Song Contest 116 (RESULTS POSTED!)

[Vijarada]

Oh yeah, this site is for sure cliquey, and sure, Reck is well-liked by some and not by others. I'm just not sure what manifestation of that there was here? I guess shadoweh turning up is like the only arguable one lol

[Vijarada]

Also, I really like Amy Winehouse and the song submitted here, but I reckon it's too well-known for me to give her more than low points out of principle.

[Shadoweh]

Why would I show up here for Reck? <_< Amy Winehouse was really popular with my gay friends growing up, her and Tori Amos and other people like that.

[drealmerz7]

Music is subjective

wrong, this is just how people with shit taste make themselves feel better about themselves and not have to actually participate in any depth of discussion on musical quality

if you think that that Black Eyed Peas shit is just as good of a piece of music as Beethoven's 9th Symphony and it's just a matter of subjective opinion...well, you're fucking stupid

[Parama]

music is subjective
i dislike both black eyed peas and beethoven

[drealmerz7]

your position is clear, yes, you've demonstrated numerous times your inability to appreciate something if you don't like it

[Srceenplay]

i dont think this site is cliquey

then you don't pay attention

[Parama]

your position is clear, yes, you've demonstrated numerous times your inability to appreciate something if you don't like it

appreciation and enjoyment are entirely different things. i can appreciate the importance of beethoven's music but that doesn't mean i enjoy listening to it. my rating scale is, as anyone's should be, based on my own tastes and opinions

[drealmerz7]

it's not about your ability to appreciate the importance of his music, it's about your inability to recognize that there's musical qualities to appreciate in his music that far surpass that of the Black Eyed Peas song that have nothing to do with whether you like it or not

[Parama]

i didn't say i liked the black eyed peas more than beethoven. i just said i disliked both.
also, talent and technicality have never and will never equate to quality. an absolute amateur could write a brilliant song and a virtuoso musician can write really blaaaand stuff.

[xRECKONERx]

ive got a feeling is the fifth symphony of our generation

[drealmerz7]

i didn't say i liked the black eyed peas more than beethoven. i just said i disliked both.
also, talent and technicality have never and will never equate to quality. an absolute amateur could write a brilliant song and a virtuoso musician can write really blaaaand stuff.

oh I see, you just have no fucking clue what you think or what you're saying

[Parama]

i have incredibly well-defined opinions on music criticism, actually, but i'm glad that you get pissy just because someone doesn't agree with your closed-minded perspectives on such

[drealmerz7]

my brain hurts trying to interact with you because you're just interacting with yourself but pretending that you're interacting with me

holyfuck, man

[Parama]

i have literally no clue what point you're trying to make anymore, so, same
like as far as i understand your point is that music isn't subjective, which is objectively wrong, so there's not really any use debating you to begin with

[Vijarada]

drealmerz.

dude

.

[Aristophanes]

I'm dumb for getting into this.

Musical theory is objective.
Musical enjoyment is subjective.

Simple.

[Parama]

i'll even disagree with the first statement there because smartly breaking the rules of music theory can still lead to interesting compositions but close enough

[Errantparabola]

The same could be said for improvisational comedy or SAT essaywriting or anything else with some sort of subjective value judgement, to be fair
But as you said, we're all basically on the same page

[Parama]

Anguilla – Feels like he has some trouble staying on the rhythm sometimes. I’m not super into his voice to begin with but it’s okay. The instrumentation on this is pretty nice though, chill and jazzy. Overall it’s fine enough but not really doing a ton for me. (AVERAGE)

United Kingdom – Having a hard time saying much about this. Nothing about it really stands out but it’s decently diverse & I’m enjoying listening to it so I mean it’s doing something right. (DECENT)

Djibouti – Hmm I feel like I’d like this more if it wasn’t the acoustic version, but then at the same time probably not? Because I’m just not very into her voice & the content is very bland too, like obnoxiously so. (MEDIOCRE)

Latvia – Oh god it’s 7 and a half minutes. Or apparently not the last two minutes are silence. So yeah I had nothing at all to say about this one. It’s not like, obnoxious but it’s repetitive as heck and doesn’t even have any real flavor to it to make it stand out. (MEDIOCRE)

Egypt – This song will get my 1 if there aren’t enough songs in this contest to give points, which is looking pretty likely so far. But I mean, it’s a fine song. Everyone everywhere knows it though. (DECENT)

Burkina Faso – I think this is more “interesting” than it is “enjoyable” but it’s pretty damn interesting and it’s still somewhat enjoyable. Might like it more on relisten too, dunno. (DECENT)

Central African Republic – I haven’t ever really been much of a Talking Heads fan but this one’s pretty fine, yeah. More restrained that what I usually hear from them. Can’t say it’s like, exceptionally strong or anything but it’s pleasant enough, sure. (AVERAGE)

[Parama]

Singapore – From the opening guitar line I swear this exact song has 100% been entered before but that might just be because it’s a really standard jazzy chord progression that’s been used in like a billion songs. But I mean it’s also one I like, and the rest of this is pretty nice too, maybe not super unique but it’s got decent groove and it’s pretty pleasant. (DECENT)

Yemen – I always find myself liking jazz-influenced music way more than actual jazz itself. And I think the drums are supposed to be the focus here but I am not really liking much what they’re doing. But I mean, it’s fine enough to listen to, sure. (AVERAGE)

Japan – Eehhh this is pleasant I guess but it doesn’t really do much beyond stay pleasant. It’s too mellow to evoke anything emotionally & it’s not that unique for its style, just a solid soul pastiche. I just spent the entire song waiting for it to feel like it really started and it never did. Also what the heck is up with all three of these tracks so far being on the jazz spectrum somewhere. (AVERAGE)

Luxembourg – Power metal is to me the genre of metal for people who like their metal safe and hitting all the notes that generally make metal enjoyable without really ever changing or evoking anything real. I’ve heard a Blind Guardian song besides this one that had more interesting stuff going on and was pretty fine but this one is just, exactly what I’d expect from power metal. There are exactly 3 types of songs in the genre; piano power ballad, triplet feel epic song, fast tempo triumphant song. I just don’t understand the appeal, I guess. Like, okay, it’s fine enough to listen to? On a base level I like it more than a lot of stuff in this contest. But it’s not doing anything new or anything that every other band in the genre doesn’t do. (DECENT)

Lebanon – For what this song is trying to do I’m surprised at how much it just sounds like a generic dance-pop type of song. She’s a decent singer & it’s fun and it’s got energy but it feels, like, point-for-point like an early 2010’s pop song aside from the vocals being a bit quirkier. (AVERAGE)

Slovenia – Okay this took an eternity to actually start but it looks like it’s some kind of metal now that it has. This sort of spends its entire runtime edging closer and closer to being something up my alley but also the production is g a r b a g e. Dunno though I think it’s, fine enough in general? Has some cool moments. (DECENT)

Iceland – I heard this album and basically immediately had to have it, it’s just way far up my alley. This might be the best track but I’m not really sure, there’s a few others that are close. But yeah, just a cool album all around.

also drealmerz got banned lol

[PJ.]

Clique? You and Panzer

Is liking wrestling a clique? Is it a kliq? Reckoner likes wrestling. Can he be apart of my kliq?

[Aristophanes]

Lebanon - Pretty average, fun dance beat. Above average lyrics.

Iceland - Forgot it was on until the guitar screeched. Sorry, but ew.

Hungary - Gave it a chance as a poem not a song and enjoyed it. Could have had more energy.

São Tomé and Príncipe - I like this a lot actually! Easy listen, good development nice

Japan - Not Rehab so points there (too popular a pick). I like the easy going feel. She was a great artist. A little draggy tho.

Greece - Ooo that emotion at the drop! Love it!
My flatmate legit came out of the kitchen to check this out because he was intrigued by the sound!
Best so far for sure!

Slovenia - The art makes me expect something very metal...
Ooo! I love the intro guitar riff! Really nice! Then the song started. Not my thing. I'd go back to the intro.

UK - I like how the video was shot!
Bit of a bore tho.

Burkina Faso - This...might be nice from a theory standpoint I guess?
Honestly though, WTF, this isn't musical!

Italy - Ooo this has a mysterious feel I really like! The bells flowing over his deep voice is a great feel too!

Yemen - Jazz! A nice break from the rest of the music. A bit drum heavy though. Trumpets made it a lot of fun once they kicked in!

Djibouti - My own song...I like it!
Seems like people find it Meh, and I was told it sounds juvenile by V. I still think it's great tho.
"literally young Taylor Swift" is a direct quote lol

USA - Yeah, no.
"Can't pick a president, can't pick music" per V.

Singapore - Started like an acoustic Kpop song. When it got into it it didn't get interesting enough tho. Fees like it's missing something.
Sad because I wanted to like it!

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - I liked it but it just kept going. Like, by 2 minutes it felt too repetitive. I'm being harsh today apparently. Sorry!

Egypt - I can't not give this a top spot! God damn!

Luxembourg - I mean, of these songs in the contest it was a lot better. But like, still no. Definitely has its crowd tho!

Central African Republic - I like this a lot! Great dancy feel, flows well, catchy

Anguilla - Alright beat, alright voice, alright flow.

Chad - Lights is pretty alright! I don't get the hype, but this was definitely enjoyable!

Latvia - Dancy and fun! Would club to.

[Aristophanes]

Honestly, Greece, I love this so much!
100% deserves to win this!

[Parama]

Democratic People's Republic of Korea – Not super into the rapping but the music & female performance on this is more than enough to salvage it as a whole & there’s nothing unpleasant about it either, pretty solid. (DECENT)

São Tomé and Príncipe – Okay, from the opening lyrics I literally cannot interpret this as anything other than explicit pedophilia. So uhh. Despite the fact that everything else about this is fine, no, gross. (BAD)

Chad – This is just exactly the kind of pop song I really enjoy so uhh you probably just got lucky here, I can’t exactly say what about it works but I just like every element of this, except I guess the singer is a bit generic/nasally at times but ehh I still dig it. (GOOD)

Italy – Everything about this is good except every single aspect of the vocal track. Hate his voice, hate the melodies, hate the lyrics. It’s all completely unsalvageable despite the instrumentation being pretty cool. I guess it balances out to average but it’s not getting points. (AVERAGE)

Greece – Very solid but at the same time feels very safe. I dunno. It’s got some decent power behind it & I dig the orchestration so it’s alright in my books. (DECENT)

USA – A friend on another site brought up The Hirsch Effekt as a point of reference for these guys but from what I’ve heard they are way heavier on the –core side of things and in my opinion that’s not to their benefit. I mean, yeah, I still think this is pretty solid but it’s not consistent at all, kind of a mess really. Still decent enough though. (DECENT)

Hungary – I dig the vibe of this in general, though the vocals are a bit too generic-new-wave-y dude for me. Maybe a bit too long for the amount of substance too. But nah, it’s, nice. (DECENT)


solid contest overall tbh. only a few songs i outright would not give points to (and closing time is one of them now 'cause i feel like there's plenty to give points to besides it) so, yeah