Board 8 > Raetsel (and Raetsel's alts) rank 784 songs! [Rankings]

(+) Yeah! (+)

It's still working on our end. Is it a region lock thing? Because I don't know how to find a link that would work in a specific region... anything work for you from these? They're not the "remastered" version, but they're close enough. Especially the first two links.

From The Police's music channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si5CSpUCDGY

Fan upload with lyrics included:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rZ55EZTExg

A vinyl recording of the song, which probably sounds different but should be close enough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8976fuIqCo

Live Performance from 1983 (which, again, not quite the same but if every other link doesn't work then it's the right artist and right timeframe for when he performed it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNbA_OLEJOk

the last link also seems to be region locked for me but the first three work fine!

Well, I'm glad we got at least a few links working then!

I'll be taking Thanksgiving off. Not that I'm personally doing anything for the holidays, but honestly, I could use an extra day to work through a bit more of the list & a national holiday is a fine excuse. Also probably bad form to eliminate songs from people who may be busy with holiday things anyway. Will probably drop 10 songs tomorrow to keep things on schedule.

Until then: Happy thanksgiving to those who celebrate it & a happy random Thursday to those who don't.

Going to try to get through 10 songs this morning to make up for Holiday Time. We'll see how it goes; for now, here's two songs:

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#715: RichaadEB feat. Amie Waters - Strictly Impersonal (3:17):
https://determination-ut.bandcamp.com/track/strictly-impersonal-rude-buster-ft-amie-waters

Nominator: DoctorJimmy [22/24 Remaining]

Initial Score: 57.46
Revised Score: 54.64
Final Score: 52.45

(First Reaction: Rockin' remix of Deltarune's battle theme. It's alright. I love Deltarune (or what parts of it are currently available at least), but Rude Buster's never been one of my favorite tracks and playing it on an electric guitar is... fine? It's a VGM remix with prominent electric guitar, I'm rather sure we've all already decided how we feel about such things. It's good, I kinda like it, I kinda enjoy remembering Deltarune--though it's hard to be too nostalgic for a story that's still unfinished, but it's a bit too close to "epic battle theme" territory to make it to the next tier.)

!There's some fine guitar shredding on the track and it's nice to think of Deltarune, but battle themes are still a hard sell.

[Final Thoughts: I still have generally positive feelings towards the track, but it drops a bit with each listen. There was some fun hearing a hard rocking variation of a song I knew so well the first time, but the novelty is starting to wear off a bit and this is getting dangerously close to "RPG battle theme, blech" territory. It's not there yet, but it's probably best for the song's standing that I take a break from listening to it for a while.

There's a brief interlude just before the two minute mark which has a retro gaming-esque feel with its beeping, that part was kinda neat.]

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-Proceed-

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#714: John Scofield - Techno [7:30]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDuNw1mre-I

Nominator: Lasa [12/14 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.377
Revised Score: 50.96
Final Score: 51.87 [Upgraded to 52.465]

(First Reaction: Technically proficient instrumental that falls into the category of "instrumentals that don't inspire any specific reaction", even if it sounds nice.)

I'm sure this is a fantastic song that I'm just not understanding, but I just... don't get it, to be honest. I'm aware these are all talented musicians and I think everyone here is connected to some other nominations of yours--the bass player worked with Miles Davis, the drummer is from Weather Report... it's kinda neat reading about the connections. But I never have any reaction to this other than "that's some fine guitar playing" which... is fine. I've listened to it three more times tonight in hopes that I'd be able to grok why these are supposedly legendary musicians or why this is a big track, but I'm not getting anything other than "fine". I'm sorry, I really did try with this song.

[Final Thoughts: Still sorry, I'm just not really getting any specific feelings from this song. I know it's good, but I can't connect with it at all.]

[Later: It is kinda catchy and I've moved it up a few places, but it's a rough time for instrumentals that don't inspire any specific feelings or emotions. They're nice and I like them well enough, but it's getting harder & harder to take them over songs that I have stronger reaction to.]

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And two more before breakfast:

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#713: The Field - Its Up There (9:20):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSzuQLj8NC0

Nominator: rwlh [20/24 Remaining]

Initial Score: 56.74
Revised Score: 56.74
Final Score: 52.47

(First Reaction: Of all the instrumental songs I don't understand, this one is the most instrumentaliest.)

!It's nice, but I don't have any really strong reactions to it... I like it, but not "like like" it, I think.

[Final Thoughts: The song does have some of the deep, low tones that I always love, but I'm not really vibing to this tonight. It feels like... like a subdued dance club or something? I don't know what I'm feeling, or why I never felt it before, but it's... still something I generally have a vague like for, but is definitely a few points off from the first two listens.]

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-Space Gem-

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#712: HANABIE. - Invisible wall (3:35):
https://open.spotify.com/track/2kZOtmdS0ZriJ7qnjztdfV?si=f3021cf7fc8a4548

Nominator: Murphiroth [24*/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 54.00
Revised Score: 52.80
Final Score: 52.49

(First Reaction: I rather wish I could find some trace of the lyrics to this song as I suspect it probably has some lyrics that I'd be interested in, but there's no way to be sure. Either way, this has the highest percentage of clean vocals thus far and it has an intriguing sound to it, so I kinda like it.)

The interview with the band doesn't help a lot... this song was written by one of the band when she was in high school, it wasn't changed much from the original version and retains a "high school vibe", there are quite a few English lyrics even though they do not speak English, and it has something to do with facing difficulties.

...well, I guess that's a fair amount of information. I suppose I'm not as into this song on a second listen because while it's fairly tame for the group, it's still more metal and intense than I really want it to be... lot of drumming and what not. i still kinda enjoy the clear verses, but I'm not finding any moments that I want to draw attention to or really focus on.

[Final Thoughts: More drumming than I'd like, but the clean vocals are a welcome addition.]

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And... let's go with two more for the moment:

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#711: RavenCyarm - Time to Breathe (2:50):
https://youtu.be/MPOjNiLlopc

Nominator: Mega_Mana [33/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 55.00
Revised Score: 52.67
Final Score: 52.94

(First Reaction: It's an interesting mashup, especially since I don't recall hearing the version of Barrett's theme that's used here (it was allegedly used for two of the NXT Takeovers), but I don't think I actually like this version of Barrett's theme. And there's only so far demonic backmasked vocals & ominous sounds can carry the track when I'm not fond of the other half of its source material.)

...Actually, I'm not wild about Finn's theme either, so I don't know that I'd describe myself as a "fan" of either song here, unfortunately. Raven does a good job of blending the two tracks, but after the novelty of backmasked vocals & obscure song choices wears off, there isn't much left that I find very appealing. Sorry; I would like to hear more wrestling mashups, but I don't think this one worked half as well as last year's nomination.

[Final Thoughts: The songs blend together seamlessly, but I'm not super into either of the components or the final result. It's quite impressive and the the right idea in theory, it just didn't quite pan out perfectly.]

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-bee-boo-boo-bop, boo-boo-beep-

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#710: Philip Glass - Cloudscape (4:40):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9byPyKh2rE&list=OLAK5uy_mDCT4_Ky0CAnSs7AexWupMqE4qQRsnc7s&index=3

Nominator: Sergio [9/13 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.98
Revised Score: 50.60
Final Score: 52.98

(First Reaction: Another instrumental where I like some of the instruments used in it, but don't have any strong reactions or opinions on it.)

The instruments are pleasing enough that I can say this song should be above the 50 point barrier, but it feels kinda dull to me tonight... I'm not really getting any sense of anything from the song, at all. It's high enough quality that I wouldn't call it boring, but... I also can't think of any way I actually want to end that sentence.

[Final Thoughts: The song does have some foreboding & BWOOM-ing qualities to it, though it's never quite as soul-crushing or rumbling as I'd like. Also, like many songs on this soundtrack, it does have a sense of "ascending", though in an ominous way instead of the flying/freedom way one would typically expect from songs invoking such feelings. It's a nice track.]

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Two more to get us up to 8 eliminations:

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#709: Miles Davis - Pharaoh's Dance [20:04]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtORTuLJw7o

Nominator: Lasa [11/14 Remaining]

Initial Score: 49.80
Revised Score: 51.00
Final Score: 53.009

(First Reaction: This is the type of song that gets full scholarly articles about its innovations and impact on not just jazz, but music as a whole. There is a sense that I'm listening to something revolutionary... but without enough knowledge on the history of jazz or basic music theory to properly grok what's happening, it's just... long.)

It's not the type of song I'll listen to often... 20 minutes is a big ask and i'm not really into it enough to justify going out of my way to hear it again, but it is relatively interesting. There's definitely something to be said for expanding my horizons and listening to more challenging music. I'd also say that for as long as the song is, and all the different parts it features, I don't dislike any of them--there aren't any parts that I especially loved either, but I'd say I feel generally content with it for the entire runtime? It's nice enough.

Reading about the album in general is also rather fascinating in its own right;

https://vintageking.com/blog/2018/04/miles-davis-bitches-brew/

Davis intentionally assembled a team of 13 session musicians on very short notice, in order to capture a more spontaneous performance. Most of the musicians had never rehearsed the material, and some of them had never even heard it.

According to Davis: I brought in these musical sketches that nobody had seen, just like I did on Kind of Blue and In a Silent Way.

These sketches were the only direction given to the players. They would typically include a tempo, maybe a few chords or notes hed like to focus on and thats it. Davis felt this forced musicians to pay close attention to one another, to their own performances, or to Davis's cues, which could change at any moment.

If you listen closely, you can actually hear Davis snapping his fingers to denote the tempo, or whispering notes to the musicians on some songs.

That's unorthodox, but quite interesting; The article also goes into some comments from the producer, Teo Macero and Miles Davis' rebuke; Macero seems to take credit for basically everything on the album (going so far as to brag that he edited things so drastically that even the actual artists couldn't recognize their own work), while Davis strongly disputed that... suffice it to say that trying to work out the facts of a 50 year old argument is well beyond my abilities (and the scope of this topic in general), but it's certainly an intriguing subject to learn about.

...of course, that all has remarkably little to do with the song itself, but i'm afraid I don't quite have much to say directly. I don't doubt that it's groundbreaking and revolutionary, but trying to study the pre-70's history of jazz & contrasting it with how the artform evolved following this album is--yet again--beyond the scope of what I'm able to do here. And without any specific knowledge of jazz or music theory in general, I'm left with 20 minutes of nice music that doesn't inspire any specific emotions or fantasies.

[Final Thoughts: Another song in the "all time classic that I'm not able to connect with" pile, though I am liking it a bit more each time.]

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-Groovy-

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#708: Anatoly Volnov - Miguel the Sniper [0:06]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh0zBMyr3CA

Nominator: paulg [46/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.40
Revised Score: 50.40
Final Score: 50.40 [Upgraded to 53.01]

(First Reaction: ''Kay. It's some nice strumming, but not exactly iconic or memorable enough to compare favorably with actual songs or things I have a particularly strong attachment to.)

There are certainly short little jingles that get ludicrously high scores (perhaps even some on this very list!), but this isn't one of them. It's fine? There's not really enough music here to judge and it's not a song or style of song that I have an emotional attachment to, so it's just... fine? It's cool and all, but this feels like one of the more "space filler-y" examples of the very short songs nominated.

[Final Thoughts: I'm not going to say a longer Flamenco music track would have done better, but having a unique style of song represented entirely by a five second jingle doesn't feel great. This is some good guitar playing, yes, but I need more of it.]

[Later: I don't know what I'm doing, so I'm moving all three songs that were scheduled to be eliminated up to a three-way tie with 53.01 points and will revisit them later.]

[Yet Later: The other two songs that were tied with this one have been moved further up the list again, sparing them for now--I'm not sure exactly how far up I'm moving them, but we shan't be seeing either of them on this morning at least. Still, this song held on for a fairly decent amount of time from its scheduled elimination, so it should be proud of that. Were songs capable of feeling pride anyway.]

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And the barrage of posting ends with two more songs, getting things back on track:

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#707: heoliene - Orbital Dance [3:48]:
https://deuveir.bandcamp.com/track/orbital-dance-2

Nominator: Kopazzynth [16/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 43.03
Revised Score: 53.06
Final Score: 53.06

(First Reaction: A bit too percussion heavy for my current tastes, but there's a certain "halfway between Venetian Snares & bunbleman" quality to it that's intriguing and the fade out on the last note is pleasing...)

Today I find the song to be pleasingly strange. It may help that I remembered to lower the volume a bit before playing it because this song can go a bit too hard if you're not prepared for it. Last note is magical. I can''t really say anything about the rest of the song, it's way beyond my understanding, but that's what makes it interesting.

[Final Thoughts: It's still a lot more intense percussion than I'd personally like, but it an intriguing enough song that it's... I don't want to say "nice", but vaguely pleasing in an odd way?]

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-if you leave-

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#706: Franchouchou - To my Dearest ~Lily's practice singing~ (2:09):
https://open.spotify.com/track/6Hbua3sEaY79XtEdfzSQea?si=fdb445c69c504ce7

Nominator: Player_0 [28/33 Remaining]

Initial Score: 56.14
Revised Score: 56.14
Final Score: 53.10

(First Reaction: Not as good as the full version, but an inferior version of a song I like is still pretty respectable.)

!Hearing a practice version of the song is cute and makes the band seem more "real", but I don't see myself ever choosing this demo over the completed version. It's possible I would have liked this more if it weren't stuck competing directly against the best version of itsef, but we are where we are.

[Final Thoughts: It's sweet enough, but a definite step down and I think I prefer all the other songs that have yet to be eliminated over this song that unfortunately feels like a bit of a retread.]

[Later: It's hard to tell how much I'd enjoy the song if there weren't a vastly superior version of it that was also nominated, but it doesn't resonate with me as strongly as the full version and--while it definitely has some high points of its own--I kinda stand by the Final Thought.]

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Note to self: No more mashups, XD

That should be all the silly bonus tracks out of the way from the ZLS album. Well, the other rap song only barely qualifies as "not silly," so I'm interested to see if it drops next or was able to outrank some of the conventional songs!

Raetsel_Lapin posted...

#714: John Scofield - Techno [7:30]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDuNw1mre-I

Nominator: Lasa [12/14 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.377
Revised Score: 50.96
Final Score: 51.87 [Upgraded to 52.465]

(First Reaction: Technically proficient instrumental that falls into the category of "instrumentals that don't inspire any specific reaction", even if it sounds nice.)

I'm sure this is a fantastic song that I'm just not understanding, but I just... don't get it, to be honest. I'm aware these are all talented musicians and I think everyone here is connected to some other nominations of yours--the bass player worked with Miles Davis, the drummer is from Weather Report... it's kinda neat reading about the connections. But I never have any reaction to this other than "that's some fine guitar playing" which... is fine. I've listened to it three more times tonight in hopes that I'd be able to grok why these are supposedly legendary musicians or why this is a big track, but I'm not getting anything other than "fine". I'm sorry, I really did try with this song.

[Final Thoughts: Still sorry, I'm just not really getting any specific feelings from this song. I know it's good, but I can't connect with it at all.]

[Later: It is kinda catchy and I've moved it up a few places, but it's a rough time for instrumentals that don't inspire any specific feelings or emotions. They're nice and I like them well enough, but it's getting harder & harder to take them over songs that I have stronger reaction to.]

haha, you never have to apologize for your musical opinions! scofield's guitar solo in this song is one of my favorite guitar solos by any guitarist but if it doesn't do much for you, that's fine too. i appreciate that you tried really hard to like it.

as for pharaoh's dance, i didn't expect that one to do well, as you specifically adviced against nominating very long songs (i nom'd it anyway because i was curious what you would think about a revolutionary jazz fusion track). it placed higher than i thought it would, actually!

Raetsel_Lapin posted...

#709: Miles Davis - Pharaoh's Dance [20:04]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtORTuLJw7o

Good Lord, 20 minutes of that would drive me crazy. Might be good to listen to while driving though. And I just got done driving home 2 hours from my sister's house, so too bad I didn't see this until just now.

I had a couple of 20+ minute songs I wanted to nominate (The Great Escape by Seventh Wonder especially), but I figured that was a bit much. The one 14 minute song I did nominate was pushing it already. We haven't seen it yet so I assume it was at least tolerable :)

EDIT: Seventh Wonder, not Heaven. And I just remembered, I nominated TWO 14 minute songs.

CJones posted...

I had a couple of 20+ minute songs I wanted to nominate (The Great Escape by Seventh Wonder especially), but I figured that was a bit much. The one 14 minute song I did nominate was pushing it already. We haven't seen it yet so I assume it was at least tolerable :)

I'd say I'm generally open to the idea of longer songs. There's still four songs longer than 14 minutes that haven't been eliminated yet, including the longest song at just over 26 minutes, so long tracks aren't doing terribly. (Alternatively two out of the ten longest songs have been eliminated, so you could argue they're also not doing great/it's just too early in the list to say how they work out on average).

And I'll add a note to check out The Great Escape after the ranking ends. There's also a bit of a bonus period where I listen to some extra stuff... though obviously we're a long way from that point.

-filling out the spaces-

One very short elimination to start the morning because I'm running very late today.

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#705: Spongebob Squarepants Theme in Reverse [0:44]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvbQjRgHF4Q

Nominator: paulg [45/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.42
Revised Score: 53.42
Final Score: 53.14

(First Reaction: I've been waiting years for someone to nominate a fully reversed song for one of these. I'm not sure this was the best choice to use for the gimmick as there's not a lot here musically, but it's fairly amusing and worth a quick laugh.)

...That's about it, really. Have a quick laugh and then move on to the next song.

[Final Thoughts: Not really anything else to say about it.]

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ecrof

Two more, including more talking to myself:

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#704: Kotomori Senri - Moonshine (3:59):
https://youtu.be/2JDxDxA3toc

Nominator: UF8 [28/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 58.16
Revised Score: 58.16
Final Score: 53.16

(First Reaction: I don't have any real connection to the song or the story it's trying to tell, but it is reasonably catchy and enjoyable.I think I like it decently well, but perhaps not quite enough to get up to the 60 point tier.)

!Not really much to add.

[Final Thoughts: Unfortunately for this song, I'm still not really getting anything from the song or the lyrics. With references to blades, moonlight, a stray cat, and other things it feels like I should be invested in some part of the story but... eh. And while it's performed well enough that I kinda like it, I'm decidedly more into... well... everything else that's left? I'm not sure why I'm bouncing off of this track more than usual tonight, but I'm also not sure how a song that didn't even get one full sentence for a writeup was all the way up at the 58 point zone to begin with.]

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-Crazy Train-

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#703: JoLi - Everything Is AWESOME!!! [1:26]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia8aKO4_pfE

Nominator: paulg [44/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.19
Revised Score: 53.19
Final Score: 53.19

(First Reaction: ...Wait, why is this not the version of the song I know?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StTqXEQ2l-Y

The nominated version isn't just shorter, it has different lyrics and singers? It feels like this song is from a different universe and I'd probably go (more) crazy if it weren't so easy to find the versiion I remember.

The version of "Everything Is Awesome" featured in The Lego Movie scene, official trailer, TV spots, video game, and featurette was produced by Bartholomew and performed by Bartholomew and Lisa Harriton under the name JoLi.

The single and pop version featured in the end credits of the movie was produced by Mark Mothersbaugh and performed by Tegan and Sara in collaboration with the Lonely Island.

Huh. So the nominated version is the original, but the single & end credits are the one I remember. Never noticed those were two different songs before. i was already having a hard time trying to judge this song on its own merits--it was kinda ruined by Lego Movie 2 which managed to spectaularly miss the point of the song--but now I find myself stuck comparing it to the version I know better, which also seems to do a better job of conveying the song's meaning.

...Kupo... I don't wanna seriously analyze anything... "this nomination forced me to actually work, Negative 50 points". Can't I just, ya know, say that and call it a night?

[Fluttershy's Note: Technically yes, but you'll feel bad if you don't try.]

Ugghhh... stupid inner voice making me do stupid work.

[Fluttershy's Note: You're the one who asked me, so I'd appreciate it if you stopped insulting me just because you didn't like the answer.]

It's a sarcastic insult! If anything I'm insulting myself with self-deprecating humor about how lazy I am!

[Fluttershy's Note: You do realize that if you actually worked instead of "joking" about how you're not working, you'd already be done, right?]

*rolls eyes* Fine... so the point of the song is that things aren't fine. It's vapid propaganda created to convince the populace to never think or question anything:

Adults picked up on the Orwellian themes, as the evil ruler of Bricksburg (not-so-subtly named "Lord Business") keeps the citizens in line with a propaganda campaign that includes this song - the only one allowed to play. Tegan and Sara were asked to "sound as jubilant as possible" to give the song a vibe that is so euphoric it's creepy.

Mothersbaugh told The Los Angeles Times: "... It's a mantra for everyone to get up and go to work and buy $30 cups of coffee. It's an irritant."

It's not exactly subtle. The song is explictly meant to be dystopian. The refrain about working as a team is a call to abandon individuality; the lines about it being awesome to lose your job, or suffer allergies, or just lose in general are to indicate that emotions themselves are basically outlawed at this point. EVERYTHING IS AWESOME. IT IS ILLEGAL FOR YOU TO BELIEVE THAT ANYTHING IS NOT AWESOME.

Of course the second movie... well, don't get me started on that. Either way, I feel like the single version does a much better job at conveying the dystopian aspects of the song. "It's awesome to lose, awesome to lose, awesome to lose..." is certainly more blunt than the nominated version. And the nominated version doesn't really say that bad things are awesome... the closest it gets is "turn that frown upside down" which is more stupid and banal than dystopian. So even if I can get over my natural bias against this version for being different, I don't think it really conveys the core themes of the song. So while this version is fine, it could be improved (and indeed was improved) and I think I'll score it in the low 50's.

Kupo... that was exhausting...)

You know, I think for perhaps the first time in any of these topics, I'm actually content with that writeup and see no reason to expand things any further.

[Final Thoughts: Doesn't really compare to the single version.]

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And two more eliminations for the day, so that we may begin the top 700 tomorrow!

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#702: Shota Kageyama - Super Contest: Coolness [from Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl] (1:14):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnHfj03GNNw

Nominator: DoctorJimmy [21/24 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.00
Revised Score: 53.11
Final Score: 53.39

(First Reaction: I'm not sure what that even was.)

This is definitely one of the more baffling songs I've ever encountered and I still have no clue what type of feeling or reaction this song is even attempting to convey. We jump from pretty piano playing to guitar shredding without any clear transition and end so quickly that there's never a moment to even try to process what's happening. I guess I like it because there's a certain strangeness to a song that I can't process which definitely elevates it above the '50 points or less' crowd.

I think I prefer the Platinum version of this song. There's a bizarre quality to the artificial guitar shredding that really plays into the "what even is this?" factor of the song, making it a bit more alien which is neat. I don't think it'd be enough to move it up an entire tier though, so the difference is likely negligible.

[Final Thoughts: A weird song, so I thank you for nominating whatever this was.]

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-and a fairly large jump in points here-

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#701: Isekaijoucho - Tourbillon (5:57):
https://youtu.be/NPCvleLWAOM

Nominator: UF8 [27/30 Remaining]

Initial Score: 57.29
Revised Score: 57.29
Final Score: 53.7001

(First Reaction: The song title looks familiar, but the song itself doesn't seem familiar, nor do the lyrics look like anything I read before. I'm going to guess you posted a different cover of this song as a post-ranking-bonus song and I failed to find the lyrics last time? Or perhaps not.

Song is fine, though it's one that I'm not having much of a reaction to. I like it, but I'm already having trouble remembering what I just heard. It's one of those songs that seems to delete itself from memory as soon at it ends....)

!Another in the long line of songs that I acknowledge are quite good, but I don't quite enjoy enough to escape the endless nightmare of the 50 point tier. (There are songs on higher tiers, really... someday... )

[Final Thoughts: Well, there's still over a hundred songs above "57.29" but below "60.00" on the Revised Score table that haven't received a Final Score, so when I say it's going to be a long time.... I mean... it's gonna be a long time...

Anyway, this song is nice enough? I'm not sure why it was so far up the list when it was only described as "fine"... I'm not really finding anything in the lyrics or music itself that I'm especially attached to, but it's a fine performance. I suppose I like the ending of the song... it's nice & quiet and then ends with a music box. That was pleasing.]

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#700: Xtruist - Core of Apeiron (2:49):
https://youtu.be/tWsl8kt0iU8

Nominator: NFUN: [26/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 51.04
Revised Score: 53.718
Final Score: 53.70 [Upgraded to....uhh... 53.7002?[

(First Reaction: It's fine? I don't have much reaction to it, but it's a step or two above songs I don't care about at all, so that's definitely on the positive half of the scoring system.)

I'm having a hard time pinning this song down, as I still can't quite parse what the song is doing or what theme I'm supposed to be associating it with. The opening notes convey an ancient temple type setting and I got really excited for that type of ambient instrumental type thing... then the song goes all zippy-zappy electric for a bit before trying to be "futuristic fighting game" and "ancient temple" at the same time. I wouldn't compare the music to Mortal Kombat, but MK is the closest guess I can come up with for what type of feeling this song is going for.

*looks up the game*

Oh, futuristic combat racing game like Wipeout, 'ey? Yeah, I could picture racing to this song. The song's still a bit more "fighting" than I like from my instrumentals, but it's pretty neat.

[Final Thoughts: I don't know. It is fairly neat and I have positive feelings towards it, but not nearly strong enough feelings to leap it into the next tier.]

[EDiT: Moved this above Tourbilion but forgot to actually increase the score after moving it. Fixed-ish now.[

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-Time-

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

#699: Reena Esmail - TaReKiTa [1:54]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKK1YKfcGAw

Nominator: cakophon [17/20 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.00
Revised Score: 50.00
Final Score: 50.186 [Upgraded to 50.37] [Upgraded to 53.02] [Upgraded to 53.71]

(First Reaction: I'm not entirely sure that I actually had a reaction to this at all. In theory, it's a bit interesting to hear another language's onomatopoeia and I don't have anything against acapella music specifically, but this song didn't really register as anything....)

I still don't have any appreciable reaction to this song, which is almost interesting. You would think I'd have a generic "I still don't usually care for non-lyric vocalizations, so an entire song of them is a bit rough for me", or "I don't care for songs focusing on percussion, so I'm oddly glad that we're just using a choir that mimics the sound of a type of drum", or some completely deranged tangent about choirs or singing animals or something. But this... I don't know, I don't particularly like or dislike this. I'm aware that it's conceptually interesting, but not on a level where I'd say I feel positively towards it. I'm' aware that it's doing things I don't traditionally like, but I don't mind them either. The song just kinda is? Which feels like a very cruel review, but... uhh... yeah?

[Final Thoughts: A unique vocal experience that, inexplicably, I kinda enjoy this time around. I'm not often into non-lyric vocalizations so an entire song of them wouldn't be my first choice, but this isn't bad. I kinda wish it were longer--I guess I appreciate the song knowing when it's over instead of continuing aimlessly, but a sub-two minute runtime doesn't feel like enough time to properly appreciate what they're going for.

Definitely unique though, so that's neat and this is getting a slight bump to the positive scores.]

[Later: I don't know what I'm doing, so I'm moving all three songs that were scheduled to be eliminated up to a three-way tie with 53.01 points and will revisit them later.]

[Still Later: Giving this a minor boost. Over one of the songs it was tied with and a few other upcoming songs, though not a very drastic increase.]

[Finally Later: This is the second of the three songs that were briefly tied. Miguel the Sniper [#708], TaReKiTa [#699], and one more song yet to be revealed.]

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

Another participant suffers a double elimination in this two pack, which opens with the last of the 53.01 Trio:

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

#698: 24 - Clock Counting Down Sound Effect [0:04]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoe_uDla4p0

Nominator: paulg [43/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.77
Revised Score: 52.52
Final Score: 50.39 [Upgraded to 53.01] [Upgraded to 53.025] [Upgraded to 53.715]

(First Reaction: Overly dramatic beeping isn't much of a song and it's too short to really inspire dread. An extended version might score higher as I could at least experience the feelings of terror...)

Very dramatic and I like the tense feeling it conveys, but it's just too short to properly enjoy. Also, I don't really have any nostalgia for 24 itself... the first season was alright, but I felt it didn't need more than one season and never felt a need to see any continuations or rewatch the first season.

[Final Thoughts: This still has a nice, tense feeling to it... but I'm dropping it back down to its Initial Score because four seconds of beeping just isn't enough to get 51+ points. It's pretty good for something so short, it just really needs to have more to it.]

[Later: I don't know what I'm doing, so I'm moving all three songs that were scheduled to be eliminated up to a three-way tie with 53.01 points and will revisit them later.]

[Latest: And a minor boost so that this quote-unquote song can have the honor of winning the three-way battle it was trapped in.]

[Later-er-est: One final little boost to keep this ever-so-slightly above TaReKiTa.

...and [REDACTED] apparently, which wasn't even part of this battle but has somehow wound up between them at the last minute?]

[Final Later: Shifting things around a bit and delaying the elimination of the song that was between this song and TaReKiTa, so for once, let's not spoil the ranking & just redact that song's title.]

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

-Combo-

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

#697: Bowser's Fury - Bowser's Fury Theme (Phase 1) [3:37]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_z9S7inxZg

Nominator: paulg [42/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 51.82
Revised Score: 51.82
Final Score: 53.74

(First Reaction: I can't tell if these are lyrics or gibberish, but it's kinda interesting? I think it'd be hilarious hearing something this metal coming from a Mario game, but I'm not really seeing this as a song that stands on its own without the added context or unexpected nature of it.)

It's a fun concept for a song, but I typically need some type of attachment to the lyrics or story of these types of metal songs to get invested in them. Since no one can even agree if there are lyrics, that's just not going to happen on this track. I can imagine it being shocking to hear in context, very 'whoa, I can't believe a song like this is in a Mario game exclamation point exclamation point one one exclamation point' and what not, but removing this song from that context & entering it into a contest where it's directly competing against metal songs that I DO get emotionally invested & attached to results in this feeling like a song that--to quote Johnny Turbo--DOESN'T EVEN COMPARE!!

...Yes, yes I do occasionally quote Johnny Turbo in real life, thank you for asking.

[Final Thoughts: It's mildly amusing, but not really something I'm likely to go back to. Also, I'd love to spend all day talking about Johnny Turbo [#1 superhero of all time, don't @ me[, but I suppose it's not really worth taking that particular detour.]

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

XD at the 24 clock getting so many updates!

The best part of the clock is that if you're in another getting snacks or refreshing a drink, you know you have five seconds to run as fast as possible back to your seat.

Mega_Mana posted...

XD at the 24 clock getting so many updates!

There are quite a few songs with three updates already, and at least one with four, so if you like seeing lots of notes of every time a song had an elimination delayed then I have very good news about the future!

Though by pure coincidence, not on the last song of the day which has been relatively consistent.

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

EDIT: Forgot the song's placement number of 696th place. Fixed now.

#696: Yelle - Le grand saut (3:59):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmkZTcft4xc&list=PLR2ATVrSGTX91hJXNoWIHovzSIqVNBM8u&index=9

Nominator: hotdogturtle [11/14 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.34
Revised Score: 53.73
Final Score: 53.75

(First Reaction: The intro to the song is exactly the type of thing I dislike, it's so "tch-tch-tch-tch-tch-tch-tch" one note grgrgergrgggereag ; once the song actually gets going though, it's actually rather nice.)

The first minute is a bit dull to me, but once all the instruments fully join in the song really turns things around. Also one of the verses is intriguing:

Fate aligns and will follow my footsteps
I'm immune, the rain does not fall on me
My chainmail hoodie will withstand it
In a flash I opened the way

I do love rain. Unfortunately, the song doesn't have enough different lyrics to last the full runtime. "Verse 1, Verse 1, Verse 2, Verse 2, Verse 1" is... well, let's just say it's not my favorite idea. So while there's some good instrumentation once its in full swing & one of the verses is neat, the slow opening and repetition keep this from being one of my favorites.

[Final Thoughts: The song definitely has some high points with a few lower tones & some intriguing lyrics, but is a bit too thumping and repetitive to quite make it to the next level.]

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

Woo top 700.

Raetsel_Lapin posted...

Unfortunately for this song, I'm still not really getting anything from the song or the lyrics.

Yeah honestly this was just an example of a cover that stood out to me as "a pretty good cover"... relative to other covers of it. I knew it was otherwise a popular song and consider it decent but yeah, it was a particular cover that was going heavily unnoticed, not so much something I was particularly invested in otherwise.

Raetsel_Lapin posted...

The song title looks familiar, but the song itself doesn't seem familiar, nor do the lyrics look like anything I read before. I'm going to guess you posted a different cover of this song as a post-ranking-bonus song and I failed to find the lyrics last time? Or perhaps not.

It's most likely you saw me mention it because of the composer around or prior to vgmc period (namely Lemm, who did IroniA which I got in this year) since it was my first exposure to them. This is a song that in contrast to the prior one, I value mainly for its composition rather than the vocals or lyrics, though I did also pick it since it's was basically the only cover of any Lemm song I considered an improvement over the original (there aren't that many covers of Lemm songs in general...) Alternatively possibly because I may not have checked out any other Lemm songs yet... Either way, it's not my favourite Lemm song now but it was still a powerful gateway drug for me into the composer's works further down the line and probably actually my favourite song of the ones I nominated at the time. Oh well.

UF8 posted...

It's most likely you saw me mention it because of the composer around or prior to vgmc period (namely Lemm, who did IroniA which I got in this year)

Ah, that would make sense. Thank you.

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

#695: Carpenter Brut - Inferno Galore (3:45):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InnwzzJa8ek

Nominator: Handsomeboy [29/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.306
Revised Score: 52.306
Final Score: 53.77

(First Reaction: 80's style synth instrumental. It does perfectly nail the 80's aesthetic, but feels like just another piece of synth-heavy music instead of something with its own identity.)

The video's nice since I do enjoy a chance to make fun of the Satanic Panic, but it's not really enough to influence my opinion of the song any. And the song, while certainly okay, doesn't really do anything for me personally. It's just like "oh hey, 80's synths, nice" and then I quickly forget about it.

...sorry, I'd like to say something more here, but I ran out of generic comments about running out of generic comments about fifty instrumental songs ago. [This was an arbitrarily chosen number, please do not count how many instrumental tracks have been eliminated to this point.]

[Final Thoughts: Some heavy synth sounds here that I enjoy. I don't really connect with the song or get super engrossed into it, but it's not bad and a decent change of pace for this area of the rankings. Definitely worth an extra point from where it was placed originally.]

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

-call now-

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

#694: Haken - Falling Back to Earth (11:50):
https://youtu.be/adHGrSP43QE

Nominator: NBIceman [21/22 Remaining]

Initial Score: 39.96
Revised Score: 58.62
Final Score: 53.76 [Upgraded to 53.772]

(First Reaction: An adequate song, but one that kinda blurs together with other progressive rock epics. It certainly doesn't do anything wrong and I wouldn't even say that it's too long, it just doesn't leave much of an impression or stand out from other songs of its kind.)

Another day, another overly harsh first reaction that I need to partially apologize for. There are definitely some strong points here: The choruses are wonderful, the feeling of soaring majestically is magnifique and compares favorably to, say, The Mighty Echo (a brilliant song that was probably underrated, no matter how high its final score was). And the ocean instrumental that follows the fall is exactly my jam; I'm always down for a good "sinking into the ocean" ambiance song and they nail that transition perfectly.

Where it loses me are the verses themselves, *especially* the one that interrupts my falling into the abyss. I personally wish the song were split into two; keep the opening with the Rise and the fall into the ocean, then expand that instrumental part a bit longer and end the track there--the second half of the track could then be moved to being a reprisal/sequel and i could more readily enjoy the parts I like without having to go for the whole almost 12 minute long experience. (Which isn't too long, the song does more than enough to stay fresh throughout its runtime; it's just tough to not feel a bit down on the song as a whole when my favorite part is towards the middle & I'm left without much to look forward to. "A Night on the Town" had similar issues with me, in which I came to really enjoy the first half of the song and had trouble figuring out how to rank a song that would get an amazing score if it just ended when I wanted it to.

...honestly not sure what score Night ultimately wound up, but you may be interested to know that I spent a lot of time last year listening to an abridged version of Act IV; Start at Night on the Town, skip to The Squeaky Wheel once the parts I enjoyed from the former song were over, then Bitter Suite IV & V; skip ahead to King of Swords/If All Goes Well [which I personally treat as one long track, regardless of how they're divided] and finish with The Line. ...Though I may have already said this when discussing one of the songs from Act V? Well, whatever. It's been too many months for me to remember what I've actually said and what I just thought about saying.)

...I've lost track of where I was in this writeup. Aaanywho, amazing chorus & fantastic instrumental section, verses range from "okay' to "actively interrupting the part I like best" and hold the song back. I'd say that's more worthy of a high 50s placement.

[Final Thoughts: The soaring (lyrical reference intended) choruses are fantastic and the slow fall starting after the six minute mark is amazing (the lyrical portion of The Fall is fine), but the rest of the song is... well, something that feels like it belongs much closer to the Initial Score, to be frank. I still have positive feelings for the song--it has way too many positive sections to drop back below the 50 point mark--but I think I over-corrected a bit and that this should be a peg below the 55 point barrier.]

[Later: Just moving this song up one placement. Also for anyone who might want to hear the unrelated song that was referenced in the main writeup

The Family Crest - The Mighty Echo (5:10):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEvIYcEyaZc]

I can't remember how highly that song placed at whichever ranking it was at, but since I didn't get super into it until after that ranking ended, I'll say it was probably not ranked highly enough. Though that is an even more unrelated topic detour than usual.]

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

~Six perfect lists remain~

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

#693: VileDriver - Gnaw Your Tongue (3:29):
https://youtu.be/hMcdzIio9xM

Nominator: Snake [30/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 60.11
Revised Score: 53.61
Final Score: 53.776

(First Reaction: *before listening to anything* I know the band name is a play on Piledriver, but every time I see Piledriver written, I immediately get Koko B. Ware's Piledriver song stuck in my head:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZfMsBitPIQ

I swear that song is better than it has any right to be. Also, did you know the Piledriver Album had a VHS release? I actually owned the tape growing up, we bought it from some video rental place at some point which... feels kinda odd now that I'm thinking about it... all the videos in the world and they had an old copy of WWF music videos lying around? I mean, I guess that's a thing that could have happened and we definitely did own the tape, but I suppose my memory of when/where we bought it might have gotten mixed up at some point.

....Aaanywho, I guess I should play the song I'm supposed to be listening to, which I'm sure will be quite the tonal shift from novelty wrestling songs.:

Yep, that was definitely a shift. Can't say I made out many words or remember much about the song itself, but I think I somehow liked it anyway.)

!Actually looking back, I recall "Wrestlemania: The Album" had a VHS with a couple music videos on it & I got that video from a different rental place when they went out of business. *insert Doofenshmirtz "If I had a nickel for everytime my family bought a VHS of WWF music videos from a local video store that was going out of business, I'd have two nickels" meme here*.

Aaaaanywho...., the drumming is a bit too much for me tonight.... I do like the intro part, before the song really gets started & I obviously enjoy the song when I'm in the mood for something more intense, but this is unfortunately not what I'm looking for at this exact moment.

[Final Thoughts: Probably one of the better examples of this type of intense brand of metal, but still a bit heavier than I'm currently looking for. Could definitely go up a tier or two on the right day though. I still really like that intro though.]

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

-wow-

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

#692: Franchouchou - DEAD or RAP!!! (2:22):
https://open.spotify.com/track/3TOEZRQfgPydsgzuMOeiZK?si=5ac408b0501a417e

Nominator: Player_0 [27/33 Remaining]

Initial Score: 24.16
Revised Score: 38.74
Final Score: 38.74 [Upgraded to 53.78]

(First Reaction: A rap battle between zombie idols is a great idea and I love some of the lines ("You're not even trying to hide it! What kind of idol's head comes off?!"), but the backing music is well below average and I don't think this song style suited either of their voices. This is a pretty big miss from what, on paper, should have been one of the highest scoring songs.)

My opinion hasn't changed, but I do feel the scoring was too harsh. It's a fun idea with good lyrics (the next-to-last verse is oddly inspirational) and I don't have a problem with either of the performers... while I still find the music a little unappealing, I think the concept is solid enough that this is more of an "I didn't like this" song than one I actively disliked.

*an undefined amount of time later*

Alright, alright, I need to put more effort in than that. First, I'm using the Wiki to get lyrics for these songs:

https://zombieland-saga.fandom.com/wiki/DEAD_or_RAP

I'm unsure if the "English" or "English Dub" tab is the most faithful, as there are points where the translations are rather opposite of each other: Compare:

Who cares if you've got memories in your head?
You won't see your friends
And your Tamagotchi's long dead!

to

I don't care about no memories before some swan song
It's not like I can see my friends, my Tamagotchi's long-gone

Pronouns make it difficult to describe, but the first has Saki telling Sakura that Sakura won't see [Sakura['s friends from her previous line again, while the dub has Saki lamenting that Saki won't see [Saki]'s friends again. They're similar lines, obviously, but I find the first makes more sense in context. Angrily shouting at someone that they can't see their friends ever again feels like the more logical translation than the sadder "I can't see my friends" verse from the dub.

Anyhow, it's the next-to-last verse that interests me, as simple as it is (it's also not part of the dub, making the above paragraph rather irrelevant):

Quit coming up with excuses about why you can't win!
If you got a little chance, try to do that then!
Even a zombie can do it if she tries,
And when you prove it, it shows dead souls can rise!

I'm not saying that I identify as undead, but that verse actually resonates with me more than traditionally inspirational words do. And it's awfully close to being enough to propel this song to a high tier... but there's still something missing. It could just be that I wish there were a better backing track to accompany the verses, or that the more comedic earlier verses don't accentuate the feelings, or some third thing, or all of the above. But while that verse almost makes me want to jump this towards the top of the list, it's just not enough by itself.

[Final Thoughts: The lyrics aren't quite enough to save this track from the 30 point tier, though they're definitely a good attempt.]

[Later: Okay, I refuse to let anything with these lyrics fall below the 50 point tier. It's too close to being a 90 point song to not make it into the positive half of the scoring system. That being said, I'm still not into the backing music & this isn't the best use of their voices, so I'm hesitating to move this up any further... ehhh... let's try putting this at the early 50's for now and see if I decide to save it at the last minute again.]

[Later: Been a long time since I moved this one up the list... in direct contrast to [REDACTED] that kept getting little nudges over specific songs, this one was just thrown several tiers away with one large point increase. Conveniently, I think this is a fine place for its elimination, so that score actually worked out in the end.

Also, this does work a bit better in context with the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOcERX0MzCE

The way the manager/director/whatever starts beatboxing to pretend this is part of the show is actually funny, and blue haired girl helping by reattaching someone's severed head is actually kinda cute.]

[Sidenote: There is one specific song that's kept getting very minor point increases to save it every day for... like, about a week now? Where listening to it and deciding not to eliminate it, while also not feeling strongly enough to give it a lot of points, has become part of the morning routine. It was *supposed* to be finally eliminated immediately before this song, but... well, obviously it wasn't, and I'll just REDACT that part to leave some mystery about what the undying song is.]

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

And the last track of the morning:

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

#691: Lee Morgan - Ceora (6:23):
https://youtu.be/uRjshy_n_yE

Nominator: Haste [24/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.78
Revised Score: 51.47
Final Score: 53.79

(First Reaction: Well, I do like relaxing music and it has multiple saxophones in it, but... well, it was a very good attempt. in theory.)

[Final Thoughts: For unknown reasons the main writeup was left completely blank. Like, absolutely and completely blank, without even a note about there not being a writeup. Weird.

This song is nice and relaxing, but not quite relaxing enough that I fall in love with it or have a strong reaction to it. It's just quite nice.]

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

Mighty Echo definitely ended up top 10 in that ranking, if not top 5. Can't remember precisely myself. But either way, it's fun that it's stuck with you that much in the time since!

#718: Fraser Edwards - Stop Saying We Sound Like Dragonforce (4:43):

#716: WWF Attitude Era Intro [0:13]:

Messed up the counting there for some reason. Attitude Intro should be #717 and every song posted since then should be listed as one rank lower, so Ceora should be #692nd place.

Will try to do a few extra eliminations tomorrow to round out the bottom 100 songs, which would be a good time to recheck my numbers & see if there are any other glaring inconsistencies that need to be fixed.

NBIceman posted...

Mighty Echo definitely ended up top 10 in that ranking, if not top 5. Can't remember precisely myself. But either way, it's fun that it's stuck with you that much in the time since!

Was it? Well, then I feel better. I do remember it having abysmal scores on the first two listens and it finally clicking at the last moment, but I couldn't recall how much of a boost to its score I actually gave. Either way, I went back to that song quite often, so it's good to know that it did get a relatively high score.

Still perfect! But I like Falling Back to Earth more than most of the songs I nominated, so it doesn't feel like it!

I do love Falling Back to Earth, but I can also agree that it has some relative down moments across its runtime compared to the highs it hits. I kinda figured it would compare to ANoTT for the purposes of this list since I think you have to be a certain level of prog fanatic like I am to be forgiving enough of that sort of thing to love longer songs in their totality.

Just wait until next list when I finally nominate Thick as a Brick. I probably won't do that.

NBIceman posted...

Just wait until next list when I finally nominate Thick as a Brick. I probably won't do that.

That one does seem a bit... long.

Anyway, one track for the moment because I'm running very late once again, with the song that's actually in 691st Place after fixing the numbering.

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

#691: Hajime Wakai - Area 6 Ver. 2 [3:01]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qk1Ijz1mgM

Nominator: @TunnelScene [26/27 Remaining]

Initial Score: 59.64
Revised Score: 54.99
Final Score: 53.80

(First Reaction: I'm not typically a fan of Smash Bros. remixes as they tend to either lose the charm of the original songs when modernized, be very "battle music"-y since they're literally battle music, or both. This song is definitely an exception though; it's an incredibly computerized remix, taking a song I don't care about at all and making it a "rapidly descending through cyberspace" poppy tech thing that's honestly rather nice.)

!Cyber Battle Theme is neat, but perhaps a bit too battle-y for my blood right now.

[Final Thoughts: Cyberspace is still a fun setting for a song and I somewhat like the things this is doing, but it's lost a bit of its charm now that I know what to expect from it. It's still fairly neat and I'll gladly listen to it some more, but it's sliding down a fair bit from the first impression.]

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

~5 perfect lists remain~

i love thick as a brick! i definitely fall into the category of "prog fanatic with a high tolerance for long songs," though.

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

#690: Kenji Ito - Battle #5 (3:20):
https://open.spotify.com/track/5jv6z8wNqx0WnbpYy9qgny?si=114d0e14552f49d6

Nominator: CPU [26/30 Remaining

Initial Score: 50.4729
Revised Score: 54.00
Final Score: 53.81

(First Reaction: Not the type of Battle Theme that bores me, but RPG Battle Music is still far from my favorite genre.)

It's better than most battle themes because there's a sense of hopefulness mixed in with the RAHHH BATTTLE aspects, very "not giving in against a powerful threat" vibes and I can get kinda into that. It also doesn't feel overly epic or intense, so it doesn't put me to sleep or become tedious, so that practically puts into a high tier of battle themes by itself. It's just not really a style of music that I tend to favor, so it's an... "I like it, but not really 60 points like it like it" type song. Good enough and great for what it is, but not exactly something I'm looking for right now.

[Final Thoughts: A desperate struggle with hope in their hearts. Good battle theme and more emotions than expected from the genre, but still not a preferred style of song.]

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

-Mission Clear-

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

#689: 5uu's - Mangate [2:59]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7u-cqPhhrc

Nominator: @TunnelScene [25/27 Remaining]

Initial Score: 52.16
Revised Score: 52.94
Final Score: 53.90

(First Reaction: This is the swirly eyed emoticon converted into audio form.)

Definitely one of the strangest tracks ever nominated, but it's not quite an oddness that I find pleasing. It's like the audio is skipping with lots of "pulsing silences" which are rather the exact opposite of pleasing... I mean, it's interesting as a concept and lends it a very alien feel, but it's not exactly something I'd choose to experience on a regular basis. So... positive points for standing out and being very unique, but not all that far into the positive point categories because it's not a very 'fun unique'? I dunno. It kinda defies being judged at all.

[Final Thoughts: I'm conflicted between "I really want to get more experimental and weird songs like this so I should give it a very high score to manipulate future nominations" and "I'm honestly not *that* into it, as much as I appreciate it being here". I suppose I'll go with what feels like the most accurate socre with a note that I want more like this, even though the score doesn't entirely reflect that reality.]

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

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

#688: Retro Remix Revue - Gnat Attack Level 1 (5:30):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CHeElGXCew

Nominator: DoctorJimmy [20/24 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.07
Revised Score: 53.03
Final Score: 54.07

(First Reaction: This sax feels too high-pitched for me and I don't like the first two and a half minutes of the song, but once that piano comes in, I actually start getting into it. It's a shame that it drops the piano relatively quickly and goes back to normal...still, I think the section with the piano is strong enough to justify moving it past the 50 point barrier? Possibly...)

This is probably just my imagination, but parts of this are reminding me of The Office's Dunder Mifflin commercial--not Michael's version, the one corporate used with the customer stumbling around a big box store unable to find anyone to help them? I swear this is "aimlessly wandering around a large store while everyone refuses to help you" music. ...Which, okay, I guess it inspired thoughts of an experience of some sort and that's worth an extra two or three points. Certainly not the best environment, but "wow, this music makes me feel like I'm in Staples!" is definitely something different.

I don't think "big band jazz" is really a genre I'll become a fan of, but the piano section is pretty nifty & it's a vast, vast improvement over the original (wow, I do not like the original song at all), so not bad. I wouldn't be against listening to more of their music as this shows a lot of promise, even if it's not one of my favorites.

[Final Thoughts: Today the.... whatever percussion instrument in the intro (Bongos, drums, whatevs) is reminding me of "Boo Boo, Baba, Dee Dee":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEc4gDFHEBw

Which is not a good song, but continues to get stuck in my head on a regular basis. Aaanywho, this track is... well, still roughly like roaming around Staples, but I'll take whatever weird fantasy dream sequences I can get at the moment.]

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

-for the revolution of the world-

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

#687: Eric Ewazan - Colchester Fantasy: IV. The Red Lion (4:35):
https://youtu.be/t2ZYPsSZKBo

Nominator: Haste [23/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 44.-10 [treated as equivalent to "43.90"]
Revised Score: 56.14
Final Score: 54.073

(First Reaction: This is the first song I've ever wanted to give a negative decimal placement to, which throws off all the sorting because"forty-four point negative ten" is not a thing. I suppose I'll just have to subtract .10 points from 44 to get an actual number, but I am doing so under protest.)

"The Red Lion"... is a resonant fugue, propelled forward with motoric motion and a rapid, spinning fugue theme.

I'm not sure I've even heard of "fugue" in a musical context. Fugue states, yes, but musical fugues feel like a new concept. That's kinda neat, I suppose. Song itself is nicer than I remembered it being, though it's another in the pile of 'good instrumentals that don't make me think of anything specific'... I like listening to it a fair amount, but I can't really tell you why or go off on any unrelated tangents. It's just... nice.

I'd say the end feels a bit anticlimactic, but that's the only tangible drawback I can find.

[Final Thoughts: I wish I had something to say here, but I really don't. It's just a nice song.]

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

And two more should finish the first hundred songs:

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

#686: FranC a.k.a. Top Dolla - Thank You // 89 Days (2:20):
https://youtu.be/icf_S5WJhQ4

Nominator: Mega_Mana [32/38 Remaining[

Initial Score: 54.196
Revised Score: 58.03
Final Score: 54.086

(First Reaction: It's a thing. I wouldn't ever call this a good song, but I did have a smile on my face throughout the whole thing.)

I do like wrestlers singing. I imagine I've mentioned my fondness for Piledriver: The Wrestling Album and Wrestlemania: The Album before, yes? I know I've posted songs from both of them at topics in the past at least... either way, this is fine. He stays classy throughout the rap and doesn't attack his former employer, which I can respect. He's having fun joking about taking their money during his 90 day "no compete" clause, but keeping things tame enough that it's unlikely to cause any bad blood between him & the WWE. It's certainly better than Max Caster's "edgy for the sake of being edgy" nonsense.

(I'm not offended by Caster and acknowledge the gimmick works well for him, but I also can't think of a single time where I enjoyed his raps & I fear he's going to get himself in real trouble one day because even after being pulled from TV for weeks due to backlash against him, he's still cutting promos that have to be edited out on Rampage. Though that's not really my business and I've gotten wildly off topic again.)

This nominated song... it's alright. It's kinda funny, it showcases him more than WWE ever did, and doesn't drag on or overstay its welcome. That being said, there's not a lot here to talk about... keeping things classy was probably the right idea, but it also means there's no real "bite" to the song or any hard-hitting lyrics to react to. You just smile, chuckle lightly, and move along.

[Final Thoughts: Well, Top Dolla is back with WWE & The Acclaimed are arguably the most over tag team in America right now, so a lot has changed since the Revised Score was typed up. Song is a cute novelty, but hearing him rap about all the different promotions he could sign with is kinda flat now that he's right back where he started. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he got his job back and he's doing fine, but this song has not aged terribly well over the past year and it wasn't really one of my favorites back then either. It's neat and worth a light chuckle, but I think I'm moving it back down the list a bit.]

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

-louder-

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

#685: Every Time I Die - Sly (2:31):
https://open.spotify.com/track/3wrzwtxePQBL7MZUAd8I1x?si=3a6eaf3ee41b458d

Nominator: Bane [32/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 51.00
Revised Score: 51.00
Final Score: 51.00 [Upgraded to 51.50] [Upgraded to 51.91] [Upgraded to 53.90] [Upgraded to 54.09]

(First Reaction: The lyrics absolutely nail the depressive vibe I'm typically into with lines like "can't kill a man whose never felt alive" which wouldn't be out of place in a Linkin Park song, but the song is so high-speed and intense that I don't really get a chance to enjoy the feelings.)

I don't want to say I dislike Buckley's rage in general, because there are definitely tracks on this album in which it works to his advantage. I just don't care for it on this track because I find (most of) the lyrics put me in the mood for 'quiet sadness' rather than 'loud anger'.

I get what I don't want until I want it
Then it falls away
...
Can't kill a man whose never felt alive
,,,
I'd give it what I got but I have lost it

Feels like mopey lyrics. Just try to picture Eeyore delivering that line.

Rabbit: Come on and give it what you've got!

Eeyore: I'd give it what I got, but I lost that too...

...Seriously, you can just hear the tragically comedic levels of depression. But the delivery of the lyrics is all "RARR, I'M GONNA RAM MY WORTHLESS HEAD THROUGH THIS WALL AND DEVOUR THE BRAINS THAT ARE LEAKING FROM MY BROKEN SKULL!!!!" which definitely has its place, but not on this song. Not for me anyway.

[Final Thoughts: Fantastic lyrics, but I'd prefering dialing the intensity down to... like... 15% of what it's at. ]

[Later: Minor boost to scoring.]

[Later: Another minor boost, but as great as the lyrics are, I think this is the song's limit.]

[...Later: Song is stuck in my head, so I guess I've changed my mind and am moving it up a few extra points.]

[Plip: A lot of minor shuffling going on around this point of the list.]

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

++++++++++++

REMAINING SONG COUNT:

Bane: 32/38
BlackDra90n: 26/30
cakophon: 17/20
CPU: 26/30
DoctorJimmy: 20/24
handsomeboy: 29/31
Haste: 23/31
hotdogturtle: 11/14
Jesse_Custer: 28/29
Kopazzynth: 16/21
Lasa: 11/14
Mega Mana: 32/38
Metalmind: 24/25
Murphiroth: 24*/32
NBIceman: 21/22
NFUN: 26/31
paulg: 42/52
Player_0: 27/33
Raka: 30/31
rwlh: 20/24
sergio: 9/13
Shonen_Bat: 1/2
Snake: 30/32
TunnelScene: 25/27
UF8: 27/30
Xtlm: 11/13

*23/32 for Murphiroth if you're counting Reality TV which has a posted score, but was retroactively un-eliminated.

And five remain with perfect scores:

CJones: 18/18
Dragon66116: 12/12
kateee: 21/21
TheArkOfTurus: 17/17
ZaziGuado: 28/28

++++++++++++

Mostly posting that for my benefit, to make sure all the numbers are checking out correctly because I do so much last minute shuffling and tend to make a lot of mistakes... fortunately, while there have been some errors, they've been minor and easily corrected so things are going relatively smoothly thus far.

woo i actually predicted correctly; that you wouldn't like the hajime wakai one all that much (it was my guess that it'd be among the lowest of my noms). i mostly picked it since my set was defined largely around "my favorite musicians that no one's nommed a song by for your topic yet", and hajime wakai's somewhere in my top 20-30 fav composers. but i picked the track because i know you can get into electronic sounds, and it was supremely electronic without being pulsating edm, so thought it was worth a shot!

anyway in regards to the 5uu's one: the band 5uu's is actually entirely different in style from Mangate most of the time. they're mostly very dissonant and aggressive prog rock, that's usually not very electronic at all. Mangate was apparently the work of Thomas Dimuzio specifically, he was sorta a special guest that sometimes contributed experimental electronic effect elements to 5uu's tracks, with Mangate being the one time i know of where he wrote an entire track for them. I've never explored his work deeply myself, but if you want more that sounds like Mangate, Thomas Dimuzio would be the individual to look into, rather than 5uu's as a band themselves. (all this said, given the theme of my noms, 5uu's is /also/ one of my favorite bands of all time, but if you dig into them, expect it to sound more like Frank Zappa or Bubblemath)

i could of course recommend other stuff similar to mangate by other artists too that you might get into more; but i'll save that for later as i'm sure this the topic of experimental electronic stuff will come up again with my remaining noms.

I'll add a note to try listening to another song or two by Dimuzio and 5uu's after the ranking finishes. And yeah, we're definitely talk about experimental and odd things in the future--we've still got a long way to go.

By coincidence, our next two songs started relatively close to each other in the 58 point section and both eventually fell down to the 54 point level, ultimately winding up close to each other once again.

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

#684: Hugh Masekala - Grazing in the Grass (2:38):
https://youtu.be/qxXZF60EPdM

Nominator: Mega_Mana [31/38 Remaining[

Initial Score: 58.26
Revised Score: 58.26
Final Score: 54.09876

(First Reaction: There was a brief moment of confusion as this was incredibly familiar, yet slightly wrong. Apparently I've heard the "Friends of Distinction" lyrical cover on the radio a lot, which would explain why a pure instrumental version is so recognizable while probably being something I hadn't heard much (if at all). It's pretty nice! It doesn't make me imagine anything in particular, but it's a quiet bit of nostalgia and an enjoyable way to relax a bit.)

!It's nice, but I do vastly prefer the lyrical cover... thankfully, you nominated both, so that kinda works out.

[Final Thoughts: It's nice, but I prefer the other nominated version of the song so drastically that I'm not sure I'd ever choose to listen to the instrumental version again. It's kinda trapped by the same "this is fine, but there's a much better version of this song" pitfall that Lily's Practice Singing fell into.]

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

-can you dig it?-

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

#683: Johnny Alf - Disa [2:36]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpi-ewX2pH0

Nominator: cakophon [16/20 Remaining]

Initial Score: 58.14
Revised Score: 53.61
Final Score: 51.07 [Upgraded to 54.0007] [Upgraded to 54.10]

(First Reaction: The instrumentals are quite pleasing, but I'm not wild about his voice... it's not bad, he's just not one of my favorite vocalists or anything.)

!It's nice, but not exactly what I'm looking for right now.

[Final Thoughts: I don't know. It's quite nice and different enough from the average nomination that I appreciate it being here, but I don't have a strong attachment to it and it seems to fall a few points everytime I listen to it. It also has the surprisingly common problem where there isn't a satisfying end to the song, it just kinda stops rather suddenly.]

[Later: It's a very smooth song with some fairly pleasingly sweet lyrics. Nothing too specific about why he loves Disa, but there's something romantic in how charmingly simple it is.

...Well, now I want to move this song a bit further up the list too...]

[Later: Just the usual slight editing of scores to rearrange a few songs.]

[Final Final: I can definitely see why I liked this song so much initially. The instrumental break towards the end of the song is quite pretty and the lyrics are so simply sweet as to be incredibly endearing. But, as I've said before, we're getting to a point where I don't particularly wish to eliminate any of the songs that are coming up... I could raise the score, but then I'd have to raise the score of everything else & this would still be in 683rd place anyway.]

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

Raetsel_Lapin posted...

#694: Haken - Falling Back to Earth (11:50):
https://youtu.be/adHGrSP43QE

Nominator: NBIceman [21/22 Remaining]

Initial Score: 39.96
Revised Score: 58.62
Final Score: 53.76 [Upgraded to 53.772]

Nice to see another Haken fan. I also nominated a song from The Mountain (my favorite Haken album BTW). I actually considered nominating Falling Back to Earth, but didn't largely because of the complaints already mentioned. The chorus is great, but the song is overly long. Still, this does not bode particularly well for some of my picks (none of which we've seen yet).

Ah I gotta react to Sly dropping, I'll have to do it this evening after work. Glad you still enjoy the lyrics!

CJones posted...

Nice to see another Haken fan. I also nominated a song from The Mountain (my favorite Haken album BTW).

You did?

*rummages through the list*

Huh. I actually hadn't noticed that song was by the same by the band, much less from the same album. And I thought I'd gotten better at noticing such things. Oh well.

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

#682: Linkin Park - A Place for My Head (3:04):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th-VIM6_GSc&list=PLSZnrWBCBT3ng1xEWEkXC91StoZjD8BP3&index=9

Nominator: Mega_Mana [30/38 Remaining[

Initial Score: 53.56
Revised Score: 54.09
Final Score: 54.17

(First Reaction: Ehh.. there's a nice anger running through the song, but it's not an anger that I can personally relate to. It's fine.)

Honestly, that first reaction said everything that actually needed to be said and I'm still in a bit of a funk where I don't actually want to say much at all, so trying to expand on something that doesn't truly *need* the expansion is... difficult, but I'm not getting out of this without forcing myself to start typing random stuff, so let's push ahead & endlessly repeat the first statement in slightly different ways to create the illusion of content.

(And that paragraph seems rather long for saying nothing, so the illusion is totally working!)

I feel like the best part of the song, contrary to what one would expect from me, is actually the interlude/bridge. While it is repeating the same phrase ("You try to take the best of me, go away") over-and-over, the way it builds from quietly whispering and begging them to leave the singer alone before Chester snaps and starts screaming the phrase is actually quite pleasing. It's one of those "repetition done right" moments that are incredibly rare in music.

The song is also a decent showcase of what the band can do. Rapid-fire lyrics with a good flow, an almost pop music like chorus with clear vocals, metal yelling, Mike & Chester could do just about anything between the two of them and they cover a lot of ground in just over three minutes. It's pretty neat.

But... I can't say I have any personal experience with people like the one the song is about. People demanding favors be repaid and feeling entitled to my time & energy is completely foreign; I can appreciate the energy of the song and how infuriating it would be, but I can only appreciate it in a fairly abstract way that prevents me from making a real emotional connection with the song. So it's good and I like it, but not as much as I love the songs that I can connect with.

[Final Thoughts: A very fine song that I just can't quite click with.]

[Later: It definitely feels like a song that's so good I should have it higher, but I honestly think I prefer everything that's left.]

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

-beyond dreams and reality-

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

#681: Nijisanji ID - into reality (4:21):
https://open.spotify.com/track/6Gv3Qh3eRq6h4mhZqgppoP?si=29c7670ee9c7463d

Nominator: @Raka_Putra [29/31 Remaining]

Initial Score: 54.00
Revised Score: 53.90
Final Score: 54.19

(First Reaction: Too happy and optimistic for me, but it's a perfectly fine group vtuber song.)

Together well weave harmonies
And keep on dreaming
Welcoming the sunshine as we create more

Song is too bright and sunny, but it does have its high points. There are some cute singers here (see: everyone involved in the chorus that opens the song) and I like whoever starts singing around the two minute mark--the voice sounds distant and as though it were coming from a broken machine, giving it this lo-fi quality that makes their verse the stand out of the entire song. Unfortunately, I don't think the rest of the song really compares to those moments... it's certainly good for what it is, but overly happy group songs aren't often my thing & I think there might be a few too many voices on the track because it wants to showcase everyone instead of focusing on those who best suit it.

...that's another writeup that came off harsher than I meant it to. I'll end by reaffirming my enjoyment of the verse around two minutes into the song and say I'd like to hear more from them some day.

[Final Thoughts: "Azura Cecillia" is apparently the singer I'm looking for, though it may just be an audio effect applied to that part of the song rather than something about her specifically--looks like Miyu's voice has the same effect in this song and Azura's voice doesn't sound like this anywhere else that I've noticed, though I haven't looked too hard. That's a shame.

Either way, the song still has a few too many singers & is a bit happier than I'd like, but it's pretty nice.]

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

One last song for the day, which is very appropriately timed.

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

#680: Ace Attorney 6: Spirit Of Justice - Jingle ~ Take a Breather [0:06]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrwNOXCjg_A

Nominator: paulg [41/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.15
Revised Score: 52.11
Final Score: 54.69

(First Reaction: I guess it's nice enough, but I don't have much of an opinion on it... like it's better than an exactly 50 point song, but not by much.)

It is a six second track that acts as an intermission between acts. It's fine? It serves its role perfectly well, but I have a hard time imagining when I'd want to listen to it as an actual song.

...why the Spirit of Justice version of the jingle specifically anyway?

[Final Thoughts: Coincidentally this song wound up being the last song I listened to tonight before taking a break, so that's kinda fun.]

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

And now... I may have a 50+ way tie starting tomorrow. There are supposed to be many, many songs left between here and the 55 point tier but... uhh... I kinda like all of them enough that I want to give them all those last fractions of a point they need to reach it? Which has the side-effect of creating a massive wall of 55 point songs.

Which isn't how a ranking is supposed to go, but then I explicitly have the right to tie songs (...granted, it wasn't meant to be used in this manner) & that's just how things wind up. If

A: I refuse to let these songs have less than 55 points

&

B: I don't want to move many of them over the songs that already have 55.0000001 or more points

then

C=A ludicrously massive pileup at the exactly 55 points line.

So, we'll see what I wind up doing with the chaotic mess that I've spontaneously forced myself into tomorrow.

Dang, three more songs out, and my phone did stupid and refreshed my comments. Bleh

89 Days: Fresh at the time, not aged well. Should be better in ten years as a peek back at the landscape of wrestling and Vince's chaotic last year running WWE.

Grazing Masekala: Couldn't choose between the two so nommed both. A credit to my jazz-loving co-worker.

A Place For My Head: Interlude/bridhe is awesome. Little comment on album exits.

#680: Ace Attorney 6: Spirit Of Justice - Jingle ~ Take a Breather [0:06]:

Dang paulg! You did six seconds right! Much jealous

Okay, so current plan for the next few days:

1: Every remaining song with fewer than 55 points has been upgraded to 55 points, effective immediately. I've already updated this change on all of my pages & it'd be a pain to change it back, so it's a bit too late to change things now. ...I mean, I <i>could</i>, but I'd rather not.

2: This means that there's going to be a lot of tied songs, which will take a few days to go through. We'll be dropping ten songs a day, at least until the Wall o' 55 is resolved and this goes back to being a normal ranking topic. ...or whatever passes for a normal ranking topic for us at any rate

3: Like always, songs that are tied right now may be given additional points at any time to move them out of being tied... which means I don't exactly know how many songs will wind up being tied by the time the Wall ends. So I kinda don't know what placement to assign anything right now; everything's going to be at #??? place until the Wall is fully resolved.

4: While the songs are tied, they will be eliminated in the originally scheduled order... I did consider grouping all of an individual's nominations together, but I feel it's more dramatic if there's seemingly no rhyme or reason to the order the tied songs are posted.

It's nonsensical, but this is a place where reason goes to die & you were warned about CHAOS in the opening post. ....after you'd already nominated and it was too late to escape, but still, there was something resembling a warning.

I'd be more surprised/concerned if there wasn't some chaos, honestly. Part of the charm of these, and I really hope that doesn't come across as an insult because I do not mean it to be. @_@

IhatethisCPU posted...

I'd be more surprised/concerned if there wasn't some chaos, honestly. Part of the charm of these

Thank you, thank you, you're far too kind.

(Yes, I am referencing Top Dolla's song for no apparent reason).

No grand introduction to The Wall because I'm running very late again, per usual; I also might be rather busy this morning and afternoon, so the other songs may be a bit late. For now, two additions to the wall:

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

???: Serj Tankian - Uneducated Democracy (3:59):
https://open.spotify.com/track/010o0pHliNnM00gruUzrGT?si=995bc698ffc04de8

Nominator: Murphiroth [23*/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 59.66
Revised Score: 59.66
Final Score: 54.105 [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: It's admittedly not my favorite song of the album since I find the intense drumming to be too much and it feels like there's a bit too much repetition, but I like the concept and find the frankness of the lyrics quite appealing. The need for education in order to have a functional democracy is something that should be obvious, but is actually something personally relevant to me for reasons I won't be repeating.)

!Good idea and message, but performed in a way that I don't exactly enjoy... I like the idea enough that it's *close* to the 60 point mark, but not quite there.

[Final Thoughts: It's a topic that is quite important to me, but the song is a lot to take in. A lot of heavy drumming, heavy subject matter which gives me heavy flashbacks, it's... a thing. A thing that is very hard to assign a score to--very relevant, but also a type of brutality that I have to be in the right headspace to actually appreciate.]

[Later: I don't really wish to get into my past right now, but for the benefit of those who weren't here at whatever year I admitted this, the CliffsNotes version:

1: I was homeschooled throughout most of middle school & all of high school

2: It was an extreme right wing Christian propoganda curriculum that amongst other things taught that dinosaurs still roam the Earth, that Republicans are called right wing because right means correct, and that Democrats are literally controlled by Satan. Feel to free to do your own research on Accelerated Christian Education if you want more examples.

I won't be answering questions about it or going any further in depth, but it's been a bit of an "open secret" for a while now. Anyway, the subject matter of the song is actually quite relevant to me, because I'm well aware of the end game of destroying education to create mindless drones & ending democracy that way. Kinda one of the key-defining moments of my life and all. But while it's an important message and I love what the song is going for, I'm not in love with the actual song. Ultimately, I think it's something I kinda like and fits into the Wall.]

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

-all in all-

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

???: Steve Reich - New York Counterpoint [11:10]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f00g_BjHBA

Nominator: @TunnelScene [24/27 Remaining]

Initial Score: 53.60
Revised Score: 52.686
Final Score: 54.00 [Upgraded to 54.093] [Upgraded to 54.21] [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: This song makes a good sleep aid. I actually started drifting off enough that I flomped over by the song's halfway point. It's certainly a different sound than I'm used to from saxophones and it's interesting in an educational way, as well as being fairly nice to listen to.. but it's not quite the sound, energy, or vibe I hope for when I think of the instrument.)

I don't want to come off sounding ungrateful for you showing me a different side of saxophones (it was actually probably quite important), but I'm not sure this arrangement is the best showcase of the song. The first result when I search for this on Spotify has an incredibly powerful opening:

https://open.spotify.com/album/5soWTu3yNqQf548CYcd87I

Granted, it could just be the audio mixing or something, but the reverberations surround the listener in a "whoa, this is really cool" type way that doesn't quite come through in the nominated version. And... why does this feel so incredibly familiar? Did I check out this song at the end of last year's topic??

[Steve Reich] appears on a Best of Avant Garde complication, so that probably explains how his name came upI do like some weird things. I suppose well start with his song from said compilation album:

Steve Reich, Nicolas Prost - New York Counterpoint, Pt. 3: ...Somehow manages to be incredibly repetitive and strangely compelling at the same time, which is... interesting. 60 points, though I dont know how well itd hold up to repeated listens.

...No one called out my inadvertantly typing "complication" instead of "compliation", huh? Either way, I guess I did listen to one-third of New York Counterpoint, but it was inexplicably a different version than the nominated track & the version I was just talking about. That's kinda weird. Also, my apologies for not recognizing his name sooner... you did suggest a fair number of songs near the end of that topic & mentioned how important his music was to you, so I really should have remembered him... in my defense there were a lot of post-topic songs posted, I only listened to most of them once, and I was a bit busy at the time I was going through the Steve Reich songs. It's not much of an excuse though.

Aaaanywho, I don't think I'm into this particular brand of minimalism, but it's still pretty good & some versions of the song have an intro that I love.

[Final Thoughts: It's kinda pretty and I know I'm being way too mean to this song, but I'm still missing a personal connection to the music. There's that "oh hey, this is kinda pretty" feeling and none of the song's movements really hit me any harder than that. I'm sorry; I'm glad you nominated something so important to you and I *want* to love this, but it joins so many other instrumentals in a kinda "appreciate but don't get emotionally attached enough to make it to the 60 point level" area.]

[Later: Actually, I really like the opening to this song tonight. The reverb is an amazing effect and for the first minute and a half, I really wanted to jump this up to the 60 point tier. Unfortunately, the song doesn't really do that type of effect again; there's some hint of it in the background at times (most notably around the 4:30 mark, I think), but it's largely a style of minimalism that I'm not quite as into, i'm afraid.]

[Later-er: Raising this up a few places.]

[Still Later: To be fair, the song does revisit the reverb effect a few more times than I remembered it and I do kinda like this.]

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

Two of the remaining perfect lists add a song to the Wall:

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

???: Maximum the Hormone - Bikini Sports Ponchin (3:56):
https://open.spotify.com/track/3BihXsqsixdEBgqiY0K5w4?si=b3fbbff3f285448d

Nominator: Kateee [20/21 Remaining]

Initial Score: 63.35
Revised Score: 58.29
Final Score: 53.785 [Upgraded to 54.26] [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: I see people calling the music video one of the most fucked up things they've ever seen, so I should probably thank you profusely for going with a link that doesn't include said video. The lyrics (what little I can make out) are way too explicit, but quite possibly a parody? ...Don't answer that, I don't want any further context. The auto-translated lyrics mentioned a labyrinth of diarrhea and I'm quite content to never learn anything further. Was any of that translated correctly? Is it a parody? Is this just what he's into (in which case, I do like that we're in a time-and-place in which he can both admit such things & find success, but also, personally do not want to hear about it)? These questions, and more, are things I don't want to know.

Either way, the song is fairly catchy and I like the absurdity this topic is taking, so I actually like this nomination? Okay then.)

!Less amused by the vulgarity tonight, but it's still oddly catchy enough that I kinda like it anyway.

[Final Thoughts: The chorus that keeps repeating the song title is catchy as all hell, to a point that I don't even mind the repetition in the slightest. The rest of the song is.... fine, though not quite what I'm looking for.]

[Later: Definitely has a great chorus that routinely gets stuck in my head, but I think this is about as far up the list as i want to move it.]

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

-generic divider-

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

???: Diablo Swing Orchestra - Malign Monologues [5:00]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3XBrlNt8U8&list=PLbqs-W3v0JokCip1yCvbDS5Diki_yhvvC&index=7

Nominator: CJones [17/18 Remaining]

Initial Score: 62.16
Revised Score: 55.72
Final Score: 53.16 [Upgraded to 53.725] [Upgraded to 54.27] [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: Fun energy and some pleasing, dark lyrics about watching someone burn alive. Not my favorite villainous song of the topic, but still a nice addition.)

!Ehh... not quite a style of villain song I'm looking for at this exact moment. The lyrics are still fun, but I'm not really into the actual song itself that much...

[Final Thoughts: I dunno. I like villain songs, especially theatrical ones, and this is certainly an over-the-top theatrical villain song. But when I look at everything in the 55+ point tier, I find that I enjoy them a fair bit more than this and I'm not entirely sure why I'm not clicking with the literal definition of things I like. I'm just... not. I mean, it's fine and it's not exactly far removed from the next tier, but it's on a rather notable downward spiral and has fallen a tier with each listen.]

[Later: Minor boost.]

[Later-er: More substantial boost.]

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

~3 perfect lists remain~

And I turned out to not be busy, so things proceed on a normal schedule with the fifth & sixth additions to the wall:

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

???: Dorian Electra, Gaylord - Monk Mode (Interlude) (1:06):
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4xRLL3kkpvCfJwdnamywBB?si=d2f14b4f2647462f

Nominator: Bane [31/38 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.00
Revised Score: 50.85
Final Score: 50.435 [Upgraded to 50.947] [Upgraded to 51.45] [Upgraded to 54.36] [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: Ehhh.. I don't really care about a song from the perspective of the Red Pill community, even for the sake of making fun of them, so I don't particularly want to listen to this & there's nothing here for me in the lyrics. On the other hand, I like having an entire verse in latin and the not-quite-metal deep voice from Gaylord is oddly enjoyable. I both "kinda like" and "kinda moderately dislike" this song, so it could really fall anywhere in the 40s or 50s, but I'm going to place it in the true neutral zone of Exactly 50 points to start with... frankly, none of my feelings are strong enough that it should definitively go into the positive or negative categories.)

The intro to the song is fire--spoken word latin delivered in a deep, dramatic voice with dark, booming instruments that are *chef's kiss*. The rest of the song isn't half as good, but I still find Gaylord's performance enjoyable and we've even got a Parappa reference thrown in, so this song has quite a few things going for it. I just wish this greatness was used on a more appealing subject and that the track was longer--it's really split into two different halves, neither of which is really long enough. Definitely moving this into the positive score values, as there are certainly enough positives to it though, if only slightly.

[Final Thoughts: It's remarkable that a song can both be this short and divided into two halves. The opening is great, but the song completely abandons everything I liked about it and quickly ends. Still, I do kinda love the first 25 seconds.]

[Later: I slightly delayed this song's elimination because I do really, really like the opening... but the second half of the song really doesn't do anything for me and I find myself more drawn to the songs ranked above it which are (mostly) more consistent.]

[Still Later: It's a hard song to cut because that opening is so completely on point.]

[And Yet Later: Ehhh.... I guess I'll move the song up a few more points because I keep refusing to eliminate it.]

[Finally: The wall is a fine place for this song. I can finally stop deciding if I want it to be slightly above or slightly below all of these other songs and just slot it into a "kinda like" tier.]

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

-gwar-

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

???: Mori Calliope - guh (3:01):
https://open.spotify.com/track/1rae8blMgdy6WQgZAHxRXN?si=a038df0d2e414169

Nominator: Murphiroth [22*/32 Remaining]

Initial Score: 63.14
Revised Score: 59.00
FInal Score: 54.40 [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: Good song is good. One more track and then I can rest...)

!I still enjoy this a fair amount, but I'm not as drawn to the self-deprecating humor as I usually am tonight.

[Final Thoughts; I dunno. Usually the self-deprecation plays quite well with me and I have this as a highly rated song, but I'm not finding any specific lyrics that I'm attached to or feeling much of anything towards the song tonight. It's still better than everything eliminated before it, but I'm just not connecting with it anymore.]

[Later: The "give it up, give it up" part of the chorus is surprisingly catchy, but while I definitely kinda like this, I'm not feeling strongly enough about it to move it any further up the list and it shall be the next part of the Wall.]

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

Been curious to see which of the songs from Swagger and Stroll would be the first to fall. Malign Monologues is fun but definitely not among my favorites on the album.

Eighth and ninth bricks, before I grab some lunch. Last two songs after said lunch;

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

???: Iron Frill - Jellyfish (4:41):
https://open.spotify.com/track/1z0e1NS3w8z9QtuXa8HxwL?si=ed588ceb05d043e5

Nominator: Player_0 [26/33 Remaining]

Initial Score: 59.092
Revised Score: 59.03
Final Score: 54.44 [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: I'm not crazy for the song, but the lyrics about becoming fishes together are... a bit of a different metaphor for a love song, so that's a little neat.)

!It's not the best jpop love song, but it's a fun little bop with an interesting choice of metaphor (even if I'm aggressively not a fan of fish).

[Final Thoughts: Well I don't like fish, swimming, or being underwater so this is not quite my choice of metaphor for a love song... even trying to pretend that the song is literally about turning into jellyfish isn't exactly appealing. It's a catchy jpop love song, but I'm not really clicking with it as much as I did the first two times around. The backing track has its fair share of "thump thump thump" overly pronounced beats. They're not loud enough to be especially grating, but it's... well, not really a favorite trait, we'll say.]

[Later: A slight boost so the song can join everything around it in the Wall.]

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

-reference to something goes here-

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

???: Rob Hubbard - High-Score Theme (from Delta) (1:32):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrGrxuRgPKQ

Nominator: sergio [8/13 Remaining]

Initial Score: 48.37
Revised Score: 54.16
Final Score: 54.46 [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: I usually like C64 music more than this, but this particular song didn't really work for me at all. Somehow it felt too long even with its incredibly short runtime and I can't find anything to really say about it. It's nice getting more chiptunes and I didn't dislike it, but I didn't like it either, sorry.)

This is another song that's a solid tier or two above what I remembered it being. I was likely being too hard on the track because it doesn't really offer what I want from retro computer music, specifically either the low tones that I almost always love in any type of music (though I can't name a good computer game example right off hand, I know I've heard them) or some really low-fi static-y sounds--where you can tell that the device wasn't meant to be used for music, but some brilliant genius has somehow created a song from nothing, as if by a miracle or divine intervention. This song, and I dare day Rob Hubbard's music in general, feels both higher pitched than I'd like & inexplicably more modern than is normal for the technology involved? It's like how I've lost most interest in "Gauntlet: The Third Encounter"'s character select theme after the original upload was deleted... the current version of it has much crisper and clear audio which has taken it from a 100/100 song down to the 50 or 60 point level. I miss my mangled and crunchy version. One of my favorite gaming songs, now reduced to such boring normalcy... Le sigh. Le boo hoo. But I digress.

Anyway as nonsensical as the writeup is, I'd say Rob Hubbard's music is typically not crunchy enough for me, but it's a pretty good track once I get past my disappointment about the track not quite doing what I want it to.

[Final Thoughts; It needs to be about 20% crunchier.]

[Later: It''s not much different, but I think I like the audio quality on this upload a bit more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc8_2WeY_hs

It feels crisper, though that could be my imagination. Either way, it doesn't change the score--I totally substitute links if I find one I prefer, but this feels like a "Wall" track regardless of upload selected.]

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

EDIT: Err... previous post should have said "Seventh and eighth bricks", not 8th and 9th. -.-'

And we close the first day of the Wall with two of the remaining mashups:

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

???: DJ Cummerbund - Play That Funky Music Rammstein (3:37):
https://youtu.be/tcUB-3lud60

Nominator: Metalmind [23/25 Remaining]

Initial Score: 54.38
Revised Score: 55.18
Final Score: 54.49 [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: I think this might be the most impressive mashup I've ever heard and the way he edits & combines the songs is truly masterful, he's truly gifted at this. The thing is, I don't really like any of the songs being combined here? Which makes it something that I can appreciate on a 'wow, I am in awe at how you pulled this off' level, but not on an 'I'd actually like to listen to this' level. It's easy enough to listen to and still impressive that my feelings are definitely positive in general, but I'm a long way from being able to say that I like the song without adding a lot of caveats to that sentence.)

I still feel the same way. He is truly talented at mashing up songs and I like this track considerably more than I like any of its components, but a song that blends things I don't care about together is always going be a bit of a hard sell. I think I'm impressed enough to move it up to the "kinda like" tier, but it's kinda straddling the line and I keep flipping back & forth on that point.

[Final Thoughts: It's impressive and I guess it's better to use songs I don't care about than ones I love (see: Tricky Child), but I still feel largely the same way as I did back at the first reaction.]

[Later: As usual, those writeups all come across too negatively. It's really nice and I do kinda like it, as much as I like everything in the Wall at least.]

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

-toasty-

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

???: BotanicSage - MORTAL KONGBAT (3:45):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbwQiA8pFiI

Nominator: paulg [40/52 Remaining]

Initial Score: 50.64
Revised Score: 50.64
Final Score: 50.64 [Upgraded to 51.48] [Upgraded to 53.73] [Upgraded to 53.786] [Upgraded to 54.491] [Upgraded to 55.00]

(First Reaction: The songs don't go together well even as a joke mashup, but there were a few lines that made me smile.)

Grapes, melons, oranges, and MORTAL KOMBAT.

[Final Thoughts: Two songs that I'm not particular into combined into.... something.]

[Later: Gave this song a tiny booat to its score. It's still not a favorite, but it's a bit better than I thought it was.]

[Later Later: It's almost funny enough to jump up a tier, but I'm not sold on that idea. Still... moving this one up a bit.]

[Later*3: I say it's not funny enough to move up a tier or bother giving an actual writeup too, and yet, it survives when so many other songs do not...]

[Later the Fourth: I don't know, just go up to the 54 point zone for a minute?]

[Fifthly: Much like "Monk Mode", the Wall is a fine place for this song. Instead of trying to figure out exactly where this falls in the "kinda like" category, it can just slot in here.]

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