Chez Wombat

It was a decent enough opener, aiming towards the silly but there was some quite tense moments and it never got properly childish like last year's opener. Belinda definitely the best thing about it - that was a pleasant surprise that she turned out to take no shit and actually have some decent tension between her and the Doctor rather than another excitable. wide-eyed one that goes willingly. I'm hoping she doesn't get screwed up as much as Ruby did. The plot itself was a bit throwaway and conclusion made no sense at all, but it was entertaining enough. I actually did really like the concept of a star actually being a world where some unsuspecting person is ruler, I just don't think it needed the additional incel subtext which was clumsily handled at best... I don't know if it's just better shows out at the same time or the amount they mucked up last season's finale but I'm not really able to get that excited about this series, especially as all signs seem to not be too good for it and it may be going on a break after this. I'm just gonna go in with rock bottom expectations which I'm hoping will prevent too much disappointment x

Previous bonuses: Manic Street Preachers - Decline and Fall (from Critical Thinking) Charli xcx & Ariana Grande - Sympathy is a knife Billie Eilish - Wildflower This week: Billie Eilish - BIRDS OF A FEATHER Kendrick Lamar - tv off (feat. Lefty Gunplay) Tommy Richman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY

Best: Harry Styles - As It Was Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow - INDUSTRY BABY Post Malone - Circles Taylor Swift - All Too Well (Taylor's Version) The Weeknd - Blinding Lights Worst: 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj - TROLLZ BTS - Life Goes On Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo - Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat) (BTS Remix)

My favourite ever chart battle to follow, was so pleased to be one I could follow when I was still into the charts, and still to this date, arguably the last truly great, culturally impactful chart battle. Obviously Rage is better, an anarchic classic even before all this, Any Joe voters are banned (or at least need to explain themselves xx)

I've just finished the first episode, Common People and...yeah I think I'll wait for a bit now as that was a bit depressing 😭 A strong opener though that definitely had that classic Black Mirror terrifying concept mixed with a twisted sense of humour. You can definitely see where it was going from a while off and the references on the nose, but I really appreciated the relentless bleakness and insular focus on a single couple. Felt refreshingly anti-Hollywood which has been a problem with recent episodes. Reviews are pretty good for this season so far, I do love the show but it's become very inconsistent recently so hopefully this shows there's still life in it!

This needs a thread! Seventh season released on Netflix and we've been gifted with a pretty generous seven episodes, including a sequel to US Callister

My political beliefs definitely reflect that of socialism, yet I think Western civilisation is too entrenched in capitalism for any socialist policies to ever work in day to day life. I support left-wing policies, but I always view them in the eye of 'can this realistically be achieved/how are we going to pay for this'. Other than that, I'm probably more likely to differ slightly from my humanist approach when it comes to education just because I have lived experience - lowering the voting age, while I don't oppose it, doesn't fill me with optimism based on the students I work with, I think there should be a priority for a better teaching of political education from 16 onwards. I also supported the recent Conservative amendment to the schools bill of a blanket mobile phone ban in schools. You could make possible exceptions for certain vulnerable students or medical conditions, but otherwise, it's one of the prime tools for spreading misinformation and abuse.

So much for not backing down, Tariffs now paused for 90 days on most countries at just 10%, except China where they're now 125%. And ofc. the markets and stocks are soaring again after this announcement, I have suspected that this is all for his own gain and market manipulation cos it's not like him and his billionaire mates will ever feel the pinch of a recession and this backs it up.

Feels ever so slightly weird now they're a member down and after the allegations... Year of the Snake is sounding interesting though, definitely lacking a big hook but I am enjoying the slow build.

Ooh wonderful, one of my last remaining songs from my top 10 here did win! I was thinking that there was a chance Nirvana could do it, but I was convinced Lay All Your Love on Me would win just on the basis of it dominating every poll it's in on here x (I do really like it and it is a classic, just don't quite rate it as a highly as some others on here do). Creep is a great song, but definitely has suffered a bit from overexposure, Radiohead have several songs I'd go to before that. The top 10 is mainly very good, despite some being a little overexposed. Basket Case is a nice surprise as I didn't expect that anywhere near there and Seven Nation Army at 7 definitely feels right! Many thanks for the great hosting efforts, Rollo!

Congrats Bre! Feels like a while since you've won a song contest, this was a very unique cover of a great song. I voted for most of the top 10 too, admittedly there's not a huge amount here I'll be going back to over the originals but Kelsey Lu and The Breath of Life did come pretty close. I admittedly didn't know the Portishead original of Sour Times, but this one sounded amazing all the same. Pleased to be top 10 and a little bit better than my last entry here, I was expecting to bomb completely following the Synctube reaction. I actually heard this version of Wordy Rappinghood before the original, and they certainly sound similar, but I do think it fits into Chicks on Speed's overall image very well and I hope I at least introduced the song to a few of you as it's such a unique, brilliantly eclectic song (I did actually enter the 4:46 edit via YouTube rather than the one played at the listening session as it does condense it to the best parts, but it wasn't available on streaming) Thanks for hosting, Severin, always do enjoy song contests focusing on reinvention as they are interesting if nothing else x

Billie Eilish - Therefore I Am Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now Dua Lipa - Levitating (feat. DaBaby) (I mean ideally without him but...)

This is my favourite story about this whole thing (gotta find something to laugh at x)

Going back to my core sound with a Japanese post-rock/neo-classical sort of thing (it's not films again x)

Children under 16 are exactly the kind of crowd that could be susceptible to incel ideologies and those that promote them like Andrew Tate know this and they don't yet have the critical thinking skills to see the con they are being sold. There are many students that we take on where it's clearly only developed as they've got older. Parents should obviously be aware too, but it's also crucial for students to recognise it.

Man in the Mirror was definitely one that sounded right in that place and time only, but not one I return to massively these days next to the other MJ classics, it's strange how a song that was only a minor hit originally went on to have a completely different meaning attached to it and it is still a great story of a song. Cascada is similar in sounding better in that time but that doesn't work to it's favour these days, I got some enjoyment out of it at the time, but it's complete trash that's dated awfully.

Just two of my top 10 remaining then (and I did expect both to be there), rooting for them x One is U2's best moment, beautiful lyricism and the quiet way the song is sung and slow build has always really resonated with me (the Mary J Blige version that ofc. shouted all over it was totally unnecessary).

Congrats Julian! I wouldn't have wanted to prevent an inspired winner, very different to what I know from Dido but was great to hear more of her Faithless-adjacent sound. I am more than happy to finish a place below Outro and get a new peak in this contest, thanks for indulging my dated cheesy pop side x Some great stuff in the top 10, though Saint Etienne and Goldfrapp should've done a lot better. Thanks for hosting, Mango!

Buzzjack better Do it do it do it do it do it do the right thing now x (Lovegame is B-side material at best and shouldn't be out over Gold Digger)

What can I say, I have my pop moments x This was a Buzzjack discovery for me and has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure that has somehow stuck with me over the years, it's just so wonderfully bonkers. I was sure it wasn't there when I checked the BJSC Songs thread but I obviously wasn't looking hard enough so sorry about that, it was fourteen years ago and before I and most others here were taking part, so no harm done x Uhsting as M83 aka the best, most definitely visually present band in the world is actually quite a surprise, maybe cos I just assume you're always the super obscure entry 😅 Was never in doubt for my 12, one of my favourite songs ever, but there was some other great discoveries here, including pretty much all of that current top 6 so good stuff!

You believe it to be a miscarriage of justice based on what you're reading, it doesn't mean it is factually is. None of this evidence has been proven in court or deemed sufficient enough to reopen her trial as of yet. It is ultimately just a point of media speculation based on people that weren't involved in the cases. This is clearly a complex case and you can't call it in a black and white way, it has not been proven she is not guilty of the crimes convicted therefore you cannot objectively state this is a miscarriage of justice.

It's bordering on misinformation saying that it is objective truth when actually this has not been proven in a court of law. It doesn't matter how many tabloid media articles you post and how much you want it to be true, it's still all speculation.

Congrats Josh! The song wasn't for me but I suppose it makes up for the narrow loss Rebecca Black had against my own entry the last time she was entered (I knew I was on to something in the mod forum xx) and of course, wonderful to see another first time winner after some time! I voted for a lot of that top 10 overall, Volta and Telephone getting there is a nice surprise given they were quite subtly effective entries. Absolutely love Eledan 18ing their way to the top 5, reminded me a bit of Ethel Cain's most recent project. Much as I want to still be bitter (and looking at the song that joint-beat me to 20th in the semis, I might still be... ) this was a really high quality contest which I made some great discoveries from. I see David Holmes did about the same/a little bit worse than my own entry by him pre-deduction so good to know I was onto a middling hit either way! Persephonia definitely shouldn't be last though and Aesthetica's entry was my favourite from them in some time (I had a different song from that artist as a potential a few months ago) and should've been higher. Thank you for the great and colourful hosting throughout, Klumzee (and Leww)!

Two more of my big pointers out with Da Funk and Light My Fire, the latter I discovered way too late after only knowing Will Young's cover for ages, it's 60s psychedelia done best and the former is a great anthem to listen to while walking around dressed as a dog x The two modern songs were good picks and that feels about right for them both, Angel of my Dreams probably the most interesting song to come from an X Factor winner,

The backlash to Ziegler is quite unwarranted for me, what she said has been a bit cringey but harmless, and largely taken out of context, not to mention there's very clearly a racist undertone to a lot of the backlash just like Halle Bailey as well as the standard sexism that outspoken women in the spotlight face (and Palestine support because God forbid x). I support the backlash towards the film itself in every way though. These live action remakes are the most soulless, corporate cash-grabs in the movie industry. I'm not against an updated version of an 88 year old film that is just a tad dated despite it's groundbreaking nature (we had a wonderful version of Nosferatu recently that was over 100), but I don't even need to see this to know it will have the typical live action formula of a loose following of the beats of the original and what changes there are feel unnecessary and underdeveloped, and ultimately feeling just completely superfluous next to the groundbreaking original. This one additionally seems to have horrifying CGI, awful acting and another set of seven characters (?!). Nothing about them feels like they genuinely had a new vision or even respect the original at all, just how marketable they can make it to today's audiences. Disney have produced some of the best animated films of all time, I know in recent years (though they've often got dumped on Disney+), they still can release some solid flicks, yet they continue to just rehash the same things. Any remote failure that makes them reconsider pumping out more of these is a victory for cinema in my book.