Round 2 Results!!BolstersBig Big Train - Judas Unrepentant:
Hmm, 39 views, maybe the main video has quality issues or something? Whatever. I like that guitar for this specific round, but it doesn’t do much else for me than invoke joy, although the singer adapts very well and pretty much neglects the fact that I’m not really into the guitar. At the very least it’s safe to say this doesn’t have a very usual sound, which could be applauded, but you’re definitely not the only one in this round that has the original sound
. The vocals are starting to get very powerful near the 5th minute mark, which is probably my favorite part of the song, it makes the rest of the song more enjoyable aswell, which pretty much makes me forget everything that happened before, because it does barely stand out. Again, just a song that doesn’t really do much for me, surely has it’s moments, but goes on a bit too long for this type of song. This one along with the Riverside one, although at the bottom, have grown on me pretty well, making this round more action packed overall. This doesn’t feel like a real outstanding worst song unlike the Tom Waits one, so this score seems about right.
7/10Senecadawg2Riverside – Discard Your Fear:
Very first impression: cool bassline, I dig it. I’m not sure how to describe the intro, but it’s not all that uplifting sounding to me, though it gets beter in time,and building some tension is always ecxciting, no matter what mood. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re trying to score some more luck with a voice similar to that of Anathema. I’m in dire straits here, because there is something about that atmosphere for sure that makes it very fitting to the theme, but the singer, even though singing positive lyrics of overcoming fear and shame (if I’m observing this correctly), sounds pretty torn between happy and sad, I got a confirmation that it’s indeed the lyrics that make it uplifting like I expected, but it still feels a bit dull to me. First round of listening left me with this one and about two others that I didn’t really care for compared to the rest. After a few more listens though I realized maybe I gave this song a bit of a hard time at the start, it’s still not really strong IMO, but it’s not terrible either. The chorus is okay, but apart from that, nothing spectacular.
Final thoughts, definitely an artist I don’t want to forget, strangely, out of the ‘mediocre’ scores, this is the first artist I’m still not all that turned off by, they sound like they could potentially have stuff I would like, it’s just not this.
7/10EvermindMark Knopfler – Border Reiver:
Yeah, I decided to allow this one, I haven’t heard any Mark Knopfler solo stuff for atleast 5 years, and I can’t remember anything. You hate happy rounds because you usually don’t like the music yourself? Oh well, the only round I won in any of the rounds of Parama was when I sent a song I didn’t like myself either. What first drew my attention to Dire Straits however, was the guitars, but he appears to be more on the background with the guitar on his solo stuff (or during Border Reiver atleast). The intro is very good, builds up into this burst of happiness around 0:55. What places this song where it stands though, I’m a sucker for these small details they throw in, right here, it’s that sneaky violin and flute that keep returning. I never thought I’d be into that typical folk rock violin at the end, but it’s soothing in a way. Maybe not your most comfortable round, but this was an interesting song to say the least.
7,5/10MikemangioyPapadosio – Puddles for Oceans :
I’m eager to find out how many rounds you’ll survive without sending an artist I know the name of, but it’s surely interesting to discover new names. I feel like this artist’s main goal with this particular song was to keep their listeners happy/joyful, which is great for an uplifting round. Literally every instrument here gives off a happy vibe, that’s not something I’d expect at all from the bass particularly. They keep one theme for this 6 minute song and never stray away from it, may sound pretty boring when phrased like that, but it’s a very cool structure. One thing that kinda annoys me near the ending is that they have such a great, groovy guitar solo, and it almost gets buried under the other instruments, wasted potential right there.
7,5/10ParamaSigur Rós - Starálfur:
30 seconds into the youtube comments and I’m already reading weird shit about some guy trying to convince me that this is not Icelandic (which it clearly is) but a made up language by Sigur Rós. One google further and it seems they use that made up language to act as an instrument to fill in non written lyrics in the studio beforehand (or something like that), that’s a pretty interesting method actually. This does work with the happy theme very well, and beautiful is a good way to describe the music overall, it’s just a big contrast between this and most of the songs on this round, which are mostly pretty fast-paced, I’m glad I did receive something along these lines though, it really made me appreciate the way simplistic sounding music can be hard to craft properly, you shouldn’t worry that this one’s not well-crafted or anything though, I just can’t really find something in this song to really “latch onto”, so I find myself listening to it while minding my own business until it’s over and the next song starts. Basically a relaxing background song. I got my best friend, who happens to be Icelandic, to like this song
and he is the type of guy who listens to Drake and such, he probably doesn’t want to admit he dislikes an Icelandic song, has too much pride for it.
7,5/10Shadow Ninja 2.0Pineforest Crunch – Cup Noodle Song:
One thing’s for sure, you took the theme serious, according to your comments I’d think otherwise
. I don’t exactly have catalogs full of songs with female singers in them, but I’m usually very open to them, and I think it’s going to work out for you here just fine, because she fits really well with this type of song. It has all the things that your average happy song requires, a simple yet uplifting rhythm, catchy chorus, no instrumentals that distract from the theme. It’s still not a definite standout or anything, but that’s not what the song is going for anyway, and simplicity also has its gems. Definitely try not to lose those good music taste for atleast another.. 8 rounds, way to perform this round Shadow
.
8/10SplentMr. Mister - Kyrie:
Ah, some old-school pop/rock, two or three years ago I would’ve skipped this song and given you a 4 or something
, luckily I’ve been open to a lot of different genres and styles recently. And although these “foreign genres” aren’t anything like the stuff I listen to in my free time, it’s cool to explore them and listen to on various occasions. So the song, it’s short, it’s very happy, doesn’t do weird complex stuff to mess it up, catchy verse, which is usually not the part I enjoy most, and the ever returning chorus is great too. That bridge however, feels kinda useless to me, but it’s not too long so it doesn’t really make a difference. Solid song overall, I do however typically lean more towards the modern music, but there’s plenty of good old stuff out there that I still enjoy, but I would say this worked out in your favour because it’s just such a fun uplifting song. Both of the round 1 underdogs are shaping up this round
.
8/10SaculFlying Colors – Shoulda Coulda Woulda:
Definitely heard of this band, but only because Portnoy social media feed, never listened to any of their songs. This main guitar riff is great for sure, why does it remind me of TROAE though? I’m undoubtedly a fan of the upbeat sound, which continues to be great for the entire song. Not sure if Flying Colors are going for a Matt Bellamy voice, but it definitely sounds like he influenced them somehow, very Muse-y voice. Moving on to the guitar solo, exactly what I expect from an upbeat rock song, it’s fast-paced, not too much wankery, nice melodies, kinda feels like something Slash would write but a little faster. Not a big fan of the “Wanna reach back” part, that kinda bores me, but luckily it doesn’t go on for
too long. The singer doesn’t stand out too much compared to the instrumentals here, but he does a great job in the chorus, which is the only part where I really feel he ‘shines’. This is a good fit for the round but it’s still far from David Maxim Micic’s level.
Final thoughts: This is seemingly one of the most hated songs of the album, curious as to 1) what makes it so disliked 2) what else they have to offer on this album. This was probably one of the biggest growers of the round, at first I thought the singer was really grating, but I’ve come to appreciate it.
8/10425Tuomas Holopainen – A Lifetime of Adventure:
I definitely expected something Nightwish related sooner or later, but yeah since I know Evermind does the survivors I knew he would be a big fan too. I think you’re right about leaving Nightwish open, therefore it will just be Tuomas Holopainen that will be crossed off. I mean, this sounds nothing like the things I’ve heard from NW, besides, I just right now accepted Mark Knopfler, which is almost the same situation, reversed.
I like how this song has more of an atmospherically uplifting vibe than instrumentally. Judging from the video they also hired an orchestra of some sort, which is always a good way to create an atmosphere. It makes me feel so relaxed, I just can’t dislike it, not sure how you consider this to fall into the category of “songs only 425 seems to care for”, yours is most likely my favorite song of the round of all the atmospheric-ish songs (which aren’t too many, but just take the goddamn compliment). This wasn’t quite the song I expected a guitar solo to be included, but it works, it’s actually my favorite part of the song. I haven’t really mentioned the singer because it’s not really outstanding in any way, sure the melodies are catchy , but it’s not something I would return for.
8/10EliteBen Folds Five – One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces:
Wasn’t sure what to expect after seeing that song name, something quirky was the first thing to come to mind, and that’s pretty much what it is. The upbeat piano is really exciting, and it continues throughout the whole song, awesome! I’m glad someone sent me something like this, I now have a perfect example of odd lyrics that work very well for the style they’re going for, and the way they don’t take them too seriously. Also, I don’t think I have a single rock band in my catalog that incorporates such strong piano leads, but apparently I like it, a lot. Overall, one of those plain fun songs, that just gets you in that happy mood right away.
9/10TyriasCaravan Palace - Suzy:
Electro-swing is apparently what this is called. Upbeat is always the way to go, gets you pumped up and happy, so that’s good. This reminds me of an electronic and faster alternative of that Star Wars piano bar song. I didn’t see the movies but that song is awesome and energetic. The difference is that this song has the upbeat kick, and a very interesting singer, reminding me of Caro Emerald, a dutch jazz/pop singer, only this one sings way faster. You’re also the second person to send a song with a scat singer included
. I don’t know what it is, but those scat singers never feel out of placed, despite both of them were really oddly placed. If it wasn’t for the originality, you would’ve scored high anyway because it’s so damn happy and energetic. I used some of Caravan Palace’s songs at a common room party last night and it was generally liked very well
.
9/10LordCostJOLLY – Despite the Shell:
I was very interested in this song, the background info made it a very cool concept. So what these guys did is they recorded an album involving binaural tones, which supposedly invoke happiness, now I couldn’t find this anywhere, but I’ll take your word for it, they partnered with a scientific university to research the subject matter. Obviously, if I’m going to take this background information into account for your scoring, it’s going to be subconsciously.
I’m pretty sure you’re going to redeem that lack of confidence in roulette’s here, this song kicks ass. Naturally, I thought the tones in the beginning were those binaural tones they were talking about, nothing spectacular IMO, but soon enough the song shapes up, the verse raises some suspense or something, and then that chorus comes in, it feels SO powerful, not to mention uplifting, some simple guitar riffing, but they’re strong as hell. Groovy bassline near the 2nd minute mark could’ve been mixed a little better in my opinion, but great nonetheless, and the guitar solo following after does not feel out of place at all, and short enough to keep the main vibe going. Finally, something I wouldn’t ever have dared to expect from the album called “Audio Guide to Happiness”, I’m of course talking about that breakdown, it’s the heaviest thing I’ve gotten this whole round, and it’s strangely fitting, but not all too impressive. This is probably my favorite song of the round on first listen. Now almost ready to evaluate for this round and it’s grown on me even more, this is now my favorite song of both rounds!
9,5/10Current StandingsElite: 17,5
Sacul: 17
Tyrias: 17
LordCost: 17
Senecadawg2: 16,5
425: 16
Evermind: 16
Parama: 15
Mikemangioy: 15
Bolsters: 15
Splent: 14,5
Shadow Ninja: 13
Banned during roulette
JOLLY
Anathema
David Maxim Micic
Caravan Palace
Ben Folds Five
Leprous
IQ
Flying Colors
Azedia
Kamelot
Mr. Mister
Pineforest Crunch
Journey
Pain of Salvation
Sigur Rós
PFM
Creed
Tuomas Holopainen
Mark Knopfler
Papadosio
Riverside
Big Big Train
Scale the Summit
Tom WaitsSo overall this round had a better average, I enjoyed it a lot, lots of upsides, no
real downsides. I know I said it last round too, but don't feel rushed sending, this time around I won't be starting to listen until atleast wednesday.
Round 3 is Wherever I May Roam as mentioned, free round.
Topic: Train of Naught Debut Roulette - And the winner is... (Read 52424 times)
