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Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 5:41 pm
by Pigfarmer Jr
.. and stay off my lawn.

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 5:44 pm
by Pigfarmer Jr

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 10:08 pm
by Lunkhead
Songs posted!

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 6:44 am
by glennny

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 7:38 am
by Smalltown Mike
That Ken's Super Band track has a really lovely sound. Great vocals, love the drum sound. Very listenable, great work. I hope there are plans to write a bridge or some additional part, but great.

Edit: oops, I think you did write a bridge and I missed it. Reviewed too quick.

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 8:03 am
by Smalltown Mike
So – Young Buck is a really annoying title. Maybe that’s just me thinking that, but hearing it over and over in these songs is grating. (And yea, I wrote a song and sang it too.) Sorry, just a couple reviews of songs I had thoughts about.

Pigfarmer – I far prefer the acoustic intro part then when the full band comes it. Great riff. Your lyrics are funny, because sometimes they delve into tremendously clichéd areas but still work somehow, and others not so much (“Wonder if she ever thinks about / the times we’d scream and shout” doesn’t work at all for me. Fighting? Having sex? I don’t know.) But an interesting enough song.

Possum sauce – very cool. Pretty, simple and sparse in such a great way. I love this.

Rabbit and Ram – Some really nice lines in here and nice delivery. Feels like it’s not quite a fully formed song yet (that’s coming from the dude who won’t stop writing short songs.) Nice voice that works well with this song.

Third Cat – I like the contrast of that guitar with the more electronic music. Very interesting stuff here but I really wish it went on longer. I hardly had time to hit the dancefloor.

Slither – written from Rob’s frustration with the POS Masterwriter and its amateur-hour rhyming dictionary. We allowed it to tell us what the rhymes were going to be, and it under-delivered. Some would say it ... phoned it in. Written in a couple hours before we headed to see Off!, Pennywise, the Exploited, Cromags and Sudden Impact in Montreal. My ears are still ringing.

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 9:09 am
by ken
Smalltown Mike wrote:
Tue Jul 30, 2019 7:38 am
That Ken's Super Band track has a really lovely sound. Great vocals, love the drum sound. Very listenable, great work. I hope there are plans to write a bridge or some additional part, but great.

Edit: oops, I think you did write a bridge and I missed it. Reviewed too quick.
Thanks for the quick and positive review. I'm not sure if the song has a bridge either. I kind of think of the structure as having a verse, prechorus and chorus - but the chorus does sound a lot like a bridge, so who knows. The real question is whether or not you think it needs another part. I thought about a solo section that is playing the verse melody (ala Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit). I'm open to suggestions on how to make this two minute song longer without getting too repetitious or boring.

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 10:13 am
by Smalltown Mike
So listening again, yea, I think it needs another part to be a "proper pop song." It could come right at the end of this structure and go ... somewhere ... and then back to the chorus. It's pretty!

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 10:40 pm
by mc3p0
Smalltown Mike wrote:
Tue Jul 30, 2019 8:03 am
So – Young Buck is a really annoying title. Maybe that’s just me thinking that, but hearing it over and over in these songs is grating. (And yea, I wrote a song and sang it too.) Sorry, just a couple reviews of songs I had thoughts about.
Agreed. I downloaded a bunch of Twiki samples but ended up having no time to even begin. I use the term a lot and felt it would be okay, but my job took so much more time I had to bow out - three hours of driving in hot traffic four days in a row, 10 hour graveyard shifts and I'm spent. Haven't listened to these yet, but I did make a track for The Supper Club today, wrote lyrics in a Walmart parking lot last night and still can't fit the two together. I'll review these entrants tomorrow. Bath time at long last! Btw - I am always surprised how many people are inspired by these otherwise odd titles.

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 8:00 am
by Lunkhead
Late entry from Phillipso added.

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 9:17 am
by thirdcatmusic
Here are my reviews; if you get a +++ by your band name then you're in consideration for a vote, if you get a *** then you're a definite vote.


Bad Boys at Bat Mitzvahs - the "where do we go" bit is pretty catchy (also sounds vaguely familiar ...) I don't love the sound of the drums (and maybe they're mixed a bit high) but the overall energy of the song is good. vocals fit the style well-ish.

Berkeley Social Scene - this sounds quite a bit different than what I expect from BSS so definitely points for doing something different but for me these vocals just aren't working and make it hard to focus on the rest of the song. instrumentally it's pretty good although it seems to maybe be a tad slow, like kicking it up a few BPM might have added some energy. nice piano.

Csmnthing - I like the main loop, pretty neat. reminds me of some experimental music from the early days of recording. I appreciate that it's short. and it's kind of cool to hear something very different when listening to these songs. I'll take this over most guy & guitar type entries. that's not to say I love it or it's getting a vote, I don't and I won't vote for it, but if you're enjoying yourself making this stuff, keep at it. I can imagine it leading somewhere really interesting if you improve your technique.

+++ Hardmonica - Hardmonica is a pretty funny name. This is pretty well done for the style I think, but maybe drags just a tad. I bet it'd be more compelling a little faster. Good vocal. I find the change at around 1:45 (wit the delayed vocal) a very welcome and surprising change in style. I think this is good and could be a grower and get a vote from me. Maybe.

+++ Phillipso - This has some really cool instrumental parts but at times it seems a bit too wonky rhythmically for me to get into. Still it has enough cool parts that I might vote for it. I love the little instrumental break before the chorus (with the swampy bass slide thingy) and vocal harmonies after that bit are neat. Pretty damn cool guitar solo.

Pigfarmer Jr - Pretty nice acoustic playing reminds me of early '70s Rolling Stones which is a good thing in my book. Guitar solo is pretty effective. I don't love the vocals/melody so much but they're not bad for the style.

*** Possom Sauce - Very tastefully done. Really nice mix, everything is clear but still warm. Really nice vocals and playing. I'm voting for this song. It's just ... good. I think for what you're going for you pretty much nailed it so I can't think of any constructive criticism type stuff.

+++ Rabbit & Ram - This is cute as hell. Sounds a little amateurish/bedroom pop/lo-fi but in a kind of appealing way. This is a song that gets better as it goes and doesn't overstay its welcome. I really really like the male vocal build that starts around 1:15, that's such a cool surprising touch and takes the song to another level. It only makes me wish that voice was in the song more (not that the lead female vocal is bad, but the two vocals together sound really good.) A possible vote. There are some things about it I don't love (the kind of canned sound of some of the instruments and the lead vocal is kind of harsh and not mixed into the track in a way that's really pleasing) but it's really cute and I like listening to it.

*** Ken's Super Duper Band - This is a pretty fun song. There's some really cool/strong melodies in here. Catchy. I will be voting for this one. I love the runs on the outro, thrown in for the optional challenge I imagine, but I like 'em.

Will Burgin & Friends - I don't like the style of the music much but the lyrics are pretty funny. The guitar is mixed too high/drums way too low. I can barely hear the drums and that really kills the groove. The guitar solo is pretty great though, loving the Jimi Hendrixish fx.

Big Matt Hyatt and His Rusty Red Ryders - Hm... Not sure what you're going for here. But it's a no from me dawg (/Randy Jackson)

+++ Slither - I'm loving the backing vocals. Great guitar playing. Lots of groove here. Sounds like real live drums? If they're not, they fooled me. Pretty impressive for a quick one for sure. I like the "we're just gonna phone it in" outro. Nice. Possible vote, fun song.

+++ Paco del Stinko - Cool backing vocals. Your backing vocals are often my favorite part of your songs and I think they really make this one. I like but don't love this on early listens, but I think its a possible vote if it's a grower.

---

overall Possom Sauce and Ken's Super Duper Band are my favorites both getting votes, with lots of other good ones that may grow on me to get a vote too. I liked that there were lots of shortish songs this round. And yeah "Young Buck" is a tough title.

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 2:14 am
by vowlvom
Woo, my first ever Song Fight cover art. Although FaceApp did most of the work. Anyway, in celebration, here are some reviews.

Favourites / votes:

Hardmonica - I really like the take on the title, and you've got some good storytelling in the lyrics. I especially like the line about how "she's got the stare" or whatever it is. Would have appreciated a stronger end to the story but this is good stuff, musically solid too and a good vocal performance.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - possibly my favourite, really strong catchy melodies and I love the keyboard layers. If you did want to make it longer then I'd suggest dropping out the guitar for a synth breakdown / buildup but to be honest I think this sounds fine the way it is, I really like this one a lot.

Possum Sauce - I don't think this is quite as great as your last submission, there are a few bits where the vocal melody / chords feel like they haven't quite found the best resolution, especially the "young and invincible" bits. I love the instrumentation, especially the reed organ (or whatever that is), lyrics are strong and I enjoy your vocal delivery / accent.

Rabbit & Ram - immediately on board with this one, I love a bit of retro Casio auto-accompaniment. Strong vocal performance and I really like the part where the vocal gets doubled - it really adds a lot dynamically when that comes in. Only slight complaint is that maybe this is a little overcompressed or something, I feel like I had to back the volume off a little for this track every time. But that's a minor complaint, this is great.

The Rest:

Bad Boys at Bat Mitzvahs - decent punk rock, I just wish the guitars had a bit more power to them and the vocals a little more energy. I think the song as a whole is solid, the performance definitely leaves some room for improvement.

Berkeley Social Scene - musically I like this a lot, it kicks in with a really cool, mysterious vibe and plenty of energy. I like the instrumental breakdown too, there's more of a "new sections with several musicians interacting" feel to it than the standard "here's a lengthy solo over the verse / chorus chords". Unfortunately... well, I'm usually a fan of the rotating BSS lead vocalists, it shakes things up nicely, but you made the wrong choice on this one - the vocals completely sink this otherwise very good song.

Big Matt Hyatt and His Rusty Red Ryders - I listened to this twice so I guess I wasted more time on it than you did.

CsmthngCcrtv0 - agreed with thirdcat that you're starting to find some interesting, experimental ways to use your vocals. But also agreed that is isn't resulting in something that is particularly enjoyable to listen to. Yet.

Paco del Stinko - love the super-crisp, clean guitar tone you've got going on here. Otherwise this is a solid mid-tier Paco song, enjoyed it but it wouldn't make my Pick Of The Pacos shortlist.

Phillipso - lots of good ideas but they all feel one level of polish short of quite working, everything is a bit messy. Messy isn't always a bad thing for me, but this one feels like it needs to be really tight to fully work and it isn't quite there.

Pigfarmer Jr - lots of good in this one, I like the main acoustic riff a lot, lead guitar and the other instrumentation that comes in later on keep things consistently interesting, vocal melody is strong. The lyrics feel like they need some work though, definitely agreed with Smalltown Mike on the "scream and shout" line, and there are a couple of points where the vocal timing is clunky, particularly the first line that comes in after the guitar solo. I think this one would be worth a little more polish, it's a good song.

Slither - most of my objections here are genre bias yet again, sorry Mike & co. I do love the little jangly / chorused guitar line in the chorus though. Otherwise this is well done, just not my thing.

Third Cat - I really like the beat. The vocoded stuff is a little overdone for me, but as always I appreciate your experiments. Feels like this one is another track where a collection of interesting ideas don't quite cohere into a satisfying song, though.

Will Burgin & Friends - how many times do you say 'Young Buck' in this song? It feels really repetitive. Guitar tone also is nowhere near the chunkiness you need for this kind of song. I have some genre bias against this also, but to be honest I don't think I'd like it very much even if I was a hard-rockin' guy.

Re: Answer to the antlers in the (Young Buck Reviews)

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 3:49 pm
by Lunkhead
Congrats to Will Burgin & Friends!