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Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 12:13 pm
by HeuristicsInc
Welcome to Round Six of Nur Ein XIII

Title: Fan Theory
Challenge: Assonance

Songs are Due on: Sunday, June 17th @ 11:59 PM Eastern
Send your MP3 to nurein.sidefight@gmail.com

NUR EIN!!!!!!

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:43 am
by glennny
World Cup!

AUS vs. ESP vs. GBR vs. NLD vs. USA

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:53 am
by vowlvom
Ha! Well spotted. I look forward to being heartbreakingly knocked out in a penalty shootout in the traditional English manner.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 7:09 pm
by iVeg
Shadow posted.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:22 am
by Caravan Ray
glennny wrote:World Cup!

AUS vs. ESP vs. GBR vs. NLD vs. USA
Good. No French bastards taking dives like that idiot last night.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:40 pm
by carlo bruno jr
Sent!!

Hard challenge for a non english!!

Good luck all!!

Nur Ein!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 7:23 pm
by Caravan Ray
Owls are in

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 7:28 pm
by Lunkhead
In Game of Thrones, a witch tells a young Cersei Lannister that she will die at the hands of "little brother". Our song is about the fan theory that Jamie Lannister is that "little brother".

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 8:21 pm
by Cybronica
Mandibles will be submitting a shadow entry this week! Truth had a theory wherein Marcellus Wallace (of Pulp Fiction) is actually a fallen angel who has stolen the contents of the ark of the covenant 40 years after it was stored in the vast warehouse at the end of Raiders of the lost ark. He has been chasing the ark for centuries, and the last time he tried to get it, he was in the guise of hitler (hence the Raiders connection). After the ark is stolen from the warehouse, Wallace is double crossed, so he sends Jules and Vincent, who are are demons in Marcellus Wallace’s service, to retrieve it. All of this is in the long con to earn back his seat in heaven.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 9:26 pm
by Niveous

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 2:09 am
by vowlvom
Strong set of songs! Reviews after a couple of listens to each song:

Carlo Bruno Jr. - some really interesting ideas here. I love the way the “middle ages” stuff in the lyric links up with that middle-ages-y lead keyboard (or is it woodwind?) sound, and the change-up in the drums midway through works well. The actual song doesn’t quite grab me though, I’ve generally liked your slower and more atmospheric tracks but this one feels a little ponderous in places.

Merisan - killer melodies, clever use of delay on the vocals and I love the fuzz guitar on the chorus. I’ve never read or seen a Game of Thrones so I’ve got no idea what you’re on about but there are some nice bits of assonance in there and it all sounds superb. I would assume that you guys are a lock-in for the final and that the rest of us are battling for the other spot…

Owl Chemist - …I think this might be my favourite though, the droning bass, churning guitars and waves of reverby distortion are incredibly cool. The lyrics are engagingly odd, looks like your take on the challenge is to have assonance at the end of lines instead of full rhymes? Interesting idea.

Rob from Amersfoort - you’ve upped your game again here, the music for this one is brilliant. So many cool sounds and hooks. I don’t think the lyrics embrace the challenge quite as much as some of the other entries but this might be the catchiest chorus of the round.

Vom Vorton (me) - I had loads of fun with this one. The actual concept of fan theories does my head in a bit, all that hard work going into something that isn’t really there… but then I realised that applying that concept to a workplace romance, maybe-but-not-explicitly set in the 50s for some reason, could be fun. Plus “ba ba ba” backing vocals are inherently assonant, right? Sort of? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this exciting and rare journey out of 4/4 time.

Shadows:

Inflatable Vegetables - this is really catchy, and I like the strange lyrics. One of my favourites from your Nur Ein tracks.

Mandibles - some good melodies here but the mix is really weird, the lead vocals overpower everything and I can barely hear the drums and guitars. Think there’s a decent song in there, it just needs a little more polish. The lyrics are a bit too specific for my liking (see above comments on fan theories in general) but they’re cleverly written.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 8:37 am
by BoffoYux
Nur Ein Listening Party is tonight 9pm EST.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvMl8DzvGbE

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 1:45 pm
by RobStevens
Carlo Bruno Jr.
Nice contrast between the slow and fast sections! The nervous synth works well! Deep lyrics, I like how you made them personal, and I like the message (life can be boring indeed).

Merisian
Beautiful harmonies, I would not mind hearing them clearer over the drums. Cool sound in the last chorus. I also like that you can appreciate the lyrics even if you’re not a GoT fan. (BTW I wouldn’t mind Jamie killing Cersei).

Owl Chemist
Skillful arrangement, beautiful build-up! Contemporary lyrics :-). This reverb-like effect in the guitar (which reminds me of Suede) is superb. I guess this will also be a great song to play live on stage.

Rob From Amersfoort
For me the main goal of these challenges is to force myself to start writing and recording, I’m always glad something decent is the result. I’m happy that I, as a non-native, managed to spit out a proper English lyric. I had fun including some movie tropes :-).

Vom Vorton
Sweet song! The style of the song matches the lyrics neatly. I can see the accompanying video clip in my head :-). Great rhyming!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Inflatable Vegetables
I like the surprising chord sequences, and the doubled vocals in the chorus work well.

Mandibles
I like what you did with the pre-chorus which also is a post-chorus, and you’ve put a lot of thought into the vocals. It will make an interesting song if the drums are a bit louder.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 5:46 pm
by glennny
I did a shadow
(glennny half of cavedwellers)

https://soundcloud.com/glenartrock/glennny-fan-theory

The theory is that Cameron imagined Ferris much like Fight Club.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 4:16 am
by Caravan Ray
vowlvom wrote: looks like your take on the challenge is to have assonance at the end of lines instead of full rhymes? Interesting idea.
Thank you.

But...I don't quite understand this. It wasn't an interesting idea, it was I thought simply answering the challenge

I understood assonance to be not perfect rhymes - which I sort of did.
Your song seems to have perfect rhymes. I was thinking you didn't meet the challenge.

Mind you - this stuff isn't my strong point. Not saying you are wrong - merely that I possibly don't understand what I am doing.

I can lift heavy things though.



BTW - my daughter loves your Superman song and always asked for me to play it in the car.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 4:32 am
by vowlvom
I had to look up assonance to try to get a handle on it myself... as I understand it, it's sort of like alliteration but just for vowel sounds, so my chorus hits the "ee" sound repeatedly:

she and me, we're merely a weak fan theory

And I tried to include smaller examples throughout the song. But as far as I can tell, using near rhymes fits the challenge as well (the vowel sounds in dumb / trump, out / cow and refuse / salute are all assonant), so I think we're both winners*?

* winner status is not legally binding

Also thank you, and your daughter!

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 4:45 am
by glennny
as·so·nance
ˈasənəns/Submit
noun
in poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in nonrhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible (e.g., penitence, reticence ).

example: “Men sell the wedding bells.”

Vom Vorton:

and despite the consensus it fills me with regret
to inform you that we’ve hardly actually met
the gossip makes the day a little less dreary
but she and me, we’re merely a weak fan theory

challenge met.

Owl Chemist: the end of your lines all rhyme, but I suppose the vowel sounds are repetitive, though I don't think they're really close enough together for assonance.

Still, were I a judge I'd say you met the challenge.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 2:44 pm
by Cybronica
Reuploaded the Mandible's shadow entry to One Ruhm. Everyone had trouble with the mix, so I messed with the levels. Doesn't matter 'cause it's a shadow, right? Just want it to sound good. :)

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 2:16 am
by Caravan Ray
While we wait for judges - I better do some reviews:


In MY order of preference:

Vom:
As mentioned earlier, I first thought you didn't do the challenge. My girlfriend who is an English lecturer explained it to me and I now realise you nailed it. As someone who sometimes dabbles in the (what some people call) "novelty song" space - I am very impressed by this. The lyrics are quite superb. (and please don't be offended by my use of the "novelty song" description - I consider some of the greatest songs ever written to be "novelty songs" - eg (I can't get no) Satisfaction. ....or to put that better - just because a song has funny lyrics - it doesn't mean it's merely a "novelty".)

Carlo:
This is very cool. Nice laid back groove. Don't quite the story, but it seems to be important and you are telling it well so it sounds interesting anyway. Fabulous vocals. Don't get the 'fan theory-ness' of it really - but that doesn't bother me.

Merisan:
As always - very polished. I really like the lyrics - I'm not a fan of the idea as such (though I am a fan of GoT)- songs about popular culture don't do it for me (says the bloke who wrote about Bob Dylan lyrics...) - but you did a great job with lyrics. Love the "Yeah" bit. That is really cool. Stylistically - maybe not my thing - but you do it so well, it could almost become my thing.

Rob:
As with Merisan - Stylistically - maybe not my thing - but you do it so well, it could almost become my thing. First listen I didn't get into it - but after further listens - I really do hear more in it every time. You have a certain style you do really well. Go with it.


and

Owl Chemist: I don't know what I was doing. Just came out like that. I lost track of my mate Paul (who wrote lyrics for first 2 songs and sand our second song) after round 1, so I've been solo since then.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 2:35 am
by vowlvom
Cybronica wrote:Reuploaded the Mandible's shadow entry to One Ruhm. Everyone had trouble with the mix, so I messed with the levels. Doesn't matter 'cause it's a shadow, right? Just want it to sound good. :)
Definitely sounds better, there's a real wall-of-sound vibe to it now. The melody on the "ask anyone..." section is really catchy.
If you want more mix critique, I think taking some of the low frequencies out of the fuzz guitar would clean up the mix a bit without losing the chunky vibe. But yeah, I dig the song!
glennny wrote:I did a shadow
(glennny half of cavedwellers)
I hadn't said anything about this one yet. Excellent assonance, good riffage. Like the Merisan and Mandibles songs, I do find lyrics that are so rooted in one particular pop-culture thing weirdly hard to enjoy (to echo Caravan Ray, "says the guy who wrote the superman song") but there's some really clever stuff in here and the "first rule of Ferris Club" line is clever.
Caravan Ray wrote: (and please don't be offended by my use of the "novelty song" description - I consider some of the greatest songs ever written to be "novelty songs" - eg (I can't get no) Satisfaction. ....or to put that better - just because a song has funny lyrics - it doesn't mean it's merely a "novelty".)
No offense taken, thanks again for your kind words! A lot of my favourite songwriters use humour in their lyrics (Magnetic Fields, Jens Lekman, Pet Shop Boys etc.) I'm definitely pro-novelty as long as novelty isn't the only thing the song has to offer.

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 4:05 am
by j$
Reviews are *hard* - these are all great. Here are the only bad things I could think to say.

Carlo Bruni Jr - it's the voice again that lets this song down. It just sounds weird to me. Not out of tune or wonky in any way, just a little raspy. Not a pleasant listen. The music on the other hand is good, jaunty fun, though a little bare.

Merisan - I'm glad you've stuck with the one sound this nur ein, not tried to prove you can still rock by getting the geetars out. It suits you and your skill-set perfectly. The music is a bit standrd and I'm not a GoT watcher, so the lyrical play falls flat to me.

Owl Chemist - I like this one. It's messy and early 80s and kind of works when those two thins probably shouldn't. It's a little long and draggy.

Vom Vorton - yeah that lyrical pay-off takes such a long time to come and it's kina irritatingly twee when it does. Music is great though.

Rob from Amersfoort - I feel like you found your mojo after a couple of weeks of average rfA output - this is pretty damn good.

j$

Re: Nur Ein XIII Round Six "Fan Theory"

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:59 am
by Lunkhead
EDIT: Ugh. I almost made it all the way through without opening my stupid mouth on the boards. Derp.