The Syndicate

Tied for 9th Place



Homestuck - Savior of the Dreaming Dead

I really like the first half or so of this, it's one of the better Homestuck subs so far for sure. Didn't hold my interest too well all the way through though, got a little repetitive.
8.3

Submitted by: sprityo

Tied for 9th Place



Judas Priest - Beyond the Realms of Death

Solid. The solos are extremely cool, lyrics quite dark. Not my style but there's definitely some good musical talent here. Fun listen.
8.3

Submitted by: Dragon D. Luffy

ROUND SEVEN

7. The Underworld - A song related to death.

[mention]Dragon D. Luffy[/mention]
[mention]Epignosis[/mention]
[mention]iaafr[/mention]
[mention]JaggedJimmyJay[/mention]
[mention]Keldeo[/mention]
[mention]Sloonei[/mention]
[mention]speedchuck[/mention]
[mention]sprityo[/mention]
[mention]Texas Cloverleaf[/mention]
[mention]Turnip Head[/mention]

listening party for rounds 7 and 8 starting in a couple minutes, join on discord if you're available!

9 Eastern (6 for me)

I just want to say that the death category has been by far the hardest to rank. Every single submission for it is incredibly strong and it's so hard to put them in an order that feels fair. No matter what I do it's going to feel bad to even have one of them in last place (I could just create more ties haha we'll see)

Confirming that I will reveal rounds 7 and 8 this Thursday at the usual time!

I'm still behind, will maybe just shoot for next Thursday like what TH said

sorry guys I've been super busy this week and might not be ready for 7+8 until a bit later-- also this thursday is halloween and I thought some people might have other plans anyway (or you're just nerds like me and don't ). Maybe I'll shoot for Saturday afternoon or something? I'll let you know

Yes that album is fantastic. Their others are also all quite good but I believe that's their best.

Yeah I will definitely check that out!!! Meanwhile I'm spending the afternoon on San Fermin's discography and I might be obsessed.

Standings through Round 6

1st Place



Skysketch - Fox Wedding

Damn this is awesome! Really unique and captivating sound. Wow. I'm really into this right off the bat, and it builds in intensity in a really incredible way. Soooo cool. Thank you for showing me this.
9.6

Submitted by: Keldeo

2nd Place



Alan Parsons Project - The Raven

Very cool. Kind of weird in that it's an adaptation of a poem but it completely changes the words, haha. It works though. Nice and spooky for October.
9.1

Submitted by: speedchuck

3rd Place



Haken - Cockroach King

Ooooh these vocal layers in the beginning are really cool. Interesting track that takes a handful of unexpected turns -- each instrumental section is stranger than the last, haha. I'm intrigued by this and may check out the album.
8.9

Submitted by: Texas Cloverleaf

Podium is Keldeo, speedchuck, Texas Cloverleaf

4th Place



Beck - Paper Tiger

Never could get into Beck, mostly since he's so mumbly in a way that I find offputting. But aside from the vocals, this is musically very cool; again I'm a sucker for strings. Actually reminds me a lot of the orchestrated parts from Radiohead's latest album.
8.6

Submitted by: iaafr

5th Place



Marina & the Diamonds - Hermit the Frog

Hi Jay. :P I do love this album. Everything she does is so catchy and fun. (Ftr she's officially just MARINA now but I'm crediting the name from the time this was released.) Not among my very favorite tracks of hers, but it's good.
8.3

Submitted by: JaggedJimmyJay

6th Place



Pink Floyd - Dogs

Heh, of course. A classic, though not my personal favorite. I feel like it ticks all the standard Pink Floyd boxes while still lacking in some je-ne-sais-quoi factor that would make it as remarkable as some of their more popular tracks. And maybe I'm just not sophisticated or patient enough to be a real prog head, but it just drags on for so long lol.
8.1

Submitted by: Epignosis

7th Place



Sunny Levine - Love Rhino

Is that an order? Okay, okay, I'll love rhino. Jeez. *Hears chorus* Oh never mind, it's a noun phrase. "I'm a love rhino." Wtf does that mean hahahaha. Whatever it means this is a pretty solid indie pop track, if a bit repetitive. I like it well enough.
7.7

Submitted by: Turnip Head

8th Place



Au Revoir Simone - Lark

I ended up not really enjoying this is as much as I originally thought I would. I found myself kind of bored by it actually. I liked the string bits, as I pretty much reliably always do, and the beat was fine, but I wasn't that into it overall. Nice voice though.
7.2

Submitted by: Sloonei

9th Place



Angra - Hunters and Prey

Fine, pretty cool sounding with some fun Latinx character to the sound, but overall nothing amazingly special that stands out about it imo.
6.6

Submitted by: Dragon D. Luffy

10th Place



Homestuck - Horschestra

Lol this is goofy. Okay. The repeated neigh gets pretty annoying and the music is just ok. Can't say I particularly care for it.
6.4

Submitted by: sprityo

ROUND SIX

6. Circe - Bewitch me with a song about an animal or at least has an animal in the title.

1st Place



King Crimson - I Talk To The Wind

It's so soft and soothing. The flute is certainly the dominant feature in this track so it's a clear category choice, and it's so gorgeous I could listen over and over so it wins on that score as well.
9.5

Submitted by: Epignosis

2nd Place



Destroyer - Suicide Demo for Kara Walker

Wow, I love it. Beautifully dark intro, and his voice is fantastic. The clarinet/sax(?? not sure sorry I'm a string player ) at the end is incredible. Love this. Will have to check out more of this artist.
9.3

Submitted by: Sloonei

3rd Place



Matthew Good - Zero Orchestra

Oooh this is good stuff. His vocal style reminds me a lot of the guy from Young the Giant, oddly enough. The sax is awesome and the overall jazzy-but-still-rocky feel of this is fantastic. This is a really solid tune.
9.1

Submitted by: Turnip Head

Podium: Epignosis, Sloonei, Turnip Head

4th Place



San Fermin - Emily

I keep meaning to get into this band, seems pretty up my alley. I love the instrumentation here, and the guy's voice.
9.0

Submitted by: Keldeo

5th Place



Ayreon - Day Eighteen: Realization

Wow this is actually really pretty. I'm very impressed. I said earlier that I thought Ayreon lacked variety but this track proves me wrong and then some. There's a lot of different sounds here and I'm loving it.
8.9

Submitted by: speedchuck

6th Place



Homestuck - The Lyrist

The overall sound of this is really cool. The beginning feels like something out of some kind of dark atmospheric puzzle game I would play lol. Like most of the Homestuck music I've heard so far it gets a little bit confusing to me as it gets going, but overall I find it quite pleasant.
8.1

Submitted by: sprityo

7th Place



Super Danganronpa 2 OST - Ikoroshia

This is a straight up jam! I'm digging it. It's very approachable and engaging both as jazz and as soundtrack.
7.9

Submitted by: Dragon D. Luffy

8th Place



Bic Runga - Listening for the Weather

Pretty vocals and nice harmonica interlude. Doesn't stick with me much but it's a pleasant listen.
7.4

Submitted by: JaggedJimmyJay

9th Place



The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - Outset Island

Very solidly in the realm of video game music. The melody carries a bit of nostalgia but overall it's not terribly interesting.
7.2

Submitted by: iaafr

10th Place



Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up To Boston

Fun pick. Is the accordion the only "wind" instrument here? I suppose that counts though. Certainly a catchy tune, though I'm not the biggest fan of their vocal style.
7.0

Submitted by: Texas Cloverleaf

ROUND FIVE

5. Aeolus - Blow me away with a song featuring a wind instrument.

1st Place



Eminem - Rap God

Jesus the sheer *density* of words is insane. How many words per second does he average?! This is such an overwhelmingly strong fit for this category my brain can't even keep up with everything that's happening in these lines. I catch more clever bits every time I listen or read through the lyrics. It's a lot. I think this has to be the winner.
9.3

Submitted by: Texas Cloverleaf

2nd Place



Vampire Weekend - Ya Hey

Yesss I love this song and the whole album it's from. The lyrics are very clever and just *so* delightfully Jewish. There's so much to unpack in them regarding a complicated understanding of God and humanity. I highly recommend reading the annotations on Genius. Great pick.
9.2

Submitted by: Keldeo

Tied for 3rd Place



Genesis - The Battle of Epping Forest

Quite goofy and very British. Chock full of wordplay. This is a masterpiece for sure.
9.1

Submitted by: Epignosis

almost forgot I had a tie here. podium is Epignosis, JaggedJimmyJay, Keldeo, Texas Cloverleaf

Tied for 3rd Place



Eric B & Rakin - Follow The Leader

This a really solid demonstration of creativity and flow in rap/hip-hop. Impressively dense verses with some very satisfying rhymes and puns.
9.1

Submitted by: JaggedJimmyJay

5th Place



Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener

This is a really solid sub. Pun in the title, fair amount of cleverness in the lyrics as well, and overall a decent song.
8.3

Submitted by: Sloonei

6th Place



Homestuck - Heir Conditioning

That's... a decent pun lol. The song is quite fun as well. Lots of different elements that actually all sound really good. Very well put together.
7.1

Submitted by: sprityo

7th Place



H.E.R. - Hard Place

She has a pretty good voice and reminds me a bit of Corinne Bailey Rae. Talented for sure but not really my genre. Lyrically I have to admit I don't find it particularly captivating or strong on the wordplay front, and the chorus repeats too much imo.
6.2

Submitted by: Turnip Head

8th Place


(video not working, found another)


1200 Micrograms - Acid for Nothing

This obviously would have worked for round 3 Probably would have placed better in that round at least. But I suppose it works here well enough, since the title is a parody of a song it samples, plus the "wake-walking in dreams" part -- such an acid thought lol. I find myself enjoying it a bit despite not usually getting much out of this genre. It drags on a while though.
6.0

Submitted by: iaafr

9th Place



Tarantula and Kasahara Yuri - Libera Me From Hell

Huh. I don't really know what to make of this. It's an... odd juxtaposition to say the least. I'm not particularly blown away by the lyrics. I'm left feeling like I'm missing something. The context of the anime this is associated with, maybe (Gurren Lagaan). It's unique I guess but I don't get it. And I don't really enjoy the opera singing. I like the piano loop over the rap though.
5.4

Submitted by: Dragon D. Luffy

10th Place



Jonathan Coulton - Code Monkey

Lol this is very cute and silly. But it didn't take me very long to feel pretty done with it. Plus it feels like it's sort of based on an obnoxious stereotype which contributes to it becoming grating/cringey rather quickly.
5.3

Submitted by: speedchuck

ROUND FOUR

4. The Cyclops - "Nobody" has hurt me! Give me your best example of lyrical (or titular) wordplay.

Starting in about 15-20 minutes. Join discord if you can!

Yeah I can't stand the heat so I love AC and it feels really good at first, but if I'm inside for a while and it's blasting i can get cold. I keep a sweater in my office over the summer even though I hate being too hot bc I also get chilly when it's overpoweringly air conditioned.