Nur Ein II Round Six "Last Hope"

[Niveous]

Title: Last Hope
Challenge: Six+ minutes in length

Frankie Big Face

Merisan

Puce

<a href="http://www.glenncase.com/m3u/NurEinRound6.m3u">STREAM ALL</a>

The Jury will now deliberate. The Jury's decision as well as the final title will be posted on June 26th at 1PM(EST).

NUR EIN!

[Lunkhead]

Reviews!

Frankie - Nice! The chorus is awesome. Trim this down a couple minutes and clean up the mix a bunch and it would be really amazing. A couple production nitpicks: I think the main vocal track is too sibilant and the slide guitar track is too loud and could use some EQ-ing. I would have cut some of the repeats at the end, since the song was already long enough. All that aside, bravo.

Puce - This is a fun bouncy tune. Everything sounds awesome as always. It feels like it doesn't quite change tones/dynamics enough or something. I think the length requirement hit you harder than it did Frankie. This also feels like it's right in your comfort zone the whole time, which is completely understandable, but makes it seem a little predictable. The same could definitely be said about our song, too, though.

This is a diverse trio of songs. I'd rank 'em Frankie, Puce, us. We're ready to be put out of our misery.

Good luck and good job to everybody.

[GlennCase]

This is going to be an impossible round to judge.

ROCK!

Glenn Case

[Adam!]

This is going to be an impossible round to judge.

All outcomes strike me as equally terrifying.

I'm too stupid to review right now; instead I'm going to get to bed. All I'll say is that I think I agree with everything Lunkhead said. And that trying to play my song as fast as I could was counterproductive, considering the challenge. And that I had a surprising amount of fun posting the lyrics.

[Billy's Little Trip]

All awesome!

Frankie - Nice touch with ambiance of the rain, it created a great atmosphere. This song did not seem too long to me at all. If I was the producer, the only thing I'd change would be the piercing slide guitar and the horns were a bit sharp. In fact, I would only soften them with really warm tubes and push them back a smidgen, but that's just me. The tunnely reverb is great! I loved the mood this song delivered.

Marisan - Fantastic guitar work. Fantastic vocals. Fantastic melody. This would work perfectly for any TV drama. I've never heard anything very original from you guys, but everything you do is simply.....dare I say...Fantastic! Great song for this challenge.

Puce - This is in true Puce form. Takes the challenge and exceeds it by going with 120+bpm as if to say, "I'm not skeeerd". This song rocks! I like all of the choices made here. Very cool from start to finish. As always, I could interject my arm chair production opinions, but why bother. Did you take my sarcastic advice and scream into a pillow? LOL, I love that primal aspect to this song. Definitely did not feel too long to me because of how you changed the timing. Excellent!

Abominominous - I can totally relate to the tribulations of life and Family. I'm happy to see that family came first. You'll get'um next year!

[frankie big face]

Thanks for the nice comments Lunkhead and BLT. I just finished listening to all the songs and I can see why this will be a touch round to judge. I think we all ran into roadblocks with this challenge (I personally hate my lyrics and have trouble with big mixes like this), but came out relatively unscathed. Good luck to all!

[Paco Del Stinko]

Sorry to see that Abom didn't make it, but very nice work all around. Regarding the length challenge, I thought that with Frankie's you could feel the patience and it kept you held, Merisan felt the longest but I think maybe a slight variation later on would have made it feel less samey, Puce's didn't feel long although noticeably repeated riffs and what-not. But all are well done and a delight to listen to. Good work everybody and good luck!

[melvin]

Puce: For my next summer vacation, I would like to take a trip to your house and look over your shoulder while you work. The production on this track is similar to a lot of the stuff I attempt to do, and I’m seriously dumbfounded as to how you get dirty and dissonant guitars to sound so clear and well-defined. This track is awesome on all levels. Catchy riffs and melodies, great performance and brilliant mix. No need to be modest about anything here (note: false modesty is an annoying character trait). So, yeah. You got a spare bedroom?

Frankie: The opening atmosphere here is stunning. Unfortunately, I agree with comments about that slide guitar – it’s a bit harsh. Vocal sibilance is also a little nasty. But these production qualms would be less of an issue if you weren’t up against the production mastery of Puce and Merisan. The horns on this are super-sweet. Nice choice. Great vocal performance as always from you. Song-wise, this is a pleasant enough composition, but it doesn’t totally ring my bell. I would have liked the song to break out more emotionally. Perhaps around the time of the solo, it would have been great to hear a vocal bridge with a melodic/tonal change to drive things home with a little more oomph.

Merisan: Gorgeous tones on this track. Vocals are especially beguiling. The only problem with this track is me - I have an ever-decreasing appreciation for delicate and melancholy pop/rock. I think years of mix tapes created by my wife and sister-in-law have soured me on this genre. So, while I cannot fault anything about the performance or production of this track, of the three, it appeals least to my tastes.

Were I an Official Judge of this round, Puce would take top honours and face Frankie in the final. Having said that, everyone did an outstanding job on this round, and I could learn a lot from all of you.

[GlennCase]

Niveous will be out of town, and I will be at work at 1PM EST, but I should be able to post results at some point around 2PM EST at the latest.

I can't speak for the other judges, but I will say that this was the toughest vote of the whole competition. Three very good songs were put together for round 6.

I will kill this much of the suspense for you... I have calculated the votes we have thus far, and There is NO DOUBT that we have a clear third place finisher.

At the moment, there is a two-way tie for first, but there WILL be an elimination.

Okay... in all fairness, that probably ADDED to the suspense.

ROCK!

Glenn Case

[GlennCase]

Abominomonous <a href="http://songfight.net/forums/viewtopic.p ... 8108">fell to the time crunch</a>, and that left us with three contestants for this round.

The Votes are in and it's a close one! Round 6 goes to <b>Puce!</b>

The scores, out of a possible 15:

1. Puce (12)
2. Frankie Big Face (11)
3. Merisan (7)

Merisan has been eliminated.

Judging Breakdown:

Judge #1
3. Puce
2. FBF
1. Merisan

Judge #2
3. FBF
2. Puce
1. Merisan

Judge #3
3. Merisan
2. Puce
1. FBF

Judge #4
3. FBF
2. Puce
1. Merisan

Judge #5
3 Puce
2 FBF
1 Merisan

[Lunkhead]

Congrats to Puce and Frankie! We're so spent, this is actually a relief. I feel like Frankie was robbed, though. No offense to Puce, but I just thought Frankie's song had more substance. It kinda bugged me that Puce's song at one point felt like it had ended, then it started up again. The whole last part felt extraneous and tacked on just to meet the challenge.

Anyway, the judges have once again confounded my attempt to predict their decision this round. Overall, though, we suspected at the start that Puce and Frankie would make the finals. It's exciting to finally get to see the head-to-head battle we thought we'd see. It's also exciting to be able to sit back and judge for a change, though I wish the finalists got a chance to catch their breath and recoup their strength for the final battle.

Anyway, it's been a blast. Thanks to Niveous, Glenn, and the rest of the panel for putting this whole thing together, and thanks to the competitors who forced us to crank out a few really good songs. We managed to more than double the number of original songs we've made during these last two months, and we're very happy with a few of the songs, too. Plus it's been great hearing everyone else's entries. Let's hope there's much more Nur Ein to come in the future (once a year isn't often enough if you ask me...).

[frankie big face]

Wow. I would not have been surprised to see any possible result for this round. Thanks to Lunkhead for his kind comments. This has been the funnest (funnest?) SongFight-related thing I've done in a long time and it's because I knew every week I'd be going up against some talented folks. So now, "Heart of a Lion." Hmmm.... I'll start thinking.

Also, I'm not sure I have an "A" game.

[Lunkhead]

Nur Ein has definitely been a hell of a lot more fun than SongFight! has been for me in a looooong time. The two things I like best are the qualifying/elimination aspect and that it can't be friend flooded (even if I disagree with the results of the judging sometimes). I have lots of thoughts about it, which I plan to post in the main Nur Ein thread...

[erin.]

Phew!
As challenging and inspiring as this whole thing as been, I am relieved to have come in third this round! It's too bad that I sort of ran out of steam in the end, but I feel really proud that we were able to make it this far. (Especially as one of the only lady SongFighter's! )

Maybe my participation in this will encourage more ladies to participate in the future. It's a tough thing being a lady in a dudes world. You guys are pretty fair, but I would have to say that as diverse as you might seem to be, I would urge you to actually see how many female artists are featured in your personal music collection compared to the rest.

I was really surprised that we made it as far as we did considering that Merisan had never won a fight before.
Were it not for Ken (who's fault it is that I am involved in all of this)... I would not be here writing sappy songs with Lunkhead. (The sappy part is my doing...thanks for letting me Sam).
I am so excited to be judge in the next round!!!!
I could not have lost to two better musicians in this competition. You both have so much to offer. Everyone in this thing competed so well.

To the judge that ranked us 1st...you rock!
Yay!
Nur Ein!

[erin.]

Puce:
I have been waiting for some amazing choral back-ups from you this whole competition. I want a wall of Puce vox... Bring it!!! You are so talented in so many ways. I feel like you have been holding back your voice in this fight. Maybe you're just saving the "Big Guns" for last?
We shall see.

Frankie:
I can only hope that my songwriting style morphs into something a bit more poetic someday. I have the heartfelt thing down, but I am jealous of your ease with clever prose. That is one of your greatest strengths in this fight, and always!
I am really looking forward to your next contribution.

[frankie big face]

Frankie:
I can only hope that my songwriting style morphs into something a bit more poetic someday. I have the heartfelt thing down, but I am jealous of your ease with clever prose. That is one of your greatest strengths in this fight, and always!
I am really looking forward to your next contribution.

Reason #2 for more girls: they say the sweetest things! (I usually have to rely on j$ for such flattery.) Thank you for the compliment. I don't think you have to worry too much about your songwriting--you guys are awesome! And when you have such a gorgeous voice, most people don't care too much what you're singing about anyway.

[GlennCase]

Maybe my participation in this will encourage more ladies to participate in the future. It's a tough thing being a lady in a dudes world. You guys are pretty fair, but I would have to say that as diverse as you might seem to be, I would urge you to actually see how many female artists are featured in your personal music collection compared to the rest.

When a song is good, I don't think it matters if the singer is male or female.

Is my music collection dominated by male artists? Probably, but women have absolutely been responsible for some of my favorite songs of all time. Juliana Hatfield rocks my world, for example. Your voice carries a similar quality, and that probably didn't hurt your ranking at times.

As far as the judges being fair in regards to male or female vocals, I think round 5 speaks for itself. It is the first time in Nur Ein history that anyone has gotten a unanimous first place ranking from all of the judges.

ROCK!

Glenn Case

[Billy's Little Trip]

The two things I like best are the qualifying/elimination aspect and that it can't be friend flooded (even if I disagree with the results of the judging sometimes). I have lots of thoughts about it, which I plan to post in the main Nur Ein thread...

+1, I look forward to reading your thoughts.

By the way. Erin and Lunk, it might be a bit early to really take all of this in, but when you get a chance to step back and reflect, you guys are in the TOP THREE out of over 25 original participants. That in itself is quite a feat, and a well deserved one.
Rock on!

[Lunkhead]

I think the male/female thing most comes into play in song subject matter. Which group on average would think rocking songs about zombies and brain implants are cooler than pretty songs about feelings?

Seriously, though, while I think we had a slight uphill battle in terms of genre bias, I think the same could be said of many other participants to varying degrees, thanks to the diversity of opinions of the judges. I also think that some people had a better shot to go farther thanks to the diversity of the judges. That's the nature of the panel, in that the results will reflect the panel's tastes, at least to some degree. (Like if Bjam had been on the panel Plat would have made the finals. ) I'm fine with that, and I think that's way better than the results being based on some friend flooding asshole.

[GlennCase]

I think the male/female thing most comes into play in song subject matter. Which group on average would think rocking songs about zombies and brain implants are cooler than pretty songs about feelings?

The world needs more songs about zombies that are being sung by ladies. (That Cranberries song DOES NOT COUNT!)

Rachael's participation in <a href="http://www.frontalittle.com/content/son ... talittle's "Zombie Son"</a> is the first one that comes to mind. (Even at that, she's the sole female in a group of nerdy guys.)

Seriously, though, while I think we had a slight uphill battle in terms of genre bias, I think the same could be said of many other participants to varying degrees, thanks to the diversity of opinions of the judges. I also think that some people had a better shot to go farther thanks to the diversity of the judges. That's the nature of the panel, in that the results will reflect the panel's tastes, at least to some degree. (Like if Bjam had been on the panel Plat would have made the finals. ) I'm fine with that, and I think that's way better than the results being based on some friend flooding asshole.

I tend to agree with you. One great thing about this competition that I love is the 5 judge system. Ken and I like a lot of the same music, but I found that we were at polar opposites with the vote one week.

We might have had a different outcome if you had 5 different judges, but that's the nature of Nur Ein. You've got to be able to roll with whatever is thrown your way.

One of my biggest challenges as a judge was trying to be fair to the people that I have met in person. I didn't want to give high ranking to a song because I like the person that made it, but I didn't want to give them a lower ranking for the same reason.

ROCK!

Glenn Case

[frankie big face]

I think the male/female thing most comes into play in song subject matter. Which group on average would think rocking songs about zombies and brain implants are cooler than pretty songs about feelings?

Yeah, but when measured in those terms, I'm surely a girl. In which case, two girly types made it to the final four and that seems to indicate a level of fairness among the judges, not unfairness. Same with genre bias. I felt I took a risk with this last song because it was so slow and almost country-gospel. But the judges responded pretty well (except for judge #3, who I will find and I will kill!). I don't know--I thought it was pretty fair overall. I actually thought there would be more genre bias than there was.

[bz£]

I tend to agree with you. One great thing about this competition that I love is the 5 judge system. Ken and I like a lot of the same music, but I found that we were at polar opposite odds with one another one week.

We might have had a different outcome if you had 5 different judges, but that's the nature of Nur Ein. You've got to be able to roll with whatever is thrown your way.

One of my biggest challenges as a judge was trying to be fair to the people that I have met in person. I didn't want to give high ranking to a song because I like the person that made it, but I didn't want to give them a lower ranking for the same reason.

For what it's worth: I was, if anything, a little surprised how often my opinions lined up with mo's, especially in the later rounds. He's the only judge I've never met and I hardly know a thing about the dude. That's how it goes, I guess.

I was worried about "people I know" bias before we started but it never seemed to turn into an issue. Maybe subconsciously but I hope not. I may refer to you jerks as a bunch of jerks but I've never actually met a songfighter that I didn't like.

And, incidentally, a lot of my favorite bands either have no vocals or multiple "lead" singers representing both genders. It seems like a nice advantage to have. Yo La Tengo is a good example, and probably the most well known. Maybe that makes for pro-Merisan bias but Sam doesn't seem to sing all that much.

Oh, and

The world needs more songs about zombies that are being sung by ladies.

Zombie Samba by the Secret Stars (another boy/girl vocals band). I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be more symbolic zombie than braaaaaaaains zombie, but it's still a groovy song.