Lurker > Johnbobb

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/1/15ca2479.jpg

32. Cotton Eye Joe
Source: Rednex
Villain: Cotton Eye Joe
Nominator: scarletspeed8 (eliminated)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOYZaiDZ7BM

Villainy: 6
Characterization: 4
Melody: 10
Total: 20/30

"He brought disaster wherever he went / The hearts of the girls was to hell broken sent / They all ran away so nobody would know / And left all the men 'cause of Cotton-Eyed Joe"

I was surprised to see Cotton Eye Joe, because it certainly doesn't sound like a villain song. I mean this is the kind of upbeat song every DJ plays at family friendly dances. I mean, it's just a silly song about a guy with a silly name!

Then you start to hear the line repeating throughout, "If it hadn't been for Cotton Eye Joe, I'd have been married a long time ago." That's strange. What did Joe do to ruin this singer's potential marriage? As it turns out, the answer is a bit more sinister than it seems. Cotton Eye Joe is a playboy, as it turns out, and though no one can agree on what "cotton-eyed" really means, it's clear that Joe was a man who strolled in to town, slept with every woman in the town, broke up every single relationship, and left the women so broken-hearted and ashamed (and in some interpretations, with STDs) that they all ran off.

Joe is a certained homewrecker, to be sure, but he's also an enigma, so it's hard to give him too high of characterization points here. But he did serve as inspiration for the cathiest and most beloved line dance of all time, so what are a few broken marriages left in his wake as a result?

good winner

Killer robot

The Bride

Nation

Witches

Yes man walking

calamity, scream insanity, all you ever gonna be's another great fan of me, break

bear witness

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8e4c8b9f.jpg

33. Goodbye Earl
Source: The Chicks
Villain: Earl
Nominator: Bane_of_Despair (2 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7gNf_9njs

Villainy: 6
Characterization: 7
Melody: 7
Total: 20/30

"Well, she finally got the nerve to file for divorce / She let the law take it from there / But Earl walked right through that restraining order / And put her in intensive care"

Fun little find from the Wikipedia article:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/2/2b9d8771.png

Ya know, I wasn't really expecting The Chicks to have such a major comeback a few years back, but I'm very glad it happened, as it got me to check out their stuff. I did listen to them much in late 90s/early 00s, as I wasn't really into country (still not really) and I was too young at the time to really notice their political impact, which looking back was pretty badass. Gaslighter was their first full album I listened through, largely because the title track came on the radio and was an absolute bop.

Best part of the song is easily Natalie Maine's gradually more and more exaggerated pronunciation of Earrrrrrrl.

Kind of like with no body, no crime, it's difficult to rank this one for difficulty, less so because there's mystery about what he did, but moreso because the song is 90% about killing Earl and 10% about what he did to deserve it (and yeah, he kinda did). He was an abusive asshole, but the main characterization of him comes from the story of Mary Anne and Wanda as they're killing him, hiding his body, lying to the police and moving on with their lives. Overall one of the more fun murder ballads out there.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/a/ab3839ae.jpg

34. She'll Be Mine
Source: Galavant
Villain: King Richard
Nominator: Fluttershy_Pony (eliminated)

https://youtu.be/AfYyC2dsF0k

Villainy: 9
Characterization: 6
Melody: 5
Total: 20/30

"I'll get back to all my hobbies / Like raising taxes and tormenting the poor / Curse those poor"

This is the kind of song Prince John would've really benefited from! Although I don't know if Disney would've allowed for their animated lion to sing about starting a genocidal war. I think the only thing keeping this from being a straight up 10 for villainy is that fact that he's singing it primarily for love (or desire) of his wife. Like as far as his priorities go it's:

1. win back wife's affections
2. torture and murder Galavant
3. start a genocidal war
4. make the lives of his citizens terrible

So, like, that's almost something. He's up against hard competition here.

The song is pretty solidly good, but ultimately looking back at the list I found it to be a little forgettable all-in-all. It comes and goes very quick, and is a cheery little ditty even if it's not a whole lot more. King Richard is definitely not a great guy, from what we learn about him here, although he does come off as something of a characature (which I assume is intentional).

tag

Great_Paul posted...

Yeah I know it might've been a bit of a stretch with nominating that song, but I just like it quite a bit and thought that it might somewhat fit.

(Btw I nominated that one)

Whoops forgot to change that from Music Meister!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/fd560fef.jpg

35. Wait for It
Source: Hamilton
Villain: Aaron Burr
Nominator: Jesse_Custer (2 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulsLI029rH0

Villainy: 2
Characterization: 9
Melody: 8
Total: 19/30

"Love doesn't discriminate / Between the sinners and the saints / It takes and it takes and it takes"

Ya know, I was really surprised to see this song nominated as a villain song. I mean, Burr as a villain makes sense, even if it's not in an obvious way like King George. He's not outright evil by any stretch, but he is selfish and concerned with his own success more than the greater best interest of the country. He's certainly the main antagonist.

That being said, Wait for It as a villain song is a stretch. Like even giving it a 2 here for villainy feels generous, and if I didn't know his real intentions, I don't know if I would've ultimately gone that far. Like the line about "death doesn't descriminate between the sinners and the saints" I think portrays his willingness to do what is necessary for his own self interest compared to other more noble characters, as it doesn't really make a difference in the end the path you take to get where you end up. Just barely squeezes him into misguided. Also, ya know, the affair.

But the song itself is excellent. Leslie Odom Jr. kills it, and the Hamilton soundtrack as a whole is undeniably excellent. It's quiet and soft, almost sounding like a love song, before rising into a sort of anthem, and it works so well. It also does a really good job telling you just about everything you need to know about why Burr is the way he is, his relationship with Hamilton, his relationship to Theodosia, and his overall goal.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/bc183bb1.jpg

36. I'm the Music Meister
Source: Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Villain: The Music Meister
Nominator: Jesse_Custer (2 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5vKwcz820s

Villainy: 7
Characterization: 6
Melody: 6
Total: 19/30

"Good guys or bad guys, it doesn't really matter / You are all just slaves to my hypnotic patter!"

Oh hey, two DC songs back to back, I swear that wasn't intentional.

It's also funny having this drop so close to Sweet's "What You Feel," as Music Meister and Sweet have pretty similar powers all in all. Just like Sweet, Music Meister mind controls people through making them sing and dance. Music Meister definitely feels a little less evil, although he's still plenty evil. I mean, anything involving making unwilling slaves is pretty unavoidably evil, although he never expresses the desire to do anything specific with it. Like Sweet has everyone dancing until they combust and taking an unwilling underage bride, while Music Meister wants to do vague generic evil schemes.

Fuckin Black Canary showing up to immediately try to one up everyone. I mean I get it given that her voice is literally her whole thing, but still, what a needless flex. Although to be fair, props to Black Manta too.

NPH is obviously a good singer, and while the song is inconsistent, it does better than much of its competition in having a listenable song during an action scene, and I'll give it credit for that. It even finds time to give Music Meister a little backstory, even if it is pretty simple.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/5f000ee1.jpg

37. Look Who's Laughing Now
Source: Batman: Arkham Knight
Villain: The Joker
Nominator: hombad47 (2 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB6O-5obvu4

Villainy: 8
Characterization: 6
Melody: 5
Total: 19/30

"Barbara's dead and I'm laughing / Jason Todd's dead and I can't stop laughing / I'm even dead and I can't stop laughing / What else can I do?"

What's really weird is that I played all the Arkham games (except the VR one) and I don't remember this song in the game. I looked up clips of it to try and remember the context and I just can't recall it happening. But the context (spoilers for Arkham City) Joker is fucking dead and haunting Batman from beyond the grave. Although the difference between this and something like I'm Alive is that this isn't like an innocent lost life and the protagonist just being haunted by their own mental illness; everything Joker says is literal and haunting Batman's conscience was directly his intention in life.

I'll give props to Hamill here; the Joker voice really isn't one that translates well into music, but he doesn't his damnedest and makes something surprisingly listenable out of it. It's not like an incredible song, and it does the thing that happens sometimes in original vocal game music where it's still kind of meant to be a track playing in the background while you do other things, so it's enjoyable without being all that attention-grabbing.

And yeah, Joker is singing about all the murders he's committed and laughing about them; easy villain score here.

Bugs Bunny
Trix Rabbit
Easter Bunny
Roger Rabbit

Nanis23 posted...

This site has ads?

Oh, wait, yes,
This is the site that after 13 years of using a smartphone made me install a adblock on it because it was unusable

Do yourself a favor and install adblock

Yep, I never bothered with mobile adblock but this site just became so bad without it i finally gave in

Tag

Remedy in a World of Hurt

never played it

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38. What You Feel
Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Villain: Sweet
Nominator: CoolCly (eliminated)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xh8duZ1-j0

Villainy: 8
Characterization: 6
Melody: 5
Total: 19/30

"You brought me down and doomed this town / So, when we blow this scene / Back we will go to my kingdom below and you will be my queen"

(just to clarify, the song nominated was What You Feel, so the Dawn's Ballet section at the beginning of the Youtube video isn't being considered, not that it would make a huge difference)

I really didn't care for Dawn's voice too much. I know she's not really the focus here, but it definitely knocked it down a point or so when her sections come through. Again, I generally like the big vocal juxtaposition in music (ex. most of my favorite White Stripes songs are the ones where Meg gets to throw some lines in) but here it didn't work for me. It's a shame too, because Sweet himself has some vocal range, the song as a whole just didn't really blow me away. I did enjoy it though!

Sweet's plan is pretty clearly evil though! Making the town sing and dance is sketchy in concept, as really anything that deals with mind control, even in a lighthearted way, kinda pushes the line. But then he refers to people potentially dancing so much they combust, and the evil scale shoots up. Still, there doesn't seem to be much malice behind what he's saying; he's more reckless than anything and doesn't really desire suffering. The exception here the cements him high in the category is Buffy, who he wants to see burn directly, and Dawn, who...

"What I mean / I'm fifteen / So, this queen thing's illegal"

ugh.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/7/7fd1e0f5.jpg

39. Tip the Scale
Source: Donkey Kong Country: Return to Krocodile Isle
Villain: King K. Rool
Nominator: Pirateking2002 (1 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3PGCKAwIOc

Villainy: 6
Characterization: 10
Melody: 3
Total: 19/30

"And what disgraceful prattle / while was off secluded / words of mutiny, ha / Id have you executed"

And we have another perfect characterization score! And it's for... King K. Rool? Is that right? Let me tell you I was shocked at the incredible lengths this song goes to to explain its antagonist. In one 5-minute song, you get:
1. who he is, his name, his rank
2. his relationship with his crew
3. his crew's relationship with each other
4. his relationship with the protagonist
5. his backstory
6. his intentions and specific plans to carry them out
7. his way of ruling
8. his brand of cruelty
And with all of that it still has time to include puns and a reprise of the protagonist's main theme. There is a handful of 10 characterization songs yet to come but Tip the Scale could frankly compete against each one of them.

Again, it's a shame it's not a better song. K. Rool definitely makes an effort here, and his inflections benefit the song a lot. With better instrumentals, better sound quality, a better vocal supporting cast, this song again could've been a top competitor, but what's there beyond K. Rool himself is largely a mess and didn't click with me as a whole, even if I am overall very impressed with it as a villain song specifically.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8896c427.jpg

40. The Annihilation of Monsteropolis/Airman
Source: The Megas (Mega Man)
Villain: Airman
Nominator: Fluttershy_Pony (1 remaining)

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

Villainy: 10
Characterization: 6
Melody: 3
Total: 19/30

"Lives on this earth I grow tired of / Death from above / The annihilation of everyone you know and love"

And we have our first perfect Villainy score! And I never would've thought of Airman as a 10/10 villain, but here we are. To be honest though, with the word "annihilation" in the title of the song, it was pretty clear where this would end up fairly quick. It almost makes Airman out to be a tragic figure; he's primarily doing what he was built to do, for he is quite literally a robot that can only blow people. But tragic figure status is thrown out the window pretty quick when you're directly saying "you are all insects and I'm going to slaughter every one of you and your loved ones."

Shame it's not a better song though, or this could've been a really top-tier contender. The Megas had one song nominated last time; it placed in 104th. Also with a 3/10 melody score! I just don't really care for The Megas I guess. The vocals aren't impressive, their sound overall is flat, it just really doesn't appeal to me at all.

man this one's tough

Cubone/Marowak and Sandshrew/Sandslash are some of my favorite lines, regardless of type

meanwhile Camerupt is a favorite in both fire and ground and Groundon may be my overall favorite legendary

ultimately I went gen 1 but it's so close

HM to Gen 2 for Phanpy/Donphan and Swinub and Gen 4 for Mamoswine (I completely forgot that Mamoswine came out two generations later, it feels much more natural than most separated lines

Boondocks
Rick and Morty
Robot Chicken
Space Ghost Coast to Coast

FoolFantastic posted...

10. Piggy (Track #2)
Score: 83 (Average Rank: 9.36/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan, hotdogturtle (#14)

Johnbobb: The back third of this song is one of my favorite drum breakdowns of all time

9. Reptile (Track #12)
Score: 104 (Average Rank: 7.71/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, Jesse_Custer, Fluttershy_Pony (#12)

Terrible results what are you doing

and the Pauper

Gardevoir
Rayquaza
Mudkip
Regirock (ideally I'd want to vote for the Regi trio but that's not how this works)

no

Legitimately might be offended if Gen 3 doesn't take this easily

Underleveled posted...

Are there still open slots?

14 spots left by my count

paulg235 posted...

Funny how both of my wrestling noms ended up being my highest nom for each ranking.

I forgot you nominated Voices!

Thanks for running the ranking!

hombad why

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/e/ebc625f3.jpg

41. The Game
Source: WWE
Villain: Triple H
Nominator: paulg236 (eliminated)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYmm5YQSv2I

Villainy: 5
Characterization: 4
Melody: 9
Total: 18/30

"Look over your shoulder, ready to run / Like a good little bitch from a smoking gun / I am the game, and I make the rules / So move on out or you can die like a fool"

Sorry Paul, I really hate to drop your last two back to back, especially given that I really love both songs, but both fell here for essentially the same reasons. Also worth noting that Triple H falls a bit short of Randy Orton, who placed in 29th last time with Voices (although I prefer this song tbh).

When I was really into wrestling in the mid-2000s, Triple H was by far my favorite (I was also a big fan of Undertaker and Rey Mysterio). This stands out as one of the best WWE intros, largely because Motorhead is a blast to listen to any day (the Evolution Line In the Sand faction intro may actually be my #1).

Ultimately, while it's a great song, it's more mid-tier in terms of an actual villain song. It's aggressive, sure, but there's a pretty distinct difference between that and actively being evil. The line quoted above is probably the cruelest in the song, but it doesn't ever come across as "I want you to die" but instead "if you get in my way I'll fuck you up." It's mean, for sure, but on a very impersonal and self-aggrandizing level.

You don't really learn much about Triple H here beyond that though. He's aggressive, tough, not to be messed with, and clever enough on top of that to outsmart you if you do try something.

Snake5555555555 posted...

Also I super dig that banner, good stuff!

Thank you!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/c17c6ac8.jpg

42. When You're Evil
Source: Voltaire
Villain: Voltaire
Nominator: paulg235 (1 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWYCS6k1IOA

Villainy: 4
Characterization: 5
Melody: 9
Total: 18/30

"For Beelzebub has never seen a soldier quite like me / Not only does his job but does it happily"

I need to listen to more Voltaire, because every song I've heard from him is an absolute banger. Something about the gravelly voice paired with the violin -- what would you call this genre of music? I always personally refer to it as devil folk because songs I've heard with this sort of a sound usually have a grim or devilish theme. It's equal parts sinister and catchy and I just really dig it.

I kind of have to laugh at the general idea of the song though. The entire basis of the song is that the singer is evil; he says so several times over. So what makes him evil? Well he puts pebbles in your shoes, and makes you slip on banana peels, and steals candy from babies. Like, that is the definition of evil? Also, who is it singing the song? Like I listed Voltaire as the villain for lack of a more absolutely distinct one, but I kind of went back and forth between viewing it as a guy who just generally does awful things for a living vs an actual embodiment of evil/misfortune. Either way, I do think the outro does a lot for the characterization of the character, as he tries to fake out the listener by pretending to be lonely for who he is, only to be like lol nah being evil is fun. Oh Voltaire, you clever prankster!

man the fact that the song itself is age-restricted on Youtube without actually showing anything says a lot

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/5f1187b1.jpg

43. Pussy Liquor
Source: Rob Zombie/House of 1000 Corpses
Villain: The Firefly Family
Nominator: Snake55555557 (1 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhrCkKX1-1I

Villainy: 9
Characterization: 3
Melody: 6
Total: 18/30

"One, two, three, who should I kill? / Every motherfucker running up the hill / One, two, three, what should I do? / Get fucked up and fuck up you"

Ya know normally I'm really into Rob Zombie, but I've always thought this song wasn't one of his best. I mean, it's great, but it's definitely no Black Sunshine or Thunder Kiss '65 or Dragula or Living Dead Girl. I like Sheri Moon Zombie's voice appearing in Rob's songs generally, partially because it's so wildly different from his own, but I've always felt like the rhythm of the chorus is a little off.

As far as the characters themselves go, I give it some points for directly naming the characters one by one with a very brief intro, although it doesn't really tell you much about the characters beyond the fact that they're crazy, violent and kinda gross. As far as villainy goes though, there's not much I can argue against. They like to get fucked up and kill people; that's quite literally the whole point of the song (and the movie, really).

100%

Pretty good top 2!

Maniac64 posted...

And then he kills himself because he can't reconcile his beliefs in justice and right/wrong with Valjeans actions.

Well yeah

All the more reason it's more misguided than villainous!

Oh hey this match looks familiar

"Best New Character 2007 FINALS: GLaDOS v. Nathan Drake"

Drake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMU38n3wo_E

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/f1fab434.png

44. Stars
Source: Les Miserables
Villain: Javert
Nominator: Raka_Putra (2 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urxk4mveLCw

Villainy: 2
Characterization: 8
Melody: 8
Total: 18/30

"He knows his way in the dark / But mine is the way of the Lord / Those who follow the path of the righteous / Shall have their reward"

This is a really great comparison to last ranking's winner, Judge Claude Frollo and Hellfire. On the surface, they're similar characters, authority figures who take on villainous roles because of his faith. But that faith and belief in law's sanctity is what differentiates them. Frollo believes in faith and law, sure, but only to the point that it benefits him, and Hellfire is the song where he admits outright that he knows that the path he's on is ungodly, but his lust and hatred are more important to him than his faith. Stars is the exact opposite, where Javert establishes himself as a tragic figure rather than the monster of a man that Frollo is; he truly believes that the path he's on is correct and that his faith will lead him to doing the right thing. He's about as misguided as a villain can come, and the mention of wanting to see Valjean "safe behind bars" rather than dead or even defeated cements that.

Also goddamn can Philip Quast sing, I mean the vocal belting on that man. So good.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/023448b0.png

45. The Nowhere King
Source: Centaurworld
Villain: The Nowhere King
Nominator: Pirateking2000 (2 remaining)

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

Villainy: 8
Characterization: 5
Melody: 5
Total: 18/30

"Hush now, hide, all you little ones / Rush now, into the middle of nowhere / Singing and laughter will die"

I don't know much about Centaurworld aside from the promotional images Netflix put out back when it first was premiering, and this is absolutely not the vibe I got from it. I mean if anything, it looked like it had more of an Adventure Time vib-- ohhh, this is one of the shows that's goofy and colorful on the surface, and then has really dark undertones to shake things up, huh?

I mean, this is terrifying. Is it a song that I'd want to listen to regularly? Not really! But it's not bad at all, it's creepy in an absolutely effective way and sounds like a legitimate lullaby, but just ever so slightly off. It feels very similar to the classic "1-2 Freddy's coming for you" song from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Similarly to Freddy, it also seems to be about killing children, which is a pretty instant high ranking on the villainy score. The only thing keeping it from being a little higher is that it is a little vague about what exactly is happening. Is he just killing people? There's a hint of sadism in the "you will bring joy to the Nowhere King" line. Really doing a lot here with a fairly short song.