(06-03-2023, 07:40 PM)Kol Wrote: [ -> ]This will be by far my worst round regardless if Soapy knows it or not
Lol at the timing of this post
6th Place with 28 points is E.N.
Alice Glass - Fair Game
Heard It Before: No
Review: This song is really powerful, really dark, and really awesome. I won't get too into the story behind the song, it's about abuse and gaslighting, written from the PoV of Glass' abuser and former bandmember from Crystal Castles. Just google the song if you want more detail than that, but yeah I knew all that going in to the first listen as E.N. had given me the backstory when submitting, and while I don't usually look into the meaning behind most songs (sometimes I barely pay attention to lyrics at all), I'm glad I knew the history going in to this, as it added another layer to it that I really appreciated
15th Place with 10 points is Necro
15th Place with 0 points is Necro
Joan Baez - The Wild Mountain Thyme
Heard It Before: Yes
Review: I've heard countless versions of Wild Mountain Thyme from so many artists, and they never vary too much from version to version, because why fix what ain't broken and it's an amazing song in its simplicity. If you were banking on me not knowing this particular version though, you're shit out of luck, because the Joan Baez version is by and far my favourite version of Wild Mountain Thyme, so I know it well. Really love her voice, it's a great submission, and when it first came in I fully expected to be ranking it very high in this round despite knowing it already, but ultimately this felt like the right place for it in the grand scheme of things
5th Place with 30 points is Butty Brennan
Avril Lavigne - Think About It
Heard It Before: No
Review: I think you knew I was an Avril Lavigne fan and that this would be a big risk, but it definitely paid off. Since the song was never officially released and doesn't appear on Spotify, it's one that was entirely new to me. It definitely has those early years vibes, which is such an iconic era for Avril Lavigne, and as much as I like her new stuff, it's really nice to have a new old style song to listen to (if that makes sense). While it sounds a bit rough around the edges, to the point I can see why it was unreleased, that almost unfinished element only adds to it for me. Great choice, good gamble
16th Place with 8 points is osh
Betty Harris - There's A Break In The Road
Heard It Before: No
Review: It's definitely criminal that I have such an excellent song in 16th place, but just in case I haven't said it enough already, in my opinion this round was superb and in another round this could've been up there near the top, and I honestly can't stress that enough. I don't even have a good reason as to why this ended up in this position, the vocals are great and I love the music, it really just came down to the absolute slightest of preferences
4th Place with 32 points is Declan A Walsh
4th Place with 0 points is Declan A Walsh
Kate Bush - In Search of Peter Pan
Heard It Before: Yes
Review: So, I'm fairly certain it's no secret that I'm a big fan of Kate Bush, I've used her songs for many a game, she's one of my heroes and I'm very familiar with her discography, so it was an unfortunate choice for a game like Double or Nothing, although obviously it was just something you didn't realise or had forgotten. Big fan of this song, as I am all of her songs, if that's any consolation at all. If I had one criticism of this track in particular is that she sings a line from "When You Wish Upon A Star" which is from Pinocchio not Peter Pan, which I always just found a bit odd, but that said, it really works as an ending to the song. Good job on the rank, hard luck on the points
I really wish I didn't have to put anyone in Bottom 3 in this round, but unfortunately that's not how the game works...
Which means the Top 3 and the Bottom 3, in alphabetical order, are...
Edser
Hello 2D Person Below
Irish Aris
Jluv
ShaneU
Wichita Lineman
17th Place with 6 points is Edser
Bjork - Big Time Sensuality
Heard It Before: No
Review: What I've heard from Bjork I've always really enjoyed, but despite liking what I've heard have never scratched beyond the surface of what Bjork has to offer, and ultimately only know a handful of her songs. Really liked this one, had a good beat to it, and love her voice as always, so off the back of this, I've decided it's about time I really give Bjork's discography a proper listen. On repeated listens I probably tired of it slightly compared to most of the songs in the round which I couldn't get enough of, but still very much enjoyed it overall
3rd Place with 34 points is ShaneU
Caroline Polachek - Sunset
Heard It Before: No
Review: Hard not to instantly fall in love with this one, it feels like the quintessential summer song, and automatically conjures up images of barbeques and beach parties. The instrumental arrangements are cool, but it's the vocals and those almost yodelling like moments that really make this something special. Hadn't heard of Caroline Polachek before, but will be checking out more from her, because there's definitely a uniqueness to her. There's almost video game vibes to the melody, like Super Mario remix going on at times, which I also really loved. Excellent submission
18th Place with 4 points is Wichita Lineman
Desi Oakley - Lilian Bland (To Her Airplane)
Heard It Before: No
Review: I think the live video here may have let this down just slightly, because if I could've heard a crystal clear studio recording of this where all the instruments could really shine and standout a bit more, this would probably gain quite a few spots, but as is it's hard to get a proper gauge with the sound quality of the video... If I was sitting in that room watching it live, I can tell it would sound amazing, but this recording (the only one available) doesn't do it justice. I like Musicals in general, and this is good, but yeah ultimately audio quality let it down in comparison to everything above it, but still a good and unique entry
2nd Place with 36 points is Irish Aris
Patriarchy - I Don't Want To Die (Geneva Jacuzzi Remix)
Heard It Before: No
Review: This song was love at first listen, have nothing but absolute praise for it, loved every second. Had to check out the non-remixed version out of curiosity and it's also awesome, but in a very different way. Haven't heard of Patriarchy before, love the whole ethos of what's going on with them here and looking forward to checking out more of their stuff. I usually don't pay a huge amount of attention to music videos, but this one was a lot of fun and almost as hypnotic as the song itself
@
Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick Although I'm disappointed with such a low ranking - at least I wasnt last - and you hadnt heard it before so that was an achievement in itself. The woman mentioned in the song Lillian Bland has an amazing story. Just google her. A fascinating woman.
Last Place with 2 points is Jluv
Last Place with 0 points is Jluv
Carly Simon - Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
Heard It Before: Yes
Review: Usually when I get around to last place, even in strong rounds, I'm generally happy with what I've put in last place being ranked lowest, but in this instance I'm really not, because I genuinely like this one too. Again, I don't even have a very good reason, there was very little in it between the last three or four songs here, and I think I ultimately favoured the few I didn't know over the one I had heard many times before, but yeah it's the strongest song I've ever put in last place
1st Place with 38 points is Hello 2D Person Below
Daughter - Youth
Heard It Before: No
Review: This is class. I can't remember if I've ever heard of Daughter before or not, the name seems somewhat familiar, but only vaguely so. This song and performance just oozes coolness, it's giving me hipster vibes and I don't care what anyone else says, I like hipsters, they make good music, and good coffee, and have the best moustaches. The guitar distortions combined with the light chilled drumming and haunting vocals just ultimately elevates this that bit higher than the rest of the songs in this round and earns it the top spot. Really great choice
Shane increases his lead at the top, but with 4 victims of the Double or Nothing twist in this round, who knows what could happen in the final round to shake up the leaderboard
| Contestant | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| ShaneU | 32 | 38 | 34 | | 104 |
| E.N. | 36 | 30 | 28 | | 94 |
| Irish Aris | 30 | 22 | 36 | | 88 |
| Sawduck | 28 | 34 | 22 | | 84 |
| Hello 2D Person Below | 6 | 36 | 38 | | 80 |
| Sephiroth_Dude | 34 | 20 | 24 | | 78 |
| Butty Brennan | 18 | 14 | 30 | | 62 |
| Deja Boo | 16 | 28 | 14 | | 58 |
| aaronjennings | 26 | 16 | 16 | | 58 |
| osh | 38 | 10 | 8 | | 56 |
| Kol | 12 | 32 | 12 | | 56 |
| Spears | 22 | 24 | 0 | | 46 |
| Tigger | 20 | 2 | 20 | | 42 |
| jp liz v1 | 2 | 12 | 18 | | 32 |
| Declan A Walsh | 24 | 4 | 0 | | 28 |
| Wichita Lineman | 4 | 18 | 4 | | 26 |
| Jluv | 14 | 8 | 0 | | 22 |
| Necro | 10 | 6 | 0 | | 16 |
| Edser | 8 | 0 | 6 | | 14 |
And here's the YouTube playlist in order of ranking...
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5L3A...yRXiufkuc8
(06-03-2023, 07:57 PM)Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick Wrote: [ -> ]3rd Place with 34 points is ShaneU
Caroline Polachek - Sunset
Heard It Before: No
Review: Hard not to instantly fall in love with this one, it feels like the quintessential summer song, and automatically conjures up images of barbeques and beach parties. The instrumental arrangements are cool, but it's the vocals and those almost yodelling like moments that really make this something special. Hadn't heard of Caroline Polachek before, but will be checking out more from her, because there's definitely a uniqueness to her. There's almost video game vibes to the melody, like Super Mario remix going on at times, which I also really loved. Excellent submission
Her new album is so good! Lots of other great songs on there
I had not heard most of the songs I think (have to listen to be sure). The only one I definitely heard before (apart from mine!) was Bjork's Big Time Sensuality. I am kind of surprised that @
Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick had not heard it before. When I get a chance, I will listen to the songs and award Thanks to those I like.
(06-03-2023, 08:05 PM)Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick Wrote: [ -> ]I can't remember if I've ever heard of Daughter before or not, the name seems somewhat familiar, but only vaguely so
Two days ago... 😉
(04-03-2023, 03:18 PM)E.N. Wrote: [ -> ]I then got distracted by seeing that Daughter have new music out though :P
Their debut album is incredible, start to finish.
Sadly their stuff since hasn't lived up to those heights, for me. New (third) album is out soon, but the singles off it didn't excite me too much
(06-03-2023, 07:42 PM)Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick Wrote: [ -> ]6th Place with 28 points is E.N.
Alice Glass - Fair Game
Heard It Before: No
Review: This song is really powerful, really dark, and really awesome. I won't get too into the story behind the song, it's about abuse and gaslighting, written from the PoV of Glass' abuser and former bandmember from Crystal Castles. Just google the song if you want more detail than that, but yeah I knew all that going in to the first listen as E.N. had given me the backstory when submitting, and while I don't usually look into the meaning behind most songs (sometimes I barely pay attention to lyrics at all), I'm glad I knew the history going in to this, as it added another layer to it that I really appreciated
Yep, that's a very accurate review. Her album is something else altogether. It's violent, dark, vulnerable but also uplifting and occasionally beautiful. Initially I found it really tough and felt quite voyeuristic listening to it but it's so powerful, I really love it now. You definitely need to be in a decent frame of mind though
(06-03-2023, 08:31 PM)E.N. Wrote: [ -> ] (06-03-2023, 08:05 PM)Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick Wrote: [ -> ]I can't remember if I've ever heard of Daughter before or not, the name seems somewhat familiar, but only vaguely so
Two days ago... 😉
(04-03-2023, 03:18 PM)E.N. Wrote: [ -> ]I then got distracted by seeing that Daughter have new music out though 
Their debut album is incredible, start to finish.
Sadly their stuff since hasn't lived up to those heights, for me. New (third) album is out soon, but the singles off it didn't excite me too much
I finished ranking and doing my notes on this round last Thursday, but I did notice you mention them in your post 2 days after that alright...
Damn😠 being last didn't bother me but my aim was for you not knowing! However I'm glad to hear you like the song. Have only listened to your no 1 choice so far and I do like it so well done to HTTPB4 👏👏
Look forward to listening to the others tomorrow..
I have Thanked the songs that I liked - they are all in this page (7) as it happens! Among the songs I thanked are @
Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick 's choice for Number 1 by @
Hello 2D Person Below . For me, though, the standout track was the one by Patriarchy at Number 2 - the entry by
@
Irish Aris . I think it is sensational and I never heard of the act before. Special mention to @
Necro for submitting by far the best version of The Wild Mountain Thyme I ever heard, by Joan Baez .
(06-03-2023, 07:34 PM)Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick Wrote: [ -> ]8th Place with 24 points is Sephiroth_Dude
Japanese Breakfast - Be Sweet
Heard It Before: No
Review: Very fortunate that I decided to listen to all the songs when they were submitted to see if I knew them or not, which was before this appeared in a FOG Factor round. Really loved it right from the very first listen and I did think for awhile it was prime contender for top spot in this round, but quite a few other songs came along and just pipped it to the post, knocking it further back into the rankings, but very very strong entry all the same
Its funny how I discovered this band, they just randomly showed up on my youtube front page and I took a chance on listening to them and loved them right away, that happened as well with my favorite band casiopea, galactic funk just randomly showed up on my page and its how I discovered so many great bands. I'll take the 24 points and I'll leg it, not so confidant with my final choice, it was a very random pick
.
Very happy that you liked Patriarchy, Rsoaps. This was the one song that I really wanted you to like!!
Also very interesting to see Caroline Polachek submitted and scoring well. I discovered her couple of weeks ago in my Spotify weekly lists and really like her new album!!
Will listen all submissions in the next couple of days.
This has been one of the most interesting Walruses ever!!
Will do the final reveal on Monday, the final round is Go Big Or Go Home ; songs that charted in the Top 10 in an Official Chart
Some outside the box thinking may have been needed in this round to avoid stumbling on a song I already knew...
If I were submitting to this category in someone else's game, I may have chanced a bit of K-Pop...
MAMAMOO - Dingga
(Top 10 Chart Positions included #5 in Korean Billboard Chart and #8 in US World Chart)
Never heard of them or the song. @
Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick is really thinking outside the box here! I think it would have been more of a challenge for us entrants if we could only use the Irish Charts, UK Charts or US Charts, which is in fact what I did! It remains to be seen if I get away with that!
As regards the song itself, it doesn't do much for me I am afraid.
I imagine some of you might know this one (I believe there's a WWE connection with Nita Strauss often performing at PPV Events), but since this is Go Big or Go Home, I'm going for some big gambles with potentially better known stuff than I might've in previous round with some of my selections in the lead up to this round
Nita Strauss feat. David Draiman - Dead Inside
(Reached #1 on US Mainstream Rock Chart)
I never heard of this act or song, or indeed the featured guest. It is okay. I particularly like the reoccurring guitar riff.
Need a warm song today to combat the cold temperature, so I'm going with an old favourite of mine...
Daryl Braithwaite - One Summer
(Charted Top 10 Positions include #4 in Sweden, #5 in Norway, and #8 in Australia)
Yet again, I have not heard of the artiste or the song before. It does not do it for me I am afraid.
(08-03-2023, 12:11 PM)Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick Wrote: [ -> ]I imagine some of you might know this one (I believe there's a WWE connection with Nita Strauss often performing at PPV Events), but since this is Go Big or Go Home, I'm going for some big gambles with potentially better known stuff than I might've in previous round with some of my selections in the lead up to this round
Nita Strauss feat. David Draiman - Dead Inside
(Reached #1 on US Mainstream Rock Chart)
Just catching up. Like this. Very "System of a Down"-esque, but that's a compliment
Easily the most well known song I've chosen thus far, but how many of you know it?
Hailee Steinfeld with Grey ft. Zedd - Starving
(Top 10 Charting Positions include #3 in Scotland, #5 in UK Singles, #5 in US Mainstream, and #8 in Ireland amongst many others)
Well, I never heard of this artiste or song before! Not my cup of tea either I am afraid.
A song that's title pretty much sum's up my current mood...
Jo Dee Messina - My Give A Damn's Busted
(Charted at #1 in US Hot Country Hits and #1 in Canada Country)
I never heard of this singer or song before - nothing unusual for songs selected by @
Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick ! I'm not a particular fan of country music, but I like some of the crossover variants such as country rock. This song has a bit of a rock feel to it and I like it.
I have heard of the her but not this track, like it
Any sonic youth fans here ?
Haven't listened to them in years but then this gem shows up on my youtube feed , this video makes me wish I could skate board but I am not good with wheels
.
As its Sunday, and despite the fact I haven't been to mass in 20+ years, it feels apt to go for something church related as my selection if the day...
Halestorm - The Steeple
(Charted at #1 in US Mainstream Rock)
(12-03-2023, 01:47 PM)Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick Wrote: [ -> ]As its Sunday, and despite the fact I haven't been to mass in 20+ years, it feels apt to go for something church related as my selection if the day...
Halestorm - The Steeple
(Charted at #1 in US Mainstream Rock)
Have heard of the act before, but would not be familiar with their stuff. Song is okay.
The Final Reveal, Go Big or Go Home, begins this evening circa 18.30
As my own final song selection, in the spirit of the game, I've gone big, and you can't go much bigger than Queen Madge... While the song didn't make as big a splash over here as many of her hits, surely some of you will know it, and at the very least you all know the artist, right?
Madonna - Girl Gone Wild
(Charted at #1 in US Dance, #4 in Italy, and #7 in Spain)
Who was keeping track of Gold Stars? I shared 29 songs (we'll keep the mistakenly included Aerovons in the mix), so there were 29 Gold Stars up for grabs? Did anyone get more than 3? Did anyone fail to get any at all? Time to claim your bragging rights or lack thereof...