How, Then? (Not Like That reviews)

Post by **Spud** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:46 pm

No, Really.

Wait...

Smalltown Mike · Post by **Smalltown Mike** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:25 pm

Fruitvale Station vs. The High Street Bridge
Mostly I hear a lot of potential in this song. I dig the guitar riff, but itâ€™s sloppy, as are the drums. Thereâ€™s a lot of hiss, and the vocals are sooooo hard to hearâ€”which is good because my seven-year-old son was in the room during most of it. I can picture some great retro keyboards riding the surf vibe through this, and if everything was cleaned up and tighter, it could be great.

The Zero Effect
Really like this riff. That one hat is loud, though. I like the chorus more than the verses. Cool enough tune. I like that little groove at about 1:20 leading into the chorus. Nice.

Tiggernaut
Noisy, but not too interesting. This reminds me of some elements Wreckdomâ€”I think mostly the vocals. And I just turned the volume down lest some massive explosion Fâ€™ them up. Actually, Iâ€™ll say it is interesting enough, but not one that Iâ€™ll listen to again.

The Special Relatives
Your band name sounds like youâ€™re going to rock into some ska soon. What I thought was the intro has turned into the song. The doubling of the vocals is distracting to me. I like the way itâ€™s slowly picking up a little, with that drunken feel. I do think the vocals need a little cleaning up so I know what line to listen to. Some percussion would go nicely in this, too. And the sound of a phone ringing. I donâ€™t know why.

The Phuntastic Phour
Back away from the mic. I just asked my three year old if he likes this song. He said yes. I asked why. â€œBecause itâ€™s fun to put Lego in my slippers.â€

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:08 pm

Ok, brand new rating system based on my new (not brand new 'cause it's from last week) binary system of last week (wait, i said it was from last week in the previous parenthetical statement... f*ck it)... this week's are either V or NV (vote contender, or no(t) vote contender).

The Anchors - sweet ass sounds! i'm not buyin the vocal delivery, though... it's cool when you push it on the choruses but the verses are a little lackluster. NV

andrew fitzpatrick - decent but the mix is hard to get through (less drums... more guitars & vox)... NV

iCC - once again, sweet production... sounds is dope. the best quote in the song... "how you think i got this slur? drinkin' milk?" best quote not in the song... [quote="Smalltown Mike"]"And then he says â€œsupertonicâ€

The Anchors · Post by **The Anchors** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:17 pm

Kweep wrote:The Anchors - sweet ass sounds! i'm not buyin the vocal delivery, though... it's cool when you push it on the choruses but the verses are a little lackluster.

Yeah, if you listen to our previous songs you'll see that all of our verses are usually like this chorus. I felt like doing something different this week and pulling back a bit to allow the "sweet ass sounds" to be more prominent. The verses were also toned down to contrast with the chorus.

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:38 pm

Point is I ain't buyin the delivery... if you mean it... sell it to me!

Smalltown Mike · Post by **Smalltown Mike** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:16 am

[quote="Smalltown Mike"]"And then he says â€œsupertonicâ€

melvin · Post by **melvin** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:35 am

The Anchors: Awesome sounds in this â€“ especially the bass. But maybe a cleaner vocal track would make it easier to listen to at an average volume without risking inner ear damage.

Andrew Fitzpatrick: Kind of funny, but not much in the way of a song here. Three cheers for big black dildos, though.

Ill Cricket Crew: You guys are hilarious! â€œLike Mineudo in a speedoâ€

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:10 pm

First off, thanks for the kind words. I used to get really nervous about singin' so, it's nice to get some votes of confidence. Speakin of which... Anchors, I hope you know I dig your vocals... Just more so in the choruses this week.

melvin wrote:...This song might have been a little too conventional (even by my conventional standards)...

I was pretty nervous about posting this tune because it is so conventional... It's half tongue in cheek and half a serious attempt at a ballad. I had to say sh*t in it as a way of making my self feel less "american idol".

Nigel (spOOn) Clements · Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:35 pm

And even more reviews...

The Anchors: Hmm! not your best i have to say, rather chaotic, I do like the "Batman" style guitar in the background, and the "We Will Rock You" opening, but not making me happy overall, sorry! 5/10

Andrew Fitzpatrick: Maybe it's just me, but I can hear "Batman" again, track is a touch distant, I love the drumming though, very tribalistic. 5.5/10

Ill Cricket Crew: (WreckdoM's more organised Cousins) Dope! 7.5/10

Kweep: La La La, very nice MOR, professional sound, absolutely nothing wrong with this whatsoever. (Not strictly my preferred listening though, but that's just me). 8/10

MC Kolhz etc...: Nice use of samples, (very cool intro), alternative voices work very well, tough choice between yourselves and the cricket boys for rap of the week. 7.5/10

Melvin: Did you upset loads of people in a previous life? I've read a lot of bad press for your good self, and yet you've yet to make anything i don't like, Love this!!! 8/10

Middlemarch: Blimey! I'm so glad I'm not in this fight, Fuck! this sounds so professional, I can't review anything this good. 8/10

Phuntastic Phwoar!: umm! when does the song start? okay, moving swiftly along. 3/10 (for the Intro y nada mas)

The Special Relatives: Okay sounds very slacker to start, but needs to get a grip sometime soon... nope sorry boys, not for me, takes nearly 1:40 for something interesting to happen, this is like one of the filler tracks on the Babyshambles album. 3.5/10

Tiggernaut: Oh lord no! Grunge/Rap/Noise thing. 2.5/10

The Zero Effect: Whew! good old reliable zero's nice bass, voice is more controlled than on previous tracks, lovely song, shame this won't win, but this is my personal favourite. 8/10

And the Vote goes to Zero Effect, though some extremely high quality tracks here, and a few duds, but there's always next week

(that's what I tell myself anyway).

Kill Me Sarah · Post by **Kill Me Sarah** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:56 pm

Anchors
Mmm...clippy. Interesting song. I hear elements of things that would work for me, but I also hear a lot of things that make me want to blow my brains out.
2/5

Andrew Fitzpatrick
Vocals are buried a little. I like the drumming when it switches down the toms. Hotdog reference totally ripped from a Family ep.
2/5

Ill Cricket Crew
I'm not a big fan of most of the rap that gets put on here. I'm not sure why... but that said, I kinda like this. It's funny, it accomplishes what it sets out to. I like that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The background groove is nice.
3/5

Kweep
This song is, as said, disturbingly mainstream-y sounding. I feel like you are one of the most talented people around these parts, but I get the feeling our CD collections look very, very different. In other words, if you were influenced by what I listen to, you'd probably be my favorite. As it is, you sound like you could be on mainstream radio right now, but I don't listen to mainstream radio. How's that for piling insult on top of compliment on top of insult?

3/5

MC Kohlz et al
I'm disturbed by how amazing the music starts out in this and how horrible the rest is. I'm trying to rate it according to how much I hate the song, or how much I'd like it if there were not vocals whatsoever. I'm actually very skeptical of the background, given the lack of quality of the vocal recording. Where did it come from?
::shudders::
1/5

Melvin
Again, elements I like, but parts are a bit too predictable. I like the airplane part. Well performed, too mainstream for my taste.
3/5

Middle March
I like the drums. The vocals are decent. Lyrics are good. Production-wise it needs some help but it's pretty well executed. Don't love it, but not bad.
3/5

Phunt
Reminds me of some of the less epileptic portions of Aphex Twin The vocals are nice, kind of sweet. A minute in and I'm waiting for some beat to come in. I think it kind of drags without some beat. I like the lyrics, remind me of Nada Surf's Popular.
4/5

The Special Relatives
You had me for the introductions. After 30 seconds I was waiting for it to bust out. Then again a little over a minute in. It feels like it's peaking and it's just gonna crescendo and then nothing happens and I'm depressed. The vocals are buried too deep too. I think this song could kick but it just never takes off.
3/5

Tiggernaut
Starts promisingly. Reminds me of Dancer In The Dark. Why is it whenever I say "starts promisingly" it all goes south on me? I can't think of why that vocal effect should EVER be used.
EVER.
1/5

Zero Effect
Vocals are a bit off key. I can appreciate the direction this song is taking. In this case, the production is hurting it a little bit. Everything sounds like it's kind of been blended into a casserole in the background, and then the vox and lead guitar are crisp and in your face. Overall though I'm enjoying it. One of the better of this fight.
4/5

I'm pretty underwhelmed by this fight. My vote will either go to Phunt or Zero and both of those might have gotten a 3/5 if they'd been in amongst stronger contenders.

Emosaurus Regina · Post by **Emosaurus Regina** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:16 pm

Ok, this is my first time ever reviewing and/or fighting (which I did with the help of my buddy mogosagatai.) So, to each song I'm gonna give either thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs sideways.

Anchors: This one was all right. I like the heavy sound to it, even though it's not really like the sort of music I normally listen to.
Verdict: Thumbs sideways

Andrew Fitzpatrick: I wasn't too keen on the lyrics. I feel like there was kind of a good thing going, but it was way too short.
Verdict: Thumbs down

Ill Cricket Crew: I really like this one. It was fun and I liked the use of the title. It reminded me of New Orleans rapper Ballzack in a weird way (that's a good thing.)
Verdict: Thumbs up

Kweep: I think this is a fairly traditionally constructed song, which is what I like about it. It is very close to what I normally listen to, and it's the kind of thing I would sing along to in the car.
Verdict: Thumbs up

MC Kohlz et al: I listened to this with my headphones and I really liked how it sounded. I also think the lyrics were hilarious. Like it was very geeky which is cool. But it got old pretty quickly after the first chorus.
Verdict: Thumbs sideways

Melvin: I like the fast pace of this song. However, the spoken part was far better than the sung part, which sounded a little too pop-punk for me. I also wasn't totally into the slow part. I like the use of the word gingerly. I also like how you used the title only at the very end.
Verdict: Thumbs sideways

Middlemarch: I think this one was too.... heavy for me. Perhaps too rockin'? There was just nothing that particularly grabbed me about this song. I know people who could get into it, but I'm just not one of them.
Verdict: Thumbs down

The Special Relatives: I liked how it begun... just sounded like some drunk guys getting together and singing... but then... that was the whole song. It never really went anywhere, and I couldn't hear the vocals very well.
Verdict: Thumbs down.

Tiggernaut: I just don't even know what to say about this except that I don't like it. It is just hard to listen to.
Verdict: Thumbs down

The Zero Effect: The vocals weren't perfect but I like the idea behind it. This also sounds closer to the sort of indie rock I'm used to, so I definitely like it because of that.
Verdict: Thumbs up

The Phuntastic Phour: Well, ok, this is the first song I've ever made. Mogosagatai helped me out with suggestions, "mixing," and the male vocal at the end, which is why I felt justified in adapting the Phunt name. I realized after I had written it that it was very similar to "Popular" by Nada Surf, but I still really liked my idea. Also I think I sound like a little kid when I'm singing, but apparently that's not a bad thing. I'm really just happy to see that not everyone hates it.

rone rivendale · Post by **rone rivendale** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:26 pm

Melvin
Again, elements I like, but parts are a bit too predictable. I like the airplane part. Well performed, too mainstream for my taste.
3/5

How can a song made for an amateur internet contest site be too 'mainstream'.

What you are really saying is what most ppl tend to say about Melvin. "Every single song you have ever made is leaps and bounds ahead of anything else that is on this site and therefore no matter how great you are i can't ever like your music"

melvin · Post by **melvin** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:23 pm

As the 'Spoons and Rone have observed, I seem to have become a "love him or hate him" type of guy around here, for some reason. Well, everyone's entitled to their stupid opinion, either way.

blue · Post by **blue** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:27 am

melvin wrote:As the 'Spoons and Rone have observed, I seem to have become a "love him or hate him" type of guy around here, for some reason. Well, everyone's entitled to their stupid opinion, either way.

well, only musically. i hope you don't confuse the two.

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:18 am

the Anchors: this is pretty solid Anchors fare, I love it when the guitar kicks in in your songs - it almost feels like it's bullying the rest of the instruments by just being there. It works cos it's simple but the song never gets boring and the drumming in the chorus bit is badass. The singing's good too, it's not perfect but I don't think it would've worked if you'd have gone all choirboy on us.
Would I buy it? I dunno actually. it's good because it's free
Would I skip it, or listen again? listen again
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release?

Andrew fitzpatrick: Not digging the beat, the pattern with the toms is cooler, until you start hitting them over and over....wha happened?! where'd the song go. The riffage worked and stuff, not inspirational but it was going somewhere. vocals could be louder.
Would I buy it? doubt it
Would I skip it, or listen again? not long enough for me to skip, but no second listen for thee
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? no, but give it a chance next time and finish the song

Ill Cricket Crew: I was worried about the bass, but it sounds good once the rest of the song kicks in. I like the electric piano parts, it's all well done, and the vocals are solid. I like the chorus, the last bit makes it all come together.
Would I buy it? nope, unless you bronxed it up. or mellowed it right down.
Would I skip it, or listen again? I'd listen again
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? heck yes, it'd go down well too

Kweep: I can imagine you playing a gig and saying "we're gonna slow things down a bit now...." before you do this one. It's well formed, strong melodies, well performed/recorded and most importantly the drums don't sound like ass. I like that it's a different gear than previous entries.
Would I buy it? Probably not
Would I skip it, or listen again? If I was in a shit mood I might skip it, if I was in a good mood I'd give it another spin
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? yes

MCkohlz&DJTJmaxxfeatawgfc8iebciwefn: Good for a laugh. the backing track is nice, the vocals have something strange going on, too much reverb maybe, and it clips in places but it doesn't matter too much.
Would I buy it? yeah, if it was on a label sampler with some other good stuff
Would I skip it, or listen again? listen again (to check for any lines worth stealing)
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? if the Goldie Lookin' Chain can do it so can you

Melvin: This track is great, the guitar in the verse remind me of the way J$ plays, and I like the way it develops in the second half. the spoken bits aren't amazing but the words themselves are good, the bridge vocal melody is really good (the "tricks on me-ee-ee" bit). and the chorus provides the dynamic change which gives the impression that you put some thought into this one. Sorry if that last sentence sounds a bit arsey, I like all your stuff. no time for complacency though. good effort. oh yeah, and that weird autopanning guitar sound is cool as well, the way it blends into the mix gives this nagging feeling, but in a good way
Would I buy it? ooh, I definitely would have done before i bought lots of stuff that sounds like it.
Would I skip it, or listen again? listen again
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? does the Pope shit in the woods?

Middlemarch: This is cool in that it's very different from your previous entries (not that I disliked your other songs, but I'm a fan of variety). This kind of reminds me of 'He war' by Cat power. The guitar solo is way too loud. it's pretty catchy and it all fits together okay. mainly performance problems, but I get the jist of the song so it's good enough
Would I buy it? no
Would I skip it, or listen again? hmm, neither
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? it needs work, but nearly

The Phuntastic Phour:
haha, you guys are so cool. I think I'm ready to go looking for boys with my new smashing hairdo now.
Would I buy it? Only if I heard it in Reveal, I can't imagine anyone playing it to me.
Would I skip it, or listen again? listen again
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? with a bit of remastering, sure

The Special Relatives: There's not too mcuh wrong with this but it's not grabbing me. the vocals are too quiet and mumbly so this is just like listening to an acoustic guitar with some widdling over it which doesn't do much for me.
Would I buy it? no
Would I skip it, or listen again? skip
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? no, cos it's too widdly and not engaging enough

Tiggernaut: I dunno how this is gonna turn out but that intro sounds like Bjork's 'Cvalda' and that track is incredible so well done there. I like that weird flanging sound (now i think about it that sounds just like the intro to SOAD's 'war'), the riffage is pretty tight and punchy. It's all fucking crazy, the vocals stand out a bit, all the samples connecting the sections together are done really well, is that the Mars Volta in the background? I like the choral chanting against the industrial sounds, there's so much in here it's funny how the sounds all react with each other. I'd be interested to know if any of that was intentional; overall, i think this will be accused of being messy (I'll need another listen to decide myself) but there are quite a few moments of genius.
Would I buy it? I'd have to d/l it first
Would I skip it, or listen again? both, I have to listen again, there's too much for one sitting
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? probably not, needs to be refined a bit. someone would put it out though

The Zero Effect: This is pretty good, but i can't help feeling it's missing something. I like the blend of 90's college rock/70's rock-lite and the poppy chorus. There's some really cool guitar bits, and I like the jerky bits. I think the vocal melody is a bit weak in places in the verse, but once i know which bits aren't right i can sing the right melody in my head and it sounds alright. I think I'd really like you if you sounded more like Carpetburn
Would I buy it? I'd consider it; I'd go to a show.
Would I skip it, or listen again? Listen again, and it gets better with each repeat
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? Maybe, with stronger performances

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:33 am

the Anchors: this is pretty solid Anchors fare, I love it when the guitar kicks in in your songs - it almost feels like it's bullying the rest of the instruments by just being there. It works cos it's simple but the song never gets boring and the drumming in the chorus bit is badass. The singing's good too, it's not perfect but I don't think it would've worked if you'd gone all choirboy on us.
Would I buy it? I dunno actually. it's good because it's free
Would I skip it, or listen again? listen again
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? yeah, it would shit an all the other radio songs

Andrew fitzpatrick: Not digging the beat, the pattern with the toms is cooler, until you start hitting them over and over....wha happened?! where'd the song go. The riffage worked and stuff, not inspirational but it was going somewhere. vocals could be louder.
Would I buy it? doubt it
Would I skip it, or listen again? not long enough for me to skip, but no second listen for thee
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? no, but give it a chance next time and finish the song

Ill Cricket Crew: I was worried about the bass, but it sounds good once the rest of the song kicks in. I like the electric piano parts, it's all well done, and the vocals are solid. I like the chorus, the last bit makes it all come together.
Would I buy it? nope, unless you bronxed it up. or mellowed it right down.
Would I skip it, or listen again? I'd listen again
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? heck yes, it'd go down well too

Kweep: I can imagine you playing a gig and saying "we're gonna slow things down a bit now...." before you do this one. It's well formed, strong melodies, well performed/recorded and most importantly the drums don't sound like ass. I like that it's a different gear than previous entries.
Would I buy it? Probably not
Would I skip it, or listen again? If I was in a shit mood I might skip it, if I was in a good mood I'd give it another spin
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? yes

MCkohlz&DJTJmaxxfeatawgfc8iebciwefn: Good for a laugh. the backing track is nice, the vocals have something strange going on, too much reverb maybe, and it clips in places but it doesn't matter too much.
Would I buy it? yeah, if it was on a label sampler with some other good stuff
Would I skip it, or listen again? listen again (to check for any lines worth stealing)
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? if the Goldie Lookin' Chain can do it so can you

Melvin: This track is great, the guitar in the verse remind me of the way J$ plays, and I like the way it develops in the second half. the spoken bits aren't amazing but the words themselves are good, the bridge vocal melody is really good (the "tricks on me-ee-ee" bit). and the chorus provides the dynamic change which gives the impression that you put some thought into this one. Not that you don't with your others, but last weeks sounded like a knock-off compared to this. no time for complacency. good effort. oh yeah, and that weird autopanning guitar sound is cool as well, the way it blends into the mix gives this nagging feeling, but in a good way
Would I buy it? ooh, I definitely would have done before i bought lots of stuff that sounds like it.
Would I skip it, or listen again? listen again
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? does the Pope shit in the woods?

Middlemarch: This is cool in that it's very different from your previous entries (not that I disliked your other songs, but I'm a fan of variety). This kind of reminds me of 'He war' by Cat power. The guitar solo is way too loud. it's pretty catchy and it all fits together okay. mainly performance problems, but I get the jist of the song so it's good enough
Would I buy it? no
Would I skip it, or listen again? hmm, neither
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? it needs work, but nearly

The Phuntastic Phour:
haha, you guys are so cool. I think I'm ready to go looking for boys with my new smashing hairdo now.
Would I buy it? Only if I heard it in Reveal, I can't imagine anyone playing it to me.
Would I skip it, or listen again? listen again
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? with a bit of remastering, sure

The Special Relatives: There's not too much wrong with this but it's not grabbing me. the vocals are too quiet and mumbly so this is just like listening to an acoustic guitar with some widdling over it which doesn't do much for me.
Would I buy it? no
Would I skip it, or listen again? skip
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? no, cos it's too widdly and not engaging enough

Tiggernaut: I dunno how this is gonna turn out but that intro sounds like Bjork's 'Cvalda' and that track is incredible so well done there. I like that weird flanging sound (now i think about it that sounds just like the intro to SOAD's 'war'), the riffage is pretty tight and punchy. It's all fucking crazy, the vocals stand out a bit, all the samples connecting the sections together are done really well, is that the Mars Volta in the background? I like the choral chanting against the industrial sounds, there's so much in here it's funny how the sounds all react with each other. I'd be interested to know if any of that was intentional; overall, i think this will be accused of being messy (I'll need another listen to decide myself) but there are quite a few moments of genius.
Would I buy it? I'd have to d/l it first
Would I skip it, or listen again? both, I have to listen again, there's too much for one sitting
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? probably not, needs to be refined a bit. someone would put it out though

The Zero Effect: This is pretty good, but i can't help feeling it's missing something. I like the blend of 90's college rock/70's rock-lite and the poppy chorus. There's some really cool guitar bits, and I like the jerky bits. I think the vocal melody is a bit weak in places in the verse, but once i know which bits aren't right i can sing the right melody in my head and it sounds alright. I think I'd really like you if you sounded more like Carpetburn
Would I buy it? I'd consider it; I'd go to a show.
Would I skip it, or listen again? Listen again, and it gets better with each repeat
Do I think it's good enough for geneal release? Maybe, with stronger performances

It's one of these for the vote Anchors/ICC/Melvin/Phuntastic Phour
I'll decide later

Mogosagatai · Post by **Mogosagatai** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:44 am

Furrypedro wrote:Tiggernaut: I like that weird flanging sound (now i think about it that sounds just like the intro to SOAD's 'war')

You mean "Suite-pee"? That's what it is. And yeah, that's Mars Volta in there. Chanting throughout is from Philip Glass's <i>Einstein on the Beach</i>, general rocking out is SOAD and Lamb of God (with some Pink Floyd near the beginning and end), industrial drums are Tool and Klownhole, and all the other tinkering comes from NIN, Jute Gyte, and a very tiny bit of John Cage. And there's a sample from another Phunt song in the intro.

Tiggernaut was originally designed to be Karl's Mom & the Delicate Flowers' tribute to WreckdoM. This one kinda strayed from WreckdoMese, though, but certainly not entirely.

Kill Me Sarah · Post by **Kill Me Sarah** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:09 am

Rone Rivendale wrote:
Melvin
Again, elements I like, but parts are a bit too predictable. I like the airplane part. Well performed, too mainstream for my taste.
3/5
How can a song made for an amateur internet contest site be too 'mainstream'.

What you are really saying is what most ppl tend to say about Melvin. "Every single song you have ever made is leaps and bounds ahead of anything else that is on this site and therefore no matter how great you are i can't ever like your music"

Entirely untrue. By too mainstream, I mean it sounds too much like what I might hear on TRL and the radio (if I listened to either). Being on an amateur internet site makes no difference whatsoever, neither does technical ability. You could be a fourteen year old punk that just got his first Peavey Raptor and still sound too "mainstream" if the only thing you listened to was Green Day and Blink 182 and everything you wrote mimicked their style. I've only been on here a couple of months and have no real knowledge of what Melvin has done in the past. This is my fresh perspective. It's not a criticism of his technique or ability. It's simply how the song sounded to me personally. Jordan Seavers will kick my butt in any fight we're ever in together as will Luke Henley, Thanks For The Frisbee and a copious amount of others. I'm not going to not vote for them or criticize them for simply being better than me. I'll not vote for them if I don't happen to like their song.

Nigel (spOOn) Clements · Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:49 am

melvin wrote:As the 'Spoons and Rone have observed, I seem to have become a "love him or hate him" type of guy around here, for some reason. Well, everyone's entitled to their stupid opinion, either way.

I've only been here for a couple of month's and I have shit-load of Melvin tracks on my player, get them while they're free.

a bebop a rebop · Post by **a bebop a rebop** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:55 pm

The Anchors - I don't really care for that drum opening, the snare and the kick sound like they're in different places. I could use louder vocals in the verses but they sound pretty cool, if unexpected compared to your normal vocals. This song has a strange feel to it, like it's not in any key, or it's in two keys at once. I like that guitar pokes its head in every so often. The last few lines didn't sound very sincere, as others have mentioned. I think you could sound crazier. But nice song, I like it.

Andrew Fitzpatrick - I don't have much to say about this, but I think it could be really cool if it was like 40 bpm faster. The drums are kind of annoying.

The Ill-Cricket Crew - That little bass line is nice. I don't care for your rapping style too much, but the music is all fun.

Kweep - This is nice, like the groovy bass. And everyone else has already mentioned that your voice is great so I won't say that. Totally sounds like a song I've heard before somewhere. Your lyrics, they might be trite in another context but your voice makes everything alright. Anyway, this is a really nice-sounding song, I like it a whole lot. Oh yeah, it's Freebird, mostly just those first two chords and the swinging feel remind me of it.

MC Kohlz and yous guys - Ok, nice sample-work, but like some people said, the super-panned vocals are pretty annoying. This is pretty funny though, nice ending.

Melvin - I like the larger sound you get throughout the song here-and-there, and the slowed-down sections are really nice. I'm not really sure what I think about the spoken-word bits, but the song works, for sure.

Middlemarch - This is definitely angrier than your last song. I'm digging this much more the second time through. I like your voice, and the slower voice and then the doubled voices in the chorus are cool. I could have done without the guitar solo, it's just fine, but not doing anything for me. The whole feels just a bit hollow and thin though, like there's not really enough energy here to sustain the song. Oh, I really like this second solo here a lot. I like the overall band sound a lot more during the solos, maybe consider having a lead guitar throughout the song or something like that.

Phuntatastic Phour - This is really pretty. You know, until it gets creepy. It's pleasantly vague until that spoken bit, which throws the whole thing into much sharper relief. I think I'd like to hear the girl hit her high note on the word "sure". But this song put thoughts in my head and I like that. And then the guy's voice singing the last line is brilliant.

Special Relatives - This is nice, but I can barely hear the vocals, I could use a lot more of them. Also the fact that the backing vocals are often way off the lead is pretty annoying. In spite of all that, I like this, maybe because of the persistent jammy laid-backedness of it. I really like the ending.

Tiggernaut - There's stuff here I really enjoy, Mogo. Just can't get into it as a song, it's too jarringly spastic and schitzophrenic. The voice also isn't doing anything for me.

The Zero Effect - I like the opening. Your voice is a little too vague pitch-wise for me to really enjoy this song. There are definitely pretty moments, the chorus is really nice and the two guitar thing around 1:20 I like. You have nice pop sensibilities and I like what you do, mostly, just work on hearing the melody in your head before you sing it, maybe, I'm not a very good singer, I don't know.

Um, voting for Kweep I think. Really nice fight.

blue · Post by **blue** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:27 pm

Rone Rivendale wrote:
Melvin
Again, elements I like, but parts are a bit too predictable. I like the airplane part. Well performed, too mainstream for my taste.
3/5
How can a song made for an amateur internet contest site be too 'mainstream'.

What you are really saying is what most ppl tend to say about Melvin. "Every single song you have ever made is leaps and bounds ahead of anything else that is on this site and therefore no matter how great you are i can't ever like your music"

i think what most people tend to say is that you're an ignorant retard, but thanks for denegrating our opinions. emo-pop is about as interesting as a large pile of turd and mechanical competancy is fine and all, but we're here to hear songs.

your (stupid) statement is easily dismissed by the number of mechanically sound entrants who, even when monotopical, do not raise the ire of a large portion of the community.

people such as Starfinger, Carol Cleveland, Brick Pig, Puce, Mostess, Frontalot, etc have all submitted a number of high-quality entries. they get few complaints. why do you think that is?

you're young, songfight-ignorant, and easily influenced, so your lack of taste is probably forgiveable, but that doesn't mean we have to sit here and take misguided accusations of jealousy.

so, in short, shut the fuck up.

thanks.

Kill Me Sarah · Post by **Kill Me Sarah** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 4:01 pm

blue wrote:Rant.

I agree with blue's comments, although a with a little less malice

I do find it insulting for someone to claim that the reason I don't like something is because I'm jealous of how good it is. There are loads of people on here (see aforementioned names) that I'm jealous of musically, but just means that I love their songs, not the opposite.