2018 NHC Summer Music Showdown (RESULTS)

Honestly, I’m not a fan of having like “listening parties” for these in discord either tbh. It turns it into a popularity contest where a couple folks voice positive or negative opinions early on and assuredly influence others (consciously or not). I’d almost even suggest that in the future we lock the thread after the matchups are announced and have people send their picks over pm without public results until the end, but then there’d be claims of foul play and I’m sure people would share their picks anyway
 
Hm. I like the listening parties personally but I’m usually there for it having fun. I haven’t seen that it influences people though.
 
Yeah, it's typically just some casual back and forth conversation between everyone on the Discord channel while the songs are playing. What you're suggesting is just an extra pain in the ass for the tallying of votes (Not to mention people do change their votes prior to the round deadline or come back to finish them off at a later time when they aren't able to sit down and do it all in one go).
 
(Wrote all of this prior to Shaun’s post)
I don’t see how it couldn’t. Unless nobody talks about the songs or what they’re going to pick in the chat. But like I said, the same could be said for seeing multiple peoples votes in this thread prior to listening. Not sure how we’d fix it. And, yes, 2 of my songs are assuredly going to be eliminated in this round, but I’ve honestly been thinking this for a while. I even almost posted about it when it was first revealed that the listening parties were happening but I didn’t want to seem like a buzzkill. (And obviously none of this really matters)
 
People discuss what they like and don’t, sure. They also spend time trying to figure out “who could’ve picked this” but even then the votes are based on their thoughts on the song and rarely who picked it. Seeing the thought process laid out before me leads me to believe that, anyway. People have disagreements at times on what they do and don’t like. There has never really been a time where anyone rallied people around any particular song.

Having fond memories of the reactions to Miracle Musical tho.
 
i mean discord livelistens have been a thing forever. weather it's just general dicking around with the musicbot, a album livelisten, or for showdown. they mostly just happen for a good time. don't really see the issue at all, because it's not like ppl in the chat don't have differing opinions on music.
 
For what it's worth, this isn't even a recent thing. We've been doing stuff like this since the days of Tinychat when we could just run YouTube videos directly within the room, now with Discord it's the same thing but in an audio only format via The Little Music Bot That Just Barely Could known as Edmund.
 
I dunno about you but I show up to these showdowns to experience good new music with other people. putting a gag order on even discussing what songs we liked pretty much defeats the entire point
 
showdown has grown into a fully community thing, one of the only things we even still do on the board. if you take the community interaction out of it i don't know what the point is
 
1. Kitty Got Claws

The first song I thought I heard before, but it turns out it's just your average unoriginal song. Nothing bad about it, just whatever. The second song is pretty unoriginal too, but somehow less memorable.

2. Connor Spiotto

I expected the second song to be rip-roaring and high octane, but it didn't especially go anywhere. So I like the first song more, it's chill.

3. The Mighty Lemondrops

Mighty Lemondrops was a cool song with a nice guitar tone. The other was not really catchy or interesting and just came off as bargain bin horror movie music.

4. Ethan Lyons

Dope Saint Jude had a good beat, but the singer's presence was sadly pretty boring. Guess it's one of those songs where you put someone good over it, it's sure to be good. Ethan Lyons it is.

5. Wish & Earl Lewis Jr.

Wish is straight to the point fun stuff. The other song was confusing, and plus I'm still mad that I listened to 2 minutes of silence by accident.

6. Ben Frost

Ben Frost rattled me at first, but it's a bit more noteworthy and memorable than an average rocker. Wouldn't be that mad if the other song passed, though.

7. Aye Nako

Close enough matchup. I will give Aye Nako a vote since I thought these were equal and it appears to be on its way to lose. But they were both cool songs.

8. X-Teens

Monwa & Sun was not a horrendous vibe, but it feels like the type of song that has been done before. X-Teens had some cool moments in its songwriting to set it apart from the pack of generic rock songs this round, so it gets the vote.
 
1. Youtube view counter is fucky and always has been. There are songs that I have listened to on repeat and seen basically no change in the count, and so on.

2. If people want to listen in groups, I don't see why they shouldn't. I haven't seen any evidence to support that people are swaying each other's opinions on songs. And I say this knowing that two of my songs are probably out this round. Having been on discord to see what people said about my own tunes, even guessing one was mine, I think any person who voted for/against my own tracks would have voted how they did in the end anyway.

3. Private voting sounds awful. It leaves a lot of ambiguity and room to question the vote count. Also, the whole point of the showdown is to share music with each other. Half the fun is reading through any of the stray comments people leave about stuff they heard. Also, I definitely think it would make it substantially harder and more time consuming to run the showdown.
 
01. After Hours - The Game
02. Vacant State - Vile
03. The Mighty Lemondrops - My Biggest Thrill
04. Ethan Lyons - Bitter Smiles
05. Wish & Earl Lewis Jr. - (Let Me Get) Close To You
06. A Giant Dog - Dammit Pomegranate
07. Aye Nako - Cut It Off
08. Monwa & Sun- Heartbeat
 
1. After Hours - The Game
2. Vacant State - Vile
3. The Mighty Lemondrops - My Biggest Thrill
4. Ethan Lyons - Bitter Smiles
5. Wish & Earl Lewis Jr. - (Let Me Get) Close To You
6. Ben Frost - A Single Point of Blinding Light
7. Logan Whitehurst and The Jr Science Club - Saturday, 2:43 pm
8. X-Teens – Penny
 
for what its worth i would quite like if the discord group listen was done at a more sociable hour for the rest of us, maybe like 11pm gmt? i guess its hard for people who have shit to do midweek but impossible for me to stay up like 2am and actually properly listen to stuff. anyway just my take on it

1 - Kitty Got Claws v After Hours
Like the vocals on the first song, really diggable chorus, like the woah-ohs. Decent. After hours sounds very typical of the hairy eighties ballad era. Its ok, but theres not much too it.
2 - Connor Siotto v Vacant State
Well, this was unexpected. Quite a noir themed jazzy tune. Not really my thing but a different direction to what we've heard so far. As soon as I saw the track length I knew this was gonna be a HD tune from back in the day. I used to be super into this shit and I guess this would have been right up my street in the past. Not such a big fan now, but I like it. Vocalist reminds me of Lee Ving.
3- The Mighty Lemon Drops v Nina Hagen
Love the jangley guitar and post-punkish vocals in my biggest thrill, super cool chorus. I'd love to say I could get into antiworld, not really sure what is happening here at all however. Seems like a notch more eclectic than Lene Lovich, a similar style of vocalist. Get the feeling I'm awaking evil spirits in my room listening to this
4- Dope Saint Jude v Ethan Lyons
Ok this first one is pre dope, some good lyrics and stuff here. Ethan Lyons is very listenable, nice and soothing sound.
5- Wish ft Earl Lewis Jnr v Califone
Wish is a lively sorta swingbeat tune, a mix between house and njs. Reminds me of san andreas radio, which is a positive. Califone - oh shit here come the evil spirits again! ok i sorta dig this, reminds me of this heat, only funkier? This song is getting pumped atm, maybe it deserves a vote? Oh shit idk - this is tough. I quite like the unpredictability of pink & sour so I'm gonna go for it.
6- Ben Frost v A Giant Dog
The video was not available to me? So I searched ytube and found a live version. Certainly seems a big assault on the senses, I'm not sure if thats a synth or something else but I quite liked it, the drumwork was obviously impressive technically speaking but got a little old eventually. The other side of the scale to Dammit Pomegrante (rocky horror ref?) and yes this a cool rockin tune, although I can't get that excited about it. Close, but gonna give it to frost.
7- Logan Whithurst and science club v Aye Nako
Sorta reminded me of John Lennon at first. Once it got going I quite liked that sorta cabaret style. Love the lo-fi sound to Aye Nako, this is my shit
8-Monwa & Sun v X-Teens
Oooh this is cool, reminded of talking head's during their little creatures era. X-Teens, man is this great. I really wanted to give it to monwa but I love the xtc sorta sound to X-teens, love that chorus so much. And how about that for a transition at about 1:10. This is some goodshit
 
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and im speaking as someone who missed the last one due to their very shitty sleep schedule lol
 
I've been asked to hand out the mentions for those who haven't voted in the current round yet. Just a little under 6 hours to go at this point if I've gotten the timezone correct. [MENTION=49962]Smiling Politely[/MENTION], [MENTION=78359]2 Anxiety Online[/MENTION], [MENTION=32807]Lebron's Hairline[/MENTION], [MENTION=38730]kaos[/MENTION], [MENTION=32798]where's the lamb saaaauuuce[/MENTION], [MENTION=56353]deadname[/MENTION], [MENTION=69013]bias[/MENTION] and [MENTION=47429]Frightened Inmate No. 2[/MENTION]
 
1. Kitty Got Claws - My Love Is Dead
2. Connor Spiotto - The Villain I Appear to Be
3. Nina Hagen – Antiworld
4. Dope Saint Jude feat Jazaryn – Xxplosive
5. Califone - Pink & Sour
6. A Giant Dog - Dammit Pomegranate
7. Aye Nako - Cut It Off
8. Monwa & Sun- Heartbeat

Kitty Got Claws, Califone, and Monwa & Sun were cool new finds for me. Match two was tough because I quite liked both tracks. I liked both in match seven as well.
 
1. After Hours
2. Vacant State
3. The Mighty Lemondrops
4. Ethan Lyons
5. Wish feat Earl Lewis Jnr
6. Ben Frost
7. Logan Whitehurst
8. Monwa & Sun
 
1. After Hours (neither good)
2. Vacant State
3. The Mighty Lemondrops
4. Ethan Lyons
5. Wish feat Earl Lewis Jnr
6. Ben Frost
7. Logan Whitehurst
8. Monwa & Sun
 
for what its worth i would quite like if the discord group listen was done at a more sociable hour for the rest of us, maybe like 11pm gmt? i guess its hard for people who have shit to do midweek but impossible for me to stay up like 2am and actually properly listen to stuff. anyway just my take on it

most of the brits who participate in the group listens are usually around when we do them. we can maybe push them a bit earlier next time but y'all on the other side of the pond will need to deal with it being in the late evening, unfortunately
 
1. Kitty Got Claws - My Love Is Dead
2. Connor Spiotto - The Villain I Appear to Be
3. Nina Hagen – Antiworld
4. Dope Saint Jude feat Jazaryn – Xxplosive
5. Califone - Pink & Sour
6. Ben Frost
7. Logan Whitehurst
8. Monwa & Sun- Heartbeat
 
ROUND 1D RESULTS

1.
Kitty Got Claws - My Love Is Dead (10)
vs
After Hours - The Game (9)

Eliminated: After Hours - The Game (Nominated by: [MENTION=46658]zach[/MENTION])

2.
Connor Spiotto - The Villain I Appear to Be (11)
vs
Vacant State- Vile (8)

Eliminated: Vacant State- Vile (Nominated by: [MENTION=32807]Lebron's Hairline[/MENTION])

3.
The Mighty Lemondrops - My Biggest Thrill (15)
vs
Nina Hagen – Antiworld (4)

Eliminated: Nina Hagen – Antiworld (Nominated by: [MENTION=49962]Smiling Politely[/MENTION])

4.
Dope Saint Jude feat Jazaryn – Xxplosive (6)
vs
Ethan Lyons - Bitter Smiles (13)

Eliminated: Dope Saint Jude feat Jazaryn – Xxplosive (Nominated by: [MENTION=49962]Smiling Politely[/MENTION])

5.
Wish & Earl Lewis Jr. - (Let Me Get) Close To You (15)
vs
Califone - Pink & Sour (4)

Eliminated: Califone - Pink & Sour (Nominated by: [MENTION=56353]deadname[/MENTION])

6.
Ben Frost - A Single Point of Blinding Light (12)
vs
A Giant Dog - Dammit Pomegranate (7)

Eliminated: A Giant Dog - Dammit Pomegranate (Nominated by: [MENTION=14077]box elder[/MENTION])

7.
Logan Whitehurst and The Jr Science Club - Saturday, 2:43 pm (12)
vs
Aye Nako - Cut It Off (7)

Eliminated: Aye Nako - Cut It Off (Nominated by: [MENTION=14077]box elder[/MENTION])

8.
Monwa & Sun- Heartbeat (9)
vs
X-Teens – Penny (10)

Eliminated: Monwa & Sun- Heartbeat (Nominated by: [MENTION=32807]Lebron's Hairline[/MENTION])
 
1. Meiko Nakahara - ココナッツの片思い
2. The Parachute Club - Walk to the Rhythm of Your Heartbeat
3. Kitty Got Claws - My Love Is Dead
4. Azymuth - A Presa
5. Al Green - So Good to Be Here
6. Spice One - In My Neighborhood
7. The Pharcyde - On the DL
8. The Clientele - The Neighbor
 
ROUND 2A

1.
Meiko Nakahara - ココナッツの片思い
vs
Logan Whitehurst and the Jr. Science Club - Saturday, 2:43 pm

2.
The Mighty Lemondrops - My Biggest Thrill
vs
The Parachute Club - Walk to the Rhythm of Your Heartbeat

3.
Wish & Earl Lewis Jr. - (Let Me Get) Close To You
vs
Kitty Got Claws - My Love Is Dead

4.
Bruce Springsteen - Winter Song
vs
Azymuth - A Presa

5.
Al Green - So Good to Be Here
vs
Ogikubo Station - Bound to Wear Thin

6.
Mikal Cronin - Get Along
vs
Spice One - In My Neighborhood

7.
The Pharcyde - On the DL
vs
Ethan Lyons - Bitter Smiles

8.
The Clientele - The Neighbor
vs
Jimmy Wopo – Patty Cake (Kodack Black Remix)
 
1. Meiko Nakahara
2. The Mighty Lemondrops
3. Wish
4. Azymuth
5. Al Green
6. Spice One
7. The Pharcyde
8. The Clientele
 
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