SOTF Song Contest # 22

[Shiola]

Greetings, and welcome to the 22nd SOTF Song Contest!

I'm happy to (finally) get to host one of these, and hope the theme is something you'll all find exciting. The theme is:

The Opening Credits

It's pretty simple - Suppose that SOTF was adapted into a high-budget television show; think something that would be on Netflix or HBO. Version 7 of SOTF will be the first version depicted in the show, with the previous versions functioning as a kind of in-universe backstory. While it would obviously take considerable work to move the story to a television screen, assume that the story of SOTF V7 (including pregame) is adapted faithfully.

What song will accompany the opening credits of this hypothetical television show?

Submit your song via board PM or discord, whichever's easier for you. Reasons why you picked the song would be appreciated.

Some examples:
True Detective
The Sopranos
The Wire (season 1)
Vikings
Devilman Crybaby
Dark

I picked the theme because of the prevalence of songs referenced throughout SOTF, and structured it this way as opposed to a more generic SOTF "theme" as I think it provides a good context to do so. I frequently visualize what I read on the site in a cinematic sort of way, and I thought it'd be interesting to see what kind of tone we'd set for V7 using music.

Songs will be randomly divided into 2 or 3 semifinals depending on turnout. if you're going to be away at some point in the next couple of weeks, let me know and I can try to put your song in a round when you'll be here.

Listen to every song and give points to your top 10 favorites: 12 to your favorite, 10 to your second, 8 to your third, 7 to your fourth, and so on down to 1 point for your tenth favorite.

If your song is in a given round, you must vote that round or you'll be eliminated. if your song isn't in that round (or you aren't in the contest at all), your vote will be counted as a public vote, which counts for half points. If you're doing a public vote in chat, tag me in Discord with @Shiola so that I can find them.

The top songs will move on to the final; the number of top songs depends on the number of contestants. Repeat the process for the finals and we get a winner.

The winner gets to hold the next contest, or they can pass the job along to 2nd place if they don't want to. 2nd place can pass down to third, etc, until someone wants to host.

Each semifinal and the final will last for three days.

If you know at the start of your semifinal that you wont be available to vote for those four days, let me know and I can move you to another semifinal, if we aren't on the final one already.

Song Rules:

No songs that have been used for an opening sequence in film or television before.
Songs that were used in film or television and were not employed as the theme song/opening credits are perfectly acceptable.

No Eurovision songs.

No Reality Show/Competition covers.

No songs that were already submitted in a songtest. Please read the Master Song List to see what songs have been submitted.

There is no penalty for length in this contest. however, if a song goes over 7 minutes, listeners aren't obligated to listen to more than the first 7 minutes of the song. Choose a long song at your own risk!

Signups will run for the next two days, or until I receive submissions from ~30 handlers (via Board PM or Discord).

Good Luck!

Contestants:
(Red indicates a contestant hasn't submitted a song.)
1. Shiola
2. CBP
3. Kermit
4. Cactus
5. D/N
6. Murderweasel
7. Ruggahissy
8. Buko
9. Deamon
10. Laurels
11. Ares
12. Pippi
13. Dr. Freud
14. Maraoone
15. Fenris
16. MK Kilmarnock
17. Emprexx Plush
18. DMBoogie
19. Brackie
20. Frozen Smoke
21. Jilly
22. Cicada
23. TheLordofAwesome
24. Skraal

[MethodicalSlacker]

I'm in

[Kermit]

*submits Curb Your Enthusiasm themesong*

wait shit no i won't because its against the rules FUCK HECk

[Cactus]

I'm as in as can be.

[D/N]

I'm in here.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

I'm in! And so is Irene!

[Buko]

Down like a clizzown.

[Deamon]

In

[Laurels]

In as well

[Ares]

In

[Pippi]

I will also song!

[TheLordOfAwesome]

I'm in!

[Skraal]

In!

[Shiola]

test

[Shiola]

Round 1

Okay folks, here it is! Round one of the Opening Credits Song Contest. The contestants for the first round are:

Ares
Kermit
Murderweasel
Buko
Laurels
Pippi
Maraoone
MK Kilmarnock
DMBoogie
Frozen Smoke
Skraal

...and these our prospective introductory jams, and their raisins, in no particular order:

1. Kasane - Renail DEATH Game

[+] Raisins

This is probably better for SOTF - the anime rather than SOTF - the HBO series, but it's always reminded me of SOTF since the first time I heard it, so I figured it would be a decent fit.

2. Lorde - Glory and Gore

[+] Raisins

1.) lorde. that's it that's the entire reason
2.) the lyrics are incredibly on-point
3.) the mood fits v7 in general i feel. this dark brooding atmosphere, with understated tension. and then it bursts in the chorus.

3. PSK-13 · UGK- Like Yesterday

[+] Raisins

In this song UGK (composed of rappers Pimp C and Bun B) and rapper PSK-13 reminisce on their youth in comparison to the violent street life they live now. The contrast between a youthful carefree past and a violent cutthroat present allows me to think that the montage could easily fit both island and pre-game scenes. Get a variety of characters their intro shot in different situations. The constant reference to the drug game as just ‘the game’ also fits very well with SOTF. It has gritty lyrics, a bluesey and rolling instrumentation that to me begs to be montaged over panning island shots and scenes of kids doing normal things juxtaposed with images of violence on the island itself. Bun B’s last line in the third verse also articulates a good point for me even amongst that grittiness, there’s a human element in all these kids that cannot be argued:

“Denied it
To the end to my mama but eventually it came out
Her baby son done turned the game out, couldn't take the shame out her eyes
All the lies, all the excuses, when your mama's cryin' it's all useless
Boy you ain't ruthless, you're just your mama's baby
Who hopin' and prayin' that maybe things could be like yesterday”

At the end of the day these are all kids who want to go home to their lives before the island, players and heroes alike. Hoping to hold onto a piece of yesterday desperately that has been snatched from them violently and suddenly. I think it fits SOTF in ways both explicit and subtle that would make it the perfect theme for our Netflix series.

4. Broken Social Scene - Sweetest Kill ((Content Warning))

[+] Raisins

On a surface level, the song - and especially the music video - are about murder. SOTF is also about murder. On a deeper level, the song - and especially the music video - uses murder and violence as a metaphor. SOTF also uses murder and violence as a metaphor. On a deeper deeper level, my research has told me that a lot of people seem to take the video at surface level, getting distracted by the violence and only seeing it as a music video about a lady committing murder. This also happens to SOTF - to a lot of people, SOTF might just look like a bunch of weird people writing about childmurder, when upon closer inspection it's (usually) something a lot more meaningful.

5. Thrice - Only Us

[+] Raisins

Picked because the opening synth and strings sound like a great opening, then right around the 1 min mark when the guitar kicks in is where I picture the cast being introduced. The lyrics in the verses and chorus are all regarding fighting against the "them" of the system, which leads into the "Only Us" idea, which I think is a great and fitting metaphor for SOTF.

6. Tool - Vicarious

[+] Raisins

I’ve considered this to be the theme tune to sotf-tv for years; it’s a song entirely about gleefully watching other people’s suffering and death

7. Units - Bug Boy

[+] Raisins

From what I've seen of TV (and I don't watch a lot) theme music is usually not super duper literal but can have a nice metaphorical resonance. In this case, we've got a song with a clear narrative about a damaged child torturing innocent insects, which can in a lot of ways play into Tracen's inheritance of the AT and the game from his father, plus of course the torments the characters undergo. The sound is nice--it comes on hard with a cymbal clash to smash into the credits or whatever, and the time's just about right too, which is important when you've got to fit into fifty minutes. And, of course, there's the name drop and ominous couplet that is oh so fitting: "It's survival of the fittest / And torture for the winner."

8. Marina and the Diamonds- Immortal

[+] Raisins

The song is about life, death, and the attempts to cling to life as long as possible even though death is inevitable and our attempts to stay it will only result in failure, but that shouldn't put you down because each person's individual existence still means that they lived at some point and that some bit of their essence will remain after their death even if it's not apparent.

9. Take That - Man

[+] Raisins

The song itself has a notably dark atmosphere to start off with thanks to the instrumentation chosen, and the lyrics contain both references to personal relationships and much darker things as well - both of which are major parts of SOTF. There's a sense of finality and inevitability in the song, which, again, I think is very fitting for what would be a TV version of SOTF. One review described it as an 'apocalyptic anthem', which I think is a very suitable title.

10. Archive - Words on Sign

[+] Raisins

My personal raisins for this is personally I'm trying to picture the intro of a bleak Utopia/'Doomed Antagonist' feel. An intro that's really focused on the loneliness and lack of trust that the island breeds, rather than some defiant action movie. Band of Brothers style mini-series on someone like Illario.

11. Hypocrisy - Living to Die

[+] Raisins

Living to Die paints a perfect picture of the dark, hopeless atmosphere that SotF conveys. Lines like "I can't wait til I'm finally dead. Erase my numbers and hope to never return again." certainly fit the bill of somebody who's been dragged through hell and certainly can't take much more. The song's instrumental breaks even cater well to flashing montages of various cast members' faces all before fading to a title card for an Executive Producer credit.

Voting is by Eurovision rules. You'll be sending your top 10 songs in as follows:

12- Song Name
10- Song Name
8- ...
7- ...
6- ...
5- ...
4- ...
3- ...
2- ...
1- ...

With 12 being your favorite song, 10 being your second favorite, and so on. The top 8 songs will continue into the finals. Public votes count for half. Remember to tag me in Discord for public votes, or post in this thread.

Votes by board PM or Discord are both perfectly acceptable. If you're in this round and you do not vote, you will be disqualified.



Let's get these opening credits rolling, shall we?