Tufkai
6 points
he/it
5,994
12,003
There's something in the atmosphere
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Post by Tufkai on Mar 4, 2019 9:21:25 GMT 1
 Cool song. Surprised it won the SS  Has some nice retro vibes   Kind of cool but nothing standoutish  Amazing vocals and I love the percussion  |
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1,916
4,476
I like cheese
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Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 9, 2019 23:50:02 GMT 1
Today we announce (multiple days late, so expect another announcement tomorrow) four entries selected for the 1st Semifinal. While Washington (the state, not the capital) has always qualified, the other three have never made it to the Final Round. Do you think they can do it this year?
Washington
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Joy Autumn – "Go"
It’s not so common anymore for songs, especially from people who haven’t achieved stardom, to grab a full orchestra off the street and “go” with it. She’s originally from Olympia (south of Seattle) but moved to Hollywood in search for stardom – not an uncommon story at all. But the album “Midnight” was inspired by her discontent with the ‘afterparty culture’ of the city, in which she feels women looking for a break into the business are susceptible to ‘trust-fund babies and celebrity offspring’. Read into it what you will; she made the first-round cut for Grammy discussions. So she’s definitely getting somewhere now! Song submitted by Sel Illinois
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Emily Blue – "Microscope"
Miss Blue is from Wilmette (a suburb of Chicago) whose music is described as “glitchy, sophisticated, and infectiously catchy.” Your interpretation is valid, too – in fact, it’s a good measure of an artist when you get a strong feeling about who they are through their music. Emily’s “bubblegum acid” pop will either rope you in or leave you hanging to dry. Artist suggested by Derek New Hampshire
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Our Last Night – "Soul Speak"
Admittedly this is “hardcore” for 50 States of Song, but after submitting this for South Dakota in 2017 and Hungary’s ESC entry last year, I think the table is opening wider for hard rock entries to squeeze in. Our Last Night celebrates its fifteenth year together – their sound has been described as a mixture of post-hardcore and alternative rock with some elements of metalcore. So if that’s your kind of thing, New Hampshire’s got the supply. Song submitted by Tufkai Idaho
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Trevor Powers – "Clad In Skin"
If you’ve ever heard of the ultra-indie group Youth Lagoon, then you know of Trevor Powers. He recently “quit” on that name and now makes music under his own moniker. He calls Boise home, which was surprising for everyone, I think. This song serves as not only a departure for Powers’ earlier music, but from the music Idaho has sent previously to 50SS. Song suggestion from Gregory (inactive) |
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Tufkai
6 points
he/it
5,994
12,003
There's something in the atmosphere
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Post by Tufkai on Mar 10, 2019 15:29:54 GMT 1
I don't really like it. It meanders too much Catchy but a bit harsh at times Yas, this made it in!!! The vocals on this are incredible I don't know what to make of this. It's kind of interesting but also kind of unpleasant |
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1,916
4,476
I like cheese
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Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 15, 2019 22:19:12 GMT 1
So much for getting the announcement out "tomorrow" @_@ Deadlines may once again need to get pushed out this year. But after today there's five more states in SF1 to be announced. ------------ South Carolina 
Small Talks - "Quiet Sounds"The lead singer, Cayley Spivey, grew up in Myrtle Beach, which is on the Atlantic shore of the southern U.S. state. It's a very beautiful tourist destination, and while I'd like to say it was the inspiration for the content or lyrics, what's more accurate is the scene allowed growth and support as an artist. She signed her first record deal in 2017 and describes her band was "created to give a voice to the intangible experiences and emotions that come with the simple act of being human." Song submitted by Derek --------- Pennsylvania 
Nevada Color - "Outsiders"This soft rock band from Pittsburgh released their first album in 2013 and plays shows around the northeast and midwestern United States. Their latest album, "Rosewater," dropped in November 2018, from which this song derives. They were voted the best ("Reader's Choice) band in Pittsburgh's City Paper in 2017 and have branched off from that success ever since. Song submitted by Cassie (non-SCF submission) --------- Ohio 
Spencer Sutherland - "Tell Me"There was a really strong song that I wanted to send, but since two people independently recommended two different Spencer Sutherland songs, it became a battle of 'which one'. To decide this, I did a mathematical calculation to find which song was "liked" more by YouTube users. "Tell Me" had a ratio of 132.98:1, while "Fine" had a ratio of 100.52:1. And so it was. If you don't know, Sutherland is known internationally from his participation on the X Factor UK, making it to the live shows before being the first eliminated. Maybe he'll have better luck on 50SS? Artist/Song suggestions from Tufkai and Amanda --------- The states that are left to announce from SF1 are Maryland, New Mexico, North Dakota, Nevada, and Connecticut. They'll likely all come in at once. Then, we prepare to open 50SS 2019 Semifinal 1! Stay tuned... |
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Tufkai
6 points
he/it
5,994
12,003
There's something in the atmosphere
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Post by Tufkai on Mar 17, 2019 10:25:03 GMT 1
Forgettable 2000's-esque pop-rock Love the vibes of this. Great vocals and music  Woo, another one for me! Didn't expect this to make it - not sure if I like it as much as I did before. Also like to dislike ratio is a pretty poor measurement for song contest research - I still question why so many people enjoy French rap |
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Post by MaRtIn on Mar 18, 2019 5:56:01 GMT 1
So if they're from Pennsylvania, why do they have 'Nevada' in their name?  |
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1,916
4,476
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Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 18, 2019 21:53:04 GMT 1
So if they're from Pennsylvania, why do they have 'Nevada' in their name? Cuz the USA indie/rock scene is consistently weird that way Also like to dislike ratio is a pretty poor measurement for song contest research - I still question why so many people enjoy French rap I thought it was okay since it was comparing two Sutherland songs. Also gives me an excuse when I can't make up my mind  |
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1,916
4,476
I like cheese
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Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 20, 2019 0:48:36 GMT 1
There are a couple states that are proving to be pretty difficult so I'm having to improvise this week. They will be announced tomorrow, at last, if nothing else comes up and we have to send the two songs we've found. Nevertheless, here are three more entries for Semifinal 1. Tomorrow's announcement includes the last two states, North Dakota and New Mexico, alongside the winner of the New York and California state selection. Voting should hopefully begin this weekend, but if not, then next weekend for sure. ------------ Maryland 
Steep Steps - "Sophia"This group is from Baltimore and their music is some sort of amazing theatrical mix intertwined with deep, industrial, electronic sounds. They even advertise their music as being for "film and television," front-woman Athena Hiotis and producer/engineer Tony Correlli challenge you to close your eyes and unravel the different synths and beats. Song suggested by Gregory (inactive) --------- Connecticut 
Lisa Heller - "Quicksand"Lisa Heller grew up in Simsbury. After winning a songwriting award in 2015, her 2016 single "Hope" had viral recognition in parts of the world, and inspired Heller to install a "Wall of Hope" on her website where individuals can stories of courage and bravery in rough times. This philosophy of social interaction has been a part of her music ever since. "Quicksand" is her latest effort, a song about that feeling of helplessness, of defeat, in these particular times. Song submitted by Derek --------- Nevada 
Angel Groove - "Patterns"Despite being a huge tourist destination and launchpad for entertainment, Las Vegas is not well-known for original music. The three guys that comprise Angel Groove came together from two different bands to formulate sounds of ’80s and ’90s R&B to synth-pop and classic rock. It's spacey, it's futuristic yet retro, but the low-key vocals are very much 2019. The song is about 'reminiscing about summer love'. Song suggested by Gregory (inactive) --------- |
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Tufkai
6 points
he/it
5,994
12,003
There's something in the atmosphere
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Post by Tufkai on Mar 20, 2019 5:49:10 GMT 1
Omg, this sounds incredible  The music, the rhythm and the unique vocals - I love it Not bad, but kind of one-note It sounds like background music in a cocktail bar |
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1,916
4,476
I like cheese
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Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 22, 2019 5:46:24 GMT 1
And here you go - the final two states for Semifinal 1, and (surprise) the final two winners from the state song selections! I know a couple of you have been waiting patiently for the results, and now you will be rewarded nicely. Like I've been saying, voting could begin this weekend, but it's likely to start next weekend. The results of the state song selections will be posted tomorrow.
We're so, so close to *finally* beginning this edition! Excited? ( Plz tell me you're excited ) --------- North Dakota 
Tigirlily - "Wild Creatures"Welcome to the land of nothing! Yes, if you hadn’t guessed, this was the state that gave me multiple days’ worth of trouble. Circumstances led me astray, and I found a couple things that could have worked, but nothing very high quality. It didn’t help that a Spotify-generated list called “The Sounds of North Dakota Indie” had mostly metal and hard rock music – so back we go to these lovely girls for the 3rd year out of 4, and they are our first returning act announced. The best news is that we *do* have a song that can compete (thanks to the music video upload date), and I’ve learned a lot about the Dakotan music scene, in turn. There’s also some stuff for 2019 that I’ve found already that should break the chains free. That being said, this is a sweet song, and I think it could do well! Song submitted by Tufkai --------- New Mexico 
Bri Bagwell - "If You Were a Cowboy"There was a really great Spanish-language song from a band called Nosotros that was unfortunately DQ’d because the song was originally released in 2016. Just a gentle reminder that it’s the song that matters most; not the music video date. And unlike Tigirlily's album dropping in late 2017, 2016 is just a flat no. I didn’t always catch rule-breaks in time in previous years, so I’m less willing to let it slide. Outside of this I found quite a bit of country, so the Land of Enchantment is going that route in 2018. Bagwell is originally from Las Cruces, and golly is this about as American Country as you can get. Other songs in contention were this and this. I also really loved THIS but it was too long. Song suggested by Gregory (inactive) --------- California 
Parade of Lights - "Tidal Waves"And here we go into Semifinal 2! Today we alleviate those anxious from voting in February for the state song selections – and by contrast these selections were *extremely* close. So close, in fact, that another voter could have easily changed the result. (I should also not that I didn’t vote in either selection; I wanted the choices to come from you guys!) So our first winner is the soft rock band Parade of Lights. My super-picky RL friend (he didn’t vote) who only likes his 90’s era music said this was his favorite, so that’s something I suppose! It's a departure from the purely pop songs of California's past entries, which I personally like. It's one second short of 3:00 minutes; I hope you'll let it slide? Song submitted by Derek --------- New York 
Ariana & The Rose - "Lonely Star"And while some may say this was an expected win, it was also very close! In the end, the electro-pop dance track from Ariana and her rose rose to the top. This synth pop band from the Big Apple has been around for about five years (and of course get outshone by a different Ariana), but I think you could agree that their sound is of this time. Very edgy, as well - it should shine brighter than a single star in this contest, methinks. Song submitted by Derek |
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