Board 8 > Raetsel ranks 631 songs. [Rankings]

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have been led to believe the anime is quite bad for what it's worth, which would also suggest the intro animation might not be the best.

I am a fan of the song though.
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Oh, Im sure its a great song. Epic music tends to be very well received, just (like everything else around this point) not really for me.

And speaking of good songs that arent for me, heres two more like that.



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520: TOOL - H:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg8vTSyHFkQ&list=OLAK5uy_k_Z0-DYw0_cGPvZm6icNUGbefRT4wktdY&index=3

Nominator: Steiner (18/26)
Source: Aenima (8/15)

Initial Score: 46.24 [#467]
Revised Score: 44.71 [#489]
Final Score: 44.20 [#520]

(First Thoughts: Its probably good enough, but I dont especially want songs dealing with fatherhood or child abuse (especially child abuse) at the moment, so I just kinda tune this out.)

Its another song where its just too heavy a subject matter for my blood. My eyes glaze over and I mostly wait for the song to end. I can at least tell why other people would like it, but its very definitely not my type of thing.

I kinda like the intro before he starts singing and his voice isnt displeasingoutside of the I DONT MIND parts at any rate, which (thematically appropriate or not) are a bit too intense. And while I should probably have it lower, again, I can at least see why its a good song... so I dont really want to drop it below 40 points.

[Note: I had to take a break when this song came up for its second listen. Id done ten songs and was feeling good about my progress since I had another two hours that I could spend listening & ranking, but I got about one minute into this song and just said nope, there is no way Im dealing with this song tonight, and left to go play Hades for two hours instead.]

[Final Thoughts: Not much to add. It is a good song, just not for me.]

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519: THE MOODY BLUES - LOVELY TO SEE YOU:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhkiAdPmu3o

Nominator: LOLIAmAnAlt (14/15)

Initial Score: 49.53 [#428]
Revised Score: 44.82 [#488]
Final Score: 44.24 [#519]

(First Thoughts: Not really looking for a friendship song (or whatever this is.))

Its another of those songs that are perfectly fine, but dont appeal to me in the least. Finding a new to me song from the 60s is kinda nice, but like I said, Im not interested in a friendship song. Ive also never been a big fan of The Moody Blues; Ive probably heard Nights In White Satin & Tuesday Afternoon hundreds of times, but never actively sought out either song or anything else by the band. They were just things that would play on the radio and Id sit through without any complaints or interest.

Im just now learning that theres a full length version of Nights In White Satin with a full intro and spoken word poetry outro? Lets drop everything were doing and go listen to that for a while!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqaiS-sDQyY

The intro actually isnt too bad. I dont know that it really helps the song at all, but Im not against its inclusion.

The main part of the song is the same as it ever was, though I like the second verse more than I use to

Gazing at people, some hand in hand
Just what I'm going through they can't understand

Very tame level of angst there, it works for me these days.

Instrumental part of the outro does not work for me. Somehow its reminding me of Fantasia or something.

And that poem... that... that was a thing alright. I think I actually do like this extended cut of the song though; its a...different take on the song, far more experimental than the single version Im used to. I think Id actually go up to 90 points for the full version of Night? It feels like too high a score, but Im very intrigued by the track and want to hear it again.

Aaanywho, going back to the song I was supposed to be ranking: I still have nothing to add to it. Blah blah friendship, blah blah reunion, not my thing right now.

[Final Thoughts: Id completely forgotten their song Go Now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN2fOgfFnDo

Now thats the type of thing Im looking for. Just the perfect mix of nostalgia and blunt sadness without being too depressing. So I guess I do really enjoy at least two of their songs, just... unfortunately not the one that was nominated. Still, it led to me rediscovering some great things, so that was fun!

...Now I kinda wish Id tried nominating the full version of Nights at rwlhs topic, though its a bit long and I think some parts of that had individual track numbers instead of being one song? Or not, I dont have time to research that right now.]

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yeah, never judge a song by its single version.

the single version of light my fire by the doors is another good example of why you shouldn't do this. it mutilates the song by omitting the entire solo section.

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Pretty sure Ive never heard a full version of Light My Fire, I might look that up someday.

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518: THE DEAR HUNTER - REBIRTH:

https://open.spotify.com/track/08AiMraVV8SQI9s8mgGCV4

Nominator NBIceman (22/22)
Source: Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise (15/15)

Initial Score: 47.50 [#455]
Revised Score: 44.93 [#487]
Final Score: 44.34 [#518]

(First Thoughts: The early parts with the singing are nice enough (though would still only get in the low 50s), but the instrumental part at the end sounds comedically cartoonish. It makes me imagine the singer as Bugs Bunnywhich would normally be a good thing, but is so wildly far away from the tone they want to convey as to be hilarious. Which would also normally be a good thing, were we not SERIOUS SONG dealing with SERIOUS EVENTS.

[Well as SERIOUS as you can be with a character literally named Ms. Leading anyway... though I still love Pain of Salvations Be and that featured a character literally named Mr. Money, so who am I to judge concept albums choice of character names?])

Well, the instrumental outro doesnt make me laugh anymore. Now, I just feel nothing towards it. YMMV on if thats better or worse.

[As I can find nothing worth saying here besides the obviousvocals are fine, but the lyrics do nothing for me; instrumental part was not enjoyableits time to detour to completely unrelated songs again.]

One Toke Over The Line:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9HXClusp_E

Going back to 70s hits, we come to one of the all-time classic stoner songs. In spite of the subject matter, I actually rather like this one (low 70s scoring, probably); it probably helps that I heard it constantly on the radio before I was old enough to know what it was about, so its more...nostalgic than drug related in my mind, regardless of what I know now.

I also like how it infuriated Nixon, allegedly earning the singer a spot on his enemies list, and was banned on some radio stations. Its a forbidden song the man doesnt want you to hear! Woo! Rebellion!

[Final Thoughts:

Your mind is only echoing
What your heart wouldnt say
Ill be me, in time

That lyric is fairly intriguing. As Ive said before and will also say repeatedly this topic, I do have a thing for lyrics dealing with dissociation and thats...close to hitting the right notes. It certainly grabs my attention at the very least. But most of the songs rather brief runtime is dedicated to that instrumental outro and that part does not work for me, which drags the song down.]

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515 [TIE]: THE EIGHTFOLD ROAD - DECISIVE BATTLE 1:

Nominator: The Mighty KELP (28/32)

https://familyjules7x.bandcamp.com/track/decisive-battle-i

Initial Score: 33.33~ [#530]
Revised Score: 45.26 [#484]
Final Score: 44.40 [#515]

(First Thoughts: 333333333333

3333333333

3333333
333
33
33
33
333
333
333
333
3
3
3
333
33
3)

515 [TIE]: THE EIGHTFOLD ROAD - DECISIVE BATTLE II:

https://familyjules7x.bandcamp.com/track/decisive-battle-ii

Nominator: The Mighty KELP (27/32)

Initial Score: 33.33~ [#530]
Revised Score: 45.26 [#484]
Final Score: 44.40 [#515]

(First Thoughts: Decisive Battle I bored me so much that I blacked out and didnt even notice a new song had started. Its not really any better and even after restarting, I dont know that I can actually tell them apart.)

515 [TIE]: THE EIGHTFOLD ROAD - BATTLE AT JOURNEYS END:

https://familyjules7x.bandcamp.com/track/battle-at-journeys-end

Nominator: The Mighty KELP (26/32)

Initial Score: 33.33~ [#530]
Revised Score: 45.26 [#484]
Final Score: 44.40 [#515]

(First Thoughts: ...I blacked out during the tedium of Decisive Battle 2 and Im apparently three and a half minutes into this song. Its just an endless montage of songs I dont care about doing all the same things.)

These three songs might as well just be one almost 12 minute long track instead of pretending to be individual tracks. Even when I try to focus on them, they all just blur together into a clump of genericness.

I do not like EPIC RPG BATTLE THEMES. So trying to force me to listen to bunch of EVEN MORE EPIC METAL VERSIONS OF EPIC BATTLE THEMES in a row was, to be perfectly blunt, not the best idea. The tracks are high enough quality that I dont hate them or anything, but seriously, I just dont like this type of battle theme and none of these tracks do anything to change my opinion.

[Final Thoughts: Why, why could this album not follow the pattern of Character-Region-Battle instead of dumping all eight battle themes into one giant cluster? The songs are fineor at least harmlessbut the relentless barrage was just.... so not something I wanted to listen to. And no matter how much effort I put into it, I cant find any particular reason to rank any of these three songs above the other.]

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Dang. Hoped I was gonna make it to 500 without losing one, but I figured if I was gonna lose one early it would probably be Rebirth. I'm a lot more positive on the instrumental section, but that's mostly because I just always enjoy the TDH stream-of-consciousness orchestral style that shows up sometimes.

Hard to complain about what is effectively an intro track being in this range, though.

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I think Im going to stop at 8 eliminations today.

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514: DRAGON BALL SUPER - ULTRA INSTINCT THEME:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8qg-XzHgUk

Nominator: @GavsEvans123 (11/15)

Initial Score: 34.29 [#528]
Revised Score: 45.81 [#479]
Final Score: 44.60 [#514]

(First Thoughts: Probably dramatic in context, but its not something Id listen to outside of the show.)

Its not a bad song, but it feels too...orchestral for Dragon Ball. Not that Ive ever paid attention to the music, but this doesnt feel like alien who has enough power that he can destroy reality with the force of his punches unlocks his most powerful form music. Its too...old-fashioned and human.

(As a Saiyan proud of his heritage on Earth, Im sure Goku would be pleased that I find his theme music to be very human, but I do not judge based on how the characters would react to my writeups.)

And I cant quite place what this song is reminding me of. Oh well, into the mid-40s it goes.

[Final Thoughts: One of several songs that I cant find anything relevant to say about.]

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513: THE EIGHTFOLD ROAD - THEY WHO GOVERN REASON:

https://familyjules7x.bandcamp.com/track/they-who-govern-reason

Nominator: The_Mighty_KELP (25/32)

Initial Score: 37.92 [#519]
Revised Score: 45.70 [#480]
Final Score: 44.70 [#513]

(First Thoughts: I know its good enough, but its still a style that I dont like and this song doesnt do nearly enough to change my mind about it.)

Id say its an improvement over the three EPIC BATTLE THEMES that just dropped (theres a subdued part around 3:40-ish that Im actually quite fond of), but you know this is just another in the long list of songs that are part of a genre Im just not interested in.

[Final Thoughts: The section I like is quite short, but its still enough to put it over most of the battle themes from this album.]

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Raetsel_Lapin posted...

Im just now learning that theres a full length version of Nights In White Satin with a full intro and spoken word poetry outro? Lets drop everything were doing and go listen to that for a while!

I've very rarely heard that song without the intro and outro. It's almost a necessity!
My parents listened to a lot of The Moody Blues when I was growing up.

Also
Lovely to see you has a song before it that also fades into the song. I've actually even seen them listed both as one track before.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OzFcdtU6kGA/TFh-_cVBCkI/AAAAAAAAFh0/MiGQ1_uEFi4/s1600/mb+toad+a.bmp

So if you want to take a gander, here you go!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AukFsBv2oDY

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^Ill definitely look at that full version later, thank you.

Well be going through a handful of new eliminations today, then well be taking a few days off as Ive got quite a lot to go through. In short: There are several songs that were scheduled to be eliminated earlier in the topic that have been given repeated reprieves and vague values like moving this up to the high 40s probably, well figure out when we get to that point. And were quite rapidly hitting that point, in which they need to either start dropping soon or jump up another tier or two.

Then I feel theres a pretty big jump in quality once we hit songs in the 47.00~49.99 range, which feels like theres a new tier there. And now its kinda like if these feel like a tier above, then why dont we move them up to 50 points so theyre actually on a new tier, which only raises questions as to whats being done with the 50 point songs...

Oh, and theres currently 19 songs at the exactly 50, complete neutrality level, and I need to go through all of those to see if Im dropping any of those down to the slight dislike level (moving them up is also possible, as is keeping them where they are... but if anythings dropping a tier then I have to establish that before we move on to the next tier, so were rapidly running out of time for me to decide if thats happening to anything).

So theres just this massive buildup of unsorted songs basically labeled Future Raetsels Problem and I cant do much of anything until I get those sorted out and decide exactly where the upcoming tier divisions are.

...well that wasnt a short explanation at all. much song, very tier, wow.



On an unrelated note, Im also retroactively raising Hooker With a Penis to 13.00 points in a tie with Dance Fight 66; I still dont like the song, but the hatred was based on incredibly unfounded assumptions and other peoples comments on it and I do owe Steiner & Maynard an apology. Doesnt really impact anything, but whenever Aenima is eliminated, the noted score will reflect this change.

(All other posted rankings and scores stand as written)
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512: THE DEAR HUNTER - REMEMBERED:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0miS15DAUt0eNtVAszSo8A

Nominator: NBIceman (21/22)
Source: Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise (14/15)

Initial Score: 49.98 [#421]
Revised Score: 45.37 [#483]
Final Score: 44.80 [#512]

(First Thoughts: One of the least memorable tracks, in spite of its title.)

Putting aside any terrible jokes about this song being unmemorable, this is another of those songs that I just have nothing to say about. Its a rather sleepy song, not quite a lullaby but not as far as removed from one as youd expect & most of the lyrics do nothing for me. Im stuck on a path to my own ruin is a nice lyric that kinda hits the level of angst or sadness I want, but one line alone cannot salvage a songs score.

[Final Thoughts: Song is so sleepy that I kinda wish it had just gone for a lullaby type sound... at this point, they might as well have leaned into it and went all the way.]

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511: HIVE - INSIDE THE HIVE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKP81HLMm0c

Nominator: DoctorJimmy133 (19/27)
Source: Jimmys extra songs (7/7)

Initial Score: 41.17 [#500]
Revised Score: 45.92 [#478]
Final Score: 44.90 [#511]

(First Thoughts: A very drum heavy song that is reasonably impressive, but not for me in the least.)

Id like to give you some bonus points for the album cover, but Im really trying not to do that this year.

This isnt something I usually do, but Im going to take a quick look at some other songs on the album, because while I dont like this, I... well there was a furry on the album cover and thats worth a second chance. Also the reviews of the album are leading me to think you just picked the wrong song.

Weapons of Mass Destruction: ...Wait, Flash Gordon?!

...Thats...

....but...

I....

*blinks in confusion*

What are the odds that all my earlier rambling about Flash Gordon would be strangely relevant at another writeup so much later? This is freaky. Anywayinteresting choices of samples. Im not sure how much I like it, but I have a positive feeling about it... lets say high 50s? It does drag on a bit.



Devious Methods: Its a good sample, but the song itself is slow and plodding... I want to like it (and parts of it do feel unsettling in a good way), but its missing something... probably about the same score as the nominated track; slightly more, but not enough to have an appreciable difference in the rankings.

I want to listen to the very long, three part track... but I do not have time today. Ask me again when this song is eliminated.

[Final Thoughts: Still dont have time to listen to the almost ten minute long song, but I can add it to the list

ZALIST (in no particular order)

Achtung Baby (Album)\
Grind Session (Game OST)
Steve Reich (Artist)
Live - Hold Me Up
Live - We Deal In Dreams
Piano Opera - Terras Theme (Arr. Bill Dobbins)
Piano Opera - The Serpent Trench (Arr. Bill Dobbins)
Piano Opera - Welcome to Our Town! Music Box
Piano Opera - Theme of Love Music Box
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
Hive - Moves Within Time (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Movements)

And some songs UF8 PMd a while ago

While the nominated song isnt quite to my tastes, something about it is inspiring to give the album a lot more chances than I normally would.. so thats probably worth something.]

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510: MISFITS - HORROR HOTEL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REYXN8sLNKA

Nominator: @Snake5555555555 (15/15)

Initial Score: 32.26 [#533]
Revised Score: 46.03 [#477]
Final Score: 45.00 [#510]

(First Thoughts: Who knew Danzig singing about his vampire girlfriend could be so dull?)

After all my complaints about songs that are too serious and too long, you would probably expect this song to do better. Its short, inoffensive, and seemingly pointless enough that Id personally call it a novelty song. All of which are normally good things, yes, but this track is somehow....too short and too pointless?

Danzig has a vampire girlfiend (this was a typo, but girl fiend works well enough in this context that Im half-pretending it was intentional) and stuff happens in Room 21! END OF SONG! is just...uhh...okay?

[Final Thoughts: Definitely one of those songs that Im supposed to like more than I do.]

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509: PIANO OPERA - THE RED WINGS / KINGDOM OF BARON:

https://open.spotify.com/track/4eJM5YUe6dAe7uhRIvBTAU

Nominator: Haste_2 (16/19)
Source: Piano Opera Final Fantasy IV/V/VI (9/12)

Initial Score: 30.00 [#538]
Revised Score: 46.91 [#469]
Final Score: 45.15 [#509]

(First Thoughts: Taking one of the most iconic SNES songs and doing that to it... le sigh.

...alright so the SNES version of Red Wings probably only gets you, say, 55.55 points. Its iconic, but too militaristic for my tastes [and yes I know thats the point of the song].)

Taking a song I wasnt much a fan of and removing the parts I liked about it doesnt exactly result in a lot of points. The song is fine, but I find it impossible to listen to it without thinking, wow this would be so much better if it was digitized and not played on a piano.

...And yes, I know what album Im listening to. Ive never pretended to be into classical instruments (though acoustic guitars have been growing on me quite a bit this past year and I dont...like...hate pianos or anything) and Im trying to be as objective as I can. I just dont see this song really living up to the original or some of the other remixes Ive heard.

[Final Thoughts: Thinking of it more, a piano solo doesnt really go with the vibe of this track. This song basically demands a full orchestra (and I know how wrong that is coming from me):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaLB5xHIjSs

Still not my favorite song or anything, but the song just feels more complete and appropriately dramatic.]

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Looks like I went in a bit too much on the edgy dance music, eh? At least you checked out the album for one reason or another. You should also have a look at "Ultrasonic Sound" since that is by several orders of magnitude his most popular track.

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Remembered has grown on me over the years, but that's probably to be expected when I've listened to that album start-to-finish at least a couple hundred times. It's definitely not something that really sticks in your mind after just a listen or two.

I'm gonna be interested to see how close your ranking of all the Act IV songs ends up being to my own. It's identical so far!

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Sure, Ill add that Hive song to the list.

ZALIST (in no particular order)

Achtung Baby (Album)\
Grind Session (Game OST)
Steve Reich (Artist)
Live - Hold Me Up
Live - We Deal In Dreams
Piano Opera - Terras Theme (Arr. Bill Dobbins)
Piano Opera - The Serpent Trench (Arr. Bill Dobbins)
Piano Opera - Welcome to Our Town! Music Box
Piano Opera - Theme of Love Music Box
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
Hive - Moves Within Time (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Movements)
Hive - Ultrasonic Sonic
The Moody Blues - In The Beginning/Lovely to See You
The Doors - Light My Fire (full version)

And some songs UF8 PMd a while ago

...Am I the only one singing these entires to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas? On the third day of rankings GameFAQs gave to me: This U2 Album, an older skateboaring game, some dude named Steve Reich, and some songs UF8 PMd a while ago!

......Right, moving along with these final two songs, were officially on break. Rankings will resume as soon as Im satisfied with how the next few days worth of songs look.



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508: THE WEEKND - HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3hDnFYwpnY0wONZDkYxUsj

Nominator: Player_0 (20/30)

Initial Score: 38.17 [#517]
Revised Score: 47.90 [#460]
Final Score: 45.30 [#508]

(First Thoughts: You know, I actually hoped hed end one of his albums with a completely random cover of the Cocteau Twins song.)

Obviously Im not going to hold the fact that this song shares a title with a vastly superior song against it, thats too pathetic even for me. I am probably going to go listen to the other song now though, since youve got me thinking about it and what not.

Back on topic: I feel rather ambivalent to this track. I dont like it, but Im okay with it playing in the background or something.

[Later: I sorta want to like this? I say, I am God. is blasphemous (or close enough to it) to grab my attention, but that line is about the only positive on the track. Its somehow both short and repetitive, and his singing isnt nearly as engaging as it is on other tracks [including some already eliminated].]

[Final Thoughts: ...Does this count as something Im supposed to like but dont like as much as I should?]

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507: EVERY TIME I DIE - THE LOW ROAD HAS NO EXITS:

https://open.spotify.com/track/678ZPL35PIoq0LzObU18vW

Nominator: Bane (27/28)
Source: Ex Lives (14/14)

Initial Score: 40.34 [#505]
Revised Score: 47.57 [#463]
Final Score: 45.50 [#507]

(First Thoughts:

I am death and you have marked my words

I like that singular line. Shame its not on a song I like. The outro is...something Id probably enjoy if I were able to turn up the volume without suffering hearing loss when the next track is going to go back to being loud. Like.... yeah, that quiet atmosphere thing is something Id like, but this is not the album to pull it off or allow me to enjoy it in the slightest.)

I want to like this. Some of the lyrics are great, but its so very fast and loud. Like I want the song to be played at half speed and sung by someone half as loud as this, then Id probably find it great.

As is, I....almost like it anyway, but not enough to actually get out of the high 40s. Im trying to enjoy it, but I just...dont, really.

[Final Thoughts: Actually, I kinda like this song sped up too. Seriously load it on YouTube and set the speed to 1.25, the backing vocals become garbage but Buckley & the instruments come through much clearer somehow. Its odd... usually messing with the playback speed just creates garbage, but it seems to work here.

...I know thats not relevant or interesting.]

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Hope that this is just the start of you digging the lyrics of Every Time I Die even if the music isn't quite for you, Buckley is seriously a great lyricist. It helps being a former English teacher and having a few books written under his belt!

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White Discussion was not a personal favorite of mine, but there are a lot of Live fans who swear it's their best song.

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Still going to be a few days, though I am making what I feel is reasonable progress.

On an unrelated topic, Spotify has released my 2020 playlist. Back at the beginning of the year my account was hacked and I briefly unsubscribed from Spotify because it seemed utterly pointless to continue paying when all my recommendations would be contaminated with all these songs. I did what I could to remove them from every list they appeared on, but since Spotify doesnt allow you to... ya know... unlisten to a song or anything, my top songs are filled with things Ive never heard.

So lets go through the list and see what all not-me was playing on an infinite loop.

Alec Benjamin - Let Me Down Slowly
Anson Seabra - Thats Us
Anson Seabra - Robin Hood
Anson Seabra - I Cant Carry This Anymore
Cavetown - This Is Home
James Bay - Us
Jeremy Zucker, Chelsea Cutler - you were good to me
Juice WRLD - Bandit (with YoungBoy Never Broke A...)
Lil Xan - Betrayed
LUCKY3RD - Life Goes On
Mxmtoon - feelings are fatal
NLE Choppa - CAPO
NLE Choppa, Blueface - Shotta Flow
SayWeCanFly - Someone Else
XXXTENTACION - Jocelyn Flores
XXXTENTACION - the remedy for a broken heart
XXXTENTACION - Carry On
XXXTENTACION - I Dont Wanna Do This Anymore

...Anyone here know of any of these songs and, if so, would you suggest I listen to them? I can hit a hide this song button to keep them from playing, but I figure I might as well see if anyone recommends any of this stuff before I go back to futilely trying to stop Spotify putting XXXTENTACION into every suggested playlist until the end of time.
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Wow that's extra brutal since XXXTentacion was a piece of shit abuser

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Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Wow that's extra brutal since XXXTentacion was a piece of shit abuser

Oof. Thanks for telling ne though, at least I can go back to hiding his songs without wondering if I'm missing anything of value.
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No earthly idea about any of them, I'm afraid.

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I like Bandit but I don't think it would really be your cup of tea.

To be honest I do like the XXX songs but I definitely don't support the shit he did.

Meant to comment on Horror Hotel too. I definitely thought it was going to rank higher and I do agree it's lyrically tame for a Misfits song but the song has a fantastic energy to it. It gets its name from the US title of the film City of the Dead with Christopher Lee. The film's content is actually referenced a lot in music, such as the sample at the beginning of Rob Zombie's Dragula.

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My spotify was somehow used twice within the last few years for like a weeks time each.

First time was filled with weird rap.
Second time was weird electronica and also rap.

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That sucks. Though it is oddly reassuring that it happened to someone else too.

Topic should resume on Monday. Had to take another sick day (nothing serious, just enough mild discomfort that I wasn't going to work), but Monday should be an easy enough target to hit.
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Apologies for that delay, but its Monday, so lets dive back in.

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506: THE EIGHTFOLD ROAD - PRIMROSE, THE DANCER:

https://familyjules7x.bandcamp.com/track/primrose-the-dancer

Nominator: The_Mighty_KELP (24/32)

Initial Score: 51.21 [#367]
Revised Score: 50.00 [#425]
Final Score: 45.55 [#506]

(First Thoughts: ...Well its not like I particularly liked the original version of this song anyway, so this is probably the best that could ever be expected from a remix.)

...Well the plus side is that KELP isnt going to be in this topic, so if I drop all of his songs here without writeups, then hell never notice anyway. </.<

More seriously, this track is fine? It still leans too hard on being a metal remix for me to be into it, but its not like they could have done anything better with the song they had to work with.

[todays random filler track takes us to 16-bit versions of popular songs:]

Crue Ball - Dr. Feelgood:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwy65YDr9Pw

Its actually not a very good version of the song, but its kinda interesting that an officially licensed 16-bit version of Dr. Feelgood exists in the first place? Id say I dislike it, but its still somewhat worth listening to as a novelty.

[Final Thoughts: Its just too hard and too metal to work for Primrose or this type of song and pulls me out of it. The more traditional parts of the song are good enough to be worth some praise, but the main part is just so...out of touch that I wind up disliking it.

...At the moment, anyway. Apparently I kinda liked it the first time around, not that I suspect that is much comfort.]

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

504 [TIE]: MAZEDUDE - MYST SHROOMS:

https://mazedude.bandcamp.com/track/myst-shrooms

Nominator: sergiocornaga (15/18)

Initial Score: 42.19 [#492]
Revised Score: 48.56 [#454]
Final Score: 45.60 [#505]

(First Thoughts: I dont think I like this style of music.)

1: I dont know what Acid Jazz is, but if this is an example of it, then Im not really a fan. Now that I think about it, there was some Acid Jazzed Remix song last year, wasnt there? I didnt like it either.

2: Im not a fan of Myst or its style of puzzles, though I respect them. Im just too ignorant and impatient to do anything with them. So... no chance of nostalgia with that game impacting my opinion. [I also wouldnt say I dislike Myst enough for it to have a negative impact. Like I said, I do respect the game.]

3: I didnt listen to much of the Myst OST, but clicking through four songs randomly, Ill say this song does appear to be a distinct improvement over the originals. I love ambient music, but if there are any good ambient tracks on the OST, Im certainly not finding them tonight.

4: I still dont like the song, but it is unique & an improvement over the original, so I respect it enough to move it close to the 50 point mark. I dont want it to cross it, that would imply I actually liked it, but....its not bad.

[Final Thoughts: Nope, definitely not a fan of Acid Jazz. Again, presuming this indicative of the style,]

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

504 [TIE]: KIDNEY THIEVES - ZEROSPACE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnoYa2wgyfw

Nominator: LOLIAmAnAlt (13/15)

Initial Score: 51.25 [#366]
Revised Score: 49.22 [#448]
Final Score: 45.60 [#504]

(First Thoughts: [space intentionally left blank])

I havent listened to much Industrial music, but if this is representative of the genre as a whole, then Im probably not a fan of it in general. This is one of those songs I cant find anything I want to say about, so... Im just not going to say anything about this and go somewhere arbitrary:

[Todays arbitrary song comes from the G.I. Joe arcade game]

Mission 1-1 - Chemical Plant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53cOzgpc7tY

When I nominated this for NFUNs 1000 song VGM topic, I didnt actually realize this was a remake of one of the cartoons intros. Never saw an episode from whichever season it came from and dont care to look up if it was one of the Sunbow seasons or DIC seasons, because its irrelevant to me. Probably wouldnt have nominated it had I known that at the time, but cest la vie.

I like this version of the song; its quite fitting for the style of game it plays in, because this just feels like blindly rush forward and shoot a bunch of generic enemies music. Its catchy, the cheesy vocal samples are somehow laughably ridiculous & oddly inspiringalso funny that it keeps repeating GOT TO GET TOUGH when you gun down hundreds of Cobra soldiers in this opening stage alone. Its stupid, but I actually really love this track.

[Final Thoughts: Well, I dont think this is a genre I get much exposure to, so I appreciate it on that level... but I cant find any part of the song that I really like or want to talk about. Its not that I want to avoid speaking about it, I just...cant find any words.

Actually I think Im going to have this tie with the acid jazz Myst song; theyre both in that same sort of I dont think I like this genre, but I do need to hear more of the genre to actually be able to say that, so I am thankful for the nomination type space.

...I also probably wouldnt have talked about Chemical Plant if Id known NFUNs topic was going to pop up, but such is life.]

===============
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acid jazz is one of my favorite genres :-/ that being said, i don't think it's a genre that has a super clear definition. jamiroquai also gets described as acid jazz, for instance.

---

I dont have much experience with JamiroquaiCanned Heat was nominated and got too low of a score two years ago; I do believe one of the VTuber songs at last years post-ranking-topic was a cover of a Jamiroquai song; and I heard one other song...somewhere...either Spotify or the radio, cant recall which song or where I heard itbut I can safely say neither of the songs I have heard by them sounded anything like the nominated Acid Jazz songs.

...not that genres cant be expansive or Im actually doubting that, so I have no idea where I thought I was going with this.



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

503: MASAFUMI TAKADA - SUPPLEMENTARY LESSONS FOR THE UNLUCKY (3-3 COLD)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvLzNmydGvI&list=PLLmUcHIAJVw_GCWsy10Bv4-rtr6XDQfSU&index=12

Nominator: DoctorJimmy133 (18/27)
Source: Crypt of the Necrodancer Danganronpa (12/20)

Initial Score: 20.00 [#560]
Revised Score: 26.49 [#564]
Final Score: 42.20 (later upgraded to 45.63) [#503]

(First Thoughts: Very, very dull track)

One of many songs that I cannot find a single thing that I want to say about it. I dont really hate it, but I have nothing positive or insightful to say about it either.

Perhaps I should have just culled all the really low scoring songs. No explanations, no justifications, no forcing people to sit through several days of pure negativity until we get to songs I likethey just get purged out of existence.

...that or I could just...do less than 631 songs so theres fewer songs I have to deal with. Easier to deal with the disliked songs when theyre fewer in number and what not.

[Not-Quite-Final Thoughts: Well, that was overly brutal. The songs kinda boring, but its not actually bad. I think I was just rather burned out on all the low scoring songs at the time and being ludicrously cruel as a result. Now that Im a bit more relaxed and not having to go through so many songs every day, I think the 40s are more suitable for this song?]

[Final Thoughts: Giving the song another little boost at the last minute. I still wouldnt say I like it, but its really not bad.]

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

502: BABYMETAL - BXMXC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULqe6K2ihys

Nominator: Murphiroth (20/21)
Source: Murphiroths Extra Songs (6/7)

Initial Score: 59.99 [#258]
Revised Score: 49.33 [#447]
Final Score: 45.65 [#502]

(First Thoughts: Is fun.)

Second Thoughts: Feels less fun tonight.

...I got nothing.

[Later: ...I still have nothing to say here, but I did say I was going to go back to The Masked Singer UK to show one of The Foxs performances and forgot to do so, so lets throw that in here.]

The Fox (UK) - On The Radio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG5YFh-Xnzk

...Alright, so Im not terribly fond of this particular song, but just look at her costume. Its all shiny and polygon-y, like Virtua Fighters Dural fused with some random furry fox character. I just love the way her costume looks. Shame I didnt really love any of her performances.

[Final Thoughts: Well this writeup wound up dropping before the one in which I start talking about The Masked Singer UK, so goes back to doesnt really make any sense. Such is the problem with things not being written or posted in anything resembling chronological order.

Back to the matter at hand... I think the choruses are just a bit too repetitive. I rather dislike the wannabe/want some beat sections of the song and there arent any sections I really like to balance it out. The songs still kinda fun, but not... go up another tier or two fun, if that makes any sense (it does not).]

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

Your first thoughts for 3-3 Cold are pretty much my thoughts. Expected that one to drop almost immediately, honestly.

---

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

501: PSO2 - SUPERLUMINAL ~ DANGER ~ ESCA FALZ MOTHER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EOfqIkeZSg&list=PLeKaE-gusMmaq2FecWApCcMOVGJblcdrD&index=20

Nominator: NFUN (31/37)

Initial Score: 42.60 [#488]
Revised Score: 46.25 [#475]
Final Score: 46.25 [#501]

(First Thoughts: Does not inspire actual feelings of danger.)

Another song that I want to like. I like whatever instrument is being used, the song is very... distorted wobbly feeling, but it keeps repeating the same few notes and barely lasts over 50 seconds. Its like the intro to one of the best songs ever, only its a SiivaGunner version where he just loops the intro over and over instead of playing the actual song.

Im still tempted to move this up to 50 point zone because its so close to being good, but... well, its another song where I simply dont actually want to move it that far up, sorry.

[Final Thoughts: One more for the songs I should like more than I do pile. Its a good attempt, but I wish the song had a bit more depth to it.]

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



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

500: LIVE - SUN:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_YkMrma_u8&list=PLBB25BAC1F72C0DE4&index=5

Nominator: azuarc (24/28)
Source: The Distance to Here (11/13)

Initial Score: 50.00 [#406]
Revised Score: 49.66 [#444]
Final Score: 46.30 [#500]

(First Thoughts: One of many songs that I have no specific feelings towards. Nothing worth complaining about, nothing really memorable either.)

Mew.

Its another song where Ive got nothing to say about it. Its aggressively adequate. Im not a fan of the singers deeper, growlier voice on this track, but its not actually bad or very objectionable ; its slightly harder rock than some of their poppier hits, but still tamer than a lot of other songs this ranking (and, from what I can recall, its not even the harshest Live song at this topic) ; I dont particularly like references to dancing or light, but its not a dance anthem and the singer isnt rambling incessantly about light so Ill tolerate it? I guess?

But theres nothing I want to praise about the song either. It does a lot of things I dont particularly like, but in a way that isnt objectionable enough to be worth complaining about doesnt exactly inspire me to give a high score, but its...good for what it is.

[Final Thoughts: The song continues to be overwhelmingly adequate.]

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



I do believe that means weve just gotten through the 100 lowest ranked songs. Progress!
---

Huzzah, my nominations all survived to the top 500

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one day i'll make a proper chase full mix

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FL81 posted...

Huzzah, my nominations all survived to the top 500

Me too, I didn't expect this.

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Huzzah, half of my nominations survived to the top 500
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===============

499: FRUMS - SLEEPWALK STATION:

https://frums.bandcamp.com/track/sleepwalk-station

Nominator: cakophon (26/26)
Source: metacontinues (6/6)

Initial Score: 43.27 [#484]
Revised Score: 49.11 [#449]
Final Score: 46.35 [#499]

(First Thoughts: [this space accidentally left blank])

Since there are only six track on metacontinues, this seems like a waste of an Order nomination. Not that you cant nominate something with less than seven songs, but if you had gone Neutral you could have nominated all 6 songs from this album & had one wild card left to play with.

632 songs would have worked better too... presuming this hypothetical wild card was new to me, that would have left things with 32 R Numbers and exactly 600 regular numbers. Oh well.

As for the song itself: It starts off a bit too sleepy and Im left wanting the song to either do something or for it to get me into a meditative state. The song eventually gets weird towards the end with the talking about remote controls, but its a bit too late in the track and too short lived. Its very close to being something I likeactually very close to being multiple things that I likebut it never fully commits to any of them.

[Final Thoughts: Again, it feels like something I should like... but the song never fully gels together for me, for whatever reason.]

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

497 [TIE]: THE LEGEND OF HEROES III: SONG OF THE OCEAN - THE LIMITS OF STRENGTH:

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

Nominator: @FL81 (20/20)
Source: FL81s extra songs (7/7)

Initial Score: 47.51 [#454]
Revised Score: 48.12 [#458]
Final Score: 46.80 (upgraded to 46.99) [#497]

(First Thoughts: I like the idea of this nomination because no one ever talks about games in the series before Sky FC, but I dont actually like this? Its one of the more average VGM battle themes I can think of.)

Obviously, there are some RPG battle themes I like: Lufia, Lufia 2, the subpar Lufia 2 remake, and probably even some non-Lufia game soundtracks? As a genre though, RPG battle themes usually dont work for me.

I think its a combination of my overexposure to themI used to play every turnbased RPG that got translated & battle themes tend to play often enough that even I remember themand the songs rarely working in any context other than battle. For almost all of them, theyre very this is an RPG battle theme and theres not much to think or talk about as a result.

[Final Thoughts: Clicking around this games soundtrack aimlessly, I think I rather like A Hill Struck by the Sun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9OCsrnpOsw

Its very peaceful but bouncy (in a fun way) and somehow reminds me of the original Lunar. Probably in the 60 point range.

The nominated song is fine? Its at least not an Epic Battle theme, so it does better than most of the battle themes this topic. (The version of the song from Ys VS Sora no Kiseki is the type of thing I dislike, so you definitely made a good choice in terms of which version of the song to submit.)

Its...almost pleasingly retro? But not quite. I dunno. Like the idea of the nomination and like it more than most types of battle themes, but...not quite enough to move it to the next tier.]

[Later: ...Now I kinda want to play the game this is from. An entire trilogy seems like a bit much to go through, but then I dont think I should skip to the last game in the trilogy either... ehhh... Ill think about it.]

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497 [TIE]: THE WEEKND - THE FALL:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0cAHXlLhQjSKDN6vjc4LD6

Nominator: Player_0 (19/30)

Initial Score: 40.01 [#509]
Revised Score: 48.78 [#452]
Final Score: 46.93 [#497]

(First Thoughts: Its a very meh song, which I suppose I cant complain about.)

You know the drill by now; blah blah sex, blah blah drugs, blah blah not actively painful like some other songs on the album. Im tired of saying it and youre tired of reading it, so lets move on and talk about something stupid.

Make My Video C+C Music Factory Intro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nui_SYqIgL8

...Phil Lamarr? Oh my god, that was totally Phil LaMarr! And apparently some psychos actually brought the game up to him at NYCC 2015?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK2l4JbzmKE

Okay, I really dont know how to react to this intro. Why C+C Music Factory? Why take the groups name so literally? Why is Phil LaMarr multiple characters at once? I just cant even joke about this one, its so completely.... [adjective not found]

[Final Thoughts: Of all the tracks on Trilogy, I have the fewest memories of this one. Its like it didnt leave any impression at all the first two times and its still not all that memorable here at the third time. Its not good or bad, which is a tad disappointing... at least the earlier eliminated songs inspired some level of emotion.

...Oh well, some song had to have the dubious distinction of being last song eliminated before we get to the sorta a new tier of 47.00~49.99 point songs and this feels like the perfect song for that.]

[Later: ...Oh, lets have the Legend of Heroes song tie with this one, they can share the distinction with each other.]

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

half of a ding sound-effect goes here

Were not really at a new tier, exactly, but the 47.00~49.99 section feels like a larger jump in quality than the scoring actually reflects.

So... its... like a sub-tier or something.
---

BxMxC goes super hard and seeing it live is bonkers.

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

496: THE WEEKND - LOFT MUSIC:

https://open.spotify.com/track/7xqANDRz8JFxkwfY65WISy

Nominator: Player_0 (18/30)

Initial Score: 0 [#595]
Revised Score: 0.22 [#592]
Final Score: 47.00 [#496]

(First Thoughts: ...And Im out, I cannot listen to any more of this album in one sitting.

*notices shes only two minutes into a six minute long song*

...Joy. I was just thinking this should be three times longer than Im capable of standing. If it werent over six minutes long, itd be alright. But take an artist I dont usually like, performing a song I dont like, and make it three times longer than I want to deal with... yeah, its getting an abysmal score.)

This was part of the Cluster of songs dropped in one long writeup, but I decided at the literal last minute that I didnt really hate it. Im living for the present and the future dont exist is pretty neat as far as lyrics go and while the outro goes on way too long its...different? Trying to emulate the effects of a drug filled dream gives it an ambience... certainly not my favorite, but ya know, I dont hate what its doing.

[Final Thoughts: Yeah, the high 40s are as far as Im willing to carry this song. It does do some stuff I like and I can honestly praise parts of it/somewhat appreciate what its doing, but Im still not quite into it.

...Apologies for the first thought though, Ive obviously regretted that portion.]

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

495: ZZ WARD - SEX & STARDUST:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jDR44ETqWE

Nominator: @Snake5555555555 (14/15)

Initial Score: 51.30 [#364]
Revised Score: 49.44 [#446]
Final Score: 47.20 [#495]

(First Thoughts: Well, I am glad that you were willing to take a risk like this. If people constantly avoided songs dealing with things I dislike, then not only would the ranking be incredibly dull, but I would have missed out some truly fabulous songs that I love in spite of them seeming like things I should hate.

...this isnt one of them, obviously, and I doubt you expected a song with sex in the name to go too farbut I do like that you tried it.)

...Really, as many times as Ive already slammed certain songs for being all about sex and Ive also complained about cheating and what not, I think you had to know this song was going to drop sooner rather than later.

Nice voice though, wouldnt mind trying a different song of hers later. (Just randomly clicked on The Darknot a fan of it either, but Im still open to giving her a third chance with a different song on some other day.)

[Final Thoughts: Fine song thats not for me, you know how it is. Same thing with The Darkits very well performed, but doesnt really appeal to me personally. Still, a much appreciated attempt.]

===============
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I love Primrose's theme. One of my favorite pieces of RPG music to come out in quite a while.

---

Yeah I definitely figured but glad for the honest shot!

To take another shot, I would recommend her song Ghost maybe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCluK1mkdyc

---

^Ill definitely add that to the list next time I update it.

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

494: PSO2 - THE PERFECTION ~ PHALEG (MIDNIGHT):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KspafBdklS4&list=PLeKaE-gusMmaq2FecWApCcMOVGJblcdrD&index=11

Nominator: NFUN (30/37)

Initial Score: 42.67 [#487]
Revised Score: 48.23 [#457]
Final Score: 47.40 [#494]

(First Thoughts: Theres some nice, rather computerized beep-y sounds in the background, I like those. Ultimately though, it just feels like another RPG boss theme that wants to be overly epic and isnt really succeeding at it.)

The piano intro hits the perfect combination of tense and mysterious. Its like youre exploring some ancient ruins and you know something bad is going to happen, but you keep going because we didnt come this far to not explore the ruins, Sharon.

(Who Sharon is is an exercise left to the reader).

But I dont really like where the song goes where it starts. The beeping type sounds are nice, but they dont fit the earlier ambiance & theyre not pronounced enough, leading to the song quickly falling into the epic song that bores me with its epic-ness trap.

[Final Thoughts: The first 20 seconds or so are perfection. That mysterious ambience is just so, so wonderful that I cant hype it up enough. And then we become a battle theme, or something that sounds very battle theme-ish at the very least, and I lose most of my interest.]

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

493: PSO2 - SUPERLUMINAL ~ CHASE ~ ESCA FALZ MOTHER (PHASE2):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK6jPJmYmE0&list=PLeKaE-gusMmaq2FecWApCcMOVGJblcdrD&index=19

Nominator: NFUN (29/37)

Initial Score: 42.47 [#490]
Revised Score: 44.27 [#493]
Final Score: 47.60 [#493]

(First Thoughts: Eh.)

Not bad, but its another track where theres no moments that really grabbed me. Like Superluminal ~ Rush, this also feels like a decent song for a kart racing game. While the other one felt like a Power Up song, this feels like a song for a late game track or a challenge racedefeat this hidden character in a bonus race to unlock them type thing.

I suppose making me think of Kart Racing means the track succeeds in painting a picture of some sort, but its still not a terribly interesting picture and I still cant find any part of the track that I really liked. I guess the electric guitar was alright?

[Final Thoughts: Better than my first two impressions made it sound, but I still dont quite want to move it up to the next tier.]

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Raetsel_Lapin posted...

497 [TIE]: THE LEGEND OF HEROES III: SONG OF THE OCEAN - THE LIMITS OF STRENGTH:

And right as I was celebrating all my songs making it into the top 500, one of them drops! I was actually expecting this one to be the first out, but I wanted to include this song for the sole reason that these games were mentioned in the OP lol (and this was my favorite from the ones I spent a few minutes glossing through and listening to)

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^Well, it did make me interested in playing the game it came from (or more accurately made me interested in the soundtrack it came from which led to becoming interested in the game it came from), so thats still impressiveeven if it didnt get all that high a score.

And it did make it out of the bottom 100, so it still has that accomplishment.



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492: MAKO - FORSAKEN CITY (SEVER THE SKYLINE MIX):

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

Nominator: MetalmindStats (19/28)
Source: Metalmind Extra Songs (4/7)

Initial Score: 50.86 [#389]
Revised Score: 33.54 [#545]
Final Score: 47.80 [#492]

(First Thoughts: The rapid percussion gives me a slight headache, but its not bad.)

A repetitive headache inducing song thats too happy and optimistic. Im not sure why I gave it such (relatively) high marks on the ifrst listen when I had nothing to say about it beyond headache inducing to start with.

I will say I think this song works quite well in context. Its a bit more intense, but still happy & optimistic which works nicely when youre starting your first challenge level. Its just nothing Id ever want to listen to out of context, so I feel I want to give this a rather low score as a result.

[Not-Quite-Final Thoughts: Well, Im not back up to liking the song, but its better than the 30s... probably mid 40s for this one?]

[Final Thoughts: Ehh... high 40s feels right.]

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

491: STURGILL SIMPSON - LIFE OF SIN:

https://open.spotify.com/track/7oop0Rsh4jhdOtglVL3Dmf

Nominator: Xeybozn (15/20)
Source: Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (7/10)

Initial Score: 40.78 [#503]
Revised Score: 48.01 [#459]
Final Score: 48.01 [#491]

(First Thoughts: Not exactly my favorite country song here.)

Blah blah sex, blah blah drugs, just in a classic country type fashion instead of...whatever genre The Weeknd is. I think I heard his music is R&B, at some point while I tried to look up information on one of those songs? Well, that doesnt really matter. Back to the correct song: I will say there is one lyric I enjoy:

Every morning when I rise, look in the mirror and despise the sight of everything and all that Ive become

Thats the level of sad but not soul-crushing that I search for. Were it not immediately followed by more drugs, the song might have gotten a decent score.

[Final Thoughts: I want to like it. Theres definitely things here to like: One perfect verse, embracing sin, nothing explicit, a top-tier country singer... but, as with so very many songs at this level, I just... dont really like it that much. I like a lot of aspects of it, but not enough to get it out of this tier.]

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490: MASAFUMI TAKADA - ALICE IN THE CHILDRENS LAND:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf5fN3CRRw8&list=PLLmUcHIAJVw_GCWsy10Bv4-rtr6XDQfSU&index=7

Nominator: DoctorJimmy133 (17/27)
Source: NecroRonpa Crypt, Of The (11/20)

Initial Score: 48.69 [#436]
Revised Score: 46.47 [#473]
Final Score: 48.20 [#490]

(First Thoughts: Its a little unsettling, but not nearly unsettling enough.)

Well, its definitely one of the more unique tracks this topic, and its actually an improvement over the original, but Im not a fan of it. Im not sure why I dislike itit feels like its novel enough that I should give it at least 50 pointsbut I just cant bring myself to actually give it that high of a score.

[having run out of songs she actually wants to talk about, Raetsel proceeds to spend twenty minutes clicking through her Spotify playlists, finding nothing.]

Right, lets go with something really stupid then:

Sonic the Hedgehog (Tiger Handheld) - Marble Zone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_KCaSO9_W8

Its high-speed noise, but if you change the playback speed to slow it down, you can actually make out the Marble Zone theme! Why this game had background music when the vast majority of Tiger Handhelds didnt, and why the song is sped up to unrecognizable levels, is still a mystery. Ive come very close to nominating this over at the VGM Rating topic several times, but Ive never seriously wanted to subject everyone to it or waste an actual nomination on it.

[Final Thoughts: Like Stroll Music before it, this song proves that just being weird doesnt guarantee you a high score. ...not these days anyway. Im rather curious how I would have reacted to this song two years ago when I very actively was giving high marks to anything & everything unusual, but we lack the ability to shatter the time barrier to find out.

[not to say that I dont still love unusual songs, its just harder to get incredibly high scores by default.]]

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

489: MAZEDUDE - SLICK RIPPIN KEEN:

https://mazedude.bandcamp.com/track/slick-rippin-keen

Nominator: sergiocornaga (14/18)

Initial Score: 47.39 [#456]
Revised Score: 47.13 [#467]
Final Score: 47.00 (upgraded to 48.40) [#489]

(First Thoughts: Not bad, but largely unremarkable. Going to put this in a tie with Glow Worm Jim for now.)

Well, obviously Glow Worm Jim impressed me enough on a second listen that it got bumped up the list and the two songs are no longer tied.

Like my original thoughts, I still find this song to be alright but unremarkable. Ive never played any Commander Keen games, so theres no chance of nostalgia factoring injust listened to a few random songs from the Commander Keen 5 OST and this nomination is way beyond anything on that soundtrack, so Im sure Mazedude has done a fantastic job with this song. Unfortunately, like a lot of songs around this level, I just never connected with it at all, and it drops here.

[Final Thoughts: A marked improvement over most of the 40 point songs and consistently in the high 40s, but sadly, I still cant quite convince myself to move it up another tier.]

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488: THE WEEKND - OUTSIDE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/1yhDPgIPGoe3Bf8wRsK4u7

Nominator: Player_0 (17/30)

Initial Score: 38.16 [#518]
Revised Score: 47.24 [#466]
Final Score: 47.05 (upgraded to 48.60) [#488]

(First Thoughts: More boring than anything else.)

By keeping things a bit vaguer than usual, I find this song actually rather tolerable. Its still nothing Id choose to listen to, but its also not the type of thing Id bother complaining about.

[Having nothing to say about this track that hasnt been covered at other Weeknd songs, we go back to the Raetsel talks about any song she feels like to waste all of our time segment.]

Actually, lets change the format up a bit and talk about a game intro. Its time for

Make My Video ~ INXS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpa0nw72pZ4

Have you ever wanted to listen to INXS hit song Not Enough Time while staring at a pool table? Now, with the awesome power of the Sega CD, you finally can! Before 1992, you could only listen to the sweet sounds of INXS and dream of what it would be like if you could stare at a majestic pool table while listening to it. Doubtless, as you sat in your pool table-less room, you would be moved to tears. Yes, INXS truly made the greatest song of all time, but if you havent experienced it with a pool table in your vision then...why, you could hardly say you experienced the song at all, now could you?

BUT IT GETS EVEN BETTER! If you wait long enough (and you will because who could turn away from this magnificent song?) then therell actually be people at the pool table! Youll also learn amazing facts, such as: Supermodels are all great at pool and love playing it while simultaneously watching generic stock footage play alongside the sweet sounds of INXS greatest hits. Truly, no game has ever offered such a realistic look into the pool halls of America, as Make My Video ~ INXS.

Also, did you know that the only way to get rid of supermodels is to use a generic library of stock film footage to create the ultimate INXS music video? Its true! Youll be all please, supermodels, allow me to play pool with you! Or listen to some other music at least! and theyll say we are trapped in a Sisyphean nightmare, damned to play this game of pool for eternity, until someone creates the ultimate music video for INXS. By playing this game of pool, we have ultimate control over what music plays, and we shall only play the same three INXS songs until someone makes the perfect video to go with it. Please, Sega CD Master, please create the perfect music video and free us from this Hell!!

But youll never make the perfect video. Youll just listen to the unmatched greatness of Not Enough Time for eternity with them. For you realize the truth: There can be no perfect music video for Not Enough Time, for it is the most timeless of all classics. In fact, you might say, theres not enough time for you to even begin creating a video that could live up to 1% of its greatness. So you stay, trapped in that bar forever, listening to the song for all eternity. Wasnt I playing a Sega CD game?, you ask yourself as you feel your consciousness slipping away. Its better this way.

...I actually considered nominating this for Jesses intro ranking topic, but he probably doesnt even like INXS or staring blankly at pool tables.

[Final Thoughts: *insert Dean Peltons panicked I dont know what that was reaction after his Peanut Rap here*

On topic: Good instrument, good vocals, poor (though not infuriating or outright bad) choice of lyrics.]

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487: MAZEDUDE - COUNTDOWN TO DEATH:

https://mazedude.bandcamp.com/track/countdown-to-death

Nominator: sergiocornaga (13/18)

Initial Score: 49.50 [#429]
Revised Score: 47.35 [#465]
Final Score: 47.08 (upgraded to 48.80) [#487]

(First Thoughts: I want to like it. Its got a unique sound and stuff, but I find it slightly annoying.)

Music from Doom rarely does well with me. This applies to remixes of Doom music, as well as actual music from Doom. What hes doing here with heavily modifying samples to sound like different instruments is technically impressive, but as someone who doesnt exactly know anything about music in the first place, its all quite left to me. So youre just left with a weird sounding version of something I dont like.. which is intriguing enough that I dont dislike it, but I wouldnt really say I like it either.

[Final Thoughts: *stares blankly at iPad for several minutes* I know quite left is probably just a typojudging by the sentence I was likely saying its all quite beyond me, so youre just left withand since I was thinking of the word left, I wound up accidentally using it somewhere it random.

But quite left almost makes sense as an adjective. Like if Doom involves forces of hell and left is associated with Satan, it...almost kinda looks like it might have been intentional. Or maybe it was a joke about how the song samples dont sound rightafter being so heavily modified, theyre not quite righttheyre quite left, ho ho ho??

...But no, no, that was a typo caused by trying to type too quickly. Probably.]

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Raetsel_Lapin posted...

492: MAKO - FORSAKEN CITY (SEVER THE SKYLINE MIX):

Maxo!

Raetsel_Lapin posted...

Well, obviously Glow Worm Jim impressed me enough on a second listen that it got bumped up the list and the two songs are no longer tied.

I find this sort of foreshadowing very fun.

sergiocornaga posted...

Raetsel_Lapin posted...
492: MAKO - FORSAKEN CITY (SEVER THE SKYLINE MIX):
Maxo!

Sorry, I'll try to update that on the Master List tomorrow.

In my defense, I copied that one the way it was nominated. <./<
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Couldn't you tell I clearly meant to nominate Trilogy by Emerson Lake & Palmer and made a typo?!

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PIayer_0 posted...

Couldn't you tell I clearly meant to nominate Trilogy by Emerson Lake & Palmer and made a typo?!

*Googles*

...Actually a 70's Progressive Rock album does sound promising, I'll probably add it to the list next time it's updated.
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Small update today; just going to go through the last four 40 point songs and then wait until tomorrow to go through the Exactly 50 Point tier.



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486: TOOL - CESARO SUMMABILITY:

https://open.spotify.com/track/678ZPL35PIoq0LzObU18vW

Nominator: Steiner (17/26)
Source: Aenima (7/15)

Initial Score: 47.12 [#458]
Revised Score: 47.46 [#464]
Final Score: 47.10 (upgraded to 49.00) [#486]

(First Thoughts: I cant tell if this is too weird or not weird enough, but I certainly didnt enjoy it as much as a lot of other weird songs. Definitely an interesting nomination though.)

Right... so I like odd samples, bizarre music tracks, and white noise. By all accounts this should be the absolute best track on the album, but Im not able to connect with this. I suppose I dislike crying babies and theres not enough here musically for me to even acknowledge it as a song. This leaves it at something thats very close to what I enjoy, something that feels almost tailor made for me specifically, that I just slightly dislike.

Very good attempt though, if you had to pick specific Tool songs for me to listen to, this is definitely the type you should be nominating.

[Final Thoughts: I almost want an entire album of these weird intro & transitions that arent quite songs. (Or at least non-traditional songs)

Also, I do like that out of all the songs on Aenima, Lasa questioned Die Eier von Satan getting better scores than most of the album but said nothing about this oneleaving the implication that we all assumed going into this ranking that the crying baby white noise math track was going to get a (comparatively) decent score..]

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485: EVERY TIME I DIE - MOOR:

https://open.spotify.com/track/1GhJWxdqTNlU6zrl1o1NXd

Nominator: Bane (26/28)
Source: From Parts Unknown (13/14)

Initial Score: 60.00 [#242]
Revised Score: 47.79 [#461]
Final Score: 47.14 (upgraded to 49.20) [#485]

(First Thoughts: I could use some more vengeful songs (though Ill skin the man alive and sell the meat might be a bit too graphic), but I lose most of my interest once he starts yelling. Great intro, respectable outro, too loud middle part.)

Im significantly less invested in the intro & outro than the first time, and more bothered by the overly loud portion in between, so this drops to a sub-50 point level.

I understand the all-consuming desire for vengeance and the relevance of this type of song, but its just a bit too violent to count as fun and being inspired by a real attack on a loved one also makes it a bit too grounded in reality. I see the appeal, but I dont think its for me.

[Final Thoughts: Insert standard good attempt and something I should like more than I actually do response here. Though, considering that I did like it the first time, its probably more a when Im in the right mood for it song than anything else.]

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Wow I thought Moor might make it up as one of my highest with the contrast going on telling a story. Makes when it gets loud hit so much harder for me, such an incredible thing.

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A bit early, but theres only two songs left, so lets go ahead and hit it now:

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484: XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 2 - MOR ARDAIN - ROAMING THE WASTES:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx3AbguQZHU

Nominator: Hbthebattle (8/11)

Initial Score: 45.12 [#475]
Revised Score: 46.36 [#474]
Final Score: 49.40 [#484]

(First Thoughts: Dull.)

I havent listened to many songs from the Xenoblade series, but I havent liked any of the ones Ive heard. Its not as bad as Monster Hunter, but its definitely one of the franchises where Id be perfectly content to not hear again.

(I think I had to vote for Tornas Battle often at VGMC, but that was always a case of the other track being worse rather than an endorsement of Battle.)

The song isnt bad or objectionable in any way, but I find it impossible to care about it. Its just another in the tedious list of modern RPG songs that want to be epic.

[Final Thoughts:

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

...Honestly, even with that link, I have a hard time hearing Thriller in this song. Though somehow Thriller is the only thing I can hear in this recently created Gameboy remix of Mor Ardain:

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

Not that I have a good reason to post either of those remixes. Though I do like that Game Boy remix...]

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483: PSO2 - SACREDNESS ~ ADAM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEhFmVMt66s&list=PLeKaE-gusMmaq2FecWApCcMOVGJblcdrD&index=26

Nominator: NFUN (28/37)

Initial Score: 61.00 [#221]
Revised Score: 50.00 [#425]
Final Score: 49.99 [#483]

(First Thoughts: Evil church music. Not bad, though a fairly common topic for RPGs. Goes on a few minutes too long.)

This is the church service that never ends
I was gonna make a parody of the song that never ends
But that would require being able to write and I cant even pretends
...quiet you.

I cant bring myself to actually dislike this song as it is effective in creating a specific sort of atmosphere and is presumably succeeding at what its trying to do, but its not an atmosphere I want to experience and it just never ends... so Im going to call it a draw and leave it in the Pit of Neutrality.

[Final Thoughts: I know six and a half minutes isnt that long, but this song makes it feel like an eternity. I like what its doing, but its not the type of ambience Id listen to voluntarily and I find myself dreading having to sit through the entire thing each time.

Good song, good atmosphere, very memorable, just not something I want. So Im going to move the score very slightly down.]

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DING!

Now leaving sub-tier and entering the Land of Neutrality

Officially leaving the things I disliked level and moving on to a block of songs that I neither liked or disliked (either because they inspired a total lack of reaction or I found the high & low points perfectly canceled each other out).



Havent double checked any of this, but if I remember correctly...

I believe Mamomos album (Uncles Forest in the Neighborhood if Google Translate is to be believed and I copied the right text), Bring Me the Horizon - Live at Royal Albert Hall, Poppy - I Disagree (More), and Linkin Park - Meteora still have all of their songs in play; so well done to those four albums.

UF8 & BlackDra90n still have all of their songs in play.

Toxtricity / Mycro, I think, only lost one at the R#s (so he had nothing under 50 points). A similar thing with Shonen_Bat, Im fairly certain none of his songs had less than 50 points.

...apologies if any of that information is wrong or I left out anyone elses notable accomplishments.
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