Thinkin' about Some Reviews

[LML]

I just think ukulele is awesome. Are you literally gay? I can be your fag hag.

[Heather. Redmon.]

I just think ukulele is awesome. Are you literally gay? I can be your fag hag.

Literally gay! Haha, that's funny. He's already got a hag! eh, Cashpoint? Miss you, btw!

[j$]

W.A.I.L. I.A.A.C.

Listening at work on broken headphones means I’m getting you all in glorious mono, so maybe you should be taking my comments with a larger pinch of salt than usual.


BSS – nice groove! Enjoying the space afforded by the spare instrumentation. A little bit slow for my tastes (maybe another 10 bpm per minute would give it even more kick as the build grows?) Hmmm, like the chorus. Not really listening to the words on this one, just letting the mood wash over me. Yeah, it’s good. “abrupt” ending – I’d like it to have it take longer, maybe even (sacrilege?) a fade-out?

Chabberandom – I am vascillating between loving this for the experimentation and energy then getting slightly frustrated about its lack of focus. The madness needs a direction but it certainly doesn’t fall anywhere near the beartrap that is wackiness. I am left slightly scared of you, which is a good thing.

CMLG – Nice square, slightly ska-ish feel to the track. It feels like late-era talking heads if they had all had strokes before going on stage. This is a good thing. Not quite as funky as I think the song is demanding it be, but certainly not bad. La la las amusing and fun – the vocal is as ever a little bit wavery (this is another Lord of Oats production?) and the lyric totally runs out steam halfway through if it ever had any in the first time – that said ‘Fajita!’ is cool. Really starts to drag on three minutes and this from a man who loves repetition. So a good song but not sure whether it’s the production, mix or structure but it comes across a little flat in the listen.

DBNP – Like the voices (especially the combination of male and female bvs in the chorus) and the jangly guitar parts, and weirdly the slightly odd, distant mastering gives it an extra level of charmingness. That said I would like to hear a ‘professional’ mix by someone far better at these things than me because I think I’m missing little elements of it in the listening that would really make it out to be the classic summery pop song with a wistful twist that I rather suspect it is.

Deetak – heh, this is great. A-Bomb’s over is good but this is actually more towards my personal tastes – you have one of those interesting voices, in the same way as Beefheart or whoever, that makes me warm to the charming mess. That said I wish you weren’t a) performing so much b)so close to the microphone, and c) that you had heavily compressed the peaks out of the vocal. The Chris Martin with a Glasgow Smile falsetto is fabulously so-wrong-it’s-right. Doesn’t outstay its welcome. Not sure I could take an entire album of it, or even that I’m going to vote for it, but it’s refreshing to hear such a different take on music that yet holds together as well. Nicely done. I'm seriously considering a vote here - will confirm / deny once I've heard the rest.

DuToVa – Pretty Vapors / Knack style 70s pop with a touch of punk. Nothing spectacularly earth-shattering but so what? It jaunts along with nice tunefulness and awesomely understated BVs / hand-claps always win me over. Also moog style keyboard break hardly ever lets one down, and here is no exception. Maybe a little long – this feels like a 3 minute song that goes on ½ minute too long – an the drums could be a little more fluid – other that, me like.

Fartin’ In The Club – When it started I thought it was gonna get down and cool into some Art Of Noise 80s retro electronica place but no, it’s more Ibiza than that. To be honest, as a massive clubber, I wouldn’t dance to this if it came on – it lacks that next level of inventiveness that woul really drag me up – but as a framework for further development it could be interesting.

Hell Yeahs – I run out of ways to say how much I love pretty much everything you do. Do it fast, do it slow, do it spiky, do it bubblegum, it all comes from the heart and that’s why my heart is yours. Maybe I should get a tattoo? VOTE
PS enjoying that oboe(?) synth sound.

Hendermann – this is very pretty but I was a bit uninvolved until the tempo change which I loved. I hoped it would switch back sooner. Great voice but I think the production is a little smooth. Again it’s really just personal choice but it swooshes past very prettily but distantly, like watching a peacock strut down the other side of a river bank. The melody while good, maybe doesn’t support 4 minutes in length?

Hotwire – first thought - I would boost the low end on the drums to make this really dirty sexy – second thought - possibly make the programming on them a little more jerky and less standard? Then this would be a Timbaland waiting to happen. Oh yeah and the lyric veers closer to dumb in a bad way rather than a good one. Other than that, f**king fantastic. VOTE.

Humboat & R Mosquito - Lovely. Weirdly I think it’s like Grandaddy unplugged. Which is clearly wrong but hey – this was an certain vote until you dragged out the song past its natural end at 2.17 and started all the Chieftans piccolo shit and the ‘wacky’ speak over. The first two minutes of this song are some of the best stuff I’ve heard at SF – the second two just fuck me off. Don’t expect me to take you seriously if you don’t take yourself seriously – sorry, I just REALLY liked the first two minutes and am very disappointed.

John Kloberdanz – where is that last name from – German, Polish? Anyway, not important – this is nice, well recorded and produced, and Dylan-esque harmonica is enjoyable (for an instrument that was clearly invented by SATAN that is!) – but it’s a bit too sing-song, a little bit too lurchy without a truly brilliant lyric to demand my attention (that said, there are some nice lines – I found Christ too late for example) – good but undemanding.

J$ - Oh, hey ho, that’s me. Apart from the fact that I recorded the ukulele too close to the mic, I like this one, and as it was all recorded more or less live, I should be able to play a pared down version of it in NY in May. Be warned!

Larry – Pretty – late 60s slightly psychedelic west coast Americana feel. Like the percussion except the ride (?) is a little loud and piercing at the top end of the mix. A little earnest Some truly lovely melodic moments though the lyric feels a little ‘by the numbers’ (I am sure it’s not, I just mean the way I interpret it.)

Larry Knox – country atmosphere suitably and pleasantly fractured by that heavy heavy kick in the chorus. You and King Arthur should get together – what this is lacking is an instrument (lead guitar) playing away in the gaps at the end of each line – like the synth trumpety thing that I first notice at 2.14ish. I think this is a strong song if you like the genre. A little less synthetic and a little bit more organic would suit the mood I think you’re after better, but hey whatever you’ve got access to. I look forward to hearing more.

Lucky Spoon – Hey nice melody – I like your voice though you sound a bit tight in the throat – self-consciousness? Maybe that’s in the hearing rather than the recording. I like the stop-start bit. The guitar could be a little more distorted and echoey – to take the edge of the sense of prog I’m getting’ from it (unless of course for some bizarre reason you like prog, of course! Heh!) I like the harmonies very much. Feels oddly slight to me lyrically but again I am listening at work on crap …

Manhattan Glutton - ah yes there you go – the way the stream worked this sounded like a thrash out coda to Lucky Spoon’s song! This rocks naturellement and I like it. The break-down comes at the right time, just when I was thinking ‘this could do with a bit of variety’ – the beat could with being heavier. Other than that, it all works like a b*stard and I am happy.

Miss FancyPants – I really hope the words (which I can’t hear) are amusing otherwise this sounds remarkably like pretentious hippy crap to me Far too much of the mid(i)lle ages for my tastes. Still well performed, cleverly constructed and short to the point of me almost wanting more, which is a rare thing indeed..

Naked Philosophy – nice post-punk-funk. It’s very Talking Heads c.1978 I guess but that’s OK I like ‘em. Some good lyrical frags in there. Umm, yeah, overall I like it – nothing nadsaccrushingly amazingly but I am enjoying it well enough – the mix sounds slightly back to front – in terms of volume drums and bass then guitar then vocals is not the order I would go for, personally. Still, I notice I'm not being generous votes-wise so far, so VOTE

I’ll finish the rest tonight …

[LML]

I just think ukulele is awesome. Are you literally gay? I can be your fag hag.

Literally gay! Haha, that's funny. He's already got a hag! eh, Cashpoint? Miss you, btw!

Oh yeah I'm talking glitter make up and spandex gay. Literally.

[j$]

I'm everygay. You should see me dance. Feel free to fight over me, potential FHs.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I'm everygay. You should see me dance. Feel free to fight over me, potential FHs.

I'd like to referee that fight.
....in jello.

[bambamoozle]

John Kloberdanz – where is that last name from – German, Polish? Anyway, not important – this is nice, well recorded and produced, and Dylan-esque harmonica is enjoyable (for an instrument that was clearly invented by SATAN that is!) – but it’s a bit too sing-song, a little bit too lurchy without a truly brilliant lyric to demand my attention (that said, there are some nice lines – I found Christ too late for example) – good but undemanding.

"Kloberdanz" is in fact German, and we pronounce it "Klo-bur-dance".

Anyway, thanks for the review, this is fair. I usually have some clever lyrics but I've only been "brilliant" (IMO) once, and that's the second verse of my song "Church Street", which I wrote in 2005. So I'll keep trying to be awesome, in keeping with the songfight theme, but brilliant is gonna be hard to do.

[Heather. Redmon.]

I'm everygay. You should see me dance. Feel free to fight over me, potential FHs.

I'd like to referee that fight.
....in jello.

Ick BLT, just ick!

LML, you can be his FH… I'll let ya have the hag title...

Hell Yeahs… that’s why my heart is yours. Maybe I should get a tattoo?

I’ll be the straight woman who has touched a gay man’s heart <3

[j$]

The rest - I think! Let me know if I missed you cos if I did, it wasn't anything personal

New Southern Democrats - Wandering mind thoughts are usually a bad sign – but here you go: 'I wonder if there's a band called the Emocrats?' ‘Sober doesn’t do his band any favours ranting like that. They have to be ten times as good to impress me.’ ‘This is sober’s band,right?’ ‘Is this what they call bluegrass?’ ‘does this actually sound like Blind Melon or am I going mad?’ ‘gosh, this guy really has no idea where he’s going, does he?’ ‘Oh it’s over. Pleasant enough song well played and recorded.’ ‘that felt empty to/for me’ ‘Sorry.’

Njim – Hey man, would only sound more like Joy Division if you were wearing the skin of Ian Curtis as a jockstrap! Still every time I hear a song by you it’s better than the last one – voice sounds good on this and the Curtis-tone suits you better – really shows off the rich baritone you have. Need to sit down and read the words to see how they relate to the music (as your stuff usually does) but that was enjoyable. I will def. listen again. (2nd listen VOTE)

Paco Del Stinko – Oh you had me at the moog synth. The words to this are hilarious and oddly quite touching. The la-la-la-las (which are super to hear) should be Ba-ba-ba-bas. There is something of the mid to late 90s, Wonder Stuff to this, only far funkier, poppier andd enjoyable that them. The short bridge is my favourite part. As ever four songs collide in your studio and the debris falls dwon in fascinating patterns. Handclaps for the handclaps and a VOTE for your trouble!

Ramen-Flavoured ROMS – Starts brilliantly well. I have a love/hate relationship with spoken word (i.e. I love to hate it) but there is something in the way it’s mixed that works (though a counter melody rather just than the bass synth under the verses would be welcome) Both voices sound very familiar to old SFers like me … or maybe I’m going mad as a box of frogs. At 2.30 I am craving a little more variety – a breakdown, or a step-up, or another instrument. Great ending.

Reconsiderate and Mr Scott – I know so little about the genre (8-bit nerdcore?) that I don’t feel entirely qualified to comment – except that I like it a lot but it needs a big cheesy singalong chorus, in a Banana Splits kind of way, and also the words are slightly patronising I suppose, with some obvious rhymes, still the flow’s good and it makes me tap my toe, it’s a good sound so you can have a VOTE.

Ross Durand – great organ sound. It’s got that mid-70s Dylan feel going on (or someone like that. It’s certainly a familiar welcoming sound.) I can imagine it on the main stage at some festival. It’s 6pm, it’s been raining but the sun is breaking through the dappled clouds and everyone gets into it in that environment. I guess what I’m trying to say(!) is I would enjoy this live but listening to it on broken headphones in an office in London is probably not the location to do it justice.

Steve Durand – heh. Cute lyric and banjo. Crazy sloppy drums are a bit loud but fun. All this lacks is one of those sliding whistle that goes WOOooooOOOOH! Fun fun fun. Novelty yes but making a point so avoids a swing of the Wacky Stick on its way to a VOTE. Don’t get complacent now

Todd McHatton – great bass. Hey, are you thinking about the old days, by any chance? I think I prefer the verses to the chorus which is a little bit too solid AOR for me. This is very well performed and recorded, not quite engaging with it by the time we get to 2.00 – I think it’s that chorus – but the organ ‘breakdown’ is lovely and saves the song for me.

Tungsten Chic – good insisstant bass and keyboard tone. Goes a bit Kraftwerk at .40-ish, which is no bad thing. By a minute in I think – this is going to be an instrumental, isn’t it? I am not sure there is enough here instrumentally to support that and I don’t see the link to the title, but it’s a lovely bit of electro-groove and I salute that. Just needs a bit more, erm …, fuckability ….

Weakest Suit – OK so I know it’s not like it at all, but that chunky chord chop makes me think of Blur’s ‘Parklife’ – that aside this has a nice lurch to it and I am tapping my toe (at least until you shoot for the stars and burn up in the stratosphere, vocally speaking, around 2.00 in) – the lyric is a bit underdeveloped but the mix sounds good to these ears and it’s in no way bad. Just not stellar, to continue my metaphor of a few sentences back …

[LML]

Them's fightin words Heather. You can keep him. I got plenty o' gays in my closet that I can choose from. Don't need your's.

[ElaineDiMasi]

Larry Knox - Phrasing ...

Elaine, Thanks ... I never thought of crafting lyrics in this way ...

I feel that the time placement, as well as the rhymes and repetitions, are all like shining light on the lyrics. Those words in strong places or which have been reinforced by rhymes and repeats show up more brightly. When you design, don't just splash light everywhere, put it where you want people to see things! That's how I think about that.

Not quite sure if you liked the fact that the protagonist finally remembered her name or not. I wanted it to be a kind of surprise to the listener and an admonition that he knew it all the time but had to bury it to move on. So maybe kind of a resolution.

I wasn't sure whether I liked it either, but it was a noticeable element that made me stop and think, which I did like, and making the listener pay attention is always praiseworthy for any music!

[Heather. Redmon.]

Them's fightin words Heather.

Yep

Oh, and since this review thread has already been so cluttered, and I'm just adding to it now, I assure you that I will be doing reviews on the plane on Saturday.

[Lucky Spoon]

Reviews are loosely ordered best to worst.... just started sorting the ones I liked to the top and the ones I hated to the bottom... didn't really finalize, though. Re-listening to the songs for reviews I realized some should be moved around, but I'm too lazy to order them down to the wire so if someone you think totally sucks is above you don't sweat it too hard.




Berkeley Social Scene - Absolutely, hands down my favorite song this week. Nice dreamy intro and you're like where can it go from there? well it can go to a sweeet chorus that i've been humming all day for the past few days. The laid back vocals are so soothing, I like this song more every time I hear it. The only thing that isn't A+ about this song is the keyboard solo... which is awesome in its own way, but doesn't fit the song's awesomeness as well as i'd like it to.

Steve Durand - I love it. The lyrics are really really good and i'm a big fan of the New Orleans Jazz/Folk style. very well done.

Manhattan Glutton - I already told you about this song... so here's a picture of Johnny V from short circuit:


New Southern Democrats - love love love the intro/first verse. Sounds like Hot Buttered Rum which I really like. From there the song slowly transitions into a generic pop song that would get a lot of radio plays, not that I don't like it... i just don't love love love it. Very well done with your mix and your white russians and whatever else went into this.

Todd Mchatton - intro = incubus + collective soul? Not much to pick at here, for the level of composition the mix and mastering should sound a bit more professional, but since it's easier to get a good mix than it is to learn how to write songs I think you're ok there.

DuToVa - I like this song's energy. good build. Doesn't kick in as much as I'd like with the build. The good energy/build doesn't get put to its full potential... it's like a Cohen brother's movie. overall I still like it.

noah mclaughlin - the intro tells me i'm about to rock out in a 90s way (I liked). vox came in a bit weird... sounds like you're trying to get vibrato by shaking your voice instead of letting it come naturally with good support. I think you made some comment about vox not being your strong point so i'll leave it at that. drums were a bit over powering in the mix at times. solo at 2:33 sounds like it was done on a 10" crate amp with a squire guitar that wasn't in tune... did not fit in with the rest of the song/mix.

Hendermann - wonderful intro! love the piano/vox/emotion. Are you compressing the final track? it seems like every time the vox come in the piano gets quieter... which isn't the greatest effect? The chorus isn't horrible, but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way when a rag time/show tune chorus came in to that pretty intro. I love your voice especially at 1:15. Eventually I got over the chorus and decided I like this song.

John Klobberdanz - the harmonic is a good hook to the song. the feel of this song is consistent. I can't think of any (EDIT) thing to say (obviously)

Surf Train Surf Industry - what can i say, i like this song... of course i'm a sucker for robot voices. this one stays on my playlist hey i see a wave..... i waaant to get on it.

Death Be Not Proud - the guitar is mushy and i think a bit out of tune. i like the chorus with all complementing vocal/guitar melodies. not a bad song.

Tungsten Chic - A great video game song. If this were in the background of my sega genesis game i would totally be getting pumped up and might even look for remixes of it on youtube

Ross Durand - I gave this a few more listens (even though I don't like country) and it's definitely tolerable for a non-country person. The mix is good and the sound definitely pops within its genre. good harmonies on the chorus. vox a bit pitchy at places (since the song sound a bit more professional over-all i'm a bit more picky on stuff like that i think)

The Weakest suit - This song sounds like it should be on a Sonic (the food chain) commercial. we're still havin' fun.... and you're stiiiiill the one. the lead guitar that does the run in the verses could be EQ'd/mixed better. the vox could be a little more in tune... harmonies a little tighter. the section @ 1:47 is quite out of tune vocally. But don't get me wrong... this song stands out to me more than the ones I ho-hum about.

larry knox - you're quite lucky that i downloaded the correct version of this song, the mix is definitely better.... the vocal take is MUCH better. I was gonna make the kareoke comment again, but the most recent mix sounds pretty good. it's not a bad song, and it creates a feeling and sticks to it. i would agree that you might hear this at some lounge in a casino. do you like shirts with sequins?

Naked Philosophy - This is another song that i'm fairly indifferent about... I can see it being on my play list and not minding it. nothing annoying that wants me to press skip.

The Hell Yeahs - this is not a bad song, but nothing really stands out. I like: the guitar solo. I don't like: how the vocals can be a bit whiny at times

hotwire - the poor man's NIN. The intro is a bit of a turn off, but once the song gets going it's enjoyable. I like the chorus' lyrics/harmonies.

Paco del Stinko - Manhattan Glutton makes me care about your songs more than I should... so thank him. After giving it a few more chances I decided I like the song. the vocals still really bother me to the point where i want to press skip during the verses. I like the la la la's both in harmony and in the flavor they add to the song. there are a lot of really good little additions (like keyboards etc) that really fill the song out. the way the guitar comes in at 1:22 is legit.

j$ - wah wah wahhhhhh... not much to say.

larry - 60s song... flowers... hippies... bells at the beginning. not much to say

Chopped Liver Meat God - mid level song. not much to say here, over all doesn't sound bad. the la la la la la la is usually where i press skip.

Miss Fancy Pants - techno + renaissance = ... profit? maybe... the combination kinda rubbed me the wrong way, actually

reconsiderate and mr scott - had an interesting style to it. the part about feces made me laugh... because i'm immature. i actually like the beat it has going on, but i don't think i'd listen to it every day.

deetak - your singing sounds like you just got back from the dentist and both your cheeks (and jaw) are filled with Novocain.

fartin in the club - not the worst thing i've ever heard.

Ramen Flavored ROMS - overall sound of instruments is kinda cheesy. sounds like a older video game with average music... i spose that gels well with the content

chadderandomabyss - i actually listened to this song in its entirety for the sake of reviewing it fairly. afterwards the phone rang, and a voice on the other end said "7 days"

Humboat - actually well done and consistent to its style. creative idea... but just gross. shame on you.

[ElaineDiMasi]

Johnny Cashpoint - This isn't charming at all, I don't care about the character or the character he's talking to. And, you know, this is an example where I totally don't know anything new about the situation at the end of the song than I did after verse 1.

Ha! ...Unsurprisingly - i disagree and think your points are disengenuous - it's not meant to be charming, it's an honest statement of opinion not a character song, and I don't think a lyric HAS to evolve, though I'm not opposed to it.

I've been hung up on the "evolving lyrics" thing for the past couple months, realizing that I rely on it to write (and I pick on it to review!), but a truly cool song doesn't need it - does it? So now I'm thinking, motion is more interesting than being stationary. So I like the lyric to evolve unless I like the place where the scene is for the whole three minutes, or something truly amazing is going on in the music so that I don't care about the lyrics. Maybe this means that an evolving lyric makes songs reachable by more people. The static one is YMMV for me. Your song didn't resonate with the way I scream bloody murder to the enemies in my head. Tons of other people dug your music on that one, but I didn't; I seem to like simple songs from DuToVa which are boring for others, then I'm magically less critical of it when the lyrics don't do anything special.

Miss FancyPants – I really hope the words (which I can’t hear) are amusing otherwise this sounds remarkably like pretentious hippy crap to me Far too much of the mid(i)lle ages for my tastes. Still well performed, cleverly constructed and short to the point of me almost wanting more, which is a rare thing indeed..

Amusing lyrics? They're not! - I was going for 100% pretentiousness this time just to see what that actually is... Thanks for liking the music. I was in the mood to work on an instrumental that week and didn't "want" to make it a SF but then I just kind of did. I think this song gets pruned back and rewritten into an instrumental with a different structure. There is a real story to it, though (which is probably why I did the SF). I met a musician who I wanted rather badly to work with, and we had an interval where I realized he missed his old band like crazy and that while he liked writing with me, I was not going to be that for him, and it was flunking while he tried to make that work. Plus, I wasn't nostalgic for any old band days of my own, because I've never been up to anything cooler to me than where I am now.

Oh and darn it there's hardly any midi in there, if it sounds like there is, it's because the rhythms are simple OR the arrangement isn't amazing enough OR my recording skills are whatever they are. Though I would think the many flaws would make my drums and woodwinds sound less even and quantized, not more. I do play piano into midi tracks frequently, so I can record in sections and clean up the blunders. I don't play well enough to learn what I've written in a week's free evenings.

[j$]

Oh and darn it there's hardly any midi in there ...

OK, I take it back, I'm impressed. I actually have no problem with MIDI - it's never bothered me in the way it has other reviewers, so when I use the word it's simply to imply frighteningly robot-tight music skills. Specifically I think it was the clean sounding flute made me think of Ian Anderson and his ilk.

Perhaps you might try a tiny bit (more) reverb on the cleaner sounding things to better reflect the feeling going into it? Then again I know f-all about mixing and production after all this time so you're better off not listening to me - especially when the performance skills you have shownon the few of the songs of yours I've heard leave the likes of me in the shade. Which is where I feel much safer

[Manhattan Glutton]

Speaking of midi, I did some additional thinking and Tungsten Chic might be the most brilliant song this week. Why? Because it has me "thinkin' about the old days" when all we could download were midis.

[Larry Knox]

larry knox - you're quite lucky that i downloaded the correct version of this song, the mix is definitely better.... the vocal take is MUCH better. I was gonna make the kareoke comment again, but the most recent mix sounds pretty good. it's not a bad song, and it creates a feeling and sticks to it. i would agree that you might hear this at some lounge in a casino. do you like shirts with sequins?

Hey Mr. Spoon,

Thanks for the second take on the song.

I think I'm going to have a difficult time matching up with the great songwriters here. Mostly because my style (if I have one) is definitely stuck in time and mostly influenced by pre 1980 genres. However, I have heard some great new singer/songwriters on Sirius radio 'The Coffee House" that makes me think some older styles can work and communicate still.

My problem is taking my writing skills out of the 70's and into the new century ie., keep plugging at it.

I wanted to have this song be a bit 'lounge-esk' actually. Due to the title, I didn't think too many people these days use the term 'Thinkin' about the old days'. It is definatly more mine or my parents generation (I'm 51). So I wanted to have an old melencholy tone to it. In retrospect I would redo this one with just piano and bass I think or maybe solo guitar and clean up the phrasing.

Oh and yeah.... have someone else sing it.

Thanks for your comments and the sequined jacket stays in the closet (wife's orders).

Larry

[Billy's Little Trip]

I'm everygay. You should see me dance. Feel free to fight over me, potential FHs.

I'd like to referee that fight.
....in jello.

Ick BLT, just ick!

Ok, forget the jello.

[Teplin]

Humboat - actually well done and consistent to its style. creative idea... but just gross. shame on you.

Send your calls and letters to Irwin! To Irwin!

Humboat & R Mosquito - Lovely. Weirdly I think it’s like Grandaddy unplugged. Which is clearly wrong but hey – this was an certain vote until you dragged out the song past its natural end at 2.17 and started all the Chieftans piccolo shit and the ‘wacky’ speak over. The first two minutes of this song are some of the best stuff I’ve heard at SF – the second two just fuck me off. Don’t expect me to take you seriously if you don’t take yourself seriously – sorry, I just REALLY liked the first two minutes and am very disappointed.

Nothing to be sorry about. Even though you came away ultimately disappointed, I still consider this one of the most flattering reviews I've ever gotten. But I agree with what you said about taking yourself seriously. In this case, we absolutely didn't take ourselves seriously (almost impossible to, with the subject matter), but we didn't expect to be taken seriously by anybody either. This was 95% about having a laugh with my songfight IRC pals, and seeing who else has a sense of humor that twisted. Anyway, thanks for the review, it made my day!

[Larry B.]

-- meh. folky and not much else --- I think that this is a useless review. Ok, you don't like folk, that's cool at least live up to your own standard of how you want others to critique your efforts and give some kind of feedback as to why.
Having grown up during the 60's, I was influenced a great deal by the music of that era. That said, I have been very conscientious to at least try to see the musical value in all forms of music. It was said of Beethoven that his music was much too radical and would never amount to anything. They said the same of Tchaikovsky, yet today they are two of the most influential composers from that era. (Shout out Miss Fancy Pants, I loved the harpsichord sound and layered vocals in your song 8) very cool, you got one of my votes.)
Other votes were Larry, Naked Philosophy, Steve and Ross Durand, great guitar work Paco, vote, New Southern Democrats, DuToVa, Lucky Spoon and Berkley Social Scene.
Thanks for the input LML I did rewrite the first verse based on what you mentioned, but kept the next two basically intact because I was going with an elliptical structure. As I am still learning this process, I don't feel up to writing full reviews especially since I am in the middle of producing my own CD, but maybe next time. Until then, thank you all for your input. I look forward to another good fight sometime soon.

[nyjm]

--- meh. folky and not much else ---

I think that this is a useless review. Ok, you don't like folk, that's cool at least live up to your own standard of how you want others to critique your efforts and give some kind of feedback as to why.

On one hand, I can see I cut to the quick. Please don't take it personally. I usually have very limited time to write reviews, so they're done on the first listen. If I don't have anything to say, positively or negatively, I don't try and bullshit you.

On the other hand, fair enough: reviews are most productive as a conversation. Let's set some context: you have some solid production skills and the mixing is nicely done. Professionally slick. This can work both for and against you; good - it sounds nice, and is an aurally pleasant reproduction of what the instruments sounded like in the studio; bad - professional can almost mean bland. Nothing in the mix (nor the rest of the song, for that matter) stands out as exceptional. If you were aiming for a laid-back tune that could run nicely in the background, then mission accomplished. But I prefer to listen to songs that at some point make me sit up and go "Wow. That's cool." This is admittedly a very elusive property, but like good art, I know it when I hear it. Hence part of the reason for my negative review.

The other part of my non-response is the derivative nature of the sound. You say you grew up with '60s folk music and after a closer second and third listen, I can tell. Again, if your aim was purely to recreate that sound and vibe - great job. I'm not particularly impressed, nor - wearing my personal bias on my sleeve - a big fan of that sound. I would have preferred you to do something different, paying homage to your roots while seeking to recast and renew them. For example, using this sonic paradigm to sing about giant monsters rampaging in Tokyo, or something unexpected that makes your listener really think about it. Lines like "There was a love / Oh what a love we knew / We defined love from the depths of our love" is just a clichéd tautology that harkens back to the weakest point of your chosen genre: pseudo-deep lyrics.

Short form review:

+++ slick production and nice singing voice; love the percussive touches +++
--- derivative sound and trite lyrics ---
/// doesn't move me; maybe too slick for it's own good ///

[Larry B.]

Fair enough, I didn't take it personal, I just thought it funny that you would critique my work in such a manner and then demand more when someone else critiques yours in the same way. No hard feelings, and I appreciate your expanded review. I can draw something from that. 8)