Board 8 > Rank the Tracks Week 55: Visual Audio Sensory Theater (+Hawaii Pt. 2 results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, March 27 at 8:00 AM EST - though if you are for whatever reason listening to the album around that time, just say so in the topic and I can delay a bit
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle - the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).

VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater track list:
1. Here
2. Touched
3. Dirty Hole
4. Pretty When You Cry
5. I'm Dying
6. Flames
7. Temptation
8. Three Doors
9. The Niles Edge
10. Somewhere Else to Be
11. Untitled
12. You

User Cycle:
3/27: BlueCrystalTear (Phil Collins - Face Value)
4/3: MetalmindStats (Peter Gabriel - So)
4/10: HBJDubs
4/17: TheArkOfTurus
4/24: Snake5555555555
5/1: Jesse_Custer
5/8: ZaziGuado
5/15: firefdr
5/22: SpikeSetsFire
5/29: Johnbobb
6/5: VeryInsane
6/12: CasanovaZelos
6/19: Seanchan
6/26: Giggsalot
7/3: RyoCaliente
7/10: darkx
7/17: neonreaper
7/24: Great_Paul
7/31: jcgamer107
8/7: ChichiriMuyo

Miracle Musical - Hawaii: Part II results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
jcgamer107 (18)
Raetsel_Lapin (20)
CasanovaZelos (20)
Johnbobb (20)
Jesse_Custer (20)
MetalmindStats (22)
Seanchan (24)
HBJDubs (26)
VeryInsane (26)

General Album Comments

Seanchan: Did a first listen today. It was pretty enjoyable. My initial impression was that it was a little Moon Patrol-ish but I don't think that holds up over the full course of the album. I could definitely feel the "musical"-ness of it but then there's certain songs that have very (sometimes VERY) video game-y beats.

I think there's a particular song in the middle that's going to be near the bottom of almost everyone's lists...and then inexplicably right at the top for one person.

You know how after you play an album on Spotify it'll play related songs? Well, it played Variations on a Cloud right after and then continued to play songs that I didn't bother skipping because I was digging them. One in particular stood out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-WTfP3WJc4

CasanovaZelos: Not quite sure what I think of this. Several people here have expressed distress at the more chaotic albums we have covered, but I actually tend to have the opposite problem. Like, this was too...melodic? It's all very pretty in an easily digestible way and this is, for whatever reason, a problem for me. It's like I'm waiting for something more to happen and it never does and it ends up leaving me on edge.

jcgamer107: Awesominator3 on Youtube says:

God this album is so fking good, probably the best concept album to ever be made. I mean it's literally about the death and rebirth of the universe as a love story between time and space(my interpretation at least) you cannot get any cooler than that.

VeryInsane: Honestly I got a really big Broadway esque vibe from this but it never really hit any high notes apart from the Mind Electric which I thought was cute. Still, the second half ends up stronger, and its one of the most unique albums listed here so its a decent listen at the least.

Seanchan: This one didn't particularly grow on me. Repeated listened never really recaptured the intrigue and surprise of my first spin.

I also have to say, I kind of shocked at how many of you have The Mind Electric ranked so high! I understood the gimmick of it within about 20 seconds but yikes, I cannot enjoy a song when I basically want to skip the first half of it. The "forward" part of it does have some nice bits but it just doesn't overcome the "backward" part that is awful to listen to. But that's why these topics are fun, so I can find out I'm the crazy outlier.

jcgamer107: I expected people to be more split on The Mind Electric but am pleasantly surprised to see it's in most people's top half

Raetsel_Lapin (responding to jcgamer107): Me too! I figured I was the only one that would care about an experimental and depressing song that spent half its time playing in reverse, but it's good to know that type of strangeness has more of a place around here than I would have expected.

Johnbobb: fantastic fucking album, surprised they've never returned to this group for a followup album because there's really just nothing else like it

Jesse_Custer: This was a great album, which I feel like I could use more time to digest.

Hawaii: Part II track ranking

11. Introduction to the Snow (Track #1)
Score: 20 (Average Rank: 9.78/11)
Biggest Fan(s): MetalmindStats (#6)
Biggest Detractor(s): jcgamer107, VeryInsane, Seanchan, Jesse_Custer (#11)

jcgamer107: More of a prelude than an actual track

10. Stranded Lullaby (Track #10)
Score: 30 (Average Rank: 8.67/11)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#6)
Biggest Detractor(s): CasanovaZelos, Johnbobb (#11)

jcgamer107: A well-placed moment of pause and poignancy

9. 7 (Track #6)
Score: 39 (Average Rank: 7.67/11)
Biggest Fan(s): CasanovaZelos, HBJDubs, VeryInsane (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): MetalmindStats (#11)

jcgamer107: Not bad, but not as interesting as the rest of the album

8. Dream Sweet in Sea Major (Track #11)
Score: 54 (Average Rank: 6.67/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin, HBJDubs (#11)

jcgamer107: Almost sounds like a whacked-out mutation of an old Disney song, and seems to end about 3 different times. Has a section of great drum programming towards the end.

7. Murders (Track #5)
Score: 56 (Average Rank: 5.89/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): VeryInsane (#10)

jcgamer107: Immediately transports you to a dark forest. Sounds like it could be accompanied by an old-timey cartoon a la Spooky Scary Skeletons.

6. Time Machine (Track #9)
Score: 61 (Average Rank: 5.67/11)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs, VeryInsane (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Jesse_Custer (#10)

jcgamer107: Rob Cantor with great vocals, good use of vocoder

5. Black Rainbows (Track #3)
Score: 62 (Average Rank: 5.78/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin, MetalmindStats, Seanchan (#8)

jcgamer107: Another great beat here, just a very chill, tropical song

Johnbobb: I could probably listen to this beat on loop all day and not get tired of it

4. White Ball (Track #4)
Score: 62 (Average Rank: 5.56/11)
Biggest Fan(s): jcgamer107 (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): MetalmindStats, VeryInsane (#9)

jcgamer107: Excellent blend of strings, piano and accordion, with a fat beat. Very nice 2-part harmonies. The transition of Black Rainbows into this is so great and seamless.

3. Isle Unto Thyself (Track #2)
Score: 79 (Average Rank: 4/11)
Biggest Fan(s): MetalmindStats, Jesse_Custer (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): jcgamer107 (#9)

jcgamer107: A solid, high-energy song that feels like the 'real' start to the album

2. The Mind Electric (Track #7)
Score: 82 (Average Rank: 4.33/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin, VeryInsane (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#10)

jcgamer107: Highly polarizing song. Most people would say that making a song that is a literal audio palindrome is a terrible idea, but Joe Hawley, he don't care. Personally I love the combining of chaotic noise distortion with the anguished lyrics of a mental patient. The reverse section can be kind of weird to sit through but the forward half is so good I don't really mind it. 5:01-5:56 might be the high point of the album.

1. Labyrinth (Track #8)
Score: 112 (Average Rank: 2/11)
Biggest Fan(s): CasanovaZelos, HBJDubs, MetalmindStats, Jesse_Custer (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb (#4)

jcgamer107: VGM and rap?? YES.

it just occurred to me we're doing Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel in back to back weeks

that's hilarious

results are pretty close to what I expected, but Dream Sweet in Sea Major is waaaaaay lower than it deserves. On an already strong album that's a contender for best and most creative song

This is going to be a hard one for me.

Bump

Johnbobb posted...

it just occurred to me we're doing Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel in back to back weeks

that's hilarious

Was going to make a comment like this. Would be even funnier in the other order.

Tagging this for when I get home. I should have time and privacy to do it this week.

Oh nice I just saw that Peter Gabriel won

1: Dirty Hole
2: You
3: The Niles Edge
4: Pretty When You Cry
5: I'm Dying
6: Three Doors
7: Somewhere Else to Be
8: Flames
9: Temptation
10: Untitled
11: Here
12: Touched

bump

Bump

up

bump

I listened to this a couple days ago and was pretty lost on how to rank it all tbh

Will try again tonight

1. Flames
2. You
3. I'm Dying
4. [Untitled]
5. Dirty Hole
6. The Niles Edge
7. Touched
8. Pretty When You Cry
9. Somewhere Else to Be
10. Temptation
11. Here
12. Three Doors

Every track on this album is amazing. Really hard to rank.

Snake5555555555 posted...

Every track on this album is amazing. Really hard to rank.

This is precisely why I struggle ranking them as well. I just did my second listen and I'm just as lost as I was the other night. They're all of relatively equal quality; there was no "experimental" track that sounded murderous to my ears. The vocal harmonies and musical style - the right mix of mainstream influences and experimentation pushing the boundaries farther - really make this entire thing a banger.

This is one of those albums that works best as a cohesive whole. It honestly feels like one long, epic track with multiple movements. And for that reason, my rankings would look completely different on different listens. Gonna do a third listen but I likely won't be able to do a fourth.

Again, I really have no idea how to rank all this. This is not a good choice for this project because I find myself lost in the harmonies and instrumentation and forget to focus on this game. This is that great of an album. I think I'm finally happy with this.

1. Flames - I like this one more and more with each listen. The violin gets me.
2. Dirty Hole - The "banger" that screams first single.
3. I'm Dying
4. Temptation - I relate to this one a lot tbh
5. Touched
6. Untitled
7. Here
8. Three Doors
9. The Niles Edge - I love the instrumentation, but it's kind of a sleeper hymnal (even though it's still awesome).
10. Somewhere Else to Be
11. Pretty When You Cry - I think this one just falls flat given how it's surrounded by the really, really awesome stuff.
12. You - There's this brief instrumentation part that I really love in here, but the redundant bassline is just overwhelming everything else. Still a good song, but something had to be last.

1. Here
2. The Niles Edge
3. You
4. Im Dying
5. Flames
6. Three Doors
7. Pretty When You Cry
8. Untitled
9. Dirty Hole
10. Touched
11. Somewhere Else To Be
12. Temptation

1. Here
2. I'm Dying
3. Touched
4. Pretty When You Cry
5. Temptation
6. Untitled
7. Somewhere Else to Be
8. Three Doors
9. The Niles Edge
10. Dirty Hole
11. Flames
12. You

I feel very conflicted about this album. It's fine, it's got some interesting parts, but sometimes I kind of hated it? I can hear the industrial/Nine Inch Nails influence. I also found myself thinking about Mezzanine from Massive Attack, which coincidentally came out the same year. Ultimately I think this one is just not going to stick with me at all.

1. Dirty Hole
2. Here
3. I'm Dying
4. Touched
5. Three Doors
6. Flames
7. Temptation
8. The Niles Edge
9. You
10. Untitled
11. Somewhere Else to Be
12. Pretty When You Cry

This is an album I haven't listened to in a long time. It turns out I don't love it as much as I used to, but it's still an amazing piece of work. I'm always impressed by the prodcution of this album, both in its quality and the fact that Jon Crosby recorded the whole thing himself. To my surprise, the one song I really didn't like in the past, "Three Doors," seemed a good deal better than I remember.

1 Touched
2 You
3 Pretty When You Cry
4 Temptation
5 In Flames
6 Here
7 Dirty Hole
8 I'm Dying
9 The Nile's Edge
10 Untitled
11 Three Doors
12 Somewhere Else to Be