Mask up and get hyped, because this walrus is game changing!
What is Walrus? It's a forum game where you submit songs to me according to various categories and I rank and score them based on how much I like them.
To join, simply sign up by filling out the special Masked Walrus Google form, including YouTube, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, or Vimeo links to your picks.
PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP IN THIS THREAD. ONLY SIGNUPS DONE THROUGH THE GOOGLE FORM WILL BE COUNTED.
One by one, categories will be revealed in the official walrus Discord server and the respective threads. Aim for the highest overall score, or play along for fun and the love of music.
Scores will be logged and tracked via Google spreadsheet. Scoring is done on a 0.0-10.0 points range based on how much I enjoy a song and how well it fits the respective category. My scoring system runs along the same lines as MyAnimeList: 5s are boring, 6s are okay, 7s are good, 8s are great, 9s are awesome, and if you get a 4 or below ya dun goofed. Will anyone send me a 10 point masterpiece? We’ll see…
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This walrus has a special mechanic:
For those of you who don’t know what The Masked Singer is, various celebrities perform cover songs while wearing elaborate costumes to hide their identities and keep the judges guessing as they aim to be the best.
As such, this walrus has 100% anonymous contestants.
Instead of contacting me through the usual methods to submit your songs, you will sign up and submit your songs by filling out a Google form designed specifically for this walrus. When you fill out the form, pick out a simple pseudonym that you’ll be referred to for the entirety of the walrus. The further removed from your usual username and any alts you may have, the better. I won’t know who you are, your competition won’t know who you are, nobody will know who you are until the walrus ends and we all reveal our secret identities.
If you want to add more mystery to your musical history, though, the Google form also contains five optional questions that will let you sprinkle a few clues to your identity into the game. You can answer as many or as few of these questions as you want, and the three questions with the most answers will be included in the walrus. Every third round, one of the Game Changing Questions and the contestants’ answers for that clue will be featured in the reveal (both live and threads).
Furthermore, the three podium finishers of this walrus will each receive a signature banner featuring their username, their submission name, and the Masked Singer judge of their choice. (Banner sizes limited to 500x100. Specific quality level of banners not guaranteed. Host reserves the right to select and use suitable images of the chosen judges.) If the same contestant wins more than one spot in the podium due to alt submissions, they have the right to gift a banner to another contestant of their choosing.
Click here to access the Google form: https://forms.gle/xhWqRtPAyYqp4g687 [NOTE: Form is now closed]
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Additional rules are as follows:
- Any categories you fail to submit for will automatically be scored 0. Be sure to fill out the Google form in full.
- Any submissions which don't fit the qualifying requirements of their respective category will automatically be scored 0. For example, if I had a category about guitars and you subbed an acapella song, you would catfail.
- Do not send me anything from this document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QzhnRjOrc9XyTHrcbNOAC4dz70IUKhizvzZK9_rDq8U/edit?usp=sharing
This is the document I use to track Rules 3 and 4 in my walruses. Be sure to use Ctrl + F to make sure your intended submissions aren’t something I’ve subbed or used before.
Sending me something from this document will result in a TWO POINT DEDUCTION off your score for that particular round. - Your submission will catfail if I can't bring myself to listen to it in its entirety. This pertains not just to the banlist found in Rule 8, but also to anything pitch shifted/chipmunked, played on a kazoo/vuvuzela/air horn, and/or painfully out of tune.
I will try to force myself to listen to godawful songs if I have to in this walrus, but if you value scoring high on the leaderboard, then this is not the hill you die on. - If two or more players submit the same song for a category, they will be given a single score and the players involved will tie in that round's rankings. This type of tie will be expressed in dense ranking (eg. 1223) rather than standard competition ranking (eg. 1224).
- Because of the nature of this walrus, staggered subs and/or sub swapping will not be possible.
- If you send me a 240p or 144p vid and a better version is available, I reserve the right to switch to the better version. I also have a habit of doing this with music videos that vary noticeably from the official audio.
- My ban list is Nickelback, Owl City, Operation Ivy, The Neighbourhood, Kings of Leon, US band Backlash (Swedish band Backlash is okay), and Bloodhound Gang. This isn’t the usual overplay banlist, it’s a never-play banlist. As such, refer to Rule 4.
Making An Entrance
Let’s start with something that really lets us know who you are… or who you want us to THINK you are. Send me the song that would play as you walk out onto the actual Masked Singer stage. Think of it like a wrestling theme; the song you’re sending me should be a song you’d want to associate with your anonymous persona.
Example songs used by past Masked Singer contestants:
Rebel Yell by Billy Idol (used by The Turtle)
Who Let The Dogs Out by Baha Men (used by The Rottweiler)
Behind The Mask
The Masked Singer is all about the masks. So send me a song with the word “mask” in the lyrics.
Examples:
Phantom of the Opera by Nightwish
Sad But True by Metallica
Well-Covered Redux
Take it from the Masked Singer contestants: sometimes you just gotta put your own spin on it. Send me a cover song that sounds noticeably different from its original version. Please include a link to the OG song so I can compare the two while judging.
Examples:
House of the Rising Sun by Jeremy Renner
(compared to House of the Rising Sun by The Animals)
Mad World by Gary Jules
(compared to Mad World by Tears for Fears)
The Star Power Suite: Sing Out
There’s a crucial element without which The Masked Singer wouldn’t be possible. No, I’m not talking about the costumes, I’m talking about the celebrities. Let’s give props to them with this suite of categories. Send me songs about musicians, music, and/or the music industry.
Examples:
4AM Monday by Watsky
Barracuda by Heart
The Star Power Suite: Film Favorites
There’s a crucial element without which The Masked Singer wouldn’t be possible. No, I’m not talking about the costumes, I’m talking about the celebrities. Let’s give props to them with this suite of categories. Send me songs about actors, movies, TV, and/or their respective industries.
Examples:
Lillian by Antsy McClain
Old School Hollywood by SOAD
The Star Power Suite: Play Ball!
There’s a crucial element without which The Masked Singer wouldn’t be possible. No, I’m not talking about the costumes, I’m talking about the celebrities. Let’s give props to them with this suite of categories. Send me songs about athletes and/or sports, including songs written for and/or used by various sports leagues.
Examples:
Come with Me Now by Kongos
Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne
Hidden Talents
Just like how the best unmaskings are the ones you don’t see coming, sometimes the best songs are the ones you aren’t expecting. Send me a song that is a hidden track on its respective album.
Examples:
Arto by System Of A Down
Blood by My Chemical Romance
Obligatory Gamechanger
We’re doing a pretty good job of keeping on theme. But there’s still something missing… We need a surprise twist to shake things up. Submit a song you think walrus host BLOODYRAIN10001 would like. And if you actually are Bloods, how would we know? Well I suppose I might know, since Bloody will be the special guest judge for this round. Not only that, but your submission for this round will receive TWO scores, one from him and one from me. Now THAT’S a gamechanger!
Examples (provided by Bloody himself):
Faceless by Whispered
Heaven by DJ Mariko Goto
Going Out In Style
It’s the finale and you know what that means. We need to end this walrus with a bang. Something grandiose, something BIG. So send me a song that you would describe as bold, epic, or intense. Let's have a spectacular finale and blow the roof off this sucker!
Examples:
Blood on My Name by The Brothers Bright
Nasty by Datsik & Virtual Riot
Let’s start with something that really lets us know who you are… or who you want us to THINK you are. Send me the song that would play as you walk out onto the actual Masked Singer stage. Think of it like a wrestling theme; the song you’re sending me should be a song you’d want to associate with your anonymous persona.
Example songs used by past Masked Singer contestants:
Rebel Yell by Billy Idol (used by The Turtle)
Who Let The Dogs Out by Baha Men (used by The Rottweiler)
Behind The Mask
The Masked Singer is all about the masks. So send me a song with the word “mask” in the lyrics.
Examples:
Phantom of the Opera by Nightwish
Sad But True by Metallica
Well-Covered Redux
Take it from the Masked Singer contestants: sometimes you just gotta put your own spin on it. Send me a cover song that sounds noticeably different from its original version. Please include a link to the OG song so I can compare the two while judging.
Examples:
House of the Rising Sun by Jeremy Renner
(compared to House of the Rising Sun by The Animals)
Mad World by Gary Jules
(compared to Mad World by Tears for Fears)
The Star Power Suite: Sing Out
There’s a crucial element without which The Masked Singer wouldn’t be possible. No, I’m not talking about the costumes, I’m talking about the celebrities. Let’s give props to them with this suite of categories. Send me songs about musicians, music, and/or the music industry.
Examples:
4AM Monday by Watsky
Barracuda by Heart
The Star Power Suite: Film Favorites
There’s a crucial element without which The Masked Singer wouldn’t be possible. No, I’m not talking about the costumes, I’m talking about the celebrities. Let’s give props to them with this suite of categories. Send me songs about actors, movies, TV, and/or their respective industries.
Examples:
Lillian by Antsy McClain
Old School Hollywood by SOAD
The Star Power Suite: Play Ball!
There’s a crucial element without which The Masked Singer wouldn’t be possible. No, I’m not talking about the costumes, I’m talking about the celebrities. Let’s give props to them with this suite of categories. Send me songs about athletes and/or sports, including songs written for and/or used by various sports leagues.
Examples:
Come with Me Now by Kongos
Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne
Hidden Talents
Just like how the best unmaskings are the ones you don’t see coming, sometimes the best songs are the ones you aren’t expecting. Send me a song that is a hidden track on its respective album.
Examples:
Arto by System Of A Down
Blood by My Chemical Romance
Obligatory Gamechanger
We’re doing a pretty good job of keeping on theme. But there’s still something missing… We need a surprise twist to shake things up. Submit a song you think walrus host BLOODYRAIN10001 would like. And if you actually are Bloods, how would we know? Well I suppose I might know, since Bloody will be the special guest judge for this round. Not only that, but your submission for this round will receive TWO scores, one from him and one from me. Now THAT’S a gamechanger!
Examples (provided by Bloody himself):
Faceless by Whispered
Heaven by DJ Mariko Goto
Going Out In Style
It’s the finale and you know what that means. We need to end this walrus with a bang. Something grandiose, something BIG. So send me a song that you would describe as bold, epic, or intense. Let's have a spectacular finale and blow the roof off this sucker!
Examples:
Blood on My Name by The Brothers Bright
Nasty by Datsik & Virtual Riot
Q: What’s your taste in music like?
A: Almost everything listed in the walrus use doc linked in the ruleset is something I like. I do have a few songs marked as being subbed to various “bad songs” categories, though you can check the banlist and Rule 4 to see what I can’t stand. Also, some songs are listed twice because the doc specifies between stuff I’ve used and stuff I’ve subbed.
Q: 2 point deduction? Seriously?!
A: I’m kinda putting my neck on the line by sharing this doc. It contains the songs I’ve used for my own walruses- including walruses I have planned for the future- and songs I’ve submitted to others’ walruses. This is the KoC core-a-palooza doc, full of opportunities for people to commit the cardinal sin of throwing my own example songs back in my face. So fucking don’t or you’ll get punished for it.
Q: Can I sign up more than once?
A: Nothing stopping you from doing that and I have no qualms about it in general. Just note that if you send me the same songs in multiple accounts, you'll literally be tying with yourself and where’s the fun in that?
Q: Do I have to submit my songs with anonymous formatting, too?
A: It’s not necessary. Barring part of my last walrus, I usually prefer knowing the title and artist of the song beforehand, since it helps with cross checking qualifiers before their respective judging periods.
Q: Masked Singer, hell yeah! So that means there’s eliminations, right?
A: Not this time. I thought it’d be too much to add eliminations on top of the gimmicks already present in this walrus. If the anonymous contestants format works out well here and people REALLY want to put their scores on the line, maybe I could go out of my way to incorporate some form of eliminations into a Masked Singer Season Two.
Q: What would your Masked Singer theme be?
A: Panic Station or Knights of Cydonia are way too obvious, so… not those. I’d probably completely avoid Muse and a few other bands I’m known to have a penchant for, so as not to tip my hand. Instead, I’d pick a song that has some sort of connection to whatever animal, mythical creature, anthropomorphic foodstuff, etc I’d choose as the basis for my Masked Singer costume. (Though if this were a wrestling theme song category without any anonymity involved, I’d go full-on bastardass heel and pick Ugly Faces by Watsky.)
Q: Seriously, I don’t think you’d make an entire Masked Singer themed walrus if you didn’t have an idea of your own costume and entry song. Spill, you Nick Cannon wannabe.
A: Well, you’re right. I do have an ideal costume (Masksona? Is that a thing?) and I’m willing to tell you all about it… after signups end. Outside of the usual trappings of the walrus format, I try not to actively influence what songs contestants submit. If I say nothing right now, it’s 100% coincidence if someone enters with my chosen alias or sends me my preferred theme song.
Q: That sounds to me like you’re gonna fill out the form and submit songs to your own walrus.
A: You’re overlooking the part where, as people who have spent a lot of time and effort picking out categories, examples, intros, and outros, technically every walrus host submits to their own walrus.
Q: Does it have to be “mask” verbatim?
A: Near-match words like masked, masks, etc. qualify for Behind The Mask. However, there’s plenty of exact match options to choose from, so as tempting as it would be to send me a song with a synonym like Balaclava by Arctic Monkeys, that wouldn’t qualify.
Q: Do remixes count for Well-Covered?
A: They didn’t in the original (which was back in my first walrus). I think the twist in this redux isn’t so narrow that I would have to open it to remixes as well. But don’t let it stop you from sending me remixes in other categories.
Q: What about remastered versions?
A: Remasters of your cover song and/or og song are just fine.
Q: Gary Jules isn’t the original? Mind. Blown.
A: Sometimes the most popular version of a song can be mistaken for the original when it’s actually a cover. This is the other reason I want you to include the source song with your sub.
Q: Sports songs? I don’t know any sports songs!
A: Well, if you remember a popular song that was played in, say… a FIFA World Cup match or a Superbowl halftime show? That’d count. Heck, the only reason I know that Kongos song is because it was a staple of Nascar broadcasts.
Q: Are pregap tracks hidden tracks?
A: Yes, pregap tracks qualify for Hidden Talents.
Q: Since when is dubstep bold and spicy, I mean epic?
A: Just wanted to show that you don’t have to lock yourself into a specific genre for the cat. Also, did you even listen to that song? It’s freaking Datsik, of course it goes hard.
Q: Where’s your usual list of headers and outros?
A: Since they’re listed in the link located in the regular rules, I’ve marked them for visibility/searchability. Use control+F and the word “masked” in the Use List doc to find them. Also, the header and outro Bloody picked are Augmented Ojii-chan by Dempagumi.inc and Angel Eyes by Brisk & Ham.
A: Almost everything listed in the walrus use doc linked in the ruleset is something I like. I do have a few songs marked as being subbed to various “bad songs” categories, though you can check the banlist and Rule 4 to see what I can’t stand. Also, some songs are listed twice because the doc specifies between stuff I’ve used and stuff I’ve subbed.
Q: 2 point deduction? Seriously?!
A: I’m kinda putting my neck on the line by sharing this doc. It contains the songs I’ve used for my own walruses- including walruses I have planned for the future- and songs I’ve submitted to others’ walruses. This is the KoC core-a-palooza doc, full of opportunities for people to commit the cardinal sin of throwing my own example songs back in my face. So fucking don’t or you’ll get punished for it.
Q: Can I sign up more than once?
A: Nothing stopping you from doing that and I have no qualms about it in general. Just note that if you send me the same songs in multiple accounts, you'll literally be tying with yourself and where’s the fun in that?
Q: Do I have to submit my songs with anonymous formatting, too?
A: It’s not necessary. Barring part of my last walrus, I usually prefer knowing the title and artist of the song beforehand, since it helps with cross checking qualifiers before their respective judging periods.
Q: Masked Singer, hell yeah! So that means there’s eliminations, right?
A: Not this time. I thought it’d be too much to add eliminations on top of the gimmicks already present in this walrus. If the anonymous contestants format works out well here and people REALLY want to put their scores on the line, maybe I could go out of my way to incorporate some form of eliminations into a Masked Singer Season Two.
Q: What would your Masked Singer theme be?
A: Panic Station or Knights of Cydonia are way too obvious, so… not those. I’d probably completely avoid Muse and a few other bands I’m known to have a penchant for, so as not to tip my hand. Instead, I’d pick a song that has some sort of connection to whatever animal, mythical creature, anthropomorphic foodstuff, etc I’d choose as the basis for my Masked Singer costume. (Though if this were a wrestling theme song category without any anonymity involved, I’d go full-on bastardass heel and pick Ugly Faces by Watsky.)
Q: Seriously, I don’t think you’d make an entire Masked Singer themed walrus if you didn’t have an idea of your own costume and entry song. Spill, you Nick Cannon wannabe.
A: Well, you’re right. I do have an ideal costume (Masksona? Is that a thing?) and I’m willing to tell you all about it… after signups end. Outside of the usual trappings of the walrus format, I try not to actively influence what songs contestants submit. If I say nothing right now, it’s 100% coincidence if someone enters with my chosen alias or sends me my preferred theme song.
Q: That sounds to me like you’re gonna fill out the form and submit songs to your own walrus.
A: You’re overlooking the part where, as people who have spent a lot of time and effort picking out categories, examples, intros, and outros, technically every walrus host submits to their own walrus.
Q: Does it have to be “mask” verbatim?
A: Near-match words like masked, masks, etc. qualify for Behind The Mask. However, there’s plenty of exact match options to choose from, so as tempting as it would be to send me a song with a synonym like Balaclava by Arctic Monkeys, that wouldn’t qualify.
Q: Do remixes count for Well-Covered?
A: They didn’t in the original (which was back in my first walrus). I think the twist in this redux isn’t so narrow that I would have to open it to remixes as well. But don’t let it stop you from sending me remixes in other categories.
Q: What about remastered versions?
A: Remasters of your cover song and/or og song are just fine.
Q: Gary Jules isn’t the original? Mind. Blown.
A: Sometimes the most popular version of a song can be mistaken for the original when it’s actually a cover. This is the other reason I want you to include the source song with your sub.
Q: Sports songs? I don’t know any sports songs!
A: Well, if you remember a popular song that was played in, say… a FIFA World Cup match or a Superbowl halftime show? That’d count. Heck, the only reason I know that Kongos song is because it was a staple of Nascar broadcasts.
Q: Are pregap tracks hidden tracks?
A: Yes, pregap tracks qualify for Hidden Talents.
Q: Since when is dubstep bold and spicy, I mean epic?
A: Just wanted to show that you don’t have to lock yourself into a specific genre for the cat. Also, did you even listen to that song? It’s freaking Datsik, of course it goes hard.
Q: Where’s your usual list of headers and outros?
A: Since they’re listed in the link located in the regular rules, I’ve marked them for visibility/searchability. Use control+F and the word “masked” in the Use List doc to find them. Also, the header and outro Bloody picked are Augmented Ojii-chan by Dempagumi.inc and Angel Eyes by Brisk & Ham.
Deadline for sending in your submissions is October 1st. There is no contestant cap and multiple/alt submissions are encouraged!
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