Board 8 > Raetsel ranks 631 songs. [Rankings]

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/19/20 4:14:27 PM
#1:


People who requested to be notified when the topic went up:

@MetalmindStats
@Murphiroth
@rwlh

After two months of prep work, the third annual music topic is ready to roll!

INTRODUCTION POST:

First, a very large thank you to everyone who nominated. These topics are quite important to me and I couldnt do them without you. Theyre the one time of the year where I get to act as stupid and furry as I want to, and share my horrible opinions without any real care for how terrible they are. These topics are my happy place. <3

...I dont really know what you guys are getting out of it, but Im not going to ask any questions.

Either way, all songs are incredibly welcome. The songs I hate offer an opportunity to think about why I hate them and to experience music that I wouldnt normally hear, so while I may complaina lot more than I should, to be quite honestI do treasure all of the terribly ranked songs. Even the middle of the road songs that fail to inspire any reaction have their place, serving as a divider between things I liked & things I didnt.

Also, my opinion on songs fluctuates constantly. One song managed to rise 500 places from its original rankingso even if I say I hate a song now, its quite possible that I would learn to appreciate it at some point in the future. So please, know that no matter what I say, I do legitimately appreciate every nomination here and sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.


Next, a quick overview of what a writeup might look like, using some made-up numbers. Its mostly self-explanatory, but I feel like wasting time anyway:

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600.IMAGINARY SONG:

Nominator: No one (2/2)
Source: No ones extra nominations (1/1)

Initial Score: 51.12 [#371]
Revised Score: 0 [#600]
Final Score: 0 [#600]

(First Thoughts: I dont know why, but I kinda like this.)

Changed mind, now I hate it.

[Final Thoughts: Yep, still hate it.]

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The bolded part gives the name of the song and what its final placement was.

Nominator tells you who nominated it, the numbers point out what ranking it gets compared exclusively to that persons other nominations. In this case, this nonexistent person nominated two songs and this was in last place of the two.

Source is a category added for Neutral Entrants (who nominated one album & some extra songs) & Order Entrants who nominated two different albums. It lets us follow where a song places compared to other songs from its album or playlist of songs.

(Chaos Entrants & Order Entrants with one giant album do not have a Source section because they all come from the same playlist or album)

...I already know Im going to wind up with a lot of errors in the numbering on Nominator & Source, so Im just going to apologize in advance.



The score section tells you exactly how many points the song got at each listen. Only the final score matters, but you can track how your favorite songs scores fluctuated over timeincluding exactly where they would have placed if I posted the rankings after only the first or second listens.

[Youll notice a lot of songs with the exact same ranking, particularly under the Initial Score section. Those songs were tied, though I didnt bother adding any symbol to note things that were officially tied on the first or second listens; ties on the final rankings will be pointed out, obviously.]

And then there are three spots for writeups, so I could add notes at each stage of the project. Keep your expectations low, most of these only contain one or two words and the longer ones tend to be... completely unrelated to anything.

(Also, I may start posting completely arbitrary songs instead of actual commentary whenever I hit a song I dont really wish to discuss. And by may do that, I mean definitely did that a lot of times and by arbitrary I mean so arbitrary, I do not recall which ones I posted, but I think music from three different pinball games will be featured for some reason??

Two of them are pinball tables which were recreated in the Pinball Arcade and one of them is from a pinball video game. I do not why Im telling you this, nor why it is hidden in a spoiler tag.]



Aaaanywho....

SCORING SYSTEM:

A ten point system is kinda boring and I wanted to have harsher standards for giving high scores this time, so Ive switched to a 101 point system! With decimal points to give even more numbers. The larger numbers made everything feel more substantial.

...I mean, its really not. You can just slide the decimal point over and pretend its a standard 10 point rating system and nothing would fundamentally change, but it changed how I felt about the scores.

Scoring Tiers

101: One of the top three songs! YAY!

100: Songs that I really loved and considered awarding first place to, even though they ultimately didnt end in the top three.

90.00~99.99: Songs that I love, but were never seriously considered for first place.

80.00~89.99: Songs that I really, really likepossibly even love a bitbut dont think are quite at that top tier level.

70.00~79.99: I highly enjoyed these songs.

60.00~69.99: I liked these songs.

50.01~59.99: I have more positive feelings towards the song than negative ones, but like feels like too strong of a word.

Exactly 50: I either felt absolutely nothing towards this song or the positive and negative aspects completely canceled each other out, leaving only an empty void.

40.00~49.99: I wasnt a fan of these songs, but I dont mind listening to them.

30.00~39.99: I didnt like these songs.

20.00~29.99: I actively disliked these songs.

10.00~10.99: Well, I didnt hate them...

0.01~0.99: Thanks, I hate it!

Absolute Zero: ...



So if the scores all seem too low for much of the project, then you can blame most of it on the harsher standards.

THE R NUMBERS [R#s for short]:

For reasons that have long been forgottenI woke up at 3 AM in the morning and made this decision months ago based on some half-remembered dream that is now completely forgottenthe list is divided into two. 599 Ordinary Numbers (the main list) & 32 R Numbers; the R#s are songs that I felt I knew so well before the ranking started that I could have easily tiered and scored them without listening to them again. (Obviously I did still listen to them the full three times)

There are some songs that probably should have been on the R# list that werent and 1 song that probably shouldnt have been on the R# list and is, but the R# list is what it is. Were going to start the topic by going through all 32 R#s first; its a chance for me to relax with the songs I know incredibly well and to start the topic off on a high note, with songs I (mostly) have positive things to say about and could effortlessly make decent-sized writeups.

Honestly, having a miniature 32 song list to experiment with formatting and practice on before diving into the main list was quite helpful.

SONG LIST

Trying to post 631 links in the opening posts would be silly. If you need to see the full list, it should be available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18D9KhWpZYoHRYAKJFNTfrxYYI8v468xT_CW_LYg24gA/

Onward! To rankings!
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Raetsel_Lapin
11/19/20 4:19:14 PM
#2:


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R#32: STEEL FORGED IN FATE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/747kBcYP2moADP4jnqjaoz

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (27/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (10/10)

Initial Score: 51.10 [R#29]
Revised Score: 51.00 [R#31]
Final Score: 50.50 [R#32]

(First Thoughts: Its a nice 8 second boss intro, but certainly not worth listening to out of context. Its too short to mean much of anything. In context... yeah, its a nice way of showing the transition from songs from Megamans perspective to the Robot Masters, but its not really needed and the album wouldnt miss much if it were removed.)

Im not sure what you expect to read here for a writeup. Reading everything above already takes longer than listening to the entire song, so theres not exactly much for me to work with here. There should probably be a big article about why are bands compelled to give song intros their own Track Number as though these intros could ever stand on their own?, but I really dont have an answer.

Im also not sure its fair to count this as a song intro. The Red Song obviously is (to say nothing about someone nominating an extended version of Eye in the Sky with Sirius as its lead-in), but this doesnt attach itself to any specific song. Its just the little boss introduction jingle that plays whenever you choose a stage, so its just a general Robot Master time song.

So... yeah. Its just a cute, short track. Its cute that they added it, it serves it purpose well enough, but theres not much here. I highly doubt anyone has ever said oh wow, Ive got to go listen to the album, theres a whole 8 second long track about choosing an opponent to fight!, but... its fun and accomplishes its goals, which is all you could ever ask from it.

[Final Thoughts: An utterly forgettable jingle that barely serves a point on the album, this would be arguably the most pointless nomination in history if it were nominated on its own. I cant really say I dislike itits still Mega Man related and its too short to inspire any actual dislike, but theres really nothing here and it falls into last place for the R#s.]

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R#31: THE RED SONG:

https://open.spotify.com/track/7f7JntQ3wm00IudUkqE4OR

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (26/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (10/10)

Initial Score: 52.15 [R#27]
Revised Score: 55.12 [R#30]
Final Score: 50.60 [R#31]

(First Thoughts: I honestly dont know why this song is treated as a standalone track, instead of just being part of Im Not the Breakman. Its a great intro to the songThe Megas usually dont go for sound effects or atmospheric tracks, but they do an impressive job setting the scene. Rock running towards the final battle, Protomans haunting whistle, the crash as Proto slams down in front of Rock and begins powering up his weapons... its a great introduction for the character.

But if you play it as a standalone track, then it kinda goes nowhere? Like, you really need the actual song to follow this. And the band counting to the start of the actual song (1, 2, 3, 4!) is both cheesy in a bad way & immersion killing. I give some props for creating an atmosphere and perfectly accomplishing everything it needs to, but it should not be treated as its own song.)

But you allowed Sirius to sneak in and be treated as just the opening to Eye in the Sky!, you loudly exclaim, you hypothetical person you.

Its a bit different. If I were rating an entire album with Sirius & Eye in the Sky on it, I most assuredly would count Sirius as its own track. Here though, someone just kinda uploaded them together into one video... and I guess theres technically no rule stating you cant edit two songs into one video and pass them off as one nomination.

...well, there wasnt at the time, anyway. Dont expect that loophole to remain next year!

Aaanywho... I think I said all there is to say about the actual song in my First Thoughts. Its a very atmospheric intro and Id like to see the band try more songs like this, but it simply cant function on its own & this is as many points as Im willing to give it.

[Final Thoughts: Im Not the Breakman does not lose anything of value without this song attached to it; this song loses everything without being attached to the actual song.

Its unique and attention grabbing, but its just less than a minute of sound effects, which ends abruptly and accomplishes nothing. In context, yeah, its a nice intro... but it just isnt a song, sorry.

...and yes, Im aware the YouTube links of these songs provided did edit The Red Song & Im Not the Breakman into one song, but since Im ranking the entire album(s), I stand by separate track number=separate song argument.]

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Snake5555555555
11/19/20 4:24:49 PM
#3:


Huge tag

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FL81
11/19/20 4:27:14 PM
#4:


It's happening!!

At this rate it'll be done before my rankings lol

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NBIceman
11/19/20 4:35:56 PM
#5:


Woo!

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azuarc
11/19/20 4:41:27 PM
#6:


Tag.

Also, if you have initial and revised scores, what's the final score?

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pyresword
11/19/20 4:41:32 PM
#7:


tag
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PIayer_0
11/19/20 4:43:25 PM
#8:


That sure is a long OP

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Hbthebattle
11/19/20 4:49:07 PM
#9:


finally!

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Jesse_Custer
11/19/20 4:59:02 PM
#10:


Tag
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TheArkOfTurus
11/19/20 5:03:28 PM
#11:


tag

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Steiner
11/19/20 5:20:05 PM
#12:


tag

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Shonen_Bat
11/19/20 5:26:36 PM
#13:


Tag

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/19/20 5:31:08 PM
#14:


azuarc posted...
Tag.

Also, if you have initial and revised scores, what's the final score?


Short answer: The first two scores were made before the topic started, the final score isnt final until that specific ranking is actually posted.

Longer Answer: Its a last chance for a song to convince me to move it up the list and to minimize the oh, woe is me, I want to move this song up the list but the rankings are finalized and I have to eliminate it now, SUCH SORROW feelings that plagued my first topic. So if I decide at the last possible minute that a song shouldnt be eliminated quite yet... then its not eliminated yet. Nothing is final until its actually posted somewhere.

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R#30: REACH FOR THE SUMMIT:

https://radicaldreamland.bandcamp.com/track/reach-for-the-summit

Nominator: MetalmindStats (28/28)
Source: Celeste Soundtrack (21/21)

Initial Score: 65.55 [R#25]
Revised Score: 60.00 [R#29]
Final Score: 50.70 [R#30]

(First Thoughts: I think Im going to place this under the songs I was already highly familiar with category because I instantly knew when and where this song played in game. I dont usually recognize VGM that quickly.

Song is good; its like a very upbeat remix of past stage themes to show how far youve gone. Very appropriate and great in context, but perhaps a bit too long and upbeat to be something Id go back to often. Still, very memorable and well done song.)

Its still a good song, but the 11 minute runtime makes it a big investment and Id rather go to any of the shorter tracks this one is taking inspiration from than listen to the entire thing again. Like Im enjoying this stretch here around the 7 minute mark, but... so long...

I also feel this song is cheating a bit. In game it only plays the part related to where you currently are on the mountain, right? So you only hear them edited and spliced together on the album, when its more like a series of songs in game. Not that there shouldnt be a complete version like this, and having the individual parts would probably be redundant when you already have all the songs from earlier in the game, but... well I dont know where Im going with this.

As is, its good, but for me the answer to do you want to spend 11 minutes listening to the games soundtrack condensed into one long song? is usually going to be No, but I appreciate that it exists and acknowledge what its going for.

[Final Thoughts: An extremely long instrumental track that doesnt inspire any specific feelings. Its like hey, do you remember these songs from Celeste?? and then has nothing interesting to say about them. Putting it under the R#s list might not have been the right decision (the 31 other songs are all ones that Ive repeatedly listened to for fun, while Ive never sought this one out), but it just felt like it belonged there.

The part starting around the seven minute mark is still good. The low tones of the music, the slow fadeout, the way it feels like its somehow half between invoking feelings of exploring a mysterious ruin & slowly dying... its interesting. But then the song goes immediately back to being rather blah and that section cant fully redeem the song by itself, not when theres so much before & after the song that I dont really want to listen to, all of which is done better by other songs also on this ranking.]

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R#29: CELESTIAL RESORT (GOOD KARMA MIX):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-fmYK81MUQ

Nominator: MetalmindStats (27/28)
Source: Metalminds Extra Songs (7/7)

Initial Score: 50.30 [R#31]
Revised Score: 50.30 [R#32]
Final Score: 53.17 [R#29]

(First Thoughts: I feel I heard this more than enough at VGMC, thank you.)

One of many songs that I never fully understood the love for and have grown tired of from having listened to it so many times. Its perfectly fine in game, but its not a track that Id listen to out of context.

*wags tail*

..Wow, Im trying to hold myself to a hundred word minimum for these writeups and I cant reach half that amount on the first song! A song that Ive heard many, many times! From a game I love!

*checks word count* ....This is gonna be a long topic, kupo...

Alright, so for instrumental tracks, to get a high score, you need to fall into one of three categories:

1.Inspire some sort of dream sequence. If I close my eyes and listen to the song, do I imagine anything special? In this case, no.

2.Remind me of something good. VGMC is good, but reminding me how every song I truly love has no chance of making it out of Round 1 while this song is somehow popular, is not exactly a good memory. Not a bad one exactly, I dont hold the songs popularity against it directly, but I dont even associate this song with Celeste any longerits just a VGMC song.

3.Do something I really like musically. Buzzing, static, unpredictability, chaos, insanity, that sort of thing; this song is not the embodiment of chaos, so we can rule that out.

[Later: Well, there are definitely non-chaotic instrumentals that I love too. Some of which are up at the hundred point tier. This song is not one of those either.]

Its a fine enough song. Its been given a score indicating that I have some amount of positive feelings towards it, but I need more time away from the song before I can try to evaluate it on any of its own merits.

[Final Thoughts: It doesnt take very long for me to abandon the 100 word goal. There are several songs later on that basically dont have any writeup at the moment, outside of a generic message about how I dont want to talk about them. ...I might fill those blank spaces in when its time to type final thoughts, I might not, well see. In theory the R#s also buy me a few days to make certain decisions, but Ill probably just put it off until the last second anyway.]

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PIayer_0
11/19/20 6:03:46 PM
#15:


Good Celestial Resort take

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Bane_Of_Despair
11/19/20 6:06:28 PM
#16:


Oh yay, tag

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Murphiroth
11/19/20 6:25:51 PM
#17:


Let's goooooooo
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Raetsel_Lapin
11/19/20 6:38:54 PM
#18:


Planning on going through ten songs tonight, so on to. two more:

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R#28: HISTORY REPEATING PT. 1

https://open.spotify.com/track/48hyQXGVSRFlh9dac8CzVE

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (25/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (9/10)

Initial Score: 74.17 [R#21]
Revised Score: 60.25 [R#28]
Final Score: 60.25 [R#28]

(First Thoughts: Its an important song that doesnt work well without context. For starters, its only half a song: If youre listening to individual songs or on random, the track just kinda stops suddenly. This fundamentally DOES NOT WORK as an individual song and I should drop its score considerably, but... well points are explicitly just whatever I feel like giving and I feel like giving this a good score anyway (though less than it would have gotten if The Megas were smart enough to merge Parts 1 & 2 into one six minute long instead of pretending they can exist separately).

Either way, I feel like this song is the only one that could have followed the end of the previous album. Megaman had an existential crisis after all the fighting and had a bit of a breakdown (What purpose am I to fulfill? Was I built to kill? Is there a soul beneath this shell and will it go to robot hell?), so we really needed this bleak opening before he heads back into battle.

...just, seriously, it needs its second half, you guys.)

Usually I really like this song (History Repeating Pt. 2s writeup is mostly a list of reasons I prefer Part 1), but Im not feeling it tonight. Without Part 2, this song is just blatantly unfinished and Im feeling much more bothered by that fact than usual.

And since I said everything of value in the First Thoughts section, Im going to skip out on writing a full hundred words. Much like the song itself does, Ill just stop abrup

[Final Thoughts: I really do like this song and how overly dramatic it is. Im also looking for songs that are kinda sad and Rock is still very much suffering his existential crisis making this song kinda sad without being hyper depressing. But judged based only on its own merits, it just kinda stops mid-note and never really goes anywhere.

Good song, great intro to the album, fantastic continuation of the last album, not worth all that much on its own.]

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R#27: HARDER THAN STEEL:

https://open.spotify.com/track/4QzLwqwUmKfPGSJMtuPq5R

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (24/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (9/10)

Initial Score: 72.30 [R#23]
Revised Score: 60.50 [R#27]
Final Score: 60.50 [R#27]

(First Thoughts: Its probably the most complete, standalone story The Megas ever told. A famous retired boxer comes out for one last match and chooses to die in the ring rather than surrender, becoming a legend that will live on through song. When I first listened to the album this was actually my favorite song on it, but Ive grown a bit tired of it in the years since then. Its still good, but the novelty of dramatic boxing film condensed into one song kinda wears off when you know all the lyrics by heart.)

I think I covered everything about this song in the initial writeup. Its perfect for what it is, but Im really not in the mood for a tragic boxing film in music form at the moment and Hard Mans always been one of the lamest Robot Masters. Rocket Punches can be an iconic attack, but hes certainly no Mazinger Z.. and his only other attack is jump at you, which.. come on, like most Robot Masters can jump. Its just a boring character design, with boring attacks, and the lamest name ever. If anything, this song is too good for him.

Hard to believe this was ever my favorite song on the album because its not even remotely close to that level tonight.

[Final Thoughts: I do like the song, Im just kinda tired of it. I dont usually skip it while listening to the album, but its not anything Id go out of my way to listen to. Its a good story, but not one that I need to hear over and over again, ya know?]

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BlackDra90n
11/19/20 6:55:53 PM
#19:


I can't believe this is happening.

Tag.

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/19/20 7:35:26 PM
#20:


Forgive the speed of eliminations. I tried to do a better job spacing things out throughout the day last topic, but its easier to just post them whenever its convenient.

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R#26: I REFUSE (TO BELIEVE):

https://open.spotify.com/track/60BALMSRruffPhXixlqKk7

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (23/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (8/10)

Initial Score: 84.71 [R#17]
Revised Score: 69.97 [R#24]
Final Score: 61.80 [R#26]

(First Thoughts: Not the greatest song, but its one that has to exist. Megaman talks some sense into himself by refusing to believe that hes just a machine, some sense into his father, some sense into his brother, and decides to NOT become a murderer. [Well... not become a murderer of humans at least.]

After everything the characters been through, we needed a hope song where everything worked out okay for Rock. But that makes it less compelling than most of the other songs and Wilys Boss Theme wasnt exactly the best song to start with, so the song is still a bit annoying...)

The Dr. Wily battle themes are typically the worst songs in the Mega Man series. Theyre often annoying and not particularly worth listening to in any context; The Megas do their best to redeem the song, but theres not a lot you can do when the base song is so terrible and you want to keep it recognizable.

...well I guess the original version has its fair share of fans, but I am not one of them. Even if I admit that Im being overly harsh on it (I dont actively hate it), its still not something I particular want to hear ever again.

Aaanywho, thats where I find myself tonight. The Megas song is good and I like what its doing, but I dislike the song its using as its base and i cant get past my dislike of the original song to enjoy listening to this by itself. It is more enjoyable in context with the rest of the albums story helping it along, but judged on its own, I find it to be a bit lacking.

[Final Thoughts: I dunno. This song gets stuck in my head constantly and I love the idea, but I dont really enjoy listening to it that much?]

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R#25: YOUVE SPARKED A WAR:

https://open.spotify.com/track/6Mzb4NAdVZVsN9jsSjyO3g

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (22/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (8/10)

Initial Score: 50.00 [R#32]
Revised Score: 62.00 [R#26]
Final Score: 62.00 [R#25]

(First Thoughts: Ive said I didnt like this song before and Ill say it againI do not like this song. Its the worst song on this album, worse than anything on History Repeating: Red, and probably worse than anything from the previous album (Get Equipped). Its not the worst song they ever did (I still dont like most of the Megatainment EP or Get Acoustic), but... I just dont care.

Its not as theatrical as Topmans
Its not as funny as Magnetmans
Its not as dramatic as Snakemans
Its not an unexpected genre like Geminimans
Its not as catchy as Shadowmans
It doesnt tell as complete a story as Hardmans
Its not tragic or philosophical like Needlemans

It pales in comparison to the 7 other Masters songs. Its just...okay. I like that he sings about exterminating humanity (They are the virus, we are the cure), but thats not even unique to him and thats just quoting Agent Smith. Hes just some dweeb with no hands that wishes he was as cool as Agent Smith and his superior brothers, but he isnt, and I hate him. Song is OKAY, but Ive listened to the album so many times Ive started to kinda resent this song... its just the thing I endure to get to the songs I like and I thought Id learn to appreciate it, but no, I havent and the song BARELY gets 50 points because evil robot wants to kill humanity and likes The Matrix is worth at least an average score. Barely.)

Other points against it

1: The marching militaristic intro. Not really into militaristic tunesyoull note a military theme is part of why Candyman got last place at last years ranking topic. (It was mostly the overly sexual lyrics that did it, but the military parts are what pushed it over the edge into dead last.)

2: I feel my hands turning into fistsSPARK MAN DOES NOT HAVE HANDS. Seriously, come on you guys, having high-voltage spikes instead of hands is his defining physical characteristic.

Ill grant that it is a catchier, more memorable song than Ive ever given it credit for, enough that Im going to bump the score up to the 60 point tier, but this is a definite low point for the album.

[Final Thoughts: I guess I do like this song, but its still not great. Im also not sure why the band seems to love it so much: Theyve got a demo version of the song released as a single, an acoustic version of the song (Youve Sparked a Coustic) which has a hilarious name but isnt really much better, AND an instrumental version of the song (Lights Out).

Im not sure theres a less-deserving (full length) song in The Megas repertoire to get that treatment than this song.]

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Shonen_Bat
11/19/20 7:42:12 PM
#21:


Really rocking this R# list, the bottom of it anyway :p

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MetalmindStats
11/19/20 8:01:47 PM
#22:


Ah, I figured you'd be very familiar with at least some Celeste songs, and as much as I like the Good Karma mix, I suppose even I might tire of it a bit if I participated in VGMC. Oh well, I felt I couldn't skip out on the game whose soundtrack got me to restart regularly listening to music independent of context. (And if that sounds weird, well yes it is, but also I tend to find basically any music distracts me too much to take in while I'm also doing other things.)

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/19/20 8:24:09 PM
#23:


And well finish the night with... well, more of the same really.

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R#23 [TIE]: MIRROR TEMPLE (MIRROR MAGIC MIX)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKnwVvXkWq0

Nominator: MetalmindStats (26/28)
Source: Metalmind Extra Songs (6/7)

Initial Score: 50.35 [R#30]
Revised Score: 62.10 [R#25]
Final Score: 66.11 [R#23]

(First Thoughts: Like Celestial Resort before it, I feel I heard this enough times at VGMC.)

Unlike Celestial Resort this has a rather pleasing, smooth sound to it. Its usually too subdued for me to give it a high score, but I think this could be a nice track to listen to while relaxing with a rum & coke or something. I dont think itd be terribly out of place in VA-11 Hall-A (take a shot whenever I mention that game and youll have at least TWO drinks before the topic ends!), so thats a nice game to be reminded of. Its hardly an earthshaking track, but Im finding some appreciation for it here at the last minute and appreciate the brief respite from the stress of ranking songs that it provides.

[Final Thoughts: Fairly relaxing, but not relaxing enough to get a really great score. I think Im going to bump this up slightly and have it tie with the next song.]

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R#23 [TIE]: GEMINEYE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0c0KWT23H9pPmUMSqaJsKw

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (21/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (7/10)

Initial Score: 82.12 [R#17}
Revised Score: 70.00 [R#23]
Final Score: 66.11 [R#23]

(First Thoughts: Its an interesting song that I do like, but like more on a conceptual level than I do as an actual song. Its a different style for the band as they go for a film noir aesthetic which makes it unique and its kinda interesting as Geminiman progressively loses his mindbeing two people at once takes a toll on him and he goes nuts, with the Geminis eventually killing each other.

Suicide seems to be the main motif of the album (which Ill probably get into later) and its probably most apparent here. While its interesting, its still towards the low end of Robot Master themes for me.)

So, one thing I like is songs dealing with dissociation and its hard to get more dissociative than you & your split personality battling to the death in a fit of insanity. So this is one of those songs that seems to go out of its way to check as many boxes as possible for me:

1: Villain Song

2: Song performed by a fictional character

3: Said fictional character is non-human

4: Dissociation

5: Unexpected ambiance (film noire isnt exactly the most common genre for a song)

And somedays this does pay off with a very high score from me... other days, not-so-much. Suicide is always a thorny topic and while this is so over-the-top fictitious as to not bother me, exactly, I still have to be in the right headspace to want to listen to it. And its also just not as catchy as most of their other songs. Its got a very different sound and feel to it, which is usually good, but that feel is...one that Im usually less interested in.

[Final Thoughts: A combination of fatigue from having listened to this song so many times and just not being in the mood for it has led to the score falling down with each listen. I still like it, just... eh, you know how it is.

Im having a hard time deciding between this and the Celeste song. Theyre both songs I like doing things I like, but not exactly doing them in ways that I love... so sure, lets have a joint 23rd finish.]

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NBIceman
11/19/20 8:29:35 PM
#24:


Sparked a War is probably neck and neck with Cracked Skulls for my favorite Megas offering, but I can see why it'd be much further down on some lists.

I'm a big Good Karma fan too. If I hadn't done well in your last two rankings, I'd be pretty afraid of where my noms we're gonna finish already!

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LOLIAmAnAlt
11/19/20 8:45:34 PM
#25:


Tag

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handsomeboy2012
11/19/20 11:57:26 PM
#26:


Tag

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/20/20 11:53:28 AM
#27:


Its a new day and the scores get a substantial increase at this point, as I feel theres a very notable increase in how much I enjoy these songs in comparison to those eliminated last night.

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R#22: THE HAYSTACK PRINCIPLE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/6lAkGW1GB3Uyn82nq2KeAJ

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (20/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (6/10)

Initial Score: 85.92 [R#15]
Revised Score: 70.97 [R#22]
Final Score: 80.00 [R#22]

(First Thoughts: Probably the most tragic of The Megas songs. Needleman pleads for a way to stop doing evil things and, after being resoundingly told that he can never stop being bad, seems to just let Megaman kill him to end his suffering.

Its also a reverse of Airmans song from the previous album: Air lived ten miles in the air, Needle lives ten miles underground and they are both incapable of interacting with people without harming them (Do you know what its like to be built this way? With only the power to push others away? / No matter what I try, I cant help but hurt those close to me)... but they have different responses. Airman goes completely insane and wants to destroy the planet (Therell be a tombstone with THE PLANET EARTH ENGRAVED ON IT!!!!!) while Needleman desperately seeks any way out and finally chooses death to end the suffering.

...this is kinda a messed up album, now that Im thinking about it.)

I do love this song. Youd think the ending would be too bleak for me, but it manages to be just the right amount of tragedy. Im kinda drawn to villains that regret their path in life, so a song featuring a villain breaking down and begging for a way out of his evil path is a pretty easy sell for me.

Being so closely related to Airmans theme (by far the best song on Get Equipped) is also worth some points in its favor. Its not the deepest comparison (OMG that song said ten miles high and this song says ten miles down! SYMMETRY!), but its still a nice contrast.

Unfortunately, I think I like the idea of the song a bit more than the song itself? Thats going to be a common criticism so get used to it; While I love what the song goes for and accomplishes, its not exactly my favorite song to listen to. And Needle Man has never been one of the better Robot Master designs, so I dont have any particular attachment to the character the song is about.

...thats probably selling the song short as now it sounds like I dont enjoy it as much as I do, but whatever.

[Final Thoughts: Not sure why I dropped the score down to the 70 point tier while saying I loved it, but the score has been raised back to 80 points which feels more appropriate.

...Oh and I should probably clarify. I put spaces in the names of Mega Man characters when referring to the canon game versions and remove spaces when talking about The Megas musical version of the characters, seeing as they always write the names without spaces. Theres no good reason for this, but I swear Capcom once said the official English versions had spaces in their names and its rather drilled into my head now.]

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R#21: DECISIVE BATTLE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_za61uzOmnE

Nominator: @Toxtricity / Mycro (15/15)

Initial Score: 81.00 [R#18]
Revised Score: 71.00 [R#20]
Final Score: 81.00 [R#21]

(First Thoughts: Why hello there, track returning from last year (Place nominated it that time). It didnt do well last time; the scores started in the 7s on a first impression, but the track was so short that it didnt leave the best impression... every time Id start getting into it, itd end, and that disappointment led to the score dropping to a 5.2. Came in 221st place.

Im decidedly more into it this time than I was then. Well see if it holds up.)

Its holding up a bit better than it did last time, but it is starting to slip down the rankings a bit. I do like the way it sounds; it almost reminds me of Venetian Snares Li2Co3 in a way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf-nwbL4uDw

Theres a part early on in Decisive Battle where theres (some sort of wind instrument, I think, Im going to guess flute) playing pretty music over the loud, almost discordant piano and it gives off similar feelings to Li2Co3s beautiful music shining through even when metallic chaos attempts to drown it out.

Though Decisive Battle is certainly not as great and its really only a very short stretch that feels like it at all, thats still where my mind goes.

*goes to check what she said about the song last year*

*final score: 5.2

[I watched Angel Beats several years ago, but I dont recall any songs like this. Good song, wish it werent so short.]

At 1:40 this is far from the shortest song on the list, but I feel it really needs another minute or so. By the time I start to get into this song, it's already ending.

[Final Notes: It is good, just too short to ever really get engrossed in. And yes, I'm fully aware of how it looks cutting one song for being too long and then immediately cutting one for being too short in the next write-up.]


...Wow, that was abysmal. I just called it too short three times in a row and left it at that. Like, come on past me, there were only 300 songs that year, surely you could have put in a little effort.

[Final Thoughts: A pretty decent pick for a returning entrant, seeing as my opinion on the song has grown considerably since last year.]

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Toxtricity
11/20/20 12:09:28 PM
#28:


oh i didn't even realize place had nominated that for you before, whoops! maybe i shouldn't be surprised (i only know of that song, because of place!)

glad you liked it more on a re-listen! and i totally see the vsnares comparison haha. it's like steve reich music becoming distorted and more glitchy/idm in that venetian snares-like vein
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Raetsel_Lapin
11/20/20 1:31:52 PM
#29:


Ill try to remember to look into Steve Reich later to get that reference.

And we continue to the first blatantly waste time with an unrelated song to fill space writeup. At least one this one I talk about the actual song a bit before hand.

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R#20: CONFRONTING MYSELF:

https://radicaldreamland.bandcamp.com/track/confronting-myself

Nominator: MetalmindStats (25/28)
Source: Celeste Album (20/21)

Initial Score: 80.50 [R#19]
Revised Score: 71.90 [R#19]
Final Score: 82.50 [R#20]

(First Thoughts: Its a great song, obviously the best in the main game and one of the best VGMs of all time, but Im a bit tired of it now. Between VGMCs (where I was introduced it), times Ive actually gone back to listen to it for fun, and hearing it in game when I finally got to play Celeste (thanks, Epic Games Store!)... it lacks the same punch it once did. It still does a lot of things I love (some static, some vocal skipping/distortions), but I feel Ive heard it enough already.)

Blah blah blah, listened to this song way too much. Blah blah blah, tired of it. Blah blah blah, 90 more words to get to arbitrary word limit.

Lets instead use this space to talk about some other VGMC songs that Ive listened to too often for fun. In no particular order:

Granblue Fantasy - New World Order:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpVxreT7NPU

With all the tarot cards, magic portals, disciples of light & dark, declarations of reality being a lie, and a vortex swallowing all... this can only be the greatest VGM to have ever existed. Shame its attached to what seems to be an uninteresting mobile game.

For a while, I was listening to this song multiple times a day for like a month straight. Im...a little tired of it now. Its still amazing, but its definitely getting a bit played out for me.

RE2 Remake - Saudade

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

Where did my life go?
I look in the mirror, but what I see
It aint me


Song is carried high in my ranks based almost entirely on those lines. Thats the type of thing I like hearing; the rest of the song is good, though not listen on endless repeat until Im bored of it good. The song is held back a bit by the outro... the backup singers repeated DARK! DAWN! Is the bad kind of cheesy (which I use to think couldnt possibly exist because I love cheesy things) and there have been times Ive cut the song off a bit early.... after the second verse, theres not really anywhere left for the song to go and it sours the experience a bit, so I just skip to the next song once we hit that point.

I mean, I still love the song and have listened to it a ridiculous amount, but it could be better.

...And enough of that. I was going to go on, but Ive wasted enough time speaking of songs Im not supposed to be rating right now.

[Final Thoughts: Fantastic song, yeah, but I really am getting burned out on it. It was an easy 100/100 when I first heard it, but now... now Im still happy to hear it, but its a long way from the sheer perfection I felt it was originally.]

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Followed with briefly talking about another song, but its actually somewhat related.

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R#19: CONTINUE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/15gIMJ2eEcU0rxbRJznnsU

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (19/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (7/10)

Initial Score: 94.00 [R#8]
Revised Score: 71.999 [R#18]
Final Score: 87.00 [R#19]

(First Thoughts: DID YOU KNOWMega Man 3s Password Theme (which this song is based on) was used on Steven Universe for the Lil Butler theme? That makes this like a dark, twisted version of Lil Butler and I kinda love it for that reason.)

Lil Butler:

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

(Steven Universe is great. Might not be my favorite cartoon of all time (The recent She-Ra reboot & Sonic SatAM are also in contention), but its certainly up there)

Back on topic:

Im surprised theres so much debate over which character is actually singing Continue. I thought it was clearly another Dr. Light songhe knows hes pushed Rock too far and that his son is at his breaking point, but assures himself that Rock would always choose to continue fighting anyway. Its the plea of an old man trying desperately to convince himself that his actions were just. Which isnt actually spelled out anywhere, sure, but I think the song loses a lot of its impact if it was sung by anyone else.

Anyhow, Im less into the song tonight; its still good, but I have no personal connection to the lyrics and the novelty of pretending its a dark take on Lil Butler has already worn off.

[Final Thoughts: Nothing to really add here. It reminds me of Steven and Mega Man and I like my interpretation of the story its telling, plus its performed by one of my favorite bands. Of course I like it.]

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handsomeboy2012
11/20/20 1:39:09 PM
#30:


I have never heard of those History Repeating albums before, now I can never look at Megaman the same way again

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Snake5555555555
11/20/20 1:48:18 PM
#31:


I love the outtro of Saudade, it totally makes the song for me!

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/20/20 2:37:34 PM
#32:


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R#18: FLY ON A DOG

https://open.spotify.com/track/5tVK87q6QY2Z2OZnQFSDrg

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (18/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (5/10)

Initial Score: 97.13 [R#6]
Revised Score: 88.73 [R#12]
Final Score: 88.73 [R#18]

(First Thoughts: In which Megaman has another existential crisis, this time while accompanied by Rush. As mentioned, Rock does not take his orders to kill Wily very well and has lost all faith in his father, along with humanity in general.

How dare he call me son
When Im clearly a weapon, a loaded gun?


All while juxtaposing the seriousness of the story with the goofiness of the game its based on (I can drive in a dog... UNDERWATER!) and this somehow manages to be one of their most serious songs and one of their goofiest at the same time. I love this song and everything about it.)

This song actually has a lot of different versions, much like Sparkmans theme before it. Theres an early version of it from their Fly on a Dog EP, (though its not different enough to be worth comparing it to the finished version), but theres also a remixed version from the same EP (Just Another Machine).

....I was going to link it, but it also isnt interesting enough to be worth the detour.

Anyway, this song is the closest youre going to get to a lighthearted song on the album and it does a great job setting the tone of the album. When you open with the hero having an existential crisis, you know youre not going to be having a lot of fun songs about dancing tops this time around. And I do love it. Just slightly less than I did last time.

[Final Thoughts: its still a great song, but... well Im running late for something and have to go right now and had nothing else about it to say anyway.]

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R#17: MAKE YOUR CHOICE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/2Q1FIJD8dMvJuGgxTNb9Zu

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (17/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (4/10)

Initial Score: 88.92 [R#12]
Revised Score: 95.00 [R#7]
Final Score: 88.92 [R#17]

(First Thoughts: Still not enough difference in Mega & Protos voices and its rather anticlimactic. Megaman & Protoman argue with each other for a few minutes and then Gamma apparently self-destructs in confusion. But it gets stuck in my head more than most songs on the album and I like it, even though I dont really have anything positive to say about it.)

Im having a hard time figuring out exactly why Ive rated this song as highly as I have. Like my initial reaction said, I dont have anything positive to say about it. At least, nothing that cant be said about every other song by the band as well.

I suppose part of it is, as Im sure Ive said before (though maybe not on this portion of the list yet, Im having trouble remembering exactly what Ive said and when itll wind up being posted chronologically), Im drawn to villains either finding redemption or rejecting the chance for it, so a song dedicated to Megaman trying to persuade his brother to stop being an idiot... that does appeal to me, yes.

I think Ill leave things at that. I could overly psychoanalyze myself here, but I dont want to at the moment. I like the song a lot, it just has enough flaws to hold it back from actually being the best thing everlets go with that.

[Final Thoughts: ...Not entirely sure why I was so into the song during the second phase of this topic, but the Initial Score feels far more accurate. A much loved song, with some flaws that keep me from considering it truly top tier. Thats literally the definition I gave for the 80 point tier.]

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/20/20 4:22:36 PM
#33:


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R#16: CANT STOP THE TOP

https://open.spotify.com/track/0GeeObJ9AA45LoQG1Dnsys

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (16/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (6/10)

Initial Score: 87.23 [R#14]
Revised Score: 90.00 [R#11]
Final Score: 89.00 [R#16]

(First Thoughts: It was this song that made me fall in love with the band. Gamma Unchained was (and is) my big obsession, but I was uncertain about expanding my playlist to any more of their work... but I decided to try the whole album and as soon as this song came on, I knew Id found a new favorite band. This is so completely ludicrous and I love every second of it. From the overly literal I dodge bullets when Im spinning!, to the fact that theres an entire song about an evil top, to how theatrical Topman is & how much fun he (and the band) seem to be having with the song... this is wonderful.

But Im a little burned out on it.)

Also this song always makes me think of Neil Patrick Harris. This dance fight will be LEGENDARY! just feels like something one of his characters would exclaim.

Theres not a lot to say about the song itself though. When it comes to novelty songs about anthropomorphic tops destroying cities through the power of dance, youre either the type of person prepared to hail it as the greatest song of all time (me) or youre the type of person who finds it to be the dumbest idea of all time and resent that were even talking about this (someone with actual taste).

[Final Thoughts: See first thoughtsgreat song that Im a bit too tired of to fully appreciate at the moment.]

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And... lets jump up another point tier at this point because I dont want to give less than 90 points to anything left.

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R#15: WALK AWAY FROM LIGHT:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0G1DAUWQpadSoftWiU0sYT

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (15/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (5/10)

Initial Score: 87.23 [R#13]
Revised Score: 94.00 [R#10]
Final Score: 90.00 [R#15]

(First Thoughts: Shed the lies and make a new world with the Snake might be my favorite line from every nominated song. I usually prefer Cant Stop the Top in general, but that one line pushes it over the edge. I also like that (I think) it actually samples the NES song and Im always up for a good speech trying to convince the hero to turn evil.)

So take a bite, make a mark
Stop your fumbling in the
Dark of night
Just walk away from Light


Ive never given any thought to the take a bite line, but some people take it as a Garden of Eden reference with Snakeman as the serpent tempting (Mega) man to sin.

...Neat. Not something I feel compelled to give extra points for, but still, neat.

Like with Topmans song, I dont think theres a lot to discuss here. Do you want to hear an evil snake robot try to convince someone to kill all humans? I certainly do.

[Final Notes: This had briefly jumped up to being my favorite song of the album because Id listened to all my other favorites so much... but now Ive also listened to this one countless times, so its fallen back down a bit.]

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/20/20 5:15:29 PM
#34:


EDIT: Last two of the night. We'll finish the top 12 R#s tomorrow.

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R#14: HISTORY REPEATING PT. 2 (ONE LAST TIME):

https://open.spotify.com/track/0vfwCdvGhaUThVFyi23ObE

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (14/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (4/10)

Initial Score: 72.00 [R#24]
Revised Score: 82.00 [R#13]
Final Score: 90.50 [R#14]

(First Thoughts: I should have this above Part 1 because it does a better job of standing on its own, but I just dont like it as much.

1: Rock goes from completely miserable (Who do I call when Im broken and bleeding?) in Part 1 to almost happy about it (And now its up to me to go make history and meet my destiny!) in the span of, like, ten seconds. The song in general is just too upbeat to follow the misery from Part 1.

2: Im more into vaguely sad songs than happier ones at the moment. (In general)

3: Ive never liked that the singer couldnt even pretend to do a different voice for Protomans lines. Its a bit distracting.

4: I know chronology has never been relevant to The Megas (Get Equipped, the MM2 album, opens with Megaman fighting Wily after having defeated all 8 Robot Masters and then....flashes back to all the robots he killed due to PTSD, I guess?), but I have a hard time telling when this song actually takes place. Since Megaman and Protoman are fighting this has to be near the end of the story, but Part 1 is at the very start of things and theres barely even a transition between the two songs (Part 1s ending is the intro to this song)?

I like the song and never skip past it, but its the weaker of the two halves. Even if it works better by itself.)

Well tonight Im in the mood for this. Im always a sucker for anything about changing destiny and while it is cheesy, I suddenly like Protomans indecision about things:

Why do you fight?
How can you say you know whats right?
What if we win? What if we fall?
Will any choice that we make matter at all?


What can I say, I like villains that question things. Its still a long way from being their best song, but its enjoyable enough

*notices shes still not particularly close to a hundred words yet, especially if we dont count this blatant filler sentence thatwhile it does get the word count up to 100says nothing except that we werent at the arbitrary minimum amount of words yet*

Further putting into question when this song takes place, theres a line where Rock talks about betraying his father. Ive always assumed this is in reference to Dr. Light ordering Rock to murder Wily & Rock refusing toits a fairly important part of Rocks characterization & the songs from History Repeating Red. But if Rock has already decided not to kill Wily that would put this song as being near the very end of the next album...

...I see some people trying to argue that the line refers to Rock fighting at all, but since Light is quite happy to try to make Rock into his own personal assassin, Id say that wouldnt make any sense. Clearly, Dr. Light has no problems with Rock going into battleor at least not enough problems that Rock would see fighting as a betrayal.

......But then the line is Betrayed my father AGAIN and that means my theory doesnt work either. This is the first time Light asked for murder, so it cant be the second time Rocks betrayed his orders. So Im lost and now terribly confused by a ridiculous novelty song that doesnt deserve this level of analysis. </.<

........Whatever. Song am say change history and I like that so song get big points now thank you.

[Final Thoughts: And at least this song doesnt end mid-note like Part 1.]

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R#13: AFRAID OF THE DARK:

https://open.spotify.com/track/1YvRhOC2Z41AUFF7aRUonz

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (13/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (4/10)

Initial Score: 94.27 [R#7]
Revised Score: 72.20 [R#15]
Final Score: 90.70 [R#13]

(First Thoughts: One of the catchier songs on the album and I love songs dealing with dissociation and it doesnt get much more dissociative than the me that used to be here has gone away, but I cant say where. I fear I may have killed him... Im so scared.)

I know any idiot can write whatever they want on Genius, but this one actually angers me:

Afraid of the Dark is quite a juxtaposition of tone following Needle Man clearly trying to resist his programming. Shadow Man knows that he has been corrupted, but he enjoys and embraces the dark side.


...


I feel it taking over
My past is quickly falling away
Battle is what it craves now
Kept at bay
The me that used to be here
Has gone away but I cant say where
I fear I may have killed him
Im so scared


Yeah, he enjoys it. Clearly. Everyone knows when a character bursts into song about how scared they are, they really mean THIS IS SUPER AWESOME AND I ENJOY WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME.

He embraces the darkness, sure, but with lines like Im so scared and I feel it tearing me apart, he clearly doesnt enjoy it.

...on a related note, thats why I dont like History Repeating Red as much as Blue. No one enjoys anything, at any point; Megaman is on the verge of a breakdown, Hardman chooses death over surrender, Geminiman kills himself after going insane, Needleman lets himself be murdered because its the only way to escape the pain, Shadowman is terrified of the remorseless killer hes being turned into, Protoman sings about how free will doesnt exist, and Omega seems to just spontaneously explode... everyone on this album is completely and utterly miserable. Suicide is kinda the defining theme, followed by misery. If Shadowman enjoyed being consumed by darkness, hed be off on History Repeating Blue and probably singing some overly literal nonsense:

Im a ninja! Nin-nin-nin!
I summon robot frogs with my ninja magics! Nin-nin-nin!


Or something equally stupid and I would love it, but were listening to RED and on Red EVERYONE IS MISERABLE ALL THE TIME.

[Final Thoughts: Dont know why I gave this such a low score the second time. Perhaps reflecting on how depressing the album is got to me for a bit, but Im back to loving the song as I usually do.]

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/21/20 11:16:25 AM
#35:


Sudden triple elimination due to a tied placement, go! And all three songs are from different nominators too.

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R#12: DONT MESS WITH MAGNETMAN:

https://open.spotify.com/track/7pEz5vmnZAqwZnYQpDNDvL

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (12/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (3/10)

Initial Score: 92.14 [R#9]
Revised Score: 94.05 [R#9]
Final Score: 91.00 [#12]

(First Thoughts: Sure my dad wants to rule the world, but can you let that get between us, girl?

Unrequited love parody song is funny and one of their best. While the quoted line above is the best, every verse has at least one good line and the song still makes me smile no matter how many times I listen to it.)

Im amused that Roll is so completely irrelevant to the series that the only time they even reference she exists is in this song and shes just an unobtainable object instead of even being a one-dimensional character. (Though she was nice enough to warn Magnetman that her brother was going to kill him, so I guess she does get a bit of characterization)

And original series Roll is indeed that completely pointless! I cant even fault The Megas for having her as an afterthought because this song alone makes her more relevant than she ever was in the classic series. Probably more relevant than her appearance in any spinoff either.

...like the closest she ever came to relevance was getting a unique moveset in Tatsunoko VS Capcom, but 1.Good luck finding anyone who still wants to play that, 2.Due to licensing issues that games probably not getting a re-release or sequel, so LOL if you actually enjoyed playing as anyone unique to that game, & 3.Shes still low tier and not really worth using (though, last I checked, shes at least more viable than Gold Lightarn and Alex).

At least you can play as her in Make a Good Mega Man Level 2! You should all go play that, like, right now. Its a Mega Man fangame with hundreds of levels and is just a general love letter to everything in the series. Its one of the greatest games of all time, seriously, go play it.

As for the song... look, you know how it is with The Megas comedy tracks. Youre either in for the humor of this song or you arent, theres not a lot to say about them.

[Final Thoughts: I regret not giving Magnet Mans theme more points at the Mega Man Song Ranking topics. I have many regrets about that topic, but wow, I really undervalued that song originally.]

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R#10 [TIE]: SIMPSONS CHRISTMAS BOOGIE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAjXm7Oc5Xg

Nominator: @GavsEvans123 (15/15)

Initial Score: 64.82 [R#26]
Revised Score: 71.00 [R#21]
Final Score: 95.00 [R#10]

(First Thoughts: Ive had this song stuck in my head for so many years.)

This is one of those songs that just gets stuck in your head and stays with you your entire life, no matter how short and pointless it is. Its almost as infectious as this Aaahh!!! Real Monsters song that has been stuck in my head for an infinite number of years, Ickis and Fungus:

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

No matter what Im doing, periodically this song will just pop into my head...

Ickis and Fungus
Hes not a virus
Dont call him pustule


So many, many years without freedom from that song. May it live forever in your head so that you may understand a fraction of what Ive gone through.

Aaaanywho...., Simpsons Christmas Boogie is a lot like that: Short, performed in character by characters that cant sing, repetitive enough that youll know all the lyrics after only hearing it once, and catchy to a point that youll never be free of it. Its actually pretty good though! The disco beat makes it strangely nostalgic and its both cute & funny enough to bypass my natural dislike towards Christmas music and dance music. The sleigh bells are a nice touch, giving it just a bit of the Christmas flair that the song needed. Its well done... but its less than a minute long and doesnt even manage to make full use of that minuscule amount of time, so this is as far as it can go, Im afraid.

[Final Thoughts: Whatever, Ill take a minute long comedy song and move it up to top tier status whenever I feel like it! Woo!]

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R#10 [TIE]: .RHYTHM EMOTION:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WCh2i9cXIk

Nominator: handsomeboy2012 (15/15)

Initial Score: 90.23 [R#10]
Revised Score: 72.00 [R#17]
Final Score: 95.00 [R#10]

(First Thoughts: The song doesnt feel right without the beeping of the Zero System activating. Yeah, its still very nostalgic and great, but I miss the beeping.)

Rhythm Emotion with beeps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPrk7JBFsWs

THATS BETTER.

...Though it only adds the beeps and now I miss all the other opening sound effects. Its still incomplete without the sounds of Wing Zero flying into battle. Also now I really want to replay SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays and replay the Gundam Wing storyline as a strategy RPG.

Though the solution to every battle in that game can be summed up as build two of the warship from the 00 movie and let them obliterate everything, with a side of build an infinite army of QAN[T] ELS if you really want a mobile suit to do some killing too.

That may not apply if you have access to DLC units, but if you dont, then theres a very clear tier-list best described as 00 movie >>>> everything else.


So, I have a lot of nostalgia for Gundam Wing and have listened to this song countless times over the years. This has been a regular fixture on every mp3 player I had, back when mp3 players were things people had. Its been so long and so frequent that my playcount for this song is probably in the thousands by now. I think this may actually have been the first Japanese song I ever obtained. Its been with me forever, but that means its even more familiar to me than The Megas albums... and that kinda limits how far I want to take the song, even in the R#s category. Im just a bit tired of it after listening to it for so long.

[Final Thoughts: And Im back to loving this song, even if it is something Ive listened to way too many times.]

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handsomeboy2012
11/21/20 12:36:55 PM
#36:


I never watched Gundam Wing, just came across it in a random anime playlist and really liked the song. So I had no idea there is a version with beeps.

And I guess the other opening song is coming up in the R list

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/21/20 1:24:16 PM
#37:


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R#9: UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD:

https://youtu.be/t7ElEHJpvNs

Nominator: Jesse_Custer (15/15)

Initial Score: 88.99 [R#11]
Revised Score: 94.10 [R#8]
Final Score: 96.00 [R#9]

(First Thoughts: This is an interesting coincidence. The only U2 songs Ive gone out of my way to listen to are those from The Best of 1980-1990, The Best Of 1990-2000, and Zooropa.

[I think I borrowed Zooropa from the library because Stay (Farway, So Close!) was amazing and I wanted more like that. Didnt find any, though I do have a fondness for the unexpected Johnny Cash song The Wanderer. Its all, oh, you thought you were listening to U2, but BAM! Johnny Cash! followed immediately by LOUD SIREN BLARING IN YOUR EARS, ha, you thought you were listening to Johnny Cash but now youre deaf trollollollol. FUN FACT: Im pretty sure Bono just runs around in circles all day screeching trollollollol at people, because whos going to stop him? Not you, certainly not after youve gone deaf from that siren.

[[this has been another edition of Raetsel talks about every song except the one she is supposed to be listening to, we now return you to your regularly scheduled ranking, already in progress.]]]

Aaanywho..., Ive listened to everything from those two Greatest Hits compilations repeatedly, and this is one of those tracks. But what it makes it especially coincidental is that I hadnt heard this song in a year or so, but like four or five days before I made the nomination topic, I had a sudden craving for this song and put it back into my regular music rotation. Its a fantastic song and telling everything from Judas viewpoint makes it technically a religious song, but not so preachy or praise-Jesus-y that I have a negative reaction to it. Its really greatbut as NBIceman can attest, I tend to be harsher to songs that I was already in love with. I want new things; if Ive already listening to it on an endless loop for years, got bored of it, ignored it for a year, picked it back up and listened to it a bunch again, then... well its not going to beat out whatever new obsession I find from the topic turns out to be. Go back in time five years, youd probably get a full 100 for this... as is... probably going to stay in the high 80s.)

Okay, I definitely covered everything relevant in the initial thoughts portion of the writeup, so I could leave this blank and it wouldnt even be particularly noticeable.

Well, one thing I left off (though Ive mentioned it in countless other writeups) is that I like villains seeking redemption; Judas reaching out for Jesus as he kills himself in sorrow is perhaps a bit too preachy in terms of seeking some sort of redemption, but... it works for me. It probably shouldnt, but it does, and I love the song so lets not ruin everything by arguing about what Im supposed to hate or be triggered by.

...oh yeah, I switched to a Spotify link for this song. I like it and listen to it on Spotify often enough as it is, so I wanted it to remember these extra times I was listening to it. I do hope that YouTube link actually works because, to be quite honest, I never clicked it.

[Final Thoughts: *continues to listen to song on Spotify and just presume theres nothing wrong with the posted link*]

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And we jump up to the very top tier set of R#s and kill what little credibility my opinions had in one move!

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R#8: CALL ME MAYBE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNaR-rxAic

Nominator: @GavsEvans123 (14/15)

Initial Score: 72.38 [R#22]
Revised Score: 72.34 [R#14]
Final Score: 100 [R#8]

(First Thoughts: I probably shouldnt like this, but

1: After last year gave several really great Carly Rae songs, I have a natural bias towards her and her voice.

2: All the memes associated with the song (Raditz I just met you and this is crazy, but Im your brother, give me your baby ; Cookie Monsters Share It Maybe) makes me laugh whenever I hear the song.

3: But point two isnt directly related to the song, blah blah blah, Ive never pretended to have a single shred of objectivity in my own topics. (I make an attempt at other peoples topics, but here, I can give whatever number I want for whatever reason I want, no matter how irrelevant).)

I trade my soul for a wish

I know its not a supernatural song in the least, but I like to pretend the line is darker and more magical than it is.

Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad.

I also know the song doesnt involve time travel in any way, but its fun to pretend. Still a nice line either way.

The sad part is that I dont think Im even being ironic in liking the song. Its catchy, its fun, I like the artist, its very G-rated and light, its actually a pretty great pick. I do wish I had a new Carly Rae song to rate, but this is still nice.

[Final Thoughts: I may have started liking this song ironically, but now I think I actually love this.

Also, more random coincidences, I was watching the German version of Netflixs singing competition (Sing On) and this is one of the songs the competitors had to sing. I...honestly didnt know this song was apparently big enough to be an international hit.]

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/21/20 3:41:48 PM
#38:


And as we move on, we get our first album eliminated:

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R#7: (I WANT TO BE THE ONE) TO WATCH YOU DIE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0jnOrfpbe2cKli0lNDBZ7k

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (11/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (2/10)

Initial Score: 100 [R#5]
Revised Score: 100 [R#6]
Final Score: 100 [R#7]

(First Thoughts: Another great song. Here Dr. Light has been pushed too far and sends Megaman out with orders to assassinate Dr. Wily (Megaman does not take this well, as wed hear in History Repeating: Reds opening song), fantasizing about being there to watch Wilys murder. Its twisted and possibly the most evil song in The Megas catalogueyeah a lot of the Robot Masters want to kill all humans, but theres something more vile about wanting to enjoy the murder of one specific person... especially when youre trying to force your son to kill them for you against his will. )

I cant think of many fallen hero songs (apart from some songs from The Protomen & The Megas obviously), but I suspect Id be a fan of them if I found any.

Anyway, this song is not quite a villain song, but its so far down the path of the anti-hero that its not far removed from one. Also, this song has a spoken word section in it! You know I like those.

[generic filler text to get up the 100 word minimum because I said as much as I wanted to during the First Thoughts portion of the writeup goes here.]

...Oh yeah! There was also an explosion at the end of the song. I like explosions and other sound effects, so thats something else this song has going for it. Though thats a very, very minor and practically inconsequential part.

[Final Thoughts: Youd think having a perfect score would get you more than 7th place. Youd be wrong, but youd probably think that.]

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R#6: GAMMA UNCHAINED:

https://open.spotify.com/track/77jTuZqc2xK0dOPVCtgfQa

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (10/27)
Source: History Repeating Blue (1/10)

Initial Score: 100 [R#4]
Revised Score: 100 [R#4]
Final Score: 100 [R#6]

(First Thoughts: One of my absolute favorite songs of all time. Its been near the top of my Spotifys yearly most played lists for several years and never gets old; its absolute perfection, the greatest villain song of all time, and.... some... third thing, I didnt really think this sentence through and thought I had a third point.

The only thing holding it back is that its been my favorite for... I think four years now? Im doing this to find new songs and this really isnt. Im unsure if its the R#s division championits certainly up there, but there are at least two other songs in contention for first place and its hard to say which Ill choose. Might be this song, might be a three way tie, it might get third place. Well see.)

The best thing to come from me doing that Mega Man Song Ranking with Se7en was my finding this song. I was browsing the YouTube comments on Wily Stage 1 theme:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfOE4rJnYYc

And someone was talking about how tragic the song felt after hearing Gamma Unchained. Id heard of The Megas beforeyou couldnt go to a song about a Robot Master from the third game without everyone talking about The Megas versionbut I was convinced that I hated the band and refused to listen to any more by them on principle. Id listened to one of their songs from their debut EP and I hated it.

Evolution of Circuitry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD3jK3nGSLU

(They would release an updated version of the song earlier this year which...Im still not thrilled with, but would at least score better than Steel Forged in Fate)

But I decided to give them one last chance. I wanted to see how this band managed to create a tragic song from this game and, quite honestly, wanted to feel smugly superior about how The Protomen were the greatest band of all time and laugh about how this band DOESNT EVEN COMPARE!!

(Yes, I do lapse into Johnny Turbo references periodically, deal with it)

...also I like going off on unrelated tangents and I hadnt done one about The Megas at that point in the topic, and even if I hated their version, Id totally get my word count up talking about it for a minute. </.<

Suffice to say, I immediately fell in love with the song. Before long, I was listening to it multiple times per day and started becoming obsessed with it. Itd be a while before I tried any other songs & got hooked on the band themselves (see: Cant Stop the Tops writeup), but Gamma Unchained was an instant classic. I still listen to it constantly.

...I was kinda hoping for newer songs, but I still love it and it was nice to take a break from all the other songs to relax with some old favorites.

[Final Thoughts: This is one of those songs that I never shut up about. Ive nominated it at multiple topics, hype it up constantly, talk about it in unrelated topics for no apparent reason (I actually talk about this song in a different writeup. One of the songs i gave First Thoughts to before you nominated these albums), had lyrics from it in my sig for months, and its probably my biggest musical obsession of all time. Im not sure if its my absolute favorite song of all time, but its definitely one of the very few candidates for that title... and thats true even after Im a bit burned out on it.

It probably should take first place by default, but... well, Im feeling a bit more attached to songs that I havent been completely obsessed with.]

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/21/20 3:44:38 PM
#39:


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HISTORY REPEATING: BLUE

Steel Forged in Fate: 50.50 [R#32]
History Repeating Pt. 1: 60.25 [R#28]
Youve Sparked a War: 62.00 [R#25]
Continue: 87.00 [R#19]
Cant Stop the Top: 89.00 [R#16]
Walk Away From Light: 90.00 [R#15]
History Repeating Pt. 2 (One Last Time): 90.50 [R#14]
Dont Mess With Magnetman: 91.00 [R#12]
(I Want to Be The One) To Watch You Die: 100 [R#7]
Gamma Unchained: 100 [R#6]

Average Score: 82.025

Im fairly confident this is the album Ive listened to in its entirety the most often and with it getting such a ridiculously high average score, its not hard to see why. Even with three of the songs dragging the average down and the album feeling a bit worn out by this point, I still love.half the albumand two more of those songs are the in the really, really like (possibly still love) category too.

This album also has, I think, the greatest variety of villain songs. No matter what kind of song Im in the mood for, I can find it here. Overly theatrical, dancing villain music? The we are not so different, hero song trying to tempt the hero into darkness? A villainous love song? A fallen hero song? A villain that regrets some of their choices and wants forgiveness? A general kill all humans song? This album covers all the bases.

I could see an argument that this variety hurts the album as a cohesive whole since theres no specific themes or motifs running through the album, but Im hardly the type of person to care about those things. Its just a smorgasbord of songs I love.

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Jesse_Custer
11/21/20 4:32:17 PM
#40:


Raetsel_Lapin posted...
[I think I borrowed Zooropa from the library because Stay (Farway, So Close!) was amazing and I wanted more like that.

Zooropa tends to be one of the lesser known, underrated U2 albums thats far more experimental than their usual style. Stay is an excellent song, I agree, but probably the least experimental song on the album.

Its not exactly the style of Stay, but I would recommend you check out Achtung Baby, since Stay was recorded during those sessions and that album is at least thematically similar. Youll already know several songs from that album due to the greatest hits (such as the one I nominated), but maybe havent heard several other from the album (which is their best work imo). In particular, Ultra Violet is my favorite song, and Acrobat is also worth a listen if you liked Until the End of the World.
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Raetsel_Lapin
11/21/20 5:09:28 PM
#41:


Ill try to make a note of that album. Theres always a point after the rankings where I go through all the suggestions posted in the topic and do at least a quick listen.

...I should probably just start making that list now so things will be easier to find later.

ZALIST (in no particular order)

Achtung Baby (Album)
Steve Reich (Artist)
Live - Hold Me Up
Live - We Deal In Dreams
Piano Opera - Terras Theme (Arr. Bill Dobbins)
Piano Opera - Moogle Theme Music Box
Piano Opera - My Home, Sweet Home Music Box
Piano Opera - The Mystic Forest Music Box
Piano Opera - Terras Theme: Music Box
Shooter Jennings - The Low Road
CFO - Let Me Show You How
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Now or Never

And some songs UF8 PMd a while ago


Live & Piano Opera songs from the Deluxe versions of the albums which could have been nominated, but werent. (Strangely the playlist provided for Throwin Copper included one of the three songs from the Deluxe Album, but not the other two.)

Low Road was a song Snake accidentally posted, other two songs were nominated and then replaced with different nominations. (There was a Killswitch Engage song that was nominated and replaced, but I already listened to it once)

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R#5: MELODY FROM THE PAST:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0PeQU83EknjL152aJrtXAx

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (9/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (2/10)

Initial Score: 80.00 [R#20]
Revised Score: 72.10 [R#16]
Final Score: 100 [R#5]

(First Thoughts: Mega Man 3s ending theme was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. I thought i was someone who could never feel anything from instrumental tracks, but there was so much emotion and power in that theme that it was a revelation. That I could be moved by such a song was amazing, and that they did it all with the limits of the NES chip, and without even being one of the most complicated of NES songs... it was positively amazing and for a time, I may have actually considered it the greatest song to have ever been written.

And then I heard this song which, frankly, ruined it. It works so much better with sad, digitized whistling instead of lyrics... but Ive heard this so often that I cant listen to the original without hearing all of these lyrics in my head. All the beauty and simplicity is gone, replaced with THIS, and I can never truly experience the original ever again.

Dont get me wrong, I still like this. A cover of greatness is still somewhat great; I like the characterization of Protoman here, with him finding some forgiveness for his father and choosing to make his own path. And its still a song by one of my favorite bands, so i cant truly hate it. Well, I do hate it, but I also love it, and its complicated.)

I still like it, but I feel like being harsher to the song tonight than I did when I made those first thoughts.

An apology, so sorry for the man he was
For the father he couldn't be
That I would not be what I was built to be
If I had a heart it would have broken to see his face
To see my family
And The One who took my place


Really, the songs score depends almost entirely on how I feel about that verse at the time. Sometimes that verse really gets me and I could be persuaded to give the song the full 100 points... other days, like now, its good, but not quite good enough to raise its score any further. Try asking on another day and maybe this wins first place among the R#s, but not as of the time of this writing.

[Final Thoughts: A song with a placement thats always in flux, today happens to be a day that I really want to hear it and am vibing with it quite strongly.]

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/21/20 5:37:33 PM
#42:


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R#4: GOLDEN RIDGE (GOLDEN FEATHER MIX):

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

Nominator: MetalmindStats (25/28)
Source: MetalmindStats Extra Songs (5/7)

Initial Score: 100 [R#2]
Revised Score: 100 [R#5]
Final Score: 100 [R#4]

(First Thoughts: I was playing through Celeste during part of last years topic and I took some time out to talk about how great this song was. I had a horrible time at this stage and I tend to give up on things quite easily, but something about this music kept me calm and motivated. Without the inspiration given by this track, I dont think theres anyway I could have finished this stage.

I also nominated it at the Rate the VGM topic where Im sure i gave it a high score. Dont know if I gave it the perfect 10 or not, but it should have been a fantastically high score.)

A beautiful, meditative track. This is actually one of the most relaxing songs Ive ever encountered and is quite good at keeping me calm. I havent listened to it as much as most other songs on the R#s list because I dont want to overplay it and lose the effect; this is more a...special occasion song when I need to force myself to relax or focus on something than a song Id listen to on an endless repeat like The Megas songs.

With all that, youd think this song should easily win first place in the R#s. But it doesnt. Sorry, it really was in serious contention for that award, but there are other songs I want to listen to more right now.

[Final Thoughts: One of the most relaxing and inspirational songs in the world, part of me really wants to give this first place among the R#s... but there are a few other songs that I prefer, so Im afraid I cant. This is definitely the first cut of the topic that actually hurt me to make though.]

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R#3: IM NOT THE BREAKMAN:

https://open.spotify.com/track/2fwaQhGKZ4oUuE6Apyp3gX

Nominator: Shonen_Bat (8/27)
Source: History Repeating Red (1/10)

Initial Score: 100 [R#3]
Revised Score: 100 [R#3]
Final Score: 100 [R#3]

(First Thoughts: Its all of my favorite things in one! A villain song, a revenge song, a song by a fictional character, and sad without being soul crushing! And its hard to choose my favorite lyric/set of lyrics:

My heart is gone, theres only fire. I met my maker and the mans a liar.

You say youll do all you can to save them. Killing your own wont make you human.

I woke to turn this man to cinder. Circuits afire as I remember. Again, I hear a promise spoken. My rage repairs what once was broken.

Ah... so angry and emo at the same time. <3

I actually didnt appreciate this song at first and might have even had it as the lowest ranked full-length song on the album. As a villainous Protoman song, its hard not to directly compare it to The Protomens The Stand (Man or Machine) and... well you dont want to be compared directly against one of my absolute favorite songs evarrrrr. Now, Ive learned to appreciate it on its own merits and feel it compares well enough. )

Okay, new rule: 100 word minimum applies to either the First Thoughts -or- the actual writeup. If First Thoughts had 100+ words, I dont have to type anything here until I want to.

Honestly, I have this song as the highest rated out of two albums that consist only of songs I like. That should be enough to tell you how much I like this. It gets the spot over Gamma Unchained because I havent listened to it as muchlike Ive said, I prefer Blue as an album, so I havent heard the songs on Red as often. Even the great ones, like this. Though Ive still heard them a lot, obviously.

[Final Thoughts: Nothing to add; except that, as I mentioned, that 100 word minimum is discarded really quickly. Like discarded in the opening posts of tomorrow early.

...seriously, lower your expectations for the main list.]

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/21/20 5:42:12 PM
#43:


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HISTORY REPEATING: RED

The Red Song: 50.60 [R#31]
Harder Than Steel: 60.50 [R#27]
I Refuse (To Believe): 61.80 [R#26]
Gemineye: 66.11 [R#23]
The Haystack Principle: 80.00 [R#22]
Fly On a Dog: 88.73 [R#18]
Make Your Choice: 88.92 [R#17]
Afraid of the Dark: 90.70 [R#13]
Melody From the Past: 100 [R#5]
Im Not the Breakman: 100 [R#3]

Average Score: 78.736

I actually think I covered everything I had to say about this album during the individual writeups. I enjoy it quite a bit and have listened to it a lot, but I still prefer Blueeven if two of the songs from Red managed to make it further up the list.

I feel like Red is probably the stronger album from an objective standpoint. The band seemed to be pushing themselves a bit: Gemineyes film noir motif, The Red Song setting the scene with only sound effects, the callbacks to earlier albums, the more serious tone running throughout the album... I just find the album to be a bit lacking in fun when compared to most of their work.

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And with that, were down to the final two R#s!
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PIayer_0
11/21/20 5:51:40 PM
#44:


woo golden ridge

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Raetsel_Lapin
11/21/20 6:27:17 PM
#45:


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R#2: FRESH GOES BETTER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYluaWIpoX8

Nominator: Mega_Mana (18/18)
Source: Mega_Manas Extra Songs (5/5)

Initial Score: 100 [R#1]
Revised Score: 100 [R#2]
Final Score: 100 [R#2]

(First Thoughts: Ah, I needed this song. It came somewhere in the top 5 (I forget if it was 4th or 5th) at the first ranking topic and was still ranked too low. It was never going to win there, but it should have taken third place easily.

Its one of those songs that I dont shut up about and I find it far more inspirational than it should be. Like, inspirational music doesnt usually work for me, but this doeswhenever I had trouble at the first ranking topic, Id fire this up to get my energy and motivation back. I listened to it so many times (which probably means it should have won, but... lets not get into that). And with some of the songs this year, I know Ill need the support of this song again.)

Once again this song gets almost to the top of a list, only to fall at the last moment. And now to fill time, Im just going to copy my writeup from the first topic:

4th Place:

This song really helped me get through the ranking. It's probably the one I've listened to the most often, turning to it whenever I needed a pick-me-up. Songs reminding you of suicide, genocide, [redacted], or [redacted]? It's easy when you're full of life!

Part of me really wants to give this song first place... but then this song isn't exactly new to me. I've seen the commercials often enough that I knew it reasonably well; didn't know you could find a full length version on YouTube, but it's still not new.

...then again there are no rules and I can place any song anywhere I want... but... yeah, I think I want to have the other three remaining songs above it. It's a tough call, but the last songs are so totally amazing that I can't move them down any further. I'm sorry.

[FINAL-ER NOTES: This hits a lot of the same notes as Dagothwave, but while Dagothwave is funny, the Mentos theme is strangely inspirational. Getting through the ranking would have been much, much more difficult without the Mentos theme keeping me happy and motivated. Don't care how absurd that sounds, I'm an absurd creature, deal with it.]


Really should have had it in third place that year... oh well. Song was great then, is still great now, and still not quite first place in its category.

[Final Thoughts: Or perhaps I should have just had a three way tie between Mentos, maclir, and focus tous; three completely great songs that cant be directly compared to each other.

...of course I refused to allow ties at the first topic and a three-way tie for first would be incredibly anticlimactic, so maybe not. Either way, this was a lot closer to winning the first topic than it seemed like it was.]

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R#1: JUST COMMUNICATION:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xbIkI3vcgU

Nominator: handsomeboy2012 (14/15)

Initial Score: 52.00 [R#28]
Revised Score: 100 [R#1]
Final Score: 100 [R#1]

(First Thoughts: I have a lot of nostalgia for Gundam Wing, but Ive honestly never been much a fan of this song. Ive tried listening to it a lot since I like being reminded of Wing, but Im just not into it.

Best version of the song is the Saturn version of Super Robot Wars F, followed by the beep-y rendition from SRW Link Battlerits so low quality, but the Game Boy Color chipset makes it rather cute. (Though neither of those would have likely gone beyond the 60s anyway.))

Super Robot Wars F Version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V714O8BEASE

Link Battler Version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1mrmuCMBCk

Aaanywho..., you ever suddenly click with a song that you never really cared about before? Tonight, it works for meparticularly the lines about being in the rain because, as usual, anything dealing with rain is usually worth a bunch of points.

So the song has a lot going for it: Gundam memories (points), rain (major points), I dont know what to classify the unexpected RED ALERT! as but I like it (more points), its a reasonably well-performed J-Pop songs (Japanese songs usually do well), its surprising that I was usually biased against the song. I think there were two main points working against it:

1.Ive never liked Relena as a character. Falling in love with someone who openly declares his intention to murder you is just stupid. Actually, just about everything said by any character on Gundam Wing is stupid, but this is just....on a whole other level of stupidity. I typically cant get into a Relena & Heero love song because I very much dont like the idea of them in a relationship in the first place.

2.Most translations are a little too explicit. I want to express this unfading passion with my entire body! Is...not exactly something that leaves room for other interpretations. You certainly can find alternate translations of that line that are less Imma have sex with Heero in the middle of this rainstorm while sirens are blaring at us because I only make terrible, terrible decisionss, but you usually have to go looking for them.

But tonight... tonight I actually want a song about confessing forbidden love in the rain and like what the song is doing. Who knows, perhaps by the time the rankings start Ill be back to not really liking it. But for now, this has a pretty good chance of getting first place among the R#s.

[Final Thoughts: I was this close to moving this to second and letting Mentos win the R# category, but I think I prefer this. Also, it feels like a more appropriate winnerlike Gamma Unchained, I already knew that Mentos was one of my favorite songs ever. This song I did not care about at all and wouldnt have given it much thought without it being nominated, so there needs to be some special commendation for getting me to see a song I never cared about in a new light.

...Of course, if my opinion on an R# song can change so drastically, it kinda proves that the R# category was ultimately pointless. If even the songs Ive heard an infinite number of times over many years can have their scores change so drastically, then it kinda disproves the whole these are songs I know so well that I probably dont need to listen to them point...

...welp, whats done is done.]

[Final-er Thoughts: ...Also, I see I messed up the numbering at least once. Two songs from History Repeating Red are listed as being 4/10 on the album. If I cant keep the numbering straight on this small of a list, the full one is going to be...interesting... ]

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Jesse_Custer
11/21/20 6:29:44 PM
#46:


Raetsel_Lapin posted...
I was playing through Celeste during part of last years topic and I took some time out to talk about how great this song was. I had a horrible time at this stage and I tend to give up on things quite easily, but something about this music kept me calm and motivated. Without the inspiration given by this track, I dont think theres anyway I could have finished this stage.

Interesting that you mention this. I noticed when playing Celeste earlier this year the game has a remarkable ability to not feel too frustrating despite its at times insane difficulty. And I think youre right that the music is a big part of the reason why. Somehow it can keep you focused and calm when playing.
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IhatethisCPU
11/21/20 6:46:54 PM
#47:


...It makes me far happier than it probably should to see you love Fresh Goes Better still. ^_^

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'(Racketeering) is the 'liking Pink Floyd' of war crimes, I mean *what's that*'- Please Stop Talking #43 - Wuv. - hbomberguy
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azuarc
11/21/20 7:18:56 PM
#48:


Could you include the (musical) source of these songs in the header moving forward? I would have assumed that half of these tracks were from a group called History Repeating Red/Blue if I didn't look closer, and the others I had no idea.

Also, eight songs with a "perfect" score in this abridged list. *shocked*

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Video Game Music Contest 14 champion: Idola Phantasy Star Saga - Endeavour
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handsomeboy2012
11/21/20 10:41:53 PM
#49:


Oh wow, I've never got first place in any b8 rankings before. Not the main list but it's somethinng

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Congratulations to azuarc, GotD2 winner
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Mega Mana
11/21/20 10:52:03 PM
#50:


<3 Super unexpected!!!

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"In my headcanon, some staffer saw Trump pull out his phone and start typing so they just Terry Tate Office Linebacker'd him out of his shoes." - FFD
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