Board 8 > Mega Mana Ranks The Songs

(+) Yeah! (+)

John Frusciante's solo work is pretty fascinating, kind of like Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's of The Mars Volta/At The Drive In fame

Falling: A song that is constantly on the verge of greatness, but never quite reaches it. I like the idea of the reversed portions, but it doesn't fully commit or do anything super interesting with them. It has an almost Wild ARMs type vibe to it and I can *almost* lose myself in a fantasy, but I never get a clear picture in my head beyond "this could probably be used in an emotional anime music video, but I can't picture it without some visuals to get my imagination started". I dunno. Maybe on repeat listens, I'd be able to click with it.

Not much to say on the others. "" was at one of my rankings and I still like it (nice vibe & lyrics), I don't like looped vocals so "Experienced Girl" is a non-starter (though the backing beat is great background music), and I'd rather not talk about the last song so I won't.

Spent the past three days running through all the remaining songs again and again, and still haven't figured out what even the next three to be cut would be. It looks like I'm making a new tier earlier than expected.

I'm going to post three instead of five for the rest of this tier to stretch things until Thursday; hopefully I break through this rut and get things moving along smooth after. Be home in a while, no big hints.

#105. Dear Hearts And Gentle People
Artist: Bob Crosby and the Bobcats
Nominator: Raka Putra (5/5)
Time: 2:33
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXNOz-HkoOM
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 12/15 (D) & Rubric 14
Weighted Rankings: Orange 13/16
Blockbuster: Grids C-1, Y-0.1

"Solid gold oldie. I often forget pre-Beatles oldies outside of Christmas songs, Elvis, and early Motown as my Oldies station growing up was mostly 60s and 70s. This was pleasant, and reminds me of playing Christmas albums on the record player as a kid." - First listen note

It reminded me of Fallout the first time I heard it, and I had forgotten it was the original E3 trailer song. It does make me want to go back and play Fallout 3. (P.S. Started playing Fallout 3 again. Man, getting into Rivet City wasn't nearly as scary as I remembered it to be; then again, I just swam the river instead of running to ant colonies and Super Mutants).

I don't have much to say on the song. There are parts I like ("that my happy heart is laughing like a clooown"), but there's a cynical part of my brain that hears sarcasm where there isn't. Crosby legitimately loves his hometown, his neighbors, how welcoming everyone is, and how he wants to retire there. The first or second time I listened, I don't think I did because those 'dear hearts & gentle people' sounded like a gossipy bunch of pick-a-little talk-a-little cheep-cheep-cheep talk-a-lot pick-a-little-mores. And I don't hear that at all anymore, if I ever did. It's a golden oldie with a decent bounciness.

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#104. Night Cruising
Artist: Fishmans
Nominator: tazzyboyishere (3/5)
Time: 6:25
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeeqWlG3HTg
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 10/15 (D) & Rubric 11
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 11/16
Blockbuster: Grids D-0, X-2

Two jotted notes from early on:
- "It sounds like Camilla and Gonzo's other chickens bawking in the background"
- "Kiko, oh Kiko, is so sad in my jacuzzi" - what a fun Neopets image

It's a slow, chill song that is nice and relaxing. It also sounds like something I'd play on the radio in This War of Mine. I know the singer is saying 'night cruising' but I cannot unhear him just bragging about 'my jacuzzi.'

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#103. The two cradles / stage2
Artist: Wataru Ishibashi
Nominator: NFUN (5/5)
Time: 5:20
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp1skjyjU-g
Initial Rankings: Batch 8 - 7/15 (B) & Rubric 5
Weighted Rankings: Blue 13/16
Blockbuster: Grids D-1, X-3

Easily the biggest drop on this list. It went from easily top half, probably top forty, to not even breaking #100. There are a few reasons for this. It has a similar problem to Last Place Cherry Chapstick where there are good parts to the song, but it is inexplicably interrupted by these cloying and horrible disasters of sound. The good parts are very good, hence why it was so high, and with how many instrumentals there are in Batch 8, they all kind of blended together as good. It was buoyed upwards by its association to other, much much much better tracks. And while the NiGHTS Into Dreams feels this gives off are great, it loses a lot of luster the more I listen and get reminded of why people hate the boss music in Secret of Mana; there's some great ten-second melodies in there, but there are REALLY OBNOXIOUS BLARING ALARMS throughout.

I'm happy I've procrastinated as long as I have cementing these eliminations because I would kick myself if this were in the top half of this list if I neglected second guessing first impressions.

@Raka_Putra
@tazzyboyishere
@NFUN
@AriaOfBolo (because you are friend)

damn i should've nommed Catastrophe UVB-76 or Speartip of Judgement

Haha it seems our tastes don't align super well. Experienced Girl was something I threw in because I've been really into loving hypnagogic pop, but there isn't really a specific song from the group of songs I really enjoy that stands out above the others. Kind of a random pick.

Night Cruising isn't my favorite off the album, but my two favorites were entirely too long to nominate for a casual ranking project. Fishmans on the whole is one of my favorite bands, but that specific live performance is just brilliant. Just a wonderful album to put on and relax to.

hello I am friend!

I will poke at em later

Oh hell yes. Just saw this topic now - tag with astronomical hype!

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

John Frusciante's solo work is pretty fascinating, kind of like Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's of The Mars Volta/At The Drive In fame

Hmmm I need to check this out now. But yeah, I absolutely adore Frusciante's solo stuff, glad there's another B8er familiar with it! I just decided to nominate one of his more well known songs. RIP Falling. Just a lovely song I had been taking long walks to while listening on repeat for 30 minutes.

Maybe I should've gone more esoteric - favorite Frusciante song is After the Ending. The Empyrean is among my favorite albums of all time.

Also RIP Idioteque. My favorite Radiohead song. Right now, besides any of my noms, I think I'm rooting for That Funny Feeling to be a top 10er.

Ah my first nom has fallen. Pretty much expected but it's still my favorite song from that era and genre. Really catchy.

#102. Pumped Up Kicks 1066 AD Cover in Old English
Artist: the_miracle_aligner
Nominator: Raka Putra (4/5)
Time: 3:58
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcKqhDFhNHI
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 15/15 (F) & Rubric 15
Weighted Rankings: Red 7/16
Blockbuster: Grids A-1, Z-1

"This is interesting. I like the lyric change and it's sung well. The added strings towards the end definitely add a helpful element because he feels pedestrian before that. Like, literally. Like walking down a cobblestone path in a lonely town." - First listen note

My favorite part of the song comes around 2:19 when it gets real quiet, and the guitar plays something that sounds so super familiar, but I've yet been able to place it. It just itches at the back of my mind, like something I used to hear on an oldies radio station.

Overall, the song is commendable in its efforts, its lyricism, its pronounciation, and attempt at capturing what a song would presumably sound like a millenium ago. One-thousand years. Now that I type it out, that's kind of incredible to think about. Still, it's a song I appreciate more for its craft than its music. It's not something I would listen to outside this list, and it makes me feel like a cloudy day outside a formal procession. Not a funeral, but something with a sombre march outside the town walls.

P.S. MAGGIE MAY!! That's what it is!!

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#101. Fight Against An Armed Boss (In-Game Version)
Artist: SilvaGunner
Nominator: paulg235 (4/5)
Time: 1:36
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPSQkZUhlQA
Initial Rankings: Batch 3 - 8/15 (C-) & Rubric 13
Weighted Rankings: Green 14/16
Blockbuster: Grids D-2, Z-2

More like fight against a shackled Guerrilla. It's a nice take on a Crypt of the Necrodancer boss, but it's not top one-hundred.

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#100. tabula rasa
Artist: Bretta Crossrain
Nominator: UF8 (4/5)
Time: 3:51
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3zrlGbJEdo
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 10/15 (D+) & Rubric 10
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 8/16
Blockbuster: Grids D-3, Y-2

"Gamecube start-up" - First listen note

Another surprise drop! Honestly, it's less of a drop than a growing opinion of other songs. There are six songs beneath it remaining from the Weighted Yellows, but I can definitely say I've enjoyed them a bit more on relistens. Not much more, as four of the six are going very soon.

tabula rasa is nice. It gives Danganronpa 3 Intro energy, which I loved, and the xylophones are nice as well as the bass and the piano solo. I recommend a listen or two. As it had 292 views initially and it is (as of this writing) at 312 views, I'm happy to have listened to it for up to twenty times! Will likely continue to do so, but this is where it leaves. Welcome to the top hundred, tabula rasa!

Post-script From The Futuuure:
- Listening to the Despair Arc intro again, tabula rasa is to Dangan3 Intro as Sexy Sexy was to Tunak Tunak Tun. My brain makes connections that do not fit once I actually compare.
Despair Arc Intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1YPSGdXWKo

@Raka_Putra
@paulg235
@UF8

Yeah, I do admire the craft more, but I still enjoy it too if I want something more...lowkey. I do love how it's actually using (as far as I can tell) historical Old English and not just Ye Olde English words.

Glad you found some enjoyment and curiousity in it!

interesting that the two songs from more like, "proper" singers in my noms (they both have a number of albums) were the first to go actually

#99. Baby Don't You Do It
Artist: The Who
Nominator: DoctorJimmy133 (5/5)
Time: 8:20
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liFJfbCNnps
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 10/15 (D) & Rubric 14
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 15/16
Blockbuster: Grid D-4

"Goes on forever. Makes me wish Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" was nominated instead." - First listen note (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTSVfYM2Pdk) [Note: I loooved "I Would Die 4 U" and it's also long and about pleading with a partner to remain with them and it's INFINITELY BETTER THAN THIS!!! Top five, no doubt!]

The guitars do a LOT of heavy-lifting. Lyrics and length alone should bring it to the bottom ten, but the guitars are so lively and vibrant that sometimes I can take on this long ride. I end up skipping out after two minutes most of the time because it just feels more pathetic the longer it goes. I'm siding with the exiting girlfriend on this one. One of at least two Marvin Gaye covers on this list.

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#98. From the Start
Artist: Laufey
Nominator: Snake5555555555 (4/5)
Time: 2:49
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSD_L-xic9o
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 11/15 (D) & Rubric 10
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 13/16
Blockbuster: Grids E-0, X-4.5

"My initial feeling was 'Oooh' but as it continued and stayed golden oldie, I dunno, it began to lose me." - First listen note

There's a pleasant whimsy and old-fashioned nature to this song of unrequited love. I don't normally comment on videos, but the lip-synching is... impossible to watch. It has no effect on this ranking, but I don't have much to say on this song. It's a low-ranking song because while it's a nice loungey song, it's also a nice loungey song. I do like the instruments coming in to complement the final chorus and Laufey has a wonderful voice.

I can also appreciate how Laufey contains her unrequited love and passion for another person to a nice 2:49 and doesn't get down on her knees begging for the other person's love relentlessly for eight-and-a-half minutes *cough*.

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#97. Kiss A Little Longer
Artist: Ryan Devereaux
Nominator: Fluttershy_Pony (5/5)
Time: 0:30
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1m-33ggYUk
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 13/15 (D-) & Rubric 12
Weighted Rankings: Orange 10/16
Blockbuster: Grids C-2, Y-3

I never liked the gum, not a fan of the cinnamon chew. The jingle is a nice nostalgia. It doesn't really hold a solid spot in my brain like a lot of other '90s jingles. In fact, there's a different Wrigley's gum brand that not only has a much greater presence in there, but also has been nigh-impossible to find the right version of so far. After about thirty different commercials, I found the right singer with the thirty second length, but unfortunately it's bad quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Kmub1lbPs

This version, and only this one, of the Doublemint Gum commercials would rank at least ten spots higher. Kiss A Little Longer beats every different singer, the 15 second advert, and absolutely destroys the "Double Double Your Refreshment" campaign. And as I don't remember Juicy Fruit or Winterfresh having any memorable ads or jingles, "Kiss A Little Longer" taking first place for all but a single solitary version of an ad with more varied and worse singers isn't too bad. But god I love that diva second verse and the roller coaster of highs and lows.

@DoctorJimmy133
@Snake5555555555
@Fluttershy_Pony

QUESTION: What are some of your favorite/most memorable/most nostalgic advertisement jingles?

I tried to make a top five, but only came up with two sure ones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCwn1NTK-50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UieggnnRsrQ

Awwwww I didn't really expect that to drop so soon, beautiful song, one of my absolute favorites released last year.

Hmmm commercial jingles... Folgers gets stuck in my head a lot.

all of the jingles the worthless peons covered

From the Start is great. Also one of my favorites last year.

Hey I was putting together some stats and realized it looks like you've missed out BlueCrystalTear's nominations

Mega_Mana posted...

I can also appreciate how Laufey contains her unrequited love and passion for another person to a nice 2:49 and doesn't get down on her knees begging for the other person's love relentlessly for eight-and-a-half minutes *cough*.

Okay, nominating the extended version may not have been the best idea lol

I actually expected Big Red to do the best of my nominations--second, at worst, so this is a bit of a surprise. Well, not completely as a 30 second jingle for a subpar piece of gum should be seen as a longshot, but I love it enough to believe in it anyway. I think this song was my third most listened to of 2023; never cared for gum of any kind and have no particular nostalgia for the track, but a few different commercials for it played while I was watching old Classic Concentration episodes on YouTube & I developed a brief obsession with the track.

Top five jingles, off the top of my head:

Mentos:
Big Red
Crossfire
Skip It
Liberty Mutual Pool Party (Young people having a good time with insurance!)

...I know no one else likes that last one and I don't care. Honestly, there are probably better out there, I'm really only confident in my top two. I just can't think of them right away... right now I'm stuck on Atari Mario Bros.' parody of the "Car 54, Where Are You?" theme:

https://youtu.be/dduvx-dEySY

Steiner posted...

Hey I was putting together some stats and realized it looks like you've missed out BlueCrystalTear's nominations

Oh, wow, I didn't even check for ignorelist posts. I can give them a listen and maybe add or alter placements a bit.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

Well, not completely as a 30 second jingle for a subpar piece of gum should be seen as a longshot, but I love it enough to believe in it anyway.

It's no Mentos The Freshmaker. It is the second-best Wrigley gum commercial. And Libberty Bibberty Pooltime Insurance is excellent.

You can absolutely include fake commercials! Supernatural's from "Changing Channels" isn't a jingle, but is burned in my brain.

Just popping things put of my head

Nickelodeon: https://youtu.be/-JpfKOARmjc?si=dcF_0rPKr893koeo
Disney: https://youtu.be/Uyc_UNxVngY?si=03lKKMsgla6FRFZ3
HBO: https://youtu.be/Qc4cmZaWgIo?si=BshoNfhdGSOSEqdJ
FOX Kids: https://youtu.be/rQ7OYNHFq7I?si=frGlZT9L2ou1xZQm

GHOST! GHOST FACERS

why is caps still a thing

Mega_Mana posted...

Just popping things put of my head

Ooh, some interesting links there. I don't recall seeing the Nick one before & I'm not sure I've even heard of Shelby Woo, but I'm far more amused than I should be by the "We didn't say it, we sang it." "Whatever." exchange. Also it reminds me of Boo Boo Baba Dee Dee.

https://youtu.be/mhZVfqbVP8c

...I am unsure if being reminded of that is a good thing as I'll have that stuck in my head all week.

DTV may actually be something I'd been wondering about for a while now... I have this vague, half-memory of Daisy dancing on a commercial & there she is. The memory is too distorted to be sure this is what I saw, but it seems probable.

HBO's neat and it's fun seeing old Power Ranger commercials.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

Ooh, some interesting links there. I don't recall seeing the Nick one before & I'm not sure I've even heard of Shelby Woo, but I'm far more amused than I should be by the "We didn't say it, we sang it." "Whatever." exchange. Also it reminds me of Boo Boo Baba Dee Dee.

https://youtu.be/mhZVfqbVP8c

...I am unsure if being reminded of that is a good thing as I'll have that stuck in my head all week.

DTV may actually be something I'd been wondering about for a while now... I have this vague, half-memory of Daisy dancing on a commercial & there she is. The memory is too distorted to be sure this is what I saw, but it seems probable.

HBO's neat and it's fun seeing old Power Ranger commercials.

Ooh! I was trying to come with a Cartoon Network one that wasn't just Cartoon Cartoons or a Toonami bumper (<3 Dreams <3). That's one I have a vague recollection of, and very tongue twistery!

The Power Ranger commercials pre-Zeo were fun.

Kids WB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB_hAAZ60EM

#96. Flathead
Artist: The Fratellis
Nominator: DoctorJimmy133 (4/5)
Time: 3:23
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz2ZDeTYgTs
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 5/15 (B-) & Rubric 11
Weighted Rankings: Purple 15/16
Blockbuster: Grids A-2, Y-4

"Burger King meets Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" - First listen note

Ba-da-ba-ba-ba, I'm not lovin' it. The lyrics sound like nonsense to me, and diving into a read, I don't understand much of anything. I think it's all about sex and drugs?

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#95. After the Storm
Artist: Kiuas
Nominator: FL81 (5/5...?!)
Time: 5:50
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki5WE-Q5UiY
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 9/15 (D+) & Rubric 13
Weighted Rankings: Green 16/16
Blockbuster: Grids A-3, X-4.5

"Could be higher but for the Barry Gibb Talk Show, 'leave no trail of crumbs beHIiIind'" - First listen note

"Be-HIiIiND." Such a small half-second part of the song, but it kills my interest every time. The acoustic emptiness also falls a bit flat; I am not content with what I'm given.

The song does make me fondly remember a Board 8er I haven't seen in, what, a decade-and-a-half? Satai_delenn once told me her favorite song was "A Simple Life." There was a countryish tune I found by that name (that I wouldn't be able to find now) that... I was like, "Okay, if you like this, that's fine. Not a fan, but you do you." It was probably a few days later (which feels like weeks with how fast the board used to be, and how frequent AIM conversations were) when we got into another chat and she clarified she was talking about Bridget's Theme from the Guilty Gear soundtrack, and that is soooo much better than what I was thinking. I believe that is also the first time I heard the Guilty Gear soundtrack and downloaded the GGXX to listen to on Windows Media Player, whenever I felt like listening to a lot of video game music that wasn't from the Hedgehog Heaven Sonic 2 OCRemix album or the Earthbound Bound Together OCRemix album. 2005 was a good year.

Oh, right, the song. ...Yeah. Well... let's own up to the truth and leave this song behind.

Bonus tracks!
A Simple Life (GGX2 OST) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yklYElgOyN4
Next My Generation by analoq (Hedgehog Heaven OCR) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-rnzvgnREI
SnowBound by bLiNd (Bound Together OCR) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAWMXf1RQ70

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#94. HAJIMORI NO HOSHI
Artist: Noakuro (Tama Shoko & Zia)
Nominator: UF8 (3/5)
Time: 3:55
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkNG5klqE-w
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 14/15 (D-) & Rubric 12
Weighted Rankings: Red 2/15
Blockbuster: Grids C-3, Z-3.4

Aside from the best of UF8's nominations, their other four songs have bounced all over. Second-worst in its batch to second-best in its weight class! It's a song that could really drop anywhere in this tier and I'd be okay with it.

I do like the downward slope of notes into a fast vertical, like Sonic spinning down a slight decline then hitting the warped wall and shooting straight up.

New After the Storm link:

https://youtu.be/tJjj5ilUQuM?si=gYMP145e51GjTPx9

Mega_Mana posted...

New After the Storm link:

https://youtu.be/tJjj5ilUQuM?si=gYMP145e51GjTPx9

Thanks for this link! Back when I was picking out nominations, all I had was an unlisted YouTube link (almost lost it for good whoops)

I first discovered this song listening to an online heavy metal stream of all things (Kiuas is a heavy metal group from Finland, and this song is just some folky acoustic song they did)

looking back now, a disproportionately large portion of my musical tastes are specifically Finnish heavy metal artists >_>

#93. Yume Utsutsu
Artist: Kusuri Maibyou
Nominator: UF8 (2/5)
Time: 4:03
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrV2G7STw_s
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 9/15 (D+) & Rubric 12
Weighted Rankings: Green 11/16
Blockbuster: Grids B-2, Z-3.4

UF8 posted "have a bad sense my noms are probably in the collapsing category...but still looking forward to this one." And while I feel bad about all their noms falling away so swiftly and so early, they do tend to fall apart on repeat listens. I enjoy them (well, not 0314) and they're a welcome sound, but they fade off quickly from mind and because they are all the same or similar vocaloid artist, they blend into indistinction. Between & , I actually like that they rank together. There have been days where I appreciate HAJIMORI more, but Yume usually ends up slightly higher more often than not. One tends to rank up a bit higher if they're both with a bunch of other songs, but once HAJIMORI was cut... Yume didn't have that bit of boost power to bump it up. Very ASMR-y, the fun little slide whistle spiral is fun, it's like a sweeping 'spring is almost here but snow is still on the ground' kind of staring out the window song.

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#92. Eddie My Love
Artist: Brigitte Calls Me Baby
Nominator: mcflubbin (5/5)
Time: 3:20
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PEK1w84HsE
Initial Rankings: Batch 3 - 9/15 (C-) & Rubric 14
Weighted Rankings: Green 13/16
Blockbuster: Grids E-1.3, Z-5

"What in the Elvis Rocky Horror Picture Show is this?" - First listen note

The singer can croon, that's a simple fact. It's a massive throwback to '50s soulful rock ballad. I listened to the other songs they released when I first heard Eddie because I could not believe this was a song released in 2023, and they're a good band, but it's just not to my personal taste.

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#91. Leaving the Light
Artist: Genesis Owusu
Nominator: mcflubbin (4/5)
Time: 3:10
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5w4hpsQnMw
Initial Rankings: Batch 3 - 14/15 (F) & Rubric 14
Weighted Rankings: Red 8/16
Blockbuster: Grid A-4

I wish I wrote down a first listen note for this because I really I wanna know why I not only gave this an 'F' but also kept ranking it so low. It's a good bop. There's a few of these right now that I'm just vibing to and have few words to say about them. They teeter on elimination for a bit before I just enjoy dancing or listening to them too much to cut them, and have to spend hours or days figuring out what I would rather keep. This is both the least dancey and least emotion-pulling of them, and while there's one song that I still can't believe has escaped the very bottom tier, at this point, that song deserves to make it to the next tier over this one simply because it defines that tier.

I also feel fulfilled putting it as the top of one tier instead of the bottom of another. It's a good gatekeeper. Even more so, now that I think about it, since the next tier in my head is 'yellow' so you really are 'leaving the light' as you go lower.

@UF8
@mcflubbin

KNOCKOFF TIER
#91. Leaving the Light
#92. Eddie My Love
#93. Yume Utsutsu
#94. HAJIMORI NO HOSHI
#95. After the Storm
#96. Flathead
#97. Kiss A Little Longer
#98. From the Start
#99. Baby Don't You Do It
#100. tabula rasa
#101. Fight Against An Armed Boss (In-Game Version)
#102. Pumped Up Kicks 1066 AD Cover in Old English
#103. The two cradles / stage2
#104. Night Cruising
#105. Dear Hearts and Gentle People
#106. Trans-Island Skyway
#107. Experienced Girl
#108.
#109. Falling

I DISAGREE TIER
#110. Dragonsong
#111. Main Theme (Towering Inferno)
#112. Both Sides Now
#113. 0314
#114. Idioteque
#115. This Is It
#116. Sexy Sexy
#117. Atlas Earth Ad Song
#118. Anywhere Is
#119. The Art of Sombre Ecstasy
#120. Cherry Chapstick

Remaining Songs

A Lifetime of Adventure
A Tap Dancer's Dilemma
Acacia
Ain't No Reason
Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
Another Day
Astronomy
Autumn Leaves Revisited
Bachelorette (Family Tree Version)
Be the GAL~ Early Summer ver.
Bubble
Catcus in the Valley (Feat. Owl City)
Canto Della Terra
Car Wash Hair
Castaway (feat. Jessi Mason)
Cha Cha Cha (Cover)
Cha Cha Cha (Original)
Cherry Chapstick
Chicago
Cool Cat*
Crash Into Me*
Cryptograph
Dana Dan (Indian Folk Metal)
Dark Come Soon
Dream Job
dreamy night
driver's license
Everlong
Experienced Girl
The Fallen Ground
Feather
Fight Like A Girl
Forward to the Past
The Gathering Sky
get him back!
GHOST
Ghostwriter
good 4 u
Guillotine
Head First in the River
Heaven and Hell
Herald of Darkness
Hors D'uvre
Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28
I've Been Waiting
Just a Ride
King of Swords (Reversed)
Knocked Down, Made Small
Koi no America
The Last Supper
Light Up The Night
LOVE TRIP
Miami
Michiru Mori
The Murder of Love
The Noble Savage
Past Lives
Pelican Canyon
Pink Dazzled 45
Pohjolan Lmmin Valo ~ Platinum Solstice
Raisin' Me Up
The Remedy
Remind Me
Rewind (Feat. Ashe & Armani White)
Rose-Colored Boy
Run
Saw Lightning
Sexual Healing
Shakticat
Skies
Skylark Interabang?!
Sleep Dealer
Smoke Too Soon
So What
Spanish Mary
Speedway
Square Hammer
That Funny Feeling
Through the Looking Glass
Tragedy + Time
traitor
U.F.O. - U Feel Overjoyed!
vampire
We Are The One
What We Wanted
Why You Wanna Break My Heart?
Winter Wrap Up*
Wonderland
the world is yours
The world of spirit
You Make My Dreams
Your Deep Rest
Arthuriana
One Year of Love
Seize the Night (Carpe Noctem)
Shine
Tacky

Users
Bane_Of_Despair (100%)
Player_0 (100%)
Xtlm (100%)
NBIceman (100%)
Steiner (100%)
DanKirby (100%)
Bitto (100%)
rwlh (80%)
Fluttershy_Pony (80%)
ZaziGuado (80%)
FL81 (80%)
MaxGalactica (80%)
Murphiroth (80%)
Redrocket (80%)
NFUN (80%)
Blur (80%)
Raka_Putra (60%)
Snake5555555555 (60%)
DoctorJimmy133 (60%)
paulg235 (60%)
mcflubbin (60%)
CoolCly (60%)
tazzyboyishere (40%)
handsomeboy2012 (33%)
UF8 (20%)
BlueCrystalTear (???%)

And I was planning on saving this for the halfway mark, but with five songs entering the fray, not everything going forward will have an Initial, Rubric, or Weight to look back upon.

Initial Rankings
A - 16/16
B - 27/29
C - 26/29
D - 18/37
F - 3/9

Rubric
1-4 [100%] [100%] [100%] [100%]
5-8 [87.5%] [100%] [100%] [100%]
9-12 [83.3%] [84.6%] [70%] [66.7%]
13-16 [33.3%] [14.3%] [0.0%] [60%]

Weighted Rankings
Red - 31.25% (1, 3, 4, 6, 11)
Orange - 56.25% (1-9)
Yellow - 68.75% (1-7, 9, 10, 12)
Green - 68.75% (1-10, 12)
Blue - 93.75% (1-12, 14-16)
Purple - 93.75% (1-14, 16)
Violet - 100%

NOTE FOR THIS WEEKEND

With five new songs to rank, and long shifts Saturday and Sunday, I think I'll take a break until Monday to start the new tier. I've just blazed through a great set of write-ups so I thankfully won't have that stress on me. But I would love some more discussion!

What are your thoughts on the write-ups so far? How do you feel about some of the eliminations? Are you surprised by any songs that haven't exited yet? Of the songs already gone, do you have anything else by their artist you'd recommend giving another chance or try at? Did you know that I've been neglecting my library books and current video games--not because of working on the songs and write-ups; that's going so much smoother than expected--because I've been putting unexpected hours and hours into Fallout 3 and now Fallout Shelter on my phone? Why, Dear Hearts, why?

What do the asterisks in the song list mean?

redrocket posted...

What do the asterisks in the song list mean?

They denote songs not in my private playlist, either because they're classified as Youtube Kids or linked off Youtube.

Mega_Mana posted...

I've been putting unexpected hours and hours into Fallout 3 and now Fallout Shelter on my phone? Why, Dear Hearts, why?

Awesome. Does it hold up in 2024?

Raka_Putra posted...

Awesome. Does it hold up in 2024?

It's not been too bad. A lot easier than I remember, but I also may have been on hardest difficulty last I played. The map, which felt HUGE a dozen years ago, now feels surprisingly quick to traverse after games like Breath of the Wild and Borderlands 2. I used to think Rivet City was this far off place it took hours to finally reach... but it's literally a five minute swim if you don't mind the radiation poisoning.

So it's not been bad!

Fallout Shelter is the same timesink it has always been.

Mega_Mana posted...

Of the songs already gone, do you have anything else by their artist you'd recommend giving another chance or try at?

I'll throw out a couple Enya songs that bookend her career because I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed her discography outside of Only Time.

A lot of people might not realize it, but Enya has a second song that has been able to crack into the mainstream, albeit as a sample. Then the song that sampled it was sampled. And then that song was sampled:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edek5yMYlJw

Echoes is Rain is another bouncier song that might be less grating than Anywhere Is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DDHulO485k

#125. Cherry Chapstick
#124. The Art of Sombre Ecstasy

=====*NEW* TO "I DISAGREE"=====
#123. Arthuriana
Artist: Sunspot
Nominator: BlueCrystalTear (5/5)
Time: 4:59
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW5tTOYoU2U

DAY ONE: ...I don't think second or third or twelfth impressions are going to do much to save it from the bottom of the list. It picks up after the abysmal first minute, but goes back down again. "You are the sword, I am the-" heir. I am human and I need to be loved just like everybody else loves. Initial impression is absolute bottom. Six songs until next planned tier is posted so things can change up tomorrow.

DAY THREE: Filled with pop culture references and Arthurian legend... as pop culture references and Arthurian legend drops. This happened. And this happened. And this was also a thing that happened. Oh, Doctor Who, and Monty Python! So cool, did you get those references? Fuck this song.

#122. Anywhere Is
#121. Atlas Earth Ad Song
#120. Sexy Sexy
#119. This Is It
#118. Idioteque
#117. 0314
#116. Both Sides Now

#115. One Year of Love
Artist: Queen
Nominator: BlueCrystalTear (4/5)
Time: 4:37
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgib8QoBKHE

DAY ONE: Queen is often a yay, but I'm not too much a fan of this one aside from the saxophone solo. Slow, sweeping, somewhat enjoyable. Slightly glacial. Might be a reason this is the first time I've heard it out of many dozens of Queen songs. I think I could comfortably eliminate in the early eighties.

DAY THREE: I thought with a bit more time to marinate, I'd like this more and bump it up, but it actually falls a few spots lower. It was pencilled into the bottom of Knockoff tier under "Falling," but "Dragonsong" has a nicer melody to it and as chaotic as the Towering Inferno's "Main Theme" is, the ambition of a lot of it is more satisfying to listen to. Part of me was even tempted to drop it below "Idioteque," but even with more than a week since I last listened to it, yeah, no, "Idioteque" is still a surprise in badness. I again see why "Both Sides Now" and "0314" are above it. Saxophone beats both of them.

Two surprisingly easy songs to slot into previously established rankings. Thank you.

#114. Main Theme (Towering Inferno)
#113. Dragonsong
#112. Falling
#111.
#110. Experienced Girl
#109. Trans-Island Skyway
#108. Dear Hearts and Gentle People
#107. Night Cruising
#106. The two cradles / stage2
#105. Pumped Up Kicks 1066 AD Cover in Old English
#104. Fight Against An Armed Boss (In-Game Version)
#103. tabula rasa
#102. Baby Don't You Do It
#101. From the Start
#100. Kiss A Little Longer
#99. Flathead
#98. After the Storm
#97. HAJIMORI NO HOSHI
#96. Yume Utsutsu
#95. Eddie My Love
#94. Leaving the Light

After the Storm: I like this one. I find the folksy instrumental styles rather pleasing and the singing is nice enough; I do wish we had some new lyrics towards the end of the song, as it does feel a tad repetitive lyrically -but- I feel that I like the rest of the song well enough to excuse it.

Yume Utsutsu: Nice ambiance and painful lyrics--I'm especially fond of "Are the pains that were burnt away what you call love?", though the next verse's "The sword pierces through into that body that transforms into bubbles; Will you gladly drink even your own poison?" is also certainly evocative--though her voice is a bit higher pitched than I might like... lyrical dissonance is fine, but I think I'd personally prefer a deeper voice to accompany the lyrics... still, I like it, and I could see myself enjoying it more on relistens when I've had more time to acclimate to the song's vocal stylings.

Eddie My Love: Singer feels like a modern day Elvis. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that, though I wouldn't say I dislike it.

Arthuriana: I really like the section starting around 2:25--I suppose it's a chorus, since it's reprised in full at the end of the song. I'm.. not nearly as sold on the rest of the song, which does feel like a lot of references thrown together & I wish we had a different third verse, instead of just reprising the old lyrics again... but I do really, really like that chorus so I'd be inclined to give it a relatively high score anyway. Probably a 7/10 song, though it's being hard carried by it's 8.5/10 chorus.

One Year of Love: Not my kind of love song, to be honest. I like the sax and I like how it's much more subdued than most Queen songs, so this is... probably right below the "I like this" tier? I kinda like it and it's close, but the lyrics aren't quite for me... actually, considering how much I love rain, describing a rainy day as a *bad* thing makes this song rather aggressively not for me lyrically, but... I do like the music itself well enough. I don't know. Nice music, subpar lyrics, and an unsatisfying ending (it feels more like the song just stops) but the music may be nice enough to get it to the "I like this" tier anyway. Maybe. I quite honestly don't know, it's very much an "ask me again in two months and we'll see where things are" type of song.

-

Topic is fun, I like the writeups, I don't really have anything to suggest from eliminated artists; I do like a lot of Tat Ming Pair songs (they did the night driving song), but I can't think of any that would be more to your liking.

=====FLUX=====

The Flux tier is appropriately named on multiple levels. A big fluctuation is the amount of songs going into this tier that rose or fell far from where they first would've placed; we will see "A" mixed with "F" here. I'll be adding a general "FLUX" ranking for this tier only highlighting about how many spots away they are from their initial estimation. This is a tier of rises and falls, good one day and bad the next, a mercurial assortment of nominations with no real set place in a ranking list. This is the melting pot.

I only had one ranking criteria for this section, and I'll explain when I get to it because one thing was added that made ranking these songs so much easier than before.

#93. Through The Looking Glass
Artist: Machinae Supremacy
Nominator: Steiner (5/5)
Time: 5:05
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXzHSxYvg-I
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 10/15 (D) & Rubric 13
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 7/16
-
FLUX: Up 10 Spots & Down 25 Spots

The guitars and the pace of this song are great, but like a few other songs that fell already (This Is It, After the Storm, Another Day), the singer really brings it down for me. The whiny nasal notes always hit sort of unexpectedly and make me rankle a bit. I've probably listened two dozen times and I still haven't registered any of the lyrics because while I enjoy the flight of the music, I block out the annoying buzzing as best I can.

.

#92. U.F.O. - U Feel Overjoyed!
Artist: Tokoyami Towa
Nominator: FL81 (4/5)
Time: 3:43
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBmss54l5zc
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 11/15 (D) & Rubric 9
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 5/16
-
FLUX: Up 10 Spots & Down 25 Spots

The guitars and pace of this song are great. It's a fun anime OP ride. I don't know if it is, but it sounds like it should be. The sweeping action setpieces that would be playing at 0:50 seem incredible. While it's higher than it would be on a first-listen ranking, that I didn't include it in the Blockbuster is a testament to how I thought for sure it was going to be in the top half at some point. Really good song.

.

#91. Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28
Artist: Camille Saint-Sans
Nominator: MaxGalactica (4/5)
Time: 9:05
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urSy6oPp9Tk
Initial Rankings: Batch 6 - 4/15 (A-) & Rubric 8
Weighted Rankings: Purple 13/16
Blockbuster: Grids E-1.3, X-6
FLUX: Down 70

The initial A-... I know I gave some early deference to the classical/instrumental nominations because there were parts that really caught my ear (like this one at 5:25ish that hit happily as I type). I also need to note that this song comes immediately after Radiohead's "Idioteque" in my playlist which instantly gives this song a huge boost of relief. There's something spirited and hopeful to these strings, a wistful playfulness. A jester or prankster who gets into some minor trouble after flirting with a few too many ladies in town? As I type, I'm... I'm picturing Aladdin in the market during One Jump Ahead leaping through doorways and purloining food as guards chase him around corners and through the streets. Renewed appreciation day!

However, for every listen where something catches my ear and takes me along the ride, there are about four or five others where I'm hoping something like that happens but I end up happy that I can finally move on to the next song.

@Steiner
@FL81
@MaxGalactica

Did anyone nominate anything from Poppy's album Flux

Oh wait I forgot you had also named a tier I Disagree, ok so I'm not crazy about thinking about Poppy

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Did anyone nominate anything from Poppy's album Flux

Oh wait I forgot you had also named a tier I Disagree, ok so I'm not crazy about thinking about Poppy

^_^

Mega_Mana posted...

The guitars and the pace of this song are great, but like a few other songs that fell already (This Is It, After the Storm, Another Day)

Mega_Mana posted...

Remaining Songs

A Lifetime of Adventure
A Tap Dancer's Dilemma
Acacia
Ain't No Reason
Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
Another Day

...Well, there's at least one song left that I know isn't going to win! <./<

Kidding, I know how hard it is to avoid spoiling another song's placement when writing out of chronological order and don't make much effort to avoid it myself these days. Also, it's hypothetically possible your opinion changed so drastically that it could still wind up at the top of the list--Lord knows I do that often enough...

Another time -- another place
The words would only rhyme
We'd be in outer space

I don't have much to contribute yet so for fun I'm going to just predict (read: blindly guess) at the order my noms are going to finish in, worst to best.

A Tap Dancer's Dilemma
Just a Ride
Astronomy
Light Up the Night
King of Swords (Reversed)

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

...Well, there's at least one song left that I know isn't going to win! <./<

Whoops! Well, if it's any consolation... it is NOT the next elimination!

#90. So What
Artist: Miles Davis
Nominator: rwlh (4/5)
Time: 9:22
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJEzFvXx3Xw
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 9/15 (D+) & Rubric 11
Weighted Rankings: Green 7/16
Blockbuster: Grids B-3, Y-5
FLUX: Down 10 Spots

"That was a nice smooth listen." - First listen note

It's still a nice smooth listen.

.

#89. We Are The One
Artist: Fatal FE
Nominator: Xtlm (2/2)
Time: 4:47
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42vCwIJvg8s
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 11/15 (D+) & Rubric 13
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 14/16
Blockbuster: Grid D-5
FLUX: Even

It's always a solid, but forgettable, listen. As I bop in my seat for a few seconds about half the time I put this song on, it definitely gets floating credit as it gently rises up a few places above where I thought it was dropping. One of its greatest strengths is continuing to surprise me when I look to write it off. I am also surprised how despite how often it's been close to the chopping block, it really ends up where I originally thought it would land. Absolute vibe.

.

#88. Fight Like A Girl
Artist: Emilie Autumn
Nominator: Snake5555555555 (3/5)
Time: 5:24
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 8/15 (D+) & Rubric 12
Weighted Rankings: Green 14/16
Blockbuster: Grid B-6
FLUX: Down 10

"A fun bop. I will remember "Or at least / 49% / Of the people / That live in it" quite a bit long after all this" - First listen note

"Or at least. Forty-nine. Percent of. The peopleinitand," is one of the top ten catchiest lines that also annoys me with how often it is repeated.

FLaG has been... seriously up and down. There are days where it's an absolute jam and I'm dancing my shoulders to the chorus. There are others (like today) where it's an annoying earworm. I feel some shame taking it out, pulling it a few spots down from where it was originally slated, but I've listened to half the songs again today and it's been stuck in my lobes in a bad way. I have to cut it. I have to. No mercy, it's a bit too late.

Computer restarted overnight and I forgot to save, lost about two days worth of write-ups. I'll try not to pause, but... damn.

Mega_Mana posted...

Computer restarted overnight and I forgot to save, lost about two days worth of write-ups. I'll try not to pause, but... damn.

Oof. Always sucks when something like that happens. Happy to see this continue, but I think we'd all understand if you need a bit of time to make up for the lost work.

Mega_Mana posted...

#88. Fight Like A Girl

Link seems to be missing, so here:

https://youtu.be/576LCe-POgI

I think I fully agree with that writeup. It's a fun song with some good lyrics, but that chorus does get spammed an awful lot.

Mega_Mana posted...

#89. We Are The One

Hmm. I wouldn't say the song is too long, exactly, but my opinion of it seems to steadily drop while it goes on. I absolutely love how it starts; then I kinda love it; and we eventually end at "well, I like it more than most songs at the "I like this" tier". I'm not sure why it falls off so drastically over its runtime, though I do like it a fair amount and more than it sounds like I do.

Sorry to hear that, Mana. Hopefully you at least remember some of the write-ups so it's faster the second time.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

Hmm. I wouldn't say the song is too long, exactly, but my opinion of it seems to steadily drop while it goes on. I absolutely love how it starts; then I kinda love it; and we eventually end at "well, I like it more than most songs at the "I like this" tier". I'm not sure why it falls off so drastically over its runtime, though I do like it a fair amount and more than it sounds like I do.

It does do that!!! It's like... I dunno, a delicious oatmeal, maybe? You serve it and the first bite is so delicious and you wonder why you don't do this more often, and then it gets too be okay this is nice, but by the end you're not looking to scrape every crumb and would like anything else next time. Until the next time when you've forgotten.

My first analosy was like one of those popcorn chicken bowls with the mashed potatoes and gravy you can get some places where the first bite is amazing, but all the sameness and consistency is too much that you don't want to finish it and are upset there's so much left but youll waste it anyway. You try to hand it off to your mother, but she knows the stomach trap those are and she'll say, "Baby, don't you do it! Please, don't do it baby."

Because that would apply more to an earlier exit *cough*

I'm just happy my nomination got like 3 whole posts conversation and kinda strange analogies lol.
IMO, strong start and finish, mid but alright middle. Much like a robot anime/game that the cover art mimics can be.

#87. Ain't No Reason
Artist: Brett Dennen
Nominator: Blur (4/5)
Time: 3:35
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbYpWGM6nfc
Initial Rankings: Batch 8 - 12/15 (C) & Rubric 11
Weighted Rankings: Orange 4/16
-
FLUX: Down 25 Spots

It's a thoughtful song questioning the world as it is. Overall runs a bit flat, and feels more depressing that the elaboration on so many ills of the world like sweat shop factories, indiscriminate bombing, and working so hard with nothing to show for it by... waiting for love to come and set him free. He bemoans the fact that 'every little heartbeat, every little breath' are ignored on corporate wage labor, yet his own solution is similar with waiting for love. Things don't look good, thinking about it doesn't help, just wait for someone else to fix things for you. Another time, another place...

.

#86. Another Day
Artist: Rent (Movie Cast)
Nominator: Raka Putra (3/5)
Time: 4:46
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb2BfW0t94M
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 14/15 (F) & Rubric 16
Weighted Rankings: Red 3/16
Blockbuster: Grid D-6
FLUX: Up 30 Spots

"When I first tried listening on my phone at work, I knew I was mistaken hearing Chris Jericho singing the main male vocal. I still hear it, but not nearly as on point as it was quieter and more muffled. Not sure how I feel." - First listen note

Rubric 16 had the five worst of the worst in my opinion. Then with the weighted, it outranked most of its competition and likely a lot more. How did my opinion change so drastically?

The write-ups I started (and lost) focused on Rubric 16 at the outset, figuring they were first to go. "Another Day" had the annoying Fozzy lead Chris Jericho trying to get the pitchy junkie out of his hair. The song had bad non-sequitirs ("I should tell you, I should tell you, I should tell you, I should tell you, NO!"), blindside rhymes ("Excuse me if I'm off track, but if you're so wise, then tell me, why do you need smack?!"), rhymes I still get annoyed by (tf does 'outer space' have to do with anything), and a sudden chorus during this 'intimate' conversation. So how did it get so high when it irritated me so?

Writing it up... had a lot of introspection. I looked more into Rent and what the song was about because there is a LOT of context missing from the song, and though I still feel similar as before (seriously, the male lead grates on me), I understand a bit more that they're both HIV-positive and know they have their mortality looming large. But I also... look at myself and how I turn down things, waiting for another day to be perfect for something, continually putting off things and not making plans and not moving forward in life. And a lot of what he says... it sounds like excuses and putting up walls, avoiding. So it feels more real after I really listened and reevaluated both the list and myself more.

It doesn't help that that was a month ago and I continue to put off writing these entries.

And now, it's another month since what I wrote above!

"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss!" This is the key to when my feelings turn inward and the song comes alive. Sometimes I completely miss it and just kind of enjoy the chorus and second half, but when I catch this one line, that's when everything clicks and I can see the character scrambling to maintain his world and delusions of a continued life, where I can look at myself and all the opportunities I've passed up or batted away for another day. It's a hard-shelled life for us!

PS: It WAS actually #90, until I re-read the previous paragraph and had to keep it another day.

Mega_Mana posted...

#88. Fight Like A Girl
Artist: Emilie Autumn
Nominator: Snake5555555555 (3/5)
Time: 5:24
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 8/15 (D+) & Rubric 12
Weighted Rankings: Green 14/16
Blockbuster: Grid B-6
FLUX: Down 10

"A fun bop. I will remember "Or at least / 49% / Of the people / That live in it" quite a bit long after all this" - First listen note

"Or at least. Forty-nine. Percent of. The peopleinitand," is one of the top ten catchiest lines that also annoys me with how often it is repeated.

FLaG has been... seriously up and down. There are days where it's an absolute jam and I'm dancing my shoulders to the chorus. There are others (like today) where it's an annoying earworm. I feel some shame taking it out, pulling it a few spots down from where it was originally slated, but I've listened to half the songs again today and it's been stuck in my lobes in a bad way. I have to cut it. I have to. No mercy, it's a bit too late.

It's such a powerful anthem! I like the repeated lines in it. Drives the message home.