A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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Duncan
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Re: A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Post by Duncan »

I think the comfy flip flops and the PHC comment are a light "unspiked" punch at my style on this one, but I think they may be very warranted. I'll take the Easy Rider one as a compliment
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sleepysilverdoor
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Re: A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

No, no, I LIKE comfy flip flops. My dad is a parrothead. It's in my blood.

(though I wear Merrill hiking boots most days. Today I wore some Sperry's though.
"There's a lot to be said about a full-on frontal assault on the ear drums" - Pigfarmer Jr.
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Adam!
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Re: A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Post by Adam! »

Reviews! Well, not really, more like thoughts I had while listening:

Ben Crenshaw GJ: Is... is it supposed to sound like this? The initial clusterfuck segues into sweet, sloppy, head-damaged elevator music. Cool/Fool is a desperate rhyme. The chorus makes me smile.

Brown Word and the Big Whine: Here we fucking go! More of a smorgasbord of fun ideas and cool tones than a cohesive song. The trap-infused carnival bridge is gorgeous and earns a VOTE.

Cookie Blue: Haunting and beautiful. I'd have cut some of the repeated parts. That celtic instrumental outro is perfect. Now I need to go listen to The Chieftains. VOTE!

Duncan Martin: The loose gang vocals hurt the discernibility of the lyrics but not the vibe. Though I'm not a fan of all these hard-rhymes, this is fun and chill enough to get a VOTE.

Governing Dynamics: I wanna hear this with some pounding, driving, Cloud Nothings drums. Your voice really soars in those higher registers. Great melodies and what a build. VOTE!

Lichen Throat: I like when you work some rests into your riffs/progressions, which can get a bit overbearing otherwise. Some cool stuff happening here, but the parts where the vocals, bass and other instruments all play in unison (aka the challenge) drag.

The Magnetic Letters: I am teleported to a dimension of pure Wii Shop Channel. The lyrics were so far from what I expected when I finally read them that I cannot stop laughing. You've told someone now. VOTE!

Paco del Stinko: The start-stop arrangement is exciting, but I want this song to settle into a groove for a while so I can rock out for more than 15 seconds at a time. Backing choir is perfect and fun. This is exactly the kind of guitar solos I like. VOTE.

Phlebia feat. Sweeney Toad: Once the beat assembles itself this grooves really hard. Damn there's so much gain on everything. These MCs sound confident and that's what's important, especially in nerdcore. I want to make music like this. The wild ending gets a VOTE.

Pigfarmer Jr: This song is a pleasant enough rendition of a sad story, but the "punch right to my face" line rubs me the wrong way narratively. Usually a punch/slap in the face is an insult or affront, which doesn't feel like the right fit for this story. (Edit: Shit man, sorry to hear about your mom.)

Rod The Bunman: The verse progression is close enough to Radiohead's Creep that I can't not-hear it, distracting me for the rest of the song. Sorry, I do not make the rules (they were established in The Creep Accords of 1992).

SunLite: In this genre the bass part needs to be great, and this delivers. I need 120% more energy in the vocals, stat. "We can blame it on the alcohol" is a great hook. Good stuff. VOTE.

Sweeney Toad: Fun sounds. I need a bit more music than those two notes. You really go for it at the end.

WreckdoM: Lo-Fi beats to disassociate to. You guys paint a vivid picture.

Yaks of the Industry: Glossy production and great guitars, but I find the chorus melody grating and since it bookends the song I don't really want to re-listen to it. I like the bridge section, it adds some space and movement that the song needs.
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Re: A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Post by jb »

b-but... s-supertonic... the weeknd
blippity blop ya don’t stop heyyyyyyyyy
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Duncan
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Re: A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Post by Duncan »

Brown Word and the Big Whine-- Instrumentation and glam vocals are really on fire. That la la la part sounded great. So much attitude in the unison vocal delivery.

Sun Lite -- This is a really fun tune. Makes me just want to bob my head and tap my toe. Reminds me of Nick Lowe a bit. So many good movements and features. The harmonies are tight.


Phlebia ft. Sweeney Toad -- that outro was a nice manifestation of the KO from inside the narrator’s head. The drums are fun to follow in this tune. I remember as a kid watching DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince sing “whoever thought I could beat Mike Tyson” live at the Grammys. I think that was the same year that Milli Vanilli also did a killer "lile" performance of “Girl You Know it’s True”

The Magnetic Letters -- This is my favourite this round. Very cool Paul Simonish sounds and rhythms. I love it. The “could you knock -- ” section is great, with all the different answers. Great mastery of the Casio drum kit or whatever you use. Lyrics are hilarious, especially the last verse. This song should win.

Rod the Bunman -- that outro has some really pleasant toodling. The story doesn’t grip me too much -- I think I’d need to hear more character development in order to have an opinion on how to feel about the characters. But it does use the fight title nicely and brings it around at the end-- she’s the spiked punch.

Max Bombast -- Well-mixed. I like the attitude in your vocal delivery. That descending guitar lick sounds good. A bit of a “can I kick it” sound to the rap portion. I love the high high falsetto in the final chorus.

Lichen Throat -- Great theme. You’re right--most assholes are too cheap to spend money on screwing you over. Most paranoid conspiracy theories require a pretty complex set of counterfeit IDs, uniforms, cocaine, and cool cars that get ruined. That said, Epstein didn’t kill himself.

Yaks -- This reminds me of the EDM subculture immortalized in the cinematic masterpiece “Ibiza.” Pretty damn fun tune. I’m going to throw this on at a post COVID party and see what people say.

Governing Dynamics -- This has a Counting Crows/Smashing Pumpkins feel to it with the vocal delivery- lots of longing. It sounds very personal where the listener has to fill in some gaps, but I think I get it. I like that clean guitar that comes in.

Cookie Blue -- Love this song. I would maye rework a few rhymes/phrasing for flow, but the overall sound is great. Good take on the Irish drinking song. Harmonies are sounding really good -- in tune and not always repetitive. The chorus dominates, which means a lot of the same words, so maybe, double the verses and have one less chorus?
WreckedoM -- This reminds me of the dream sequences in Mike Gordon’s film “Outside Out,” where the Colonel Bruce Hampton teaches his outsructional guitar method. Love it. “This is supposed to be a formal function. I thought we lived in a civilized society!” Keep these coming

Ben Crenshaw GJ -- This is the beginning or ending of something good. I wish it went further in some direction. But it feels like 11 pm at my house when someone says something and we decide it should become a song. It’s a lot of fun.

Sweeney Toad -- A Cautionary Tale. Are bath salts still happening in the south? That was a thing for a while in 2013 or something.

Paco del Stinko -- The backup vocals and the nylon strings really fill this one out beautifully. It has that Beatles-channeling-Bach sound that everyone started doing for a while. “At one with the lawn” is relatable

Duncan Martin -- This started out as a send-up of those dumb T-shirts peple wear at the flea market that say things like, “If I got time for you, I got time to screw” or “Are You Talking?” or “Quick, ask me if I care”. I thought it would be funny to take that tone in an old fogey town-hall concert sort of direction. I sort of copped out on the melody and did something fairly predictable. I think the end of the verse is pretty much Alice’s Restaurant, and as JB mentioned, there’s some pretty egregious Prairie Home Companion juice in the arrangement. I clapped my hands against my thigh for some of the percussion, which was fun. Also some wooden spoons. I’m still working on getting clearer vocals (better mixing/recording and more rehearsal/takes). I had a whole intro recorded, but then I realized it would sound punchier if it just came right in.

PIgfarmer Jr. -- Pretty straight up. I like how literal this is. A lot of loss is couched in euphemisms, so your narrative delivery and your unpolished description of your emotions make it very relatable and stronger than many songs about death. Hope and your family are doing okay.
(Edited to say "stronger", not "stranger")
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Re: A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Max Bombast wins!
mo
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Re: A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Post by mo »

Grats Bast!
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sleepysilverdoor
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Re: A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

Duncan wrote:
Sun May 16, 2021 9:33 pm
[...] the drums are fun to follow in this tune [...]
Thanks, I was going for the snare being the literal embodiment of a "Spiked Punch", hence it kind of pushing every other rhythmic element out of the way except for the higher notes on the guitar that were kept in unison with it. At risk of exposing potential unoriginality, it's basically the rhythm track from PJ Harvey's "Who the Fuck?" but slightly modified so as not to be an exact rip off. Then again there's only so many beats around.

Also, congrats Max!
"There's a lot to be said about a full-on frontal assault on the ear drums" - Pigfarmer Jr.
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Adam!
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Re: A little reefer and some (Spiked Punch reviews)

Post by Adam! »

Oh hey! Lesson: never second guess anything.
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