Walrus Four On The Floor Walrus [6th Round: That's Just Super & On Broadway Redux | 6/1 2pm CDT (7pm UTC)]

Round Four: Let's Kick The Beat!

15 contestants subbed for this round.

Our headers are Everlong by Foo Fighters and Good Times Bad Times by Led Zeppelin.

15th Place
Submitted by Lectrys
Score: 7.5

Raging Machines by Brian Balmages

Is it good or bad that Santorini was the first thing that came to mind? I enjoyed the beginning, but it started losing me when the percussion outright ceased in the middle.
14th Place
Submitted by nutella
Score: 8.0

Convergence by Jonny Greenwood

Was, was I supposed to be able to follow along with that? It certainly hits the mark for unique and interesting, but it’s so chaotic. This is the kind of song that could be playing in my head when my social battery dies in Wal-Mart. That’s not exactly a compliment nor an insult, but that’s how I feel about it.
13th Place
Submitted by Aladyyn
Score: 8.2

Wings by Vader

This is very guitar forward. I’m having a bit of trouble hearing both the vocals and the drums over the guitars.
12th Place
Submitted by Skook
Score: 8.3

White Death by Sabaton

The history, the shred, this is a great song. But the drums are somewhat overshadowed and at some points muffled by the guitars and vocals. I feel bad about having to rob this song over a specialized brief.
Tied for 10th Place
Submitted by hollow
Score: 8.5

Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order

So Stephen Morris likes to mix traditional drums with drum machines. That’s kinda cool.
Tied for 10th Place
Submitted by Karma
Score: 8.5

The Mule by Deep Purple

The buzzing at the beginning is a bit unnerving. The drums really are going for it here. The drums kinda are what this song has going for it. And forgive me if I sound rude, but I don’t mean that in that it’s mostly drum solo. It’s a fiiine solo, but the section before the solo pales in comparison.
9th Place
Submitted by Schia
Score: 8.6

Anything We Want by Fiona Apple

Certainly a funky beat. Last time I listened to a Fiona Apple song, it ended with her making dolphin noises, so I came into this one with a little unwarranted ambivalence.
8th Place
Submitted by MNIN
Score: 8.7

Hair Receding by Xenia Rubinos

The guitars are curious without being unpleasant. At first I wanted to describe them as screeching, but that’s not exactly right. The drums are certainly prominent and interesting. I miss those drums when the bridge hits. However, I adore the vocals at 3:37. A bit of a chef’s kiss moment in that high note, even with the drums pulling back like that.
7th Place
Submitted by Salt
Score: 8.9

Karn Evil 9 by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

t r a d i t i o n a l t e r m i l o n g s u b- waitaminute.

Vintage rock organ again. The drums do have some prominence early on. The changeup at 2:19 was a nice surprise. The more keyboard settings I hear, the more I think the drums are competing with the keyboard for the spotlight. The drums are never completely outshined, though. And of course, the vocals are trying to get their piece of the pie as well. And at one point I went, “Oh, wait, there’s a guitar, too.” And then that guitar goes and wrestles the spotlight away from the keyboard. But the drums stay prominent, even providing a nice little solo. I’m a bit surprised we haven’t hit the halfway mark yet. In the second movement, the drums are scaled back somewhat with some woodblock percussion to fill in the gaps. Third movement brings back the competition/synergy of the first movement. While the second movement keeps the percussion from being a driving force throughout the song, the drums certainly carry their own weight here.
Tied for 5th Place
Submitted by Bloody
Score: 9.0

Magus Night Fever (Instrumental) by Undead Corporation

How many drum kits did they break recording this song? This is almost overwhelming. I had to turn my sound down to fully appreciate this.
Tied for 5th Place
Submitted by DLE
Score: 9.0

A Golden Dawn by Gospel

There’s a good balance until the vocals kick in, whence the drums are slightly shoved into the background at a couple of points. There’s a fine bit of technical skill here that is pleasantly counterpointed by the raw vocals.
4th Place
Submitted by shub
Score: 9.1

This Chain Won’t Break by Wild Nothing

Yeah, you’ve got me bobbing my heat to the beat here. It’s simple yet effective. If I’d found this outside of walrus, it'd be a bop regardless.
3rd Place
Submitted by C7
Score: 9.2

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult

How is this not on my walrus use list already. Also, obligatory gif.



It's more than just the cowbell, though. If you spend your five minutes trying to listen to the cowbell, you might just miss those fine drum fills. Poor drummer’s working so hard, just to be overshadowed by an SNL skit.
2nd Place
Submitted by Martin
Score: 9.3

Song of Raindrops by Manase Inori & Kubo Yurika

Talk about outside the box percussion. This energetic rhythm pairs very well with the harmonizing moe vocals.
1st Place
Submitted by termi
Score: 9.4

The Drum Thunder Suite by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Even with the horns screaming over them, these drums are a tour de force. This is the kind of song that makes you consider buying a drum set.

Our outros are Forty Six & Two by Tool and YYZ by Rush.
 
Drumroll, please!
nutella, DLE, and Lectrys end on a high (hat) note.
Lectrys hangs on tight despite taking a hard knock in this round. However, DLE has shot up past him with another 9+ score under his belt. Will Round 5 shake either or both of them out of their sweet spots on the leaderboard?

Next up is a double reveal! This Category Wears Flannel & Groovy! We’ll check out some blasts from the past on Friday May 7th at 2pm CDT (7pm UTC).

 
Round Five: This Category Wears Flannel & Groovy!

Category 5: This Category Wears Flannel

7 contestants subbed for this round.

Our headers are Them Bones by Alice In Chains and Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart by Stone Temple Pilots.

7th Place
Submitted by Salt
Score: 8.4

Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns by Mother Love Bone

Glad I’m not the only one here who knows about Mother Love Bone. With how few subs we got for the cat, I thought the genre might’ve been too far out of everyone’s wheelhouses.
6th Place
Submitted by termi
Score: 8.6

Violet by Hole

Imo, grunge is a genre defined by varying levels of rawness. It takes a few listens for the subtle rawness to come through in this one.
5th Place
Submitted by hollow
Score: 8.7

Bruise Violet by Babes in Toyland

Reminds me of 7 Year Bitch. Those ominous chords are really setting a mood.
4th Place
Submitted by Schia
Score: 8.8

The Nurse Who Loved Me by Failure

Digging these instruments. The vocals are a little simplistic, but imo part of the appeal of grunge is that it doesn’t need to be polished and edited to kingdom come to be good.
3rd Place
Submitted by RB
Score: 8.9

1979 by Smashing Pumpkins

Bloods once sent me a mashup with this song as the instrumental base. I think the lack of Billy Corgan was part of why that mashup fell short for me.
2nd Place
Submitted by Laurel
Score: 9.3

The Pretender by Foo Fighters

I absolutely cannot fault you for subbing something I planned to use in my next walrus. You’re not a mind reader, you’ve just got great taste. Fun fact: you might think Nirvana was how I got into Foo Fighters, but I actually got into them after hearing Infected Mushroom’s cover of this song.
1st Place
Submitted by C7
Score: 9.4

Stranger Things Have Happened by Foo Fighters

There’s just something about acoustic grunge. Granted, this is coming from a man who thinks a good day is one where something from Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged set pops up on Pandora shuffle (and by that logic, almost every day is a good day). But I’m not wrong, am I? At the least, the repeat button agrees with me.

Our outros are Burden In My Hand by Soundgarden and Something In The Way by Nirvana.


INTERMISSION


Category 6: Groovy!

14 contestants subbed for this round.

Our headers are Strange Brew by Cream and Time of the Season by The Zombies.

14th Place
Submitted by C7
Score: 7.0

Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks

I’ve previously judged this one a few walruses back. Has time improved my opinion of it? Not really, but I’ve since come up with a brief parody of the lyrics. Which, uh, may not be a good sign.
13th Place
Submitted by Bloody
Score: 8.0

(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding

I cross checked this against the topic channel version and those waves noises are legit. Which is really freaking weird, because I’ve been familiar with this song since childhood and I don’t remember those sounds. Crappy radio, maybe?
12th Place
Submitted by Schia
Score: 8.4

Autopsy by Fairport Convention

Pretty nice vocals. I like the changeup.
11th Place
Submitted by MNIN
Score: 8.5

Okolona River Bottom Band by Bobby Gentry

This goes a bit harder than I was expecting.
Tied for 9th Place
Submitted by RB
Score: 8.6

Cast Your Fate to the Wind by Vince Guaraldi

So this is the guy who wrote the scores for the Peanuts specials.
Tied for 9th Place
Submitted by termi
Score: 8.6

Blend by Sandy Bull

I wanna say I’m probably spoiled by Tommy Emmanuel, but that’s just an excuse. It’s kinda meandering at the start, to the point where it kinda feels like the guitar and percussion are off rhythm from each other in the intro, but things really get going around the 5 minute mark. Once it pulled itself together, I went from staring at the timestamp to not thinking about the clock. Well, at least until it starts meandering again, but luckily it picks back up for the last few minutes.
8th Place
Submitted by Martin
Score: 8.7

Georgy Girl by The Seekers

Some of the most upbeat songs I know are from the 60s. Plus it’s got good harmonies and a catchy hook.
Tied for 6th Place
Submitted by nutella
Score: 8.8

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby, Stills & Nash

Man, those are some great harmonies.
Tied for 6th Place
Submitted by Skook
Score: 8.8

When the Music’s Over by The Doors

I was curious about the difference between the original and this remaster, so I ended up spending 15 minutes reading a forum thread where a bunch of mono purist boomers were grousing about how The Doors were completely ruined by the new stereo mix. Blah, blah, blah. I ended up wasting some time I could have spent enjoying this song.
5th Place
Submitted by Lectrys
Score: 8.9

Sonatine - Movement 1: Entrée by Friedrich Gulda

Did anyone think Lectrys wouldn’t be able to stay in his wheelhouse in a 60s category? Nope? Me neither.

The imagery for this one came off as a little old man walking through the streets of Manhattan, heading down to his favorite lunch cart. He gets a sandwich, he flirts with the little old lady running the cart, he gets into an argument with her son over how much he flirts with her, then she says they’ll scare off the other customers and shoos them both away. A nice upbeat piece.
4th Place
Submitted by ddlc
Score: 9.0

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood by The Animals

Tbh, I probably should have put The Animals in the 4OTF instead of Cream, but what’s done is done and is anyone really complaining that they get to hear this?
3rd Place
Submitted by DLE
Score: 9.1

Acknowledgement by John Coltrane

Drums in my right ear, horns in my left, piano somewhere behind them. I’m basking in a good feeling.
2nd Place
Submitted by Salt
Score: 9.2

Space Oddity by David Bowie

Tfw one of the 70’s biggest artists had one of his most famous hits in ‘69.
1st Place
Submitted by hollow
Score: 9.3

The Weight by The Band

Sometimes you look at a title and forget how familiar you are with it. One of those “oh, hey, it’s that song” moments.

There’s something strangely satisfying about The Band’s crunchy harmonies. It’s one of those things that seems like it wouldn't work on paper, but then you actually hear it and you’re into it.

Our outros are I'm So Tired by The Beatles and The Wind Cries Mary by Jimi Hendrix.
 
Time’s up!
We’re seeing some major leaderboard shifts as Hollow, Salt, RB, C7, and termi all take advantage of the grunge category to secure spots in the top 10. However, almost all of them have back loaded their skips, saving sixteen skips between the five of them for the second half of the walrus. How long will they be able to stay in the top 10?

And we have another double reveal for next round: That’s Just Super & On Broadway Redux. I can’t come up with a pun for this one without flopping harder than It’s A Bird... It’s a Plane… It’s Superman, so let me just say it takes place on Friday the 28th at 2pm CDT (7pm UTC).

 
Between adding a huge new crochet project to my schedule and the expectation that a few questionable food choices are about to kick my ass (pardon my French), I've decided to delay to the 1st.
 
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