Song Contest 152 (Results posted!)

[Mina]

By the way, to those of you who are listening to the playlist on Spotify or who don't watch music videos so as not to be influenced: I strongly recommend watching the video for Nicaragua after you vote, regardless of whether you like the song. It definitely changes the experience.

[toolenduso]

Spoiler: And when push comes to shove, I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love

Canada - Orchards - Peggy: Mmmm that guitar/bass..........wait, is that an eight-string? Yuss. This song has a pretty awesome groove to it that reminds me alternately of Rx Bandits and Chon. Very pretty chorus (bridge?) happening right now. Vocals are awesome. Yeah, this appeals to me on many levels. Dude has mustache glitter! Nice. Ahhhhhh this instrumental break is fuckin tight. K this is my favorite so far. GOOD.
Poland - Marianas Trench - Truth or Dare: There is a narrow band of pop music I can get into, and this is worming its way into that niche. I like the energy, the beat, the vocal delivery, the backing vocals, the dynamism. This is pretty good. GOOD.
Japan - fox capture plan - Yakeni SUNSHINE (feat. Emi Okamoto): Yes I would like to know how we are going to capture a fox please. Well hello there funky sound, how you doin? Anyway I am kind of a sucker for this sound, but at the same time there are not a lot of songs in the genre that truly stand out to me. And that's where I'm at with this one, halfway through. It's fun and I like listening to it, but it is mainly another entry in the lexicon of modern funk. Piano solo, ok, that's cool. I will also say, and honestly this might just be because I'm listening to this through my computer speakers and I don't have it playing very loudly, but in a song like this what I want to hear more than anything is some really groovy bass, and I am not hearing that. Anyway, it's done now and my opinion hasn't really changed. I'll most likely give it some points. DECENT.
Macau - FKA Twigs - Cellophane: I guess her new album has been out for a while????? Shit I really need to go listen to that. That said, I was kind of scared of it and I think this song is one of the reasons why because wasn't this released before the album? And from what I remember it just did not have the same level of creativity and power as her previous stuff. But let's have a listen, eh? Holy shit she is athletic. OK yeah I remember the weird ass angel thing. Also I can hear now how this is kind of a natural evolution from LP1. Better than I remembered! Still a little thin compared to the stuff I really love from her, but hey, it gives her a chance to showcase her amazing voice, so that's cool. I've been imposing a penalty for artists I really love, so I think this one will go somewhere in the middle of my ballot. GOOD.
Hinamizawa - Vince Staples - Crabs in a Bucket: Excited for this because I've wanted to hear more Vince Staples ever since I listened to Humanz the first time. But I'm pretty terrible about actually going and listening to the artists I mean to check out :/ Percussion is cool. I mean, the whole track is cool really. Sounds like the ominous background music from Twin Peaks. Rapping is aight. Hm. Not a lot to this track. Feels like it was underdeveloped. But I mean, it's kinda cool. Prolly among the best I've heard so far in the contest. DECENT.
Spain - Jessie Ware - Spotlight: Hm. This has a simultaneous 80s pop and 70s funk feel to it. There's a guy on this train who looks a lot like Dorian Electra. As pop goes, this is good. It should get some decently high points from me. DECENT.
Loompaland - DI-RECT - Soldier On (Live): I'm glad this nice young friar took time out of his busy schedule transcribing holy texts and bottling beer to serenade us. But anyway, he's a good singer and this is pretty. LOL at the one dude at the very end staring straight into the camera for two seconds before they cut away. DECENT.
Hungary - Indigo Girls - Come on Home: Also simple, but enjoyable. Like the harmonies, and the vocal performance overall. Like the drumming. Kinda like the piano. Like the lyrics. Yeah, this is pretty good. I'd put it somewhere at the top of my list thus far. DECENT.
Germany - Vieon - Fly By Light: Cool synths, swelling and stopping abruptly like that. Love how they play together with the drums. Vox, I'm less into. But it's not ruining it. 8-bit-sounding guitar is cool. Yeah, I kinda like this. DECENT.
Sweden - Dark Tranquillity - Insanity's Crescendo: I refrained from commenting at first because I KNEW that this turn was coming, and now it has come, and they are, in the words of legendary Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green, who we thought they were. I do not like this style of growling, and so this is kind of hard for me to enjoy, but I'll tell you what, it sure as hell beats the other screaming band I've listened to so far in this contest, whose name I will not write. Musically I'm kind of liking it, how it rises and falls and rises again and transforms. But also I think I've kind of been "spoiled" in the metal genre by the likes of BTBAM and PTH, who gave me a thirst for extremely tricky shit and not just hard-bangin shit, ya know? Anyway I'm complaining too much, this really is not bad and will likely get points. DECENT.

[Song Contest]

Reminder: Votes are due at midnight Pacific Time tonight!

[shiki]

should i vote if i was cut from the contest? i listened to the songs as i normally would and prepared a ballot but idk if it is fair for me to potentially influence the outcome since i am not actually competing.

[Vi]

should i vote if i was cut from the contest? i listened to the songs as i normally would and prepared a ballot but idk if it is fair for me to potentially influence the outcome since i am not actually competing.

may as well
it's better than entering and not voting

[Aristophanes]

I have voted wothout entering before. I see no issue as it gives another data point, and an unbiased one at that!

[shiki]

okay thankyou for the replies; i submitted my ballot.

[Nahdia]

Spoiler:

Egypt - 9.1
China - 8.6
Hinamizawa - 8.4
Japan - 8.3
Canada - 8.2
Indonesia - 8.1
Belarus - 8.0
France - 7.9
South Korea - 7.8
Poland - 7.7
Germany - 7.6
eSwanti - 7.5
North Korea - 7.4
Nicaragua - 7.3
Spain - 7.2
Loompaland - 7.1
Hungary - 7.0
Flavortown - 6.8
Central African Republic - 6.6
Antarctica - 6.3
Macau - 6.1
Burkina Faso - 6.0
Argentina - 5.3
USA - 3.9
Sweden - 2.6

Mongolia - 11

[Plotinus]

Contest of the muffled lyrics, the vast majority of these I couldn't tell if they were in a language I can speak or not

Spoiler: Alphabetaised by country

Antarctica Tentei - painful and too much happening
Argentina Madari - Clinton Cerejo feat Vishal Dadlani & Sonu Kakkar - this is great
Belarus Amigo The Devil - Dahmer Does Hollywood - i really like this
Burkina Faso The\ Murder\ Capital\ -\ More\ Is\ Less - bad
Canada Orchards\ -\ Peggy - it's all right i guess
Central Africal Republic Slade\ -\ Coz\ I\ Luv\ You - it's all right i guess except for the high pitched parts
China Great\ Expectations - this is great
Egypt Yumi Zouma - Lie Like You Want Me Back - the words are too slurred to understand them and it's a bit too pink for me
eSwatini Daft Punk - Beyond - not my thing
Flavortown Hinds - Just Like Kids -- too muffled to understand
France Mike\ Posner\ -\ I\ Took\ A\ Pill\ In\ Ibiza - this is great
Germany Vieon\ -\ Fly\ By\ Light - there's so much about this that i dislike but it's great
Hinamizawa Vince\ Staples\ -\ Crabs\ In\ A\ Bucket - i like the parts of this i can understand but i wish i could understand more of it
Indonesia Men\ At\ Work\ -\ Overkill - mediocre
Japan fox\ capture\ plan\ _\ やけにSUNSHINE\ feat.おかもとえみ - unremarkable
Loompaland VETERANENDAG\ 2020\ DI-RECT\ -\ SOLDIER\ ON - i liked this once the talking finally stopped and the singing started
Macau FKA\ twigs\ -\ Cellophane - this is way too high pitched
Mongolia Emperor X - Allahu Akbar - a one-sided view of Islam
Nicaragua Dorian\ Electra\ -\ Flamboyant - there's too much going on in this
North Korea Roll\ Right\ Over - i dont know if i like this or not
Poland Marianas\ Trench\ -\ Truth\ Or\ Dare - upsetting, didn't finish
South Korea SURREAL - too muffled to understand the words
Spain Jessie\ Ware\ -\ Spotlight - painful
Sweden Dark tranquility - Insanity's Crescendo - i like this more than i thought i would but i can't tell what they're saying. also it makes me want to listen to A Perfect Circle
USA Eskimo\ Callboy\ -\ Hypa\ Hypa - I think i'm voting this higher than I otherwise would because I persist in reading the title as if it were written in Cyrillic

[Errantparabola]

Spoiler: i gave a song a perfect score this contest. was it u?????? click here to find out

(5.0) ANTARCTICA - tentei i was actually strongly vibing with the first minute of this. the vibe shattered when the whole thing of it started unfortunately. oh but love the detour in like 2:02. in the end this is still p good. oh in fact this is like really good. yes... yES... THIS IS LIKE FUCK ING GOOD>?? i'm like experience a fat surge of energy from this. oh worm. this is like so good. i want to listen to this again like immediately. in fact i will do that. is this not on spotifty..... or band camp... i want to be like streaming it... :pleading: i gave it a

like on youtube

. relistening. love the absolute metric chaos in the breakdowns. yes 2:02 is like a real standout moment. oh that's so good. this is like a 5. lol. 2:18 - 2:35 there's just this fat moment where every part is doing something fucking insanely cool. honestly im here for that classic tinny faux string sound. oh this is so good. 5:21 this is absolutely narsty. can this like fucking be on spotify. lol

(4.8) MACAU - cellophane. was strongly expecting to give this my twelve from the start and didnt expect the top echelon to be that populated. surprised twigs is reg contest and not botb tbh.
(4.8) NICARAGUA - dorian electra flamboyant. this is like, so good.

saved

& added to a big-ticket personal playlist. whoever this was you nailed it.

(4.3) FLAVORTOWN - just like kids (miau). lofi noisy bullshit is my jam.

saved

(4.1) JAPAN - fox capture plan yakeni SUNSHINE. shimmering jpop with big band influenced riffs is my jam.

saved

(4.0) USA - hypa hypa

saved

lol. this is good and my jam

(3.9) INDONESIA - men at work overkill. this song is myjamly. yuh

saved

.
(3.9) HUNGARY - indigo girls come on home.

saved

have listened to some indigo girls by virtue of wanting to be up to speed with the "gays in folk" oeuvre
(3.9) GERMANY - fly by light. instantly liking this a lot. doesn't go anywhere exciting but regardless,

saved

(3.8) ARGENTINA - vishal dadlani & sonu kakkar madari.

saved

(3.8) SPAIN - jessie ware spotlight. I rather liked the first two tracks to this album but it fell off for me after that : ( this a good one tho. already had this

saved

(3.8) POLAND - marianas trench. i admit it.... i really like the WWUH WUUH WUUH WHUH.

saved

(3.6) ESWATINI - daft punk beyond. relisted to this album a few days ago actually. respect your choice of one of the more pensive cuts??
(3.5) HINAMIZAWA - crabs in a bucket. this album didnt rly click for me. that being said this is a pretty good track.
(3.5) MONGOLIA - allahu akbar.
(3.3) CANADA - orchards peggy. the EP that this song is on is a 2.5 for me however I have recommended this before to great effect

(3.0) LOOMPALAND - direct soldier on. its fine
(3.0) SWEDEN - insanity crescendo

(2.6) REUNIFIED KOREAN PENINSULA - they are both 2.5 songs and so i am going to combine surreal and eye alaska into one entry in the interest of reunification. they gestalt an additional .1 point. these songs were off the back of relistening to antarctica so kind of got caught in the crossfire of juxtaposition
(2.5) CHINA - winnie great expectations.
(2.5) CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - slade coz i luv you.
(2.0) BELARUS - i am the son of an asshole was good
(2.0) BURKINA FASO - the murder capital. dont really like the vocal delivery unfortunately
(1.8) FRANCE - took a pill in ibiza remix.

=====

(5.0) EGYPT -

lie like you never ha- lie like you- lie like you want me ba- lie like you want me back

. this is my song.

[schadd_]

Spoiler:

germany vieon fly by light. not wickedly impressed by this. the drum machine has like a weirdly full sound for each hi hat hit which is distracting. 3.2

hinamizawa bince staples crabs in a bucket. i listened 2 this album. this is like house. didnt really grab me, surprised when it ended. 3.5

china vinnie hooligans great expectations. i never find it charming when songs refer to other sad songs. every instrument is faithfully tracing the chords. 2.7

burkina faso murder capital more is less. they say "i love it" the same fun way that charli xcx does. e. 3.5

canada peggy orchards. really groovy drums. like the choruses. 3.9 wd

spain jessie ware spotlight. i listened to the album and was not under the same spell as a lot of other people seem to be. this ones good. like the occasional subtle ringing hi hat. vocal back-and-forth-ality also really good. ya. bobbing my head. 4.2

france beard guy ibiza pill. oh wow >1bn listens. i dont like this person's enunciation or anything else. 2.2

c african republic slade coz i luv you. what if they want to change the things they do. 3.5

eswatini daft dunk beyond. this sounded like a nintendo song for like 30 seconds then just stopped. um. i think i might prefer the rest of the career where they are not singing. there's this fun pitch slide voice (electric slide guitar???) which fleetwood mac does and well i like it when fleetwood mac does it. 3.6

macau fka twigs cellophane. yeah put a pin in this one. i want to be the person whose job is to be like "tch tch tch tch"

poland marianas trench truth or dare. yeah the ouhwuh is pretty good. idk this is fine. 3.4

antarctica asaki tentei. i like the vocal bendiness here, the way some suspensions and whatever are resolved like really thickly. the guitar work is good but not Stellar..... the bit at the end is nice. i dont think it really extracted all the value of the 10 min airtime. 4.2 wd

north korea eye alaska roll over. fine 3.4

south korea ab6 surreal. pretty good. 3.7

belarus amigo devil hollywood. yikes. huh. 2.5

[Scigatt]

Spoiler:

ANTARCTICA -- あさき {天庭 (Album Version)}

-- I was taking aim at the people who submit these kinds of 10-minute entries, but one of them isn't in this contest I submitted this one because it's ~different~ and also doesn't feel like 10 minutes because it cycles through a bunch of ideas. Sadly I don't think I will go 2/2 for putting Asaki into BoB eligibility; this contest is too good.

Spoiler:

That description kind of reminds me of Non Populus, off of my Super Playlist. The changes within the song are used to different effect, though. It might be too slow for your taste, but it's just over 8 minutes long, as opposed to 10.

[PranaDevil]

For those who loved Vieon, I strongly suggest checking out more of their stuff. https://vieon.bandcamp.com/

They wound up stepping in last minute to cover for a band that was opening for Spray when I went to see them. Had never heard of them prior to the gig, bought two albums from Bandcamp as soon as I got home.

[AGar]

Huh, ended up enjoying more of this than I thought I would. Pleasant surprise.

Also I think I might've done a disservice to the original artist based on the reactions to my entry.

[Errantparabola]

whoever is flavor town i am OBSESSSSSSSSSSED with this album

[notachipmunk]

I ran out of energy after the first few songs, so I stopped typing out commentary early on as I needed all my energy to listen, but as it turned out the only song I legitimately liked a decent amount (aside from the one I submitted) was Nicaragua, so yeah, first song was best song.

Also lol @EP reunifying the Koreas

[PJ.]

Is the Antarctica song from a game?

[Vi]

Is the Antarctica song from a game?

Spoiler: I know this one!

yes and no
this was the title track for Asaki's second album
a cut of it was used in multiple Bemani games

---

unrelated: rabble

[Dr Easy Bake]

whoever is flavor town i am OBSESSSSSSSSSSED with this album

Fiiiiiiire me too lol

[Song Contest]

Results incoming!

[Song Contest]

Antarctica

Vi

12 - Argentina
10 - Spain
8 - Egypt
7 - Japan
6 - North Korea
5 - Canada
4 - Germany
3 - South Korea
2 - USA
1 - Nicaragua

Hinamizawa

Natirasha

12 - Argentina
10 - Antarctica
8 - Flavortown
7 - Mongolia
6 - Sweden
5 - Belarus
4 - USA
3 - France
2 - Canada
1 - Central African Republic

N/A

Equinox

12 - Spain
10 - Egypt
8 - Nicaragua
7 - Argentina
6 - Hinamizawa
5 - Germany
4 - South Korea
3 - Antarctica
2 - Japan
1 - Hungary

France

enomis

12 - Japan
10 - Loompaland
8 - Spain
7 - South Korea
6 - Egypt
5 - Hinamizawa
4 - eSwatini
3 - Argentina
2 - Nicaragua
1 - Germany

Belarus

Scigatt

12 - Antarctica
10 - Mongolia
8 - China
7 - Japan
6 - Burkina Faso
5 - Macau
4 - USA
3 - Sweden
2 - North Korea
1 - Canada

Current Scores:

34 Argentina
30 Spain
28 Japan
25 Antarctica
24 Egypt
17 Mongolia
14 South Korea
11 Nicaragua
11 Hinamizawa
10 USA
10 Loompaland
10 Germany
9 Sweden
8 Flavortown
8 China
8 Canada
8 North Korea
6 Burkina Faso
5 Macau
5 Belarus
4 eSwatini
3 France
1 Hungary
1 Central African Republic
0 Poland
0 Indonesia

[Song Contest]

Burkina Faso

SnowStorm

12 - Nicaragua
10 - Spain
8 - South Korea
7 - Central African Republic
6 - Hinamizawa
5 - Macau
4 - Indonesia
3 - Egypt
2 - China
1 - USA

eSwatini

Aristophanes

12 - Macau
10 - Loompaland
8 - Egypt
7 - Argentina
6 - Spain
5 - Belarus
4 - Japan
3 - China
2 - Hungary
1 - Poland

Germany

PranaDevil

12 - USA
10 - Argentina
8 - Egypt
7 - Central African Republic
6 - France
5 - Spain
4 - Nicaragua
3 - Japan
2 - China
1 - Indonesia

Spain

Empire

12 - Canada
10 - Hinamizawa
8 - Burkina Faso
7 - Japan
6 - eSwatini
5 - Nicaragua
4 - Mongolia
3 - Germany
2 - Macau
1 - Egypt

USA

pickemgenius

12 - Mongolia
10 - Poland
8 - China
7 - South Korea
6 - Sweden
5 - Hinamizawa
4 - Antarctica
3 - Canada
2 - Japan
1 - Nicaragua

Current Scores:

51 Argentina
51 Spain
44 Egypt
44 Japan
33 Nicaragua
33 Mongolia
32 Hinamizawa
29 Antarctica
29 South Korea
24 Macau
23 USA
23 China
23 Canada
20 Loompaland
15 Sweden
15 Central African Republic
14 Burkina Faso
13 Germany
11 Poland
10 eSwatini
10 Belarus
9 France
8 Flavortown
8 North Korea
5 Indonesia
3 Hungary

[Song Contest]

North Korea

toolenduso

12 - Canada
10 - Poland
8 - Japan
7 - Macau
6 - Hinamizawa
5 - Spain
4 - Loompaland
3 - Hungary
2 - Germany
1 - Sweden

N/A

shiki

12 - Canada
10 - Macau
8 - Flavortown
7 - Central African Republic
6 - Egypt
5 - Spain
4 - Hungary
3 - Hinamizawa
2 - Japan
1 - Argentina

Mongolia

Nahdia

12 - Egypt
10 - China
8 - Hinamizawa
7 - Japan
6 - Canada
5 - Indonesia
4 - Belarus
3 - France
2 - South Korea
1 - Poland

Hungary

Plotinus

12 - China
10 - Belarus
8 - Hinamizawa
7 - Germany
6 - Argentina
5 - North Korea
4 - France
3 - Canada
2 - Egypt
1 - USA

Egypt

Errantparabola

12 - Antarctica
10 - Macau
8 - Nicaragua
7 - Flavortown
6 - Japan
5 - USA
4 - Indonesia
3 - Hungary
2 - Germany
1 - Argentina

Current Scores:

67 Japan
64 Egypt
61 Spain
59 Argentina
57 Hinamizawa
56 Canada
51 Macau
45 China
41 Nicaragua
41 Antarctica
33 Mongolia
31 South Korea
29 USA
24 Loompaland
24 Germany
24 Belarus
23 Flavortown
22 Central African Republic
22 Poland
16 Sweden
16 France
14 Burkina Faso
14 Indonesia
13 Hungary
13 North Korea
10 eSwatini

[Song Contest]

Central African Republic

Davsto

12 - Germany
10 - Indonesia
8 - Argentina
7 - Spain
6 - North Korea
5 - Hungary
4 - Canada
3 - Mongolia
2 - Poland
1 - China

Indonesia

schadd_

12 - Macau
10 - Flavortown
8 - Antarctica
7 - Spain
6 - Japan
5 - Nicaragua
4 - Canada
3 - Egypt
2 - Argentina
1 - Hungary

Flavortown

Dr Easy Bake

12 - eSwatini
10 - Canada
8 - Macau
7 - Hinamizawa
6 - Indonesia
5 - Central African Republic
4 - Burkina Faso
3 - Japan
2 - Antarctica
1 - USA

China

AGar

12 - Belarus
10 - Canada
8 - Argentina
7 - Burkina Faso
6 - USA
5 - Hinamizawa
4 - Hungary
3 - Poland
2 - Indonesia
1 - Antarctica

Canada

Hiraki

12 - Argentina
10 - Poland
8 - Japan
7 - South Korea
6 - Loompaland
5 - Hinamizawa
4 - Flavortown
3 - Central African Republic
2 - Antarctica
1 - Belarus

Current Scores:

89 Argentina
84 Japan
84 Canada
75 Spain
74 Hinamizawa
71 Macau
67 Egypt
54 Antarctica
46 Nicaragua
46 China
38 South Korea
37 Flavortown
37 Poland
37 Belarus
36 Mongolia
36 USA
36 Germany
32 Indonesia
30 Loompaland
30 Central African Republic
25 Burkina Faso
23 Hungary
22 eSwatini
19 North Korea
16 Sweden
16 France

[Song Contest]

South Korea

notachipmunk

12 - Nicaragua
10 - Canada
8 - Spain
7 - Antarctica
6 - Poland
5 - USA
4 - Japan
3 - Macau
2 - Germany
1 - Burkina Faso

Japan

Reundo

12 - North Korea
10 - Spain
8 - eSwatini
7 - Canada
6 - Nicaragua
5 - Antarctica
4 - Poland
3 - Germany
2 - Mongolia
1 - South Korea

Nicaragua

Mina

12 - Spain
10 - Argentina
8 - Macau
7 - Mongolia
6 - Central African Republic
5 - Antarctica
4 - Flavortown
3 - Egypt
2 - Belarus
1 - Japan

Argentina

Knightmare491

12 - France
10 - Hungary
8 - Canada
7 - Belarus
6 - Spain
5 - Poland
4 - Germany
3 - Nicaragua
2 - Antarctica
1 - Hinamizawa

Poland

VashtaNeurotic

12 - China
10 - Nicaragua
8 - Indonesia
7 - Antarctica
6 - Belarus
5 - Canada
4 - Japan
3 - Egypt
2 - Mongolia
1 - Germany

Final Scores:

114 Canada

111 Spain

99 Argentina

93 Japan
80 Antarctica

77 Nicaragua
75 Hinamizawa
73 Egypt
70 Macau
58 China

52 Belarus
52 Poland
47 Mongolia
46 Germany
41 USA
41 Flavortown
40 Indonesia
39 South Korea
36 Central African Republic
33 Hungary
31 North Korea
30 eSwatini
28 France
26 Burkina Faso
18 Loompaland
4 Sweden

Congratulations to Hiraki!

caledfwitch (Macau), vizIIsto (Loompaland) and MiniDeathStar (Sweden) failed to vote. They each take a 12-point penalty and will be set adrift on ice floes, their fortunes at the mercy of the sea.