LogFAQs > #969953376

First three of the day, featuring three songs that were going to be eliminated yesterday afternoon but received a minor boost to delay things until now:

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#633: Frank Zappa - The Jazz Discharge Party Hats [4:28]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgWbbegTQtw

Nominator: Lasa [8/14 Remaining]

Initial Score: 12.16
Revised Score: 52.11
Final Score: 53.96 [Upgraded to 55.00002] [Upgraded to 55.025]

(First Reaction: I was happier before listening to Zappa describe his bandmates' (and a t-shirt guy's) fetish in great detail, but I wouldn't say I hated it.)

So... I do kinda like Steve Val's guitar work on this track. Apparently he had to actively de-tune his guitar in order to hit the..."notes" Frank is "singing". Perfectly mimicking Frank's cadence and tone was probably a challenge and it's certainly... something out of the mainstream, shall we say? I can even, on some level, appreciate the song's vulgarity on a "fuck censorship" type level. And I wouldn''t say I'm offended* by the story--"it's not normal but what the fuck, whatever you can do to have a good time" is...almost inspirational--I just don't particularly wish to hear it. So I kinda get why this would be nominated: spoken word lyrics, abnormal sounding guitars, a nice message about enjoying yourself even if no one can understand your interests, there is a lot more good in this song than I want to give it credit for.

...Urrgghhh.... fine, I'll put this into the positive score column. Barely.

*...Okay so stealing clothing for sexual purposes without consent is kinda fucked up, but I -really- do not want to get into fetish related ethical debates, and I choose to remain willfully ignorant & believe that Frank was comedically exaggerating things to mess with the band and that everyone involved consented to everything.

Of slight interest is that Steve Val did this type of guitar work later in his career on the track "So Happy":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfx0puLvzEY

I don't honestly suggest listening to that, it's a bit... *trails off* well, it certainly helped me appreciate the nominated song much more, let's put it that way.

[Final Notes: Well, this was certainly a *unique* nomination. I guess I almost kinda like it, but not enough to get it into the 55 point tier.]

[Later: ...I guess my appreciation of avant-garde music and Zappa makes me kinda like it, but I'm really not that happy to admit so publicly.]

[Slightly Later: A very minor boost to move this above a couple songs. Also, while this isn't the largest increase from Initial Score to Final Score, this had the third lowest score of all the First Impressions so it's risen quite a bit over the year.]

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-Yeah Yeah Beebiss-

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#632: Every Time I Die, '68 - All This And War (3:10):
https://open.spotify.com/track/7jVIx7ZsUvKxtj5tetUf5R?si=47e3a32926c6433f

Nominator: Bane [29/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.02
Revised Score: 56.045
Final Score: 55.0006 [upgraded to 55.027]

(First Reaction: Most of this song doesn't particularly appeal to me, coming off as yet another 'okay metal song that doesn't do much for me'--but there is one line:

As we make believe fate will land with the coin it's
Heads, it's in our blood, it's in our blood
Or it's tails, who we become, who we become

I'd try to explain it myself, but for once there's actually a reasonably well-written part up on Genius, so I'll let them say it:

Because the section starts with As we make believe fate, it implies that we are only pretending the two outcomes- both of which are not exactly ideal. For the unquestioning, our actions are either our blood (and an uncontrollable result of either a genetic/biological drive), or who we become (and thus not responsible for the results of our actions, since we were taught this way). In both conditions, the person relinquishes responsibility for atrocious behavior, either because we cannot biologically control it or because we were taught incorrectly.

Reducing the nature vs nurture debate to a metaphorical & irrelevant coin flip is something I find myself rather drawn to. I don't entirely know why, but I don't have to know why--I like it, thus I can give it a positive score reflective of that and move on.)

Besides the previously quoted lines, there's also one other part I'm naturally drawn to:

These symptoms I don't understand
They're just echoes of a broken man

What can I say, I like lyrics about being broken. It's not breaking any new ground, but it's very much one of my things, so points for that. I also kinda like that Buckley eventually just screams--there's a lot of "metal screaming" in this topic, but there aren't many songs where I feel the screaming actually contributes anything positive. This certainly isn't one of my favorite songs on the album, but it's pretty good and has a fair amount of things I like about it, so it's neat.

[Final Thoughts: The song definitely has its place & the lyrics are definitely on point, but it's a bit heavier than I'd like at the moment. As usual, the thoughts and feelings the song inspires in me kinda clash with the hardcore nature of the song, but there are enough high points that I think I'll keep this at the "kinda like" tier.]

[Later: Slight upgrade to the scoring. The literal screaming makes the song, but the song's a bit heavier & louder than I might like.]

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-speaking of a Broken Man... honestly, it's unintentional, though kinda funny it worked out this way.-

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#631: Fox Stevenson - Broken Man (3:06):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVvqTSXOIng

Nominator: DoctorJimmy [19/24 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Revised Score: 56.03
Final Score: 55.00539 [Upgraded to 55.028]

(First Reaction: The lyrics are a bit on the repetitive side, but I find myself refusing to give it less than 60 points and thus it shall join the CLUMP of 60 point songs.)

!Catchy but repetitive... feels more like a mid-to-high 50's song than a 60's one.

[Final Thoughts: A song with a rather volatile ranking, this one kinda varies wildly depending on my current mood. There are times where this song's high energy "dancing in the sun" vibe, combined with these lyrics, actually works quite well for me. Other times, I just don't really click with it, though it's nice enough that I'd say I always kinda like it. Tonight the song is about as low as it goes, but still kinda nice and placed ahead of a fair number of other songs.]

[Later: The chorus repeats a few more times than I'd like, but it's still a nice song. Minor boost to spare this song for a day.]

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