Not really experienced in the latter but surely there needs to be some kind of divide between this and BJSC or there may as well just be one competition? (excluding members/vetting songs is a bit of a no no though)

 

I thought the quality was ok but the result not so great this time

Why should anything belong anywhere? It's not like Never Stop Coming Back was outrageously out of place in Unknown Pleasures, and a lot of people made a great discovery out of it. I can't say that I was very keen on some of the entries in the top ten either but I wouldn't begrudge them their place here, if it's what somebody wants to introduce to everybody else. I don't think that UP/BJSC should have active genre divides, I find the variety of genres a whole lot more interesting, making both a lot more enjoyable for me. If BJSC were made only pop, and UP was made only indie then I'd have no interest in participating in either personally. The only answer would be banning certain people from Unknown Pleasures, and others from BJSC, or forcing people to enter songs from certain genres but that would be incredibly unfair and restrictive imo.

Totally agree with this to be honest. Banning people/ restricting entries would no way be the way forward. However I can see a bit of merging going on.

Not really experienced in the latter but surely there needs to be some kind of divide between this and BJSC or there may as well just be one competition? (excluding members/vetting songs is a bit of a no no though)

 

I thought the quality was ok but the result not so great this time

 

There's a subconscious divide already I think, I don't find the songs being submitted to the two contests at all similar overall personally. The majority of the songs in the last BJSC contest would be panned as entries in here and vice versa. Of the posters that enter both competitions, I think there's already a thought process as to which competition is likely to be a better fit for a song, i.e. Hitstastic and Solider.

 

I certainly wouldn't have sent my recent BJSC entry Flares to this, I'm well aware that it would have gone down like a lead balloon. I really didn't expect Never Stop Coming Back to cause an uproar though, it sounds like it could be by any number of acts that have had active threads in the indie forum before. If my taste is considered too poppy for UP then I'd reluctantly step back but I think it would be a shame as I enjoy participating. I wouldn't like to lose countries from BJSC on the basis that their choices are 'too indie' either, I've made some fantastic indie discoveries there over the years.

There's a subconscious divide already I think, I don't find the songs being submitted to the two contests at all similar overall personally. The majority of the songs in the last BJSC contest would be panned as entries in here and vice versa. Of the posters that enter both competitions, I think there's already a thought process as to which competition is likely to be a better fit for a song, i.e. Hitstastic and Solider.

 

I certainly wouldn't have sent my recent BJSC entry Flares to this, I'm well aware that it would have gone down like a lead balloon. I really didn't expect Never Stop Coming Back to cause an uproar though, it sounds like it could be by any number of acts that have had active threads in the indie forum before. If my taste is considered too poppy for UP then I'd reluctantly step back but I think it would be a shame as I enjoy participating. I wouldn't like to lose countries from BJSC on the basis that their choices are 'too indie' either, I've made some fantastic indie discoveries there over the years.

 

I don't think you should step back. In fact I think you bring something different to the table but when you compare the top 5 from UP1 and the top 5 from UP8, there has been a definite shift.

I don't think we need to do something to divide between BJSC and UP (at least yet). Because more than half of last month's BJSC entries would be ridiculed in UP. And vice versa. Even if the quality of UP7 was lower than usual, it's still a VERY long way to go down in order to meet the standards of BJSC.

 

Yes, I just basically said BJSC has become majorly crappy, yet I'm still participating in it. That's called an addiction. :(

Edited February 19, 201213 yr by Ljósið

I don't think you should step back. In fact I think you bring something different to the table but when you compare the top 5 from UP1 and the top 5 from UP8, there has been a definite shift.

 

Oh no doubt, I suppose it's due to quite a few more pop/mainstream fans joining UP since the inception of the contest on Buzzjack. I'd also say the same for BJSC though, it's so much more poppy now than it was even a year ago, I'm not exactly ecstatic about that situation but I still make a lot of discoveries in amongst the sea of bubblegum pop so I persist :lol: It's strange, I'm one of the most poppy participants in UP but in BJSC I can assure you that I'm nowhere near it. If you look back at BJSCX or even the contests of early 2010, BJSC was much more comparable with the current state of UP, lots of indie/pop-indie reguarly in the top ten. Now its pop, pop and more pop. UP is definitely more pop than it used to be but there's still a huge gulf between the two I think.

 

I don't think we need to do something to divide between BJSC and UP (at least yet). Because more than half of last month's BJSC entries would be ridiculed in UP. And vice versa. Even if the quality of UP7 was lower than usual, it's still a VERY long way to go down in order to meet the standards of BJSC.

 

Yes, I just basically said BJSC has become majorly crappy, yet I'm still participating in it. That's called an addiction. :(

 

I was surprised that you only seemed to like 3 or 4 songs out of almost 50 in the last contest, I think I'd probably call it a day if it ever got like that for me. I'm addicted to it only in the way that I love making new discoveries that I wouldn't hear otherwise but if that situation ever dried up then I wouldn't hesitate to leave.

 

Not that I'd want you to leave of course, you're an essential part of the contest. But last month was unusually poppy, even for BJSC.

I don't think Jessica 6 was that out of place really, it reminded me of a Hercules & Love Affair track, a band that would definitely find a home in this forum.

Pop or not, if a song is good enough I will vote for it.

 

Jessica 6 were the poppiest thing I've ever taken part with but I have never participated BJSC and thus have no idea what kind of songs do well there..

 

There's been tons of electro pop songs in UPs before so I thought why not Jessica 6. But that's as pop as I'd go probably.

Edited February 19, 201213 yr by SKOB

I was surprised that you only seemed to like 3 or 4 songs out of almost 50 in the last contest, I think I'd probably call it a day if it ever got like that for me. I'm addicted to it only in the way that I love making new discoveries that I wouldn't hear otherwise but if that situation ever dried up then I wouldn't hesitate to leave.

 

Not that I'd want you to leave of course, you're an essential part of the contest. But last month was unusually poppy, even for BJSC.

I actually liked about 8 finalists. It's 4 I cared about :lol:

 

I have issues about letting go. :( Plus it's possible that this was just a one month thing, and it will get better.

I actually liked about 8 finalists. It's 4 I cared about :lol:

 

I have issues about letting go. :( Plus it's possible that this was just a one month thing, and it will get better.

 

Maybe with Dandy* hosting, everybody will be inspired to send less POP entries!

I'm not familiar with all of them but it's certainly not looking that way so far!

 

I just hope there are some tracks I like, I imagine hosting will be quite a chore unless I actually have an interest in which track wins.

I'm not familiar with all of them but it's certainly not looking that way so far!

 

I just hope there are some tracks I like, I imagine hosting will be quite a chore unless I actually have an interest in which track wins.

 

A tacky girlband electro-pop song was one of my potentials but as I had other options I decided not to go with it, much to your relief I'm sure :lol: I only tend to go generic if I've got no other ideas or if I'm really besotted with a song, and then those entries are usually the ones I look back on months later and think 'why on earth did I send that'.

 

I've hosted some dire contests quality wise, some of the very worst or most forgettable in BJSC history. Luckily, the last one I got to host (Lana Del Rey vs. Frida Gold) was the best quality contest we'd had in AGES :wub: Shame I sent Ria to that one, consider me guilty as charged on the generic pop front that time around.

Unknown Pleasures VIII : Final Result

 

01 • 219 • VNV Nation • Nova (Shine A Light) • Freeze

02 • 172 • ∆ • Fitzpleasure • Grebo

03 • 162 • Freja Loeb • Never Stop Coming Back • Gooddelta

04 • 156 • Swiss Lips • U Got The Power • Jake

05 • 154 • Ms Mr • Bones • JakeWild

06 • 146 • Tommy Seebach • Bubble Sex • Tyrren

07 • 135 • Oliver Tank • Last Night I Heard Everything In Slow Motion • Triangles

08 • 131 • Chad Valley • Shell Suite • Harve

09 • 120 • Young Empires • The Earth Plates Are Shifting • West

10 • 117 • Slow Magic • Corvette Cassette • Doctor Blind

 

11 • 115 • Midnight Juggernauts • Shadows • alin

12 • 090 • Jessica 6 • White Horse • SKOB

13 • 088 • Amatorski • Soldier • Hitstastic

14 • 085 • Husky Rescue • They Are Coming • Tonyttt31

15 • 085 • Moi • Hjerteknuser • Cal

16 • 085 • Stay+ • Dandelion • Ljósið

17 • 083 • Jonathan Johansson • Centrum • JohnMK

18 • 081 • The Concept • Gimme Twice • Dandy*

19 • 079 • Calla • This Better Go As Planned • Horatio

20 • 077 • Kill Screen Music • Traffic • Zechhh

 

21 • 077 • Alpine • Hands • Mart!n

22 • 069 • Solar Bears • Alpha People • Tom Kay

23 • 067 • Silver Swans • Let It Happen • Pablo

24 • 055 • Ford & Lopatin • Joey Rogers • Medicated Soap

25 • 054 • Bic Runga • Hello Hello • Ghosthunter

26 • 049 • Exlovers • Photobooth • titty

27 • 048 • Last Lynx featuring. Camilla Dahlstedt • Waterworld • råndomfurlöng

28 • 048 • Post War Years • All Eyes • 152chris

29 • 048 • Reverie Sound Revue • Rip the Universe • Jonny

30 • 048 • Snowmine • Hologram • Thomsen

31 • 025 • Nouvelle Vague • In A Manner Of Speaking • Casey

32 • 022 • Natalya Zerraga • Sundown • Eyes

33 • 021 • Petter Seander • When Something Dies • Brett-Butler

34 • 021 • Smoosh • It’s Not Your Day To Shine • RabbitFurCoat

 

 

Sorry I missed all this last night. For once my number 1 won the competition. I thought it was quite a weak set of songs. I only really loved one. I also thought I would do better than 14th this time because of a number of factors

 

1. It was the second track of cd 1 giving it the chance of being more familiar or clicking earlier with voters

2. The fact that the rest of the songs weren't very strong in my opinion

3. The song might appeal to a wider audience given it's nature.

 

I was wrong on all counts :lol:

 

Well done, Dand...it was worth the wait. It can't be easy coming up with new ways of presenting the results.

Edited February 19, 201213 yr by tonyttt31

Sorry I missed all this last night. For once my number 1 won the competition. I thought it was quite a weak set of songs. I only really loved one. I also thought I would do better than 14th this time because of a number of factors

 

1. It was the second track of cd 1 giving it the chance of being more familiar or clicking earlier with voters

2. The fact that the rest of the songs weren't very strong in my opinion

3. The song might appeal to a wider audience given it's nature.

 

I was wrong on all counts :lol:

 

Well done, Dand...it was worth the wait. It can't be easy coming up with new ways of presenting the results.

 

Husky Rescue and Chad Valley are probably my favourites here, but I knew them both too well already. I think both would have done better otherwise.

I have no problem with anything in the competition, there are songs I think are great and rubbish from all genres entered, and I like the variety as in the last two or three a I've found a lot of songs are very similar and can often merge into one, so I'm all for a poppier 'Never Stop Coming Back' or 'Up In The Sky' to be a bit more varied.

I don't think Jessica 6 was that out of place really, it reminded me of a Hercules & Love Affair track, a band that would definitely find a home in this forum.

 

Considering she was in Hercules and Love Affair ~*~ She sang on a couple of tracks on the first album ("You Belong" etc.) She made total sense for this competition in my eyes.

 

- - -

 

I just feel like what did well in the first couple of Unknown Pleasures would not do nearly as well now. I think that does have a lot to do with a lot of new participants in this contest who normally don't post in the indie forum at all. I definitely don't think we should do anything about it or restrict genres or anything, I just think it's something to note. (UP will never end up like BJSC but it is heading in that general directiono which makes me a little bummed). This could just be a one-off type of thing tho

26!

Shameful.

I just feel like what did well in the first couple of Unknown Pleasures would not do nearly as well now. I think that does have a lot to do with a lot of new participants in this contest who normally don't post in the indie forum at all. I definitely don't think we should do anything about it or restrict genres or anything, I just think it's something to note. (UP will never end up like BJSC but it is heading in that general directiono which makes me a little bummed). This could just be a one-off type of thing tho

 

Agree, the more participants, the more diversity. 30+ is the ultimate maximum though, to keep it reasonable for voters. I'm sure most people won't listen to the songs more than twice or three times (as I do).

To be fair the first ever Unknown Pleasures top 3 was The Naked And Famous, David Holmes and HEALTH. I certainly don't understand how 'Nova' is any more BJSC or pop friendly/appealing than 'Young Blood' or 'I Heard Wonders' to be honest? I don't see the last couple of top 10s as being any less varied than previous contests. There's absolutely nothing wrong here at all.