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Last Active 12-09-22 12:08 am
Joined 08-22-13
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| Umbrella Contest 2020 Round 7: Umbrella Wrapper
2 more out and 13 still in! | | 1 |  | J Dilla
Donuts
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 hip hop! While rapping is in most hip hop, not ALL hip hop needs it. Things like record scratching, chopping and screwing, and creative sampling can also make a song hip hop. Gangsta rap, alternative hip hop, trap, most trip-hop, instrumental hip hop, plunderphonics, and even hip hop heavy nu-metal all work.
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.
***The winner can recommend me whatever album blah blah you know*** | | 2 |  | Van der Graaf Generator
Pawn Hearts
GhandhiLion
“A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers”
Twenty-three minutes? Oh great... This reminds me of Camel and King Crimson -two groups I like. And now it’s gotten all spacey with blaring saxophones and train sounds, okay. Six minutes in, and it feels like an inferior King Crimson. The ideas are similarly weird, but less exciting and less crazy. Oh damn here comes the crazy keyboard wankery. Do I like this or? I actually can’t tell. Apparently Robert Fripp is on this album. That makes a ton of sense, actually. Now it’s kinda awesome and trippy (around the 16 and a half mark.) Ultimately, I do like this, but I guess I have less patience for it since I’m listening to it in tandem with other songs. And now for the sophisticated, piano-led, wrap-up. This was all over the place, but also pretty good.
3.7/5 (Passed to next round) | | 3 |  | NoMeansNo
Wrong
Ryus
“The Tower”
Nice bass, nice overall energy. I’ve heard songs by these guys before and have enjoyed them, but never checked any full albums by them. Yeah, this is fun as hell, well instrumented, and the vocals fit the song perfectly. Good stuff.
3.8/5 (Passed to next round) | | 4 |  | Dersu Uzala
Tempus Fugit
Lord(e)Po)))ts
“All Is Not Lost”
Okay, so far this is very slow and soundscape. Okay, yeah this is rock, and yeah in a Floyd way. It’s got a nice groove and all, but it’s not really too memorable.
3.4/5 (Passed to next round) | | 5 |  | Wipers
Youth of America
Sinternet
“Youth of America”
Okay punky so far. A long punk jam is a pretty odd idea, but not really I guess because Patti Smith has done it. Nice shredding, but I kinda wish the bass and drums weren’t doing that same thing they were doing 5 minutes ago. Okay song, but I wish it had more going for it other than just the guitar. Ten minutes of just guitar shredding is rarely my thing. Maybe a quick drum solo ever now and then could’ve helped?
3/5 (Passed to next round) | | 6 |  | Roxy Music
Roxy Music
budgie
“Virginia Plain”
Fun keys and vocals. Prime 70s goof rock. It’s like the glam period of Brian Eno with different vocals. Which makes sense because he’s on keys here haha. Classic as hell.
4.1/5 (Passed to next round) | | 7 |  | Viagra Boys
Street Worms
Minushuman24
“Slow Learner”
This is pretty dancy, isn’t it? The vocals are meh, but that main groove works (if not a little bit generic.) I like it, but I certainly don’t love it.
3.5/5 (+.5 for winning last round) = 4/5 (Passed to next round) | | 8 |  | Drive Like Jehu
Yank Crime
dedex
“Luau”
Ugh, those vocals are not for me. The guitar is cool, but the bass is mixed a bit low. Wait, there’s a bass now that the guitar got clean. Good lyrics though. All about how explorers cruelly conquered Hawaii. The instrumentation and lyrics almost make up for how much I dislike the vocals, but not quite.
3.4/5 (Passed to next round) | | 9 |  | Preoccupations
Viet Cong
Pangea
“Bunker Buster”
Kinda basic stuff so far. A bit abrasive, but mostly just radio rock post-punk revival sounding. The solo section was the best part, but I’m not feeling this one at all.
3/5 (Passed to next round) | | 10 |  | Stereolab
Mars Audiac Quintet
Trifolium
“Ping Pong”
Am I at the beach right now? The vocals remind me of the female vocalist from Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, in a good way. Those keys are so surfy though, seriously. This is super lively and indie and I instantly like it. Stereolab is another band on my endless “I should get around to these guys” list.
4.3/5 (Passed to next round) | | 11 |  | White Lies
Ritual
Uzumaki
“Bigger Than Us”
Ew, so I was half joking about the Viet Cong song being radio rock, but this one is literally just straight up radio rock. Every instrument here, including the vocals, is so bland. Gooey, “inspirational,” and milquetoast.
2.4/5 (ELIMINATED) | | 12 |  | Deafheaven
Sunbather
garas
“Honey Comb”
Okay so there’s backmasking, cool cool.… and then just GROWL LOUD WALL OF SOUND GUITARS. This is black metal, alright. Kinda funny how this “blackgaze” sounds more audible than typical black metal when shoegaze is kinda famous for making regular rock be less audible. When the screaming goes away, it sounds more like regular heavy metal, is that weird? The jam at the end is the best part, but it’s still hardly my thing. Not the worst black metal song I’ve ever heard, but that isn’t saying much.
2.7/5 (Passed to next round) | | 13 |  | Cardiacs
Sing to God
bgillesp
“Eat It Up Worms Hero”
Oh hey, it’s that band on the Sporkcore shitposting charts that I’ve never listened to. Damn, this is heavier than I was expecting for them, based on the album cover. Chopped up pig squeal samples? What the hell? The vocals are ugly, but kinda unique? Screaming, then jolly piano. Yup this is a “so random haha” band. It doesn’t sound as calculated as Mr. Bungle though, which is a huge negative. I’m not impressed by this honestly, but it’s not terrible.
2.9/5 (Passed to next round) | | 14 |  | Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant
Zig
“Alucard”
I have The Power and the Glory 4’d, so this is a fairly safe choice. The horns and synths work together to create this epic fanfare feel to it. I like the change in dynamics. This is how you do noodling/wankey correctly: no overutilization of any one instrument, multiple instruments get to wank. Yeah, this is cool.
3.9/5 (Passed to next round) | | 15 |  | Violent Soho
Violent Soho
ReturnToRock
“Jesus Stole My Girlfriend”
Well ain’t this super 90s alternative rock. Probably better than most grunge revival stuff I heard since he’s got some personality in his vocals, but the guitar and drums are fairly uninteresting. The bass? I can’t even hear it. This is on the better side of radio rock, but hardly.
2.6/5 (ELIMINATED) | | 16 |  | Chrome
Half Machine Lip Moves
NeroCorleone
“Zombie Warfare (Can't Let You Down)”
Wait, this is just jamming so far and I’m in 2 minutes, but it’s good jamming. Wait a sudden change haha! Weird psychedelic noises? Nice. This just went from “good jam” or “weird as shit banger.” Nero has an advantage this round. The dude knows exactly what kinda rock I like.
4.7/5 (ROUND WINNER, handicap (for others) of +.05 for the next round) | |
Lord(e)Po)))ts
06.23.20 | what are your favourite hip-hop records | Minushuman24
06.23.20 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF9Q3RTcRe8
Escapism - Digable Planets
Probably know this one, but I want a placeholder in case I can't think of anything else | budgie
06.23.20 | totally thought roxy music would get round winner here | JohnnyoftheWell
06.23.20 | "It doesn’t sound as calculated as Mr. Bungle though, which is a huge negative"
neg
also neg at deafheaven not being eliminated | ArsMoriendi
06.23.20 | I know Rebirth of Slick already
Any other Digable Planets song should be fine though | Minushuman24
06.23.20 | Stereolab sounds like Thinking Fellers? Guess I've been sleeping on Stereolab for too long. | Minushuman24
06.23.20 | Aight, changed my rec | ArsMoriendi
06.23.20 | @Potsy:I haven't heard many hip hop albums but:
I like Donuts, Endtroducing....., The Private Press, and Since I Left You. I feel like these are the only super clear examples of hip hop I've heard
As for others: I guess Odelay (and some other Beck?) counts in some spots? Blue Lines as well. Erykah Badu is tagged Hip Hop on Sput, so I guess her 2 New Amerykah'sand Baduizm? (Though she's mostly just neo-soul???)
I don't really listen to hip hop, so it'll be a challenge | ArsMoriendi
06.23.20 | "Stereolab sounds like Thinking Fellers?"
Only the female vocals, on songs like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhdx13OLeRk | Uzumaki
06.23.20 | Well, thanks for the opportunity, and good luck to everyone else! | budgie
06.23.20 | ok here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML-ENTi0X3U | Minushuman24
06.23.20 | That song ruuuules.
And I cannot believe that Deafheaven kept garas in. | ReturnToRock
06.23.20 | I was eliminated on the rock round.
......I need to change my username now.
RIP lucky streak of mediocrity. | budgie
06.23.20 | "I was eliminated on the rock round.
......I need to change my username now.
RIP lucky streak of mediocrity."
given it is ars doing the rating, you shouldn't be concerned!! | Zig
06.24.20 | You have The Power and the Glory 4’d? No idea. | budgie
06.24.20 | good album
SUZIE HOLD OOOOOON | Lord(e)Po)))ts
06.24.20 | since you like donuts it was a toss up between this Illa J song or some Slum Village but I'm gonna go with this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj_cl6x-nHw
Illa J - All Good
A track by J Dilla's little brother. Production for the whole album is post-humous Dilla beats and the album is a tribute to him. One of the most touching songs in hip-hop imo. | Trifolium
06.24.20 | Yeeessss!! I knew Ars and Stereolab would be a good combo. Definitely check them Ars, and you too Minus. They're super mega good.
Hip hop now hmm, I've got a couple of ideas, which one is it going to be... | Sinternet
06.24.20 | i dont understand you ars
if you aint heard it i rec souls of mischief - 93 til infinity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YABLsFK8gjY | Avagantamos
06.24.20 | grime is not hip hop | Sinternet
06.24.20 | "The genre this round is hip hop! While rapping is in most hip hop, not ALL hip hop needs it. Things like record scratching, chopping and screwing, and creative sampling can also make a song hip hop. Gangsta rap, alternative hip hop, trap, grime, most trip-hop, instrumental hip hop, plunderphonics, and even hip hop heavy nu-metal all work"
ars the whitest guy ever typing this while not knowing wtf he talking about | dedex
06.24.20 | woop woop garas passed with Deafheaven!
gonna go with A Tribe Called Quest - Excursions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZWS6CITutY | ArsMoriendi
06.24.20 | "grime is not hip hop"
Could've fooled me, but fine I guess people shouldn't pick a grime song then. I'll take it off the description, thanks.
"whitest guy ever"
You're a super pale white dude from WASPY England, chill. Also try constructive criticism, such as telling me where I'm wrong instead of non-constructive criticism
I don't claim to be a hip hop expert (obviously) but I tried my best to describe it | dedex
06.24.20 | ooooh Ars can I change my rec to Jazz Liberatorz - Blue Avenue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFs03oAx9ME | ArsMoriendi
06.24.20 | You can change it as much as you want | dedex
06.24.20 | aight thx | Sinternet
06.24.20 | white is a state of mind | ArsMoriendi
06.24.20 | “white is a state of mind”
Try telling literally any non-white person that you’re not white because of your state of mind and tell me how that works out for you. | Sinternet
06.24.20 | i think you are suffering from an inability to read further than the most literal interpretation there | Trifolium
06.24.20 | Pete Philly & Perquisite - Insomnia (https://youtu.be/zvUBlOvqZiA)(from Mindstate)
A blast from the past for me. One of those hidden gems that's just too good. I cannot choose just one track from this hnnnnggg. Lazy? Paranoid? T/t? So many people could dig this I think. Hope you will Ars! | garas
06.24.20 | OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I passed with Deafheaven?!
And I think you really nailed the point of blackgaze in that blurb. "how this “blackgaze” sounds more audible than typical black metal" That's it: making black metal more "accessible" to the masses. (Also the song is from 'Ordinary Corrupt Human Love') | garas
06.24.20 | And dammit... hip-hop...
@dedex, wanna help me out? My hip-hop knowledge couldn't fill a sticky note... | ArsMoriendi
06.24.20 | @Sint: All of the knowledge in the world doesn’t change who your ancestors were, the unfair privilege society grants you, or your skin tone. You’re a white dude. From the whitest, most “conquering non-white people,” country on Earth. “The sun never sets on the British empire” levels of white. So like I said: chill. | Sinternet
06.24.20 | do you eat mayo from the jar or is this a wind-up i can't tell | ArsMoriendi
06.24.20 | I legit hate mayo, the consistency makes me gag, it’s like you’re not even trying
Was one of your great grandparents a colonizer in India? | dedex
06.24.20 | garas you can take my first rec A Tribe Called Quest - Excursions if you like it enough
pls bois stop fighting | Zig
06.24.20 | More like trip-hop with a hip hopish style.
Moloko - Fun for Me
https://open.spotify.com/track/35ykIHGwpkZ0VKRGcXyWa1?si=Zv_fy7B9RSGWStDqWSOM_g | bgillesp
06.24.20 | Run the Jewels- walking in the snow (from RTJ4)
Great track from my current AOTY top contender | ArsMoriendi
06.24.20 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG8LcqR1kqw This link okay bgillesp? | budgie
06.24.20 | mayo is fuckin disgust | bgillesp
06.24.20 | Yup, my bad Ars | Pangea
06.24.20 | not sure how this is gonna go but i'm reccing you a popular dutch hip hop song
Typhoon - Zandloper (Typhoon (NL) - Lobi Da Basi)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JHfNCHEN3s | Pangea
06.24.20 | also mayo rules | dedex
06.25.20 | mayo rules wtf | Lord(e)Po)))ts
06.25.20 | Mayo is disgusting but it is also sometimes crucial | dedex
06.25.20 | can't have fries without mayo tbh | Pangea
06.25.20 | Agreed | Sinternet
06.25.20 | garlic mayo and cheesy chips a must tbh | ArsMoriendi
06.25.20 | Nah can't do mayo, and heaven forbid I ruin cheese fries with it
"Mayo is disgusting but it is also sometimes crucial"
Maybe so thoroughly mixed into a recipe that its texture is gone? Any other way makes me legit gag | Trifolium
06.25.20 | Not too much of a mayo person either. | ArsMoriendi
06.26.20 | People who still to rec:
1. garas
2. GhandhiLion
3. Sinternet
4. NeroCorleone
5. Ryus
| Sinternet
06.26.20 | i already rec'd dummy | ArsMoriendi
06.26.20 | Must've missed that lmao
I got you now | Ryus
06.27.20 | madlib - distant land
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQcuwVLx01o | garas
06.27.20 | Alright, my rec is not from a real album (so you won't find an album in the database), it's a song from one of the greatest shows by Adult Swim: The Boondocks. You can hear Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes in this song.
Thugnificent - Eff Grandad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U6piPxbkd0 | GhandhiLion
06.27.20 | Oh damn this is a tough one. | GhandhiLion
06.27.20 | Organized Konfusion - Roosevelt Franklin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnFjN1S6xX8 | ArsMoriendi
06.27.20 | Oh damn, a song named after a Sesame Street Muppet
| NeroCorleone
06.27.20 | UGK - It's Supposed to Bubble
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYCIEKBXwZ8&ab
| budgie
06.27.20 | organized konfusion is great | ArsMoriendi
06.27.20 | Nice everyone got theirs in early :) | Ryus
06.27.20 | it's supposed to bubble is of course 5/5 i'm curious to see if ars is down with that kind of hip hop | NeroCorleone
06.28.20 | yeah its a risk but after winning the last round I can afford to take one. He should at least dig the beat. | bgillesp
06.28.20 | Sint is gonna make you wait out of spite. | ArsMoriendi
06.28.20 | Sint already got his in, I just missed it initially | ArsMoriendi
06.29.20 | Since everyone got theirs in early, I'm gonna try to do this extra early tomorrow :P | budgie
06.29.20 | i look forward to losing | Ryus
06.29.20 | anticipating a lot of low ratings this round | Minushuman24
06.29.20 | I should have dug up something more trip hop | dedex
06.30.20 | "anticipating a lot of low ratings this round"
best rating will be a mild 3.2 | garas
06.30.20 | Also dedex will rule the hip-hop round. | dedex
06.30.20 | nah don't think so
i'm not the most knowledgeable, and we all know Ars' taste is unpredictable | Trifolium
06.30.20 | We should all have stayed more on the trip hop side of hip hop I think. And yeah ''Ars' taste is unpredictable'' [2].
I guess we'll find out soon(-ish)! 😬 | JohnnyoftheWell
06.30.20 | ars likes and dislikes things for the most predictable reasons, but (outside of obvious territory) whether he likes or dislikes them to begin with is bizarrely hard to call | garas
06.30.20 | I don't know any trip-hop :| I'm curious if I'll be dropped out or nah. I survived much longer than thought so :0 | JohnnyoftheWell
06.30.20 | you listen to ulver how can you not know any trip-hop lmao | Trifolium
06.30.20 | I'd say Perdition City kind of qualifies garas! It doesn't qualify as Hip Hop though... | Trifolium
06.30.20 | Aaayyyeee Johnny beat me to it. | garas
06.30.20 | Oh really? :0 I didn't know it qualifies as trip-hop, my bad! | JohnnyoftheWell
06.30.20 | yeah lol it's basically cinematic trip-hop worship
doesn't qualify as Hip Hop though [2] | Pangea
06.30.20 | the few songs i felt confident Ars would like didn't do as well so now i'm just picking something that i think could be interesting and see how it unfolds | garas
06.30.20 | Ugh, looks like I'm terribly bad at identifying non-metal and non-ambient genres... | ArsMoriendi
06.30.20 | Okay, starting now | dedex
06.30.20 | wheeeeee | ArsMoriendi
06.30.20 | New list is up |
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