Sounds of 2014: Nos. 85 to 81

Guess what, folks, it's time for another peek into the songs that were shaking the fandom a decade ago. That's right, we're back with the 2014 edition of the Equestrian Top 100. First up, the usual reminder of my criteria for inclusion in this series:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion.

The first three editions of "Sounds of 2014" had no skipped entries at all. This time, we're not so lucky. I did have to think about one song before deciding it justified a Rule 3 application, as you'll read below. The final entry, though, I felt fell the wrong side of the line, so it's not here. Sorry! Here's the list:

85: General Mumble – Couldn't You Just Simply Die?
84: Forest Rain – Nightmare Night
83: Sim Gretina, EileMonty & Copper – Moving On (cover)
82: Turquoise Splash & Megaphoric ft. Joaftheloaf – The Twilight Will Rise
81: skipped

As usual, if you come with me beyond the jump break, you'll get a YouTube embed of the relevant songs, together with a paragraph of my comments and thoughts about each of them.

85: General Mumble – Couldn't You Just Simply Die?

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 26 Sep 2012
Yes, 2012. This song now findable at Mumble Etc. clearly had quite some staying power! Of course, it may have been boosted by a later PMV or something,¹ but I don't know. The expected combination of strong beats, electronica and distorted sampled vocals (in this case from "Art of the Dress") adds up to a track which overcomes my usual lack of enthusiasm for this kind of thing and really sticks in my head. You can pick it up in HQ for £1 on the General Mumble Bandcamp... but oddly enough, The Headless Horse EP it forms part of is available on a name-your-price basis!
¹ Maybe Richard Braintree's "Fabrics and lay figures" one from July 2013?

84: Forest Rain – Nightmare Night

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 1 Nov 2013
For the second "Sounds of 2014" post running I'm featuring Forest Rain, but this "Nightmare Night" is quite a departure from her "On Our Way" from last time. First it must be emphasised that this is not the hugely popular song of the same name by WoodenToaster. It's a hard rock/metal song released at a very appropriate time of the year. The lyrics are by Cyril the Wolf, who appears to still be at least sporadically active. Apparently Forest Rain was going for an Avenged Sevenfold sort of sound here. This isn't my genre, so I can't judge much, but I think it's a good, listenable song – even if maybe Forest Rain doesn't quite have a rough-edged enough voice for this kind of thing. Buy it for $1 on her Bandcamp.

83: Sim Gretina, EileMonty & Copper – Moving On (cover)

Rule 3
The first time in the 2014 series where I'm invoking Rule 3. This excellent cover of a very catchy song has been up and down from the artists' official accounts several times, and I think it remains sufficiently well known and recognisable to this day. Besides, I already featured it in "Sounds of 2013" almost four years ago, so I'm not adding any info today that hasn't been up on Louder Yay for ages. Sim Gretina, EileMonty and Copper [no known YT link] were apparently concerned that the cover might overshadow TwentyTen's original, in a "Discord" kind of way. Thoughtful of them, but I think both versions have their own appeal. Perhaps unsurprisingly given this backstory, there's no official HQ link for the version I'm posting here.

82: Turquoise Splash & Megaphoric ft. Joaftheloaf

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 14 Aug 2014
Back to more straightforward pop now, albeit a song I've really liked for a long time and wish was still played more often. This track about Twilight's apprehension about her still-new role as an alicorn princess may well be the still-active Turquoise Splash's most popular. It absolutely doesn't hurt that the strong-voiced Megaphoric does such a fine job with the vocals, while Joaftheloaf's instrumentals are also well considered. (Neither of those two still post.) Sure the song's message is dated now, but I think it's aged quite well. Want it in HQ? You can have it! Pick it up for $1 on Turquoise Splash's Bandcamp.

81: skipped