1) It All Began with a Burst: Let's start with some energy. Send me a hype song. An upbeat song. A song with flourishes and crescendos. A song that'll subconsciously make me walk 23% faster. This cat is for serious bangers.
Kishi Bashi - It All Began with a Burst
Yelle - Comme Un Enfant [Freaks Fremix]
Everything Everything - My Computer
2) ...And the Great Cold Death of the Earth: Winter is almost over in North America (and probably will be by the time this is revealed), so I want to get this cat in early. Send me a song that epitomizes the long, dull seemingly never-ending final days of winter. Something with a pulse, but just barely. Something that struggles to plod along through several feet snow.
Agalloch - ...And the Great Cold Death of the Earth
Bowery Electric - Beat
Mount Shrine - Hindmost Flood
3) Old Castle, by the River, in the Middle of a Forest: As winter closes, signs of life slowly creep in, and Mother Natures reminds us the planet is in fact still alive. Send me a song with heavy nature vibes. It doesn't have to contain literal sounds of nature (bird calls, wind, weather, etc.), it can be evocative of nature or sing about it.
Hiromi - Old Castle, by the River, in the Middle of a Forest
Dirty Three - Sirena
Hiroshi Yoshimura - Green
4) Toda Mágoa do Mundo: This is an open cat, with an exception. Send me a song from anywhere in the world that is
not a country that typically broadcasts loads of music internationally. Specifically, the artist who recorded your sub must have spent a significant portion if not all of their life there. Countries that are banned are listed in the spoilers. I didn't give this list a ton of thought, and as such, I'm open to appeal on some of these countries.
Australia, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, United States, United Kingdom
- Brazil
молчат дома - волны - Belarus
White Ward - Love Exchange Failure - Ukraine
5) Discipline: Bass. Bass is generally my favorite instrument to hear in a song, in particular when it carries more weight than just the rhythm. Send me a song that features bass at the forefront in some capacity. It can be bass/cello/upright, whatever you prefer (but don't send Apocalyptica please).
King Crimson - Discipline
Rush - La Villa Strangiato
Thundercat - Them Changes
6) The Work of Art in the Age of Culture (aka The Ship of Theseus): I want the beginning and the end of the song to be entirely different, but the process in getting there is fluid, as different components of the song are removed, added, or replaced by others. I may be a little more lenient on scoring this cat.
Tim Hecker - The Work of Art in the Age of Culture
Jambinai - Sawtooth
Riverside - Night Session, Part Two
7) Welcome to Hell: Send me a song that'll wreck my brain. Something where my mind takes a long time to come close to comprehending that magnitude of the sub. This cat is open to interpretation, although shitsubs are less likely to do well here (that's for Cat 9).
black midi - Welcome to Hell
The Residents - Edweena
Henry Cow - War
8) In the Flame of Error (aka Tell Me I'm Wrong): Send me a sub that is a song from an album that I have given a rating of 2 stars or fewer on RYM (but please don't sub something like Under Pressure from Queen's Hot Space, because that's obviously an amazing song from a subpar album, unless you explicitly think it's not a bad album).
Note: You are welcome to add a writeup when submitting for this cat to explain to me why it is that I'm wrong about the album you've chosen.
Here is a link to my RYM page for reference.
Coheed & Cambria - In the Flame of Error
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane over the Sea
Metallica - The Unnamed Feeling
9) 闇祭 / Festival of the Dark: Night is here, let the chaos and debauchery set in!!! Send me bangers. Shit-subs strongly encouraged. Serious bangers are less likely to do well here. Normally I don't like this kind of music, so this might be hit-or-miss for me, but I want to appreciate things I don't necessarily like more, so I'm trying this here. (I'd make a connection to embracing my shadow self, but this is a joy_cat, not a serious_cat).
Kikuo - 闇祭 / Festival of the Dark
Steamed Hams Inc.
Dillon Francis - Not Butter
10) The Place Where He Inserted the Blade: Send me a song with raw, cracked, and/or emotional vocals. Where the singer is about to have a breakdown because he's about to be murdered (probably figuratively, it can also be literally). Fun emphatic instrumentation is helpful here, but not necessary. Similar to the last couple cats, this sort of music is not what I seek out all the time, so it might be hit-or-miss, but please try me.
Black Country, New Road - The Place Where He Inserted the Blade
Lingua Ignota - Do You Doubt Me Traitor
KennyHoopla - how will i rest in peace if i'm buried by a highway?
11) Tongues: Like the last cat, this one is centered on vocals. Unlike the last cat, I'm not looking for sung vocals here. I'm looking for vocals used in a different manner. Send me a song that utilizes vocals as an instrument, spoken word, or some other non-traditional manner. The less "standard singing" there is, the better.
Tanya Tagaq - Tongues
Pinki Floyd - The Great Gig in the Sky
Chat Pile - Why
12) We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling: I've talked about it at times, but I love a good closing track to an album. One that builds that wonderful pulse of energy before slowly fading into oblivion, allowing you to slowly take off your headphones and ponder the full experience. Send me a song that is a closing track that is also in this vein. I won't be too harsh on capturing the energy I'm looking for, but closing track on an album is a must.
of Montreal - We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling
The Decemberists - Sons and Daughters
Parannoul - After the Magic 
