[WALRUS] March Madrus

#1

Life has been quite busy lately or else I would have posted this sooner. I apologize for the short deadline.

MARCH MADRUS!

Because I can't do anything normal, this will be a unique spin on the walrus concept. Many will enter, but only one will be left standing at the end. Here is how it works:

PRELIMS:
-Submission Deadline: Friday, February 25th

-There is no limit to how many submitters may take part in the prelims.

-There will be three preliminary categories (see the end of this post).

-All three category submissions and the tie-breaker must be sent in by the deadline to take part in the prelims.

-Depending on how many people sign up, there may be one, two, or even three reveal nights for the prelims.

-At the end of the prelims, all submitters will be ranked by score from highest to lowest. This will determine the seeding for the double-elimination tournament.

DOUBLE-ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT:
-After the prelims, this walrus event moves into one-on-one matchups. Everyone starts in the winners bracket. Once a participant loses their first matchup, they move down to the second-chance bracket. Once a participant loses two head-to-head matchups, they are eliminated from contention.

-If exactly 8 or 16 people take part in the prelims, then everyone will make the tournament. If there are more than 8 but fewer than 16 participants in the prelims, then only 8 will make it to the tournament. If there are more than 16 participants in the prelims, then only 16 will make the tournament.

-Double-elimination categories will be revealed at a later date. As with the prelims, the tournament categories will also be loosely March Madness/sports themed. I have a number of categories drawn up so far, but I may reduce or combine them as necessary based on the number of participants.

-Due to the head-to-head nature of the tournament, participants will be asked to submit tie-breaker songs along with their category submissions. Sometimes the tie-breakers will be tied to the category, but sometimes tie-breakers will be any song the submitter wishes to use.

-As the tournament progresses, there will be fewer and fewer participants remaining, and reveal nights will become shorter as a result. My initial thought is to run reveals on the weekends, but reveal night scheduling will remain flexible for now. I will try to weave reveal sessions around the March Madness schedule as best as possible.

RULES AND GUIDELINES:
-Once again, you are not considered part of the prelims unless you submit all three prelim category songs and a tie-breaker song to me by the deadline.

-All submissions need to be sent to me via Syndicate PM.

-You do not need to disguise your submissions when sending them in. I don't mind being spoiled.

-After the prelims are over, participants will be prohibited from submitting any song revealed in the prelims for tournament categories.

-Submissions for the double-elimination tournament are first-come-first serve. If you submit a song that someone else has submitted for that same round, you will be notified and asked to submit another song.

-Once a song has been revealed in the tournament, participants will be likewise prohibited from submitting it in later rounds of the tournament.

-Scoring will be a two-part system. All songs will first be scored on a 10-point scale (using half-points) based on how much I like the song on its own. Each song will then be scored on a 5-point scale based on how much I agree with the song's catfit equity. Since I don't mind being spoiled, feel free to defend the merits of your submissions.

BANNED ARTISTS:
No artist is technically banned, however I will assess a full 1-point penalty if you submit a song by any of the following artists. These are all artists whom I have submitted to previous walrus events. Most, but not all, of these artists are reflective of my broad musical tastes:

Spoiler: show

There will also be a 1-point penalty for submitting anything by the following artists whom I enjoy profusely:

Spoiler: show

Penalty assessments may not matter as much in the prelims as they might in the tournament. If, however, you feel that you can still achieve a high/winning score with a song by these artists even after the 1-point penalty, by all means- press your luck.

PRELIM CATEGORIES:

1) HYPE SONG: Give me something stadium-friendly that gets both your team and the home crowd fired up before a game.

2) TEAM: Give me a song that embodies or conveys a sense of camaraderie akin to that which you might find on a team.

3) PROVING GROUND: The end of the season is where you prove to the world that you belong in the tournament. Give me a song by a band or artist who hasn't been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet but deserves to be.

PRELIM TIE-BREAKER: Any song you like. This will only be used for determining seeding in the event of a tie in the standings after all three prelim rounds.

DOUBLE-ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT CATEGORIES:
Tournament Bracket Round 1 Category
BEST FOOT FORWARD- First impressions are everything. Give me a killer opening track off of a debut album. TIE-BREAKER: the album track immediately following it.

Good luck!

CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS:
1. Syn
2. Boomslang
3. screenplay
4. nutella
5. bloobird
6. hollowkatt
7. DaughterOfOmega
8. Epignosis
9. falcon45ca
10. Marmot
11. Elohcin
12. motobot
13. Simon
14. Queen Pink
15. dunya
16. ignoramus

#2

#3

#4

Ah, three songs. I can find time for that!
*reads rest of rules*
Ah, shit. Well, let's do it!

**http://www.last.fm/user/nutella23** · #5

entry sent

#6

There's still 10 days left to sign up! Only four participants so far. Don't miss out on the madness!

#7

We have just FIVE people signed up so far. Let's get to eight at the vey least so we can run an 8-person tournament!

A lot of the tournament categories are still in flux, as I made enough for a 16-person tournament. I can, however, reveal the Tournament Round 1 category:

Tournament Bracket Round 1 Category
BEST FOOT FORWARD- First impressions are everything. Give me a killer opening track off of a debut album. TIE-BREAKER: the album track immediately following it.

#8

ok fine

#9

Marking

#10

Oh Friday deadline? Nvm, rip

**http://www.last.fm/user/nutella23** · #11

NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 4:34 pm Oh Friday deadline? Nvm, rip

it's only a few songs you can do it

#12

NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 4:34 pm Oh Friday deadline? Nvm, rip

friday for first category at least! i believe in u

#13

NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 4:34 pm Oh Friday deadline? Nvm, rip

For Friday, you only need to submit for the three Prelim categories and a freebie tiebreaker song. The tournament Round 1 category has been revealed but will not be due until after Prelim reveal night, which will be sometime around Selection Sunday for the NCAA tourney.

#14

Alright, we're up to at least eight participants. This should be a very interesting prelim stage so far.

More folks can sign up if they wish. We may not get to 16 at this pace, but we'll make a go of it with whomever else feels brave enough to step into the ring.

#15

Oh I only need four songs by friday? Yeah I can slap a mediocre entry together

#16

Subbed

#17

dunya wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 6:03 pmin

I haven’t received your subs yet. Still in?

Also, we’re up to 10 participants now. Some of the scoring is going to be very close based on what I’ve seen so far.

I’m also willing to let sign-ups run through the end of the weekend. At this rate, I may need two reveal nights for prelims but we’ll see.

#18

With two late entries from the House of E, we're up to 14 participants!

@NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME

@dunya

If you guys want in, I need your prelim subs in the next 18 hours. Otherwise I'll have my wife and kids work to fill us up to 16.

Thanks!

#19

G-Man wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 11:37 pm With two late entries from the House of E, we're up to 14 participants!

@NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME

@dunya

If you guys want in, I need your prelim subs in the next 18 hours. Otherwise I'll have my wife and kids work to fill us up to 16.

Thanks!

subbed, thanks for your patience <3

#20

dunya wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 9:13 am
G-Man wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 11:37 pm With two late entries from the House of E, we're up to 14 participants!

@NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME

@dunya

If you guys want in, I need your prelim subs in the next 18 hours. Otherwise I'll have my wife and kids work to fill us up to 16.

Thanks!
subbed, thanks for your patience <3

#21

Lost track of this again, just gonna bow out lol

#22

NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 12:23 pm Lost track of this again, just gonna bow out lol

No worries. I'll have my wife make some picks.

I will try to get a schedule up for the tournament in the next two days. The first prelim reveal session will be sometime this weekend.

#23

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 11:12 pm
NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 12:23 pm Lost track of this again, just gonna bow out lol
No worries. I'll have my wife make some picks.

I will try to get a schedule up for the tournament in the next two days. The first prelim reveal session will be sometime this weekend.

Here's what's currently scheduled:

Saturday March 5 at 4:00 pm est - The Syn-phony Strikes Back - TS Server

Sunday March 6 at 4:00 pm est - hollowkatrus - TS Server

#24

Syn wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 11:19 pm
G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 11:12 pm
NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 12:23 pm Lost track of this again, just gonna bow out lol
No worries. I'll have my wife make some picks.

I will try to get a schedule up for the tournament in the next two days. The first prelim reveal session will be sometime this weekend.
Here's what's currently scheduled:

Saturday March 5 at 4:00 pm est - The Syn-phony Strikes Back - TS Server

Sunday March 6 at 4:00 pm est - hollowkatrus - TS Server

Any idea how long those sessions might run? I've got three prelim categories, and each one runs a little over an hour. I could make the first reveal be just one category and the second reveal the other two cats if time is a concern this weekend.

#25

Mine will run for approximately 2 hours. Video mafia on TS starts at 6 PM EST, though.

Hollowkatt's will run for... probably less? Just over an hour, I think.

#26

Syn wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 12:01 am Mine will run for approximately 2 hours. Video mafia on TS starts at 6 PM EST, though.

Hollowkatt's will run for... probably less? Just over an hour, I think.

Hmm. Maybe I will aim for a 7:00 Sunday slot then. I could get one or two cats out of the way.

Also, my wife is off the hook. Ignoramus sent me their subs on Discord. I just haven't been on Discord in over a week to discover this.

#27

Here are the goods, folks! I will PM this to all of the participants as well.

There will be five tournament rounds. The exact dates for each reveal night are going to have to remain flexible, as March is stating to pick up a little bit for me.

The first tournament reveal night will feature just one round of the tournament. Subsequent reveal nights will feature multiple rounds of the tournament. Tournament matchups are one-on-one. If your submission scores higher than your opponent, you win. You don't have to have the best song of the night, just the best song for each matchup you find yourself in.

If you fall into the Second-Chance Bracket, then you will have to submit more than one song for each reveal night. If you are eliminated, then any additional songs you may have submitted already will not be judged or revealed. Please review the bracket and the tourney categories images in the spoiler sections below (warning- image files are on the big side). I will try to post the categories and reveal nights in the OP in the next day or two.

Reveal Night 1 submissions are due by March 12th.

Reveal Night 2 submissions are due by March 19th.

Reveal Night 3 submissions are due by March 26th.

Reveal Night 4 submissions are due by April 2nd.

Reveal Night 5 submissions are due by April 9th.

MARCH MADRUS BRACKETS:

Spoiler: show

DOUBLE-ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT CATEGORIES:

Spoiler: show

Good luck!

#28

I don't understand. What purpose does the prelims serve if we're all submitting to the tournament anyway? Is it just for seeding?

#29

Syn wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 12:38 am I don't understand. What purpose does the prelims serve if we're all submitting to the tournament anyway? Is it just for seeding?

Yes. As stated in the OP, all participants will be ranked based on the sum of their three prelim scores. Everyone submits for the first two tournament reveal nights, but we’ll start eliminating folks from that point forward.

#30

Sent in first three songs.

#31

PRELIM #1 REVEAL RESULTS

HYPE SONG: Give me something stadium friendly that gets your team and the home crowd fired up before a game.

16th Place:
Yes- "Roundabout"
Submitted by Simon

The Song Itself: Always thought it was a waste of an intro. Good bass, but the minstrely harmonized song and the organ sounds very tame 80s to me. The funky parts (not really a chorus or bridge?) are the best but it takes to long to get to those parts. There's too much going on in the song to deny that Yes is capable and talented, but we're not here to win objective recognition of talent; we're here to rock the joint.

Cat Fit: Too much acoustic for a hype song. Some elements work from a hype angle, but the whole song fails to generate the kind of excitement needed to pump up a crowd. It's also far too long for a hype song that plays just before the start of the game.

Song Score: 6/10
Cat Fit Score: 2/5

Total Score: 8/15

----------------------------------------------------------

13th Place (tie):
Jars of Clay- "Flood"
Submitted by Elohcin

The Song Itself: I remember this song being a big deal in the mid-90s when Christian rock was having a moment (it's heyday for my generation perhaps?). It's good. In fact, it's the kind of Christian music that appeals to me- it blends ambiguous and obvious religious overtones without being obnoxious in wearing its faith on its sleeve. I prefer the vocals in the chorus to the vocals in the verses. Musically, it falls victim to the same flaw of a lot of Christian music- the music is a bit unremarkable. Still, it's a friendly and familiar tune to my ears.

Cat Fit: Acoustic just doesn't hype. I can see Christian high schools and colleges using this as an attempt at a faith-based hype song, but the crossover appeal for this tune was strictly on the radio. Good song, but not the pre-game banger this category requires.

Song Score: 7/10
Cat Fit Score: 2.5/5

Total Score: 9.5/15

----------------------------------------------------------

13th Place (tie):
Korn- "Blind"
Submitted by srceenplay

The Song Itself: Hoo boy, here we go. I hung out with goths, skaters, and metalheads in high school. I didn't belong to or emulate any of those groups, but I hung out with them. The goth kids were genuinely nice and listened to this and more obscure "extreme" bands. The aggression of the music was not necessarily healing for them, but maybe cathartic in some way. I could and can still relate to that. A good angry song gets the stress out. After a killer opening, this song gets a little darker than I prefer to go- especially that bridge piece. I'm not much of a lyrics person, so I dig the release that comes with aggressive music and the sound of aggressive vocals. Sometimes lyrics come through in my brain and it takes me out of the song a bit. That happens with this song. I don't know that it descends all the way to wallowing, but it certainly crosses over from angry to desolate, and that's a bridge too far for me to enjoy.

Cat Fit: That killer intro has been used as hype music. The music itself is spot-on for pumping fists and foaming at the mouth for your team, but the lyrics give me too much pause to maintain that fist-pumping. That's probably why stadiums only play the intro and loop the sludgy, bouncy guitar part.

Song Score: 6.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 3/5

Total Score: 9.5/15

----------------------------------------------------------

13th Place (tie):
NOMA- "Brain Power"
Submitted by nutella

The Song Itself: I like a good techno/electronica/EDM banger, but this skews a little closer to cheesy Tekken soundtrack material. I do appreciate the restraint in not over-producing the whole thing. My tinnitus has an almost aurally-epileptic quality to it, where rapid choppy sounds start to break down my equilibrium and mess with my head a little bit, so parts of this song were a little dicey for me. That's not the artist's fault, but it does limit my ability to enjoy a tune. One objective fault (in my opinion at least) is that this track runs about two minutes to long.

Cat Fit: This song starts out and spends most of its runtime in 5th gear. That's not bad for a hype song, but spending six minutes in mostly 5th and 4th gear is exhausting. I don't think a team would want to play the whole thing for a hype tune. Trimming it down for use as a hype song hurts the catfit, but I honestly see this more as a song to play over the loudspeakers as people are entering the stadium/arena.

Song Score: 6.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 3/5

Total Score: 9.5/15

----------------------------------------------------------

12th Place:
Imagine Dragons- "Believer"
Submitted by Motobot

The Song Itself: Quite the bombastic radio-friendly unit shifter, isn't it? Imagine Dragons has never lured me in. Maybe it's because they sound a little to polished for me. There aren't any rough edges here, so it mostly slides in one ear and out the other. There's nothing here that offends my ears, but there also isn't anything here that makes my ears say "more of that, please!"

Cat Fit: Despite this song not being my thing, it is definitely a stadium-friendly and stadium-ready track. It sounds big and it sounds like it's on a mission. Perhaps this could have also done will in the Proving Ground category for fit. I'm pretty sure this gets used in sports circles already, as it's larger than life vibe but steady, bobbing pace would work well for a pre-game hype song.

Song Score: 6/10
Cat Fit Score: 4/5

Total Score: 10/15

----------------------------------------------------------

10th Place (tie):
Circa Waves- "Fire That Burns"
Submitted by Syn

The Song Itself: If not for the plinky guitar in the second half of the verses and the effect-laden strumming right after the chorus, this song would probably just have gotten a 'pretty good' from me. It's very indie, and a lot of today's indie sounds kind of samey to me, but this had some solid moments.

Cat Fit: This song approaches hype-worthy in that it has rising energy and the chorus would sound good blasting out of loudspeakers as teams come out of the tunnel. The verses are a little too soft and tame to be a first-choice hype tune though.

Song Score: 7.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 3/5

Total Score: 10.5/15

----------------------------------------------------------

10th Place (tie):
Disturbed- "Ten Thousand Fists"
Submitted by Marmot

The Song Itself: I generally like Disturbed, but this is not even a top-five track for them in my opinion. It's off their third album, which started to feel a little redundant at times for them. It contains elements that have been pleasers in other tracks- the 'ah-ah' throat blasts, the spooky whisper bridge piece- but it doesn't stand on its own legs quite enough. The tempo feels a little too rocking-without-rocking-too-hard formula behind it.

Cat Fit: It sounds big, the visual of an arena or stadium full of people raising their fists to intimidate the visiting team works, but the tempo works against it a little too much. It's a safe choice for a hype song, and it would work, but it doesn't make me foam at the mouth.

Song Score: 7/10
Cat Fit Score: 3.5/5

Total Score: 10.5/15

----------------------------------------------------------

8th Place (tie):
Florence + the Machine- "Dog Days Are Over"
Submitted by dunya

The Song Itself: I think I first encountered this tune when I worked through Spotify's top 100 tracks for each year playlists from 1970 through 2016 (I gave up near the end- sue me!). At times arresting, at times beautiful, at times thunderous, this song is a hard one to place for me. The chorus is so overpowering that I don't remember the verses at all. The interplay between loud and soft is great, but I think a great song for me is one where I remember the whole thing.

Cat Fit: Again, the verses are way too soft for a hype tune. The chorus could easily be used though. Don't delay the thunder if you want the crowd to erupt.

Song Score: 8.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 2.5/5

Total Score: 11/15

----------------------------------------------------------

8th Place (tie):
Justice- "Waters of Nazareth"
Submitted by Boomslang

The Song Itself: Yikes. Tone down the low-end distortion and this would be top-notch stuff. Until then, I'm going to sit here fighting against my tinnitus in places.

Cat Fit: Even thought it might wreck a stadium or arena sound system, this could very easily be used when the team storms in and warms up. It lends itself to any amount of fog, lasers, and flashing lights.

Song Score: 7/10
Cat Fit Score: 4/5

Total Score: 11/15

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6th Place (tie):
Soil & "Pimp" Sessions- "Fantastic Planet"
Submitted by ignoramus

The Song Itself: I like this freewheeling jazzy kind of thing. It's like a sped up sort of Buena Vista Social Club vibe. You can focus on any number of instruments during the course of this thing. I like the slow-down and the ramp back up. Perhaps I don't know this kind of salsa-jazz genre well enough to know if this is a distinctive sound, but I assume that it's something easily replicated by capable artists.

Cat Fit: Oddly enough, I can see this working as a hype song. It has to be in the right market with the right personalities on the team, but this has enough bounce and swagger to work well enough if a team has the courage to select it.

Song Score: 8.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 3.5/5

Total Score: 12/15

----------------------------------------------------------

6th Place:
Rush- "YYZ"
Submitted by Epignosis

The Song Itself: Welp, an instrumental piece is probably about the only way you'll get be to enjoy a Rush tune. There's not enough of a musical journey for me though as an instrumental. It's a jam session. Those may be fun, but they don't necessarily result in anything beyond a solid good jam.

Cat Fit: While the redundant qualities don't trip my trigger for the song itself, this could really work as a hype song. Maybe trim out the slower part in the middle. I don't know. It's got energy without wearing you out, and it concludes just before it overstays its welcome.

Song Score: 7.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 4.5/5

Total Score: 12/15

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5th Place:
Taylor Swift- "Shake It Off"
Submitted by Queen Pink

The Song Itself: Call me crazy, but this song is addictive. The tempo, the groove, and the infectious energy that flows forth just makes this too much fun to be denied. I have danced around the kitchen while doing dishes to this song many times. Perhaps the fact that it was played to death keeps it from being 'almost perfect' for me, or perhaps there's some structural component that holds it back in the recesses in my brain, but this was an easy score to reach.

Cat Fit: Great as this tune is, I can't help but think that grown male athletes wouldn't like this to be their hype tune. It would be worth it if they were willing to go there though. Still, this song strikes me as slightly more suitable to be a mid-game flail-around-on-camera-for-laughs kind of trigger.

Song Score: 9/10
Cat Fit Score: 3.5/5

Total Score: 12.5/15

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4th Place:
White Zombie- "More Human Than Human"
Submitted by hollowkatt

The Song Itself: You hit me right in my childhood. Huzzah. This landed on radio stations the summer before I entered middle school, but this sucker is a timeless head-bobber. The slide guitar makes this track stand out from a sea of lesser 90s hard rock. The only downside to this version of the song is that the edits that invert the swear words is distracting. As with other songs, the verses are completely forgotten about by the end of the song, which is a mark against it.

Cat Fit: This tune was used for years as pre-game hype music, so bravo for hitting the sweet spot. The curse-word edits are necessary to keep this thing stadium-friendly (not to mention the full intro component on the album version!). The tempo is just right for teams and fans alike to go freaking nuts.

Song Score: 8/10
Cat Fit Score: 5/5

Total Score: 13/15

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2nd Place (tie):
Matisyahu- "King Without a Crown (Live)"
Submitted by DaughterOfOmega

The Song Itself: I remember when Matisyahu hit the scene. I was in college, and his first album and the live album that this song comes from were all over the campus party scene as something of a novelty. But it's no novelty. I'm a contemporary church service regular, and I can tell you that this song is better than at least 95% of contemporary Christian music. This song fills me with passion and touches the numinous (look that one up). I don't know that my appreciation for reggae has come up in a Walrus event yet. You just exposed me, but that's okay. This is the only song in all three prelim rounds to score a 10/10.

Cat Fit: A Jewish guy with a fake Jamaican accent singing reggae as a hype song? Believe it or not, yes! The reggae riff and bass have that mid-tempo swagger that athletes can get behind. The crowd will sway to this and it really hits hard in places.

Song Score: 10/10
Cat Fit Score: 4/5

Total Score: 14/15

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2nd Place (tie):
Jurassic 5- "What's Golden"
Submitted by falcon45ca

The Song Itself: How many people even get the 'Redd Foxx and Ripple' reference? I was in stitches. I love the different vocalists used throughout the track. It keeps it from stagnating. If there is one complaint, it's that it's almost too short. Another verse would have been just fine by me.

Cat Fit: This track has so much bounce and swagger that you'd be crazy not to use it as a hype song.

Song Score: 9/10
Cat Fit Score: 5/5

Total Score: 14/15

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1st Place:
The Go! Team- "The Power Is On"
Submitted by bloobird

The Song Itself: Have I mentioned The Go! Team before? I don't know if I have, but I have been a fan of theirs for about two years now after discovering them on Spotify. Thunder, Lightning, Strike is an exquisite album- go check it out when you have time. The music is layered but not so dense that it can't be digested. This song makes me want to move. It's not perfect, but it's darn close.

Cat Fit: This song is pure distilled high school pep rally of the highest order. The vocal samples come at you fast and fierce while the beat isn't quite that rapid-fire. Rather, it undergirds the vocals with a complementary force that bounces. Fans can choose for themselves whether they want to dance around in their seats to this tune or simply bob their head and say "ooh, damn!"

Song Score: 9.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 5/5

Total Score: 14.5/15

#32

Standings after Prelim #1

Spoiler: show

#33

PRELIM #2 REVEAL RESULTS

TEAM: Give me a song that embodies or conveys a sense of brotherhood or sisterhood akin to that which you might find on a team.

16th Place:
Marshmello x SVDDEN DEATH- "Crusade"
Submitted by ignoramus

The Song Itself: Too much distortion, especially on the low end. It's also pretty redundant to me. It's not void of potential though. It just needs a re-write to find it.

Cat Fit: Um... I did what I could and gave it half a point since it's called "Crusade" and that's something that would require a group of people. I think I was planning on leaning on lyrics more than vibe this time, so an all-but-instrumental track kind of falls flat.

Song Score: 5.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 0.5/5

Total Score: 6/15

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15th Place:
Los Campesinos!- "The International Tweexcore Underground"
Submitted by bloobird

The Song Itself: I'm a pretty normy guy and I don't give a rip about Henry Rollins, so I don't quite get why an indie band feels the need to take a shot at the guy. :-p Nice enough jangle pop, but the male vocals hold the rating back. I don't recall the Los Campesinos! album we listened to in SAW being quite so not to my liking vocally. That was a later album of theirs, so perhaps this is just an earlier iteration of their sound or maybe it's not as polished as it didn't make the original album release.

Cat Fit: There seems to be a kind of quasi-bohemian indie anti-establishmentarianist solidarity to the lyrics, but that's not really what I was looking for. I was hoping for more of a "I've got your back, you've got mine" kind of togetherness-bond vibe. This is more of a casually mutual disdain for the same thing vibe. That's not to say that the social criticism is wrong; it's just not the right fit for this category.

Song Score: 6/10
Cat Fit Score: 1/5

Total Score: 7/15

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14th Place:
Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem- "Forever"
Submitted by srceenplay

The Song Itself: Drake's voice bothers me with the autotune and nasal quality. His voice just doesn't seem distinctive to me outside of being annoying. The other three rappers make up for it, but Drake's presence on the recurring chorus is a letdown each time no matter how much better the successive choruses made me feel about the song. Kanye's explicit lyrics are a bit ick in light of his recent troubles. Lil Wayne's voice and delivery stand out the most and made me smile for some reason. Haha at Eminiem's Hannibal Lecter line- "you ain't even gonna have no face to save..."

Cat Fit: I don't get a team vibe from this song at all. It's more about a solo climb to greatness than a team effort from the sound of it. Maybe if the whole team feels like they're disrespected as a unit, but the song was written to celebrate LeBron, not any of his teams.

Song Score: 5.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 1.5/5

Total Score: 7/15

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13th Place:
Rise Against- "Give It All"
Submitted by Marmot

The Song Itself: The music is pretty decent straightforward punky rock, but the vocals are a hard nope for me. I can barely get past the sound of the singer to reach the lyrics. The nicest thing I can say about the guy is that the video amused me because he looks like Ron Weasley gone rogue.

Cat Fit: I have a pretty neutal reaction for CatFit here. The lyrics talk about facing the struggle of a hard reality. The band describes it as a punk song about being punk in the today's world. Okay, except that punk is really about your message and not your sound. Maybe I'm short-selling it, but it just wasn't unifying enough for me.

Song Score: 5/10
Cat Fit Score: 2.5/5

Total Score: 7.5/15

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12th Place:
First LEGO League- "Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork"
Submitted by Queen Pink

The Song Itself: I get the appeal given the submitter. My girls would probably love this song as big as they are into LEGOs. My problem with this song is that it reminds me too much of all the Vacation Bible School songs that make me want to roll my eyes. It's created with the best of intentions, contains a simple but worthwhile message, and then drowns all that in candy-coated pop production. I like the binary message on the "singer's" shirt in the video.

Cat Fit: This was created for the First LEGO League series of STEAM-adjacent competitions for upper-elementary and middle school students (think Technology Student Association with LEGOs). It's right on target for the market and the message is pretty good for those kids to hear. I just can't help but feel it's a little too manufactured and on-the-nose though.

Song Score: 5/10
Cat Fit Score: 3/5

Total Score: 8/15

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11th Place:
Jess Rosenstock- "Blast Damage Days"
Submitted by Nutella

The Song Itself: Not quite indie, not quite rock, not quite punk, this tune exists in a kind of nondescript "alternative" middle ground. That's not bad, but it's also not something that stands out. I gather that the artist isn't trying to stand out in order to be true to himself. That's cool; you do you. I'll probably listen to the whole album at some point because it's reminiscent of enough 90s rock that I liked back in the day. I like the xylophone (I assume) thrown into the mix.

Cat Fit: The obvious fit here is the recurring line about "never let go of you," but I don't feel that togetherness bond throughout the whole song. There's quite a bit of lamenting the crappy world the guy lives in, but that doesn't go the extra mile to match what I was looking for.

Song Score: 6/10
Cat Fit Score: 2.5/5

Total Score: 8.5/15

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9th Place (tie):
MF Doom- "Deep Fried Frenz"
Submitted by DaughterOfOmega

The Song Itself: Like other MF Doom tracks, it's got good flow and intelligent lyrics. It doesn't move the needle much beyond that though. The last minute plus may work better on a full-album listen, so it sounds out of place at the end of the just the track itself.

Cat Fit: Most of this track is talking about how you can't trust people at all, as if the message here is to just depend on yourself. There's a lot of bashing so-called friends, but yet no praise for true friends. Is it a lament that real friends can share? Without clarity on that, it doesn't have a good fit aside from being a relevant sort of inverse to the category.

Song Score: 7/10
Cat Fit Score: 2/5

Total Score: 9/15

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9th Place (tie):
Boston- "We're Ready"
Submitted by Epignosis

The Song Itself: I love you Epi, but this is domesticated dad-rock. Inoffensive yet not invigorating either as a song, I can see parts of this tune being used in a mid-80s beer or coffee commercial. Perhaps even an early-90s commercial for Sandals Resorts. It's pleasant, but really not my thing.

Cat Fit: What this track lacks in stylistic appeal for me, it makes up for in CatFit. It's all about togetherness and taking a next step. The only hang-up here for me is that the song suggests more of a relationship between two lovers than a team.

Song Score: 5.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 3.5/5

Total Score: 9/15

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8th Place:
Flogging Molly- "What's Left of the Flag"
Submitted by Boomslang

The Song Itself: When you realize just how limited the career prospects are for being a pirate, the next logical avenue is joining an Irish/Celtic rock band. That's always the vibe I get from bands like Flogging Molly. This is a good song but the genre always feels like a novelty as seldom as I encounter it. I like the passion, and the fact that the singer is actually Irish and not just faking the accent.

Cat Fit: A little bit funeral dirge, a little bit revolutionary anthem, this song walks a fine line for CatFit. It's not exactly team-oriented, but the touches of national pride land a little better than other tunes tonight.

Song Score: 7.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 3/5

Total Score: 10.5/15

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5th Place (tie):
Sister Sledge- "We Are Family"
Submitted by falcon45ca

The Song Itself: You hit me right in the sweet spot. This is far from the upper echelon of disco, but I am a sucker for a Nile Rodgers guitar line. This is another fine tune for dancing about while washing dishes. It's upbeat, uplifting, and up-tempo enough to be a crowd-pleaser. Way overplayed, but a solid tune.

Cat Fit: "Family" and "sisters" can take on dual meaning here. It can be true biological family, or it can be those friends whose bonds are just as strong. That puts this song into a higher plain of CatFit existence.

Song Score: 7.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 4/5

Total Score: 11.5/15

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5th Place (tie):
Glenn Frey- "The Heat Is On"
Submitted by Syn

The Song Itself: This is so unlike Frey's work with the Eagles that it's easily confused for another Kenny Loggins 80s theme song powerhouse. I grew up hearing this song all the time because it was used as the hype song for the Harrisburg Heat- a professional indoor soccer team located just 20 minutes from where I grew up. TV commercials, radio spots, and pre-game, this song was ubiquitous. It's a good thing it's a catchy tune too!

Cat Fit: Maybe I'm letting nostalgia get the best of me, but I feel like the lyrics speak to a team mindset. Frey sings "I've been looking out for you" amid all the chaos and action surrounding the song's subject. That's what you want to hear from a teammate in a high-pressure game.

Song Score: 7.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 4/5

Total Score: 11.5/15

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5th Place (tie):
Beyonce- "Run the World (Girls)"
Submitted by dunya

The Song Itself: A bit musically and lyrically redundant, this is far from the best Beyoncé song I've heard. It drives hard though, and was undoubtedly a club favorite for the ladies as a modern female-empowerment anthem. I like the bridge part because Beyoncé sings and harmonizes rather than chanting and shouting like the rest of the song. She has a strong voice either way, but my preference is for when she genuinely sings.

Cat Fit: She's not wrong.

Song Score: 6.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 5/5

Total Score: 11.5/15

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4th Place:
Tears for Fears- "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
Submitted by hollowkatt

The Song Itself: How many other 37-year-old songs sound this fresh, warm, and vital? Sure, the sound is a dead giveaway for the synth-driven mid-80s, but that's not a detriment. This whole album (which we listened to in SAW) is remarkable. The sound is so big and triumphant, yet personal in a way. Maybe not quite perfect, but it's pretty darn close.

Cat Fit: This component is another story, however. The song itself is about grappling with power and corruption. I don't see a team vibe beyond the obvious play on the title.

Song Score: 9.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 2.5/5

Total Score: 12/15

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3rd Place:
Bruno Mars- "Count On Me"
Submitted by Motobot

The Song Itself: Simple but beautiful. I love Bruno's voice. Sometimes music just doesn't need to be any more complicated than this. Even without the string arrangement, it would be an endearing tune.

Cat Fit: You can count on me and I can count on you? Of course this is a CatFit slam dunk. This is the kind of lyrical content I was looking for. Well done.

Song Score: 8.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 5/5

Total Score: 13.5/15

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1st Place (tie):
Bill Withers- "Lean On Me"
Submitted by Elohcin and Simon

The Song Itself: While not a song that fills me completely to the depths of my soul, this song still touches me deep inside. It is a solidarity anthem without being showy about it. The warm voice, the gentle piano- what's not to like. It may have lost half a point just because it's been overplayed to death over the years.

Cat Fit: Too obvious? Well, there's a darn good reason why this is the obvious choice for a category like this- this song exudes connection, compassion, and empathy. It is perfection for this category.

Song Score: 9/10
Cat Fit Score: 5/5

Total Score: 14/15

#34

Standings after Prelim #2:

Spoiler: show

#35

PRELIM #3 REVEAL RESULTS:

PROVING GROUND: The end of the season is where you prove to the world that you belong in the tournament. Give me a song by a band or artist who hasn't been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet but deserves to be there.

16th Place:
DC Talk- "Since I Met You"
Submitted by Elohcin

The Song Itself: You should have subbed "Jesus Freak." This is not the DC Talk I remember. Granted, I only remember maybe four of their songs. This isn't one of them. Despite being a committed Christian myself, a lot of Christian music struggles to impress me. Oftentimes it sounds like a band or artist is simply trying to be a Christian version of a secular band, mimicking the sound and filling it in with Christian lyrics. I like the opening part of this song. It's Buble-esque and sounds earnest. The rest sounds like a mashup between Relient K and Blink-182. I don't think the dramatic switch in styles really works. The softer part works for Christian music. The skate-punk style in general is very hit or miss with me. It was cooler when I was a teenager. Now, I find that skate-punk has a lot of disposability and sameness to its sound, and this song doesn't differentiate itself from those pitfalls at all to my ears.

CatFit: If the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would ever nominate a Christian band, DC Talk would be one of the most logical choices because of their crossover hit with "Jesus Freak." That being said, I doubt the HoF will ever go that route. The Christian music industry is largely separate from the secular music industry, and the secular music industry controls the HoF. Since DC Talk didn't make any major record label bigwigs filthy rich (unless you count their distribution deals with Virgin), I doubt they'll ever get nominated.

Song Score: 5.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 1/5

Total Score: 6.5/15

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15th Place:
Belle and Sebastian- "Stars of Track and Field"
Submitted by bloobird

The Song Itself: Even mellow songs need to change gears. This one teases with the promise of a flourish or two but I don't think it ever gets there. It's mellow for the sake of being mellow. That works for me at times, but not so much here.

CatFit: The HoF skews toward bands that have hits in the US. This band doesn't. They may be well-respected indie darlings, but that won't bring the HoF knocking.

Song Score: 6.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 0.5/5

Total Score: 7/15

------------------------------------

13th Place (tie):
Caravan Palace- "Je-m'amuse"
Submitted by ignoramus

The Song Itself: Nice, bouncy, electronic fun. Is this electro-swing? It's perfectly fine in the moment but doesn't make much of a lasting impression.

CatFit: This band is probably too obscure to even be noticed by the HoF.

Song Score: 7/10
Cat Fit Score: 0.5/5

Total Score: 7.5/15

------------------------------------

13th Place (tie):
Smash Mouth- "All Star"
Submitted by DaughterOfOmega

The Song Itself: Let's be clear- in a vacuum, this is not a bad song. It was just overplayed to the point of being annoying. This song was everywhere for far too long, so I might be biased against it to an unfair degree.

CatFit: Two hit singles and a handful of lesser chart-climbers won't necessarily disqualify them from consideration, but who really gushes for Smash Mouth's work anymore? Their first album got returned by a lot of buyers because the rest of the album didn't sound like "Walkin' on the Sun." If they get nominated, it'll be more for the money they made the record industry than for the quality of their body of work.

Song Score: 6.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 1/5

Total Score: 7.5/15

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11th Place (tie):
Lewis Capaldi- "Someone You Loved"
Submitted by Queen Pink

The Song Itself: Very pretty song. I could do without some of the shouty bits.

CatFit: He's only got one album to his name so far, so it's far too early to proclaim him worthy of the HoF. He needs to amass a career of stuff equal to this or better or it won't happen given his soft AC genre.

Song Score: 7.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 1/5

Total Score: 8.5/15

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11th Place (tie):
Thin Lizzy- "Cold Sweat"
Submitted by falcon45ca

The Song Itself: The generic 80s big rock sound production is pretty meh. There's skill, but it's lacking in appeal for me.

CatFit: If you're going to advocate for Thin Lizzy in the HoF, don't submit late-period Thin Lizzy. Go for their pinnacle years (1974-1979) to find their best work. They get ignored by the HoF a little bit because they were bigger in Europe than America outside of their Jailbreak album.

Song Score: 6/10
Cat Fit Score: 2.5/5

Total Score: 8.5/15

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7th Place (tie):
The Mountain Goats- "Heretic Pride"
Submitted by nutella

The Song Itself: Very different from the MG album we listened to for SAW. The lo-fi aesthetic is traded for polish. Still very indie, so probably no lost credibility for their fans. This is a very pretty song. The vocals compliment the music and they're delivered with nice dashes of punch here and there.

CatFit: Critically-acclaimed bands get discussed, but unless there is a lo-fi indie revolution that traces its origins back to the MG, then it's unlikely they'll join the HoF.

Song Score: 8/10
Cat Fit Score: 1/5

Total Score: 9/15

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7th Place (tie):
Seals and Crofts- "East of Ginger Trees"
Submitted by Simon

The Song Itself: Pretty. Dreamy. I like the mandolin. It's sounds like a Simon & Garfunkel and post-India trip Beatles mash-up.

CatFit: Never heard of them before. They seem to be respectable enough from the looks of their reviews, but not a lot of influence or cheerleading to prop them up for a nomination. Maybe they can sneak in if the HoF just can't let go of playing catch-up on every decent 60s/70s act.

Song Score: 7.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 1.5/5

Total Score: 9/15

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7th Place (tie):
Tool- "Schism"
Submitted by Marmot

The Song Itself: I feel like Shania Twain here- so you've got a bunch of time signature changes? That don't impress me much. Sure, it's probably mentally challenging to work through all those changes, but that sort of intentional complexity doesn't make me like the song any better just because it's complicated. I am one of those jerks who fall back on saying "most Tool songs sound the same to me." They don't literally sound identical, but they all seem to exist in a similar gloomy, moody, down-tuned soundscape that is- dare I say it- boring after a while. This happens to be the one Tool song that I have any kind of attachment to, having heard it on the radio during my summer job when a bunch of kids walked out onto a playground, seemingly bouncing basketballs perfectly to the beat despite not even hearing the song itself. It was freaky and still stays with me. Otherwise, this song decent but nothing that I've ever found myself dying to hear again.

CatFit: I don't know how to read the HoF tea leaves on Tool. A lot of hard rock and metal people swear by them, and they've influenced a lot of bands that emerged in the late 90s through the 2010s. I feel like the HoF will probably warm up to them after it works through the obvious 90s bands and catches up on 80s acts. The HoF has been very cool toward most things metal, but there's probably a decent chance Tool is the sort of 'different' kind of metal that people will vote for at some point. It might just take a while for the HoF to begrudgingly acknowledge their influence, but we'll see.

Song Score: 6.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 2.5/5

Total Score: 9/15

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7th Place (tie):
Soundgarden- "Fell On Black Days"
Submitted by srceenplay

The Song Itself: This is one of Soundgarden's more restrained songs, which gives Chris Cornell a chance to sing more than scream. The verses just amble on for me though. I like his voice, but the music isn't all that interesting until the bridge. There are far more interesting Soundgarden tunes to consider. I've submitted a Soundgarden song or two to previous Walrus events, so a 1-point penalty is assessed here.

CatFit: Despite their grunge contemporaries Nirvana and Pearl Jam already getting inducted years ago, I feel like Soundgarden still has a shot at making the HoF. They're far more talented than other bands of the era (I'm looking at you, Stone Temple Pilots), but they don't appear on many peoples' radars because they only had two really big albums and disbanded not long after their commercial peak. The HoF may feel as though they want to make up for not inducting Soundgarden when Chris Cornell was alive, but they're also still remembered as the lesser member of the grunge holy trinity. It may take a few more years, but I'd like to think that their musicianship and influence will get them in before too long. Then again, the HoF is stubborn when it isn't in love with a band or artist.

Song Score: 6/10
Cat Fit Score: 3/5

Total Score: 9/15

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5th Place (tie):
Kansas- "Icarus II"
Submitted by Epignosis

The Song Itself: Outside of Epi's best efforts at broadening my horizons, I really only recognize the obvious two Kansas songs. This song grew on me with repeat listens. I'm not in love with it, but I appreciate it more than I did on the first listen. As I am nearing old-man territory, I find myself more accepting to these kinds of self-reflective tunes. This alternates between the classic rock sound and a harder rock sound. That feels a little weird, having never heard Kansas try to crank it up to 11 on those two obvious songs. This is a nice song, though the gravelly voice sometimes wears on me.

CatFit: I think that Kansas might be one of the few 'big-name' 70s bands left that the HoF hasn't inducted yet. Boston would be another. I can see Kansas getting nominated at some point, if the HoF folks continue on their trend of being unable to help but induct every artist from the 60s and 70s who had at least two hit singles that still play on the radio today. They fall into that 'classic rock' era that's part of the recent catch-up trend. It won't be earth-shattering if they never get in (because apparently even prog snobs are split on them), but I think they stand a better-than-average chance since they're one of the few big names left hanging out there.

Song Score: 6.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 3/5

Total Score: 9.5/15

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5th Place (tie):
Kate Bush- "Cloudbusting"
Submitted by dunya

The Song Itself: Confession- Kate Bush is nowhere near my radar. This song doesn't do anything in particular for me, but I have to respect the craftsmanship.

CatFit: Kate Bush has been nominated for the HoF a bunch of times but hasn't gotten in yet. Apparently she was more influential over in England/Europe, which has to be considered when gauging her likelihood of induction, as the HoF lamely skews American unless you pull an ABBA and score global stardom. The fact that she keeps getting nominated suggests that she will get in at some point. It's just going to take the right year and the right slate of competition.

Song Score: 6/10
Cat Fit Score: 3.5/5

Total Score: 9.5/15

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3rd Place (tie):
The Mahavishnu Orchestra- "Vital Transformation"
Submitted by Boomslang

The Song Itself: Because I have liked too many 60s and 70s songs over the last few months, Spotify now thinks that I live in a world where 1980 hasn't happened yet and keep suggesting older stuff. This song actually was on my Discover Weekly playlist a few weeks ago. It's groovy the right kind of jam tune that grips me. I'm a sucker for the fast drums, but the layers of instrumentation are a nice touch as well. It's an engaging, wild adventure ride.

CatFit: I'm torn on this one. To my knowledge, they've never been nominated. The HoF has been recognizing some fusiony acts recently, so there's a chance this group could receive some love as the voters consider the arty remnants of the 70s. Or they could be ignored completely. I just don't know.

Song Score: 8.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 2.5/5

Total Score: 11/15

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3rd Place (tie):
New Order- "True Faith"
Submitted by hollowkatt

The Song Itself: I prefer my synth-driven new wave to be lighter and more fun (or even just a little bit weirder), but this is a pretty solid tune. I'm more familiar with Joy Division (this band's predacessor) than New Order, but my listening tour will get there in time I suppose. There's a moodiness to this music that some people love a lot, but I tend to stay away from bands who live too much in the gloom. Overall, it does sound a lot like "generic 80s synth-and-drum-machine" bands, but I think there are enough flourishes throughout to save the day.

CatFit: Every year, there is a loud contingent of folks who get up in arms over New Order being ignored by the HoF. Given that they're running out of 70s acts worth inducting, I think the synth era will get some love over hair bands (at least I hope so), so I suspect that New Order will get in someday.

Song Score: 7.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 3.5/5

Total Score: 11/15

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1st Place (tie):
Tears for Fears- "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
Submitted by Motobot

The Song Itself: Everything about this song is like a favorite warm sweater. The sound is so big (hello 80s production) but the song also hits on a more intimate level as well. I love the layered vocals and harmonies. The whole thing is just so darn good that it's hard to focus on just one element at a time. New things pop in just at the right time, so this song never gets boring, even if it has become one of those 80s songs that gets overplayed on 'flashback' and 'best of' playlists.

CatFit: It doesn't hurt one bit that this duo is back and their new album is getting excellent reviews. I hold back just a little because they fell off the American radio radar pretty quickly, which could be a mark against them. I don't think it amounts to much of a mark against them, so they're all but a lock to get in. It's just a matter of when their time will come.

Song Score: 9.5/10
Cat Fit Score: 4.5/5

Total Score: 14/15

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1st Place (tie):
Duran Duran- "Hungry Like the Wolf"
Submitted by Syn

The Song Itself: Hey, remember when I said that I like my synth-driven new wave to be more upbeat? Yeah, this is what I was talking about. There's a driving sexiness to this song that's too good not to enjoy (especially on the non-radio edit version!). I am particular about what forms of pop music I embrace. This brand of 80s pop is one of those forms.

CatFit: Duran Duran was massive everywhere for a while, and continued to be massive in Europe after America moved on from the synthy stuff. Interestingly enough, critics hated them back in the day because they were too pop and unafraid to embrace a mass-appeal sound. History looks back more kindly on them now. Millions of albums sold has a way of doing that sometimes. Consequently, this is the first year they were nominated for the HoF. Some of the Hall snobs may have to hold their noses and put them in, but I think Duran Duran deserves it because they left an indelible mark on 80s pop.

Song Score: 9/10
Cat Fit Score: 5/5

Total Score: 14/15

#36

Standings after Prelim #3:

Spoiler: show

#37

PRELIM TIEBREAKERS:

This was simply a gut-check on which song I liked more. I didn't do write-ups for them, so feel free to theorize why I preferred one over the other. The winner got an additional 0.1 point to break the tie.

TIE-BREAKER #1: Syn vs. hollowkatt

Syn's Sub: Caribou- "Odessa"

hollowkatt's Sub: Pixies- "Wave of Mutilation"

WINNER: Syn

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TIE-BREAKER #2: Epignosis vs. DaughterOfOmega

Epi's Sub: Seven Nations- "Heroes In Tennis Shoes"

DOOM's Sub: The Chats- "Identity Theft"

WINNER: Epignosis

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TIE-BREAKER #3: Marmot vs. nutella

Marmot's Sub: Black Country, New Road- "Basketball Shoes"

nutella's Sub: Everything Everything- "Spring / Sun / Winter / Dead"

WINNER: nutella

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TIE-BREAKER #4: ignoramus vs. srceenplay

ignoramus' Sub: WYS- "Au Revoir (Ascuns Theme)"

srceenplay's Sub: Daisy the Great- "Glitter"

WINNER: ignoramus

#38

TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUND REVEAL RESULTS:

This is the order in which matchups were revealed:

#2 Syn vs #15 ignoramus

#2 Syn:
Royal Blood- "Out of the Black"

The music sounds very much like Muse, perhaps with accents of Queens of the Stone Age. The vocals sound very much like Muse, perhaps with accents of Jack White. These combinations are quite favorable. It's a straight-up rocker that is easy on the ears but doesn't really do anything to wow me.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

#15 ignoramus:
Caravan Palace- "Lone Digger"

This is a little bouncier than the other Caravan Palace song that we listened to. I like the combination of elements just a little bit more on this one, as well as the mix between quiet and bombastic parts. It's a good track, but not something I'll remember anything specific from in a few days. I can see myself dancing while doing dishes to this. :-p

Score: 7.5 out of 10

FINAL RESULT: #2 Syn (7.5); #15 ignoramus (7.5)

WINNER: Syn, by technicality.

I didn't realize until I looked up Caravan Palace that "Lone Digger" is the first track off of their THIRD album. The category asked for the first track off of a DEBUT album, so ignoramus is disqualified and moves down to the Second Chance bracket.

----------------------------------------------------

#8 Epignosis vs #9 DaughterOfOmega

#8 Epignosis:
The Zombies- "She's Not There"

Pay attention folks, because this is actually what Boomer music is- the music from the youth of the Baby Boomer Generation (born 1946-1964). The Zombies made a small-scale splash for themselves with their artier and more traditional-pop stylings, but they are often forgotten about amidst the more successful acts of the British Invasion era. For me, this track is more about the vocals than the music, which doesn't do a whole lot outside of the bass work. The organ immediately dates this track and is kind of hit or miss with people in general. It's a good song, but it's not as dynamic as other British Invasion bands, which is why most folks only recognize two or three Zombies songs (if they grew up listening to an oldies station).

Score: 7.5 out of 10

#9 DaughterOfOmega
Mobb Deep- "Me & My Crew"

I remember hearing about Mobb Deep when I was in middle school (circa 1995-1998). This is from 1993 and, sure enough, the album isn't as celebrated as their mid-90s work. I can see why. It's a nice beat, but a little basic. The vocals don't do anything to make up for that. It's a lot of typical hip-hop tough-guy posturing and quite a few f-bombs. It's listenable but nothing to write home about.

Score: 6.5 out of 10

FINAL RESULT: #8 Epignosis (7.5); #9 DaughterOfOmega (6.5)

WINNER: Epignosis

----------------------------------------------------

#6 dunya vs #11 Queen Pink

#6 dunya:
Devo- "Uncontrollable Urge"

Huh. Didn't see this one coming from dunya. This is what New Wave sounded like before synths took over completely in the 80s. I don't recognize the rest of the song itself, but I know that I've here the "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah" bit somewhere before. It's quirky and undeniably catchy with it's upbeat assault. The slow-downs work well to break up the hectic pace of the rest of the song. I tend to prefer the less-pretentious forms of new wave, so I dig this, even if Devo still exists as a sort of novelty band in my mind.

Score: 8 out of 10

#11 Queen Pink
JVKE- "This Is What Falling In Love Feels Like"

I like the simplicity of the verse (is there really just one verse in this song?). The piano-bass-vocals combination is nice. When all the digital fake soundscape noise drops at the beginning and in the chorus, it buries the singer's voice in the mix too much. As short as the song is, it feels less like a finished product and more like an idea in progress; an incomplete thought if you will. It's a nice little pop daydream but I need a little bit more than what's offered here.

Score: 7 out of 10

FINAL RESULT: #6 dunya (8); #11 Queen Pink (7)

WINNER: dunya

----------------------------------------------------

#5 Boomslang vs #12 bloobird

#5 Boomslang:
Mahavishnu Orchestra- "Meeting of the Spirits"

This was a bold choice considering Boomslang had no idea that I would enjoy the other MO tune he subbed for Prelim 3. This song doesn't hit me as hard though. We get halfway through the song and I feel as if it hasn't really decided to go anywhere. There are a lot of nice sounds going on here, but it just feels more like a jam than an intentional piece of music. The sixth minute starts to crank it up a notch but then lets off the gas completely and coasts the rest of the way. If this were the first song of theirs that I had ever heard, I'd probably be less enthusiastic about hearing the rest of their stuff.

Score: 7 out of 10

#12 bloobird:
Billy Bragg- "The Milkman of Human Kindness"

This gives off a serious Breeders vibe to me. Perhaps Bragg is a little more technical with his guitar though. I keep waiting for the song to hit a higher gear the whole time. There are places that sound like viable segues to a higher gear, but it never comes. Perhaps that's because this is plugged-in folk music? I don't know for sure, but it left me wishing there was more to it.

Score: 7 out of 10

FINAL RESULT: #5 Boomslang (7); #12 bloobird (7)- TIESCORE!

TIE-BREAKER ROUND:

#5 Boomslang:
Mahavishnu Orchestra- "Dawn"

It flows well enough from the first track, but it starts out in first gear and doesn't shift up until the halfway point. Well, the guitarist leaves first gear early, but the end result is more like background music than something I'll intently listen to with my eyes shut. Definitely a step down from the first track, which is not the way for an album to go when the first track is only pretty good.

Score: 6 out of 10

#12 bloobird:
Billy Bragg- "To Have and to Have Not"

I admire Bragg's willingness to go it alone with guitar and vocals. Apparently most of the album is like that too. It's got a stripped-down Clash vibe, which is nice. It also feels a bit of a step up from the opener.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

WINNER: bloobird

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#3 hollowkatt vs #14 Marmot

#3 hollowkatt:
Nine Inch Nails- "Head Like a Hole"

Is it just me or is this song only two tweaks away from sounding like an 80s synth-pop tune? Add a chorus with a few female voices on the high end chanting the titular compenent of the chorus and have Reznor sing more than snarl and it's pop, albeit with very strange lyrics. I was not a NIN fan growing up, so it's almost a little humorous hearing this again after a long time because it doesn't sound very hard or edgy at all. Maybe it was at the time, especially considering what constituted the late 80s radio landscape.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

#14 Marmot:
Nick Drake- "Time Has Told Me"

This reminds me so much of "You've Got the Silver" for some reason. Both songs came out in the same year, but this tune restrains itself to a lower gear. It's pretty and warrants a follow-up track to see if I want to hear the rest of the album, but it's not much of a statement to put at the start of an album. Perhaps the whole record is in this zone; I see the genre is classified as folk. It's approachable and digestible music, but it left me wishing it possessed a little something more to make it pop.

Score: 7 out of 10

FINAL RESULT: #3 hollowkatt (7.5); #14 Marmot (7)

WINNER: hollowkatt

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#7 Simon vs #10 Elohcin

#7 Simon:
Seals and Crofts- "See My Life"

Hey, these guys again. Neat. I like this kind of up-tempo folksy sound. As an instrument, the mandolin possesses a dreamy quality that is hard to explain. I like that this song is a journey. Lots of gear changing as we progress through just under three and a half minutes. I like the shared vocals as well. That is an art that was largely lost years ago. The bridge component is very nice here as well. This song sounds old but not dated. There's a freshness to it. Id definitely listen to more of the album after this song's almost cliff-hanger fade out.

Score: 8 out of 10

#10 Elohcin:
John Mayer- "No Such Thing"

Ah, John Mayer before his head got big. This landed at the start of my senior year of high school. It was almost a mantra for my graduating class. We all wanted to bust through the doors ten years later and show everyone that we had made it. Ten years later I hadn't quite made anything of myself yet, and neither had many others. Go figure. Anyway, this song is very familiar and very comfortable, so it's hard to push past the nostalgia factor to give it an objective rating. I've always liked the almost jazzy delivery on the verses. The musicianship is subtle here- you have to listen hard past the vocals on the chorus to hear the guitar and keyboard parts that are more involved than the melody suggests. Perhaps it's because I regret falling in line with this song's optimism and idealism back in the day that this almost feels like a guilty pleasure tune now, I have to give it the credit it deserves.

Score: 8 out of 10

FINAL RESULT: #7 Simon (8); #10 Elohcin (8)- TIESCORE!

TIE-BREAKER ROUND:

#7 Simon:
Seals and Crofts- "Sea of Consciousness"

The lyrics are a little goofy, but the energy of the song makes up for it. The repeated part of the verses reminded me of "Shiny Happy People," which is a charming song. I like the trumpets in the first half, but the orchestra at the end might betray the folksy intent of the group. It may be a tad too much production, but it doesn't cause this to be another draw.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

#10 Elohcin:
John Mayer- "Why Georgia"

After the soft anthem of "No Such Thing," this track is a bit too much of a down-shift. It's nice, but there's less going on that is musically interesting to me.

Score: 7 out of 10

WINNER: Simon

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#1 Motobot vs #16 srceenplay

#1 Motobot:
Tears for Fears- "The Hurting"

Quite a number of critics hated this album when it came out and derided the subject matter as little more than self-pity from mopey kids. Those are probably the type of people who keep sharing that Facebook meme that goes like "Some of you didn't get your ass whooped as a child and it shows." Well, what this song and others from the album do is turn that drivel around to proclaim "Yes, some of us were abused as children and it hurts to this day." This is haunting but it keeps drawing you deeper in. They layered vocals and harmonies add scope and scale while the music hasn't quite escalated to arena-echo levels just yet. As the first song of an album, this proclaims that you are about to listen to something quite different from what you've heard before.

Score: 9 out of 10

#16 srceenplay:
The Jimi Hendrix Experience- "Purple Haze"

Speaking of songs marking a journey into something different... I love Hendrix. His sound is unmistakable and his influence is undeniable. This song is legendary, but it was interesting to sit down and analyze it a little more. While the processing and production create the iconic sound, the guitar work on "Purple Haze" is actually simpler than at least half of his other tunes. During the verses, you're mostly hearing the fuzzy bass while the guitar strums just a few times. Hendrix takes time to show his flare here and there, but with this song especially, it's about Hendrix getting the most out of his additional equipment rather than Hendrix making magic happen in the playing itself. Perhaps that's why, when I thought about it, that this song isn't even in my Top 10 list of Hendrix tunes. Call me a heretic, but one of his signature songs is perhaps talked up a tad more than it deserves (or maybe it's just so overused and over-talked about that it feels that way).

Score: 8.5 out of 10

FINAL RESULT: #1 Motobot (9); #16 srceenplay (8.5)

WINNER: Motobot

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#4 falcon45ca vs #13 nutella

#4 falcon45ca:
Rage Against the Machine-"Bombtrack"

That opening bass line makes my ears perk up every single time. I love Rage Against the Machine. The rest of the song doesn't quite live up to the hypeness of the intro but it nonetheless welcomes you into a world of aggressive music and dangerous ideas sure to make your middle-class white family clutch their pearls. This might even mark one of the longest times Tom Morello holds back before launching into his now-trademark guitar trickery. It might not make my own Top 10 list of Rage songs, but this is a first track that makes a statement. It unrepentantly pounds its way into your brain and into your life and tells you that it's okay not to be okay.

Score 8.5 out of 10

#13 nutella:
Lord Huron- "Ends of the Earth"

Nutella and I have a very interesting musical relationship. Oftentimes there is very little overlap in our tastes. Every once in a while though, lightning strikes. Folks, lightning has struck and the Walrus Queen is back in business! As a song itself, "Ends of the Earth" isn't just the opening of a door. It's more like emerging from a tunnel into a new part of the world that is bigger than you could possibly have imagined. The sound is expansive- not just capable of filling an arena, but informing a landscape. The genre surprises me a little, because this is pretty much a modern take on the old-time country & western sound. Perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised though, as a number of indie bands (either intentionally or unintentionally) draw from a folksy side that is country-adjacent. This song feels like a train ride though Monument Valley during some kind of animal migration. Wow.

Score: 9.5 out of 10

FINAL RESULT: #13 nutella (9.5); #4 falcon45ca (8.5)

WINNER: nutella

#39

UPDATED TOURNAMENT BRACKETS:

Winner's Bracket-

Spoiler: show

Next Category for the Winner's Bracket: SOPHOMORE SLUMP- Give me a song off of a band's or artist's second album that should have been a bigger deal than it ended up being.

Second Chance Bracket-

Spoiler: show

Next Category for the Second Chance Bracket: SECOND CHANCES- Give me a track that signifies either a comeback or a return to form by a band or artist.

#40

i need to get my song in

thanks for posting all the songs here for us to revisit (i miss a few cos of the timing)!

#41

someone said I lost a round or something, but I have to dropout, just not on internet atm

gl to other people

#42

Hope you're well, Doom