Welcome to the Paarghty... (Pieces of Eight Reviews)

ken · Post by **ken** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 9:52 am

My foot struck something yielding--it was a sleeper's leg; and he turned and groaned, but without awaking.

And then, all of a sudden, a shrill voice broke forth out of the darkness:

"Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!" and so forth, without pause or change, like the clacking of a tiny mill.

Silver's green parrot, Captain Flint! It was she whom I had heard pecking at a piece of bark; it was she, keeping better watch than any human being, who thus announced my arrival with her wearisome refrain.

Mostess · Post by **Mostess** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:04 pm

In approximate order of preference:

Deansky:

Without reservation, this is one of my favorite SongFight! entries on the first listen. Use of space, harmonic and rhythmic. Atmosphere is pervasive and cleverly kept up. Absolutely brilliant: melody changes, structural twists, lyrical and poetic without being sticky or high-horsey. Most excellent, my friends. The end could use a little flourish: it kind of fizzles, and a clearer climax would only add drama. But those are little things for a big contender.

the Seamus Collective:

I really like this. Nice changes, laid back percussion, twisty little melody. Kind of 60'sish. You hit the background vocals very well, and very tactfully. A really good song, and well sung.

Jonny Cashpoint:

Energy is beautiful. The chorus is beautiful (especially "dying day"---very nice change). The instrumental bridge is beautiful. As usual, you make great use of very simple rhythms; I like a little more syncopation peppered in my playlists, but I think your relentless isochrony adds to your energy. I should take a lesson from you. The humor at the end seems tacked on.

Steve Durand:

My toe was made to tap. Genuine and sweet. I believe someone might have unearthed the sheet music for this from some vintage store. It dwells a little much on the horn sectionals (how about a raging solo? or a little more from the rhythm section?) Very nice.

Hostess Mostess (me):

Why does this still sound muddy and gross? I worked so friggin' hard on mixing this thing, but it fought me. I have a couple folks who have offered to try mixing it for me: I shake with anticipation and fear at hearing how well it could be done by more experienced and talented hands. I like the song, in general, but the form is too typical of me, the melody spends too much time outlining the same 5 notes, the instrumentation is uninspired (though I am proud of my percussion section: tupperware and soda can).

MENBAH!:

Endings are all so choppy this week, and this one is astoundingly so. You had me on board until I realized it had just ended on a Davey Jones reference (which is a little cliche). Marimba-ish tones are very pretty, and the atmosphere is very fun: a little awkward and silly but stable and honest. You have some space that you never really fill up.

The Beresfordians:

I really like the change around :30; I would have been more awake for the opening if I'd known something like that was coming. The guitar grinds nicely. I want this to have more connective tissue, it's a little boxy. Some high descant part. The return to the opening progression is a welcome surprise the first time around, but on the whole the meat and weight of the song is in the middle section. In general, your phrases are all the same length, and a little clipped: try changing up the phrase length here and there to increase textural interest.

Merisan:

Sweet summertime song. Very easy, breezy. Duet is pleasant, though the gal sounds far and the guy sounds near, which breaks some of the intimacy. This has a lot of love in it, but there's some energy missing, some contrast to hang me up. A modulation, or a harmonic change in general would add a lot: an unexpected bridge---I'd go brighter and unnier, but even something minor and sadder would help. This suffers a bit from the sound of complacency.

Phunt Your Friends:

6:14!? At least your pacing in the first minute sets me up for it. I've kind of stopped listening at around 2:30---it's more of a poetry reading on opium, which may have appeal in my more solitary, rainy moods. Maybe I'll remember to log on and try this the next time that happens, but I probably won't. I can always drink whiskey and read Poe myself. Until then, though, I'm not drawn in by the drone. And again---what's with the ending? If a 6 minute monotonous bass drone can't fade out over the last few seconds, we're all doomed.

Rilladope:

Rap is so hard. Your rhythm is simply atrocious ("never will I surrender unless all my blood I have bled"?! Even I could have simplified that so it fit in the meter: "I won't quit 'til my blood is bled" for instance). Your breathing is erratic and intrusive. Your delivery has little punch and little intensity. The backdrop sounds are flat and not a little irritating. But thank you for fading out.

Link vs. Music:
Melvin:

(These are strikingly similar. I'd be faking if I wrote seperate reviews.)

Smooth like still air, short like noon, watery like...well...water. Over before it begins, ends closer than it starts. Doesn't go up, doesn't go down. Doesn't make me feel anything, just kind of washes over me like the last few minutes in the shower when I want to get out but don't quite feel like it yet. Pop without passion, I think. You need to brainstorm about what makes music, if not life, beautiful.

melvin · Post by **melvin** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:48 pm

The Beresfordians: Like the dirty guitar sound and the lyrical twist on â€˜pieces of eightâ€™, and the solo too. But still, this sounds a little too typically bar-bandy and forgettable overall.

Dean Sky: Holy crap! What is this?! Itâ€™s amazing! Is this like â€œThe Dean Sky Freaky Family Singers?â€

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 6:32 pm

Mostess wrote:
Steve Durand:
I believe someone might have unearthed the sheet music for this from some vintage store.

Don't believe that!!!!

This is an original composition, fueled by many years of playing in swing bands.

Steve

Mostess · Post by **Mostess** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 3:29 am

sdurand wrote: Don't believe that!!!!

I don't. Good job.

Imnenigma · Post by **Imnenigma** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 11:48 am

I'm new but I still have an opinion about stuff. Just remember I am an enigma.

The Seamus Collective
Excellent arrangement and very well performed. Especially good vocal work. Very enjoyable and professional. A really fine job all around.

Links vs. Music
There's a buzz in the mix that's sort of annoying. Vocals are hard to hear and understand. It sounds like there's alot going on in the mix, but I'm having a hard time making out the parts.

Merisan
You guys sound like Loyalty Day. You also sound (or evoke imagery of) early Jefferson Airplane. The vocals mesh really well here. Excellent job with all the playing and singing. Quality stuff.

Rilla Dope
Sorry Mr. Dope but it's not doing much for me, with the choppy, on the beat, pirate rap over a mix that doesn't even seem that good for rap to begin with.

Johnny Cashpoint
I have to admit to being a fan of your music Johnny Cashpoint. It's got a very Pil feel to it. Great guitar, and the vocals as always are delivered with passion and intensity. Maybe that's why I love your stuff so much, you always do it with passion and style. The buzzy synth is a bit loud but beyond that, this is really fun.

Melvin
This is really well performed, I just wish the mix was a bit cleaner. Like bring those vocals way up, or at least balance them out with the guitars. Very smashing pumpkins sort of feel to it. Excellent job.

Phunt Your Friends
It seems like you know how to record pretty well but somewhere along the way, you forgot the part about writing a song.

Hostess Mostess
Wow, is that a stand up bass? Or a live to mic of an acoustic bass? It sounds great whatever it is. This is excellent, in a Bill Withers/Nick Drake sort of way. It's got a very bossanova feel to the arrangement, I keep waiting for a lazy Stan Getz horn to come in.

Dean Sky
Starts out all Steely Dan. I'll bet you have a really nice Motif keyboard or something comparable. Man, that backing mix is so Steely Dan/Aja. It's pretty stellar.

The Beresfordians
I was a bit worried you were going to hang on the cliche opening riff, and then you went and got all badass. Rock. Excellent. The chorus/bridge part I could take it or leave it.

MENBAH!
I really like the variety of instrumentation you use. Cool song.

Steve Durand
Wow, this song is almost too cool for songfight. I'm not sure what to say other than it's really excellent.

It would be hard to pick one winner, as all the songs are really excellent.

Downloaded to my iPod: Steve Durand, Hostess Mostess, Melvin, The Seamus Collective, Johnny Cashpoint, and Merisan.

Post by **Lunkhead** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 1:02 pm

The Beresfordians
Try mic'ing your acoustic, if you can, it will sound way way better then going direct. That guitar riff is frankly a bit weak. It might help make it sound bigger if you doubled tracked that riff. Some of the backing vocals are cool. The solo sounds alright, better than the rhythm part, partly because you double-tracked it. That chord progression at the end is fairly tired. And the acoustic and electric guitars aren't quite in tune with each other. OK song overall, though. With some recording changes it could sound a lot better.

Dean Sky
Interesting mix of really MIDI sounding instruments and instruments that sound real. Some of the singing sounds a bit atonal. The multiple vocal tracks kind of make it worse rather than better. Sometimes it works, though. Is this a father-son duo or something? The second singer sounds really young. The song itself is alright, nothing amazing, but the vocals bring it down for me, and it's not a style of music I'm that into.

Hostess Mostess
Good musicianship and singing. The bass sound is a bit amorphous and kind of muddy. I like the change in the bridge(?) but I don't think the hand claps really fit in with the sound of the song for me. A tambourine might have blended in better for me. I'd like to hear an uncompressed version of this. Nice backing vocals at the end there. This is easily the most solid song so far.

Johnny Cashpoint
I really like the chorus, the bridge, and the count down lyrics part. The verse is a bit to unrelenting for me. I think the synth sound is a bit overloud, or noisy, or something. "Sinister Six", is that a comic book reference? I thought that some Spider-Man villains used that name once. I really like the lyrics in that part. Good song, though I'm leaning more towards Hostess Mostess at this point due to genre bias towards acoustic music.

Links vs. Music
Man, that initial melody sounds really really familiar. Your drums could use some work. The kick and snare sound muffled. Having the hi-hat panned to the right like that makes it stand out too much, which is bad because the fake that every hi-hat hit is the exact same volume makes it sounds really really fake. Ditto for the crash cymbal in the left channel. At least this is short, and the lyrics are alright.

Melvin
I'm not into your drum beats in the verse. That part would flow better with a drum beat that was slightly more normal, or maybe just had fewer kick hits in it. Whoa, that solo part is extremely loud... What is that solo instrument, guitar? A moog-y synth might sound better. I couldn't really understand the words well enough to know quite what you were singing about, unfortunately. I do like the melody in the chorus, though, and the song's decent overall.

MENBAH!
I like the sleigh bells or whatever they are, and the accordion. The singer sounds almost like the Jonathan Mann a bit. I like "He said yes". The lyrics at the end are funny, too. Good, and not too long.

Phunt Your Friends
Hm, menacing sounds, slowed down vocals... it seems to go on and on like this. For a long time. Ok, next...

Rilla Dope
Cool synth. Is there a house beat coming in? No, rap. The lyrics are amusing. I almost wish there were a thumping house beat... Where'd you got the samples for the background of the second part? This is getting kind of boring, it all sounds too much the same. I hope I don't have to hear any more frigging pirate songs this fight...

the Seamus Collective
Good performances, lyrics/etc. It took me a whlie to decipher "lucre" in the chorus. I had completely forgotten about that word. I wish the drums were more present in the mix. Really nice singing in the chorus with the double tracking. Nice backing in the vox in the bridge. The whole bridge is very Elliot Smith-y. Ooh, shnazzy bass fill there. It does sound like a fretless sometimes. I dig the guitar solo. Definitely top two so far.

Steve Durand
Nice arrangements. I'm not a huge brass band fan, though. The intro seems a bit long, it had me wondering if this would be an instrumental. The lyrics are corny but OK. Ooh, key change! Good for its genre but I'm not into it that much.

Merisan
This is me and Erin (from Loyalty Day). We assumed "pieces of eight" was just something that Deep Throat made up, and didn't bother to Google it, so we came up with the idea of an 8 being made up of two zeros and wrote this simple little cutesy song.

I'm either going to vote for Hostess Mostess or the Seamus Collective.

Noise Brigade · Post by **Noise Brigade** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 1:18 pm

The Beresfordians I really like the contrast between the acoustic intro and the rest of the song, a good idea. I lyrics are interesting and keep me interested. Good production.

Dean Sky The lounge feel is really cool! Overall i think the song is good but I'm having trouble hearing all the lyrics (chorus effect?). Well written, it reminds me of Mario is Missing. I like the keyboard parts.

Hostess Mostess I love the guitar parts and the chord progressions. I find myself clapping along when all that starts. I dig the lyrics but the background vocals towards the end (2:15?) need to be rethought, alittle out of tune, maybe try different pitches.

Johnny Cashpoint I find this intrumentals in the beginning inspiring to my future works. The mixed snare drum rhythm (2:07) is cool but alittle repeative but eventually fits in quite well. Good balance. The ending lyrical content is one of my favorite moments from any song yet.

Links vs. Music (I begin to hear a punk/new wave cover of 'Bands on the run' then 'Video Killed the Radio Star'). I'm enjoying the song as a whole but individual parts stand out. It sounds like you strained to hit some of the notes in the vocals, try singing in a more comfortable range. Simple and to the point, I like that stance. Maybe add alittle bit of something to the beginning as to not have such an abrupt start.

Melvin I like the mixed meters, definately interesting and classy. the keyboard or whatever it is around 1:05 (solo idea) is awesome. I like the effects you did with the vocals. I really dig the ending.

MENBAH! The concertina or acordian is really effin' cool. Plus the xylophone, jeez... i already love this. The lyrics and singing fit perfectly. I like how there is no real definite drum beat till about 1:40. The guitar is well written. Very, Very good.

Merisan Nice and calm, good intro. The different vocals are a nice touch. Good harmonies. I find myself becoming bored during the long periods without vocals. I like the choruses. Well written, nice job.

Phunt your Friends Eerie... like that one TV show 'Eerie Indiana'.

the spoken part has some good parts in it. These are clips and things from movies, TV, speeches, books on tape(ha), and such, right? I might be crazy but i like alot of the you do.

Rilla Dope I like the loop behind the vocals. Some good rhymes. The switch in loops is alittle sudden, but going back to the original is cool.

The Seamus Collective I love the guitar parts and the vocals and the lyrical content. the balance is alittle weird but that doesn't matter, this isn't about who can make the highest quality production, it's about who can write the best song. I love it, i'll tell you now, you're one of my favorites...

Steve Durand Being a wind player, i love the song. the cymbal doesn't swing very hard (at all). The horn backgrounds are interesting. The vocal harmonies are great and with the two different horn lines going, it's bliss. But the bass needs to come up more in the mix.

VOTE: It's tough to decide between The Seamus Collective, MENBAH!, and Melvin. After further review...

god i can't decide... The Seamus Collective.

j$ · Post by j$ » Sun Oct 09, 2005 3:23 pm

Lunkhead wrote: "Sinister Six", is that a comic book reference? .

Yup, when all the cool ditko era villains got together to pick on spidey. This song is about how pirates are a little out-of-fashion with kids today, so the list at the end is mainly kid's stuff I remember that are no more ... ther are a few exceptions to allow for the descending count (right down to Haiwaii 5 - O - geddit?)

j$

Edge of LA · Post by **Edge of LA** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:36 am

Hey J$, I'm happy to hear the Pirate came back! two thumbs up.

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

j$ · Post by j$ » Mon Oct 10, 2005 10:08 am

Except one of them's a hook

Thanks!

j$

Noise Brigade · Post by **Noise Brigade** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:05 pm

it seems pirates and/the ocean/sea were popular topics this last week.

fodroy · Post by **fodroy** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:58 pm

j$ wrote:
Lunkhead wrote: "Sinister Six", is that a comic book reference? .
Yup, when all the cool ditko era villains got together to pick on spidey. This song is about how pirates are a little out-of-fashion with kids today, so the list at the end is mainly kid's stuff I remember that are no more ... ther are a few exceptions to allow for the descending count (right down to Haiwaii 5 - O - geddit?)

j$

i don't know. the pirates and ninjas debate is actually the "cool" thing to talk about, at least for the hipster kids. probably has to do with realultimatepower.net. i prefer vikings myself.

and i voted for your song because it kicked more ass than any other song in the fight. one of your best.

Post by **Lunkhead** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 10:49 pm

Um, reviews?

j$ · Post by j$ » Tue Oct 11, 2005 2:58 am

fodroy wrote: i don't know. the pirates and ninjas debate is actually the "cool" thing to talk about, at least for the hipster kids. probably has to do with realultimatepower.net. i prefer vikings myself.

and i voted for your song because it kicked more ass than any other song in the fight. one of your best.

Yay! Let's get married! I am sure your girlfriend and my boyfriend would understand

Actually, I blame Pirates of the Caribbean for the resurgance in pirate-related interest.

j$

jack · Post by **jack** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:39 am

j$ wrote:
Actually, I blame Pirates of the Caribbean for the resurgance in pirate-related interest.

j$

or you could always blame fightmaster senior.

fodroy · Post by **fodroy** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:42 am

j$ wrote:
fodroy wrote: i don't know. the pirates and ninjas debate is actually the "cool" thing to talk about, at least for the hipster kids. probably has to do with realultimatepower.net. i prefer vikings myself.

and i voted for your song because it kicked more ass than any other song in the fight. one of your best.
Yay! Let's get married! I am sure your girlfriend and my boyfriend would understand

j$

only if you plan it. and uh, you have to tell my girlfriend that i'm leaving her for a british dude that i've never actually met.

will this be the second songfight wedding?

not-just-yeti · Post by **not-just-yeti** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:46 pm

The ones I downloaded:
Rilla Dope, MENBAH!, Johny Cashpoint

blue · Post by **blue** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:11 pm

Beres: Cute but bad. Guitar is off-center left, but there's nothing at all in the right speaker - after half the song, the imbalance is really bugging me. OK, there's a bunch more crap (still no bass). Long, meandering, and not very compelling. You have to be super careful with distorted thick guitar chords or 12 strings. Make sure you've tuned everything twice. YOU NEED TO TUNE YOUR SHIT. I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR GIANT OUT OF TUNE GARBAGE AS THE FIRST THING IN A FREAKING M3U. Thank you.

Deansky: Woo-bop-bop-bop. EP is way too loud, or could use some bass EQ'd out. The lady's vocals are pitchy but charming - maybe that's an acquired taste on my part. Lovely in the look-what-I-did-on-my-Casio sense.

His Mostess: The most Bruce Cockburn song I've heard you do yet. The thing that usually makes these kinds of acoustic wizardry songs really go is everything that is not a guitar, and this sounds like it was mixed by someone who loves his guitars. Listen to how complete the mix sounds at the very beginning of the second verse, but then everything gets lost during the chorus. It sounds like a combination of instrument overload and a narrow mix.

J$: The HAWAII FIVE OH yellout makes me think you've been listening to a little too much sos. Sounds like a lost Abominominious outtake.

LinkvMUSIX: Damn, which GBV song is this.

MELVIN: Damn, which Dashboard song is this.

Men Bah: That bass is cheezering up my headphones. Bzzzzsch bzzzzsch. Brilliant. The music is too good for the lyrics. Shame on you. With the guitar solo, this would have made a damn fine instrumental. I'm going to pretend it is. Likely vote. OK, taking the whole lyric into account, it might have worked in a spooky ghost voice, instead of the dude-in-a-dorm delivery. Maybe.

Merisan: Your drummer is falling asleep and so am I.

REAL A DOPE: come on dude, you knew this sucked balls when you recorded it. don't submit this crap.

Seamus: I just can't listen all the way thru a pop song with a fretless bass. Also, note from Puce: TURN THE DRUMS UP.

Steve D: You are a crazy, crazy man. What are you thinking while you write these songs?

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:25 pm

blue wrote:
Steve D: You are a crazy, crazy man. What are you thinking while you write these songs?

I'll take that as a compliment.

Steve

Mogosagatai · Post by **Mogosagatai** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:07 pm

blue's comments on the two songs I was in this week:

"freakin' awesome....Almost certain vote."

"[so bad I won't even review it]"

I think I'll mark this as a success.

HANK. · Post by **HANK.** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:02 pm

I think I'll mark this as a success

I think I'll mark you as a termite.