Manhattan Glutton wrote:PiGPEN wrote:I dont do full reviews because im not good enough at music to be able to offer constructive criticism and so rather than constructive criticism i offer cruel jokes which offends people. They dont seem to like that so now i just sometimes mention stuff i liked.
It's part of the learning process! Plus, who's to say you aren't better than others doing reviews?
Yeah. What he said. Although I've been writing and recording music for a very long time, I have absolutely no formal training. As a result, I very often know what I like and what I don't like, but have no idea how to put any of it into words. Doing reviews has started to help me with that. Although my reviews are often opinionated and unhelpful, I'm very slowly learning how to describe what I like and don't like about things.
That being said, here are my reviews, in the random order I completed them in:
Todd McHatton - Your vocals have a real Peter Gabriel feel to them. Come to think of it, the whole song does, especially the bridge. (This is a good thing)
Mailbox - I really like this. I can't think of anything I'd change.
Flvxxvm Florvm - Conceptually, I like this, but the execution isn't quite getting me there.The noises add a nice touch, but they get a little too over-the-top at times.
deetak - Here's another one that I like conceptually, but I'm not digging on the execution. I think it's the breathy-falsetto parts of the vocals that are getting to me. Very few people can pull that style off convincingly.
Ramen-Flavored ROM's - Dial back the distortion on the vocals - they've become unintelligible. This also needs some more variation in the melodies to make it less repetative.
Steve Durand - This is pretty good, but it's lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on.
Ross Durand - This is pretty wild. And weird. And great. Not something to listen to over and over, but great nonetheless.
Quoonsryche feat. Anaconda Hans - I'm not a fan of vocal caricatures, which makes this hard for me to listen to.
Max the Cat - This might be great if I was really, really high.
The Weakest Suit - The instrumentation feels kind of choppy.
IndiAdamJones - This isn't a bad effort, but nothing is really grabbing my interest.
The Hell Yeahs - This is good, but if the guitars had a little more punch (maybe a boost in the mid-range?) and the tempo was jacked up just a few bpm, it would be great.
Enter it in The Art Show - Too much volume.
Howl Down the Chimney - I like the way this comes and goes in waves.
PiGPEN - I really like the music, but the vocal style doesn't seem to match it. Still pretty good.
Binary Red - This just doesn't feel very "We Keep Them Alive" to me. It's tough to set up such a specific theme without lyrics.
Turkey and Giblets Dinner - I couldn't understand a lot of the words, and that would be key to making this style work.
The Sky Looks Pissed - I like the combination of low-fi guitars with the harmonica. The vocals are off key, which is bothering me a lot.
Sheail - I think this would be a lot better if the music didn't drop out completely for the samples.
Manhattan Glutton - Nice use of overlapping vocal textures. For just a moment, the voice sounded like Weird Al making fun of a rock singer, and now that idea is stuck in my head, even though it was just for a second. I still like it.
Berkeley Social Scene - I like the lyrics. The timing feels off in places.
Jizzazz 5:30 AM - Not bad, but it seems a little sparse.
SomeGuyCalledNoel - This needs drums all over the place. Also a little more variation in the melodies.
John Eric feat. Steve Durand - This isn't bad, but it should've been shorter.
Bread Skeletons - I really like this song. The guitars and keys could stand to be fattened up a little in the low end, but otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing.
Nigel Clements - The performance is too silly for this subject matter.
Paco del Stinko - This needs something else, but I'll be damned if I can figure out what.
Swilington - The way this started, it felt like a Dandy Warhols song. I felt like it never really got going, though.
Jan Krueger - I'm impressed that you can pull this off.
Who Fly - This is pretty good. It goes on a little too long, though. I do like the noises at the very end.
Naked Philosophy - I'm pretty happy with what I came up with this week, it was a departure from the kind of things I usually write. It was fun to record, too.
This was a much better fight than last week's. I could easily justify voting for 10 or 12 songs, but I'll limit myself to 4: Mailbox, Ross Durand, PiGPEN, and Bread Skeletons
EDIT - What the hell, I'll give myself a vote, too.