LogFAQs > #978862411

#87. Ain't No Reason
Artist: Brett Dennen
Nominator: Blur (4/5)
Time: 3:35
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbYpWGM6nfc
Initial Rankings: Batch 8 - 12/15 (C) & Rubric 11
Weighted Rankings: Orange 4/16
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FLUX: Down 25 Spots

It's a thoughtful song questioning the world as it is. Overall runs a bit flat, and feels more depressing that the elaboration on so many ills of the world like sweat shop factories, indiscriminate bombing, and working so hard with nothing to show for it by... waiting for love to come and set him free. He bemoans the fact that 'every little heartbeat, every little breath' are ignored on corporate wage labor, yet his own solution is similar with waiting for love. Things don't look good, thinking about it doesn't help, just wait for someone else to fix things for you. Another time, another place...

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#86. Another Day
Artist: Rent (Movie Cast)
Nominator: Raka Putra (3/5)
Time: 4:46
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb2BfW0t94M
Initial Rankings: Batch 1 - 14/15 (F) & Rubric 16
Weighted Rankings: Red 3/16
Blockbuster: Grid D-6
FLUX: Up 30 Spots

"When I first tried listening on my phone at work, I knew I was mistaken hearing Chris Jericho singing the main male vocal. I still hear it, but not nearly as on point as it was quieter and more muffled. Not sure how I feel." - First listen note

Rubric 16 had the five worst of the worst in my opinion. Then with the weighted, it outranked most of its competition and likely a lot more. How did my opinion change so drastically?

The write-ups I started (and lost) focused on Rubric 16 at the outset, figuring they were first to go. "Another Day" had the annoying Fozzy lead Chris Jericho trying to get the pitchy junkie out of his hair. The song had bad non-sequitirs ("I should tell you, I should tell you, I should tell you, I should tell you, NO!"), blindside rhymes ("Excuse me if I'm off track, but if you're so wise, then tell me, why do you need smack?!"), rhymes I still get annoyed by (tf does 'outer space' have to do with anything), and a sudden chorus during this 'intimate' conversation. So how did it get so high when it irritated me so?

Writing it up... had a lot of introspection. I looked more into Rent and what the song was about because there is a LOT of context missing from the song, and though I still feel similar as before (seriously, the male lead grates on me), I understand a bit more that they're both HIV-positive and know they have their mortality looming large. But I also... look at myself and how I turn down things, waiting for another day to be perfect for something, continually putting off things and not making plans and not moving forward in life. And a lot of what he says... it sounds like excuses and putting up walls, avoiding. So it feels more real after I really listened and reevaluated both the list and myself more.

It doesn't help that that was a month ago and I continue to put off writing these entries.

And now, it's another month since what I wrote above!

"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss!" This is the key to when my feelings turn inward and the song comes alive. Sometimes I completely miss it and just kind of enjoy the chorus and second half, but when I catch this one line, that's when everything clicks and I can see the character scrambling to maintain his world and delusions of a continued life, where I can look at myself and all the opportunities I've passed up or batted away for another day. It's a hard-shelled life for us!

PS: It WAS actually #90, until I re-read the previous paragraph and had to keep it another day.