I hope these songs are ... (Better than Before reviews)

[Caravan Ray]

And if I remember right, you don't have water features nor a spa on you pool system.

No - you remember wrong. Last time I asked you for pool advice I had a spa and a waterfall. But that was when we lived in Brisbane. My house now has no water features or spa. Unless you consider a large poodle puppy that keeps jumping in for a swim a feature.


...wasn't there a review thread around here somewhere?

[Billy's Little Trip]

And if I remember right, you don't have water features nor a spa on you pool system.

No - you remember wrong. Last time I asked you for pool advice I had a spa and a waterfall. But that was when we lived in Brisbane. My house now has no water features or spa

You're getting old and forgot you told me about your new place. And I knew your Brisbane "flat" had a spa. In fact, in one of my mental journeys, your wife and I were in the spa sipping champagne while you were out of town on business. Hope you don't mind. I swear I was a perfect gentleman.

Ok, now let's get back to the reviews. Quit wanking about your life style of the rich and famous. No one cares about your boomerang wishes and Caravan dreams.

[RangerDenni]

Dear BLT.
I do not think that your review of Caravan Ray's 'Better Than Beef Ore' was kind, no not in the least.

CR, I myself thought your lyrics bursting with stimulating energy. Although your vocal could have been pumped up in the mix, the addition of the video helped me to re-member a couple familiar scenes (Coffs Harbour banananana! Win!), which warmed the cock-les of my heart. Though at times the phrasing of words was ridickulously* hard to follow as you struggled the make the title fill the small opening given to it by the unsuspecting chorus; jabbing at it with the with stabbing motions of your Subject Matter...still I rode along to the chorus, grooving along to its smooth rocking movements. I was drawn in by the entire package I think, since, as usual - a Caravan Ray production feels like a well set scene to me. This may never solve the age old question of Quantity vs. Quality, but you definitely drove your point home with vigor.

(now I guess I have to do reviews.....

it's the Tasteful thing to do.)

-----
*overstated. Pun intended

[Billy's Little Trip]

^ That is either very suggestive, or my pants just got a little tighter.

[RangerDenni]

Why, I have no idea what you're talking about..
I was just trying to firmly state my opinion. sorry if any offense arose on the subject :/

[Billy's Little Trip]

This thread >>>>>

[Ross]

It has been far too long since I have done my civic doody here.

My two cents based on first listen - a nice solid fight, I thought.

Billy and the Psychotics - You guys are definitely a good combo. On this particular thing some of the slacker-ness of the vocals are working against you in terms of word definition - this may be part mix, too. What is the adage about never letting the guitarist be in charge of the mix. Great hook-ey chorus. Nice arrangement. The double tracked vocals work well.

BSS - Love the opening lick - not sure the vocal phrasing really counterpoints especially well with it. The frantic-ness of the feel changes may be a bit too manic for me. I think you could have dispensed with feel #2 and just used #1 and the chorus. Everything is nicely performed here except for a pretty weak lead vocal, what do the kids call it these days? pitchy? lots of interesting ideas not adding up to an excellent whole, but an interesting listen.

Son of Supercar - rough around the edges, for it's own purpose? for it's own sake? as a statement? I feel it gets in the way of the song that is going on here, for what it's worth. Not listening to the song because of the distraction of all of the sounds (unless the sounds are the song?) The instrumental between verses seems little monotonous. All said - the underlying aesthetic reminds me of Victor Krumenacher, from Camper van Beethoven and the Monks of Doom, who I like.

Radio Show - I swear I have heard this song before - not this performance - but the basic tune and rhythmic cadence.....hmmm. Very nice all around, but I wish it had more levels or build or variation in arrangement or something. The stereo chorus is really distracting. It is good to enjoy one's studio, just know when to stop

Infinity Point Buck - I can't tell a word you're saying - seeing as this is rap and the words must be important, this seems like a major issue. Certainly the backing tracks don't carry this.

Paco - ooh - mic the acoustic. sounds like you didn't get a chance to flesh this out. some nice sounds and the words are a pretty good list. I sense that you left this intentionally ambiguous, but I wish there was just a bit more context. ooh - there's the flesh at 2:30 - ok, now I guess I just think it took you too long to get there - loving the Brian May solo.

Sockpuppet - maybe it's the toy piano, but there is an Eels-ish feel to this that I like - and it is nice hearing your cello in the arrangement - lots of good colors. Probably some of my favorite sockpuppet of what I have heard. Taking a long time to develop conceptually, but the sonic development is very nice - good arrangement work.

King Arthur - Nice doubling in octaves straight out of the box, almost like a british invasion 12-string. Nice to have you back in lately. Nice chord changes coming around the back end of the chorus. Bridge is perfect. Excellent song - radio - ready(1977) this should win for sure compositional craftsmanship - one of the best I've ever heard on songfight.

Micah Sommer - I wish you had a better vocal mic - the rest of this sounds so good. sounds sort of Genesis influenced? I have a slight problem with the title/lyric inconsistency - but I'm sort of a title nazi. OOh - ends way to soon - bring back the rock, repeat the last verse and chorus, and structurally this would be so much stronger - as is it sounds like an incomplete demo

Smashy Claw - big and fat and white-stripesy. let's hear where it goes. oh, I really want to hear your voice compete with those amps - how would you be singing this if you were on a stage instead of in a bedroom? nice sounds and stuff, even if the piano doesn't quite fit in the soundscape. The lead should be in the higher octave more. Very Promising, but just not quite punching the roll down the windows and drive button - for the reasons listed above.

Caravan Ray - you are so good at this. I don't want to like novelty songs - but this one I do. Classic C Ray Build at the end. It does scare me that this is where your mind goes. Very successful at what it does.

Overall a pretty solid fight!

[Billy's Little Trip]

Billy and the Psychotics - You guys are definitely a good combo. On this particular thing some of the slacker-ness of the vocals are working against you in terms of word definition - this may be part mix, too. What is the adage about never letting the guitarist be in charge of the mix. Great hook-ey chorus. Nice arrangement. The double tracked vocals work well.

I like to think I'm thoughtful of the entire mix. I better be, I stake my reputation on it.
Thanks, Ross.

[jb]

Reviews done by JB and wife Dorie. I'm eating my own dogfood and using the new Review-O-Matic. If you don't know what that is, just click the "Review This Fight" link at the top of every page on the forums.

Berkeley Social Scene
Not sure which one of you is singing, but Dorie and I couldn't quite make it through this one.

Billy And The Psychotics
This is fun! Totally dig it. So did Dorie.

Caravan Ray
Kind of ok. Dorie didn't hate it.

Infinity Point Buck
Not diggin' it. Dorie made me click to the next song.

King Arthur
Dig this one, especially the harmonies. Pleasant. Dorie liked it more than me.

Micah Sommer
Vocal recording needs help, which is a little unfortunate, because you're totally trying and this has promise. "Bless his little heart", says Dorie.

Paco del Stinko
Neat sound going on in the background. The guitar riff gets old. Kind of reminds me of Roymond.

Radio Show
Right off the bat, Dorie dug this. I suspect she's somewhat swayed by the nice production, but it's definitely nicely performed. I'm listening on my Macbook Air's speakers, which are, naturally Macbook Air speakers. But it's translating well. The vocal vibrato could be toned down a little, but I know how hard it is to not do something like that. Dorie says it takes away from the indie-rock vibe of the song. Wow, longest review of the batch!

Ross Durand
Nicely heartfelt, but a bit too close to Bob Dylan for comfort.

Smashy Claw
"This isn't horrible" says Dorie. I think the vox get a little annoying in tone. Lots of music going on, you obviously put a bunch of thought into it. Kind of wish the chorus weren't as rambly. Hmm, nice little piano thing there. The vox are definitely way too up front-- but consider I'm listening on very small speakers, so YMMV.

Sockpuppet
Ok fluffy, whatcha got... singing is better than usual, and I don't mind that descending guitar note. 'Cello is in tune, so kudos there. Dorie just gave you the ultimate compliment in my opinion, saying "he has a Jeffness there", comparing you to our pal ADD. Ok, I wish it had a chorus of some kind. The choppy strings at like 2:33 and whatnot are pretty cool actually. A little too samey samey man; I think you'd benefit from working on your structure some.

sonofsupercar
"What the heck is that?"

[Billy's Little Trip]

Hey Dee, we got a totally dig it from jb and Dorie! She's like some kind of smart news person and he's some kind of smart music-y computer-y website-y guy!

*high fives DJ* shmack

edit: by the way, thank you jb and Dorie. live.love.rock.

[RangerDenni]

Hey Dee, we got a totally dig it from jb and Dorie! She's like some kind of smart news person and he's some kind of smart music-y computer-y website-y guy!

*high fives DJ* shmack

edit: by the way, thank you jb and Dorie. live.love.rock.

Yes, I was rather pleased I still made approximately 3 errors and I'm sure there are other things I shall want to fix but I'm glad we were able to get our point across.

[codywalkerjr]

heres a link to the mono mix of 'Better Than Before by Radioshow

http://soundcloud.com/radioshowmusic/better-than-before

[hillbilly]

the more i listen, digging dj and billy, good work. but Ross kickin some Dylan ass. anyway enjoyed all the music this week. this is all most better then porn. Not
Billy you are a good rythum player solid. dont get the big head your sill gay and sux from time to time.

[hillbilly]

Ross- like that sound, what you pickin, that a Martin or Yamaha

[codywalkerjr]

[quote="Ross"]It has been far too long since I have done my civic doody here.


Radio Show - I swear I have heard this song before - not this performance - but the basic tune and rhythmic cadence.....hmmm. Very nice all around, but I wish it had more levels or build or variation in arrangement or something. The stereo chorus is really distracting. It is good to enjoy one's studio, just know when to stop

Hey , thanks for your input.
I kinda felt the melody reminded me of Heart of Glass by Blondie and the progression has traces of One headlight by the Wallflowers.

Know when to stop on the pauses ? or FX? or both LOL

Ya I usually just do 1 or 2 takes of each part I am very impatient so i just like to get the trax down so there are alot of errors in there as well as our stupid hardwired smokealarms that chirp all day long..

[Ross]

Hey Cody,

I think I might have been thinking of "I Don't Mind At All" by Boureois Tagg.

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri= ... kWhvBlzovo

[Paco Del Stinko]

Two things, for those that may read this disclaimer: I never used to listen on headphnes, I can't stand them on my ears this long. But it was fun. Also, I tried the Review-O-matic, but when I clicked on it, all that happened was my screen went white and just sat there. Regardless, feel free to ask for clarification.

Berkeley Social Scene - I wish I could dance the Robot when this starts but then it relaxes a bit. I like the synth line, it reminds me of a 90's band I can't recall. The sections of the song are almost blocked together, puzzle-like. Headphone listen reveals drummers perspective on the mix, I'm an audience member perspective guy. Just sayin'.

Billy And The Psychotics - With only Den, shouldn't it be the Psychotic? Anthemic, lighter waving and arena ready. I like the single note guitar lines and Den's cuddling vocals. Ooo, snooky wooky!

Caravan Ray - I like it when you're a little manicy. The positive side of bi-polarity. Brimming with confidence and a propensity for pumps, Mr. Ray sings about what he plays with a snarky display of glee. Good fun, look out ladies!

Infinity Point Buck - The opening synth line lies between menacing and goofy, leaning more towards the goofy side. The lyrics are difficult to understand under the synth business as well, but appear to be a goofy and self conscious delivery. Verdict: too much goofiness in this stew. I'm both chef and goof, I should know.

King Arthur - Needs a hand holding while walking on the beach montage interspersed with performance and contemplating while looking out the window shots. Like the progression and old Beatles nod. A short, catchy 12 string hook/riff might be fun, too.

Micah Sommer - I like that feedbacky synth. Oo! It's Christmas time! Wait. I hate Christmas. The percolating rhythm is nice and the dynamics work well. More a case of layering than dynamics, I suppose. This teeters on goofy but doesn't totter in. I like this.

Paco del Stinko - High E string tuned to D made the 7th chord an automatic. Simulated confidence/arrogance and a quick attempt at word play.

Radio Show - Pleasant voice and excellent singing. The ping-ponging slide or whatever that is is strong on headphones, to me. I like things more settled in my older age. What a very nice production and relaxed, yet not lazy, groove. Top notch all around.

Ross Durand - Nice. I like the vocal phrasing here, along with many other things. You are certainly able to deliver a song with genuine conviction, unlike myself. I'm a cartoon. My favorite SongFight! acoustic guitar tone (which I must mention every time, apparently) always feels good, too.

Smashy Claw - Nice dumb riff. Did you steal that from me? It leads to a somewhat typical, yet effective chorus. The piano plinks, woo-hoo type vocals, are nice touches. Th descending lines are a quiet strength here, nice work. I appreciate the subtle complexity here.

Sockpuppet - Moody progression, appropriately enough. I like the cello accents and piano tinkles as well as the easy yet effective melody. Some backwordsy type thing might've been fun at that brief interlude around 2 minutes. Good work here, no other voice needed but the one.

sonofsupercar - Banjer music, post acid drop. I remember reading in Basketball Diaries how the kids would get all doped on codeine in cough sryup. That'd work well here, all swirly and heady, yet slivers and hazy rays of light piercing through. Add fretless bass for complete loopage.

[RangerDenni]

Dear Paco,
Den has several distinct identities.
But we Do Not feel it is as sparkly of course-o when you're not in the mix
thank you for your nice review as wella!
-us who are Den, one of the Psychotic(s)

[Billy's Little Trip]

Billy And The Psychotics - With only Den, shouldn't it be the Psychotic? Anthemic, lighter waving and arena ready. I like the single note guitar lines and Den's cuddling vocals. Ooo, snooky wooky!

You callin' Dee psychotic? Takes one to know one.
Are you ready to get back to it?

[jb]

Two things, for those that may read this disclaimer: I never used to listen on headphnes, I can't stand them on my ears this long. But it was fun. Also, I tried the Review-O-matic, but when I clicked on it, all that happened was my screen went white and just sat there. Regardless, feel free to ask for clarification.

weird. YMMV, no warranties are offered.

[Caravan Ray]

Reviews

One song at a time


Ross Durand

I like this. Good song, well performed. I will vote for it.

But because I like it - I will now drill down on some very minor quibbles:
For some reason the guitar and voice don't seem to match sound wise. The guitar is very clear, the vox seems to have a slight "singing in a tiled bathroom" type effect. It sort of doesn't sound like a dude playing guitar and singing - because the guitar and voice seem to be in differnt places. Does that make sense?

And vocally I think you may have slightly overdone the Dylanesqe pitch rise thing at the end of some lines. Right at the, begining, "rain" goes up - that is good, but maybe the following "blow" seemed unnecessary - it could have stayed down. Cut back the Bob on the vocals slightly and maybe increase the Woody a few notches.

[Caravan Ray]

Reviews

One song at a time


Paco del Stinko
Takes a long time to get to the build up and then when it comes, it doesn't last long
I liked the breakdown on the chorus, but the early verses probably needed a bit more oomph.