The Syndicate

Welcome to your regularly scheduled Synphony! I run this every year, and 2024 is no exception. At this point, most of you know what my walruses are like, so there is little explanation needed. You can expect some roasting, some laughs, some moments of vulnerability, and a lot of incredulousness about how I approach scoring.

So, here’s what this iteration is all about.

Scoring

I score from between 0 -> 10. I tend to use the full range possible.

Scores can go above 10 if there are multiple songs that are at the max score.

I generally score within a local context; what this means is that a 10 is not the best song ever, miles apart from all other music. It just means it’s the best song of the category and that I really, really liked it and it made me feel something. I have heard 10s before that I never listened to again, and I’ve heard 7s that entered my daily rotation.

I don’t approach scoring from a technical aspect, unless the music is poorly structured or bad quality. I rely heavily on vibes, meaning, and chronological context. This adds an element of randomness to scoring that can make assumptions a little risky.

Songs that I know well are unlikely to win any category unless I am absolutely certain the submitter had no way of knowing I like it and there aren’t other stand-outs. I don’t expect you to know what I’ve listened to, but if you know me and you know what you’re about to submit is a song I already like… well… maybe don’t.

Submitters

1. dunia (Submitted)
2. local_hero (Submitted)
3. DeadlyEssence01 (Submitted)
4. Aoitsuki0 (Submitted)
5. Harun (Submitted)
6. LordQuas (Submitted)
7. SolaceSoul (Submitted)
8. Yagni (Submitted)
9. Made (Submitted)
10. Spacedaisy (Submitted)
11. J1b4y (Submitted)
12. Fel (Submitted)
13. AlKap_1 (Submitted)
14. PRISON3RZER0 (Submitted)
15. Pezz (Submitted)
16. Wisdom (Submitted)
17. Djudju (Submitted)
18. Tehanu (Submitted)
19. Cuthalion 1 (Submitted)
20. Cuthalion 2 (Submitted)
21. Red (Submitted)
22. Moose (Submitted)
23. Dobby (Submitted)
24. Joniebonie (Submitted)
25. Lyris (Submitted)
26. Bloobird (Submitted)
27. nutella (Submitted)
28. Ola (Submitted)
29. LOzo (Submitted)
30. Raz (Submitted)
31. Sloot (Submitted)
32. marmot (Submitted)
33. lisoufff (Submitted)
34. snusmumriken (Submitted)
35. WIM (Submitted)
36. Jambi (Submitted)
37. Sangvinas (Submitted)
38. Twintops (Submitted)
39. Raskolnikov (Submitted)
40. Cape90 (Submitted)
41. Simon (Submitted)
42. NateTheLesser (Submitted)
43. Epignosis (Submitted)
44. Schiavetto (Submitted)

Categories

In Synphony 2023, I went with very exact prompts. I was very satisfied with the results, and that walrus brought me the largest collection of potential daily-rider songs I’ve ever gotten from one of these events. So… let’s try that again.

1. The Chapter Closes
– Nothing lasts forever, no matter how much you may want it to. Or maybe this is a good thing; all miseries are temporary, and now there’s time for something better. What song meant a lot to you during the end of something important?

2. The Next Story
– And yet, the empty doesn’t last forever either. No matter the intensity of the winter, spring still comes. The next season may or may not be endearing, but it comes nevertheless. Life moves on. What song spoke to you during a time of great impending change?

3. The Rage Within
– Broiling fury finds each of us eventually. You could be the meekest, most laid-back person around, and anger will still introduce itself to you. It is an inevitability. We all handle this emotion differently. Some shake, some scream, some destroy, some flee, some freeze. Some fall somewhere in between. What song represents a moment of rage for you?

4. The Wildcard
– This prompt led to some proper bangers last year, so I’m repeating it here. Maybe another prompt gave you an idea that didn’t quite fit, or perhaps you have a recent earworm you’d like to share. There might be a song that you think fits me really well, or that has a message you believe I’d appreciate. What song do you want to send me, the host, specifically?

5. The Non-English Flavour*
– The English language dominates most creative industries, so most songs submitted to walruses are usually in English. Let’s change that. I love music in other languages and am always on the lookout for something new. What non-English song have you listened to lately that really stands out?
*This doesn't mean the other categories need English songs. Feel free to submit other languages! I have the most affinity toward French and Swedish music. Lyric translations appreciated (if there aren't any already available)!

6. The Agony of the Unknown
– This one is for all my anxiety girlies. But really, it applies for any variation of unease you may put up with. In an increasingly unhealthy society, more and more of us are plagued by obsessions and thoughts of completely disorienting anxiety, nerves, paranoias, and so on. There’s a lot of music that describes this “genre” of emotion, so many different efforts to give the unknown a sense of knowing. What song represents anxiety for you?

7. The Comfort of Petrichor
– Even city dwellers who are most at home within a crowd tend to hold some appreciation for nature. For those of us who feel at peace in the woods, or on the water, or in the mountains, we know that there’s a distinctly different atmosphere in nature compared to the concrete jungle. What song speaks to you of wilderness?

8. The Calm of It All
– It’s time to be still. The prompts before have brought excitement, despair, sadness, anger, novelty, and who knows what else. But… it can’t always be something big. Take a breath and settle your bones. What song brings you peace?

Submitting + Deadline

Previous years, I allowed troll subs and multi-subs.

For 2024, I’m maintaining the allowance of multi-subs. You are welcome to use an alias for them. I will not be accepting troll subs this year. Be earnest, please. (Humourous songs are still okay. Just don't obviously try to annoy me.)

You can submit to me via Discord (_syn; you can also find me via the member bar in the walrus server) or here on the Syndicate by PM.

For the sake of easy data entry, removing the embeds would be appreciated. On TS, you can do this by using URL tags instead of just pasting in the URL alone. On Discord, you can do this by enclosing each URL in <>. Please submit YouTube links! It’s what the bot can play.

Submissions are open from February 1 -> February 29. If the calendar says March, you’re too late.

Reveals

Reveals will begin mid-March (16 or 17th), around 12:00 PM PST / 9:00 PM CET.

I will probably put the exact day up to a vote, but it’ll either be Saturday or Sunday. If other walruses are happening on the weekend by then, I’m happy to coordinate/switch.

The winner of the overall walrus gets a prize.

Taste Profile

Every year, there’s a few people who ask about my tastes so they can try to curate their submissions. I’ve always been pretty bad at helping with that.

I’m going to try and help more this time. I created a Spotify playlist that includes all the stand-out songs from Synphony 2023. It includes winners and songs that spent some time on my auditions list, which is where all potential daily-rider songs go to be judged for a while.



My tastes are largely the same as then. A little more tolerance for heavier sounds, within reason. Heavy metal is probably still going to be a miss. Songs over 7 minutes long are risky. Live music tends to do poorly with me (but it has happened before that it’s done decently). I love songs that emotionally break me.

If you want more help than that playlist, here are my top 100 songs in 2023.



And then finally, I have started keeping track of my top 10 songs every month. Here is an album of July until January: https://imgur.com/a/mkJBPNj

That "top songs of 2023" list must auto-populate to the viewer, because I am seeing my own list. Unless you listened to the exact same things. *Exact*.

/in

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Thu Feb 01, 2024 4:41 am That "top songs of 2023" list must auto-populate to the viewer, because I am seeing my own list. Unless you listened to the exact same things. *Exact*.

Hmm, I've shared it before and it worked. Please hold... I'll make it a real, separate playlist from my own account.

thinkin i'll sub to this actually

LordQuas wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 9:09 pm thinkin i'll sub to this actually

neat high five

Oh go on, twist my arm.

I’m in! Working on getting the hubby to join as well.

woohoo!

Syn wrote: ↑Thu Feb 01, 2024 4:08 am Just don't obviously try to annoy me.

I never try.

Goddamn does Syn draw a crowd.

Three minutes before midnight and Syn ain't acknowledgin me. TEACH, I submitted my assignment!

It's midnight. Syn hates me. We all knew that. My son gets in and I don't. Just like at Taylor Swift last year.

Epignosis wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2024 12:48 am Goddamn does Syn draw a crowd.

Three days ago, I was at 10 subs. It's certainly, uh... grown.

Syn wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2024 1:44 am

Epignosis wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2024 12:48 am Goddamn does Syn draw a crowd.

Three days ago, I was at 10 subs. It's certainly, uh... grown.

DId u just say these are slankers?

[*]J1b4y (Submitted)
[*]Fel (Submitted)
[*]AlKap_1 (Submitted)
[*]PRISON3RZER0 (Submitted)
[*]Pezz (Submitted)
[*]Wisdom (Submitted)
[*]Djudju (Submitted)
[*]Tehanu (Submitted)
[*]Cuthalion 1 (Submitted)
[*]Cuthalion 2 (Submitted)
[*]Red (Submitted)
[*]Moose (Submitted)
[*]Dobby (Submitted)
[*]Joniebonie (Submitted)
[*]Lyris (Submitted)
[*]Bloobird (Submitted)
[*]nutella (Submitted)
[*]Ola (Submitted)
[*]LOzo (Submitted)
[*]Raz (Submitted)
[*]Sloot (Submitted)
[*]marmot (Submitted)
[*]lisoufff (Submitted)
[*]snusmumriken (Submitted)
[*]WIM (Submitted)
[*]Jambi (Submitted)
[*]Sangvinas (Submitted)
[*]Twintops (Submitted)
[*]Raskolnikov (Submitted)
[*]Cape90 (Submitted)
[*]Simon (Submitted)
[*]NateTheLesser (Submitted)
[*]Epignosis (Submitted)

(Cuth taking a double beating though, I like it)

Especially that Raskolnikov dude.

Category 1 Scores

Category 2 Scores

Leaderboard after 2 categories:

Category 3 Scores

Leaderboard after 3 categories:

Category 4 Scores

Leaderboard after 4 categories:

Category 5 Scores

Leaderboard after 5 categories:

Category 6 Scores

Leaderboard after 6 categories

Category 7 Scores

Leaderboard after 7 categories

Category 8 Scores

Final leaderboard after 8 categories

Winners: Dunia, local_hero, Lyris