking through the pain and being embraced by peace & serenity in a way that few songs can compare to. It's actually quite beautiful.

[Final Thoughts: Unexpected beauty. It's nice.]

===================

==============

488: THE WEEKND - OUTSIDE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/1yhDPgIPGoe3Bf8wRsK4u7

Nominator: Player_0 (17/30)

Initial Score: 38.16 [#518]
Revised Score: 47.24 [#466]
Final Score: 47.05 (upgraded to 48.60) [#488]

(First Thoughts: More boring than anything else.)

By keeping things a bit vaguer than usual, I find this song actually rather tolerable. It's still nothing I'd choose to listen to, but it's also not the type of thing I'd bother complaining about.

[Having nothing to say about this track that hasnt been covered at other Weeknd songs, we go back to the "Raetsel talks about any song she feels like to waste all of our time" segment.]

Actually, lets change the format up a bit and talk about a game intro. It's time for

Make My Video ~ INXS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpa0nw72pZ4

Have you ever wanted to listen to INXS' hit song Not Enough Time while staring at a pool table? Now, with the awesome power of the Sega CD, you finally can! Before 1992, you could only listen to the sweet sounds of INXS and dream of what it would be like if you could stare at a majestic pool table while listening to it. Doubtless, as you sat in your pool table-less room, you would be moved to tears. Yes, INXS truly made the greatest song of all time, but if you haven't experienced it with a pool table in your vision then...why, you could hardly say you experienced the song at all, now could you?

BUT IT GETS EVEN BETTER! If you wait long enough (and you will because who could turn away from this magnificent song?) then there'll actually be people at the pool table! You'll also learn amazing facts, such as: Supermodels are all great at pool and love playing it while simultaneously watching generic stock footage play alongside the sweet sounds of INXS' greatest hits. Truly, no game has ever offered such a realistic look into the pool halls of America, as Make My Video ~ INXS.

Also, did you know that the only way to get rid of supermodels is to use a generic library of stock film footage to create the ultimate INXS music video? It's true! You'll be all "please, supermodels, allow me to play pool with you! Or listen to some other music at least!" and they'll say "we are trapped in a Sisyphean nightmare, damned to play this game of pool for eternity, until someone creates the ultimate music video for INXS. By playing this game of pool, we have ultimate control over what music plays, and we shall only play the same three INXS songs until someone makes the perfect video to go with it. Please, Sega CD Master, please create the perfect music video and free us from this Hell!!"

But you'll never make the perfect video. You'll just listen to the unmatched greatness of Not Enough Time for eternity with them. For you realize the truth: There can be no perfect music video for Not Enough Time, for it is the most timeless of all classics. In fact, you might say, there's not enough time for you to even begin creating a video that could live up to 1% of its greatness. So you stay, trapped in that bar forever, listening to the song for all eternity. "Wasn't I playing a Sega CD game?, "you ask yourself as you feel your consciousness slipping away. It's better this way.

...I actually considered nominating this for Jesse's intro ranking topic, but he probably doesnt' even like INXS or staring blankly at pool tables.

[Final Thoughts: *insert Dean Pelton's panicked "I don't know what that was" reaction after his Peanut Rap here*

On topic: Good instrument, good vocals, poor (though not infuriating or outright bad) choice of lyrics.]

===============

Ah, so there was literally no reason for any of that. At all. Well, explains why I couldn't remember how I got onto that topic... Aaaanywho, I do like the sound of pool being played. Whether it was ironic or not to start with, it's stopped being ironic now and I think I'm going to move this to being slightly above the Neo Clump.]

[Later: Adding a few extra points to this.]

[Latest: I was going to give this some more points, but I guess we're further up the scoring chart than I thought. I felt, "I should move this up higher! Maybe not to the 64 point level, but at least 63.20 or something" and that's literally the exact score it already has? I'm confused now... I guess I've added points to so many songs that we're not quite where I thought we were.

But while I'm here, let's just kill some time with a few other explanations and sidenotes.

Community Peanut Rap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvzE64A28NI

I love this show and that panicked response has become one of my go-to references whenever I've gone so far off-track that even I don't recall where things started or how we got to this point.

Aaaanywho...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v-eIfIZ4oU

Littlest Pet Shop (2012) reference. The bunny had a tendency to babble incoherently, prompting a confused "what?" from whoever was nearby--at which point she'd do... whatever that is and give a very drawn out Aaaanywho before rephrasing things in a slower, less confusing manner. It's become one of my verbal tics whenever I need to hard reset & try to get back onto a topic.

That extra / in shifty-eyed emoticons (eg </.<)

Started as a secret furry thing. When I was in "bunny mode" all the time, it was kinda like a floppy ear dropping down to cover of my eyes. A way for me to be furry, but subtle enough that I could sneak it in without drawing a lot of attention to it. Though these days it's more of a signature than anything, as I'm usually not in a bunny sort of mood these days (which makes this username a bit archaic, but that's another thing entirely).

It kinda doubles as a Fluttershy thing as some of her mane hangs over her face, but mostly it's just a thing I do because it's a thing I do.]

====================

...actually, I wonder if this is the longest? There is another one that hasn't fallen yet that goes on for paragraphs about something not even tangentially related to the actual song that I think is larger, but it may not actually be. Might have to compare the when we get to that point.

I believe this is the second longest writeup of the topic. It... does not stay remotely on topic, yet it is quite large. It can't even fit in one post:

====================

#365: Terry Taylor - Playing Pool in Outer Space (from The Neverhood) (1:42):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdBft0i3FJQ

Nominator: rwlh [10/24 Remaining]

Initial Score: 51.00
Revised Score: 51.03
Final Score: 57.14 [Upgraded to 59.928[ [Upgraded to 61.20] [Upgraded to 63.20]

(First Reaction: *before listening* Rock 'N Roll Dixie is my jam from this soundtrack, but I remember liking a few other tracks. It's one of the few game soundtracks where I went out of my way to listen to the entire thing, so that's a fairly good sign.

*after clicking play* Ohh, right, right, pool. There are no pool tables in outer space and we didn't even, like, photoshop a pool table onto the album cover which means this doesn't quite work for the running gag. That being said, while there isn't much here musically, I do kinda like listening to the sounds of billiard balls so... actually not a bad pick, all things considered.)

It is a unique atmosphere and conceptually, I like the idea here. The clacketing of billiard balls echoing in the eternal void as a ghostly player calls his shot is certainly novel & I definitely have interests in "spoken word samples", "eternal voids", and "pool" so this *feels* like something I should really love... I'm just not really feeling it as a music track (even as a highly experimental one that questions what music even is) and it's certainly nifty, but not the sort of nifty that I want to revisit on a regular basis. Very neat, very cool, fantastic concept, not really what I'm looking for when I turn on some music.

...though if I ever made that hypothetical meditation playlist, I'd be interested in sneaking this onto it at some point. Not really sure how I'd react to this when already in a trance-like state, but it'd be interesting to test. In theory.

[Final Thoughts: Not entirely sure I'd call it music, but I kinda like it. It's definitely a novel experience and worth giving a few extra points so that it can make it into that "kinda like" tier.]

[Later: Well, I do like experiences and this is certainly one. Let's move this right up to the line of the next tier.]

[Later: Ah yes, pool. For the benefit of those who weren't here last year, an abridged version which is still going to be long because I'm am bad at summarizing:

I've had an odd fascination with the Sega CD's "Make My Video: INXS" for a long time now. I saw a review of it in one of the gaming magazines (probably GamePro) and really wanted it--not because it was good, but because the band looked so utterly moronic on the cover and I've always been into enjoying things ironically. It used the cover of their album "Welcome to Wherever You Are" which.. well I know I was being cruel to it, but let's just say they weren't the exactly the pinnacle of 90's fashion.

This led to me eventually falling in love with their song "Not Enough Time" and possibly liking the band unironically? My marking out whenever they played on the radio started as a joke, but it kinda stopped being a joke at some point. You know what they say: Beware what you do ironically, 'lest you start to do it 'ronically.

Aaaanywho, this SOMEHOW wound up with me going off on a really arbitrary tangent about the intro to the game. I have no idea which song set me off, but I went on this massive hallucinogenic stream of consciousness gibberish about the sheer majesty of the intro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpa0nw72pZ4

Ah, look at that glorious pool table. You need nothing else; it's the greatest song ever invented playing as you stare at a pool table. There is not, and indeed could never be, a greater music video than just staring at a beautiful pool table.

This was meant to be a one-off joke (probably; I have no idea what sparked this conversation, nor where I was going with it), until it turned out that someone actually HAD nominated a music video with a pool table in it. paulg235 was henceforth known as a time-traveling warlock for giving me something I demanded months before I knew I wanted it. Which brings us to this topic, in which there are more pool tables & pool related songs--presumably from people who are "in" on the running joke and wanted to keep it going another year, though it could also be a coincidence.

...Actually, now I want to go back and find that incoherent post because I need to know what started this gag:

*continued with a copy of a writeup from last year*

Two songs to open the morning:

============================

#367: Hidenori Shoji - Sky High (3:17):
https://youtu.be/rVMDU9eB12M

Nominator: NFUN: [14/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 68.24
Revised Score: 63.11
Final Score: 63.11

(First Reaction: Feels kinda like a modern Sonic special stage type song... feels very "get through this trippy, collapsing dimension to collect the Chaos Emerald before time runs out"-esque, which I like. And really, I tend to like anything that feels space or alternate dimension-y.)

!Trippy space music is usually an easy way to get into the "I like this" tiers.

[Final Thoughts: Space. Space space space. Space.]

============================

-You know how it is when you wake up three hours early, so you basically have to go back to bed, but then you have a hard time waking up the second time around? Blegh.-

========================

#366: Every Time I Die - sexsexsex (3:27):
https://open.spotify.com/track/28aPNbVF6r6AyY576nIFmt?si=2c016f5a76584f84

Nominator: Bane [18/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.03
Revised Score: 56.06
Final Score: 60.00 [Upgraded to 63.111111]

(First Reaction: I know this song is metaphorical, but Dorian Electra did the whole BDSM thing better.)

Song uses a lot of repetition with the majority of lyrics repeating themselves... like the opening of the song:

The way it should be
The way it should be
The way it should be is all ways

I'll accept yours
I'll accept yours
I'll accept yours always

The way it should be
The way it should be
The way it should be is all ways

I'll accept yours
I'll accept yours
I'll accept yours always

Punished and pure
Punished and pure
Wait and serve

Punished and pure
Punished and pure
Wait and serve

It leads to some sections of this song feeling almost tedious. It also doesn't help that this is one of the harsher songs on the album musically, battering me sonically at the same time it's boring me. The song really starts off on the wrong foot and never fully recovers, leaving it as one of the lower points on the album.

-BUT- it's not all bad news. BDSM songs are playing rather well this year (and no, I'm not going to question that at all), combining 666 & 69 is strangely clever--if you must have sex then you should always invite Satan--, the themes of accepting a suppressed side of yourself are actually quite appealing, and I always enjoy Buckley showing off with intellectual lyrics (the reference to a work by Marquis de Sade is especially clever). There's a lot of things I love about this track. Enough that I'm moving this a bit higher up the scoring chart, though the drawbacks to the song are enough that I don't think I want to go up a whole tier or anything.

[Final Thoughts: Ehhhhhh... yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and raise it a tier.]

[Later: Not a bad song. Clever & appealing lyrics, the intensity is not nearly as rough as I remember it being... going to try 63 points for a bit.]

========================

========================

#369: Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor (14:39):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XogMdXvzfeU

Nominator: Ark [10/17 Remaining]

Initial Score: 63.04
Revised Score: 49.44
Final Score: 48.66428 [Upgraded to 53.00] [Upgraded to 55.10] [Upgraded to 59.01] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 63.02]

(First Reaction: There are so many different sections to this song that trying to summarize everything into one or two sentences is quite impossible. There are parts that I love, parts that I find fascinating, and parts that are "RARR I AM METAL SINGER, I AM GOING TO GROWL AND PLAY LOUDLY BECAUSE WE ARE METAL BAND GRRARRRR" which I do not care for. I think the parts that I quite like outnumber the metal sections (or, at least, my enjoyment of the good outweights my boredom with the bland) that it's safely over the 60 point mark, but I need to do a more concentrated breakdown of all the parts to this song for the writeup to actually go anywhere.

..mind you, almost none of these writeups ever go anywhere anyway...)

!This song has some of the most ludicrously, overly epic drumming & metal yelling of all metal music. But the interlude around the halfway point is really quite nice & it does take a while before it goes back to... the parts that I really don't care for. WIth apologies, tonight I'm far more agitated by all the drumming and overly metal aspects of this song; there's just so much of that & those sections go on for so long that I find it hard to even recall the parts of the track that I did enjoy. It's not like I hate, or even especially dislike the song right now, but it's decidedly on the lower half of scoring.

[Final Thoughts:

Intro: Very soft and pleasing. Even when the electric guitar joins and starts trashing, it isn't too intense. 57 points.

First two verses: A bit too metal for me and not a lot I'm attracted to lyrically; 49 points.

Instrumental break: Basically the same as the intro. 57 points.

Third verse: Basically the same as the first two, 49 points.

Fourth verse: Ah, tragedy and regret. Now we are getting somewhere. 62 points.

Chorus: Clean vocals and not bad lyrics. Not as appealing as the fourth verse, but enjoyable enough... 54 points?

Instrumental break: Ooh, we get some "soft and wistful electric guitar" around this point, that's neat. 55 points.

Fifth verse and what I'm going to call a bridge: 44 points. Starting to get a bit too "epic metal" at this point.

"I must have seen it coming *epic drum bashing*: 24 points. Go away drums.

Interlude with chirping birds: Sure, I'll take some bird sounds in my metal, why not? 50.80

Later in the interlude with a different string instrument: Pleasingly soft. 52 points.

Verse "I lost count here, this is a long song": Nice enough. Longing for the past and what not. Not as powerfully sad as fourth verse, but we're in the right area of lyrics. 54 points.

Final verses: RARR, SCREAM AND BASH DRUM, RARR WE ARE METAL BAND GRRRARARRGGHHHHHH 23 points.

Chorus reprisal and outro: ...50.50 points. It hasn't gotten worse, but I don't think the repetition helped the song any and the outro probably goes on a bit longer than it needs to and then feels like it just kinda stops. There isn't a satisfying conclusion.

AVERAGE SCORE: Let's round it slightly to 48.66428,

...well, I like the fourth verse and there are some decent sections, but the intense drumming portions really tank the song's score.]

[Later: Ehhh... the high points are high enough that I don't think averaging the score actually works here and I'm quite into the instrumental break today. Going to try moving this up to 53 points for a bit and revisit it later.]

[Also Later: The intense parts of the song are trying very, very hard to take the song down... but I'm feeling like putting this back to the "kinda like" level, at least. I doubt I'll take it all the way back up to the 60 point tier it came from, but it's getting much closer to it, for a song that was scheduled to be eliminated before we reached the 50 point level.]

[And Also Later: Part of a block of 5 songs that are being moved up to the 59 point level because I do not want to eliminate them.]

[Time: Sure, Neo Clump, everything to Neo Clump, that's a thing I can do.]

[Keeps On Slippin', Slippin', Slippin': I've had parts of this stuck in my head lately... enough so that I was rather looking forward to hearing this again. The metal sections are still too metal, but the high points are rather high. Going to reset this to its initial value, I think it'll probably fit in better up there than all the way down here in Neo Clump.]

[Into the Future:

There is a road that I must travel
Let it be paved or unseen
May I be hindered by a thousand stones
Still onward I'd crawl down on my knees

I kinda love that section these days and the more subdued parts of the song, but there are enough epic parts that I dislike that I think this is as far as the song goes.]

========================

-oh hey, I guess that previous song was also part of the "block of five songs" that I still don't actually remember:-

========================

#368: DEMONDICE - (Outro) Goodnight, Japan (2:19):
https://open.spotify.com/track/06vzp4OHvYJadTLPE0ijM5?si=21f27cc2370e4737

Nominator: Murphiroth [9*/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 56.16
Revised Score: 59.76
FInal Score: 59.92 [Upgraded to 63.04]

(First Reaction: A rather nice, ambient instrumental track.)

!It's pretty. I wish it were longer, but it's pretty close to the 60 point tier as is.

[Final Thoughts: I really wish this was longer, but this is definitely my type of instrumental outro.]

[Later: Oh yeah, I'm definitely into this type of quiet city ambience. I'm moving this a decent ways up the list.]

========================

And that's it for today, should be back on track tomorrow, thank you for your understanding as always.

Forgot to say that I did add the posted Architects song to the list. Moving along, five songs for the day, all right now:

============================

#372: Ryu Umemoto - Activation (2:15):
https://youtu.be/o_KWnPJvKy4

Nominator: NFUN: [15/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 59.478
Revised Score: 60.12
Final Score: 60.23 [Upgraded to 62.996]

(First Reaction: These topics could always use more old computer VGM, they're not games that typically get a lot of representation. I think I'd like something more primitive and crunchy than this, but it's still good representation and enjoyable.)

!Still not exactly one of my favorites from this era of computer music, but something I like enough to give a little boost to in order to move it up a tier.

[Final Thoughts: It's not quite "BWOOM"-ing notes, but there are these sort of vroom-ing & flooom-ing notes that I like.

...No, I'm not going to explain that any better.]

[Later: Floom!]

============================

-Fin Fang Floom-

============================

#371: The Music Man (original Broadway Cast) - Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little/Goodnight Ladies (1:56):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5wYdEMPGGB0wWDX0nVI54m?si=8200150832e043f2

Nominator: @Raka_Putra [20/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.13
Revised Score: 63.00
Final Score: 60.103 [Upgraded to 63.00]

(First Reaction: I probably shouldn't give this a very high score, but it made me laugh. Gave me a headache from all the fast-paced, repetitive chirping--but made me laugh all the same.)

...Honestly, I'm kinda in the mood to run around chirping at people, so I'll move this song up a tier. I'm sure someone will argue that I shouldn't inflate a song's score just because it features chirping and that just because I *can* give scores for any reason that doesn't mean I *should*. Those people should know they are in the wrong topic series by now.

I'm sure you want a more logical writeup; some commentary on the performances, a discussion of the implications of depicting a group of women as non-humans that don't know when to shut up, or really any indication that I'm making an attempt to engage with the song on some higher level. But you're not getting that; instead I will now run in circles clucking at nothing in particular.

Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep1.

[Final Thoughts: I do like having an excuse to chirp...]

[Cheep: Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep.]

============================

-there's also a Muppet Show version of that song performed by Gonzo and the Muppet Chickens-

============================

#370: T-Pain, Kurt Hugo Schneider - T-Pain Mashup (3:04):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5daPDkqS2ftQClyDn1pSk2?si=61dbc9f32bbc42eb

Nominator: CPU [10/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 58.67
Revised Score: 62.008
Final Score: 63.00001

(First Reaction: The beautiful music combined with these lyrics is certainly something. I don't know what, but something. I think I'd prefer an instrumental, but I do kinda like hearing T-Pain--he's appeared on enough things I've watched that there is a fun "hey, I know that guy!" kinda thing going on, even if I haven't really listened to his music before.)

!The beautiful backing music is kinda doing all the work on this track, but I like what it's doing enough to move it up a tier.

[Final Thoughts: An unexpectedly pretty mashup.]

============================

Next writeup is too large to fit here, so I'll need a second post:

============================

#374: JAM PROJECT - Transformers EVO (4:37):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5CANiyHKmhT7PX8YCnN2AB?si=0d1c77cc186f4049

Nominator: CPU [11/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 45.10
Revised Score: 47.70
Final Score: 55.59 [Upgraded to 55.949] [Upgraded to 58.137] [Upgraded to 62.93]

(First Reaction: I'm not entirely positive what it is, but I think this might be a bit too hard rock for my tastes? That doesn't seem quite right, but after the song ramps up in intensity, I find it a bit unpleasant. Not really bad, but not something I'm into either. Which is sad because I was fairly excited for new (to me) Transformers songs.)

...Actually, in retrospect, I just don't think I'm much of a fan of the band. I don't know how I didn't recognize them as the Super Robot Wars group immediately, but I kinda don't usuallly like the theme songs? SRW T's theme, "Tread on the Tiger's Tail", is just the worst kind of cheesy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlfJTlB7WEA

"SUPER ROBOT! We are fighting!" is just... *sigh*

I rather like Az's first theme from SRW 30, "Divine Beast", but that's not a Jam Project song... it's definitely tamer, going for a jpop idol flair. It rarely sounds like a battle theme at all, which is definitely a big plus for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49420myqcP8

I was quite disappointed when that song was replaced with her second theme later in the game... but again, I've strayed too far from the original topic.

Transformers EVO PROS:

1: I do like transformers.

2: "Open your wings and transform" is a fun lyric and image. Reminds me of Gundam Wing, which doesn't hurt things.

CONS:

1: The band's presumably just not one I'm into, or at least, I can't recall being a fan of any of their themes.

2: I planned on saying "I'd have preferred the Decepticon song over the Autobot one", but honestly, I don't think the singer can pull off the dark vibe enough to properly sell it... as much as I love the fact that there is a Decepticon anthem...

...yeah, that's about it, really.

[Final Thoughts: I swear the audio to this song is much better on YouTube, so I'm replacing the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihFKsEcCLnc

And also raising this song up a fair amount to the "kinda like" tier. I'm also probably more in the mood for battle music like this than usual and also feeling fairly nostalgic for some Super Robot Wars... kinda want to dig out my copy of T and see what happens if you side with Haman in the war between her and Char for control over Zeon. The correct answer is obviously "don't help either of the genocidal freaks", followed by "help Char because he's awesome & occasionally good", with literally no in universe reason for you to side with HAMAN of all people.

[Later: Super Robot Wars T spoilers continued: helping Haman is pretty dull actually, there's surprisingly little change between helping her or not helping either of them.

I do love Transformers and Robot Wars, so this is a neat combination of things that appeal to me. I'm still not crazy for the band, but I do kinda like this.]

[Roll Out: I'm still in a SRW mood, so I'm far more amicable to this band than usual. Also, I still swear the audio sounds much better on YouTube on my end.]

============================

-remember the "block of five songs"? No? Me neither, but here's another of them:-

============================

#373: Joey Sellers - Requiems (6:16):
https://youtu.be/hg5PMCSXye8

Nominator: Haste [6/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 64.14
Revised Score: 52.69
Final Score: 55.08 [Upgraded to 59.02] [Upgraded to 62.94]

(First Reaction: I like this. I dare say that, if I had to listen to live music, I might prefer something like this. Something I like, in a genre versatile enough that it's unlikely to get dull, and it seems likely to attract a quieter fanbase than other songs I like. You can practically hear the very polite clapping at the end of the song.)

!It's nice, but I'm afraid that I'm not quite in the mood for this subset of jazz as I was on the initial listen... I can appreciate that it's very high quality & there's still parts of it I like, but I think I'm going to bump it down a tier for the moment.

[Final Thoughts: Relaxing and smooth, in a way that I'm back to kinda liking it. Definitely a genre I should listen to more often.]

[And Also Later: Part of a block of 5 songs that are being moved up to the 59 point level because I do not want to eliminate them.]

[Later: Ahh, this is smooth and relaxing. Let's go ahead and take this back up a tier.]

============================

NFUN posted...

The ending of Thank You is the explicit tear jerker for players of the game. It's a reprise of the main theme that plays at the end of every major boss fight. I fucking cried in anticipation of Kobayashi doing that

I probably should have guessed it was something like that, but since I haven't touched the series since the Genesis & am often quite poor at noticing reprisals or reused motifs, that's not really something I can pick up on.

-

Last four for the day. I'll be busy tomorrow, so it should just be a half-day with five songs posted in the early morning:

================

#376: GELL - R.N.A! [4:45]:
https://gell.bandcamp.com/track/r-n-a

Nominator: Kopazzynth [6/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 58.405
Revised Score: 62.78
Final Score: 60.00 [Upgraded to 60.00000009] [Upgraded to 62.78]

(First Reaction: I'm not sure what feelings this song is going for. It's start off like "happy adventure game" music, but then it gradually slows down--like your life support is failing and you wait for your inevitable death, as the song finally succumbs to silence. And then rockets back up (rather literally with rocket engine sounds) as the song picks up as the ship's power is recharged or something. I'd have preferred the bleak ending, but it's a fun journey sliding from hopeful to despair and back to hope.)

!The song is a fun journey and I'm going to give it a few extra points so it can reach the next tier.

[Final Thoughts: The slow march to death is quite entrancing and I actually don't mind things rocketing back to life at the end; it's a fun spin on a song that would otherwise be tragic & I like it.]

[Later: I'd say the experience of this musical journey is worth a little nudge to go above the Neo Clump.]

[Later: That dream like, floating through space interlude towards the middle of the track is wonderful. I think I'm going to go ahead and move this back to its Revised Score.]

================

-and now, another of the songs that have received a large number of upgrades since its "Final" score-

============================

#375: Azealia Banks - 212 (3:25):
https://youtu.be/bC6gTNKl-ak

Nominator: Kateee [15/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 51.00
Revised Score: 46.12
Final Score: 54.00 [Upgraded to 55.00] [Upgraded to 56.00005] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 61.225] [Upgraded to 62.709] [Upgraded to 62.92]

(First Reaction: Ehhh... I'm not quite *as* overly sensitive as I was even last year, but I think it's still a few years too early for me to really deal with this song.)

I like the bridge at about 1:45. I actually like it quite a bit to be honest. There's a slowed down, dreamlike mood to that part of the song that is intoxicating in a "I want to hear an entire song of this" type way. I just don't really care for most of the song; even if I could get past the lyrics, the style of song and music is borderline unpleasant... like I seriously doubt removing or changing the lyrics would improve my views on the song much at all because I just dislike the basic foundation the song is built on more than I care about the language used.

At least "Bitch, the end of your lives are near" is a fun line and I'm well aware of the value of desensitizing myself to this type of song. I keep going back-and-forth between the high 40's and the low 50's for the placement. Some days the amazing bridge and value of the exposure therapy push it more into the "like" category, some days it isn't. Today is a "not" day.

[Final Thoughts: Ehhhhhhhhh..... it's a bit much, but I'm in an angrier mood and more willing to give this song a chance than usual.]

[Later: I dunno, I do kinda like this. Going to go ahead and add one bonus point so this can reach the next tier.]

[L-a-t-e-r: This is another of those songs that was added to the 55 point tier before it became a wall. And I'm going to slightly delay this elimination again. ]

[l i t t l e l a t e r: Ya know, I think I'm actually starting to like this one.]

[Still Later: I'm having a hard time properly determining how much I like this song. Most of the lyrics don't really appeal to me and the genre is too... something--it's not really head-banging music or club music, but it's reminding me of dancing in some way and that's vaguely unpleasant. But the anger is compelling and I keep refusing to actually eliminate it. It's all quite strange.]

[Even Later: Adding one more point to this. I do really like that bridge and the anger is certainly pleasing.]

[And Again: Adding just a little bit extra to the score this time.]

============================

...actually, I need another post. Can't fit the third song into this one, much less the fourth.

BlackDra90n posted...

I think that makes all of the Architects songs eliminated right? It's funny because I remember I nominated these songs particularly because they were some of the few orchestral versions of songs they released. But soon after the nominations closed they announced a full orchestral version of their For Those That Wish to Exist album and I was just like damn, wish they released this a month earlier haha.

That should be the last of their songs, yeah. Anything on that album you think is especially worth checking out?

-

Two songs for the early morning. Slightly late, but not so late that I didn't get anything done:

============================

#382: Hideaki Kobyashi - Thank You (8:53):
https://youtu.be/HlB6_ZxCG1k

Nominator: NFUN: [16/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 62.79
Revised Score: 62.79
Final Score: 62.597

(First Reaction: I'm sure I'd be moved to tears if I'd spent years playing the game to get to this final farewell, but it's still sweet even without all the emotional weight behind it.)

!It's a sweet song.

[Final Thoughts: It's a touching farewell song, though one I find it difficult to say much about. I suppose it does go on a bit long--I feel like the last minute doesn't contribute a lot to the song--but I like it.]

============================

-Knifin' Around-

============================

#381: Yelle - Chimie Physique (3:55):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rApln9QHkcg&list=PLR2ATVrSGTX91hJXNoWIHovzSIqVNBM8u&index=5

Nominator: hotdogturtle [6/14 Remaining]

Initial Score: 71.28
Revised Score: 64.67
Final Score: 62.61

(First Reaction: A very good song in all respects. Catchy and a good beat, but subdued enough to not throw me on one of my "grr, arrgh, me hate dance" tangents. The music also feels sad and nostalgic in a way I find most appealing--even though the lyrics are too explictly about a sexual relationship, the way they are delivered is something I'm fairly drawn to. Well done, all around.)

!Another song in the "I still like this, but not quite at the 70 point tier level right now" pile... it's still great, but repeating "chimie physique entre nous" 20 times during the song is a tad excessive and I'm not as drawn to it as I was originally.

[Final Thoughts: I do like this, though the score seems to be dropping a bit with each listen.]

============================

Last four for the day:

===================

#386: Diablo Swing Orchestra - War Painted Valentine [4:01]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAGzkoGkc-c&list=PLbqs-W3v0JokCip1yCvbDS5Diki_yhvvC&index=2

Nominator: CJones [7/18 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.01
Revised Score: 50.01
Final Score: 46.59 [Upgraded to 49.26] [Upgraded to 53.087] [Upgraded to 58.000005] [Upgraded to 62.473]

(First Reaction: A satirical song that manages to be so ludicrously heavy-handed that it murders the very concept of satire. "We don't wanna tolerate, we know how to discriminate"? Apparently even I have limits to that sort of thing. Still, the song is both catchy and weird enough that it's well worth the listen and I think I might kinda sorta like aspects of this song other than the lyrics? It's hard to tell at this point.)

It's definitely weird, but I don't think it really works for me. Throwing flamenco music, synthetic voices, metal yelling, sarcastic whining, and chicken noises into a blender to create "metal flamenco war chicken screeching" was certainly unique. This is probably the most bizarre song on the album, if not this entire topic... which, once again, probably would have been worth a lot back when insanity was the only thing I really cared about, but these days... it's like... "do I actually like any of the dozen things this song is doing??" and... "well I don't dislike it " is the best answer I have to that.

So, in a way, I'm glad I had a chance to listen to this. In another way, this song is a pretty clear dividing line in that anything below it is in the "exactly 50 points or less" camp and anything above it is something I definitely enjoyed more.

...well, I mean, technially every song is a dividing point between the things I liked more and less than it, but that sentence seemed to make sense back when I started typing it.

[Final Thoughts: ....I still have no idea what to make of this particularly blend of chaos. I'm apparently less into it now?]

[Later: I think I'll move this closer to the 50 point mark. It's bizarre, but not entirely in ways that I enjoy and I don't know what to make of it.... but that oddness is definitely right on the line of "slight dislike" and "slight like", with 46 points being too low for whatever it is.]

[Still Later: I guess it's weird enough to get a few extra points? Probably?]

[Latest Developments: Okay, I kinda like whatever this thing is.]

[Developing Story: Oddly, I think I like this song lately. Going to go ahead and move it up a tier.]

===================

-

==========================================

#385: Zao Dao Ji - You Who Love 105 Degrees C (3:16):
https://open.spotify.com/track/61fGNB6BX8I8rsfyYvKlFE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NxszDX4UWI

Nominator: UF8 [17/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 57.96
Revised Score: 60.00
Final Score: 60.00 [Upgraded to 60.00000007] [Upgraded to 62.479]

(First Reaction: Moderately cute.)

!Fun and cute enough that I enjoy it, with some personal bias towards the song because of how much effort it took to find it again. The original link was removed and I couldn't find any trace of a vtuber named Daodao Ji, no matter how I tried. After enough Googling, I managed to find that her name is usually translated as Zao Dao Ji which eventually led me to a video of someone playing Beat Saber to her version of the song. Which is close enough for my purposes, but I couldn't be positive it was the right track since I didn't remember the song clearly and kept searching... eventually I found an archived version of the description of the original video's post, which contained a Spotify link to the recording! Aha! A valid and official link to the song!

It was a time-consuming journey... one that has made me grow more attached to the song because now I have a personal connection to it. This is not fair to the many other songs that did not require me to scour the internet, but it is what it is.

[Final Thoughts: Definitely cute enough to stay at the 60 point tier.]

[Later: Minor boost to get above the Clump.]

[Later: And a bit more substance to this boost.]

==========================================

-

===================

#384: Chewitts - "I like to chew it Chewits!" [0:29]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsiA18fw_MI

Nominator: paulg [19/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 49.17
Revised Score: 52.19
Final Score: 55.019 [Upgraded to 62.48]

(First Reaction: ...Alright? It's still as mind-numbing and repetitive as the actual song, but the animation is kinda funny and the song is so abridged that it ends before it can really get annoying. It's not really good or bad, just a thing that exists.)

I should not give this song quite so many points because it's definitely being hard carried by the video, but the image of a dinosaur using busses as rollerskates and skating past a billboard of himself while a pulsing dance track informs you of how much he likes a specific brand of candy is comedy gold and I will die on this hill. The song is not of a genre I like, it's not espeially well sung, it only repeats one sentence endlessly, and the only positive thing I have to say is "at least this version of the song ends before it becomes a form of torture, unlike the original track that this is parody of"---but you combine this with the video and you get something so much better than either of them separately.

A jingle that repeats one sentence way too many times? Fuck off with that. A skating dinosaur? What is this, some sort of "We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story' nonsense?? A skating dinosaur while a jingle tells you how much this dinosaur loves some stupid brand of candy? YES PLEASE. So I'm going to put this into the positive score categories, but not far into it... like I can't imagine ever choosing to listen to this as a song, so I think this is basically the limit of how far I'll let it get in music ranking contest.

Now a music video contest, this would probably be way closer to getting first place than I'd care to admit...

[Final Thoughts: This is nothing without the video, but I actually do kinda like this with the video attached to and I can give bonus points for videos whenever I want. I try not to do so often, but will make exceptions whenever doing so amuses me. And this.... this amuses me.]

[Later: How could I forget about the dog barking at the dinosaur & the unhinged, manic smiles on the faces of those trapped inside his bus skates? This is just dumb enough that I like it quite a bit.]

[Later: I absolutely love this commerical, but I think this is as far as I want to carry it in a music ranking contest... if this were a music video contest though? Pretty good odds this would actually get first place.

Also, I believe this means the Peanut Commercial is King of Food? Because drinking songs don't inspire the same reaction, so that one song isn't considered as "Food Song".]

===================

-

========================

#383: Serj Tankian - Butterfly (4:10):
https://open.spotify.com/track/3dNdXqCoPY4XEZ1LHRvHjQ?si=da533bf699f54577

Nominator: Murphiroth [10*/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 60.00
Final Score: 62.58

(First Reaction:

...Well, I can't say I'm exactly thrilled with the choice of metaphors here, but the song itself is still good enough that I'm adding it to the CLUMP.)

!The instrumentation during the "We are being sacrificed" parts of the chorus is A++ work, I love that. I'm honestly not particularly into the rest of the song or the lyrics, but I love the sound on those parts enough to keep it at the 60 point level. The very subdued "Why can't we" practically spoken-word sections near the end of the song are also something I enjoy.

[Final Thoughts: I want to go ahead and move this one up a couple points.]

========================

Let's see if I can fit three more into this post (definitely can't get four):

============================

#389: Company (1996 London Cast) - Side by Side by Side / What Would We Do Without You? (7:26):
https://open.spotify.com/track/4kgjeRFY2rZ5RNHmjQWixH?si=e3556cee29af4041

Nominator: @Raka_Putra [21/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 47.35 [upgraded to 55.55 during First Reaction]
Revised Score: 58.46
FInal Score: 62.43

(First Reaction: An older sounding showtune than most of the nominations, in terms of energy it reminds me of that old Bugs Bunny Show intro "This Is it":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFTTB6gOAJA

...not a good comparison, but work with me here, I basically can only relate things to cartoons and video games & I can't think of a single game with a classic showtune sound.so here we are and... *notices the rest of the soundtrack* wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, this is where Being Alive comes from? I have an acapella version of that saved somewhere!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjDro8BX6zM

I forget exactly how I found this song. I was playing with Boil the Frog, that website where you can have an AI generate a playlist that gradually goes from one artist to another and Voctave popped up directly between whatever artists I entered. I can't recall if it gave me this song directly or I started playing other Voctave songs on my own, but this song right here, I actually made a point of Liking it on Spotify so that I could find it! You didn't tell me this song was performed by the same character!

You start to argue that there is no possible way you could know her fondness for a cover of a different song from the musical and that it's literally impossible for you to respond because you're not here at the moment & won't even read this message until it's posted in the distant future--possibly even over a year later--but you refrain from saying anything. As responding would require you to shatter the space-time continuum this is widely considered to be for the best.

I always half-wondered where that song was from, though not enough to actually search. And knowing this is a lead-in to a song I like does actually raise its value to me--it shouldn't, but I've never claimed to be unbiased, and "added context to another song on my playlist" is a valid reason to like something. Going to bump the score up to 55.55 for now.

You start to argue that the First Reaction has somehow managed to post two other songs, go on for sevveral paragraphs, and break the fourth wall without ever saying a single word about the song that we're supposed to be discussing, but decide to preserve the fabric of reality for now.)

!Fun showtune of a different style than anything else nominated. Neat.

[Final Thoughts:

[Couples]

What would we do without you?

[Robert]

Just what you usallly do.

[Couples]

Right!

The casual dismissal of Robert's entire existence without any hesitation from anyone is probably the most brutal line of any song in the topic.]

============================

-

=========================================

#388: Architects - Animals (Orchestra Version) (4:28):
https://youtu.be/OCJi5hVdiZU

Nominator: BlackDra90n [11/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 64.00
Revised Score: 65.79
Final Score: 62.46

(First Reaction: The orchestra truly embiggened this song with their cromulent performance.

...seriously, this song is elevated greatly by the amazing ochestra on this track, I can't help it if my broken mind speaks in Simpson's memes.)

!This topic shall forever be known as the Simpsons Meme topic. Aaanywho, this is a good song. Might move it up later.

[Final Thoughts: Actually, I seem to like the original version of this song an equal amount. Today, I'm not finding an appreciable difference in the instrumentation to have an actual preference. The lyrics here are on point; "we're all a bunch of fucking animals" hits that sweet spot at the intersection of bleak, angry, and non-human that is incredbly rare. I'm feeling this as a bit more of an early entrant into the 60 point tier, but I definitely like it.].

=========================================

-

================

#387: beaunoise - 251e Quad Sequential [4:26]:
https://beaunoise.bandcamp.com/track/251e-quad-sequential

Nominator: Kopazzynth [7/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.26
Revised Score: 53.60
Final Score: 60.49 [Upgraded to 62.47]

(First Reaction: I wasn't a fan for most of the song, but the section that starts at around the 3 minute mark would be fairly high-scoring on its own. Think I'll put this in the "slightly positive" category.)

...That seems like an oddly specific section to have been drawn to, but I can almost see where I was going with that. The song slows down and goes for a "stealth mission" vibe, it's very "sneaking around through tunnels". The section is brief and doesn't really do a whole lot, but it almost transports me to a different environment or shifts me into a different identity. I think a different song that used that portion as a base to go in a more atmospheric direction could be absolutely perfect. I think I want to add a few points to the score here because it's right on the cusp of doing something I absolutely love and I want it to be a bit further into the "things I liked" category than it was.

[Final Thoughts: Ooh, I'm liking this one tonight. It's a mysterious song with a highly intriguing sound to it which I find to be quite enjoyable.]

[Later: Strange and mysterious. Think I'll add a few extra points to this one.]

================

It's a bit late, but a delayed Happy New Year to all! We start the top half of the ranking with three songs, as I'm oddly on time and things can proceed on schedule:

========================

#392: Bjork - Isobel (5:46):
https://open.spotify.com/track/2FXjdR7wEPcD5u4Ylqfd5i?si=cb2b8ed56223453b

Nominator: Bane [19/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 49.04
Revised Score: 51.75
Final Score: 58.18 [Upgraded to 62.222]

(First Reaction:

This is the story of Isobel; she was born in a forest by a spark, and as she grew up, she realized that the pebbles on the forest floor were actually skyscrapers. And by the time she was a grown-up woman and the skyscrapers had taken over the forest, she found herself in a city, and she didn't like all the people there so much, because they were a bit too clever for her.

She decided to send to the world, all these moths that she had trained to go and fly all over the world and go inside windows of people's houses the ones that were too clever and they'd sit on their shoulder and remind them to stop being clever and start to function by their instincts. They do that by saying "Nah-nah-nan-nah-nah!" to them... (Bjrk waves a finger in front of her face)... and then they'd say "Oh! Sorry! I was being all clever there!", and start functioning on instinct.

...Sure, why not.)

Well, it's a certainly unique story and I appreciate how unusual it is. There's also something oddly charming about her melodic "Na na na na" chants, to a point that I actually kinda like those sections, even though they're theoretically something I wouldn't enjoy. It's enough that I'm going to bump the song up to the "slightly enjoyed" tier; I'm still not crazy about it, for some reason. It's like this song's strangeness and my strangeness aren't compatible with one another, but it's somewhat enjoyable to experience it all the same.

[Final Thoughts: Weird song, but I'm kinda digging it tonight.]

[Later: I think I'll go ahead and raise this up a tier. It took a while to grow on me, but I'm starting to like this one.]

========================

-not enough time to make arbitrary references though-

============================

#391: Iron Frill - FANTASTIC LOVERS (4:07):
https://open.spotify.com/track/6aPgmefjKfEOR4RwJNlA95?si=a1087de324b4476a

Nominator: Player_0 [12/33 Remaining]

Initial Score: 39.96
Revised Score: 70.00
Final Score: 62.37

(First Reaction: A fairly forgettable love song. I don't especially dislike it, but I doubt I'll remember much about it or come back to it in the future.)

Okay, so it's a bouncy jpop love song that doesn't really do much that seems original or special, but I'm actually really in the mood for this? Also, there is something slightly mindbending about this being a fictional band that's the favorite artist of a different fictional band member. 'It's a love song that was the biggest hit of [fictional band] that wsa the favorite song of [other fictional artist[' is just a lovely sentence--though to be fair, I gave the song the 70 points before I decided to look up why this song was credited to a different group than Franchouchou, so please don't take my love of fiction in fiction to imply that had a notable effect on scoring. Like, I do enjoy the history of the song, but it's definitely here on its own merits and this detour is more a combination of 'hey, look at this neat trivia about the song' and 'I can totally get enough words typed up about this random tangent to create the illusion of content' than anything that had a direct impact on placement.

For something actually on topic, I don't like the... whatever you call the section of music with the repeated "Hai! Hai! Hai!!" chants; the style of music shifts to one I'm less fond of and that repetition bores me... I decided to keep the score at 70 points anyway, but I was quite tempted to drop this back down to the high 60s.

[Final Thoughts: Another song that I may overcorrected a bit by jumping it up so many tiers instantly, though definitely something I like & still many tiers above the First Reaction. Just not quite as many as the Revised Score said.]

============================

-yet somehow has time to reference the references-

====================

#390: Made in Heights - Hors D'uvre (3:25):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNvbOJRlKKc

Nominator: ZaziGuado [19/28 Remaining]

Initial Score: 65.44
Revised Score: 64.70
Final Score: 62.398

(First Reaction: Once the song goes full instrumental around the 1:50 mark... *contented sigh*)

!Not as contented tonight, but still a pretty good song.

[Final Thoughts: I'm really not into the opening of the song; it's fine enough, but there's nothing I really want to talk about either; the instrumental section that makes up the second half of the song is fantastic though, enough so that I definitely like this.]

====================

===================

#394: Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition - Bury The Light [9:42]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrg9KxGNeJY

Nominator: paulg [20/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 56.66
Revised Score: 58.94
Final Score: 62.13

(First Reaction: Cheating with the score a bit, but I wanted it to be in the mid-50's and the temptation to end with 666 was too much. This song is no Devil Trigger, but I'm quite partial to the bridge and everything after it. The restrained and rather quiet rage building throughout the bridge, followed by a rather melodic breakdown leading to the title drop & best verse of the song, is almost phenomenal. I don't think the rest of the song lives up to the ending though and it's a bit of a slog to get to the greatness.)

!It's definitely a good song and the type of darkness I typically love, but it feels a bit longer than I'd like it to be.

[Final Thoughts: Goes much longer than I think it probably should, but it's got a lot of those low tones that I like and the lyrics are pleasingly dark/sad without being tragic.]

===================

-

============================

#393: Grimes - Realiti (5:06):
https://open.spotify.com/track/7eXFZCiP9GqdMUashk96UF?si=abd61bd131c94370

Nominator: Player_0 [13/33 Remaining]

Initial Score: 57.71
Revised Score: 64.49
Final Score: 62.20

(First Reaction: "'Cause your love kept me alive and it made me insane, oh, yeah", is definitely the type of lyric I tend to love. And I do like this song, but it feels like it's missing something... like it's a bit too repetitive or something, where I'm not quite gelling with the song like I should be. Still good though, might go up on a relisten, but right now I feel like it's a step below the Clump of 60 Point Songs.)

!Okay, I like this song tonight. It's complicated... there's a heaviness to the instrumentals, but it's also somehow bubbly & dance-like. This contradiction is enjoyable and it does have some lyrics that I care about... quite an enchanting little song. I wouldn't say I *love* it, but it definitely deserves a jump up to the "I like this" tier.

[Final Thoughts: I still like this, though I may have overcorrected a bit; definitely a tier above the high-5o songs it was ranked around, but a bit earlier in the "I like this" tier than the Revised Score.]

============================

-

And we have officially reached the top half of the ranking topic!

----------------------

REMAINING SONG COUNT

Bane: 20/38 Remaining
BlackDra90n: 12/30 Remaining
cakophon: 7/20 Remaining
CJones: 8/18 Remaining
CPU: 12/30 Remaining
DoctorJimmy: 13/24 Remaining
Dragon66116: 9/12 Remaining
handsomeboy: 20/31 Remaining
Haste: 7/31 Remaining
hotdogturtle: 7/14 Remaining
Jesse_Custer: 19/29 Remaining
kateee: 16/21 Remaining
Kopazzynth: 8/21 Remaining
Lasa: 3/14 Remaining
Mega Mana: 21/38 Remaining
Metalmind: 16/25 Remaining
Murphiroth: 11*/32 Remaining
NBIceman: 17/22 Remaining
NFUN: 17/31 Remaining
paulg: 20/52 Remaining
Player_0: 13/33 Remaining
Raka: 22/31 Remaining
rwlh: 11/24 Remaining
sergio: 3/13 Remaining
Snake: 14/32 Remaining
TheArkOfTurus: 11/17 Remaining
TunnelScene: 11/27 Remaining
UF8: 18/30 Remaining
Xtlm: 8/13 Remaining
ZaziGuado: 20/28 Remaining

*Reality TV continues to be un-eliminated.

----------------------

Raka has the most songs in the top half with 22, followed by Mega Mana with 21. Forgive the lack of more detailed stats, I just wanted to get the update posted.

Three more, because there's not enough room to get all five in one post:

================

#397: Cursor Miner - Dragon Drop [0:44]:
https://lorecordings.bandcamp.com/track/dragon-drop

Nominator: Kopazzynth [8/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 62.11
Revised Score: 62.11
Final Score: 62.11

(First Reaction: A high chaos song that reminds me of an extremely condensed version of that "what happens if you try to play Sonic CD in a CD player" vid (which is apparently titled "What a data track sounds like (Sega CD)" and the original video has been unlisted, so it took me more time to find than I would have liked:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2IhLBcIXUI

Somewhere in there is a part where the music plays rapidly while glitching and this reminds me of that specific section, but the video is too long to sit through to find it. Feel free to try to find it yourself! [Warning: Please do not do that]. Also this video doesn't sound like I remembered it sounding, so it probably never actually sounds the nominated song anyway.)

!A bit short, but I'm not entirely sure that I'd have honestly preferred a longer song... "Remote Control" (the next song on the album) feels like too much of an electronic dance song for my taste, so this short & even more experimental blast of chaos may be the best track on the album.

[Final Thoughts: Definitely the closest to giving me anything like that broken data track, so I like this. I think that I do wish it were a bit longer though? 44 seconds just isn't enough time to fully get into it.]

================

-

========================

#396: Serj Tankian - Occupied Tears (4:22):
https://open.spotify.com/track/1Yn47BPC0hQvWR4I6wkMym?si=4dfb9d48c40349bc

Nominator: Murphiroth [11*/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 60.00
Final Score: 60.00 [Upgraded to 62.111]

(First Reaction: A goofy musical ranking topic probably isn't the best place to discuss the IsraeliPalestinian conflict & I'm personally one of the last people you should look to for a viewpoint on the matter, as I have no education & basically no grasp on the situation, outside of whatever scattered news reports I've rather arbitrarily half-listened to over the years. I think I'm more open to listening & learning about these things than I was back at the first topic though--quite honestly, I've been rather looking forward to a song dealing with this type of subject ever since I saw something by him nominated as I was rather dismissive towards some of his work back at the first ranking for being too serious. As for actually discussing the song:

First, I find the opening of the song to be quite powerful. There's a forboding tone to the opening instrumentals and his voice has a deeper intonation to his vocals in the first verse than he usually goes for, giving this song one of the strongest opening moments of the album. The song does lose some of its edge once we hit the first chorus, but it's an A+ introduction to the song.

Second, while I agree with the idea of the song and its messaging, I find the lyrics to be a bit too soft. Yes, there are attoricities being commited that we should be more aware of & yes, a call for coexistence and an end to violence is hard to criticize--if anything, I'd say the song itself is rather above criticism entirely based on subject matter--but the song is oddly light on details. For an artist who hasn't shied away from singing about metaphorical rape, Serj dials things back to a point where this is bizarrely easy listening for what the subject matter actually is.

It's also strangely optimistic:

Of course, we all know
Of course, we all care
Of course, we all see how this isn't fair
We are not blind
....
No more bombs falling over our heads
No more sirens predicting death
Yes, it's the two-state solution

I'd wager the amount of people that don't know and don't care is actually quite significant. Of course, this song was released in 2012, so perhaps it was easier to believe in humanity's capacity for caring back then. Still, even in the brighter & happier days of 2012, 'no more bombs & sirens' feels almost comedically naive given the scope and duration of the conflict.

...though perhaps that's just my pessimism showing and there is room for hope and optimism, even under these circumstances. It's a nice thought at least.

At any rate, I do like the song. Strong opening, good music, good message, gives a lot of think about. I didn't mean to spend so much time tearing it down like that and I'm adding it to the clump of 60 point songs.)

!Still too heavy and real of a subject to be something I'm comfortable discussing, but it's a pretty great song & one of his best.

[Final Thoughts: I like it.]

[Later: Ehhh... two extra points, I think.]

========================

-

============================

#395: Grimes - California (3:18):
https://open.spotify.com/track/6PY49R5SjxYDiOMFQj7Gsq?si=e31a6b4e3b534ea0

Nominator: Player_0 [14/33 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.00
Revised Score: 51.67
Final Score: 54.98 [Upgraded to 55.00] [Upgraded to 57.92] [Upgraded to 58.73002] [Upgraded to 62.123]

(First Reaction: I'd probably prefer her sadder album, so she would definitely hate me. Not really going anywhere with that, just a statement.

And I can't think of anything I actually want to add, so I guess that's enough for tonight.)

I'm very much going through a "sad music phase", so a song attacking people into sad songs is certainly a bold nomination choice. And strangely not the only song on the list with similar subject matter, though I suppose we'll cover any other such songs when we get to them, probably. Or maybe we already will have covered them? Things being posted out of chronological order makes it hard to keep track of... Either way, there's not a lot in this song for me... the lyrics aren't exactly pointed enough to brutally destroy me--"you only like me when I'm looking sad" is a bit of an attack, but an incredibly tame one. In fact, in terms of songs attacking fans for not supporting their healthier direction, this is one of the tamest? Like go back a couple ranking topics to that Maximum the Hormone song:

Maximum the Hormone - Let's Talk About Menkata Cottelee:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nbEy47Uxic

In which he describes in fairly graphic detail the fact that his unhealthy lifestyle was literally killing him and the way his so-called fans would rather he die than do anything to improve his life. It's raw and brutal; I wasn't especially a fan of the track, but it was certainly memorable and impactful, and I probably should retroactively give it a few more points for having a lasting impact or something.

California is lacking that sort of edge or direct condemnation and fails to leave as much of an impact.

[Final Thoughts: Even taking into account that the song is a direct condemnation of Pitchfork and music blogs in general, there's still not enough of an edge to really call this a "hate track". That being said, it is far catchier than I remembered it being so I'm giving it a few extra points.]

[Later: Catchy, sad bop. I could use more catchy sad bops, I suppose. Moving this a fair distance away from the Wall.]

[Later: Minor upgrade.]

============================

I forgot to discuss the winner of the R# section last year:

Two Mix - Just Communication:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xbIkI3vcgU

A song that I had never gotten into before, but finally--after listening to it many times over several years--suddenly clicked. Something about confessing forbidden love in the middle of a rainstorm made the song incredibly fascinating to me and I loved it. So lyrics played a fairly large part of that song winning its division.

-

Moving along, with four more songs:

===================

#401: Haken - Atlas Stone [7:31]:
https://youtu.be/YZ8v_evgiS4

Nominator: CJones [8/18 Remaining]

Initial Score: 63.00
Revised Score: 64.00
Final Score: 62.007

(First Reaction: Not often a fan of non-lyric voalizations, so the first solo is a bit of a low point. But the second solo has some amazing electric guitar that is rad in the best way possible, a real treat. The piano intro & outro were also pretty great and the lyrics ain't half-bad either for the most part (they can get a bit too high-pitched). I like this.)

!A nice progressive metal track that maanges to keep things fresh and interesting for its runtime. The first solo is still not the type of thing I'm interested in, but it's quite short in comparison to the rest of the song so it's not much of a drawback.

[Final Thoughts: Just a generally good song all-around.]

===================

-and so we start the top 400:-

===================

#400: Simply Red - Come to My Aid [4:04]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW6QwGSYg1I

Nominator: Lasa [3/14 Remaining]

Initial Score: 57.708
Revised Score: 58.27
Final Score: 61.01 [Upgraded to 62.012]

(First Reaction: It's clever how the opening lines like "you're sweet as everything" & "it's you I'm thinking of, oh yeah" lead you to expect a love song before it swerves into poverty & welfare. It's an unexpected turn, but a welcome one.)

!A bit heavier in subject matter than I usually go for, but I enjoy it.

[Final Thoughts: Yeah, let's go ahead and bump this up one tier.]

[Later: I do like this song, though it's not an easy one to talk about. The subject matter isn't exactly overwhelming, but I don't think I'm going to get anywhere trying to discuss welfare, social safety nets, poverty, or social division. And while I do like 80's pop music, I'm not finding any specific instruments or moments that I want to focus on. It's very... "yes, this is an 80's pop song and I like those" which gets up to this tier,, but doesn't inspire much than the standard "I like this" writeup.

Still,, I'm going to add an extra point to this song. I do like the 80's sound it has a bit more than the songs at 61 points.]

===================

-I'd post an update here, but since we *should* reach the halfway point tonight, I'll wait until then-

===================

#399: Mariah Carey - Vision Of Love (3.29):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tov22NtCMC4

Nominator: Xtlm [8/13 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 62.041
Final Score: 60.00 [Upgraded to 62.041]

(First Reaction: It is a fantastic song and it's truly incredible that this was her debut single. Songs that instantly establish someone as a breakout star are rare and coming out with one right out of the gate and at a fairly young age is very "wow". But while it's a fantastic song and I like it, I'm not finding anything about it that inspires me--mainstream 80s (and early 90s, apparently) pop are kinda what I listen to all the time, so I can't say it's anything really new or unexpected. And the lyrics, be they about romantic love or spiritual love, are not really a type of love song that I connect with. So... from an objective standpoint, yes, 90 points and all-time classic, wow ; from a "how many points I personally want to give the song at this moment" subjective gibberish standpoint, I'd say around 60 points.)

!An instantly legendary performance, though not one that I'm personally in love with; it's amazing & I like it, but no matter how much I acknowledge her talent, I still just "like" it.

[FInal Thoughts: Moving this back down to the Neo Clump. Her performance is fantastic, but I think there are a lot of songs I'm more personally attached to than this one.]

[Later: Let's go ahead and move this back to the Revised Score. It's not one of my favorites, but it's performed incredibly well & I'd feel bad not giving her those two extra points.]

===================

-I don't have anything to say here, but don't want to leave the line blank-

=========================================

#398: Salatio Mortis VS Eskimo Callboy - Hypa Hypa (3:04):
https://youtu.be/AOpHFHCko3s

Nominator: BlackDra90n [12/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 64.29
Revised Score: 64.29
Final Score: 60.76 [Upgraded to 62.05]

(First Reaction: This is officially the best song featuring bagpipes I have ever heard.

...granted, I haven't heard many songs with bagpipes, but it's still an accomplishment of some sort.)

!One of the best versions of the song, energetic & fun with enough of a spin to the track that it stands out compared to the other covers.

[Final Thoughts: I still like it, though not quite as much as usual.]

[Later: Slight upgrade. Not as far up the list as it was, but a bit better.]

=========================================

Yeah, I'd say lyrics are usually pretty important to me. They're a pretty easy way of gaining a lot of points because I'm liable to get attached to a line or the story being told & glomp onto the song; that being said, they're obviously not the be-all & end-all. The first ranking topic's winning song was a foreign language song that I never even tried to find a translation of because it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard and knowing the words couldn't improve on perfection & the runner-up was a very experimental instrumental song.

PeriTune - Maclir:
https://soundcloud.com/sei_peridot/maclir

bunbleman - focus tous:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htlc0M78694

Third topic winner won due to the way it made me feel, which the lyrics may have played a point in but weren't exactly a deciding factor:

Nuage - I'M GONNA CARRY ON:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8DjVkq8tYA

On the other hoof, the second topic's winner was definitely boosted to the top due to the lyrics. They helped me process some things I was going through and while the song itself is high-quality, I was listening to it on an endless loop primarily for the words.

Kaf - Baby Bird:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1RIUrgJqWw

So lyrics are a path to victory, but not the only one.

Also, picking hopeful songs would seem to make sense... someone who spends half their time prancing around as a brightly colored pony would likely usually be more into bright happiness instead of depression. I'm just.... very, very off.

And thank you, for sharing such a personal story.

-

One song to start off the morning.

===================

#402: Antti Martikainen - The Forbidden City [4:08]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_zcbGfbH0k

Nominator: paulg [21/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 63.44
Revised Score: 68.74
Final Score: 61.94

(First Reaction: I had low expectations when the intro image felt the need to declare that Antti was the creator of EPIC MUSIC, but was pleaasantly surprised that he meant it in terms of epic, high adventure soundtrack music that actually deserved the term. This feels like the intro to a rousing pirate adventure film; if you were to replace the opening theme from a Pirates of the Caribbean movie with this song, would anyone even notice?

...of course, this is officially "Chinese battle music", so I'm probably way off on what the song sounds like. Sounded like pirate music to me.)

!This still doesn't seem like battle music to me, which is likely a good thing. It's definitely the start of an epic adventure though, in a completely sincere & unironic meaning of "epic". Quite well done.

[Final Thoughts: I'm apparently less interested in epic adventuring at the moment, but it's still a fun musical experience that is solidly above the Neo Clump.]

===================

CJones posted...

He's reminiscing about parts he's played and then the show takes a 15 minute detour to sing about a "fictional" pirate cat. In a show with almost no plot, it has even less to do with what's going on than usual.

Sure, I'll add it to the list. I have an unexplained interest in "fiction within fiction" and have generally enjoyed what I've seen of Cats so far.

Also, considering how much scorn the 2019 movie receives, you might be the first person I've met who openly admitted to not hating it.

CJones posted...

Pollicle is a corruption of "Poor little" and Jellicle is a corruption of "Dear little".

I did not know that! Not sure how "Dear" becomes "Je", but then I'm not a poet.

handsomeboy2012 posted...

I have no idea this was supposed to be a reference of 60s music.

Yeah, I kinda figured this one was an accidental success. There's really no reason you'd know enough American pop hits of the 50's and 60's to hear the similarity & I imagine you'd have probably just nominated the Everly Brothers' song itself if you were trying to pander to my oldies bias. Still, I did like it!

-

Two songs to start the day:

===================

#412: Dream Theater - Glass Prison [13:53]:
https://youtu.be/oGAHh0GPKRA

Nominator: CJones [9/18 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 61.11
Final Score: 61.11

(First Reaction: A complicated song with a large number of high-and-low points, which make it difficult to really score. A rather brief overview, starting with the negative points:

1 - As is a running theme at this topic, I'm not really into drumming, so while there's a lot of technical ability on display with the drums here... there's a lot of drumming here, and fairly intense drumming at that, which doesn't really play into my interests.

2 - Actually the instrumental parts in general didn't really work for me, apart from the static-y white noise intro (love me some static). I felt like a decent chunk of this song was spent waiting for the parts I liked to resume.

3 - I'm more into sadness than hope right now, so I don't think is quite what I want right now; though it could well be something I need in the future.

As for the Pro sides of the argument:

A - While the instrumental sections aren't to my liking, I can say that the song does a good job at staying fresh throughout its runtime. I wouldn't say it was padded or repetitive at all.

B - The bleak lyrics where he's being killed by his alcoholism are exactly the type of thing I love:

Fatal Descent
Spinning around
I've gone too far
To turn back round

That is definitely my jam these days.

And while that may sound like I'm leaning more into the negatives, I will say that I do actually like this song, regardless of how needlessly harsh I'm being.)

!Wow, it's an actual writeup. We actually had thoughts and reactions. & positive and negative things that impacted the score. How odd.

Not a lot to add here. I'll say the instrumentals are easier to listen to these days, as we've had a lot of.... "epic metal" at Rank the Tracks since I started this project, so the instruments on this song are incredibly tame compared to what I've had to rank before. I think that's helped give this song a couple extra points because even at its most intense, it's still not *that* bad.

[Final Thoughts: This is definitely so much easier to listen to than some other tracks that go for an epic feeling and become barely tolerable as a result. I like this.]

[Later:

Help me return
To humanity

Bleh.

Though there are also some good lyrics that I didn't point out earlier:

"Help me I can't break out this prison all alone
Save me I'm drowning and I'm hopeless on my own
Heal me I can't restore my sanity alone"

Blunt, but lyrically that passage vaguely reminds me of Duvet, the theme to Serial Experiments Lain that did quite well a couple years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp3V7HYTbhQ

Well, not like "I am drowning" is an especially uncommon metaphor or anything, I suppose...]

===================

-

============================

#411: Elephanz - Catcher in the Rye (4:05):
https://open.spotify.com/track/2bZNwQvu1GQn0DvytrSwUx?si=DR7wEptySh-BIUw3xYA48g

Nominator: Jesse Custer [19/29 Remaining]

Initial Score: 76.05
Revised Score: 61.18
Final Score: 61.19

(First Reaction: Great piano, fantastic flow--it's a very methodical and controlled feeling, and I love the verses... I kinda wish there were a third verse to the song though; the chorus basically plays itself six times which is a bit excessive. Not so excessive that it tanks the score or anything, but it does leave me wanting more from it.)

!Not really sure what I loved about the verses originally... still a great flow and atmosphere to the track, but I have no particular attachment to the lyrics or singing--I don't have any complaints either, I just find myself much more drawn to the instruments than the vocals.

[Final Thoughts: The chorus does repeat itself a few too many times, but I rather dig what's here.]

[Later: I'm still not clear what I loved about the song, but "I'm your ghost" is the type of line that usually gets a few extra points.]

============================

Two more, as the third song's writeup is too large to fit in this post.

...and I think I'll scrap the plan of getting to 15 tonight. Sorry; as much as I'd like to quickly reach the top half, losing three or four hours has set me back and I could really use a break. Since these two songs get us up to 10 for the day, this is a fine point to rest at.

============================

#414: Kim Wilde - Born to Be Wild (Radio Mix) (3:24):
https://open.spotify.com/track/0pDAJDuluAWgzn7Jz0EX43?si=d506630903634e57

Nominator: CPU [12/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 49.90
Revised Score:38.41
Final Score: 48.77 [Upgraded to 51.7928] [Upgraded to 53.00004] [Upgraded to 53.07] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 61.08]

(First Reaction: I like her more than Steppenwolf, but this is still a long way from being one of my favorite songs, regardless of performer.)

I'm less in the mood for the thumping beat on this track... I'm generally better with those than last year, but tonight, it's just this head-banging thump-thump-thump-thump that prevents me from focusing on anything else in the song. It also doesn't help that this is a cover of one of the most well known and iconic songs of all time, a constant mainstay of every oldies or classic rock station in existence, so I'm just a bit... tired of the song in general since any novelty or interest I had in the original would have worn off several eternities ago; Kim does a fine job with the song, I still think this is an improvement over the original--which I'd put somewhere around 7 to 12 points if I had to rank it at this exact moment--but even the most charitable comment I can give this song amounts to "a fine rendition of a song I never want to hear again" which... eh, maybe I'm just in a bad mood tonight or something.

[Final Thoughts: This isn't bad and it's close to being something I might love... it has the same general vibe as last year's winning song, this kinda "driving in a convertible and headbanging to some sweet dance tracks" feeling--which is... I'm gonna stick with "not bad" But the sound mix feels off, like there's just a bit too much emphasis on the thumping beat. Though this version is better than the Chillout Mix and that doesn't have the thumping at all, so I could be way off on what's bothering me with this track.

I think my feelings on this track are somewhere between the first and second listens; generally good vibes, but the beat is a bit too pronounced.for my tastes.]

[Later: Actually, I'm kinda in the mood for this. I know she doesn't mean wild in a furry way, but if you pretend hard enough....]

[Still Later: Just delaying this elimination a bit longer.]

[And Yet Later: Starting to wonder how long I'll delay this particular elimination...]

[LATER: I've been using a YouTube link for the song lately. I don't know if the beat is less pronounced on this link or if I'm just growing more tolerant of it on this specific track, but this has been on a serious upward trajectory since I flipped links. I actually like this now, so it can move up and join the Neo Clump.]

[Into Space: I seem oddly unwilling to eliminate this song. Another point, I guess?]

============================

-

========================

#413: DEMONDICE, Deadfool, Minari - 21st Century Haters (3:55):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5YuJn6I8CPrH5ZCdzaYBm5?si=ef9696d5eb464a4c

Nominator: Murphiroth [12*/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.67
Revised Score: 56.00
Final Score: 52.67 [Upgraded to 54.294] [Upgraded to 55.00] [Upgraded to 56.03] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 61.082]

(First Reaction: I enjoy her verse (the line about having never been human is incredibly relatable), but I don't have much of an opinion on Deadfool & Minari's verses.)

I just see humans being tumorous
Good thing I never was one

Good line. Don't want to talk about it at length, but it's a good line. I'll also say the chorus is catchier than I remembered it being and it's somewhat interesting having all three of the performers rap in a different language. English, Japanese, and Korean raps all combined into one song is a novel idea and worth a few more points than I realized at the time. I'm still not attached to the song enough to move it up to the 60 point tier, but definitely a lot more positives to it than the first reaction implied.

[Final Thoughts: Some days I'm super into her part of the song and other days it's just kinda fine; today, unfortunately, is more along the "It's fine" result and I'm still not particularly interested in the guest vocalists. Sorry, but this is definitely on the lower end for songs from this album.]

[Later: Adding a few extra points. I do like that lyric and the chorus; not quite enough to go back up to the Revised Score, but it's closer than I had it at the time of this writing.]

[Later Yet Again: Hmmm... let's go ahead and move this back up to where it came from.]

[*Standard "song has been stuck in my head, so I guess I like this now" Neo Clump writeup goes here*]

[Later, Only More So: I'm very much here for her verse and the choruses, but that's only 1/3rd of the song. How far do I really want to take a song based only on such a small fraction of its entire runtime? ...I dunno, but here's an extra point while I ponder that.]

[Later:

A tried and successful technique
An elementary mental faade
They give you instructions for living and label them God

Not as aggressively anti-religion as I might like, but it's something. I do quite like her verse.]

========================

Naturally, a day where I want to get a lot of extra songs in is a rare day where other things come up and delay me for several hours... continuing with the next four:

========================

#418: HANABIE. - Want to TIE-UP (3:41):
https://open.spotify.com/track/0w4XggYT00txykhwv2U75M?si=78cf9ab7bfa3438d

Nominator: Murphiroth [13*/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 54.27
Revised Score: 56.49
Final Score: 61.00

(First Reaction: The song's pop rock instrumentation make it more immediately catchy and enjoyable than the other tracks on the album, but I think I'm still a few steps away from calling it something I like without any reservations.)

This song is the intro to a non-existent anime about "flower warriors" with "bad relationships". The song also has an intentionally outdated sound to it as they're trying to imitate old anime music. I feel old now. Anyway, this does sound like an anime intro, now that they've pointed it out. This still isn't really my type of metal or anime song, but it's enjoyable enough and I like the story about it being for a show that doesn't exist--gives it a "thing that isn't meant to exist in this reality" vibe that I dig.

[Final Thoughts: Huh, I was actually pretty excited when this song started playing again. Apparently, I do like this! Not enough to really say anything interesting, but enough to move it up a tier. That's nice.]

========================

-

===================

#417: Philip Glass - Prophecies (8:12):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjyqg97lj3w&list=OLAK5uy_mDCT4_Ky0CAnSs7AexWupMqE4qQRsnc7s&index=6

Nominator: sergio [3/13 Remaining]

Initial Score: 44.792
Revised Score: 52.04
Final Score: 56.74 [Upgraded to 59.309] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 61.046]

(First Reaction: Funeral music. I kinda like the way it cycles back to the "Koyaanisqatsi" chanting from the opening track, but the outro drags on for longer than it needs to, so I don't think I particularly liked this.)

I think listening to the entire album in one sittin' was a bit much, I find this song more enjoyable when it's by itself and standing out in comparison to the other recently listened to songs around its placement. There's a bridge between the poetic chanting the song opens with & the koyaanisqatsi chanting which features some wonderfully deep, reverberating notes that are quite magical. it's still not a favorite track ; the prophetic poem doesn't really appeal to me--it's not exactly "anti-technology", but as someone who can only live in virtual worlds, I'm not as open to messages about the downsides of the ubiquitous nature of technology (this is a personal failure and not a critique). And while I like the chanting at the end of the song, only repeating one word for so long causes the track to go a bit stale before it reaches the end. I feel a bit more brevity at the end of the song might have helped--it's like "ooh, yes, I like how we're reprising the chanting here. Very full circle and I do like the singer's deep voice vibrating through my soul, this is great! ...Okay, I get what you're doing, you can stop now. Seriously. You already conveyed the message. Please let me go to the next song now."

...That's another overly harsh way of putting things, especially when the score was moved out of the negative range...

[Final Thoughts: I think I'd prefer the song if it faded out shortly after the Koyannisqtsi chanting comes in. Things have come full circle, we've had some of the lower notes that I love, we've got a good ominous chant, it's time to let the album end on a high note. Instead, it continues on for almost three minutes; it's not bad, I generally like what the track is doing, so it's not like I actively dislike listening to it for the full runtime--I just wish it either ended sooner or added something new to keep the track feeling fresh for the rest of its length. Still, it does some stuff I love and I kinda like it.]

[Later: Going to go ahead and add this to the Neo Clump like everything else. I do l like it, it just needs a bit more brevity to the outro.]

[Still Later: I... think I'll move this above the Clump.]

===================

-

============================

#416: Chimeratio - Violent Reality (2:29):
https://soundcloud.com/chimeratio/xrcade-streets-of-reality-violent-reality?si=edbac97ef41e4aa096c062e8d87deb15&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Nominator: Haste [7/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.00
Revised Score: 53.00 (increased to 59.00)
Final Score: ...61 points? I'm gonna try 61 points. (set to 61.05 for organizational purposes)

(First Reaction: This was certainly a battle related VGM. Yep.)

*paces around*

Well, the good news is that I'm liking the song this time. The unfortunate news is that I haven't the foggiest idea of why, beyond a general 'this is so much better than the other songs that were tied for 669th place' feeling. I've now listened to this four consecutive times and still have utterly no idea what I'm doing here.

...

How's about we just call this "computerized battle music done right" and move along? I mean, that's high praise. Probably. It looks like it from a distance at least and I tend to very strongly dislike fight music, so it's a high compliment by my standards. Or something like that.

[Final Thoughts: Yeah, I still dunno what I'm doing here, but I guess I like this?]

============================

-

====================

#415: Groove Armada - Don't Give Up (3:49):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6KbdEKikz0

Nominator: ZaziGuado [21/28 Remaining]

Initial Score: 63.00
Revised Score: 61.07
Final Score: 61.07

(First Reaction: *before listening* I know this isn't related to the Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush song of the same name, but every time I see that song name, the duet gets stuck in my head and I have to go listen to it because I'm going to be distracted until I let that song play out first. This has no impact on the nominated song's scoring, but it does create the illusion that this is a substantial writeup. Ya know, until you actually read it, at least.

*after listening* I'm not wild about the lyrics or vocals, but it's got a great beat. I'd probably really vibe with this as an instrumental, but I still like this enough to place it solidly above the clump of "I like this" songs.)

!Still feel the same way. Not into the lyrics or vocals, but the beat and vibe are nice.

[Final Thoughts: I still really enjoy the backing music.]

[Later: I really do like the backing track.]

====================

Four songs to start the morning. And hopefully I copy them over successfully this time (briefly lost one of these four songs, somehow).

========================

#422: The9fool - (Toothbrush commercial song parody) (3:36):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OQuMxXd6ro

Nominator: Handsomeboy [20/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 15.56
Revised Score: 52.12
Final Score: 55.33 [Upgraded to 60.484]

(First Reaction: A roughly six second loop repeated for three minutes. On the plus side, the loop sounds like a parody of the Everly Brothers hit "All I Have To Do Is Dream" and yes I would like covers of 60's music. Actually, was this 60's music? It sounds more 50's and the album cover points that direction as well. *checks* 1958 release date, cool cool cool, I noticed/learned something.

The Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbU3zdAgiX8

On the negative side, you know how I feel about repetition and this just goes on forever with the same few notes and one word repeated. I don't hate it, it's a competent version of the intro to a song I have a lot of nostalgia for, but I dread the thought of sitting through this almost-literally-one-note joke two more times.)

I'm afraid I really can't find anything else to say about this song. With more lyrics this would be a great song that is simultaneously nostalgic & new, but this is just six seconds on a loop and,,, aw, dammit, I do slightly like this, don't I? Fine, up to the positive values with you.

[Final Thoughts: It's a pretty great six seconds, honestly. Far too repetitive to actually hit the 60 point tier, but it packs in enough nostalgia and novelty value to fairly easy to hit the "kinda like" tier.]'

[Later: How is this song so low? Up to the 60 point tier with you.]

[Later: Accidentally deleted this song when I was copying it over to be eliminated... thankfully, I have a backup file.]

========================

-

============================

#421: A Perfect Circle - So Long, And Thanks for All the Fish (4:26):
https://open.spotify.com/track/4R5kwDx0ryIMiK2PKqbNVY?si=xvo8_SYzRWGBclU5_MPd-A

Nominator: Jesse Custer [20/29 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 66.6099
Final Score: 60.500005

(First Reaction: I was expecting the song from the intro to the Hitchhiker's Guide film, but this is better. Perhaps a bit too sad, remembering how many people have died recently... and then realizing that 2016 isn't all that "recent". Oof.

*insert Farnsworth "I'm Sad Now" reaction*)

!I'm a bit surprised I didn't talk about nuclear war, the end of the world, or how this song is unexpectedly easy to listen to than I typically expect from Maynard. (Not that there aren't Tool songs that I love, this is just more approachable than expected. Though I suppose this song was written by Billy Howerdel, so that's probably why it sounds different... then again, I have no idea what other songs Billy has written & this is allegedly in a different key than he usually writes in, so this song could be abnormal for him as well and I don't think this thought is going anywhere, yet it seems to still be continuing).

Not that I had anything to say about any of those topics, you just think I'd have at least referenced them or something.

[Final Thoughts: I like this, but the lyrics feel a bit more repetitive than I might like & I'm moving it back towards the early parts of this tier.]

============================

-

============================

#420: Margo Guryan - Why Do I Cry (2:15):
https://youtu.be/LjV_N5k6X6A

Nominator: Snake [16/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.777
Revised Score: 60.777
Final Score: 60.777

(First Reaction: I want to call this song "simple and delightful", but I'd also like to not be the type of crazy that refers to a song called Why Do I Cry as quote-unquote delightful. So instead, I'll stall for time and distract everyone: Look at that Initial Score! It's so oddly specific. Why exactly three digits and why triple sevens? Is it a subliminal message that this song--or possibly Snake himself--has won some sort of jackpot??

Wait, wait, crap, now I'm getting people's hopes up too high. Uhh...look how utterly barebones and devoid of content this writeup is! It's very distracting. You are distracted and forgetting what the previous paragraph was about. Do you think that could work as a Jedi Mind Trick? Like, if Obi-Wan decided to just shout "You are distracted and forgot what just happened" at a random Stormtrooper, would the Stormtrooper just be all confused? If so, would it be confusion about a crazy old man shouting at him or would it be due to the force?

,,,well, I've already forgotten how this conversation started, so I'll say this was sufficently distracting.)

!I thought about giving a more traditional score, like "60.73", but I felt bad about removing those fractions of a point so I guess the score stays at oddly specific jackpot values.

[Final Thoughts: I suppose the song can keep its oddly specific value that seems to have no particular meaning or significance.]

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-

================

#419: Pilotredsky - Clicker That Should Be [4:18]:
https://pilotredsky.bandcamp.com/track/clicker-that-should-be

Nominator: Kopazzynth [9/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 58.79
Revised Score: 59.006
Final Score: 60.8666

(First Reaction: A fun song that I like, though not quite as much as I like everything in the clump. It may get moved up a tier by the end of things, once I've sorted out the clump and figured out where everything in there places.)

!I still don't quite like it as much as the 60 point CLUMP, but it's a rather fun & memorable instrumental tune and I'm giving it a *slight* (though largely inconsequential) boost.

[Final Thoughts: I think I like this one suddenly. It's a bit of a sudden shift from "just below clump" to "just above clump", but that's how I'm feeling right now.]

================

1: My Land
2: Replica
3: FullMoon
4: Letter to Dana
5: Kingdom For A Heart
6: Destruction Preventer
7: 8th Commandment
8: Picturing the Past
9: UnOpened
10: Blank File

And two more songs to end the day. After this post, we're officially 30 songs away from the halfway point! As such, I'll try to pick things up to 15 songs tomorrow and the day after, because I am hyped to reach that milestone and see which songs make the cut.

============================

#424: The Knife - The Captain (6:09):
https://youtu.be/Afsp6G8IQHc

Nominator: Metalmind [16/25 Remaining]

Initial Score: 58.15
Revised Score: 51.994
Final Score: 58.15 [Upgraded to 60.40]

(First Reaction: Ah, one of the songs from Silent Shout. I know I ranked the tracks as part of that topic series, but I do not recall this song at all--apparently I had it as the third best song of the album? I'm curious what I rated above it.

*song gets to the part with the vocals*

Ohh. I was actually pretty into the instrumental part, but wow, this song jumps off a cliff rather drastically. I do not like that voice... it's unique enough that it doesn't ruin the song, but definitely drops the song down one or two tiers from what it would be as a pure instrumental.)

!There's an oppressive, alien feel to the instrumentals which gives the track a rather distinct ambiance that's always a treat to experience. And the vocals, while not being my thing currently, probably would have played well a few years ago--I used to go wild for any type of vocal distortion, so I probably would have highly enjoyed this band at one point. I'm just not really into the vocal distortions now, which makes this not something I really want to hear often... the general vibe is strong enough that my feelings towards the track are more positive than it sounds from this writeup, but it's definitely somewhere in the 50's tier.

[Final Thoughts: I'm back to kinda liking this tonight. The vocals are weird, but it's a vaguely intriguing sort of strangeness that I don't find entirely unappealing tonight.]

[Later: I've had this song stuck in my head all day and wish to raise it up to the "I like this" tier.]

[Later: I do like this, these days at least. It's certainly pretty far out there in terms of sound, but the alien qualities make it an interesting experience.]

============================

-and the last of the day:-

============================

#423: Planet X - Digital Vertigo (4:25):
https://youtu.be/Rk9aVNL94yo

Nominator: NFUN: [18/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 54.00
Revised Score: 53.84
Final Score: 60.45

(First Reaction: I can tell this is a very talented band, but I think the music is a bit too... not intense exactly, but too... excessive? No, that's not the word either... too strong? Too something-or-other at any rate, though I do somewhat like it.)

This song goes pretty hard and feels rather shmup-esque, like you can see the [generic player ship] flying and blowing up hundreds of [genereic enemy ships] against a 2D space backdrop. That's not exactly a bad thing because there are definitely shmup songs I enjoy, but they're a bit of a risky proposition as battle music doesn't usually go well with me... and this song feels very combative. It's enjoyable enough and I kinda like it because it does manage to evoke some type of scene, but even though this isn't "video game fight songz" it feels too much like one for me to really get into it.

[Final Thoughts: I'm getting a lot of disjointed flashes of things this time. It's still a pretty action heavy song, but it almost feels "cyber noir" in places. Kinda Blade Runner or Snatcher-esque. Like you're a synth running from the government for some reason.

Hmm... this is an interesting headspace... I think I'll go ahead and jump this up a tier. It's quite nifty tonight.]

[Later: Definitely an intriguing ambience to this track which makes it much more interesting than the first two scores indicated. I'm not sure how I feel about the abrupt ending; there are certainly endings more abrupt than this, but it is a fairly unsatisfying stopping point. ...Though again, I'm being too negative for no valid reason; I like this.]

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Had some stuff to do, but I'm back with some late afternoon musics! Three to start with, including one that would have been posted three and a half hours ago if it weren't so large:

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#427: The Birthday Massacre - The NeverEnding Story (4:35):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5NvjRhxMdKnJFxahesT6Sd?si=6632a9230c1c420e

Nominator: CPU [13/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 51.86
Revised Score: 51.86
Final Score: 51.86 [Upgraded to 54.9004] [Upgraded to 55.00] [Upgraded to 56.17] [Upgraded to 59.001] [Upgraded to 60.00] [Upgraded to 60.241]

(First Reaction: I'll still always be happy to hear more from this band, but I don't think this is one of their better songs. It doesn't really showcase the power of her voice, it's completely lacking in darkness, and I actually have no experience with the film series for this to get any nostalgia boost. I did see the second film once, but I don't want to think of how much time has passed since then and I did not care for it in the slightest--considering the abysmal review scores it seems to have, it looks like hardly anyone else cared for it either..

(I know nothing about the first, other than it presumably being a better film & also, I think some animal dies tragically at some point?)

Aaaaanywho...., this song is serviceable. It's nostalgic 80s synthpop and I'll never pass up a chance to listen to something like that, but without any nostalgia for the original version of the song, I'm left with the impression that this is the weakest song of theirs that I've heard thus far.)

I think I'd prefer an instrumental version of this track. The synth here is doing some things I like a fair amount, but I'm not interested in the lyrics and I still don't think the song fits her; or more accurately the song has absolutely nothing in common with the The Birthday Massacre songs I love, causing a disconnect between 'what I want when I see a song nominated by this band' and 'what this song is'.

...well now that sounds like I'm judging it based on what it isn't, which I'm trying not to do and don't think I really am this time--I have a tendency to do that a lot, but "I care not for these lyrics or her performance, and I know she can do things I love" isn't *meant* to be that type of irrelevant critique. I'm just not wording it correctly. Either way, this is something that sounded like a good idea on paper: related to children's media, a band that has at least a few songs I love, a genre that's right up my alley... but it never comes together correctly: it's a media I don't have an interest in, it's not like their songs that I love, and the vocals overpower the instruments I like about the genre. It just kinda misses all three targets... though now this writeup is way too negative because I do have somewhat positive feelings towards it.

[Final Thoughts: A good nomination on paper that just kinda misses the mark.]

[Later: I... might kinda like this? It's relatively low-tier for a Birthday Massacre nom, but I do enjoy synths and this is a very 80's inspired synth track.]

[NeverEnding Later: Perhaps a tiny nudge to just above the Wall.]

[NeverEnding Later 2: This is growing on me quite a bit lately.]

[NeverEnding Later III - Escape From/Return To Whereever: Alright, this has enough synths that I like to make it to the Neo Clump.]

[NeverEnding Later IV: ERROR FILM NOT FOUND: This song is starting to win me over a bit from the repetition. I suppose I'll move it above Neo Clump, but I'm likely going to grow tired of listening to this so many times in the near future.]

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-followed, purely by coincidence, by one of the shortest:-

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#426: Masashi Hamauzu - FINALE (2:00):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkFVR-cHRPs

Nominator: Haste [8/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.26
Revised Score: 60.26
Final Score: 60.26

(First Reaction: A very beautiful intro that transitions to a happy victory theme. It's a very "character walks along as a montage of how super happy everything is now plays in the background" celebration song. Pretty neat effect, especially for such a rather short song.)

!Still a pretty song.

[Final Thoughts: Victory song is victorious.

...in terms of how it sounds, I mean. It did not win.]

[Later: I really like the intro! And I like the rest of the song too, it just loses some of its beauty when it switches to the more victorious type of sound.]

============================

-and then one of the earlier mentioned songs from Cats-

============================

#425: Cats (2019 Film) - Mr. Mistoffelees (4:41):
https://open.spotify.com/track/03K5t7aFbVR0Vz62fSZJJ1?si=fbf0a1d808fc497f

Nominator: @Raka_Putra [22/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 63.97
Final Score: 60.33

(First Reaction: I actually liked the film and, deep down inside, didn't we all kinda know that I would be the one lifeform in this dimension with the right combination of psychoses to not only think "I must watch this" upon seeing the trailer, but actually go see it in theaters more than once? Like, you kinda had to assume as much, right?

Aaanywho...., I think this is probably upper-mid tier for the film soundtrack? Macavity is the easy pick for first place, it's literally Taylor Swift singing an ode to Cat Satan, it's basically guaranteed to be the best part of anything ever. Skimbleshanks is second best, and... well, I can't honestly recall the rankings after that. Maybe this is actually the third best? Between it and "Mungojerrie And Rumpleteaser", probably.

Right, right, Mr. Misofelees. Steven McRae does a good job of selling his uncertainty and trying to build himself with false bravado, which is an uncommon emotion for a song to represent. It repeats the chorus far too often, but it is a catchy chorus; I'd also say it makes no sense how he (presumably) saves Judy Dench from Cat Satan, but at this point in the film, you just kinda go with it.)

!Catchy and impressive at selling the character's emotions, neat song.

[Final Thoughts: I do like it, but I'm moving it back down a bit because while I do want it to be ranked above the Neo Clump, I don't think I want it to be quite that far above it. The character work here is fantastic, but he doesn't exactly have the best singing voice & a full half of the song is dedicated to repeating the chorus. So... I mean, it is fantastic and I do like it, but I'm thinking it might fit better earlier in the tier.]

============================

Three more, including a double drop from handsomeboy:

====================

#430: Tat Ming Pair - [Starry Starry Night] (3:33):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02vms3Eokz0

Nominator: Handsomeboy [22/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.10
Revised Score: 60.10
Final Score: 60.10

(First Reaction: Another, probably more accurate translation put the title as "It's a Starry Night", but I've already listed it as "Starry Starry Night" on all my files and have become accustomed to that name, so I'll be sticking with that for now. Also, I'm just going to cheat and copy another site's words on the song:

https://www.neonsigns.hk/new-posts/%E9%9C%93%E8%99%B9%E8%A9%A9%E8%88%87%E6%AD%8C-%E8%A3%9C%E9%81%BA-%E6%BD%98%E5%9C%8B%E9%9D%88/?lang=en

As a track that is over two decades old, it still sounds surprisingly fresh and even precisely captures the current situation. The lyrics picture a city of twinkling lights a scene of resplendence where the night is never dark. Glossed over by the illusion of prosperity, however, is a touch of sorrow. Such sense of beauty is but a fragile glass, which breaks into pieces upon a slight stab. Please take a last glance at this glamorous city, / Then march forth. / With doubts deep down, / I fear this glittering city / has seen its last hurrah.

That is a heavy verse and, while I can't speak to the state Hong Kong was in during the late 80's, that verse feels especially poignant now. I'd also like to take a second and give some thanks & credit to the person translating that site's articles for English speaking audiences because that could not have been easy.

!Not much to add here. Very evocative and intense lyrics in a rather catchy 80's pop song. I like it.

[Final Thoughts: A sadly timeless song with enough pop sensibilities to be a bop as the kids say these days, or use to say, or whatever.]

====================

-available now-

====================

#429: Anita Mui - (Break the Iceberg) (6:23):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LJki3oaARo

[Note: Song does not start until 47 seconds into the video.]

Nominator: Handsomeboy [21/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 60.00 {upgraded to 60.08}
Final Score: 60.105

(First Reaction: The lyrics repeat a bit too often, but they're a type of romantic that I enjoy & the backing singers compliment the song quite well & the music has a deeper type of synth that gives it a slightly edgy mechanical feeling; I think I kinda dig what this song is doing. I'm going to add it to the all-consuming CLUMP to start with and we'll see if it goes anywhere on a second listen.)

!Yeah, I like this. Seems like a good fit for the exactly 60 point mark.

[Slightly Later: Adding a slight boost to put it above something else.]

[Final Thoughts: I definitely like this.]

[Later: I may check out a few of her other songs later. She's got a nice voiee & had a very proliffic career, so I may try a few of her other songs on Spotify later. Seeing as both songs you nominated by her reached at least this level, I'd say I seem to like her.]

====================

-Apocalymon-

===================

#428: Team Fortress 2 - Sandviches! [0:31]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYAGB11YrSs

Nominator: paulg [24/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 16.21
Revised Score: 11.39
Final Score: 51.36 [Upgraded to 60.20]

(First Reaction: Sorry. It's not a joke I find particularly funny and there's really nothing here musically. I don't hate it or anything, but it's definitely near the bottom of the list.)

This wasn't a bad pick for a nomination, in theory. I do love a few of these "making a song from spoken dialogue samples" songs. I still listen to Iteachvader's songs and Activate the Dancebot fairly regularly. But, to put it bluntly, those were actual songs? And recontextualized the clips that were edited? This takes a short clip of Heavy talking about sandwiches and turns it into a short clip of Heavy talking about sandwiches.

...actually it's so on the nose, I'm not sure why I'm assuming this video has been edited. This could very well just be a clip of the animated short presented without any alterations, which woulddn't really impact the scoring at all, but would make the previous paragraph even more irrelevant. Ah well. Anywho, I've never played Team Fortress 2, so my only real exposure to Heavy come from memes like this one & the first Poker Night at the Inventory where he's decidedly less interesting than Strongbad and Max (though probably more interesting than Tycho). So theres no nostalgia for the game or Heavy himself for this nomination to try to play off of and, well, there just isn't much here to really function as a song.

[Final Thoughts: Ohh, it's a My Little Pony parody:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9EqoWzTKRY

I didn't recognize it; I haven't seen Season 1 since it originally came out and Cupcakes isn't exactly my favorite pony song. This context greatly changes my view of the track; it's still not a good song, but it *is* pony adjacent and vaguely making fun of Pinkie Pie's song... yeah, I kinda like this now. Not by much, but it's moving from next-to-last place to the positive score category.]

[Later: ...Okay now that I get the parody, this is funny enough that I like it. I'm ashamed to have it over so many other songs, but I just can't let it get under 60 points now.]

[Later: Pony Adjacency does helps deal with the stigma of being a food song, for those keeping track of such details.]

===================

-surprisingly, there are still some food songs remaining. Which song shall be declared King of Food?!-

*there was going to be a fourth elimination here, but the writeup is too large & it'll have to wait until the next post.*

Added. As usual, let me know if I forgot to add anything as there's never a guarantee I'll remember by the time I'm back over on this device:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ZA'LIST 2023 EDITION:

UF8: "there actually is another song i probably 100% would've picked had it been fully out then though that also has a harumaki gohan-esque music video, remind me to bring it up if/when the ranking ends in another year or so lol"

The Great Escape by Seventh Wonder

Try something else by Thomas Dimuzio and 5uu's

Exit Strategy of a Wrecking Ball (Diablo Swing Orchestra)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw6hANHeIaw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuRZYB9EEZM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLlsWpxvmgc

https://youtu.be/D_Jh6upswd0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT-uWOVP5q0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVbH1BVXywY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCLsqg05boo

Electric Callboy - Tekno ( Pump It, [the one that might count as a censor bypass], Spaceman, Hurrikan )

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-

Two songs to open the morning.

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#432: ACE - A Nopon's Life (2:19):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xVUX7Q9mvI

Nominator: DoctorJimmy [13/24 Remaining]

Initial Score: 25.99

Revised Score: D. You figure out what that translates to as a number because none of the voices in my head know either. [Later set to 51.66 so that it can be somewhere in the ranking?]

Final Score: 60.05

(First Reaction: A track that wants to be silly and fun, but only succeeds in being utterly forgettable.)

Sadly, I'm in even less of a mood for this song than I was the first time. I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts into words, as always, but the song feels... wrong. Not just a normal sort of wrongness, but a wrong that should be emphasized with bold and italics. wrong.

The song seems to be aiming for a cartoony and childish vibe, all smiles and sunshine, but it's missing the mark and feels quite unsettling. I'd classify this as one of the most unsettling songs I'd ever heard, which would be impressive if there was any indication that this was something the composer actually wanted to accomplish. As is, I find myself getting rather tense and twitchy, and quite actively wanting the song to stop doing whatever it's doing.

*sighs*

The worst part is that I want songs that cause an abnormal emotional reaction, so I'm almost obligated to give it a high score... but I don't really want to listen to it...

*sighs in an overly dramatic fashion*

Can I give a song an "Invalid Number" as a score? Just say that it broke the scale entirely and cannot be evaluated by numbers from this plane of existence? Have it come in "D-nd Place", a nonexistent value from another reality where it's left ambiguous where the song would fall on the actual ranking?

[Third Listen: I would describe the sound as "Christian Animals on Parade" which is apparently not a good sound? I'm still unclear where this negative association is coming from and I don't hate it, but... it's uhh... I still don't know what I want to do with this song.]

{Fourth Listen: Okay, let's go with early 50's for this. I'd say anything I have this chaotic a reaction to is something I have positive feelings towards, but I'm having a hard time saying I like it.}

[Final Thoughts: Huh. I actually like this at the moment; after having to listen to it so many times just to be able to give it something resembling a number, it's started to grow on me. Neat, I guess.]

========================

-late, as usual-

============================

#431: The Snake Charmer - Auld Lang Syne Bagpipes (3:33):
https://open.spotify.com/track/521yIzg0XypXATcc67MQyM?si=323f48f218bc4faf

Nominator: CPU [14/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.09
Revised Score: 60.09
Final Score: 60.065

(First Reaction: Exactly what it says it is and much prettier than I'd have expected from bagpipes. Not that I've listened to much bagpipe music, but it's not an instrument traditionally known for beauty. I think. Actually, I don't know anything about bagpipes.)

!A fine improvement of a traditional song.

[Final Thoughts: Still a surprisingly beautiful song. I'm *slightly* less into it, but it's still a fine addition to the list.]

============================

EDIT:

UF8 posted...

to be fair, the bilibili link for it does have 23k views. still think it's very unfortunate nobody checks the youtube link though

I am glad that people at least listened to it somewhere. That unbelievably low viewcount as quite sad.

I shall (hopefully) remember to add those songs to the list tomorrow.

But first, an apology because something went wrong earlier and the phone kinda played Hellbento instead of Gang Gang Kawaii when I was relistening to it before eliminating it. I thought it was weird that I didn't remember food in that song at all...

Talk that trash about my waifu?
Cock my uzi, grab my knaifu!

So, Gang Gang isn't the food one. It's the intentionally lame to make fun of some idiots one. Which... is kinda also something that hasn't worked out well this topic. So I do support the score and placement ("End your laifu" is stupid, but kinda funny enough), but the last part of that writeup is blatantly wrong.

...I'd blame the phone, but I really should have noticed that earlier.