Was thinking we could do something fun around here again. We did a bunch of these during the COVID times and I always had an enjoyable experience.
For those unfamiliar with Walrus, the basics are as follows:
Each person will submit a category.
Each other person will submit a song (ideally a youtube link) for your category.
You will submit a song for each category that others pick.
For your category only, you will rank the submitted songs and reveal them in the reveal thread one-by-one, ideally with snarky commentary.
When everyone has revealed, add up the points and crown the winner.
(Entering is a commitment to both submit for others and reveal your own)
We would usually have about 10 to 12-ish people in the past. Hopefully we can get that again. Deadline dates, precise scoring mechanisms, and other logistical details to be determined at a later time assuming this gets of the ground.
Just going to send out a beacon to everyone who has done a grab bag with us before. I know some haven’t posted much or at all here recently, but I still have some hope that some of them would come back for this.
Since the last time I posted a list like this, I’ve swapped 1 and 2. I had initially said that the El Cuarteto de Nos song wasn’t the best from Grab Bag #1 (nor the best song from that band). Based on my listening over the years, I was wrong. It’s outstanding. Not only is it my favorite song I’ve received, but it’s in the conversation of my favorite Spanish language song ever. (It’s either that or Monsieur Periné’s Nuestra Canción).
So in honor of that switch to the top spot, I want: A song from an artist/band in the Southern Hemisphere. For clarity for what counts, I’ll say if the country’s capital is south of the equator, the entire country is valid.
You don’t have to go crazy looking for stuff. There’s plenty from Australia and New Zealand. But I do appreciate efforts for something different. But song quality is most important. I’d much rather have an A+ song from Australia than a C+ song from Angola. But I’ll probably give the nudge to a song from Angola over Australia if the submissions are close.
Category host name: Pauwl Category: Modern popular music Music tastes: Mostly indie so I have no idea about modern pop music. No country or rock music. I want pop. Any other judging notes: I like getting songs that I haven’t heard before. Teaching me about a new artist or genre will earn bonus points.
Tastes - In the past, I did Slavic language music in general and leaned more towards rock music in my preferences. That said, my range is quite diverse and am more than willing to engage with other genres if it’s good. The big points will go to people who introduce me to a genre I know little/nothing about that I end up liking. But if I don’t, then you’ll end up at the bottom. Decide if you want to play it safe or go for first.
Notes- I’m looking for a band or vocalist based in one of the 15 post-Soviet states. The music can be from the Soviet era as well (a band like Kino would count as they mostly made music in the 1980s). System of a Down wouldn’t count as they are an American band with Armenian ethnicity. This isn’t about Slavic languages as languages like Azeri, Kazakh and Uzbek are Turkic while Georgian is Kartvelian just for some examples. Languages like Czech, Polish, and Bulgarian are Slavic but are not prevalent in CIS member states. If anybody needs any clarification information about bands, let me know.
Category: A song that will definitely not be played at Trump’s Great American State Fair
Taste: I have a pretty open mind when it comes to music. Here are the winning songs from the Walrus I ran over at SPE:
The Aquabats - Pizza Day
RZA - Grits
Stromae - L’enfer
The Gentle Storm - Endless Sea (Gentle Version)
Halsey - I Walk the Line
Kid Cudi - Love
I listen to a lot of rock, jazz, and blues, but I can be pretty picky if you submit something in those genres. I also enjoy funk, soul, and hip hop, and some of the winners above were none of those things and still beat out a bunch of strong competitors. Do: stick to the category. Do Not: play Sheep.