I was trying to find a gif that included part!
OK, so just doing some boring admin.
We’re at 13 contestants, 10 categories are in with ones to come from:
@skydiver8
@Nicholasp27
@LouisCyphre
And (ideally, but not necessarily) a bit more info (see category template) from:
@CanadaMatt3004
@Rivaldo
Deadline the end of today (Fri 22nd), but reasonable extensions are likely to be granted given there’s already much to be worked on.
I’m out. Sorry. You guys have fun! I forgot I retired lol
Just wanted to ask a few questions and give some unsolicited feedback!
@CanadaMatt3004 - “Best use of”…I’m a little unsure how to try and cater to this. Are you:
a) Looking for a track you like that uses the word in a prominent/creative/accentuated way, so that it ticks the box? For example, a song you like that has a good once-only “fuck” scream can win here?
b) Ranking more on how the word is used, and the rest is secondary? A singular “fuck” scream wouldn’t cut it.
c) Something else I haven’t articulated.
@anon29622970 I am sure I can do some googling and find a track for yours - but it also seems like perhaps this category, in calling for people who are not known for their music first, kinda makes it harder to find something that is a really awesome track? I’m sure I can find something with some googling, and am happy to do so. Just thought I would mention it.
Also, if anyone thinks my category is going to be a challenge, please feel free to let me know!
Please explain further.
Updated with more info:
Category host name: Pauwl
Category: Old Music (to be kind to millennials, I’ll set it to older than 1990).
Musical tastes: I don’t like 80’s hair metal or hard rock. I like new wave, no wave, dark wave, proto-punk and other weird 70’s/80’s music. Older than that is wide open genre wise. Psychedelic, folk, soul, country blues, ragtime, gospel. Even old school country.
Any other judging notes: Overly familiar songs will be downgraded in ranking. Don’t enter hits by Zeppelin or classic rock standards. Try to pick a song that it’s unlikely I’ve heard a lot. Older is better. Musical tastes were not in order of preference, just listing genres from the 80’s on backwards.
With apologies to Goatnitski, when I say “avoid slow” I mean Leonard Cohen - Bird on a Wire.
So far as avoiding soft, I mean someone opining about change while strumming an acoustic guitar.
Pop is totally fine, for example.
Does that help at all? If so I can add it to my notes, otherwise I can expand more/give examples 
*Edit to add - Im generally not wanting sad/depressing… Angry is fine. Hope that helps a bit more.
So we’ve had several “instrumental” categories in previous walrii, so let’s do sort of the opposite, because I love and appreciate good lyrics. Also, Amanda Gorman has inspired me.
Category host name: Skydiver8
Category: A song with lyrics so poetic, you wouldn’t be laughed off stage at your local poetry slam if you just read them with no music.
Musical tastes: No mumble rap. No screamy metal. Honestly, I spend most of the time listening to those songs wondering about the long-term damage the poor “singer” is doing to their voice. Anything that might chart on a current country top 100 is not my jam, either. Finally, as we learned last time, weepy college coffee shop open mic “folk” music is definitely not for me, either. Basically anything else is fine.
Any other judging notes: If the lyrics are unintelligible, I’ll probably downvote it (hence the no mumble rap or screamy metal caveats above). Though I do like him, Bob Dylan would probably not score as highly, just because it would make me think you copped out. If it’s literally a poem that someone set to music, that’s fine. Folk is in quotes above because I don’t consider traditional folk like Peter, Paul, and Mary or Arlo Guthrie to be in the same league as this new coffee shop stuff.
Poetry, like any art form, is highly subjective, of course, but let’s be honest, some songs have song lyrics, and some are poetry set to music, and I suspect y’all know the difference. So let’s do it.
seities and I gonna crash open mic night at the coffee shop to blast some RATM
Yeah, that helps. My planned song was a solo guy picking an acoustic guitar singing about change.
I’ll select something else, lol.
Still hurts.
So are folk songs acceptable as long as they aren’t weepy college coffee shop music?
Although a lot of old folk music (with beautiful lyrics) was played at coffee shops too. I might be in trouble.
Can you add some genres that you like to your musical taste? So far it’s just what you don’t like.
eta: I mean I kinda know what you like but other people might not.
Category host name: Louis Cyphre
Category: Broaden my horizon. Introduce me to artists I don’t know, new genres or subgenres, basically anything that is new/unfamiliar in some fashion. So stay away from what we typically get in the charts or hear on the radio. If I can immediately think of dozens of songs just like it this will probably negatively affect your ranking. No need to go overboard: The song will be judged by how much I like it, not by how obscure or exotic it is.
Musical tastes: I mainly listen to rock and metal (from vanilla to extreme) and their siblings, cousins and bastards. I also listen to pop, hip-hop, some classic, a tiny bit of opera and I can generally find something I like in most genres.
Basically no-hoper genres: hardcore techno/gabber, Operetta
Dubious genres: Electronic (although some electronic music did well in the previous categories I judged), Jazz, country/western, disco, RNB, Soul
I listen to a lot of stuff, so just about everything else is in with a shot.
Any other judging notes:
There are two rules that if broken will lead to a low score.
- The song should not annoy me.
- The song should not bore me.
I previously judged a Walrus and you can find the reveal thread here:
Warning: This time I will judge very well-known songs much more harshly. (Copy-pasted from previous Walrus, obviously even more true for this category)
I made a Google Doc of my previous submissions and rankings. Maybe this can give you an idea what to submit and what to avoid.
If possible include a Spotify link in your submission.
yeah i’ll edit it.
If done wrong this type of vocals can indeed permanently damage the vocal chords but with proper technique it’s harmless.
You are a braver man than I am.
Is this the same as doom metal or is there a genre that is just called doom?
You asked pyat for genres you’re not familiar with. That’s almost as RIP-territory as ‘long songs’.
I think there’s bands operating in related spaces like jazz or just weird drones that have escaped metal by now, but, yeah, it’s people working in and around doom metal.
(Didn’t want to list bands and then maybe ‘disqualify’ them, but maybe I should.)
At least that will be only one song.
That clears it up for me.