The Syndicate

damn 20

listen parties about to be one at a time

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2020 3:15 pm damn 20

listen parties about to be one at a time

But we always only listen to one song at a time

imagine if we didn't

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2020 5:39 pm imagine if we didn't

I was cleaning up old guitar hero files to make room on my computer the other day and accidentally started like 130 midi/mp3 files simultaneously. It was cool, but it wasn't pleasant.

21

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2020 5:39 pm imagine if we didn't

every single reveal would be one experimental noise track
how avant-garde

MP is into that idea.

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.

That’s a long list. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for a top tier to form on the leaderboard. Should be exciting to watch play out! But ten weeks to reveal it all feels like an eternity. Good luck Mac. That’s a lot of listening!

Sloonei wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 3:19 am MP is into that idea.

I absolutely am.

holy shit

G-Man wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 10:14 am

That’s a long list. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for a top tier to form on the leaderboard. Should be exciting to watch play out! But ten weeks to reveal it all feels like an eternity. Good luck Mac. That’s a lot of listening!

I'd be in favor of finding a second weekly time that works, and that way we can sort of keep the pairs of themed categories/"acts" closer together

But that's of course contingent on Mac being able to prepare for that, which is daunting. I co-hosted a mini-walrus on MU that had 26 subs, but it was just 4 categories, so it was a bit overwhelming but for a shorter overall duration.

nutella wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 3:44 pm But that's of course contingent on Mac being able to prepare for that, which is daunting. I co-hosted a mini-walrus on MU that had 26 subs, but it was just 4 categories, so it was a bit overwhelming but for a shorter overall duration.

Yeah, I have 28 subs for my MU walrus right now, and it helps that I allowed people to skip 2 of 9 cats, but it's still a lot of work. There was no way I could do more than one reveal per week with the exception of this past week. So it's totally understandable to me if Mac does decide to use a once per week reveal schedule.

Regardless of the method though, this is absolutely hype. Props to Mac for recruiting like a badass, and also to everyone who decided to submit and play with us. I'm pumped!

nobody is allowed to sub songs over 3 minutes

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

perhaps just share youtube link and give it a few minutes

So my 45 minute submission is a party foul?

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.

Why not one category a week? It would stretch things out, but what else is there to do?

I honestly think the best idea at this point is to just do one cat reveal per week. It's still daunting from the sheer number of participants, but it also makes it realistically manageable to handle that for the sake of Mac's time/sanity I think.

Exactly, bird.

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

1 cat per week is a good idea. That's pretty much the same as 2 cats in previous walruses, so I don't see why you'd have to cut songs short? Unless someone subbed some 20 minute epics.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Tue May 26, 2020 11:47 am 1 cat per week is a good idea. That's pretty much the same as 2 cats in previous walruses, so I don't see why you'd have to cut songs short? Unless someone subbed some 20 minute epics.

I submitted nothing but 20-minute Meat Loaf epics.

I was pretty tempted to submit 40+ minute musique concrete pieces myself.

Hey [mention]MacDougall[/mention] are you still going to start at 5:30 eastern tomorrow or are we starting at 7:00?

7

I would like to play.

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?

[mention]MacDougall[/mention]- Sorry I missed the reveals! The original date was listed as May 31st, and I assumed that meant May 31st in the US. I forgot about Australia time.

Glad you liked the song! I actually hated this song when it came out, because I thought Everclear had sold out and were going for a more pop-radio-friendly sound after their big album in the late 90s (So Much for the Afterglow). I was a snotty teenager who didn't come from a broken home, so I didn't appreciate the song being written from the perspective of a child of divorce at the time.

When you changed the category meaning and negated my awesome initial song choice, I thought of Everclear's "Father of Mine" because it's raw, angry, and the singer's most autobiographical song. "Wonderful" was an afterthought but it stuck with me. I had my wife listen to both of them and she told me to pick "Wonderful" because it almost made her cry. She's an elementary school teacher, and she said that she's had kids who have said things like the lyrics of the song about parents yelling, hearing bad words that make them want to cry, and not wanting to go home after school.

I'll try to make it to the next one!

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

i've given you all a two category head start

let's see if it'll be enough

oof mac, forgot to sub cat 5 and 6. will do that asap with my sis, sorry

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.

can u post last weeks vids and comments?

Yes. It's all here.

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

Amy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 08, 2020 5:11 am i've given you all a two category head start

let's see if it'll be enough

it begins

[mention]BLOODY[/mention]
[mention]raz_zaa[/mention]
[mention]Amy[/mention]
[mention]NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME[/mention]
[mention]Sloonei[/mention]
[mention]Keldeo[/mention]
[mention]dunya[/mention]
[mention]birdwithteeth11[/mention]
[mention]Turnip Head[/mention]
[mention]Epignosis[/mention]
[mention]speedchuck[/mention]
[mention]sprityo[/mention]
[mention]M Plus 7[/mention]
[mention]nutella[/mention]
[mention]G-Man[/mention]
[mention]A Person[/mention]
[mention]TonyStarkPrime[/mention]
[mention]Boomslang[/mention]
[mention]motobot[/mention]
[mention]Queen Pink[/mention]
[mention]juliets[/mention]
[mention]iaafr[/mention]
[mention]Enrique[/mention]
[mention]archie.rockodile[/mention]

We're underway right now on the Discord!

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

Thanks, Mac! This has been so fun and interesting, can't wait to see how the rest unfold!

Hopefully I will have rest of my toons in sune. Sorry for dragging on these, mr mac.

[mention]MacDougall[/mention] wheres the submissions?

One more night! This last one should be epic. I hope you all brought your A-games for it.

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

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

In the spreadsheet I already shared

Thank you for hosting, it was a lot of fun to submit to this and to see everyone else's songs!

Thanks so much for hosting, Mac! And especially so for listening to my submissions, haha.