Song Contest 93 (Results posted!)

[Parama]

thinking about entering some japanese math rocky shit probably. dunno.

sounds cool.
entering something beautiful. rightsiding.

[Parama]

entered something lo-fi to annoy the shit out of parama et al

I mean, I've been listening to black metal and a lot of that is lo-fi but

[Parama]

i submitted non-djent from a djent artist tbh. but it's probably his best song so
last place

[Parama]

been needing to get something from the dear hunter for a while, have listened to act 3 and it was pretty good but that was a while ago

[Parama]

Central African Republic – Honestly I’ve never really cared for The Police. Their sound is just so… dated. It’s incredibly of its time and it doesn’t have much appeal outside of its time. This is not an exception in the slightest. It actually sounds way too washed-out, the mixing is just… not good. The vocal melodies are decent but not particularly ear-catching and there’s not much of a “mood” to this track either.

Spain – With the strings this sounds like it’s trying to be halfway between blues rock and disco, which is… an interesting combination, I suppose. And I don’t like the vocals at all, neither the screamy ones nor the spoken word ones. This song kind of has no sense of flow to it at all, too. It’s just random ideas mashed together, a random “talking to the crowd” moment before it gets insufferable for a bit. I mean there’s some okay music here too, but the song overall is just too sloppy and downright annoying for me to get into at all.

Belarus – Oh, I remember playing this game a few years back. Solid game but kind of forgettable if I’m gonna be honest, the narrator way overshadows any of the actual gameplay. I remember digging the soundtrack in a nondescript way, though. The tiny chiptune sounds mixed in with a nice atmosphere and some gorgeous strings might be why though. Not something I’d really seek out on its own though, but, it’s nice.

Latvia – Oh, it’s like, some kind of EDM or something that I’m biased against. The bass is too loud, shocker. Okay the screamed vocals are a bit out of place here honestly, even with the loud bass it’s not “heavy” enough to pull them off. Also it’s repetitive as hell. Yeah I’m officially bored by this, it just goes on… and on… with nothing remotely interesting happening.

Iceland – Honestly it’s hard to call this song anything other than perfect. It’s not, like, one of my favorite songs, but it’s a song that knows exactly what it wants to do, and does it well. It’s a song that holds up in both active listening and as background music. It’s utterly gorgeous. I could’ve entered Where Is Now? instead of this, which would’ve been a pretty standard track for the artist, but no, this is my favorite release of his and probably the best song he’s ever or will ever write, so.

Finland – This song has the same vocal melodies as Happy Together in the verse. Just saying. Anyways, I don’t know how k-pop sounds exactly like American pop from the early 2000’s, but in Korean. Side-note: I don’t really like American pop from the early 2000’s. This is at least tolerable though, but there’s nothing notable or engaging about it. Way too long for what it is, too.

Mali – This is off to a pretty slow start for a 3-minute track. But even when it kicks in it’s just flavorless indie rock. So I guess it’s like, just boring, or something. Vaguely pleasant, but not much more than that.

Suriname – Oh, it’s like, bluegrass rock or something. Mildly annoyed by some of this but there’s a nice energy to it and it’s pretty fun. The stuttering vocal bits are just awful though. It’s a bit monotonous though, if not for the organ you could’ve fooled me that there was a chord progression to this song at all. I’ll take it over most of the stuff in this set though.

Netherlands – A kinda sluggish feel to this track that I think works pretty well for it. Until it gets faster, of course, okay. The vocals are okay and musically it’s alright if not a bit generic? I dunno, there’s nothing here that stands out as anything unique nor particularly engaging. It’s just kind of “ehh”.

wow, this was a really weak group, only one song i really liked to any capacity (aside from my own ofc) and it's one i've heard before

[Parama]

holy crap an A-
holy crap 3 of them

[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

[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

[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

[Parama]

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

[Parama]

nah, it won't

[Parama]

i'll enter black metal if i win this contest then

(i won't win)

(so it's all good)

[Parama]

wow I'll vote tomorrow cool!!!!

I'm not thrilled about this contest tho

[Parama]

prediction: portugal wins

yeah, that's what i'm expecting too. it's probably gonna get at least a few points from me so i can't complain

[Parama]

it's time for relistens

Belarus - yup, this game's soundtrack is still pretty gorgeous innit
Suriname - i can't help but feel like they're a gimmick act, but a pretty decent one at least
Burkina Faso - this takes maybe a bit too long to get going but it's solid overall and pretty cool at the end
India - this is the kind of thing i like to know exists, but probably won't be something i return to after the contest
Portugal - i think i'm more behind this in theory than in execution, but it's easily one of the better songs in this contest regardless
Cote d'Ivoire - i mean, it's nice and upbeat and stuff i guess
Finland - the fact that this is on my relisten list at all means something is very wrong
Hungary - it's really pretty solid for most of the song, decides to commit seppuku for no reason but then is like "wait this is a dumb idea" but then dies anyways because it freaking stabbed itself in the gut without thinking
Mexico - like the picture-perfect example of a song that i kinda like and give low points to but won't remember in the slightest this time tomorrow
Netherlands - oh man, this is just, not my thing even if it's fine
Moldova - whoa, i swear the first bit of this one wasn't this good the first time i listened to it wtf. yeah okay this literally just jumped up to my 12 spot tbh, it's the only thing i like enough to justify placing above the thomas was alone song. ending is still a bit abrupt tho
USA - this is like cote d'ivoire, except the guitars are delicious sometimes
Greece - i'd like this so much more if it was an original composition inspired by the sounds it samples here, but it isn't

at this point i got tired and gave up because i looked at everything left and none of it was very good

[Parama]

i would probably not give pink floyd any points on principle
i didn't have to worry about it with the police because i don't like them enough anyways

[Parama]

let's build up the rabble hype machine

[Parama]

gratz portugal

[Parama]

the half-hour rabble

[Parama]

top 5 is pretty good rn actually

[Parama]

no. where are those Portugal 12s

[Parama]

that's better.

[Parama]

OK but at least put me back in the top 5 now

[Parama]

surprise

literally everything above me I gave points to tho so this was an alright results

[Parama]

David maxim micic's eco is a great release and bilo3.0 is pretty swag too, though it's more djent prog metal stuff than atmospheric stuff

[Parama]

animals as leaders kinda blows tho, just pointless technical showboating that bores me to tears

cafo is like the only aal song that's any good and it isn't great or anything either

[Parama]

i've heard physical education off it, the only part of which i liked was the more atmospheric break in the middle, but i did not like it very much overall

[Parama]

like whoa, we have almost a full contest of entrants and only one person didn't vote, it's like whooaaa

[Parama]

deerhunter and the dear hunter are two different bands tho