Round 6: EmotionalOnce again, this was a terrific round, and I just keep discovering more exciting music, so thank you everyone! As always I ranked the songs through a combination of how much I liked the song and how well it fit the theme (and also how well it obeyed the rules, UMH…)
5 points - TheVoxyn
Ólafur Arnalds -
3055 (
https://listen.grooveshark.com/s/30+55/26Iiiy)
You’ve really pulled it out of the bag these last couple of rounds! This is just such a wonderful piece of music. I love how it starts very mellow and minimalist, with just a simple, sad theme played on the piano and strings, but as the song builds up the tone changes to something very happy and optimistic sounding. Definitely an emotional ride, and just perfectly executed throughout, I felt melancholy at the start and upbeat by the end. I’ve never heard of this guy before, but I’m really interested in checking out the album now.
4 points - DTVT
Kevin Gilbert -
Song for a Dead Friend (
https://listen.grooveshark.com/s/Song+For+A+Dead+Friend/E6qVK)
This is such a sad song, musically and lyrically. I haven’t had anyone in my life commit suicide and so I can’t relate personally, but obviously I can still empathise with situations beyond my own experience, and the lyrics here really do such a great job to help that. The line “What could I have told you to make you think again” in particular is incredibly upsetting, the first time I listened through while following the words, I had a tear in my eye. Aside from the lyrics though, the music is beautiful as well, very mellow and perfect for the subject matter, and the vocal performance is very emotional. I’m glad you sent me this song, as I haven’t got round to checking out any Kevin Gilbert yet, but now I’m a lot more excited about it.
4 points - sonatafanica
Björk -
Joga (
https://listen.grooveshark.com/s/J+ga/z1NsL)
This is my first proper experience of Björk’s music, and I have to say I really love it! Her voice is pretty strange, but I really like it a lot, even though I find it hard to really explain why. When she hits the first words of each line in the pre-chorus bits (“Emotional landscapes”, etc) there is such great power and feeling in her voice. I love the lyrics as well; they’re also slightly odd (I get the feeling that everything to do with her is weird in some way) but they clearly tell of the highs and lows of being very close to someone. I can’t work out if it’s a friend or a lover she refers to, but either way, both the words and the music paint a very strong picture of a relationship with ups and downs.
3 points - antigoon
John Mayer -
Dreaming With a Broken Heart (
https://listen.grooveshark.com/s/Dreaming+With+A+Broken+Heart/2DcKzq)
Another sad song, again very well executed, both musically and lyrically. It maybe lacks the soul-destroying emotional punch in the face that DTVT’s entry has, but on the flip side it’s something that is much easier to relate to: the ending of a relationship, and dealing with the aftermath, which is something that most of us have had to deal with at least once in our lives. Some of the lines really hit me quite hard (the first two, for example) as I had a pretty hard break-up a few months ago and, while I’m fine now, I still remember pretty vividly what a state I was in at the time. The music is great too, simple and very soulful pop-rock, and again I love the vocal performance.
3 points - zxlkho
Buckethead -
For Mom (
https://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/For+Mom/bYUcR)
Interestingly this is the first time I’ve received two entries by the same artist! I know very little about Buckethead, only that he plays guitar, was briefly in G’n’R, and releases something like an album a month. This was a really good instrumental piece though, written when his mother was battling cancer, and what I really love is how optimistic the music sounds. There are some sadder sounding sections, but for large parts of it the music is very attractive and upbeat, which I think portrays either how he was feeling at the time, or possibly even how he wanted to feel even when he found it hard. Really nice stuff, and thanks for informing me of the context of it, as knowing it definitely gives the tune some emotional impact.
2 points - orcus116
Alice in Chains -
Rotten Apple (
https://listen.grooveshark.com/s/Rotten+Apple/3mUgYO)
I think you used the perfect description for the concept and lyrics in this song: soul-crushing. It’s clear that he is regretting loss of innocence; I can’t tell whether he refers to himself or people in general, but either way it’s clearly something he feels strongly about. I really like the music as well, it’s got a great feel to it and I love the bluesy chorus. The one thing that gets in the way of me really enjoying it is Layne Staley’s voice, which isn’t bad but I’ve heard a couple of AIC songs before and I always just find his voice slightly bland, and this is a great example where I don’t think he’s strong enough to deliver the emotional punch that the song deserves. Having said that, after a few listens I was starting to get used to it, so I’ll give the album a listen at some point!
2 points - Ultimetalhead
Buckethead -
Soothsayer (
https://listen.grooveshark.com/s/Soothsayer+dedicated+To+Aunt+Suzie+/5Q87f)
Another Buckethead tune, and again this is really good stuff. This time the track is about someone close passing away, and it’s interesting that this song actually goes into some quite rocking sections. The emotion is clear in his playing and in the music itself, particularly in the first solo (or possibly the bit just before… the problem with solo guitar music is that it’s hard to tell what is solo and what is melody) which is just fantastic. In general this is a really good song and between this and Ryan’s entry I’m very inclined to check Buckethead out properly now. The main reason this one has only managed 2 points while Ryan’s got 3: you failed to keep to the 8 minute time limit!
1 point - Portrucci
Neu! -
Lilac Angel (
https://listen.grooveshark.com/s/Lila+Engel+lilac+Angel+/2IcwGZ)
I’m a little torn over this song, and I feel kinda bad for giving it only 1 point as it has some really cool ideas, I just liked it less than the other entries. You certainly seem to like your 70s German rock! I cranked the volume up like you suggested, and you’re right, it has a great amount of power to it and I’m quite a fan of the strange and slightly freaky vocals. My main gripes with the song are that I think I’m just not a fan of the production which even at high volume sounds quite odd and dated, and I’m also not a fan of the way the chord does not change once. I can appreciate the idea behind this, and I’ve heard similar songs do the same thing where it worked pretty well, but here it just meant I felt the song dragged on.
Rankings:antigoon - 21
TheVoxyn - 21
orcus116 - 20
DTVT - 18
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zxlkho - 17
sonatafanica - 17
Ultimetalhead - 16
Portrucci - 14
Well well well, there we have it. Sorry to those of you who haven't made the semi-finals, but honestly thanks so much for taking part; every single person has introduced me to
at least two bands/artists that I'm interested in checking out properly (or have already done so) and everyone submitted mostly really good songs.
Next:SEMI FINALSantigoon vs DTVT
TheVoxyn vs orcus116
The twist: I want you all to send
two songs this time - one heavy and one soft.
Topic: ariich's Song Roulette - all done (Read 50738 times)
