- No stars: Brian, listen to this song and rate it already!
- One star: Delete this song later. You wish to hear it never again!
- Two stars: Reserved for songs that wouldn’t make sense if played for a party. This includes comedy sketches, novelty songs, holiday songs, weird inner tracks, etc.
- Three stars: This is a meat and potatoes song. Most songs get this. I’ve listened to this song and say, “you make the grade.”
- Four stars: This song is a great example of what the band can produce. Every band from whom I buy a whole album should have at least one four star song.
- Five stars: This is a great song. Maybe lifechanging. It not be any better than a four star song. In fact, it may be kind of weird (e.g. “Thirty Thousand Feet of Despair” by the Flaming Lips) but it connects with me personally.
(Some influence has been taken from how Lance once described his system.)