A Colo(u)rful Walr(o)us

[vonFiedler]

10. Isa
The Beatles - Blackbird
Color 3.7 / Song 3.2

Player's Argument:
im gonna say that this song is about innocence and goodness. arguably purity too.

My Thoughts:
I should be impressed that you give me a Beatles song I haven't heard to death. And while it's a perfectly fine little tune, I can also understand why. But it's nice.

For color, this song is a bit complicated, because it's explicitly set at night. But if you pay attention, it seems to indicate the flight towards a sunny dawn, which is what the bird chirping at the end makes me feel like. So it feels like light in darkness. Maybe I'm stretching, but I'm the boss.

 

[vonFiedler]

9. gbsfranca
Aphex Twin - Flim
Color 4.9 / Song 2.1

Player's Argument:
This song makes you feel like you're up in the clouds

My Thoughts:
You're right! You hit it on the head, this song captures White almost perfectly (but I gave one song the edge over it). For some reason though, I just think of elevator music when I hear this, or maybe I've overheard it as background music somewhere. My gut just tells me not to respect it, and I didn't really want it to go higher than this.

 

[vonFiedler]

8. Termi
Talking Heads - Heaven
Color 3.5 / Song 3.6

Player's Argument:
chosen because a: i associate white with angelic business so the theme of the song fits and b: talking heads are white as fuck lol

My Thoughts:
This is a song about heaven, but it's a song explicitly about a very boring, dreary heaven. It might be a more Grey song. It's a decent early Talking Heads song I haven't heard at least, so I may keep listening to it.

 

[vonFiedler]

7. Martin
Hitomi Sato - Snowpoint City Day
Color 5 / Song 2.1

Player's Argument:
This piece has such a snowy feel to it that I can't help but imagine the colour white. The way Hitomi Satou has managed to create the impression of an echo of an empty town while also making it feel like the sound is always being absorbed by the snow is breathtaking—what a gorgeous piece of music.

My Thoughts:
It's perfect in terms of creating a snowy feeling. Now I have to confess, I spent most of my time finagling the scores on this list just to keep this song from getting full play (which is hard if you're trying to be consistent and fair). That's not because it's a 30 minute longplay or because it's BAD (it's quite good at what it's doing), it's just that I listened to it for five minutes once and I was quite done with it.

 

[vonFiedler]

6. Andy Snype
Ingrid Michaelson - You and I
Color 4.7 / Song 2.5

Player's Argument:
i think of white as relatively pure, innocent, and goodnatured. the feel of this song is overall a pretty wholesome ambition imo

My Thoughts:
There are better songs, but this one is mostly just White as fuck. White girl with Ukelele singing about love and the American Dream. And, I dunno, it's okay in a way that I feel guilty about.

 

[vonFiedler]

5. Celever
hyperstory - A Happening
Color 3.6 / Song 3.7

Player's Argument:
White's a weird colour but I think this song fits really well. The main thing that white represents is blankness, and this song's all about your mind being blank and not really being able to comprehend what's going on. It pretty much has this effect on you when you listen to it (or it does me) where it totally fills up your mind with noise, so it's almost like experiencing whiteness.

My Thoughts:
I really pulled for this song to get full play, because after blasting Celever last week, I really think this one is interesting. I think it's interesting musically and in terms of its color connection, because I really think the "emptiness" angle is a good one. But how White is this really? It certainly starts very Grey, and I think it sorta becomes Whiter later. Cool song, I'll have to check more of them out.

 

[vonFiedler]

4. Aladynn
Loreena McKennit - Snow
Color 4.5 / Song 3.3 / Lyric Penalty

Player's Argument:
A very soothing color. It's calm and never really becomes overwhelming. This is very on the nose but I don't think I could find a song that would fit better.

My Thoughts:
Smash hit sadly held back by it's lyric penalty. I don't collect this kind of folk music, but if I ever started, this would be the kind of song I would want. It's really nice and winter naturey.

 

[vonFiedler]

3. BLOODYRAIN
Ichika - A Bell Is Not a Bell
Color 4.4 / Song 3

Player's Argument:
The sound is really simple and clean since there's just once guitar and the sound is kind of emotional and ethereal if that makes any sense. Feels like a calming white song to me.

My Thoughts:
After shoving so many scores around so many times, I'm sitting here and trying to understand what exactly makes this song 3rd best. It got lucky with the lyric penalty to Aladynn for sure. But it also has a very strong lullaby sound that is also cool? It breaks past the Catch-22 of the White category, sending an easy listening sound that I also give a shit about. Too bad it isn't a bit longer.

 

[vonFiedler]

2. Da Letter El
The Newfound Interest in Connecticut - I Can Hear Your Footsteps Just Outside of Camp, Sah Sah Sah...
Color 3.9 / Song 3.8

Player's Argument:
The song is reminiscent of trudging through a cold winter wilderness, with the "sah sah sah" sounds mentioned in the title (and the faint sounds in the first second or two of the song) being footsteps in the snow. The song just SOUNDS so cold and alone.

Also emo and Connecticut (and Canada, where these guys are actually from) are incredibly white.

My Thoughts:
I definitely hear an overbearing blizzard here, like snow covering all that the eye can see and somehow there also being an emptiness of sound so acute that you hear everything for miles, but still can't pinpoint anything. It's a rad song too that has a strong story for few lyrics, and I really feel like it blossoms both in terms of song and color with that coooward section at the end. Good stuff. May have to check out more (though I'm not an emo fan).

 

[vonFiedler]

1. nutella
St. Lucia / Paradise Is Waiting
Color 4.8 / Song 4

Player's Argument:
Burns bright with energy and light; evoking angelic/celestial blessing

My Thoughts:
This is a fantastic departure from what we've been hearing. It's bright and energetic, but has that choir-like aspect and subject matter that keeps it nailed down to White. A modern song that reminds me strongly of She's Got the Look. This is an artist I absolutely have to discover more of.

 

[vonFiedler]

Scores

 

[vonFiedler]

Rainbow subbed by Martin
Harold L. Waters - Instant Concert

Orange Header
Don Henley - Boys of Summer

 

[vonFiedler]

19. Da Letter El
Death Cab for Cutie - Million Dollar Loan
Color 1.8 / Song 2.6

Player's Argument:
It’s a burn on the orange man In office can’t think of anything ever being more orange

i tend to view folk-ish guitar music as being “campfire music”, and it’s not like this angry raging critique. It’s incredibly critical; it’s not holding back punches, but it’s not this big blazing inferno of a song filled with screaming, etc. there’s still a fire there though; it’s just controlled around the campfire, like all those old 60s politically charged folk classics spread through, well, campsong.

My Thoughts:
So uh... this sub was too similar to another one that will come up later for me to justify catfailing it. But c'mon, it's cheeky.

It's surprisingly okay for a Death Cab song, and I'm not saying that just because I agree with its politics. But I just find modern emo/punk political songs to be a bit tacky. This certainly isn't a folk song.

 

[vonFiedler]

18. Sultan of Skook
The xx - Sunset
Color 2.7 / Song 1.9

Player's Argument:
Sunsets often are a shade of orange, and orange is a less intense shade of red, which works for this song's themes of something that loses its intensity.

My Thoughts:
No one would have blamed you for resubbing after I panned the last xx song you sent. But you never know... and now you know. This somehow sounds almost exactly the same as the last song and yet so much worse? I dunno, it's just boring. Obviously the tone is different enough, because it sounds a bit warmer and more upbeat, and that makes it less White, but I'm not sure that it's as good an Orange song as other submissions.

 

[vonFiedler]

17. Celever
Chase & Status - Real No More
Color 1.9 / Song 2.8

Player's Argument:
Alright I've always shied away from submitting jungle to Walrus cos it's such a UK-exclusive scene and doesn't exist anywhere else, but the only thing I associate orange with is sunsets, and for me this song is a sunset in 4 minutes. This is the track Chase & Status use to finish all their sets at festivals and concerts because it transitions from the harder drumlines of their other tracks to dying down with more peaceful and uplifting horns to chill the audience out a bit, in the same way as the beauty of a sunset is in the power that is the sun becoming weaker as it descends. This sub is purely based on the vibe of the track rather than the lyrics or message, but it's perfect for orange because it's intense and hot while maintaining restraint. More of a fire dying out (orange) than a raging one (red).

My Thoughts:
Here we see, and you can see in the previous song as well, the argument of "less than Red, more than Yellow" just doesn't really sell it for me. And with Reggae I just can't help but think of the Jamaican flag and I don't think I'm alone there. No Orange in that flag. Now would that be a good reason to knock points off if this was a particularly warm, upbeat song that felt Orange? Fuck no. But does it? Eh... I mean, no one subbed Ska. I don't like Ska, but Ska is Orange as fuck. As for the song, it sounds like pretty good Reggae.

 

[vonFiedler]

16. Ghostwheel
Dream Theater - The Glass Prison
Color 2 / Song 2.7

Player's Argument:
Explanation: Orange has a lot in common with red generally, but my distinction tends to be that red is a more directed anger or passion or sense of danger, while orange is a more turbulent carrier of those same emotions. And this is a pretty nice candidate in tone and lyrics for that.

My Thoughts:
Again, I just don't think Orange is Red. They're both warm. I feel that's about it. Also, I guess you're not the only person who associated Orange with danger. Because Red, Orange, and Yellow are progressive danger colors. But I think most warning signs are yellow, because yellow draws the eyes. I didn't really hear that here. But like, I don't know what Orange Metal sounds like, so whatever. This is red but turbulent I guess. As a song, it's long.

 

[vonFiedler]

15. Schiavetto
Kate Nash - Merry Happy
Color 3.3 / Song 2.5

Player's Argument:
If I'm being perfectly honest, orange is my least favorite color--it's kind of loud and in-your-face, and it's annoying to work into outfits. What I do like, though, is that bright, plucky energy it brings: it says "I'm here to do my own thing, regardless of what you or anyone else thinks." Kate Nash brings a lot of that same energy with this track.

My Thoughts:
I swear I like some girly songs, but there's a fine line between glorious and annoying - and hey, annoying was your word, not mine. But the song is okay. That's the possible peril of Colo(u)r Walr(o)us, matching a song to a color isn't always going to sound good.

 

[vonFiedler]

14. Panic Station
Kanye West - Strong
Color 2.6 / Song 3.3

Player's Argument:
enthusiastic, self-confident, flamboyant, extroverted and uninhibited, adventurous, creative flair, superficial and insincere, self-indulgent, the exhibitionist, and overly proud
Sorry not sorry that the keywords are mainly about Kanye.

My Thoughts:
Two players submitted songs about douchebags and their big egos. Funny that they ended up being power couple Trump and Kanye. This one at least feels a bit better to me. As for the song, it's good largely because of Daft Punk, but I've always thought at least Kanye doesn't ruin it.

 

[vonFiedler]

13. gbsfranca
Rex Orange County - 10/10
Color 4.9 / Song 1

Player's Argument:
This song represents the transition from yellow to red; going from a "meh", yellow attitude to a joyful, red state of mind

My Thoughts:
The fucking temerity of this kid calling his song 10/10 I tell you. This wasn't a kneejerk reaction, the more I heard this the more I absolutely hated it. The chorus is total shite and he drops that f-bomb with all the confidence of a 10 year old on xbox-live.

Follows Orange track pretty well at least, with the energetic party feel but also incorporating the ego angle that a few others followed.

 

[vonFiedler]

12. nutella
Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood
Color - 2.4 / Song 3.6

Player's Argument:
Evokes autumn leaves and a cozy fireplace -- I know it mentions spring but the mood of this song has always felt like fall to me

My Thoughts:
Fair enough, Orange can probably sound like Fall, Summer, or maybe even Spring. But in a hard category to rate for color, even a maybe can be a huge detriment. The song itself is quite tolerable indie folk, and I'm honestly wobbling between putting it in the 3 or 4 range (I have now put it in the 4 range, thank Isa).

 

[vonFiedler]

11. BLOODYRAIN
Ninja Sex Party - Danny Don't You Know
Color 2.5 / Song 3.5

Player's Argument:
Orange seems like red, but brighter- closer to yellow. What that translates to here is a triumphant victory tune with strong guitars that would almost fit in red, except with some of the silliness and happiness of yellow mixed in.

My Thoughts:
Another wibbly-wobbly color mixing argument, but this one kinda works. It might be too cold at parts, but it builds up well. As for the song, I should say ew post-Grumps NSP, but it's actually decent.

 

[vonFiedler]

10. The Quasar
The Underdog Project - Summer Jam
Color 3.7 / Song 2.4

Player's Argument:
Orange...uhm. Well, what's more orange than Summer, its colours and its warm (sun but..something else ;)
That's an old hit, but you can know some more recent covers. Original is surely better.

My Thoughts:
This a very mysterious submission. I mean, it's a bad song right? It doesn't sound terrible, but it's awfully sophomoric and twee isn't it? Maybe people will correct me, but I dunno. Old hit? Covers? I checked and the only cover I could find was from a youtube channel here:

. The cover actually sounds pretty awesome, probably because it drops the juvenile lyrics.

 

[vonFiedler]

9. Isa
Olivia Tremor Control - Green Typewriters
Color 2.9 / Song 3.4

Player's Argument:
Relaxing and laid back, but with a cool attitude. Knows what it is and isn't ashamed of it.

My Thoughts:
Well, this is what DLE was trying to describe with his argument. Not a lot to say here. It's adequate folk music. Shit, I just argued the score of Ragged Wood back up, didn't I?

 

[vonFiedler]

8. Oddish
Cascada - Pyromania
Color 4.4 / Song 2

Player's Argument:
One of my most difficult cats tbh but i eventually settled on orange being an energetic color. Something lively, something fierce, something warm. Obviously the title and lyrics of the song evoking images of fire help push those things. And of course fire is orange lol. Too on the nose? Perhaps but i struggled with this cat so I'll just take my L in peace. That being said though i think a pop/dance song is still a good choice for what i was going for.

My Thoughts:
On the noise worked here. It's hot, it's energetic, it's a hella of a lot of talking about fire. Unfortunately, it also sounds a hell of a lot like Ke$ha to me, so maybe the song score is even generous. Be thankful I don't just throw around 0.5s like last time.

 

[vonFiedler]

7. Lebossle
Matematikrevyn - Banach-Tarski
Color 3.5 / Song 3

Player's Argument:
it's silly, and Banach-Tarski is usually associated to oranges (they're in the video as well)

My Thoughts:
Yeah I don't care about the video, but luckily the silliness angle works pretty well, and wasn't really capitalized on by other players. The song is also silly fun, but not something I would seek out again after this.