Lurker > Raetsel_Lapin

Toxtricity posted...

i think the comment that got you looking into steve reich was... when i compared the angel beats song to him:

Ah, that makes sense. As soon as I saw him on an avant garde album, I kinda suspected you were the most likely to have mentioned him---followed by rwlh. (After listening to a track, I vaguely suspected Lasa as a possible third choice--not one of the usual suspects, but he did lead me to some of Frank Zappa's more experimental tracks back in the day, so I don't think Steve Reich is that far removed from his interests. Though I'm fairly certain he hasn't specifically mentioned any artists or songs this topic.)

Irrationally pleased with myself that Lasa popped in to defend Steve Reich, even if not the biggest fan of his. </.<

Will get to some or all of those Steve Reich songs tomorrow, thank you.
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Temporary Signature

This isnt relevant, but Ive been forgetting to mention it since whenever Doomed (Live at Royal Albert Hall version) was eliminated in the main rankings: The original linked version of the track had the concerts instrumental intro, Overture, edited together as part of Doomed.

When I switched to a Spotify link for the album (it was briefly necessary as they blocked all videos of the concert for a short while), I did listen to Overture and Doomed together as one track for scoring purposes, because thats how it was nominated and how Id scored it the first two times Id listened to it. I meant to add a note clarifying that somewhere, but kept forgetting.

Either way, Overture is a nice enough intro that I dont particularly mind it being attached to Doomed, and it had no appreciable effect on Doomeds score. Like most intro songs, it isnt exactly compelling enough by itself. If Overture had gotten nominated as its own song it probably would have dropped the albums average score a bit, but not drasticallyI mean, I kinda like it, its nice enough as far as intros go.

Aaanywho... , I feel like taking a look at the vaguely defined Artists category of the list; in which, I just pick an artist and listen to however many songs seem amusing without any particular guidance.

Steve Reich

Appears to be the first name on the list. I dont know who suggested his work, if anyone (I did add a couple artists to the list myself), or anything about who this person is or what genre they might be. So lets poke around on Spotify and see what happens.

Seems to be a rather prolific artist with work stretching from the late 60s to today. He appears on a Best of Avant Garde complication, so that probably explains how his name came upI do like some weird things. I suppose well start with his song from said compilation album:

Steve Reich, Nicolas Prost - New York Counterpoint, Pt. 3: ...Somehow manages to be incredibly repetitive and strangely compelling at the same time, which is... interesting. 60 points, though I dont know how well itd hold up to repeated listens.

And now we detour to a non-Steve Reich song from the same compilation because theres no way Im going to not click a song with this title:

Mark Phillips, Nicolas Prost - Rappin with Dizz and Bird: 52 points. Kinda interesting, but not nearly as compelling.

Lets find something else by the person Im supposed to be listening to... something more recent:

Steve Reich, Grant Gerson - Shiviti Hashem LNegdi (I Place the Eternal Before Me): Not bad, though I dont really recall much about it either. 53 points, I think? I enjoyed it a bit more than the previous track.

And lets go to what Spotify thinks is his most popular track:

Steve Reich, Kronos Quartet - Different Trains: America, Before the War: Almost nine minutes long and it still ends abruptly because all three Different Trains songs are really just one long piece... not really fair to judge this as a solo song as a result, but its nice enough? I didnt mind listening to it, but I also didnt enjoy it enough to rush out and listen to the next 20 minutes of it.

Steve Reich, Kristjan Jarvi - Duet for two Solo Violins and String Orchestra (Dedicated to and written for Yehudi Menuhin): Still not a bad song, though more classically styled than I normally go for? 51-ish points.

Well that was interestinghes certainly got varied styles, as none of the songs felt particularly similar to each other... but I think Id need more specific suggestions on songs than browsing around his work randomly. Too many options and too much variety to get a good sample while going blindly.

Riverside

I feel like finding a more traditional band after that. Does that apply to these guys? Maybe, maybe not. Dont remember who this band is or who suggested them, so lets just start clicking things.

Riverside - The Depth of Self-Delusion: 49.80 points; fine enough, but it couldnt hold my attention for the full seven and a half minutes & I didnt find any part of it that I enjoyed enough to offset the disappointment.

(Band seems to be progressive rock, or something adjacent to it, so seems like a group Id probably like if I found the right song).

Riverside - Living in the Past: Good song, but I wasnt quite in the mood for a 12 minute long song right now... 60 points, I suppose? I do like it.

Ill try more by the band tomorrow; after so many long songs in a row, I rather want a break at the moment.
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Temporary Signature

Took a day off to work on that Rank the Album topic series, but were back with more vtubers.

Nabana Nana - Rouge no Dengon: 62.9*something* ; surprisingly nice song. Ukuleles arent typically my favorite instruments (that I know of), but this is just quite nice and rather relaxing. Good choice.

PIROPARU - Thoughtcrime: 54 points. Video shows up fine after a few minor steps (setting it to full-screen mode and rotating the phone). Song is alright? Not my favorite singer or my favorite lyrics, but I like parts of it.

Kanade Kanon - Penta no Uta: 66 points. Good video, good song.

Kanade Kanon - Dont Stop Dancing: Misclicked and hit this song first. Either way, this song is also pretty nicenot quite as nice as the last song (which I shall always refer to as the penguin song because penguins), but I still like it. 64 points.

Kanade Kanon - Scotch Bourbon Bass Girl: Slightly better than the previous song, though still not quite as good as the first. So 65 points then?

Also, I really like the videoits simple, but walking at night is nice. Also, theres eventually a cat. Still trying to not be too influenced by such things, but it was a good pick visually.



Forgive the half-update day. Running late on everything all day set me back a bit.
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Temporary Signature

And were back, picking up where we left off with the Maria Mena album: Lets try to get through it today.

Maria Mena - This Too Shall Pass: 60 points. Very well performed and emotional, but not something I can particularly relate or connect with, which leaves it at a I like and respect this, but Im not going to obsess over it or get overly emotional in response to it type zone. Still a good song though.

Maria Mena - Takes One to Know One: 64 points.

Maria Mena - Money: Back on the so personal and so specific that its hard to say anything about train, but this time in a song that really doesnt appeal to me on much of any level. 30-something points, probably towards the lower end (33.something-or-other is my first guess).

Maria Mena - It Took Me by Surprise: 50 points. The type of heavier than I really want to deal with, but not so overly heavy that I actively dislike it.

Maria Mena - Secrets: 50.419 ; like above, but I kinda like parts of it.

Maria Mena - Am I Supposed to Apologize: 52 points. Like Money, but its a stronger and better songthough again, its way too personal a song to really leave itself open for any critique.

Good album, though not really one for me personally. Still was worth the attempt though since shes an artist I was interested in. Would not mind trying another album of hers later.



And back to Korones covers to clear that section of the list out.

Pochi Korone - Shakunetsu Switch (Acapella): ...I dont even know at this point. This is another version of the song I left off with last time, right? I started off actively hating the song, but then at some pointed I started laughing at it, then I think laughing with it, and I simultaneously hate it; like it; and hate how much I like it. Somewhere between 13 and 73 pointsthis is one of those tracks that can wind up anywhere on the list. Lets just say 60 points at the moment, with a note that the score will likely fluctuate wildly in all directions on repeated listens.

*Im starving at the moment, so I take a break to eat and do other things here. Will resume with more songs a few hours after the earlier writeups were written*



Pochi Korone - Hana ha Odori Reya Iroha ni Ho: 63 points. Cute.

Pochi Korone - We Are!: Not a fan of One Piece, but this is fairly cute. 57 points.

Pochi Korone - Panzer Vor! (Acapella): 53.80 points; its certainly different.

Pochi Korone - Aikatsu! Calendar Girl: 47 points. Not quite my thing.

Pochi Korone - One More Time, One More Chance: 85 points feels right here. This is a pretty drastic improvement over the rest of her songs in this particular block.

Took me too long to get to whatever playlist was next and its been nuked from existence, so moving along to the next functional link...

Asashi Seto x Minai Karte - Waves: Ooh, this is a really good one. Theres something very relaxing about their voices. 95 points.

I would normally break after a score that high, but Ive got some time to kill before I can play Yakuza, so lets press on with at least one more song anyway. My apologies to whoever has the misfortune of following that song.



Sato Myumyu - orbit: 66 points. This is actually pretty nice.

Monokaki Aer - Kaerou: 66 points. Also pretty nice, so lets just let the songs tie for a bit.



Okay, that was pretty good progress today.
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Temporary Signature

DUSK - Burn in Hell - 5

Fortnite - AfterBurner - 5.2

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure - Someday - 5.3

The King of Fighters XIV - Follow Me - 7.3

Bioshock - Cohen's Masterpiece - 4

Bug Fables - MECHA BEE DESTROYER BLASTLORD - 4.07

Banjo-Tooie - Weldar - 4.38

Mega Man Network Transmission - Zero Gravity Area (StarMan's Stage) - 8.4

InMomentum - It's Your Move - 6

Kirby's Adventure - Nightmare Battle - 4.9

Ys Seven - Crossing Rage - 6.4

DragonSoul - BGM 13 - 6.5

Baba Is You - Cog Is Push - 6.2

Phantasy Star Online 2 - MIERNO "IDOLA" - 3.7

Langrisser Mobile - Last Battle - 5.3

Twisted Metal: Head-On - Tokyo Rooftops Revisited - 5.94

Akumajou Densetsu - Beginning - 5.1

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Counterattack - 5.27

TwinkleCrusaders -Passion Star Stream- - Turbulence of Majesty - 5.2

Katamari Forever - Katamari on the Wings - 5.77

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Bloody Tears/Monster Dance - 5.08

Dynamix - Nanohemu - 6



Decided to spend the evening fully catching up myself.
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Temporary Signature

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - Knocc Em Down - 5.3

Pokmon Black & White - Anville Town - 6.2

Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend - Solitude - 5.9

Katamari Forever - Katamari on the Swing (SEXY-SYNTHESIZER ALL ABOUT namco Mix) - 5.8

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds - Theme of Storm - 4.8

Cloudbuilt - Blood Moon - 5

Baby Felix Halloween - Halloween World - 5.3

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - BOX 15 - 5.5

Astral Chain - Ark Mall (Combat Phase) - 6

Unreal Tournament - Foregone Destruction - 6
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Temporary Signature

Well, I had lower standards last year (see: 30/300 songs getting 10s, compared to 24/631 songs getting 100s), but I dont recall any of AZKIs songs having really high scoresother than Fake.Fake.Fake, which Ive listened to so often that Im a bit tired of it now... I suppose I should go back through the old archive and see which songs of hers I loved.

Today, Ill start looking at Maria Menas Viktoria album.

Maria Mena - Viktoria: 58 points. A bit too personal to really relate to or connect with, but its performed well and I enjoy it. (Im expecting that to be the common writeup of this album, but well see.)

Maria Mena - Homeless: 63 points, though Im (as usual) finding it difficult to find what I want to say about it.

Maria Mena - The Art of Forgiveness: 55 points. More emotional lyrics, but Im less into the song... think its a slight step down.

Maria Mena - Habits (Feat. Mads Langer): 56 points. Like the previous writeup, but slightly better (though still below the title song of the album).

Maria Mena - My Heart Still Beats: 36 points. Really not a fan of this one. Not bothered by it, it just seems a bit dull.



Ill try the rest of the album tomorrow (or whenever I get back to it, if tomorrow winds up being a day off). Where did I leave off on Post #188 (I figure Ill finish it before getting to the newly posted kano songs)...

Pochi Korone - Levan Polkka: 38 points, with a note that I dont like the original version either, so this is about as good as the song ever gets.

Pochi Korone - Burning Switch (Scorching Ping Pong Girls OP): 43 points. Not exactly my favorite anime opening here, though its not something I actively dislike.

And I think Im going to take a break after this barrage of low scores, see if Im a bit less miserly with scores tomorrow.
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Temporary Signature

For a change of pace, lets look at some of Kanos album.

Kano - Powerless God at The Stroke of Midnight: This feels familiar. I really should have been keeping an actual log of these extra songs somewhere because Im almost positive this song came up earlier... not seeing anything about it from earlier in this topic though. Either way, I like it. Probably a high 60s type of song.

Kano - Hikare: Somewhere between 60 and 70 points, which is a ridiculously large area for it to fall into, but I havent decided exactly how much I like it. I definitely like it and could see it as a solid tier above the I like this category, but I find myself hesitating when it comes time to actually give it a score that high.. I probably would, but Id like to hear it a second time before locking that score in. So itll just have this nebulous somewhere in this arbitrarily large range of scores score.

Skipping past the song from the main ranking (Im sure its worth revisiting now that Im more use to her, but going by that logic, itd be worth revisiting all 600+ songs again and Im not doing that)...

kano - KILIG: 55 points. Bit stranger than some of her more traditional songs, but not weird enough to pique my interest enough to get lots of free points. Still, something I enjoy somewhat.

kano - listen: Mid 60s? Im very close to connecting it with quite strongly, but Im not quite there... seems like the type of thing that would be a good nomination at a full topic where Id listen to it repeatedly because it might zoom up to the top of the charts if it hit me on the right day.

kano - Sozoroame: 52 points. Its fine, but it feels like a rather typical song and doesnt seem to stand out in any specific way. Its just kinda nice. Which isnt bad, obviously.

kano - Welcome Back: I think Ill pass on scores or writeups on this for now. I listened to it at least.

Bypass the one song I know I listened to earlier in the topic (if only because I found it when trying to look up the first song) to get to the last song on the album.

kano - Ending Note: 51 points. See Sozoroames writeup, but slightly less.

Not a bad album. The first two songs were my favorites, but I mostly enjoyed my time with it.
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Temporary Signature

I think Im in the mood for a few louder and angrier songs, so lets take a look at that Bring Me The Horizon album that people generally agreed I wouldnt like as much (There Is a Hell and Im not typing out that full title).

Bit of a long shot, but hey, if I dont listen to it now than I probably wont listen to it.



BMTH - Crucify Me: Yep, this is definitely much harsher and metal than the more highly suggested albums. Thankfully, thats what I want right now. I like the Pre-Chorus bits featuring Lights (she has a lot of synthetic distortion on her lyrics in places) and... well the rest of the song is what I want now; probably a bit too harsh for most nights, but Ill say 70 points for right now.

BMTH - Anthem: Dials the intensity up to 11. There are some lyrics I find appealing, but its rather difficult to make them out amidst all the drumming and screaming and metal growling. 50-something points, I do have more positive feelings towards the song than negative ones, but I do kinda wish it was dialed back slightly. The outro is the type of thing that appeals to me (quiet, dreamy, spoken samples out of context) but feels rather out of place here... which is certainly intentional, but still a bit odd.

BMTH - It Never Ends: Oh hey, another song from Live at Royal Albert Hall. I prefer the RAH version, but this isnt bad. 50 something points again.

BMTH - Fuck: 33 points. Too metal, too explicit, too much sex, but I actually dont hate it (or dislike it all that strongly) which is the best that could be said for a song of this type.

BMTH - Dont Go: The story of Terry Lee Hurst, a boy who was slaughtered by three adolescents... you know, lets just say Im happier not clicking this song or learning any further details and move on.

BMTH - Home Sweet Hole: 60 points; the verses are a bit too harsh, but the chorus nails the exact level of angry/sad/metal that Im looking for tonight. Probably should give it a few more points.

BMTH - Alligator Blood: Not quite sleep-inducing levels of intensity, but definitely a bit dull... exactly 50 points.

BMTH - Visions: Ah, heres an almost sleep-inducing song, I figured thered be at least one on the album. 40 points.

BMTH - Blacklist: Not quite the type of anger Im looking for and still a bit too intense, but I think the song accomplishes what its going for and I can understand liking it. Feels like the type of song that would be a candidate for 49.99 or something like that, where it just misses the cutoff to neutrality.

BMTH - Memorial: An over three minute long intro to the next song. Too long to really get the obviously not meant to be taken as an individual song writeup, too... song-intro-y to be a standout track or anything. 53 points, I suppose; its kinda relaxing and not bad, but its not quite soothing enough to work all that well.

BMTH - Blessed With A Curse: Dials the intensity back a little, but the lyrics are rather repetitive... probably another low 50 point song. I kinda like it.

BMTH - The Fox and the Wolf: Its fine, I suppose. 50.90 points.

Well, unsurprisingly, I did not like it as much as the other albumsbut it did have two tracks I liked which is more than most albums, and its basically what I wanted right now. So it was worth the listen, even with the relatively lower scores.
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Temporary Signature

Choro Q Wonderful! - Apple (Gold City) - 8.8

Pachislot Gyakuten Saiban - Court Battle ~ Turnabout Goodbyes - 5

Deltarune - Scarlet Forest - 5

Celeste: Farewell - Beyond the Heart - 5

South Park: The Fractured but Whole - V.I.P Brawl - 5.3

Miitopia - Battle (Neksdor) - 5.38

Mario Kart 8 - Neo Bowser City (3DS) - 6.3

Fire Emblem Heroes - Lost Lore - 'Trip' - 5.8

Saihate HOSPITAL - h.b.s - 5.6

Katamari Damacy - Angel Flavor's Present - 8
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Temporary Signature

Ive made good progress with the albums, so now lets work on the list of individual songs that were suggested.

Corrosion of Conformity - Clean My Wounds: 38 points. Sorry, I know Im supposed to like this type of classic rock song and I suppose its fine, but it doesnt really do anything for me.

POWER TRIP - Executioners Tax (Swing of the Axe): 50 points. Its certainly fine, but I need some lyrics that really appeal to me to get into metal songs. This is typical popular metal; its fine, Ill never complain about listening to it, but I also wont really remember it or have much reason to seek it out in the future.

Somunia - last night (virtual cat remix): Very intriguing. Think Ill go up to 90 points on this one.

Iamthemorning - Post Scriptum: 64 points. Somehow it feels like walking at night music. Which is a thing I like.

Iamthemorning - I Came Before the Water (Pt.1): An intriguing start to the album, but a bit short. I do feel like I should have just listened to the entire album at this point though... this song certainly does a fine job of making me want to hear more, but as its really just an intro, I dont know that it really works by itself. I guess Ill o with 60 points, since I did like it.

Iamthemorning - I Came Before the Water (Pt. 2): ...I imagine reprising the first song at the end of the album would be more impactful without skipping directly to the reprise, but I do like it. 62.50 points?.

White Moth Black Butterfly - The Serpent: 51 points. Its performed well, but as usual, there arent any specific moments or lyrics Im attached to.

White Moth Black Butterfly - Evelyn: 60 points. Im not going to pretend I understand anything about the lyrics, but its certainly intriguing enough that I liked it.

Aesop Rock - Save Yourself: 64 points. I like the interlude (I dont know that Id say very fast rap is one of my things, but it is quite pleasing and used sparingly on this specific track) and its certainly the type of thing I should be listening to, but Im not instantly in love with it like I was with None Shall Pass.

Aesop Rock - Flashflood: I love the intro (oh hey, Im praising spoken word samples taken out of context, what a surprise), though I was slightly less into the actual song than the previous one. 61.22 points; still something I appreciate listening to and should be listening to.



And back to the vtuber section for a moment:

AZKi - Unstoppable Rain: I know auto-translated lyrics are always gibberish, but these work for me:

I was still wandering around
Looking for an answer that I couldnt get
Tears run down my cheeks

Only the unstoppable rain
Will snuggle up to the dull pain

And I suspect this may actually be AZKis best song, thinking somewhere in the 90 point range. (Probably early 90s, but still, there are not many songs I give scores that high to on a first impression). So of course that would be the song that was posted accidentally... well, whatever, it made it in anyway.



Cecilia - Seven Colors of Nico Nico Douga: Very impressive, but an almost eleven minute long medley is a bit of a hard sell. 70 points, though I think it might be the type of thing that would go down on repeat listens. Also way too many different songs represented to try picking out which ones I liked the most (there was a cute bit around the six minute mark, I think? I liked that part the most; the polka bit might have been the worst, but was very short-lived.), but I enjoyed it.
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Temporary Signature

Theodor Bastard - Lost In The Night: 56.29 ; its still not quite the terror ambience that I love, but I like some of the instruments here and I enjoy the song. Just a bit short and not as emotionally resonant as Id hope for. Still nice though!

Theodor Bastard - Macula Areas: Desert Ambience Music. 64 points; it nails the aesthetic of being lost in a desert for most of its runtime (it does get a bit more intense towards the end), but I dont think desert is one of my favorite environments... still, I definitely like it and appreciate anything that successfully creates an atmosphere like this song does.

Theodor Bastard - Disappearing: Creepy chanting song and the most unsettling song on the album thus far. Lets say 70-some points for this? Its still not quite there, but its very, very close.

Theodor Bastard - Shaman From The Downtown: I dont know. Pass for now.

Theodor Bastard - Volchya Yagoda: ...wait, what? This track has the same name as the album from earlier, but the earlier album didnt have this song? Thats confusing. Low 50s here (53?); its fine, but a bit forgettable.

Not a bad album; didnt dislike any of the songs and I wouldnt mind listening to it again on another night. I really do love the idea of most of the songs, so its probably worth the extra chance.



Now to give that one song from Act III another chance with stable internet.

The Dear Hunter - Life and Death (attempt #2): 55 points, Im thinking. I like it, but the Bridge is a bit repetitive. I do like the ending of the song though. When we die, we die... is certainly blunt and the way the singer trails off if quite pleasing.

...alright, I guess its more than 55 points of pleasing. Ill go up to 60 points on this one.



I want something harsh to provide a bit of variety from the recent songs, so lets hit those two Every Time I Die songs Bane mentioned over a month ago that he didnt think Id like because those should fit the bill nicely.

ETiD - Pigs Is Pigs: 64 points. True, its not my favorite song of theirs, but I do like it. (Alternatively: I want to listen to this band right now and this is very a song by this band; but to be fair its not overly explicit and its not so intense that I black out, so I think I can say its above average for the band.)

ETiD - Leatherneck: 58.71 points. Not quite my favorite song by the band and I cant recall any lyrics or moments I specifically enjoyed, but its in the right genre and something I wanted to hear right now, so yeah, I like it.



That was a fun interlude, but I should get back to some of the vtuber songs, as it has been a few days since I worked on that list.

Kanade Izuru/Hanasaki Miyabi - Universe: 65.99. I like this.

HOLOSTARS - Fire Flower: The choruses are catchy, but I find the verses a bit boring to be honest... 50.73.

HOLOSTARS - Blessing: 50.60 ; about the same, really, just slightly less catchy.
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Temporary Signature

Only five songs left in Act III (presuming I continue skipping that one song), so lets see if we can get through it tonight:

The Dear Hunter - This Beautiful Life: I quite like the early parts of the song, particularly the second verse. So let us force a smile and pretend that were alive is a line that fits in perfectly with the BMTH songs that I love these days. Outroas usual for the bandis not quite my thing, though not enough to really drag the song down much. Somewhere in the 60 point range, lets just say 63.72.

...of course the point of this song being that Hunter is traumatized by the previous song on the album that was skipped, leads me to suspect that I really should go back to it for context at some point...



The Dear Hunter - Go Get Your Gun: Well, its definitely different than the other songs on the album, so it feels like a safe bet that this is one of the songs Iceman was talking about earlier. Unfortunately, its not something that lends itself well to first impressionsmilitary drinking song is... not exactly a topic that I find very appealing. Though it is catchy enough that I like it and theres some nice lyrical dissonance here; probably the most upbeat tempo song on the album thus far, with lines like

With our one foot in the grave
While the other ones kickin its way right down to hell

So... the song definitely does things and goes places that I like, while attached to subject matter that I have an aversion to; well say 64 points for a first impression? I like it well enough.

The Dear Hunter - The Son: Its fine enough. It does everything it needs to, but the way it seamlessly transitions to Father makes it all too evident that this song isnt meant to stand alone by any means.

The Dear Hunter - Father: I do like the dreamy ambience of the music, though Im still not really into the whole stolen identity part of the storyline. And theres just something almost comical about using the Poison Womans poison to kill the father. Youre in the middle of a war and have a gun, but to murder someone you need something you picked up from that nice serial killer we met a while ago? Kay.

Oh, take the 80 points; I do quite like the song itself, even if Im not terribly sold on the lyrics or story its attached to.

The Dear Hunter - Life and Death: Ehh... Ill try listening to this again on another day. Had an odd internet hiccup:

When we dance, it looks just like fire
When we sing, it sounds the same tone
We all have hearts, we all have homes
But when we die, we die alone

Oh, what a mess

And then my internet cut out briefly and the song ended abruptly. For a minute, I thought it was intentional and a bold way to end the albumwith the war and the constant threat of death, the final song ends mid-note almost as quickly as it started! So bold, so symbolic, so... oh wait the internets back and the songs resuming, I guess thats fine too...

Think Ill give it a day and try re-listening to it when Im not distracted by what the song isnt. For now, I want to go the Untitled track from the deluxe version of Act IIIits not on Spotify, as far as Im aware, but as its like a demo version of part of A Night on the Town, its a song Ive heard quite a bit about over the past few years.



The Dear Hunter - Untitled 1: Not as good as the full version from Act IV, but still interesting. 57 pointsworth listening to and seeing the differences at any rate.

Pretty good album though I do think the skipped song was a bit more important to the story than indicated. Without it, Hunters decision to murder The Father seems to be especially out of left field... but either way, I did enjoy my time with it.



Now where did I leave off on that Pathologic 2 album...

Theodor Bastard - Doctors Dead: Not quite as oppressive as I like my dark ambient music, but its a better example of the genre than Drops In The Endless was; 56.15 points.

Theodor Bastard - The Temple Of Lost Childhood: Creepy children singing, take two. This song has more unsettling instrumentals though, so its better than Children Are Burying The Doll... this song feels a bit too short though; 1:33 isnt really much of a runtime. At least 60 points though, I did enjoy it while it lasted.

Theodor Bastard - Killing The Bison: Another good try song. I like what its going for, but it never succeeds in making me feel any actual dread or fear or anything. 53 points, I think; its definitely the right genre and Id rather have this song than no ambient tracks at all, but its not quite enough.

Theodor Bastard - Heart Of The Labrint: 51 points; like above, but slightly worse.



Ill finish the album tomorrow (or whenever I get back to this if tomorrow winds up being a day off).
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Temporary Signature

Ill make a point of skipping that song for now then.

The Dear Hunter - The Poison Woman: Lets go with the full 60 points here. Its kinda a villain song, it kinda reminds me of Pimp/Priests song, its almost funny in how out of place it seems (we run away from a tank and then spontaneously run into a crazy woman who murders men for fun?). Its amusing and fun, though Im not in love with itcertainly comes closer to capturing the feel of the Act IV songs I like more than the opening tracks did.

The Dear Hunter - The Thief: Not bad. The dreamy, hypnotic qualities of the verses & chorus are quite appealing, though the interlude goes on a bit too long. 66 points, perhaps?

The Dear Hunter - Mustard Gas: For being a song about chemical warfare, I was expecting something more...explicit than this turned out to be. 58 points? I actually like a fair amount of the lyrics, but feel like Im missing something that remains undefined. (Could just be that the song wasnt what I was expecting and opinion would go up when listened to now that I know what it is.)

The Dear Hunter - Saved: I dont like the backing music on this track, though as usual I cant place why its putting me on edge. Nothing wrong with his vocal performance or the lyrics though... somewhere between high 40s and low 50s. (Its something I should be listening to more often to work on why Im bothered, but also not something I particularly like, so its bit variable.)



Which brings me to the track Im supposed to skip, which is a good excuse to take a break and go for some DARK ADVENTURE music from the Pathologic 2 soundtrack.

Theodor Bastard - Darkness: The ominous and oppressive feeling of the instrumental opening is fantastic, but the song loses something once the singing starts. Just repeating Hello, Darkness isnt exactly spooky... there are other lyrics, eventually, but Im always left wanting an instrumental version of the song. 54 points seems reasonable.

Theodor Bastard - Children Are Burying The Doll: 53 points. I kinda always laugh at creepy children these days, after WWE ruined the concept. Theres this ridiculous match some number of years ago where John Cena lost to Bray Wyatt because a creepy singing child was standing in his way; now whenever SPOOKY SINGING CHILD shows up, I just picture Cena pretending to be afraid of them and any dramatic tension is completely destroyed.

...mind you, I love wrestling when its being goofy and Im totally going to go watch that match again later tonight...



Theodor Bastard - Drops in The Endless: Ambient environmental track, though not one of my favorites. I appreciate what its trying to do, but its more slow and forgetful than foreboding. 52 points, Im thinking? I like the idea of it.

Theodor Bastard - Mourning Of The Gone: Exactly 50 points. Didnt leave much impression, Im afraid.



Now if youll excuse me, I have a terrible wrestling match to go rewatch.
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Honestly, the games probably dont have great soundtracks. At least, I dont recall liking any of the remixes more than their originals... but like I said, its been a long time since I listened to them.
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I dont think so... its something about the environment specifically, not anyone or anything in the environment. Particularly those red and white tentsfor... some reason. Im pretty sure Ive never been to a circus before, but I get rather twitchy around the idea.

Considering how often circuses are a setting for events in games, cartoons, and shows theres probably some stupid pop culture thing thats lodged in my subconscious and skewing my perspective. Though still no real ideas what or why.



Lets finish the last three songs from Sempiternals Deluxe Edition:

BMtH - Join The Club: 57 points. A bit too intense for me and not something Im looking for right now, but its fairly catchy and along the lines of several other BMtH songs that I do love.

BMtH - Chasing Rainbows: 54 points. Its...nice, but Im not crazy about it and dont really see any lyrics Im especially drawn to.

BMtH - Deathbeds: 56.66 points; very good song that I have no connection to, appreciate hearing it though.



I really should listen to the Pathologic 2 OST now, but Im just not in the mood for Dark Adventure right now and Im trying to save that for when I do want to listen to it, to give it the best chance of getting high scores... you know, I think Im going to take a quick glance at how The Dear Hunters Act III album opens; probably too serious, dealing with the Great War and all, but I want different and theyre different.

...not a different I typically like on a first listen, granted, but work with me here. (And since Iceman will probably nominate Act IV, or something from Act IV at least, it makes far more sense to go backwards an act rather than jumping the gun and doing Act IV now.

...why not Act I? would be a good question...)

The Dear Hunter - Writing on a Wall: Short interlude that leads directly into the next song, not really capable of standing on its own, but not actually bad. Somewhere in the 50 point range, though its a bit of a dud nomination by itself.

The Dear Hunter - In Cauda Venenum: This feels like big band metal which is an odd combination that Im not immediately fond of, but does certainly qualify as different enough that it cant get less than 51 points. Probably a bit more than that, but not much more (though again, this is one of those bands where songs often jump several hundred placements after I adjust to them, so take first impressions with a heavier grain of salt than listen.)

....and dont even get me started on the Hawaiian-esque outro...



The Dear Hunter - What It Means To Be Alone: Yeah, not a fan here. Like 49.99 pointsI certainly cant say I dislike it, but... well I liked the outro at least.

The Dear Hunter - The Tank: I do kinda like the lyrics, not as sold on the actual song. 51 points, reasonable odds of moving up on a re-listen.



Take a break from that for now, finish with some amount of Vtuber songs:

Enma Ruri - Telecaster B-Boy: Nothing about this song or the lyrics feels familiar in the least... I dont have any problem with her design (though again, Im trying not to factor videos in), but I just...dont like this song. 38 points.

Asano Akane - Shinobi Shinobazu High Tension: 56.9799426.

...I dont know why such a very precise number, but Cute Ninja feels like exactly that number of points.
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Im glad this song got a good score. I actually have a (not very interesting) story behind this pick: So, Se7en and I had done a joint Classic Mega Man Song Ranking topic, 200 songs from 1 through 10. When we were done, I really wanted to go back and do another 200 focused on classic series spin-offs and remakes: & Bass, Battle & Chase, Soccer, Rockboard, the Game Boy series, the Complete Works, etc. He wasnt interested in the idea and I didnt see a point to continuing the series as a solo effort, so I just let the idea die.

But I was always kinda sad that the Complete Works songs in particular wouldnt exactly fit in anywhere. The classic soundtracks are more iconic and popular & only games 4 through 6 got full remade soundtracks... and well those were never the most popular games in the series to start with. If someone was going to nominate Classic Mega Man songs why would they go with a fairly obscure Playstation version of an NES chiptune in the first place?? And then you decided to try a ranking topic with an impossibly large number of songs included... I figured this would be the only nomination topic in history where I could justify burning a nomination on something so frivolous, so I just grabbed what seemed to be an original song created specifically for that version of the game (as far as Im aware) and threw it in at the last minute.

Glad to see it get some recognition after all this time.
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Cant think of a reason I wouldnt.



BMtH - Can You Feel My Heart: Ah, so this is the album the missing RAH songs are from. Convenient, I suppose. And someone probably told me that a while ago, but I didnt remember that. Not bad; I prefer the way the bridge sounds here compared to the RAH version, though I still like the RAH version more in general. At least 80 points, probably a bit more.

BMtH - The House of Wolves: Still not really looking for anti-religion songsnot that I disagree with the messages, but... well lets not rehash this debate again right now. 53 points; would be good if I want an angry playlist, but its not what Im looking for right now.

BMtH - Empire (Let Them Sing): A slight improvement over the RAH versionlouder and angrier fits better than... however youd describe the RAH version which is a bit harsher than most songs from the concert but not as metal as the album version. 69 points.

BMtH - Sleepwalking: *without looking at song name* Softer instrumentals in the opening than the earlier songs, must be time for Sleepwalking. Ha! Called it. Not as good as the RAH version, but still pretty good. 77 points.

BMtH - Go to Hell, for Heavens Sake: Slight improvement in some ways, slightly worse in others. Think I said as much at the nominated songs eliminationlets just call it a tie between both versions of the song.

BMtH - Shadow Moses: The lowest scoring song from Live at Royal Albert Hall and this version is... well not any better, Im sorry to say. I dont really mind it, but its definitely a sub-60 point song.

BMtH - And the Snakes Start to Sing: Heaviest song on the album, though not bad. 60 something points, I suppose.

BMtH - Seen It All Before: 60 points. I like this.

BMtH - Antivist: Ah, the song Ive listened to the least from RAH since it wasnt quite nominated (there just wasnt a good upload of it at the time). This is... eh, lets say exactly 50 points.

BMtH - Crooked Young: 52 points.

BMtH - Hospital for Souls: Songs like this one are so serious and so personal that you cant really critique or comment on them, which is always a bit awkward. Lets just say I like it and move on.

And I think Ill take the three songs from the Deluxe Edition (Join the Club, Chasing Rainbows, and Deathbeds) in a day or two. I feel like taking a break here
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Paper Mario: The Origami King - The Disco Devil - 4.6

It Came from the Desert - Sea of Love - 5.3

Etrian Odyssey III - Hoist the Sword with Pride in the Heart - 7.3

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - So Noted - 7.3

Touhou 2: Story of Eastern Wonderland - World of Empty Dreams - 5.3

Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (DS) - Wapo Song - 6

Cities: Skylines - A Dawn Away - 5

Wheels of Aurelia - Preferivo Stare Sola - 7

Ranger-X - Stage 5-2 (Access Tube ~ Boss) - 5

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - Central Factory - 1

Ristar - Break Silence - 5.9

Project Wingman - Daedalus - 5
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Ill make a note of that. Should be fairly easy to remember. For now, I think Ill cover the BMtH album Thats The Spirit whichas has been notedconsists almost entirely of the original versions of several songs from their Royal Albert Hall album.

Going to be a bit odd... since Ive listened to that live album so many times these original versions are going to feel like odd remixes, but itll be rather easy listening since I know exactly what Im getting.



BMtH - Doomed: Good, but I prefer the Royal Albert Hall version quite a bitthat versions a bit milder and I like the backup singers on the chorus. Still, its a different version of a song I love, so I obviously like it. Lets say 80 something points? It deserves more, but it is a bit hard to be objective when I have another version i prefer.

BMtH - Happy Song: Pretty much the same thing. Its still a great song, but I dont love it as much as the Royal Albert Hall version. Oddly this doesnt seem to have quite as much energy as the live performance does; still a great song though.

BMtH - Throne: Lets just say its a tie between this at the RAH version. I think I like them both rather equally.

BMtH - True Friends: Lets say five points below the RAH version; pretty comparable though, could easily see them moving into being tied with each other once Im more familiar with this version.

BMtH - Follow You: Look, its the mythological song thats actually better than the RAH version! ...Also this is possibly the song from that album Ive listened to the least. Probably not a coincidence. </.<

The chorus still repeats itself too often, I still dont like portraying the sentiment of Ill kill myself if you die as being romantic, but Im digging the backing music and its nice to have a love song by the band for a bit of variety. 84 points, a full two tiers above the nominated version.



BMtH - What You Need: Hey, a new song! 92 points; I shouldnt like it based on the subject matter and because lines like You make me wanna slit my wrists and play in my own blood are too explicit, but I rather love the quiet anger in this song... definitely seems like something I have room for in a playlist somewhere.

BMtH - Avalanche: Another song that I think is an improvement over the RAH version. 92 points; lets have it tie with the previous song and work out which one I prefer later.

BMtH - Run: Another new song and its a great one. 94 points to start with; going to hold off on specific comments though.

BMtH - Drown: Another song that I think is an improvement over the RAH version, though the nominated Drown had a very high score (96.55) which makes things a bit awkward. I think that version of Drown would probably fall a bit now because I prefer this album version of it, so it seems less impressive than it did back at the ranking itself.

BMtH - Blasphemy: Last new song on the album. Pretty good, but Im not super into it... 54 points? Feels a bit repetitive, though I still like it somewhat.

BMtH - Oh No: Another song that has a hard time living up to the Royal Albert Hall version (Ive been listening to Doomed & Happy Song on an almost nightly basis and listening to True Friends & Oh No almost as often), but its rather comparablelets say only like three points below the RAH version? Theres really not that much difference.

Great album, no real surprisesin contrast to The Golden Age, I knew exactly what I was getting. 8/11 songs were ones I already liked and two of the new songs easily stack up with the best songs, so... yeah. Exactly what I was expecting.

(Around this point, Im starting to question if theyre my new favorite band; I might actually try listening to more albums of theirs later, which is not a thing I really do.)



And two Vtubers to end the night:

iMarine Project - The Boon!: 84 points. Catchy music, cute voice, great video (though Im still trying not to pay much attention to those).

Takanashi Neiro - drops: I had rather low expectations because piano instrumentals havent exactly been getting high scores lately, but this nice. 74 points.
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Feeling better today, so lets take a risk and dive into Woodkids The Golden Age album. I did like Goliath and should try to listen to more varied types of music, but I dont think I have enough experience with the genre to really get it on a first listen... seems like the type of album thatd take multiple listens before I had anything relevant to say, but I suppose I cant listen to it twice until Ive listened to it once, so... yeah.

Woodkid - The Golden Age:Low 50s. I dont min the song, but I have a hard time connecting with the lyrics.

Woodkid - Run Boy Run: Ehh... one point above The Golden Age? Going to pass on commenting on it (I suspect this will be a common theme on this album).

Woodkid - The Great Escape: Exactly 50 points. There are some lyrics here that I like, but the song is... I dunno, Im getting these random wild west feelings from the song and apparently I dont like that, though I certainly dont have the time for self-reflection on where thats coming from. Would likely go up drastically on repeat listens, particularly when Im feeling more introspective than I am tonight.

Woodkid - Boat Song: High 50s. Its a more somber take on the themes from earlier songs on the album and that works for me slightly better. Not enough that Id really want to jump it up to the 60s, but I do enjoy this quite a bit more than the first three songs.

Woodkid - I Love You: Early 50s; its fine, but I dont think Im looking for an unrequited love song. Not really relevant to me personally and its not exactly a super unique song topic that it really stands out. Not bad, just not for me.

(Thats not to say there arent unrequited love songs that I love, just that its not a topic that I especially need more of.)

Woodkid - The Shore: A direct continuation of the last song with more unrequited love, but the lyrics feel stronger here. I drown my pain in alcohol is quite the blunt sadness I often look for. Upper-Mid 50s (57 points, probably).

Woodkid - Ghost Lights: 56 points. Not really much variation on the story here (theyre still gone; hes still in pain), but there are some nice lyrics and energy here, but the chorus repeats itself a bit too often at the end and it doesnt really stand out as much more than yes, this is definitely a song on the album.

Woodkid - Shadows: Instrumental interlude. It feels like its building up to greatness, but then it just kinda stops... high 40s, probably. I was starting to get into it, but it kinda ended too quickly.

Woodkid - Stabat Mater: Has the elements of greatness, but feels like its missing something.. With the choir chanting, the darker vibe than previous songs on the album, references to a war, this song is so close to being overwhelmingly powerful and fantastic... but it never quite hits the highs I want it to. His voice isnt quite as deep as Id want with this type of ambience and it feels like its missing something... 59 points for a first impression, decent odds of moving up on repeat listens as I adjust to what it is and stop complaining about what it isnt.

Woodkid - Conquest of Spaces: Eh. I should like it, i suppose... pass for now, Ill try listening to this again next week.

Woodkid - Falling: 43 seconds of an ominous intro thats basically just an outro to the previous song. 56 points; it does create an oppressive atmosphere which I like, but it doesnt really function on its own.

Woodkid - Where I Live: This feels like the song that would be hailed as the best song on the album. I dont know if Id personally say that, but I see the appeal. 57 points with some interest in trying it again on a different day. Will probably listen to it next week, along with Conquest of Spaces.

Woodkid - Iron: 56 points. Really, this entire album is right around that level.

Woodkid - The Other Side: 59 points. A fine way to end the album, really.

...Well, thats probably the most consistent album Ive ever heard. There arent any real high points or low points. You might as well just grab one song at random and base your opinion off of thatif you like what its doing, then good news, theres a lot more of it! If not, then I cant honestly see any song on the album that would change your mind.

Though, like I said, I dont think I was in a position to fairly judge the albumI didnt even know it was like a concept album when we started, nor is it a type of genre or subject matter where I have already well defined ideas of what I like or dislike about it. Will probably try the second half of the album (Stabat Mater and everything after it) again later, spend a few days on other things and think about it a bit more, and what not

Still, I didnt dislike any of it and Im open to giving it more chances, so thats neat.



Back to a few more Vtubers for something completely different that will probably give musical whiplash.

Setono Toto - I LOVE...: Very magical girl anime ending song vibes here (this is a good thing), 68 pointsnot sure why Im not going up to 70 points because I do like this quite a bit, but I want to hold back a bit.. for the first impression anyway.

Kojou Anna - Onegai Darling:> Its kinda impressive she keeps up with the song since it feels very quick, but Im not really a fan. Exactly 50 points.

Chima Machita - Lilium (Elfen Lied opening theme): Im curious why Im supposed to hate this. Im positive Id despise Elfen Lied itself, but theres not really anything wrong with the theme itself... and songs with latin lyrics did rather well at the main ranking. 64 points.



Okay, that was a decent amount of progress for once.
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Not feeling great today (not sick, just rather blegh), so Im just going to take a few VTuber songs and call it a night:

Hachigatsu ni Yuki - Collapse: 70-something points. It makes me imagine a more mellow version of Gitaroo Man, in spite of there not being any valid reason for my mind to make that comparison.

Kiba Iori - Wanderer: Feels like Out Run music, I can picture the game quite clearly in my mind when this is playing, which is a bit oddnot bad, just kinda odd. Lets go for 70-something points on this one too.

Maibyou Kusuri - Carnivorous Plant: 68 to 70 points. I like it and its an improvement over the original, but I want it clearly a bit below the last two songs.

Yayanehi - Kodou -a pulse-: Slightly unsettling, but a bit too subdued piano music-y for my tastes. Mid 50s, around 56 points.

Kuyurugi Shigure - Renai Saiban: 50.37 ; its fine.

Yashiro Riu - Inochi no Kirawarete Iru: I feel like this is one of the weaker covers of this song youve posted for me, though theres nothing especially wrong with itIm sure Id have been quite supportive of it if it had been the first version Id heard, but now it feels a bit lacking and Im having a hard time figuring out how I want to score that.

....still, I liked it, so well say at least 60 points, I suppose.
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Apologies for the every other day thing Ive got going at the moment. Yesterday, I have an excuse (I needed to come up with something for a guessing game at another forum and it took me all night to decide what I was doing). Other days, Ive just been taking off to play Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but yesterday was a justified absence. </.<

Lets see if we can get through the five sulawo/slug songs, then see what Im in the mood for.

Sulawo - Offton (Ofuton? O Futon? Something like that): I like this, though I cant place why and like certain Frums songs, I lose a bit of interest whenever I try to listen more intensely to figure out why. Lets say high 60s (68-ish?), provided I dont focus so much it starts to give me a headache.

[Also, the description of the song as being a song of a person who cant get out of the futon at all leads me to suspect this is the type of sad song I like, but I obviously cant be sure of that.]

Sulawo - Broken Clock: Nice enough, but it didnt leave much impression. 60 points exactly, probably. Maybe high 50s.

Sulawo - Puzzle: Math Rock Instrumental, huh? I kinda wonder how someone who understood that type of thing would react to the song, but I feel kinda the same way about it as I did the last song. Its nice, but I dont recall much of anything about it. High 50s type song, probably.

Sulawo - Yumeutsutsu: (Google Translate definition: Is it a dream or reality? In particular, it is difficult to distinguish between a dream and reality, so it is not clearly conscious.)

Neat definition. Song is also good? 67 points feels right.

Sulawo - Kaze no Ne: 53 points. I dont know why, its a decent song and I dont have any complaints about the performance, but I also dont...really want to give that many points either...

And lets do one more from that post, so that well officially be up to the Virtual Cat songs I skipped ahead to so long ago.

Kizakura Hikari - Kinmokusei: Pretty nice song, I actually like it a bit more than Ichikias... 64 points, well say.



Going to look at the first part of that Bring Me The Horizon EP. POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR makes it sound like itll probably be too much (I dont like horror or any of the Doom songs ive heard, so the title and Mick Gordons involvement are... not exactly red flags, but reg flag adjacent?), but I did like Kingslayer and the band hasnt particularly let me down yet, so lets try to be cautiously optimistic:

BMTH - Dear Diary,: Not my type of thing, but not bad... after the guitar solo, it becomes a bit less metal and more appealing. Weve got some blasphemy (easy points), but also killing a dog (easy loss of points), uhh...

...somewhere between 59 and 67 points, I dont really know right now. Would listen to again.

BMTH - Parasite Eve: Ooh, now this song goes places. it perfectly nails that fun darkness type of ambience and Im always a sucker for spoken word sections. Think Ill....go up to 90 points on this one.. Might be valuing it a bit too highly because I dont have many songs with this type of vibe to compare it to, but whatever, 90 points feels right for a first impression.

BMTH - Teardrops: Feels like it wants to be a Linkin Park song which certainly works for me, BMTH & LP both had a lot of very high scoring songs at the ranking, so Im certainly here for this. And the lyrics are right in that sweet spot of sadlike, all of them, just pick any line in the song and it fits what Im looking forso this is well done. A bit too metal to be something I unequivocally love, but at least high 80s here. Just a generally great song.

BMTH - Obey (with YUNGBLUD): Good, though not on the level of the last two songs.. 70 something points, probably?

BMTH - Itch for the Cure (When Will We Be Free?): Too short since its meant to be an interlude leading into Kingslayer, which is unfortunate because I absolutely love that opening verse. Not sure on a scoreI feel like I could drop it anywhere from the low 60s (good, but too short and doesnt really stand on its own) to the high 90s (dont care, giving it all of the points anyway, WHEEE) and itd feel appropriate.

Bypassing Kingslayer (I did listen to it again, but have nothing else to add to earlier comments)

BMTH - 1x1 (feat. Nova Twins): Ooh, misery & dissociation, this is wonderful. 95 points.

BMTH - Ludens: Has the misfortune of following a song that it cant possibly live up to. Part of why I usually take a break after giving a score that high, but I want to finish this EP in one sitting... 52 points, with a note that its probably worth revisiting at a later time when its not immediately following 1x1.

BMTH - One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest as You Match Towards Your Death: 51 points. I know, I know, Im supposed to like thisooh, shes playing the part of Mother Nature, look non-human character singing and possibly the least metal song on the EPbut I find this to be the definite low point of the EP. Not bad, I still like it some amount, but...yeah.



Definitely worth taking the time to listen to everything. Parasite Eve, Teardrops, and 1x1 are definitely top tier songs. And the last two songs might just be victims of where they were placed on the album.. there is a chance theyd move up if I heard them on a different day where they could try to shine on their own merits instead of following several better songs.
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BlackDra90n posted...

I like the Messgram cover a lot more than the original. The more Kpoppy vocals fit very well.

Are you gonna listen to Post Human as well?

I have a note to try listening to a few songs from it, but I wouldn't mind going through the whole album.
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Going to finish the BMTH album tonight:

BMTH - [...its probably fine, but the song title is technically a censor bypass and I dont feel like risking the moderation right now.]: The first low point of the album. Its not bad, but i feel everything in this song has been done better on other songs by the bandthe chorus in particular draws a lot of comparisons to Happy Song, but... well this is no Happy Song, to put it mildly. 51 points; at least it had some light blasphemy.

BMTH - why you gotta kick me when im down: Good song. Its got those very low tones that I always enjoy and its strangely reminiscent of one of Murphiroths nominations last year... i cant remember the title, but Im sure it was one of his, a Japanese metal song dealing with fans that were offended [band member] wasnt literally killing himself anymore.

*rummages through archives*

Maximum the Hormone - Lets Talk About Menkata Cottelee. Rather similar subject matter here. Dont feel like giving it a score right now, but I definitely liked it.



BMTH - fresh bruises: Definitely an unexpected track. It has a rather strong and bizarre opening, but the song only repeats the same two lines endlessly and my distaste for that sort of repetitiveness is well documented. Leaning exactly 50 points here? Different and unexpected enough that I cant say i disliked it, but its also not really for me.

BMTH - mother tongue: Hey, its that song I listened to a cover of earlier! Thats convenient. This feels like their poppiest song yet and it repeats the chorus far too many times, but its pretty nice. Going back to the Messgram cover of the song though, Im pretty sure I prefer their version over this original... so this is probably somewhere in the 60 point range, though less than Messgrams.

BMTH - heavy metal (feat. Rahzel): Did we really need two songs on the same album attacking fans who wont support the bands changing sound? This is fine, but it feels a tad redundant after why you gotta kick me when Im down? and the chorus repeats itself a bit too much and... well, I like it somewhat, but not all that much. Somewhere between 50 and 60 points.

BMTH - i dont know what to say: 57 points. Instrumentals go on a bit longer than Id like, but its fine.



Pretty good album, though it was a bit front-loaded; pretty sure all my favorites were in the first half of the album, which isnt a bad thing, but... I dont know where Im going with this.

Either way, enjoyed listening to it, looking forward to trying other albums later.
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Blegh.
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Mega Man Battle Network 6 - Two of Braves - 7.5

Fatal Fury Special - Duck Duck Dub - 6.7

Persona Q2 - Pull the Trigger - 6.22

Risk of Rain 2 - The Rain Formerly Known as Purple - 5.3

Double Dragon Neon - City Streets 2 (Mango Tango - Neon Jungle) - 5.3

Plok - Boss Theme - 3

R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 - Pearl Blue Soul - 4.9

Final Fantasy VII - Highwind Takes to the Skies - 6.2
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Yakuza: Like a dragon - Confrontation: Mostly too intense for my tastes, though there is a slightly more subdued part in the middle that I enjoy. Leaning 59 points; possibly a bit high, but it has enough points I like that it feels appropriate.

Daidai Myao - muddy cloud: 68 points. Its definitely quite pretty and should get a higher score, but Im not really connecting with this as strongly as it feels like Im supposed to... good song though.

Kumonoue Yumemi - Lonely Universe: 70 points? I really liked the song until that outro... it was only a few seconds long, but remarkable unpleasant. Not enough to ruin the song, but I planned on giving at least 74 points before those last few seconds.

wotoha x nakamurasanso x yukimurachan! x mochari x nanahira - Hyalonely Girl (Capchii remix): Too high-pitched and overly pulsing, this is so incredibly off the mark I cant even give bonus points for Hamtaro (or a hamster remarkably similar to Hamtaro, since the odds of them having the rights to include Hamtaro in the corner are exceedingly low) a popping up shortly before the the two minute mark. 18 points.

MamekoxChoko - Okochama Sensou: Amusing lyrics, though the song itself was a bit...loud and intense. 60 points, maybe?



And back to the BMTH album to get a bit further into it.

BMTH - wonderful life (feat. Dani Filth): 80 something points. This is much more in line with songs from the concert album, some nice darkness without taking things too far. Makes me slightly tempted to look into Danis band at some point in the future, though ive still got so many things to listen to that I dont know that I actually will.

BMTH - ouch:. Fairly short track since its an interlude, but still good and unexpected. Possibly somewhere in the 70 point range.

BMTH - medicine: High 90s. Definitely a song I needed and quite love, though not the type of thing I want to go into any particular details of (right now anyway).

...Not too much progress, but I like taking breaks whenever a song gets that high of a score and since Im not on any particular time limit, Ill go ahead and end this post early.
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Final Fantasy XIV Online - Full Fathom Five - 8

Crypt Worlds: Your Darkest Desires, Come True! - I Duunnoo #2 - 3

True Crime: Streets of LA - Dance wit Me - 4

Mako Mankanshoku Bloody Valor Overpowered Remix - 1.7

Link: The Faces of Evil - Spearfish Falls 2 - 5.4

Mega Man X - Sigma Stage 1 - 5.2

Donkey Kong Country (GBA) - Treetop Rock - 4.23

Wild Arms - To the End of the Wilderness - 10

Crystal Defenders - Orchise Snowfields/Zellea -
5.3

Skies of Arcadia - Main Theme - 4.89



Besides the Kill la Kill song, the Wild ARMs one is down too--looks like the whole channel's bern deleted.
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Thanks for participating as much as you did!

And thankfully I already disliked Prancing Dad, so the lyrics have remarkably little impact on things. Not really that much lower the song could sink regardless.



Hiwatori Asuka - Devour the Past: Not as good as Kafs version, but still good. Somewhere between 57 and 61 points, probably.

Hiiragi Manato - Rainbow Girl: Lets go to the low 70s for this one, 72.something-or-other-ish.

??? - The Endia & The Knights: Im guessing this is a cover of a Sound Horizon song and that they arent Sound Horizon themselves, but Ill admit that I didnt exactly spend much time trying to learn much. Either way, Im not a fan of thisnot really into medieval imagery and this feels very... castle-y (which considering the song involves Knights is possibly intentional), as nonsensical as that sounds as a musical adjective. 38 points, Im thinking.



...Im going to skip ahead to the Virtual Cat songs because I want to, Ill loop back to the songs I skipped on another day.

Virtual Kako Cat - Seagull: Ohh, thats better. Lets say 85 points? Very soothing song, I needed this.

Virtual Cat - ???: (Google Translate isnt sure how to translate it, with Room as the best guess). Nice; another really good song and fairly relaxing, though not quite as good or relaxing as Seagull. 84 points? Kinda wish it were longer.



Lets go for something different and work on the first listed Bring Me The Horizon album, since Ive got a lot of that to go through. Its Amo... or amo, depending on if you want to capitalize the first letter or not.

BMTH - i apologise if you feel something: Definitely a different sound than anything from the nominated concert album, but Im definitely here for it. High 70s, like 78.92 I think.

BMTH - MANTRA: From a no caps title to an all caps one, okay. Not a song i want to talk about (not that I usually talk much in these first reactions), but I dig the sound and feel of it. 77 points, perhaps? Not as good as the first track, but still fairly high up there.

BMTH - nihilist blues: Three songs and three different sounds, they definitely have more range than I originally expected. Unfortunately, a dark rave song is still too much rave for my blood... I mean, I like it, but not as much as other songs of theirs. High 50s or low 60s, somewhere around there, probably.

BMTH - in the dark: 63 points feels right here.

And I feel like I want a break here. Good album so far though.

(I meant to get to handsomeboys most recent song tonight, but briefly forgot. Apologies, will get to it first song of next update.)
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I was trying to give a spread of things I love: Classic wrestling, cartoons, saxophones, and fictional artists.

Didn't have high expectations for that one, though I do personally love it for being the "fun type of ominous" and fairly nostalgic... I thought about trying to replace it at the last minute (I'd forgotten I nominated it at someone else's topic before), but couldn't think of any wrestling theme I'd expect to do better.
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The Black Mages - Dancing Mad: Thats definitely a symphonic metal version of Dancing Mad, alright. Its fine? Arguably better than the original, though Im hardly the person you should consult on that matterlike Im so tired of hearing the original that I prefer this purely for not being the original, my bias renders the opinion even less valid or interesting than my usual ones.

Prince of Darkness - Prancing Dad: Yeah, I definitely prefer the original . Significantly. 21 points.

Veracocha VS Axwell - Feel The Carte Blanche: Still too much thumping, but I dont really dislike it. Leaning low 50s for a first impression? It was worth listening to at the very least.

Nina Simone - Dont Let Me Be Misunderstood: Huh. Its certainly different. I wasnt expecting the song to be so slow compared to the version Im most familiar with... probably high 40s-ish? Its the type of thing I appreciate learning about, but I dont think I really enjoyed it. ...Maybe exactly 50 points then? Somewhere in that range.

Ken Namba - Nanairo no Ame (feat. Itai): I think I like this one. 63 points.

Ken Namba - Azalea (feat. Sarada Mayone): Fairly emotional song. Its not the most impressive song on any level, but I feel a bit more connected with her than most artists. Feels like it belongs somewhere in the 68 to 70 point range.

Ken Namba - Hoshi no Yukue (feat. Shikai Yue): The weakest of the three songs, but its still nice. 58 points.



Not much progress, but still an okay-ish amount.
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Palbatross posted...

Hearts

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I highly doubt Ive heard The Black Mages version. Id barely heard any remixes prior to this ranking and its not something Id have sought out. Ill listen to it sometime later.

Honestly, I dont hate Dancing Mad. Like I said when Piano Operas version of Dancing Mad dropped, it was mostly frustration at how many times Id had to listen to the song lately. When it came up over at the Rate the VGM topic, I had some level of appreciation for itnot my type of thing, but I could at least see the quality and admit some parts of it were things I liked. Then it kept showing up at every topic, over and over again, until I quite actively wished to never hear it again. ...Now that its been a few months since I had to listen to the whole thing, Im not as bothered by it, though Im still not a fan of it.



Short day today, lets try to get through CPUs newest five songs and call it a day.

Rufus, Chaka Khan - Aint Nobody: 70 points. Good sound to it and a great choice of genre (I do love me some 80s pop music) and lyrics about the night are always worth some easy points. Just a good pick all around.

Jim Johnston - Blood (Gangrel): 74 points. I loved Gangrel back in the dayI imagine you suspected as much because I dont see how anyone could follow these topics and not just immediately assume that Id be in love with a wrestling vampire because WRESTLING VAMPIREand this has a nice, slightly creepy ambience. Its a bit short though.

DA PUMP - U.S.A. - Remix: 56 points. Its pretty catchy, but Im not interested in the lyrics which hurts things a bit. Seems like the type of thing that would eventually get stuck in my head and consistently get moved up though, so itd probably wind up with a high score eventually.

NJPW - TIME BOMB: 42 points. Its good, but it feels very epic battle theme which still isnt my type of thing. I do like that it ends with an explosion though, that was a nice touch.

Jim Johnstone - My Time: Huh. All this time, I never noticed the direct shots at Kevin Dunn before. (In my defense, I would not have known who Kevin Dunn was when this theme was in use).

Its alright. I dont think it really compares to his Motorhead theme or the D-Generation X theme, but its better than his original Blue Blood theme. (Probably. That one is very generic RPG town music which is charming in its own way.).

...Still, I did like hearing this again, so its not like I didnt enjoy it. 60-something points, probably. Its fairly nostalgic, but I was never the biggest Triple H fan and hes had better songs.
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Starting with some more UF8s noms:

Hoshino Meguri - Taisetsu no Shigunaru: At least 80 points. I like it quite a lot, but I dont really want to go much higher or specific until I see if it holds up on repeat listens.

dinger vs Daidai Myao - Lehigh: 52-ish points? Kinda reminds me of Frums meets Sonic, but in some way that its oddly lower than either of its components. Not bad though.

Kagami Mira - I Want To Be a Girl: 73.72 points. Quite cute.

Daidai Myao - YAMINABA Catfood!: 48-ish points. Its fine, but not really any parts that I particularly care about.



And lets finish with the 20 minute long song that Ive been putting off due to its length. Also because I dont like Dancing Mad, so a song described as having similarities with it is probably not a good sign.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus i. Eruption, ii. Stones of Years, iii. Iconoclast, iv. Mass, v. Manticore, vi. Battlefield, vii. Aquatarkus; 2012 Stereo Mix: The lyrics detail the rise-and-fall of Tarkus, a mechanical armadillo, who battles four different opponents throughout the [seven] movements.

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Keith Emerson said...

There wasnt this grand concept or anything like that. Wed already made the record with the dove on the front, and now we were making another with an armadillo on it. In many ways, I suppose we were still leaning how to be a band.

...Right. I kinda liked the fourth part, except for the overly long instrumental break between verses two and three. (Its a twenty minute long song that is mostly instrumentals, you dont need to add prolonged instrumentals in the middle of the non-instrumental sections.). I also kinda liked the sixth partit also has a very prolonged instrumental, but its a better one... like, if you separated Battlefield into its own song, I think itd get a decent score.

Put it all together and I dont know on a score. Like... there parts I enjoy and parts i dont care about, all in a song that goes on too long for me to really listen to it voluntarily. Probably somewhere in the 50s for novelty value and because it had enough parts I liked that I cant say I disliked the song.
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My Home, Sweet Home (Music Box Version):
https://open.spotify.com/track/16BRi2tEJWam86MSN8iXu3?si=fUji6u00QCmSENhra6HH8A

If you have Spotify, you can listen to the song there. Square tends to be a bit overzealous with removing their songs from places like YouTube, so Im not sure if you can find it therehad some trouble at the ranking because they kept deleting every upload of the album about as fast as we could find them. Had to switch to the Spotify uploads of the album because at least it would stay.



Jillian Aversa, zircon - Kindred: 75 points, very good choice here. I tend to love anything with very low tones and the intro certainly checks that box and i have a very well documented bias towards lyrics dealing with night and darkness, so this is definitely my type of thing.

Chrono Symphonic - To Far Away Times: More than 60 points, less than 70, not quite sure where. Its odd; I do find myself oddly drawn to her voice for some reason I havent worked out yet, which kinda makes me want to give it all of the pointsbut I also find the music itself does not compare favorably to the original version of the song and want to give it a low score. I somehow both love and dislike the song simultaneously, which is fairly uncommon... going to say that probably works out to somewhere in the I like this range of scores? On a first impression at least.

Trying to look up which songs Shara Nelson was with as part of Massive Attack feels like work, and its possible I like the band themselves more than Shara anyway, so lets just click a few of their most popular songs:

Massive Attack - Teardrop: Definitely not a Shara Nelson song (Elizabeth Fraser from the Cocteau Twins is on this track), but its pretty good. Maybe exactly 60 points? Sure, why not.

Massive Attack - Paradise Circus: Another guest vocalist (Hope Sandoval from Mazzy Star), but I really dont like this song. The lyrics are good, but... blech. 19 points.

Massive Attack - Protection: Another new vocalist (Tracey Thorn, lead singer of Everything But the Girl). Not bad, kinda leaning towards 52 points? There are definitely parts of it I like, but its not quite clicking with me.



Good enough on that end; enough of a sample of Shara Nelson & Massive Attack songs that I feel satisfied with my search. Lets go back to VTubers with post #187, see if we can get through the more dinger stuff section.)

dingerbox - hidenowt: 53 points. Not really my type of thing, but I recognize it as quality.

dingerbox vs kuro - Midnight Cats: 53.3 points. Slightly better, though not to such a great extent that its particularly notable.

kuro - Memory: ZERO: Not sure if Im supposed to click something by kuro, but this was the first song listed on the channel. It gets thumping beat out of 100 points.

...alright thats not fair. There are only a few sections that are particularly thumping and the rest of it is good. Lets say 50-something points.

dingerbox + kuro - Late Night Dance Party: ...30 something points. Its definitely different, but I cant say I liked it.

dingerbox - niknat: I love how nonsensical the Google Translate of the description is.

It is niknat. I dont know the genre yet. Motojiro, who is always losing money with his parents unarmed gun, leaves the bookstore with a lemon. When I left the store, a strange guy with long bangs said, If its a dream, how much is a dream?

Invited by the scent of Dolce & Gabbakik, I set foot on Club Rashomon. It was this song that was playing there. Oh, somehow I want to dance. Is this also the work of Dolce Gaba? Gaba Gaba Gaba Gaba Gaba Gaba

Either way, I quite like this song. 69.90 points. (One would think the beat is too pulsing for me, but here we are.)



dingerbox - dupator: Weird, alien type sound. Kinda nifty. Dont like it as much as I should, but I still like it somewhat.. 54 points? 56 points? Somewhere in that range.

dingebox - prilissa: For classical style music its not bad, but its not my type of thing. Somewhere in the 40 to 50 point range.

Tooru - Hijitsuzai Girl: Fairly cute, I kinda like it. Would have to listen again to decide on a score, but its some positive value anyway.
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Ill look into those songs tomorrow (or the day after. Soon, either way.)

Back to the Theodor Bastard album to clear it out:

Theodor Bastard - Kamen, Sneg, Metal: Fairly nice. 59 points.

Theodor Bastard - Secrety: 70 points here; I really, really like the early parts of the song for...some reason. Once it picks up a bit, it loses much of the ambience that I liked, but its always enjoyable enough that it doesnt really hold it back that much.

Theodor Bastard - Requiem: 67 points. It feels like a very good contemplation type song, to quietly reflect on something for two and a half minutes. Quite nice, could stand to have been a bit longer (I couldnt even decide what to reflect on before the song ended), but its really quite lovely.

Theodor Bastard - Pozhato: 75.13 points. The vibe feels darker than most of their tracks, but its quite distinct and enjoyable.

Theodor Bastard - Volchok: Another nice song. 61 points sound about right.

Theodor Bastard - Obereg: The early parts with the chanting felt like a real low point, the quiet and powerful ambience after the chanting ended was an extreme high point. Not going to guess on a score as the song fluctuates between 51 points & 90 points based on which part of it were talking about. Itd take at least a few more listens to work out what type of score that combines into,

Theodor Bastard - Fjorn Garden: Im quite sure Im dead wrong on what type of feeling this song is going for, but it feels like... resolute determination in the face of oppression, both fairly bleak & incredibly hopeful. Lets go with 80 points here.

That was a good album.



Shifting gears, lets finish the rest of the Piano Opera Deluxe Album. I did not care for the other version of Terras Theme or The Mystic Forest Music Box, but I do want to call attention to one track on it that I actually did like:

Piano Opera Final Fantasy IV/V/VI Deluxe - My Home, Sweet Home: Music Box Version: 80 points. Its a very curious type of song, one where I can never place what Im feeling or why, but its quite...quite intriguing and single-handedly justifies going through everything on the Deluxe Album to find it.

I dont think nominating the Deluxe Version of the album at the main ranking would have helped much. That song there would have kept the album from being eliminated for a lot longer, but it would have also added even more low scoring songs to the ranking that the average score likely wouldnt have changed in any meaningful way. Still, definitely worth the detour.

What do we have thats both short (I only want to try two more songs), but also different... lets try Shara Nelsons two most popular songs on Spotify. Well hit two of her solo songs tonight, then try finding some of her other work with Massive Attack tomorrow or the day after.

Shara Nelson - Down That Road: Rather repetitive and forgettable, Im positive she has better songs than this. Shes too talented not to; though its not bad.... somewhere in that 49 to 51 point range.

Shara Nelson - One Goodbye in Ten: Better lyrics than the last song, but its still not as immediately compelling as I had hoped and Im not really fond of the higher pitch of the song... 48 points, I think.

...and while I said I was only going to do two, this album of hers has a song with pain in the title and I feel like clicking it, so on to round three.

Shara Nelson - Pain Revisited: Yeah, I dont think I like this album. I want to like her, but Im just not clicking with anything here. The best of the three songs, but it feels like itd still be a low 50 point song.



Not much progress, but still a fair amount Id say.
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DS
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Took a day off to do other things, thank you for your patience. Lets take a look at Theodor Bastard - Volchya Yagoda Album.

Theodor Bastard - Flute Song: Not bad for an ambient type of song, though it didnt really inspire any specific feelings. Nice enough to listen to though, probably 60 points.

Theodor Bastard - Shumi: 58 points? Its nice.

Theodor Bastard - Skejgored: 56 points. Its still nice, though slightly less so.

Theodor Bastard - Urzala: Not as into the rhythmic chanting on this song, though its certainly different enough that I appreciate the nomination. Leaning 55 points to start, though it seems like the type of thing that would grow on me over time by virtue of being different & mysterious & a significant break from anything else nominated.

Theodor Bastard - Les: Ooh, the best song thus far. 68 points; very shadowy and mysterious, would listen to again on a different day.



Lets take a break from that album for a bi and go back to that Chrono Trigger Jazz album, Ive been slowly picking at.

...also Im not sure why Im listing the album instead of the artist this time, but I apparently did that and dont feel like rewriting the following.

Chronology - Way Before the Day Before Yesterday: Not bad, but it didnt leave much of an impression. Probably mid-50s.

Chronology - Triggernometry: There are a few sections here I rather like, but theyre stretched out across a 7 and a half minute long song and the parts I feel nothing towards greatly outnumber the bits that I like. Leaning 51 points? I like it some amount, but theres not over seven minutes worth of enjoyment here.

Chronology - Nuega, Ziena, Zieber, Zom...: Kinda dull. Probably a high. 40s type song? Like I dont actively dislike it, but the song doesnt feel like it does anything until close to the four minute mark. I guess the song is good once we reach that point, but not that good that it makes up for the tedium of the early parts.

Chronology - Fight or Flight: Another low 50s song. Its fine, but by this point in the album, you kinda know what youre getting and it doesnt really do much to differentiate itself from the other songs.

Chronology - When Hell Freezes Over: Eh. Exactly 50 points, I suppose. It exists.

Chronology - Driftwood: A noted improvement over the last few songs, though Im still not really into it. 53 points, well say.

...Well, there werent any real standout songs, but I didnt actively dislike any of the album. It was fine.

Moving along to the song from post #215 before I lost track of where it is:

Rene - Home: i love the melody and the instruments, but Im still not really into her singing... 57 points, Im thinking?
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NFUN posted...

Somebody posted this song somewhere and I mentioned having heard it before. He then linked me an old, popular video. My reaction upon finishing it was "this video ruined my life". Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6rGUlVvVJ4

Ohh, that explains so much about the YouTube comments that I always refused to Google. I was expecting a link to the Ariston commercials that inexplicably used the song as background music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqHkGX6VrUQ

(That commercial is so much worse than your video.)
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Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy - God in Fire - 8.8

Super Robot Wars OG: Original Generations - Trombe! - 6.3

Plok - The Fleapit - 5.67

Touhou 10: Mountain of Faith - The Gensokyo the Gods Loved - 5.2

Kid Icarus Uprising - Dark Pit - 5.09

One Piece: World Seeker - Road to Ichiban - 6.94

Flock! - The Motherflocker Has Landed - 5.8

Civilization III - Techno MixFull - 7.2

Eschatos - Extermination - 6

Hearthstone - League of Explorers Boss - 5

Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times - 8.67

Style Savvy: Fashion Forward - Kanokoi Theme - 8.3

Flywrench - Just for Tonight - 8

Overwatch - Havana (Cities & Countries ver.) - 4

DanceDanceRevolution A - ENDYMION - 5

Noita - Daddy Long-Leg's Surprise - 6

Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth - Mission 5 ~ Terrible - 5.9

Star Shooter - Extra Boss - 2

"Hello, world." - Global-network had already broken down - 1.7

Furi - My Only Chance - 4
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Diving right back into the U2 album to clear it from the list:

U2 - The Fly: Lets go 70 points here. Cant find anything I really want to say on a first impression, but I like it quite a bit.

U2 - Mysterious Ways: Another song from the Greatest Hits album, though another one that I havent really listened to that many times. Its aggressively fine? Like, I dont particularly skip the song when it comes on, but I never go out of my way to listen to it or care about it... 57 points.

U2 - Tryin to Throw Your Arms Around the World: Rather forgettable. Leaning exactly 50 points on this one. I dont dislike it, but I doubt Ill remember anything about it in two days or feel much need to go back to it.

U2 - Ultra Violet (Light My Way): Still not a fan of overly repetitive lyrics regardless of why they exist, but its well performed... less than 60 points, but more than 50. Not sure if Id prefer it on the high-or-low end of the 50s. Likely depends on how negative I feel about the outro at the time.

U2 - Acrobat: Another mid-50s type of song.

U2 - Love Is Blindness: A darker end to the album than expected, but I still like it. Probably exactly 60 points, at least for a first impression.

Pretty good album. Most of its best songs were ones I already knew, which makes sense considering this is one of their bigger albums. Still worth the time to have listened to.



Looks like Ive got 8 songs left from Grind Session... dont know if Ill get through all of them tonight, but we should make some good progress on it:

GZA - Publicity: Its very clever working so many magazine titles into the lyrics and its still a genre I need more exposure to, but I dont have any real attachment to the song... honestly leaning towards a score like 59.999 because I very much appreciate the song and what its doing, but 60 points just feels too high for it.

Jurassic 5 - Jayou: Exactly 60; the type of thing I should listen to, to a point that I cant actively dislike it, but... really cant find anything positive I want to say here.

Man or Astro-man? - Television Fission: Ive been saying I wanted to listen to more of them for a really long time now, but never get around to it, so Im quite looking forward to this. (Theyre the band that did the intro theme for Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, which is incredibly nostalgic for me).

Song is interesting (they have this retro future meets 60s beach party vibe), but Im not super into it... 56-ish points, though I still plan on listening to some other songs of theirs at some point in the future, hypothetically.

NOFX - Linoleum: 58.17, fairly interested in hearing it again some other timeIm not really into it, but its got a good energy and seems like the type of thing that could grow on me.

Sonic Youth - In the Mind of the Bourgeois Reader: ...what?

X-Ecutioners - Raidas Theme (Remix): 57 points. Still the type of rap song I should listen to more of, but still lacking any specific thing that grips me apart from a general need to listen to more of the genre.

Zen Guerrilla - Empty Heart: I dont think I got any lyrics out of this other than empty heart and YEAH!, but I think I like this. Lets go ahead and throw it into the 70 point song pile.



Grind Session OST complete! Again, not badit was nice to get a good song from Kool Keith, a song by Man or Astroman? after so many years of saying Id listen to them and never actually getting around to it, and I seem to quite like Empty Heart. So pretty good suggestion.

And that gets us through the two albums that have been on the list the longest, so this seems like a good place for a break.

...wait, I had 8 songs left. Must have missed one, so lets go take care of that:

KRS-One - Out for Fame: Well, leave it to me to almost miss the best song on the soundtrack. 90 points; nice spoken word intro, good lyrics, good flow, definitely the stand out track.
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Apologies for the misgendering. Lets see if I can finish the songs from #186 tonight.

Meiran - Ai ni Deal...: Still not one of my favorite songs and I dont really like it when she hits the higher notes, but in general, its much cuter and not particularly bothersome... leaning towards the 53 point range. Also, these songs feel long... like four minutes isnt long, but it feels like a two minute long song that is just doubling its length for the sake of being a full length song.

Shiratsuki Rei - Ai ni Deal...: Not bad. Probably around 51 points; definitely better than the first one, but slightly less appealing than the middle one.

Sumeshiii - Itsuka Mawaranai Sushi-ya De: Its nice and you know I always love a good sax solo. Somewhere in the upper-mid 60 point range (67-ish? Sure, lets say 67.).

Koto Miyuri - Ame to Petra: Not bad. Leaning 58-ish points, dont really know why why Im not upping it to the 60 point level.

Koto Miyuri - Donut Hole: I like the lyrics, dont particularly like the song. Probably a low 50s song.

Nemukawa Yumena - K.K. Idol: Reasonably cute, though not overwhelmingly cute... 62-ish points.

Kuwagata feat. Houri Mico - sleep on dancing: I feel like giving 70 points to this one.



I dont think Ive listened to any of Jesse Custers suggestions yet, so lets try part of Achtung Baby (Ill circle back to the rest of Grind Sessions OST after this album).

U2 - Zoo Station: More industrial and different sound than Im used to from the band, but its fairly intriguing. Leaning around 63 points for a first impression.

U2 - Even Better Than The Real Thing: The first song from the album that would later appear on The Best Of 1990-2000 where I know it from. Interestingly, this is one of the songs from that album that I havent listened to that much, so I cant just type up thoughts from memory... this isnt a bad song, better than I remembered it being, but I still find it to be one of the weaker songs from the Greatest Hits album. 59.3726 points.

...No idea why such a specific number. Im just being as vague or specific as I feel on a song-by-song basis and this song feels very 59.3726 points.



U2 - One: The second song from said Greatest Hits album and one of their more iconic songs, though I was introduced to it via Johnny Cashs cover of it... in fact, I heard Cashs version so many times before learning of the U2 one, that still still kinda feels like the cover instead of the other way around. Either way, 70-something point song, it is deserving of its popularity.

Until The End Of The World was actually at the ranking topic and Ive already talked about my love for it, so not much point revisiting that; still know the song incredibly well from the Greatest Hits albumdid not realize how many songs from this album were on said Greatest Hits compilation until i started doing this, but Im not complaining.

U2 - Whos Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses: Remind me to listen to the Temple Bar Remix later, since the band allegedly says thats the better version. This isnt a bad song, though I dont find any aspects of it or lyrics that Im really drawn to... probably a high 50s type song.

...oh hey, this is the Deluxe Version of the album with the remix literally one click away, lets just do that now.

U2 - Whos Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Temple Bar Remix): Fine enough, but I prefer the album version by a few points.

U2 - So Cruel: Good lyrics, not my favorite performance by the band.. still, over 60 points at least.

...I know people dont like me skipping around on albums, but I think Ill take a break here at the halfway point and come back for the other 6 songs tomorrow.



13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Now or Never: I wanted to wait until I finished the game to touch this one in case there were any spoilers (there werent). Pretty song, leaning towards... 74 points?

(You can tell that I finished the game because Im actually making progress in this topic now. </.<)

Piano Opera - The Serpent Trench (Arr. Bill Dobbins): Actually, this one isnt bad. Im still not a fan of these types of piano remixes (at least from what Ive heard from this album), but this has some fun energy starting at around the three minute mark... Id say I like this somewhat. 55.64 points.

Piano Opera - Welcome to Our Town! Music Box: Exactly 50 points. This is... fine, I guess. I dont really dislike it, so much as not really care about it in any fashion.

Good progress tonight.
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Tag.

And thank you again.
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Apologies for leaving a name out; you know how it is when youre trying to copy information in a rush (somehow I just expected Jules to be the headlining name and didnt really acknowledge anything before it).

And I might try watching that video; honestly, Ive never gotten the appeal of Earthbound or Mother 3, so the odds of anything changing my opinion on the games at this point is... low.



Back to vtubers with another ViANKiE song. Since I have less time tonight, Ill just stick with the vtuberseasier to just go down the list in order instead of trying to decide what to listen to and space things out.

ViANKiE - Tsuyu: 74 points, I like this one.

Metamoe feat. Nekozuka Taiga - Shadow and Truth: This feels like Rhythm Thief meets Persona (Im conflicted on if it feels more Persona 4 or Persona 5). Interesting, leaning exactly 70 points here.

Ryugasaki Rene feat. Shishio Chris - Ora Tokyo sa Iguda: Her cheering is cute and fun, but his singing and the lyrics arent really doing the song any favors... more than 50 points, but less than 60.

Hoshino Meguri - Hoshi no Meguri: 77 points. Good song.

Tenjin Kotone - Flash: Sounds very anime (not a complaint), bit surprised its for the tournament of a mobile tennis game, but okay. Another 70 point song.

Haruno Koneko - The song has no shape: Good song, unsure where I want it... slightly lower than Hoshino, so lets try 76-ish points?

Kamiki Hasami - Ai ni Deal Koi wa Tsuzuku: Something about this song is really...grating; leaning towards like... 28 points. Well see if its a case of disliking the song itself or the singer tomorrow when I get to the other covers.
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Yankees posted...

Magic the Gathering

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Id be a bit worried if you did remember all 631 songs from the ranking topic, quite honestly. And its neat hearing remixes of things I recently ranked for ease of comparison, so it definitely wasnt a complaint.

And I plan on taking song suggestions until whenever this topic ends -or- we reach the middle of summer and I have to start planning 2021s ranking topic. So Ill quite gladly listen to that song in just a minute; first, I need to go hit a Polyanna song from post #114 so that I can officially cross listen to songs from post #114 off the list.



FamilyJules, Adrisauru & Sab Irene - Pollyanna (Jazz/Funk): Quite a well done song. I also loved the closed captioning ((more dancing and more cowbell) is one of the more amusing subtitles Ive seen). Lyrics are a bit too happy and optimistic for me, but I do appreciate having a bit of variety in songsall darkness all the time would probably get to be a bit muchso.. 73-ish points, well say?

Now lets hear the Skindred song and the two Emerson, Lake and Palmer tracks from #207:



Skindred - Electric Avenue: I prefer the original, but this is also pretty good. Probably another 60-something point song.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Three Fates i) Clotho ii) Lachesis iii)Atropos; : Yeah, I didnt think Id be into this. Considering my overwhelmingly negative opinion on Dancing Mad, this type of suite (or psuedo suite) was always going to be a real longshot. Probably why it wasnt really suggested... probably a high 30-point song.

*notices Tarkus is over 20 and a half minutes long*

...Right, well lets save that one for later and jump back into the vtuber section of the list.



Kuriyama Yanmi - Hisui no Machi: Not a fan of most of the lyrics, but shes a cute enough singer that I somewhat like it. 57.89 points.

Tukuyomi Leo - Hajimemashite, Amokore: I like his design and the idea of the group, not fully sold on the song... 57.30-ish points.

Maruchizu - Happy Halloween: Cute designs, but... yeah, theyre obviously not my favorite singers. Probably high 40s, maybe low 50s on repeated listens.

MeguRuri - Twins: Probably a mid-80s point song, but I wouldnt be too surprised if it got moved way up the list if I right in the mood for its...overly bright cheerfulness.

Small update today, running late, more tomorrow.
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Temporary Signature

Huh. Ill... probably add those two songs to the list later. Regardless of how Trilogy got brought up, it was an interesting enough trip that Im certainly not opposed to listening to another song or two by the group.

Back to the vtubers:

Tenmadate Lucie/Kuryu Eruko - Roki: The lyrics do nothing for me and Im not particularly into the song either, but you make them seem pretty cool, so Id probably like them in other contexts.

Suzuka - Itsumademo: She has a cute voice and the lyrics are fairly nice; thinking mid 60s, though its the type of thing that would probably get moved up a bit further each time I listen to it.

Usuwa Suu - Narenai: Not bad, another 60-something point song. Incidentally, I dont remember Aries at all, but I seem to like that song a fair amount tonight.

Vivienne Kensington - Dawn and Fireflies: I quite like the guitar playing. Probably another 60-something point song.



And lets look at some of the Grind Session OST for a bit. Looks like a variety of artists, so that might be interesting. Also, full disclosure, I do not remember why this album is on the list... but someone mentioned it at some point for some reason, so lets start listening and see if I can figure out how this album is connected to the ranking topic without going back through the archives.

Black Flag - Rise Above: Repetitive and kind of tedious... has a decent beat to it though, so... probably low 50s.

Cornelius - Galaxie Express (69 Mix): No idea. Its...quite actively not anything like what I was expecting, so I havent worked out how to properly respond to this yet. I think I kinda liked it?

Dr. Octagon - Blue Flowers: Ohh, Kool Keith (aka.Dr. Dooom, Dr. Octagon, and...many other names), that explains things. I at least remember him. This isnt really my favorite rap song, but I have no objections to itgenre I need more exposure to and decent enough lyrics, probably high 50s that gets moved up to low 60s on a I should be encouraging this type of nomination basis.

...Ill come back for the rest of the soundtrack later; weve got some redemption for the artist in joint last place and solved the mystery of how it got onto the list, so thats a satisfying amount of progress. Lets close out the night with some insaneintherainmusic posted by Kelp a while ago. Im in a bit of a saxophone mood tonight.



insaneintherainmusic - Rain (Jazz Arrangement): I like it. Im not in love with it like Cyrus theme, but its easily a 60-something point song.

insaneintherainmusic - Roaming the Wastes: Well, Ive never been a fan of the original version of the song (it was actually part of the main ranking; 484th place), but this is a decent improvement on it. I still prefer the Gameboy remix the best:

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

insaneintherainmusic - Buoy Base Galaxy: Nice and relaxing, probably an easy 70 point song.
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Temporary Signature

Took a day off, but were back now. First, the requisite three vtuber songs:

Kitakami Ton - Connect: More thumping beats, yay. The lyrical parts without that beat are pretty goodhe has a deeper voice than most vtubers, which I find kinda pleasing... but that THUMP THUMP THUMP makes it a bit hard to listen to. Still, somewhere in the positive score range (high 50s, probably).

Yumeba Ku - Im (not) lonely: Pretty good.

Ginshu - Tabun: Decent lyrics and a rather relaxing beat result in a fairly pleasing song. 60-some points.



And now... why not the album that was (probably) only posted as a joke? Lets see how Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Trilogy starts.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Endless Enigma, Part One: Rather interesting. It starts off with a heartbeat effect, gets into a slightly weird instrumental, then turns into a pretty neat 70s pop song which Im not going to bother pretending I understand.

I ruled all of the Earth
Witnessed my birth
Cried at the sight of a man
And still I dont know who I am

...I mean, I like it, but Im just going to assume this was written on all the drugs. High 60s, maybe low 70s to start with.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Fugue: A rather unremarkable piano instrumental. Not a fan, but its less than two minutes long, so its not worth complaining about. 40-something points.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Endless Enigma, Part Two: Not as good as Part One, but still...fairly good. 58-ish points, Im thinking.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - From the Beginning: Leaning 70 points. I think I like this one quite a bit, though as usual, Im finding it hard to figure out exactly why... I do seem to be rather drawn to it though. The early parts at least; the outro suddenly gets bizarrely UFO-esque for no apparent reason and feels like its conflicting with the emotions from the earlier parts of the song... still, I do like it and want to hear it again.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Sheriff: Ill... pass on commenting on this one, though I will say I did enjoy it.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Hoedown: Beef: Its Whats For Dinner, now 80% more futuristic.

...Apparently this song was not created for that beef commercial, but comes from Rodeo a ballet from 1942. Huh. I... dont think I actually liked this, but hearing a retro-future high-speed version of a beef commercial jingle was certainly... different. I certainly cant say I disliked it.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Trilogy: Eeehhhh.... 20 something points. I cant say i liked any part of this song and its really dragging the album down. Thankfully it didnt open with this track or I very well might have opted to not listen to the rest.

*the instrumental sections continue to get louder and more headache inducing as the 8:52 runtime feels like it stretches into infinity* ...Make that 19 points.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Living Sin: ...Ehh... maybe exactly 50 points.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Abaddons Bolero: well, Ive heard 8+ minute long instruments I liked less than this, I suppose. Probably around 47 points.

All-in-all... not a bad album, though Ill make a point of stopping after Hoedown if I ever listen to it again.
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Temporary Signature

The character from the SNES version of TMNT: Tournament Fighters.
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Temporary Signature