Rank It Out: A Florence and the Machine RD - Revealing!

[Tim]

Thanks for hosting this Albie! I really enjoyed your commentary as well as the background stories behind how the songs came to be.

[Albie]

Jun 25, 2018 19:06:03 GMT -5 Rose Wintur said:

Jun 25, 2018 19:03:23 GMT -5 Linnethia Monique said:

The versatility of this song is just on a whole other level.

LOVE!

I can't think of another song with such a different remix where both are on such levels of perfection as Shake It Off. The original is perfect. The Weeknd remix is perfect.

she's the queen of taste! Florence is how I discovered the Weeknd when he opened for her on the Ceremonials tour.

[Daryl the Beryl]

Great winner. Through this rankdown, I discovered several great discoveries, some which made my top 10.

Thanks for hosting, Albie!

[Az Paynter]

So uhh... am I double banned because my #1 beat your #1, Slappy?

[recordyear]

I didn't comment on this rankdown for a few days because my Internet has been shut down and my mobile network is being slow
Anyway want to say something on a few songs.

Blinding -- Can't believe you guys let boring song that is St. Jude to beat this gem. The gasp in the ending is great! And I like her darker songs the most.

Lover to Lover -- She really unleashed herself in this one, especially the string of lyrics towards the end.

Seven Devils -- Took quite a time to grow on this one. Felt the vocal layering in final chorus a bit messy. Eventually can see its "strangeness and charm".

Mother -- Now that I think about it, quite a few country albums also have this "psychedelic-leaning" finale. However this is still one of the best, especially when it is placed after the snoozer which is St. Jude. The pure energy in this one is unresistable.

Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) -- Yikes at this already out at #17. Her perception towards fame shows she's awake and this guides her to be an indie rock/baroque pop queen! Clearly doesn't deserve a #38 and #43 ranking.

Hunger -- Maybe it will grow on me when I listened to the album in full, but right now it feels like lack of something. I missed her colorful arrangement tbh. (Big God is definitely better than this btw)

Drumming Song -- Yeah the focus of drums here is expected. It did the tension and anxiety feeling well. That's what matters.

Heavy in Your Arms -- Should have been top 10. Maybe I like her emotion expression here.

Only If For a Night - Sorry but even though Seven Devils grew on me, this song never did and I usually started Ceremonials right from Shake It Out lol. Rihanna's sample actually makes the song more bearable, but this song is just too boring and lacks a climax for me.

Spectrum (Calvin Harris remix) -- As I may have said befote I like the original better due to more live instrumentals. This version is just basic Calvin Harris work at that time (just like basic deep house songs in UK chart at that time...). At least it is a #1 on chart.

What the Water Gave Me -- What a fully stuffed song. The pre-chorus gave me chills almost every time.

No Light, No Light -- that note though...! Vocal queen confirmed

Quite surprised that Dog Days Are Over didn't win this. But as Glove Slap said, this is probably her most overused song, featureing in quite a lot of singing competitions to belt the vocal like her. Still doesn't change the fact that song is great.
Shake It Out may be sappy but I buy this. Also the high-low vocal layering in the end makes it ethereal.

Thanks for hosting the rankdown Albie . Your dedication on song background and chart histories is a success!

[Juanca]

35. Breath of Life (23): I'm always excited for dramatic, epic songs like this one Good discovery, although it had potential to be even stronger
34. My Boy Builds Coffins (26): This was more indie, simple pop sounding, which I liked quite a bit to balance out the more complex sounds of other songs.
33. Between Two Lungs (25): Also more simple, indie, harmonious pop, plus I really like how she plays with her voice here (which is not always the case)
32. Strangeness and Charm (40): This goes to her more dramatic side ala BoL and I could've ranked it higher, but this is an example of a song where I dislike how she sounds I especially dislike the annoying cat sounds she makes halfway through the song and the sort of falsettos in the chorus that make me mad and annoyed lol
31. Wish You Were Here (21): Boo... I assumed that a soundtrack song would not reach the top half, but I do like this more traditional ballad type of song from F+TM, and the classic-lite instrumentation.

30. Sky Full of Song (39): Interesting, but sounds more like a poem than a song and gets a bit boring
29. Too Much Is Never Enough (22): This song kept beating rivals and even though I initially had it in my possible bottom 10 (as her voice in the pre-chorus tests the limits of my like-dislike zone), but it ended up being a grower to me... the chorus and the verses are lovely though, and I managed to get the strong in crescendo pre-chorus
28. Swimming (19): I wasn't sure where to rank this, so I may have over-ranked it a bit due to the strings and the strong chorus...
27. Blinding (31): Solid instrumentation here, but the melody is a bit underwhelming
26. St. Jude (43): Similar to Sky Full of Song, but even more boring to me

25. Kiss with a Fist (35): This was a strong candidate for my bottom 5... the lyrics and vibe were annoying at first, but I got progressively more into them.
24. Heartiness (12): NOOO!!!! I loved the instrumentation and the positive, euphoric chorus. I liked this as soon as I heard it for this RD.
23. Breaking Down (29): I've grown to like it a bit more since I did the RD, so good to see it this high. This sounds like 80s
22. Third Eye (9): My first top 10 loss with this one. I really liked the combo of the slow verses and strong, drum/clappy, layered chorus.
21. Lover to Lover (28): A strong song that I could've ranked higher, but the craziness of the music, background vocals and lead wailing in parts of the last minute was a turn-off for me.

[Juanca]

20. Seven Devils (33): It's an interesting and a bit darker tune, but the overall melody didn't really convince me...
19. Mother (45): This one just didn't connect with me at all, and I don't know why. I guess it's a grower. Now that I listened to it again, I think I under-ranked it and gave up too quickly on it. Oops! With more patience it'd likely been around #35... in any case, I cleared my bottom 18 with this one
18. Delilah (17): Almost Perfect Ranking!! This is the type of music I like hearing from F+TM. Slow beginning leading to a much more dynamic and high-emergy second part with drums, strings and layered vocals
17. Rabbit Heart (6): This was amongst the 3 first songs I heard for this RD --and convinced me to do this! I loved it at first listen. Loved the layered vocals, the dance but pop chorus and the "raise it up!" vocals that remind me of 80s music Sad to see it leave now (
16. Hunger (14): This was amongst the handful of songs that were not discoveries for me, as I listened to it first in The Voice --and I really liked it, as it also had some good 80s vibe, but I just feel it's not as strong as other in this RD.

15. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (24): I didn't like it much when it was first released, but I've grown to like it more with time. I think at this point it's clear that I prefer 80s- than 70s-sounding F+TM.
14. Drumming Song (16): Yeah, the 11-20 zone was tough to rank. The drums, layered vocals, energy are great in this one.
13. Heavy in Your Arms (10): This was another of the discoveries that convinced me to do this RD. The strings, drums and layered vocals made a quite hypnotic first listen to me, and the chorus got stuck in my head ever and I still find myself singing to it randomly lol
12. Queen of Peace (7): Come ON!!! Really strong pop melody here, and I LOVE the instrumentation and beat here.
11. Only If For a Night (20): Good one, just don't feel a strongly as with other songs..

[Juanca]

For the Top 10, I'm just hoping my #27 doesn't make top 5

10. Spectrum (3): I liked this one a lot in its original version, and then I LOVED the remix. I'm just a sucker for dance or electronic music with semi-operatic, dramatic vocals like this one. It's such a special treat, just like I adore some songs by Sarah Brighten that have this type of combo. To me the Remix is definitely one of the best EDM songs of the past 10 years

9. Never Let Me Go (15): A serious top 10 contender, as I appreciate its more goth, dark, Enya-like vibes with pretty good vocals. It may be in my top 10 now...

8. You've Got the Love (18): I also like this dance tune, but it just doesn't go as hard as Spectrum

7. Cosmic Love (11): Love the instrumentation and vocals here.

6. What Kind of Man (8): Another song that reminisces of 80s music, and that goes pretty hard. Like the rock-er vibe of this one for F+TM

5. What the Water Gave Me (27): Not a bad song, but I just felt that it was incomplete.... the verses are nice, and the chorus sounds more like a pre-chorus that makes me ready for something stronger that never comes. It's just a bit too flat and bland for me to have it in my top 20... and I haven't changed my mind after hearing it again today

4. Ship To Wreck (4): P-P-P-PERFECT RANKING!! Loved this one. Very Fleetwood Mac-y with strong instrumentation and vocals. My favorite discovery of this RD.

3. No Light, No Light (5): And this was my second fav discovery. Loved the epic instrumentation and vocals here.

2. Dog Days Are Over (2): I loved this song since I first heard it, and I still love it. It's just so different, dynamic, magical, and strong...

1. Shake It Out (1): And this one is perfection! Another song I loved since I first listened to it. It's like a perfect song from the intro to the instrumentation to the crescendo in the bridge and then the last minute is a bliss. Deserved winner -and runner-up!!


Thanks, Albie for hosting -and for delaying the start of this RD which allowed me to finish it and discover A LOT of good songs. Now, I'll make sure to get F+TM albums pretty soon!