Song Contest 112 (RESULTS POSTED!)

[Parama]

i mean 20 people isn't exactly a small number of entrants but it's also not the max so everyone is freaking out or something cool

[Errantparabola]

Whoa, who the hell's Macau again? That's one of my favorite songs for real. Auto 12 I'm almost positive.

[caledfwitch]

Whoa, who the hell's Macau again? That's one of my favorite songs for real. Auto 12 I'm almost positive.

IM MACAU!!

[caledfwitch]

top 12:
burkina faso
wales
bhutan
italy
egypt
south korea
india
iceland
guatemala
iraq
greece
china

[Parama]

Italy – I mean, this isn’t quite the best song off Melodrama but it’s pretty damn good. I’ve heard it like a billion times by now so I’m not bothering relistening now but yeah. (GOOD)

China – I know this was like a minor hit but I dunno if I actually heard it? Don’t like the vocals at all if I’m being honest but musically it’s kinda cool, a bit off-kilter and with a decent energy to it. On the whole I’m pretty okay with this, don’t love it and the vocals hold it back a bit but it’s solid. (DECENT)

Bhutan – This was pleasant and had a nice energy to it, especially dug the percussion. I wouldn’t say the vocals are bad but not really to my taste, but aside from that I did enjoy this. (DECENT)

Latvia – This is like a remix of one of those meme songs I think. I vaguely recognize it. The base song isn’t exactly anything that special and it feels like the remix just exists to pile layers of repetitive synth on top of that. There’s some decent moments with guitar towards the end I guess but the bleepy synths even ruin that somewhat. No thanks. (MEDIOCRE)

Iraq – It’s a bit all over the place and there were moments where I liked it quite a bit alongside moments where it was just okay. It feels like the kind of thing where taking a single song outside of the context of the album probably doesn’t work in its favor but I still found this pretty pleasant for the most part. (DECENT)

South Korea – Ahh, this song. One of those low-key classic rock songs I didn’t know by name at all and only occasionally hear but still have heard enough to recognize at least parts of it. It’s…. fine. I dunno what else to say about it. (AVERAGE)

Hong Kong – Literally what the heck are you doing trying to remake Bring Me To Life in 2014? Like that’s definitely what this wants to be. Strings that sound fake (either they are or the production ruins the tone), some piano stuff, female vocals because of course. It’s not that it really sounds awful? The male vocals do, actually, they’re pretty bad but otherwise it’s okay but at the same time feels painfully lame. (AVERAGE)

not off to an awful start though odds are Lorde will keep that 12 lol

[Parama]

Iceland – I didn’t find myself too into the rest of this album but this one is damn good. Great atmosphere, strong hook, feels like a very complete song overall. Not really much else to say about it, even the 80’s feel works considering it’s basically a terminator tribute.

India – The percussion in the intro fails to establish a solid rhythm so I’m a bit annoyed off the bat. More than anything else though the vocals just make this not work too well for me. Instrumentally it’s generally solid, nothing really standing out though. It’s not really bad but it’s pretty meh on the whole. (AVERAGE)

Greece – The production on this is just all over the place, a lot of small elements that just seem to be present for the sake of it but don’t come together well. And I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the vocals either. Bassline is solid at least and there are moments where the production comes together, but not enough throughout. (AVERAGE)

Slovenia – Brass instruments are far and away my least favorite type of instrument so it’s really no surprise I don’t care for this at all. I sat through the entire thing for some reason but I could’ve stopped after the first minute and not missed out on anything I care about. (BAD)

Macau – I would like to congratulate you on finding the single most indie-sounding song in existence. That makes it pretty dang featureless unfortunately. Not very interesting either. I mean it sounds fine but it sounds like every other indie pop song ever made. (AVERAGE)

Wales – Don’t disagree with the sentiment of the song but in the hostile political climate we live in it’s pretty understandable to hide sexual preferences if you feel it poses a risk to your own personal safety. I don’t think there are any ill intentions here though. Anyways. I don’t find her very pleasant to listen to as a singer and instrumentally this just doesn’t do much special so I can’t particularly say I’m interested in revisiting it. (MEDIOCRE)

Zimbabwe – Yeaaahh a white guy rapping over acoustic guitar is about the last thing I wanna hear at any given time. It doesn’t sound -awful- and it isn’t as tedious as the brass song but it’s far from something I’d wanna hear again. (BAD)

[Parama]

Egypt – Cover image makes this look like some punchable teen pop idol. Song itself is almost worse somehow, this is just an unmitigated disaster with nothing in the song coming together and so many individual elements being unpleasant that it doesn’t make the stuff that’s at least decent really worth it at all. In particular I do not like the vocals but there’s just, so much wrong here, this was way more unpleasant than I would expect from something in this style. (BAD)

Guatemala – This picture is even worse than the last one though not as bad as that one from last contest. Song itself is fine though, a bit generic, it’s just very standard 80’s pop, but I mean it’s, fine. I have nothing else to say about it. (AVERAGE)

United Kingdom – Only way to describe this is as very generic hard rock type stuff except the singer is kind of unbearable. I don’t like this style of vocals much at all. Besides that though it’s got decent energy and okay if a bit uninspired riffing & soloing so ehh. (AVERAGE)

Central African Republic – I mean yeah it’s fine but honestly this entire song came and went and I barely noticed it happening. It’s just… standard. I’ve heard plenty of classic rock & this absolutely does exist. (AVERAGE)

USA – Not the slightest bit surprised to find these guys signed to Blue Swan records because this is exactly what Blue Swan bands sound like. Probably better than average though, the vocals especially. I dunno if this is particularly good or unique for the sound they’re going for but I enjoy it well enough and it’s leagues better than anything else in this group so far. (GOOD)

Burkina Faso – Yeah, this is just generally pleasant. A nice track to end on. I don’t really have anything to complain about other than that I didn’t really find much emotional connection here? It’s just nice. (DECENT)

this definitely was "a contest"

[Song Contest]

Reminder: Votes are due tomorrow night at midnight Pacific Time!

[Song Contest]

Reminder: Today is the last day for voting!

[Parama]

i'm guessing there's a lot of people who still haven't voted yet

[toolenduso]

I can neither confirm nor deny that there are 14 people who haven't voted yet. Additionally I can neither confirm nor deny that I am among them.

Welp, off to vote...

[toolenduso]

Only wound up doing one listen-through this time...

Top 10:

Egypt - Jacob Collier - Down the Line: Can't judge a song by its photo, that's for sure. I would've guessed tweenpop from the photo, but this is super interesting and sounds instantly like something that'll be at or near the top of my ballot. THERE'S A LEGIT PIANO SOLO. This is definitely my favorite so far. This is so good! GREAT.

China - Alt-J - Breezeblocks: This is a good song, man. GREAT.

Bhutan - Wednesday Campanella - Melos: Liking this right off the bat. It's got that rhythm, yo. This is pretty awesome. I don't like it quite as much as Jacob Collier, but it's definitely getting high points. GOOD.

Zimbabwe - Don McClosky - Son of it All: Hey this guy's not a bad rapper. High end of its tier. DECENT.

Iceland - Gunship - Tech Noir: The music video is awesome. The song is decent. It's not a sound I'm usually fond of, but they're doing a good job with it. I wouldn't mind giving this points. DECENT.

India - Skrat - Wake Up: I had an initially bad reaction to the singer, but the music is interesting and the chorus is kinda catchy. I like this. It's creative in that raw, local-garage-band kind of way. DECENT.

Macau - The Japanese House - Saw You in a Dream: This was enjoyable. DECENT.

Wales - Alex the Astronaut - Not Worth Hiding: Well, this song is about "shoulds" and that's nice to think about, but the reality is that people face mortal danger in today's world because of things they can't change about themselves. I'm not going to tell the closeted people I love that they should come out because they need to do it in their own way, when they feel safe, and I will support them when they do. Lyrics aside, the song's in the upper half of the contest so far. DECENT.

Greece - Emilie Simon - Franky's Princess: Huh. Interesting music. Weird singing. DECENT.

Slovenia - Baadsvik - Fnugg Blue: Is that...like, a talk box for a tuba? What is happening?? OK I'm very glad this isn't just eight and a half minutes of this dude doing a weird, subdued tuba solo. This is kind of fun. I'd be happy to see something like this live. Recorded...I mean, it's all right. It's respectable. I prefer stuff more along the lines of Snarky Puppy and DaKAH when it comes to modern-influenced orchestral. DECENT.

--

The rest:

UK - Volbeat - Seal the Deal: It's slightly better than other generic metal songs, if only because the singer is good. Not as good as Gunship. DECENT.

USA - Icarus the Owl - Failed Transmissions: I don't mind listening to this. Below Gunship. DECENT.

Guatemala - Desireless - Voyage Voyage: Ho boy. Super electronicky poppy pre-industrial 80s music. Not. My. Jam. DON'T CARE.

CAR - The Jam - Private Hell: I just don't care about this song. DON'T CARE.

Mine: BAM, STRINGS!

Burkina Faso - Wy - Bathrooms: Pleasant, but not captivating. DECENT.

Hong Kong - Skillet - Not Gonna Die: Skillet, man. Skillet. That band that used to play on Christian radio that I liked more than the worship bands but a hell of a lot less than most of the other stuff I liked. This is OK for what it is, at least it's catchy. It's just so cheesy, too. DECENT.

South Korea - Loverboy - Working for the Weekend: I can only use one word to describe this song, and that word is Zoolander. I mean, it's not the worst 80s pop song. It's better than Desireless. But it's not getting high points from me, if any. DECENT.

Italy - Lorde - Perfect Place: I always wanted to listen to more Lorde. Wow, this one kinda slipped by in the background. It was sorta catchy, I guess? DECENT.

Latvia - Nomico - Bad Apple: Music's kind of fun. Vocals are rote. DECENT.

[notachipmunk]

Voting on the last day is what all the cool kids do.

[drealmerz7]

I think the past 2-3 contests I was waiting to get weed and got weed the last 1-2 days of the contest

I got yesterday but was too tired to listen to new songs

[Parama]

God I'm sorry I just really hated egypt so let's agree to disagree

[Creature]

Hopefully I can make it to Top 10.

[SnowStorm]

Ok, did a quick re-listen of my top picks and sorted them out. Now for my lackluster thoughts.

Slovenia - Ok, umm, eh, not sure how I'll rank this.
Iceland - This is quite nice.
United Kingdom - eh, ok.
USA - No.
Egypt - This was a nice surprise. Probably the most interesting thing in this contest.
Guatemala - Lol. classic. It reminded me Soap&Skin has a pretty nice somber cover of this song.
Central African Republic - ok...
Iraq - Mehhhh.
Hong Kong - Oh God. Nope.
Wales - it's nice enough. Cute.
Bhutan - cool.
South Korea - ok.
Zimbabwe - ehhhhhhh.
India - Meh, ok'ish. I like the chorus.
Italy - Ok. Overrated.
Latvia - Nope.
Greece - Ok.
China - It's nice. Yeah, pretty nice.
Macau - Nice. Yeah, nice.

Looks like generic rock is back in strength this contest.

[Parama]

Yeah there were a few too many bland rock tunes, I gave a few points just due to lack of competition but really my top 3 were the only ones I liked a lot

[Errantparabola]

I understand both perspectives on Egypt's song. Like, I think it needs to be said that although he's obviously an incredibly talented musician, multi-instrumentalist-- some people have even gone as far to say that he's a musical pioneer.

But he's also very much an experimentalist, does a bunch of stuff that isn't necessarily very coherent, and that's a bit of a criticism that he has often received. I would say that in most of the stuff he does, it seems less thought is put into "how does this sound to the listener" and more of "how wild and free can I let my creative musical beast roam."

[Errantparabola]

Oh, and in case it wasn't clear, I'm Egypt.

[pickemgenius]

Yeah there were a few too many bland rock tunes, I gave a few points just due to lack of competition but really my top 3 were the only ones I liked a lot

so much buttrock

[drealmerz7]

this tuba and brass might be the best thing I've heard from this contest ever

I used to play low brass (euphonium and tuba and sousaphone)

[DeasVail]

agh I forgot to vote! I'll listen now just in case I have time.

[Errantparabola]

This was a pretty awesome contest. I think everything in the "Great" group ended up being decently close. It wasn't necessarily too easy to order the songs on the higher end, which is rare.

Great

Macau (Saw You In A Dream)

: Considering that I was super into this song for a couple weeks and still like it a lot, I guess I'm obligated to 12 this. Those two part harmonies are really crystal. And how low she gets, it's amazingly pleasant.

Iraq (Life is Looking Up)

: I think a lot of the feel of this comes from the the emphasis is on different beats for different parts in the instrumentation/vocals. It's really cool, and those strings are pretty awesome. Might listen to other tracks.

Bhutan (Melos)

: This is the first Japanese group that I think I've heard of before! Which is pretty cool. Yeah, this is awesome. That percussion is spicy. Future update -- I looked and noticed Parama said the same thing, nice nice.

Iceland (Tech Noir)

: This was good. It's got this giant rolling sound to it that really makes the chorus/rising part sound give off this huge encompassing atmosphere.

Good

Slovenia (Fnugg Blue)

: This guy's range is pretty cool, and this was nice. Perhaps not in that overarching "this is some good sound" way, but definitely in that musicianship way.

China (Breezeblocks)

: Cool.

Fine

Wales (Not Worth Hiding)

: I don't like the singing overmuch. That string break was pretty good, I suppose. Nothing particularly special, but low points.

South Korea (Working For The Weekend)

: Not bad.

Italy (Perfect Places)

: A good song but I just don't really like that layered sound for this.

CAR (Private Hell)

: Okay.

[PJ.]

Slovenia: nah
Iceland: It was pretty 80s and pretty fun. reminded me of Drive.
UK: Hard rock bro. I'm in that mood so like..sure.
USA: this was some fun scene shit
Egpyt: Reminded me of tune yards but just a whole lot less fun.
Guatemala: 80s but like..unironically?
CAR: definitely sounds like a davsto song
Iraq: I really appreciate you. This gets a nostalgia 12. I saw this guy do this whole concept album/musical live at a shitty venue for like 5 bucks and then he played jub jub birds and yeah man. It was dope and I really appreciate that someone is either still appreciating this or newly appreciating it so thank you for reminding me that Razia's Shadow exist. I tried to do this a week ago, but I noticed this song and just listened to all of Razia's shadow instead of doing the SC.
Burkina Faso: This is cool girl fronted indie stuff but I just felt my self wishing it was waxhatchee the whole time. I'm sorry.
Hong Kong: this sucks.
Wales: This was very cute and good and it weirdly reminded me off Juno.
South Korea: Should of entered Bell Biv DeVoe
Zimbabwe: This was boring from literally the first note. Then it turned into a weird acoustic 21 pilots. And then I was just mad.
India: All I could think off before I hit play was "man's not hot". Hit play. buttrocked. The beginning i was into then the dude started singing and I understood where I was. Really cool these dudes are from Chennai tho.
Italy: this is real not fair reck.
Latvia: bro it's to late for this Bring It On remix shit. Spirit Finger-ing motherfucker submitting this shit.
Greece: I hate this girl's voice but this is also 80's as fuck.
China: My sister listened to WAAYYYY too much BBC radio like 5 years ago and this song is very played for me. Like Cage the elephant played.
Macau: I thought this was gonna be Japanese Breakfast, and it wasn't but I really wasn't that mad about it. So that's good.