2024 TMT20: 10th Anniversary Extravaganza

[Sir Ian Plätschisch]

GROUP 4
1. Don't Stop Me Now - 21
2. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - 20
3. September - 19
4. The Devil Went Down to Georgia - 18
5. Everlong - 17 (two 6-point votes)
6. Africa - 17 (no 6-point votes)
7. Sirius/Eye In The Sky - 16
8. Here Comes the Rain Again - 12 (one 4-point vote)
9. Acida - 12 (no 4-point votes)
10. Fix You - 8

GROUP 5
1. Paranoid - 24
2. You Can't Always Get What You Want - 19 (one 6-point vote)
3. Down Under - 19 (no 6-point votes)
4. The Chain - 18
5. Roxanne - 17
6. Take Five - 16
7. Roam - 14
8. Baba O'Riley - 12
9. Blue Monday - 11
10. The Gambler - 10

[Sir Ian Plätschisch]

TMT20 SEMIFINAL

The Semifinal consists of one group of 15 songs (the third, fourth, and fifth place songs from each group in Round 3). The top five songs advance to the Final, the next five (in order) are #16 - #20 of the 2024 TMT20, and the last five are the final five songs to be eliminated.

The voting period will last until Tuesday, June 25th at 4:30 PM, Talossan Daylight Time.

Give your top eight songs 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 points, respectively. You must give points to exactly eight songs.

DO NOT POST YOUR VOTE HERE, SEND IT TO ME IN A PRIVATE MESSAGE!

Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Cure - A Forest
David Bowie - Starman
Earth, Wind and Fire - September
Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
Foo Fighters - Everlong
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd movement
Men at Work - Down Under
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat
Police - Message in a Bottle
Police - Roxanne
Queen - Killer Queen
Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil

Tiebreakers:
- Number of voters giving 10 points
- Number of voters giving 8 points
...
- Number of voters giving 2 points
- PPV in Round 3
- Rank in Round 3
- PPV in Round 2
- Rank in Round 2
- Last year's result (1 > 2 > ... > 20 > Round 4 > Round 3 > Round 2 > other)
- PPV in Round 1 (if applicable)
- Rank in Round 1 (if applicable)
- Year first nominated (special edition > earlier > later)
- Random chance

Tactical voting refers to either giving more points than you normally would to a song because it would make the difference between it going through or getting eliminated, or giving fewer points than you normally would to a song because it might kick a song you like even more out of the competition. This is hard to prevent, but my very strong request would be to not do it. Give points to the songs you believe deserve to go through, regardless of how others are voting. Doing otherwise reduces the value of votes that came before you, which is unfair to them. Remember that it's not a competition between voters, but a collective effort to make a nice list of songs we like. Thanks.

I did my best with all the links but there is always a chance some are broken or have a wrong version or bad audio quality. If a link is broken or you have a suggestion for a better link, please contact me or post the link in the thread. Officially, we are not voting on the YouTube link, but on the listed Artist + Title.

COMMENTARY ON THE PROGRESS OF THE GAME, THE RULES, WHAT SONGS YOU LIKE, ETC., IS VERY WELCOME.

[Glüc]

Radiohead, Depeche Mode, New Order are dearly missed. That said there are still good songs in here and I'm excited for the new SF/Final format!

It is kinda funny that we got rid of Gimme Shelter and BoRap and as a reward we get 3 Queen songs and 2 Stones songs in the (semi)final...

Going to listen to all songs twice again and then cast my vote.

[Glüc]

Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Unlike what some people might expect, I've come to quite like this song. It's interesting, it tells a story, it takes us on a musical journey. From a Dutch perspective it also sounds very American. Most of all not because of the music or the accent or the setting, but because of the outcome. I feel in most European tales if someone bets their soul against the devil, it would not end well. Certainly not without some painful sacrifice and character development.

Reviewing the battle itself I don't really buy that this is deity-level fiddle playing, but perhaps it's similar to Tribute by Tenacious D and it's only meant as description of events, not the actual fiddle-playing that occured. Anyway, I'm leaning towards the part of the devil here. [Edit: missed opportunity to say I have sympathy for the devil here...] Can't really judge the technical profiency but as a composition I feel Johnny's part is maybe a bit lacking in urgency.

The Cure - A Forest
This is hypnotic. Moody, atmospheric. The ominous guitar intro really get you interested in what's coming. The dark bass line really feels connected to this vision of moving through a dark forest.  Obviously a terrible situation to be lost in a forest, but the songs feels more intriguing than desperate. Perhaps like the (magical?) forest the beauty of the song keeps pulling you in, deeper and deeper. I can keep listening to this.

David Bowie - Starman
Bowie's message of hope for humanity. Definitely shows how much imagination Bowie had in creating this character for himself. It's a nice song to listen to. The instrumentation feels rich, but maybe not super interesting. Emotionally it doesn't really do much for me.

Earth, Wind and Fire - September
Fun and very catchy. Nearly impossible to stay still while listening to this.

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
I remember watching some documentary about the making of Rumours. The band members had all sorts of needlessly complicated relationship drama going on. Somehow they managed to turn all that drama into creativity and make an amazing album. The chain was the only song they all worked on together, with various members writing separate parts originally meant to be separate songs that were chained together to make one coherent song. The Chain being the song tying all the other songs on the album together and the album they were making acting as the chain that kept the band together. Very poetic I guess.

Anyway the song itself is mostly a very long buildup to one moment. Until then its nice but maybe a bit boring, but then in a short moment of silence out of nowhere the iconic bassline kicks in and it is just soooo satisfying. Suddenly the whole structure of the song becomes clear and the outro then provides the energy the song needed. The bass tying the song together, which ties the album together which kept the band together and it's called the Chain. Very good.

[Glüc]

Foo Fighters - Everlong
Fun fact: the first cd I ever owned was The Colour and the Shape, which contains this song. The build up to the chorus is very pretty. I also really like the drums during the chorus. And obviously Dave Grohl has just about the perfect rock voice. The song itself has unfortunate lost a bit of interest from me since I first listened to it.

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
Such a massive classic that it being here is almost a bit too obvious. But its status is mostly deserved. The intro guitar melody is one of the prettiest ever written. The flute also adds a lot of charm. What follows is an epic rollercoaster of guitar goodness. I don't really know how meaningful the lyrics actually are, but the way it's presented here it definitely sounds very deep. To be a rock, and not to roll. Yeah! (I think)

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
Another classic. I like the contrast between the slow heavy guitar riff and the rich instrumentation. The last 1,5 minutes are particularly good.

Men at Work - Down Under
Just a really fun and playful song. Obviously its the flute that really takes to another level.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat
Easily the darkest song of this TMT edition. The music is frantic and repetitive and serves as a perfect representation of the singers mental state. When a song is repetitive its not always a good thing, but here the constant repetition really helps to paint a terrifying picture. Slowly he seems to drift into madness while waiting for his dead. The more he repeats he is not afraid to die the less we're inclined to believe it. The lyrics may point to him being guilty, but are just ambiguous enough to keep us doubting. The final sentence appears to be a confession, but then again, the singer doesn't seem to have any grasp on reality anymore. Maybe he's literally afraid he told a lie because he doesn't know anymore. Or the thing he's lied about is the not being afraid to die.

It's definitely worth checking out some of the live performances of this song on youtube. Throughout the years Nick Cave has performed all sort of different verstions of the song with different nuances which give the song a whole different feel which shows how versatile it is. Either way the song is vivid and gripping and thought provoking. I like the drums and the crazy violin. I understand why this might not be everyone's cup of tea however.

[Glüc]

Police - Message in a Bottle
Fun song, nice bassline. Compared to what else is on offer a bit on the boring side. The "walked out this morning" section with the plot twist is excellent.

Police - Roxanne
We used to play a drinking game which was just listening to Roxanne and drinking at every mention of Roxanne (spoiler he says Roxanne a lot). Honestly that memory is somehow a big part of the reason why Id pick this over Message in a Bottle. Sting does bring a lot of passion into the delivery of his 'Roxanne's, especially the one at 1:59. Roohoahoaxanne!

Queen - Killer Queen
One thing that's good about Queen is despite releasing songs in all sorts of different styles every song is still unmistakeably a Queen song. This one too is chock-full of Queenisms, like the harmonies and the typical guitar sound. Freddie's delivery is expressive, the production is excellent, the lyrics are intriguing and funny. "Dynamite with a laserbeam". Even so emotionally it does fall a bit flat for me, and musically I think there are several far more interesting Queen songs.

Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
Several years back I was lucky enough to go see the Stones live with my father. This was the opening song. The drums or conga's or whatever they are were playing in the background for several minutes before they came on and the whole arena was already screaming woo woo for minutes before the piano kicked in. And of course then Jagger came on, still very vital for his age. "Please allow me to introduce myself..." Awesome!

Another song thats hard to stay still when hearing it. Intriguing lyrics, super catchy combination of bass and piano. Very good.

Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd movement
I skipped this one earlier because I don't really know what to write. It's sad and angry and exciting and very impressive and I wish I could play it.

[Bråneu Excelsio, UrN]

Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd movement
I skipped this one earlier because I don't really know what to write. It's sad and angry and exciting and very impressive and I wish I could play it.

I love this video. I've been watching it once a month for years.

[Glüc]

Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd movement
I skipped this one earlier because I don't really know what to write. It's sad and angry and exciting and very impressive and I wish I could play it.

I love this video. I've been watching it once a month for years.

Heh, perfect!

[Barclamïu da Miéletz]

Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd movement
I skipped this one earlier because I don't really know what to write. It's sad and angry and exciting and very impressive and I wish I could play it.

I love this video. I've been watching it once a month for years.

Here's a random fact about him: He apparently despised playing Mr Bean, but he did it anyway.

[Glüc]

How many votes so far?

[Glüc]

Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

These two links don't work anymore btw

[Glüc]

Only 6 hours left to vote on the semifinal I believe

[Sir Ian Plätschisch]

We had nine voters in the semifinal.

[Sir Ian Plätschisch]

TMT20 FINAL

2,643 points later, we have arrived at this year's Final. Thanks to everyone who has participated so far; of course, you are still welcome to vote now if you haven't before.

The voting period will last until Monday, July 1st at noon, Talossan Daylight Time. I am planning to have a pre-election night countdown of the Top 20 on Discord (like we did last year), likely starting around 4:00 PM (TDT).

Give your top ten songs 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 points, respectively. You must give points to exactly ten songs.

DO NOT POST YOUR VOTE HERE, SEND IT TO ME IN A PRIVATE MESSAGE!

Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Cure - A Forest
David Bowie - Starman
Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing
Dire Straits - Telegraph Road
Earth, Wind and Fire - September
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Foo Fighters - Everlong
Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd movement
Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Queen - Don't Stop Me Now
Queen and David Bowie - Under Pressure
Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want
Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime

Tiebreakers:
- Number of voters giving 12 points
- Number of voters giving 10 points
...
- Number of voters giving 2 points
- Rank in Semifinal (if applicable)
- PPV in Round 3
- Rank in Round 3
- PPV in Round 2
- Rank in Round 2
- Last year's result (1 > 2 > ... > 20 > Round 4 > Round 3 > Round 2 > other)
- PPV in Round 1 (if applicable)
- Rank in Round 1 (if applicable)
- Year first nominated (special edition > earlier > later)
- Random chance

Tactical voting refers to either giving more points than you normally would to a song because it would make the difference between it going through or getting eliminated, or giving fewer points than you normally would to a song because it might kick a song you like even more out of the competition. This is hard to prevent, but my very strong request would be to not do it. Give points to the songs you believe deserve to go through, regardless of how others are voting. Doing otherwise reduces the value of votes that came before you, which is unfair to them. Remember that it's not a competition between voters, but a collective effort to make a nice list of songs we like. Thanks.

I did my best with all the links but there is always a chance some are broken or have a wrong version or bad audio quality. If a link is broken or you have a suggestion for a better link, please contact me or post the link in the thread. Officially, we are not voting on the YouTube link, but on the listed Artist + Title.

COMMENTARY ON THE PROGRESS OF THE GAME, THE RULES, WHAT SONGS YOU LIKE, ETC., IS VERY WELCOME.

[Glüc]

Just voted. I will spare you my reviews until after the broadcast. After listening to everything a couple  more times I ended up not giving the 12 points to the song I thought I would before the final. The top spots were difficult to figure out because they are all good but there isn't one that stands out in the way Paranoid Android did last year. It's still a great list though.

Anyway, looking forward to the reveal!

[xpb]

will the final list be published on witt for those who don't use discord?

[Glüc]

will the final list be published on witt for those who don't use discord?

1.  Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing (58)
2.  David Bowie - Starman (52)
3.  Earth, Wind & Fire - September (52)
4.  Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (49)
5.  The Cure - A Forest (47)
6.  Black Sabbath - Paranoid (44)
7.  Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure (43)
8.  Dire Straits - Telegraph Road (43)
9.  Ludwig von Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate, 3rd movement (41)
10. Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train (37)
11. Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (37)
12. Foo Fighters - Everlong (35)
13. Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (35)
14. Queen - Don't Stop Me Now (35)
15. The Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want (30)

16. The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil (24)
17. The Police - Roxanne (24)
18. Fleetwood Mac - The Chain (24)
19. Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia (22)
20. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat (22)

Eliminated in the semifinal:
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven (21)
The Police - Message in a Bottle (19)
Led Zeppelin - Kashmir (17)
Men at Work - Down Under (17)
Queen - Killer Queen (15)

[Tierçéu Rôibeardescù]

Could we get this as a official spotify playlist?

[Barclamïu da Miéletz]

Could we get this as a official spotify playlist?

YT Music as well maybe?

[xpb]

Glad to see Beethoven in the top 10!  roll over!