Nur Ein III Round One "Sleepwalking"

[Paco Del Stinko]

Attaboy, JB! Good tune takes the win. Now a week to get your technical issues resolved. As plenty have stated, there were a heap of good songs here, both delightful to listen to and inimidating to compete against - good job, all. Also, thanks to the judges and all of the nice comments people left. Nur Ein!

[erik]

Yeah, wtg jb, that song was really really good.

[Märk]

Congrats, JB! And thanks judges for all of you putting me in your top 10!

[Jefff]

Skin. Teeth. Phew!

It would've been an unforgivable crime for the judges to have eliminated you for that excellent song, sir.

[Caravan Ray]

Hey judges: thanks. I don't want to make excuses about my last song, and if I'd been eliminated, I would have had to agree that my song fell short of the mark. But I will say that I'm in much better position to take on the Nur Ein this week. I live on, and I plan to make the most of it. Nur Ein!

Heh! Me too.

I was very, very busy last week and which meant I had to go for the soft option - ie either techno or generic 3 chord RnR (and yes, I don't need anyone to post and say that is all I do anyway...). As soon as I heard your song, I got the feeling you may have been in the same boat.

Anyway - I am now unemployed! And have the house to myself for 5 days!! If I can't get through the next round this week, I never will. errrr, obviously


BTW: Never, EVER go out till 3am for a work farewell party (with karaoke) on a Friday, then get up the next morning with a hangover and no voice, move furniture, then prepare and host a 4-year-olds birthday party - then wait till midnight on Saturday to try to do vocals and mix a song, when you can barely stop your head from hitting the keyboard. The song will come out sounding like my "Sleepwalking"

[Drew Tetz]

"underage begins with 'u' / i guess / i should get dressed"

new favorite lyric

[erik]

hahahahahhahahahaha TETZ

[Billy's Little Trip]

Yes, I'll have to admit, I really like JB's entry. Such a good vibe, I've listened to it numerous times now.

Anyway, I need to push myself to a new level, I don't seem to be hitting my mark.
By the way, I want to have sex with Judge #2.

[Ross]

By the way, I want to have sex with Judge #2.

I hope that's Merisan.

Threesome

[Caravan Ray]

By the way, I want to have sex with Judge #2.

I hope that's Merisan.

Threesome

Or it could be a threesome with Nigel and Cynthia

[Billy's Little Trip]

By the way, I want to have sex with Judge #2.

I hope that's Merisan.

Threesome

Or it could be a threesome with Nigel and Cynthia

OK, now I'm getting a boner.

[Adam!]

Must... save... thread.. with reviews!

cres·cen·do (krə-shĕn'dō) a gradual, steady increase in loudness or force.

What a lame bunch o' crescendos we have here. I can think of twenty better crescendos off the top of my head, without even having to dip into classical music. It seems that a lot of people are asking themselves "what's the least I can do with this challenge?", when they should be asking themselves "What's the MOST I can do with this challenge?". Well, if you want to do well by this judge, at least. Anywho, to put my money where my mouth is on that "twenty better crescendos" claim, I will be ranking everyone's crescendos in terms of a superior crescendo. For example, if I give you "0.4 Day In The Lifes", that means your crescendo was 40% the crescendo that George Martin's was. Clearly, I would be being quite generous.


Extremely Unedited Reviews!

King Arthur - Art, this song totally destroyed me: all weekend I was humming it non-stop. What a chorus. Still clipping on the peaks, but at least it's not as crunchy as Kick Start. Lyrics are charming, and the playing is superb. Those trumpets sound really phoney, but still somehow triumphant in the last few bars on the song. The Crescendo: this smooth 20 second build into the last chorus is one of the better crescendos in this fight. Still, pretty cursory. 0.2 'Exit Music's (Radiohead)

Ken Mahru - That is a really ugly guitar tone. The powerful verse chord progression reminds me of something I can't quite place. This chorus is amazing, a very memorable melody and a great synth line. The Crescendo: Another 20 second bridge-builder. There is almost no build in volume for this crescendo, but increasing guitar crunch and the drum fill help sell it. Again, one of the better ones. 0.2 'Fat Bottom Girls's (Queen)

JBB - This song is so beautiful. A tad echoey/verby for my taste. That cello sounds incredible. These are the best vocals in the round, by a long shot. The Crescendo: I'm assuming the Crescendo is from 2:15 to 2:23. Nice vibrato on the cello. This is not so much a build in volume as it is an increase in tension. Not great. 0.2 'Atlas's (Battles)

Octothorpe - I love that the song and the alarm clock are in the same key. Cool bendy ambiances. Great bassline. This is pretty darn catchy. The double-tracking with Mad Dog is distractingly sloppy; I'd prefer if he'd tackled the chorus alone, or perhaps pan him of to one side and yourself off to the other. Wait, why am I giving production advice to Octothorpe? I also wish you had recruited Bud to tackle the female vocals. The Crescendo: OK, you guys earned major bonus points from me for having best incorporated the challenge (again! That's two rounds in a row). Here's why it's genius: you fulfilled the challenge in a creative way (by having a single element of the mix Crescendo... we never specified that the whole SONG had to Crescendo) by taking a sound that one naturally associates with increasing in volume (the ever-increasing alarm beep is something I'm very familiar with) and tied it in to the lyrics. In fact, you tied it in to the title challenge quite nicely. The song was very clearly built around the title and challenge, and for that you got bumped up quite a few places. 0.3 'The Black Hawk War's (Sufjan Stevens)

Glenn and Rachael - A nice plodder. Rachael's right-panned vocals aren't the best I've heard from her, however her center-panned chorus vocals more than make up for it. The verse and chorus are fairly catchy, but I can't believe how hauntingly perfect your falsetto is in the pre-chorus. Drums sound better than the last round, glad to hear a kick. Cool ending. The Crescendo: At 2:49 - 2:55, it's the shortest Crescendo so far. Glad you kicked in the heavy electric guitars here. Pretty unimpressive, as far as running with the challenge goes. 0.1 'The Grudge's (Tool)

15-16 puzzle - The bass feels a bit too loose, makes the whole thing feel sloppy. Great melody as always. I'm very ashamed to say that I didn't "get" these lyrics until after I submitted my score... turns out they're great. When I was listening uncritically I just figured the lyrics were a jumble, like UPS Part 2. Had I gotten the whole mother's day thing earlier, I would probably have rated this a bit higher. Still, even now that I get them, the title connection is way too tenuous. The Crescendo: 1:13-1:18. When this kicked in I was like "Oh fuck, Erik's 'bout to kick this shit up a notch" (I swear a lot in my internal monologue), but then it's totally anticlimactic and doesn't go anywhere. Oh well. At least you were one of the few people who actually pumped up the volume and intensity during their crescendo. 0.8 'No One Knows's (Queens of the Stone Age)

The Worldly Self-Assurance - Astoundingly beautiful instruments and arrangement. Soft and pillowy. Kind or reminds me of Major Label Debut by Broken Social Scene. Where's the hook? This song mostly just passes over me like a cloud: aside from the vocals from 2:02 - 2:16 nothing really grabs my attention (until the end, that is). The Crescendo: Here is a real man's crescendo. Great build. Too bad it's tacked on to the end of the song and doesn't go anywhere. I keep waiting for one of these crescendos to build to something epic, but none of them ever do. Still, one of the best. 0.4 'A Day In The Life's (Beatles)

Add - Intriguing opening. Everything sounds very pretty. Whatever synth is going on in the right speaker is total ear candy. Does this song have a chorus? I guess "when she tells you you've been gone all night" is a sort of micro-chorus (great line, by the way). Very repetitive. I wish there was some variety to the drums, instead of just that kick-snare pattern over and over again. That bridge doesn't come a moment too soon; it's the best part of the song, melody wise. The Crescendo: what crescendo? Seriously, it took me forever to convince myself that 2:30-2:38 was a Crescendo at all, and even then it was mostly because it's the only place where the drums change. There is absolutely no increase in volume, the music does not really intensify (the piano chords are held longer). However, your vocals become more emotional. Still, its such a slight treatment of the challenge that it cost you. 0.1 'Showbiz's (Muse)

Sven - It's been a long time since I heard a Sven Mullet song that wasn't about the usual fare (filth, retards, sandwiches, etc). That's a pretty sweet electric guitar tone. Nice vocals and great melody. The dirgey, two-chord feel threatens to bore, but then it kicks into high-gear. Cool song. The Crescendo: one of the best uses of the challenge, the whole first half of the song is written around one big Crescendo. 0.7 'M1 A1's (Gorillaz)

Bryan Kandel - Great playing on every instrument, and very nice singing. I especially like the addition of drums and organ to your sound. Still pretty generic, but I really like the chorus. The Crescendo: Fade in? Really? That's how you address this challenge? Boo. This hurt your rank. 0.1 'Best of You's (Foo Fighters)

Andrew Reist - "We don't need no... education!". I would not chose that opening melody. This is pretty soft-rock, or whatever genre Bon Jovi is. "Excuse me if I blur the line between sleep walking and walking away"? Weird line. The bridge strikes me as the catchiest part, the rest I could take or leave. Nice solo. A noble attempt at the falsetto parts. Fantastic production on the guitars and drums; vocals could use more compression and maybe a little verb or delay to help them sit in the mix. All in all, not bad, but not super memorable. The Crescendo: like with Add, it took me a fair amount of time to find your crescendo. I finally settled on 3:20-3:30, not because it gets any louder or builds in intensity, but because you get more emotional and because the drums play a fill. Wish you had done more with it. 0.1 'Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt's (The Mars Volta)

Billy's Little Trip - Verses are funky, like a sideways version of Give It Away by RHCP. Love those guitar harmonics. Actually, the whole thing is funky. That chorus progression is unique and awesome. The vocal delivery grates on me in a hard-to-explain way, and it's keeping me from getting into this song completely. The Crescendo: I settled on 2:15 - 2:27. A small build, not too much in the way of a volume increase, but the drums get pretty intense for a second. Pretty much treated the challenge like most other people did. Meh. 0.2 'Bullet In The Head's (Rage Against the Machine)

Paco del Stinko - "I'm not your man, buddy!" "I'm not your buddy, guy!" You have the very unfortunate luck of submitting this song almost immediately after I went and saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall: the vocal delivery and arrangement strongly remind me of the Dracula Puppet Musical in the movie. By that, I mean the vocal delivery is silly enough to make me laugh, which was probably not your intention. Music is pretty repetitive, and there's not really any melodic hooks grabbing me. The Crescendo: nice build throughout and epic sounding ending. Really uses the challenge. 0.5 'Slow Cheetah's (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Starfinger - Oh Starfinger, what happened? The mediocrely doubled, swoopy chorus vocals are totally irritating, kind of like a mosquito buzzing around my head. I like parts of the verses, too bad most of them are just "nah-nah nah nah"s. Some nice synth sounds in the second half. That kick is damn punchy. Cool production, but annoying. The Crescendo: 2:51-3:10, another one of these short bridge Crescendos leading into the last verse. Cool synth sounds are a plus, but I wish it hadn't been the same as everyone else's. 0.2 'It's All Nice on Ice, Alright's (Modest Mouse)

Adam Adamant - You know, I actually liked this song a fair bit. It's simple, and the vocal performance could benefit from a few (ok, a lot) more takes. But I think the lead melody is well crafted and fairly catchy. The keyboard sounds and the arrangement are way too generic. You should axe that doubled vocal that comes in for, like, one second. Much better than Kick Start, and I think better than the other judges have given you credit for. The Crescendo: 2:32 - 2:46. I almost put you at the bottom of the pile for not having one, but this fight has taught me not to look for an increase in volume, but rather a change in the drum pattern. The other synths coming in at that point help signpost where it's supposed to be. Still, a very shit Crescendo, which cost you some points. 0.2 'Same Old Innocence's (Architecture in Helsinki)

FBF - This song is a huge enigma for me. Extensive sampling (no, not sampling. Something grander than sampling. "Song taking", as JFK says in Clone High) throughout bugs me. The verb-drenched drum machine with creepy faux-strings in the verse remind me of... um, the GTA IV theme music. But only because I've been playing it recently. I find the verses intriguing, but the choruses are decidedly NOT my cup of tea: Strident woodwinds (or whatever), coupled with shrieking guitar and a meandering melody really repulses me. The cut at 3:22 is the most jarring thing evar. These chorus segments (or that's what I'm calling them) last sooo long. In fact, the whole song is just way too long for my attention span. The Crescendo: again, what crescendo? I know you're a music teacher, so the crescendo must be in there somewhere, but where? I finally settled on 4:08-4:10. And that crescendo isn't even yours, it's in the music you sampled. The apparent neglect of the challenge cost you pretty heavily. 0.1 'Sleep's (Godspeed You! Black Emperor)

Ross Durand - I think you're the first person to get hit really hard for production issues: I could not listen to this song. I tried on three different sets of headphones and my monitors, but it is so tinny and bright and thin and painful that I only gave it one or two listens to avoid getting a headache. Sounds like that new Springsteen album, both sonically and musically. I don't remember there being any catchy bits. Listening again, the singing and guitar playing sound like really good performances. The Crescendo: 2:15 - 2:53. A great crescendo with very cool percussion, but not enough to save the song. 0.4 'Just Like You Imagined's (Nine Inch Nails)

Sausage Boy - Interesting sounds again, cool programming. Vocal performance and lyrics are still silly. Song is mostly homogeneous, until the terrifying ending. The only reason you're up here is because everyone below you gets TKO'd. The Crescendo: 2:12 - 2:37. Sweet. Fucking. Christ. Well, it's definitely a Crescendo. 0.5 'It's All Gonna Break's (Broken Social Scene)

Cock - Actually kind of a nice, simple song. I'm somewhat reminded of later Liars. I like the chorus melody. The Crescendo: none. There is no gradual increase in intensity or volume, anywhere. There's a quiet part in the middle, but no build out of it. So, as per my marking criteria, you end up down here.

Tex - Silly techno and unintelligible distorted mumbling. This is the kind of song I would expect from a first-time songfighter, not a third-year Nur Ein veteran. The nah nah nahs are catchy enough, and there are some coolish synths being used here. Wouldn't be a Tex song without those bongos. The synth at the end is annoying. The Crescendo: none. A single loud synth comes in at the end, but as the old saying goes, "a single loud snyth does not a crescendo make".

Jim Tyrrell - Generic sounding music, chords and melody, but the lyrics are pretty fun. At just over a minute this is not substantial enough to be a serious contender. The Crescendo: None. Well, there's a 2 second snare fill at the beginning, but if that's your best attempt at the challenge then you'd still end up here.

MC Eric B - When I reviewed your Kick Start I mentioned that it was almost exactly the same as the only other MC Eric B song I heard... now this one is almost exactly the same as your Kick Start submission! Same verse chord progression, same verse melody, same chorus chord (yes, just one!), same chorus melody, same lyrical meter, same weird detune-effect on the chorus. Even the lyrics are similar, as they have basically the same concept and both use lines like "go for a ride" in the same context. So, while this song does have the title in it, I really don't feel like it was "written" for this round: it seems more to me that--intentionally or not--you are recycling the same song over and over again. The Crescendo: Volume goes up in the last half, including a cool synth-tom fill. Sort of a crescendo. 0.3 'Streamline's (System of a Down)

Hoblit's Non-existant Entry - I'm sure it rocked. The Crescendo: a crescendo so epic that it blew out Hoblit's computer. 17 'The Art of Self Destruction, Part One's (NIN)

Lord of Oats - Stop wasting my time.

[Caravan Ray]

Hands up who else didn't know what a "crescendo" was? I figured if I stretched the song out over 4 minutes then the judges would give up listening and just assume it was in there somewhere.

[Adam!]

Hands up who else didn't know what a "crescendo" was?

I think it's some kind of pizza.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Again with the good pro reviews, Adam. I like that you heard Red Hot Chili Peppers. Not that I was trying to copy them, but the funky blues I was feeling was more RHCP, not the Beatles.

Yeah, my crescendo could have been more over the top. But I like to incorporate the titles and challenges in the song without making it sound like I'm shoving them down your throat.

I told myself I'm going to NOT use the title in my Nur Ein songs, for fun. It's so easy to blab the title off in the chorus. You won't hear me mention the title in my Nur Ein songs this year.
That's my challenge to myself. But you will hear me dance around the title quite profusely.

By the way, there IS something grating about the vocals. I'm happy with damn near everything but the vox. I can't seem to find it. It depresses me! It's my goal at this point, to find the right sound.

[Jefff]

Adam - well you're entitled to your opinion about whether my crescendo is any good, but the buildup -- and I'll admit that it didn't turn out as buildy as I first envisioned it, but that's just how the song developed -- starts with the third stanza and takes on new layers until it switches gears for the bridge, which is definitely louder than the rest of the song. At any rate, the idea of a gradual buildup (and breakdown and buildup) and climactic moment was integral to the writing of the song -- which I thought was kind of the point of the challenges, but again, you're entitled to your own perspective on that.

[frankie big face]

FBF - I finally settled on 4:08-4:10. And that crescendo isn't even yours, it's in the music you sampled.

Actually, you're wrong. The crescendo at 4:08 was created by me using the volume parameter in my software, not by Mahler. I don't fault you for not knowing the source material, but let's set the record straight. I guess I also consider the ending to be somewhat of a crescendo, because of the growing intensity created by the symphonic layers and increasing dissonance. Hence, in keeping with the literal Italian translation, which is "growing."

So whatever. I don't mind that you didn't like the song, but this overemphasis on the challenge is lame. The challenge simply says "crescendo." It doesn't say "extensive use of crescendo" or "a crescendo George Martin would be proud of" or "make a crescendo that fits this dictionary definition and make sure its so obvious my simple brother will notice it."

EDIT: Re-reading this post at a more reasonable hour, it sounds grumpier than I intended it. FWIW.

[jimtyrrell]

Yeah, I tried to use that drum buildup in the beginning as a setup for similar crescendos in the song, but they're not as obvious as I hoped they'd be. It was an interesting and educational exercise.

[erik]

15-16 puzzle - When I was listening uncritically I just figured the lyrics were a jumble, like UPS Part 2. Had I gotten the whole mother's day thing earlier, I would probably have rated this a bit higher. Still, even now that I get them, the title connection is way too tenuous. The Crescendo: 1:13-1:18. When this kicked in I was like "Oh fuck, Erik's 'bout to kick this shit up a notch" (I swear a lot in my internal monologue), but then it's totally anticlimactic and doesn't go anywhere. Oh well.

I honestly didn't expect anyone who isn't related to me to know that I was singing about my mother. After struggling with this title, I decided to stop trying so hard to write some stupid zombie-guilt song and just write a song about the first thing that I think of when I hear the word "sleepwalking", which is my mother's nursing school roommate who would sleepwalk (and sleeptalk) in her sleep, mostly about how doctors had written things wrong on charts and how she was smart enough to catch the mistakes. I understand that most people will think the connection to be a bit of a stretch, but me and my sister had a hearty laugh about that story after she heard the song. She knew exactly what I was talking about, and that's good enough for me for a personal song like this.

Kicking shit up a notch would have been cool, but I'm re-learning how to record after not having record in like, years, so designing something that requires a junkload of tracks (or even just drums) to sound great is going to be a bit down the line a ways. Thanks for taking time to share your thoughts about all these songs!

[Drew Tetz]

i don't know how many people noticed that i was posting in the "sleepwalking" thread about "kick start". i sure as hell wasn't one of them, at least until i was startled that erik would write an alphabet of crime about his mother. which, i guess, he didn't after all. i'm gonna have to find a new favorite lyric.

and for a last-ditch effort at staying on topic, i totally liked the worldly self-assurance. uh. yeah. forgive me, everyone.

[Lunkhead]

I really liked a lot of the songs in this fight, and it was tough to rank them. Many of my favorite SF! folks are involved, so I'm personally really enjoying this. If only SF! were this good anymore. Here are some thoughts. I'm not trying to keep up with Adam, whose comments are much more in depth than I tried to get. Also, I didn't think many people handled the crescendo challenge that well either, but I personally didn't take that too strongly into consideration.

15-16 Puzzle - Nice work! Not knowing the details, I wasn't sure if it was autobiographical or not, but I got that was at least about the narrator and his mom. I didn't care that you only mentioned sleepwalking in passing. I'll take a good personal song loosely inspired by the title than a poorly written song that is slavishly devoted to the title. And I thought the bass playing was fine. I was actually glad to hear you adding the bass in, as I think it really helps fill out the sound. Top 5 for me.

Adam Adamant - I thought this song was OK, but it felt a bit sluggish. The vocals are pretty bland. You don't really need that second vocal track that just comes in once. Perhaps a faster tempo would help this song, and maybe a bass guitar that was helping reinforce the rhythm of the drums and glue together the chord and section changes. Or perhaps doing eighth notes in the bass hand piano part during the verse would pep it up some. Production wise, it sounds like your main vocal track is panned off center a bit, which doesn't really work for me. I'm really missing a bass or lower piano register. Your synths are mostly kinda cheesy, although I actually like the synth that only comes in for one line at the end of the bridge. More of that synth would be cool.

ADD - Damn, the production on this song is really incredible. I really liked this one a lot. Your intro is probably a bit too long, though. It would be great live, or on an album, but this is Nur Ein, and I've got 25 songs to listen to dude! I could have done without the piano eighth notes bass line during the verses. That would have created some more space during those parts, I think. The synth/organ stuff really reminds me of Jon Brion at times, which I like. OK, that piano bass line is also getting on my nerves during the later instrumental break. Ah, are you using Mellotron strings? Maybe that's what's reminding me of Jon Brion. I really like the bridge, and that held out vocal. Awesome. I'm also enjoying the lyrics. In my top 5.

Andrew Reist - Wow! Listen to those guitars. I'm trying not to talk too much about production here, but I wanted to say that I think your toms are too loud. And like Adam said you need to work more on recording/mixing your vox. Also I feel like your phrasing in your vocals is a little strange/awkward sometimes, like you tend to put a pause in the middle of some multi-syllable words in a way that sounds weird to me. I also think you need to work more on getting your singing to be clear, like enunciating a little more. I'm harping on the singing because performance wise everything else is really really solid. I do like when you scream near the end, that's awesome. I'd like to hear more of that kind of intensity in the rest of the vocals. One other thought, I think you should cut out the "and walking" between "between sleepwalking" and "and walking away". (How's that for a bizarre sentence?) It sounds extraneous to me. Also the whole song is a bit long, and could probably be tightened up, structure wise.

BLT - Your intro seems a bit long to me, too. I like the riffing. The instrumentation is a little weird to me. It sounds like plugged in acoustic guitar? Plugged in (as in, not mic'ed) acoustic always sounds terrible to me. I'd have preferred clean electric strumming those chords. Also your distorted electric guitar tone is pretty bad sounding to me. I like the little drum/bass thing right before the second verse vocals come in. Your vocals sound a bit pitchy to me at times. The bridge build-up is pretty cool and definitely could go on longer. Maybe take away from the intro and add to that part. Great drumming, btw.

Bryan Kandel - What's with the long intros this round? Nice guitar playing. Everything sounds pretty good here, production wise. Good choice with the organ. I wish the bass were bassier. You could use some additional melodic stuff going in the interlude between the end of the chorus and the start of the next verse, like some na na nas, or another instrument, or just a new melodic line on the organ. In fact, some more melodic stuff going on in the other instruments in general would be nice. Maybe the bass is adding some notes but I'm not hearing it very well. I think you could really benefit from some harmony/backup vocals, too. I like the end when you cut down to quiet organ and really nice guitar playing and vocals.

Cock - I like how this starts. Your vocals are a bit off pitch sometimes. I could hear some echo-y, far away sounding clean guitar notes in the background of the verse. I like the synth leading into the chorus, and wish it would keep playing during the chorus. The chorus doesn't feel like it's different enough from the verse for me. I'm not really into the change after the first chorus. I'd have taken the drums out there, to create some more space in the song and make it feel like things are changing more. You could also use some change in your drums during the choruses, to distinguish them from the verses, and make them feel bigger. I like the "I never want to sleep again" lyrics, that's a good idea for how someone would respond to sleepwalking.

Frankie Big Face - At first listen I wasn't into this song that much, but it's grown on me with more listens. I think it was the chorus that did it. I'm not sure I like the couple of hugely abrupt changes in dynamics, though. Like when the initial sample cuts out and the drums come in, it feels too abrupt to me. I'm also not into that chorusy synth that comes in with your vocals in the first verse. Maybe just a plain old piano would have sounded better to me there, I don't know. Sometimes the sample in the background of the chorus doesn't quite feel like it fits the rhythm/chords your doing to me. Maybe you could chop it up or stretch/shrink it more perhaps. I'm really not into the digital beep cut out change after the first verse. And this is definitely too long. I think you could still do the dynamics changes with fewer repeats of the different parts. Anyway, like I said, I do like the chorus quite a bit. I'm guessing this was kind of an experiment for you, and I'd say it was at least a partial success to me. In spite of all the nits I've picked here, I did like it and it was in my top 5.

Glenn and Rachael - Nice song. I'm not into the hard panned vocals after the intro. You've got a situation in this song similar to one we have often where some of the vocals are breathy and softer sounding than the others (Rachael's hard panned vocals, compared to Glenn's vocals). This happens with me and Erin where my vocals are soft and breathy and hers are clear and present, and it can make them not blend well together. I think the hard panning is making that contrast stick out even more. Also I think your acoustic guitars are too quiet in the mix. I do really like the lyrics and melodies, and the creepy, dark atmosphere. Nice buildup near the end, and good idea to bring in a new sound with the distorted guiter, though it's kind of buzzy.

Jim Tyrrell - I like the intro, but I feel faked out. The intro chords and rhythms are really interesting to me, but then it gets too generic, at least during the parts with vocals. The lyrics have their moments. "party till morning in the suit you were born in", ha. But then it's over. Hopefully you'll be more inspired in future rounds.

JBB - This is my favorite from the fight. You had me when the cello came in. To me, in Nur Ein, you've got to draw on every strength you've got, and everything you've got that differentiates you from the pack, and you're really doing that here, with the cello, vocals, etc. The chorus is so great, although now that I listen to it again, I feel like you could add some more after the last line, like maybe just an ooh/aah line or something. You've got lots of good changes in dynamics. That chorus is money, and you could probably do with a double chorus the last time, instead of just a single.

Ken Mahru - This is another great chorus. Good lyrics throughout this song. I like the synths and harmony/backup vocals a lot. I think maybe you're being a little more lax about enunciation? If so, I like it. Nice handclaps and synth in the last verse. The ending's a bit weak, but that's OK. Top 5 for sure.

King Arthur - You could probably get rid of the fakeout intro. If that's an acoustic guitar in there, I'd rather hear it mic'ed. Catchy chorus. Those faint synth horns are not adding much for me. Maybe an organ/rhodes part would work better instead, and you could make it more prominent in the mix.

Lord of Oats - This sucked. Last place.

MC Eric B - This track is really really quiet. Your vocals are kind of unintentionally creepy for some reason. You should try to focus on having one solid vocal track. The second track you're adding isn't really helping things, as neither one of them seem totally on pitch, and the combined effect of two slightly off pitch vocals is creepy and really really bad. You should also try to mix up your rhyming and phrasing more. I put this third to last.

Octothorpe - The alarm clock is really annoying, though I see how it's integral to the song. I actually like this song more on further listens, though please for the love of God do a remix with the alarm clock turned down like 5db, at least after the first time. This is pretty classic Octothorpe to me. I wish the drums came in way earlier and last the whole song. I don't know why you only brought them in for that one part. I like that wobbly synth sound.

Paco del Stinko - I thought this song was kind of boring. I mean, it's appropriate for it to be sleepy, given the subject matter, but it was too sleepy for me. I guess the whole thing is a build up, but the louder part at the end is too little to late for me.

Ross Durand - This song has a real 80's sound to me for some reason. I like the chorus melody but I feel like there are some throw-away lines in the lyrics in the chorus. I liked the held out backup vox in the last chorus(es?).

I'm running out of steam and time obviously. So many songs!

Sausage Boy - This sucked. I found the music and vocals repetitive. The strange melody of the vocals was kind of irritating. Second to last.

Starfinger - I liked a lot of the synth sounds in this, and I enjoyed the song overall. It reminds me of Mr. Bungle for some reason, which has happened to me with some of your songs before. The falsetto stuff is kind of all over the place quality wise, sometimes working, sometimes painful. I like the bit after the guitar/aah aah section, that synth that comes in is cool. This could probably be trimmed down a bit to a tighter, shorter structure, to its benefit.

Sven Mullet - I'm glad you stopped joking around. Lots of good sounding instruments/etc. in this track. The intro fade-in is really good, but a bit long. You've easily got the best sounding distorted guitar in the fight, though the playing seems a tiny bit sloppy at times. For some reason this reminds me of Pink Floyd at times. The change to double time at the end wasn't very smooth. The faster part was OK, but I liked the slow part better. The faster section needs more work.

Tex - You've got some strange harmony going on in that intro. For some reason I enjoy this, even though it's kind of spazzy and repetitive. Are you deliberately mumbling through some of the lyrics? Once the changes start happening, the song just kind of doesn't hold up for me.

TWSA - This is very pretty, but it kind of floats along under the radar for me. The guitar shredding before the final buildup outro part is a bit over the top. I liked the crescendo outro.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Good, insightful reviews there, Adam! and Lunk. This would appear to be good advice, for all, as well:

To me, in Nur Ein, you've got to draw on every strength you've got, and everything you've got that differentiates you from the pack