Kolrus Strikes Back

[Kol]

In 5th place with 8 points is

@Sawduck - Green Day - When I Come Around

Heard the song: Yes

Comments

A great example of how to write a song around one simple guitar riff. Green day for me is a love them or hate them kind of band. Some of their earlier stuff was very good. It’s like they started out indie then they went Hollywood. They do have better songs but this one is worth 5th place.

[Kol]

In 4th place with 9 points is

@Jluv - Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show - Sylvia's Mother

Heard the song: No

Comments

Yep, never heard this song before or indeed the band which may surprise a lot of you. This song is ranked higher than I would expect as it is not really my kind of thing but I think it is the story and the delivery are what do it for me. The guy sounds really passionate about what he is singing about. This band also sounds a little like Smokie.

[Kol]

In 3rd place with 10 points is

@Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick - Jimi Jamison - I'm Always Here

Heard the song: Yes

Comments

We all know this as one of the best TV theme tunes ever but there is much more to it than that. Jimi had a great voice and I would know him more as the lead singer of the American rock band Survivor. Hard not to enjoy listening to this. That drum and piano opening is great. The beach babes in the video aren’t bad either. Great pick and one that resonates highly with me as a song I heard in my early days.

[Kol]

Top 2 and bottom 2 on the way.

[Kol]

In 11th place with 2 points is

@Necro - Saw Doctors - Never Mind The Strangers

Heard the song: No

Comments

The Saw Doctors are the kind of band that can bring you right back to the early 90s though unfortunately I’m not familiar with this song so it doesn’t resonate with me at all. I don’t think it has enough going for it to make me like it enough now. Saying that, I can see how it might mean a lot to a Westie, I just wish I knew it more.

[Kol]

In 2nd place with 11 points is

@Wichita Lineman - Billy Joel - Piano Man

Heard the song: Yes

Comments

Billy’s signature song. Great for singing along too. Musically based around the piano with a waltz structure to it. Well paced with the slow verses and a more upbeat chorus. The lyrics, which are fantastic, are based on Billy’s real life experience as a piano man in a LA bar in the early 70s. Again, not much of a Billy Joel fan, I’m just familiar with his more famous songs. Difficult to rank this one lower, a great pick.

[Kol]

In 12th place with 1 points is

@Butty Brennan - The Beatles -Yellow Submarine

Heard the song: Yes

Comments

There is a recurring theme here, The Beatles are never going to do well with me. This is just a god awful song. I’m sorry I’m sure it means a lot to the player who picked it and I mean no offence. Bad pick, sorry.

[Kol]

In 1st place with 12 points is

@Declan A Walsh - David Bowie - Life on Mars

Heard the song: Yes

Comments

Was never much of a Bowie fan until recent years and even at that I haven’t listened to much of him. He has had many iconic songs and this is probably one of them. Great delivery as always and interesting lyrics. The pace is great also, hitting the highs at the right times. You can hear the tone change in both the lyrics and music at certain stages of the song. I’m not an expert in song structure though I think this is one that musicians could learn a lot from. There is also an interesting backstory to this song. Bowie wrote English lyrics to the music for the French song Comme d'habitude but they turned out to be not great and never amounted to anything. Paul Anka then wrote lyrics to the same song and it was recorded by Frank Sinatra. The song was My Way. Annoyed with the success of My Way, Bowie then wrote Life on Mars? as a sort of parody to My Way. Excellent pick

[Kol]

This rounds 3 bonus points go to @Jluv

Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show - Sylvia's Mother

[Kol]

Player	R1	R2	BP	Total
Rsoapy	11	10		21
Wichi	10	11		21
Liz	12	7		19
Shane	9	5	3	17
sawduck	6	8		14
Declan	2	12		14
Jluv	1	9	3	13
Aris	8	4		12
Ari	7	3		10
Seph	3	6		9
Necro	5	2		7
Butty	4	1		5

[Declan A Walsh]

In 4th place with 9 points is

@Jluv - Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show - Sylvia's Mother

Heard the song: No

Comments

Yep, never heard this song before or indeed the band which may surprise a lot of you. 

I am surprised! They had a number of hits in the '70s, some of which still get played on the radio. One of them even got to Number 1 in the UK at the tail end of the '70s - When You're In Love with a Beautiful Woman. Their last big hit was Sexy Eyes in 1980.

[Jluv]

Whoop whoop! I was just checking in to see how woeful I had done😁 can't believe you hadn't heard of the band at least. I wore out the first tape I had of them playing it so much. Thanks Kol!

[ari101]

In 10th place with 3 points is

@ari101 - Savage Garden - I Want You

Heard the song: Yes

Comments

Don’t know many Savage Garden songs but I do know this one and it seems a big departure from their other stuff in terms of sound and structure. I don’t really like the verse if I’m being honest, the corus is fine though. If you had picked Moon and back there is a good chance you would have won the round or at least made the podium. This one is just okay.

Oh well... it was the combo of those two songs that made me a massive fan 😆

RSoaps would have won it for me 😁

Hopefully I can cling to mid table mediocrity as we move forward 😅

[jp liz v1]

There was some great choices in this round

[RSOAPS]

In 3rd place with 10 points is

@Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick - Jimi Jamison - I'm Always Here

Heard the song: Yes

Comments

We all know this as one of the best TV theme tunes ever but there is much more to it than that. Jimi had a great voice and I would know him more as the lead singer of the American rock band Survivor. Hard not to enjoy listening to this. That drum and piano opening is great. The beach babes in the video aren’t bad either. Great pick and one that resonates highly with me as a song I heard in my early days.

Whoop! Happy with that. Hon early '90s Saturday evening telly!

[Declan A Walsh]

@Kol - when is the next instalment of this Walrus happening? There are 5 songs still left!

[Kol]

@Kol   - when is the next instalment of this Walrus happening? There are 5 songs still left!

I should have some time next week to get the next round done

[Kol]

Round 3 reveal is ready, how does 7pm Friday suit everyone?

[Sephiroth_Dude]

Round 3 reveal is ready, how does 7pm Friday suit everyone?

Sounds good!

[Kol]

Round 3 starting soon

[Kol]

In 10th place with 3 points is

@jp liz v1 - Carrie Underwood - So Small

Heard the song: No

Comments
A country pop crossover song, a dime a dozen aren’t they. I do like this one, it has very catchy and inspirational lyrics. Paired with Carrie’s amazing voice and you’ve got yourself a hit. The video tells a story, though I feel a lot of country songs have videos like this. I mean I liked the video but I think the song wins out here. I do like this pick, I wish I could have placed it higher, in another category I might have.

[Kol]

In 9th place with 4 points is

@Wichita Lineman - Robin Schulz - Sugar

Heard the song: No

Comments
This was another nice surprise, a half decent song and a fun video. Yeah I think the video was slightly better than the song. I’ll not explain the video, just go and watch it. Not much to say, a fun pick.

[Kol]

In 8th place with 5 points is

@Sawduck - Lucas - Lucas with the lid off

Heard the song: No

Comments
Don’t know this song. Electro swing is an interesting genre, and two in the same round is strange. Would be overly gone on it, not to say I don't like this one, it’s half decent. I think the video is better than the song. I had to research this a little, the whole video was done in one take with no editing, thats simple stunning. I feel I should have placed this higher but I think it was let down by the song slightly. This is really what this round was designed for, great video most of us never seen before, good pick.

[Kol]

In 7th place with 6 points is

@Butty Brennan - Caravan Palace - Lone Digger

Heard the song: No

Comments
Electro swing, interesting genre. The song is okay and the video is kind of bonkers. Bonkers are good though. The kool kats are in town, seph would like this one. I couldn’t believe I was watching a pole dancing antelope. This is by far the most unusual pick, unfortunate I can’t place it high but I recommend everyone watch it.

[Kol]

In 6th place with 7 points is

@Irish Aris - New Order - World

Heard the song: No

Comments
Haven’t heard this song before, not heard much of New Order in general. Sync-pop will usually score well for me. The video doesn’t seem like much but what it does for me is the long shots (apparently just 4 here) and it’s done in real time. Works superbly here. It follows the guests of a luxury hotel in Cannes and it works really well with the song's theme. This pick was a nice surprise and the highest placed one that I hadn’t heard.

[Kol]

In 5th place with 8 points is

@Jluv - Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale

Heard the song: Yes

Comments
It was difficult to place this song, I was not familiar with the video. The song itself is very good. I do like the organ sound. It is not a song I have studied greatly, it is just one of those older generation songs that everyone knows. I might even be more familiar with the Annie Lenox cover. The video is interesting and I think is more significant with the Vietnam War newsreels, which after a little research, I have learned that it was at one time banned from BBC. A good pick.

[Kol]

In 4th place with 9 points is

@ShaneU  - The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be

Heard the song: Yes

Comments
This is a great video, probably could have snatched the top spot if the song was slightly better. The song itself is very good and I’m just remembering now that it is Noel Gallagher on vocals. But the video is where it is at, the transition between scenes is sublime. Art direction and choreography are all great. I’m just thinking now that if you had picked ‘Hey boy hey girl’ it might have won the round. Great pick though.

[Kol]

In 3rd place with 10 points is

@Sephiroth_Dude  - The Smashing Pumpkins - 1979

Heard the song: Yes

Comments
This is a strange one, it is a song and video that I’ve heard and seen the first 30 seconds of many times but I have never watched it in full. Well, I’ve probably heard the song in full before as I can recall that really annoying sound every so often, I can’t quite explain what it is. Does it spoil the song for me? Not at all. A catchy loop and just a fun song overall. The video really surprised me, as I mentioned, the first time I remember watching it all. I loved it, did I do any of the things the kids in the video did when I was young, probably. I’m sure it takes a lot of adults back to their youth. I was never driving around in a dodge charger or had a swimming pool in my back garden though!  Good pick that surprised me.

[Kol]

Now the bottom 2 and top 2

[ari101]

I have zero idea what I picked for this and I don't know whether to be scared or excited my pick hasn't appeared yet 😂
Love the video on Wichita's pick - know and like the song but my first time seeing the vid

[Kol]

In 11th place with 2 points is

@Necro - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication

Heard the song: Yes

Comments
Oh dear, the Chilli Peppers. Kudos for picking one of their better songs I suppose but I just don’t like this band at all. The video is made like a video game. The problem for me here is while it was probably good at the time, it hasn’t aged well. It is like PS1 graphics and kind of looks poor now. The idea was good but it doesn’t work for me now. Good song though.

[Kol]

In 2nd place with 11 points is

@Declan A Walsh  - Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

Heard the song: Yes

Comments
This is a song that is probably more famous for its video, quite like the winning entry in this round, as it is for the song itself. A lot of that down to the heavy rotation it received on MTV, which is why we are running this category after all. To be honest it was never a song or video I was particularly mad about over the years. The song has grown on me since and having viewed the video more for this game I’m appreciating it a lot more. I do find stop motion a little difficult on my eyes and it is prominent here, that would be the only negative I’d have for it. Again, quite a predictable pick but difficult to score it low. Fun fact, won a record 9 MTV music video awards.

[RSOAPS]

I have zero idea what I picked for this and I don't know whether to be scared or excited my pick hasn't appeared yet 😂

Its just you and me now

[Kol]

Ironic its just you 2 online

[ari101]

I have zero idea what I picked for this and I don't know whether to be scared or excited my pick hasn't appeared yet 😂

Its just you and me now

I feel doomed... 🤣

[Kol]

In 12th place with 1 points is

@Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick - Debbie Gibson - Electric Youth

Heard the song: No

Comments
Tut..tut..tut Rsoapy, what were you thinking. You went 80s on me, fair enough but this is just a pretty generic song and an even more generic video. Am I missing something, it is just dancing. I expected more in this category. Unfortunately I have to place it last.

[ari101]

This will help me up the table nicely after last time!

[Kol]

In 1st place with 12 points is

@ari101  - a-ha - Take On Me

Heard the song: Yes

Comments
Great song, quintessential 80s and you know I like my 80s. Also a great video. Not just the idea and how it is done which in itself is great but I also love artwork and there is a lot of it here. Rotoscoping used to make the video took 16 weeks to complete. The story in the video is also good and when you put it all together, it is a worthy pick for top spot for me even if it was a bit predictable. Fun fact, it became the fifth music video from the 20th century to reach 1 billion views on Youtube.

[RSOAPS]

In 12th place with 1 points is

@Rachel Stevens on a Pogo Stick - Debbie Gibson - Electric Youth

Heard the song: No

Comments
Tut..tut..tut Rsoapy, what were you thinking. You went 80s on me, fair enough but this is just a pretty generic song and an even more generic video. Am I missing something, it is just dancing. I expected more in this category. Unfortunately I have to place it last.

Congratulations @Kol , I hate you now

Its a great song and a great video, and you're just plain wrong dude

[ari101]

Glad you liked it - I had completely forgotten what I submitted!
I was trying to lean a little 80s where I could come up with a suitable idea, glad it worked 🤣