LogFAQs > #970704295

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

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

Nominator: NFUN: [11/31 Remaining]

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

(First Reaction: A pretty and wistful song.)

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

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

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

[Later:

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

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

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

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

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

Nominator: Bane [16/38 Remaining]

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

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

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

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

[Later: Very minor boost.]

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

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

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

Nominator: paulg [15/52 Remaining]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nominator: Bane [15/38 Remaining]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nominator: Dragon66116 [8/12 Remaining]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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