There is a mistake in the rankings, I think. I'll send you a PM, because one of my rankings has apparently been mistyped, I think.
As for the contestants, my "flavor text" in the running comments were not my actual running comments. But it's a cool concept for the game. I'll start adding in those one-liners to help Sudden Rush out and give you a good feel for what I'm thinking as I hear it.
For new contestants, each round I listen to all of the songs in one sitting and I make comments as I go. I save them and don't go back to edit once they are done. My general advice is not to get too caught up in the rankings on the spreadsheet, but to notice what "range" you were in. Don't split hairs over being 8th as opposed to 4th. There were a lot of songs, and as stated earlier, my 1-9 were distinguished and my next batch were just slightly behind those, and then there was my bottom group. So think of yourselves in this particular round in terms of being clustered with a group and see what I had slightly ahead of you. In this particular round, here was the feedback I left *as I was listening to the songs.*
{Spoiler}
All Time Low - "Weightless":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpG3BxRctQ4&ob=av2eWell, we begin this season’s competition with what starts as a fun, harmless little modern boy rock sound. I’m not dead set against imitations or anything, but ATL is kind of a sound that has its roots dug a little too deeply in what I’d consider “every other band of its kind” for my taste. I’m going to be honest, knowing this song outside of a video context, it is what it is and I can live with that; however, seeing the video and it’s twisted sense of irony moves me a little more in the “bitter” category. ATL trying to draw fans in and get them to do exactly the stuff they’re making fun of in the video is a little shameless and should be beneath a band whose primary goal should be making it on talent. In their defense, I’m very sure it wasn’t the band’s idea to shoot that kind of video, but it comes across as a little cheap and underhanded to me, and while I can give the song a pass for what it is, the video really says a lot about my cynicism (but not in the way the video intends) toward this particular genre and its fanbase. (“Amen” moment of the competition thus far: the video’s reference—paraphrasing—that I liked ATL better the first I heard them … when they were called “Blink 182.”)
Cage The Elephant - "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U631FGnXDXYI wish I had a mulligan on my judging of this song. That is, if this is a brand new contestant, I wish I could score this song the way I would normally score it. As it is, however, this song has already been judged in a previous competition (heck, I believe it was as recently as last season) and I’m scoring toward the bottom automatically. The only thing saving this from last place would be a song or two too grating for me to consider even remotely better. Very familiar with the band here, and they’re good guys who love their fans, no doubt about it. I feel bad scoring them so low, but principles are principles.
Celldweller - "Louder Than Words" –
www.youtube.com/watch?v=egbuJW5uCQ0It’s more rare than not that in this competition that I come across a song I’ve not heard before. You caught me offguard here though, there’s no doubt about it. And you know what, I’m fine with this selection. I’m not running into the streets screaming about the brilliance of this song, but it’s got a fine balance of the elements that make up it’s overall vibe. I can appreciate how this song came to be and was put together; definitely some thought to it. It’s maybe a little empty lyric-wise than I would like, but musically, it works for its intended purpose.
Dave Matthews - "Gravedigger" –
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7wSefU2H9Q&fDefinitely a familiar tune here for me. It’s kind of interesting to see how polarizing Dave Matthews has become, while other Dave Matthews rip-offs get off scot free and are fully enjoyed without question. On another random note more related to the song in question, true to form, we have yet another yet another yet another Dave Matthews song that features his obsession with “rain.” I’ve got to look for an article sometime that explains that, but it’s a trend I’ve noticed since the first album was released. I actually don’t mind studio recordings of Dave Matthews at all, but I will say that I’ve heard this song more effectively as a live performance than the studio version. Still, good pick, and good way to start the competition. Good job.
Dixie Chicks - "Wide Open Spaces" –
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlDPPu53V80Sigh. Someone’s looking at the judges list before submitting a song. And that someone’s taking note of a certain judge’s appreciation for this band, I think. (The judge I’m referring to is me.) But, I will say that I have not been the one to score them overwhelmingly first every time this band has been used. I’ve been very objective. I will, however, take credit for uncorking the Dixie Chicks song selection in Season 2. And I also will say that they rule, especially when it comes to a song like this. If I had to guess, I might say this is one of our former judges choosing this song. Every time I looked up, he had Dixie Chicks ranked first. Haha. Well, don’t be surprised that 5 songs into this round, this judge you’re reading right now might be also scoring them first so far in the round.
Electric Light Orchestra – “Evil Woman”
Yes! Heck yes to ELO! I’m glad to see this awesome band making their X-Factor/WC Idol debut! I don’t have to go on a paragraph-long rant to say, “Great job with this one!” Original pick and awesome factor kicking in on this selection.
Grinspoon- "Chemical Heart":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ5-Uvtepe8From the vaults of indie music love comes this number from Grinspoon. I’ve not heard as much of their music as I would like to, but I am quite familiar with them, and I like the niche pick in this free-for-all round. I want to say something specific, but my judging instincts are kicking in and I can’t allow myself to do it, but I will say vaguely enough that there is one Grinspoon song you could have picked that would have had me bouncing off the walls with abnormal levels of marking out. In my opinion though, good pick here in the opening round where we’re all getting a feel for the judges.
Jerry Whitman - "Too Bad You're Crazy" -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=19BkbXMpN00 And ladies and gentlemen, we have our first true risk-taker of the competition. Ok, so here we go. Sure, this is fun, and sure it’s clever in its own way. I’m not so sure it’s a great selection for this particular round though. It seems like the kind of song that works in more of a niche category of this game. So yeah, in terms of having a complete open library to choose from in Round One, I’m a little bit confused as to why this one.
Kanye West - "Good Morning":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CHs4x2uqcQAlright, in the free-for-all round, we go in a different direction than any of the songs thus far. Man, I hate Kanye West … but WAIT … man, I like some of Kanye West’s music. This isn’t my favorite of Kanye’s songs, but hey, it’s one of Kanye’s songs so his not-so-best is still better than some artists’ best. Pretty good pick here, I think. Extra points for an NFL Blitz-like arcade reference in the video.
Living Color - "Cult of Personality" -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0&ob=av3nIs one of our resident CM Punk music fans back at it again, I wonder? If that’s you, good pick. If it’s not you and you have no idea who CM Punk is, well, still a good pick. Obviously, I’m familiar with the song (it’s great), but admittedly, I’ve never seen this video. I know, right? In some ways, I’m surprised this song has lasted as long as it has and is a classic, but in some ways, I’m not surprised at all. It’s a unique little number with an unforgettable hook. Good job, song chooser. By the way, I always love the last 45 seconds or so of this song.
Mammoth - "All the Days":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwhLZW8xvTAWhat?! Are you kidding me?! A Mammoth reference? Someone sure knows his/her music. I love that the game is getting into more of these types of picks. Some were “obvious” selections in early games, but it’s WC Idol III and X-Factor where I think we’re going to see some lost classics really pulled out of the vault. I’m happy with this selection, and I’m really happy with this contestant. I’ve said it in previous games, and I’ll use this comment for this particular song at this particular moment: I think if you keep this kind of music originality and clever surprise going, you and I are going to be friends during the course of this competition. Also, now I’m second-guessing who might have been the “Cult of Personality” song-chooser, because we have a more subtle wrestling reference with this song than the “Cult of Personality” choice. Either way, very nice job.
Motley Crue - "Take Me To The Top":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7wSefU2H9Q&fWell, I’m just going to freely admit that this didn’t do a whole lot for me personally. That doesn’t mean I think it’s a terrible song in this case, however. It’s a song that I’m sure resonates well with some of the Motley Crue target audience, and I can see why it would. It’s just misses for me personally, and that can be attributed to my own fault in this case and I’ll take the blame if that’s the case. I just don’t find it all that great. Sorry about that.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Snow (Hey Oh)":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmXLzY8kbYAGosh, I love the variety that a 19-member competition brings to this competition. I do like this song, and I do like this song chooser. As I’m listening and judging, there’s not much more I really want to add to that. I’m just enjoying what I’m hearing and want to take it all in. Thanks for this pick. Actually, now that I’m through this song, just as a random observation, this is a fine example of in-studio sound mixing working magic. They really really do some effective clarity adjustments for Kiedis’s voice and assemble the different layers of music so well with it. Kudos to the in-studio crew on this one, as well as the musicians themselves.
Robbi Robb - "In Time" –
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urs89GvlFxAA Bill and Ted reference? Wow, nostalgic music pop! I’m seriously smiling big time right now. This is an era of music when music seemed much more like … more like … well, music. I’ve got to step away and put this choice into perspective. I don’t want the longing for “better days” to get in the way of overvaluing this particular song. Gosh, it’s so darn positive though, and I have no idea why it works for me, but it does. Wasn’t that pretty much 80s music in a nutshell though? Most of it, you don’t know how in the world it worked, but by gosh, it sure was effective. I may have ranked this one too high, but screw it, I like it.
Silversun Pickups - "There's No Secrets This Year" -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q05YB5WH2AEIt’s about freaking time we had a Silversun Pickups reference in these competitions! You, sir and/or madam, are to be commended! You keep it up with stuff like this, and you’re going to go far on my judging sheets. I can’t singlehandedly keep you in the competition as a judge, but with a pick like this, I sure as crap will try. Nice job! Listen to this song, people! This band is awesome!
Soil - "Last Chance":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvyiF6Ny7Wg&feature=relatedOuch. I try to keep things in perspective and give everyone a fair shake, but this was a rough one to follow up a song I just marked out so hard for. This just doesn’t work for me. I’m sorry.
Stereophonics - "Dakota":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUHjDJxkcSEI have a feeling you’re going to get plenty of Stereophonics love from the panel. I like them and I like this song, but I can’t say this is the best song of the round. Nothing at all wrong with this pick. In fact, it really is awesome. I might very well be the judge that has this ranked the lowest of the four, but that doesn’t mean I don’t agree with your music taste. I just happened to find some other selections a little better. It’s quite the pickle to be in as a judge. In fact, I’ll make the prediction that I have a bit of remorse later on in retrospect for having this ranked lower than it ought to be. (Heck, it seems to be kicking in now actually.)
Yael Naïm - "New Soul"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtslwxL_Leg&ob=av3eWell, what do we have here? I’ll tell you what: it’s yet another reason I love this freaking game. I feel like I’ve made the comment “great pick” so much in this round that I’m becoming a broken record. I’ve liked this song since it first came out, and I like your style. I really want to rank this higher, but as I look back, there are so many good picks just edging you out slightly. Keep bringing this kind of effort though; it’s going to pay off, especially when we go from “free range” to categories.
I was supposed to be going to bed soon. But guys, you’ve given me a reason to stay up, and I can’t really sleep now. I commend you so much on a great opening round that sets quite a pace for the game to come. I hope the comments are helpful (not that there’s anything “wrong” with any of you or your picks); they’re mostly just love-of-music rants that I write without backspacing or second-guessing myself as I’m listening and clicking on the songs as they appear. So you really do get my first instinct gut reactions when you read these comments. As you can see, so many of you had a really good effect on me first round. I hope you all keep bringing more of this fun type of stuff our way.