Board 8 > Rank the Tracks 113: Silversun Pickups - Carnavas (+ Grimes results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

MetalmindStats/rwlh competitive match:
Nujabes - Metaphorical Music
vs.
Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_2
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_3

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, May 7 at 4:00 PM Central Time; the future week poll will close earlier, when I am putting up the next topic
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle (a new user will be added to the end of the current cycle as long as there are four weeks remaining) - the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).
7c. I have added a tiered vote structure - the least popular album will be removed and its backup votes distributed to the other two entrants.
8. Starting with the next cycle, every four weeks will be a competitive week where those listed choose a single album to face off against others.
9. Skits and tracks under 40 seconds will be excluded from the rankings unless argued otherwise

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas track list:
1. Melatonin
2. Well Thought Out Twinkles
3. Checkered Floor
4. Little Lover's So Polite
5. Future Foe Scenarios
6. Waste It On
7. Lazy Eye
8. Rusted Wheel
9. Dream at Tempo 119
10. Three Seed
11. Common Reactor

Current cycle:
5/7: Great_Paul (Sabaton - The War to End All Ways)
5/14: jcgamer107 (Kero Kero Bonito - Bonito Generation)
5/21: Giggsalot/MetalmindStats/rwlh
5/28: ChichiriMuyo
6/4: BlueCrystalTear
6/11: rwlh
6/18: NFUN
6/25: HBJDubs/firefdr/NFUN
7/2: StifledSilence
7/9: MaxGalactica

Future cycle:
7/16: MetalmindStats
7/23: HBJDubs
7/30: Raetsel_Lapin
8/6: competitive week
8/13: Steiner
8/20: Snake5555555555
8/27: Jesse_Custer
9/3: competitive week
9/10: ZaziGuado
9/17: firefdr
9/24: Johnbobb
10/1: competitive week
10/8: VeryInsane
10/15: FoolFantastic
10/22: Seanchan
10/29: competitive week
11/5: Giggsalot
11/12: RyoCaliente
11/19: darkx
11/26: competitive week
12/3: neonreaper

While I will typically try to delay or jump ahead to a future week if someone delays in responding to their personal week, I am going to take a non-response to a competitive week as a pass (as long as I sent the PM on time)

Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain > Nujabes - Metaphorical Music

I actually just found Nujabes for the first time a couple weeks back doing a music hangout with friends (we all bring an album no one else there has heard and a friend chose Modal Soul). I want to explore more, but Purple Rain is a long-time member of my top 100.

Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain > Nujabes - Metaphorical Music

We should cover something from Prince!

Metaphorical Music > Purple Rain

Purple Rain is great but I've gotta stick with my boy Nujabes. If you don't know Nujabes, he was a Japanese DJ who was one of the pioneers of the "chill lo-fi beats" subgenre. Metaphorical Music is a terrific showcase of his abilities, featuring some of the slickest, chillest beats known to man.

Here's one of my favorites from the album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cfDcvVfZa0

I've adored Lazy Eye forever but never checked out the full album. This was all fine, but I didn't quite love anything else. There are plenty of shoegaze bands I find more compelling.

Lazy Eye
Little Lover's So Polite
Future Foe Scenarios
Well Thought Out Twinkles
Three Seed
Waste It On
Checkered Floor
Rusted Wheel
Melatonin
Dream at Tempo 119
Common Reactor

I know I haven't participated in this topic series but I'll throw in that I love the band and have a bunch of their albums. From this album, I especially love Future Foe Scenarios, Well Thought Out Twinkles, Rusted Wheel, Melatonin, and Lazy Eye, in roughly that order.

To dabblers in the topic, I definitely wanna recommend their next few albums too. Swoon and Neck of the Woods are just... great for me.

I still need to listen through Widow's Weeds, come to think of it.

Great timing, KKB is choice in spring/summer

bump

Purple Rain > Metaphorical Music

Purple Rain > Metaphorical Music

I do kinda want to vote for MM as it is quite different, but I can't vote against Purple Rain if I'm being honest with myself.

1: Future Foe Scenarios
2: Dream at Tempo 119
3: Three Seed
4: Little Lover's so Polite
5: Waste It On
6: Checkered Floor
7: Melatonin
8: Lazy Eye
9: Well Thought out Twinkles
10: Common Reactor
11: Rusted Wheel

Purple Rain

bump

First listen done.

No idea what to think of this one yet. That was certainly 56 minutes of rock music though.

Sorry for delay in results again

Additionally, would anyone be willing to put up the topic for the week of 5/14?

I'll volunteer since it's my week

I used to listen to this album quite a bit back in like 2009-10 or something. However, it's still really hard to remember the melodies just by looking at the song titles. I do enjoy it, but more on a background noise level. I might be able to throw a ranking out at some point. Lazy Eye will be number one with a bullet. Fantastic song.

bump

Should be putting mine up tomorrow

Grimes - Art Angels results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
HBJDubs (26)
kateee (26)
ZaziGuado (26)
Seanchan (30)
MaxGalactica (36)
FoolFantastic (38)
neonreaper (38)
Raetsel_Lapin (38)
Johnbobb (50)

General Album Comments

FoolFantastic: This was one of my most anticipated albums after "Oblivion" from her previous album Visions ended up being an early contender (and ultimate winner) for my favorite song of the 2010s. There was a period of nervousness, though, as Grimes scrapped an entire album between the two. Luckily, what we ended up with is possibly the greatest electronic pop album ever recorded with so much range, from bangers like "Kill V. Maim" and "Venus Fly" to more relaxing tracks like "Realiti". It's a shame my favorite song here is what led her to meet Elon Musk (...through a Rococo Basilisk joke she made in the video that he happened to also tweet years later and then Googled if anyone else had done the same...) - at the time, this read as a personal, introspective work from one of the most promising new names in music.

ZaziGuado: This album isn't perfect. I will almost always skip SCREAM and the only reason I don't skip laughing and not being normal is because it's the very first track. Life in the Vivid Dream is okay. Everything else, though, is heavily consistent and at minimum a great song. The demonic bubblegum energy of Kill V. Maim is so hypnotic. Flesh without Blood is a fantastic angry breakup song. I love that guitar riff in Artangels. There's so much blissful electronic pop to be had here. The album sits in a weird spot for me, though, in that I cannot really bear to listen to any other Grimes album. She has some good singles here and there, but overall no other album is able to do anything for me.

Seanchan: Did a first listen the other day and enjoyed it for the most part. I was worried at the beginning that it might be "too much", plus that SCREAM song was not doing it for me, but the album finds a really good rhythm after that. I also did a listen to her two biggest songs on Spotify, Oblivion and...something else (don't remember the name), and they didn't do much for me. So, yeah, this was probably the correct album choice of hers for me.
(...)
I enjoyed this album quite a bit, with it being anchored by a very strong top 5 songs. There's some really good, cool beats here. I think this'll be one I go back to in the future.

HBJDubs: First time hearing Grimes. The rankings truly reflect the quality on this one, as in the bottom songs are bad, the middle songs are fine, and the top songs are great

MaxGalactica: Been pretty impressed with the album quality over the past few weeks here. This one's really good. Production quality is top-notch and most of the tracks are unique and memorable. Top 3 on my rankings are massive bangers that have been stuck in my head all week. 4 and 5 are really good too. Nice album choice, Raetsel.

Raetsel_Lapin: Thank you, though I should say it was originally ZaziGuado's nomination. It lost by one vote after I voted against it for selfish reasons and there was some disappointment expressed about Art Angels losing, so I thought it was worth giving another chance. Especially since I do really like the album.

Considering the general reception, I'd say it worked out.

Art Angels track ranking

14. laughing and not being normal (Track #1)
Score: 26 (Average Rank: 12.11/14)
Biggest Fan(s): neonreaper (#9)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin, Johnbobb (#14)

13. Life in the Vivid Dream (Track #13)
Score: 29 (Average Rank: 11.89/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, kateee, Seanchan, neonreaper (#14)

12. SCREAM (Track #3)
Score: 30 (Average Rank: 11.67/14)
Biggest Fan(s): FoolFantastic (#7)
Biggest Detractor(s): ZaziGuado, HBJDubs, MaxGalactica (#14)

11. World Princess part II (Track #11)
Score: 55 (Average Rank: 8.89/14)
Biggest Fan(s): FoolFantastic (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): kateee (#12)

10. Easily (Track #8)
Score: 61 (Average Rank: 8.67/14)
Biggest Fan(s): neonreaper (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, Seanchan (#13)

9. Venus Fly (Track #12)
Score: 68 (Average Rank: 7.44/14)
Biggest Fan(s): FoolFantastic, Johnbobb, Seanchan (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#12)

8. Belly of the Beat (Track #5)
Score: 72 (Average Rank: 7.44/14)
Biggest Fan(s): kateee, Johnbobb (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, neonreaper (#12)

7. Artangels (Track #7)
Score: 72 (Average Rank: 7/14)
Biggest Fan(s): ZaziGuado (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#11)

Johnbobb: This sounds like it would be on the soundtrack of A Goofy Movie

6. Butterfly (Track #14)
Score: 76 (Average Rank: 7/14)
Biggest Fan(s): MaxGalactica (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, ZaziGuado, kateee (#11)

5. Pin (Track #9)
Score: 82 (Average Rank: 6.33/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): MaxGalactica (#13)

4. California (Track #2)
Score: 89 (Average Rank: 5.78/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#12)

Johnbobb: Most of this album was good but this song in particular I've listened to on repeat so many times now

3. Realiti (Track #10)
Score: 111 (Average Rank: 4/14)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb (#10)

2. Flesh Without Blood (Track #4)
Score: 112 (Average Rank: 3.89/14)
Biggest Fan(s): FoolFantastic, Raetsel_Lapin (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, Seanchan (#8)

1. Kill V. Maim (Track #6)
Score: 125 (Average Rank: 2.89/14)
Biggest Fan(s): ZaziGuado, kateee, Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): neonreaper (#6)

1. Well thought out twinkles - I forgot how much I liked this one. I'm putting it back in rotation
2. Little lover so polite - also slaps
3. Dream at Tempo 119
4. Common Reactor
5. Lazy eye - I was 90% sure this was a female vocalist when it came out
6. Checkered floor
7. Future foe scenarios - maybe my favorite instrumentally
8. Three Seed
9. Rusted wheel
10. Waste it on
11. Melatonin - I listened to this album a lot when it came out but I haven't really listened to it in the last 10 years, and I bet it's because each time I put it on I start with this track and then change my mind. It's not like it's terrible, I just doesn't sound like something I want to listen to keep listening to

This was a fun one to rediscover. Thanks to whoever nominated

Lazy Eye
Common Reactor - I'm a sucker for whatever type of bouncey melody the chorus is
Melatonin
Future Foe Scenarios
Dream at Tempo 119 - I love that fake ending followed by a lyric saying "I couldn't end it there"
Rusted Wheel
Little Lover's So Polite
Three Seed
Wasted On
Well Thought Out Twinkles - I thought it was Twinkies for the longest time and could never take the song seriously because of it
Checkered Floor

The top 3 tracks are on a tier separate from the rest of the album for me. Everything below us fairly malleable in terms of ranking, though I think Checkered Floor would generally always end up on the bottom.

Purple Rain > Metaphorical Music

Going to be a bit late on my ranking. I need to do a third listen, and I might be able to get it done tomorrow morning but more likely will be tomorrow night.

Future Foe Scenarios - Up tempo and feisty, and keeps building in new elements
Three Seed
Well Thought Out Twinkles
Lazy Eye
Melatonin - This can drone a bit but with a good speaker setup, this song really comes alive. Great part of their live set.
Little Lover's So Polite
Rusted Wheel
Waste It On
Common Reactor
Checkered Floor
Dream at Tempo 119

My wife introduced me to SSP properly - I had heard Lazy Eye through Rock Band, but that was it. I almost made this nomination round "albums my wife introduced me to". I think Better Nature is SSP's best album, but I think Carnavas is probably their most significant album with at least one song (Lazy Eye) that people have probably heard.

I'd say that SSP's best songs have creative arrangements and cascading soundwalls. There is a droning shoegaze element to the album cuts, and if you're in the mood, it's really awesome stuff. If you're just dipping in, I imagine the low vocals just get lost.

I listened to the album a bunch of times to try and re-order the bottom half of the songs and found myself surprised that Dream at Tempo 119 ended up at the bottom, as I like the song.

(I would have also had Interpol in my options but couldn't really settle on a proper third band/album)

Purple Rain > Metaphorical Music

As much as I want to vote for Metaphorical Music, it's hard to vote against this particular album.

Carnavas:

1. Lazy Eye
2. Common Reactor
3. Melatonin
4. Checkered Floor
5. Rusted Wheel
6. Little Lover's So Polite
7. Waste It On
8. Future Foe Scenarios
9. Well Thought Out Twinkles
10. Three Seed
11. Dream At Tempo 119

Top 3 were the only ones that really stood out to me in this one, especially Lazy Eye. The rest were serviceable, but pretty par-for-the-course as far as shoegaze goes. Decent-to-good album.

Prince > Nujabes

Lazy Eye
Little Lover's So Polite
Melatonin
Future Foe Scenarios
Rusted Wheel
Checkered Floor
Waste It On
Three Seed
Dream At Tempo 119
Well Thought Out Twinkies
Common Reactor

Very good album. No bad track on this one, though Lazy Eye definitely stands above the rest.

1. Lazy Eye
2. Little Lover's So Polite
3. Common Reactor
4. Three Seed
5. Rusted Wheel
6. Future Foe Scenarios
7. Dream at Tempo 119
8. Melatonin
9. Well Thought Out Twinkles
10. Waste It On
11. Checkered Floor

This one grew on me a bit with subsequent listens. Some of this is a little too generic rock-ish but then there's songs where it comes together and I really enjoyed the sound.