Board 8 > Raetsel ranks 300 songs [Rankings]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yeah, it was back in 2011, but the entire thing is up on the Board 8 Wiki:

https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Regaro_Ranks_Every_Umineko_Song

I was surprised by that being one of the first results when looking for that song, but it's a pretty neat find.
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#147 [#64]:

Name: Sweet Victory
Origin: David Glen Eisley
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7fnlJ60RO8" data-time="

Nominator: paulg (6/15)

(7, 8, 6.7)

[There are a lot of memories associated with this song. Score fluctuates wildly based on how willing I am to confront those memories at the time.]

Let's just leave it at "good song that cannot be given a writeup due to triggering multiple flashbacks that the current author does not wish to discuss".

[Final Thoughts: You know how some songs kinda get frozen in time in your mind? You always remember exactly when and where you were when you first heard it, along with who was there with you? This is one of those songs.

Anyway, if I had to actually make an attempt at discussing the song, I'd point out that the episode it featured in (Band Geeks) is probably the best episode of SpongeBob--I haven't seen any new episodes in several years as I accepted the first film as the true ending of the series and had no interest in it continuing, so I'll admit to not being able to decisively say that there hasn't been a better episode produced in all this time--and this song was largely responsible for that.

Sure, it has some of the more memorable quotes of the series, but the real joy comes from Squidward finally getting to be happy for once in his miserable life. And this song, this ridiculously cheesy victory anthem, is the perfect celebration song to go with it. Simple, but infectiously catchy, and it was kinda mysterious back in the day--it felt like no one knew who performed the song or what it was called.

It was somehow incredibly fitting for the scene, so random that it was hilarious, so mysterious that we didn't even know what it was, profesionally sung, instantly memorable, and fun--sometimes you just want a cheesy victory celebration song and there aren't many better than Sweet Victory.]

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#146 [#186]:

Name: Hope
Origin: Umineko no Naku Koro Ni
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTAcJ0ZcUkI" data-time="

Nominator: Raka (10/15)

(4.5, 5, 6.7)

[Im sure this song would emotionally cripple me if I had context, but without it, its just a nice piano song. Half a point bonus for seagulls.]

Very nice piano song that doesn't make me think of anything specific.

[Final Thoughts: This was a tough one to place. It's pretty, has seagulls, and its old score (6.2) marked it as being a notable step-up from all the songs eliminated before it.

On the other hand, instrumental songs usually have to either strongly resonate me with me emotionally, offer a particularly nice dream sequence when I'm listening to it, or feature an overwhelming amount of chaos. This song has none of those things; it's...sad, yes, but it doesn't inspire any particular memories or feelings of sadness. It's like, "yep, that's a sad VN song, alright".

But then it is the prettiest song to be eliminated thus far... this seems to be where it wound up for now, but its placement could shift drastically if I ever re-ranked all the songs.]

[Even Later Thoughts: This song won a VGMC? I can't say it's not pretty enough to deserve it, but I wouldn't have thought there'd be enough consensus on its quality to let it win a large contest like that.]

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#145 [#130]

Name: Genetically Enhanced Grapefruit
Origin: Shnabubula
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAoVn31qYVA" data-time="

Nominator: Mycro (9/15)

(5, 6.5, 6.7)

[Does a lot of things I like, but Im not feeling it as much as I should today. Expect it to have a higher score on the second trip through the songs.]

The beeping and increased chaos that starts at around 2:10 is pretty good (probably around a 7) and there's a part not long after that with a lot of stopping and starting, that's also pretty good--somehow it reminds me of the opening to OutRun, when you're flipping through the radio stations to decide the BGM. That brings back a lot of memories I'm not going to get into, but it is somewhat interesting how strong flashbacks can be triggered by things completely unrelated to the memories themselves.

The rest of the song is fine; not 'this chaos is what I'm looking for in instrumental music' great like the beeping part or 'overwhelming flashback inducing' like the latter part, but fine.

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#144 [#160]:

Name: Dragon and Sakura Miko
Origin: Seifuu Meigetsu
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHID_9BM3O8" data-time="

Nominator: FL81 (5/8)

(4, 6, 6.7)

[Not a bad idea, but I dont think Im a fan of the singer.]

Singer is fine, don't know what I was complaining about. Everything about this song is charming: A lyrical version of a song created for a character from a Touhou fangame? That's neat. Or at least that's what I've been led to believe is the story behind this song.

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#143 [#102]

Name: Wavetapper
Origin: Frums
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lRPEny5jug" data-time="

Nominator: DireKrow (5/15)

(7, 7, 6.7)

[BEEP BEEP]

Fantastic concept, bonus point for using a dialing phone & busy sound as part of the music (I like non-instruments being used for music), and I'm intrigued by the hidden message flashing in the corner. The translated version someone posted kinda reminds me of the quasi-philosophical nature of some of the tracks from "Be" (Pain of Salvation's album I learned about last topic and loved).

I'm just not a fan of the song before the phone comes in (not usually into vocalizations, sorry) and--like I've said a thousand times already--it never goes far enough on the chaos. It's closer, but still not there yet.

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#142 [#170]:

Name: Barefoot In The Park
Origin: James Blake (feat. Rosalia)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnvobi3ctsE" data-time="

Nominator: mcflubbin (5/10)

(5, 6, 6.7)

[I like the parts with Rosalia singing by herself, not as into James himself or the duet.]

So many things to unpack here...

First, this video somehow manages to be both more unsettling and less appropriate for the associated song than the Slasher Vid. So...that's something. It convinced me the song was far darker than it was, and I spent a fair amount of time thinking about it, until I found out James Blake uploaded a video explaining the song so I wouldn't have to waste time thinking.

Second, he did apologize for explaining the song and acknowledged that it would ruin it for some people, so that was kinda nice?

Third, I hated his explanations. The song is about a movie he never saw, one line is repeatedd at the end because he needed a line and couldn't think of anything else--even if true, never admit something like that. Once you tell the audience that there is no meaning to your words beyond filling space, they won't waste their time caring what you say ever again; at least, I won't)--and he kinda ruined the best part of the song:

"Saturn starts turning off each ring
Sky's locking up I think"

Now those are some great images! How does he describe those in his own words?

Youre spending a day with this person who youre discovering more about, you know, over the course of the day and starting to feel a lot for them and then the idea of the day ending is almost, you know, you want it to not be over, basically and the image of Saturn turning off its rings really came from the idea of a bar closing up so the bartender sort of putting all the chairs upside down, taking the, finally closing the door, locking it. Its the idea of something coming to an end, really, and that the kind of figurative bar tendering space going around turning the lights off and thats kind of what that means.

...Figurative space bartender? And none of that has anything to do with the video. Not that music videos usually relate to the songs, I suppose, but it's all very....bleggh.

Song makes it this far because I do still like Rosalia's portions, it's kinda fun to laugh at Blake's explanations, and because I want to avoid repeating last year's mistake of undervaluing a song just because the artist explained the lyrics.

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And by unintentional coincidence, we go from "artist who shares too much" to "artist who may not have shared enough".



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#141 [#225]:

Name: Trains
Origin: Porcupine Tree
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UHwkfhwjsk" data-time="

Nominator: NBIceman (11/15)

(6, 4, 6.7)

[Adequate.]

Well, after complaining so often last topic about songs being ruined by the creator explaining every single line, it's kinda nice to find a song where no one seems to know what it is about.

Is it just a nostalgic love song?

A song about incest?

A song about a serial killer?

Or possibly all of the above?

...I don't know how they managed to make a song that was somehow everything to everyone, but they seem to have done so. Ironically, I kinda wish there was a bit more of a consensus on what this was, so I knew what emotion the creator was even trying to go for.

[Final Thoughts: Oh, and now here's discussion about how it's really about necrophilia.

You would think there would be a greater consensus between "this is a nostalgic love song" VS "this is about him killing and raping his cousin's corpse".

...Well then. As many times as I've complained about songs having no mysteries to them, I can't fault this song for being the exact opposite. For now, I'm just going to go with the least horrible explanation: Steven Wilson says trains are a metaphor for a nostalgic childhood because trains make him nostalgic and not read any further into it.

......Though the album is about his interest in serial killers, child molesters, and wife beaters so such a song would probably be out of place?

.........I'm going to go somewhere else now, thank you.]

[Even Later Edit: Honestly, I doubt there's anything particularly sinister in this track. I think people are just reading what they want into it; it's an album of DARKNESS, therefore this song must be DARK and it's so concealed that it must be ULTRA MEGA DARK.

But, like, the artist himself directly said the trains are a metaphor for nostalgia because trains make him nostalgic. If he's openly admitted this album deals with his interest in serial killers and the like, why would he bother making up a cover story to disguise the true nature of the song?

My interest in the song is a bit variable. It is occasionally fun to try to anaylze the song from all angles and to see how everyone has their own pet theory on the meaning. That's something I like and this song offers more of that than any nomination from either topic. It's certainly going to be one of the more memorable songs.

What winds up causing the song to drop now actually has nothing to do with any of that; it's more that I find the song runs out of things to do around the three minute mark--the vocalizations that follow aren't my thing, the highly subdued part that follows them is also not my thing, and I don't think we have any new lyrics when the song picks back up. I'm sure it's all deeply symbolic and what not, but...it's not symbolism I'm interested in unpacking, in any interpretation of the song and I think I'd probably switch to a different song around the 3 minute mark instead of listening to the whole song, were I not in a topic where I had to play all of it.

...That the song still rises this high up in spite of my issues with the later portions of the song speaks volumes to the quality of the rest of the song.]

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Aw, I figured that would hang around a little longer.

Trains gives me a sort of wistful feeling that no other song I've ever encountered does. I have to be in a certain kind of mood to listen to and really appreciate it, but when I am in that mood there are few things more enjoyable than sitting in a dark room and turning up the volume on that song. It's why I don't mind the latter half the way you do. It allows me to really lose myself in the music and let it take me wherever it will without me feeling like I'm missing something important.
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#140 [#247]:

Name: O'er the Flood
Origin: Goreshit
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zSYdFmEFCI" data-time="

Nominator: DireKrow (4/15)

(3, 3, 6.7)

[Eh. I know its about dying or whatever, but I have no reaction to this at all.]

There is a certain beauty to this track that I really wasn't expecting from a band with a name like that. I'm also surprised by first two impressions were so negative, as this is clearly several steps beyond everything ranked so far.

And yet... I'm not able to fully connect with it. It's like I almost feel something, but it's too hazy to make out. It's possible my preconceptions about the song being about dying are leaving me unable to envision anything else? Though that doesn't sound quite right either... it's actually quite vexing, really.

[Final Thoughts: This song marked the point where the scores officially went up to 6.5; you know, before I inflated all the scores so long ago.]

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#139 [#217]:

Name: Organica
Origin: Brainscapes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjUyUgOuKag" data-time="

Nominator: Mycro (9/15)

(4, 4, 6.7)

[Somehow, I feel like this would be a good workout song. Like something that would play in a high tech gym.]

No matter how many times I listen to it, I can't get anything from it other than "gym". Occasionally a space gym, occasionally an underwater gym--some fitness area in an underwater research facility. Not many machines (mostly weights), but a lot of windows to enjoy the sights or whatever. Certainly not a place I'd ever like to visit.

Song is nice, but I can't quite get past those two fantasies to get anything else out of it.

[Final Thoughts: I still just get "underwater gym" when listening to this, not that I know exactly why I feel that way.]

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#138 [#32]:

Name: Lawn Wake IX
Origin: The Flashbulb
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_mWytjEU4c" data-time="

Nominator: DireKrow (3/15)

(Glorfest, 9, 6.7)

[Going by the order songs were posted in, this is the second song to get a non-numerical score. Listening to it, I can only describe the way it makes me feel as Glorfest; as in this is the Glorf-est song that has ever existed. I dont entirely know what that means, but Id say its at least three points below meep morp. Still good, but not meep morp good--so if meep morp is roughly equivalent to a 10, glorfest equals 7-ish? Maybe.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tw4SBxMuys" data-time="

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#137 [#60]:

Name: Charger Insertion
Origin: Charge Cycles (Chimeratio)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4QrBzZMrUA" data-time="

Nominator: cakophon (4/15)

(7, 8, 6.7)

[Perhaps a bit too relaxing, but still quite nice.]

It's fairly different and I appreciate it, but it doesn't bring to mind any specific thoughts or feelings. Just some generic "hey, it's a Charge Cycles song other than that Transformer Robot Sings one that always gets nominated" and "this is nice" reactions.

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#135 [TIE] [#47]:

Name: The Sound of Silence
Origin: Simon & Garfunkel
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fWyzwo1xg0" data-time="

Nominator: Underleveled/darkx (3/7)

(9, 8.5, 6.7)

[An all-time classic and one of my favorites. It was at the top of my most-listened to songs last year on Spotify and will be on this years list too.]

One of the songs that got hit hardest by being something that I already listen to constantly. If I've already listened it to hundreds, if not thousands, of times there's not as much interest in listening to it for a project.

I was originally going to give it a high score, try to take an "if I'm going to listen to this on a regular basis for all eternity, it has to get a high score; also there are other very familiar songs to get a high score, so hypocrisy blah blah blah", but honestly, this nomination just doesn't excite me in anyway. I've already binge-listened to it so many times I can recite everything by heart and don't even need to click the link. So it's good, I love it, yadda yadda yadda, but I want either something new or at least something where I can't recite the entire song from memory.

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#135 [TIE] [#30]:

Name: Nightcall
Origin: Kavinsky
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_3Dpw-BRY" data-time="

Nominator: paulg (5/15)

(9, 9.5, 6.7)

[I mentioned loving this song and all the many songs that sample it last topic, so this is a bit of a freebie.]

Pretty much everything from "Sound of Silence"'s writeup applies here as well. Great song, listened to it an insane amount of times, have it completely memorized, was going to give it a really high placement but changed mmy mind at the last moment.

This song's unique problem is that it's been sampled by other songs that I'd rather be listening to. Like right now, I want to go listen to "American Terrorist III" and maybe "R.I.P." afterwards. As good as the original is, it's kinda stuck in direct competition against two similar songs that I prefer.

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#134 [#194]:

Name: For The Workforce, Drowning
Origin: Thursday
Link: https://open.spotify.com/track/1lJBNe8CjXxTX8VoIHr0KX?si=7KMB80ydRZqdLj7luQgLXg

Nominator: Bane (11/15)

(7, 5, 6.7)

[Sgood.]

...Again, thank you past me, for that insightful commentary.

It is a good song, basically a much improved version of Brake Lights. You get the same general "work sucks" message, but these guys are easier to understand and have more...provocative lyrics? Imaginative lyrics? I don't think either of those are the right term, but I can't come up with another one right now. You know what I mean though, right? Like:

"These ties strangle our necks, hanging in the closet" is a stronger line than the Bombpops complaining about a boss on her ass, in every possible definition of stronger. This is also a more intense song--not overwhelmingly intense, but Brake Lights was so upbeat it was practically a pop song at times.

Not that Brake Lights wasn't good too...I fear I'm being too harsh on it. Perhaps past me knew what she was doing leaving the write-up at "S'good" without trying to explain the reasoning...

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#133 [#153]:

Name: dream [Last Boss 1]
Origin: Yoshiyuki Usui [Phantom Dust]
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTiSUiPIt_g" data-time="

Nominator: Mycro (8/15)

(4, 6, 6.7)

[May be undervalued because it has the misfortune of following Pure Data. Well see how I feel on a second trip through the list, once its randomized and I have a better grasp on what all has been nominated.]

Try not to read too far into the intentionally vague thoughts on Pure Data; considering how radically the scores have shifted on almost every song since the first listen, it doesn't really matter what was meant by it.

Looking at the game cover, I'm just now realizing that I have no idea what Phantom Dust is. I always thought it was a multiplayer mech combat game, like a BattleTech or Mechwarrior type thing. Checking gameplay videos, I see I was wrong on just about everything.

Song is interesting. It's certainly different and unique, but it doesn't bring any specific imagery to mind or let me enter a trance-like state like Focus Tous did, which keeps it from attaining greatness.

[Final Thoughts: Well, you can probably piece together that Pure Data was one of the songs to have a 10 for the first impression; between NFUN's highest ranked song referencing that some early songs had 10s, that we're running out of early songs that line could have been referencing, and how many times I've mentioned songs seeming worse because they directly followed one I really enjoyed... there's not much point trying to be coy about it right now.

Of course, considering that we just had multiple 9s drop, I wouldn't advise putting too much stock in what the initial impressions were anyway.]

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Welcome to Level 7.

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#132 [#90]:

Name: The 7th Element
Origin: Vitas
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwzUs1IMdyQ" data-time="

Nominator: paulg (4/15)

(7, 7, 7)

[Not sure if this is technically sci-fi, but its good enough for me.]

Great costume, good concept for a song, some extra credit for being (I think) the only Russian language song in either topic--it just repeats itself too many times. I'm willing to believe he's come from the world of dreams to spread a message of love, but this song really needs...more. More variety in lyrics, or more variety in the backing music to at least change the feeling of the lyrics, more choreography to take the mind off the repetitive lyrics, or something.

As is, I like it, but it could be better.

Also unrelated note, but after learning that the "Starman" in Ziggy Stardust is not Ziggy himself, I now see imagine the Starman as this guy. Like a drugged out David Bowie got a vision of this guy and his message of love and made an entire album about it.

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#131 [#190]:

Name: Gaizin
Origin: USAO
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVTze-rl7xA" data-time="

Nominator: banshiryuu (2/10)

(6, 5, 7)

[I liked the self-deprecating humor and it randomly reminded me of an old friend I havent thought of in years, but it needed some new audio clips to spice up the end... even at only four minutes, it felt a bit too long for what it was.]

It's got a good beat and it's strangely nostalgic for a song I've never heard before from a genre I don't listen to, so I like this a lot more than I would have expected.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0B4dKhT4zo" data-time="

banshiryuu
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MycroProcessor posted...

haha well that's the first drop of mine that I'm surprised to see "low" (not that this is low anymore). I had that as a candidate for potential #1-ranked nom of mine

I would have thought that you would have thought that dream would have been the highest ranked; it went rather hard on the abnormal feelings, so it felt like the safest pick out of your nominations.
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#130 [#66]:

Name: Cracked Skulls
Origin: The Megas
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euvo1BOuW4k" data-time="

Nominator: NBIceman (10/15)

(8, 8, 7)

[One of the best songs by what might be my current favorite band.]

Has an inate disadvantage by being something I've listened to so much already though. While there are still songs I'm very familiar with yet to come in the ranking, I haven't heard any song on the list as often as I've heard this one. For a while, I was listening to this song every day--whenever I'd go to listen to some music, I'd always open with this song. Sometimes multiple times a day.

Now we're kinda at the "I've listened to this enough" phase. It's still great, but I find myself wanting less familiar songs--or at least songs that i haven't ridiculously overbinged on at any rate.

[Final Thoughts: After this released, I had it on practically an endless loop for months.]

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#129 [#125]:

Name: Another World, Another Time
Origin: Erang
Link: https://erang.bandcamp.com/track/another-world-another-time

Nominator: FL81 (4/8)

(6.4, 6.5, 7)

[Not usually my thing, but I like this song.]

It feels like a track for a funeral procession from a fantasy movie, where one of the main characters has died valiantly and we have this somber music as the survivors carry their coffin.

Not the happiest track, but it works.

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I'm ok with this running theme of having songs that are preferred versions of other songs! And yea Thursday lyrics can be very provocative and imaginative, very emotional
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I forgot you were a Megas fan. Whoops!
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#128 [#75]:

Name: Scrubdown
Origin: 1 (Off World)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcP8XLoLlew" data-time="

Nominator: Placeee (7/15)

(7.5, 7.5, 7)

[It feels like Im laying on the hood of a red corvette, staring into the night sky & listening to my radio with the interference of interstellar chatter. Very chill.]

Great song to listen to while staring into space, but not something I'm looking for tonight.

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Well my songs have been pretty consistently ranking reverse of how I thought they would be lol
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Yeah, I get that a lot.
<./<

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#127 [#23]:

Name: Further
Origin: Iji
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPhklT21aiU" data-time="

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (5/8)

(7, 9.5, 7)

[Great lyrics.]

On my second trip through the songs, this one really clicked for me. I'm usually interested in lines about taking comfort in shadows or darkness, so this song always had a bit of an advantage--but I feel there was something more to it, something where I really connected to the song or the story it told or something. Unfortunately that was, like, a month ago and I didn't make any notes about it? And I'm just not as into it tonight for whatever reason.

Song is a cover, but vastly superior to the original version. The other one feels like some techno dance...thing...that I actively don't want to listen to.

I've never played Iji, so I can't tell you how well this song fits the game. I've heard good things about it (the game and the way this song fits into it), but as that's all secondhand information from people that loved the game enough to talk about it and its soundtrack, the sources are probably a li'l biased.

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#126 [#174]:

Name: Ancient Stories
Origin: Victor Vergara
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQeEIXTOXCo" data-time="

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (4/8)

(7, 6, 7)

[ts nice, feels like it could be a world map theme for a new Wild ARMs. Probably not something Ill listen to often, but its pretty.]

It's good adventuring music. Like if I were to go exploring somewhere, I wouldn't mind having this play on a loop for a while.

[Final Thoughts: What's with all the dead air after the song ends? I didn't hold back any points due to it, but it's an odd choice.

I'm also not entirely sure how I feel about this upload having chopped the song in half. The full version is kinda like Lady Fantasy, with the song divided into multiple parts (The Fantasy Lake & Book of Dreams)--this upload omits the entirety of Book of Dreams... and I can understand why. If all you want is the first half of the song, having a different song at the end would be annoying. But I think I rather like Book of Dreams?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vumaD38z1gg" data-time="

There's something mysterious about the opening to that section, like finding an ancient, mystic cave on your journey. The pay off to the exploration of "The Fantasy Lake". But then, I've only listened to the Book portion twice, so it has a newness factor that the Lake doesn't and may be slightly overvalued as a result.

...Even less related to anything, but I like whatever visualization is going on in that full video. I don't understand anything about it, beyond 'there are dots that flash on and off', but it looks kinda neat.

So...would the full version have scored any higher? Probably not? I don't see myself giving more than a 7 to either version of the song, so it would likely wind up in a similar place regardless. It's just interesting to compare the different versions of the song.]

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Ouch. Hope that's not about to be a trend.

I could gush about Iji and that song all day, but you're right that I'd be just a little biased. I do recommend that you try the game if you have time, though.

Ancient Stories is actually like... four songs, and I thought you wouldn't want to listen to a 16 minute monster song multiple times. Maybe you would've been fine with that though, in which case... Oops.
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Shonen_Bat posted...

Ancient Stories is actually like... four songs, and I thought you wouldn't want to listen to a 16 minute monster song multiple times. Maybe you would've been fine with that though, in which case... Oops.

Wait, there's an even longer version? Since the one you nominated mentioned removing the second part and the one I "found" (read: YouTube suggested and I clicked) had two named parts, I figured that was the full version.

And long songs...well, depends on the song. Graves did well at my last topic and I already said the 14 minute long instrumental Mycro nominated was so good (on a first listen) that the following song was at a disadvantage. So...yes, 15 minute long songs can do quite well.

I can also point to any number of songs on this list at all where "too long" was a complaint, so, very much a case-by-case basis.
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#125 [#77]:

Name: OVERDOSE
Origin: ATOLS
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCf_i29U1T4" data-time="

Nominator: cakophon (3/15)

(7, 7, 7)

[Im not sure how much I enjoyed it, but something this unique is basically guaranteed to get into the top 50% of songs by default.]

Strange enough that it can't score less than a 7, not strange enough to score an automatic 10.

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#124 [#71]:

Name: Point of No Return
Origin: JUMP 1/2 ~ Janked Up Mario Party 1/2 {Original: ESCHATOS} [Musicalman {Original: Yousuke Yasui}]
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU5FwHbUPF8" data-time="

Nominator: Flamander/Glacier (3/15)

(6.5, 8, 7)

[A good remake of a decent song. Definitely prefer this over the original.]

I can't figure out what I like about this song, why I dislike the original version of the song, or why the song's ranking keeps fluctuating (though admittedly, less dramatic fluctuations then half the list).

...In conclusion: This was a song, thank you and good night.

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#123 [#92]:

Name: "Belly's Gonna Get Ya"
Origin: Rebook Commercial
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHlvKQwZFSI" data-time="

Nominator: paulg (3/15)

(7, 7, 7)

[Made me laugh and ended before the joke became stale. All I could ask for.]

It's a joke that I still smile at, even after listening to it several times for this ranking. I don't think there's anything to really say about it; it's short, it's funny, it's unique, I like it.

===================
---

====================

#122 [#133]:

Name: Flamingo (cover)
Origin: Souya Ichika
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9ByzUd5bdY" data-time="

Nominator: UF8 (11/15)

(7, 6.5, 7)

[Good character design and voice. Will have to try looking up the lyrics again later as I'm getting an unrelated song.]

I can't decide if I preferred not having the translation available or not. There's nothing really wrong with them, per se, but I think they're a bit bleak and violent for her design? 'Blue haired catgirl maid' and 'paper-mache drunkard violently competing for love in a jaded town without hospitality' aren't topics I would think of as going together.

...But I do like the design and she has a deeper voice than the other virtual idols (with the possible exception of Azki) which helps her stand out, and this cover is so much better than the original. But it's also very old-fashioned, subdued, and not something I'd want to listen to often. Having trouble deciding exactly how much I enjoy this, but I'm leaning towards "very high 6" at the moment.

[Later Edit: Officially moved up to the 7s, I was being too hard on it earlier.]

=====================



====================

#121 [#146]:

Name: POWER
Origin: Kanye West
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8JflBNovLE" data-time="

Nominator: Dragon (8/10)

(Unscored, "apparently a 6 based on its position on the list", "In retrospect, I think I was happier leaving this without a definitive score")

[I dont know if I can separate my feelings on Kanye to give an unbiased score to the song. It will likely get some points for being a song Id never hear outside a topic like this, but...]

This is one of the harder songs to rank. Some of these lines are almost worth a perfect 10, that was a great choice of song to sample, and it's catchy (and I know I say that a lot this ranking topic but just try to deal with it)... but that whole tirade against SNL is worth negative infinity points. I also really hope he didn't spend 5,000 hours on this song, as that would just be sad.

...Like they make fun of you for the VMAs and you go to work for five thousand hours and the best retort you came up with was telling them to kiss your ass? That's just...sad. Like I actively pity him now.

[And yes, I know it's quite likely most of the time spent working was on things other than that pathetic attempt at a retort. At least, one would hope.]

Remove the most egregiously stupid parts of this song and it probably hits...somewhere in the top 30, I don't know exactly. As it is, the song is stuck between 0 and 10, which seems to have landed it here.

[Final Thoughts: So conflicting.

My childlike creativity, purity and honesty
Is honestly being crowded by these grown thoughts
Reality is catchin' up with me
Takin' my inner child, I'm fighting for its custody

One of the best sections of any song on either list. At least a 10, possibly an 11, and I absolutely love the song.

But that SNL section is painful in its idiocy, to say nothing about the drunk driving line and I absolutely hate this song.

You got the power to let power go?

and then we get philosophical at the end and I'm back to loving the song? It just endlessly bounces between being one of the absolute best and one of the absolute worst, and I don't even know how to begin scoring it.

This song moved up the list from where I planned on dropping it. Had it around 40 some spaces below this, but every day I'd talk myself out of cutting it and shuffle things around to keep it around a bit longer.]

====================
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Fluttershy_Pony posted...

#122 [#133]:

Name: Flamingo (cover)
Origin: Souya Ichika

If it wasn't clear from the live2d avatar, she's actually not traditionally a "virtual idol/singer", though this video proved she was quite capable of being one. It made the list because I was especially impressed with the arrangement and her cover because it really transformed the song from something I otherwise wouldn't even like into something that draws out strengths I didn't even know she had. Unsurprisingly, given the original has like hundreds of millions of views or something, there are other covers of this song, but none of them are particularly good in my opinion because the song's shit.

Anyway outside this video and the couple of others since, the main reason I like this vtuber is because her regular voice is actually better. This isn't a song so you don't have to watch or give remarks on it but it is a notable shorter-than-average stream from her. She has a good laugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4t8q1dHwfU" data-time="

And uh yes, i am indeed probably going to make remarks on every single one of mine that go out if it wasn't obvious at this point. I'm actually pretty surprised at the order these have been going out, there are definitely a few I didn't expect to make it this far left.

I don't think I had heard of live2d before... seems neat.

She does have a cute voice, but I'm afraid I won't get much out of that video without knowing Japanese... she said thanks a lot and laughed a lot, but that's as much as I could parse from the few minutes I watched.

And comment away. 'Tis always nice to hear why something was picked.
---

Alright well with 12/15 songs remaining, Ive officially got 10% of the songs left to be ranked!

Female pop artists will dominate!

===================

#120 [#25]:

Name: The Trapeze Swinger
Origin: Iron and Wine
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt7O8gDy0DA" data-time="

Nominator: NBIceman (9/15)

(8, 9.5, 7)

[Its an experience, but a very draining one... I have to take a break from this after listening to it, because



My first impression ends there, without even a closing bracket. I honestly can't tell you if that was an intentional decision, if I was just too drained to bother finishing the thought, or if I just got distracted and forgot to finish typing. Believe whichever of those most amuses you, I guess?

This is a song I need to be in the right mood to appreciate. It's great, but we're looking at nine and a half minutes of a very slow, sad, melancholic song of the deceased looking back at their life. It's very emotionally touching...when I'm in the mood to deal with that.

===================



===================

#119 [#70]:

Name: Head Home
Origin: Midlake
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dQMHBy3NvQ" data-time="

Nominator: NBIceman (8/15)

(8, 8, 7)

[Very good, but it goes way over my head. The song is all first compose an essay on Thomas Hobbes Leviathan and its view of society, then use that knowledge to inform your opinion on the likely views of the character in the song reading the book and Im really not up for that.]

"Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common-Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil"

...Can I go back to chasing my tail and barking at things yet?

I get about as far as that title before losing any interest in trying to comprehend this song. I could probably force my way through that book if I had to (or at least through enough relevant articles about it to bluff my way through a conversation), but it would be difficult and doesn't seem like a subject matter I'd enjoy studying. Also, it would require spending far more time researching things than any other song on the list--the ranking will never be finished if I have to do college level research just to properly comprehend the reference in one line of one song.

...I can't even take enjoyment in the fact that the song goes over a lot of other people's heads as well. Try searching for a meaning and you'll find lots of people convinced this is a very happy song about the simple things in life, which I'm pretty sure it isn't? The line about the town struggling to help the farmers would seem to preclude this being happy--as does the general intensity of the song. It's too frantic, right? Way too frantic and the singer seems to be desperately begging to go home in the outro. If I really have a better grasp on the song than the average person, that...is troubling, to be quite honest.

...Right; well once you get past the fact that I'll never fully understand it and the worry about how no one else does either, you're left with a song that is still good. Good band, good singer. I'm even forgiving the repetition during the outro, as it is that faced-paced music & single-minded desperation that truly makes the song. I just find it a bit too depressing in all possible respects to listen to it often.

===================
---

Oh shit, one of my songs got removed.

handsomeboy2012 posted...

Oh shit, one of my songs got removed.

Huh, not the song I was expecting either. After last topic's issue with the Detective Conan song getting removed multiple times, I've been waiting for that one to vanish on me.
---

====================

#118 [#87]

Name: Bad Chick
Origin: DJ Shimamura
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwclSbzQZ5Q" data-time="

Nominator: banshiryuu (1/10)

(6, 7, 7)

[I think I like this, though I cant articulate why.]

The song is milder than most of your other nominations, there are a lot of stuffed animals in that picture, and I'm easily manipulated by cheesy lines about showing who you really are. Turns out it's actually quite easy to figure out what I liked about it!

Its placement is rather variable; I really like the subdued parts of the song, but the faster/louder parts are far less interesting. Some days I give it a really high placement for the parts I loved, sometimes I don't. Today seems to be mostly a "don't" day.

[Final Thoughts: I was back to liking this song by the time its elimination came around. It started in 190th Place, but managed to make it an impressive 70+ rankings before dropping. ]

=====================

banshiryuu did not play a Defend command when attacked by Darth Vader's "All Too Easy" and took the full 20 damage.

In Memorium

Lowest Ranked Song: Pilgrimage (293rd Place)
Highest Ranked Song: Bad Chick (118th Place)

I fear we're probably the least compatible in terms of music preferences, but that did make your nominations interesting to go through. I did quite enjoy Gaizin and Bad Chick, so that's something.

...that's probably the most obscure elimination reference I've made.
---

===================

#117 [#45]:

Name: Tactical Field
Origin: Yasuhisa Watanabe [Senko no Ronde DUO]
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qspu_qocdp0" data-time="

Nominator: Mycro (6/15)

(10, 8.5, 7)

[Senko no Ronde?! I dont think Ive ever heard anyone else mention the series before! I may not have much experience with it (played WarFrame several years ago), but I love the concept of a Shmup Fighting Game! And the song is great too. It somehow manages to combine highly mechanical and chaotic parts with sequences that are really relaxing, just wonderful all around.]

It feels like a lot of different songs all playing at once. My favorite part starts at around 37 seconds in. The music in the background somehow reminds me heavily of Aqua Man's theme from MM8:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oujCjVisaNY" data-time="



But also vaguely the Airlim theme from Granstream Saga, which I can't explain as I fail to find anything in common with Airlim and either of the other two songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX1yUVbvIsU" data-time="



I always did like that Airlim song though. It's very simple and short (less than 30 seconds before it loops), but I used to leave the game on that screen to listen to the music for a while.

Back on topic: The other parts of the song are still good, but I'm not as into them as that early sequence. And while I still love the fact that this song is from Senko no Ronde, I may have let my natural bias towards anything from the game skew the ranking higher than it should have? Alternatively, I'm just not as into this song on this specific day and it would jump back up to a 10 later.

===================
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====================

#116 [#96]

Name: Zelos
Origin: Mandroid Echostar
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bewCi4xEWJ0" data-time="

Nominator: NBIceman (7/15)

(6, 7, 7)

[Comments later. Maybe. Possibly.]

Another song that I should like a lot more than I actually do. This type of mild metal that feels more like rock than metal is very much my style of music, I think I like whatever story is being told here (it sounds interesting at least), and there are some good lines here (I wouldn't say "drained the blood from the Devil's throat" is my favorite line, but it's certainly memorable and evocative) but I never get into the story as much as I'd like to.

It reminds me of another song from last topic that I'm pretty sure you nominated, as it's the same general style of song and I had roughly the same reaction to. Give me a sec to find its name...

*rummaging through archives*

Ah, "The Spark of the Archon", one of Ark's nominations actually. Sorry about that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfo4fFLKfdo" data-time="



...Wow these songs are nothing alike now that I'm listening to this again. </.<

Well, either way, they're both in that general "progressive songs telling stories I don't get fully drawn into" vibe. Archon is far more experimental and weird, but... well no, no, I can't actually connect to these two songs together, so this detour was pointless.

[Final Thoughts: I love the start of the Outro, at around 4:38-ish. That low guitar note, all drawn out and reverb-y, as the song quiets down... so wonderful... then the song proceeds to not end and ramps back up in intensity, then repeats the same lyrics over and over in a loud booming voice. I certainly wouldn't call the rest of the outro bad, just...not where I'd hoped the song was going at that point.

I went ahead and tried a pair of other songs from the album, Metatron & Paladin, and wasn't super excited by either of them. I'd say Zelos is definitely several pegs above those tracks.]

====================



===================

#115 [#154]:

Name: Road to the Faire
Origin: David Arkenstone
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dO7owOQAto" data-time="

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (3/8)

(4.5, 6, 7)

[Too happy and too classical for my tastes. I feel slightly bad giving a low score to it, but its just not for me.]

Eh, I'm in the mood for something relaxing and happy. It's still a bit too old fashioned and "medieval faire" isn't exactly my first choice of ambiance, but it's a nice change of pace & the song perfectly exceeds at everything it wants to accomplish.

=====================
---

oddly enough, deo (banshiryuu) is a huge senko no ronde music fan
---

It's likely too early to start inflating point values, but we're at another point where I don't want to cut anything... so let's start raising everything to 7.1 from here. A small enough increase that there's still room for further increases before we reach level 8, but still something to indicate an increase in quality.

====================

#114 [#93]:

Name: The Grocery
Origin: Manchester Orchestra
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nfNw6SS54" data-time="

Nominator: NBIceman (6/15)

("6-ish or something, whatever", 7, 7.1)

[Mass shooting followed by attempted suicide, huh? Im just gonna move on to the next song now.]

That's not even getting into religion, crises of faith, or all the images used in the video--including sliced wrists, so we can have visual types of suicide to go with the singing about suicide attempts.

It's a well made song, but I'm not in a mood to listen to it or watch the video. Some days I'm better able to be slightly objective or at least pretend to be: "ooh, listen to how powerful it and the subject matter are, hmm yes, truly speaks to the human condition and people losing faith, hmm" but not right now.

[Final-ish Thoughts: I think YouTube's ad algorithm is broken. Before this song, I got this commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DALO2_UqE-o" data-time="

I think going directly from something that childish, pink, and sparkly to this song is the new winner for worst case of whiplash in the topic. Bravo, YouTube.

Anyway... tonight I'm back to being able to enjoy the song--mostly. This song (and as far as I can tell, the entire album it's on) deal with really heavy topics--to a point that Tender Comrade seems incredibly tame by comparison. I think this is probably the heaviest song in the entire topic? Which is impressive, because I'm not convinced that it's the heaviest song on the album--I think The Alien may be even harder to listen to and it's the only other song on the album I've tried.

(Seeing the theory that the character in The Alien & the character in The Grocery are the same person... makes sense, but then we get into repeated suicide attempts and severe child abuse and I'm finding it harder to stay objective.)

One random person commented that this band felt like "Sufjan Stevens meets John Wayne Gacy". That feels like a disturbingly accurate way of describing them. That rather mellow voice the lead singer has does compare favorably to the few Sufjan Stevens songs I've heard (his work is good, but not the style of music where I'd want to hear more than one or two of his songs per day) and...well I'm not going to try to compare the character in this song to a real murderer, let's just presume the reference works.

But as referred to in my original write-up, my thoughts on this song are tied to whatever state of mind I was in at the time. There are definitely days where I'll never be able to stomach a song like this; there are other days where I'll respect the song--for having the courage to not pull any punches in its subject matter, for the album taking this story and running with it so completely, for the quality of the singing, for how relatable the crisis of faith is in spite of the character's actions, the way the video somehow has nothing to do with the song -but- gives off an unsettling vibe that almost perfectly compliments it anyway, blah blah blah. There's a lot to praise about the song. And, like Trains, this is definitely going to be one of the more memorable songs.

...I'm just not entirely sure I want to remember...]

====================
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===================

#113 [#79]:

Name: Hymn of the Cherubim
Origin: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPlK5HwFxcw" data-time="

Nominator: CPU (5/10)

(7, 7, 7.1)

[I like the ambiance, but the song doesnt seem to go anywhere.]

It's a great hymn, very spiritual and contemplative. I was truly surprised by how much I enjoyed it--it's so far removed from what I'd ever ask to listen to that I suspected you were aiming for last place when I read the name (not that I mind those who do; you all nominate whatever you want, I rank however I want, and we all get what we want out of the arrangement). Though I suppose it's possible you were trying for last place and accidentally got a good score? </.<

I still use Li2Co3 from last topic when I want anything spiritual or contemplative and this song isn't going to replace it... but I may find a use for it someday. There aren't many songs of this style that I enjoy, after all.

===================
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===================

#112 [#98]:

Song: 1+4=14
Origin: Tat Ming Pair
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3wuu4vKhSk" data-time="

Nominator: handsomeboy (9/15)

(7, 7, 7.1)

[Interesting track.]

Even without a translation, this song is so heavily influenced by Orwell's 1984 that you can see the inspiration from the second you start the song. And while this song is assuredly about China and everything going on there, the fact that this song came out two months after Kellyanne redefined lies as "alternative facts" makes this song distressingly relevant abroad as well.

...The parts of it I can decipher, at least. As a more recent song, I can't find anyone with any attempt to translate the song and the articles I can find about the song offer nothing I couldn't figure out on my own. And automated machine translations fail spectacularly:

considered to nerve
sin nerve
nerves you have been born
human nerve of
God letter nerves
I was the disappearance of nerve

One article states that nerve (or whatever word is being translated as nerve) refers "to the neuroticism surrounding the city" and echoes one of the band's earlier albums that lamented the end of the world.

...Which sounds like an album I should be listening to right now, to be quite honest, but I digress.

Either way, what we have here is a complex song; the basic message against government controlling people through repeated lies is easy enough to grasp (even I get the significance of "2+2=5" at this point), but the finer details of the song get lost in translation--all metaphorical and calling back to songs I've never heard.

...at least I don't think I've heard them, you did nominate a lot of Tat Ming Pair songs, and I certainly don't know which album this song is echoing to know if you nominate anything from that specific album. (The article claims that "2+2=5" has some similarity to the numbers at the end of the Fire Fighting Youths song, but I'm not seeing it myself).

As for the song itself: The opening with the false equation being repeated is neat. Perfectly sets the tone of the song and I'm always up for even slightly computerized voices. The main part of the song doesn't work as well for me as I might like--the backing music feels heavier than their usual work, which works for the subject matter, but is less fun and doesn't get stuck in my head like some of their other songs. I often find it difficult to remember much about the song, other than the intro and outro--each time I get to this song on a listen, I remember liking it but often can't recall a single note or anything specific about it, other than "it's that 1984 song I liked".

...Right; well it's a good song, I think I can decipher enough that I get the general idea though I'm obviously missing a lot of the specifics, and it's strangely satisfying to know that the group still gets together occasionally to release songs that are both good -and- politcally significant. But the song is perhaps a bit too heavy and serious to listen to often, so it drops here.

.......this was a long write-up that actually seems to have stayed on topic for once. I think I need to go lie down for a bit.

[Final Thoughts: Somehow, I doubt this is the Tat Ming Pair song you expected to be eliminated first.]

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===================

#111 [#167]:

Name: Juice
Origin: Lizzo
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaCrQL_8eMY" data-time="

Nominator: Hannyabal (12/15)

(6, 6, 7.1)

[Its good, but not what Im looking for. Im sure this is a 10/10 song for lots of people and I dont want to disparage it, but its really not for me personally.]

I hear this song a lot on commercials for some excercize equipment (Pelaton? Peloton? Palaton? Don't know, don't especially care) and I'm so happy Lizzo's getting mainstream exposure like that. Be better if she appeared somewhere in the commercial itself or there were any credits on screen to actually give her credit, but I'd like to believe at least a few people searched for the song and learned about her after hearing it.

I see a lot of people calling this a "body positivity" song done right, which it probably is? "If I'm shinin', everybody gonna shine" is a good message. Just as much as I love Lizzo herself and can somewhat appreciate the song's significance, it's still not exactly the type of song I'm looking for.

[LATER EDIT: I saw a van today with a Peloton decal on the back window; they also had decals of a mer-person family. I'm not saying reality is poorly scripted, but if it were scripted, having a family of half-fish point out the correct spelling of Peloton would be the definition of terrible writing.]

[Final Thoughts: In a reverse from all other songs, I think this one got a bit of a boost by being omnipresent. I've heard it on commercials, on some TV show or movie (I wasn't really watching whatever it was, but the Closed Captioning actually listed Lizzo's name next to the lyrics, and I was so happy they went out of the way to name her), in stores, this song has been following me everywhere for months. It was kinda neat, actually.]

====================

Which puts us 10 songs away from the next relevant milestone, where 2/3rds of the songs will have been eliminated.
---

I'd really like to have a go at explaining 1+1=14 in detail, but it gets so metaphorical that even a native speaker would have trouble understanding specific lines. Never mind google, I probably would need high level literature to translate this well.

The basic premise is as you said though - the government are lying shitbags, our freedoms are being suppressed, and we should resist.
...Which is what is happening here right now.

Also I did expect this to be the first of their songs to go, but not before one of my Japanese songs.

handsomeboy2012 posted...

The basic premise is as you said though - the government are lying shitbags, our freedoms are being suppressed, and we should resist.
...Which is what is happening here right now.

Yeah, I know I should have mentioned something there at the end--about how the song may be even more relevant now than it was two years ago, but I couldn't come up with a fitting thing to say. Since I can't fully grasp the meaning of the song and have only a vague knowledge of what's happening in Hong Kong, everything I tried to say came off trite and pointless.

It is good to know I at least had the general concept of the song down and it's cool that the song is capable of transcending language barriers like that.

...Well, not sure "cool" is a great adjective to use in these circumstances...



====================

#110 [#168]:

Name: Lover's Return
Origin: Linda Ronstadt
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDr5jk-4wBc" data-time="

Nominator: Snake (5/15)

(6, 6, 7.1)

[Its a nice change of pace from the other songs on the list. Just a simple, relaxing song to cool down with before getting back to work.]

Another palate cleanser like the one piece of classical musical earlier, this one gets a better score because I have a bit of a soft spot for this type of country song. I'm not sure I've heard much of Linda Ronstadt's music outside of her 70's pop hit "You're No Good"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e47Ya2iVFRI" data-time="

Which I'm just now learning wasn't even her song originally (nor was she the first to do a cover), though I don't think anyone else had nearly as much success. I don't think I've heard "You're No Good" for quite a while though, guess the Oldies station has been shifting more towards classic rock for a while now and there may not be much room for country pop on the station anymore. That's kinda sad to think about.

So the correct song: I like it, obviously. I'm surprised to learn this is a cover of a song from the 30s, that you can actually find that version of the song on YouTube, and that--in a rarity this topic--I vastly prefer the version nominated over the original.

====================
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#109 [#128]:

Name: Still Alive
Origin: Mirror's Edge Soundtrack
Link: https://open.spotify.com/track/7ETyMvPt5MriedxOrZUfFK?si=TNCTcMuKSSGqNT6d9TQ7JQ

Nominator: Bane (10/15)

(6.5, 6.5, 7.1)

[Hey, I really liked the original Mirrors Edge! Didnt spend too much time on the sequel, it just wasnt the same.

Good song, fits the game and character quite well.]

Believe it or not, I don't really have anything to add to that miniature write-up.

=====================



====================

#108 [#180]:

Name: No Good Place
Origin: Yasuhisa Watanabe [Border Down]
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxpFQCwzy7Q" data-time="

Nominator: Mycro (5/15)

(4, 5.5, 7.1)

[It has a nice futuristic sound. Favorite part is around 45 seconds in, when that organ (or organ-like) sound comes in. It lends a certain spiritual quality to the tune, elevating it...then that part goes away for the rest of the song and Im left disappointed.]

A lot of good sections, held back by the fact that they're all too short to fully enjoy. That part around 45 seconds has a lovely Evil Angel quality that is so wonderful, but doesn't last long; it's followed by a bit that's like birds flying over an alien landscape, but that also doesn't last too long. Later on there's a part that's like falling through cyberspace, but also too short.

It's nice, I just wish I had time to fully enjoy the parts I wanted to enjoy.

====================
---

Oh wow, I took a beating yesterday. That's what I get for nominating a bunch of really emotionally charged songs, I guess.

Name: The Trapeze Swinger
Origin: Iron and Wine
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt7O8gDy0DA" data-time="

I don't imagine it changes your overall opinion much, but this song isn't so much meant to be about someone looking back at their life as it is a frank examination of how two people who once were close can slowly drift apart, through no fault of their own, just because their lives happened to go in different directions. They could've been happy together had either of them been just a slightly different person, but it wasn't meant to be, and even though he's long since accepted that and now has Heaven waiting for him, he still can't tear himself away from spending a few more seconds looking down at the girl sitting in the back row at his funeral.

I've always appreciated the beautiful writing in the song but I never really got it until I started to drift away from one of my best friends and realized how perfectly that feeling is captured here.

Name: Head Home
Origin: Midlake
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dQMHBy3NvQ" data-time="

I agree with you that the song isn't "happy," but I do feel like it's almost hopeful in a way? I don't know, to me there's something comforting about retaining the fortitude to persist in your way of life and to appreciate the small pleasures, however few they may be, of that life, even as the rest of the world has more or less passed you and that life by. Maybe I'm overly sentimental or optimistic.

Name: Zelos
Origin: Mandroid Echostar
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bewCi4xEWJ0" data-time="

If you still have any interest in Mandroid, Sacred Fire off that album is the one I'd consider much closer in quality to Zelos than anything else. And the Citadels album is a much stronger effort than Coral Throne overall.

Name: The Grocery
Origin: Manchester Orchestra
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nfNw6SS54" data-time="

I oscillated quite a bit on nominating this because the subject matter was so heavy, but I was really curious how you'd react to that. Hopefully I didn't do any lasting mental damage.
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^I'll give Sacred Fire a try later. Do you have any specific song from Citadels in mind or should I just pick arbitrarily?

And don't worry about nominating something like The Grocery. I still need to experience things outside my comfort zone, so something like that is always appreciated. Also the story it tells is fairly far removed from anything in my life, so it doesn't hit as hard as some other songs.
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#106 [TIE] [#124]:

Options / Game Over - Daffy Duck in Hollywood -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50iJZlkHvyU" data-time="

Nominator: GameBopAdv (5/9)

(7.7, 6.5, 7.1)

[*laughs* Oh, this nomination takes me back. Some time way back in the boards historyI dont wanna know how longone of the VGM group regulars had a VGM ranking topic that I submitted a few songs for. There was a song from Rhapsody that he hated (though I cant be sure if it came in dead last or not), an average tune from Vanguard Bandits (he found it unremarkable and I concur, though I personally give it a few bonus points for nostalgia), and this song.

He liked it, but he called me out. There was some long running VGM topic on the board and this song was something hed submitted for it. He made a joke about me being the only person who cheated by submitting one of his own picks to the list; it was all in good fun, but I never really went into that topic series, so it was all a coincidence... I got so embarrassed, I couldnt bring myself to show my face in the topic again.

And now things have come full circle. This is great.]

Ah, this nomination probably brought the most laughter, so thank you for that. I haven't been able to figure out who the user in question was; I'm thinking it might have been TomNook7? He did start "Post a VGM a Day" which sounds like the topic series this song was first posted to. Like I said, it wasn't anything I participated in, but I do recall something about people posting one song a day--I'm confident whoever did that music ranking topic was one of the regulars from that topic series... and since I can't find any trace of that series other than the fact that Tom started it, I'm just going to presume Tom had the music ranking topic unless someone from back then has evidence to the contrary.

Also not that you were likely to ask, but the other two songs I nominated were

Let's Go On (Contest) - Rhapsody:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rGM1unGBzw" data-time="



It's...a bit too cheesy and childish for normal people, I suppose. </.<

Honestly, I really like it though.

Time of Battle - Vanguard Bandits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em67bm3uDLI" data-time="



...I think. Honestly I'm not a fan of the soundtrack and most of it blurs together, so it could have been Broken Wings or Destiny. Time of Battle feels right though.

It's...okay? I have a certain level of nostalgia for the game (but also a lot of hatred for how Working Designs butchered the game as Vic destroyed everything he touched), so it probably gets a 6 from me? I dunno why, but I was in the mood to nominate something average and that was the most average game song I could think of at the time. A song I loved that I didn't expect to do well (though I hoped for a better reaction than it got), an average song, and something obscure--this video you nominated was titled "obscure VGM #1" so it was my first hit and I enjoyed it, so it made it in as my third nominee.

Apparently I needed to search for something more obscure than this, considering his response... well, I tried, at any rate. And he still liked the song, so it's not like it was all bad.

Song is nice. It blatantly doesn't fit an Options Screen or a Game Over screen so you can tell it was created for an unused level, but it's still good. The opening has a very "falling through space" quality to it that I like and the endless coincidences related to this song's history in ranking topic make for a good source of laughter.

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Fluttershy_Pony posted...

^I'll give Sacred Fire a try later. Do you have any specific song from Citadels in mind or should I just pick arbitrarily?

Ancient Arrows is probably my favorite off the album and one of their more popular tracks so I guess that'd be the place to start.
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#106 [TIE] [#111]

Name: I believe in you
Origin: Il divo & Celine Dion
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce8HZ2keKwk" data-time="

Nominator: CPU (4/10)

(6, 6.5, 7.1)

[Pretty, but the message isnt one Im looking for right now.]

I don't feel like dancing around the topic, so while this is a spoiler, let's just get it out of the way: Darkness is getting a 10--the mysteries are if it wins and how many other songs get 10s.

I was going to try to be more subtle about it, but really, there's no way we're getting through this write-up without confronting that fact. There's no way to say "This is a very pretty song, but I wish the lyrics were the exact opposite about light being gone forever and learning to embrace the darkness" without people jumping to the obvious conclusion.

[Later Edit: Considering my general unpredictability, I doubt anyone would have tried making any guesses as to where Darkness would fall, but we're here now and I'm not rewriting this.]

And really, I don't think either of my topics had two songs as fundamentally opposing each other, as this track and Darkness:

One a beautiful song, a collaboration between a group known for operatic renditions of popular songs and one of the most famous singers in the world, joining together for a song about redemption & love & light.

The other has people dressing up like goblins and screaming DARKNESS a lot.

It is at this point that even Raetsel has to pause for a second and reflect on the choices in her life that led to this particular conversation.

As her pointy ears twitch, it is likely at this point that you realize you're talking to someone who seems to think she's literally an anthropomorphic fox and questioning the choices in your life that led to you interacting with her in the first place.

AAANYWHO--this is a great song. I have no complaints about Il divo or Celine's performance, the operatic qualities of the song greatly help it stand out, as does Celine's section in French (I don't think we had any other French songs, at this topic or the other?). But I will have darkness.

...I have no idea what I'm going to say when we get to Darkness now, but I suppose that's future me's problem. </.<

[Final Thoughts: Earlier, you mentioned there being a couple of songs you were surprised were still in. I'm guessing they were the Hymn of the Cherubim and this song? But I'm not sure why you would have been concerned with this song--at the end of the last topic (which I thought you were around for, but I may be misremembering), I admitted a fondness for Placido Domingo's English songs and practically begged someone to try nominating something by him that I hadn't heard yet.

Il divo is quite comparable to Placido; if anything, it was one of the safer picks... in terms of musical style and quality, at any rate. The lines about being an angel of kindness take the whole goodness and light thing too far, but other than that, this was a solid pick.]

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