Song Contest 211 (Results posted)

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Song Contest 211 (Results posted)

Post Post #0 (ISO) » Fri Feb 23, 2024 7:49 am

Post by Song Contest »

Welcome to the Two-Hundred-and-Eleventh Song Contest!
This contest is brought to you by plumbing. Try a plumber today!

Submit your song via this FANCY FORM!


What is the MafiaScum Song Contest?


The MafiaScum Song Contest is a competition modeled after the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It's a means to gain exposure to new music through the tastes of your peers, like it or not. Those that enter must also vote for the people they are running against based on how much they like the songs. Everyone picks an alias in the form of a country (any one of your choosing) and sends in a song that they like in order to expose it to the other contestants. After voting, they are tallied in the thread and a winner is named. No matter who wins, everyone wins by gaining new knowledge of songs, artists, albums and genres of music in the process!

List of Previously Entered Songs

How to Participate in the Song Contest:


1. Find a song that you like on any internet medium that isn't restricted or private.

2. Submit it via the form linked above!

3. After submitting, you must confirm that you've entered by either posting in this thread or sending a PM to the Song Contest account.

4. Wait until I reveal the entries. You may or may not be cut (as stated at the end of this post).

5. Once entries are revealed, you will rank your top 10 countries! You will do this via a Google Form link to be provided later. The point values are as follows:
12 points - 1st
10 - 2nd
8 - 3rd
7 - 4th
6 - 5st
5 - 6th
4 - 7th
3 - 8th
2 - 9th
1 - 10th
Please rate fairly by giving all countries a listen. You may not vote for yourself. Everyone, regardless of entry or cut status, may vote, so you can still participate even if you chose not to enter or if you got cut! However, if those that entered and are accepted do not vote, they will get a point penalty (see below), so please consider that before entering.

6. Wait for results. It's that simple!

What entries are/aren't allowed?


In order to eliminate bias, certain entries based on previous performance are banned. After dozens of contests and a following of a vague "Code of Ethics" by the Song Contest population, there have been so many entries that a rule system is now in place as to what can and cannot be entered. Please refer to the list of entered songs linked above and CTRL+F your artist AND song name to make sure it isn't included in the following list.

What isn't allowed?


-You cannot enter an artist that has won ANY contest in the past, no matter how far away that contest is.
-You cannot enter an artist that has been entered in the last 15 contests.
-You cannot enter a song that has been entered before, regardless of placement. (You can enter a cover or different version of that song.) For example: You cannot enter in "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, but you can enter in "The Hardest Button to Button" by The White Stripes.
-You cannot enter an artist that has achieved a top-three finish in a Battle of the Best. For example: You may not enter anything by the Doves, as they got 2nd in a BotB.
-You cannot enter something that is not a 'song'. We generally interpret this term very loosely, but here are some examples:

Things considered a song: Anything created with an actual artist and song title that is INTENDED for the listener, even if it's painful to listen or even if there's nothing included (Examples: Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit, Eminem - Lose Yourself, Barney - I Love You, John Cage - 4'33, Sunn 0))) - 0))) Bow 1, etc.)

Things not considered a song: Anything without an artist or title, a video clip of something random, a comedy routine (unless it's an actual song a la Stephen Lynch), a large square wave, an animal barking, total silence not being attributed to an artist, etc. (Examples: A clip of a comedian's standup special, an ibex screeching, a clip of a game show, a clip of someone screaming, etc.)

I will let you know if your entry does not meet the criteria of a 'song', but it should be fairly obvious.

What IS allowed, then?


-You can enter an artist that has achieved second place or lower at least 15 contests ago, as long as you do not repeat a song by that artist.
-You can enter an artist that reached the top three in a song contest, unless it won that contest or also got top three in a Battle of the Best.
-You can enter a different version of a song entered before, such as a cover (or the original if the cover was entered first). For example, Johnny Cash's Hurt has already been entered, but you can still enter Nine Inch Nails' version of Hurt.

Other than that, you're good! If your entry violates one of these rules, you'll have until the deadline to fix it or we reserve the right to deny your entry (as if you haven't entered one at all) due to time constraints.

Voting


Anyone is welcome to vote regardless of whether they've entered a song into the contest, but
those who entered songs are required to vote
. If you enter a song and fail to vote, you will be penalized in the form of deductions from the points your song earned from other people's votes (see below).

If fewer than 75% of the people who entered the contest have voted by the end of the first deadline, the voting deadline will be extended, and anybody who hasn't voted will get a penalty. This process will repeat until either 75% of entrants vote or until 16 days have passed (three extensions). As more extensions are needed, those who haven't voted yet will receive escalating penalties, as follows:

-If you fail to vote and fewer than three extensions are needed: You lose 12 points
-If you vote after the first extension: You lose 5 points
-If you vote after the second extension: You lose 10 points
-If you vote after the third extension: You lose 15 points
-If you fail to vote, even after three extensions: You lose 20 points

Ties in final scores will be broken in favour of the entry with the most first-place rankings, then the most second-place rankings, and so on.

All ballots received before the final results are posted will be accepted, even if they come in after deadline.


Reserved Countries


Antarctica
Australia
Chile
France
Indonesia
Ireland
Kiribati
Mali
Mount Celeste
Portugal
Scythia
Zanarkand


Deadline for entries is Tuesday, 5 March at 7:59 AM, Greenwich Mean Time.
(expired on 2024-03-05 07:59:00)


Spoiler: If we get more than 26 entries, the 26 participants in the competition will be decided based on the following criteria:
1. First-time entrants

2. Last winner (Pink Ball)

3. Current Song Contest Team (ChannelDelibird)

4. Any entrant who was cut in the period of the last 3 contests (except those cut for not voting) and has not used their guaranteed bid.
3 Contests remaining: Nobody!
2 Contests remaining: Nobody!
1 Contest remaining: Nobody!


5. Everyone to whom rules 1-4 or 6 do not apply

6. Any entrant who failed to vote in the previous contest

Anyone who does not make the cut is guaranteed a spot in one of the next three contests.





Entries!

Votes are due on Thursday, 21 March at 7:59 AM Greenwich Mean Time! (EDIT: Extended to Saturday, 30 March at the same time.)
(expired on 2024-02-19 07:59:00)






Iamamiwhoami - Chasing Kites


Image




Hootie & The Blowfish - Time


Image




Ancient Bards - Light


Image




Inabakumori ft. Kaai Yuki - Lagtrain


Image




Macha y el Bloque Depresivo - Aunque No Sea Conmigo


Image




Izzy S.O - Growing Pains


Image




Charles Wesley Godwin - Another Leaf


Image




Freezepop - Bike Thief


Image




Pool Kids - Arm's Length


Image




Cibo Matto - Birthday Cake


Image




Lemon Jelly - A Tune for Jack


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Lyn - Rivers in the Desert


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Paramore - Burning Down the House


Image


Nobody was cut!
Last edited by Song Contest on Sat Mar 30, 2024 11:24 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Post Post #1 (ISO) » Fri Feb 23, 2024 2:11 pm

Post by light_ganski »

once again, I am /in :]
A work in progress

"The philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it".
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Post Post #2 (ISO) » Fri Feb 23, 2024 9:38 pm

Post by IceDragon70 »

I was gonna submit something else, but Spotify suddenly played a brand new song by a brand new band and I loved it so much I had to submit.
Feelin' frosty
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Post Post #3 (ISO) » Sat Feb 24, 2024 8:34 pm

Post by AGar »

/in
Ski mask? Check! Sawed off? Check! Guilty conscience, fear of death? Check! Check! Check!

Get to know me. Or don't. I won't tell you what to do. I'm not God. Or your father. Or your boss.
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Post Post #4 (ISO) » Sun Feb 25, 2024 10:46 pm

Post by pickemgenius »

entered some shit whose song title is the same as the artist i sent last time.

unfortunately im not sure i have a song in the playlist with this artists name though.
Show
Rumpelstiltskin Grinder

(1:55:11 AM) ahallucinogenic: it's ok drench
(1:55:21 AM) ahallucinogenic: it's perfectly normal for young children to walk in on their parents making love
(1:55:31 AM) Drench394: i can't wait

STREAMING:

www.twitch.tv/xxxpickemgenius
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Post Post #5 (ISO) » Wed Feb 28, 2024 2:35 pm

Post by Aureal »

/in with a definitely not brand new song by a brand new band
"Yeah after a point it felt like Aureal was the only one talking sense despite being a goose so I just followed."
-furtiveglance
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Post Post #6 (ISO) » Wed Feb 28, 2024 5:43 pm

Post by BS2000 »

/in with a group I've been kinda obsessed with.
i was going to learn the keyboard and write several ballads
But i went to a barbeque and got lost by the tater salad
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Post Post #7 (ISO) » Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:43 am

Post by ceejayvinoya »

/in
Ceejay is only gonna get better but his logic can be on the wrong side of lazy logic sometimes. ~the worst
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Post Post #8 (ISO) » Fri Mar 01, 2024 6:26 am

Post by emrysmoonchild »

Hey guess what after a hiatus, I'm /in again!! With a new artist I stumbled across today.... just gotta choose the right song...
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Post Post #9 (ISO) » Mon Mar 04, 2024 3:16 am

Post by Song Contest »

Deadline is almost here. Come join in!
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Post Post #10 (ISO) » Mon Mar 04, 2024 3:53 pm

Post by Radical Rat »

/in
Maybe the real Mafia was the friends we made along the way

Shiny and new GTKAS thread!
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Post Post #11 (ISO) » Mon Mar 04, 2024 11:10 pm

Post by Pink Ball »

/in
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Post Post #12 (ISO) » Wed Mar 06, 2024 1:11 pm

Post by Song Contest »

We have reached the exact minimum required for a functional contest but I have tactically become extremely busy today and unable to publish so, if something else were to appear in my in-tray overnight before I get a quiet moment during work tomorrow, that wouldn't be such a shame, would it?
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Post Post #13 (ISO) » Fri Mar 08, 2024 1:30 pm

Post by VashtaNeurotic »

/in cause Lenie asked me to
George Bailey
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Post Post #14 (ISO) » Fri Mar 08, 2024 1:33 pm

Post by emrysmoonchild »

hehehehehe I have influence!
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Post Post #15 (ISO) » Sun Mar 10, 2024 4:48 pm

Post by Radical Rat »

I hope your work finally grants you a quiet moment soon.

I also hope for more people to spontaneously appear in the meantime, but it does seem like we've got who we're getting
Maybe the real Mafia was the friends we made along the way

Shiny and new GTKAS thread!
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Post Post #16 (ISO) » Mon Mar 11, 2024 2:15 pm

Post by Yimmy »

/in
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Post Post #17 (ISO) » Mon Mar 11, 2024 5:24 pm

Post by Radical Rat »

Well, I'm happy to be wrong then
Maybe the real Mafia was the friends we made along the way

Shiny and new GTKAS thread!
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Post Post #18 (ISO) » Wed Mar 13, 2024 4:19 am

Post by wgeurts »

What do I have to do to apologise for my past sins of not voting
"
i agree we should have a rule against wgeurts
" -
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"
let's have 2 rules against wgeurts
" -
DeathRowKitty

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Post Post #19 (ISO) » Wed Mar 13, 2024 8:22 am

Post by Song Contest »

Hi all. Entries are now up - profuse apologies for the delay. Deadline is a little shorter than usual to account for the fact that I'll be away at Eastermeet and unable to do contest admin between 22-29 March. However, as this is less time to vote than you'd usually receive (and that's pretty much my fault for not getting my act together quicker over the last few days), I don't think I'll be enforcing any points penalties if we don't get every vote in before I leave for the meet. However, that said, I'd appreciate it if we can make results happen before I go, because that will be a full week's delay if it comes to that.

With regard to the delay in getting entries up for this contest, honestly it speaks to how I've been feeling pretty run-down lately, having been trying to keep too many plates spinning for too long. So I think it might be time for me to pass the reins of Song Contest stewardship to someone new in the near future. I have a lot of attachment to the Song Contest and I don't want it to slip into disrepair because I was burned out, so I think it's the right call.

This won't be something on which I'll get the ball rolling in any meaningful way until I'm back from Eastermeet but, if you'd be interested in taking over responsibility for keeping this thing running (I hope for a good while yet!), please feel free to get in touch via PM to this account or by speaking up in this thread. Happy to explain what's involved - it's not a huge amount of work, and I make it fiddlier for myself than you'd need to for yourself - if you'd like a clearer picture. I'll continue to run things until a suitable replacement can be found and a changeover coordinated.

In the meantime, enjoy the contest!

Love, CDB
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Post Post #20 (ISO) » Wed Mar 13, 2024 1:26 pm

Post by Yimmy »

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Post Post #21 (ISO) » Thu Mar 14, 2024 2:55 pm

Post by Radical Rat »

Spoiler: The opinions that lurk beneath the Rat

New Scandinavia - Chasing Kites:
A solid opening to the contest! Did a really good job building the tension at the start, and then the main song is an excellent vibe. I don't think it really NEEDED that tension for the opening, but as I said it was well done, and it doesn't really detract from the rest of the song.

Scythia - Time:
I like most of what's going on here, but the main singer's voice is somewhat grating for me. But the instrumental has a good groove going, and like. It's not even that the singing is bad per se, and it conveys the emotions well, just... that sort of half-drawl going on bugs me. I'd probably get used to it with repeated exposure I guess.

France - Light:
When I saw "Ancient Bards" I was expecting something a bit different than generic motivational orchestral-pop. It's fine, all competently done, and the guitar solo was a pleasant, albeit brief, surprise. Just on the whole unremarkable, and I feel a bit let down that this wasn't actually bardcore.

Mount Celeste - Lagtrain:
Easy first so far, it'll be a surprise if anything dethrones it for me. Absolutely love this voice bank, one of the few that can actually compete with Miku imo, and of course the music behind it is fantastic as well. Keeps a strong driving energy, catchy melodies, and enough variation to keep it from getting stale. Special shoutout to the bass work as well. Just an absolute banger overall.

Chile - Aunque No Sea Conmigo:
I did not like this one. The singing was good, but the rest of it felt like they were all playing around each other instead of with each other, if that makes sense? It just felt... messy and unfocused. Which isn't ALWAYS a bad thing in a song, but did not work for me here.

Philippines - Growing Pains:
Another unremarkable entry. There's nothing wrong with it, but nothing really stands out for me to like or explicitly mention here. Everyone did fine on it.

Morgantown - Another Leaf:
I don't typically like country. This is an exception. I like that it leans into the cowboy folk-y vibes, and I have never been more invested in five minutes of a guy asking to fuck before in my life. Though I guess I haven't actually had that experience often. Regardless, this man could likely sing about anything and grab my attention, and the guitar work was impeccable the whole way through, accented very well by the violin.

Sumer - Bike Thief:
I guess Freezepop is getting tossed on the list of artists I occasionally hyperfocus on now. Vibes are absolutely immaculate here. I'm not really sure if the bike thievery is meant to be metaphorical, but I do think there's something profound about the acceptance of the stolen bike one day being stolen in turn. Shows that the motivation isn't greed, but freedom. Or perhaps I'm just reading too much into the silly bike song. Either way, excellent song. Love the artifical almost industrial (as a mood descriptor, not the musical genre) aesthetic it has going, and it kept me staring at the static image the whole time, didn't even tab out.

Slovenia - Arm's Length:
I feel somewhat hypocritical this time, because I can't deny this one's also on the generic side of things... but it's generic in a way I'm nostalgic for, so it gets to be good for it. Also the lyrics kinda hit me a bit close to home, as I often find myself in similar spirals.

Antarctica - Birthday Cake:
I will not blame anyone for rating this low. Many years ago, a young Rat was enchanted by playing Jet Set Radio, and immediately ordered a copy of the sequel off eBay. JSRF never hit the same, and was incredibly disappointing, but at least the soundtrack still slapped... until this song came on. I was incredibly confused and put off by it, but as it continued to crop up in the BGM rotation... eventually, it just kinda clicked. I couldn't tell where the turning point was, but now to this day anytime anyone mentions anything to do with cake my brain is shouting "EXTRA SUGAR! EXTRA SALT! EXTRA OIL AND MSGGG!" I hope one day this song infests all of your brains in a similar way.

Zanarkand - A Tune for Jack:
Ehhh, this one's just not really my thing. It's certainly not actively bad or anything, just... not for me. My ex would have probably liked it a lot, for whatever that's worth, but they're not the ones doing the rating.

Poland - Rivers in the Desert:
I'm sure people much better at this than I am have already spoken at length about why Rivers in the Desert is so good. I am going to be biased due to my inability to separate the song from its place within the game, but that's exactly what a soundtrack song should strive to do. And god damn does this hit hard in context.

Mali - Burning Down the House:
I was not aware Paramore ever covered this song. It's pretty well done, but to be honest doesn't sound much like Paramore. Typically when bands do covers of other songs, I want it to be a more unique spin, y'know? Not that this is a straight copy or anything, but it still doesn't do anything to really stand on its own. Or maybe my memory of the original is just fuzzy enough to adapt. I don't think it really changes placement either way though
Maybe the real Mafia was the friends we made along the way

Shiny and new GTKAS thread!
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Post Post #22 (ISO) » Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:48 am

Post by light_ganski »

Spoiler: the thoughts of a ganski

New Scandinavia – chasing kites

This is quite a nostalgic one for me, but I am a creature of habit in my music listening patterns. Has iamamiwhoami’s (in my opinion) signature sense of melancholy which cuts through the summery, adventure-y vibes I’ve always got from this number in particular. The kind of song I want to listen to outside on a warm evening.

Scythia – Time

Enjoyable, I can imagine tapping my feet to this in a bar or blasting it loud on a road trip. The lead singer’s voice grates a little in the way a lot of American country singers’ voices do, but otherwise it wasn’t a bad song. The guitar rhythm was very catchy and definitely took the song up a level for me, and I wish the solo had been a little longer.

France – Light

It's giving Eurovision vibes. Not bad at all, but not catching me either. I get what they were trying to do with the moody bridge, but it doesn’t come off for me. The guitar solo was good and saves it from a lower rating, and singer’s voice was very pleasant.

Mount Celeste – Lagtrain

This is a bop, and has a very catchy beat, but also feels a little repetitive. The singer’s voice clashed a little with the song for me and I found that a little jarring. I could definitely dance along to this though, and that I liked.

Chile – Aunque No Sea Conmigo

Moody, relaxing, enjoyable. I’m imagining listening to this in a tiny back-alley bar over a glass of good rum. Raw, but I think this works more than a more polished vibe would for this song (and I do like me some acoustic guitar). It’s possible that not knowing much Spanish allowed the vibe of the song to take over for me, but that’s okay.

Philippines – Growing Pains

I enjoyed this too. The music was very much up my alley, and the singer’s voice is raw but, again, I think the rawness suits this. It allows the emotiveness of the song to come through in a way that feels authentic. It could maybe have done with a flourish somewhere, but that doesn’t detract too much from the song.

Morgantown – Another Leaf

The rhythm is very easy to bop along to at first, but beyond that it isn’t catching me much. The speed change part of the way through was a little off-putting for me. The fiddle was good and definitely the standout element of the song, it had a slightly haunting vibe which meshed well.

Sumer – Bike Thief

It's making me think of the eighties, and I enjoyed the lyrics a lot (be gay, do crimes). I liked this a lot more than I like most electro. Very catchy, though it had a slightly nervous quality which may just be a feature of the style I’m not used to. Very different to what I’ve heard so far in this contest and that’s helping it to stand out. Definitely going to be saving this one.

Slovenia – Arm’s Length

My instant thought was that I really want to like this song, and it had a lot of good elements, but I don’t feel like those elements came together cohesively, and that put a dampener on the song as a whole. Which is a shame, because individually the lead singer, the beat and the rhythm are all individually good and certainly up my street style and genre wise. Had a great guitar rhythm which I did enjoy a lot. On the whole I think I might like it more on a re-listen.

Antarctica – Birthday Cake

This didn’t do anything for me, I’m afraid. I feel like the instrumentalism wasn’t too bad per se, but it didn’t stand out, and the singing/rapping grated on me very quickly.

Zanarkand – A Tune for Jack

This felt whimsical, and had a psychedelic vibe which I found very pleasant, and nostalgic in a way I can’t quite put into words (homesickness comes to mind). Musically, maybe it needed something else to take it up a level, but purely on vibes it was very enjoyable and soothing. I’ll remember it warmly either way.

Poland – Rivers in the Desert

This one fades into the background a bit for me. There’s nothing about it that I particularly dislike, but nothing standing out to me either. Had a nice beat which reminded me a bit of Spandau Ballet.

Mali - Burning Down the House

Not a particularly bad song, but not Paramore at their catchy, pop-punky best I’m afraid. The guitar was enjoyable and the best element, but the vocals left something to be desired here and stylistically it just didn’t hit.

A work in progress

"The philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it".
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Post Post #23 (ISO) » Tue Mar 19, 2024 9:09 am

Post by ChannelDelibird »

Spoiler: Reactions
New Scandinavia // Chasing Kites - Iamamiwhoami


I'd expect this to end up with a lot of points from me. I get the sense that the gorgeous visuals are doing a lot to add to its ambience and maybe it wouldn't stand out an awful lot if I were listening to it a few times over mixed into other synthy stuff that I like, but as a baseline experience I can absolutely wallow in this kind of woozily-dancing-in-the-open-air-at-a-festival electropop.

Scythia // Time - Hootie & The Blowfish


I was just slightly too young to be aware of that first Hootie album being as big as it was, so I don't really have any recollection of this one. The gentle folksy rock vibe is fine enough; I'm not particularly convinced by the lyrics or vocals, though. The whole "gosh, nothing ever changes, does it? Past, future, past, present, future, past, future, present, etc." isn't anything I haven't heard before, and when it does the "children dyin' / mothers cryin'" verse it verges on the self-parodical, for me. Perfectly listenable overall, but it feels like they think it's more profound than it is.

France // Light - Ancient Bards


Most of my opinion on this song is that yer lass's irises are hella large. Are those some goofy contacts, a weird lighting thing, or just really fuckin' large irises? Wild.

Feels like this would slay at Eurovision. I'd probably get behind it as a compromise candidate over some of the more reprehensible entries, but I wouldn't be thrilled about it. It's not really my thing but, as operatic metal that spends too long at full vocal pelt goes, you could do a lot worse.

Mount Celeste // Lagtrain - Inabakumori ft. Kaai Yuki


OK, that pan-pipey thing is definitely working on me. It's a hoot. The vocals are a bit child-stuck-down-a-well for me but the rhythm section is doing a great job here and it's hard not to bounce a bit. Perhaps I'd rather we just wrapped things up rather than bothered with the slightly perfunctory key change at the end, though.

Chile // Aunque No Sea Conmigo - Macha y el Bloque Depresivo


I can get all over these lush vocal harmonies. I'm all about the bongos and the block and the guitars here. It's all just very nice. Yes please.

Philippines // Growing Pains - Izzy S.O


Izzy. Can I call you Izzy? We've got to talk about this. You can either be Izzy S.O. or Izzy SO. One dot will not do. You have to pick a side. Find a style guide and commit to it. Please. I'm begging you.

Song's fine. Sad women with guitars is as slap-bang in the centre of my wheelhouse as it gets. Other than a nice crisp hit on the guitar when we get to the chorus, I don't know if I'm detecting anything unusual here, but it could easily have been something that had been kicking around in my library getting five incidental plays a year for a decade.

Morgantown // Another Leaf - Charles Wesley Godwin


OK, so I can't really tell what made this guy up and leave town halfway through the song and am left a bit unsatisfied on that front, and the long, clappy, uptempo outro does not feel of a piece with the verses that came before it. But enough of the individual elements worked for me - a lovely violin part, in particular - that I ended up liking it more than I didn't, and that's quite unusual for a country song so fair play to the lad. I think it's probably incoherent enough that I'm not going to rush back for repeat listens, but I thought about it.

Sumer // Bike Thief - Freezepop


This song's extreme "this is not a metaphor, I cannot stress enough how little you should read anything into this" energy was kind of appealing in its confidence, but until things kicked up a bit in the last minute or so I was mostly left cold by the robotic vocals and slightly harsh synth rhythms. It was just a bit stark. If we're going to just yabber on about how we steal bikes and there's literally nothing else to think about here, I wanted more verve to the melody and more bombast to the beat and to be forced to dance through it. If we're gonna be dumb, let's BEEEE DUUUUMMMB. Ya know?

Slovenia // Arm's Length - Pool Kids


We're doing 90% of the standard emo vocal delivery here and, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful we're not at 100%, but it's not quite for me. Songs of this ilk do this thing where the lyrics are not so much lyrical as they are just matter-of-fact things you might say in conversation or write in a diary and the singer just puts a bit of volume on them and stretches out the delivery a bit to make them feel more music-y, and every time I wish they were just written a bit more poetically so that we didn't have to sorta-shout them out. That said, we're not at full blast on this stuff, and I thought the guitar work here was pretty cool. It's kinda close to morphing into something I'd enjoy, but there was never a line that made me think they were going to write something else I'd fully embrace.

Antarctica // Birthday Cake - Cibo Matto


Plenty of people in the YouTube comments here insisting it turns into something transcendent on the third listen. I'm good not finding out.

Zanarkand // A Tune for Jack - Lemon Jelly


I've enjoyed Nice Weather for Ducks as a sometimes food ever since it was entered into SC3 (I'm so old) but have never quite been moved to try any other Lemon Jelly stuff. This is less batshit than that song - I would argue overall for worse, given that we're noodling along for nearly seven minutes here. A little spicing up wouldn't have gone amiss because, while this is a perfectly amiable little groove, its phases are fairly subtle. Not something I'd complain about having on in the background, though.

Poland // Rivers in the Desert - Lyn


I haven't played the game, but somebody's shown me this track before. I'll tell you what I said then: a slight but pleasant defying of my expectations of what a JRPG soundtrack entry would sound like, but I found the vocals to be mixed a bit too indistinctly, such that I couldn't really make out any of the lyrics.

Mali // Burning Down the House - Paramore
(my entry!)


I was very much not the right audience for much of Paramore's early work but I've been greatly enjoying their transition to a rockier sound over recent years (This Is Why is one of my favourite albums of 2023), as well as Hayley Williams's solo albums, so I thought I should enter something that reflected how much I've been listening to them recently. So I went with their most recent release, which I've had on a lot in the last few weeks. I am not overly attached to Talking Heads in general and the original Burning Down the House in particular is not one I have any reverence for, but I really like Paramore's take on it here - feels respectful of the original sound but definitely with their own edge, and I am a huge fan of Williams just letting go with her vocals. It's just a bunch of fun.

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Post Post #24 (ISO) » Wed Mar 20, 2024 7:44 am

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Reminder: votes are due very soon. If they're delayed to reach minimum numbers, it'll be by just over a week. (Points penalties will not apply for that particular extension, as already discussed.)
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