Song Contest 140 (Results posted!)

Amrun · Post Post #75 (ISO) » Wed Nov 20, 2019 3:06 pm

PSA

Was just jamming to Iceland at the bus stop

Cyril · Post Post #76 (ISO) » Wed Nov 20, 2019 4:53 pm

The Netherlands – Solid pump-up metal but I really can’t stand the vocals at all. Like it’s just that simple. Decent music, awful vocals, I guess… (AVERAGE)

Djibouti – I only ever see this band’s name as a Cynic reference, despite the fact that they sound absolutely nothing like Cynic. Bits of this are interesting but most of it is just really generic and bland djent-core. I don’t get how anyone tells these kinds of songs or bands apart. (AVERAGE)

Poland – I feel like this cover doesn’t even understand the appeal of the original song. I don’t even love the original, but it’s dark and muted and unsettling and genuinely unique. Making it more of a conventional song and singing it like a generic WGWAG song just makes it completely uninteresting and pointless.

Kosovo – I feel like I’ve heard this before somewhere. It’s uhh. It exists, I guess. Maybe a bit too bright and glittery for me but I didn’t mind it, and it’s short anyways so yeah. (AVERAGE)

Finland – Sounds like diet Katatonia tbh. I don’t mind it but I’m never wild about this kind of gloomy, sludgy rock with deep-pitched vocals. I think this at least interests me more than the Katatonia I have heard though. (DECENT)

Japan – This song tricked me into thinking it was ending and then it didn’t and I feel robbed somehow. Like eehhh this is just like a longer and quieter version of Kosovo which on one hand it feels more like an actual song on the other hand I don’t think it needed to be that much longer either. (AVERAGE)

Costa Rica –This has like, a little bit of everything. Cool, chill atmosphere, some solid groove, some kind of guitar solo towards the end. I dig it. I’m not in love with it, but I dig it. (DECENT)

Portugal – I mean, it’s nice enough music but I legitimately can’t imagine listening to it for 15 minutes. I got bored after 3 & just briefly skimmed the rest. It all sounds basically the same to me.

Australia – There’s something condescending, almost, about the subject matter here, or at least it comes off that way through the lyrics. I don’t like their voice that much either but besides that a lot of this is really good, it just kinda irks me at points. (DECENT)

Uruguay – This is basically the same sound as the last one, but just not as musically interesting. It also doesn’t have lyrics that irk me though and I like the vocals more, so it kinda balances out? (DECENT)

this contest feels a bit better overall than usual but there's also a lot of stuff i didn't even feel like finishing or rating this time (6 songs...) so

Scigatt · Post Post #77 (ISO) » Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:48 pm

One consequence of these new headphones is that I'm a lot more aware of the audio quality of the track. It caused a song I otherwise liked to slip a spot, and another to fall out of points entirely.

faüstiv · Post Post #78 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 4:08 am

Spoiler:

I did my own ratings for each track but I didn't think it would be appropriate to publish them until the results had been announced but these are my general opinions. good song contest, some nice tracks.

Vi · Post Post #79 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 4:42 am

okay maybe kind of a revealing question but what do people mean by "overproduced"

Cyril · Post Post #80 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 6:19 am

"vocals are weak" ok boomer
also billie eilish does not appear anywhere on poland's entry. it's a (bad) cover of one of her songs

faüstiv · Post Post #81 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:07 am

mb - never heard of billie ellish tbh.

Davsto · Post Post #82 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 8:44 am

woah 21 entries?

might get back into these if that's the case lmao half the reason I quit is having to choose my top 10 out of 15 was just annoying

Cyril · Post Post #83 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 8:58 am

i hope there aren't 21 because i only have 20

anyways i voted. can we introduce a rule about not allowing two literally completely separate songs in one entry in the future? i feel like that's intentionally trying to bend the rules. can i just submit an entire album as long as it's in one music video? 'cause if you let two songs in one entry then i don't see why i can't just send an entire album by the same logic

Formerfish · Post Post #84 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:01 am

In post 83, Cyril wrote:i hope there aren't 21 because
i only have 20

anyways i voted. can we introduce a rule about not allowing two literally completely separate songs in one entry in the future? i feel like that's intentionally trying to bend the rules. can i just submit an entire album as long as it's in one music video? 'cause if you let two songs in one entry then i don't see why i can't just send an entire album by the same logic

You counting your own?

And I agree with the 1 song. I feel like you need to specify which song you want to be judged on.

I would love to submit

some

all of

Locked in a Closet

.

Scigatt · Post Post #85 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:57 am

In post 83, Cyril wrote: can we introduce a rule about not allowing two literally completely separate songs in one entry in the future? i feel like that's intentionally trying to bend the rules. can i just submit an entire album as long as it's in one music video? 'cause if you let two songs in one entry then i don't see why i can't just send an entire album by the same logic

I'd rather not rule against this. Sometimes two songs in an album flow into each other in a way that makes both better. I also see no problem with submitting an entire album, since it has to overcome the listener's impatience anyways. If you think the album all together is that much better than any single track, then try it. I'd prefer a hard time constraint, though I don't want either.

Cyril · Post Post #86 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:19 am

sometimes two songs on an album flow into each other in a way that makes both better. i think that one is fine.

sometimes they're two completely separate songs that have nothing to do with each other, like in this case

In post 84, Formerfish wrote:
In post 83, Cyril wrote:i hope there aren't 21 because
i only have 20

anyways i voted. can we introduce a rule about not allowing two literally completely separate songs in one entry in the future? i feel like that's intentionally trying to bend the rules. can i just submit an entire album as long as it's in one music video? 'cause if you let two songs in one entry then i don't see why i can't just send an entire album by the same logic
You counting your own?

yup 10 & 10 in each group i posted. and i just checked the OP again. there are 20.

Formerfish · Post Post #87 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:21 am

In post 85, Scigatt wrote:
In post 83, Cyril wrote: can we introduce a rule about not allowing two literally completely separate songs in one entry in the future? i feel like that's intentionally trying to bend the rules. can i just submit an entire album as long as it's in one music video? 'cause if you let two songs in one entry then i don't see why i can't just send an entire album by the same logic
I'd rather not rule against this. Sometimes two songs in an album flow into each other in a way that makes both better. I also see no problem with submitting an entire album, since it has to overcome the listener's impatience anyways. If you think the album all together is that much better than any single track, then try it. I'd prefer a hard time constraint, though I don't want either.

If we are talking about a song like off of Justin Timberlakes album where some songs were legit 2 songs in 1, or Clutches One Eye $/00110110 then I agree that the song should be allowed.

If it is two songs that are tracks 5 and 6 and they are separate songs no.

And an album is not a song, which this is the contest of. If you want an album contest you can start a different thread for that.

And a hard time limit is even worse. If I wanna submit a 32 minute live version of Zepplin playing

Heartbreaker

I will.

Aurathebirb · Post Post #88 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 11:05 am

Well some albums are like one big song so its like use your judgement I guess

I think it's fine if its like one where they are combined as one is very short

Vi · Post Post #89 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 11:48 am

In post 79, Vi wrote:okay maybe kind of a revealing question but what do people mean by "overproduced"

please help I'm uneducated

Scigatt · Post Post #90 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 11:55 am

You two assume that determination of what should count as a single song is straightforward. (I assume you would want a similar rule the other way, i.e. forbidding submission of part of a song, as well.)

Let's look at the case of Shostakovich's 9th symphony. It contain five movements, the first two of which are separated by silence. The last three, however, are played straight through, without break. Given this, should it be acceptable to submit the 4th movement alone? What about the 2nd movement, movements 3-5 together, or the entire symphony?

It's easy to imagine even more convoluted scenarios. In any case, implementing this rule requires the Song Contest Team to interpret it, and to do so 'correctly' may require knowledge the team doesn't have. I feel the best option here is to be as permissive as possible, which is to have no rule at all.

Cyril · Post Post #91 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 12:41 pm

so, i'm going to send a two hour album next contest then since apparently that's fine

Formerfish · Post Post #92 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 12:53 pm

In post 91, Cyril wrote:so, i'm going to send a two hour album next contest then since apparently that's fine

Same here but mine is going to be one of those silent CDs people made to game the online system.

Aurathebirb · Post Post #93 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 3:02 pm

I guess I like a certain amount of roughness in production a lot of the time? Not always but usually. The takeaway is mostly I feel it can lose the feeling that someone is actually playing instruments. Could feel a bit robotic in a bad way. Especially with singing. Kpop and jpop and just pop are generally not enjoyable for me a lot of that is a factor

Aurathebirb · Post Post #94 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 3:03 pm

Especially if its an emotional song too. Like early modest mouse hurts me hard cause it feels personal and real.

Cyril · Post Post #95 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 4:56 pm

well i hope you liked my song this time then 'cause the messiness of the song is kind of the point

i'm sending something electronic and overproduced next contest so enjoy it while it lasts

Aurathebirb · Post Post #96 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 5:09 pm

3/10 - Iceland - Glass Beach - I liked the album cover and was not prepared for this type of music. This is like not the good hyperemo. That slow part where he isn't singing was pretty chill. Rest of the song can stop tho

3/10 - Hutt River - Raccoon - Oh no this is so sappy it hurts. Oh no its this for 8 minutes... ugggghhhh

2/10 - Djibouti - Veil of Maya - I'm not disliking metal songs on principle they're all just that unenjoyable for me

2.5/10 - Chad - Bad band - eww

3/10 Finland - Poets of the Fall - Seems like one of those Nickelback type rock bands, found eh and dont like production overall

4/10 - Solomon Islands - Radio Birdman - Its okay? Feels like kind of basic punk music though.

COSTA RICA - Metronomy - I really like this album, although I often listen to weird or out there music this is cool pop stuff. The stripped down sound really works for them well. Would recommend.

3.5 USA - Sycamour - Song Contest is really making me not want to like rock >_> This song has a few interesting elements at least but its mostly drowned out by the generic stuff.

5/10 - Japan - Master - Nice and happy game music. Wouldn't listen to outside of context, probably.

3/10 - The Netherlands - Daisuke Ishiwatari - This is super cheesy and not in a good way? Might be better in context?

5/10 - Poland - Saint Phnx - I guess its okay but I'm not huge on this style of singing. I do like spanish guitar.

5.5/10 - Belarus - Melodicka Bros - Yeah that was kind of nice, was expecting melodickas tho. Still enjoyed.

4/10 Australia - Flowerkid - Couldn't really enjoy that much sadly, not my thing. Seems to have good lyrics though.

5/10 Turkey - The Misfits - Yeah this is better punk. You can tell because it's impossible to make out a single word he's saying. That's a good quality in punk. Still bit basic.

7/10 - Kosovo - Capsule - Oh this is kind of cool. Gonna contradict what I said earlier a bit but this is the good kind of robotic. Love the beepy sounds.

4.5/10 - Comoros - Greta Van Fleet - Whats with his voice? It's like he's trying to do an impression of himself. It's definitely trying to be classic rock like but I'd rather listen to the old stuff if I want that sound. Guess the end was nice though.

5.5/10 - North Korea - The Buoys - I do like songs about cannibalism. Pretty cool I guess.

3.510 - Uruguay - Adrianne Lenker - Not really big on this type of acoustic folk, find it lacking in interest. More into music than lyrics usually.

9.5/10 - Portugal - Naseer Shamma - I actually do know this piece! It's wonderful. His oud playing is both beautiful and terrifying. I listened again cause I very much like. Would encourage others to listen to whole thing.

7.5/10 - Iraq - Bon Iver - Oh its this band. I don't think I've ever listened to them intentionally. This is a lot different from what I remember them being like. Cool kind of experimental thing here. When the percussion goes out for a while its definitely a moment. Like it.

Cyril · Post Post #97 (ISO) » Sat Nov 23, 2019 5:18 pm

yeah i'll take that as a no

Scigatt · Post Post #98 (ISO) » Sun Nov 24, 2019 2:43 am

So it turns out 'audio quality' was having the volume sliders set the right way, so I'm gonna have to do some re-ranking.

And sure, you could make a 2-hour submission, but then you're at the mercy of the listener's patience. Personally, while I usually listen to each song twice, I skipped a second listen for two songs, one of which was because it was too long and not interesting enough to make up for it. Each listener has their limit.

If push came to shove, and I were running things, I'd probably put a time limit with a point penalty for going over as my first option.

EDIT

: Re-rank done. It was really tough to choose between my 10 and 12, and both would most likely be 12s in another contest.

Song Contest · Post Post #99 (ISO) » Tue Nov 26, 2019 5:42 am

In post 83, Cyril wrote:can we introduce a rule about not allowing two literally completely separate songs in one entry in the future? i feel like that's intentionally trying to bend the rules. can i just submit an entire album as long as it's in one music video? 'cause if you let two songs in one entry then i don't see why i can't just send an entire album by the same logic

I mean, the spirit of the contest is to submit a single song, yes. Ideally we would have some kind of rule on this.

The problem is enforcement. People play with the lines between songs all the time — specifically, when the two-song entry in this contest was submitted, I was thinking about that time somebody submitted the entire medley from Abbey Road. People also make a good point about classical music, which didn't really have the same concepts as modern music does in terms of what constitutes a "song."

There's also a problem of modding here. I don't listen all the way through every entry before posting them, and I don't do a bunch of research on each song to find out whether it's one song or two. Doing so would be...difficult, to put it mildly.

That said, I kind of feel like this is a self-enforcing unwritten rule? If somebody submits entire albums, chances are people are just not going to listen to it or vote for it. It also doesn't happen very often, so...shrug.