Song Contest - BOTB 8 (Results posted!)

[Vi]

For reference, it took me three hours and 45 minutes to go through my first pass, and two evenings and a weekend morning to complete my second pass. This is about 30% larger than the large contests we've had recently; this is the one you don't want to take lightly.

[PJ.]

Thats totally fair, but I only listen to 3 second clips of each song.

[Vi]

Thats totally fair, but I only listen to 3 second clips of each song.

I request 1:47 to 1:50. I won't tell you which entry is mine, just use those three seconds for all of them.

[PJ.]

Will do

[InflatablePie]

Thats totally fair, but I only listen to 3 second clips of each song.

I request 1:47 to 1:50. I won't tell you which entry is mine, just use those three seconds for all of them.

*checks own entry*

2nd

[Scigatt]

Just finished off my ballot right now. There are a few 'mainstream' entries that could have ended up on my ballot had I not excluded them. Might put them in later but I'm submitting my ballot now just in case I don't get to it.

Decided to do this now. This was easier than expected.

[MiniDeathStar]

<--- Reminding myself to vote

[schadd_]

Spoiler:

ARMENIA SIGUR ROS UNTITLED!!!! listened to this album. wasnt realy engaged by it. yeah still not. its like like very forward thinking among boring movie soundtrack style music. 3.1

ICELAND FOXY SHAZAM KILLING IT!!!!!! a lot of energy. this is fine. 3.5

ESWATINI MUMFORD AND SONS BLANK WHITE PAGE!!!! i kind of like the guitar. the vocalist here is overbearing. the first moment where the backing instrumentation like really gets airtime other than the beginning is the loud orchestral slam at 1:15 which makes it seem like the guitar was there as like, a joke. the big instrumental section is pretty good i guess but also like intense in a way that feels a bit soulless. i kind of like how it bounces in and out. 3.4

COTE DIVORCE DIRT POOR ROBINS LEVIATHAN!!!! if youre so poor how are you affording all this recording capital. theres a bunch of good stuff in it, in particular the vocals & the snare drum. 3.8 wd

AUSTRALIA ARCTIC MONKEYS ARE YOU MINE?????? epic whatever 2.8

USA SYCAMOUR THE MEASURE!!!! o its multigenre! fun. there were a few liminal moments that i liked. 3.5 wd

HUNGARY ANNENMAYKANTEREIT and KIZ HURRA DIE WELT GEHT UNTER!!!!! seeing the vocalists really sent this down the shitter for me unfortunately. 1.9

AZERBAIJAN WITHIN TEMPTATION THE RECKONING!!!!! star wars. lyrics really feel like theyre going through the motions. 2.4

DENMARK OWEL DEATH IN THE SNOW!!!! this is kind of nice. i like that it advanced this fun thing at the beginning that it would go on to not really use. 3.6

TAIWAN MITSKI YOUR BEST AMERICAN GIRL!!!!! i like mitski. this is good. 3.9 wd

SCOTLAND KASABIAN IL RAY (THE KING)!!!!! i liked the kasabian song that was in one of the tony hawk games as a kid. this ones fine. 3.4

SUDAN LIM KIM YELLOW!!!! submitting this one bc i couldnt find a non region locked video for the first track on the ep. this ones is surely a bombshell too tho.

DAVSTO KING GRIMPSON FALLEN ANGEL!!!!!! oh hey jay leno + rand miller + sting made a band. kind of good. sounds like one of the more boring steely dan tracks. 3.6

[Tammy]

Alternative link for Belarus if you need it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwDd0HUn2_o

also you can't just take a noun and add "land" to it, that's dumb in the view of my extremely correct aesthetic sensibilities

Posting this for myself for when I finish my listening tomorrow.

[Plotinus]

Finished my second pass of the top 11 to confirm ordering, changed it up a little. Time to vote

[Natirasha]

Spoiler:

Germany(Depeche Mode)--I saw them perform this in concert like a decade ago, was a good time. Not my favorite new-DM track but its good.
Mexico(Ghost)--I like the hints of symphonic metal in this a lot, really brings it all together.
Spain(Patrick Wolf)--This is such a time capsule of the mid-late 2000s goddamn
Canada(Camille)--This was a little too dreamy for me
Armenia(Sigur Ros)--I'm sure this is very sentimental and relatable to some people, but not me.
Iceland(Foxy Shazam)--Meanwhile, this is awesome. When the horn hits!!
eSwanti(Mumford & Sons)--Should have submitted Dust Bowl Dance from this album imo. Not that this is bad, but that song is on a whole other level.
Cote d'Ivoire(Dirt Poor Robins)--I still know shockingly little about this band, but they are a certified hit-maker. From this to even their newer albums have songs like "Welcome to Lady Hell" and "Skywriter" that are just straight fire. I like the guitarist's solos too, that's really what puts it over the top too. He has a very particular low-key style to his playing that I just salivate when I hear. This song especially just like, I love how they contextualize the rise and fall of Leviathan through the music. It's fucking as perfect a song as you can get for me.
Australia(Arctic Monkeys)--Overplay on alternative radio aside, I do like this song. Not as much as some of their earlier stuff but its good still.
USA(SycAmour)--I liked the first part.
Hungary(AnnenMayKantereit)--Definitely lo-fi but it was neat.
Azerbaijan(Within Temptation)--Man remember when this music was like actually popular and you could hear it on terrestrial radio? Good times...
Denmark(OWEL)--This seemed pretty boilerplate.
Taiwan(Mitski)--Am I the one who's gonna have to express discontent at the mitski?
Scotland(Kasabian)--I don't think this is super remarkable but I found myself nodding along.
Sudan(Lim Kim)--I feel like there is a lot going on here and I found myself going back and forth on if I liked it or not. I'm still not sure.
Central African Republic(King Crimson)--It just works.
Nicaragua(Owen Pallett)--I wasn't expecting much at first but this grows into something cool then slows back down again
Egypt(Hop Along)--Cute
Argentina(Galneryus)--Ever since I first watched Mnemosyne these guys have been on my radar, how could I hate them??
Belarus(Matthew Good)--I wanted so badly to say Matthew Bad when I saw the picture in the thread but nah this is pretty nice and chill actually.
Djibouti(Jason Richardson & Luke Holland)--Didn't really stand out to me
Iran(Mae)--Man we all just really played it safe this contest didn't we? I really liked those riffs at the very end though.
Italy(Sia)--Oh, that's who did this awful song? I thought it was some other useless ostentatious pop star.
Panama(My Chemical Romance)--Its certainly catchy.
Portugal(Ricky Montgomery)--I don't have much to say but I liked it a lot!
Gabon(Clean Bandit)--Clean Bandit has a billion awesome songs and you choose the meme one?
Greece(Meg Myers)--I can always rely on you <3
South Korea(ONEUS)--One day I'll find out why I can appreciate asian pop more than western pop. Probably less muewling involved.
Bhutan(Shugo Tokumaru)--This just makes me smile.
Belgium(Bastille)--Bastille's always been little more than background noise to me, and this didn't change that opinion but I did like it a bit more towards the end.
Norway(Lana Del Ray)--Left the worst for last, I see.

[Natirasha]

Overall I think most of us just sort of played it safe for this contest so it was pretty bland.

[Song Contest]

Reminder: Votes are due at midnight Pacific Time tonight!

[Knightmare491]

Just sent it in a couple of mins ago.
These were the songs I liked (in no particular order, to maintain the suspense)

Spoiler:

Iceland
Belgium
Cote d'Ivoire
Hungary (I like how the meaning of it is so relevant right now )
USA
eSwatini

[Porochaz]

I was going to do this quickly but I liked most of the first 10 or so songs I listened to so...

[Porochaz]

Doing this differently, I used to watch the videos as well. But wanted to listen without being influenced with them. (also I was doing the first half of this whilst out for my designated walk so couldn't watch them)

Am doing a general grading system
A - Yes
B - Maybe
C - Liked it, but not enough to consider giving it points
D - Didn't think it was terrible but didn't like it.
F - Hated it

So far, no F's (Edit, one F)
Djibouti - This is yet another one of these screamy teenage angst bands with nothing special about them. They all sound the same and I have no idea and had no idea when I was doing this on the regular how to score it. Usually would get between 10 and 20 out of 50 on my old scoring system and thats where I'd put it now. It's not horrific, but it's just the same sounding song with the same sounding singer.

D's -
Central African Republic - The instruments don't gel for me, it sounds a bit of a mess. Not a fan of the singers voice either
Egypt - Breathy unoriginal singer would get a C, turned into that horrible whiny kind of singer, which is worse.

C's -
Argentina - Sigh, I had a lot of hope for this, I was hoping for something that featured the violins prominently all the way through. Instead I got this, which felt very generic. It was a better example of this kind of music, but urgh could have been a lot better
Nicaragua - The drums took this down a grade.
Sudan - I like a lot of this, but it devolves into repetitiveness and shouting
Azerbaijan - Again not bad, but not my kind of music, would have been miles better without the male singer or the screaming?
Hungary - Spoken work except not, it doesn't really work I feel unless you know what the lyrics mean
USA - Didn't mind this, but it's not my kind of music
Australia - Like the band, but this felt like a retread of other songs, just not as good (I realise the irony)
Cote d'Ivoire - Felt like it was missing a punch
Armenia - Took too long to go anywhere.
Italy - Urgh this might still get points. But it really should be a C. I really like this song but it's such a famous song that it feels against the spirit of the contest to give it points.
Gabon - I don't mind it. But I've heard it too much and I just meh it.
Bhutan - I like it, but there is too much going on.

The rest have A's and B's so far. Will leave them for now as they might get points.

[Porochaz]

Will give the A's and B's a second pass, I liked a lot of this, but I don't feel there is anything truly outstanding there. Don't get me wrong, a lot to like but there was also a lot of fairly famous faces there. Arctic Monkeys, Lana Del Ray, Sia, Kasabian (cough), My Chemical Romance, Demi Lovato, Bastille etc. I guess thats the failing of BOTB but it seems a bit of a shame. Some of them will get points though.

[Porochaz]

OK decided, I scored them out of 50 then ordered them. But not to reveal scores too much (the comments will probably give you a general idea) Ill leave them out. I did have an originality category but seeing my top 5 it didn't matter much.

One last C
Spain - This was a song I listened to at school, but it was on a compilation album where I'd have skipped it if I could. I think that's where Im at, it's inoffensive but annoying. Not sure why I gave it a B, initially, because I didn't realise how strong this was going to be

B's -
Belarus - The man has an easy voice to listen to but along with the subject matter, it's quite powerful

Mexico - There are bits I don't like about this, it's a bit long, it also threatens to go into my hate territory, but it never does, it gets the balance right for me. The hook I like as well

Greece - It's a good song. It would be wrong to say I like the lyrics but it's simple and sung well.

South Korea - So I probably shouldn't have watched the video for this. I'm confused. The voices don't match the person singing and I mean the dancing is simultaneously really good and very 90's-boyband esque. K-Pop is not something I've ever listened to/watched really, I think my research stopped at the contracts these people have to sign... I wish the blue haired guy would stop beckoning at me. I don't know it's addictive, I enjoyed it immensely but also felt deeply uncomfortable by it.

Portugal - Its jaunty enough that Im dancing along to it, without it being anything special

Panama - Is MCR too popular to consider? I guess Depeche Mode is getting points and Mumford and Sons is in the running so… meh it's fun.

Taiwan - I don't know why I like this, it was short and felt more unusual than most of the other songs on this list.

Iran - Its easy to listen to (but considering I listened to this after Belarus I got a wee bit of whiplash), I relate to it a bit. Im not sure it's going to get points but I liked it

Denmark - This is definitely a maybe, for me the tune is the strongest part of this, the lyrics not so much. It doesn't go anywhere for me, which is a shame.

eSwatini - This video also didn't work. The problem with this is it's like every other mumford and sons song I've heard. But they do it so well.

The A's

Iceland - The video didn't work. I like the fun. It’s the kind of music I'm into right now. Also I have a soft spot for trumpety flairs.

Belgium - Bastille is another one I possibly shouldn't give points to but I do like this song. I really like the video as well. I mean once again this is the music I listen to anyway. I think this benefits (like Depeche Mode) that I haven't heard this song very much.

Norway - Again Lana Del Rey is someone I shouldn't give points to but I love her voice, it can be so haunting, which I think fits the song beautifully, it's emotive, the hint of desperation during "I know you will", it's just an incredibly sad song, sang and acted really well. I don't think you get that kind of performance in many modern songs these days. It helps that I actually haven't heard this song before. I loved it.

Germany - Man I love this, okay so Depche Mode is not original, but I loved the sound and made up for the slight repetitiveness of the song. The video was awesome.

Canada - Ok so I didn't say there was anything outstanding, but this spoke to me. It was beautiful and simple. From a personal viewpoint, it made me think about where I am in my own life at the moment.



Conclusion - I really enjoyed listening to most of those. Fair enough there were some well known songs in there, but enough that I felt that it was a good contest. Nothing I really loathed, looking through the comments I guess Im missing something about Djibouti, but even then it wouldn't go in my hall of shame. (it's a shame, my original song contest scores are on my old broken laptop) But yeah, happy not to enter really anymore, I love Kasabian (I won with Empire, I think) and I love that song, but I can understand why it wouldn't score, its similar to a number of songs on the list and the band isn't exactly unknown, might enter the odd song here and there, but not looking to get back into SC regularly but might score some songs if I have time, from time to time.

[Mina]

I'm going to be incredibly boring and post my points in the thread, with explanations. Don't click if you want to be surprised.

Spoiler: Exactly what it says on the tin

12. Mexico: a bit of a guilty pleasure, but it's the song that stuck with me the most from the contest. Even though it's not very dynamic, I just really love the chill but spooky atmosphere.
10. Iran: the song that by far improved the most on subsequent listens. I love music that generates an emotional response, and the part where it builds in the middle just makes me

feel

things. The music definitely fits the awakening theme.
8. Sudan: rated this high because of how excited this song made me to hear it.
7. Greece: the song doesn't go in a super interesting direction, which is why it's not as high as it could have been
6. Portugal: just cool and quirky and musically interesting
5. Central African Republic: the jazzy section in the middle alone makes me incapable of not giving this points, but I do feel like the parts don't actually form the best cohesive whole
4. Germany: I find the synths in the middle a bit jarring, but I still really enjoy the aesthetic
3. Egypt: Her voice started grating on me when I listened to it tonight, so it wound up lower in the rankings than I thought

----everything past this line was OH SHIT I CAN'T MAKE UP MY MIND, which is more of a compliment to the people who just missed than a slight at the ones who just squeaked in.
2. Cote d'Ivoire: has a bunch of elements I really like, but I kept hoping this would wow me more than it did.
1. Bhutan: I realized that I respect this more than I like this, but decided to give it a point anyway

Honourable mentions (there are other songs I liked that aren't on this list, but these are the ones that came close to nabbing the last couple of spots):
Argentina: a guilty pleasure, a bit too wtf and meandering for it to totally land for me.
Denmark: I don't know why this is stylistically a similar song to Iran, but it just doesn't connect with me the same way--still a very "technically" good song, if that makes sense
Hungary: I still like the chorus a lot, and was very tempted to give this a "rap entry in a foreign language" pity point.
Iceland: fun energy and great vocals, but it feels like there's not much depth underneath the quirky aspects. I predict this will win because it has just enough good/unique attributes to stick out in people's minds
Norway: this suffered because it got stuck in my head when I was relistening and then I became sick of it!

[Tammy]

I liked this contest quite a lot. I wish Italy would have gone with a lesser known Sia song rather than one that's really popular, same with Lana del Rey. I'm not against giving points to the songs, but especially in the case of Sia, she has a lot of really good songs that could have been introduced to people who only know her for the couple (few) that got air time.

I need to vote though and this will be kind of difficult.

[Tatsuya Kaname]

Wow that took longer than expected.

So what I do is I keep a list of the songs I listen and rank each new entry into the list before moving on to the next one. So this should be a bit more accurate, although I am only locked on with the top 5 and around 10 songs after that came quite close to each other. Also the orders matter less towards the bottom of the list.

Spoiler: List of the song and probably rankings

12 Portugal - This is really good. The bright feeling of the song, with catchy tunes and great vocals. I like it!
10 Cote d'Ivoire - I thought this artist vocal is male. I especially like the chorus parts. This is some good rock song. I like it!
8 Iceland - I like this style of music. Fun, catchy and the vocal is great. I like it!
7 Argentina - Everyone should know I would probably rate J-Pop/J-Rock song higher than usual but anyway. I really like the string additions and the song has a great vibe. Also the guitar solo is dope. I like it!
6 Belgium - This is good. The vocal has a good voice. And the chorus is catchy. I like it!
5 Iran - This could be one of the song I could imagine adding to my bedtime playlist. I like it!
4 Azerbaijan - This is pretty powerful. I like the main vocal. I like it!
3 Greece - I kinda like the vocal's voice and the song is cool. I like it!
2 Canada - She has a pretty voice. The whole song has a cool and calm feeling to me. I like it!
1 Bhutan - Strange, a Japanese song that doesn't really sound Japanese (except the lyrics of course). Got some nice calm tune. Really liked the chorus part. I like it!
eSwatini - Started like a folk country, and become a bit more epic later on. Nice song. I like it.
Belarus - The guitar is good, so is the vocal. It gets better towards the end. I like it.
Egypt - The vocal is nice, and the song overall is pretty enjoyable. I like it.
Norway - Powerful voice, pretty nice strings. I like it.
Gabon - Another song that is played every single day in my workplace. Gotta admit I got annoyed by hearing repeats but this is one of my favorite Demi Lovato songs. I like it.
Italy - Kinda surprised this song wasnt' in any SC yet. One of the songs I grew up listening to. I like it.
Scotland - Nice pop and rock music. I like it.
Australia - Another good rock music. kinda feel slightly more neutral with this though. Even then, I like it.
Armenia - The MV hits me hard and the song really compliments its story, though the song itself sounds a bit similar to those of the same contexts, even then, I like it.
Denmark - Got that emotional groove that is a bit generic, but otherwise, still good. I like it.
Central African Republic - It's good. Kinda has some 80s feeling to it. I like it.
South Korea - I guess this is pretty fine. I still prefer 2000s K-Pop to this though, but nice challenger. I like it.
Sudan - The song really has an agressive feeling. The incorporations of Asian style music is good but not the best. I like it.
Djibouti - The vocal carries the song. Kinda got thrown off towards the end but in the end this is still a fine song.
Mexico - Has some country plus some rock. Pretty fine.
Spain - Pretty sure I listened to this before somewhere. Kinda hate the MV, but other than that I think the song is okay. A bit catchy and the instrumental is good.
Nicaragua - Feeling neutral about this one. The song is not bad but nothing to write home about. During the later part it becomes more interesting.
Taiwan - Pretty generic to me. The vocal is nice enough though.
Germany - Not sure if I like this. It's got good electronic vibes but I kinda don't dig the vocals.
Hungary - Most of the time I hear more of a shouting than a rap song. Gotta say the chorus is okay enough.
Panama - THAT'S MY ENTRY! It's always fun singing Na Na Na all the way. (though I just found out that the MV has censored lyrics) (Putted this on the bottom so that it doesn't interfere with the rankings)

Still a very fun thing to do. Thanks for a good contest guys!

[schadd_]

Spoiler:

NICARAGUA OWEN PALLETT GREAT ELSEWHERE!!!! feels like a lot of wheels spinning and none of them catching the ground. still a kind of nice vibe. liked the outro. 3.6 wd

EGYPT HOP ALONG SISTER CITIES!!!!! unified by my sister cities. yes the vocalist is good. jumps between the yelling and not yelling spaces and enunciates in a fun way. guitar has some good moments, slightly uninteractive i think. 4.0 wd

ARGENTINA GALNERYUS ANGEL OF SALVATION!!!! angel of salvation lol. hammer of nails. this is neat, not super captivating. 3.6

BELARUS MATTHEW GOOD SILENT ARMY TREES!!!! while i am unable to fully indulge natirasha here i can say this is matthew not great for me. 2.9

JASON LUKE SPENCER RETROGRADE. drums kind of good. however i do not like this. 2.5

IRAN MAE NIGHT DAE!!!! i do not really like the vocalist. lol. i feel equally curmudgeonous to say it each time. there are some great moments when theyre harmonizng or just contributing to the vibe (or like absent. lol.) 3.8 wd

ITALY SIA CHANDILIER!!!!! for some reason i was convinced this would be epic good with headphones. its pretty good. is she french or something. 3.8

PANAMA MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE NA NA NA NA !!;! i totally buy into the hype around mcr. like i got excited to hear they were gonna tour again. that said i cannot say i like or have ever liked them. this one was fine! 3.5 wd

PORTUGAL RICKY MONTGOMERY CABO!!! is the the same guy as that half alive still feel song. it showed up in the recommended videos. but then again youtube has asked me Hey Do You Want To Listen To That Song Again :)? Fuck You after any and every video ive watched since that contest. (no) 3.3

GABON CLEAN BANDIT DEMI LOVATO SOLO!!! this song is like when you spell out a word so that children don't know what youre saying. except its this layer of abstraction that prevents inattentive / illiterate liwteners such as myself from noticing this song is about jerkin it. and yet much like crj i have outwitted this woman. song is kinda fun. 3.5

GREECE MEG MYERS ADELAIDE!!! did she do running up that hill cover. i think that person is meg meyers. In any case. she bounces around the chords nicely. 3.7

SOUTH KOREA ONEUS BINGBING!!!! crazy frog cover. lol
vibrant!! ? 3.7

BHUTAN SHUGO TOKUMARU PARACHUTE!!!! if i didnt know any better id think you were trying to submit a song that i would like. lol. i literally like the vocalist and the web of guitar/glockenspiel is so fun. the chorus has an epic continuousness which is great because i like the singing. i like the pronunciation of parachute. this is so fun bro. 4.7 wd

BELGIUM BASTILLE THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE!! low cover. lol. but no. sharted into ash???? 2.2

NORWAY LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP YOUNG OR BEAUTIFUL!!!! theres this epic triple a movie vibe that a lot of here early 2010s songs have and its kind of overbearing here. 3.4

[MiniDeathStar]

I kind of hate these botbs because I'm a snowflake and almost none of the artists I know makes it to the "best" list. :[

[Vi]

I kind of hate these botbs because I'm a snowflake and almost none of the artists I know makes it to the "best" list. :[

If it helps, I don't know anyone in general. The only artists I know I've heard songs from before (not including when they were previously entered into the Contest) were Sia and Depeche Mode.

[Xtoxm]

i cant get excited about these botb either