First things first - 16 playlists to get through is no mean feat! Well done everyone.
Secondly - it isn't a secret that I've probably been taking this game far, far too seriously. And each week, while I've tried to maintain positivity and a light-hearted (hell, even
zen-like impassive) approach to the opinions of others, I can't help but begrudgingly admit that it's
stung just a little bit each time the results have come out and I've placed so lowly. There are certainly weeks where, in hindsight, I chose poorly (the week of 'Repetition' for example, I chose a song I didn't even like just to round out a playlist containing two I loved; and last week my intention was to make something really short [hence the playlist title] that might get appreciated for being easy to listen to in a crowded week, but then I changed some of the tracks for fear of it not containing enough 'content' and it ended up being neither here nor there). But this week, something shifted in my head, and it all clicked. I'm now relatively certain that my playlist this week will probably feature pretty far down the list when the results are revealed, but I'm totally OK with this, because
I really like it. I hope it doesn't sound too vacuous or self-indulgent to say that my favourite playlist this week has been my own
but really, what I'm trying to get at is: I've become more comfortable with the notion that my tastes aren't reflected in the tastes of most other people. And that's OK!
The theme I chose essentially encouraged me to explore some new music, and so while I've enjoyed listening to everyone's playlists and found new songs that I like, I also enjoyed 'researching' for my own playlist and discovering new artists and sounds that way. So all in all - this has been the week (or fortnight, I suppose) of the game that I've enjoyed the most
Anyway, I promised you all some terrible opinions to berate, so here they are.
1. HELL IS FULL OF MUSICAL AMATEURS PEOPLEYep, this one's mine. Top billing this week!
Such prominence meant I was certain to get some early public feedback (cheers, Rex
). Basically, the songs on this playlist are all by unsigned (i.e. amateur) artists, who've had relatively low stream numbers on Spotify (I discounted anything too popular based on number of existing listens). Three of the acts on this playlist feature artists / band members who I know in real life; the other four I discovered through searching Spotify (I looked for some collaborative charity albums that featured the artists I knew, and found similar unsigned musicians that way, then listened to their back catalogues). That met the 'musical amateurs people' aspect of my chosen theme, but I needed to tick off the rest, hence the videogame snippets. I hoped the resultant selection might play like a sort of mini-rock-opera, featuring a sudden death and descent into hell, only to face one's demons and rise again out of it. The imagery I chose was intended to help convey this, though it may have been heavy-handed; the Hades image for example, I hoped would help reinforce the notion of a journey into the underworld, but I must confess, I've never played Hades so I might've gotten that one completely wrong.
2. SEXY WAVESI absolutely loved the audacity of including the same track several times here. But hey, even an inconsistent wave demonstrates trends akin to a pattern at times, right? IMO this was worthy of points all over: track names fitting the theme; songs all sounding variously 'wavy', songs being new to me but all very enjoyable. Great stuff.
3. BREAK SCREAMSIt is incontestable that this meets its theme, but it just isn't my cup of tea I'm afraid. I'm not averse to a bit of screaming, but songs that are mostly just screaming, seemingly at the expense of a detectable melody, are not up there among my faves. I enjoyed the RATM track though.
4. THIS IS GARDENClever theme, pleasant enough songs. I enjoyed this playlist, but it wasn't quite impactful enough to me to trouble the votes. I did wonder if the composer of this playlist had considered Aldous Harding's "Lawn" for inclusion, perhaps ahead of the fifth track, which rightly-or-wrongly, set the lasting impression of the playlist overall. I appreciated the fact that all the track titles tied in neatly with the Garden theme though, as well as being suggestive of a quiet sunny afternoon spent outdoors.
5. THE REAL REMIXWas a contender for my fifth place in the voting, but ultimately that first track was too long, and dominated a lot of the runtime here. The other two remixes were great, and again, the overall fit with the theme is commendable. I am completely unsure as to why Will Ferrell's Anchorman saying "Well, That Escalated Quickly" is the image for this playlist - unless the composer was self-aware that the first half of the playlist seems long and drawn-out and then it suddenly kicks into gear with two bangers? Somehow, I doubt it...
6. YEEHAW VIBESI'll be honest: I was expecting to dismiss this, but it works really well. It undeniably meets its theme, the songs link well together, are a good mix of the stirring and out-and-out bombastic, and is consistently enjoyable to listen through. Perhaps not the most creative of this week's efforts, but Yeehaw Vibes indeed.
7. BADASS DISCO Here's my winner. Musically, I thought this was the best playlist this week - I enjoyed each part of all the songs, and thought they were ordered to perfection, building and concluding with an absolute treat of a final track. The compliance with theme is perhaps debatable, but to me, while clearly not Disco, this is Badass Disco, in the same way Daft Punk obviously aren't Punk, but they are suitably Daft Punk... perhaps that makes no sense, but it landed logically in my brain. (Perhaps I'm guilty of cognitive dissonance simply because I liked the tunes so much!)
8. STRAIGHT AHEAD BOOMI'm going to become unpopular... I didn't really like these songs. Oasis and Muse have always landed as 'meh' for me (I like a few Muse tracks, such as Knights of Cydonia, above!) - I'm not a fan of Matt Bellamy's voice, and with Oasis, while they've undeniably had some anthemic tunes over the years, I'd say that across their entire discography, there's only really one-and-a-half album's worth of music in there that's any good (presuming you discount the songs that are basically clones of one another). Also, I don't like The Hives. Sorry to whomever composed this particular playlist - it's definitely my own pre-existing prejudices against these playlists that's cost you here, but I'm sure this will pick up plenty of votes, as I'm well aware I'm the abnormality here.
9. I'M JUST A LONELY BARD ON THIS GUNFIREYeah, I liked this, mostly. Arguably a more creative effort than #6, but some of the songs didn't really land right with me. Tracks two and three were the highlights. I had scored this identical to #5 but both just missed out on points.
10. THOUGHTFUL BABY MAKERSI know a few people have already lauded this so I feel a little less guilty for being slightly less positive about it... tracks 1 and 2 were a bit predictable (and are, let's be honest, throwaway novelty songs). Track three I found excruciatingly awkward to listen to initially, and when it got going, it's standard Kendrick Lamar - problem being, I think he is extremely overrated (his voice is awfully monotone and nasal, I appreciate that makes him 'unusual' as a rapper but I've never enjoyed listening to him rap, sorry). Tracks 4 and 5 just seemed a bit samey; both acts are ones I've tried to get into in the past but I've struggled (I accept my week long ban), although I did find a NIN song I like this week, it just wasn't this one! Overall I didn't think this flowed particularly well and I didn't love hearing it. Sorry!
11. FEEL GREAT WITH YOUR WONDERFor me, Stevie Wonder's particular brand of sugary pop music has always felt a bit too saccharine, so a compilation of his most famous tunes was always going to be a tough sell. I'm not averse to a bit of Sister Sledge given the context, but I didn't think it fit here. Again, sorry.
12. YOUR ACOUSTICNo
you're acoustic
Er, anyway... I didn't really click with this. Again, sorry! The conformity to the chosen theme is undeniable, but nothing really stood out here for me.
13. SHIMMERING BLUES GUITAR This I really enjoyed, with tracks 2 and 3 being the strongest IMO. It was pipped to second spot by Waves, which I thought was just a stronger effort overall, but there's not too much to dislike here.
14. NO-ONE REMEMBERS OCTOBERI get what they've done here, but this wasn't a favourite of mine, personally. I enjoyed the Green Day track more than I expected to, considering American Idiot felt overplayed not long after it was released. The Taylor track wasn't one of her greatest, and while I thought the acoustic G&R track was better than I was anticipating (given other comments about it in the thread), the Linkin Park adaptation left... a lot to be desired. They could perhaps have gotten away with it had they attempted to distort Chester's vocals, but that mix between techno-industrial sounds and OG vocals was a bit jarring. Appreciated the format though.
15. NEON POP FAVOURITESOoh, some more controversial comments before the end. I'll get my agent on the case and soon I'll have landed a column in a national newspaper, then as a straight white cis English dude I can start going on about being silenced ("they didn't like my playlists again!
"
Sorry, where was I? Well, you can't go wrong with a bit of Prince, and this is a classic. Tracks 2 and 4 are great songs (track 2 I flit between adoring it and just thinking about the dreadful Made In Chelsea
)...
however, my perception of Axel F has forever been ruined by the hideous novelty covers we were made to endure in our youth (you all know what I'm referring to). Also, unfortunately for this particular composer, I've never liked 'You've Got The Love' in any of its forms. I don't know why, it's just a song that's never clicked with me. Undeniably solid thematic styling, just not my jam overall I'm afraid.
16. THINK OF DUETSIronically this was the Stevie Wonder song I enjoyed most this week.
I enjoyed the first song, but the others didn't really do anything for me. Sam Fender IIRC is the new big thing but everything I've heard of his I feel like I've heard a million times before by other artists.
17. A MODERN ELECTRONIC NIGHT RIDER Finish on a high. This was very cool indeed. Perhaps a playlist that is more appreciated when listened to in a certain context or setting, but undeniably solid and enjoyable.