League 4 (Jul 2025)

• Joseph Harvey +2 — Lab grown Eddie bait
• shea nowicki +2 — This song is perfect and I loved every minute of it. TGoPR is one of my newfound Music League faves!! Thanks, Alex (I'm like 98% sure?), for this.
• judd.baker +2 — I think this song is phenomenal, and I feel like Eddie would like it too. It’s grandiose in a way that I think Eddie will like
• Corey +2
• Laur +1
• Regina Scime +1
• Claire +1 — Eddie loves a song that tells a story, and a story about the civil war? It’s almost too on the nose
• Edward James +1 — This is a bold pick, since this type of history folk is often hit or miss in quality. But this one was a direct hit. Well done, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to resist a well crafted historical narrative and especially one about reigning in the treacherous confederacy. I’m also a sucker for regional Americana, and I love the exploration of having a deep Maine pride. One of my favorite themes is the mythologizing of the American experience, which is in so many ways, unique in the history of the world. We often think of ourselves as post-history, but we are simply the creators of the myths now. You could imagine someone 500 years from now hearing this with the same sense of wonder in the soldiers and Lincoln that we experience read about King Arthur and the Knights of the round table. This one got me a little emotional, well done. 🥇
• fionmul 0 — I liked. Yay for the north!
• Brad Stalcup 0 — This song is too sympathetic to the Confederates to be Eddie-coded

• Corey +2
• fionmul +1 — HELL YEAH 🔨🪚🪛🔩👷🏼‍♂️👷🏼‍♀️THATS THE POWER OF THE HOME DEPOT 🗣️🔊‼️💯™️📣🧡
• Regina Scime +1
• Sam Ary +1
• Laur +1
• Brad Stalcup +1
• judd.baker +1 — Can’t resist
• Joseph Harvey 0 — The industrial sounds are kind of a vibe. It’s got a surprising amount of ambience which I like. It’s not the Arctic Monkeys blues rock slop riff it could have been, and I appreciate that
• shea nowicki 0 — Hahahahaha dead.
• Claire 0 — I once hit play on this half jokingly, started cleaning the kitchen, and got so in the zone that I cleaned for a good 10 minutes straight with this song on loop

• Sam Ary +2
• Corey +2
• Edward James +1 — It’s the GOAT, simple as
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Legitimately a good song, whatever the haters say.
• shea nowicki +1
• Claire +1 — This song is just perfect musically as well as lyrically. Exactly the kind of song you and your friends sing along with at the top of your lungs because it’s so angsty but so unironically good, and that’s exactly the kind of memory you’ll look back on fondly after you’ve parted. Also this got me headbanging and finger pointing in my CA bedroom the second it came on which was a much needed serotonin hit in this time of transition
• fionmul 0 — A necessary addition
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I mean come on

Edward James: Not only is this not a woman, the artist is also not black…..and most offensively….is British

• Corey +2 — Kay J is an impeccable and unique vocalist, I've always loved his style and lyricism. "Step in my transporter, so I can teleport ya, all around my heavenly body."
• Brad Stalcup +1 — The nostalgia for Napoleon Dynamite is real. But so is the boogie. Voice is feminine enough.
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Nice one Corey, this was fun
• judd.baker +1 — Maybe my pick for #1. Jamiroquai isn’t simply singing in a high register, he actually has that female timbre, it’s a specific and hard to describe thing. But it’s perfect here
• ared56 +1
• shea nowicki +1
• fionmul 0 — Corey I missed you 💜
• Edward James 0 — Wow turns out you can leave comments on your own song if you use the desktop version. I was always wondering how y'all could do that. Anyway...I think my choice was 2nd only to "Go Your Own Way"
• Regina Scime 0 — This strikes me as Corey… love this!
• Claire 0 — Vote for Pedro

• Joseph Harvey +2 — I love this pick not just because Sting wrote this song. Although the original is much more interesting, the Americana flavor brings out the O’Connorness of the song more for sure. What I love most about this song is that there seems to be forgiveness or even friendship implied between the lone rider and the boy who killed him at the end. That’s what makes this more than a standard murder ballad, and I wonder if it’s playing to a broader trope - something similar happens in Dune, where there’s this mysterious kinship between Paul and Jamis, the Fremen who Paul kills in ritual combat. Jamis appears to him in moments of crisis and supplies guidance. Anyways, great song
• Corey +2
• Brad Stalcup +1 — The vision of the lone rider at the end of this story really gives it the mystical sheen it needs to be FO'C-esque
• fionmul +1 — This might be the perfect submission.
• Claire +1 — A mistake is made, suffering follows, but the character has hope of forgiveness and prays for mercy as he faces death. Pretty on point
• Edward James 0 — Actually a great pick because it fits the overall theme in many Flannery stories of singular moments impacting people in huge ways. But there were a few others songs that I think slightly edged this one out for me. Runner up.
• judd.baker 0 — This is a good shout but I think there’s almost too much falling action for it to be a Flannery story. The moment of epiphany/grace has to occur alongside the shock, normally we don’t see as much of the developing interior life as this song depicts.

Regina Scime: My sister gets the credit for this one (her fav Clara) (this is Clara typing it)

• fionmul +1 — Hi Clara ily. Regina has discovered getting help with her submissions and it’s helping her in the polls.
• Joseph Harvey +1 — This song has the most incredible energy and momentum. Wish I could sing it. Good choice Clara
• shea nowicki +1 — I loved this, Regina (and Clara)!!! Well done!
• ared56 +1
• Corey +1
• Sam Ary +1 — Hi Clara, good choice.
• Brad Stalcup +1

• Edward James +2 — This is the only song on this list that I really and truly loved and felt that Judd would really and truly love through and through. Just a perfect 90s banger, everything you could want, yet somehow unknown.
• Joseph Harvey +1 — This seems alternative enough to pass. Least favorite of my upvotes but gotta reward it
• fionmul +1 — I like
• shea nowicki +1 — Okay amazing!!!! I was dancing the entire time!
• Brad Stalcup +1
• judd.baker +1 — Now THIS is the kind of indie/alternative that I like. There were two songs on this playlist that I just fell in love with more instantly (or that I had already been in love with for a long time). But this is a fabulous shout. It starts out just a little too low and slow for my taste but the chorus is excellent. Bonus points for international band. Great shout. 🥉
• Regina Scime 0 — Super cute:))
• Claire 0 — Swedish Britpop just feels like a Judd vibe to me

• ared56 +3 — Brad
• fionmul +1 — ☺️😉😗👩🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏻💋😙😚😘🥰 Judson?
• Edward James +1 — Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes This one wins because not only is it the perfect girl crush song, but it is the only one that transports me into what I assume it actually feels like to be a girl with a crush
• Brad Stalcup +1
• shea nowicki +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — (Judd)
• Claire 0 — Judd

• Edward James +2 — Definitive answer. I have heard this song 50+ times and I'm sure at one point I knew it was actually Lindsay Buckingham, but still was confused and unsure.
• fionmul +1 — I love this pick!! Classic song and a great fit.
• Brad Stalcup +1
• shea nowicki +1 — The best!!! Such a good submission!!!
• Claire +1 — When I was younger I definitely thought the vocalist on this was one of the women and not Lindsey
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Close

• Joseph Harvey +2 — Wow, what the heck! Beautiful and perfect for the theme. “Wait, that’s a dude?” indeed
• judd.baker +1 — Amazing song and fantastic submission for the theme
• Edward James +1 — Love this one! Good song and 100% could have guessed wrong if asked outside the confines of the category.
• ared56 +1
• Claire +1 — Looked up the history of this artist and the deliberate vagueness/mystique surrounding their identity…it’s almost too perfect for this category
• fionmul 0 — “Woman” haha
• Regina Scime 0 — yes

judd.baker: This random track from a band I had never heard of before appeared in a Spotify recommended playlist a few years back, and quickly became my most listened to song of 2022. Lyrically excellent and musically a banger and the whole album it introduced me to is great as well.

• Joseph Harvey +2 — From the very first chord I knew this was pure Juddcore. Piano rock is a load bearing log in Judd’s musical Hangar. I could easily picture him singing this for karaoke, more so than any other here, so it gets the double upvote.
• Regina Scime +2 — I can hear Judd singing this!
• ared56 +1
• Claire +1 — This one also feels quite squarely Juddcore. Perhaps I’m truly wildly off but this feels like something that either Eddie would submit for Judd or that Judd would submit for himself. (And if it’s not, then whoever did submit this should know that that’s a compliment)
• shea nowicki +1 — Yes yes yes!!! Truly, CWK are always the move, I wish I'd thought of them myself
• fionmul 0 — Not my cup of tea but this is reminds me of the typa sh Judd does at karaoke
• Edward James 0 — I liked this a good amount (especially the very sneaky Bob Dylan homage). But others stood out more to me. Runner up.
• Brad Stalcup -1

• fionmul +1 — 😍💉💊🍃❣️ This is very important in my girly rotation historically Samuel?
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Checks the guilty pleasure box nicely, fun song. Hits the 'crush' aspect of the theme strongly (Alex)
• Corey +1 — Alex? Gonna go with Alex.
• Regina Scime +1
• Edward James +1 — I was just as opposed to this as I was to Whitney Houston. But then the first 10 seconds started, and the millennial conditioning kicked in.
• judd.baker +1 — Eddie
• ared56 0 — Alex
• Claire 0 — Alex

• ared56 +1
• Joseph Harvey +1 — I am a huge Keane fan and this was one of my favorite songs growing up. I never thought about it as a ‘breaking of the fellowship' type song. I can see the connection though.
• Brad Stalcup +1 — This is almost a perfect song of longing and missing the past.
• shea nowicki +1 — Classic, very appreciated. Gets me into "melancholic reflective" headspace every time.
• Regina Scime +1
• judd.baker +1 — Beautiful.
• fionmul 0 — 😌
• Edward James 0 — Sadly, any hope this song had a placing was destroyed by the fact that I have only heard it in the context of a meme where a Star Wars battle droid is singing it while playing piano https://youtube.com/shorts/0qtWbZvUkq8?si=E6w7tQp2pLaVzZbH

Sam Ary: God Bless Tiny Tim

• Laur +2
• fionmul +1 — A perfect read of the category. Did he voice the animated Snow White? Probably. Deserves a triple vote probs but I had too many others I liked.
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Upvote for most on point.
• Corey +1 — Dangerously iconic for this style, it must be said.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Too falsetto-y to be female
• judd.baker 0 — Almost eked a vote. Great pull
• Edward James 0 — A good one, and I could see it working, but still sounds too much just like falsetto.
• Regina Scime 0 — Valid submission for the category, but I was deeply uncomfortable listening to this
• shea nowicki 0 — Hahahahaha, such a good submission.
• Claire 0 — Honorable mention. Does still kind of sound like a dude singing in falsetto but he has such a funky unique timbre

Laur: Vibes with the softcore Catholic social justice themes Eddie personifies—a timeless Holes classic deserves a refresh on Eddie’s mixtape

• Sam Ary +2 — Oh yeah Shaggy
• fionmul +1 — I dont know what to make of this but it gets a vote
• Brad Stalcup +1 — This is the most unexpected upvote for me. Could definitely see Eddie listening to this one while driving to his parents' lake house on a Saturday morning.
• Claire +1 — I’m sure Eddie knows of shaggy but I could see him not knowing this song (I hadn’t heard it until now) and I feel like he could really rock with it
• judd.baker +1 — I’m going out on a limb and saying that Eddie will enjoy this, I think it’s a hilarious out there choice to submit a Shaggy song for this round but I feel like I want to reward that kind of outside of the box thinking.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Based on Eddie’s Bob Marley views, I’m going with a no on this one
• Edward James 0 — Incredibly fun choice. I didn’t know Shaggy had it in him to be so philosophical. The curse of these rounds is that you get so many good songs, but you can only choose so many to be at the top. This is a great pick, but won’t make it to the top
• Corey -1 — I'm gambling on this one, but I trust my instincts.

• Brad Stalcup +1 — This song is weird and grotesque enough to be a FO'C story. Though it's hard to see where grace pops in.
• ared56 +1
• Regina Scime +1
• Corey +1
• judd.baker +1 — Of the more overt submissions in this round (straight up Southern violence), I think this one was my favorite.
• Sam Ary +1
• Edward James 0 — Hmmmmm everyone makes fun of Eddie for sending song recommendations after the rounds, but then they use them in future rounds 🤔🤔🤔 This pick is like Joe Torma at South Bend Idol. You hear it and you think this is “southern”! This is “gothic” and “grotesque”! But like Joe it’s all flair, coasting on adulation. Like Joe, we are in need of a Colleen to brutally shut down this nonsense before everyone gets carried away by surface level comparisons. This is not like a Flannery O’Connor story. It’s just southern and vaguely violent. There’s no themes here that fit, and to me, that’s much more important than the idea of grotesque story set in southern environs.
• fionmul 0 — Didn’t like the voice enough but this is lyrically super duper strong
• Claire 0 — The South + violence, which is the classic Flannery vibe, and there’s mistaken identity too I guess, but there’s no real revelation that happens here
• Joseph Harvey -1 — This has the accidents of a Flannery story but feels lacking in substance. No emotional pull. The mystery in this song feels cheap, and thus it receives my downvote

• ared56 +1
• Edward James +1 — Of all the songs, I think this one "gets" the feeling of a Flannery story best. The saccharine, commercialized, ever-present but unimposing sense of Christianity is captured perfectly by the "Plastic Jesus" image. Reminds me very deeply of "Wise Blood". Seems like a Judd pick. Despite my insistence upon theme, I think this one wins a vote for setting up the start of a Flannery story perfectly. The character is poised for some sort of shock, followed up by the kitschy plastic Jesus staring dead eyed into her soul at the end.
• shea nowicki +1 — Okay this is fun!!! A bop & I totally agree — Flannery coded!
• fionmul +1 — This was a great pick. Parker’s Back for the lighthearted.
• Claire +1 — Clearly the lyrics themselves are meant to be ironic from the perspective of the speaker, but I feel like the plastic Jesus motif is the sort of thing that you’d find in an O’Connor story that could end up later being the catalyst for some kind of spiritual experience. Even if keeping the plastic Jesus up there is more or less a joke, I think that still says something about the speaker’s awareness of their sin, and that conscience, however dulled or ignored it might be, could be where grace enters in. Am I reading into this too much? It’s possible
• Brad Stalcup 0 — This song had potential, but it seemed like Jesus and the Virgin Mary were just things to be ignored. I don't think God is ever one to be ignored (without consequence) in an FO'C story.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Kind of cute I guess
• Regina Scime 0 — I'm not sure that this fits, but it's super cute!
• judd.baker 0 — Aside from getting the southern aesthetic right, the thing that makes this song thematically Flannery-coded to me is the image of the “plastic Jesus,” a kitschy, even ironic religious symbol that grins while the narrator is sinning in the backseat of the car. The image (blatant sin juxtaposed with kitschy religiosity) is ugly, honest, and secretly grace-filled. You don’t expect the real presence of Christ in the kitschy image, and yet He is really there.

• shea nowicki +2 — The sound & that plot twist at the end hit the nail on the head!! Yes yes yes!!
• ared56 +1
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Yeah, this is it. Heartbreaking and beautiful. The last verse where they find her a century later is so spooky and really sells it for this round.
• Regina Scime +1
• Brad Stalcup 0 — A tale of romance and revenge, but not truly Flannery-esque, I'm sorry.
• Edward James 0 — Don't see the fit here. If it had more religious imagery I could see it fitting, but it's just a good narrative. Absent other elements it doesn't connect imo.
• judd.baker 0 — I think this is a little bit too overt without the deeper religious epiphany
• fionmul 0 — I should have submitted this last league so I had to now. It just sounds and feels like Flannery to me although the story isn’t perfect.
• Claire 0 — Is the idea that Claire was going to sin, but her murder was a weird sort of mercy that kept her from going through with it? Maybe, but that doesn’t feel like that’s the point of the song, it feels more like a straight up southern murder song to me

Edward James: There is a phrase in this song that I think perfectly summarizes every Flannery O’Connor story.

• Regina Scime +1
• judd.baker +1 — This is an inspired take. Flannery O’Connor short story titles have a particular ring to them; this song title actually sounds like a Flannery short story title, which I had never noticed before despite hearing this song a million times. Thematically/aesthetically, it’s perfect too. The encounter with “Mr. Jimmy,” sharing a soda at the country drugstore while he simply whispers “Dead” to the narrator, could be a scene straight out of Wise Blood. The deceptive woman covered in blood (but is she really?). It’s murky, it’s violent but subtly so, it implies mystery and grace in weird ways. Never paid close attention to the words before. Great pick.
• fionmul +1 — My dad would sing this to us as kids and it was infuriating but imma do that to my kids too. This was an unexpected but great pick.
• Claire +1 — Getting what you need (not what you want) is very on point. The rest of the song didn’t quite fit the vibe imo. But it gets a vote from me because the hook is distinctively Flannery in a way that other songs were not
• Sam Ary +1
• Edward James 0 — In every Flannery O'Connor story, a character thinks they know what they want and who they are. Then through some inbreaking of grace, typically through the least likely avenue, they invariably get what they need. But never in the way they want to receive it. If I was to summarize every Flannery O'Connor story in one sentence, it would be "You can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes you just might find, you get what you need."
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I just can’t stand the Stones
• shea nowicki 0 — Totally agree. I like this song, a classic, but I struggled a bit to connect it to Flannery in the end.

• ared56 +1
• shea nowicki +1 — I love this song! & I appreciate the Southern Catholic vibe of the song; it is totally Judd vibes!
• Brad Stalcup +1
• Edward James +1
• judd.baker +1 — This was one of 2 songs on this list (besides my own submission) that I had already heard. And indeed it’s an excellent choice, because I love this song and I absolutely love this album. There are several songs on this album that I like more than this one and it’s beat out by a few other songs on this playlist, and I feel somewhat compelled to rate more highly songs that were altogether new to me. But for getting one of my favorite deep cut albums (seriously, these guys never made another record) this gets a vote. 4️⃣
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Beautiful, I really love this. I don’t know if this will make Judd’s podium, but he will certainly enjoy
• fionmul 0 — I have long loved this song; it is not Juddcore. I had a vote on it but had to give it away to a more Juddly song
• Regina Scime 0 — This is very BC, so imma guess Fiona or Shea
• Claire 0 — It’s not quite the same thing but I feel like this might appeal to his Avett Brothers loving side?

• ared56 +1
• Joseph Harvey +1 — This feels thoroughly Juddcore, from the 90s alternative sound to the uncomfortable artist name to the mysterious and intriguing lyrics. The line “feed the tree” goes quite hard
• fionmul +1 — This seems pretty Juddcore
• Claire +1 — 90s female fronted indie/alternative is pretty standard issue Juddcore
• judd.baker +1 — A fantastic submission. Made me smile the instant I saw it. This was one of 2 songs I had heard already (besides my own submission) and this is a deeply nostalgic track for me. I almost chose it as my #1 for the round; but I felt compelled to give top spot to a song that was a completely new introduction to me. But seriously phenomenal read. 80s/90s female vocalist alternative rock is my jam always. 🥈

• fionmul +1 — 🏀⛹🏽🎼🎓📚📓💃🏽🎭HSMMMM f*ck me up this ATE 🧡 Claire?
• Corey +1 — Eddie, surely. Or maybe not so surely?
• Edward James +1 — Absolutely. I got so into this that when Zac Efron started singing I was like "Get the heck out of here, are you kidding me?". This is the exact type of content I was expecting, and I will reward it.
• shea nowicki +1
• Claire +1 — Shea
• Sam Ary +1
• ared56 0 — Shea
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Guilty pleasure light is at least on orange here. Fun song (Brad)
• Brad Stalcup 0 — What's a girl crush summer without a good breakup at the start?
• judd.baker 0 — Shea
• Regina Scime -1 — I personally don’t get the HSM hype, it’s just funny to me. That being said, this song walked so Rewrite the Stars could frickin sprint

• fionmul +2 — This was so great and I had never heard it before so it felt special. “I hope all your favorite bands stay together”🫰🏻
• Joseph Harvey +1 — DANG. That was really good. So many great lines in this especially the one about the El Camino running forever. This is exactly the vibe I’m looking for here.
• Claire +1 — Yeah this one really got me lyrically. Sometimes when you lose people it’s the little things that really get you, like seeing a random article of clothing like one they used to wear, or hearing a song that you absolutely know they’d love but not being able to share it with them.
• judd.baker +1

• Regina Scime +4 — This was the only one that sounded like it could be a woman
• ared56 +1
• Claire +1 — Really cool song, I’d never heard it before but have already added to a playlist
• Laur +1
• fionmul 0 — I like.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — Whinecore has never done much for me.
• Joseph Harvey -1 — Falsetto != sounds like a girl
• Edward James -1 — Whitney was a choice I considered myself, but when I listened to my fave of theirs, I realized it was very clearly just a man singing really high. This is the least convincing of them, imo.
• Sam Ary -1

• Joseph Harvey +1 — Lyrically this is absolutely spot on.
• Brad Stalcup +1
• shea nowicki +1 — Such a bop.
• Claire +1 — Maybe this is me falling prey to the Eddie caricature but this song is on point lyrically as well as musically imo. Building a 21st century city
• Edward James +1 — We love a content choice. Very bold and brave to choose a song that has to stand primarily on the merit of its theme. I was against this song for the first 30 seconds until they really get into it. And then I realized very clearly that this was a choice made with great love. I can only be who I am, and this sees me very clearly. I think often of how many hopes I still have for my life, and how many of them have not come to pass yet. And it makes me wonder what I’ve been doing all this time. But knowing the effort I’ve put in to cultivating community in the exact way this describes, knowing that it has made the lives of those I care about better, I know I’m doing all right. Thank you, my friends. The only reason this gets number two is because I think musically the other struck me more. But this one holds deeper personal meaning. 🥈
• fionmul 0 — I just think on both superficial and deep levels this is super Eddie vibes. The sound. He is King of community and hospitality, a Dorothy Day lover who walks the walk, and so much more. And I love how it’s a newer song that sounds like it’s been around forever.
• Regina Scime 0 — Ugh I love this song
• ared56 -1

• ared56 +1
• Regina Scime +1
• Corey +1
• Edward James +1 — This is one that I did not enjoy as much on the first listen, but came back to with much more love the second time around. Reminds me a lot of the cranberries. I really like the overall sound of this, there’s an earnestness to it that makes it sound very 90s in an achingly beautiful way. Seems like a Judd pull to me. Why people need to get it together and start making music like this again. 🥉
• fionmul 0 — Cool but then I got bored
• Brad Stalcup 0 — Sounds almost enough like fleetwood mac to get a vote.
• Claire 0 — hi Judd :) Would’ve voted for this if I had more. Female fronted indie rock is squarely Eddie core

• Brad Stalcup +1
• Edward James +1 — I think it's easier to find a vibe fit or a weird story, but it's a lot harder and more meaningful to find a real deep fit with a theme in O'Connor stories. This one nails it with the visionary imagery all leading up the line "He will take you. If you run, he will chase you."
• shea nowicki +1 — I loved this Sufjan moment I got to have on the South Shore line into Chicago. His sound is perfectly on brand Flannery, so too the religious & lyrical turns. Thank you for this.
• judd.baker +1 — Spooky, murky Christ images will always get my vote in a category like this.
• Claire +1 — I feel like a broken record for voting for Sufjan every single time he’s submitted, but this is a really good read of the theme imo. Little boy sees a fire in the backyard and it turns into this wild spiritual revelation. Is he delusional? Is it really a vision from God? Unclear. But he clearly was deeply impacted by it. That’s a Flannery O’Connor moment for sure
• fionmul 0 — I hate his voice here personally
• Corey -1

• fionmul +1 — This and a silent film of Peter Seeley packing while also baking bread and dealing with a few barn animals running around the rectory
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Inspired choice. Actually some pretty cool melodies in this
• Claire +1 — Yeah this hits
• Laur +1

• Regina Scime +2 — Love me some jazz organ
• Sam Ary +1 — Snarky Puppy will always get an upvote (not always but usually)
• judd.baker +1
• fionmul 0 — Cute
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I can never quite jive with Snarky Puppy. It’s all very funky and groovy but the melodies just don’t grab me. This is in theory a good submission, but there is stuff I greatly prefer in this genre (namely Explorer by T-Square)

Corey: I don't know who I am, I don't know why I'm here. All I know is I must pack.

• Joseph Harvey +1 — Frantic. This is it
• Claire +1 — Cowboy bebop is cool and this song has the kind of frantic energy I was looking for
• Sam Ary +1 — Yes
• judd.baker +1 — Flawless
• fionmul 0 — I personally just wouldn’t listen to this while packing but I respect your culture
• Regina Scime 0 — Strikes me as Corey… I love it!!

• fionmul +1 — Yep this is the stuff
• shea nowicki +1 — Vibey. I appreciate this.
• ared56 +1
• Regina Scime +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Kind of annoying and empty sounding
• Claire 0 — This song would for sure make it onto a cleaning/moving playlist for me but just not in my top 4

• Corey +4 — I wasn't expecting to see Esperanza here, I'm going all in.
• Claire +1 — This is so beautiful and I feel like he will dig. Jazzy but also folk vibes which kind of reminds me of some of Natalia Lafourcade’s stuff
• Sam Ary +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Singing and playing upright bass is so cool. Unfortunately it’s not too memorable and feels a little lowkey for this round
• Edward James 0 — I think this is faux-Judd. And maybe I’m wrong. But Spanish is not the only key to his heart, and this needs more
• judd.baker 0 — I liked this song, but I didn’t love it. All my respect and love for Esperanza Spalding (I see you Regina ❤️) but this song is a little too sparse and pared down for me to LOVE. I love ostentatious instrumentation, a song as low key as this one is working a lot harder to keep my attention. Good submission tho 🇪🇸
• ared56 -1
• fionmul -1 — The way she is singing annoys me but that means Judd might inexplicably dig it.

• Joseph Harvey +1 — A little edgy but admittedly a perfect category pick. Pleasant listen. (Claire)
• Edward James +1 — Lesbianism?!? In my good Christian music league?! This is a straight banger. I came in with a bias against any sort of sad girl music, but this was absolutely phenomenal
• shea nowicki +1
• judd.baker +1 — This was as awesome as it was sus. Claire
• Sam Ary +1
• fionmul 0 — 🩶🪱👗 ❤️‍🔥 Shea?
• ared56 0 — Joseph
• Brad Stalcup -1

• ared56 +1
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Ooh that was lovely. The vibe is right.
• Sam Ary +1
• Corey +1
• fionmul 0 — 🥺
• Edward James 0 — This didn’t really leave an impression on me. Sounded v nice tho

• judd.baker +1 — Is the backing vocalist here actually a dude? If so, wow, genuinely perfect submission.
• Claire +1
• Sam Ary +1
• Laur +1
• fionmul 0 — Yeah. Is this Brad? Sammy would be proud I think.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Doesn’t sound like a woman
• Edward James 0 — I love this choice (Corey?) but feel that this moves in and out of "woman" sounding. Therefore it is defeated by others.
• Regina Scime 0 — Uhhh it definitely had some high notes
• shea nowicki 0 — Okay wow, this was fun. Not usually a techno/pop gal, but I enjoyed.
• Brad Stalcup -1 — Didn't like it from the start even though dude sounds like a lady. I skipped throughout the song to see if it got interesting at all besides his voice. It didn't.

• fionmul +1 — YEAHHHH I almost did Bieber. I thought it was a girl the first time I heard Never Say Never. Wish I could double vote but I was split this time.
• Corey +1 — Calling Bieber a girly singer was a generational pastime.
• Sam Ary +1
• Brad Stalcup 0 — Prepubescent don't count.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Once again, being an adolescent/child makes this less remarkable
• judd.baker 0 — In a perfect world, this would have an upvote because it is a great fit for the theme. But given how young Justin is here, it felt slightly less compelling for the category, and there were simply other songs I enjoyed more and was more impressed by
• Edward James 0 — I get this pick but 1) he was like 15 when it was recorded, and 2) it still has noticeable male elements imo.
• Regina Scime 0 — Another prepubescent boy…
• Claire 0 — Prepubescent male treble voice just isn’t what I’m looking for here. Yes, it’s a dude, and yes, he doesn’t sound like a dude, but it’s not for any particularly interesting reason other than how old he is

Regina Scime: I know it’s a common song, but I figured I’d risk it cause she deserves it

• Brad Stalcup +1
• Laur +1
• Corey +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — That was absolutely lovely, but you may forget that vocal chops don’t earn you many points with Eddie.
• fionmul 0 — I feel like I can’t vote for this because of it being so common but the version is gorgeous. And I do think Eddie would like it.
• shea nowicki 0 — The whole time, I just wanted to tell Eva, "slay girl!" Love the song.
• Edward James 0 — You’re totally right that it was worth it to post this version even though this song is well known. I really enjoyed this, the vocal effect she brings to it makes it unique, even though it would be easy for it to just be another one of many versions. Despite what many think, I’m not actually a big singer-songwriter and folk fan in general. It’s only very specific types and artists, and this fit in the niche.

• Joseph Harvey +1 — I’d be surprised if Eddie doesn’t like this.
• ared56 +1
• Laur +1
• fionmul 0 — Does Eddie like this stuff? I have lost all sense of his taste at this point
• Brad Stalcup 0 — This is not even the most Eddie-coded Bradio song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCzBN-kUPHo However, it does have funky + city pop vibes, which is on point.
• judd.baker 0 — This was good, but I think it is too modern and not citypop enough for a properly Eddiecore Japanese submission.
• Edward James 0 — The heart is in the right place for this one, and it’s a great song, but a bit more modern K-pop sounding, which is not my style with Japanese/korean music. This sounds beautiful though, the production is stellar.

Corey: I love Flannery, but I'm having the darndest time finding something that's accidentally her. So here's some rural memento mori.

• Brad Stalcup +1 — A phenomenal song. A bluegrass singer who has been performing for probably 50 years at this point. A serenade to death would definitely take place in a FO'C story
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Total classic and feels like a very Flannery vibe
• Sam Ary +1
• Edward James 0 — Southern traditional does not a Flannery story make. I think this is a trap many fell into. My voting this round is 100% about themes - it's easier (imo) to find a vibe fit (Southern Gothic) or a cool narrative than it is to tap into the flow of a theme that runs deep within the song that matches a theme embedded in the O'Connor mythos. I'll be calling them out where I see them, and I don't see one here.
• Regina Scime 0 — The fact that it's a cappella adds an extra grittiness that is cool
• fionmul 0 — This is an example of a bit too on the nose for me. Just barely tho.

fionmul: Tested and approved by experts

• Joseph Harvey +1 — This fits the vibe. Really fun song
• shea nowicki +1 — I really like this! Upbeat and motivating, while simultaneously not too loud/much.
• Claire +1 — She’s the blueprint
• Laur +1
• fionmul 0 — Keeps the blood pumping but has you dancing through the stress
• Regina Scime 0 — Again, are we moving because of a breakup?
• ared56 -1

• Laur +1
• Brad Stalcup +1
• judd.baker +1 — Kind of a bop ngl
• fionmul 0 — This doesn’t quite do it for me.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Don’t really see the angle. For me this is going to need to be either frenetic or uber calm and this is neither
• ared56 0 — This is the flagship song of my siblings cleaning/dishes playlist
• Claire 0 — I love this song so much. This is a super specific criticism but I feel like Since U Been Gone would get me more into the headspace I’m looking for
• Regina Scime 0 — I’m confused by all of the breakup songs… how many of y’all have moved because of a breakup??

Sam Ary: If Judd doesn’t like it I hope one of yall do bc this is just nuts

• fionmul +1 — I love this; I think Judd would too but it may be outside of his typical rotation
• Regina Scime +1 — I LOVE ALEJANDRO😭😭😭
• shea nowicki +1 — I LOVED THIS. Such a vibe
• Joseph Harvey 0 — This was lovely, but a little too Midwest emo for Judd
• Claire 0 — This is so cool. I honestly don’t have a great read on whether he’d love it though I think at the very least he will find it quite impressive
• Edward James 0 — No from me
• judd.baker 0 — I liked this but again not quite my style. I actually think the degree to which I like indie music is sort of overstated. I like alternative, which is a species of indie I suppose, but the really pared down singer songwriter-y SoundCloud indie sound isn’t quite my cup of tea. This is musically impressive though, just not particularly interesting to me.

• Corey +1 — Let's say... Lauren.
• Regina Scime +1
• Claire +1 — Fiona
• Sam Ary +1
• fionmul 0 — 👸🏻📔 close but no cigarette 🚬 Eddie?
• Joseph Harvey 0 — (Sam)
• Edward James 0 — You would not believe the things this song has carried me through. The GOAT. I stay loyal.
• judd.baker 0 — Brad
• ared56 -1 — Regina

• Corey +1 — I'm gonna go with Fiona.
• shea nowicki +1
• Claire +1 — Sam
• fionmul 0 — 🌭💚 Yup. Josephus?
• ared56 0 — Claire
• Joseph Harvey 0 — kamala IS brat
• Edward James 0 — Great song, but I really thought it would be more hyped. I’ve heard it before, but didn’t realize it was from this album. Doesn’t really fit the category for me.
• judd.baker 0 — Joseph(??)

• fionmul +1 — 🥹💡🥺🚦🫂🕯️🤍 Alex? Idk
• Regina Scime +1
• judd.baker +1 — Fiona. I enjoyed
• ared56 0 — Fiona
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I enjoyed this. But not quite enough (Fiona)
• Edward James 0 — Sorry, but you can’t pick Maggie Rogers for this. I don’t make the rules.
• Claire 0 — Joseph

• fionmul +1 — The title reads like a shea meditation (a high compliment if this isn’t her) “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard" - Winnie the Pooh 💛
• ared56 +1
• Regina Scime +1
• Claire +1 — I loved this so much. It really gets at the bittersweet feeling of recognizing and holding together the seemingly contradictory emotions that occur during a period of transition—you can have an experience that utterly breaks your heart, and yet you still would never for a second wish it hadn’t happened.
• Edward James 0 — This one didn’t leave much impression, but her voice sounds really nice
• shea nowicki 0 — one of my RAs told me (unaware that I submitted this song) that she would also submit this song for this round, so I feel like I won a million bucks in validation
• Corey -1 — My hand was forced, I didn't want to, but the League had dirt on me.

Sam Ary: "Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil." — Gandalf the OG

• fionmul +1 — 💘 I listened to this in an airport and it sent me 😭
• Edward James +1 — The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with weary feet, Until it joins some larger way, Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say.
• Joseph Harvey +1 — It's almost cheating, but also impossible not to vote for. I bet this is what Alex had Eddie submit. Eddie would be against submitting something this obvious on principle
• Brad Stalcup +1 — This is relying completely on presumed nostalgia from the LOTR films and I'm here for it.
• Regina Scime +1
• shea nowicki 0 — Wow wow wow. The quote coupled with the music got me. Amazing.
• Claire -1 — Perhaps controversial but this one gets the downvote for being extremely literally on theme. It’s still of course an amazing song and it fits the prompt perfectly. But in a round where I genuinely liked every song, I had to pick some criterion according to which to assign a downvote. Alas
• judd.baker -1 — Too easy I’m sorry

Joseph Harvey: I always pictured the vocalizations at the beginning coming from a gorgeous Indian woman. Alas

• Edward James +1 — A great song that I only give an upvote to because I was 100% convinced the intro was not Sting. The rest doesn't sound like a woman tho, but that was impressive enough to win a vote.
• ared56 +1
• fionmul 0 — Lmao the caption
• judd.baker 0 — I get the idea behind it, and it’s close, but the backing vocals aren’t enough
• Regina Scime 0 — mkay calm down Joseph
• Claire 0 — 🪦🥀

• fionmul +1 — Eddie? Sam? Loved this take ofc. I indeed thought the feature was a girl until recent history.
• Joseph Harvey +1 — This is a very fun song. There is a voice in there that really sounds like a girl. I’m going to trust that that’s a dude
• judd.baker +1 — I didn’t believe at first until I got to the feature, and wow yeah, great shout. Also banger
• shea nowicki +1 — I love! this! song!
• Brad Stalcup 0 — Featured singer being the feminine voice seems a little sus to me.
• Edward James 0 — I appreciate this pick because it gives a chance to highlight one of my musical loves: short lived late 2000s/early 2010s pop-rock group "Fozy Shazam". Eric Nally (who sings the feminine sounding part in this) is an incredible artist and the Foxy Shazam self-titled album is a millennial masterpiece in every way. But not vote because I don't think it fits the category well.
• Claire 0 — Fun fact: I genuinely thought this hook was sung by a woman for years.
• Corey -1 — Macklemore is too much like that urban liberal who likes to talk rough but votes for Kamala. So I would say he made the cut not wisely, but too well.
• Regina Scime -1

• shea nowicki +1 — Classic, very womanly. Well done.
• Sam Ary +1
• fionmul 0 — I loved this pick. My dad picked it haha.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — You could just use any Jackson 5 song because a 10-year-old Michael Jackson has a high-pitched voice, smh.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — He’s a kid, kind of doesn’t count
• judd.baker 0 — Arbitrarily I feel like prepubescence is against the spirit of this round
• Edward James 0 — Too many actual children in this song for me to vote for it. There was one of the Jacksons who sounded like a soulful black woman artist for a bit in the middle, but that's not enough to win a vote from me.
• Regina Scime 0 — Do prepubescent boys count…
• Claire 0 — Young MJ is iconic. But as with Justin, it’s not an unexpected sound that we hear here. It’s exactly what we’d expect from the mouth of a child (a child who was already clearly a star)

• shea nowicki +1 — This one surprised me... but I LOVED it. A vibe.
• Regina Scime +1
• Claire +1 — Sad indie boy is an important facet of Eddie’s taste
• judd.baker +1 — I’m not 100% positive that this hits the Eddie mark, but it is a great song, and for being just out-there enough I feel like I can justify an upvote
• fionmul 0 — This is unique and cool but I got sorta bored
• Edward James 0 — I enjoyed this song a lot, and the writing is really beautiful. But even though it picks up a bit, I found it still a bit more melancholy in a way that will keep it off the podium.
• Brad Stalcup -1
• Laur -1

Brad Stalcup: I was introduced to this band by one of Eddie's former roommates.

• ared56 +1
• fionmul +1 — This was ok. Seems like Eddie could dig.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Instrumentally this has Bradcore written all over it. I don’t know that this is a major overlap between Eddie and Brad, though.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — It was Eddie's freshman college roommate Sean Murphy
• judd.baker 0 — I’m not positive where this fits in the Eddie musical constellation but this was extremely fun
• Edward James 0 — This is a straight banger, and really one of only two truly upbeat song of the bunch. Which is interesting because I would say I listen to upbeat music vastly more than I listen to anything else. This has Brad’s fingerprints all over it, although from the comment I think it’s probably Joseph. This is my choice for runner-up. I think I only went with the others over this because they were a bit more unique and out of the box.

• Edward James +1 — This song combines the best of all worlds - Southern vibe fit, theme (although weaker than the others), and narrative. I am actually kind of mad, because I was trying to find a Springsteen song to use, but the vast majority of them are about a different kind of Americana and just miss the boat for O'Connor connection. The opening scene with the dead dog in the ditch could 100% be out of one of her stories. Belief in the face of the mundane and the tragic is a theme she explores too. I think theme fit is a bit weaker than others, otherwise this would be a +2. Incredible pull.
• fionmul +1 — I almost submitted bruce. This is a great pick!
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I can't pick this one simply because it's a song of despair and cynicism. Despite the darkness and ugliness of Flannery's stories, there's always a glimmer of light. Bruce Springsteen seems to imply that people are delusional and that's why they have a reason to believe.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Decent enough lyrics at times but I just don’t like Springsteen. The vibe I get from him is a non musician who somehow ended up having a music career
• shea nowicki 0 — I like this. I don’t know why this song feels like 5 years long to me… but a good pick. Especially the opening lines resonated.

Laur: Yes, I do believe she wears aviators and drives a very old car down the road when she’s listens to this one

• Regina Scime +1
• Corey +1
• Sam Ary +1
• Edward James 0 — I really like this pick, the idea of being at a crossroads but unsure what to do is a good theme. But I think it needs to develop beyond that, and the song just doesn't go any further. Totally fine, but that keeps it off the podium for me.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Eh. Just not enough substance here when there are so many great picks.
• judd.baker 0 — I didn’t know John Mayer did this kind of sound tbh
• fionmul 0 — Unmemorable
• Claire 0 — Love John Mayer but there’s not enough lyrically here for me to really judge how well it fits the, for better or worse, quite literary theme
• ared56 -1

• Regina Scime +1 — Judd gives train vibes Also Tom Waits sounds like a Bruce Springsteen impersonator…
• Claire +1 — I was torn on this one, I feel like there’s a chance he’d be super into it but also a chance that it wouldn’t hit for whatever reason. I’m gonna go with yes. Judd can rock with some folksy Americana angst every now and then
• judd.baker +1 — This was spectacular. I have been thinking for a while that I should probably do a Tom Waits deep dive, and listening to this was the sign I needed. I really appreciate that I had never heard this song before, and indeed I have very little familiarity with Tom Waits, so this was an introduction into a whole new experience for me. It’s exactly the kind of late 20th century experimental rock that I love. It’s bold and the lyrics are phenomenal. Poetic. I loved this and I especially loved that it is not a caricature of the kind of stuff I love. 🥇
• Joseph Harvey 0 — What is this guy’s voice?? He should be voicing an oversized lovable Disney side character
• fionmul 0 — It's giving Bruce and idk if that is a plus or a minus for Judd
• Edward James 0 — This was my Alex trade so I will not vote out of principle.
• shea nowicki -1 — Admittedly, I really liked this song. Unfortunately, I also liked every other song on the playlist and had to downvote something : (

• Joseph Harvey +1 — Cute is the word for this song. Fits the category to a T but may be a controversial pick due to not being much of a guilty pleasure. (Regina)
• Regina Scime +1
• Brad Stalcup +1 — This is a CLASSIC girl crush summer song.
• fionmul 0 — 🥰👼🏻🐣💝 This one felt like the most guilty pleasure vibes cuz it’s on social media but it inspired a playlist I made recently called “60s Gymnasium Dance” so I really do listen to it unironically and often
• ared56 0 — Judd
• Edward James 0 — This is a Corey pick if I’ve ever heard one
• judd.baker 0 — Regina
• Claire 0 — Regina
• Sam Ary -1

• Edward James +1 — The Warren Zevon original version is better for sure, but this was a really great cover. He wrote this song after finding out he had terminal cancer. What makes it so good I think is “a while.” recognizing that people will move on and you won’t occupy as much space in their mind, but you’re still in their heart, even as they learn to get along without you.
• Brad Stalcup +1 — Big fan of this one. Probably my favorite on the list.
• fionmul 0 — You’re already there and you’ll stay 💞
• Joseph Harvey 0 — In my own listening I would never, ever encounter an album cover anything like this

• Edward James +1 — This is a really great song, and I also love the interpretation of the breaking of the Fellowship being a positive. When you know that something better is in store so you’re willing to go through the sadness involved in the breaking.
• shea nowicki +1 — Always gonna upvote Lizzy regardless of the round theme, tbh. She never misses. This was great.
• Regina Scime +1
• Corey +1
• fionmul 0 — 🥧 several lines from this stand out to me but it has a warm and fond and calm vibe and that’s what the bend is to me 🫶🏻 also I’d be remiss if I didn’t insert more lizzy before the league is up
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I didn't want to like this song but I did. Unfortunately, doesn't really do it for me as a "goodbye, gonna miss you" song.
• Claire 0 — I did not have another vote to give to this song but this one really hit for reasons that definitely don’t have anything to do with recent personal experience
• Joseph Harvey -1 — It’s well known that I am a big Lizzy appreciator and it breaks my heart to downvote. But this is a poor fit, being more about finding someone than leaving.
• Sam Ary -1

• ared56 +1
• shea nowicki +1 — This was perfect. Cried throughout. Thank you for this.
• Claire +1 — Hard to really articulate why but this one just felt like the musical vibe fit perfectly with the lyrical/thematic content. Maybe this just betrays my own fondness for indie rock but idk. To me this song really captures that feeling you get when you know your days/hours with friends are numbered, so you start to feel sad and nostalgic even though the time isn’t actually up yet, and you have to fight to keep from wallowing in that angst so you can be fully present in the moment itself.
• judd.baker +1
• fionmul 0 — 🧡 has almost an Irish vibe to it instrumentally which we all know earns brownie points with me
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Not the best song mentioning old photographs here. I bet this was Judd
• Edward James -1 — I don’t know, this one just kind of struck me the wrong way. I think it might’ve been something in the vocal styling.
• Brad Stalcup -1

• Brad Stalcup +1
• Sam Ary +1
• fionmul 0 — So good. Not enough votes which I realize is my fault.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Not even close. But man what a banger
• Edward James 0 — Sorry, but as high as Freddie Mercury can sing, there's not way I'm thinking he's a woman.
• ared56 -1

Edward James: Trying to pull a Sammy on you all here. I remember hearing this song when I was about four years old and absolutely loving it. Then for the next 12 years I could distinctly remember the best and the 1-2-3 counting but assumed the song was lost forever. Then one random day, I heard about half a second of the counting part as my mom was flipping through the radio and freaked out and made her flip back through until we found it. And since then it’s been an all-time favorite. One thing I think this reveals is that time and place play a huge role in the music I like, which makes it hard to guess.

• fionmul +2 — Ohhhh yeah I lovvvvve Gloria. This might be Corey? And idk if Eddie digs this but my own digging of it is strong.
• Brad Stalcup +1
• judd.baker 0 — All respect to Gloria Estefan
• Sam Ary -1
• Regina Scime -1 — I am curious if Eddie and Gloria Estefan overlap…

• Sam Ary +1 — Good song very nice
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I don’t remember anything about this song
• fionmul 0 — This reminds me of an ex but I also sorta really dig it. 🙃🫠 idk if I hear this as an Eddie song tho
• judd.baker 0 — I quite enjoyed this
• Edward James 0 — You are right to identify that I love the occasional alt girl indie pop. And I enjoy this song a good deal, even though it drifts a bit into sad girl territory. It won’t make it to the podium, but I enjoyed it a lot more on the second listen-through.

• Edward James +1 — This was a great pick, and I think its strongest connection is the theme of being endlessly pursued by God. Dorothy Day opens her autobiography with the line from Dostoevsky “All my life I have been haunted by God.” This feeling of grasping futilely and for God but not wanting to go all the way is a theme I think you see in "Parker's Back" and other O'Connor stories. Also, I only knew Julien Baker as "the small one from boygenius" so glad to know she can write a solo banger.
• judd.baker +1 — Saline communion in the back of an ambulance as an image for encountering Jesus after a horrific car accident? Bravo. Pure Flannery.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — This just feels so musically lacking to me that I can’t give it a vote. The phrasing is really awkward and comes off as ‘music as lyric delivery mechanism.’ There are some intriguing lyrics here however, so I can see the angle
• shea nowicki 0 — I love Julien Baker and unsurprisingly I loved this. Especially lyrically moving to pray with/about. I do indeed think that Julien and Flannery would be friends. Unfortunately other things in the end won out.
• Regina Scime 0 — I'm not sure if this captures O'Connor completely, but I think it's close!
• fionmul -1 — I almost skipped this because I hate her voice. Sorry shea (I think? Or Judd?) the words also confused me

• Sam Ary +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Judd may well like this, but it’s a little too on the modern Latin pop side of things and not alternative enough
• fionmul 0 — I almost forgot Spanish is very much back on the menu and in my quest for a song for him, this reminded me of Judd in addition to being a Spanish song I’ve liked for a while and by an artist I like. Maybe more pop than he would like but this one has a pleasant enough vibe that even you h8ers could dig. And you wont deign to google the lyrics probs but it makes me think of some love birds I know.
• Claire 0 — This is so cute but it’s a little bit too poppy to make the podium for me. Maybe I’m underestimating Judd’s sentimental romantic side tho
• Edward James 0 — Adding a Joseph comment: This made no impression on me.
• judd.baker 0 — This was a valiant submission and of course I love that there were a few Spanish tracks on this playlist. But this just isn’t the kind of Latin indie that I like. This song is good and very fun, but there’s just a little bit too much production and vocal modulation on it for me to love it. It’s a little bit too modern pop for my tastes. Good but not maximally my thing. Extremely awesome lyrics though.

• Sam Ary +1
• Brad Stalcup +1
• fionmul 0 — Nice one Joey. This was a borderline boring to me but Judd would probably like it. It got bumped in the end.
• Claire 0 — I do feel like he’d like this. I also feel like he most likely already knows this song?
• Edward James 0 — Hate Radiohead, simple as. Sorry y’all. I know this is for Judd but I hope he doesn’t like it.
• judd.baker 0 — This was a great shout from Joseph, who knows exactly which Radiohead records I have and haven’t heard. It was narrowly beaten by other songs that I liked more through the whole runtime, but I do love Radiohead instrumentation and the breakdown around 3:57 is fantastic.
• Corey -1 — Unfortunately someone had to take the hit, and that someone is Radiohead.

• Brad Stalcup +1 — yes. girlpop at its k-finest.
• judd.baker +1 — This rocked. I’m guessing this is Corey.
• fionmul 0 — 💔 Not enough downvotes Brad?
• ared56 0 — Eddie
• Edward James 0 — Yeah, this kind of thing doesn’t really do it for me. The more modern J-pop it just odd.
• Claire 0 — Eddie
• Joseph Harvey -1 — The only song here that was positively irritating to listen to. (Eddie)

shea nowicki: Bob Dylan sound meets 2010s alt-indie

• ared56 +1
• Sam Ary +1
• Regina Scime +1
• Brad Stalcup 0 — While the Bob Dylan influence is there, it's a little TOO there. And anyone who is trying to be someone else too hard is definitely not Bob Dylan-esque.
• Claire 0 — I thought about voting for this one, and if I had more votes I probably would have, but it’s almost too Bob Dylan in a way that doesn’t feel sufficiently original (but I recognize that this comment will look really dumb if this was Eddie’s submission and/or he votes for it)
• judd.baker 0 — I like this song but didn’t upvote just because it is almost too Bob Dylan-y
• Joseph Harvey -1 — This caused me pain. I feel like it’s too close to Bob Dylan for Eddie to like it.
• fionmul -1 — This is like weaponized Dylan-voice. It works for Bob because he doesn’t gaf but I can tell this person does. I just don’t think it works. But with a different voice it could.
• Edward James -1 — I really love the narrative of this one, it states something beautiful about male melancholy. Another one where you followed the thread dutifully and properly, but I am a weirdo and have no coherent sense whatsoever to my music taste. So I have to deeply apologize, because I think this was a pick made with love (and I receive it happily), but 2010s folk just doesn’t do it for me. And that’s not to say it’s not a good song, I enjoyed it, but if I had to rank (and I do)…..it must happen

shea nowicki: I moved to this song in 2023

• ared56 +1
• fionmul 0 — I enjoy the driving rhythm of this. More of a driving song to me though.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Sheacore, but not quite my tempo
• Regina Scime 0 — “This is a song for after you’ve packed… the montage music as you drive away after the breakup.”
• Claire -1 — I really enjoyed this song musically but it just didn’t get me in the right mood for the category

• ared56 +1
• Sam Ary +1
• Edward James +1 — I LOVE a Zydeco pick. Judd loves the regionalisms
• fionmul 0 — Ehhh
• shea nowicki 0 — So fun! I wish I had more votes!
• judd.baker 0 — A sleeper hit. I’m getting Brad vibes from this? Which if so, well done, from someone who doesn’t really know anything about my music taste. This song gives me a hit of a genre I love and don’t talk about very much: traditional/classic R&B. This gets an honorable mention. 5️⃣
• Joseph Harvey -1 — Even if I thought this would be Judd’s favorite song of all time, I could not in conscience vote because it is ANNOYING
• Regina Scime -1 — I’m so curious to see what Judd says about this
• Claire -1 — It’s a fine song but it just doesn’t scream Judd to me. But maybe this is just a side of his music taste that I have yet to discover

• ared56 +1 — Sam
• Claire +1 — Brad
• fionmul 0 — Seems rathehh baysic innit 💗 Regina?
• Joseph Harvey 0 — This is an example of a song that's a little too classic to garner votes. Also not really a guilty pleasure in any way. But great song obviously (Shea)
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I'm sorry, i just think this song is overrated.
• judd.baker 0 — Alex
• Corey -1 — Brad? It feels cruel to guess on a downvote.
• Edward James -1 — Too cliche, sorry y'all

• Laur +1
• Edward James +1 — I really, really love this song, it reminds me of the one other band Camino song that I know. Which is a good thing, because I also love that one. It’s been topical recently to ask the question whether or not men truly urine, and the song should put that to rest. 4️⃣
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Too modern
• fionmul 0 — I like this ofc I’m just not thinking it’s an Eddie vibe
• shea nowicki -1 — I don't know why this didn't strike me as very Eddie (maybe I'm totally off the mark) but I LOVE the Band Camino. & this is one of my fave of their new songs! But... was really considering an Eddie aesthetic when voting, hence the downvote in the end :(
• Claire -1 — Those who know me know how much I love this band, but I’m not sure I see Eddie vibing with this song in particular. I’d be happy to be proven wrong tho
• judd.baker -1 — Great song but I’m not convinced it is sufficiently Eddiecore

shea nowicki: I’m not sure this song is Juddcore sound, but it is Juddcore vibes at large

• fionmul +1 — I like this one.
• Brad Stalcup +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — This brings me back, Switchfoot was big for me in high school. Not super feeling it for Judd though. The up-and-down piano lick in the chorus is a major ick
• Claire 0 — Agreed that lyrically this is on point, and I love that it riffs on the rebel soldier bit. Also agreed that I’m not sure it’s Juddcore musically speaking
• Sam Ary -1 — I had to use a downvote I’m sorry
• Edward James -1 — Just don’t like it
• judd.baker -1 — I appreciate the goal here. But this just isn’t what I listen to. It’s sort of giving fake indie, like acoustic pop masquerading as an indie song. It’s a little bit too poppy and not in the way that I like. The sound is maybe a bit too simple.

Corey: This is the deepest possible cut I can produce. This song set me on a different life path back in middle school.

• Joseph Harvey +1 — This was very fun. No idea what "baby cruising love" means (Corey)
• Brad Stalcup +1 — This grew on me over the course of the song. Plus, i've got a soft spot for J-pop.
• Sam Ary +1
• ared56 0 — Corey
• Edward James 0 — Not for me. There is something very unique and specifically feminine about this phenomenon, but it doesn't do much for me.
• fionmul -1 — Sorry but I hate this 💖 Corey?
• shea nowicki -1
• judd.baker -1 — I honestly don’t know who this is. Sam? I am also sorry to report I couldn’t stand this. I tried to like it but couldn’t
• Claire -1 — Corey

• judd.baker +1 — Wow this was awesome
• fionmul 0 — 🩶
• Edward James 0 — This one also didn’t leave much impression. I feel like I should like Whitney, but they just really don’t usually hit for me.
• ared56 -1
• Regina Scime -1

• Sam Ary +1
• Edward James 0 — Never been a huge fan of these guys. But they were on to something here with the idea of going back somewhere and knowing your a different person but the people there see you as someone you were before. I have been there, do not recommend. This album cover is also so heavily 2013-coded
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I enjoyed this much more than I expected from this artist. Has some early 2000s Radiohead vibes which I appreciate. However, the emotional atmosphere is too upbeat for this theme.
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I really enjoyed the song. Not sure
• fionmul -1 — Lyrically good but I dont like it that much otherwise 🙈 sorry but I have faith others will vote for you
• shea nowicki -1 — I love the Head and the Heart. I think this song was a bit too loud/chaotic for me for some reason? Not sure why, honestly... the lyrics are spot on! In the end, it's a me problem.

• ared56 +1
• Brad Stalcup 0 — The Whiskey washing over Tim can definitely be seen as a symbol of baptism, which takes place in the midst of the fury and warring of man. "The uncontrollable mystery on the bestial floor" (Yeats)
• Joseph Harvey 0 — No
• shea nowicki 0 — This surprised me. At first, I dead set against it— “no way” does Flannery give me Irish vibes. In the end, maybe I came around!!
• Regina Scime 0 — Fiona-coded
• fionmul 0 — I love Irish music but it’s not Flannery enough for that reason regardless of lyrics. A ton of Irish songs are Flannery vibes if you overlook the Irishness (but I don’t).
• Edward James -1 — This is a straight banger but don't see the fit at all. Not through vibe, narrative, or themes.
• judd.baker -1 — Accidentally James Joyce
• Claire -1 — It’s a classic but it just doesn’t work for the theme imo. Sure, a dead man comes back to life, but in a gimmicky magical drinking song way

Joseph Harvey: A maximally peaceful song to bring a little calm to the frenzy. Devin wrote this specifically to listen to amid the hustle and bustle of airports.

• shea nowicki +1 — Upvote for the creativity/the overall vibe created. I enjoyed.
• ared56 +1 — A comment graces this vote. Most similar to my preferred listening - the entire album of Darkside of the Moon.
• fionmul 0 — With headphones on I could see this helping me continue to hyper focus but I was looking for high energy
• Claire 0 — Hi Joseph. Props for the unique read of the category but didn’t make the podium for me
• Regina Scime 0 — Joseph?
• Corey -1 — I cried after downvoting this, just so you know.
• Sam Ary -1
• Brad Stalcup -1
• judd.baker -1 — I almost hate to downvote this because it’s a good song and I feel bad for poor punished Joseph. But I just can’t imagine packing to this

Sam Ary: On repeat.

• Corey +1 — I feel like this doesn't work on a surface level, but I have so many memories of urgently wishing it would when trying to get kids to clean up, so in a meta way, it does.
• Claire +1 — I’m here for the brief song on repeat as you descend into a productive fugue state
• Brad Stalcup +1
• fionmul -1 — No. At least do a remix
• Joseph Harvey -1 — Ha
• shea nowicki -1 — I loved the reference, I think I would be unable to emotionally handle moving to this song... it would grate on me like 1 listen in. Big sad : (
• Regina Scime -1
• Laur -1

• Edward James 0 — I actually love this pick, especially because of the line "Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time." That's classic Flannery. However, in my review, I think the Julien Baker song does this theme a little bit better. Runner up.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Interesting read but not quite enough. Truly a great song though, pretty much prog pop
• judd.baker 0 — I’m not seeing it
• fionmul 0 — This song always reminds me of in the movie diary of a wimpy kid when he gets the part of Dorothy in the play and this is his audition. But also the eclipse my freshman year of college. I don’t understand you for picking this. Go read some Flannery.
• Claire 0 — Did not vote for this song but it is an all time banger and I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that fact
• Brad Stalcup -1 — I'm sorry, but this doesn't really belong on this list.
• shea nowicki -1 — I listened to this one like 3 times 1) because it’s a bop and 2) because I’m not sure if it strikes me as “accidentally Flannery.” In the end, I feel conflicted and have to think more about it. I love this song and its poetic description for love, but my read of Flannery’s take on love is more a project of expanding the categories of love, vs. a clinging/grasping one; for example, Revelation comes to mind: Flannery demands that Mrs. Turpin (and by extension all of us) see beyond her biases/stereotypes to love Mary Grace instead of writing her off as “white trash.” Flannery is so good at making me feel like I have to do the heart work to be more Christian than I say I am, in a sacrificial and ever growing way. So idk…in the end, I’m rambling and confused…how I often feel at the end of a Flannery work. Hahahah.
• Regina Scime -1 — Sam, if this is you, I still love you:) but I'm confused
• Sam Ary -1

Brad Stalcup: There's a certain vulnerability whenever a man sings in falsetto. Couple that with the thematic content of this song and you have a heart-wrenching performance from an otherwise upbeat and cynical ska band.

• Brad Stalcup 0 — I guess I should submit less verbose comments.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Loved this song. Seems like an obvious Brad pick but does not fulfill the theme I’m afraid
• Edward James 0 — Great falsetto, but would never have thought this was a woman.
• fionmul -1 — I kinda dig. Downvoting because it sounds the least like a girl to me of all these sorry.
• judd.baker -1 — I loved this song. I added it almost immediately to a playlist. But for this theme, it just wasn’t right imo. It’s a high note for sure, but at no point of this song do I find myself asking “Wait, that’s a dude?”
• shea nowicki -1 — Okay this was a fun listening experience, but I had to down vote something, I'm sorry : ( I think it didn't hold for enough of the song for me, since it makes a musical switch at 2:50 and, at that time, it sounds like a guy. I enjoyed the surprise/story arc of the whole song though!!
• Claire -1 — Great song but just wasn’t what I was looking for with this theme. Even when he’s singing in falsetto it’s…very clearly a man singing in falsetto.
• Laur -1