+9
Round 2
1. GZA ft. Method Man - Shadowboxin'
(This be that Wu sh*t. It only took me 32 years to fall in love with rap but I finally saw the light once entering the 36 Chambers. All rappers look like amateurs in comparison to the Wu-Tang Clan. They attack like samurais, slicing and dicing with their verbiage. I've been slowly working my way through the solo albums that were released in between the first and second Wu-Tang albums, and while I've enjoyed most of them, GZA's Liquid Swords is currently head and shoulders above the rest. This might be favorite rap track, period. Sick beat, amazing production courtesy of RZA, trademark kung-fu sampling, verses like street poetry, and Method Man's smooth-ass flow with that intoxicatingly deep voice.)
2. Rush - Limelight
(After Neil Peart passed away earlier this year, I spent at least two weeks listening to nothing but Rush. During that time, I gained a greater appreciation for their artistry and musicianship than ever before, as I used to write them off as "nerd metal" when I was younger. Great song by a legendary band.)
3. Early James - Blue Pill Blues
(LOL at the faces this dude makes when singing. Really dig the tranquil, laidback vibe. Might give a couple more songs from him a listen.)
4. Queensryche - Empire
(I never was into this band, mostly judging them on the basis of "Silent Lucidity" -- a song I used to hate but now really enjoy -- until "Operation: Mindcrime" made it as a finalist in a previous tourney. I've since listened to a lot of Queensryche and have even bought a couple of their albums. There's probably at least two dozen songs by them I prefer to "Empire," but this is still good enough to rank high.)
5. Alabama - Jukebox in My Mind
(Alabama is my mom's favorite band. I guess that's always made them too uncool for me to give them a fair chance. This is a good song, though. It's nice to know that there was a time when commercial country didn't suck.)
6. Dr. Dre ft. Eminem - Forgot About Dre
(I've listened to more rap over the last few months than ever before. Mostly 80's/90's stuff as I try to educate myself on the genre by listening to all the pioneers. That's obviously included plenty of NWA. It's not that I'd forgotten about Dre. I'd just never been properly introduced to him. Before recently, he was just some dude who was good pals with Eminem. It's weird that Eminem was the only rapper I ever listened to much while growing up, yet I find his involvement with this song annoying. The rest of the song is gold.)
7. L'Arc~en~Ciel - Stay Away
(This would probably get old pretty fast, but for this listen it hit the sweet spot between catchiness and noisiness. I'd probably be more likely to dismis this if it was an American band.)
8. The Alchemist ft. Conway - Mac 10 Wounds
(Even though I've become a fan of rap, I'm still not crazy about a lot of the new stuff. There's just something about the rapping styles and modern production that doesn't do it for me like a lot of the 90's stuff. I do like how hard and intimidating this feels, though.)
9. Michael Kiwanuka - Hero
(Never heard of this guy, although I see that his videos have millions of views. Judging by this song, he's a modern artist with a vintage sound. This started strong but got a little repetitive. Might give him a couple more tries, though, and see if something else from him grabs me more.)
10. Tappi Tikarrass - Hrollur
(Never understood the appeal of Bjork. This isn't bad, though. Predictably odd, but still accessible.)
Tough round to rank, as I really liked every song.