The Syndicate

sprityo wrote: ↑Sun Jun 28, 2020 3:17 pm @MacDougall wheres the submissions?

In the spreadsheet I already shared

Final scores

112 87.7
Turnip Head 87.7
tteeggaann 87.1
Dobby 86.9
Keldeo 86.4
Juliets 85
Birdwithteeth11 84.4
G-Man 84.4
Nutella 84.4
Boomslang 84.4
Speedchuck 84.2
Nanooktheconqueror 83.3
Epignosis 82.9
BLOODY 82
Sprityo 81.2
raz_zaa 80.4
JaggedJimmyJay 79.7
Enrique 79.4
M Plus 7 78.8
Gbsfranca 77.8
TonyStarkPrime 77.7
Queen Pink 77.1
Motobot 76.8
AudreyMcAwesome 74.4
Amy 71.2
Archie_Rockodile 69.8
DC 65.6
Dunya 64.3
Pawn Lelouch 62.3
Fluffy Rabbit 47.3
Shubaka 43.4
Sloonei 42

MacDougall wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:24 am Yes. It's all here.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13OQ ... r5rOk/edit

Doc has been updated

Yes. It's all here.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13OQ ... r5rOk/edit

I have updated the schedule with new deadlines given that we are now doing 1 per week. As before if you just want to sub them all be my guest. If you've already subbed and want to change a category, you have up until the deadline of that category to do so.

[mention]G-Man[/mention] what was your original choice dude?

Category One Results

1st Place: Muse - Escape (9 points)
Submitted by Nutella

A deep cut from Muse's very first full length. Perfect cat fit. Love the song. Congrats on a hard fought win in category 1 Nutella!



2nd Place: Big Thief - Real Love (8.9 points)
Submitted by Keldeo

How I have I never heard this? This song is haunting. Great submission!



3rd Place: Toehider - Not Much of a Man (8.8 points)
Submitted by Speedchuck

This motherfucker is Australian and I've never heard him? This dude is wrecking me man holy shit. Why did you do this to me?



3rd Place: Metric - Dressed to Suppress (8.8 points)
Submitted by Turnip Head

I adore Metric as a band. I have never heard this one. I loved it and it's a fantastic category fit both sonically and lyrically.



5th Place: Everclear - Wonderful (8.6 points)
Submitted by G-Man

I actually think this is a really clever submission. Reflecting on the lyrics in light of the category it's a really powerful song. Great submission. There's just something about Everclear that have always kept me away. I think it's the singer's hair tbh.



6th Place: Tracy Chapman - Fast Car (8.5 points)
Submitted by 112

Fast Car might be one of the most iconic "sad songs" of all time, but it never gets old any time I hear it. When it comes to themes of human imperfection this tale of homelessness, alcoholism and losing it all has them in spades. Tremendous song and tremendous category fit.



7th Place: Gypsy and the Cat - Broken Kites (8.4 points)
Submitted by Dobby

This song wears it's influences on it's sleeve. As an Australian band you can hear the palpable influence of bands like The Triffids and The Go-Betweens but there's also something about this song that reminds me of Gorillaz. High quality cat fit. Gets a good nod going.



8th Place: Darren Hanlon - I Wish That I Was Beautiful For You (8.3 points)
Submitted by tteeggaann

Darren Hanlon is one of the more underrated songwriters in the world today. There are few people who can craft songs that pack the emotional punch that he can. This is a standout in so many ways. Idiosyncratic and oh so relateable and the story of the film clip is wonderful too.



9th Place: Angelique Kidjo - Born Under Punches (8.1 points)
Submitted by Boomslang

What happens when a world music diva from Benin removes all of the nurture from the nature of an iconic classic record and injects into it 57 years of extreme love of music of all types. The immediately smashed me in the head. The cat fit is quite sketchy sadly.



10th Place: NF - Change (8.1 points)
Submitted by raz_zaa

I don't listen to much rap but when I do it sounds like this. I really love the category fit here. Great marks!



11th Place: Johnny Cash - Hurt (8 points)
Submitted by TonyStarkPrime

Too obvious but it's a good sub for the category. One of my favourite recordings of all time.



12th Place: Modest Mouse - Lives (8 points)
Submitted by Birdwithteeth11

Modest Mouse are effortlessly good. Cat fit is actually fucking me up dude. Only song here that gave me existential dread. My mum is a witch what the fuck are you doing to me? The lyrics just get more and more fucked as it goes.



13th Place: The Middle East - Lonely (8 points)
Submitted by JaggedJimmyJay

Shocked me when I saw this pop up. The Middle East are a random Aussie band that existed for just a few year earlier this century but are probably one of the most underrated bands you'll ever have the pleasure to hear. I saw them once in the basement of a dilapidated Queenslander home. This song meanders along a bit too much for me but it builds up to something that fucks eventually. Nice sub.



14th Place: Leonard Cohen - Teachers (7.9 points)
Submitted by Sloonei

Leonard Cohen fucking melts me and this song is great.



15th Place: The Protomen - The Good Doctor (7.8 points)
Submitted by BLOODY

A surprisingly awesome entry. I really enjoyed this tune. Apparently all this band do is perform music about Mega Man and the associated cast of characters and canon surrounding that universe. I love how earnest they manage to make it all sound and the idea of applying the category this way appeals. A bit long and missing the killer chorus I need to score it high on enjoyment.



16th Place: LCD Soundsystem - Yr City's a Sucker (7.6 points)
Submitted by Fluffy Rabbit

Grimey and groovy as fuck. Of all the songs in this list this one probably captures the themes the best musically. It feels like the music that a bent and twisted weird sub human would have in their head while walking down the street of a red light district in the middle of the night winking at girls and pointing finger guns at people. Truly imperfect, truly broken as fuck.



17th Place: Lauren Hoffman - Broken (7.5 points)
Submitted by Sprityo

The verses are really awesome. Lyrics fuck with me. The chorus is weak and that pisses me off because it could have been so much more.



18th Place: Bettye Lavette - Love Reign O'Er Me (7.4 points)
Submitted by Juliets

Bettye taking on one of the greatest rock epics of all time and makes it her own. Hit me harder the first time than on replay. It felt like it was missing the epic moment I was waiting for but still great submission!



19th Place: Street Sects - If This Is What Passes for Living (7.3 points)
Submitted by DC

If Frankie Teardrop just left his wife and kids and decided to establish a society of miscreants in the sewers of an urban hellscape. This is the most industrial sounding thing I've ever heard and god damn those lyrics are negative and depressing. This is less human imperfection and more human deprecation.



20th Place: Mark & Kremont - Sad Story (Out of Luck) (7.3 points)
Submitted by Pawn Lelouch

A very straightforward cautionary tale that really hit me quite hard when I first started listening to it. Not something I'd find myself coming back to but a nice inclusion here because of the category fit.



21st Place: Meat Puppets - Can't Be Counted On (7.1 points)
Submitted by Motobot

I'd ask Epi how his child got into The Meat Puppets but like my daughter submitted System of a Down so who am I to judge. This is a great choon and lyrically an awesome cat fit. Doesn't smash me over the head though.



22nd Place: System of a Down - Chop Suey! (6.9 points)
Submitted by AudreyMcAwesome

System of a Down are probably my favourite "nu-metal" band. This is their flagship song and the song that vaulted them into the mainstream. The title is a play on the word "suicide" and the song is about the experience of having just committed suicide hoping to be sent to heaven but instead finding yourself in hell, I think. It's a reasonably good category fit, a really good if overplayed song but loses marks because it was a global bloody hit.



23rd Place: Kero Kero Bonito - You Know How It Is (6.8 points)
Submitted by Gbsfranca

I really can't stand the production on this but I can hear a really nice song under there. The contrast between the sad lyrics and upbeat sound is always a winner here.



24th Place: Sarah McLachlan - Good Enough (6.5 points)
Submitted by Queen Pink

Could submit so many Sarah McLachlan songs but this is Good Enough!



25th Place: Van Der Graaf Generator - House With No Door (6.4 points)
Submitted by Epignosis

Not doing a lot to keep my attention. It's a pretty ditty. I'm not sure I fully get what these guys are about. It feels like they're trying to make something meaningful but they don't actually believe it or something. Or maybe they do because of acid I can't fucking tell. I like it when the vocalist starts going off towards the end. Lyrically very on point though. Got basically every category relevant point I could assign but I just really don't like this band sadly.



26th Place: Your Woman Sleep With Others - Cram Schools Killed the Children (6.3 points)
Submitted by Shubaka

This was the submission that tore me up the most because a) it's in a language I don't understand and had to Google Translate and b) I want to like what they're doing but I just don't. It feels like their thing is "Taiwanese band doing American music" and that's why they have fans or something? I don't mean to be harsh but it just feels like too hodge podge. Like there are heavy metal solos and shit? Make up your own mind I guess. In translate the lyrical cat fit is okay and I appreciate getting thrown such a curveball!



27th Place: Frank Zappa - Trouble Every Day (6 points)
Submitted by Nanooktheconqueror

I need to be super high to really enjoy this. Had a week off punching cones.



28th Place: Suicide - Frankie Teardrop (5.3 points)
Submitted by M Plus 7

I think MP has just decided to tank the chance of winning this walrus in an attempt to make me realise his utlity for music. I hated listening to this but I couldn't turn it off.



29th Place: It Wasn't Me - Shaggy (4.9 points)
Submitted by Dunya

Interesting take on the category but it's It Wasn't Me by Shaggy so like what the fuck do you want from me?

7

I think the easiest thing to do is run category 1 and just see how everyone (including myself) is feeling after that and reassess.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 6:22 pm perhaps just share youtube link and give it a few minutes

I'm definitely going to have to do that for songs that are over 5 minutes.

I think I am just going to have to not full play everything for reveals.

Alright entries are closed and we ended up with ... 29. Here's the list:

MP7
Shubaka
Nanook
Nutella
Birdwithteeth
Sloonei
Juliets
Epignosis
Motobot
Queen Pink
Boomslang
Turnip Head
Dunya
raz_zaa
G-Man
Keldeo
BLOODY
Speedchuck
JaggedJimmyJay
TonyStarkPrime
Pawn Lelouch
112
DC
Sprityo
Fluffy Rabbit
tteeggaann
AudreyMcAwesome
Dobby
Gbsfranca

So we have three kids (Audrey is my one lol), one sister of Dunia and my partner Tegan also entered.

Gonna be about 2 hours per category if I full play so back to back reveals probably too much of a marathon now.

Just over 48 hours left to submit here btw.

NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME wrote: ↑Sun May 17, 2020 9:23 pm So it’s supposed to be imperfection of a particular human, not humans in general? That was not clear to me tbh

Nah it's fine the way you swing it. I'm not gonna score anyone down for taking a little bit of liberty with the category explanations.

G-Man wrote: ↑Sun May 17, 2020 5:45 pm @MacDougall- with the change to Category 1, what do you mean by imperfection? Before the change you said imperfection in design. What kind of human imperfection are you looking for- physical or moral?

The inspiration of the category is the kind of fallout that comes from being damaged during your formative years. Which is why it was originally "in design". So the kind of imperfection that stems from childhood trauma etc.

G-Man wrote: ↑Sun May 17, 2020 12:13 pm

MacDougall wrote: ↑Sun May 17, 2020 7:58 am Updated category 1.

Grr. I had just found a great track to use last night for the original category description. That throws off my playlist’s balance now.

Back to the drawing board.

Soz mate. I kind of just looked at it and thought "wtf am I talking about" and made it simpler.

Ouch

Updated category 1.

Oooh Boomslang

Updated discord link and slightly modified scoring criteria.

M Plus 7 wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 1:10 pm I have one question as well! @MacDougall

Category 2: How important is it that the song is clearly written about someone or something? Or, in other words, if there's a quirky song but the topic itself is enigmatic, is that a problem?

Not a problem.

G-Man wrote: ↑Mon May 11, 2020 10:42 pm Questions for @MacDougall:

Category 1: What does this description mean? Is the song itself imperfect or is the song about something that is imperfect?

Category 3: Does 'child' include those awkward teenage years?

Category 5: Are we to imagine ourselves at a party in the present day, or could it be what we envision high school party music might have sounded like when we were of that age?

Category 1 - Preferably about imperfection. I would rather listen to good music.
Category 3 - Oh yes, absolutely. Child 0-18.
Category 5 - You can do whatever you want, I would envision it at my own age if it were me but I don't mind

Hngggg

Playing This Walrus: This Walrus will be 5 parts with 5 reveals conducted over a (you guessed it) 5 week period. Something a little bit different is that I will be setting deadlines of submissions for each of the categories separately so that you don’t have to submit them all at once though you may if you prefer it that way. The game times will remain from the previous Walrus which amounts to 9am Australian Eastern Standard Time on Sundays. Reveals are Saturday 5.30pm EST.

Here is the updated schedule. Submissions are due 7 days beforehand.

31st May: Category 1 - Broken - I would like to hear a song that is about imperfection. Specifically human imperfection.

7th June: Category 2 - Oddball - I would like to hear a song that represents a person, thing or concept that is quirky or odd, in a way that may or may not be charming.

14th June: Category 3 - Actually Terrible - This is a song that represents the most embarrassing/cringeworthy or devastating thing that ever happened to you as a child/teenager.

21st June: Category 4 - We’ve Had Enough - Show me a song that represents the feeling of breaking out of your psychological bindings. Letting go of fear and taking control of yourself. What you do with that newfound independence … is unclear.

28th June: Category 5 - Goon of Fortune - Imagine being at a house party surrounded by alcohol, drugs and teenagers. What’s on the stereo? This can be you at one now or you at one when you were that age. Either way I don't mind.

5th July: Category 6 - Are You Okay? - This song captures the essence of what it is to be psychotic. To lose your grip on reality and start living life accordingly.

12th July: Category 7 - (Friends and) Family Guy - The song represents finding comfort in family and friends. Discovery of new love, having children and realising the value of normality.

19th July: Category 8 - Success - A song that describes or captures the feeling of finally accomplishing something that has eluded you or that you’ve worked very hard to get.

26th July: Category 9 - Fuck This Shit - How does COVID-19 make you feel? Really? Play me a song that demonstrates that.

2nd August: - Category 10 - The Future’s Overrated - Have you ever just wanted to stop aspiring and settle into a simple life of debauchery? Give in to your aspirations and lean into your vices with me for this final act. Let’s go out having a good time.

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When you submit your songs, please submit only a link, not a full youtube video and don't write out the song name. This is so submissions can remain as anonymous as possible. So if it's a youtube video, copy the link to your clipboard, and bracket it with the url tag like so Genres I Like - Classic rock, country and western, bluegrass, punk, post-punk, new wave, 80s pop, 90s pop, grunge, gangsta rap, nu-metal, emo, ska, pop-punk indie-rock, dance-rock, dance-punk, electroclash, hardcore, metalcore.
My All Time GOATs - Johnny Cash, Talking Heads, Thrice, Arcade Fire

Don’t be afraid to sub electronic music or hip-hop just because you think I’m not cool. I’m totally hip to what you rad dudes and chicks are listening to okay.

We will schedule listening parties on the Discord server as usual.

You have until May 24th, 11:59pm EST to submit your first act!

link to the Walrus discord: https://discord.gg/635KPKh