Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by Manhattan Glutton »

... are in their full upright position. This fight is about to blow you away.
If I had a dollar for every one of my songs j$ has called a 90s pastiche, I'd have $1 for every song I've written.

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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by Lucky Spoon »

I reeeeeaaally want to emphasize that my song was done in good fun.

I DO NOT condone or endorse most of my lyrics. (blame Ace and Scuby G)

with that said, looking forward to hearing the songs... this fight should be interesting.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by Lucky Spoon »

*twiddles thumbs*
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by wages »

Sorry there was not more band to this entry, but I did put a little extra effort into keeping fret buzz down while doubling the vocals and recording the acoustic guitar with the mic rather than plugged (for those of you who don't follow the pre-thread). Hope you likey!
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by canonicalman »

I am working on a set of reviews. Sadly I've had intermittent net connections all day and it is making it impossible to listen to several entries. I have a rough first pass of my review but will wait to pass until I can hear all songs all the way through. (Several just died a few seconds in.)

Edit : Songs still tend to die 20 seconds in 50% of the time. But through hours of dogged persistence I finally have reviews done. *sigh* Posting reviews below.

Note I sort from favorite to least based on first impression then listen a few times before I post. Today in addition to the dropped/dieing feeds on several songs I was also having local issues with the right channel on my computer cutting out periodically so I might miss things panned hard right. Wish it wasn't so but need a new headphone jack and that means new sound card and that is not in the budget for months. *sigh*

Manhattan Glutton - This song reminds me strongly of L7 and other lofi pop bands. With that said i went to see a lot of bands that sound like this. The part that goes "You're in for a hard landing" just feels different in the vocals - almost like you tacked on that part but the same part later with harmonies is better done. I think you are just straining too much and sounding weak on the clincher line. I would give you a A+ except that the straining brings you down to an A. VOTE

Panne Cotta Army - Nice drawn out stylings. Not a style of music I usually like but obviously well done despite that. Well mixed, You work hard landing in well and the harmonies are very well done. Some other entries could stand to listen to this to hear how to double track harmonies well. Simple and straight forward but well thought out. I could see this in a movie soundtrek. A+ VOTE

MC SharkInTheSwimmingPool - I like the samplings at the start. The talking vocals sound under produced. I hear a slight mike pop and it just feels like a DJ talking over a track rather than an integral part. Not sure what is off in the balance nor how I would fix it though. Luckily when the singing comes in that is well mixed, Ok I am laughing my ass off at your lyrics. The really odd timing feel later in the song may lose you some votes but you still get mine on the strength of the your comedic bombshells. You are a brave man, I hope your significant other and/or the feminists never catch you alive. A++ VOTE

Lucky Spoon - Your different vocal tracks are all mixed at very different levels and do not blend well. I suggest you compress rapping slightly more and then normalize all vocals before mixing to make them lead more smoothly into one another. Not as polished as the first couple entries but I know you are doing this a bit tongue in cheek and I love how it addresses the song fight experience. So I had to smile. The funky dual voiced "when you come into the songfight" part with falsetto crooning in the background was just hilarious. Not great but I think it was exactly where you wanted it for a self satirical piece like this. Overall your rap needs to be mixed in a bit hotter. The singing parts were all better produced. I LOLed at the break part. A VOTE

PigFarmer Jr - The beginning sounds really promising but the song didn't deliver. I thought you would be in the A pack for a bit there. (Side note - in 6 listen attempts 5 died right before the vocals started so I only got one listen.) I think you recorded most of this live except some overdubbed second guitar. You should really do a bunch of takes to get one with no errors. (or to piece together parts to hide your errors. My gripes include : a couple flubbed bass notes, a few wobbly vocal notes, drum machine stopping and starting every 16 measures (PLEASE program a longer pattern and never put more than one false break in a song ever!) You could have done better. C

Cthonic Youth - Mmmmm noise rock. Lots of ambient noodlings at the beginning, and either your floor tom or bass drum must hate you for being tuned so loose but I think that was intentional. Your vocals are kinda like an early Primus (Frizzle Fry). The singing in fourths makes me think of Psychedelic Furs. I think I heard a mistake in the music around the fourths something like a metal strike in the background that was slightly out of time but I might have been wrong. I missed any statement of "hard landing" though the song has a theme of falling so I am not gonna complain to hard. A- VOTE

Steve Durand - You have some awful habits that make you sound wobbly on pitch. You can fix this but it requires changing your approach. (I do the same thing when tired or nervous.) You are currently too tentative on notes, You seem worried you will miss the note but by being tentative the pitches tend to wobble and roll as you start each note softly until you are sure you hit it. You need to just belt out the song and nail the notes. There is no time to be uncertain, being tentative is killing your vocals way more than any missed pitch. Also if you sing more aggressively I think a lot of your problems would self correct and you will just nail more notes and if you flub one occasionally you can always overdub the vocals a bit. It is easier to hit a note sung strong then it is to hit one sung softly. I have no problems with your song otherwise. It is not as polished. There was a bit of tempo wobble in the piano at one point (a click track would help with that if you can get in the habit of playing with the damn things, they drive me nuts personally) Despite me ripping on you it was a attempt earnestly done and for that I give you a C-.

Chekhov's Raygun - Much better done this week. But this week you lack excitement in the vocals. You need to put more emotion in unless you were deliberately conveying the donut eating parking attendant making his millionth patrol around the lot. (But I think it is unintentional, rapping slow is HARD, you often have to sing a bit more to do it well) Also vocals should be compressed more to reduce volume fluctuation. For this recording I would probably set the compression as high as 1:4. But if you recorded each of your voices as a separate patch you could probably just compress at 1:2 an then normalize all the parts to the same level. Rap works best when all the vocals come across at around the same level. (I compress to reduce peaks but then I normalize to get vocals as hot as I can before mixing) Lastly less is more when going for funky synth sounds, The synth sound wears thin after a while. The execution is much better but the drive and excitement of your rapping seems less than last time. B-

Noah McLaughlin - Acoustic guitar is a bit soft. Was it just room miked? I like to compress my guitar a bit unless I am cranking it through a tube amp (which basically does compression for me.) Just a touch of compression would allow you to mix in the guitar a bit hotter and let it carry better. The stacked vocals don't add much. Lastly you are also a bit weak on a couple notes here and there. Decent entry but it doesn't really do it for me. C

David Ritter - I think the bass was sloppily tuned and as a bassist that distracted me a lot. Also the vocal harmonies don't work for me. The falsetto voice is just a tiny bit off in pitch and that ruins the effect you were going for. Falsetto should not be sung weak, it doesn't have to be loud either but weak makes it go flat. I personally liked the sloppy sounding intro. The song comes of like a weird mix of an experimental noise band trying to play pop and a college band trying to experiment with noise. I don't think you pulled of either but it was an interesting attempt. C

New Result - The vocals annoyed me. They didn't add anything to the song except let me know it was supposed to be a song for this contest. The music should also be about the subject. I felt the music didn't go with the theme. It was more like odd Christmas jingle redone as techno with a bad vocal loop put in as an after thought. D-

Chopped Meat Liver - The dirty guitar sound made me think of Queens of the Stone Age. But the farty drum sound got more annoying every time I heard it and it was almost every other beat. I kinda liked the lofi song... at least until the first opium break in the middle which was funny but not very strong melodically. And then back to that drum... No make it stop... please.... A different drum line and maybe some keys or something to fill out the choruses and this song would have some wings. The second time you do the chorus it was a lot stronger than the first but the drum really got to me so I can't listen through again. You could have been much better with some fairly small adjustments. C-

Wages - The stacked vocals don't work. You missed some notes and you used different timing on each part. Basically if there is a mistake in either vocal track it weakens both of them. Made me sad as I can tell you had some ideas and you tried but the execution just didn't come together. At least you managed to sound a LOT cleaner on the guitar this time so maybe you can hold off on getting that Taylor. The full stops in the guitar part were annoying. As I said to PigFarmer Jr, breaks disrupt the flow of the song and weaken it. Also if you are going to multi track vocals really listen to the first track a million time so you know your timing, pitch, etc all by heart and can then complement it perfectly. Just doing two vocal takes is not the same thing. Listen to Panna Cotta army for a fantastic job harmonizing with himself. It takes a lot of time to polish like that and I just don't see that time being put in on your entry. D

Dinner Time Boys - Maybe this went over my head. But right now I just don't feel this song. It seems well played but I just don't see it fitting the theme musically. D-

Queef MCBeef - I often like songs from found sound clips but I feel this was just full of noise and didn't come together as an entry. A pity as I know it is a pain to piece together something like this out of clips. F
Last edited by canonicalman on Sat Jul 03, 2010 11:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

Chekhov's Raygun - SYNTH. This is a delightful little bit of electro weirdness. I really like the cop/person on the side of the road dialogue...makes me think of Jay Z, which was probably understandable. I'm slightly confused by the lyrical content though. I got kind of bored by the end of it though. 5/10
Chopped Liver Meat God - Strangely enough, I really enjoy this. Maybe it's the fuzzed-out bass. The vocals are kinda cool, I think. Oh geez, dramatic tempo shift. Something about it reminded me of the Pixies during the slow parts. Also...you named the album Meat the President. That just made me chuckle. It's hard to land anything when you're hard landing? What? Eh, it works. 7/10
Chthonic Youth - Weird scales, odd guitar plinking noises in the background. It's almost like your band name is a nod to sonic youth or something. That said, I really like this song. The vocals and vocal harmonies are pretty well done, as well as the blasts of feedback and manipulation. WIth a more professional production job, this might be something I might...buy! I like it lots. 9/10
David Ritter - Mmm, good drums. The lyrics are making me laugh, even though I'm not entirely sure what they're about. First guitar solo I've heard this fight. Again, I have to give you props for the drums. Hahaha. the instrumental break after the second bridge or whatever it was was pretty cool, with the occasional synching of the git-fiddles. 7.2/10
Dinnertime Boys - Hahahaha. I love this song simply for the instrumentation of it. I'm sitting here nodding my head to this happy...video game credit ending scene music. It's in the category of songs that only fit the theme because of an arbitrary vocal snippet of the title...which is what I've done half of the time in the past. The musical composition was pretty swell. 12983/10
Lucky Spoon - I love the g-funk synth in this. I feel like I should be hanging out in the mid 90s in downtown L.A. with a bunch of gangstas that hate cops. Except instead of gangstas, it's...well, you guys. And instead of hating cops, it's hating on people that hate on songfight. Everything about this is ridiculous. and awesome. 8.24987/10.
Manhatten Glutton - So far, this has the best bassline. Actually, it's got the best low-end production so far, though Lucky Spoon's gangsta bassdrum was cool. I feel like I'm watching MTV2 in 1999. The upbeat part contrasting with the low grungy bit is pretty awesome. That chorus makes me wanna go ANGST all over the front of my pants. It's pretty neat, though a little bit overlong. j/10
MC Sharks in the Swimming Pool - My, there are lots of hip-hop entires this time around. Maybe it's something about being hard. and land. Or something. But wait, the beat didn't actually drop...the vocals just came in. Oh god, these lyrics. This is horrible. But I can't stop laughing. Thank you. 9.a:/10
New Result - Cheese house! I guess that's the best genre I can come up for this. It doesn't really build anywhere, and gets really boring by the end of it. Hard. Landing. Hand Landing. AUGH! poop/10
Noah McLaughin - There's too much reverb on this song. I can't say that I really like this song that much. It's not that it's not good, its just that there's nothing about it that really reaches out to me. /10
Panna Cotta Army - Oh man, I like this already from the start. Maybe it's the 6/8 business, maybe it's the synths. Maybe it's the fact that it's just epic. Maybe not particular original, but I can't help but enjoy it. The chord changes are pretty well thought out, the lyrics are pretty good too. The bass is great, the guitar work is great. awesome/10
Pig Farmer Jr. - I wish I was a pig farmer. The execution is kind of loose...occasionally, you deviate from the drum machine. Then again, it's songfight, so I can't complain too much. Doesn't do anything for me. 0849408208941/0
Queef McBeef - Sounds like a queef. and like beef. and...lee ann womack? 10/10
Steve Durand - This is some satisfying piano work, and some nice lyrics and some nice reminiscing. This song just makes me sad. But it's so pleasant. aww/10
Wages - I can dig this. The production is a little bit eh. It's a pretty nifty song. As said before, I'm a sucker for 6/8 songs. 6/8/10.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by David Ritter »

Hi everyone,

I'm going to sound like a newbie but here goes...

Can I put song lyrics here for the song I did and also some commentary on what it's about or does that go elsewhere?

I love reading the reviews of my stuff here. I love it long time.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by Manhattan Glutton »

David Ritter wrote:Can I put song lyrics here for the song I did and also some commentary on what it's about or does that go elsewhere?
Lyrics go in a separate forum - thread is here: http://songfight.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7468
sleepysilverdoor wrote:j/10
I hope that J stands for what I think it does. Or maybe I don't.

Aww I usually write reviews at work, but maybe I'll make an exception.

----------- now updated with reviews------------
If I come off mean, it's only because I care too much.

Chekhov - Surprisingly, I find this pretty cool - particularly the instrumentation. It just needs to be a lot tighter and varied, and rapped with more confidence. Pretend you have some bling, or buy the plastic stuff.

Chopped - I like. Feels a bit Blue Oyster Cult-ish. The instrumentation and FX are all superb and exciting. The lyrics kind of suck, or maybe they just stand out too much in the verse because of the way it's sung. Nothing wrong with the singing itself, though - nice nuances in the chorus singing.

Chthonic - Intro reminds me of an Alanis Morissette song. Love the singing. The drums are distracting with those awkward fills. Guitar work very cool. Kudos for confusing the hell out of me with the song structure, but minus points for me not knowing what to hook on to.

David - I have to admit bias against ridiculous lyrics to fit a particular topic. Mostly because they're sung with less confidence... because they're completely random and have no feeling and done in one take. That said, it's pretty catchy. You definitely overcompressed something, maybe the whole song.

Dinnertime - The instrumentation makes me laugh, but this is pretty much the same formula you submitted last week.

Lucky Spoon - I am going to sue you for copyright infringement! jk It's awesome. If you really rig the vote I will shank you.

Manhattan Glutton - A little bit of hook for everyone! I came up with the verse riff and then the chorus and couldn't come up with a melody for the verse that matched the song. I think I did alright, but this one was almost an instrumental.

MC Sharks - The intro made me brace for terrible impact, but you pleasantly surprised me. This is fantastic. The only part I want to skip is the record scratching that goes on forever in the middle. You and Lucky Spoon should collab and make something more awesome than the both of you.

New Result - Okay, it's kinda neat, but after listening to Dinnertime Boys I have extremely low tolerance for techno with "(title) (title) (title)" sung over it.

Noah - As a song, it's pleasant enough, but a little familiar. These drums are redoinkulous. Vocals are fairly good but I think you may be out of your range on the low side.

Panna - I hate you for mastering this so loud. Going for the loud vote demographic, eh? Otherwise, it is a perfectly wonderful waltz. A wonderfully perfect waltz. Not entirely exciting, but really good at what it does.

Pigfarmer - It sounds like you're singing from your lyric sheet. The phrasing and melody choice of your vocals makes it very, very hokey. The lead guitars are a welcome addition, but also hokey. I suppose if you're cool with hokey, you're on the right path.

mcbeef - This starts awesome but then I realize it goes nowhere and hit next.

Steve - I have never heard this chord progession before, nor the vocal melody. "Flew too near the sun" really? Really?

Wages - OK you get the bonus points for 3/4 but you lose all of them for doubling your vocals instead of doubling your guitar. As far as Wages repertoire goes, this is above average. I'd probably want to listen to it on loop if you spent more time on instrumentation.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by David Ritter »

Thanks Manhattan for telling me where to put lyrics!

I don't know if this is ok but I'm going to tell you guys what mine is about:

It's about this guy who stole something from this lab (let's just pretend it's a vial of super-human serum). Anyway, they (whoever they are) sent out a posse of ass kicking (Gargantuan Monkey Fist).

I read this to my wife and she said "You're not going to win writing stuff (translated as crap) like that."

Perhaps I went too far on this one. Somebody's gotta like it somewhere out there.....somewhere.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by reve »

Hello, friends. My name is R. Mosquito, and this week I am one half of The Chthonic Youth. We've been on sabbatical. I am fairly surprised that we were the only ones copping Milton this week.

Chekhov.
Your rhymes are dope. Your delivery is not. It sounds like you're sitting in front of the computer keeping your voice down so you don't wake your mom.

Choppe.d
Thumbs up.

D. Ritter.
Suggestion: reverb down. So not getting the reference, I googled gargantuan monkey fist. It surprises me how long these Seinfield quotes retain currency in popular culture. But hey, welcome to SF and good job, eh?

Dinner Time Boys.
So I don't hear the hard landing in here. If you're reading reviews, I'd be curious to hear what you're using synthwise?

Lucky Spoon.
I did literally laugh out loud. I mean, it was kind of a quiet, stifled laugh. But it was out loud -- not like a smirk to yourself LOL. But most of the time I was shaking my head. You do squeak into votesville, though.

MC Sharks.
Well, plus points for an original idea, minus points executing it so poorly.

New Result.
I just received vintage NOS japanese transistors for my 909 clone.

Panna Cotta.
Good. Not as spicy as my palate longs for, but certainly the best dressed of the tracks here today -- I reckon you hit what you were going for on the nose.

Pig Farmer Jr.
Love lost songs are hard to do.

Q. McBeef.
THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. But I don't get how it ties into the title.

S. Durand.
Certainly the best written music for the fight. But as I was saying to Piggy, love lost songs are real hard to do convincingly in this forum.

Wages.
The dual singing doesn't work for me so much. And like, for all the power going into your voices, the tinnyness of the guitar detracts from teh oomph of the performance.

So were the election today, votes for Chopped, Steve, and Lucky Spoon. I'll wait 'til the end to vote, though.

*EDIT* Ooops I missed Manhattan G. & Mr. McLaughlin.

Manhattan.
So like, the compressor brings your voice up during the verse, but then when you hit the chorus when it should really pop it doesn't. We've had the same problem with our last couple rock songs though, so pot-kettle. Could lose a couple minutes.

N. McLaughlin.
Drum machine detracts. :/ Had it been a little _more_ drum machiney -- like the Jesus and Mary Chain -- it would have worked better.
-- reve mosquito.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by nyjm »

Noah - As a song, it's pleasant enough, but a little familiar.
Haha! I was consciously going for a familiar chord progression, but I didn't realize I was copping that tune!
These drums are redoinkulous.
Aside from the added high-hat on the chorus, what's so remarkable? Everyone seems to be commenting on them. I ask because I'm very careful to approximate what a real person can do with the drums. It might be a really good drummer, but I swear there's only one left-hand, right-hand and foot hit per beat.

They are, probably mixed too prominently, partially drowning out the acoustic guit parts.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by Manhattan Glutton »

nyjm wrote: I ask because I'm very careful to approximate what a real person can do with the drums. It might be a really good drummer, but I swear there's only one left-hand, right-hand and foot hit per beat.
So you've got the right idea with the left-hand/right-hand parts, but I think you're overthinking this drums business. Yes, it could be drummed live, but the drummer kind of sucks and probably wouldn't keep the tempo :). He's overplaying and accenting all these weird beats that do not fit with anything. Sometimes the best place to start is a simple rock beat and then add in what feels right. A good way to get better at fake drums is to play real drums, or at least play fake ones with a midi keyboard, just to get a better feel for things.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by ujnhunter »

Chekhov: I agree with my better half... rhymes are good... but the delivery not so much. I think the synth/drums are a little sparse as well and could use some beefing up.

Meat God: I like it. Crunchy guitars and varying tempos are groovy. Possible vote.

Rittermeister: I like the guitar section after the chorus. I don't get it though either...

The Boys of Dinner Time: The synth is kinda cool... but... uh... are you only going to repeat "Hard Landing" at random points in the song? This is why instrumentals don't work that well here... unless you crash at the end... nope... no crash.

Framed Spoon: Oh hi Lucky! You're tearing me apart Lucky! Cheep cheep cheep cheep! Uhm... well I don't like rap, so I don't really know how to be constructive. It is better delivered than Chekhov.

Glutton of Manhattan: It's a little long for my liking, but I like the "Easy" and "Coming Down" parts... maybe vote.

Shark Pool: Again... I have nothing constructive to tell you. :\ Sorry about my genre bias. I guess I like that little "weird sample" in the chorus?

Neu Result: See Dinner Time Boys.

Senior McLaughlin: I like the fuzzy guitars (?) in the chorus.

Penne Ala Vodka Army: I like the sound. Best production (!) so far. A little smooth and slow for me. However it is well done.

Poogie Farmer Jr.: Love songs are better when you kill the other person...

Where's the Beef?: I like this on it's own... but not for a Song Fight! song for the title "Hard Landing".

S. Durand: Are you going to kill her at the end? ;) Needs more murder.

Wages: The acoustic guitar doesn't seem to fit with the vocals. It needs more... BOOM! or something. Also if you're going to do dual vocals, you might either want to differ them by octave or something but the timing should be more together... pot-kettle.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by HolstBen »

Chekhov's Raygun - Everything's a bit quiet. Sing louder! Belt it out! Much better than last time re: lyric panning and different vocal structures. Do more of what you did at the end, group vocalling the end of each line. I want to vote for you next time. Make it awesome.

Chopped Liver Meat God - A QOTSA-like exploit turned ugly because of that pneumatic pump of a... whatever that sound is. Also it goes a bit Deftones in the middle. I dislike Deftones. Well produced, though, the vocals sit exactly where they should in a song like this. Your lyrics are strange.

Chthonic Youth - Kaiser Chiefs vocal goes well with the drone of the rest of the song. I mean that as a compliment. I like this. As I can see from the previous reviewers, there is a distinct mix of styles in this song. I don't really like noise rock but you really made it work here. Good job. [vote]

David Ritter - Cool drums. Cool riff. What a strange guitar solo. I've never seen Seinfeld. Well produced, though. Doesn't outstay its welcome. Oh, damn, you faded out rather than ending it good'n'proper. Oh well, I liked it nonetheless. [vote]

The Dinnertime Boys - Sweet little experiments with synths, though you cheated again. I guess this is your thing now. Well, I'm not going to vote until you get something more solid down. You could do so much more, because you clearly know how to write great hooks and combining textures.

Lucky Spoon - Wait, this is Lucky Spoon? Wow. So different! Nice variety, there. This is actually expertly done, nice rhymes, great flow. Well played, Spoon. You gain my vote again this week. [vote]

Manhattan Glutton - Great mix, very 90s. Can see myself listening to this again. Really like the production. Fits the style very well, nice. No negatives I can find for you at all. [vote]

MC Sharks in the Swimming Pool - Nice flow, great rhymes, brilliant lyrics. Well executed on the whole. You lost a few points for the strange scratched bit at the end, that was pretty superfluous. I'm still going to vote, though. Just watch me! [vote]

New Result - Wow, this is annoying. I don't really know what to say other than that. Try to make the song build somewhere next time. Change the lyrics! Do anything!

Noah McLaughin - You prove that you can sing in a mid-range, I see no reason for you to go down to the crazy-low notes in the verses... Your guitar is pretty weak, and there's too much reverb on everything. I also can't make out some of your lyrics. Saying that, you have written a damn decent song here, it just needs to be executed a bit better.

Panna Cotta Army - This is awesome. A little Fleetwood Mac, a little Beatles. INCREDIBLY well produced, well performed. Wow, those harmonies gave me shivers. Downloading this one, for sure. I love how you all wait for us to react to the next chord change and then throw in a completely different one to keep us listening. I see no reason why you shouldn't win this week. Brilliant work. [vote]

Pigfarmer Jr. - Couple of timing issues here and there, couple of vocal and bass notes that are dissonant. Also were you making up the vocal melody as you went along? I hate the sound of DI'd acoustic guitar. I'll stop being a Negative Nelly and say that I do like the song, though. Have a vote. [vote]

Queef McBeef - I know plenty of people who would find this dubstep-esque bass-heavy noise-pop the hottest thing in music right now. Really doesn't work for me though. The constantly shifting volume makes me unsettled. Please don't do this again.

Steve Durand - Great piano sound. All I can think of Randy Newman. Well recorded in general. Doesn't grab me enough for a vote, though. I really wanted to as well :(

Wages - Nice. I like that you didn't DI your guitar this time. I really like the song - is there any way you could do a mix with one vocal line and 2 guitar lines? That would rock so hard.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by wages »

HolstBen wrote:Wages - Nice. I like that you didn't DI your guitar this time. I really like the song - is there any way you could do a mix with one vocal line and 2 guitar lines? That would rock so hard.
Yeah, sure. Anyone want to help me with it? I'm sure the song should be electric, BLT or MG. ;)
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

I haven't listened to the songs yet. I'll go haz me a listen, Phil.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

reve wrote:Hello, friends. My name is R. Mosquito, and this week I am one half of The Chthonic Youth. We've been on sabbatical. I am fairly surprised that we were the only ones copping Milton this week.
Q. McBeef.
THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. But I don't get how it ties into the title.
The opening sample was the Hindinburg disaster. Which I guess is loosely connected to the title.

By the way, this is applesandvodka as a new screenname. If anyone remembers (I doubt you do) Lockheed Symphony from a few years back, that's me!
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by reve »

nyjm wrote: Aside from the added high-hat on the chorus, what's so remarkable? Everyone seems to be commenting on them. I ask because I'm very careful to approximate what a real person can do with the drums. It might be a really good drummer, but I swear there's only one left-hand, right-hand and foot hit per beat.
I think the problem is less the attention to handiness in the programming than the shittiness of the samples. If you plugged this into BFD or whatever (and let it handle the swing algorithmically), it'd probably sound alright. But if you're triggering the same sample over and over in sixteenth notes at the same velocity with auto choke or whatever, ooooo, it gets real drum machine sounding real quick. This is part of why drum software these days has like a hundred samples per drum -- it gives it subtle variation that's nearly subliminal but that our ears associate with "real."
-- reve mosquito.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by MisterQuoons »

Hey, I'm not in the fight this week, I was working on a song but didn't get it finished in time, may or may not finish it, may or may not post a link to it in the forum, etc.

I just wanted to say that the cover art this week is the most epic cover art I've seen on this site EVER, and that includes all of the amazingly kick-ass drawings by Teplin. Seriously, I was lulzing all the way to the bank. King Arthur and Spud, my hat goes off to you both.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by Spud »

I had nothing to do with it. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.SPUD
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by Spintown »

http://spintown79.blogspot.com/2010/07/ ... nding.html

Lucky Spoon - The first few seconds had me worried. I thought someone had the volume set WAY too low when they recorded, and I even started to jack up the volume. But then I heard the scratches, and sat back to listen a little relieved. Then I got worried all over again when I realized it was going to be a song about Song Fight. I'm so tired of songs about songs & about song contests. Fortunately I didn't just skip to the next track because I was pleasantly surprised with this track. It has a fun beat, humor, used the title well, had some trash talk, and it actually sounded like something from the late 80's or early 90's. The chorus sounded very familiar, but I couldn't place it. This will get countless plays on my MP3 player. (voted)

Manhattan Glutton - I don't think I can think of anything bad to say here. Just a great song. Something I'd love to use in one of my "Pain For Laughs" videos actually. Well done. (voted)

Panna Cotta Army - Dat's purdy. This sounds like something that would play on a television show or movie during a montage. This is just really tight. (voted)

Steve Durand - Not bad, I dig the piano man. I kept changing my mind on whether or not to vote for this. I finally did cast a vote your way, but it was close. If another fight you probably would have got it easy. (voted)

Pigfarmer Jr - I like the story, and I think everyone knows someone like that. I started to get a little bored toward the end, but I overall I liked it. In another fight this could have got a vote, but this one was just to tough.

MC Sharks In The Swimming Pool - If I was a fat woman I'd hate you...but since I'm not...I laughed my ass off. Not sure it'll have a lot of replay value (if any), a few of the lines were a little random. But it was definitely fun to listen to the first time.

Chekhov's Raygun - Music is weak, but the rhymes were interesting... I think this is 2 fights in a row where you haven't really impressed me, but again you've got my attention. Hope to hear more from you...again.

The Dinnertime Boys...if I had just beat "Stake Or Die" on the NES, and this music started to play while the credits were rolling I'd be very pleased. But I'm never fond of instrumentals in song writing competitions. I'm even less fond of 8-bit sounding tracks that have the words "Hard Landing" randomly thrown in once just so people know it was wrote for the challenge.
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Re: Make sure your seat backs and tray tables... (Hard Landing)

Post by Lucky Spoon »

Chekhov's revenge - this sounds more like a conceptual idea than a song. it sounds like you're rapping late at night and trying not to wake up your parents in the next room. in general the concept is good and it seems like you have good ideas.

Chopped Liver Meat God - I would have liked if the opening drum riff started out SUPER slow and then slowly sped up into the song. of course that wouldn't have fit wit the song. ORRRrrrr would it have? Chorus slow down kinda jerks the listener around.

chthonicyouth - The intro sounds like uninvited by alanis. vox take some getting used to... they're good... but... hmmm.. maybe a little high in the mix? chorus vox/harmonies sound really good.

David Ritter - this is a really solid song. vox maybe a bit weak on the verse but the chorus is really good with the harmonies and the "ahhhs". the lead coming out of the first chorus is tight and the turnaround really ties it back to the verse. as i said, solid.

dinnertimeboys - nintendo fanfare intermission

Lucky Spoon - phresh. this needs a music video. Problems in the levels come from me only use my headphones to listen to this song.

Manhattan Glutton - gee wow that intro guitar sounds great did you play it like that or use a filter? this is probably the best song this week by far and everyone should vote for it because it's so much more awesome than everyone else's

mcsharkintheswimmingpool - this is my favorite song this week. I am a sucker for a sweet/creative beat. rhymes are pretty fresh/funny too. MG's idea of us working together for rap is probably not a good one as I shouldn't be doing rap... ever. (but i still will)

newresult - ohhh you're saying "hard" in the beginning... i figured that out when you also starting saying "landing". hey, did you know that's the song fight title this week too? weird.

noah - no. do not count off your song. drums are a bit high in the mix. (or maybe guitars are low?). Chorus vox are well produced. vox on verse are shaky and at times pitchy... seems like a theme this wek. actually a pretty good song overall.

Panna Cotta Army - this song pretty much has it all. anything i have to pick at would be personal preference.

pigfarmerjr - acoustic is a bit thin/tinny. work on EQing that a bit more... doubling is also a good way to thicken it. fills could be better (tick tick tick bap bap bap bap). A bit long without the length really adding much.

queefmcbeef - caught the Hindenburg reference. sounds a bit like aphex twin in there for a bit which is a good thing. you're onto a good thing here. try a bit less static and a little more "beat" and you could have a song i'd like

Steve Durrrand - good song, but it's like you've brought a basic cake with a beautiful picture silk-screened onto it to a cake making contest.

Wages - it seems you've tried to correct fret buzz by pressing really hard... which drives the notes sharp and makes your guitar sound out of tune. not the correct solution. try also bridge/neck adjustments and in general work on the general finesse of fretting a note. "doubled" vox are confused whether they are harmonies or doubled vox. helps if you pan anything you doubled up (is the purpose of doubling stuff up). Definitely think you should have doubled up your guitar rather than vox. And did you just end your song on a held out major 2nd??


My Favs: MINE, MG's, MC Sharks
Good songs that I should probably vote for: David Ritter, Panna Cotta, Chopped Meat
Songs that were good but just didn't do it for me: chtononitch youth, noah maclaughin, pigfarmerjr, Steven Duranus
Dark Horse song that grows on me: Chekov's revenge... would you mind redoing the vox and putting some energy behind them??? pleeeease??? this might make my mp3 list-o-regular listening.
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