ariich’s fogey roulette (v7) – let’s go back in time!I trailed this already in the roulette tracker thread, but it recently occurred to me how much more music I know from 2000 onwards than from the last century. It's like, 80s and earlier really not much, 90s a bit more, and then 2000+ shitloads of music. Check it out from my RYM (click to enlarge):
Modern production and stylings are generally more my thing, which largely explains it, but the difference is vast and in my roulettes I do get sent some older gems. It’s just understandably risky to do that when others are sending me newer music.
So this time, we’re going old school. Fogeys, this is your chance for redemption! Six rounds, first three rounds limited to pre-1990, two rounds pre-2000, and then final round unrestricted.
SUBMISSIONS:- Submissions: Send me under 25 minutes of music by a single band/artist, subject to the banned list (see next section) and the time period relevant to the round.
- This can be a single song or as many tracks as you like, from as many different albums as you like, as long as it’s all by the same artist and under 25 minutes. To be clear, by “under 25 minutes”, I mean maximum 24:59. The Spotify app rounds down to the nearest minute, so the longest it can say is 24 minutes – if it says 25 minutes, it’s too long.
- The one exception is that there’s no maximum length (i.e. you can go above 25 minutes) if you’re only sending one track. And by “one track”, I mean one track, not “multiple tracks but really it’s one song I swear” (Chad!).
- I’ll listen to everything in the order you send it. Your submission doesn’t need to be “curated” like an EP so don’t worry about flow, though if a particular order improves the listening experience then by all means send it that way.
- Format: I have a Spotify subscription, so that's pretty ideal for submissions as I can sync for offline listening, but other free-to-use streaming platforms are fine, or you can send me the files - better to have your preferred submission than whatever happens to be on Spotify.
- Duplicates: Fine for more than one person to send the same artist in the same round.
- Scoring: Simple ratings out of 10.
- Rounds: Six rounds: first three rounds limited to pre-1990, next two rounds pre-2000 (doesn’t have to be from the 90s, anything up to 1999 is cool), and then final round unrestricted.
BANNED ARTISTS AND ALBUMS: As in previous roulettes, banned artists are based on my RYM profile (
https://rateyourmusic.com/~ariich – scroll down to the "music" section and you can use the "ratings" tab to browse what I've rated, but more useful is the "Search ariich's music for" bar to see if something you're thinking of is already in my list - if you really can't figure it out, just ask!). The banned rules are simpler this time:
- If I’ve rated an album, all songs from it are banned. All other songs are not banned.
- For the first five rounds I figured this might be hard to navigate on RYM, so to make things easier I have turned these into banlists for the pre-1990 and pre-2000 rounds (which I’ll put into subsequent posts).
- Any songs sent in this roulette, and any artist that scores 8/10 or above, will be banned for the rest of the roulette.
OTHER INFO:- I will try and keep rounds to around a week, maybe 10 days. Hangman will occur, and possibly other shenanigans.
- In line with previous roulettes, I will listen to every submission at least three times, maybe more. The absolute minimum is two listens, and if I'm really not finding myself at all interested after that, I reserve the right to give up on it.
MY TASTES:Here’s what I posted last time about my tastes. This all still applies, although it’s interesting to consider how it applies to music from different eras (particularly when it comes to things like production).
I have a general leaning towards rock and metal, but I like music from pretty much any other genre too, as will be clear from my RYM profile. It’s a bit of a cliché, but broadly speaking the stuff I like the most is that which evokes a feeling in me, or makes me want to immerse myself in it. But there are completely different ways that music can do that, which depending on the style could contrast or could complement. An incomplete list of ways that music can, but does not necessarily, speak to me includes:
- Strong melodies and harmonies (doesn’t necessarily need to be vocal melodies, and I’m absolutely fine with harsh vocals);
- Energy and dynamism/variety (which can include technicality or a sense of fun);
- Strong production, of various types (e.g. punchy, deep, etc.);
- Atmosphere.
I’d say that all my favourite music hits at least one of those, often more. And if something is particularly weak in one or more of those areas, it would normally need to really excel in others to compensate. But to be honest, I’m unpredictable and something might tick all those boxes and still just not really speak to me. So good luck.
My RYM ratings are probably a useful reference point, particularly on albums I rate 4 stars or higher, if used sensibly. Essentially everything 4 stars and above I consider to be excellent. Within that, the stuff that I rate even higher (4.5-5 stars) really just comes down to how much it really grabs me and I normally can’t explain why. Higher ratings tend to come either after many listens if something is new, or if I'm already very familiar with an artist then it can happen quicker. With completely new stuff, I don’t often commit to a 4.5 star rating (and basically never a 5 star rating) after only a few listens. So if you're trying to judge what I might like a lot, taking in everything 4 stars and up is a good starting point, and higher ratings can of course be considered but may not be as reliable (to the extent that anything is very reliable, which is not much).
Stuff I rate 3.5 stars I still consider very good, but there's normally something about it that I find lacking for whatever reason. Even more so for 3 stars which is basically "pretty good but not very exciting". 2.5 stars and lower I'd probably never choose to listen to it again.
PARTICIPANTS:Final scores after Round 6:
1. Evermind = 8.6 + 8.1 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 8.2 + 8.2 = 49.6
2. Nekov = 8.0 + 8.4 + 8.3 + 8.3 + 8.1 + 8.2 = 49.3
3. TAC = 8.4 + 8.0 + 8.2 + 8.1 + 8.1 + 8.3 = 49.1
4. Stadler = 7.7 + 8.0 + 7.8 + 8.1 + 9.1 + 8.1 = 48.8
5. Buddy = 7.2 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 8.3 + 8.6 + 8.1 = 48.7
6. Sacul = 7.6 + 7.8 + 8.7 + 8.1 + 7.9 + 8.5 = 48.6
7. Cyril = 8.4 + 7.8 + 8.4 + 8.2 + 8.2 + 7.5 = 48.5
7. Kwyjibo = 8.5 + 8.3 + 7.5 + 8.1 + 8.1 + 8.0 = 48.5
7. wolfking = 7.5 + 8.1 + 8.2 + 8.4 + 7.5 + 8.8 = 48.5
10. jingle = 8.4 + 7.9 + 8.1 + 7.7 + 8.3 + 7.9 = 48.3
10. Elite = 7.9 + 7.5 + 8.1 + 8.2 + 8.2 + 8.4 = 48.3
12. Luke = 7.9 + 8.3 + 8.1 + 7.7 + 8.2 + 8.0 = 48.2
13. HOF = 7.4 + 8.0 + 8.3 + 8.0 + 7.9 + 8.2 = 47.8
14. lonestar = 8.1 + 7.7 + 8.3 + 7.6 + 7.8 + 8.2 = 47.7
15. romdrums = 7.8 + 8.2 + 8.1 + 7.9 + 7.4 + 8.1 = 47.5
15. Puppies = 7.2 + 8.1 + 7.7 + 8.2 + 8.0 + 8.3 = 47.5
17. Ruba = 7.8 + 8.1 + 7.1 + 8.2 + 7.7 + 8.4 = 47.3
18. king = 8.3 + 7.3 + 8.0 + 7.8 + 7.8 + 7.9 = 47.1
ROUNDS:Round 1:
First impressions |
ResultsRound 2:
First impressions |
Comparisons |
ResultsRound 3:
First impressions |
Comparisons |
ResultsRound 4:
First impressions |
Comparisons |
ResultsRound 5:
First impressions |
Comparisons |
ResultsRound 6:
First impressions | Final results: ranks
18-14,
13-10,
9-5,
4-1BANNED DURING ROULETTE:10cc
Afro Celt Sound System
Blackmore's Night
Boston
Candlemass
The Cars
Chicago
Comus
The Cranberries
David Bowie
Duke Ellington
Elton John
Focus
Frank Zappa
Gary Moore
Gustavo Cerati
Heart
In the Woods
Jean-Luc Ponty
Jellyfish
Jethro Tull
Jim Croce
Joan Baez
Journey
King Diamond
Level 42
Magnum
Mark Knopfler
Michael Kiske
Mike Oldfield
Mr. Mister
New Radicals
Nine Inch Nails
Pat Benetar
Pat Metheny
P'cock
Pete Townshend
Phil Collins
Premiata Forneria Marconi
Psychotic Waltz
Scorpions
Serú Girán
Squeeze
Styx
Supertramp
Tesla
Thin Lizzy
Thunder
Triumph
Ultravox
Van Halen
Van Morrison
The Waterboys
Wes Montgomery
The Wildhearts
XTC