[Dave's Note: Travis Norris (aka 'Governing Dynamics') is one of three former champions judging this round.]
Great job everybody! I couldn’t personally come up with a single solid lyrical or musical concept for this one, so I’m not sure if my opinion on this challenge really counts for much. But you’re getting it nonetheless! Ahahaha.
Regarding the scoring matrix:
Challenge (6 point max) - I gave this the highest total score because it’s often been a (legitimate, I feel) complaint that sometimes the actual challenge can get lost in rankings.
Lyrics (5 point max) - Cleverness of rhyme (which I didn’t call out a lot because honestly everybody did pretty well there a lot) but more importantly to this challenge, how well the lyrics flowed against the music and whether it subverted (or fulfilled) expectations in a satisfying way.
Musical Elements (4 point max) - Arrangement, melody, chord progressions (when applicable). There is naturally a bit of a production score here, but that wasn’t a huge factor one way or another for anyone this round.
Overall Impression (3 point max) - or you could call it “tilt”, basically just my own gut check feeling about whether I liked the song or not.
Performance (2 point max) - The dreaded Final Tie Breaking Element.
Dr. Lindyke - Me vs Mini-Me
This hits the challenge squarely and I appreciate the (mostly) wholesome content. Here and there there’s a little bit of awkwardness in the phrasing and cadence (the “smug” to “hug” line for example, although it nice recovers for the rest of the verse), but this is often covered by the groovy drum track. Just a shame there’s no other instrumentation to go along with it, or any real hook to speak of. Still I have to commend you both on your commitment - you don’t sound particularly out of your element rapping.
Menage a Tune - You’re Amazing
Thematically similar (although with considerably more emotion at the core) to Dr. Lindyke’s entry and another challenge home run. It also shares some of the same problems with uneven cadence and syllable count, and in this case there’s no percussion or any other kind of backing element to provide a cushion. Some of this could have been fixed with a few added or subtracted words or minor rephrasing. I appreciate the attempt at a hook but it just falls a bit flat without some more musical elements.
“Buckethat” Bobby - Bob Matheson vs BucketHatBobby
Insecurity and self doubt is a hell of a trip and I relate strongly to a lot of the lyrical content here (except being a home owner. who has the time? Oh people who have the money. Uh, anyway...) There are a few of the same lyrical flow problems from our first two entrants, although they are minor here and in many cases I’m sure deliberate (“Maybe I’m… done.”). The drum track does it’s job well enough but I would have loved to hear some classic BHB instrumentation, in some form, if only on BHB’s parts. A little bit more on the musical elements would have pushed this into the top three.
Oh, and I feel like maybe I deducted a point from the Challenge score essentially for being clever (a persona isn’t -exactly- another person, even though it doesn’t keep the song from working at all), so take that with a grain of salt, or take heart that it didn’t affect your final ranking anyway.
Joe Covenant Lamb - JoeCovenantRap: AJock’s Rap
So despite the ranking this is my favorite song of the round. It’s good to hear from Joe (and out of his comfort zone, no less) and the only thing that kept this from taking top honors - and this is probably my own fault and I’m going to have it explained to me and be kicking myself - is that while I can see two characters (Joe and Scotland) if I squint at the lyrics hard enough, I don’t really see the complimentary angle and Scotland only gets a couple of stanzas. Judging by the third and fourth lines I am guessing Joe made the classic Governing Dynamics “mistake” (had a choice between meeting the challenge and writing a better song and went for the song).
The music is exactly the type of thing I was hoping we’d get out of this round and the mellow/dark/chill vibe is exceptionally easy to listen to. The hook is especially great, both in musical and lyrical content.
Boffo Yux Dudes - You’re So Much Better Than Me
I was expecting BYD to kill this one and I wasn’t disappointed. The challenge couldn’t be met more squarely and the lo-fi ‘80s style production and synths is perfect. Can’t tell if it’s actually doubletracking or some kind of stereo chorus effect on Al’s vocals, but they sit just right in the mix and flow perfectly. Tons and tons of jokes and a hook in the classic Boffo Yux Mode. Bravo!
All The Robots - Complimentary Compliments
Well, this was really good and I have absolutely no meaningful criticism. Great production, performance, and lyrical content. Between this and Boffo Yux Dudes I was forced to use the tiebreaker I absolutely hate to, which is “how well does this stand outside of the contest?’
Which I guess goes to show sometimes you call someone enigmatic and charismatic and their reply will be “Thanks, love you too, second place” *thumbs up*
RANKINGS
#1 - Boffo Yux Dudes
#2 - All the Robots
#3 - Joe 'Covenant' Lamb
#4 - 'Buckethat' Bobby Matheson
#5 - Dr. Lindyke
#6 - Menage a Tune
SCORING MATRIX
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