The Walrus's Lead-Free Roulette -- now exploring every roulette submission ever

[TAC]

 

[Sacul]

literally me

[The Walrus]

 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

[jingle.boy]

Personally I don't care about scores at all and only play to send music I like, so either way works for me.

But if my scores keep doing down I will send you some really shitty stuff.

This ^
AND
This v

No. Your score are how you felt. Good or bad for me it's what you liked or disliked. Don't change the scoring. 

I'm not a fan of people changing the scoring methodology part-way thru.  You don't need to cater to anyone's feelings.  If people are participating in a roulette are gonna get butt-hurt over their scores, they should probably not play.  Sharing music first; scoring/ranking second.  Of course everyone wants to be competitive and win in this 'game', but there's no need to 'penalize' the people who are sending you the music that most appeals to you in order to soothe the snowflakes who are sucking wind.  I don't think I've seen anyone crying the blues over their poor scores - it's kind of expected with the terrible taste in music you have 

All that said, it's your roulette... you make the call.

PS.  1.5 good songs.  That's it.

[Evermind]

I'm not a fan of people changing the scoring methodology part-way thru.

I 100% agree with this.

But if my scores keep doing down I will send you some really shitty stuff.

Also this

[King Postwhore]

By my scoring,  I'm already senting shity shit.

[Podaar]

Yeah, I didn't get in this roulette to achieve a good score, WalKatRusElox. I listen to a lot of music that isn't metal and or prog. I simply thought I could contribute. Don't change the scoring system.

[wolfking]

I am all ready to post results, but I have noticed something. I do not check what anybody's scores are until I have the write-ups finished and ordered in the order I score them. What I've noticed though is that with so many players, there is a score gap that is widening rapidly. With the current scores, there is a 2.8 point gap between first and last place. With so many participants, I'm wondering if anybody would like to see a 'squish' - I would add up the scores this round, then divide them in 2, effectively cutting the gap in half. I would maybe do it again at the end of round 6.

I offer this because I've struggled to come up with a decent scoring system for so many people, I guess, and the huge gap means it'll be impossible for a lot of people to catch up with others, and I don't want to do a squish without asking first. For example there's a sizeable gap between last place and the person just above them as well as another noticeable gap between two other sets of players. The scores in the results would remain as is, I would just do the squish once (now) and then once again 2 rounds from now. That's it.

So yeah feel free to chime in. Results will be posted sometime tomorrow after chewing on this for a while.

Like I mean part of me thinks "well that's how the game is played, you send worse stuff you get left behind" but I pick bad scoring systems 

No.

The gaps are in the results have occurred for a reason.

[ariich]

Also, if someone is 2.8 points behind, they just need to do a Shadow Ninja and make an epic comeback.

[jingle.boy]

Also, if someone is 2.8 points behind, they just need to do a Shadow Ninja and make an epic comeback.

Or you.

[ariich]

Also, if someone is 2.8 points behind, they just need to do a Shadow Ninja and make an epic comeback.

Or you.

Try 11 points behind after round 4. And 5.7 points behind going into the final. Puppies does have pretty extreme scoring though.

[Evermind]

By the way now that I know my score won't be that great, I'm going to send stuff from 90s and earlier because why not, maybe it'll go better for me

[The Walrus]

All right, the people have spoken, here we go.

*   *   *

Indiscipline: Janis Ian [7.9]
1. Applause
2. Sweet Sympathy
3. Dance With Me
4. Stars

My guy, as often as I came back to this, I honestly can say I struggle even now to think of anything to say about this. It's completely, 100% inoffensive, but also does nothing for me. It is not bad, and her voice is just fine, but that's it: it's all just fine. I don't dislike this, but I don't really like it either.

*   *   *

kingshmegland: CPR [8.0]
1. Morrison
2. That House
3. Breathless
4. Katie Did

I don't like the singer and the hooks are weak. That said... The songs groove. They stay right in the pocket and just groove on for the duration of the songs. Good musicians, I just do not like the singer or the vocal melodies, although Katie Did is okay. It's just kind of standard light rock stuff though, feel like it's retreading very familiar ground.

*   *   *

Evermind: Ori and the Blind Forest OST [8.0]
1. Gareth Coker ft. Aeralie Brighton - Ori, Lost in the Storm
2. Gareth Coker ft. Rachel Mellis - Naru, Embracing the Light
3. Gareth Coker - Kuro's Tale I - Her Rage
4. Gareth Coker ft. Aeralie Brighton - The Spirit Tree
5. Gareth Coker - Kuro's Tale II - Her Pain
6. Gareth Coker ft. Aeralie Brighton - Approaching the End
7. Gareth Coker - Fleeing Kuro
8. Gareth Coker ft. Aeralie Brighton - The Sacrifice
9. Gareth Coker ft. Aeralie Brighton - Light of Nibel

First the good. It's composed well and it sounds beautiful. The arrangements are lush. But most of the times I played this, the first six tracks all blur together and don't have much to say. I like the last three tracks, but at the same time they lack something that makes them stand out. It's very pretty, but I wish it was more memorable.

*   *   *

Buddyhunter1: Harmonix Music Systems (Amplitude) [8.0]
1. Perfect Brain
2. I.C.U.
3. Human Love
4. Energize

Hey, this was all right. I don't dislike it, but nothing's really standing out to me other than Energize. They all have a frantic energy to them and the sound is just a nice pleasant electronic rush, but it's not so memorable to me. Always meant to check out Amplitude but never could. Music sounds cool at least.

*   *   *

Bolsters: HAIM [8.0]
1. Falling
2. Want You Back
3. The Wire
4. Forever
5. Running If You Call My Name

This is nice! It's both fun and upbeat, and although it's not as compelling as some of the other submissions you've sent, it's not bad at all. The hooks are all good. I feel like the verses could be a bit stronger, and maybe the arrangements aren't standing out as super unique, but I enjoy all the songs nonetheless. I keep wishing the songs were just a bit faster, but that's a me problem. Overall, it had fierce competition this round, but I still had fun listening to these songs.

Sacul: Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill series) [8.1]
1. Heaven's Night
2. Null Moon
3. Letter From the Lost Days
4. Breeze in Monochrome Night
5. Room of Angel

This was nice! I didn't expect Silent Hill to have such chill lo fi beats you can study to. They're not kicking my ass or anything, but it's a nice surprise, and even if I don't like the Silent Hill games, at least it's cool knowing there's some neat mood music in their soundtracks.

*   *   *

Elite: Algiers [8.1]
1. Walk Like a Panther
2. Dispossession
3. Mme Rieux
4. And When You Fall
5. The Cycle/The Spiral: Time To Go Down Slowly

This is all over the place. Dispossession is probably my favorite, but Mme Rieux and Walk Like A Panther are great as well. Not sure what kind of music you'd call this, but it sounds experimental and fresh. It's also kind of a difficult listen, but I bet a whole album of this would be interesting. While I don't love it, I do like it quite a bit.

*   *   *

Shadow Ninja 2.0: Cloud Cult [8.2]
1. Chemicals Collide (live)
2. No One Said It Would Be Easy (live)
3. Complicated Creation (live)
4. Love and the First Law of Thermodynamics (live)
5. Good Friend (live)

I expected some crazy electronic prog metal based on the track names. This was fun to watch. The singer's voice isn't exactly my cup of tea, but it was fun to listen to these and I liked the whole band joining in on the singing and the spirit of the music. Oddly charming folky stuff, I dig it.

Puppies_On_Acid: Imogen Heap [8.3]
1. 2-1
2. Closing In
3. The Moment I Said It
4. I'm God

I always thought Imogen Heap was the name of a rap collective. I am the clown. Anyway, this is really nice. She has a great voice, but the music is a bit sleepy. I'm God is my favorite here; not sure what Clams Casino brings to the party, probably the beat? But it's fantastic, I wish all the songs were like that one. The others are good, don't get me wrong, but that's how much I like I'm God.

*   *   *

Big Hath: Eric Johnson [8.4]
1. Zap
2. SRV
3. Manhattan
4. Camel's Night Out

Okay, so, honestly, I was hoping to hear something more far out than this - it's rather familiar, and I felt guitar soloing fatigue after multiple listens. However... it's really good. His tone is amazing, and his phrasing is great. These are fun to listen to, and the tribute to SRV is a delight. I gotta say though, these ain't no Cliffs of Dover.

*   *   *

wolfking: Eric Johnson [8.4]
1. Lonely in the Night
2. Trail of Tears
3. Emerald Eyes

This is good, but also disappointing because I was hoping Eric Johnson would have something a bit more adventurous than this. It's good. It's really good, actually. But it's just rock, albeit coated in layers of 80s neon and keyboards. However, it's very good rock from one of the guitar greats. His playing and tone in Emerald Eyes is just divine. But overall, to me, it felt like a lot of songs I've heard a bunch already. VERY GOOD songs, might I add. I gotta say though, these ain't no Cliffs of Dover.

*   *   *

HOF: Crowded House/Neil Finn/Split Enz [8.5]
1. She Goes On
2. Love This Life
3. Message To My Girl
4. Don't Dream It's Over
5. Better Be Home Soon

This is pleasant! Don't be mistaken - I think this is quite good. It's just rather plain light rock to my ears. Don't Dream It's Over is clearly the standout star here, I know I've heard it before but it's so much better now that I've had the chance to really focus on it. She Goes On is another highlight, and I like Better Be Home Soon as a closer to this group. I would probably check out a Crowded House record; it's not blowing my mind, but it is good for what it is.

*   *   *

ariich: Regina Spektor [8.6]
1. The Calculation
2. Human of the Year
3. One More Time With Feeling
4. Après Moi
5. Samson

She has a lovely voice, and I've wanted to check out her music for a long time. This is a bit quirkier than I expected, but again I love her voice so it's nice. The Calculation is okay, but I think the stars here are Apres Moi and Samson. Those are the best songs in my opinion. One More Time With Feeling is really nice, too. There's a nice positive energy to her music that I could use more of so I'll definitely be checking out more of her stuff.

*   *   *

romdrums: Gogo Penguin [8.7]
1. Seven Sons of Bjorn
2. Unspeakable World
3. Bardo

VERY fun music here. Seven Sons of Bjorn is my favorite of the bunch but they're all almost equally good. Where I expected weird maybe pop-jazz-rock stuff, I got smart jazzy piano playing that I found very engaging. Never heard of this artist - probably the most ill-fitting name for stuff like this - but wow, I'm sold.

*   *   *

Podaar: Bob James & Keiko Matsui [8.8]
1. Frozen Lake
2. Divertimento
3. Bach Chorale

Lovely, lovely piano playing, absolutely gorgeous. In fact it's the one record I tried to look up to purchase before posting results, unfortunately it's impossible to find a physical copy of this anywhere on the planet, apparently. The conversation between the keyboards and piano on Frozen Lake is delightful - Divertimento is like a playful studious trip down memory lane to my college days - Bach Chorale is a lovely excerpt from a larger Bach piece. All played exquisitely with beautiful sounding pianos. Exceptional.

*   *   *

jingle.boy: George Michael/Wham [9.1]
1. Faith
2. Everything She Wants
3. Freedom! '90
4. Father Figure

This was a surprise and a big grower. Initially I didn't like it much, but now I like it all. Faith isn't exactly the kind of song I'll go back to, but it's nice enough. Everything She Wants is the highlight here, it reeks of wanting to be Michael Jackson so badly, but it's a good song with a great hook. Freedom and Father Figure are lovely tunes with some infectious hooks. George Michael can sing. He has a great voice. This was really good.

*   *   *

Stadler: Tori Amos [9.1]
1. Cornflake Girl
2. Crucify
3. Josephine
4. Glory of the '80s

Love at first listen. Cornflake Girl is a bit so-so; it's good and I like the piano riffing but the part of the hook where the band drops out and she carries this awkward melody ruins it for me. But the other three? It's good. Jesus, it's good. The grooves are so 90s (in a good way - I love the vibe), the melodies are stunning, and her voice delivers them perfectly. I love this and hope she has more stuff like these songs.

*   *   *

Train of Naught: Clarence Clarity [9.2]
1. Buck-Toothed Particle Smashers
2. W€ CHANG£
3. Those Who Can't, Cheat
4. The Gospel Truth
5. Porn Mountain

This is the roulette for weird music, and this is some focking weird music, dude. I had whiplash with this. First I didn't like it - too weird! - to not knowing what to think about it. Now I love it. Each song is distinct from one another, and they all have strong melodies and hooks that weren't immediately connecting with me but after a while I started loving them. This was kind of like a shock to the system - and I like it a lot. This is awesome, definitely looking them up after the roulette. It's incredibly unique.

*   *   *

1. Bolsters:    9.2 / 9.3 / 8.4 / 8.0 [34.9]
2. Elite:   9.0 / 8.6 / 9.1 / 8.1 [34.8]
3. Stadler:    8.2 / 8.8 / 8.6 / 9.1 [34.7]
4. Train:    8.1 / 9.4 / 7.9 / 9.2 [34.6]
5. Big Hath:    8.8 / 9.1 / 8.2 / 8.4 [34.5]
5. romdrums:    8.4 / 8.4 / 9.0 / 8.7 [34.5]
7. ariich:    8.9 / 8.8 / 8.1 / 8.6 [34.4]
7. Buddy:    8.5 / 9.2 / 8.7 / 8.0 [34.4]
9. wolfking:    8.7 / 8.9 / 8.1 / 8.4 [34.1]
10. Pup:    9.2 / 8.6 / 7.9 / 8.3 [34.0]
10. Indi:   9.1 / 8.2 / 8.8 / 7.9 [34.0]
12. Sacul:    7.8 / 8.5 / 9.1 / 8.1 [33.5]
13. HOF:    7.9 / 8.2 / 8.8 / 8.5 [33.4]
14. Evermind:   8.6 / 8.7 / 8.0 / 8.0 [33.3]
15. Shadow:    8.2 / 9.4 / 7.4 / 8.2 [33.2]
15. Podaar:   8.3 / 8.4 / 7.7 / 8.8 [33.2]
17. jingle:    8.0 / 8.0 / 7.6 / 9.1 [32.7]
18. king:    7.9 / 8.6 / 7.6 / 8.0 [32.1]

Banned from future rounds:
Return to Forever
Caravan Palace
Mos Def
múm
The Midnight
Kip Winger/Winger
Hiroyuki Sawano
Sublime
Amethystium
Steve Earle
Sarah McLachlan
Hall & Oates
Frank Zappa
Federation of the Disco Pimp
Nicolas Jaar
Tower of Power
Jean-Luc Ponty

CHVRCHES
Jason Isbell
Janelle Monáe
Revo
Submotion Orchestra
Icehouse
Ulver
The Weeknd
Stevie Wonder
Enigma
Elvis Presley
Squarepusher
Vince Gill
Joe Jackson
Justice
Sweet Billy Pilgrim
Damian Wilson

Mree
Kamasi Washington
Toby Fox
Kevin Gilbert/Giraffe
Pentangle
The Cat Empire
Keith Emerson
Jimmy Barnes
Tenhi
Jeff Beck
Vulfpeck
Saltillo
Easily Embarrassed
Bohren & der Club of Gore
Paul Buchanan/The Blue Nile
Bullmark/Arion Salazar
The Feeling
Duran Duran

Clarence Clarity
Tori Amos
George Michael/Wham
Bob James & Keiko Matsui
Gogo Penguin
Regina Spektor
Crowded House/Split Enz/Neil Finn
Eric Johnson
Imogen Heap
Cloud Cult
Algiers
Akira Yamaoka
HAIM
Harmonix Music Systems
Gareth Coker/Ori and the Blind Forest
CPR
Janis Ian

[Evermind]

Despite this 8.0, you should play that game dude. The music is infinitely better in context I think.

Sending in the next couple of hours

[The Walrus]

I've wanted to play it for a long time! Is it on Switch yet? If it is I'll check it out

[Evermind]

No idea as I don't own a Switch

[Elite]

Not too bad (but it is considering previous rounds). I let everybody catch up now

Okay, I'll have to improve next round!

[The Walrus]

I just looked it up; the definitive edition is $19.99 on the Switch shop. Yay! But I have too much to play right now. I'll keep an eye out for a sale and grab it then, otherwise I'll wait for my backlog to clear.

Elite, I have a feeling Algiers is gonna be one of those artists that I'll enjoy a lot more over time, especially after listening to an album. Ideally I'd like to listen to an album by each and every artist sent in this roulette (as long as I enjoyed them), so where would you suggest I start? They have a cool style.

[Elite]

I'd say go with The Underside of Power, which three of the songs I picked are from.
But somebody will come in and disagree with me, probably. They're all good

[HOF]

Fair review and score. Crowded House are a pop band first and foremost, but I could have pushed the envelope a little more if I wasn't trying to avoid the rock stuff. Their music can actually be pretty odd ball (and Split Enz is really odd ball. Despite Tim and Neil Finn being outstanding songwriters, that band is sometimes unlistenable to me). My favorite album is probably Temple of Low Men, but the debut has Don't Dream It's Over and they are all pretty strong. Neil Finn's solo albums are great too, I just decided to lean CH heavy. Another album I really like is The Finn Brothers album with Neil and Tim Finn together.

[The Walrus]

Don't Dream It's Over has been on my brain all week. That is such a great song.

[HOF]

Don't Dream It's Over has been on my brain all week. That is such a great song.

There's something about the groove that's infectious. Something happens in the transition from the last verse to the chorus where the base line seems to shift subtly that I just love. It's hard to explain. They also flip around the way they sign "hey now, hey now," (usually it's short long long long, on that one it's long long short long). Little things like that get me.

[Elite]

You never heard Don't Dream It's Over before?

[King Postwhore]

So Tim. Sounds like Toto eh?

[The Walrus]

I'd heard the "hey now, hey now" before in other contexts but I never knew any of the rest of the song.

I heard a bit of early 90s Steve Lukather-ish Toto at times in CPR.

[Train of Naught]

I think this is my first round win in a looong time, and I'm very happy it's with Clarence. The No NOW album is fantastic front to back, big recommend. The other album is great too but definitely weaker (the only song I sent off that is W€ CHANG£, which arguably has the weirdest moment on this playlist with the random Christmas breakdown

And I agree with Elite on Underside of Power for Algiers, and with you that Algiers takes time to fully appreciate (from personal experience anyway). I almost eliminated Cyril when he sent me them some years back and now I love them

P.S. time for my first rap submission, hope you enjoy it Mr. Crabs!

[The Walrus]

I think the weirdest thing is the slow down at the end of Porn Mountain. At first I really disliked that, but now it's one of the coolest parts of that mix imo.

[Crow]

Despite this 8.0, you should play that game dude. The music is infinitely better in context I think.

it's a very good game

also wow i kept scrolling and somehow my entry didn't show up until towards the end? what? 
....still in 17th place though  anyways you have my round 5, and also 6, 7, and 8

[Train of Naught]

Hey why are my scores not added up properly! I should have 69.1 points by now 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Hey why are my scores not added up properly! I should have 69.1 points by now 

wut

[The Walrus]

  My bad, I had Train in the results twice. Fixed.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

My bad, I had Train in the results twice. Fixed.

I thought maybe Train was playing for 2 

[HOF]

In terms of the Eric Johnson entries, of those songs I would only consider Lonely in the Night (two of my favorite solos ever) and maybe Trail of Tears among my favorite EJ songs. Not that they are bad, I just wouldn't say they are the best of the best. Those first three albums (Tones, Ah Via Musicom, and Venus Isle) are all just outstanding though, probably my favorite "guitar" albums if you know what I mean. You should check out all of them for sure. AVM is the one everyone knows and loves because of Cliffs of Dover, and it is great, but I think I may like the other two even more actually on the whole with Venus Isle being somewhat of a masterpiece IMO. It's the most progressive and diverse of those three at least, and you can tell a ton of care was taken with the production.

After that his music kind of stopped having the same feel and production and I've actually lost touch with his later releases. But I do have his recent acoustic CD "EJ" which is really good. I got to see him on his tour for that one actually. Just him playing acoustic guitar and piano. A little different than Eric Johnson the guitar hero, but very cool to see him in an intimate setting. I had sent you a couple selections from that one for my later round entry.

[Indiscipline]

Glad I helped to solve your score gap problem.

Sending something shortly, Monica.