Nur Ein I Round One "Pencil Me In"

[WeaselSlayer]

I did make an effort, I thought the song finally got sent. No confmirmation as of yet. I've been in Chicago all day so I've no idea if anything worked out. Thanks for the interest, though, let's hope something works out.

[Bjam]

Bjam - I honestly believe you have the most expressive and therefore in my eyes the best voice on songfight.

Wow. Thanks

[LMNOP]

Crap! And I mean that as an exclamation, not an assessment. I just checked out a (heavily biased) sample of these tunes -- BeWells, Glenn, des, Leaf and Tyrrell -- and got blown away. I'd like to invite you all to move to my street so we can sit out on the driveway on Friday nights and drink and play and drink. No, I'm serious. There a place for sale right across the street. Real estate is very reasonable here in the heartland. Promise me you'll think about it.

And Leaf, I'm digging the album title...

EDIT: 2 r's in Tyrrell

[Ross]

Interested parties (including J$) can hear a stripped down (if rough) solo-acoustic mix of my submission here http://www.rossdurand.com/pmi_acoustic.mp3

[jack]

let me preface this by saying that judging these will be a challenge for me. a number of the artists participating in this i'd consider to be personal friends of mine, others i've worked with musically and would also consider to be virtual friends, and some of you i don't know at all and this will be the first time i've ever heard your music. but i promise a level of personal detachment and a level playing field. for those that don't know me, i'm kind of a production snob, i'm pretty ambivalent about lyrics, love a good hook, and am a sucker for the good harmony vocals. also, the handclaps were my idea so love me or hate me for it.

as far as the vote goes, i will listen to all the songs again before ranking them. as for my reviews, take them with a grain of salt.


the bewells
the ambient rain track is fine. finger snaps are fine. vocals are supah fine. the odd cadence handclaps are definitely interesting, but don't really distract in a bad way. just funny how they are off the beat a number of times. love the mandolin. i've always been a bewells fan and this is really nice stuff. i think you're safe this week.

bjam
again, interesting use of handclaps, which are kind of hit and miss. guitar and vocals are pretty solid. i'm kind of wishing for a bit more instrumentation to augment the claps percussion wise, like an eggshaker or something. lyrics are fine. production is pretty solid too.

calfborg
sorry i missed you the first time. not sure how that happened but it was completely unintentional and i'm glad i redeemed myself by finding this gem. fantastic. very gilmour/floyd like in the arrangement with the strings and the waltz timing.

denyer
yes on the machine gun clapping intro. pretty solid dude. better than alot of the rap i've heard around here anyway. i respect the fact that you deliver your flow like you have attitude and mean it. maybe runs a bit repetitious with the droning mix but i like how you bring the machine gun claps back in. good outro too. good job man.

deshead
love the country feel of the intro. typically fantastic production and execution. love the lead break into the piano. drums are a bit busy but this is just plain awesome stuff des. i gush. this has the high pro glow. as far as i'm concerned you are the bar the others have to jump over.

glenn case
excellent use of handclaps. terrific bass and how it works percussively with the claps. as always, your vocal work is stellar and second to none. no issues or worries here. the choruses are so CSN it's freaking uncanny.

heuristics inc.
haha, of course you would know how to make use of electronic claps. production is very solid. i dig the mix alot. this is almost upbeat for you

jim tyrrell
man, the fact that you gig regularly is so obvious to me, as your stuff always sounds very well put together as a package. great arrangement man. this has this cool bossanova feel to it, and i'm almost wishing for some female harmonies. really nicely done jim. and again, nice subtle use of the fake claps. in fact, maybe the best use of claps yet, as it's so subtle and fits so well. and i still owe you that bottle of 2 buck chuck.

jolly roger
vocally, i think it works pretty well, but the guitar sounds out of tune and kind of ragged. production isn't too bad, although the vocals are a bit louder than the rest of the mix. the arrangement just kind of plods along, but wait....the handclaps just kicked in and that was a nice little bridge. abrupt ending actually works pretty well. honestly dawg, it wasn't the strongest effort of the group but it was ite. it was ite.

kamakura
for some reason, it linked to microsoft. maybe a JoS prank?

ken
now ken knows his way around a handclap. excellent production and vocals. you get a pass this week but you'd get an easy pass even if you hadn't answered that trivia question.

leaf
you do the best ska rock on songfight, so it's nice to hear you go back to the usual ska bra. shit, what's not to like about this? killer production, great singing, great arrangement, good subtle use of the claps. it's like a good top shelf tequila. love the lead break. smell the glove baby.

noah mclaughlin
the intro guitar is really nice. the vocals remind me of poor june ...... > :O: < ....... but they're not bad, just more in the delivery and the chin rocker enunciation. vocals might be mixed a bit hot as i hear a fair amount of clipping. actually, when you take the phone filter off the vocals, they sound much better. arrangement is a bit repetitious, and the vocals kind of enhance this. the hand claps almost sound like an afterthought but they have this weird charm to them how they play off the guitar. i really like your guitar work on this by the way.

octothorpe
mix sounds pretty good, but mad dog sounds like he's drowning in reverb. the synths sound pretty good. the talky bridge part is kind of overpowered by the rest of the mix to the point that lyrically, it's hard to make out much. has kind of a talking heads feel to it. but you guys have your thing down pat. and it's hard to believe but you're the first song that just took the easy way out and used the claps on the outro

remiss
man, those handclaps are jarring the way they come in. well, the raps not that good (but not terrible) and the mix did include handclaps (and nothing else) so artistically, it's an interesting idea taking a minimalist approach. points for trying. you're up against a tough lot.

ross durand
points for real handclaps. more than one track of them even. you're like jim T, you always bring a solid package to the table. this sounds real nice ross, guitar and singing is solid, good lyrics, and the handclaps work percussively pretty well. nice outro!

sausage boy
this song is freaking me out on the headphones. good stuff sausage boy. i don't know what else to say.

stuyem
damn stu, i had no idea you had this much rock in you. excellent. i really dig the groove, great tone on the electric guitar. did you DI or mic that? either way, sounds terrific, and the growly vocals carry it well. excellent production too. total bar band tune!

sven mullet
man, this reminds me of someone i've heard before. of wait, i know.....matthew sweet! actually, it kind of reminds me of good pavement. this is really good sven. one of my favorites of the fight so far.

tex beaumont
wow, this is terrific. i'm a sucka for the good harmony vocals and this is chock full of them. and nice use of the handclaps. excellent production too, main vocal track could actually come up in the mix, but i'm really digging this mix dude. an easy pass.

thornberry
damn....are you freddie mercury re-incarnated? those are some seriously awesome vocals man. piano arrangement works nicely with the claps, and when the wall of floydian sound comes in it really picks up. this is a really excellent piece of work. another easy pass.

wreckdom
wreckdom are the butthole surfers of songfight, just as the name implies. love the wall of sound guitars. great stuff. easy pass from me.

so i'll just say that my top 6 in no particular order are calfborg, thornberry, deshead, glenn case, sven mullet, and leaf. i will say this is an awesome lot of tunes, and it will be hard to kick anyone off. excellent work everyone.

[stueym]

The Bewells – Very mellow, ever thought of recording a M&M’s commercial? Is this true multi tracking on the vocals or did you use something like TC Helicon processing?
Wonderful production values. Lyrical content didn’t move me as much though

Bjam – As J$ and others have said your voice is dreamy on this…probably because you should have been sleeping when recording it ! I like the chord progression especially the change up at 2:20. The Handclaps actually distracted from a very pretty performance. Lyrical story was nice with the dance card allusion.

Calfborg – Hmm weird dissonant sounds….but wait, there’s something really nice here. I really like the vibe and rhythm of this. Yeah I was going the Floyd route too on the initial sound of this with the vocal kick in. This is totally nice “late night in the darkâ€

[jack]

hey calfborg, i amended my reviews. sorry i missed you the first time. purely unintentional.

[stueym]

stuyem
damn stu, i had no idea you had this much rock in you. excellent. i really dig the groove, great tone on the electric guitar. did you DI or mic that? either way, sounds terrific, and the growly vocals carry it well. excellent production too. total bar band tune!

I seem to spend a lot of time in bars these days, what with Love is Lies, Fresh Dog and this little ditty. I am so looking forward to the obligatory G&G celtic folk song required week of Nur Ein so I can get back to my roots. LOL.

Yeah right, my wife is going to stand me playing a mic'd stack with the volume turned up to 11...I don't think so!!! Particularly as the lead parts were recorded around 1am last night.

Okay 'fess up time. All the guitar is courtesy of Roland VG88 so totally processed sounds. Rhythm is a setting called "Dirty Tele Wah" and both the leads are the "PAF (solo) setting". All driven courtesy of the beautiful "Mr Sun" Brian Moore 2.13.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews.

[Reist]

This is the first Jolly Roger song I've heard, and I'm surprised- it's pretty good!

Thanks!

Tune your guitar!

the guitar sounds out of tune and kind of ragged.

Yes. My guitar was very very out of tune during recording. I used my brother's tuner for the past little bit while I've been learning guitar, but then in the past month it crapped out on me and hasn't been working altogether ... I tuned my guitar yesterday, but that's a bit late for the song recording. I'll tune it next time if I make it back on. From the reviews though, I don't know if I'm going to make it. It's been really fun so far though.

[HeuristicsInc]

Heuristics Inc: This is groovin. The light distortion or whatever on the vox works in a Pitchshifter/Prodigy way. I always wondered why people make electronic music, because in my limited experience with it, it's harder to learn all the software/draw notes on a score than it is to learn to play an instrument You've obviously mastered this genre, and I like this.

Hey, I'll have you know I played all the synthy parts with my fingers on the keyboard Also, you have Starfinger to thank for the distortion on the vox, I think that was an excellent suggestion (thanks Craig). I make electronic music because it is what I do.

Thanks for all the reviews so far... Nur Ein rocks!

Oh, odd thing, I spent the whole weekend at retreat so I only had Sun night-Tues night to do this song. Luckily I saw the title before we left. Yat for finishing on time!
-bill

[Tex Beaumont]

OK - if I was a judge - here's how I'd rank them:

Song of the round - take a week off:
1. Leaf 62: Nice. Great vocals. Great song. I really like this
1. Deshead: This is just great. This is what country music should sound like (I hope describing it as country doesn’t offend – I mean it as a compliment)
1. Jim Tyrrell: Sensational. I love the swing of this. I want to pour a martini, put on my tux and hit Vegas with Frank, Deano and Sammy. Love the rising vocal bit in the chorus.

I can't decide between these 3. I'm not a judge - so I don't have to decide.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Should be safe for a week or two:

4. Sausage Boy: Brilliant. I love the sheer relentlessness of this.
5. Glenn Case: Great Beatle-y sort of melody in the verses. More hooks than a Japanese whaling fleet. You are obviously the man to beat here.
6. StueyM: Great stuff! I love you voice here – the low, whiskey-hardened growl is perfect. Good song too.
7. Calfborg: Great intro. This is very cool. Great mood built up here
8. Ross Durand: Great melody. Nice simple song that comes across really well with a good, open performance. One of the best I’ve heard from you for quite a while.
9. Wreckdom – Has some great moments – the ballet vs. hockey bit especially is good, and love the guitar throughout.
10. Jolly Roger: Production is all over place – but still, I like this. Great feel to it – it sounds like it belongs on the “Lost in Translationâ€

[Niveous]

My two cents:

Tex Beaumont: Usually the Ba-ba-bah would turn me off as something horribly cheesy but this is working for some reason. It does have a few too many Pencil Me Ins and that makes this song lyrically vapid in some sections. But this is a fun tune. The mix reminds me of something that would come out of Big Audio Dynamite 2, as if this would be a b-side to "Rush". Tex's vocals are strong. There are some obvious flaws to this tune but TB & DH is a welcome addition to the Songfight landscape.

Noah McLaughlin: The mix on the vocals is so buried and distorted. I know this song is about 9-11 but you didn't have to make it sound like it was recorded while buried under the rubble. I know it's slow to emphasize the emotion of the song but I think this could be a wee bit faster and come out strong. I have heard a lot better from you. This is very sleep inducing. This is about my sixth time listening to this and it still makes me yawn. And what does "not even box cutters" mean?

Jim Tyrrell: The chorus on this is so strong that you may just ride into Stage 2 on its strength alone. That target to shoot for line is sweet. This is well put together and the claps are well done. When I first turned on this song, I feared some Jimmy Buffett meets Billy Joel claptrap but this is excellent. If the rest of the jury votes to have you thrown off after this one, they would have to be freebasing.

Ross Durand: I don't like the claps here. Claps can be annoying sometimes like here. Points for trying to fit Ticonderoga in the prosody of your song. Points off for failing to do so. The song has some cheesy lyrics but it does start to come together at the end. It doesn't lead the pack but it's not that the back either.

Kamakura: Claps and Beatbox and that repeated choral 'Pencil Me In'. What were you thinking? You abandon the guitar stuff and the electronic stuff for some kind of Rockapella, Bobby McFerrin tune with an unneeded SF Santacruz reference that took me completely out of this tune. This isn't good.

Wreckdom: Using the claps as an audience, it's the easiest thing to do and I'm surprised so few did it. Wreckdom is getting better all the time. The Ballet-Hockey bit was fun and the thing about it was that it sat atop some solid guitars. That's what I like. It has the feel of Butt Trumpet's "I'm Ugly". Wreckdom's guitarist is underrated. Very well done.

Thornberry: I call him Big Dreamer because I can tell Thornberry has Brian-Wilson-size aspirations. The guitar breaks are very strong. They are powerful and if done wrong they would've been completely out of place but instead they were a nice touch. It's like a modern update of California rock a la Pet Sounds. This is the best put together Thornberry song I've heard yet. You could've ended this one at 3:24 and been okay, instead of going cheap Coldplay at the end. That'll cost you a little but still a fine tune.

Sven: It's like Dinosaur Jr. without J. Mascis's pitful rasp. The guitar is very strong and the song is catchy as can be. The solo is a bit out of place. It could've been differently but that doesn't take away from the overall strength of this one. If taking a break from SF makes you produce tunes like this, you need to take more Def Leppard-esque sabbaticals. Kudos to you.

Jolly Roger: This starts off extremely crappy but as the song goes on, it gets better and better. The graphite isn't lead line is utter garbage. The chorus coming in was a good idea. The eye contact line is atrocious. The end of the song with the claps and chorus is the saving grace. The lack of a cadence is bad.

Calfborg: This is threading on Future Boy territory, as if this could've been on Maze of Death. The sound is cold and slick. Noah could've taken a page out of your book. The bleep, bleep, bleep at around 2:20 has got to go. The strings are a great sample and used very well. They aren't over done. In fact, this is very well put together. You should coast into the next round.

HInc.: Leave your vocals alone. I know you have problems with them but leave them alone. No effects. The one you are using on this tune is grating, like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. The best part of this song is the bridge where I can get into the industrial noise and really enjoy the music. But when the vocals kick back in, I wanna grind my teeth.

Leaf 62: Now that's a nice guitar sound. The song is a mix of ska with your usual local bar band stuff. It's a little chesy like the "going blind" line. Some of the lyrical content could use work. The "longing for a fairytale never brought me gold" part isn't your best. The song runs a little long and stops being as fun and becomes redundant. It would probably be better in a live situation.

Steuym: The vocals are flat. The guitar are big, maybe even too big and forward in the mix. The vocals don't match them. The vocals have no punch. It's like you phoned them in. This song needs some Steppenwolf kick to it. The vocals are almost monotone. That growl at the end...take that energy and put it into the whole song.

Bjam: The voice is sweet as ever. the guitar is nice and crisp but what the hell are you talking about? You turned all Cedric Bixler on this one. Penguins and Poodles all day? This is lyrical rigmarole. I've been watching America's Next Top Model lately and they have a term that is perfect for this song: surviving on pretty. The nice voice and guitar save it. The lyrics and pitiful claps almost cost you.

Sausage Boy: The beat is infectious but the rest is not doing anything for me. The clap in the middle is such a cop-out. If I hadn't read the lyrics, I would have no clue what you're saying. 12 birdbaths? 12 bedpans? 12 burpings? This falls on the low-end of the totem pole for me. That infectious beat is good but I don't know if it's enough to make up for the rest.

Remiss: Hit the damn beat. If you have a 53 second song, you had better hit every damn mark and you don't. Okay, unlike other Songfights, you know who you're competing against. There's Deshead who has 10+ SF wins, Octothorpe who has been mentioned in Spin magazine, Glenn Case who is mtfn' Glenn Case. And you decide to try and coast on a barebones 53 second nerdcore rap? What were you thinking? I commend you for getting a song out but here's your plane ticket out of the Nur Ein. Your elimination is imminent.

Glenn Case: You fucking cheated. I'm joking. See, me and Glenn had a talk this week about bands we like. I brought up Jellyfish and then he comes out with a Nur Ein entry that sounds just like Jellyfish. Cheater. You go down in the record books alongside Rosie Ruiz and Michael Larson. Just kidding. This song is spectacular and nearly flawless. The bridge is the best part. Welcome to Stage 2.

Deshead: Josh Woodward Junior strikes again. But I have to say the chorus is probably the catchiest in the whole battle. The song is textbook Deshead with it's glossy production and never variating vocal stylings but the neat little "I know my pentatonic scales" guitar solo and snazzy chorus are good. I may never become a Deshead fan (I wasn't Josh's fan either) but I'll give it you. This is well done.

Denyer: Rap on the SF landscape, oh dear. What's with the British accent? I thought this was gonna be a bad Streets knock off but this isn't half bad. It's much better than what Remiss brought to the table. Lyrical strength is the key to making a rap like this. The minesweeper reference is blah. References to the Rock and Kevin Nash are gold in my book. A reference to Heidenreich is a sin. I think I'm the only of the judges who will get all the references, especially Heidenreich. Thank goodness he quit. He was horrible. Nice work, Denyer.

BeWells: Ever see those commercials where they songs scroll on the screen. This is on one of those albums right between Ashford & Simpson and "Nights In White Satin". This is just not my speed at all. This is extremely boring to me. I don't wanna listen to this anymore. This is listen #6 (for all the tunes) and this song has impressed me less and less with every play.

Octothorpe: I think this was cancelled out by Wreckdom. They both had the same idea for feel of their tune but Wreckdom did it so much better. This is not one of the better Wreckdom tunes. "Out with Gus", why??? The spoken word part isn't interesting at all. If I was a part of the crowd at the end, I would pity clap and that's only because of the last verse pulled through with an iota of good, like a lighthouse in the middle of a sea of mediocre. # can do better.

[Kill Me Sarah]

I wanna hear a Luke Henley song, dammit.

Seconded.

[jack]

nobody's stopping him from posting it somewhere. he's just no longer eligible for this as he missed the deadline. sorry to sound like a hardass about this, but deadlines are there for a reason.

[a bebop a rebop]

Luke's out of posting range for a little bit but I'd just like to say on his behalf that he's seriously really bummed out about this. He tried to send it in multiple times but his email (as he mentioned, he's not in his usual locale) was flaking out.

So, no aspersion-casting please, don't get on his case for factors outside of his control.

[Niveous]

I know he tried to send it. I did receive it, in part. Remember what happened with the Hot Tub Combo's "5 Nights in Britian" where the song would self destruct half way into it. That's what happens with his Pencil Me In. So, even with disregarding the lateness issue, I can't get the song to work. And if he's out of posting range, there's no way to get this fixed in time for the jury to give it a proper review before the deadline. Sorry.

[jack]

23 others managed to find a way to submit on time. too bad.

[a bebop a rebop]

I know he tried to send it. I did receive it, in part. Remember what happened with the Hot Tub Combo's "5 Nights in Britian" where the song would self destruct half way into it. That's what happens with his Pencil Me In. So, even with disregarding the lateness issue, I can't get the song to work. And if he's out of posting range, there's no way to get this fixed in time for the jury to give it a proper review before the deadline. Sorry.

I understand, thanks for clearing up the situation. He was able to IM me a copy of the song last night, if it's not too too late already, at this point. I'll email it to you and cross my fingers. No pressure either way, though.

[Kill Me Sarah]

Is immunity transferable? Ken doesn't sound like he'll be needing his

[jack]

I know he tried to send it. I did receive it, in part. Remember what happened with the Hot Tub Combo's "5 Nights in Britian" where the song would self destruct half way into it. That's what happens with his Pencil Me In. So, even with disregarding the lateness issue, I can't get the song to work. And if he's out of posting range, there's no way to get this fixed in time for the jury to give it a proper review before the deadline. Sorry.

I understand, thanks for clearing up the situation. He was able to IM me a copy of the song last night, if it's not too too late already, at this point. I'll email it to you and cross my fingers. No pressure either way, though.

well, what is it about NO you don't understand? jesus christ, are you his agent or publicist or just his number one fanboy? he missed the deadline. he's out. period. i'm not singling Luke out. bolio and erik are out for the same reason.

i'm sick of fucking excuses. carry on.

[Niveous]

Sorry ABAR, but I have to agree with Jack. Luke's a pal but I contacted him on Tuesday regarding his hosting and never heard back from him until after deadline time. He should've given me the song on Tuesday, especially if he knew he was going to Chicago the next day.

[a bebop a rebop]

bolio and erik are out for the same reason.

The difference I see here is that Luke actually did his song. But yes, I understand now, that was sort of a last-ditch attempt, won't happen again, 'scuse me jack.