Niv and the Exploration

[Niveous]

Prologue:

Didn't know where to put this so I decided to put it here. It's not exactly a Sidefight but it is a challenge. Maybe it's a "Highlight"?

My relationship with Songfight has been an interesting one over the years. I joined up in 2003, which was deep in my 20's. Now here I am still on the forums now in my 40's. That makes Songfighting one of the longest running hobbies of my entire life. It absolutely boggles my mind. And I used to be really obsessed with all the history and minutiae of Songfight. Remember the Songfight: The Rockening cards from a few years back. God, I loved that project. I loved digging around in the archives and hunting information, though some info is getting scarce. IUMA went away. MySpace went away. History moves on in lots of ways. And for a while there, I kinda moved on. 2016, I started a band, Lucky Witch and the Righteous Ghost, and I got really deep into the live music scene around NYC and I put Songfight on the backburner. Sure, I popped up every Spring for Nur Ein but I wasn't really around. Part of that was SongfIght was kind of like looking back at your old diaries. There's a lot of difference between Niv in his 20's and Niv in his 40's.

This year's Nur Ein felt really different. I don't just say that because of the wild amount of disparity between my opinions and the judges opinions this year but because I felt a little like this was a homecoming. Other years, I'd pop it and do all the stuff that makes Nur Ein tick and then I'd open my Mary Poppins umbrella and just float off. But here I am. Maybe it's because SF reached its 20th anniversary and it's nostalgia. I think it's more than that though. I keep looking at Songfight and the archive and it looks like a treasure trove. Over 15000 songs. Many of which are only known to a few. Many of which are trash. Many of which are absolutely glorious.

I have this weird little engine inside of me for projects. Just how I run. Gets me through the work day. Back in the day, I sat down and listened to the entire SF archive but that was many moons ago. Two years ago, I ventured to listen to every song that had ever hit the Billboard Hot 100's top ten. And I did it. Now, that little engine inside me says "Go listen to all the Songfights again. Listen with refreshed eyes. Listen again, now older, now in a different (better) mental state, now with a whole plethora of musical knowledge and life experience that you didn't have back in 2010 or whenever it was that you last dug around in the archives".

There is a huge difference between listening to all the Billboard Top 10's and the whole SF Archive. That difference is about 10000 songs. That's a lot. But they are all centrally located, unlike the Billboard Top 10's which I needed to make a lot of Spotify playlists for. And if I keep my rules, I can probably do it.
What rules?
1- Don't sit through a song you hate. This is a fun experience. 1 minute will suffice.
2- You don't have to sit through a song you already know if you don't want to. But you must be able to sing along to that song (The I Know It but Don't Wanna Hear It Rule)

There are 880 Fights. If I can listen to 10 fights a day, that's 88 days. That's not too bad for a project. 5 fights- about half a year. Maybe I should've started this at the beginning of quarantine.

Anyways. I'm doing it. A new listen of the archives and I'll post here in this thread about some memories as they pop into my head, gems that I have dug up and just some progress. And if anyone wants to do this as well, you're as much of a maniac as I am.

[jb]

Nobody's as much of a maniac as you are, Niveous. Even if they do listen to the whole archive.

You should do a three-rank rating for every song: garbage, meh, good

Almost somesongsy-style rating.

[Niveous]

Why not? Trash/Okay/Gem

[Lunkhead]

I think you already know this but you can get a CSV of all the songs out of the Jukebox. I think maybe you used that last time?

[Niveous]

Didn't do it last time. Definitely did it this time.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Damn! What a great idea. And an insane one, too. You should blog or podcast or maybe just write shit down here like you said... all about your experience. I'd love to follow your journey if there is a way to do so. And a Niveous Gem playlist sounds like a great idea.
Also, I apologize in advance for all the pigfarmer jr trash songs you'll hear. But there may be one or two you don't hate.

[Niveous]

Day 1:

Well, I jumped head first into this project and oh what a journey it has already been. I listened to about 100 songs and made it to 2001. Some notes on what I've found. Well, the early sound of Songfight was definitely fauxcountry and then by 2001, the electronic artists started popping up. There is some stuff in there that is very very early 2000's like Miss Mary Ellen who is a heavy throwback to that mid 90's Alanis/ Meredith Brooks/ Patti Rothberg sound.

It's interesting that despite having heard all this stuff before, very little of it had stayed in the memory. NiL definitely did because I had really grown to like them after my first archive playthrough. And Kissing Contest/ Ranch on Suede's "The Last Word of Cotton Wool" has always been a banger.

I started doing the three tier rating system and basically it comes down to this:
GEM: I'll listen to this repeatedly
OKAY: I'm okay with having listened to this once
TRASH: I regret life choices
And since it's only 3 tiers, it's a tough call sometimes.

Here are the gems so far, feel free to look them up and see if you enjoy them too. I'll post up all my ratings at the end of the project:

• The Last Words of Cotton Wool by Kissing Contest
• Flood Victim by Nil
• Zero To Phantom by Metalmags
• I LOVE YOU by Narboutique
• Eternity Without You by Ein Siamese Robotiquettes
• Eternity Without You by The Shortcakes
• Repair My Heart by Miss Mary Ellen
• Midnight Rendezvous by Kompressor
• Don't Dance by Gaylord, Ltd.
• Don't Dance by Narbotic
• Shipwreck by Miss Mary Ellen
• Shipwreck by The Shortcakes
• On A Line by add
• On A Line by Alexander Molodkov
• On A Line by Frankie Big Face
• On A Line by The James Twins

Now onto Black Hole and this will be interesting as it's got add music, FBF, JBB, State Shirt and RxW...

[Niveous]

Day 2

Definitely need to listen to more songs a day if I'm ever going to finish this project in a timely manner. I did about 130 songs during the work day. I know the project will speed up immensely after I hit 2003 because there are more songs that I know. It went that way with the Billboard project. 1958 to 1963 were a bit of a slog. Just wasn't as familiar with the Bobby Rydell, Connie Francis and Ricky Nelson songs to speed through it. Then came the Beatles and I was off to the races. It's a little slow going now as in the archive but I'll definitely hit a sweet spot.

Spring of 2001 was definitely a time when more acts are appearing at SF and the fights are getting bigger. Maybe people are just finding their footing but I hit a lot of songs that were just OK. A lot. Either that or I'm just picky with giving out GEM ratings.

This time also included one of the dumbest gags from Narbotic. If you have never heard the songs by Templates, you're in for the antithesis of a treat. Thankfully, it only happens twice.

Here are the Gems from Day 2:

• Black Hole by The Shortcakes
• Run Free by Frankie Big Face
• Run Free by The Shortcakes
• Stronger Than by Duboce Triangle
• 120 MPH by Kompressor
• 120 MPH by State Shirt
• New Planet by The John Benjamin Band
• Dad I'm Changing by Frankie Big Face
• Dad I'm Changing by Metalmags and her Dad
• Listen Close by Raised By Wolves
• It's Invisible by English As A Foreign Language
• Tracks For Future Practice by Duboce Triangle
• Tracks For Future Practice by Frankie Big Face
• Tracks For Future Practice by Raised By Wolves

I thought I would take weekends off with this but I wanna keep up some momentum so I may log in a few more hours of listening, It may be strange Saturday listening where I'm trying to listen while playing Fortnite but we'll see how it goes.

[Niveous]

Took the weekend off from this project after one of our kittens fell and got trapped in a radiator, I took that as a sign to take a weekend off. (The cat is fine.) I'm back on my grind today.

Fun fact. the last time I did a full listen of the archive was back in spring of 2011. Seemingly last time, I ranked every song on a 1-10 scale. That seems insane to me. Much happier with this 3 star system, even though I'm being real stingy with these 3 star reviews.

[BoffoYux]

Niv - I love this idea! I might use your guidance to play the higher rated songs on alternate SongFight weeks for a Listening Party.
I could always use your musings on the songs or bands if you are aware of some neat facts. I'm pretty much clueless on the first 10 years of bands.

[Niveous]

Day 3 is done and it was a good one. Knocked out about 175 songs. Were these my favorite fights? Nope. But there was some good stuff in there. There was also some high level trolling. Two songs in there are both 1 second long and one song was just "Take on Me" by a-ha sped up. Also today I found a lot of resurrected IUMA and MySpace stuff. Maybe when I'm done with this listen, I'll organize it into something nice with some pics and stuff. Who knows? That's way far down the line. Right now, I'm focused on chipping away at the giant stone in front of me. Here are today's GEMS:

• Do It For Captain by Echo Layer
• Do It For Captain by John Benjamin Big Face
• Red Robot by Classified Class 0-5
• Red Robot by Milwaukee Youth Center Choir
• Do The Math by plusdot
• Birds Of Our Own by Frankie Big Face
• Down To The Atom by Duboce Triangle
• Tiny Room by Aaron's Bowel Problem
• Firecrackers by Balls To Monte
• Is It Cold? by Gunn And Fames
• Video Night by Milwaukee Youth Center Choir
• Highway by Gunn And Fames
• Highway by State Shirt
• That's The Spirit by Patrick Clayton

[Sober]

To save you a little time, I highly recommend skipping any Sober Irishman songs from before Romantic Cheapskate. And maybe after, as well.

[Paco Del Stinko]

You must be a wee bit nuts to take this on again, Niv. But more power to ya! I was thrilled when I made it to your last list a couple of times, might be a tad bummed if I don't make the cut this round, although certainly understandable. Dig in, brother!

[Niveous]

I will admit my tastes have changed in almost a decade. But I think it may help more acts then it harms as now I appreciate more experimentation.

[Niveous]

Day 4 and I have made it to 2002!
Not exactly my favorite run of songs so far. It was weird that for some reason my brain had never connected the Skyline fight to when it happened (right after 9/11), so that made for a jarring morning when I heard the Gunn and Fames tune with the little girl asking when daddy is coming home.

Still haven't reached that sweet spot where I know a ton of songs but there were definitely familiar tunes in this bunch like Sun Li's "Adaptation" which is still so good, and "Rot to Fill" by the Pickup Artists which I remember liking a lot more back in the day. Speaking of a difference between Niv circa 2011 and Niv circa 2020, I reacted very differently to a song like "Experimental Fashion" by Amsmspsptk. Back then I would have just tossed that off as just noise. Now, I appreciate noise music more. I couldn't just toss that song into the trash bin immediately now that I've listened to (and enjoyed) stuff like Steve Roden's "Forms of Paper". Now, I put it there because I got bored by it.

Here are today's GEMS:

• Skyline by Milwaukee Youth Center Choir
• Skyline by Octothorpe
• Snow Globe by Octothorpe
• It's A Shame My Binoculars Don't Work At Night by State Shirt
• Acid Mouth by Frankie Big Face
• Acid Mouth by Gunn And Fames
• Adaptation by Sun Li
• My Sister by Duboce Triangle Vs. John Benjamin Band
• Husky Youth by prayformojo & Sucka MCs
• Secrets by prayformojo
• Floating Bridge by The Pickup Artists
• Rot To Fill by The Pickup Artists

[Niveous]

Day 5 was all sorts of bad. It was not the kind of day that is conducive to getting a project like this done. But somehow I did get in 100+ songs. It did help that I was closing in on my familiar territory.

Oddity of the day for me was "On My Block" by Munkiboo. I call so much bullshit that song was made for that fight (or any fight for that matter). With this listen through, I haven't been focused on stuff like 'does it use the title' or 'how do instrumentals work in Songfight?', I have just been focused on enjoyment but Munkiboo was so egregious that I had to rate it a ???.

Hopefully tomorrow will be smoother sailing. There is some fun stuff coming up like the first appearances of Klownhole.

Here are today's GEMS:

• On My Block by Octothorpe
• Hotel by Bravo Bros.
• Hotel by State Shirt
• World Of Screens by Ochmoneks
• World Of Screens by The Student
• Grandfather Sword by Hostess Mostess
• Bad Dreams by Doctor Worm with ADD
• Bad Dreams by Elysian Ring
• Bad Dreams by The John Benjamin Band
• Stuck Down A Mineshaft by Milwaukee Youth Center Choir
• Stuck Down A Mineshaft by Real Frogs
• Poison Pill by Raised By Wolves
• Last Date by Kelysian

[Lunkhead]

I love that Munkiboo song, shenanigans or not.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Klownhole. Awesome. Their Saint Gratis is one of my faves, despite needing an edit for length.

That Munkiboo song is good yeah, but I understand the ???.

Rock on, Niv!

[Niveous]

Day 6 of this one and I was on a mission. I wanted to get to the Cancer fight. I knew if I started listening as soon as I started my workday it was possible and I made it. In fact, I made it one fight further to Straw Man. Difference between 2011 Niv and 2020 Niv, I know what a straw man logical fallacy is now. Had never heard of it until maybe 6 years ago. Funny how you have blind spots in your knowledge base sometimes.

This was a fun run of songs to go through. It included the oddity of the Polaris fight. That fight has the song by The Disability which clearly wasn't made for SongFight. It wasn't even named Polaris. It was titled "Good Company". I enjoy that song but it gets a ???. Then there's the o.0 song in that fight which I trashed, leaving only "Polaris" by Klownhole which I love to death. Almost ten years after the first time I did this archive listen and that song is still so damn good.

Other oddities in this run included a Mash-Up (You Pour a Pearl's "Dinner for One" which smartly put together Metallica & Suzanne Vega. A+ for idea but D for execution) and a full on skit (The Landfills' "Straw Man"). Oh, and there was that o.0 song in "Fool in the Middle" which was the same track as AER.

Here are the GEMS for today.

• Postcard by Pyramids Of Giza
• Postcard by State Shirt
• Criminal Charges by 15-16 Puzzle
• Funny Enough For You by Frankie Big Face
• Back To The Airplanes by A Funk Melanoma
• Back To The Airplanes by drew
• Cemetery by 15-16 Puzzle
• Girls Who Park In Cars (Driveway Seed) by State Shirt
• Totally Digging Your Mom by Abjure!
• Polaris by Klownhole
• Fool In The Middle by Hostess Mostess
• I Think It's Killing Me by 2 from 14
• Let's Get Naked by 15-16 Puzzle
• Let's Get Naked by Everybody Likes Hats
• Cancer by Hoblit

[Lunkhead]

Oh, and there was that o.0 song in "Fool in the Middle" which was the same track as AER.

Hm. That seems like a mistake. I wonder what happened there? I wonder if there was a separate A.E.R. song that got lost?

[Lunkhead]

You are doing the kind of thorough quality assurance pass through that most commercial music libraries do not receive. I know for sure Pandora's music library has weird oddities lurking in it that we don't know about that go unreported. Sometimes we happen upon them because they violate some assumption we've made "all songs must ..." and they break things. Even/especially the data we get from the record labels, ugh. They are not tech/data companies, they probably have unpaid interns doing their data entry and they're probably not doing any quality assurance. It's eye opening.

[Niveous]

If Pandora wants to hire me to listen to 150 songs a day, I'm in.