Song Contest 101 (Results posted!)

[toolenduso]

I think people will like my next song better. Pretty surprised at the lukewarm reception to this one because I love it but there ya go. That's the Song Contest, it adds some perspective to stuff that you mostly think about inside a bubble.

[Parama]

I may send something different than what I sent this contest next time, but maybe not I dunno

[KuroiXHF]

So I can't do a huge review like I did last time, but I'll do what I can.

Songs that made it past my first round of cuts: (For reference, the first round is music where I listen to this the first time. I tend to be more lenient to the ones at the top of the list and get stricter because I ask myself if it's something that I could see actually putting into my top ten.)
Albania - Led Er Est - Scissors
Belize - Copeland - Should You Return
Afghanistan - Eery - Her
England - CASisDEAD - Colours
Central African Republic - Blur - Beetlebum
Bhutan - Chris Brown - Fine China
Canada - Andrew Huang - Nostalgia
Mali - Shout Out Louds - Walking in Your Footsteps
Nigeria - Sampha - Blood on me
Uruguay - Olafur Arnalds (ft. Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir) - Particles
India - Gary Higgins - It Didn't Take Too Long
Liechtenstein - Porter Robinson and Madeon - Shelter
Chad - Drunk Girl - Don't Stop the Party

This leaves me with thirteen names so I'm going to go through that same list and get rid of the three I liked the least. Those I'll have to get rid of are:
Belize - Copeland - Should You Return
Central African Republic - Blur - Beetlebum
India - Gary Higgins - It Didn't Take Too Long

The other ten are going as my favorite and now I'll be listing that list of ten from songs I've disliked to songs I've liked and little blurbs as to why:

Afghanistan - Eery - Her (This is a beautiful song. The biggest problem is that it tries to do too much. If it wants to be classy, go the classy route. If you want to be the edgy hipster, do that. Adding both of it doesn't mix well. Going both ways takes away the entire meaning of this song and ruins your chances of going to the top in my book.)

Canada - Andrew Huang - Nostalgia (I'm not sure how to judge this song. The instrumental sounds like the Super Mario Bros. trying to do rap without the Italian accent. The video looks like a fifteen year old putting it together with great effort. But it's catchy, and I can understand the meaning from this. I have to deduct points of the complete absence of the wow factor. I didn't get anything in that end, and it's replayability factor is near zero to me. It's something I look at where I say, "Oh, that's nice." And that's it.)

Bhutan - Chris Brown - Fine China (If you asked me yesterday if I would ever put a Chris Brown song in my top ten, I'd slap the spit out of your mother's mouth. But this song is actually great. It gives me that classy aspect I wanted and gotten from Afghanistan, but maintains stability. It loses points when Chris Brown tries to hit the high notes and takes away from the sweetness of the instrumentals and I also deduct points for him being Chris Brown. I never said I was a good judge. I also have to deduct points for when Chris Brown says, "I'm not dangerous." That's disgusting irony.)

Uruguay - Olafur Arnalds (ft. Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir) - Particles (This song upset me. When it played, I told myself, "THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE SONG." And I was hoping for the tempo to speed up. I was hoping for it to turn ballad-like, but it didn't. It teased me, then didn't deliver. And I'm punishing it harder than I normally would because I feel betrayed.)

Liechtenstein - Porter Robinson and Madeon - Shelter (This is a song that I'd expect for the video. It's poppy. It's catchy. It feels nice to listen to, but it doesn't provide anything substantial to me. It's something nice to listen to, but it doesn't do anything for me.

Chad - Drunk Girl - Don't Stop the Party (It started out alright. I liked them talking about existential statements like everything comes from something. It then drops to something as facile and superficial like "Don't stop the party." The beat devolves to something a fourteen-year old girl would like, and I feel like it takes away from the quality of the song for someone like me. I feel like it's a good song, but it's not meant for me.)

Albania - Led Er Est - Scissors (That beat. It stays captivating throughout the entire song. The instrumentals were awesome. The problem is, it drowns out the vocals. It drowns out the lyrics. It drowns out everything else. It'd be a stronger piece if it was purely instrumental, in my personal opinion.)

Nigeria - Sampha - Blood on me (I knew this was a good one because I forgot it was still playing in the first round. It was comforting and something I knew I could listen to again. I also think this was intentional and fitting the theme, but I didn't like the vocalist breathing heavily. It's a good idea in theory but I didn't like it happening in execution.)

Mali - Shout Out Louds - Walking in Your Footsteps (I liked this song. I didn't at first. I knew it had to start slow, but it didn't capture me at all until I forced myself to give it a chance. The video was also a colorgasm. I did like the vibe it gave me after it kicked in.)

England - CASisDEAD - Colours (I love the beat. I love the tempo. I love how this place is put together. The one big aspect that shot down the gold for me is the problem that a lot of rap has - it lacks recognizable meaning. It worries so much about the speed and the desire to appear skilled that it sounds rushed. It's not as much of a turn off as it could be and the biggest reason is that this song is incredibly versatile and could be used in movies and other media.)

[KuroiXHF]

(Nevermind)

[Psyche]

people keep reading so much into Her

[Errantparabola]

I agree with Nati on the high energy
I agree with Tool on the thinking song in bubble
Bulge's gifs were great
Overall this was a bumpin contest

[Zachstralkita]

@South Korea i was so hype when that track first came out. That boy kohh been snappin tho


@Kuroi the backing track for the cas song is called " Glass Candy - Digital Versicolor". if I'm not mistaken it was used in a movie called "Bronson", 2009. Lol @ the no meaning tho


he also rapped over that nightcall song, i'm not sure if i should have submitted that track instead.

[Zachstralkita]

Bhutan - Chris Brown - Fine China (If you asked me yesterday if I would ever put a Chris Brown song in my top ten, I'd slap the spit out of your mother's mouth.

LMFAO

[xyzzy]

Belgium -- oh shit my dudes! this is good! I just realized I used the word "dude" which is a word in the title of this song. that wasn't intentional I swear, I just like the phrase "my dudes". anyway the way this ended felt a little weird but I didn't hate it. I liked the parts of the songs that weren't the ending more than I liked the ending.
Mali -- these are some fun sounds! a nice collection of fun sounds that I am having a fun time listening to! the song evokes a lot of weird emotions in me that I don't really understand but I'm having a good time.
Nigeria -- this fits in that weird and tiny category of music that I really wish I liked more than I did. like I can hear this and know that it's really good but I'm not, like, emotionally connecting to it myself in the way I know I theoretically could under better circumstances? that's really weird, and I wish it wasn't that way, but that's how it is.
Mexico -- this is one of those songs where the song itself isn't very remarkable but I'm really diggin the music video. not in the kind of way where I'm like "okay this video is actively making me enjoy this song more than I would otherwise" but it's still good. the music itself is fine. if the Song Contest were a

Magic: The Gathering

draft and I was in green, this would be the expensive huge vanilla creature common I'd take in the last pack, and I wouldn't be super thrilled about it, but it would be fine.
Finland -- this song is 21 minutes long and I don't tend to really care that much about classical music unless I have some other emotional connection to it, so it's the kind of thing I'm really unlikely to listen to all the way through, but I'll give it several minutes of my time. the main violin dude looks really intense. I could imagine a scenario in which a fictional version of this dude goes through some real shit and they make a movie about this violinist and then it gets nominated for an Oscar but loses to a movie about a trans woman who is played by a cis actor. that exact scenario has happened repeatedly in the last few years and this is the violinist who would be in the movie that no one would really love but the people I follow on tumblr would be like "I'd be fine with this winning as long as that transphobic bullshit doesn't win" and then it would lose and we'd all be like "UGH THIS IS FUCKING AWFUL". so that's how I feel about this one. I stopped listening to it 8 minutes in. I did my best y'all
Uruguay -- a quick Google search confirms that the main musician here is Icelandic as I suspected and I have not listened to a lot of Icelandic music but I have enjoyed all the Icelandic music I have listened to and this is no exception. catch me in the club crying while they play

( )

. j/k they wouldn't play

( )

in a club. anyway this is a really, really pleasant music video to watch. I could imagine a situation in which I listen to this song 100 times in a row and suddenly it's my favorite song ever. after just one listen, though, it's just a song that I think is Pretty Nice
India -- I'd probably have a much better time with this listening to it out of a stereo instead of headphones, because it does that thing where most of the instruments are only hitting one side, and I'm not a big fan of that. anyway I don't think it's fair to judge it on that basis because I'm pretty sure in 1973 this dude couldn't have possibly anticipated that laptops and YouTube and headphones would be things and that someone would be listening to this in that format so instead I'll judge it by saying it's just the kind of thing I don't really care about a lot. 6 months ago, YouTube user snackpoodle commented "Twaddle" on this video, and you know what? I agree with snackpoodle
Liechtenstein -- ａｓ  ａ  ｍｏｄｅｒａｔｏｒ  ｏｆ  ｒｅｄｄｉｔ  ｄｏｔ  ｃｏｍ  ｓｌａｓｈ  ａｒｅ  ｓｌａｓｈ  ａｎｉｍｅ，  Ｉ  ｒｅｆｕｓｅ  ｔｏ  ｗａｔｃｈ  ｔｈｉｓ  ＳＰＯＮＧＥＢＯＢ  ＳＱＵＡＲＥＰＡＮＴＳ  ＯＦＦＩＣＩＡＬ  ＭＵＳＩＣ  ＶＩＤＥＯ (real talk though this is very good)
Macao -- behind the scenes: I actually listened to this one last because I accidentally skipped it going through the songs! can you believe I made such a foolish, foolish blunder? I can. anyway, even though it wasn't supposed to be the last song I listen to, it is a good song to listen to. I am very glad to have listened to this song.
USA -- this is another one of those things where I'm having a decent enough time with this listen but I know the moment I stop listening to it it'll completely exit my brain. gives me a kind of Conor Oberst vibe, but hopefully this dude isn't a shitty person like Conor Oberst???? I stop getting those vibes near the end of the song though. anyway it was nice enough I suppose!
South Korea -- this was... not very good
Chad -- oh shit this is in

Rocket League

! I have never heard more than like the first minute of it because the music stops playing as soon as I go into an actual game. anyway I fundamentally disagree with the idea that someone named Deanna can have that name be a mononym. this is a nice song.
South Sudan -- this just isn't really my thing, you know? sometimes things aren't your things, and this thing isn't my thing. there are some things like this that are my thing, but this thing is not my thing. you know that feel when the thing isn't your thing?

time 2 vote

[TheWayItEnds]

Alright so I listened to all of these and rated them.

And now I'm on a business trip and my stickynote with my ratings is several states away.

So that sucks.

[kraska77]

Haha xyzzy I <3 ur reviews


Also hey I was just getting over the drank and drugs earworms but now orca ninja skreee is stuck in my head

[pickemgenius]

Jeff Rosenstock is one of the coolest dudes doing music so dw.

[Song Contest]

I will start posting results at 11 a.m. Pacific Time today!

[KuroiXHF]

@South Korea i was so hype when that track first came out. That boy kohh been snappin tho


@Kuroi the backing track for the cas song is called " Glass Candy - Digital Versicolor". if I'm not mistaken it was used in a movie called "Bronson", 2009. Lol @ the no meaning tho


he also rapped over that nightcall song, i'm not sure if i should have submitted that track instead.

Are you England?

[Zachstralkita]

Yea

[KuroiXHF]

Yea

Awesome. Well I'm glad to give you my top spot.

[Song Contest]

RESULTS FIXED

(Not in contest)

Empire

12 - South Sudan
10 - Burkina Faso
8 - USA
7 - India
6 - Nigeria
5 - Finland
4 - Republic of Kugelmugel
3 - Afghanistan
2 - Belize
1 - Central African Republic

South Sudan

Sesq

12 - Burkina Faso
10 - Republic of Kugelmugel
8 - Germany
7 - Albania
6 - Cote d'Ivoire
5 - Nigeria
4 - Finland
3 - England
2 - USA
1 - South Korea

Belize

toolenduso

12 - Canada
10 - Republic of Kugelmugel
8 - Bhutan
7 - Afghanistan
6 - Nigeria
5 - USA
4 - Finland
3 - Burkina Faso
2 - Belgium
1 - Cote d'Ivoire

Nigeria

Dark Horse

12 - Republic of Kugelmugel
10 - Afghanistan
8 - Belgium
7 - USA
6 - Burkina Faso
5 - Finland
4 - Bhutan
3 - Albania
2 - South Korea
1 - Macao

Canada

Errantparabola

12 - Republic of Kugelmugel
10 - Liechtenstein
8 - Belgium
7 - Nigeria
6 - England
5 - Finland
4 - Mali
3 - Cote d'Ivoire
2 - Afghanistan
1 - Central African Republic

Current Scores:

48 Republic of Kugelmugel
31 Burkina Faso
24 Nigeria
23 Finland
22 USA
22 Afghanistan
18 Belgium
12 Canada
12 Bhutan
12 South Sudan
10 Cote d'Ivoire
10 Liechtenstein
10 Albania
9 England
8 Germany
7 India
4 Mali
3 South Korea
2 Central African Republic
2 Belize
1 Macao
0 Uruguay
0 Ecuador
0 Mexico
0 Chad
0 Benin

[The Bulge]

holy shit

[Davsto]

Do points from people not in the contest not count towards the total then? That seems odd.

[KuroiXHF]

Do points from people not in the contest not count towards the total then? That seems odd.

He's not finished.

[The Bulge]

Do points from people not in the contest not count towards the total then? That seems odd.

He's not finished.

yea but Empire's scores are not represented in the table

[Song Contest]

Do points from people not in the contest not count towards the total then? That seems odd.

Yikes! Thanks for pointing that out so early. There was a syntax error in Sheets.

That coulda been bad.

I'll repost the first batch in a minute.

[Song Contest]

Results from the first post fixed.

They should be accurate from here on out.

Second batch on its way...

[Zachstralkita]

Yea

Awesome. Well I'm glad to give you my top spot.

That whole little mixtape had a sweet little 80s theme to it. Only released on cassette for a limited time.

If anyone liked England they should probably check these ones out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITfnpt3OrPw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY8Qd18vCRY

[Hiraki]

its ok guys, ill work my way back up to the top