Luce, Fluttershy, and Raetsel rank 361+ songs [Rankings]

The 401st song has officially been added to the spreadsheets! And with this final elimination of the night, nominations are now closed.

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???: Rina Sawayama | Comme Des Garons (Like the Boys) (3:03)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv5i5yg-zNc

Nominator: Bane_Of_Despair [13 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 57.92
Final Score: 57.97

(First Reaction:

"The idea that the socially acceptable version of confidence is in acting like the boys, otherwise as a woman you get called a bitch but in the club, we reclaim the word bitch as a sign of ultimate confidence (yes bitch, work bitch). I wanted to sit these two together and make a club fashion banger that makes you feeling like THAT bitch whoever you are."

Good message and a good beat. There aren't any lyrics that I want to highlight and the outro is a bit one note, but I kinda dig what the song's going for. I think i want this song to start at the high 50s and then I can see how it feels in comparison to other songs at that level. )

I'm not really into club bangers and I think this song isn't quite working for me as much as everything actually in the Nebula, but I also feel bad for eliminating it... bad enough that I'm going to delay this drop for another day and revisit it tomorrow. I'm... skeptical that I'd actually move it into the Nebula, but it's close enough that I want to give it one more chance before making the cut.

[Later: Yeah, I'm still feeling like this one is just a tiny bit before the next level. Good beat and good message, but I just never really get into any aspect of it enough to honestly say that I want to move this up again. Sorry, I at least gave it one more chance.]

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Now that we have a final number of songs, I'll go back and properly number everything just as soon as I'm confident that everything that's being eliminated before the 58 point Nebula has been cut.

EDIT: And I've gone ahead and deleted the Duckman write up; kept it up for... around 27 hours? I feel like that's enough time to leave that many personal confessions up on a public forum.

Alright, three songs tonight because some rabbit decided to threaten to incinerate Fluttershy for having the audacity to want her opinion counted and I think we all need a little time to calm down.

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5MIINUST x Puuluup | (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (kll) midagi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htPAhtVgKsI
Nominator: @ZaziGuado [14 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 58.96
Final Score: 56.90

(First Reaction: A reasonably catchy song, but the lyrics about not doing drugs are... just okay.

I don't know drugs, I know soda and cider
I couldn't tell the difference between vitamin and speed

Like "good for you! But also, I'm not that interested in your sobriety*"? I don't know. It's not quite funny enough for me to take it as a comedy song--though the line about people in the front row being able to see through their pretending was humorous. I don't know; this may work better on a second listen where I don't bother with the lyrics and treat it as just a catchy dance song.

*I suppose you could read it as the opposite, in which they're denying drug use so heavily because they're just pretending to not be on drugs. But I'm honestly not into that reading either, so I don't think it would matter.)

I do like that the song is in Estonian, I don't think we've heard a song in this language before. And I really want to like this, but I just can't quite get into this song, no matter what angle I approach it from. I kinda like it, but I think that's all i can say in its favor.

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jaboukie - Goner (2:53)
https://youtu.be/bHJTSi_u_AY?si=0m254PRDOSHK3p3c
Nominator: @mcflubbin [9 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 59.13
Final Score: 56.16

(First Reaction: I actually kinda like this. The lyrics just keep repeating and the music doesn't do a lot apart from the instrumental break and yet... there's a deeper tone to the music that I find appealing, it's slightly static-y which is always a plus, and the extra lyrics in the outro:

Ain't no getting better
I'm trying
Isn't that enough?

are pretty good. I'm surprised how enjoyable this track is, since it doesn't seem like something I'd be into.)

Sorry, I'm having a harder time getting past the sheer repetition of "I'm a goner, ain't no getting better". That's basically on an infinite loop for most of the track; what's sad is that the song does get pretty damn good towards the end. Once the instruments ramp up their intensity & the vocals change, I start to get into the song a fair amount! But the song is already close to over by the time it gets good and the combination of "long section that i dislike" and "short section that I do like" feels... like something that ends around here in the Kinda Like tier.

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ClownC0re | Earth (2:04)
Nominator: @Murphiroth [8 songs remaining]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR_rPd_ufK4

Initial Score: 53.27
Final Score: 56.50

(First Reaction: This is one of those songs where I really don't know what it was or how to react to it. It's fine, I guess? I don't dislike it, but... I don't know. My reaction is more "this song is a thing that happened" than anything specific or any real desire to listen to it again. I'm feeling like this one is probably below the 55 point mark, but I'll obviously listen to it again on another day and see what happens.)

I kinda like the sax playing at the end of the song and "The Earth is flat cause you are fat" is a pretty good line", but I don't think even those two high points combined are enough to get this song into the "Kinda Like" tier because I'm.... really not into whatever the rest of this is supposed to be.Also, it bothers me that this song feels so familiar; I know I've seen this video before, but I can't find any trace of this having been mentioned at even the standard Post Ranking Rankings, so I really don't know why I know this. Which just adds to the strangeness.

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Spark_Garou posted...

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5MIINUST x Puuluup | (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (kll) midagi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htPAhtVgKsI
Nominator: @ZaziGuado [14 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 58.96
Final Score: 56.90

Oh man the timing of this wounds me. Eurovision *just* ended within the hour and Estonia didn't get much love there either in the voting.

I think the lyrics about not doing drugs is supposed to be cheeky, especially because the song title translates to We (Really) Don't Know Anything About (These) Drugs. It sort of implies that yeah they use drugs but not the drugs you are trying to pin on them. Sort of like a "These drugs are for rich people and we sure as hell ain't rich", y'know? I'm not well-versed in drugs, but my head goes to cocaine (rich) vs crack (not rich).

It's a very fun, goofy song with a dance to back it up. Glad you were able to listen to it and give it a shot!

Spark_Garou posted...

5MIINUST x Puuluup | (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (kll) midagi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htPAhtVgKsI
Nominator: @ZaziGuado [14 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 58.96
Final Score: 56.90

What is the instrument those two guys are using? I've never seen it before.

It's a talharpa which is a traditional Estonian instrument. The two guys using them are the group Puuluup. They make what is called "nu-folk" music. I haven't explored their discography but I may someday. I hear all the people in this song are just as goofy off stage.

Good news: Having gone over every song with Initial Scores under 60 points, there are no plans for any remaining songs to score less then 58 points! (It's *possible* that something later on could be moved down, though fairly unlikely). So we can actually go back to having rankings and pretending this is a coherent ranking topi!

Less Good News: I need to take the rest of the night off now. It took a few hours to go over the rest of the songs to confirm that none of them were being cut prior to the Nebula & now I have a *slight issue* in that there's a... stupidly large amount of songs with vague "at least 58 points" values that need to be given specific values and sorted into a list. Things should be back on track starting tomorrow, but it's going to take me a few hours to sort through that mess and I don't have the time this evening.

Average News: Every song posted now has an official placement! (Except for the un-eliminated Robot Stop. Just pretend that one didn't happen.)

#401: Finger
#400: Makeba
#399: Star Spangled Man
#398: Welcome to the Black Parade
#397: Pandasan Youchien
#396: Telephone's Theme
#395: Skibidi Bop Yes Yes x Bloody Mary
#394: The Order of Spiritual Virgins
#393: Growing Up
#392: Cell Block Tango
#391: Pikkie De Ekster
#390: Philosophy of he World
#389: Goblin Slayer
#388: The Rightful King
#387: devilla6ue
#386: Announcement
#385: Too Cool Theme
#384: Alien Orifice
#383: How to Listen III:
#382: He tulivat taivaan rist
#381: Blackbird
#380: Grad Erlija -Retrospektiva-
#379: Anchordeep
#378: Janet
#377: Brained by Falling Msonry
#376: (He'll never be an) Ol Man River
#375: Primavera-Hana Furu Hi
#374: Carry On Wayward Son
#373: From Now On
#372: Chop Suey!
#371: Goner
#370: Surrender
#369: The Fallen Empire
#368: dial m17
#367: Code: Crimson (Extended Length)
#366: Bow Down, You Ignorant Fools!
#365: Earth
#364: Headspace
#363: (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me...
#362: RULES OF TEKKEN
#361: Love Yourself
#360: Kumo no Kanata
#359: Winter Madness
#358: Death Approaches
#357: Solid Gold Tooth
#356: Gwen, the Hallowed Seamstress
#355: Concertino in Blue
#353 [TIE]: Song 2
#353 [TIE]: Eleanor Rigby
#352: Sukuinote
#351: The two cradles / stage2
#350: Comme Des Garons (Like the Boys)

Unrelated News: How did I cover "devilla6ue" without mentioning that the title gets "Bobby Vee | Devil or Angel" stuck in my head every time I see the name?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz4cOMjtkaA

...It's not relevant, but it would fill space and is an honest reaction.

ZaziGuado posted...

Oh man the timing of this wounds me. Eurovision *just* ended within the hour and Estonia didn't get much love there either in the voting.

I don't really follow Eurovision, but I did see the topic about it last night and did feel a little bad about the timing...

Woo! Still way down near the bottom!

Tag, back from my vacation and glad to see nothing of mine got eliminated yet. Black Parade being that low is surprising though.

Sukuinote is so fun. Not surprised it got eliminated though. Hakushi Hasegawa is among the least accessible musicians I listen to.

I know I said I wasn't going to redact any write ups this year, but I'm removing those with Raetsel for reasons. She knows what she did and still actively continues to do.

Three songs to start the evening, I should be back in a few hours with two more:

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#349: UMINEKO NO NAKU KORO NI | HAPPY HALLOWEEN MARIA (4:07)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9j29H387to
Nominator: @Raka_Putra [13 songs remaining]
Character: Maria Ushiromiya

Initial Score: 23.16
Final Score: 39.161 [Upgraded to 47.32] [Upgraded to 57.00] [Moved Aside] {Score set to 58.00]

(First Reaction:

Theres a little bunny made of cho-co-late, and
spinning roundnround, some pink CANDY!
Shortcake topped with strawberries

Food Song; next.

...alright, so only part of one verse is food related. Unfortunately, I'm not finding much to overcome my bias against that verse; the "ooh ooh ooh ooh" vocalizations are really not for me and while I appreciate how cute the character is portrayed, she doesn't exactly have the best singing voice. It makes the song a bit rough to get through; on the plus side, I do like Halloween & I like the references to dresses and animals, so it's not all bad. Just... not really for me, I'm afraid. )

Not as bad as I remembered. It's kinda cute? Not quite cute enough to reach the positive half of scoring, but it's a tier or two above where I had it. I still like the dresses and animals, and I'm less annoyed by food lyrics at the moment. Don't know why, but it's working in the song's favor, so I won't question it too much.

[Later: *several posts worth of text redacted*

Let's just say this song is catchy enough to be memorable, but references to bunnies and rabbits are a bit touchy at the moment.]

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#348: iwrestledabearonce | tastes like kevin bacon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrFTR9fucr8
Nominator: @xtlm [11 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 56.040001
Final Score: 58.0001

(First Reaction: This is different. I was prepared to write it off as being too hardcore screaming for me, but then we have a prolonged Bjork-esque interlude before going back to the screaming. I don't think these two sections go together, but the unexpected nature of the song means that I kinda like it? Not sure if that'll hold up, now that I know what it's going to do in the future, but the first impression is decent.)

The really metal parts of the song are definitely too metal for me; but I like the more melodic song that it transitions into and even the metal section has some cheesy 80s guitar for a bit, so there are definitely some high points to this song. I think I'll move this one into the Nebula... likely too metal to reach the next tier, but still officially a tier-ish above everything cut earlier.

[Later: ...This song always has a bunch of extra zeroes added to its score. I don't know if that's symbolic of anything, but it's weird. Not as weird as this song is, but still weird. ]

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#347: Genshin Impact - Bard's Adventure (1:47)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oofw4zlXcNg
Character: Venti

Nominator: azuarc [4 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 57.33
Final Score: 58.00015

(First Reaction: This song is nice enough. It doesn't make me think of anything in particular and it's pretty short, ending almost as quickly as it began, but it's still fairly nice. I'd say I kinda like it? Sorry for the short write up, but "short instrumental that didn't make me think of anything" doesn't really inspire much commentary.)

Nice enough to enter the nebula, but I'm still not getting any particular feeling from the song apart from a general sense of pleasantry. Which really makes it seem like it should be eliminated earlier, but I like it enough that I'm not going to, even if I have nothing to say about it.

[Later: I suppose this is kind of adventurous. It's not the strongest sense of adventure I've ever felt or very thrilling, but I somewhat get the song... feels like it's only half as long as it needs to be though.]

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Ah yeah, I expected Happy Halloween Maria to rank kinda low.

I picked it for the "character song" aspect of it. I'm not a big anime watcher so I know of very few character image songs, but I had a big Umineko phase so yeah. I think it gives a pretty accurate and strong image of the character, at least, though I'm also not the biggest fan of the melody.

And two more:

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#346: Scardust (feat. Patty Gurdy) | Concrete Cages (7:30)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9El7fWOPpY0
Nominator: @FL81 [2 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 56.437
Final Score: 58.345

(First Impressions: [During the song]

This... subdued intro is throwing me off because the band & song title are causing me to expect some really loud metal. I'm just wating for the song to breakdown into something that Bane would nominate, but this is some quiet celtic music?

*partway through the singing* Okay, now it's picking up a little, but it's definitely softer than expected. I was waiting for screaming and some max volume drums, but this is a much milder style of metal than I thought it'd be.

[Post song thoughts]

Yeah, okay, this isn't bad. It does seem to go on longer than it should though; there's nothing wrong with seven minutes of song, but we just kinda start repeating choruses & instrumentals & more choruses & dadadadadada-I'm pretending to be an instrument look at me as we repeat ourselves some more. Like we could cut the last few minutes and lose absolutely nothing--....well, I wouldn't mind losing it, but I acknowledge the solo near the end as something that other people would miss.

Anyway, it's somewhat interesting? Folk metal isn't a bad concept and everyone here seems talented enough that I kinda liked it, pointlessly extended outro aside. There's a few bird similies and, well, any non-human metaphor is somewhat appealing automatically. And.. I dunno, I just kinda like it? It feels like a good choice, but it never really clicked. I'll admit that I could be undervaluiing it because it's so different from what I was expecting though, so we'll see what happens on a relisten where I know what the song is.)

Folk metal is fun enough that I'm going to move this up into the Nebula, but i do have issues with how the song doesn't end. Her dadadaadadada vocalizations border on parody. "Have no lyrics left to sing? Quick, one of you just repeat the same chorus over and over while the other one pretends to be an instrument!" and while it doesn't ruin the song, it does keep me from moving it up to the next tier. The song's from a good genre and is performed well, but held back by its refusal to stop after it runs out of material.

[Later: Yeah, I think I'd be happier removing around three minutes from the song. It's not that the outro is bad, I just feel like the song has run out of ideas by that point.]

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#345: Daisuke Achiwa - FJ: Lady End (0:29)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgTuPtltQEs

Nominator: NFUN [10 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 51.00
Final Score: 58.35

(First Reaction: Proving that there is such a thing as a song that's too short, there's this track that feels unfinished in its brevity. It's barely around long enough for me to acknowledge its existence and then stops abruptly; the note it ends on does not feel like the end of a song, making it incredibly unsatisfying in a way that other short songs aren't. I suppose it's nice enough for the brief time it exists that it should be above the 50 point mark, but it's so... unsatisfying that I can't imagine it going much further.)

"Ooh, how'd we ever have this song so low? I kinda love those opening notes and this is a deep, crunchy battle theme that I'm really in--oh, it's already over."

But... I think I do kinda like this. It's way too short, but I do enjoy what's here enough that it should be at least towards the high end of the "kinda like" tier.

[Later: A pretty great song, but it's just too short for me to properly get into which makes it a bit easier to cut than most of its opposition.]

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Spark_Garou posted...

#346: Scardust (feat. Patty Gurdy) | Concrete Cages (7:30)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9El7fWOPpY0

Nominator: @FL81 [2 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 56.437
Final Score: 58.345

I'm a sucker for folk metal, and I have to say, I like this. Hurdy gurdy FTW!. Most unnecessarily complicated instrument ever :) I will definitely be checking this band out.

I had Seasonspeech by Elvenking on my short list of candidates, but unfortunately I had to cut it. Luce, maybe add it to the post-list list?

I chose it specifically because it was short and I remember that sometimes being a plus for you

CJones posted...

I had Seasonspeech by Elvenking on my short list of candidates, but unfortunately I had to cut it. Luce, maybe add it to the post-list list?

Yeah, that's not a problem. I just added it to the list, thank you. Both for the song and for using my name. it's nice. (The name thing, I haven't listened to the song yet).

NFUN posted...

I chose it specifically because it was short and I remember that sometimes being a plus for you

That's fair. The Gracie Films logo came fairly close to winning last year and that was only around six seconds, I think? Some songs that are short feel so complete that they don't need more, while FJ: Lady End felt like I wanted more from it... and I'm honestly not sure why I felt that way. It seems like an arbitrary distinction, though one I stand by for whatever reason.

CJones posted...

I'm a sucker for folk metal, and I have to say, I like this. Hurdy gurdy FTW! Most unnecessarily complicated instrument ever :) I will definitely be checking this band out.

I had Seasonspeech by Elvenking on my short list of candidates, but unfortunately I had to cut it. Luce, maybe add it to the post-list list?

Funny thing is, there was another hurdy-gurdy folk metal song from a different band I almost nominated instead/too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkbadvaMuXo

Three songs to start off the morning. Not sure how many songs we'll go through tonight... might go for the full ten to try to get up to the 60 point tier faster, might play it safer and stick to five songs since there's currently a block of 21 songs at exactly 60 points [19 that only have Initial Scores at that point & 2 more that were ranked lower and have since been moved up] that need to be straightened out before I could post anything from that tier anyway.

...Kinda feel like "try to speed up to reach that point on the list, then take a day off to sort it out" is the more enjoyable option on my end, but again, we'll see:

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#344: death's dynamic shroud | Just to be Needed (6:12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2jXEtohMzc
Nominator: @PIayer_0 [7 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 57.33
Final Score: 58.347 [Upgraded to 58.357]

(First Impressions: I kinda like this one. I'd really like more variety in the lyrics and a shorter song since it doesn't feel like there's six minutes worth of ideas here, but I kinda like it.)

It's rather boring until just before the three minute mark, where we get a new vocalist and it basically switches to a completely different song. That section is really good; sadly, the lyrics then get stuck in a "just to be needed" loop. I think the title is dropped 35 times during the song? I have no idea how any version of me managed to avoid commenting on that... I know we said something about wanting more lyrics, but that's awfully vague for something like this. If I didn't know better, I'd think something went wrong and I listened to the wrong song entirely the first time around.

And while I could cut this song even further down--three minutes of intro & one line repeated 35 times are certainly things I've cut songs for before--this is a certain beauty to this track that I feel forces me to place it into the Nebula.

[Later: Wait, the added female vocalist in the part I like is Ariana Grande? That makes a lot of sense. I didn't recognize her, but she has a few songs I love, so that'd explain why I'm so much more attached to the bridge.

Anyway, this song does do a few things I quite like: There are some low tones towards the end (always a plus; definitely, definitely a plus [I may have watched some old Rita & Runt segments from Animaniacs and have now started mimicking Runt's speech pattern, but hopefully that will end here])) & Ariana Grande steals the show with her cameo, but I'm not quite feeling this as a 60 point song.]

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#333: varra | fortnite ii (2:34)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow45zb_-ba0

Nominator: NFUN [9 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 58.00
Final Score: 58.349 [Upgradd to 58.358]

(First Reaction: A remarkably pleasant little tune.)

I've said that about a lot of songs that were eliminated before this song, but this one is nicer. ...I wish I had more than that, but I don't. This is just a very simple, joyous song that I enjoy enough to easily make it into the Nebula, but doesn't leave enough of a lasting impat to ascend to the next tier. I enjoy it while it's playing, but I can't say that I recall anything about it other than a vague, happy feeling.

[Later: Very minor boost for reorganization purposes. It's a fun song, but I think I need more than a general sense of "fun" To move this up too far.]

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#332: Yamamii | Utsuru Mainichi Finder (4:11)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zraqO_7Wg38
Nominator: @UF8 [12 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 57.49
Final Score: 58.35 [Upgraded to 58.36]

(First Reaction:

Troublesome, troublesome everything
I want it to end and be forgotten

There's something I want to do, but I don't know why, it's too heavy.
I'm free, but I'm not free. Those days will continue.

Bleak. I like bleak lyrics. The song... I kinda like the song. There are a lot of good lyrics here, but I'm not quite in love with any of them and it's not exactly my favorite music, but I do kinda like this.)

The instruments are nice and there's a lot of pain in the lyrics, but they're not exactly my favorite vocalist (though I certainly wouldn't call them bad or object to hearing their other work)... I'm thinking that I should move this into the early part of the Nebula. The lyrics are enough to carry this song above everything that's being excluded, but I don't know that I actually like the song enough to move it up a full tier.

[Later: "It's painful, it's painful, just living". There's a lot to like here in terms of lyrics, but I never quite click with any one aspect of this song enough to feel good about moving it up. It's unfortunate, but I think I'm okay with this one being the next to fall.]

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me rn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33EA-4odv68

Spark_Garou posted...

Bleak. I like bleak lyrics. The song... I kinda like the song. There are a lot of good lyrics here, but I'm not quite in love with any of them and it's not exactly my favorite music, but I do kinda like this.)

It just occurred to me, I should have nominated some Opeth. Pretty much all of their songs are bleak.The second track from Blackwater Park (generally regarded as their best album), is literally called "Bleak" :P

Give me some time to think about it and I'll pick something to nominate for the post-list list.

CJones posted...

It just occurred to me, I should have nominated some Opeth. Pretty much all of their songs are bleak.The second track from Blackwater Park (generally regarded as their best album), is literally called "Bleak" :P

Give me some time to think about it and I'll pick something to nominate for the post-list list.

I remember that band! Kinda! I know they had at least one song nominated somewhere...

*rummages through archives*

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#641: Opeth - Reverie/Harlequin Forest (11:39):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIo3lpXrc5A

Nominator: Ark [16/17 Remaining]

Initial Score: 56.40
Revised Score: 56.36
Final Score: 55.00000006

(First Reaction: Another song that decides to play a commercial in the middle of the song, right around the 5 minute mark. Sadly, I just got a generic Domino's Pizza commercial:

Nocturnally helpless and weak in the light
Depending on a prayer
Pacing deserted roads to find a seed of hope

Order Domino's Pizza!

Ah well, we can't always get the brilliance of mashing up Mozart's Requiem with "Return of the Mack". Sometimes we just get a completely bland ad for completely bland pizza. I'll switch to a Spotify link for the future listens, so we won't have to worry about a commercial distracting me from all listens.

Slightly on-topic: i like the melodic parts, the metal growling pulls me out of the song entirely. It's somewhere between the mid-40's to mid-60's, so I'm going to kinda average the score at place it in the mid-50's for the Initial Score. I'll hopefully talk more on topic during the Revised Score.)

!Unfortunately, I'm not really pulled into the story they're telling here. Most of the song is spent on a type of symphonic metal that I enjoy, but without any attachment to the story or lyrics this is just eleven and a half minutes of pleasantly pleasing music with occasional growling thrown in. Definitely a mid-50's type song; it's far too pleasant and of an appealing genre to drop any lower, but I don't connect with it enough to say that I really like it. It's just...really nice.

[Final Thoughts: A good band and a good genre of song, but it never hits me in a way that elevates it beyond the "kinda like" tier. Though making it this far is still a decent accomplishment.]

[Later: Good genre of song & it's performed well, I'm also more in the mood for metal growl yelling lyrics this month so I'll even offer some praise for the song's outro--it's difficult for most artists to pull off that sort of growl, while still having the lyrics be (fairly) easily understood as actual words. But while I don't have any complaints, it's another of those "I also don't have any moments that I want to specifically praise or focus on either" tracks, so it slots in a few spaces above the Wall.]

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So, apparently we liked the band, but felt the song was a bit long & perhaps a bit too metal (though we were coming around on the growling by the third listen). So I'd advise picking something under 11 minutes, but we'll try anything, so don't think of that as a requirement.

And I think I'll go with just two more songs tonight, to end at a total of five. I was going to do more, but a lot of songs that were scheduled to be cut have been given increased scores (including one going to exactly 60.00 points, which is not remotely helpful when everything is becoming clumped together at that spot) & I really want to look at Hades 2 to be quite honest. So I'm just going to say that two and a half hours of work listening to music is enough for today and treat myself to a new game; back tomorrow.

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#332: Caligula's Horse | Golem (5:20)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVC4nKZD8Wk
Nominator: @MaxGalactica [13 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 57.23
Final Score: 58.38

(First Reaction: [Before Listening]

I recall being really into Graves back at the first topic, so cautious optimism?

[After]

For all the peace you'll never find
For all your little suicides
You turn and face the bayonets

I honestly don't get much of this song, but that seems like a good passage.

Ultimately, I don't think this song quite works for me. It's... not bad and I kinda like it, but I'm not grokking the story they're trying to tell and most of the lyrics aren't quite hitting... I do like the part I highlighted, but that's about it. Likewise, the music itself, I kinda like it but I'm also not really vibing with it either? We'll see how it goes when it's time for a Revised Score; I could just be down on the song because it's not immediately appealing like some of their other work and I can make more of an effort to try to figure out what the story here is.)

Golem is about how we all struggled with the weight of expectation through the pandemic

At no point did I get pandemic from any of the lyrics, but that could just be on me. I do kinda like this song and I don't want to eliminate it, but I feel like this song is partially carried by the fact that I want to hear more from the band than an actual attachment to this song. Like I said, they have at least one song that was a big hit (though partially held back due to how emotionally overwhelming it could be) and I like their style of prog metal, but this song is... not really a favorite. I'm going to move it into the Nebula because I like the band's sound enough that it's easy to justify, but I don't know that I can go much farther than that.

[Later: Well, it's not fair to say that this is getting points due to a pro-Graves bias. I'm sure that I do kinda like it on its own merits. Sadly, I just haven't been able to form a connection with it to carry it beyond this level.]

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#331: Alpha Wolf | Akudama (2:36)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ENMe1rlA0M
Nominator: @BlackDra90n [14 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 50.10
Final Score: 53.616 [Moved Aside] [Score set to 58.50]

(First Reaction: I think I usually need some clean vocals somewhere in my metalcore for me to be able to appreciate it, but this is alright. There's some slight villainy to the lyrics which is a little appealing and, for being all metal vocals, his voice is easy enough to understand. It's a rather approachable entry into harder metalcore music... I just don't particularly want to enter harder metalcore music, so this is a bit of a miss.)

A somewhat fun level of anger and aggression. I don't know if this is at the 55 point level, but it's definitely closer to it than I originally gave it credit for.

[Later: Whoops, I accidentally lost this song sometime after moving it into the ill-defined "at least 58 points" category, so I'm missing any notes I may have originally written here. ...So, song: I kinda like this now! Enough to move it into the Nebula, though it may be a bit too metal for me on most days; fun song though. I enjoy all the references to decapitation more than I thought I would, so that's fun in a slightly worrying way.]

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Spark_Garou posted...

#332: Caligula's Horse | Golem (5:20)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVC4nKZD8Wk

Nominator: @MaxGalactica [13 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 57.23
Final Score: 58.38

(First Reaction: [Before Listening]

I recall being really into Graves back at the first topic, so cautious optimism?

I nominated Salt, from Rise Radiant, in the previous one of these. It was my highest rated song, at 87.

That being said, I really didn't much care for Charcoal Grace, the album Golem is from. I thought it was a huge disappointment after the stellar Rise Radiant. Caligula's Horse is very hit or miss for me. I liked Bloom and Rise Radiant, but I didn't like In Contact or Charcoal Grace.

EDIT: It's been a long time since I've seen someone use the word "grok" :)

Definitely not surprised that Alpha Wolf was the first elimination for me. Most of my nominations had a more casual or unique twist to them so they weren't just straight metalcore/deathcore but I was running out of ideas so I just went with this one cause it goes hard.

As the Graves nominator from the first topic, I'm glad that it's had some staying power for you! Probably a top 10 song of all time for me, and In Contact a top 10 album.

For what it's worth, I'd put Charcoal Grace as C-Horse's second-best album after the aforementioned In Contact, and one of the best albums from any band over the last two or three years, but Golem is my least favorite track from it. The rest of the album, in particular the title suite, is the band at its best and is much more Graves-like. So I'd definitely recommend checking it out if you're wanting to hear more of them.

A word of caution, though - if Graves overwhelmed you emotionally (which I totally understand, because it's intentionally a very emotionally charged song), you might have a similar experience with the Charcoal Grace suite. There's some fairly heavy themes at work there, and though I don't want to say too much, they're not entirely dissimilar from some of the stuff from your past that you mentioned in the Duckman writeup.

Anyway, C-Horse album ranking? C-Horse album ranking.

In Contact > Charcoal Grace > The Tide, the Thief & River's End > Bloom > Rise Radiant > Moments from Ephemeral City

Just to be Needed is incredible. Makes me tear up half the time I listen to it. Love how it takes samples from corporate pop songs and turns it into something meaningful through its unique production, something the album as a whole does a phenomenal job with.

Late tag

NBIceman posted...

Anyway, C-Horse album ranking? C-Horse album ranking.

In Contact > Charcoal Grace > The Tide, the Thief & River's End > Bloom > Rise Radiant > Moments from Ephemeral City

My primary complaint about Charcoal Grace is the same complaint I had with In Contact, and it has nothing to do with the songwriting. They both have terrible mixing, with Charcoal Grace being the worse of the two. The instruments are way WAY too loud relative to the vocals.

I popped CG back in my CD player today and listened to it on the way back home, and I was immediately reminded of why I had stopped listening to it. In order for me to have the slightest idea what Jim Grey was singing, I had to turn the volume up to the point that it actually hurt my ears. Hell, half the time, I couldn't even tell what note he was singing, let alone what lyrics.

Bloom and Rise Radiant didn't have this problem at all. In fact, Rise Radiant is one of the best produced albums I've ever heard, so I don't understand what happened with Charcoal Grace.

Also, Jim Grey needs to lay off the falsetto a bit. That certainly doesn't help with his audibility.

I'm reminded of the movie Tenet. There's probably something interesting going on, but since much of the dialogue is inaudible, I would have no idea what it was unless I turned subtitles on.

I can't comment on their first two albums, as I've never heard either one.

EDIT: Just for some context, the CD that was already in the player that I took out to put Charcoal Grace in: Still Life by Opeth. When your band is harder to listen to than death metal, something is wrong. And I'm pretty sure it's not just my hearing :P

I'll try to reply to everything tomorrow. With apologies, I'm running very late--I have something I need to do, like, now and I also need to make time to listen to a few songs over at VGMC before I miss the round so I'm in a rush.

So, something kinda weird here. My notes had "Primavera-Hana Furu Hi " as not being eliminated yet, so I'd been listening to & refusing to eliminate it for a while... and only noticed it was already eliminated when I went to eliminate it today. So the song is, inexplicably, officially un-eliminated & re-eliminated in the same post. Since it's being moved up, it takes over as the new #331.

Four and a half-ish eliminations since I'm counting Primavera's second elimination as part of my five-per-day target.

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#331: Yumi Tono | Primavera-Hana Furu Hi (3:27)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPE-9r4qkJc
Nominator: @MaxGalactica [13 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 20.00
Final Score: 55.033 [Moved Aside] [Score set to 59.21]

(First Reaction: Sorry, but this is the type of instrumental that I'm rarely into. It's very old-fashioned and stuffy, like a piece of classical music that I've never been able to get into--we'll talk more about that in another writeup, since this isn't really classical (at least, I presume, seeing as it was released this year). I find it impossible to find anything to say here because it's just really not for me; I'm sure her playing is skilled and I'm equally sure someone who actually understands music would be able to articulate why this is a great piece of art, but I just can't get into this.)

Actually, this isn't too bad. I'm not exactly raving about it and it's not quite my style, but this... I may actually kinda like it? I can't find anything I want to say about it, but... yeah, I think I'll experiment with moving this one pretty far up the list.

[Later: The second song that I lost shortly after moving it into the undefined "at least 58 point" category, losing trace of anything I may have said down here. Either way, I do kinda like this one... it's still not a type of music that I'm really drawn to, but it's pleasingly different compared to other songs on the list which has helped it survive significantly longer than I originally expected.]

[And Later: I do appreciate this and I also like that i'm becoming more tolerant to it over time. Going from "active dislike" to "kinda like" to "the high end of kinda like" is likely a good sign. While I doubt any of us will ever be particularly into classical or classical sounding music, this is probably a sign that we're getting better at dealing with songs that remind us of classical music, so... it may still be a year or two too early for a song like this, but thank you for kinda easing us into the topic.]

[???: ...Wait, this song was already eliminated? Curious. My notes have it as very not eliminated. Though that explains how I "lost" it... it got deleted after I posted it in the topic. Whoops. Well, either way now it has four more points than it used to! I... uhh... don't know that I should @ you a second time for such a minor difference, but you did say to notify you when a song was eliminated and this is... sorta... eliminated a second time? I dunno. This all went wrong somewhere, but it has more points!]

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#330: COLIN STETSON from "Hereditary" | HAIL, PAEMON! (0:55)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ebVUtAGhiA
Nominator: @Snake5555555555 [11 songs remaining]
Character: Paimon

Initial Score: 53.44
Final Score: 55.15 [Moved Aside] [Score set to 59.50]

(First Reaction: I think I'll pass on studying too much about this film... horror is really not my thing and I don't think reading any more violent death is going to help me appreciate this song any.

So... song. I like how dramatic and overwhelming it feels, and being a theme for a demon is pretty sweet, but it's really short. I don't have enough time to really feel any dread or indulge in any demonic fantasy sequences because it's over almost as quickly as it began. I'm going to have this start just below the "kinda like" tier; I can see moving it up to the 55 point zone, but it's going to be hard for it to get above that tier.)

Moving this one up so that it can reach the "Kinda Like' tier at 55 points, but not all that far into the tier. I still like how dramatic and intense the song feels, but ending so quickly leaves me unsatisfied and it's getting harder to keep this around against songs that feel more complete. Still, it's certainly a unique approach to nominating a character theme and I do like the demonicness.

[Later: Dramatic low tones are always a plus, but while I do keep moving this song further up the list, it leaves me feeling a bit unsatisfied by the end which likely keeps it from reaching the tier.]

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#329: Yuki Kanesaka | Gen'z Mood (1:36)
https://youtu.be/pAzkRiAAW54
Character: Gen Asagiri
Nominator: @TunnelScene [15 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 58.33
Final Score: 59.50 [Upgraded to 59.52]

(First Impressions: This is a very pleasant and slightly relaxing song, but I don't know... it feels a bit too bombastic with its chimes to be very relaxing and doesn't make me think of anything in particular. It's just "oh hey, this is neat" and then it ends so suddenly that it feels like the actual ending has been removed. It's... nice enough that part of me wants to move it up to the 60 point tier, but the sudden stop is so off-putting that part of me wants to keep it a bit below that tier as well. I think I'm going to open with a 58 point score here, see if I want to move it up later once its being judged directly against other "not quite 60 point" tracks.)

Well, "bombastic" isn't the right word at all... too "rapidly moving" to be relaxing, perhaps? And I don't know. I kinda like it, enough to keep it in the Nebula, but it feels like this song needs a little something... like it needs an extra minute to play around with instead of having such a brief runtime?

[Later: One minor boost to raise this an extra place. It really is a very pleasant song, but I can't help but feel something is missing... it's like the song is half relaxing & half playful, then ends before I have time to properly react to either half. I'm sorry, I feel like I should enjoy this more than I am, it's just not quite clicking with me.]

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*continued*

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#328: Poe | Haunted (5:20)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgyRQheHgaU
Nominator: @xtlm [10 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 59.14
Final Score: 58.47 [Upgraded to 59.57]

(First Reaction: A good song that makes me want to listen to the full album, but I'm not quite fully clicking with it. I should; father issues are kinda my thing, as is pain & regret... this song embodies all of those things. And yet, while I'm incredibly interested in hearing more, I feel like I'm more intrigued by the song than actually enjoying it? I kinda like it, but it... it feels like something that needs the rest of the album than something I can enjoy on its own, I think.)

I'm haunted
By the lies that wove the web
Inside my haunted head

I do like that part of the chorus.

Time to gather up the splinters
Build a casket for my tears

Is also a particularly poignant lyric. And yet, I still never truly "click" with the song. Good lyrics, good subject matter, I don't have anything against her singing voice or the backing music track... it just never quite sparks a strong enough reaction in spite of the fact that it very clearly should.

[Later: I'm still not where I want to be in regards to this song, but I think I'll also give it an extra point so that it can join the 59 point songs.]

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#327: Andy Loebs | Brain Freeze (4:10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jzlUOE2Jw0
Nominator: Kopazzynth [6 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 59.57
Final Score: 59.63

(First Reaction: Pleasingly odd. While it's always an abnormal song, it never goes hard ; or relies on noise ; or cacophony ; or ever stop being melodic, honestly. It's an easy, fairly relaxing, listen that still manages to be unique and play with sounds in an experimental way. Pretty neat song.)

I could use more songs like this, those that are pleasingly unique while still being relatively tame or relaxing. Which makes me feel like I should be giving this a bunch more points, but.. this score feels right at the moment?

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Okay, back later, sorry for the delays in responding to everything posted earlier today! You know how it is when you're running late, I'm sure.

CJones posted...

I nominated Salt, from Rise Radiant, in the previous one of these. It was my highest rated song, at 87.

Ah, sorry, I seem to have forgotten that one. It's been a while. I should probably try relistening to it at some point here.

NBIceman posted...

The rest of the album, in particular the title suite, is the band at its best and is much more Graves-like. So I'd definitely recommend checking it out if you're wanting to hear more of them.

A word of caution, though - if Graves overwhelmed you emotionally (which I totally understand, because it's intentionally a very emotionally charged song), you might have a similar experience with the Charcoal Grace suite. There's some fairly heavy themes at work there

Thanks for the warning. I'll add it to the post-list and try to listen to it on one of my better days.

tazzyboyishere posted...

Love how it takes samples from corporate pop songs

Huh, I actually didn't know that about it. I doubt it'd impact the scoring, but I should probably see if I can find anything else about the song later.

After some consideration, here are my Opeth recommendations for the post-list. Reverie/Harlequin Forest was a really good choice, so kudos to Ark for nominating it.

Opeth tends to be a combination of brutal and hauntingly beautiful. Often in the same song. I decided to go with two songs that I think showcase the best of both sides of Opeth.

The Lotus Eater (8:51)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhohQNdSt7g

and
Harvest (6:06)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAJY80FSFzM

They're two of my favorite songs. The Lotus Eater is pretty death metal-ish, but Harvest is not death metal at all.

Been a while since I posted the post-ranking ranking list (officially known as "ZA'LIST" for reasons that may or may not have made sense back at the first topic, but the name has become TRADITION and is not to be questioned now), so here's an update. If someone mentioned a song and I left it out, do remind me as I assure you it's a case of "bad record keeping" rather than me deliberately leaving anything off.

ZA'LIST 2024:

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

SONGS:

Boomhauer sings Rap God
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmmHoam7y5U

If System of a Down Were from India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi106DZJhuQ

Scene Queen | 18+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L57iEai79I

Scene Queen | Pink Rover

Lingua Ignota | All of My Friends Are Going to Hell

Elvenking | Seasonspeech

Caligula's Horse | Charcoal Grace (1 through 4)

Opeth | The Lotus Eater (8:51)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhohQNdSt7g

Opeth | Harvest (6:06)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAJY80FSFzM

Possibly give an extra listen to "Caligula's Horse | Salt"

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ALBUMS:

Ayreon | The Human Equation

Coheed and Cambria | Vaxis Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind

(Technically I'm only supposed to listen to a few of the other tracks from near the end of the album that lead into the title track, but at that point we might as well just finish the whole thing. And while arguably I should do that *now* to get more context for the actually nominated songs, I feel like saving it as a post topic thing.)

EDIT: Removed random sentence that shouldn't have been there. (Extra Coheed tracks were listed under songs instead of albums and I somehow only deleted half of the old line.)

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

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Moving along, there are exactly five songs that I'm positive that I want to cut before the next tier. Pretty wild coincidence, but a very convenient one. Five drops right now, tomorrow will be a day off as I try to make sense out of the next tier which is now a crowded mess of "songs that have been listened to six or seven times as I refuse to eliminate them each day" and "songs that have not received a second listen yet" so it's going to take a minute...

...actually, let's just say two days off. That should give time to straighten things out before rankings resume on Sunday. For now, let's finish eliminating those that didn't make it to the "I like this" tier:

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#B#

#326: dinger | dinger box (ver. 5.0.0) (7:57)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLTKoN9GBHs
Nominator: @UF8 [11 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 59.48
Final Score: 58.00 [Upgraded to 58.45] [Upgraded to 59.59] [Upgraded to 59.633]

(First Reaction: Wow, that is a depressing decription for the video.

I'm sure I won't be able to live as myself if things continue like this. I thought so.
In that case, wouldn't it be better to just die? Set a time, decide what you want to do by then, and complete it. And wouldn't it be better to just lie down in the corner of the room and not move? The choice to live was so taken for granted that I realized it too late.
In the first place, what you hear from people who are still alive are some biased opinions. The only people alive are those who are happy to be alive, so don't ask them for their opinion of death.

....though, trying to complete some sort of goal before the time of your designated suicide is certainly more productive than I ever was back when I was suicidal. Which is making this even more depressing. On the plus side, dinger seems to still be releasing music (the last video was uploaded five days before I typed this), so I'm going to hope they're doing okay?

As for the song itself, it's... good, but I never get anything from it other than "this is a good instrumental track". It never triggers an emotional resonance with me, which is unfortunate, as I'm positive I've loved some of dinger's work in the past. Well, who knows, maybe I'm just too depressed from reading that video summary to focus on the music properly. We'll see if I can connect with it on a relisten.)

The description is still a bit rough. Since, as I mentioned (or will have mentioned? I'm tripping myself up on what order these are being posted), I've dealt with suicidal thoughts before when I was younger... let's just say that while I'm doing perfectly fine these days, the description hits a bit too close to things I once thought. [Again, doing fine now and quite actively want to live, please don't be concerned.] Perhaps thankfully, I can just focus on the song itself since the actual music doesn't really do anything related to the description.

The song, as best as I can tell, seems relatively fine? It's nothing I have complaints about, but you know how it is with instrumental music that I don't form a connection with, and this... doesn't quite hit for me. Which is sad because I'm positive I've really enjoyed some dinger music before this one. I still kinda like it, but it may wind up being the first drop at the 58 Nebula.

[Later: Better than I remember it being, though almost eight minutes of music that I don't have a strong reaction to might be a bit much... I'm going to move this score up a bit to slightly delay the elimination.]

[Still Later: I'll go ahead and give this one an extra point to slightly delay its elimination as well.]

[One More Later: Okay, one more delay to the elimination with a small boost to score for reorganization purposes, but I'm *relatively certain* this is actually falling this time.]

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*continued*

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#325: Pat Metheny Group | Minuano (Six Eight) (9:26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg0NGif5jZc

Nominator: @Place [8 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 53.60
Final Score: 53.60 [Upgraded to 55.60] [Set Aside] [Score Set to 59.58] [Upgraded to 59.635]

(First Reaction: [Before Listening]

I'm not so sure about this one. Back when NFUN put up that album topic, we spent a not-insignificant amount of time playing with that "Boil the Frog" site (RIP) to try to find an artist similar to Pat Metheny Group since NFUN liked them, while still being something that at least one of us liked... we obviously never found anything. We weren't really a fan of PMG or any artist even up to three steps away from him in terms of musical similarity. Still, we haven't exactly heard many songs from them, so here's hoping this one fares better?

[After]

This is nice. I can't say that I'm really into it, but it's pleasant and i almost kinda like it. It's probably not the best sign that in a nine and a half minute long song that I never had any thoughts about anything it was doing, but I certainly didn't mind it or particularly want it to end. Sometimes that's the best we can hope for.)

Pleasant and vaguely tropical. I still almost kinda like it which may be the second most "damning with faint praise" reaction of the entire topic, but I've just never been able to get into Pet Metheny Group and this is the best I can offer.

[Later: Actually, I'm kinda into these vibes right now. They're pretty relaxing, while still being oddly upbeat for something so relaxing. I'll go ahead and move this one up a bit.]

[Still Later: This has some good relaxing on a beach vibes to it. I kinda dig it.]

[One More Later: And a very minor boost for reorganization purposes. I still don't quite feel like moving this up a tier, but it's quasi-relaxing, quasi-beach-y, "somehow reminding me of a muzak version of "Vola | We Are Thin Air""-y-ness puts it several marks ahead of where it was.]

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#324: Beyonce | Freedom (ft. Kendrick Lamar) (4:49)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FWF9375hUA
Nominator: Bane_Of_Despair [12 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 59.8079
Final Score: 59.648

(First Reaction: [Before Listening]

I'm not a big fan of Beyonce (or, more accurately, I've never paid enough attention to her music to have any particular impression; I don't really care for Single Ladies or Run the World, but I acknowledge that she probably has some songs I like in her discography), but Kendrick's A.D.H.D. is one of the greatest songs of all time. But then I didn't really like the album of his that we covered at Rank the Tracks. So I have no idea what score this might end up with.

[After]

Considering Kendrick's counting down... is this nomination intended as a follow-up to your Josie and the Pussycats nom? Becuase that feels too oddly specific to be a coincidence, but also such a weird connection to make intentionally & the songs were nominated in separate post so I wouldn't be surprised if it was coincidental.

Back on topic, I want to like this song. Marching and fighting for freedom is important and the song has some great messaging--and some very powerful imagery in the video--but I'm still just... not really a Beyonce fan. I kinda like this, but that feels blasphemous. Can I say that I love the messaging and content of the song even if I'm not too into the song itself?

Kendrick's verse is the highlight, though that shouldn't be a surprise. I like the lyrical countdown (though I don't quite know if there's a symbolic reason for stopping at five) and I find his style more personally appealing.)

I continue to not have any particular feelings towards Beyonce's work. I know what this is a great song and I applaud its lyrics & importance, but the only section that I truly like is the part without her. Which makes it kinda difficult to move this up a tier, in spite of all the positives it has going for it.

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#323: Mitsuharu Fukuyama - The Battle from the Dream (3:54)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79SJsgHjEwE

(Video contains Yakuza 5 spoilers, click at own discretion.)

Character: Kiryu Kazama

Nominator: NFUN [8 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 52.85
Final Score: 56.40 [Moved Aside] [Upgraded to 59.83]

(First Reaction: It's oddly pleasant for a battle theme, being quite tame and subdued. This does elevate it over all the battle themes that try to be epic, but also... kinda just leaves it as vaguely pleasant background noise. I don't know that I've ever been a fan of Yakuza's instrumental songs and this one isn't much of an exception; nice enough to get a positive score, but that's about it.)

"Oh hey, I don't like battle themes or instrumental music from the Yakuza series, finally there's an easy elimination! ...Oh crap, this is actually a good song and I kinda like this. Welp, so much for this one being eliminated either."

[Later: An unexpectedly nice song, though one I still don't fully click with. I always suspect this is going to be a very easy elimination to make, but as soon as it plays, I'm reminded of exactly how it's managed to survive so many times... it's odd in that I never remember the song, at all, after it's over so that I can keep being surprised by it in this way.]

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-continued, one more time-

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#322: The Legend of Korra | Greatest Change (5:15)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us8hYVeOJZw
Nominator: @pyresword [2 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 53.03
Final Score: 53.03 [Upgraded to 55.00] [Moved Aside] [Set to 59.999]

(First Reaction: An emotional instrumental piece that doesn't resonate with me enough to inspire any actual emotion... for the first three and a half minutes. THEN the song decides to transition to "sweeping adventure" music and things finally start to pick up! Sounds of marching, feelings of trepidation, hope, the song really goes through a lot in a short period of time once you reach that point. Sadly, the opening part just failed to connect with me on any level, which is holding this back somewhat... when you have to wait for over half of a song's runtime for it to get good, it can be a bit hard to say that you actually liked the song as a whole.)

It's another "musical journey" song in which I don't like most of the steps on said journey. And sadly, this song has lower highs than some other similar tracks which makes it hard to hold onto. Perhaps if the song could have started three minutes in? Then the quiet emotional build would end fairly quickly and we could focus more on the grand adventure and soaring triumph that give the song basically all of its points.

[Later: Changed mind, this song's high points are strong enough to move it up to the "kinda like" level.]

[Still Later: I had thought this song would last longer when I moved it up to the "Kinda Like" tier, but we've already reached the point where I kinda like everything remaining. Either people are generally more in tune with what I like this year or I've grown soft in my old age and like most everything... either way, this song's time may be drawing to a close. The high points remain very high, but... ehhh... dammit, everytime I get ready to cut this song, I listen to it and as soon as we get to the good parts I move it a little further up the list. Fine, let's just put it... somewhere.]

[Even Later: I think this may have been the first song to have officially been moved off of the list entirely while I was trying to decide on a score. I feel like that's the moment this ranking started going off the rails as more & more songs got moved aside until we got into the predicament we're in now. And the thing is, I still don't really know what I want to do with this song. I don't think it can reach the 60 point tier, the part that I like consists of less than half the song. The 60s are for songs where I can just say "I like this" and leave the write up at that, but I cannot say that for a song where I enjoy less than half of it.

But that final stretch contains enough emotion that I don't want to eliminate it either. I think I'm going to settle on a score of 59.999, at least for now; because I keep getting ready to eliminate it and refusing to do so, so I will move this as far up as I can without actually taking it up another tier because there's apparently no way I'm cutting this song before the end of the tier anyway.]

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And we're done! 321 songs make it to the vaunted 60 point tier. Maybe I'm being too generous this year, but there were a lot of initially low scoring songs that I couldn't bring myself to cut and here we are. [Fun-ish fact, the song that was initially in #400th place is surprisingly still hanging around! A few songs that started in the low 20s are also somewhere In this pile.]

See ya in a couple days once this pile is a bit better managed.

Spark_Garou posted...

(First Reaction: An emotional instrumental piece that doesn't resonate with me enough to inspire any actual emotion... for the first three and a half minutes. THEN the song decides to transition to "sweeping adventure" music and things finally start to pick up! Sounds of marching, feelings of trepidation, hope, the song really goes through a lot in a short period of time once you reach that point. Sadly, the opening part just failed to connect with me on any level, which is holding this back somewhat... when you have to wait for over half of a song's runtime for it to get good, it can be a bit hard to say that you actually liked the song as a whole.)

It's another "musical journey" song in which I don't like most of the steps on said journey. And sadly, this song has lower highs than some other similar tracks which makes it hard to hold onto. Perhaps if the song could have started three minutes in? Then the quiet emotional build would end fairly quickly and we could focus more on the grand adventure and soaring triumph that give the song basically all of its points.

A lot of this makes somewhat more sense in the context of the show itself because basically the climax is timed to a specific event which is preceded by a lot of brooding and angst. Not that any of that necessarily changes the experience of listening to the song as its own thing.

pyresword posted...

A lot of this makes somewhat more sense in the context of the show itself because basically the climax is timed to a specific event which is preceded by a lot of brooding and angst. Not that any of that necessarily changes the experience of listening to the song as its own thing.

That makes sense. I still haven't really seen the show; I saw the first season as it aired, but I didn't have a chance to see the second or third and just never got around to going back to it for whatever reasons.

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Two songs to start the morning because I'm being *difficult* and likely moving a few songs up instead of actually eliminating them... again.

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#321: Paperclip Galaxy | Bengal Tiger (5:45)
https://squiggledot.bandcamp.com/track/bengal-tiger
Nominator: Kopazzynth [5 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Final Score: 60.00

(First Reaction: I really like the part starting at the three minute mark. That's the trippy, space floating vibe I go for. It only lasts about 45 seconds before some knocking sounds wakes me up from my floating dream state, but it was a really good 45 seconds. I'm not interested in the rest of the track, but I think I'll say that the high points are enough that I still like the song anyway?)

I do really like that part. Trippy and floating in a weird, almost meditative way. Those 40 seconds are totally my jam! And there's also five minutes of other song here. ....Okay, I shouldn't be that dismissive. The rest of the song is fine. It didn't have any moments that I really liked outside of the space-like section, but it's not as though I wanted the song to go away or anything. It's five minutes of "fine song" and forty seconds of "amazing song" which I like.

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#C#

#320: Play It By Ear | Bears Got to Go to College (3:16)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJtWj7cSH8Q
Characters: Dylan and Tyler
Nominator: @Raka_Putra [12 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Final Score: 60.00000003

(First Reaction:

BEARS. GOT TO GET KNOWLEDGE. BEARS GOT TO GO TO COLLEGE. AND THEN BEARS BECOME YOUR WIFE. YOULL BE WITH THAT BEAR FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

...Sure, take the 60 points, I suppose marrying a stuffed bear is worth a pass to the "I like this" tier. It's not exactly my favorite comedy song, but that chorus is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of my life [pun not intended] and there's at least one funny line.)

I'm really not that big into bears, but I am big into stuffed animals and the last parts of the song do become so absurd that it's funny. The sudden shift to marriage is one of the funniest moments in the topic & I also like the discussion about dressing up the bear.

[Fluttershy] ...I don't like little hats. 0 bonus hat points for this song.

Either way, I like this song. Probably one of the earliest drops in the "I like this" tier because it takes quite a while for the song to reach the jokes that I find funny, but it's a pretty good pick.

[Later: [Fluttershy] Well, it was very rude of me to say I don't like little hats. I don't want to wear a little hat, but I wouldn't say I have anything against little hats themselves or the people and animals that might want to wear one.

[Luce] It's okay for you to not like something, Flutter. Especially since we didn't even remove points for the little hat? You just didn't give extra points.

[Fluttershy] I know, but it was still mean for no real reason. I was trying to be dismissive in a fun way, but I really don't like the way I sounded there.

[Luce] It's fine to clarify your thoughts. Just... try not to fall into a panic induced spiral because of... *shakes her head* just try not to fall into a panic induced spiral.

[Fluttershy] *after taking a moment to calm down* I know. I'll be fine. Thank you.

[Luce] Anytime, *tries to think of a cute nickname* ...Fluff ball.

[Fluttershy] "Fluff ball?" *blink*

[Luce] It was the best I could think of in a hurry!

[Fluttershy] Maybe you should think again? </.<

[Luce] Yeah, probably. Though I'll note you were more confused than bothered by it. *decides to quickly move on to the next song before embarrassing Fluffy any further.*

[Fluttershy] Fluffy?!

[Luce] Okay, okay, not Fluffy! *leaves things there, knowing that now's not a good time to try to work out why that nickname is so triggering*

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It's pretty apt to have Fluttershy show up to the bear song lol.

Also I'm glad that this clip has the context that it's a bunch of stuffed bears, because some clips didn't have the opening part and some people imagined actual, real bears and that's a very different mental image lol.

My roommate during my first year of college slept with a Teddy Bear.

He was quite successful after college, and I'm not, so I'm in no position to criticize his sleeping habits.

Raka_Putra posted...

It's pretty apt to have Fluttershy show up to the bear song lol.

Also I'm glad that this clip has the context that it's a bunch of stuffed bears, because some clips didn't have the opening part and some people imagined actual, real bears and that's a very different mental image lol.

1: Thanks for being a good sport about her appearance. She was a bit... concerned about how talking to ourselves would look, so this actually helped.

2: Very glad for that context! I... imagine it would have less points if I didn't involve stuffed animals, though the mental image is still absurd enough that it may have wound up here anyway.

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CJones posted...

My roommate during my first year of college slept with a Teddy Bear.

He was quite successful after college, and I'm not, so I'm in no position to criticize his sleeping habits.

Honestly, that's kinda cute and I'm happy he was confident enough in his needs/desires to accept that instead of trying to deny it.

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And... no other songs today as I've now been at this for two and a half hours without wanting to cut anything. This is what happens when you like everything. *briefly considers trying another signature shifty eyed emoticon* <|.< ...Like a scar or something. That almost might work, though it's still pretty similar... well whatever; point is, I may go back to the "just assigning scores and posting songs without giving an actual ranking number" thing for a bit because taking upwards of three hours per elimination is not exactly a tenable solution.

Very good Bears Got to Go to College nomination

Spark_Garou posted...

And... no other songs today as I've now been at this for two and a half hours without wanting to cut anything. This is what happens when you like everything. *briefly considers trying another signature shifty eyed emoticon* <|.< ...Like a scar or something. That almost might work, though it's still pretty similar... well whatever; point is, I may go back to the "just assigning scores and posting songs without giving an actual ranking number" thing for a bit because taking upwards of three hours per elimination is not exactly a tenable solution.

Does this usually happen during your rankings, or was this an unusually good set?

redrocket posted...

Does this usually happen during your rankings, or was this an unusually good set?

There are always some songs we get ready to eliminate and then choose not to, shuffling things around and messing up all the numbers in the topic as a result. It's pretty common for us to have to frequent audits to try to figure out where all the numbers went wrong due to poorly documented changes.

That being said, this topic is far more live than usual. Ideally, we like to get three listens in on each song before starting so the list has time to settle... since most songs here still have only one listen, there's incredibly little grasp on what the finished list will look like. Which leads to... well, this. I'm hoping the chaotic nature of never knowing what's going to happen is fun for some of the audience, but I'm happy with it even if it is more stressful than a typical, coherent ranking.

Though, also, yes, I'm pretty sure this topic has the highest percentage of songs to reach this tier level. I've never done the math, but it feels... off to like so many. Not in a bad way, obviously! Just, like, off from a statistical standpoint.

...So the answer your question, I 'unno.

Three songs to start the day. Plan is to set aside anything getting "at least 65 points" and cut whatever isn't getting to that point, then figure out what ranking everything wound up in:

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???: Nik Nocturnal and Ankor | Unforgiven (2:58)
https://open.spotify.com/album/3CizRZAh0zgebtDRkxVvlH
Nominator: @BlackDra90n [13 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Final Score: 60.0000004 [Upgraded to 62.00107]

(First Reaction: I feel like it repeats "Unforgiven, I'm a villain" too many times--saying the line eight times in under three minutes is excessive--which is a shame because there are some damn good lines in this song.

I never asked for forgiveness
[...]
Come with me beyond, my unforgiven girls
Come cross the line with me, my unforgiven boys

What can I say, being true to yourself without apology appeals to me, as does the song serving as a rallying cry for others to join her. I do find it somewhat funny that for as many times as she claims to be a villain, she doesn't actually do anything villainous. I'm sure that's the point; that just being immature and not fitting in with their standards makes her a villain, I am occasionally capable of understanding things, but I think I'd like something at least evil adjacent if she's going to keep repeating that she's a villain.

...Still, this is another song that I like. Good concept and some good lyrics, I'd just personally prefer a bit more variety in said lyrics. But what's here is good.)

Good song with good lyrics. Feels like the type of thing where I can just say "I like this" and move along.

[Later: A few extra points. This is one of those songs in that "I'm sure there are still songs I like less than this, but I don't think I'll be taking it up a level" category... I like it, but it's getting a bit harder for songs that get the "say I like this and move on" treatment to hang around against all the songs I have a stronger attachment to.]

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???: QSound Labs | Starkey Cetera Virtual Barber Shop (4:33)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HCFOF-5nUw

Nominator: @Place [7 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 32.98
Final Score: 53.00 [Moved Aside] [Score set to 60.003] [Upgraded to 62.14]

(First Reaction: Well I don't like ASMR, or barber shops, or audio bouncing from one ear to the other, or the buzzing of an electric razor (we like a lot of buzzing sounds, but very much not that sound), and there's barely anything musical here... I guess there's perhaps two or three notes from a guitar? And I'm of two minds on what to do here: I could give it a total of two points and make it the new last place song because I don't really acknowledge this as a song at all. Were I to select a piece of music to listen to, it would almost assuredly not be this because there is no music.

Alternatively, I could give it some token amount of points. Questions of musicality aside, it's a novel auditory experience and I'd like to encourage people taking chances on really unique nominations like this. I also don't really give points for historical relevance, but this track is truly ahead of its time, predating the whole ASMR fad. And most importantly, I don't hate it. I dislike it, don't get me wrong, but it could get away with being somewhere in the 30s? And these contradicting ideas both feel very accurate. It is something that absolutely must take last place (Finger is at least one, if not two, tiers above this in terms of how likely I am to willingly listen to it as a piece of music) & something that absolutely cannot take last place (I don't hate it).

...I am reminded of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's computer game, in which you must simultaneously have Tea and No Tea in your inventory. This is bending my mind and breaking the scoring system. ...Which.... I'm going to say that I like things that break me, so this somehow sneaks into the 30 point range?)

I am still baffled by this, but the door opening sound freaked me out and tricked me into believing a door was opening behind me certainly proves the quality of their technology. I'm going to... move this above the 50 point line, if only barely, because it's a novel enough experience that I feel... vaguely positive towards it tonight. Not very, but slightly.

[Later: An experience that has grown on me considerably since the first listen. I'm still not sure about calling this a song, but it's a unique enough experience that I'm going to... say I like this and move it up one more tier.]

[Still Later: This is such a unique nomination that it keeps avoiding elimination... I have no idea how many times I've listened to this as I got ready to eliminate it because it always felt like it was going to be the next drop, only to decide that it was interesting enough that I wanted to keep it around for one more day.... but I think I'll just give this an extra two points and call it. That electric razor sets my fur on edge and there's not really enough music here for me--I'm finally starting to get to a point where this track's novelty isn't always holding up. Also, I'm pretty sure I've heard this at least ten times and there are still a bunch of songs with only one listen, and if I haven't moved this song really far up by now than I probably won't ever do so. But I'll give it a few points--enough that I could still slot in more songs beneath it--and finally end my daily visits to this barbershop so that I may focus on other nominations before I wind up getting tired of this & dropping it back down the list. Farewell and arrivederci, barbershop.]

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*continued*

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???: Madonna | Vogue (4:54)
https://youtu.be/GuJQSAiODqI?si=MW94nmOATMl34OvM
Nominator: @redrocket [13 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Final Score: 60.0000001 [Upgraded to 63.3333]

(First Impressions: I'm not sure Vogue would be in my top ten Madonna hits...

Take a Bow is the best, I don't see that as a debate.

-

Into the Groove is a song I've never thought about, but I'm suddenly desperate to hear it. *drops everything to listen to it* Oh yeah, that's peak dancing Madonna. I suppose I could see myself taking it over "Take a Bow" depending on what type of song I'm looking for.

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Open Your Heart might just take the third slot. Poppy and covered in enough metaphors that I can love it in spite of how sexual it is.

-

Borderline is just an inferior Open Your Heart, but that's still better than most songs. Also, can I just say how weird it is that Glee did a "Borderline / Open Your Heart" mash-up? They took an 80s Madonna song and merged it with an 80s Madonna song. The result sounded like an 80s Madonna song and nothing interesting happens when combining the lyrics. The hell was that even about? ...Also, I know I said this was the inferior song, but listening to it right now... I'm actually digging Borderline more than usual. Let's say this is in a tie with Open Your Heart.

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Lucky Star, now that's a Madonna song I haven't heard in quite a while! That's another big one....Huh, I'm thinking about putting this over Borderline & Open Your Heart actually. Making a Top Ten Madonna songs list is harder than I thought.

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Papa Don't Preach... it's one I wouldn't expect to have so high on my list due to its subject matter, but it's actually a damn good song & features Madonna at her most emotionally vulnerable. It has to be in the Top Ten, but how high up? ...Okay, let's just say nothing is ranked and just name my top ten Madonna songs, this list is never going to get finished & this wasn't meant to be difficult or time consuming.

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Human Nature is a more obscure pick, but the lines about not repressing yourself & refusing to apologize... this song hits A LOT of the right notes for me."You punished me for telling you my fantasies, I'm breakin' all the rules I didn't make". I love this one. I don't think I'd place it over Take A Bow, but it's a hard call.

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Art of Contrition, speaking of obscure picks, this is a really out there one that I was delighted to find when we covered "Like A Prayer" at Rank the Tracks. It's hectic, experimental, crazy, and broken. It is an EXPERIENCE and I am here for it.

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...Okay, my top 8 is pretty easy to define and then I can't make up my mind. Material Girl is a classic, but a bit high-pitched and I'm not always in the mood for it. Cherish can work when I'm in a really sappy mood... I really like its verses, but the choruses are a bit too sappy sweet for me *usually* which causes that song to bounce wildly in terms of scoring.... though yeah, I do really like a good chunk of the song, so let's put that in as a solid #9.

That leaves Material Girl, Vogue, Like a Prayer, Like a Virgin, Dress You Up, and Secret to battle it out for tenth place. I'm kinda feeling Secret right now? Yeah. The top ten as of this exact moment:

Take A Bow > Human Nature > Art of Contrition > Lucky Star > Into the Groove = Papa Don't Preach = Open Your Heart = Borderline > Cherish > Secret

....yeah, that feels like the Top Ten Madonna songs. I'm good with that list.

*having listened to all of the named songs in their entirety--some multiple times--she realizes that she's wasted a lot of time that could have been spent ranking songs that were actually nominated Or at least talking about the nominated song.*

Right, right, you nominated Vogue! It's not a bad song. It might be the 11th best Madonna song--well, I'm not counting music from Evita as I haven't seen the film, so let's say it might be the 11th best Madonna song excluding songs from musicals. That's the most damning with faint praise write up I've ever given, but here we are. Ultimately, the problem with this song is that it doesn't do anything better than other Madonna songs. She has an older, more refined voice in this song than her poppiest 80s hits... but my two favorite Madonna songs also feature her older, more refined sound -so- it's competing directly against two songs it cannot remotely stand against. There's some lines about escaping from pain and becoming something else, but her solution to pain is dancing which kinda kills my connection to the lyrics... like the lyrics start off so strong--yes, desperation to escape the pain of life, to become "someTHING" and not "someONE", with a focus on imagination and breaking free of gender rolls! And the payoff is..."dance floor!"

My disappointment is immeasurable.

And then that spoken word section... man, I like spoken word sections, but this is just naming celebrities. The best part of this section was Glee covering it and changing the line to "Will Shuster, I hate you". And I don't even like Glee! This song is making me miss Glee's version of the song AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE GLEE'S VERSION OF THE SONG THAT MUCH.

...ya know, I'm starting to think 11th may be overvaluing this song a tad. Like, I enjoyed the song when I started---not a lot, but I was going to leave the writeup as "well, even third rate Madonna is something that I still like", but the more I type about the song the madder I get.

....Ehh...fine, take exactly 60 points. I do like it. It's catchy and I'm not sick of it even after all these years of hearing it on the radio. But wow, this is... very much not her best work.)

Well, it's a popular well known song that I haven't heard so many times that I'm sick of it. That puts it over Wayward Son & Eleanor Rigby at least. I can't really think of anything else to add here; it does get some points because I like hearing Madonna enough to carry it this far, but it's so far below my favorite Madonna songs that it has a pretty low ceiling.

[Later: I'm adding a few more points to this one, but I think I'll be keeping it below the 65 point threshold. I do like it, more than I'm usually willing to admit, but there are so many unsatisfying aspects to the song (the already mentioned trio of focusing on dancing, a disappointing and dull spoken word section, and the fact that there are so many Madonna songs I'd rather be listening to) that this song's time would come sooner rather than later. It's definitely further into the 60s than I was giving it credit for, but

*the write up trails off there without an end to the sentence or closing bracket*]

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Spark_Garou posted...

(First Reaction: I feel like it repeats "Unforgiven, I'm a villain" too many times--saying the line eight times in under three minutes is excessive--which is a shame because there are some damn good lines in this song.

I find it to be a bit catchy. Also this is a metal cover of an actual kpop song which is pretty cool.

Impromptu Madonna Top 10 was unexpected. Lol, thanks for that. I have to admit though, my fondness for Vogue is largely tied to the video. Id say its a top 3 video from her. I will fight for this!

BlackDra90n posted...

I find it to be a bit catchy. Also this is a metal cover of an actual kpop song which is pretty cool.

Huh. Makes me slightly curious about the original version. Not sure I'll actually add it to ZA'LIST, but I'll think about it.

redrocket posted...

Impromptu Madonna Top 10 was unexpected. Lol, thanks for that. I have to admit though, my fondness for Vogue is largely tied to the video. Id say its a top 3 video from her. I will fight for this!

I can't picture a single other Madonna video in my mind, so I'll take your word about the other videos being worse.

...More seriously, Vogue certainly has an iconic video, I will give it that much.

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Two more songs to actually hit the five song target, starting with the long awaited song that started in next-to-last place:

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#C#

???: SiivaGunner - Super Mario Galaxy 2, Puzzle Plank Galaxy (2:27)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXz-oqGf3IU
Nominator: @paulg235 [10 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 19.49
Final Score: 12.96 [Upgraded to 40.00] [Upgraded to 56.19] [Upgraded to 60.01] [Upgraded to 62.99995]

(First Reaction: Well... I kinda hate the type of square dancing music that Puzzle Plank Galaxy reminds me of, I do not like the Woody's Roundup theme in the least. and mashing them together has created an odd sensation in which I'm not sure which of the components I dislike more. It's... I mean, it's not my most hated song ever or anything, but I think I do kinda hate everything about this song.)

Two bad tastes that taste worse together. The best part is the dead silence fake-out that gives hope the song may end after only a few seconds. Strangely, I do feel more tolerant of the Puzzle Plank Galaxy portion of the song which I may charitably describe as "not for me, but I don't care enough to hate it"... but I'm also much, much less tolerant of the Woody's Roundup theme which is somehow threatening to drag this down below the 10 point theshold. I'm not entirely sure why; none of the Toy Stories are a favorite film, but I don't particularly dislike the first three so I'm not quite sure where this overwhelming hatred is coming from. Either way, the intense negative feelings are enough to drop this song even further... which, since this song started in next-to-last place, is really not a great sign.

[Later: Huh, you know, I actually kinda like the Puzzle Plank Galaxy bits this time and I don't hate Woody's Roundup. I think... I'm going to go a bit wild with increasing the score and jump this three tiers to the 40 point category. While this is by far the happiest I've ever been to listen to the song, it's still a pretty long way from being great--combining something I kinda like with something I mildly dislike results in a concotion that struggles to reach the 50 point mark, but... well, for something that was next-to-last after both its initial listens, this isn't too bad.]

[Still Later: I... feel oddly happy that this song references his horse, Bullseye. *sighs* God, I'm getting sappy in my old age... just go up a couple more tiers.]

[Sillt Later: [Fluttershy} *sing-song voice* You~ like me.

[Luce] Stop it.

[Fluttershy] Y~ou like me.

[Luce] I told you to stop it.

[Fluttershy] I just think the audience should have a little context on why a reference to Woody's horse companion suddenly gave this song a bunch of extra points~.

[Luce] God, when did you start delighting in annoying people?

[Fluttershy] Who knows? Maybe I've spent too much time hanging around a bad influence. *wink wink* *nudge nudge*... *noticing that Luce is in her wolf form and her head is lower to the ground, she lightly boops her nose* Boop.

[Luce] ...

[Fluttershy] You're smiling~.

[Luce] I AM AND I HATE IT.]

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???: LCD Soundsystem | Great Release (6:36)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NFy1VJFDrZ4
Nominator: @ZaziGuado [13 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 43.59
Final Score: 51.0002 [Upgraded to 54.09] [Moved Aside] [Score set to 60.015] [Upgraded to 64.79]

(First Reaction: No, thank you.

...I should say something here, I know, but I... don't want to? This is one of those songs that is so fine that I have no particular reaction to it. I don't like it, but not strongly enough to complain. It's... fine. Fine, but no, thank you.)

I don't know. I can tell that the song is trying to be evocative and powerful, with its dramatic musical swells, but it never manages to inspire any actual emotion in me. The last lyric--"Someday dying will be a great release"--is nice, but it's not really up there with my favorite lines of the topic And... yeah, I wish I was able to connect with this because it sounds like there's a song I should love here, but I just... don't. I am moving it up a tier though because, while I'm not connecting with it, the *attempt* to form an emotional connection through music is performed admirably enough that I'd say I feel vaguely positive about the song.

[Later: And it feels like it should have a higher score
And it feels like it starts real slow
And it feels like this is repetitive
And it feels like it should have a lower score
And it feels like I've run this joke too far
And it feels... better than 53 points, to be honest

Well, this is getting a bit better with each listen, so perhaps I'd eventually connect with it if I gave it enough attempts.]

[Still Later: I don't know. I wouldn't say I like this, but... I don't know. I like it even though I don't like it.]

[One More Later: One of a few songs like the Barbershop where I keep saying I'll cut it before delaying things. But... I think I may be prepared to release this now, pun intended for once. For all the times I've heard this song, and as much as I've come around to liking it, I only remember it as the 'And it FEEEELLLLLLSSSS~" song, which is odd because he doesn't use the line that often. Looking at some lyrics--though I'll note no sources agree on what the lyrics are--the singer only does that four times? Strange how it feels like it's so much more prevalent than it is.

So, song. I like this now. I think the swelling instruments and power of his voice cause me to get drawn into the song, which is actually quite nice. But like the Barbershop, I feel my "listen to this every day and not eliminate it" phase has reached its actual conclusion and that it won't make it to the next level. Still, definitely held on for quite a while here and I'm putting it pretty close to the 65 point marker, so there'll almost assuredly be a few more songs that rank below it.]

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Spark_Garou posted...

Huh. Makes me slightly curious about the original version. Not sure I'll actually add it to ZA'LIST, but I'll think about it.

If you do here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBURTj20HXI

Although admittedly I like the cover more.

BlackDra90n posted...

If you do here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBURTj20HXI

Although admittedly I like the cover more.

I figured when that was the one you nominated, but I think it'll be fun to listen to the original. if I prefer the cover as you do, then the cover will seem better in comparison and we'll have something in common (which would be good) ; if I like the original, then I found a song I like which is also good. Kinda a win-win scenario from my perspective, so I'll add it.

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Four songs today. This one's my fault because I slept in and lost an hour and a half of work time. I tried to get up, but I couldn't keep my eyes open to actually accomplish anything. Factor in my indecisiveness (I'm somehow finding songs that I'm still not eliminating or officially giving at least 65 points) and four songs is the best I can manage tonight:

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???: FERNANDO VELAZQUEZ from "Crimson Peak" | EDITH'S THEME (1:57)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRi9KgffL3A
Nominator: @Snake5555555555 [10 songs remaining]
Character: Edith Cushing

Initial Score: 55.36
Final Score: 59.26 [Upgraded to 60.0346] [Upgraded to 60.56]

(First Reaction: Not bad, but I feel like it's a bit lacking in substance. My thoughts are basically "oh hey, this is a kinda neat orchestral piece and ohh, it's over already", with the song failing to inspire much thought beyond "kinda neat". I'd say that I kinda like it, but it needs to leave a bigger lasting impact if it's going to escape from this tier.)

Ooh, I'm suddenly finding myself drawn towards the cello in this song. This is actually really nice... I'm going to move this one up towards the end of the Nebula and see how i feel about it later, but I think this has pretty good odds of getting moved up a tier. It's definitely at least escaping the culling of songs that is currently happening.

[Later: I apparently moved this one up a tier without a single word. I was probably in a hurry that night, I suppose. Anyway, this is a pretty nice song... it's sad and wistful, which is always a plus, and I don't listen to much cello focused music. ....Likely because I don't often listen to instrumentals where the instrument would be more common. I like this.]

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???: I.......S | [da.data...aa]8 (1:16)
https://ikts.bandcamp.com/track/da-data-aa-8
Nominator: Kopazzynth [4 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 60.11
Final Score: 60.79 [Upgraded to 62.00]

(First Reaction: I have no idea how to put this. I don't like this, but I like it. The notes are like a jackhammer, monotonous and rattling in my skull. I don't like it, but somehow, I like the song even though it consists entirely of things I don't like being done in ways that I don't think I like. I don't get how this works or why I'm giving it a good score, but I apparently am, and I'm truly baffled by this outcome.)

I really don't know why I like this. I don't even know how I like this. But not only do I apparently like this, I seem to like it enough to give it a few extra a fractions of a point. I'm just as confused now as I was when I heard it the first time.

[Later: An inexplicable song that continues improving with each listen, even as I find it impossible to identify what I'm enjoying about it at all. Somehow this track works even though it feels like it really shouldn't and I fear that I'll never understand why, no matter how many times I listen to it.]

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???: King Stephen | Metanoia (3:52)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC0Sfsqkb6U
Nominator: @MacArrowny [13 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 50.50
Final Score: 55.168 [Moved Aside] [Score set to 62.40] [Upgraded to 63.33]

(First Reaction: ....Well, we're forty seconds in and I already really want this song to stop. Droning siren noises in the background AND a pulsing beat? That's... ya know, I didn't even realize you could overlay two monotonously repetitive beats to double the torture. I should probably thank you for introducing me to new levels of suffering.

...On the plus side, there are sections--several, lengthy sections--that aren't like this. Actually, there's a strech starting around 2:10 that is magnificent! With that choir backing the high-pitched notes, it's this Techno Gothic aesthetic that is so amazing and.... ohh, here come those parts I hate again. This song somehow manages to shift between an 8 point song an a 90 point song. I am sad that it does not spend as much time in the 90 point area as I'd like, but I cannot truly hate a song with a section that I love that much. Unfortunately, there's never going to be a satisfying score for this song... averaging the 93 that I want to give my Techno Gothic masterpiece with the 8 points I want to give the main song gives a result of "50.50" points which is not even remotely a satisfying answer. And yet, I don't really have a better one? I love that part, so I have to say that my feelings towards this track are more positive than negative... but wow, the main part of this song makes it really hard to admit that. It's like... "do we *really* have to give this positive points? The majority of this song is not just in last place, but so ridiculously far below next-to-last place that I don't have an analogy for this."

...So... uhh... thank you, I love it & thank you, I hate it. Here's an absolutely middling value that fails to represent anything at all.)

That Lion King nomination from Place really makes this song seem much better. Because while both tracks have a section of short lived beauty, this track itself is much shorter so we get to the good stuff in under eight and a half minutes. In fact, I could listen to this entire song twice in the entire time it takes for that song to get to the part I love, which helps refine my expectations. And while I'm not really a fan of the main part of the song, I do feel a bit better about it; it feels very "heavy" and I do like the crushing weight behind the song's repetitive droning. I think I'd actually say that I kinda like this song tonight. Though the score needs to be extremely precise because I want to slot it into a very narrow gap... I suppose I could rearrange some other song's scores, but it's more fun to have this incredibly precise numbers.

[Later: Honestly, I don't mind the main part of this song so much anymore. I know why I used to hate it since it's relying almost entirely on things I don't usually like, but knowing that those sections are fairly short & that one of my favorite moments of the entire topic is going to come up soon makes it easy to tolerate. I'll say that I've actually learned to like this song these days.]

[More Later: Raising this score just a touch so that it slots in less than a full point below Vogue, which feels right. This song has much, much, much higher highs than Vogue (and probably 90% of the topic to be honest), but Vogue's consistency gives it a slight edge over this track which--while I definitely am leaning to appreciate the harshness of its low points--is decidedly not consistent.]

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???: Yakuza 0 | 24 Hour Cinderella (1:51)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhe7rcDUTeI
Nominator: @GavsEvans123 [6 songs remaining]

Initial Score: 60.00
Final Score: 60.0347 [Upgraded to 64.90]

(First Reaction: I like this song, but I have a feeling that when it comes time to actually organize the massive clump of exactly 60 point songs, this one will end up in last place while everything else gets at least a tiny fraction of a point (60.00000001 or such) to move it above this. It's sweet, oddly romantic, and has a fun music video... but the song is a bit short and he isn't the best singer, so I really can't see any version of myself moving this above the exactly 60 point marker. Still, I do like it; I have nothing against a simple fun time.)

Simple, cute, fun, and romantic are positive enough modifiers for this to fairly easily escape the bottom of the 60 point tier after all! I don't really have anything else to add here; not the biggest fan of the Yakuza series, so I'm disinclined to go off on a tangent about the games themselves, nor am I a big Cinderella fan that I'd want to talk about any version of her story. (I also don't especially dislike Yakuza or Cinderella, so there's not even an opportunity to fill time by complaining about them). Just a fun song that gets "I like this" status.

[Later: It's so sweetly romantic that I actually want to move this up quite a bit... but the button press sound effects are distracting. I wouldn't say they ruin the song, but I would say that it's much easier to cut this before the 65 point zone with their rapid drumming drowning out the song I want to hear. It gives me an easy out of "yeah, I'd move this up to the really like tier, but listen to that literal one note rapid drumming" in which I can both acknowledge that I really like it and feel justified in eliminating it because I probably won't come back to this track often since I do find those bits distracting.]

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