Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

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Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

*holds out hand like a beggar*
Last edited by Lunkhead on Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Please place your lyric in the appropriate thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12357
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Songs posted!
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Berkeley Social Scene: Cool guitar riff and arrangement. The vocals seem a bit buried in the mix but that could be more my ears at this point. I would have liked to see the lyric. I like the melody. I liked the tasteful guitar solo. Added: I had the hardest time hearing the lyric to this song for what it's worth.

Brian Eno's Swimming Trunks: I liked the rhythm and the lofi synth sounds. The monotone melody works a whole lot better than I thought it would.

Hardmonica: I like this a lot. The arrangement works well, gives energy to the chorus. The background ahhs work perfectly. The acoustic is played well. Good one.

Lichen Throat vs. Chumpy: Catchy. Great guitar work. Vocals are solid. The drums are very good, too.

Paco del Stinko: This sounds a little wide of the classic Paco sound. I like the bass as usual, the drums work great. The more restrained vocal style suits you very well, although I like the way you usually lean into it. The smoke filled club vibe is cool.

Yaks of the Industry: The smoothly layered vocals work for me. This is also well arranged.

I think I liked Hardmonica and LT&C the best but Paco and BSS were up there and I didn't hate any of the entries.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

WreckdoM has been added to the fight.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by WreckdoMelle »

Sorry all, and many thanks Lunkhead - we really appreciate the late add!
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Aciniform Artifice »

WreckdoM missing from the "Song Fight! Review-O-Matic & ZIP mirror" and when I clicked the "trigger an update" link it just told me that the most recent songs are already there.

So OK, I'll just do this the old fashioned way.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Unfortunately it's a known issue that site doesn't handle late added songs. It's not managed by me or the other fighmasters so I can't do anything about it.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Aciniform Artifice »

Hi, I'm new here. I listened to all your songs and voted for the ones I liked the most (Edit: votes indicated where appropriate throughout the text below.).

Here are some random thoughts I had while listening:

Berkeley Social Scene - I like the fuzziness and noisiness, feel like this would have been right at home on mid-90s rock radio in between Lemonheads and Dinosaur Jr.; the minor-key turn at approximately the fourth line of each verse is both unexpected and appreciated. vote

Brian Eno's Swimming Trunks - It’s bloopy and beepy and fun. The slight awkward hesitancy in the underlying beat reminds me of an observation I’d heard once, that “the dance music of P.D.Q. Bach generally suggested that one of P.D.Q. Bach’s legs was shorter than the other.”

Hardmonica - I’m imagining James Taylor singing a song written by Cat Stephens.

Lichen Throat vs. Chumpy - The music and the vocals are both very bouncy. Which is slightly jarring (not a complaint) in contrast with the story being told.

Paco del Stinko - Loved the jazzy walking bassline. I’m imagining Dr. John singing the Frasier theme song (even before hearing the “salad” reference at the end). vote

Pigfarmer Jr - The message here is very clear, and very apt, thank you.

WreckdoM - The dreamy, lazy vibe created by those super-slow pitch bends (in both the guitar and synth parts) is perfection for the title. Enjoyed the submission, glad it made it in. vote

Yaks of the Industry - That opening should have been evocative of New Order, I suppose, but overall (musically) I’m getting more of an Erasure feeling here (complimentary). vote

Thanks.
Last edited by Aciniform Artifice on Tue Sep 20, 2022 7:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by mo »

Berkeley Social Scene: I enjoyed the main riff and the guitar solo, as usual. Something about the vocal treatment sounds a little muffled to me, which normally I wouldn’t care that much about, but I feel like in this song it’s draining the vocal of a little energy that would help it kick up in the choruses especially. Also a bunch of times in the verses, I feel like the vocal line coming in after the change to C instead of right with it makes it lose a little effectiveness as well. Is there an extra beat at like 2:22? Something sounds weird there. Similarly the transitions in the instrumental section feel a touch disjointed where I think they’d be more powerful if they were tighter together.

Brian Eno's Swimming Trunks: I’m not against this, I think it’s a good draft of ideas. Like I like all the sounds, I like the concept of imprisonment/giving up your freedom, I just think it’s a little underdeveloped and I would love to hear what you’d come up with if you were to try to extend this out to a longer song. Or, conversely, maybe it’s the perfect length if it were placed in a different context, like as a short song in between other songs in a rock opera?

Hardmonica: Good vocal performance; I especially like the backing vocals. The low end is a little unruly, maybe some EQ to tighten that up would help, on the instruments. The main vocal probably could use a little more high passing as well. It’s a pretty solid vibe, laid back Sunday afternoon, captures that feel well. For my taste, I’d like a song like this to go to like, one more place on the journey. Short and sweet is fine too, of course, but I don’t know, I really wanted a bridge or something that would shift the POV for a few bars.

Jonathan Mann: I really like the arrangement, lots of little ear candy but still lots of space. Nice variations each verse to keep interest.I think the vocals are a little hard to hear sometimes when the full band gets going (might mostly be cymbals?) My main critical comment about this song is that I never felt like the “my life of leisure” line got to having the power it deserved–perhaps it needed the whole band to cut out or come down a lot, or something else, but it sort of felt to me like the song wanted to build up to that line but then when it got there, it kind of didn’t know what to do with it. Great groove though.

Lichen Throat vs. Chumpy: Hey I like this LT vocal, the timing is pretty much right on, and the intonation is also pretty good, sounds great. Is that a bunch of autotuning I hear haha. Great energy and little bits of ear candy in the arrangement, and I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a tune about Mary Shelley, badass that she was, that highlights her badassery. My only real complaint is that I hoped the final chorus would get much bigger, maybe a double chorus, get some singalong going. I was a little let down by the abrupt ending, emotionally.

Paco del Stinko: Paco del Lounge-o, me likey. I thought the guitar solo was way too short–this song really demanded a slinky couple choruses of guitar soloing before hitting that end. The vibe is super strong. I think if you wanted to improve one thing to get a lot out of it, a drummer who’s experienced in this style would really bring the parts to life–especially things like the transition from verse to chorus and keep the energy in the right place. Right now I feel like sometimes the quiet intensity just becomes quiet and lacks intensity if you know what I mean.

Pigfarmer Jr: I like the energy, and the basic tracks sound pretty good and groovy. The lyric is in that punky angry political tradition, good choice. My main critical points are that you start too many vocal lines behind the beat (usually the first of each verse), and too far behind the beat at that. This wouldn’t be so much of a problem if you were committed to that as style and really worked it, but I get the feeling from the overall performance that you’re trying to be in time with the rest of the track as opposed to singing across the beat. Sometimes you’re right on it too, and so as a result, it just feels disjointed instead of intentional, for my taste. My second critical comment is that the chorus lines, e.g. “my life of leisure” and “my life of luxury”, again sound less than fully committed to me–like it’s not any kind of rhyme, and so I think you need to work a little more to find a way that makes these words sit right against each other via the performance. I’m thinking of the way Johnny Rotten sings Sex Pistols songs and just twists syllables and placements of them to sound good within the context of the song. I also think the drums are a little low in the mix personally.

Yaks of the Industry: man, learn how to pronounce “regret”

WreckdoM: Vocals are a little low to my taste, I can’t hear them clearly, maybe EQ would help also, but I think level first. I really like the soundscape otherwise, although I think it’s a little congested somewhere in the low midrange. It gets a little overly loose for me around 1:20, and the guitar figure that comes right before the vocal comes back doesn’t work for me at all, the “Satisfaction”-y one, which yes was a good musical pun but it sounded weird. I did dig the vibe though, and thought it worked well with the whole cat POV.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by lichenthroat »

Berkeley Social Scene—This is one of my favorite BSS songs. I like all the chord progressions and general sense of being familiar yet unpredictable. I also like how long this is; it doesn’t wear out its welcome at all. Sounds great on a car stereo. Nice work.

Brian Eno’s Swimming Trunks—The music feels very precise and electronic. I think I’d like more of a contrast from the vocal, more of a sense of it being freed from the instrumental.

Hardmonica—I wish this was longer. I love your melodies. You immediately set up a compelling, elegiac atmosphere and follow through with the concept. Your guitar sounds good. I like your vocal delivery, too. The “made by bees” line is great. Excellent.

Jonathan Mann—Coincidentally, I’ve also been writing poetry when I should have been writing prose. This reminds me of a jollier version of Gregor Alan Isakov. The instrument I think is a banjo sounds cool. This is fun with a hint of poignancy.

Lichen Throat vs. Chumpy—This is my songwriting and vocal, with Chumpy’s instrumental sounds and production, plus some guitar and keyboards from Ryan. Credit for all positive comments about my vocal timing should go to Chumpy; I’m sure it was a lot of tedious work to fix it.

Paco del Stinko—Traditionally, I have hated slow, jazzish music like this. I don’t hate this, though. The quality of execution seems very good. This makes me want to drink a cappuccino, which is another thing I don’t like. Overall: I’m kind of impressed, despite how far away this is from my taste. I liked rhyming “fellas” with “swell as.”

Pigfarmer Jr.—Nice hard rock intro. Some of the vocal phrasing seems at variance with the music. (Yeah, pot/kettle, I know.) Guitar tone is good, as is the riff (I think that’s the first time I’ve ever used that word). Your cynicism is well-placed, lyrically.

WreckdoM—I’m not sure what to make of the sliding bass notes. It’s cool, but it’s hard to focus on anything else. I like how it’s aggressive without being harsh. Crank up the vocal and put more reverb on it.

Yaks of the Industry—Starts out as New Order then transitions to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. I quite like both of those, and I love this. Simply excellent. Record an album like this and then take my money for it. My word, this is good. It would have been funny if you had substituted “egret” for “regret” once.
Last edited by lichenthroat on Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Gil Sans »

Lichen Throat. Nice work this week!

Jonathan Mann, I just saw my cousin Andy last week and he mentioned you. I was happy to see you show up to another fight. Great track.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by mo »

I just wanted to double down on the LT & Chumpy track, like LT, you've always had a unique sound and haunting quality to your voice, and I don't lurk enough to know if this is now the way things are, but I like it, whatever you're now doing on this song; your singing in particular sounds great

edit: I see you've credited Chumpy but I mean, don't shy away from it, you sound awesome on this
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by lichenthroat »

Thanks for the kind words. I do think Chumpy's production had a lot to do with the positive reactions, but it's encouraging to know that I could potentially get good results by either either learning to the same thing myself or improving my vocal timing. I'll keep at it.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Future Boy »

Maybe I will write full reviews, but I just had to pop in and say the Lichen Throat vs Chumpy entry is a fuckin bop.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by JonathanMann »

Gil Sans wrote:
Sat Sep 17, 2022 4:32 am
Lichen Throat. Nice work this week!

Jonathan Mann, I just saw my cousin Andy last week and he mentioned you. I was happy to see you show up to another fight. Great track.
Yeah! Was such a small world moment!
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by JonathanMann »

Fun fact: I completely improvised this song.
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by WreckdoMelle »

JonathanMann wrote:
Sun Sep 18, 2022 5:16 am
Fun fact: I completely improvised this song.
You didn't even plan that? Daaang! Fun song, sounded great, one of the ones that stuck out for me this fight.

While I'm here, can we just say now that there are a couple of ways to say liesure and the more you say it, the more it sounds odd? On to reviews...

Johnathan Mann - I really find this song endearing, not just the lyrics but the whimsical instrumentation, shuffling rhythm, secret electric guitar and "milennial whoop". Oh no - rich people!

Hardmonica - I like what you are doing with the guitar, but that tone is a bit subdued. You have a great voice. It's gutsy to pull off a sparse arrangement but you make it sound easy.

Berkeley Social Scene - Good BSS sound - great guitar tones, solid rockin' riffs. Plus for the harmonies.

Pigfarmer Jr. - Short and in your face. Grown up punk rock? You have a great guitar sound, in fact, your stuff always sounds really good.

Yaks of the Industry - Tons of tasty synth candy - check! This is really solid, smooth, the vocal harmonies are gold. I must say Yaks are one of my fast faves.

Lichen Throat vs. Chumpy - Great lyrics, catchy chorus, well put together and well mixed. Awesome collab.

Brian Eno's Swimming Trunks - I find the electronic instrumentation with the dead pan vox almost ominous, and I like this about it.

Paco del Stinko - I find many of your songs to embody personas - I like this guy, he's extremely chill. This seems like a hard sound to pull off but you've done a great job here. Not enough o's in smoooth, as they say.

WreckdoM - Thanks for the reviews so far everyone! WreckdoM is in constant pursuit of texture and variation and flavor and surprise. All that is good for lying on guilded pillows and having one's every need seen to. We are liesurely, but we are not asleep dammit! Or are we? These pajamas are not going to wear themselves...
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Re: Give to the unworthy! (My Lifestyle of Leisure reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Hardmonica and BSS tie!
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