Out of tradition, I'll post my final rankings and comments in this thread as well. Before that though, allow me to congratulate all players and especially our finalists. Damn you for being so good, Peg! I was hoping for a moving tale of the underdog beating the odds but as it turns out it all went Rocky 1 in the end. Oh well, congrats on a great showing.
I was very surprised to find how often my rankings reflected the general opinion. Considering how eclectic my tastes can be and how I often end up liking or disliking stuff few people do, it feels weird how often I was in agreement with most judges.
It was very fun being a judge for once although I didn't realize how much work it could be, between taking time to listen to all the songs (as I really wanted to give them my full attention and properly analyse them not only as songs, but in how well they matched the themes) and discussing future themes and how to handles rounds, especially in the later parts of the game. Admittedly, I also gave myself extra work by insisting on explaining my feelings on each and every song.
Speaking of that, there were a lot of really good ones, many of which are now part of my playlist, so that was also a very experience in that regard: discovering new artists I wasn't familiar with.
And now, the moment you've all been neutral for... my final rankings and comments!
Winners:
Tori Amos - "Professional Widow"
Twistin Tarantulas - "Ace Of Spades"
Soweto Gospel Choir - "Thina Somnqobile"
Allo Darlin' - "Bright Eyes"
The Swell Season - "If You Want Me"
Damien Rice featuring Lisa Hannigan - "9 Crimes"
The Flowers - "After Dark"
Blur - "Coffee And TV"
I like a song that sounds pleasant but has dark lyrics, as if it was someone putting on a happy façade to hide their inner turmoil. However, this one is not enough to wow me; I think it doesn't go far enough with this concept and you'll probably miss the message if you don't know about it in advance. It's a nice background song but sorry, it's not finale material.
Tori Amos - "Professional Widow"
Easy win for me. It sounds better, it's more creative and I love the energy coming from it. It's one of those songs that really manages to be bizarre without coming across as gimmicky or obnoxious.
Twistin Tarantulas - "Ace Of Spades"
Never been a big fan of the original (I may have mentioned it before but Motörhead is strongly hit or miss for me) and I'm of two minds on this cover. I feel like it technically sounds better but at the same time, if I have to give any credit to the original, it's that there is genuine passion coming from it which I don't feel here. It's almost like the singer is afraid to be disrespectful by outdoing Lemmy Kilmister and so he's restraining himself.
Either that or he just doesn't have the lungs for it.
White Zombie - "El Phantasmo and the Chicken Run Blast-o-Rama"
Heeeeeeeh... don't know much about White Zombie but what little I know from them sounds like it's trying way too hard to be badass. Let's just say Rob did much better on his own, which is odd since my understanding is that it was pretty much his band. Anyway, yeah, this song isn't changing my mind. Twistin Tarantulas wins pretty much by default.
Soweto Gospel Choir - "Thina Somnqobile"
Really nice. First, if we're going to have a round themed around other cultures (well, apparently, Europe counts as Eastern, which feels weird to me
), I really want to hear unusual sounds, not the kind of stuff I can hear on the radio, so this is a good choice in that regard. But on top of that, this performance IS really good. There is tremendous rhythm and enthusiasm which makes you want to get up and dance.
Tokiko Kato - "Le temps des Cerises"
Ah, I think I see what you tried to do here, mixing Asian and European cultures by having a Japanese artist sing in French and, you know... it's an okay song, but again, it's nothing unusual. Plus, as often when Japanese artists sing in foreign languages, the lyrics are a bit cheesy to me. It's a nice song and it does sound like something we would have produced in the 30's to 50's but it really feels like a wasted opportunity to go for something more original. "Thina Somnqobile" wins.
Allo Darlin' - "Bright Eyes"
Okay, I really love this sort of sound so it's gonna be a tough one to beat. It's not the most creative of songs but I like the way they manage to make you engaged in their relationship without getting glurgy, which is a tough balance to keep.
Ricky Nelson - "Lonesome Town"
Welp, I think this one is gonna be determined by one simple fact: I'm more of a "British Invasion" guy than a COuntry music guy. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad at all but I just liked "Bright Eyes" a lot better. Plus, as far as Country goes, it's pretty standard work.
The Swell Season - "If You Want Me"
I think it's the kind of song that just isn't for me. I can't think of anything downright wrong with it. It's well sung, well performed, well written, there is emotion... but it just doesn't do anything for me.
Sylvan Esso - "Radio"
This, on the other hand, I can tell you why I don't like. It's really generic, boring dance stuff. It's overly repetitive for seemingly no reason other than padding. Might be alright at a nightclub but I see, or rather hear, no reason to play it as a single song.
Damien Rice featuring Lisa Hannigan - "9 Crimes"
At first, I was ready to dismiss this as the sort of song that thinks that being overly whiny makes it automatically profound, but it really won me over. There is genuine hurt and regret that can be felt in it, as well as a feeling that they wish they could repair whatever tore them apart, knowing fully well that it's impossible. A really beautiful and haunting song.
Hiroshi Sato - "Say Goodbye"
Holy shit it's 80's. And I mean that in a good way. It's also nice to see a "sad" song that doesn't get downright depressing. Honestly, this could have easily won in other categories but it's just way overshadowed by "9 crimes".
The Flowers - "After Dark"
Awesome stuff! That's some old-school rock right there and I really like the raw, minimalistic feel of it. It makes me feel like we're getting the singer's emotions directly into our eardrums!
Le Tigre - "Deceptacon"
Another very interesting sounding and minimalistic one and I like it a lot as well. Tough choice but "After Dark" just has something that tips me over the edge in its favour.
), I really want to hear unusual sounds, not the kind of stuff I can hear on the radio, so this is a good choice in that regard. But on top of that, this performance IS really good. There is tremendous rhythm and enthusiasm which makes you want to get up and dance.