RESULTS – ROUND 2: SadAnother very strong round, maybe even more so in fact as I found it very difficult to rank the songs, other than the first two.
6 points: Gorille
Music for Money – La MarcheI absolutely loved this from my first listen, such beautiful music. The melody at the start of the piece is just so haunting and sorrowful, and it never really lightens in mood throughout, even as the pace picks up. I hadn’t heard of these guys but it seems they’re a Canadian post-rock band, and I think I’ll be getting myself a copy of the album this is from.
5 points: Sigz
The Decemberists – A Record Year for RainfallAnother amazing song, and a strong contender for top spot. Lovely, sad, bleak folk music, with some nice but rather depressing lyrics. It’s also got a real rainy-day feel, which fits the title, and I think that’s part of why I like the whole package so much. The strings are used perfectly as well, they don’t really do much beyond playing some slow chords but it complements the acoustic guitars really well. Need to give these guys a proper listen sometime!
4 points: King
Dada – Star You AreAs with the previous song, the music here is really lovely, folk-inspired and melancholy. The song has such a nice vibe and very reflective feel to the music and lyrics. The lyrics don’t tug on my heartstrings as much as the Decemberists’ song though, I can relate to them but they don’t feel like they tell as much of a story. Great submission still!
4 points: LLTWM
Red House Painters – Katy SongYet another song about heartbreak.
I’ve heard an album by these guys before (I think their debut?) and it was alright but I didn’t find it particularly interesting, but I really liked this. I don’t know if it’s just more my thing or if I just liked how well it fit the mood of this round, but it felt a lot more convincing and real. Definitely put me in a very mellow mood.
3 points: Jingle
Johnny Van Zant – Brickyard RoadThe whole concept behind this song is just so moving, and the lyrics, while quite straightforward, are very heartfelt. I like the music a lot as well, but I have to say, I think I’d have found it more touching if it had stayed mellower like it is at the start. The mood there is so great, and as much I love the playing in the solo section, I just feel it sounds a little power-ballad which detracts from the subject matter for me. Still a really good song though, I had no idea Ronnie Van Zant’s brother was even a musician!
3 points: Raven
Depeche Mode – Sister of NightGood god this song is depressing.
The lyrics are fascinating (there seem to be a number of different interpretations, all of which seem valid!) and the music is dark and brooding. I do really like the vibe, but I dunno, the song hasn’t really grabbed me
that much yet. I’ve not listened to a great deal of Depeche Mode, but this song has intrigued me enough to want to give a full album a listen.
2 points: DTVT
Peter Gabriel – I GrieveThe first half of this song is the very definition of “melancholy”. It’s slow and minimalist, but sad in a reflective way, and I think that works really well. The music is actually quite pretty and uses major keys here and there, but still feels very sad because of the overall sonic approach. Very nice music, and moving lyrics as well, really putting across how hard we all find it to grieve and move on. As with Jingle’s song, I think I’d have found the song more effective if it had stayed mellow and serene, but the last couple of minutes are so upbeat musically that the effect is lost.
1 point: Ytse
Bullet for my Valentine – The EndI completely appreciate the fact that you went for something a bit unexpected here, because that’s exactly what I want to encourage, and indeed there are other heavier songs that evoke a feeling of sadness. But as much as I do enjoy this song, I just didn’t get any kind of sad feeling from it. Not a bad song at all, on the contrary it’s prompted me to give them a listen as I’ve never really bothered before. It just struck me as nothing special and to me it didn’t fit the round really.
The ScoresGorille: 5 + 6 = 11
Raven: 6 + 3 = 9
King: 3 + 4 = 7
LLTWM: 3 + 4 = 7
Sigz: 2 + 5 = 7
DTVT: 4 + 2 = 6
Ytse: 4 + 1 = 5
Jingle: 2 + 3 = 5
ROUND 3: Happy – In a quick turnaround, I want you all to go in the opposite direction and send me something that makes me feel happy! It doesn’t have to be happy/cheesy music itself or anything, although that would be good, but the important thing is that it makes me
feel happy. Go!
Topic: ariich's roulette of wonder, part II (Final results, PLUS AWARDS CEREMONY) (Read 25255 times)