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Last Active 12-09-22 12:08 am
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01.01.24 25 most listened to songs in 202312.31.23 Round 11: Inverted Umbrella Competition
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12.10.23 Round 8: Inverted Umbrella Competition12.03.23 Round 7: Inverted Umbrella Competition
11.30.23 NEW TAGS ARRIVED! K-Pop and J-Pop (help ♦11.27.23 Round 6: Inverted Umbrella Competition
11.24.23 Who Has a "New" Genre Tag on Their Pie 11.20.23 Round 5: Inverted Umbrella Competition
11.13.23 Round 4: Inverted Umbrella Competition11.06.23 Round 3: Inverted Umbrella Competition
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Umbrella Contest 2020 Round 5: Umbrella.mp3

2 more out, and 18 still in.
1White Noise
An Electric Storm

1. Link a song via YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, DailyMotion, Vimeo... or whatever you like as long as I don't have to download something.

2. The genre this round is electronic. Synth pop, techno, house, trip hop, and even ambient! If it's electronic at all it works, even if it's fused with a more organic sounding genre. Okay, like don't pick something that's 90% guitar and drum set driven with a synth section hidden in the back, let the electronic elements be loud and clear.

3. Aim to impress me with what you pick, since I'm rating these.

4. If I know the song already, I'll tell you to pick something new, otherwise, you're good.

5. I'm going to start each new round every Tuesday night, so if you're late, you're out. My 2 least favorite recs will be eliminated each round.

***The winner of the competition can recommend me whatever 2 albums they want and I'll listen to them no matter the album as long as it's not impossible to find..***
2Deniece Williams
This Is Niecy

Ryus
ā€œFreeā€

Jazz piano intro with strings? Off to a good start. Nice bass. This sounds like itā€™d fit well on a playlist with Minnie Riperton. I like the chimes a lot here too. This is fantastic honestly. There is so much emotion in the vocals and beauty in the instrumentation. And it has a neat keyboard solo at the end as if I needed another reason to love this.

4.5/5 (Passed to next round)
3Tina Turner
Simply the Best

Divaman
We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)

Those flute synths sound pretty cheap, but her voice carries a good tone. Her voice got so raspy in the 80s, when it was super clear in the 70s. I wonder if she damaged her vocal chords at some point. This isnā€™t bad, but itā€™s really not my thing. Itā€™s kinda corny and didnā€™t age well.

2.7/5 (Passed to next round)
4Men I Trust
Oncle Jazz

budgie
ā€œTailwhipā€

Funky bass so far. The bass really feels like the only real connection to R&B here, but I guess it isnā€™t so loose that I wonā€™t count it. Vocally itā€™s really bland and the drums and guitar are honestly not much better. Itā€™s pleasant I guess though, and toothless.

2.6/5 (Passed to next round)
5Jessie Ware
What's Your Pleasure?

Sinternet
ā€œOoh La Laā€

Bass is funky. It feels very 80s nostalgic and weirdly like in a Letā€™s Dance Bowie way? Kind of boring, but fun enough to warrant a decent score.

3/5 (Passed to next round)
6Seratones
POWER

Uzumaki
ā€œGotta Get to Know Yaā€

This has a lot of personality and I like the use of the guitar here. This does certainly come off as rock too. Like Soul rock, which of course counts, but I suppose was unexpected! This is cool.

3.6/5 (Passed to next round)
7LLLL
Faithful

Aberf
ā€œLong Driveā€

Wow both shoegaze kids picked some real fringe stuff. Maybe R&B and shoegaze are diametrically opposed in a way? This one works though, if not just barely. Not too interesting either honestly. Poppy slow whatever meh.

2.5/5 (ELIMINATED)
8Anderson .Paak
Malibu

dedex
ā€œThe Season/Carry Meā€

I like the sample. It reminds me of Black Mother Super Rainbowā€¦ in fact lemme look that up. Nope, oh well. The gospel backup vocals are awesome, though the leads arenā€™t doing it for me. I do kinda wish there was more singing and less rapping. Iā€™m mixed on this, but thereā€™s enough I like about it to justify the score.

3/5 (Passed to next round)
9Nao
For All We Know

Pangea
ā€œWe Don't Give Aā€

Nice piano and percussion. Her voice has a weird whine to it, so I donā€™t love it, but I also donā€™t exactly mind it. Kinda lead into a disco type groove though? Not really my thing and kinda forgettable.

2.8/5 (Passed to next round)
10Nina Simone
High Priestess of Soul

Trifolium
ā€œI'm Going Back Homeā€

Now this is some old school soul. I feel like Iā€™m at church listening to this, but not a boring Catholic/Episcopal hymn church nor a protestant white ā€œChrstian rockā€ church. Ninaā€™s voice fascinates me since itā€™s the deepest Iā€™ve ever heard a woman's voice. Like Anita Bakerā€™s is even higher. I canā€™t say this is the best thing Iā€™ve heard by her, but itā€™s full of energy. Whoa crazy album writing credits. Chuck Berry, Angelo Baladamenti, and Duke Ellington. Jesus, thatā€™s all over the place. This was good.

3.5/5 (+.5 for winning last round) = 4/5 (Passed to next round)
11River Tiber
Indigo

garas
ā€œWestā€

Some pretty typical sounding modern Alt R&B. The vocals are pretty nice, but the background music is pretty bland. Not for me.

2.7/5 (Passed to next round)
12RDGLDGRN
Red Gold Green 3

ReturnToRock
ā€œPeople Don't Danceā€

Rapping parts are eh, but the music is pretty fun and the singing is nice enough. Not much else to say about this one, but it accomplishes being dancy, which is its goal so, yeah.

3/5 (Passed to next round)
13Utada Hikaru
FantƓme

JohnnyoftheWell
ā€œMichiā€

Ugh the background music sounds like the shit you hear in Apple commercials when they tell you about how humanity is evolving or some shit. The vocals are so boring too. ā€œ'Cause we gon' rock this club, we gon' go all night, we gon' light it up, like it's dynamite.ā€ Ugh why does that one part remind me so heavily of that song ā€œDynamite" by Taio Cruz. Johnny, why!

1.9/5 (ELIMINATED!)
14Thundercat
Drunk

bgillesp
ā€œThem Changesā€

Ooh, that bass line is dirty as hell. The vocals are awesome and I love the sax. This is quite varied without seeming too random as well. Why the hell arenā€™t I already into Thundercat? What is wrong with me? Man this is good.

4.4/5 (Passed to next round)
15The Bamboos
Night Time People

ZombieToyDuck
ā€œNight Time Peopleā€

Good bass groove, good drums, good vocals, good horns. Yeah this is a recipe for success. This doesnā€™t necessarily stand out as unique, but damn this is fun regardless.

3.5/5 (Passed to next round)
16Taylor McFerrin
Early Riser

Lord(e)Po)))ts
ā€œThe Antidoteā€

The intro feels rather psychedelic. Ooh, good backups so far. Wait, featuring Nai Palm? Haha I already love Hiatus Kaiyote, is this cheating? It isn't. itā€™s actually a really safe decision. I like literally everything about this from the piano, to the bass, to the shakers (maracas or egg shakers maybe?)

4.7/5 (Passed to next round)
17Wendy Rene
After Laughter

GhandhiLion
ā€œAfter Laughterā€

Very old school again. This is pretty simplistic and very typical of its era. The key is kinda cool, but this otherwise is pretty meh.

2.6/5 (Passed to next round)
18Eugene McDaniels
Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse

Zig
ā€œHeadless Heroesā€

Political right off the bat, okay. Whoa whoa whoa calm down Eugene this is some m14andthisisdeep shit. Side note: the bass, keys, and drums are all great. Goodbye subtly am I right? Here a sample of the lyrics: ā€œJews and the Arabs/Semitic pawns in the master game/The player who controls the board/Sees them all as the same/Basically cannon fodder/Left wing and right wing/Political pawns in the master game/The player who controls the board.ā€ Not bad though, really grabbed my attention.

3.8/5 (Passed to next round)
19Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Album

NeroCorleone
Tom Browne - ā€œJamaica Funkā€ (Funkinā€™ for Jamaica)

This one comes off as very jammy so far. Yet again good bass. Then again a lot of R&B is ā€œgood bass: the genreā€ so I feel like Iā€™m repeating myself a lot. It reminds me of Parliament, but more broken down. Not a bad thing to be.

3.4/5 (Passed to next round)
20Thundercat
It Is What It Is

Minushuman24
ā€Dragonball Duragā€

Good bass and sax again. The vocals and lyrics are very silly. Iā€™m kinda mesmerized by this. Like itā€™s really got the right spirit I look for in a lot of music. Man Iā€™ve been sleeping on Thundercat.

4.8/5 (ROUND WINNER, handicap (for others) of +.05 for the next round) (Passed to next round)
21Solange
True

JustJoe.
ā€œLeft Side Driveā€

Cool backmasking sounds so far. She sounds so similar to her sister, but the music she chooses to back her voice is way more interesting than Beyonceā€™s. I guess maybe thatā€™s because Boards of Canada is just the background music, but hey, it works.

3.3/5 (Passed to next round)
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