Houston... we have a problem.
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1. Big Hath
Acoustic Alchemy - Columbia16 points
This is the type of crisp, clean guitar sound that I LOVE in instrumental music. This reminds me a bit of a song called "Bellflower" from one of my favorite video games, Baten Kaitos. It's this gorgeous, vibrant acoustic sound that I don't know how else to describe. The bass tone is brilliant. The mood of the whole piece makes me think of a cool summer day, it's such a feel good mood. When I pick up my acoustic, I wish I could make sounds like this. This was so good I skimmed a couple Acoustic Alchemy albums, starting with this one. Even when it goes to distortion, it doesn't take away from the mood. Stellar track, seriously.
2. Tomislav95
Elliott Smith - Between the Bars15 points
Dave_Manchester has used this album cover as his avatar for as long as I can remember, so I've always wanted to check this out. I own Figure 8, but this song is so beautiful - it's better than anything on that record. He's got a lovely, almost sheepish voice, and the lyrics are poetic. Short and sweet and, yeah, I need this album.
3. Buddyhunter1
Gorillaz - Empire Ants14 points
Every time I hear a Gorillaz song, it sounds different from all the others I've heard. I think I like this one most of all. Very pretty synth sounds and I love how it builds on that simple motif from start to finish but never gets to be so busy that it ruins the vibe it's going for. This is super chill. I actually think this would be best served on my shower playlist, strangely enough. Sounds like the perfect soundtrack for a Jamaican hotbox
I love this!
4. Sacul
Glen Hansard - Bird of Sorrow13 points
Honestly, this one started off really low but was the biggest grower of the round. I have a couple nitpicks, like how quiet it is for a while at the beginning and end, and it takes some time to really pick up, but that back half has some powerful, emotive singing. I didn't really appreciate it for a few days until it finally clicked - I think the way he sings in the louder parts reminds me of Caleb Followill from Kings of Leon and once I made that connection it's like a light bulb went off. Followed along with the lyrics and woo boy. Heartbreaking song. I was just talking with someone about how I prefer sappy/sad songs to angst and what the difference is, and this is a good example of what I like in a sad sounding song. I do have a tendency to choke up to certain sounding songs; I didn't quite shed a tear, but I did get a little misty in one of my recent listens. Powerful stuff.
5. Elite
PreHistoric Animals - Burn the Ground12 points
I love the activity in this song, especially in the drums, and how it builds tension well - the hook is really good at that, generally that kind of rising melody leaves me hanging, but not here. I love that tight, slick bass line. Some really tasty synth bits peppered here and there (love the subtle piano behind the verses too). The rhythmic stuff in this song is pretty cool all around. Does this count as prog? Digging the vibe of this song a lot.
6. romdrums
Tides From Nebula - Dopamine11 points
Definitely a delightful texture to the synths in this track. I was trying to figure out what this reminded me of, and I think it sounds like the fusion of God Is An Astronaut and maybeshewill, coincidentally two of my favorite post-rock groups (if you count maybeshewill as post-rock? I do... I'm not good with genres anymore). The very measured tension is something those bands do well and I think these guys do it well too based on this song.
7. jingle.boy
Gerard McMann - Cry Little Sister (Theme from "Lost Boys")10 points
You tricked me into spilling the beans right after you sent this to me!
No, this is pretty darn good. Like I said, strong Peter Gabriel vibes. There is some wacky instrumental stuff going on in this one, stuff just pops out of nowhere with sharp, loud sounds - but it's not a turnoff, it actually gives this track some charm. It's been on my brain all week, so good job.
8. Cyril
Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer9 points
I have a big celeb crush on TSwift despite not really knowing her music. She's a fucking babe.
I think this is the song where I draw the line between songs I really really like and songs that I like but lack a certain
je ne sais quoi that makes them score higher. There are some basic bitch bubblegum pop melodies in this that I feel I've heard a million times growing up with my older sister and top 40 radio, but that "I'm drunk in the back of the car" hook just won't get out of my head and I love the mood of this song (and the beat is nice, too). I watched this music video a lot, so, thanks for worsening my celeb crush.
9. Kwyjibo
Thunder - Laughing on Judgement Day8 points
Hey, this is a fun rocker. The drums and guitar remind me of mid-period Toto, actually. Nothing too heavy or hard to listen to, just straight up rock with a feel good vibe. Really dig the lyrical theme here. I feel like I've heard this singer a lot before? Maybe he just has that stereotypical rock star voice but he's pretty good. This sounds like a 90s rock song that wasn't corrupted by the 90s vibe. It's got groove but it's not over the top which is cool. This was really fun to play while driving. So although it's not my favorite song this round - there's just a lot to go up against - I liked this and it grew on me. I actually got away with playing this at work this week and one of my coworkers even liked it
10. Stadler
Jellyfish - The King Is Half-Undressed7 points
Despite the ranking, I do like this - I'm just having a hard time finding something I really like about it. It's not bad. The verses are really nice with the steady rise and fall of the melody and that cool drum beat, it reminds me a little of Mike Portnoy - I know he's a fan, maybe that has something to do with it. It's easy to say again that this song is a victim of its competition, it's almost a cliché at this point, but it's true. Got me interested in this band though, which is good!
11. TAC
Shooting Star - Last Chance6 points
If I'm being honest here, I neither like nor dislike most of this song, it just doesn't do much of anything for me. What I do like, however, is the instrumental section, and what the rest of the band does under the vocals in the back end of the track. Those really brief drum solos are dope, and I like the sense of melody with the keys throughout. I think if I was bigger on extravagant classic rock I would dig this more.
12. Ruba
Jinjer - Perennial5 points
This was... surprising? I did not like this as soon as I heard the growls, but I let it play. I had to come back to it numerous times to be as fair as possible to the growls. While I don't like those, I like the woman's voice (is she doing the growls too? doesn't sound like it), and what saves this song is the halfway mark where it breaks down and gets soft. That's what I like most, especially her singing here. But overall... not sure this is really doing much for me. There are parts I like but I'm not itching to come back to this...
13. ariich
The Decemberists - The Island4 points
First of all, I *promise* this is not retribution for getting the boot in your roulette and it kind of bothers me that this is the song that gets last place
Okay, look, I'll be honest, I don't dislike this song, I just think it's too long for its own good. There's one section I quite like, it's "The Landlord's Daughter" section with that really fun triplet feel, the guitars and especially the keys are lively and going at it. But the lead-up to that, and basically everything after the 9 minute mark, kind of leave me restless and wanting more. It certainly isn't what I was expecting from The Decemberists (for some reason I was thinking indie/folk rock instead of prog folk, which is a wacky combination in my mind). I wish I liked this more because I know you really enjoy this, unfortunately it's just not clicking with me... sorry, bud, however, I appreciate the boldness of this submission!
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So, who are the unlucky ones who gotta am-scray? Well...
The Score So Far...
1. Tomislav95 / 14, 13, 15 / 42 points
2. Cyril / 16, 15, 9 / 40 points
3. jingle.boy / 13, 14, 10 / 37 points
4. Buddyhunter1 / 15, 7, 14 / 36 points
7. Stadler / 8, 16, 7 / 31 points
7. romdrums / 9, 11, 11 / 31 points
7. Elite / 7, 12, 12 / 31 points
8. Big Hath / 5, 8, 16 / 29 points
9. ariich / 12, 10, 4 / 26 points
10. Kwyjibo / 11, 5, 8 / 24 points
13. Ruba / 10, 6, 5 / 21 points
13. Sacul / 4, 4, 13 / 21 points
13. TAC / 6, 9, 6 / 21 points
14. wolfking / 3, 3 / 6 points
15. kingshmegland / 2 points
16. Puppies_On_Acid / 1 point
Uh... Okay! I guess we're having a quick Thunderdome Tiebreaker. Three men enter, one man leaves. Ruba, Sacul, TAC, send me your best. Whoever wins gets 3 points to tie with Kwyjibo. Good luck. The tiebreaker will be fast, assuming I get the songs quickly, and within a day or so I will announce the winner.
(Because some have expressed concern and I need to address it: there will be a score squish after round 5, because the scoring for the last 3 rounds will be different, and I don't want the difference in first and last place to be absurdly wide.)
Newly Banned Artists
Gunship
VOLA
Hank Williams, Jr.
Los Lobotomys
Vanden Plas
Foxy Shazam
Blue Murder
Arion
Bon Iver
Gary Moore
Slipknot
Acoustic Alchemy
Elliott Smith
Gorillaz
Taylor Swift
Poll
Topic: Katt's Roulette 3.0 v. post-roulette jingle concept playlist thing results! (Read 30759 times)