A Colo(u)rful Walr(o)us

[vonFiedler]

2. Martin
Qumu - Bubblegum K.K.
Color 4.5 / Song 3.5

Player's Argument:
The colour pink just makes me think of sweets. While I understand that the title is referencing the subgenre rather than the product, this is the exact type pf music I associate with the colour pink—it’s like something out of a shoujo anime, and is like a massive balloon of bubblegum bursting all over someone’s face and making everyone around them giggle.

My Thoughts:
Martin you fucking madlad, did you have to hide the fact that you changed subs in an avalanche of simultaneous posts so that I would finish your old write-up and then have to remath everything? And for what? To get the exact same placement as your last song.

Anyway this sounds really cool and bubblegummy. Sounds like Sims music.

 

[vonFiedler]

1. Da Letter El
Rina Sawayama - Cherry
Color 5 / Song 3.3

Player's Argument:
You thought it would be red from the title, but no!

it’s poppy, it’s girly, it’s gay, it’s romantic. And look at that pink hair! It’s pink as fuck

My Thoughts:
Another seemingly very cool artist to be exposed to. This is exactly the kind of song I was expecting from this category. I know the fullplays have been a bit odd, but I'm glad we have a really strong first place finisher.

 

[vonFiedler]

Scores

 

[vonFiedler]

Nothing if not a sucker for even numbers, I have allowed MyNameIsNothing to join this Walrus. Their retroactive scores are:
Red Evelyn King - Love Come Down 3.9 / 3.9
White Attaca Quartet - Plan & Elevation III. The Herbaceous Border 3 / 2.4
Orange Florist - Vacation 3.9 / 3.3
Pink Charlie XCX - Official 3.7 / 2.7

 

[vonFiedler]

Rainbow Song from Da Letter El
Talk Talk - The Rainbow

Yellow Header
Ellie Goulding - Lights

 

[vonFiedler]

20. Oddish
Studio Killers - Party Like It's Your Birthday
Color 2 / Song 2

Player's Argument:
Yellow is cheerful/comforting/happy, and this is just a song about living in the moment and enjoying life so it feels right. Also i tend to associate this song with my group of friends, so it brings me nice memories. Not much to say about this one, it's very straightforward.

My Thoughts:
Not totally not Yellow, but I thought we already established pretty well that this is what Orange sounds like.

Studio Killers make good music video but in the time I've known of them that has not really translated into my liking their music, and I'm also pretty sure they have made better songs than this one.

 

[vonFiedler]

19. Schiavetto
Joanna Newsom - In California
Color 1.9 / Song 2.9 / Lyric Penalty

Player's Argument:
Okay, yes, the lyrics do mention the color "yellow", as in cowardly--but honestly, it goes beyond that. Think yellow like wildflowers in an open valley, like sunlight filtering through the trees; yellow like coming home.

My Thoughts:
Again, maybe a little Yellow in its high pitch vocals and harp, but I feel this is agressively Green to be honest. Don't want to go into huge detail there because that cat hasn't been revealed yet.

Really nice song but with its length I doubt I'd go out of my way to relisten to it.

 

[vonFiedler]

18. nutella
The Decemberists - June Hymn
Color 1.8 / Song 3.2 / Lyric Penalty

Player's Argument:
Evokes summer and sunshine and joy; does have yellow in lyrics but that didn't contribute to my choice/it feels right anyway, feel free to dock points for it though.

My Thoughts:
I had this fairly higher originally and I'm just not sure why. Maybe people will Rainbow redeem this because of "summer" but this just sounds thoroughly Green to me. It's a nice folk song at least.

 

[vonFiedler]

17. Lebossle
Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl
Color 2.3 / Song 2.4

Player's Argument:
it's naive, and the song talks about bananas

My Thoughts:
Unfortunately, probably my least favorite Gwen Stefani song. As for color, I don't understand the explanation of "it's naive". This is a callout song about Courtney Love (there were a LOT of those in the 90s to early 2000s, in case anyone didn't know). So pretty angry song, marginally Yellow because a lot of her songs are loud and abrasive. Bananas are just a meme.

 

[vonFiedler]

16. Isa
CAN - I'm So Green
Color 1.7 / Song 3.4

Player's Argument:
the lyrics are about lights and stuff. the song is pretty calm and stuff just like yellow. this was a hard category

My Thoughts:
Far from the only player who submitted a song about lights (which aren't really Yellow anymore, so it's an interesting societal trope), so I didn't catfail it, but it comes the closest. Really don't understand the Yellow sub much, but the song is cool.

 

[vonFiedler]

15. Ghosthweel
Plini - Electric Sunrise
Color 2.5 / Song 2.7

Player's Argument:
It almost feels like cheating because electricity and sunrises are both distinctly yellow things, but this song very much conveys what an electric sunrise would feel like. Bold, positive, heralding new beginnings. It's difficult to imagine something more yellow.

My Thoughts:
It's not bad, but I can't help but think you could have found a better metal song for Yellow. I think a Yellow metal song would actually be less clean than this. And I know clean metal is what I like, but it's not exactly a category full of songs I like.

 

[vonFiedler]

14. gbsfranca
Blink-182 - Wishing Well
Color 3.5 / Song 1.9

Player's Argument:
While this seem like a materialistic approach to the color (wishing well, star), the mood ends up being pretty yellow; the track has got this electric joyfulness, especially during the chorus

My Thoughts:
Never been about Blink-182 or the generation of rock they came from. It just sounds whiny and loud to me, and yep, that's Yellow.

 

[vonFiedler]

13. Sultan of Skook
They Might be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul
Color 3 / Song 2.5

Player's Argument:
A song about lights, which glow in a yellowish hue in the dark.

My Thoughts:
Another lights submission. I really didn't like this submission at first but it steadily grew on me. There's a consistent electric sound that really begs attention.

 

[vonFiedler]

12. Celever
30 Seconds to Mars - Attack
Color 4 / Song 1.8

Player's Argument:
Yellow's a warning colour, and this song's about the danger of a woman who's toxic for the man but who the man struggles to break off with. The entire tone of the song is tense and urgent, but not imminent danger because it's the tail end of the relationship where he's left and is trying not to return.

My Thoughts:
See everything I said about Blink-182. Yellow is the first color the eye notices. It is attention seeking, loud, sometimes annoying. Sometimes is fun, but it's also cautionary, which is why it's the most common color on road signs (also bees are Yellow). This is the only "cautionary" Yellow song submitted though.

 

[vonFiedler]

11. The Quasar
David Bowie - China Girl
Color 1 / Song 4.9

Player's Argument:
Another music genious. David Robert Jones will always remain in our memories. Even fantastic as actor (have you see "The Man Who Fell to Earth"?), I think his place is among the very great.
Why yellow? Well, it's not because David Bowie is blond. Ofc :D

N.B: At the end of official video, the combination between yellow sun and China girl is perfect...

My Thoughts:
I don't wanna touch this with a 10-foot pole.

 

[vonFiedler]

10. Aladynn
The Mars Volta - Cotapaxi
Color 3.9 / Song 2.1

Player's Argument:
This was tough, yellow really only brings associations of artificial lights and unpleasant brightness (as opposed to the warm embrace of orange). TMV and ATDI sort of evoke the feeling of being blinded, I suppose the high pitches vocals have something to do with it? Not sure.

My Thoughts:
Mars Volta are not the same kind of beast as previous 2000s rock bands. They still sound very punk inspired but less artistically incestuous. Still not my jam but loud and "unpleasant" in the way we want here.

 

[vonFiedler]

9. Da Letter El
Rupert Holmes - Escape
Color 2.4 / Song 3.9

Player's Argument:
The song exudes beach, which I associate with the color yellow. Pina coladas being yellow too is just a bonus to the summer vibes coming from the song.

My Thoughts:
Very focused on blunt symbols but feels like a stretch coming from a song that is actually an emotional rollercoaster if you've ever paid attention to it. Feels like a song picked to appeal to a dad-rocker but it's only decent. A lot of people think it's a goofy song and they may not be wrong.

 

[vonFiedler]

8. Termi
Julia Holter - Turn the Light On
Color 3.7 / Song 2.8

Player's Argument:
yellow is a very overwhelming color, like staring directly into the sun, so i think a song called "turn the light on" that sounds so overwhelming and bright makes sense

My Thoughts:
It's the heavily discordant sound that gives this the "overwhelming" Yellow color. The song is neat but it mostly just makes me wish I was listening to Bjork instead.

 

[vonFiedler]

7. Lord Quas
Yesterday's New Quintet - Sun Goddess
Color 3.1 / Song 3.5

Player's Argument:
Nice, bright and happy, just like what yellow is. Also got the added bonus of being about the sun, which is usually depicted as yellow.

My Thoughts:
A neat, quaint jam that does what you said it does and doesn't overachieve.

 

[vonFiedler]

6. shubak17
The Mowgli's - Hi Hey There Hello
Color 4.8 / Song 2.2

Player's Argument:
tell me you hear her voice and don't immediately think of the sun shining over a meadow (Blue, Purple, Gold are all said in the song, but not Yellow :P)

My Thoughts:
Kind of like a White song on crack, and really not bad but I'm thankful we had a last minute new player to keep this out of fullplays.

 

[vonFiedler]

5. MyNameIsNothing
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Song of Summer
Color 3.8 / Song 3.3

Player's Argument:
this song is absolutely defined by the name "A Song Of Summer," feels like the sun is beating down on me with yellow light and warmth while listening to it

My Thoughts:
Sudden new player coming in to steal the fullplay spot. This is quite a bit like the Julia Holter song but hits me harder, and thank goodness it does given the length.

 

[vonFiedler]

4. BLOODYRAIN
BRADIO - Flash Light Baby
Color 4.6 / Song 3

Player's Argument:
Lots of mentions of flashes, sparks, light, etc. and a light, happy subject matter. All of that vibes as white yellow to me.

My Thoughts:
Originally a White sub, but its far more suited to Yellow. It's got the high-pitch attention seeking, the lights, the fun, almost everything you'd want. As a song it's grown on me too.

 

[vonFiedler]

3. Panic Station
Jonathon Coulton - I Feel Fantastic
Color 5 / Song 2.6

Player's Argument:
optimism, cheerfulness, enthusiasm, fun, good-humored, an inferiority complex, deceitful, non-emotional and lacking compassion
If this bombs, I blame the Modelo.

My Thoughts:
Annoying but in hopefully in a more good than bad way, that's Yellow. I don't want to like this song, but it's a hell of an earworm.

 

[vonFiedler]

2. Andy Snype
Steely Dan - Bodhisattva
Color 3.3 / Song 4.5

Player's Argument:
yellow is that old-timey filter that you put when you look onto something, and this song has a story to tell but is kind of a template and can fit stuff. idk exactly what that story is, but it definitely is old and nostalgic

My Thoughts:
This is the second song Snype submitted citing nostalgia. I'm pretty sure nostalgia is rose-colored, so it's lucky that the sub just works on its own. Fun energy and good song from a great band (sadly lacking Michael McDonald here).

 

[vonFiedler]

1. Martin
Swinging Popsicle - I Love Your Smile
Color 4.9 / Song 4

Player's Argument:
Yellow is a colour I associate with happiness, so I decided to submit a song that brings a smile to my face every time I listen to it. Between the subject matter, fun backing track/melody, and adherence to stuff that we know sounds good without ever feeling tired (I particularly love those decorated chromatic descents), this is a rlly wonderful piece of music.

My Thoughts:
jpop rocks Yellow and Pink, with this feeling super Yellow and honestly quite a good song as well. Sounds wildly like Frente! which I can dig.