Board 8 > Mega Mana Ranks The Songs

(+) Yeah! (+)

Wouldn't have expected to be eliminated from rwlh's ranking before this one

tazzyboyishere posted...

Wouldn't have expected to be eliminated from rwlh's ranking before this one

I am indeed slow

Shocked I still have 3 songs in the top 30 (not to jinx them hopefully!), you have a good crop of songs for the 30!

Two in the top 30 ain't bad - interesting that they're probably the two of my nominations that differ the most from each other. But I guess that fits considering the whole remaining list seems pretty varied from what I can tell!

I'm holding firm on my guess that King of Swords ends up being my highest placement.

I haven't lost any songs since the last big update...nice. Excited to see how the top 30 plays out.

=====HARD FEELINGS=====

These are songs that are painful to remove from my regular listening as I continue towards the end. These are songs I look forward to listening to at least semi-regularly in the future. Really, really great nominations guys. I mean it. Between the first 60 songs nominated and the last 60 songs nominated (not counting the sorely missed BlueCrystalTear's), each half still has 15 songs remaining! It's an even split between Batches 1-4 & Batches 5-8! Completely unplanned and unexpected until I was writing up a song to come!

#30. the world is yours
Artist: Nas
Nominator: rwlh (1/5)
Time: 4:47
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXIKdYTkHI8
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 2/15 (A) & Rubric 3
FLUX: Down 25 Spots

'Okay, this is definitely not 1700 views. Heard before. Very good song.' - First listen note

I was going to keep 'FLUX' just for those that Lingered, but there's enough shake-ups to continue it here. the world is yours was originally top five for a lot of the first listens, moving into top ten/fifteen with the later batches following in. It was put up on an early pedestal both with respect to the song and to Nas.

With 75% of the field gone, though, it's just not comparing with its peers like it was outperforming the bulk of nominations. I don't feel any sort of attachment to it. I enjoy it, and it's a really great song. The piano, the flow, the dead presidents to represent me. Other songs coming up have more hooks on my heart or a faster energy or make me feel powerful emotions. A lot of the eliminations are coming down to attachment. Even just now, I switched this song and the next on the list because this has less energy and power over me.

*NEW* 18th Place: rwlh
#124. Gorguts, "The Art of Sombre Ecstasy"
#90. Miles Davis, "So What"
#75. Rockabye Baby!, "Crash Into Me"
#33. Oneohtrix Point Never, "Sleep Dealer"
#30. Nas, "the world is yours"
Average Score: 70.4
Total Score: 352

Thank you for four of your nominations! I thought two months and time would temper my opinions, but "The Art of Not-Solemn Ecstasy" I still loathe. "Crash Into Me" was an interesting experiment and a great callback to your album rankings (which I'll hopefully remember to get back to listening to once I am freed from this daily playlist). "So What" and "Sleep Dealer" and "the world is yours" are great to check in with and relax to. Excited to see how your 300 VGM Ranking topic continues!

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#29. Dana Dan (Indian Folk Metal)
Artist: Bloodywood
Nominator: Murphiroth (3/5)
Time: 5:02
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a65A626Ed20
Initial Rankings: Batch 7 - 8/15 (D+) & Rubric 10
Weighted Rankings: Green 9/16
Blockbuster: Grid C-6
FLUX: Up 60 Spots
Linger: 4/10

Time, got nothing but time, got nothing but time, got nothing but time time time, got nothing but time time time

At least, that's how I first heard it amidst the heavy metal blasting beats. Then I listened to and read the lyrics and it is a powerful call to action against predators. It doesn't beat around the bush announcing right out:

"I put a fist through the face of a rapist
And yeah, I tape this
For the viewing pleasure of the nameless faces he disgraces
And yeah, one day I may change his kind
With my mind, but"

It's intense and it's meant to be. The more I listened to it and read translations, the less inclined I was to let it leave my playlist despite not really liking the music itself. It's a powerful song, and the last minute has the nostalgic almost Chester Bennington-screaming of Linkin Park that always cements the song as a keeper if I listen all the way. It deserves to be on this high tier, and literally lyrically represents 'hard feelings.'

@rwlh
@Murphiroth

#28. Dream Job
Artist: Yard Act
Nominator: mcflubbin (3/5)
Time: 3:11
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc5t9m2Hg9c
Initial Rankings: Batch 3 - 4/15 (B) & Rubric 7
Weighted Rankings: Purple 9/16
FLUX: Up 20 Spots

"Flight of the Conchords meets Gorillaz; hate the guitar solo" - First listen note

The guitar solo's grown on me quite a bit, especially with the bass line that feels like Michael Jackson's Thriller. The video is also mesmerizing, and only last week did I realize there's an amazing array of recent music videos starring the striped shirt girl, that conga line really helping the guitar work. It's such an infectious song that I often forget about how it's about wage slavery, surveillance, the stress of office politics and social disillusionment. Just listen to the music! Everything is awesome! Everything is top when you're ace of a team! "Step into my office all night long" is particularly haunting, with how e-mails and cell phones and data tracking and corporate oversight and social media networking makes these 'dream jobs' no simple 9-5 shift. You're on-call and accessible and replaceable if your time and attention can't be fully exploited. But everything is really super great!

P.S. Please tell me more about Yard Act's videos!

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#27. The world of spirit
Artist: Shohei Tsuchiya
Nominator: NFUN (2/5)
Time: 4:30
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUMWxgP8cg0
Initial Rankings: Batch 8 - 6/15 (B) & Rubric 5
Weighted Rankings: Blue 12/16
FLUX: Down 5 Spots

Insane what is done here. An absolute epic. It feels like a SEGA Sound Team Dreamcast track but times a thousand. The beginning piano tinkle also always makes me think of a song still to come. Ahhh, I have so many less words for these instrumental tracks! It's just amazing and you should listen to it and be transported to a lost galactic jungle adventure!

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#26. Heaven and Hell (2021 Remaster)
Artist: Black Sabbath
Nominator: Steiner (1/5)
Time: 6:57
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FRA7UXlGu8
Initial Rankings: Batch 6 - 1/15 (A-) & Rubric 4
FLUX: Down 20 Spots

Another fallen top tenner. Might come as no surprise, but I don't know Black Sabbath at all besides Ozzy Osbourne singing lead. I recognize "Iron Man," and it doesn't look like they did "Crazy Train," so their albums will be required listening after all this is done. This is really, really good, and was my pencilled in #1 for a short while before I did the Rubric. Even then, it was always in my top ten until yesterday when it got pulled in and batch ranked against half my remaining playlist and didn't even make top half of its random fourpack. A part of me really wants to keep it in because it's a masterpiece, but I just love other songs more. Surprisingly. After all, there are still three Orange Tier songs in the mix that would never beat this on a first, second, third, or fourth listen.

*NEW* 16th Place: Steiner
#93. Machinae Supremacy, "Through the Looking Glass"
#81. Ghost, "Square Hammer"
#57. Protest the Hero, "Skies"
#50. Rise Against, "Tragedy + Time"
#26. Black Sabbath, "Heaven and Hell"
Average Score: 61.4
Total Score: 307

Keep on rockin' in the free world. Thank you, I really enjoyed these nominations. These songs make me come alive. There will be a time to crack these open again, maybe not today or for a while, but "Heaven & Hell," "Tragedy + Time," and "Skies" will probably pop in to some playlists for future listening. And again, Black Sabbath is a big checkmark I want to remember to do.

@mcflubbin
@NFUN
@Steiner

Pleasantly surprised that the rap song was my highest nomination. Glad some of what I nominated resonated with you!

Oh yea Heaven and Hell is sick

Glad you (mostly) enjoyed my songs :) Skylark Interabang?! is a great pick for the best of the bunch. Wish Feather got a bit higher, but I get the too short complaint. Still infinitely replayable though.Guillotine getting so high makes me happy! Another ridiculously replayable track (second verse is so good) and definitely need to shout out that music video.

And I think it's kind of beautiful and actually logical that love is the answer to all the societal problems in Ain't No Reason...but I totally get that critique. I still think Falling is worth a listen in a contemplative mood hiking or something. It snuck on my list because I would listen to it on repeat while taking walks.

Excited for the rest of the list! When rwlh did his album ranking topic, I discovered a ton of great new music (including Made in Heights haha). And I'm sure the same will happen here.

_Blur_ posted...

Glad you (mostly) enjoyed my songs :) Skylark Interabang?! is a great pick for the best of the bunch. Wish Feather got a bit higher, but I get the too short complaint. Still infinitely replayable though.Guillotine getting so high makes me happy! Another ridiculously replayable track (second verse is so good) and definitely need to shout out that music video.

And I think it's kind of beautiful and actually logical that love is the answer to all the societal problems in Ain't No Reason...but I totally get that critique. I still think Falling is worth a listen in a contemplative mood hiking or something. It snuck on my list because I would listen to it on repeat while taking walks.

Excited for the rest of the list! When rwlh did his album ranking topic, I discovered a ton of great new music (including Made in Heights haha). And I'm sure the same will happen here.

<3 <3 <3

#25. Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
Artist: Monty Python
Nominator: redrocket (1/5)
Time: 3:39
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_-q9xeOgG4
Initial Rankings: Batch 7 - 2/15 (A-) & Rubric 4
FLUX: Down 10 Spots

Holy Grail > Life of Brian > The Meaning of Life

I heard this song long before I had ever seen/finished Life of Brian and it is probably the best song to come out of their Flying Circus. It can cheer one up in even the worst moments. The whistle, the jokes, the camaraderie, the rhymes & delivery of those rhymes (particularly the way Idle says 'daaan't worry, give a whistle!'), it's a slowly building mood lifter. It should be on everyone's anti-depression playlist.

*NEW* 16th Place: Redrocket
#114. John Williams, "The Towering Inferno: Main Title"
#67. Daniel Ingram, "Winter Wrap Up"
#62. Daryl Hall & John Oates, "You Make My Dreams Come True"
#59. Sarah Connor, "Sexual Healing"
#25. Monty Python, "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life"
Average Score: 65.4
Total Score: 327

Come on, redrocket, cheer up ya ol' bugger, give us a grin! Just becuz yure out here, doesn't mean yure out everywhere! Keep on nominatin'! We've got a wealth of music topics again! Ya wrapped Karo up quite a bit in pony magic; hopefully the Prince makes your dreams come true. Don't let a storm rising inside you become a towering inferno, eh eh? Nudge nudge, wink wink. Thank ye for your lot. "Sexual Healing" climbing so high is still one of my biggest surprises.

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24. Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like A Rubber Ball)
Artist: WAS (Not Was)
Nominator: Fluttershy_Pony (1/5)
Time: 3:07
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvyVcybUHSs
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 1/15 (A) & Rubric 1
FLUX: Down 20 Spots

'I know he's saying Made Small, but I like Knocked out baseball' - First listen note

This was definitely knocked down from its high perch, but I never treated it like a rubber ball. It never bounced about. It was top five from the start until I listened more outside the chorus and wasn't completely enchanted by those magical horns. For months there, I thought it sounded more like simmering rage like Office Space, just rage against the machine kind of stuff. And I know I've heard the lyrics before, but I don't think I actually listened. Now, after I'm hearing him acting out and turning to crime, it sounds less like someone put upon in a bad situation and more like someone making shitty excuses for their awful actions. "I started doing crime because my dad disrespected me and I went to jail for being a delinquent because he ignored me and I couldn't have ice cream no matter how much I cried about it." The veil of support lifted away, and it really did get knocked down, amde small. Now I can understand why you expected it out so much earlier.

That chorus though.

*NEW* 17th Place: Fluttershy_Pony
#100. Ryan Devereaux, "Kiss A Little Longer"
#82. Abandoned Pools, "The Remedy"
#68. anporin, "Shakticat"
#61. Tia Carrere, "Why You Wanna Break My Heart?"
#24. WAS (Not Was), "Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like A Rubber Ball)"
Average Score: 67
Total Score: 335

I do apologize for not keeping it a little longer; I did not wanna break your heart, but thank you for all your ranking topics, Rae! You showed me the way to go, and all of the music topics right now are because you inspired me to do this again. "Shakticat" and "The Remedy" are probably going to be the ones of yours the most stuck in my head over the next year. "The Remedy" has popped in far too often for how little I listen to it. It has fully taken over that space Jason Mraz once occupied (I can't even conjure that song right now; there is nothing there but "You can be the remedy and I can be the enemy"). I look so forward to your next topic. Please don't knock me down and make me small for eliminating you (but feel free to treat my songs like rubber balls bouncing up and down the scoresheets)=P

@redrocket
@Fluttershy_Pony

#23. Rewind (Feat. Ashe & Armani White)
Artist: Louis Futon
Nominator: Bitto (2/5)
Time: 3:23
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLQ-dS6rtrU
Initial Rankings: Batch 8 - 4/15 (A-) & Rubric 4
Weighted Ranking: Purple 1/16
FLUX: Down 5 Spots

Add this to the anti-depression playlist, too! This is so upbeat and uplifting. Those horrrrrnns! Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-oooooh~ Play it while we're... YOUUUNG! Mmmm, one of the best seat dancers in this ranking topic. An absolute joy.

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#22. / Koi No America
Artist: Maximum the Hormone
Nominator: Murphiroth (2/5)
Time: 6:05
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv4_5fB-ShY
Initial Rankings: Batch 7 - 10/15 (D) & Rubric 9
Weighted Ranking: Yellow 1/16
FLUX: Up 40 Spots

'Phrenetic' - First listen note

Despite a low initial ranking, this isn't one of the Lingerers. This is.... a wild ride. An incredible feast for the ears. So many genres and so much, so much mishearing lyric fun. There's obviously 'peanuts frustration america' sounding like what it sounds like, where America flashes their private (thanks mascot puma for confirming). I thought I would have so much to say on this, but it just grew on me so much. It felt like the whiplash I got from Towering Inferno, but it worked and was cohesive and was insane and there's one guy in there who looks just like Shayna Baszler & Bray Wyatt had a grown-ass baby. I've watched reaction videos to this song where they have so much praise for little things I didn't hear like southern rock stylings in the first post-chorus verse, how crazy the bass is hidden behind everything else, etc. Awesome song, awesome nom. Love it.

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#21. Your Deep Rest
Artist: The Hotelier
Nominator: Bane_Of_Despair (3/5)
Time: 3:47
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y1TROOQcGY
Initial Rankings: Batch 3 - 11/15 (D) & Rubric 11
Weighted Ranking: Yellow 10/16
Blockbuster: Grid B-5
FLUX: ...Even? I wrote this write-up when this was Even?! No, this is Up 55 Spots
Linger: 3/10

"I was a teenage dirtbag, baby" - First listen note

For the longest time, I thought at least one of the choruses was singing, "You called in sick from your funeral" and I thought it was about someone disappearing from their life, but y'know, still alive. Definitely not. Loss is tough, and the more I listen the more I realize it's about a friend who watched a best friend take their own life. "You said you're trapped in your body," damn.

P.S. And the longer it's been since I realized that and listened more, the stronger and more powerful it has felt. "Remember me for me, I watched you set your spirit free" is so heartwrenching. I am just... I can be happy it's in this elimination block because I don't know if I could survive more rounds of this without Monty Python and "Rewind take it from the first line." You really are the bane of despair. Thank you for this discordant beauty.

@Bitto
@Murphiroth
@Bane_Of_Despair

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Also, I'm 95% sure I know what my Top 3 are if anyone wants to guess. (Top 5 is still very up in the air)

REMAINING SONGS:
Acacia
Car Wash Hair
Chicago
Dark Come Soon
dreamy night
driver's license
Everlong
Ghostwriter
good 4 u
Herald of Darkness
I've Been Waiting
Just a Ride
King of Swords (Reversed)
Miami
The Noble Savage
Pelican Canyon
Rose-Colored Boy
That Funny Feeling
traitor
vampire

2 in the top twenty, won't ever complain about that!

Rewind is just so catchy and puts me in a good mood. Instantly loved it.

I've Been Waiting was definitely my riskiest pick, so I'm glad it panned out.

Ya go my Herald of Darkness.

Dana Dan is probably Bloodywood's most aggressive song, they often have songs about serious subjects but they're typically more uplifting. That one's just a fist to the face.

MtH has been one of my favorite bands since the early 2000s and I feel like you can see a direct line of their influence to a lot of modern Japanese rock and metal bands like HANABIE. Koi No America is such a quintessential MtH song.

Bitto posted... Rewind is just so catchy and puts me in a good mood. Instantly loved it.

I've Been Waiting was definitely my riskiest pick, so I'm glad it panned out.

Not much of a spoiler since it's top twenty, but 'I've Been Waiting' was almost gone at least three times since this started and is one of only two write-ups I still have saved. AND YET, though it lingers, it does not Linger.

THERE ARE TWO LINGERS IN MY TOP TWENTY. As said in Harambie, "WHAT THE FUCK"

Murphiroth posted... MtH has been one of my favorite bands since the early 2000s and I feel like you can see a direct line of their influence to a lot of modern Japanese rock and metal bands like HANABIE. Koi No America is such a quintessential MtH song.

And it came out so recently I can't find it on Spotify

Part of me thought this would be last nom left but glad Your Deep Rest did well still! It really blew me away when I first heard it (10 years ago now, damn), everything is so well done to really bring out the best of emo. Gives me similar feelings as watching Bojack Horseman, one of my favorite shows.

Mega_Mana posted...

Now I can understand why you expected it out so much earlier.

Yeah, I was wondering how this song was still around. I don't think anyone on the board likes Was (Not Was) other than myself--two unsuccessful attempts at getting their biggest hits into Rank the Tracks kinda shows that people would prefer basically anything over them--nor have I gotten anyone not on this board to like them either... the best reaction I'd gotten to this point was no response. Also, while sad villain songs are my thing, they never seemed to be your thing.. so "band no one likes" singing "lyrics you won't like" was... not something I had high expectations for. I figured I'd be happy if it escaped the bottom five.

Anyway, it was my most listened to song in 2023... largely due to one day where I listened to it on an infinite loop. I love Was (Not Was) and sad villain songs, so this type of thing was right up my alley and I binged it. Hard. ...And then I kinda lost interest after a week or so. It's a good origin story, but it feels like it needs a continuation. "I turned to crime" isn't really a satisfying end, you know? It's the end of a first chapter, but I want more. Don't get me wrong, I like it quite a bit still, but it's more like a 7 or an 8 out of 10. Ironically, the song dropping so far down the list mirrors my own reaction to it, even though we took wildly different paths to get there.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

It's a good origin story, but it feels like it needs a continuation. "I turned to crime" isn't really a satisfying end, you know? It's the end of a first chapter, but I want more.

Ooh, that's a good take. A villain origin story would be nice if it had some more chapters to it. As it stands though, and while infinitely loopable because that chorus is adrenaline, it no longer hits like it did starting out.

I'm not terribly surprised that my original top ten is getting battered right now. High initial reactions with increased repeats > Low initial reactions with increased repeats > High initial reactions with decreased repeats. I've got 6/10 left with 20 spots to go.

#20. King of Swords (Reversed)
Artist: The Dear Hunter
Nominator: NBIceman (2/5)
Time: 5:07
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEoYxjRhTSg
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 7/15 (C) & Rubric 9
Weighted Rankings: Blue 3/16
FLUX: Up 15 Spots

Huh. This did really well in my rankings over the past week. It was hitting me in all the right ways. Now when I'm trying to sort through a tie at 16th... man, this is not doing anything for me. I'd actually consider it (temporarily) below "Koi No America," which isn't too far but still seven spots lower than it was.

It's a positive song that, on receptive days, can get me feeling like there's an amazing celebration happening in a fantasy musical world like Glee, Galavant, or My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. On a receptive day, those "doot doo doo doo doo do do dooo"s are wonderful little throwbacks to early eighties synthpop and not really annoying little bits. Wow, this is actively annoying me right now. I am sorry, NBIceman, that I'm emotionally divested from giving this song a proper write-up for how high its reached (not that I feel capable of giving any of today's batch decent write-ups).

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#19. Just a Ride
Artist: Rishloo
Nominator: NBIceman (1/5)
Time: 6:22
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmvKewDOnnU
Initial Rankings: Batch 6 - 7/15 (B) & Rubric 7
Weighted Rankings: Blue 6/16
FLUX: Up 30 Spots

I've read the lyrics on three separate occasions, and I still have no idea what this song is about. It's just a lovely listen. For no good reason, it's just been riding (...unintentional until I just realized what I typed) along off its vocals about 4:28 in. I've compared this most to "Skies" in slow-building story I can't comprehend with some great moments; "Hors D'oeuvre" for how often I forget what it sounds like after I listen to it; & one song still to come for how wrapped up over-and-under each other are depending on the day that they spiralled each other continually up like a double-helix zipping towards these high spots.

#12th Place. NBIceman
#19. Rishloo, "Just a Ride"
#20. The Dear Hunter, "King of Swords (Reversed)
#37. Blue yster Cult, "Astronomy"
#48. The Protomen, "Light Up The Night"
#80. Diablo Swing Orchestra, "A Tap Dancer's Dilemma"
Average Score: 40.8
Total Score: 204

A lot of nonsense my lazy brain couldn't comprehend, but all of it a fun roller coaster. Outside the tap-dancing demon swingers, all your other nominations beat each other at one point or another. I don't know if I can say that about any other set of nominations, and "A Tap Dancer's Dilemma" may have been in that mix if I didn't hear it a dozen years ago and already have suspect feelings.

You're making a joke out of ranking topics with these, I swear. I'm reaching for things to say but all I'm thinking is, "Man, 'Astronomy' is so freaking good; how is it not number one of these songs?" and a few days from now, I could be saying that about "Light Up the Night" if I'm feeling more eighties-y. Excellent nominations, and great job coming back later on with "Just a Ride" and "Light Up the Night." Lots of Kudos to you, you're probably going to end up in the top five when all is done.

@NBIceman

#18. Rose-Colored Boy
Artist: Paramore
Nominator: Bane_Of_Despair (2/5)
Time: 3:30
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe5PfAF8k2E
Initial Rankings: Batch 3 - 3/15 (B) & Rubric 5
FLUX: Down 5 Spots

I didn't get into Paramore until the past year or two. I really liked "Now" from a nomination a decade ago, and knew about 'paramore twitter boobs' as a Board 8 meme, but I never sought Hayley Williams out. I really enjoy her voice and the musicality or everything. Rose-Colored Boy is nice. It's nice. I think if it were "Still Into You," "Ain't It Fun," "Running Out Of Time," or "Brick by Boring Brick," it'd be higher. I will say I didn't knowingly hear this one until the topic, and since then I've heard on my work's radio like forty times. I feel like I had more profound things to say a week or so, but it wasn't leaving anytime soon.

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#17. good 4 u
Artist: Olivia Rodrigo
Nominator: Player_0 (4/5)
Time: 2:58
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeDdS9aIpck
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 2/15 (B+) & Rubric 4
FLUX: Even

As stated a long, long time ago: there were two nominators at opposite ends of my batched rankings, and here were are with Player_0's second drop all the way in the top 20. I don't remember what I wrote in "get him back!" and I'm feeling lazy today, but I don't know that I knew any Olivia Rodrigo music before this, and I've still yet to check her full albums. These five songs are the only ones I have to go on, and it's kind of incredible how much teenage heartbreak and heartache she's turned into bangers. good 4 u is easily the most fun of the bunch, and it's extremely relatable. Going out of your mind with loneliness, anxiety, jealousy, empathy, driving yourself crazy, and the person's just doing fine while you feel like a wreck and it's so hard to get out of that solo shame spiral.

Also, while "get him back!" fell down so far because of it's last ten seconds, I think "good 4 u" escaped elimination once because I enjoyed "Well good for you I guess you moved on really easily" ending the song abruptly like it did. Again, very fun.

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#16. vampire
Artist: Olivia Rodrigo
Nominator: Player_0 (3/5)
Time: 3:39
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXdABv5O4qc
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 4/15 (B) & Rubric 7
Weighted Rankings: Purple 5/16
FLUX: Up 40 Spots

From early February: "Initially fairly high (still 4th of the five Rodrigos), then dropped in my estimation because of Todd in the Shadows worst songs of 2023 commentary on the "sold me for parts as you sunk your teeth into me" not making any sense, vampire lore confusion; but then that sort of made me appreciate the song more because pointing out pedantic bits to deflect from listening to the raw emotion and story of being used and dismissing the rest because of it... isn't that how it is when people open up and talk about their abusers, and how often others pivot on small details to avoid absorbing and listening?"

So, yeah, I enjoyed it first listen, decided "selling her for parts" was dumb, listened to the song more, appreciated it more, and now I've read Jennette McCurdy's book, listened to Taylor Swift's "Would've, Could've, Should've," and heard about "Quiet On Set" stuff in the last month. 'vampire' feels like an anthem of child stardom, relationships, and vulnerability. The song has power. Writing this... I kind of want to put it higher...

*ONE HOUR LATER*

The good news is I decided to listen to all the songs again to see if it went higher, and "King of Swords (Reversed)" almost got knocked back into the previous write-ups!

The bad news is I really, really like the other fifteen songs and this isn't moving higher. Again, this is the probably the best high-charting ranking topic I've ever done.

@Bane_Of_Despair
@Player_0

Oh man I've heard good 4 u before and I absolutely thought it was a Paramore song from the titular good 4 u part

I see Hayley Williams is listed as one of the four lyricists so I guess that's one mystery solved

Wow I did not think Dark Come Soon to be my last nomination, as evidenced back when I though it would go out around Flux lol

Mega_Mana posted...

I think if it were "Still Into You," "Ain't It Fun," "Running Out Of Time," or "Brick by Boring Brick," it'd be higher.

Interesting! I personally have Rose-Colored Boy above those ones, but also very good choices! I actually think their self-titled runs a bit long, in their overall albums it's one of their lower ones for me, but I still love it and Still Into You and Ain't It Fun are among their top songs. Brick By Boring Brick from Brand New Eyes is interesting, I'm much more of a Careful, Ignorance and All I Wanted guy but it was a single for a reason! And Running Out Of Time is great but This Is Why is also a great album without any misses.

Yea, something about Rose-Colored Boy just hits right for me. After Laughter the album in general is just soooooo up my alley, taking a synth-pop/new wave sound but fill it with depressing lyrical content. I'd also suggest Hayley Williams' solo efforts, Petals for Armor in particular is such a good album.

Oh, I just realized I gave you the clean version of every song except traitor...the swears really add to the teenage angst, but at least it's an excuse to revisit her music in the future. driver's license is especially different in the explicit version, so maybe that can be a bonus writeup after the ranking.

Olivia's catchy rock bangers are my favourite, so my ranking would've looked pretty different from yours - for example, I would've had traitor a few tiers below the others!

PIayer_0 posted...

Oh, I just realized I gave you the clean version of every song except traitor...the swears really add to the teenage angst, but at least it's an excuse to revisit her music in the future. driver's license is especially different in the explicit version, so maybe that can be a bonus writeup after the ranking.

Olivia's catchy rock bangers are my favourite, so my ranking would've looked pretty different from yours - for example, I would've had traitor a few tiers below the others!

I did just hear explicit 'vampire' a few days ago when I tried to make a Spotify playlist, and I think I prefer the clean. I like the empty hitch of 'like a damn vampire.' I will check out 'driver's license' explicit later.

Still rooting for That Funny Feeling

Mega_Mana posted...

#20. King of Swords (Reversed)

I love this song, but personally, it always feels incomplete without "If All Goes Well" immediately following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d80GDuy1OI

Not that the songs aren't good, full length tracks on their own but they're so attached to each other & taking place so soon chronologically, that I've always felt they worked better as a 9+ minute epic tale of someone's rise to fame & power and inevitable corruption rather than two separate tracks. (Though this is again just a personal thing and I doubt anyone else agrees)

And now at work, I'm toe-tapping to the King of Swords playing in my head.

Got some write-ups done, but not ready to write up the users just yet, and I want to give the order another pass tomorrow before we enter the top ten.

#15. Car Wash Hair (Full Pull)
Artist: Mercury Rev
Nominator: tazzyboyishere (1/5)
Time: 6:45
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzybBYJvMGw
Initial Rankings: Batch 2 - 7/15 (C) & Rubric 11
Weighted Ranking: Blue 11/16
Blockbuster: -
FLUX: Up 60 Spots
Linger: 2/10

There's a lot of this song that I would complain about 'flatness' of like earlier eliminations, but when the guitar kicks in at 1:50 and we get those horns at 2:20 and the momentum of the drums, it's so dynamic. It brings out thoughts of classic rock, soulful folky funk of the 60s.

"I wanna ask but I just stare, can I run my hands through your car wash hair?"

There's a visceral loneliness sitting deep in the pit of my chest when I listen to this song. Very "That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight." I want to ask about you, about how you're doing, about what you life is like, and I'm so down on myself that I want to ask but I just stare. Stare at the person, stare at the situation, stand off to the side, stare at my phone. Drilling a hole with my soul, wanting to participate but not worth taking other people's time and attentions. "Can I run my hands through your car wash hair?" More like, "Can I live a day in your shoes?" If I could be like that, I would give anything just to live one day in those shoes. That's where this hits, that's where my interpretation and emotion and brain goes.

Also the horns are just awesome.

*NEW* 24th Place. tazzyboyishere
#125. Yo Lo Tengo, "Cherry Chapstick"
#110. AL-90, "Experienced Girl"
#107. Fishmans, "Night Cruising"
#73. Hideki Naganuma, "Raisin' Me Up"
#15. Mercury Rev, "Car Wash Hair (Full Pull)"
Average Score: 86
Total Score: 430

"Car Wash Hair" fully pulled you out of last place, though "Raisin' Me Up" did some... lifting. I have no regrets about ranking "Cherry Chapstick," "Experienced Girl," and "Night Cruising" low, but I also didn't get randomly attached to them like I got snarled up in my fifteenth-placer. Thank you for the nominations! I probably deserve the ones I didn't like so much. (CRYPTIC RESPONSE, OOOH~)

.

#14. I've Been Waiting
Artist: Lil Peep & ILoveMakonnen feat. Fall Out Boy
Nominator: Bitto (1/5)
Time: 3:55
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQYPimscA20
Initial Rankings: Batch 8 - 5/15 (B+) & Rubric 6
Weighted Rankings: Violet 6/16
FLUX: Up 40 Spots

It's hard to miss you when you're always on the tip of my tongue. I like Fall Out Boy a lot more now than I did twenty years ago, yet not as much as last year when I was deep into listening to "What a Catch, Donnie" and "Thnks fr th Mmrs" at least once a week on my Spotify. Seat dancer song, for sure.

...And I didn't know who Lil Peep was as I started writing this up, had no idea he passed away two years before this release, or that ILoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy were big inspirations for him and that they collaborated with old demo tape of him to mkae this gem.

Well, now I can't eliminate it. Yet.

P.S. This is the song that always spiralled upward with "Just a Ride." Oh, it's going to be hard to miss this when it's always in the folds of my brain.

*NEW* 11th Place. Bitto
#83. CHVRCHES, "Wonderland"
#64. Grant (feat. Jessi Mason), "Castaway"
#46. BRNS, "Past Lives"
#23. Louis Futon, "Rewind (Feat. Ashe & Armani White)
#14. Lil Peep & ILoveMakonnen (feat. Fallout Boy), "I've Been Waiting"
Average Score: 46.6
Total Score: 233

Bitto love, I needed these, I've waited oh so long. Thank you for the wonderful capstone of songs, always bringing a positive and wistful mood to the end of an unshuffled play. I just wanna let you know, your songs will be whisperin' in my brain for years to come, and that's a net good thing. Even "Wonderland" and "Castaway" that I ranked relatively low are great to playback.

@tazzyboyishere
@Bitto

#13. Herald of Darkness
Artist: Old Gods of Asgard
Nominator: Murphiroth (1/5)
Time: 9:34
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxs_HYw_mLk
Initial Rankings: Batch 7 - 5/15 (B-) & Rubric 9
Weighted Ranking: Purple 7/16
FLUX: Up 10 Spots

"Poet & The Muse was a brilliant surprise. This feels... too tryhard. Gets a bit better realizing it's multiple parts over the course of the game, and chorus is great" - First listen note

I need to watch Supergirl someday when I have the time maybe. Martian Manhunter is a favorite in the comics, and between him, Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Dreamer, the use of Brainiac 5, Jon Cryer's surprisingly good Lex Luthor in the crossovers, Lois and Clark... someday. But yeah, that's J'onn J'onnz interviewing Alan Wake and it gives me a tickle.

The Old Gods of Asgard absolutely KILL IT. The song grows and grows as it goes along and is absolutely great without knowing a single thing that is happening in the video or clues or references to the game. I listened to the 13-minute Spotify version, but I like the snappier finish with Alan singing about bringing the song to its end a single time, pause, and then giant finale rolls in immediately. Thank you for enlightening me with this song's existence, and thank you for the points in Tarvould's Video Game Music Trivia!
@wg64Z

*NEW* 10th Place. Murphiroth
#119. Nekrogoblin, "This Is It"
#31. HANABIE., "Be the GAL~Early Summer ver."
#29. Bloodywood, "Dana Dan (Indian Folk Metal)"
#22. Maximum the Hormone, " / Koi No America"
#13. Old Gods of Asgard, "Herald of Darkness"
Average Score: 42.8
Total Score: 214

ECLECTIC! J-Pop! Indian Folk Metal! J-Rock! Finnish Epic! Terrible Goblin Management! A huge, huge divide between four songs and your worst, but still easily making top ten thanks to repeated listens and growing appreciation for everything (again, except you Nekrogoblin: this is my list, this is not your list, this is my list). Absolute love for these nominations and deep gratitude to introducing me to them. Thank you!

.

#12. drivers license
Artist: Olivia Rodrigo
Nominator: Player_0 (2/5)
Time: 4:02
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNJhkrpLGT8
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 1/15 (B+) & Rubric 3
FLUX: Even

Let me get the annoying out of the way first. "I guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me" removes me temporarily from the song every time. It's not a lyric meant for me, but this is my ranking, and in a batch of eliminations where I've ascribed my personal meanings and feelings to the lyrics, there's just this involuntary dissonance that keeps me from launching it into the top ten.

It's a fantastic song, and I'm kind of surprised I never knowingly heard it when it was released and huge everywhere. I probably did, but paid it no heed. It is absolutely powerful, resonant, beautiful, heartwrenching, questioning, paranoid, lonely, evocative, charged. It is a piece of art that pulls you into your own mind, your own personal journey through those people in your past that you no longer see, the places you can no longer go to or avoid, the pains of lost loves. And I had no idea until this write-up that this was her debut single. WTF. That is insane. Just an incredible, incredible song.

@Murphiroth
@Player_0

I could post one more tonight, but I'm going to give another listen-through to be sure of my top ten. Without any changes, next tier is for top eight.

Now listen to the complete edit of Herald of Darkness!

I had a good run!

Herald of Darkness is fantastic in general but the way it's used in game is incredible to experience. You basically play through the music video, and the bits with the band members and Mr. Door pointing are actually used to tell you where to go. And you don't get any combat in the first two segments but then in the third suddenly you're having to fight while the music is going and it's just so good.

And then you have Sam Lake just cheesing it up while he dances. Nobody does it like him and his crew at Remedy.

Wow, drivers license is out and traitor finishes on top, did not see that coming! I actually didn't know it was her debut single either, it's amazing just how huge it was - #1 in half of Europe? Israel?? Malaysia??? Her name probably came up in one of my news feeds back then, but not that I can remember. SNL's sketch always makes me smile: https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1363355948065181703 It's not exactly original, but that just shows how the song's mere existence is enough material for a "haha so relatable" joke.

We shiver with antici

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

We shiver with antici

The problem with really liking all eleven songs I have left is making a top ten.

And also user write-ups when I procrastinate and fall asleep.

pation

FILL THE CROWN TIER
REMAINING SONGS:

Acacia
Chicago
Dark Come Soon
dreamy night
Everlong
Ghostwriter
Miami
The Noble Savage
Pelican Canyon
That Funny Feeling
traitor

HARD FEELINGS TIER
#12. drivers license
#13. Herald of Darkness
#14. I've Been Waiting
#15. Car Wash Hair (Full Pull)
#16. vampire
#17. good 4 u
#18. Rose-Colored Boy
#19. Just a Ride
#20. King of Swords (Reversed)
#21. Your Deep Rest
#22.
#23. Rewind
#24. Knocked Down, Made Small
#25. Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
#26. Heaven and Hell
#27. The world of spirit
#28. Dream Job
#29. Dana Dan (Indian Folk Metal)
#30. the world is yours

CONCRETE TIER
#31. Be the GAL~Early Summer ver.
#32. Skylark Interabang?!
#33. Sleep Dealer
#34. Bubble
#35. The Guillotine
#36. A Lifetime of Adventure
#37. Astronomy
#38. Run
#39. Bachelorette (Family Tree Version)
#40. Canto Della Terra
#41. Seize the Night (Carpe Noctem)
#42. LOVE TRIP
#43. get him back!
#44. The Gathering Sky
#45. Cha Cha Cha (Cover)
#46. Past Lives
#47. Remind Me
#48. Light Up the Night
#49. Feather
#50. Tragedy + Time

LINGER TIER
#51. The Last Supper
#52. Head First in the River
#53. Smoke Too Soon
#54. What We Wanted
#55. Autumn Leaves Revisited
#56. The Fallen Ground
#57. Skies
#58. Tacky
#59. Sexual Healing
#60. Pink Dazzled 45

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

mcflubbin (40%)
MaxGalactica (40%)
CoolCly (40%)
Player_0 (20%)
Bane_Of_Despair (20%)
NFUN (20%)
ZaziGuado (20%)
Raka_Putra (20%)

9th [40.8] - NBIceman
10th [42.8] - Murphiroth
11th [46.6] - Bitto
12th [55.2] - DanKirby
13th [61.4] - Steiner
14th [63.0] - Blur
15th [65.4] - Redrocket
16th [67.0] - Fluttershy_Pony
17th [70.4] - rwlh
18th [76.0] - paulg235
19th [77.5] - Xtlm
20th [77.8] - FL81
21st [78.2] - DoctorJimmy133
22nd [80.0] - BlueCrystalTear
23rd [82.2] - Snake5555555555
24th [86.0] - tazzyboyishere
25th [98.2] - UF8
26th [101.7] - handsomeboy2012

Initial Rankings
A - 7/16 (-5)
B - 3/29 (-9)
C - 0/29 (-2)
D - 1/37 (-3)
F - 0/9 (-2)
BlueCrystalTier - 0/5 (-2)

Rubric
1-4 [50%] [80%] [25%] [33.3%]
5-8 [12.5%] [0%] [0%] [0%]
9-12 [0%] [8.3%] [0%] [0%]
13-16 [0%] [0%] [0%] [0%]

Weighted Rankings
Red - 0%
Orange - 0%
Yellow - 6.25% (12)
Green - 0%
Blue - 0%
Purple - 6.25% (2)
Violet - 33.33%

Blockbusters
Grid A (0%)
Grid B (0%)
Grid C (12.5%)
Grid D (0%)
Grid E (0%)
Grid X,Y,Z (0%)

=====FILL THE CROWN=====

These are the nominated songs I've loved the most. I don't know how much I'll actually be able to say about them. They just are what they are. It's emotions and memories and deep thoughts and dancing and words do them little justice. Just know that these are absolutely amazing, fantastic, incredible, wonderful, whatever-other-overused-adjective-I've-used and I love them all for very different reasons. This tier's gimmick? I'll be posting as soon as I finish the write-up. My goal is to finish today since my weekend is all work no play.

#11. The Noble Savage
Artist: Planet X
Nominator: NFUN (1/5)
Time: 6:12
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzZPQITw6wI
Initial Rankings: Batch 8 - 2/15 (A) & Rubric 2
FLUX: Down 1 Spot

"Captain Planet & Mighty Max" - First listen note

The best thirty seconds of any song in this thing. It can start disjointed and slow and take a while to build-up, but 2:42-3:17 are MAGIC. It becomes a childhood Saturday morning, maybe even Sunday with like the USA Network or something, I've no idea. I've no idea where I get transported to. Captain Planet? Mighty Max? Iron Man? Fantastic Four? Savage Dragon? Street Sharks? A cartoon block in general? It unlocks something deep and nostalgic and primal in my core. And like "The Gathering Sky" it also has those nostalgic The Weather Channel feels when it turns into a breaking news bulletin update after those soaring guitars. Wooooooooo~ This song sends me into the stratosphere. The Noble Savage, the power is yours.

*NEW* 11th Place. NFUN
#106. Wataru Ishibashi, "The Two Cradles"
#56. Yutaka Minobe, "The Fallen Ground"
#44. Pat Metheny, "The Gathering Sky"
#27. Shohei Tsuchiya, "The world of spirit"
#11. Planet X, "The Noble Savage"
Average Score: 48.8
Total Score: 244

The Instrumentalist. A lot of early highs that landed mostly where expected, though "The Two Cradles" and "The Gathering Sky" did get blown away by the weathering winds early. Thank you for wonderful tracks.

@NFUN

ya go my dreamy night

Glad you liked one of my songs! (Or 2 I guess) Car Wash Hair is pretty damn brilliant. Each layer it adds feels meaningful and the melancholy you described is perfect. Such a great song.

So excited for the season finale

#10. Everlong
Artist: Foo Fighters
Nominator: MaxGalactica (2/5)
Time: 4:10
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxuTd9rwEHQ
Initial Rankings: Batch 6 - 5/15 (A-) & Rubric 4
Weighted Ranking: Purple 2/16
FLUX: Even

An absolute classic. I originally pitched it down in my initial rankings because I frankly liked other Foo Fighters songs more. "Times Like These," "Best of You," "My Hero," and "Learn to Fly" were the ones I turned to most often. And while "Times Like These" remains my favorite, "Everlong" has absolutely reblossomed in my mindscape and hits harder than ever before thanks to this topic. "You've got to promise not to stop when I say when," used to give me a bit of the ick, but I understand it now, and I feel it in my bones. Don't let me go when I get scared of something good happening and try to freeze you out. It's so hard holding tight to the best times and the best memories and best people without feeling like I'm wringing them dry and making everything worse, letting go too late so I let go too early. And it's Foo Fighters and I love them.

@MaxGalactica

#9. Dark Come Soon
Artist: Tegan and Sara
Nominator: Bane_Of_Despair (1/5)
Time: 3:05
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWmqdM7pNos
Initial Rankings: Batch 3 - 10/15 (D+) & Rubric 10
Weighted Ranking: Yellow 12/16
Blockbuster: Grid C-7
FLUX: Up 65 Spots
Linger: 1/10

Saved for one more day of misery, climbing and escaping an exit since the Blockbuster Tier, making it barely into the top 10. I don't know when it all changed. When it won its grid over "Dana Dan," "Pink Dazzled 45," and "Sexual Healing," each of which Lingered on? Before I cut "So What" and couldn't stop singing this everytime I saw its name? When I had a really depressive episode in February and this helped me through my shame spiral? "Everything I say, I say to me first!" "So what, I've lied, I lie to me too." "Safe and another day passed by me." "Hold out for the ones you know who love you. I will hide out from the ones who love you."

There's a lot of tangled tracks in my head when I listen. There's a lot of anger and sadness and wanting and passion that wells up inside me. Most of the time, an onion gets cut not even thirty seconds in. I sing along silently with my whole body. It just hits me on a deep, personal, lacking explanation level. It's a beautiful song, too.

8th Place. Bane_Of_Despair
#55. Thursday, "Autumn Leaves Revisited"
#52. Envy on the Coast, "Head First in the River"
#21. The Hotelier, "Your Deep Rest"
#18. Paramore, "Rose-Colored Boy"
#9. Tegan and Sara, "Dark Come Soon"
Average Score: 31
Total Score: 155

Besides "Rose-Colored Boy," all your songs were extremely low to start out. I'm actually surprised "Autumn Leaves Revisited" and "Head First in the River" weren't in the Blockbuster considering I remember them being adjacent to those songs. Remember when "The Last Supper" was the King of Flux? Yeah, "You're Depressed" and "Dark Come Soon" blew past the rest of Linger near to the finish line. Your nominations attached themselves into my soul and my core, and if I were more confident and candid in the nights they got me through some rough depression, I'd say more, but low key, no pressure, keeping my eggy-head in the river. Awesome, awesome, wonderful times. Thank you.

Oh nice, 9 is my favorite number! Loved sharing all my songs, thanks for giving me the opportunity! Also funny enough, there was a 10 year anniversary cover album of Tegan and Sara's The Con, and Hayley Williams from Paramore was on it! She didn't sing Dark Come Soon, but one called Nineteen that absolutely blew me away when I first heard it. It also helps that it coincides with her personal life, meeting and falling in love with Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory when she was only nineteen, they got married and it soon fell apart. He was a good deal older then her and it was not a healthy relationship, but she really channels that pain into the cover.

https://youtu.be/xCZKwRGAFvQ?si=zDEBRQ4Sf16J7fXO

#8. traitor
Artist: Olivia Rodrigo
Nominator: Player_0 (1/5)
Time: 3:49
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QLvEIXlF6Q
Initial Rankings: Batch 4 - 3/15 (B) & Rubric 2
FLUX: Down 1 Spot

It's only been happening the past few weeks, but the first nine seconds key to "Past Lives" in my brain. Just a thing. Listen to the beginning for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tce06Ijzli8

Anywho, traitor just pierces the deepest of all five of her nominated songs. "drivers license" is more transcendant and visually attuned, but also has those moments when her life is so far removed from mine that I disconnect completely. "vampire" cuts and bleeds, but I'm filled with empathy and dismay for other people. "good 4 u" is a fun take on struggling with life and relationships and complicated emotions. "traitor" is raw, relatable, personal, and complicated and is absolutely what being a teenager feels like (Past Lives indeed!). It's holding onto something, suspecting something, and getting your heart ripped apart. The betrayal is there. It's speaking those core feeling about relationships where no one does anything really wrong or evil, but that shit happens and the pain is still there, and the ignorance of another's pain. I think it's a masterpiece.

1st Place. Player_0
#43. Olivia Rodrigo, "get him back!"
#17. Olivia Rodrigo, "good 4 u"
#16. Olivia Rodrigo, "vampire"
#12. Olivia Rodrigo, "drivers license"
#8. Olivia Rodrigo, "traitor"
Average Score: 19.2
Total Score: 96

There's only one person left with all songs above your total score, and their lowest is 95. You're gonna rank overall first no matter what. Completely unexpected. Never listened to Olivia Rodrigo, still haven't listened to anything outside these five, and the only outside context for anything I have is that Sabrina Carpenter who I know exclusively from Girl Meets World may or may not be the older blonde girl in "drivers license." She's a Disney generation so far removed from where I left. But her work... it's damn good. If I were born twenty years later, her two albums would probably be current me's Hybrid Theory and Meteora; played endlessly, all the teenage angst and pain, and awesome melodies. Thank you very much for introducing me to an artist I would probably pass by completely.

#7. Ghostwriter
Artist: RJD2
Nominator: ZaziGuado (1/5)
Time: 5:17
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY08FkhpPjk
Initial Rankings: Batch 5 - 1/15 (B+) & Rubric 5
FLUX: Up 5 Spots

"Hurt my neck head banging" - First listen note

I mean... that's why it's high. The ultimate nomination in chair dancing. I like to listen to the individual songs as I type, and it's impossible to have any thoughts with this. Mmm-mm, all I know is how I feel, such truthhhhhhhh. And here the song is fading out and I'm ready to make some self-rebuttal about "Dark Come Soon" and "traitor" being more powerful and maybe going back above this, but then the horns at 4:30 start ramping up theiR COMEBACK AND I DON'T CARE THIS IS AWESOME, LET'S PLAY IT AGAIN

P.S. I always forget how much the album cover looks like the first sight of Jack from Lost opening his eyes and seeing Vincent approaching. WHICH IS CRAZY because the album came out in 2002, two years before Lost debuted. Were JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof inspired by the cover? Also, I didn't mention Brooklyn 99? The horns blasting makes me think of Brooklyn 99. Not entirely sure if it's their theme song or promos for it?

*NEW* 14th Place. ZaziGuado
#122. Enya, "Anywhere Is"
#72. Krij, "Cha Cha Cha"
#69. Made in Heights, "Hors D'uvre"
#47. Ryksopp, "Remind Me"
#7. RJD2, "Ghostwriter"
Average Score: 63.4
Total Score: 317

Unforgivable sin of making me copy+paste artists and titles, lol. You've given tough songs to rank. They all have something to them that floats just outside of easy comparison and locked in ranking. There's an element of loftiness. Even "Anywhere Is," which is annoying to listen to, has craft and enjoyment in its lyricism that would carry it much higher if not for, well, being a song they use to torture people. "Hors D'uvre" and "Remind Me" are such chill vibes that breeze along right into the next song that I have to go back and listen again because they just relax away the analysis. "Cha Cha Cha" was a cool comparison to the cover and made both better for it. And "Ghostwriter" just slaps. Many thanks, Zazi. The next time I ride ze shoopuf, I'll recommend the Hypello to play your nominations.

@ZaziGuado

lmao number one ranker with the unbeatable Olivia Rodrigo noms