The TAC Back To School Roulette V.7 Schools Out!!!

[lonestar]

 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

[TAC]

You guys want the raw scores of the EPs while you wait?

[twosuitsluke]

I'll take anything you got

[jingle.boy]

I'll take anything you got

That's what she said.

[TAC]

Final Exam Raw Scores















8.52
8.45
8.3
8.3
8.22
8.2
8.16
8.12
8.1
8.1
8.02
7.92
7.9
7.86
7.825
7.8
7.6
7.225

[twosuitsluke]

I'll take anything you got

That's what she said.

I wish.

[wolfking]

That's a weird looking stacker system.

[TAC]

That's a weird looking stacker system.

Those are the raw scores before I transfer them to the Stacker.

[ariich]

That's a weird looking stacker system.

Ah it seems he's not using the stacker for this round? If so this benefits you as it means a narrower range of scores.

EDIT: Ah never mind then!

[wolfking]

That's a weird looking stacker system.

Ah it seems he's not using the stacker for this round? If so this benefits you as it means a narrower range of scores.

EDIT: Ah never mind then!

I thought maybe it's just scores out of 10 but Tim posted nothing in the OP.

Probably just him being a dick again though...

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Probably just him being a dick again though...

-1 to his score, please.   

[wolfking]

Probably just him being a dick again though...

-1 to his score, please.   

 

Tim knows it's all in love. 

[TAC]

This is how they Stack.

10
8.52
———————-
9
8.45
8.3
8.3
——————
8
8.22
8.2
8.16
8.12
8.1
——————-
7.5
8.1
——————-
7
8.02
7.92
7.9
7.86
——————
6
7.825
7.8
7.6
——————
5
7.225

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Hopefully I'm not that second 8.1. 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I'll still curious about the straight addition/division scoring though.  So theoretically someone could have sent a 2-minute song you'd score 0/10, and a 23-minute song you'd score 10/10, but their final score would then just be 5/10? 

[TAC]

I'll still curious about the straight addition/division scoring though.  So theoretically someone could have sent a 2-minute song you'd score 0/10, and a 23-minute song you'd score 10/10, but their final score would then just be 5/10?

Correct. Theoretically.

I mean, it really didn’t play out like that. Your longest song got your best score. Puppies’ got his worst.
I wasn’t weighting for length of song, nor did I consider it.

[Glasser]

How did I do? I don't get it.....

[TAC]

How did I do? I don't get it.....

Results and standings tomorrow.

[TAC]

Reaper: Social Studies

Wow, this EP was intense and gripping.

Thrice-Burn The Fleet 7.5
This band, again, really reminds me of U2, especially the vocals, and like U2, I’m extremely indifferent about Thrice, including this song.

Tenacious D-The Government Totally Sucks  8.0
WTF? Lol 
 
Children Of Nova-The Order  8.3
Really interesting song. I dig it!

Dispatch-The General  8.5
Loved this song. Great delivery.

Dire Straits-Iron Hand  8.3
Perfect choice for this EP.

Crosby Stills Nash & Young-4 + 20  8.0
Sublime, if unspectacular ending, but still quite fitting.

I think this is probably the finest constructed EP, if we were doing an actual EP round. The has a beautiful flow, and the story/feel/emotion is gripping. There’s no way I can jack up the points for each individual song but you’ll just have to settle for glowing praise. Running through the songs, I think that maybe Thrice are not for me. The Tenacious D cracked me up, but it’s perfect. The Nova Collective is really cool. I’d like to follow up with them. The General was such a great and unexpected tune. I’ve not heard that Dire Straits tune =either, but ending with the three songs you did gave it a stunning finish.

I know your scores were pretty rough, as were some of your songs..lol, but Thank you for playing and showing me a different side of music.

Exam Grade…8.1

Final Grade...63



Faizoff: Social Studies

This might be the oddest collection of songs in this round.

Faith No More-Surprise! You’re Dead 8.2
This is actually pretty cool.

The Smashing Pumpkins-An Ode To No One  7.8
This isn’t something I’d listen to on purpose, but I have respect for the Smashing Pumpkins, and there’s nothing wrong with this song.

Jackyl-Headed For Destruction  7.8
I don’t know if it’s shtick or unoriginality, but I just can’t get into Jackyl. It’s just too tough to do Bon Era AC/DC, and this song proves it.

Frost*-Closer To The Sun  7.5
Doesn’t really fit with the rest of the songs, but the instrumental portion is decent.


I liked the FNM song. I’m not really into them, but this song is pretty strong. Unfortunately, it was the only song I really liked. The Smashing Pumpkins and the Jackyl are both fine, and pass the “like well enough” test. Jackyl following TSP was odd enough, but then Frost* starts and it’s a complete change of pace. Once the instrumental section takes over it does improve.

Faizoff, thank you for playing. You always send me stuff I wouldn’t normally think about. I mean, there’s a reason for it though..lol  But thank you.

Exam Grade…7.825

Final Grade...66.5



Stadler: Theology

These are some silky vocals, but this music is so grating.

King Crimson- In The Court Of The Crimson King  7.4
I had a really hard time getting into this.

King Crimson-The Great Deceiver  7.7
This isn’t actually that bad, but it just sounds awful.

King Crimson-Red  7.3
Starts out ok and then becomes an acid trip

King Crimson-The Devil’s Triangle (Pt III)  6.5
This is like walking into an old cuckoo clock shop and then they all go off at once.


So, I’m not going to say much other than King Crimson is not for me. At all. I’ve checked out a few things before, and I listened in full to these tracks. The Great Deceiver is pretty decent, as is the beginning of Red, but the rest of it…

Thank you for playing Bill! I appreciate you.. 

Exam Grade…7.225

Final Grade...68


Soupytwist: Geography

When Jingle.Boy and Wolfking unite

Orden Ogan-Gunman  7.8

Pretty easy on the ears, if unspectacular.

Serenity-Royal Pain  7.7
Same.

Dynazty-All The Devils Are Here  7.9
Same.

Cain’s Offering-I Will Build You A Rome  8.5
Yea, this is more like it. Great melodic lines in this.

Fellowship-Oak & Ash  8.2
This hits the spot all the way around.

So for this EP, it’s…solid. In a way, it’s kind of a blue balls leave me hanging experience. These songs really need just a bit more oomph. They’re all pretty safe and enjoyable though. The Cain’s Offering is the definite standout, and the Fellowship is a band that I’ve never heard of before, but I am definitely interested.

Soupy, thank you for being a TAC Roulette noob. I’m glad you jumped in. I have no idea what I’d send you if you ran a roulette though. Definitely a feeling out process here. Winkie was probably the coolest thing you sent, and you’re welcome any time.

Exam Grade...8.02

Final Grade...71.25


Puppies: Current Events

These songs have nothing in common with each other, and I would’ve reordered them for a better flow.

Edu Falaschi-Reign Of Bones   8.2
Definitely an enjoyable tune. I do like Tenochtitlan better though, but this is pretty easy one the ears.
 
Arkona-Ydi   7.4
This is a weird song. There’s a couple of points where the music is pretty cool, but the vocals, and the vocal parts…

Mercenary-Beyond The Waves  8.1
Kind of like a mix of the first two songs. Not as good as the first, not as bad as the second.

So I liked the Edu and Mercenary songs. They didn’t blow me away, in fact, neither were as good as the other Edu (last round) and Mercenary (this round) that I was sent. Still both solid though. The Arkona just didn’t work for me. Flow wise, I would’ve switched Arkona and Mercenary, perhaps as a clean to harsh vocal progression, and maybe the longer Arkona may have worked better as the closer.

You’re always welcome in my roulettes. Your vast library to draw from is impressive. I don’t know if I’d rethink the senditallatonce method. I mean, I know you had a long trip coming up, and I appreciate that. The other thing is that I also appreciate you sending what you’re into, but I have to admit, some of it was a slog to get through, especially with 18 participants.

Exam Grade…7.9

Final Grade...71.25

[jingle.boy]

Cool… so my Mercenary submission was >8.1, and it wasn’t even your fave tune of mine. Doing better here than in Metro’s!

[Evermind]

Crosby Stills Nash & Young-4 + 20  8.0

Tim, 4 + 20 is 24.0, not 8.0.

[TAC]

Also, the Exam Grade is the RAW score.
I'll reveal the Stacked Grades after.

[Jamesman42]

Early dismissal good on you TAC for staying strong the theme this whole time.

Burn the Fleet is one of the weakest songs on The Alchemy Index, so I get the indifference there.

[TAC]

Crosby Stills Nash & Young-4 + 20  8.0

Tim, 4 + 20 is 24.0, not 8.0.

[TAC]

Cool… so my Mercenary submission was >8.1, and it wasn’t even your fave tune of mine.

With all of you detectives, I'm expecting to wake up tomorrow and have the rest of the roulette solved.

[jingle.boy]

Cool… so my Mercenary submission was >8.1, and it wasn’t even your fave tune of mine.

With all of you detectives, I'm expecting to wake up tomorrow and have the rest of the roulette solved.

The only solution is "congrats ariich"

[faizoff]

Thanks as always TAC! It's always fun taking part in your roulettes. Glad you may have found some gems in what I've sent.

[wolfking]

Cool… so my Mercenary submission was >8.1, and it wasn’t even your fave tune of mine.

With all of you detectives, I'm expecting to wake up tomorrow and have the rest of the roulette solved.

The only solution is "congrats ariich"

If he pulls this off, I vote to ban him from every single DTF roulette for the rest of mankind! 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Thanks for running another great roulette Tim! Even though I was pressed for time because of my vacation and a lot of what I sent fell flat this time, I still thoroughly enjoyed following along and reading everyone's insights.

[soupytwist]

Soupytwist: Geography

When Jingle.Boy and Wolfking unite

Orden Ogan-Gunman  7.8

Pretty easy on the ears, if unspectacular.

Serenity-Royal Pain  7.7
Same.

Dynazty-All The Devils Are Here  7.9
Same.

Cain’s Offering-I Will Build You A Rome  8.5
Yea, this is more like it. Great melodic lines in this.

Fellowship-Oak & Ash  8.2
This hits the spot all the way around.

So for this EP, it’s…solid. In a way, it’s kind of a blue balls leave me hanging experience. These songs really need just a bit more oomph. They’re all pretty safe and enjoyable though. The Cain’s Offering is the definite standout, and the Fellowship is a band that I’ve never heard of before, but I am definitely interested.

Soupy, thank you for being a TAC Roulette noob. I’m glad you jumped in. I have no idea what I’d send you if you ran a roulette though. Definitely a feeling out process here. Winkie was probably the coolest thing you sent, and you’re welcome any time.

Exam Grade...8.02

Final Grade...71.25

Thanks for letting me join, I'd gladly join another one if/when you run one, if invited.  I think we probably only have a narrow band of artists/styles and sounds that crossover we both enjoy, so I'll probably always struggle - but it's all part of the fun!

[TAC]

Kingshmegland: Social Studies

This has excellent flow.

Lalu-The Chosen Ones  7.9
The singer sounds way too much like Damien Wilson, it’s distracting from a great musical track.

Mystery-Pearls And Fire   8.4
This is pretty epic and sounds fantastic.

Nospun-The House At The Beginning  8.2
Nice ending to this EP. Excellent guitar sound.

Ok, the Lalu is actually pretty cool, but the vocals.. I fucking hate Damian Wilson. He blows. Which is too bad because this song was great instrumentally. The keyboardist sounded like a Derek Sherinian’s and Jordan Rudess’ lovechild. The Mystery song was immense and sounded amazing. It was a journey and I’d like to explore them more. The Nospun was a great closer. The lyrics are excellent.

Joe, I hope this roulette gave you some distraction. I appreciate you taking the time for it. But sending me Winger and Damian Wilson…

Exam...8.16

Final Grade...71.5



Romdrums: Geography

I like your approach to this.

Lost In Kiev-Prison Of Mind  8.0
This song is really unique and has a lot thrown in there.

Muse-Stockholm Syndrome  7.8
Gee, this sounds familiar..

The Night Flight Orchestra-Barcelona 8.0
It’s definitely pleasant. Harmless and fun.

Elbow-Hotel Istanbul 7.4
This song went on and on..

The EP was kind of low key in this round.  Other than the Elbow song, everything was just..pretty good. I love how you made an EP of songs with European cities in the titles. That’s cool. My favorite of the bunch was Lost In Kiev. It was quite varied in styles, but never felt jumbled or forced. I had heard that Never Enough was supposed to sound like Stockholm Syndrone, but I have never bothered to listen to it. Holy shit! It’s the same damn song! NFO is comforting and fun, but honestly, I’ve not heard much by them them that really gets me going.

I know that I don’t always love what you send, but you always send something I’ve never heard of, and it’s usually interesting. Thank you for playing!

Exam Grade…7.8

Final Grade...71.5


Jamesman: Math

This a really beautiful EP with great flow.

The Warning-XXI Century Blood   7.8
Pretty standard rock song. I’ve yet to hear anything special by this band.

Deftones-Prayers/Triangles  7.5
Pretty straightforward. Not much to say about it.

Avenged Sevenfold-Chapter Four  8.0
Yeah, this is more like it. Definitely more rocking purpose with this.

Thrice-Circles  7.5
Tough for a song like this to stand out in 7 hours of music to get through, but there’s something nice about this band.

Au4-So Just Hang On, Beautiful One  7.2
This will hurt, but this was pretty much out of my radius.

So, my first impression of this EP, even though I didn’t love the songs, was that I thought it was nicely done and has a great flow. Of the songs, the A7X was the most up my alley, obviously. Ultimately I don’t know if Thrice is my thing. I think I’ve heard enough. I won’t ban them going forward but I’m not looking on my own at them. And unfortunately nothing I’ve heard from The Warning gets me going. They’re good and all, and are probably great live, but to me, it’s just…boring. That said, the song you sent was probably the best of the 3 or 4 I’ve been sent by them so far. And I know how much you love Au4, so I appreciate you sharing it with me, but it’s pretty far from my spot.

Thank you for playing in my roulette as one of the 4 TAC Roulette noobs. I hope you’ll consider playing  again. Things like the mewwithoutyou song sometimes gets more listens post roulettes than most. You just never know.

Exam Grade…7.6

Final Grade...74



Lethean: Geography

Parts of this were cool, and parts of this were…not.

Arcturis-The Arcturian Sign  8.2
This is a cool song with lots jammed into it.

Arcturis-Angst  7.4
This one made me angsty.

Arcturis-The Chaos Path  7.7
I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.

Katatonia-Dead Letters  8.0
Alright alright. I gave you an 8!

Arcturus-Hufsa  8.0
That is one serious guitar solo. Holy shit!

So I’m not sure I love this Arcturus band, though there’s definitely something there. The Arcturian Sign is easily the best of the bunch, even if some of it is a bit distracting. Angst and The Chaos Path are not going to be very convincing though. Dead Letters is saved by its relative heaviness and instrumental passages. Hufsa started out a bit rough, but geez, does it end strong.

Thank you once again for playing. Not totally sure where we meet, but you’ve given me the inspiration to really give Angra a serious look. Pretty sure I’ve said that after every roulette that I’ve been sent Angra. But I mean it this time… lol

Score…7.86

Final Grade...75.25



Twosuitsluke: Current Events

This is like driving by an accident and covering your eyes, yet you still peak through your fingers.

Horrendous-Neon Leviathan  8.5
Underneath whatever you call these vocals lies a fucking wicked track.

Sulpher Aeon-Seven Crowns And Seven Seals 7.8
This creepy crawly creature of a song just about becomes a butterfly. Just about.

Stoned Jesus-Thoughts And Prayers  8.3
Really cool track that hit the spot after what came before it.

This Horrendous tune slaps. Once I could wrap my head around the whacked vocals, underneath is a pounding fucking thing. I want to check this out. Not sure if the vocals will ultimately be an obstacle. The Sulpher Aeon was like a split song for me. For the most part, it’s too brooding and the harsh vocals I don’t love. But in the final third, it really starts to bloom. Clean vocals, and a really nice outro solo. The Stoned Jesus doesn’t fit either song at all, but somehow it works. The groovy has a kind of haunting vibe to it, and it helps blend the song with what came before it.

Luke, I love having you in my roulettes. Your sense of humor really cracks me up.

Exam Grade…8.2

Final Grade...76.5



Tomislav: Geography

This EP is really strong. You are so unpredictable.

Jelusick-Reign Of Vultures  8.0
The dude has some pipes, but he sounds like a tribute vocalist. Not his fault.

Seventh Wonder-The Everones  7.8
Solid.

Silver Lake-Storm  8.4
Great atmosphere and feeling.

Chaos Addict-Remembrance 8.2
Definitely a quality track. Sick ending.

I really enjoyed this EP pretty much. The Jelusick rocks big time and sounds great. I’m familiar with the Seventh Wonder and while it’s a quality track, it just doesn’t do a lot for me. Silver Lake appeals to my folky metal side, even though it’s not that heavy, but it definitely hits a spot to be sure. I have to check out Chaos Addict. They’ve done pretty well..twice.

Thank you for playing. I never quite know what I’m gonna get from you, but that’s half the fun.

Exam Grade…8.1

Final Grade...78.25

[Jamesman42]

I forced the math round and made it pretty far, woo! Thanks for having me! Glad mewithoutYou stuck with you the most, and giving some of my favorite songs a listen.

[TAC]

I forced the math round and made it pretty far, woo! Thanks for having me! Glad mewithoutYou stuck with you the most, and giving some of my favorite songs a listen.

 

[King Postwhore]

Thanks Tim. This has been a Whirlwind of a month. Try Mystery's newest album a spin, Redemption.