Lurker > rwlh

Great match 2.

Galaxy Fantasy
Zero Gravity Area

bump this post in time
to another world

Up!

Dr Wily Stage 1
Metal Man

Murphiroth posted...

Shoutout to rwlh for the great writeups

Thank you! Like I said, it was easier for me to talk about albums instead of individual songs. Glad to know folks seem to have enjoyed the writeups!

omg that believer cover is a mood and a half

I was pretty surprised I didn't like The Pit more. I enjoyed it very much when the album came out but I guess it didn't compare next to the rest of the album.

Yay Love Deluxe! I will make sure to rank this one.

Pharaoh Man
Revealing

Skyway really exceeded my expectations, dang. I'm happy to know so many people liked it. I might nominate it for next VGMC - would be curious to see how it does in that setting.

Come on, don't stop talking now that the ranking is over!

I have a lot of music recommendations from this topic, yep lol

Storm Eagle
Skyway

Removing all traces of humanity from the world is awful. Like, one of the worst things. The fact that Ted Faro does it for some petty motive is almost worse than some lofty nihilistic goal like Kefka has. If I was going to have all traces of my existence deleted, I don't know if it would be better to have someone ranting about the meaningless of life, or to have someone wipe me out who's more concerned with something that doesn't even concern me. (Actual answer: neither matters, because I'd be dead.)

I think if you swapped the two, Kefka would twist the terraforming into some horrible mutation that causes mass extinction. Meanwhile, Faro would find a way to kill everyone in the empire and probably go out of his way to cover his tracks about it, even if that meant exterminating the entire world population. I think this is a rare case where they both get worse in the opposing story!

I don't know. I don't think I'm articulating this well at all but either way Ted Faro seems to take the edge. Happy to hear other arguments.

rainin around at the bow of sound

Thanks everybody!

Oh and I'll also say that I hope folks who started listening through the ranking keep doing so - the topic isn't even close to full yet so you've got a nice window (not that you need the topic at all but it's at least a tangible marker).

57 Albums: A Postpostmortem
And that's a wrap! Congratulations to azuarc for "winning" the ranking, though I'd argue rankings are less about winning and more about sharing music. I genuinely enjoyed a lot of the nominations and found something to take away from even the ones I didn't. Sincere thanks to all the nominators and those who followed along, either via listening or commenting or quietly reading and judging my taste

I don't have much else to say! It's been real. I'm always looking for new suggestions for ranking topics, so if you have any, feel free to share! I might do something different from music for the next one, so if you have any burning desires you'd like me to indulge in, let me know.

Until next time!

Final Album Rankings!
1. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
2. Kelsea Ballerini - SUBJECT TO CHANGE
3. Meshell Ndegeocello - Peace Beyond Passion
4. Made in Heights - Made in Heights
5. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker
6. Deniz Akbulut - CrossCode ~ The Ultimate Arrange
7. Neil Cicierega - Mouth Moods
8. Shohei Amimori - PataMusic
9. Midnight Grand Orchestra - Overture
10. Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B
11. Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure?
12. Ryuichi Sakamoto - Esperanto
13. Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante
14. Rise Against - Endgame
15. Akufen - My Way
16. Dave Matthews Band - Crash
17. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
18. XoArK - P()~()..8
19. NEUPINK - DOPAMINE HELLDREAMS.
20. William Shatner - Has Been
21. Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods
22. HANABIE. - Reborn Superstar!
23. Scatman John - Scatman's World
24. Murder By Death - Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them?
25. Cryptovolans - Passenger
26. Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
27. Alice Schach and the Magic Orchestra - SCHACH
28. Slothrust - Parallel Timeline
29. Deep Forest - Deep Forest
30. Various Artists - Dr. Stone Original Soundtrack
31. STAFFcirc - STAFFcirc vol. 8 - circle
32. Genesis - A Trick of the Tail
33. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
34. Negativland - The World Will Decide
35. Green Day - Dookie
36. The Dear Hunter - Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise
37. Yoko Kanno - Song to Fly
38. Lemm feat. lasah - Dead-End Apartment
39. Black Country, New Road - Ants from Up There
40. Sunspot - The Strangest Frequency
41. Matthew and the Atlas - Morning Dancer (Unplugged)
42. Green Day - American Idiot
43. Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 3
44. Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas
45. Binzokomegane Girls Union - Taiten Mythologia
46. Barenaked Ladies - Gordon
47. Various Artists - Jesus Christ Superstar (1992 Australian Cast Recording)
48. Bjork - Vespertine
49. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
50. Younha - END THEORY : Final Edition
51. Miracle Musical - Hawaii: Part II
52. They Might Be Giants - John Henry
53. Lights - The Listening
54. Electric Light Orchestra - Time
55. 100 gecs - 10,000 gecs
56. Taylor Swift - Folklore
57. Billy Talent - Dead Silence

Final Top Songs!
1. Matthew and the Atlas - Waging a War (Unplugged)
2. Negativland - More Data
3. Neil Cicierega - T.I.M.E.
4. Silversun Pickups - Mean Spirits
5. Fuck Buttons - Rough Steez
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
7. Alice Schach and the Magic Orchestra - Hypnotized
8. Made in Heights - Wildflowers (Exhale Efreet)
9. Rise Against - Make It Stop (September's Children)
10. Scatman John - Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop)
11. Akufen - Deck the House
12. Lemm feat. lasah - Occult Descartes
13. Ryuichi Sakamoto - A WONGGA DANCE SONG
14. Deniz Akbulut arr. quarkimo - Sapphire Ridge
15. Shohei Amimori - Pata
16. Midnight Grand Orchestra - Never Ending Midnights
17. Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
18. Deep Forest - Deep Forest
19. HANABIE. - TOUSOU (Run Away)
20. Cocteau Twins - Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
21. Kelsea Ballerini - If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)
22. Slothrust - Parallel Timeline
23. XoArK - wurmple_658385643478450179
24. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker
25. Black Country, New Road - Mark's Theme
26. Green Day - Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams
27. Meshell Ndegeocello - Make Me Wanna Holler
28. Younha - Wish
29. Jessie Ware - Save a Kiss
30. aji - the long line
31. The Dear Hunter - The Bitter Suite IV and V: The Congregation and The Sermon in the Silt
32. Feryquitous -
33. Pink Floyd - On the Run
34. NEUPINK - TRASHFIRE VISCERAL
35. Cryptovolans - Rainforest Collapse III
36. Electric Light Orchestra - Yours Truly, 2095
37. Hiroaki Tsutsumi - And Test,Test,And Test Some More
38. Murder by Death - End of the Line
39. Jockstrap - Concrete Over Water
40. Barenaked Ladies - Wrap Your Arms Around Me
41. Mr. Bungle - Carry Stress in the Jaw
42. William Shatner - It Hasn't Happened Yet
43. Brand New - Handcuffs
44. Genesis - Dance on a Volcano
45. Yoko Kanno - Atomic Bird
46. Boards of Canada - Gyroscope
47. Green Day - Basket Case
48. They Might Be Giants - Snail Shell
49. Taylor Swift - invisible string
50. Sunspot - Thunderbird
51. Bjork - Heirloom
52. Jacob Collier - In My Bones
53. 100 gecs - Frog on the Floor
54. Jesus Christ Superstar 1992 Australian Cast & Russell Morris & John Farnham - Simon Zealotes / Poor Jerusalem
55. Billy Talent - Show Me the Way
56. Lights - February Air
57. Miracle Musical - Dream Sweet in Sea Major

1. Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon
Art Rock, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Space Rock
1973
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/5/7/AAeDEnAAE6DV.png

@azuarc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-nYd1XIPJc

1. On the Run
2. Money
3. Time

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

Would you believe Ive never heard this before? This or any Pink Floyd album.

Speak to Me is a great opener that segues perfectly into Breathe (In the Air). Already the album is immersive, big synthy rock that transports me to a faraway place (the Land of Oz, perhaps???). By the time the vocals come in, Im all in. Ive always had a soft spot for 60s and 70s British rock, though Im not as into most of what gets airplay on classic rock stations. This, thoughthis is the real shit.

On the Run sounds like a Commodore 64 tune this song specifically https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOpIbm_XX-k. Ive read that composers like Rob Hubbard were heavily influenced by Pink Floyd; I can hear a lot of the similarities. This synth-bending track is captivating from the first note, a steady pulse that twists around enough to keep me guessing.

Omg Time starts with ticking clocks how did you know I love clock noises in music aaaaahhhh. Theres like a woodblock or something after the clocks recede? Very interesting percussion here. Oh Ive heard Time before, I recognize the singing. That moment when everything crescendos together, A Day in the Life-style Im a sucker for musical moments like that. Sudden unexpected female backup singers! Hanging on in desperation is the quiet English way.

Midway through The Great Gig in the Sky and I realize that music like this is a product of its time, but its also timeless. Like all great art, it exists simultaneously in a state of its own era and of all eras. Piano and guitars and keyboards and a backup singer going ham and somber meditations on life its very period, and yet it speaks to me in a way divorced from time, separate from time. Maybe this is what the band was attempting to do make music that could be listened to hundreds of years later and still feel like a window into 1973.

Another meditation, though this ones just a theory: The Dark Side of the Moon seems to benefit from the format of this topic. Taken in sum, its an experience greater than its individual songs. Like Ive heard some of these songs before but I never paid them much mind. Here though, the whole album experience elevates them significantly.

Money has a sax. I like sax. It also has super weird meter and feedback-heavy guitars. I also like those things. Theres some neat panning in Any Colour You Like. Really, the whole album shows off plenty of audio tricks.

According to Wikipedia, the album is a consideration of the bands deteriorating mental state and approaches the subject through angles including fame, money, death, and the passage of time. Honestly, I would have probably gleaned that much even without the lyrics, which shows how profound the music is.

This was an absolute fucking delight. Thank you azu for exposing me to a band Id heard so much about but never bothered to check out. I know its clich to call things like this experiences, but thats what The Dark Side of the Moon is: an experience, from start to finish.

-

That's it! Final thoughts soon!

And here we go!

-

2. Kelsea Ballerini - SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Country Pop, Pop Rock
2022
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/5/4/AAeDEnAAE6DS.jpg

@Snake5555555555

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5PlQyxFa9w&list=PLWOIavvdAWstiUblfLY9sDjDB8qQc8z8v&index=1

1. IF YOU GO DOWN (IM GOIN DOWN TOO)
2. DOIN MY BEST
3. LOVE IS A COWBOY

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

From the first song, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, Kelsea Ballerini promises me contemplative folk-pop about relationships and life transitions. Ive never heard of this artist so I could be wrong and this turns into doom metal by song three. My impressions are SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

In THE LITTLE THINGS, I love the line Save your money on the roses, baby / Just leave a daisy on the dashboard. There honestly dont need to be any words in this song other than that; it sums up the conceit perfectly. These opening songs paint the artist as down to earth and humble in a country music sort of way, but the production incorporates pop elements too. Its nice.

Another great line, this one from I CANT HELP MYSELF: I try to be an angel and the whole thing goes to hell. I also, from the same song, love the hilarious My therapist says I do this a lot / I see her on Monday, Im coming in hot. Ballerini has these poetic one-liners that cut right to the heart of the song.

IF YOU GO DOWN (IM GOIN DOWN TOO) is basically a perfect song. I wouldnt change a thing. Pure fun with a darker edge. Love it!

LOVE IS A COWBOY is this wonderful extended metaphor about, well, love. When Im with him its like roping the wind. As I listen Im more and more impressed by the lyrical prowess in these songs.
One of my biggest musical pet peeves is when songs build to chord changes in an unsurprising way. Its unfortunately common. Six songs in, Ballerini has yet to do this. :o

I GUESS THEY CALL IT FALLIN has so many good lines riffing on the idea of falling coupled with a great beat. WALK IN THE PARK is a fascinating anti-love song where the singer tries to discourage the object of her affection from pursuing her; she acknowledges how difficult she is, but is that overcompensating for something? YOURE DRUNK, GO HOME is absolutely savage. DOIN MY BEST might be the most personal the album gets; the opening mentions 2020 and continues from there.

Not a dud in sight. Im so impressed. I have nothing against country music but Im pretty hard on pop, and Ballerini does this remarkable dance of songwriting and pop production and country twang. Such variety too! I enjoyed every song on this album. Great pick!

Opening X
Dark Man Mix

Boomer Kuwanger
Splash Woman Arrange

I'd like to nominate some of the albums from this topic for my next Rank the Tracks day. I think Peace Beyond Passion might be one of them!

Top Songs:
1. Matthew and the Atlas - Waging a War (Unplugged)
2. Negativland - More Data
3. Neil Cicierega - T.I.M.E.
4. Silversun Pickups - Mean Spirits
5. Fuck Buttons - Rough Steez
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
7. Alice Schach and the Magic Orchestra - Hypnotized
8. Made in Heights - Wildflowers (Exhale Efreet)
9. Rise Against - Make It Stop (September's Children)
10. Scatman John - Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop)
11. Akufen - Deck the House
12. Lemm feat. lasah - Occult Descartes
13. Ryuichi Sakamoto - A WONGGA DANCE SONG
14. Deniz Akbulut arr. quarkimo - Sapphire Ridge
15. Shohei Amimori - Pata
16. Midnight Grand Orchestra - Never Ending Midnights
17. Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
18. Deep Forest - Deep Forest
19. HANABIE. - TOUSOU (Run Away)
20. Cocteau Twins - Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
21. ???
22. Slothrust - Parallel Timeline
23. XoArK - wurmple_658385643478450179
24. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker
25. Black Country, New Road - Mark's Theme
26. Green Day - Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams
27. Meshell Ndegeocello - Make Me Wanna Holler
28. Younha - Wish
29. Jessie Ware - Save a Kiss
30. aji - the long line
31. The Dear Hunter - The Bitter Suite IV and V: The Congregation and The Sermon in the Silt
32. Feryquitous -
33. ???
[..]

The top 10 is all filled out! It might seem odd that the two remaining albums don't have a very high placement for their songs, but keep in mind 1) I judged on the album in its entirety, not individual songs, and 2) I like basically everything from around #36 or so.

Only two albums remain Who will emerge victorious? I'll probably post both writeups at the same time tomorrow, so stay tuned!

3. Meshell Ndegeocello - Peace Beyond Passion
Neo-Soul, Contemporary R&B, Psychedelic Soul, Jazz-Funk, Spoken Word
1996
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/6/0/AAeDEnAAE5yM.jpg

@LkProd

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lcKJyW5i4NcSgQLeJ1o3LwMgWDmB1e5hk

1. Make Me Wanna Holler
2. The Way
3. Mary Magdalene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc5r1i5RhxQ

I always appreciate the presence of female musicians in this topic. Generally speaking the noms are full of dudes. Meshell Ndegeocello I know exclusively from a John Mellencamp song, so Im curious to hear what she has to offer!

After an instrumental intro, The Way is a very provocative opening: addressed to Jesus and his followers, the song examines how faith has been used as a weapon of hate against specifically people of color and queer folk. It is a very good song. Deuteronomy (Im not typing the other half of the song title) has Ndegeocello rapping about gender relations and I think toxic masculinity: When I look at you / so black and blue.

Looking around the interwebs, there are comparisons to Stevie Wonder. I dont know his work all too well, but Peace Beyond Passion feels very neo-soul, with a feminist slant, and I am here for it, super hard.

While Ndegeocello is definitely the star of the album, the backing musicians also deserve shoutouts for elements like funky bass. They all help bring out Ndegeocellos powerful lyrics and sizzling delivery. Shes got such a unique voice, not flashy at all or even seemingly with a large range, but shes able to bring a level of intensity and, well, passion that some of these flashier pop stars fail to do.

Leviticus (Im not typing the other half of this song title either) is suitably provocative, casually dropping the gay slur in a rumination about saving a gay person - youre just a prisoner of your own perverted world - to a very funky beat. Its a scathing indictment of a homophobic society. It maybe goes on a little too long, but its still compelling to listen to.

Mary Magdalene appears to be a love song directed to, well, Mary Magdalene. Ndegeocello feels rawer and more vulnerable on this track the production is still full, but the subject is more intimate. She tells the subject Come, and Ill set you free and if you must dance, dance for me. Shes not just singing to Mary, but to legions and legions of women and girls oppressed by patriarchal society. Here, she dares to dream of a better life for them, embodied by the biblical figure. God Shiva also uses religious symbolism to paint a feminist narrative.

2/3 through and Im enjoying this, though I wish some of the songs were a little tighter. I guess thats in keeping with the funk tradition, to have extended jams and outros in every song, but it does make it a bit of a drag sometimes. I still like the music, but I think this ranking could be even higher if some of the songs were trimmed.

Stay is another simmering downtempo piece. She sings things like I want you / I cant get you off my mind. It feels like a more typical song without much symbolism or commentary, but there is a hidden layer of taboo present. As one YouTube commenter puts it: This is so direct and to the point, without sounding vulger [sic] or nasty. I dont mind the occasional crass love song, sure, but Ndegeocello is so up front and confident without needing to go that road, and its nice to hear. A Tear and a Smile is also a bit of a ballad that uses religious imagery like a crown of thorns. One gets the sense that Ndegeocello is deliberately propping up themes and images seen by some as sacred and balancing them alongside concepts like queer love and racial and gender liberation. Shes doing a damn good job of it!

The closing track, Make Me Wanna Holler, is an almost 9-minute jam thats mostly spoken word recollections (with stellar backing instruments, as usual) about a mother who broke her back for a man who broke her, a child who promised that shed never be like her parents, their broken family, and how she learned how to hurt people from her father. Its so raw. I love it. Ndegeocello is a master storyteller and her prowess is on fully display here.

This was really stellar. As I said above, if the songs were a little tighter, it might have actually gotten first place :o But it was still a great listen. I certainly want to check out other music by her.

4. Made in Heights Made in Heights
Ambient Pop, Alternative R&B, Glitch Pop, Alt-Pop, Glitch Hop
2010
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/5/9/AAeDEnAAE5wn.jpg

@ZaziGuado

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFVXkqN7lGra6VbjG0n0mzoraaR8vzMjY

1. Wildflowers (Exhale Efreet)
2. All the Places
3. Amaranthine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bm92UH2_Rk

Its late at night as I listen to this. This singers voice and the light piano feel like they sync perfectly with an evening spent looking out the window at either a busy cityscape or a sky full of stars. I didnt expect female vocals; its a nice surprise. These nominations are way too sausage heavy for my liking. The singer, who goes by Kelsey Bulkin, is a real selling point for me; her voice is gentle but affected. Track 1, the awkwardly named Skylark Interabang?!, deftly combines her singing with some very heavy bass and beats. All the Places is even stronger than the first track to me: it feels more polished and pointed, less filler with all of the intricate beats and delightful singing. It even has backwards vocals. As we all know, everyone loves backward vocals.

Hors D'uvre continues the trend of being very chill and immersive. The beginning of Wildflowers (Exhale Efreet) took my breath away holy shit. This is very me core. Have we interacted before? You seemed to know exactly what I would like for this. IIRC you nominated for another musical topic of mine but I dont think you did this well!

No real comments for the rest. I got lost in it. I feel transported. This is absolutely my kind of jam. The songs all fit the same pattern of chill beats with some glitchiness. Nothing quite beats the high of Wildflowers, but thats a big bar to clear. Sorry I dont have much to say. In some respects thats the ultimate compliment, that I got so absorbed into the music that I forgot to take notes. This really is a terrific experience. I cant believe Im saying this and it likely contradicts some of the other writeups for albums that were over an hourthis is 34 minutes and it could have been longer and I probably still wouldve liked it. Nice work!

Zero Gravity Area
X vs. Zero

One thing I've learned about myself in this ranking: I can focus better (at all) on lyrics in songs I'm enjoying and invested in. In You Want It Darker's case, I was captivated by Cohen's voice and the arrangements, so the lyrics sunk in more for me. So yeah, I guess you got lucky!

Top Songs:
1. Matthew and the Atlas - Waging a War (Unplugged)
2. Negativland - More Data
3. Neil Cicierega - T.I.M.E.
4. Silversun Pickups - Mean Spirits
5. Fuck Buttons - Rough Steez
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
7. Alice Schach and the Magic Orchestra - Hypnotized
8. ???
9. Rise Against - Make It Stop (September's Children)
10. Scatman John - Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop)
11. Akufen - Deck the House
12. Lemm feat. lasah - Occult Descartes
13. Ryuichi Sakamoto - A WONGGA DANCE SONG
14. Deniz Akbulut arr. quarkimo - Sapphire Ridge
15. Shohei Amimori - Pata
16. Midnight Grand Orchestra - Never Ending Midnights
17. Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
18. Deep Forest - Deep Forest
19. HANABIE. - TOUSOU (Run Away)
20. Cocteau Twins - Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
21. ???
22. Slothrust - Parallel Timeline
23. XoArK - wurmple_658385643478450179
24. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker
25. Black Country, New Road - Mark's Theme
26. Green Day - Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams
27. ???
28. Younha - Wish
29. Jessie Ware - Save a Kiss
30. aji - the long line
31. The Dear Hunter - The Bitter Suite IV and V: The Congregation and The Sermon in the Silt
32. Feryquitous -
33. ???
[...]

Today's lottery numbers are 8, 21, 27, and 33!

5. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker
Singer-Songwriter, Chamber Folk, Contemporary Folk, Spoken Word
2016
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/8/0/AAeDEnAAE5mA.png

@Fluttershy_Pony

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lGS5sFfhmk_51z2R2BdwZFOCLpm9WyuRU

1. You Want It Darker
2. Traveling Light
3. On the Level

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD6fvzGIBfQ

Wow Leonard Cohen has a distinctive voice. I only know his older stuff, where he was already gravelly, but here hes like a rock tumbler. I like it! You Want It Darker (song) seems to be about mortality, which is especially poignant given that he is wrote it while he was dying. Very curious to hear the rest of the album.

Treaty is another poignant rumination on loss and love. Thus far there have been three main components to this music:

- Cohens voice
- Cohens songwriting
- The musical accompaniment

All three are

really, really strong.

Like, wow.

Like, listen to this stanza:

Let's keep it on the level
When I walked away from you
I turned my back on the devil
Turned my back on the angel, too

This is really really good stuff. Im really glad you shared this with me.

If I Didnt Have Your Love, like a lot of the songs on You Want It Darker, seems to be about Cohens relationship with God. Here he sings that, though the world might be full of despair, he still has your love to make it real. Whether this is the correct interpretation or not, its certainly an interesting one, possibly more interesting than if it was about another person.

Traveling Light is another enigmatic song. Is Cohen singing about the idea of how you cant take anything with you when you die? Or somebody whos literally leaving behind possessions on a journey? Or somebody reminiscing about a companion with whom he used to travel light, whos now gone, off traveling on their own? Maybe its about all of these things. I wouldnt put it past Cohen.

It Seemed the Better Way is a bit clearer in meaning: Cohen seemingly ruminating about turning his back on God, and how it Sounded like the truth / But its not the truth today. I guess you could interpret it as him turning his back on God again, so maybe its not as clear as I thought!

One songwriting technique Cohen does in virtually every song on the album is repeating lyrics. Most every line gets repeated at some point in each song. Its great at emphasizing themes.

Overallwow, this was terrific. A fascinating insight into an artist with a long career that I basically know nothing of, full of musings on open-to-interpretation tough subjects. I will certainly check out more of his work!

6. Deniz Akbulut - CrossCode ~ The Ultimate Arrange
no genres lol but it's a VGM arrangement
2023
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/0/6/AAeDEnAAE5gK.jpg

@Haste_2

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nVq22uQ78-w20cOzI1_7D0J8RrXuVmBhA

1. Sapphire Ridge
2. Mysterious Place
3. Battle 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe_EeIiD1D0

Here we have an odd nomination, an arranged album of VGM. I dont know much about CrossCode, but two songs in and the songs are pretty lovely. I had no idea Dale North was still making music. I really like this Takahiro Eguchi song, an arrangement of Mysterious Place. I should say that Im not all that familiar with the original soundtrack, so Ill be judging primarily by the arrangements themselves.

The Path of Justice (arranged by Qwesta) is the first song, after the initial batch of three, thats a bit different: more guitar and rock-oriented. Then its back to pretty/pastoral land with Autumns Rise (by ), another very relaxing song. Lea! (by Shibayan) is sort of lounge-ish. Really getting a strong chill vibe from this album.

*thinks Battle 3 sounds like Sonic Mania and/or Funk Fiction*

*sees its by James Landino*

Checks out.

Oh right, Temple of Thunder is the Secret of the Forest song. Thats one of the only original CrossCodes I know offhand. The arrangement, by Nishijima Sondai, sounds a bit like a Mystery Dungeon arrange (no wonder you like this album, Haste!). Sapphire Ridge might be my favorite song so far; it epitomizes my favorite aspects of the arrangements: light and breezy, but with heft and substance.

And then we get to The Ultimate Experience, the Chimeratio/Cryptovolans jam. Clocking in at 10 minutes, its prog with a capital P, with distorted synths, complex rhythms, unique sounds, and an impeccable stamp of personality. This is not a song anyone but these two could make. It stands out among the album, in a good way perhaps, one might say, the arrangers have together created a truly Ultimate Experience dohohoho Ill see myself out.

I really like The Ultimate Arrange. Its solid. I dont have much to say because every song is consistently something Ive enjoyed. Its so consistent, with vibrant musical choices. Not a dud in the batch. Definitely a keeper!

Huh, so it doesn't! I didn't recognize the "makes me feel good" part so I assumed it was from another song.

NFUN posted...

you failed to say how Bustin' made you feel in your writeup

Would you believe I was only familiar with half of the source material for that song?

Top Songs:
1. Matthew and the Atlas - Waging a War (Unplugged)
2. Negativland - More Data
3. Neil Cicierega - T.I.M.E.
4. Silversun Pickups - Mean Spirits
5. Fuck Buttons - Rough Steez
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
7. Alice Schach and the Magic Orchestra - Hypnotized
8. ???
9. Rise Against - Make It Stop (September's Children)
10. Scatman John - Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop)
11. Akufen - Deck the House
12. Lemm feat. lasah - Occult Descartes
13. Ryuichi Sakamoto - A WONGGA DANCE SONG
14. ???
15. Shohei Amimori - Pata
16. Midnight Grand Orchestra - Never Ending Midnights
17. Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
18. Deep Forest - Deep Forest
19. HANABIE. - TOUSOU (Run Away)
20. Cocteau Twins - Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
[...]

Really love today's two songs!

7. Neil Cicierega - Mouth Moods
Mashup, Pop, Musical Comedy, Dance-Pop, Musical Comedy, Novelty, Synthpop, Plunderphonics
2017
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/0/9/AAeDEnAAE5Z9.jpg

@Bitto

https://youtu.be/m0nIVGoFh8I

1. T.I.M.E.
2. Bustin
3. AC/VC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsoCe7C4Kmk

Thisis not what I was expecting. I was not expecting anything specific, but I certainly didnt expect 90s-00s mashups. The only mashup artist Im familiar with is Girl Talk, who mostly uses breakneck hip-hop samples. The Starting Line, in contrast, is way mellower, full of intricate sampling from rock and pop music. Floorcorn uses a hilarious base of Popcorn that grounds other songs like Bodies. AC/VC is another hey I know that song moment, coupled with I cant believe this guy made this work. I know I overuse the word fun when describing music, but this album seems super fun.

I will say I appreciate the slower pace to this than to something like Girl Talk, which is unrelenting in its hedonistic orgy. Mouth Moods also has an edge in that Ive recognized most of the samples so far, which obviously increases enjoyment.

How do you explain Tim Allen? Cicierega asking the hard-hitting questions. Annoyed Grunt appears to be comprised of mostly unintelligible noises, Larry King clips, and Yeah baby! Also a beat I dont recognize. Still having plenty of fun! The Freak on a Leash clip does wonders here.

OMG at this Stairway to Heaven/No Scrubs mashup. These are really creative and they all basically work! (Nice reference to Bustin, the previous song, too.)

So many tigersit happens to tigers. XD Eye of the tiger, its the thrill of the tiger, rising up to the challenge of the tiger. XFD oh my god. Im enjoying this album but Tiger is the first song to actually make me laugh. (Love the Frosted Flakes clip near the end too.) The End is similar to AC/VC, taking a happy backing instrumental (in this case from the Doobie Brothers) and mashing it with something unexpected, and the result is something completely different. T.I.M.E. goes the opposite route an upbeat song mashed with a deadly serious Hans Zimmer composition that turns a Village People anthem into a somber cautionary tale. Its remarkable. This is an album that promotes the creative spirit.

Smooth does something a little different: the two songs, Smooth Criminal and One Week, arent as starkly different as some of the others. Its a more traditional mashup and as much as I Iike both original songs, its not as impactful as some of the other, more transformative works. But thats a nitpick. Its still pretty great. Oh but then we get to the section where the Barenaked Ladies notes get held out and distorted, and thats amazing I love it. Stand by Meme is curious because it uses the exact same One Week samples but with a different backing (Stand by Me). Im not sure we needed both? Wallspin is another frankensong between two disparate songs that transforms into something unexpected.

Wow Wow is a rare cut that uses rap as a base. It flows nicely and is IMO an improvement over Will Smiths original.

This was quite the ride. Apparently Mouth Moods is steeped in meme culture. Im just enjoying it for the tunes, partially through recognition of most of the samples but mostly for the deft skill Cicierega employs with constructing something new from something old. I genuinely enjoyed this album.

8. Shohei Amimori - PataMusic
Glitch Pop, Jazz Pop, IDM, Modern Classical, Plunderphonics, Progressive Pop
2018
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/2/4/AAeDEnAAE5T8.png

@cakophon

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l6wFIyC45ybfzTpRuvbmKdwu9HTia_iXA

1. Pata
2. ajabollamente
3. Climb Downhill 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhzIfyCO8Es

I know this first song cako nominated it for my non-vgm ranking a few years back. These were my thoughts on Climb Downhill 1, which got 14th place:

Really amazing intro, this series of extended notes that gradually gives way to a much bigger soundscape. The song then, befitting its title, escalates in speed and intensity, picking up bits and pieces as it goes along. It gathers jazz, world music, piano, spooky Halloween, all this great stuff, with a solid glitch underpinning. At 4:45 is really when the song starts to lose its mind and everything coalesces together and globs into a surround sound experience. I feel richer having listened to this.

That still basically holds up! Its a dynamic song, a captivating opening. I eagerly anticipate hearing what comes next!

Decadent Utopia is super proggy, very glitchy, and suddenly vocalized. I like it! I especially like where it goes after the 3:00 mark. Its a little too long in that I lose focus after a while, a common issue I have with proggy music. Now Forever is a similar situation: I like it but Id like it more if it were 1/3 the length. ReCircle is pretty great. A mellower, sadder piece than the first three songs, it still retains the odd time and occasional glitch. Ooh I love the wet sounds in ajabollamente. Parts of this kind of remind me of Hiroki Kikuta, oddly enough.

*listens to Climb Downhill 2* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Coincidental Planet sounds like Katamari and I like that. Washer and Fence of Bats are really lovely. Really there havent been any duds here, with the possible exception of Climb Downhill 2which, funnily enough, holds my interest more than anything else, yet I have the lowest desire to listen to it again. The last song, Pata, sounds like a Commodore 64 having a tantrum. Love it. This one actually gives me chills.

This was a real ride. I liked everything, even if my focus waned a few times. Thanks for letting me revisit this!

I really like both songs in match 2!

Votes:
Jakob
Ground Man Mix

handsomeboy2012 posted...

Although I wonder how you decided the listening order of all albums and how this ended up being the very last.

The order was partially random, partially based on whatever I was in the mood for based on my impressions of the artist/genre. As I got to the end, I started looking at length too; it was a bit of a slog near the end so I was spacing out the shorter nominations that I could fit into spaces throughout my week. It turned out that Overture was the shortest left, so I saved it until the very end. Glad I did - it was a great note to end on!

Top Songs:
1. Matthew and the Atlas - Waging a War (Unplugged)
2. Negativland - More Data
3. ???
4. Silversun Pickups - Mean Spirits
5. Fuck Buttons - Rough Steez
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
7. Alice Schach and the Magic Orchestra - Hypnotized
8. ???
9. Rise Against - Make It Stop (September's Children)
10. Scatman John - Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop)
11. Akufen - Deck the House
12. Lemm feat. lasah - Occult Descartes
13. Ryuichi Sakamoto - A WONGGA DANCE SONG
14. ???
15. ???
16. Midnight Grand Orchestra - Never Ending Midnights
17. Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
18. Deep Forest - Deep Forest
19. HANABIE. - TOUSOU (Run Away)
20. Cocteau Twins - Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
21. ???
22. Slothrust - Parallel Timeline
23. XoArK - wurmple_658385643478450179
24. ???
25. Black Country, New Road - Mark's Theme
26. Green Day - Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams
27. ???
28. Younha - Wish
29. Jessie Ware - Save a Kiss
30. aji - the long line
31. The Dear Hunter - The Bitter Suite IV and V: The Congregation and The Sermon in the Silt
32. Feryquitous -
33. ???
34. NEUPINK - TRASHFIRE VISCERAL
35. Cryptovolans - Rainforest Collapse III
36. Electric Light Orchestra - Yours Truly, 2095
37. Hiroaki Tsutsumi - And Test,Test,And Test Some More
38. Murder by Death - End of the Line
39. Jockstrap - Concrete Over Water
40. Barenaked Ladies - Wrap Your Arms Around Me
41. Mr. Bungle - Carry Stress in the Jaw
42. William Shatner - It Hasn't Happened Yet
43. Brand New - Handcuffs
44. Genesis - Dance on a Volcano
45. Yoko Kanno - Atomic Bird
46. Boards of Canada - Gyroscope
47. Green Day - Basket Case
48. They Might Be Giants - Snail Shell
49. Taylor Swift - invisible string
50. Sunspot - Thunderbird
51. Bjork - Heirloom
52. Jacob Collier - In My Bones
53. 100 gecs - Frog on the Floor
54. Jesus Christ Superstar 1992 Australian Cast & Russell Morris & John Farnham - Simon Zealotes / Poor Jerusalem
55. Billy Talent - Show Me the Way
56. Lights - February Air
57. Miracle Musical - Dream Sweet in Sea Major

3, 8, 14, 15, 21, 24, 27, 33 left.

9. Midnight Grand Orchestra - Overture
J-Pop, Electropop, Electronic Dance Music, Artcore, Nu Jazz, Future Bass
2022
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/8/2/AAeDEnAAE5Le.jpg

@handsomeboy2012

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m_zOwnpDZaGIFrSvAH86IAmcA1bWSYlwM

1. Never Ending Midnights
2. Allegro
3. Highway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgXrJqaEWc8

This is the last album Im listening to, 57/57. Lets hope its a good one!

Never Ending Midnights is really cool, wow. It goes from sparse vocals to full production chorus. I love the ooh-aah backing vocals in the verses; they remind me of the NeoTokyo soundtrack, which I am a big fan of. SOS is also cool. I love the singing and the big dance beats. It doesnt strike me as terribly complicated music but theres nothing wrong with that.

Allegro is also really cool! More solid beats, this time of the unequivocally happy variety. This one, more than the first two, feels like it could be an anime opening. I love the e-strings and guitar and keyboard and also the singing is great too. Lots to love! Rat a Tat feels electroswing-like even though Im pretty sure it isnt.

Apparently this is a vtuber project. That both surprises and doesnt surprise me. I know folks that would instantly disparage this if they found out it was by a vtuber. I think creativity is creativity, and the world needs more folks who can think creative, in whatever form that takes. Basically vtubers are fine with me

I think this is the shortest nomination, if not in number of songs (7, including an interlude) then in runtime (24 minutes). Believe me when I say Im grateful for brevity. Fun fact: Taku Inoue, the producer for Midnight Grand Orchestra, has a composing credit on one of my favorite songs of all time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apWzu6lwgEc

I can hear his exuberant pop style in this games soundtrack as well as in this album.

Im impressed by the variety in Overture. In a short period of time we run the gamut from all sorts of styles and paces and emotions. There are albums triple Overtures length that dont cover as much emotional ground.

Highway is a bittersweet song for me, not only for its tone but also because its the last song Im listening to in the ranking. Its the end of an era! Thanks for a solid, short and sweet album to close out the topic!

10. Jockstrap I Love You Jennifer B
Art Pop, Glitch Pop, Chamber Pop, Progressive Pop, Folktronica
2022
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/4/7/AAeDEnAAE5Hz.png

@mcflubbin

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC80P4gsPr-ZF2Vaag5hJeKngTCo6O7k7

1. Concrete Over Water
2. Neon
3. Greatest Hits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbDDU24yu7U

I have certain expectations for an artist named Jockstrap but Neon, the first song, defies them. Actually, it seems to defy everything, flitting between acoustic guitar and dense glitchy electronic. A bold opener I genuinely enjoy. I especially like the last minute.

Song 2, the eponymous Jennifer B, sounds like if a fairy got a hold of a DJs soundboard, and I mean that in the best possible way: lots of light effects undergirded by some periodic lush chords. Greatest Hits has this lovely piano melody supported by more glitchy effects and airy vocals.

Jockstrap consists of Georgia Ellery (vocals and other instruments) and Taylor Skye (production and other instruments). Ellery provides terrific singing that really rises off the songs (though her lyrics are often incomprehensible to me). The glitchy effects are mixed with more traditional fare: strings, guitars, piano. The result is a lush album that isnt afraid to explore some unexplored sonic places.

Concrete Over Water starts with either non-English or backwards speech (maybe both?) before segueing into a sparse, very beautiful ballad-esque song (though again I have no idea what Ellery is actually singing). The effect is mesmerizing, especially when the discordant strings come in, and then theres a huge beat drop with intense drums and holy shit this song has everything yes give me more. Wtf @ 3:35 the production becomes way rougher, you can even hear someone in the studio (Skye?) and I love that, what a fascinating choice. This song is a tough act to follow, so I feel bad for Angst, which cant really compare until the very end, with a rapid-fire vocal delivery. It still feels like a placeholder song though. Debra sounds like VGM so Im automatically predisposed to like it lol.

A few of the later songs (Glasgow, Lancaster Court) drag a little, perhaps symptoms of album fatigue, when an album stops being as exciting to me after so many similar songs. Or maybe I Love You Jennifer B is frontloaded. I dont know. All I know is I like the first half significantly more. But then theres 50/50 (Extended Mix), which can best be described as unhinged and goes to show that theres still a few surprises left.

Very enjoyable album, a real process of discovery for me. Thanks for nominating!

Snake actually won a ranking of mine once! Granted, it wasn't for music, but still.

I compiled this the other day. I think this is all the rankings I've run with the exception of the Pokemon design topic, which wasn't a ranking like these all were.

So here are my previous ranking winners:
- VGM: Mr. Bones The First Thing [Raetsel_Lapin]
- Game characters: Martin Walker (Spec Ops: The Line) [Snake5555555555]
- Pokemon songs: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Sky Tower [PIayer_0]
- VGM soundtracks (sets of five): The Gardens Between [kaonashi]
- Non-vgm songs: Owen Pallett I Am Not Afraid [kaonashi]
- Series by visual design: World of Tomorrow [Place]
- Non-vgm albums: ??? [???]

Top ten let's go!

Here's what's left, and who nominated it.

Deniz Akbulut - CrossCode ~ The Ultimate Arrange [Haste_2]
Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B [mcflubbin]
Kelsea Ballerini - SUBJECT TO CHANGE [Snake5555555555]
Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker [Fluttershy_Pony]
Made in Heights - Made in Heights [ZaziGuado]
Meshell Ndegeocello - Peace Beyond Passion [LkProd]
Midnight Grand Orchestra - Overture [handsomeboy2012]
Neil Cicierega - Mouth Moods [Bitto]
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon [azuarc]
Shohei Amimori - PataMusic [cakophon]

Some fun stats:
- In terms of tone and genre the top ten run the gamut from country to classic rock, soul to singer-songwriter, ambient pop to vgm arrangement, mashup to vtuber. Two of the albums are listed as glitch pop [I Love You Jennifer B and PataMusic].
- Two of the remaining albums are from the 20th century [Peace Beyond Passion, The Dark Side of the Moon]. The oldest nominated album is still in [The Dark Side of the Moon]. There is one album left from 2023 [The Ultimate Arrange].
- Two of the remaining albums are largely instrumental [The Ultimate Arrange, PataMusic]. Of the eight vocal-centric albums, five(!!) feature female vocals prominently. You Want It Darker and The Dark Side of the Moon are predominantly sung by men. Mouth Moods, being a mashup album, has a mixture of vocalists.
- In terms of length, most of these albums are between 50 and 59 minutes, the longest being Peace Beyond Passion, at 59. At the other end, Overture clocks in at 24 minutes one of the shortest overall nominations.
- I want to give a special shoutout to mcflubbin, ZaziGuado, handsomeboy2012, and Bitto. The other six nominators all share with me overlap in the vgm community, so even though I made a point of not specifying what sorts of music I liked, it could be argued that knowing me gave them an advantage. But these four, to my knowledge, dont really interact with me much, if at all. Despite this, theyve managed to make it to the top ten. Well done!

Well be switching to two writeups per day starting tomorrow. This is a great opportunity if you want to catch up on everything thats been posted, whether its individual songs, whole albums, or just the writeups. And feel free to predict the rest of the ranking!

Im really happy this topic has gotten such great engagement. It seems like everyones having fun discussing and learning about new music, which makes me happy.

See you tomorrow!

Top Songs:
1. Matthew and the Atlas - Waging a War (Unplugged)
2. Negativland - More Data
3. ???
4. Silversun Pickups - Mean Spirits
5. Fuck Buttons - Rough Steez
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
7. Alice Schach and the Magic Orchestra - Hypnotized
8. ???
9. Rise Against - Make It Stop (September's Children)
10. Scatman John - Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop)
11. Akufen - Deck the House
12. Lemm feat. lasah - Occult Descartes
13. Ryuichi Sakamoto - A WONGGA DANCE SONG
14. ???
15. ???
16. ???
17. Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
18. Deep Forest - Deep Forest
19. HANABIE. - TOUSOU (Run Away)
20. Cocteau Twins - Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
21. ???
22. Slothrust - Parallel Timeline
23. XoArK - wurmple_658385643478450179
24. ???
25. Black Country, New Road - Mark's Theme
26. Green Day - Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams
27. ???
28. Younha - Wish
29. Jessie Ware - Save a Kiss
30. aji - the long line
31. The Dear Hunter - The Bitter Suite IV and V: The Congregation and The Sermon in the Silt
32. Feryquitous -
33. ???
34. NEUPINK - TRASHFIRE VISCERAL
35. Cryptovolans - Rainforest Collapse III
36. Electric Light Orchestra - Yours Truly, 2095
37. Hiroaki Tsutsumi - And Test,Test,And Test Some More
38. Murder by Death - End of the Line
39. ???
40. Barenaked Ladies - Wrap Your Arms Around Me
41. Mr. Bungle - Carry Stress in the Jaw
42. William Shatner - It Hasn't Happened Yet
43. Brand New - Handcuffs
44. Genesis - Dance on a Volcano
45. Yoko Kanno - Atomic Bird
46. Boards of Canada - Gyroscope
47. Green Day - Basket Case
48. They Might Be Giants - Snail Shell
49. Taylor Swift - invisible string
50. Sunspot - Thunderbird
51. Bjork - Heirloom
52. Jacob Collier - In My Bones
53. 100 gecs - Frog on the Floor
54. Jesus Christ Superstar 1992 Australian Cast & Russell Morris & John Farnham - Simon Zealotes / Poor Jerusalem
55. Billy Talent - Show Me the Way
56. Lights - February Air
57. Miracle Musical - Dream Sweet in Sea Major

I went back and forth on the top song from What's Your Pleasure? for a while; I think I picked three separate songs at different points! Ultimately it's a testimonial to how solid the album is that it was so hard to pick.

11. Jessie Ware Whats Your Pleasure?
Dance-Pop, Disco, Nu-Disco, Synthpop, Synth Funk, Smooth Soul, Boogie, Freestyle, Contemporary R&B
2020
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/3/8/AAeDEnAAE4-S.jpg

@Bane_Of_Despair

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI6kLIhBBwmTLnl9lE--gTIuR7klOA-j8

1. Save a Kiss
2. Remember Where You Are
3. Spotlight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcho7LnM8D4

I am familiar with Spotlight, which I love; its a slinky ode to love and dance. Will the rest of Whats Your Pleasure? hold up? Find out next time! Or now. Whichever.

The production on Whats Your Pleasure (album) is clearly influenced by disco. Ive even seen folks calling it modern disco. This bodes well for me, as Ive always been a fan of the genre. Whats Your Pleasure (song) follows in that tradition. Wares vocals manage to be both breathy and full-bodied, a unique style I havent encountered much. Shes very glamorous and the album feels very classy, whatever those terms even mean.

Soul Central sounds like VGM (generally not a bad thing to me). And wow I like Soul Kiss. That string/synth sample goes a long way toward melting my heart.

I can tell this is going to be an album that keeps to the same aesthetic throughout. Thats fine by me, because I really like the aesthetic. Theres something to be said for consistency!

In Your Eyes is kind of a ballad. Still in the disco tradition, but a ballad nonetheless. Its pretty good. Everything on Whats Your Pleasure is at least pretty good so far. Step Into My Life is pretty funky.

By the end of the album things have started to blend together, but thats okay like I said, the total package is very appealing. Oh, and what a closer in Remember Where You Are big harmonies and strings and Ware in the center, holding court. It reminds me of a Janelle Monae track. I can see myself coming back to these songs, which isnt something I can say about most of the nominations.

12. Ryuichi Sakamoto Esperanto
Progressive Electronic, Sound Collage, Tribal Ambient
1985
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/4/3/AAeDEnAAE48z.jpg

@TunnelScene

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nHzn1g4-tQ7Wqxc_kvDTpGzKtG06HnBjM

1. A WONGGA DANCE SONG
2. A HUMAN TUBE
3. ADELIC PENGUINS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmG14Jc4K1U

No clue what to expect from this one except that its going to be super interesting. The first song, the intriguing named A WONGGA DANCE SONG, is a great opener, for me at least: sharp percussion, minimal melody, pounding beat. There are mechanical noises and what sound like abrasive trumpets and eventually there are chopped up vocal samples. TunnelScene certainly going for points for shit Ive expressed a liking for in the past haha. Fun fact I tried reading a book when A WONGGA DANCE SONG started but I immediately stopped; this is a song, and presumably an album, that demands my full attention. (Not that I havent been giving everything its due attention!)

THE DREAMING isI dont know if its technically minimalist or not, but its sparse, thats for sure. Very ambient and environmental. Lots of rattling. I dont like it as much as A WONGGA DANCE SONG, but its still super cool. As of this writeup I havent heard anything like this among the nominations.

Holy crap A RAIN SONG is awesome. I adore the bubbly arp-y sounds you see it a lot in older VGM. It reminds me of Porky Pigs Haunted Holiday Ruins of Atlantis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OBhTqYYZyA

This is a song that takes me to outer space. Holy crap. And then DOLPHINS is more New Agey. Big chords and that rattling, mallet percussion again. This ones sparse like THE DREAMING. I can see myself really gravitating toward this one in the right mood.

Whoa @ A HUMAN TUBE (great name). This feels like something out of an alien horror movie, where there are aliens being preyed upon by an alien serial killer. It really evokes a sharp sense of dread and terror. This is among my favorites on the album. When the ranking is over Ill have to remember to put it on my Music That Fills Me Up playlist.

ADELIC PENGUINS uses bursts of silence very effectively. I love when songs do that, like this song by Garbage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ3pSebnoJ8

But then the song opens up into a much fuller soundscape, fuller than almost anything else on the album so far, though it still has hallmarks like a surreal bassline, rattling percussion, and glitchy samples. Esperanto is great wow.

Picking a top 3 is going to be tough. I really like almost all of these songs, and theyre all so different. ADELIC PENGUINS is probably the most conventionally appealing so far, so if youre reading this and looking for a good sampler, consider that.

A CARVED STONE returns to the minimalist/ambient production. Its the only song so far thats lost my focus. Maybe its that I dont find the main xylophone-type motif very engaging, or maybe its not changing enough over its substantial runtime for me to stay interested. But hey, one miss isnt too bad. ULU WATU, the last non-live song, is similarly minimalist, but the main melody is more industrial, so I enjoy it more. I love the fadeout around 2:25.

There are two LIVE songs at the end: ADELIC PENGUINS and a new song called Parolibre. The live version of ADELIC PENGUINS is incredibly similar to the earlier one, but Id need to listen to both back to back to judge effectively. Parolibre opens like Elton John and reveals itself to be a fairly conventional-sounding piano piece. (It has a melody! WHAT) Kind of a bummer!

This was a really terrific listen, really catered to my taste. I especially liked the tracks that focused more on weird percussion and vocal hits. Great stuff!

I like both songs in the first match! Listening to this version of Departure just makes me want to listen to the original instead. Still enjoying Take Back the Tower a good deal.

Dr Wily MM2
Take Back the Tower

Nominate whoever wins the Most Evil Fictional Character Contest.

13. Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante
Experimental Rock, Experimental, Avant-Garde Metal, Sound Collage, Avant-Garde Jazz, Brutal Prog, Noise, Surf Rock, Musique concrte
1995
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/3/9/AAeDEnAAE44D.jpg

@Steiner

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpLKa19DKUoez6yvtW-Qhyi-Ojgb-o2tw

1. Carry Stress in the Jaw
2. Merry Go Bye Bye
3. Everyone I Went to High School with Is Dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YEtHy9iEmg

This album opens with the tragically named Everyone I Went to High School with Is Dead, this slow, dirge-like opus that digresses into noise. But I like noise! Its a strong opener. Then it segues into Chemical Marriage, which almost sounds like elevator music. It couldnt be more different from the first song! Im very intrigued. The third song, Carry Stress in the Jaw, sounds like super technical jazz rock? I am notoriously bad with genres but Disco Volante seems to deliberately defy them. Carry Stress in the Jaw pivots effortlessly away from jazz toward a deep metal sound, with harsh bursts of staticky feedback alternating with quieter moments. Its 9+min length covers other areas too, including playfulness, jokey vocals, and even a bit of surf rock. Im not sure Ive ever heard something like this before!

Albums like Disco Volante are making this project worth it. How rewarding it is to discover a hidden gem from an artist Id never even heard of, while having zero expectations. Each of these songs pops out, stands out in its own way. Everything is unique sonically, full of little surprises. I adore the feeling of listening to a song and having no clue whats going to come next.

Violenza Domestica opens with what sounds like metal scraping on metal; these industrial sounds persist through the rest of the song. Steiner I dont know if weve ever meaningfully interacted but youve nominated something that is very to my taste. I could do without the mouth noises though lol

Im getting the sense that this singer is holding back, so to speak. Almost all of his singing is silly or overly tinny or, for a few moments, loud and growly. Its fascinating to listen to a singer who seems wholly unconcerned about traditional presentation. After School Special is probably the first time on the album Ive heard him sing for longer than five seconds at a time. Again, not a fan of all the mouth noises, but thats my only actual criticism as of eight songs in.

Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz (the eighth song) is another big epic mess (in a good way), cycling through moments of calm andless calm, sometimes approaching overwhelming (again, in a good way). Parts sound like circus music. I do enjoy evil-sounding circus music. LOL and the fakeout ending was great.

A few of the songs dont excite me as much. For instance, The Bends and its multiple fadeouts and fadeins are a bit too meandering for my liking (yes, even for this album!). The singer also seems to have swapped out mouth noises for heavy breathing XD The end of the song is great, however; Im a sucker for these big climaxes that immediately cut to nothing.

Why does this end with the most conventional-sounding song on the album lol (Merry Go Bye Bye)at least until it turns into noise. Disco Volente keeping me guessing until the end I guess.

Overall this was a blast. I love music that keeps me on my toes. Good nomination!