Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 10! Explosion / PlanetX / LuckyCharm / Cradle / PressurCookr / Psycho

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to Video Game Music Contest 15, an annual celebration of the best of the best video game music according to the voters!

Important Links:
Bracket: https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=474630
Contest info sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16XAaBMDuUnQ4c5AxQNL9ZhvD7VG5kQyrXWWZxnkrn-o
Contest discussion thread: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/79443554
Main bracket playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3m7iohpL0xt7lOF1eB-H4NpAaF1yAnU
Last years spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VNrPnFRI7nJ4PqFiURBW0NWqxvXiuasoq8Sn_O169ss
VGMC total stats sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K1XdLWiUKB2kX99qYBgnRbLU_sCz4dvZSByKKJHCT6o
Discord: https://discord.gg/WDvMS4a

Rules:
- Listen to both songs in a given match, at least through the loop time provided (to make sure you don't skip before you've heard the whole thing!)
- Please consider the loop point listed when judging the song; if a video loops one minute 5 times, don't treat it as if it's a repetitive 5 minute song
- If it's a match between your favorite song ever and a song you despise, still LISTEN TO BOTH! Votes can and will be disqualified if there is suspicion songs are not being listened to, and you may be discounted for the rest of the contest for repeat offenses.
- No alt accounts, no rallying or begging, etc., etc.... You only get one vote! Swapping votes is alright, just make clear that you've already made a vote and are swapping.
- Make clear what your voting options are! Please keep votes separate from any comments, and use the titles given in the topic post.
- Voting in all matches is not mandatory, feel free to skip matches you do not wish to vote in.
- Vote based on the links provided, and not other sources of audio. Links are specifically chosen for best quality and the like.
- Don't discuss vote tallies in this

The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Psycho Soldier Theme

easy day

edit: also my favourite senko no ronde song is Elegy for Old Identities and Nostalgia

The Explosion
Cradle
Psycho Soldier Theme

planet x isn't even bad but its the worst song today, lol
itai itai itai itai itai itai itai CALIGULA GANG IS BACK BAY BEE
man, psycho soldier got so fucked over by its seeding

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Planet X
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

much respect to the explosion

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Planet X
Cradle
Pressure Cooker
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The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

EXPLOSION
Lucky Charm
Pressure Cooker

The intro of EXPLOSION is pretty cool. There's the Yoh Ohyama. And then I remember why I always forget about this song. When it picks up, it loses the vibe that was its strength. Pretty mid-tier VGMC song as a whole

Kind of cool instrumentals. Really dislike the singing. Think the lyrics are fucking stupid. Die

It is the Lucky Charm, or as I like to call it, the Good Senko no Ronde song. The other one is good too tho

I liked Love Scope because of how emotional and powerful the singing was. The singing here is... not that. Pretty much an above-average rock anime OP, which means I don't think it should get past R2 ever.

this was in last year and predestined fate is better smh

Gotta give props to this for how overwhelmingly cheesy this is. Probably can't get any cheesier in a song like this tbh, which is very good for it.


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The Explosion
Cradle
Psycho Soldier Theme

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Cladun: This is an RPG - The Explosion
The Caligula Effect: Overdose - Cradle
VVVVVV - Pressure Cooker
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The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

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The Explosion (71st) vs Planet X (230th)
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1) (106th) vs Cradle (18th)
Pressure Cooker (56th) vs Psycho Soldier Theme (197th)

BOOM synth laser
ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI
V

The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

Explosion's pretty fine, but it's no KoaFC. Planet X is bad and has awful vocals.

Lucky Charm's pretty fun stuff. Better than I remember it being. Cradle is great when she says "Cradle". There are lots of good parts. I like the intro. The verses are solid. The parts where she says "" and "" and such are bad. This could be a real good song with a better chorus. Still good overall, just not as good as it could be. Not quite as good as last year's Caligula songs. Hope the new Caligula has cool music too.

yesss say "V" to me again captain say it six times. I strongly dislike the beginning of Psycho Soldier. The rest is actually pretty good!

Cradle > Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1) > Pressure Cooker > Psycho Soldier Theme > The Explosion > Planet X
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yeahyeah yea yea yea yea yea yeahyeah ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI ITAI FAIYAA FAIYAA SA-I-KO SORUJA-AAAAAAA

Planet X
Cradle
Psycho Soldier Theme

Angel dust is my favourite cereal

Song of the day PSYCHO SOLDIER god damn it why do I like this song I know exactly why I like this song. First reason is hearing Starry Heavens in ToC 3 and getting it stuck in my head again and again even though I voted against it, which not even Cruel Angel's Thesis has managed to do when it comes to "classic anime opening" songs. The other VERY PERTINENT reason is that it goes for the exact same sentai-derived style as the Zombieland Saga openings which are very good yes you should go watch them season 2 is halfway done and full version of the OP came out today. IT EVEN HAS ONE OF THOSE RANDOM TRIPLET TRANSITIONS AT 2:49 FUCK

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The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

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The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Psycho Soldier Theme

didn't expect to be voting against a caligula song but here we are. i'll be fine with whatever wins todays second matchup

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Cladun: This is an RPG - The Explosion
Senko no Ronde - Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
VVVVVV - Pressure Cooker

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The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

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The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

Cladun of Dissonance: this is a minimal review. A fan of the progression of it.
Grand Theft of the Night - Well, this is certainly something I might throw on a random radio station and then forget it's playing. The opening kinda turns me off, and then it sounds boy-band-gone-solo-house. Given I'm a child of the 80's and 90's, that ain't a bad thing, but, well... it doesn't do much in a competition setting, I fear. Nice little bit of radio chatter at the end, though.

Ronde of Blood: The instrumentation on this is exactly what I WISH Mega Man 11's soundtrack was like. Unfortunately, it has a cool-as-hell opening that doesn't really go anywhere for me.
Order of Caligula: It's an anime opening metal idol rap that went on for three minutes too long. I do dig the ladies' rapid-fire DIE (I guess?) and KAWAII (also I guess?) but I'm more confused than anything, really.

V 64: It's VVVVVV, and my personal favorite from it, to boot. Chiptune done mostly right, the only MINOR quibble I have with it is the... I dunno, "wibbling arcadey" noise in the background at 1:17. For the entire track, that's not too shabby! . . . "V."
Lament of Ultimate: A song I didn't actually know existed in Smash, probably because I threw everything Samurai Shodown on Terry's stage and didn't look back. Then I was listening to it after nominations ended, and it got stuck in my head for like three days straight, which in this case stunk, because it's just... there. I don't like it THAT much, but got thoroughly earwormed. Plus, you're against V. Sorry, mate.


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Planet X
Cradle
Psycho Soldier Theme

Match 1 is all kinds of fucked. Match 3 too, but I am more confident in my pick there.

Cradle [9.5]
Planet X [leaning 8]
The Explosion [leaning 8]
Psycho Soldier Theme [8]
Pressure Cooker [8]
Lucky Charm [5.5]

Bunnyslug Go Boom (i.e. Explosion)
Cradle I guess
Pressure Cooker
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The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

The last second of Planet X is missing, oh, no!

The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

The Explosion (6.5^ - 50th place) / Planet X (5.7 - 55th place)
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1) (7.7^ - 35th place) / Cradle (8.1^ - 26th place)
Pressure Cooker (6.8 - 47th place) / Psycho Soldier Theme (4.8^ - 58th place)

Lots of increased ratings today. Not sure if that's because I'm in a good mood causing all music to sound better than normal today....? Cladun always seems to provide a good melody. If Planet X were the artist, it would probably win the entire contest in my favorites bracket. >_> Lucky Charm has the cool atmosphere and chords, while Cradle has cool details... I think it's my favorite Caligula Effect song. The glisses at the start are tasteful, and it sounds so very much like Secret of Mana at 0:14, etc. with those 0:14 windy melodies... I really dig that. Super cool extended transition at 2:36 fills me with such excitement! Pressure Cooker's melodies/interactions pale in comparison to many of its other tracks, but you can always count on the groovy chiptune style. Psycho Soldier is about as cheesy as it gets as far as syncopation goes. The brass (etc.) punches are pretty nice, though, oh, and I like the intermediary section, too, so the rating's going up a bit.


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HasteDeux posted...

If Planet X were the artist, it would probably win the entire contest in my favorites bracket

someone please commission virgil donati to write vgm
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The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

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The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

rip psycho soldier

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The Explosion
Cradle
Psycho Soldier Theme

Bunnyslug go BOOM

Planet X is in this weird position where like, "popular" music can work in video games but it's gotta be the stuff from 15 years ago. To me, this is kinda like "fake" radio music being just as bad as the "real" radio stuff. I recognize I'm being kinda harsh here, but this'd be my lowest ranked song yet.

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Senko no Ronde has one of those soundtracks I respect immensely even though it's in that proggy EDM genre I'm usually very critical of. Every year I inch closer to supporting something from this. Lucky Charm is maybe one of the better ones?

kowai kowai kowai kowai kowai kowai kowhy does she wear the gas mask? What is the deeper signficance of these girls' fashion choices here? This song edges very close to the sort of very annoying weebshit that I hate, but it manages to just barely fit into the weebshit that I love. Energetic tune! Very close match actually.

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what ever Pressure Cooker make like the better VVVVVV songs and retire already

Psycho Soldier is super cheesy, very '90s anime feel here, kinda love this lol

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Planet X
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

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Planet X
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Psycho Soldier Theme

The Explosion is pretty nice, but it's not Louis Cole. One way I judge these tracks is how often I think I'll end up revisiting them post tournament, and Planet X definitely fits that bill. Reminds me I have to delve deeper into Louis Cole's discog as a whole, really.

Lucky Charm is the sort of ambient y2k breakbeat stuff I'm super into so this is a pretty easy vote. Cradle is... interesting, because the intro part had me like "ah okay cool" and as it progressed I felt my smile fade out lmao. I understand its niche but it is not for me, and up against a song that is definitely for me. There's a pretty cool electronic bridge in there but yeah it's not really enough to save it.

Pyscho Soldier is going to lose, which is unfortunate because it might just be the greatest Smash Ultimate arrangement there is (might because Gangplank Galleon still exists). I'm actually still kind of in awe that it exists. I guess I'm just all about vintage 80s-90s anime sounding shit... well, not really a guess, I know that I am lmao. Couple it with a powerful fucking orchestra and man, this song really hits the same every time I hear it. That guitar break with the "oooooo"s too, GOD. Really upset that this won't have the opportunity to shine a little longer.

But at least it can die an honorable death against Pressure Cooker, which is also a fantastic song. VVVVVV's soundtrack is pretty awesome although I'll admit, it's kind of lost some of its impact on me over the years. Still some quality stuff but as they say, "it's no Psycho Solder".

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The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

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Planet X
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

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Planet X
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Psycho Soldier Theme

Planet X
Cradle
Psycho Soldier Theme

I just went with what spoke to me the loudest.

The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Psycho Soldier Theme

Round 1 was a fun one. I discovered Yoh Ohyama earlier this year and he quickly became one of my favourite prog rock musicians and composers, so obviously his VGM stuff is going to be good to me. Though I feel like Explosion isn't really as focused as his solo work, I'm sure it's great as BGM. Louis Cole on the other hand, is a modern jazz fusion composer and drummer I really respect. (Un)fortunately, Planet X showcases very little of what I like in his work, so the choice was obvious.

Round 2 was interesting to me. I don't feel too strongly about either of these tracks, and I quite enjoyed the Caligula one. Still, the more I think about it, the more it feels like the Senko no Ronde track is just way better as a piece of music. My favourite part of that Caligula track was probably the intro where it kind of sounds like Bullet Dance from Blazblue, but those kinds of vocals, while they can be good, didn't hit too hard in this particular context for me.

Round 3 was kind of painful. I really enjoy VVVVVV and its music, it has this really neat Commodore 64 vibe going on that I just really appreciate. The bass is phat, the leads have character, those swirling arpeggios hit just right, yet it's unmistakably chiptune. And then you have Psycho Soldier, which Koshiro masterfully arranged to sound JUST LIKE a 70s mecha anime opening, and that's a specific niche of Japanese music I love to death. So yeah. I'm sorry, VVVVVV...

The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

Explosion
Charm
Pressure
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The Explosion
Lucky Charm
Pressure Cooker

-(so i'm actually a pretty big asturias fan. it's funny that i sorta got into them separately from realizing yoh ohyama was the composer of a lot of old vgmc favorites. and that one of my fav yoh ohyama songs ever nominated for vgmc was actually on an asturias album too! love when vgm composers simultaneously are part of a prog band; this doesn't showcase what makes ohyama distinct as much as some other stuff but it still has his really REALLY cool melodic style that goes for some casually placed dissonances that somehow work as these strange hooks that HOOK but they are like "not singable" despite how catchy they are like those bits like 1:00 where it's just these constant WEIRd notes that are too angular to hum but too invigorating to get out of my head!!! I DO:NT KNOW HOW THIS PERSON DOES IT but i love it. sound design is beautiful, cool electronic angry sounds. cool overtly fake flute sound i LOVE. EPIC. this song is about going on an exotic ADVENTURE wow i was like "i love the scale i interpret the melody as being i wonder what it is" and it's basically LOCRIAN (which is the BEST MODE (besides dorian at least..) which is also contested in concept of it even existing (i think it can exist but this song would be used as good evidence for why it doesn't exist i hope none of those SMART PEOPLE read this post because it's really just using the 2nd scale degree a lot)) )-

-[so i'm actually a pretty big louis cole fan. and big into knower too. it's actually amusing for people to describe this as like "normal popm usic on the radio" because the first song i think of when i think of louis cole is literally this crazy bus avant garde thing:
https://youtu.be/X6JJiO8WbXE
~~~~~
he is definitely not a conventional artist. and if anything, i'm upset the song on this fake gta radio is absolutely of the bottom end of louis cole to me and barely representative of what he sounds like at all. If i didn't know who louis cole was? i would probably not have much a reaction, maybe think the harmonies are cool. but like, god as a louis cole fan why did this song have to be just like a boring part of paper mario ttyd song as a whole song. I am trying really hard to separate awareness of how unadventurous this is relative to his usual work; from my reaction here. how would i react to this if i didn't know who he was? i think i know, but it's hard to actually 'feel' that, to judge fairly in this contest. flying lotus definitely likes weird stuff why doesn't this louis cole song at LEAST get to Dance of Doom levels (used in the Lego Ninjago Movie, literally requires safer music its a kids movie)
~~~~~
still stuff to appreciate here. him being a fusion-funk type guy that has synths in his songs, that's still here. i like that. i like the punchy funky erratic synth stabs especially. the very odd production choices, low quality and weird limiter stuff, give it a cool surreal feeling to me. i'm glad this song exists and it's style makes me JUMP that's pretty cool. LOUIS COLE IS WATCHING ME]-

-{hard match, but that doesn't mean these songs are ranked near each other}-

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-(so i'm actually a pretty big yasuhisa watanabe fan. he might be the composer has the most consistently been "favorite composer" tier for the longest amount of time now. contested only by steve reich and pat metheny group (...). this song does NOT sound like pat metheny group, but a lot of yack songs do! but this one is more like....steve reich! It's super minimal! echoy sine waves are wonderful. just a beautiful collage of echoy sounds, glassy chord pads on nice futuristic harmonies that feel so fresh. of dorothy. It's crazy to me how many of the sounds that are in this song sound like Tactical Field to a point that that track is probably a reference to this one and i never even realized it. which makes it ridiculous that they both got in hahaha, and that i never noticed it is strange because they're both like top5 senko no ronde series tracks for me (at least currently; this ranking changes a lot). this song is extremely different in feel from that one though. startlingly calm, despite the pace, and just...aaaaa every sound in this song is beautiful. even the harsh metallic sounds give a welcome edge that's somehow still fittingly serene. I picture a futuristic UNDERWATER dome with lots of metallic pipes visible inside and out. series of glowing red lights both outside underwater and in the dome, that flash in unison once every few seconds, that give a very uncanny Submechanophobia aura to everything in your vision, but still a beautiful, mesmerizing sight. I want to live in the world this song makes me imagine. I have no idea what the actual context is. music that can be simultaneously relaxing and energetic like this makes me so happy. I LOVE THESE SYNTH PADS )-

-[i have no idea who shota horie is. this song honestly fits perfect right after a yack song because it starts out sounding like one for 15 seconds haha. this song reminds me a lot of REVO, in the sense that the sections i like about this song are really sparse, but when they're they're i'm like OMG SO COOL and then it's back to stuff that's not very me in comparison. but i'm glad those parts i like are there at all, at least! like holy crap 2:36-2:50 is more "prog" than anything else today despite this song being a very "anti-'prog crowd'" song by my evaluation. tho haste is voting for it so maybe that's enough for some people. luckily i can actually be fairly into it as a whole compared to a past version of myself that'd have dismissed it, even the more conventional portions]-

-{sorry i had to cut the "Puchi Carat - Raisin Bran Moon (Sapphire's Theme)" joke}-

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-(REMEMBER 2010 iwas still in high school and on the very last day of school while in a computer lab i listened to music on my flash drive which had VVVVVV music on it and also Electric Power Building from Breath of Fire V(vvvvv) it's really hard to judget this soundtrack because i know it way too well. I can't picture what hearing this for the first time would be like anymore. I remember what it was like, but my taste was so different then. How would I react now, if i heard this for the first time? my reaction is numbed because i have heard it so much, and that is a shame, because i am pretty sure, 2021 me, would think listening to this ost for the first time, is still a cool experience.)-

-[oh no the voice people are too funny...honestly i hate how overserious and unplayful my taste is, i wish i could appreciate something like this. even having recently opened up to some new types of cheesier things, this doesn't make the cut and i wish it did. I like the synth bells in the background that are too quiet to hear it feels 90s]-

-{v}-

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...
...
Twelfth Chapter ~ In the Sky
---5. Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)---
Obstacle
...
...
Planet Wisp (Act 1)
---16. The Explosion---
Weight of the World / English Version
...
...
National Park
---36. Planet X---
The Butterfly's Temptation
---38. Pressure Cooker---
Inevitable Struggle -Super Arrange Ver.-
...
...
The Rain Formerly Known As Purple
---43. Cradle---
Underwater Prom Queens
...
...
Looting the Louvre
---58. Psycho Soldier Theme---

did not expect something would beat louvre's last place but also things could change
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The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

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The Explosion
Pressure Cooker

The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker
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Cladun: This is an RPG - The Explosion
The Caligula Effect: Overdose - Cradle
VVVVVV - Pressure Cooker

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FL81 posted...

why does she wear the gas mask? What is the deeper signficance of these girls' fashion choices here?

Caligula Effect Overdose: She (Kuchinashi) suffers from aphonia (inability to speak) as a result of trauma/PTSD of her house being burned down with her family still in it by an arsonist and the subsequent psychological trauma dealt to her by the culprit's lawyer (who hired the guy to burn the house down to kill them in the first place) when she tried to testify in court. She can only speak through the aid of the mask, which I assume has a voice synthesizer built in or something. Except if you complete her character story and help her try to overcome that trauma in which case she just barely manages to weakly say "Thank you" without it at the end.

The others have reasons too which I could elaborate on if you're actually interested.

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The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

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The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

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The Explosion
Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Pressure Cooker

Grand Theft Auto Online - Planet X
Senko no Ronde - Lucky Charm (Cuilan phase 1)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Psycho Soldier Theme

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The Explosion
Lucky Charm
Pressure Cooker

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i am going to sporadically for the rest of the topic post louis cole songs that i actually like since i am annoyed that this song is not what i want from him.

here is the first one i heard, what a way to be introduced. still among my favorites, one of the coolest chord progressions in anything that sounds like this. love how seriously the actual music takes itself for a song/video where the concept/lyrics of it are as silly as it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zH9Zca1vRM
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The Explosion
Cradle
Pressure Cooker

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Planet X
Lucky Charm
Pressure Cooker

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