Re: jingle.boy's Roulette v5 - th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-that's all folks!

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

3 or 5?

[jingle.boy]

One more day at work and I'll be able to hit the playlist (probably will tackle Round 3 too).

In defense of my song for this round, Chad said any genre goes, plus it was a good fit for hangman with the non-English title.

Off to DT section to read Kade's astonishing rant.

No defense required.  You and Stadler had the pills to go outside the norm this round.   

Bill... you are correct.

[jingle.boy]

1. That is guitar crunchy and metal af.
2. Guitar almost as crunchy, but with better vocals.
3. Puppies: Drivhell - My Convictions ... I hope I warm up to the vocals, cuz the music is is tracking to an easy A.
4. Evermind: Jesse Cook - Cancion Triste ... Not the kind of music that I'd normally or proactively reach for, but what a beautiful performance.
5. This scratches a particular itch that I often have, and it does not bite.
6. TAC: Mythika - Soulpaths ... It's about fucking time.  That's some boner-inducing riffage.
7. Stadler: Seal - Crazy ... What a powerful voice, and amazing vocalist.  One of the best of the round.
8. I would've bet money this was Ted Leonard on the mic.
9. Indiscipline: Vandenberg - Skyfall With that singer, you'd think I'd enjoy this more.
10. King: Xerosync - Torn Asunder to Sand ... By far the most "prog" song of the round.

[jingle.boy]

ooohhhh... I have some ideas for future rounds to spice up the impression stage.

[twosuitsluke]

Off to DT section to read Kade's astonishing rant.

Thanks for the reminder

[TAC]

I be am boner inducing.

Sig'd.

 

It's Chad's fault.

[Glasser]

I guess I'm too late for this. Just saw it. I'm shot.

[wolfking]

8?

[lonestar]

8?

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Hoping for #2.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Yeah, I figured the vocals might be a bit of a hurdle in the first quarter of the song, but I knew musically this song would be right up your alley. Hopefully the vocals grow on you more 

[jingle.boy]

Lonestar is indeed 8

Hoping for #2.

Well, since one of my primary rules of life ... never deprive anyone of hope - it might be all they have.

1. That is guitar crunchy and metal af.
2. Litho: Hordes in Exile - The Emptiness In Which You Hide ... Guitar almost as crunchy, but with better vocals.
3. Puppies: Drivhell - My Convictions ... I hope I warm up to the vocals, cuz the music is is tracking to an easy A.
4. Evermind: Jesse Cook - Cancion Triste ... Not the kind of music that I'd normally or proactively reach for, but what a beautiful performance.
5. This scratches a particular itch that I often have, and it does not bite.
6. TAC: Mythika - Soulpaths ... It's about fucking time.  That's some boner-inducing riffage.
7. Stadler: Seal - Crazy ... What a powerful voice, and amazing vocalist.  One of the best of the round.
8. Cheffy: Tellus Requiem - Delusioned Mind ... I would've bet money this was Ted Leonard on the mic.
9. Indiscipline: Vandenberg - Skyfall With that singer, you'd think I'd enjoy this more.
10. King: Xerosync - Torn Asunder to Sand ... By far the most "prog" song of the round.

[wolfking]

5?

[jingle.boy]

5?

Nope.  Mason's song certainly doesn't have a metal af guitar riff.

1. wolfking: Animate - Threshold ... That is guitar crunchy and metal af.
2. Litho: Hordes in Exile - The Emptiness In Which You Hide ... Guitar almost as crunchy, but with better vocals.
3. Puppies: Drivhell - My Convictions ... I hope I warm up to the vocals, cuz the music is is tracking to an easy A.
4. Evermind: Jesse Cook - Cancion Triste ... Not the kind of music that I'd normally or proactively reach for, but what a beautiful performance.
5. Doc: Legacy Pilots - True Spirit ... This scratches a particular itch that I often have, and it does not bite.
6. TAC: Mythika - Soulpaths ... It's about fucking time.  That's some boner-inducing riffage.
7. Stadler: Seal - Crazy ... What a powerful voice, and amazing vocalist.  One of the best of the round.
8. Cheffy: Tellus Requiem - Delusioned Mind ... I would've bet money this was Ted Leonard on the mic.
9. Indiscipline: Vandenberg - Skyfall With that singer, you'd think I'd enjoy this more.
10. King: Xerosync - Torn Asunder to Sand ... By far the most "prog" song of the round.

[jingle.boy]

I'm going to be out today - Christmas visit with jingle.mother-in-law, and I'm not sure how much listening I'll get in tomorrow and on xmas day.  So I will aim for results on Tuesday.

I tell ya though, I'm very glad I don't have to do this as a stack ranking (and you guys should too).  There's likely only to be 1 or 2 that don't get an A rating.  There's some really good shit here.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

[King Postwhore]

Lol

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

 

[jingle.boy]

For someone convinced they're in danger, you sure are casual with that popcorn munching.

My aim was off.  I'll be doin 'em tomorrow morning over coffee.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

[TAC]

[jingle.boy]

Indiscipline: Vandenberg / Skyfall

I think most know I'm a Ronnie Romero fanboy.  There isn't much that he's sung on that I don't adore - Lords of Black is one of my more favored band discoveries from the 2010s.  The chorus here is magnificent as is the solo.  The rest of it though, just kind of lumbers along - there's probably a better song on this album that would've scored a little better - something that's got a little more pep in its step (like the opener, or Shitstorm).  When I accepted this submission, I didn't realize it was from the album 2020, which I do have saved to Spotify, but I'd only played it 3 times.  It's a decent song/album, but falls into that 'not wow'd' category.

Scores
Quality: 7.5
Unpredictability: 5
Anonymity: 4

---------------------------
Puppies: Drivhell / My Convictions

Music A; vocals …. Sadly I did not warm up to them.  Best I can do is a C+.  Much like Litho's submission a couple rounds back, they're not terrible, but it just doesn't click with the music (imo).  I find Italian vocalists of the Power Metal persuasion can be hit or miss with me.  Fabio Lione and Michele Luppi - hit!  Roberto Messina (Secret Sphere) - meh.  This guy gets a big meh.  So, the score falls somewhere in the middle given the gap between music and vocals.  Not a bad song, but be thankful this wasn't a stack-rank scoring method this round.  It was a very strong one, and this tune couldn't keep up.

Scores
Quality: 7.5
Unpredictability: 4.5
Anonymity: 3.5

---------------------------
King: Torn Asunder to Sand / Xerosync

By far the most "prog" song of the round.  You have a knack for finding that subtle, smooth prog-rock zone … Presto Ballet, Cell 15, Mile Marker Zero, A.C.T. that kind of schtick is when we click the best.  This one didn't quite hit the mark as much as these though.  I'm not sure if I can really pinpoint why though.  The vocal harmonies aren't terribly strong, and the melody to the vocals is pretty rudimentary.  The playing is fantastic, particularly the guitar - one of the better solos of the round.  But the sum of the whole is a bit less than the individual parts here.

Scores
Quality: 8
Unpredictability: 2
Anonymity: 2

---------------------------
Wolfking: Animate / Threshold
This is a simple and straight forward vocal delivery, and just a really nice metal track.  Dayum those guitar riffs .  Very nice melody in the chorus, which is also the strong point of the song vocally. 

Scores
Quality: 8
Unpredictability: 2.5
Anonymity: 4.5

---------------------------
Evermind: Jesse Cook / Canciσn Triste

Magnificent playing, and just a lovely, beautiful, and soothing track.  The way the cello (I assume it's a cello) compliments and takes over in the middle is chilling.  Like I said, not the kind of thing I normally would think to reach for, but this was simply exquisite. I have a feeling that over time, I'll look/listen back on this track and think "I should've scored this higher it's so impeccable".  But for now, 8 is about right.  I'm also quite sure I'll check the rest of this album out, and likely save it for the odd times that I am in the mood for something like this.  Now pass the queso!

Scores
Quality: 8
Unpredictability: 3
Anonymity: 2.5

---------------------------
Stadler: Seal / Crazy

Well, this was the biggest surprise …. In that it had the biggest earworm of the round, and probably the best vocals.  I know there's only so many "ifs" to add to the description/review of anything before they become meaningless, but if you take away the poppy/programmed drums, and if there was a bit more edge to the guitar work, this could be a helluva prog-rock track.  Brass balls on you for sending this, and it hit the mark.  Biggest grower of the round.

Scores
Quality: 8.5
Unpredictability: 3.5
Anonymity: 1

---------------------------
Lonestar: Tellus Requiem / Delusioned Mind

At 7:15, this was the longest song of the round, but it didn't feel like it at all.  I've got the first couple of albums from these guys, but don't remember this 2017 3-track EP (although, it turns out I did check it out back then, as this song is saved in my Spotify library).  Perfect blend of prog and power metal here.  Seriously though, how the fuck is that NOT Ted Leonard singing the chorus!?!?!  I can't find anything on the interwebz to validate this, but he's

Scores
Quality: 9
Unpredictability: 1.5
Anonymity: 0.5

---------------------------
Dr. DTVT: Legacy Pilots / True Spirit

This scratches a particular itch that I often have. The bass groove throughout is very sweet and sneakily a very important part of this tune - and right around 3 minutes brings a Raise the Knife feel, and dat solo to accompany it is god-tier, with a nice little keyboard arpeggio to come out of it.  I'm not sure I've ever hard John Mitchell sing on something that I didn't like - Kino, Lonely Robot, Frost*, It Bites... all stuff that I would rate in various stages of very good to amazing.  On the whole, this performance that everyone puts in on this track is crisp and on point.  For as good as the bass work is, naturally Marco on the drums is duelling with John on the mic to see who is the star of the track.  Damn you for making me check out another 2023 release - this could likely be an instant-purchase.

Scores
Quality: 9
Unpredictability: 0.5
Anonymity: 3

---------------------------
TAC: Mythika / Soulpaths

Seriously, where was this kind of stuff in the first three rounds!?!?  This is more like it.  Another beautiful mix of prog and power.  Not sure I've ever heard a band from Paraguay before - sometimes those South American vocalists are an absolute gem.  Very much some Daydream XI vibes here, which as you know is a very good thing.  Everything clicked with this track.

Scores
Quality: 9
Unpredictability: 4
Anonymity: 1.5

---------------------------
Litho: Hordes in Exile / The Emptiness In Which You Hide

Fantastic Melodic Metal tune - right in my wheelhouse… like RIGHT in it.  The guitar work in the bridges is delicious.  Every ingredient here contributes to a great recipe - beautiful vocals, great guitar work in the bridges between verses (and splashed throughout the main rhythm), bright keyboard work to complement the main melody starting in the 2nd chorus.  Kade might want to check this out, as 2/3 of the members from Solution .45, one of whom was also the original vocalist from Scar Symmetry.  This was some wow-worthy music, I'll definitely be following this (assuming it's going to be a 2024 release?). 

Scores
Quality: 9
Unpredictability: 1
Anonymity: 5



Total Round 4:
Indiscipline - Vandenberg / Skyfall: 5 + 4 + 7.5 = 16.5
Puppies - Drivhell / My Convictions: 4.5 + 3.5 + 7.5 = 15.5
wolfking - Animate / Threshold: 2.5 + 4.5 + 8 = 15
Litho - Hordes in Exile / The Emptiness In Which You Hide: 1 + 5 + 9 = 15
TAC - Mythika / Soulpaths: 4 + 1.5 + 9 = 14.5
Evermind - Jesse Cook / Cancion Triste: 3 + 2.5 + 8 = 13.5
Stadler - Seal / Crazy: 3.5 + 1 + 8.5 = 13
Doc - Legacy Pilots / True Spirit: 0.5 + 3 + 9 = 12.5
King - Xerosync / Torn Asunder to Sand: 2 + 2 + 8 = 12
lonestar - Tellus Requiem / Delusioned Mind: 1.5 + 0.5 + 9 = 11

<it's not lost on me that the 2 least best songs ended up with the highest scores this round - shit happens>

Overall Standings:
Litho - 59.5
Wolfking - 56.5
Evermind - 56
TAC - 55.5
lonestar - 54
Puppies - 53.5
Indiscipline - 52.5
Dr. DTVT - 51.5
King - 48
Stadler - 45

Quality through 4 Rounds:
lonestar - 34.5
Litho - 32
Wolfking - 31.5
Indiscipline - 31.5
Dr. DTVT - 31.5
King - 31.5
Puppies - 31
Evermind - 30.5
Stadler - 29.5
TAC - 28.5

[Evermind]

We've got to guess Litho for every song now

Glad you enjoyed that Chad, the album is actually quite diverse (there are faster-paced tracks too. Seems like a very strong round overall.

I checked the playlist during the weekend, liked Vandenberg and Tellus Requiem but didn't have the energy to post impressions. Legacy Pilots and Hordes of Exile did nothing for me. Mythika - I'm surprised Tim shits so much on Jorn but listens to this. Not bad but the SOULPAAAATHS in the chorus comes kinda out of nowhere. Xerosync was interesting.

[King Postwhore]

Welp.  Alright.  I'll have to work on one tonight after a certain video call.

[jingle.boy]

I really had to debate giving a couple of the top songs a 9.5, but for the moment, I'm waiting to see if there's still room for ya'll to give me even better tunes on the back half of this thing.

Now, as for the matter of scores that are propped up due to the Hangman intangibles (cough … Tim … cough).  After Round 8, if the person with the highest Quality score is *NOT* in the Top 3 overall, then I'm going to have a final four style tournament with the Top 3 + the Quality winner.  For the last four rounds, this should still give the incentive to A) Send good fucking music, and B) Still send stuff that's a little out of the norm to earn the intangible points.

[TAC]

I really had to debate giving a couple of the top songs a 9.5, but for the moment, I'm waiting to see if there's still room for ya'll to give me even better tunes on the back half of this thing.

Now, as for the matter of scores that are propped up due to the Hangman intangibles (cough … Tim … cough).  After Round 8, if the person with the highest Quality score is *NOT* in the Top 3 overall, then I'm going to have a final four style tournament with the Top 3 + the Quality winner.  For the last four rounds, this should still give the incentive to A) Send good fucking music, and B) Still send stuff that's a little out of the norm to earn the intangible points.

Bullshit!

If I knew this, it might have changed my strategy based on what was laid out in the OP. You can't change the rules on scoring halfway through.  This should've been made clear in the OP from the start. My submissions probably would have been different.

[jingle.boy]

I really had to debate giving a couple of the top songs a 9.5, but for the moment, I'm waiting to see if there's still room for ya'll to give me even better tunes on the back half of this thing.

Now, as for the matter of scores that are propped up due to the Hangman intangibles (cough … Tim … cough).  After Round 8, if the person with the highest Quality score is *NOT* in the Top 3 overall, then I'm going to have a final four style tournament with the Top 3 + the Quality winner.  For the last four rounds, this should still give the incentive to A) Send good fucking music, and B) Still send stuff that's a little out of the norm to earn the intangible points.

Bullshit!

If I knew this, it might have changed my strategy based on what was laid out in the OP. You can't change the rules on scoring halfway through.  This should've been made clear in the OP from the start. My submissions probably would have been different.

Your strategy should always have been to send good music .  I'm not *changing* the rules on scoring, I'm adding in a bonus round as this scoring system was never intended to overtly reward the mediocre songs that score well because no one has heard of them, or they're hard to spell. If I'd known that's how people were going to play, I would've put this bonus round in from the start.  Clearly, there has been an unintended consequence of this scoring system that I didn't foresee.  I think I was pretty clear from the start that I still wanted quality songs, and was also clear for the past couple of rounds I may modify something so as to motivate people to focus on that.

I'd hoped this would still be a normal played roulette, with just a bit of added FUN to motivate people to send out-of-their-comfort-zone music.  I always thought these roulette's were about having fun and sharing great music, winning is just an added bonus.

P.S.  As it stands now, you're not in a winning position with OR without the bonus round. 

[TAC]

P.S.  As it stands now, you're not in a winning position with OR without the bonus round. 

Oh, well, carry on then..


Seriously, if half of my score is obscurity and the half quality, then it's a balance and if they weren't weighted the same, that would've or could've changed my submissions. Maybe I have to read your proposal more carefully.

[jingle.boy]

P.S.  As it stands now, you're not in a winning position with OR without the bonus round. 

Oh, well, carry on then..


Seriously, if half of my score is obscurity and the half quality, then it's a balance and if they weren't weighted the same, that would've or could've changed my submissions. Maybe I have to read your proposal more carefully.

No, you got it right.  It is setup so that 1/2 the points are hangman related; 1/2 are quality of the music.  I couldn't really figure out a way to simplistically skew it a little more towards quality.  But I still hoped quality would be the first thing to focus on.

Everyone carry on!  I'm enjoying how all of this is playing out so far.  And truthfully, the prospect of adding a couple of bonus rounds for some more good music is not a bad thing.

[lonestar]

I'll definitely take another quality win... 3/4 rounds now.


You got my next one...hopefully this will get some obscurity points as well.

[King Postwhore]

I really had to debate giving a couple of the top songs a 9.5, but for the moment, I'm waiting to see if there's still room for ya'll to give me even better tunes on the back half of this thing.

Now, as for the matter of scores that are propped up due to the Hangman intangibles (cough … Tim … cough).  After Round 8, if the person with the highest Quality score is *NOT* in the Top 3 overall, then I'm going to have a final four style tournament with the Top 3 + the Quality winner.  For the last four rounds, this should still give the incentive to A) Send good fucking music, and B) Still send stuff that's a little out of the norm to earn the intangible points.

Bullshit!

If I knew this, it might have changed my strategy based on what was laid out in the OP. You can't change the rules on scoring halfway through.  This should've been made clear in the OP from the start. My submissions probably would have been different.

[Evermind]

I don't care about the bonus round one way or another, I'm having too much fun with the anonymity/predictability hangman thing.

Unless I'm in the first place after Round 8, then no bonus rounds please.

[jingle.boy]

I'll definitely take another quality win... 3/4 rounds now.

Win... tie...
Potato ... po-tah-to

I don't care about the bonus round one way or another, I'm having too much fun with the anonymity/predictability hangman thing.

It's like watching (Lethal Weapon 1) Mel Gibson deciding which bad guy to kill first.

Litho is your 'Gary Busey'

[lonestar]

I'll definitely take another quality win... 3/4 rounds now.

Win... tie...
Potato ... po-tah-to

Tie for another win..split the difference.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Adding a bonus round which may feature a quality score winner who is underperforming in intangibles probably isn't going to significantly shift my strategy, since I'm only sending stuff I'd had on my shortlist already anyway at this point.  I have more stops to pull out if I get desperate though.  I still think the rules prioritize attempting to game hangman more than actually trying to send "out of comfort zone" music, but I have no issues with the bonus round, if I don't start bombing it just potentially gives me room for one more song I'd have otherwise had to cut. 

Litho: Hordes in Exile / The Emptiness In Which You Hide

Fantastic Melodic Metal tune - right in my wheelhouse… like RIGHT in it.  The guitar work in the bridges is delicious.  Every ingredient here contributes to a great recipe - beautiful vocals, great guitar work in the bridges between verses (and splashed throughout the main rhythm), bright keyboard work to complement the main melody starting in the 2nd chorus.  Kade might want to check this out, as 2/3 of the members from Solution .45, one of whom was also the original vocalist from Scar Symmetry.  This was some wow-worthy music, I'll definitely be following this (assuming it's going to be a 2024 release?).

I'm hoping that it could become Christian's version of The Night Flight Orchestra, which had been quite successful for Speed Strid.  It's always been obvious he's had the potential for something like this given some of Scar Symmetry's choruses, but so far almost everything he's done is more a balance of cleans and growls.  He's done some harsh only-albums, but not much clean-only, so this one was refreshing and it's cool that my intuition about it paid off.