SpinTunes 17 Round 3 RESULTS

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MicahSommer
Push Comes to Shove
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SpinTunes 17 Round 3 RESULTS

Post by MicahSommer »

Round 3 is always brutal. 14 artists have proven themselves twice over, and only 4 can go on to the final round. The judges had the impossible task of ranking these songs against each other, for which there are no objective criteria.

As evidence of how close these songs were in quality, there were three different songs that were ranked first by one judge, and last by another - and in no cases were those pairs of judges the same. In other words, it's a tight race.

But a few artists did rise to the top. With strong rankings from all five judges, including two first place rankings, the Round 3 winner is Also in Blue.

Close behind was Sober, a mere two points away from achieving the hat-trick. Rounding out the final four are Cavedwellers and See-Man-Ski.

Despite offering up great songs, the following artists have been eliminated. On the chance that one of the final four does not meet the submission deadline, all are eligible for shadow reinstatement:
- Good Guy Sôjàbé
- Vom Vorton
- Ominous Ride
- EmKayDeeBee
- Jealous Brother
- Jon Porobil
- rackwagon
- David G Harrington
- The Dutch Widows
- Hot Pink Halo

Below are the full rankings:
SpinTunes 17 Round 3 Rankings.png
SpinTunes 17 Round 3 Rankings.png (110.5 KiB) Viewed 867 times
All judges' reviews and rankings are linked here.
"you did a skillful job pulling off the sexy" - RangerDenni
Cybronica
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Re: SpinTunes 17 Round 3 RESULTS

Post by Cybronica »

I just realized that due to a copy and paste error, I did not submit my review of @vowlvom 's song. Here it is below!

Vom Vorton: Your line unit palindrome gets the closest to a proper reverse line poem out of all the entries. Sure, the basic idea is similar, but there are some phrases that mean different things in the front half vs. the back half. Ex. in the first half, he wonders why he's such a state, whereas in the second half he wonders why he always waits. It’s a subtle difference, but it's a bigger difference than almost every other line unit reversal in this fight, so you get the brownie points! This song for some reason evokes turn of the century melodramas to me, like gift of the magi. Really the whole song is like a painted portrait, a still life of melancholy. This is no doubt helped by the fact that orchestration you chose helps put us in a state of stillness. What I really like about this song is that it’s a change of pace from the goofy upbeat songs I have come to expect from you. Don’t get me wrong - I love your signature sound, but having a contrast every once in a while is super effective, and you do the moody, self-reflective thing just as well as the upbeat novelty songs. I really like how you have the title in the low spoken, heavily echoed effect in the middle solo; it reminds me a bit of David Bowie in Ashes to Ashes (and other). I’m not sure how I feel about it being a shouted ‘chorus’ (though chorus isn't quite right), but I don't know how you would do it differently, so for now it works. My favorite line is the drinking line - very well put together, makes syntactical sense, flows well. Least favorite is the thinking line - a little awkward to say, doesn’t make a whole lot of syntactical sense. This song is a Mood with a capital ‘M’ and you hit it on the money. Love the morose way you sing it, love the arrangement, how the instrumentals ebb and flow, and the melodicas are a really lovely touch. Love the song!
“It's like opera for toddlers or something.” -furrypedro
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EmKayDeeBee
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Re: SpinTunes 17 Round 3 RESULTS

Post by EmKayDeeBee »

Thanks for a really interesting experience! I have certainly enjoyed rising to these challenges, and I was delighted to make it through even one round, let alone two. Special thanks to Cybronica for the rankings and thoughtful critiques you have given me, but also to all the judges who took the time to really listen and get to know the songs. Looking forward to hearing the last four from our worthy finalists!
“...what a day, a year, a life this is" - Dreamer|Supertramp
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JonPorobil
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Re: SpinTunes 17 Round 3 RESULTS

Post by JonPorobil »

Cybronica, I know yours wasn't the most positive review of my song, but it definitely made me feel the most seen. I agonized over whether to stick with my first pass of the chorus lyric because of that "baby back" connotation. Two days in, I was still singing it to myself and none of the potential replacements sounded or felt nearly as good, so I threw caution to the wind. You were the only one who called me out on it (Edit: I just noticed Jocko's review alludes to it as well). I also wanted to thank you for the compliments on my bass playing - I quite proud of the part/performance, and just in general felt this was my best rhythm section ever, so it felt good that you noticed!

Thanks to Micah and the whole judging panel for a satisfying and interesting competition! As tends to be the case with these, I came up with some interesting songs that I never would have thought of without the challenges!

I may submit a round 4 shadow, but honestly, now that the pressure is off, it's a lot easier to convince myself to get more sleep again... :lol:
"Warren Zevon would be proud." -Reve Mosquito

Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
Cybronica
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Re: SpinTunes 17 Round 3 RESULTS

Post by Cybronica »

JonPorobil wrote:
Mon Apr 19, 2021 8:09 am
Cybronica, I know yours wasn't the most positive review of my song, but it definitely made me feel the most seen. I agonized over whether to stick with my first pass of the chorus lyric because of that "baby back" connotation. Two days in, I was still singing it to myself and none of the potential replacements sounded or felt nearly as good, so I threw caution to the wind. You were the only one who called me out on it (Edit: I just noticed Jocko's review alludes to it as well). I also wanted to thank you for the compliments on my bass playing - I quite proud of the part/performance, and just in general felt this was my best rhythm section ever, so it felt good that you noticed!
I’m glad to have ‘seen’ you! I will give you credit for writing a catchy hook with the come back baby back line. It’s been running through my head the last few days, and I think what might have worked is if you had kept as backing vocals throughout the whole chorus, and had the first half
Of the chorus be a non palindromic couplet that furthered the narrative. And yes your rhythm section was excellent. Don’t get me wrong- it’s a good song, but there’s alwYs room for improvement!
“It's like opera for toddlers or something.” -furrypedro
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