Board 8 > Mega Mana Ranks The Songs

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yeah, the thing with musical songs... often it lost something without the context. So I'm thankful you looked more into it. I do enjoy the contrast between Roger wallowing in grief, unable to move on, and Mimi trying to make the best out of what she has.

I love Another Day, though it took years and multiple appearances at various ranking topics for me to get into it... you're definitely coming around on it faster than I did.

Listening to it again now, I feel like the song really needs the accompanying physical performance to really sell it. The body language between them really elevates the song & the backing chorus appearing out of nowhere is weird even when I know when they're coming in. Having the visual of her being kicked out of his apartment & joining up with a group of people singing up to him from the street makes it easier to appreciate their role and timing.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

I love Another Day, though it took years and multiple appearances at various ranking topics for me to get into it... you're definitely coming around on it faster than I did.

Listening to it again now, I feel like the song really needs the accompanying physical performance to really sell it. The body language between them really elevates the song & the backing chorus appearing out of nowhere is weird even when I know when they're coming in. Having the visual of her being kicked out of his apartment & joining up with a group of people singing up to him from the street makes it easier to appreciate their role and timing.

That is a much better visual than the rest of the cast appearing two-by-two in railed lofts above their kitchen counter soiree. I still think it's a terrible song; it's just the messaging pierces deep and the amount of thought it instills me with is huge. I should try and see Rent sometime.

#85. Michiru Mori
Artist: Rurutia
Nominator: DanKirby (5/5)
Time: 4:44
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJTgSxX9LiE
Initial Rankings: Batch 6 - 12/15 (C) & Rubric 10
Weighted Rankings: Orange 5/16
Blockbuster: Grid D-7
FLUX: Down 15 Spots

This was off my radar for a little while. I like the guitar bit and the melody, but since I've been listening to it some more, it's been running a bit flat which has been the biggest reason for a lot of recent exits. It's nice, but I keep thinking it's going to be nicer, building up to something more, but it's reminding me a lot of in that regard.

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#84. Cool Cat
Artist: Rachel Wallace
Nomination: FL81 (3/5)
Time: 3:43
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei7SVZ8WEAk
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 14/15 (D-) & Rubric 16
Weighted Rankings: Red 11/16
Blockbuster: Grids BYE & Y-6
FLUX: Up 30 Spots

"He's a cat, he's a cat, he's not worth the unplaylistable kids' nom" - First listen note

The lyrics are bad. They are actively bad. I'd rather a cat, a kitty cat, would dance dance dance and dance dance dance than be a cat, be a cat, be a cool cat. And I feel somehow trollish putting this above Idioteque, but... I really enjoy '90s dance jams. This is music I bounce to. It's still not great, and I understand FL81's reasoning for the nomination as 'jams that have stuck with me lately' because it's a sticky jam! Heck, I'm currently writing this at this 113th spot, and I might actually skip it up a bit by the time we get here. He's a sweet sensation sweeping my heart.

...And here we are, about two months and thirty entries later. I'm finally at the point where I cannot remove anything else and let Cool Cat continue to ride across the dance floor. If I ignore the dumb lyrics, or even just vibe to them, it's a really, really good beat. I love a good '90s jam track. "What Is Love?" by Haddaway, "It Feels So Good" by Sonique, "Another Night" by Real McCoy, "Rhythm of the Night" by Corona, "Cool Cat" by Rachel Wallace. It really is fun, and definitely grew on me so much more than I expected.

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#83. Wonderland
Artist: CHVRCHES
Nominator: Bitto (5/5)
Time: 4:35
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yWVb682Zc0
Initial Rankings: Batch 8 - 11/15 (C+) & Rubric 7
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 3/16
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FLUX: Down 20 Spots

I don't know what happened. It was sitting fairly comfortably in the top half for a while. I would try it out against low songs and it would always come out streets ahead. I'm questioning myself again even though I cemented it this morning right here in this spot among twenty-eight other songs. It doesn't even flow with my FLUX narrative I established earlier this week! (Well, it does, just not on paper... ooh, because I never checked it out on paper! FAIR PLAY, FITS FLUX LOGIC!)

It's a solid, decent bop. Again, it kind of rides flat and smooth. Really great for background music or casual relaxing vibe, but not-so-great for ranking against other songs with more dynamic personalities. I even toyed with switching this with Cool Cat for the full thirty jump, but it's hands-down better.

You can't predict the ranking with your head and your heart in the clouds.

@DanKirby
@FL81
@Bitto

Michiru Mori:

I try scream out my wishes, but I cant make them heard
I have no place to go, Im crushed
By cold forest full of sadness that towers over me
My tender heart quietly rots away

Not my favorite lyrics of blunt sadness, but definitely something I could work with. Pretty good melody, rather solid nomination all around.

Cool Cat: I'm surprised I haven't heard this one before since I covered an entire Garfield album before. This is incredibly catchy and I'm afraid of how high up I'd place the song... probably top 20-ish? Shame "Party of Love", the other song mentioned on the artwork, isn't half as good.

Like... I usually don't go for dance music or songs with lyrics this repetitive, but I kinda love this one.

yes, Cool Cat is official Garfield media

Ah, I figured this song would be the first of mine to drop. Maybe another of her songs could have fared a bit better, but this one's always been my favorite.

Should be back at this tomorrow. Full work weekend and my spare time has been listening to some music recommended by my coworkers.

Today's acceptable cuts

#82. The Remedy
Artist: Abandoned Pools
Nominator: Fluttershy_Pony (4/5)
Time: 3:56
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOte-LAcn6o
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 8/15 (C) & Rubric 10
Weighted Rankings: Green 6/16
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FLUX: Down 20

Another song I didn't bust the block of. I like the percussion and the guitars, and it's sound is nice. Other songs just happen to float up with further listens while this doesn't keep up.

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#81. Square Hammer
Artist: Ghost
Nominator: Steiner (4/5)
Time: 4:18
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyYA8FlfBd0
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 7/16 (C-) & Rubric 7
Weighted Rankings: Blue 9/16
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FLUX: Down 25

"Dayman, Fighter of the Nightman" - First listen note

Boom boom boom boom BOOM BOOM. The beat is the best part of the song hitting harder than a lot of other songs. The music and lyrics just don't really do much for me, as first impressions make way for dozens of repeated impressions. I am not on the square, nor on the level, but I am ready to swear right here right now that this elimination is assured. Die the death!! Sentence to death!! Great equalizer is the death!!

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#80. A Tap Dancer's Dilemma
Artist: Diablo Swing Orchestra
Nominator: NBIceman (5/5)
Time: 5:12
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Ivkda8UUY
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 12/15 (D) & Rubric 12
Weighted Rankings: Orange 9/16
Blockbuster: Grid A-5
FLUX: Up 10 Spots

"I really like that swing. The problem is that, even though I enjoy it, I always want it to be over two minutes in. It got a very generous early placement ranked against other early placers like Online Songs, Ghost Love Score, and Ancient Stories. I'm actually surprised to see it almost drop out of the Top 50." - First listen note... from 2012 when FL81 nominated it, =P

The horns are wonderful. It's a dark circus performance. It's not my style and less so a decade on.

@Fluttershy_Pony
@Steiner
@NBIceman
@FL81

Figured that one was next and a bit surprised it made it this far. The Remedy was my second most listened to song of 2023, though it feels like it should have been first... I listened to it regularly throughout the year, but it inexplicably lost in number of listens to a song that I basically played on an endless loop for one day.

Abandoned Pools is the guy who did the Clone High theme, which is a show that I would describe as "something that exists" (it was fortunate enough to air on Comedy Central along a block of better cartoons, making it something I have a lot of nostalgia for even if I wouldn't recommend it). I love his voice, but there aren't many songs of his I can get into... honestly, this is the only real song, though I have a soft spot for all versions of the Clone High Theme. I still need to watch the new season that just came out, hoping to start that in a day or two.

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Square Hammer: Hey, another song I love! Or loved, at least. One of those songs I played on an endless loop so many times that I'm a bit tired of it, but still, very nice song.

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Tap Dancer: Also good, though it's something I need to be in the right mood for.

Well, I correctly predicted my first song out and it just missed the top 2/3rds. I'll call that a win!

DSO is definitely a band that either really lands with you or really doesn't, I think. I love them but understand why not everyone would!

Mega_Mana posted...

First listen note... from 2012 when FL81 nominated it, =P

This same song was nominated for one of my ranking topics, without them knowing I had nominated it myself previously!

On another note, the two songs of mine still alive were the ones I was expecting to drop first!

I'm having some dissatisfaction with user write-ups. Any tips or inputs on how best to do them?

Definitely highlighting their songs and where they ranked, as well as average score. Tough doing a write-up or summary. Any advice would be helpful

Quick bump, see previous post

Mega_Mana posted...

Definitely highlighting their songs and where they ranked, as well as average score.

Maybe youre overthinking it? Maybe this is enough?

Yeah, that sounds plenty.

I haven't had a chance to really listen to any songs. Last few months have been really rough at work. Wonderland was my favorite song for a while. It's still probably top 10. It's not very interesting or complex, but I just love everything about it.

#79. Pohjolan Lmmin Valo ~ Platinum Solstice
Artist: Consonances & Dissonances
Nominator: FL81 (3/5)
Time: 4:30
Link: https://consonancesdissonances.bandcamp.com/track/pohjolan-l-mmin-valo-platinum-solstice-armand-d3-ocha-plazzap-popcat
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 4/15 (B-) & Rubric 5
Weighted Rankings: Purple 14/16
Blockbuster: Grid E-4
FLUX: Down 35 Spots

If you told me two months ago that this would be the lowest-ranking of the four unplaylisted nominations, my jaw would have dropped. This excellent video game boss-remix track below a baby's mobile tune, My Little Pony, and hyper-cheesy dumb dancepop. THIS. BELOW ALL THREE?! I would've understood one, maybe two, but definitely not all three.

And yet.

I don't know how much it's placement is due to the off-Youtube link keeping it from popping up as a nice surprise with the often-used Shuffle. Or how much it impressed me the first few times because the link was a novelty that I wanted to live up to the hype of being different. Or maybe it's just how much lyricless songs and ones I didn't connect to just tend to drift downwards when other songs manage to find their groove with me and stay in the race.

Two month ago me would be livid at this cut. One month ago me, who did the Weighted Rankings, and found it could easily almost maybe probably drop into the bottom half would still be absolutely be surprised it's not third of the four. But me, writing this up at this moment, from now, from this moment on, when this posts in a few days, a few days from now, it feels like it's just right. I'm writing up ten songs right now and I think it's absolutely fair it's falling here. It is definitely above the previous tier, and while it could stay in the race against the six or seven write-ups I want to do after the weekend, I also do find things in those songs that I want to listen to again and again that I don't in Pohjalan.

It's a great song. I'm just finding competition has been raised.

P.S. OBVIOUSLY, this was written at a time when I had Cool Cat still going forward... and honestly, Cool Cat does beat this song. It doesn't beat the four in-between though Pohjolan does. See how rankings are complicated?

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#78. Cryptograph
Artist: Polaris Nox
Nominator: UF8 (1/5)
Time: 3:14
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPhB6BN4oB4
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 5/15 (C+) & Rubric 8
Weighted Rankings: Purple 12/16
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FLUX: Down 30 Spots (But also up 8 since I wrote this!)

One of the greatest things Cryptograph had going for it was being favorably compared to its sister nomiantions. One of the biggest weaknesses is that once the others fell away quickly, it no longer had that buffer of being the best of the set, especially when the set falls first.

I like Cryptograph. I like the intro melody that's a little skewed and has some timing crunchiness, and there's a glitchy video game danger to it. Danganronpa, Undertale, Omori, a shiny happy surface with a pulsing darkness ready to rip through the surface.

26th Place: UF8
#117. Koyoi, "0314"
#103. Bretta Crossrain, "tabula rasa"
#97. Noakuro (Tama Shoko & Zia), "HAJIMARI NO HOSHI"
#96. Kusuri Maibyou, "Yume Utsutsu"
#78. Polaris Nox, "Cryptograph"
Average Score: 98.2
Total: 491

Noms Post #65: "I'm glad I haven't begun ranking yet. Some of these that were initially at or towards the bottom have really grown on me. And some of these middles have collapsed hard." - Mega Mana

Noms Post #66: "have a bad sense my noms are probably in the collapsing category (the vocal mixing (since none of them are professional singers) is an achilles heel for repeat listens tbh, on top of the composition style having rather niche appeal in the first place), but still looking forward to this one" - UF8

I'm sorry, UF8, that I could only buff for so long. You went one way with your noms, and that way barely had one reach top-third. Only 'cryptograph' did any real collapsing, though 'tabula rasa' fell second instead of fourth. They're nice listens overall, but they do nothing for me in terms of memorability or ranking growth. You were right about their repeat listens being some hindrance.

@FL81
@UF8

Mega_Mana posted...

I'm having some dissatisfaction with user write-ups. Any tips or inputs on how best to do them?

Definitely highlighting their songs and where they ranked, as well as average score.

Honestly, I think you did plenty. Stats are good. I... wanted to offer advice, but honestly, I barely do anything myself. Just type whatever, calculate any stat that amuses me personally, and move along. The ranking is the important thing, so I'd say... try not to stress about the eliminations? (Not helpful, but after a full day of thought, that's all I came up with.)

#77. Speedway
Artist: Nami Tamaki
Nominator: DanKirby (4/5)
Time: 3:20
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOte-LAcn6o
Initial Rankings: Batch 6 - 11/15 (C+) & Rubric 9
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 6/16
Blockbuster: Grid A-6
FLUX: Even

Starts out feeling like something from Baten Kaitos or a Gamecube/Dreamcast-era RPG, and turns into something that sounds like a Gamecube/Dreamcast-era cutscene. SEGA NiGHTS All-Stars racing across a twilit seascape.

Her lip gloss is super distracting.

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#76. Cactus in the Valley (Feat. Owl City)
Artist: lights
Nominator: CoolCly (3/5)
Time: 3:22
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOte-LAcn6o
Initial Rankings: Batch 7 - 6/15 (C) & Rubric 10
Weighted Rankings: Blue 10/16
Blockbuster: Grid A-7
FLUX: Down 5

It's a very pretty song. lights and Owl City harmonize and complement each other well. The best part of the song is when it adds a deepness to "Here in the shadows" through the crooning "come and fine me, in the valley" and I'm always disappointed with how quiet it comes back right after. It needs a bit more bite to the song.

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#75. Pink Dazzled 45
Artist: Hillary Reese
Nominator: Snake5555555555 (2/5)
Time: 3:20
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JlbnFnlTw8
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 6/15 (C) & Rubric 6
Weighted Rankings: Blue 16/16
Blockbuster: Grid C-5
FLUX: Both Down 20 & Up 20 & Even?

"Verrry country. Good voice. Honestly, some bonus points for how few views it has because it's much more solid than a couple hundred views." - First listen note

New Orleannnns, you're really something!

I don't think that's the lyric, but that's my favorite part. Hillary Reese has a great voice and it's very different from everything else nominated. It's also been very hit-or-miss, often finding itself on the chopping block before getting another boost. But it was also in Rubric 6 at some point which was a shoe-in for top half.

@DanKirby
@CoolCly
@Snake5555555555

Mega_Mana posted...

#76. Cactus in the Valley (Feat. Owl City)
Artist: lights
Nominator: CoolCly (3/5)
Time: 3:22

You accidentally repeated the link for Speedway here. I think this is the right one:

https://youtu.be/0LkKZmonqR8?si=Fjf8t7pai39JrDYZ

Edit: Ahh, I guess Speedway had the wrong link too. Here we go:

https://youtu.be/DjktWcs9hJ8?si=zh7pLt8K5v-mVFXu

Oh wow. o_O

Thank you.

Speedway: Nice song seemingly about continuing on through adversity. Not quite my type of inspiration, but Google Translate gives a few nice lines such as "There's meaning in the night that won't be taken away". I remain easily manipulated by night. Also, once it fully kicks in, it kinda feels like a Gundam intro?

https://tubedubber.com/?q=jAOSABgkAoY:DjktWcs9hJ8:0:100:0:0:1

The intro of the song doesn't sync at all, but the fast-paced singing goes very well with beam sabers clashing once everything gets into full swing.

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Cactus in the Valley: Intriguing. Some of these lyrics are very close to hitting hard... marks of madness & past disgraces make this better than the average love song, but it never fully clicks for me. I also wish it had done more with the richer, heavier part of the song... that is also my favorite part, but it's quite short. Still, high marks for lyrics and I could see myself loving this on the right day.

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Pink Dazzled 45: Fun murder song. I like the image of a sparkly, pink gun.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

Speedway: Nice song seemingly about continuing on through adversity. Not quite my type of inspiration, but Google Translate gives a few nice lines such as "There's meaning in the night that won't be taken away". I remain easily manipulated by night. Also, once it fully kicks in, it kinda feels like a Gundam intro?

Well, Nami does have connections to the Gundam franchise (Gundam SEED in particular), so maybe that's not too surprising.

DanKirby posted...

Well, Nami does have connections to the Gundam franchise (Gundam SEED in particular), so maybe that's not too surprising.

Huh, I actually didn't know that. That's cool! Also makes it funnier that the video I linked is from a game that focuses heavily on Seed. (It covers Wing, Seed, 00, and Iron Blooded Orphans... but there are a lot of Seed spin-offs and sequels, so I feel that universe gets the most focus.)

Left a shortlist for what's to come at work when I remembered putting it in my pocket -_-

Will try to get some more done with the next entry.

Reposting, with a placement edit. Pink Dazzled 45 is going back in for a bit (and editing in the correct links). Working on new write-ups over the next hour:

#77. Speedway
Artist: Nami Tamaki
Nominator: DanKirby (4/5)
Time: 3:20
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjktWcs9hJ8
Initial Rankings: Batch 6 - 11/15 (C+) & Rubric 9
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 6/16
Blockbuster: Grid A-6
FLUX: Even

Starts out feeling like something from Baten Kaitos or a Gamecube/Dreamcast-era RPG, and turns into something that sounds like a Gamecube/Dreamcast-era cutscene. SEGA NiGHTS All-Stars racing across a twilit seascape.

Her lip gloss is super distracting.

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#76. Cactus in the Valley (Feat. Owl City)
Artist: lights
Nominator: CoolCly (3/5)
Time: 3:22
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LkKZmonqR8
Initial Rankings: Batch 7 - 6/15 (C) & Rubric 10
Weighted Rankings: Blue 10/16
Blockbuster: Grid A-7
FLUX: Down 5

It's a very pretty song. lights and Owl City harmonize and complement each other well. The best part of the song is when it adds a deepness to "Here in the shadows" through the crooning "come and fine me, in the valley" and I'm always disappointed with how quiet it comes back right after. It needs a bit more bite to the song.

@DanKirby
@CoolCly

Oh...!

#75. Crash Into Me
Artist: Rockabye Baby!
Nominator: rwlh (3/5)
Time: 3:07
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt5YDDGV17c
Initial Rankings: Batch 1* - 7/15 (C) & Rubric 12
Weighted Rankings: Blue 12/16
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FLUX: Down 20 Spots; BUMPING a song out of its spot

*Accidentally ranked along with earlier nominations due its outside-playlist status

"Dave Matthews Band rearranged as a baby's xylophonic melody. It's very pleasant with lots of nice little notes like the bird chirps and the twinkle. Unfortunate that it can't be playlisted so I'll need to remember this one. I can't see it making the top half, but it all depends on the competition." - First listen notes

This is a huge surprise to me. Like a lot of other songs I've written into the top half, I don't listen to them as often as I do the dozen-plus that are racing away from the dead line; doubly so as its unplaylisted like Cool Cat and Pohjolan. I thought because it's Crash Into Me that it'd still be okay for a bit. It's been about four hours since I began listening in earnest (and cleaning! Productive day on two fronts!) and I would've completely forgotten to check in on it if I wasn't checking on another song still to come. And wow.

My whole selection of cuts from yesterday and the day before and two hours ago has changed, but one thing was absolutely clear. The mobile baby toy version of rwlh's favorite song off my nominated 16th ranked album does not hold up at all to everything that's going on right now. There's even a chance it's lower, but I'm comfortable with where the cuts of the past few days are. However, not only was Pink Dazzled 45 better than it, after this four hour marathon, Pink Dazzled is going back in the mix for at least a few days. This is completely unexpected and I was not prepared to do anything like this until that immediate listen of Crash about fifteen minutes ago. L'il Davey Maffews literally crashed onto this list and sent a bedazzled pistol spiralling back into the FLUX.

It's Crash! It just... just doesn't work like the actual song does. As a fan of the album, it still fills me with some nostalgia and enjoyment, but would probably be much lower if I weren't. Good on rwlh for continuity between topics though! Kudos.

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#74. GHOST
Artist: Hoshimachi Suisei
Nominator: handsomeboy2012 (1/3)
Time: 4:41
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKKar5SS29E
Initial Rankings: Batch 6 - 9/16 (B-) & Rubric 8
Weighted Rankings: Green 5/16
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FLUX: Down 25 Spots

Another surprise! Not as much of one as it's been falling bit-by-bit over the past week. I feel weird and bad about myself that as soon as I eliminate a foreign language song, the next one up begins to fall helplessly down towards the earth. I thank Fluttershy for giving post-elimination insight on these songs, but I also want to note that does not factor into these eliminations. GHOST just was not hitting at all today or yesterday. It's a bit flat throughout aside from the nice dropout-and-return towards the end, and I enjoy it as background.

*NEW* 26th Place. handsomeboy2012
#116. Cascade, "Sexy Sexy"
#108. , ""
#74. Hoshimachi Suisei, "GHOST"
Average Score: 99.3
Total: 298

Second displacement of the night with handsomeboy2012 bumping UF8 out for last place. Yeah, I'm not very resonant with songs and lyrics I don't understand, am I? Well, I understand 'Sexy sexy dance' and hate it.

@rwlh
@handsomeboy2012

...And more to come tonight??? Let Mana cook...

#73. Raisin' Me Up
Artist: Hideki Naganuma
Nominator: tazzyboyishere (2/5)
Time: 3:48
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33dNKYQVJio
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 11/15 (D) & Rubric 11
Weighted Rankings: Yellow 9/16
Blockbuster: Grids E-1.3, Z-6
FLUX: Up 20 Spots

"What even is." - First listen note

What this song lacks in substance and variety, it makes up for in positivity and spirit. Despite initial trepidation towards having to listen to it over and over in the future, it's actually become a welcome pop whenever it comes on. When I get down, it actually does raise me up. The GBA/DS fuzziness to the music is also like being bathed in nostalgia on a cool sunny summer morning. I also really enjoy Luigi's singing, "Bee bop a doo-weee."

And let's take a moment and consider this, the final entrant in the Blockbuster XYZ Grids. It was part of a three-way tie with "Eddie My Love" and 'Intro & Rondo' that placed at #95 and #91, and here it's jumped all the way up to #73. This has truly been a beautiful ray of sunshine. Thank you, tazzy, for the nomination, and I'm really curious where the nomination came from. How do you think it's soundtrack will fare when Place eventually finally maybe someday starts his Sonic soundtrack rankings?

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#72. Cha Cha Cha
Artist: Krij
Nominator: ZaziGuado (4/5)
Time: 3:08
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-b5gDWVnps
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 8/15 (C-) & Rubric 9
Weighted Rankings: Green 10
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FLUX: Down 5

Spoilers, Lord of the Lost's cover isn't showing up for quite a bit. There are two Cha Cha Chas on this list, and there has been zero question which one I prefer this entire time. It was nice of both you and paulg235 to nominate the same song because the contrast actually elevated them both. I got to hear the differences and find things I enjoyed in the cover that I probably wouldn't without the original there, too. Like, the original feels emptier and more electronic and auto-tuned? We'll get to what I like about the other version more later. I don't know if I have much to say about this one. I don't listen to Eurovision entries at all, unless I'm rolling random numbers on a suuuuuper-extensive list of Clubs That Suck song competition entries (which is how I finally listened to Prince's "Purple Rain" months ago like a week before the album ranking topic) which has tons of Eurovision. So I don't know anything about how well it did or what it was up against, but I definitely liked it!

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#71. Saw Lightning
Artist: Beck
Nominator: DoctorJimmy133 (3/5)
Time: 4:03
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs9cx1ZAFCg
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 4/15 (B) & Rubric 8
Weighted Rankings: Purple 16/16
Blockbuster: Grid E-6
FLUX: Up 15 Spots

"It's alright, kind of flat" - First listen note

Beck & Pharrell put out a nice bop. "Yeah, yeah." Lyrically, it's Knockoff tier, but the music's too good and I always have some physical reaction and need to dance in my seat when listening. Again, not much to say, not much to say, not much to say, not much to say. Open up the heavens and strike me do-how-hown, saw lightning! (Yes, capping off tonight's write-ups with more Dave Matthews).

@tazzyboyishere
@ZaziGuado
@DoctorJimmy133

Mega_Mana posted...

#72. Cha Cha Cha
Artist: Krij

Cha Cha Cha placed 2nd at Eurovision last year and tied for 2nd place all time in fan televote score. It was very beloved by fans. If you are interested, I encourage you to check out the performance from either the National Final or the Grand Final. The choreography is such a treat. I prefer the original, but the cover is fantastic and I don't fault anyone for preferring it. Last year was the first time I really got into Eurovision, but it's an exciting time and I'm eager for this year's contest.

Heh, glad you appreciated the Rockabye Baby nomination. I had to!

Crash Into Me: It's a nifty idea, but I don't think I connect with instrumental lullabies. Which is something I never thought about before hearing this song.

GHOST: Great lyrics, but I wish the music itself had a sadder or more desperate sound to it:

Can you see me?
Are these voices of mine reaching you?
[...]
I'm screaming, struggling, running barefoot
Hey, please notice me

It never feels like she's screaming or struggling, so there's a slight disconnect.

Raisin' Me Up: I dig the lo-fi type sound.

Mega_Mana posted...

I feel weird and bad about myself that as soon as I eliminate a foreign language song, the next one up begins to fall helplessly down towards the earth.

uh oh

Didn't get much done this weekend with work.

#70. The Murder of Love
Artist: Propaganda
Nominator: paulg235 (3/5)
Time: 5:13
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNfrI941NJo
Initial Rankings: Batch 3 - 6/15 (C+) & Rubric 9
Weighted Rankings: Blue 8/16
-
FLUX: Down 10 Spots

"Feels extremely James Bond intro" - First listen note

Today is February 26th when I'm first writing this up and first eliminating it, and also the first time in two months I learned that it was plagiarized for DBZ with Trunks. Besides that, I thought more "Axel F" from Beverly Hills Cop or an '80s Bond opening theme like "The Living Daylights" or "A View to a Kill." It's bouncy and dramatic and very very very '80s.

.

#69. Hors D'uvre
Artist: Made in Heights
Nominator: ZaziGuado (3/5)
Time: 3:25
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNvbOJRlKK
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 6/15 (C+) & Rubric 7
Weighted Rankings: Blue 14/16
-
FLUX: Even

One of the biggest obstacles this song faced was how soothing the fade out is over the last two minutes of the song. There have been multiple instances where I'll put it on, vibe, and realize the next song (usually "A Lifetime of Adventure" or something else entirely back when I shuffled more) has already been playing for a bit before going back to play again, promising to concentrate, and it suddenly passing by under me. There was a day where I had to listen to it five times in a row, and I still didn't remember what it sounded like two minutes after finishing.

It's a beautiful melody, I really like the breath singing, the music absolutely slaps two minutes in, and it's lyrics are perfect for the 69th entry.

.

#68. Shakticat
Artist: anporin
Nominator: Fluttershy_Pony (3/5)
Time: 6:08
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xkgbH2gPVM
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 6/15 (C+) & Rubric 10
Weighted Rankings: Blue 14/16
Blockbuster: Grids B-4, Y-5
FLUX: Up 20 Spots

Whoa. It's been a while since I listened to this at my computer. Now I see why I had it so high in my initial rankings! For the most part, I've been listening to songs at work. It really, really helps make ceaseless paperwork and filing go by faster and feel like I'm actually doing something. One of the problems is that I'm either listening on a quiet volume to not disturb other desks, or with a single earbud in because I also need to hear the phone ring. For most of the songs so far, there's been no major difference, but Shakticat loses a lot when it doesn't have that nice hazy undercloud of melody the vocals float upon. As I'm reaching the halfway mark of Blockbuster cuts, listening to this again is the first time I'm wanting to subvert my rankings and start bumping up a song again. Honestly, going at least fourteen songs ("After the Storm" was most recent cut as of this writing), and probably going twenty looking at the lists, whilst sticking to the grid rankings happily is a feat I'm proud of. ...How appropriate I'm commenting on THIS SONG about my grid rankings' showing me the way to go.' This song has got me in a bind.

ONE WEEK LATER... Well, the easiest solution was the one I came to last: Re-checking its grid status and just redoing it. There were two songs I originally had it below, but barely, so I just changed those wins over and now I (a) don't have a blockage, and (b) feel much better about where the Flux tier starts!

THREE WEEKS LATER! This was technically in Grid Y, but got replaced by "So What" when I was struggling, so I wasn't really lying about "Raisin Me Up" being the last of the XYZ group. Shakticat has been impressive these past few weeks, but it's coming to the halfway point which has a lot less flexibility to get past.

@paulg235
@ZaziGuado
@Fluttershy_Pony

Mega_Mana posted...

#70. The Murder of Love

Today is February 26th when I'm first writing this up and first eliminating it, and also the first time in two months I learned that it was plagiarized for DBZ with Trunks.

This was the song I was referring to in the nomination topic that I was considering nominating alongside it. Here's the DBZ track for comparison (and you can easily tell which bits the composer pulled from Murder of Love).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yoz-mxhsHyE

Mega_Mana posted...

#68. Shakticat

Ah, my wildcard song. I really thought that one would be my highest scoring. Anyway, I love the way the song opens--it's so deep and beautiful that it's absolutely one of my favorite songs ever... and then it kinda transitions into a more standard pop song which is nice enough. The only real problem is the song refusing to end! It gets to a natural stopping point, kinda fades a bit, and then resumes in full. It doesn't do anything different with the second half, it just... forgets to stop? It makes it so I have no idea what score I want to give the song; I still like it, but I have no idea why it's so arbitrarily extended.

(This is a problem with every song on the album... none of them seem to know when to end.)

Mega_Mana posted...

#69. Hors D'uvre
Artist: Made in Heights
Nominator: ZaziGuado (3/5)
Time: 3:25
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNvbOJRlKK
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 6/15 (C+) & Rubric 7

The last letter of the link was accidentally deleted:

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

Meant to comment earlier, but Sonic Rush may be my favorite VG soundtrack, and Raisin' Me Up is probably my favorite song from it. I love the ongoing guitar so much. Didn't know about that Place thing, but hopefully Sonic Rush does well!

#67. Winter Wrap-Up
Artist: Daniel Ingram
Nominator: Redrocket (4/5)
Time: 3:15
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEFJ8Bu66jg
Initial Rankings: Batch 7 - 7/15 (C) & Rubric 8
Weighted Rankings: Blue 7/16
-
FLUX: Down 10 Spots

My Little Pony's song about bringing in the spring almost made the top half. I never watched the show and never heard this song, but I can get an idea of the characters from the song and what their personalities are which is kinda cool. The best parts of the song are the harmonies and what feels like gradually bigger choruses with more voices joining in? I could be wrong. It's nice and upbeat, and very welcome waiting for spring to come.

.

#66. Forward to the Past
Artist: Abstract Void
Nominator: Xtlm (1/2)
Time: 6:13
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpEXvt06qZE
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 13/15 & Rubric 13
Weighted Rankings: Orange 6/16
Blockbuster: Grid E-5
FLUX: Up 25 Spots

I have little to nothing to say about it. It's a jam. Bobbin' my head around, tapping a pen, bongo drumming my ankle. Feels very Crypt of the Necrodancer now that I think on it. It was originally paired up a lot with Xtlm's other nomination, but definitely had longer, stronger legs. I am definitely at the point where I am getting sad about making cuts. I am looking and looking to see what else I could cut in its place, but unfortunately, I now have to do another user write-up.

24th Place. Xtlm
#89. Fatal FE, "We Are the One"
#66. Abstract Void, "Forward to the Past"
Average Score: 77.5
Total: 155

With both your songs making the FLUX Tier, I don't see you staying at 24th for long. They were both great seat-dance songs and I really enjoyed their presence whenever I was ranking. They were slightly distracting when sorting paperwork because I would get caught up... getting distracted like I am write now, losing focus and my place as the guitars go.

@redrocket
@Xtlm

Mega_Mana posted...

I never watched the show and never heard this song, but I can get an idea of the characters from the song and what their personalities are which is kinda cool. The best parts of the song are the harmonies and what feels like gradually bigger choruses with more voices joining in?

Yeah, these are common traits to many of the songs from the show. The music has a consistently high quality throughout.

I think "Forward to the Past" might have the quietest screamed vocals I've ever heard. Not a complaint--it's an interesting technique--just... unexpected.

I am STRUGGLING to get my thoughts on some songs in order, much less get them set up for elimination.

I did inadvertently find another song I wasn't expecting to cut yet ready to fall though.

#65. Spanish Mary
Artist: The New Basement Tapes
Nominator: DoctorJimmy133 (2/5)
Time: 5:27
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKGqtSisReg
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 2/15 (B) & Rubric 6
-
-
FLUX: Down 10 Spots

"I worry it's gonna turn into a full-on sea shanty, but so far it rides back from it nicely. I am really enjoying the music and voice and everything together. That bass. Goddamn that bass." - First listen notes

This tier is driving me insane. There was a song that was supposed to be the midpoint at #75 and another to cap the tier because of how much its jumped up the list, and yet NEITHER ARE OUT, and there are still like seven to eight songs that I just can't yet eliminate that have been on the chopping block for weeks now! And I keep going up into the next few that hang out just above the top half, give them a few listens, and realize that the other songs have endeared me more.

Spanish Mary has an amazing bass and a great vocalist... but it runs flatter than I remember, and it doesn't carry emotional weight that these other songs have been endowed with over dozens-upon-dozens of listens. Beggar man, beggar man, is this a good day to die?

First of the twenty-four songs that were too high in the initial rankings to be weighted. I didn't expect any of them to fall before #60, and yet.

@DoctorJimmy133

I hope to have four more done by end of day tomorrow so I can start March with 60 left.

#64. Castaway
Artist: Grant (feat. Jessi Mason)
Nominator: Bitto (4/5)
Time: 3:19
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQK0tzxATD8
Initial Rankings: Batch 8 - 14/15 (D+) & Rubric 13
Weighted Ranking: Red 4/16
-
FLUX: Even

Despite the low early rankings, it bumped up my radar later on because I really enjoyed listening to hazy boombastic beats. It's a lot of fun.

.

#63. Shine
Artist: Gin, Chocolate & Bottle Rockets
Nominator: BlueCrystalTear (3/5)
Time: 4:07
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUb-MU5K3J0
FLUX: Down 30 Spots

DAY ONE: Ooh, okay... Thank you, BlueCrystalTear, for the nomination, and Steiner for pointing this out. This is nice. Really great harmonies and melody.

This was nice and lovely. I initially thought it would be a lot higher, but a few other songs I've learned to love over time.

.

#62. You Make My Dreams Come True
Artist: Hall & Oates
Nominator: Redrocket (3/5)
Time: 3:03
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EErSKhC0CZs
Initial Rankings: Batch 7 - 4/15 & Rubric 5
Weighted Rankings: Purple 10/16
-
FLUX: Down 15 Spots

It wasn't my intent to eliminate this now, nor was it my intent to eliminate two redrocket songs back-to-back like this (barring one of their songs moving up higher before I post these), but while I was writing up the other song and this came on... it was worse. I knew this wasn't going to make top thirty or forty; it's been dropping down my high-tier for a while now as the familiarity it had at the outset is no longer its sole advantage. It's a fun song, made better by the music video. Unlike way back when Laufey was having trouble lipsynching to her song, this is back in early days of music videos, just the band being cheesy in the studio. Daryl Hall is young, excited, and really really bad at moving his mouth to his words. It's chock full of charming cheese!

The music is good and warm, but little more than that to stay in this longer.

P.S. HEY GUESS WHAT! IT'S BEEN HALF AN HOUR AND THIS WRITE-UP IS ALREADY SUPER DATED!

.

#61. Why You Wanna Break My Heart?
Artist: Tia Carrere
Nominator: Fluttershy_Pony (2/5)
Time: 3:33
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2porvkJJyGo
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 3/15 (B) & Rubric 7
-
-
FLUX: Down 10 Spots

"Oooh, Dreamweaver, I believe you can get me through the night. This is legitimately good 80s ballad" - First listen note

Sometimes we got lost in our rankings and I didn't expect to lose you. Maybe it's not in the cards, why'd you let me down so hard? How are you out here? How? I mean, I was sort of expecting this soon, but... there are about ten songs that I had pegged for FLUX tier when I started the tier, and all of them are unexpectedly in the top sixty. It's completely unintentional. My intent has been to cut them every time I start write-ups, but inevitably I start comparing to other songs and suddenly there's, like, FOUR songs that are cut before any of those TEN. I'm livid!

This is a nice song. I don't have much to say on it right now. Fitting for Tia Carrere as Wayne completely blew past what she was singing and was off in his own world dreamweaving.

@Bitto
@BlueCrystalTear
@Redrocket
@Fluttershy_Pony

FLUX TIER
#61. Why You Wanna Break My Heart?
#62. You Make My Dreams Come True
#63. Shine
#64. Castaway
#65. Spanish Mary
#66. Forward to the Past
#67. Winter Wrap-Up
#68. Shakticat
#69. Hors D'uvre
#70. The Murder of Love
#71. Saw Lightning
#72. Cha Cha Cha (Original)
#73. Raisin' Me Up
#74. GHOST
#75. Crash Into Me
#76. Cactus in the Valley (Feat. Owl City)
#77. Speedway
#78. Cryptograph
#79. Pohjolan Lmmin Valo ~ Platinum Solstice
#80. A Tap Dancer's Dilemma
#81. Square Hammer
#82. The Remedy
#83. Wonderland
#84. Cool Cat
#85. Michiru Mori
#86. Another Day
#87. Ain't No Reason
#88. Fight Like A Girl
#89. We Are The one
#90. So What
#91. Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28
#92. U.F.O. - U Feel Overjoyed!
#93. Through the Looking Glass

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

I DISAGREE TIER
#113. Dragonsong
#114. Main Theme (Towering Inferno)
#115. One Year Of Love
#116. Both Sides Now
#117. 0314
#118. Idioteque
#119. This Is It
#120. Sexy Sexy
#121. Atlas Earth Ad Song
#122. Anywhere Is
#123. Arthuriana
#124. The Art of Sombre Ecstasy
#125. Cherry Chapstick

.

REMAINING SONGS
A Lifetime of Adventure
Acacia
Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
Astronomy
Autumn Leaves Revisited
Bachelorette (Family Tree Version)
Be the GAL~ Early Summer ver.
Bubble
Canto Della Terra
Car Wash Hair
Cha Cha Cha (Cover)
Chicago
Dana Dan (Indian Folk Metal)
Dark Come Soon
Dream Job
dreamy night
driver's license
Everlong
The Fallen Ground
Feather
The Gathering Sky
get him back!
Ghostwriter
good 4 u
Guillotine
Head First in the River
Heaven and Hell
Hearld of Darkness
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
The Noble Savage
Past Lives
Pelican Canyon
Pink Dazzled 45
Remind Me
Rewind (Feat. Ashe & Armani White)
Rose-Colored Boy
Run
Seize the Night
Sexual Healing
Skies
Skylark Interabang?!
Sleep Dealer
Smoke Too Soon
Tacky
That Funny Feeling
Tragedy + Time
traitor
vampire
What We Wanted
the world is yours
The world of spirit
Your Deep Rest

HEY! HOW ABOUT A FUN GAME?

There are sixty songs left! What do you think are the TEN SONGS that have been mucking up my rankings since the FLUX Tier began? SPOILER: One of them is obviously Pink Dazzled 45.

Blegh. 15 minutes into typing up a response the browser crashed and deleted everything. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow, I need to listen to the other eliminations anyway.

I'm not sure I even know ten remaining songs... actually, I think I know exactly ten, so I guess them by default.

Always Look
Astronomy
Chicago
Dark Come Soon
Just a Ride
King of Swords (Reversed)
Knocked Down, Made Small
Light Up the Night
Pink Dazzled 45
Sexual Healing

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

24th [77.5] - Xtlm
25th [98.2] - UF8
26th [99.3] - handsomeboy2012

Initial Rankings
A - 15/16 (-1)
B - 21/29 (-6)
C - 12/29 (-14)
D - 8/37 (-10)
F - 2/9 (-1)
BlueCrystalTier - 2/5 (-3)

Rubric
1-4 [100%] [100%] [100%] [100%]
5-8 [75%] [88.9%] [50%] [50%]
9-12 [45.5%] [50%] [37.5%] [12.5%]
13-16 [0.0 [14.3%] [0.0%] [2%]

Weighted Rankings
Red - 12.5% (1, 6)
Orange - 31.25% (1-3, 7, 8)
Yellow - 31.25% (1, 2, 4, 10, 12)
Green - 37.5% (1-4, 8, 9)
Blue - 50% (1-6, 11, 16)
Purple - 56.25% (1-9)
Violet - 91.67%

Blockbusters
Grid A (0%)
Grid B (25%)
Grid C (50%)
Grid D (0%)
Grid E (0%
Grid X,Y,Z (0%)

Legitimately shocked all my songs are in the top half, happy to see at the very worst you vaguely like my songs!

Time to finish first place baby

Mega_Mana posted...

HEY! HOW ABOUT A FUN GAME?

There are sixty songs left! What do you think are the TEN SONGS that have been mucking up my rankings since the FLUX Tier began? SPOILER: One of them is obviously Pink Dazzled 45.

Think I might take a break to re-evaluate this weekend. I will be keeping track of guesses because it's fun.

Mega_Mana posted...

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

What on earth did I do to get on your ignore list?

I'm not going to comment on your factually incorrect comments, however. I'm better than that. (I don't even remember everything I nominated tbh)