Counting stars one at a time (The First Million Is The Hardest reviews)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Don't forget you gotta find another galaxy after the first one hundred thousand million (two hundred billion) stars because the Milky Way isn't all that big.... comparatively.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Please place your lyric in the appropriate thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12338

[Lunkhead]

Songs posted!

[Previzla]

Gil Sans ---holy crap I love this song! Such a perfectly lofi 60s british invasion crappy sound! What are you recording with? Love how you added the title into the 2nd verse--- and not just that its placed there--- it sounds awesome---great harmonies!

[Lunkhead]

Late Berkeley Social Scene song added to the fight

[Gil Sans]

Nice variety this week.
I'm liking the chord changes from Ratbaffle and the high energy from A.Flaim.

Previzia, thanks for the compliments. No fancy production. Just rushed from start to finish. One guitar/Hammond organ in mono/three mics on the drums/bass direct/two vocals. Tascam DP-24SD. Woooo. Listen to those drum fills fall apart!

[jb]

Paco of the Stinkopolous (I hope I get better at these)
That ride tho. Does that say the first cheese is the sharpest? I like that. Ha. Nice little guitar solo. I do not understand how the first bullseye could miss the target. Wouldn't mind a dynamic change, though I kinda do like the new vibe near the end, that's cool yo.

Rat Souffle (ok maybe I won't)
I like the vocal melody and really nice vocal performance, though the pitch correction might've been a little too audible in one or two spots but fuck it's Song Fight. It's a good song, I think, without really looking into the lyrics a whole bunch. Kind of an Elvis Costello composition feel to me. There is some kind of panning thing going on here that makes me want to stab you. The fuck. Sample-delay one of the damn tracks to the left instead of the right at LEAST. Even so, mmmmmrrrr. Dunno about the stereo separated bass thing. I mean, it's not the worst but it's a hot take innit. Oh oops that snare thing at the end. Good song. The mix... I disagree with almost every choice except the reverb.

Family Betrayal (Wreck Dom, get it, because it's ABOUT FAMILY)
Cool tune juxtaposed with some fucked up voxnanigans. I'ma hafta sit with this a bit. I think I like it, not completely sure yet tho. I mean, I'm a big Tuneyards, Laurie Anderson, Bjork, Olivia Tremor Control, etc fan, so this kinda hits me in that gland.

144 Notes (ha, getting better and better!)
Oh it's the kinda slacker grumbley thing, like a tolerable Dinosaur Jr. I can listen to one or two of this kind of thing and be into it. But no more than that. Luckily for you to be high on my randomized playlist thanks to the SF front page miracle PHP function. I wouldn't have minded if some of those little guitar solos were more written, so they sounded less like default solo mode. I dunno about these lyrics tho. I mean, the sincerity is kinda... gross. But if it works for the telethon and the kids get their money, who am I to complain?

Peeping Hooters (too far? i'm trying here)
I don't think the dry vox vs the atmospheric everything else works. Gets kinda cluttered in them guitars, shoulda split them. Kinda like the organ thing on the edges tho. Wish there was more edge in the lyrics, and some pithy lines to hang this tune on.

Party in the Practice Rooms (Berklee Social Scene see what i did there, and what i did in the other place too hahahahahalolol)
Kind of grindy. Sort of Camper Van a little bit, though there's that squeepy 70's monosynth doodling around a lot. I like the "Gonna be a millionaire" line, it's catchy. Oh, when it changes to the split vox the song goes from eh to AYYYYY. Too much improv on the synth solo tho, can't get away with that. Goes back to the grind, and I miss that cool section with all my heart.

CandleTop (i'm running out of ideas)
nice guitars and drums and all that stuff, but jfc the vocals... would it have killed you to double them or put just the tiniest bit of reverb on them or SOMETHING. I think you could have gotten away with how out of tune they are if you made them sound like you're in the same room with the band. VOCALS NEED LOVE TOO.

Ocean Mammal (this one is my favorite and maybe the one that is the furthest reach, but they're my puns god dammit)
Kinda love everything about this one. That distorted guitar amp could've maybe used a little left/right treatment or something, but otherwise dreamy. Super fun to listen to, and I like the texture in the vocals a lot.

The Not H Jon Benjamin Band
This one is from the perspective of Skynet, if that helps. I know it might not help. I like it though, haven't done this kind of thing in quite some time.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Quick comments before work. (Ugh) Decent enough fight with nothing really stellar. Gil comes closest, to me.

a.flaim - Great energy, modern "punk" I guess you call it. The vocal timbre is likable, but the pitch is way off. Lyrics are empowering/motivating. But yeah, and coming from me, work on that pitch. You sound young, you have the time.

Berkeley Social Scene - Moody and brow furrowing. Some kind of futuristic cowboy theme or something. The lead vocal is surprisingly muddy, still presents a likable chorus. Not a huge fan of the glitchy stuff here or otherwise, would rather straight up vocal in chorus with maybe a distant harmony to support. Darkly rocks then rides off into the futuristic cowboy sunset.

Gil Sans - Good bashing genuine rocker. The lyrics are very good, esp. the chorus. Digging the drums despite a stumble. Raw but on track, hooky, mid first side rocker. Keys in just the right place, very nice. Genuine.

The Gross Tones - Still at the house party, now we're doing a slow dance. Probably not enough girls to go around, that's ok. Sway with the music. I mean, it's ok to dance with other guys if that's your thing. Little wooly sounding mix could use a dash of crispness. Pleasant and easy-going even the dude half dozed on the couch can sing along with the chorus hook.

The John Benjamin Band - Robot heaviness. Great theme I was probably hooked at ugly suit. Despite the synth loads here it's still colorful and even psychedelic at times. Much of the lyrics are hard to understand w/o the posting. Parts of t sound like simple just fucking around, but it adds up to a mini epic. The chromatic phasey stuff reminds of "Don't Shoot, I'm A Man". Fun if a bit unfocused at times.

Paco del Stinko - Very quick slop-fest. I did the beat before I thought of a walking type bass line, so I tried to squeeze one in there after not liking the with the beat line that came up. Fender Champ guitars.

Ratbaffle! - Easy going pulse. I like the pre-chorus melody and changes best. Jangle guitars very effective, adding some sparkle. Almost sound 12-string. I'd love to hear this soar with an enhanced chorus second time through: vocal stacks or something. Or a big organ bridge. Drums are a bit stiff on the fills. The structure and progressions are all good, just missing a dash of pepper to finish it off. Nice song all around.

Watching Owls - Nice bittersweet feel. The melodies come more into focus as the song moves on and grows, taking hold more after the first pass. Loose feel better refined with more time but nice how it all moves along like a river once it gets going. Couple more rehearsals and a bit of higher end EQ to put it on top. Feels good though.

WreckdoM - Ha. That beat, what the fuck? This is like Fluffy dropped a dose on his way to Jamaican Nintendoland. Sunny and upbeat (!) a colorful collage of singing flowers or squirrels or something. No idea what you're singing, but it feels pleasant enough where I don't care. Maybe I should, but that's ok. Maybe I should never know. Keep pushing. Always.

[jb]

What a great song!

[Lunkhead]

The Gross Tones win!

[danielsabsay]

a.flaim: These lyrics are certainly relatable. Instrumentation is solid. Really well done. The lyrics that come in at 0:26 feel rhythmically a little off to me. I think it's because the number of syllables in e.g. "I resist what I want" and "And I remember it's worth it" are not the same, even though the melody repeats (sorta). There's a few other line pairs that I would've expected to be more symmetrical. Not saying you have to do that; I'm certainly guilty of adding/removing syllables for convenience. Just offering as a suggestion that might make it a little smoother.

Berkeley Social Scene: I like the instrument combo. The organ was awesome! Didn't love how hard-panned the guitar was, but I could look past it. The synth lead was cool but felt like it was taking the spotlight at the wrong time when it played over the vocals. The words were hard to hear when the melody was really low pitch-wise. The contrast between low-pitch verse and the higher-pitch section right after worked really well!

Gil Sans: I like the contrast between the A and B sections. The melody of the B section is especially nice. There's some clipping distortion on the "just squeeze your eyes real tight" part that is unpleasant. I think it's on the guitars but it could also be on the vocals too. And no, it doesn't sound like the desirable effect of a distortion pedal/effect, it sounds like something is clipping 100% (like maybe mic gain up too high).

The Gross Tones: Love the wide, soft guitars. Some cool chord changes. Effective guitar solo. Lyrics and melody are really well structured. Also, kudos for the altruistic take on the theme! This was one of my favorites this week. Oh, you should try rendering the MP3 a higher bitrate; the whole thing sounds like it has a lot of compression artefacts.

The John Benjamin Band: Well this is interesting. The production fits the lyrics well. One nitpick: the "maybe I'll be more subtle than a gun" stanza sorta gets buried, but the other lyrics are much clearer in the mix. A couple lines hint at it; is this from the POV of solar radiation? Or was that not an intended implication?

Paco del Stinko: I like the rhythm switchup around the 25s mark. Like the guitar solo. The vocal delivery is too all over the place for me; it distracted quite a bit from the words.

Ratbaffle!: I like the melodies! Nice falsetto. I would've liked to hear some more variation in the arrangement: the bass especially with the constant 8th notes was a little tiring. Clever framing with the "minute one" thing at the beginning.

Watching Owls: I listened to this on my phone and liked it a lot less. So I think my mixing could use some work. In particular, the bass got totally lost, which made the groove feel a little uncertain. Maybe I could double it with an instrument with more treble? Also I think the Esus->E chord change in the chorus could have been set up better; it feels little out of the blue.

WreckdoM: This went so many different places in the first 30 seconds. I love the drums. The horns too. The house-ish chords sound like they're intruding; maybe just a bit too smooth, if that makes sense.

[jb]

A couple lines hint at it; is this from the POV of solar radiation? Or was that not an intended implication?

I like that take! That's the POV it's from now!

But seriously, originally it was from the POV of Skynet, from the famous "Terminator" series of films.
The specific clues are:

• Terminators are sent back in time to kill the future leader of the human resistance against Skynet. Hence the line near the end "The only way to put them out of my misery is to change the course of history".
• Terminators are famously sent back in time naked, but their human skin is just a suit they wear.

But it is true that the line "Maybe I'll be more subtle than a gun" kind of leads the listener away from Skynet towards a more natural born killer like The Sun of Doom.

I think I was just ruminating on Skynet ruminating regarding methodology, because wtf was Skynet thinking not using chemical and biological, much less radioactive weapons to murder all of mankind and presumably biological life in general?

If one supposes Skynet only knew to mirror the methods of their creator, certainly we have used those methods numerous times to kill each other in large groups at a time.

Thanks for listening,

JB