Song Fight 2008 review

[jast]

I have been following Song Fight since some time around mid July this year. Now the year is ending, I thought it might be a good idea to collect my personal favourites of the year (these aren't reviews, they're declarations of love) now that there's a bit of distance. Feel free to join in if you're interested. Perhaps I'll do this again once I follow a full year of SF goodness. Anyway, the following are my top 12 picks of 2008 in no particular order; songs that will without a doubt stay in my playlist for a long time. The 12 is a mostly arbitrary number.

Calico Alley
Jonathan -- This song had all the great things. Awesome buildup (the acoustic bass thing starting from the second verse was particularly fabulous), interesting lyrics, good spooky atmosphere. I still don't really see room for improvement. My first SF keeper!
Honourable mentions (since I didn't write reviews for this fight):
i.p. -- Haunting melody and singing, awesome arrangement and performance. I think I voted for this one, too.
Paco -- Great fake live feeling and nice chord twists for this kind of song.
Weakest Suit -- I would have loved this one with a fuller arrangement.

Interesting Times
Adam -- A deserved winner, I think. Nice blend of synths, convincing singing, great mixing, fresh structure.

Paper Thin
BLT feat. Steve and Aardwolves -- BLT-style pure rock, combined with Steve's brass stuff and Aardwolves in vocals, topped by an extremely catchy chorus... what's not to like? Also, I want to steal your drumming and percussion stuff.
Ross -- My favourite of Ross's songs so far. Dark mood... works. Buildup... works. Vocals... work. Mix... works. Performance... works. All of them generally really well.

Everybody Calm Down
In this fight # came closest to being mentioned.

In The Tank
I still really like some of the songs here (I was going to mention Jeff's and NASA's here, as well as my own which I think had the coolest lyrics so far, out of all my songs). Unfortunately I'll never keep to the limit if I mention all great songs here.

Paper Thin
Mr. Cat -- Awesome bass voice performance, fun song.

A Scary Thing
Lonbobby -- Shit, do I love this song. Probably the best electronic pop song I've ever heard.

Stomach For It
BLT -- You all know I'm not really a fan of songs with no melody. This is the most noteworthy exception of all. Do it again!

Hollywood Wax
Elaine -- This song was quite a ride. Lovely chord progressions, lots of changes, the usual great backup vocals; one of your best lead performances (or backup/lead mixes, I don't know).

City In Fog
Crouton -- Best. Concept. Ever. Remember: I don't really like metal. But great storytelling, great concept, awesome vocals, great effects. I can't not like this. More of it!
Howl -- Yeah, it's not really a pirate song but it sounds like one. Spookiness in spades. Lyrics are great despite the decided lack of pirates.

Rattlesnake
oddbod -- This chorus stuck in my head like fondant sticks to teeth, only it was a bit more acidic. Great job.

Half A Million Nerds
Steve Durand -- Unconventional even for Song Fight. Pretty much the best vocals I've heard from you so far. Authentic.

Whenever I had trouble deciding in this list, I went for artists not included yet. Generally, the recurring (participated at least three times during my time here) combatants I enjoyed most were Elaine, Jonathan, Noel (or at least some guy called like him), oddbod, Steve, Todd. The "most flexibility" award goes to Weakest Suit and Andrew Reist (tough luck for those submitting under different names all the time).

My personal results of 2008 were an explosion in creativity (7 songs finished, only one of which didn't work out half as well as I've liked), vastly improved mixing skills, some more practice in performing under pressure and a new forum I visit quite often. See also the "thank you SF" thread and some DRC QotD which discussed this kind of thing.

Looking forward to the great stuff undoubtedly coming in 2009!

[glennny]

2008 Best Songs of the Year

I am not objective about things I am involved in, so I will give 2 lists.

Best Songs of 2008 I was NOT involved in:

10- Melvin- In the Valley
It’s just a perfect pop song, with perfect production. I have yet to tire of it.

9- ADD- Kick Start
I liked this at 1st, but over the months since Nur Ein I’ve loved this more and more. Killer groove, infectious Beat. AWESOME vocals!

8- JBB- The Blitz
Speaking of AWESOME vocals, perhaps the best vocal performance of the year is in this track. JB does so many things so well, and they are all things that I don’t do well, so I especially admire them.

7- Ken Mahru- Unnatural Disaster
We’ll be playing this live tonight  . Ken had a great batch of songs for Nur Ein this year. They were all winners. This has emerged as my favorite upon repeated listenings.

6- Todd McHatton- Hollywood Wax
I bought his album. It’s really good. I feel lucky that he participates in Song Fight. I haven’t heard a bad song from this guy. This was my favorite of all the entries. Certainly a nominee for Song Fighter of the year.

5- Carpetburn- God’s Thumb
I actually went to England over the summer and saw Carpetburn play live at a festival. These guys are fantastic. This is one of my favorites from them. I requested it, but they didn’t have it prepared. (it’s not easy). However I did get a wonderful version of “Convalescence” at the show.

4- Ben Krieger- Robot Candidate
This guy wrote “Cable Beach” which is still my all time favorite Song Fight song. My fondness for this song grew over the months since it came out. It’s tough not to be apprehensive about another epic. The melodies and the riffs are so good, I can’t help but love this song too.

3- Melvin- City in Fog
I think Melvin had the best year of anyone. His solo stuff has enormous quality, and it turns out I think he has the most quantity too. Nothing less than a genius this guy. This is my new favorite Melvin song. I can’t help busting into it , nearly every time I pick up a guitar.



2- Gert- Everybody Calm Down
The superset of Super groups can really make good music. This has the best of all the members. It’s a frantic and emotional ride, incredibly dynamic and beautiful, as well as rocking and in your face.

1- Paco del Stinko- Whale
Whenever I hear a Paco song I smile and light up. He’s just soooo good at all of his instruments. His vocals are amazing too. He comes off as comical to some, I guess to me too, but that doesn’t make his vocal abilities any less amazing. I’m wildly impressed by the dynamics of this song and the production. I keep nearly every PDS song, and this was my favorite of the year. It’s also in my all time favorite short list.



Best Songs I was involved in:

10- Berkeley Social Scene- Interesting Times
Harmonized leads! Video-gamey vibe! Main riff in 11/8! Chorus in 7/8! Ken’s drums are just so BAD ASS! Lunkhead can handle ANYTHING I throw at him.

9- Ziplee featuring Boltoph- Live version of Boltoph’s Ottoman
That New York gig was really fun for me. Seeing and meeting Ben Krieger, meeting and playing with Niveous, meeting Jim Tyrell, BZL, Roymond, Hueristics Inc, and others I’m forgetting. I went for pizza with Niv and Roy, I told them my favorite song of the 2007 was Ottoman by Boltoph having no idea he would show up. A few minutes later Boltoph is there, I tell him how much I love that song, and we decide to go for a cover of it (a cover for Ziplee, a performance for Boltoph). It’s sloppy, but his vocals are great, and Prisoner and Lee had never even heard the song and fell into it.

8- Berkeley Social Scene- Calico Alley
Erin’s vocals really make this track! I like the huge stadium riff that Lunkhead wrote for this. The instrumental breakdown is beautiful and exhilarating. Ken’s backing vox and tight drums make this professional sounding.

7- Jonathon Mann & the Berkeley Social Scene- Shoelace Soup
I love our other song with J-Mann, but I think it got a little overworked. This little ditty is so smart and unassuming. Jam packed with melody and country hooks. Trading solos with Lunk is super fun too.

6- Berkeley Social Scene- Stomach for It
Inject a funk riff into your indie pop song!

5- Worldly Self Assurance- Brain Trust
The genius of this song is in the subtleties. It is seemingly overt, but then you notice all the accent shifts in Melvin’s drums. I was happy to include so noise guitar blurps and sizzles too. It just rocks!

4- Berkeley Social Scene- Mediocre Savior
New rehearsal Space , new band, 1st song. I wrote the music and am particularly proud of it. Each verse and chorus is in a different mode. It progresses throughout the song. Go ahead try to play along without a chart

3- Worldly Self Assurance- Unnatural Disaster
This was the only Nur Ein song, where I started things off. It was nearly a Melvin-Glennny tune, but at the last minute Fris and Pete appeared and laid down some seriously wonderful vocals. The Melvin rhythm section is super tight and tasty. Singing “Retsazzid Laruchanah” was very fun. Our only tune with all 4 voices.

2- Worldly Self Assurance- Man of the Hour
Our Ace in the hole was Fris. We had him start this one off and the 3 of us embellished. We pulled out all the stops, all the tricks, and restrained them into a beautiful and tasteful song.

1- Worldly Self Assurance- The Blitz
I think I annoyed the judges with all of my inquiries about the challenge on this one. Especially TAFKATAFKAPANKAJTA. It paid off. Those other guys nailed the choral singing. This is my favorite solo that I’ve ever offered up too (left-handed on my lap with a slide). Pete’s starts and stops rock my world. I got to play E-Bow bass. This was my non-objective favorite song of the year.

[Teplin]

Thanks for the nod, Jan. This week's lyrics are at least 35% more piratey.

[Paco Del Stinko]

1- Paco del Stinko- Whale

Thanks for the kind words, Glen. I'm humbled!

[Billy's Little Trip]

Thanks Jast. Nice to know that someone in Germany likes a couple of my songs. That would never happen without the world wide web. I love the internetz.

[Ross]

I thought this seemed like an interesting exercise, picking the best of 2008 on a short list (what Niv undertakes is super-human).

I admit, I did not hear much of what was posted in 2008, so I limited my overview to fights I was in - especially those I reviewed - including Nur Ein! It was interesting looking over those reviews to realize that many of the songs I had rated high, I could not remember. Having not yet officially entered iPod culture I don't download the songs for permanent listening as a rule, so it is rare that I hear a song again after the week of the fight. If I could still remember it somewhat clearly - it had clearly made an impression.

So, here is my list - the songs I could hum a few bars of and such and clearly liked the first time around.

Not by me:
Hollywood Wax by Todd McHatton - I would put this up for best of the year.
The Blitz by Bryan Kandell - a Nur Ein! entry
Cute Boots by Jim Tyrell
Shoelace Soup by Jonathan Mann and the Berkeley Social Scene
Paper Thin by Grass Stained


Best songs by me (I think):
Tomato
Paper Thin
Unnatural Disaster (Nur Ein!)
Whale (Nur Ein!)


PS - Thanks for the Nod, Jast. I am proud to have made your short list.

[Niveous]

I thought this seemed like an interesting exercise, picking the best of 2008 on a short list (what Niv undertakes is super-human).

Speaking of that superhuman undertaking, I'm working on my Songfight Top 200 of 2008 right now. It's a tough one this year. There are lots of great songs. In fact, I had 36 songs to choose from when deciding my #1.