Better use lube (In the Tank reviews)

[Märk]

I don't even know what that means.

[Leaf]

Sure you don't.

[Spud]

It really pained me to mark this thread sticky.

[Denyer]

ITT reviews ITT

[Märk]

Woah! Huge fight!

[MC wreckshin]

Woah! Huge fight!

lol kind of ironic considering the dream i had last night where only 4 ppl entered. i don't know why im having dreams about songfight but i do know this... you should have used this as the "In The Tank" art:

[Spud]

You have to send in the art before the fight is posted. Next time, go here:

http://www.songfight.org/submitcover.php

SPUD

[Caravan Ray]

Great cover art Rabs.

[PiGPEN]

jeez...lot of songs.
and everyone did a song about the recession.....and next week is gonna be about it too.

[jast]

Hey, that's quite a lot of reviews to have to write. Quite a lot of favourable reviews, too. Here goes.

Andrew Reist -- Mmm, crunchy! I like quite a few things about this. The solo, for example, nice sound. And to me the guitar performance sounds ace, but what do I know. The backup vocals sound a bit held back (lead too, but only occasionally). All in all the song doesn't stick in my mind after first listen but it's good in all the other ways and something to listen to again. Vote!

Boltoph -- That's a really cool intro but the really artificial-sounding vocal fades ruin it a bit for me. The crunchy bits are mixed in a bit weirdly, bit tiresome to listen to with headphones. I don't know if it's because of some ultra-short reverb/delay (is there any? I can't tell) or just because it's panned rather strongly. Still, great performance and definitely not desperately mainstreamy. Something I'd listen to again. Vote!

The Chadderandom Abyss -- Either this is meant to be really artsy or the vocals and accompaniment were done by different bands and then randomly mixed together. Either way, I'm too stupid to understand it, so no cookie.

Chumlords -- Genre bias! What turns me off the most is the severely bit-crushed vocals. I guess this would be a good song in many ways if I could like it.

The Comhuskers -- I think you overdid on the artificial sound aging. It's almost painful on headphones. I guess it's a nice little song other than that, though I'm not convinced by the falsetto part. Still... oh, hell, I have to stop listening, I'm getting a headache. Sorry.

Erotic Pizza Party -- Phew, no more crackle. Genre bias! I'm not the right person to review this.

Ford's Theater Disaster -- I'm not the right person to review this either.

The Hand Formula -- The, uh, instrument, this starts out with is not an instrument. The others are, barely. I hear several timing issues. On the other hand, this song sets itself apart from others I've heard from you. A bit of variety is always good. I guess the bottom line is: you're getting better but please work on a couple of aspects of performing. You owe it to your songwriting.

thehipcola -- Genre bias, but... wheee! Effects, packed lyrics, some nifty singing, attention to details in the arrangement, variety-in-a-box... fun. You get a vote for innovation.

Jan Krueger -- Yay, another so-so performance. Still, I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't gone with this idea. I did the bulk of the recording on Wednesday, I think, and refined only the things that weren't too much work after that. Makes the cobbling together a lot more fun. And the song isn't even about the recession. Take that, PiGPEN!

Jeff Robertson and the Neo-Candylanders -- Fun little song. Just flows along, no rough edges, great arrangement, and with cute lyrics too. The vocals are quite a bit better than in the other songs of yours that I've reviewed. Keep up the good work. Vote!

Leaf 62 -- Genre bias! I like the arrangement though.

Max The Cat -- Damn, you beat me to an all-vocal submission. I originally planned to do one for this fight but it didn't arrange well for my song. Cute little song and I think the lyrics are cool, too, but my standards for a cappella music are normally higher. The bass line makes up for a lot, though. Oh, and by the way, absolutely no clearing your throat during performances!

MC Eric B -- Great lyrics. You already know the song is solid (though MIDI-y), and the usual comments about the vocals apply, though it's good to hear a bit more power in the chorus. Still... oh well.

Melvin -- Genre bias! It's no surprise that the song is done well, but it's comparably bland. Shame, because even I can make out the lyrics and they're fairly nifty.

The North American Self-Assurance -- Great sound. While this song is pretty cool, I think the chorus falls a bit short of the rest. More vocal power in there would have been pretty cool, for example. Anyway, it still works this way, so: vote!

PiGPEN -- I've hinted at it before; I think your instrumentation sounds mechanical (if this isn't deliberate, I suggest shopping for more free virtual instruments) and it's particularly so due to the staccato. If I look past that (and I can because the song is nice), the real weak point is... vocals. A shame because otherwise this is a great listen.

Plankton -- Twelve seconds. Upload fail?

Professor Obscure, MC -- Genre bias! I can see how the lyrics and the arrangement work together but it's still annoying. I'll prefer chiptune over this any day.

R. Mosquito -- The mix is a lot better this time, though I think the various guitar tracks are stuck in the same frequency region, resulting in a gooey mix of mid/high-frequency stuff. EQing might help with pulling the tracks apart a bit, unless you prefer it this way, of course. I don't. Growling bias, no further comments.

Ross Durand -- Great take on the title. The lyrics almost deserve a vote on their own (but you think you've got it bad? Check out the gas prices over here...). With the effortless sounding performance to a song that could've been by one of the old grandmasters of songwriting, I can't not vote for this.

SomeGuyCalledNoel -- Back at 44 KHz, I hear. I found your previous two songs more interesting but this one's certainly not bad either. Lots of slide guitar goodness, too. There's some noise in vocal pauses though (mouse clicks, movements etc.). Almost any recording environment (even Audacity) should allow you to get rid of those. Good thing I'm lenient with songs I like, eh? Vote!

Steve Durand -- Fun little song. It would be even better with a bit more vocal practice. For example, the topmost backup vocal harmony in the chorus sounds like el-cheapo falsetto, though this could have easily been hidden by turning it down just a little bit. Vocals in verses are sometimes slightly flat. If I look past that, a vote is mandatory.

Sven Mullet -- Genre bias! It's done quite well, though.

the testtests -- Detuned guitar and occasionally flat vocals. You know I have to give you minus points for that. The song itself is quite nice, though. Your homework is to record this again. Oh, and the fadeout is brutal.

tnk08 -- I don't consider this a song. Background track, perhaps. Sorry and all that.

Todd McHatton -- Is that clipping I hear? You are slipping, I fear! (Sorry, won't do that again.) Other than that, well, it's another Todd song. It's still a vote but this time I actually had to think about it. I'm holding you to a rather high standard already.

Tollbooth Jamboree -- It's certainly clear you know how to play the guitar. That vocal sample, though? Sounds like it got slowed down and wasn't particularly pleasing to listen to even before that. It might be a fun song but no lyrics means minus points and that vocal sample (and what you're doing to it) means heaps more of them.

Tonetripper -- Screaming bias! Good performance though. Are those accidentally mic'd noises in the almost silent bit after the first chorus?

The Weakest Suit -- Standard G&G song. The strong point here are the lyrics (the "tank instead of the bank" thing in particular), as far as I can make them out. The melody works well with them, though. Oh, and thanks for not fading out prematurely. A bit of vocal training would probably make the higher notes happy. I'm afraid you don't get quite as many stars as some of the others I voted for. Hidden message, wink wink.

WeerSkrood -- Singing and talking at the same? Multi-layered? I'm no fan of what I like to call modern art. No cookie.

So that's a whopping ten votes: Andrew Reist, Boltoph, thehipcola, Jeff Robertson and the Neo-Candylanders, The North American Self-Assurance, Ross Durand, SomeGuyCalledNoel, Steve Durand, Todd McHatton, The Weakest Suit. If you believe that that's too many, feel free to sue me. I'll plead not guilty due to an unusually awesome fight.

[tonetripper]

jeez...lot of songs.
and everyone did a song about the recession.....and next week is gonna be about it too.

My version wasn't about the recession. Just about some guy in an army tank wanting to get back home.

Tonetripper -- Screaming bias! Good performance though. Are those accidentally mic'd noises in the almost silent bit after the first chorus?

Ya they are accidentally mic'd noises. I lost time on the mix for this tune as I literally crammed it in before the actual deadline. I woke up at 3 in the morning before the due date and wrote and recorded it, so there are certain aspects of the tune that I would have tweaked. Especially in the mix area. However, for some reason I just don't want to tweak it. It's kind of an all in one performance. Every part is recorded in one take. Kind of balls to the walls recording. Sometimes some songs just need to be left after completion and this may be one of them, or maybe it'll be one that will be covered by someone else and completely expanded on. I kind of hear a collaboration with Jute Gyte on this one.

[PiGPEN]

*didnt actually listen to all the songs before i generalized 31 songs*
.....i just managed to listen to 2 songs that fit that first (not including mine).

[max the cat]

my standards for a cappella music are normally higher.

Mine too. Got the idea Sat. Had no time to massage.
Max

[boltoph]

Boltoph -- That's a really cool intro but the really artificial-sounding vocal fades ruin it a bit for me. The crunchy bits are mixed in a bit weirdly, bit tiresome to listen to with headphones. I don't know if it's because of some ultra-short reverb/delay (is there any? I can't tell) or just because it's panned rather strongly.

Thanks, jast!
I figure it's worth noting, as artificial as the vocal fades may sound, they're actually for-real; not fades, they're fully sung, quiet --> loud singing. And yes, I didn't have time to redo the distorted guitars right n' proper, so what yer hearing there is an attempt at getting the one "demo" guitar to sound panned by phase switching one side and doing some other weird shit to it. Not to worry though, I'll be working the tune some more and will rerecord those guitars and also make a few other changes to the mix, sometime this week. Just didn't have the time to get it really done right and still get it into the fight.

[jast]

Sometimes some songs just need to be left after completion and this may be one of them

Fair enough. I've got some songs cooking that I have been fiddling with for more than a year and I'm still not satisfied. I should have published them a lot earlier, perhaps I'll just start over or something.

Mine too. Got the idea Sat. Had no time to massage.

Fair enough. Looking forward to whatever else you'll come up in future fights. Especially a cappella. I like a cappella.

I figure it's worth noting, as artificial as the vocal fades may sound, they're actually for-real; not fades, they're fully sung, quiet --> loud singing.

Fair enough, well done, but even so I didn't like it. I'm picky like that.

so what yer hearing there is an attempt at getting the one "demo" guitar to sound panned by phase switching one side and doing some other weird shit to it.

I find that phase-switching doesn't make things better. What I normally do for fake doubling is take a very short delay (no feedback, -0dB) and pan it somewhere different from the original. Since it depends a lot on the source material how that sounds, it's really worthwhile going through, say, 4 ms to 20 ms in 1 ms steps. The sound changes with each millisecond added, sometimes rather strongly. Real takes still sound a lot better, but since you were obviously planning to do those I guess I don't need to sell that idea to you.

[jeff robertson]

The most convincing fake doubling is to take the guitar part from second verse and overlay on top of the first verse, and vice versa. I call it "desheading" becuase Deshead gave the best description of it on his blog.

Try it panned left and right and with different effects on each track.

[Ross]

The most convincing fake doubling is to take the guitar part from second verse and overlay on top of the first verse, and vice versa. I call it "desheading" becuase Deshead gave the best description of it on his blog.

Try it panned left and right and with different effects on each track.

That is, of course, assuming you don't change anything essential about the rhythm playing between the two verses for arrangement's sake.

[Märk]

Sven Mullet -- Genre bias! It's done quite well, though.

What genre would that be?

[reve]

The most convincing fake doubling is to take the guitar part from second verse and overlay on top of the first verse, and vice versa. I call it "desheading" becuase Deshead gave the best description of it on his blog.

Try it panned left and right and with different effects on each track.

Cut + Paste = Awesome. I can't remember the last time I actually doubled something & didn't just use what I will henceforth refer to as "desheading."

[jast]

What genre would that be?

You caught me; I can't actually tell genres apart. So perhaps what I meant was that it's not my kind of music.

[thehipcola]

First set, more to come, laptop speakers unfortunately.



The Hand Formula
Digs: I like the squidgy electronic stuff throughout. Even the vibra/xylo thing sounds nice, as in decently recorded. It got my attention, nice percussive sound, and if you recorded it, great job capturing it.
Don'ts: The toy keyboard which happens to make the rest of the music, kind of grates on me after awhile. I'm hoping for a guitar, piano, something other than casio-tron. Note, the third note you play with this device is off time, and it sounds really sloppy. I think you could have re-recorded it until you got the first 4 bars of that part perfect, and the rest hides behind vocals.
overall: Nothing offensive here, but overall nothing at all grabs me in any way. Lyrically it seems as though you really had difficulty, or maybe I'm just not feeling your lyrical style, because it's nonsense. Which isn't always bad...many great songs are all inside jokes, references to things the listener couldn't possibly "get". This just isn't one of them.

The Chadderandom Abyss
Digs:
Don'ts:
Overall: I can't really bring myself to comment on this work of "art". Some things I just don't get. Everything I can think of to say is really unpleasant. I'm calling genre bias. Which is to say, I don't like turdcore.

Leaf Sixty Two
Digs: EVERYTHING. I also have to note the crazy intervals those intro lead guitars are playing, awesome. The drum programming is awesome on this tune. It sounds really real.
Don'ts: can't make out the intro sample very well.
Overall: I find all of your music to be really satisfying. This track moves to the top 3, and might usurp your Butterfly Massacre. I love the vocals in this track, the different characters. Your multi-instrumentalist skills are well represented here, and I'm always impressed with that. It's one thing to play different instruments, another to play them all with a convincing voice. Great structure, song dynamics. Awesome track, definitely in my ipod, possible vote.

Tollbooth Jamboree
Digs: Nice guitar sounds off the top! Thankfully very short.
Don'ts: well...do I have to say? You and the Chadderandom Abysmalism should collab on something.
Overall: Had me at 'Hello", but goodbye came pretty quickly after that.


R. Mosquito
Digs: METAL!
Don'ts: for me this tune would kick ass if the mix was a little better, guitar parts a little more distinct.
overall: I really don't mind this at all. It's going on my ipod.

Max The Cat
Digs: great lyrics, great delivery. I love the backing, "dow dow dow, the dow dow is down." Awesome! Nice to hear Max the Cat slammin' it.
Don'ts: Just being picky here, couple of lines were a bit loose, I heard a throat clearing in there somewhere.
overall: this goes on the ipod, I liked it alot. it's in the vote pool.

Andrew Reist
Do's: right on, another rockin' tune. I like the vibe. Starts and stops feel great. Guitar tone is snotty and thick, which I also like.
Don'ts: sometimes the vocals don't quite hit the mark when the doubles aren't tight. Same with the guitar playing, but I'm being picky. For me to really love this kind of hard rock, it has to be a bit closer to awesome execution. I think your lead vocal tracks could use a little more attention in the mix to make them really shine.
Overall: I think this is a good song. I wish more production-ish things had been done with the main riff's end bit and the mix overall. I find it to be competent with the rock, but it doesn't seem memorable to me. With a bit of tightening up in the vocals and the guitar, and a bit more of a production focus, it'd really stand out for me. Great work though!

SomeGuyCalledChristmas
Do's: nice clear singing, nice vocal sound. do you have an accent? it's subtle, but gets my attention. Slide guitar part(s) is awesome.
Don'ts: you know, the mouth-saliva noise in between the first and second verse, maybe rolling around the candy or gum in your mouth, and the big sigh, all of that sucks. It's a big stain on an otherwise nice piece of music. I'm sure this took you at least an hour to make, perhaps many more, so spend the few moments it would take to edit that stuff out. I think the vocals are maybe just a bit too loud.
Overall: This is quite a nice piece of music. Too bad about the candy-sucking or whatever that was. It would sound excellent with another instrument to help support the melody with some padding. It's nice, but not going on my ipod for saliva reasons....it just puts my ears to close to your mouth.

[thehipcola]

well, alrighty then....I'll just throw a few more in here since everyone else is still diggin' out......

The North American Self-Assurance
Digs: I like the sounds! The intro retro-keys is sweet. I like the descending progression, great lead guitar work. Great mix.
Don’ts: I want the chorus to really bang out, but it doesn’t. Sometimes the lead vox get lost in the mix. The ending didn’t really feel right to me.
Overall: This track is pretty killer, and I’m shoving it into my ipod right now. The song is well executed, the performances are great, the song itself is pretty good in terms of creativity. The ending felt like a cop-out to me, but I'm being picky. This gets into the vote group. Nice work!

tnk08
Digs: great background music
Don’ts: throwing a mic in front of your favourite tv or radio talk show is a bit weak for a SONGfight.
Overall: I smell a supergroup coming on.... Abysmal Chadder/Tollbooth Gymborwheee/tnk08 .


Tonetripper
Digs: All of it. LOVE the Rocket tone. Really dig the minimalist metal edge.
Dont’s: not much to gripe about here.
Overall: I really really like the sparseness of this tune. Not overly flashy, where I tend to over-flash my own work. Kind of refreshing that way. This finds a home on the ipod. In the vote pool. Ending could have rocked a bit differently. 

PiGPEN
Digs: Nice clear mix, I like the intro. Anyone ever tell you have a Billy Corgan-esque singing voice? I like the chorus musically...and what you try to do with the vocals in it.
Don’ts: Lack of precision in the vocal pitch is distracting..the chorus doesn’t quite hit.
Overall: The musical motif with the arp string thing gets a bit long in the end, the song could use another part, or at least another instrument coming in to help develop what you’ve got and keep interest. Vocals are not the strongest part of this song, but they have a character that I kind of dig. Pretty good work here. Not finished enough for my ipod, but I dug it all the same.

Professor Obscure, MC
Do’s: I can hear everything in the mix.
Don’ts: Video-gamey sounds that never stop. Nothing new in the arrangement other than the main loop. Vocals are so low-key they almost don’t care, which makes me not care.
Overall: Ok, you can put together a decent loop. You have a bit of musical sense, ‘cuz the loop’s music is...without overstating it too much...musical? And you can place your voice so it’s intelligible in a mix. Why not use all of those things, really bust out of this mediocre thing you’ve done, and push it hard. If you had some emotion in your vocals, I might have cared to listen harder. If you tried a bit harder to vary the music, to add some interest, I might have been into it more. Just my 2 cents.


------------------------

A few more reviews:

Steve Durand
Digs: It sounds to me like this is the real deal. Love the “In the tank” backups. The banjo is a very nice touch, lends great authenticity to this song steeped in genre. The ooh’s are fabulous, and I love the space they have in the mix.
Don’ts: Everything I have for the don’ts stem from the fact that I don’t really care for this kind of music personally. Nothing to criticize beyond that so I’m staying out.
Overall: Not for my ipod, but great job!. Since I don’t care for the kind of music, it’s not likely to get my vote, but it goes into the pool none-the-less.


the testtests
Digs: the lyrics are pretty good. Your sense of melody is quite good.
Don’ts: tuning? The vocals are nice-is, but they aren’t well-balanced. Is there two singers or just one on two different tracks. Not sure how you record, so I guess I’d just suggest working on mic technique. Yah the guitar sound and tuning needs a little love.
Overall: I think this piece would have been better served with one voice more often and another joining for key parts, instead of two voices all or most of the time. And a tuned guitar. (tuning is pretty big for me). The arrangement is sparse, but it works pretty well. Not ipod friendly, but a decent effort.


Melvin
Digs: The production is top shelf. Some of the loops are killer. Love the squidgy thing. Your voice is super-present, and sounds really great.
Don’ts: While I like the lyrics, I find the rapping to be groove-less a little too much. Swing with it a little! Personal taste only, I know you could have if you’d wanted. The string clip is pretty good, but that chorus could use some more sugar to support it..electric piano, guitar, other strings...at least in the 2nd or later choruses..just to keep it from leaning too much on a looped bit. (Even though you may well have played that loop to begin with....dig? )
Overall: I always love me a Melvin track. Full production points, great mix. My gripes are minor, and really just related to flavours I like. You always bring the A game, yo. It goes on the ipod for sure, and is doing a serious dive into the vote pool.

The Cornhuskers
Digs: vinyl crackling is pretty nice. A bit hot, but nice. Vocals make me laugh. Yodelay-heee kills me. LOVE the ending. That’s awesome.
Don’ts: not much to complain about...not my cup of Magic Hat though.
Overall: Music fits the name. This gets on my ipod JUST for the ending.

Jan Krueger
Digs: I like the ooh’s throughout, nice warm touch. Nice acoustic gtr sound. I like the way it opens at the end with the backing vocals.
Don’ts: The backing ooh’s at the intro go off pitch...you have to take care of those for sure because they are not covered up by anything else. The guitar playing is a bit loose at times.
Overall: This is a nice tune musically, although I think it really needs that 3rd part in a bridge or something to add interest. Does not find a place on my ipod, but deserves a shout out for some cool production, nice guitar sounds, and great use of backing vocals.

The Weakest Suit
Digs: timely comment on consumer spending habits, good (over)use of the title. Pretty decent sense of melody.
Don’ts: this could be way cooler with some arrangement, another part, instrumentation, harmonies, work on tight performances. Sounds like a demo.
Overall: middle of the road, nothing grabs me, nothing bothers me other than my personal preference of wanting to hear more work on arrangements and production and performances. No room on the ipod for this one.


WeerSkrood
Digs: nothing.
Don’ts: is your singing terrible because you can’t hear yourself? Why can I only make out the left and right voices and not what you’re singing? ???
Overall: I don’t get it.

Ross Durand
Digs: Great voice! It sounds timeless and classic. Nice. This is an example of how G&G ought to be. Great guitar playing and great lyrics that flow really well beginning to end.
Don’ts: I’d like to hear the voice sit back just a little in the mix.
Overall: Nice performances, nice mix, nice tune! On the ipod despite not really being my thang. Possible vote due to all around greatness.

Plankton
Digs: Real short.
Don’ts: why bother?
Overall: nada.

Chumlords
Digs: This is awesome in it’s punkiness. The delay fx are kickass. Very tape-y. Lead guitar at the end is great! Tank f/x are obvious but fun.
Don’ts: The vocal distortion makes it almost painful to my ears. Shame. I like the tune alot.
Overall: I like this quite a bit. Just the vocals make it hard to listen too. It goes on the ipod, but it might come off if my ears bleed.


One more batch to come.....