We Were Not Meant to Be (a Review Thread)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
doorite
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Post by doorite »

mkilly wrote: <b>doorite</b>: I like doritos okay I guess. cooler ranch mostly. I hate that they come up with so many god-awful flavors. and they're all the same f-in' flavor. some combination of spicy/flaming/flamboyant and habanero/jalapeno/whatever. oh, now the rapping has started and I can't listen to it any more. sorry.
you like flamboyant doritos? wow, that hurts worse than your review.Geez ,all the doritos taste the same to you, eh....well, they dont, lol
art is what you can get away with - Andy Warhol
WesDavis
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Post by WesDavis »

jackfrost wrote:Wes Davis – Great song. Love the chorus instrumentation and vocals and effects. Something about this reminds me of Gomez. Short and sweet. Contender for the win, in a perfect world, but I predict a rap-friend-flood.
Considering the number of new entrants to this songfight, this one could go to ANYONE. We could friend flood right back at them!
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MintyHandy
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Post by MintyHandy »

Don't look now, but there's a friend flooder right...behind...YOU!
chirp
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Post by chirp »

hullo hullo. sorry i am late to the party, but thanks for all your comments on my entry if you made one! i’ve 4x and 5x starred the tracks i specially like below…


Adam Adamant – holy crap that opening beat is catchy, and the middle again with the sixteenth notes. please please have submitted this songfight so that that i might make a dance mix of extreme excellence using your entry.

The Air Kick Pigeon Band - your band name is spectacular! delightful NOT ALL DREAMS CAN COME TRUE reference, and i like the TMBG sound. apparently you and i have similar visions for the speaking voices of raccoons.

Andre was here at midnight – i love your accent, my friend, and your delayed revelation of your exciting incest secret! but there are lots of ways this track could be changed that would make me want to listen to it more, i guess.

Brilliant Void – creepy, man. creepy, and the last line is SO TRUE. one time when i was working at girl scout camp, there was this huge group of raccoons making horrible noises right near the teepees, and i told the girls that the neighboring farmer’s dog had had puppies. they all squealed happily, “awww, cute puppies!” and went to sleep. i stayed up the rest of the night with a baseball bat.

brody – oh how i love reverby guitar, and the vocals, and the lyrics. what i am saying: i really like this track, even though the backwards chorus made me smile at you a little.

Cake Loaf – whoa. i don’t like the singing but you should read my hopes for Adam Adament above and apply them to you as well! my mix tape is going to be so awesome…

Chirp – my declaration of comic-reading platonic love for ryan north, the dino comics guy. i’ve been lurking for a bit on SF but hadn’t ever…well, i gotta tell you: this is the first thing i have ever written and recorded and i have a LOT MORE RESPECT for songcraftin’/fightin’ now. it was really difficult and took a whole lot more time than i was expecting. my emotions about this track are likely what mozart would have felt when he heard my middle school orchestra play. sorry _so quiet_, sorry so badly mixed.

***** The Curse Of – i like this song a whole lot, increasingly as it goes on. i like the sound, i like the lyrics, i like the mixing. what i guess i am saying: heck yes!

Cynthia Size and the @eclectic spoons – creepy, man. creepy. i was expecting it to break into funk, but that is not at all what it did. i’m with martyr on the difficulty level of this track and (can you guess) a request for a slammin’ dance track that i can play with my windows rolled down at stoplights.

dB Collective – what a beautiful voice, and you have lush professional-sounding instrumentation, too, but missing a little, uh, emotional intensity, i guess? and are you really the same band as last week? because evil april and king me and this buddy are related BUT last week? craaaazy.

Doctor Nocturne – too long by a hair, my dear, but terribly entertaining and full of nightmarish Halloween noises! you have lived up to your name.

Donovan Tann – in the first part, your tone is lovely, especially against your guitar. damn those raccoons, man. DAMN THEM. i like the vary-ing up that happens, too, vocally.

Dont Reply Tha MC – i want this track to be more varied, please!

Doorite – i REALLY love the chorus in all its versions, but the verses don’t quite quite live up to it. the chorus(es) are really really awesome, though. please make a dance hit, friend, a BIG DANCE HIT.

Eddie Lance – not my cup of tea, i’m afraid, unless i were at the middle school dance, my fully extended arms locked, my palms just touching the shoulders of the boy behind me in math class. for what it’s worth, we weren’t meant to be, either.

**** Eugene Manitoba – UKE + GLOCK + SHAKER + COWBELL + WHISTLING SOLO = totally and complete awesome in the instrument department. the lyrics? not terribly engaging, though “i’m a maniac, you’re not a maniac…and when i laugh, you said that i sound like a maniac” did make me laugh out loud the first time through.

Ham No Burger – a nod to days of the new by a dude with HUGE HAIR. i like it but wish there were more heavy noises.

**** Kabuto – i share a very small percentage of your enthusiasm for nerdcore, kabuto, and this track is very clever lyrically and made me smile. the chorus/explanation of the generations and the bit about wired, especially.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff – who’s not borrowing time these days? beautiful ballad song even though (said with a soft deliberate punch on the shoulder) i am wagering you can stretch a little bit further with your lyrics, buddy. for example, i really like the huddled under blankets line but not the cuddled up together line as much, you dig?

***** King Arthur – um, mister king? i love your voice, mister. and i love social awareness songs. (disclaimer: and i eat granola.) and this one is engaging! it’s pretty catchy but in an ideal world i’d like it to be a little tiny tiny tiny bit faster.

Lights of a Fire – i thought, “intro too long! where is the song? where is it? oh, wait, this is the song?” i really do want singing over it: i think it’s too sparse and slow otherwise but writing a good vocal track would make me want to listen to it on a regular day around the house. (that was a sincere compliment, by the by. i take my “regular day around the house” very seriously.)

***** Luke Henley feat. Andrew Ryder – catchy and interesting. sorry you disliked my entry! i am shamed! your poetry’s lovely. does anyone else hear a little of gary higgins’ red hash? do you? do you pick notes from the sky? are you about to go to prison?

**** Mailbox – lovely first lines, lovely drum, lovely lovely, doo doo doo, if a little forgettable. if it were a little less easy and a little less low-key, i would download this for days when i feel like pop music and rush, the national band of canada, at the same time.

MC Eric B – some times it is okay if things don’t rhyme. hopefully you wore a cowboy hat when you recorded it? again, a little “let’s call the whole thing off,” yes? (also i LOVE noodles: don’t sweat her, man, she is NOT worth it if she doesn’t love noodles.)

MC Paul Denyer – sweet beat, sweet tone/accent, sweet rhymes (did you and/or your donkey just rhyme “spelunking” I THINK YOU DID). vary it up sooner, please: hit a chorus! hit some new backing sounds! changing the groove a little earlier would make this track more varied. also: what did you say under the sax? was it sexy?

Measle – this is clearly what raccoon-hop sounds like, right? optional theme fulfilled and i am SURE you can call him “T.” grin.

***** Melvin – oooh! this _is_ the best melvin song yet AND it has hand claps! hand claps are one of my favorite devices to make a song catchy EVER.

**** Minty Handy – AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY LYRISIST. and a duet AND it’s pretty meta, too, yeah? good work – it makes me smile much harder than i thought it would. EXCELLENT degeneration, there.

Nathaniel Tann – do i sense a little post-apocylptic raccoon angst? i would have given this song another star if it was a little more varied at the start: all the hard stuff is too late, i fear. will you come play freaky guitar at my next social event?

**** Ocean City Defender – mmmm see everybody loves songs about dinosaurs. where is the hook, jersey? i want this song to be so catchy i sing it in my sleep, and it falls short because the hook/chorus comes about thirty seconds too late!

**** Regular Gonzalez – this is me laughing and laughing and laughing and doing that little boppy chair-dance i do when no one else is in the room. this is the story of so many of my friends, buddy. you do in fact have a lovely magnetic fields sort of voice and THANK YOU for the lovely vocal comparison by the by. i wish there were more about love, though, as much as you sing about it. if there were you would get the extra star!

**** Renwick – you know, i’m not a huge twangy fan, but it goes really well with this song.

**** Set Fire – huh. more pop than i am accustomed to in my daily diet, but it’s quite good. i want lush string stuff at the “i don’t wanna” underneath all those guitars and less computer noises – they’re jarring here, i think, where other effects would be more additive to the overall sound.

***** Simon Stewart – ooooh. it’s so cool, just a little too jarring, and i want more instruments to come in as the song progresses.

**** Sixthline and BCB – haha catchy catchy! is there some sort of pop geometry with equations you have to memorize, because you would get an A on the test.

Soundscape Rebellion – this song is a little like the koolaid i was recently sold by sixth-graders raising money for Africa – it’s a little sweet but too dilute and strangely colored? that being said, i really like the duet and your voices and your phrasing.

The Thing You Do To A Bank – aight, wait in line and stare at the walls or into your bag, i feel the same way about this song as soundscape rebellion’s entry. down to the letter. except yours goes on too long. the part about jerkin’ a boy around by sittin’ on his futon when you have a boyfriend made me smile with you, though. some of us ladies are grade A at jerkin’ boys around by sittin’ on their futons.

The Weakest Suit – lyrics toooo silly for my tastes, and i don’t know how i feel about the pulsing in stereo, a little distracting? what a falsetto, though, though it’s not as interesting as you might make it with a little more orchestration…

**** Weezy Blumpkin – ooh, great pop sound. i listened to a lot of music like this back in the day, you know, in those days when you’re driving to the outdoor ice-cream place, and the sun’s setting but the pavement’s still hot. note the hand-claps!

**** Wes Davis – is that a knife-sharpening effect? creepy! what sort of mistakes?!? this is cute and boppy but is missing a certain cohesiveness. i really like it, though!

**** Zender – ah, another song about cephlopods with a lot more knowedge about them. NERD. almost as nerdy as COMPUTATIONAL LIGUISTICS. this is fantastic, man. you SFers who are not qwantz-lovin’ folk will not like this song nearly as much as i do.

thanks again, guys – this was a lot of fun – looking forward to the next time i have a little more time! :-)
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Post by WesDavis »

MintyHandy wrote:Don't look now, but there's a friend flooder right...behind...YOU!
CRAP HIT THE DECK!!!
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tanuk
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Post by tanuk »

The Song Fight Network is awesome of not an insignificant amount. When I listened the 40+ songs, the general feeling was that they're all boring and badly sung, and yet in the end to my surprise there's four of them that I saved and will likely listen for the rest of my life.

And I'd like to thank the reviewers, your writings are great! If I bothered to do proper reviews, they would be very repetitive, but yours are not.

Here are the winners: Adam Adamant, Brody, Regular Gonzales and Sixthline and BCB (was this a collaboration between Sixthline and BCB, or are they one band?).

Hm. This isn't what I intended to say. I intended to say: "Regular Gonzales, as a return favor for my vote, could you please post the lyrics to the lyrics thread?"
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MintyHandy
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Post by MintyHandy »

The Song Fight Network is awesome of not an insignificant amount. When I listened the 40+ songs, the general feeling was that they're all boring and badly sung, and yet in the end to my surprise there's four of them that I saved and will likely listen for the rest of my life.
You know, these days a 10% retention rate on new music releases is about where the big record labels are at, if not better. Heh.
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Post by RegularGonzalez »

chirp wrote:**** Regular Gonzalez – this is me laughing and laughing and laughing and doing that little boppy chair-dance i do when no one else is in the room. this is the story of so many of my friends, buddy. you do in fact have a lovely magnetic fields sort of voice and THANK YOU for the lovely vocal comparison by the by. i wish there were more about love, though, as much as you sing about it. if there were you would get the extra star!
Glad you liked it, and glad you got the reference, and so sorry it didn't talk enough about love for your liking. I like the idea of not being meant to be in love as sort of an afterthought. Like they spend all their time trying to do all these different jobs, but really the core problem is that they shouldn't be together.

Idunno.
tanuk wrote:Hm. This isn't what I intended to say. I intended to say: "Regular Gonzales, as a return favor for my vote, could you please post the lyrics to the lyrics thread?"
Done and done. I realized I goofed at the end of my recording and read a line back wrong, so I've posted the "original" lyrics.
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drë
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Post by drë »

We Were Not Meant to Be spending 3+ hours reviewing 40 songs, REVIEWS:


<B><U>_______________________________________________ TOPS _______________________________________________________</U></B>

<u><b>Sixthline and BCB :</b></u> "aahhhhhhhhh". ohh good voice... this starting to sound like it should be good. it is!!! i was on a streak of not so good songs there, then is sixthline & BCB to the rescue. heavy/full sound. the drums/percussion were very well mixed, as their pretty much the driving force behind the song. you guys have my vote.

<u><b>Luke Henley feat. Andrew Ryder :</b></u> Dammit do i hate you, with great envy. i wish i could write lyrics like that, and sing them along to such a cool melody. maybe i should read more fiction. can't find anything wrong with this song... like always major props.

<u><b>Regular Gonzalez :</b></u> dammit! i Hate\Love this, and i think i only hate it cuz i like it. i know. it's confusing. half of me is telling me i should not like it cuss of the overall lo-fi home recorded midi sound of this, and somewhat cheesiness of it, but the other half finds it catchy, enjoyable and nostalgic.
good lyrics, sung on key. DAMMIT! CANT BELIVE I LIKE THIS SHIT!
Ps. Dude! You do one killer Decemberist cover.

<u><b>Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff :</b></u> Hey Ken how did you record that acoustic guitar? it sounds so crisp and clean with great tone...( live and amped? just acoustic?). i guess you took the obvious and direct approach to the title. But it turned out to be a very well put together song.(sometimes the last thing you want to hear, is another sad love song). Wished you would have brought in the keyboard earlier in the song.. Say at the half mark. Props.

<u><b>dB Collective :</b></u> that’s one good singer(by SF standards). Not sure what else to say. i like this bluesy song.

<u><b>Kabuto :</b></u> i cant stand nerdcord. Weather you’re making fun of it or you’re a serious nercord rapper this is good, and well thought out.

<u><b>King Arthur :</b></u> they been talking about that whole 1 hour seminar for the next songfight live, you would be the perfect guy to talk about how to tracked a song; and this is a good example why. as for this song, i think the only thing that’s lacking is more bass on the mix.
(both bass guitar and kick drum), to punch through the layers of guitar. smart lyrics.
did you ever play for a little unknown band called The Eagles? This song sounds a bit like them, you should look them up.

<u><b>Melvin :</b></u> Wow, radio friendly rock/pop tune about wasted teenage love. love it. Great percussion.


<B><u>__________________________________________ GOOD SONGS _____________________________</u></B>
<u><b>The Air Kick Pigeon Band :</b></u> cute and charming... the whole effect on the vocals gets old by the second listen. but overall good song.

<u><b>Doctor Nocturne :</b></u> dammit! This could of been an awesome song... 2 words ... "Better mics". Very moody, dark, twirling and swirling. Very Arcade Fire like. but dammit i want to understand what your saying.. bring vocal up in the mix, or get better mics.

<u><b>Set Fire :</b></u>Wow! This starts out very wimpy and unpromising, but you guys quickly build it into something very lush and enjoyable. i rarely say this, but your song is actually too short. It sounds like you guys got stuck and didn’t know where to take the song next then gave up(or out of time). you definitely could have kept the grove moving along(or a variation of it), for a bit longer. Lyrics are good too.


<u><b>Weezy Blumpkin :</b></u> pretty good rock/pop song. The only downside is the amateurish and sometimes pitchy vocals. This song sung by someone with strong vocals and maybe in a lower key, would be really rocking.. everything else from instruments to the mixing is well done.

<u><b>brody :</b></u> this songs makes me want to go outside and have a smoke, and i don’t even smoke! i guess what am trying to say, is that it has a very chill, laidback , psychedelic country indi vibe.
Listen to it several times now, and i have no idea what the song is about, and could care less... just enjoying the chill factor.
Wait what? "be to ment not were we"? Smart.

<B><u>_____________________________ OK SONGS ________________________</u></B>

<u><b>Measle :</b></u> i find it hard to get into this song. not sure if its the never-ending sax loop or lackluster beat. Props for the fast rapping.

<u><b>Minty Handy :</b></u> heh? not your usual voice... it sounds a bit rough. ha! now reading the lyrics this is definitely a musical. i can picture you two up on stage, acting this out.. love the theme of the song, unique approach to the title. Wish it had a better ending, even though it might of been a bit of a goof the harsh ending breaks any dramatization I was visualizing from the song.

<u><b>MC Paul Denyer :</b></u> this is one of the grooviest songs i have heard from you. Wish you had posted the lyrics, as it would have made the story easier to follow along. the vocals are a bit buried in the mix, but that’s one badass bass loop. The guitar loop get tiresome after a while. adding more dimension to the songs, by either building the sound by introducing and layering new instruments/loops, or throw 1 or 2 instrumental breakdowns, the way it is its very 1 dimensional.(if that makes sense)

<u><b>MC Eric B :</b></u> based upon your previous submitted stuff, its somewhat clear this is a goof. sad country beat, with satire lyrics.
that said, it's actually a well produced goof. Catchy chorus and a really good dramatic ending.

<u><b>Ocean City Defender :</b></u> that intro kills me, it sounds like its a fraction of a second offbeat. But it's probably just me. The verse(s) are actually very good, and well sung, and mixed. The chorus towards the end or more specifically the mixing of it, by bringing the guitar up, and that bright shaker, and burying the vocals ruins it for me. its a fairly good enjoyable song, but the mixing at the end could have be done better.

<u><b>Chirp :</b></u> tic-tic-tic tic-tic. ahhh, this girl has a good sense of humor. Musically this is just odd. Different instruments and voices constantly coming in and out. This is one funny song, you should post lyrics (in the proper forum) for better understanding of them. The overall song is just weird, but with funny lyrics.

<u><b>Donovan Tann :</b></u> Let the folk singer's cry be heard....wow is this Stephen Lynch ? oh wait its Donovan Tan. I’ll bet you can do some really good Lynch covers. good voice.

<u><b>The Curse Of :</b></u> Wow, what a mix of sounds that some how it manages to work... a bit rock, a bit 80s, a bit experimental, and 100% left off center. Like a moving target this is all over the place, but it works up to a point. Interesting song.. But it gets boring towards the end.

<u><b>The Thing You Do To A Bank :</b></u> the vocals are actually decent... the rest of the songs its just too weird. The chorus makes it a bit more enjoyable, but shit now is back to the lame verse...

<u><b>Mailbox :</b></u> interesting effect on the acoustic guitar. Another well performed/recorded/mixed song...but its lacking energy.. not bad, just not my cup of tea. you might have too many instruments playing all at once... maybe they can be spaced out?

<u><b>Adam Adamant :</b></u>is that the intro to a Madonna song from the 80s? sounds like it. ohh crap its all 80's. wow this is synth overload for me. After all that said, i actually enjoy 2:40 of it. Too much harsh synths on my hears.

<u><b>Nathaniel Tann :</b></u> hey i think i heard your cousin Donovan earlier. Liked the intro, and the music is ok. The vocals and recording of them can be allot better. there’s allot of room for improvement here, but i seriously like this. Wow! is this going to be a long song...ahhhhhhh their it is... 3+ minutes to get to the good part? Dude people take naps shorter than that. ok now at 4:40 your just wanking it... you merged 2 songs into 1? Liked the second one much much more. the heavy hitting on the symbol was crazy. good job.

<u><b>Renwick :</b></u> super bright acoustic... dancing bass... wanking electric. vocals fit music rather nicely. the song could of use better mixing thought.

<u><b>Wes Davis :</b></u> a truly showcase of your strong vocals; specially on the "we were not meant to be" part. I found the dings and cowbell annoying however.

<u><b>The Weakest Suit :</b></u> i don’t get this. is not bad, but nothing really stands out. it was like one long "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH". more changes ?

<u><b>Simon Stewart :</b></u> intriguing intro....where does it go from here? only time would tell... interesting piece... echoes.org might play this.

<u><b>Zender :</b></u> i liked the epic music. The nerdy rapping was lame.

<u><b>Dont Reply Tha MC :</b></u> what's with nerdcord and epic dramatic music ? i'll enjoy the music.. the rapping can go away. awww you made it short.. more nerdcord rappers should learn from you.


<u><b>Soundscape Rebellion :</b></u> A scientific approach to the title, i love it. The music didn’t do much for me, it just sounds week.. musically it needs more punch. But major props for thinking outside the box, for the lyrical content. oh yeah, it sounds a bit like talking heads.

<u><b>Eddie Lance :</b></u> tragic romantic piano piece. i actually do like the piano layering you did here.

<u><b>Ham No Burger :</b></u> nice... fancy acoustic riffing. The music is good, but the vocals don’t blend too well in begging. in the chorus they match perfect, but of course now the acoustic guitar being strum hard is so freaking bright is shattering my ear drums. ahhhggg their it is again. is like breaking glass, shattering all over the floor. Nice guitar solo.. Dig the guitar playing, the acoustic one is just too bright.


<B><u>________________________________ TRY AGAIN _______________________________</u></B>
<u><b>Brilliant Void :</b></u> once in a while songfight receives this type of pure voice dubs songs. Jim Tyrell did a good one once. but i say instruments dude! They are good, and this is why they exist.


<u><b>Doorite :</b></u> is this song going anywhere? ahh their it is.. hardcore robot rapping.. the lyrics sound like their smart... LOL "step back".. oh that’s funny.(that MC is actually rapping faster than the beat) its a good effort, just not my cup of tea. it does have a catchy ending.

<u><b>Eugene Manitoba :</b></u> a charming ukulele and guy song, could use a bit more direction. the xylophone or glucken is to bright on the mix. it does sound like it was very fun to record, with all the whistling, egg shaking, and maniacs.

<u><b>Cynthia Size and the @eclectic spOOns :</b></u> it might be time for the eclectic sp00ns to get a new lead signer.. Cynthia is becoming stale. i like your experimentation with electronic music, the intro to this song had me engage from the get go, but then that familiar synth voice came on, and it damped the mood. i would probably enjoy this without vocals, with the exception of the final chorus around 1:50 where you heavily layered Cynthia's voice and it really makes it sound bold. can you stretch the last 30 seconds of this song, into a full song?

<u><b>Cake Loaf :</b></u> too much randomness, to get my head around this.

<u><b>Lights of a Fire :</b></u> another sad piano piece? yup.
doorite
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Post by doorite »

thanks for all the good-to-medium reviews. in a rap hated zone, im glad to at least get some honest opinions
art is what you can get away with - Andy Warhol
WesDavis
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Post by WesDavis »

doorite wrote:thanks for all the good-to-medium reviews. in a rap hated zone, im glad to at least get some honest opinions
It ain't that rap is hated 'round these parts. It's that terrible nerdcore is hated.

I, for one, love hearing really well-done rapping. Starfinger's "More Than Soup" would be a good example of really good Songfight rapping.
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Post by chirp »

dre wrote: <u><b>Chirp :</b></u> tic-tic-tic tic-tic. ahhh, this girl has a good sense of humor. Musically this is just odd. Different instruments and voices constantly coming in and out. This is one funny song, you should post lyrics (in the proper forum) for better understanding of them. The overall song is just weird, but with funny lyrics.
done and done. awwww, dre thinks i'm funny! blush.

i CANNOT WAIT for the dance hits of this summer
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Post by boochinballs »

Adam Adamant
Not a bad effort at all. I'm kind of a little sick o the whole vocoder / virtual person thing that everyone seems to use, but for the genre, it's pretty good and of course that's just my personal bias. If you don't sing, then it sounds better than bad singing. I'm kind of lost with the lyrics as I'm hypnotised by the robotics of it all.

Good: Works for the Genre, some nice synth lines and chord useage.
Bad: A bit loose in the programming. I would have quantized some bits more to make it gell a little better.

The Air Kick Pigeon Band

I'm sure this must have something to do with the whole Dinosaur Comics thing, but as I know nothing of them, I can't tell if this hits the mark or not lyrically. I'm not a huge fan of vocal shifting/processing. If this is from who I suspect it's from, I guess you are just having a laugh as your other material is fucking awesome, so I'm not going to suggest you do anthing else. Just keep on making great music and even better videos ;)

Brody
I kind of like this. Good vocals and harmonies, like the minor/major changes in the prechorus bit. You seem very musicial. I like that. It kind of tails off a bit toward the end and could do with being a little shorter or a tempo switch up somewhere. I look forward to hearing more of your stuff though.

Good: Great performance and musicality.
Bad: A little overlong, and not terribly memorable.

Andre was here at midnight
Seems very pedestrian. Vocals are far too low in the mix and it makes it almost unintelligble under my listening conditions. The playing is very loose and the songs not very defined. It almost sounds like an attempt to be deliberatly Lofi, if so then it kind of works, but it's not my bag.

Good: There are real instruments and vocals.
Bad: Just a bit sloppy all around. The guitars too loud, the vocals are too low and a bit wonky.

Brilliant Void
This is just plain strange. I wish I was wasted, maybe it would make sense then ;) You've got a ref to Dino's in there, so maybe I'm missing something again. Vocal sounds out of tune with the rest of the song. Can't tell if that's deliberate.

Good: Well it's different
Bad: Not my bag

Cake Loaf
This is also very strange. Sounds like it could be Denyer on vocals doing a non rap (is it ?). Starts off sounding like an instrumental you'd find on a beastie boys album or something and ends up sounding just plain weird. The dischordant piano part really starts to mess with my head by the end.

Good:If it's intentionally lofi, well it works, otherwise it's a bit rough around the edges and sounds very drugged up.
Bad :It's kind of a little too strange for my liking.

Chirp
You sound like (a) real musician(s). I like real musicians :) This is extreamly quiet compared to the previous tracks. I'd suggest to fix this either normalise you mix or get some mastering software. I'd recomend Ozone as it's dirt cheap and pretty damn good. Great vocals and overall feel. I like this a lot. It's totally out there, but very musical. Did I mention the vocals are awesome ;)

Good: Great vocals and arrangement.
Bad: Nothing other than the volume. Well done.

The Curse Of
Another musical song. Reminds me of something I can't quite put my finger on. The guitars sound really nice. The vocals are ok, but not mind blowingly good, with a bit of work though I bet you can knock out something really cool. I really like the change in the middle with the fiddly guitar bit. Too much delay on the vocals and there are a few dischordant moments. Not a bad effort though at all.

Good: Nice sounding guitars and arrangement it pretty good.
Bad: Vocals could do with some work, easy on the reverb and watch out for note clashes with the layered guitars.

Cynthia Size and the @eclectic spOOns
As mentioned in one of the previous reviews, I'm not a fan of computerised vocalists. However your software is not far off at all. I'm guessing you are using Vocaloid? I could never get my head around it and your stuff always sounds a cut above anything else I've heard in this field. It doesn't really go anywhere and I've heard you do much better entries. The stuff on your myspace is really good, so I know you've got it in you.

Good: It's Cynthia Size and the @eclectic spOOns
Bad: I'm not hugly keen on the song. It's not terrible, but it's not in the top 10.

dB Collective
This is great, a bit of clipping on the vox but other than that, it's some funkyass soul. I should imagine you are real life performing musicians, so kudos. The song itself isn't grabbing me like I think it should, but the performance it top notch. Well done.

Good: Pretty damn fine soul standard.
Bad: Vocals are clipped, could be a bit more interesting in song structure.

Doctor Nocturne
Hmm, this is also very quiet. I like it though. I reminds me of something out of a horror film. The honkytonk type piano works really well. The filtered vox are also quite nice. The drums sound like they were recorded with an overhead in the next room, but it works well for the track.

Good: Great inventive use of instruments. That piano ;)
Bad: BV's seem a little off, but that could be intentional.

Donovan Tann
I like this. The vocals are very delicate. I expected Stephen Lynch to burst in with some crazy punch line. You have a great voice when it all kicks in. The shakers pretty nice too.

Good: Overall, a pretty awesome performance. Love the vibrato in the vocals and the reversed piano that leads into and out of stuff.
Bad: Could possibly do with a chord pattern change. Maybe I'm just picky.

Dont Reply Tha MC
Sorry to reply. For a songfight rap, this isn't bad. The synthy intro is really nice and I like the panning even if it is a little extreme. Please be sparing on the hideous scratch effects though. It doesn't add anything to the track.

Good: Flow is pretty good, sounds a bit Linkin Parkish, backing beat is quite nice.
Bad: Doesn't go anywhere. I'm just getting into it at 1:20, where's the rest of the song or the chorus? Those Scratches.

Doorite
Another fairly interesting rap track. Flow is quite good, but the voice of the first MC sounds forced in an ICP kind of way. 2nd verse is much better but kind of ends without sounding resolved.
The beat is pretty good, definatly above average for a SF rap tune.

Good: Great flow from both MC's
Bad: Not particually catchy or original, but it's still noteworthy.

Eddie Lance
Nice piano playing. Like the Major switch up and speed variations, sounds like it could be a live performance (until the ending where the layering comes in). If you have worked with a good vocalist you could have been in contention.

Good: Great piano playing and musicalitiy. A nice instrumental
Bad: It's an instrumental, therefore could have been preprepared


Eugene Manitoba
Bring out your Xylophones :) I love Xylophones and rythmic experimentation. Sounds like you've got the kitchen utensils in there too. Vocals are a bit lazy sounding, but it's well mixed. The whistling is cool too. George formby-esque in parts. You are certainly a musical maniac. I kind of like this more than the sum of it's parts.

Good: It's crazy whilst still being musical
Bad: Nothing major, just tighten up those vocals a bit.

Ham No Burger
Love the instrumentation and vocals. Don't like the synth trumpet though, it sounds very cheesy. Replace that with something else and you are onto a winner. Kind of sounds like Alt-rock lite college radio stuff. A well constructed and performed song. So far, this is one of the best I've heard. If you win, I won't feel like a friend flood was to blame. Kudos.

Good: Great song construction, obvious verse-chorus-verse separation. Production is pretty good. Nice guitar solo.
Bad: THAT TRUMPET :)

Kabuto
Love that funky beat, great bassline. I don't like the whole nerdcore thing unless it's got something else. I can't pin down what that something else is, but this doesn't quite do it for me. Very referential to the genre, which kind of leaves me a bit cold. It'd be like me making a song about how much I love Nine Inch Nails:) Anyway for what it is, it's not bad, just not my cup of tea (and I could so do with a cup of tea right now)

Good: Great backing track. If it's self made, kudos. You could have a future in making serious beats.
Bad: It's more Nerdcore.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
Good vocals and playing. I'm hoping the production kicks into something bigger after the first verse, but it doesn't. I really like the song though, the lyrics are pretty good. and the synth at the end is a nice touch. I just wish there was more to the production to grab me.

Good: Great voice, lyrics and song structure
Bad: Not bad as such, I just feel the song deserves more attention. Some drums ?

King Arthur
Nicely done. Sounds a bit 80's with the choice of drum sounds. Get yourself some battery kits. They'd sound awesome. I don't know why, but for some reason, this reminds me of a Crash Test Dummies record without the stupidly low vocals. I like your voice though. It's not 100% polished, but hey neithers mine.

Good: Nice song and arrangement. You have the line Power mad Policeman.
Bad: Drums are a bit weak. Awesome otherwise though.

Lights of a Fire
Nice piano sounds. What are you using? Like the slight distortion to it, it sounds very vintage. I could see this being a soundtrack to a film. I also like the simplicity of the organ and piano divide. Doesn't really go anywhere, but I don't really care. It's kind of nice.

Good: An interesting instrumental
Bad: It's got no vocals, but in this case I don't really think they would have added much.


Luke Henley feat. Andrew Ryder
Good lyrics, guitar playing and great vocal performance. Very folky. Almost Simon and Garfunkleish (apart from I can't see them saying 'Sucks'). Like the switch up at the end. Sounds whisky drenched.

Good: Great example of the genre, awesome vocals and lyrics
Bad: It's got a high noise floor. I think you need to check the gain a bit more carefully next time or gate something. Doesn't ruin the track though.

Mailbox
This is also pretty damn good. Good production overall. Like the marching band drums and suspended chords. Mix sounds a little empty for some reason. I think you're bass is either missing or too low in the mix for me to feel it. Love the sinewave synth part in the middle. By the end, I love it. Well done.

Good: Unusual, but very listenable. Good vocals and playing.
Bad: A bit top heavy. Give me a driving bass and the vote get's much closer in your direction.

MC Eric B
Back with another round of Casiocore. There's just something about you Eric that is hard to dislike. I think it's because I can tell you genuinly try your hardest to better yourself each week. I also on the whole, like your lyrics. You've progressed so much since you started on here, I think the singing stuff works so much better than the rap as you are using your own voice and not relying on the same rhytmic patterns. It's really nice to hear you go in the right direction.

Good: It's a good MC Eric B track, it's not perfect, but it's definatly better than before
Bad: Keep at those vocals, you are getting closer.

MC Paul Denyer
I LOVE this backing track. If this was a serious rap track, I'd be all over it. Whilst you are obviously still having a laugh, there's something undeniable awesome about what you do. It's not nerdcore and for that you get at least 10 points more than any nerdcore entry. I so get the feeling that you are far more musically accomplished than you let on here. It's almost as if you make deliberate production errors, just to cause a reaction. Whatever, it's always a pleasure no matter how bizzare your tracks end up.

Good: It's Denyer. Great lyrics and as inventive as usual.
Bad: The vocals are too low in the mix.

Measle
Some of the lines are a bit forced to fit into the bars, but I think this is intentional. I'm guessing yet again this is all about the Dino comics. This could be very well observed, but I have no idea.
Really like the "This time in Harmony" and then the harmonies come in. Great idea.

Good: Nice filtered guitar bit at the end
Bad: The length of some of the lines.


Melvin
This sounds like a commercial song. I've been really impressed with your previous entries and I'm guessing you are also a serious musician. You've got everything in this, tight vocals, really nice drums, great guitar. So far this has my vote. It's pretty damn near perfect.

Good: Everything
Bad: It's better than mine :)

Minty Handy
Really like the lyrics. I'm scared for the charecters ;) Almost sounds like something out of a musical. You should write a sequel to Little shop of horrors or something. Very theatrical.
Good: Totally and utterly different to anything else, whilst still being undeniable good. Ending is amusing. Love the way the two voices interact.
Bad: Not much really. A really good genre excercise. Are you in the arts ?

Nathaniel Tann
Nice vocals, sound very slightly autotuned? Either that or you have very strong pitch. Either way. Very nice. Like the muffled lofi drums and overall shape of the mix. I think the vocals are a little high in the mix in places, but most of the instruments are in the right place. I was thinking that this was maybe a little overlong at nearly 6 mins but then the drums kicked in and it rocked out. Now I love it. This is fucking awesome. Great guitar solo and crunchy chordal bits. Goes a bit evenessence towards the end, and does start to drag a bit, but cut a minute out of this and you are onto a winner. Coolios.

Good: Great voice, great musicianship, IT ROCKS
Bad: A Little overlong.

Ocean City Defender
I'm going to point out now, that I'm getting a bit "Song numb" now. 30 songs in and I can see why people at the end of the alphabet get a raw deal. So apologies if my reviews are starting to sound the same. So is ALL music :)

Anyway onto this song. It's pretty well recorded. Like the shaker and guitar work. Vocals are far too low in the mix, but this almost sounds like it's recorded as a live band ? It doesn't really go anywhere, but it's good for what it is.

Good: Good production overall, you play a mean shaker.
Bad: Vocals are too low, it's too short

Regular Gonzalez
For whatever reason, this isn't playing very well for me, i've cached it now though, to give it a fair chance.
I like the way the vocals follow the garage organ part. It all seems a little unemotional, but not terrible, they are pitched fine, but it just seems a little unenthusiastic. Not a huge fan or this, but not from any musical stand point, it's just not really my thing.

Renwick
That's some beautiful guitar recording. What are you using ? It's got so much top end and sounds silky smooth. Love the flanged/phased guitar lines. Then the Beatlesy bit comes in. This is pretty damn good all over in fact.

Good: Vocals, Instrumentation, the words "Don't make shit up" :)
Bad: Doesn't stray too far from it's component parts, but I really couldn't care less, this is great.

Set Fire
Nice guitar panning in the prechorus. It all sounds a bit shambolic without having any bottom end. Some really nice guitar work. I even like the vocoded bit, which from my previous comments you can see is quite an achievement. If this was a bit more polished, it'd rock like no other so far. I think you show great promise and you obviously like to experiment. The backwards outro it pretty cool and unexpected too.

Good: Inventive without being pretentious. Great rock sounds.
Bad: Where's the bass in the chorus. That would drive this from good, to "Oh my god, this is good". Keep at it.

Simon Stewart
Very soundtracky again. I like this in a twisted spaghetti western kind of way. Some freakingly good guitar on here. You've obviously got the skills. The subtle harmonies in there work really well too.

Good: Great musicianship. Love the sound of your guitar and the BV's.
Bad: Where's the rest of it :)

Sixthline (and BCB)
For an afternoons work, I'm quite happy with this. For those interested, I am both Sixthline and BCB. I just felt like using my band name but keeping the chinballs bit in there so people would know it's still me. If I had my time over, I'd have mixed it better and sorted out some of the vox, but hey I don't get much spare time to work in this stuff. To the school radio guy who said this is shitty synth music, I'm guessing you count guitars as synths as I only have one synth on the whole song out of 45 tracks. Whatever floats your boat though. Thanks for all the great feedback so far, it makes it all worthwhile.

Bad: FUCKING SHITTY synth music. I am part of the problem ;)

Soundscape Rebellion
This is instantly likeable. Love the interplay between male and female vocals. The vox are bit high in the mix, but overall this pretty damn fine. I like the whole I'm amonia, I am bleech lyrical feel. Don't know what this reminds me of, but it's very very good.

Good: Awesome vocal interplay, great lyrics. It's short, but doesn't feel truncated like some of the other short entries.
Bad: I WANT TO IT GO ON FOREVER :)

The Thing You Do To A Bank
You win the best band name of the week. What exactly do you do to a bank ? Do I want to know :)
Like the "Ahhh" symbol and fingersnapping percussion. Some of the BV's are a bit ropey, but the main vox are great. The guitar sounds a little out of tune. Tuning is free, don't forget to use it. I'm pleasently surprised that this isn't a shitty rap song as I thought it was going to be from the intro. Anyway, in another week this would be a contender. Very theatrical.

Good: There's a lot of feeling in this. It's pretty good.
Bad: Tighten up the BV's and you're onto something.

The Weakest Suit
Another great lead vocal with ropey BV's. You can obviously sing really well, so spend that little extra on tightening up the BV's and we're talking. Like the whole delicate reverb soaked bit too. I can't really hear what you are singing in that bit, but I'm not judging people on lyrics on the whole. There are just too many entrants to give that much detail.

Good: You've got a great voice and the song is not bad at all
Bad: It just ends without really going anywhere

Weezy Blumpkin
You are a bunch of Genre hoppers are you not :) Very Weezer, so fair play. The low vocal could do with a bit of tightening, but hey for the time allowed, this is pretty damn cool. Perfect bass and Brian may style shifted guitar.

Good: It sounds like Weezer
Bad: It sounds like Weezer. What do you really sound like?

Wes Davis
I feel sorry for you Wes being 2nd to last. You should change your name to AAA+. This is fucking awesome. I really hope everyone get's down to the bottom of the list. It's totally inventive in the use of percussion and the vocals are bang on. This is definatly in the top 3 this week. I really hope this does well for the sake of my sanity.

Good: What's not to like about it, it's uber cool. I can't wait to hear what you come up with next.
Bad: You've only got one song in the 40 odd I've just listened to.

Zender
It's nerdcore, but it's not nerdcore. No self or genre referencing, so you gain at least 10 points for that. The flow's pretty good. I like the beat, I like the samples, I like the fact that this is definatly related to the subject matter even though I know nothing about the Dino Comics. If I was voting purly on relating to that, you win...hands down. I like the humour.

Good: Hits the subject matter on the head. Good, fun sounding vocals and a pretty solid backing track
Bad: There are just too many other good entries this week for me to consider this a Vote. Other weeks, it'd be Zender FTW.

Wow, I actually made it through them all (correct me if I've missed you out). I was hoping for 10% of these to be good, far more than that were. I'm not going to give out points or rank you all as I've already spent 3 hours getting this far. You should be able to tell if I liked you from my review anyway. Sorry if my reviews got a bit lame towards then end, I got serious song fatigue. I'm off a cup of tea, I think I've earnt it.

It's anyone's fight this week. There are too many good ones. If I had my own way though, I'd give this to Wes. It's just too quirky and original to not be recognised as the slice of genius that it is. Well done to you all.

Peace and Geese

Krispy
Part of the problem.
<br>For more musical nonsence, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/boochinballs">ww ... inballs</a>
For less nonsense and actual songs,<a href="http://www.myspace.com/sixthline">www.m ... xthline</a>
Elias_Aquarius
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Posts: 27
Joined: Tue May 15, 2007 9:03 pm
Location: California
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Post by Elias_Aquarius »

boochinballs wrote: Doctor Nocturne
The drums sound like they were recorded with an overhead in the next room, but it works well for the track.
Actually, that's pretty accurate. : )
Mr. T says: Eat your school, don't do milk, and go to drugs.
WesDavis
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 322
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:49 am
Contact:

Post by WesDavis »

Ken's Super Band and Stuff - This is very well produced! Really nice sounding guitar there. That's how you make a g&g effort work well. I never figured it out before. I want a simple drum beat to come in here, at some point. This song reminds me of Good Riddance(time of your life), just in the feel of it. It sounds very heartfelt, and the lyrics are great. Oh, hello violin stuff! Those are kind of haunting, and nostalgic, which I think might be what you were going for. I dig this, man. A lot.

Wes Davis - Just for information's sake, in case you were curious: the bonging sound is totally a pair of copper pipes I found in my mom's garage while I was up visiting with them, which is where I recorded, too. The pipes were also used for the rubbing percussion. The other percussion was just me banging on an old shitty guitar. There were more things I wanted to do with this song, but I just didn't get to do them, due to time restraints. I had a friend with far better recording equipment help me out, which is why it sounds far better than my usual efforts.

Weezy Blumpkin - Very appropriately Weezer progression and harmonies. I'm not a fan of the sound used on the guitar, though. Too much crunch I think. The handclaps would've been nice if they were brought out more in the mix, but I suppose in general the whole song sounds like it was recorded through thick, thick blankets, save for the vocals. I don't really have any advice though.

As a song, though, this is great. I don't want to knock your points because of production issues, and I'm gonna say that this song is still pretty great. The solo is pretty nice.

Air Kick Pigeon Band - I absolutely love that synth man. It is incredibly awesome. It's a fun song, though I honestly couldn't see myself listening to it over and over. Still pretty enjoyable though!

Nathaniel Tann - Your voice reminds me a lot of this guy that performs at an open mic near me. You don't have a song about Rachel Ray do you? Hey man that moment where you let loose is pretty The Shit. It sounds like the beat sometimes tries to get away from you, but I dig it. A good rock song. The only issue is that the vocals no longer fit at that point. I think it should've had some big room reverb on it, to give it the full rock sound. Also it SORT OF sounds like a 3 Doors Down song at that point, which uh, well...

Eddie Lance - Some pretty piano that sometimes reminds me of the first underwater level in Mario 64. I would listen to this while I'm asleep. Or play it VERY INTENSELY while in black and white, in an empty flat somewhere. And I'd probably be wearing a suit, but have long, greasy, yet fashionably disheveled hair. And generally look tortured or angry. That's the vibe I get, anyway.

Luke Henley feat. Andrew Ryder - I like your lyrics, Luke. You are good with words. Every thing I love and everything that sucks I will sell it all to you for a hundred fifty bucks is GREAT. I also love the sound of this.

Eugene Manitoba - Right off, this is awesome because I just bought a ukulele and was intending upon using it soon. They're great! However, then the song actually gets started, and I can't really stay into it. Yeah sorry man, I don't enjoy this. I think it needed more time in conception.

Weakest Suit - I liked how this started, but it didn't change in any way that was pleasing. It just sort of leveled off immediately.

Lights of a Fire - This is that scene in the movie where the dude is walking through the dusty house that he used to live in that maybe is half collapsed because of the fire, and also he's a serial killer, but this is the part where you find out that he is also a person with feelings and stuff, and you start to sympathize, but then he does something insane and you're like "oh right he's crazy and evil."

Kind of a boring instrumental, but in the right context it would be appropriate and cool.

Renwick - Nothing jumping out at me here.

Don't Reply tha MC - Crappy rap. I like good rap. This is not that.

MC Eric B - Heh, I dig the lyrics in this one. You stick too many words in parts of the chorus, and it definitely sounds like you were going way too low for your voice, but this is more enjoyable than some of your other efforts. Props!

brody - I absolutely love the intro to this song, which reminds me very much of Paint it Black. I guess it might be the same chords, I'm not sure; been a while since I heard that song. The vocals and harmony are pretty awesome too. As is that little lead guitar riff. There is a lot to love here, in this song. I also like what you did with the chorus. First song I've heard that really begins to take into account the dinosaur comics optional challenge. This song is a contender for my vote, for sure.

Zender - I'm all for science songs, but I really don't like nerd core. There have been exceptions before(I dug those emergency pizza party cats), but the ironic rapping white guy joke has lost all of its funny. You did, however, do a very good job on the lyrics, however, and you captured the Dinosaur Comics' feel pretty damn well, there, so I guess this song is a mixed bag for me.

That Thing You Do to a Bank - Hm. I can't really see anything redeeming about this song.

Regular Gonzalez - This one has a weird draw for me. This song is hilarious and beautiful. The whole sound of it is beautifully appropriate.

Sixthline and BCB - Man, this song makes me mad. I absolutely love the way it sounds from the beginning all the way to about 3/4 of the way through, when it suddenly goes into weird muffled rock mode. At that point, the sound completely changes to something I really don't like. Maybe it's the sound, or something, I don't know. It seems like this change could've been better if it was like dual guitars with different distortions, and maybe having them soar on both sides of the stereo spectrum. But yeah, it just gets disappointing. The ending is cool, but after that bit that disappointed me so much, I just don't like it as much.

doorite - This is a good rap. This is rap that picks a rhythm and sticks to it, and doesn't sound like shit. I like this. Also I love how you are singing about how you've lost your way because you don't smoke weed anymore, and only smoke man-made chemical drugs. Or maybe I'm interpreting it wrong.O

Mailbox - This has a pretty great groove. The only weak part is the vocals, mostly in the melody. It doesn't detract too much, but I'll say this song definitely sounds clean and tight, and I dig it.

Brilliant Void - A cappella has to be awesome to be awesome. Unfortunately this isn't.

Andre Was Here at Midnight - The detuned guitar and out of time drums and general lo fi-ness of this should turn me off, but there is something here that keeps me listening. I don't know what, exactly. It's not particularly a good song, and hardly listenable, but I just continue playing it. The oh no made me think of Cake. Good job?

Doctor Nocturne - It sounds like the drums were recorded on a tape recorder from the other room. They sound as though they were played competently enough...but I guess it's hard to record drums in a garage. There's not really anything I can say about this song. I don't like it, but it's not terrible. Sounds like everything is pretty tight, just poorly produced. It has some cool moments, though.

Soundscape Rebellion - I'm glad you got your girlfriend to sing with you. The harmonies are decent. The male vocal is pretty outshined by the female vocs. I would've liked to hear the left channel "weren't meant to be" held the "be" out and gradually stepped down. But that's probably me being overly picky. I dig the ammonia/bleach thing, but this song is mostly mediocre.

Measle - I dig the references to the comic, for sure. The flow sometimes gets away from you, and that guitar lead hurts my ears a LOT. You definitely should've made a couple more passes at the song, but it's pretty decent. Not a great song, not a vote, but not awful.

Kabuto - If there's anything that I like more than nerdcore, it's self-referential nerdcore. Oh, wait, I just got this. You are making fun of nerdcore. The best part is that you are much, much better than so many, many other shitty songfighters. I like the creepy chorus. The problem is that this is very much a novelty song, and I will probably never listen again, but it's entertaining the first time through, and you pretty much capture the reason I hate nerdcore so much.

Minty Handy - There are a few parts I would've done different in the vocal melody, to make it more interesting, but this is a very damned entertaining song, especially at the end. This is hilarious! The woman that sings with you is an amazing woman, and you should tell her that. Anyone that will sing silly songs like this with you is great.

Cake Loaf - Cake Loaf eh? That's a lot to make like you are going to live up to. Unfortunately, you don't sound at all awesome, unlike Cake and Meat Loaf, and in fact this is awful. Really, really awful. It actually is painful to listen to.

MC Paul Denyer - Yeah so here is a song by you.

Ocean City Defender - This is a song that is pleasant to listen to, but I don't really like. It's not great, not bad.

Donovan Tann - Your voice makes me think of the dude from Live, from the tone to the melody you chose here. That is a good thing, because Live is awesome. The distorted guitar is inappropriate here. Otherwise though, I dig your singing man.

Ham No Burger - Pleasant enough guitar in the beginning. It's got a weird light, fluffy....grunge feel? It's got that early 90s rock sound. It needs a lead guitar playing small phrases in the backround that are reverbed to hell and back. I'm not a HUGE fan of this, but it's decent. It's not gonna compete with Melvin, unfortunately. I'm gonna keep an eye out for you in the future. The solo is nice, as is the guitar work in the rest of this song.

Simon Stewart - This one is interesting, but not vote-worthy. Good atmospheric music, though. The beginning makes me think of the theme music from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I play too many video games.

dB Collective - I really like this. I likes me some good classic style blues. The vocals remind me of this woman who performs with her husband at the open mic I host. She's very nice, so you get extra points. Her husband rocks on the guitar.

King Arthur - Extraordinarily tight music, with your usual Eric Clapton style vocals. And, as usual, I dig this song! I like your consistency. I don't think this one can win, because Melvin's is just too awesome, but this is pleasantly tight.

Set Fire - I hate this style of music too much to look at this objectively. I can give you some production comments though. The guitars sound GREAT. The drums sound muffled. The vocals are underemotional. it's graciously short.

The Curse Of - This reminds me of some older songs I've done in some ways. It sounds a little too eclectic, like you just weren't sure what you wanted the song to be. The vocals are overwhelmed by the music. It's like you just didn't like the lyrics and didn't want us to hear them. Not a winner, but not a bad effort.

Cynthia Size and the eclecticspoons - Can't figure out what to think of this. It's decently put together, odd, and somewhat compelling. I really like what happens around 3/4 of the way through, though I don't like the drum beat stuff that interrupts it. I kind of wanted it to build into something awesome and chaotic.

--------------------------

WHEW. I think that's everything. Sorry for the late reviews, but I was only able to do this two or three at a time when I got a moment over the week. This week was a struggle to get through, as I really never have good advice to give, but I feel bad just saying I don't like a song. I voted Melvin. Hope I didn't miss anyone! If I did, lemme know.
Am I rockin' hard, or hardly rockin'?
melvin
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 412
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Post by melvin »

WesDavis wrote:I voted Melvin.
I'll take that as my review. Thanks Wes! Your song was great this week.
hi!
jackfrost
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:36 am

Post by jackfrost »

Here are my reviews for the 21 songs I had left to do. Lots of great songs here. Voting will be difficult.

Regular Gonzales – Investment banking does not make a very exciting subject for a song. The dour vocals have no emotion behind them at all (kind of like what I would imagine an investment banker would sound like). If this was your intent, you’ve succeeded. If this is your normal singing voice, I suggest injecting a modicum of emotion in your song next time. The melody also suffers from too much repetition. Overall, I find this song plodding and boring.

Ocean City Defender – Nice song. Short and sweet. I like the vocals and the instrumentation. I don’t want to nit-pick this one. This song makes me want to hear more from this band.

Nathaniel Tann – Technically, this is sound, but man is it boring. I’m all for slow songs, but they need a hook or something to keep them interesting. I was over this at 2:30. The rock-out part that follows comes too late and feels hollow and clichéd.

Minty Handy – It doesn’t feel like there’s much here. Sounds like a demo for a Disney animated movie where some singing animals prance around and sing to other animated inanimate objects. Listening to the ending, I was embarrassed for you.

Melvin – Is this another Weezer homage like the Blumpkins? This one blows their’s out of the water. Seriously though, this is another great, catchy Melvin tune. I like it fine, but I’m getting used to the “Melvin” sound. It is one of the top ones this week for me, though.

Measle – Way too many words here in places. You can’t seem to keep your flow going around all the extra words. The fast rapping bit seems a bit hacky and gimmicky. Boring.

MC Paul Denyer – Turn up the vocals, or turn down the annoying guitar effects. The flow here is alright. I’m bored by 1:30, then annoyed at the way-too-loud-horn that drowns out the vocals completely. At this point, I’ve lost track of the “story”, the monotonous delivery makes me not care about what is going on anyway.

MC Eric B – There are some great lines here. This one has a more relaxed flow than some of your other raps. I like it. The lyrics, while simple in premise, have a universitality to them that is undeniable. Great job.

Mailbox – Great atmosphere in this song. I don’t know about the drum rolls, though. At first they seemed really out of place. But then they seem to kind of fit. I don’t know. I like the building instrumentation throughout the piece. Basically, this is the same basic premise as Eric B’s song. But Eric filled his song with specific, relatable (or semi-relatable instances of relationship disparity), here, the story of the lovers is filled with clichéd nothings and the listener never really learns anything about who, what, or why. Great sounding, but the lyrics could stand to be re-written from a more personal angle.

Luke Henley – In the past, every one of your songs have gone in my “not my thing” category. This week though, you nailed it. Great lyrics, great melody, great vocals, appropriate length, and a nice low-fi sound. This is a contender for my vote.

Lights of a Fire – Ugh. It’s a piano recital. Have you even listened to the kind of stuff that gets submitted here?

King Arthur – Another great song. The production and delivery is completely confident and competent. This is an enjoyable listen. The phrasing is great and unexpected in places. It makes me want to listen to it again, and I usually can’t stand political songs. Pressing repeat as I type.

Ken’s Super Duper Band ‘n Stuff – Man, another great song. Melody is heavenly from the first note, and sung to perfection. This is the kind of song, I would like to learn just so I can wrap my voice around that awesome melody. Perfect song.

KABUTO – Now, I like Naruto as much as anyone (actually, I have tickets to the movie on June 6th), so I must point out that you not only pronounce Naruto’s name wrong, but you pronounce your own rap name wrong. This is just inane. Self-referencing is hack. Bashing your own genre is also hack. Get a popper-stopper for your mic. That will fix one problem.

Hamnoburger – To be honest, this song doesn’t catch me until the chorus. The chorus is strong, however, and it makes me like the rest of the song more. The guitar work is great, and I like the chime-sound of the acoustic. Either way, I enjoy your entries and am starting to look forward to them each week. For the record, is your band name all one word or three words?

Eugene Manitoba – This is also a lot like Eric B’s song. Or your song is like his. I like the instrumentation here, and the cute lyrics. Yeah, I like it.

Eddie Lance – Is this an instrumental “Angel Song” by Great White? If not, then why not? Nice piano sound, but seriously, this is song fight, not piano recital.

d.o.o.R.i.t.e. – So, yeah, I’m starting to dig your style after a few weeks of listening to it. The flow is nice here, and the chorus is one of the only ones this week that sticks in my head. I like your rasp in this one. The second voice seems a little weak compared to the first one. Is this the same person, or someone else? The flow is great throughout. This is a contender for my vote this week. Great job.

Don’t Reply Tha MC – Number 1: I don’t get the name. Number 2: The vocals seem to be recorded too “hot”, and the distortion is annoying. Number 3: Filled with rap clichés – fucking bitches, huffing bowls, using the word “creep” in the TLC context, the man repossessing your car, wife bashing, entering a plea, committing a crime, use of the word “homie”, the use of the phrase “we out”, use of the word “dime”, and referencing of the year all in 80 seconds. I like it because it’s completely ridiculous.

Donovan Tann – A nice quiet song. I like this one. Nice vocals and guitar sound. I like the change halfway though. Great job.

Doctor Nocturne – This name reminds me of Doctor/Captain Neptune from the Medieval vs. Sci-Fi episode of Home Movies, but that is neither here nor there. At first I found this song pretty boring, but that might be because of the way it was recorded. It is soft, and hard to hear what is going on. The more I hear it, the more I like it, but the recording issues still mar its sound a bit for me.
WesDavis
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 322
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Post by WesDavis »

melvin wrote:
WesDavis wrote:I voted Melvin.
I'll take that as my review. Thanks Wes! Your song was great this week.
Oh yeah, I meant to say things about how I want to be your roadie and lick the sweat off your guitars, personally, after every show, but I guess that would be creepy, huh?
Am I rockin' hard, or hardly rockin'?
melvin
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 412
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Post by melvin »

Eh... kinda creepy.
hi!
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jack
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 3824
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Recording Method: ProTools, Logic, Garageband
Submitting as: brody, Jack Shite, Johnny in the Corner, Bloody Hams, lots more
Location: santa cruz, ca.

Post by jack »

never underestimate the grunt value of a roadie, no matter how creepy their fetishes may seem.
Hi!
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MintyHandy
Mean Street
Posts: 564
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2005 5:00 pm
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Post by MintyHandy »

The woman that sings with you is an amazing woman, and you should tell her that. Anyone that will sing silly songs like this with you is great.
I do, I do. She's got an amazing voice, and will sing silly songs with me on occasion. These were prerequisites for me marrying someone (her, as it turns out.)
Listening to the ending, I was embarrassed for you.
Well, if someone was going to be embarrassed, I'm glad it was you instead of me. ;)
doorite
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
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Post by doorite »

WesDavis wrote:
doorite wrote:thanks for all the good-to-medium reviews. in a rap hated zone, im glad to at least get some honest opinions
It ain't that rap is hated 'round these parts. It's that terrible nerdcore is hated.

I, for one, love hearing really well-done rapping. Starfinger's "More Than Soup" would be a good example of really good Songfight rapping.
really, then what the hell is nerdcore? Nerds have nothing to do with it, sounds like a derogitory labelling comment to me. i dont know what nerds do where youre from, but im sure its not this. What does nerdcore mean? i understand bout the sir front alot thing, but that is very different than this. so as soon as im not pretending to be a gangster and thug, its nerdcore? Its more demented than nerdy, if anything.
art is what you can get away with - Andy Warhol
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