Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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BBABM
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by BBABM »

canonicalman wrote: Bobobo-bo Bobo-bo - Great song bad mix. Pretty much all the flaws are in the engineering. Figure out how to mix this and it would seriously kick some ass. B-/VOTE (remix this and it will be an A)
Yeah, I don't have tracks for most of this. I was sent a poorly mixed mp3 with All the music. I then recorded the vocals over top. I think he expected me to sing something rather than whiney scream some words, but I thought it came out about a B- as well. Unfortunately, there will probably never be a better sounding version of this song.
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by glennny »

Ruthless Lately Reviews

BLT and the Psychotics- Awesome! Nice use of the affectation in the female vocals. Great riffs! Is that DJ Ranger Den? I don’t know who the Psychotics are. The band is tight. The bridge is much needed. Screaming solo! 8 bars is WAY TOO SHORT! Especially this guitar centric genre, 16 bar minimum, 32 bar preferred. In any case all that is there is awesome. Vote getter!

Bobobo- Wow I love this. The production is rather poor. It’s too bad, the riffs rock! Great writing. I like the arc of the music and the strange left turns it takes. The asylum delirium vocals work. I have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s fun to listen to though. Short of a vote, truth is I can’t listen to this repeatedly with the production at this level.

Canonical Man- This isn’t terrible. This is not very enjoyable for me however. There seems more attention to rhyming than delivery or pitch or passion. The music is uninteresting, and the lyrics are not much better. I think you’re capable of good music, but this isn’t it. Seriously concentrate on melody and rhythm and you’ll make good music. Good job finding rhymes for “lately”. How many verses are there? The story just isn’t clever enough to be around this long.

Egg Nog Dam- I’d cut the talky intro. I enjoy it when the melody kicks in. I like your voice. Nice melody. The title feels shoehorned into the Mr. & Mrs. James song. It’d be stronger if the piano line picked up in complexity as the song went on. There’s just big chords banged out, with an occasion passing tone. I hear very subtle “other noises” I find them more distracting helpful. Good song, lots to grab on to. Short of a vote I’m afraid.

Hey it’s ROMER- You feel ruthless lately, yet your lyrics don’t really support that sentiment. Usual boring lyrics, smoke weed, school sucks, knock my ass down. Some of the music is interesting, the rap is poor. There’s almost a melody in the chorus, it sounds very awkward for you. I like the solo section, some nice noises in there.

Ill screen- Wow this is amazingly bad. I hope you’re 13 and I’m a big jerk for being harsh. With music and rhymes this simple, the bpm should be 200 plus. This is tedious.

Infinity Point Buck- Well of the Nerdcore Sub set, this is my favorite. The Sisyphus line gained you many points! I like your delivery and lyrics. The music isn’t the focal point, but it has its moments.

Kapitano- Why is the pieced together talking interesting? I like this track for the weirdness factor. The vocoder chorus is the most fun for me. Whatever happened to Eclectic Spoon? You seem like a bird of a feather. The bass line is nice, of course real instruments rather than programmed would improve this a lot. Thanks for an interesting track. Not my thing though.

King Arthur- Nice vocals. Not sure about the gratuitous shaker. Your vocals and melody are strong. I dig the flute line, though it smells really MIDI. I don’t like the lyrics at all. I really like the guitar line. Can’t you do a variation on Boy Named Sue for every title? Seems like a desperate attempt for last minute lyrics. “… There once was a boy named Cloud Cuckoo and he called his room his land…….” . In any case I like this track, I wish I couldn’t understand the lyrics, because they’re what’s keeping you from a vote. Good stuff!

Larry- Meta song violation. I like when the vocals stop and we can enjoy the simplistic velvet underground groove. Lead guitar is out of key, please know where you’re bending and how much. This was a rough listen.

MC Who Izzy- You’re not singing with the piano. You’re sliding all over the dominant and major 7 to sound super drunk and awful. Your music is in shiny happy C major, and your vocals are steeped in affectation and have no sense of melody. Rough listen.

Noah McLaughlin- Drum machine is annoying. I’m sure you’d get a drummer if you coul, I’ll ignore best I can. The acoustic guitar line is very pretty. Echo synth is a nice mellow solo. You’ve got a nice moody setting, I wish it took me somewhere. You’re all set for a huge chorus or bridge. Your vocals work well, the 2 of you play well together. I wish there was a hook to grab on to. Lyrics are thoughtful if not clever. Cool stuff.

Paco del Stinko- I try to come up with criticisms. You get the prize for best guitar solo! You’re up against Paul (BSS sax player) for best solo of the fight. The bass line is outshining the guitar line. This easily gets a vote. Always a keeper! This is one that shines the louder you turn it up. I think you by far have the best vocal performance of the fight too. VOTE!
Realist- I like the allusion to “ Suicide is Painless”, was that intentional? It has the right amount of similarity. What are the drums doing? Drums are a mess. You guys sound like you just discovered King Crimson. There’s some cool chord pattern things going on. The vocals are pretty good! Nice dynamics. I like the bass line a lot. The whole thing needs a lot of tightening up. I think a better drum line would help the most.

Scott Gesser- It sounds like you’re just sitting there watching the world go by. The atrocity of verbosity in the repeated chorus sounds a lot like: “rubbing sticks and stones together makes the sparks ignite….”. I guess this is kinda funny. I like the vibes. I’m mostly angry that “afternoon Delight” is now in my head.

Sockpuppet- I like the composition. It’s almost tight enough to vote for. There are pitchy moments. This is rather entertaining. I like the bass vocal “bum bom bum”. One of the better Sockpuppet songs in my book. I hope to hear this tightened up and performed live at the next SFL. Good stuff!

Steve Durand- The intro grabs me and takes my vote. The verses are adequate. I like the busy bass line. The organ is nice, the horns are sublime. I generally don’t like story lyrics, but I like this one. Oh yeah, give us what we want! Horn solos! I don’t even mind the 12-bar. Vote! Awesome!

Now my entries:

Berkeley Social Scene: You may remember my friend Paul from “When Did You know” last summer. We got him again for this session. He’s the best part of the song to me. So the vocals went from Erin in the 1st session to martin in the 2nd session to Ken in the final mix down. I love where they ended up. I think with more time we would’ve had a nice blend of the 3. These are some of my favorite Ken vocals. The tune is very dark and moody. The bad bass note at 2:34 is a bit of tough love. Martyr has got to tighten up his playing. We apologize to the listener. We got to give Martyr enough embarrassment that he won’t play bad notes anymore. So I encourage comments and criticisms about it! I love the song. Lunkhead wrote most of the chord pattern. Erin was the 1st to throw a melody out there. It evolved a little but it’s mostly true as I recall. I wrote the solo chord patterns. Paul rips it up there. So much goodness gets a vote from myself!

Yardley Social Scene: Well if there wasn’t a BSS track, we probably would have entered it as BSS. This is the same line-up as “Monkeys on My Back”. If Lee and I wrote this song we might’ve called it Cavedwellers (our 90’s band). Lee wrote the song though. He’s in Yardley PA, we’re in Berkeley CA. This was an internet band. I haven’t sorted my technical issues with my recording set up yet, between windows 7, new laptop, new version of Magix, I have crazy latency issues, which is really nerve racking for playback. It sounds much sloppier than when I recorded it. I tried to slide it into place. It’s close, but still feels slightly off. Not that I’m the tightest player in the world. That is Paco. Anyway, Lee wrote some pop gold. The elephant in the room is that I hate hand claps. The other guys know this, so it was embarrassing to have my longest time musical collaborator (23 years) show up with a ditty that had such prominent hand claps. I realize I am alone in my disdain for hand claps, so I did no protest. At least it’s not the normal tired rhythm, though still simple. I love the production, I love the playing. I love this song! VOTE!

Votes go to:
BSS
YSS
Steve Durand
Paco del Stinko
BLT and Psychotics
Last edited by glennny on Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
Phillipso, Older Brothers, Semolina Pilchards, Zipline , Thank Glennny for the Frisbee, The Odoriferous Valley, The Worldly Self Assurance, Berkeley Social Scene, Very Gentle Knives, Daddy Bop Swing Set, GUNS, The Kraken Lives, Cavedwellers
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

canonicalman wrote: BLT and the Psychotics - Like the growly bass tone. The intro sounds derivative of some song I am just not recalling at the moment - Jane's addiction maybe? Initially mix quality on the vocals weakens the song. Its not weak in the performance sense, more that the mixing could have presented them better in the mix. Though I must say the chorus mixing rocked. The trick of very light doubling to enrich the vox in the chouses was what I wanted to do. Wish I had your engineer ;-) Instruments all rock hard and sound nicely polished. A-/VOTE
Thanks for the review. On the verse vocal comment. Do you feel it's the level of the vox, or the fx? I ask, because I treated the verse vox 3 or 4 different ways. From dry to an echo-ee delay and everything in between. I finally chose the way you hear them. Personally, I like how they sound. But that fall under individual taste, I suppose. :wink:
hillbilly

Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by hillbilly »

Scott Gesser-- I love those lyrics
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

glennny wrote: BLT and the Psychotics- Awesome! Nice use of the affectation in the female vocals. Great riffs! Is that DJ Ranger Den? I don’t know who the Psychotics are. The band is tight. The bridge is much needed. Screaming solo! 8 bars is WAY TOO SHORT! Especially this guitar centric genre, 16 bar minimum, 32 bar preferred. In any case all that is there is awesome. Vote getter!
I go back and forth on lead solo length. And you are right, this style of old school rock should have a heavy lead bridge. In this case I gave up some for the vocal bridge. Plus, I'm trying to make an old sound with an up to date feel, if you will. If this was done in the traditional style, it would be 5 minutes long with two 32 bar solos, lol. :D
Thanks, Glennny.

edit: Oh yeah. The Psychotics, for obvious reasons, are Dj Ranger Den and Paco Del Stinko. Because they are both a few sheets shy of a full ream. :lol:
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BBABM
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by BBABM »

glennny wrote: Bobobo- Wow I love this. The production is rather poor. It’s too bad, the riffs rock! Great writing. I like the arc of the music and the strange left turns it takes. The asylum delirium vocals work. I have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s fun to listen to though. Short of a vote, truth is I can’t listen to this repeatedly with the production at this level.
yeah "rather poor" is very kind. The song is about being bad at hide and seek. It does sound a little better if you crank the volume. Thanks for the review!
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

I better get some reviews in before I start the new song or I'll never get around to it. I did a like and dislike this time because I have been accused of only pointing out the good and not giving constructive comments. Please do not confuse dislikes with not liking the song. The dislikes are more opinions than anything.

Berkeley Social Scene
Likes - Has a cool Van Morrison vibe. A nice moody groove. Very well done. I like it.
Dislikes - Why is the sax so dry compared to the rest of the mix? It sounds great, but it's on a different stage with no width. It's really not a dislike as much as a personal preference, I guess.

BLT and the Psychotics
Likes - DJ has a great voice and I love working with her. Very professional. The same goes for Paco. They are real time players. I never get asked what the bbm is nor what are the chords. I send what I have and they return awesomeness. Then I mix it all shitty and submit it. :P
Dislikes - I wish that I didn't suck at golf.

Bobobo-bo Bobo-bo
Likes - I like this a lot. Although mentioned that the screaming vox were not good, I disagree, it makes the song. I'd go watch this band for sure!
Dislikes - There is no reason that this song couldn't have been mixed better. If nothing else, just running a preset EQ on the master for more bottom. Also, not so much a dislike, but this sounds like every other screamo song on the radio. Not a bad thing, just an originality thing.

Canonical Man
Likes - The guitar chords and bass line are cool. I like how the shaker/or hi-hat keeps the song moving. The story sounds like it could be a Spinal Tap song, lol. I like it.
Dislikes - The intro distracted me for a second. The chorus is a bit distracting too. Nothing bad though.

EggNogAdam
Likes - Great piano and vocals. Sounds very live except for the vocal reverb. But other than that, I like this for being so stripped down.
Dislikes - Who's Edward James? The vocals are too dry in my opinion. The piano is wet with room ambiance, so the vox should sound like they are in the same room.

Hey it's Romer
Likes - All the sound FX are awesome. Cool mixing. Sounds like you had fun.
Dislikes - rap.

illscreen
Likes - The backing music is pretty cool except the awful video game crap. I liked your rhymes, lol. Nice addition of the Jesse Eisenberg style apology about your grandmas cooking was gold. I lolled. You sound young, and if you are kudos. If you are 30 living in your mom's basement, grow up. But all considering, good job.
Dislikes - nerd rap. Although it does make me laugh for about a minute. Then I want to burn it with fire.

Infinity Point Buck
Likes - You said John Lennon? Flute was cool. The vocal delivery in parts sounded like if Frank Zappa did rap.
Dislikes - rap. Beats could have been moe dope. Isn't rap all about the back beat?

Kapitano
Likes - Wow, great production! I love it when a musician puts time and thought into his/her arrangements and production. It shows dedication and how serious you are about your craft. Good job.
Dislikes - Other than loving the groove, I don't really know what this song is about. So I just have to assume it's about the title, lol.

King Arthur
Likes - This song has a great foot tappin' rhythm. Great guitars and I love the flute. The chorus is catchy and easily memorable. Went for the title as the main character of the story. I like that because I do that too from time to time.
Dislikes - Not much to dislike. Your throat phlegm made me want to hack up a smurf a couple times, but other than that, not much. :P

Larry
Likes - The bridge is my favorite part. I guess because it wasn't so cluttered. I like the distortion on the guitar, but too centered. Stay strong, Larry, you are on the edge of finding your sound and then you will knock us dead.
Dislikes - I know it's fun to layer tracks, but there is a limit of how many should be used, lol. A bit cluttered and you had instruments fighting each other for the same spot on stage. The cool sounding guitar was almost up the center and too upfront. Would have sounded great panned out wide left and right. I never understood why people bitch about a song fight song about Song Fight. Now I see why. :)

MC Who Izzy
Likes - Ok, this starts promising with a nice acoustic and country drum beat. The piano is a nice touch. But the vox, although good, are effected dis-favorable to your song. I laughed at the edit eff-up at the end. lol
Dislikes - The vocals don't match the sound of the instruments. Like on a different stage. Also, when you cut the music for a vocal solo, don't cut it so abrupt. If you have no choice, a little trick is to take the last note of the instruments and put them on new tracks with a delay so they tunnel/decay away.

noah mclaughlin
Likes - Ross? j/k lol. Very nice production. Everything clean and organized. Good harmonies, Brookie sounds good here, and with the heavy reverb it's fitting. I like the scratchy record and effects a lot. But I tend to be an FX lover. The mix of the FX used here, like in the bridge, with this classic rock folk song is a GREAT contrast. Should be done more!
Dislikes - The only thing I can think of is that it's heavy in one ear. I listened to this song with my head cocked to the side like a dog when you ask him if he wants a cookie.

Paco del Stinko
Likes - YeeHa! Let's go for a drive down PCH. Great song to crank up with the top down. And by top, I mean my pants. This tune rocks, yo. Love the lead bridge and a powerful ending.
Dislikes - You need to double track your lead fitgiddle. :)

Realist
Likes - The beat in the beginning made me think of the Pixies. But quickly changed. I like this quite a bit. The music is great, the mood is great at delivering the feeling. The break down and arrangement is awesome! Vocals are done well. Good job.
Dislikes - The lead vocals are too piercing. Not a dislike as much as "I'd" like to hear the vocals softer on the edges. Maybe more compression so that they hold the level with the song as a whole better. But no real dislike on this song, just opinions.

Scott Gesser
Likes - This has a nice smooth feel. Good lyrics. Nice voice. Good job.
Dislikes - The chorus is a little hard to hear due to mixing. Like, to much room sound? Not sure. But your harmonizing is fine. Not bad, the song is all there, just tighten up your mixing skills a bit

Sockpuppet
Likes - This is great. I like the karate chop rock. Your single voice sounds good. The lyrics are fun. The delivery is the hook. It makes me want to memorize the verses and sing along, which normally happens in the chorus. But you're not normal, so very fitting. lol.
Dislikes - The chorus harmonizing is a bit distracting, but I like the melody a lot. If given the time, I know you can tighten that up. So there really isn't a dislike on this song.

Steve Durand
Likes - Your music always makes me want to dance. The horns are great as usual. A whole bunch of them in the bridge, nice! This song is making my computer chair squeak.
Dislikes - The bass sounds weird. It picks up the bottom, but just sounds odd. I guess it's the effect you have on it makes it sound hallow.

Yardley Social Scene
Likes - Ah, very clean and happy. Very good production. Vocals sound nice. The instruments are perfect. Ah, the famous Glennny solo.
Dislikes - Stop clapping!
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by Kapitano »

And now, part 2 of Kapitano's reviews:

King Arthur: A jaunty song about depression, insanity, and parental stupidity.

No production issues so I don't have much to say.
Except: how many cigarettes did you have to smoke to get a voice like that? Are you the offspring of Mercades Mcambridge and the cookie monster? If not, do you do anything special to get that tone, because I'd like one like it.

Larry B Hakala: Ah, the band playing down the pub, recorded through a tie mic at stage front - I know the sound well.

Actually, I'm not sure how you'd *get* that sound in a studio. How did you, if you did?

There's quite a lot going on - kick and snare, vibraslap, very quiet piano (?), acoustic guitar, two vocalists and this months winner of Scuzziest Guitar In The County Award. The timing is occasionally wonky - especially between the vocalists and the in the final guitar solo.

But there's nothing wrong that an extra rehearsal and a graphic equaliser won't fix. Speaking as a pretentious sound sculptor, I like your unpretentiousness.

MC Who Izzy: It swings along nicely, and everything's well played...except the voice I'm afraid.

The singing sounded okay at the end with no backing, and there's nothing wrong with the *sound* of the voice itself. It's just offkey (usually flat) - as though the singer isn't sure which chord he's supposed to be harmonising to.

The mic doesn't seem ultracheap or noisy, but there's vocal popping, and clipping - stand back and don't play so loud.

Oh and...you're recording (or encoding) in mono? If that's to keep a retro vibe then...I like the idea. I put slapback panning on almost *everything*.

Noah McLaughlin: Are you the Crash Test Dummies in disguise? The bass singing, female backing vocals, plucked string backing...and vinyl surface noise!

One minor complaint: the bass is a bit loud and booming. Take it down and the drums and strings should come through clearer, which they should because they're very pleasant.

Apart from that, good stuff.

Paco Del Stinko: There's not much good being Syd Visious's evil brother if we can't hear what you're snarling. Vocals up just a bit.

The playing, especially the bass, is more melodic and practiced than I'd expect for a song like this - more Ian Dury than GBH. The lead guitar especially.

Realist: With better mixing, this could be positively anthemic. But you can't have soaring strings in the chorus if the soaring voice drowns them out.

Go back into the studio, rerecord (and maybe lose the slowdown around 2:40) and you'll have a contender for an opening album track - one that Skunk Anansie (or a progrock band of the late 70s) wouldn't be ashamed of.

Scott Gesser: Do you know "Casiotone for the Painfully Alone"? The lofi sound, organ and drums (sound and pattern) sound a lot like the circuitbending retromeisters of that kind.

The 'ruthless' line is shoehorned in there - but that's true of half the other entries including mine.

I like the bouncing singalong half-hip-hop chorus.

Sockpupppet: The instrumentation changes and the effects dropping in and out show this was was quite studio intensive. So...putting a pitch correcter in the signal chain would have been good.

The acoustic guitar is a little loud and muddy, and I can barely hear the drums. Oh, and "bourgeousie" isn't an adjective :-).

Quirky can be good. But quirky needs to be pulled off better than non-quirky to work.

Steve Durand: If this were better recorded, it could be a clear winner. Good voice, witty lyrics, well played - especially the horns. Neither bare nor overcluttered, the backing vocals effective but unobtrusive, and it's all the right length.

So what *have* you done to your microphone? Everything's fuzzy, and the rhythm guitar was a touch too fuzzy to begin with. The bass sounds like it's coming from inside a wooden crate.

This is another 'go back in the studio and do it again without time constraints' entry.

Yardley Social Scene: You're stuck in 1962. Don't move on, because it's fantastic.

The bright guitar, real claps, modest bass, rich harmonies and harmonica (harmonium?) - it all comes together just right. The overdriven (but not fuzzy) guitar break was professional sounding - though maybe a little early in the song structure.

I'd seriously like to know how you got the voices to sound like they came from that era - seeing as everything else benefits from recording quality that didn't exist back then. Did you just give the vocals a load of tape saturation?
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by Realist »

glennny wrote: Realist- I like the allusion to “ Suicide is Painless”, was that intentional? It has the right amount of similarity. What are the drums doing? Drums are a mess. You guys sound like you just discovered King Crimson. There’s some cool chord pattern things going on. The vocals are pretty good! Nice dynamics. I like the bass line a lot. The whole thing needs a lot of tightening up. I think a better drum line would help the most.
um....suicide is painless....nope. No intention there, an no real awareness of the reference at all actually, but I try to stay away from that particular genre of melancholy. Lyrics are now posted if any of them are unclear. Not a King Crimson fan either. Purposefully went for what I consider the "falling down the stairs" drum style lol....I enjoyed it but that's just me and I know I'm odd.

Thanks for the input everybody, this is only my second solo submission so I'm quite encouraged overall :D
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by Kapitano »

BBABM wrote:when the main beat came in... i swear i started singing fine young cannibals "she drives me crazy". that drum hit is the exact same one used in that song.
Only if they used a time machine to steal my laptop. Some people make all their own furniture - I make all my own drum samples.

Actually, if I'm ripping off anyone it's Hoodlum Priest. The change from small to big drums and back is stolen shamelessly from them.
i like the weird computer talking voice better than i like the effected rapping.
I came up with the computer voices idea first, with a vague plan to put a rap between them. The rap was double tracked (recorded twice), with one recording having the lowest 400 Hz taken out, the other the lowest 2000.

The idea was to have me 'dueting' with myself on the end of a telephone, but the effect wasn't distinct enough.


nyjm wrote:very cool, but it takes way to gorram long to get into the actual song
Yes, a nasty habit of mine. Probably because I used to enjoy a lot of intros to songs on the radio, then get bored as soon as the singing started.


Who Izzy wrote:I really love this song I'm not even sure what the lyrics are saying but It sounds so nice.
The lyrics are in the archive and they're about commercialism. I take the view that if you're going to have lyrics, they should mean something, and not be *too* dumb. But I much prefer working on sounds and patterns than words.
If only you hadn't done what you didn't do, but since you didn't you get a vote.
Thankyou. Erm, I think.


canonicalman wrote:Wait, Didn't you have a different nick?
I've always posted as Kapitano. There was my friend Kamakura years ago, and we sometimes did collaborations.
I feel like I recognize your music but this is better than what I recall hearing before.
Well, my old stuff is quite embarassing to hear now.
The instrumental parts of the music feel a bit one dimensional - a bit of slow stereo pan or other minor backing parts would really pad this out nicely otherwise it is just too spartan for me.
Ah, you like your music deep and complex. I tend to go for clarity, with extra things happening to lead into transitions.

I should try making tracks out of a larger number of smaller sounds.
Sounds like it must have taken forever in engineering.
It took...three sleepless nights. Intersperced with two sleepy days. Plus, being more an engineer than a musician, I usually get the synth patch, EQ and reverb right before starting on the melody - or even the chord structure.



glenny wrote:Why is the pieced together talking interesting? I like this track for the weirdness factor.
I think you answered your own question there.
Whatever happened to Eclectic Spoon? You seem like a bird of a feather.
I don't know them, but I'll check them out for similarities. If they turn out to be a bit crap, I shall probably sulk. :-).
The bass line is nice, of course real instruments rather than programmed would improve this a lot.
"Of course". I take the view that the point of synthesisers is to sound different from mechanical instruments, as opposed to poor immitations of them.



Billy's Little Trip wrote:Wow, great production! I love it when a musician puts time and thought into his/her arrangements and production. It shows dedication and how serious you are about your craft. Good job.
Thank you very much. As I said before, you own studio skills are evident.
Other than loving the groove, I don't really know what this song is about. So I just have to assume it's about the title, lol.
It's about as much about the title as most of the entries, most of the time ;-). No, the title is a springboard, not a cage.

And there's lots of songs I liked better before I knew what they were about.
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by fluffy »

Well, I was hoping that the subject matter of my song was so over-the-top that it could only happen in fiction, but once again, reality has to go and do something even worse.
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king_arthur
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by king_arthur »

Kapitano wrote:And now, part 2 of Kapitano's reviews:

King Arthur: how many cigarettes did you have to smoke to get a voice like that? Are you the offspring of Mercades Mcambridge and the cookie monster? If not, do you do anything special to get that tone, because I'd like one like it.
July 4th, I decided I'd try an AAD. Only got two songs and this was the second one. Fortunately or unfortunately, on the first one, I ripped out my voice doing six backing vocal parts for the first song, and this is what I was left with. Also part of the reason why I only got two songs, tho' lack of inspiration was the real reason...

Charles (KA)
"...one does not write in dactylic hexameter purely by accident..." - poetic designs
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nyjm
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by nyjm »

Realist wrote:Thanks for the input everybody, this is only my second solo submission so I'm quite encouraged overall :D
Keep it up: your first offerings are way better than the stuff I submitted when I first came around.

Also, RE: fluffy's article: that.is.messed.up.
"You sound like the ghost of David Bowie." - SchlimminyCricket | it was a pleasure to burn | my website | Juliet's Happy Dagger
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eggnogadam
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by eggnogadam »

HAAAHAHAHAHAHA.

So I just realized that Edward Jame's wife could have been named Ruth since I didn't specify a name and that this can be taken as a sweet pun on the title.
Hahahahahahaha. This is HILARIOUS since I actually TRIED (twice) to write a shitty little poem called Ruthless Lately about the Boston Red Sox after Babe Ruth was traded. I couldn't come up with more than one stanza and even that was horribly tacky. The fact that I accidentally worked this pun into the song is hilarious to me and I want to thank whomever it was on the first page that pointed it out. I had to listen to the song (150th time) to notice what I think you're talking about. Freakin' wow!

Also, thanks for the votes and the critiques. I am trying to not vote since I can't take time for submitting critiques for the time being.

I am now looking into an exciter plug in. I appreciate the feedback on that. I love plugins and I'm always on the prowl.

Anyway, I slapped this song together in about an hour and a half before I left for a weekend trip (with two kids, one less than 2 weeks old) and I liked it enough to feel good about the submission. I realized that I suck when I write on a short time table and with a forced theme/title. That in mind, I still want to submit and hear all the crazy stuff you guys submit.

Thanks for the votes and the comments!

-Egg-
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by BBABM »

Billy's Little Trip wrote:Bobobo-bo Bobo-bo
Likes - I like this a lot. Although mentioned that the screaming vox were not good, I disagree, it makes the song. I'd go watch this band for sure!
Dislikes - There is no reason that this song couldn't have been mixed better. If nothing else, just running a preset EQ on the master for more bottom. Also, not so much a dislike, but this sounds like every other screamo song on the radio. Not a bad thing, just an originality thing.
Thank you for your kind words. It could have been mixed better, not by me unfortunately... I was given the instrumental as a horrible sounding mp3... I think he wrote and recorded it live with the drums mic'ed, and then re-recorded the guitar again over top a few times. All I had before the words was a really bad mix. But I liked it enough to see what I could come up with. I too like the screaming. I'm a huge "the fall of troy" fan, and I was trying to emulate his voice a little. I agree that the tune sounds pretty generic. my friend, the guitarist, has been in several touring "screamo" bands... and most of his songs I've heard sound a whole lot like everything else. Which isn't a bad thing, just kinda boring.
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truth
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by truth »

I really appreciate the comments.
Regarding YSS: I contributed a simple double-tracked mono lead vocal with no effects. I guess that's Beatley, as are the claps. But Ken might have sweetened both of these in his really lovely mix, I know not how. I am sorry to distress glennny et al with those claps...they were part of the sound in my head when I came up with the first vocal phrase (same for the double-tracked sound). And yes, that was the debut of my recently acquired Pakrashi harmonium.

It sure is a treat being able to collaborate with the BSS! Hope to do so in person again sometime.
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by Who_Izzy »

Since for some reason I'm blind and can't find my post to see whether or not I've already said what I'm about to I'm going to say something...
Thank you all for your reviews. I have enjoyed reading them very much. Seems like my singing was exactly what it was supposed to be: out of tune. I'm terrible at singing my own songs. I never know what notes to sings and what not. I made this song joking about that:
"I said okay momma, but I can't sing" and "You gotta sing" were meant to poke fun at the song itself.
"I just play music that feels good so that when I listen to it, I feel good" ~BLT 2011

"No-I'm not sure. But I meant to. I'm voting for it now." ~Caravan Ray 2011
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by nyjm »

eggnogadam wrote:Also, thanks for the votes and the critiques. I am trying to not vote since I can't take time for submitting critiques for the time being.
Always vote: they ARE a way of critiquing and it only takes a moment.
"You sound like the ghost of David Bowie." - SchlimminyCricket | it was a pleasure to burn | my website | Juliet's Happy Dagger
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BBABM
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by BBABM »

Oh I get it... Ruth-less, as in w/o Ruth ... God I'm dumb
hillbilly

Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by hillbilly »

BLT---Good Lick,Dam who playing Bass.Killer guitar.Really like this.Probably should get my vote, dont want to give you the big head. Got to think about it ,your a cock blocker. :}
Steve------Great horns,really enjoyed the story.best ive heard you sing in a while. good job.
Egg------Really liked. Good story and voice.
BoBo------Not my style, but allmost a vote.you scream well.

My vote goes to Chack-getting all sweaty with Betty
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by ken »

truth wrote:I really appreciate the comments.
Regarding YSS: I contributed a simple double-tracked mono lead vocal with no effects. I guess that's Beatley, as are the claps. But Ken might have sweetened both of these in his really lovely mix, I know not how. I am sorry to distress glennny et al with those claps...they were part of the sound in my head when I came up with the first vocal phrase (same for the double-tracked sound). And yes, that was the debut of my recently acquired Pakrashi harmonium.

It sure is a treat being able to collaborate with the BSS! Hope to do so in person again sometime.

I didn't do too much, just the usual EQ and Compression on the vocals. There is some reverb on the hand claps and they are augmented by a drum machine hand clap as well. The vocals all sounded good when I got them. I think these sound good because of the vocalist.

Ken
Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - Berkeley Social Scene - Tiny Robots - Seamus Collective - Semolina Pilchards - Cutie Pies - Explino! - Bravo Bros. - 2 from 14 - and more!

i would just like to remind everyone that Ken eats kittens - blue lang
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Re: Better late than never (ruthless lately reviews)

Post by Paco Del Stinko »

This was not one of my more favorite fights, but there was plenty of goodness to be found. I've listened to the songs many times and offer my brief comments here, which I will be glad to elaborate on if asked to do so. Cheers!

Berkeley Social Scene - I like the moody intro and chorus best. Not discounting the wonderful sax accents and solos. Is that Martin singing, with restraint? I think the tempo of ths makes it feel a little draggy, instead of mellow, at times. But still strong writing and playing, as to be expected.

BLT and the Psychotics - Master Chris does it again. Distinctive sound, even with the delightful Denise guesting again. Nice to sound like you and not someone else, eh? (That goes for both of you!) The vocal echoes just make it all the more cool as well. Grinding funk and punching rock, a great tune. Add it to the set-list.

Bobobo-bo Bobo-bo- This is a good example of sonic quality not mattering as much as writing. Or perhaps ambition. Far from being a catchy 'lil number, this is bold and adventurous. Yeah, maybe you could nip a bit here and there and squeeze it into a tighter package, but the energy level is high and makes up for a lot.

Canonical Man - The story here is good enough, but I feel could have been presented more economically. Maybe even a bit more vague. The rhythm is pleasant enough but the progression begins to become tiresome too soon. Perhaps different guitar/instrument, layers/voicings could've spiced it a bit. No need to be a circus, but a little more flavor. Vocals pop a bit as well.

EggNogAdam - Nice singing, good trills. The intro is a bit corny but the chorus is kid of sing-alongy. A nice length, I'd still like to hear a brief, soaring bridge that makes you want to replay the song to hear it again. good writing, perhaps under-cooked a bit.

Hey it's Romer - I like this more than I maybe should. It's a bit silly, but I like the manic quality of it with its all over the place sounds. Best of which is the big rubber band one in the middle. Starts to get tiresome right when it ends. Perhaps due to lack of melody.

illscreen - Clean recording. There are some good lines in here, even if delivered all in the same cadence throughout. The music is video game-ish and less than thrilling. More energy and a feeling of "Oh my god! We're gonna crash!" would make this real fun.

Infinity Point Buck - It's like the vocals are from another song and fit onto this one with the same tempo. The accents feel off, somehow, although a point on for trying to break up the rhythm. I'm glad it's short though. The near jerky rhythm and lack of melody get tiring quickly.

Kapitano - Something out of Blade Runner, I think. I'm nt as impatient during intros as others here, although I've succumbed to submiting shorter ones in response to reviews. Anyway, I like the atmospheric robot groove. It doesn't make me want to dance, but that takes a LOT to do that. Good music to have on while ironing or having a small get-together.

King Arthur - I think this could win, or contend at least. The Boy Named Sue angle is different and works well, I think. The flute parts are catchy and sounded good coming out of my apartment when I was coming back upstairs from doing laundry. (Not my only listen, thank you!) A key changing bridge might've knocked it up a bit. Good strong tune. What, number 1001?

Larry - This is a mess, but one of my favorites this week. I, and many others, don't care for referring to SongFight! within your own lyrics. Regardless, the scuzzy guitar, and melodies work well. The out of time backing vocals are the right idea. The beat is lame, but you gotta do what ya gotta do there, I completely understand. I like the progressions and sloppy fuzz leads. A re-do/re-mix might be in order someday, or learn from what failed here at least.

MC Who Izzy - I lke what this starts out wanting to be. I don't know if you're making fun of Stonesy country rock, but I love it when done well. The vocal needs to be in tune and recorded better, obviously. The end part makes me feel like you're clowning around, which is alright, until I feel like maybe you're somehow makng fun of me. Well! Sticks and stones. Ooo! the Stones again!

noah mclaughlin - I'd like to hear this just a few BPM faster. And I don't know why, but that majot chord ending the chorus bugs me. I dunno, maybe I feel it should get darker somehow. Anyway, Lala's voice is a very nice complement to yours, and adds a nice, if airy and detached feeling, balance to things. The last near-minute feels a bit long. Overall, this is a very good effort at making a folky tune and is more success than not.

Paco del Stinko - Cheap rocker. I am amused by the Biafra and Vicious comments. Man, I miss my acoustic drums. The guitars are actually two parts, each double tracked. Mock tough guy lyrics. Eh.

Realist - What nice playing and arranging. Subtle outwardly, yet complex. The vocals are strong and true, but feel like they are hanging one note a bit too much. I'm torn between wanting to hear an occasional vocal harmony or the lonely solo one that's here. Makes me think of that Evanesence gal, who I could'nt stand. Please, you can be much better than her. If you submit again, perhaps a 180 from here? Anyway, strong writing, production, stand out. Yeah, I know you gotta write for you, just saying.

Scott Gesser - Buffalo Springfield with a drum machine. Well, more than that. Pleasant tune with a borderline catchy/annoying chorus. Hand claps would bring on the Melvin and I don't know that that would be a bad thing. I like the easy-going vibe here but feel it lacks a little bit of spark. The instrumentataion is good although could be tweaked EQ-wise, perhaps. Good tune, hope to hear more.

Sockpuppet - One of the better songs this week. I like the descending progression and rapid lyric delivery. Nice change into the near woozy verse sections. I can hear a higher frequency synth arpeggio twiddle by in spots (in my head) The change-ups are nice and show others how to do variations on a theme properly. The backing vocals are well done and in the right spots. Great tune, Sir Fluffalot.

Steve Durand
- I never thought I'd say this about Mr. S. Durand, but there are elements of Led Zeppelin riffs in here. (Houses Of The Holy, the sng) It's the horn riffs and guitar that open the song and return throughout. Ha! Not a ripoff, by any means, just simliar accents to one of their songs. Anyway. another pleasant tune. Maybe not the strongest melody, but more than made up for with the live horns and loose but togther vibe of the song, giving it breathing room.

Yardley Social Scene- Almost sounds like the Friz singing for a moment, but is a different pleasant voice. One of the more melodically pleasing songs this week,vocally and instrumentally. I enjoy the loopy Glennny solo (as always!) and I bet he was glad to stretch out a bit. I've only been to California as a weekend tourist in San Francisco, but this smells like what I imagine Californa to be, in one of its stereotypes: Sunny, easy-going, laidback. Perhaps strumming by the fire on the beach. Nice tune that should fare well in the voting.
Bringin' the stink since 2006.
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