Since we last aired, we decided to change our name again and promoted our lovely production assistant, tonym101101, to production lead and title name of the show! (And it sounds catchy)
~~ ROUND 2 CRITIQUES ~~
Thank you all for sharing with us your “Autumn Vibe” songs. There was some originality it tonight’s selections, however some of you decided to play it safe. Our top 3 Pokemon of the week are… Vulpix, Mawile, and Eevee. The winner of this week is… 🎉 Mawile 🎉
Here are the top 3’s critiques for the week:
1st Place: Mawile
Song Choice: Birdy, "Lighthouse"
Listening to this song reminded me why I was excited to do this game, to fall in love with new music! This is my first time ever hearing this song and wow I love it so much. I've heard of Birdy before, but this song is just everything. It has the softness of what I was hoping for when thinking of Autumn vibes, and theres a level of melancholy in her voice I really get into. These verses though are top tier yep I will be listening to the rest of this album now. Thank you for sharing!
2nd Place: Eevee
Song Choice: Arctic Monkeys, "Knee Socks"
I haven't heard this Arctic Monkeys song before, but I have always found their music to give me Autumn vibes. Ooh but this song is so damn good! The vocals I find so incredibly smooth and sexy. Overall too the rock sound is different, really high quality, and just different than the other songs, so I appreciate the uniqueness in your submission. Thank you!
3rd Place: Vulpix
Song Choice: The Paper Kites, "Bloom"
Wow I love this song 🥲 Never heard it till today, but I am obsessed with the melody and vocals. Overall and incredibly pretty song, the guitar in the background gives the folk feel, but the voice has some modernity to it that I just overall really enjoyed. Super sweet, sad song thank you for sharing!
Now, when you hear your name called, you are SAFE for the week…
4th Place: Shellos
Song Choice: Lana Del Rey, "Cinnamon Girl"
Mmmmmmmm NFR Lana yes please. This song gives me fall, I remember first listening to this album driving up through Vermont during peak foliage season, so it has that memory attached to it. Does the song give heavy heavy fall? Ehhh, but I think it's one of Lana's best on the album. I particularly love the contrast between the softer verses, and the kinda beat drop that gives during the chorus. Great song choice!
5th Place: Solrock
Song Choice: Taylor Swift, "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (Sad Girl Autumn Version)
This is the first song I am listening to for this round and I have to say it's expected. If you're going to choose Taylor, I WILL be hypocritical given that I already know all her songs. All Too Well (2012) is very very Autumn. Taylor took it to the next level with 2021 releases, but this not necessarily my top choice of the 3. The original 10 minute version is my absolute favorite of the ATW renditions. This song though is beautiful, the lyrics are heart-wrenching, and I think the piano acoustic just make it even more sad. HOWEVER, there is something about the other's heavy bass I like more, there's a level of anger that I don't get in this song. Overall, thematic and excellent song, but maybe on the predictable side.
6th Place: Gyarados
Song Choice: The Neighbourhood, "Sweater Weather"
I am trying really hard to not think about this song being SO overplayed when it came out, because I REALLY love The Neighbourhood (their newest album specifically) so this song is TOUGH. Overall, I find the chorus to be repetitive, which is probably why it was a catchy top radio song. It does give fall though, and I enjoy and vibe with the sound.
7th Place: Pheromosa
Song Choice: Taylor Swift, "Ivy"
Another Taylor song, yep yep and this one does eat I will have to say. Unfortunately, as much as I love this song (one of my favorite on evermore), I think it's much more of a spring song. The idea of ivy growing, rebirthing of a new relationship, gives spring to me. She also says "Spring breaks loose" which I have always associated this song with spring more than fall. HOWEVER, sonically this song fits the "Fall" vibe with folk style guitar, and the album was released in the fall so - there's some point there. The song is great though and the overall imagery is TOP NOTCH.
8th Place: Piplup
Song Choice: Lana Del Rey, "Radio"
Hmmm one of my favorite Lana songs! It's a great song, I don't really associate it with Fall but I do think it fits the vibe, as do most Lana songs. Also the connection to cinnamon between both these Lana songs? (Cinnamon also gives Autumn vibes, so I'll give you both that) I particularly love the build up in the bridge of the song, and the way Lana says cinnamon just hits different. Great song!
9th Place: Totodile
Song Choice: Nell, "Time Spent Walking Through Memories"
So I looked up the english translation of the lyrics, and it's so sad! Overall I really enjoy Nell's voice and feels very Linken Park esque (but softer) the lyrics speak on a lone leaf floating through the wind, so I appreciate the little nod to fall. Not sure how much the song will stand out to the rest, but I do enjoy it.
10th Place: Mimikyu
Song Choice: Taylor Swift, "seven"
AND ANOTHER TAYLOR SONG. Again, similar to Ivy, she directly references another season (Summer) in this song numberous times, so does it fit the theme? I'm not sure. folklore also came out middle of the summer which is when I HEAVILY listen to this album, so it's hard for me to like fit it into this fall category. The song is beautiful though, and I love what she does with her voice compared to some of her other songs. Great song, but doesn't resonate with the theme as much as I wish it did.
11th Place: Litwick
Song Choice: Keane, "Somewhere Only We Know"
Okay this song is a classic, I feel like they did it on Glee at some point? I really enjoy this song and I think the line "Why don't we go somewhere only we know" is pretty iconic, catchy, and sweet. Compared to some of the others here I may not consider it a top choice song of the week, but a solid selection for sure.
Will the final two Pokemon, Tsareena and Timburr, please step forward. Thank you both for sharing your songs with me this week, however for one of you this will be your last… You are the bottom two for this week. Here are your critiques…
Bottom 2: Tsareena
Song Choice: Quinn XCII, "Us & Us"
Quinn XCII's voice just isn't it for me. It sounds nasily? I'm not sure, but it's more so in this song given that it's a bit slower. The song did get better, the second verse when the bass kicks in added to the poppy sounds that I think work better for him. The lyrics are also not anything super spectacular to me, and find it to lack a bit. Not a relisten for me unfortunately. 😪
Bottom 2: Timburr
Song Choice: Iron & Wine, "Autumn Town Leaves"
Did somebody google "Autumn Vibe Songs"??? Just kidding, I appreciate how thematic the song is and it fits very well. It's a very pretty song, however not sure if it's a huge standout for me. I wish the vocals did a bit more as I don't find it incredibly dynamic. I could see myself enjoying this song being played at a coffee shop on an early fall morning, so thank you!
And the Pokemon that received the lowest ranking and will be unmasked tonight is… Tsareena.
Tsareena, thank you for playing, it is now time to see who is hidden behind your mask…
We have loved having you a part of this season, we will miss you! ❤️❤️❤️
~~ ZACKARONI AND TONY’S MASKED MUSIC TASTE: ROUND 3 ~~
THE FINAL 12! Now I have heard you all have been enjoying talking amongst yourselves, so why not play as teams for a round? For this round you will be divided into 4 TEAMS OF 3! You will be playing as TEAMS, but still submitting a song INDIVIDUALLY. The teams have been selected at random and are the following…
TEAM 1:
1. Piplup
2. Mimikyu
3. Pheromosa
TEAM 2:
1. Eevee
2. Totodile
3. Gyarados
TEAM 3:
1. Mawile
2. Solrock
3. Timburr
TEAM 4:
1. Vulpix
2. Shellos
3. Litwick
This round is called “A Love Story.”
If you are NUMBER 1 on your team (Piplup, Eevee, Mawile, and Vulpix) you will be submitting a song about LUST.
If you are NUMBER 2 on your team (Mimikyu, Totodile, Solrock, and Shellos) you will be submitting a song about LOVE.
If you are NUMBER 3 on your team (Pheromosa, Gyarados, Timburr and Litwick) you will be submitting a song about HEARTBREAK.
You team will be judged on how cohesive the songs sound together as a trio, so please do work together. However, you will also be judged on each of your individual song submissions, so be sure to choose wisely.
You have till 7:00 PM PST November 24th, 2021 to submit your songs via TENGAGED MAIL to tonym101101.
