Rate the Song Above You

Okay, so the idea for this topic is simple (and also a ripped-off forum game, but whatever).

Numerically rate the song posted above you, and give a brief reason for your rating. Then put a song (i.e. its name, you can't append an actual song) at the end of your post, and the next person will rate that one.


A few additional guidelines:

So off we go. I'll start: "Sticky Thread" by Local Natives.

(Yes, that is a song. Yes, I always start my "Rate the Song..." topics with it. If you don't get the double meaning I suggest thinking about how it relates to a forum. )

3.5/10. I do like the multiple voices and the slightly electronic overall feel, but the percussion is the most boring I've heard since the radio got turned off earlier in the evening. The various orchestral swells are also a stylistic addition I don't much appreciate (yes, ironic, I know).


"NYC Weather Report" by Five for Fighting.

5.4/10. The harmonica here is slightly tinny, and given the name, the piano is peculiarly low-key most of the time. The entire song, including the vocals (not truly generic, but not memorable), seem to be a vehicle for the lyrics, which are apparently an omniscient 3rd-person snapshot of a bunch of uneasily unhappy people. It's hard to dislike it, but I'm not sure if there's anything specific to like either. It's an icon, yes, but it's just sort of... there.


"Trojans" by Atlas Genius.

5.2/10. Definitely not my favorite song of theirs. The bizarre vocal samples in the background are poorly executed, and the main vocals are breathy and pseudo-drawling. The sort-of-flat guitar and bass are actually good, if not atmospheric, though.


"Sunday Nite Health" by Longwave.

3/10. I never like countdowns into songs, and this one is done in a grating whisper for at least 3 measures. The vocals don't appeal to me here very much at all. The main beat is also repetitive, and the swells of strings are unwanted. I do think the piano is nice, for once, but the tacked-on choir outro is honestly a terrible part of the song that needs to be elsewhere to be appreciable.


"Give Me Something" by Scars on 45.

5/10. The intro is nice and mellow, if rather quiet. Other than a scratchiness and slight lack of refinement, there's nothing very wrong with the vocals, but they're not in a style I appreciate. That's the main problem, as the other instruments are muted nonentities. I don't actually dislike the song, but like many, there's just no reason to give it a rating any higher or lower.


"Full Light" by the Mercies (link - can't be easily found otherwise).

Oh wow I forgot about this topic.

6.7/10. I can't term it exciting, but isn't that a given with that title? Rather low-key and muted... nice enough I suppose. The only problem I really have with it is the strange quality of the occasional backing vocals - like badly synthesized strings, almost, and I don't know why it seems off. The lyrics are peculiarly nearly ominous.


"Don't Look That Way At It" by White Denim.

(Oh lard.)

7/10, I think. Jangling but nice, though the bass was unhelpful - it could've used some smoothing out, and that instrument would've helped. I've heard the song enough times that I don't have too much left to say about it.


"Stare Like You'll Stay" by Circa Survive.

7/10, not sure what I think about it. Quite slow and mellow in a dark way, it reminds me favorably of some ambient music. I don't quite know how to approach it though and I'll leave it at that.

"Street Spirit (Fade Out)" by Radiohead.

6/10, not so bad but not all that great. The often-harmonizing vocals are just okay; the looping riff and lyrics are pretty much wholly repetitive, and the song at full length is merely unsatisfying.


Let's see...

Aereogramme Remix of "Day Sleeper" by Longwave.

7/10. I appreciated the partly-arpeggiated acoustic approach, but it's just that and the vocals, and I've actually never liked the Fray's vocalist's performance, strange as that may or may not be. The piano works here though.


"Under My Bed" by Meiko.

2/10. I really don't like anything from California 37 that gets airplay, and this is mostly the same sappy-instrumented funk-like pop. Even ignoring the lyrics, the song is mediocre; it's kind of mid-tempo, and syncopation can't save it.

"Place For Us" by Reni Lane.

4.5/10. It was just sort of there, with Bob Dylan's voice and the low-key repetitive guitar. The only part I really liked was the harmonica.


"Believe" by the Bravery.