Song Contest 93 (Results posted!)

[Quilford]

it might tho

[Song Contest]

Here's another upload of that one.

Thanks for posting that! I've added it to the OP as an alternative link for convenience.

Also, a reminder that votes are due at midnight on Sunday!

[Parama]

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

(i won't win)

(so it's all good)

[inte]

about halfway through

most of these songs are butt, but i'm a rap pleb what do i know

[Pala]

Random notes whilst listening -

Spain

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Bellbottoms - nice beginning. lived up to the beginning till the end. high points for sure.

Moldova

The Dear Hunter - The Bitter Suite I and II - oh this is dear with an a, not the other band. meh so far and don't see that changing. yeah, glad that's over. doubt if i'll give it points.

Finland

Vixx - Error - the pic makes me wary right away. yep. having a hard time keeping from closing the tab. please end already.

Burkina Faso

Mass Gothic - Nice Night - welcome change after that horror. the starting at least. yeah this is okay.

Guyana

Unknown Error - Midnight Special - this is sorta nice. yeah points.

Iceland

David Maxim Micic - 500 Seconds Before Sunset - video didn't work. listening to extended version instead. this okay but it's just sort of going on and on and not holding my interest at all.

Hungary

Leander Rising - Szomorú vasárnap - hey a cover of the suicide song. i've liked all versions of this i've heard before. there's a first time for everything i guess.

Central African Republic

The Police - Synchronicity II - why do people submit such popular songs? defeats the whole purpose of the contest. might still give it low points if i can't fill out my ballot.

Portugal

Jaga Jazzist - One-Armed Bandit - like i said before, i'd have gone with something from a livingroom hush. haven't listened to this album much. track starts off promising but kinda loses it halfway through then gets back to being good. not a fan of that random section in the middle.

Latvia

Aesthetic Perfection - Inhuman - ugh

Netherlands

Brown Bird - Thunder and Lightning - link didn't work. found an in-studio performance version that did. i like the upright bass. otherwise okay.

St. Lucia

Nömak - Korean BBQ (feat. LH4L) - not feeling this at all. very blah.


Suriname

Judah and the Lion - Kickin da Leaves - nah

Bhutan

World Order - Have A Nice Day - i love a lot of japanese music but i don't understand the appeal of j-pop. This was better than Finland at any rate.

Cote d'Ivoire

Nano - Nevereverland - better than bhutan

Mali

Laura Marling - False Hope - hasn't this artist been entered before? very song contest but better than majority of contest so far so possibly points.

USA

Sokoninaru - Emerald Green - did i miss the memo on this being the asian theme contest? this is the best of the lot so far though. i quite liked a lot of this so points.

Greece

Bitter:Sweet - A Moment - trip hop waltz? very nice.

Belarus

David Housden - Freedom - very soundtrack-y. not working too well as a stand alone track so far. still for this contest this is above par.

Sri Lanka

Whyte Horses - The Snowfalls - decent psychpop

New Zealand

Tha Los - Open Your Eyes - enough already. rather opening my eyes i really want to close my ears right about now.

Gabon

Ruth B - Lost Boy - meh

Mexico

Last Dinosaurs - Sunday Night - okay

Chad

I See Stars - Electric Forest - screaming is actually a refreshing change from all the blah this contest. but the rest of it is ehh. yeah no.

Not going to be easy picking 10 I want to give points to.

[inte]

pala sippin that hateraide

[ChannelDelibird]

Mali

Laura Marling - False Hope - hasn't this artist been entered before?

Yeah. No new artists at the moment whom I'm really excited about entering into the contest so went back to re-enter one of my all-time favourite artists who didn't get enough love the first time around. There might be some more of that from me over the coming weeks (as long as it's been at least a couple of years since any previous non-top-five appearance).

Will probably be listening tomorrow.

[Parama]

wow I'll vote tomorrow cool!!!!

I'm not thrilled about this contest tho

[Apricity]

I'm sad now

[toolenduso]

Portugal - Jaga Jazzist - One-Armed Bandit: We got a Frank Zappa ova here! Seriously though, if you played this for me without telling me who it was I would probably think this was a remastered song off The Grand Wazoo. Which is awesome, tbh. They can emulate Zappa as much as they please. The song continues to be cool, switching up the rhythm and instrumentation while remaining coherent. Gonna go with a high 8/10. This is the kind of song where you have to stop everything you're doing, close your eyes and listen closely if you even want to hope to appreciate everything they're doing. This is layered, well-arranged and played super tight. And it's

fun

. And it's

creative

. Funny enough, despite all that, it doesn't grab hold of me and fascinate me like my favorite music does. So while this is super cool and I like it a lot, I can't give it a 9 or 10. I am gonna stick with a high 8/10.

New Zealand - Tha Los - Open Your Eyes: OK, this is pretty cool. Definitely a good singer and a unique spin on that piano love ballad sound. Gotta give this an 8/10. GOD THIS IS SO FUCKING COOL. It's weird, I can't even entirely articulate why, this is just awesome to me. He's a really frickin good singer for one. I guess it's a cover? Makes me want to check out the original, and then check out more from Tha Los. High 8/10.

St. Lucia - Nomak - Korean BBQ: OK now this is interesting techno. They're playing around with volume and muting, changing up the rhythm, they're panning, using cool samples and overall just making it a detailed carving instead of a smooth soundscape. Def liked this one, gonna say low 8/10. Actually I like this one better than Brown Bird, so I'm gonna say middle 8/10.

India - Gal Costa - Vou Recomecar: Damn, this is a good contest. Like this one a lot too. It's kinda like The Beatles in Portuguese. High 7/10. Gal Costa knows how to rock. Low 8/10.

USA - Sokoninaru - Emerald Green: This is pretty cool! I'm thinking for now a high 7/10. OK so last time I didn't notice how badass the guitar solo was. I'm gonna say low 8/10.

Netherlands - Brown Bird - Thunder and Lightning: I already liked it when they picked up the tempo. I always appreciate a band that can make a song interesting with few instruments. Kinda reminds me of Dustin Kensrue's solo stuff, the little I've heard of it? This is cool! 8/10. OK yeah, this is still cool but not as cool as Jaga Jazzist. So I'm gonna say low 8/10.

Hungary - Leander Rising - Szomoru Vasarnap: Just from what I've heard so far and the brief bits of songs I heard while checking to make sure the links worked, this appears to be a pretty piano-heavy contest. Then it goes all metal, which I was kind of expecting given the artwork that came along with it. Oh shit, screaming! Such a rarity in the song contest. It's not particularly mind-blowing metal, but I do like the song overall. High 7/10. Ha, I didn't watch the video last time. It's pretty silly. Metal has a way of being silly. Musically, I still agree with a high 7/10.

CAR - The Police - Synchronicity II: I was pretty surprised to see nobody'd submitted The Police before now. I'm generally a fan of their music but I don't know if I've listened to anything that wasn't a single before, so looking forward to this one. Ohhhhhh this one. I have heard this one. This is cool. Is that Sting saying something about being kicked in the crotch? Sounded like it. I probably shouldn't be surprised at anything Sting does. Think I'll give this one a high 7/10. Yup, still like this one quite a bit. I've seen a lot of people saying they don't think this fits in a song contest because it's a single from one of the most famous rock bands, and that's made me think about things. Because the only time I've ever not given something points in a song contest deliberately for that reason, it was The Beatles. And I've still given high points to stuff I already knew, like Fleet Foxes and Cursive. So here's my rule, clarified. I won't give something points if it's so ridiculously well-known that you can't reasonably expect any given person not to know about it. Everybody on the frickin planet has heard The Beatles, so I don't feel like they belong here. And if somebody submitted Bohemian Rhapsody I'd feel the same way. If they'd submitted Message in a Bottle, I'd feel the same way. But a less-played single from The Police? That's on the right side of the line in my book. Besides, this one is good. High 7/10.

Mali - Laura Marling - False Hope: This was kinda cool I suppose. High 6/10. Better than I remembered. Middle 7/10.

Burkina Faso - Mass Gothic - Nice Night: Can't tell if it's the high strings on a bass or the low, perhaps downtuned strings on a guitar in this song. Either way I like it. This one was pretty cool! Middle 7/10. I still agree with a middle 7/10.

This was the first contest in a while where I really had trouble deciding between my top two. Both were awesome and I think I will check out more from each.

[Cephrir]

()
(Gabon Finland New Zealand)
(India Netherlands)
(Cote d'Ivoire)
(Bhutan Suriname)
--if I didn't have to choose 10 I would stop here--

[pickemgenius]

0/10 contest chad didnt enter murder mitten(which I view as the only ISS song that I'd consider completely good and not guilty pleasure, and honestly considered entering the past two contests)


jk this was a fine contest.

[quadz08]

Spain – The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: This is pretty neat, if a bit overlong (B+)
Moldova – The Dear Hunter: Just not that interesting. (B-)
Finland – Vixx: Fine, but not great. (B)
Burkina Faso – Mass Gothic: Dullllllllllllllllll (B-)
Guyana – Unknown Error: Fine but overly repetitive (B)

Iceland – David Maxim Micic: This was good, not great. (B)
Hungary – Leander Rising: This. This is sick. AW SHIT AND THEN IT RUINS IT WITH THE SCREAMING ugh. IT WAS SO GOOD UNTIL THAT. (B)
Central African Republic: I have heard this song a bajillion times. (C)
Portugal – Jaga Jazzist: I might actually be in love with this? (A)
Latvia – Aesthetic Perfection: This is pretty excellent. I dig it. (A)

Netherlands – Brown Bird: Oh my god. Give me more of this forever. (A)
Suriname – Judah & The Lion: this is also quite good (A-)
Bhutan – World Order: This was pretty decent. (B+)
Cote d'Ivoire - Nano: VERY ANIMU (B+)
Mali – Laura Marling: ehhhhhh (B-)

USA – Sokoninaru: This is fine, but not special (B)
Greece – Bitter:sweet: Fine, but not terribly interesting (B)
Belarus – David Housden: This sure is a soundtrack. It's fine for what it is. Not great for just listening without context. (B)
India – Gal Costa: This is fine I guess? Just old (or old-sounding) and not awesome enough to make up for that. (B)
Sri Lanka – Whyte Horses: Eh. Trying a bit hard, IMO. (B)

New Zealand – Tha Los: This feels very generic. Not interesting. (B-)
Gabon – Ruth B: This is pretty good. (B+)
Mexico – Last Dinosaurs: Not that unique or original, but pretty good for what it is (B+)
Chad – I See Stars: Screaming. Blergh. The vocals on this track are made of things I hate. (C)

[TheWayItEnds]

0/10 contest chad didnt enter murder mitten(which I view as the only ISS song that I'd consider completely good and not guilty pleasure, and honestly considered entering the past two contests)


jk this was a fine contest.

i wanted to enter something off 3d but like i looked at my clock and it was like 4 minutes to deadline.

like that really isnt the right i see stars song i dont think.

[Quilford]

Latvia – Aesthetic Perfection: This is pretty excellent. I dig it. (A)

quads pls

[Quilford]

prediction: portugal wins

[Tammy]

I've quite enjoyed this contest.

[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

[toolenduso]

Wait, is Open Your Eyes the only thing Tha Los has done?

[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

[Davsto]

Pretty good contest imo

The first time I've had a full top 10 and then had to kick some out to fit my favourites on the list in, whereas usually I get a top 7 or 8 and have to fill the bottom spots with ones I just thought were okay.

[Davsto]

The main criticism of mine is that the artist is too well known, being The Police and all

Hmm

Looks like I'm gonna enter some Pink Floyd next contest!

[Willowmeadow]

I hope that's sarcasm.

[Davsto]

Sarcasm as in I'm fully aware that Pink Floyd is just as well known

Not sarcasm as in I may actually enter Pink Floyd

[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