Best Ever Albums

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

Romanelli — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 17:53:15 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 01/21/2025 22:53

I just unlocked the Hall Of Fame thread. You can post the results there now.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

cestuneblague — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 17:10:22 GMT

Author: cestuneblague

Posted: 01/21/2025 22:10

Realized the Hall of Fame thread is closed, so I guess an update to all our song tournament victors:

2000s: Winner: Outkast B.O.B, Runner-Up: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Maps
Early 2010s: Winner: Grimes Oblivion, Runner-Up: Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Thuggin'
Late 2010s: Winner: Danny Brown Ain't it Funny, Runner-Up: Kendrick Lamar The Blacker the Berry
2018: Winner: Jenny Hval Spells (Skinny), Runner-Ups: Jenny Hval Words I Heard (Michael1981), Sons of Kemet My Queen is Harriet Tubman (JimmyDread)
Pandemic ('20-'21): Winner: Adrianne Lenker anything, Runner-Up: Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen Like I Used to
2022: Winner: Big Thief Simulation Swarm, Runner-Up: Billy Woods Asylum
2023: Winner: Blondshell Kiss City, Runner-Up: Daughter Party

And some fun stats for all us aspies (tournaments wins, runner-up placements):

Mercury: 2, 0
Hayden: 1, 3
Skinny: 1, 1
Repo: 1, 0
Kokkinos: 1, 0
MadhattanJack: 1, 0
Revolver94: 0, 1
Michael1981: 0, 1
JimmyDread: 0, 1
Korembi-D: 0, 1
Saoirse: 0, 1

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 07:29:10 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/24/2024 12:29

LTSings wrote:

I am happy to see that one person has voted for one of the songs I picked. I really didn't expect my picks to get even one vote. Now that I see how the game works, maybe I could have a tournament with a style or genre, where I wouldn't be so different from others. Maybe a tournament for favorite covers, or something like that, just for a quick example. I just wonder if others here would participate in something like that.

Yep, that could work.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

LTSings — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 05:57:24 GMT

Author: LTSings

Posted: 12/24/2024 10:57

I am happy to see that one person has voted for one of the songs I picked. I really didn't expect my picks to get even one vote. Now that I see how the game works, maybe I could have a tournament with a style or genre, where I wouldn't be so different from others. Maybe a tournament for favorite covers, or something like that, just for a quick example. I just wonder if others here would participate in something like that.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

LTSings — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 05:50:24 GMT

Author: LTSings

Posted: 12/24/2024 10:50

MadhattanJack wrote:

No offense, but if none of the other forums you've been a member of at least occasionally featured disagreements that resulted in "one thing after another" occurring, then those weren't really internet forums. Those were "echo chambers."

Don't get me started on echo chambers. I used to be on RYM, and it is an echo chamber.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

MadhattanJack — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 05:09:57 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 12/24/2024 10:09

LTSings wrote:

Of course not. That's irrelevant. It's just been one thing after another here on this one ever since I said something here that a certain person disagrees with.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

cestuneblague — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:02:59 GMT

Author: cestuneblague

Posted: 12/24/2024 05:02

I promise I'm not taking shots or excluding anybody if I don't respond right away, it's just the nature of balancing real life with the BEA hobby that posting on here can be inconsistent. Diversity of taste and voices are essential, it's great that we got a variety of music in the tournament, so again would love to see you and any latecomers participate in the tournament that's going on right now.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

LTSings — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 04:51:49 GMT

Author: LTSings

Posted: 12/23/2024 09:51

MadhattanJack wrote:

Is this the first internet forum you've ever been a member of?

Of course not. That's irrelevant. It's just been one thing after another here on this one ever since I said something here that a certain person disagrees with. Deleted posts, locked threads, moving my threads to other boards, and a certain person here just being argumentative with me in general, and now this. None of this was happening to me until dared to say something that someone here doesn't agree with. I had none of these problems before and now it just goes on and on.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

MadhattanJack — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 04:38:32 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 12/23/2024 09:38

LTSings wrote:

It wasn't that I wasn't getting instant gratification, it's that I was being totally ignored. The game's host was responding to the others who posted in the thread but not to me.

Is this the first internet forum you've ever been a member of?

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

LTSings — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 04:21:51 GMT

Author: LTSings

Posted: 12/23/2024 09:21

MadhattanJack wrote:

Look, if we can't have instant gratification, what's the point of having all these computers in the first place? I say we throw them all on the scrap heap as soon as possible.

It wasn't that I wasn't getting instant gratification, it's that I was being totally ignored. The game's host was responding to the others who posted in the thread but not to me.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

MadhattanJack — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 03:45:52 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 12/23/2024 08:45

Look, if we can't have instant gratification, what's the point of having all these computers in the first place? I say we throw them all on the scrap heap as soon as possible.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

cestuneblague — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 17:31:11 GMT

Author: cestuneblague

Posted: 12/22/2024 22:31

No that was my bad I was slow (as usual) to update the nomination list and now they should all be there in the original post, everybody is welcome here.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

LTSings — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:53:29 GMT

Author: LTSings

Posted: 12/22/2024 21:53

baystateoftheart wrote:

Check the first post again. Your songs are in the nominations list, so that means you're not being excluded. Also you're welcome to join the canon game :)

Thank you. the last time I checked the list, I was being excluded and the host of the game wasn't even responding to me. I was being completely ignored. I'll check out the other game you mentioned.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

baystateoftheart — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:09:34 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 12/22/2024 21:09

LTSings wrote:

Does anyone here know of any games I could participate in? I am being excluded from a game because my taste is different from others. I didn't expect the songs I picked to do well here, but I didn't expect to be excluded all together and for the host of the game to just ignore me. I was interested in seeing how the game worked too, since I'd never participated in one. I'd appreciate it if someone here can let me know of any games here that I can participate in.

Check the first post again. Your songs are in the nominations list, so that means you're not being excluded. Also you're welcome to join the canon game 😄

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

LTSings — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:01:04 GMT

Author: LTSings

Posted: 12/22/2024 21:01

Does anyone here know of any games I could participate in? I am being excluded from a game because my taste is different from others. I didn't expect the songs I picked to do well here, but I didn't expect to be excluded all together and for the host of the game to just ignore me. I was interested in seeing how the game worked too, since I'd never participated in one. I'd appreciate it if someone here can let me know of any games here that I can participate in.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

Romanelli — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 13:12:31 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 10/19/2024 17:12

baystateoftheart wrote:

In the meantime, while we wait for someone to create a tournament, I'd like to invite everyone reading this to join the canon game (now added to my signature). It has been one of the most fun aspects of my time on BEA, but it's been a little less active lately.

The beauty of this game is that because you choose the list your assigned albums are drawn from, everyone can play, whether you listen to CDs or streaming, and whether you're looking to push out of your comfort zone or stay firmly within it.

So come one, come all!

These are always interesting to read, and it always looks like a great way to add new music to your sphere. I've been more of a lurker on these for years, but maybe it's time to jump in and make a go of it!

Thanks for posting this. Well worth checking out!

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

baystateoftheart — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 11:06:40 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 10/19/2024 15:06

In the meantime, while we wait for someone to create a tournament, I'd like to invite everyone reading this to join the canon game (now added to my signature). It has been one of the most fun aspects of my time on BEA, but it's been a little less active lately.

The beauty of this game is that because you choose the list your assigned albums are drawn from, everyone can play, whether you listen to CDs or streaming, and whether you're looking to push out of your comfort zone or stay firmly within it.

So come one, come all!

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

Romanelli — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 09:54:51 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 10/19/2024 13:54

MadhattanJack wrote:

Has anyone here ever suggested playing Six Degrees of Brian Eno? It can be a bit challenging, but it doesn't have to be Brian Eno each time, and we could add a rule that the collaboration (or whatever) has to be on an album already listed on BEA, if that helps. So that would mean no singles or EPs except for The Weight Of History / Only Once Away My Son, which I guess is the exception that proves the rule or something.

To me, the problem with forum-based games on BEA is that the obvious solution, namely trivia contests, are kind of ruined by the existence of Discogs and Allmusic, among other sites that can be used to answer almost any trivia question within seconds.

The only other idea I thought of was the "Album-Cover Egg Hunt," where someone names an object (preferably something fairly generic, like "recreational vehicle" or "person with angel wings") and players then post albums listed on BEA whose covers depict the object, and... eventually someone turns the resulting list into a chart? Maybe points could be awarded somehow? I'm not sure how to decide winners and losers for something like that, but the word games folks are playing now don't really have winners and losers either. Anyway, the downside to that might be that people could hit the servers pretty hard, loading all those album covers looking for the object(s) in question. (Maybe there could be a time limit.)

(Apologies if these have already been suggested, natch.)

The thing with the Brian Eno game is that it's not really a game, and after a short while, you start ending up with the same answers...and as you saw, you also get a lot of people simply dropping a single name...which adds nothing to anything. The second thing is that it died really quickly, and like all six degrees games, runs out of gas fast. (My favorite was Six Degress Of Cookie Rojas, in which it was possible to tie MLB players from pre-Babe Ruth days to a decent but unremarkable player from the 60's and 70's, who also managed briefly but enough in the 80's and 90's. But even that became dull after you did it once, maybe twice.) Also, I find it MASSIVELY INSULTING that the OP did not mention BEA alongside Discogs & RYM as informational sources. Post A Picture Of This is basically the same as Post A Word...it doesn't require much, and as you said...where is the conclusion? How is a winner determined? Does it simply keep going forever?

That single you mentioned...some do fall through the cracks. They get fixed when found.

The games that tend to really work on BEA are ones that involve people as nominating, campaigning for favorites, discussing, and taking the time to actually immerse themselves into it, whether it be listening to an album or watching a film. Then, the items going head to head and advancing via user votes. Actual winners are determined by the group as a whole. The games that involve actual thinking and stages become interesting for their duration, even to those that choose not to participate. (I always find the film games very interesting and fun, but I don't participate, simply because my time for films is very limited, and I'm not the best at rating, ranking and critiquing them.) What I DO take away from these is some knowledge that I can use to choose films to watch in the future, and maybe an improved way of looking at them when I do.

These are the types of things that, as AM has stated, the Games forum was made for. We haven't seen one in a bit, but when there's even just one tournament going, that forum is pretty fun and entertaining.

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

MadhattanJack — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 23:11:26 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 10/19/2024 03:11

Has anyone here ever suggested playing Six Degrees of Brian Eno? It can be a bit challenging, but it doesn't have to be Brian Eno each time, and we could add a rule that the collaboration (or whatever) has to be on an album already listed on BEA, if that helps. So that would mean no singles or EPs except for The Weight Of History / Only Once Away My Son, which I guess is the exception that proves the rule or something.

To me, the problem with forum-based games on BEA is that the obvious solution, namely trivia contests, are kind of ruined by the existence of Discogs and Allmusic, among other sites that can be used to answer almost any trivia question within seconds.

The only other idea I thought of was the "Album-Cover Egg Hunt," where someone names an object (preferably something fairly generic, like "recreational vehicle" or "person with angel wings") and players then post albums listed on BEA whose covers depict the object, and... eventually someone turns the resulting list into a chart? Maybe points could be awarded somehow? I'm not sure how to decide winners and losers for something like that, but the word games folks are playing now don't really have winners and losers either. Anyway, the downside to that might be that people could hit the servers pretty hard, loading all those album covers looking for the object(s) in question. (Maybe there could be a time limit.)

(Apologies if these have already been suggested, natch.)

Re: The Tournaments Forum Suggestions Thread

albummaster — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 06:36:33 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 10/18/2024 10:36

LedZep wrote:

baystateoftheart wrote:

As someone who organized several tournaments, I would love to see them make a comeback. I'll say from experience, if you PM enough users as the organizer, you can go pretty far above the baseline level of forum activity.

It's definitely important to keep the structure and scale manageable, and ensure that you can follow through as the organizer. There's been several that tailed off into nothingness for those reasons.

Yeah, agreed. The tournaments should make a comeback. They were the most interesting thing on the forums, imo.

tournaments were why the Games forum was originally created, but has now been drowned by word games which don't really fit the site very well. Low engagement apart from the few that post in them (personally actively avoid them as find them a bit cringe), points harvesting whether true or not, but definitely low quality posts which are not really related to albums in the wider sense and crowding other stuff out that could appear here instead.

If we don't check the number of word games now, they could quite easily proliferate with no rules to govern them (4(?) plus threads already), so I think going forwards we should knock them on the head (disallow them), wait for the fall out and then continue with tournaments organised by whoever wants to do them (wish I had enough time, but got my hands full trying to keep the site going). Yes, hosting is expensive and certainly don't want to be paying to keep stuff going like that.