fireisredsir walrus! cat 5 reveal september 15th

[Dannflor]

i just want to continue to narrowly avoid being guessed

[JacksonVirgo]

I really never cared about getting points or getting guessed, just was fun to submit songs

[fireisredsir]

ok so i think i'm going to do all of the other reveals somewhere around a similar timeslot to the first one, so it probably can't hurt to mix it up once, and if we're going to do it then this is the category to do it on.

we're going for the late night north america timeslot so that we (some of us) can get the true late night listening experience. i expect that many people won't be able to stay for all of it (total listening time is once again around 2 hours and 30 minutes) or europeans may arrive late, and certainly some won't be able to attend at all, but we're doing it anyway!

cat 2 reveal will be:

friday night/saturday morning 9th/10th, 10pm PT, 1am ET, 5am GMT
(expired on 2024-08-09 22:00:00)

[fireisredsir]

if people make a convincing case to move it forward or back an hour or so then i'm open to it but i think this is the time that feels the most amenable to balancing between the three most popular times of (west coast NA, east coast NA, europe), with a potential added bonus of being reasonable for once for those on the other side of the globe

[fireisredsir]

also i got through listening to about 3/4 of the songs last night and started falling asleep, so i really got the full experience. i will say this is a very different vibe than cat 1 (which was intentional to place them in this order) and i'm having a lot of fun thinking about exactly which type of 2am feeling each song evokes

[petapan]

i just want to continue to narrowly avoid being guessed

deepwolf dann

[petapan]

my sleep schedule is already a wreck but i will gladly sabotage it further for this, hell yeah

[Ydrasse]

if anyone wants to be pinged to join live we have made a walrus role you can get in the #pronouns-and-react-roles channel of the discord

[JupiterXV]

the chinese government got me. discord, unfortunately, no longer works and with a heavy heart i have to share that i will not be able to attend any of the walrus reveals for like the next three weeks which is fucking tragic honestly since i was kind of looking forward to waking up at the asscrack of dawn to join a walrus stream/read the messages in the channel

[MUSHSHAGANA]

I know I'm not getting guessed for this category for absolute certain. Actually impossible.

I also know that it's one of the submissions I think stands the highest chance of being a gold medalist. Surprisingly, these two facts are not related.

[JupiterXV]

speaking of guesses ill be really sad if fire guesses me on all seven. the “hi jupiter” from cat 1 was insane btw like he just knows its me…

[petapan]

the chinese government got me. discord, unfortunately, no longer works and with a heavy heart i have to share that i will not be able to attend any of the walrus reveals for like the next three weeks which is fucking tragic honestly since i was kind of looking forward to waking up at the asscrack of dawn to join a walrus stream/read the messages in the channel

can you use a vpn

[Prism]

I am stunned I was correctly guessed for that. Clearly I am not in it to win it but I really expected to be safe in the crowd. I thought only one of mine was guessable, and it was not this one.

Wild Wild West I think is a good blend of two different genres: Will Smith is weirdly fun and underrated as a rapper, while the funky keys, big brass, and all-time great bass line are all courtesy of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish".

[JupiterXV]

the chinese government got me. discord, unfortunately, no longer works and with a heavy heart i have to share that i will not be able to attend any of the walrus reveals for like the next three weeks which is fucking tragic honestly since i was kind of looking forward to waking up at the asscrack of dawn to join a walrus stream/read the messages in the channel

can you use a vpn

i wish, my phone starts losing it when i try to connect to the vpn i have installed
i cant even text people who dont have imessage


UPDATE THE VPN WORKS EVERYBODY CHEERED

[fireisredsir]

if anyone wants to be pinged to join live we have made a walrus role you can get in the #pronouns-and-react-roles channel of the discord

ty for setting this up!!

[Ausuka]

i am extremely unlikely to make 5am but i hope everyone has fun

[Datisi]

i am forced into doing cringe activities at the time of the walrus reveal (be at work) so i will unfortunately miss it, though depending on the busyness i might try to sneak a look at the chat

[fireisredsir]

i think im going to do worse on guesses this time around, i feel a lot less sure about where to place people

[fireisredsir]

doing a final listen and there's been a last minute switch up on the pedestal, former 4th place just overtook 3rd

[fireisredsir]

category 2: 2am

Spoiler: 1st: petapan

aphex twin - stone in focus

enjoyment: 5.5 (4.2+/5)
catfit: 2.9
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: skygazer
submitter: petapan
medals: gold +1, surprise me +1, i don't have a word for this emotion +0.2, eat your vegetables +0.4, something new +0.3,

9.4 + 2.9

this is extremely 2am music, i can’t really imagine listening to this at any other time of day (update: tried once, yeah, doesn’t hit the same at all). in particular i think it’s for when you need to just lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling. it’s a little hypnotizing, and very thought-generating. it gives you a lot of space to just be present with the music on your own terms. i did lie on the floor a couple times while listening to this. and fell asleep once.

i think with ambient music there is this interesting phenomenon where it’s sort of viewed as background music, and it often ostensibly is, but i think also in order to actually appreciate it, it sort of requires that you really put the effort in to go out to meet it and actively engage with it. you really have to make the choice to immerse yourself in it or it will just kind of exist and be forgettable.

also when something is so simple and repetitive and goes on for so long you really start to familiarize yourself with it and pick up on the subtle differences between each time the main set of three notes repeats itself. there’s certainly variety. i’m not sure if i’m imagining it but i wouldn’t be surprised if every single one was different in some small way. there’s also a lot of nice little touches dancing around the central line. it’s really well-done.

this is vegetables because i’ve never really listened to aphex twin but i’ve heard about him a lot. i’m also going to give this a surprise me medal because i didn’t expect to enjoy it so much, and to even be actively excited for it to come up each time i went through the list. lots of possible submitters here.

Spoiler: 2nd: HPE

shock headed peters - sublime prince of the royal secret

enjoyment: 6.1 (4.5+/5)
catfit: 2.5
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: petapan
submitter: HPE
medals: silver +0.7, volume up +0.3, album art +0.6

9.6 + 1.6

oooh, i like this a lot. also the album art is sort of terrifying to me and really very good. this kind of thing i think is my favorite part of the walrus because i would say there’s approximately 0 percent chance that i ever would have heard this song otherwise, and it’s really cool.

this manages to be fairly unique among all the submissions but still i think nails the catfit, which is extra impressive to me. it’s not necessarily what i would immediately think of as a 2am song but it still definitely works as one for me. everything feels a little dark, and solitary, and a bit creepy. it just has the vibe.

i really like it prior to the vocals and they were a bit of a surprise when they came in, but i was on board with them quickly. dramatic powerful voices are fun. all throughout there’s a lot of layers that gradually build over the top with a driving, repetitive feel to it. reminds me quite a bit of the swans song from cat1, and i like it for pretty much all the same reasons.

for some reason this feels like an album that petapan has like a physical CD of that he picked up a decade ago.

Spoiler: 3rd: schadd

kara jackson - why does the earth give us people to love?

enjoyment: 6.5 (4.7+/5)
catfit: 2.4
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: schadd
submitter: schadd
medals: bronze +0.4, i don't have a word for this emotion +0.2, earworm +0.2

9.9 + 0.8 - 0.1

i heard about it this album around when it came out but i never got around to listening to it. not quite enough to count as vegetables, very excited to listen though.

this is i think a variety of 2am music that i am particularly attached to, which is lie on the floor and contemplate your life music. remembering the past, lamenting, and so on.

i like pretty much everything about this. the guitar part in the first half is simple but really nice. her voice is really engaging. the lyrics are good. i’m not sure what exactly is going on musically here in the first half as far as mode and key that she is singing in but it sounds very cool. there’s so much tension in the notes. really enjoy the part where all the other voices come in alongside her.

on first listen i wasn’t sure the second half lived up to the first, but it grew on me a lot once the concept of it clicked. musically i prefer the first, but i love the way the lyrics are written in the second. the first is mourning a death, and the second is remembering and celebrating a life. together i think they make each other more powerful. basically every line on the second half hits me really hard. “but just when you should sharpen me”, “actualize our silly plans”, “you sing those high notes high my friend / i’ll sing the low notes in the end”. teared up a bit.

Spoiler: 4th: pickemgenius

parannoul - insomnia

enjoyment: 6.1 (4.5+/5)
catfit: 2.6
unfamiliarity: 0.8
submitter guess: hellbooks
submitter: pickemgenius
medals: album art +0.4, non-english lyrics +0.2

9.5 + 0.6

i listened to this album only once i think. i like parannoul but haven’t listened a ton.

to me this feels like taking a walk at 2am when the world is asleep and everything feels different and seen in a new light. the beginning feels like a ghibli movie which i guess sort of also has that entering another world feeling.

the title is insomnia, and after reading the lyrics i have a pretty different impression than my original feeling but it’s definitely still 2am. with the lyrics i think it’s still taking a walk at night, but instead it’s hoping for sleep and death that won’t come, until the final lines where he sings that he’s no longer afraid of the morning. i like that a lot, and i like how it’s an emotional arc that develops over the course of the song, supported by the music.

there’s a lot of really cool moments in this, like when the drums come in (the drums are very good), and then the bit shortly after that where suddenly the voices are right on top of you and we burst into a new movement. i like how different layers that are playing over the top of each other have different… fidelity levels i guess? there’s some that are super smooth and clean and some that are all crunchy. the contrast is really nice.

i know hellbooks likes parannoul, i think she knows i do too, but she did go for kate bush in cat 1, so maybe?

Spoiler: 5th: cheetory6

2 8 1 4 - 恢复

enjoyment: 5.7 (4.3+/5)
catfit: 2.8
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: cheetory6
submitter: cheetory6
medals: album art +0.2, trains +0.1

9.5 + 0.3 - 0.1

this is really peaceful. i think what works about it especially well for this category is that i think if you put it on during the day it would be harder to really absorb it. it would be pleasant, but i think 2am is the ideal time to really Listen to it. it sounds like sitting on the rooftop of a futuristic city and looking out at the world below.

i like the way that everything fits together into the constant pulse that’s happening. the little piano bits are nice. i kept getting confused about if the siren was in the song or outside my window. it definitely creates an atmosphere very effectively. i hear a train go by at one point. there’s little whispers here and there and they’re probably not in english but i don’t think i’m going to count them as lyrics.

Spoiler: 6th: wgeurts

the marias - to say hello

enjoyment: 5.8 (4.4/5)
catfit: 2.4
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: dannflor
submitter: wgeurts
medals: volume up +0.3, non-english lyrics +0.2

9.2 + 0.5

i actually really appreciate here how it feels like the music and the production is creating this cavernous sort of space for the singer to live in and there’s this potential for her to come out with this powerful performance but instead she sounds a little timid and reserved. in some cases i think that could feel like a mismatch but here it’s like, evocative, and makes the song feel really personal and human.

i like her voice a lot, very appealing. i like the moments where she’s kind of halfway in between singing and talking. the music also plays perfect support for her, not getting in the way but still doing enough.

huge fan of the little “mm” she does after one of the later “i called to say hello”s. something about those little touches always really grab me emotionally.

Spoiler: 7th: MUSHSHAGANA

aagentah - aeldari

enjoyment: 5.7 (4.3+/5)
catfit: 2.3
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: schiavetto
submitter: mushshagana
medals: max efficiency +0.3, movement +0.1, something new +0.3

9 + 0.7

this is weird and cool. i don’t think i like everything it’s doing but i like enough of it that it works for me. i don’t know exactly how to define this as 2am but it is. it’s definitely not like a comfortable cozy 2am, but it feels like the kind of thing that should only be heard by you, when the rest of the world is quiet and shut down. feels a little wrong to listen to it during the day for me.

a lot of unique noises happening here and i’m a fan of that. i’m not sure how much of this is samples and how much is original sound but the main vocals also i like a lot, and all the heavy effects being put on them. i don’t really know how to describe the bits that i like. there’s this sound that happens sometimes that sounds like marbles clicking together. i like it.

Spoiler: tied 8th: schiavetto

poliça - lay your cards out

enjoyment: 5.8 (4.4/5)
catfit: 2.5
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: aristeia
submitter: schiavetto
medals:

9.3

the heavily produced vocals on this really do successfully give a late night vibe. this i think is 2am sitting by side of the pool as the sole guest at the mansion of some mysterious rich person, which you somehow stumbled into ending up at after a night-long chain of increasingly bizarre happenings.

ok this is really cool. unsurprisingly i like the drums a lot. but i also like all of it. her voice is good and the way it’s treated makes everything feel watery and dreamy. the bass is simple but good.

near the end everything builds up a little, the drums go faster, it gets more chaotic (which i enjoy quite a bit), and that’s probably the point where you start to wonder why you’re really here, and whether this mysterious rich person is going to murder you. you’re realizing they definitely have the resources to get away with it. as they slowly dance along the edge of the pool, you can’t tell whether the smiles that they occasionally toss your way are flirtatious or sinister, but either way this is assuredly a much more interesting evening than if you had stayed at home, so it’s worth it in the end.

Spoiler: tied 8th: tris

e. braxton + blackaarma - eadar - theachd

enjoyment: 5.6 (4.3/5)
catfit: 2.1
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: mushshagana
submitter: tris
medals: album art +0.2, movement +0.1, something new +0.3

8.7 + 0.6

i just really enjoy all the different ways that the main line of the song gets broken up and distorted over the course of the song. really simple but nice bass and guitar on top of it, and then they just play around with it a lot. it works really well for 2am because you sort of feel yourself settling into it and then it surprises you and jars you awake a little. and at the same time it sort of also feels like falling asleep.

there’s a few of the choices made here that don’t land quite as well for me but i appreciate a lot of them and the sound is always nice just because the base that they’re working from is really solid. this feels like movement to me because i tend to find myself moving around to it a lot as the rhythm breaks up and changes, i like when things do that.

Spoiler: 10th: t3

buddy holly - everyday

enjoyment: 5.7 (4.3+/5)
catfit: 2
unfamiliarity: 0.9
submitter guess: stinkycheesedan
submitter: t3
medals: eat your vegetables +0.4, earworm +0.2

8.6 + 0.6

didn’t think i knew any buddy holly songs but then it started and okay yes i do. i’m going to give this a vegetable anyway because i’ve definitely never listened to him on purpose. i’m also not sure i’ve ever heard this version? i’m not used to the instrumentation being so sparse.

curiosity got the better of me and i had to look up what was making the percussive noises here and it is apparently the drummer slapping his knees which makes perfect sense to me based on what it sounds like. i kind of like a lot how the imperfect timing of it adds a very noticeably human element to what is otherwise a really immaculately constructed piece of songwriting. same with the little parts, like in the second time the chorus comes around, where buddy adds a little extra bit of character to his voice, kind of sounds like he’s smiling. it’s nice.

i’m not sure how exactly to quantify this as a 2am song but it clicks for me. it has a sort of quiet content hopefulness to it. i think listening to it in current year it also makes you feel this connection to the past, and i think 2am is also one of the better hours of the day to be contemplative and nostalgic.

Spoiler: 11th: toolenduso

thrice - digital sea

enjoyment: 5.2 (4.1/5)
catfit: 2.1
unfamiliarity: 0.9
submitter guess: toolenduso
submitter: toolenduso
medals: album art +0.4, extended metaphor +0.5

8.2 + 0.9 - 0.1

the verses feel quite 2am to me and the choruses lose the feeling a little bit, but i still like them.

the lyrics work well for me for the category, i think the combination of metaphors (ok i think this gets a hidden medal reveal: extended metaphor) are really effective in drawing out the 2am feeling. being adrift and drowning, slowly sinking, cold and alone, all of that feels strongly like 2am for me. but it isn’t just the usual ocean metaphor, it’s instead about a digital sea, which makes me think of slipping further and further into the internet, living your life behind a screen, becoming detached from the physical world.

the music is nice as well. i like quite a bit the way it degrades at the end.

i remember tool submitting this artist to schadd walrus because i remember liking the album art.

Spoiler: tied 12th: aristeia

honeywhip - flowers

enjoyment: 5.4 (4.2/5)
catfit: 2.2
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: c-worl
submitter: aristeia
medals: max efficiency +0.3

8.6 + 0.3

this is exceedingly pleasant. really cozy. the super layered but also gentle vocals create this cloudy sort of feeling. it’s like a fuzzy blanket. the instrument used for the main melody is just so soft and delicate. the bwoaw bwoaw of the bass is fun.

“it’s 90 degrees in the wintertime” is crazy, where does this person live. that’s 32c! i guess i’m assuming this is fahrenheit. maybe they really like right angles. in the wintertime.

i had this as very 2am when i had only done nighttime listens, and i think it still is, but then i did a listen during the day and i realized that this actually works also as like summer afternoon music.

Spoiler: tied 12th: ausuka

animal crossing new horizons ost - 2 AM

enjoyment: 5.2 (4.1/5)
catfit: 2.3
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: ausuka
submitter: ausuka
medals: made me smile +0.5

8.5 + 0.5 - 0.1

smiled when i first opened this, expected a few very on the nose submissions to this category and this is really the main one.

oooh ok yea this is cozy. very peaceful, very gentle. i like this a lot as far as video game music goes because it works very well as background music but also does just enough to keep it interesting if you're active listening. i like how it feels like the world is sleepy but you aren't necessarily. it isn’t “going to bed” music, it’s “you’re awake and nobody else is” music, which i think is pretty peak 2am.

while this certainly is objectively a perfect fit for 2am, i think the fact that it was literally designed for that makes me want to leave some room in catfit higher than this for songs that go above and beyond in their catfitting. basically this song is the nepo baby of the category. it was born to succeed, it never had to work for it. and while i can still recognize that it does its job, i want to reward those songs that fought and struggled their way there.

none of the songs feel especially ausuka to me and i’m not even sure if she is an animal crossing enjoyer but it seems like a decent place to put her.

Spoiler: tied 12th: ydrasse

candy claws - where i found you (one star)

enjoyment: 5.7 (4.3+/5)
catfit: 2
unfamiliarity: 0.6
submitter guess: wgeurts
submitter: ydrasse
medals: album art +0.6

8.3 + 0.6

i still like this album!! the album art is still really good! i also know this song in particular fairly well.

to me this sounds a little like the delirious feeling you get at 2am when you’re a little too sleep deprived but you’re staying up anyway. everything is a little floaty and dreamy but you’re having a good time with it. the sounds of course are pretty dense and full but the song itself is relatively simple.

the question now is if wgeurts submitted multiple songs from this album or if this comes from any of the many other enjoyers of this album. i think it’s probably more likely to be the latter but the way the guesses are shaking out i’m ending up with wgeurts here. i remember they did submit two black midi songs to schadd walrus, so it’s believable.

Spoiler: 15th: ceejayvinoya

OWEL - snowglobe

enjoyment: 5.0 (4.0/5)
catfit: 2.3
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: thestatusquo
submitter: ceejayvinoya
medals: album art +0.2

8.3 + 0.2

this starts out super calm and peaceful. it does eventually build up a bit, but it eases you into it really delicately for the most part.

this is just generally pleasant. i think the parts where it bursts into life a bit are nice. the little additional sounds that they splash in are cool, to add some texture and keep things from feeling too repetitive. i like the feel of the part where it gets quiet and there’s just this little pulsing synth. it’s bordering on feeling a little too overly-constructed for me, but i still enjoy it.

the feeling that this evokes for me is that 2am sudden burst of motivation of “ok i’m going to get my life together” which is easy for your brain to accept at the time because it can just promise that it will do it in the morning and then not actually follow through with it. it sounds hopeful but in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s really going to last, it’s just for the moment.

Spoiler: 16th: hellbooks

heui sung kim - shimmering shapes

enjoyment: 5.6 (4.3/5)
catfit: 1.1
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: tris
submitter: hellbooks
medals: max efficiency +0.6

7.7 + 0.6

this kind of feels like a light bouncy late morning or early afternoon for me. i think it does work well enough just by virtue of being solely piano, and i also think that the microtonal nature of it makes things sound just a little askew and abnormal in a way that 2am can sometimes feel. it certainly doesn’t feel out of place, i’m just not sure if it’s *best* at 2am.

i like the composition quite a bit, it obviously has a lot of complicated and unusual stuff going on but it comes together into a really pleasant package, and the fact that it’s discordant doesn’t prevent it from being really very pretty. i definitely don’t know enough music theory to talk about this in a remotely interesting way, but i enjoy it!

this is the sort of thing that tris likes, i think. could definitely also be hellbooks.

Spoiler: 17th: gypyx

betwixt & between - so sweet bitter days

enjoyment: 5.9 (4.4+/5)
catfit: 1.3
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: gypyx
submitter: gypyx
medals: movement +0.1

8.2 + 0.1 - 0.1

this is a pretty high energy 2am but i think i can be here for it. has a kind of manic danciness to it that feels sleep deprived in a way. however, while i can make it work at 2am, i think i enjoy this just as much if not more during the day.

i do like the song quite a bit. i might have gotten too used to my brain being blasted with flavor last week but i think there’s points where it starts to feel a little repetitive and i wish it was evolving a little more, but that’s my only real complaint. on further listening i think yeah that’s kind of an unfair criticism. it does enough.

this feels to me like movement, in the sense that it feels like racing at high speeds through a kaleidoscopic world, with occasional breaks to your breath, and then the drums come back in and you’re racing again. i guess you could potentially be doing that at 2am, it does feel more like a solitary experience. okay, actually, yeah, i’m coming around a bit. it’s a very specific type of 2am but i’ll buy it.

Spoiler: 18th: something_smart

muse - the void (acoustic)

enjoyment: 5.0 (4.0/5)
catfit: 2.1
unfamiliarity: 0.9
submitter guess: ydrasse
submitter: something_smart
medals:

8.0

something about this has the vibe of it being from a musical. i guess muse is kind of known to be rather theatrical. this like really thoroughly sounds like radiohead exit music for a film to me but not as good. i don’t really mind it though, it’s definitely enjoyable.

i like the moment where the piano suddenly goes a little harder. it also at various points kind of sounds like the piano player messes up a few times but i guess i will just assume that was intentional? after a few listens i like that aspect of it actually. i do tend to like human imperfections and whatnot.

this is definitely a 2am song to me. i think it’s the 2am on the night before the big rebellion against the tyrannical regime, when everything feels hopeless and at it’s darkest, but you are slowly preparing yourself to stand back up again and fight.

something_smart and ydra are the main two muse enjoyers that i know of and it probably takes a muse enjoyer to decide to pull a fairly deep cut like this.

Spoiler: 19th: biancospino

deathspell omega - renegade ashes

enjoyment: 5.2 (4.1/5)
catfit: 1.6
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: biancospino
submitter: biancospino
medals:

7.8 - 0.1

went back and forth a bit on whether this works as a 2am song for me. what it has going for it is that it’s dark, it’s heavy, it certainly doesn’t sound like something that you should be listening to on a sunny summer afternoon. i think it’s more of an 11pm song for me, though.

i’ve heard some black metal stuff and i think i wish this leaned a little further in that direction. vocals that are less discernible! more distortion! it’s cool though, still pretty nice. drums are good, of course. i like the bit where the mouth of the dissenter will be filled with spiders. this is sort of a theme song of a totalitarian regime or something like that (in i think a critical way not a celebratory way) which maybe actually leans me further away from it being a 2am song.

still though, black metal is definitely the most 2am variety of metal for me, and this seems like a bianco sort of thing.

Spoiler: 20th: datisi

novi fosili - za dobra stara vremena

enjoyment: 4.7 (3.8+/5)
catfit: 1.8
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: datisi
submitter: datisi
medals: non-english lyrics +0.2

7.5 + 0.2 - 0.1

this to me feels like the kind of 2am which is people spilling out onto the streets as the bars close for the night, or the final dedicated few on the dancefloor at a party when everyone else has left to go home or has fallen asleep, or the last karaoke song of the night.

it has this kind of feeling of being halfway between a slow ballad and an upbeat dancey song and is also both at the same time, and i think that’s what gives me the feeling of people wanting to dance but being kind of sleepy and slow and emotional and they probably had a lot to drink.

the song is nice, i enjoy it, gives me ABBA vibes.

Spoiler: 21st: dannflor

devotchka - how it ends

enjoyment: 5.1 (4+/5)
catfit: 1.4
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: dragoneater
submitter: dannflor
medals:

7.5

the first time i listened to this, i kind of felt like it was building up somewhere and never really got there. once i got over the slight disappointment of that, i like it pretty well. the lyrics are nice, any time a song starts with “hold your grandmother’s bible to your breast” it’s a good sign. it seems to be about the end as in death, and what comes afterwards.

i think this song is one of those that certainly works at 2am, but i also would be perfectly happy listening to it at any time of day. i don’t really feel like the 2am listens bring anything extra out of it or feel especially fitting. maybe in the lyrics, i think there’s potential for it to be emotional.

would be fairly surprised for this to be dragon but i’m not sure where he belongs. there’s certainly nothing like keeper of the celestial flame here.

Spoiler: 22nd: georgebailey

bombay bicycle club - how can you swallow so much sleep

enjoyment: 4.6 (3.8/5)
catfit: 1.6
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: ceejayvinoya
submitter: georgebailey
medals: album art +0.2

7.2 + 0.2

this is pretty nice. rare occasion where i like it better without the drums, at least the first iteration of them, but then they change it up and they’re solid.

the lyrics do of course focus heavily on sleep and it being late and things of that sort. i think the repetitiveness of them also feels sort of hypnotic. it might be a little too high energy for me to give it high catfit, i think i would like this about as well during the day. but it does feel like it fits 2am decently.

i’m sort of flailing on guesses here i don’t have a clue.

Spoiler: 23rd: dragoneater

mystery skulls - ghost

enjoyment: 4.5 (3.7+/5)
catfit: 1.8
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: HPE
submitter: dragoneater
medals:

7.3

this is pretty solidly in the 2am in a club category. i think it does that fairly well. i think particularly this for me follows the letter of the law in that it really is *best* listened to at 2am. personally i don’t think i’d really want to listen to it in any other context.

at 2am though, it’s nice enough. it’s pretty inoffensive. there’s that cute little bassline that shows up in the chorus that i like a lot. i like how there’s a little fuzziness to some of the parts. it’s fun.

Spoiler: 24th: aisa

lana del rey - mariners apartment complex

enjoyment: 4.4 (3.7/5)
catfit: 2
unfamiliarity: 0.7
submitter guess: aisa
submitter: aisa
medals:

7.1 - 0.1

i’ve always sort of felt like i’m supposed to be a lana fan. she tends to show up in playlists and whatnot beside a bunch of artists that i like. she cultivates an aesthetic and a set of themes that i generally appreciate. i’m not sure why it doesn’t quite click for me. there are a few songs i like from her off ultraviolence.

the instrumentation is nice, the lyrics aren’t bad, i like when the electric guitar part comes in near the end. i don’t know, as a song it just doesn’t really resonate with me. her voice is like, pretty good yeah, i just don’t tend to like the things she does with it.

it is pretty plausibly 2am just on vibes. i don’t really have a narrative for this one it just is that kind of internal, possibly emotional, thinking about stuff music.

Spoiler: tied 25th: jupiterxv

vivid bad squad - ultra c

enjoyment: 4.7 (3.8+/5)
catfit: 0.9
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: jupiterxv
submitter: jupiterxv
medals: non-english lyrics +0.2, earworm +0.2

6.6 + 0.4 - 0.1

this is definitely a partying or generally high-energy type of 2am. a couple times while it was late at night and i was doing listens i kind of felt myself hesitating to hit play on this one which i think is a sign that it doesn’t really land as 2am for me. that might be partially because my setting for doing listens is not exactly a party. i think it also works as a song to keep yourself awake.

i did end up doing one listen during the day and i liked this significantly more than usual so that does mean it has to take a hit on catfit.

i like this musically pretty well, there’s parts of the vocals that i’m not really as into though. the chorus is catchy and got stuck in my head a few times. i like the part where she says “raise the bro”.

Spoiler: tied 25th: thestatusquo

malinda - running (JVNA remix)

enjoyment: 4.2 (3.6/5)
catfit: 1.7
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: pickemgenius
submitter: thestatusquo
medals:

6.9

this is the “night’s only just getting started” variety of 2am. i think the way it builds up and threatens to drop but then kind of holds back a little and does it gently makes it work well for late night listening. <- okay i wrote this after the first time i listened and i’m not really sure i agree anymore. the drop isn’t that gentle.

i don’t really have a lot to say about this. it does about what i expect it to. i don’t mind it but i don’t love it either. i think i like the part before the buildup to the first drop the best. after that it kinda just is what it is.

Spoiler: tied 25th: skygazer

agusfortnite2008 - peter griffin

enjoyment: 4.2 (3.6/5)
catfit: 1.5
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: t3
submitter: skygazer
medals: non-english lyrics +0.2

6.7 + 0.2

i suspect this won’t be a crowd favorite, but i’m actually pretty down for the general vibe of this. however, when something of this style decides to be sparse as far as the number of ingredients it’s using, each one has to land really well for it to work, and in this case none of them are really 100% there for me. it’s kinda catchy though.

it’s sort of 2am vibes i think but not that strongly. i guess it’s hard to imagine listening to this at a normal time. it only really makes sense to a somewhat sleep deprived brain.

there’s this one sound in it that sounds like they’re using the sound of a lighter clicking as percussion which is kinda funny.

i don’t actually think this is a t3 kind of song but i have no idea whose it is.

Spoiler: tied 25th: dkkoba

kaskade - take your mind off

enjoyment: 4.0 (3.5/5)
catfit: 1.9
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: ircher
submitter: dkkoba
medals:

6.9

i’m definitely not a house expert but i think the percussive stuff (i’m not sure if i should call them drums?) are a little too aggressive for the rest of the vibe that’s going on. i like the rest of it pretty well actually but that kinda throws me off.

i like the little xylophone-sounding thing, that feels particularly 2am. i think what that part sounds like to me is getting lost in a city late at night and ending up in the lobby of some hotel or apartment building that you don’t belong in and just resting there for a while.

i think this is pretty solidly 2am, although again, i think if the percussion was gentler it would work more for me. the main melody part is really quite nice.

Spoiler: 29th: prism

have a nice life - sea of worry

enjoyment: 4.6 (3.8/5)
catfit: 1.2
unfamiliarity: 0.8
submitter guess: georgebailey
submitter: prism
medals: album art +0.2

6.6 + 0.2

i haven’t listened to anything besides deathconsciousness but i’ve listened to that a lot. that is maybe slightly biasing me towards enjoying this less because i think it’s just nowhere near as good as that. the songwriting, the mixing, the general vibe of it, all just kinda feels weaker to me.

took me a few listens to really accept this as having 2am potential because i think it’s a 2am feeling that i don’t tend to have. but i can see an angle for one. to me this feels like the sort of angsty hopeless nihilism that a lot of their music embodies, but specifically in an angry way, like being annoyed that everything is meaningless and wanting to fight the world because of it. which is something that one could potentially feel at 2am. i still think that most of their other songs that i’ve heard feel more like 2am to me than this one does.

i do like the way that it builds up, the last set of lines is my favorite part for sure.

petapan aka bloodhail is a known have a nice life enjoyer, but would he submit this here? i’m not sure. going to go with mr. bailey instead.

Spoiler: tied 30th: jacksonvirgo

bad omens - burning out (unplugged)

enjoyment: 4.3 (3.6+/5)
catfit: 1.5
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: jacksonvirgo
submitter: jacksonvirgo
medals:

6.8 - 0.1

i think these unplugged/acoustic versions of songs that are presumably usually louder often feel like they have a kind of restrained energy to them, like the singer is intentionally holding back a bit. this has been a theme that shows up a few times in this category, and it’s not something that i think i would have come up with as a 2am feeling but it works for me.

the lyrics are also decently 2am here, “you can’t just run from sadness” just has that vibe. overall sort of has the feeling of the singer saying to the listener “it’s us two against the world” or something like that, which i think is the sort of thing that someone listening to music at 2am alone in their room would be particularly receptive to.

this could potentially be any of the “usually submits metal but is trying to be more 2am here” group but i’m feeling jacksonvirgo vibes on this one. i have no idea where to put the others.

Spoiler: tied 30th: ircher

runescape ost - all's fairy in love and war

enjoyment: 4.1 (3.5+/5)
catfit: 1.6
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: dkkoba
submitter: ircher
medals:

6.7

i think if i were someone who had a lot of experience staying up late in the night playing games or particularly runescape then this would have a different effect on me and like probably unlock those 2am memories. i would guess that for some people this is really strong in that feeling.

as for the music, it does kind of feel like going on a quiet secret adventure which is a 2am sort of thing. like you’re doing something important and saving the world but nobody else can know about it.

it’s nice enough. i like a lot of the little melodies that happen. i like how there’s a lot of different layers that are happening at once and the way that they interplay.

Spoiler: 32nd: stinkycheesedan

harvey danger - wine, women and song

enjoyment: 4.8 (3.9/5)
catfit: 0.4
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: something_smart
submitter: stinkycheesedan
medals:

6.2

ok i like the part where the guitar comes in. i do get kinda bored of the piano just repeatedly hitting the chords so it’s nice when it breaks that up a little. i like his voice pretty well actually, has a lot of character to it, and it think it sort of borders on being the kind of voice that i might find annoying but rather pleasantly continues to avoid falling on that side of the line.

there’s not a lot about this that really feels specifically 2am to me. i guess there’s a sort of simplicity to the instrumentation. i don’t know. doesn’t really match the vibe to me.

Spoiler: 33rd: mallowgeno

cian ducrot (i'll be waiting)

enjoyment: 3.0 (3.0/5)
catfit: 1.3
unfamiliarity: 1.0
submitter guess: mallowgeno
submitter: mallowgeno
medals:

5.3 - 0.1

immediately made a face when this first started and it didn’t really ever fully go away. this is unfortunately really not at all my thing.

the lyrics have this like kinda bitter undertone to them which mixes sort of weird with the like, clean and uplifting type sound that it has going on.

i think the variety of 2am that this falls under for me is you’re lying in bed late at night trying to sleep and suddenly you hear music outside so you open your window and there’s the christian youth pastor who has been following you around a lot lately, and he’s pouring his heart out into this song and he brought the choir boys with him to back him up during the chorus and you just kind of uncomfortably watch and wait for him to stop and then close your window and go back to bed.

Spoiler: 34th: c-worl

macklemore & ryan lewis - castle

enjoyment: 1.8 (1.8/5)
catfit: 0.8
unfamiliarity: 0.9
submitter guess: prism
submitter: c-worl
medals: gothic +0.4, earworm +0.2

3.5 + 0.6

this wins the imaginary made me frown medal for “like dennis rodman, i got a rod, man (aw yeah!)”. actually i’m not even sure that’s the worst line. wow they just keep coming. is this satire? it feels like a parody. is he doing a bit? the “will you come party with me in my castleeee, in my castleee” is one of the worst hooks i’ve ever heard. unfortunately it also got stuck in my head a lot. why is this 4 minutes long.

okay after several pained listens of this i’m going to award this (hidden medal reveal!) the gothic medal and, for the sake of making it more endurable, make several extremely generous interpretative leaps to say that this is in fact a satire and arguably a piece of gothic horror.

the key to it all lies in the third verse, with the lines “i got a bottle of martinelli’s”, as well as “the neighbors keep trippin, i’m like *i’m in a castle, fuck your condo!*”. martinelli’s is a brand of nonalcoholic sparkling cider. taken together with the part about the neighbors’ condo, this reveals that the narrator only believes himself to be hosting an opulent party in a castle, when instead he is just in a condo drinking apple juice and wearing a poncho. he is made into a don quixote-like figure, obsessed with the songs and stories of these rich partiers to the point where he convinces himself that he is living that life (hammer pants and make believe).

this theme of upper class culture being pined after by someone below it already gives us a taste of the gothic, but where that element really comes in is from the fact that he is not alone here, and whoever he is singing to is still trapped in his “castle” with him. he, raven bowie, is a delusional and laughable fool, but despite this his position in the patriarchy still affords him power and control over others. the horror lies in the cruel irony of this duality. his awful pickup lines can’t be merely laughed away when there is an underlying implication of a threat beneath them. under this lens the sudden break from the partying to interject with an ominous question about killing and eating a coyote becomes chilling.

as for catfit, i begrudgingly suppose i would rather listen to this at 2am than any other time, so it will get a few points there.

i don’t know who this is so i’m going to guess prism here because she likes the great gatsby, which i think shares some literary themes.

overall

[fireisredsir]

formerly hidden medals

• gothic (+0.4) reminds me of gothic fiction in some way
  
• extended metaphor (+0.5) is an extended metaphor, or could be interpreted as one

[fireisredsir]

cat 3 reveal will be........

august 17th at 10am PT, 1pm ET, 5pm GMT
(expired on 2024-08-17 10:00:00)

[fireisredsir]

keep in mind that each person's lowest score will get dropped and won't count towards their total! i'll probably add that in to the overall standings after cat4.

[Ausuka]

stinkycheesedan is the kind of running joke which becomes funnier the more i see it

[DragonEater70]

Who is stinkycheesedan, actually?