So, I tried to really give these write-ups enough effort, since this is the final after all. Also, Evermind and Nekov guessed my tidbits correctly.
Nekov: Subsignal - The Size Of Light On Earth
Like I said, there’s nothing here I dislike and lots of stuff I normally like. The keyboard at the beginning sets a nice atmosphere, and then instruments slowly get added to it. Everything here serves the song and is quite beautiful, though I don’t quite understand why you said this was metal influenced. There’s absolutely nothing that even borders on metal. Just because a song has some distorted guitars doesn’t make it metal. But ok, I won’t hold that against it. Despite usually not being too fond of this more high-pitched vocal style, it fits quite nicely here. The drums are taking the backseat in this one, especially compared to your song last round, and never really stick out, but serve the song nicely. It has nice melodies, and the chorus is somewhat catchy as well.
Yet, for some reason, it just doesn’t do all that much for me as a whole. It has a very chill, relaxing vibe, but something about the emotions here just feels a bit… fake. And I don’t think it’s the singer, he sounds good enough and is really into song. Something about the guitar tone, combined with the keyboards, just gives it this less-than-honest feeling. Like they cared more about perfecting the musical aspect and having everything like they wanted, but forgot to add that ‘rawness’ that distinguishes a heartfelt song from an overproduced sounding one. Honestly, I’m still not sure if I captured exactly what feels fake to me in that last paragraph, but it’s my best try.
So, all in all, nice song, but lacking some things that would put you back in the contest for the top. I’m afraid it’s going to be between Evermind and Sacul, especially considering 425’s write-ups (not knowing anything about Mr. Red, though).
Evermind: Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust
I knew I’d love this song after the first 5 seconds, and that first impression proved to be pretty damn right. The short guitar intro sets the atmosphere for this song absolutely perfectly, and it’s a fantastic atmosphere. It has that kind of raw, sad, desert-like atmosphere. Like being on a road trip through a desert, in a car with no cooling or heating. That song would be the perfect soundtrack for that.
What else is there to say about this song? While the instrumentation is certainly awesome and sets the atmosphere, the real star here is doubtlessly her voice. When I did my last listen before writing the write-ups, my mum came in and asked: ‘This is Joan Baez right? That can only be her voice.’ I have to agree with her, Joan Baez’ voice is both fantastic and unique. I also agree that the lyrics are awesome, or at least the fragments I picked out. See, I’m not usually a person who actually pays attention to lyrics, but the pieces I paid attention to here perfectly fit with the atmosphere and the emotion in her voice.
I’m not going to tell you if this was my favourite song this round, since Sacul’s write-up is rather cryptic and I would rather not destroy all the suspense for who is going to win this. I did like this significantly more than Nekov’s song, I felt it had exactly that raw power and emotion that his song was lacking.
Sacul: Kashiwa Daisuke - Stella
Cold. Cold in his hand. A laugh. Her smile. Water dripping into the sink. Can’t be. It’s off. The ticking of a clock. Drip. Drip. Drip.
Drip.
Anxiety makes his heart beat fast. She is holding his hand, pulling him gently on the dancefloor. Her hand is warm, sweaty in his from being nervous. Drip. A step back. A step forward. A step back. A step forward. It gets easier with every step. The dancefloor draws nearer, he puts his free hand on her hip. He looks her in the eye, a timid smile.
Drip. Drip. Tick. Tock.
Her eyes smile back at him. He takes a step forward, her leg moves with his. His hand is shaking on her hip. He takes another step, the other foot this time. This gets easier as it continues. His hands grow steadier with every step. His heart is beating faster, but not because of fear this time.
Drip.
They’re dancing through the clouds. A smile on her lips, her heart beating fast. He’s laughing, his heart going faster. Their feet move together in harmony. Feeling the sun smile down on them, in their faces. Or is it the moon?
The song is over. He takes her hand this time, feels the warm sweat on his. He leads her to the balcony. They stand out there, alone. The full moon reflecting in her eyes. The echo of music from inside. It comes closer, the moon. Or is it her that’s coming closer? Their noses touch. Their lips touch. He jerks away, suddenly nervous. Her hand on the back of his head pulls him closer again. Another touch, longer this time.
She smiles at him, nervously. He smiles back, nervously.
Drip. Tick. Drip. Tock. Cold. Cold in his hand. Eyes hollow. Tick. A faint smile. Drip.
She smiles at him. He pulls her into his arms, embraces her. Together, they go back in. Onto the dancefloor. He’s twirling her around. She’s laughing out loud now, joy in her eyes. There are butterflies in his stomach, trying to fly upwards. Another dance, chuckling at their awkward moves. They leave by the back door, into the garden. Smiling at her. Smiling at him. Enjoying each other’s company.
Drip. Wet on his cold hand. Tick. A tear? The shadow of a smile? Hollow eyes. Tick. Empty Eyes. Tock. Dead eyes.
Her hand cold in his.
She’s cold.
She’s dead.
And for the Sacul-style write-up, in Chinese:
我認為這是在第一次無聊,但它極大地增長了我。有快樂和悲傷的時刻之間相映成趣。我不太喜歡在最初幾分鐘的毛刺,但除此之外,這是相當出色。
Honestly, I'm still not exactly sure about the score I'm going to give to Sacul's song, especially since I want it to be somewhat accurate with respect to other songs in that scoring area. It's such a hard song to compare to others, though.
I'll write some more "good-bye" words to the three of you when we get the final results and know who is the winner.