Song Contest 93 (Results posted!)

[toolenduso]

Looked like Moby with tats.

this is actually literally what I thought.

never listened to moby tho, so.

[Parama]

aesthetic perfection was the least perfect artist in the first group of stuff i listened to and honestly i hope there's nothing else that awful in this contest

[Parama]

Burkina Faso – I have to expect really good things from you from now on so please disappoint me. This has a kind of grungy sound to it, besides the vocals. When it gets really big near the end it’s pretty great really. Yeah, I can definitely dig this, might even like it more on relisten.

Gabon – Okay, I was liking how this started but the lyrics really ruin this. It’d be a lot stronger if she used it as a metaphor instead of literally just being Peter Pan. I mean I think it’s supposed to be some form of escapism for the speaker in the song, but still. It’d make sense if this was like a soundtrack song or something, but otherwise… Never really seems to go anywhere either, it stays at the same level the entire way through and lacks any real intensity. If it was a more somber song I could understand, but this isn’t a somber song…

Moldova – Pretty long quiet intro that’s fine enough but I already like it more when it picks up a little. I’m never really sure what kind of music these guys write. It’s like vaguely prog rock, but also kinda straightforward a lot? There’s a nice intensity to the climax near the middle and then it switches to a fun and swingy mood, I guess this is part 2 now. The second half never really goes anywhere, it feels like, just meanders on and then abruptly ends, but it’s alright.

Chad – Considering how this wasn’t being well received, and who it’s coming from, I expected some sort of metal with screaming. And I was not surprised, at all. Honestly though I’m more bothered by the vocals, which are really whiny in the worst way, and the autotune doesn’t do them any favors. The electronic bits are incredibly generic and the metal isn’t much better, it all feels so cliché. The female singer is pretty good though, at least. But yeah not a lot to like here.

Greece – Pretty interesting fusion of Italian(?) classical music and trip-hop, but I think interesting is the most it is. None of the classical stuff is original compositions, just famous stuff that I recognize even as a neophyte so. And the stuff they added is passable but not particularly engaging, just “interesting” on a conceptual level.

USA – When you said Japanese math rock I expected something that sounded less like an anime opening, but I mean yeah I guess you’re not wrong either. I think I’d prefer this as an instrumental though, not a huge fan of the vocals because they’re really what makes this sound more like J-pop than anything else. Okay, that guitar solo is not very good at all though. Also it feels like it’s almost over a 2 minutes in which is only a bit past halfway. Yeah, it does feel like it kinda drags near the end, and what’s with that random spoken word break? EHH.

India – Okay this is a lot cooler than I’d expect from looking at the year it was released. It’s like, French female Jimi Hendrix? But a bit funkier? I dunno but aside from the very 60’s sound of the production this is honestly pretty sweet. Though the 60’s sound to it makes it kinda endearing too. Dunno. I like it.

Hungary – Okay I really like the art for this so please let it be good. Where have I heard these melodies before, they sound really familiar, some classical song maybe? Oh okay good there’s the metal I was expecting. I’m still bothered by how familiar the melodies are, but. Oh. Oohhh. That heavy bit with the blastbeats and the harsh vocals… aaahh… eeeuugh… that sounds awful, to be quite honest. It just comes out of nowhere, too, it happens for a tiny bit and then the song gives up and goes back to normal. Why would you ruin an otherwise cool song like that. Sigh…


this set was a lot better, and a lot more interesting too, only one really boring song here. the theme tho is songs that could be so much better that have elements or moments that really drag them down though, like seriously that's my 3rd thru 5th from this set in a nutshell

unrelated but i've been spinning the most recent Julia Holter album and it's greeeeat, maybe i'll enter silhouette or sea calls me home or everytime boots or something in the next botb if i don't find something else i want to enter more, i dunno lol

[Quilford]

Considering how this wasn’t being well received, and who it’s coming from, I expected some sort of metal with screaming.

:3

[Parama]

i don't actually remember who chad is, just that they enter a lot of metal with screaming
i'd guess it's thewayitends tho, if i had to


also i figured out what i want to enter next contest, do y'all want the better song that has some growls or the still-great song that has no growls, i'm rightsiding either way so why do i ask

[Quilford]

yeah it is thewayitends

i mean, i appreciate having my boundaries pushed for me, because i'm never going to go and seek any metal with screaming out myself.

[pickemgenius]

I wanted ot enter rokugatso no sensou but couldnt find it online

[Plotinus]

It just comes out of nowhere, too, it happens for a tiny bit and then the song gives up and goes back to normal. Why would you ruin an otherwise cool song like that. Sigh…

that's how i feel about it too. the rest is really great and then it seems out of place.

you might be more familiar with Billie Holiday's English cover "Gloomy Sunday".

Original non metal hungarian version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p50EsuX_qiE



I like the Leander Rising version though because it has the original lyrics too, which were about the war, not just the ones that the song was made famous for.

The only other version on all of youtube with the original lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM7-U284ixE

[Apricity]

Hungary – Okay I really like the art for this so please let it be good. Where have I heard these melodies before, they sound really familiar, some classical song maybe? Oh okay good there’s the metal I was expecting. I’m still bothered by how familiar the melodies are, but. Oh. Oohhh. That heavy bit with the blastbeats and the harsh vocals… aaahh… eeeuugh… that sounds awful, to be quite honest. It just comes out of nowhere, too, it happens for a tiny bit and then the song gives up and goes back to normal. Why would you ruin an otherwise cool song like that. Sigh…

Not done listening to all the songs, but I completely agree with this. I liked this quite a lot except that screaming part.

[TheWayItEnds]

i don't actually remember who chad is, just that they enter a lot of metal with screaming
i'd guess it's thewayitends tho, if i had to


also i figured out what i want to enter next contest, do y'all want the better song that has some growls or the still-great song that has no growls, i'm rightsiding either way so why do i ask

I mean I just entered one of the most accessible songs I've entered thus far followed by some old school rap. But yeah I totally forgot about this contest until day before and had to enter something quick. Probably not the song I would have ended up entering with more time.

[notachipmunk]

I totally entered a song that even though I like them, the song itself can irritate me so I didn't have high hopes. I'm so logical like that.

ANYWAY now that I've gone through them twice, these are mostly in order for now, or rather generally top of list = better, bottom of list = not quite my thing. I hate even saying songs are not my thing, cuz I may just have questionable taste in music. Also def need to listen to a few of these a third time before legit voting!

Cote d’Ivoire – I was expecting this to be from an anime but the comment section said it wasn’t. I really like it though!
Iceland – Preeettttyyy
Chad – I kinda like this, it ends up sounding like other songs at times but it doesn’t bother me much =p
Portugal – Well this is weird. I like some of the weird but some of the weird was weird and it was weird but yeah.
Moldova – I liked the start of this better than the end
St. Lucia – I don’t know why I like this, but I sorta kinda do a little maybe
Mexico – catchyrific!
Bhutan – kinda catchy, probably would get to me after repeated listening though =p
Burkina Faso – I liked some of the sounds and music and stuff in this, but some parts I wish sounded different
USA – Kinda neutral on it.
Finland – a little generic sounding, totally wanted to like it more
Mali – Some of her vocals I did not like, it got better though and I did start to like em.
Central African Republic – It’s so mainstream and 80s that even though I kinda like the Police sometimes, sometimes their sound hurts my soul.
Netherlands – I liked the first 30 or so seconds more than when he started singing
Belarus – I would probably forget it was playing if I had it on as background music
New Zealand – Thought I wouldn’t like it at all, but it has a likable quality to it, even if the style isn’t my thing.
Sri Lanka – It has this sound and feeling about it that I associate with songs I don’t like.
Hungary – not a huge fan of his voice
Spain – vocals and general sound probably just not my thing
India – Sounds like something people would like, but that I can’t really get into.
Greece – Vocal style and I suppose the music and the combination doesn’t work well for me.
Gabon – This type of female vocal paired with the music doesn’t make my ears happy
Suriname – I just can’t!

[notachipmunk]

Except I totally left one country out....well Guyana should be somewhere near the top, it's in the category of pretty. Either before after Iceland probably on the list.

[Parama]

Guyana – It’s the kind of song that tries to be pretty and atmospheric but the drums are both too intense and too loud to really create that effect and I legitimately don’t understand this genre of music. Take the drums out of this entirely and I’d probably like it a lot more and it’s not bad or anything, it’s still kinda pleasant, but yeah pretty disappointing. Kinda repetitive and boring too. The DMM song I entered is so good ‘cause it’s constantly on the move and doing new things, not just lulling you to sleep like this.

St. Lucia – Oh man right away I am getting the impression I am not going to enjoy this. And yuuup there’s the EAR DESTROYING NOISE not far after. And the annoying, overly loud synth stuttering. I have no clue how this kind of melody-less noisefest appeals to anyone ever but it must appeal to someone, I guess.

Cote d’Ivoire – This starts out kinda lame but when it picks up it’s pretty alright. It’s also “anime opener” music too apparently, what’s up with that in this contest. It’s kinda weird to switch between English and Japanese so often though. Honestly kind of feels like it goes nowhere either. I dunno. The piano sounds really lifeless. The music’s surprisingly generic. Ehh.

Mexico – There’s a solid amount of groove to this but otherwise it’s… pretty standard. Not an inherently bad thing to be, but I don’t get a lot out of it at the end of the day. Maybe I’ll like it more on relisten? Meh.

Portugal – It’s a sad day when the horns and saxophone are what hold a song back from being better. Honestly they make this sound like elevator music, even though the drums, guitar, and bass (and whatever else) are all doing cool things. But nope, it’s the horns taking center stage. Well, at the start at least, it gets better later though. It kinda starts sounding like video game music later on in the middle though. I dunno. At almost every moment there’s something cool going on but also something else I’m not too hot on. I guess, mostly, the music is way too busy; too many elements at once, it ends up sounding really messy. And the flow of the song is kind of a disaster too. Shame. That being said it’s still the best song in this set so far, but…

New Zealand – Okay, this was alright until the synth came in on the chorus and that is just AWFUL, it’s impossible to take the song remotely seriously now. And it’s not like it was great before, okay at best, but yeah, there it goes, any hope of me liking this song. Apparently this is a cover of some song I’ve never heard. That’s nice. OH GOD THAT GUITAR SOLO IS COMPLETELY OFF-RHYTHM. How do you let something like that slide by. That’s just a tracking error, plain and simple.

Bhutan – Yup, this is pretty generic and uninteresting and basically not worth talking about, other than I don’t hate it, I guess.

Sri Lanka – This is definitely something that happened, I guess. I dunno, I’m just burned out by how generally mediocre this entire contest has been. It’s really tiresome.



this contest was pretty bad lol, only the second set of stuff I listened to had anything worthwhile in it

[Quilford]

this contest was pretty good tbh

[Quilford]

i mean there was still nothing here that i wanted to add to my music library, but it was very decent

[Bins]

I'll probably listen to these even though I didn't enter (exams make me sad).

EGO

[Willowmeadow]

Only one artist that I've heard of previously and it's the one I would probably have expected the least in the entire world. Nömak. Well, aside from The Police, which probably won't get any points from me under any circumstances since it's a ridiculously famous band to begin with.

Probably checking these tomorrow night.

[Pala]

(Sorry pala, yet another 10 >_>)

Sigh. One of these days..

Ooh, someone entered Jaga Jazzist. Been meaning to enter them for ever so long but couldn't decide which song to go with. I would've picked something off of A Livingroom Hush though.

[Cephrir]

(Sorry pala, yet another 10 >_>)

Sigh. One of these days..

Ooh, someone entered Jaga Jazzist. Been meaning to enter them for ever so long but couldn't decide which song to go with. I would've picked something off of A Livingroom Hush though.

I chose the song the person who introduced me to them seemed to like the most, since I knew I wouldn't be able to choose otherwise

[Quilford]

Three days until deadline.

[Scigatt]

St. Lucia is not available in my country.

[Willowmeadow]

Here's another upload of that one. Nothing that's uploaded with that shitty YouTube Red service should work outside the U.S. anyway.

Final top 10:

Hungary
Iceland
Moldova
Burkina Faso

Greece
Portugal
USA
St. Lucia

Mexico
New Zealand

Top 4 were fantastic, next 4 were something I'd possibly regularly even listen to and the last 2 were still very okay. The only 3 I couldn't stand were Cote d'Ivoire, Latvia and Finland. Very good contest in comparison to anything I've previously been in.

[Parama]

i'm really happy with the love towards my entry, it deserves it
won't win the contest tho thankfully

[Quilford]

it might

[Parama]

nah, it won't